#black haired sora is so scary but like no way is there gonna be a pink haired mf in the aot world bruh

[arolegos]

piss on titans

[atomic-taco-muffin]

KH x Danganronpa Part 7

Warnings: You can tell from the gif below

Rating: SFW

In a Secret Forest, Kairi was writing a letter to Sora as the evening sun washed over her.

“I'm sorry I left without saying good-bye. Did Master Yen Sid tell you? I'm training to become a Keyblade wielder like you. That's right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures. I want to get out there and do my part to help. Merlin has used his magic to bring us to a place where time doesn't matter. We can take as long as we need to complete our training. He's an amazing wizard. Oh, and by "us," I mean me and Lea. He's really sorry for all the trouble he caused. I told him it's fine, but he won't stop apologizing. I'll admit I was a little scared of him at first, but I've gotten to know him better. All he ever wanted was to help his friend. Honestly, it's hard not to like him. Every now and then, I catch him staring at me. When I ask what's wrong, he says, ‘I'm not sure. I think I'm forgetting something. Don't know what.’ Sora, I think it may have something to do with you. Your journey is all about helping people: some that you've never met before, and some like Lea that you have. They're all counting on you. It won't be easy, but I hope you'll remain the happy and cheerful Sora I know. There's no heart your smile can't reach,” she wrote. She heard footsteps and looked over to see Lea.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He broke his stare after a moment and tried to shrug it off, turning away.

"Huh? Nothin', sorry," he said.

"Lea," Kairi said, admonishingly.

"What? I am." He scratched the back of his neck. She giggled, and he sat on a rock opposite of her as she continued writing.

"A letter?" he asked.

"Yup," she replied.

"To Sora?"

"Mmm, technically yes. But I won't send it. It's more for me."

"Ask Merlin. He'll deliver it for you."

"Yeah, but it's okay. I just like talking to Sora, even if it's on paper. Hey, maybe you should write one."

"Huh?"

"To Nagito and your daughter." (I'll explain who his daughter is after this chapter.)

"I-I don't know. I don't even know if she's alive. It's been so long."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"All I remember is the Remnants of Despair, including Nagito taking her. She must be so scared right now."

"I bet she's really brave. Just like her dad."

"Like her three dads." The two of them chuckled and Lea remembered something.

"Oh!" he said. Kairi tilted her head, puzzled as Lea pulled out two sea-salt ice cream bars.

"Here," he said.

"Ice cream? Really?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, I asked Merlin to pick these up." Kairi smiled. "Ya know, we did both summon Keyblades. Gotta celebrate."

He handed a bar out to Kairi, who took it.

"You're sweet, Lea. Did your daughter like this flavor?" she said.

"Naw. She was more of a cookie dough fan."

"What was she like?"

"She was the sweetest little girl ever. Every Christmas, she would run up into my room at 2 in the morning and wake me and her other dads up."

"Wow? 2 in the morning? That's gotta be rough."

"Eh, you get used to it." The two of them chuckled and Lea watched Kairi take a bite, zoning out again.

"What?" she asked.

"N-nothing, I just..." he said as he averted his gaze.

"You're trying to remember what you forgot?"

"Well, I, uh... Yeah... Yeah." He looked out at the sunset as his words trailed.

"So tomorrow--you and me in the ring. You ready?" Kairi said.

"'Course," he said as the sun started to get into his eyes.

"Don't hold back, Lea. Promise?" In the glare of the sun, Lea thought he saw a different girl in Kairi's shadow. Her black hair swayed softly in the breeze as she held her ice cream with a smile. Lea's emerald eyes welled up with tears and he dropped his ice cream bar in shock. Unable to contain his feelings, tears streamed down his face.

"Huh? Are you okay? Lea!" Kairi said. He quickly tried to wipe them away as Kairi got closer to him.

"Yeah... Sorry..." he said.

"You're crying. What's wrong?"

"Something in my eyes," he sniffled.

"Lea..." Lea stood up.

"I'm...gonna go. Sorry," he said.

"'Kay, but stop apologizing," Kairi said.

"Fine...on one condition."

"What?"

