Author's Notes: I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor its franchise – it belongs to Tetsuya Nomura! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 3 – Encounters and Shocks
The doors of Traverse Town's First District were pushed opened as an anthropomorphic female duck and cow stepped forward.
The duck had white plumage, a yellow bill along with light blue eyes and lavender eye shadow. She wore a violet beret that had a belt and sported a zipper that spanned the length of the hat, a purple high-collared jacket with yellow lining and cuffs along with a zipper to tie the whole thing, a short dark purple cape with yellow lining that was draped over the shoulders and held by a silver bow. A pair of pink bracelets with yellow lines and red dots on them adorned both her hands. Lastly, she wore a pair of purple high-heeled sneakers on her feet.
The cow was very tall with black skin, a white mouth and two small horns on the top of her head. She wore a small brown bowler hat with a pair of goggles attached to it and a flower, a green turtleneck sweater with sleeves that bell out slightly along with a blue arrow-shaped strap on each cuff. Two sets of white gloves with brown bands adorned her hands. Over the turtleneck sweater was a sleeveless black combat vest with grey lining and four pockets of the same color. There was also a short yellow skirt along with a big one that reached her knees and trailed down the back side. Two brown boots with bowties covered her feet. Her only accessory was a yellow cow bell around her neck.
These female anthropomorphic cow and duck were Clarabelle Cow and Daisy Duck – Captain Goofy of the Royal Guard and Royal Mage Donald Duck's love interests. Currently, they were on a mission by her highness Queen Minnie. Their job was to find and follow the mystery person who had a "Key" of some kind… at least, that's what the queen's letter said.
When they arrived in Traverse Town, Clarabelle suggested that they should change their clothes as to avoid suspicion. Daisy agreed since she thought that travelling in a ball gown was a very bad idea…
Accompanying Clarabelle and Daisy was the Royal Chronicler – a small cricket by the name of Jiminy. He was the only person who escaped the destruction of his home and ended up in Disney Castle. Now he was following Clarabelle and Daisy in their search for the mysterious "Key".
Clarabelle was walking forward when a mysterious force told her to look up. She did and gasped in shock. Daisy turned around and wondered what caught Clarabelle's attention all of a sudden.
"Clara… what are you-" Daisy looked up and gasped in shock as Clarabelle spoke. "Look, Daisy! A star is going out!" The cow pointed at a blinking star that was about to go out.
It blinked three times and then disappeared for good much to the shock of Clarabelle and Daisy who were hoping that someone made it out alive before the star was destroyed.
"Clara… we gotta keep moving." Daisy told her.
Clarabelle nodded and followed Daisy who was crossing her arms and wondering where the mystery "Key" was. "Where could that "Key" be…?" She wondered.
"You know what, Daisy? Maybe we should go and find Aerith first – the Queen's letter said that she'll be able to help us in the search for the "Key"." Clarabelle suggested, but Daisy rolled her eyes. "Clara… just be quiet and let me handle this, okay?"
Clarabelle was a little hurt by what Daisy said, but nodded nevertheless. "What a stubborn duck…" The cow thought to herself.
Just then, she realized that someone from their group was missing – Queen Minnie's pet cat Figaro. Where did the little scamp ran off to…? He climbed aboard the Gummi Ship when it was about to take off and exited alongside Clarabelle and Daisy – so… where was he?
"Figaro! Come on out! Here, kitty! Here, here, here! Come on out, Figaro!" Clarabelle yelled as she followed Daisy whilst searching for the queen's pet.
Meanwhile, the blackish-white cat and pet of Queen Minnie known as Figaro was walking in an alleyway in search of food or something to play with. What he saw at the end was something unexpected.
Laying on the ground was an unconscious girl who was no doubt somewhere between 14 or 15. She had short auburn red hair and a pale complexion. Her clothes consisted of consisted of a black top underneath a white one, purple bike shorts that were hidden by a purple skirt being held all together by a blue belt. Her feet garnered two white slip-on shoes with purple caps. The accessories that the girl possessed were a black choker, a yellow wristband along with a purple armband on her left arm and two bracelets on the right. Lastly, there was necklace with a silver bead around her neck. Her eyes were closed for some reason…
The cat walked up slowly towards the girl and stood in front of her face. It began to lick her face with its tongue which made her giggle a little bit even with her eyes closed.
"S-stop it, Mom… j-just five more minutes." The girl pleaded before returning to sleep once more.
