#I wonder if anyone ever introduced him to tlc now that he's slowly becoming more pop culture-conscious

[true-intha-blu]

A Fragment of a Fragment; a Vanitas and Sora fanfic. Chapter 3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17863292/chapters/42630386

Ventus sleeps peacefully in Sora’s heart, but he was not the only one who found himself there. And the other was awake. A darkness now crept in the young boy’s heart, wishing to bend the precious light to fulfill his own need for a whole heart. And thus, it is not Ventus who influences the boy we once knew, Vanitas shall shape his and Sora’s destiny now.

Two boys meet the girl of the meteor shower and one of them makes an unnatural realization.

Once again out with another chapter. Like I said before, these short times between chapter updates will not be consistent and will probably be longer. I just want to get the main story going really. The juicy stuff that I know people want to see.

But for now please enjoy more Destiny trio little childrens being childrens, happy, and whatnot with character building, bonds and a much-needed input into Destiny Island culture which I hardly ever see in fics or anywhere for that matter.

And also how Vanitas is affecting Sora. What did you think now that he dwells in a heart of light that he is going to be a good boy? HA

This will contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and we'll work our way up. Disclaimer: Square Enix Characters belong to Square Enix. And Disney Characters belong to Disney. Nothing belongs to me.

Fragment of a Fragment The Girl who flew with Stars Chapter 3

The next day, Sora got a stern talking to by his parents about sneaking out. Though the boy could tell it was half-hearted at best, seeing how he found and helped rescue someone who had passed out and was shivering.

He asked about the child, curious as to what happened to them.

His father explained that it was a girl, and currently, she was recovering at the hospital as they tried to find her parents. Hopefully, they would get more information when she woke up. For some reason, his dad frowned when he said this. Sora wanted to ask more but was told that was all his parents knew.

He really wanted to meet this girl.

Sora was still sent to school and meeting Riku halfway on the path who looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Did you seriously sneak out?"

Out of earshot of his parents, Sora puffed his chest out proudly. "Sure did! Told you I would do it."

"Okay! That's cool. And you didn't get in trouble?"

"...Well.."

The two boys laughed down the path. Riku didn't ask further, already impressed what Sora did..

Sora asked about the girl every day.

Every day he was told she was recovering.

On a certain day he and Riku checked out the 'monster' in the cave (which turned out to be the wind howling much to Sora's disappointment). Riku declared his dream to leave the islands and go on real adventures, a bold and serious proclamation. It seemed almost desperate for a small child. Sora felt inclined to agree. He would love to see new sights and go on a real adventure. But he was in no hurry right now

When Riku made a comment about a new girl staying at the mayor's house that arrived at the night of the meteor shower, it sent Sora off running towards the beach. Riku caught up... but his mind seemed to be on other places than the mysterious girl that Sora wanted to see.

Sora's parents caught the two when they docked and told their son that the girl he rescued had asked to see him.

Riku was allowed to come as well.

The mayor's house was rather simple for one of his stature. A good old fashioned brick house, two stories tall with an east room added to it.

There, Sora met a girl his age. She had sapphires for eyes and hair as red as a sunset. Her cheeks were poppies. Her dress was as yellow as daisies and a silver bead on her necklace. She peered behind the legs of the mayor's wife. Barely visible except for a single sea deep eye.

The Mayor explained to Sora's parents that while the girl remembered her name, not much could be said about where she came from or who her parents were. The doctors had reported her body malnourished, along with several bruises along her arms. The causes were... The boys didn't hear this part; the adults spoke with hushed whispers and concerned looks. As for when Sora found her, luckily despite being found wet and cold, she did not suffer hyperthermia due to her early rescue. Going to the mayor's house she was recovering with special TLC that the mayor's wife held for the poor child.

She was a very quiet child, barely making a peep at times when she regained consciousness. But when she did, she often asked 'Who saved me?' She asked this everyday as she knew she had been in a bad place before that was dark and cold. Until someone came along and made her warm.

Now her rescuer was in front of her.

A boy who had sun-kissed skin and eyes as bright as the sky. The wildest hair ever that couldn't decide where it wanted to flow. He radiated excitement and warmth.

Next to him was a slightly paler boy, with stark white hair and icy eyes. He looked at the situation with confusion and curiosity.

Sora was bright eyed and wonder-filled at the person he had saved. He wanted to know about this mysterious girl.

The girl who arrived with the stars.

The adults talked, discussing about the lack of information about Kairi's parents and gently prodded Sora and Riku to 'be nice'. Sora didn't know why he wouldn't be nice to this girl.

The mayor's wife smiled at the two children. "She's a bit shy so please take things slowly. Introduce yourselves." She whispered something to the girl and gently directed her to the boy while pointing at Sora. Blue eyes widened.

Sora was bright and warm as the summer sky. "Hi, there! I'm Sora."

