1 Prologue
Hell.
That's where he had found himself amongst this lifeless, barren wasteland littered with the keys of the fallen. Leaders. Heroes. Rivals.
His friends…
Each lusterless key out of the endless legion embedded into the earth was a headstone for the poor souls who misguidedly brought into a war that was "prophesized" to inevitably happen. A desperate struggle for the light; pushing Unions, who were once cherished friends and allies into bitter, hardened enemies. There was no more love to be shared as all of the opposing sides spared no hesitation to end their fellow kinsman.
The tensions were already high with Unions clashing over garnering the most "light". The greed and wrath were but the ammunition and the war that came was the trigger to let all of these negative feelings out and take the mind of every Wielder seeking to claim a Pyrrhic Victory for the glory of their own accursed Union.
The bitterness of it all filled him with so much spite, but the target of said spite was not as simple as you would think. The outlet for his spitefulness wasn't the Foretellers – his own master. They were all scrambling for ways to prevent this suffering through what little guidance they had with their assigned roles. He couldn't possibly hold any of his fellow kin in contempt either, they just as him were as swayed to the agenda of their Unions as well and it was only through the vying conflict for light that all their rivalries devolved into bloody spats.
No, the one that he wanted to curse with all of his might, was himself! His efforts to change or accomplish anything, or at least succeed at something, all amounted to nothing.
He wasn't able to find and reunite with his best friend to fulfill the promise they made to keep going on more adventures.
He couldn't find that girl…the one who was always watching him from afar. He was always aware, and waited for her to come to him, afraid that should he approach her, she would retreat.
She looked lonely and…he wanted to see if she wanted to be friends. He could understand being by yourself after his own best friend was gone, so until she felt comfortable enough, he waited. But for some reason, he could no longer sense her poorly hidden gaze.
Sadness had overwhelmed him as he couldn't figure out where to start in looking for her.
Tensions were already high with the war on the horizon and everything afterwards tipping his decision to join it. However, he had at least wanted to ask around if there were any Unions that were missing a Union member that fit her description, but what always stumped his search came in the form of a question each Wielder gave him in order to elaborate: What was her name?
A question that ate away at him; a question that for all intents and purposes spoke volumes of his inaction to be bold enough to take the first step and introduce himself to her.
If…If only he had the will to approach her, then would…would she have been around? Would her presence have been able to talk him into being spread throughout the other worlds like a Dandelion in the wind? Would they had been…friends.
…
Lest he seek to be consumed by darkness, he festered onto less (barely) despairing thoughts, his final failure…
His pleas to his fellow Wielders to cast aside their simmering hatred and bloodlust fueling their need to partake in this blasted war reached no ears. He couldn't even convince those in his own Union to withdraw. His words reached no one so it was no surprise that they wouldn't reach the hearts of the Foretellers spearheading this unavoidable massacre of his comrades to begrudgingly fulfill the damned prophecy that the Great Master of Masters foresaw.
That was why he only had one option left. A choice that required to deny the chance of his own salvation from the World-shattering war to come. He willingly joined the war himself just to save someone. Surely, if he was able to at least overpower a Master or two from the Unions, the others would see things his way and acknowledge his words.
The odds were stacked against him, but so was every encounter until then.
Up until now, he's encountered countless heartless. Though but imitations of the real thing projected from the Book of Prophecies, he's traversed through many worlds and combatted the Darkness to protect the many colorful lives that were threatened.
He had faced Master Ava not once but twice, and though he was unable to grasp victory either time, he still carried the painful and exhilarating experience from combating with a Master imprinted in his heart.
His brief feud with Master Aced though it was a spat that was mostly to humiliate him, he resolved himself to never forget the unforgiving blows that the Ursus Master's blade had upon his crumpling form.
With the knowledge of his past defeats and his own perceived expectations of what all the Masters were capable of, he held onto the hope that maybe, perhaps a miracle to defeat one of the Union's foretellers could happen.
Yet no miracle came.
There was no miracle for him as he pitifully struggled to cling to life as Master Aced's blade threatened to leave him a mangled body in a ditch at the center of the battlefield…
There was no miracle for him as Master Invi's blinding speed had almost made him a pincushion for her blade…
There was no miracle for him as Master Gula's ferocious, unforgiving swordplay barely had left his already weary form that much closer to the brink of death…
There was NO miracle as Master Ava swooped into the war and mercilessly beat him down to an inch of his life, losing the once hopeful demeanor that warmed the hearts of many misguided Wielders. A hope that gave him the strength to keep going and save something, someone, ANYONE!
"…" The heavy rainfall on the battlefield matched the grim sight that spanned far out around him. Countless keyblades with no wielders save the earth below them, never to be held by those they have chosen.
