A Certain Magical Keyblade Wielder

Chapter 8: Late Night Fights

*Disclaimer - I do not own the copyright to Kingdom Hearts or Toaru Majutsu no Index

*A/N* - What's good everyone? Hope everything is going well with you. Hopefully, those that were looking for an action-filled chapter are in for a treat in this one. I would also like to bring up the reviews which I am a big fan of and enjoy reading about what works, what doesn't work or is confusing, and what speculation is around this fan's story. I'm kind of surprised there aren't any other stories about Sora ending up in the Toaru universe. Oh well...

Once again, thanks for checking this story out and I hope you'll stick around for the long run. With that out of the way, hope you enjoy this chapter and take care out there.

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Passing by a parked car and swerving his head left to right, Sora didn't want to admit it, but he had no idea where the Heartless that he had seen went.

One minute he was heading in the same direction that he saw it go but once he got further away from his dorm and into the city, he realized that he was lost. This should have been a no-brainer for the boy as this was technically still his first day in Academy City.

Shaking his head, Sora figured that he could keep on heading down the road until he saw something or anything that gave him a clue as to where the Heartless went. With it being nighttime and most of the residents of Academy City asleep, he knew that there wouldn't be that many people out and about which was good since the Heartless couldn't attack as many people. However, that did make his job of finding them a bit harder.

Hence, the Keyblade wielder did the only thing he could do and started jogging down the street while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

This continued for another while until he came to a sudden stop before dropping his head and frowning at his situation. He needed to know where he was heading so that he could get a better idea of the situation. Letting out a sigh, Sora grabbed his Gummiphone and pulled out the map that Touma had noticed before and was probably installed thanks to Moogla and her technology expertise.

Opening the Moogle icon on his Gummiphone, Sora saw a map appear on his screen followed by a crown icon which he figured must have been his location. Using his fingers, the boy made the map expand until he had a better picture of what not only the district looked like but the entire Academy City.

"... Oh, man..."

Seeing just where he was now, Sora saw the guidelines for District 7 and looked up at the road seeing that he was in the direction of District 5. Realization settled in for the boy that he would need to be using his Flowmotion ability to get across the city faster.

Looking around to see if there was anyone out at this time of night, he figured it would be all right since nobody could see him do some questionable things. Mainly like gliding across guard rails or running up a building. Something that not everyone was able to do. Although, he still wasn't that familiar with every kind of ability that was possible here in this city.

Picking up his pace, the teenage boy continued to make his way down the street and stay alert to anything that could be related to the Heartless attack.

As if by coincidence, Sora heard someone screaming in the distance which caused him to start bolting in the direction of the sound. Lifting his hand so that he could summon his Keyblade at any time, the boy charged ahead while getting ready for whatever he might encounter.

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This is not what he expected to see.

Having made it to the area where he heard the scream coming from, Sora was met with a strange situation playing out in front of him.

Standing there arguing with a few other people who looked to be older teens arguing about something while pointing to the bag that lay on the floor. No one had noticed Sora standing there watching them argue until one of the boys who had blonde hair looked puzzled at the spiky-haired boy off to the side.

"Huh? What the- How long have you just been standing there and watching us!?"

Raising his hands into the air defensively, Sora did his best to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Not long! I just got here. I heard someone screaming and thought something bad had happened."

One of the boys wearing a beanie pointed to the blonde one and snickered.

"It was this gumball who screamed."

"I only screamed because your dumbasses shoved me too hard which caused me to drop the desserts!"

"Naw, that's all on you. You've got a weak grip. You need to go hit the gym."

"You're kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to go hit the gym when the damn membership is a couple thousand yen a month?" the blonde-haired boy exclaimed. "You think I have that kind of money!?"

One of the other boys crossed his arms and started brainstorming the blonde's predicament.

"Maybe you could just do some pushups?"

"Where? In the middle of an alley?"

"I mean, I don't think it matters where you work out. As long as you get rid of those noodle-like arms of yours. No way you'll be able to get a girl's attention with your weak ass."

"Stick a fork in it, you moron! I can get any girl's attention!" the blonde boy argued.

"Yeah, right. You've never even kissed a girl before. Ryuji told me all about your old school days haha!" the beanie-wearing boy said.

"Don't listen to anything Ryuji has to say. Dude's a total wash. That jackass can't even do simple calculus since he flunked out of school."

"All I hear is whining."

Annoyed at his friend's statements, the blonde-haired boy suddenly turned to look at Sora who had just been watching from the sidelines, and pointed right at him.

"You!"

"Me?"

"What do you think?"

"Huh!? What are you talking- "

Grasping at straws now, the blonde-haired boy's voice hit a tone deeper to convey just how important his question would be to Sora.

"Do you think I can get a girl?"

Blinking his eyes a few times, Sora had to wonder how he got roped into a strange situation like this. He was just checking out who screamed. Not get pulled into... whatever was happening here.

"I-I don't know! I have no idea who you are!"

"That doesn't matter! Just based on a first glance. What do you think?"

Taking a better look at the blonde boy, Sora was able to see that he had messy blonde hair while sporting a tan-like jacket while looking like an ordinary student while having a nose ring. The Keyblade wielder had nothing really bad to say about him.

"I think you look all right."

Laughter could be heard coming from the blonde's friends who were listening to their friend get judged by a complete stranger.

"That's it?"

"What more do you want me to say!? I mean, again, I don't know you. All I can say is just to be kind to everyone and treat others the way you would want to be treated."

Hearing this, the blonde boy began to frown and grimace at the boy's comment.

"That's shitty advice."

"Why? It's the truth. If you treat- "

"Everyone says that... but it's all bullshit. You're telling me that if I treat everyone with respect then they'll also treat me with respect? What a complete total lie."

Sora was not expecting this kind of answer and decided to keep quiet and listen to the boy.

"Do you know how many times I've been laughed at or cast aside by people when all I do is try to be nice?"

"Look, I don't know exactly what you've dealt with and I'm sorry. Not everyone is going to be- "

Before Sora could finish saying what he wanted, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance. All of the boys turned their heads in the direction of the sounds. The blonde boy's face went from anger to confusion by what was happening.

"What the hell? Is there anything going on tonight?" the blonde boy asked his friends who all shook their heads.

"No."

"Not that I remember."

"Weird."

However, Sora had his own thoughts on what was going on right now. And it was not a good sign of things to come.

'I'm not sure what is happening but... it might be the Heartless!'

Getting ready to take off and head in the direction of the gunfire, Sora quickly turned to look at the blonde-haired boy and warn him.

"You guys need to get out of here."

"What? Why? It's probably some bozzo trying to get away from Anti-Skill."

"No. You all need to seriously get out of here" Sora retorted.

"I don't see what's the- What the hell is that!" one of the boys started saying but started freaking out.

Shifting his gaze at the boy who yelled out, Sora saw him pointing in the direction where the gunshots could be heard. He couldn't see anything from where he was standing but he knew exactly what was seen by the boy.

"Again. You guys need to leave. Now! Go!"

Not needing to be told twice, the two boys accompanying the blonde teen bolted away as quickly as they could while leaving their friend behind. Sora looked at the boy in question with a look that conveyed that he needed to get out of there. Doing just that the blonde boy began following his friends and leaving his bag full of desserts on the ground but not before turning around and seeing the spiky-haired boy start running in the opposite direction.

"Hamazura! Let's go!"

Hearing his name, the boy could only grunt before catching up with his friends. All while wondering just who that spiky-haired boy was and why was he crazy enough to head straight into danger.

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Now entering what appeared to be a storage facility, Sora wasn't sure where he was currently and pulled out his Gummiphone to check his whereabouts. Upon clicking the map icon on the device and seeing the crown emblem which represented him, he saw that he was now in District 5.

Drawing his attention away from the phone and putting it away, he looked ahead and spotted what appeared to be a light pointed right at one of the storage units. Taking that as a sign, the boy kept on running until he got close enough to realize what it really was that was casting a bright light.

A flashlight had been dropped onto the ground while still on.

Checking his surroundings and having a bad feeling, Sora summoned his Keyblade and began to scan the area. It was awfully quiet. Too quiet in fact. You would think the sound of cars or planes, or the city's machinery would make noise to be heard but where he was now... there was nothing. No sound. No signs of life. Nothing.

That is... until what sounded like a shrill scream could be heard coming from the inside of one of the storage units.

Rather than freezing up or fleeing away from the place, Sora immediately bolted to the unit emitting the sound, and tried to lift the metallic storage door open but found it locked. Getting his Keyblade ready, the boy tapped the weapon on the door's lock which made a clicking sound signaling that it was now open. Grabbing the bottom of the door, the spiky-haired boy threw the metal door open and was prepared to deal with whatever was inside.

What he saw made him worried. Very worried.

Crouching behind what appeared to be a destroyed vehicle was a man that appeared to be in his late 20s. He was wearing what could be identified as heavy-looking gear along with a pistol in his shaking hand. The man's face could be described as fearful. Tears were streaming down his face and his entire body looked frozen.

Upon seeing the brown-haired boy, the man tensed up and looked about ready to shoot Sora, but the boy was prepared.

"Wait! Wait! Stop! I'm human!"

Letting out a confused sound all while doing his best to not start crying again, the man hiding behind the vehicle started to pick himself up all while Sora had his arms raised with nothing in them. He had let go of his Keyblade while opening the storage door.

"Are you hurt? Are you alone?" Sora asked the man trying to get anything from him.

"W-Wh-Where did you come from?"

"I was in the neighborhood and heard gunshots going off."

"Y-You sh-shouldn't have come here!" the man yelled all while letting go of the gun and having it fall to the ground.

"Too late now. Please, tell me what happened here. I saw a flashlight outside but that was it. I didn't see anyone else."

Doing his best to respond to the boy's question, the frightened man forcibly composed himself before answering.

