Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Harmonic Hearts! Now that we're back in the groove, what do we have:
Nisha: Oh, oops. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intend that kind of impression. Still, I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter.
johannvanguard: We shall see, my friend.
Thanks for the feedback! With that said, let's get going!
Interlude 4: Time to Relax
Some time passed after their visit when Sora and Riku were summoned to the Mysterious Tower, meeting with Master Yen Sid in his study. He had good news, which was their friend Kairi has completed her basic training and is free to travel to other worlds. Riku was glad to hear it with Sora being ecstatic:
"That's great! How soon can she join us?"
"Right now."
The two turn to see Kairi as she exits the Good Fairies' room, now sporting new attire they made for her. The two boys also noticed she got her hair trimmed, which made the look come together pretty well. She goes over to hug them as she spoke:
"I missed you two a lot, but it was pretty fun."
"Training was fun?" Riku repeats.
"Well, not at first. It was simple target practice with elementals, but when Aqua and her friends arrived, they helped show me how I can use my magic more effectively. Ven and Terra even showed me a trick or two."
"They were trained by a good friend of mine." Master Yen Sid mentions, "He was one of the few who knew the workings of the keyblade, when he and I shared our training together. But that's a story for another time."
"Master Yen Sid also thought I need some field experience, with the Heartless and all." Kairi adds.
"Good idea. We'll get you up to speed in no time." Sora agrees.
Master Yen Sid knows where he might go for training, which reminds him of what they told them before:
"Xehanort's plan involves utilizing that world's magic. He likely has a closer eye there than the other worlds, best be on your guard."
The trio nod in agreement before taking their leave. As they walk down the stairs, Kairi connects the dots on what world he meant. Guess it's her turn to meet the Rainbooms.
In a portal of light, the Destiny Trio arrive at the school courtyard to see the familiar sight of students hanging out. The two got a warm welcome as they enter the school, which Kairi expected. They saved the school, and in turn the world, three times by now.
Upon entering the foyer, they ran into a familiar face transferred from Crystal Prep. He gives them a welcome too with a warm smile:
"Hey, guys! Good to see ya!"
"Hey, Levin!" Sora greets back, "How's the school for you so far?"
"Better than I thought! It's pretty much night and day between CHS and CPA." He then notices the new face, "Friend of yours?"
"Yeah, this is Kairi. She's a keyblade wielder like us."
"Cool! Nice to meet you, miss." He said, holding his hand out for a handshake.
"Same." Kairi agrees as the two briefly shook hands.
Riku looks around as he wonders out loud, "Huh, there's fewer students here than usual."
"Funny you mentioned that. It's the summer, so anyone here right now is getting their stuff before vacation time." Levin clarifies.
"Are the girls here doing that?"
"Nope, they did it yesterday."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I just remembered I had to give Principal Celestia my permission slip for a camping trip. Some of the students here are going to Camp Everfree tomorrow, which the trip will last for about a week. The girls and my group are going, so it'd be awkward that I missed that."
This intrigues the trio as Riku recalls a memory, "Wow, how long has it been since we went camping?"
"Not since we were kids." Kairi answers, "Those trips were fun."
This gives Sora an idea, "Why don't we go then!?"
"Hmm... considering the Heartless can show up anywhere, it wouldn't be too farfetched to think the camp might get attacked or something." Riku speculates.
"We can go as bodyguards." Kairi suggests.
"Then it's settled! Let's go tell them!" Sora leads the way as the trio went to the principal's office to join the trip.
Levin couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "This field trip might top the Games... Key word 'might'."
After they got permission to join the camping trip, the trio left the school as Levin lead the way. After turning in his permission slip, he planned to meet up with Twilight at the yogurt shop, or 'Sci-Twi' as the Rainbooms nicknamed her. Makes sense as they knew Princess Twilight, so if they were in the same place, there has to be some way to tell them apart.
The four enter the shop to see her hanging about, where the trio saw her new look. Her hair was now styled into a ponytail, which is rather fitting, as she wore more casual apparel. She turns to see them enter and shows a warm smile:
"Hey! It's been awhile."
"Good to see you're doing better." Riku greets back.
"Yeah, the others have been a great help on that. Also helps that Sunset and Levin are assisting me on various science projects."
