(Updated: April 4, 2014)

Chapter II

Death City

Nevada Desert
Day 1

It took Sora two days to arrive in the Earth since that world was kind of far from the rest of the worlds he had been before. According to Yen Sid, the name of the city Sora had to protect was Death City, and the boy was now in his Gummi Ship, heading to that city. When the sorcerer said the name of the city, Kairi said that she heard about that place before, and this surprised Riku and Sora; however, Kairi couldn't remember anything about Death City, so she couldn't give any extra information to the spiky Keyblade wielder.

At this moment, Sora was flying over a wide desert that reminded him of the one of Agrabah. Luckily, there wasn't any sandstorm around. After a few minutes, he could spot a huge city in the middle of the desert. Yen Sid said that Death City was located right in the middle of a desert, looking rather out of place among the barren landscape, so that city had to be the one Sora had to protect.

When he got near the city, he left the Gummi Ship and landed near the city's entrance. Before arriving in the city, he stopped and looked at the sky to make sure that the Gummi Ship was flying away, so other people couldn't see it. Sora looked a bit to the left and saw the Sun, and his face turned into one of bewilderment. For some reason, the Sun had a face with it had a tired expression, and this left Sora stunned. He wondered why the Sun looked like that in Death City.

"This place is a little weird…" he muttered before turning around and entering the city.

The Keyblade wielder looked around as he walked and saw lots of buildings with white walls and red roofs, some of them had a skull shaped mask in the top. When he walked further into the town, he realized that, despite the strange look that the city had from outside, it was like any normal cit. In the streets there were people talking and a lot of kids running and playing.

Sora smiled when he saw all the people around, but his face turned serious when he remembered the reason he was there. He took from his pocket a paper that Yen Sid gave him and read it.

"According to Master Yen Sid, as soon as I arrive in Death City, the first place I have to go is the Death Meister Weapon Academy, also known as Shibusen," Sora thought as he read the name of the academy in the paper. "In Shibusen was someone called Shinigami, who was the one who asked for my help."

The boy raised his gaze to look for that place called Shibusen and saw that suddenly he was the only one around, all the people who were there when he entered the city wasn't there anymore, and all the shops were closed too. He wanted to ask someone for directions and now he couldn't do it, but luckily, he could see a girl walking out of a shop who closed immediately after she walked out of it. Sora decided to ask her about the academy Yen Sid mentioned.

-KHSE-

Death City
Day 1

A girl with ash blonde hair and large green eyes was walking out of a shop in the streets of Death City with some groceries bags in her hands. The shop closed right after she crossed the exit, but she didn't look surprised by this, in fact, she knew why the people of Death City left the streets at the evening. It was because of the dark creatures that started appearing a week ago, the ones who attacked the residents of Death City at night. She and her friends had been fighting these creatures every day, but the more they defeated, the more appeared.

The girl walked down the streets, heading to her house while thinking about those monsters. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't saw the boy who was in front of her and bumped into him. The girl lost her balance, but she didn't fall to the ground thanks to the boy she bumped into, who could grab her by her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," the boy apologized with a sheepish smile. "I shouldn't have stood in front of you, but since you didn't hear me I had to do something to draw your attention."

The girl looked up to look at the person she bumped into and saw a boy, probably a year older than her, who had spiky brown hair and blue eyes. Then, just after hearing what the boy said, she realized that she was so distracted that she didn't saw him or heard him calling her.

"N-no, don't apologize," said the girl embarrassed. "I wasn't looking where I was going because I was distracted, so it's my fault I bumped into you."

"It's true that you looked worried about something," said the boy. "Are you okay?"

The girl blinked, not expecting a strange to ask her if she was okay, although for some reason, the brown-haired boy looked like a good person to her. He wouldn't have apologized if he wasn't, right? Then she realized another thing, and it was that the boy wasn't worried about being in the streets when it was about to get dark.

"You're not from here, are you?" asked the girl. "Normally, the people return to their houses before the night falls, but you're still here."

"Oh, yes, I just arrived here," said the spiky boy, slightly surprised by the girl's perception. "I was hoping someone could help me finding a place, but suddenly everyone disappeared form the streets. Why do the people here return to their homes before the night, by the way?"

"Well, that's because…ummm…" the girl said, doubtful to tell the spiky boy about the dark monsters who appeared during the night. She didn't want to scare him, but she didn't want to lie either. "You see, lately there has been strange creatures called Heartless appearing in the streets. They only appear at night, so the people here don't leave their houses during that time."

"I should have imagined it was because of the Heartless," thought the boy. "But, what do they only attack during the night? It's the first time they do something like that, so perhaps Yen Sid was right and there's someone behind this invasion who is telling the Heartless to attack only at night."

