#hayner's a bit of a ladies' man here

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #682: Valentine's Cards (Kingdom Hearts)

3:32 p.m. at Hayner's Usual Secret Spot......

Hayner: ('Heh' 'Heh') (Smugly Shows Roxas and Pence a Deck of Valentine Cards Given to Him) Read 'em and weep, boys!

Pence: (Somewhat Amazed) Woah.....You really weren't kidding when you said you got a lot of Valentine Cards today.

Hayner: I know, right? (Puts on a Smirk on his Face) This goes without saying, I believe I'm becoming a major hit with the ladies nowadays. Very impressive for a troublemaker like yours truly, I know.

Roxas: (Gives Hayner a Deadpinned Look on his Face) I never thought in million years that you, of all people, would care about this kind of stuff....

Hayner: (Shrugged) Me neither, but yet here we are. (Place his Arm Around an Annoyed Roxas) No need to be jealous, bud. It's not everyday that your best friend in the entire universe got a lot more Valentine Cards than you do. Hell, I bet you don't even have any at all.

Roxas: (Rolled his Eyes) Oh har har. (Shoves Hayner Off of Him) Very funny, Casanova. But in case you haven't noticed.....(Puts Out a Few Valentine's Cards of his Own From his Pants Pocket) I got a lot Valentine's cards of my own too! What you gotta say about that?

Pence: (Nodded in Agreement) That is pretty impressive if you ask me.

Roxas: Thank you, Pence!

Hayner: (Nodded as Well) Yeah. I agree. It is impressive and all. (Puts on a Smug Smirk on his Face While Crossing his Arms Together) But I bet two of them, Xion and your two dads.

Roxas: (Glares at Hayner) No they're not!

Hayner: (Raised an Eyebrow at his Bro)

Roxas: ('Sighs in Defeat') Alright, fine. They are. But they still counts! (Turns to Pence) What about you, Pence? You any Valentine Cards of your own?

Pence: Nah..... (Looks Down on the Ground in Sadness) I got nothing this year.....As usual.......

Hayner: (Immediately Starts Feeling Bad For Pence) Ah dude.....

Roxas: (Frowns at Pence) I'm sorry, man.

Pence: (Suddenly Starts Chucking Lightly While Looking Back up Towards his Two Friends) I'm messing with you guys. (Pulls out Something From Both of his Pockets) I got three cards and a chocolate bar.

Roxas: ('Sighs in a Bit of Relief') Oh that's good hear.

Hayner: Neat.

????: 'Sup, Losers.

Hayner: (Turns to See Vantias Making his Way to the Him and the Gang) Well, whaddya know! The man of the hour is finally here!

Roxas: (Puts on a Smirk on his Face) And here I thought you weren't gonna show up.

Vantias: Well, I would've been here sooner if a bunch girls didn't try to follow me everywhere.

The trio eyes suddenly becomes widened in complete shock from what Vantias told them.

Roxas: I-I-I'm sorry. But.... You're....telling us that-

Hayner: A BUNCH OF GIRLS WAS FOLLOWING YOU!?

Vantias: (Starts Getting Confused and a Tad Bit Weirded Out by Hayner's Sudden Outburst) Uhh....Yeah. I mean, they didn't follow me all at once, but.....('Sigh') Okay. So when I went to the burger place to get myself something to eat, this one girl was following me, all shy like. Once I turned around and ask what she was doing, she gives me her Valentine card to me and just ran off. Then, when I actually went into the place, four or five other girls tried to stare at me and look away back and forth and then eventually, come up to my table and gave those cards to me before they started running away and.... squealing for some reason. And then, just when I started to walk out, a bunch of other girls suddenly appear in front of me and do the exactly same thing!

Pence: So they followed you around just so they can give you their Valentine cards?

Vantias: Exactly. That and candy. Which reminds me....(Toss Bag Filled With Valentine Cards and Candy onto the Ground)

Pence: (Surprised and Amaze at the Bag Right in Front of Him and the Others) Woah..........

Roxas: Holy shit, dude. You really weren't kidding.....

Vantias: Well, duh. Of course I wasn't kidding about all of this. But anyways, if any of you nerds want some candy, then be my guess.

Pence: (Smiles Excitedly as he Get Some Candy Out if the Bag) Don't have tell me twice!

Roxas: (Smirk Comes Back on his Face) Thanks, man. Namine's right. You really do have a heart.

Vantias: (Rolled his Eyes from Roxas' Comment While Blushing a Little) Whatever.

Hayner: (Eyes Still Widened at Vantias' Bag) (How?.....How in the hell did Vantias, of all people, got so many girls admiring him so easily!? Was it because of his edginess? Did his edgelord looking appearance actually got all the ladies to fall over heels for him!? Or maybe he cheated this entire time! Yeah! That HAS to be-)

Vantias: (Turns to Hayner) Hey, spike boy!

Hayner: (Comes Back to Reality) Oh! Uhh....Yeah?

Vantias: You want some candy or not? Don't really care either way.

Hayner: ('Sigh') Yeah. Sure.

?????: I'm here.

Pence: (Turn to See a Very Familiar Face) Olette. You're finally here.

Hayner: Yeah. What took you so long?

Olette: ('Sigh') Sorry. (Make her Way to the Group While Wearing a Light Orange Sun Dress) I forgot bring the Valentine cards for you guys, at home earlier. (Gives Valentine Card to Each of the Boys) So I went all the way back there to get them. (Hands the Last Card Over to Vantias....In a Sudden Shy Like Manner) I even got one for, Vantias....

Vantias: (Eyes Widened a Bit in Genuine Surprise) Wait. Really?

Olette: Yeah. I-It's thanks for hanging out with and stuff.....

Vantias: Oh. Well, it's....no problem or anything. I mean, in all honesty, you really don't have to thank me for that at all, now that I think about it.

Olette: I know, but...(Finally Starts to Blush) I still wanna do something nice for you. So....p-please accept my thanks, okay?

Vantias: (Rubbing his Head Back and Forth in a bit if Confusion) Oookay....If that's what you really wanted.....You look nice by the way.

Olette: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise as her Blush Slightly Turns Bright Red) Y-You really think so?

Vantias: Yeah. Not sure if orange's your favorite color or not, but I still think it suits you at least.

Olette: (Smiles Softly) Aww~ Thanks, Vantias. I think you look great too.

Vantias: You think so? (Looks Down at his Black Loose Button Collared Shirt Before Looking Back at Olette) I'm only wearing everything black today. It's not really that special.

Olette: Are you kidding? You look great!.....(Continues Talking to Vantias)

Pence: (Witness the Entire Scene with the Others) So Olette has a crush on Vantias all along, huh?

Roxas: Did not see that one coming....(Turns to Hayner) What do you think, Hayner?

Hayner: (Eyes and Mouth Widened in a Complete Shock and Stand Still)...........

Roxas: Uhh...Hayner?

Pence: (Wave his Hand in front of a Stunt Hayner) Roxas, I think he's broken.

Roxas: (Sighs While Rolling his Eyes) Of course he is....

Pence: You wanna try snapping him back to reality?

Roxas: Nah. (Makes his way to Olette and Vantias) He'll come back to his senses eventually.

