The Road to Dawn
By Ariana Aislinn
Chapter 10: Seekers of Wisdom

And chapter 10 is finished! I apologize, I didn't wait to get this beta read before posting it. I'm pretty sure I took care of most major typos and any awkward writing, but if you come across anything I missed, don't worry. I'll get it beta read later and will repost this chapter with any necessary changes. I just wanted to get it up since a lot of interesting stuff was discussed in this chapter, and I'm curious what my readers will think! By the way, many thanks to the readers who have made detailed suggestions for me, both in reviews and in private comments to me. I've done my best to start using some of your suggestions in this chapter, and I hope it shows. I'll continue to work on it. I may also go back and make a few minor revisions to previous chapters.

Standard disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix and Disney, not me.

Kairi dropped her schoolbag on the floor next to the front door, then kicked off her shoes and pushed them over next to it. "Granny, I'm home!" A delicious smell wafted from the kitchen. Heading back there, Kairi found her grandmother stirring a pot filled with something that bubbled enticingly.

"Hello, dear!" The old woman smiled, patting her neat, gray bun with her free hand as she continued to stir with the other. She was short and pleasantly plump, with a face criss-crossed with laugh lines. Kairi went over and gave her a one-armed hug, grabbing a warm biscuit from the plate on the counter.

"So, what are we having tonight?" Kairi sniffed appreciatively and bit into the biscuit.

"Brightfish stew and crab salad. Is that all right?"

Kairi grinned. "More than all right." She went over to the open window and leaned on the sill, munching the biscuit. The slightly chilly evening wind ruffled her hair, but the warmth of the kitchen at her back kept her from feeling too cold.

"You were a bit late getting home. Is everything all right?"

"Um." Kairi paused, thinking. "Not precisely. I ran into someone strange."

"Oh?" The woman's voice betrayed little, but her hand slowed in its stirring.

Kairi turned around to face her grandmother, leaning back against the windowsill. "Gran, do you remember much of what happened last spring?"

"Not a great deal, child. I remember the storm waking me up, and when I went to check on you, you were gone."

"That's right…" Kairi said slowly. "I remember having the weirdest urge to go down to Waterfall Island. I mean, I wanted to check on the raft, but there was something else, too."

"Yes. I was very worried about you, because I felt a familiar resonance from the storm."

Kairi blinked. "Resonance?"

"A kind of harmonic. I knew it was no ordinary storm. I'd been in one much like it once before."

"At Hollow Bastion."

Her grandmother looked a bit surprised, then smiled and nodded. "That's right. I didn't think you remembered."

"I didn't, not really…but it slowly came back to me once I woke up there."

"Funny how memories do that, isn't it?" The elderly lady tested the stew, then added a pinch of pepper. "In any case, I remember running outside to look for you. Off to the southeast I could see that strange cloud hovering over Waterfall Island, and then…nothing. It was as if I'd simply blanked out, and then I came to myself again, standing on the porch in my nightdress, and the night was perfectly calm and clear. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but there seemed to be a meteor shower happening - one where the meteors rose up into the sky rather than fell."

Kairi smiled, remembering. "That's a pretty good description." She stared at her half-eaten biscuit. "Was it anything like what happened at Hollow Bastion?"

"…Not exactly. It was the same in some ways, different in others. In Hollow Bastion, I could hear the storm outside, but mostly we were under attack inside the castle. I looked everywhere for you, then grabbed your hand and ran outside. When the cloud appeared overhead, I held onto you tightly and thought only of our safety. That's when I woke up on the shore of Waterfall Island, with you asleep in my arms."

"I see." Kairi nodded. "Didn't you think it was kind of weird that I never remembered anything about home?"

The woman smiled. "A little, but I was grateful. You didn't seem to remember that terrifying night, and I think you were able to grow up without that shadow over you because of it. I knew the memories would come back someday, when you needed them. Memories are like that. But I've gone off on a tangent! Kairi, dear, you're distracting me from my original question. Who did you see on the way home from school?"

