A/N: Hello, everyone. If you've been follow Kristen Verne's KH Universe, including the story I wrote for her for her birthday, you should know about my OC, Sasuke Kazekiri. Those of you who don't know, it'll be explained in this story. With Kris's approval, I decided to write my own spinoff story for this character, seeing how he hasn't really been fleshed out that much yet. What I'm doing is somewhat similar to Kris's Training Series, in that it focuses on only world, hence why it's labeled as a crossover. This will probably be a lot longer than any of Kris Training Stories though. This world is based on Final Fantasy IV(4), my personal favorite in the main series. I don't know whether or not I'll be doing an other worlds/stories for Sasuke in the future.
EDIT(6/16/2021): Due to Kris completely rewriting her next gen stories, the conversations between Sora's family have been changed.
The Dark Knight and the Summoner
Yurisa: "So you're our godfather, right?"
Sasuke: "That's right! Never expected it, I honestly expect them to chose Lea, but I'm honored nonetheless."
Kairi: *giggles* "Well considering your father was made my mother's godfather, and my father was made yours, I thought it'd be fitting to continue that trend one more time. Of course, after that you made me Hinata's godmother."
Kyo: "Say Sasuke! I was told you went on many adventures, right?"
Sasuke: "Yep! After Radiant Garden's fall, I had traveled through other worlds, training myself to become stronger, possibly even surpass your grandfather Kaname. While also hoping to find my missing friends along the way."
Kyo: "I see. So what kind of adventures have you been on? I really want to hear about what you've been doing!"
Sasuke: "Oh, I don't really know if any of them are worth telling... Actually scratch that. If there is one adventure that's worth telling it's my very first one."
Yurisa: "Really?"
Sasuke: "Yeah, as it was the adventure that picked me back up from a state of hopelessness."
Kyo: "Wow! Please tell us!"
Sasuke: "Alright, but it's gonna be a long one."
Sora: "You've got plenty of time. You're on vacation after all."
Sasuke: "True."
I was once a soldier in training in a place called Radiant Garden. A fifteen year old prodigy swordsman, as I was often told. I was the apprentice of the greatest swordsman I've ever known, Kaname Mae. He taught me a lot: the art of a sword, what it means to be a soldier and a man, what it means protect what you cherish. Back then, what I had to protect was what little family I had. My mother, Momo, had fallen ill in the last three years and had been bedridden for months, but despite that she was always able to take things in stride, and gave me her support. I never knew my father, as he died before I was born. But Master Kaname was the closest thing I ever had to a father. His wife, Rimi, was very accepting of me, even helped me take care of my mother from time to time. And their little girl, Kairi, was like a little sister, though due to my training and taking care of my ill mother, I was unable to play with her very often, unlike another boy she saw as a surrogate brother. Lea Fahrenheit got to spend more time with her than I ever did, which I admit made me a little jealous. As such, he and I were sort of like brothers, though we were the kind that disagreed a lot. I was content with the way things were. And I thoroughly enjoyed every second of my life. That is...until tragedy struck. My home world fell to darkness. My mother was killed in the collapsing of our house. Master Kaname and Rimi died from sword wounds. Lea and Kairi were nowhere to be found. And now, through means I can't fathom, I found myself stranded on another world entirely.
It was a world called the Land of Twin Moons. It was fittingly named, because unlike back home, which had one moon in the sky, this world had two, one of them having a barely noticeable tint of red. I awoke on the coast of a desert continent, found by a trade sailor who had just docked. He led me to the nearest settlement, an oasis village in the middle of the desert, Kaipo, a small village with a huge lake right next to it. The look of this village told me that this world was a bit... primitive compared to home. It had been four days since my arrival. I spent those days wandering aimlessly around the village, reliving the horrors of that fateful night. And more importantly, wondering what I should do. I mean, what could I do? I lost everything that I had to protect. I was stranded in a new world with no means of leaving. I was essentially a rōnin now, a wandering samurai who had lost his master. Needless to say, I had lost motivation to do anything. I had thought about resuming my training to become stronger, as I had vowed to my master's grave. But where do I start? Where do I go from here? I was a hopeless wreck.
