Okay, sorry for the wait! I'm getting over my flu so expect more things from me!

Kyrie (c) Me

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

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 38

"Wow…this place hasn't changed one bit." Kyrie thought as she, Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked through the Tram Common in Twilight town. After the long drive on the ship, the group was eager to get out and explore the familiar surroundings, as well as meet up with old friends.

"Gawrsh, I wonder how Hayner an' the others are doin'." Goofy spoke as they looked around. Kyrie stopped and stared at them, they knew Hayner, Pence, and Olette?

"How do they know them?" was her only thought as he reached out to stop them, only to have a familiar voice cry out in alarm.

"H-Help! The Sandlot! It's Seifer!" she turned, spotting Vivi as he ran past, waving his arms frantically as he did so. "Somebody please help us!"

"Huh? What's-" Kyrie thought as she watched the young boy run off, running and screaming as he did so. Then she, Donald, and Goofy looked at Sora, who was also watching the young boy in confusion.

"Sounds like we got trouble!" he exclaimed, making Kyrie groan internally. She didn't like Seifer, and knew that he hated her with a passion. But she couldn't deny the young man help when he needed it the most, what would that make her? No better than him.

"C'mon!" Donald cried, the group heading into the direction of the Sandlot. Kyrie stayed close behind them, making sure that they knew where they were going. Once they got to the Sandlot, they spotted Seifer, Fuu, and Rai lying helplessly on the ground as dusks and berserkers surrounded them. Kyrie and Sora were the first to jump in, Sora to protect them and Kyrie to get them as far away as possible.

"We'll take it from here!" he exclaimed, summoning his keyblade. Kyrie knelt down beside Seifer, taking his arm and wrapping it around her shoulders as she started to stand, supporting his weight. He looked at her and his eyes narrowed.

"It's you-" he started, but stopped when she looked at him. Her stern look silenced his venomous words as she proceeded to help him walk over to the benches against the wall, sitting him there before going back for his companions. Once she got Fuu and Rai over to where she placed Seifer, she went back to help Sora.

"He'll need it, the berserkers don't mess around when it comes to finishing the job." she thought, summoning both keyblades and running to Sora's side as the boy was thrown back by a berserker. She quickly jumped, getting behind the large nobody and spun, slashing both keyblades through it. It vanished immediately, Sora getting to his feet as it did so.

"Is that the last one?" he panted. They looked behind them to see Donald and Goofy having problems of their own as they each were cornered by a berserker. The two keyblade wielders ran back to assist the two, Kyrie going to Donald and Sora going to Goofy. The berserker Donald was facing was just bringing its weapon over its head before Kyrie joined in, getting in front of him and holding her keyblades up to block the blow. She pushed the large nobody back, and Donald followed with a thundara spell, effectively knocking it off its feet.

She followed that up with an downwards sweep, making it disappear in seconds. Looking over, the two watched as Sora and Goofy tag-teamed, sending the berserker flying as Goofy swung Sora around like a chain. Once it was gone, the fight was over.

"Man…berserkers are tough. Just like Saix." she thought as she panted, wiping some sweat from her brow. She grinned at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, making them grin back in victory.

"Impressive."

Stiffening, she turned and spotted a hooded figure at he clapped at them, though it was vastly different from Axel's clap when they were in the virtual Twilight town. This one was more subtle, and more mocking than his. But considering who the figure was, Kyrie wasn't surprised.

"Saix…" she thought, taking a step back. She knew what harm this man could cause, and was worried for both herself and her companions. She shifted, inching closer to Sora in case he decided to attack them.

"By the way, have you seen a man named Axel? I expect he's here somewhere." Saix asked. Sora looked at Kyrie, the name ringing a bell. But he looked back at the man.

"Like I care." He shot back. But the man ignored his outburst, and continued talking.

"You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest." He continued, but this time he looked directly at Kyrie as he said this. Her body went rigid, why was he looking for Axel? To destroy him?

"Is he with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked, making Saix look at him. He nodded.

"Yes."

"You havin' a fight?"

"Not a very organized Organization…" Sora spoke, getting into an attack position. Kyrie followed suit, at this moment, she wanted nothing more than to silence his venomous words.

"Don't let your guard down. Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless." Saix spoke, pointing at Sora. She stared at the Luna Diviner in shock, Axel would do that?

"No…he couldn't. Axel would never do something like that! Never!" she thought, clenching her fists tightly. Sora rolled his eyes, glancing at Kyrie from the corner of his eyes when he heard her gasp, and watched as her fists trembled. He then looked back at Saix.

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister. But I'm sure we can take care of ourselves just fine." He spoke in a sarcastic tone, not taking heed of the man's words. He nodded.

"Glad to hear it. Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you." He paused for a moment. "Either of you." He corrected with disdain, looking at Kyrie as well. Donald raised his eyebrows at him.