"I'm…getting to that." Kairi munched another bite of biscuit, then swallowed as her grandmother waited patiently. "I told you what happened when I came back to the island that night."

"I remember that." She laughed lightly. "We stayed up almost till dawn, as I recall."

"The thing was," Kairi continued, "you seemed to believe me. You didn't really question anything that I had said happened. Everyone else kept asking me if I knew anything about where Sora and Riku went, and I couldn't tell them - I knew they wouldn't believe me. The only person I told besides you was Selphie. Well, and Sora and Riku's parents…" She sighed. "That was hard. I think they sorta wondered if I was crazy, but they wanted so badly to believe that they'd come home eventually…just like I do."

Her grandmother set down her spoon and leaned over to pat Kairi's shoulder. "I think it helped when I told them they should listen to you, and that I was sure their boys would be all right. Still, they worry. What parent could help it?"

"The point is, Granny, you believed me! You never even questioned any of it. So I guess that's why I'm wondering now if you could help me figure out what to believe."

"About what, dear?" Picking up the spoon again, she tasted the stew. "Just about ready to serve. Will you fetch me a couple of bowls?"

Kairi went to the cupboard to do so as she continued to speak. "You know so much more about Hollow Bastion than I do. I don't even know much about my parents, except what you told me, that they had died in the attack. The place seemed vaguely familiar, and maybe a couple of the people I met, but still…you remember more than I do." She paused. "Did you ever meet a tall man in a black coat? With bright, spiky red hair?"

"Can't say I've ever seen anyone like that, child. I'd remember if I had. Why, is that who you met?" The woman frowned. "He sounds intimidating, whoever he is. What did he say to you?"

"Oh, I don't even remember it all, entirely. I was so mad!" Kairi set the bowls down to be filled as she went to fetch a pitcher of her grandmother's home-squeezed kanapa juice. "Whoever he was, that man really was irritating."

Her grandmother laughed. "I can only imagine what you said to him."

"Yeah, well, I'm not really sure what he wanted, exactly, but he seemed to be trying to prod me into investigating something. Remember how I told you about all the things Sora did while I was…well, while I was with him? I don't remember much of it, but he told me some later. He learned a lot. He got better at fighting - a lot better. He beat Riku, twice. Not only that, he learned magic. Can you imagine, Gran? Magic!" Kairi shook her head.

"Ah, yes," the woman said softly. "I remember magic. No one uses it here, but it was not uncommon in Hollow Bastion."

"Exactly!" Kairi pressed. "So maybe you can tell me what he meant when he said I could learn magic."

Her grandmother frowned. "You, dear? I don't believe you ever had the aptitude. If you had, you would have been trained before we left Hollow Bastion, even as young as you were. There were preliminary lessons that were given to the young ones, to help develop their magical instincts. After that, no real training would be done until around age twelve, but if you'd had any hint of ability at all, you would have received that training."

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know about that, but this man - Axel, he said his name was - told me that Sora learned magic while I was in his heart. He said that because of that, some of the magic might have rubbed off on me."

Her grandmother looked deep in thought. "It's possible, I suppose," she said slowly. "That, or…presuming you had some magic that was buried very deeply, it also could have awakened it. Buried magic is very difficult to reveal, but…well, it would make sense for you. After all, your parents were rather talented magic users. It always seemed surprising to us that you never showed any sign of ability."

Kairi blinked. "My parents could use magic? Why did I never know that before?"

Her grandmother laughed, setting steaming bowls of stew on the table and gesturing for Kairi to bring the salad bowl. "It didn't come up, child. Why would I have tried to explain, when you couldn't use magic, and no one in Destiny Islands even believes for certain that magic exists?"

"I guess you have a point." Kairi set the plate of biscuits on the table next to the salad, then took a seat. She and her grandmother halted their conversation for a moment as they each rested their arms on the table, one hand laid carefully over the other.

"May we be nourished by this food, both in our bodies and in our hearts." As soon as her grandmother finished the ritual phrase, they both tucked in eagerly. The food was indeed delicious, as always. After a moment, Kairi's grandmother paused from eating and eyed her granddaughter. "So, a strange man thinks you can use magic because of your experiences, and he wants you to try to learn. Is that it?"

