A Certain Magical Keyblade Wielder

Chapter 10: Eventful Situations

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

*A/N* - What's good everyone. I do hope everything is going well. Last time we left off with Sora getting ready to head to breakfast with his new friend Hokaze but has now found himself in a strange and albeit worrisome situation with many girls all part of Mental Out's clique. Not to mention, a mysterious figure going by the name Darkness is setting his sights on the #2 of Academy City, Dark Matter. For those who are not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts lore (I don't blame you. It gets crazy lol) there are 13 beings known as true darkness which is where that dark figure comes into play. More questions will be explained while other questions will be brought up. Either way, Sora is in for a rough journey in this new world. Though, it might not hurt to give him a moment to relax. With that being said, I hope you continue to do well and enjoy. Take care out there.

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*P. S* - At the time of this chapter coming out... Summer Game's Fest posted which companies will be featured in the event and Disney and Square Enix were spotted. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for that. As of now, clown mode is engaged lol.

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Having gotten himself as comfortable as he could in his seat, Sora awkwardly brought one of his hands up to ruffle the back of his head while staring at the table or rather entire room of girls all staring right at him. This was certainly a situation that he had never found himself in before. It was also one where... he didn't know if he'd make it out safely or in one piece which was something he never negatively thought of.

Deciding to make things less awkward and throw a bone at Hokaze who was trying her best to ease the tension in the restaurant by telling each of the girls that Sora wasn't a bad person or that he was very friendly and easy to get along with. She had managed to get a few of the girls to think differently about the boy but the rest of the others kept a close eye on him. Their time at Tokiwadai had managed to give them a bad impression of boys and the suspicious things that they tended to do.

Hence, Sora figured that the best way to get most of the girls to at least not glare daggers at him would be to befriend the one girl that seemed to be at the center of everything. The girl that was given the title Queen.

"Um... I don't think we've officially met yet. My name is Sora" the Keyblade wielder greeted with a friendly smile.

Drawing her starry eyes toward the boy, Shokuhou Misaki had several options she could go with to respond to the boy. First, she could showcase a sense of a façade in her voice and face to the boy while making it seem apparent that she was here to merely analyze him. Or she could try to be friendly since he was Hokaze's new friend who she seemed to talk positively about. Plus, the purple-haired girl did invite her to breakfast with the two of them it would seem a bit rude to cause a problem in her friend's case.

Figuring that she would go with the second option, Misaki returned the friendly gesture.

"Hello there, Sora. You may already know who I am, but I'll still go ahead and introduce myself. My name is Shokuhou Misaki. The fifth ranked Level 5 better known as Mental Out. It's nice to meet you."

Chatter could be heard coming from the other girls as they all started whispering amongst each other while glancing over at him and Shokuhou. He also thought that he heard a few girls muttering that how their Queen introduced herself was very impressive or that they were in awe of how she talked to him. This threw the boy for a loop. While it was nice to see all the girls talk positively about the honey-blonde girl, he had to admit it was something that he'd never encountered in all his adventures.

This also led to him wanting to still make it so that everyone didn't come off as stiff or nervous around him. Hence, he figured that he would do something about it.

"Likewise. And I... have to apologize."

"Huh? What for, Sora? I don't think you've done anything wrong?" Shokuhou questioned while confused by the boy's statement.

"Not necessarily. Based on everyone's reaction to me I'm guessing that you're not all that familiar with meeting strangers for the first time."

No one said anything as they had their full attention on the boy and how his words did ring a degree of truth. It wasn't that many of the girls had trouble meeting a new person for the first time. The real reason was basically because he was a boy and he had been featured on the news performing feats that not just anybody could do. Mixing the two facts that the girls of Tokiwadai were not that familiar with interacting with a boy and that he was relatively famous right now added to the circumstances.

"I just feel like I didn't make a good first impression which has left Hokaze in a rather difficult situation" Sora explained which got said girl to glance at the boy while listening to his words.

"Sora..." Hokaze muttered.

"And so, I want to make sure that everyone here has a good time and doesn't have their breakfast ruined because of me. Besides, I would still like to meet everyone and get to know each other so, that we could become friends... If that is all right with everyone?" the boy clarified with each of the girls while hoping they would agree.

As he explained his reasoning, many of the girls had their facial expressions switch from a defensive or distant expression to that of one of curiosity and intrigue by how the boy took ownership over something that wasn't his fault at all but still do so. In the pursuit of making everyone not so indifferent to him being there. A thoughtful idea that several of the girls had never experienced before.

It wouldn't take another second before one of the girls decided to take a chance and raise her hand gaining the boy's attention. This girl was also one of the ones that questioned Shokuhou about if she knew about the spiky-haired teen appearing on the news.

"Um... Sora?"

"Yeah? What's up?" the spiky-haired boy casually asked while offering a friendly smile.

"Well, on the news there wasn't much information about you or what your level was. Everyone is kind of left in the dark about understanding who you are. Could you... tell us a bit about yourself?" the girl politely asked.

Realizing that he would be receiving questions about the previous day's events, Sora took a second to gather his thoughts. You would think that with as many times as he had been asked a question or two regarding the Heartless attack or his status in the city, he would be ready to answer questions. But every time he answered, he felt like one or two things changed in his explanation. He wasn't exactly reading from a script but still didn't want to tell a lie or the truth. Such was the predicament he was facing as things would not make any sense if he tried to explain everything.

Coming back to his senses, Sora had a grasp of what he wanted to respond with and began to do so.

"Ha, well, this might sound a bit crazy but..."

Every one of the Tokiwadi girls moved forward in their seats as they were waiting for the boy to finish saying what he started. Even Shokuhou was somewhat interested in how he would answer the question.

"I'm not exactly from Academy City."

The girls were left confused at first but then started processing what he said and thought about it with calm heads. But that then switched back to being confused again.

"Wait. What?"

"How is that possible?"

"Are you pulling a prank with us?"

"That doesn't make any sense?"

"What do you mean?"

Questions like these went flying all around the side of the restaurant that was occupied by a majority of girls and only one boy. It didn't make sense that someone with the abilities that were captured for all to see just stated that he wasn't from Academy City or that he had been here long. What kind of esper could think of stating something like that?