"Good for bonding and keeps our brains sharp." Levin adds.
"That's great." Kairi comments, "I'm not much into science back home, but it has some interesting stuff."
"It does contain the world's strangest mysteries, especially when it includes outer space." Sci-Twi agrees before noticing the obvious, "Oh, I'm sorry! You must be Sora's friend... Kairi, right?"
"Yup. Nice to meet you."
"How about we snack on some yogurt? My treat." Levin mentions, which the others agree on.
Once the five got their respective choices, they enjoy their frozen treats when Sora mentions his group going on the camping trip. Sci-Twi was a little hesitant on the idea:
"Really? That's gonna be... interesting."
"Something wrong?" Sora wonders.
"No, it's just that uh... the girls were wanting to get away from any magic-related stuff for awhile."
The trio understood what she meant before they heard Levin let out a groan:
"Yeah, they DID mention that!" He realizes before pinching the bridge of his nose, "That's on me, I told them about the trip."
"It's not your fault." Riku shrugs off, "Like Kairi said, we can be there for protection. Just in case something happens."
"Honestly, I'd also like to take a break from all the magic stuff too." Sora admits, "At least to feel somewhat normal..."
Sci-Twi wouldn't say it out loud, but she does agree with his sentiment. She then takes another bite of her yogurt as he continues:
"Besides, I'm sure they wouldn't mind us tagging along. Field trips are about having fun after all."
"Good point." Levin agrees before he gives them an offer:
"Tell ya what, how about coming over to my place tonight? Me and the boys are having a sleepover since my house is the closest to the school. Saves on time and all that."
"Sure, sounds like a plan." Sora accepts, but Riku was hesitant as he points out something:
"Wouldn't it be awkward with Kairi there?"
"Actually, Pinkie got the same idea from him." Sci-Twi answers, "We're having a sleepover too, so she can stay with us while you two were at Levin's."
"That works out actually. I was thinking of meeting the Rainbooms eventually." Kairi accepts.
The sun starts to set as they went their separate ways. Kairi follows Sci-Twi to Pinkie's house, who was letting the others go inside before seeing them coming:
"Hey, Sci-Twi! Hey, Sci-Twi's friend!"
"Sorry for this being last minute, but I brought her over to join us." Sci-Twi clarifies, "This is Kairi, Sora and Riku's friend."
That got everyone's attention as Pinkie shakes her hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Pinkie Pie!"
"P-Pretty energetic, aren't you?" Kairi was caught a bit off guard, despite what Sora told her.
"I'm still getting used to it." Sci-Twi admits to her.
"Come in, come in! Meet the Rainbooms!" Pinkie announces as she leads them inside, closing the door behind them.
The girls enter the living room soon after as Rainbow was the first to speak:
"So, you're the girl they mentioned before."
"Yeah. And I'm gonna guess..." Kairi starts before pointing to who's who:
"You're Rainbow Dash, you're Fluttershy, you're Rarity, you're Applejack, which leaves you as Sunset Shimmer."
She impressed them with her guesses, which Sunset immediately knew how:
"Guess Sora told you some stories about us."
"Well, mainly when you faced the Dazzlings with Vanitas and when they faced you."
Sunset couldn't help but laugh at her honesty, "Yeah, sounds about right."
"Does this mean you're also a keyblade wielder?" Fluttershy wonders.
Kairi simply answers by summoning her keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, into her hand. Its appearance caught Rarity's attention in particular:
"Ooh, fascinating! Yours is rather elegant in design, especially with the flowers at the top here."
"I've liked flowers as a kid, so I guess it's fitting I get a key themed with them." Kairi mentions before dismissing it.
"What brings ya to our world today, sugarcube?" AJ asks her.
"Two reasons. First is getting field experience. I've just finished my basic training, so Sora decided to bring me here. The second reason is I wanted to meet you girls myself."
"Funny, I was thinking of asking him about you." Sunset mentions before Rarity pops in next to Kairi:
"Before we start getting to know each other, I have one. BIG. question I MUST know!"
Kairi raises an eyebrow on what it could be as the girls knew what she's gonna ask, which was...
"Are you and Sora an item!?"
Her skepticism changes right to surprise as a blush appears on her face, "HUH!?"