Riku took a much calmer approach. "Sora, we're not supposed to scare her."

"What? I was being friendly. You're supposed to say your name." Sora said this like it was an obvious fact to the world. A sigh from the older boy. "I'm Riku. Nice to meet you."

The girl shuffled nervously, hands behind her back. "Hi..." Came her small voice.

Sora beamed at her and began to launch into questions. What was her name? Where did she come from? Why was she on that beach?

A thunk hit his head from Riku, causing the younger boy to glare at his friend.

And beneath it, Vanitas did the same, but for different reasons.

Now he knew why he didn't like Riku. With that girl over here, he sensed a similarity between them. Keyblade Masters had performed the ceremony to bequeath upon them their own keyblades.

He knew little of the ritual, but he could sense the mark of the keyblade upon both of them.

So... was the girl called to by Sora? Or by Riku?

What a wonderful light...

This situation was familiar. An older boy, a girl full of light and the odd younger boy left out who respected the older boy...

Specific memories eluded the dark half but he knew this situation, a very specific deja vu. At this rate the cycle could repeat, and, if his old master was indeed alive, he would find these keyblade users, and manipulate them like Ventus and his... friends. It would be just another cycle of manipulation.

During this time, since Sora found that girl of light, Vanitas had been thinking, struggling to stay awake when the light of Sora's heart called him to ease. And thus, Vanitas had needed the constant source to fuel his hatred when staring where Ventus slept.

He thought about his position as the old man's apprentice. How things could have been so much different... But back then there was little choice.

It wasn't as though Vanitas actually liked his master. Him and Ventus are probably the two people in all the world's Vanitas loathed the most.

And that was saying quite a lot.

Seeing as how he loathed a lot of people.

Back then, it seemed like the only way the dark aspect could escape the painful existence was to follow his master's orders; to merge with his light half and become the X-blade. It was his only hope.

But that failed.

He had been too scared of what his master would do to him if he opposed. For him... there was no other way but to obey.

In the end, it was all for naught. Vanitas lost everything.

Yet...

And yet he found something else.

Though this light may not be his, he was not willing to let it go. If possible, find a way to get take some of this light if there was a way to get his own body...

The old man (wherever he was) would be attracted to two potential keyblade wielders. If this girl came from another world, that was potentially destroyed... Then it would eventually happen here.

And that meant...

He would become a pawn again. A puppet to his Master's whims.

Cold fear, flashes of pain and misery, and the heat of weeping tears and despair. If he needed to breathe in this realm, his breath would have caught in his throat from the sheer terror of the mere implication of going back to how things where. 'No...' Not anymore.

Vanitas refused to dance to anyone's demands. Refused to be a mere thing.

Even if Sora could not use a Keyblade... there are ways.

Ways to use this boy to his own ends. And prevent the former master from repeating history.

His master must still be in a weakened state, or something else. Even if the old coot could predict most things, there was no way he could predict a boy like Sora and for himself to survive.

He could wait.

He had time.

And he would utilize this heart.

This would not be a repeat of Ventus.

For now, with that in mind, Vanitas could rest.

The two boys were only able to get a few words out of Kairi and thus opted to try to talk about themselves so she would become more comfortable with them. She told them her name was Kairi.

Eventually, it was time to leave and though they bid the girl goodbye, neither of them had the intention to have it end there.

Sora strived to visit Kairi every day, his parents allowed this, both as an award and as an adjourned punishment for him sneaking out. Instead of going to the island to play, he would be helping Kairi get more comfortable.

It was less of a punishment and more reward for Sora, as this is what he wanted to do anyway.

Riku joined in as well since the two boys were nigh inseparable. They tried for a few days but only they were able to get simple sentences from her. Kairi did not seem to mind their company so that was a plus.

It was when Sora got there early with some crayons and paper that the bond began to form. He asked her if she liked drawing, and that seemed to break that shy shell she had.

Riku came in and seeing his friend and the new girl asking him more questions about what he does, the white-haired boy instantly joined them.

Sora drew crowns, swords, and stars.

Riku drew swords, fire, and armor

Kairi drew stars, flowers, and hearts.

As days passed and Kairi's condition and confidence improved, the two boys learned more about her.

She liked fountains and gardens. Her favorite thing to do was looking for neat objects and go on scavenger hunts. Her favorite color was blue. She thought swords were cool too. Her favorite food were strawberries.

Riku liked sunsets. His favorite thing to do was run. His favorite color was purple. He wanted to see new things. He was a fan of chocolate. Sora loved the sea. He loved to swim too and climb trees. His favorite color was red. He wanted to go on an adventure. He liked fruit in general.

Soon enough Kairi joined them in school. She was instantly accepted in their age group. Tidus, Wakka (being the oldest kid who hung out with them), Selphi. There were not many kids their age in their section of the little community.

