Ray had already seen the town from above, but it was even better to be walking through it. Many people were bustling about, chatting with each other and exchanging with shopkeepers. Some would bow to Sakura and make way for her, and she would wave and smile in return.
Everything about this place, from the lanterns and streamers hanging on the buildings, to the flowerpots at intersections of the streets, was colorful in a way that Ray had never seen before. The air was so crisp, clean, and smelled so sweet. It was all so…
"It's different from Dawnshine City." He voiced, barely containing his excitement. "It's beautiful…"
Sakura giggled. "It really is. This is Mizuna, capital of the Kinomoto Empire. As the princess, I happily welcome you, keybearer!"
Lee glanced aside with a grimace. "Don't get used to this place. This isn't your world, after all."
Ray sighed in annoyance, having a confused look on his face. Why was a sweet girl like Sakura marrying a brat like Lee? With that in mind, he leaned down and whispered.
"What do you see in him? Are you sure you're not rushing this?"
Sakura blushed and twiddled her thumbs. "Well…I did think it was scary at first, when my father brought this proposal to me. But after meeting Lee, I know this feels right. He's a good person, and he'll be a wonderful emperor for our united empire."
"United empire?" Knuckles inquired.
Tails looked curious. "Oh right, you're heirs to different empires. So your fathers set you up to unite them?"
Sakura nodded, smiling brighter. "I know it's strange, but I really want to do this. In the past, our empires were mortal enemies, fighting for control of each other's territories. Nowadays we have peace, but who knows how long that'll last. That's why, if it'll save us all, I will marry Lee, and love him for the rest of our lives."
Lee turned bright red and coughed. "D-don't say all that out loud to outsiders…But yes, I'm taking this seriously too."
Ray was stunned. "Uh…Whoa…"
"They're so mature for their age." Tails said incredulously.
Knuckles snickered. "More mature than Ray"
"What was that, you dumb dog!?" Ray snapped.
"Stop calling me a dog!"
Tails shook his head. "Here we go again…"
Eventually, the group ascended the stairway to the castle, and were greeted by a guard at the big oak doors.
"Princess Sakura, Prince Lee, welcome back." He said with a smile. "Congratulations on your wedding. And who are those three?"
"We aren't wed yet, I'm sorry." Sakura said solemnly. "Something happened, and now we need to introduce these travelers to Father. It's really important."
"In that case, go right ahead."
The guard pulled one of the heavy doors open, and the group stepped into the castle. From there, Sakura would lead the way to the throne room.
Inside, a red carpet extended across a polished marble floor, all the way to the end of the room. There, sitting on a golden throne, was a fairly handsome man with bright brown hair. A pair of glasses framed his hazel eyes, and his smile to everyone was one of kindliness.
"Welcome home, Sakura and Lee." He greeted. "You're back earlier than expected. Who are your guests?"
Sakura waved a hand to Ray. "Father, the Heartless attacked us on our way to the shrine. This Keyblade wielder and his friends saved us."
Ray summoned Excalibur and held it up. "Yeah, about that. How do you know about…well, other worlds?"
Emperor Kinomoto adjusted his glasses. "Ah…That's no ordinary Keyblade. Tell me, is it…the Royal Key?"
"Yep, it is. But how do you know?"
"Because our world never forgot the original one it broke from. Even now, tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are passed down through the generations. We still believed that he would return one day, if the galaxy were to be in danger."
Ray frowned lopsidedly. "Well…you aren't wrong, exactly. He returned but he doesn't have a body, so I'm fighting in his stead."
"That's…concerning." Sakura's father said with slight worry. "Are you sure you're up to the task?"
"I don't have a choice, do I? Anyway, do you know where the Keyhole is? I need to seal it so I can save this world."
The emperor smiled. "Indeed. In fact, my daughter and her fiance were heading over there."
Sakura was surprised. "You mean Tsubasa Shrine? The Keyhole is there?"
"Quite so. Will you guide the keybearer and his friends?"
After Sakura nodded, her father spoke to the wayfarers with a more cautious tone.
"I must warn you…The Heartless are after Sakura, because she's one of the Pure Hearted."
Ray was puzzled. "Pure Hearted?"
"I can't believe it…" The King muttered in his mind.
"You mean…someone whose heart is completely light?" Tails guessed, looking shocked. "Like the people from the old ages?"
"Precisely," Sakura's father confirmed. "and there are those who seek the power of her light. Please, keep her safe."
Ray sighed and hung his head, now conflicted. On the one hand, he got the gist of how important Sakura was. On the other…this wasn't exactly his problem, was it?
