Kingdom Hearts {Reader Insert}

36. Back to Work

At the end of a week of training Sora left with Donald and Goofy to travel to Beast's Castle. You traveled with the rest of the crew to the Land of Dragons. Tifa had prepared you by telling you that the world was currently at war, and the research the team had done pointed toward Heartless being in the middle of it.

With warp drive it took less than a day to get there. Cid landed the ship in a clearing surrounded by bamboo. You walked behind Leon as he led everyone off the ship. He followed a trail through the bamboo and you found a person talking with a small red dragon.

"I have to take my father's place to preserve the Fa family honor." The person seemed to be a woman, though the only thing that gave it away was her voice. She was dressed in armor and had her hair pulled up into a tight bun. "I just hope I don't get discovered."

"Whatever," the little dragon crossed his arms. "You're just scared-- admit it."

"Aren't you?" she asked.

The group got closer and Leon greeted her, letting her know you were all there. "Hello."

She jumped in surprise and turned. As she looked all of you over her expression turned to curiosity. "Hello?"

The little red dragon stepped in front of the woman. He only reached her knees, but he stood confidently as though he was seven feet tall. "And who are you?"

"We've come here to help," Leon told him. "We heard there was some Heartless activity here and we want to take care of it."

"Heartless?" the woman asked.

You nodded. "Black creatures with yellow eyes, usually following someone evil around."

"We haven't seen any of those," the dragon said, "but if we had you can bet the great dragon Mushu would be able to take them out." He pointed a thumb at himself.

You watched the woman behind him roll her eyes a little.

"I"m Leon," Leon started introductions. "This is [Name], Tifa, Yuffie, Cloud, and Cid. You're Mushu?"

The dragon nodded.

"And you are?" Leon addressed the woman.

"I'm Mulan," she answered, and then stopped herself. "I-I mean," her voice deepened and she said, "I'm Ping!"

"Mulan Ping?" Yuffie asked.

"Just Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou." The person puffed their chest out and put a fist to their chest.

"Uh, I don't mean to pry," Tifa stepped forward, "but why are you pretending to be a man?"

The person sighed and their shoulders sagged forward. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Yuffie nodded.

"They're calling one man from each family to war, but we only have my father. He's... old and he has an injury that never fully healed, so I'm going in his place."

"They won't let women fight?" you asked.

She shook her head.

"Well, Ping," Leon smirked, "maybe we can give you a few pointers and help you along the way. The war is where we want to be so we can find the Heartless. We'll go with you."

"That would be greatly appreciated, but what about Yuffie, Tifa, and [Name]? They'll either have to stay behind or pretend to be men," Mulan said.

You crossed your arms with a sigh. "I don't really like either of those options."

"If we're going with them, we'll need to find some armor to fit in- like Mulan is wearing," Tifa thought out loud.