Hi there again! After a long summer, some summer classes, and a bunch of ideas/one shots for other fanfics, I'm finally here with another chapter! Well, I actually have had 3 of these chapters completely organized in my notes for who knows how long at this point. I couldn't post 2 of the chapters yet, they both take place a little too far into the future, one in the time hinted at last chapter, during KHχ[Chi], and the other during KHUx.

Well, today, we are now doing a turn back for Sora. It's his first winter season in Daybreak Town or possibly early spring with the still cold air of winter around, so it's only been a few months since the festival took place. We're going to meet a couple of people who will be coming back later on.

Gotta read more to see what I mean. So without further ado, enjoy!

*NOTE/SPOILER WARNING: It takes place AFTER KHIII*

NOTE 2: Lots of retelling of the experience of "Player" in KHχ[Chi] but in Sora's View

NOTE 3: Sora is NOT Player, he's just got similar experiences. Player exists somewhere doing the main story, but they don't cross paths... I Think...

NOTE 4: Going backwards to Sora's first winter months here.

DATE: August 2, 2022

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Chapter 12: Freedom And The Wind

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The morning was cold, and the wind was gently blowing as Sora dug his hand into the mailbox, checking for its new content. As he walked back up to his room, he looked through all the letters he had gotten. There were a few items, but nothing of importance so far. The first was a letter from the housing association, reminding everyone of fireplace safety and hot water management. The next few were a couple of flyers for the in-season foods being sold and clothing to keep warm during the cold winter months. Then behind those were a combination of letters from his Union's Association as well as the weekly progress report about how much lux he has collected and submitted. The final letter was in a simple yellow envelope with only his name on it. He thought he recognized the handwriting, but he had to make sure. When he opened it, Chirithy got up on his shoulder to see what was written.

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Hey Sora,

I hope you check your mail. I mean, you're reading this, right? So I guess you do.

Well, I'm sorry, I can't come with you today for the team mission.

But don't worry! I asked a friend of mine to go with you.

I met her on a few missions while in Wonder Land.

She's really cool! She'll be filling in for me today.

DON'T ask why I can't come, and DON'T come over!

PLEASE!

Do your best on the mission,

[Insert Name Here]

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Both looked curiously at the message and wondered, was she alright? While she did request that Sora didn't ask and not to visit, he was still concerned. Was something wrong? Did she get into trouble? If so, he needed to make sure that she was alright. So, like the good friend he is, he chose to ignore the last lines and make his way over to her dorm room. He acts this way because, for as long as they've been together training, she wasn't one to ever push away his company. So, something serious really had to be happening for this to even be written.

Sora and Chirithy quickly ran over and made it to the door of her room. He tried his best to keep calm when he knocked on the door, but as soon as it was open a crack, he rushed into the room knocking [Insert Name Here]'s Chirithy back in the process. The little Chirithy went tumbling back and hit the wall behind the door.

"Sora?" The little Chirithy spoke while dizzily trying to reorient herself. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry Chirithy, but I just couldn't leave her alone. If she's in trouble, I'm going to be here." He helped her stop spinning, expression serious, and all attention on her.

"No Sora, it's not like that, it's…" Just as Chirithy was about to explain, [Insert Name Here] exited the bathroom clutching her stomach, as she shakily made her way back to the bed. She ignored her surroundings as she plopped onto the bed, threw on the blanket, and curled into a fetal position.

"Chirithy," she moaned, "Get me the medicine the doc said to take please?" She clearly wasn't getting up from under those covers.

Sora and his Chirithy grew embarrassed as they saw her and now understood why the letter was sent. Looks like he had the wrong ideas, but still wanted to help her in any way they could.

"Sure thing, just get some rest." Her Chirithy yelled out. Then immediately, she spun over to the two trying with all her might to push them out the door. She whispered to them, "Go wait outside, I'll be there after this."

The two followed her orders and waited outside her dorm room. It took a few minutes before her Chirithy poofed in next to them. That's when they found out she had a case of an upset stomach. Though she wouldn't elaborate more on the subject, the point was, that she wasn't feeling good to do missions for today and possibly for the next few days to come. Sora and Chirithy weren't happy about not being able to help, but there wasn't much they could do except go on the mission she supposedly signed them up to do together before the whole incident.

"So Chirithy, [Insert Name Here] said something about a friend taking her place for the mission?"

"Yep, she's quite the character!" She paused, looking Sora up and down, "Hmm, now that I get a good look at you, I can really see why that happened on their first meeting."

"Huh?" Before Chirithy could elaborate further, [Insert Name Here] called out for her.