The heavy clanking of his busted blue and black Keyblade Armor echoed throughout the Battlefield, no, save for him, the area was now devoid of all life. This was now a graveyard…
Despite the insane amount of damage that the armor had been through, its motif of resembling a wolf was still apparent.
His footsteps were heavy, and the blue orbs hidden behind the cracked visor of the helmet were losing what little light they had left. His body growing cold and he could feel it. Darkness was soon to claim him like all of the others.
He was tired. In the end, nothing he did changed anything.
No one was saved.
Everything was gone.
There was nothing left to protect or save. If it all didn't matter, then what was point of staving off death's embrace.
"Gu-guh!"
Stopping mid-step, cute struggling noises from below him reached his ears. Looking down, he was met with a peculiar sight. A sight that was never going to get old or unwelcomed no matter how many times they caught his attention.
It was his Chirithy, Chi. His best friend, his family, who's stuck with him through all of his travels and ordeals. Who's always made sure that his dreams were never plagued with nightmares. And made sure he wouldn't get *AHEM!* lost *AHEM!* despite him having an impeccable sense of direction.
The poor thing was stained with mud and what looked like bruises from the rocky beaten ground beneath them as they only continued to push his armored legs forward. Their pudgy arms shook in vain to move despite the weight difference, but they didn't give up.
"K-Keep…oof…going! For once you're finally going in the right direction! Guuuh!" The Chirithy pushed in vain but didn't let the tiring, unmoving Wielder discourage it. No matter the impossibility, they kept trying to make the possible happen.
With a splat, they slid on the mud and fell on their face, which earned his concern and would have gained his support had they not picked themselves up to try again albeit with a more dirtied mien that didn't stifle their determination.
"D-Don't give up!"
…What was he doing? No one left to protect or save? How much of an idiot could he be?
Even if he did die, then so would Chi. As was the fate of many other Chirithy bound to their Wielder. Seeing his little buddy work so hard just to keep him alive while he was contemplating to accept just keeling over just made him think of how shameful he was. He failed.
But this wasn't the end. Tragedy may have taken his loved ones away along with everything he knew, but there were still things left to fight for. He looked down at his Chirithy, who determinedly nodded back at him.
…still things left to live for!
What once was an encroaching chill that felt like it would consume his heart was now replaced with a loving warmth that drove him to take another shaky step forward with the help of his trusty companion pushing him onward.
As if translating the rekindled flame igniting in him for the world to see, a bright soon began to emit itself around him and his Chirithy just as an all-encompassing light through the cracks of the dissipating rain clouds. Too tired to even question what was happening, he merely picked up Chi and allowed himself to be engulfed by the light.
Just as everything turned white, he could make out two figures waving at him and calling out his name. One was a girl and the other a boy, and despite their words being incoherent mumbles, he would never forget the sounds of those 'two'.
"Skuld? …Ephemer…?" He croaked as he reached out for the figures before his eyelids closed and his consciousness slipped from itself.
…
…
…
"Hey? Hello, are you okay? Heeeeeeeeeeello~!"
The sounds of a cheerful melodious grasped the attention of his drifting psyche. The memory which played itself in his head gave way to a blinding light that its job to help him resurface from the depths of his mind.
XXX
To be forced to remember that memory, he wondered what pushed him to experience it.
XXX
Opening his eyes, a fair youth about 17 years old with dark skin and black spiky hair allowed his striking blue eyes to survey the surroundings around him, hoping to gain some context to where he was and what he was exactly doing.
Noticing the familiar weight in his hand, he realized that he had materialized Fenrir. The black, long pin tumbler shaped keyblade with its golden wolf token keychain had been a favorite of his for years especially after all of the years he put into powering it with the power of Lux.
Eyes trailing up from his trusty weapon, he spotted three of his likely victims sprawled out on the ground, unconscious and unmoving while one was weakly clutching a broken broadsword.
'That explains the reason why I have my keyblade out, but not why I did this in the first place.' He wracked his brain over it. He hated it whenever he zoned out to that awful war with no winners. Its been getting real hard to convince Chi that he's fine whenever something small would set him off especially when it dealt with conflict.
And to be honest, his brief bouts of episodes weren't as bad in comparison to the first day that he'd been in this world after some strange light engulfed him and Chi and brought them into some alley in this sprawling, huge city with an massive tower erecting itself at the center of it. That day was difficult to say the least.
While still in his armor, he was running around looking mad as he grabbed any citizen of varying race (which was a big shock for him but was overshadowed by his unexpected ejection from the war) about where he was and what part of the World he was in. His questions were met with either frightful pleas to leave them alone or aggressive threats to inform another of nearby Ganesha Familia of his disturbance of the peace.
He had assumed that was the police force of this place yet the looming threat of being arrested did not quell his raving curiosity lest mind had truly slipped from him. Luckily it took the calming reprimands of his Chirithy to settle down and finally pass out from exhaustion in the same alleyway where he started.