Now I lied down in a bed in the Kaipo Inn on the evening of the fourth day. I had always found it odd how one room had eight beds, but whatever. As I lied there, my thoughts turned to little Kairi; I couldn't help but wonder where she was, or if she was even alright. But regardless of what became of her, I was convinced that I was never going to see her again. Soon, my attention was grabbed by new guests in the room. Guests that, little did I know, were going to help restore my hope in life. There was a figure clad in dark armor. His intimidating appearance alone put me a little on edge. My sixth sense wasn't as in tuned as Master Kaname's, but I could sense a dark aura around him. I was surprised that I could already see the darkness in a person's heart, but then I did a double take and realized that it wasn't really emanating from his heart, but rather from that armor he wore and that sword strapped to his back.
Then I saw what he had in his arms, or rather who. It was a little girl with emerald green hair decorated with a hairpin. She wore what looked like a dark blue leotard, a yellow uneven skirt, a white short cape around her shoulders, pink bracelets, and yellow slippers with strings that tied around her ankles. She appeared to be out cold. The Dark Knight didn't seem to acknowledge my presence, more focused on the girl. I watched as he laid her on a bed at the other end of the room and sat on the bed next to hers. I stayed quiet, pretending to be asleep, not wanting to draw attention to myself unless I needed to.
Discreetly keeping one eye open, I saw the Dark Knight remove his helmet, revealing shoulder length, snow white hair and blue eyes. What I saw next surprised me. As he looked at the girl, I saw a look of sorrow and regret in his eyes. Soon I saw the girl stir, her blue eyes opened as she looked at the knight with eye filled with grief and resentment.
"Are you okay?" the knight spoke gently. The girl didn't answer, just glared. "My name is Cecil Harvey," the knight continued, "What's yours?" Again no answer. This time the girl just turned away from the him, causing him to look down in shame. "I'm so sorry about what happened to your mother. I honestly didn't know that would happen. I understand if you never forgive me. But will you at least let me protect you? To atone for my sin?"
It was clear to me that something happened between these two. And apparently this girl's mother was involved. Looking at the Dark Knight, Cecil, I could see the pain on his face. You'd expect Dark Knights to not care much for anything. It just goes to show that appearances can be deceiving. It seemed to me that underneath that darkened armor was a gentle soul. Still, I remained wary of him just in case. I had half a mind to speak up, but I decided against it. I figured whatever happened was none of my business. After the both them seemed to have fallen asleep, I decided that it was about time I got some shuteye as well, so I did.
But later we were all woken up by a loud crash at the door. In came three soldiers clad in red armor, plus one more clad in green armor. Cecil had climbed out of his bed as the soldiers approached him, walking passed me, again no one acknowledging my presence.
"So this is where we find you, Dark Knight Cecil," said the one in green armor.
"What are you doing here?" asked Cecil.
"The King of Baron has decreed that all Summoners of Mist are too dangerous to let live," the soldier stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"What!?" Cecil shouted before taking a quick glance at the girl, who was frightened by that statement.
"Hand over the girl, Cecil," the soldier said coldly. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. They were here to kill that little girl? I didn't know what a Summoner was, but who in their right minds would harm an innocent child? Needless to say, I was disgusted by these men, and this king they served.
Cecil then drew his dark sword. "I won't let you lay a finger on her!"
"You'd betray your king?"
"Betray him?!" Cecil put his helmet back on. "Any king who'd wish for this is no king of mine!" That statement erased any doubt I had about this man.
"Then you leave us no choice. We'll have to dispose of you both!"
Having heard enough I finally stood up, tired of just sitting there doing nothing. Drew my sword, a katana that has a slightly wider blade than normal, christened Moon Cutter. This got everyone's attention.
"What the...Who the heck are you?" the green armored captain asked me.
"I don't entirely know what's going on," I told him, "but the killing of innocent children does not sit well with me."
The captain laughed. "And what does a kid like you think he's doing meddling in affairs that don't concern him? You think you're big stuff just because you carry a sword? How delusional!"
