A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts. Once again.

Chapter 4:

Angered, Yugi yelled at the top of his lungs. "GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND, YOU FREAKS OF NATURE! YAHHHH!" And he charged at the Heartless, Keyblade in hand…

..only to be forced back to the ground immediately.

"Ugh!" Yugi brushed the dust off his pants and started panting. Without thinking, he charged at the Defender again. And he was pushed back, again. This time, however, he was pushed back over 3 feet, into a nearby concrete wall. The defenseless hero crashed into the wall like glass, and he could hear several of his bones shatter in the process.

"No…I won't…give up." Yugi's breathing was much shallower. The attack had injured his back, which had most likely scratched his lung in the process. It wasn't serious, but it was enough to put the Keyblade wielder at a horrible disadvantage.

The Defender then blasted a Firaga straight in his direction. Yugi's eyes widened. Reacting quickly, he took Fenrir in his right hand and started spinning it quickly. This in turn caused it to emit glows of flashing light. When the Firaga landed in contact with Fenrir, Yugi used all his energy to lift Fenrir high above his head, throwing the fireball high into the sky, where it disintegrated immediately.

Panting in victory, Yugi refocused his attention on Ventus, who was still in danger. The Neoshadows were scratching the force-field like madmen, and he could sense that the energy in the shield was starting to disappear.

"Damn it!" Yugi cursed. "I have to stop this Heartless before it's too late!" But then he paused, right before he tried to take his battle stance. Then he thought about the situation carefully. Every time I tried to attack it directly, he deflected it like it was nothing. Yugi then remembered something. But all of those were physical attacks. Maybe if I used magic, then things would be different.

Pointing the Keyblade at the Defender, he yelled, "FREEZE!" At once, Fenrir shot an ice spell at the Heartless. It had no way of dodging the powerful spell. Just as Yugi was about to yell in victory…

…the Heartless emerged unscathed. It appeared completely unharmed.

"Great!" Yugi yelled in frustration. He didn't have much time. The force-shield was starting to break. Yugi could see behind the Defender. He noticed shards of energy were falling to the ground, and the Neoshadows were growing more powerful with each attack.

Reacting quickly, he uttered the only spell he could think of: "THUNDER!"

The Defender had no time to raise his shield to defend himself, for he had no idea where the lightning would come from. For a single moment, the sky became dark, and a lightning bolt came down and struck the Heartless in the head, causing it to disappear into darkness.

"Yes!" Now with renewed hope, Yugi charged towards Ventus and the bike with Fenrir held high above his head.

But his victory was short lived. For before Yugi could say the words "John Smith", two Neoshadows grabbed each of his arms, constricting each half of his body. They squeezed at him so hard that Yugi felt the life inside him starting to slip away, and his Keyblade dropped uselessly to the ground, disappearing in a flash of light.

"Yugi!" Aqua cried out in despair. She tried to run over to him, but a Large Body punched her in the abdomen. "Nrrgh!" She started coughing blood and winced in pain. Recovering quickly, she got up only to be ambushed by a group of Wvverns, who proceeded to scratch at her body as though it was a scratching post. They cut through her armor like it was plastic, and blood started dropping out of every visible part of her body…

"No, Aqua!" Terra had been busy with several Nobodies, including Dusks and Assassins. "YAH!" He unleashed a powerful Ground Impact that killed all of them at once. "I'm coming!" He used his Glide ability to fly to where the Heartless were attacking his best friend. He almost made it, but before he could, he was struck in the head by a random Soldier that had come out of nowhere. Terra sank to the ground unconscious. Slowly, the Solder began to cut Terra's chest open with his sword, through his armor and through his skin…

"Hang on Terra!" Riku threw the Way to the Dawn at the Soldier, killing it. But as he used his psychic powers to levitate the blade back to him, a strong wind blew him off his feet and onto the cold, hard ground. The force of the impact cost Riku the loss of his left kneecap. "Argh!" Riku grabbed his leg in frustration. Looking up, he saw a Wizard staring blank at him, pointing its wand at Riku's heart…

