...SIGH...

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts character/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 8

It was mid-afternoon, and the group had gotten the missions done quicker than expected. Kyrie assisted them at the checkpoint missions, but stayed as far away from the camp as possible when a horde of heartless got in. The boys and Ping were able to handle that mission themselves, but Kyrie kept a close watch from the bamboo grove just to make sure.

While they were getting their mission details, she prepared to follow after them. The camp was bustling, meaning that the army would be on the move soon. She watched from the entrance of the grove as the four got to the entrance of the camp. Sora raised his hand, signaling that they were leaving.

"That's the signal." Kyrie thought as she slipped on her backpack, taking one last look at the camp she had made, before following after them. They met up at the checkpoint, Kyrie making sure that no other soldiers were around before turning to them.

"Okay, so the captain wants us to go and scout ahead in case there's any danger. If there's heartless, we'll take care of them." Sora explained. The rest of the group nodded as Kyrie summoned her keyblades. Without further ado, the group made their ascent up the mountain path.

Along the way, they encountered walls of rocks and dozens of heartless. While Sora broke the walls, the others took care of the heartless and protected him. At the end of the mountain path however, the group was stopped by a few Assault Riders, soldiers, and Nightwalkers.

"Ugh!" Kyrie thought as an Assault Rider brought its spear down on her keyblades, forcing her back. But after a swift kick to the hind leg from her, it fell forward and she took her chance to destroy it. She smirked as she watched it fade away, the adrenaline rushing into her veins like a river.

"Ha! Take that!" she thought triumphantly. Suddenly though, she felt something on her right side, but she couldn't see what it was because of her poor vision on that side. Not taking any chances, she swung her keyblade and heard a gasp.

"Kyrie, what're you doing? You almost took my head off!" she heard Sora shout. Turning, she spotted him as he lay on the floor, one hand covering his head while the other held the keyblade in front of him. She gasped and helped him to his feet, blushing in embarrassment as she did so. But it was short lived, when Sora gasped.

"Kyrie! Watch-" whatever he was going to say next was cut off when something smacked into her right cheek, sending her flying. She flew into a rock hard, her backpack flying off and landing on the ground, its contents spilled. She sat there for a moment, dazed and confused, before her vision cleared and she gasped. A solider was standing over her backpack, holding her star plush in its claws. It was staring at it curiously, as if it wasn't sure what exactly it was holding. Without further ado, it began to run off. She felt her heart stop.

"No! Give that back!" she thought as she got to her feet and ran after it, completely ignoring everything around her. All she was focused on was getting it back. Sora watched her as she pursued the solider, before catching what it was holding.

"Kyrie, wait! Come back!" he called. She quickly caught up with it and tackled it, making the toy fly out of its grasp and land on a nearby boulder. Ignoring the solider for now, she ran over and plucked it from the boulder, cradling it against her chest.

"Thank kingdom hearts…I thought I lost it…" she thought as she held it close. Suddenly though, she realized that she was surrounded by heartless. Not giving her any time to retaliate, they swooped in and she crouched, closing her eyes tightly as she prepared to meet her end.

"Kyrie, get down!" she opened her eyes and watched as Ping rushed in, deflecting their attacks with her blade as she fought to keep them away from her. Donald and Goofy joined her in seconds, followed by Sora, as the four fought the horde. Once they were cleared out, Donald turned to her.

"Kyrie, what were you thinking? You could've gotten hurt-" he stopped when he noticed that she was holding the toy tightly, not daring to meet any of their gazes. Since the boys were inexperienced with a girl's feelings, they didn't know what to think. But Ping, a girl herself, knew.

She knelt down and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"That toy is precious to you, isn't it?" she asked. Kyrie was silent before nodding. With that Ping helped her to her feet and turned to the boys.

"Could one of you go and get her backpack? We'll stay here." she asked. Goofy nodded as he walked over and began gathering the items, Sora and Donald following him. Ping turned back to her new friend, concerned.

"Why is it so precious to you?" she asked. Kyrie was silent before grabbing her notebook and writing down her answer.

It's all I have left of my past. From what someone told me, my mother made this toy for me. But she and my father…are both dead. This little toy is all I have left of both them and who I was. This is my most prized possession.

Ping nodded, understanding. She looked at the boys as they picked up Kyrie's belongings, before turning back to her.

"You know…I ran away from home to join the army. My Father, Fa Zhou, was supposed to be in the army. Because I'm his only daughter, and he didn't have any sons." she explained. Kyrie nodded in understanding as she continued.

"I was afraid for my father. He is old and not young like he used to be. If he were here, right now, I doubt my father would've survived. So, I took his place." she continued. Kyrie stared at her.

"She ran away from home just so her father would live…she's very strong. I don't think I could've done that." she thought.