Seeing that he left everyone practically doubting his answer or confused. Sora knew that he had to clear things up quickly which got him to go along with what he originally told Touma. This was in a way still true as he had no idea how he appeared in this world.

"Wait, wait. Please let me explain."

Raising his hands to ease the situation, he immediately explained his reasoning.

"There's more to it than just me not being from Academy City. I'm also suffering from a case of amnesia."

The girls swiftly changed their stance on the situation from confused to puzzled. While his first statement was confusing this new announcement was a head turner. Some girls now put together the puzzle surrounding this boy and realized that he said he wasn't from Academy City because he might not know where he is originally from. Many of the girls' attention was now caught and wanted him to elaborate further.

One girl however could feel a sense of... nostalgia in what the boy proclaimed. That girl being Shokuhou who had experienced a situation involving memory loss was a... sore subject. Her mind instantly went back to the person she cherished most dear to her heart and how the cruel reality that amnesia had played on his life or rather... her life. Just thinking about him brought an outward sigh out of her as she now felt her mood fall. But in a show of solidarity, she put on a façade of an expression to not worry the others.

"Are... Are you ok?" one of the girls asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Nothing lasting and whatnot. It's not a complete memory loss just... somethings don't exactly make sense. Such as me ending up here in the city or anything before that. But I do remember everything else about my childhood and my friends and whatnot."

"That sounds horrible! Have you seen a doctor yet?" Hokaze worriedly questioned the boy.

"I have already. After the monster incident, I went to go get checked up and was given a clean bill of health. So, there's nothing to worry about I'm all good" Sora affirmed to his dear new friend.

"Ah, what a relief. You had me worried there for a second."

"But that still doesn't answer why you have amnesia?" one of the other girls stated to him.

Right as he was just about to respond to the girl's question, the waitress looked to be finally situated and came up to the side of the restaurant that was filled with nothing, but girls dressed in Tokiwadai school uniforms along with one sole boy. The sight of so many people caused her to freeze for a second before regaining her senses and taking the plunge into the mass that was young teens ready to order food.

"Hi there! Welcome! What can I get all of you to drink? Also, seeing that there are so many of you joining us... it might take a bit longer for your food to arrive. I hope you can understand."

"That's not a problem at all. Honestly, thank you for making space for all of us to come in" Sora respectfully replied.

"We truly appreciate it" commented Hokaze as she bowed her head to the waitress.

"Nonsense. Though there are..." The waitress looked around the room to try and get a specific headcount of how many students there were in attendance, but she gave up after counting over twenty and decided to just say that there was a lot. "Many of you. We figured that we could just bunch you together as a large party."

"Once again, thank you for that" Shokuhou affirmed.

"Of course, now then, what can I get you all to drink?"

This led the waitress to go through each of the students and take down what they wanted to drink followed by what they would like to eat. The notebook that she was carrying was soon filled to the brim with everything that the students wanted. Sora's heart went out to the waitress as she managed to not only get every girl's order but make sure the order was correctly checked.

Now, left with just the girls again, Sora figured that he could pick up on what he was saying.

"Well, I guess I should get back to what I wanted to say." Closing his right hand and looking down at it, the Keyblade wielder began to explain a bit about himself.

The rest of the girls were now back to paying attention to the boy and were eagerly waiting to hear him out.

"The reason for my amnesia is... complicated. I don't really know what triggered it. Just that... I was on the top of a building, and I was talking to someone, and then... I woke up in the middle of the street in the middle of the night."

Sora explained what he truly experienced but decided to leave out the part about Yozora. He alone was a topic that he had no idea what to think of.

"Wait... you said that your memory hasn't been completely affected. Does that mean you remember how you got on top of a building?" another girl asked.

Meanwhile, Shokuhou merely kept her eyes trained on Sora. Becoming interested in what he had to say. Hokaze was also in the same boat wanting to learn more about her friend.

"I... I'm not sure about that either. What I can tell you is that I'm originally an islander. Having lived on an island for most of my life. But again, there are bits of my memory that don't make any sense at all" Sora explained while coming to a sudden conclusion with his amnesia shtick.

Because of how convenient the story of him dealing with a case of amnesia sounded a lot more believable than saying that he's from another world. He was going to keep on falling back on that answer. Especially for discussing parts about his younger childhood but for questions regarding his later years, he would give a basic half-truth answer.

"An islander... which islands?"

"Are you from Hawaii?"

Hearing the questions about his home, Sora came up with a quick answer. One that was obviously false but... true to a degree since he had some thoughts about his home. Thoughts that would sadly go unresolved since he... might not ever be able to go back.

Putting on a sad expression, he answered the girls' answers.

"I'm from the Destiny Islands. They were located out in the middle of the ocean."

"You said were... does that mean..." Hokaze started saying but wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Yeah... the islands were swallowed during a storm."

Silence had taken its place and none of the girls knew what to say. Anything they were originally thinking about the boy was flipped on its head. To hear that this mysterious boy was dealing with something more than they originally thought caused them to look at him differently now. Not in a bad way per se, but in the concerned type of way.

"I-I'm sorry."

This was muttered by a few more girls while the rest just decided to stay quiet on the matter having their own thoughts swimming around their heads.

"It's all good. Don't feel bad about it. It happened a while back. There might be times when I'm sad thinking about it, but I need to keep moving forward. Especially if I want to protect my friends."

Seeing that everyone didn't know how to progress the conversation forward, Sora let out an awkward chuckle. Having an inkling of what he needed to do to get the somber mood out of there.

"Hey, I'm sorry for bringing the mood down. I appreciate the thoughts you might have but it's okay. Besides, I haven't answered everything yet, have I?"

Immediately, Shokuhou realized what he was doing and decided to lend a helping hand.

"You're right about that. Seeing that you're willing to answer some questions about yourself, would you mind answering one of my questions?"

"Sure. Ask away."

"Right then, what level are you currently designated? From everything that I've been told and shown, the things you pulled off couldn't have been done by someone below a level 3 status."

