(And here's Chapter 2! Hm...only one review so far...oh well, there's like a billion and one different "Kingdom Hearts III" fics...so, at least someone's reading mine. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters...only the two that appear in this chappie.

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Chapter 2: Only in My Dreams

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"And so class, if you take the square root of 144..." The teacher of the classroom droned on, his voice barely getting inside his student's minds. Many of them stared back with a blank expression, the words going in one ear and out the other; others, pretended to write down what he was going over. He didn't blame them though, since this was the last week of the school year.

They were bored out of their minds, for not only was this Friday would be the last day, but also, since they had exams the week prior. Even though school was near over, the curriculum suggested that every teacher in the high school spend the last week of school with meaningless review. It was tedious, as the teachers would even agree with this, but through their pay-checks, they learned to never question the school board.

He looked away from the chalkboard, every once or so to see if the class was paying attention. Some actually were; some really weren't. Pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose, he went back to writing more equations on the board.

Somewhere among the Sophmores-soon-to-be-Juniors, sat a young girl, her focus clearly somewhere else than the lesson. She leaned forward on her desk, both elbows on the desk. One of them was bent, so she could rest her head on her hand. Her skin was a warm complexion, caramel-brown with arms and legs a little darker than her face, due to sun exposure. Black ebony hair was pulled back into a ponytail, held by a yellow scrunchie that stood out against her hair. The only thing that was put out of place from her ponytail, was the bangs that covered her forehead, along with two long parts that were in front of her ears, almost hiding the three piercings in each ear.

Slightly brown-tinted scarlet eyes gazed outside the window, clearly in a daydream.

A small sigh came from her mouth as her eyebrows creased into a frown. Outside the window, a dog was sniffing around, probably tracing a scent it had found earlier. But behind it, a pair of yellow eyes were watching it...and waiting.

The girl tilted her head to the side, now interested in this, but she turned her head forward facing the teacher as to not draw any attention. When she looked back at the window, the pair of yellow eyes had an owner: a small, impish, black, shadow creature that was now about to advance on the dog. The poor animal hadn't seen what was coming to him.

As the shadow creature pounced, the dog just managed to turn around just in time to defend itself. But as the two made contact, the fight didn't last long. Once the dog tried to bite, giving the shadow a chance to sink it's now formed claws into the dog's chest, it was all over. Her eyes widened in shock as she watched the creature pull out the claws in one swift motion, a glowing pink heart. When she blinked, the dog and the shadow...and heart were gone. Red amber eyes blinked once, then twice, trying to comprehend in what had just happened.

"Hey Hina, come on. It's time to go home."A boy she knew who sat next to her, Shiro, laid a hand on her shoulder as he called out to her.

Hina turned around. "Didn't you see that?"

"See what?"

"That! That...thing, it jumped on that dog out there," she pointed a dark-toned finger towards the window. Shiro looked towards the window as well, but he saw nothing.

"I don't see anything...What was it?"

"It looked like a shadow...Like a mix between a gremlin and a gimp." Her friend frowned a little, before placing a hand on her head.

"You feeling all right, Hina?" She smacked his hand away as she stood, her height somewhat noticibly taller than his..maybe about five inches.

"Yeah....it was probably nothing," Hina agreed, picking up her bag before adding quietly to herself, "..I hope."

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Hands placed behind her head with the black ponytail covering her dark skinned hands, Hina walked beside Shiro as they went up the hill. It was easy for her to keep her hands free as she preferred the actual backpack; Shiro, on the other hand, liked his messenger-bag, though he had to keep shifiting the strap every once in a while. When he wasn't messing with his strap, he stared at Hina for a while, looking to be deep in thought.

Finally feeling his gaze, Hina opened one eye. "What?"

"Nothing...just, what was that all about? In the classroom?" Hina paused before letting her hands down at her sides, the fingers just brushing against the tip of her red-and-gray plaid pleated skirt. This was her uniform, along with the white blouse and red-and-gray striped tie. Shiro mirrored her outfit, only with dark gray pants instead.