"Hey, are you okay?" asked the ash blonde girl. She was kind of puzzled by the boy's reaction after she told him about the monsters. She expected him to get scared or something like that, but he looked concerned and had a pensive expression on his face instead.

"Uh, oh yeah, I'm fine," said the boy, and then he grinned. "It seems that I'm the one who was lost in his thoughts this time, huh?"

The girl couldn't help but giggle. "Looks like it."

"The name's Sora," said the boy, who was glad that the he could make the girl feel less tense than she was before. "What is yours?"

"Maka," the girl replied with a smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you, Sora."

"Same to you, Maka," said Sora returning the smile. "Listen, I am looking for an academy called Shibusen. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course, Shibusen is that big building at the end of the city," she said. "You will have to walk to the end of the main street and then climb a long staircase. Are you going to enroll in the academy?"

"Not exactly," answered Sora. "I'm going to meet up with someone there. Why do you ask? Are you a student of that academy?"

"Yes, I am in one of the students of the EAT category," replied Maka proudly.

"EAT? What does that mean?" asked Sora with curiosity. "How many categories are there in Shibusen?"

"The classes of the Shibusen are split into two categories: the NOT Class, and the EAT Class," explained Maka, pleased to explain the boy about Shibusen's classes. "NOT stands for Normally Overcome Target. Most of the students are in the NOT Class, and they are the ones who are more 'normal' than the EAT Class, and do not have much power, making them more like the non-combatants of the academy students. The EAT Class, however, are exceptionally talented people with great power. They are given the duty to actually fight against any evil-doers. EAT stands for Especially Advantaged Talent. The combatants of the Shibusen are also known as 'agents'."

"Wow," said Sora impressed by the girl's knowledge. "I see that academy it's not what I thought it was, although I should have imagined it after reading its name. You must be really strong if you're in the EAT category."

"Oh, well, I-I'm a decent fighter, but there are other people who are stronger than me," said Maka feeling a bit embarrassed, but flattered at the same time.

Sora smiled. "Well, it's getting darker so I should go to Shibusen. Thanks for the help, Maka."

"You're welcome," said the girl. "Do you want me to walk you there so you don't get lost?"

"No, that's not necessary," said Sora smiling. "Besides, if the Heartless appear at night, then you should return to your house as soon as possible. I wouldn't want you to get attacked because of me."

"Well, but be careful, okay?" said Maka.

Sora nodded. "Sure, see you around!"

"Bye!" said Maka as she watched how Sora ran to Death City's academy.

-KHSE-

Maka and Soul's Apartment
Day 1

In an apartment inside Death City, there was a boy with white hair swept to one side and red eyes, waiting for his roommate, who left to do the shopping but for some reason, it was taking her more time than the white-haired boy thought it would take her. He was aware of the dark monsters that appeared during the night, so it was normal that he was worried that his roommate was still outside.

He was about to stand up and look for her when he heard the door of the apartment opening. He turned his head and saw that it was the girl he was waiting for.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. "What took you so long, Maka?"

"Hello to you too, Soul," Maka said. "If you are so hungry, then you should have been the one who went to buy the food."

The boy called Soul grunted. "I was worried about you, idiot. I was starting to think that the Heartless attacked you."

"Well, thanks for your concern, but I'm all right," Maka said. "I'm a little late because I met a boy who just arrived in Death City, and he needed help to find Shibusen."

"Oh, alright," said Soul feeling more relieved. "Did you tell that guy about the Heartless?"

"Yes, although he didn't look worried when I told him about them," Maka said, still finding strange that Sora didn't react as she expected. "He didn't look scared at all."

"That sounds fishy, don't you think?" said Soul. "Maybe he knows about the Heartless, or even be the one controlling them."

"I don't think so, he looked nice to me," said Maka. "Besides, you shouldn't put the blame on someone you don't know."

"Oooh, I see," said Soul smirking. "You like that guy, don't you?"

"What!?" exclaimed Maka with a red face. "I didn't say that, you idiot!"

Soul laughed. "Why are you blushing, then?"

Maka was pissed because of the boy's teasing, so she grabbed a book that was in a table and walked to where Soul was. The white-haired boy stopped laughing immediately when he realized what the girl was going to do.

"Wait!" the boy said "Maka, don't-"

Soul couldn't finish what he was going to say because Maka crashed a book in his head. Now the white-haired boy was lying on the floor with steam coming from the part of his head where Maka hit him.

"Why are you always this brute?" muttered Soul.

