Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Kingdom Hearts: Scattered Fragments (Private RP)

Raixon nodded. "Good. There is no need for you to worry. Yuxara and I will teach you well, and we will keep the balance of light and darkness as exactly that: a balance. Worry not of your heart: so long as you remain indifferent to either light or dark, there is no need for you to relinquish it. The Keyblade is a powerful weapon whose purpose supersedes the petty yet inevitable conflict that the light and darkness brings. A purpose to protect Kingdom Hearts." He spoke the name with an awed reverence, pausing after he did so, and staring off into the distance. "I will take my leave. Until we meet again soon, fellow wielder." And with that, the corridor of darkness materialized behind him, and he stepped back, vanishing with it as it faded.

Yuxara was staring toward the ground with a hollow look, her thoughts apparently elsewhere. She was pondering what Raixon had said. Although she never remembered what she had been like with her heart, there was one thing tht she knew for sure. They had to be stopped, and tha balance had to be restored. The Nobody shook herself off and looked up at Aiko. "You've done a good thing for the World in joining with us," she nodded with a somber smile. "I know you're tired, but I can answer any questions you may have before I go."

Aiko was slightly suspicious, she took another glance at where Raixon had been and then laid down. Looking to Yuxara once more she sighed, now that the supposed leader of this Organization had gone the girl felt more at ease. Sometimes her mind felt like it would bend and break at the minuscule amount of tension applied, be it from decisions or simply questions. The one thing that intrigued her was the reverence that both Yuxara and Raixon gave Kingdom Hearts. Was it really that important? Aiko didn't bother to ask, instead curling up into a ball and turning towards the wall. As she did this she only asked one question, "Can you turn out the lights?" she asked. Knowing that there were no lights she simply expected the question to go unanswered and closed her eyes. She drifted into sleep, wondering what the next day would bring.

There was no way for Aiko to tell, really, what time of day it was, as the room itself was perpetually white, and perpetually bright, to a point where sleep had been difficult. But the next time that Aiko eventually opened her eyes and looked over at the other side of the room, she saw Yuxara sitting several feet away on one of the chairs where the two of the had been talking the day before. The Nobody was distracted by something in her hands and hadn't even noticed that Aiko had woken. It looked like a silver necklace of a diamond-shaped, violet crystallic shard, and Yuxara was absently turning it over and over in her fingers, rubbing her thumb across the shard in what seemed to be a familiar action. She peered at it absently, her expression quietly focused, so that it almost looked like a curious detachment.

The girl squinted, staring at Yuxara curiously, she sat up slowly and swung her legs around to the edge of the bed, hair disheveled and eyelids heavy. Aiko stood up with a slight wobble, she stepped over to the Nobody with bare feet, making slight shuffles as she moved across the white threshold. Despite her attempt to be unnoticed, she had probably been noticed long ago. Nervously laughing, her legs took the rest of the body closer towards Yuxara, she sat down on the floor, shivering as the cold surface touched her skin, she hadn't really noticed what she was wearing until now. It was her school's uniform, the blazer was missing, discarded somewhere in the sea of inky black she had witnessed earlier today, or yesterday, the button down shirt and skirt that was being worn was horribly rumpled and covered in dirt.

Aiko let out another nervous laugh, trying to bring herself to start conversation and ward it off at the same time. A small twitch, a quick breath, anyone could tell she was too nerve-wracked to say a word, and yet, likely to sit there silently. She felt her breath hitch at the back of her throat making the resulting sound into a strained peep. Instead of the intended, "Good morning," it sounded something more like a cough mixed with a loud sniffle. Whimpering, Aiko brought her knees up to her face and stared at Yuxara with pitiful eyes.

At the noise, Yuxara's expression didn't change, but she allowed the crystal necklace to fall onto her lap before she covered it with a hand, glancing over at Aiko. Her violet eyes looked weary, distracted, almost lost, but as she momentarily regained her composure, any trace of emotion seemed to disappear, leaving her usual detached countenance perfectly in place. She took in Aiko's continued demeanor, tilting her head curiously. She crossed her legs and shifted her posture, keeping the necklace beneath her hands in her lap. "Might I ask why you continue to be scared?" she asked. "We have no intention to hurt you. If anything, you're going to learn how to use that Keyblade of yours, and the more that you can defend yourself." She stood up and walked over to a nearby table that had a side drawer in it. "I have something for you." She pulled open the drawer, and pulled a wide black cloak like her own, one that would fit Aiko's large girth. "You're one of us now, so you might as well look like one of us. It's not just an aesthetic piece either. It protects from the darkness, and when someone wears it, the pull is much less effective." She held it out to Aiko.