"Call me Axel from now on. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah. Okay, Axel." He walked away, leaving his ice cream bar in the grass.

~~~~

Mukuro, Ansem, and Xemnas were walking along the streets of the destroyed Towa City, Shirokuma following close behind. Just being in this city made Mukuro sick to her stomach. 

“You okay, love?” Xemnas asked. 

“Yeah. I just hate seeing this place torn to pieces,” Mukuro said. 

“Y’know, there’s a resistance to try and stop this mess,” Shirokuma said. 

“I didn’t ask for your opinion!” 

“It’s not an opinion! It’s a fact!” 

“Yeah, but I don’t trust you. So shut up and let us handle the situation.” Shirokuma stopped talking and followed them quietly. 

“So what happened to this city?” Ansem asked. 

“Junko created this killing game all because she was bored. She forced me into it because she knew of my skills. But when I broke one of the rules of the game, she killed me,” Mukuro said. 

“Damn....” 

“Yeah. Junko brought me back for the war but I know she’s gonna try and kill me again.” 

“SOMEONE HELP!” someone screamed. Mukuro squinted in front of her and saw a little girl being chased by a group of Monokumas. 

“Shit!” she said as she grabbed one of her guns. The little girl ran past her and she shot all the Monokumas. 

“Not even children are safe here,” Xemnas said. Mukuro looked behind her and saw the little girl shaking in fear. She walked over to her and knelt down in front of her.

“You okay, sweetie?” she asked.

“I-I think so. That was so scary,” the little girl cried. 

“I know. But they’re gone now and they can’t hurt you.” 

“Wait, Sky? Is that you?” Xemnas asked. 

“Uncle Xemnas!” Sky ran to Xemnas and he engulfed her in a hug. 

“Who is this?” Mukuro asked as she stood up. 

“This is Axel and Saïx’s daughter, Sky. The Remnants and Junko must’ve brought her here,” Xemnas said. 

“T-they did! Along with daddy Nagito!” Sky sobbed. 

“We should get out of here. Before more Monokumas show up,” Ansem said. 

“Agreed. It’s gonna be okay, Sky,” Xemnas said. Ansem opened up a corridor and they all walked through it except Shirokuma. 

“Dammit! That girl was supposed to die!” he said. 

“You and I both know that she is more powerful than the Remnants,” a familiar voice said. From behind Shirokuma was Xehanort. 

“Gah! My prince of despair! How are you, my love!” Junko(Shirokuma) sighed. 

“What the fuck did you do?” Xehanort asked. 

“I simply extracted a part of myself and created this to try and manipulate Mukuro. But she’s tougher than I thought.” 

“Well, you did murder her.” 

“That’s true. But now, I need to focus on killing that little girl. She has way too much hope in her.” 

“Well, whatever you do, do it quick. I still have Kingdom Hearts to complete.” 

“Of course, my love! I would never want to disappoint you.” Xehanort scowled and walked away, reminding himself that he’ll get to kill her soon. 

[blissfulnightrain]

KH OC Week Day 4 - Treasured Memories

Amaya’s looks change a lot throughout the story, but there is one thing that remains consistent about her design - her shark tooth necklace. It’s an important memento to her that helps her in more ways than one over the years. Read about how she got it below!

Ten years prior to KH1...

She had been playing with Sora by the shore, when suddenly, he found some kind of small black pebble of the likes they'd never seen before.

"That's a shark tooth, there, that is," their father explained.

"Sh-shark?!" Amaya panicked, inching away from the water.

"Don't worry, princess," he bellowed. "The owner of this here tooth is probably long gone by now. Ya know, they say if ya wear one, it'll protect you from all the dangers in all the seas."

To Amaya, it sounded almost too good to be true.

"Whoa, really?!" Sora's sky blue eyes sparkled with wonder. "Cool!"

"If ya want, we can fasten a necklace out of it," Daddy suggested. "Then, ya can wear it and keep it with ya all the time!"

"Hmm…" Sora's eyes narrowed at the tooth as he fiddled around with it. "Sis, you can have it!"

"Huh?" she gasped. Sora presented it to her in his outstretched, tiny hands.

"I don't need it, 'cause I'm already gonna be the bravest, strongest sailor ever!" he boasted. "You think everything in the ocean is scary, so this will make you brave like me, too!"

"Does it really work?" Backhanded compliment aside, she looked to her father for confirmation. He affectionately ruffled both of their hair in response, and let out a hearty laugh once more.

"What do I always tell you kids?"

"You never know 'til you try!" Sora answered, pointing a finger.

"Exactly right, son," he affirmed, tousling his chestnut hair once more.

"So that means you have to come out with us and give it a try some time, Sis!"

"And what if it doesn't work?" she pouted, still twiddling the tooth between her fingers.

"Well, there is one thing that's more powerful than any of that old magic hulla-balloo," Daddy said, crouching down to the children's level.

"Really?" Sora asked excitedly. "You have to tell us what it is!"

"Well," he started, pulling the two of them closer towards him, "you two gotta always stick together, no matter what. One day, when you kids are older, there may come a time when you get into some big problems, and Mommy and I won't be able to help you. But if ya work as a team to protect each other, I know ya'll overcome any hurdles life throws your way." He then winked at his daughter. "You keep that shark tooth as a reminder of that. And who knows? Maybe its magical power'll be just the thing that makes all the difference."

A few days later, Daddy presented her with the necklace. Its chain was a simple, thin black rope, embellished with traditional colorful beads. In between their pattern rested the tooth, polished to shine like obsidian. She wore it around her neck with pride, always clutching it close to her chest whenever she felt afraid, and the words her father spoke to her that day always came flowing back.

Whether or not it truly did have a magic power to begin with, she couldn't say, but after her encounter with that young woman…

Well, there still wasn't any proof to confirm that, either.

- Keeper of the Keywielders Chapter 4 (FFN | AO3)

Wonder who that young woman is....

---

Thank you so much to everyone who is continuing to participate in @khoc-week, it really means a lot!

~Mod Bliss

[honey-and-peachs]

Haikyuu: Kato Michiko (Oc) Overview profile

Character information Kanji:  加藤 美智子 Full Name:  Michiko Kato Other Names: Kato-chan  (by Various) Ms. know it all setter (Former teammates from Junior high) Mich-san (by her brothers) Michiko-Chan (by a few) Raven beast of terror (Neighborhood boys) Ms. Know it all, smartypants setter, ( Kageyama) Gender: Female Date of birth: December 31st Age: 16 Height: 159 Cm Weight: 50 kg Background information Family: Mother (Setsuna Kato) {Deceased} Father ( Junpei Kato) 1st Oldest Brother( Isamu Kato) 2nd Oldest Brother (Hiroaki Kato) 3rd Oldest Brother ( Koji Kato), 4th  Oldest Brother ( Takaro Kato), 5th Oldest Brother (Yukio Kato) Goal: To make sure her sets are the best no matter who the spiker is Likes: Volleyball and Sukiyaki Dislikes: Over demanding people Professional status Occupation: 1st-year high school class 1-5 Former Team: Unknown Current Team: Karasuno girls volleyball team Number: 11 (First-year Junior high ) 1 (Third year Junior high) 6 (First Year high school Inter high) 2 (First Year high school Spring high) 1 (Third-year high school) Position: pinch server (First year junior high) Setter/Captain (3rd-year junior) Setter (First-year high school) Setter/Captain (3rd-year high school) Debut Information In the Manga: Endings and beings In the Anime: Endings and beings Seiyu Information Voice actor: Sora Amamiya ("People have there, own reason's for the choice's they make") Kato Michiko is a first-year at Karsuno high, she is a regular setter on Karasuno girls volleyball team and is known for her brutal strength on the court. She first started out playing volleyball at a young age and still continues to play it to this day, the reason is unknown why she plays volleyball.

Appearance:

Kato is a slightly tall first-year girl with a fit toned muscular body, Unlike most charter, Kato doesn't have a particular aura she is seen to be calm and friendaly most off the time, but when provoked or annoyed she is shown to have a more intimidating aura than Kageyama which can be highlighted and shown on her scowl face and piercing cold eyes, which gives off a look as if she is going to murder someone.  She has black medium length hair with bangs that cover up most of her eyebrows and often has it lose, but when at practice or during games she has her hair ties up in a high ponytail. Her typical attire consists of either her school uniform or practice clothes.

Background

Kato started taking interest in volleyball during her second late year in elementary school, after finding some of her mother's old photos. Since than Kato took interest in the sport and started playing volleyball by herself in her backyard. Her brothers would sometimes assist her with her play, but would oftentimes be busy with there own sports.

After meeting Iwaizumi and getting saved by him from her neighborhood boys who bully her. Kato, later on, met Sayuri a new transfer student at her school, seeing how the girl was new Kato decided to befriend her and show her around. But when she sawed her getting bullied by a few of her neighborhood boys, she decided to take Iwaizumi's word into action and beat the hell out of her neighborhood boys, without realizing her strength. Since then the neighborhood boys where no terrified off her because they just turn a shy girl into a beast.

Ever since that situation happend, Kato ended up becoming less bullied and more of a person who was scarry. She ended up getting nicknamed the Raven beast of terror by most of the neighborhood boys because, she was now like her older brother Takaro, hot-tempered and scary looking.

After befriending Sayuri, Kato found out that she was in the same neighborhood as Iwaizumi wanting to see the guy who gave her confidence and not be afraid to stand up for herself she decided to hang out with Sayuri in her neighborhood. There she met Oikawa being impressed by his volleyball skills Kato pleaded Oikawa to teach her how to play because she had a hard time finding a mentor or learning how to serve.

Not wanting to teach the young girl, Kato ends up asking Yurika for help in volleyball because all Oikawa ever did was made her be his ball girl while he practiced. Seeing how Kato loved the sport, Yurika end's up teaching Kato how to play volleyball, all though Yurika would often play volleyball with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, she would sometimes ask Oikawa if Kato could join them.

All though Kato did join them, the situation would be quickly changed by Oikawa saying that she can't be on a team unless she show's aggression, which she does show later on by severing the volleyball towards Oikawa’s face out off dispute anger because she was getting tired of him criticizing her.

Oikawa, being the egocentric self, found Kato's weakness which was her temper to prove herself, worth. Whenever they played volleyball he would try his best to rile her up whether she was on his team or not, he knew that her pride and anger was her weakness. Seeing how Oikawa was bullying and tormenting Kato both Yurika and Iwaizumi knew that the next serve Kato was serving was gonna send Oikawa straight to the hospital if he didn't stop his attitude. Seeing how this situation was continuing towards there later years and not getting better. Yurika decided to give Kato a pep talk before she entered Junior high seeing how short-tempered Kato was, Yurika knew that Kato will have a bad path in volleyball if she kept this type off altitude.

When Yurika, Iwaizumi and Oikawa reached Junior high, Kato started to realize their friendship started to fade and fade away, not wanting them to break there friendship because of Oikawa's stupid antics off how Yurika was a traitor just because her father wanted to her to go Shiratorizawa junior high, she tried her best to make things neutral between them,  that way no fights and arguments would arise, but that didn't start to end well for them. By the time Kato's entered her first year in junior high, it was clear that she had potential that would be much greater than other players on her team including Yurika the one who taught her how to play volleyball. However, Kato's exceptional abilities and knowledge of consideration for others and their struggle allowed her to become a favorable setter by those around her, she earned the nickname "Ms. know it all setter", because she was able to bring the best in all her teammates no matter what there flaws where even though she was a stubborn protectionist.   Since her true meaning nickname was meant as a playful joke by her teammates as to how she was able to control her, teammates and show good leadership. Outside players assume that it was something bad but after a press review from her coach it was stated that her nickname given by her teammate was meant as a playful joke because she knew how to bring the best out of the people. During her first year of Junior high, Kato meet Kageyama at the junior high athlete meet, after accidentally bumping into him due to her droping her phone, and him returning it to herm the two later start to discover that they a lot in common than they have ever realized, the main one was how Oikawa being a huge jerk towards them. But after finding out that Oikawa, Iwaizumi and Yurika slipt there ways, Kato felt a bit pressured on how she was going to be dealing with the situation now that her Senpai splatted. By the time her third of Junior high, Kato's ability with her teammates have grown to the point where they made it to nationals during their second year. During Kitagawa Daiichi and Yukigaoka Match Kato was impressed at Hinata's jumping ability all though his wing spiker technic was poor he had potential to grow, but ever since that match, Kato started to get a bit worried about Kageyama seeing how bad his behavior was Kato was shocked to see the setter being benched during there later on games when confronting him what was wrong, Kageyama pushed Kato off saying nothing was wrong and she should mind her own business

At some point during the junior high national competitions in her third year, Kato ends up passing out on the court due to severely pushing her body off its limits and falling into cardiac arrest, which leads her teammates and her best friends into a state of panic because they taught they were going to lose her. During, present-day, Kato tries her best to not push her body too far as she did in her third year in junior high but since choosing Karasuno and realizing that all lot of the girls lacked potential due to there lack practice, Kato knew she had to break that promise and work hard for herself and team.

Statistic:

Power: 4/5 Jumping: 4/5 Stamina: 4/5 Game sense:  5/5 Technique: 5/5 Speed: 4/5

Being nicknamed the "Raven beast off terror" by her neighborhood boys and "Ms. Know it all setter", by her former teammates, as talented all-rounder setter and player, Kato has the potential to unify and lead her team with her overwhelming talents, all through she is able to communicate properly with her team and get them going threw the game. She never insists on how she feels and keeps her emotions towards herself. The only time she would show off her anger and control attitude when her teammates were not practicing all though Kato never experienced this during her junior high years, but when she came to Karasuno she tried her best to control her anger and temper around them, but ever since the inter-high she's expressed emotions off anger and controlling making her teammates think that she was now turning into the new king off the court. But after some time she quickly calms down and apologized, towards her teammates during the spring high saying that she was sorry because she was put under so much pressure by a lot of people. Asides from her being a really good setter, Kato has incredible game sense and speed, which allows her to play other positions including Wing-spiker and middle blocker, but she chose to play the setter position because it allows her the control and helps others at the same time. In addition to her skills, Kato can play other positions such as the wing spiker, middle blocker, and pinch server, since she has been playing volleyball since her early years of primary. But decided to choose the setter position during middle school, when her coach kept positioning her as a setter, do to her bringing out the best in her team.

Height and reach

Fingertip height: 208 cm

Jumping Reach: 330 cm (spike) / 310 cm (block)

Skills

Pinpoint Accuracy Kato is able to accurately throw and hit the perfect toss for her spikers anywhere on the court.

Overhand serve: Kato has a powerful overhand serve that her opponents are aware of and made comments about it being similar to Oikawa's Jump serve. All tho her overhand serve is'nt, strong as Oikawa's it is close to his range to a mimic of his jump serve.

Jump serve All though Kato has a good strong jump serve she, struggles to keep the aim off the ball in her opponent's side and thus causes the ball to go out, due to her strength. But during training camp before the nationals, she was able to perfect her jump serve aim, but still maintains to struggle a bit with the force because if you push or throw too hard, it goes out and if you try to aim it properly it might not have that much of a strong impact.

Outside setter: One of the most difficult sets, move Kato said she had performed. This move was originally made by accident during the Karasuno girl's high team aginst Shirato girls match. Kato performed this move by trying her best to save the ball from going in, due to quick hesitation the setter set from outside the court where the ball was going to go out. Seeing that the ball was back up it allowed Sasaki to spike the ball all through the spike was blocked it was still back up do to the team's consistent fit off keeping the ball up. All tho this was one of hardest moves to perform she tries her best to improve on the move by calculating how high or low she should set the ball.

Two setter attack Kato also has a sharp straight spike, which allows her to act as an extra wing spiker on the right side when her teammate Aoki is used as a setter.

