The Grey Ancient

by Ancient2

This is the Kingdom Hearts storyline through Riku's point of view. It's a take on who he is, where did he come from, and 'what' he is. Neither of the Light, nor the Darkness. So then where does he belong?

11. Chapter 11

Message from Author: Sorry for the long time period between new chapter load-ups, I haven't really had the time to genuinely sit down and write. But thanks for waiting. And a special thanks to whomever wrote the last review about Sephiroth - that one was actually really helpful. I was planning to do a chapter about him anyway, but the review actually helped kick a proper guideline to how it should go down. Just toss around your ideas to me, or give me a heads up if I've actually double sent a chapter cause I have done that once. Or we could just chat through Message, I'm very good at responding back and hearing what you have to say.

Thank you for your time and your patience. I'll see about releasing the next one a little more quicker.

Forgotten Days

Day 31...

"Get up, Riku." Came the gentle call of Aeris, pulling Riku out of his sleep.

"Eh, what, where? Mom?" Riku mumbled, half asleep. Looking around as if forgetting where he was at the moment. Slowly he began to remember that he was on his birth World, in his first home. He had parted with king Mickey only yesterday to train under his mother for a better understanding of his powers, and himself. And now he was sleeping in his previous room- that he was to share with Kadaj if things had gone as plan- to be awakened after a long night's rest. His dreams empty of the person who use to fill them only for her to be standing by his bedside at his rising.

"Your training begins now."

"What time is it?" He looked out at the window, only to see that it was still dark. The blue night sky was a little lighter, but still had no sign of the sun appearing any time soon.

"That doesn't matter. The strong minded awaken regardless of the time, if they chose to will it."

"(Sigh)," he groaned, sitting up in his bed and rubbing the sleep out of his neck and wiping it off of his face. "Shouldn't I have started my training regiment yesterday?"

"One step at a time. Your adjustment to this new World was your training. Now I'm going to introduce you to a new part."

"Which is...?"

"Follow me."

"..." She didn't say anymore, walking out the door and expected Riku to follow. Quickly getting out of the bed and putting on his shoes in haste, he rushed after his mother. Leaving his hooded coat behind and his bed unmade. He was not worried about his lack of cover that the coat had provided. His Light didn't shine as bright as a beacon like it once would have in the presence of his mother's; and his darkness had been covered from any seekers out there by his mother's Light. Riku followed close behind her as she made her way down the stairs.

"You have to be strong. Not only in Strength, but in Stamina and Balance."

"Balance?"

"Your mental and physical attributes." Aeris explained, not looking back but continued her way towards the back door. "As an Ancient both are significantly higher than the average person's. Some Ancients shining brighter in one attribute more than the other. It's your job to work on both so the difference isn't so greatly gapped."

"So you're going to help me with my Magic?" Riku asked, already knowing that his physical power was his greater strength of the two.

"No. I'm going to make you work on both."

"?!" Riku was a little skeptical that his mother could help with his physical training. She was so slim and dainty, he was afraid she might actually hurt herself in the process. But he voiced nothing, so as not to be rude.

"But you are right. We will be working on Mental first, getting you use to Magic. Then we will work on your Power later on."

"Shouldn't I freshen up or eat breakfast first?"

"No. There's no point, you'll just get sweaty again. And you must endure."

"?" Endure not eating? He didn't understand? "Why?"

"The Darkness will be a pang inside you. It'll claw at your insides, and cause you pains. It will demand that you satisfy it, and at times you won't be able to ignore it. But you will be able to endure it."

Like hunger...

"How will I be able to do that?"

"You will contain it with your Will alone. It will be stubborn at first," Aeris answered, opening the door a little more aggressively as she said the last part. "But I will teach you how to break it."

"!"

The Backyard was just as lovely as the Front, but Riku had no time to admire. His mother was giving him a lesson, and he would give her nothing less than his full attention. She had stopped at more of an open area by a tree. Only then did she turn to face her son again, the sudden action caused Riku to lean back in startle as he stopped.

The grass gently brushing under their feet with its morning dew. This would be his training ground.

"Magic is in all of us. It's an untapped ability in most, but it still is present regardless." Aeris explained to him, lifting up a hand from her side as she engulfed it with Cure to show him. "Its presence burns brightly in you. And I know you've already tapped into it."

To show his mother that he understood what she meant, he shot out a Dark Fire from his hand out into the distance behind her. Only to drop it and shoot a Dark Thundara from the other hand.

"Yeah. But it has been tainted in Darkness..." Riku sadly confessed.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it can't be untainted." Aeris countered back as she silently contemplated Riku's Magic in her head.

"What?"

"Think about it. Even before your Magic had been coated with Darkness, Magic of that purpose was somewhat considered a dark magic to begin with."

"?!"

"Magic skills used to harm were considered of the dark class, while Magic of healing was consider of the light class. Over time such dark class magic was considered an act of protecting and defending and the old concept was lost. But still the basic principle still stands, regardless of people's reasoning." Aeris explained. "There is already a little bit of Darkness inside of Fire and Bolt, you've just put a little more to coat your Fire and Bolt 2. If you can learn to control your Darkness output, you'll be able to control whether you want to coat your Magic in darkness or not."

"You mean my Fire and Thundara." Riku corrected, not meaning any disrespect.

"Hm?" She looked at her son in confusion, before it finally clicked at what he was saying. She laughed a little, cupping her cheek in her hand. "Oh that's right. The other worlds call those spells differently than here. Sorry, honey, I'm still use to the Native names and not the Universal ones. We call the Magic purely by its base name and put the number 1-3 based on its tier level; while the other Worlds add an 'a' or 'ara' or 'aga' at the end of the base name to describe its tier level. Like what you know as Gravity, I call Demi. What you called Blizzard, I call Ice. And Aero is just a mix of Barrier and Float here. But Stop is the same though."

"Oh."

"You'd be surprise how such similar Magic can be shared all around the Worlds and yet carry a different name." Aeris waved it off with her hand. "Due to the presence of the last Ancients on 'this' World, the Magic here is stronger in influence. This place even has a couple more Magic skills than the others Worlds?"

"Really? Like what?" The idea of something new that he'd never seen before filled Riku up with excitement. He had been on many Worlds before, and the idea that there was some spells here like none other on the other Worlds he has been to fascinated him.

"Hmm, well, there's Regen, there's Poison -which we call Bio. Along with its healing counters and resistants' Poisona, Esuna, and Resist." Aeris answered, counting them out absent mindledly with her fingers. "Oh, and don't forget Life!"

"Life?"

"It's the equivalent to the item you know as Elixir or Megaelixir, but in Magic form. And like both one can fully restore the health and MP, while the other can mostly. It's a Revive spell, really."

"That's... that's amazing."

"Yes it is." Aeris nodded in agreement, happy that her son was just so fascinated with Magic like she was when she was his age. "There's Haste to speed up your time flow, or Slow to slow down your opponents. We've got Reflect and Wall, which is a stronger Barrier- but Shield is the strongest. There's the Seal class that can be tiered to either cast Sleep or Silence."

"Silence?"

"Makes your opponent unable to cast Magic or usage of tier skilled Attacks for a period of time. There's also Mystify class, which is similar to Seal as well. It can cast Confu or Berserk on whomever you aim it at. The names explain what the Magic skills do in itself." Aeris explained before going on. "Transform can be trained to use as a way to transform your enemies smaller, Mini; or, into frogs, Toad."

"W-what? Why would you even have that?"

"No idea. But it makes your opponent more harmless. But FullCure could heal any status effect spells anyway." Then the cheer slowly faded from her face as she got to the more serious Magic. "Destruct is a very sensitive class Magic. It can either: DeBarrier, destroy a Barrier; DeSpell, destroy a status effect spell; or the worst destruction ever, Death."

"!"

"Magic is not something to play around with lightly." Aeris lectured to her son, praying that these words truly reached his ears and stayed in his heart. "There can be consequences. Consequences that you can never take back."

"..."

"Contain is a mix of elemental attacks that will be cast at random when the spell is used. Varying from Freeze, a subclass of Ice; Break, a subclass of Earth; Tornado; and Flare, a subclass of Fire. But above them all... there is Ultima, which is the strongest magical attack out there."

"Can I learn it?"

"It takes years of training and practice. That which we don't have." Suddenly she grew sadder. "(Chuckle) You're father had a fondness for Comet."

"?" He knew what a comet was, but was a little confused at what exactly did this Comet magic do. It couldn't be as epic as being it's name in the literal sense. "What's that?"

"A very strong non-elemental attack that literally drops a comet down on your enemies."

"!" He was wrong, it was that epic.

"(Sadly chuckle) The last time I saw your father use it he had covered it in the power of Darkness."

"..."

"But even so, that Magic was the one with the most darkness in it to begin with anyway." Aeris sighed. "And with Darkness there is also Light."

"What do you mean?"

"On this World, there is a Magic Skill untouched by Darkness. Made of pure light. King Mickey learned it from here."

"!" Riku instantly knew what she was referring to. "Holy."

"Yes... A magic that only destroys the Darkness but Heals in its flow..."

"That's amazing. Is that all of them?"

"Ye- Oh! I almost forgot." Aeris laughed, popping a hand on her head for her blunder. "Quake!"

"Quake?"

"Quake!" Aeris reaffirmed his words, deciding to physically show him what she meant by casting the Magic. Lifting her staff up and behind her head before she slammed it down on the ground, not even too hard, but it left a crater around her in its wake.

"!" Riku instantly recognized it. "That's the Magic Loz used."

"It's an Earth elemental attack, its damage can be more destructive with each rising tier."

"Which Magic skills will I be learning?"

"All of them." Aeris said, looking her son right in the eye. "I will teach you all of them."

"!"

"But it is your choice whether you use them or not."

"..."

"Everyone in the Worlds learn to harness Magic with the buffer of Materia, aka Gems. But not you. You will learn to use them naturally. Some you will pick up instantly. Others you will find in your own time. Even so, I will hold nothing out of your reach, Riku. So long as you are determined enough to work for them."

... A few hours later...

The sun was now finally starting to rise over the horizon. Riku was starting to sweat excessively. And his stomach would now more noticeably rumble. The needles in his stomach began to prick more.

"Hungry?"

"No."

"Don't lie." Aeris reprimanded with a Blizzard no larger than a ice cube that she let fall on his head with a whack. "Lying only hurts yourself as you allow it to grow inside you to help taint and strengthen the pain that which is already there. Giving you nothing but more strife."

"Sorry... Mom." Riku began to blush as his stomach interrupted him to prove Aeris right. "I am hungry."

"Good." Aeris nodded in approval at his correction. "Acknowledging it is one step forward to recognizing that it is there. Now... take control of it."

"How?"

"It's your body, your rules. You tell it to be still. That you will eat when 'you' say to eat. The pain it's causing gives it no say in the matter. You do."

"..." Riku closed his eyes to give it a try. The act itself made the prickles more noticeable, with the removal of one of his senses, making the pain more excruciating. Even so, he toughen his way through it and told himself, 'be still. I will eat when I say.'

"..." Aeris gave him a moment to control himself, in that note giving him a short break. She wasn't planning on stopping his flow, to build up his Stamina, but she would make an exception for today. He was just getting started after all.

"!" Riku's eyes shot wide open at the sudden result of prickles disappearing. The pang was still there, hanging in the back of his body. But now it was hardly noticeable, and the discomfort practically gone. "How did that...?"

"The mind is a powerful thing, Riku." Aeris answered his unfinished question. "It can do many things if only you take hold of it."

"..."

"Utilize it, Riku. Like the pangs of hunger, it'll help you take control over pangs of the Darkness."

"?!" Isn't that the opposite of what they wanted? "Shouldn't I be trying to destroy the 'need' of ever using the power of Darkness instead?"

"Of course not. Does one destroy the need for food?"

"Uh-" He wasn't quite getting what she was trying to say.

"(Sigh) Look, Riku, everyone has to eat in order to survive." Aeris explain, crossing her arms. Only to point up with her index finger one second later. "But... eat too little, you'll become malnourished. Eat too much, you'll become gluttonous. A controlled balance is the key to a healthy style and preservation, and to ones fullest potential. It is also a way to better ones' self that most do not recognize. And such as with food you need the darkness."

"I need the darkness...?" Riku couldn't believe what he was hearing, from his own mother's mouth at that. It made him grip at his own heart in pain. Had he spent so long in the Darkness that he could no longer survive without it? Did he no longer have the right to dwell in the Light?

"It is apart of you, Riku. A part which you cannot ignore." Aeris insisted, placing her own fist over her heart as well. "You have a gift, my son. A gift like no other like it before. It's meant to be used, but not abused."

"?"

"You cannot ignore it, or else it will grow behind your knowledge and try to consume you. Use it in dire times when everything else has failed, but do not rely heavily on it. Or else it will grow and still try to consume you, even with your knowledge of its actions. But at that point in your gluttony for the power of Darkness you will not care."

"..." Her words caused fear in him but he would not show it.

"You are afraid... Good."

"?!" How did she know that?!

"Fear is a sign that power does not allure you. The power of Darkness cannot consume ones it cannot tempt. You will not fall to gluttony."

"!" So then... he wasn't completely tainted...? "...Mom."

"Yes?"

"Do I... stink to you?" Did a being of Light find the Darkness inside him putrid?

"No, dear. You do not." Aeris honestly answered with no hesitation. She looked him straight in the eyes. Cupping a hand under her chin with a titled head as she thought her answer through. "If I had to put your smell to a word, I would say... it's Ocean Breeze."

"Huh?" His head tilted in confusion at that one.

"The subtle scent of salt in the breeze from the dark depths of the ocean, and yet the warm glow of the sunlight on the waters still mixing perfectly together in the wind. Complimenting each other." A warm smile came over Aeris's face and her eyes softened with her voice. "That is what I think when I smell your scent."

"..." Her words touched him, it almost made him cry. Tightening his hands to a fist and biting his lip for a second to suppress the tears, bowing his head. "Thank you... mother. But... I'm afraid that the sunlight you're talking about is more like moonlight. I'm still far into the Dusk right now."

"..."

"But..." He lifted his head back up to look at her. "I promise I'll turn it into Dawn."

"Hm, I know you will, son." Aeris said with motherly pride glowing in her heart. She had to wipe away a stray tear trying to escape the corner of her left eye. "So let us help get you there."

"!" Riku grew alarmed when his mother got into an offense stance with her Princess Guard Staff. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think? Physical training begins now."

"!" She could not be serious? "No, mother. I don't want to hurt you."

"..." Aeris's face became hard. Rushing Riku, she went straight for the strike.

"!" Riku barely had a second to summon his Soul Eater in time to block his mother's attack. And judging by the sound it made when their weapons clashed, if that had actually hit his head it would have given him a headache for days. And a nasty goosebump most likely. He was actually struggling to hold her back as she pressed into him. He even felt the breeze when she pushed him back. "!"

How could a staff be so powerful?

"Best take this serious, son." Aeris advised while righting herself again. "Otherwise, I might actually hurt you."

With that being her only warning, she gracefully charged at him again.

... 2 Hours later ...

Riku was sitting on the ground, leaning back against the tree. As he tried to catch his breath. His body was covered in sweat, and sore from all those whacks his mother got in. And above it all, his body was slightly shaking with hunger.

"Here."

"?" His mother had disappeared for a moment. It would appear that she had went back into the house to whip up some breakfast, if Riku was to go by the bowl of cereal she holding out to him in offering. "I thought the goal was to not give in to hunger?"

"Only to build up your endurance. I don't want you to stop eating entirely." Aeris practically shoved the bowl in his hands, silently insisting that he eat. "Sweetie this is only for training, once this is over I want you to eat normally. Got it? I want the whole daily routine, no skipping meals. You're still a growing boy."

"..." Aeris was really getting into the fretting mother routine, it felt kinda nice to Riku. Looking down at his bowl, he hesitated only for a second before digging his spoon into it. "Thank you for the meal."

A small form of grace before he tore through his cereal like a wild animal. Aeris would let this lack of table manners slid this time, he was tired and hungry so etiquette would be the first to go. And technically they were outside with no tables in sight.

