A/N: Sorry for the wait! Major writers block.
By the way, is anyone else experiencing a weird glitch from this site where you're treated as if you're logged in and not logged in at the same time? I mean, it hasn't really affected me much, just making me do an extra step in order to follow, favorite, and review stories. It's just weird, and it's been going on since around the beginning of the year.
Also, WHO ELSE IS HYPED FOR KINGDOM HEARTS IV!
Lucky (c) to Kristen Verne
Skadi (c) to DinoWriter23
Other OCs (c) to me.
9 Years Later
KAIRI: Hard to believe it's been nine years. I had such a good time in my new home that time just seemed to fly.
A teenage boy fell on his butt in the sandy beach as his red combat stick was knock out of his hand. He had messy, sandy-blonde hair, tan skin, blue eyes, wore a yellow and white open shirt, black uneven-legged pants, and yellow and black sandals. "Aw man!" he complained. "I...I went easy on you!"
"Give it a rest, ya?" a taller boy came from behind. He had tan skin, brown eyes, and orange hair spike upwards, and wore a blue bandanna, pale yellow tank top, yellow baggy pants, and green sandals. "Best take your lumps like a man."
"Aw, can it, Wakka!"
"He's right, Tidus," a boy with pale skin, neck-length silver hair, and teal eyes came up from the side. He wore a yellow and black tank top that showed off his somewhat muscular arms black gloves, blue baggy pants, and blue and white over-sized shoes. "Trying to save face after losing makes you look bad?"
The downed boy now identified as Tidus grunted. "But losing to her of all people?" He gestured toward the opponent he lost to.
She was a teenage girl with short crimson red hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. She wore a small white tank top, a purple skirt with a blue belt around it and pink shorts underneath, white and purple slip-on shoes, to bracelets, one black and one yellow, on her right wrist, and a yellow armband on her left wrist, and a black choker along with the same necklace with a silver bead she had worn since she was little. The girl scratched the back of her head as she chuckled nervously. "Well, to be fair, this was only the first time I beat you," she said.
The silver head chuckled. "First time or not, you're definitely improving, Kairi."
"Riku is right," said a boy with spiky brown hair, blue eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He wore a red jumpsuit ending in puffy shorts, a black and white hoodie, white fingerless gloves, yellow oversize shoes, a blue belt with a crown chain hanging from his left side, and a crown pendant around his neck. "You did great!"
Kairi giggled as she blushed. "Thank you, Sora."
A teenage girl with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes walked up to Kairi. She wore a yellow mini-dress, and brown sandals. "Way to go, Kairi! Finally you beat someone other than me!"
"Thanks Selphie!"
It's been nine years since Kairi Suigetsu arrived on the islands. She was now fourteen years old, mostly hanging out with her two best friends, the now fourteen year old Sora Kazekiri and fifteen year old Riku Kurotsuchi, and occasionally her best female friend, Selphie Tilmitt. Over the years, she's grown to love living in the islands. Happy with her adoptive mother, Mayor Hitomi Suigetsu. Happy with her best friends. Thankfully, no one teased her about being an outsider anymore, Sora, Riku, and especially her mother made sure of that. It had gotten to the point where she didn't want to leave the islands in favor of wherever she came from. Doesn't stop her from being curious about it at least.
Even after all these years, she still can't remember anything about her life before these islands. The only clues she has are these dreams, depicting unusual friends and guardians. She was admitted unsure if these friends are real or just a figment of her imagination, but...she wanted to believe they were real. Although she considers this place her home now, she did want to at least see where she came from if only to have some kind of closure to her past. But at the same time, not knowing what said past contained, it really frightened her. That's why she had mixed feelings about Riku's idea of leaving the island and seeing other worlds.
Tidus then sighed. "I just don't get how someone like her could even beat me at all." (1)
"No one likes a sore loser, Tidus," said Sora.