Kairi nodded, swallowing a bite of salad. "Right. But I have no idea who he is or what he wants. I'm not at all sure I should trust him. Do I have any reason to believe what he says? And why would he care whether I can use magic or not?" She sighed. "How would I even go about learning, assuming it was a good idea to try in the first place?"

"Well, I might be able to teach you a little."

Kairi blinked. "…What? You…you know magic, Granny? But you never told me that!"

The old woman laughed. "Calm down, dear. I don't, not really. But I'm familiar with a few training methods, enough to explore and see if this strange man's claims are really true. That is, if you'd like to try."

Kairi sighed again. "I guess I don't have much of a choice. It's either that, or just keep wondering. Besides, if I had magic, maybe I could do something to help! That is, if I could figure out how to get off these islands and go find Sora…but at least I wouldn't get left behind again!" She set her jaw stubbornly, a look her grandmother was all too familiar with. The woman chuckled, watching her. "No, Gran, I'm serious! I really would have been in the way last time. But if I could manage to help somehow…that would be wonderful. It's my turn to do something, don't you think? Something besides just sleep inside someone else's heart!"

"I know, dear, I know. But do you really regret what happened?"

"…Well, yes, obviously. A lot of it was terrible. I still don't really know what happened to Riku. But you mean about being in Sora's heart?" Her grandmother nodded. "Well…to be honest, it felt safe. Warm. Like home, in a way." She smiled. "Kind of like being at home with you, eating your wonderful stew, Granny."

Her grandmother laughed. "Flattery will get you everywhere, dear. If you're not careful, I'll be forced to hunt down the fresh cookies I baked earlier today."

Kairi grinned. "Oh, no! Anything but that!"

As her grandmother took the dirty dishes into the kitchen and rummaged around to find where she'd hidden the cookies, Kairi looked out the window, thinking. As always, the windows remained wide open, letting the breeze in. They would close them before going to bed, but they always left the windows open until the weather turned cold and rainy in the winter. Gran often said that she'd spent so much of her time indoors when they lived at Hollow Bastion, she loved being that much closer to nature - though it was also because it was island custom, rather like taking your shoes off when you came inside.

The house was small, but cozy enough for the two of them. It was built with simple wooden planks and had a thatched roof, with a special type of paint and coating that the islanders had invented, which provided some insulation and protection from the winter rainstorms. Along with the building's natural wood color, some of the islanders had painted the trim, window frames, and doors a pleasant shade of summer-sky blue. When Kairi and Gran had appeared on the island so many years before, the islanders had been very welcoming. They stayed at the mayor's house for a while until their own house could be built. Kairi's grandmother had supported them by working as a seamstress, but if they ever had trouble scraping together enough money, one family or another would always help them out - that was the islanders' way. This place was so strongly home, and the people of the islands so much her family, that Kairi had never really felt any pressing need to find out more about where she came from.

That had changed, now. As she looked out the window, watching the filmy blue curtains sway in the breeze, Kairi couldn't help but wonder about her life back in Hollow Bastion - about her parents. She'd asked, of course, but Granny's answers had always been sketchy. That had never bothered her before, but now, having seen Hollow Bastion, she wondered where her parents had fit into life in the castle. For that matter, what was life like for a usual citizen of the place? It certainly hadn't been welcoming when Kairi had been there.

"Ansem changed the place after everyone evacuated or disappeared on the night of the storm," Gran had told her. "If what you say is true, then much has changed from the pleasant home I remember. So many strange machines, so much beauty stripped away - there used to be lovely tapestries and paintings, bright colors everywhere." Kairi's grandmother had sighed, shaking her head. "We always trusted Ansem so very much. He was our king, and we thought he was trying to protect us from the darkness when he sent us all away. We thought Maleficent had come to destroy our world, and our ruler was selflessly staying behind to cover our escape. We never suspected the truth."