Thankfully, his partner was able to procure the last of their potions to ease the process of his rest while hiding his exhausted form from any of the world's inhabitants for a total of three days. So close was he on death's door that he nearly fell into darkness, but somehow, his persisted to endure and keep going.
Where was he? What pulled him to this place? Is this place a projection from the Book of Prophecies like all the other places? If not, then why did this world feel as though it was conjoined with the rest of the one World like so many others?
He needed answers and answers he will get if he can properly approach things instead of spouting nonsense like a madman.
Once healed, he deactivated his Keyblade Armor through the black blue shoulder pauldrons on his shoulder and approached the closest citizen for answers on where he exactly was. To avoid being the same mistake as last time, he asked some pleasant random woman in a hooded cloak, who for some reason looked jubilantly at him, about where he was in the world and the story behind the city.
It was a simple question though an odd one since he realized that from an outsiders perspective it was odd to ask a question that broad despite being an "inhabitant" of this world.
However, to his surprise, the woman actually looked happy to tell him as much as he'd like. He was glad but became wary as he noticed something about the off way that she was looking at him with those silver eyes of hers. It felt like she was looking at his soul…
Okay, so apparently, the city he was in was called Orario, the Labyrinth City and keeper of the dreaded Dungeon which was beneath that huge tower called the Tower of Babel to seal off the monsters that were spawning from attacking the surface.
The dungeon was a place that spawned out of nowhere and caused unimaginable havoc on the races that lived on the surface until the Gods (yep, there were actual gods in this world, which reminded him of Mount Olympus and wondered if he'd find Hercules here) came down from their world above in Heaven to the Earthly world below to bestow their Divine blessing to humans to combat the monsters. These Gods soon craft Familias and blessed their members with their powers to combat the dungeon or do something entirely different in terms of business.
Countless years later and the city was made to welcome and produce Adventurers of all walks of life to venture into the dungeon and seek out the secrets and treasures it has along with seeing what's at the end of it on the lowest floor.
That was the cliff notes of the woman's explanation, and, wow! He didn't expect to be hit with that truck load of information along with the basic know how on all of the races of this world. Plus, that's barely scratching the surface of the other countries in the world and their cultures.
So, from what he gathered, he was definitely not in the World since there was no mention of Daybreak Town or Keyblade Wielders. Hell, there was barely any concerning facts about the Keyblade War that was too recent to ignore. The one World must have shattered and created many individual worlds after the darkness that was the outcome of the War engulfed everything.
But…for that to have happened must have taken centuries to happen! How was it possible that he ended up on some world just as darkness was setting in on the one World? It all didn't add up at all! Did that mean he was the only Keyblade Wielder left? The Dandelions might have been sent off to another dimension, but even they still couldn't live forever.
Skuld…Ephemer…
He was alone.
He breathed heavily, memories of the War were starting to set in and like back then, he was back to feeling so helpless.
But a quick tug of his shorts was able to pull him back before he went to that dark place. His distress might have been evident since his Chirithy worriedly gazed at him and did their best to encourage him to keep going. That's right. He's not alone, he still has someone right here with him, and that gave him the hope to keep going and hope that there were still Keyblade Wielders like him out there.
He couldn't give up! As a Keyblade Wielder, he owed it to his fellow kin and friends to keep fighting and protect the Light no matter where he was. Not out of some obligated duty, but because he wanted to, and it would best honor his loved ones until he found all the answers that he sought.
Thankfully picking up the Chirithy, he pulled Chi into a hug and expressed his gratitude with a mumbled whisper.
During all of this, the mysterious woman that he was talking to was engrossed with watching them. It was hard to tell with that self-same beautiful smile of hers but her eyes, they were practically shining while she looked at him. Her starry gaze was comparable to looking at the birth of a new star standing in front of her.
Thinking it was best to part ways lest she asked questions about the sudden appearance of his Chirithy and question his lack of know-how of the city, he gave the woman his thanks and was on his way. Well, he was on his way, until the woman strangely broke her composure for a second by asking if he required any refuge that she'd be happy to accommodate. But just as she was quick to offer, he was just as quick to deny it as politely as he could much to her surprise, disappointment and…excitement?
Just as quickly as she made the offer to take him in did she hastily and respectfully wished him and his adorable cat spirit a good day. As she made her way out of the alley that they talked in, he visibly felt his shoulders start to unwind themselves.
He didn't want to be any more of a bother to her…is how he felt superficially, but deep down, he still was wary of her. During that entire conversation, he felt something was passively trying to charm him, and were it not for the strength of his heart shielding him from the effects and already accustomed to resisting the sway of Darkness in the past, he imagined that their little interaction would have been drastically different than what occurred.
But that wasn't even the defining reason why he was cautious in the first place because as soon as their eyes met, he immediately recognized what lied beyond those silver eyes. Desire. Lust.