Maka smiled in satisfaction. "You deserved that. Anyway, we won't have to worry about the Heartless when the person Shinigami-sama told us about arrives."

"Oh right, I forgot about that," said Soul as he stood up. "He said that a friend of his was going to send a…uh…"

"A Keyblade wielder, Soul," said Maka. "They are warriors who protect the worlds from malevolent forces like the Heartless."

"I see you believed what Shinigami-sama told us about the other worlds that are out there," said Soul, who was a bit skeptic about the existence of other worlds apart from the Earth.

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Maka. "I don't think Shinigami-sama lied to us. Besides, the existence of worlds different from ours is really interesting, don't you think?"

"If you say so," said Soul. "I'm more concerned about that Keyblade wielder who's coming to Death City. Do you think he will be able to defeat all the Heartless that appear in the city?"

"Shinigami-sama said that the Keyblade wielder who is coming here has saved the worlds two times, and that, according to him, he probably is the Keyblade wielder around," Maka replied. "I trust Shinigami-sama's judgment, so I'm sure the city will be safe when the Keyblade wielder arrives."

Soul smiled. "I guess you're right. Let's hope he arrives here soon."

-KHSE-

Death City
Day 1

At this moment, Sora was climbing the stairs that led to the academy called Shibusen. Maka wasn't joking when she said that the stairs were long, but Sora was in good shape, so climbing them didn't give him any trouble. When he reached the end of the stairs, he could see Shibusen, and he had to admit that it was amazing, although it looked a bit like a large funhouse rather than a school.

The school was comprised of a collection of large black towers and spires patterned with white lines and the occasional skull mask. The roofs of the towers were conical and bright red. Enormous candles poked out of shafts along the circumference of the buildings. The academy's most distinguishing feature was the three large skulls lined up at the entrance. The middle skull was the largest, and sported three blood red spikes going through its eye and nose holes. The skulls on the side are smaller and have slanted eyes. The gaps between the 'teeth' of these giant skulls served as the school's main entrances.

Sora walked towards the academy's entrance as he looked at the building, still impressed by its design. When he crossed the door, he saw three people talking to each other, two girls and one boy. The boy had black hair with three asymmetrical white stripes across the left side of his hair and was wearing a black suit. The two girls were wearing matching cowgirl outfits, but they could be differentiated because one of them was taller than the other and had long dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and the other was shorter and had short bright blonde hair and light blue eyes.

Sora wanted to talk with that person called Shinigami as soon as possible, so he walked by the three people who were talking, but before he could start looking for Shinigami, the boy with black hair noticed him.

"Excuse me," said the boy, and Sora looked at him. "Is your name Sora, by any chance?"

Sora cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, that's my name. Why do you ask?"

"We were waiting for you," said Kid as a small smile appeared on his face. "My name is Death the Kid, but you can call me Kid if you prefer."

"The name's Liz, it's a pleasure," said Liz waving her hand.

"And I'm Patty!" said Patty happily.

"Death the Kid…and I thought that Neku's name was a mouthful," thought Sora smiling. "It's nice to meet you. How's that you know my name, by the way?"

"Oh, that's because of my father, the headmaster of Shibusen," replied Kid. "He's the one who told us that you'd be coming here, and he asked us to walk you to his room."

"His father must be that guy called Shinigami, then," thought the Keybearer before noticing that the girl called Patty was staring closely at him.

"I-is something wrong?" asked Sora, a bit surprised by how close the girl was.

"Mmmm, you don't look as I thought you would be," Patty said while touching her chin with her index finger.

Liz laughed slightly. "What my sister is trying to say is that when Kid's father told us that we were waiting for a great and powerful warrior, well…"

"We expected someone big and scary, but you look cute instead of scary," finished Patty, and Sora blushed at her comment.

"W-well, looks can be deceiving, I guess…" he said a little embarrassed. Then Sora was going to say to Kid that he would like to talk with his father now, but when he turned to look at him, he saw that the boy was sprawled on the floor, and this worried him. "Hey Kid, are you okay?"

"I…I didn't realize until now…" Kid stuttered.

"What are you…" began Sora but Kid interrupted him.

"Your hair…" he said.

"My hair?" asked a confused Sora. "What's wrong with it?"

"Oh no, here we go again," said a frustrated Liz while her sister laughed really hard behind her.

"Your hair is a mess!" whined Kid. "It's not symmetrical at all!"

"Symmetrical…" said Sora, who was even more confused than before.

"He has a problem with symmetry, don't let it get it to you," Liz said before crouching next to the depressed boy. "Come on Kid, don't start this again. We've to go with Sora to the Death Room."

Sora chuckled. "Well, this is going to be interesting."

-KHSE-