The cat licked her face once more and she started to giggle. Opening her eyes slowly, she rubbed them very slowly and looked at her surroundings. "Oh… this isn't Destiny Island at all. W-where am I…?" She rubbed the back of her head.
From the looks of things, she was in some kind of alleyway with some wooden boxes and barrels. What a strange place…
The girl got up and brushed the dirt off her tank-top and shorts. She then felt a couple of taps coming from her legs. Looking down, she gave out a cute squeal – it was a little kitty cat!
"Oh, my gosh! You are the most cutest kitty cat I've ever seen!" She grinned and rubbed her nose with his.
The cat liked the nose rub and licked the girl's cheeks. She giggled and placed the cat down on the pavement.
Crouching to its level, the girl decided to ask where exactly she was. "Hey, little fella. Do you know where I am?" The cat in response turned in the other direction and ran ahead.
"H-hey! Where are you going?" The girl asked but the cat was too far ahead to hear. Sighing to herself, the teenager walked out of the alley and was immediately stunned at the sight.
"Holy… this isn't a dream! I'm in another world!" The girl screamed in a joyful and shocked tone.
She was currently in the first district of Traverse Town – filled with houses, a café, shops and the doors leading to the second and third parts of this hub. What a pure coincidence!
Though she was happy that she was in another world, the girl had no time for sight-seeing or going on a tour. She had to find her two friends and fast…
Looking around, the girl was attracted to the shop with the yellow glowing sign "Accessory Shop" – maybe someone in there could offer her help?
She had to give it a try. The girl pushed the doors leading to the "Accessory Shop" and stepped forward. Hopefully the owner was in and not somewhere else.
The Accessory Shop was considered by many in Traverse Town to be a good source of help and gathering information – along with buying items and such. The inside of the room featured a fireplace, a couch with some coffee tables, a counter with an item on display and stuff for selling.
There was a young woman writing in a ledger behind the counter. She had shoulder-length black hair with three caramel streaks on both sides of her face, fair skin and dark brown eyes. Her attire consisted of a long sleeveless blue rib-knit duster sweater with a pair of white wing designs on the back, matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black tank top along with a denim button-up skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, a pair of black cycling shorts with zippers going down the front and a pair of silver buckled black boots. Her only piece of accessory was a necklace with a ring attached to it.
The woman heard the door opening and stopped writing in the ledger. Sighing to herself, she began to speak. "Welcome to the Accessory Shop. How many I-" The woman stopped when she noticed who had entered her store – a little girl.
"Um… h-hello. Are you by chance the owner?" The girl asked with a shy tone in her voice.
The woman nodded with a gentle smile on her face. "Indeed I am… I'm Rinoa Heartlilly: co-owner of the Accessory Shop - whenever my friend Cid isn't. And you are…?" The co-owner whose name was identified as Rinoa asked.
"My name is Kairi… and I need some help, Miss Heartlilly." The girl whose name was Kairi pleaded.
"No need to be formal, Kairi… just call me Rinoa. Miss Heartlilly makes me feels like an old woman. So, what kind of help do you need, dear?" Rinoa asked.
"W-well… I've just arrived here and I have no idea where my friends are. We got separated when my island was attacked by strange dark creatures with yellow eyes. Have you by chance seen two boys named Sora and Riku, Rinoa?" Kairi asked.
Rinoa's eyes widened in surprise. "The Heartless have struck again… this is bad." She whispered quietly to herself in order to make sure that Kairi didn't hear anything.
It didn't seem to work because Kairi was surprised at what she heard – did Rinoa knew something about why her home world was attacked?
"Miss Rinoa, do you know anything about why my island was attacked…?" Kairi asked slowly.
Rinoa couldn't help but give a small sigh – "Better break the news now than later…" The black-haired woman thought to herself.
"Kairi… those creatures you encountered on your island were the Heartless. They are darkness that resides in people's hearts. What attracts them is envy, hatred or sorrow. The only thing that can defeat them is a Keyblade Wielder… which sadly we don't have. As a result, Traverse Town is under constant threat from the Heartless." Rinoa explained to a confused Kairi who scratched the back of her head.
"Traverse Town…?" Kairi asked and Rinoa answered her question immediately. "The name of the world you are in right now – it serves as a hub for all those who have lost their worlds to both the Heartless and darkness. If your island was attacked, Kairi… that means that Traverse Town is now home. I'm afraid that your world was no doubt destroyed by the Heartless." Rinoa finished explaining to a shocked Kairi.