Being hit with another question like this that focused solely on what level he was, Sora forced himself to not frown at the blonde's question and answered like he always does. With his heart.

"That's another complicated topic. You see, I'm currently classified as an unknown."

Once again, the girls all went silent but this time it was due to shock. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"What..."

"How is that possible?"

"You don't know what level you are?"

"How..."

Hearing all the questions coming at him, Sora was about to start speaking when Shokuhou gave her own opinion.

"You're classified as an unknown... how is that even a thing? Have you gotten testing done?"

As she said this, memories of her time when she first arrived in Academy City and participated in the Power Curriculum Program along with being classified as an unknown level began to flash through her mind. The city was many things but right now she couldn't exactly give a definitive name for it. Only that it was likely those sitting at the top knew more than they led on.

"Yeah... I did. The results on my esper power resulted in me being labeled as an unknown which, to be honest, I don't really care about what level I'm given" Sora clearly stated.

"Huh?"

"Wait what? Why?"

"Eh?"

"You don't care about your level status? But... why?"

"Why? You guys make it seem like that's all that matters?" Sora questioned, looking at everyone with a strange look.

Many of the girls shot glances at each other while displaying a sense of slight confusion on their faces.

"But..."

"Sora."

The spiky-haired boy turned his head to look over at Hokaze since she called him.

"Hearing your situation... while there is so much more, I would like to know about you... I guess to better understand our train of thought you must know that our time in Tokiwadai and Academy City has placed onto us that the results of your hard work are dependent on your esper level status."

He didn't say anything and beckoned for Hokaze to continue.

"So, in a way, a person's level status could truly mean so much to them to the point that if they don't achieve proficient results, then their entire life could be affected."

Not believing what he was hearing, the Keyblade wielder sank further into his chair but maintained a balanced weight to not fall over. There was so much wrong with what he was hearing.

"That's... "

"It's not fair."

Perking up at hearing Shokuhou, Sora remained silent to hear her out.

"This city's desire to seek proficient and outstanding results... there's no way that everyone will ever be able to achieve outstanding results. This is also why you might have heard it already, but people see Level 5's as something so much more than everyone else. There are only seven Level 5's in a city filled with thousands of kids."

Frowning at hearing how the city was starting to show its true colors, Sora knew that there was probably going to be more that he would come to find out about. But for now, he would learn all that he could.

"Still though... I don't believe that whatever level you are assigned is what truly defines a person" he said sincerely. "It's all about who you are as a person."

The girls of Shokuhou's clique were now leaning forward in their seats. Eager to hear what he had to say.

"It doesn't matter if you are a level 0 or a level 1 or even a level 5..."

Shokuhou's eyes were raised a bit at hearing the boy's words.

"If you're willing to step in and help in any way you can, then you'll be surprised by what you are really capable of. There are so many things that tests can't exactly depict in the results. Even when you think things are going bad or that you don't have the power to do something right... the heart will find a way to show you."

"The heart?" Mental Out commented as she was lost now.

"Mm. The heart is a mystery that I don't think anyone can really answer what it is. But I know that by following your heart... you are more likely to discover features about yourself that you might have never known. Strengths, you didn't know you had. Weaknesses, you never expected."

Everyone listening in didn't know what to think.

"The heart is something that even when you feel like the world is going against you, or even the smallest to largest things in life are against you... it will always be there to give you strength" Sora added, bringing his hand up to his own heart.

"...I think I'm lost..." one of the girls in the clique muttered.

A few others also nodded their heads but there was one girl that didn't say anything but instead looked over at Sora. That girl happened to be Hokaze who also brought a hand to her heart and smiled cheerfully.

"I think I understand, Sora."

All eyes were now on the purple ringlet-haired girl.

"There have been times where... I felt lost if you could believe it. But knowing that... by believing in myself and everyone that I hold dear to me... I was able to push past the problems going against me. Letting sit here with all of you today and holding my head up high and loving every moment of my life."

Hokaze said these words with the utmost conviction and sincerity that many of the girls were feeling a bit... inspired. Knowing that someone so close to them and one that they looked up to, aside from their Queen, managed to deal with problems she was facing with herself and conquered those difficulties. The idea of following your heart sounded strange but given how Hokaze explained it, then it didn't sound all that difficult to grasp now.

However, there was one girl who didn't have much of an opinion on the matter and that was Shokuhou. She didn't exactly understand the idea of believing in the heart or how it stepped in to help you in times of need or weakness. Perhaps it was just her way of approaching the idea but for now, she decided to stay silent on the matter and get the conversation back on track.

"So, from what I'm understanding it doesn't matter what level you are as long as you are able to do something that's all that matters?"

"In a way, yes."

"But what about those who don't have powers or abilities that are deemed remarkable or strong to make a difference? What then?"

"Is that really all that matters? I've met so many people that may have not been able to do extraordinary things that others could do, but at the same time, they still made a difference. Even if it was minimal, they still managed to help."

The Keyblade wielder said this with as much heart as he could. "Even knowing that someone believes in you or that you have friends in your corner can do so much."

Shokuhou couldn't help but cast her gaze to the floor. Thoughts and memories of her time in the prior year came to the forefront of her mind. Sora couldn't help but see the girl's body posture change and wanted to say something but was suddenly stopped as a girl from the clique spoke up.

"Sora, seeing that there's still not much known about you. Can you tell us about your esper ability?"

"Sure. I'm able to use and manipulate light into doing many different things." To better elaborate on his coverup esper ability, he summoned his Keyblade for everyone to see.

To say that everyone was stumped would be the correct explanation for everyone's reaction. Many of the girls had seen the news coverage featuring the boy and how he used a giant key to fight back against the monsters but to see it up close now. It left them a bit confused about how it could even be used as a weapon let alone manipulate light to create things as Sora stated. Some girls figured that the weapon could be used as a baton to beat things.

"How... exactly is it a weapon?"

"And what do you mean you can do other things?"

Seeing that he needed to clear the air, Sora began to divulge a bit of the crazy things that he was able to do while also making it somewhat believable with the idea of it being the esper ability to manipulate light.

