There was nothing in the Courtyard. I looked around at the place, which was even more ravaged than I remembered. The crystal cliffs were scored with nicks.
"Who could have done this?" I asked myself under my breath. I kept going forward. A few Shadows appeared, but I cut them down easily.
"This can't be all that there is…" I muttered to myself, looking around a little harder. I then walked over to the edge of the cliffs, looking down into the trench surrounding the old castle. There was a sea of darkness below. It seemed a bit ominous.
"I've gotta get going! That Ike character ran this way!" I shouted, leaving my revere. I ran forward toward the Crystal Fissure, taking out all the Heartless that spawned in my way. I felt… odd, though, as I approached the Fissure. There was an unfamiliar presence in the air…
I dashed into the empty Fissure, then found my way to the bluff overlooking the Great Maw. There was somebody there, though, and he wasn't wearing a silver cloak. Instead, he was wearing some sort of black kimono… and I could see a Keyblade in his hands.
"Who are you?" I asked, placing my hands on my sword hilt. I'd never tried it before, but I had read a lot of Ruroni Kenshin, so I figured I could pull a batto-jutsu if I had to. But the black-haired man stayed silent as he turned around. Something was off-putting about him, but not in the way Ike was off-putting.
For some reason, this guy seems like me… I thought to myself.
He walked over to me with the Keyblade in hand. I drew my sword, certain that this would end in a fight. It did.
I dodged the man's initial slash, dodging it and swiping at his feet. He jumped over my attack, attempting to bash me on the head. I pivoted on my arm, getting out of the way, then got back on my feet. The man was already attempting another attack, again trying to smash my shoulders. I sidestepped to dodge it.
I repeated my previous move, once again pivoting to avoid the counterattack. I jumped back after this time, though. I then got into Saito's Gatotsu stance. I waited for his next move, jumped to the side, and then stuck him in the stomach. He staggered back, seemingly unharmed, as I stood there, horrified.
I had injured a man in mortal combat. How could I…
I didn't have much time to react. I blocked the man's next stroke, then got into the Gatotsu stance again. This time I made the first move, attempting another thrust. He dodged this, but I used the second move… the turning thrust, to cleave the man in half. I was… horrified…
"How could I have just…" I muttered, sheathing my sword. I then put my head in my hands. "How could I…"
"Not everyone takes death so lightly," I heard someone's voice say. I turned around to see Ike, walking forward slowly.
"I just… killed a man…" I said, too shocked to be shocked by Ike's sudden appearance.
"That man was not truly human. He was a mere puppet of the darkness," Ike told me. "If you fear death, you should not carry that blade." He motioned toward my sword with one of his bandaged hands.
"You… you don't decide everything. Who do you think you are, making pronouncements like that?!" I asked him angrily, still shocked at what I had just done.
"If you fear death, you should not carry its instruments," he said again, stopping in front of the path to the Great Maw. He then turned around, grabbed my sword, and went back to the opening before I could react. He's… fast! I thought to myself.
"Give me back my sword!" I shouted at him furiously. He didn't reply, but just stood there.
If this is a fictional world, I though to myself, then I can do fictional things! Just like Naruto!
I made the hand seals for the Chidori as fast as I could. I closed my eyes, then placed my left hand on my right arm, focusing all my energy into it.
Please, let this work! I prayed.
"CHIDORI!!!" I shouted I opened my eyes to see a small fizzle of lightning appear in my hand, but a few moments later it turned into full-on lightning. I looked up at Ike, who had turned around.
"Give me back my blade. If you don't," I threatened, "I'll cut you down with another."
"Wow. You managed such an impressive technique already… I expected less from you," he taunted. I lost it completely, charging at him, hearing the chirping of a thousand birds around me as I did so. But Ike didn't move. He instead pulled out his sword and held it in a horizontal position, still sheathed, so that it would connect with my Chidori. He pulled out the blade at the last moment, causing my Chidori to strike it instead of him.
I was blown back by the force, slammed into a wall. Some of the crystals crumbled around me, binding my arms and legs. I was stuck… pinned under the rocks…
"Well, that's that," Ike said, now carrying his sheathed and my unsheathed sword. He walked over to me slowly. "You've made my job easier by 0.01 percent. Thanks."
"You… you bastard…" I coughed, incapacitated by the rock. "Who… who are you?"
"Let's see… are you dark or light? I wonder…" he mused, brandishing my sword. "I think I'll judge your soul. Here it comes!"
He held my sword over my shoulder. It glowed yellow.
"What… what are you going to do?" I asked shakily. I'm scared…
"Nothing… just awaken you to your true self," Ike replied, letting the blade sink into my skin. A searing pain swept through me, pervading my entire being. Everything hurt… I started crying simply from pain as I felt something begin to form on my shoulder.
"So, darkness. Just be careful not to go too deeply into it. You could lose yourself," Ike said. He then went over to the portal to the Great Maw, tossed my sword at me, and said only a few words before I passed out.
"Well, then, looks like it's time for me end this," he said, springing out into the Great Maw. I passed out moments later…