III\ Did something happened to Junpei?
I woke up this morning, eager to know what was today's mission and hoping that I would work with Minako. I wasn't expecting what I heard in a tiny bit.
I entered the common room and saw Akihiko and Chidori, talking about something. "… Are you sure about what you're saying?" asked Akihiko. "I only reported what I heard." Said The Goth Girl. From the look on their faces, I could tell it was a serious matter, even if the both of them are serious most of the time.
Takaya, who was just near of me, was one the older member and one of the closest to Takeharu-sama, so I decided to ask him about what was happening.
"Is everything okay?" I asked. He looked at me for awhile before answering with a smile, just like he wasn't caring about it in the least. "Okay? As if! It seems one or two of the folks we sent to Tartarus were terminated." I raised an eyebrow when he said this. I was about to ask what it really meant when Mitsuru came to interrupt me.
"Minato, your mission. You are going to Agrabah and you'll team up with Takaya. We want you to investigate the place." She said "But, about Tartarus, how's Junpei?" I tried to ask. "It's none of your businesses. Who knows, maybe he's one of the lost. Focus on your mission, now!" She ordered coldly.
You talk about bad luck… First, I'll have to team up with some kind of psychopath. Second, Junpei, my only friend besides of Minako might be gone forever.
"By the way, Minato, I forgot to mention that now, in the light of your excellent performance, you have been promoted to the rank of Novice." Informed me Mitsuru.
I guess it is a good thing to get a promotion but, with the current event, I somewhat can't see the positive points.
Before leaving, a paper caught my attention. All the members sent to Tartarus had their names written on it:
_Number IV: Koromaru.
_Number VI: Jin.
_Number VIII: Junpei.
_Number X: Fuuka.
_Number XI: Ikutsuki.
_Number XII: Yukari.
Both I and Takaya went to our destination, Agrabah. On first look, it seems to be a town in the middle of a desert; a hot desert. Takaya didn't miss the opportunity to comment about it.
"Oh god… I'm already frying out here. Hey, kiddo! Let's get this investigation done with quickly, got it?"
For some reasons I couldn't get over this morning's news so I asked him again to make sure. "Do you think it's true— what happened to the members sent to Tartarus?"
He looked at me just as if I cracked some weird joke. "What? Is this really what's eating you?" He was talking like he didn't care at all if we lost one member or more.
"We might have lost a comrade! Who knows, maybe more than one. It doesn't bother you at all?" he just smirked at my concern. "As if."
Seeing that I wasn't going to move a finger now because of my reflection, he tried to motivate me to focus on the mission. "Look, kid. The sooner we get this work done, the sooner you'll RTC to get your answer." Well, he tried. I just nodded.
This investigation seemed simple and complex at the same time, even if there were Shadows around, they weren't of any trouble: The town was obviously covered in sand, since it was located in the middle of the desert, but at the same time, there was too much sand on some corners and walls. Even the stores, if you can call them stores, had their merchandise covered in sand. In some other corners, it did occur that we saw ropes and lumbers. Why? I don't know. There was also that huge door that, from Takaya's deduction, leaded to a royal court. That was what we deduced while investigating the first two streets. Actually, I couldn't fully focus due to what happened in Tartarus…
Takaya was commenting about how hard it seemed to live around this town and all, but I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying until he woke me up from my reverie. We accessed the third street which seemed to be the limit of what we could explore since it was leading to the entrance of the town. What lies beyond this limit is… more sand, and a storm.
In this part of the town, the sand dune seemed more present and bigger and the walls were more damaged than in the other streets, at a point you can tell that they can collapse at any time.
"So, this town is covered in sand as we noticed it earlier and the explanation to it is that we are in the middle of a desert, it makes sense." I resumed. "Makes sense? Heh! As if. The walls are here to prevent THAT to happen. Try again."
"Well, the only other conclusion is that the town got hit by a sandstorm which explains the damage on the walls."
Takaya just clapped and said "Bingo! But not just once or twice, actually, sandstorms are pretty frequent here. Now, what can you tell about the lumber and ropes, Minato?"
"That place is a wreck." I said. "Uh-huh, but also: All those buildings supplies lying around and that scaffolding are proofs that the citizens are rebuilding the town. It seems we got what we were looking for, we can go and RTC, now.
On our way back when we were about to step in the street where we came from, we saw two people, a man and a woman talking. We climbed a wall and spied on them from a safe distance; I remember when Jin told me, during my first investigation training, that we shouldn't at ANY price being seen by normal people.
"You're working too hard, Aladdin. You should have some rest, don't you think?" said the young lady.