"Well, I'm able to easily manipulate light to warp and create the things I need at times. The way I do it is... complicated to say the least. But just know that there are so many things that I can do like cause elemental abilities to appear or change the way I'm able to use energy throughout my body such as running up a wall or jumping really high. Different things like that" Sora explained while trying to make his ability somewhat realistic rather than say it was all magic.

Although the truth of the matter is that it was all magic. And even then, he didn't know exactly the process of how everything worked. It just sort of worked.

"Light manipulation..."

"Are the calculations difficult to attune to the different abilities that you are able to do?"

"How long did it take you to break down the effects of your personal reality?"

"Is it hard to control?"

"Does the... giant key act as a processor for your ability?"

"Does it have to be a giant key?"

"How good are you at- "

Questions and questions flooded Sora's head as each girl was becoming very interested in how the boy's esper ability worked. This resulted in questions that he did not have an answer to. Along with some that didn't make sense. He was at his wit's end and was about to start blurting out random answers to get the girls to calm down, but he was luckily saved by his new purple-haired friend.

"Is that how you were able to defeat those monsters?" Hokaze asked, managing to quiet everyone down and focus on that question.

Sighing in relief, Sora eagerly and excitedly answered her question.

"Yes! That's exactly how I was able to defeat the monsters yesterday."

"Were they scary to deal with?"

"Did you have a hard time fighting them?"

"Were you scared?"

"What were those monsters?"

Glad that the conversation had moved from talking about his made-up esper ability to the topic of the Heartless. Sora knew he could be a bit more open with what he said about the monsters. At the same time, he also didn't want to scare the girls since it seemed that they were a bit... closed off from how the world truly was.

"Well, those monsters weren't all that scary to deal with. But that's because I've dealt with them before many times. I have a good idea of how they might react or their attack patterns. Of course, that doesn't mean that I should let my guard up. No matter what kind of foe or challenge you are dealing with, you should never underestimate what you're dealing with."

Sora said this with the utmost sincerity while also having a hint of confidence in his words.

"And regarding if I was scared. The answer is no." Crossing his arms across his chest, the boy spoke as clearly as possible. "I can't be scared. Not when I know just how much trouble those monsters can cause if not dealt with."

Many of the girls were looking in awe at how he answered those questions. Both in confidence and reassurance. This led the honey-blonde Queen to decide to take part in the conversation as she had grown quiet for a minute.

"... And just what were those creatures? A science experiment gone wrong?"

The Keyblade wielder knew this question was coming but he still wanted to make sure he answered in a somewhat reasonable sense. He couldn't quite say that the Heartless were creatures physically formed manifestations of the darkness within people's hearts. That would just make everyone look at him weirdly or worse. So, the spiky-haired boy decided to twist the truth of the monsters to fit in this world.

"Those monsters are better known as the Heartless. They're creatures that have been... created by mad scientists and can take various forms."

Sora figured that he could rely on the idea of a mad scientist creating the monsters which in a way was true... just not in this world. Ansem's research into the human heart and all the reports he had collected in his adventures could be the evidence and support of his answer. Along with the idea of the Emblem Heartless. Plus, all the collected reports that were written in Jiminy's journal were converted into his Gummiphone so he had proof in case someone asked.

Shokuhou's expression hardened as she heard that a mad scientist was involved in the creation of those monsters, she had briefly seen due to her clique's interest in the news feed. Many painful memories began to flash through her head of her as a young child. All the tests that were done to her... and the other girls that...

Shaking her head and avoiding having to live through those thoughts right now, she merely let out a frustrated sigh before focusing back on Sora who was answering another girl's question about the monsters.

"But how did you come up with the idea of throwing a bus at that tornado? And why did the monsters turn into a tornado? That doesn't make any sense."

"When it comes to the Heartless, nothing really makes sense. As for throwing the bus, I needed to create an impact that would not only throw the flow of the tornado off but allow me to get close and start attacking the core. The whole thing was made up of the Heartless better known as Shadows and inside the dark vortex was a core that was holding the mass of monsters all together" Sora finished explaining.

Bewildered expressions could be seen on the Tokiwadai girls' faces. Learning more about what transpired during the monster attack left the girls with an even more surprising interpretation of the boy sitting with them. Not to mention, hearing that Sora was already familiar with the monsters and probably had many more encounters with the dark creatures before.

Seeing that Sora was even more mysterious than they originally thought, many of the girls started bombarding him with random questions of varying degrees. The topics ranged from his favorite color to the way his weapon looked along with doubts about the key-shaped blade being able to hurt anyone to even how the boy dressed. That topic led several other girls including Hokaze to guess where he bought each article of his outfit, but they were soon surprised to hear that he received them as a gift from one of his friends and didn't know where they were made. All in all, the mood was one of cheerful chatter as the girls sought to get a better understanding of the brown spiky-haired boy.

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As the girls and Sora continued to talk about a plethora of topics unsurprisingly centered around him, he was also trying his best to remember each of the girls' names. The waitress had suddenly started making her way over to the group with an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm so sorry for the long wait. We are currently... experiencing some problems and are backed up in the kitchen."

"How so?" Shokuhou questioned.

"Our main chef had to step out for an emergency call but hasn't returned yet. We're doing our best to try and contact him but..."

Hearing this, Sora hoped everything was alright with the chef but knew that people were waiting for their food. Hence, he was about to do something a bit... reckless. But honestly, when didn't he do anything crazy?

"Um, if it won't be too much trouble, then could I help?" Sora asked the waitress.

It took a second for the waitress to come back to her senses as she realized just what he had said. Even Shokuhou and Hokaze were stunned at what the boy just said.

"O-Oh? That's very kind of you, sir. But that won't be- "

"But didn't you just say that you're falling behind on orders? I know that this is our first time meeting, and you don't exactly know me, but I truly want to help. Besides, I'm pretty familiar with my way around the kitchen" Sora collectively replied.

During his time in Twilight Town, he had come to learn a great deal in the kitchen and could confidently say that his cooking skills were good. Of course, they could be better. But that was something he would work on later.