"Chiiirriiithttthyyy..."

"Oh, I gotta go you two, but before that, you'll find her friend at the fountain. She's someone I'm positive you won't be able to miss." That was all Chirithy said before poofing away, back to her wielder's side.

What did her Chirithy mean by that anyway? Without a name or a description, he didn't really think this friend would be someone he'd be able to know was waiting for him. But maybe [Insert Name Here] told her about him already? Well, he chose not to think too hard about it and just roll with it. So, the two made their way to the fountain in the plaza.

When they arrived, the plaza was surprisingly bare. Hardly anyone was here, and the few that were, they didn't look like they were going to be sticking around too long. Those few were either running off to complete their missions or passing to go to the shops or eateries. So with not a single clue about who her friend was, the two decided to sit down at the fountain and wait, hoping that this mysterious friend arrived soon.

While waiting, Sora ended up nodding off and Chirithy was resting on his lap keeping an eye out for said friend. But a voice coming from behind startled her and Sora was jolted awake as they heard, "So that's what she meant? Wow! She was right!"

Sora looked around, slightly drowsy as he looked for the source. He turned around and saw a girl, "Wait, what?"

"Oh, guess you've been waiting awhile. Sorry! Just got back from a mission with my own group. I found the letter in the mailbox when I got back and ran over as soon as I could. I'm [Insert Name Here]'s friend, so now you're my friend too!"

Now that Sora was more awake, he noticed quite a few things about her. She looked pretty young, probably younger or the same age as [Insert Name Here], but he couldn't judge that since he's met so many who don't look their age. Some looked younger and were much older or vice versa, he eventually just resorted to not asking unless they allowed it or waited for them to say their age themselves. Her hair was an auburn color and was wildly spiky, almost as wild as his hair. The longer strands were straighter and the length was just above her waistline. Her eyes were small but they were quite expressive. It was like they were smiling along with the big toothy grin upon her face. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"Well then, nice to meet you, uhm?"

"Oh, right! I never said my name. Hi! I'm Elephteria, but I think my name is too long. So just call me by my nickname, Ellie."

"Oh and I'm-"

"Sora!" Ellie exclaimed it all too gleefully.

"I guess she told you a few things about me."

"Yeah, she told me lots! Like how you battled on the first day when you got here! She said you were so cool! I wish I could have seen it. But I was on a mission… I think in Wonder Land? But I really really really wanted to see you fight after she told me! Also, now that I think about it, you're probably the same guy one of my group leaders was talking about too!"

"Really?" Sora's eyes widened curiously.

"Yeah!" Ellie spread her arms out wide as she explained, "I think you're the biggest thing people talk about. The way you fought was so cool and everyone wasn't expecting you to know how to fight. I think a lot of us who come here don't really know how to fight when we get here. When I got here, I just whacked at it until I figured out my own style. Now I'm much better! You may be a good fighter, and you look a lot older than me, but I'm the senior to you since I was here longer."

Sora could only chuckle at that, deciding to mess up her hair like he would [Insert Name Here] Chirithy's fur when she was being cheeky. Ellie could only protest before he stopped and they got serious.

"Hmm, so what's the mission?" She pulled out the paper that was sent to her in the mail and read it aloud. "Oh! We're doing a big raid boss mission in Agrabah! Nice! It's been too cold here in Daybreak Town. Wonder Land was no better today, that's where I was for the group mission. We can beat the cold over in the sandy desert!" She looked closer at the paper, "Oh? A max of six teammates signed up? Yay! We get to work with new friends!"

"Sounds good to me, the more help the better!"

"I wonder who they'll be?" Ellie was looking excited with working alongside those she hasn't met yet. Sora was too, also wondering who'd be their partners temporarily. The thought of working together with others made him think back to his adventures with Donald and Goofy again, when he would work with his new friends while in their worlds. He wondered how they were doing and if everyone was enjoying their, more or less, peaceful days.

"Hello, Sora?"

"Oh, uh, sorry." He scratched his cheek, smiling a little embarrassed he wasn't paying attention.

"So ready to prepare stuff before we go?" Sora nodded and then the two got to planning. They took a little time to gather a few items, reorganize their decks, and then they were off. Ellie got her keyblade out to open up a gateway to Agrabah and they made their way on through.

