Chapter 3

A few moments later, Takeshi and Manami walked downstairs together. Takeshi was carrying his favorite black blanket and Manami was carrying two pillows. She also held in her hands her most cherished item.

Manami held onto a small pink and white teddy bear that her father gave her when she was very little, before Takeshi was born. She named the bear Hikari, for her parents always telling her of how the light was more powerful than the darkness.

"All ready to go?" Kairi asked her two children. Takeshi nodded.

"Yes ma'am." Manami said, holding Hikari close to her.

"Manami, I see you're taking Hikari with you to watch the first moon tonight. Aren't you a little old to keep carrying her around with you?" Kairi asked.

"Hey, you're never too old to keep your precious memories with you, mother." Manami said, smiling up at her mother. Sora stopped reading his newspaper and smiled. Manami walked over to her father and then kissed him on the cheek. "Love you."

"I love you too." Sora said, still smiling.

"We're leaving now, and we'll be back around ten, okay?" Manami said.

"Alright. Have fun. And let me know what happens, alright?" Sora said.

"Yes sir." Manami said, smiling. "C'mon, Takeshi."

"GOOD NIGHT, DESTINY ISLANDS! Bye bye, everyone! I love you all; you've been a great crowd!" Takeshi said, waving to his parents as the two siblings stepped out of the house. Manami put a hand over Takeshi's mouth quickly.

"Will you shut up, baka?! This is our house, not a live television broadcast!" Manami exclaimed. Sora and Kairi giggled and then waved goodbye to Takeshi. Takeshi moved Manami's hand away from his mouth.

"Ha! They waved back to me anyways! I win, you lose again, sister Manami!" Takeshi said joyfully, walking off with a large grin across his face.

"Takeshi is definitely your son." Kairi said to Sora.

"What? My son? He's more your son than mine, Kairi! And he even looks more like you than he does me. How do you explain the fire red hair and ocean blue eyes?" Sora said jokefully.

"Although, he does have your spiky hairstyle and strong-hearted personality." Kairi replied, walking into the kitchen. Sora smiled.

"That's true. Very true." Sora said, continuing to read his newspaper.

--

Manami sat on the play island with Takeshi next to her, staring up at the night sky with wide eyes. Suddenly, she heard the sound of faint footsteps behind her. She quickly got up and turned around to see Sitoru.

"Hello, Manami." Sitoru greeted with a phony smile on his face.

"Hi Sitoru! You came after all!" Manami exclaimed.

"Manami, who's this?" Takeshi asked, staring up at the boy, alerted.

"Oh, this is Sitoru, a good friend of mine. We've been training together for a while now. Sitoru, this is my little brother Takeshi." Manami said.

"Nice to meet you." Sitoru said dryly.

"Same." Takeshi replied in the same dry tone as Sitoru. Manami stared up at the first moon as it began to appear over her.

"It's beautiful…" Manami said. Takeshi turned to stare up at the moon along with his older sister. Sitoru sighed heavily.

Guess I'll just have to take the boy to Maleficent, too. If I leave him, he might run back and tell his parents about all of this. "Hear me, my Heartless."

Takeshi turned his head slightly and gasped. He tugged on Manami's shirt. "Manami, Manami! Look!" He pointed to the darkness surrounding Sitoru.

"Sitoru...?" Manami whispered as some Heartless began to appear around Sitoru. "Sitoru! What're you doing?! The darkness is evil, you shouldn't control it!"

"Apprehend them both." Many more shadow Heartless appeared behind Sitoru and walked over to Manami and Takeshi, ready to attack.

--

Sora suddenly gasped, sensing something familiar happening outside of his home. He stood up, throwing his newspaper aside.

"What's wrong?" Kairi called from the kitchen. Sora ran towards there.

"Something's going on. I can feel it." Sora said angrily.

"Oh no, not that old 'warrior's instinct' thing again..." Kairi muttered, continuing to cook her dinner.

"I mean it, this feels all too familiar... As if the Heartless have come back again." Sora said to Kairi, grabbing her hand. Kairi's eyes widened.

"What? But how is that even possible after all of this time? That was twenty five years ago, and we're both grown. We even have a family now." Kairi said, worry and concern in her eyes as she stared into her husband's identical blue eyes.

"That doesn't mean that it wasn't going to happen again, Kairi. You and I both knew that this would happen again sooner or later." Sora said.

"Wait a second! Do you think that Manami and Takeshi are in danger now if your theory is right?!" Kairi asked, her eyes widening even more, thinking of her children.

"What?! Oh my god!" Sora shouted, running out of the kitchen.

"Sora, wait!" Kairi exclaimed. Sora stopped and Kairi approached him. "If the darkness really has returned again, then you should probably have some help to stop it. You should tell Riku about all of this."