Many of the girls didn't know what to think as they looked back at each other and then at Sora. Did the spiky-haired boy know how to cook?

The waitress on the other hand shot a look at Sora debating if she should even consider the boy's offer. It would take her another moment of looking back and forth between the kitchen and the spiky-haired boy. In a rather quick motion, she speed walked back to the kitchen and was gone for a few seconds before coming back and having a mixed expression on her face. It was one of regret and gratefulness combined and contorting.

"I didn't even catch your name, sir."

"Haha, my name is Sora."

"Sora... well then, this is certainly not anything I've ever had to do but... we would greatly appreciate it if you could help us in the kitchen. Of course, you'll be reimbursed with your order and- "

"Don't worry about it. Know then..." Stepping up from his seat and pushing it in, he began walking up to the waitress while donning his game face. Ready to start the cooking. "Shall we get started? There's a lot of hungry customers here and we wouldn't want to keep them waiting" Sora enthusiastically responded while grinning widely.

Nodding at the boy, the waitress beckoned him to follow her into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Shokuhou and Hokaze were questioning what just happened. Seeing the boy step up and take on the role of the chef in the kitchen... was certainly quite surprising and caused them to grow excited at the prospect of the brunette boy cooking their food. That same thought was shared by the other Tokiwadai girls.

"Can Sora cook?"

"He didn't strike me as the type that could."

"Maybe appearances can be deceiving?"

"What if he's bad?"

"What if it's good?"

"Girls."

Everyone stopped talking as their Queen seemed to calm everyone down. Their eagerness to see the results of the boy was causing a bit of noise but now they were back to normal. All they could do was patiently wait for the boy's food to arrive.

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Back in the kitchen, Sora had gotten himself ready by washing his hands and putting on a spare apron that said, "Love the Chef". Upon seeing this, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"That's funny."

Hearing footsteps head toward him, he spotted the waitress walking toward him holding what appeared to be all the orders in hand.

"Okay. This is something I've never done before so... let's hope it goes all well."

"Don't worry. We've got this. Just leave the cooking to me" Sora said this with the utmost confidence managing to even get the waitress to think that this was going to work.

"All right, then, please Sora. Get to cooking!"

"You got it!"

And with nothing else needing to be said, the spiky-haired boy began working through the kitchen at an impeccable rate. Getting the stove running and already cooking eggs and other ingredients that were listed on the first batch of orders he received. Making sure to get everything correctly cooked based on what the customers wanted, he thought that he was having a good time with everything cooking. But... he thought he could do better.

With the kitchen equipment all going at the same time thanks to his flexibility to multitask, Sora wondered if he'd be able to speed things up. Particularly, with the power of magic.

He knew that he could use the time spell to slow things down but wasn't sure if that could be used to speed things up. Of course, this was something he had never tried to do before so it was likely that it wouldn't even work, but still he wanted to at least try. Hence, while watching the food cook in front of him, he began to brainstorm how a spell could increase the speed at which the food could be finished.

"Hmm. Speed? No, Fast? Time speed? Increase? Cook the food?"

Sora was mumbling to himself when he spotted that the eggs needed some attention. He began thinking about a few other things when a sudden idea popped into his head.

Haste.

People tended to make haste when things started to get bad. Rushing in to help in any way possible. Maybe that could work?

When it came to casting spells, he had no idea of the fundamental foundation of spells or any of that complex stuff. Only that it took time to master how a spell worked and could be used along with how it could evolve into an even more powerful spell. So, to try and utilize a spell that he had no idea how it really worked or if it even was a real thing, was a big stretch. However, the world traveler was willing to try.

"Well, worst case, I use a Stop spell on the whole place to fix my mistake, haha... please work."

Looking around the kitchen to make sure that no one could see him, he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it to some of the food that was cooking, and cast the spell. Hoping that something good would happen.

"Haste."

_______________________________________________________________________________

Several Minutes Later

As the Tokiwadai girls were continuing to chat amongst themselves about all sorts of things including the spiky-haired boy who was acting as a chef now, they noticed that the waitress was coming out of the kitchen holding plates of food and beginning to take them to the other customers who had been waiting longer than they had. The girls tried to get a look at how the food appeared but couldn't quite see well enough since they were on the other side of the restaurant. Alas, this led to them chatting once more about the food and if Sora was a good chef.

Once the waitress was done serving the food, she made her way back to the kitchen and within a matter of seconds, she came back out with more dishes to be served. This repeated several times all while amazing the girls at how fast the food was coming out. Not to mention, a few of the girls, Hokaze and Shokuhou included, had gotten a look at some of the dishes being served to the other customers and had to admit... they looked really good.

The quality of the food looked very appealing, especially because it was still morning time and practically everyone had ordered something relating to breakfast. This just made the girls even more eager to try the food since they saw some of the other customers smile and brighten up immediately after tasting the food. They also began to worry about if it would take longer for the food to be made but that idea was suddenly thwarted.

Coming out of the kitchen once more, the waitress was now carrying a large plate that contained even more dishes and was heading over to the girl's section.

"Here you all go! Courtesy of the chef. I've never seen someone work so fast in the kitchen before it... it's honestly astounding."

Once she was done handing several of the dishes out, she made haste to get the rest of the food while the girls who had gotten their food waited for the others to get their food. Soon after several trips to the kitchen were made, every one of the girls now had what they asked for, resting in front of them. Now, based on the principle of Tokiwadai girls to act prim and proper one would look over at the uniformed girls and think the exact opposite. However, that was to be expected as their first reaction to tasting the food was utter shock.

Everything tasted so good. Basic ingredients that were commonly used somehow tasted even better. As if they were not at a regularly established chain restaurant and instead eating at a 5-star restaurant located in France where top-of-the-line ingredients were being used. This was throwing the girls, especially Shokuhou for a loop at how amazing everything was tasting. Before long the girls had gone silent and were basking in the goodness that was their breakfast.

It wasn't until Hokaze stopped eating and realized they were missing someone. That someone being the chef who cooked their food.

"Wait, where is Sora?"

