Hello everyone, chapter 20 is ready, so enjoy it!
The reviews' answers are at the end of the chapter, but you knew that, didn't you?
Chapter XX
The First Encounter
1350hrs, August 12th, 2024
Miyashita Park, Shibuya's UG
Lea, Xion and Roxas met two Harrier Reapers when they were at Towa Records. Their names were Koki Kariya and Uzuki Yashiro, and according to them, there was a fourth Keyblade wielder wandering around Shibuya's UG. It couldn't be one of the Guardians since Kariya said that the unknown Keyblade wielder eliminated a group of Reapers after they attacked him, and none of the Guardians would ever go that far. There was a high possibility that he was the guy in the yellow coat that left a message for Sora in Amestris, so the three Guardians decided to check it out, and now they, with their hoods off, were in front of a very high apartment building.
"Here it is," said Roxas.
"Are you sure this is the building she told us about?" asked Xion while looking at the building, which wasn't in a very good state. "It looks abandoned…"
"This is the only apartment building around, so it has to be this one," said Roxas. "It's kind of quiet, though. I would've expected to hear battle noises or something. That Keyblade wielder must be hidden somewhere inside the building."
"Well, let's look for him," said Xion as she started walking towards the building's entrance, but she was stopped by Lea, who grabbed her by her hood, lifting her from the ground. "Hey, what are you doing!? Let go!"
"Let's try a different approach, shall we?" said Lea before letting go of Xion.
"What do you mean?" asked the girl puzzled.
"Think about it," replied Lea. "We were confused before because not even one Heartless tried to attack us, but now that we know that there's another Keyblade wielder here it makes sense. If all the Heartless of the UG are ignoring us is because that Keyblade wielder is incredibly strong…probably more than the three of us together."
"You really think so?" asked Roxas, now worried after hearing Lea's statement.
"What's your plan, then?" asked Xion.
"Stealth," answered Lea. "Surely the building is full of Heartless, so we should take them down before confronting the Keyblade wielder. Besides, we might destroy the building if we are reckless, so I think it's a good idea."
"Yeah…even if we are in the UG, the building might be affected in the RG," said Roxas. "We'll have to be careful, even if there's no one living in there."
"This will be like when you and I were following Pete in Agrabah," said Lea looking at Roxas. "But this time we have to take down Heartless instead."
Roxas nodded. "Right, I remember."
"And what are we going to do when we run into the Keyblade wielder?" asked Xion.
"I don't know…" said Lea. "Look, if you see him, don't fight. We still don't know if he's our enemy."
"All right," said Roxas. "So, should we split up?"
"There are six floors without counting the rooftop…" said Lea. "What about this? Xion you'll clear the first two floors, Roxas will do floors three and four, and I will take care of the last two. If none of us find that Keyblade wielder, then we'll meet up again in the sixth floor to check out the rooftop together. There must be an elevator inside so Roxas and I will use it to reach the third and fifth floors."
"It looks like a good plan," said Roxas.
Xion nodded. "It's surprising you came up with it, Lea."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" asked Lea, poking Xion's forehead as she giggled.
Roxas chuckled. "Come on, stop playing around. We have to find that guy before he leaves."
"Right…and let's hope it's not one of them," said Lea as he started walking towards the building's entrance. Roxas and Xion followed him closely as he got closer to the front door. When Lea reached the door, he made a gesture with his left hand to stop the other two Guardians while he opened the door with the other hand.
"Clear?" asked Xion.
Lea nodded. "Let's go."
"By the way, Lea, about what you said before…" said Roxas as he and Xion walked into the building, following the redhead Guardian. "If that Keyblade wielder is actually one of them and is also stronger than the three of us…"
"Wait, you're not thinking that-!?" said Xion, but she couldn't finish her line because Lea put his hand on her mouth.
"Hey, keep it down," said Lea, and then he pointed at a metallic door that was nearby. "There's the elevator. Let's check if it still works."
"But Lea, this is serious," said Roxas concerned. "What if it's him?"
Lea sighed. "Look, Xehanort is gone for good. Sora put an end to him, and I don't think he'd ever lie about doing that. You two need to calm down."
Roxas and Xion looked at each other while Lea pressed the button that called the elevator. No one could blame them for worrying since Xehanort always used to have back up plans if something didn't go as he planned, but maybe they were thinking too much about it.
"Okay, you're right," said Xion.
"Yeah, let's focus on our mission," said Roxas.
"That's what I wanted to hear," said Lea smiling, and then the elevator's doors opened. "Nice, it works. Let's go, Roxas."
"Right," said the blond before he and Lea got into the elevator. "Good luck, Xion."
"Same to you," said the black-haired girl smiling at her friends as the elevator's doors closed. "Well, let's start clearing this up."