Pence: (Shrugs) Okay. (Follows Roxas Behind While Leaving Hayner in his Place)

@khtext

@26shann

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@miki-13

@italian-love-cake

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

[jcmorrigan]

001 - Kingdom Hearts

Favorite character: On the villain side: VEXEN IS BEST ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER. Shoulda stayed evil, though. I like it when he complains and screams about everything and hates everyone. He's one of my favorite villains, just, like...in general. So fun to write. Also attached to Demyx, but I actually liked him more in III than II because it reminded me of my rawr lolspeek weeb days when I f/o'd him without knowing what f/o'ing was and then transitioned this to shipping VexDem like heck. On the hero side: MY GIRL KAIRI! But honorable mentions go to Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Ienzo, any Disney character I loved beforehand (this is way too fuckin many to list), Merlin (OKAY I WILL SINGLE HIM OUT), Yen Sid (I'LL SINGLE HIM OUT TOO), you know what let's also single out the Mickey+Donald+Goofy power trio...just...any KH hero who isn't part of the Yozora stuff or the KHUX stuff. ...Except I also LOVE Strelitzia, and she is the only KHUX-exclusive kiddo I care about but I care about her MANY. (Oh, and there's a least fave I have who's a "hero" but that's a debatable label). I would go on about why I love all of them but...that's too many characters to elaborate on

Least Favorite character: See, I think the real answer is Yozora, but the thing is I just tend to forget about him or not care (unless I'm doing a weird AU where he's Noctis' bratty Nobody, don't ask). He kinda represents the Shark Jump and I don't like watching that scene where he literally petrifies Sora for not being strong enough. But again, I can just kinda forget about him if he's not fed to me through a social-media unit. The one I LOVE TO HATE is Master Eraqus. The man actually triggered me back in the day. He is purity culture. He is the overbearing parent who will not accept you unless you are perfect. He is by and large the reason VAT didn't communicate with each other properly. He was the one who taught Aqua to think in absolutes. He lied to Ventus for years and then insisted to kill him was the only option, and then, when Terra tried to defend his brother figure/friend without knowing WHY Eraqus was doing such a thing, Eraqus didn't offer an explanation and instead switched targets to Terra citing that the problem was Terra's lack of OBEDIENCE. Eraqus is just very "my way or the highway" and uses his moral high horse to justify doing things that utterly lack compassion in any regard, which is something that GETS to me on a deep level, and let me tell you, I hated him for so long until I realized he was actually a super fuckin fun guy to imagine as a Bigger Bad in AUs that either have the KH protags teaming up or have villain protags needing a "greater good lawful evil" figure. And I just have found too many good memes about him cheating at chess and killing children. I have to laugh. Making fun of him is fun. He's a ridiculous character. That said, this recent trend of "erase everything bad he ever did and paint him as the ultimate hero of the saga" makes me raise eyebrows for SEVERAL reasons

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): VexDem, SoRiku, Kairi x Jaune Arc (RWBY), Aqua x Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) x Bayonetta, IsaLea, Ventus x Papyrus (Undertale), that was six but they all needed to be mentioned

Character I find most attractive: Ienzo. HOO BABY he is adorable. I saw someone make a Valentine's Day gifset of KH and FF characters shortly after III dropped and seeing his smiling face paired with a romance quote made my heart FLUTTER

Character I would marry: Probably Ienzo, see above. He's also a very kind guy. Favorite redemption in the modern era.

Character I would be best friends with: I hope the Destiny Trio would adopt me into their friend circle the way they've tended to do with every other inter-world denizen they've come across. I would love to have them as my positivity squad. Or, y'know, two positivities and one "it's okay to screw up" guy. Just. I would love to hang out with them. I often worry that I'm unlikable to my faves, but even though I would usually prefer to hang with the villains, I can pretty much guarantee these three would be open-minded about me. (Do I kiiiiinda wanna be friends with Vexen though? Of course I do. He'd hate me but maaaayyyyybe he would see me as one of his pet idiots who makes him look smarter, and we could bond over our fragile egos?)

a random thought: You ever think about that one NPC lady in Traverse Town who refused to tell you where she was from because it was none of her business? You ever wonder where she WAS from? What her world was like? How she ended up being the survivor of the Ansem Apocalypse when it hit her? All I know is that when I read her lines out loud (I used to read KH speech balloons out loud all the time), I gave her a Southern accent for no discernible reason and I stand by it. That woman has a twang.

An unpopular opinion: I don't want KHUX to be canon because I feel it's smaller-scale and takes a lot of mystery out of the worldbuilding. I always assume that the KHverse just includes ALL worlds in fiction, and that includes their thousand-year histories, meaning the Age of Fairy Tales should've happened long long long LONG LONG LONG ago and not five generations. And whatever screwed up the world should've been more than just five people having a fight, and whatever saved it should've been more than just five people getting along, and Daybreak Town really suffers from having to stick to mobile-friendly graphics and therefore is the least aesthetically attractive KH town ever, and I don't like that Lauriam and Elrena used to be such selfless people. I do still love Strelitzia because she's shy and relatable and quirky (sitting on the roof) and she questions authority and if you go with shipping subtext she's probably bi (or pan?), but I don't like the "Lauriam's dead sister for his arc's drama" bit. I liked when Marluxia was angry because he wanted to run Organization XIII but it was in the hands of an idiot who wasn't him. And more than anything I just like imagining that the Age of Fairy Tales was something bigger, further in the past, and more mysterious than something designed for a mobile game. Scala ad Caelum, however, I like a lot better because there IS a lot of mystery there and also it's a very pretty town with an amazing design.

my canon OTP: I really only count the Disney couples as the "canon" ones, so this is a question of picking my favorite Disney couple that shows up onscreen. I hope I'm not forgetting an important one, but I think the title has to go to Aladdin/Jasmine, which is always perfect in everything. (This would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY if KH had ever adapted Treasure Planet, and if it ever gets the mind to adapt Treasure Planet then even if I don't care about that game I will immediately declare that Amelia/Doppler takes the KH canon OTP crown. *taps watch* Get on it Squenix)

Non-canon OTP: SoRiku, which I counted as "basically canon" after DDD until III decided it wasn't sure. But I'm just a sucker for how DDD is the two of them all "HE'S GOT MY BACK AND I'VE GOT HIS AND I'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM SO LONG AS HE'S HAPPY." It's just the best kind of Friends-to-Lovers, except when you take all canon into account it's Friends-to-Rivals-to-Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers and that's a very juicy dynamic. BUT ALSO: VexDem, which is a nostalgia ship SO STRONG I had to accept that it eclipsed my former Vexen ships by a mile and I wanted to go back to my roots. That one, I have a much longer essay about that I'll just have you refer to so I don't repeat myself for pages. To make a long story short, their scene in III was JUST DELICIOUS.

most badass character: OOF THEY'RE ALL BADASS but in the end it's between Sora and Aqua, because Sora gets the widest RANGE of abilities across the series that he masters while Aqua gets the most POWERFUL abilities due to her Mastery (Command Styles seem like they'd be the most OP things ever in-universe and I'm here for it because flashy battle moves make brain go brr).

