(Everything that has a copyright, is copyrighted to their respective owners. Now, time to go hunting Bigfoot. If the photos are accurate, he should appear like a big brownish blur...)

Oathkeeper

Chapter Four: Spinning Down a Drain

His head hurt when he awoke, and his body, and his arms, and... there were few things that didn't hurt. Those that didn't he was eternaly grateful for. At least that bastard had a sense of mercy, if that was the case... Well, normally he would spring back up and demand a rematch, but... Sora didn't know what the heck that guy did. He might do it again, if he was in the room. And, he might've found a way to take away the Keyblade. For good. He didn't know how long he was out. In fact... he still might've been half way out. Thoughts were hard to gather. He opened his eyes, if he woke up it would be easier to find a way out he supposed... He groaned despite himself.
"Ugh..."
"Hey, Leon! He's coming around!" Hurried footsteps quickly made their way to his bedside, and Sora jumped backwards into a corner, still trying to clear his vision. He could see a blurry blob that might have been a person, but he couldn't be sure. Well... it was moving so... THREAT!
"Stay back!" He whipped a hand forward, and as if it were a practiced motion, the Keyblade flashed into his hand, and was leveled a mere two centimeters from the intruder's face.
"Hey, where do you think you're pointing that thing?!" Sora shook the cobwebs out of his vision, and saw exactly where he was pointing it. A girl, probably a little older then him. She called somebody, he remembered... maybe Leon was that man...
"I'm pointing it at your head."
"Eh?" Yeah, now was a good time to get some answers.
"You asked. Now, where am I?"
"... Should I be scared of you?" She had an eyebrow raised. And she had a Keyblade pointed at her face. Honestly, this blatent disregard of Sora kinda made him angry.
"...I've got a weapon pointed at your head."
"It looks like a toy." Oh, that explained it.
"I thought it did too. Before I cut a heartless clear in half with it. It's a lot sharper then it looks I guess." That made her look again.
"Where am I?" Sora asked again, thrusting the sword a little closer.
"Maybe if you moved the toy out of my face..."
"Do I look stupid?"
"To me? Yes you do." That voice was considerably deeper the the girl's.
"Ah! Leon, make him put it away!"
"If he doesn't, I'll have to." The air got a little thicker. This man, Leon, was seriously ready to disappear again, like he did before. Sora slowly lowered the Keyblade, and shuffled back further from the girl. Leon sighed. "Yuffie, what did you do this time?"
"I didn't do anything! I went to see if he was really waking up and then I had a sword at my face! ...If you can even call that thing a sword..."
"It's far sharper then your shuriken. Any of them." Leon said, not taking his eyes off of Sora. Yuffie blanched.
"What?! Impossible!"
"It's quite possible. If the kid had the nerve, you would be in pieces and he would have escaped." He ignored Yuffie looking back and forth from the Keyblade to Sora frantically, and continued. "And I believe she wanted you to put it away. I do too. Why haven't you?"
"What do you mean 'put it away'?" He didn't have a sheath for it or anything... what was he expecting? Leon's eyes narrowed.
"An eye witness said you seemed to take it out of thin air. Put it back then." Ooh, that was it. Wait...
"How?"
"...Excuse me?"
"How do I put it away?" Yuffie looked at him in a way that made him feel like an idiot. Leon studied him a little closer.
"...You're the Keyblader, but you don't know how to put it back?"
"He's the WHAT?! That was the Keyblade?! What the hell is it doing with a squirt like THIS?!"
"What the hell is all that materia doing with a squirt like you?" Leon countered. Yuffie flared up with what could only be indignation.
"Squirt? Squirt?! I'm a flaming ninja!"
"You're sixteen. You, how old are you?"
"Uh... fourteen?"
"When's your birthday?" What was this about? This had nothing to do with anything.
"Fourth of April. What the heck does that have to do with anything?"
"Well your birthday's a while off, but you're still right around her age. So, if you're a squirt... then so is she." If Yuffie were capable of shooting lazerbeams out of her eyes, she probably would've done so. With her wild gestures, such eye-beams wouldn't look too out of place either.
"Araaaaaagh! Fine, have it your way! But know this..." She stomped up to the stoic man and stuck a finger in his face. The comical difference in size reminded Sora of a cartoon. "The great ninja Yuffie does not forget such an outrage! You will rue the day..."
"If you're quite finished quoting old movie lines..."
"I'm gonna DESTROY you!" And with that, instead of destroying 'poor Leon', she turned on her heel like some girls do and promptly stormed out muttering quite a lot of colorful threats under her breath. The ones Sora heard caused him to blush. She was creative... to say the least... A pause followed. Then-
"I know your birthday and age now. I should've asked your name first."
"Ah... My name's Sora."
"Well... Sora, why haven't you dropped the Keyblade yet?"
"Oh! Uh... wait, why the heck should I drop it?! You're dangerous!" He chuckled. "What's so funny?!"
"Mm. It's just nice somebody respects me around here. Seriously, heartless are attracted to it. It'd be better if you could put it away, but it should be better if it's out of your hand." Sora dropped it like it burned him. "I believe you know my name by now. Even so, I'll introduce myself. My name is Leon. I would rather not be an enemy to you."
"...You should've thought of that before you gave me the beating of my life."
"I did. Then you didn't listen. The beating was unnecessary, or they would've kept coming, and the people would be in danger."
"Ooh..." Leon sighed.
"Now that we have that out of the way... Sora, what are you last memories before appearing here?"
"Appearing... how would I just appear?" Leon's facial expression didn't change in the slightest. Sora wondered if he had this conversation often.
"If you would rather a different choice of words, what are your memories before... waking up somewhere in town?"
"That sounds more like me." Sora nodded.
"Then, if you'd please..."
"Oh, well..." Everything that happened was a blur, but there were things that he remembered. He wondered if these things were alright to just be told. He looked up again at Leon. The man met his gaze with nothing but attention. He wouldn't disregard anything. "Is there anything specific that you... are looking for, or what?"
"It would be better if I knew, so I could have a perspective of your situation. It might also explain your Keyblade. Please, anything you can tell me. Everything." Well...
"Well when you put it that way... I suppose... the first time I saw heartless was in a dream..."