-TLG-
1150hrs, August 13th, 2024
City of Vale, Remnant
Team RWBY and Sora were now walking around the city looking for Heartless, as they agreed to do the other day in the dining hall. Since they couldn't let the academy unprotected, Ven and Team JNPR stayed in Beacon. They'll visit the city later, when Sora and Ruby's team finish their patrol.
"So you made it yourself?" asked Sora surprised after hearing from Ruby that she was the one who made the weapon she used. "Don't you think you went a bit overboard?"
Ruby chuckled. "Yeah, maybe a little bit, but you have to admit Crescent Rose is awesome. At first it was very difficult to use it, but when I learned to use it properly…well, you already saw how awesome I was in the Emerald Forest. I'm sure I'm the best scythe user you've ever known."
"You're a modest one, aren't you?" said Yang, looking at her sister with a playful smile.
"Oh, hush you!" protested Ruby.
"Well, it's true you are really good, but I know another girl who uses a scythe who is also really strong," said Sora, who was referring to Maka Albarn. It had been two years since the last time he saw her fighting, but he was sure she was much stronger now. "I couldn't tell which of you two is stronger…"
"What!?" said Ruby stunned as she stood in front of the Keyblade wielder in an instant. "Who's she!? Where's she from!?"
"Hey, easy there," said Sora as he put his hands on the girl's shoulders to create some distance between them.
"I don't think you should tell Ruby that girl's name, Sora," said Blake. "If they meet, the two will end up fighting."
"I was thinking the same thing," said Sora smiling.
"Hey, I'm not going to attack her if I meet her!" said Ruby, stomping her foot in protest. "I'm just curious. I wouldn't attack someone just because of that. Besides, she's your friend, right, Sora? I don't attack a friend's friends."
"Well, I suppose I can tell you, then," said Sora. "She's a student of the academy I told you about. The one I protected two years ago. Her name is Maka Albarn."
"Maka Albarn…All right, I got it memorized," said Ruby with a small grin on her face.
"She said it…" thought Sora. "So, did you learn to use that scythe on your own?"
"Oh no, it was my uncle Qrow the one who taught me how to use it," replied Ruby. "He's a teacher at Signal Academy and a master scythe wielder. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be as strong as I am now."
"I see," said Sora, who was curious to know how Ruby's uncle was.
"And what about you, spiky?" asked Yang.
"Spiky?" asked Sora, raising an eyebrow at the blonde girl. It had been a while since the last time someone called him that.
"Just a term of endearment," said Yang smiling as she winked at Sora. "Anyway, I heard from Pyrrha that Ven had someone who taught him how to use his Keyblade, so I was wondering who taught you how to use yours."
"I'm self-taught…mostly," answered Sora.
"Wow, as expected from you," said Ruby impressed.
"Aren't there some kind of academy for Keyblade wielders?" asked Yang.
"Considering that, according to what he told us, there are only ten active Keyblade wielders, I don't think an academy would be necessary," said Blake.
"True," said Yang scratching her head. Then the girl noticed that one person in the group hadn't talked for a while. "Hey Weiss, not that I'm complaining, but you seem awfully quiet today."
"Don't mind me, I have some things in my mind," said Weiss.
"Oh, really?" said Yang curious. "Care to tell us about it?"
Before Weiss could say anything, the group walked near an electronics store that had some televisions in a window which were broadcasting the news. Sora and the girls stopped walking out of curiosity, but mostly it was Ruby's team the ones who stopped since they heard something that caught their attention.
"…the criminal known as Roman Torchwick continues evading authorities," said the lady who appeared on the TV. Then an image of a man with slanted dark-green eyes and bright-orange hair appeared on the screen. "The last time he was seen was in Vale's docks, where a battle took place between him and three teens, being one of them a student of Beacon. Members of the White Fang were also seen in the docks, and…"
"I see they still haven't caught that guy," said Yang crossing her arms.
"He's not someone you can catch easily, Yang," said Blake.
"You know that guy called Roman?" asked Sora, and the girls realized that they shouldn't be talking about the orange-haired criminal in front of the Keyblade wielder. Roman Torchwick wasn't Sora's problem, so they didn't want him to get involved with that guy.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it," said Ruby waving her hands. "He's…well…I mean…"
"Okay, I get it," said Sora smiling amusedly at Ruby's stuttering. "I won't meddle if you don't want me to. Just be careful, okay? For some reason, I have the feeling that the student of Beacon the news reader mentioned was one of you."
Yang chuckled. "Yeah, it was-"
"Let's change the subject, if you don't mind," said Blake, who was using her right hand to cover Yang's mouth.
"We should continue looking for the Heartless," said Sora, but before he and the girl could resume their walking, the news reader said something and another picture appeared on the televisions' screens, one that caught Sora's interest this time.