pairing I am not a fan of: SOKAI, Xehaqus, RikuNami, Vanitas/anyone not evil

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): OH BOY. KAIRI THE MOST. YOU ALL KNOW WHY: lack of screen time, Fridging for drama, forced romance to invite death flags (they really wanted to milk that death to get people talking didn't they?), giving Alyson Stoner ZERO direction to actually follow up on Hayden Panettiere's performance. But then I remember that they made Vexen redeem and lose his entire personality and I just...uuugghhhh. I can't believe he died twice in this series. And then Demyx is FUN but also I know he's flipped sides as well, which means he won't be fun much longer! Xehanort seems to switch motivations to whatever makes him the biggest threat (and several of Eraqus' old flaws seem to be mysteriously glued onto him), Sora isn't a motormouth anymore, Riku just doesn't get anyone who cares about him anymore because everyone's distracted by Sora and Kairi, IS ANYBODY GOING TO ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUES THAT DROVE THE WAYFINDER TRIO APART, oh God Marluxia and Larxene you're good guys now what have they done to you

favourite friendship: I really like each of the trios. But you know what's even BETTER than the trios? If you put...all of the trios together...meaning Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, Olette...and then you added Isa back in there...and you gave them Ienzo...and you brought back Naminé...and you say that Subject X is Strelitzia and you have her turn back up so she can have justice done...AND YOU HAVE AN ULTRA KEYBLADE GROUP OF FRIENDS. As for Vexen, any purely platonic relationship I have for him is a crossover but trust me I have many crossover pals for he

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: See everyone I listed above in the friendship question. They can either mentor me or let me be their big sis/mom. But also, I will GLADLY be Merlin or Yen Sid's daughter. (But also would I kiiiiinda wanna be a VexDem daughter? This is the worst idea. Still wanna try)

[mellz117]

Nnnnnnngggghhhh it’s part 2 of Mellz plays KH2 on the PS2!

It’s been a while since I got around to working on this part but since we’re all in quarantine I thought I’d catch up on my commentary.

If this is your first time tuning in, why not check out part 1 before reading?? In there you’ll also find links to my commentary of KH1 and Re:CoM on the PS2

On that note, let’s continue shall we?

To recap. We lost some pics, we found some pics, Seifer is a bitch. We did odd jobs and fought bees, we got robbed at stick point. Roxas keeps having dreams that act as exposition dumps for anyone who hasn’t played KH1. Roxas met Namine and he followed her to the mansion but got lost on the way there and wrong warped to the Station of Serenity via sandlot. Oh, we fought this game’s version of the Darkside Heartless but this time it’s a wormy, white Nobody. I really, really hate it! Hayner thinks Roxas loves Seifer more than him because it’s the epitome of “it’s not what it looks like”. Today, we Struggle to rekindle our friendship.

The next morning? Afternoon? EVENING? Nobody knows because it’s always the same time of day from morning until night and from night until morning! The Struggle tournament is about to begin. Tensions still seem on the rise before the preliminaries start, Hayner has very little to say to Roxas at this time. I’m not ready at this point so I decide to delay the fight and talk the townspeople and fight Seifer once again for old time’s sake. Our combatants are relayed the rules and the first round is between Roxas and his best friend, Hayner. Both the boys are a little somber as the countdown starts. Roxas is still feeling guilty about yesterday, but Hayner doesn’t care. He’s not angry at Roxas, he’s been so quiet because he’s so concentrated on the tournament!

Battle ensues.

I win because that’s the only way to progress. Roxas and Hayner make up and be all cute again. The next fight is between Seifer and Vivi.

Rose: “This is like... any person fighting Yoda”

……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..

Seifer got MESSED UP!

His pride after this was so squashed he DROPPED OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT, leaving Hayer in line for 3rd place. Seifer was willing to throw away a place in top 3 because he lost to blue Yoda.

I like how Roxas is ready to fucking pummel Vivi here AFTER time runs out. No mercy.

…oh my gosh it turns out this Vivi was a Dusk Nobody all along who could have seen that coming...?

*gasp* It’s HIM

My favorite bastard!

Axel: “Talk about blank with a capital ‘B’...”

Rose: “Talk about BITCH with a capital ‘B’!”

I love Axel to death in case you haven’t guessed that yet but that doesn’t mean I don’t ever drag him. He moves like a goddamn weasel. He’s as skinny as one too.

I win the fight because I’m the protagonist, and then DiZ shows his pretty face for the first time to our boy. Axel knows who he is? I’m guessing from Castle Oblivion? Unless there’s some Days stuff I’m not remembering. Things get weird again, DiZ and Axel call out Roxas’s name and their voices warp all funky and I remember getting secondhand embarrassment every time I watched this scene when I was younger!

Roxas has a mild freak out and calls out for his friends, poor thing. This seems to make everything normal. What passes for normal around here, sure... and the real Vivi falls face first onto the arena and has no recollection of ever participating. He didn’t. A Dusk just unceremoniously dumps his unconscious body off in the middle of a tournament. We then snag first place, but to add one more rank, as reigning champion, Roxas has to win against this Crispin Freeman motherfucker, obtain a special belt, and bragging rights for a whole-ass year.

My strategy? As long as I have more orbs than my opponent I win so I just hit Setzer once and run around the stage until time’s up. Not that I can’t fairly win against him. Is this the only time we get to fight Setzer? Seems kind of a waste to make a model and moveset if he’s got such a miniscule role.

We actually CAN fail this and still progress but I’m not a quitter. I’m gonna get Roxas that belt. So I did. The Twilight Town gang are once again sitting atop the clock tower, revel in Roxas’s victory, and each kid gets one of the crystals fixed to the trophy. ICE CREAM TIME! But Roxas is an idiot, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree now does it? stands up in like, 2 frames, and slips off the clock tower to his death. Rest in pieces.

This scene ends and we see a young lady walking alone after school. It’s Kairi! This is my favorite version of her. So she and Selphie start talking about Riku, the island they used to go to all the time, and another boy nobody remembers.

IDK how this telepathy works, while Roxas is still falling in slow-motion there’s a three way conversation between him, Kairi, and Sora himself chimes in a bit. Roxas mistakes Kairi for Namine, Kairi corrects him, “you’re that girl he likes” he says, Kairi desperately asks for a name, Roxas tells her HIS OWN name, NO NO you dolt Kairi wants this other guy’s name, see this is how wingmanning works. Sora’s all like “gee thanks for remembering me. I’ll give you a hint”.

Kairi gently pollutes the ocean with a message in a bottle, somehow the bottle heads out towards the great unknown despite the tide coming IN? I would think the bottle would kinda just... float in one spot for a bit? Or at least back to shore.

Next we’re back in the computer room with DiZ and this black clad man, who we finally get to learn is Ansem. But uh... He ain’t tho.

……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..

My least favorite part of Roxas’s part is coming up... OK OK OK so falling from great heights during battle is perfectly safe but falling off the clock tower could kill Roxas? Seems legit.

A’ight Olette is really cracking down on the summer homework and uh. They got no topic for their independent studies yet. This was me during most of my highschool career. Roxas suggests the weird stuff happening around HIM, because the world revolves around him (little does he know...) and Hayner shoots that idea down IMMEDIATELY. Turns out, they’re gonna search the town tomorrow for answers, the whole town’s gonna help out. How sweet!  Roxas’s reaction here is so pure.

Wait so Roxas has been telling his friends about the dreams he’s been having? I would have liked to see that! Like, their reactions to them.

I went to check out the dart board and Rose starts laughing and says she read “examine” like how Namine is pronounced. Anyway, what is the gnag gonna study? The Seven Wonders of Twilight Town. *yaawwn*

……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..……..

