Author's Note: I'm sorry if I don't quite get the personalities of Ienzo and the other apprentices down. I haven't studied them long to get a perfect idea of how they would react in the following chapter.

Even: "I'd be more than willing to help out with your 'studies'." *smirks*

Me: *shivers* "Moving on, I'd like to thank fanfictionfan1 (Guest) for their review. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Unfortunately, Riku won't be making another appearance until after the first world that Hikari officially starts her search for her family and the other two Keybladers, but when he returns, I promise you all that it will be epic! Until then, enjoy, review, and please, no flames."

Lea: "Aww, but flames are awesome!"

Hikari: *whacks Lea on the backside of his head* "Leave poor Embarr alone, Lea!"

Me: *facepalms self*

/

Around an hour later, we were all back at Merlin's place. My shoulder had been set back into place and my arm was in a sling, but I could the healing powers of my gift already starting to mend the torn muscles and taking away the pain. Lea was being well taken care of by his friends and I could only imagine how much it have have been hurting his ego. However, Kairi had yet to awaken, and was resting inside.

The rest of us were standing around the computer room, listening to Leon give an overview of the damage of the town and repairs that needed to be made. I was surprised when Cloud decided to stick around, but everyone else seemed unaffected by his presence.

The meeting quickly bored me, so I snuck out and went to check on Kairi. But when I turned the corner that led to the bedroom, I discovered that I wasn't alone.

Sitting in the chair next to Kairi's bedside was a girl around the same age as me with a similar face to Kairi's. She had shoulder-length blond hair and wore a simple knee-length white dress.

It took me a moment to realize that I could see through her slightly, but just as I had opened my mouth and was about to say something, the girl seemed to notice my presence and turned to me with a soft smile and sapphire-blue eyes.

"You must be Hikari," she said with a sweet voice. She placed a hand on her chest and added, "My name is Naminé; Kairi's Nobody."

"Nobody?" I repeated. "What's that?"

"In short, a Nobody is the shell left behind when someone strong loses their heart," Naminé explained.

It seemed a little far-fetched, but then again, so did darkness taking over a heart and becoming a being of shadows, so I only nodded in acceptance. "What exactly happened to her, before she was captured by that Heartless?"

Naminé looked down with a saddened face. "It happened all so fast. Sora, Riku, and Kairi were just spending the day on the islands when Darkness suddenly appeared in the sky. Before any of them could react, Maleficent's goon, Pete, showed up out of nowhere and nabbed Riku before pulling him back into a dark portal. Sora tried to save him, but a man in a black coat knocked him out cold and carried him off into a different portal. As for Kairi, the giant Heartless that you and King Mickey defeated captured her before she could even summon her Keyblade and defend herself." A cloud of guilt seemed to fill her eyes.

I walked further into the room. "You can't blame yourself, Naminé. What matters now is that Kairi's safe. If you promise to watch over her, I promise I'll do everything in my power to rescue Sora and Riku."

Naminé brought her eyes back to me. "You mean it?"

I gave her a determined smile and nodded my head. "My mission is to find them as well as my family; You can count on me." As if to further prove my point, I pulled off my sling in one swift motion and it slowly fell to the ground, then summoned my Keyblade. "Do we have a deal?" I held out my left hand.

The clouds in Naminé's eyes dispersed and she smiled as well. "Yeah." She took my hand and shook it, then disappeared.

"So you could see her too?"

I turned around to find King Mickey in the doorway, a curious yet solemn look on his face. "How much did you hear?" I asked in slight embarrassment.

"Enough to know that you're very devoted to the task Ansem the Wise has set out for you," he replied.

"And perhaps a little stubborn?" I put in with a smirk.

It was time for Mickey to redden with embarrassment. "Er, well…"

I laughed. "Don't worry; I'm naturally stubborn, so you're not the first to call me it."

Just then, a moan came from behind me. Mickey and I looked just in time to see Kairi sit up in the bed, one hand on her head.

"Kairi!" The King exclaimed.

The red-haired girl looked in our direction and instantly spotted her friend. "King Mickey!"

Mickey hurried over to the bedside, though I decided to hang back and let him do the explaining. I instead left the room and walked into the computer room. "Kairi's awake," I announced, but didn't stick around.

As I opened the door, Aerith's voice called from behind me, "Where are you going?"

I looked over my shoulder with a devilish smile and answered, "To pound Lea's head into the ground for nearly getting me killed today," then walked out the door.

XXXXX

I walked into the castle to find Aeleus and another large man with slick, black hair tied back cleaning up the debris left by the Heartless. I called out to Aeleus, who immediately seemed to recognize my voice and stopped his work to look at me. He smiled upon seeing me and walked towards me. The other man, who I realized was wearing the same uniform as Aeleus, gave me a dark look before returning to pushing away a large piece of the fallen staircase..

What's his problem? I thought to myself.

"Good to see you alright, Aeleus stated, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at him and nodded. "Same goes for you," I replied, then looked at the other man once again and asked, "What's biting him?"