"We've just been informed that yesterday, our reporters saw Roman Torchwick with an unidentified person," said the news reader. "It's possible that the two are working together, so if anyone knows something about this person's whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department."
"That guy is…" muttered Sora, who was looking at the picture that appeared on TV. In the picture, appeared a person wearing a coat that matched the description Blake gave Sora of the guy who defeated the Dustflier in the Emerald Forest. "Blake…"
"Yes, that's him," said the black-haired girl.
"Okay, what are you two talking about?" asked Yang putting her hands on her hips. "Don't be so secretive and tell us about it! Do you know that cloaked guy?"
"No, we don't know him," replied Sora without looking away from the mysterious person's picture. "But he's the one who defeated the Dustflier when we were in the Emerald Forest."
"Really!?" said Ruby surprised.
"Are you completely sure?" asked Weiss.
"It is him, there's no doubt about it," affirmed Blake.
Sora continued staring at the televisions, trying to figure out who was the person wearing that coat. He didn't know why, but he felt uneasy. Even if he couldn't see the face in the picture because of the hood, Sora could tell that it was a boy. He was probably a year or two older than Riku due to his height, but that could mean nothing. What worried Sora the most was that the guy defeated a Dustflier with a single strike, and that was something not even the strongest person Sora knew could do. Well, maybe Gildarts, but that man couldn't be the cloaked guy.
"Could he be a Keyblade wielder?" thought Sora. "It might be unlikely, but not impossible. It would explain how he defeated a Dustflier with one hit, but still…he has to be incredibly strong to do that… "
"I guess now you have to get involved with this," said Yang smiling at Sora, who snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.
"Huh? Why?" asked Sora.
"Well, by how you were looking at the TV, it looked like that guy was your enemy or something," said the blonde. "Am I right?"
"I don't know him," replied Sora. "He could be from this world, but I have to admit there something about him that worries me, but I don't know what. I'll have to find him if I want to know who he is. I hope he's still in Remnant."
"You should talk with Ven about this," said Blake.
"I know," said Sora nodding. He also thought about asking Ven about the lost masters, but Sora knew there were other Keyblade wielders who could know more about that subject, like Yen Sid and Eraqus. However, Sora didn't know where the two old masters were, so he decided to ask the people who knew them better than him and were more accessible than them, and those would be Mickey, Terra and Aqua.
"And if you find out something, don't doubt in telling us," said Ruby smiling. "We'll help you out."
"Yeah, because I hope you weren't thinking on doing this alone," said Yang, putting her finger on Sora's chest. "We'll leave that guy to you, but Roman is ours. I want to have a small talk with him for attacking my little sister."
"Are you sure?" asked Sora. "That guy must be really strong."
"We have to return the favor, after all," said Weiss, and then she crossed her arms and looked at Sora with questioning, narrowed eyes. "You're not doubting because we are girls, are you?"
"Believe me, I know girls I wouldn't want to mess with," said Sora smiling.
"Maybe you could add Weiss to that list," said Blake, and this made the white-haired glare at her while Ruby laughed. "Now let's continue with our patrol."
"Right," said Sora as he and the girls started walking again.
-TLG-
1235hrs, August 12th, 2024
Light Guardians Guild, Radiant Garden
"Are you sure?" asked Terra, who was now talking with Riku. The two had been working around Radiant Garden to earn some money for the guild and for personal expenses, and when they were returning to the guild, the silver-haired boy mentioned that someone had been watching them.
"Well, I'm not if he was exactly following us, but I could feel him every time we moved to a different place," said Riku with a serious and concerned expression on his face.
"Feel?" asked Terra. "Do you mean that person was someone from the dark?"
"His heart had a lot of darkness…" replied Riku. "However, his light was really powerful, and that what disconcerts me. It was a strange mix…I know I have darkness in my heart too, but there was different in that guy."
"You said it was a 'he', right?" asked Terra. "Could you see his face?"
"No, but I could tell he was a man," answered Riku. "It was wearing a light brown coat with some dark brown linings. He also had a hood on."
"A mysterious man wearing a coat…" said Terra before sighing. "I'm sure you don't like how that sounds after what you and the others had been through."
"Yeah, it makes me worry," said Riku crossing his arms. "I have the feeling that man has some relation to the guy Sora mentioned the other day."
"The one with the yellow coat, right?" said Terra. "You could be right. That message he left to Sora in that world didn't sound good. It was as if that guy wanted to hunt Keyblade wielders or something around those lines."
"A new enemy…not exactly what I want at this moment, but I guess I can't do anything about it," said Riku, sighing in resignation.
"Come on, don't worry about that," said Terra as he gave Riku a pat on the back. "If something happens, we will just have to fight. All of us are strong, so that won't be a problem."
