alphaskiier : Hotohori and Tsuzuki will mostly get small segments of screen time, but they will be back, I promise!!

Sparky: Dude, no offense, but if you haven't seen the movie series I was hinting at, then you must have been living in a cave!! The one I'm alluding to has become a part of American culture!! As for the castle? Maybe... (shifty eyes)

Minamotogirl: Hope you enjoy this update!!

Have a blessed Easter people!!

And thanks to my beta Akumako Ronso! You rock girl!

Disclaimer: Am I male? Do I look rich? Can I sing? Well, actually, forget that last one, I can sing, but not like the people who appear in this one! Since the answers were no though, then I don't own squat! And I'm a proud DEAR for the record.

The First Step to Any Journey

A week had passed since Daisuke first learned about his future role as 'Savior of the Worlds' and considering what was going on, he thought he was taking things in stride. As far as he was concerned, he was going to take things day by day for a while.

And it was a nice day too as he walked back to the Sakura Inn from Hotohori's dojo. The sun was shining for once, the Heartless activity was at a minimum, his lessons with the former Emperor were going well, and only a few people had fallen through into Traverse Town over the past couple of days.

As he thought of this, the sky flashed above him. 'Did you have to jinx us?!' Dark growled mentally as a tear in the sky formed, and a large figure was disgorged right above his head. Screaming frantically, Daisuke's training kicked in as he rolled to the side in time for the newest member of Traverse Town to land with a rumbling crash.

Coughing from the dust that had been thrown up by the impact, Daisuke staggered to his feet as he groaned. 'What the HELL hit us?!' Dark griped mentally.

'I'm not too sure Dark,' Daisuke thought as he approached the strange blue mound. 'It looks almost like a, like a,'

"Dragon!" Daisuke yelped as the dust started to finally settle. It WAS a dragon, a blue one the color of sapphires. It was injured with gashes to the neck and wings, but besides that, was only knocked out. A saddle was strapped to it's back, and as Daisuke walked around it, he found the crumpled form of a young man.

"Oi, are you ok?" Daisuke asked as he kneeled next to the unconscious blond. As he looked, he noticed graceful, almost noble facial features, and a red sword strapped to his side. "Hey, wake up, before the Heartless show up!" he said frantically, shaking the boy's shoulder.

With a groan, the young man started to awaken. Besides him, the dragon began to stir as well, curling it's head under it's wing pathetically, like a bedraggled chick. Shaking his head slightly, the man patted the dragon's shoulder comfortingly, saying something in a different language. It sounded similar enough to English that Daisuke was able to pick out a few words, mostly "…alright….Sapphira, but….hit me."

Shaking his head, Daisuke sat back on his thighs as he addressed the blond. "Are you two ok?" he asked, including the dragon in the conversation.

Hearing him, the man lurched away, hand scrambling for his sword. Startled as well, Daisuke leapt back as well, Keyblade coming to his hand. "I don't want to hurt you!" Daisuke called as he fell back into a defensive position that Hotohori had all but bashed into his brain.

Obviously confused, the young man relaxed a little as he leaned against the blue mound of leather and wings, saying something hesitantly in his almost-English. "Why…. not understand….?" he asked, holding the dragon's head under his arm. The dragon itself was bristling at the red-haired thief, but was a little more relaxed then the sword-bearer. It nudged it's broad head against the teen's arm, and after a moment, he sheathed his sword.

Watching their actions together, the thief in him was curious about their relationship. 'Can the dragon understand me?' Daisuke wondered. Testing the theory, he turned to the oversized lizard, lowering his Keyblade. "Can you two stand and walk?" he asked. In response, the dragon shook itself free of the teen's grasp and lurched to it's feet. When the young warrior tried to stand up, the dragon, who was larger than most of the buildings, picked him up delicately with it's teeth in order to place him in the saddle.

"Well, that answers my question," Daisuke muttered, Dark nodding in the back of his mind. Louder, he addressed the dragon, who was looking down at him curiously. "Follow me to the inn, someone there can help your friend," he called.

'Thank you…' whispered through his mind with a decidedly feminine voice!

Daisuke lurched from the path in surprise, turning back to look at the dragon. "You can talk too!" he yelped. Regally, the dragon nodded her head. Shaking his own head, Daisuke mentally tallied it as just another oddity of Traverse Town before walking towards the inn again. "Well, can you tell me you names then?" he called back as the blue lizard walked up unto her head was level with him.

'I am Sapphira, and my rider is known as Eragon,' Sapphira offered.

