N/A: So it's been an interesting weekend for me. My tie rod broke on my car so I'm without a car from a few days (tear) oh well that's one of the things about having a car right Well I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: A new mission and strange happenings.

N/A: Sorry this chapter is mainly flashbacks so hope that doesn't bother anyone XD

Disclaimer: I don't own fruit baskets of kingdom hearts. If I'd have my pick right now I'd take Kyo AND Roxas! XD

Sora sat on the front steps outside of Yen-Sid's tower, looking out into the midnight starry sky, blanketed in a purplish glow; he sat alone with his thoughts. Learning about another princess of heart, once again put his mind in a twirl of confusion, let alone that, people from the past and present are pain. Not physical pain, but bonds of friendship and of the heart. He was the only one who could set them free of their prison, or so said Yen-Sid. He said the princess of heart and the people were connected, but how?

He knew now that the dream he had while still on Destiny Island was of her. He knew his dreams had meaning, something that he thought must have been kingdom hearts itself, crying out for help, warning him of the impeding darkness that wanted to cover the worlds. Now here was another warning, another dream of a princess that needed his help. He was contemplating on what to do next. There were so many choices he had to make, but which one should he choose?

Flashback

"So many worlds are out there, each one a star, shining brilliantly. So many wonders they behold, but also many with dark hearts wanting their own pleasure, following greed, pride, envy, jealousy. There are some where the worlds work out their own problems, but there are others where they need the help of the Keyblade masters, due to the encounters of the heartless and nobodies." Yen-Sid looked directly at the three key blade bearers making sure they knew the fullness of what he was telling them. "Not all worlds have princesses of heart. Other worlds have their own protection to defend the evil. The one who we must worry about is a man that goes by the name Lord Xen. Were not sure if this is another type of nobody, or him himself coming back from the depths of darkness where he laid. He encountered three young Keyblade bearers like yourself. In the end they defeated him, but ended up lost. The connection they had with you, Sora, is that they met you when you were younger. I do believe they are the ones who seek your help. Alas though, one foolishly followed him and used the darkness inside of him, which, in the end, led to his demise and he took over his body resulting in the man named Xehnort."

End flashback

Sora was bent over cradling his chin in his hands for support thinking about the three. He really does not remember anyone specific, but for some reason deep in his heart, he knew them. His heart knew something he didn't, so he would follow his heart. So this Lord Xen is after the new princess. Yen-Sid still didn't know exactly what powers she possesses. The only thing they knew was the power to lift any curse known to man. What did that mean? They already knew that spell to use in battle, so what was it really? Things were really starting to confuse him, so the only thing he knew to do was his old habit. He stretched his arms and legs, laced his fingers behind his head for support, closed his eyes and laid down to rest. After a moment or to, he felt as if someone was watching him. He peered through one eye to see his favorite auburn haired girl staring down at him.

"How did I know you would be out here you lazy bum." Kairi tried to hold back some giggles, smiling down at the now aware Sora.

"Gee Kairi, gimmi a break." Sora sat up rubbing his head in embarrassment. "I have a lot on my mind, I'm just thinking out here."

"By lying down with your eyes shut?" She shot back, hands on her hips.

"Well…I lay down after I got done thinking. Things got too confusing for me to handle at the moment."

Kairi sat next to him, pulling her knees to her chest. "It is a lot to handle. Knowing there is another princess out there put me in wonder. How many other princesses or anything in that matter are out there. Yen-Sid said they have their own protectors, but it's just so mind blowing. I don't know what to think."

Sora gave a small grin. "Ya, tell me about it. You're not the one who has to deal with all this." Sora let out a sigh, finally releasing some of the pent up stress since hearing of the news." Plus I now have to try and figure out a way to help, whoever it is, I'm supposed to help." Sora threw both his hands in the air, then letting them rest in his lap.

Kairi figured that saving the worlds was a hard job, but never figured that Sora would get down about it. He was always so chipper, always putting on a smiling face, not letting anything bother him. Kairi was seeing a new side of him and seeing him like this makes her want to help him all the more. "Sora, things will fall into place. Don't worry; Riku and I are with you every step of the way." She inched her way closer to Sora to lean up against him. "You can always lean on us for help. Were always here for you." She pulled herself away and stared into his bright blue eyes.

He slowly showed a grin, his amazingly goofy grin, and nudged her side with his arm. "Thanks Kairi, you always seem to know what to say."

"Ya well, that's going to cost you 200 munny."

"Aw come on Kai."

"Well you can pay up whenever you want, but right now everyone is figuring out a plan. We should go see what they came up with." Kairi stood up looking down at him. She held out her hand which he gladly took. Sora feeling better about the new mission ran ahead of her grinning.

"Race ya." He was walking backwards, and then turned to sprint away before she could get in a word.