Riku smiled. "You're not wrong."
Then the front door of the guild was opened by two girls, Kairi and Naminé, who just returned to Radiant Garden after their little visit to Earth Land. The two female Keyblade wielders saw Terra and Riku and approached them.
"Hey guys, how are you doing?" asked Kairi.
"Hello Kairi, Naminé," greeted Riku. "We've been working since you left. We took some request from people asking us for help in the inner part of the city."
"How did it go?" asked Naminé.
"Good," replied Terra. "I also took the chance to meet and spend some time with some members of the Restoration Committee since they didn't know me, but it looks like they have heard about me before. Who tell them about me?"
"Aqua and Ven did," answered Kairi with a smile. "Who did you met in the inner city?"
"Well, there were these three small pixies that asked me and Riku if we knew the location of some treasure…after one of them tried to stole my potions…" said Terra touching his chin pensively. "A girl called Rinoa who seemed to have a good relationship with Leon…"
Naminé giggled. "The Gullwings gave you some trouble, huh?"
"Yeah," replied Terra smiling. "Oh, there also was this woman with long rose colored hair that neither Riku nor I could get her name…"
"We had to work with her to take down a big group of Heartless," explained Riku. "She was really focused and told us to not screw up the job. It was like dealing with Aqua when she gets angry."
Terra laughed. "You better hope she doesn't find out you said that."
"Who are you referring to? Aqua or that pink-haired woman?" asked Riku with a small smile. "Hey, where is Aqua, by the way? Didn't she go with you to Earth Land?"
"Yes, but she decided to stay more time there," said Kairi as a smile appeared on her face. "She said she wanted to spend more time with her new guildmates."
"Wait, she already joined a Mages Guild!?" asked Terra surprised.
"She joined Mermaid Heel," replied Naminé. "After we visited Blue Pegasus, we went to the city where the Mermaid Heel Guild is located and we meet two mages of that guild."
"One of them was Kagura, that woman you heard about, Riku," said Kairi. "She and Aqua had a small duel because the Guild Master of Mermaid Heel asked Kagura to test the Keyblade wielder who wanted to join her guild. Aqua became a member of the guild after the duel."
"Kairi and I also met other three members of the guild," said Naminé. "All of them are really nice, and their guild is amazing."
"It looks like she beat you to it, Terra," said Riku.
"I guess it's my turn now," said Terra. "I've been thinking about joining that guild called Sabertooth, the one that is the second strongest guild in Fiore."
"Sabertooth, huh?" said Kairi. "Kagura mentioned that Sting, the Guild Master of Sabertooth, wanted a Keyblade wielder to join his guild. You shouldn't have any problems."
"Yeah, that's what Roxas said too," said Terra before turning to Riku. "You and Roxas met Sabertooth's Guild Master, right? How is he like?"
"He's young," replied Riku. "I think he might be nineteen or twenty years old, so Sora is still the youngest Guild Master we know. Anyway, he looked like a cheerful guy to me, but instead of asking me, you should go to Fiore and meet him."
"You're right," said Terra as he stood up. "I'll take a look at the board before. I think I saw a request of someone from Fiore."
"So, how are the mages of Blue Pegasus?" asked Riku as Terra walked towards the request board.
"They haven't changed one bit," replied Kairi. "Well, all of them are now seven years older, but they still behave as I remembered."
"You said you met that woman called Kagura, right?" said Riku. "Is it true that she wanted to fight Sora?"
"Not exactly," replied Naminé. "It seems that the only thing she wants is to meet him because he's one of Erza's closest friends. According to a member of Mermaid Heel, Kagura started getting along with Erza after the tournament that took place in Fiore, so she wanted to have a better relationship with her and decided to try to get along with Erza's teammates. You know, Natsu, Lucy…"
"I see," said Riku.
"All right, I'm leaving," said Terra, who had a request in his left hand. "Riku, do you want to come?"
"No, thanks," replied Riku. "Besides, I want to talk with Kairi and Naminé about what we were talking about before they arrived."
"Oh, right," said Terra. "Well, I'm going to talk with Cid. See you!"
"Goodbye, Terra!" said Kairi before the brown-haired Keyblade Master crossed the door that led to the Restoration Committee's building.
"What do you want to talk about, Riku?" asked Naminé curious. "Did something happen while you and Terra were working in the city?"
"You could say that," replied Riku. "I think someone might have been observing us, someone who didn't exactly have a heart full of light."
"Are you completely sure?" asked Kairi concernedly.
Riku nodded. "I don't know if he noticed, but I could see him. It was a man wearing a light brown coat with some dark brown linings. He had a hood on, so I couldn't see his face. Have you seen someone who fits that description?"