And above all else, Love.
Not the kind of mutual love a spouse would give to their other half, just pure unconditional love that one would have if they came across a pet that was their fancy. That kind of Love and that irked him. Putting two and two together, he surmised that she must have been adventurer or some God. Either way, he was given a good reminder to be cautious around this world's inhabitants.
Though her mysterious dark intentions gave him pause, he was at least thankful for her sharing this world's information no matter how general it may have been. Perhaps he might see her again and give her his thanks properly. Liking the possibility, he might have even gained the potential to make a friend or at least an ally during his stay here.
His luck must really be giving him so much good fortune.
XXX
Little did he know that bolstering his hopes and determination with the help of his Chirithy just gave Orario's infamous resident Goddess of Love, a front row seat to the rekindled birth of an all encompassing Light that could be witnessed from any point in the city.
It was a Light that would never dwindle, thus giving the Goddess a clear view of him on the top of Babel, no matter where he was.
The young man's luck has dealt him an unfortunate hand…
XXX
Since then, he's been venturing on the streets of Orario, getting acquainted with simply watching the lives of the colorful adventures from afar for a couple of days while navigating (not getting lost) the streets of the city. Much to his chagrin, Chi decided to lead the way on multiple occasions after he "intentionally" led them to a couple of dead ends or led them in complete circles.
It wasn't his fault that the "Labyrinth" in Labyrinth City made directions hard. However, his Chirithy, Chi, annoyingly doubted that the city only made his bad sense of direction worse. Their exploration had to best cut short though since a familiar ugly feeling reared its head somewhere down the line in some part of the city called Daedalus Street.
The Heartless. No matter the world, darkness will always find a way to surface itself out to consume everything. He expected to be in a place like this, but he still prayed that they wouldn't plague this world like so many others. His first bout with the abominations dealt with him protecting some beggars who were getting swarmed by an infestation of Shadows. Their numbers were great but nothing he hasn't handled before.
Sadly, that mindset would be disproven based on the fact that the damned things were appearing almost everywhere throughout the city like a true infestation that it boggled his mind. He was aware that a city this big had to hold a lot of dark secrets that could attract them, but it was getting ridiculous.
Especially in Daedalus Street, a place which frustrated him to no end since the Heartless were attracted to the depressing darkness that the Lower class living there gave off, and the hard to navigate streets that had even made his trusty and competent Chirithy confused.
Things were getting bad that he had to protect some brunette with the horns and ears of a cow from a quartet of Neo-Shadows! It was originally two Heartless, but from the accounts of that girl, the extra two were originally a pair of adventurers trying to earn their due from a debt that she owed them for helping her try to find and recommend a Familia to take her in.
"Try" is used here extremely loosely since they've been intentionally keeping her in the dark about it for a whole month with no news to ever bring back. In essence, the girl was too trusting, and they used that trust to extort all of her belongings and eventually wanted "more" from her physically. Though he felt bad that those scumbags had their Hearts stolen and forced to become Heartless themselves, he couldn't deny that they at least had it coming and felt no pity while striking their heartless forms down.
The girl was fairly nice and grateful for him saving her, but he couldn't really stick around since he had more heartless to deal with, so he gave her the two former adventurer's dropped Munny *AHEM!* Valis and went on his way before she started asking questions that he didn't really want to give answers to.
So for the passing days that followed, he was stuck between eating what was left of the food that he made for Chirithy to carry for him for when he was originally in the Projected Worlds for far too long and exterminating the heartless before they corrupted more unassuming citizens to make more.
Through all of this, he felt a familiar spine-chilling gaze keeping track of him during his Heartless hunts. It was weird because no matter where he was, the gaze was always on him. Eventually, he grew to ignore, but he couldn't deny that it was a bit concerning.
"Hey…hey…you okay? You've been standing there looking off into space."
Breaking out of his stupor, he looked down to see who was tugging at his sleeve to spot a beautiful young woman, who in comparison to a guy of his height (5' 11"), she was rather short. Her black hair was tied in twin ponytails with blue and white petals/bell accessories. He would have mistaken her for a little girl, who was lost but the glean in her blue eyes held little of the innocence a child would have based on his own experiences with the guiding newbie Keyblade Wielders in the Unicornis Union.
Though her stature and state of attire was another hint that she was REALLY not a kid. A white mini dress with a blue ribbon around her neck and one tied under her breasts around her arms, and a pair of white gloves. Going back to her short height, he stature was rather small too which emphasized her rather *AHEM!* big assets.
Like that cowgirl earlier, he tried and failed not to linger on the amazing sight before him and was thankful that she wasn't noticing as she continue to tug and poke at him in concern.