"Come back inside and clean up, we're done for the day. I'll cook you something more filling by then." Aeris explain to Riku while he finished up his bowl by drinking the milk, giving him the layout of his day. "Once you are finished, I want you to accompany me for my HBRC rounds. And I'm going to give you assignments to do for today."

"Whaa," Riku complained, wiping the milk mustache off his face. "Like take care of some missions assignments, or school assignments?"

"The last one."

"Aww man." Riku groaned out, leaning his head back into the tree. School, that was the one thing he didn't miss. He learned faster than most, and the lessons sunk in easier, making school in general boring for him.

"You've been missing a lot of school since your little rebellious streak with the Darkness. I don't want you to be held back a year because of it. So starting now you're practically Home Schooled."

"Can't my travels around the Worlds count as hands-on learning?"

"Tell that to your Transfer Papers." Aeris shot back at him. "Starting today you will be given lessons, that will be accompanied by homework which I will expect to be done and handed back to me the next day prior. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask, because I'm here to help. Also, the subjects you've learn will be tested periodically and will be used to tally up your final grades on your Permanent School Record which will be mailed with your Transfer Papers once you go back to School."

"You can do that?"

"I have the resources and the time to give you a proper education. And you shall not miss out on it, young man." Aeris slightly sassed back. "We just have to type up your work and papers on Cid's computer. Getting some tutoring from Merlin, every now and then if you need it, and have Leon verify your tests. Once I'm through with you, Riku, you can transfer to any school you want in the Worlds."

"But how are you going to even mail out my Transfer Papers to begin with? Let alone to other Worlds?" Sounds like a lot of work, using her Ancient powers to move through the Worlds for 'that'.

"Moogle Mail."

"Of course." Riku leaned back further into the tree. Moogles were always the solution. Somehow they could defy the World Walls. By what means he would never know.

... 2 days later ...

Riku was slowly falling into a routine with his days: wake up early, start his day off with training with his Magic followed by physical training with his mom, eat breakfast, receive school lectures and be given an assignment later, lunch, do his assignments at his own time while continuing to practice and accompanying his mother with her HBRC runs, dinner, unwind, and then sleep. He hasn't been given a test yet, but he was certain he was due one soon. And on that note, there wasn't much that would change his daily routine.

That is until today.

"Leon is going to be helping you with your physical training today, Riku." Aeris explained while gesturing with her hand to Leon at her side. "Be sure to pay attention to him, honey, because he has much to teach you."

"..." Leon remained silent with his arms crossed as Aeris explained things for him.

"Uh..." This was a little of a surprise for Riku. He has just gotten done with the Magic regiments that his mother had taught to him that morning, only to find that his mother had given him a guest combat trainer in her place.

"The four of us have decided to cycle turns training you in combat."

"Four of us?"

"Yes. Leon, Yuffie, and Cid have all agreed to help you with your training. They're going to teach you new skills. Isn't that exciting?" Aeris said happily as she clapped her hands together. "Merlin said he would pop in every now-and-then to help you with your Magic, but he can't make any promises."

And Cloud... he just didn't want to cooperate.

"That's... that's really nice of them. Thank you, sir." Riku honestly admitted before turning to Leon to give his appreciations.

"Hm," Leon just nodded in turn. "Get ready, kid. I'm going to properly teach you how to Cover and to Double Cut."

"Shouldn't Double Cut be like the basics?"

"It's just what we call combos. If you become good enough, you'll be able to get in up to four cuts on the enemy without your attack being broken."

"Oh."

"We'll start small now, and build your way up to harder things."

"And Yuffie will be here tomorrow to do the same thing too." Aeris added in, with her hands behind her back.

"Heh, great." Riku grinned in sarcasm. Leon looked like he had much to teach him, and Cid seemed like he had years under his belt. But Yuffie... he was a little skeptical on what the small ninja had to teach him.

... The next day ...

"All right, kid, I'm gonna teach you how to Steal."

"Yuffie!"

"What? You said we weren't gonna hold anything back from him. He needs the subtle stealth practice, and who better to teach him than a great ninja like myself?" Yuffie said in her defense at Aeris's disapproving outburst. "And besides, he might need the skill if he needs to remove something from an enemy discreetly."

"It's not like I'm gonna start pick-pocketing, mother." Riku added in, surprising Yuffie that he would even come to her defense.

"... Alright." Aeris finally agreed with minor skepticism. Yuffie, back in her wilder younger days was known as a great Materia thief. Or should she say Gem thief? She didn't want Yuffie's habits to rub off on Riku. But still, Riku was a good boy. She had raised him to the best of her ability, so she would trust his judgement. "I will allow it."

"Great!" Yuffie cheered with a downward fists pumps, before turning back to Riku. "Come on, kid, if you get good enough, you might be able to master Mug."

"..." Riku wasn't really too fond of the idea of being called a Mug master. It just left a bad taste in his mouth, along with Aeris's.

"Aww, you don't like that idea that much?" Yuffie laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to bring him in for a side hug for a moment. "Relax, I got other tricks up my sleeves that I've got to teach you on my training days."

"Like what?" Riku was a little skeptical of what other legally questionable skills she could possibly teach him.

"Heh," She just grinned at the look on his face. "I'm a ninja. So I'm gonna teach you of our ways."

"!" That actually sounded exciting.

"I've got some ninjutsu skills that I've gotta teach you, or else I've failed as a ninja." Yuffie explained before going down the list. "I've gotta teach you how to learn opponent's attacks and copy them, Enemy Skill. Ooo, and you've gotta learn Mime, the ability to mimic your last command without falter. Hmm, what else? There's Manipulate, or Manip, which can allow you to gain control of an enemy for a period of time. And Morph, which can change enemies into items. Isn't that totally awesome?!"

"That's incredible." Riku honestly admitted with astounding. "Can you really do that?"

"Well yeah," Yuffie confessed with a cheeky grin and a hand rubbing the back of her head in fluttered flattery. But then pointed with that hand's index finger upward to point out the exceptions. "But, it can only work on beings of weak Hearts. Such as minor Beast or smaller Heartless. You won't likely get the same results on people. Manip, maybe. Morph, no."

"Oh. Well, I wasn't planning on using it on people anyway." Riku silver lined, either way, those skills did sound pretty good to have. Maleficent had once taught him how to control the Heartless, but at the use of the power of Darkness. Maybe with Yuffie's help, he could do the same thing in case of a tight situation without having to endanger his Heart with the power of Darkness.

"Good." Yuffie nodded in approval. But then something inside her clicked, making her slap her fists down onto her other palm. "Oh! I almost forgot. I gotta teach you how to Throw!"

"?" Riku tilted his head at that. "But I already know how to throw."

"Not like the way I'm gonna teach you." Yuffie insisted. "With the fast arm I'm gonna show you, you'll be able to throw items at opponents and do some serious damage. And when you become good enough, I'll teach you Coin."

"Coin?"

"Yeah... (Sniffle) I'm gonna teach you how to throw Munny at people."

"?" Was she crying?

... The next day ...

"Alright, kiddo, you're gonna need to learn how to deal with multiple enemies at once. So that's what I'm gonna teach you." Cid explained while pulling out his Spear with a few twirls over his head before slamming the rod down on the ground at his side and a finger wipe to his nose afterwards.

"Sir? But I'm already good with fighting multiple opponents."

"Yeah, but not at once." Cid smirked.

"?" Riku pondered at his words before Cid proved his point by unleashing a powerful swing of his Spear that unleashed a wave slash that struck deep into the multiple enemy-dummies that Cid had set up around them. "!"

"Like that? It's called Slash-All." Cid explained with a grin at Riku's look of amazement. He didn't really show it, but his eyes gave him away, it was just like looking at a smaller Sephiroth. Though with a little more innocence. "If you learn to control how much force you put in your swing, you can slash attack at multiple enemies. And if you learn to master it, you can defeat your opponents with one swing by taking it to the next level, Flash."

"And you're going to teach me this?" Riku could barely contain the excitement.

"Heh. Much more than that, kiddo." Cid's grin was turning into a smirk. "By the time I'm done with you, you're gonna have enough stamina to be able to do Magic or Attack Skills twice with the same amount as one normally."

... Day 36 ...

"Are we going on a field trip, mother?" Riku joked around, but was slightly serious in his words as his mother told him to follow her out of the Backyard after he was done with Magic regiments.

"We are." Aeris teased along back, behind her shoulder at him. She was leading him out of the Borough and into the Bailey. "Today is going to be a different kind of training day. I want you to learn what I'm gonna teach you first hand, so we're gonna need live partners, instead of dummies."

"?" Live partners? Outside of the Town? This didn't sound too good? "What are you teaching me?"

"You'll see." Was all Aeris would say to him, giving him an assuring smile that everything would be alright. "Now come along. I want to be back before Breakfast turns into Brunch."

"?!" But as they were making their way to the Castle Gate, Riku had to turn to the side and look as he sensed a strong negative energy directed at him. As his head turned to follow the source of this energy, he was surprised to see a man watching them from his spot leaning against one of the houses with his arms crossed.

He did not look away at being caught, and didn't seem to care that Riku was looking at him. He was strong, Riku could sense that. But, Riku could sense the conflict and inner turmoil that this guy was going through with his darkness. Riku could practically see it in the air around the man. His situation was almost the same as Riku's, and yet... so much different. The guy had blonde hair spikier than Sora's and blue eyes sharp as steel. Eyes that were looking at him with pure mistrust and judgement unwaveringly directed at Riku. It was almost thick enough for Riku to choke on. He had no idea how his mother was not sensing this. But she was continuing to move outside the Town, and so would he, ignoring the man's stares on the back of his head.

Aeris led Riku down the long, winding way of the Ravine Trail; through the cave-like area of glowing crystals in the Crystal Fissure; all the way to the large area, known as The Great Maw. From there, one could get a great view of the Restoration Site, which leads up to Hollow Bastion castle. The place was mostly empty, for what it was worth. Its ground tainted by the darkness.

"Why are we here?" Riku asked, looking around and not liking what he sees or feels.

"We are here... to improve your ability to Sense." Aeris answered, walking passed him to the edge of the area. Where she lied down and looked over.

"Sense?"

"Yes."

"But I don't understand. I thought my Sense was already pretty good."

"It is good, Riku." Aeris assured, beckoning him over to her side with the wave of her hand. "But it can be much better."

"!" Riku gasped in alarm as he made it to Aeris's side, only to see the hordes of Heartless literally in a sea of clutter directly below their edge.

"I will help you hone it to its true potential."

"What is all this, mother?!"

"I told you. Ansem the Wise had tested and created many Heartless in the basement of his castle. That there are as many as there are would explain why many have not returned to this World."

"This is... awful."

"It is..." Aeris agreed with him. "I know this sight is saddening. It's enough to break one's Heart. But... this is not the time for pity."

"..."

"We will help this World in time. But for now, this World as it is will help you grow stronger."

"But... how...?"

"Look at them, Riku. I want you to concentrate." Aeris instructed. "Concentrate. I want you to be able to tell me one of the Heartless' Strength Level, HP amount, MP amount, and their Weaknesses."

"?!" That was a lot to be expected of someone who could only sense the Darkness and Light within someone. "But, how can I...?"

"It'll come to you with practice." Aeris assured to him with a hand on his shoulder, before looking back down at the Heartless below them. "And you have a lot of subjects to practice on."

... The next day ...

Riku had to grit his teeth as he blocked a practice-dummy from Leon's Gunblade with his Soul Eater.

"Good. Excellent. Keep your lower body stronger so your upper body isn't too tensed up to slow down your Counter." Leon lectured to Riku as he performed a Cover over one of the practice-dummies from Leon's attack only to immediately perform the Counter skill afterwards.

"!" Riku was suddenly caught off guard as Leon dashed for another practice-dummy which Riku barely had enough time to Cover.

"Concentrate. Don't you want them to live?"

"!" In that moment, everyone that was precious to Riku flashed before his eyes. With enough force, he pushed Leon back with a Counter to follow.

"Good. Now do that again."

"Yes sir."

... That Afternoon...

The day had finally come for Riku to be tested on what he had learned so far. He was sitting by the Living room's coffee-table taking a Multiple Choice/Writing Test. Leon had been kind enough to volunteer to supervise his test, while Aeris made them Lunch.

Riku had Breakfast a little while ago so he wasn't that hungry. But...

It was kinda hard to concentrate on what was in front of him when there were eyes on him.

"..." Leon was supervising him from his seat on the Comfy Chair. Arms crossed, and eyes unwavering.

"Eyes on your paper, Riku."

"!" Riku's head instantly went back down on his test, doing his best to ignore the minor nervousness Leon's Hawkeyes were causing him.

... The next day...

"Gh!"

"Woo! Nice throw, Riku!" Yuffie cheered as Riku was showing mastering of Throw from their test out on the field with Heartless. She had only taken him as far as the Ravine Trail, but the Heartless had pop their way in every now and then to give them a manageable amount of live test-dummies to work with.

"Thank you, Yuffie. I- !" Riku's eyes widen in surprised alarm as Yuffie literally jumped after his throw, towards the knocked out Heartless. "What are you doing?!"

"This is Munny, Riku. You don't just waste it!" Yuffie said as she snatched the Munny back from the bump on the Heartless' head.

"..." Riku didn't even know what to say. Perhaps in the future he would note not to use Coin around Yuffie.

... The next day's Afternoon...

"I say, nicely done, Riku. But don't forget to put the answer back into the problem to make sure it actually checks out." Merlin advised to Riku as he looked over his paper while giving Riku help with his lessons. He had come in too late to help Aeris with her training lessons in Magic, so he would help give Riku some tips on it later after he had helped tutor Riku with his school lessons.

"Yes, Merlin."

... The next day...

"Hey, mom." Riku interrupted during one of his Magic sessions.

"Hm?"

"When I once watched one of Sora's fights, he was able to summon powerful beings to his side to help him in battle for a time. I believe he called them Summons. How come I'm not being taught to use them too?"

"..." Aeris saddened at the question, but still gave him answer. "Because the Summons of this World have long since fallen to Sleep in the Realm between Realms..."

"?!"

"You see, Riku, Summons are beings of strong Heart that couldn't be consumed by the darkness so their Hearts remain trapped in dormant in the form of Gems. These beings are considered Heroes and Legends of their Worlds. Usually when their World is lost, these Gems are scattered throughout other Worlds, where they remain in dormant until someone strong enough in Magic can awaken them. And even then, they would have to agree to help you to become a Summon." Aeris explained to him. "Sora had found these Gems in his travel, and made friends with them for Merlin and the Fairy Godmother to even be able to awaken them from dormant."

"So you're saying that I have no chance at ever having a Summon of my own?" Riku sadly concluded.

"No. I'm saying that all the Summons of this World are long gone." Aeris corrected.

"What?"

"They were lost when this World fell to Darkness, as any other Summon would on different Worlds. However, they did not scatter to different Worlds. Just... retreated to outside the Realm of Light."

"!"

"These Summons on our World were very powerful. Powerful than you could ever imagine, let alone seen on other Worlds. They could not be consumed by the Realm of Darkness. But they also did not wish to leave this World in the Realm of Light. So now they rest, in the Realm between Realms. Waiting for the day when Radiant Garden truly returns to the Realm of Light..."

"..."

"Oh Riku, I wish you could've seen them. There were so many of them." Aeris sighed out in sad reminiscence. "Ancient Heroes who became Legends: Shiva... Ifrit... Ramuh... Titan... Odin... Siren... and the Knights of the Round..."

"..."

"All of them very powerful. All of them lost to us..."

"Were there more...?"

"Yes..." Aeris answered, looking back at him. "With Heroes comes creatures birth by the World herself to protect it. There was Kjata, the bull; Bahamut, the dragon; Leviathan; Phoenix; Typoon, the monster; and Alexander, the gigantic robot, fortress-type entity... He was one of my favorites, other than Shiva."

"Why him?"

"He was a Divine Judgement that dealt Holy damage on your enemies."

"But then, why Shiva?"