When the two exited the portal, Ellie immediately dove into the sand, lying down on it. She was enjoying the warmth for a little before Sora offered his hand to help her get back up. Her clothes were now covered with sand, though she didn't mind. When she looked up, she looked pleased with herself, she seemed to have aimed her portal in the right direction. Out there, just about a few minutes walk, there was a giant crab slowly walking in the middle of the desert. Her eyes went wide with surprise and excitement as she recognized the creature, "Oh, I've heard of this before from one of my group leaders. That's a Fortress Crab! Be careful Sora, I heard even though they're so big, they are super fast and hit really hard. They usually don't attack, but if they do, they like to use Sleep, so we gotta watch out for that."

"Good to know. Ready to take it out?"

"Ready!" Both nodded at one another and they went out to fight the giant raid boss heartless.

When they arrived close enough, they saw how big the heartless really was, about as big and as tall as a building. The best Sora could compare the creature to was the size of the palace in Agrabah, so if it ever made its way there, that would be a lot of trouble. Quickly looking around, he noticed no one else was here, so unless their teammates came later, it was just going to be Ellie and him fighting. Since Ellie was more familiar with this giant heartless, she yelled out to Sora to start working on attacking the legs, if damaged enough they would temporarily paralyze, not being able to attack, and they'd be able to wear it down without worrying about it retaliating. So, they got to work, and for a while, everything was going well. They worked on attacking the legs and chipped away at them, while the crab tried to step on them but kept missing. Combo after combo, dodge after dodge, they worked hard, but this boss was taught and wasn't going down without a fight. Finally, having enough of them attacking the legs, the crab got angered and apparently some heartless in the castle fortress on its back got out and fired the canon spikes on its back. Sora was able to avoid the flying projectiles but Ellie, she wasn't as fortunate.

"ELLIE!" Sora shouted as he ran over to help her out. But as he was about to make it to where she was, he noticed another projectile heading in her direction. He ran faster, swinging his keyblade in time successfully able to deflect it. He was relieved and was about to turn to check on her when he heard,

"HEAL!"

Sora's eyes were nearly ready to pop out of his head when he turned around at the young but strangely familiar voice. When he finally caught sight of that person, he saw someone he thought he'd never see again. Wearing the familiar black and white dress shirt with the two-tone brown pants, the white and black checkered sweatband, bright blue eyes, and really short blond spiky hair… wait short? That boy was he really…

"VENTUS!" The boy looked in the direction of the voice and immediately ran over to who Sora now saw were three other people. So these were the ones who signed up for this mission. They began attacking the boss as he decided to think about the boy later and focus on Ellie who was hurt but now healed.

"Ellie!"

"Sora!"

"You're alright!"

"Yeah, thanks to him." Ellie fidgeted with her fingers, she was now acting shy, completely different from the confident, excitable self she was earlier.

Sora noticed this, "Are you sure?"

"Oh. Yeah! I'm okay! Let's go, Sora!" She quickly got up and rejoined the battle.

Sora now had two things to think about, but for now, the heartless had to be dealt with. So off the two of them went, back into battle and working alongside the newly arrived wielders.

[Time Skip]

It was a long and grueling battle, but they managed to take down the Fortress Crab and the heartless firing the projectiles from inside of it. Everyone was either sitting or laying down on the warm sands of the desert, catching their breath. Sora was the first to rise to his feet as he walked over to Ellie to see how she was doing. She was sitting down now, drinking a canteen of water her Chirithy had pulled out of the little yellow neck pouch. Actually, she looked like she was chugging the canteen until it was all dried out.

She sighed out content, "Ahhh, thanks Sparks!" Her Chirithy nodded, taking back the canteen before poofing away.

"Wow, you were really thirsty." Sora offers a hand and helps her up off the ground.

"Yeah! That was delicious! Thanks, Sora!"

"No problem!" He smiled in his usual toothy grin, happy to help out his new friend.

"Umm… excuse me."

Sora turned around at the sound of the voice, it was Ventus. Sora couldn't believe it, how was he here? Though, looking at him, something wasn't right. Ventus looked different. He wasn't this short before, was he? No, when they shook hands at The Land Of Departure, he was about the same height. Maybe it was his hair that made him look taller? But that wouldn't be right either, cause currently, Ventus' hair was also shorter. Did he get a haircut? No, again, this just wasn't sitting right with him. Ventus' voice was also a little younger sounding now that he thought about it, also his demeanor was much quieter than he remembers. Ventus always seemed like the outgoing type, the type to want to make friends with everyone he met. This Ven, everything just seemed wrong. Why?

"Umm, I wanted to make sure your sister was okay." Ven pointed to Ellie.

"Sister?" Sora was lost.

"Oh, I thought, you were siblings, since you look like each other. Uh, never mind." Ventus turns to Ellie, "So, are you okay?"