Hm? Was she wearing an apron? Looking between the three unconscious adventurers on the ground and back to her, he soon remembered why he was where he was. During his walk patrolling the city with Chirithy, the pair came across a peace shattering scene.
Three adventurers were breaking down and threatening a food stand that sold Jagamarukun. He had idea why they were named that instead of just calling them fried potatoes, but anyways, they were mad at the vendor selling them because they were too hot and it burned their tongues.
...
So it was obvious that he had to step in once they were quite literally about put the vendor in harms way, but as soon as one of them pulled out their sword and pointed it at the poor woman. Well, he had that episode of being back at the War.
Taking a deep breath, he composed himself and realized that the woman poking him was the vendor, so putting on warm smile, he laughed. "I'm fine, don't worry about." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and put his full attention on her. "But the one who should be asking that is me. Are you okay?"
He raised an eyebrow as soon as he noticed the woman's cheeks flushing a red tinge. Was there something on his face that was giving her discomfort?
"Y-Yep, I'm doing A-Okay! I mean thanks to you stepping in and…saving me…" She said evenly as she could while poking her fingers together.
"Perfect, I'm glad that I could help." The young man grinned. "Sorry that you had to go through that though." Especially over those jerks whining about burning their tongues.
Looking forlorn, the woman sighed and shook her head. "No, that's fine. Though escalated the way they did, getting unruly Adventurers to the stand is almost common to come across here at my stand." Looking back at the damaged remains of her stand, she breathed out another heavy sigh as her shoulders slumped down while softly muttering "This is going to come out of my next payment, isn't it?".
"If you want, I can help with fixing it." The young man tellingly hefted the weight of his Keyblade onto his shoulder. Though it would bring more attention onto himself based on the odd looks that he was getting from everyone else on the street, he still felt the need to at least help out her place of business. It would be easy to fix the stand up with a simple spell.
"No, no, no! You've already done more than enough, I wouldn't want to trouble you any further." The woman rapidly waved her arms at him to belay his offer with a rather worried smile. Worry that looked as though she was already knee deep in debt to afford to owe anyone giving out more favors to her. "I guess, I'll just…wait until the work day is over so I can tell my boss about what happened… Oh, thanks for the help by the way…"
Heavily sighing again, the woman dragged her bare feet (hold on, why wasn't wearing shoes) back to the side of her stand and sat on the sidewalk with her knees up to her chest. That down look still writ on her face.
Frowning, the young man rubbed at his chin in deep thought before nodding at a thought that popped up in his head. Walking up to the sidewalk where the woman sat, he took his place by her side and laid his Keyblade right on the street in front of them.
"Eh?" Broken out of her weathered daze, the woman looked to her side in surprise while the young man tilted his head to the side and grinned.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"…I…no, not at all." She blushed as she realized how close the both of them are. He wondered if he was making her uncomfortable but shook off any doubt and remained silent by her side as they watched the people of Orario move through the streets and going about their day as the sun began to set. He didn't need to worry about those 3 punks waking up to stir trouble as people wearing elephant masks came around to pick the peace disturbers up and taken in for questioning after the other vendors who were around reported what they did.
Surprisingly, the people didn't mention him being the one to take them out. He had no clue but based on the grateful stares that some of the nearby vendors were giving him when he stepped in to help and sit by the woman, he was able to figure out the reason behind their good intentions. Huh, looks like these merchants can stick together despite being business rivals sometime.
A shame that some of the adventurers that he observed didn't share that form of kinship. Not like he should talk, as soon as Lux was in greater demand, the five Unions were clawing each other's throats out just to obtain more…
Tch, he's supposed to help this girl feel better, not make himself feel unhealthily depressed.
Soon silence amidst the bustling street of business became comfortable between the pair.
It wasn't until she spoke up that the silence between them ended. "So…whose familia are you a part of?"
"…?" The young man blinked and tilted his head in confusion.
Realizing that she might have made a blunder, the woman once again waved her arms about and sputtered an apology. "S-Sorry! I know that must be personal especially since we only met just now but I'm just curious. I'd have to later thank your God or Goddess for this, so I just thought…" She trailed off scratching at her like a nervous mess.
"Don't have one."
"Huh?" The woman blankly blinked as she incredulously stared at the cheeky smile on the young man's face.
"A familia. Don't have one, never did."
"…What?" The woman croaked out then in a burst of energy slammed her palms on the sidewalk, wincing from the sudden act, but kept her gaze laser focused on him as if staring at an enigma. "WHAT!?"
"What?" The young man repeated for his own query.
"Y-You mean to tell me that y-y-you were able to…beat those Adventurers, who I assume were Level 1…without a Falna?" The woman stammered. "H-H-How?"
Ooooh…now when he really thinks about it, he really wasn't being as conspicuous as he thought. Damn him for getting caught up in one of his episodes. Was receiving a Falna really that substantial to someone's strength, and what does being a Level 1 mean? Did it mean that anyone who didn't have a Falna lose automatically around here, and could a Level 1 only lose to a Level 2 as well with no exception?