"Ugh…Aqua…Terra…Riku…Yugi…" Ven was slowly regaining consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he realized that he was in his armor suit. Looking around, he realized that he was surrounded by several Neoshadows, and that he was resting on Yugi's bike. Before he could sit up to see what had happened to his friend, one of the Neoshadows grabbed him by the neck and started raising him up in the air. As the Heartless began to choke the defenseless teenager, Ventus started coughing and gasping. He tried to summon Fresh Breeze, but another Neoshadow grabbed his arm and started crushing it with all his strength. Ven could feel the armor enclosing his arm, stopping the blood flow and piercing his skin.

"GYAHHHHH!" Ventus yelled in pain. "Help me! For the love of all that is good, help me!" No words could express the physical torture Ven was enduring. Deciding it wanted to finish the job, the Neoshadow that was choking Ven raised its other fist and prepared to jab it into his heart…

"NOOOOOOO!" Using all the strength he could muster, Yugi broke free of the hold the Heartless had on him, even killing the left one in the process. Terra, Riku and Aqua were astounded at the incredible power Yugi had just displayed. A change had come over him; his face was angry and more clenched up, his eyes were bloodshot and yellow, and his muscles swelled up to incredible heights. Breathing heavily, Yugi summoned Fenrir again and held it in front of him like a dagger.

"Now die." Yugi pointed the Keyblade in the sky and yelled "THUNDER TIMES 3000!"

The other Keyblade wielders could not take their eyes off this incredible sight. At once, a huge flurry of thunderbolts fell from the sky and struck every single Heartless with a burst of energy. The hundreds of Heartless that had been surrounding the heroes vanished within a matter of seconds. When the chaos subdued, all that remained were Yugi, Ven, Terra, Aqua, burnt remains of Heartless that filled the air with a foul stench, and dark stains on the ground.

The ordeal is over. Twilight Town is safe…for now. And so is Ventus. And with those final thoughts, Yugi collapsed to the ground in relief; the magic had drained out all energy from his body.

6:00 PM

When Yugi opened his eyes, he was staring into the blue eyes of Ventus.

"Yugi! You're alright!" Ven breathed a sigh of relief and laid back in his seat.

Still groggy, Yugi rubbed his eyes. "What…happened?"

Ven looked down. Yugi, confused, asked again. "What happened?"

Not answering him, Ventus got up and walked to the window. "Well, we were all being creamed by the Heartless, and you sort of…did something to them."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "I…did something." Just then, he felt a sharp pain in his brain. "Ergh!" He grabbed his forehead and a few strands of his hair. Clenching his hair as hard as he could, Yugi tried his best to remember. But after a few moments, the pain increased so much that he wasn't able to think anymore. Exhausted, he laid back into bed, disappointed at his failed attempt.

Reducing his voice to a murmur, he continued. "Where's…Aqua?"

Ven shook his head. "They're back at work. They…couldn't come."

A sharp pain once again attacked Yugi, but this time, it came through his heart. Then he remembered. "Oh, right!" He nodded. "She must be writing about what happened today; that's why she couldn't come." That explained a lot, he thought. Why else would she leave him alone with nobody else except Ventus? She was just busy was all. With two of the members of KC out of commission, it seemed necessary.

Ven nodded quickly. "Yeah, that's it! She's busy! That's what it is! A lot of work to do, articles to publish, that kind of stuff!" His voice was hasty and rushed, and Yugi could sense much uneasiness in Ven's throat.

"Ven?" Yugi asked. "Are you sure she's okay? And what about…" His heart sank. "Terra! And Riku! What happened to them? Are they going-"

"They're fine, Yug. Aqua healed all of us with Curaga, and she's let them leave work to go the hospital. It wasn't too serious; they should be fine by tomorrow." Ven took the medicine from the bedside table.