"It is your problem." Arthur said gravely. "This is related to your duty as bearer of the Royal Key. Do not take this lightly."
Before Ray could form an answer, Lee spoke up with a tone of frustration.
"Don't worry, Emperor Kinomoto. As Sakura's fiance, I shall protect her with my life. Unlike the blonde fake, I can actually promise that."
"What did you just say?" Ray snapped, glaring at the boy.
Lee scowled back. "You heard me. You're just some chump, not the real Keyblade Master. If you won't even protect a princess, what good are you?"
The blonde clenched his fist. To be mouthed off by some kid…Even if he didn't like his current situation, Ray couldn't stand to be insulted like that, so he pointed the key at Lee and spoke rather arrogantly.
"Okay, maybe I don't like it. But even so, I am the Keyblade Master. And since I'm the Keyblade Master, I'll do my best to protect Sakura. Just watch me, and see who the real chump is."
Lee smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're going to challenge me? Well faker, I'll make you eat your words."
While sparks clashed between the two, everyone else watched with sweatdrops and disbelieving expressions.
"I dreamt about Lee fighting with another boy over me…but this is not how I pictured it." Sakura murmured.
"Is Ray seriously arguing with a kid?" Knuckles grumbled.
Tails tilted his head. "Now that I look at them like this…they seem quite alike, don't they?"
He flinched as the boys turned their heads in unison and snapped at him.
"I'm nothing like him!"
Ray and Lee looked at each other with deep frowns, then the younger boy gave Emperor Kinomoto a bow before turning and walking away.
"Come on, we have to hurry to the shrine." Lee muttered.
"Right, go along now." Sakura's father said, still looking composed. "Good luck, all of you. And Sakura, stay safe."
Sakura curtsied. "I will, Father. Let's go, everyone."
With that, she, Tails, and Knuckles began following Lee. Ray sighed heavily before going after them.
For a while, the party walked along the eastern road. Ray admired the pink-leaved trees around him, having seen nothing like them before.
"What kind of trees are they?" He asked Sakura.
"Sakura trees!" She answered merrily. "They're a symbol of purity and beauty in our world. I was even named after them."
"Well, it does seem to fit you."
As the group neared the end of the road, they found a small camp with a dozen soldiers sitting around. They stood at attention as they saw the party, giving salutes to the royals.
"Princess Sakura, Prince Lee! It's a relief to see you're safe!" One of them exclaimed.
"Who are these strangers?" Another inquired, looking at the wayfarers.
"They're the ones who saved us." Sakura answered. "Now please, let us through so we can reach Tsubasa Shrine."
"But Princess Sakura, it is too dangerous! Who knows what kind of Heartless is waiting?"
Ray stepped forward. "That's why we're here! We'll protect Sakura!"
"And I'm here too!" Lee interjected, glaring at Ray. "As Sakura's fiance, I will give my life to keep her safe!"
While those two glowered at each other, Tails and Knuckles sweatdropped and held up their hands.
"Um, we'll also be there for the princess." The fox assured.
The guards gave each other uncertain looks, then nodded and stepped aside.
"You may proceed." One stated. "Stay safe in there."
The party moved forward to the foot of the mountain, where they could see the wide opening of a cave. Inside, a line of torches made a dim path forward.
"Tsubasa Mountain is the border between our empires." Lee explained as they walked. "Our ancestors had a shrine built at the peak, to symbolize the truce they made."
"That's why we're getting married up there." Sakura added. "It will become a symbol of our united empire."
"It's no wonder the Keyhole is there." Tails remarked. "It's the heart of the world, after all."
Suddenly, a dark figure streaked by, and he let out a frightened yelp and hugged the closest person to him, that being Knuckles.
"S-something's here!" The fox cried.
Knuckles growled and pushed him away. "Get off me! It's probably just a Heartless."
"For some reason, it didn't attack us." Ray said with a frown.
Lee crossed his arms. "It was probably a scout. We should hurry before more come."
Everyone pressed on, taking a left turn when the pathway split. Eventually, they emerged into a wide cavern filled with gleaming ores and wooden platforms. Ray and Knuckles looked around in amazement.
"What's all this?" The blonde wondered.
"Dude, it's treasure." The echidna said with a smirk.
Sakura giggled. "This is one of the ore mines. There are several more that our people share."
"And don't go trying to nab any of it." Lee warned.