Kairi knew it had hurt her grandmother to learn that truth, but she also felt pleased that the old woman had believed her so readily. Even Selphie didn't seem to entirely accept Kairi's story. The islanders had so little knowledge of anything outside their immediate experience, and even the tales of long-ago days that they studied in history class didn't quite seem real to most of them.

"…Hey, Gran," Kairi said slowly, a thought occurring to her. "Axel mentioned the Seekers of Wisdom. We were learning about them today in school. Do you know anything about them?"

Returning to the table with a plate of cookies and a pitcher of frosty milk (fresh from a neighbor's cow), her grandmother frowned thoughtfully. "A little, yes. It seems a strange subject to bring up, though, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, just what I was thinking. I mean, it sounded like he was trying to get me to believe that the islanders couldn't use magic mostly because they'd just forgotten how, and that somehow being in Sora's heart awakened my natural power. But I'm not from the Destiny Islands! So why would he bring that up? I mean, he knew a lot about me, and about Sora and Riku. So wouldn't he know I'm not from around here?" Kairi shrugged, grabbing a cookie and biting into it. "Mmm, these are great! You know I can't resist chocolate chip."

Her grandmother winked at her. "Oh yes, I do know that!" She took her seat, setting down a steaming cup of tea for herself and stirring it idly with a spoon. "Well…I don't know much, but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that this man mentioned the Seekers of Wisdom because he was not just talking about the Destiny Islands."

"Um…what do you mean?" Kairi blinked, pouring herself a glass of milk.

"I've heard of the Seekers of Wisdom before, dear. They used to be an order living in Hollow Bastion, but their numbers have dwindled greatly. The only one still alive that I ever knew of was Ansem."

Kairi's eyes widened, and she stopped just as she was raising a second cookie to her mouth. "What? But…but how? I thought the Seekers were only from the history of the Destiny Islands! Are you sure it's not just another group that happens to have the same name?"

"Fairly sure, my dear. I spent some time talking with the mayor about the islands' history. There's a lot more to the tales of the Seekers than the basics you learn in history class, and they sound eerily similar to those I heard of in Hollow Bastion." Gran took a thoughtful sip of her tea. "Fascinating, really…perhaps I had better go see old Rufus again sometime soon. I may learn more."

Something sounded awfully familiar about this. Kairi thought for a moment, then remembered where she'd heard that term before. "Gran? Seekers of Wisdom sounds kind of…familiar. I just remembered, Sora told me that Ansem called himself the Seeker of Darkness."

Granny raised an eyebrow in a sharp arch. "Did he, now? That's…very interesting. A corruption of the original title, it would seem." She shook her head. "Such an intelligent man, but so very blinded by his own wrong conclusions."

"What else do you know about the Seekers?" Kairi pressed. "I think this could be really important. Can you tell me anything you know about Ansem? Anything at all?"

Her grandmother set her cup down on the table, her mouth set firmly in a thin line. "No, child. I can tell you some things, but there are others that I will not tell you about Ansem." As Kairi started to protest, she held up a hand to stop her. "No, it is truly better for you not to know, for now. Some things you must be ready for."

"Fine," Kairi grumbled. "But…can you at least tell me why this guy Axel brought up the Seekers in the first place? Does he think my supposed magic power came from them? How might that be possible?" She frowned. "Were Mom and Dad descended from the Seekers, maybe?"

Her grandmother paused, then slowly shook her head with a smile. "I see that some things, at least, I cannot keep from you. You're too bright a girl for that. Yes, dear, your parents were descended from the Seekers, though they never chose to formally take the title themselves."

"So…Mom and Dad had magic, but I never did. But because I'm descended from the Seekers of Wisdom, I might have some magic that was hidden deep inside me, and being in Sora's heart as he learned magic may have somehow awakened it. I guess that kind of sums up what Axel told me, along with what I just found out from you." Kairi sighed. "But what do I do with all of that?"