It was when they decided to take her to the island, where they play, Sora and Riku made a startling discovery.

"You can't swim?" Sora all but yelled in shock.

Even Riku looked confused at the concept of someone not swimming.

Kairi looked embarrassed. Her face now as red as her hair. "I never seen so much water." She admitted looking out to the ocean. She was also nervous getting on one of the boys' boats, neither knowing how to row or, as stated, swim.

And thus, the newly formed trio was left on the mainland beach looking out as the sun started its slow descent towards the horizon and ocean.

Riku quirked his head. "They didn't have water where you live?"

"Oh no. It's not that." Kairi corrected. "Where I was... there were lots of fountains and waterways that went through it. It helped water the gardens. But... I-" Kairi took on a dazed look suddenly as though her mind halted.

"You still don't remember?" Riku asked noticing. The girl shook her head.

"No. We never had oceans in my world-..!" Kairi made a startled gasp upon remembering that. Something about... someone told her something about how there are many words.

Riku's eyes immediately brightened. "Another world?"

Sora caught up on this, an exciting feeling growing larger and larger in his chest. Little did he know it wasn't just his own excitement.

Kairi thought long and hard. "I... think so... wherever I came from...Felt... Different." She looked uncomfortable at this point. All that was left to remember was dark... cold... scary.

Sora reached out, sensing her distress over not remembering. "Hey. It's alright. I'm glad you're with us so we got to know you, Kairi." Sora thought long and hard. "Wait! Maybe we can find a way to get you back home!"

Riku was immediately on board with this idea. Memories about the stranger and the old story of the boy leaving the islands came flowing back to his mind "Yeah! We'll go exploring the worlds and we'll find yours!"

Kairi still was quiet.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked getting closer.

"Well... I like it here." Kairi mumbled looking at the two shyly.

The two boys looked at each other in silence.

... "Well... We can wait... maybe when we're older..." Sora looked at Riku.

The boy shuffled. "Yeah. We still need to learn more at school. And... get stronger and stuff."

"Yeah! And teach Kairi how to swim!" Sora finished up looking more excited than ever.

Kairi giggled despite her nervousness. "Thank you. Both of you." The three children smiled with hope and adventure in their hearts.

The adults had to teach Kairi how to swim as all the Destiny Island children had been swimming practically in diapers and teaching someone who didn't know was almost incomprehensible to them. They also helped her learn to row and Riku's dad had built her own rowboat to go with the other kids. Eventually, they took her to the island where Kairi found a new interest in finding different seashells and showing them to her friends.

"What's this?" Kairi was holding up a small speckled shell up to the boys. They were on the beach, near where Sora found the girl. She liked this spot.

"Um..." Sora began to think.

Riku considered as well. "I think... that's a... Bonnet."

The redhead giggled at the cute name. She held up another one that looked like a pale teardrop.

"That one's easy." Sora said. "It's a paper fig."

"Let's see if we can find a conch shell. I bet Kairi would like that." Riku said gesturing out to the ocean.

"We'll have to swim." Sora said casually turning to their newest friend. "Kairi, do you think you'll be okay?"

She nodded. "Yep! I've been learning lots of lessons from my Mrs.-... I mean, my mom."

"Her mom?" Sora whispered to Riku

"I think she got adopted Sora." Riku whispered back to his friend, unsure how Kairi felt about this.

However, it seemed that the girl got the gist of what they were saying. "It's okay. She and the mayor are really nice and look after me. And... I don't remember my actual mom and dad or... anyone else."

A stony silence followed after this. The two boys unsure of how to address Kairi's situation.

"So how do we find a conch shell?" She asked the two breaking the muteness.

The two boys proceeded to lead her into the sea, she was wearing shorts and a shirt like they were. And dived into the salty water.

Kairi would swear both boys were part fish; they flowed through the water without hindrance. While she wasn't bad herself, considering she only started a month ago, the feeling of being left behind... was prominent. She would keep up with them. One day.

"Hey, Sora! Betcha I can find a shell first!" Riku shouted from across the water.

"You're on!" came Sora's reply before he dived down in the water. Riku followed closely behind.

"Oh c'mon!" Kairi complained. She had gotten used to Riku and Sora's consistent contents. More so the fact that both of them seemed single-minded determination to beat the other.

She floated around before spotting a particular raised land formation with a ladder leading up to it.

"GOT IT!" Riku cried out clutching a fighting conch in his hand.

Sora burst out of the water only a moment after, holding a king crown conch. "Aw C'mon! I found mine right at the same time you did!"

Riku merely grinned. "Too bad you're a slower swimmer than me!"

"Not true! I won the race last time!"

"That's because you're a sore loser."

"So are you! Fine then! We'll do another! Kairi can you-" Sora noticed their newest friend was nowhere to be seen. "Kairi?" His voice grew small and worried.