"I have a fondness for Ice base attacks." Aeris shyly admitted with a blush. "Oh! I almost forgot Choco/Mog."

"Choco... what?"

"Choco was a giant Chocobo that was ridden by a Moogle king."

"I still don't know what a Chocobo is."

"Large birds that we use to ride on this world for transportation. But..." Aeris eyes sadden at the mention of them. "They have not returned to this World yet..."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it. All will heal in time." Aeris said, rubbing the sadness out of her eyes. "I cannot teach you what is not in this Realm to teach. So I'm sorry Riku, I can't teach you any Summons."

"..."

"But one day, when this World is whole again, I will." Aeris assured to him with a small smile.

"Hm, that sounds good, mother... I can't wait." Riku said with a smile back.

"Ooo, but I can teach you how to HP Absorb or MP Absorb your enemy. Or how to HP - MP swap."

"Thanks, mom. But... I don't think I'm gonna even use those skills in the long run."

"Yes, I didn't think so either. But, it won't hurt you just to know them."

... Day 41 ...

"Ahh!" Riku battle cried as he delivered a blow that literally destroyed the practice-dummy he was attacking.

"..." Leon looked on with pride and arms crossed as Riku completed a proper Deathblow. He had already learned all the tiers of Double Cut, and was now on his way to mastering Deathblow. Leon would never openly tell him this, but... he was a really good student. "Good. Think you could do that again?"

"You got it, Leon." Riku smirked back at him.

... The next day...

"Wow, Riku, you actually did it." Yuffie said, quite impressed that Riku was actually able to Morph a Heartless into a Potion. She had taken him back out to the Ravine Trail again to test out his skills, and it seemed that one of them had worked.

"Thanks." Riku replied, picking up the Potion that had once been a Heartless, looking at it questionable. "Do you think this is safe?"

"It 'is' a Potion." Yuffie answered, walking over to his side and looking at the Potion as well.

"..."

"..."

"I don't think I can use this." Riku honestly admitted.

"(Sigh) Me too."

"Good, I thought it was just me who thought that."

"It did try to kill us a few seconds ago." Yuffie pointed out as they both started to sink into banters. "Wanna learn how to make a mixture that can lure or expel enemies?"

"Yeah!"

"It's technically considered a Skill, but I just call it what it is." Yuffie commented as they headed back to the Town. "But if we're being literal, the textbook name for the skill is Enemy Lure and Enemy Away."

"Quite the fancy names." Riku replied in teasing sarcasm.

"I know, right."

GRUMBLE!

"!" "!" They both stopped in alarm at the loud grumble that came from a stomach.

"Wow. That was louder than mine." Riku teased at Yuffie with a grin as her face started to turn red.

"S-Shut Up!" Yuffie stomped with a pout. "Now I don't feel bad about the test you're getting today!"

... The next day ...

"It's called Pre-Emptive." Cid explained to Riku as he blocked Cid's sudden attack. "The goal is to try and get the First Strike in before the enemy."

"But... isn't it bad just to jump into a fight without fully knowing the enemy's ability? Shouldn't they make the first move?"

"Heh, when you already know how bad the enemy is, Heck no." Cid hacked with a laugh. "Listen, kid. If you can, don't give the enemy the chance to strike first. That move can be the difference between victory and defeat."

"Right..."

"And besides, if the person was Good they wouldn't have picked a fight with you in the first place." Cid countered back at Riku's hidden doubts.

"Hm?!" How did he notice that?

"Heh, enough talk." Cid smirked at Riku before getting his Spear ready. "Show me what you've got."

... Day 44...

"I thought we were training today, Mother?" Riku asked as he trailed behind Aeris early in the morning through the Town streets instead of going straight to training sessions.

"We will. But HBRC has been getting reports of recent increase in Heartless activity. I'm just making sure that the Town is secure before we get too heavily into training."

"..." That sounded reasonable.

"It shouldn't take long. I promise." Aeris said, before looking behind at Riku. "Besides, aren't you having fun keeping the streets safe from Heartless with Mommy?"

"Pfft, yes." Riku grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away with a blush.

"(Giggle)!" Aeris just found him so adorable when he got like that. Should she really be getting this much fun out of her son's embarrassment?

Well, no harm done either way. And there was no one outside at the moment to see him like this, so whatever reputation he had in this place was still safe.

"Aeris."

"!" Or not. Aeris was startled by the sudden call of her name, only to instantly feel relief when it was Cloud. Riku, on the other hand, did not feel relief at his sudden appearance. "Cloud, good morning."

"Hm," he nodded to her in silent greeting. "Any signs of the Heartless?"

"No. It has been quiet in our area." Aeris shook her head and gave him a smile.

"Hm, good. Thought I'd check in," Cloud nodded in approval before turning his attentions towards Riku, "with the sudden upping in the Darkness you can't be too careful."

"!" His words made Riku flinch. He did not like the look in Clouds eyes, it was just like that time before.

"Everything's fine, Cloud." Aeris assured to him with a serene smile. "There's nothing the darkness has in its power right now that we can't handle."

"You should be more careful, Aeris. There are those around us that can easily be tempted by the darkness."

"!" Taking a step back from his mother's peripheral, Riku clutched his aching Heart. That one actually stung a little.

"What are you implying?" Aeris said, her words were still soft but her eyes were slanting in displeasure and subtle warning.

"You know what I mean. Ones that have given in to the darkness once are more likely to give in to its lure again."

"How Dare you." Aeris held out her arm, subconsciously shielding Riku away from Cloud's words. She had forgiven Cloud for his judgmental stares at her son that time before, for the sake of their friendship. But to openly accuse him was unacceptable.

"I'm just saying, Aeris, the kid has already tasted the powers of Darkness. With the sudden rise of Darkness level, he might fall under its influence again. Who knows what he's capable of."

"You gave into the Darkness too, and you're doing just fine." Aeris pointed out sternly and 'literal' with her index finger. "And I 'do' know what Riku is capable of. He's capable of great things."

"Yeah, and so is his father."

"!"

That was a low blow.

"Aeris, I'm sorry- (Gasp)!" She ignore his apology, pushing passed him as she continued on her path. She had to grab Riku's wrist to have him follow her since he was even more shocked than her at what had just happened.

As soon as Aeris got to the end of the street she stopped in her angry walk.

"I pray that you find the peace that you are looking for, Cloud." Aeris sincerely wished for him, before turning her head over her shoulder to look back at Cloud. "So that you no longer take your worries and fears out on kids."

"!" Her words burned, but before Cloud could respond she was gone around the corner, dragging Riku along with her.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Riku. Cloud isn't really in a good place right now." Aeris apologized to Riku as she moved her hand from his wrist to his hand in reassurance as they continued to walk through the Borough.

"..." Riku just continued to sadly look down. His grip on her hand tighten. "I don't like him, Mom... He hurt you."

"He's actually a nice guy. Really. He just worries too much." Aeris tried to assure to him. "Not to mention all that unnecessary weight he puts on his shoulders."

"Mom... the things he said about me... do you think that they are true...?"

"Well, yes and no." Aeris honestly answered looking back over her shoulder at Riku. "Yes, you are capable of great things like your father. And no, you won't be lured by the darkness again."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm your mother, I know you have great capabilities."

"No, I mean, how can you be so sure I won't give in to the power of the Darkness again? How do you know I won't lose control over myself again to it?"

"Eh, it's the been-there-done-that theory. You've already tried it once, to the point of binging, and you've been saying a lot how you didn't like it. So I highly doubt you would pick up something you so humbly said you didn't enjoy again. That would be foolish. And I raised no fool, Riku."

"That's not a good enough reason, Mom..."

"You're strong, Riku... Stronger than you think..." Aeris assured to him comfortingly, turning around to fully face him as they stopped walking, placing a warm hand over his heart. "You've got a big Heart, my son. One that strayed and still found its way back. You're the one in total control. You can use the power of darkness, but the Darkness cannot use you."

"..."

"The power of darkness can never control you unless you want it to. Do you want it to, Riku?"

"No."

"Then it never will." Aeris smiled to him in reassurance before turning around again. "Change of plans. We're not going to have training sessions today."

"What?"

"I think we could use a little break today. You've certainly earned it." Aeris smiled to him, over her shoulder.

"Then where are we going?" Riku looked at her in confusion.

"We're going to Merlin's House. Where 'you' will spend some time in the Hundred Acre Wood, and 'I' will go to the Marketplace to order us some Breakfast and met you there."

"But..."

"It'll be a treat. I promise." Aeris insisted to him. "You will enjoy the time off from your usual routine, Riku. Trust me."

"..." He did trust her. He just wished he could trust his mother the way she deserved. "Okay."

"Great." Aeris happily chimed as they made their way to Merlin's House. Aeris gave one gentle knock before letting herself in, Riku shyly following behind her. "Good morning, Merlin."

"Oh, good morning to you, my dear." Merlin greeted to her from his long chair with his cup of tea still in hand. "My word, you're both here earlier than usually."

"We're taking a little day off today." Aeris said. "Do you mind if we go to the Hundred Acre Woods?"

"Oh not at all, my dear. You two have fun."

"Thank you, Merlin." Aeris lightly bowed her head to him with a hand over her heart in gratitude, before turning to look at Riku. "Come along then, Riku."

"..." Riku was a little hesitant as he approached the stand which held the book that was containing a World inside of it.

"Just open the book and hop on in." Aeris encouraged to him. "I'll join you shortly."

"..." Riku nodded in acknowledgment of her instructions, but was still a little nervous about 'hopping in' into a book.

Would it hurt? How will he find his way back out? With his worries building up he was starting to lose his nerves. But that one look of enthusiasm on his mother's face made him shuck off his concerns and flip the book open.

The pages flipped like magic to the page where the never ending, yet on going story last left off. It was like the pictures of the Woods on the pages were popping out of the book. And it was then that Riku realized that the book was sucking him in. He could feel it as he was falling and getting smaller. It didn't hurt, tickled really. And it felt like he was floating.

He floated down and down, until he gently landed on the page. He looked up to try and see if his mother looked like a giant in his current size, only to see that the only view above him was the crème white of a blank, old page and the colored, drawn trees. The Hundred Acre Wood was flatly mapped out for him in a way that a child could understand. And if he stood still, he could hear the soft orchestra of a beat that had an innocent, playful bounce to it.

Riku had no idea what he was doing, nor was he scared of his surrounds. Somehow, although different than anything he's ever encountered, this place made him feel safe. There was a Light to this place that made Riku feel warm. Like a mother's embrace... like his mother's embrace.

Taking the first step forward, Riku decided to walk over to the first area he sees on the flat map, making his way to the Wood: Meadow. As he continued walking, the picture of the area began to rise from the page and take on a 3D appearance the closer he got. It was a minor experience, but Riku felt like he was being drawn into the picture. Before Riku knew it, the place had come to life and he had become apart of it...

100 Acre Wood

It was Autumn. The trees in the distance were sporting leaves of red, orange, and gold. And the wind was blowing rather blustery with a slight chill. Out in the open meadow with a few stray wild flowers was a yellow bear in a red shirt, looking around a giant tree log. This must be Pooh...

"Oh, bother." The bear pouted as he circled the log, going to its hollow opening where he bent down a little to call out into it. His voice echoing in its tunnel. "Hello! Is anybody in there?"

"..." Riku watched on for a bit, trying to get an understanding of the situation.

"Well they're not here, either." The bear pouted as he stood upright again and backed away from the log a bit. His face scrunched up in concentration as one of his paws cupped an elbow while his other paw poked at the side of his head. "Think, think, think."

"Hi there." Riku greeted the bear as he finally approached. His actions were gentle so as not to startle the bear. He even had to bend down a little with his hands on his knees to come close to the bear's head level. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, hello." The bear startled at the sudden company looked up from his thoughts to Riku, giving him a smile and a wave of his paw. "I'm looking for my friend."

"Oh."

"I seem to have misplaced him." The bear said as he started looking around the log again. "Or perhaps I have misplaced myself? I thought if I came to my Thoughtful Spot I might find him again."

"I see." Riku looked over to the side and did notice a wooden sign that said 'Pooh's Thotful Spot,' although it was spelled poorly. "Having any luck finding him?"

"No, not really." The bear replied, looking back up and over at Riku, shaking his head. But then a pondering look came over his face. "But I found you. Um, whoever you are."

"I'm Riku." Riku said, holding out his hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you."

"Hello, Riku. I'm Winnie the Pooh." Pooh greeted, shaking Riku's hand before slightly whispering. "Pooh for short."

"Nice to meet you, Pooh." Riku greeted again with a small smile. "I'll help you find your friend. What does he look like?"

"That's the thing," Pooh said, turning to the side with a scrunched up face as he got into his thinking pose again. "I don't quite remember what he looks like."

"You don't remember? What?"

"I thought my Thoughtful Spot would help me remember. But all I get are happy memories with no face behind them."

"Is there something about him that you can remember? Think hard."

"Hmm, yes." Pooh replied, still scrunched up in thought. "He had a funny looking stick that he liked to carry around. And he had really spiky, brown hair."

"!" Riku knew instantly who Pooh was talking about. Sora...

The missing pages must have damaged the characters' memories in this World.

"Well if he's not here then maybe he's somewhere else." Pooh said with a bouncy chuckle. "Would you like to help me, Riku?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's find your friend."

"Oh that's wonderful. Thank you, Riku." Pooh said in gratitude before walking off towards the trees in the North. "Now, if 'I' were missing, the best place I would find myself is the Bee Tree."

"The Bee Tree?" Riku pondered the name of this 'tree' as he and Pooh walked up a dirt path in the woods. This tree sounded like it stung.

"Oh, yes. It's a lovely, big, old tree where I like to get my hunny." Pooh happily laughed as he rubbed his tummy. "And it just so happens that I'm getting rather rumbly in my tummy."

"?!" Riku could practically hear the curious buzzing sounds of bees coming from the lone tall tree by a pond as they came out into the clearing. Where the giant tree stood further uphill with many hollow holes along with bee hives. There was a lone hollowed log in front of the tree, and a semi-ring of bushes behind the tree, acting as a barrier to the tree from the other trees a little further off. But for the most part it stood tall alone. "Why do you think he would be here, Pooh?"

"Well if he was like me, then he would be hungry." Pooh added up to himself, going behind the tree to grab an uninflated balloon he had stashed in the hollow hole near the roots. "And if he were hungry, he would try to get a smackeral of hunny."

"I don't think he's up there, Pooh."

"He could be hiding in the tree. We won't know until we look." Pooh said, blowing air into the balloon until it was inflated and tied it up with a string.

"And how do you plan on getting up there?" Whoa! Careful." Riku said in startle, grabbing Pooh's foot before he floated off with the balloon. Apparently he was very light.

"Why it's quite simple, really. I shall use this balloon to fly up like a bee into the Hunny Tree, to search for my friend and some hunny." Pooh said before he wondered off in thought. "Oh, but I wouldn't climb this tree, if a Pooh flew like a bee. But I wouldn't be a bear then, so I guess I wouldn't care then."

"..." The constant buzzing of the bees was making this plan sound like a bust. "I don't think this is such a good idea, Pooh."

"Don't worry, Riku." Pooh said in his bubbly laugh. "I've done this many times before."

"..." That wasn't making him feel any better. But he would humor Pooh for a little bit.

"Now, you distract the bees while I look into the Hunny Holes." Pooh explained. "And the only way to distract the bees is to Hit them away."

"..." That sounded like a horrible idea. But he would see where this plan would go. Well, Pooh said he had done this many times before, so it was more likely to work. Right? "All right. Ready when you are, Pooh."

"Ready."

"Okay. 3. 2. 1. Go!" Riku counted down, giving Pooh a lift-off as he let go of Pooh. Riku looked up for a bit as Pooh seemed to float higher and higher with his balloon. "Wow. It really did work."

"Hello. Is anybody in there?" Pooh said into the first Honey Hole he kicked his way to, looking in for Sora. "Nope. He's not in here. But there is hunny."

"Watch out, Pooh." Riku said in slight alarm as he jumped onto the first low branch, Rushing to Pooh's side to Hit the oncoming bees away from Pooh with his Soul Eater as Pooh continued to eat the honey in the hollow hole.

