Okage Hearts

Chapter 12

Sorry to take so long to update. I still don't own Okage or Kingdom Hearts. I wonder how many of the people who read my stories read these disclaimers. Well, disclaimer readers, it's nice to see you figuratively. Well, time to continue the story. Now: Story Begin!

Ari led his group of high ranking psychopaths into his home one by one, though the Princess had entered at the same time as him, as she hadn't let go of his hand in the ten seconds between grabbing it and getting to the door. Stan, meanwhile, was in Ari's shadow, so he was in at the same time as well. Once Ari entered, he was, of course spotted by Annie and her pink shadow.

"Mom!" Annie shouted in her inimitable way, "Ari's home and he brought a girl and a bunch of other people!"

As a result of Annie's shouting, Ari found himself swarmed by his entire family while Princess Marlene was holding his hand. When he was here last time, his mother had all but told him to get a girlfriend. And now, here he was, returned home with a girl holding his hand. He knew how his mother though and so Ari began wondering whether coming home was a good idea, after all. Julia was missing and he couldn't do anything about it until he finished the quest at hand, so this entire thing could be considered a wash. He murmured his greetings to his family, and was then assaulted by a barrage of questions from his mother.

"Ari, how are you?" she began before launching the rest of her volley, "Have you been enjoying your adventures? Are you eating right? Who are all of these people? Why does that woman have a parasol open in the house? Is that your girlfriend?"

Ari turned to the legion of psychosis behind him and the Princess who had immediately removed her hand from his upon hearing the last question. Using his usual quiet tone, he asked the Princess, "Do you mind answering those questions? It'll save everyone the trouble of having to have me repeat myself."

Nodding her head, Princess Marlene turned to Ari's mother and said, "In order of your questions? Servant Ari seems to be doing well, thought I'm unsure of how he feels about his quest, as I met him when he had completed a mission to rescue me, for which I am grateful. I don't know if he's eating properly, as I have yet to see him eat at all, though we only met yesterday."

"He hasn't eaten at all," Stan commented, taking the opportunity to come out of Ari's shadow, "That's a bit disturbing, since I need him at full health."

"As do I, King Stan," Marlene replied before continuing, "I presume, due to the story that King Stanley Hihat Trinidad the XIV has presented, that you know of the Shadow Evil King's role in your son's life. The gentleman in the dark clothing is my butler, Beiloune, who is a very loyal butler. The scientist in the lab coat is the esteemed scientist, Doctor Gutten Kisling, an analyzer of the supernatural. The lady with the parasol is the Hero Rosalyn, and while I don't know why she has it open, her arguments with King Stan have led me to believe that she has an issue with her shadow that he had caused. As for myself, I am Princess Marlene. and due to extenuating circumstances, I currently own Seventy percent of Servant Ari."

Unnoticed by the rest of the crowd, she had managed to completely ignore the final question. Ari was impressed. He'd never been able to avoid a question so skillfully, but then again, he'd never really been asked questions that often as it was.

"That's interesting," Ari's mother said, "But I have to get dinner ready. Do you want to help me, Your Highness? I'm sure it'll be an interesting learning experience."

"That does sound intriguing," the Princess remarked, "Very well, let's be off."

"So you specialize in the supernatural?" Ari's father asked, directing his question at Kisling, "Well, I have some items that you might find interesting. First there's the..."

As Ari's father and Kisling left for the basement, Beiloune headed to the kitchen, presumably to keep an eye on the Princess. Ari's grandparents, meanwhile, returned to the room they were last in And so, Ari found himself alone in a room with Stan, Rosalyn and Annie.

"Let's see," Ari muttered to himself, "Rosalyn is angry with Stan for turning her shadow pink, and Annie also has a pink shadow. This is going to be fun."

Ari managed to fall asleep during the argument. At least he hoped he did. Being rendered unconscious seemed to be fast becoming a prevalent theme for the poor Keyblade wielder. At any rate, he was asleep when he heard his mother call everyone to dinner. Confused, since he was certain that he had gotten home at noon at the latest, he determined that either something was horribly wrong with his hearing, or no one had woken him up at lunchtime. Deciding that it was probably the latter by the darker state of the room he was in, Ari simply got up and headed to the dining room. Noticing that everything was set already, with everyone else seated, he placed himself at his normal seat, only to find that Marlene was seated across from him while his mother was smiling at them in what Ari was certain was her plotting face.

"So, tell us about yourself, Your Highness," Ari's mother prompted gently.

"Well, I must admit, my memory of the past is rather fuzzy at the moment," Marlene confessed, "I know I was waiting for something, but I can't for the life of me recall what it was. At any rate, I was wandering lost and confused for some time before Beiloune found me and reminded me of who I was. According to him, I wanted to head out on an adventure, but I got lost, and he only found me after whatever happened to remove a good portion of my memory."

"I was surprised to find the Princess wandering through a wasteland area without anyone else around," Beiloune added helpfully, "I shudder at the thought of what would have happened if I hadn't found her quickly enough. For now, I'm satisfied with her quick recovery, and we are traveling through the land in the hopes of restoring her memories to their original state."

"I see," Ari's mother stated, "So, how have things been since you were rescued?"

"Well, I've been having a good time," Marlene smiled, "Servant Ari makes good company, though I can't help but feel I've met him before."

The dinner continued with Ari's mother asking different questions of Princess Marlene throughout the meal. Ari's room was offered to the group, while Marlene was going to bunk with Annie. Deciding that he didn't want to be trapped in a room with Rosalyn and Stan, Ari decided to sleep in the living room, and so he headed there and went back to sleep, not knowing it would soon be interrupted.