"I told you: it's probably nothing, but.."

Shiro stepped closer, his bright green eyes looking at her vacant yet thoughtful expression. "But?" He pressed on. Her red eyes looked at him for a moment, and then she turned on her heel, walking off of the paved road towards a tree that was off to the side. She took off her bag and sat down, near the large oak's roots, before drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms loosely around them. Shiro came over and sat next to her, taking off his bag as well.

"Well, it's....did you ever dream that there was more than just where we lived? Like, other worlds than just our own. More than just Rainbow Canyon." The two of them looked over the hill, into the valley that Hina spoke of.

Buildings were scattered across the landscape; some big, some small. Normal sized buldings with houses and such. Patches of grass were here and there, but it was mostly paved roads and sidewalks with the exception of a small river that cut this way and that through the town, which gave it's water-supply. It came from a huge lake that was up in the north part of the valley, and there was a huge waterfall that cascaded from a huge cliff above. The same cliff was connected to some other cliffs that surrounded the town into it's own valley within the canyon. And at the top of the waterfall, there was an everlasting rainbow that would shine day and night, which gave the town's name.

Shio tilted his head to the side, before looking towards Hina again. "Maybe. I've always wondered where the water came from that made the waterfall, but there's no hint of it in any of the books the town has."

Hina smiled as she ruffled her friend's short, shaggy, chestnut hair. "Exactly! Heh...I can't believe I sometimes wonder why you skipped the third grade just to be in my class."

Shiro shrugged as his cheeks turned pink against his tan skin in modest. "I dunno...I'm kinda smarter than most 15 year-olds."

The 16 year-old stood up, with a thoughtful grin. "Perhaps....but sometimes, you really are simple." Shiro frowned in confusion as she grabbed her bag.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mmm....nothing." And with that, she broke off into a sprint, leaving her friend scrambling to his feet to run after her.

"No fair!" He yelled as he started to run. "You've got a head start!"

"So?"

"So?..You're legs are longer than mine!" Hina laughed as she ran into town with Shiro in tow, and the two went to their respective homes.

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"Mom? I'm home." Hina called out into the one-level house, only to be answered with silence. Sighing,

instantly taking off her shoes, she headed towards the kitchen. There, hanging right next to the refrigerator, was the answering machine and it's blinking light. Reaching with one caramel-brown finger, she pressed the "play" button.

"You have one new message." The machine beeped. Then in her mother's voice, it said:

"Hi Hina, it's mom...Listen, they've called me back to the Rehab center for a couple more hours. There's money on the fridge if you want pizza, okay? See you soon."

The machine beeped once more as she looked over at the fridge. Yep, the money was right there just like her mother said. Hina looked towards the kitchen tiles for a moment, before heading into the living room, not feeling that hungry.

This was a normal routine for her; come home alone while mom was at work, leaving her all alone...It wasn't bad though, but sometimes she would feel lonely. Her mother was and always has been, single, and Hina herself was the only dependent on her mother. Some of the people she knew were a little envious that she didn't have to worry about any sibling trouble.

Plopping down onto the sofa, she lied on her back and turned her head towards the t.v. However, she hadn't been able to turn it on, as sleep soon over came her.

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"Where...am I?" She found herself swirling around in darkness, she was wide awake, but all she could see was black, aside from clothes. "Guess it's not a power-outage," she muttered, noticing that she was in her everyday clothes.

It consisted of a hoodie that had a purple torso, gray sleeves that ended at her elbows, and a purple hood, with a yellow trim. Blue shorts with the cuffs rolled up and a silver belt with a purple/yellow bag hanging on it. Also, on her right wrist, there was her semi-bracelet/sweat band that had a crown on it. Her hair was in the same fashion like always, though.