"Hey Sora! No cheating!" As she dashed away after him.

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Riku was leaning against the far wall, arms crossed, and deep in thought. Everyone was in a huddle around the desk figuring out the best possible plan for their next mission. After Yen-Sid's little talk, he noticed Sora leave the room, per request from Yen-Sid, to think on some things and get himself ready for the journey ahead. What he had told them of the key bears and already meeting them at a young age, was bringing back an old memory that he had tucked away ever since the day their island was destroyed and he let himself be overrun with darkness. It was a little fuzzy at first, but it all came back to him like it just happened yesterday.

Flashback

"Hey Riku come on. Race ya. First one to the boat gets to be captain!" A young 5 year old Sora was running across the bridge to get to the sandy beach. Excited and so full of energy. Riku on the other hand was walking enjoying the last bit of freedom before returning home to where he would have to get ready for bed. He reached the sandy beach while watching Sora on ahead talking to his dad. He caught something out of the corner of his eye to see a man dressed in funny clothes by the shore, staring off into the ocean. Right off from the start he knew that he was from another world.

"You're from another world aren't you?" Riku sounded so grown up, so mature for his 6 years old age. Which probably made the man so caught off guard by his question?

"What do you know about other worlds?" The man asked quiz idly.

"You're not from our island and you're new around here. There was a boy long ago who left this island so he could become strong. I want to become strong just like him."

The man knelt down to his level, to look him directly in his face. "And why do you want to become strong." The man asked.

Riku smiled looking out into the open less sea. "I want to become strong to protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends."

The man seemed to smile at him. He reached out his hand and something formed something Riku couldn't place. "In your hands, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then thought this simple act of taking its wielder you shall be one day be and you shall find me, Ocean shall contain you then"

Riku knew deep down that this was right, that one day he would be able to protect the things that were important. He slowly reached out his hand and grabbed the handle of the key. Suddenly, like something from deep within sparked. He could feel the power rushing inside of him, flowing from the tips of his fingers, to his arm that led to his heart. He felt a bond with the man.

"Hey Riku! Come on!" Sora yelled from the dock, bringing his friend back to the shore of the beach.

"If you want the magic to stay, you must keep this a secret." The man stood up, pleased with his decision that he had made with this young boy.

Riku nodded. "I will." He turned around and started to walk to Sora, replaying the whole thing in his mind again.

"Hey who was that guy? Did you know him?" Sora jumped up and down wanting to know every detail of his little friend.

Riku looked at him and smiled "Maybe." This was one thing that Riku was never going to tell him. This he was going to keep a secret.

"Aw, come on Riku tell me."

"Mm, it's a secret." Riku smiled enjoying the look on Sora's face.

End flashback

Riku pushed himself off the wall. So Keyblade bearers can choose who they want to pass on the Keyblade to per say. He started getting mad at himself for letting the darkness get the better of him. Here was a guy, a Keyblade bearer at that, who passed it on to him so he could one day fulfill his wish, protecting the things important. Boy did he screw that one up, big time. This time though, he will make things right. This time he will do things right, the way it was meant to be. He looked around for any signs of Kairi, noticing her leave the room; he knew exactly where she was headed. To find Sora. Everything was going to be complicated now. Sure Sora could save the worlds, he did it twice for peeps sake, but this was different. Something was telling him that this new mission was going to be interesting.

He noticed everyone was getting a little huffy. No one was agreeing to anything. He finally joined the circle to see if they came up with anything at all.

"So I say we go to the world, whisk the girl away and be done with it. Have a princess protection program or something." Reno tapped his black bar on his shoulder, sounding a little peeved that this was taking so long.

Leon shook his head, "There is a little thing called world order. We may just have to fight whatever it is on her own world."

Reno rolled his eyes. "World order shmur order. Forget about the world order already."

Cloud hit Reno, smack dab, on the top of his head with his fist. "We do things the right way."

"Ok, ok. Don't be so ruff." Reno rubbed his head from the pain. "So what do you say we do then? Mr. smart one?"

Riku was getting tired of all the babbling going on, so he finally chose to give his piece of advice. "First off, we go in, scout it out, find out who were dealing with, in the meantime find the princess, keep her in our sights, and figure out what we do from there, depending on the situation." Riku folded his arms in satisfaction. He knew what he was talking about. Since working for Diz, his planning and recon has improved immensely.

Everyone stared at him, and then all started nodding at hearing of the well thought out plan. They liked it say the least. Why hadn't they come up with it themselves? Something so simple. Riku let a grin form on his face. He knew what he was talking about.

Reno shrugged finally relieved form the pain in his head. "It could work."

"Is Sora back yet?" Leon glanced over his shoulder, looking for the spikey brown haired boy.

