(A/N):*Jade walks onto the stage looking around*
Jade: Alright it seems like she's occupied. Got good news for you Keyblade of the Heart fans. I'm currently working on the sequel when I have writers block for this story. I'm also doing a "four-shot" of what happens in between KotH and Hardships.
*Mika leaps onto the stage from out of the audience.*
Mika: And Jade gives me an entire chapter!
Jade: *facepalmes* The audience, why didn't I check the audience?! Rin get out here and take care of Mika, and no Mika I don't mean it like that. *Rin escorts Mika offstage* Okay with her occupied I can tell you all this. I got a Beta Reader for this fic. It's TorNathan! Tor got anything to say to my readers?
*A semi short girl with silver hair down to her shoulder blades and dark, deep purple eyes walks onstage holding a letter*
?: This is for you Jade.
Jade:: *takes letter* And you are?
?: Alexia, I'm Tor's OC. You should know this, you had to go into your PMs to pull up my name and description.
Jade: Right.
Letter: Nope. May the Love of Anuwëy guide you when all Hope is lost, TorNathan.
Jade: Alright then, on to the hopefully more grammatically correct chapter!
Chapter 2
It was a nice sunny day and many kids were out running about the streets of Artamila. Mothers called after their children as they went about their shopping. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and a cool breeze created the perfect temperature within the city. Birds chirped as they flew overhead. This was one of those rare summer days where it was cold enough that you could work all day and barely have reason to complain about the heat. Almost every resident of Artamila was out taking advantage of it. However, within the Knight's Fortress there was one mercenary that refused to go outside. Solaris was in the library poring over ancient books trying to figure out what secrets they might hold. Four books were laid out before him, each one in a different language. Sol was trying to find the location of a lost item and each book before him had mentioned it. Many explorers of Clestia carried books with them to record their findings. Until about one hundred years ago, the explorers didn't have reliable mercenary groups to hire on their expeditions, resulting in many deaths. This meant that their journals were lost to the world until another group of explorers made their way to the same place. Current mercenary work brought in a lot of these lost journals.
"How did I know I'd find you in here, little brother," a voice sighed from the doorway. Sol's ears perked up as he recognized the owner of the voice. Turning around in his chair to confirm what his ears told him, Sol saw his older sister leaning against the door frame. "Mika what are you doing here?" he asked, surprised, forgetting his books.
"Nice to see ya again Sol. You know the proper way to greet a sister you haven't seen in three years would be 'OH MIKA I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH'!" Mika clasped her hands together dramatically.
"The day I do that is the day you can start wondering about my sanity," Sol replied. He got up out of his chair and he walked over to his sister. Mika held out her arms and hugged her younger brother. Without warning, Mika wrapped her arm around Sol's neck, brought his head down, and started rubbing her fist into his head, giving him quite the painful noogie.
"I already wonder about your sanity," Mika laughed, letting go of Sol's neck. "It's a nice day and here you are in a library. Shouldn't you at least be out training?"
Sol rubbed the top of his head gingerly. He went back to his seat and started placing bookmarks in each of the tomes. Mika walked over and sat on the table picking up one of the books Sol had just closed. She looked it over with an analytical eye. Mika went over each of the books that Sol had been reading before she spoke.
"Trying to find out where that's at are we?" Mika questioned carefully.
"Yes. I know that I can be hung for researching it but someone has to find it." Sol looked at at each book on the table as if they were a treasure map without the large X to mark the spot. In essence that's what the books were, a treasure map, each held instructions on how to get to a temple that had long thought to have been lost. Not a single one of the writers had managed to make it past the third trap within the temple. Explorer Ceera had been the one to recover the other three journals that Sol had been studying. He had found the others and read their secrets within. On his last mission, Sol was sent to gather some belongings from Ceera's last known location. After finding the chest containing the four journals, Sol had kept them for himself.
"Dangerous territory brother. If anyone ever finds out you even have these books they'll be getting the ropes ready," Mika smiled mischievously, "but I digress. You aren't even going to be here to study them for much longer. Your captain has a mission for you. Sent me to come tell ya."
"He tell you what it was about?" Sol grabbed his bag that had been sitting by the chair and carefully placed the books inside.
Mika hopped off the table. "Escort service. You and some girl name Luna are heading out."
"Great," Sol groaned as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "like I need a headache while escorting some pompous nobleman."
"She good lookin'?"
"Mi-ka," Sol warned.
"What? Girl's gotta have her fun."
"You're my sister. Last thing I need to be thinking about is your definition of fun."