"Th-Those monsters! They were here. They were everywhere... all over the place. Our mission... we just had to grab a couple."

Hearing this, Sora's face contorted into one that was shocked.

"What? Say that again."

"W-We picked up a job... All we had to do was grab a couple of those monsters. The reward was too great to pass up on" the weakened man said.

Sora could only lower his head and frown.

"...Who else?"

"H-Huh? What did you say?"

"Who else is looking for the... for those monsters?"

"P-Practically everyone on the dark side."

Left aghast, Sora was once again shocked.

"Dark side? What is that?"

"I-I..." the man muttered while looking the boy up and down to see if he was lying. "The dark side of Academy City. You know, the underbelly of this city. You didn't think it was all sunshine and rainbows did you?"

Not answering the man's question, the spiky brunette could only grit his teeth. He had a feeling that there was more to this world than meets the eye but... to hear that this city was not only invested with darkness but that it even had its own nickname...

Shaking his head and putting that thought to rest for now, Sora focused back on the topic at hand.

"How many of you arrived here at this storage facility?"

"Four. Four of us. We... We got our mission details from our associate. All we had to do was just show up and bag a couple of monsters and we'd be rolling in so much cash... cash we'd be able to split seven ways and still have more to split."

Sora continued to stay silent all while listening to the man tell his tale.

"And once we got here... we noticed that it looked like another team had beaten us to the monsters."

"Wait. You mean there was another team here?"

"Yeah... only when we arrived here we..."

"Please. I need to know what happened" Sora conveyed to the man who was starting to sob again.

"...I've seen the dark side of Academy City. I've been working within it for quite some time now... I've seen people die. I've killed people even... but what I saw... that's not right. *sob* That's not right at all!"

The man now started to cry again while shaking rapidly. Sora had a better idea of what exactly happened.

As soon as the man and his team arrived here, they saw what could be suspected as the other team being attacked by the Heartless and... having their hearts taken right in front of them. For someone who had never witnessed anything like that before... they had a right to be scared. Terrified beyond belief for seeing such a sight and unable to really do anything.

But for someone like Sora... that was what his role as a Keyblade wielder was meant to prevent. Moreover, dealing with the Heartless for so long and knowing exactly what they were capable of was all the more reason he needed to act fast and destroy them for good. He would not let this world fall to darkness. He had already made so many friends in his short amount of time here... he would not fail them.

Standing up and walking closer to the crying man, Sora kneeled down and put his hand on his shoulder managing to knock some sense into him.

"I'm going to get you out of here. But in order to do that I need your help."

Unable to say anything, the man merely just nodded his head which gave Sora the answer he was hoping for.

"Good. I know it's scary, but it'll be alright. Have those monsters come this way at all? Or did they start clawing at the door while you were in here?" Sora asked.

Shaking his head, that gave Sora a bit more relief. If he could just escort this guy to the entrance and wave off any Heartless that came his way, then that would buy him enough time to escape the storage facility.

"Ok. Here's what we are going to do. We're going to head out there and run to the entrance or whatever way you came here with your team. The monsters may or may not appear but when they do you need to run. Run as fast as you can and don't look back. I'll deal with them, so you don't have to worry" the Keyblade wielder explained to the startled man.

"B-But how!?"

"I've fought these monsters before. I'll be ok. But tell me, before we go can you do it?"

Looking down at himself, the man knew that the longer he stayed here, then the sooner the monsters would come looking for him. Deciding that he wanted to live, he nodded his head in confirmation.

"Good to hear. Now then, you said that everyone on the dark side is interested in these monsters and are out there hunting. What else can you tell me is going on?"

"N-Near the main building there is an armored truck that has its lights on. While my team and I split up after seeing... after seeing the monsters attack another operative from the dark side, I spotted it just sitting there with its doors open. I-I think I heard what sounded like a radio going off in there with someone shouting something over the frequency channel. I'm not sure though. So much was happening all at once" the man stated to Sora who could only nod.

"Okay. That's something to work off. *sigh* All right, are you ready? Once I open the door we run."

Nodding his head and wiping away his tears, the dark-side operative started raising himself up. Seeing that he was ready, Sora gave the man a thumbs up before lifting the door to the storage room open, and immediately the two bolted out of there and toward the entrance the man came through earlier.

"Do you know where your team is?" Sora asked while running next to the man.

"N-No. I don't."

Staying silent on the matter, the brunette boy scanned the area in front of him and instantly spotted what appeared to be a small dark blob moving around the side of another building.

"T-There! It's over there!"

Spotting the Heartless, Sora summoned his Keyblade and charged right at it, managing to land a clean slash across its chest and kill it instantly.

He turned around and saw the man still running toward the exit with a newfound conviction after seeing the boy kill the monster. Suddenly, appearing on top of several of the storage buildings were more Shadows looking like they were going to leap at the man.

Not going to let this happen, Sora aimed his Keyblade at the Heartless and cast several Fire spells which hit the Shadows sending them tumbling while caught on fire. The boy then saw a few more creatures appear on the ground all beginning to crawl toward him.

Wanting to still keep an eye on the man running away, the Keyblade wielder raised his weapon which was now glowing a green color at the tip of the weapon. Immediately afterward a green vortex spawned out of nowhere and started picking up several of the Heartless which gave him the chance to strike. Pointing the weapon back at the vortex, he cast a Thunder spell to finish the Shadows off.

At this point, Sora looked over at the man who had now reached the entrance gate and was gasping for breath. He shifted his body to look at Sora and had the most relieved expression on his face. Waving at the spiky-haired boy, the man called out to him.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Now, get out of here!"

"Wait! I-I didn't catch your name!"

Getting ready to respond, Sora opened his mouth but started to feel something off. As if the air around him suddenly dropped in temperature. Turning around, the boy saw what was causing him to feel weird.

Multiple portals of darkness began appearing all over the place leading to Sora looking at the man once again.

"Doesn't matter! Just go!"

Understanding that things were about to get worse, the man rushed away without even looking back. Offering a silent thanks to the boy for helping him get away. He didn't think that he could get to see the sunrise, but thanks to that boy's influence he would get to see it again.

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Now left alone, Sora let out a small grin. He could now go all out without having to have his attention divided.

Charging at the closest portal of darkness, the boy slammed his Keyblade into it and called upon light to destroy the Heartless pouring out. The blast of light shot both upward and downward into the portal which managed to slam some of the Shadows to go flying several feet back. Not wasting another second, Sora swung his weapon down at the nearest enemy before moving to another and blasting it with an Ice spell at close range. The explosion of ice encased the Shadow allowing the boy to kick the frozen Heartless and cause it to shatter into many smaller pieces before disappearing.

Checking the area around him again, Sora dashed to several other Shadows that had appeared from the dark portal and began to slash at each Heartless managing to either kill it easily or have to come back around and finish the job. Stabbing his weapon into another Shadow, the brunette lifted the Heartless into the air before throwing his Keyblade along with the creature still impaled into another group of Shadows before rushing forward and resummoning his weapon to cast a Thunder spell to finish the group once and for all.

Not wanting to spend too much time on these Heartless, Sora was about to start casting multiple spells to finish the monsters in the area when out of nowhere a bright light began to appear over his heart.

Confused about what was going on, he brought his free hand over the light and suddenly a blast of white light covered the area.

There was no real explanation for what just happened but realization seemed to settle within the Guardian of Light's mind. It was almost as if a plethora of information and memories came flying back to the boy. A better explanation for what just happened to the boy was back when he and Roxas merged back together to be one whole person in The World That Never Was. The strange feeling of being whole.

Once the light started to fade away, Sora now looked at the remaining groups of Heartless that had crawled out of the dark portals. He now had a giant grin on his face. There was a resounding feeling pounding in his chest and he decided to do what he always does. Follow his heart.

Raising the Keyblade at the nearest group, the spiky-haired boy yelled out a spell that he hadn't used since his Mark of Mastery.

"Bind!"

Out of nowhere, a ring of light surrounded the group of Heartless and immobilized them from moving at all. Seeing this opportunity, Sora began charging at the binded Heartless and called out another spell.

"Balloon!"

Appearing in a flash of light and sparkles, several large colorful balloons appeared around the Heartless allowing Sora to add a finishing touch to his plan. Leaping into the air, the boy then slammed his Keyblade down right in the middle of the balloons causing a large explosion to blind the area in light.

Rolling to the side, he saw that he had cleared the Heartless and now only had to deal with one other small group. Wanting to test if this ability that came to mind would work, Sora heaved the Keyblade back and then with enough force chucked the weapon at the group but not before yelling out the name of an ability.

"Circle Raid!"

Instead of the Keyblade just slapping a single monster, the weapon now seemed to act in a different manner. Circling around the group, the Kingdom Key began to hit each Shadow back and forth several times all while not showing any signs of slowing down. It wasn't until the weapon flashed in a blue light that Sora dashed at the group and commenced a clean cut through each of the Heartless killing them all.

Twisting on his back foot, the boy shifted his body and now began to take in his surroundings and noticed that there were no more Heartless around the area. The fight had seemed so short. He kind of wanted it to go on longer. Getting to use these spells and abilities again that he had lost a connection with thanks to his power getting tampered with by Organization XIII felt great!

However, he could gush about regaining some of his old power later. Right now, he needed to get a move on and find where else the Heartless were being spotted. Recalling what the dark side operative said about the multiple sightings of the creatures and where teams were being sent to try and capture a Heartless which is a ridiculous idea. But that got him thinking and forced him to look around and try to find the vehicle that was mentioned.

Looking around the area, he spotted a truck with its lights still on and figured that was the one discussed.

Running up to it, Sora checked the area around the vehicle for any clues about what had happened to the team but didn't find anything. About ready to start looking around the main building, the boy was getting ready to move but the sound of a muffled voice could be heard in the truck.