To be honest from what he remembered when he dispatched of those three punks, they went down rather easily than expected. Sure, that one who drew the sword on him might have gotten the short end of the stick when he pushed him into an episode and got hit by some of his unrestraint blows, but the other two went down just as easy too.
It's not his preferred enemy to fight, but the human opponents that he faced in the past were a bit more durable than these guys. Especially the Five Masters, their strength was exalted throughout the Unions who were all rumored to be bested by the Father of all Keyblade Wielders and the best Keyblade Wielder in history, the Master of Masters.
So, you can understand his confusion in determining what's sanctified as "strong" in this world after getting his ass beaten by all four of the masters and actually live to the tale.
Doing his best come up with the best reply, he winked and held a finger up to his lips. "Secret."
"Mumumumu…!" He laughed at the woman's puffed up cheeks and adorable pout. He still had to keep the World Order and couldn't just spread the news of Keyblades all willy-nilly. But apart of him felt that an exception could be made. Though it was faint since they're literally meeting for the first time, there's a string of a link beginning to form between their hearts.
He'll have to see how things play out before he could give her a straight answer.
"The best I can tell you is that I've been fighting tons of things above my weight class since I was 12." Which was technically the truth since he's been taken in by his Union after proving the strength of heart to materialize a Keyblade.
"Really, so you've been fighting monsters for that long…?" He nodded at her question. "And without a Falna?" He detected a hint of disbelief in her tone but paid it no mind and replied with a yes. If what he did and said shattered the expected norm then he can't judge her for not fully believing him.
"Okay, I believe you." She nodded.
"Huh?" Really, just like that?
"Yup. I can tell you're not lying." She nodded again.
Its not like his goal was to deceive her but he at least expected her to naturally be put off from his words. How was she able to-?
"Huhuhu!" Impishly laughing into her hand, the woman relished his befuddled expression. "Looks like someone's interested~! If you're new to the city and you're not an adventure," Well, not one by your world's standards, the young man thought to himself but continued to listen. "then you certainly must be left in the dark about a couple of things."
"Things like what?" He raised an eyebrow quite curious to see where she's leading.
"Things like…Ah!" She mockingly gasped and raised a finger to her lips before winking at him. A sly attempt at using his words against him. "Secret~!" He would have found this display funny if it weren't a bit annoying to have his schtick thrown right back at him.
"…" Thinking back on his chat with that cloaked woman and his experience with her, he was left two options on who she was, either an adventurer who can use magic (like a lie detector spell or something) or she was…
Slowly pointing at her, he coughed and blankly looked at still giggling woman. "You're a goddess, aren't you?"
"GEH!"
Hah, he was right on the first guess too, man, his luck was really something since he came here.
"So, Goddesses and Gods can tell when a mortal is telling a truth or lie, right? That's extremely useful." And troublesome as all hell! He panicked as he remembers the cloaked lady again. She might not have asked questions since she mostly observed him, but he was sure that if she did, then she'd have seen through his whole "New Adventurer" guise in a heartbeat.
He could only hope that he didn't run into a goddess back then.
Limply letting her head fall, the woman muttered. "Y-Yup, you got it right…I'm a goddess…"
"A goddess that's working a Fried Potato Stand." He asked.
"Yes, a goddess that's working a Jagomarukun Stand." She confirmed.
He wasn't going to call it that. "So…are you the patron deity for all things fried and potatoey?" He laughed playfully devoid of any mocking snark.
"Ugh…no." The woman shook her head and took a deep breath, letting her shoulders sag down as she looked up to the stars. "I'm the Goddess of hearth, home, and hospitality."
He smiled. "Sounds like a nice set of things to preside over."
She nodded albeit slowly with a tired sigh that was outright depressing. "In heaven, yes; down here after descending into the world of man, no. I can't really provide much of home or hospitality to someone if there's literally no one give it to, y'know."
He frowned. "Ah, so I take that you don't have a Familia then." He said it as more a statement than a question. And if the subdued look in her downtrodden smiling face was an indicator, then there was no further reason to question it lest he damage her self-esteem.
"So, I take it that this job isn't just to pay the bills, right?" the young man quietly asked.
"That's only a third of the reason why I'm working. I'm also saving up the money that I'm making to pay off a debt to a friend of mine. Sadly, that won't be for a loooooooong time at this rate…might even have to think of getting another part-time job…" The woman sighed again, honestly; he saw that each sigh visibly sucked the life out of her. "The other part is well…pretty much a dud of a reason so far." She stopped, visibly too deflated to keep going. Placing a hand to her shoulder, she looked to him tiredly, but a disarming smile gave her a slight pause.
Nodding his head, he urged her to go on and she did.