"Sora told us about his previous journeys, where the first one involves you greatly! After everything he did, how do you feel about him!?"
Seeing that she was quite curious, and the others also showing interest, Kairi lets out a sigh before speaking:
"May I get something to drink? It's a bit of a long story..."
In the meantime...
Sora and Riku soon arrive at Levin's house, which was a rather nice two-story place. Entering it soon after, they meet up with the boys who were surprised at their surprise visit. After their greetings, Shade was the first to ask them:
"What brings you to our neck of the woods today?"
"Sora got the idea of bringing his girlfriend here. Not for a date, just some field experience." Riku casually answers with a tease, which got Sora off guard:
"H-Hey, where'd that come from!?"
The others couldn't help but chuckle at this, which made Sora scratch the back of his head. Stylite places a hand on his shoulder as a form of assurance:
"Don't worry, we'll leave the teasing to your friend."
"They're also here to join on the camping trip." Levin brings up, "Just for fun, and maybe protection."
"Oh yeah, this trip is gonna be AWESOME!" Ventus cheers.
"And that means they're joining the sleepover too?" Visor adds, "Hope you two like video games."
"Dude, they ARE video game characters!" Pixel blurts out, "They fight with giant magical keys!"
The duo can't deny that at all, especially considering their experiences. As the boys welcome them to the fold, they got to choose the game for the night as 'guests of honor', as Levin jokingly said. While he had a sizeable library, he decides that they choose from Pixel's library instead.
The titles he brought are as follows:
Lethal Forces: Ultimate Edition
Blazing Rage 3: Fangs of the Wolf
Keys of Hearts 2: End of Twilight
Dual of Souls VI: Nightmare Awakens
Azure Sky Versus: Fantasy Reborn
Plumber Bros
Supersonic Boom 3
Ringtail Raccoon 2: Band of Thieves
An interesting collection from the games they knew back home. The two agree to pick one that has multiplayer, so that way everyone gets a chance to join the fun. They eventually settle on the second choice, which Stylite states it's his favorite of the series.
"I even got my new look from one of the characters." He mentions as he adjusts his cap, "You'll see what I mean."
They boot up the game, going right into versus and saw the roster. As it was an old school game, the cast was around ten at most, but has variety to balance it out. Sora and Riku went first to get accustomed to the controls, leading to the boys watching a game of happy slaps.
After they had their match, the duo became spectators to the experts. When Sty picked his character, he chose an alternate costume that does resemble his current look. Levin then picks his character, who has a similar hairstyle to his. From these coincidences, one thing came to mind for the duo:
They certainly love their video games.
Back with the Rainbooms, Kairi had finished telling them about her training, after the stories involving her heart inside Sora and her long wait on the islands. The girls were engaged, but also curious as they had questions during said stories. Especially Sci-Twi, who was skeptical at certain aspects.
Kairi was patient as she tries answering to the best of her ability, not really knowing those aspects herself. Turns out the stories made the time fly, already reaching past midnight before they realized it. Feeling a bit tired, they got ready for bed in order to wake up in time for the field trip.
As the others went to get dressed, Kairi finds herself talking with Sunset after she was done changing:
"I still find it odd that a Princess of Heart has no darkness. Doesn't that contradict the whole balance of light and darkness?" The latter wonders
The former wonders on that for a bit, "I understand what you mean. From what I've been told, our hearts were somehow born with enough light to be kinda incorruptible. Doesn't mean we're immortal or anything, so..."
"Interesting. Must be very rare if no one knows how it works exactly."
"Yeah, but enough about that. You girls want a break from magic for the field trip, right? Let's talk more normal stuff."
Sunset smiles as she agrees, "OK. Do you like video games?"
The shift in discussion happens as soon as the rest of the girls finish dressing, making the conversation become more lively. From there, the night continues on until they eventually went to bed, not knowing what will come in the near future.
And done! Sorry for the longer wait, I wanted to work on other ideas for a bit and take a small break from KH. Don't worry, I'm still set on finishing this timeline before doing the redux. As for what happened here:
Kairi finally joins the story! I hope I got her personality down, this is the first time I've written her in general. I'd appreciate the feedback on that. Other than that, the chapter just serves to go into the fourth movie.
With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!