Ritsuka was fearless. He just kept attacking the large foe. This somewhat inspired Cynthiera, giving her morale and courage. The Heartless was clearly not in a healthy state, but somehow was not showing any sign of weakness or mortality. Was it ever going to give up?

Continuing to fight, Cynthiera casted blizzard repeatedly at the Heartless. However, in the middle of casting Blizzard, she began to feel weak, failing to cast the spell. Bewildered, she would ask herself if there was a limit to her casting ability.

"Cynthiera!" Moguri cried as she saw the girl hunch over in exhaustion. The Heartless' arm seemed to take note of this and brought itself down onto her in a hammer fist. "Defense!" Moguri shouted as he casted Reflectra just in time to save her from the strike, the reflected force making the arm recoil back. "Cynthiera, you ok, kupo?" Moguri asked as he floated over to her and helped her up. "Here, take this Ether, it'll help you get your strength back, kupo." The moogle handed her a blue cube that glowed with mystical power, as soon as she took it the cube dissolved into blue energy that collected into Cynthiera's heart, restoring her ability to cast.

"Look out!" Ritsuka warned, alerting to two mages to the Heartless' foot that was about to stomp on them. However, Ritsuka's Keyblade quickly sliced through it with a Strike Raid, destroying it in a puff of dark mist before the weapon returned to him.

"Right back at you, kupo!" Moguri called back as he casted Thundara, bolts of lightning raining down on the arm that was about to swipe at Ritsuka, stunning it long enough for Ritsuka to slice through it, destroying it. With its limbs gone, the Powered Armor decided to change tactics, it's torso turning to it was parallel to the ground, it's hollow bottom pointing to the trio as it charged a large ball of energy and shot it at them like a cannon.

"In coming!" Ritsuka warned as the tiro scattered, just narrowly avoiding the blast. The Heartless wasted no time firing another, now exclusively targeting Ritsuka, the boy casting Reflectra to protect himself from the second blast only to have to roll out of the way of the third. "Moguri, get ready to bring it back to earth!" Ritsuka called out to the moogle, who only nodded in understanding before taking his ready position. Ritsuka then charged forward as the Heartless charged its next attack at the seemingly open target, but once it fired Ritsuka brought his Keyblade up and Guarded the massive blast, the force making him slide back a little but he still managed to knock the attack back into the Heartless, making it stagger. "Moguri, now!"

"Force!" The two apprentices cried as they both casted Gravira, the two spells combining into Graviga and dragging what remained of the Powered Armor onto the ground.

"Take this!" Ritsuka exclaimed as he charged his Keyblade with light before unleashing Sonic Blade, sliding forward in a powerful thrusting strike. He immediately turned and thrusted again, then again, sliding back and forth thrusting the helpless Powered Armor each time. "This is it!" He declared as the light from his Keyblade intensified and he let out one last powerful seventh strike, shattering the metal torso of the Heartless.

Ritsuka panted in exhaustion, holding his Keyblade out in its thrusted position before staggering, Moguri quickly holding him up, keeping him from falling. Ritsuka gave an appreciative nod before they turned to the defeated Heartless, the torso faded away into black mist and the head subtly began cracking before it shattered as well, releasing the captive heart. However, Ritsuka couldn't help but notice that this heart seemed... different in someway, the most obvious being its color. While most hearts were a reddish pink when they are released, this one was a dark, ominous violet that almost matched the dark mist that seemed to be collecting around it. However, it floated away and disappeared all the same, off to wait in the Realm of Darkness to reunite with its missing vessel.

"We did it, kupo!" Moguri exclaimed joyously, offering Ritsuka a high five which he gladly excepted.

"Not bad for a couple of apprentices huh?" Ritsuka replied with a light hearted chuckle, despite his slight exhaustion. The two then turned their attention to Cynthiera, Ritsuka walking up to her offered her the same gesture. "Nice work out there, you were a big help."