Predictable. Of course he'd underestimate me due to my age. Still, this was my first time in a fight to the death, unless you counted fending off a few mindless black creatures with glowing yellow eyes. But this was against a human, and a supposedly superior fighter. I knew couldn't afford to be careless. "We'll see who's delusion!"
"Attack!" the captain shout. The soldiers charged at Cecil while I attacked the captain. I started clashing swords with him left and right. All the while I could feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins. I knew that one wrong move could be my last. This man was naturally strong than me. I had to use wit to win this fight. After we locked blade, I managed to slip through his defense an slash him in his unarmored shin. But that only seem to tick him off. As I attempt to strike again, he swung at my sword so hard that the force left me wide open. Next he brought his sword down on me, aiming to cut me in two. I pulled back fast enough to avoid that fate, but the blade caught me on the right side of my face, down my eye. Feeling liquid running down my face, I kept my right eye shut so the blood wouldn't get in. I stopped in my tracks and pointed Moon Cutter at my opponent. Using a technique Master Kaname taught me, I charged energy into my sword, focusing on sharpening the edges. Then I quickly thrusted forward, shouting, "Breakthrough!" He attempted to defend with his sword, but my attack broke his sword, pierced through his armor, and stabbed through his heart. After a few seconds, the captain's body fell limp.
Right as I pulled my sword out of his chest, I heard Cecil shout, "Leave her alone!" I looked over to his battle. I saw one of the soldiers dead on the ground, and the other two still fighting. I saw a lot of dark energy gathering around his sword. Something told me I should probably crouch down right now, and so I did. Then Cecil swung his sword as he shouted, "Dark Wave!" and a wave of dark energy erupted, blasting the soldiers back, one of them flying over my ducked head, shattering their armor, and leaving them a bloody mess. They were as good as dead.
After it was over, I stood back up, holding the wounded right side of my face, panting heavily as the events sunk in. My first fight to the death, my first battle wound, and most of all, my first kill. It was incredibly overwhelming. I felt sick to my stomach. So this is what real battle felt like, I thought. So this is what it's like to take a life. Thankfully, Master Kaname had already given me advice on how to deal with the emotional stress of a first kill. As long as I remember why I killed, to protect an innocent life, I should be okay within a couple days. I looked over at Cecil who was kneeling on the floor, panting from exhaustion after that dark attack of his. It must've taken a lot out of him. This man clearly wasn't meant to use the power of darkness. It made me wonder if his status as a Dark Knight was really his choice.
I looked at the girl, who sat in her bed, looking down. Soon she hop out of bed and walk up to Cecil. "Are you okay?" she finally spoke. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble."
"Don't be," replied Cecil as removed his helmet. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. But, I won't let anything happen to you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The girl finally smiled, albeit weakly. It was clear it was gonna take some time for her to adjust. "I'm Rydia."
"Rydia. Nice to meet you." Cecil then turned to me. "You there. What's your name?"
"Sasuke...Sasuke Kazekiri," I answer.
"Sasuke. I want to thank you for you assistance. You're pretty skilled with a sword for someone your age."
"Thanks. I was trained by the best. Though I will admit, that was the first time I've ever been in a fight to the death."
Cecil then looked concerned. "So was that you're first kill then?" Good to know he was considerate.
"Yeah, but don't worry about me. I was taught a good trick to help me deal with it. As long as it was to save a life, I should be okay."
The girl then walked up to me, grabbing the arm that was holding my face. "Can I see?" she asked. I was reluctant at first, but just looking at this girl, somehow she reminded me of Kairi. After a few seconds, I remove my hand from my wound, my right eye still closed. Out of the inner corner of my left eye, I could see Rydia looking at my wound with great concern. Is it that bad? I thought. "Here let me help," she said as she put her hands together. After a few seconds she reached her palms toward my face and said, "Cure." There was a green light, and I could feel the pain subsiding. Once the light ended, I could see she still looked concerned. "Sorry, I'm not really good at white magic. I stopped the bleeding, but...I'm afraid that's gonna leave a scar."
