Merry Christmas to all! (and Merry Christmas Eve to others, like me!)

Here's the next chapter to this fanfic.

Hope you like it!

PLEASE R&R!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts (c) Tetsuya Nomura
: Disney (c) Walt Disney
Claimer: everything else (c) me

Chapter Three: Return to Radiant Garden

Riku stirred awake slowly, feeling something warm pressed up against him. Letting his aqua eyes flutter open, he caught a glimpse of ebony black hair.

Yuki! He thought with joy as his eyes snapped open, his gaze focusing on the beautiful sleeping girl laying beside him.

Yuki's face looked so peaceful as she lay next to him, dressed in a white t-shirt and black shorts. It was as if nothing ever happened the night before. Stroking her cheek, she half-opened her eyes and blinked at him.

"Morning," she murmured tiredly.

"Yuki," he breathed in relief, wrapping his arms around her tightly as he pulled her head into his chest, burying his face in her long hair.

"I love you, Yuki, so much," he whispered sweetly.

Pulling back, she reached up to kiss him, their lips moving gently together as her fingers twined into his silver hair.

"I love you too Riku," she replied, pressing her cheek against his chest.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered surely, "I'm unharmed. I just…never mind. I think I've made you worry enough."

He sat up, looking at her. "You can tell me, it's alright."

She smiled, sitting up and leaning against him.

"Riku…" she whispered, turning to him and very gently their lips touched, Riku pinning her down on the bed and kissing her passionately before she pushed him off her.

"Is something wrong?" he inquired worriedly.

Yuki shook her head. "No, it's just that we should probably go see the others. We want to get as much of a head start as we can into the day," she replied.

"Awww… and it was right in the middle of our kissing session too," he pretended to mope.

Grinning, she leaned forward for a quick peck. "Well… we could always continue later while we're off saving the worlds from certain destruction," she told him.

"Of course," he replied with a loving grin. "Now… what about those set of key chains that are supposed to help?"

"Oh… don't worry about those," she replied enigmatically, "I've already taken care of that."

He dipped his head. "Okay, now… let's go find the others. I know they're just as worried about you as I was."

Stepping out of bed, a stream of white magic swirled around her instead of the normal rainbow one, transforming her clothes into a casual pair of comfortable blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a short-sleeved black jacket, a glowing crystal heart pendant hanging from a gold chain around her neck.

"What is that?" he queried.

"This is a kind of light meter, I guess you would call it," she answered, "I can measure the light of the worlds with this, as well as it measures the light within my heart. When I measure the light in the worlds, it will glow pink, and if the world is slumbered in darkness, it'll be a dark pink to dark purple. If it's the own light within my heart, it'll be a white light. But…" her voice grew quieter as her eyes dimmed. "If I should die, the pendant will shatter, and the light will fade."

"That won't happen," he promised, wrapping his arms around her so that his chest pressed against her back. "I'll be here to protect you. I love you."

-----

"Yuki! You're back!" Sora exclaimed, running over to hug her.

"Good morning to you too, Sora," she replied cheerfully.

The rest of them hugged her tightly before they looked at her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Naminé queried worriedly.

"I'm fine," she answered, "now… here's what I'm planning; Roxas, Naminé, Kairi, Goofy, I want the four of you to head to Disney Castle. We need to take a full analysis of the worlds, and it's a lot easier if we have help from Queen Minnie. Now… let's get going. Sora, Riku, Donald and I are heading to Radiant Garden to check out what's the status with Leon and the others."

"Is it a good idea to split up like this?" Kairi inquired.

She nodded. "We can cover more worlds like this," she replied, turning to Roxas while pressing a bag into his hand. "Here, if you run into any Organization members, weaken them just enough so you can throw one of these at them. Trust me."

"Okay, thanks," Roxas replied trustingly.

Sora grinned, cheering, "Let's do this!"

----

Taking two Gummi Ships, the team split up. Once Sora, Riku, Yuki and Donald arrived at Radiant Garden, looking around at the seemingly-peaceful town. Yuki's pendant pulsed a gentle dark pink light.

"It's a little quiet," Sora commented.

"But it seems the darkness here is beginning to spread," Yuki retorted, her fingers touching the heart-shaped pendant.

"Well, let's get started!" Donald cheered.