"Hold this for one second." Yugi held the medicine and looked at the label. "Advil," Yugi read with disdain. "VENTUS! You know I only take Tylenol whenever I fall unconscious fighting Heartless! Advil is for when YOU try to kill me!"

"Will you shut the hell up?" Ven uncharacteristically snapped back. "Unlike you, I need to focus when I use magic." Concentrating for about two minutes, he summoned Fresh Breeze and held it forward.

"Summon…water." He muttered. At once, a glass of water appeared in his hand. "Here you go," Ven said as he handed the glass to his friend.

Yugi smirked. "A wine glass? What, did you and Aqua finally tie the knot?" He exclaimed sarcastically.

"YUGI!" Ven's face grew red, and bore a scowl on it. "At least my magic doesn't knock me out cold!"

Yugi shrugged. "True." With that, he popped the pills in his mouth and washed them down by pouring the entire glass down his throat. "Seriously, though," he thought aloud, "how did I knock myself out?"

Ven sat back down in his seat. "Well, we were all-"

But before he could continue, the doorbell rang it. Ven sprung up out of his seat. "Who could that be?"

Putting on his vest, he walked downstairs and opened the door. He was then greeted by Sora and Kairi. The former was carrying a giant Wal-Mart bag.

"Hey Ven!" Kairi waved at the blonde-haired boy. Ven waved back. "How's it going?"

"We just wanted to give Yugi some food to reward him for, you know…" He lowered his voice to a whisper, because he knew Yugi was listening from upstairs. "What he did today."

Ven nodded. "Will do that." After taking the bag, he put it on the side and invited the couple in.

Sora and Kairi walked over to the couch. Ven tossed them the remote, and Sora turned the TV on.

There was an episode of Full House going on. While Sora got absorbed in the show, Kairi turned her head to Ventus, who was making sandwiches for all the three of them. "So, how's he doing?"

"All right, I guess." Ventus shrugged. "I mean, considering he killed three-hundred Heartless with a single spell, he's actually doing pretty well. There's something wrong with his memory though." Ven's tone changed from light-hearted to dark in that instant. "Every time he tries to remember what happened…it causes him a lot of pain."

Taking Sora and Kairi's plates, he walked over to the couch and handed them their sandwiches. "The others didn't take it too well. Terra thought Yugi was crazy to even THINK of pulling off something crazy like that. He was all, 'If he's trying to be some hotshot and all, he could at least try and make himself look good when doing it'. Riku did his best to hide his feeling about it, but we all know he cares about Yugi as much as we do."

"I see." Kairi nodded. Then she turned to Sora. "Maybe you should think about it, Sora. I think it's necessary."

Sora grimaced upon hearing his girlfriend's voice. Muting the TV, he turned to face her. "You know the answer already. It's no. So stop asking me about it." Grabbing the sandwich from Ventus, he got up from the couch and started walking to the kitchen.

"Sora, stop!" Kairi got up also. "What is it with you? Why won't you do it?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't know. I just-"

"Yugi needs you. They all need you. You are one of them, you know!" Kairi reminded him. She pointed to Sora's hand. "The weapon chose you. Yugi chose you. They both need you."

But Sora would not give in. The brown-haired boy clenched his free hand. Taking a bite from his sandwich, he turned back to face Kairi. After finishing the sandwich in his mouth, he continued. "For the last time, I do not want to work for Keyblade Chronicles. I don't like working for newspapers."

Kairi shook her head in frustration. "Sora, it's not about the newspapers! Think about what happened today! A girl is DEAD! Heartless are attacking the city! The worlds are in a frenzy!" Tears started flowing from her angelic face. "If we don't act soon, everything will be lost to the darkness."

"Listen to her, Sora." Ven commented. "You're one of us, whether you like to admit it or not. Granted, however, if it were up to me, I'd snatch that Keyblade from you in an instant!"

Kairi gasped and looked and Ventus, a shocked expression on her face. "Ven, what are you saying?"