"You finish your dessert, that's what you do." When Kairi giggled, she shook her head. "I'm serious, child. We will test you later, perhaps tomorrow, to see if what this man Axel says is true. But for now, there's no use worrying about it any longer. You do have friends to meet tonight, don't you? You'd better hurry and get ready - it's not polite to keep them waiting." She smiled.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I'd better get changed." Hurriedly stuffing the rest of a cookie into her mouth, Kairi rushed off to her room, glass of milk in hand.

Kairi's room was very feminine, in a way that had often made Riku and Sora roll their eyes at her. She'd only just grinned whenever they teased her about it, though. "Just because I hang out with you guys doesn't mean I'm not a girl!" she'd laughed. The room was decorated mostly in purple and pink, with a few stuffed animals scattered here and there. There was a toy boat in one corner, along with an old doll Granny had sewn for her when she was little. Tacked to the walls was a length of fabric, spread out over the bed as a makeshift canopy. It was blue and purple, covered with a print of silver stars. The bedspread was a quilt of fancy, swirling patterns in varying shades of purple, one her grandmother had sewn. In fact, many of Kairi's clothes and other belongings had been made by Gran, except for a small handful of things she'd tried to make herself, with marginal success. Kairi had the talent for sewing but not the patience, as her grandmother had always said.

I just don't like sitting still for too long, Kairi thought to herself with a smile, gulping down the rest of her milk as she rummaged in her closet for a change of clothes. She winced at the brief pain in her head from drinking the cold milk too fast, but it went away after only a second. Setting the glass down on her bedside table, Kairi stripped off her wrinkled school clothes and tossed them in the corner to be washed later. She hurriedly dressed in the outfit she'd chosen - one of her latest favorites, a short-skirted dress of pale pink, with a fitted, sleeveless bodice that zipped up partway over a white camisole. A charcoal gray hood hung at her shoulders, and a belt of the same color held a small pouch which contained a notebook and a few small necessities. Kairi liked it because it was snug, comfortable, and easy to move around in…and, she had to admit, she liked the way it looked on her. I'm allowed to enjoy wearing pretty clothes, she reminded herself. I know I'm kind of a tomboy, but what I told Sora and Riku was true - I am a girl, and I like girly things. She sighed irritably. I just wish people wouldn't assume that I prefer to just sit back and watch rather than help out because of it. If she were being honest with herself, Kairi might have admitted that the islanders almost never thought of her as someone who'd rather watch than help. She was always involved, always ready to jump in and do her share, and most of the islanders were very quick to say so. Still, Sora's comment back in Traverse Town - that she'd really only get in the way - still stung…not the least because it had been a little true. As willing as Kairi was to do her share, she would have been in way over her head. After all, how long did it take Sora to gain the skills he needed to fight this enemy? Kairi had a long way to go if she expected to catch up to any meaningful degree.

Well, I'm going to do something to help now, she thought stubbornly. As she quickly brushed her feathery, red-brown hair into some semblance of order, she realized she'd pretty much made up her mind. If it was at all possible, she was going to try to learn some magic, creepy man in a black coat or no. Axel had his own reasons, but he could take them and shove them. Kairi had reasons too, reasons that were more important than any worries or doubts about Axel's motivations. Sora had a promise to keep to her, but she'd made her own promise, silently, that she would do whatever she could to help bring Sora home, and to help both him and Riku fight the darkness until the threat to their islands was gone.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, Kairi hurried out of her room, grabbing a couple of blankets and a jacket on her way through the living room. She kissed her grandmother's cheek as she passed through the kitchen on her way to the front door. "Good bye, Gran - I'll be back before midnight."

"Take care, dear! If I'm asleep when you come home, make sure you turn out the lights when you go to bed."

Kairi nodded, hurrying out the door. Her boat awaited at the docks, waiting to take her to Waterfall Island to meet her friends.

Tada! I wasn't too happy with that chapter at first, but it started to pull itself together as I wrote, and I think I really like the result. Okay, gotta go now - it's late and I have to drive my mom to the airport in a few hours. Oo Next chapter soon though, and probably we'll go back to Riku, as I said! As always, leave reviews and I'll bounce with joy that people like my story, or consider any and all recommendations, either way. :P Feedback is good!