Sensing it before it came, Yuki quickly turned in front of Sora to face him as a blade-like dagger buried itself into her back. Collapsing against the younger teen, he was surprised, but didn't notice the dagger yet until his hands ran over it.

"Yuki!" Riku exclaimed, pulling the girl out of Sora's embrace as a blonde woman appeared in a familiar black portal dressed in all-too familiar robes.

"You're part of Organization XIII, aren't you," Donald accused.

"Pathetic," she snorted, "you can't even remember me, can you? I'm Larxene, No. 12 in the Organization. If it wasn't for that stupid girl, I wouldn't had a great head start on killing you guys."

Sora summoned up his Keyblade as spells flooded into Donald's head. Riku held Yuki tightly, analysing the wound as she trembled slightly with pain.

"Donald, let's go," Sora pushed before the both of them attacked.

"R-Riku…" Yuki murmured to him, "p-pull it out. T-Trust me."

Biting his lip, he grabbed the end of the blade and pulled it out, a short grunt of pain escaping her lips as blood left her back before a silver light engulfed the wound and slowly healed it.

"Yuki," he whispered, hugging her tightly as he felt strength return to her.

She pulled away, and she looked at him with a smile. "Its okay, Riku, I'm fine now," she reassured, turning back around to face Larxene, her "Oathkeeper" Keyblade appearing in her hand. "Now we should get onto business."

"Hold on…" Riku warned. "Stay back, we'll deal with her."

In a flash, his "Way to Dawn" Keyblade appeared in his hand, standing protectively in front of her before he dashed off to attack.

As they fought, Yuki watched, thinking hard at why Organization XIII would want Sora dead.

It just doesn't make sense, she thought. They need Sora to collect hearts for them as he's the Keyblade Master. Why would they send Larxene to kill him?

Suddenly, another presence appeared behind her and she turned around to see Xven, his green eyes filled with confusion as he held his "Soul Stealer" Keyblade in his right hand.

"How do you make these strange memories pop into my head?" he accused.

Her own golden eyes looked sad. "Because I know your true self; I know who's Nobody you are," she replied softly.

The forest green orbs hardened. "Come with me," he beckoned, "I don't want to fight you. I just want to talk." Then he jumped away as Yuki followed, away from the others.

They arrived at an empty alleyway, and Xven turned to face her, his Keyblade vanishing.

"Now… who are you, and why do I see you in those memories?" he demanded of her.

"My name is Yuki, and the reason why is that those memories that you hold belong to my dear friend Kira," she explained, more memories flashing through Xven's head with Kira's name brought up. "You are Kira's Nobody."

As Xven raised one hand to his head to try and stop it from throbbing, he peered at Yuki with pained eyes. "And who are you to this… Kira?" he inquired breathlessly.

She gave him a small smile. "He was my childhood friend, up until a few years ago. During the time we were together though… he grew to love me more than a friend. I figured it out, but before he could actually tell me, we were separated," she told him, pain in her words.

"I-I'm trying so hard to remember," he said.

Walking over to him, she looked up into his forest green eyes. "Maybe this will help," she whispered, leaning up to softly place her lips on his, closing her eyes.

Xven's eyes widened at the small contact as full, complete memories filled his mind, the truth enveloping him before he gently pulled away from her.

"Do you remember now?" she asked, unmoved.

"W-What's this beat in my chest?" he gasped in shock.

Yuki's eyes narrowed. "What?" she demanded. That's impossible, Xven can't be Kira! She thought, There's no such thing as a human becoming his Nobody… is there? Either that or else Xven's true heart is beating for him to return to Kira.

All of a sudden, Larxene leaped next to him, throwing several blades at Yuki as she blocked them with her Keyblade. The Organization XIII member had cuts and bruises on her, and she seemed to be panting.

"What are you doing, Xven?!" she demanded of her fellow Nobody, "You should be disposing of her, not acting all vulnerable and making me look bad!"

Rushing forward to attack, Larxene lashed out at Yuki with blades, before suddenly shooting a bolt of lightning at the girl, electrifying her momentarily before she snapped out of the trance of pain, using her magic to send the lightning back at her.

"Come on, kid," Larxene hissed, grabbing Xven's arm, "let's get outta here."

"Let him go!" Yuki shouted before collapsing down onto one knee as she had been temporarily paralyzed by the electricity as it jolted around and through her body.

"Yuki, Yuki!" Riku shouted as he and the others approached her in a run.