"...And then after that flash of light died down, I was holding the Keyblade. Right then, I heard the word 'Keyblade' in my head, like that voice from the dream. Oh, just making sure, I'm not crazy because I was hearing voices?"
"No."
"Oh, good. So... I started fighting my way through heartless, looking for Kairi... Riku said that Kairi was coming with us, so... I figured she might still be somewhere. And there were heartless running around... I don't know what it is they do, but it's..."
"They steal your heart." Wait, what?
"They were stealing... my heart?" No, that's impossible. there would be more blood if it actually grabbed his heart. And more pain, real pain. That pain was completely different. "Wait, if it-"
"Before we continue, I am not talking about the muscle under your left shoulder that pumps blood throughout your body. That is a mistake too often made." Alright, so he had two hearts? "And no, you don't have two hearts. The heart I'm talking about is something entirely different." Oh, thanks Leon, for explaining that. Now, only question is...
"Well... what kind of heart are you talking about?"
"... The heartless have none of these 'hearts'. They're spectres, like ghosts, wraiths, whatever word you would choose. Except... they can affect the physical world quite well." Sora took this in patiently. He was beating around the bush purposely. Answering more questions that he might've had later. "They rest and gather in what can only be called darkness. And... darkness, cliche as it might sound, is bad intentions, personal sin, greed and evil.

"The heartless have no hearts, hense the name I would suppose... For some reason however, they devour hearts. They smell them, and seek them out with an unquenchable thirst and an unimaginable hunger. They are an embodiment of darkness, a carnal beast bent only on personal satisfaction. And as far as we've seen, the heartless never are satisfied.

"To embrace darkness is comparable to giving into that little devil that people believe rests on their shoulder opposite an angel. It promices great power, but then... normally you will succum and devour your own heart. Embracing darkness will make you formidible, but it will poison your body and mind until you are driven mad, and after that, it's a matter of minutes, sometimes hours, before you become one of the heartless yourself.

"People can resist the pull of darkness, because of that which the heartless hunt. A spiritual core that exists in all people, living things, everything that is animate and not a heartless. Your feelings, happy and sad, your loyaltys, your bonds, your personality, is all locked away and wrapped in what is also a cliche, light. It just so happens, that such a core is in the shape of a heart, hense that name." And Leon chose then to sigh. "So whenever you hear heart, they are never talking about your blood pump. Now, back to the conversation.

