Chapter 15- Old and new
Sairu's body suddenly gave a shudder as he heard the name of his shelter: Traverse Town, where Sairu had spent nearly a decade growing up. On the one hand, Sairu was relieved to hear he would be going to a place that was like home, yet on the other hand, he also felt a sense of sadness as memories of that world washed over him: their arrival so many years ago, the friend he once had there, and the day his own journey began with Sora, Donald and Goofy, who would become irreplaceable friends.
"Yes... that would be the best place to lay low for a while, I guess. But I do wonder if there's anything there. When we defeated Ansem the first time, we freed worlds from the darkness, which does lead me to wonder if it'll even let me back" "What do you mean?" Naminé asked, confused. "Traverse Town is a special world, made from the remnants of worlds that were lost to darkness. The town itself will actually appear for when one has need of shelter, and for that reason, it is probably the most ideal haven for our friend here. Because of this, I find it unlikely the Organization will feel the need to search for him there" DiZ explained. Hearing this, Sairu had come to a decision, and announced "You're right. Then... I'm going back to Traverse Town. I don't know how long I'll be gone but it's my best bet if it means Sora will be safe".
Seeing his determination, Naminé and DiZ both knew his mind was made up, though it saddened the former for his departure. "I'm going to miss you, Sairu. Just... please, stay safe" Naminé said sadly as she walked up to him, pulling him into a tender embrace, which Sairu gratefully returned. Once they let go, Sairu was reminded of Aerith telling him the same thing when he last saw her, which only deepened his sadness as he thought of them. At this, he turned to face DiZ, walking towards him and holding out a hand for him. Seeing this, DiZ smiled and grasped his hand in a firm shake. "It goes without saying, but... take care of Sora, Donald and Goofy. Oh, and Jiminy too. Goodbye for now. Let's go, Lunar Bahamut" he said in a note of finality addressing his dragon companion, opening a dark corridor. Before he walked through, he bid them both farewell with one final wave, as the memory of his parting from his family flashed before his eyes, and walked into the corridor as it too vanished from sight.
As the dark corridor opened ahead of him, the first thing Sairu's eyes saw as he emerged was the same starry night sky he had always seen, especially on the day he had met his fellow journeymen. As he lowered his gaze, he gazed around the familiar scene of the First District; everything was how he remembered it from his last visit: the usually vacant café, the bizarre looking mailbox with a top hat and a mouth-shaped opening. There were also the Accessory, synthesis and Item shops that occupied the upper level of the district, along with a house that Sairu knew belonged to Geppetto, the clockmaker he met with Sora and the others in the insides of a vicious whale, Monstro. He then found himself wondering how Pinocchio, the little puppet that had a heart of his own, was doing. To his right stood the doorway that led to the Third District, and to his left was the cafe, and to his befuddlement, a doorway stood in the alcove next to the cafe that he never saw before. After getting his bearings, he then noticed that the district was completely empty, save for him and his companion atop his shoulders.
"This entire district is empty. No civilians, not even a Heartless. This is rather worrying" Sairu said to his companion. "I doubt we are the only ones in this whole town. Perhaps if we search around, someone else is bound to appear" Lunar Bahamut suggested, to which Sairu nodded as he tore off for the doorway to the Second District. Much like with the First District, Sairu remembered the exact layout and also noting the complete lack of any other presences besides them.
Sairu then decided to enter the hotel, examining the green room they once stayed in, and then, Sairu noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a picture, kept in a dark brown frame, which depicted two people that Sairu never expected to see: an attractive woman with long blonde hair, a heart-shaped face and dark brown eyes, accompanied by a familiar man with messy auburn hair that straightened beyond his ears, with emerald green eyes. "Look at this" Sairu said, showing the picture to Lunar Bahamut upon his shoulder. If the dragon was shocked, he didn't show it. "Yes... Lady Siaren, your mother. And the man with her is-" "Getsuryu... My father" Sairu interrupted as he recognised the man in the picture.
As he looked upon the picture, he then saw that the glass of the frame reflected his own face, seeing his reflection intermingled with the picture of his parents. He then noticed how much now like his father he appeared, the only difference that his visible right eye was the same dark brown as those of his mother's, also noticing the length of his hair overall as it obscured the left side of his face, as he then remembered that a certain friend had once had a similar look: his own bangs were now the mirror version of his dear friend's. The shock of finding this picture, coupled with the sadness associated with the memories of his parents and his best friend alike, overwhelmed Sairu as tears instantly cascaded down his face, tears splashing onto the glass of the frame itself. For a few minutes, he kneeled there, his tear-stricken face gazing down at the picture of his parents, wishing he could have met them properly.
