Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me, though that should be obvious. All OCs in this chapter belong to me. In future chapters, I will tell you which OC belongs to whom, since I had previously asked for OCs from you guys. Well...read on!

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Simple and Clean

The sky was a brilliant blue and the only thing that was obstructing our view of the sky were those blue birds that chirped until they fell asleep. I was sitting on the steps of Kamikaze Home, the very generous foster home of Utopia that decided to take me in after my parents passed away three years ago. In my hands I clutched my journal—which is bound in the most expensive-looking golden leather and has a huge, black letter K on the front cover to symbolize my name—and I closed it after looking at its contents.

I normally wear the same clothes every day—all my clothing is the same, mind you—a normal white button-up jacket over a red t-shirt, a pair of blue jean shorts and a brown leathered satchel over my shoulder. I put my journal in the satchel, just as I heard a whirring of wind brush past my ear.

I whipped my head to the side to see someone flying through the air on his bright pink and blue Keyblade Glider. What is a Keyblade Glider? A thing Keybearers use to traverse the worlds. Well, this would be the case, but the outside world is cut off from us. This has to be the only world in existence that doesn't allow us to leave.

I focused on the person standing atop the Glider. My best friend Domino, wearing a purple button-up shirt over a white undershirt, with black jeans, and was strangely barefoot. For some reason he was always barefoot because he says it makes him one with nature. I know, he's a pretty weird guy.

"Whoo-hoo!" came Domino's eccentric voice as his Glider screamed past my ear once again. "Kane, you've gotta try this!" He flew by my ear again, this time flying upward as the Glider connected with the wall of the foster home, beginning to climb up it with ease.

"I would, if I had a Keyblade!" I yelled back to Domino. His Glider, once at the top of the foster home, started coming back down and flew past me, nearly making me fall over. "Damn, Domino!"

"Come on, man, this is fun!" he yelled back stopping in place and making his Glider do a 360 spin, and then he took off towards the lake.

He was always riding his Glider no matter the consequences. There weren't many Keyblade wielders living in Utopia. Domino was one of the only twenty that lived here. That's how scarce it was in our world. Coming back from the direction of the lake again was Domino, speeding closer to me.

"Wait…uh-oh," Domino breathed to himself, and he crashed straight through the bottom window of the foster home, glass shattering everywhere as my friend landed inside.

"Domino!" I yelled in both worry and anger. I opened up the door and stepped inside, hoping to see Domino. Well, I did. His body was covered in cuts from that glass. Towering over him was my foster parent, Ibiki Kamikaze.

Ibiki is a tall man, with long black hair that is tied in a ponytail and sideburns that were way too long. The only thing cute and cuddly about this man was the fact that he had those large, pale-pink eyes that didn't match with the rest of him.

"Domino, how many times must I tell you…" Ibiki growled, grabbing my friend's arm and yanking him up, forcing him to stand on his feet as his Glider vanished. "You cannot use that Keyblade Glider around the foster home! This is the seventh time this year breaking in like you did—"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Domino muttered under his breath, pouting. He crossed his arms and walked towards the exit. "I was just having a little fun."

"You have to understand, Domino, that not everyone has a Keyblade," Ibiki said in a now kind tone as he started to say the same speech he always gives to Domino. "So the little ones may get jealous or confused at the sight of that thing. And do you think it's fair that only you have a Keyblade, along with only a few others, while everyone else in this world have diddlysquat?"

"I guess it's not," Domino replied, staring at the ground. "Kane, let's go."

Domino—instead of stepping out the doorway—stepped out of the window that he broke. I followed him as I walked out the door and closed it behind me. When we were both outside, the sun shining down on us, Domino looked at me with a toothy grin and said, "Why do you live there again? You can just come live with me!"

"Your parents wouldn't let me anyway," I muttered, hanging my head down. I knew that was an impossibility. His parents, the two first Keyblade settlers in Utopia, were super strict about who he even hangs around with. The idea of him hanging around a lowly street rat must make his parents groan in disgust. "Besides, my home is with Ibiki and the others."

I sat back down, only to be accompanied by Domino next to me. The sun slowly started to set. Curfew would be in less than an hour.

Domino stood up as the wind slowly and calmly swept his hair to the side and out of his face. He looked up at the orange sun and said, "Ever wonder what's out there? I know from my parents that there are other worlds…but for some reason this is the only world to be blocked off. Ever wonder why that is?"

"No, I usually never wonder," I told him truthfully, and he sat down in depression. I never wanted to leave Utopia. It was a paradise for me. It's where all my brothers and sisters at Kamikaze Home were. And where Ibiki was. And especially where my friendship with Domino was destined to stay at. "And besides, Keybearers traverse the worlds. I doubt I could."