"Hey my dry spell is going on two years now. That girl I was seeing moved away," Mika defended.
"I didn't need to know that." Sol walked out of the library and headed out towards the entrance room where the captain would most likely be waiting for him.
Mika waited until Sol was out of the room before going through the books on the shelves. During her time with the Knights she had come across a few special journals herself. There was one that she had stashed away that held clues about the item Sol was researching. If he was willing to take the risk of the hangman's noose, than he should at least have as much information as possible. Heading to the west side of the room, Mika grabbed the ladder and climbed to the top. Inhaling dust as she got to the top shelf, Mika let out a hacking cough. Two sections in from the northern wall and the third book in from the left was a grey covered book. From how dark the grey was, it had probably been black when the original owner had first been writing in it. A flame was drawn on the cover of the journal. It was Avera's book. She was a famous explorer and the temple had been her downfall. Hopping down and landing on the floor with the grace of a cat, Mika jogged to catch up with her brother.
Standing in the corner of the entrance room was the leader of the Knights, Rex Verus. Brown reptilian-like eyes overlooked the rest of the room, watching the citizens of Artamila enter and exit. He smiled and waved to those that spotted him. His dirty blonde, unkempt hair went down to just above his shoulders; it was almost time for him to get it trimmed again. Much to the wonder of the Knights, Rex had pointed ears. As far as they knew he was human but his eyes and ears told a different story. Rex wore a white version of the Knights standard issue clothing. It was rumored that not a single drop of blood had ever gotten on his outfit. Sol headed over to the leader of the mercenaries. When he got closer he noticed two teenagers with the captain.
"Ah, good, your sister found you. Though I doubt it was very hard. Let me guess, library?" Rex chuckled.
"Yessir," Sol answered formally, adding a small bow to his commander. "Hopefully Luna will be as easy to find."
"Eager to work with her again, eh Solaris?" Rex joked.
"Honestly sir, no. She's a hot head and the last few missions you've sent us on would have gone far smoother had I worked alone like before." Sol replied curtly.
"Sorry, Sol. This job is going to require the both of you. You might be great at formulating strategies but you lack the guts to dive in headfirst."
As he was about to counter the captain's observations, Sol was tackled to the ground from behind. His bag went spiraling across the floor and hit the feet of one of the teenagers that had been talking with Rex. The teen, which from her legs and slender fingers appeared to be a girl, reached down and picked up the bag. Sol tired to get up but whoever had rammed into him had their foot planted firmly on his back keeping him pinned to the floor. Turning his head to try and get a look at who it was that was pinning him to the floor, Sol wasn't surprised to see Mika's face smiling down at him. Taking her foot off his back, Mika held out a hand to help him up. Sol ignored his sister's hand and brushed himself off. When he turned to face the person who had grabbed his bag Sol was taken aback by the beauty of the girl, her light blue hair framed a delicate face. Eyes the same blue as her stared at him with a curious look in them.
"You dropped this."
"Uh, thanks," Sol laughed awkwardly as he took the bag.
"Aqua, Terra, it was good times on the road but I got another job lined up so I'll be heading out now. Take good care of my brother elf-boy!" Mika pointed right at Rex as she yelled out elf-boy. Knowing that she had at least toed the line, Mika vanished into the crowd of people. You don't tease the leader of a mercenary group no matter how laid back he is. If he didn't say something, most likely his group would, and they wouldn't be using words to deliver their message.
"It still amazes me that Mika is your older sister, Solaris," Rex sighed as the blonde left.
"When you get to know the both of us, the family resemblance is clear. We both became mercenaries after all. Mika said you have an escort job for Luna and I?"
Speak of the devil and so shall she appear. Luna came in from outside, her long sword strapped to her hip. Sweat dotted her brow and her cheeks were red from the workout she had no doubt just gotten out of. While Sol spent his spare time reading, Luna spent hours perfecting her swordsmanship. She was considered a prodigy, given her age. Many of the older more experienced members were able to beat her, which only fueled her drive to train. No matter the instructor, Luna seemed to take a berserker approach, only worrying about injuries once they started to affect her. Bruises from blows dealt by practice swords could be seen on Luna's arms and one on her right leg, half of it hidden by her skirt. One would think that the bruises she obtained would teach her to be more careful in a fight but so far the lesson had yet to sink in.
Rex called out to Luna, beckoning her over. From the way she shuffled over to the group it, looked like she had pushed herself to her limits and was running on fumes at the moment. Sol just shook his head. That was the person that Rex wanted him to be more like. He didn't understand why he should fight with no regard for his own safety. It was far better to fight smart than it was to power through everything. He understood how Luna could benefit from learning how to fight like him, but not the other way around.