"I don't think so," said Kairi, and then she looked at Naminé, who shook her head. "But you and Terra are okay, right?"
"Yes, don't worry about that," replied Riku. "But I want you to tell me…have you felt as if you were being observed by someone these days?"
"No, why?" asked Naminé.
"I don't know why, but since Sora told us about that guy in the yellow coat, I started feeling like that," said Riku. "Maybe it's Maleficent, but something tells me that there's someone else out there…"
"A new enemy?" asked Kairi.
"That's what I thought," answered Riku. "We have to be careful. I'll ask the Restoration Committee to tell us if they saw someone suspicious. I talk about this with the others when they come back."
"Where are they, by the way?" asked Kairi.
"Lea, Roxas and Xion are in Shibuya," replied Riku. "Isa said they took a job that Joshua sent to us. I wonder how that guy found out about the guild…"
"And Sora and Ven?" asked Naminé.
"Cid said they took a Gummi Ship and went to another world because someone asked Sora for help," said Riku. "The world is called Remnant."
"Remnant?" said Kairi a bit surprised. "Kid told me about an academy that was in that world. Maybe it was Shinigami-sama the one who asked Sora to go to that world."
"It's possible," said Riku, and then he noticed that a worried expression appeared on Kairi's face. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing…" said Kairi. "I'm just a bit worried. You know that Sora usually is the one being targeted by our enemies, so…"
"I'm sure Sora will be fine," said Naminé, trying to reassure the redhead. "Besides, Ven is with him right now, so he won't be alone if something happens."
"She's right," said Riku smiling. "I'm sure Sora is all right. Probably he's now at that academy you mentioned, making friends and adding more girls to his harem."
"W-w-what did you say!?" asked Kairi with a bright red face while Riku just laughed. "And why are you laughing now!?"
"Riku, you're not helping…" said Naminé with a small pout.
-TLG-
1445hrs, August 12th, 2024
Abandoned Building, Shibuya's UG
After walking inside the building Kariya and Yashiro mentioned, Lea, Roxas and Xion split up. The plan was to eliminate all the Heartless that were around the building before confronting the Keyblade wielder that supposedly was in the same building. They decided to be cautious since they couldn't know if the building was going to be affected in the RG if they went all out. The building was abandoned, but that didn't mean they could destroy it.
As stated before, clearing the building of Heartless was the three Guardian's objective at this moment; however, the black-haired Guardian couldn't find any in the two first floors of the building, the ones she had to clear. The girl looked for Heartless in all the rooms of each floor carefully, and she even used her Keyblade to create a small light orb to use it as a decoy, but not even one Heartless appeared in first and second floor.
"Could it be that that Keyblade wielder defeated all of them before we came?" thought Xion before deciding to use the stairs.
Xion wanted to see how Roxas was doing, but in the third floor there weren't any Heartless either, so the blond Keyblade wielder was already in the fourth floor. Since he couldn't find any Heartless in the third floor, Roxas did the same thing Xion did and went to the next floor. The fourth floor appeared to be empty, but Roxas could spot two Heartless inside one of the rooms. As he expected, they looked exactly like the Reapers, but they were completely black colored and had a Heartless symbol on their hoodies.
"I'm close to them and they don't even look this way…" thought Roxas, who was now leaning on the wall, next to the room's entrance. "Maybe Lea was right after all…"
Roxas used a Blizzard spell with his Keyblade and froze the Heartless that were in the room, and before they could free themselves, he ran and slashed them. Roxas looked around to make sure there wasn't more Heartless, and then he walked towards the door that led to the corridor. When he got out of the room, Roxas saw that there was one Heartless on his left and another one on his right. The two fake Reapers charged at him as soon as Roxas saw them.
The Guardian before he jumped to dodge the Heartless' attacks. The Heartless were stunned after they collided, so Roxas took this opportunity to attack them with a horizontal slash. The attack didn't destroy them directly, so the two monsters were sent flying through a window, which they broke in the process.
"Oops," said Roxas before he looked out the window. He saw how the Heartless were destroyed after hitting the outside ground. Then he heard someone approaching him, so he quickly turned around with his Keyblade prepared, but when he saw Xion he lowered the sword.
"You aren't the more discreet person, are you?" asked Xion smirking. "I'm sure someone could have heard that from the first floor."
"It was…the spur of the moment," said Roxas scratching his head. "I did it without thinking."
"Yeah, yeah," said Xion playfully.
"Anyway, what are you doing here?" asked Roxas. "Did you finish clearing the first and second floors?"
"Yes and no," replied Xion, leaving Roxas a bit confused. "There weren't any Heartless in the first two floors. I think that Keyblade wielder might have defeated most of the fake Reapers that were in the building."