"But maybe you could," Domino replied, standing up and helping me to my feet. "Hey, can I check out the orphanage again?"

"Foster home."

"Same difference," Domino snapped back. "Tomorrow night, I wanna have dinner with you guys. I can be a polite person! And I'm sure Ibiki would love to have me over." Yeah right, after the umpteenth time he crashed into Ibiki's window. Domino noticed my near-laughter face and growled, "He would! He knows I'm your friend!"

"Fine, you can come over later," I replied back, not wanting to upset Domino. After all, he was my friend, so why let him down?

.

School the next day started like no other. Domino and I stepped into the school, marveling at how much the building changed over the summer. We were reacquainted with old friends, ran into old enemies, and were greeted by our old teachers.

Sitting in Mr. Brunner's classroom to the side of Domino was boring as we had to sit through his lectures he'd always give on the first day of school.

Mr. Brunner eyed Domino for a second and then looked over at the whole class, saying, "Okay, for the first project I will assign for the year—" I could hear just about every kid in the class moan in disgust. "—you should give me an essay or a poster about your research on the famous and legendary—" He eyed Domino again. "—Keyblade!"

"What?" I asked silently. The first project, on the first day of school, was about the Keyblade? I didn't need to learn about that. My best friend was one of the only wielders. I should know a thing or two by now. But curiosity got the better of me, and whenever class dismissed to go to recess, I went straight upstairs to the library, Domino following closely behind me.

"Why are we going to the library?" he asked when I entered the room, avoiding his failed attempts to pull me out of there.

I ignored him and made my way to the desk, where the old librarian looked up at me with emotionless eyes. "Hello, ma'am, can you direct me to a book about the Keyblades?" The old woman looked down at her computer, typed in something rather fast, and looked back up. "Keyblade Wielders, a book on the back shelf, in the nonfiction section." She looked back to her computer and didn't bother saying anything more.

I walked to the back of the library and pulled out a golden book with the title Keyblade Wielders on the front and the spine. I sat down at a table where Domino had sat at during my talk with the librarian. I opened the book when Domino shouted out, "Kane, what are we doing?"

"I'm researching," I said, trying to shut him up long enough for me to read the first few lines on the first page. "Let's see…yes, Keyblade were created by man three years ago. Nobody knows why they were created…it says here that there's a world called Sanctuary where the Keyblades and Keyblade Wielders were first born. Maybe that's where your parents used to live. In Sanctuary."

"Maybe," Domino said, suddenly intrigued as he took the book from me and flipped through the pages. "Man soon started developing their own beliefs. One of these beliefs was about the existence in a great deity in the sky that they called Kingdom Hearts, and that only a special key would unlock it's secrets. Special key…like a special Keyblade?"

"I don't know," I replied. I ran my finger along the many pages as I read. I was a speed reader, and I also had the strange gift of a photographic memory, so I was bound to read through this book quickly and never forget a word about it. I was never too interested in the outside world, but this book made me intrigued on what really is out there. "They say that all the worlds are connected. But our world is the only one cut off from the rest."

"It's because they thought that they were protecting us by keeping us cut off," Domino said. "What they were really doing is lying to everybody about what's out there. And I intend to find out where I come from." Domino stood up after slamming his hands on the desk, causing the librarian to snap a look our way. "Let's leave this place."

And with that, Domino walked out of the library without another word. What was that guy even thinking? Sometimes I wonder how that guy works. He sets his sights on something and always sees it until the very end. So what exactly was Domino's plan now? He couldn't exactly cross the barrier of our world even with his Keyblade Glider.

I walked out of the library after him, the book under my arm, and continued the day as normal.

.

Domino and I stood in front of Kamikaze Home, as we were ready to eat dinner over there. Domino reached his hand out to knock on the door, but it opened before he was given the chance to. Standing in the doorway was one of the other Foster Kids, Tara Skye. Along with the Kamikaze, the Skye clan is very popular in Utopia.

The thirteen year old Tara had long caramel-brown hair that reached the back of her waist, and on top was also styled into two ponytails that hung on either side of her. Her eyes were crystal blue and her skin was fairly tan. She wore a simple t-shirt and jean shorts that were ripped at the knees.

"Hey, Kane, welcome back!" Tara said with a giddy smile. He raised her eyes to Domino's direction, who awkwardly smiled and waved to her. "And you brought Domino…the Keyblade wielder…what's he doing here?"

"He's eating dinner with us," I replied to her, and she grunted. I wasn't sure why, but Tara never really liked Domino. Then again, not many liked him just because of his abilities. But Tara never gave a reason as to why she hated him. "Go tell Ibiki."