"Now that you're both here, I can explain your mission." Rex started.
-BotH-
Luna was in her room that she shared with three other girls. It was cramped with four beds and chests in the tiny space. There was just enough room between each bed that a person could walk sideways. Each chest sat at the foot of the bed holding clothing and items that the owner felt were special. Undoing the top button of her shirt, Luna reached for the chain around her neck and brought it out. Dangling at the end of the chain was a small iron key. Too many mercenaries had sticky fingers for Luna's tastes so pockets and pouches weren't the smartest place for the key to her belongings. A necklace was harder to get off without notice. A professional thief would still be able to do it but anyone with that kind of record wasn't employed with the Knights.
The chest in front of the far left bed was Luna's. Oak wood and a steel frame was all that stood between the world and the few items Luna could call her own. Opening the steel lock, Luna flipped the lid up. Inside lay three other sets of her Knight's uniform. Hidden underneath her uniforms was a red ball gown that she had to buy for the occasions when grateful employers would invite her to a party. It was very important to keep relations with the customers so they would keep coming back if they needed more help. A few sets of civilian clothes were tucked into the corner. At the very bottom of the chest was the item Luna was looking for. It was a small dagger that had been her father's. The plain sheath was attached to a worn, brown, leather belt. Opposite of the buckle, the fourth hole in was worn the most. Putting the belt on, Luna reached back and felt the hilt of the dagger jutting out. Drawing the blade out, she looked over the dagger. Two inches of dark grey iron reflected Luna's face back at her as she looked at the one memento she had of her father. He had given it to her when she was eight years old, only two weeks before he had fallen victim to highwaymen on his way to visit a friend in the next town over. A rap on the bedroom door brought Luna out of her memories.
"Come on Luna we have to get going. Aqua and Terra are waiting for us at the edge of the city already," Sol's almost monotone voice grated on Luna's nerves. He really seemed to run purely on logic which, while useful, made for an annoying partner.
"Just give me a second," Luna growled as she closed the lid to her chest. She locked it back up and put on the necklace holding the key. The door to the room opened and Luna fully expected to find Sol walking in to come get her. Turning on her heel Luna got ready to yell at the annoying male only to find that it was one of her roommates. Sol was still standing at the door, his back turned away so he couldn't see into the room. Luna didn't know whether to be thankful he was gentlemanly enough to not try looking or to be insulted that he wasn't looking. Shuffling past her roommate, Luna left her room, remembering to close the door.
"Let's go," was all Sol said in greeting before heading down the stone hallway. With a huff Luna followed after him.
Knight's Fortress was located on the east end of town. It was a great stone structure that towered over the buildings around it. A stone wall half as tall as the fortress separated the Knight's training grounds from the citizens. Two Knights were stationed at the entrance regulating the traffic in and out, making sure that there were never too many civilians inside at one time. Since the Knights took a job no matter how small, there was always a line of people at the gate that wanted help with some menial task. Life threatening jobs were few and far between, but that wasn't the reason that the mercenaries joined a group like the Knights. When Luna and Sol went to pass through the gate, they were stopped by one of the guards. He handed Sol a white envelope before letting them through; Sol just tucked it into his bag without even sparing the item a glance.
Navigating the streets of Artamila on such a nice day was grueling. Everyone was out and about getting the most out of the day that they could. To say the streets were packed would be an understatement. Normally, people would make way for anyone wearing a sword not wanting to cause trouble. If the swordsman was in the Knight's black, the streets would practically clear up any congestion. Today was an exception to the norm. Luna had to lead the way, forcing open a space large enough for her to fit through, leaving Sol to try and squeeze past after her. Three quarters of the way to the other side of town where they were to meet up with Terra and Aqua, Luna heard the soft hiss of a blade being drawn. With so many people around her Luna reached for her dagger instead of her sword, only when her hand went to grasp the hilt of the dagger, she found it missing. Panic set in as Luna looked around for the thief. When she managed to turn fully around Luna saw Sol holding a guy up by his throat. At the person's feet was Luna's dagger sitting in the dusty ground. Paying no attention to the fact that Sol was practically choking the life out a man, Luna used all her strength to push past the few people that separated her from her treasure. She picked up her dagger and it took a great deal of control to not shove it into the thief's ribs. She instead returned it to the sheath on her belt. Sol let go of the man who crumpled the second he hit the ground, unconscious.