I took my sword and looked at my reflection on the blade. Feeling safe to do so, I opened my right eye to get a good look. Indeed there was a great cut that ran from above my right eyebrow down to the bottom of my cheek. That would definitely leave a scar. I was lucky the blade only barely nicked my eyelid, otherwise I would've lost my eye. Looking at it for a few seconds, I decided that it didn't look that bad. In fact I kind of liked it. It reminded me not to get careless in battle. It would also show others that I've faced real combat.
I was brought out of my thoughts when Rydia said, "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."
I saw the look of regret on her face, something I just couldn't bear to see. So I decided to try and cheer her up. "Hey, don't worry about it," I said. "My master always taught me to put innocent lives above my own." I then chuckled a little as I patted the girl on the head. "Besides, what's a scratch on my face, anyways? At least I didn't lose an arm or a leg. That would've ruined my career for sure." The girl seemed to brighten up a little.
"That's an interested sword you have, by the way," said Cecil as he stood up. "I've never seen a katana with a blade that wide."
"It's called Moon Cutter," I replied as I sheathed the sword. "It's...one of a kind."
"So tell me. What brings a young swordsman like you to a quiet little village like Kaipo?"
I was hesitant to answer at first. I thought it unwise to reveal that I was from another world, but I didn't want to outright lie to them. So I decide to be vague while hopefully being satisfactory. "No reason in particular." I looked down to the ground. "To be honest...I'm not sure what I'm doing right now. You could say that I've recently become something like a rōnin."
"A rōnin?" asked Rydia.
"You mean...you lost your master?" asked Cecil.
"Not just my master though," I answered. "I lost everything I knew." I looked out the window, at the night sky. "I don't really want to talk about it. All I can say is that I've got nothing left. And now I don't know what to do with my life. I've considered continuing my training, like my master would've wanted me to. But without his guidance,...I don't even know where to begin."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Cecil said sympathetically.
"So you lost something too." Rydia said, prompting me to glance at here to see her looking down again.
I then looked to Cecil and asked, "So what's your story? What was the deal with those soldiers?"
Cecil crossed his arm in thought before saying, "I guess I should start at the beginning. As a Dark Knight, I use to serve under the king of Baron. I was the captain of Baron's airship force, the Red Wings. My loyalty to him...stemmed from the fact that he took me in as an orphan, and raised me as his own." I could see where he was coming from there. I felt something similar for Master Kaname. "Back then, he was a kind and just ruler. He really was a good person. That's is, until recently when he suddenly changed."
"Suddenly?" I asked.
"I don't know what happened to him, but he suddenly became greedy and ruthless. It showed when he ordered us to retrieve the Crystal of Water from Mysidia... by any mean necessary." Cecil looked down in shame. "Which meant taking it by force should they refuse to hand it over. What's worse is the mages didn't even raise an arm. They put up no resistance. It was a slaughter. So many were killed meaninglessly, all for one Crystal. I was a coward. A coward who couldn't disobey orders he knew he ought not follow. I guess such was the price for being a Dark Knight. After I handed the Crystal to the King, I worked up the nerve to question his intensions, but all that did was get me demoted; stripped of my command of the Red Wings. Even my best friend, Kain, got in trouble when he defended me."
It just didn't add up. How could such a kind sounding ruler turn so ruthless in the blink of an eye? And treating his own adopted son like that? Something fishy was going here. Something told me there was a lot about this picture that none of us were seeing.
"The king then ordered me and Kain to deliver a Carnelian Signet to the Village of Mist, and slay the Eidolon that guarded the Mist Cave."
I saw Rydia frown at that. I was confused as to what an Eidolon was. "Eidolon?" I asked.
"A powerful mystical being said to come from a far away land," Cecil answered. "Eidolons come in many shapes, or so I'm told. The one guarding the cave was a Mist Dragon, a dragon capable of transforming itself into mist. We encountered it at the end of the cave, and it gave us a warning to turn back now or face death. Not wanting to disobey the king, we ignored its warning, and slew the dragon,...a choice we would later regret."
I saw Rydia walk back to her bed and sat in it while curled into a ball. I could see this was reaching into touchy territory for her.