"*static* *static* Hell *static* Anyone *static* Anyone there? Hello? *static* Status report?"

Making his way to the front seat of the truck, Sora spotted what looked to be a radio of some kind and grabbed the device waiting to see if anything would be said.

"Report. Haruto? Akira? Seiya? Hello? I repeat. Is anyone there?" a voice said through the device.

Feeling a wave of guilt, Sora figured that those must have been the names of the people who were part of the first group. If only he had been faster, then those people could have been...

Shaking his head, the boy knew that what was done is done. He needs to get a move on before others get hurt by the Heartless. However, he also realized that he was in a whole new situation that he'd never been in before. These people were not normal and were in fact working for the dark side of Academy City. It was likely that they would be tight-lipped about their operation.

Hence, Sora wasn't sure what to do about gathering information from the voice on the other side of the radio device. But he figured he could try and pull a trick to get something useful from the person calling.

Grabbing the radio, Sora cleared his throat before hanging his thumb over the call button and decided to play things slowly.

"*cough* *clearing throat* Hello?" Sora asked while using a deeper tone of voice.

The sound of rustling could be heard on the radio before a person's voice came through the device.

"Hello!? Are you there? Akira?"

"...Yeah"

"Why does your voice sound weird?"

Starting to sweat profoundly, Sora needed to come up with a quick excuse for why his voice sounded like... well, his voice.

"Got hit. Don't want to waste energy talking."

Silence was heard on the radio receiver which got Sora worried that he had been found out. But that concern would soon fade away as the radio had sound coming from it again.

"I see, how bad is it?"

"...Bad."

"What about the monsters? Were you able to retrieve at least one?" the voice on the radio asked.

Frowning at the question, Sora continued to talk with his deep voice.

"No. They overwhelmed us. Dangerous."

"Damn it."

Deciding to take a gamble, Sora wanted to know more about what was happening across the city and if there were other districts experiencing Heartless attacks.

"What's the sitrep across the city?"

"Not good. It's looking like Districts 4 and 6 have been getting calls nonstop about those monsters appearing, but from what I'm seeing on my end all the teams stationed there have not completed an extraction of the monsters. Meaning that they're either dead or couldn't capture one alive."

"...Anything else?" Sora questioned while taking what was said and realizing that the Heartless were proving to be trouble for the dark side operatives.

"It looks like... Item has occupied District 19. I'm not seeing anyone else in the area or at the very least from what I'm getting from the support organizations assessments" the voice replied.

"Item?"

The radio channel went quiet before the voice on the other end addressed Sora directly.

"...You're not Akira, are you?"

Realizing that he had been had, Sora decided to let go of the act and talk normally.

"No, I'm not. Sorry."

"..."

"...How did you get access to this radio channel?"

"I happened to come across this vehicle when I heard gunshots in the distance. I went to check out if someone was in trouble and when I got here..."

Once again, silence from the other end of the radio. That is until the radio started crackling.

"Do me a favor. Just walk away and forget you saw or heard everything there. You don't want to involve yourself in the dark side" the voice stated to the boy.

"A bit too late for that. And besides, I can't let those monsters roam free and hurt any more people" Sora responded to the voice.

"...You're a fool."

"Maybe. But I can't just stand by and let people get hurt by these monsters."

"...You're funeral then."

And with that, the sound of a click could be heard followed by silence. It was safe to say that the radio call was now concluded.

Still holding onto the radio receiver, Sora let out a sigh. He was still feeling down about not being able to get here in time to save the dark-side operatives. However, he would do whatever it took to prevent that from happening again.

Beginning to press all sorts of buttons in the truck, the boy had no idea what he was doing. But at the very least he could tell that he was doing something by hearing various sounds coming out of the radio. Tampering with the buttons soon got him to hear the voice of a girl screaming into the receiver.

"Hello! Heeeeelllpp! Pleaaase! Backup! We were overrun! I repeat- "the girl's voice suddenly stopped leaving Sora greatly concerned.

Going back to pressing every single button in the truck, Sora had just had about enough of this and sank into the seat he was in while thinking about what to do next.

'The voice said that Districts 4 and 6 were heavily congested and that no one had been able to secure a Heartless. Which means...'

Pulling out his phone and bringing up the map that showed Academy City and each district respectively, Sora knew where he would be heading next.

"District 19."

Jumping out of the truck, Sora started plotting his course to the district in question while also recalling something the voice on the radio said.

'The voice mentioned something about an item. Or something like that. Maybe that group had a special weapon of sorts?'

Deciding that he would figure out when he got there, the Keyblade wielder looked around him and soon spotted what appeared to be a pole.

Perfect.

Running right at the pole, he activated his Flowmotion which covered his entire body in a blue light. Soon after, the boy landed on the pole but started spinning around it several times at an incredible speed before shooting forward and toward another pole and so on making his way to District 19 to help the team operating there from being overrun by the Heartless.

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Meanwhile... in District 19

The girls of Item were now standing outside what appeared to be a large reasonably destroyed building that was part of a big facility. The field leader, Mugino Shizuri, was currently scrolling through a small tablet while switching between video channels taken from the surveillance cameras to see where the supposed monsters may be currently. However, to her dismay, there were no signs of the creatures or anything for that matter.

"Frenda. Tell me you have something on your end of things."

The blonde member of the team Frenda Seivelun was currently doing the same thing by scrolling through various video channels while tinkering away with a small explosive in her hand. She had just finished setting up her latest trinket that would help the mission succeed.

"Sorry, Mugino. Nothing on my end. Basically, this whole thing might be a drag."

"Are there places where there are no cameras?" asked the tracksuit-wearing member of the team, Takitsubo Rikou.

The last member of the team, Kinuhata Saiai, was currently scanning the area with her own eyes and trying to get a lay of the land. Sometimes it was better to do reconnaissance yourself than rely on technology.

"Corners on the buildings maybe, but everywhere seems to have at least a camera getting the best angle for a super wide view" Kinuhata responded to the black-haired girl.

"Ugh, fine. Looks like we're going in blind here. Takitsubo, have you picked anything up while we've been here?" Mugino asked while putting away her tablet.

Taking a second to get a read of the place, the tracksuit-wearing girl began to widen her eyes while almost growing stiff. But to those who knew what she was capable of, then they could see that she was activating her AIM Stalker ability. The ability to utilize a passive power imitative from Clairvoyance in which she was able to easily spot out other espers' AIM Field. Leading her to be the tracker of the team and someone you did not want to have looking in your direction in an ill-intent way.

However, the girl continued to use her ability for another minute until she calmed herself down and looked over at her team and leader, an impatient Mugino to be specific, and confided in them.

"I'm not getting anything. We're clear of any other espers around the area so no need to worry about them."

Taking Takitsubo's word, Mugino then looked to the building in question and decided to lay out a plan of attack.

"Frenda, how extendable is that cage you brought?"

Smirking at the question being asked, the blonde beret-wearing girl began to elaborate.

"Basically, this bad boy is fitted at 50 inches all around and has had its fence modified to let out an electric shock if something were to start lashing out. Giving it a wake-up call to not leave the cage. I even read up that it could trap a small bear inside without any trouble."

Both Mugino and Kinuhata did not look amused. Takitsubo remained indifferent but what the three members of Item realized while Frenda was answering the tea-colored-haired girl's question was that the cage looked... cheap. Like the kind of cheap that you get when you purchase a product online for a killer price and when you finally receive it through the mail it turns out you were duped by false advertisement.

The cage itself looked... weak. Most of the metal surrounding the cage could probably be bent easily. Along with the size which was big enough but in the case of capturing one of the small monsters then it looked like it would be too good for the simple job. The only saving feature of this cheap cage was the electrifying shock initiative if something wanted to try and escape.

All in all, Mugino so dearly wanted to start swearing at Frenda for purchasing something this dimwitted but held her tongue. While she may have been the leader and oldest teen of the group adding a characteristic of being knowledgeable, she herself had fallen victim to false advertisement before on multiple occasions. The curvy brunette girl recalled several times when she ordered bras, pants, shirts, etc. online only to find upon delivery that they were a size too small leading to the packaged clothes being burnt to a crisp in feminine wrath. Which is why she wasn't chewing Frenda out... yet.

Kinuhata began to give the criticized cage another look while throwing a soft punch at the cage to see if it would hold together. Upon impact, the short-haired girl looked at the blonde with a deadpan expression. The cage now had a side that was bent.

"Wh-What?"

"Seriously. This cage is super ass. What is it made of stainless steel? Are we going to take it apart afterward and use it for our forks back at the apartment?" Kinuhata asked the explosives expert.

"Gah! What are you doing!? Why are you breaking the cage?" Frenda questioned the girl with a shocked look on her face.

Tilting her head and looking at the cage, Takitsubo added her own thoughts for everyone to hear.

"She's not wrong. We could use a bit more knives."

"I'd rather just go buy a new set of utensils for the apartment and not have Frenda's cheap cage be what I use to eat my dinner" Mugino stated while irritated.

"T-This is just a faulty model. Basically, I already contacted the agency I got this from and am demanding a full refund" Frenda said, trying to defend her already damaged cage.

"Next time we have to capture someone or something, Frenda is super not in charge of the procedure or cage."

"*sigh* Enough. We can make fun of Frenda later. The sooner we get this shit done, the sooner I can go back to bed and get my beauty sleep" Mugino proclaimed for the girls to hear.

Everyone in attendance just gave the well-endowed girl a glance over before shaking their heads. There was no denying that Mugino was beautiful or that she had looks that most models would kill to have. But the Level 5 tended to have a strange attitude when it came to said looks. She seemed to think that she needed to stay in tip-top shape while also carefully watching what she ate. This was valid since she had the tendency to eat meals that were high in carbs, especially breads which made her complain about her weight. But truth be told there was no real difference or concern to the brunette's figure. It was just all in her head.