"Now, the light surrounding the heart is the polar opposite of darkness, and the sheer amount of light depends greatly on the person. Their inner strength and ideals. This gives them a possible innate resistance to darkness and most things related to it. However, there is nothing stopping a heartless from reaching in, snuffing out the light, and eating your heart. Defend yourself, and others. When your heart if gone... of course, you're heartless. And that is exactly what you will become." Leon paused, and Sora gratefully took this opportunity to take everything in. It was a lot of information, and he didn't have a lot of questions left. "Now that I've explained all of that... I believe you were telling me a story?"
"Ah, yeah... Well, after that, I was looking around, and I wandered into a cave when the heartless died down for some reason. And Kairi was there. And... someone else..."
"Who? Do you know?"
"No, I didn't know that man. I... couldn't make anything out. His face was hidden by a hood. He wore a brown robe that hid everything. And... this might be important."
"Mm?" An eyebrow raised, but he still took Sora seriously. He was grateful, and continued.
"There was a door behind him, at least... he said it was a door... One that was never there before... he mentioned a heart through it. Then... he opened it, and... it screamed..."
"Screamed you say? And this 'door', what did it look like?"
"Huh? Kinda ordinary, really. Wood with a golden lining. No doornob, or any hinges, so... wasn't much of a door. And... hey, Leon, he mentioned a heart... was that the heart of the island? I know it's not an animate object but..."
"Hm... it's a little more important then that." He closed his eyes. "Sora, that door lead to the heart of the world. That man might've been a greater heartless. Or one who controls them."
"...The... the world?"
"Yes, the heart of your world. Once that was devoured, the world and everyone on it fell into darkness. Think of it like spinning down a drain. Once a world is destroyed, those beings that survive slip down strange fisures in space. A strong heart will grab another world on the way down, and thus the being will survive. The rest fall into darkness... and they become heartless."
"..." Silence.
"Because our world is supposedly near the end of a large number of these so called fissures, before the drop into darkness, it's a point that nearly all people pass by. As thus... this world is made up almost entirely of homeless. Survivors of worlds that have been broken. Sora, you have my condolences. And despite my offering them to everybody I have told this too, I remain as sincere as I was the first time I had to give somebody this news." This was not a lie. Meeting his eyes for a moment, Sora could tell. This world was filled with kindred spirits, including this man. Those who suffered the exact same thing he had. Only... they had time by now to accept their situation. And Sora had just now discovered that absolutely everything he had ever known, his home, his parents, his friends, places where he had made fond memories, all were gone. Suffering a fate he knew was worse then death. He needed time alone to mourn and greive, and Leon knew this. Everybody needed such time. So, he stood quietly and left. The only noise he made was a light clicking of the door as it closed. He turned to look down the hall, and was greeted by Aerith. She smiled softly in greeting, but frowned soon after, reading the look on Leon's face, and his actions perfectly. He had told the boy everything, and it saddened her. She so wanted to see what his smile was like before it became scarse for a while...

Sora was permitted to stay in the room for as long as he wanted. He had sense, because he didn't leave the meals that they had given him. And it appeared that he was getting minimal sleep. So far, he probably spent his time in deep sorrowful thought. From what they could see when they brought him his meals, he made good use of the desk and chair, and the bed. The bookshelf remained undisturbed. Through all of this, he said not a word. He didn't thank them for the meals, didn't even acknowledge their existence. Either Aerith or Leon would walk into the room, leave a meal, and then leave. Not slowly as to intrude, and not quickly as to rush away from the boy. Sora, though he didn't seem to recognize them, was thankful that the way they acted implied they knew he needed space. However, he did not thank them for this either. He sat in the chair, or lay in the bed, and said nothing, looked at nothing, and only made noise with his breathing. And this continued for three days, after which it ended rather abruptly. Aerith was walking toward what was now designated as Sora's room to collect the dishes from dinner. Right when she reached for the doorknob however, the door swung open and there was Sora holding the tray she was after. He looked up at her for what was the first time ever, and he lightly blushed. Shyly he asked:
"Uh... do you know if there's a place I could take a bath...?" She looked him over, and noticed that the blue shorts and white shirt he was wearing were simply filthy. As he was as well. Well, one couldn't fight heartless without working up a sweat. And then he hadn't cleaned himself at all for days...
"Of course. Follow me."

