The next morning, Chiaki woke up feeling rather numb. Hajime and natsumi were busy cooking breakfast when chiaki poked her head up.
"Glad to see your up" natsumi said," I swear Hajime looked like he was about to start freaking out"
Hajime glared at natsumi only for her to smile cheekily. Meanwhile Chiaki stretched and got out of her hammock.
"How are you feeling?" Hajime asked.
"A little tired, but I think I can manage" Chiaki said.
"I'm sure my fish udon will give you the strength you need" natsumi said.
"You really put fish in udon?" Hajime asked.
"Yeah, you gotta problem with that?" Natsumi asked.
"No, it's just I don't want Chiaki to get sick" Hajime said.
"I'll have you know that I've been cooking for myself for more than a year" natsumi said," Chiaki try this and prove Hajime wrong"
Chiaki ate the fish udon slowly as she savored every bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed.
"Well?" Natsumi asked looking for praise.
"It's okay" Chiaki said much to natsumi displeasure.
"Here, let's see where we're headed next" Hajime suggested.
Chiaki summoned her keyblade and projected a light that honed onto something over the horizon. Hajime looked at the map before reporting their next destination.
"The world of Beast" Hajime said.
"Like animals?" Chiaki asked.
"Yep" Hajime said.
"That doesn't sound good" Chiaki said.
"Are you scared of animals?" Natsumi asked.
"Maybe, it's just animals are like people with how diverse an unpredictable they are" Chiaki said," it's unsettling".
"Me and natsumi will be with you, so you don't have to worry" Hajime reassured.
"Yah, if an animal gets too close just say the world and I'll send it running" natsumi said.
"Thank you" Chiaki said.
...
They sailed until they saw the island world full of grassy plains and big mountains. However, this world was surrounded by a barrier like the world of floating lands. Even stranger were the docks that stretched out past the barrier. Staying cautious, Hajime docked the boat outside of the barrier.
"So this must be a transformative barrier" natsumi said as she stared at the barrier," what will we turn into".
"Only one way to find out" Hajime said before leaping into the barrier.
When Hajime landed on the other side, he landed on all fours. Instantly natsumi started laughing as she stared down at the transformed Hajime.
"Oh my god he's so fucking cute" natsumi laughed.
"Hajime turned into a lion" Chiaki said.
Indeed, Hajime had turned into a brown lion with green eyes. To be more exact, Hajime turned into a lion cub. As natsumi laughed at him, Hajime could only hiss and snarl.
"Okay kitty" natsumi said," I'm right behind you"
Natsumi entered the barrier and transformed. Unlike Hajime, Natsumi transformed into a blonde tiger cub. Chiaki followed suit and transformed into a white lion cub.
"Now who's the cute one?" Hajime joked only for natsumi to hiss and bat him in the head with her paw.
"So what now?" Chiaki asked.
"We should probably get use to our new forms" Hajime said.
"It's not that hard" natsumi said only to trip objects herself.
"You were saying?" Hajime asked as he looked down at natsumi.
"Here, you can do it" Nanami said," I think I found a trick".
Chiaki helped natsumi back onto her four paws. Together the trio got use to their transformed bodies until they were ready to move forward.
...
The trio proceeded from the docks to an open savanna full of lush plants. However, there weren't a lot of animals out in the open.
"Ah, if only we could find some animals to prey on" natsumi whined.
"You seem to really like being a tiger" Hajime said.
"I've always wanted to have claws and fangs like a tiger" natsumi said," hey what if you and I wrestled".
"Now you're just acting like a kid" Hajime said," or cub in this case".
"Are you scared that I'm going to beat you?" Natsumi asked with a cheeky smile.
"No, it's just foolish" Hajime said as he stuck his head and tail up proudly.
Natsumi decided to pounce on Hajime anyway causing the two to wrestle each other. Chiaki just watched from the sidelines. As chiaki watched a pink butterfly caught her eye and mesmerized her with its wings. Curious, Chiaki watched the butterfly flutter around until it landed on her lion cub nose.
"I win" natsumi said after she pinned Hajime on the ground.
"Okay, just let me up" Hajime said.