"Are you kidding me about that, Kairi? Riku hasn't even been the same person he used to be since he lost his youngest son to the darkness. He blamed me for all of that... That was nine years ago. Who's to say that he'll still trust me after that?" Sora said.

"Riku knows it wasn't your fault his son disappeared, he was probably just really mad at the person who took him." Kairi suggested. "He's your best friend. He wouldn't get mad at you for that if he was truly your friend. And he knows that you can't control the darkness like he chose to, so it couldn't have been your fault."

"I just don't know what he'd think when he sees me after all of this time, though... I'm a little worried." Sora admitted. Kairi kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll do fine, I know it! I'm sure he'd be happy to see you again after all these years!" Kairi told Sora.

"Yeah, I guess he should be a little happy and surprised. That... Or he'll just want to try and kill me for his son's disappearance using his Way to the Dawn Keyblade again..." Sora said, sighing.

--

"Manami, I'm scared! What're we gonna do now?!" Takeshi exclaimed, grabbing hold of Manami and clinging to her.

"I don't have my sword, so fighting the Heartless is out of the question... We can't run away because the Heartless would follow us and then dad would start to question us. I really don't know what to do…" Manami said.

"There's nothing to do! You're trapped on an island where no one can help you, and there's Heartless all around the island. Face it, you're running out of luck. Actually… No doubt out of it now!" Sitoru said to the two children.

"Takeshi, run." Manami whispered to her young brother.

"What?" Takeshi whispered back.

"Run!"

"I can't leave you here to face him like this, sister Manami!" Takeshi exclaimed. Manami put her hands on Takeshi's shoulders.

"Takeshi… Go find mom and dad to tell them what's going on. I'll take care of Sitoru on my own, but you have to get out of here." Manami said.

"Okay." Takeshi said, defeated. He hugged Manami. "I love you, sister…"

"I love you too, Takeshi." Manami said, smiling. Takeshi got up and started running off. Sitoru stepped in front of Takeshi, grabbing the young boy by the shirt and then throwing him to the ground. Takeshi fell unconscious instantly.

"Heh. One down. You're not going anywhere, kid. She said she wanted the girl in her possession, but having two for the price of one will work just as well!" Sitoru said. Manami got up and rammed Sitoru.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY LITTLE BROTHER, SITORU!" Manami exclaimed, knocking Sitoru to the ground. She began punching and kicking him, fighting to protect her brother. "I TRUSTED YOU, SITORU! YOU WERE MY FRIEND!" Sitoru responded by punching Manami in the face, knocking her over. "Sitoru…"

"You were wrong to trust me at all, Manami. But… There were not by my orders. I personally wanted not to do this at all. The orders were given out to me by Maleficent, the dark witch that controls the Heartless."

"Maleficent?" Manami said.

"Yes Maleficent. She's my mistress, you baka! Did you know anything about her? Or did your dearest daddy forget to warn you about her coming back for revenge on him? By kidnapping YOU!" Sitoru asked, smirking.

"You leave my father out of this!" Manami exclaimed angrily, slowly getting to her feet. She fell on her knees, her breathing becoming much more fast paced. "You won't get away with this, Sitoru!"

"Oh, I think I already have, Manami. I think that I already have." Sitoru said, snapping his fingers with a devilish smile on his face. Manami's eyes widened as all of the Heartless surrounded her.

"Sitoru..." Manami whispered. When one of the Heartless struck her in her chest, Manami fell to the ground, passing out.

Sitoru stared down at Manami's still body with dark eyes and then picked her up before grabbing Takeshi and carrying him in his other arm. With a single snap of his fingers, Sitoru sent the Heartless away to terrorize the island. "Sorry about this, but I have no choice. I follow the orders that Maleficent gives me for a reason..." Sitoru said.

--

Sora slowly approached the house where Riku lived, afraid to see his best friend again after all of these years. Riku didn't even know about Takeshi because the young boy hadn't been born yet, although Manami probably didn't even remember him. Nervously, Sora gathered up his courage and began to knock on the front door.

"Who's there?" Sora heard Riku's voice call out. He hadn't changed much in voice, Sora could easily discover that. Sora gulped.

"Uh… It's Sora. Can I come in, Riku?" Sora asked.

"Sora?!" Riku said, leaping out of his seat and running towards the door. He slowly opened his door and stared down at the spiky brunette.

"Hiya." Sora said, smiling widely.

"Sora, it really is you… What're you doing here? It's been too long… And I told you I didn't want to see you again after what happened…" Riku said.

"Riku, I've told you before that it wasn't my fault that your son vanished like that, but I know what you've been feeling after all of these years." Sora said. "You've been hurt that you lost the one person you loved more than yourself. Your own child-"

"So, what exactly are you doing here anyways other than to remind me of my much darker past?" Riku said angrily to Sora.

"The darkness has returned, at least that's what Kairi and I think has happened. And my two children are out there somewhere, probably being attacked as we speak." Sora said, shutting his eyes.