Kinuhata on the other hand did have some thoughts about how Mugino was able to achieve the kind of body she had. The short-haired girl even started taking notes on all the foods that the Level 5 scarfed down and did calculations on every single meal's carbohydrate intake. A past time interest that had now become a full-blown investigation to achieve a model-like figure.

However, before Takitsubo could remark about the tea-colored-haired girl's methods for keeping her body and looks fine-tuned, she turned her head toward the building and activated her esper ability. Something was off.

"Mugino. Something is wrong."

Hearing this, the group of girls pushed the topic to the side and now went into battle-focus mode.

"What is it? Esper activity?"

"No. It's... something else. My ability is picking something up but it's not an AIM field" Takitsubo replied while focusing on her power.

"Do we even know if these monsters have an AIM field? I mean, now that we are really talking about them what do we already know?" Frenda asked everyone in attendance.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kinuhata had no clue as to anything about the monsters. Only that they had to capture a few or at the very least one monster and skedaddle out of there.

"We don't know jack shit about these monsters. All our support group was able to get us is the location, descriptions, and images of the monsters" Mugino said while getting ready for a battle.

Which is exactly what the battle fanatic was looking for.

"Well, that's just super. What do we do now, Mugino?"

Scanning the area and coming up with a plan, the brunette Level 5 started considering one plan but it would depend on what Takitsubo had to say about their surroundings.

"Takitsubo, what does the situation look like now?"

Stopping the use of her ability, the black-haired girl looked over at Mugino and nodded her head.

"I'm getting a reading on the north side of the building. It's small but there's definitely something there."

"That's good enough for me. Frenda."

"Yep!"

"Stick with Takitsubo and keep your phone on you. Kinuhata and I will go and deal with the majority of the monsters while leaving a few alive. We'll call you two in to get the trap ready" Mugino more or less commanded.

"Sounds like a super simple plan."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Nope. Just super curious if we have a backup plan. You know in case you go all overkill."

Gritting her teeth, the brunette beauty couldn't help but want to chew out the shorter girl but decided that the sooner they finished the sooner she could get back to sleep.

"Let's just get this done. If things go awry, then we'll improvise."

"Sounds like a plan!" Frenda exclaimed, getting a sense that Mugino wanted this job done quickly.

With that being said, the blonde and dark-haired girls began prepping the cage and giving one last look over before heading to their advantage point while the two brunette girls headed to the north side of the building.

_________________________________________________________

The physical structure of the building was that of many large openings which must have been once used as a shipping post which explained all the open spaces. Moreover, the building was still standing in one whole piece but there was debris all over the place offering a not-so-welcoming sight.

Entering through one of the open areas, Mugino used her Meltdowner ability to cast a small ball of white light to hang over her and act as a flashlight while Kinuhata followed behind her acting as her defensive shield watching her six.

The entire area in front of them was surrounded by darkness and the only visible light in sight came from the open doors and windows that allowed the moon's light to be allowed into the building.

Mugino continued to stay alert while passing along an empty hallway and coming up with several calculations in her head if she needed to target multiple monsters all at once. Since Kinuhata was here to back her up, she could focus on clearing the area of most of the monsters.

Coming into a large-looking room with many vehicles either damaged from debris or flipped on their sides, the room looked to be one of the main areas that used to transfer products from incoming truck deliveries. The room had a bit more light coming in compared to the rooms the two passed along the way. But that wouldn't really matter anymore.

Noticing something dark on the other side of the large room, Mugino looked over at Kinuhata who also saw the same thing and gave a confirming nod. Already knowing what the Level 5 had in mind.

Flicking her hand forward, a ball of white light appeared above her and suddenly shot a beam of light right next to the dark object. Upon the beam hitting the ground, the dark object seemed to see the warning shot and turned itself around displaying itself to the two girls.

Yellow eyes.

Realizing what the dark thing was now, Mugino's eyebrows twitched followed by a menacing grin appearing on her face. Jackpot.

Kinuhata at the same time slammed her fist into her other hand while keenly watching the monster start to stand up straight and look at the two. She had never encountered a monster like this but based on first impressions it didn't seem that bad.

However, the monster suddenly jumped at the two causing Mugino to nonchalantly have her Meltdowner beam hit the monster splitting it in two.

Upon being hit by the whiteish blue beam, the monster's body began to disappear in a cloud that came out of nowhere. This left the two higher leveled girls puzzled.

"What the hell?" Mugino muttered.

"That was super weird."

Having many questions about what just happened, Mugino shoved those thoughts away and pulled out her phone to dial up Frenda.

"Frenda. Where's Takitsubo?"

"She's right here. Do you want to talk with her? What's the situation?"

"Tell her to check the area again. We encountered one of the monsters but- "

Before the girl could finish what she was saying, the sound of banging and things being knocked over could be heard all around her. Grimacing at what was happening, the brunette called out to Kinuhata to cover her.

"Mugino? What's- "

"Get Takitsubo to check the area, now! We're surrounded!"

Slipping her phone back into her pocket, Mugino was now activating her Meltdowner to strike the area in front of her while the sound of her beam scorched the ground and whatever was originally there. The tea-colored-haired girl now began firing beam after beam into the darkness where she thought to have seen shadows moving back and forth while trying to not get hit by the light.

Kinuhata seemed to notice something crawling to the side of her and began calculating how much force would be needed to counter whatever might jump out at her. This proved to be smart as in the next instance a dark creature leaped right at her and tried to swipe at her face but ended up getting decked in the side before being grabbed at the foot and slammed headfirst into the ground killing it instantly.

What the two didn't realize was that the area around them had now been covered in many puddles of darkness which were letting Shadows crawl out and fill up the abandoned building all while blocking off their exit. And the downside was that the girl who acted as their UAV was currently counting into the dozens for how many foes suddenly appeared out of nowhere and were now starting to appear on the outside of the building the Level 4 and 5 were situated in. Leading to a situation not looking good.

_________________________________________________________

Back with a certain Keyblade wielder

Running across the top of what he guessed was a fish plant, Sora was parkouring his way across the city at an incredible speed.

During his travels in his last adventure, after learning and utilizing the Flowmotion ability, he had gotten used to having more flexibility and mobility when it came to fighting or getting around different places. But he hadn't really been able to truly experience the ability's wide range of usage.

The only place he could really say that he got to do some amazing tricks would be back in San Fransokyo with Hiro and Big Hero 6. Getting to explore the wide-open city district with Baymax at his side was an experience that he would never forget. Plus, while in that world he got to use Flowmotion a whole lot more than ever before. Which greatly helped him right now at the moment.

Bouncing against walls or sliding across railings, the boy was making incredible time but still wanted to push himself to get to District 19 before anything bad could happen. He had no idea how bad the situation might be there but if it was anything like at the storage facility, then he would need to hurry. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen again. This time would be different.

With blue light covering his entire body, Sora locked his gaze onto another building's rooftop that had a tall antenna sticking up. Using his Airstep ability, the boy shot forward through the air and landed on the other building while falling through the air. Aiming himself toward another building while still in free fall. Not wasting another moment, he flipped himself so that his body was ready to land on the roof of the other building.

Landing on his feet and rolling forward to allow himself from not getting hurt, the boy got back to sprinting across the rooftop and leaped into the air while positioning himself to come into contact with another tall building. Only this time, Sora started running across the building while having one hand help guide him across the building and keeping him balanced. This lasted for only a few seconds before he jumped in the air and Airstepped to another building's rooftop before rolling on the concrete roof and pulling out his Gummiphone to see where he was exactly on the map of Academy City.

To his surprise, he was super close to entering District 19 and felt that he had made impeccable timing. However, that thought would be diminished as he suddenly saw out of the corner of his eye something glowing in the distance. It was like a whiteish light appearing every few seconds. Turning to get a better look at whatever was happening, Sora realized that might be an indicator that the Heartless were attacking.

Without even taking a second to hesitate, the spiky-haired boy leaped through the air and continued to dash in the direction where he saw the light. He had one goal in mind and that was to save everyone. No matter who they were.

_________________________________________________________

Back with Item in District 19

The sounds of explosions, gunfire, and beams of light scorching the ground were all that could be seen and heard in the area.

Mugino and Kinuhata had brazenly made it out of the facility with scratches and bruised bodies along with their clothes now having stains of blood thanks to having to fend off the endless monster attacks which showed no sign of stopping. The duo was now outside the facility all while doing their best to weaken the horde of monsters continuing to show up and attack them.

Meanwhile, Frenda and Takitsubo had retreated from their camping spot and were now sticking close together while avoiding being surrounded by the monsters. Takitsubo while not normally an offensive player in the group's dynamics had taken the liberty to use a firearm that Frenda had carried as one of her emergency weapons and was doing her best to kill any monsters that got close to her.

The blonde-haired girl on the other hand had switched to using a knife while keeping the last of her explosives on hand in case of a sudden emergency or getaway distraction. This entire situation was something that Item was not prepared for but that didn't mean they would be overwhelmed by the monsters and go out without a fight.

Each of the girls was battling with everything they had to defeat the monsters. Giving it their all to win. They would not fall here.

Flipping to the side and performing a precise cartwheel, Frenda moved her slim body to use her legs to side-sweep one of the monsters before stabbing another one in the head with her knife killing it. Followed by dashing and jumping over the hood of a broken car and kicking a creature in the head while throwing multiple projectiles which looked to be small sewing needles at another monster before running up to it and stabbing it in the face with her knife. She then performed a stylish backflip to make some space between her and the monsters that tried leaping at her. The girl's attire was a bit damaged with scratches covering her face and body along with her clothes being ripped in some parts but otherwise, the blonde had a determined look on her face before charging at another monster and landing a drop kick at its chest.