Perfect set Her best toss is known as the perfect set, which allows her spikers to hit effortlessly unlike Atsumu who toss the ball to create an illusion, Kato, on the other hand, increases the difficulty of her sets thus creating improvement for spikers and there ablity yo get used to different type of sets.

Observant Perception Growing up with five older brothers who all played sports have given Kato an advantage to observe her opponents really well, due to helping out her brothers and watching them practice she was able to pick up a good game sensing ability before she even joined a team, as a result, she was able to read her opponents moves and emotions much like Oikawa how he was able to read Kageyama and Hinata's strategy on their god-like quick.

Trivia:

Favorite food: Shabu-shabu

Current Concern: She is insecure about her breast size

Kato wears black volleyball shoes with and dark blue-grey accents.

Kato has been playing volleyball since second year of Primary school.

She is the only female child out of 6 children and is the youngest out, of all her siblings.

Kato is extremely smart in both her studies and her volleyball ability.

Before choosing Karasuno, Kato got accepted to the top girl's volleyball school's ( Seijou, Niiyama,) but decline them all because she felt like if she where to go to any of those school she will be betraying her senpai's and friends and that will cause a lot of drama for her than she already has.

Kato might be the only female child but she has 5 older brothers who are extremely overprotective of her, during Kato's middle school days she brought over Kageyama to her house to hang out only for him to be attacked and frightened by her older brother Takaro.

The quotes that are mention on Kato's relationship with Katsuro and Hiroaki takes place in her childhood.

Kato currently lives with 3 of her older brother's instead of 5 because the other two already were married and have started there own Carrere's while the other's are just finishing up there university's.

Kato is the same height as Noya and Michiyama.

Due to growing up with 5 brothers Kato is a bit more boyish than girly and prefers to wear sports clothes than skirts and dresses.

Kato's father work as a Deputy Chief director at Sendai's metro police station.

She shares the same jersey number as Enoshita, Yahaba, Fukunaga, Futakuchi, and Kanoka Amanai.

Nomenclature:

- Michiko  (美智子) - Beauty child

- Kato (加藤) - "add/increase”

[aliceslantern]

Beyond this Existence, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 7

Summary:  After Xehanort's death, Demyx finds himself unexpectedly human in Radiant Garden. With nothing but fragments of his past and a cryptic statement from Xemnas, he's left to figure out who he is. When Ienzo asks for his help with a project, the two find common ground, but the trauma and secrets in both of their pasts could tear it apart. Zemyx (Demyx/Ienzo), post-KH3 canon compliant

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

Of course resting wasn’t easy.

He took a bath, and then sat washing his clothes, kneading the fabric again and again against the side of the old-fashioned tub. Usually he dreaded the castle’s lack of real modern conveniences (they didn’t even have a microwave), but for some reason the manual act of washing was comforting. With nothing else clean to wear, he had to put on the old black coat, and for the first time it felt uncomfortable against his skin.

Demyx didn’t want to risk going out in the black coat, so he sat in the kitchen, nursing the same cup of weak coffee, as he waited for everything to dry enough to wear. He so had to do some shopping. This was tedious.

“Oh, Demyx. You’re alright. What--” Ienzo flinched at the sight of the cloak.

“I did laundry. I had nothing else to wear.”

“Yes, I see. That makes sense.”

“I made coffee. It should still be hot.”

Ienzo poured himself a cup and then sat across from him. Demyx noticed, again, just how tired he looked; his face was pale and he leaned against his palm as though he couldn’t support his own weight. Ienzo only ever looked this tired when he’d spent the day with Ansem; even when they worked together on the translation, he was able to at least sit up straight.

“...Are you okay?” Demyx asked. “You look terrible.”

“I should be asking you the same,” Ienzo said in a soft voice. “I’m very tired.”

“Why don’t you get some rest?”

“Haven’t the time lately.”

“I don’t get it. You keep saying yourself that we have so much time now, but you aren’t using any of it to take care of yourself.”

Ienzo took a drink. “I assure you I am in good health.”

“You don’t look like it.”

“I’m surprised after your illness yesterday that you’re worried about me.”

Demyx blinked. “Of course I am. We’re… we’re friends.” His voice faltered on the last word and he looked down into his mug.

“I suppose we are, aren’t we,” Ienzo said. He smiled. “I find I rather enjoy your company. When you’re not collapsing, that is.”

Demyx felt a blush creep into his face and for several heartbeats couldn’t speak. “What is it you’re doing with Ansem?” Demyx asked.

“Like I said before, we’re trying to find a way to help Sora. But we’re working almost entirely in theory, in the metaphysical, with completely untested hypotheses. I’ve been programming simulations to try and come up with any way to test them. It’s very complicated work, and… emotionally taxing to boot. There’s a lot at stake here. And while the ideas we’ve had are exciting, I feel as though I’m approaching something beyond understanding. And that frustrates me.” He looked up suddenly, and turned pink. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to complain to you.”

“No, I mean, you’ve dealt with all my stupid shit. This is big. No wonder you’re so stressed out.” He clapped his hands together. “I know. You need a break.”

“I haven’t the time--”

“You can’t help Sora if you’re burning out. Which, clearly you are. You’re important too, you know.”

He traced his finger over the rim of his mug. “...I suppose you’re right,” he said softly.

“Course I am! Listen, if anyone’s an expert in slacking off, it’s me. Once my clothes are dry I’m taking you out of the castle to get some fresh air. In the meantime, you’re going to go to bed.”

“But I--”

Demyx shushed him. “You need sleep. When was the last time you had a full night’s, anyway?”

Ienzo looked down. “...I cannot recall,” he mumbled.

“Exactly. Go take a nap.”

“Yes, I… that sounds much needed.” Ienzo stood and he actually stumbled a little. Demyx caught him by the elbow.

“I’m going to keep an eye on your door,” Demyx said. “If I see you leave to go off do work I’m going to be super pissed. And I can be scary.”

Ienzo laughed a little. The sound made him feel tingly.

“No, really! I can be!”

“You’re sweet to care,” Ienzo said. “Thank you.”

“Go nap.”

He watched him walk down the hallway and go into his bedroom. His heart was beating fast again. This was the opposite of what pain felt like. He sighed, and then becoming aware of how he was feeling, he shook himself out. “...He’s my friend,” he whispered allowed. But he’d called him sweet...

“Ah, Demyx. Good morning.” Ansem’s deep voice startled him out of the reverie. “I’m surprised to see you dressed so.”

“It’s the only clean thing I have,” he said.

“Yes. That slipped my mind. Easily fixable. I should hate for you to be uncomfortable during your time here.” He lifted the coffee pot off the burner and, finding it empty, exhaled sharply. “Have you seen Ienzo? I was running some of his simulations and I had a question about the code.”

It occurred to Demyx at first that he should lie, because Ansem was kind of pissing him off. Can’t you see how tired he is? Aren’t you supposed to know him better than me? “He looked exhausted, so I told him to get some rest.”

Ansem put a hand to his forehead. “Of course. He never complains, that boy. He’d work himself to death if you’d let him. Unfortunately, I was too distracted to notice. I’ll try to keep a better eye on him in the future. Thank you for that.”

“Least I can do.”

Demyx was starting to feel antsy. He knew Ienzo was only probably just falling asleep, but he wanted to check and see if his stuff was dry. “So I hear you’re interested in ancient Keyblade history,” Ansem said.

“Yeah. Um. After everything that’s happened, the X-blade and all that, I just. Wanted to know more.” His mouth was dry and he drank down more of his coffee.

“It is fascinating how we can inadvertently make myths into history. The power of the human will is not to be underestimated.”

Demyx frowned. “It’s not a myth, though. It actually happened. Hundreds of years ago.”

“Yes, but, before that, it was nothing more than a prophecy, a legend, part of perhaps some religion. It was the belief of strong-hearted individuals that made it come true. To the horrors of the rest of us.”

“So you do know about it,” Demyx said. “Ienzo said there weren’t many texts.”

“There are not. I only know what was passed onto me by my predecessor, the last sage queen of this world. This sort of storytelling gets diluted over time. I’m sure you know that. You’ve studied folk music, I presume. It’s similar in that regard, things getting passed down and changed over time.”

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I’m gonna go. See if my clothes are dry.”

Several hours later, the Organization cloak once again in the empty drawers of his dresser, Demyx went to check on Ienzo. He brought him some water and braced himself to have to tell him off.

Ienzo’s bedroom was a bit bigger than his, and clearly had been lived in before. The deep cherry wood of the furniture matched and had been taken care of, unlike the random pieces in his own room. A roll-top desk was piled with books, a lamp nearby. A poster of local constellations was on one wall, old and very faded. And of course there was a bookshelf, piled high and bursting to the seams, but what Demyx really noticed was a threadbare purple stuffed cat, barely visible behind some candles.

Ienzo was fast asleep on the double bed. He hadn’t even taken off his coat, and his shoes were piled haphazardly by the side of the bed. He was curled in on himself, as though sleeping hurt. Demyx set down the glass of water, took the edges of the quilt folded at the foot of the bed, and pulled it over him.

Ienzo stirred. Demyx couldn’t see his face under the layer of hair. “...Master?”

“No, it’s me, Demyx. I was just bringing you some water. Go back to sleep.”

“...Why is this happening?” He curled even tighter on himself, the blanket rumpling. “It hurts, why does it--”

Demyx shook him, trying to free him from the nightmare. After a long moment, his bloodshot eyes opened. “Hey. It was just a nightmare. You’re okay.”

Ienzo stared at him as though he couldn’t quite see him. His face was flushed and he sat up slowly. Demyx could hear that he was trying to get his breathing under control but failing, starting an agonizing descent into a panic attack.

“Try and breathe, okay? It’s over now. You’re safe.”

He put his hands to his head, his panicked breath dissolving into sobs. Demyx was utterly at a loss for what to do--he was afraid to touch him, lest he somehow made it worse, but he didn’t know how else to provide any comfort. He rested a tentative hand on Ienzo’s back and rubbed gently. To his surprise, Ienzo leaned into his touch. Demyx hugged him lightly. Ienzo was shaking all over. “It’s okay,” Demyx said over and over again. “You’re alright now.”

After what seemed like a long time, the sobs subsided, though he was still trembling. Ienzo pulled away and Demyx let go at the first sign of resistance. He mopped at his eyes.

“Better?” Demyx asked. He handed him the water. “Here. Drink this.”

He obeyed. He loosened the cravat and buttons around his throat.

“That was a memory, wasn’t it?” he asked.

Ienzo nodded. “...You’re here,” he stuttered.

“Oh. I mean, I was just checking on you. But then I saw you were dreaming, and I couldn’t leave you in the nightmare.”

“I’m sorry you had to see me like this,” he said. “Sometimes the memories are stronger than others.”

“Come on. You’ve seen me worse off.”

He hugged himself tightly.

“...Do you want to talk about it?” Demyx asked.

Ienzo shook his head. “No. Let’s… let’s go to town.”

“Are you sure? You just had one of the biggest panic attacks I’ve ever seen. Maybe you should just chill. Catch your breath.”

“I need to get out of here,” he insisted. There was a raw wildness in Ienzo's eyes that he had never seen before. He'd always been so put-together, but for the first time Demyx realized it was all an act. This was likely the tip of the suffering iceberg.

Demyx understood. As much as this castle had to be Ienzo’s home, there were a lot of dark memories wrapped up in it. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

Outside, the sun was starting to set. The air was cooling rapidly. Demyx was glad he’d thought to grab his sweater this time.

“It’s getting dark,” Demyx said. “You sure it’s safe? Neither of us have weapons.”

Ienzo nodded. “The Heartless haven’t been as plentiful as of late. There’s also the town’s defense system.” His voice was flat, dull. Demyx could tell he’d been shaken to his core.

“...Right, but we see something, we’re heading back. ‘Cause I am so not in the mood.”

Town was brightly lit; string lights were stretched across the buildings, making things glow and providing an extra level of protection against Heartless. The marketplace was still busy, the smells and sounds catching up to them. Demyx noticed a flyer pasted onto one of the buildings.

“There’s a concert in the square,” he said. His heart catching in his throat. “We have to go.”

“That must be new,” Ienzo said. “I haven’t seen anything like that here in a very long time. I should like to see it myself.”

They waded through the crowd in the marketplace, taking a circuitous route that actually spit them out near the foot of the castle. A small stage had been set up, and people were sitting out on lawn chairs and blankets. A warm, fizzy excitement gathered inside of him; it had been so longsince he’d heard any music, especially music that hadn’t been produced by himself.

“There’s a bench over there,” Ienzo said. “I’d rather not sit on the cold ground.”

“No problem.” He spotted a concession stand. “Are you hungry? Let’s get snacks.” The main product was popcorn, so he got enough for two of them. There was also hard apple cider, which sounded interesting. “Do you want one?”

“I’m not a big drinker, but… admittedly it sounds nice.”

After only barely having claimed their bench from other people, they settled back down. Demyx was glad to see that the tension in Ienzo’s shoulders had lessened slightly. “I take it you don’t get out much,” Demyx said.

“Not at all,” Ienzo said. “It’s very easy for me to forget about the mundane. I feel like all I do is look at the bigger picture. Especially lately.”

“It’s helpful sometimes. Otherwise it’s so easy to lose perspective. When I would do recon missions, I spent so much time picking apart everything about a world--its culture, its people, the power dynamics at play--that I would forget that everyone there is living. Sometimes I had to join them, to talk to someone, to just… remember I’m real. It’s the only way you can hang onto yourself.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Ienzo said. “But how can I afford to put myself above everything when there’s so much at stake?”

“You’re not putting yourself above it. You’re treating yourself as having worth. Which is something you keep lecturing me about.”

In the faint light, Demyx could swear he saw Ienzo turn pink. “I think it’s starting,” Ienzo said quietly, which was the perfect thing to distract him.

For the first set, his attention was rapt. The musicians were just a random group of people from the town who clearly hadn’t spent much rehearsal time together, and the songs they played were old Radiant Garden folk songs, well-worn and remembered. Technically, the musicians weren’t even very good, but it was the love with which they played the songs that compelled him.

The second set was more uptempo, and clearly meant to get people on their feet, which it did. Demyx exhaled; it felt like he’d been holding his breath forever. Hearing the music had grounded him, gave him some clarity. He realized Ienzo was staring at him and jumped.

He smiled. “I’m sorry. It was just so interesting to watch you watch them, so to speak. It was like you were in your own little world.”

“No,” Demyx said. “No, it made me feel a part of this one.” The silence and eye contact made him bristle. He stood. The pint of cider he’d had must have been a bit stronger than he’d thought. He was woozy in a good way. “Do you want to join them?”

“Me? Don’t be absurd.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun. Give me one good reason why not.”

“We’ll look foolish.”

“More like you’ll look dumb for being the only one still sitting. And besides. I bet half of these people are too drunk to care.”

“...I wouldn’t know how.”

“It’s not exactly rocket science.” Demyx offered his hand.

Ienzo sighed and drummed his fingers against the seat of the bench. “ Fine. But do not tell anyone about this.”

“That’s the spirit.”

He took Demyx’s hand, then froze. “I changed my mind.”

He blinked. “...Are you embarrassed? Hey, it’s okay. I’m just trying to help you relax a little. Do you want to go back?”

“Yes… perhaps.”

They left the noise and light of the town. The cool, dry air shook some of the tipsiness he was feeling. Demyx realized Ienzo was still holding his hand. His breath caught. He didn’t understand what this meant--was he also a little drunk?

“Just another moment,” Ienzo said when they reached the postern. “Look at the sky.”

The night sky seemed impossibly bright, brighter than he’d ever seen in years. The worlds that had fallen to darkness were healing, one by one.

“I haven’t seen… I can’t believe…” He reached up, as if to touch the stars. He squeezed Demyx’s hand with his other. “Why is it that I’ve never looked up? Look, Cassiopeia is there in almost its entirety. It’s been ten years since I’ve seen it in full. And Calliope.”

“It’s over,” Demyx said softly. “Finally.”

“No, there’s still so much work to do. And yet…” His voice hitched. In the semidarkness, it was hard to tell exactly, but Demyx could have sworn he saw tears in his eyes. “I thought this would all be over… because of me. Because of my mistakes, my insistence we did those experiments, almost everything was destroyed…”