Oof, another example of “couldn’t care less” being misspoken as “could care less”. If you COULD care less that implies you already DO care. IT’S “COULDN’T CARE LESS”, RAIJIIN!!!

*fights Seifer one last time for good measure*

“The time has come! Our hunt for the Seven Wonders begins!” Pence is such a dork. I love him.

KNOW WHAT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING WONDER? IF THESE STAIRS ACTUALLY DID COUNT DIFFERENTLY UP AND DOWN BUT NO RAIJIIN IS JUST A DUNCE!

The Wall. These legitimate answers are lame as hell. Oh someone must have been throwing a ball oh but we know the truth.

The next “mystery” are voices in the access tunnels. It’s Vivi! But no, it’s probably not considering our track record. Now there’s 3. OH NO THEY KEEP MULTIPLYING! The real Vivi arrives and lets Roxas borrow his struggle bat so he can practice fighting by himself but oh wait... That was also a Dusk. These guys just... really don’t know when to quit. Aaaand this is where we stop for now. My capture card stopped recording. Or maybe it was just my imagination. Yes that’s right. I’m recoding this with COMMENTARY! I’m putting all my favorite parts into a compilation. Hopefully I’ll get those up on my channel soon.

Ta-ta for now! The sooner I finish this game the sooner I can move on to the remasters on PS4!

[PREVIOUS]

[NEXT]

[lynxgriffin]

I like that old time rock and roll

AS I PROMISED, IT’S TIME FOR RUNNING COMMENTARY WHILE I PLAY THROUGH KH3

It’s under the cut for anyone who wants to avoid spoilers!!

BUT YES OH MY GOODNESS, IT’S HERE NOW

OKAY EVERYONE

AFTER 13 YEARS OF WAITING

THE TIME IS HERE

THE TIME IS NOW

LET’S

B E G I N

Really, autosave? Okay then!

IMMEDIATE CUTSCENE

The whole series as chess match between Xehanort and Eraqus, this is so Homestuck

THIS VERSION OF DEARLY BELOVED. GUHH. MY HEART

UGH SOMETHING IS SQUEEZING MY CHEST

What are these little loading screen dooblydoos?

WOAH what is this town, I want to live here

Young Eraqus babe!!

Xehanort blames the Furry Squad

THE OPENING

WELL NOW I’M JUST THOROUGHLY FULL OF FEELINGS FOREVER

Also where do I learn to storyboard something like that

Well ain’t this just familiar!

Sora, THIS WAS YOOOUR LIFE!

I desire TRINITY FRIENDSHIPS

And hmmm I usually like to just attack a bunch, so we’ll go path of the warrior

He’s on the salt flats all of a sudden!

Ahh good ol Darkside, can’t go along without you, can we

OMG HJO sounds so older

Okay this scene was earlier in 2.8

TIME TO START FROM LEVEL 1 AGAIN

Also this version of this song is so pretty nnngh

THE GOOD BOYS

And there’s that line again!

2.9 YOU DONE PLAYED ME FOR A SUCKER

Hades it never works to use the FF sadboys

HERCULEAN EXPOSITION

Sora’s heart has bad aim as usual

NNGH I JUST LOVE THESE THREE

He can just run up walls now, it’s fine!

Aw man I was kinda hoping for field chatter, do we not have any of that?

Dat title crawl!!

I love Sora just casually sassing the god of the dead

We’re blasting off agaaaaain

HI AGAIN MALEFICENT AND PETE

I love how everyone is just like “oh great it’s you again”

Oh Maleficent you’re too smart to fall for that

YES CORRECT NAME ORDER

Hey I remember these guys from when Aqua fought them!

OH GOSH you can set the poor boy on fire!!

Aw yay no longer Junior Heroes!

I MUST GO FAST AND RUNNING TOO SLOW

Aw we didn’t get to do the actual saving people part

“He’s inconsequential” Oh that’s gonna come back and bite you, Maleficent

Aww I found some food ingredients! Probably for Remy later!

Man could really go for some blizzard spells about now

Lady how did you even get up there??

Here have you been standing there Atlas-ing the whole time??

Ahaa so that’s how we do forms around here!

OH HIIIIII XIGBAR

Is his hair getting more silver or am I imagining it

Good question there, Sora

Xigbar: Well, I’m here to be cryptic! And I’m done now! BYYYYEEE

Oh no them big sad eyes

Oh woah that’s a big fella

That we took out mostly via pirate ship, YEEEUH

I FOUND A HIDDEN MICKEY but I have no cell phone yet!

THE SPIKY FRIENDS ARE BACK

Okay that was a pretty heckin cool finisher

You know I was kinda worried about the textures in this earlier, but I gotta say in motion everything looks real great

Oh man they know how to make these battles satisfying

I BLEW UP A ROCK TITAN WITH A SPARKLY TRAIN

Oh hey check it out guys, we’ve arrived at heaven

Oh dang they did a nice job with the area here

THESE HEARTLESS SO COOL BUT ALSO TERRIFYING

HECK YES GOT SHOTLOCKS

WE got all the good candy now!!

Holy crap air stepping is uh! Nutty!

Oh hey there, all the remaining Titans

Wow okay first death because I had no clue what to do in that situation

Uuuugh okay I got FARTHER that time and I even got Antiform! But I’m still a bit confused as to how to get past this part, esp with no way to heal

THERE we go, got it on the third try!

And finished it off with a shotlock, niceeee

SASSED AT BY THE TRES CORNY BOYS

Sora: I’ll find my strength through the old-fashioned way: LEVELING UP

Holy cow the extra Keyblade stuff looks like it’ll actually be extra tricky in terms of technique

Dig faster, Pete! IT’S UNDER A BIG DOUBLEYOU

LMAO they just find Pandora’s Box and are like NEVER MIND THAT’S NOT THE SCARY BOX WE NEED

M E A N W H I L E

The good darkness boys!!

HE’S DONE SO MUCH GROWING

Back at this good ol’ darkness beach

He’s gonna sniff her out like a bloodhound!

PLAYING AS RIKU RIGHT THE HECK NOW

Oh he is a lot tougher, and good thing because it’s another demon wave

Well that was weird

WHAT it seriously got broken by a demon wave??

GOOD QUESTION RIKU

THE OTHER M E

Dang I love these title crawls and new remixes

Let’s Just Tease Sora Relentlessly: The Game

Ohhh man Aqua’s theme

YES LET’S FINALLY SEE KAIRI AND LEA HERE

*bangs fist on table* GIVE. LEA. NEW. CLOTHES

And yay Sora gets his new clothes!

HI THERE JIMINY

Awww it’s got the Dream Eater symbol on it!

New plaid outfit!!

Ohh I’m excited to see where we actually go next

HIS CELL PHONE RING IS HIS THEME

Sora: WHAT IS CELL PHONE???

HI IENZO

Ienzo: Come on Aeleus, just get over your horrific betrayal and murders like I did!!

Ienzo: We’ve discovered a Heart Hotel in you Sora; turns out it’s been there for awhile

Chip and Dale: Please help Sora he’s terrible with technology

OH NOW THERE’S THE TITLE HAHAHA FUUUUCK YOOOU

Holy cow the gummi ship seems way harder to control now is it just me??

Okay whelp, makes sense Twilight Town is next!