"W-what!?" Kairi looked at ground as a few tears exited her eyelids and fell to the ground. Rinoa noticed this, exited the counter and crouched towards Kairi's level. The woman placed a comforting hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Hey, don't cry… maybe your home is gone. But that doesn't mean your friends are. I bet that right now maybe they are in either the Second or Third District. Why not take a look around town?" Rinoa suggested as she wiped Kairi's tears away.
"R-really? You believe that my friends could be alive and are right now somewhere in Traverse Town…?" Kairi asked with a hopeful look on her face.
Rinoa nodded with a smile on her face. "Yep. In fact, why not start your search in the Second District? I'm sure you'll find your friends… just keep a chin up and you'll do great." The woman told her.
Kairi smiled gently – Rinoa had a point. Maybe Sora and Riku were somewhere in the Second and Third District… waiting for help or their third best friend. Whatever the reason, the red-haired teenager decided that she should explore the rest of this town before making judgment.
"Alright, I'll take your advice and explore the rest of this town, Miss Rinoa. Who knows? Maybe I'll find Sora and Riku in one of the other districts…" Rinoa smiled at those words.
"Good… have a look around the Second District first – most of the new residents who have lost their homes usually rent a room in the local Hotel. I'd advise you to begin your search there. But first, we need to get you a weapon just in case you run into any Heartless." Rinoa told her.
"Oh, I already have a weapon to fend off the Heartless – this key-shaped weapon!" Kairi pulled out her right hand as a bright flash blinded both her and Rinoa – soon, a long classical skeleton key landed in her fist.
The blade was completely silver while the teeth formed an outline of a crown, its guard was bright golden while the rain-guard was blue. The handle was gray and its keychain that extended from the hilt was silver. Its token was a mouse head.
Rinoa gasped quietly so that Kairi couldn't hear her. This little girl… this teenager was the chosen wielder of the Keyblade!? How could this have happened…? Why did the Keyblade have to choose a child so innocent, yet so pure?
In the meantime, Kairi noticed that Rinoa wasn't eyeing her anymore. Instead, she was looking at her weapon… why exactly?
"Ummm… are you okay, Miss Rinoa?" Kairi asked very slowly.
"Oh! Uh, yeah! Just thinking about some things… say, Kairi – where did you get the Keyblade?" Rinoa asked.
"You mean the weapon I'm wielding? Well… it ended up in my hands right after one of my best friends used the darkness to escape from our island. I've been fighting off the Heartless ever since. Why do you ask, Miss Rinoa?" Kairi was curious on the matter.
"Umm… no reason. I was just curious on the matter. A-anyways… aren't your friends waiting for you to find them?" Rinoa asked which made Kairi widen her eyes. The red-haired girl had almost forgot about Sora and Riku!
"You're right, Miss Rinoa! I've gotta go! If I find them, I'll let you know! Later!" Kairi yelled her goodbyes as she rushed out of the Accessory Shop and began to search for the boys.
Rinoa waved her goodbye with a smile and then she sighed. The chosen wielder had been discovered… now she had to tell her husband and the rest of their group. One down, two more "Keys" to be found…
Walking over to the counter, she pulled up her phone and dial in an unknown number. Seconds later, the caller answered.
"Hi… Aerith, are you there? Okay, good… I've got good news – one of the three "Keys" has been found. Her name is Kairi… how soon can you get over here with Cloud?" Rinoa asked the person known as Aerith over the phone.
(Meanwhile…)
The doors leading to the Second District were pushed opened as Kairi stepped forward and looked around – much like the first section of Traverse Town, this area was filled with houses and shops. There was even a fountain and a bell tower it seems. The red-head smiled in relief when she saw the big neon sign: "Traverse Town Hotel." – So far, so good. Now all she had to do was enter and check to see if Sora or Riku were in there.
Unfortunately, fate wasn't on her side today. As soon as she stepped forward, Kairi saw a man stumbled out in front of her. His face displayed a look of fear – something must have really shook him up.
"Hey, mister… are you-" Kairi cut herself off in shock as a pink-colored heart bursted out from the man's body and flew away into the deep night sky. The red-head wondered what the heck just happened.
Meanwhile, the man disappeared into a small vortex-like portal and in his place came a much bigger Heartless than the small shadows Kairi encountered on the island.