“But the darkness was always there. You couldn’t have known what would happen. Anyway, you were a kid. Someone else should have known better and helped you.”

“You’re too kind to me, Demyx.” He shook his head and took his hand back. “Part of me will probably always feel guilty.”

“Then… let me help you with that. And I’ll be there to remind you of all the good you’ve done.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but this is my pill to swallow.”

They lapsed into a silence. Ienzo kept watching the stars. Demyx couldn’t see his eyes through the hair.

“I… have enjoyed your company,” Ienzo said after what felt like an eternity. “You’ve shown me there is more to life than… well, guilt and research. It reminds me that I am human, and… real.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. His heartbeat was making him jittery. “I always thought I would be alone somehow. And now I’m not.”

Ienzo turned to face him. “Rather succinct.”

Demyx was close enough to feel his body heat. He reached up with a trembling hand to touch Ienzo’s cheek. He seemed unsure of how to react to the touch, though he didn’t pull away. He put his hand on top of Demyx’s.

Do it, you coward.

He leaned in and kissed him. It was a light kiss, borderline chaste; it was over as soon as it had begun. Ienzo was gripping his hand painfully tight. Demyx couldn’t see his expression. Had he been reading the signs all wrong? Was this a terrible idea? Had he just fucked it all up?

“I’m sorry,” he said. Anxiety burrowed under his skin. “I thought-- Look, I--” He had no way of defending himself without outright lying. You could explain away most other gestures as friendly, but not this.

Ienzo shook his head. He let go of Demyx’s hand.

“Will you say something? Please?”

He kept shaking his head. He put his hand to his throat.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you--”

Ienzo knotted his hands.

Panic hitched in his chest. “I’m sorry. Oh god. I’m going to leave you alone. I’m so sorry.” He turned away and ran.

In a panicked daze he got back to his room, and collapsed onto his bed. He thought his heart might explode. How had he been so stupid? He hoped the damage wasn’t too extensive, but how could he be sure? He’d rendered Ienzo speechless. Why had he thought it was even possible--

The night was long. His heart was racing too fast to let him get any sleep. He played the moment over and over again, feeling a bit sicker each time. There was no way to take it back.

Around dawn, as he sat tangled in sheets, shaking all over, there was a faint knock at the door. He sat up.

Ienzo poked his head in. He looked terrible, pale and exhausted again. No doubt he hadn’t had any sleep either.

“I’m so--” Demyx began, but Ienzo held up a finger.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Ienzo said in a tired, low voice.

“Of course I did. I forced myself on you--”

“You did no such thing.” He leaned against the dresser. “I’ve thought… and I’ve thought… I’ve felt… something physical between us. The hints have been piling up, and this… longing I feel… I can’t categorize. I have to explain myself.”

His heart was pounding again, but in a different way.

Ienzo kept his eyes on the floor. “When I was a child there were times I would go mute,” he said. “Whenever I felt something strong, or experienced something traumatic, I would shut down. These spells have gotten less common as I’ve gotten older, but when I experience them, it’s impossible to communicate. It still happens now when I’m under exceptional stress, or surprised. And you surprised me. I’m sure it was an odd thing to witness.” He was wringing his hands together. “I thought about it all night. Part of me wonders if this is displaced desire, and hormonal impulses on both of our parts. I don’t pretend to understand these things. I never had reason to in the past. Maybe some would consider this a poor match. But I am tired of denying myself good things.”

The muscles in his chest were so taught with tension that his next breath hurt. "You mean--"

Ienzo crossed the remaining few feet between them and kissed him.

He tensed. It was more of a collision than a kiss, awkward and messy. Ienzo's anxious reaction suddenly made a whole lot more sense; he was completely inexperienced. “I know what you mean,” Demyx stuttered. “About this being confusing, and weird, and probably a bad idea, but I… I’m all in, Ienzo.”

Ienzo sat down next to him delicately, like he would fly apart if he moved too quickly. In the early morning light, Demyx could clearly see the flush in his face. He took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I didn't know what to expect," Ienzo said. His other hand lingered near his lips.

“When I kissed you? That was your first?”

“I never had the desire before. Or really, the time. I presume the same isn’t the case for you.”

“...Well. That’s true.”

A few beats of tense silence. Demyx put an arm around him, lightly. He remained tense, but did not flinch away. “Did you want me to do it again?”

“...I should… I should like that.”

He ran a hand through Ienzo's hair. It was deceptively soft, almost like down. Demyx kissed him. It took him a moment or two to begin to figure it out. He moved slowly and almost tentatively. Ienzo's hands dropped to his waist. He was learning, and quickly, and soon he began to kiss back with a little more fervor. This was more what Demyx thought it would be like. Warmer. More natural. He could hear him breathing rapidly. Ienzo reached up to touch his hair, his face. Demyx wanted nothing more than to pull him close and not let go, but he had to be careful. Still. It had been so long since he'd been touched in any capacity, romantically or otherwise, and he felt something like shock.

Ienzo pulled away. He was, if possible, even redder, and he didn't make eye contact when he said, "I didn’t think it would feel this way.”

“Disappointed?”

“No. The opposite.” He withdrew his hands. Demyx ached when the touch disappeared, but it was crucial that they take their time. “But I’m starting to feel ov-oversti--” He touched his throat.

“Overstimulated?” Demyx finished for him. “It’s okay if you need space. This is all new to you. We can take it really slow.”

Ienzo moved away a few feet and pulled his knees to his chest.

After a few minutes of breathing, Demyx broke the silence again. “You go quiet?” Ienzo nodded. “That’s okay. We can just chill here.” He swung his feet a little. Somehow, now that they kissed the longing was stronger than before. Demyx wondered why the body had to be so greedy. He should’ve been happy with this much; he was happy with it, and eager to see what this meant for them. “Is it okay if I talk?”

He nodded.

“It was really unexpected for me too,” Demyx said. “It just felt so much more real than anything I’ve experienced. Maybe it’s because I have a heart… or part of one, or whatever. I’m just… glad. I’m still barely catching my breath.”

They sat there for a while longer. Demyx thought he would get bored, but he found he didn’t mind this neutral sort of space they’d made. Sitting with Ienzo in silence was far better than sitting alone. He couldn’t stop smiling. After what could’ve been an hour or more, Ienzo cleared his throat.

“Better?” Demyx asked.

“Quite. I’m very… I’m very tired.”

“Go try to sleep. It seems like you’ve just gone through a lot. If it makes you feel better, I’m probably going to turn in too. Hard to sleep last night.”

“Yes, I agree.”

Demyx kissed him once more. “I’ll see you later.”

He watched him leave. Once the door was closed Demyx curled up tightly, feeling a reckless giddiness. He couldn't believe what had just happened, but the shock was pleasant for a change. Surprising. For once, being human wasn't so terrible after all.

[forsakenoathkeeper]

One More Tomorrow

Shuu Sakamaki x Sora Yasutake One More Tomorrow  [ Part 1/? ]

⚠ Please be wary of adult content, such as explicit sexual content, acts of violence, description of gore and blood, use of foul language, abuse, trauma, and other potentially sensitive materials ⚠

Part 2

When she woke that late afternoon, it was to the smell of fresh rain soaking into the old foundation: musky, earthly. It brought out the best qualities in this old cottage, and the worst. The rain made the small house smell strongly like an old house would. There was a leak at one of the east side windows, though it wasn’t too major. Yet, somehow, it was comfortable, like something out of a whimsical dream.

The tapping sounds of water pummeling the roof was drowned out by the melodies pouring out of the buds tucked into the young woman’s ears. The setting sun normally cast blinding light through the gaps in the curtains; however, the room was dim this afternoon, the covered window dark, unmoving curtains likely blocking the grey clouds that hovered in the sky above.

At some point during her slumber, she had wrapped herself tight in the thick blanket. It was mid autumn and the ocean was a measly fifty miles or so. Wildflowers bloomed almost all year, ravaging sidewalks and the edges of the roads like weeds. It was hardly a cold town, and yet she always shivered and sniffled as though it was, with skin pale, face lacking in pigments, and fingers cold to the touch.

Consciousness steadily came to her and she realized Chopin’s Raindrops had been playing. It was the most fitting coincidence: the free falling rain, the chill in the air, and the setting sun. It all fit in beautiful harmony with the piano and violin spewing from her ear buds. It was an afternoon unlike one she had had in a very long time. She felt oddly excited in that moment, like there was something extravagant waiting outside.

But, when she rose to a seated position in her bed, the earbuds fell loose and landed in her lap. For a brief moment, she was unmoving, frozen as if she had suddenly been violently torn from one reality to another. The deafening silence of the empty cottage was overwhelming. Despite the crackling of the rain and the grumbling of distant thunder, she could hear the empty halls, the vacant rooms, the untouched chairs, the dusty cabinets... white noise that was consuming, swallowing, so painfully... loud.

She grabbed the earbuds and shoved them back into her ears before pressing her palms over the buds, fingers over the conch of her ear, pressing tight as if to block out the silence and trap the music inside. Her head lowered until curtains of brown locks fell over her shoulder and hid her face, some strands pooling at her waist and resting heavy on her thigh.

She drowned out the solitude with the music, hoping she had enough time to finish the song before it was time to get up. She lifted her head and her eyes followed the cord that trailed from the buds towards the side of the bed where her phone laid. She reached over and tapped the screen once to see the black illuminate the time: 6:27. Three minutes until her alarm went off... The song wouldn’t be over in three minutes, but... She fell back on her pillows as if it would.

The lobby was empty and silent for the most part, with the exception of a single business man who was seated at one of the lush arm chairs, clicking away at the mobile computer on his lap. She didn’t understand why he felt the need to do that here, in the dead of night, as opposed to the comfort and solitude of his bedroom; however, judging by his receding hairline and cheap suit, he needed someway to feel important. Working with an audience seemed like a way to achieve that, if she gave a damn, which she did not.

She paid him virtually no attention, and focused on the filing that needed to be done behind the counter. She moved like a conscious-less being, hunching over to file paperwork into the proper drawer then standing back up to continue sorting through the pile atop the counter, before continuing the process: like a machine, with great precision.

A normal person likely would have held resentment for the day shift; after all, they left her this mountain of paperwork, every day, without fail. It would be waiting for her and she would finish it before her shift ended, also without fail. Of course, the day staff wouldn’t dare leave such a mess if they didn’t know she would do it.

She was quiet, she had no interest in their lives... Perhaps, they saw that as an exploitable weakness. Sometimes, she wondered if they were right - if her lack of desire to combat them on their laziness was her passively accepting these aggressions: like a living stepping stone. But... she had yet to say a word, yet to combat their behavior. She just did the paperwork.

The night shift was slow, it was easy, and it worked for her. It was difficult to explain why she was a natural night owl. She simply slept well during the blazing daylight hours, and was wide awake and alert at night. Oddly... the days felt hazy, felt exhausting and long. Nights felt serene, like she could sense everything more acutely. It just felt... right.

It continued to rain through the entirety of her shift. She had intentionally opened a window to let the soothing aromas waft in. It made the place colder, but she didn’t really mind. She set the fire place in the grand lobby and considered it adequate, a warmth to ward off the cold without disrupting the ambiance she was trying to enjoy.

Setting the fireplace paid off when an old couple arrived and waited patiently for a room to be prepared for them, huddled up and farm in front of the fire. Then arrived another business man... then another... A middle aged woman arrived at some point. The woman had yapped on about her life, as if the desk attendant had a single care. She nodded, responded minimally, and was polite, and the woman seemed pleased with that.

Then, suddenly, it was four in the morning, and the next lobby attendant had arrived to relieve her. “Oh my-!” the girl had proclaimed, suddenly. “The window was open the entire time! You poor thing... Must have been freezing!” Although she wasn’t, she smiled and fawned innocence of the ordeal. She was believable, and that was all that mattered. Explaining why the cold didn’t bother her, why the rain smelt so good, would be... difficult.

As always, it had gone by so quickly... Another day, another group of stranger’s faces, another paycheck... She didn’t feel tired, like a normal person would after working. She felt distant, like she was watching someone else’s life float by. Instead of witnessing it, she was experiencing it. But-... No. This was her life. Night shift hostess at the Doroftei Hotel, a day’s drive outside of Bucharest. A quiet, empty cottage waiting for her to return.

“Sow...”

She didn’t need to look up from her book to know who that was, but found it impossible to resist a small smile. Even if he hadn’t chosen to greet her in Japanese, his deep voice gave him away without fail. The bench she was seated at trembled slightly when he plopped down next to her. She closed her book and removed the earbud from her left ear - having decided to leave the right sight unoccupied less someone beckon to her - before peaking at him in the corner of her eye.

There were few ways to explain the attachment she had to him. By all means, it made no logical sense. She didn’t remember where they met, under what circumstances or why. She just knew him. He was her only friend. There was a familiarity that came with his company. They didn’t exchange pleasantries like strangers, ask pointless questions about one and other’s lives. They sat, side by side, like they had known each other forever.

It had been nearly a week since she last saw him. To her delight, he looked healthy today, with his hair tied in its unusual mess of a ponytail, a sort of glimmer in his amber eyes. She never asked why he would disappear for odd amounts of time, drawing the conclusion that he was traveling frequently to find work. His hands often looked rough, sometimes he had bags under his eyes, sometimes his eyes were red and tired, sometimes he-... just didn’t look right. Some part of her mind told him not to press, as if she already knew the answer... an answer she had forgotten.

He didn’t look directly at her, but sat with a long arm swung over the back of the bench, leaning back comfortably, legs spread in a masculine manner. She had paused her reading, out of respect, out of the comfort of his company. They didn’t really speak, merely sat together in silence at the town square.

It wasn’t a city; but, even the quaint little village didn’t sleep at night. The town gardens were illuminated with magnificent lights and a living fountain where the streams and spouts glowed. Cars drove by frequently, but not obnoxiously so. College students from the nearby universities stormed the bars and theaters. Couples sought one and other in the night like secret lovers. It wasn’t what most would consider a good place to read. But, she liked it. It was... alive.

“You’re not eating right,” he suddenly blurted. She directed her gaze at him and saw he was sitting upright now, arms crossed, looking down at her in utter disappointment. The look was kinda scary; yet, she felt no unease under his amber gaze. She didn’t even try to make an excuse or deny his claim, but merely muttered a pathetic, “sorry...”

“The fuck-” he immediately scoffed back at her. She must have made a face because he suddenly snapped his mouth shut and looked anxious, like he was searching for better words. Eventually, he gave up on the subtle approach. “Ya’ should be eating more - way more. Ya’ look like you’re gonna kill over. What is it? ...hah?”

She looked away, feeling suddenly uneasy from his harsh stare and questioning. She had never really had much of an appetite, really. But, lately, she just... wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t an active choice. She wasn’t trying to lose weight or lashing out at the universe. She just... forgot. She was never hungry. The thought to eat rarely occurred unless she remembered that she had forgotten.

“I-... Where is this coming from?” she asked, not harshly or defensively. Rather, she sounded embarrassed over his concern for her health. It wasn’t modesty, but the fact that she didn’t want him to make a big deal about it. “Ahh?” he retorted, tone loud and questioning. “Ya’ look sick - that’s where,” he explained. “Sow-”

“Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted, almost snapping at him. “I’m fine. I don’t need you to-” he huffed, loud enough to interrupt her, before he barked, “like hell,” in a firm, denying tone. “You look-” Again, she interrupted him. “-terrible. I got it. Thanks.” Somehow, through this bickering, she had managed to avoid looking at him, until now. Maybe she expected him to look angry. Instead, he looked-... lost.

“....dying,” he finished, a bit sourly. His eyes had narrowed, but there was no angry in them. Rather, his brow hung low in unease. His mouth opened for a second as he contemplated something, before snapping it shut. She did the same, flapping her jaw for a moment as she searched for the right words. “I’m not... I’ll-... I’ll try to eat better... okay?”

As she stood up, gathered her shoulder bag, and shoved her book inside, she did her best to ignore the expression on the man’s face. He didn’t believe her; but, he couldn’t combat it. “Tch,” he scoffed, looking away almost childishly. “Bye, Yuma,” she said, giving a very slight, almost unnoticeable bow, before turning away from him. She made a single step before he called out to her.

“Sora-...” If she had ever heard him call her properly by her name, it had been such a long time that she couldn’t remember. It made her tremble uncomfortably, feel heavy and ungrounded at the same time. It made her head rattle as if she had just been shaken violently. She turned back to him.

“Forget it,” he said, almost immediately, before her eyes could even catch his gaze again. Just like that, he was gone. The bench was empty, and she was alone, and she wondered... if he was ever there.

[renchan7]

“Who Will You Choose” - A Oneshot with hints of Sorato & Taiora

Hello, my followers! I decided to post today instead of tomorrow!

I’m back from the dead!

From my last post I said I would create a thank you fic for reaching 100 followers. Imagine my surprise to see today that the number of followers has grown. Thank you!

As promised, below the cut is a oneshot created for all of you! It has elements of Sorato and Taiora for all to enjoy. And as always, though not required, feel free to show me some love in a review here (even if it’s an anonymous).

Type: Oneshot Characters: Matt Ishida / Sora Takenouchi / Tai Kamiya (elements of Sorato & Taiora) Rating: K Word count: 3,332

Or read it HERE!

Who Will You Choose

The sun shined down, and a breeze calmly blew, while Sora sat on a blanket, her eyes closed, and head tilted back enjoying the day at a nearby park. There were children playing on a playground set, and others occupying the soccer field, but she chose a shady spot under a cherry blossom tree towards the end of the property, taking in the much needed silence.

Today was Saturday, and how grateful she was for that. She was in her senior year of high school, and with it came high expectations of college entrance exams, test scores and the most important question of all: What do you want to do with your life?

Not today. For once, she was plain Sora Takenouchi escaping reality as she waited for Tai and Matt to join her for a picnic. She could see the stress taking a toll on her friends as well. What better way to de-stress than with a good home cooked meal and friends to share it with?

What would’ve made it perfect was her homemade cheesecake. Tai drooled anytime she baked it. Matt wasn’t much for words, but he’d always continue to take small slices after each piece was devoured until all slices combined could be considered two decent-sized slices.

There wasn’t enough time to run back home and whip something up. Frowning from her forgetfulness, she rested her back against the tree, group texted the guys asking if they could bring dessert, then closed her eyes enjoying the breeze once more.

There it was again. That pesky thought lingered every day since Mimi spoke those embarrassing words last year when they went out to eat:

“They’ve both grown to be very handsome. What’re you gonna do, Sora?”

Was it that obvious? Could others see what she felt? It was one thing to help others with their issues, like the mother hen that she was, but to allow herself to be vulnerable by letting others in her head…that was scary, uncharted territory.

And anyway, who knew what the guys thought, or if either of them felt the same way - Not to mentioned she’d become flustered anytime she tried to figure out which one she liked the most. It was best to keep her thoughts to herself.

“Stupid Mimi,” Sora muttered as sleepiness washed over her.

That is, until her eyes flashed open to find Tai face-to-face with her tapping the top of her head with concern. The closeness startled her. “Hey, what gives!”

“Oh! Matt! You can stop panicking. She’s awake!” Tai exclaimed.

Matt glared at Tai as he kneeled down next to Sora. “I wasn’t panicking. Why scare her?”

Squinting at Matt, Tai gave a knowing grin. “Sure, buddy.”

“I wasn’t!”

“ ‘K,” Tai chuckled.

“Guys, guys, really,” She tried to diffuse the tension. “I’m not made of glass - Hey!” She pushed Tai away. “Find your own personal space.”

Tai fell to his bottom laughing from shock. Regardless that he was focused on Matt, she found Tai was still too close.

Matt grunted, partly trying to hide his small grin. Still kneeling next to her, he placed a hand over her forehead. “Hmmm, you don’t feel warm.”

“What do you mean?” Sora said, alarmed why he’d check her temperature.

“You look pale,” Matt stated with concern.

“Not to mention, we kept calling your name and you wouldn’t wake for anything,” Tai chimed in and gave a wink. “Good thing Kuwagamon didn’t invade, or you’d be a goner.”

“I’m fine, guys,” she blew off their concerns with a wave of a hand and a smile. “I’m worried about you two. We don’t get to talk much anymore. Come on,” she motioned to the both to sit next to her as she opened her bag removing all the food she made. “I hope you two saw my text to bring dessert? I’m really sorry. It slipped my mind.”

“Not to worry!” Tai held up several boxes of Pocky sticks. “We stopped at a convenient store.”

“These were on sale,” Matt said opening a small box revealing a variety of pastries. A grin shown as he placed the box aside and helped Sora unpack the food. “I’d rather we share making the food next time, ok? You don’t always have to do everything on your own.”

“O-ok,” she said, her eyes falling to the food while taking out the last dish. It was all she could do to ease her heart from beating so fast. Matt could always see through her. Sometimes it was a relief not having to explain her thoughts.

And sometimes it left her thoughts jumbled, like this moment.

“Hey, remember that game we used to play?” asked Tai ripping the top from one of the Pocky boxes. Matt rolled his eyes passing out the plates, as Tai held a Pocky stick in between his teeth. “You’d chicken out every time.”

“I didn’t chicken out, and that’s for dessert,” Sora snapped the stick in half with one hand.

As she motioned to throw her half aside, she paused, glancing at the chocolate. Tai lifted a brow giving a knowing look. She added to her statement, looking to the side as she shrugged, smiling, while eating it instead. “We were five and I only ate all the way to the chocolate part. You were the dummy to eat the plain side.”

“I say you chickened out,” he crunched on what was left of his Pocky stick grabbing another one out of the box. “See how much chocolate covers this? You were always thiiiis close,” he emphasized pinching his thumb and index fingers closely together, “and then that’s it. Chicken.”

“Would you stop calling me that? We were five! Eat your stupid lunch!”

“No,” Tai leaned forward, the new Pocky stick hanging in between his teeth. “I call for a rematch.”

“No one’s having a rematch,” Matt interjected, plopping Tai’s bowl of food between his two friends, as irritation dripped heavily from each word. “Eat your food.”

Tai scowled chewing on the Pocky stick as he gathered his bowl and chopsticks. “If you want a stick that bad, just ask. Geez.”

“Trust me. I don’t.”

Sora couldn’t help but to giggle. Despite the banter between the guys, they had their own unique friendship. What she could never admit was she did chicken out. Every time. The blush that appeared could be felt growing down her neck. What a flirt!

“Hmm?” Sora was snapped out of her thoughts finding Tai’s hand feeling her forehead this time.

“You’re right,” Tai addressed Matt, his forehead wrinkled. “She doesn’t feel warm, but she does look pale.”

Pale? What was with these guys?

“Here, Matt, pass me a -” That was all she could say before everything happened in a blur.

A circular black and white object zoomed their direction. Screams. Grass. Dirt. Dizziness.

Was Matt shielding her? Why was Tai yelling? What in the world happened?

“Are you ok?” Matt asked her climbing off. He gritted his teeth looking towards a group of kids a far off. “Jerks.” Turning back to her, he brushed the dirt off her pants. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“And another thing!” Tai yelled at the kids. He held a soccer ball between an arm and his side marching towards them. “Why aren’t you using the designated field?”

Sora’s mouth fell open. “I was almost hit?”

“He’s taking care of it. The important thing is that you’re ok.”

More from the nervous energy after registering what almost happened, Sora stood to her feet and shouted with fury to the kids. “Hey! Why are you all laughing? I could’ve seriously -”

“Okay, okay.” In a gentle tone, Matt pulled Sora away a few feet. “Let Tai take care of it.”

“But-”

“Come to my concert.”

“Wait. What?”

He fished in his pocket and pulled out a ticket. With a shy grin, he said, “This one is sort of different, and, uh, it’d…mean a lot for you to be there.”

Butterflies. A multitude of them fluttered in her stomach. Tucking a strand of hair behind an ear, she asked in a quieter voice, “Why’s it different?”

Matt shoved his hands in his pocket, his eyes falling to the ground. When he answered, he took a step forward meeting her eyes once more. “Because it’s for an audience of one. Tomorrow. 7'o clock. My house. And - And a home cooked dinner.”

Sora’s voice caught in her throat. A date? Butterflies times two.

“Please say something,” Matt said. His voice had a slight shake as a short ‘heh’ was released after his statement.

Here was her long, awaited answer: Despite their breakup in middle school, Matt still felt the same as her!

Middle school was a confusing time. They both deeply cared for the other, but at the time they mutually agreed it would be best to stay friends. They both believed their relationship was becoming too serious for their age and maybe some space would be best. There were many days she regretted agreeing to this afterwards. The only reason she never spoke up was that he didn’t show interest. Why put yourself on the line if the other seemed happy?

Well, there was that one time last year when Matt gave her a ticket to his concert before class started. It seemed like he wanted to say more until they were interrupted…

Before she could say anything, it looked as if her eyes were playing tricks: Matt faded in and out. It probably wasn’t anything, and was from shock with the soccer ball. Yeah, that was it.

Ignoring her thoughts, she held the ticket close to her heart overjoyed. “I’d love -”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Two foreign arms picked her up, tossed her over their shoulder, and ran the opposite direction like their life depended on it. They ignored her kicks and screams. She tried to see if Matt or Tai were hot on their trail, but couldn’t get a good angle.

Hold on. These look like Tai’s clothes from today. And his shoes. What was going on in the world today? “Tai! Put me down this instant! What the heck has gotten into you?”

“Me?” He answered taken aback. They hid behind a cluster of trees, Tai peeking out from behind them, as he whispered his answer in a harsh voice. “What the heck’s gotten into you?”

“Tai,” her voice rose in a warning, “why are you acting weird?”

“Sshh, he’ll find us.” He peeked again to verify they still had time. “You’re confused with your feelings. That’s what’s weird.”

“Who’ll find us? Matt?” She sighed walking back to the picnic area. “I’m not confused, and I’m certainly not going to talk about this with you.”

Tai blocked her path. “What does he have that I don’t?”

Butterflies. They were forming again. “What are you saying?”

Tai held one hand behind his neck, the other on his hip, turning his head aside. His lips pressed together in a flat line trying to decide on what to say. “What if I, um…” He looked to Sora searching her eyes until turning away. “Nevermind. Let’s go find Matt.”

Sora stood still, surprised. Was he trying to say…Did he like her too? Was it possible the reason why she had a hard time figuring out who she liked was because she sensed that they both liked her? She was starting to tell Matt yes - At least that was before Tai…

Why was this so complicated?

“Pocky sticks?” That was the only thing Sora could say.

Tai paused, his back still facing her, but turned his head towards her direction. “What?”

“I, uh, I accept your rematch.” If she chickened out, it wasn’t meant to be. But if she didn’t chicken out…

Tai turned to face her, a wide grin showing, and walked back to her taking out another Pocky stick from a side pocket. Placing it in between his teeth, he lowered his head to hers, and garbled, “Game on.”

Her eyes did it again. Now it was Tai that faded in and out. She was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t from the shock of the soccer ball, and something really was wrong with her. Maybe that’s why they kept saying she looked pale?

“Okay,” she said more to herself, ignoring her thoughts, and took a deep breath.

The butterflies in her stomach danced in rapid succession.

“Okay,” he teased using his teeth to wiggle the Pocky stick with his teeth.

Before she could reach the candy, Matt flickered into existence, panicking. Pushing Tai aside, Matt tightly held on to her arms trying to calm his breathing. “Weren’t you coming to my concert? I don’t understand. I thought you liked me.”

Sora gasped. “Where did you come from?”

How did Matt appear out of nowhere? And where did Tai disappear to?

“I made you yakisoba noodles, sautéed veggies and fish. Your favorite,” Matt continued pointing to her chest. “Don’t you like it?”

“Huh?” Sora responded in confusion looking down, that is until she realized her scenery changed.

Somehow she was sitting at Matt’s kitchen table. A candlelight dinner was displayed, rose petals surrounding the candles. The kitchen lights were dimmed, and Matt stood with one foot resting on a kitchen chair, the acoustic guitar laid on his thigh, as he strummed a love song softly singing.

Was she daydreaming? How did she get here?

Before Sora could answer, Tai flickered into existence sitting at the table as well. Ignoring Sora jumping from being startled, he propped an elbow on the table resting his head on a hand, and mocked, “Aww, look at that. Little Matt’s singing you a cheesy love song!”

The song stopped in mid-chorus, an eyebrow twitching from annoyance. “You weren’t invited,” said Matt. “And stop calling me ‘Little Matt’!”

“Two can play that,” Tai responded, miffed.

With a snap of his fingers, Tai and Sora were transported to a quiet country side, flower fields surrounding them as far as the eyes could see. He placed the same Pocky stick between his teeth and lowered his head.

“Now, where were we?”

“What is going on?” Sora said taking a step back. “First I’m being told I look pale, then the two of you keep fading in and out, and now we’re - What would you call this?” She searched for the word, her anxiety rising. “Teleporting?”

The same group of kids playing soccer from earlier appeared several feet away oblivious to their surroundings as they kick the ball around.

Matt appeared frowning, with folded arms across his chest. “That’s because you’re dreaming. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve both grown to be very handsome.”

“Yeah,” Tai joined in throwing his Pocky stick aside. “What are you gonna do, Sora?”

Dreaming? The only way they knew about that remark was through Mimi. How embarrassing! “No, really. What’s going on? Did Mimi tell you guys to say that?”

“Doesn’t she look pale, Tai?”

“Yeah, Matt. She does.”

An aggravated yell escaped her throat. “Enough already, Mimi! This isn’t funny! Come out!”

“Really, sit down,” Matt and Tai both said in unison. “You look pale.”

“I’m done with this,” she announced storming away. “This has gone too far! Oh my…”

She couldn’t explain it, but somehow the three of them were back at their picnic spot, she leaning against the cherry blossom tree. Both guys hovered over her with concern. If this really was a dream, then this felt too real.

“Okay. Alright,” she said shaking her head giving up, trying to understand the logic of what was happening. “I look pale. Any reason why?”

Both of the guys answered again in unison. “Stop worrying.”

“Worrying? What am I worried about?”

“College exams, for one thing,” Tai said. “You’re taking cram school with us just to make sure you’re prepared. Why worry when you know you’ve got this in the bag?”

“And why’s it so important to figure out who you like right now?” Matt added. “How about enjoying life’s moments and let everything fall into place in its own natural timing.”

“You’re saying that like I’m confused,” Sora snapped from embarrassment.

“You are,” Tai responded in a calm manner.

“Worried about exams and confused on who you like,” Matt added.

“Ugh.” She rested her head on the cherry blossom tree trunk with defeat. “So, I’m supposedly dreaming with you guys acting as my subconscious telling me to chill out and go with the flow?” She closed her eyes and sighed. “That’s so messed up.”

The sound of Tai and Matt giving each other high fives rang in the air. She could hear them chattering on about the lunch she brought was delicious as chopsticks scraped against plastic bowls. Trying to fight the sleepiness washing over her, she attempted to open her eyes, but they felt heavy. Maybe a five minute nap would be okay.

That is, until she awoke to finding Matt and Tai hovering and gently shaking her as they continued to call out her name.

Sora quickly sat up taking a sharp breath in. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Both of her friends held their hands palms up parallel to their chest, startled.

Tai glanced at Matt then softly said to her, “It looked like you were having a bad dream. Are you okay?”

