Sorry for not updating in a while, I started a new job and haven't had much time to write these days. I might have to update once a month, though I'll make sure the chapters are longer if that does happen. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance
Chapter 10: Realm of Sleep part IV
As Sora and Neku made their way toward the entrance of the Fourth District, they noticed Rhyme, Joshua, and one other figure approaching. This third individual appeared to be a muscular teenage boy with blue eyes and blonde hair. These locks were mostly covered by a black cap, which held a similar skull design as what Rhyme's had, only larger. He also wore a white tank top, a dark skull necklace, and a black bracelet on his left wrist. His long beige shorts had an enormous chain on the left side, causing a low jingling after each step he took with his red and black shoes.
In Sora's distracted state, she didn't even notice the three until they were almost right next to her. So many thoughts and plans were rushing through her mind, while an expression of hidden uncertainty formed on her features. But as she turned toward the three, her and this boy swiftly locked eyes with one another. She could immediately tell he was the 'tough guy with a heart of gold', even with his determination to appear like that wasn't the case.
Despite the others about to introduce the pair to each other, they swiftly paused when noticing the harsh glares they were sharing. Both appearing as though they were untrusting and almost angry at the other, despite it only being their first meeting. Watching in confusion, the remaining three could only turn to one another, hoping someone held some sort of answer. But before any of them could step in to say anything, the two suddenly clasped their hands together and offered small smiles in the process.
Despite no words being spoken, the two appeared to have come to an understanding. "I'm Sora, it's nice to meet you." the girl introduced with a wide grin on her face.
"The name's Beat, nice ta meet ya Sora." the boy responded with a large toothy grin of his own, seeming genuinely pleased to make the girl's acquaintance.
Beat then offered a quick thumbs up with his free hand, to which the pair then released their hand shake. Though, the boy's gesture slowly fell as Rhyme cleared her throat, the girl looking at the blond in a slight huff. As she spoke, her expression and tone became one of mischievousness, unnerving him slightly. "Yep, he's my brother." the young girl started, which instantly let the boy realize what she was about to say next.
Just as he opened his mouth to try and dissuade her from speaking further, Rhyme added her last comment. "His name is actually Daisukenojo Bito."
The moment this introduction came, Beat swiftly groaned and bent down to whisper to his sister. "Come on Rhyme~, why'd ya have ta go and tell her my real name?" he huffed out in a way that only an older sibling could when they were embarrassed.
"Because you had me worried." was all Rhyme responded while crossing her arms briefly, though she was trying not to show a teasing grin tugging at her lips.
This made the blond groan silently once more, as well as his demeanor to deflate slightly. It was clear from their display, that the two were close and very protective of each other. Something of which made Sora to smile softly, thinking briefly of her friends back on the island. She soon glanced to Joshua though, her gaze being curious of how they found the other boy. While Joshua himself offered her a calm smile, his brief hand wave showed that the events in question weren't very eventful. Likely coming across one another on accident, or by sheer happenstance.
Accepting his wordless answer, Sora looked to Beat and Rhyme with another smile on her features. "I assume you two are game partners then?" she asked, pointing between them slowly.
Both of whom nodded in response, all as they shared a knowing smile. A sense of relief clearly washed over them, glad to no longer be worrying about their sibling. They did however, have to hide this ever so slightly, as they could see Neku looking to the side in an almost brooding fashion. While he was closer to finding his own partner, he would surely have a lot of anxiety at the moment. Said orange-haired teen's gaze was focused on the entrance of the Fourth District. With only one direction to continue their search, he appeared both scared and determined.
Just as Sora was about to pat his shoulder in comfort, Beat simply slapped the other boy on the back, a little too hard. "Don't be sulking Neku! This won't be a problem!" he declared confidently, making Neku merely sigh in an almost painful manner.
Rhyme also stepped forward and offered a small, yet comforting smile. "I think what my brother is trying to get across, is that you don't need to worry...cause we're all going to help you find Shiki." she said with an equal amount of confidence as her brother, whom grinned in agreement.
Neku glanced between the siblings for a moment, before hiding an ever so faint smirk while sighing once more. "Whatever, lets just make sure to find Shiki fast. I don't trust leaving her on her own for too long." he claimed, briefly shaking his head to further these words.