"Oh, uh, muh-me? She stuttered.

"Yeah."

"Oh, I'm uh, okay. Yeah, thank you for uh tthe cure, Ventus."

Ventus looked surprised, "How did you-?" Ellie pointed over to the person who called out his name earlier. "Oh. Right, my group leader. I'm glad to see you're doing well-"

"ELLIE! I'm Ellie, and that's Sora." She quickly interrupted him and Sora waved as he was pointed out.

"Oh, nice to see you again Ellie, and nice to meet you too, S—"

"HEY! LET'S GO!" Ventus was interrupted again by who they identified as the group leader. He bowed his head a little in apology and waved goodbye to them. Then just like that, the corridor was opened up and they were gone, leaving just Sora and Ellie alone. Ellie's awkward waving stopped as she slowly brought down her arms to her hip.

"Ventus," she whispered, sighing happily.

That happy sigh, the weird reactions, he recognized it. But now wasn't the time, he'd ask her later. Right now, it was time to get out of the desert and back to Daybreak Town.

[Time Skip]

When they finally left the desert, after getting Ellie to focus and open the gate back to Daybreak Town, they immediately made their way to the lux collection office to submit their papers and get their promised rewards. When that was done, Ellie decided to treat Sora and their Chirithy to the diner using the spare vouchers she received from a mission a while back. As they ate, they got to know each other a little better.

"So, siblings, huh. Think we're some long-lost siblings separated at birth?" She spoke excitedly as she scooped a little of her vanilla sundae.

"I don't think so, Ellie." Though, Sora couldn't help but look at her again. It was a little embarrassing to admit that they do in fact look similar and he hadn't realized it until now. No wonder he got that sense of familiarity when they first met.

"How can you be sure?" Her eyebrow raised as she smirked.

"Call it a gut feeling?" He really didn't know what else to say, that he's from the future so no it wasn't possible? He didn't think she'd understand or anyone in Daybreak Town for that matter.

"I think we're siblings! Even if we aren't, we can pass for them. So from now on, I dub you my big brother, Sora!" She was determined.

"Wait—" Sora raised his hands trying to get her to stop.

"Don't fight it! You're my big brother! No take-backs, no changing my mind!" Sora sighed as she looked so genuinely serious about her proclamation.

"Fine then, as you 'big brother' I want to know what happened with you earlier." Ellie thought for a moment before looking at Sora not sure what was talking about. "Ventus?" She made an 'oh' expression once he had said his name.

"I dunno. I just felt, nervous? I think? You see, I use to see him on a bunch of group missions before. Whether I went by myself or with some of my group, I saw him with his group members on the same missions. He was always with them, never seen him solo. During the battles he's always helping everyone, supporting them with his attacks and healing. Even if he's shy around everyone, he's just…" She trailed off, not sure what else to say, eyes wandering around looking for an answer.

"I get it."

"Get what?"

"You like him, right?"

"Yeah, he seems really nice. So I guess I do."

"Not like that, I mean, you Like him," Sora stressed the like but Ellie still didn't understand. So Sora clarified, "He's someone special to you who you don't ever want to be separated from." The expression on Ellie's face changed from bafflement to realization and then to understanding.

"Oooohh! You mean, I have a crush?" Sora nodded. "I've never had one before. Wow! So this is what the girls in my group call a crush?" Her voice was getting louder and more excited about the idea of having a new experience of a first something. But then she looked at him, first thinking and then finally asked, "Wait, if you know what a crush is Sora, does that mean you have a special someone?"

Sora sighed, fondly remembering his special someone, Kairi. He thought back to Kairi, to their days spent on Destiny Islands, the days they got to hang out before going off to take the Mark of Mastery, the time they spent traveling to lots of different worlds with Ven's Chirithy, and when they finally shared a Paopu fruit together. It was in those moments he knew, through it all, that he wanted to be with her and never be separated again. He loved her, and loves her still. He really wanted, no, needed to find a way back home.

"Yeah, I do."

Ellie was practically squealing in excitement. Then she proceeded to ask question after question to satisfy her curiosity about her own crush. Sora did his best to answer her without giving away too much about his own past, which is also the future? Well, he's settling that it's His past. This still confused him. As she kept asking, her voice got louder and eventually, one of the servers came up to her and said to keep it down a little. Her cheeks grew red and she immediately apologized loudly. The server scolded her again and told her to keep to her indoor voice since there weren't as many customers during the night, and the few that were there had complained about the noise. After they ate, Sora offered to walk Ellie to her dorm, and once there, they said their farewells. Though, before she left, she made Sora promise to meet her again so she could ask more questions and talk about Ventus, as well as other things. He agreed and she grabbed his pinky with hers, then sealed the promise by letting their thumbs press together as a seal of agreement.

