Chapter XXIV; Peace
Yuki blocked a burst of magic from the Scarlet Tango Heartless she was fighting. Beside her number nine, Myruai blocked magic from the Yellow Opera's. Yuki ducked underneath Myruai's out stretched arm. She jumped up and slashed the Yellow Opera's out of the sky. Myruai turned on the Scarlet Tango's and brought her flute to her lips. She played a quick melody that caused the Heartless to fall the the ground and vanish.
The brown haired elite frowned looking at where the Heartless had vanished. Her blue eyes stared at nothing, clouded with thought. Yuki looked at her concerned.
"Myruai?" Yuki asked cautiously. Myruai jumped. She focused on to Yuki with a curious expression. Yuki noticed the Heartless emblem she had was blue outlined in black. The charm on her cost was a music note.
"What is it Yuki?" Myruai asked.
"You just kinda zoned out." Yuki said. Myruai looked up at the sky, trying to think of her reason for zoning out. She tapped her chin with her index finger.
"I guess I just didn't want to fight today." Myruai decided. "After all, we were supposed to be doing recon not fighting." She explained motioning off to the side with her hands. Yuki furrowed her eyebrows in thought.
"What's so bad about fighting?" Yuki asked. Myruai rubbed the back of her head with a nervous laugh.
"Well, I just really don't like fighting. I thinks it's wrong." Myruai said. "I mean, we're Heartless so we shouldn't hurt our own kind. But at the same time, we used to be Somebodies so hurting them is just as wrong." She explained, glancing at Yuki. Yuki looked to the ground thinking about what Myruai had said. It held some merit but wasn't completely true.
"But don't Somebodies hurt us?" Yuki asked softly. Myruai smiled a little at Yuki. She placed her hand on Yuki's head and ruffled her her hair, earning several swats from Yuki.
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." Myruai said placing her hands in her pockets. Yuki looked up at her confused. Myruai gave her a closed eye smile and turned to walk away. "I'm one for peace. Violence doesn't solve problems." She said. Yuki frowned once again.
"What's peace?" Yuki asked, following after Myruai. Myruai laughed. It sounded like a birds song to Yuki.
"You're kidding, right?" Myruai asked looking over her shoulder at the younger Heartless. Yuki shook her head with a straight face. Myruai stopped and looked at her surprised, a placed and on her hip. "Seriously, no ones explained that to you? And you don't remember it?" She asked.
Yuki looked down and shrugged. Her eyes moved around, avoiding the gaze of her superior. Myruai watched her for a minute, waiting to hear if she actually replied. When she didn't, Myruai sighed.
"Tell you what. As soon as we're done I'll show you. I have a good world in mind." She said. Yuki looked up at her and nodded slowly.
"Uh, sure I guess." Yuki agreed. Myruai smirked, turning her back on Yuki again.
"We don't have much more to do. Just checking out Maleficents castle. See if she found out more than she should have." Myruai said guiding the way through the canyon to the castle in question. Yuki remembered being in this world the first time. She had stolen her first and last heart here.
Inside the castle was nothing but dark rooms and Shadow Heartless. Their search proved fruitless as they came to a stop in a strange room with a heart shaped hole in the wall. Yuki looked at it confused. There were many pipes surrounding the hole, going into the walls and floor. Yuki suppressed a shudder. Something about this place was wrong.
"Wow, I didn't know she got this far." Myruai said putting her hand on the edge of the heart shaped hole. She stuck her head and looked from side to side.
"This far?" Yuki asked confused. She wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to preserve heat. She couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong.
"Yeah, she was trying to get to Kingdom Hearts another way. It seems like she got really close before she was killed. You can still feel a remnant of the power she gathered here." Myruai replied, looking back at Yuki. She lost her smile when she saw Yuki looking around. She seemed almost afraid. Myruai stepped back and watched Yuki for a moment. "Are you ok?"
Yuki head snapped towards Myruai, startled by her sudden question.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Yuki said, returning to looking around. "I just don't like this place. It's creepy." She continued. Myruai laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, this place is really creepy, huh?" She agreed. "But we're done here now, so let's go. I'm gonna teach you what peace is." Myruai walked down the steps, stopping next to Yuki. She snapped her fingers, summoning a dark corridor. She held out her hand, which Yuki took with a smile. Myruai guided Yuki through the dark corridor into another world.
On the other side of the corridor was a familiar beach. Yuki gasped seeing Destiny Islands. The sun was high above. The water reflected the light back in a glaring way. The wind blew, moving the leaves of the palm trees. Yuki stepped away from Myruai, releasing her hand. Myruai smiled as she watched Yuki. She sat down on the sand, watching the young Heartless look around.
Myruai laughed to herself bringing out her flute. She watched Yuki a second longer before bringing the flute to her lips and playing a soft melody.
Yuki turned hearing the melody. She stood in silence, just listening. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the song had some nostalgia to it. Like a long forgotten song she had heard once before. It brought a smile to her lips and her eyes began to water. She felt as if she should remember something, but she couldn't. When Myruai finished the song she looked at Yuki and smiled.
"This is what peace is." Myruai said with a soft voice. "Absolute calm, no fighting, no pain. Just quiet and warmth." Yuki smiled looking at the ocean.
"I think I like peace." Yuki said softly.
*3*
Yuki reached the clock tower to see Roxas and Axel together. X and Y sat together not far away. Y looked rather disappointed and X was trying to cheer her up with a whispered conversation. Yuki sat down beside a very confused looking Roxas. It was silent for a second. Axel took it upon himself to break that silence.