"I meant what I said, Kai!" Ven glared at the redhead for a moment, then returned his gaze to the Keyblade wielder turning his back to him. "You think you're helping the worlds by keep your gifts to yourself? Wake up, Sora! People are dying! We need to be united if we want to stop them from taking over the world!"

"Well, why should I care?" Sora yelled loudly. "It's not like I asked for this incredible power! I don't even want it! Who fucking cares?"

"I do, you asshole!" Losing all inhibitions, Ven summoned Fresh Breeze and charged at his friend. The latter retaliated by summoning Oathkeeper. Both of them were pressed in close combat, with Ven's Keyblade blocked by Sora's. Ven kept pushing at Sora, but the brown-haired teenager would not let up.

"Leave…me…alone!" Sora said through clenched teeth. "I am not one of you people!"

"Yes...you...are." Ven retaliated. "You've always been, Sora. Join us, and I promise not to bang you up too much."

"AS IF!" Sora pushed back with all his strength, knocking Fresh Breeze from Ven's hands, until it collided with the coffee table, smashing it beyond repair.

Ventus himself fell to the ground, but he was far from finished. Growling, he called for Fresh Breeze, which transported from the coffee table to his hand.

Kairi watched in horror as Ventus walked slowly towards her boyfriend, Keyblade in hand. Afraid to wake up Yugi and stir up more trouble, she covered her mouth. Blushing bright red, she closed her eyes, anticipating something bad to happen.

"…Ventus?" The drugged, groggy voice of Yugi called out from above. "What's going on down there?"

"Nothing!" Ven replied. "Sora and I were just playing a little game. Is that okay?"

"…that's alright, I guess. Just keep it down; I'm really tired." This comment was followed by a yawn, and then there was complete silence from upstairs.

Ven nodded. Glaring at Sora, keeping his voice down, he simply stated, "I'll be taking your leave now."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Thank you for inviting me into your house. It was nice," he said in the fakest cheery disposition he could muster at the moment. "Thanks for the fucking sandwich, Ven." Sora recalled the Keyblade and walked out the door, but not before he uttered his last words before leaving: "I hate peanut butter and jelly." And with that, he slammed the door behind him and walked away.

Kairi walked up to where Ventus was lying down and apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't know what the fuck is wrong with him today? I hope you can understand that he's going through a hard time right now! He doesn't have a single bad bone in his body. He would never-"

"Kai, stop!" Ven held up his hand to silence the rambling redhead. "I get it; it's all right. Just take care of him is all." He smiled as best he could, though Kairi could tell there was a bit of sadness in this one. Nevertheless, she returned the gesture.

Without saying anything, Kairi helped Ventus up and proceeded to let herself out. Once she was gone, Ven walked to the door and looked through the peephole to see Kairi running after Sora with a frying pan that he didn't know HOW she obtained between the time she came in his house and the moment she left. Then he turned around to see the broken coffee table; the glass was spread across the living room floor.

Sighing, he decided that he needed to sweep it up. "Better go get the broom." But before he could go upstairs to get the broom, he was greeted by a frowning Yugi standing on the steps. He wasn't dressed in his traditional leather pants, black shirt and blue jacket; instead, he was wearing black silk pants, and he was bare-chested, wearing a white robe to cover himself and keep him warm. There was nothing on his feet, and his choker was nowhere to be found. Also, there were several noticeable scars on his chest, particularly near his heart. The place where his heart was had a black stain on it that would not come off. Ven would know; he had wasted half an hour trying to wash it off, but to no avail. Yugi had bags under his eyes, and his knees looked like they might collapse any moment.

"Yugi!" Ven gasped. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Relax, I'm fine." Yugi brushed aside Ven's worries. "I know you and Sora were fighting, and I also know what it was about."

Ven looked away. "He's just a total dope is all. Still didn't want to join us."