She stuck her tongue at me. I pushed her playfully out the way and stepped into the large mansion-like house with Domino following close behind.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Domino shouted loudly in that eccentric voice of his, running in front of me and stretching his arms out, looking as if he was breathing the air of the house. "Hey…you smell that? I smell chicken!"

"Ibiki's specialty," I told him, and I just laughed at Domino as he licked his lips.

"Actually, I cooked this one," Tara said from behind me, and I turned around to look at her weirdly. "Besides, mine are crunchier and juicer."

"I don't care who cooked it! I just want some!" Domino shouted, nearly foaming at the mouth. And then we heard two people screaming, and Domino was almost knocked over by two little kids. In their hands were toy swords, which apparently they always pretend are Keyblades. "Hey, watch it!"

"You watch it, old man!" one of the kid's voices screamed. Seven year old Kale Kamikaze, light pink eyes and short, curly pink hair, swung his sword at the other kid, five year old Ty Skye, light brown hair and dark brown eyes, who was Tara's little brother.

Kale swung his sword at Ty again, but Ty quickly rolled under the swing and kicked Kale in the knee, causing him to fall over in pain. "Ouch, Ty, that hurt!"

"Quit being a baby," Ty snapped back. "I younger than you and you still always complain!"

"That's enough," Tara said, looking rather aggravated, and she lifted little Ty up and held him over her shoulder as he kicked and thrashed to get out of her tight hold. "Calm yourself, little monster!" Ty finally calmed. "Man, I wish parenting was simple. No wonder Ibiki doesn't have an easy time with us."

Domino rushed into the kitchen to follow the smell of Tara's supposed juicy and crunchy chicken, so I followed him to be greeted by a table filled with plates, silverware, and already made food. The only thing not on there was the chicken. Ibiki sat in a chair at the table reading the newspaper, and he looked to the two of us and instantly grimaced.

"Hello…Domino." That smile Ibiki wore was so not convincing.

"I'm eating over here, pops," Domino said, immediately taking his seat across from Ibiki, taking his own fork and plate like he owned them. "Kane said I could!"

"Kane," Ibiki growled, turning his head towards me. "We have enough people here as it is. But I guess…since he's already here—"

"Where's my chicken!?" Domino interrupted.

"—fine, he can eat here." I smiled at Ibiki, but Ibiki didn't return it.

Tara stepped in and took her fried chicken out of the pan, all ready to go. She placed a large chicken on each plate and sat down herself beside Domino. I sat on the other side of him. Kale and Ty ran in with the swords until Ibiki barked at them to sit down, so they each respectively sat on the sides of Tara and me.

And we dug in. Despite Tara's age, she fried her chicken better than Ibiki had ever done. Domino was finished before I even started, and that's saying something considering the size of the chicken. "Thank you, Tara!" Domino shouted, and Tara just blushed at that comment.

When we were all nearly finished eating, Ibiki said aloud, "So, Kane, how was your first day of school?"

"Mr. Brunner assigned a project," I replied. "And a big part of the project is to research the Keyblade and its origins, as well as the Keyblade wielders. So I was gonna use Domino as my main resource of information."

"So, he's finally going to become useful, eh?" Ibiki said with a laugh. "Good for him."

Domino stood up from his chair, walked to me, and nearly pulled me off of the chair when he tried to yank on my arm. "Kane, I have to show you something. Then you can study up on the Keyblade as long as you want." I nodded and followed him out of the kitchen, leaving Ibiki, Tara, Ty, and Kale behind.

Outside of Kamikaze Home, Domino stared out at the blue sky, the sun slowly setting, "Kane, I know you've seen my Keyblade a dozen times, bit now you're gonna see it in action!" I arched an eyebrow. He lifted his arm into the air, and appearing out of a flash of light in his hand was his Keyblade.

The handle was a mix of hot pink and black; an odd combination. Golden stars decorated the handle and made it look sparkly and amazing. The shaft was a light pink, and the blade itself was pink with black teeth that were curved into elegant points. The tips of each point were golden.

"Starlight!" Domino yelled, referring to the name of his Keyblade. "They say this blade was created to symbolize the many worlds out there, and how to us, they look like simple stars. My parents forged this Key especially for me."

He then did what he always did every day to have fun. He threw his Keyblade through the air like a boomerang and it disappeared from sight in the sky. It soon came blasting its way back as the form of his pink, black, and yellow Keyblade Glider that he eagerly jumped onto as it neared him. He willed the Glider to halt, and he held a hand out to me.

"I don't know…" I muttered, and he just grunted.

"Come on!" Domino shouted at me. "You'll never know what it feels like to soar through the skies unless you hop on! Now grab my hand!" I just sighed and grabbed onto his hand, and I was immediately pulled onto the Glider. "Hold on!"