"So, where were you Heartless at yesterday?" Axel asked. X and Y glanced at each other and shrugged.
"I was talking to Xion, trying to help her out." Yuki said. Roxas gave Axel a questioning look. Axel responded by putting up his ands and mouthing 'different rules for other girls'. Yuki was confused but decided not to question it.
"What about you two? Did you both forget or something?" Axel asked X and Y to draw attention off of himself. X shrugged again while Y sighed.
"We were looking for something in the realm of darkness." She explained casually. "We lost track of time and didn't get back until way later than anticipated." Axel nodded.
"What were you looking for?" Yuki asked curiously. Y tapped her chin thinking. She smiled coming up with her answer.
"I guess you could call her my wayfinder." Y said cheerfully. Yuki frowned confused. She looked at the ground trying to figure it out. Unable to understand it she shook her head and decided not to try. She was pretty sure a wayfinder was the item Y has as her charm. Why she would be looking for another one confused Yuki. Especially since Y referred to this one like it was a person.
*3*
Day 152- Peace,
Today I was with Myruai, No. 9. She was really calm and didn't like fighting. She had a different view than all the others I've heard. She said since we were Heartless we shouldn't hurt the other Heartless. But she also said since we were once Somebodies we shouldn't hurt them either. She said she was one for peace.
I didn't know what peace was so she took me to Destiny Islands. She said that absolute calm with no fighting. That was peace. I think I like peace.
*3*
Yuki looked up at the clock tower with a small frown. She couldn't see very well but she could tell only Roxas was up there. He had been alone up there a lot lately. He was the first one done almost everyday. Axel usually finished next, followed by Yuki, than X and Y. Xion hadn't come around since her talk with Yuki a few days ago. Yuki had heard from the other Heartless that it was because she had failed to take down someone known as the Organization imposter. He was supposedly dressed as one of Organization 13 and causing mayhem for them. But Yuki hadn't seen him.
Yuki stood silently for a moment thinking. So much was happening, things she wished she could see coming. Things she wished she knew about in exact detail. Her blue eyes suddenly widened thinking of something. She turned and left the station plaza heading out to the forest.
In the forest Yuki quickly worked her way into the mansion just as she had on her last mission here. She didn't hesitate going straight to the room she knew to belong to Naminé. She slipped inside near silently looking around for the familiar blonde.
Naminé looked as though she might not have moved at all since the last time Yuki had been in the mansion. She still sat at the table with her sketch pad on her lap drawing. However on the walls were new drawings. Yuki walked over to one that looked like the room in Maleficents castle in Hallow Bastion. The heart shaped hole was filled in with an array of different colors. Lying in front of it was a red haired girl.
"You actually came back." Naminé said calling Yuki's attention away from the drawing. Yuki looked at her and nodded.
"I said I would, didn't I?" Yuki said. She walked over and sat on the edge of the table like she had the last time she was here. Naminé smiled a little and nodded. She was working on another drawing, thought this time she didn't bother hiding it from Yuki. It looked like X leaning against a wall talking to a boy with spiky brown hair who had his back turned.
"But why did you come back?" Naminé asked. Yuki looked at the drawing while thinking of her answer.
"I was just thinking of all the weird stuff happening, and I thought you might know." Yuki said rubbing the back of her head. "And, I was still curious about what you said before I left. How you were a witch who controlled his memory and those connected to him." She added. Naminé paused in her drawing thinking.
"I can't explain what's going on. It's too much and I'm not supposed to tell." She answered. Naminé continued her drawing before replying to Yuki's second reason. "I can't really explain what I meant by that, it's just the way I said it." She said softly.
Yuki nodded watching her draw. It was peaceful in here with Naminé. Quiet and calm, nothing to distract Yuki except for the colorful drawings on the wall. Yuki thought she could stay there for hours. Maybe she wouldn't leave, just stay here, away from the chaos of the Organizations. But at the same time she knew it wasn't possible. She would have to go back or they would find her and punish her. And maybe hurt Naminé too. That was something Yuki didn't think she could stand.
"Are you alone here Naminé?" Yuki asked. As soon as she asked she realized it was a stupid question. Of course she wasn't alone. Someone had come the last time Yuki was here.
"Not all the time, but a lot of the time." Naminé replied. "They're too worried about him to pay me much mind." She said. Yuki frowned.
"Who's him?" Yuki asked. Naminé shook her head.
"I told you before, I can't tell you. His memories of you are gone, like your memories of him." She said simply, like that explained everything. Yuki frowned still not getting whatever Naminé was trying to say.
"Can't you give me a hint?" Yuki asked. Naminé considered it for a moment but shook her head. Yuki sighed in defeat.
"Ok, fine." Yuki said. "Can you at least explain what you mean by the memories of me being gone?" She asked hopefully. Naminé shook her head again. Yuki sighed and watched Naminé draw for a little while longer. She studied the way the blonde Nobody looked, why she wasn't sure. But she wanted to remember every detail she could.
Yuki had no idea how long she sat with Naminé silently. It didn't register with her that time even existed. She only moved when she heard footsteps approaching.
Yuki stood quickly facing the door. Naminé looked up at her concerned. Yuki smiled down at her, meeting her blue eyes.
"Sounds like my cue." Yuki said summoning a dark corridor. "I'll come back again sometime. Take care Nami." She said before fleeing through the dark corridor. Naminé once again smiled as she watched the dark corridor close.
*3*
Day 153- Just The Same,
I didn't go to the clock tower today. Instead I decided to go visit Naminé. I like being there with her. It's peaceful. But she still didn't explain much about what she's doing. Her answers were just the same.