Yugi nodded. "I figured as much." Looking at Ven's chest, he went straight to the point. "We'll clean up the table later. Let's talk about what happened today. We need a plan to tackle this new threat."

It was almost 7:00. Yugi and Ven were sitting upstairs in Ven's room. Ven was lying down on his bed, while Yugi sat on Ven's chair. They were both drinking coffee, and discussing what all had happened earlier that day.

"So, about the murder that happened today-that is, if indeed we can call this a murder," Yugi started. "We know for a fact that the murderer is most likely a powerful magic user. Only some pretty powerful could have used a freezing spell that well. Anyone else would most likely die under the pressure."

"True," Ven nodded. "It also seemed pretty strange that the cops wrote off Olette's death as a suicide. There's no concrete evidence that she DID commit suicide." Upon hearing his own words, Ventus started to cry bitterly. "Olette's a good person. She would never do something like that…"

"I know." Yugi nodded in agreement. "I believe you Ven. But the cops won't see it that way. You need to understand that in order to get to the bottom of this, we need to think of this like Keybladers and not lose our heads. That's not something we can afford to lose, God forbid." Yugi joked.

Ven muttered a half-hearted "Yeah."

"Now," Yugi continued. "that's about all the information we have. We weren't able to get anything else after that. Our other problem saw to that."

Yugi got up from his seat. Ven almost got up too, but Yugi motioned for Ven to stay put. Pacing around the room, he tried to piece together the incidents as best he could. "Don't you think it's a little odd that the minute after we hear about a murder in Twilight Town, that Heartless just start to appear out of nowhere? I mean, does that make any sense?"

Ven shrugged. "Maybe it's just coincidence. Heartless have come up in the city before, and we've always been around when they do." Scratching his head, he pointed out something else. "Maybe it's because we've got the Keyblades that they came; they must have sensed our presence when we got to the tower."

"Correct!" Yugi snapped his fingers. "Why else would they show up? The murderer didn't have enough time to tamper with the crime scene before he left. Maybe he summoned the Heartless before he left in order to fend us off."

"But wait!" Ven pointed out. "How would he know we were coming? If he has powerful magic, why did he even have to leave the scene at all. Even if the cops did catch him, the guy would be too powerful for them anyway. If I had to guess-and this is just a guess-then this guy probably just wanted attention is all."

"You're wrong."

Ven looked up in surprise. "What?"

"You're right that he's a powerful being, and maybe you're right that he likes attention. But that's not what his goals were for killing Olette."

"W…what do you mean?" Ven sat up and looked at Yugi. "I don't get what you're saying."

Yugi shook his head. "I have some other logical theories. One, Olette's dad is a former police officer. I know because I did an interview with him about a year ago. He's killed or captured about 200 criminals during his career. My hunch is that one of the criminals he captured was secretly a powerful magic wielder who wants revenge for what happened to him. So he killed Olette to hurt him emotionally, and released the Heartless to avenge all the people who were captured by Olette's dad."

"And what's number two?"

"For this, I need to ask you something. Did Olette have any enemies who knew magic?"

Ven shrugged. "I don't know. Olette was pretty lonely in school. Save for me and the guys, she didn't have many friends. Everyone thought she was weird and nerdy. One girl even thought she was the Devil. I don't see how." Ven shrugged. It off. "I'm sure it was just a harmless threat."

Yugi grabbed the blonde's shoulders and started shaking him. "Have I taught you nothing? One thing a reporter knows more than anything is that you NEVER shoot down any theories until you are SURE they are false! Got that?"

Ven slowly nodded. "Got it."

"Good!" Letting Ven go, he continued to pace the room. "Brace yourself for this third theory. I don't like to think about it, but considering how little we know as of yet, it may be the closest we have to a scoop. Don't be offended when I say this," he warned, "but this is only a theory, and has not been proven yet."

"Out with it already!" Ven was growing impatient.

"I think the murderer was…a Keyblade wielder.."

Ven's eyes widened and his mouth opened as wide as it humanly could…