"Seriously, look at her! Does she look like she should be good at sword fighting?"
The redhead couldn't help but frown at that comment as she looked at the wooden sword in her hand. She really wished people would stop giving her funny looks for that.
"Come on, man," said Wakka. "Judging her is not cool."
"I'm not judging her." Tidus raised his hands defensively. "I'm just saying I don't get it, That's all."
Selphie let out a frustrated sigh. "You seriously need to watch what you say. She gets enough of that from the girls at school. Do you know how many times they've left her out of activities, thinking she's not interested in girl stuff just because she likes sword fighting? Honestly, it surprises me that they don't do that to me very often despite me dueling."
"Probably because you use a jump rope for a weapon, so they still see you as girly enough."
"Excuse me!"
Wakka rubbed his forehead. "Look, man, you lost plain and simple. No use complaining about it, especially when it was only one time out of, like, a dozen times you've fought her, ya?"
Tidus stood up and stretched his arms. "Whatever..." He then picked up his stick, and started to walk away. "I'll be up on the balcony."
Wakka sighed. "What am I gonna do with you, man?" He then followed the blond.
"Oh that boy." Selphie shook her head in disappointment before turning to her best friend with a smile. "Don't listen to him, Kairi. He's just salty he lost. You keep up the good work." She then also followed.
Sora looked to Kairi, noticing her looking down. "You okay?"
Kairi looked hesitant before saying, "It's nothing."
But Riku crossed his arms. "Kairi... You know you can't fool us."
The redhead sighed. "Do you...think I'm weird...for sword fighting?"
The spiky haired boy tilted his head in confusion. "No... Why would we think that?"
"It's just... Everyone's been giving me funny looks for that. I'm glad no one teases me anymore, but still. I don't know if it's because I'm a girl, or that I just don't seem like the type to be interested in this kind of thing. The girls at school seem to think I'm some kind of tomboy. I've heard some whisper about my sword fighting interest being because I'm not from around here. Selphie is really the only girl who hangs out with me. Mom seems unsure about how she feels about me fighting. I'm just... wondering if this really was a good idea..."
The silver head scratched the back of his head. "While I will admit that, yes, you don't seem like the kind of person to be interested in this stuff. But...that doesn't mean you're weird for it."
"You're just different, Kairi," said Sora. "And that's not a bad thing at all. I mean, you want to duel with us, right? You like it, right?"
"Of course!" Kairi smiled. "Even though I always lose to you two, I have a lot of fun fighting you!" She also wanted to be able to protect herself for once, and not rely on her best friends doing it all the time. Plus she was inspired by that unknown image of a young swordsman in her mind that she still hasn't figured out.
Riku smirked. "Then there you go! Don't let the opinions of others stop you from doing what you love! If they can't accept what you like, that's on them, not you."
Sora grinned. "Yeah! Who cares what they think? You still got us! You still got Selphie! We'll support whatever you want to do! And I'm sure your mom will warm up to it sooner or later. You know she loves you and wants you to be happy. We all got your back no matter what!"
The redhead stared at the two of them before smiling warmly. "Thanks guy. I needed that." Her smile then turned competitive. "And just you wait, someday I'm gonna beat you two!"
Riku laughed. "That's the spirit! Now then, let's go to our usual hang out. I wanted to discuss an idea I had for going out to see other worlds."
(2) In the second district of Traverse Town, several Heartless surrounded a freakishly tall woman with brown skin, brunette hair, and brown eyes. One Soldier leapt over to her, only to get crushed by the woman's heavy metal club. An Air Soldier dove at her, only to get punched and sent crashing into a wall. A Large Body charged at her, but then got kicked so hard even its bouncy belly couldn't stop it from rolling backwards. Then a Red Nocturne launched a fireball at her, but she blocked it with her club before her free hand glowed a brown-orange color as she called, "Stone!" and a magic rock morphed out of the ground and flew into the Nocturne. A bunch of shadows then came at her from all directions, prompting her to stomp on the ground, creating an area shockwave that blasted them away. The fight went on for a bit longer until every Heartless was destroyed. Once it was over, Skadi shouldered her club before wiping the sweat off her forehead.
