Hikari came to with a start when she felt something wet hit her face.
Her eyes shot open when she saw that it was a dog licking her. She was in an alley in some unfamiliar place sitting on something rather soft. . .
She heard a groan and it finally registered: she was sitting on Sora.
She got up immediately and regretted it soon after when she felt herself sway backwards and fall back into Sora's lap.
"Ah!" Sora cried out when he felt her fall back on top of him.
"I'm sorry!" she yelled.
After Sora calmed down, he began to take notice of the situation they were in. "Um, Hikari? Where are we?"
"I don't know. This dog woke me up and. . . " she looked around only to find that the strange, yellow dog was gone.
"What dog?"
Hikari shrugged, "I guess he went away. I was trying to get up before but I guess I'm kind of weak from running around so much so I ended up landing right back on top of you. Maybe he got scared or something and went away," she tilted her head to the side. "Now, that I think about it, he had a collar so maybe his owners aren't too far away."
"Alright, but before we go looking for anyone, would you mind getting off of me?"
Hikari laughed nervously, "Sure, but would you mind helping me up?"
Eventually they made it onto their feet and slowly walked out of the alley with Sora helping Hikari. Outside of the alley, they found a few people scattered throughout the small area. Hikari glanced around, looking for the strange dog. Unfortunately there was no sign of him or of anyone who seemed to be looking for a dog.
She sighed. "Looks like the dog's already long gone."
Sora shrugged. "What does it matter? We could just find our own way around this place. It's more fun that way anyway," he took her hand. "Are you alright now?"
Hikari nodded reluctantly. She didn't think it would be such a god idea to test her newfound stamina so soon but they needed to find somewhere to rest, somewhere they could sit down and try to figure out what was going on. "Let's go. Maybe we'll even find Riku and Kairi."
"Yeah," Sora replied softly.
They searched the First District for any sign of the two or anyone from the island but, unfortunately, found no one. They tried questioning people but, again, no one had seen anyone with the descriptions Sora and Hikari gave.
As they walked up the steps, already planning to investigate the Second District, Hikari stopped in front of the first store that was in front of them. "Hey, Sora, let's check out this place. Whoever's here could tell us where we are and maybe they can tell us what's going on!"
Sora nodded reluctantly. "Yeah."
She pouted. "Don't tell me you're losing hope already?"
He shook his head and said, "No, of course not. We need to find Riku and Kairi."
"Exactly," she smiled gently. "Don't worry. Riku's tough, he can protect himself better than you ever could. And if he's with Kairi then he could protect her too. So, please, try not to worry. We'll find them again soon."
"Right," Sora answered, careful not to meet her eyes. If Riku was with Kairi, that would be great, but what if he wasn't?
He didn't have much time to dwell on this, fortunately, as Hikari had already begun to drag him into the Accessory Shop.
"Hey there, how can I... Aw, it's just some kids," an man with blond hair pushed back by goggles and a toothpick sticking out of his mouth sat behind the counter.
"My name's Hikari and this is Sora," Hikari said, patiently.
"And we're not kids!" Sora exclaimed before pouting a bit. Hikari held back a giggle as she waited for the man's reply.
"Okay, okay, simmer down. So why the long faces? You lost or somethin'?"
"No!" Sora exclaimed, still sulking a bit.
Hikari couldn't help a small smile this time. "Well, kind of. Where are we?"
"Huh?"
They told him briefly about the island and how they'd woken up in the alley before he told them where they were.
"So we're in Traverse Town. . . " Hikari had never heard of any place by that name.
"So, gramps, is this really another world?" Sora asked bluntly.
"Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid! Anyway... Not sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island."
"Have you seen a boy with long, silver hair or a girl with short red hair that's about our age?"
"Can't say I have. I don't get kids coming into the shop too often."
Hikari could see that Sora was starting to get frustrated again. She sighed. Just when he was starting to calm down. . . "Thanks anyway. Sora, let's check the rest of the town."
"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing. If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you."
"Got it. Thanks again for the help!"
"No problem."
"He seems nice," Hikari remarked as they made their way into the Second District.
"Yeah," Sora mumbled.
"He helped us. You should thank him too next time we see him."
Hikari was doing her best to keep Sora's spirits up and failing miserably. She would have said more to him just then but that was when a man who seemed to be running for his life came to a stop in front of them. And the creatures from the island were running after him.
He fell to the ground as what appeared to be his heart came out of his chest and turned into one of the creatures.
What the heck's going on? Hikari thought faintly.
"It's those creatures from the island!" Sora exclaimed as he summoned his Keyblade. "Hikari, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I can do this," she replied. Already, she felt the fear in her heart melt away as she summoned her Keyblade. And a voice echoed through her mind: Fight with him. You are his Reflection.
But Hikari barely heard this as she swung her Keyblade. She felt more alive than she ever had and it wasn't because she was filled with adrenaline or the thrill of battle, it was because of him. It was because he was there, fighting beside her.
Finally, all of the heartless were defeated.
They examined their surroundings cautiously as they proceeded on to the next district. Hikari no longer felt the compulsion to speak as they kept searching because she was afraid that speaking would bring them back.
Not too long after she thought this, more appeared.
Eventually they made it back to the First District, slightly bruised and exhausted.
They waled back into Cid's shop.
"Still haven't found 'em? Keep your chin up. Take another look around town."
They sighed as they walked back out of the shop.
Hikari wrapped her arm around Sora, hoping to give him some form of comfort, when suddenly a mysterious man stepped out of the shadows.
"They'll come at you out of nowhere."
She looked up and met his eyes. Who would come at them?
"Who are you?" Sora asked.
"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade. But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Sora yelled.
Hikari sighed. Really, who was this guy?
"Never mind. Now, let me see that Keyblade."
"What? There's no way you're getting this!"
Oh, great, another fight, Hikari thought. Why did everything always have to end in a fight? This guy doesn't even look like those creatures we've had to fight. Why does Sora have to fight him?
"All right, then have it your way."
Hikari kept out of their way and watched as the two fought with all their might. Just as she was starting to get bored and ready to step in, the fight ended. Sora lost.
She watched in shock as Sora fell to his knees before passing out completely. This man had actually done it. He'd beaten Sora. He didn't even look as though he'd even tried to go easy on him. He'd landed calmly on one knee, not even panting, as Sora's passed out. Hikari felt the anger well up in her as she summoned her own Keyblade and, before she could even think about it, she was running towards the man as he started to get up.
She struck at him with all of her strength.
It wasn't nearly enough to knock him out but it was enough to shock him temporarily and give her the chance to strike him a few more times. Finally, he regained his composure and started to strike back.
Eventually, she'd fallen beside Sora.
"Aw, you're slipping, Leon," Yuffie remarked as she appeared beside him looking down at the two Keyblade wielders.
"I went easy on them and I didn't think that there would be two. Looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."
REVIEWS and honest opinions. If I'm boring you to death, just say so. Please REVIEW! And thank you for reading and the support :)