By coincidence, the spiky-haired boy was seen coming out of the kitchen with a plate of his own while talking to someone they hadn't seen before. After a second of thinking it became apparent that the man talking with Sora was indeed the original chef and he looked all sorts of thankful and appreciative of the brunette boy.

"Again, I can't thank you enough."

"Don't worry about it. Everything worked out in the end."

"Still though, there has to be some way to repay you..."

"Please, it's all good" Sora tried to reason with the chef but wasn't getting anywhere.

Thinking of how to repay the teenager for his actions, the chef snapped his fingers and had an idea come to him.

"What about a discount on your meal?"

Now, Sora had experienced many things in his time of traveling across different worlds and grew to love many things. But one thing that seemed to stick with him even as he got older and somewhat wiser, not that Riku or Donald would agree, was that he had a great interest in discounts. This appreciation might have started with his encounters with the Moogles that he encountered and their steep prices for things such as crystals or potions or even the synthesis of items. Seeing the price of Munny increase each time he stopped at a Moogle station left him slowly experiencing defeat inside, so when discounts were openly talked about as much as he didn't want to seem stingy or come off as taking advantage... He also knew the chef wouldn't stop offering different ways to pay him back for stepping in as cook.

Sighing in both acceptance and defeat, he silently nodded at the idea of getting a discount on the meal.

"Oh! Thank you. Now, I feel slightly better."

"But before you or the waitress hand over the check, make sure it's all under one bill and I'll take care of it."

Eyes wide, the chef was surprised by the boy's request.

"That's awfully courteous of you. Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yeah. I don't mind. Besides, being able to sit down and eat with friends makes it all the more worth it."

Sora stated this with the utmost truth and sincerity as it was true that eating with friends was something he really appreciated. Being in a new world all on your own tended to be a bit scary. But with friends by your side, it made it all worthwhile. Besides, he had plenty of money, or should he say Yen in his account that it was nothing in the grand scheme of his bank account. Plus, he might have even more Munny due to dealing with the Heartless late last night.

"Alright then. Again, thank you, Sora."

"Not a problem. Any time."

Not needing anything else to say, the spiky-haired boy made his way over to the group of girls who were eyeing him like he was some kind of hero who managed to save... oh.

"Uh... why are you guys staring at me like that?"

Turning to look at the others, Hokaze was the first to respond.

"Sora, I-I didn't know you were so skilled in the kitchen!?"

"... But I'm not."

"Say what?"

"I'm not. I still have a whole lot more to learn. Besides, another one of my friends is way better at cooking than me. I hope everything tastes ok."

"Ok?... Ok?" Shokuhou suddenly started saying which seemed a bit strange.

"This food tastes like it would be made at a 5-star restaurant located in France!"

Beginning to smile brightly, Sora was reminded of his time with little chef.

"That... actually makes sense, haha!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Shokuhou asked.

"When I started learning how to cook, I managed to learn from one of my new friends who I came to find out was a very skilled chef. I also learned from his boss that he came from a place called Paris where he was said to work at a highly established restaurant. I never did learn where he used to cook... oh well" Sora said this all too casually.

The blonde Level 5 could do nothing but stare with her mouth slightly open at what the boy just said. She was once again left puzzled by who he was. Just when she was starting to get an idea of his personality and character, he goes and does as well as says something out of left field. But the one thing she could say about him was that he appeared to be a good person. At least, based on what she could tell about him from her brief introduction to him.

Taking his seat which was next to Hokaze, Sora began to eat his own food which got everyone to watch carefully and see how he enjoyed his creation. They were stumped at what he said next.

"Hmm... the hashbrowns could be a bit better. I'll fix that for next time I cook breakfast."

_______________________________________________________________________________

After spending the next bit of time enjoying his food while also chatting with the girls, Sora noticed the waitress coming back over to him holding what he suspected to be the check. Swiftly reaching into his pocket to grab his card, he also smiled warmly as she was coming up to him.

"Sora... I don't know what to say."

"Think nothing of it. It all worked out in the end."

"Mm-hm. I guess all I can say is thank you."

"You're welcome. Is that the check?" He asked, pointing to her hand.

"Yes. I was also told to give this to you."

"Wait a second..." Hokaze started saying but was stopped as Sora handed his card to the waitress.

"Yep. Here you go."

"Thanks, I'll be right back."

Now left waiting for the bill to go through, he had to deal with a confused and somewhat angry-looking Hokaze who was staring right at him.

"Sora! Why did you do that?"

"Uh... no reason."

"No reason? But didn't you- "

"If you have to know, then... think of it as a thank you."

"A thank you?"

"Yeah. Not just to you but to Shokuhou as well?"

"I beg your pardon?" Shokuhou stated, confused as to what he was getting at.

Sinking a bit back into his seat, Sora explained his reasoning for covering the bill.

"Being in Academy City and... in the situation that I've found myself it's a bit hard... being alone."

The girls' faces softened at hearing the boy's words.

"But even though I've already made many friends here in the city, it still feels great to meet even more friends. Besides, getting to go out and eat with you all is worth paying for. And like I told Hokaze, I would like to do this again sometime. Hopefully, bring even more of my friends to a get-together like this" Sora relayed his reasoning to everyone managing to have them see him in a whole new aspect.

There was, however, one girl who wasn't sure how she should take the boy's words. That girl being Shokuhou as she suddenly became a bit guarded. There was no way that someone this nice and kind could want something so simple as getting together with friends. She realized that this sudden turn in character for her was uncalled for, but after what she had dealt with throughout her time in Academy City... it was a bit of a force of habit to remain cautious. Plus, the last time she could think of anyone as kind as Sora was... a certain black spiky-haired boy.

Knowing full well that she was letting her thoughts twist the way she saw the boy, Shokuhou decided to take a risk. One that she would take full ownership of were it to cause any problems.

Reaching into her purse, she wanted to know just what kind of person Sora really was and what he was thinking right now on the heel of him saying those thoughtful things. Making sure not to make it obvious, she pointed her remote at him to peek into his mind and get a better idea of his thoughts.

Once she clicked the button on her remote, she regretted even thinking ill of him.