Skadi Thurston has changed a bit in the last nine years. As it turned out, she wasn't quite done growing until she turned eighteen. After her experimentation as a thirteen-year-old she was six feet tall, now as a twenty-two-year-old, she was eight feet tall, much taller than the average adult woman. It's not easy being this tall. She was always having to watch her head when entering buildings. And it's not easy to find clothes that fit her. Best she could manage was a small red plaid buckled vest with black fur lining, a pair of black short shorts with blue highlights, large brown boots, a red wristband on her left wrist, and black and white wraps on her right wrist. It showed off more skin than her parents would've liked, including her well toned abs and muscles, and more importantly the bluish 'tattoos' on her arms and legs, the marks actually being a side effect of her experimentation to make her taller and stronger. While she didn't care much for showing off her body, she didn't want to hide what she was either, a former school girl turned science experiment.
When small groups of Heartless started attacking the town, Skadi decided to learn how to fight properly with Laguna as her instructor. She obtained a proper weapon with her metal club, and found a knack for earth magic. Soon she began helping Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith defend the town. It was a lot more work than the normally lazy girl would've liked, but she had to admit, protecting people from real Heartless attacks, and not staged ones like what the scientists made her do, felt pretty good. It felt even better as more people started to warm up to her and accept her. Still, the lingering guilt over what she was involved with never left her, and she can't help but wonder about the fate of the other test subjects.
As she walked through the Second District, Skadi caught movement in the corner of her eye. She looked to the alleyway that led to the Third District and could've sworn she saw a shadow passed through the corner. Against her better judgement, she decided to check it out. The moment she came to the corner, she was suddenly grabbed by a large spectral gauntlet and pinned to the wall. She could've broken free from its grip without too much trouble, but she paused when she heard a bitter sounding voice.
"So...this is where I find you after all these years." She looked to see a very familiar pink haired woman, her pale aqua eyes staring coldly at her, and her gunblade pointed toward her face. It was none other than Claire 'Lightning' Farron, one of the two sisters she personally witnessed being kidnapped. Skadi took note of the dark tendrils sticking out from inside her vest, covering her neck reaching up to her jawline and also her left shoulder, obviously a result of the scientists experimenting on her. She also noticed a dark glow coming from her chest that was similar to the one on the spectral gauntlet pinning her to the wall, telling her that she was the one controlling it.
The memory came back to her, washing over her like a wave she could not escape. Sweat began to break out across her face as she faced this ghost from her past. Every day since coming to this world she had begged every deity she could learn of for a chance to undo her choice. It had taken severe counseling for her to move on, and she had busied herself with helping others to keep herself from falling into depression. Now her biggest regret had come back to haunt her.
As much as she wanted to apologize there and then, she had gained a lot of insights from working with Leon and Yuffie. She could see from her opponent's face that words were probably not going to reach her. Tonight she may be fighting for her life, and while she had learned more about the changes the experiments gave her they were about to be put to the test.
Forcing herself to look Lightning in the eye, she asked, "How did you survive the destruction of our world?"
"If you must know," the pinkette said coldly, "those of us confined in the castle were spared from the attack. Not that our lives are any better."
"I noticed. I'm guessing the traitors had to save their experiments-"
"They left us behind!"
That caught her off guard. "What? Why?"
"Hell if I know! They just conveniently disappeared after unleashing the Heartless on the city! Now the castle has been taken over by a dark sorceress named Maleficent, who isn't even native to our world! She took command of the Heartless and turned us experiments into her 'elite force' called the Chaos Squad!"
Skadi hadn't been sure what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. She couldn't even pronounce this witch's name, though she wasn't trying to at this time. "If your new master controls the Heartless, she's going to have a rough time. I help protect this town, and I won't allow a repeat of what happened to our home."
