Chapter Text
The floor of moss and fauna slowly bled into the countryside, lush hills stretching out far beyond the shadow of the woodlands with prolific soil freshly dug within the bounds of wooden fences abound with crops. Minutes of walking trickled by before slowly flattening into rough, man-made paths as more carts and carriages trudged by. The difference was subtle; you wouldn't even notice it if you weren't looking. But Cinderella was… so Kairi did too.
The village Kairi had arrived at earlier that morning wasn’t that far, cast in the shade of the looming castle of the daytime sun. Cinderella waved and nodded to those they passed, shrugging away from the looks towards her company, sending those curious few souls away with a smile.
A new world wasn't nearly as daunting when you have a friend, maybe Sora was right going with Donald and Goofy… Kairi thought to herself, looking back to see the looks of admiration and esteem the village folk gave her companion as they passed, soft smiles hooking their lips as they went about their day.
Casting her eyes back toward the worn cobble of the town square, trailing her fingers down the scattered street lamps as they strolled past them, Kairi smiled too. She doesn't realise that they already love her…
“I ‘ought to thank you,” Cinderella glanced aside towards Kairi, chewing her thin lip as she turned her vision back to the path ahead, the castle growing larger with every step. “While my animal friends try their best to support me… not many other people believe in dreams coming true. I doubt I would have the courage to do this alone.”
Kairi shrugged, immediately catching onto what the other meant. “Well… I doubt that’s true.” Swinging her arm outward, she grasped Cinderella’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze, chuckling at the grins of the mice in her apron pockets. “You had the strength to follow your heart when you went to the ball. You… you’re stronger than your step-mother wants you to believe.”
Cinderella made a move to reply, her smile growing far truer than she had ever seen the once-Princess of Heart ever have, only to flinch upon a sudden swarm of people callously shoving past her. The two women stepped back, avoiding nearly being knocked to the ground as over a dozen people seemed to flood the market place, the once quiet air filled with chatter and tense whispering.
“My word… I wonder what could’ve happened…?” Cinderella asked instead, raising a hand to help Kairi regain her balance. She arched a brow, worry plastering her youthful features. “These people must be from one of the villages… I do so hope nothing terrible has happened.”
Kairi nodded absently, catching snippets of conversation within the crowds.
“ -so sudden !”
“ They came from seemingly nowhere and- ”
“ -not everyone made it out it seems, several are uncounted for and- ”
“ -dark monsters of sorts !”
Kairi swallowed a hard breath, feeling her stomach drop into anger at the disarray of the people around her. Unlike the townsfolk, many of them were covered in dirt and leaves, with scratches and torn clothing showing just how sudden the attacks had been. Her teeth grounded together, clenching hard enough to send an ache through her jaw. “The Heartless...”
“Heartless?”
Turning back to Cinderella, Kairi forced her anger to fade as she caught the other’s alarmed gaze, confusion riddling her wrangling fingers, gripping her apron tightly as Jaq and Gus muttered between themselves while grasping her hand with their paws for comfort.
“I… yes-” Kairi sighed, wrangling her brain for some way to explain her knowledge—no one could know about the other worlds, but she couldn’t just lie after Cinderella had trusted her so much already! “-the… the place I’m from was attacked by dark creatures too. I can only assume they’re the same as the ones who chased these people out of their home.”
Cinderella’s mouth fell into a line, her bright eyes wrinkling slightly from the press of her brow as she studied Kairi for a moment, only to gaze back towards the crowds once more with a hand raised to her mouth. “Oh… then these people need help.”
The pressure in Kairi’s chest popped, flushing away and leaving her to scramble her reaction, nodding towards as she traced her gaze along the market. Royal guards had begun to arrive from both beyond the town and hurried reinforcements from the castle walls, carrying supplies and helping those too injured to walk themselves.
Despite knowing it, Kairi watched their tired faces past, her heart aching as some addressed townsfolk, only to have to hold their sobbing forms a moment later. The ache grew stronger.
The heartless had attacked… and these people hadn’t stood a chance.
“Kairi?”
Meeting Cinderella’s eyes, Kairi stiffened her back, forcing the panicked thumping of her chest to slow as her fists loosened at her sides. Sora would know what to do, he would be able to save these people—but Sora isn’t here .
“We need to focus on finding the Prince… that will let us help everyone.”
Cinderella blinked, confusion on her logic evident, only to solemnly nod before continuing on through the square. Kairi followed at her heels, passing sorrowful looks to those they passed, but hurrying her pace.
The crowds shrank as they made their way through the main square, passing the enclosed lane of houses until the road widened into a smooth cobble path lined with immaculate bushes and trees, all bearing beautiful flowers and leaves. The path came to a sudden stop at the base of the castle gate walls, the smooth stone structure around thirty to forty feet tall.