“Hurting is part of caring” THAT MUST BE WHY I’M HURTIN RIGHT NOW

HOLY HOLY SHIT THAT HAS SO MUCH HP—oh we don’t have to fight the whole thing THANK GOODNESS

ALSO CURE THANK GOODNESS

“This is underprecedented!”

HAYNER YOU GIANT DOOF

Everyone here to find the Roxases!

Oh nooo photo cuties

WE FOUND THE HIDDEN MICKEYS

OKAY I actually really need food in order to live so I need to take a quick lunch break but

THIS WILL CONTINUE ON ALMOST IMMEDIATELY

AAAAAA

[neriede]

Kingdom Hearts Other Diamonds - The Twilight (KH Novel Translation)

So @moeblob drew a little doodle of my rare pair, and it inspired me to just go ahead and translate the chapter in the novel that the doodle’s based on. Enjoy Namine being a sad and a cute (also Hayner being a lil’ shit).

I did take some liberties with some weird pronoun usage, and in a couple places to make it flow better in English, but it’s for the most part a direct translation.

The light of the sun was flowing in from the large window.

Namine opened the curtain just a bare smidge, gazing absent-mindedly at the outside.

This house was said to be haunted, and so the townspeople hardly went near the place—it was for this reason that there was practically no sign of any human presence. Occasionally the cries of birds from the forest in front of the mansion could be heard, but that was about the extent of it.

The sunlight properly lighting up the room, the ability to look over the forest and see how it was doing—this was the only room where that was possible. The room was the same pure white as that of Castle Oblivion, and yet being in this room was different, wasn’t unpleasant.

Before her very eyes, Riku and Axel would leave the castle, often and immediately. Time and time again—that was the state of things.

And because they never brought her along with them, she drew pictures in her sketchbook, alone in this room, and then stuck them to the walls. Today she was attempting to draw the two of them.

It wasn’t Riku in Ansem’s form—it was the Riku from before, in his original form. Axel was eating ice cream.

Together like that, they were on the verge of laughter.

-

It had somehow come to the point where Riku and Axel really got on well with each other. Since Riku was unfortunately in Ansem’s form, he normally didn’t speak much. However, whenever he was eating ice cream with Axel, he would laugh like a changed man. In those moments, even though Axel would say things like, “Don’t laugh with that creepy face!” it was the closest he was to being himself.*

Of course, Axel loved sea-salt ice cream.

If left to his own devices while he was in the mansion, Axel would be eating sea-salt ice cream the whole time. It didn’t seem like he ever got anything like an upset stomach, and he was always thinking about eating it, always in the mood for it. The refrigerator in the computer room was stuffed full of them, never empty, even though he ate them every single day.

When she had met Axel for the first time in Castle Oblivion, she never imagined he might have this sort of side to him.

He had seemed like such a terrible person.

But being acquainted with Roxas’ memories, she didn’t consider him to be that terrible person anymore.

-

Namine closed the curtain and sat herself in the chair.

On top of the table in front of her, the drawing of Axel and Riku she’d just been working on smiled up at her.

No matter how much she said she loved to draw, this was a bit tedious.

She’d gotten accustomed to the passing of time, all alone.

Even in Castle Oblivion she’d mostly been left all on her own, and even though DiZ had been at the mansion during the one year when Sora had been sleeping, they almost never met face to face.

Things like this were why she didn’t feel particularly lonely.

But it was tedious.

When Riku and Axel were both here, things weren’t very boring at all.

I tell those two all about Sora and his friends, spread out over all kinds of worlds.

And the three of us, we discuss the dealings of the Organization in those worlds.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, and even after all that the Replica who was my precious friend … I’ve never been able to just talk with anyone, not like this.

Ever since I was born—well, I don’t really remember the moment of my birth, but I’d always been in Castle Oblivion. Surrounded by Organization members, I was alone.

That’s why the times when it’s the three of us are so fun.

I thought I wasn’t lonely, but maybe now … is this what loneliness feels like?

I don’t have a heart, but this … somehow I get the feeling I understand what loneliness is now.

Namine breathed a small sigh, hanging the weight of her body on her back, causing the chair to tilt.

Come to think of it, it hadn’t been too long ago—Axel had tilted this very chair, and had fallen right on his back.

Namine remembered it and laughed, feeling her own small voice resounding throughout the quiet room.

Ah … perhaps … of course … I really do feel lonely.

I don’t know when Riku and Axel will come back.

Even though I believe that they have to return eventually, the possibility remains that they don’t come come back.

We are pursuing the Organization, after all.

As Namine stopped moving, likewise the chair stopped tilting.

If the two of them ever disappeared, what would I do?

I don’t really know for sure.

The way I am now, the thought of them not existing anymore is unimaginable.

Namine gazed at the Riku and Axel in her sketchbook.

Suddenly, she could hear the sound of someone’s voice from outside the mansion, and she raised her head.

Somebody’s … coming?

Quietly, Namine stood up and looked down on the garden from the crack in the curtain.

“Weren’t we told not to come here?”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“Won’t you quit it already?”

Somewhere in between the girl’s warning and the other boy’s reply, the chubby boy’s expression became troubled. Hayner, Pence, and also Olette—that’s who was down there.

Namine knew about these three people. In that fake town they’d been “assigned” as Roxas’ friends, and prior to that she’d known very little about them.

“Come on, Hayner!”

“If you’re gonna be like that, then maybe it’s not such a good idea for you to tag along.”

Angry, Olette turned her face away, and likewise Hayner turned his head in a similar manner. Even from so far away, Namine could understand what was happening, and she let out an unintentional chuckle.

Now that she thought about it, these guys were also a three-person group.

Her and Riku and Axel—and then there was Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Sora and Riku, and Kairi as well, they were all a three-person group.

Her group wasn’t as lively as Sora, Donald, and Goofy, nor were they as close as Sora, Riku, and Kairi. But she thought they were friends, and had goals and things in common that bound them together.

“Would you two stop fighting?!”

Flustered, Pence looked back and forth at the other two’s silent backs.

“Well then. Guess I’m going home.”

It was Olette who broke the silence. She briskly headed back in to the forest alone.

“Is she gonna be okay…?” Pence asked Hayner as he crossed his arms, watching Olette’s retreating back with worry.

“Let her be, that one. Seifer and his gang wouldn’t come out all the way here, and like I said, there’s no such thing as ghosts!”

“If you say so…Oh!”

Pence lifted his head up, looking like he’d just seen something, and Hayner rushed over to him in a panic.

“J-j-j-j-just now, the curtain moved!”

At Pence’s words, Namine hid behind the curtain.

“Now wait, isn’t that the one we said was just swaying in the wind?”

“It moved again!”

Hayner gave a resigned sigh, and Pence pointed at the window as he spoke once more, “But look, that window’s completely closed!”

“Oh really? Woah! It moved!”

This time it was Hayner who jumped. Namine peeked outside the curtain, placing her hands on her chest and breathing deeply.

“You know that reminds me—there’s that rumor about a suspicious guy coming and going around,” Pence crossed his arms.

“The black coat guy? The old lady at the sweets shop was saying something about that, right?” Hayner also crossed his arms.

Namine smiled wide at their conversation.

The black coat guy the sweets shop lady had mentioned was probably Axel.