Lightning narrowed her eyes at that. "Oh sure… Like you protected me and Sarah?!" She then made the phantom gauntlet throw the tall woman into another wall. Her fist became coated in lightning magic. "You were right there, and yet you did NOTHING!"
Coughing from the brunt of the impact, Skadi found herself blurting out, "I know I screwed up! I've relived that moment every day for almost a decade wishing I chose differently. I tried to make it right by telling everyone's parents what was going on. Instead we got invaded by those Heartless."
"Well, good for you for fessing up! But it's a little late for that! Do you have ANY idea what we are dealing with right now, what my sister is suffering through?!"
"No, I don't. But I want to help make it right."
Lightning gritted her teeth as the phantom gauntlet summoned a large curved sword. "I got off easy when they experimented on me. But Sarah...she got perhaps the worst of us who even survived the procedure. She was given the ability to encase herself in crystal...but it came with a defect that made her unable to control it. If she doesn't get her power syphoned regularly then she could turn herself into a helpless statue…"
That forced the giantess to clasp a hand over her mouth. If anyone did something like that to her little… she'd scour every corner of every world to make them pay. "Let me guess: Your powers somehow manage to stop her petrification?"
"No...not mine… The only person I know who can do that is another experiment. One who chose to work for Maleficent, and unlike me, actually enjoys the terrible things that witch has been making us do! And if I don't follow along with their plans, he'll refuse to help Sarah!"
Taking a breath, the large lady said, "Is that another reason you've come to kill me? So they'll continue to help your sister?" She raised her club in defense. She didn't want to fight, but she might not have a choice
"No… As of right now, I'm the only one who even knows you're here. Whether or not the others even care about your whereabouts, I'm not sure right now…"
"Well thanks for not ratting me out. I don't want them to put the people of this town in danger just to get to me."
"Don't get too comfortable… It's probably only a matter of time before Maleficent finds this place herself. And don't think you're off the hook!" She and the phantom gauntlet point their weapon at her while electrically charged. "I can't tell you how much I wanna make you pay for allowing us to be put in this situation!"
Skadi's hand gripped hold of her club, as she braced herself for whatever was about to come. She waited for what felt like a minute. But then Lightning did something she did not expect at all. She lowered her sword, stopped channeling electricity, and her phantom vanished as the dark glow on her chest doused.
The pinkette looked away as she crossed her arms begrudgingly. "But… my sister really wants me to give you a second chance."
The brunette's jaw dropped. "Sh-she does? I-I thought… I mean-"
"Believe me… I'm just as confused as you are. She's the one suffering the most because of you. She has every right to hate you. She was in disbelief after what you did, but ever since she heard that you came clean about the kidnappings, as well as helped evacuate the citizens, she's been begging me not to be angry at you."
Tears swelled up in Skadi's eyes. Just hearing that lightened her burden, and helped calm the turmoil in her heart. "Please tell her I'm grateful for her compassion, even though I don't deserve it."
Lightning sighed. "Fine… I will." She then pointed at the giantess. "But just so we're clear, just because you have Sarah's forgiveness, does not mean you have mine… And if I catch you pulling a stunt like that again, I won't be so merciful!"
"I wouldn't be merciful to myself if I did that."
"Whatever…"
"I know it doesn't mean anything after almost ten years, but I'll look for a way to undo what was done. I promise not to rest until I find a cure for you two, even if I have to sacrifice my abilities to do so."
Lightning stares at Skadi for a moment, as if contemplating what she said, before looking away. "I'm not holding my breath, but do what you will."
"Okay…" An idea then came to her, something this may be the best opportunity to get answers for. "Hey, um… could you...tell me about the other experiments?"