The tracksuit-wearing girl of the team was doing her best to fend off as many monsters as she could. Shooting as many as she could with the limited amount of ammo Frenda had given to her. While she wasn't normally on the frontlines and didn't have any real training with a gun, she suspected that thanks to her usage and experience with her AIM Stalker ability she was able to achieve a high accuracy when it came to hitting the monsters. She also had cuts and bruises around her but that was to be expected as she wasn't the most physically active and was slower than her teammates. Nevertheless, Takitsubo was holding her own for now while trying to stick close to Frenda and the acrobatics that she used to fend against the monsters.

Kinuhata on her part was landing punch after punch against the monsters. Sending one after another flying into the building or into debris scattered across the area. Even with her Offensive Armor, she had several cuts around her body but nothing too fatal. The ever-growing number of monsters had proven that much of a problem for her at first but seeing that her allies were being constantly attacked forced her to take charge and act as a defensive shield at times which caused her to constantly control the nitrogen in the air and focus on protecting her team. While she could manage to stay in the fight for survival, her main goal was to ensure that her team and friends would stay safe. Or rather, as safe as one could get while being constantly attacked by strange dark monsters.

As for the team's leader, she was having the time of her life. The brunette girl was firing beam after beam against as many monsters as she could. Dodging left and right while throwing a punch or kick against any creature trying to get close to her. The tea-colored-haired girl shifted to the side avoiding an attack while bringing her hand back and throwing a haymaker punch at one monster before palm-striking another monster in the face. Thanks to her hearty upbringing as a child, she was well-versed in various martial arts techniques which were something she didn't usually use since her Meltdowner beam was a distanced attack that got the job done easily. However, that didn't mean she didn't know how to use her hands and legs to fight. The battle-fanatic girl was enjoying every single moment of this incursion. Mugino also had scratches and parts of her clothes were bloodied due to her not really focusing on defense and being primarily on the offensive end. Needless to say, the Level 5 was ready to fight tooth and nail to get out of there alive.

This was how the dark side team, Item, was functioning while doing their best to stay alive against the endless horde of monsters that show no signs of stopping their assault.

Pulling the trigger on the pistol and hearing a clicking sound, Takitsubo looked over at Frenda and called out to her.

"Frenda! I need more ammo."

"I'm all out! I gave you everything I had. Haah!" Frenda yelled back while throwing a jab at one of the monsters before running up and slitting its throat killing it instantly.

"Watch out Takitsubo!" Kinuhata called out while rushing to her and kicking one creature which went flying through the air.

Dashing and jumping in front of the dark-haired girl, Kinuhata took blow for blow from the monsters before grabbing the leg of one and slamming it into the others.

Mugino seeing her teammates, lashed out her hand and started the calculations needed to strike every enemy that was getting closer to the two girls. Within an instant, a beam of light scorched one area and then another while killing multiple monsters leaving nothing behind. She also had to raise her arm in time to block an enemy that leaped at her but was now hanging onto her arm and scratching her with deep cuts.

"Dammit!"

Slamming her arm to the ground, the brunette lifted her foot and stomped on the monster's head killing it while also doing her best to be versatile to her surroundings. While it wasn't impossible per se, it was rather difficult for her to get complete accuracy of her Meltdowner beam while on the move. This is exactly what she was trying to do now but ended up firing a beam of light that just missed one monster while luckily killing another.

"Tch."

Making her way to join the rest of her group, Mugino spotted Frenda being pushed back by several monsters that threw her toward a rusted-up car causing the young girl to hit the car. The blonde felt the wind knocked out of her while rolling to the side and dodging the monsters before throwing one of her knives into the head of one and killing it. She gasped for a second before rolling out of the way and rejoining her teammates.

Things were not looking great. However, that would not stop them from getting away.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a blast of wind came out of nowhere and threw the group of girls back causing them to all be bunched up. Takitsubo ended up hitting the side of a broken wall causing her to black out while Frenda was slammed into a pile of broken debris leaving her wincing in pain. Kinuhata landed right into a busted-down car and was working on getting herself up. Mugino on the other hand was feeling the effects of her long battle and took a few deep breaths while on her back which got her to sit upright and see what was happening.

She was left once again puzzled at the strange sight.

The monsters looked to be all piling up on one another while standing over what appeared to be a giant dark puddle. Many yellow eyes were scattered all like ants crawling back into their nesting ground only that it wasn't ants doing this.

Forcing herself up, Mugino was able to stand on one good leg while the other began to feel numb, looking down she grimaced at seeing her leg all busted up with blood and bruises. Something she didn't have time for. Drawing her attention to her team, she saw Frenda limping while helping Takitsubo wake up and Kinuhata staggering to get to her.

If they wanted to get out of here, it would be difficult. But there was no way they were dying to these monsters.

_________________________________________________________

Without any warning whatsoever, a large light appeared above the injured girls followed by the sound of someone yelling something out.

"Heal!"

Appearing out of thin air, a large colorful flower began glowing above the group and a sense of relaxation and a burst of energy seemed to flow through each of the girls. Feeling like she just got out of the sauna and lost all the pain in her body, Mugino looked down at her arms and legs and noticed right away that the cuts and bruises were practically gone. Save for the blood still staining her clothes, the brunette girl felt better.

Hearing something fall behind her, Mugino and the other members of Item were left puzzled when they saw a figure that they had no clue as to who it could be. Getting a better look at the figure showed that it was a boy that had appeared. However, the first person to say anything happened to be Frenda who immediately recognized the boy who just appeared.

"Y-You're - "

"You guys need to get out of here" the boy stated while turning his attention to the monsters piling onto each other.

"W-What?" Takitsubo muttered while still regaining her bearings.

"Who the fuck are you?" Mugino demanded.

Having a frown on his face, the boy switched from looking at the monsters and was now staring right into Mugino's eyes.

"My name is Sora. And right now, you guys need to get going. It's not safe for you to be here."

"You're the boy from the T.V.!" Frenda exclaimed, now knowing exactly who he was thanks to getting a better look at the boy.

Hearing Frenda's comment, the rest of Item gave the boy a quick look over. Mugino also narrowed her gaze on the boy and realized that the blonde was right about him being all over the news earlier in the day. However, that wouldn't stop her from yelling back at him.

"Like hell, you're going to tell us what to do!" Mugino shouted, not showing any indication of listening to this boy who looked to be a high schooler.

Letting out a small groan, Sora raised his hand and resummoned his Keyblade while now pointing it at the Heartless. This action caused each of the girls to go wide-eyed and go on the defensive in case the boy attacked them.

"Please. You need to get out of here. The Heartless will now be focused on me now."

"The Heartless? That's their super name?" Kinuhata asked, eyeing the boy closely.

"We're not going anywhere. So, you can scram and- "

Suddenly, the Heartless that were piling up on each other suddenly began sinking into the dark puddle beneath them leaving the girls confused about what was happening. Sora, meanwhile, twirled his weapon in his hand and got ready. He had a bad feeling about this.

"The area doesn't look like anyone else is here... that'll save me from worrying about anyone else getting hurt..."

"What are you super talking about?"

"You guys need to leave- "

"How many times do I need to repeat myself, we are not leaving" Mugino responded while glaring at the boy.

Before Sora could respond to the brown-haired girl, the dark area that the Heartless disappeared from suddenly began contorting and twirling around like a whirlpool when without warning a giant hand shot through the puddle and began pulling itself up.

Left with so many questions about what was happening, the girls of Item were witnessing the Heartless better known as a Darkside appear out of that strange-looking area on the ground.

The monster's features were that of a massive, muscular, humanoid figure with black skin and short legs. There also appeared to be something on its back but nobody could tell for sure and around the middle of the monster's body was a giant hole in the shape of a heart. The next distinct feature noticed by the dark side operatives was that the creature's head was wrapped with black tentacles that twisted around its head leaving only large yellow eyes to be visible. All in all, a menacing aura surrounded the monster and left the girls taking a step back not out of outright fear but concern about what the monster was capable of.

"...huh?" Takitsubo made a slight sound while activating her AIM Stalker. While scanning the area in front of her, she made a startling discovery.

The newly appeared large monster had the same sort of pulsating reading that all the smaller monsters were giving off. Again, it was not an actual AIM field but something else. Something she had no clue about.

Sora on the other hand twirled his Keyblade in hand and got into his signature battle stance while scanning the area around the Darkside. Now, hordes of Shadows were appearing around the bigger Heartless leaving the area to look like a sea of yellow eyes.

He had to stop this before things got any worse.

Turning to look at the older girl with the long hair, Sora had to get her and the others out of there.

"Where is the item?"

"Huh? Pardon?" Frenda muttered.

"What?" Takitsubo replied.

"Excuse me?" Kinuhata asked.

"What did you just say?" Mugino stated to the boy.

The girls of Item were absolutely confused by what the boy just said.

"I was told that there was an item at this location where the Heartless were spotted."

Mugino stared dumbfounded at the boy.

"You're a real idiot."

"W-Why? What is going on? I'm lost?"

"We are Item. Our team signature and title" Mugino stated to the shocked boy.

"...oh..."

Shaking his head and focusing back onto the Darkside, enough time had been spent ignoring it. The Keyblade wielder needed to deal with it now.

"Look, you guys need to get out of here."

"I'm not- "

"I don't know who you are, but I know that you're strong."

Hearing this, Mugino stopped herself and decided to listen to what the boy had to say.

"To be able to fight off the Heartless and work with others... that takes a strong heart."

"Pssh. A strong heart? What are you even talking about?" Mugino questioned while scoffing at the idea.

"You'd be surprised. I've encountered many people and there are those who would have fallen to the Heartless for not working together with others. So, again, I have no real idea who you guys are, but you handled yourselves well and did what others couldn't. But now, everything is going to be ok. I'll take care of them."