From time to time Axel would leave the mansion all on his own and set out towards the town. Riku’s expression was never good in response to such behavior, but nonetheless, based on what she was hearing it didn’t seem like Axel had stopped going out.

“Now wait a minute,” Hayner scratched his head as he spoke, “Isn’t that old lady at the shop going a bit senile lately?”

“You think so…? I don’t think that’s it though.”

“But wouldn’t it be weird for a black coat guy to just show up out of nowhere?! And the old lady hasn’t said anything about anyone actually looking suspicious, has she?”

“Yeah...well, that’s certainly true, but…I mean, have anyone of us seen a black coat guy anywhere around?”

“Huh?”

At Pence’s question Hayner stopped moving. His head tilted to one side and his eyebrows knitted together, “Don’t we know every single person in this town?”

“Yeah,” Pence resolutely nodded at Hayner’s words.

“You know of any black coat dudes in this town?”

“I don’t, but...what about someone who came from the train station?”

“If a stranger came from the train station, wouldn’t we immediately know about it?”

“I suppose that’s true, but...”

“I’ve never seen seen any black coat guy!”

At Hayner’s clear assertion, Pence began to seriously think about it, “Is that...really so…?”

“That’s what I said! Maaan, now I’m hungry,” Hayner started a long stretch.

“Sea-salt ice cream again?” Pence suggested, lifting his head.

“Would it be anything else?” Hayner replied, quickly running towards the forest.

Pence gave chase after him, breaking in to a run.

Namine’s face peered out of the curtain, watching their retreating backs.

Now that she thought about it, she’d only ever gotten ice cream out of the fridge in the computer room—she’d never purchased and eaten the ice cream from this town’s shop. More than likely the taste was the same, but perhaps if she ate the ice cream outside, it’d have a different flavor than before.

“Just a little...should be fine,” Namine murmured reassuringly to herself.

Axel had done it, there were no signs of any Nobodies or Heartless on the mansion grounds, and in case of emergency she could always use a corridor of darkness—

Namine clenched her fists.

She abruptly turned around, making to run for the door.

-

Namine walked the gloomy forest with her head hung low.

In her tightly closed fist was gripped a single 50 Munny coin. To be honest, this was the first time in her life that she’d ever held money. She had gathered this precious token from the first floor drawing room, where someone had been left it behind. She knew there was still money that hadn’t been used up in the safe in the basement laboratory, but that was DiZ’s money, and so she hadn’t felt right about using it.

But if it was money she had happened to find...well surely that was okay, right?

Namine raised her face, surveying the depths of the forest around her. It had a bit of a gloomy and scary atmosphere, but it had been a long time since she’d breathed the outside air, and it felt really good.

As she kept walking the winding and twisting road, she ran in to a wall. She passed through an opening in it, and found herself right inside the tram common.

Namine blinked her eyes, flooded by light after having been inside the dark forest.

And just like that, she saw a trolley passing by her.

Despite the fact that she shouldn’t have a heart, her chest quickly started pounding triumphantly, and she understood what it meant for one’s own heart to start jumping for joy.

Namine held the hand that carried the coin to her chest, squeezing it once more, and started to walk with just the barest of nimble steps.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the old sweets lady’s shop would be just beyond this point if she just went straight ahead.

She knew every inch of this town, and yet she’d never actually walked inside the real town for herself before.

In the space between the buildings, the old sweets lady’s shop appeared.

“I’ll have two!”

Beside Pence, who was already nibbling away at his own ice cream, Hayner held up two fingers as he gave the old lady his order.

“For Olette?” Pence asked.

“Uh...yeah, you got a problem with that?!”

“Noooo~?” Pence smirked at the way Hayner had shouted, “I’ll pay half too. Here ya go, 10 Munny.”

He placed a 10 Munny coin on top of the counter.

“Oh my. Who gets the change, then?” the old lady tilted her head to one side.

“He’s doing me the favor, so I’ll just take the 10 Munny.”

“Oh sure, sure,” the old lady slid the coin over to Hayner, who stowed it away in his pocket, before she handed over the two ice creams.

“If we don’t find Olette soon, it’s gonna melt!”

“I know that!”

With one ice cream in each hand, Hayner started to dash off when he looked back over his shoulder...and saw Namine standing there.

“Oh...”

Without thinking about it she froze, and for a single moment Hayner didn’t move either, before he once more set out in a run.

“Hayner?”

Pence, who hadn’t been as quick, turned back and also noticed Namine. He looked restlessly back and forth between Namine’s face and Hayner’s back, before scrambling to catch up with the boy who had already left.

“Wait up, Hayner!”

Namine calmly watched their retreating backs, breathing a sigh of relief. Then, with one more deep breath, she slowly began to walk towards the shop.

“Um, excuse me...”

“Who’s there??” the old lady lifted her head, “Oooh, a first-timer, eh?”

“Um, sea-salt ice cream, one please,” Namine gave her order, her fist still closed over her chest.

“Sure thing! Give me a sec.”

With slow movements, the old lady produced an ice cream from somewhere near her feet, and handed it to Namine.

She took it with the hand that wasn’t gripping her money and asked, “How much is it? The ice cream?”

“That’ll be 20 Munny!”

Namine stretched her hand with the money out in front of her, holding it straight out and opening it for the old lady.

“You’re change is 30 Munny.”

The old lady received the coin from the flat of Namine’s palm and replaced it with her change.

“Come again!” she smiled so sweetly.

“…again. I’ll come back,” Namine returned the smile, and slowly turned on her original path, starting to walk with ice cream in hand.

That’s when she realized.

Where was she going to eat this ice cream…?

“Um, excause me!” Namine quickly turned back towards the shop, once more troubling the old lady.

“What is it?”

“Is it okay if I eat this here?”

“That is definitely okay!” a smile floated on the old lady’s face.

“Thank goodness!” Namine leaned against the counter wall and took a mouthful of ice cream.

The salty sweetness spread throughout her mouth, the same taste that sea-salt ice cream always had.

But there was something special about it, Namine thought.

“Tasty, no?” the old lady asked.

“It’s delicious!”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

As Namine nodded a black cat nestled up near her legs and gave a small purr.

“You want some?” she squatted, stretching out the sea-salt ice cream to the cat.

In response the cat snuggled up against her feet and purred again.

“Oh ho, looks like the little fellow likes you,” said the old lady happily.

“Really?” Namine asked the cat.

At this the cat meowed once more.

-

Inside the warehouse underneath the train tracks—in the Usual Spot, Hayner and his gang were eating sea-salt ice cream. It seemed as though Hayner and Olette had managed to patch things up.

Sitting on top of the wooden boxes that had accumulated in a corner of the warehouse, Hayner at his ice cream the way he always did.

“Hey, Hayner.”

“Hmm?”

Pence, who had already finished his ice cream, looked Hayner in the eye, “That girl, where do you suppose she came from?”

At Pence’s inquiry, Hayner stopped moving.

“What do you mean ‘that girl’?” Olette asked the two of them.

“Just a little while ago in front of the old lady’s shop, there was a girl,” Pence answered, in lieu of Hayner’s deer-in-the-headlights state.

“A girl you didn’t know?” Olette moved closer with great interest, all the while eating her ice cream.

“And had never seen before! She had golden hair and was wearing a white dress. Tell her, Hayner!”

“Y-yeah,” Hayner nodding curtly.