Lightning thought for a moment, wondering if it would be a good idea to say anything. If the Chaos Squad found out she divulged details about them, it could put Sarah at risk. Then she decided that the bare minimum wouldn't hurt. "Out of the many test subjects of the Chaos Program, consisting mostly of kidnapped kids and locked up criminals, only ten survived the procedure."
Only ten were alive? That was discouraging to hear.
"Everyone else either straight up died, or was turned into a Heartless. All courtesy of Xehanort and his followers, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus and Ienzo, and they even forced Isa and Lea to be their assistants when they snuck in during lockdown, all of whom vanished after the attack."
Well it sounded like Xehanort was the one leading the whole project. Which led to Skadi asking, "And Lord Ansem?"
"Not involved. In fact, apparently he was banished into a dark portal just before lockdown, after confronting his apprentices about the experiments."
Well it was good to know his lordship wasn't involved after all. But it didn't stop the giantess from worrying about what happened to him.
Lightning continued. "As for the surviving experiments, while you escaped to this world, and Sephiroth is MIA, the remaining eight of us are part of Maleficent's Chaos Squad. If you wish to know the other's names, they are Ejder Gölge, or Dhampir as he prefers to call himself. There's also Jack Hawk, or Cyclops, and Ryu Kurai, or Reptile. Those three in particular are the only ones who actually enjoy our work."
So they were still using those codenames she remembered the scientist gave them even after their disappearance? A little odd. Then again, maybe they embraced those names, especially if they're doing this witch's bidding of their own free will. Still, it was good to finally have confirmation on their real names.
"There's also Cloud Strife and Kai Hikaru, both of whom only joined as a means of hunting down Sephiroth and Xehanort respectively. Neither of those two seem to care much for the witch, the squad, or their plans at all. And finally there's Lucky Holt, who's just too much of a coward to go anywhere else."
Skadi's eyes widened at that last name. "Lucky Holt? She's alive?"
Lightning raised her eyebrow. "Yeah… Why?"
The giantess couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "I've… been speaking with her mother… She still believes her daughter is alive, and prays every day for her child to come home to her."
"Is that so? Well, fat chance of that happening. Like I said, she's a coward. She really only joined because she believes they're the only ones who will accept her. She doesn't enjoy the work Maleficent makes us do. They don't have leverage on her like they do me. Nor is she seeking to hunt anyone down. She's just too afraid to show herself with her bug-like appearance."
"I don't think that would matter. I think Mrs Holt just wants to hold her child in her arms again. Could you tell her for me? For her mother's sake?"
The pinkette scoffed. "I can try, but don't hold your breath. Honestly, if you ask me, the only chance of Lucky ever leaving the squad is if Kai decides to. She seems awfully attached to him lately. And I can't fathom why he's still in the squad, given he has no love for the rest of us or Maleficent, and I think his patience regarding Xehanort is starting to wear thin."
That caught the attention of the giantess. It could be good if some of the Chaos Squad broke away, but she never knew this Kai. It might be something she couldn't do herself, but maybe there was someone who could. At any rate, she had to try. "Is there...any chance to convince this Kai to leave with Lucky."
"Not likely. The thing about Kai is that once his mind is set on something, there's no stopping him. He's infuriatingly stubborn like that. And right now his mind is only set on getting revenge on Xehanort for taking his sister, Kairi, away from him. If anyone could've been able to convince him, it would've been her, but she's gone now. At this rate, we can only hope that his patience finally runs out."
Skadi then thought for a second. "Kai is the one who can turn into a werewolf, right? Laguna told me he never knew where it came from, but after I told him about the experiments, he now suspects it was the result of those. Same for Cloud's and Sephiroth's wings."
"Those suspicions are correct. Though Kai has since learned to focus his transformation to a single part of his body, and Cloud has learned how to conceal his wing, which also suppresses his power, including flight." Lightning then made the phantom gauntlet reappear. "As for myself, as you can see I was given the power to summon a phantom...directly from the darkness of my heart. Useful...but not without its drawbacks. Using too much power puts a strain on my heart."