Frenda, Kinuhata, and Takitsubo all looked at the boy differently now. Something about what he said did not make any sense at all. But that part about others losing to the monsters known as the Heartless, and how they worked together to cover for each other's faults is what led to them surviving the monster attack. It shouldn't have been that impactful, but it did get them to stop and wonder about what he said.

Mugino on the other hand was contemplating giving the boy's words a second thought. While he did consider her to be strong that didn't sit well with her. Due to the boy not knowing who she was. This left the tea-color-haired girl to watch the boy closely.

"...Fine."

"Mugino?"

"We're moving back. But I'm not leaving here."

Figuring that was better than nothing, Sora nodded his head and immediately charged at the Darkside all while Item watched from the side. What they didn't know was that they would be left with many more questions about what they were about to see.

Charging right up to the Darkside, Sora spotted a heavily damaged building that was close by. That would allow him to drop down and slam into the creature along with hitting any other Shadows in the area. However, before he could get there many Shadows were now leaping at him which resulted in the boy going on the offensive.

Swinging his weapon horizontally, the Keyblade slashed through several Shadows killing them instantly with the clean cut. Followed by Sora swiping the weapon under another Heartless launching it into the air and then jumping up and heaving the Keyblade down killing the foe.

Dodging to the side, the boy kicked one Heartless away while stabbing another right in the head. Moving left and then right, he parried an incoming attack from one Shadow and counter-slashed the Heartless into two. Then the spiky-haired boy slid under a trio of Heartless jumping right at him and then turned on his back foot and lifted his Keyblade up into the air before casting a spell to finish them off.

"Thunder!"

Yellow bolts of light hit the group of Shadows causing them to start shaking before disappearing into a cloud of dark smoke. Before any other Heartless could get the upper hand against the boy, he stabbed his Keyblade into the ground and shouted another spell to disrupt the incoming monsters.

"I call Wind!"

A green vortex suddenly started to pick up speed causing what looked to be a small tornado to lift debris and Heartless off the ground allowing Sora to come dashing past each Shadow and pull off a clean strike killing it instantly. His long-time experience in dealing with the Heartless gave him the right idea of how much time and power he would need to deal with all the small fry before getting to the Darkside.

Speaking of the massive Heartless, the creature had lifted its arms across its chest and looked to be shaking intensely. The Keyblade wielder spotted this after striking another Shadow and knew what was about to happen.

Taking off without delay, the boy began to jump on top of the debris scattered across the area and soon found himself running along the roof of a destroyed bus. Performing a bit of parkour as soon as he hit the end of the roof, he leaped onto the side of a destroyed building while wall running and keeping one hand against the wall while his other held onto the Keyblade. Ready to block what was coming.

In a dramatic sequence, the Darkside released its arms across its chest and suddenly multiple dark projectiles came hurtling toward Sora causing the boy to continue to run against the wall and deflect the incoming ranged attacks both at the same time.

Slicing the last projectile, he decided to change things up and spotted another damaged building in front of him. In a leap of faith, the boy jumped through the air all while quickly noting how many Shadows were surrounding the area. As he said before, he wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt. Which meant that every Heartless here was going to be stopped.

Coming crashing into the other building, Sora activated his Flowmotion and began glowing blue around his body all while running up the building and doing his best to keep an eye on the Heartless.

Flipping himself onto the building's roof, the boy now pointed his Keyblade to the ground and started to clear some room for him to act. Recalling the strange and sudden event that happened earlier where he recalled the spells and abilities he lost, Sora was ready to see how those spells worked now.

"Let's go! Light!"

In the next instant, several beams of light all featuring different colors began flashing around the area and hitting the Heartless causing them to get hit back and forth before fading away. That spell that Sora had just cast was primarily known as Spark and had been one of his go-to spells back while traveling through the Sleeping Worlds.

But rather than spend any more time admiring what he just did, Sora spun around and saw more Shadows crawling up the building's walls and appearing on the roof with him.

In a fit to finish the enemies quickly, the Keyblade wielder ran right at the enemy with his weapon at his side.

"Time to get serious!"

Performing a Quick Slash by spinning and hitting the first Heartless in sight, the boy then rolled to the side before heaving the weapon at the already attacked Shadow and managed to stab it in the head before throwing his blade at another Shadow and summoning it back to his hand and diagonally slicing another Heartless. This allowed him enough time to blast another Heartless with a point-blank Fire spell.

Jumping back, he now performed a Triple Rush by charging at the nearest Shadow and pulled off three consecutive jabs before flipping himself into the air and slamming his Keyblade down on the enemy killing it. Turning on his back foot, Sora decided to flood the roof with a little shock. Raising his Keyblade, he let the Heartless have it.

"Take this!"

With a burst of blue and yellow light coming from the tip of the Keyblade, a torrent of water came splashing toward all the Heartless making their way toward the boy before a crackling sound hit the area. The water surrounding the Heartless had been hit by a bolt of thunder leaving the Heartless to be decimated and disappearing.

Nodding to himself, Sora still saw many more Shadows surrounding the area beneath him, they didn't seem like that much of a problem. But the one baddie that was of concern was the looming Darkside that stared up right at him and looked ready to start charging up more dark projectiles to send his way. Noticing this, the Keyblade wielder knew that he needed to act fast which is why he gripped his weapon tightly before doing something reckless.

In an attempt to make a dent against the large Heartless, he was going to need to call upon his powers and get the job done for sure.

Leaping off the rooftop, he began flipping himself around and diving right toward the Darkside ready to slam into it. He also had a plan of action and could feel enough energy charged up and ready to be unleashed.

_________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, back with the girls of Item they all looked at the boy standing on the rooftop and were left beyond puzzled at everything that had just happened.

"How did he... He just super-used several different elements like it was nothing. Is he an elemental esper?" Kinuhata asked, trying to understand if he was an Electromaster or a Hydromaster.

"Forget that, how was he able to run across and up the building? Basically, does he have some sort of gravity-based power?" Frenda questioned while recalling the boy's ease of doing such feats.

"..." Takitsubo remained quiet which wasn't that odd, however, she was actually using her esper ability to see what his AIM field looked like and... to her confusion she couldn't get a read.

Mugino on the other hand was watching the spiky-haired boy's moves very closely. While she had no idea who the hell he was aside from his name, Sora. She had to admit that the boy's ability was not that of a one-time show.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

From the way, he charged forward and used the surroundings to his advantage, and kept his body posture relaxed and focused showed that he was adept and familiar with combat. Plus, it looked like he knew exactly how these monsters acted and was prepared to counter them at every opportunity that was available. But that just raised an even bigger red flag in her head, what was his level rank?

The power being displayed for her and her team to see was certainly not something a low-level individual could pull off. Which seemed to annoy her. She was practically told to step aside and watch as this bastard stepped in to play the role of hero for her and her team. Or more specifically to her. She wasn't going to let that happen.

Just as she was about ready to start making her way to deal with the monsters, did the brunette girl see that he leaped off the rooftop.

"What the hell? Did he just jump?"

"He super did!"

"Maybe it was- "Before Frenda could finish speaking, she saw that the boy flipped himself in the air and was now diving toward the large monster.

In a blast of light which caused all the girls to cover their eyes, they all saw that the boy had basically slammed himself right into the tall menacing monster. He was also now on the ground and grasping at his heart while kneeling.

Takitsubo seemed to pick something up and shouted at Mugino.

"Mugino! He- "

...*Ka-boom*...

"Give me strength!"

Out of nowhere, another blast of light rocked their eyesight and forced the girls to cover their eyes. Now adjusting their vision, the girls were met with an even stranger sight.

Standing there with his weapon facing the large monster head-on was the boy but there was something different about him. His clothes had changed!

His outfit now consisted of a blue V-neck t-shirt with white hemming and black chap-style shorts with yellow belts holding onto two red pockets on either leg. The red jacket he was wearing now appeared black with white hemming and pauldron-like additions on the shoulder.

The girls seeing this new outfit were at a loss for words.

"Wha... How did he just change his clothes?" Frenda muttered.

"Mugino, there's something up with him" Takitsubo stated which drew the other members' attention.

"What are you talking about? Is it his AIM field?"

"No. It's something else. I don't know what it is but it's acting almost like a beacon. I've never encountered this before..." the black-haired girl said while going back to scan the boy.

Unsure of what to think about Takitsubo's report, the tea-color-haired girl just decided to watch and see what was new with the strange boy. This was all new to her. She had never heard of this boy before but knew one thing for sure. She would find out soon.

_________________________________________________________

Back with Sora

Staring right up at the Darkside, the boy didn't waste any time and dashed toward the Heartless all while making short work of the Shadows that tried stopping him.

Slamming his Keyblade down at one Shadow, he then blocked an incoming attack before disappearing in a flash of light before appearing in front of the Heartless and landing a magical kick to its face. The attack managed to kill the Shadow but also impacted other Heartless in the area.

Getting back to his feet, Sora threw his body around and swung the weapon into another Shadow throwing it back several feet into another, and swiftly tilted his Keyblade to hit under a Heartless managing to send it flying through the air. Jumping up and chasing it, he threw his body back and started spinning around while also hitting the Heartless until it disappeared.

Landing back to his feet, the spiky-haired boy was getting closer to the Darkside but needed more space to act. Bringing the blade close to his chest, he heaved the weapon across the chest of another group of Shadows before slamming the Keyblade down and causing several orbs of light to explode around the area and hurt the Heartless killing them all.

Not stopping, he stabbed another Heartless right in the chest before lifting himself and the weapon into the air and letting a wave of light appear managing to kill any close enough to him. Just for the added support, he also started casting multiple Thunder spells while creating a path forward to the Darkside. He did this while also running and dodging any Shadows leaping toward him.