"Well I am a Pooh Bear so I do care then. And I'm rumbly in my tummy for hunny. SO time to munch an early lunch then." Pooh chimed to himself. "I'd best make my way to the next Hunny Hole to search for my friend, and to satisfy my appetite."

"Hurry up, Pooh. I think more bees are coming." Riku warned.

"Alright." Pooh said as he made his way up to the next hollow hole in the tree, licking his lips. "Time for something sweet then."

Pooh climbed higher and higher, all the way up the tree. Eating through three more honey holes, each one containing more honey than the last. But still, none of them contained Sora. Pooh wasn't too bothered by it, he happily hummed to himself while Riku continued to Hit the bees away from Pooh as they came to protect their honey. Riku found himself Rushing from branch to branch to keep up with Pooh.

"Have you had enough honey yet?"

"Hmm, just a little smackeral more."

"Well, we're pretty high up." Riku commented, looking off at the view before looking down. "We should probably start heading down soon- !"

"Riku!" Pooh called out in alarm, kicking his feet in helplessness as Riku's foot slipped off the branch and sent him tumbling down the tree.

"!" Riku turned himself around as he fell to the ground, landing on his feet. Surprisingly the landing was softer than he had expected. It was almost like this whole World was childproof, or like a Nursery.

"Riku! Are you alright?" Pooh called down to him.

"I'm fine." Riku called up to Pooh, only to notice the swarm of bees headed up for Pooh. He wouldn't make it up there in time, even if he did Rush. "Pooh, look out!"

"Oh, bother." Pooh said as the bees popped his balloon. And down he went, bumbling down and bouncing off of each branch as he made his way to the ground. "Riiikuu, help!"

"I'll catch you, Pooh." Riku said, moving around as he tried to get under Pooh. He did catch Pooh, but he was still knocked off his feet from Pooh's speed... along with his honey weight. "You okay?"

"Thank you, Riku." Pooh said in gratitude. They both ended up looking up as they noticed the buzzing of the tree getting louder. The bees were swarming together, angry at the two of them for stealing their honey. They flew down for the charge. "Oh, bother!"

"Come on, Pooh!" Riku grabbed Pooh's paw and ran from the tree. They didn't get far. The bees were gaining on them fast, so Riku did the first thing that popped in his mind. "Hurry, Pooh."

Putting his Soul Eater away, he lifted Pooh into his arms and jumped into the pond by the Bee Tree. Just barely in time as the bees were forced to turn upwards, away from the water. They swarmed around the pond angrily for a bit, before they gave up and returned to their hives. Riku and Pooh resurfaced once they were gone. Riku swam them to shore again, leaning back on his arms as he caught his breath, looking up at the sky while Pooh just sat on his lap.

"Riku, I think I've come to an important decision. My friend wasn't in that tree."

"..." Riku looked down at Pooh for a second, after catching his breath. Suddenly he burst into laughter, making Pooh laugh too. "(Easing down laughter) Silly, old bear."

"Well, I'm stuffed, but now wet." Pooh commented as he got up, off of Riku's lap and onto his feet again. Riku kept an eye on Pooh as he got his footing again. "I'd suggest we go to my howse to get dry before we catch a death of cold. That doesn't sound like it would be very pleasant at all."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Riku agreed, getting back up on his feet again, still dripping from their dunk in the pound. "Is it far?"

"It's right this way, my friend." Pooh said, walking to the dirt path to the West.

It wasn't much of a long walk as Pooh had said. Most likely Pooh purposely lived closed to the best honey source in the Hundred Acre Wood for convenience.

He lived in a house in/under a big, old tree with an odd sign that hangs above the house's door which read 'Mr. Sanders' in gold letters. The 'n' and the last 's' were spelled backwards and by the door bell on the side of the door was another smaller sign that said 'Rnig also.' But aside from that, the mailbox clearly said 'Pooh's howse,' no matter how bad the spelling was.

In front of the house, on the dirt pathway, was a log for one to rest near a campfire area. The place was enchanting, with a few honey pots scattered around. All of them varying from full, to almost full, to empty and sticky.

"Now if only I could get a fire started." Pooh said as he made his way over to the dead campfire.

"Fire!" Riku cast a small Fire spell, bringing the campfire back to life.

"Oh, why thank you, Riku." Pooh said in gratitude, sitting on the log. "Why I do believe I can feel myself getting rather toasty already."

"..." Yeah, now that Pooh had mentioned it Riku was already feeling almost dry. And not even feeling a bit freezing even with the wind blowing in. It was cold, but not a shivering cold. It was like nature took it down a notch in this world. "Heh, it sure is windy today."

"Oh my, then it must be a Windsday." Pooh summed with a smile and a happy kick of his feet, before hopping down off the log and going around it to head back into his house. "And it seems to be a rather blustery day."

"I don't think that's how the days work." Riku commented to deaf ears, already guessing that Pooh meant to say Wednesday.

"Come on, Riku." Pooh offered Riku to come in. "We should put on scarfs."

"Sure..." Riku walked into Pooh's house, so as not to be rude. For a one room house it was rather nice. And more spacious than Riku had expected.

A nice bed with a stool by it holding a pot of honey in the far left corner, close to the widow with homey curtains. A weaved rocking chair and a coat rack with a shelf of pots above it, near the corner to the left of the door. And to its right was a vanity mirror and a coo-coo clock. A covered dinning table with one blue chair and a hanging shelf above it holding cooking utensils at the wall. And at the far right corner were two cabinets, hanging and standing, containing more pots and whatnot's of food. A few pictures hung along the walls and a big rug covered the wooden floor. And now that Riku looked back at the door, he could see there was more pots of honey hanging up on top of the door seal. This bear must really like honey.

"Your home is nice." Riku complimented, just standing in the middle of the room.

"Oh, why thank you, Riku." Pooh said while reaching up the coat rack to grab one blue and one red scarf hanging on it. "You should see Piglet's howse. He has the best howse in all the Hundred Acre Wood."

"Oh, that's nice." Suddenly the Coo-Coo Clock went off, setting off a little Pooh in a pot of honey to pop out. "What's that?"

"Why that's my Pooh-Coo Clock." Pooh answered, looking over at his coo-coo clock before going over to his vanity mirror. "Which means that it's time for my Stoutness Exercise."

"Stoutness Exercise?" Riku pondered, looking over at the clock. It said that the time was 9 o'clock, which seemed to be the same as real time on Radiant Garden.

"Oh, yes." Pooh happily laughed. "You can join me if you want, Riku."

"..." Riku didn't say anything, just watched as Pooh started his exercise.

"Up, Down, Up. When I Up, Down, Touch the ground, it puts me in the mood." Pooh chimed in song as he stretched up in down. Pooh actually made the stretches look fun, so Riku slowly found himself doing them alongside Pooh. "Up, Down, Touch the ground, in the mood... for food."

"!" That line made Riku pause in mid-stretch from surprise. He was hungry still? After all that honey he recently ate?

"I'm stout, round, and I have found that speaking pound is wise." Pooh went on with his exercise song as he stretched. "I improve my appetite when I exercise."

"?" As if on cue, Pooh's tummy began to rumble.

"Oh, there's a rumbly in my tummy. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Enough exercise. Time for something sweet." Pooh happily said, patting his tummy as he went over to his cupboard.

"Already?" That wasn't really much of an exercise.

"Why, yes. I'm sorta fat, and proud of that. And so with all my might I Up, Down, to my appetite's delight." Pooh happily said, bending his knees to continue stretching with squats.

"..." Could Pooh really call himself fat if he was light enough for a balloon to lift him off into the sky?

"While I Up, Down, Touch the ground, I think of food. Like hunny, milk, and chocolate." Pooh happily said, struggling to reach for his cabinet door. "With a healthy, happy appetite; I'm a hefty, happy Pooh."

"Here, let me help." Riku offered with an endearing sigh, easily opening Pooh's cabinet with his height. Pooh probably would have used the chair at the table to reach his cabinet if Riku wasn't there. The cabinet's containment was just as Pooh described: a pot of honey on the top shelf with (condensed) milk and chocolate on the bottom shelf. But apparently something else was with the honey pot on the top shelf as it fell down into Riku's quick reflexive hands. Something that Riku wasn't expecting to be there. "Pooh, what's this for?"

"I don't know. It seems to have found its way in there." Pooh replied. "As long as it's not hunny then it's no bother for me. You can have it, Riku."

"Really? Are you sure?" Riku couldn't believe Pooh was just giving him an Elixir.

"Certainly. It's all yours, Riku."

"Thank you, Pooh." Riku said gratefully, reaching up for the honey pot and handing it to Pooh. "It'll definitely come in handy to have."

"And thank you, Riku, for grabbing my hunny." Pooh happily said, taking the honey pot and walking over to the blue chair at the table to eat his honey. "Now I can keep my appetite healthy and happy."

"It certainly is sweet, I'll give you that..."

"Hmm, Piglet said the same thing too." Pooh commented, finishing off his honey and wiping the remains off his mouth.

"Well he's certainty right." Riku replied with a small smile.

"And now that I mention it, maybe Piglet knows where our friend has gone. But the only way to know is to go ask him." Pooh summed up, walking over to Riku after grabbing the scarfs he had place on the table back again, wrapping the blue scarf around himself and giving Riku the red one. "Here, Riku. It's rather blustery out there. And I believe the winds will be rather chilly going to Piglet's howse."

"Thanks, Pooh..." Riku said, taking the scarf from Pooh. He looked at the scarf in his hand for a while. Such a simple gift, and yet so pure and full of innocence. There was no hidden agendas behind it, no suspicion in Pooh's actions to nearly a complete stranger. Just honest concern for the well-being of another being. It's been so long since Riku experience such innocent selflessness in the purest state, even one so small, it felt nice.

Appreciating the gift, Riku wrapped the red scarf around himself. The scarf dragged down long behind him while the other end slightly peeked down on his chest. If he tucked his chin in, the scarf would have covered the lower half of his face.

"(Bubbly laugh) You're very welcome, Riku." Pooh smiled. "Shall we be off to Piglet's howse?"

"Alright."

Pooh opened the door with a slight struggle as the wind went against him only to swing the door open as it changed directions. Riku followed a little behind Pooh as he went to the left on the dirt path, so as to grab Pooh if the wind decided to blow him in the air. Closing the door behind him as they moved along. It was already looking like Pooh's feet were having a hard time keeping him on the ground.

But Pooh kept pushing on through with a skip in his step. It wasn't too far of a walk to Piglet's house, the wind helped give them a push to move faster. Riku was rather glad for his scarf now with the blustery winds, it kept him quite warm. It seemed like Piglet lived in the middle of the woods, in a grand house under an old walnut tree, there was an old sign by one of the tree's roots that seemed rather odd to Riku.

"Say, Pooh, what's that sign?"

"Oh why that's the name of the original owner of the howse, Piglet's grandfather, Trespassers Will. Short for Trespassers William."

"Trespassers William?" Sounds more like the sign was trying to say 'trespassers will be shot.'

"Oh, yes. Piglet says that his grandmother use to call him TW."

"Ahh."

"Oh, there's Piglet now." Pooh said as he spotted the tiny, little piglet coming out of his house with a green scarf on, carrying a broom as he swept the leaves off his porch that were almost as big as him. Looking down as he diligently worked while the wind blew his leaves around. The wind began to pick up as Pooh waved over to Piglet. "Hello there, Piglet!"

"Oh, g-good morning Pooh." Piglet startled out of his concentration and gave a happy wave back to Pooh, before the wind swept him off his feet. "Oh, d-dear!"

"Happy Windsday, Piglet, are you going away with the leaves?" Pooh asked as Piglet swirled around in a whirl wind with the leaves.

"I don't mind the leaves that are leaving. It's the ones that are coming." Suddenly the wind twirled Piglet around in the opposite direction, higher and passed Pooh. "O-oh d-dear. Help!"

"I've got you." Riku reassured, catching Piglet before he blew away.

"Oh, thank you- !" Piglet started to say in gratitude before he looked up to see how big Riku was compared to him. Timid with fright, he curled up in Riku's arms as he began to shake, turning away from Riku. "Oh! D-don't hurt me, please."

"It's okay little guy. I'm not going to hurt you." Riku said gently, trying to ease the poor piglet's fears. His hold on Piglet was gentle, yet strong enough to protect him from the wind. "I came here with Pooh."

"Y-you know Pooh?" Piglet slowly came out of his fearful curl to look up at Riku at the mention of a familiar name.

"That's right, Piglet. This is my new friend, Riku." Pooh confirmed, walking his way over to Riku and Piglet. "He's helping me find our old friend."

"Oh, well i-it's nice to meet you, Riku. My name's Piglet." Piglet greeted Riku, less afraid of his size.

"Likewise." Riku nodded in polite greeting. Feeling more sure of himself, Piglet jumped out of Riku's arms to try his own against the wind. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Oh, yes." Piglet said in reassurance, trying hard to stand his ground as the wind started to pick up again. "A little wind never hurt anybody."

"!" Before Piglet could even finish his sentence, the wind swept him off his feet again and into the sky.

"H-Help!" Piglet stuttered, trying to run back to the ground in midair.

"Hold on, Piglet." Pooh said, coming to the rescue. The wind blew Piglet too fast for Pooh to catch him. But he was able to grab hold of Piglet's scarf. However the scarf was beginning to unravel from its thread, putting more distance between them and Piglet.

"Oh, d-d-dear." Piglet stuttered with fright as the wind raised him higher and higher. Grabbing onto the end of the thread just in time to keep hold of his only connection to the ground as he flew high in the sky like a kite. Pooh was his anchor on the ground, and he was being dragged along with the wind, trying his best to keep hold of the string. "Pooh, don't let go!"

"Pooh, Piglet, hang on!" Riku said, running after them. Both of them were rather light and the wind was giving Riku a run for his munny to keep up with them.

It seemed that the wind was taking them on a trip as it blew Piglet and Pooh to a new area of the Hundred Acre Wood. It was a nice little area with a house under a tree and hill with an actual door with a mailbox near by, and a rabbit hole in the hill with a sign that said 'Rabbit's Howse.' It had a laundry line on the side of the house with a wash bucket and a laundry board, along with multiple pots of vegetables all around the house. But what was most impressive was the garden fenced off with care and labelled with cutely misspelled signs, like 'punkins,' 'kerits,' and 'cabege.' And inside the carrot patch was a yellow and white rabbit humming to himself as he tended and harvested his garden with a wheel barrel. He was humming to himself, not a care in the world, unaware that Pooh was rushing towards him with the wind.

"(Inhale, Exhale) Oh what a refreshing day for harvesting." The rabbit sighed happily to himself as he gathered carrots in his arm.

"Happy Windsday, Rabbit!" Pooh waved over at Rabbit, still holding on to the thread with one paw, still closing in on Rabbit with the wind.

"Pooh Bear?!" Rabbit looked in alarm at Pooh's sudden appearance, dropping the carrots in his arm. Usually with the arrival of Pooh came the arrival of trouble for Rabbit. And with how fast Pooh was coming in to his garden, this meant trouble for his vegetables. "Eh, stop! Go back."

"Woe." Pooh said in surprise as the wind sent him plowing through Rabbit's carrot patch.

"Oh, no. Oh, no!" Rabbit exclaimed, gripping his head in stress as Pooh sent his carrots flying out of the ground and into the air.

"I've got it!" Riku called out, coming to the rescue. On instinct, he grabbed the wheel barrel by Rabbit and Rushed along Pooh's path of destruction to catch the carrots in the wheel barrel as they came back down.

"Oh, yes." Rabbit happily cheered as Riku recovered all his carrots while Pooh practically plowed his garden for him. The wind kept blowing Pooh back and forth, changing his path of direction to make him plow through the rest of Rabbit's vegetable garden. Riku soon found himself catching pumpkins from the sky, surprised that none of them smashed. And also surprised that Pooh had somehow pulled out an Elixir and a Potion from under two pumpkins. Pooh had made his way to the cabbage patch, and had somehow pulled out another Elixir along with them. Even so, Riku saved all of Rabbit's vegetables. "Why thank you, who ever you are. Next time I hope Pooh blows through my garden again. It makes harvesting much easier."