"I think you're right," said Roxas. "There weren't any Heartless in the third floor, and I could only find four in this one."
"I wonder if Lea could find more up there," said Xion looking at the ceiling.
"I heard a few noises coming from the upper floors when I got to this one," said Roxas. "But I stopped hearing them after a couple of minutes, so surely he's already in the sixth floor."
"Shall we take a look?" asked Xion. "Or do you want to look for more Heartless in this one?"
"Let's go to the sixth floor," said Roxas. "I think it's time to see if that unknown Keyblade wielder is in the rooftop."
Meanwhile Roxas and Xion headed to the stairs to reach the fifth floor, Lea was already the sixth one. There were a few Heartless in the fifth floor, so he took care of them quickly. Some of them were inside rooms, while others were in the corridors, but Lea didn't have any problem and defeated them without doing a lot of noise. He was now in front of a door that led to one of the rooms of the sixth floor. He heard something coming from that room, so he decided to check what was inside.
"All right, let's see who is behind door number sixty two…" said Lea with his left hand grabbing the doorknob, and the right one grabbing his Keyblade. Then, the redhead Guardian opened the door, but much to his surprise, he couldn't see anyone inside. "How strange…"
Suddenly, Lea heard a window breaking, so he turned around, and when he did that, someone jumped at him from behind and covered his eyes.
"Hey, what the-!" said Lea. He was about to grab the person who was on his back and throw said person to the floor, but when he heard the voice of a little girl he stopped.
"I got you now, you meanie fake Reaper!" said the person. "I may be a cute little girl, but at least I'm a real Reaper unlike you!"
"Sorry to interrupt you, but I think you are attacking the wrong person," said Lea after making his Keyblade disappear. "I'm one of the good guys."
"Uh?" said the girl. "You're not trying to trick me, are you? I'll bite you if you are!"
"Can't you tell I'm not a fake Reaper?" asked Lea smiling.
"Now that you mentioned it…you aren't dark and scary like them," said the girl. "And you can talk unlike them, so maybe you're telling the truth."
"How about you get off me and we talk?" asked Lea.
"Mmmm, okay!" said the girl before jumping off the Keyblade wielder's back.
"Thanks," said Lea, and then he turned around to see the face of the girl who mistook him with a fake Reaper. "Who are you, little one?"
"I'm Coco Atarashi, the newest addition to the Reapers!" said the little girl. She had sky blue eyes and shoulder-length pale beige hair with the left side being light purple colored. Her attire consisted of lots of cute pink and candy blue, which surprised Lea a bit. She also had the black wings, confirming that she was indeed a Reaper.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Coco," said Lea. "The name's Lea. Now tell me…what's doing a little Reaper like you in a place like this?"
"I should be the one asking that," said Coco pouting. "There's a Reapers' Game taking place at this moment, so it's normal I'm here."
"Okay, you got me there," said Lea scratching his head. "Wait, there aren't any Players in this building, so you shouldn't be here, am I right?"
"Oooh, you're smarter than I thought," said Coco in awe.
"Hey…" said Lea, feeling kind of insulted.
"Lea?" asked someone, and the redhead turned around and saw Xion and Roxas.
"Oh, did you finish with your floors?" asked Lea.
"There weren't exactly a lot of Heartless, you know?" said Roxas, and then he noticed Coco. "Hey, who's that?"
"I'm Coco!" replied the girl before Lea could. "Are you Lea's friends?"
"Yes, we are," answered Xion with a smile. "I'm Xion and he's Roxas. It's nice to meet you, Coco."
"You are a Reaper," remarked Roxas when he saw the wings on Coco's back. "What are you doing in this building? Did you come to this place because of the fake Reapers that were around here?"
"Correct!" replied Coco pointing at Roxas. "I heard about a boy who attacked a group of Reapers, so I came here to give him a scolding, but I saw him defeating those fake Reapers so maybe he wasn't so bad after all. I was about to leave, but there was still some fake Reapers around, and I decided to hide."
"A guy wearing a yellow coat?" asked Lea.
"Yes, that's it!" said Coco. "Do you know him?"
"No, but we'd like to talk with him," said Xion. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's in the rooftop, I think," replied Coco. "Do you want me to take you there?"
"No, thanks, we can go on our own," replied Roxas. "Actually, I think you should leave this building now that you can."
"Why? I want to help you!" said Coco.
"Sorry, but this is something we have to take care of," said Lea. "Besides, don't you think you should be helping the Players who are in the city at this moment. They need your help more than us."
"You're right…again," said Coco. "Okay, I'll leave this place, but you have to promise you'll be very careful!"
"Sure, no problem," said Lea grinning as he the girl's head, and then Coco opened a window and used her wings to fly outside and reach the street.
"So…the rooftop, huh?" said Xion.