"No, I should be alright. Plus, if we don't hurry up, the next sandstorm will strike again before we're done." Argued the young man.
They continued their discussion, which was useless for us, before finally leaving. I remembered seeing a sandstorm not far from the entrance; at this rate… "They will never make it in time; the next sandstorm will strike in no time. And they also have to deal with all those Shadows…" I said, sharing my opinion. "Correct! The Shadows! You picked a juicy bit there. See, the storm and the Shadows. What if they weren't unrelated? Well now, that should be enough: We have the info we need and we got a peek on their leaders." he pointed.
With that, we prepared to RTC. In front of the dark portal that we created, Takaya defeated another Shadow that was standing in our way and then, something came on my mind. "Takaya, what happens to them? I mean, the Shadows, when you destroy them. Where are they going?"
He turned to face me and then answered "Nowhere. They completely disappear. Only the hearts they release remain and they are the ones that go somewhere: Kingdom Hearts."
This answer had me worried about… us, the Nobodies "So, how about persons like you and I? The Nobodies."
He looked at me with an annoyed expression "Tsk! You should already know that we are not even supposed to 'be'. What do you think we could leave, huh?" So the comrades in Tartarus… "Then the terminated members are—" "Gone, forever."
His words made me… 'Sad'? I don't even know what sad means; it's like you are worried but know that nothing will help to make it go. Maybe I don't understand it because I don't have a 'heart'…
"Are you coming?" Takaya once again woke me up from my reverie. I nodded and started to walk toward the dark corridor when suddenly, my head felt heavy and my eyes too. I collapsed on the ground, and fall unconscious.
At this moment, I had visions: the faces of Junpei and Minako started to appear in front of me, in a dark space. After some of these images passed, I saw a blank room with drawings on papers that were covering the walls. In this room, there was also a table and chairs, all blank.
On one of the chairs was sitting a girl: She had short blond hair, with a white dress and her face… She sure looked like she was the same age as me but her face looked so fragile, just like the one of a baby, especially with her blue eyes.
She was drawing something on a drawing pad. I tried to ask who she was, but my vision turned black again.
Narrator POV:
~The dark margin~
Two persons with black coats hiding their face with their hoods could be seen in a place that looked like a beach, a dark beach. One of them, the tallest, was sitting on a rock while the other just arrived through a dark corridor and walked toward the tall man.
Noticing that he was approaching, the older one pronounced those words "I've been to see him. He looks a lot like you."
"Who are you?" asked the younger man. "I'm what's left. Or… maybe I'm all that ever was." Responded the other. "I meant your name" "My name is of no importance. What about you? Do you remember your true name?" asked the tall man back.
"My true name is…" "You have been with us for six days now. The time has come…" said the older man while getting up to leave, taking off his hood, revealing his dark hair and his yellow eyes, or his healthy yellow eye since the other was hidden with an eye patch.
~The Castle that never was: Minato's room~
Minato was lying on his bed, surrounded by Takeharu and Mitsuru; he lost consciousness right before arriving to the castle. Takaya, who noticed that his fellow comrade wasn't behind him, returned to the place where he last saw him and found him on the ground unconscious. He made sure that he was still breathing and alive and brought him back to the castle.
"Aigis must have begun her work." Said Mitsuru. "Will he wake up?" asked Takeharu. "I am told he will—provided she strips the future hero from all his memories. Number XIV has shown her ability with the Evoker; she will be able to fill Minato's shoes for the time being." Answered the Ice Queen.
"About the room… Did you find it?" asked again the superior. Mitsuru looked down and answered "No, sir. Progress is slow. If we can actually saw we made any."
Mitsuru left the room and Takeharu stayed there, watching the blue haired teen. "So, sleep has taken you yet again…"
~22 days later~
During 22 days, Minato was still unconscious and Minako used to visit him daily, telling him about her days in the other worlds, about the other members… she was telling him about anything and everything.
One day, after she talked to her friend, she left something near his pillow: It was some kind of a keychain with a Jack Frost figurine attached to it; she found it days prior, before Minato went unconscious. She was visiting a world called the Destiny Islands; a world she liked more than the others due to the atmosphere there. The world itself was, just like its name showed it, a bunch of islands one near the other.
On one of the beaches, she found something lying on the sand: it was the Jack Frost keychain. She found it cute so she took it with her, as her lucky charm.
"I'll leave it to you until you wake up. But, you'll have to give it back to me when you do, got it? Well, see you soon."
~The next day~
Minato's POV:
"I knew I would find you snoozing down here."
This voice… what was it? Who was talking to me? Wait, where am I?