"Why that's Riku, Rabbit." Pooh said, introducing Riku while the wind seemed to blow him in a circle. "He's helping me find our lost friend."

"Oh, you mean the nice boy that helped pull you out of my rabbit hole after you ate all my honey and got stuck?"

"Yes. He could always give an extra push when you needed it. Speaking of hunny, do you have anymore?"

"No. There isn't anymore. My stash hasn't recovered yet from your last visit." Rabbit honestly answered with the shake of his head. Rabbit began rubbing his chin and tapping his foot as he tried to concentrate on a thought. "He was such a help to have around. He even kept Tigger from destroying my carrot patch. But it's so strange, I can't seem to remember what he looks like or what his name was. All I remember was that he was a really nice boy."

"..." Riku let the information sink in. It seems that Sora was making friends wherever he goes. But then again, he was a good guy. Even when he didn't try, people were drawn to him. And he was always willing to give a helping hand.

"Thank you again, Riku, for saving my vegetables. Please help yourself to whatever else you find in my garden." Rabbit said in gratitude.

"Thank you, Rabbit. That's rather generous of you."

"E-excuse me. I-I don't mean to be a bother, b-but... I would really like to come down now."

"!" Piglet! The poor thing was still up there.

"Oh d-dear. H-help. Somebody s-save me!" Piglet called out as the wind began to take him along the path again. Dragging Pooh along with Piglet, away from Rabbit's house.

"Goodbye, Rabbit!" Pooh said in farewell as he was taken on the path again. The leaves in the trees dancing around in a lovely show of autumn colors.

"Oh dear. It was nice meeting you, Riku. Please help them before they hurt themselves or make a mess of things." Rabbit sighed out, dragging a hand along his face in exasperation as he watched Pooh and Piglet drag away with the wind.

"I will." Riku nodded before Rushing after Pooh and Piglet. Giving Rabbit a wave as he disappeared into the distance along the path. "It was nice meeting you too, Rabbit!"

"Have a nice day!" Rabbit waved back in return. Turning back to his business, Riku heard the tail end of Rabbit's conversation to himself as Riku headed further and further away. "(Sigh) I guess the only thing left to do now is wreak up the leaves..."

The wind blew Piglet and Pooh further along the dirt path. Taking them to another lovely house under a tree with a small white fence bordering its walkway. Two blue mailboxes, a little one on top of a bigger one, told that this was the residence of Kanga and Roo.

If the wordplay wasn't enough to hint who lived here, a baby kangaroo in a blue shirt came out of the house with his mother behind him with a light purple scarf on and a broom in one hand, holding a blue scarf in her other hand as they hopped out.

"Look, mama, look! A flying Piglet!" Roo pointed out towards Piglet with a cheer, clapping in excitement as if Piglet had accomplished some fun achievement.

"Oh my goodness." Kanga gasped out in concern, holding a paw near her mouth.

"Happy Windsday, Kanga. Happy Windsday, Roo." Pooh greeted to them as he passed by.

"Can I try flying Piglet next, Pooh?" Roo asked with excitement.

"T-this is not fun for me. Not at all. Ompf!" Suddenly Piglet came crashing onto the window of a house in a tree. The mailbox below by the house's latter up said that it was 'Owl's house.'

"Piglet! Ompf!" Pooh found himself crashing to a stop on the base of the tree. The wind showing no signs of calming down soon, nor any signs of changing directions.

"Oh you poor dears. Are you boys alright?" Kanga called over to them.

"Y-yes." Piglet answered, still front smashed onto the window.

"We're alright." Pooh added in, pulling himself off the tree and onto his feet again. Suddenly the right side of the window opened. A brown owl stuck his head out to see who was knocking at his window.

"Who-Who is it?"

"It's me, P-Piglet." Piglet answered from his spot. "M-may I come in?"

"I say, someone has pasted a Piglet on my window." Owl said with a happy chuckle, looking over at Piglet. "Who-Who, this is a surprise. Oh do come in and make yourself comfortable."

Owl opened the window side that Piglet was on to let him in, the wind practically blowing Piglet into the house as Owl closed the window behind him.

"Oh my. What happened?" Kanga asked to Pooh, hopping over to meet him halfway as he walked over to them while he wiped the dust off himself.

"We were looking for our lost friend. And the wind flew us all around the Hundred Acre Wood."

"Oh dear. The East winds traded places with the West winds again."

"I guess the wind wanted to give us a helpful push." Pooh replied.

"More like wanted to give you a bird's view." Riku commented.

"Oh! Who might you be, dear?" Kanga asked, finally taking notice of Riku.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. My name is Riku."

"He's my new friend." Pooh added in.

"(Gentle laugh) What a lovely name. Well hello, dear. My name's Kanga." Kanga greeted Riku with a smile.

"Hi there, Riku. I'm Roo." Roo greeted with an enthusiastic wave, bouncing up and down to try and come up to Riku's level. "Are you good at bouncing?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Riku crossed his arms, looking up in thought with a tilted head. "Can't really say that I've tried."

"You've just gotta try. Bouncing is the best!" Roo jumped in the air, trying to prove his point. "Me and Tigger are really good bouncers."

"Who's Tigger?" Before even fully noticing the sound similar to springs, or the 'Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo' in the wind, Riku was rolled flat on his back, coming nose-to-nose with a funny looking tiger. "Ompf!"

"Hello! I'm Tigger! That's T-I-double guh-RR. Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

"Tigger!" Roo happily cheered, bouncing over to Tigger.

"Hey there, Buddy Roo! Hello Ms. Kanga, ma'am." Tigger waved and looked over at them from his spot on Riku.

"Why hello, Tigger dear." Kanga greeted in return with a motherly smile.

"(Chuckle) She called me 'dear.'" Tigger chuckled with a bashful flutter, before turning his attention back on Riku, getting up in his face with excited curiosity. "Say, I don't think I've ever seen you here before!"

"Happy Windsday, Tigger. You've just bounced my new friend Riku." Pooh greeted over to Tigger, introducing him to Riku.

"(Chuckle) Oh, a Riku! Sure. Uh..." Tigger laughed before coming nose-to-nose with Riku again. "What's a Riku?"

"You're sitting on one." Riku answered back.

"I am?" Tigger looked down, seeing that he was sitting on Riku. He hopped off, giving Riku a chance to sit up, and shook Riku's hand. "Well nice to meet you!"

"Eh, likewise." Riku greeted, slightly taken aback by Tigger's bubbly enthusiasm.

"Woo-hoo-hoo. So what brings you here, Riku?"

"Riku's helping me look for our lost friend, Tigger." Pooh answered.

"Hey there, Pooh! You're looking rather stuffed and fluffed today." Tigger finally greeted over to Pooh. "A lost friend you say. Hmm, you mean that funny lookin' fella with a really good bounce on him?"

"That's the one. Have you seen him by any chance?"

"Nope. Sorry Pooh Boy, no such luck." Tigger answered, crouching down as he rubbed his chin. "Pity, really. He was a fun guy bouncin' with! Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo! It's funny though, I can't seem to remember what he looks like. Hmm, now what was his name again? It keeps slipping off the tip of my tongue, no matter how hard I try to pull it out (Purr)."

"Yeah, I can't seem to remember too, Tigger." Roo added in.

"No, no. 'Can't seem to remember 'either',' dear." Kanga corrected Roo.

"Oh, bother. I guess we'll just have to keep looking for him." Pooh sighed sadly before getting the pep in his step again. "But before that, we better get Piglet from Owl's howse."

"Eww, yuck. Nothing but tea and long stories up there. No fun at all." Tigger shook his head with his tongue out in disgust. "Well good luck, Pooh, Riku. I was just coming to pick up my Buddy Pal Roo to go bouncin'. Are you ready for some bouncin' Roo?"

"Ah-huh! Bouncing is what Roo's do best!" Roo said, bouncing in enthusiasm.

"(Chuckle) Alright, dear." Kanga said with a warm laughter, trying to get Roo's blue scarf on him. "My, you sure are bouncy today."

"Not so tight, Mama." Roo pouted, loosening up his scarf a bit.

"Is your sweater warm enough?"

"Yes, mother." Roo replied, slightly embarrassed at being coddled by his mother around so many people.

"Well, come on, Roo. Let's go." Tigger chuckled with cheer and bounced off with Roo following behind him.

"Tigger, be sure to keep Roo out of trouble." Kanga called out to them before starting her chore of sweeping the porch. "Be careful you two."

"Don't worry, Ms. Kanga! I'll take care of the little nipper! Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo." Tigger happily laughed back as he stopped in his tracks to look back at Kanga, Roo cutely copying after him. That's when he turned to the other two. "Say, would you fellas like to join us? There's nothing more fun than bouncin'."

"You seem to like bouncing a lot." Riku commented.

"(Chuckle) Why of course, Buddy Boy. Bouncin' is what Tiggers do best! Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo."

"Perhaps later, Tigger. We should go check on Piglet first."

"Oh, well. Suit yourself." Tigger shrugged off before giving them a wave and bouncing off with Roo. "Well, TTFN. Ta-Ta For Now. Woo-hoo-hoo."

The three of them waved Tigger and Roo off as they went along the dirt path towards Rabbit's house. Most likely headed for Tigger's Bouncing Spot.

"Well, see yah, Ms. Kanga." Riku gave a small wave over to Kanga after the two of them were gone. Saying a polite farewell before climbing up the latter to Owl's house. "We should go check on Piglet."

"Goodbye, Kanga." Pooh waved at Kanga, holding on to a flower that he plucked along the bottom of the tree as autumn yellow and orange butterflies lifted him up towards Owl's porch by the flower.

"Goodbye, Pooh. It was nice meeting you, Riku." Kanga waved up at them in farewell. "I hope you two find your friend."

Surprisingly, Riku had made it to the top of Owl's porch around the same time as Pooh and his butterflies. Making Riku wonder how light Pooh was exactly. But Pooh bubbly made his way over to Riku and he knocked on the door, leaving Riku's questions to be pondered for another time. It only took a moment or two for Owl to come to the door.

"Why I say, if it isn't Pooh." Owl greeted over to Pooh from the other side of his door before turning to Riku. "And a new guest. Why I don't believe we've met before. Welcome to the Hundred Acre Wood!"

"Hello, Owl. This is my new friend Riku." Pooh greeted over to Owl with a wave. "Can we come in?"

"(Clearing throat) Oh, yes, of course. Do come in. Me and Piglet were just about to sit down for tea." Owl moved aside, opening the door wider for the two of them to come in. Both of them were slightly pushed in by the wind. Pooh more so as the wind sent him rolling over to an empty seat upside down.

"P-Pooh, Riku, hello." Piglet greeted from his chair at the table.

"Hello Piglet." Pooh greeted back, righting himself in his chair. "Glad to see that the wind isn't taking you away anymore."

"(Laugh) Am I correct in assuming that it is a rather blustery day outside?" Owl asked while closing the door and making his way back to his rocking chair. "Oh, do please help yourself."

Owl offered them the pot of tea and honey jar he had on the table. Leaving it to them to pour themselves a cup of tea from whatever empty china cup they choose from the set on the table. Piglet had already poured himself a cup, and Pooh was helping himself to the jar of honey at the moment. So Riku, being polite, poured himself a cup of tea and taking an empty stool as his seat since the other furniture was just a bit too small for him.

"Oh, yes, Owl. It is a very b-blustery day, today." Piglet answered.

"Oh, yes, that reminds me. Happy Windsday, Owl." Pooh added in, the jar of honey in hand.

"(Chuckle) My good fellow, I wouldn't go so far as calling it a Winds day. Just a gentle Spring Zephyr, compared to the Big Wind of '67 or was it '76..." And so Owl talked and talked and talked, enough to fill up 8 pages. Before Riku knew it, his 9 o'clock had turned into a quarter to 10. Poor Piglet and Pooh could barely keep themselves awake from all of Owl's long winded stories.

"I don't mean to interrupt, Owl. But we really should be going soon." Pooh said, climbing his way down from his chair. "Me and Riku were looking for our lost friend. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"Well, no, Pooh. I can't say that I have." Owl said, stopping in his story. This was a signally for the other two to get up and make a break for it. "But fret not Pooh. Those not seen by others are not truly lost. Our no longer known friend is still apart of the Hundred Acre Wood, and apart of us. You just have to look hard enough to see him. Or perhaps, you boys are looking too hard."

"..." Riku found that bit of information oddly insightful and with deeper meaning to it than the long winded speeches Owl went through for a good half-an-hour. It was oddly specific, but Pooh and Piglet didn't seem to notice.

"Why thank you, Owl. We should be going to check those other three spots that our friend might be then." Pooh said.

"L-let me help you, Pooh. With more eyes, w-were bound to find s-something." Piglet offered to helping, coming over to Pooh.

"Why thank you, Piglet. The more the merrier, I always say." Pooh smiled, heading for the door with Piglet. "Goodbye, Owl."

"Until next time, Pooh. Piglet. Riku." Owl waved goodbye to them as they headed out the door, continuing to rock in his rocking chair.

So Riku followed Pooh and Piglet to a sand pit area, which Roo liked to play at, but at the moment it was more like a mud hole. Now Pooh looked around, from left to right, but there was nobody in sight. Pooh was holding Piglet's hand so as not to let the wind blow him away again. But in the back of his mind, Pooh was worried about losing another friend in this area like he did the last time. So he held on to Piglet's hand tight so as to keep him from going away.

"He's not here either." Pooh sighed out with a pout. "This is where all my friends gone away at and find there way back again."

"Gone away?" Riku questioned with a tilted head.

"Oh, yes. I've lost all my friends before, once here." Pooh explained, a paw on his tummy for a small form of comfort. "It was our lost friend that helped me find all my friends again, twice now."

"..."

"He said he was looking for his friends too, and set off to find them." Pooh said before sighing with a lowered head. "(Sigh) If only I could help him find his friends like he helped me find mine. Maybe then he would come back."

"T-there, there, Pooh. We'll find him." Piglet said up to him in comfort, patting his back the best he could. "I'm sure of it."

"I hope so, Piglet."

"..." It was the first and closest that Riku had ever heard Pooh sad. He didn't like it...

"Well, there's still other spots to search." Pooh said, getting his spirit up again. "Come on, Riku, Piglet. The morning is still young. Let's keep looking."

"Yeah, sure, let's go." Riku replied in agreement, heading along the dirt path again with Piglet and Pooh close beside.

And so the three of them went further down west into the woods. The leaves on the trees danced to the ground around them as they kept going. Soon they found themselves in an open area with stumps of various sizes and other outdoor playing equipment. Out in the distance, in the cover of the trees, was a house placed on a tree top. The stripped paint and hanging tires screamed that it was Tigger's house. But that wasn't important at the moment. What was important was the two characters bouncing up and down with each other on the see-saw.

"Oh, look Pooh. We've made it to Tigger's Bouncin' Spot." Piglet pointed with excitement. A little bouncing fun was bound to cheer everyone up.

"So we have, Piglet. Hello Tigger! Hello Roo!" Pooh greeted over to them.

"Hello there, Pooh Boy. Hi there, Piglet, Riku!" Tigger waved over at them at the notice of their arrival.

"Hi everyone!" Roo greet in turn.

"Say, what brings you over to these neck of the woods Pooh Bear?" Tigger asked. "Finally feelin' like bouncin'?"

"No, not really. We're still looking for our lost friend." Pooh shook his head, giving the area a look around before he came to a conclusion. "But it looks like he's not here either."

"Ahh, still looking, huh? Say, why don't I give you fellas a hand."

"Would you, Tigger?"

"(Chuckle) Sure, Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo. After all, finding things is what Tiggers do best!"

"Why is that?" Riku honestly asked in curiosity.

"(Chuckle) Why he asks. Because Tiggers can't get lost, Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

"Well, t-thank you, Tigger. Your help would be very much appreciated." Piglet said in timid gratitude.