Aeleus followed my line of sight and laughed after a moment's thought. "Oh, don't mind Dilan; he just isn't too pleased to wake up and find the castle halfway from ruin."

"He slept through all that!?" I exclaimed.

"Well let's just say as of late, he hasn't been at his best," Aeleus explained simply.

I looked at the one called Dilan for a moment longer before shrugging my shoulders and returning my eyes to Aeleus. "Fair enough. Do you know where I can find Lea?"

Aeleus indicated with the turn of his head down the hallway. "He should be in Ansem the Wise's study with Ienzo," he answered.

I thanked him and headed for the study.

I hadn't even opened the door when a curse sounded from the other side and echoed across the hall.

"Ow, dammit! That hurts!" Lea's voice barked.

"Well it doesn't help when you won't hold still!" Ienzo's impatient tone replied.

"Oh boy." I sighed, then walked in. "They should really consider the theory that men are the tough ones," I called out.

Lea -who was sitting in a wooden chair- and Ienzo -who was attempting to to tend to Lea's wounds with supplies from a first-aid kit on the large desk- both looked at me with surprise. I walked over to them and took out a few gauze pads and antiseptic from the kit, giving Ienzo the hint to back off.

I poured some of the liquid antiseptic onto one of the bandages and began to tap it on Lea's blood-caked head-wound. When Lea cursed again, I pressed it slightly harder. "Oh grow a spine, Lea," I retorted, still applying the medicine to the injury. "You should count yourself lucky; no broken bones or a concussion to go with it. I had a dislocated shoulder for crying out loud!"

Lea seemed to think that was funny and snorted. "Stubborn and a whiner? It's a wonder as to how you got a Keyblade."

I stopped my treatment to look him right in the face, catching him off guard. "You want me to stitch that mouth of yours as well?" I asked with a smirk. "Because if not, I suggest you keep quiet."

For a moment, there was utter fear in Lea's eyes and he finally shut up.

I smiled triumphantly and resumed tending to the work at hand. People always say I get two things from my mom, and they're not my looks, which I get from my father. No, the two things I inherited from her was her stubbornness and healing hands, though I wouldn't exactly call them that. I've always just had a knack for healing, more so when my mom taught in the basics of first-aid. I never imagined that I would be using my skills like a war-zone nurse, but if things like this were gonna continue, then I should be grateful for my natural talents and put them to good use.

Silently thanking my mom for the many lessons, I reached for the needle and thread from the first-aid kit.

XXXXX

An hour and ten stitches later, Lea was all patched up and I was just finishing sewing his black coat back together. The thought had occurred to me early on that Naminé had said a man in a black coat had taken Sora away, but when I inquired upon the coat with Lea, he had explained that he had worn it as a Nobody, and he'd yet to find new garments. That's how the story of Organization XIII came up; Ienzo and Lea told me about their lives as Nobodies and how they were part of this group who's goal was to gain control of a place called Kingdom Hearts and get back their hearts. Axel -Lea's Nobody- quickly turned against the Organization after his friend Roxas -Sora's Nobody- left and returned to Sora. It took a while but eventually Axel broke free, only to sacrifice himself in order to save Sora. After all the Organization members were defeated, including their leader, Xemnas, they all returned to their original selves.

"And… finished," I stated as I tied off the last stitch.

Lea looked at it and smiled. "It looks good as new. Thanks."

"I'm impressed that you willingly handed it over and stayed quiet," I commented.

"As am I."

I looked over my shoulder and saw an older man with greying blonde hair and a lab coat like Ienzo's come out from a doorway I hadn't noticed before. He had a sharp face and tall body that went well with the gentleman-like persona he held.

"Good to see you awake, Even," Ienzo stated. "How do you feel?"

"Like-" and I lost him as he went on to referring to science terms that made my head hurt. But when he finished, he looked at me with an intrigued gesture, making me feel like I was under the microscope. "I'd never thought I'd see the day someone stood up to that hot-head," he said.

"I'm still here, old man," Lea retorted.

I threw his coat at him and it plowed into his face. "Go change and let off some steam," I told him. Once he was gone, I turned back to the other man. "I'll keep him in check, don't worry. I'm Hikari, by the way."

"Even, my dear," he replied, taking my hand and shaking it.

"You don't seem to get along well with Lea, huh?" I said.

"He's young, so I can't quite blame him for not seeing things the way I do," Even replied.

I don't think anyone can see things the way you do, unfortunately, I thought to myself. "Easy to understand."

Even made a smile that made me somewhat nervous. "You're not from this world, are you?"

"No, sir, I'm not. I'm on a mission right now to save my family and friends. I originally came here to drill Lea's head in for nearly getting me killed, but I think the bruise to his ego I gave him is enough." I bowed my head and excused myself.

Outside the study, Lea was leaning against a wall, his head bowed and his arms across his chest.

"Come on," I simply said, heading for the exit.

Lea said nothing, but I knew he was following me because I could hear his feet behind me.