“You think she moved in to town?” Pence looked up at Hayner.

“If that’s the case, maybe we’ll meet her at school when the new term starts,” Olette said, looking delighted.

“That would be nice,” Pence nodded.

“Hayner, are you listening even a little?” Olette asked Hayner, who was being a bit distant.

“Eh?”

At his surprised response, Olette sighed dejectedly, “Could it be...that girl was really cute?”

“She was! Maybe you’re on to something, Olette,” Pence once again answered.

“Maybe that’s why Hayner’s spacing out.”

“Th-that’s not it!” Hayner practically flew up and off the wooden box.

It was true, that girl had been pretty cute, but that wasn’t the reason he had zoned out.

That girl had had a kind of mysterious atmosphere about her.

“Good grief...” Olette said, resigned.

Hayner hung his head, down-hearted, then suddenly raised his head as if resolved about something, “You think we’ll see her again?!”

“When school starts up again, yeah,” Olette said, shrugging her shoulders and exchanging glances with Pence.

-

Namine had eaten her ice cream, said goodbye to the old lady, and then booked it back towards the mansion. She slammed the door of the white room completely shut, trying to gain control of the throbbing beat in her chest, and took one, large breath.

She could still hear the sound of her physical heart.

Namine sat in her chair and took out her sketchbook. Then she took out her black crayon and began drawing the black cat.

That was the first time she’d had that kind of conversation with someone, and it was the first time she’d eaten ice cream in such a place.

New things were fun—new places were fun.

She had gotten a sense from Sora’s memories—they were things that had touched her heart, but this was the first time she was feeling it for herself.

And furthermore, she’d met Hayner’s friends.

They hadn’t actually spoken to her, but—just meeting them had been nice.

“I should...definitely go again, don’t you think?” Namine whispered, as if speaking to the cat within the sketchbook.

She got the feeling the cat was purring, and she smiled.

-

It was the next day.

Namine quietly left the mansion, holding tightly on to her 30 Munny. Sea-salt ice cream cost 20 Munny, so she was still able to buy it one more time.

Riku and Axel still hadn’t come home last night.

But that was actually probably a good thing.

If they had met up yesterday, she would’ve definitely told them all about her time outside the mansion.

Axel would’ve certainly been scolded by Riku, who was somewhat prone to being a worrywart.

Moreover, worst case scenario, if the Organization learned of their existence here from the townspeople gossiping, it would be a grave situation indeed.

That’s why should couldn’t tell them about yesterday—she was sure of that, at least. But if she only dealt with the old lady from the shop, then surely that would be alright.

Namine made her way through the gloomy forest, passed through hole in the wall, and exited in to the town.

Today after buying her ice cream, she had plans to stroll through a little bit of the town.

She hadn’t had the chance to see the real clock tower at her own leisure yet.

Namine was going to go along a different path than yesterday, one that curved right from the hole in the wall, and she started walking parallel to the trolley tracks. Turn at the bulletin board, then straight ahead. After that, pass through under the overhead road. Exit on to the plaza where all the shops were lined up in a row. Namine’s feet stopped in front of the sweet shop lady’s store.

“Good day, ma’am.”

“Oh my, hello.”

The old lady smiled sweetly, the black cat on the counter purring just like yesterday.

“Sea-salt ice cream, one please.”

“Sure thing! Give me a sec.”

Namine placed two 10 Munny coins on the counter. That left her with 10 Munny. She wouldn’t be able to buy another sea-salt ice cream.

“There we go, don’t drop it now,” the old lady handed Namine the ice cream with a smile.

“Thank you,” Namine smiled as she replied, the cat purring softly.

“Come again!”

Namine bowed her head towards her, eating her ice cream as she entered the street in front of the train station. If she kept going up the slope from here, she’d arrive at Station Plaza after a bit of a hike. As she watched the children playing at the foot of the hill, Namine began to climb the hill with light steps.

If someone were to turn right at some point along the route, they’d reach Hayner and the gang’s Usual Spot.

Her feet stilled for a moment, and Namine peered in to the opposite side of the alleyway, before once again starting to climb the hill. The hill from this point on was a bit steep, and arriving here would lead one to a garage.

As she neared the garage, Namine had completely finished up her ice cream. Now, if she turned right at this garage and kept going straight ahead, she’d reach the Station Plaza. The moment she entered the plaza, the light of the setting sun flooded down upon her.

“So radiant...” she muttered before she could stop herself, holding one hand up to shade her eyes.

As if to get closer to the light she started walking, and birds scattered and took to the sky around her feet.

“Hey!”

“Who’s that?” at the sudden shout, Namine turned her head.

Sitting on the steps in front of the station was Hayner. Before a motionless and surprised Namine, Hayner also sported a surprised face, completely stock-still.

“...are you alright?”

She seemed to have said it instinctively, and Hayner stood up awkwardly, “I’m okay!”

“Oh, well then, that’s good,” Namine smiled, turning her head back to gaze at the setting sun.

This wasn’t her first time seeing the setting sun of Twilight Town. She had just the one memory of it, from when Axel had saved her. It had been lovely then as well, but today it was even more beautiful than ever.

At that moment, Namine’s vision was interrupted as Hayner rushed up in front of her.

“We met yesterday in the Tram Common, right?”

Namine didn’t know what to say in response to suddenly being talked to like that, and just stared fixedly at Hayner’s face.

“What’s your name?”

“...Namine.”

Her voice was small when she answered, and it made Hayner avert his eyes and scratch his head for a moment.

“My name’s Hayner. Where are you from?”

Namine looked away when questioned.

Even she didn’t fully understand where she’d come from.

She’d come from the haunted mansion today, sure—

But where did I really come from?

Seeing Namine’s troubled expression, Hayner walked closer, flustered. He had just one mouthful of ice cream left, and a drop melted and fell to the ground.

“Ummm...Sea-salt ice cream! I really love the stuff. Do you like it too?”

Namine quietly nodded.

“Guess it’s all melted though, huh?” Namine responded, pointing out the last bite he had.

At this Hayner stared, and took a deep breath, “So, y-you know...”

He was cut off by the resounding toll of a bell. They both reflexively looked up at the clock tower.

Across the way from them, the two chimes told them what time it was.

“Say, do you know the rumor about the ghosts that come out from the clock tower?”

“Huh?” Namine fixed her gaze on Hayner.

“That clock tower, the guard came to sweep up just like he does every half month, so nobody should’ve been able to climb up there. But sitting in front of the clock face were these two shadowy figures. They were standing next to each other and they looked like they might be people.”

The moment she heard Hayner’s story, she looked up once more at the clock tower, surprised.

“No one should be able to sit up there, right? That’s why people are saying it was a pair of ghosts.”

“A pair of ghosts...” Namine muttered, giggling a little.

Yeah, it definitely had to be those two.

She found it amusing that they were the same as her, getting mistaken for ghosts.

“Ya like ghost stories? Well then, here’s another one. On the outskirts of town, there’s this huge mansion...”

“Oh I know that ghost story. You can see a shadow of a girl on the second floor, right?”

“That’s right!”

At Namine’s smiling answer Hayner returned his own relieved smile, “That’s good, I got you to smile.”

“Hayner~!” from far away the sounds of restless footsteps mixed with Pence’s nearing voice.

Olette was right behind him.