Skadi winced at that. "Ouch..."
"Yeah...not fun..." The phantom was once again dismissed.
"Have any of the others gained mastery over their powers?"
"Some have better control than others. Some seem to relish the damage they can do."
The brunette shuddered. "I remember what Cyclops was able to do with that freaky eye of his. Seeing through walls and firing energy beams out of it."
The pinkette grumbled. "And telescopic vision, perfect for sniping, so I'd keep your guard up if I were you."
"Thanks for the warning. So what can Lucky do?"
"She can release these pheromones that can sedate anyone who breathes it in, whether it's knocking them out, calming their anger, or relieving a headache like she's been doing for Kai lately."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"She's a pacifist. Even during our missions she refuses to harm anyone."
Skadi was relieved to hear that. She wouldn't want Mrs Holt to hear her daughter has been hurting innocent people. "What about that guy with the monster arm? Reptile was it?"
"That arm of his can stretch, protrude spikes as well as launch them, and grow back should it ever get cut off, not that it's easy to slice through it." Lightning clenched her fist. "Word of warning, he is crazy, unhinged, and hard to predict at times."
"Oh, joy." Skadi's words were loaded with sarcasm. "What should I know about Dhampir?"
"You don't want to meet him in a dark alley, or a light one for that matter. Through physical contact, he can drain the energy of another. He can even choose to focus specifically on absorbing their powers or even their life force."
The giantess shuddered at the thought of what such power could do. Then a puzzle piece in her mind clicked. "He's the one keeping Sarah's powers in check, isn't he?"
The former guard in training growled in frustration. "Yes… And on top of that, he's the leader of the Chaos Squad, and the strongest among us. Even Kai in his beast form can't seem to beat him in a no-holds-bar duel."
"Oh, crap."
"You can say that again." Lightning sighed. "That's all I'm willing to tell you. They have abilities beyond their Chaos powers, but if I say anymore, they're going to smell a rat."
Considering they're practically holding Sarah hostage, Skadi knew Lightning was taking a big risk telling her this stuff as it is. "I understand. You've given more than enough. You should probably get back before they miss you."
"Agreed…" Lightning then held out her hand toward the wall and a dark portal opened. She started walking into it when the brunette had one more question.
"Um… what about your family? Should I…tell them?"
The pinkette paused for a moment. "I already snuck a note at their place. I figured they would take it worse if it came from you. I told them Sarah and I were both alive, but that we can't come home due to Sarah's condition. I also told them of my sister's wish not to be angry with you, but I wouldn't expect them to forgive you anytime soon. I…didn't say anything about Maleficent or the Chaos Squad though."
"If you wish for me to stay quiet about those topics with your family I will."
"...Thanks…" With that Lightning walked into the portal, which then closed.
After she was gone Skadi turned and began to head to the house where she met with Leon and the others. She had to warn them about the Chaos Squad, and hopefully get their help in looking for ways to cure them. It was a chance to atone for her mistakes and she wanted to take it.
She hoped with all her heart that a way to help them existed somewhere, and if there was she wouldn't rest until they found it. No matter what it took, she would keep her promise this time.
Dear Journal,
Hey, it's Lucky again... It's hard to believe that it's been nine years since that terrible night. The night my home was destroyed, and I lost the nicest, the sweetest friend I ever made. It doesn't feel that long to be honest. I still miss Kairi. Probably not as much as Kai does, I'm sure. *sigh* It's hard to get a read on him these days. He's just so...distant most of the time, usually only coming to me whenever his beast starts growling in his head and he needs my dust to quiet it. He still defends me from the others, mostly Ryu, but... I just wish he'd open up to me more. I would try to speak to him but... his eyes make it difficult to approach. Normally they're blue, but they turn red whenever he's angry, a side effect of his experimentation I was told. And...it's been a very, very long time since I saw them blue...it's like he's always angry these days. I'm really worried about him. Not helped by his clear pursuit of revenge on Xehanort for what he did to Kairi, and the apparent impatience he's been showing recently due to how long its been taking.
