Kingdom Hearts Christmas Special: After The Keyblade War

Chapter Two: A Friendly Duel

Running out of options, Riku was now improvising on what to do. He had been battling the Unborn beast for quite some time now, and what had begun as a quick attempt to slay it had become an irritating chore. "This thing just won't die!" Riku says to himself, and then he leaps into the air and performs his Dark Aura attack, which finally wounds the Unborn beast severely, sending it toppling to the ground. Riku sighed of relief, thinking that the battle was finally over, but it was anything but. The Unborn beast again stood, standing tall and menacing over Riku, and just when it was about to attack, it stopped and then sniffed the air, as if it had heard someone call it. Looking both ways, the powerful foe growled and slowly stepped back and then disappeared in a huge blast of wind. Riku wasn't able to see anything because thanks to the Unborn's disappearing act, it had whipped up a snowstorm. He was now definitely sure that things weren't as they seemed. Then he looked up at the white sky and thought of Dawn, hoping that wherever she was, she would be safe and sound. He then unsummoned his Keyblade and went back to Radiant Garden.

At that same moment, Ventus, Trish and Kyle were in the castle courtyard, where it was wide and expanse and there were no other people around, save for the guards that were high up guarding the castle entrance. Kyle smiled and he summoned his Keyblade. "Now then, which of you two wants to face me first?" Trish stepped forward and summoned her Keyblade and she smiled. "Don't hold back dear, give me everything you've got!" Kyle nodded and smiled. "You got it Mom!" With that, Ventus sat back and watched as Kyle and Trish began to duel. Kyle went straightforward and delivered a fast Sonic Blade attack, but Trish dodged all of Kyle's attempted strikes, and she leaped upwards then stroke down, causing shockwaves to emanate from the ground. Kyle immediately jumped to avoid being hit by the shockwaves, and then, simultaneously, Trish and Kyle performed a Strike Raid attack, and both of their Keyblades clashed and bounced back to their owner's respective hands. Trish smiled and giggled. "I'm impressed Kyle, your skills have greatly improved. Soon you'll be so good that not even your Dad can beat you!" Ventus then stood up. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" Kyle and Trish laughed, and Ventus couldn't help but laugh too. Kyle them immediately came back into focus, and he made sure to get Trish off guard, but she had kept her guard at all times, and she blocked each one of Kyle's strikes, and just when she was about to counterattack, Kyle disappeared then reappeared behind her and tapped the hilt of his Keyblade on her neck. "Looks like I win!"

Trish smiled and she clapped her hands. "Wow Kyle, I'm really impressed! Ventus, did you see how he did that?" Ventus smile and kissed Trish and stroked Kyle's hair. "Yeah, it was incredible! You two are definitely skilled Keyblade Wielders." Kyle nodded and then pointed his Keyblade at Ventus. "All right Dad, now it comes down to you and me. Let's do this!" Ventus smirked and was about to summon his Keyblade when Riku came running towards him and Trish. "Guys, am I glad your both here. Listen, we need to talk." Ventus then patted Kyle's head. "Kyle, it looks like we'll have to wait for our duel, can you go back home and wait for us?" Kyle nodded. "Sure thing Dad." With that, he left, and only Trish, Ventus and Riku were in the courtyard. "So, what's wrong Riku?" Riku crossed his arms and then he looked at both of them with a concerned look on his face. "So none of you have sensed it?" Ventus looked at Riku quizzically. "Um, sensed what?" Riku then turned around and started walking towards the entrance of the castle. "Come on, I'll explain everything inside, because Kairi and the others need to know about this too." Ventus and Trish looked at each other, and both of them were worried, because the way Riku had talked to them seemed to indicate that something was wrong...terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, Kyle was walking towards the town square, and he was at a loss at what to do. He was again trying to think of anything that he could come up with as a present for his parents, but he wasn't sure what. When he looked up, he noticed that Merlin's house was open, so he decided to take a peek inside. There he saw Leon, Cid, Aeirth and Yuffie decorating the house all over, and then Yuffie noticed Kyle come in and then she waved hello enthusiastically. "Oh hi there Kyle, how are you doing?" Kyle smiled and came inside. "I'm doing good, just a little confused is all." Cid heard Kyle and then he came over and took a good glance at him. "Confused, kid? It's Christmastime, there's no need to be confused!" Kyle saw Cid's point, and then he sighed. "I know, but it's just that..well..um, never mind." Seeing Kyle's troubled face, Aerith came and knelt until she was face to face with him, and she leaned his head up. "What is it Kyle? You know you can tell us about it." With such a warm smile coming from Aerith's face, Kyle couldn't help but answer. "Well, okay...the thing is that I had never celebrated Christmas before, and this is kind of my first time, and I know that a part of Christmas is to give presents, but I can't think of anything good that I might be able to get for Mom and Dad for Christmas."