And after he washed himself twice, and brushed his teeth four or five times, he forgot how many times exactly, he felt good enough to step out of the rather spacious bathroom into the hall, wearing the change of clothes he was given. How wearing black jeans and a dark blue turtleneck, he shook a few droplets of water out of his drooping spikes of hair, and tried to find where the living room, or something was... some place with people. There were a lot of things he needed to thank them for after all. Especially Leon, and that one woman in the pink. He never did get her name...
"Hey, you finally left that room, huh?" He turned to see that one girl who he threatened that one day. Problem was, he forgot her name.
"Yeah, I guess..."
"What do you mean you guess? If you're standing here, then of course you left!"
"...Well, if it's obvious... why did you ask me?" Sora tilted his head to the side in confusion. Yuffie would never tell him that it made him look inexplainably cute. Boys were not suposed to be cute after all.
"Not important. What is important is, you look lost. What sort of self respecting ninja would leave somebody alone when they look so lost?"
"You're a ninja?"
"Well of course I'm a ninja. The very idea that I'm not is preposterous."
"Well... you don't look like a ninja." And certainly she didn't. Yellow shorts and a green tank top certainly didn't scream 'shadowy assassin.' Yuffie's eye twitched at the comment. She crouched low to the ground, and jumped, twisting in the air. By the time Sora's gaze followed her, she was crouched again, on the ceiling. A flick of her wrists, and there were several sharp implements in either hand.
"Tell me kid... do I look like a ninja now?!" To answer wrong would mean death. And not only would that hurt very much, but these weren't his clothes, so it wouldn't do to have them cut up and bloody. That... and she really did look like a deadly ninja hugging the ceiling with all those shuriken and kunai...
"Yeah, you really do! That's awesome!" Really it was. It was undeniably cool to him. With the sound of metal sliding against metal, the weapons disappeared from her hands, and she dropped to the floor, twisting gracefully into a perfect dismount. She wore a cheery grin as she straightened up.
"And don't you forget it! The great ninja Yuffie doesn't forgive insolence twice!"
"The great ninja Yuffie should also refrain from adopting the habit of talking about herself in the third person." A rather cynical comment from around a corner. And Sora was happy to find that it belonged to Leon. "And you shouldn't call him 'kid' either. He's not that much younger then you."
"Well, what else do I call him? You never gave me his name!"
"It isn't mine to give. If he'd like to introduce himself, he can."
"Oh? Hey, you! Give me your name!" Wow, she seemed pretty serious. Or curious. She seemed like the kind of person to be bothered by the mystery of Sora's name for the entire three days.
"Oh... sorry... I guess I should tell you my name since I know yours. My name's Sora."
"Huh? Oh, that's pretty cool!" Huh? What was so cool about his name...?
"Why's that? It's only my name..."
"Not your name, but what it means. Sora means 'sky'. At least... it does where I come from." Wow... he never knew his name had any sort of meaning. Well... as far as meaning went, there was a lot worse meaning to end up with. "But it's a nice name, even if it didn't mean anything."
"...Thanks..." Her eyes widened a bit on some sort of wonder after Sora thanked her.
"Wow... you're really shy, aren't you?"
"Yuffie, if you attempt to 'cure his shyness' like you did with the last person you tried to help, I swear, no chocolate for a week." Leon threatened in a deadpan voice.
"Aw! Come on! I won't be so hard on it this time around!"
"No Yuffie." Leon's stance and voice were final. There was no arguement.
"But... but... hey, wait a minute, since when do you get to ground me off of things?!"
"Sora, was there anything you wanted to talk about, now that you're ready?"
"Don't ignore me, or I swear-"
"Uh, yeah, there was."
"-you'll be picking shuriken-"
"Well then, if you'd like to follow me to the lounge, we can sit and talk in comfort. Do you like tea?"
"-out of your ass for a week, make no mistake-"
"I've never really tried tea before. Once when I was little, but I don't even remember..."
"Leon you bastard, I'll DESTROY you!"
"I'm sure we can find something you'll enjoy." And they were already out of sight. Yuffie once again considered dying Leon's underwear pink.
"He sure wouldn't ignore me then... oh Leon, you are going to hate me after this..."