"Can't believe someone would try to steal a weapon in broad daylight," Sol scoffed as he walked around the unconscious man.
"Hey Sol… thanks." It was clear from how reluctantly she said it that manners were forcing Luna to thank Sol rather than genuine feelings.
"It wouldn't do well if it got out that a Knight lost their weapon to a common thief. Take better care of your knife." Sol marched out in front of Luna clearing his own path through the mob.
There were no more problems on their way to the city's western gate. It had taken a good twenty minutes to get to the gate but Luna spotted both Terra and Aqua standing just outside the city limits. Terra was swinging around a large great sword; the steel blade had a slight pale green aura around it, the tale-tell signs of a magical blade. Only those who had a king's ransom in gold could afford such a weapon. Magic blades never dulled and could pierce even the strongest monster hide. Of the Knights, only Captain Rex had such a weapon. Aqua was sitting beneath a nearby tree watching Terra swing a blade so large one might think he was overcompensating for something. A sheathed katana was laid across her lap. Even when it was sheathed, the pale green aura could be seen around the weapon.
Luna smiled as she watched Terra swing the great sword around with seemingly little effort. Tossing her bag to Sol, Luna drew her long sword the second she got out of the city. Luna charged the muscled brunette. Terra looked confused for a few moments before he figured out why Luna was charging at him with her sword drawn. Luna quickly closed the distance between her and Terra. Starting with a slash upwards, she expected Terra to block her attack like most males did, it was never until they fought her that men thought Luna could pack enough force into her swing that dodging was the better answer, so when Terra moved out of range Luna was left wide open. Taking advantage of the opening he unintentionally created, Terra performed a powerful pommel smack on Luna's shoulder. Sounds of bones crunching could be heard as the metal pommel connected with the mercenary's shoulder.
"You're good," Luna said as she took a horizontal slash at Terra. This time he did what Luna expected him to, blocked. Using the power in her body that would have been used in the slash Luna spun away from her foe. Keeping close to her opponent, Luna launched a series of slashes at Terra. Even with her left shoulder broken Luna kept coming at Terra with everything she could pour into her right arm. Her long sword was more maneuverable in such close quarters than his great sword giving her a slight advantage as it took all of Terra's concentration and effort to move the large blade to block.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" Aqua asked as Sol came to stand next to her.
"I don't know about Terra but Luna isn't going to be satisfied until one of them win." Sol plopped down on the ground, sitting crisscross and placing his bag in his lap while he placed Luna's next to him. He watched the two combatants go at it, both of them grinning when they managed to land a blow.
"So you're Mika's little brother? She talked a lot about you on our way here."
"She did? Can't imagine she'd have much to say. She hasn't sent a letter in three years and then all the sudden, she appears at Knight's Fortress acting like it was just yesterday that she had written to me." While he didn't want to be rude it was overwritten by the desire to cut the conversation short. Sol reached into his bag and dug out one of the journals he'd been reading back in the library. Flipping it open to the last page he'd been on, Sol brought the book up to his face, effectively shutting out the world around him. However, fate was cruel, and the letter that Sol had gotten from the guard fell out of the bag as he had pulled out the book. A gentle breeze brought the envelope to rest next to Aqua's leg, picking it up she looked at the back and noticed there wasn't a seal on it. Flipping it over to see if anything was written on the front, Aqua found in neat cursive a single name: Mikaela.
"This fell out or your bag just now." Aqua tapped Sol on the shoulder as she held the letter out. Sol pulled his book down and looked at the stark white envelope. Snatching it out of Aqua's hand a little more aggressively than what was considered appropriate, Sol tucked it into the back of the journal using the weight of the pages to hold it in place. He then brought the book back up to his face, signaling that he still didn't want to talk. "I know we just met but don't you want to read that? Your sister clearly wanted to tell you something if she went to the trouble of writing it out like that."
"I'd prefer it if you kept out of my family business. Mika might be my sister but I don't exactly feel like being brotherly to her at the moment. I'm on the job right now and that takes precedent over everything else." Sol never once looked up from his book as he spoke. In fact the only thing he did do was flip a page.
"Hey Aqua! Do you have a Hi-Potion or two on you?" Terra called out. Both he and Luna were covered in small bleeding cuts.
"You only won... cause I just... got out of... training," Luna panted just before she fell backwards.
