Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. This fanfiction follows the events of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days very closely and includes an original character owned by me. Please do not plagiarize the content found in this fic and use it for yourself!

"Keep the hood on, child."

I was tugging at the hood of the cloak DiZ gave me. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear, and I hated having something like a hood on my head. But he insisted that I wore it at all times. Of course, he explained it to me over and over, saying something like:

"The situation will become much more complicated if Organization XIII catches on to our identities."

Reluctantly so, I listened and left the hood alone. The bad guys he told me about were fond of secretive operations, including exploiting DiZ's work. But, I didn't get why I had to wear this cloak while in the mansion. It was a stronghold, sort of- our base of operations. Surely it'd be safe to unwind for a moment.

I plopped down on a reclining chair in the mansion's dining hall. DiZ was sitting on the other side of the oak coffee table with an ice cream in his hand. It was his favorite ice cream, he told me before. Actually, I was quite fond of the salty and sweet mix. Sea-salt ice cream was a specialty of some store in town, and it was unique but ultimately contributed nothing to this meeting we were having.

"So..." I crossed my legs and looked around the dining area. Riku and Mickey were unexpectedly absent. It was supposed to be an important discussion, but I thought that meant we were all going to be here together.

"Mm," DiZ nodded his head. "Your friend, Riku, is investigating the Organization's trail in another world at the moment. And, the king has other matters to attend to."

"Got it." I tapped my fingers on the armrest and wondered if they were doing alright. My memory about it was a bit fuzzy, but a few weeks passed since I broke out of that deep sleep. The king and Riku were there to welcome me, but they've been out frequently since then. I barely got to see them. "Any idea on when they will get back?"

"No."

DiZ's reply was short and bitter.

I sighed and closed my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was spend the entire month in my room. There had to be something I could do outside, like looking for clues on that group of villains he was researching. After hearing Riku's discussions about his adventures in a place called Castle Oblivion, I wanted to know more. Who were these people who targeted my friends?

The idea of me going out on my own was undoubtedly going to get shot down again. I tried multiple times already, but he was adamant in his judgement. And I couldn't exactly fight back or walk out on my own without being frozen in place by that girl staying upstairs. Her name was Namine. Only a couple of times have we crossed paths, so it was very rare for us to stop and have a chat. The door to her room was always closed, too.

"Let us begin our meeting," DiZ announced, tossing his popsicle stick into a trash bin.

Finally! I mentally cheered and sat up to listen in.

"Now that you are in more decent shape, there are a few items of business that we need to go over," he said, and I nodded in response. "First is the recovering of your power. I am well aware of your history with the Keyblade and education in magic. Ah, and your companion who lies within your shadow."

"It's been a few days, but... I haven't been able to tap into anything," I told him. Feeling ashamed about my inability to do anything significant, I lowered my head and wove my fingers together. My thumbs twiddled as my thoughts ran blank. It was nothing I could explain.

"Theories can be tossed about in many ways," he said. "We will suppose that you have not made a full recovery. Once that time has come, I can rely on you. For now, I request that you look into regaining your abilities."

"Sure."

"Second," DiZ held up two fingers. "The first journey you and Sora embarked on together led to the defeat of Ansem, the seeker of darkness. Allegedly, the amount of Heartless was reduced. Worlds became safe. However, it appears that an unknown source has brought about more. They team again to plague many more worlds. We must find out why."

"The Heartless were targeting people's hearts and also the Keyholes. Ansem and others corrupted by darkness controlled them," I recalled. "Wouldn't be a surprise if they were up to it again."

"Indeed, but it is not just the Heartless that we must remain vigilant over," DiZ warned, leaning forward in his seat. "It seems that Organization XIII has been active in increasing their numbers after the loss Nobodies. That is what our new enemy is. Empty vessels coming from those who have lost their hearts. Only the stronger hearts become more human like those scoundrels. I fear that I do not possess enough data to undermine them. Our top priority is discovering their weakness to use it against them."

"That's why you need mine and Sora's power," I determined. It wasn't the wrong idea. He seemed to agree to it, though I was a bit reluctant to follow him blindly in facing these Nobodies. As for Sora, he was still in a state of sleep. He couldn't fight sleepwalking. Riku and King Mickey couldn't be the ones to face Organization XIII by themselves. It'd be like trying to hammer a nail with a spoon. Nothing would work out. At least, that was my thought.

"For the good of the worlds... and your friends... see to it that you do not fail in your efforts to regain all that has been lost," he said. "The Keyblades are key to resolving the fate brought on by the Organization."

"I-I'll do my best." I nodded a couple of times.

The meeting we had was brought to a close, and DiZ left to see Namine in the courtyard. I went out into the foyer and climbed the stairs to my room, where I could meditate on the load of information he just gave me.

Locking the door behind me, I stepped over to the bed and fell onto the cushiony mattress. What a mess this turned out to be.

Getting lost in the Realm of Darkness really through me out of the loop. Sora and Riku were off on their own adventures, and many new things happened. All while I was away. Was Kairi doing okay? I was sure she returned home. School must have started up again by now. On the plus side, I wasn't really missing out. The stack of papers on the desk in the corner was all homework. Riku had some of his own, too.

DiZ promised he wouldn't let us fall behind in our schooling while we helped him. However he did it, I didn't want to know. It was just some side matter anyway. All I had to do was the homework and get back to what I needed to do.

First and foremost, I had to get all of my powers back. If there was one thing that I could do, it was call on Guardian for help. She was the only thing I could really rely on right now, but I couldn't do nothing myself. I needed the Keyblade and my magic back, too.

I flipped over onto my side and let my hood fall down. A thought crossed my mind about the loss.

"If I want to help my friends, then I need to do what I can to get everything back," I mumbled to myself. "Just one at a time, I guess."

The Keyblade is going to be the most important one, I thought.

What did I do to get it the first time...? I think it was a dream. Yeah, that sounds about right. It was that weird place. Maybe I should try sleeping.