"Got busy again, I see. If you wanna save your kids so much, why don't you just use your Keyblade and cut the darkness down to size like you did when we were teenagers? You're much stronger than I am anyways…" Riku muttered. Sora sighed.

"That's just it, Riku... I don't even know if I can do it alone all over again, especially if my children's lives are at stake now." Sora said.

"So, now you want my help to find your kids?" Riku asked. Sora nodded. "I'm not about to help you find the people you love and miss! Not again!"

"What?! How come?"

"You always think everything is about you, and it's not! All you think about is yourself and your needs!" Riku exclaimed.

"I'm not thinking of myself, I'm thinking of my family. Please? I'm literally begging you here, Riku. Takeshi and Manami are my life, I don't wanna lose them. Please, Riku." Sora pleaded. Riku glanced back at Sora.

"Well…" Riku began, only causing Sora to glance up at him. Riku sighed. "I guess if it's for your kids, I really should help you out."

"Thank you so much, Riku!" Sora exclaimed, leaping out of his seat with a huge grin spread across his face. Riku nodded, smiling widely.

"It's nothing. Anything for an old friend." Riku said. Sora smiled widely. Riku summoned his own Keyblade, Way to the Dawn. "Haven't used this thing in ages... Now, let's get out there and find Manami and Takeshi."

"Right." Sora said, summoning the Kingdom Key Keyblade. Riku stared at the Keyblade in Sora's hands, a little annoyed.

"You couldn't have a better keychain?" Riku asked.

"Shut up, this was all I had besides Sweet Memories." Sora muttered.

"Never mind it..." Riku said, opening the front door.

--

Sitoru placed Manami and Takeshi into a small Gummi ship, knowing that he couldn't portal out of the area with extra weight on his hands.

I mean, why would he want to carry two unconscious bodies through a castle if he could just save himself the trouble and fly the three of them there on his own? "There we go. All set and ready for my true reward... Mistress Maleficent?" Sitoru called out into a small communicator.

"News to report, Sitoru?" Maleficent replied.

"Yes, Mistress Maleficent. Mission accomplished. I've acquired the girl. And her brother as well. I'll return momentarily." Sitoru said, hanging up the communicator.

"Hey you!" Sora called out, spotting the young boy. Sitoru slowly turned around, slightly nervous when he saw Sora and Riku behind him.

"Oh, the Keyblade master has arrived, I see." Sitoru said angrily, staring at Sora.

"You know me?" Sora asked. He got into a fighting position, his Keyblade drawn. "I would even fight a kid to save my own!" Riku's eyes widened as he stared at the boy. He just looked so familiar... Almost as if Riku had seen him before.

"Hey! What're you staring at, grandpa?! Got an eye problem or something?!" Sitoru exclaimed angrily, glaring at Riku. Riku stared the boy in the eye, noticing the same aura he had when he was around the same age as this boy. They even had the same aquamarine eye color and silver hair!

"What're you thinking, Riku?" Sora asked.

"I really think that I know him. He looks just like... Me. When I was a teenager." Riku said, staring at the boy clearly. Sitoru slowly backed up from Riku, angered at this. Riku held out a hand towards the boy. "Are you...?"

"Get away from me, you silver-haired creep!" Sitoru shouted angrily, summoning a Keyblade by mistake. It looked very similar to Riku's, only it was completely black. "Whoa... Did I just do that? I'm no Keyblade wielder, am I?"

"It's a Keyblade! This boy really is just like you are, Riku..." Sora exclaimed, rising from his fighting position. Riku walked towards Sitoru.

"Is it really you, Sitoru?" Riku asked.

"Wait a sec. H-How did you know my name is Sitoru?! Who the hell are you?!" Sitoru asked nervously. Riku's eyes widened and a tear fell from his eye.

"All this time has passed since then... I thought I'd lost you forever..." Riku said, walking towards Sitoru and putting a hand on his cheek. Sitoru's eyes widened with fear and then he broke away, running into the Gummi ship and flying up into the air.

"Daddy, help!" Sora heard Takeshi's voice call. Sora looked up only to see Manami and Takeshi banging on the Gummi's windows, trying to get free.

"Manami! Takeshi!" Sora shouted, chasing after the ship. Sitoru glanced down from the driver's window and saw Sora chasing him.

"Well, well. Looks like the Keyblade master's given chase now."

"That little brat... Bad choice for you to try and take my kids away from me!" Sora shouted angrily, leaping up into the air and grabbing hold of the back of the Gummi ship's engine, hanging there for his life.

"Daddy!" Manami shouted, tears racing down her face.

"Manami... I'll save you. I promise." Sora whispered. Sora's grip suddenly loosened from the ship's engine and he fell from his great height onto the island.

"DADDY!!" Manami shouted as the Gummi ship faded from view.