This monster was clad in a bluish-black body suit bearing a red-blackish heart emblem and purple inverted emblems trimmed in gold on the knees. It wore black, silver trimmed shoes that ended in spiral toes, silver wristbands, and a silver knight's helmet decorated with two angular, eye-like spirals on the front and a yellow stripe at the base of the curled silver plume. It had fierce blue and red-tipped claws, along with bright yellow eyes and toothy maw.
If Kairi didn't know better, she would think that this Heartless would resemble a knight in shining armor. But this wasn't the case…
The Knight Heartless jumped and did a somersault in the air before disappearing for good. Kairi was confused on why it just vanished like that…
But she didn't have time to think about that for now because – several shadows had begun to surround her. "It's the Heartless that I saw on my island!" She pulled out her Keyblade and got into position.
Three shadows jumped forward in an attempt to take her heart, but she was quick and sliced them in half with her Keyblade. Two of the Heartless sank into the ground and rose up from behind in order to sneak attack her. Fortunately, Kairi saw their reflection from her blade and turned around. She wasted no time in slicing them. Five shadows were done and only two more were left.
Kairi jump and delivered a landing attack on the first shadow – it vaporized into dust. The final sank back into the ground and attempted a sneak attack from behind. But it didn't work… the moment it popped out again, Kairi sliced it in half and it disappeared soon after.
With all seven shadows gone, Kairi dismissed her Keyblade and sighed in relief. So, the Heartless followed her from her home, huh? What a coincidence…
But she didn't have time to waste – right now, she was going to enter the hotel and search for any signs of Sora or Riku.
Kairi was about to take a step forward when she heard screaming coming from somewhere. The red-haired girl looked around but didn't see anyone in need of help-
*CRASH!-CRASH!-CRASH!*
Someone crashed landed on top of Kairi whose eyes were currently spinning along with stars around her head. She was really having a shitty day… who in their bright mind had the idea to crash-land on top of Kairi?
The red-haired girl pushed the person who made an unexpected crash onto the ground and rubbed the back of her head. Once she was done, the spinning in Kairi's eyes was gone. Now she could she who exactly decided to do a crash landing on top of her- wait, what?
The person who crash landed on top of her body… turned out to be a young teenage girl just like her. She had long wavy-length black hair, pale skin and green eyes. Her attire wasn't anything big – an orange long-sleeved shirt underneath a white jacket, a pair of shorts and white slip-on shoes. What really made Kairi curious about the girl was the crown-shaped necklace. Her best friend Sora owned one just like hers!
Kairi had no idea who this girl was and why she decided to crash-land on top of her body. Yet, she was going to find out in a matter of seconds. Let's see who this mysterious girl really is…
"Hey, are you okay?" Kairi asked as she walked over and touched the mystery girl whose eyes were currently spinning along with stars over her head. The red head saw that her guest hadn't regain consciousness yet.
Kairi tapped her once more but this time the mystery girl gave a groan. The spinning in her eyes was gone as she closed them, sat up and started to rub the back of head.
"Ouch… my damn head. What the hell is going on…?" The mystery girl asked as she continued to rub the back of her head.
Seeing that she was now conscious, Kairi decided to ask her question. "Hey, you alright?" She asked.
The black-haired girl stopped rubbing her head for a second, opened her eyes and looked at Kairi's direction before turning away. "Yeah, Kairi… I'm fine. Just need to-" She stopped speaking and her mouth widened in shock. Frozen like a statue, she slowly turned to look at the person she was discussing things with and…
"K-KAIRI!?" The mystery girl yelled out Kairi's name much to her shock – how did this person now who she was?
"H-how did you know my name…?" Kairi asked slowly.
The mystery girl shook her head. "No! No, no, no! You aren't supposed to be here! You're supposed to be in a coma!" She yelled.
Kairi frowned – what a rude person! All she was asking was how this mystery character knew her name and what does she get? Some cryptic talk about her being in a coma of some kind…
"Hey, no need to be rude! I was just asking a question…" The mystery girl shook her head once more. "No, no! I wasn't trying to be rude! I'm not supposed to meet you until- Wait, where am I exactly!?" The mystery girl asked.
"Whoa… calm down, will you? Look, we are in Traverse Town – a hub that serves as a home to those that have lost their worlds to the darkness. Listen, can you please answer my question?" Kairi pleaded.
Meanwhile, the mystery girl looked around and couldn't help but gasp in shock. This wasn't her home at all – this was Traverse Town indeed!
"Holy shit…" Were her last words before she fell unconscious onto the ground much to the shock of Kairi.
"Hey, are you okay!?" Kairi rushed forward to check and see if the girl was still alive and kicking…