Gaze still on Yuxara, she shifted slightly, catching sight of the crystal as it fell and the change in her composure. Her eyes flitted back to the Nobody's eyes, she swallowed heavily, at least she wasn't the only one with feelings here. Aiko cleared her throat, wanting to object once Yuxara had said the word scared, she hadn't however and instead waited until the other finished speaking. A keyblade, that's what it was called? The girl looked at the ground puzzled at the peculiarly picked name, with a slight hum she brought her attention to the place where her companion had been sitting.

With obvious disdain she accepted the piece of clothing, Aiko had never liked black but she could deal with it. The garment received quite the amount of examination, every stitch and fiber was memorized. Slipping her arms through the flared sleeves and pulling the zipper down to her lower thigh, Aiko sighed. Once the coat was completely placed on she felt warmth, oddly enough. It wasn't the enticing love of the darkness, nor the holy tenderness of the light. It felt somewhere in between, it felt safe. In that instant the girl took a liking to the coat, wrapping her arms around herself as the warmth enveloped her. Looking to Yuxara once more with a slight beam, Aiko gave a quiet, "Thank you,"

"Of course." The Nobody returned the smile with a faint one of her own before she stood to her feet, brushing a few bangs to the side. "For those who walk in the dusk, we cannot afford to succumb to either light or darkness. The light opts to win the loyalty of hearts, while the darkness simply takes as it wishes. The cloak will allow you to withstand the pull for much longer." This explanation almost seemed practiced, like she had said such a few times before.

Yuxara stood to her feet and held out a hand, and and flamelike wisps of darkness converged into the dark corridor once again, taking a deep and even breath. "I can make the corridor wider within, if that helps you. We will go elsewhere, and hopefully we will be able to have you begin in the basics of combat. After all, there is no point in all of this if you cannot defend yourself." She glanced back at Aiko, and offered a mildly reassuring smile.

Aiko nodded, gaining some understanding, her mind felt clearer, unclouded. Was it the cloak, or was it because she actually got some sleep? Nonetheless, the girl stared down the corridor feeling a slight uneasiness, Yuxara had helped her so much throughout the day that they'd known each other. Feeling like she had to help herself now, Aiko refused the suggestion from Yuxara. Eyes staring into the darkness, black cloak dramatically flowing in an imaginary wind, Aiko took a step forward into the corridor. It felt like it was going to swallow her, stepping back out and behind Yuxara, she pushed the woman towards the corridor, "You go first," she said, clutching onto the back of Yuxara's own cloak. An obvious frown came to Aiko's face, her mental assault wouldn't come immediately but it would be there, soon enough.

The Nobody released a small breath through her nose, and removed Aiko's hand from gripping her cloak, opting to hold the girl's hand instead. There was no meaning to this gesture other than that it allowed for an easier movement. "This will be something you will have to get used to, I fear. The corridors are the fastest way we travel, and great distances can be crossed within what seems like a short way for us. Distances to bring us to other worlds, as you have seen." She gave her another mildly assuring glance before stepping into the corridor first, the darkness engulfing them. "In time, you will learn to create the corridor yourself."

A shake of her head signaled that Aiko was in a way saying, "I don't think I wanna create one of these things," She moved forward with Yuxara, eyes nearly squeezed shut and her grip on the other's hand increasing with each step. The newly appointed Organization member was currently not up to standard for these kinds of tasks. Maybe it wasn't much of a good idea to recruit her. Of course, Aiko swept the thought from her mind, trying to stay balanced with each step for fear of falling into the darkness around her and Yuxara. Instead of succeeding at the task, she stumbled and nearly fell down, pulling her companion backwards and causing both of them to end up tumbling to the murky black ground.

Yuxara closed her eyes briefly and let out a breath before quietly standing up to her feet once more, unfazed. Turning to Aiko, she hoisted her back to her feet as well. "There is a balance between darkness and light. You have to accept the darkness, yet always be wary of it. In the same way, you can wield the light, but you cannot completely trust it, for it too can blind you to what the truth is. As precarious as the balance is, it is the place where we are at our strongest, where we can use each to our advantage without entrusting ourselves to them." She calmly crossed her arms. "There's no need to worry about the dark that surrounds us. The path is wide enough." She held out her hand again. It was surprising how much patience she seemed to have with Aiko, although all of her actions seemed dry.