"Hearts? You don't have any hearts!" he exclaimed. Kyrie winced at his words, they rang true. Nobodies didn't have hearts, and it saddened her that Axel, Demyx, and Xigbar didn't have hearts. Saix nodded, reaching up and pulling down his hood, to reveal blue hair, yellow eyes, and an "X" shape scar in the center of his face.

"True, we don't have hearts. But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special." He explained. Goofy stared at him blankly just as a corridor opened behind him.

"Whaddaya mean?" he asked. Saix looked at him.

"We know very well how to injure a heart. That is what I mean." he answered, but he turned his gaze to Kyrie, making her stiffen.

"Sora, girl, you just keep on fighting those Heartless." Saix ordered. Sora looked at him before looking at the others.

"Let's jump in after him!" he whispered. Kyrie raised her eyebrows, jump in after him?

"How come?" Donald asked.

"I'm not sure, but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world." He explained. But Saix smirked, having heard their entire conversation.

"Don't be reckless. Do you want to end up like Riku?" he spoke. Kyrie and Sora looked at him in confusion.

"What?" he cried. But Saix simply bowed and walked backwards, letting the darkness of the portal consume him.

"Hey, wait!" but the corridor vanished, taking Saix with it. They stood there silently for a moment, before Sora took a step forward.

"What did he mean, end up like Riku?" he asked. Kyrie looked at him sympathetically and took a step forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her and she gave him a reassuring smile, making him smile right back.

"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now? You've caused enough trouble. Especially you." They turned and looked at Seifer as he pointed at Kyrie. She glared at him, but couldn't really blame him for not liking her. Would you like someone after they punched you in the gut? Donald scowled.

"Have it your way! C'mon, guys." He huffed. The group nodded as they began walking away.

"Hold it." Seifer said. They turned to look at him in confusion.

"Make up your mind!" Donald shouted. But Seifer ignored him, and instead held up a blue trophy that had four gems on it.

"This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town." He spoke, looking at Sora. The boy pointed at himself in confusion, and he nodded.

"Thanks, but… we don't really need it." He explained, his face a little red with embarrassment. But Seifer quickly ran forward, shoving the trophy in Goofy's hands before shoving his hands into his pockets and walking past him. Fuu and Rai followed after him, and the three were soon gone.

"Wow. Seifer was actually nice for once." Kyrie thought as Sora and Donald stared at the trophy in Goofy's arms.

"Oh! Sora!"

They turned, to see Pence as he approached. Kyrie smiled brightly, and the boy stopped when he noticed her.

"Huh? Kyrie? Oh man, it's great to see you!" he cried, holding his arms out. She nodded as she hugged him, Sora staring between the two in confusion.

"Pence? You two know each other?" he asked. Pence nodded as he turned to look at him.

"Yeah. We met awhile back, when she first appeared in Twilight town. She didn't know who she was." then he looked at her. "So, did you find anything? We were worried when you disappeared." he asked. She shook her head, making him sigh.

"Man, that stinks." then he paused for a second. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he looked at Sora.

"Oh, Sora! Do you know a girl named Kairi?" he asked. Kyrie stared at him with wide eyes, Kairi? How does Sora know Kairi? She looked at Sora as the boy jerked in surprise, his face lighting up at the name.

"K-Kairi? I sure do!" he answered, stammering as he did so.

"Then you better come to the station!" and with that, he ran off. Sora and the others were about to follow, before Kyrie stopped them. Whipping out her notebook, she began to write.

Wait, you all know Kairi? Tell me, how do you know her?

"Huh? You know Kairi, too?" Sora asked in surprise. She nodded and he placed his hand against his chin.

"I've known Kairi for a long time. She appeared on the islands when we were kids, and we've been best friends ever since. So how do you know her?" he explained. She nodded and wrote more before showing them.

I met her awhile back on my travels. I spent some time with her, and we became friends.

"Wow…wait! We need to catch up with Pence, we'll talk more later!" and with that, he was off. Donald and Goofy were right behind him, and Kyrie followed suit. Many thoughts swirled inside her mind as she followed them, but one stood out from the rest.

How did Kairi get here, and why?

Uh-oh. There goes Saix, spouting off nonesense.

Saix: How am I spouting nonesense? It is simply the truth.

Me: To me and probably half the fanbase, it was nonesense.

Saix:...Hmph. Axel fangirl.

Me: And proud of it. But I'm not a yaoi one, got it memorized?

Axel: Wait, you're not?

Kyrie: *rolls eyes at the four before turning to the audience and holding out her notebook* Don't mind them. Be sure to stop in on the next chapter. More drama will be on the way as we discover why Kairi is in Twilight town! And also, for the sake of the author, please read and review.