"Not until you admit that I'm the best" natsumi said.
"Fine, you're the best" Hajime said.
"I really am" natsumi smiled before letting Hajime go," don't forget it".
Hajime ignored what natsumi said as he looked at Chiaki with the butterfly still on her nose. Natsumi took notice and smiled. Eventually the butterfly fluttered away leaving the trio behind in the open grass.
"So do where do you think the heart fragment will be?" Natsumi asked.
"It's usually at a shrine, so let's see if we can find that" Hajime said.
"Is that the shrine?" Chiaki asked as she pointed her paw to a giant rock formation.
"Lets check it out" natsumi said before skipping forward.
"Hey, wait up" Hajime said only for Chiaki to pass him.
"Come on slow poke" natsumi teased.
...
Eventually the trio made it to the giant rock formation only to find the mouth of a cave. When natsumi tried to enter a loud bark echoed through the came. A pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness before leaping out of the cave to reveal a hyena hopeless. It's body was solid white with black markings and a line of red fur on its back. The heart insignia was marked on the hyena hopelesses chest. Chiaki summoned her keyblade though it appeared in her mouth this time. Natsumi on the other paw resorted to using her claws and fangs to attack. The hyena hopeless snarled and cried as it lowered its head.
"Chiaki, I'll attack the head" natsumi said," you aim for the heart and fire when you can".
Chiaki nodded her head prompting natsumi to leap onto the hyena hopelesses face and start digging her claws into it. The hyena hopeless shook its head, but natsumi refused to let go as she dug her claws deeper into the beast. As the hyena hopeless struggled, Chiaki aimed the keybeam only for the hyena to dodge it. Hajime leaped into the fight and managed to pin the hyena hopeless down. Chiaki fired her keybeam again and landed the light onto the heart insignia. The hyena hopeless cried before fading into shadow from which hearts flowed out. As the hearts scattered into the sky, one heart stayed behind and entered chiakis keyblade.
"Guess we got it" natsumi panted," but where do these things keep coming from?".
"Likely strong hearts that fell to despair" Hajime said," we should keep moving".
Natsumi tried to speak, but Hajime ran forward into the cave. Chiaki and natsumi soon followed behind. For a while the trio walked through the cave in silence until they spotted a light at the end of the cave. They stepped out of the cave to find a secret watering hole surrounded by boulders. Several exotic animals relaxed by the watering hole including zebras, antelope, a rhino, and many more. At the center of the watering hole lied a little island with a tree. Under the tree stood a tiny alter where the heart fragment lied. Chiaki and the other two leaped over to the island. Staring at the heart fragment, Chiaki took a deep breathe before accepting it and fainting.
...
"Papa what is a hopeless?"
'They are creatures void of hope'
"Where do they come from?"
'The hopeless are born from hearts full of despair'
"You mean they come from people?"
'The hopeless are people, but transformed to hunger for hearts and spread despair'
"That's horrible"
'Sadly that is the reality we face. However we can stop the hopeless and prevent their creation. By spreading hope and vanquishing despair in peoples hearts, we can control the hopeless population to the point where they become mere nightmares.'
"I see, then I promise that I'll do my best to make the hopeless go extinct"
'You're as passionate as your mother'
"And one day I'm going to be as strong as you"
'We'll see'
...
Back on the boat, Chiaki was still asleep. Natsumi watched over Chiaki alongside Hajime.
"Hey Hajime?" Natsumi asked.
"What?" Hajime asked.
"You've been acting strange lately" Natsumi said.
"What do you mean?" Hajime asked.
"I can't shake this feeling that you're hiding something from us" Natsumi said.
"You're just overthinking it" Hajime said," it's been a long time since we've seen each other so it's likely you still see me as the old Hajime"
"Listen dumbass, if your keeping something from me you gotta fess up" Natsumi yelled," think about the group".
"I am, but there are things you're better off not knowing" Hajime said.
"You sound like one of those self entitled knights" Natsumi said," what changed you?"
"She did" Hajime said as he looked at Chiaki, still fast asleep.
After that, the two stayed silent for the rest of the night.