So many thoughts and instances came rushing toward her in what seemed to be an overflow of information. It was as if instead of taking a small peek into the boy's head to read his current thoughts, she threw herself headfirst into a deep pool of nothing but confusion and thoughts that didn't make any sense whatsoever. Things that he was thinking about that made no sense at all. This forced her to stop what she was doing and cut the connection she made in Sora's mind and stumble back into her own. Once she was back and did her best to put on a façade of remaining neutral, she realized one thing about the brunette-haired boy. He was still a total mystery even though she had gotten to know a bit about him.

On the other hand, Sora felt as if he had a sudden wave of dizziness hit him out of nowhere. It caused him to feel groggy all of a sudden while shaking his head. He jogged it up to being a sudden headache from eating too much so quickly or just the night's effects wearing down on him again. Before he could spend any more time wondering about what caused the sudden nauseous effect, the waitress was making her way to him with a smile on her face.

"Here you go. Everything went through successfully. Thank you once again, Sora. Without your help... I don't even know what would have happened."

"It's all good... "

"Huh? Is something up?"

Ruffling the back of his head, Sora felt embarrassed for barely realizing something that he didn't do. He didn't know the waitress's name.

"I'm sorry. This whole time I haven't even asked for your name."

Starting to laugh a little, the waitress merely waved her hand in the air.

"It's not a problem at all. My name is Himeko Arai. It's... haha, nice to meet you, Sora."

"Likewise, Himeko!"

"Well then, if there's nothing else, I wish you all a good day and hope you will stop by again. Thank you!"

And with that, Himeko went back to work to get new customers situated. Business as usual.

The rest of the Tokiwadai girls also checked their phones to see the time and realized that the day was nearing lunchtime now. They had spent more time out than they originally thought but it was all worth it. The high, privileged girls had managed to get something more than they thought they would. And that was a new friend.

Sora was so much more than they thought. Some girls thought that he might be as perverse as some of the boys they encountered on their unlucky encounters outside of Tokiwadai while others thought might have a tough personality, but it turns out those ideas were incredibly wrong. Hokaze was definitely right. He was one of the nicest boys that they had ever met and could certainly call him a friend.

Even Shokuhou who was beginning to feel guilty for doing something so drastic to the boy during their first-ever meeting knew that he was somebody she could see getting along with to a certain degree if she ever encountered him. Hence, she also started thinking about her original intentions for coming to meet him for breakfast. To have a... friend on her side were things to ever get difficult. As much as she didn't want to think of it like that, she was basically getting that and some more. This is why she decided to somewhat scold herself later and go for a more networking relationship with the boy.

Pulling her phone out of her purse, she called out to the boy.

"Sora, I'm grateful for what you've done for us."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Shokuhou."

"Nonsense. I'd like to make it up to you."

Seeing that the blonde girl wasn't going to take no for an answer, Sora immediately knew what he would like.

"Then, what do you say we all get together again and do this again?" Sora curiously asked. "I would like to do this again with my other friends and maybe one day find a way to bring together all my friends to go out and eat. Something as simple as eating together was really fun..."

Letting a small smile appear on her face, Shokuhou had to agree that eating with friends was something she never thought all that much before. But now it seemed like something she would take and twist to fit her own image with her clique members.

"I think that's a great idea. Moreover, what do you say that we stay in contact? I know you have Hokaze's number but what about mine?"

"Sure! That sounds like a plan. Plus, it'll make it easier to do get-togethers rather than having to rely on Hokaze."

"I don't mind one bit" Hokaze happily added. "Ah! I almost forgot..."

Scrambling to search her pocket, Hokaze pulled out something that had a strange appearance and left Sora confused. But after taking a second to realize what the item was, he was astounded and left excited.

"I managed to pick this up on the ground before you got to the restaurant and wanted to give this to you or at least ask if you wanted it as a gift of sorts. I realize that the idea of picking something off the ground and giving it as a gift is... not normal and kind of unhygienic but if you don't like it I- "

"Hokaze. Do you realize what you picked up?" Sora asked the purple-haired girl.

"N-No? Should I?"

"I will gladly accept your gift!"

"Oh?! Then by all means, here you go."

Taking the gift into his hands, Sora immediately knew what this was at first glance. It was the keychain for his Olympus Keyblade allowing him to use the shield form and even summoning the chariot. Since he lost most of his keychains upon coming into this world, he now knew that they were out there somewhere, and he would have to go looking for the rest. But now he could rest easy and focus on what he and Shokuhou agreed to.

Reaching for his Gummiphone, Sora spotted the blonde's phone in her hand and pressed his device next to hers which confused her but with a beeping sound being indicated, he checked his phone and saw that her contact had successfully been added. Just like how he got Mugino's number which he once again figured it was magic being magic or his Gummiphone had a technological feature he had no idea about.

The blonde girl didn't know what just happened and figured that it was just the boy's strange-looking phone that did the trick. She wanted to question it, but she already had things apparent in her mind. Things that made no sense at all.

Seeing that nothing else needed to be done, she and the rest of her clique began parting ways with Sora once again thanking him for taking care of the bill and stepping in to cook. They couldn't wait to spread the word around Tokiwadai about meeting the boy from the news coverage and detail how nice he truly was.

Watching as the girls got further and further away, Sora realized that today had started off very interesting, and realistically it was still barely starting. He also knew that there was much that he still had to do while becoming familiar with the city and this new world.

In that line of thinking, he began to realize that he should start to make his dorm feel more like home and decided that he could do a bit of shopping. Both in terms of preparing for his eventual days as a school student and making his dorm feel like home. His home.

With a plan in place, he began to set forth into the city and back to his dorm to get things situated. At the same time, Sora realized something that had just happened to him. Pulling out his Gummiphone, he went into his contacts and went down to the newest individuals added.

Mugino and Shokuhou. Two Level 5's.