With a heavy heart, she scratched her head in deep thought and breathed out, "The original purpose of this gig was to scout people to join my familia. So far my track record has been 49 failed attempts and counting…" A rather depressing mindset to have but considering the amount of rejections and the fact that was recently assaulted by some adventurers, he couldn't blame her.
"Its next to impossible for any new goddess to have immediately gain any Children especially here in Orario. If you're not a big name Familia that can guarantee fame or riches for joining then your pretty much out of luck." She said despondently. "When I came down to the lower world, I didn't really much care for any of the glory, excitement, or games that the other Gods and Goddesses came down here for. Honestly, I just wanted to experience the "family" aspect of a familia, to be close to those you love, through the good and the bad. Watching humans devote themselves to each other, picking themselves up each time they fall, and overcoming the challenges that life or the dungeon throws at them. Watching them from my temple, I wanted to know how it felt to have that kind of love…"
"…I see…" The young man grunted, picked himself up along with his keyblade and began to walk off.
…
Breathing a shaky sigh, the goddess didn't mind the quiet, neutral response given and remained in place on the sidewalk. She figured that he was bored from her talking his ear off with all of her depressing gibbering. However, it seemed that she was at least thankful for the company as the sun was already close to fully setting already. But before she could fully get lost in her thoughts, the loud sound of knuckles wrapping against wood caught her attention.
"Hello~! I'd like one Jagomara-Jahomuru…Fried Potato please…" Like a fool, the young man sputtered over the name of the stand's snack but kept that light smile of his.
"…Okay." Slightly surprised, the Goddess got up from her spot on the sidewalk. It looked like she honestly thought he would just leave after hearing such a heartfelt desire. Heh, boy was she in for a surprise.
Let him reiterate that.
Boy was she still in for a great surprise.
As shambled over to the ruined Stand, she tried as best as she could to produce a fried potato for him with a bit of mindfulness not to make it "too" hot even though she knew that he wouldn't flip out over something like that. As she handed him the finished snack, he immediately reached back into his pocket to grasp the mun-dammit-he meant valis that he took from the two former asshole adventurers assaulting that cow girl to give to her.
But a raised hand to his face ceased his efforts.
"Consider it on the house for helping out back there. Thanks." The Goddess bowed but flinched when she heard the sound of money hitting the stand's table. Eyes wide, she trailed them up to look in the young man's kind blue eyes.
"Well, consider this as thanks for letting me talk to you." He grinned as he received a smile from her as thanks but remained in the place. Hehe, he could tell that this was going to be worth it based on the perplexed expression on her face.
"D-Do you still want more because I think I could probably give you another one for free since you paid for the first one." He shook his head at that. "Then do you not like the Jagamarukun that I gave to you?" He shook his head again making the short Goddess a little nervous. "O-Oh, did you change your mind and want me to give you back your valis?"
"Nope." He tittered.
"Then-Then why are you-?"
"Aren't I Mr. Number 50?" He grinned and pointed to himself, relishing the gape her mouth and eyes once he made that declaration. Good, he wanted to make his intentions as clear as possible.
"Y-You want to…?" Her breath was shaky, and her lips trembled.
"Want me to what? I don't really count as Number 50 if you don't ask me." The young man scratched his head and laughed. If there was any doubt that he had when they talked each other's ears off, it'd be pretty hard to detect it anywhere in his posture, tone of voice and eyes. Now, he still wasn't fully sure about this whole situation yet, that was going to take some getting used to along with acclimating to Orario and the world itself.
But he at least felt that he could trust the Goddess in front of him with his secrets and in turn be comfortable enough with her in his company. While they talked, the link between them grew strong enough for him to feel out the emotions that she felt while recounting her days in Orario to him and her desires. The weight on his heart was heavy and clouded with doubt and sadness, but what really had him sympathize with her was that dreaded feeling that's followed him ever since he ended up in this place.
Loneliness.
That feeling where you're the only one in this world that you got. Thankfully, he has Chi to be there for him, but the loneliness he felt was more akin to loss than simply being alone.
To see the Goddess actually suffer through this and stating such a genuine desire to form a Familia for the sake of love, well, what kind of Keyblade Wielder, no, what kind of person would he be if he couldn't at least fulfill the dream of a woman suffering right in front of him!
"W-Well, I-!" The Goddess coughed in her hand trying her best to be as dignified as possible in order to ask him that important request. "If you desire, would you-?"
"Yes."
"…!"
The immediate response took the Goddess off guard and the smile that the young man sported didn't do her any favors as her heart seemed to have skipped a beat.
"If you're okay with a worn guy like me to be a part of your familia, then I'll gladly say yes a million times." He reached his hand out and playfully winked. "I'll be in your care, but I guess that also means that you're also in my care as well. So, let's all three of us do our best to depend on each other, my Goddess." No sooner did those words come out his lips did he notice the fresh pools of tears flowing down the woman's cheeks along with those same cheeks being flushed. The amount of warmth that he sensed from her heart was well…heartwarming.