“I have to go home,” Namine said, coming to her senses and taking a step back.

“What, already?”

“Sorry. Thank you.”

“Wha—What?! But I wanted to introduce you to everybody...”

Namine broke in to a run, leaving behind a surprised Hayner, his mouth hanging open.

“Oh?”

“Oh dear?”

When they realized Namine had fled, Pence and Olette also watched her go with shocked expressions.

“Wait!”

At Olette’s voice, Namine’s feet stopped for just a moment.

“Come and hang out with us!”

She could feel Pence’s voice on her back as well.

But she started running once more, without even looking back.

-

Namine slammed the door to the white room shut, breathing heavily with heaving shoulders, her eyes closed.

She really should not have spoken with townspeople like that.

If the Organization ever found out about it, there would be no going back from that.

And yet Hayner’s story had been interesting. She’d never spoken with a boy her own age before in such a way. Whenever she spoke with Sora it was always in such serious situations, and Riku didn’t really feel quite the same in age as her. It couldn’t be helped though—it was because Sora and Riku were special.

But Hayner was different.

He lived in the town and he was just a simple boy.

Pence and Olette too, they were an ordinary boy and girl.

They were different from her and her usual crowd.

Namine placed her hands on her chest, looking down in shame.

Her chest was still beating.

She really shouldn’t have left the mansion.

-

Namine was walking quietly by herself in the forest on the outskirts of town.

She hadn’t slept much last night.

Because she didn’t have another mere 10 Munny, she couldn’t buy any sea-salt ice cream.

Through that hole in the wall was the same town as always, Twilight Town—a special town.

Namine started walking, looking nowhere in particular.

It was then that she heard a voice.

“Don’t kick it there!”

“My bad, my bad!”

“You’re doing it wrong!”

That was Hayner, Pence, and Olette’s voices. Namine’s feet stopped.

The three were kicking a ball in front of the old lady’s shop.

“There!”

Penced kicked the ball and it rolled to a stop at Namine’s feet.

“Namine!”

“Hello,” As Hayner rushed over, a smile floated on to Namine’s face.

“Man, I thought we wouldn’t see you again.”

“I’m sorry for running off on you yesterday,” Namine picked up the ball from her feet and handed it to him.

“But you came back,” Hayner said relieved, smiling.

“What are you doing, Hayner?”

Olette ran up to him from behind, followed by Pence.

“Nice to meet you,” Namine quickly bowed her head at the two of them.

“Oh hey, you’re Namine!”

“I’m Pence!” he stretched his hand out and Namine shook it.

“I’m Olette. Nice to meet you,” Olette smiled fondly, and Namine nodded as she spoke.

“Did you just move here?”

At Pence’s question, Namine just smiled quietly.

The three of them traded worried glaces.

“So...Wanna eat some ice cream?”

Namine shook her head at Hayner’s invitation, “I’ve only got 10 Munny.”

“Then I’ll spot you half!”

“Me too, I’ll lend you some money!”

“And me!”

The three of them spoke all at once and exchanged smiling faces. Namine just couldn’t say no to that and giggled a little.

“Today will be our treat!”

“Thank you,” Namine looked down a bit at Pence’s words.

They all headed to line up in front of the sweets shop lady’s store.

“Yes, welcome! Oh my, I’ve got quite a crowd today!”

The old lady was, as always, smiling sweetly. The black cat was lying on top of her lap.

“Ice cream, ma’am. Four in total! For Namine’s share, you can charge me 10 Munny, and charge Pence and Olette 5 Munny apiece.”

“You’re fine with paying that much?” Olette looked a little concerned as she peeked in to Hayner’s coin purse.

“I said it’s fine!”

Hayner laid a collective 30 Munny on top of the counter, 20 for his own portion and 10 for Namine’s. Pence and Olette followed and laid down 25 Munny each.

“Alright, here ya go,” the old lady handed out ice cream to everyone.

“Thank you.”

Namine immediately took a bite, “…It’s sweet and salty.”

“That’s sea-salt ice cream for ya!” Pence answered, leaning his back against the same counter that Namine herself had leaned on the day before yesterday. Hayner lined up next to him, and Olette after that, and before long Namine also joined their side as a train crossed in front of them. Namine took advantage of the moment to open her mouth.

“I’m really glad I was able to meet you all.”

“We’ll meet up lots after this too!” Olette looked Namine in the eyes.

“Summer’s gonna be over soon though,” Hayner followed up.

Namine took another bite of ice cream and stepped in front of Hayner.

“Thank you, for the ice cream.”

“Don’t worry about it, it was nothing,” Hayner turned away, embarrassed.

Olette and Pence watched him with smirks on their faces.

“Today I came to say goodbye.”

“Huh?” Hayner stopped leaning on the counter and looked at her.

“Why?” Pence also stopped leaning and stood at her side.

“And after all we went through to finally meet you,” Olette also stood next to Namine.

She was completely surrounded by the three of them like this.

“We can’t meet up anymore.”

“…Why?”

“I’m sorry. I’m a witch—just a phantom.”

Namine took Hayner’s hand and placed her half-eaten ice cream in it.

“W-wait a second!...Namine?”

“And that’s why, we can’t meet again. Thanks, for the ice cream,” Namine smiled quietly and let go of Hayner’s hand, “Even if the chains of memories come apart, the fragments don’t disappear. Even if you all forget me, I won’t forget you.”

“What are you saying, Namine?”

“I’m sorry—goodbye, and thank you.”

Behind Namine a corridor of darkness opened—and just like that, it swallowed her up and disappeared.

-

At the sound of a small cat’s meowing, the three of them came to their senses and looked around them.

Since when was I standing next to the old lady’s shop?

“Hayner, were you daydreaming or something?”

Hayner turned at the sound of Olette’s astonished voice.

“Did you buy two ice creams without even realizing it?” Pence’s face appeared from behind Olette.

Pence spoke has he gazed at the other boy’s hands, where Hayner was gripping the two half-eaten sea-salt ice creams.

Why did he have an ice cream in both hands?

“I...I guess…?” Hayner tilted his head.

Hayner and Olette both gripped the ice creams in their hands.

From far away the sound of a bell could be heard, and Hayner lifted his head.

That’s right—ghosts coming out of the clock tower...hadn’t he just discussed that rumor with someone recently?

But he couldn’t remember.

Hayner absentmindedly bit in to his ice cream.

It was as sweet and salty as it ever was.

At his feet, the black cat snuggled up against his legs and meowed softly.

-

Namine was silently drawing a picture.

In the very middle of the sketchbook was a smiling Hayner, and after that were Pence and Olette.

These were her secret memories that she couldn’t share with anyone.

It would make her so happy if she could eat ice cream again in that town someday, but that was something beyond her control.

Because of her power to manipulate memories, they’d completely forgotten about her.

But even so, she wouldn’t forget.

She wouldn’t forget how they’d treated her to salty-sweet ice cream.

“Namine.”

She raised her head at the voice.

“Welcome back.”

“We’re back, Namine,” at Namine’s smiling face, Riku unfastened his hood as he replied.

“I’m here too!”

And there was Axel, sitting in the opposite chair. In his hand was already a sea-salt ice cream.

For now, if it was the three of them here, then that was fine.

My precious friends—Riku, Axel.

“How are Sora and his friends doing?” Namine asked the two of them, closing her sketchbook.