"Do you want to go and take a look or not?" asked Lea.
"We didn't come here for nothing," said Roxas. "Let's go."
The three Guardians walked to the stairs that led to the building's rooftop, wondering who they were going to find there. When Lea reached the end of the stairs, he grabbed the doorknob and looked at the other two, who nodded when their gazes met. Then Lea proceeded to open the door and the three Keyblade wielders crossed it. Now they were in the rooftop, and there was someone else there.
"Look," said Xion pointing at the person who was close to the roof's edge. It was someone wearing a coat that matched the description Kariya gave.
"There he is," said Roxas.
"He looks smaller than I thought he would be…" said Lea. "He might be the same age as you guys."
"Or maybe he's just small for his age," said Xion.
"Let's talk with him," said Roxas, and then he, Lea and Xion started walking towards the cloaked figure.
When the three Guardians got closer to the guy in the yellow coat, he turned his head a little, as if he noticed that there was someone behind him. Roxas, Xion and Lea stopped walking when they saw him moving his head and waited for him to turn around.
"Oh, I didn't expect three Guardians to be here," said the guy in the coat. "How are you doing? This place isn't very interesting, right? When I heard about this 'Underground', I decided to come and see it with my own eyes, but it's kind of boring, don't you think?"
The first thing Roxas, Lea and Xion realized was that they couldn't recognize the voice of the boy wearing the yellow coat, so it was someone they hadn't met before. They also noticed that he sounded young, so Lea was right when he said that he was probably the same age as Roxas and Xion.
"Who are you?" asked Roxas.
"Well, I guess you already know that I am a Keyblade wielder like you," said the cloaked boy, and then he summoned a Keyblade, which shocked the three Guardians. The Keyblade was gold colored and had a black heart printed on the blade. It had a blue handle, and the blade's teeth were comprised of several spikes with the form of lightning bolts. The Keychain had a small charm with a blue demonic eye upon it.
"How about you tell us your name?" asked Lea. "Because if you knew we were Guardians, then you must know who we are."
"Yes, I know who you are…Lea…Roxas…Xion," said the boy. "I can't give you my name, though. But don't get me wrong, I'd tell you, but I can't remember it. I'm still recovering, after all."
"Recovering?" thought Xion confused. "You were the one who killed those Reapers, right? Why did you do that?"
"Well, they attacked me first," said the boy shrugging. "Seriously, what's with them? Attacking a Keyblade wielder just like that. I had to teach them a lesson they wouldn't forget."
"That's not a reason to kill someone!" exclaimed Roxas. "That's not how we solve a problem!"
"Yeah, and that's what makes me sick," said the boy, now sounding more serious than before. "You and all the Keyblade wielders who belong to that guild are pathetic. Where's your pride as Keyblade wielders? Everyone treat you as if you were like them…"
"Are you trying to say that Keyblade wielders are like a superior race or something like that?" asked Lea.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked the boy. "We aren't like those people. We are more powerful than them, and we should be the rulers of the worlds. Why don't you join us?"
"Sorry to say this, but there's no way we would join someone as stupid as you," said Roxas. "We protect the worlds; we don't want to rule over them."
The boy sighed. "I expected you to say that. I guess one of these days I'll have to convince your Guild Master instead, but something tells me that words won't work. I'll have to use a different tactic with him."
"Don't you dare touch Sora, do you hear me!?" shouted Xion when she heard the cloaked guy. She was about to summon her Keyblade, but before the weapon appeared on her hand, she was suddenly hit by something and crashed against the building that was next to the one they were at this moment.
"Xion!" exclaimed Lea and Roxas. Everything happened so fast that they didn't have enough time to react. Lea was attacked from above and he went through the roof, breaking all the floors until he reached the building's first floor. Roxas could summon his Keyblade, but he was disarmed in a second by the boy, who grabbed him by the neck. The blond couldn't believe how strong that guy was.
"W-what are you?" asked Roxas.
"I already told you, I am Keyblade wielder, but different from you and the others," said the boy before he pointed his Keyblade at Roxas. The Guardian was hit with an incredibly powerful strike that made him crash against the street's road after breaking part of the building's wall with his own body.
"What…the hell…" said Roxas as tried to stood up. Whoever that guy was, he wasn't a normal Keyblade wielder. His body ached horribly, and he was only hit once. Roxas looked up and saw how the Keyblade wielder looked at him before disappearing. Roxas looked at the ground and punched it out of frustration since he couldn't believe what just happened. "We have to tell the others about this…and fast…"
-TLG-
So, how was this chapter? Did you like it?
I recently found out about Coco, a character that only appeared in the iOS and Android port of 'The World Ends with You', so I decided to use her in this story. About that last scene…well, you can see that things are starting to get intense here.