…Yeah, bad time for a pun. Especially since his cringing dulled his instinct to prepare himself as his new Goddess shot herself from across the battered stand's counter and into his midriff. On his back looking dazed, he tried his best to regain his bearings while listening to the messy sobs of the woman burying her head into his chest.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Crying would be more tamed, in essence she wailing like a dying cat. Yet this didn't deter him from doing his best to comfort her with a rub to her back and pat on her head.
"No thanks necessary, my Goddess…uh…what's your name?" He awkwardly sucked in his lips. Crap, he forgot to introduce himself throughout this entire exchange of words and emotions.
"*SNORT!* R-Right, I haven't told-!" Recognizing where she laid, the Goddess immediately jumped to her feet with a yelp and a tomato red face. The young man found this odd but decided to roll with it as he too stood up. Coughing into her fist, his new Goddess recomposed herself once more and with what seemed to be the grace of a divine being placed her hands on her hips and proudly thrusted her impressive chest out, which gave him a nice sight to behold indeed.
"My Child, allow me to introduce myself, I am the Goddess, Hestia."
Chuckling to himself, the young man stuck his hand out and grinned. "Nice to meet ya, Hestia! Its going to be a pleasure being by your side from here on out! The name's Michael and let's do our best!"
"Right!"
With a hearty clap of their hands tightening into a mutual handshake, the pair happily smiled the whole night away with the comforting knowledge that neither of them had to be alone ever again. While the boy joyously laughed, his Goddess shyly smiled at him while intentionally failing to suppress the heat in her cheeks and the growing swell in her heart.
From afar, watching them from an alley a block away from the Jagamarukun stand, a brunette cows woman about the age of 17 watched on while remaining hidden from the person that she'd been following for days.
XXX
It was on this day that the Hestia Familia was finally formed and from its birth a dazzling new light had blessed the dangerous city of Orario with a new hope. This same light would then go on to attract and brighten the souls of many, who carry with them a strong heart and will to protect what's most important to them.
The lost wolf has found his home and now intends to defend it with everything that he has. Soon enough this wolf will be bolster attention of allies and enemies alike, which would threaten the safety of his new home.
Fortunately, soon in the future, this blue-eyed wolf would take in a red-eyed hare as his pupil and turn the very foundations of this bustling city of adventurers on its head.
…Not to mention, he would soon be the one to ensure that his Goddess's title as a "Virgin Goddess" would be a false moniker for none to ever tease her for, for years to come…
XXX
"Eh? Wait, Michael, just a while ago, you just said 'three' of us. Why's that? Do you have someone else who wishes to join my Familia with you?" Hestia asked with a mixture of confusion and elation at the prospect of getting another Familia member.
"Oh, that's right! I haven't introduced them yet!" Whistling with two fingers to his mouth, Michael called out, "Yo, Chiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
*PFOOOOOOOM!*
"You know that you don't have to call my name that loudly…" Through the pink smoke that popped up out of thin air, Hestia heard a snarky yet soft voice.
"Well, I thought you were busy elsewhere. Plus, I wanted to be sure that you could hear me." Michael wryly laughed and scratched his head.
"I've been here the whole time, Michael. I just wanted to give you some privacy with our new friend." The voice groaned.
"Well, there's no need for you to hide anymore because…"
With the smoke clearing, Hestia finished waving it all off before her eyes landed on the new appearance beside her new Child. She froze. Every fiber of her being was crying out at the sight of the absolutely adorable anthropomorphic cat creature in front of her. Their fur was a soothing shade of gray with black stripes, their eyes were cutely blue, they had on their shoulders a flowing gold and blue cape and laying on their fluffy tum-tum and wrapped around his neck was a pink coin purse bearing a weird sigil.
"Greetings, Goddess Hestia. I am a Chirithy, but my given name by my designated Keyblade Wielder is Chi, it is a pleasure to meet y-!"
To say that Hestia was overloaded with cuteness was an understatement. Like many others taken by the allure of the adorable creature, the Goddess picked them up and squeezed them into a loveable hug.
"You...are…so…CUUUUUUUUUUTE~!"
"Gah! Uncle! Uncle! Please your crushing me…help!" Chi gasped.
"Um, my Goddess, I think you should let up a bit…" Michael sweatdropped at the sight of his old pal turning blue from Hestia's snake like hug.
"B-B-But…cuteness!" Hestia whimpered.
"C-Can't br-br-breaaaathe!" Chi wailed as unconsciousness was soon to claim them.
XXX
Ah, also let it be known on this day that the Hestia Familia's marketing goldmine of a mascot, Chi was born…