"I have a few," Aqua sighed, getting up. She reached into a pocket on her shorts and pulled out two blue bottles decorated with two green stars and a yellow crescent moon. Tossing one of the potions to Terra she headed over to Luna who was still lying face up on the ground. Luna was still conscious and when she caught whiff of the Hi-Potion she almost pretended to be dead rather than drink the foul smelling liquid. Aqua wouldn't have any nonsense and poured the potion into Luna's mouth. Sitting up quickly Luna coughed as some of the potion went down the wrong pipe. "You two Neanderthals done now?"
"Neanderthal?" Luna questioned, unfamiliar with the word.
"Meat head," Terra translated for her. Luna's mouth made an O shape in understanding. "Aqua's a little high brown when it comes to insults. Don't worry, you'll get plenty used to them."
"What's that supposed to mean Terra?" Aqua baited him.
"Just speaking from experience. You insult me often enough that my vocabulary's improved cause I have to look up what the words mean," Terra answered.
"So you admit you're an idiot?" Luna laughed springing the trap.
"What? NO!" Terra shouted realizing that he'd done just that.
Both girls laughed at Terra as he tried to worm his way out of the insult he had delivered to himself. Luna stopped laughing though when rain started to fall. No one had noticed that dark clouds had started to creep in while they had gotten ready for the trip. Luna ran over to her bag next to Sol and took out a black cloak with the Knight's symbol stitched on the back in red. Sol had grabbed his already and put it on the second that rain had started falling. Neither was worried about the contents of the bags getting wet; they were made from Aqua Lizard hide, a common enough amphibious monster that lived by lakes and had learned to use human weapons, which repelled water.
"Rain at the start of a journey is never a good sign," Sol said as he pulled his hood up and walked towards the road leading north.
"Why not?" Terra asked.
"They say it symbolizes the tears family members shed at the loss of the traveler," Luna whispered tucking her hair into her cloak before lifting her hood up.
"That's so sad," Aqua replied as she looked up at the grey sky.
-BotH-
"I freaking hate the rain!" Mika shouted as she ran down the path looking for a place to seek shelter until it let up; she had forgotten her cloak back at Rin's, making the rain far worse. There weren't many trees around her, only farmland. Staying at some random family's farm was always an awkward moment that Mika didn't relish in. Everyone stared at you like you were some freak on display as you tried to eat your meal in silence. Or it was worse when they talked about their boring as hell daily life. Mika knew that if she ever stopped being a mercenary, a farmer was at the bottom of the list of things she was going to be afterward. The only good thing about being a farmer was the horses. Magnificent creatures and beasts of burden that had to be broken before they could be put to work.
After spending half an hour jogging down the road, Mika found a cluster of trees off in the distance where she'd be able to make some semblance of a shelter. With a destination in sight, Mika ran as fast as she could, ignoring the needle like rain pounding against her skin. Reaching the trees, Mika bent over as she caught her breath, safe from the rain under the leafy branches. Breaking off a few of the lower branches that hadn't been soaked by the falling rain, Mika arranged them into a small teepee like stack. She stuffed a few leaves in the middle of the stack and shot a small jet of flames at the leaves. In a few short minutes the flames had taken a hold of the sticks and started to burn happily in the cool air. Taking a string out of her bag, Mika set to work moving a few of the tree branches to better protect herself from the rain, they might have been preventing the water from assaulting her at the moment but given time the rain would trickle down the leaves and onto her if she didn't do something to prevent it.
Happy with her hastily formed shelter, Mika grabbed another set of clothes out of her bag. It wouldn't do well to catch a cold from wearing wet clothes. After a quick change, Mika set her drenched clothes near the fire to dry faster and sat herself in front of the flames. Staring at the sky and seeing black clouds in every direction Mika let out a sigh. It was going to be a long time before the rain let up.
I wonder if brother's read the letter yet. Probably not. He didn't seem that happy to see me. Mika brought her knees up to her chest and scooted closer to the fire to warm herself up. Three years is a long time with no contact. I remember sending him a letter every month. His replies were always so happy. He'd tell me all about what was happening at home and how things were going with his application to the Knights. Gods I'd have to sift through so many research notes he thought would be useful. I wondered how he fit it all in one envelope. Now though, it looks like he's been put through the wringer and came out worse for the wear.
"Argh," Mika groaned as she tried to forget the happier times and come back to reality, "I gotta get out of this funk. Sol's all grown up now." Still Mika couldn't help but stare at the crackling fire in front of her and reminisce about older days.
(A/N): Rex Verus belongs to The Unknowing Herald. It was high time I got to use one of his OCs. I might have made him more powerful in here than Herald has him, but I haven't seen Rex's true strength yet so it could be the correct caliber.