"Don't worry. She's up by the tree." Riku pointed to the miniature island that was connected by the bridge.

The brown haired boy immediately swam over to the ladder. The two boys caught up with their friend who was staring at the crooked palm tree.

"What is this?" Kairi asked her eyes wide at the pretty star-shaped fruit. She was sure even in her forgotten memories, she had never seen anything like it.

When she turned to the two, both their faces were bright red, their eyes shifting off to the side.

"What?"

Sora gulped. "Well... it's... y'see... Um..." He seemed to be at a lost of words.

Riku spoke up but hardly any better. "Paopu fruit is for older people... it... special."

"Very special!" Sora added.

"How so?" Kairi asked even more curious.

Both boys stuttered to answer.

"If... you share it... with someone you care really, really, REALLY, deeply about... like how mom and dad care about each other... then you're..."

"Connected forever." Riku said. "No matter how far you are apart. You're connected. That's why the sailors make charms out of thalassa shells in the same shape for a safe voyage."

"They did it a lot long ago. But some still have them. My dad has one. My mom made for him." Sora said to them.

The awkward silence was creeping up on them again.

"So... did you guys find a conch shell?" She asked them.

Startlement and horror crossed the two boys' faces. Realizing they had dropped them on their way here. They stared at Kairi, and then at each other. Back at Kairi, and once again at each other.

Both of them dove off the Island.

"Hey!" Kairi called out again, bewildered at their antics.

"No...n-no fair!" Sora called out panting to his older friend. They had been racing to school and once again Riku beat him. The score they had has been taking a steep turn in Riku's favor recently.

And Sora... felt a great irritation in him. He hadn't seen Kairi recently due to her getting along with others, he didn't feel too well and... this.

"C'mon Sora. I won fair and square. Stop looking so grumpy. It's just a race."

Sora knew it was never 'just a race'. Just like it how it was never 'just a swim' or 'just a climb' and especially never 'just a sword fight'.

Riku was his friend, no doubt, but for some reason, Sora began to fear losing like this. Like... if he kept losing... something he cares about will be lost.

Something precious.

Sora didn't want to lose that.

He wanted to get better.

He needed to get better.

In school, they all did their normal school work as they discovered more about their own abilities. Kairi was good at Arts and Crafts. Sora held a fondness for making plastic models. Riku had a knack for working with wood like his father.

Then it was the sick season.

One day, Riku came down with a fever. It was common for kids his age to get during this season.

Riku hadn't been sick in so long though, so seeing this... was a shock to Sora. He only saw Riku briefly. Face red and slick with sweat. Breath shallow with harsh coughs and eyes unfocused as the fever took a toll on his body. To see his best friend, who he thought was stronger than any other kid, taken down like this... was very shaking to a small young boy.

Even if Sora strived to be better than Riku, seeing the guy he admired taken down a notch like this... brought a very startling reality to his small perception.

Anyone could fail. Anyone can be weakened.

He felt like he broke a promise.. that...

He had to protect... Riku...

Did he promise that? To who?

His worry about Riku distracted him from many other things. Primarily in school. Luckily for him, Kairi was by his side. So they often tried to get treats over to their friend as they recovered.

It was just ill luck that as soon as Riku could come back to school, Kairi came down with a flu. Also not uncommon at this time of year. What was, was Sora's inability to get sick.

Even with this small blessing, the parents still kept him away from Kairi. And despite not being sick, Sora felt like a mess seeing how an integral part of his life now, was missing.

He touched the crown necklace he had.

He could hardly remember what life was before Kairi. Only a few memories of the 'pre-Kairi era' existed and most of them concerned him playing with Riku or his family.

It didn't feel right.

It felt like he had lost something.

It was different from when Riku was sick. Sora didn't know how it was different... but it was.

Everything just seemed a little bit dimmer.

That night he had a bad dream. A horrible awful dream.

It was a torrent of darkness swallowing him. A wave bigger than any he had seen in the sea during a storm.

Everything it came across it crushed it. His house. His family. The island. His friends. Riku. Kairi.

No matter what he did, nothing worked against it.

And those in authority told him nothing was wrong even as they too were swallowed up.

It crashed over him, washing away the ground underneath his feet, the air from his lungs. The horror of losing everything was embedded in the wave.

No matter what he did.

He lost.

Lost against a force he did not know about.

Because he was weak.

Because he thought he was safe.

He saw stars, they did not fall but wink out of existence.

He had to...

He had to protect the light.

His light... He had to be...

When Sora awoke the next morning, he didn't remember the dream. No darkness or any stars disappearing.

He seemed fine.

And yet deep in his heart, those shards of darkness had grown ever so slightly bigger. And a desire that would change him.

Nothing would steal away what he cherished.

So he would get stronger. So even things like that darkness would think twice before messing with him.

End of Chapter 3