No way to sneak in Cinderella with me , Kairi reasoned as she bit down onto her lip, studying the two solemn guards standing watch. The walls near the gate sloped down before rising up to the looming tower-like structure, the sunlight glistening off the pearl-white stone. Noting how the walls rose once more away from the gate, Kairi snapped back to her companion. More than likely, there would be more guards patrolling the battlements.
“They must’ve tripled the security with that attack…” She sighed, grasping her hips only to pause as she caught Cinderella’s gaze towards a small trickle of men and women trailing towards the side of the castle from the town. Grasping Gus’ shirt to stop the mouse from leaping towards the guards in blind fury, Cinderella gave the two mice a stern look before turning back to Kairi, gesturing for her to follow.
Kairi smiled back at her as they followed the townsfolk. Carts filled with a myriad of supplies filled the small opening by the Castle’s side, the side entrance hidden on a short flight of steps where a guard stood, ticking off supplies as they entered the storeroom.
“Come on.” She muttered, slowing her pace to a steady walk while ducking her head to avoid gathering attention to herself. The Fairies’ magic had always helped to disguise Sora, Donald and Goofy in whatever world they were in, altering whatever the people of that world saw as ordinary without sacrificing comfort and flexibility.
While keeping the world order was a priority, Kairi did make note of how the magic only made it seem as though the wearer was from that world… but Sora had mentioned almost getting pneumonia in the past because of it.
Forcing herself not to chuckle at the memory of the resulting spat between her friend and Donald over ‘ being able to summon meteors but not a coat ’, Kairi quickened her pace as she took a place in the line for supplies behind Cinderella.
The man handing out supplies paused for a moment as he laid a wheel of cheese into Cinderella’s arms, oblivious to Kairi peeking aside to watch the exchange as he stared intently at her, only to smile bashfully upon Cinderella giving him a warm look.
Doing the same without a word, Kairi released the breath caught in her throat upon catching up to Cinderella after keeping her pace up the step, staring ahead to avoid the guard’s gaze. She grinned, stiffening once more upon meeting one of the kitchen servants as they passed as she laid the cheese onto a growing stack.
“This way!” Cinderella whispered, tapping Kairi on the shoulder once they deemed the storeroom empty and gesturing towards the passage into the main body of the castle. “All we have to do is find him and everything-”
“ STOP !”
Both women jumped in alarm, stiffening as another woman descended from the doorway. Dressed in a tidy, high-coloured gown, the woman stood dignified as she studied Cinderella and Kairi. Towering over them both, she leaned towards Cinderella, forcing her back.
“Who are you?” The woman practically shouted, her tone lacking any finesse as she sneered at them, her large nose pointing highly with an unimpressed gleam in her eye. “What are you doing here?”
Cinderella stammered, glancing back at Kairi in fear. “We-uh…”
“I’m in charge of all the servants in this castle,” She stated firmly, removing her hands from behind her back and crossing them over her front, arching a brow down at them. “-and I’ve never seen you two before…” Only to once more lean forwards and over Cinderella, arching a sharp brow. “-what is your purpose ?”
Kairi could feel her jaw clench at the woman’s tone, catching Cinderella’s alarmed expression with anger in her chest. Everything is wrong. This is all meant to be for Cinderella’s wedding you-
“O-our purpose? Well… we’re the royal mouse catchers.”
Kairi paused, snapping back to Cinderella at the sight of Jaq and Gus sneaking past the Head of Staff. Straightening her back, she nodded in agreement upon the woman turning her sight to her, forcing herself not to give a laugh at the two mice stopping in confusion and nearly crashing into one another.
“R-royal mouse catchers?!” The Head of Staff exclaimed, watching them both. “Preposterous!”
“Snap ‘em and trap ‘em!” Kairi added, holding back a laugh.
“That’s our motto!” Cinderella added with a nod, clapping her hands together with false glee.
“In the thirty years that I have supervised…” The Head of Staff continued, shaking her head as Cinderella waved her hands at Jaq and Gus, shooing them away into the castle before she could spot them. “-this castle, I can assure you that there has never, ever been a single, solitary-”
“ MOUSE !”
Hearing a crash of china, the three snapped back to see a number of cooks and servants scream within the kitchen, several even fleeing their quarters as chaos seemed to overtake the staff, leaving the Head of Staff staring blindly at the disarray as Kairi stifled a laugh with her hand at the sight of one woman even leaping onto a table.
Racing to the kitchen entrance, they stopped as Gus swang by on a string of sausages, biting into one as he screamed, freeing it from the rest and hurrying to carry it beneath a table.