She was hopeless, she was about to succumb to the Heartless before she was saved by a spell. Her exhaustion almost lost her life, this made her somewhat upset with herself.

Moments later, she was given a blue cube. Cynthiera was confused, before it dissolved in her palm, and she immediately felt revitalized. Trying to not question the logic behind it, Cynthiera nodded in appreciation.

It didn't take log for Ritsuka and Moguri to finish the battle off, they consistently yelled what they were doing, it was kind of humorous to watch, Cynthiera couldn't help but to chuckle.

After exclaiming for the victory with his partner, Ritsuka soon approached Cynthiera with a compliment. "A big help? I hope! Well, anyways, thank you for this." She responded abstractly, a big grin covered her face.

Not sure what was following the fight, she immediately asked "So- it's gone, are all the Heartless gone in this world? What's next?"

"No need to thank us, kupo." Moguri said as he floated up to the them.

"We were just doing our duty as Keyblade Wielders, that's all." Ritsuka insisted, resting his Keyblade on his shoulder in a brief heroic pose before dismissing the weapon. "With the boss gone, the rest of the Heartless should settle down, so the town is no longer in any immediate danger." Ritsuka replied.

"But, that's not to say the Heartless are completely gone," Moguri added. "To do that, we need to fix whatever is upsetting the balance between light and darkness, kupo."

"And that means traveling to other worlds plagued by the Heartless." Ritsuka stated. "Protecting the worlds is also a part of our job as Keyblade Wielders, and the more worlds we save, the closer we'll get to figuring out what's causing the imbalance... or at least that's the idea." He explained.

Accepting the hand and looking to Yuxara with a slight skepticism in her glance, Aiko began to move forward. She took a deep breath, mulling over questions as to why the Nobody continued to put up with her innate lack of mental and physical strength. Aiko sighed negatively, where were they going anyways? The only thing she was certain of is that her body would be sore and she would be fatigued in about thirty minutes. She poked at her ample self, not entirely convinced that she would be able to pull off the acrobatics she was able to when she was six, or run for more than forty five seconds. Staring at what looked to be the end of the dark corridor, the now hooded girl sighed in relief, she was beginning to feel queasy.

She traded a few words with Yuxara before their trek through the darkness ended. Eyes flitting from left to right in the inky black, her brain took a half second to formulate a topic to talk about. Aiko took a glance to her traveling companion and opened her mouth, "So, what do you think I'll be doing to train my combat ability?" She put up a pair of air quotations at the word ''train'' and continued to move forward albeit a slight bit slower.

"I see." Cynthiera nodded. She paced about for a couple seconds, thinking of how she would follow up. Cynthiera wanted to continue helping the two- besides, she was told to by the cloaked man. Cynthiera was afraid though- she was anxious. It would be embarrassing if she were to be denied.

Inevitably, she took a deep breath and sighed, stopping in front of Ritsuka, gazing up at the taller male. She expressed a somewhat fake grin and said "Take me with you- I would like to help you!" immediately blushing with anxiety when she made her request.

Breaking her view of Ritsuka, she took a couple steps away and said "Besides, there really isn't anything here for me."

"You'll be taught how to use the Keyblade, and how to fight with it. The physical activity comes naturally as a part of it, as it is of course vital for combat," the Nobody replied calmly. "Thankfully, you will not have to be fighting Heartless now. Until you become more acquainted with your Keyblade, you will be training here." As she said the words, the light began to grown brighter as the corridor began to fade all around them. "Think of it this way: you fight to learn to defend yourself, and protect yourself from the Heartless taking your heart. That's how critical this should be for you."

As the two of them stepped out of the corridor, a sight greeted them. It was another room, this one grey instead of white. Dominating the room were several pale grey creatures with long, lanky limbs, no eyes, and zipperlike teeth, and they seemed to splay themselves as they walked. Upon their heads, in place of eyes and a nose, was a curious black-lined symbol, an upside-down heart with three spires sticking out from the point. The same symbol was printed lightly on the smooth floor in grey tiling. Currently, another hooded figure could ben seen engaging the strangely grotesque creatures, exhibiting skill as he dispatched them one by one. Yuxara, who was still unhooded, looked over at him. "Yexuris. I'm surprised you're still here. Come meet the newest one to wear the cloak." She gestured to Aiko.