"No problem, Piglet Old Pal. But first, bounce with me!"

"B-bounce with you?"

"Sure. Nothing gets a search started up right than a good old fun round of bouncin'."

"B-but, bouncing like you can is such an intimidating thing for someone s-so small like me." Piglet said timidly, hiding behind Pooh.

"And I'm not much of a good bouncer myself." Pooh admitted. "Bears are more climbers than bouncers."

"Ehh, suit yourselves. You'll come around eventually. What about you, Riku? Think you can keep up with me and Roo?"

"Yes, oh please, R-Riku. We could really use Tigger's help in the search." Piglet pleaded up to Riku.

"Sure. I'll bounce along with you guys." Riku agreed with a smirk, rising to the challenge.

"Woo-hoo-hoo! Great!" Tigger cheered along with Roo, happy to get another bouncer to join in their games. "Bounce this way, please."

And so Tigger and Roo bounced with Riku tagging along onto the tree stumps. From there all Riku had to do was watch Tigger's bouncing pattern, then follow his lead. It was simple, really, more like a warm up. Tigger made patterns on which stump he would bounce on next towards the finish line while Roo followed on his tail. Like a more active 'Simon Says' Riku copied in there action. Each pattern challenge a little harder than the last- the challenge with the see-saw made it a little more difficult with the landing onto the next stump. But Riku passed the challenges with flying colors in Tigger's book.

"You've gotten mighty good at bouncin', Riku!" Tigger praised. "Right, Roo?"

"That was fantastic!" Roo agreed, bouncing up and down with glee.

"Heh, I guess I had it in me all along." Riku commented, reminded of all the games and races he always use to play with Sora and Kairi back on their island.

"T-that looked like fun." Piglet clapped with a happy chuckle.

"(Chuckle) Indeed, Piglet, it made me feel like bouncing myself." Pooh smiled with cheer, the spring finally sprung back again inside Pooh.

"(Laugh) Hey,Tigger! I think he's ready for the big one!" Roo suggested with excitement.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Tigger commented, looking back at Roo. Suddenly Tigger jumped into the large pot in the middle of the area. "Alright, Riku, all you have to do is whack the nuts back at the pot to shatter it!"

"Nuts? What nuts?" Before Riku knew it, giant acorns were being launched out of the pot. Not directly at him, but all around the area. He found himself having to jump to other stumps on occasion just to Hit an acorn back at the pot. Each time they would hit the pot it would wabble on its tree stump, sending Tigger happily bouncing up from the pot. This was actually helping Riku lock on to a target and get a sense on how far he had to go to reach said target.

20 nuts were thrown, and 20 nuts were Hit- with a little struggle at first but Riku got the hang of it. And in no time the large pot was shattered and Tigger came bouncing out. For some reason, Riku felt like he came out stronger from it all.

"That was some fantastic bouncin' there, friend!" Tigger cheered. "You're a regular old top notch bouncer there."

"Thanks, Tigger."

"Now will you help us find our friend?" Pooh asked.

"Oh course, Buddy Boy! Tiggers are always true on their word, whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

"Oh! T-that's great, Tigger." Piglet meekly clapped, happily.

"Woo-hoo-hoo, come on fellas!" Tigger waved over, bouncing off towards the path ahead, Roo following after him. "If you guys already checked everywhere else, that only leaves Eeyore's Gloomy Place."

"?" That didn't seem like a nice place to Riku, or even a nice way to describe someone's house for that matter. It must have something to do with this Eeyore character's personality. But surely with how innocent and bright this Hundred Acre Wood world is, he couldn't be too bad.

And so they traveled East. Close to the border of the Hundred Acre Wood if Riku was remembering his map correctly. Soon they came upon a swing hanging from a stout tree on a hill. Below it was a wooden bridge over a stream and a little tent house made of sticks.

Pooh Bear looked and looked and looked, but there was still no signs of Sora anywhere. Sadden by the news, Pooh Bear went to stand on the bridge rails to look over at the stream.

"Oh, bother. He's not here either." Pooh Bear disappointingly sighed out and laid his head down on his arms which were resting on the railing.

Now Piglet, being the good friend that he was, climbed up the railings to join Pooh as he tried to cheer him up.

"T-there, there, Pooh. I-I'm sure he's out there, somewhere."

"Yeah, cheer up Old Pooh Bear! He may be lost now, but we'll find him eventually. After all, you've got a Tigger with you!" Tigger added in.

"Hmm, I'm not so sure anymore..." Pooh sadly sighed out.

"..." Everyone was at a stomp to find what to do to cheer Pooh up again, and his blues was starting to get to them too. As if the air wasn't gloomy enough, another presence made itself known to the air. A gloominess that wasn't filled with sadness or misery but humbleness to its very essence.

A blue donkey with a black mane wobbled his way down the hill from around the tree, looking to the ground as he searched around. His nose stayed to the grass as his eyes looked down from left to right. He slowly made his way over to the others, only looking up once he came to the wood of the bridge. Finally raising his head, he noticed the others and wobbled his way over to them.

"Good morning Pooh, if it is a good morning, which I doubt. Hello everyone and person I don't know." The donkey greeted with his deep yet down in the dumps voice. Even in his somewhat gloomy aura he noticed the sadness on Pooh. "Why so down, Pooh?"

"Happy Windsday, Eeyore. That 'person I don't know' is my new friend, Riku." Pooh turned his head over his shoulder to greet with not as much energy as he usually did. "I'm just sad that we couldn't find our lost friend. We've looked high and low everywhere, but he wasn't anywhere."

"I understand. I've lost something too, not that it should matter to anyone."

"Oh?"

"What did you lose, Eeyore?" Riku with growing concern along with the others.

"My tail." Eeyore answered, looking back behind himself to see that his bottom was bare. "It's not much of a tail, but I'm sorta attached to it. But now it's gone missing again. It always does. Must have blown away with the wind."

"Oh, bother." Pooh said in sympathy for his friend, forgetting about his own sadness for the moment. "Come on, Riku, everyone, we have to find Eeyore's tail."

"No matter. Most likely to lose it again." Eeyore rebuffed at their offer.

"Don't worry, Eeyore. We'll find your tail." Riku assured to him.

"Yeah, cheer up, Long Face! Tiggers are always good at finding stuff, because that's what Tiggers do best. Woo-hoo-hoo." Tigger added in.

"Thanks. Don't trouble yourself over me." Eeyore said in his own form of gratitude.

And so everyone did their part to help find Eeyore's missing tail. Now Piglet searched low in the bushes, while Tigger and Roo bounced high to search the trees. Now Pooh looked along the swing tree while Riku circled the area. But they weren't having much luck, and the falling leaves were no help at all.

"Oh, d-dear. I couldn't find Eeyore's tail anywhere." Piglet reported as they all met up again on the bridge. Now Piglet climbed up the railings to have better level with the others while Roo did the same.

"Maybe it fell into the stream." Roo suggested, leaning dangerously too far over the railings to search the waters. His paws slipped, he tumbled over into the water. "Whooa. (Giggle)!"

SPLASH

"Oh, no. Roo!" Tigger said, gripping his head in alarm. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Tiggers ain't good swimmers."

"Oh, bother." Pooh added in concern.

"Oh, no! Roo's drifting away!" Piglet timidly gasped in alarm. "Riku, can you swim?"

"Yeah, I'm on it." Riku replied, not hesitating to jump off the bridge and into the water, shoes on and all.

"Wee! This is fun!" Roo laughed as he splashed around in the water. Not realizing the trouble he was in as the stream floated him away. "But I am getting tired. You guys can save me now."

"I've got you, Roo." Riku said in relief once he finally reached Roo and had him safely in his arms. Once Roo was secure, Riku swam them both to land again.

"Thanks for rescuing me, Riku." Roo said, shaking the water off himself afterwards.

"You're welcome. But we've got to get dry before we catch a cold in this weather."

"Let's go dry ourselves off with the leaves at Eeyore's house!" Roo suggested with excitement.

"?"

"Sure. Make yourselves at home." Eeyore offered, leading them all to the small tent house made of sticks.

"This is your house?" Riku questioned not believing such a 'humbling' home after seeing all the other larger homes inside or on trees.

"Yup. It's not much of a home, but I'm use to it."

"Wee!" Paying no mind to the conversation, Roo jumped into the pile of leaves that was being used as bedding/flooring inside Eeyore's house.

"?!" Roo had scattered and ruffled the leaves around, exposing something black and what looked to be a piece of a pink bow. "What is this?"

"!" Riku had moved the leaves out of the way to reveal that the bow was attached to something long and blue, a tail to be precise. A tail with a nail attached to it.

"Well done, Riku. You've found Eeyore's tail." Pooh praised.

"I-it must have fallen off when you were moving about this morning." Piglet concluded.

"I say, good work young man." Came the praise of owl who came flying in with a china box in his claws and company. Ms. Kanga in her light purple scarf; Rabbit with his basket of carrots; and, Aeris, Riku's own mother.

"You all seem like you're having fun." Aeris warmly chuckled, holding a picnic basket of goodies of her own. "Mind is we join along?"

"Hello there, Aeris." Said Pooh, waving at her. "It's been a long time since you've visited."

"Mom? What took you so long?" Riku asked, almost shocked to see her there. It must have been going on 11 o'clock right now.

"I know I'm late. I'm sorry, Riku." Aeris apologized as her group approached the others. "But the line was much longer than I expected, and I had gotten things for everybody. Not to mention trying to find you here; I bumped into some old friends that helped me along the way. Owl has a lot of stories I have to catch up on."

"Oh, Roo, you're all wet." Kanga said with worry, grabbing Roo into her arms and using her own scarf to dry him off.

"I'm fine, mama. Riku just saved me from the stream." Roo assured, trying to ease his mother's concerns.

"Oh, Riku, you're soaked too." Aeris pouted in concern, casting a very light Fire spell in the breeze to help dry him up and even gave him the picnic blanket for good measures.

"Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm already dry." Riku assured to his mother as well, taking the blanket off of himself and folding it in his arms. Smiling a little at the motherly attention he was getting and secretly longed for as a young child. "So, what did you bring?"

"Oh, lots of things. But especially Carrot Cake and Honey."

"Oh, boy." Pooh chuckled and patted his tummy. "You had me at hunny."

"And I brought a fresh brew of my homemade tea, passed down in my family for generations." Owl offered, setting the wooden china box down on the ground. "But first I think we should try and reattach poor Eeyore's tail first."

"Oh, yeah." Riku said, remembering what they were doing. He crouched down on one knee, readying to reattach Eeyore's tail to Eeyore with its nail. Riku hoped that the nail wouldn't hurt Eeyore; but even so, he would be gentle with the reattachment. "This shouldn't hurt, Eeyore."

"It never does." Eeyore commented as Riku began to attach the tail.

"Ahem. It is my considered opinion that Eeyore's tail should be placed a trifle to the right." Owl commented.

"Now if you were to ask me, I think it's just a wee bit-" Kanga added in her own suggestion before Roo tried to guess the thought for her.

"South!"

"Ah, no, no. North, dear." Kanga corrected.

"How's it looking?" Pooh asked, wondering how the process was going.

"There we go." Riku said, getting up and stepping back to admire his work.

"..." Eeyore began testing it, giving it a twirl around. And it still remained attached. The others clapped and cheered.

"Bravo." "Hurray!" Owl and Roo cheered at the same time.

"Thanks. It's not much of a tail, but it's mine." Eeyore said in his own form of gratitude. "Just like the last time when our friend helped me find my tail again. Can't seem to remember who he was, not that it matters."

"Oh, I wish we could find our lost friend again just like Eeyore's tail, too." Pooh commented with a sigh.

"A lost friend?" Aeris questioned, wondering what missing friend Pooh was talking about if all the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood was here.

"Our lost friend that we all can't seem to remember." Pooh said as if that answered her question. "He's around somewhere, we just can't seem to find him. I'm starting to think he said goodbye along with my memories."

"Said goodby-" Suddenly it hit Aeris like a brick and she began to laugh in her gentle nature at Pooh's innocent misinterpretation. "(Chuckle) Silly, old bear, your friend hasn't gone anywhere."

"He hasn't?"

"Of course not. He may no longer really be here." Aeris explained, pointing at Pooh's head to indicate his mind to be specific. But then gestured to the area all around them. "Or no longer out here for that matter. But that doesn't mean he's not there. Just like your memories, he's just lost."

"But Aeris, how will we ever find him again if he's lost?"

"Like I said before, he may be lost here." She pointed to Pooh's forehead again, before moving down to point at his heart. "But if you keep a part of him here, he will always find his way back. The Heart will remember where the mind does not. That is where the bonds are made. And as long as you hold on to that bond in your Heart you will always be tied together. From the ties that bond us, we find our way back."

"..." Her words touched a warm string in Riku's heart as he clutched a hand over it.

"So what you are saying is that my friend will always be here?" Pooh concluded, placing one of his paws over his heart as he looked down at it.

"That's right." Aeris gently nodded with a warm voice. "He'll be right there along with your other friends."

"Everyone?"

"That's right."

"And from there he will find his own way back?"

"Yes. You just have to be patient with him."

"..." Pooh thought and he thought and he thought, until he had come to his satisfied conclusion. "Well, if my friend will find his way back in his own time, then I guess I can wait until he does..."

"That's right buddy, old Pooh Boy! We'll wait right along with yah!" Tigger vouched with a cheer.

"Good show, Pooh Bear." Owl praised at Pooh's maturity with his patience.

"Yes..." Aeris agreed with a nod. "But for today... let's have fun with a picnic."

And so they all gathered under the old oak tree with a swing to enjoy in a lovely brunch picnic. Riku had laid out the picnic blanket while Kanga helped Aeris set everything and Owl prepared the tea. It was a lovely spread of delicious foods and sweets that they all enjoyed. Rabbit was quite fond of the carrot cake, while Pooh ate up all the honey leaving none for anyone to put in their tea. But that was okay, Aeris was expecting this when dealing with Pooh. She was just happy that he was enjoying himself, and that everyone was having a good time.

Soon the others began to play in a game of tag. Aeris, Kanga, Owl, and Rabbit just sat under the tree with their tea in each others' company and simply observed the others fun while they talked among themselves. The others seemed to be having fun, chasing each other and hiding around the area. Even gloomy, old Eeyore was joining in on the fun, although he did set his own slow pace. Tigger and Roo were bouncing around to their advantage, going high in the air to make the distance or to keep from being caught. While Piglet who was easily startled was rather quick on his feet. Pooh Bear was slow and steady, but even still, he had fun. Riku seemed to be enjoying himself as well, playing along while also holding back so that the others could keep up.

Riku couldn't remember how long it's been since he's had fun like this. They played and played until Brunch turned into Lunch, and Lunch turned into Supper. Aeris had packed enough for the whole day it seemed, but Kanga, Rabbit, and Owl still went home to bring something extra too, and more tea. Soon the Day turned into Dusk, and stars began to come out into purple-bluing sky. They all gathered under the tree onto the picnic blanket to rest and look at the stars.

"I'm so glad we could all be together like this again." Piglet said with soft laughter, he had so much fun today.

"Yeah! That was pretty fun." Roo agreed with a cheer.

"We should definitely do that again, sometime." Pooh added in with a chuckle.

"Yeah... that was fun." Riku nodded, looking off into the distance. Soon Riku rose to his feet and looked to his mother, who nodded in understanding and got up as well. Gathering up her picnic basket, but leaving the blanket for Rabbit. Riku walked over to Pooh and handed him back his red scarf. "Thanks for the scarf, Pooh. I'm off."

"Riku, where are you going?" Piglet asked timidly in concern, disappointed to see another friend go.

"I'm gonna go help our lost friend find his way back." Riku answered, walking over to the edge of the hill and looked up to the sky. "He's always there when you need him, but he does tend to slack off. He's waiting for me. (Chuckle) I always have to make sure he's not napping around."

"W-well... take care, Riku. I hope you find our friend."

"I will. Don't worry, Piglet." Riku assured him, looking back at them over his shoulder with a grin. "Just keep thinking about him every now and then so he can find his way back."

