War of the Hearts

Chapter VIII

"A dream is worth less than nothing if you don't have someone else to share it." ~Dousan Saitou (Oda Nobuna no Yabou)
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Aina wandered throughout Daybreak Town, knowing exactly who she was looking for. Once she saw the streak of jet-black hair bouncing, she dashed towards it. Hearing the sound of running footsteps, Akari turned around to see Aina tripping over the trim of her robe in order to reach the older woman.

Akari wore a white, knee-length, long-sleeved robe with a small white poncho with a black bow on her chest. On the skirt on her dress there are red triangular designs and her sleeves have a red trim along with a spearhead-like design. She also wore a brown sash with matching brown boots and a lopsided white belt.

"Oh, hello Aina," Akari greeted the girl. "How did the meeting go?"

"Ira, I'm afraid has found a Nightmare," Aina grimly replied.

"Oh no!" Akari covered her mouth with a hand.

"And, even worse, he thinks it belongs to one of us," Aina added.

"Well that's just ridiculous!" Akari shook her head. "It must belong to a poor wielder who fell."

"Yes but...it can go both ways," Aina explained. "Although Ira may not have proof that the Nightmare belongs to us...we don't also have proof that the Nightmare doesn't belong to us. Akari...do you happen to hear of any wielders falling to darkness?"

"I'm afraid not," Akari shook her head. "I know of some who fell due to having their hearts being taken away, but not any that have fallen to darkness. Breaks my heart when I hear about it though."

Aina noticed that her twin wasn't anywhere in sight. "Where's Sunako?" Aina asked.

"I don't know," Akari shrugged. "I don't keep track of her everywhere she goes. I'm not conjoined at the hip like you and the Master."

"You should pay attention to her more," Aina stated. "There is a war that is coming soon. You should keep track of her movements."

"I trust Sunako, despite her constant misbehaving," Akari said.

"Yes, I know but...it's Sunako," Aina insisted. She decided to quickly change the subject before Akari got angry. "Do you have any advice on what to do with the Nightmare?"

"I'm afraid not, and I should assume you don't either," Akari replied.

Aina sighed, feeling defeated, "Thanks for the help anyways."

"You're very much welcome," Akari nodded as Aina took a few steps backwards before turning around to leave.

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Sunako crouched down and scratched her pet Heartless. She stared lovingly at her pet with her golden eyes, the eye color change due to long exposure to darkness with her practice of taming the Heartless. She wore a black, puffy-shoulder robe with silver key-like designs running down the center of the robe, with brown sleeves and a brown trim at the base of her robe with a matching high-neck collar with a black collar that has a silver trim with a decorative purple feather, a magenta bow around her neck, a brown belt, and a black and white striped pants with gold knees.

Hearing footsteps coming towards her, she glanced to the side through her short, jet-black hair and saw Foreteller Aced coming towards her. Not her specifically, but in her general direction. She smirked, "Seems like the meeting didn't go too well."

Foreteller Aced head shot towards and saw Sunako. "How did you know about that? Did Aina tell you all about what happened?" Foreteller Aced sighed.

"I have my...ways," Sunako shrugged, looking down at her pet Heartless. "Shadow, go," She cued it to leave. Shadow pooled at her feet before slinking away. She stood up. "Well, you didn't win any points in Ira's favor," she stated. "Knowing Ira, he'll hold it against you for a long time. You need help."

"Help?" Foreteller Aced asked. 'Where am I going to get help?"

"Easy," Sunako replied. "Form a coalition with the others."

"Isn't that basically fancy for saying form an alliance?" Foreteller Aced restated. "It's forbidden by the Master himself."

"It's not an alliance," Sunako justified with a shrug. "It's more like an agreement to help each other out if one of you fall. It's not to gain power over the rest of us, but lending a helping hand to others. Plus..." Sunako lowered her voice. "It's nice to have people on your side, especially if you overthrow Ira...like your roles states." She smirked and glanced at Foreteller Aced from her bangs.

"If you put it that way..." Foreteller Aced pondered, placing a hand underneath his chin. "It may work. But who should I ally with?"

"Obviously, Ira is out of the picture, getting Invi on your side may be useful since she is Ira's right-hand-woman, but I wouldn't bet my munny on it," Sunako deduced. "The ones most qualified are Ava and Gula."

"What about Aina?" Foreteller Aced proposed. "She is the Master's younger sister, and having her on my side isn't that bad."

"Oh no, definitely not Aina," Sunako shook her hands and head in a 'no' gesture.

"Why?" Foreteller Aced asked.

"She can't think for herself at all," Sunako explained. "She always sought advice from the Master of Masters, and with him gone, she runs towards the next person who will do the same to her. I bet you anything that right after the meeting, she ran straight to Akari for advice on what to do. I'm not saying she's insecure, but she seeks validation from a third party. She needs to learn that she should be able to figure out 'yeah, my opinion is great and I don't need other people telling me it is before i start believing it'."

"...Alright," Foreteller Aced nodded. "I'll take your advice. I'll call for Gula, Ava, Invi and Aina to come to the warehouse tomorrow."

Sunako gave out a mock gasp. "You actually followed my advice?" She cried. "You're the first to actually listen to me ever since the Master left. Everyone seems to be afraid of me since I'm the 'mean lady of darkness'. Also, I may of tried killing the wielders on their first day of training, according to some.'

"Um...you're welcome?" Foreteller Aced replied, unsure how to answer to what Sunako said, whether it was fact or she was messing around.

Sunako turned on her heel to leave. "Glad you're taking my advice," she bidded Foreteller Aced farewell, secretly smirking with her back towards him.