“A dream?” she repeated. Thank goodness. It really was all a dream! Burying her face in her hands, she moaned in relief.

Matt inched next to her. “Hey. Wanna talk about it?”

“Or…we could eat dessert first,” Tai tried changing the subject to help soothe the air when they were only met with silence. “We saw your text and bought a cheesecake.”

“Really? Are you capable of thinking of anything else besides food?” Matt remarked glaring at him.

“I do care!” Tai barked. “What can’t be cured with good cheesecake though?”

She laughed. It bubbled out, freeing the butterflies trapped within. Making the conscious effort to enjoy life’s moments, and releasing her confusion and worries would take work, but would be worth it. Besides, who knew better than the subconscious?

Hooking one arm around each of her friend’s necks, she tugged at them taking a deep breath in, and hugged with a tight embrace. With whatever may happen in the future, the only thing she knew for certain at this moment was that she loved them both and cherished them deeply.

Nuzzling her head between the two guys she muffled, “It was actually a good dream. Weird, but good.”

A tinge of pink formed on Tai’s and Matt’s cheeks as they held her close. The three stayed quiet like this for some time as the gentle breeze returned, the cherry blossom petals floating to the ground.

Tai gave a gentle rub to her back. “Good. Glad you’re alright.”

Matt laid a tender hand on her head and stroked her hair. “For the record, your cheesecake is better than any store bought one.”

Sora buried her head deeper. The following words were muffled, but were still audible. “I love you.”

The pink tinge grew a darker shade from both guys. Matt was the first to return the hug laying his head next to hers, followed by Tai. They didn’t verbally respond, but she could feel what was meant by their actions:

Love you too.

[fenrirgraves]

85 question tag CAN I GET A HELL YEAH?! Tagged by The Ice Cream Man aka @theeyeofdarkness​

what was your last:

1. drink: Water with fruit punch Crystal Light

2. phone call: My grandparents

3. text message: My SUPER Special DnD Group!

4. song you listened to: My vaporwave version of the Toy Story 2 Video Game OST, namely the song “Mean Screen”

5. time you cried: Like, two night ago I think?  It was because of the Willy Wonka documentary I watched and some of the stuff Gene Wilder said was just... ;_; 

have you ever:

6. dated someone twice: Indeed

7. kissed someone and regretted it: Kinda

8. been cheated on: Unfortunately

9. lost someone special: Definitely

10. been depressed: For nearly 10 years now!

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Once, on Halloween of 2016.  Didn’t enjoy myself

3 favorite colors:

12. Blue

13. Black

14. Red

in the last year have you:

15. made new friends: Fuck yeah!

16. fallen out of love: Not at all, much the opposite

17. laughed until you cried: As often as possible

18. found out someone was talking about you: Yeah, that was a debacle

19. met someone who changed you: Most certainly

20. found out who your friends are: Undoubtedly 

21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: One person, and one only

general:

22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Nearly all of them, the ones that I don’t know personally are musicians or film directors 

23. do you have any pets: Yes and no.  None at my home, but I count the cats my grandparents own as mine...Scotty, BG (Beautiful Girl) and Namine.

24. do you want to change your name: I do like Mike a good bit, but I wouldn’t mind actually being Sora.  Would love to change my last name to Kairi’s last name though, should things work out between us

25. what did you do for your last birthday: Kairi took me out to Texas De Brazil, bought me my first legal drink, and then we went home and snuggled

26. what time did you wake up: 3PM because I am useless to society

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Smoking a bowl, I think

28. name something you can’t wait for: For the universe to realign in my favor...and bring myself and Kairi back together

29. when was the last time you saw your mom: 3 hours ago, before she went to bed

31. what are you listening to right now: The sound of the fan in my room

32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: Multiple, indeed, my father was named Tom!

33. something that is getting on your nerves: THIS FUCKING COLD I HAVE RIGHT NOW WHAT THE FUCK

34. most visited website: YouTube/Tumblr

35. hair colour: Red and Blue/Green

36. long or short hair: short

39. piercings: hate needles

40. blood type: A-Negative.  What are you, The Red Cross?  I’ve donated plenty of times, leave me alone, you vampires! ;-;

41. nicknames: Sora, Kenshin, Big Skillet, Speed Racer

42. relationship status: Single

43. zodiac: Capricorn

44. pronouns: He/him

45. favourite tv show: Chopped

46. tattoos: Needles are scary.  BUT I will definitely get a KH tattoo, and many others one day!

47. right or left handed: Right

48. surgery: Ahah, yeah...when I was 15...I had a testicular torsion...so I had to have surgery...on my balls...

49. piercing: You have already asked this

50. sport: Used to train in Taekwondo throughout high school, earned black belt

51. vacation: Yiss Japan!

52. pair of trainers: Yeah one pair of those for when I MUST wear them, but I tend to go barefoot! ^.^

more general:

53. eating: Just finished some chicken wings

54. drinking: Gonna get me some water

55. i’m about to: Get some Cheerios and watch more YouTube

56. waiting for: the end to come, wishing I had strength to stand, this is not what I had planned...it’s out of my control.  (Thanks Linkin Park)

57. want: Too much to list

58. get married: Indeed, one day

59. career: Film producer!

which is better:

60. hugs or kisses: There is no choice.  Both.

61. lips or eyes: Eyes

62. shorter or taller: Doesn’t matter

63. older or younger: Never really gave thought, since Kairi and me were together for four years (and will continue one day soon?)  But within reasonable proximity, I guess.

64. nice arms or nice stomach: Que?

65. hook up or relationship: Relationship, my mans

66. troublemaker or hesitant: Depends

have you ever:

67. kissed a stranger: Aye

68. drank hard liquor: Prefer it to beer, honestly

69. lost glasses/contact lenses: Don’t wear contacts, and my glasses are only for driving, so I don’t think so

70. turned someone down: Yep

71. sex on the first date: No sir

72. broken someone’s heart: I believe so

73. had your heart broken: Oh yes

74. been arrested: Maybe...

75. cried when someone died: Oh yes

76. fallen for a friend: Ahah, yep

do you believe in:

77. yourself: After a time...yes, yes I do

78. miracles: you sexy thing

79. love at first sight: In a way, yes and no.  The term implies full on love, I think that’s too much.  But there is such a thing is being utterly spellbound by someone the moment you lay eyes on them

80. santa claus: You’re god damn right I do

81. kiss on the first date: Situation

82. angels: In human form, certainly

other:

83. current best friend’s name: Don, Kelly, Zach

84. eye colour: Brown like mud!

85. favourite movie: Mr. Nobody (Extended edition of course!)

Gonna tag my boy @waffle--kun and anybody else who’d be down to slog through 85 of these lovely questions!

[advocatewrites-blog]

Simple/Clean Chapter 12

Simple/Clean: An Original Character’s Story

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (1, with mentions of other installments)

Synopsis: There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One Sky, one Destiny. And when that destiny is threatened, the universe calls on one hero to save the day. Or, more like, five. When the Earth is consumed into Darkness, Danielle Scott and her friends are given the Keys between light and darkness. If they are going to save the worlds and find her brother, they are going to have to go on a multiverse-wide road trip to find the Door to Light. If only they had a better weapon than keys.

Rated: +K for violence and occasional language

Disclaimer: The Kingdom Hearts series was created by Tetsuya Nomura and owned by Square Enix. The Final Fantasy series was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix. The films depicted were created by the Walt Disney Animation Studios and owned by the Walt Disney Company. Any other work mentioned or homaged are property of their respective owners. This is a non-profit fan-based work that only seeks to entertain. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 12 of 12

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Chapter 12: And I Feel Fine

The Gummi Ship, already as small as it was, had never been this crowded before. Most everyone had to take up standing room in the space between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat that served for storage and kitchen space. Those that managed to secure seats usually had another person on their lap or at their feet. Space had been made by the fact that the Heartless that was Dim was more than comfortable clawing his way onto the ceiling. Space had been lost because of the Beast.

Of course, nobody really cared about the size of the ship at the moment. There was too much going on that they had to care about. The joy that Sora was back to life. The adrenaline of escaping the ending planet. The end of the planet.

Hanna had found some TS Eliot to read in her English textbook, but that didn’t seem to do much good. Katie had tried to play Taps by literally tapping on the English text book, but that seemed to do less.

“Where do we go now?” Sora asked.

For just a moment, Donald looked as lost as he sounded and she felt. “I suppose…we should head back to Traverse Town. At the very least, we need to drop these ladies off somewhere safe.”

“And after everything we’ve been through, why should I leave Sora?” Kairi asked.

“We still need to fight Ansem, and restore all the worlds.” Sora said. “It’s not safe for you out there.”

“Besides,” Dani spoke up. “Maybe it’ll help if we talk to Squall. He might know something about that guy who called himself Ansem.”

“I literally have no idea what’s going on anymore.” Leon said.

“We had always thought that Ansem passed away with our world.” Aerith said. “I had hoped that was the case. Ansem’s heart and body was eaten by the Heartless a long time ago.”

“Not that it matters. That place hasn’t been Radiant Gardens for a long time.” Leon sighed. His eyes looked upwards, not wanting to meet anyone else’s. “Why is it that you four have singlehandedly disproved everything we have ever known for sure?”

“It’s not our fault.” Katie shrugged. “None of us are pretending to be Ansem. By the way, apparently only Sora has the Keyblade and we’re just borrowing it.”

Leon looked like he was about to have a conniption.

Yuffie jumped in. “So what do we do now? Hollow Bastion was supposed to be the last Keyhole you had to seal to save the universe.”

“Well, there are other worlds, right?” Nadine asked. “The Princesses all came from somewhere. Maybe one of those worlds has the answer.”

Leon shook his head. “They aren’t connected to the other worlds the way Hollow Bastion was. Besides, you’re assuming they haven’t fallen into Darkness as well.”

“What made Hollow Bastion so special?” Hanna asked.

“How do you think it was destroyed in the first place?” Leon looked like he didn’t want to answer. “That Keyhole…Ansem tinkered with it. He wanted to link every world together, create a bridge that could connect the whole universe. It was practically gift-wrapped for the Heartless.”

“Is that a particularly bad thing?” Alice asked from the sidelines.

Aerith started to explain, but all of a sudden, Katie didn’t care anymore. There it was. That was so obvious. Why hadn’t she thought of that before?

“We are all idiots.” She breathed.

Everyone turned to her.

“Sorry, but think about it! This entire trip, the entire time, we’ve been complaining about one thing. Alice, where are you from?”

“W—Westminster, but—”

“And we don’t know where the Darling family lived, but it wasn’t Neverland and they have the same accent!” Katie continued. “Olympus Coliseum was Greece. The Deep Jungle was an unspecified African rainforest. Agrabah was fantasy-land Persia; Genis said as much! All of these things were familiar to us, as citizens of Earth, but not to Sora, a citizen of Destiny Islands, or to Donald and Goofy, citizens of Disney Castle. And if Hollow Bastion really was the Keyhole that connected every world to itself, how were we able to get back here once it went kabloowey?”

“It did what?” Leon snapped.

“Nevermind that, I’m being a genius right now! It’s not Hollow Bastion we’re looking for. It’s Earth.” Katie said. “A bridge between the worlds.”

“Assuming we believe that, how do we get there anyway?” Nadine asked. “It was destroyed with the Heartless just like Hollow Bastion.”

“We’re gonna need a telescope.”

“Do you ever think it’ll be the same between us?” Kairi asked. “I mean, Riku’s lost his—”

Without turning to her, Sora put his hand on hers. He didn’t look at her, trying too hard to think of what to say. “You helped me find my Heart. I was so lost in the Darkness. But I knew that you would come to help me.”

“I didn’t want to just forget about you, Sora.” Kairi said, almost defensively.

He interlocked his fingers into hers. “Our Hearts are connected. Yours, mine…Riku. We’ll bring him back. I promise.”

Kairi’s grip loosened. Sora, afraid he did something wrong, let go completely and turned to her. He barely had time to spit out an apology before he felt something forced into his hand. Thalassa charms, bound together to look like a star. A smiley face and a crude approximation of his hair had been carved on the top shell.

“That’s my lucky charm.” Kairi said. “Be sure to bring it back to me, okay?”

“Promise.”

Sora turned back ahead. Ahead was something that wasn’t there before. A figure cloaked entirely in black. Exactly like Dani had said the other Ansem had been.

Sora jumped to his feet and summoned his Keyblade. The figure lazily looked over towards him. It stared, as much as a being without a face can. Finally, it moved to lower its hood.

You make a good other.

Then the figure was gone, leaving nothing but raw sewage in its wake.

There were two telescopes in Traverse Town. One was Gepetto’s, a basic thing that was really only able to see that other worlds existed. The other was more in line to the needs of Traverse Town. Designed by the great Ludwig von Drake, its image could reach planets as far back as Hollow Bastion. It could give perfect vision to the surfaces of other worlds.  If it were able to move about and weren’t mounted to the rooftop of Huey, Dewey and Louie’s shop, then it might as effective as the Hubble.

It could find Earth, no problem.

“That’s your world?” Leon asked. “That’s a world for whales.”

“Actually, whales freely roam through the depths of space.” Katie said. “But we did have whales once.”

Earth was surprisingly intact considering the last time they had seen it, it was exploding. However, it was clear to see the glue that held the world together. The streaks of white clouds were now Dark. Oceans churned. Orbs of Darkness sat on the landmasses, occasionally letting out a ripple of energy.

Leon pulled away from the telescope. He didn’t notice the red circle that lined his eye now, or Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s laughter. “Where do you even start to search on a planet that big?”

“That one’s easy.” Katie said. “Home.”

“Why home?”

“Because when our world was destroyed, we were attacked by a big scary Heartless. Why would that Heartless be in some nowhere’s-ville resort town if it didn’t have something it wanted?”

“I hate to say it, but you have a point.” Nadine said. She leaned into the telescope herself and focused on where her hometown would be. The town was…fine. The buildings were intact and no mass pandemonium hadn’t taken over the streets. Actually, the streets were empty. That’s what made Nadine nervous.

Out of curiosity, she focused the view to Italy. The telescope panned through Darkness for a while, before finally settling on a coliseum where a blonde superhero was talking to a short minotaur. She panned over again.

“They’re all there. Why are they there?” Nadine asked aloud. “It looks like Agrabah and England are dealing with some big scary Heartless, but they’re there.”

“The worlds have been connected.” Cloud said. “And tied to the Darkness. Your Earth is now holding every world it can in place.”

“Maybe once we defeat Ansem, the Heartless will go away.” Sora said.

“We will lend you our strength.” One of the Princesses, Aurora, she thinks, spoke up.

“Save it for yourselves. You might need it considering how things might go.” Hanna said. “Maybe you could do something about my brother.”

“You better.” Cid scoffed. “He’s been playing with my Gummis like they’re tinker-toys. I’d complain more, but he’s the best assistant I’ve ever had.”

“Then let’s head off!” Sora said. “The sooner we get all of this fixed, the sooner we can all celebrate together.”

And all of a sudden, the rooftop fell silent. The members of Traverse Town looked at each other, trying to search for the person with the best people skills.

“The worlds were never meant to be connected.” Aerith spoke up. “Once you seal the Final Keyhole, and restore all the worlds, they will become separate again.”

“Even the Gummi Ship won’t do the trick.” Leon said.

The group fell silent for a minute. Leon seemed to think to himself for a minute, before walking over and putting a hand on Sora’s shoulder. It was a grossly kind action, and it looked like it pained him a lot to even do that, but he continued.

“We may never meet again, but we’ll never forget each other. Our Hearts will always be connected, even when we’re apart.”

That one, surprisingly, was sincerely kind.

It was ruined slightly as Cid started to cry. “You damn kids are startin’ to grow up!”

“—ck?”

Light enveloped the room, and where the Heartless was Dmitri now stood.

He was very confused.

“What?”

One of the women tried to approach him, but Dim couldn’t care right now. His mind reeled with his last memories. Dani and Hanna, and Riku…what happened? Where were his sisters?

He hadn’t realized he said that aloud until one of the younger girls spoke up. “I’m sorry, but they already left.”

“Where to? Take me to them!”