The brown-haired girl stared at this trio with a soft smile, able to see just how close of friends they were. Each of them had their own strengths and weakness, but they also helped one another when needed. However, this drew her attention toward Joshua standing beside her. His own smiling expression toward the group giving the same impression as her own, that he too was an outsider. Not only did he not appear to fit the same mold the others had, but he even seemed to view himself as someone uninvolved. At the same time though, the three didn't treat him like a stranger either. This drawing the question; 'Who is Joshua really?'
Almost as though he somehow heard these thoughts, the boy looked toward Sora and merely smiled a bit wider. He then turned to the others and cleared his throat to gain their attention. "Alright then, shall we head on through?" he questioned, making a quick gesture toward the entrance with his hand
Receiving a series of nods in response, the group then pushed the large doors open and revealed the Fourth District in all its glory. Tall buildings with long lines of lights dangling between them, helping to illuminate the wide streets of stone and brick below. But at the center of the area, was a massive coliseum standing tall amongst the surrounding towers and shops. Even higher than these however, were the various tents set up within the coliseum, the tops of which peaked over the walls.
While this was the first time Sora had come to this place, she felt slightly nostalgic over seeing it. Like she saw this place in a dream of her own. Though, she and the others took only a few steps forward before a few dozen creatures appeared around them in quick bursts of light. The beings were animalistic in form, but with somewhat exaggerated features and very bizarre colorations. Most of them were black, purple, and green, which made each one very easy to see amongst all the bright colors of the district. The creatures themselves ranged from looking like sheep, cats, dogs, owls, and even a few lizard-like ones scattered throughout.
"Nightmares." Neku and Beat called out in a huff, moving into somewhat battle-ready positions.
It being obvious by their demeanor, that these particular creatures weren't overly strong. Something of which Sora picked up on, to which she curiously glanced around to each of the beasts. Though, her eyes slowly narrowed as something came to mind, an immediate suspicion rising as she focused on one of the Nightmares directly ahead. 'Odd that they showed up now. They're clearly not bound to this area, so you'd think one of them would have appeared before now.' she mused to herself, arching a brow slightly.
'That guy...' Sora continued with a slight huff, piecing together what must have happened.
'...he probably kept them at bay in order to make it simpler for me to come and meet meet him.' she finished, seeming annoyed even in her inner voice.
However, as one of the Nightmares leapt toward her, she caught it by the face with ease. It's features smooshed slightly into her hand, feeling almost like soft rubber before bouncing back and away. Seeing this happen, Sora blinked once more as a small smile began curling her lips. Even a slight sparkle flashed in her eyes, as the previous thoughts and worries were very rapidly replaced. "Cute..." was all she could whisper, looking silently to this Nightmare.
It had the appearance of a cat-like dog, or possibly a dog-like cat. Either way however, the girl began looking around to all these creatures, having an urge to just pet each one. An almost goofy smile started spreading across her face, which swiftly widened when seeing Neku, Rhyme, and Beat summon Spirits to their sides. These creatures looked nearly identical to some of the Nightmares that surrounded them, only with softer and lighter color schemes.
Letting out a gasp, Sora's eyes widened in excitement while looking to these Spirits. 'So cute~! Now I wish I could have brought Zola and Ursa with me~! I have to get some of these too~!' she thought immediately, suddenly appearing very determined.
'Master Yen Sid said that I can use my power of Light to purify any and all Nightmares I come across. And though they looked cute from the illusions he showed me, seeing them up close and personal has given me a whole new appreciation for how adorable they really are.' Sora continued while slowly closing a fist.
Just as the three were about to call for their Spirits to attack, a magic shield sprung up around the group. Not only keeping the Nightmares out, but also making the trio take pause. Though this did briefly draw some confusion from them, Sora's now outstretched hand let them know whom was responsible. Then as she took a step forward and closed both eyes, a faint aura of white began to surround her form and give a soft glow to the girl.
'If the others aren't very worried about these ones, they must not be very strong. Meaning...this is the perfect chance to actually try out the purifying technique.' she added to herself while continuing to focus this energy.
'Visualize...condense...and then...' Sora thought just before a pulse of the white light echoed out from her.
While the aura around the girl faded with this burst of energy, it instantly latched onto the Nightmares surrounding the five. Most of whom, watched as the colors of each of these animal-like beings slowly shifted. Them becoming more and more similar to the summoned Spirits, before finally looking completely identical. Once Sora's eyes opened and saw this as well, her features gained a wide smile yet again. "It worked." she whispered happily with a bit of pride, pleased that she was able to use the technique effectively.
'Looks like most of the energy didn't actually connect with the Nightmares themselves, so I'll have to be careful about that for next time. But overall, it seems to have been a success.' Sora mused inwardly while looking around.