Daisuke grinned, unconsciously reaching up to scratch an eye ridge. "Pleased to meet you! I'm Daisuke, and I'm taking you to the Sakura Inn. Either Tsunade or Sakura can take care of Eragon," he offered.

The rest of the way was spent talking to the responsive dragon, Eragon resting against her back. As soon as they reached the inn, Daisuke could tell by the yelling that someone else had shown up as well. There were two new male voices, plus Sakura and Tsunade. Sasuke and Naruto couldn't be heard, so Daisuke figured that they were out hunting and patrolling for the Heartless. He vaguely recognized one of the male voices as Korean, but sadly, he didn't understand a word of Korean.

Daisuke was startled out of his thoughts when Sapphira nudged his shoulder. 'Those strange black creatures that brought us here, can they be eaten?' she asked, staring down into the pavilion. Turning, he saw a trio of Heartless coming towards him.

Grinning, Daisuke shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Eating one might actually give it a better chance at your heart," he explained. "Fire and swords kill them though," he offered.

Seeming to almost grin, the dragon reared her head back, and spat a trio of fireballs at the three Heartless. At once, they shrieked as they burst into flame. Hearing the shrieks, Sakura, Tsunade, and two men looked out the door and window, only to gape in awe at the sight of Sapphira. Seeing them staring at her, Sapphira puffed out her chest as she kneeled next to the door. Slowly, she lowered her head so that Sakura and Tsunade could look her eye to large eye. 'Yoroshiku ne,' she offered in a perfect imitation of Daisuke.

Laughing, Sakura kneeled next to the dragon, running her hands over Sapphira's bright blue scales in delight. "Well, aren't you the most BEAUTIFUL thing ever!" she crowed, scratching her behind her crest.

Groaning, one of the two new men leaned out of the door. He looked to be only eighteen, with short black-brown hair and brown eyes. Looking at Daisuke, he rattled something off in Korean, only to be answered by the second new man. Where the first one was young, this one was much older, with long brown hair in cornrows and curls, and blue contacts in. Looking over at Daisuke, he gave the boy a pleading look. "Micky-kun asked if you know Korean or English," he stated in a deep, melodious voice.

Daisuke shook his head. "I only know a little English, sorry," he said.

The corn-rowed man groaned as well as he leaned against the doorframe. "It's been forever since I've had to use Korean, I'm starting to forget it!" he bemoaned. "And my English was never the best to begin with!"

Shaking his head slightly, Daisuke turned to the younger man. "I am called Daisuke, what is, your name?" he asked in slow, faltering English.

The teen grinned in relief as he recognized the language. "I'm known as Micky, and it's nice to meet you!" he said in fluent English.

"Finally! Someone here can understand him!" Duzell growled from within the inn.

"We could! But not as well as Gackto-sama could," the twins chirped. Daisuke had met them a little after Duzell and Gourry, and the two had been searching the shops of Traverse Town for the parts they needed for the navigation system in the ship. So far, they had collected enough to get to the next world, but Duzell was still apprehensive.

Daisuke grinned as he heard Duzell bellow, "Then why didn't you two help out?!"

Suddenly, there was a loud 'Bong!' from the bell tower in the pavilion. Startled, Daisuke twirled around in order to see what was going on; the bell only rang at twelve and midnight. The ground suddenly shook, and Daisuke urged everyone to get down, thinking it was an earthquake.

'I don't think this is an earthquake Daisuke!' Dark yelled. 'It feels more like something's coming at us!'

'I sense it too Dark!' Daisuke yelped mentally as he fought to keep his balance. 'But what is it?!'

His thoughts were answered at once when the bell in the tower seemed to explode outward, falling towards the square. A swarm of Heartless oozed out of the cobblestones, rising up to meet the bell.

'Well,' Dark thought in surprise. 'Now we know where all the Heartless have been lately,' he finished.

All of the Heartless seemed to meld together as the bell landed in the middle of the pile, enveloping the metal as they squished upwards. Arms formed, then legs and a torso, and the bell became the head as the Heartless solidified into a metal-like substance. Claws were at the end of the makeshift hands and feet, and the Heartless symbol was on the middle of the 'chest' of the beast.

"Holy, crap," Gackt muttered as he stared at the creature, basically speaking for everyone. Daisuke was frozen in fear as he stared up at the new Heartless with wide eyes, Keyblade held loosely in one hand. In his head, Dark was screaming at him to snap out of it, trying desperately to take over at the creature charged at them.