The woman in front of him, a brunette woman with a yellow ballgown, made a face. “I’m sorry, but it’s far too dangerous—”

“Then give me a ship and I’ll find them myself!”

“Like hell you will!” A new voice, obviously male and gritted, spoke up. “MOG! HIDE THE SHIPS THE KID MADE!”

“Kupo!”

Dim sighed and tried to clear his head. Panicking was going to get him nowhere. “You don’t understand. I have to help them.”

He would do it for his sisters.

Earth was, surprisingly, exactly the way they had left it. Yet there was stillness in the air. No cars roamed the streets, no people played outside, and no signs of activity could be seen through the windows to buildings. Aside from the seven of them, the town was empty. Earth was empty.

That worried Dani a lot more than what happened next.

Before anyone could think to ask what was going on, the ground shook violently under them. In seconds, the peaceful town was under fire. Dani felt herself fall, and fall even further into the Earth.

Sora caught her by the hand. He hovered above her, pixie dust flaking off of him. “Got any happy thoughts left in you?”

Christmas, Dani decided. Think Christmas.

Sora pulled, and she flew.

Once she got her bearings, she looked towards the source. The town crumbled. The mountains parted. And in her way, there was this…thing. Two enormous wings unfolded, and revealed the beast underneath. Two golden eyes lit up and focused on her, and it smiled.

“Okay, so I think that’s the devil—” Dani started.

The beast known as Chernabog attacked.

No one in Traverse Town really knew what to do next. The next few moments would decide the future: either return it to Light, or damn it to Darkness. The more common citizens returned to their homes. The Princesses continued to pray within Cid’s shop. The others stayed on top of the ducks’ shop, and watched.

Cloud resumed his brooding. He had never gotten a chance to see Traverse Town for very long. It had always passed in a blur of emotions. Grief. Defeat. Fear. Guilt. Rage. Foolhardiness. A sense of determination that he could change things that was clouded by the hindsight that he just made it worse.

Mostly rage.

But that did not make it a bad town. And now perhaps because the possibility that his old one could be returned, he decided to see it for the first time. It was a pleasant world. They had probably had to work to keep it that way, but the work shone through. Aerith would like it here.

Tifa would like it here too.

Somebody joined him. He was prepared to glare them away, but stopped as he saw who it was.

“It’s peaceful out here, isn’t it?” Aerith asked lazily.

His wing twitched. He gave a noncommittal grunt. Aerith sat down next to him, and he panicked.

“We’ve all missed you.” She said. “We thought you had passed away along with Radiant Gardens.”

Oh whatever god or lifeforce decided to take him, this was not the conversation he wanted to have oh no no no

He shrugged. “Got a bit lost along the way.”

“Oh?”

She fortunately decided not to press any further. That was the one saving grace in this entire conversation.

“I wonder if anyone else was able to make it.” She thought aloud.

Cloud didn’t answer.  Did she know? Aerith always had a way of knowing things nobody told her. If she knew, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

“Miss Katie said that when they found you, you were looking for something. Have you found it yet?”

Cloud hesitated. “I don’t want you involved.”

“You don’t want our help?”

Memories of what could have been flashed before his eyes. “I don’t want you hurt.”

“I’m stronger than you think.”

“I know. And that’s why I don’t want you hurt.”

Silence fell over them. Just faintly, he could hear the sounds of crashing from within the building. Considering it was run by ducklings, he didn’t pay it too much mind.

“Alright. I’ll trust you. But make sure to come back to us, alright?”

And Cloud, take care of yourself. So you don’t have a breakdown, okay?

He had seen her die too many times, in worlds that were real and worlds that weren’t.

“Yeah.”

Something caught his attention on the town below. The boy, the one the others had been so worried about. He scrambled out of the shop and into a Corridor of Darkness. Cloud jumped to his feet, prepared to do something, but it happened too fast. He was gone before Cloud could even turn around.

“Where did he go?” Aerith asked. That was good, at least; she had never seen a Corridor of Darkness.

“At this rate, he could be anywhere.” Cloud turned his gaze to the stars above. “Let’s hope those kids fix this before he gets too far.”

“I thought only the light of God could destroy the Devil.” Hanna said.

“Hanna, have we ever stepped foot in a church?” Dani asked.

Neither of them really noticed Sora approach the portal that stood in Chernabog’s place.

“Sora?” Goofy asked.

“I know this place…” Sora said. He put one foot inside.

“What are you doing?” Dani asked. “You don’t know where that place leads!”

“Yes I do!” Sora said. “Just trust me, alright?”

Hanna didn’t exactly have a choice. She jumped in quickly after him.

This was not Earth. It looked a lot like Earth, or at least what Earth had become. Yet the skies were purple, not blue, and clouds hovered around like they were trying to block something. The ocean beside them stayed still. No sun hovered above, even though it looked to be in the middle of the day. There was no breeze to feel, nor salt water or sand to smell, and she really didn’t want to try tasting anything here. Only what she could see, and hear.

“This is my home!” Sora said. “This is Destiny Islands!”

“…kinda a dump.” Nadine said.

“Hey, I don’t make fun of you for your homeworld, so—”

“Look at this tiny place.”

They turned to the source. Ansem stood by the water, looking positively bored.

“To a Heart seeking freedom, this is nothing but a prison. No wonder the boy decided to embrace the Darkness within.”

“You give Riku back!” Sora said.

Ansem glanced over his shoulder just to give them a condescending look. What a jerk. “Even if I desired to, it’s no use. His Heart has returned to Darkness, as will all Hearts in the end. That is the nature of the universe you decide to explore. That is the Heart’z true essence.”

“That’s not true!” Sora said. “Yes, the Heart may be weak. And sometimes, it may even give in. But I know that there’s a Light that never goes out!”

“You still understand so little.”

The ground shattered under them. It was actually an improvement, considering they were walking on sand.

“EVERY LIGHT MUST FADE! EVERY HEART RETURN TO DARKNESS!”

The rest of Destiny Islands shattered. In its place…

Darkness.

Darkness.

Darkness as far as the eye couldn’t see. No thing to interact with. No path he could travel. No person he could talk to.

At first, Riku thought he was in some kind of afterlife. He then decided that if he were, he wasn’t there for a good reason.

He wanted to apologize. Take everything back. Start all over. Even if he could, there was no way to escape this abyss. For the first time in a long time, Riku was actually alone.

And just as he realized it, he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Riku!”

Dmitri? Save for light signs of exhaustion, he looked the same as the last time Riku had seen him…whole again. Still, he wanted to make sure…

“Hey! Cut that out!” Dmitri swatted his hand away from his face.

“Why are you here?” Riku asked. “You were never a real Heartless, you should’ve been fine!”

“I wanted to find you.” Dmitri said.

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend, and you’re hurting right now, and I don’t think you should be left alone.”

“I don’t have a Heart anymore! Or a body, for that matter! There’s no way I’m going to just escape with you!”

The revelation hit Riku. He struggled to maintain composure.

“You’re better off just forgetting about me.” He finished.

Dmitri was silent for a minute. Riku thought he had given up until he felt the weight of Dmitri’s hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not going to leave my friend behind.” He said. His eyes sparked with light and hope and determination.

Riku? Can you hear me?

“That is the silliest disembodied voice I’ve ever heard.” Dmitri muttered to himself.

“Who are you?” Riku asked instead. “Where are you?”

You were right when you said you lost your body. But you recovered your Heart. Because of that, it became trapped on this side of the Darkness.

But this isn’t quite as bad as it sounds! Two Hearts were always needed to close the Door, on both sides.

Two Hearts, and Two Keyblades.

Maybe you were destined to come here, just like me.

The world was ending.

Every world was ending.

The Darkness grew. Yet Light still shined in Dani’s Heart. They could still fight.

Oh, this is going to get so metaphysical! Dani thought as she summoned her Keyblade.

The real fight began.

From the Darkness, Ansem conjured Heartless. Legions of Shadows, Soldiers, Large Bodies, and a bunch of other funny names she didn’t quite remember to protect him with, and a larger one that hovered around him. The smaller ones were sliced through by Goofy’s shield and Donald’s magic. Bits of earth of worlds that were formed around them, making a path Dani could run on. She dashed along the platforms, and whatever Heartless she didn’t slice through was taken care of by Hanna.

Katie and Nadine made quick work of the familiar Heartless. Dani’s Keyblade slashed through him.

Ansem shifted again. He grew, to the size of worlds themselves (though most worlds were still rather tiny). Darkness engulfed him, in crude caricatures of muscles and body structure. The still human figure stood on the body, nearly consumed by his structure.

“Gross.” Nadine said.

“Can we shapeshift with the powers of Darkness too?” Katie asked.

“Let’s figure that out later!” Dani said as comets were fired towards them.

She flew through the comets, through the Darkness, through everything Ansem had to throw at her. When she landed, she landed on the writhing mass of visceral. She wasn’t going to stay there for very long. She launched towards Ansem, Keyblade at the ready.

He was a better swordsman than her, probably due to having actual training. Yet he could not stop three Keyblades. Or four. Or more.

“You’re wrong.” Sora said. “I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts is light!”

And the world turned to Light.

Ansem could not stand the Light. He burned. His body, both real and constructed, his Heartless, his Heart. In an instant, there was nothing left.

Except a door.

There was ground underneath them now so Dani allowed herself to stop flying and drop. In that time, she saw what lied on the other side of the door.

Darkness. More Darkness then there was now. And if it stayed open any longer—

Nobody wasted any time. They rushed towards it, and pushed. Even with all of the power of their teamwork, the Doors were massive. Not even Hercules could have closed these easily.

“This thing’s gonna have to be locked from the inside!” Nadine shouted. “Any ideas?”

“If we can get it closed, I’ll let you in on something!” Dani shouted back.

“Don’t give up!”

That was Riku’s voice. Something moved on the other side of the door.

Something tugged on the door Dani was pushing, and she could catch just a fragment of brown hair.

“We’ll close it together!” Dim’s voice.

“Don’t worry! There will always be another door to the light! Now let’s close this one for good!”

Not a voice Dani recognized. But judging by Donald and Goofy’s expression, they did.

“Your Majesty!”

“That’s your King?” Dani tried to poke her head in what remained of the open doors, but thought better of it. She could see a small figure, silhouetted in the Darkness, and gold Keyblade.

The three tugged at the opposite end of the door, and the seven resumed their pushing.

“Take care of her.”

The doors latched.

Sora jumped away from the group to pull out his Keyblade. The tip ignited in light and magic. A clicking sound echoed through the void as the Keyhole was sealed, then another as the one on the other-side followed. The Door faded.

And then there was nothing.

The adrenaline faded rather quickly when Dani realized there was nothing but they were still there. She glanced around in search of a path or something they could follow.

“Oh hey Sora your girlfriend’s here.” Nadine said nonchalantly.

“What!”

That seemed to startle Sora more than anything that had happened. He ran to her, jumping across the bits of world that remained and were reforming themselves.

“Kairi!”

“Sora!”

The ocean of Destiny Islands formed around Kairi’s feet and the ground shook. Sora grabbed her arm before she could fall all the way down.

“Remember what you said to me! I’ll always be with you too!” Sora said.

The worlds were repairing themselves. Destiny Islands was whole again, yet that was not where Sora was going. Sora’s grip on her arm loosened down to her hand as the worlds drifted apart.

“I’ll come back to you! I promise!”

Fingers clasped onto fingers. Kairi’s feet dug into the ground, desperate to hold on.

“I know you will!”

They let go.

For a while, Dani watched the stars form in the sky. She watched life be replaced on the other worlds as they flew past her, palm trees spring into life and people resume their ordinary lives unimpeded by the end of all things. She watched as they drifted away from her, into the unknown.

She didn’t know what happened after that.

“So…where are we?”

“Who knows?” Donald grumbled. “Probably some backwater planet that won’t have a town for miles!”

That looked to be the case, although Sora probably would have phrased it differently. They had walked the path for some time, and Sora no longer realized if they had walked that path as soon as the worlds had been restored or if he just woke up there. He no longer knew what happened to the other members of his group.

“Where do you think Riku and the King are?” Sora asked.

“Well, they’re probably still on the other side of that door.” Goofy said.

“But what about Dani and the others?”

Nobody quite had an answer for him. He sighed.

“We’ll just have to keep looking, then.” He said.

“Where do you suppose we’ll find them?” Donald asked.

The road had changed from Darkness to the absence of anything to rock and earth to dirt and grass. Yet up until now, there wasn’t anything on it except for the three of them. Now, a yellow dog crossed the road.

“Pluto?” Donald asked.

“Hey, Pluto, where’ve you been?” Goofy asked.

The dog froze, and turned to them. Something had been put into his mouth, but Sora could’t quite make it out. It looked like an envelope, sealed with a figure of three circles. The same figure on the back of his Keyblade, and Dani and Hanna’s for that matter. And it kinda looked like the King’s head…

“That’s the King’s seal!” Donald exclaimed.

“Hey, have you seen King Mickey?” Sora asked.

Pluto turned and ran.

Sora started after him. “Guys, let’s go!”

They ran towards their next adventure.

Dani woke up, and had no idea where she was.

That was becoming very common, recently, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it.

Forest surrounded her. Damp earth, thick trees, cool grass, yet nothing that she could identify for sure. Actually, it really looked like—

She stopped as she realized the cutest thing she had ever seen in her life sat in front of her.  It looked like a fox, yet it was small enough to be a housecat. Its ear were nearly as big as it was, and from its head, a small horn protruded.

It dropped whatever was in its mouth, and Dani was surprised to hear it land to the ground with a thud. Hesitantly, she reached out for it. It vibrated in her hand. An icon told her she had one unread message.

CARBUNCLE: Hello? Can you read this?

CARBUNCLE: In front of you!

Dani’s gaze lowered to the fox.

CARBUNCLE: This is the land of your Dreams.

The story will continue in… Flights of Fantasy: An Original Character’s Story

Author’s Note: And we are done! This is it! If you have read all the way to the end, thank you so much. I am very proud of this project and I am so glad that it is out there now. Flights of Fantasy will start next summer around this time, but there will be more from the Original Character's Series in the meantime on here and on my blog.

Yes this is the end. Totally.

[alienqueen4]

Kai love story: When the girl of his dreams hides her inner rock and roll

Chapter 8: It’s The Way To Celebrate A Birthday, RockStar Style

(*4 weeks later*)

Skyler’s POV

My morning coffee smells fresh and warm. The day my birthday comes to a special occasion of my day. I’m gonna turn 26 today. My life is full of hapiness since I have been dating Kai. I’ve changed my appearance I got a haircut, I dyed my hair dark light blue, I got a nose ring, and I wanna change the better to be happy with my boyfriend. I saw Dad walking by “How’s my precious sweet gummy worm enjoying her coffee” he said. I smiled “It’s dark the way I like it.” He nodded “Sweetie I want you to know that I am super happy for you.” I then face with my Dad asking “About Kai? Come on Dad he’s a good guy, I really do love him” He then tells me “Hey hey there is no debate, Skyler your the only thing in my world right now who’s found love at first sight.....I met your mother at a park, she uh laughed when I fell in a mud puddle playing soccer, she fell in too but she liked to get dirty herself we’re pigs in a farm, all I’m saying Sky is that Kai is an important man and I give many respects to him that he loves you no matter what.” I smiled brighten up my day right now hugging my Dad very tightly “...I love you Dad, so so much” My Dad pets my head kissing my forehead. I heard Chris shouting “Yo Sis! Sparky is about to call dibs on your gigantic teddy bear!” I was confused walking out at the front door about some giant teddy bear I don’t have. When my eyes struck seeing Sparky sniff a load of gifts mailed at the front of the house door. A gigantic soft white furr teddy bear sitting on one of the reading chairs; there is also a bouquet of roses, a Happy Birthday balloon, and a few treats. I smiled taking a look at it when I spot a card on the teddy bear’s ribbon attached as I read it says 

“To, my pink peach blossom princess <3

        Your flying bird guards you”

Inches away from a open distance window is Kai smiling washing the dishes then I giggled blowing a kiss to him. I grabbed all of the items to set them in my room then put my roses in a water pot. Chris says “Kai is weirdo!” I stick my tongue out going upstairs to put my gifts away. 