“Please, just let us help!” Kairi begged as the Head of Staff snatched a broom from the floor, swinging it as Jaq who danced and made faces at her from behind a glass judge for wine, only to leap away and off the table as the woman smashed it.
“This is my kitchen!” The Head of Staff growled, swinging the broom wildly at the two mice. “I’ll take care of it!” Scrambling to swat at Jaq who was hurrying away with as many cookies as he could hold, knocking a bowl of oranges onto the floor and chasing after him only to slip headfirst into another basket of tomatoes.
Kairi sniggered as she caught Cinderella hiding a laugh, rolling her eyes as Jaq jumped in celebration of their victory as the woman wiped the squashed tomatoes from her face with a furious scowl. Before she could move, however, Gus rushed onto the tablet before her and knocked a pot off of it, leaping away as the head chef screamed, grabbing another broom and swinging it, only to hit the pot on the Head of Staff’s head instead.
“Well, then…” Cinderella bit her lip as she giggled towards Kairi, gesturing for her to follow as she grabbed a net from the kitchen supplies before rushing to enter the castle. “ -we’ll just go and get those mice!”
The woman failed to complain as she fell with a crash to the floor.
“Nice work.” Kairi chuckled upon hearing Cinderella, turning back to spot Jaq and Gus scramble up the kitchen steps and towards them, cheering in celebration. Kneeling down, Cinderella smiled at her two friends before sharing a look between them and Kairi. “Now, if we split up we can find the Prince faster.”
Once the two mice hurry off in their search, the two women paused before bursting into laughter, covering their mouths to try to quiet themselves. Smiling, Cinderella handed Kairi another net with a nod, “It’s good to know that things aren’t as hard if you’ve got friends by your side, hmm?”
Letting Cinderella lead the way, Kairi stopped for a moment at her words, before grasping her net with a sigh and following. With Sora gone, it’s just Riku and me… and I left him alone. Tightening her grip on the tool, she quickened her pace as she spotted Cinderella making her way up the staircase.
I just hope he’s alright...
If not for the sudden incursion of Heartless across the woodland he had managed to some-what navigate, Riku might’ve been surprised to find the black-clad man staring blankly at him. A growl slipped from Riku’s lips, straightening his stance as he prepared himself for whatever the other had in store.
“And here I thought the organisation worked alone .”
The black-coated man tensed for a moment, any retort falling silent on his lips as Riku prodded his keyblade in the air towards him, glaring towards him but letting his attention momentarily slip to the other, oddly-dressed man.
A mask? Who the heck are these guys? Riku questioned, refusing to let his confusion show as he turned back to the coated man. “And here I thought we were finally rid of you guys… the organisation tries to spread darkness wherever they go, don’t they?”
The man in white—his mask looked somewhat like a unicorn , Riku supposed—growled back, showing none of the restraint of his organisation counterpart, instead tensing his stance with his shoulders pressed back and legs spaced for balance.
“How dare you?!” The Unicorn spat, clenching his jaw as he lifted his hand to his side, causing Riku to tighten the grip of his keyblade. “Acting so innocent as to assume that we would ever- !”
“Ira.”
Both men froze, turning away from one another to catch the still form of the black-clad man, unmoved by their aggression as he stared, before focusing his attention on the Unicorn. Riku pursed his lips, his brows furrowed but the knot in his stomach loosened. The man sounded… upset ?
The Unicorn... Ira , was that his name? Riku followed his startled gaze over to the other man, watching as he glided over and pushed himself between the two. Ira himself seemed surprised at the other’s speed, stepping back with a quiet sound escaping his mouth.
It was only then that Riku recognised the black-clad man’s stance—he… he was guarding him from Ira.
And Ira seemed to realise this as well.
“M...Mast-?”
The black-clad man interrupted him, however, before Riku had time to catch what Ira had said. “Anyway-!” He sang, spreading his stance and grasping his hips as he let himself take a step away from Riku, who at that moment had forgotten about his summoned keyblade entirely in order to witness whatever seemed to be evolving before. “You must be that ‘dark-keyblade-wielder’ I’ve heard so much about…”
Riku clenching his keyblade tighter, finally recollecting his thoughts and raising his weapon into a defensive position with a clenched jaw. “There’s no point playing dumb, we already had suspicions that the organisation had back-ups, so-”
The black-clad man didn’t let him finish before letting out a tired sigh, leaning back onto the heels of his feet. “How many times do I… look,” He said firmly after a moment of quiet grumbling, facing Riku head-on despite the younger man not being able to see past his hood. “-not everyone who wears one of these is part of the organisation! Jeez, I mean… I already told Kairi this and-”
“Kairi?!”
