Kingdom Hearts; The Light's Keeper

Chapter XXIII; Fighting Fate

Aqua frowned at the girl with dark hair. The girl was frowning at Aqua, a look of pity clear in her eyes. Aqua didn't understand at all what she had just said. It didn't make any sense. But then again, it validated what Ven had said about X. How he had attacked Ven and claimed to have no care for his sister.

"What does that mean? Why would X kill Y?" Aqua asked. She knew that Terra had faith in the young blonde boy who was apparently a Heartless, whatever that was. The least she could do was try to understand what was going on.

"That's just what happens. It's a long story." The girl explained sadly. She rubbed the back of her head like Kiran had. "If you don't mind sticking around we can tell you. Meet me in the castle courtyard if you're interested." She said. She turned and walked away heading toward the castle. Aqua watched her walk away with a frown before turning toward the direction Terra had left. Maybe she should find him and ask him to come with her. Then he could find out what was going on.

"Where could he be going?" Aqua asked calmly.

"Probably out to the forest. If X is here, that's going to be his hideout. He and Y know those woods better than anyone alive." Kiran answered. Aqua frowned and turned back to the boys. If that was the case it would take too long to find Terra again. She didn't want to run the risk of getting lost.

"Is it really that long of a story?" Aqua asked. Kiran nervously rubbed the back of his head once again. He seemed to do that a lot when talking about this topic. Or maybe he did it a lot in general.

"I can't really tell you much more. But Hoshiko can. She knows most of it already." Kiran answered. Aqua assumed Hoshiko was the dark haired girl who had been there moments before. It seemed if Aqua wanted to find out anything she'd have to ask her.

"Alright. Thank you." Aqua said. Jiran nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, good luck." Kiran said. He and Myde continued on their way leaving Aqua alone in the square. She looked toward the castle with a frown. She didn't know what the symbols in the stained glass meant, but she didn't like the way they looked. They seemed ominous and out of place in the town that was so obviously filled with light.

Aqua made her way to the castle courtyard as she had been asked to. Though she didn't know the city it was easy enough for her to find her way to the castle. And it was easier to find Hoshiko. the girl was sitting on a low wall that wrapped around part of the courtyard, separating the garden from the brick. She was looking at the sky with a frown. When she heard Aqua's footsteps she looked at her quickly smiling at the blue-haired girl.

"Glad to see you decided to come. If you know maybe you can save your friends." Hoshiko said getting to her feet. Aqua frowned and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Save them from what?" Aqua asked. Hoshiko sighed heavily and began to walk toward the castle. She motioned for Aqua to follow her as she went.

"Well, as I've been saying it's a long story. So first, what do you know about the keyblade war?" Hoshiko asked while walking. Aqua frowned. That wasn't something she ever remembered hearing about. The Master had never mentioned anything about it. But it was seeming there was many things they didn't know.

"The keyblade war?" Aqua asked. Hoshiko nodded in reply. "I've never heard of such a thing." Aqua said. Hoshiko chuckled in reply.

"Well, then you're behind," Hoshiko said walking through the halls of the castle. The walls were decorated with tapestries of various ages. aqua noticed a similarity between all of them. Two children who looked like twins. One had a blue heart-shaped moon over a barren wasteland filled with keyblades. The sight sent chills down her spine. "I don't know why your master wouldn't tell you about it. It's pretty much elementary level here. It began a long long time ago. All the worlds used to be one." Hoshiko continued explaining, capturing Aqua's attention again. Aqua frowned. That was the story Kairi's grandmother had told in Radiant Gardens.