The brown-haired teen's shield faded with a slow dissolve, seeing that all the Nightmares had become Spirits once more. Upon which, she took a step forward to greet the newly purified beings with outstretched arms, yet paused when seeing them swiftly rushing away. Like a group of real animals being spooked by a loud noise, they charged off in search of a hiding spot. But as Sora watched them leave, she could only blink in surprise. "W-Wait! I'm...friendly..." she uttered out, trailing off weakly at the end as most of the Spirits were already out of sight by then.
Neku looked silently at the girl for a moment, yet with a sigh, he gradually came up to her side to speak. "Depending on the demeanor of the person, Spirits react in different ways." he started with a brief shrug, almost as though he were adding 'better luck next time' at the end.
His eyes soon drifted down toward the ground however, leading for him to smirk lightly as he continued. "And sometimes..." the boy whispered, offering the girl a slight tilt of his head to gain her attention.
"...they just bond with very specific people." he finished confidently while gesturing to the last remaining Spirit laying near Sora's feet.
It was a long snake with a blue, green and white coloration. Though it had small horns all down its back and sides, it still held a very cute face as its tongue flicked from its mouth at random intervals. Upon seeing this Spirit, the girl blinked many times in response and knelt down in front of it. Her hands hovered over the creature, as if asking to pet it. But the snake itself simply lifted its head up to meet her touch, giving its answer. This earned a soft coo from Sora as she grinned gleefully, feeling and looking like a child right now. "So cute~." was all she hummed out.
Beat tilted his head slightly as he looked at the snake for a moment, almost seeming a little confused by it. "Huh...that one must be an 'irregular'." he uttered out, tilting his head to the side.
"What do you mean?" Rhyme questioned with a blinking gaze, turning toward her brother.
"Irregular Spirits are ones that have mutated for one reason or another." Joshua explained as he crossed his arms while looking at this snake.
"It looked like a normal 'Hebby Repp' as a Nightmare, but it changed after Sora hit it with that energy just now. It lost its legs and now looks a little more like an actual snake than any other Dream Eater I've seen." he continued, all as his gaze shifted to look at Sora.
The blond clearly felt as though the girl must have done something more to the Spirit, even if it was unintentional. But the greater information in this case, was the very fact that she was capable of purifying Nightmares into Spirits. It was a technique he hadn't even imagined, making it immediately suspicious in his mind. However, the boy kept this hidden on his features as he merely watched Sora lift the snake into her arms.
"Hello there, I'm Sora." she introduced softly, giving a wide smile as she did.
While the snake didn't respond, it appeared to smile in return and nod with its own greeting. This made the girl all the more gleeful as she rested the snake over her shoulders to make it easier to carry. "Lets see, what to call you..." Sora continued in a thoughtful manner as she looked down.
"How about 'Ryu'~?" a female voice called out from above, leading for everyone but Sora to look up to see whom it belonged to.
"Oh~...it means 'dragon', right? That does sound really good, especially for a snake." the brown-haired girl claimed with a nod, lifting her gaze to look at the snake.
Whom seemed to offer another quick nod of its head, appearing to agree with this name. "Perfect, 'Ryu' it is." she hummed out in a pleased tone, smiling even wider.
Only afterwards did Sora finally tilt her head up to look at the one whom gave this suggestion. High up on one of the buildings nearby, was a teen girl with maroon colored hair. Her attire consisted of a red shirt, a green denim skirt, knee-high brown boots, as well as a short white and yellow hoodie. She also wore a necklace, which held a puzzle piece-shaped pendant at the end. This dangled slightly as the girl leaned over the roof, holding onto a chimney as she looked down at the group.
"Shiki!" Neku yelled, sounding both relieved and annoyed at the same time.
"Hey everyone~, long time no see~." Shiki herself hummed while waving her other hand, as well as offering a wide and almost teasing grin.
Though, this waving hand also held a small black cat plushie in it, looking obviously hand-made from its stitching. "Mr. Mew is happy to see you too~!" the girl continued in a giggle, gesturing to the toy in her hand.
As Sora gazed at this girl, she couldn't help but smile. 'This girl seems like a lot of fun. I think we'll get along really well.' she mused to herself with a nod, all as Ryu rested its head atop Sora's spiky hair.
And there you have it, the whole group is together again. For the next few chapters, I'm gonna switch the POV so that we can also see what everyone else is up to. I hope all of you are enjoying and will let me know your thoughts. Until next time.