Knuckles sighed, but nodded. "Alright…I guess we should keep-"
He stopped and blinked, and everyone else turned their heads to see…a heavily armored samurai sitting cross-legged in the center of the floor. It looked up, and the tell-tale yellow eyes of a Heartless flashed dangerously.
Lee drew his sword and took a stance. "A Heartless!"
"It's only one, no need to get-" Ray tried to say.
Suddenly, several lightly-armored samurai Heartless appeared out of thin air, and surrounded the party.
"You were saying?" Knuckles said with an unnamused expression.
Lee glowered at Ray. "Still think a fake like you can protect Sakura?"
Ray grit his teeth. "Just you watch, I'm gonna-"
"SHUT UP!" Sakura screamed in annoyance, pulling out a card. "You're not the only ones who can fight! Windy, blow them away!"
She spun the card in front of her and smacked it with her staff, and a glittering fairy spirit appeared. With a wide swing of its arm, it sent out a high-speed twister toward the line of Heartless. While the heavy samurai and two of its lackeys got out of the way, the rest weren't so lucky and got blown back towards the wall, where they promptly turned to dust.
"W-whoa…" Ray said, eyes wide with awe.
"S-Sakura?" Lee said in shock.
Sakura huffed. "I can take care of myself, okay? So focus on the fight!"
The boys nodded in unison. "R-right!"
As they went to battle, Knuckles laughed at their expense, while Tails shook his head.
"What a couple of saps, I tell ya." The Echidna said in amusement.
"This is why you don't get girls mad." Tails said with sigh.
They flinched and sweatdropped when Sakura rounded on them.
"And that includes you two! Don't just stand there!"
"Y-yes Princess!" They complied.
Tails flew up towards the platforms and got in position, while Knuckles went to join Ray and Lee. While the latter was clashing with the bigger Heartless, the former was trying to fight the smaller ones.
"Will you stop and let me hit you!" Ray demanded as the samurai dodged his swings.
"Heads up!" Knuckles warned as he leaped over.
Ray looked up and quickly moved away, and the echidna came down to slam his fists on the floor, causing it to shake a little. This made the samurai wobble and fall over…but Ray got caught in it as well and fell on his side.
"Ow! What the hell!?" He complained, wincing and scowling.
"Sorry about that!" Knuckles said as he jumped again.
He stomped down on one of the fallen Heartless and destroyed it, while the second got back up and moved in to strike. Ray got on his feet just in time to shoot a Fire spell at the enemy, making it retreat a step. That left its back open to a blast of lightning from Tails's Energy Cannon.
Meanwhile, Lee was getting pushed back from the sheer strength of the boss samurai. In an effort to aid him, Sakura sent out another twister, but the Heartless dodged it with a nimble cartwheel, then made a dash for her while getting its katana ready. The princess gasped and brought out a different card.
"Mirror, reflect it!" She chanted, hitting the card.
As the Heartless slashed at Sakura, a glass-like barrier appeared in front of her and blocked the sword. There was a loud clang and a flash of light, and the enemy was knocked back by the force of its own attack. In its moment of vulnerability, Tails fired an ice beam and froze it solid. Ray, Knuckles, and Lee took the opportunity to surround it.
"King, I'll need your strength!" Ray declared as he readied a strike.
"Then I'll lend it to you!" Arthur said fiercely.
"Hit it hard!" Lee shouted as he charged magic. "Raitei Shourai!"
He fired a bolt of lightning from his sword, which blasted the Heartless out of the ice. Knuckles quickly lunged forward and made a great uppercut, launching it high up.
"Ray, finish it!" He called out.
With a determined yell, Ray leaped into the air, King Arthur's power pushing him up to a greater height. With increased strength, the blonde swung down hard and smacked the armored samurai down to the ground. It crashed hard with a loud thump, then laid motionless for a second before turning to ash and releasing a crystal heart.
"Alright!" Ray cheered as he landed.
"A nice hit." The King remarked.
Everyone gathered up, smiling at a job well done. Though Lee stood a bit to the side with his arms crossed.
"That went smoothly!" Knuckles said with a grin.
"We did it!" Sakura cheered.
"You're starting to get the hang of it." Tails told Ray.
Ray sighed a little wearily. "Maybe…but I can't wait to get this over with."
He then turned to Lee with a slight smirk.
"So, still think I'm a fake?"
A smile cracked from the boy's lips. "Maybe you're a bit better than a fake. Sorry for that. You're still an amateur though."
"Not for long, little guy."
Sakura giggled, then looked to the other side of the room. "Okay, let's keep going! We're almost there!"
Everyone nodded, then resumed their walk through the mountain's cave.