"Xven! You'll find your true self, trust me, you will!" she called to the newest Organization XIII member.

Xven shot her a worried and confused look before he and Larxene vanished into the darkness in retreat for the time being.

Shakily and slowly, Yuki stood up as Sora, Riku and Donald ran up to her, her boyfriend looking at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked of her.

"Yeah," she sighed, glancing back at the spot where the two Organization XIII members disappeared. "Oh… and I was close to bringing Xven's true memories back."

"But are you unhurt?" Riku repeated, his aqua eyes filled with worry.

"Mostly," she answered, "there's nothing to worry about. Now… we need to find Leon and the others and figure out what's going on."

Sora looked around. "Well… if we head off in that direction… then we should arrive at Merlin's house soon."

Weakly, Yuki's knees broke under her, and she began to collapse before Riku caught her.

"Yuki, you're not alright, are you," he accused, looking deeply into her golden eyes.

"Well… it's only because Larxene shot me with a lightning bolt and I was temporarily paralyzed. I guess my knees are still weak after that happened," she explained simply.

Very carefully, Yuki was swept up into Riku's arms, and he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

"I love you, Yuki," he whispered.

She smiled, reaching up to kiss him on the lips. "I love you too. Sorry that I scared you."

He adjusted her weight. "Just… don't do it again," he said lightly with a smile. Turning to Sora and Donald, he added, "Let's get going."

Donald rolled his eyes and muttered in annoyance, "Lovers…"

Both Riku and Yuki ignored him as they continued walking towards Merlin's House.

When they arrived, they were greeted by their friends Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Merlin, and Cid.

"Hey guys, how are things going?" Sora asked casually.

Leon dipped his head. "Well… things have been going well other than the fact that the Heartless and Nobodies have returned," he answered.

"Hey, are you okay, Yuki?" Yuffie inquired worriedly.

"Whoa!" Sora and Donald exclaimed, "You know her?!"

Yuki nodded, looking at them. "Yeah, I've met them before," she retorted, "as well as many of your other friends. Being the 'Maiden of Light' brings me to a lot of places. Yeah… I'm pretty much fine. Riku, you can let me down now."

Cautiously, her boyfriend set her down onto her feet, and she smiled at him in reassurance.

"Now… what brings you to Radiant Garden?" Merlin the Wizard inquired curiously, adjusting his spectacles.

"We're here to bring light back into all the worlds," Sora declared boldly, "so we can stop Organization XIII and Maleficent, and prevent Yuki from dying."

All eyes turned to the young woman.

"You're dying, Yuki?" Aerith asked, her green eyes dim with sadness.

"Don't worry about me," she answered, "as long as there's light in the worlds, I'm still alive. Unless the light in all the worlds and in myself give out, I'll be fine. That's why restoring the light is our top priority."

Leon pat her on the head. "Just don't overdo yourself," he told her affectionately. "Now… so you're all here to help us clean up this Heartless and Nobody mess."

"First, let's get on into the house to talk a little about this," Cid said.

Following their friends into Merlin's house, Sora, Donald, Riku and Yuki stood behind Cid as he brought up a huge digital map of Radiant Garden, several spots of the large black grid in red and white.

"The places in red are where the Heartless are beginning to gather, and the places in white are where the Nobodies are starting to gather," he explained, pointing it out to them.

"We could split into teams and fight them separately," Yuffie suggested.

Yuki shook her head. "No… too risky. Organization XIII could attack us anytime," she disagreed. "It'll be easier to pick us off if we're all separate. If we must split up, we need to make it into teams of two or three."

"Okay, I'll go with Yuffie and take the northeast corner;" Leon began, "Sora, you and Donald will take the northwest corner here; Cid and Merlin, take the southwest corner; Yuki, Riku, you two take the southeast corner. Meet back here when you've finished your quadrant. Aerith, I'll need to you stay here and alert us if anything differs with the map. Everyone understand?"

"Let's do this!" Sora cheered optimistically, turning to Donald, "Are you ready?"

"Am I ready?!" he squawked, "Of course I'm ready!"

Riku and Yuki both exchanged a brief nod before they all ran off out the door and split up into their four groups, diverting off to their designated locations.

Thoughts flashed through Yuki's head as she and Riku ran off. Let's just hope these elimination missions go well without any problems…

Well... hope you liked this chapter!

Please review!