"I stole his armor and ran away, then I met Mushu, you, Sora, and the others. It's all thanks to the five of you that I am who I am now. The whole reason I'm on this mission, getting a chance to join the army and take his place. I loved my father enough to do this, so I understand how you feel. Your parents must be proud of you." she finished. Kyrie looked at the woman in front of her in awe, she never thought of it that way before. When the three came back, Kyrie had a small smile, but the sadness didn't leave her eyes.

Sora stared at his new friend in concern, he didn't know what to say. Then a thought crossed him.

"That's right! The mission!" he gasped. Before anyone could move, Li Shang and his troops came trotting up the mountain. Three men, one in red armor, the other yellow, and the third blue, approached them.

"Hey, you ain't half bad. Especially since you saved a damsel in distress." the one in red, the shortest and burliest of the men, spoke. Kyrie felt her eye twitch, she was NOT a damsel in distress! The man in yellow armor, the toothpick of the trio, spoke next as he nudged Ping's shoulder.

"A man among men!" he exclaimed. Ping smiled at the three.

"Thanks!" she smiled. With that, the three walked off. But then she looked at the floor, her expression downcast. "But the captain…" she murmured. Sora gasped.

"Captain!" he gasped, startled. Kyrie remembered that she wasn't supposed to be around them, and was about to start running before Goofy stopped her. He quickly turned her around and kept a firm grip on her shoulders, preventing her from running. A man with a red cape and two others approached them, the man in the cape obviously the captain.

"Ping sure did great!" Goofy started, obviously trying to put in a good word for his newest friend. "He even saved a damsel in distress!" at this, Kyrie elbowed him in the ribs, her irritation blatant. Donald nodded.

"You bet he did!" he added. The captain was silent as he stared at the group, mainly Ping and Kyrie, since Goofy happened to "mention" that Ping saved her butt from getting killed.

"Hmm…fine. I'll let you join my troops…But I'm still not convinced you have what it takes to be a worthy soldier. Despite your heroism in saving a civilian's life." he answered. Sora glared at him.

"Why not?" he exclaimed. Kyrie was about to stop him before Ping spoke.

"It's all right, Sora. I'll find a way to show him what I'm made of. Just give me a chance." she spoke, determination flashing in her eyes. Kyrie smiled at this, Ping was beginning to blossom in self-confidence. The captain smiled at her.

"That's the spirit, Ping." he spoke encouragingly. She nodded.

"Sir!" and with that, the captain and his men continued on. Moments later, the men with different colored armor came back.

"Good going, Ping!" the one in yellow cheered. She smiled and inclined her head.

"Thanks!" she thanked. The men then looked at Kyrie, who was the only known female in the group at the moment. The man in yellow suddenly cleared his throat and dropped it a few octaves. He then puffed out his chest, trying to make an impression.

"Would you like us manly soldiers to escort you to the nearest village?" he asked, his voice deep. Kyrie silently giggled but shook her head. At this, he deflated.

"Aw man…" he sighed. With that, he and his companions walked off. The five stood there silently for a moment, before Kyrie grabbed her backpack and made sure everything was inside. Once that was done, she placed the toy inside before turning to them and pulling out her notebook.

I'll explain everything that happened later, but I better go ahead. I don't want another encounter with your "army buddies".

They nodded in agreement. Ping stared at her in confusion before nodding, what had happened at the path was between them. Just their little secret.

"Okay, but just be careful. Shan-Yu may be around." Sora cautioned. She nodded, and with that, she was gone.

-Later, the Village-

Kyrie stayed near the outskirts of the village, since she was trying to stay as far away from the soldiers as possible. Though she did browse through some of the shops around the village, and bought a few potions, ethers, and other items. She smiled as she tucked her purchases inside her backpack, making it bulk with the amount of items it contained.

"Wow, I bought so much…then again…back in the organization I hardly spent any of the munny I earned when I destroyed heartless." she thought as she organized her contents. She shivered a little, it was snowing and the snow combined with the wind made it unbearably cold.

"Man, how can these people stand this cold? Sure, I'm wearing a long skirt and arm warmers…but this is ridiculous!" she thought as she rubbed her arms. Suddenly though, a loud scream followed by more cries of shock and fear arose, and she got to her feet. She saw a man with sickly-gray skin dressed in animal skins carrying a sword, surrounded by heartless. Her eyes widened.

"Is that…Shan-Yu?" she thought as she stared at him. But she didn't have time to ponder much else, because he gave a command and heartless swarmed into the village. Disregarding all else, she summoned both keyblades and ran into the village, her first priority to protect all those who would fall victim to the heartless.