"Bounce back again!" Tigger said in his own form of goodbye. "You bounce pretty good for a non-Tigger."

"Thanks Tigger." Riku smirked with a chuckle.

Once his mother made her way over to him, Riku jumped off the hill with Aeris and they made their way to the dirt path back into the woods. The others had gotten up and stood at the edge of the hill to see them off, waving goodbye to the two of them as they made it to the edge of the woods and turned around to wave their last farewell to the others.

"Riku, don't forget..." Pooh called out to Riku. "Although there is a bond to me and our lost friend, you're our friend too. So there is a bond between all of us as well."

"..." Riku was touched by his words, Pooh was showing pure honesty.

"So what I am trying to say is... We shall always be here. If you'd like to visit again, that is."

"Thanks, Pooh... I will." And with that, Riku walked off into the woods with his mother, following her as she lead the way out of the book again.

"So... did you have fun today?" Aeris asked with a smile.

"Yeah... Thanks, Mom." Riku honestly answered, nodding to her in gratitude. "I think I needed that... more than anything."

"That's good." Aeris's smile grew wider, and she wiggled for a moment with happiness as she held her hands together behind her back. "It seems that you've learned so much while you were here."

"Yeah. I'm ready for tomorrow."

"Even better..."

... Day 45...

With a calm mind and a deep breath, Riku focused on the Dummy ahead of him. His arms were steady and his form was good.

"..." With one final deep breath, he secured his grip on Soul Eater and dashed in for the strike.

His attack was swift and powerful, perfectly timed with his exhale. The practice-dummy practically exploded from his single strike. One powerful blow at its center that had instantly spread around in cracks and shattered the Dummy apart.

The perfect Deathblow.

"Hey, Leon, how was that?"

"Heh." Leon smirked to Riku with his arms crossed. "Well done."

... Day 46...

"Oh my gosh that was freak'n awesome!" Yuffie squeaked out in excitement at what had went down, practically bouncing on her toes as they made their way back from the Ravine Trail. "I can't believe you Confu all those Heartless into fighting one another and then Manip the ones that got too close!"

"Eh, it wasn't that good." Riku shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

"Not that good, are you blind? You practically put the whole field into chaos and yet you were the one with full control!" Yuffie praised to him while stretching her arms and resting her hands on the back of her head as she walked on ahead of him. "Don't be so modest, it's annoying."

"Heh, whatever you say, Senpai." Riku replied with a sarcastic grin.

"Don't do that." Yuffie huffed with an angry-pout, turning her head a little to look back at him. But all that did was make him grin wider, letting it go with a sigh she turned back around to look ahead. "Ahh, you would've made my Shinobi ancestors proud. The only thing that could have made it better is if you Mug something from them."

"Who needs the Heartless when I've got you to Steal."

"What?" Yuffie huffed in disbelief, turning around to face Riku, only to have her own Munny pouch tossed back to her. "Hey!"

"And so the student becomes the master." Riku said in his usual tone, but Yuffie could still hear the smug bragging in his voice. "You didn't even noticed that I grabbed it."

"Hey, watch it, buddy." Yuffie huffed at him with a fist.

"!" Riku would have made a comment back, if a Neo Heartless didn't jump down from above, aiming directly towards Yuffie. "Look out!"

"!" Yuffie didn't respond fast enough and she wouldn't be able to pull out her weapon in time. She could only watch as the Heartless came down at her. And Riku wouldn't reach her in time. In a panic, he did the first thing that came to mind.

"Toad!"

"?!" Yuffie had to quirk an eyebrow towards him at that, before having to shut them as a Heartless frog landed on her forehead. It was a minor pain, due to gravity, but it was mostly disgusting. "Eww, gross!"

"It was the best I could do at the moment, Princess. Maybe if you kiss it, it'll turn into a prince."

"Shut up!" Yuffie grabbed the frog by it's hind legs with barely two fingers and tossed it on the ground. Immediately afterwards stomped it down, where it turned into dark mist that escaped into the air around her foot. Not being an ingrate for the save, Yuffie crossed her arms and turned her head away from Riku. Her cheeks nearly puffing out in a pout. "But thanks anyway. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it."

"Speaking of which, do you mind not mentioning this to the others?" Yuffie asked him, putting her hands together in a praying plea. "I've gotta keep my image here."

"No problem." Riku agreed, turning his head away at his reasoning. "I don't want the others worrying about it and never letting us go out on our own again."

His mother wouldn't lock him behind the Town's walls in over-protectiveness, but she would still worry. Enough to make herself sick, and Riku wouldn't allow that.

"Thanks, kid. You're all right." Yuffie grinned at him in gratitude before they continued on their way back to Town. By the time they made it back to Aeris's house, Aeris was already out the front door greeting them.

"Hello you two. Guess whose Midterm Report Cards just got done printing?" Aeris chimed with a smile, waving her hand at them with the papers.

"Oh." "Ugh." Riku input with a tilted head while Yuffie groaned, drooping down at prospect of her 'grades'.

"Good job, Riku." Aeris praised with a smile, handing him his Report which averaged up to an A- average. "Keep it up and you'll catch up to your class in no time."

"Heh." Riku smirked, trying to hide the small blush growing on his face at his mother's praise behind the sheet of paper.

"And Yuffie, I think you can do better." Aeris sighed as she handed Yuffie her Report Card.

"What? C is still a passing grade." Yuffie huffed in defense.

"Yes. But you barely got over a C-, and I know you haven't been trying. If you put half as much effort into this as you do in other things, I know you'd at least make a B+."

"Hmmm." Yuffie grumbled, crossing her arms along with the Report Card and looking away.

"Best get your head in the game, Senpai. Or I might just pass you." Riku teased, trying to rise her to the challenge. It worked.

"Oh you wish, kid!"

... Day 47...

"Think fast!-" Cid tried to get the drop on Riku, but the kid was already on him with the first strike. Cid had to quickly switch to defensive as his spear halted Riku's blade from his face. "Heh, nice Pre-Emptive Strike, kid."

"Thank you, sir." Riku jumped back, putting space between them again as they spared.

"But easy around the face there, kid." Cid said, waving a hand over and around his face. "That's my bread and butter you're messing with."

"Hm, duly noted."

"Alright, now that that's out of the way." Cid grinned as he put his spear out more on the offense. "Show me what you got!"

... Day 48...

"Alright. Now that your Sense has improved significantly, I think we should head back now."

"So soon?" Aeris had just taken Riku out into The Great Maw not too long ago to practice his Sense on the Neo Heartless below in the Restoration Site. They were lying flat on the ground, on the edge of the cliff to scope out the area below, without the creatures below them taking notice of their presence. And now she was saying that they were returning after testing him on a few random Heartless.

"Merlin is coming over today to test your Magic. We best not keep him waiting."

"Testing me?"

"Yes. He want's the see how far you've come without the need to coat your Magic with Darkness." Aeris explained as she got on her feet again and dusted off her dress. There was a soft excitement in her voice at the prospect of showing off her son's improvement to others. "I can't wait for you to show-"

"!" It was like Riku's heart stopped beating as the world turned in slow motion. His eye's widened in fear as he watched as the earth crumbled under his mother's foot, taking her with it as her foot slipped and she fell to the Heartless below. "Mom!"

He tried to grab her, but gravity had done it's terrible dance as her hand came out of reach for him, nearly making him topple over the edge as well. Coming to from her surprise, Aeris righted herself in midair and casted Aero on herself to slow down her fall. She landed on her feet with delicacy and grace, even in the mist of chaos.

"It's okay Riku. I'm fine-" She was fine until the straggler rubble decided to come down. One of the rocks got a good hit on her head and knock her out. She was down for the count.

"Mom!"

"..." She wasn't responding. She was unconscious with a possible concussion and the Heartless were closing in on her. It was a triple threat.

"Hang on, Mom, I'm coming!" Riku jumped off the edge, casting Aero on himself as he summoned Soul Eater to his hand. Landing on the ground to stand between his mother and the Heartless, he concentrated Quake into his foot to create a natural barrier between them and the Heartless. "Back off!"

The force of the Quake did knock them back off set their footing. But even still, they kept on closing in after the Quake faded and the terrain returned to normal.

"Come on then!" Readying his Soul Eater, Riku rushed in on the attack to meet them halfway. Taking the first strike and using Thundaga on the rest as they swarmed him. "Thunder!"

Thunder from above took them out, but more took their place.

"Arahh!" Riku kiai as he Double-Cut a Heartless, followed by taking out five Heartless that were leaping at him with a Slash-All. But while he was taking care of them, two Heartless snuck pass him to go after his mother. Enrage he used a Blizzara to freeze them in place. "Freeze!"

Two frozen Heartless stood too close to his mother for his liking. Leaping towards them, he shattered their ice with a Deathblow.

"Mmm..." Tiny sprinkles of ice hit Aeris's face, she twitched at the chilling contact, but still remain in the land of dreams.

"Enough, I'm tired of playing around with you guys!" Riku shouted at the Heartless, irritated at their persistence. They just kept on coming. "Fine, have it your way."

Neo Heartless kept popping up with each one he destroyed and more keep coming. If he was going to get his mother out of there, he was going to have to finish them all in one go. It was time to pull out the big guns.

"Gravity!" Using a Demi 2 on the Heartless, crushing them under their own weight with his intense artificial gravity. The ones that didn't go down from that he took out with a Quake 3. "Terra!"

A significant number were destroyed from that, but the miraculous few tough ones still stood and were still coming at the two of them.

"Haven't had enough?!" Raising a hand to the sky, he called upon a running star in the sky to come to his aid and smite his enemies, guiding it's fall with his hand. "Comet!"

And like his word a comet fell from the sky and crashed down on the Heartless, leaving noting but ash and dark mist from their remains and a cindered earth.

The spells Riku used were indeed powerful and did eliminate all the Heartless threats in the area, but they took a lot out of him doing such costly spells so close after each other. Riku was out of breath and had to rest his weight on his knees, but at least all the Heartless are gone.

"?" But Riku couldn't relish in his victory for long, Neo Heartless began to emerge from the shadows as more charged into the area. "Ugh, are you kidding me?"

Pulling himself together, Riku charged at the Heartless for another round. He remained strong on the outside, but his stamina had been greatly effected by his 'Magic Points' low and it was tiring him out fast. Enough that one Heartless got lucky enough to jump over onto his back, knocking him over as it charged its way towards Aeris.

"No!" Darn it, the knock to the ground took out whatever adrenaline he had left, he wasn't getting back up. The best he could do was crawl, but he would never make it to his mother in time. Besides, what could he do if he did make to them anyway, shake at 'em? Riku's Ancient bloodline allows his Magic Points to recover on their own and they were recovering at a decent rate so he wasn't completely helpless. However, none of his magic spells would reach to his mother's aid in time, all except for one. But... he wanted to avoid ever using that spell. With how things are going, he didn't have much of a choice. "Destruction: Dea-"

"That won't be necessary, Riku my boy." Came the surprising voice of Merlin.

With the wave of a wand, the Heartless charging at Aeris turned into potted daisy. Various other furniture such as vases, small stools, lounge chairs, teapots, and other china wears were summoned and dropped over the Heartless' heads. It knocked the sense out of them and rendered them confused as a swirl of wisp light that circled around Riku and Aeris, teleporting them out of the fray and back onto the cliff. Merlin was there on the cliff to greet them.

"Fine work on those spells, my boy. You have made some great progress. However, next time less flash, more planning. The more you conserve, the more the chance of surviving." Merlin lectured with a waving finger. "You're likely to have more energy if you rely on more than just the big spells. Take it easy next time."

"Yes, sir." Riku nodded in confirmation, before looking over to his mother. "Can you help her?"

"Can't you use Cure yourself?" Merlin pondered, the Ancient Cetra's blood runs through the boy's veins, he should be excellent with Cure spells. Merlin knew that Aeris taught Riku how to use them, so that shouldn't be the problem.

"..." Riku looked away in what seems to be embarrassment. He had been relying on Potions for so long that he didn't have a knack for the actually Cure spell, let alone Cura or Curaga. "I've been having trouble with Cure... I still have a long ways to go..."

"Well that's the great thing about life, my boy, everyday is an adventure that we strive to learn from." Merlin grinned at Riku in encouragement while casting Curaga on Aeris. "What you don't fully understand today will come around another day."

"Mmm..."

Aeris was coming to.

"Mom." Riku smiled with relief that she was alright.

"Wh- What? Where...?" Aeris sat up with a daze, trying to remember what had happen since she blacked out. Suddenly it all came back to her, causing her to look around frantically. "(Gasp) Riku?!"

"I'm right here."

"!" Aeris began to panic with worry as she looked upon her son's worn-out state. Her hands covered her mouth to stiffer a gasp. Aeris rose to her feet and made her way over to her son to kneel down at his side, casting Curaga on him. It did wonders relieving his fatigue. "Riku!"

"Relax, my child, the boy will be alright." Merlin assured.

"!" Riku's eyes widened in surprise at how fast the relief worked. He looked down at his hands in disbelief, but the sting in his fingertips and his knuckles were gone.

"You should be pleased to know that Riku passed with flying colors." Merlin announced with a happily grin.

"!"

"Really, Merlin?"

"Oh yes." Merlin nodded in confirmation to Aeris before turning his attentions to Riku. "You have performed Magic to its primary purpose: to protect and preserve life. You gave everything you had to protect your mother, and you didn't even have to rely on the Darkness even once."

"I did it? There was no darkness in my magic?" Riku said in subtle excitement but still in disbelief before a thought hit him. "Wait, you were testing me back there the whole time?"

"No, but I know an opportunity to observe when I see one. I intervened when things got out of control."

"..."

"And you have done well, my boy. You've come a long way from recovering your darkness coated magic to its pure form again. It's definitely different from the boy that was too shy to even show me a Fire awhile back." Merlin chuckled the last part to himself, still getting a slight embarrassed flush from Riku. "You've grown strong, Riku. Strong in the true way."

"Huh?"

"For the true strength of a person isn't measured by the size of his power, but by the strength of his Heart. And from what I've seen today, you've truly learned to use the power of your Heart to protect what is dear to you."

"My Heart...?" Riku looked down at his heart, a protective hand resting over it. A small content smile came over at his face, he learned to use his heart again... It was like he had found something precious that he had lost a long time ago again... "But it seems that I still have a long ways to go..."

"You do. We all do. You've come far with your magic, but magic is something you strive to improve with every passing day, regardless of time and age."

"But even so. I think we've all earned some ice-cream!" Aeris chimed in with glee and the clap of her hands. They all could use a treat after their long morning.

... Day 49...

"(Exhale) Well, that's it for today, Riku. There's nothing else I need to teach you about Magic that you can't find out on your own." Aeris announced to Riku in a bit of exhaustion after their morning Magic Training. Aeris went a little harder on Riku today to test his improvement, and she was proud to say that her son had grown so much in his abilities that he kind of tired her out. She actually had to take a rest on the bench, still keeping her grace even as she sat in exhaustion. "That is all I have to teach you, the rest is up to you."

"..." Riku was leaning over under the big tree in their backyard trying to steady his breathing after what was practically a heavy work out, but for the mind. Drained and covered in sweat, he was still ecstatic to hear such praise from his mother. For someone who only knew two Magic spells that he couldn't even cast without the power of Darkness not even a month ago, it amazed him how many spells he had under his belt that he could control with a Darkness boost or not which he had learned in such a short time. "Thanks, Mom. I couldn't have done it without you."

"No problem." Aeris chirped with a smile, standing up again to face Riku, crossing her hands behind her back. "All these spells were your birthright anyway. I just helped nurtured it along like a mother should."

"Heh, yeah. You nurtured the crap out of it." Riku tried to laugh at his own joke, but he was still a little exhausted that it kind of hurt to laugh. "Heh-ha, ow."

"You should rest for a little bit. Leon will be here very shortly for your next training session." Aeris suggested with slight concern.

"Too late for that, we're already here." Leon called out, making his way into the backyard. But it appears that he wasn't coming alone.

"Oh." Aeris gentle gasped in surprise at who had decided to tag along with Leon. "Cloud."

