Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Novel

STORY 2-A: DWARF WOODLANDS ( Part 1 )

Written by: Kanemaki Tomoco
Original Plan: Nomura Tetsuya and Oka Masaru
Illustration: Amano Shiro
Translations: Goldpanner
Copyrighted by Disney Enterprises, Inc and Square Enix. No profits are gained from these unofficial fan translations.

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Clad in armour, Ven raced through the Between on his Keyblade Glider. I can't see Terra. Where did he run off to? From beyond the Between, which was full of something like floating fine shards of stars, Ven could see the shining light of a world. A forest, and flowery fields, and... a little house?

Ven made his Keyblade speed to that world.

He touched down on a rocky mountain. However, beyond it he could see trees growing thickly. His heart rate started to pick up, a little nervous and excited at this world he'd never seen before. Even the warmth of the air was different. So was the scent. The strength of the light shining down, different. Everything he saw was completely new.

He remembered the stars he'd seen from the world he'd trained at. Terra said that each and every one of those stars was a world. So that would mean, there are as many different worlds as there are stars? Or, are all the other worlds not much different to this one, and the world I was on before just special? There's so much I want to know, thought Ven. I want try and learn about all different kinds of worlds.

Ven climbed down the mountain, looking all about with wide eyes. Sensing someone's presence, he peered down over a cliff edge.

Walking there were seven dwarves. Each one wore clothes of a different colour and carried a pickaxe over his shoulder. They are stepping in time... No wait, the dwarf on the very end is a little bit out of file. Even so, they passed right under Ven as they went.

Seeing the dwarves entered a slightly secluded cave, Ven jumped down from the cliff and ran into the cave after them.

Yes, this was the world of the dwarves—Dwarf Woodlands.

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The cave Ven had entered was a mine. Lamps shone here and there. Glittering gemstones were buried in the rugged walls. The dwarves swung their pickaxes, digging out the gems.

Ven drew nearer, and a dwarf wearing glasses—'Doc'—turned around.

"Hm? Who are you?"

"I'm Ventus," Ven began with a smile. "But you can call me..."

"Robber!" shouted a scowling dwarf—'Grumpy'. "Hide!"

The dwarves all took off at once, hiding themselves from Ven behind rocks.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," said Ven awkwardly, rubbing his cheek.

A fat dwarf—'Happy'—popped his head out from behind a rock. "Really?"

"You didn't come to steal our gemstones?" added a drowsy-faced dwarf—'Sleepy'.

"That's pretty terrible, treating me like a robber. I'm just looking for someone," Ven said desperately, hoping they'd understand if he explained. "His name is Terra, he's dressed kind of like me, and he's about this tall..."

"Who cares!" interrupted 'Grumpy', of course. "Huh, you won't trick me!"

"Never heard of him," answered a dwarf whose cheeks went pink for some reason—'Bashful'.

Feeling stuck, Ven let out a little sigh. "Um, hey, it's a bit hard to talk to you like this, so why don't you come out?"

"It's a trap! Nobody move!" 'Grumpy' shouted again.