The door suddenly swung open revealing Sora running in, panting, with Kairi on his tail. "Ha, beat ya. Now how about we say that were even with the 200 munny." Sora hunched over, hands on his knees, grinned at Kairi. She was in the same position as him only a few feet away. They both laughed at each other from their little game. Then as memory hit them, they looked up realizing that everyone was staring at them. He stood up, scratching his head. "Heh, sorry guys. So uh…what have we come up with so far?" Sora walked over to the group, now curious of their new plan.

Leon crossed his arms. "Recon. Find the princess, befriend her, and find out who were dealing with. Two gummie groups. One will follow the princess for protection, while the other one will find out what this Lord Xen is up to."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sora relaxed into his usual pose, hands behind his head, leaning on one foot grinning. "So who's going where?

"Donald, Goofy, Riku, you and Kairi, will be one, while Cloud, Tifa, me Rude and Reno will be the other." Leon stated.

"Heh, hopefully we can get some action. You up for it pal?" Reno tapped Rude on the shoulder with his bar.

Rude held his hands together, cracking each hand. "Oh now that would be fun. I'm ready for it if you are?"

"You bet on it." They both gave of cheesy grins, mocking each other in their little game of theirs.

"Alright enough with the theatrics. We have a mission to start. Let's get supplies together and meet in one hour for takeoff." Cloud was tired of the Reno's antics; there was a mission to do so they might as well get started on it.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Boarding the gummie with their supplies, Donald radioed the other party, letting them know they were ready.

"We'll set down together in a remote area and figure out a place and time to report back to." Came Leon over the intercom.

"Roger that. See you when we get there." Donald quacked back. "Ok everyone buckle up. It will be a few hours till we get there, so you should rest up."

Sora buckled himself in, in the living area. Kairi sat next to him with Riku sitting across from them. Sora let his head fall back against the head rest, pondering on the things ahead. Riku noticed his friend's confusion.

"Hey Sora. Even though things may not make sense now, it will later on. Just like with Roxas, things will turn out right."

Sora lifted his head up so that he could look his friend in the eye. Every once in a while, Riku can say some profound things. "Thanks Riku." This was exactly on reason why Riku was his best friend. He knew how to cheer him up. He looked over at Kairi to see her smiling, encouraging face.

"He's right you know. When it comes to you, you make things happen." Kairi placed her hand on his shoulder.

Right then and there, he knew that his friends were his greatest asset. He was glad they came along. "Your right. It's not like me to brood over things like this." Sora put on his usual grin, hoping to convince not only his friends, but himself to.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Torhu looked out over the balcony deck of the Sohma's house watching the sunset. The glow of orange filled the sky, with hues of pinks and reds, signaling that the day has finally come to an exciting, but strange end. Everyone around the Sohma house had been acting unusual, not themselves. Torhu wondered if it had to do something with the weather, it was becoming fall, a new change to the season, or at least, that's what she had hoped.

After Haru came back from visiting Yuki at his garden in the woods, he seemed out of sorts somehow. There was something about his eyes. What exactly? She wasn't quite sure. They seemed more distant than usual. Thankfully Kyo and Momiji were still the same and nothing had changed in their behavior. A sigh a relief escaped her lips, trembling from the event of that afternoon. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Flashback

After Momiji finally settled down from earlier that afternoon, Torhu was in the kitchen making dinner for everyone. Kyo was sulking at the table, while Momiji kept her company in the kitchen. Kyo could hear everything that was coming from the kitchen. When it came to those two, nothing could keep them quiet.

"So Torhu, have you noticed anything different with Haru? He seems like he wants to pick more fights with Kyo."

Torhu was happily stirring the Miso soup in front of her, making sure nothing would stick to the bottom of the pan. She turned to face Momiji. "Well there was the fight when you guys came, but would you really call that a fight? He really didn't do anything. I'm just happy nothing came from it."

Just then Kyo came in rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm with Momiji. He was trying to pick fights with me at school today too. He seems out of sorts."

Momiji clenched both of his fists on his chest, right under his chin. "Right. There is defiantly something wrong."

Torhu held the spoon to close her chest, looking to the floor, worry stricken across her face. "Could he just be going black today? Was he just having a bad day?" Looking up hopeful, hoping that she solved the answer and that was all it was.

Kyo looked to the worried Torhu, mentally slapping himself in the face for bringing up this kind of subject in front of her. She worries way too much. "Torhu, I'm sure that's it. Let's just leave him be for now, besides he is with Yuki."

Momiji shook his head, "But Kyo you know that can't be true."

Kyo sighed at Momiji hitting him on the head "Hey, shrimp. He is fine. Besides, "He pointed towards Torhu, hoping he would pick up on his hint. "We don't want to worry Torhu now do we?"