Suddenly, a shuffling sound echoed throughout the room. Despite the wave of emotions that crashed over him, Sairu's instincts alerted him as he turned to the door. Then he heard footsteps running down the hallway. Quickly pocketing the picture in his cloak pocket, Sairu bolted out the door and didn't see anyone or anything that was not meant to be there. Fearing that they got away, Sairu quickly ran out into the Second District and then saw someone running into the alleyway that leads to the Third District. Though Sairu couldn't clearly see who it was, he managed to make out a strange blend of orange, purple and white as they turned the corner. Refusing to let them get away, Sairu then ran full pelt towards the alley and then emerged into the Third District. As he emerged, he then heard a grunt coming from the centre of the district; looking down from his vantage point, he noticed a great number of Mega-Shadow Heartless surrounding a figure.
This figure was dressed in a purple sleeveless, high-collar shirt with white shorts, shoes that bore the same colours as his shirt, along with an identically coloured pair of headphones over his orange spiky hair, sporting a yellow sweatband on his left arm. And from what Sairu saw, he was on one knee, weak from exhaustion. Deciding to act fast, he turned to Lunar Bahamut, who nodded and flew into the sky overhead. Then, a great radiance shone from his miniscule form, blinding the figure and Sairu. Once the light faded, the figure below noticed there were no more Heartless surrounding him. With that, Sairu jumped over the wall and landed on the courtyard behind the figure his companion just saved. That companion in question then wearily returned to Sairu's shoulder as the person he saved turning to face them.
"You alright?" Sairu asked as he approached, offering the boy a hand. Looking up at his rescuer, he stood up refusing Sairu's offer, giving him a bizarrely cold stare. "I didn't need your help, I could have taken those things myself" he responded in a gruff, cold voice. Sairu folded his arms, and looked at 'Phones' he decided to call him in his head, with a disgusted look. "You could show some gratitude for my friend here saving your life. I doubt you could have beaten them all without collapsing in your weakened state" Sairu responded in a frank tone of voice. Phones, however, didn't let up with his cold stare and icily responded "I don't need your opinion. Maybe it could have been worse, but I could still take them". Hearing his response only irked Sairu more as he stood looking at him with dissatisfaction. Then, Phones decided to take his leave, but not before Sairu, in a flash of light, appeared in front of him, preventing him from going any further.
"What's your problem? Move it" Phones responded. Sairu sighed exasperatedly as he lowered his arms and said "Honestly, I don't have a problem with you; however, the least you could do for us for saving your life would be to say thanks. I'm not expecting you to bow down before me in gratitude" Hearing this, Phones simply turned his head down, as his breathing grew sharper and shorter. Until, "Thanks for helping me" he responded reluctantly. Hearing this brought a satisfied smile to Sairu's face as he responded in a more cheery voice "You're welcome. Guess I should introduce myself; my name is Sairu, and this is Lunar Bahamut, my partner" Hearing this introduction suddenly brought shock to Phones' face as he recalled something. "Oh no, I've gotta go" he said in an almost panicked voice as he sidestepped Sairu.
"Where are you going?" Sairu called. Hearing this, Phones turned to face Sairu and responded "I've gotta find my partner, or I can't win the Game" Phones answered. "What 'game' is this? And second, you have a partner?" Sairu asked with interest and sarcasm, which brought out of Phones an annoyed grunt, but answered all the same "Without my partner, I can't hope to win the Game before time's up" showing his left palm, which featured a time of 36 and a half minutes in black numbers with a red glow, with the seconds constantly running out. "So you need to find your partner. All right, how about I help you out?" Sairu asked "What? You trust me already? Sorry, but since you're not a Player, we can't be partners; I already have a pact with someone else" Phones responded bluntly. "Ok, so I can't play the 'game' with you, but that doesn't mean I can't help you out. Come on, with the three of us, we're sure to find your partner"
Hearing this, Phones dipped his head into a pensive mood as he contemplated. After a few seconds, he raised his head again and answered "Alright. If you're that set on helping me, let's go" Sairu nodded determinedly and they both proceeded to the doorway to the First District. "Oh, by the way, it's Neku" Neku responded. "Huh?" Sairu asked. "My name. Neku Sakuraba. You introduced yourself, but I didn't" Neku added with a satisfied look on his face. "Right. Let's go then, Neku" Sairu said, and pushing the doors open, they emerged in the First District, ready to begin their search. "Where do we start?" Sairu asked. Neku proceeded to the door that Sairu had no idea about when he arrived. "I've looked all over this part of town. My partner has to be here in the other side of town. Let's go, there's not much time" Neku said as they proceeded into uncharted territory.
A/N: Gotta be honest when I say this chapter I wrote, I wasn't too sure about including TWEWY characters in this, but figured there would be no plot for Sairu if I left him in Traverse Town alone. Plus, giving you all the heads up, will be performing a time skip soon to get nearer the end of the story coz carrying on mission after mission for Roxas will be too long and repetitive, which I'm sure you don't want as I hope most of you who read this know the plot of this game well by now.
Plus, I honestly don't know how to give Sairu a major role in this story anymore with his own reason to defeat Organization XIII, so just know in time, I will be conducting a time skip after this plot for Traverse Town.