Once he left, he and his Chirithy then went to check up on [Insert Name Here], but her Chirithy was more alert this time and stopped him at the door. She updated him on how she was feeling and he was most likely going to be doing solo missions for another day or two. Her Chirithy could see how concerned he was, so she assured him that she was fine and currently sleeping. "She'll only need a little more rest, then she'll be back to her old self." Sora and his Chirithy nodded then said their farewells.

As Sora walked back to his own dorm, his Chirithy decided to climb up his head and lay there on her belly. Sora smiled as she relaxed there and stroked his hair. She didn't talk, he figured she wanted to just relax so the silence gave him a little chance to think. Ventus. That boy, he dressed up like Ven but acted nothing like him. He was also younger and his personality was the total opposite of Ven. Was this Ven from the past? That can't be though, it wasn't possible, was it? This world is still from an age when the Keyblade War didn't happen yet. If he remembered what he learned from Master Yensid and all the other guardians before he left, the war was supposedly many many centuries ago. So this couldn't be Ven, right? Maybe, he was related to him somehow? It would make sense if this was Ven's grandpa and the name was passed down from generation to generation. So that would make Ventus a Ventus Junior times a few other of his family? But wait, he could also not be related and just happen to look similar. Coincidences do happen, sort of. The girl, his new friend, Ellie, looked like him enough for Ventus to think they were siblings. When he compared himself enough, he did notice a bunch of similar features, though the eye color was the main difference between them. But then again, with how similar they looked, maybe Ellie was his ancestor? Like a many times great-grandmother? So this time's Ventus was either an ancestor or a really similar-looking person.

The thought of this time's Ventus somehow finding a way to time travel to the future never once crossed his mind. Those thoughts would have been too complex for him anyway.

As Sora tried to make sense of Ventus and Elllie, Chirithy took the opportunity to think about Sora. Chirithy played back the conversation he had with Ellie. She got to learn about something he never had talked about before, his special someone that he left behind. No wonder he'd have faraway looks every time they passed by couples enjoying a day together. She had heard him say the names of his friends before, like Donald and Goofy, Mickey and Riku, Roxas and Xion, and many other names in the moments he thought he was alone. But this was the first time that she heard Kairi was more than a childhood friend, she was, no, is, his special someone. The way he talked about her in the diner, she really meant a lot more than all the other friends he ever talked about. Now she knew about Kairi and Riku, his childhood friends who have lifelong bonds, one his special someone and the other a beloved brother. She now realized, whatever happened to him before getting the keyblade, whatever happened before arriving in Daybreak town, he had left so many of those he loved behind. She wondered if he was just starting their relationship when he got chosen by the Keyblade. The thought of suddenly getting pulled away like that, made her sad.

Before Chirithy could think more on the topic, Sora chose that moment to pluck her off his head and carry her in his arms. He cradled her like a little baby, but she didn't mind this. She yawned and Sora smiled as he placed her down on the bed. When did they get back already? He petted her gently and her eyes smiled back at him. He then left to complete his nightly routine to prepare for bed while she drifted off to sleep.

TBC

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Okay, I'll be honest. I had an outline, a draft, and have rewritten this a couple of times. I wasn't satisfied with this chapter for quite awhile. For now, I'm satisfied with how the events unfolded. But down the line, if I make any major changes, I'll make a note so you can go back and reread it.

So, for those of you who have read my other fanfic, "Place Of Forming Ideas" I'm sure you recognize the character I added. If not, you can check it out on Chapter 9, it's my one shot called, "Missing The Obvious (Random Story)." Anyway, she's from there. To those who have read it, I haven't decided if she'll be that or not.

Now, about Ventus, I'm doing my best to keep in line with his character before meeting Ephemer and Skuld. I'd like to think he was easily the type to avoid trouble, had a hard expressing his desires, and just followed the orders of his group to not feel lonely or lose anything. Basically, he avoided having conflict for the sake of security, afraid to venture into the uncharted waters of friendship for fear he may be alone again. Though, it could be just me who sees Pre-BBS / Pre-KHUx Ven this way. We'll be seeing more of him and Ellie in the future.

Sora's got a lot to figure out and it will be awhile before he learns the whole story about Ven. Chirithy also has a lot to learn about her wielder too.

Well, that's all I got to share for now! If you have any ideas, suggestions, questions, or any comments for this story, feel free to let me know. Thanks for reading everybody! :D