I remember our first mission as the Chaos Squad: Take Maleficent's homeworld, Enchanted Dominion. The squad laid siege to the castle with Heartless in tow. It was...not a pretty sight. Heartless just devouring soldiers' hearts, and Ryu, Cyclops, and Dhampir didn't even hesitate to slaughter them. It was horrible. I couldn't bring myself to hurt anyone, so I opted to just knock them out with my sedative pheromones instead of attacking them with the spells I learned throughout the years. Lightning told me she only chose to knock them out too, and Cloud...I really can't say due to his own distance from everyone. Kai however... When I finally caught up to him, he had his sword pointed at a man who was too beat up to fight anymore. It was the last line of defense for our primary target, Princess Aurora, one of the Seven Princesses of Heart, said to have hearts of pure light.
The look in Kai eyes at he stared down the man...I was really worried he would actually kill him. But then he looked at me before lowering his sword. Even now I can't help but wonder...if I was the reason he chose not to kill that man. Of course I don't know what happened to that man after Kai grabbed the princess and Maleficent decided to send Heartless into the world's Keyhole to its heart and plunge it into darkness without telling us she was going to. And I have no idea if he killed anyone before I caught up to him, he never told me. I wanna believe he chose to knock them out but...I really don't know what he's capable of at this point. All I know is that, in every mission after that, I did my best to stick close to him, and he never killed anyone in front of me.
I really don't like what we're doing. We've help Maleficent plunge so many worlds into darkness. And so far we've captured two of the seven princesses, and recently we identified two more. It all really makes me sick. It makes me wanna get out...but there are three things stopping me from leaving. Firstly, I have nowhere to go. I just...can't bring myself to face anyone looking like this, and after what I helped do, not even my own mother. Secondly, Cyclops made it clear that he would hunt down and eliminate any traitors to our team. I can tell that was no idle threat, and it frightens me. And last and most importantly, Kai is still here, and despite his distance, I still feel obligated to watch over him for his sister.
I don't approve of him doing whatever it takes to get Xehanort, including joining Maleficent and helping her do these horrible things. I wanna talk him out of it, but I just get the feeling he won't listen. Guess that's just typical me, always afraid to speak up to anyone. Regardless, I really like to think I'm helping him cope...just being there when he's alone, calming his inner beast with my 'fairy dust' as that sweet little girl put it. If nothing else it gives me a sense of purpose. I just...wish he'd give me a sign that he appreciates me as a person. With his lack of communication, I really can't tell if he truly sees me as a friend or not. Maybe he's just using me to make himself feel better...or maybe he's just afraid of growing close to anyone after losing his sister. Whatever the case, I hope that I'm doing the right thing sticking by him.
Lucky Holt sighed as she put her pencil down. Doing the one thing she's been good at even before her experimentation is all that's kept her sane in the last nine years. She always preferred writing over talking with her speech impediment. It's how she came to write notes and reports for the school newspaper back in the day. Of course now the only writing she does is in her journal, just to express her feelings somehow under these dreadful circumstance, as there's no one she can confide in. Cloud and Kai wouldn't talk to her, Lightning would just admonish her for being a coward, she has hardly seen Sarah, and she knew trying to talk to everyone else would be a terrible idea. How she wished things were different.