A sudden flash of bright red flames from Sapphira halted the Heartless, slamming Daisuke out of his paralysis in time to dodge to the side. 'Sorry Dark,' he thought to the spirit in his head. 'I haven't froze like that since my fourteenth birthday,' he thought to himself.

A flash of silver in the corner of his eye alerted him to Duzell's presence, Gourry charging up behind him, sword drawn. The vampire was chanting something in his own tongue, but his eyes were urging Daisuke to attack the thing.

Heartened by the support of his friends, Daisuke grinned in relief as he hefted the Keyblade, trying to find a weakness in the creature before him. Up on the roof of the inn, Yoruichi was watching him curiously, wondering how the young warrior would react in his first real fight.

'The joint of the legs and arms look weak, go for them!' Dark barked, using Daisuke's eyes to survey the battle. Taking the advice, Daisuke charged forward, slashing at the joint of the left arm, yelling for Gourry to do the same thing. Seeing Daisuke's plan, Duzell launched a wave of magical fire at the other side of the Heartless, melting the metal a little. Gourry was a whirling dervish as he went after a leg, destroying it almost at once.

Off balance, the Heartless teetered as it tried to keep upright, slashing it's clawed hands at Daisuke and Gourry, batting at them as if they were flies. Gourry was flown back into the wall, but not before taking out the other leg, dropping the Heartless to the ground. Daisuke, warned by the spirit in his head, managed to duck in time, and slashed upwards as the arm passed over his spiky head. The Keyblade passed through the arm like butter, and the young thief had to roll to the side in order to keep from getting squished by the falling metal.

Behind him, Duzell grinned in amazement at the skill that Daisuke was showing. 'If he was able to learn this much after only a week under Hotohori's tutelage, then maybe we have a chance at this,' he thought as he launched a blast of wind in the shape of swords, severing the final arm. "Now Daisuke! Finish it!" he yelled as he wavered on his feet, having used too much of his magic.

Hearing the vampire king, Daisuke tightened his grip on the Keyblade as he charged the teetering Heartless. With a scream, he jumped, slashing down into the thing's head, splitting it in two. With a flash, the teen was repelled back, slamming into the side of the inn as the Heartless exploded in a spectacular light show.

Daisuke didn't see this show though; he'd been knocked out when he hit the inn. In his mind, Dark grinned at him as he crossed his metaphorical arms. 'Good job Daisuke!' he congratulated. 'Now,' the thief stated as he helped the boy fall into a deeper sleep, 'it's my turn to meet the locals.' The last thing the spirit picked up from his host was a hope that he didn't flirt with Sakura too much.

Back in the outside world, Duzell and the others were crowded around the boy as Sakura worked on reviving him, when suddenly, the young thief's eyes snapped open, revealing a deep purple color. Seconds later, his entire body flashed, morphing into Dark's older and taller form. Limbs lengthened, and red hair changed to long, dark purple-blue. Luckily, he was wearing the outfit he'd had on the night the Heartless attacked, so it fit his longer frame.

With a groan, Dark stood up, cracking his joints as he muttered to himself. "Finally, I thought I'd never be allowed out again." Grinning, he offered his hand to Sakura, who was staring at him in fear and awe. "Does the beautiful lady need a hand up?" he offered suavely. Blushing, Sakura grabbed his hand, letting him pull her up to her feet.

Turning to the others, Dark pouted. "Oh don't look so surprised, you can't tell me that you didn't think that something was off about Daisuke," he argued, twirling the Keyblade in his hand.

Duzell managed to shake off his confusion first. "Personally, I'm more worried about why that bell attacked us," he griped, gesturing behind himself.

"Most likely the answers are at the bell tower itself," Sakura offered, pulling her hand free from the thief's grasp.

"Shall you lead the way fair maiden?" Dark asked, bowing as he gestured for Sakura to lead. Blushing again, Sakura started to jog down the pavilion, followed closely by Dark, Duzell and Gourry.

Gourry, ever the dim one, chirped at Dark, "Who are you anyway?"

Laughing, Dark placed his hands on his hips, grinning at the warrior. "I'm known as the Phantom Thief Dark, also known as the Dark Angel of the Art world," he bragged.

Scratching his head, Gourry gave the spirit a confused look. "…What does that mean?" he asked.

At once, Dark was knocked off of his high horse. "Um, it means that I'm an art thief," he explained. "Daisuke's family have been carrying me in their blood for generations."

"So you're a spirit then?" Duzell asked as they rounded a corner, coming up on the tower.

Dark shrugged. "Basically. I'm one half of an old artwork. The other half, a spirit named Krad, is in the body of Daisuke's friend," he explained to the vampire.