I hurriedly wrapped my arms around his stomach as the Glider suddenly shot forward, faster than anything I'd ever seen. Using his will, Domino circled the Glider around Kamikaze Home three times, and then shot forward into the air. If I would have let go of Domino, I would have fallen off. Domino flew us up high as if we were going up a steep cliff.

Domino held onto the handles, steering our directions through the sky. He had eventually stopped us in the middle of the sky, right above the beautiful crystal-blue lake. The Lake of Destiny.

"See that, Kane?" Domino asked, pointing below us to the lake. "We've always gone to that lake at sunset, but we'd never been able to see the entire thing. Well now we can. Together."

He was right. I could see the entire perimeter of the lake, and where the water met the land. It was beautiful. And here I was thinking that it had been endless. But nothing is truly endless. "Hold on!"

I held on tightly to Domino as we nosedived towards the lake. One we got within a few feet of the lake, we darted forward where the bottom of the Glider barely skimmed the top of the water. I let one arm go of Domino and touched the water a foot below with my free hand. The cold wetness on my warm hand felt nice.

The Glider slid to a stop on the section of land right next to the lake, and the flying vehicle vanished from underneath us, dropping Domino and I onto the soft and luscious grass.

We looked ahead where the lake met the horizon, and saw the sun setting, casting an orange glow over the water and turning the clouds and sky a pinkish color. Shadows of the individual blades of grass, and shadows of Domino and I, elongated as the sun set.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Domino asked me, placing a calming hand on my shoulder. "If this world looks so beautiful at this time of day…then how do the others look? Why would anyone block off the other worlds from this one? Why are we doomed to stay here for all eternity?"

"I couldn't tell you," I replied, putting my hands behind my head as I yawned. I fell over backwards, letting my head hit the soft grass. "Everything seems so simple and clean here…is it like this in other worlds?"

"I can't remember my life before Utopia," Domino replied. "Three years ago my parents helped the forging of the Keyblades…they gave me a Keyblade as well. Then they brought us here to bond as a family. Not long after, a barrier was created over this world. The Keybearers who had traveled here from Sanctuary can never leave."

"Tragic," I said silently as the sun was soon out of sight, and the pink sky now turned an eerie purple and the lake became dark. The wind was soothing and made the grass sway back and forth. "I always thought that this world was my home for a reason. Why is it my destiny to stay here?"

"So, you're finally realizing your fascination for the outside world, are you?" Domino asked me, and I shot my head up. I hadn't thought about that. I never knew I would ever want to leave a paradise like Utopia. What could lay beyond the barrier? "Looks like you're finally coming along, Kane Carter."

"I knew I'd find the two of you chatting down here," a voice said to the side, and Domino and I looked towards the voice. It was Tara, walking over to us from the direction of the bridge that was a few yards away.

"Hey, Tara," Domino said with the wave of his hand.

"Hey, Kane," she replied, completely ignoring Domino, and she started chuckling at his groaning of annoyance. She walked up to me and sat beside me, staring up at the sky. The sky was filled with bright stars that I knew, from Domino, that each star was a whole other world. "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Sure is," I replied.

Domino dramatically flipped his long purple hair, and stood up straight, walking back towards the bridge without summoning his Glider again. "Coming? I'll walk the two of you home."

"Coming," I replied, standing up as I helped Tara to her feet. Tara and I started walking until we caught up with Domino, and the three of us continued walking up the grassy slope until we were on the bridge.

As we walked, we hadn't noticed that Domino had suddenly stopped. I made Tara halt as I looked behind us, and I saw Domino staring ahead with a blank stare in his silvery eyes.

"Domino?" Tara asked, slightly worried.

Domino's hair started blowing about in the wind. Which I then realized was weird. There wasn't any wind blowing at that moment. Yet Domino's hair continued to sway. I snapped my fingers, and Domino's hair became still, and the boy became aware of his surroundings again.

"Coming," Domino replied, without much explanation as to what had happened. He caught up to Tara and I and we had eventually reached Kamikaze Home. "See ya tomorrow, Kane." We had bid my friend farewell as he walked across the street and to his own house.

Tara and I stepped into the house, were soon acquainted by Ibiki and the screaming Kale and Ty, and all of us had settled down for the night.

Before I had drifted off to sleep, I sat at my desk in my room and began writing about my day and what happened. It was almost like a storybook to me. And my photographic memory helped a whole lot. I could remember every quote, every action…everything.

And as I finish writing, I drift off into sleep.

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Did you like this chapter? As the title suggests, this chapter is just about the normal, everyday, simple and clean life of Kane Carter and Domino. What will happen next chapter? Only time will tell. PLEASE review! Have any questions? Ask me in the reviews, and I'll answer you right away.