She stood from her seat before walking up to the mirror and looking at herself. The now twenty-two-year-old young woman saw her pink hair that reached her upper back, and her violet eye, but those were about the only normal things about her since being experimented on. She saw the white in her eyes were black instead, and her skin was a greenish color, and hardened like the exoskeleton of an insect, made it look like she had seams at her joints like a doll. Of course what stood out the most was her black and purple butterfly wings. It still surprises her that these wings are capable of passing through clothing no problem without damage it, so she doesn't need an outfit that exposes her back, or make holes for these wide protrusions. Apparently its the same with Cloud's demonic wing, Kai's beast transformations, and even Sarah's crystals. Probably something to do with the darkness they come from. Still she can't help but be jealous of Cloud, who recently learned how to magically conceal his wing entirely, though putting himself on a power limiter when doing so. At the very least, she is capable of making her wings droop so that they hang down from her back, making them less conspicuous and easier to disguise herself with a cloak.
Speaking of clothes, in spite of the bug-like traits on her body, she did like her latest apparel. She wore an off-white, sleeveless, pleated dress that reached just above her knees, with a brown corset belt around her waist. She also had brown shoes with beige loose sock, a long brown ribbon necklace, and two bracelets on each of her wrists, one black and one yellow. Looking at herself in this outfit...almost made her believe little Kairi's words that she was pretty.
Over the years, she's still not much of a combatant, though Dhampir still makes her fight Heartless. She's uncomfortable using weapons, but has learned to cast wind and water magic alongside her healing magic. Despite her wings, Lucky can't actually fly...at least not fully, it's more like she can hover just above the ground for short periods of time. Her exoskeleton skin does help her takes hits, though not by that much. One downside to her sedative pheromones is that while it can affect Kai in his beast form, it doesn't affect Heartless at all, probably because Heartless don't have a natural biology, while Kai is still human underneath his beastly shell. She's also started dabbling into potion making in case she's not around the others, or her mana depletes, not that they've actually been needed on missions so far.
She then felt some brush against her legs. She looked down to see the Cyprus cat petting herself against her. Lucky couldn't help but smile as she picked up the fully grown feline and cuddled her. Dawn had been a good cat all these years. The bug woman was happy she had someone to play with. It's another thing that has kept her spirits up all this time. She has been surprised by how active the cat has kept herself, preventing her from becoming a fat cat. Still, Lucky did noticed all the times Dawn looked depressed. And it was obvious why: She missed her rightful owner, Kairi.
Not a day has gone by that Lucky herself hasn't thought about that sweet little girl. How she wish she was still here. They all probably would've left this dreadful place a long time ago.
She let out a sigh as she gave the cat her food before exiting the room, finding a certain roommate of the same age in the living room, staring out the window.
When she laid her eyes on Kai Hikaru, she couldn't help but take him in. His messy neck-length crimson hair and those red eyes that she only wished were their normal blue right now. His current apparel consisted of a black long-sleeve button shirt with a red open vest over it, khaki pants, black boots with red straps, red fingerless gloves, and a purple scarf. Though she'd never admit it out loud, but she found the young man handsome in that get up.
Lucky shook her head with a blush, before finally speaking. "U-um, K-Kai?" The redhead glanced at her, making her nervous. "U-um...Are y-you r-ready?"
Kai looked back out the window for a moment before turning toward the door. "Let's go," he said, his tone sounding dead inside, as he walked out.
Lucky stood there for a moment, putting her fist onto her chest in concern as she whispered to herself. "Wh-why won't you l-let m-me in?" She then followed him out.
KAI: Nine years... Has it really been that long? I could never stop missing Kairi. And I was still no closer to getting revenge on Xehanort. And Lucky...still stays by my side, despite her dislike of our missions...despite how much distance I keep from her. I...couldn't fathom why...
A/N: Finally! I really need to stop procrastinating on my stories!
I'll be honest, I wanted to do a little more with Kairi and Kai, but the Skadi scene and Lucky exposition turned out longer than I expected, resulting in Skadi taking up the majority of this chapter, and the other Kairi and Kai stuff I wanted to do being pushed to next chapter.
Footnotes:
(1) Thanks to Kristen Verne for helping me figure out what direction to take this scene, part of what caused my writers block.
(2) Thanks to DinoWriter23 for his help with this scene.