"... Hey." Cloud greeted, unable to look Aeris in the eyes out of sheer embarrassment and guilt from their last encounter.

"Hm, Mr. Chocobo Head here decided to tag along to give the kid a few tips about combat." Leon smirked, wrapping an arm around Cloud's shoulders to shake the gloom out of him.

"Tsk, I want to see what the kid can do." Cloud remarked back, shrugging Leon's arm off of him. "He couldn't have learned much with you as his teacher."

"Heh, you'll just have to see for yourself." Leon grinned at that with the spark of a challenge in his eyes, glad to see that Cloud was attempting to interact with others. He had been rather aloof for the past few weeks; it was good to see him trying to participate with everyone. He knew that Aeris was happy to see Cloud trying. With the acceptance of Cloud's challenge, Leon turned to Riku. "Ready to show Cloud what you're made of kid?"

"Hm," Riku nodded, straightening himself up. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, getting pumped. "Ready when you are?"

"Alright, that's the spirit."

"I guess my job is done for now. I think I'll get started on making everyone snacks." Aeris said, getting up and brushing her dress off. Before she made her way back into the house, she turned to Cloud with a gentle smile. "Thank you for helping him, Cloud."

"Hm..." Was all Cloud replied back with his arms crossed and his eyes close. He didn't say much, but she could tell he gladly received her gratitude by his semblance. His mood had softened with Aeris presence, but he became more serious once she had left as he focused on Riku. "Alright, kid, Leon tells me that the two of you have been working on your combos and physical skills. But you have been neglected working on your Limit Break."

"My what?" Riku quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Your Drive Forms." Leon tried to reiterate Limit Breaks to the terms of its other name to try and give a better understanding of it to Riku.

"?" However, it still wasn't clicking.

"Hm..." Leon had to give it some thought, crossing his arms as he thinks of a better explanation. Then it clicked for him. "Aeris had mention something about you having what you call a Dark Mode, that is what we call a Limit Break here."

"Oh." He got that one.

"From what I've heard, your Dark Mode is a darkness-oriented form that gives you a substantial advantage in battle. Such as increased speed and feeding your Soul Eater's unique power-up ability with the power of Darkness." Leon summed up before the smirk returned to his face. "We're going to help you hone it in combat to it's full use. It will especially come in handy when you're stuck in a crisis."

"?" Well that is something different than what they would normal do. "How are you two going to do that?"

"We're going to beat the crap out of you." Leon answered. "... A lot."

"... What?"

"Brace yourself, kid." Was all the warning Cloud was going to give Riku before Leon and him charged in to attack, swords out and ready.

"!" Riku could barely Dodge their attacks in time, pulling out his Soul Eater as he jumped back.

The two of them weren't going to hold back as they got Riku to really work on his Combos and Slash moves. Sometimes he could Dodge or Block their attacks, other times he had to take it head on as they broke through his defenses and he had to get back at them with his Counters. His stamina was much superior compared to his Magical skills, but the way the two of them moved around him and attacked like wolves- practically in sync with each other- was really starting to drain him. But somewhere passed the pain and fatigue, he could feel something building up deep inside him.

"You've got to hang in there. Your limit gauge is just starting to build." Cloud instructed to Riku as he noticed Riku starting to give in to his fatigue while their blades clashed together.

"What?"

"He means your darkness gauge." Leon explained, coming at him from the side, forcing Riku to jump back to avoid the both of them.

"Oh," It was easier to place and understand the growing strength inside him once he put a name to it. Now that he could sense the power inside of him, he could tap into it. "I think I've got it."

It just needed a little more before it reached its limit, like a water canteen being filled to the brim. Just a little more... There! He could practically feel it overflowing inside of him.

"Ok! Now your limit gauge is full, go ahead and use it!" Cloud called out, sensing the power reaching its limit inside of Riku too. Now all he had to do was use it. "Fight with your limit technique."

"Ahh!" Riku powered up, activating his Dark Mode. "Darkness!"

He had enough power now to actually push Cloud and Leon back, and then some. But he had put so much force into his attack to impress them enough to call their match.

"Great." Was all Cloud said in praise, but it was more then enough to please Riku that he got such approval from Cloud. It was one thing to get praise from Leon, whom he had a lot of respect for, it was one thing to finally get the praise of a man who had so much animosity and mistrust when they first met- and probably since Riku first came to his Home World. In that moment the two of them had grew a silent respect for each other. Riku in respect for Cloud for overcoming his mistrust to actually get to know Riku, let alone help him, even with the darkness still strongly inside him. And Cloud in respect for Riku for his strength at still having the Darkness inside him, using it, and still having the power to not let it take control of him.

Leon smirked at the two of them, pleased at the silent bond that had grown between the two souls whose Hearts had been tempted and damaged by the Darkness and still overcame it. The two of them had a lot in common and could learn from one another once they've overcome their stubbornness.

... Day 50...

The day had finally come, although Aeris had wish it wouldn't have come so soon. But there was still so much to be done, things that only Riku could do. And as much as she wish for him to stay with her a little longer, she could no longer hold him from his destiny.

His time training with her was over...

The night before the two of them and the rest of the gang had celebrated Riku's passing grade with everyone's training with a Dinner Party. They knew that Riku was soon going to head off to the World of Twilight Town to check on Sora and his friends' condition, and catch up with King Mickey. So they all decided to throw him a party before he'd go. They practically filled up Aeris' Kitchen/Dinning Room with their rowdiness and laughter- expect for the reserved two of the group, Cloud and Leon- until late into the night.

And the next morning was filled with silent packing and breakfast. There was so much they both wanted to say to each other with their time together running short, but they couldn't find the strength to get pass the lump that was building in their throats. Aeris was the first to get her voice back before the others had returned to her doorstep to see Riku off with her. In practically broke her heart to see Riku grabbing his Leather Cloak again.

"W-wait." Aeris called out, halting him in his progress of putting his cloak on. "I-I've notice that your clothes are starting to get two small for you so I've made you some new clothes."

"!" Riku was caught by surprise that with a wave of his mother's hand his clothes started to glow in a bright light. Only to change into larger blue baggy pants with very large, paler pockets that were held up by a black and silver belt. His black and yellow vest was gone, replaced by a sleeveless, black, double-zippered shirt under a white vest with yellow at the bottom that was separated from the white by a blue stripe. The collar is folded down to reveal the color on the inside, yellow, and is decorated with four small silver buttons. His gloves were gone, replaced by a loose white cloth that reaches a little bit above his fingers and up between his wrist and elbow on his left arm. His shoes were now white and gray on the bottom and top, with three black stripes on each side and yellow laces. They were a little big on him, but at least he wasn't feeling so tight anymore.

She was practically converting her Magic energy into solid matter in order to create his clothes. Aeris had taught him how to do that trick, but he didn't really have an interest into honing the skill to a practical use. He just didn't have a knack for it; but his mother was pro based on her skills. She had commented that she had learned from a group a fairies that liked to fight among themselves about the color; Riku didn't think he would have the patience to learn it if he was in her shoes.

"You've grown so much since you got here. And you're still sprouting like a bean stock. You would have sprouted out of those old clothes soon." Aeris commented as she looked him over and her work. "They're a little big on you; but, I believe you'll grow into them."

"They feel great." Riku praised as he looked over her work, a subtle yet gentle smile came over his face as he looked back to her again. "Thanks, Mom. It looks amazing."

"You're welcome, dear."

"Yo!" Yuffie called out for their attention. Waving at the two of them as she came up to their front lawn with the rest of the gang to see Riku off.

"Everyone." Aeris smiled to them in greeting as she left the doorway with Riku to meet up with the others.

"Glad we could make it in time to see the kid of before he high tailed it out of here." Cid commented with a grin. "Wouldn't feel right if we didn't get to see him off."

"You guys..." Riku nearly mumbled in happy embarrassment from their care. They were such a quirky yet kind group of people, it sadden him that he would have to leave them.

"Don't be that way," Leon lectured, already sensing the sadness starting to build up inside of Riku. "This isn't a goodbye forever, you can always visit us whenever you like."

"It'd probably be wise for you come back every now and then to train with us to keep your skills sharp." Cloud advised.

"Yeah... You guys are right."

"Now go on, my boy. Go face your destiny with your head held high." Merlin said, encouraging Riku for the trials he would be facing once he left the sanctuary of Radiant Garden. And he knew, that there would be many... and they will be painful.

"Hm," Riku nodded, feeling more pumped. Before he turned to face his mother and his face softened with a little bit of pain. "Well, I guess this is it..."

"Take care of yourself, Riku. And make sure you do your homework." Aeris lectured, handing him a stack of sheets on notes for his studies and the homework that they came with. "I'll expect them to be done and delivered to me for grading by whatever means necessary. And make sure to come back for testing. But it would also be nice if you decided to come by, just to visit... I worry."

"Okay, Mom. I will." Riku assured her. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be fine."

But he was slightly caught by surprise when Aeris suddenly embraced him in a hug, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Remember, the shadows of these Worlds will try to steal you away into their arms. But you belong in mine."

"..." His heart... it felt so... warm.

"We will always be one within a dream." She assured to him in a gentle voice that only he would hear as she pulled away. She stepped back, giving him space to travel through the worlds when he's ready, placing a hand over her heart. "I'll always be there beside you in here. So keep your head held high."

"Right. Later for now, Mom." Riku nodded to his mother in farewell, before summing the Darkness inside him to travel through a dark corridor.

"Until we meet again..." Aeris quietly said in sadness after he was gone.

... (0) ...

Riku had stepped out onto the other side of the dark corridor to step into a world covered in the warm glow of a twilight sun. Riku had never truly been here before, but still he knew this place.

"He's here. This is the place..."

Twilight Town

Riku walk through the streets, admiring the buildings. The stores that had closed for the day, the streets that had lulled. The area seemed so familiar to Riku, and yet so different. Roads were similar to the ones back in Castle Oblivion, however the paths flowed differently. It took him a while to find his way to the end of the town, where a crack in its wall led to the edge of the woods. He had passed through a few people along the way, mostly kids, mostly coming back after hanging out after school. Riku found it refreshing seeing such good friends coming together to enjoy in each others company after a long day. It reminded him of his time back on the island.

But he couldn't relish in it for long, he had a purpose for coming here. And he had spent a long enough time putting it to the side. There was no path, but the trees seemed to open a way for him. He did not have to travel in the woods for long, its mass of trees were not as vast as the Hundred Acre Wood. Before long he found himself at the stone wall and iron gates of an old mansion. An old mansion that he remembered in Castle Oblivion.

"There... Sora's inside there." Riku said with determination. Pushing open the gates that, surprisingly, opened with ease to him. He was expecting for the gates' lock to be eroded shut with age and lack of use; or, at least locked since there was someone or some people who were trying to stay hidden. But the place... seemed to welcome him. Its doors opened to him, it would be rude of him not to accept its hospitality.

Riku walked through the front gate, closing the gate behind him. Its old iron creaked behind him as they shut. The yard was unkempt and the vines grew freely along the mansion walls, but still, the place was intact.

Just like the gate the door opened with ease to Riku. He looked around to see that the place was taken over by cobwebs just like a place that was suppose to be abandoned for years was suppose to be. But still, this was mostly a front. A means to keep the town's people from suspecting that anyone has taken residence here. However, what was it that was keeping the town's people away?

Riku continued further into the mansion, looking through it for clues. If he had to guess where the others were stashing Sora and his companions, Riku would say that they were in a basement somewhere in the mansion. Now all that was left was to find it. Riku had looked around for a time and eventually found the Manson Library in the room on the right side of the second floor. A statue of a horse pointed to a secret coding that Riku had to complete in order to reveal the secret stairway hidden by the floor. The code was left on a page right by the key on the table, just to lead the way for him. Taking the stairs down he found the door that lead to a Computer Room. The screens were off and unmanned, whomever kept this places upkeep must have only recently stepped out from what Riku could feel about in the air of the room. Following said person's heart and their subtle scent of darkness, Riku continued further into the underground rooms. Pass the Manson Basement Hall, all the way to the curving hall were five pods were resting by its left wall. Two of them having occupants.

"Donald? Goofy?!" What were they doing out here, and why were they in a pod? On that note, where was Sora? "!"

Continuing on with a little haste, Riku made his way to the next room. A room of pure white, just like the ones in Castle Oblivion. And just like the time before, there was a large pod in the center of the room with Sora inside. However this time DiZ and Naminé were there, turning around at his unexpected appearance. And a little surprised, it was somewhat unsettling how they couldn't sense his presence.

"Riku." Naminé said in her own smiling greeting, glad that he came.

"About time you made your appearance, Riku." DiZ added in as well, his arms still crossed behind his back.

"Sorry about the wait. I had so much to learn, and still more." Riku replied, he looked left and right, but couldn't see whom he was trying to find. There should be a third person there. "Where's Mickey?"

"His Majesty got head start before you." DiZ answered. "He's out taking care of the little pest knocking at our door."

"Hm," Riku would leave that be for now. For the time being, he would focus on the person that needed him most. Looking up at the pod, Riku could still see Sora peacefully sleeping. "How is he...?"

"I'm doing the best I can. But..." Naminé sadly hesitated, looking away from them with a fist over where her heart should be.

"We seem to have run into some difficulties recovering Sora's memories." DiZ answered for her.

"!" That set off in alarm in Riku, immediately turning his attention to DiZ in anger and panic. "What do you mean?"

"I... I can't find Sora's memories." Naminé admitted, drawing Riku's attention to her. He was still worried, but the anger had left his eyes when dealing with her compared to DiZ. She straighten up her shoulders and did her best to get the words out of her. "Sora's fine, he still within a dream, just like the others. However... It's like many of his memories have broken off into pieces and scattered. They have taken on a hollow form of their own... just like the Nobodies."

"Can you still return them?"

"Yes... with the help of DiZ it is possible." Naminé answered, looking over at DiZ before looking back at Riku. "But... we'd have to find them and physically return them to Sora. And if we don't recover all of them... I'm afraid that Sora might not ever wake up."

"Then we have to find them!" Riku insisted, almost ready to rush out of the mansion and start an unguided wild goose chase.

"I can't leave this place..."

"?" That stopped Riku in his tracks and made him turn back to Naminé. "What do you mean?"

"The pest, as I mention before, are the Nobodies that have gotten us in this mess in the first place. They called themselves Organization XIII." DiZ explained for her. "They are looking everywhere for Sora and Naminé, in the hopes of recovering the Keyblade again. Naminé is safe here, but if she leaves the sanctum of this mansion I'm afraid they will find her in an instant. And in turn, find Sora."

"Then tell me..."

"?" They both looked to him in curiosity, Naminé more openly than DiZ.

"Tell me what I have to do to help." Riku insisted with determination. He wanted to save his friend.

"King Mickey is going about the worlds looking for clues of Sora's memories, while taking Organization XIII off our trail. I would advise that you do the same." DIZ suggested, please to have Riku so cooperative. It was much easier to get him to go along than it was in Castle Oblivion. "Go to the worlds where Sora and his companions once visited and see what you can find. And if you can, take care of those pesky Organization members when you cross them."

"..." Riku had a goal now, and few destinations in hand. Now nothing could stop him. Looking up to his slumbering friend once again, Riku looked up into his closed eyes, peaceful eyes unaware of the damaging trouble Sora was in. "Be strong Sora. I shall be there for you. All those scattered memories... I will find the pieces one by one."

*** Author's Notes ***

All Magic and Skills were mostly based off the Final Fantasy 7 Materia skills.

And just for a fun fact, Zephyr was a Greek god of the west wind, and the bringer of light and early spring breezes.

The adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood was based off the Disney (1977) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. A complication of the Disney theatrical shorts: (1966) Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree; (1968) Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day; and, (1974) Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too.

Time-line for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and this story... continued: Through days 27-49 Riku is training- trying to get a better control over his darkness- at some point he splits with king Mickey to go on with his self-training alone, only later to return to DiZ and Naminé to see how Sora's recovery is going. And on day 50 Roxas wakes up. The rest of the story line will continue onto the next chapter.