Kingdom Hearts: Darkness Falls

[arahabaki]

Anima watched as the heartless that were about to pounce the man's heart were suddenly destroyed by arrows. He looked in the direction the arrows came from, and saw another man, along with the beasts appearing. As he was about to help, he heard a girl and looked over, only to see her being chased by more beasts. A cloud of electrical energy surrounded him, lighting up the alley he was in. The next moment, he was behind the running girl slicing the heartless with gauntlet and sword. "These beasts shall not take anyone else on my watch." As if to mock him, the next moment he saw a bystander's heart get taken by the heartless.

[Masquerade]

Kazu laughed callously as the shadow creatures surrounded him. He stood up slowly. He had paid no heed to the arrows. "Have you come to take ever more from me, foul creatures? Will you ever return to the depths of hell from whence you came, or will I have to send you there myself?"

He glared at the continually growing swarm of shadows. No matter how much he tried to intimidate them, they didn't back down. "Fine. If it's your wish to perish, then so be it!" He launched himself into the swarm slashing viciously with his clawed gauntlets, the bodies of the shadows merely dissipating into a cloud of darkness. As he continued his onslaught, the hearts of victims past floated up into the sky, but Kazu paid no attention to this either. His rage fueled him, and drove him to an edge beyond reason. In a matter of minutes, he found himself standing in front of the fountain, panting slightly with a little sweat on his brow. A couple of shadows remained, but they retreated instantly back into the dark corners of the mysterious town's square.

[Yoosei]

Once Kiva went further into town, coming up near the fountain in the town's square, she realised her senses didn't trick her. She really had a bad feeling back then. As soon as some of the heartless retreated, she went near to Kazu. "Heal" she casted a healing spell and looked at him. "you alright?" she asks gently.

[Mai]

Daisy bowed to the man with the sword and the electrical powers.

'I appreciate it mister.' She said with a smile. Daisy was thinking about how she should stick with these apparently powerful strangers until the danger had passed. Although she was a skilled fighter herself, the sheer numbers of Heartless could overwhelm anybody.

She continued walking towards the other man and the girl who had just arrived.

'You're pretty tough, huh?' She said, opening her parasol above her head again, her other hand on her hip, looking at the man with the gauntlets with a calculating look on her pretty face.

[Masquerade]

Kazu wiped the sweat off of his brow with the sleeve of his cloak. After the strange girl's healing treatment, he felt as though he was fully energized. However, he had not noticed that two others were now there. He took time to scrutinize each and every one of them before saying anything.

"Anyone could be 'tough' if they are driven enough to pursue power," he said solemnly, remembering all that he had lost. He had a purpose--a purpose that could not be defeated. "But still, I can't believe how popular I've gotten. Where did all of you come from? I mean, don't get me wrong--I'm glad this girl here was able to heal me up," he said and smiled at the girl. "I'm feeling much better, by the way. But as for the rest of you--who are you?"

His gaze didn't falter as he continued to analyze the group. The four of them together in front of the fountain seemed awfully suspicious, seeing as how they all looked so different. If there were any bystanders, they would probably flee at the sight of the motley bunch. This only made him more curious, however, for he had never seen anything like them before. Strange equipment, strange outfits, strange powers...strange everything. But he figured that he would give them a chance before getting wary like he normally did.

[Obli]

"Oh my.... the goddess of fortune must definitely be on my side." muttered Roland as he looked from atop the belltower. "To believe that so many strong warriors would land in this planet.... must investigate the phenomena later, but now to introduce myself..."

Roland jumped from roof to roof and landed in front of the motley assembly of warriors.

*Clap, Clap, Clap*

"Bravo! Simply magnificent! Just what to expect from people who outlived their planets."

[Yoosei]

Kiva smiled, glad to know her healing spell was cast on the right moment. "well my name is Kiva" she murmured softly and then meeped surprised while jumping up surprised by Roland's sudden appearance. "h-hey don't scare me to death like that" the girl pouted cutely.

[Mai]

'Whoa! Don't creep up on people in the dark like that!' Daisy cried at the man now applauding.

The girl looked around at the assembled group. There was no danger from Heartless with these guys around, she thought happily to herself.

'I'm Daisy. Sole survivor of the Falling Leaves Ninja clan and Kunoichi extraordinaire! Nice to meetcha all!' She said, smiling.

She then turned to the newcomer and frowned.

'Hey... what did you mean 'outlived our planets'? Did the Heartless destroy you guys' homes too?'

[Masquerade]

Kazu had kept the memory of the strange arrows that came from nowhere in the back of his mind, and that very memory was instantly recalled allowing him to actually keep his composure when the stranger approached them. He was a curious fellow, but Kazu cared not.

"I must thank you for your arrows from before," Kazu stated flatly to the newcomer. "However, as you saw, I would have been fine on my own. These 'Heartless', as this young girl calls them, don't hold a candle to me. What I'm more interested in is your apparent knowledge of what became us and the places of our previous residence. You appear to be no threat to us, but just humor me on this issue. How come you know so much?"

His gaze was unfaltering--the crimson eyes of a seasoned soldier glaring deep into the eyes of the curious person who had approached so carelessly. What secrets did this one person hide? Kazu could not tell. But he knew one thing: that man was not getting away without answering. That was a promise.

[Obli]

Roland silently laughed to himself at the surprise of the two young girls, but as predicted the morbid man stayed calm.

"How do I know so much? Ah, I forget you are all so young, so ignorant to everything... but that still doesn't excuse your rudeness! Though I still reside in this form be aware that I can be a menacing foe indeed..."

Roland looked at the morbid man with an expression that seemed out of place on his young face. Though he looked young, his eyes showed much depth to them... it was an almost tired look. But his expression quickly changed to a smile.

"As to how I know all this, I am well-practiced in the arts of magic and I could tell from first glance that you are strangers to this world, just as am I. We are all sadly, refugees. Ah, where was I again? Oh yeah, my name is Roland and I am delighted to meet you."

Roland elegantly bowed to the strangers and asked, "And what are your names?"