Finally, standing several feet away from the massive Heartless, Sora knew the exact points on the monster's body that would cause it to become defenseless to attacks. Charging at the ankle of the monster, he was about to attack but narrowly missed one of the Darkside's hands slamming right to the side of him which propelled him to start slashing at the foot. Striking the foot from every angle, the boy was sure that he did enough damage but was suddenly pelted to the ground by multiple Shadows that jumped onto him.

Instead of clawing and slashing at the Keyblade wielder, the Heartless just put their weight onto him making the blue-eyed boy puzzled for a second before he realized what was up.

'They're trying to stop me!'

Not about to let that happen, Sora let go of his Keyblade allowing it to flash away, and brought his hand to the top of his chest. Situations like this call for improvisation.

"Get off!"

A blast of energy impacted the Shadows that were on top of the boy sending them to all go flying across the area and slamming into debris or straight to the ground causing them to all disappear.

The boy had let go of his hold over his Second Form and was now back to his regular clothing. Pulling himself up and summoning his Keyblade, he looked over at the Darkside and realized that many dark projectiles were about to hit him. With not enough time to act, he quickly tried to block the incoming attacks but was immediately shot backward and crashed through one of the damaged building's walls. Dust and debris were everywhere.

The Darkside now started to walk slowly toward the building that Sora was sent flying into to finish the job.

However, a whiteish beam of light suddenly hit the Darkside's face causing it to take a step back. Soon after, many more beams of light started barraging the large creature forcing it to move its body and use its arms to block the incoming attacks. The Heartless now looked at where the random attacks came from and saw a figure in the distance.

Standing there with her hand extended out and holding onto a strange metallic-looking card was Mugino Shizuri with a battle-crazy grin on her face.

"What the hell was all that talk about I'll take care of them? You're getting your ass handed to you" the tea-colored-haired girl said loud enough for Sora to hear.

Seemingly upset at the surprise attack, the Darkside started to move its arms across its chest and started charging up another ranged attack. But that's exactly what the Level 5 was expecting. While watching Sora fight the monsters, she was carefully studying the enemies' movements along with how they behaved while being attacked. Which is how she knew what the big monster was about to do.

Beginning to calculate the precise amount of power that she would need to finish the monster off for good, Mugino waited and carefully watched the monster begin to release its arms from its chest and now had a confident smirk on her face.

"Got ya."

As fast as the eye could see, a whiteish blue beam of light shot right toward the Darkside just as it was starting to dispel the ranged projectiles. The two attacks collided and now caused a large explosion causing smoke to block the area's visible surroundings. Item was left confused about what was happening since their visuals were nonexistent. However, they soon got their answer, and it was not a good one.

The large monster's top part of its body was completely gone. But that didn't matter. Dark tendrils were beginning to crawl up the monster's legs and started layering onto each other. It was ultimately trying to reform itself!

Not about to let that happen, Mugino started firing beams of her Meltdowner at the monster but was suddenly attacked by many of the smaller monsters. They were buying the large monster time to reform.

Seeing their leader be attacked, Frenda and Kinuhata dashed to help Mugino while combating the monsters and killing them to make some room.

However, out of the corner of their eyes appeared the boy who was somehow connected to the monsters.

Coming out of the building and having dust and scratches across his body was Sora who looked irritated. With his weapon in hand, he charged right at the Darkside not about to let it get back to full form.

Jumping through the air and landing on top of the damaged Darkside, he started laying waste to the Heartless and slashing at the dark tendrils, Sora stabbed his weapon into the monster and shouted out another one of his attacks.

"Light!"

Beams of light started to appear all around the Darkside before hitting the Heartless and barraging it with magical power. This caused the remaining body of the monster to start moving slowly before coming to a complete stop. Nothing happened.

That is until the boy could feel the weight of the monster start to lean back causing him to jump down and roll on the ground and watch the Darkside fall to the ground and start to disappear signaling that he had defeated the Heartless once and for all.

With Mugino and the rest of Item, the girls watched as all the smaller monsters started crawling away or into dark puddles that suddenly appeared all around them. None of the creatures were attacking them now. This just raised even more questions for them to consider.

Checking the area out to see if anything else was going to happen, Sora had a lot to think about.

'The Heartless in this world... they're not extremely difficult to deal with... but that Darkside was stronger than any normal Darkside I've fought before. There must be something bigger going on in this world to strengthen the Heartless... but what do I do now? I can't be everywhere all the time...'

Suddenly, snapping out of his thoughts, the boy was now face-to-face with the older teen girl with the long brown hair, and she did not look happy.

"Who - the hell - are you?"

"Huh? I thought I told you- "

"I heard what you said, Sora. But I'm asking again. Who. Are. You?"

Feeling like he was walking on top of a ticking time bomb, the spiky-haired boy let out a sigh before conversing with the girl.

"I... I'm not sure what you mean. Maybe if you ask me something clearer then I'll do my best to answer."

"..."

Taking a second to consider the boy's response, Mugino had two options currently in mind. On one hand, she could just find the information she wanted on her own or through her sources on the dark side. However, that was a 50/50 bet that she wasn't sure she should take. But on the other hand, she could get answers from the boy himself.

Deciding to go with the more sensible option, she knew what answer she wanted first and foremost.

"All right then, Sora... what level are you?"

The other girls of Item were standing off to the side and watched as Mugino questioned the spiky-haired boy. Each of them had their own thoughts about the boy but decided to remain silent on the matter. If they managed to get in the Level 5's way right now, then she would probably roast them with her Meltdowner beam.

Patting the back of his head, Sora answered as best as he could.

"I'm... I'm currently classified as an unknown."

A moment of silence passed between the two before Mugino lowered her head and took a deep breath. In the next instance, she lifted her head and her brown eyes looked to be almost glowing. No, that glow was actually coming from the light right next to her that was coming right at-

Rolling to the side, Sora summoned his Keyblade and had a beyond-shocked look on his face.

"What was that for!?"

"Classified as an unknown? Are you fucking kidding me? Do you really think I'll believe that?"

"It's the truth!"

"Bullshit! I'm not stupid enough to fall for something like that."

With no time to move, the Keyblade wielder raised his blade to block the incoming beam of light that was shot toward him. The attack instantly reminded him of Xemnas and how he used laser beams in many of his attacks. He also hoped that he could try to talk the girl down from attacking him again.

"Whoa! Can't we just talk about this?"

"Not a fat chance."

Seeing another beam of light appear next to the girl, Sora bolted to his feet and tried to put some distance between the two but had to throw himself back onto the ground to narrowly miss a beam of light scorching the ground in front of him.

Looking at the long-haired girl, he saw that she did not look calm at all. Strands of hair had now fallen in front of her while she was glaring at the Keyblade wielder. Several orbs of light now appeared around her, and they were all getting brighter.

He would have to stop her and push back a little while still not going too far and hurting her.

Rolling across the ground and pushing himself up to his feet, the boy was now raising his Keyblade and deflecting multiple beams of light coming right toward him. The beams were coming at an incredible rate maybe even faster than Xemnas's attacks. But that wouldn't stop him from trying to stop her and calm her down.

Throwing himself to the side and rolling on the ground, he narrowly missed two beams scorching the spot he was just in before spinning his weapon to deflect the incoming attacks. He saw that Mugino did not look like she was going to stop attacking him which annoyed him.

Seeing more orbs of light appear around her, he started dashing to the side and blocked the staggering beams but realized something too late. There were only three orbs. He knew for sure that there were four before-

Feeling the impact of one of the beams hit him in the side, the boy was sent flying back a few feet all while checking where he got lasered. Patting his side, there were no real signs of the attack burning him aside from the charred smoke on his jacket. Magical clothes imbued with the synthesis of other magic materials really did wonders. Standing up, Sora knew that he had to stop the tea-colored-haired girl.

Spotting more orbs of light start to shoot forward at him, he quickly blocked every beam by spinning his Keyblade right in front of him in an impressive manner all while lowering his head. Sora looked over and spotted the girl sporting a frown while also having her eyes locked onto his own.

He would use that to his advantage.

Dashing forward and sliding under another incoming beam that scorched the ground right behind him, Sora threw his Keyblade in the direction that the girl was standing which caused her to move to the side. But that's exactly what he wanted.

Running up to Mugino, he knew that he probably could have gone about it another way, but at the same time, he was running out of options to prevent hurting the girl.

Swinging his Keyblade at her, Mugino saw the attack and rolled herself on the ground before landing a kick at the boy's legs. This caused him to plop to the ground and see her charging at him while summoning more of her orbs. With his fast reaction time, he stabbed his weapon into the ground and leaned back onto it hoping that his plan of flinging himself would work. He didn't want to outright start striking her with the weapon since he didn't see her as an enemy and only wanted to stop her.

Which is why he was about to use himself to solve this problem.

Letting his body go flying toward her, he slammed right into Mugino causing the two of them to come crashing down to the ground which stopped the firing of the beams. Now on the ground, Sora looked over at the girl to see if she would stop and listen to reason. He was met with her immediately jumping on top of him and grabbing both of his arms to prevent him from summoning his weapon. Suddenly, a beam of light appeared right next to her.

"Dodge this."

Thrashing his right hand out of her grip, he quickly summoned his Keyblade and brought it right up to his face in the nick of time to block the incoming beam of light. This went on for a good moment with Mugino still on top of the boy while trying to get him to budge and have one of her Meltdowner beams hit him. Sora meanwhile was doing his best to block the intense beam of light coming down on him.

Having had enough of this, he yelled out followed by pushing his weapon forward, and let a blast of his own light attack hit the girl which sent her flying back and off him while also stopping the incoming beam.

Getting the girl to stop attacking him without outright fighting back proved to be more difficult than he thought.

Pulling himself up, Sora saw that Mugino had also lifted herself up and was glaring daggers at him. He didn't want to admit it but... he was getting fed up now.

