When Darkness Turns to Light

No Heart X Half-Heart X Sealed Heart

Recappy from the Last Chappy: She stared at the journal with narrowed eyes and an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She closed it and handed it back to Jiminy without a word, and pocketed the magnifying glass. This is stupid. I don't even have a heart. Just because Jiminy says I love Sora, doesn't mean I really do. . . .

The door to the Gummi opened and Sora, Donald, and Goofy were about to walk inside. Hikari stood sharply and regarded Sora, who was looking around with surprise.

"Whoa! It looks so much cleaner!" He met her eyes. "You did a good job, Hiki!"

Her cheeks became warmer and she looked away. "Wipe your feet and take your shoes off before you come in. It better be this clean still in the morning. . . ." Then, she calmly hastened toward the back of the Gummi.

Taken aback, the trio watched her make her exit, perplexed. Donald raised a brow. "What's with her?"

Jiminy shrugged. "Tired, I imagine. She worked on this all day with hardly any break. She must be exhausted!"

Sora was bent over, removing his shoes and looked back toward the Gummi. It had seemed to him for a moment that she had not wanted to look at him, like something about his appearance had upset her. . . . He was sure it was only his imagination, though. He turned to Jiminy instead and started filling him in on what had happened with them while he had stayed behind in the Gummi with Hikari.

Chapter Twenty-four: No Heart X Half-Heart X Sealed Heart

"Strongest! Kindest! Always there for the weak! And even lady-killing good looks! Yes! That's what being a hero's all about!" coached Phil to the boys on the sidelines of the Arena before the start of the tournament. They were making their best "hero poses," attempting to portray all traits of a hero (although, their attempts at "lady-killing" looks simply made them appear rather dorky.) "You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doin' bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching."

Sora confidently smirked and raised his arm to show off his muscles. Even when he flexed it he still had hardly anything in comparison to Riku or especially Hercules-which he noted sadly-but he was prideful nevertheless. "We've gotten a lot stronger since the last time you saw us, Phil! We trained every day, just like you told us."

"But just being strong doesn't make you a hero," the satyr reminded him. He tapped Sora's chest with his finger. "It's in the heart! In order to become a hero, your heart must be strong, as well."

"What makes a strong heart?"

Hercules came up behind them. "If you have to ask, you're not a hero yet!" Although he was serious, there was a light tease in his voice. "Still . . . I'll look forward to competing against you guys. Phil speaks highly of his 'junior heroes.'"

"We'll be there," the brunette smiled.

The true hero smiled back and diverted his attention to the satyr. The pair started to drift from the trio, discussing matters that did not concern them. Sora turned around and laced his fingers behind his head. As he waited for the matches to begin, he scanned the Arena. The stands were full of spectators and combat fanatics. Their excitement could be felt in the air, and fueled his anticipation.

His eyes eventually fell on Hikari, who stood nearby. She was staring off into space, evidently distracted by something. In fact, it was possible that she was disturbed; by what he was not entirely sure. She had been acting like this since yesterday, even after she had rested (although, unbeknownst to him, she had only pretended to be asleep when he turned in; she had actually slept little.)

He followed the line of her gaze across the Arena, where Krystal was making her way to one of the areas for participants awaiting their turn. He watched her until she disappeared and regarded Hikari once more. She was looking at the ground now, fingering her chin.