Leon looked towards Kyle and then he walked towards him. "Well Kyle, it doesn't matter what you get for them, the important thing is that it comes from your heart. As long as you pour all your heart into the gifts you want to give them, that'll make it that much more special. In the end, it's the nobility and love of giving the gift that matters." Yuffie made a laughable expression at Leon and then she punched his arm ever so gently. "Well, well well Squall, do my ears deceive me? Are you actually opening up yourself on Christmas?" Leon's expression was as emotionless as ever, and he cleared his throat. "It's Leon...and I was just explaining to Kyle about how gift giving works, so don't read too much into it." Yuffie rolled her eyes mischievously. "Sure, sure, whatever stops the tears. Oh, hey Kyle, since you're here, mind helping me out with something?" Kyle nodded. "Okay, sure, why not?" Yuffie smiled. "All righty then, all I need is for you to hold this needle for me." The second that Kyle heard the word needle, he panicked and then he immediately ran out of the house screaming. Everyone in the room was dumbstruck. Yuffie looked at the needle quizzically. "Was it something I said?" The others shrugged and they kept on decorating Merlin's house. Kyle, on the other hand, was frantically running, and then he reached his house, opened the door, slammed it shut and quickly went up to his room.

He immediately felt embarrassed by what he did. The others might have thought that he simply had some sort of breakdown, but the truth of the matter was that Kyle had a strange fear of needles. He sighed and then he laid on his bed, the empty paper of where he was going to write his Christmas wish list beside him. "Why does Christmas have to be so complicated?" He then sat on his bed and he was thinking long and hard about what he could get his parents for Christmas. He took Leon's words into consideration. "Hmm, as long as I do it from the heart, it'll be a good present...oh, but what could I possibly give them? They adopted me and gave me a home, how could I possibly repay them for that? Why must it be so hard to think of a present for someone I care about?" With that, he kept thinking of ideas and writing them down on paper, but alas, for all the thinking he did, the only thing that he did was crumple the papers and make a small pile of them on the side of his bed. He was running out of patience, and then he looked out his window, and he noticed that it was snowing. He immediately felt much more relaxed, because seeing the snow was something that always brought an undeniable calm to him. He smiled and kept looking at the snow, feeling at peace with himself, and then he went downstairs and helped himself to more of Trish's Sea-Salt Pudding and then he went upstairs again, determined to think of a present for his parents. He knew, without a doubt, that he had to think of at least something. He just knew he had to, because it was the least he could do after all that Ventus and Trish had done for him.

For a while, he couldn't think of anything, and then he started thinking if there were any worlds that could give him ideas. He stayed thinking for many minutes, which turned to hours. Then he started to wonder where Ventus and Trish were, since they hadn't come back yet. Then he snapped his fingers, for an idea had finally come into his head. "I got it! Sora, Donald and Goofy could help me! They've been to Halloween Town, so they must know where Christmas Town is! All I have to do is go find them!" With that, he enthusiastically changed his clothes into more suitable winter gear, and then he set out to the castle, to ask Kairi where Sora was. He felt so happy and excited, for now he finally had a chance to get a present for Ventus and Trish. "I'm such a genius, why hadn't I thought of this before? Hehe, well, the important thing is that I thought about it now! I just hope that I can be able to find Sora, Donald and Goofy!"

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With determined resolve, young Kyle sets out to find Sora in the hopes that he can be able to lead him to Halloween Town. What more will happen? How will Riku explain the situation of their new mysterious foes? What else lies in store for our heroes? Find out in Chapter Three: "Christmas Town."