Momiji thankfully did catch on. Looking at her worried look, spoon still clutched tightly at her chest. "Heh, sorry Torhu, didn't mean to worry you." Momiji grabbed her hands holding them tightly in his. "I was just over looking it, sorry. Everything is fine."

Torhu put on a smile. Even though she wanted to believe her friends there was something deep down that told her otherwise? For now though she would keep an eye on him just in case that feeling was right. "It's ok Momiji. I know you care for him, same with you Kyo. When Haru and Yuki get back, we'll have a nice dinner with everyone." Or so he hoped

Kyo Scratched his head, annoyed about the conversation. He never like when his inner feelings emerged and tried to stay away from it, it just made things so awkward. "Ya, well as long as black Haru is gone-"

"Are you guys talking behind my back again?" Haru emerged from the doorway, not looking to happy.

"Ha-Haru!" Torhu about leeped from her skin she showed up so suddenly. "S-supper is almost ready."

"I don't like it when that stupid cat talks about me. It sickens me." There was a bite in his voice. So cat is there something you need to say to me?" Haru walked right up to Kyo and grabbed his shirt collar.

Kyo looked in his eyes. Momiji was right, there was something different there. It seemed more vacant, but why? He looked over to Torhu, seeing the terror in her face, dropping the once clentched spoon to the floor. He looked back at Haru, he was sneering, a crooked smile shown across his face. Kyo was mad beyond all belief. "Ya. I do have something to say to you." He grabbed Haru's fist with one hand and pointed over at Torhu with the other. "You see Torhu standing over there? Your freaking her out you stupid cow! LOOK AT HER! SHE IS SCARED OUT OF HER MIND RIGHT NOW!"

Haru glanced over seeing the petrified girl now holding her mouth with her hands. She looked terrified. Haru gave a slight chuckle. "Do you really think I really care?"

This threw Kyo for a loop. He knew that Torhu ment something to him, heck she ment something to all of them. She was special, someone who could only reach the Sohma family. "Are you serious? Haru?" Kyo's anger left and filled with worry.

Torhu knew something was wrong. She recalled the day when Yuki almost from what she fearded killed Kyo. His eyes seemed distant, blank, empty, the same way Haru's eyes looked quickly ran to Haru, grabbing his arm. "Haru. Put Kyo down. Please." Tears started to for in her eyes when she saw Haru's smirk grow bigger. "Please Haru. You don't really want to do this. Haru…your scaring me." She was sobbing now gripping tighter to his arm.

"Haru man, just set me down will ya. LOOK AT HER! DON'T DO THIS." Kyo still holding Haru's writs felt it loosen just a was glad he was coming back to himself, or so he hoped.

Haru just stared at the girl who was now slumped at his feet, crying in a fit of sniffls and tears. The rage that was in him slowly subsided, gaining a headache. He slowly let go of Kyo, kneeling beside Torhu holding his just stood there watching, while Momiji was at Torhu's side also staring at Haru.

Torhu looked up threw her tears, noticing Haru was in pain. She place her hand on his back making him sit up to look at her. He opened his eyes and she noticed they were back to normal. She instantly hugged him from relief, startling everyone since they now had a cow in the room.

The pain in Haru's head vanished, which he was thankful for. He had no idea what had just happened to him, why he bacame so angry, or why he cared so little for Torhu at the time. It was like a switch went off inside him that made him go black, or he should say beyond black. He lowered his head as she hugged him from the side of his neck. "Sorry to worry you Torhu. I'm not sure what happened."

She sniffled threw her quieted tears. "I'm just glad your back to yourself."

"I could kill you right now Haru! How dare you treat her like that!" Kyo's anger was back and in full swing. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes huffing.

End flashback

Torhu was brought back to reality when Kyo came and stood next to her. He saw how the day was still affecting her, he just was not sure how to cheer her up. "So uh…I was um…" He sctarched his head trying to find the right words to say.

"What is it Kyo?" She said quickly, worry in her eyes.

Kyo slapped himself mentally. How he hated it when he made her worry. She worries over the most silliest thigns it's a constant thing with her. "Oh its uh…where did you put the leftovers? Shigure is home and he has not had supper yet."

She suddenly brightened up" Oh! Its in the fridge! I'll just go and heat it up for him!"

Before he could say anything she was aleady gone. Eager to help whenever she could. "Oh well, at least she happy again."

N/A: Well that went way different then planned! You think your going to write something but when your fingers start typing they take on a whole new life of their own. That's one thing I love about this. Well hoped you enjoied the chapter. Leave a review, I feel like I could have done something else, but I can't put my hand on it. Oh well, as long as you readers like it that makes me happy. Well its off now to write another chapter for this and another story for my fairytale hearts lol if you like fairytales you should check it out if you havn't yet. Your in for some laughs there. XD its fairytales Kigndom hearts style.