"We're here," Sakura announced as they stopped in front of the old tower. The tower was made of old stone blocks, and ivy was creeping up the north side. Everyone could tell where the bell had exited; the top of the tower had been blown off, and pieces of wood scaffolding littered the ground.

Dark whistled, impressed by the sheer level of destruction that had been wrought upon the bell tower. "So, now what?" he asked cheekily. The Keyblade was casually slung over a shoulder at this point, and he lowered it as he inspected the building.

Suddenly, the tip of the strange weapon glowed, and Dark recoiled from it as a jet of light shot out, striking a keyhole-shaped stone in the tower. The light increased, blinding everyone present for a second, but the clear sound of something being locked could be heard.

"What just happened!?" Duzell yelped, rubbing at his watering eyes.

Dark stared at the stone, nonplussed. "I don't know for sure but," he stared at the Keyblade in his hand. "I think I just sealed this world from the Heartless."

"That easily?" Sakura asked as she walked up next to the thief, blinking the spots away from her eyes.

"Well, isn't this bell tower the heart of the town?" Gourry asked in a rare flash of intelligence. "I mean, it acts as a landmark, and it helps us with time, so why not?"

"We're not saying that this shouldn't be the key's lock," Sakura argued.

"It's just a surprise that it was this easy," Dark finished. Grinning, the thief leaned back against the tower. "Well, we'll just have to see over the next few days. Hopefully the Heartless will stop showing up," he advised. He froze as a flash of pain shot through his torso, and sighed in annoyance. "Ok, I gotta go before I damage Daisuke anymore. Take care, my lady!" he said, saluting at Sakura before collapsing back against the foundation of the bell tower, reverting back to Daisuke's form.

………………………………...

In a dark room, six figures were seated around a pale albino girl. Her eyes were blank as she held a mirror that showed them what was going on in Traverse Town.

One snorted as they watched Duzell sling the unconscious Daisuke into his arms. "All this lovey-dovey crap is making me sick!" he exclaimed, tugging at long dark locks of hair.

His neighbor grinned evilly in the dim glow from the mirror, long tongue snaking out to lick thin lips. His gold eyes seemed to glow with an unholy light. "Personally, it makes me want t-"

"Yeah, we know what YOU want to do, pedophile!"

"What did you call me?!"

"Just because you have that tongue doesn't make you God's gift to little boys!"

"I'll show you little!"

"Gentlemen, that's enough!" an insidious voice rolled from the one person in a cloak. Only his hand could be seen, and they were the hands of an old man. "This is not the time to be arguing amongst ourselves, now is it?" he asked in a low tone.

The spiky-haired male sighed. "Yeah yeah, just tell the snakey-one to keep his weird thoughts to himself," he griped, jerking a thumb at the other male. With a humph, the taller man turned away, giving the smaller a chance to stick his tongue out at him and gesture rudely.

"Gentlemen, if you please, we have bigger problems to worry about at the moment," a tall man in a strange hat called out, trying to call them to order. He was almost the same age as the cloaked man, but didn't have nearly as many wrinkles. "In case you've forgotten, the boy was not supposed to be able to defeat the Heartless that easily," he barked, gesturing at the mirror, where Sakura was passing her hands over Daisuke, healing his bruises and trying to awaken him.

A young man with a mask and long black hair grumbled under his breath before speaking up. "We knew this was one of our weaker models, and that there was a chance that he could destroy it." The man rubbed his thumb over the grill-like openings in his mask as he watched the mirror, eyes fixated on the young warrior. "He is strong, this has proven it."

The first man barked out a laugh as he perched on his heels, straightening his skort before speaking up. "More like lucky you mean, crow-boy."

"And his other side, this Dark, may prove to be a hazard to our plans," the cloaked figure said, earning a nod from the second male.

The final figure, a man with long black hair in tendrils smirked evilly, red eyes glowing with their own light. "Ah, but that is where my young friend here may come in handy. He is the same as the Keybearer, all he needs is a little push," he assured.

The skort-wearing man chuckled under his breath. "We'll leave that to you, we all know how good you are at giving mental pushes," he said before laughing at his own private joke.

In the background, a solitary figure stood in wait, wondering what he'd gotten himself into this time around….

Can you guess at any of the villians? Some are easy, others are harder, but if you can guess at least four of them, then you get a sneak peek at the next chapter, and an overview of the other worlds that are going to be visited. Of course, this only works if you sign in, or at the least give me your email address.

Until next time!!