The black-clad man didn’t react for a moment, before turning on his heel and letting out an annoyed groan, smacking his hand against his hood. “ Sonova… yeah, sure whatever!”
Riku watched as the man waved his hands in the air in defeat, pressing his knuckles against his hips and taking a wide stride or two away from him, only to peek back after a moment. Glaring, Riku stepped forward towards him with his keyblade primed, noting how Ira stiffened only for the other man to blow a raspberry as he waved his companion’s worry away.
“Where’s Kairi? If you hurt her I swear-”
“How should I know?!” The man practically yelled back, his voice pitching. “I was nursing a concussion when she ran off to who-knows-whose castle or whatever! You should be the one who knows!”
Riku’s brows furrowed, determination filling his chest. “The castle…” He muttered, still glaring at the man as he watched him quietly as if studying him.
A moment of silence went by, with Ira still standing aside and growing more anxious as time went on, his gaze following Riku and, more importantly, his keyblade as his fingers grasped loosely on his robe sleeves. None of the three spoke as the black-coated man strolled back and forth around the clearing, keeping an eye on both men before letting his back turn away for a moment. “Wait a minute…” He said quietly, neither daring to speak.
Only to shot back around less than a second later.
“WHY ARE YOU TWO NOT TOGETHER?!”
Both men jerked back at both the pitch and sudden anger in the otherwise smug man’s voice. What little part of Ira’s face was visible had gone pale, staring solely at Riku before following the black-clad man as he stomped back over to Riku, looming over him. Something in his chest cried out—fear over what possible rebuke this new, yet old foe could throw his way over plans gone awry? Had the Organisation not known about Kairi going rogue? Or...was this man telling the truth?
But why would someone wear the coat if not to hide?
“Wha… What do you care?” He protested, asserting himself despite the instant sense of fear over the man’s confusing but sudden rage.
Riku’s glare didn’t hold, however, as the black-clad man once more grasped his hood, scowling to himself only to suddenly straighten his posture with a shake of his head. “Y’know what? No .”
“Excuse me?”
“Nope.”
“What are you-?” Riku argued, only for the man to raise a gloved finger in front of him before quickly tucking it back against his chest.
“Let’s just say… appearances are deceiving.”
Arching a brow, Riku glanced once more at Ira, who seemed equally confused about the situation, only to snap back at the black-man with a growl. “Hey! I’m not playing your sick little game. You guys are the reason we lost Sora, so don’t think I’ll let you take Kai- ack !”
Without warning, the coated man snapped his fingers to summon a portal of light below Riku, sending him plummeting down into its bright depths without a moment to react and being swallowed by.
A moment later, the light faded, leaving the clearing once more empty aside from the black-clad man and Ira.
“Wha… where did you send him?” Ira asked after a moment of silence, releasing his crinkled robes from his fist, smoothing the fabric down to the best of his ability before facing his Master, only for the other man to stroll past with yawn.
The Master stretched his arms out, letting out a long sigh of relief and letting his hands rest on his hips. “Where do you think?” He retorted, peeking back at his student.
Ira didn’t reply, glancing back to where the younger man had been, noting that the Master sounded… happy ? “Master?” He waited, continuing once the other made a sound of encouragement. “Who… who is Sora ?”
The Master was silent, letting the whistle of the breeze fill the gap of conversation as he flexed his arms, causing Ira to step closer after letting his keyblade vanish, having been uncertain of whether to remain armed or not through the encounter.
“Why’d ya ask?”
Ira swallowed, unsure of his Master’s tone. He had never heard him angry before, to even think of such a thing made him uncomfortable… but he had to know. “Because… because, while I assume the girl is the reason for our delayed meeting… you seemed to know the other boy as well? Is he in this world would he pose as much a threat to our mission as-”
“No.”
Ira blinked, his jaw clenched at the sharp tone of his Master’s voice. “But-”
A portal snapped open before him, causing Ira to meet his Master’s gaze. “For once, Ira… do me a favour?” The Master began, gesturing for him to enter.
The solemn sound of his Master’s voice sent a sensation down Ira’s spine—not fear, no… no, he would never fear his Master, the man who had raised him!—which warded off any hesitation in his limbs.
Turning back to face the Master, Ira gasped as a roll of paper was tossed through after him, catching it with ease against his chest as the Master waved, giving him a flimsy salute before gesturing for him to go.
Frowning, Ira nodded as he smiled at the other man, only to realise he wouldn’t be able to tell if it was returned as the portal shut behind him.
There was no quip on the Master's tongue, no clever words to avoid the truth, to hide the drop of his shoulders, the long stretch of his shrouded gaze beneath his hood.
“Don’t ask me about that boy again.”