Kingdom Hearts: The Coming Darkness

Chapter 7: The Next Step

     Haseo stared up at the pale sandy brown ceiling of the somewhat minimalistic room he was in, a faint numbness covering majority of his body. This numbness was not what kept him in bed though. In less than a twelve hour span he had come in contact with not one, but five people who put all his training to shame. Haseo had not been ignorant to the fact that there were people out there stronger than him, but he never thought the gap between him and others could be so large. He had not been deterred from his goal, but simply began to realize just how much training he still needed in order to reach it. Frustration began to fill Haseo before he noticed a single yellow loosestrife laying on the stand next to the bed he was in. A single name passed through his mind. Aerith.

     The simple thought of one of his former mentor, and friend, brought back Haseo's usually calm demeanor. However, he did feel regret over the fact that he had not been conscious when she visited him. He proceeded to get himself out of bed, during which he noticed a change of clothes near the foot of the bed. Without a second thought he changed out of his battle worn, and somewhat damp clothes. Baggy black shorts and a fitted deep purple shirt with the King's crest on the sleeve. He could not say he disliked the clothes, but he was slightly concerned by how well they fit him.

     Haseo figured he must be in the castle, Hollow Bastion, but hesitated to leave the room. He had not been awake long neither did he know exactly how long he had been unconscious, but based one what he could see out the window he could tell it was probably mid day. Still, without any direction Haseo was not sure if he should remain in the room or explore the castle. After a few more indecisive minutes Haseo finally decided on leaving the room. Having no clear idea about the layout of the castle Haseo chose a pathway at random and began to follow it. Following this random path he could not help but notice an overall lack of people within the castle. This seemed strange to Haseo who had expected to at least come by some who worked in the castle by now.

     "You're awake."

     The voice came from behind Haseo. It was one that he only recently become accustomed with, and one he was only use to hearing orders come from. He turned to find Kaiya steadily approaching him. He quickly noticed she was not wearing the vest she had been during the sparring session, most likely due to the same reason he had changed his clothes.

     "Aerith came by while you were resting."

     "I know, she left behind a flower. Kaiya, how long was I out for?"

     "About three hours. Aerith would've stayed til you were up, but Master Riku had a job for her."

     Kaiya spoke as she passed Haseo. Upon noticing Haseo was not following her, she momentarily stopped and turned to face him.

     "Master Riku wants us to go wake up that excuse of a Keybearer, Tatsu."

     Kaiya spoke Tatsu's name with a degree of disdain before she continued walking down the hallway. Without further question Haseo followed Kaiya. She led the way at a steady pace making turns when needed but never slowing in the least. Before long the two arrived in front of a door that looked like all the others in the castle. Without hesitation, or knocking, Kaiya barged straight into Tatsu's room. For the most part the layout of the room was the same as the one Haseo was in. However, there were noticeable personal belongings signifying it as a room that belonged to someone. What stood out most to Haseo was the large amount of clothes strewn about the floor of the room. As Haseo took in the awe inspiring mess known as Tatsu's room, Kaiya made her way to the bed in which he slept.

     "GET UP!"

     Kaiya shouted loud enough that Haseo believed if there were any people in the castle they would easily have head it. She also followed up her command with a kick to the side of his bed that seemed to shake the entire room. Probably due to the fact he was use to these types of wake up calls from Kaiya, Tatsu remained in his bed seemingly unfazed.