"You men, get the villagers to safety! I'll handle Shan-Yu!" she turned and spotted the captain, Shang, as he drew his sword and faced the heartless. Somehow, a fire got started as the imperial soldiers began evacuating the villagers. That's when Kyrie heard a child's cry. She turned and spotted a small girl looking around helplessly as people ran past her, but paled when she spotted a Nightwalker as it snuck up from behind the child.

Rushing in, she stepped in front of the girl and used one keyblade to hold off its claws while the other slammed against its head, knocking it to the ground. She knelt down and picked up the child and used her white Kingdom Key to finish it off. She stood there for a moment, panting, when she felt a tug on her jacket. Looking down, she met the brown eyes of the little girl as she clung to her tightly.

"T-thank y-you…for saving me." she whimpered. Kyrie smiled gently at the little girl, and nodded. She looked around and saw that some shadows and soldiers were beginning to gather, and held the child close as she held her keyblade in front of them.

"I can't let this child get hurt. If I can get her to the other evacuees…" her eyes darted to where the imperial soldiers were helping the villagers to safety. Shan-Yu had since fled, but his heartless were still causing havoc as the village burned around them. The heavy smoke began to interfere with her breathing, and she knew the child in her arms was having difficulty breathing as well. She had to act, now!

"Here goes-!" she thought as she ran in, swiping and kicking the heartless out of the way as she made her way to the evacuees, cradling the girl against her chest as the child buried her face into her shirt. The smoke became even thicker, making it difficult to see as well as breathe. It was like inhaling cotton, it would only build up and force any oxygen that tried to get through back out.

After giving another swift kick and knocking a solider out of her way, she finally reached the imperial soldiers and the evacuees as they made their way to the mountain path. Panting, she walked over to one of the men and grabbed his arm. He looked down at her and his eyes widened.

"What the- you should be with the other civilians! What are you-" he stopped when he caught sight of the blade in her left hand and the soot-stained child in the other. Before he could say more, a woman's voice cried out.

"Ming! Oh Ming!"

"Mama!" the child cried as a woman broke free of the crowd and ran over, tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached out for her child. Kyrie placed the girl on her feet before she ran over, throwing herself in her mother's embrace.

"Oh Ming, I was so worried!"

"I'm so sorry Mama…" Kyrie watched the touching scene, her heart feeling empty for a moment as she watched the heartfelt reunion.

"I wonder…did my mother…ever act like that whenever I was in danger?" she thought as she watched. Suddenly, the scene began to change and the woman and Ming disappeared, a silver-haired woman and white-haired child taking their places. She recognized the little girl as her past self, and it took her a few moments before she recognized the silver-haired woman. It was…her mother…

"It's okay honey, mommy's right here…that's right, don't cry." a woman's voice soothed. She felt tears come to her eyes, she heard this voice before…back in the Castle that Never Was…but where?

Immediately the scene changed and returned to normal. Kyrie closed her eyes and shook her head, clearing away her thoughts before opening them again. The woman stood, holding Ming's hand as she stared at Kyrie.

"Thank you, miss, for helping me find my Mama."

"Yes, you have my deepest gratitude. If it weren't for you, I would've lost my little girl." Kyrie smiled and nodded as they turned and followed the rest of the evacuees. That's when Kyrie remembered, Sora!

"That's right! Where are Sora, Ping, and Donald and Goofy?" she thought as she turned and looked around. The smoke was beginning to clear as the blackened remains of the village toppled over, but there was no sign of life.

"Oh no…I hope they weren't-" with that she ran into the destroyed village, looking for any sign of the four. She searched through the rubble before a loud groan sounded. Startled, she turned and spotted the captain as he sagged against a pile of what looked like some type of concrete. She ran over and knelt next to him, the man had gone unconscious. But he had a deep wound in his side. It wasn't life-threatening, but it needed to be wrapped up to prevent infection.

Acting quickly, she pulled out a roll of bandages she had bought earlier and began to wrap them around his wound. Once his wound was wrapped, she stood and took a few steps back, unsure whether she should continue searching for Sora, or find this man help.

"Captain!" she turned and spotted Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ping as they rushed over. She smiled and sighed in relief.

"Thank kingdom hearts…they're alright…" she thought in relief. She stepped back and walked away, allowing them to check on the captain as he regained consciousness. She didn't want the man catching sight of her, so she waited at one of the village exits that led further up the mountain as they finished. Once they had finished talking, Sora and the others met her near the entrance to a cave.

"C'mon guys, we're going after Shan-Yu! He's going to pay for this!"

...

Axel: Hey, what's wrong with the author?

Sora: *pokes me with a stick* Maybe she's sick?

Kairi: Sora! Don't poke her with a stick!

Me: ...COLLEGE SUCKS...

Kyrie: *giggles silently before writing* I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, despite the author's silence. Please read and review, and have a nice day.