--but 𝕪𝕠𝕦 belong in 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖

❝ the 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔰 of 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 will try to 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 into their 𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖘, but                                            𝕪𝕠𝕦 belong in 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖 ❞

With her help, it didn’t take much longer to erase the Noise.  A few more joined the fray during the battle, but it was no problem.

He waited a few moments after they’d gotten rid of what looked like the last one before he confirmed it.  “Looks like they’re gone,” he said, relaxng his stance.  He glanced to the girl.  Was she a Player?  The only other option was a Reaper, and most of them weren’t exactly known for jumping in and helping when they saw someone overwhelmed.

“You okay?” He checked his pins and dusted himself off now that they had the all-clear.  “There’s a reason we’re supposed to have partners here.  Those things don’t go down easy.” And then he paused, realizing he should probably introduce himself.  That’s what you did with new people, after all.  “Uh, I’m Neku.  And you are…?”

Kairi landed a powerful finishing combo on the last of the monsters, brushing her hair out of her face as she stood up. Seeing that the streets were finally clear of them, she heaved a sigh of relief. “That ought to do it!” she grinned before turning to the young man who’d helped her.

“I’m good to go. It’s my first real test, you could say-- I guess I passed! Thanks for your help!” Knowing that others needed outside help, too, helped her confidence. She usually felt stronger when her friends were around, too. “I’m Kairi. It’s nice to meet you, Neku.” 

Neku had no idea what the day or time was.  He just knew he had been there in Shinjuku for a very, very long time.  And suddenly he wasn’t.  Shibuya was different from the last time he saw it.  Not just the shops and scenery, but the way it felt.  He knew something was going on.  But apparently it was going to take some digging to figure out just what that was.

Noise were still plentiful, but he also still knew how to fight.  After a few battles, though, he realized just how hard it was to beat them on his own.

But there didn’t seem to be any Players around.  Was there even a game going on?

Another group of Noise was after him, immediately attacking when he tried to scan someone.  He was tired, but what choice did he have but to keep going?

“…huh?” He heard Kairi before he saw her, but that didn’t take long, either.  A single slash was all it took for her to take out the Noise, and he used the opportunity to get out of the way and catch his breath.  There were more, but at least the number was down.

“…thanks,” he said when his pins had rebooted and he could turn back to the fight.

With a surprisingly loud battle cry, Kairi began to hack and slash at the monsters, sending them dissipating into a pixelated fog. The people around her seemed to carry on with their business without care... It was strange that they couldn’t tell there was something going on. Usually, Heartless would attack innocent people on the streets; these must have been something else. Either way, her Keyblade was enough to take out several of them, and as the monsters were cleared from the street she wiped the sweat from her brow and readied her stance once more to fire off a spell.

Finally, she noticed the other boy who was fighting, too. “No problem,” she replied, turning her attention to the remaining monsters. They seemed to be only attacking specific people, oddly enough-- either way, they needed to go down. “I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine!”

Kairi felt so, so tired. Who knew training with Merlin could be so exhausting? She and Lea-- Axel, she reminded herself, that’s what he wants to be called-- had been working practically non-stop in order to catch up to the others in their Keyblade abilities. She’d learned some pretty useful spells, too-- Curaga, obviously, and Holy. Merlin was impressed that she’d caught onto the Light-aspected magic so quickly; it was likely due to her status as a Princess of Heart that she had a natural affinity for it. Either way, there was still so much to do, and so little time before the final clash.

Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a little bit... zzz.... zzz....

Dreaming of unfamiliar places was nothing new to her at this point. Her heart could reach out to others connected with Sora, as she’d discovered when she first encountered Roxas. This time was probably no different: a big, bustling city, crowded with people of all shapes, sizes, and creeds. It was vastly different from the Islands she called home; she could entertain herself just people-watching all day.