Hina checked herself over, noticing that she was fine...until she started falling backward—slowly at that. "Okay...am I in the matrix?"

She did a few turns while falling and a few sommer-saults until her feet landed on the ground. "Probably not." As she took one step, doves appeared from the ground, flying away while she sheilded her eyes in response. When they left, Hina saw a spikey-haired boy that took up most the the floor.

The whole floor looked to be like a picture; one of those stain glasses that one would see in a church. It was illuminated by a light from somewhere above, so she was able to see her surroundings better. Deciding to inspect the place, Hina walked about the floor. The majority was covered by the spiked- boy, his eyes were closed as he held a huge key in his right hand. She raised an eyebrow at noticing he was wearing a red jumpsuit with a blue jacket.

"Who wears jumpsuits anymore?" She asked as she noticed four bubbles near the boy's head. Each one was a head-shot of two other people...and a dog and a duck. One of the persons was a girl with short cropped red hair and violet eyes. The other was of a silver-blond boy with green eyes. Then, towards the bottom, five new bubbles appeared.

As she grew closer towards the bottom of the picture, and laughing at noticing the spiky-boy's huge yellow shoes, she saw it were older pictures of them. The red-haired girl had longer hair; the white-blond boy did as well; and the spiky-haired boy's spikes...were slightly longer, but he did look a bit older, probably a year. The fourth head-bubble had a mouse who looked more serious than ever. And the fifth one...well, it was just a silhouette of someone's head, nothing more.

"Huh." She frowned, crossing her arms until a voice from nowhere made her jump.

"Darkness is everywhere..." The voice said. "But there is always light to help it seem not so bad." Then, just out of nowhere like the voice, a door appeared in sparkles of light, and before Hina could ask, the voice continued. "Go on...."

She went through, and closing the door behind her, it vanished in the sparkles of light once more. Hina was yet again, standing upon another stain-glass floor. This time, the silver-blond boy took up the majority, and the first thing Hina saw—and giggled at, were the puffy parts of the boy's pants. He looked to be about Shiro's age, with his eyes closed and holding a sword in his right hand....it looked incomplete though, until small particles of it were rearranging it.

Before, the sword was a huge dragon wing with an eye at the hilt, and nothing more. Now, it had an Angel's wing on the Dragon's wing, looking like a key almost; the hilt was now made of one side of black feathers, and the other side had white feathers. There was also a key-chain, but it was hidden amongst the boy's clothes.

Near the top, were another pair of head-shot bubbles. The younger versions of the spiky-boy and red-head girl were in two; the others, had the mouse in one, and a man in the other. The man looked mysterious, his face covered completely with red bandages and his eyes glowed a creepy yellow amber amidst the dark shadows on his skin.

Hina turned her head to look at the boy that took the majority, raising an eyebrow at now the yellow tee-shirt with belts that he wore. So far, she had now came across two boys with questionable fashion sense, but she dared to look towards the bottom. The same five people were in the bubbles: the spiky-brown boy; the red-haired girl; the silver blond; the mouse; and the silhouette.

"When we need aid in battle, it's best to choose a weapon that reflects on our inner strength." The voice came again, startling her as well. "Choose...." Three weapons appeared and floated in the air. They were a shield, a sword, and a wand. All of them, had a mouse symbol somewhere upon them.

Hina titled her head to the side, considering her choices. "Hmm...I can't decide. I'm more of a fighter, but I like the shield too....Can't I have both?" She called out to the voice.

"No," The voice replied.

"Why?"

"Because..."

"Because, why?"

"Just because...it doesn't work that way. Now choose."

"Fine, fine, have it your way," She sighed, before heading towards the sword. She looked back at the shield once more before grabbing the sword, and it disappeared without a trace in her hand. Just as soon as the last bit of light faded away, another door appeared. Without a second thought, Hina went right to it and went through.