To The Dark Dragon Emperor: Some guys are really lucky, huh?
To Guest II: Well, if we are talking about the same people, then I don't think they'll antagonize each other. Each one of them had different affiliations, but they fought for the same thing, so they shouldn't be enemies. Oh, and they are five. I mean, at the beginning they were six, but no one knows what happened with the sixth one, so I'm not going to use it unless we got more information about that person.
To animelover276: It's very possible you'll see him in this story, but I don't remember Square Enix saying that he will be in KH3. Where did you hear that?
To Red Diz: They will be in Radiant Garden when the tournament takes place, but they won't be participating, sorry.
To Drag0n-0f-Shu: He already made an appearance in chapter 6, but fear not, he'll appear more times and will interact with more characters. And don't worry, you can ask me whatever you want about the story, and I'll give you an answer if it's possible.
To AnimeMasterDub: Well, this chapter answered the questions I could reply.
To Guest: I see, but as I said, I'm trying to not use OCs in this story unless is necessary.
To Guest: Yeah, that will be interesting.
To MagatsuIza: Unfortunately, I haven't played the original games, only the reboot. If I got the opportunity to play the original games, maybe I'll use them instead.
To AquaTitaniaMiyuki: 1) Oh, I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much! 2) It is, isn't it? XD Well, their identity will be revealed later, first I want them to interact with the Guardians a few times, like in this chapter.
To Sunny Lighter: 1) If Cardin tries something, he'll be very sorry.2) They aren't fan-made OCs; they are original Kingdom Hearts characters (not from Disney, FF or TWEWY). Not a lot of people know them, so it's normal you still can't figure out. Only one reader here could guess who they are.
To Ventusblade: Good, because there will be more "mysterious characters". As for your guess…no, it's not Young Xehanort, in fact, they aren't Organization XIII members, Replicas, Lingering Wills, Lingering Sentiments or Vanitas.
To fallenstar2013: Humbert) There's actually a command in Birth by Sleep called Confetti that you can purchase at the Medal Shop in the Mirage Arena for 150 medals. Klaus) I know I can use the Wikis to get information about the characters, but it doesn't feel the same. I'll try to play the original DMCs or watch a complete walkthrough.
To Dracoboy259: 1) I have to watch Infinite Stratos before I can add it. Some people have recommended me to watch it. 2) I have some plans for Pokémon, but I haven't decided if I'm going to use it or not, but if I use it, Sora won't be getting any Pokémon because I already have someone who will be his 'animal partner' in this story.
To KingdomWarrior125: I have to watch Infinite Stratos first.
To StarTrail: Yeah, the lost masters have a major role in this fanfic! I'm glad you loved that part of the chapter!
To Mishka-chan0.0: Mostly my own thing. I always try to create my own storyline instead of using the original of an anime/game. However, I'm interested in using the Tartarus Arc of Fairy Tail, but I have to wait until the manga progresses more.
To KeybearerSky13: I added it, although it's not exactly the same. In chapter 9, Sora explained Fairy Tail about the Keyblade War and that there were more Keyblade wielders before, and how some of them tried to control Kingdom Hearts while others tried to defend it.
To toto,toyobo: Personally, I think Ruby fits more the 'fan/admirer' role, the other three are more appropriate candidates to be part of Sora's harem. I haven't watched those animes you've mentioned, so I'll have to take a look at them before use them.
To warrior mage 03: 1) Well, it was more like they agreed to stop the fight. After all, it was only a test to see if Aqua was the Keyblade wielder that Mermaid Heel wanted to recruit (a female and incredibly strong Keyblade Master). 2) Yes, they will be participating, representing Shibusen and Beacon. Each guild/organization that will participate in the tournament will be represented by a team of five members.
To StoryMakerr014: 1) I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying my story! 2) Sorry, but the guy in the white coat is not Eraqus. Besides, the description Blake gave Sora of the coat doesn't match Eraqus' outfit. As for the guy in the yellow coat…sorry, but it's not Riku Replica. The character I'm using is even less known than Riku Replica. Even though I've read the manga, I'm not using it for this story. The characters in the yellow and white coats aren't Organization XIII members, Replicas, Lingering Wills, Lingering Sentiments or Vanitas.
To Reader 101: I don't think so, sorry. In my opinion, that character fulfilled his role in Chain of Memories.
To Guest: Obviously I have something planned so Sora (and Sting Eucliffe, who is also a Guild Master) can participate in the tournament. I'm not going to left the main character of this fanfic out of the competition.
To OrionGold: Maybe. I'd have to watch it first.
To kingdom hearts guy: What is 'Umbra'? If it's an OC of that user, I'll tell you that I don't like using OCs.
To AnimeLover513: I haven't heard of that show, so I don't think so, sorry.