However, before he could say anything the other girls stepped in between the two or more likely in front of their friend.

"Mugino! Hold on a second!"

"Can it, Frenda. I'm not done with him."

"I think you should super calm down. You guys barely started talking and then you shot first" Kinuhata stated to the tea-color-haired girl.

"That's because this ass hole thinks I'm dumb enough to believe that he doesn't have a level classification."

"But it's the truth! I just got to Academy City!" Sora shouted, defending his answer which was the truth.

"That's even more ridiculous!"

"Wait... maybe he's telling the truth, Mugino?" the dark-haired girl of the group said.

"Huh? Are you seriously going to pay attention to what he's saying?"

"Think about it. Logically. His power or at the very least from what we've seen is clearly not anything a level 2 or 3 could pull off. Possibly a level 4 but that brings about even more questions" Takitsubo reasoned, showing a bit more interest than usual.

"To super add to what Takitsubo is saying, think about it. If he was lying about not having a level, then we would have known. Data or information about him would have been out there for us to see. But we didn't encounter anything, and we all know Frenda was looking into this guy earlier and found nothing" Kinuhata added.

"T-That's a bit of a weird way of phrasing it, but basically, she's right. I got nothing on him. He's a total mystery."

Hearing the brunette girl's teammates sort of stick up for him made the boy relax. But he was still wary of the older girl and how she seemed to look at him now.

Letting a moment pass before taking a deep breath, Mugino did her best to calm down.

"...Alright. *sigh* Sora?"

"Y-Yes?" the spiky-haired boy replied, noticing the girl take a somewhat more friendly approach. At least for now.

"How about we... start over. Does that sound fair?" Mugino asked, clearly forcing herself to sound normal. Or as normal as one could get after just narrowly trying to attack and possibly kill someone.

"Right... I don't think I ever got your name."

"...Mugino Shizuri. Fourth-ranked Level 5."

Not sure how to really respond to what the long-haired girl now known as Mugino said about her level, Sora only nodded his head.

Next, the blonde-haired girl stepped forward and did a little pose with her hands, "I'm Frenda Seivelun. Hilsen, Sora."

Not sure what Frenda said there at the end, the boy could only smile and nod in return.

"Name's Kinuhata Saiai. What's your favorite B-movie?"

"B-movie? I... I don't have one?" Sora responded, not really sure what she meant.

"Lame."

The next girl to introduce herself was the one wearing a tracksuit who also seemed to be looking rather intently at Sora. Almost like she was examining him.

"Uh, hey there, nice to meet you?"

"Takitsubo Rikou."

That's all that was said.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Again, my name is Sora. And... I'm new here."

"Let's start there." Standing up and wiping the dirt off her clothes, the Level 5 started questioning him. "Are you saying that you just got to Academy City yesterday?" Mugino asked, making sure to mentally take note of everything Sora was about to say.

"Yes. I just got here yesterday."

"And what about those monsters? What are they?"

Taking a second to consider his answer, he had a feeling that... while Mugino did just try to kill him... it wouldn't hurt to let her, and the others know about the Heartless. At least in a fair warning kind of way.

"They're called the Heartless and they are basically- "

Before Sora could give another explanation about the Heartless a loud shaking sound could be heard coming from one of the abandoned buildings nearby. Not exactly sure what that was, he started making his way over to investigate what had happened when something crashed right through the building and practically destroyed the structure. Floating there for everyone to see was something only Sora knew the name of.

A Demon Tide.

A long line of Shadow Heartless were all bunched together in a snake-like formation and moving through the air at a fast rate. This was a foe that left unattended could cause massive problems. And right now, it was moving away from the damaged area and into another part of District 19.

Mugino and the rest of the girls let out annoyed sounds at seeing the monsters or better identified as the Heartless again.

"Are you fucking serious right now?"

"We basically killed them all! How are they back?"

"I can super confirm. There were only a few that got away. No way there was this many to escape."

"Why can't..." Takitsubo muttered while once again using her AIM Stalker ability to get a read on the Heartless.

"That won't stop them from coming back." Taking a step forward and summoning his Keyblade in hand, Sora addressed the girls one more time. "The only thing to truly stop the Heartless is the weapon I'm holding."

Looking at the large key in his hand, Mugino scoffed at the weapon's appearance.

"You're telling me that this *pointing at the weapon* this giant oversized skeleton key is supposed to destroy these monsters for good!?"

"You're the first person to call it something other than a house key."

"That's even worse!"

"But you're correct. And I know, it sounds ridiculous. But I can change the appearance of the blade" Sora explained to the tea-color-haired girl.

Eyeing the boy and his weapon, the girl known as Meltdowner had to wonder about something.

"Then why don't you have it to be oh I don't know an actual blade?" Mugino suggested to the Keyblade wielder.

"I lost the tools needed to do so. But never mind, I can't let that Demon Tide get away and hurt anyone" Sora stated getting ready to chase the Heartless boss but was pulled back by a certain Level 5's hand.

"We are not done here yet. I still have questions."

"Ugh... Look, Mugino, I can't do that. Not now at least."

"Yes, now."

A sudden thought came to the boy being heckled by the girl.

"Wait! Timeout! I have a phone. We can just meet up later."

Hearing this, Mugino shouldn't have listened to him and just got her answers here and now but... considering that she was still in the dark about practically everything that happened here tonight and she did just try to... seriously hurt him, she decided to play nice. Letting go of the boy's hood, she let him reach into his pocket and pull out a strange-looking device.

"What is that? It super looks like a book. Haha," Kinuhata said, examining the abnormally large phone.

"Uh... how do we stay in contact?" Sora asked, not sure what he should do next.

"For fuc- here."

Grabbing the boy's phone and pulling hers out, she was about to start typing on it when a sudden ring sound was heard. Looking at the boy's device it showed on the screen that a number had been saved. Blinking several times, the two teens could only look at each other before Sora took his phone back and went to look at the people he could contact. And wouldn't you know it, there was Mugino's contact information at the ready without even having to press a single button.

Sora had no idea about what happened and decided to just go along with it being magic.

Mugino on the other hand was confused and had even more questions pop into her head. Resulting in her scrolling through her phone and going into her contacts and getting to the latter half of listed contacts which wasn't that many, to be honest. She didn't really have that many people who she considered important enough to be stored in her phone. Hence, she continued going down the very short list and spotted Sora's name and instantly pressed the call button to see if it was real.

Ringing could be heard coming from the boy's phone as he saw the brunette girl's name pop up. Pressing the green button, he brought the phone up to his ear while looking over at the caller.

"Hello?"

Closing her phone, Mugino bit her tongue from saying anything about the boy being an idiot and decided that she had at least come to a compromise.

"Hmph. You'll be expecting a call from me soon, Sora. Girls, let's go."

Not wanting to argue or piss off their explosive leader, each of the girls began to wave back at Sora while he offered a friendly wave back. He would continue to watch them get further and further away until they were out of earshot and let out a tired sigh.

'Those girls... Item...they're a strange bunch.'

Shaking his head, Sora brought himself back to his senses and realized that the Demon Tide was getting further away which made him groan. Seems like he was going to be even busier tonight. And with that, the Guardian of Light began to chase after the Heartless boss and stop it before anyone else got hurt in the crossfire all while putting his thoughts about Item to the side.

_________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, with Mugino and the rest of Item

Having walked a bit away from the site of their failed capture, Mugino had called in a transport vehicle to come pick them up but not before taking another look at her phone and the newly added number to her device.

Before anything else could happen, Frenda seemed to poke the girl's shoulder which snapped her back into reality, and faced the blonde with an irritated expression.

"What?"

"Are you ok, Mugino?"

"Of course, I'm alright. Why the hell wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, first we super failed the mission and got our asses kicked by those... what did he call them? Heartness?"

"Heartless" Takitsubo replied.

"Right. That's the name. And second, we got super saved by Sora who showed up out of nowhere."

"Sora..." Frenda muttered while recalling the boy's abilities both on the television and what she just saw not that long ago.

"...It's fine."

Hearing Mugino's response, the girls of Item all looked at their leader with surprised expressions. That was not the answer they were expecting.

"Uh... am I missing something here?" Kinuhata questioned Frenda who shook her head, confused just as much as she was.

"When we get back to the apartment, Kinuhata, and Frenda, I want you two to start analyzing and evaluating Sora's power."

"When you say analyze- "

"Yes. Break down everything you saw. From the way, he used that key of his to the elemental attacks that appeared out of nowhere. Takitsubo. You and I will be pulling everything we can about him."

"Didn't he say that he was new to Academy City?" the tracksuit girl asked the Level 5.

"That may be true... but I still call bullshit. There's no way someone with that kind of firepower just appears out of nowhere. Either he's playing us for a fool or... "

"Or?" Frenda pipped up.

"... I don't know. But I'll be damned if I don't find out the truth."

Looking at Mugino who held an unreadable expression on her face, Kinuhata had to wonder.

"Why are you so intent on finding the truth behind him?"

"..."

Mugino did not respond and was back to focusing completely on her phone and ignoring everyone around her which seemed strange even for her. Hence, seeing this, the girls of Item decided to not wake the content bear and just go along with what she said. However, Takitsubo took one last look in the direction that the snake-like monster and Sora were heading. She still had no idea why her ability was acting up all of the sudden but this ultimately led her to think that there was more than meets the eye when it came to those monsters and the boy who wielded the giant skeleton key. She would have many questions to ask him if she and he were to ever cross paths again.

All in all, just another eventful night in Academy City.

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*A/N* - Funnily enough, Sora's first actual night in Academy City is just getting started. I was able to read the Item light novel spin-off and took notes on all things Mugino. (Of course). I hope I didn't make those who were eagerly waiting for another chapter to wait too long lol. Sorry about that. But other than that, hope to see you around next time. Take care out there.