"HUH?" Ritsuka and Moguri gasped at the request.

"You... want to come with us?" Ritsuka said quizzically, not expecting such a bold request from the girl. There were so many things Ritsuka could say against the idea, but when Cynthiera made her case, even facing away from him, he could tell the sincerity behind it that her initial asking lacked. "Well..."

"Uh, Ritsuka, can I talk to you for a minute, kupo." Moguri interjected, dragging Ritsuka off to the side. "Ritsuka, you're not actually considering taking her with is, are you?" The Moogle asked in a hushed tone.

"Uh..." Ritsuka hesitated.

"Are you crazy, she shouldn't have even told her about the other worlds, no way, we're not doing it, kupo." Moguri asserted.

"Oh come on Moguri, she did help us out, didn't she?" Ritsuka argued.

"She casted a few clumsy spells Ritsuka, she's got potential but she's nowhere near ready to be traveling to Heartless infested worlds, kupo." Moguri rebuked.

"Then... we'll teach her." Ritsuka suggested.

"It's too dangerous." Moguri replied.

"Oh, and traveling the worlds in an home made Gummi Ship looking for a Keyblade Master wasn't?" Ritsuka shot back, much to Moguri's chagrin. "Come on Moguri, you and I were like her once, can't we just... give her a chance?" Ritsuka pleaded. Moguri struggled for an answer, it was obviously not a good idea, no matter how you looked at it, but Moguri had to admit that if the shoe were on the other foot, he'd certainly not want to be denied. "May you're heart be your guiding key, right?" Ritsuka said, shooting down any argument Moguri could make. The little Moogle slumped his shoulders in defeat with a heavy sigh.

"If we get in trouble, I'm blaming you, kupo." Moguri finally conceded, gaining an appreciative nod from Ritsuka.

"Alright Cynthiera, you can come with us." Ritsuka said as he and Moguri walked back over to her. "It'll be really dangerous though, so make sure you stay close to us, ok?"

"Also, take this." Moguri added as he floated closer and held his hand out. A small flicker of fire appeared in his palm and grew before forming the shape of a crystal flame. "This is the Power of Fire, with this you'll be able to cast the spell... well, Fire, kupo." He said as he handed the crystal for her to take.

Yexuris narrowed his eyes in concentration as he battled against the hoard of Dusks in the room, he waited patiently for the seemingly arbitrary tells that they would attack and quickly slid behind them to land a slash with his Keyblade that ended their ambiguous existence. He seemed almost untouchable as he effortlessly mentored around the Nobodies' chaotic movements, his focus only broken by the sound of a familiar voice calling out to him. He looked over his shoulder to see Yuxara standing off to the side of the training field with another, unfamiliar face in tow, piquing his interest.

"New member?" He said with an inflection that conveyed surprise. With a wave of his hand the Dusks ceased their attacking and were dismissed from the room, resting his Keyblade on his shoulder as he walked over to two ladies. "Well that was quick, or is this the one we found last week?" Yexuris inquired with genuine curiosity. He wasn't one of the members on "recruitment duty" so he only had a vague idea as to who was being brought in and when, in fact there were probably a few others like this girl being negotiated with as they spoke. However, that was a concern for another day.

"Well, either way, you're one of us now, and that's all that matters." Yexuris assured as he dismissed his Keyblade. He pulled down his hood to reveal an attractive young man with lightly tanned skin, scruffy chestnut brown hair, and piercing golden eyes. "My name is Yexuris, I suppose we will be working together from now on, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said with a friendly looking smile as he offered a hand to the girl. His friendliness seemed much more sincere than anything Yuxara had shown to Aiko so far, most likely because unlike fellow Keyblade Wielder, Yexuris actually remembered what it was like to have a heart, to have to exchange pleasantries with either true or feigned delight, and so emulating such a sentiment came much more naturally to him. But make no mistake, he was just as emotionless as any other Nobody, he was simply mimicking the boy named Ryusei that he once was simply because he didn't know how else to behave.