Skyler’s father talks to his son “Your a noisy kid Chris let her enjoy this girlfriend boyfriend moment” he said. Chris says “Dad relax I’m happy for her, I just don’t want Kai to hurt her like Micheal did before” The father says “Do you really think a boy like him next door is gonna destroy a broken heart, I don’t think so, I wanna meet him but Skyler won’t let me.” Chris chuckles “I know why because your an ignorant Dad, we know you more then any others Dads when you see him or her as a target” The Dad looks through the garbage bin “You see me being the father of this house hey uh before you take Sparky out for a walk take out the trash would ya the garbage truck should be arriving soon.” Chris then pulls out the large bag full of trash to take out in the blue bin before the garbage truck arrives. The father then recieves a phone call unexpectedly which shows a unknown phone call “Hello there” the voice was different from someone before “Marty, it’s Manny, ay” the Dad answers “...Oh, hey uh are you the brother Manny?” The Manny man answers “In the flesh” Mister Marty answers “You met my daughter before um how in the world did you got a hold of me?” he ask. Manny says “Your son likes to keep me in touch since I’m his boss at work, listen how about you and me we go out for a drink it’s just a bit of chat I wanna get to know ya.” The dad says “Come on I don’t like to go out that much I’m not that much of a drinker.” Manny comments back “It’s business....my brother has a statement law to take away your kids.” The moment was a lost swirled emotional rollercoaster, the words hit in the stomach when Marty got shocked and confused “.....Wait a minute, hey hold on a minute I did not do anything to harm my kids” he said. Manny tells him “Come over and we’ll talk, I’m sorry but he wants this because he knows your wife before.” His emotions change the father wanting to cry or get angry “Okay...I’ll see ya later then....” Manny says “Hey, tell your daughter I wish her a great birthday, she better enjoy a moment she can enjoy.” The father hangs up leaving no comment. What does it leave for the family to be broken or tell them the truth to face karma? The front door opens seeing Chris come back inside the house “I forgot my wallet I might hang out with a friend, See ya Dad” he says. Marty responds back “Bye...” a low tone voice feeling like he has been strucked by lightning. 

(*Upstairs is full of laughs and giggles when Skyler had company inviting Gwen over for a sleepover*)

Last night was so much fun inviting Gwen over for a sleepover last night before my big night we go out to my party. Me and Gwen are looking over some outfits we bought at the mall yesterday. I bought some styled skirts I like to try on then 2 pairs of boots could match “So how are you doing with Ruth? Let me guess, his nervous side still acts up” I said. Gwen tells me “Ya know it’s like Ruth is nervous at times when we kiss or I give him a hug, he’s a geek but he loves me I just wanna see him act a man should do to treat me.” I smiled “Ruth is like that when he gets nervous around girls, he was bullied before he look like a nerd but not the type of nerd you see wears glasses or braces, but hey puberty hit him so the girls will be jealous of you with a hunk” I said. Gwen then looks back with a curious look in my eyes “Oh so it’s the vision you see huh just like Kai.” My face burns hot red I felt super embarrassed saying that comment to Gwen “Hehe ya know what let’s forget I ever said that.” Gwen holds up a cute purple blouse she chose “I think this says it’s time to party” I then also had a black sleeve top with a flannel skirt would look good for tonight “Same here my friend.” I love my friendship with Gwen but that spark use to be me and Sora which I missed it a bunch before. I don’t think doesn’t know yet that her brother is dating me and I’m dead meat...

7:10 pm

Kai arrives at the front of the house dressed up in leather dark clothing smiling so much to pick up his lady

I ran up quickly to the front door seeing Kai I got super excited I jump into his arms hugging him super tightly “Babe!” I squealed very happy. He chuckles grabbing me from his grip “Woah there relax birthday girl, geez if I would’ve known better your hyper on sugar rush” Kai takes a look at me which an expression shows his creepy smile like a pervert would tell me something “Um Kai, your scarying me with your creepy Frankenstein look” I said. He starts to get silly mode making monster noises rising his hands up coming after me yelling “GRRRR!!!!” he grabs my head and I yelled out “No Kai!! Stop!!” I sway my hands around. I saw Dad approaching grabbing the keys of his truck coughing the ahem signal. We both stop messing around like children and I think it’s time for an introduction “Sorry about that Dad, hey Kai this is my Dad, Dad this is Kai” I said. They shake hands greeting eachother with respect “It’s nice to meet ya sir, my actual full name is Uke Yutaka but you can call me Kai” he said. My Dad breaks a small smile “Ay well I’m Marty Yuna but call me mister Yuna, listen I trust you keeping my daughter safe from having too many shots it’ll break down everything what’s left of her” he said. I then roll my eyes “Okay Dad we better get going before you go all sicko on me” I grabbed on to Kai’s arm as we head out to his car. Kai tells me “He is a good man” he said giving me a kiss on my head. I then respond back “Hm Dad’s are all nice, till he wants to go to the part where he tells you my childhood stories” I said then Kai burst out a laugh. During the past 20 minutes in the drive we have a small talk during the street trip before we arrive at the place. Kai is intrested on meeting my Dad because he wants to get to know the man better but it’s too much of a risk he wouldn’t take. I tell him something that get his attention “My Dad is one hell of a person to judge families” I said. Kai tells me “Like what is he going to judge me because I am your ex the years you spent time with, Sky I am here with the girl that I love with all my heart, and I want your Dad to know how much this means to make a family with you guys” he said. I sighed crossing my arms “Kai...” I have the moment to stop talking when I thought of Sora but he looked back concern while still driving then we manage to stop at a red light. I got scared for a bit because Sora not knowing we are dating is bothering me these past weeks. I felt Kai’s hand made me shift to turn around “Hey, I want you to listen to Sky, tonight it’s gonna be all about you, your friends and me are gonna be there to gather your enjoyment you deserved, I love you with all my heart just so you know” he said with the adorable eyes glow at the night. With normal words telling me I should enjoy my day is making things better like it should. The green light changes then Kai starts driving more further. I said something he should hear “My Dad wants you to know he is happy that your part of this family” I said. Kai and I have been building a relationship we both have been connected and it makes everything feel like a family again ever since my mom past away. Every word meant something to fix a whole group because we were mad at eachother. Buying some time we made it at the location, it’s a cool 90′s rock and roll bar. It’s not your typical type bar for wild parties but this is how the celebrations get interesting. Me and Kai entered the place, the music is blasted playing loud rock music. I hear a shout across the room “Watch out here comes the birthday girl!” all of my friends from work are here, Ruth, and Gwen are here. I was amazed to see everyone is here “Hey guys, thank you so much for coming here tonight!” I said. Gwen makes an announcement to make saying “Let’s propose a toast to the rockstar herself Skyler and let’s not forget her boyfriend Kai by her side, rock and roll!!!” she yells out. Then everyone yells out rock and roll holding up their drinks and then take a sip. The party began and I sat down with Ruth. Ruth didn’t look too good “Is barf man gonna be sick?” I said smiling. Ruth punches my shoulder swirling around a bit “If you ask me, nachos and jalapenos do not mix” he said. For the record, he should have known jalapenos are his allergy like a long ass time ago. I tell him “Lighten up Ruth enjoy the party pal” I said. The DJ sets up a new song one of my favorite all time rock band plays AFI “Miss Murder” me and Gwen run along together towards the dance floor to enjoy this song having a great time.

A new game starts the tension between Ruth and Kai. About 10 minutes ago Ruth just finished barfing out the last he had in him then saw Kai sitting a near by table not with Skyler right now. Ruth takes the time to go over there for a little chat “Ay man you must be the boyfriend” he said sitting down. Kai chuckles sipping his glass of soda “Uh thanks?” he said. Ruth tells Kai “I’m Ruth, and you may not know me but I’m sorta like the best friend to Skyler” he said. Kai says “Oh yeah Ruth, Skyler told me about you, she really does care about you so much your like a second brother to her” he said. Ruth fake laughs as his hand reaches for Kai’s half eaten burger “Oh Kai Kai Kai, there are so many things you don’t know about me, and I get it your still getting use to the whole Vegas thing which is something different” said Ruth. Then he comments “But Skyler is a girl, she is different so here is something I wanted to ask you, are you showing some dark power shadow of the knight going on here or this is a Action stunt movie your pulling, which is it?” Kai had a confused look “Excuse me?” Ruth took a whole bit out of the burger “You know what it was nice getting to know ya pretty boy” he stood out of his seat leaving. So what is this making Ruth into a jealousy type, is he actually jealous? Kai and Skyler have been dating these past 4 weeks but what could Ruth be thinking? Ruth is in the middle of a relationship where his heart was stuck with Skyler this whole time. The birthday girl then approaches seeing Kai at a table “Everything alright babe?” she ask as she sits down. Kai responds “Oh! Yeah yeah yeah I’m fine” he said. Skyler is enjoying every moment she could ever ask for. Kai tells her “Um is there something wrong with your friend Ruth? I think he might be drunk himself stupid I’m kinda worried” he said. Skyler says “Pft! Ruth drunk your kidding, he’ll be fine it’s probably from the nachos he ate earlier he’s got allergies” Kai reaches out for Skyler’s both hands “I’m glad to see you smile Sky, I want you to know how much you mean to me” he said. The lights inside the hall change different even the songs are slowing down at the moment of silence as Kai and I stood up together going off towards the dance floor. All of my friends grab a partner when the song starts playing Taylor Swift “Crazier” I got a bit nervous as soon as I put myself in a position putting both hands onto Kai’s shoulders then his arms wrap around my waist. I got a bit scared when we start slow and steady circling around. From the tip of my boots I almost fell when Kai almost caught me “Hey hey relax, look at me babe not on the floor” his voice was soft to capture my attention. The dance became more stunning, I held on to Kai’s shoulders looking into his deep glow hazel brown sugar eyes. I’m a dork blushing my hot burn cheeks looking at him. Kai grabbed my hand gently then twirled me around as my skirt winded through then I giggled softly. Every single moment is a princess and prince story to me. I’m very very happy with so much joy my heart is pumping. Kai held on around my waist gently as he pushed closely for a passionate kiss connected our lips. My arms held around his head kissing his sweet lips gently. The love is strong for Kai and Skyler.......

(*The jealousy is weakening Ruth hidding behind the back door exit made him pressure his emotions*)

Ruth is full of anger, sadness, maybe even felt like screaming from the top of his lungs. The emotions are strong inside Ruth. At the back building is the nearby parking lot for the workers. Gwen is found to be out on a search finding Ruth “Ruth! Ruth! Baby I have been looking all over you why aren’t you inside you missed the slow dance” she said. Gwen walked further to Ruth finding him hiding something in his coat. The concern was weird making Gwen find a carton of cigarettes he is holding “......R-Ruth I I didn’t know you smoked” she said. Ruth was out of control with rage swaying away Gwen’s hand “Knock it off Gwen!” Gwen’s expression changes something she never seen the side of Ruth “....Ruth, I’m worried right now, you ignore me like I’m not dating you” she said. Ruth responds the truth “...Gwen, I I really do see you like we never dated” he said. Then there it is, a moment where Ruth wanted it this whole time. Ruth says “...I’m sorry, but my heart is confused right now” he said the message right out of his mouth. Ruth drops the smoked cigarette down the floor stepping on it walking away. He leaves Gwen gone for good.....

[blissfulnightrain]

KH OC Week Day 5 - Light or Darkness?

Ten Years Prior to KH1:

She had been playing with Sora by the shore, when suddenly, he found some kind of small black pebble of the likes they'd never seen before.

"That's a shark tooth, there, that is," their father explained.

"Sh-shark?!" Amaya panicked, inching away from the water.

"Don't worry, princess," he bellowed. "The owner of this here tooth is probably long gone by now. Ya know, they say if ya wear one, it'll protect you from all the dangers in all the seas."

To Amaya, it sounded almost too good to be true.

"Whoa, really?!" Sora's sky blue eyes sparkled with wonder. "Cool!"

"If ya want, we can fasten a necklace out of it," Daddy suggested. "Then, ya can wear it and keep it with ya all the time!"

"Hmm…" Sora's eyes narrowed at the tooth as he fiddled around with it. "Sis, you can have it!"

"Huh?" she gasped. Sora presented it to her in his outstretched, tiny hands.

"I don't need it, 'cause I'm already gonna be the bravest, strongest sailor ever!" he boasted. "You think everything in the ocean is scary, so this will make you brave like me, too!"

"Does it really work?" Backhanded compliment aside, she looked to her father for confirmation. He affectionately ruffled both of their hair in response, and let out a hearty laugh once more.

"What do I always tell you kids?"

"You never know 'til you try!" Sora answered, pointing a finger.

"Exactly right, son," he affirmed, tousling his chestnut hair once more.

"So that means you have to come out with us and give it a try some time, Sis!"

"And what if it doesn't work?" she pouted, still twiddling the tooth between her fingers.

"Well, there is one thing that's more powerful than any of that old magic hulla-balloo," Daddy said, crouching down to the children's level.

"Really?" Sora asked excitedly. "You have to tell us what it is!"

"Well," he started, pulling the two of them closer towards him, "you two gotta always stick together, no matter what. One day, when you kids are older, there may come a time when you get into some big problems, and Mommy and I won't be able to help you. But if ya work as a team to protect each other, I know ya'll overcome any hurdles life throws your way." He then winked at his daughter. "You keep that shark tooth as a reminder of that. And who knows? Maybe its magical power'll be just the thing that makes all the difference."

A few days later, Daddy presented her with the necklace. Its chain was a simple, thin black rope, embellished with traditional colorful beads. In between their pattern rested the tooth, polished to shine like obsidian. She wore it around her neck with pride, always clutching it close to her chest whenever she felt afraid, and the words her father spoke to her that day always came flowing back.

Whether or not it truly did have a magic power to begin with, she couldn't say, but after her encounter with that young woman…

Well, there still wasn't any proof to confirm that, either.

Back to the present, later that night...

The circumference of the remaining piece of land they sat on seemed to shrink every second. The trees, the ocean, their boats, the Main Island…

All of it had disappeared.

The wind began to pick up speed, and sticks, pebbles, and sand began to thrash about even harder. To top it all off, something from above cast an even darker shadow upon them. Slowly, Amaya looked up.

In the center of the pitch black sky was a large, angry red nucleus. Its size expanded by the minute, and the siblings could only watch in horror as their surroundings continued to be hurled right into its center. Branches, remnants of structures – it sucked them all up like a vacuum.

And they were next.

She grasped her brother's hand as tightly as she could when that final gust hit them and flung them in the air like a hacky sack. He gripped back fiercely as they flew higher and higher towards the eye in the sky.

"You two always gotta stick together, no matter what."

No matter what.

Mom, Dad, Haru, Kairi, and Riku…They were all gone.

All they had was each other.

They clung to one another for dear life. Amaya could feel Sora's nails digging into the back of her hand as they continued to ascend, but she ignored the pain – in fact, she could barely feel it at all. Her body was completely numb to physical sensation. Right now, everything depended on staying with him.

But of course, like the rest of the night, things did not go according to plan. One more powerful zephyr was all it took to finally drive them apart.

"Sis!" Sora desperately cried out, attempting to reach her once more.

"Sora!" Amaya shrieked, trying with all her strength to grasp back, but to no avail.

The final thing Amaya felt was a warmth in her chest, her last sight a glimmer of light that radiated from it.

                                                                 - Keeper of the Keywielders, Chapter 4

At the start of her journey, Amaya fears...a lot of things. Her greatest fear? Darkness. It’s because of this, she clings to the light, and perhaps it was that along with another mystery in her past (peep that glimmer of light from her chest...ya know, where that pendant lies...) that saved her when the Islands get destroyed...

Perhaps she’ll learn to be more open to the “other side” as her story continues? Y’all will have to follow the fic (linked below!) to find out!

FF.net l AO3

And with this, we’re finally on track with @khoc-week (even though I skipped a couple of days)!