"The moment we arrived in Mist, the Carnelian Signet suddenly glowed and without warning a pack of explosive monsters called Bombs came out of it and started burning down the village." Cecil then clutched his fist. "I couldn't believe what was happening. We were sent to Mist so we could burn it to the ground!" I agreed with his disgusted tone, it was just barbaric! "But, that's not the worst part." He looked to Rydia. "In the midst of the fire, we found a poor little girl crying over her mother's dead body. And it was then we learned a terrible truth."
"What truth?" I asked.
Cecil returned his gaze at me. "You see, Mist is inhabited by a tribe of Summoners, whom are capable of conjuring up Eidolons. I don't really know how it works, but apparently when a Summoner summons an Eidolon, their souls are linked somehow. And unfortunately, when a summoned Eidolon dies... so does the Summoner who summoned it."
Hearing that, I froze in shock. Right away, I knew exactly where this was going. Looking at Rydia, who now had tears running down her cheeks, the tension between these two made sense now. "The Mist Dragon you slew in the cave,... was her mother's," I said with great sadness.
Cecil nodded. "By killing the Eidolon, we had unknowingly killed her mother in the process. We realized then that the king had wish for us to slaughter the Summoners." Genocide, a cruel excuse for the mass murder of a specific group of people. This was unforgivable. "It was then that I lost all respect for the king I had served. Kain and I decided we should leave Baron behind and get out of there, but we couldn't just leave the girl there, so we decided to take her with us. But, understandably, knowing what we did, she wanted nothing to do with us. In her rage she had summoned a giant-like Eidolon that then created a massive earthquake."
I remembered feeling a great tremor earlier that afternoon. Now I know what caused it.
"I blacked out after that. I awoke on the plain a mile way from the village, on the other side of a great landslide. I found the girl nearby, out cold but otherwise okay." The dark knight looked down in sorrow. "Kain, however, was nowhere to be found. I hope he's alright. I had to take the girl someplace safe, where she could rest. So I brought her to the closest village I could reach, Kaipo. The rest you know."
It was a lot take in. I regretted asking him to tell me. To say they had it rough would've been an understatement. "I'm sorry all that happened,...to the both of you," I could only say.
"Never again will I take part in such heinous tasks!" Cecil declared. "I will not stain my hands with the blood of anymore innocents."
"So what are you gonna do now?"
Cecil thought for a second. "I guess we'll stay here for a while longer, give us a little time to adjust to our circumstances."
"I wouldn't stay too long though," I advised. "Who knows when more Baron soldiers will show up?"
"True," Cecil replied. "I'll give us three days tops. Then we'll start heading north. Maybe we can find refuge in Damcyan. What about you?"
I paused to think. I still wasn't sure. "Like I said before: I don't really know what I should do right now."
I thought and I thought, until Cecil said, "You're welcome to come with us if you want."
To say I was stunned at his offer would've been an understatement. "A-are you sure? An apprentice swordsman like me?"
"Why not?" Cecil smiled at me. "You've proven you can hold your own in battle. I could even help you with your training along the way. Besides, you look like you need a new direction to go. I'm simply offering one to you. And hopefully you'll be able find the answer as we go."
I thought about it for a moment. He had a point. It sure seemed better than standing in the same spot doing nothing but waiting for something to happen. My train of thought was broken when I felt something grab my wrist. I looked to see Rydia, who had stopped crying, looking at me with a smile on her face. That smile...reminded me of the smile little Kairi use to give me. I could also see a look of pleading in her eyes. After looking at that face, it was impossible to refuse. I put my hand over my heart, a gesture I use as a sign of respect, and said, "Dark Knight Cecil Harvey, Summoner Rydia, I would be honored to join you on your journey."
"Glad to hear it," said Cecil. "But while we're still here in this village, I suggest we get you a more suitable traveling attire. Those look too worn out and unfit for battle."
I looked down at my navy blue training suit. I hadn't noticed until now how ripped and torn it was. Yeah, I was definitely gonna need to get some new duds first thing in the morning.
A/N: And there's the first chapter. I don't know how often I'll update this but I'll try my best. Also anyone who can guess where I got the title of this story gets a virtual cookie.
Please review. Let me know what you think.