After the door faded away, her amber red eyes glanced at the floor. This time, the red-haired girl dominated the picture; it was the younger version of herself as she still had the cropped hairstyle. She didn't have a weapon in her hand, but instead, held a pure white heart in both of her hands. Like the previous two, the girl had four bubbles near the top next to her head. The two boys from before were in the first two; a crudely made drawing of two heads holding two stars in one, and the other, had a man with silver-gray hair and a sinister smile. Hina shuddered at the sight of him, something about his gaze was too evil. She turned to glance at the bottom, seeing the same five figures in their same five bubbles. The two boys, the girl, the mouse, and the mystery person.

"To save the worlds, Light is always needed..."As the voice said this, the spiky-haired boy appeared in front of her, now in his older-self. He wore a black jacket with a blue shirt; black pants to match with red bags on each leg. No jumpsuit was on him this time, which made Hina nod with approval.

"...But, of course, with Light, Darkness is needed to balance it out...." Then, right beside him in another flash, the mouse appeared. He wore all red: red shirt, red shorts, and bright yellow shoes. He wasn't that very tall, only coming up to maybe Hina's thigh...and, now that she thought about it, the spiky-boy wasn't taller than her either. He was probably five inches shorter at the least. The two then disappeared in a bright flash.

"There are also those who's hearts contain no darkness at all; only pure of light. They are the Seven Princesses of Heart, but only one of them, can fight in their name..." A flash of light occurred to prove the voice's point, as the red-haired girl, the older version, appeared. She had a sweet, kind face, while wearing a pink dress with a white undershirt and a bag on her belt. Then, as easy as she appeared, she vanished.

The silver haired boy appeared in front of her, it was the older version of him as well. His hair was indeed long, his bangs just barely covering his bright green eyes. He wore a yellow and black jacket, along with baggy blue jeans and sneakers. He was the only one she seen that was actually taller than her, which made her raise an eyebrow.

"..But, there are those who belong to both aspects: Light and Darkness. They wield the power that is Twilight, but...for every way to the dawn..." The silver-boy disappeared without a trace, and when the new figure appeared, she gasped. "...There needs to be a trail of sunset..." The new figure was actually herself.

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"Hina, Hina! Wake up..."

"Wha-what?" She opened her eyes and were instantly met with a pair of gray ones looking at her. As she sat up, her mother stood up straight again.

"You were asleep on the couch., and you looked like you were having a nightmare...Is something wrong?"

"No. . ." Hina replied, looking away as she swung her legs over. 'It was all a dream?...', she thought, 'But it seemed so real...' She stood up and stretched before turning towards her mother. "Hey mom...I'm gonna go to bed." She grabbed her bag and headed down the hall towards her room.

As she went to the bathroom to change for bed, many things ran through her mind. All of them had to do with that strange dream she had, and what she saw earlier at school.

"Darkness and Light...What the heck was all that about?" Hina asked herself as she put on her night shirt and shorts. Going into her room, which was right across the hall from her bathroom, Hina sat near the window, right on her bed which was underneath it.

Leaning on the window-sill, she muttered, "I wonder if that shadow had something to do with it." She looked up and out the window, towards the huge waterfall, seeing the soft, night-colored rainbow that shimmered under the moon's light in the sky.

"Maybe it's all nothing...just something that's only in my dreams." Hina looked back down before resting her hands on her folded arms that were on the sill.

The experience left her still confused, but there was some comfort that she gained from it all. One, being that she might have the adventure she had always wanted. And two, for some reason, the blond-boy's eyes reminded her greatly of Shiro's....

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((And that's chapter two for you...folks. Lol....this chapter also was way better....but there were some things that were wrong with it...anyway, if any of you can guess what Hina means in Japanese, which is why her name is that, I'll give you a shout out!

Oh...and I've already named her keyblade....it's somewhere in this chapter, and if you can guess that one....I'll give you another shout out too ^^

Readin' and Reviewin'...um...still gotta work on that jingle ^^; please R&R!))