I got up from what seemed to be my bed and found a keychain with a funny snowman figurine attached to it. How long have been asleep already? I went to the Grey Room only to find that no one was here. I checked the schedule on the wall and… I have been asleep for 23 days?! How is that possible?
Since I had nothing to do, I went to the top of Twilight Town's tower to watch the sunset.
"Minato?!" called a familiar voice. As I expected, it was Minako. "Minako… what happened to me?" I asked.
"You have been sleeping. A long, long time. Mitsuru told us not to get our hopes up, that you might not—anyway, you're awake; that's what counts."
"Ugh, I feel like a Zombie; looks like there are things a nap can't cure…" I said, joking. We ended up laughing about it; it's… funny how we get along between 'friends'.
"By the way, I found this when I woke up; are you the one—" "Yeah, it's my lucky charm. I like to have it when I feel alone, so I left it to you. Try to shake it!"
I did as she said and heard a little voice laughing "Hee-hoo! Hee-hoo!" I couldn't help but smile. I then handed it to Minako, it's only fair that I give it back to her.
Then next day, as I entered the Grey Room to get my new mission, I noticed the presence of Fuuka. If she's here then… it means Junpei might have survived too! I was so happy that I rushed toward The Gatherer "Fuuka! You're back! Who else is here? Tell me!" "U-Umm… M-Minato…" She managed to say while her cheeks were taking a red color. I was so carried away that I didn't notice that I was asking too much questions at the same time and that I was now holding her hands. I released them after I noticed it, feeling my face burn for some reasons.
"S-Sorry Fuuka, I just wanted to know if Junpei made it here too." I explained. She stayed silent for a moment, looking down. In the end, she finally decided to answer.
"Number VIII, Junpei, disappeared after the death of Number XI, Ikutsuki, and Number XII, Yukari. Only I and Number IV, Koromaru, came back alive." She informed me. But she said that Junpei was missing; that doesn't mean he's gone forever.
"When you're done flirting with Number X, Minato, maybe you will be able to begin with all those missions waiting just for you." Said a too familiar voice. With that, the little amount of members in the room: Takaya, Shinjiro and Chidori, started to laugh at us. Sometimes, Mitsuru really give me the desire to yell at her.
"Mitsuru, do you have any news about the other members sent to Tartarus?" I asked, hoping that she would have something to tell me about Junpei and trying to control my desire of ice-destruction.
"Finish your missions; what I know is only my business." She said.
The next days of mission were so boring that I really wasn't in the mood to talk about them, until my 71st day here, in the organization…
As always, I headed to the common room to get my mission. "Today, we want you to destroy some Shadow Globs in Twilight Town. The problem is, they are a little hard to detect with your eyes only so… Oh! You're going with Number X. Try to put your duty ahead instead of flirting… If you want to avoid 'Execution'…" Man! Mitsuru's such pain! Why is she interested in what only concerns me?! Or wait a sec… "Give me my missions; who I get along with is only my business" Hahah! Take this, Ice Queen! She just stood here, staring at me before calming down.
Fuuka and I headed to our destination. The Gatherer made a quick scan of the area and got positive results; the Shadow Globs were all over this town. So, we have to destroy them and try to ignore the Shadows since it's not our main mission today.
…
The work was quickly done, or most of it; some of the Shadow Globs were unattainable "It's impossible to reach them, if only I could fly or something like that…" I muttered to myself. "Umm, Minato?" "Hell! Even jumping from a platform won't help." "M-Minato, please listen…" "Urgh! It's just as if they didn't want us to complete the mission and get the bonus prizes!" "Minato, listen!" Fuuka yelled, finally getting my attention. "What is it?" I asked. "Why don't you get near these globs and try to destroy them with a basic fire-ball?"
(Crow pass-by)
Now I regret not listening to her earlier. "That's an idea, thanks Fuuka. And sorry." "C-Come on, I just helped: it's normal." We stayed in awkward silence for a moment until I decided to destroy the remaining Shadow Globs.
Once we were done with the work, I asked Fuuka to go ahead and RTC before me. After she did, I prepared to go to the tower when suddently, a voice called me; a familiar voice "Hey, Minato! How are ya doing?"
I turned to face the owner of the voice and saw…
To be continued
One thing's sure, I kept you waiting guys, sorry about that. Man, this was the hell of a chapter; I hope it came out well and that you liked it. By the way guys, do you think there must be a pairing(s) in this story? Do tell me about it via reviews or PM, and if most of the answers are positive, I'll create a poll so you can choose (Yeah, I think I'll just go with your choice). With that, goodbye!