And so, while very much enjoying an apple cinnimon tea, Sora tried to find questions to ask. He had one, now that he thought about it...
"Hey, Leon?"
"Hm?" He looked up from his teacup and regarded Sora.
"Uh... you mentioned that a strong heart 'grabs' a world on the way down... how do you measure how strong a heart is?" Leon set down his cup, and leaned back in the comfy chair he was relaxing in.
"We can't. Right now, we have no idea how to accurately measure the strength of a person's heart. Of anything's heart really... There's a theory that over time, the memories and happiness, bravery, sincerity, any sort of positive feeling that rests in the heart overflows eventually and becomes part of the light that wraps around the heart. This suposedly makes it stronger."
"Huh... now that you mention it, that really does sound cliche. LIke a children's cartoon or something."
"Welcome to Traverse Town. We have a lot of cliche here. Oh, it's also said that going through harsh ordeals for good reasons and goals ends up strengthing the heart. That's why heroes often survive the breaking of their worlds. On most worlds aware of the heartless, there's at least one of these people to protect wherever area they fall into. Aerith, Yuffie and a few others who landed here are such people."
"Yuffie's a hero?" Kind of unusual
"It goes to her head every time she hears it, but yes, she is." Huh, well that was something to think about. Wow though, they were all heroes! That was really...
unreal...
"Hey, does that mean you're a hero too?"
"... I've seen much hardship... but I would not call myself a hero. Not everybody who survives has to have such a title."
"Oh... hey, I've got another question." His eyebrows raised. He could tell this wasn't something serious Sora was about to ask.
"And that is...?"
"Well... this is a pretty big place you have here. You'd have to make a lot of money."
"Mm."
"Do you get paid to fight heartless?"
"No." Huh? Wait, did that mean they were all freeloading? That didn't make a lot of sense, if they were living in a place like this. "We make a living. We just happen to have special permission to halt everything to defend the people."
"Oh..."
"Was there any particular reason you asked?"
"Well... I've gotta find a place to live now, and if you got paid fighting heartless, I thought I could..."
"You thought you could get by doing the same thing?"
"Well... yeah, actually." Leon leaned forward, and made eye contact. His gaze seemed to be searching Sora's soul.
"You, from what I've seen, have nothing resembeling real battle experience. You've only had to defend your life very few times. You are nowhere near our level. You should reconsider, since you wouldn't recieve any payment."
"...I wouldn't be doing it for the payment." Leon's eyebrows raised what might've been a quarter of a centimeter. His face remained otherwise, unchanged.
"Explain."
"Well... the people can't defend themselves, right?"
"Right."
"Well, I can certainly defend myself. And if there was somebody who needed protecting, I would do that too. I'd protect anyone here."
"Are you trying to be a hero?"
"... The only reason I asked if I could get paid for it, was because I was wondering if I would have to find a job on top of it. If heartless showed up... I don't want this world to break too. I won't let it happen." A show of bravado. And Leon could tell that was how Sora really felt.
"Even knowing we can do very well on our own?"
"Well, heroes aren't exactly common. And I don't suppose there are very many people besides them, right? I mean... I'm certainly not a hero, and if you aren't... well... altogether, there can't be a lot of people to fight... you could use me. I mean... you said the heartless are drawn to the Keyblade, right?"
"Yes, I did."
"Well, I could help a lot then! If the heartless showed up, I whip it out, and then they'd all come for me! It'd be more likely that people would survive the attacks... if that's the way it is."

"A-and... well, there can't be a lot of you able to fight... I could help..."
"...Yes, I'm betting you could."
"Buh?" He had not expected it to be that easy. Leon looked like he was about to tell him all about how he was too inexperienced, and weak, and not perfect like him, or something like that...
"Well, now that you're helping us defend the town... Sora, from now on, that room you were staying in is yours. You'll be splitting the bills with us, and food. We'll work on finding you a job in the morning. Now, it's seven fourty-five according to the clock. Would you lend me a couple hours before bed?"
"Uh... for what?"
"I'm going to begin teaching you how to use a sword. Properly." Leon smiled. It was proabably a rare thing, given his general attitude. "We won't have dead weight on our team. Yuffie would never let either of us hear the end of it. Come along, I'll show you to the training room." All Sora could do was dumbly follow his new teacher. Things had changed pace awful fast all of the sudden, and now he was about to fight a master swordsman again. He hoped he wouldn't end up with bruises again...