In any normal situation, anybody would be freaking out at the idea of getting not just one Level 5's number to be able to get two numbers sounded outright absurd. But Sora merely looked at his newly added contacts and couldn't help but smile. More names came up from the people that he had met in this world. He had made so many new friends in such a short amount of time. It helped take his mind off the issue that the Heartless were still out there causing problems for everyone. He might as well get himself ready for his next fight with them.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, outside of Academy City

News had traveled far and wide about the events occurring within the city. Members of the magic side of the world had come to understand what happened and how it was all centered around two indistinguishable facts. The spiky-haired boy who wielded the key-shaped weapon and the dark creatures were connected in some way. Not to mention, the dark monsters were reported to be... different.

Within the last 24 hours, multiple reports coming in from various agents of the magic side infiltrating Academy City had sent word about first-hand reports garnered from witnesses on the scene or from word-of-mouth accounts. Many were left confused or intrigued by what happened but something that could be collectively agreed upon was that something else was going on in the technologically advanced city. And it was all happening while the board chairman sat idly by in his impenetrable building watching from atop.

One individual who had been informed of the prior day's events was a certain tall red-headed boy who was at the age of 14 and already smoking packs of cigarettes. Stiyl Magnus, member of the English Puritan Church and its 0th Parish, Necessarius.

He was currently situated back in England and doing his best to break down all the various reports he was getting from his insider sources dwelling within the city. Recently, he had also received word from Tsuchimikado and Kanzaki on what happened, and their report was the one that he highlighted to be of great importance. Granted, the report also included Kamijou being present which made him let out an irritated sigh. That plain spiky-haired boy always seemed to find himself involved in something and now he was in some way connected to the events that happened.

However, before he could continue to bash the spiky-haired boy's name further, he recalled what Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado said about actually encountering the boy who was involved in the incident which he had been sent to review. Hearing that this boy was named Sora and the information he provided was downright confusing. The things this boy said didn't make sense at all. Not to mention, the way he was able to use magic was alone in itself a topic that warranted much attention. But that would be for another time.

Stiyl needed to attend a meeting and discuss all that he had come to find out about the information he was receiving from Academy City. And while he knew that there was much to talk about, he also knew that whatever he reported would soon become a problem. Not only to him and his friends but... to the boy named Sora.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Back in Academy City at a certain high school

Kamijou Touma could feel his soul starting to leave him. The feeling that his body was on the verge of collapsing due to the one thing that was rather difficult to fight back against... sleep.

The class he was currently sitting in was surprisingly filled with many of his friends. Even some people he didn't think would need to take the extra lessons. Moreover, he spotted his blue-haired and blonde-haired idiotic friends also barely paying attention to what was being discussed at the front of the class. The topic being glossed over had to deal with the aspect of Calculus and its relation to establishing a complex structural understanding of building upon an individual's personal reality and incorporating the knowledge to one's esper ability. All in all, Touma was doing his best to fight the temptation of letting his eyes wander or close.

Suddenly without warning the bell sounded indicating that it was finally lunchtime and that the painstaking lessons stopped for now.

Letting his head slap the top of his desk, Touma heard footsteps making their way over to him and immediately knew who it was.

"Oi, Kami-yan, what's got you looking all down? Don't tell me another dog chased you on your way to class this morning?" Tsuchimikado commented.

"Nah, I bet he encountered something with his misfortune again. Like, supposedly getting blamed for staring at a girl at the wrong time and place" Aogami clarified, adding to painting the boy in a bad picture.

"...Maybe he's just having a bad day?" Himegami said which surprised Touma as he didn't think she would be here.

"Or maybe he's just slacking off again and blaming his so-called misfortune like he always does" Fukiyose stated loud and clear earning an irritated sigh to come from the spiky-haired boy's mouth.

"None of you got it right." Picking his head up off the desk, he began to explain his side of things. "Nothing bad has happened to me at all today. In fact, the exact opposite."

"How so?" Himegami asked.

"*sigh* Lately, nothing bad has happened to me at all today. This is suspiciously alarming..."

Hearing the dark spiky-haired boy complaining about something that almost everyone would be happy about leaving them to just shake their heads.

"That should be good, shouldn't it?" Himegami suggested, not following Kamijou's intuition.

"When it comes to Kamijou, he tends to say the opposite of what you think. When it comes to girls when he says he's not staring. He's actually staring. When he says he couldn't get to class on time, then he can get to class but comes up with stupid random excuses for not showing up" Fukiyose stated.

"Not to mention, Kami does tend to come up with crazy stories. So, seeing that he didn't have an explanation for today and showed up must mean that he couldn't think of a good excuse" Tsuchimikado said while grinning at the boy in question.

"That's just the way the guy is. Or the more obvious answer about his misfortune is that he's just sneaking off to meet girls" Aogami added to the conversation.

"You're all hopeless. Nothing bad happened to me this morning which means that something bad is going to happen soon. And I'm going to get dragged into something troublesome I can just feel it."

As Touma said this the four students observed the boy until what he said finally registered in their brains. Tsuchimikado snorted at the boy's response.

"You sound like an old man with your body feeling pain going through it haha!"

This got Aogami to join in the laughter while Himegami tilted her head and looked at Kamijou.

"How old are you, Kamijou?"

"I'M NOT THAT OLD!"

"Ahahahaha!"

"You have no idea what it's like to live with Lady Misfortune waiting for you at any second. Ready to strike whenever and wherever you are. Would you take my warning seriously?" Touma said to the group.

Aogami and Tsuchimikado were left laughing at the idea of old man Kamijou while Himegami continued to look him up and down and continued to ask him questions about his health and if he was experiencing anywhere else on his body hurting, and if so, he should go and see the school nurse.

Fukiyose could feel a headache coming on from hanging out with the Delta Trio. These idiots and their ridiculous conversations surrounding things that didn't make any sense. She began to worry about the other spiky-haired boy and how these three idiots' influence would affect him.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom opened, and in walked Komoe Sensei who smiled happily at seeing her students spending time together. Even if it appeared that Kamijou was being laughed at but still... that was normal in her class.

"It's good to see you all getting together."

"Sensei, that couldn't be further from the truth."

"Hello, Sensei."

Fukiyose and Himegami greeted their homerun teacher while Aogami and Tsuchimikado were still laughing at Kamijou who had a deadpan stare directed at them.

"Kamijou-chan? Did something happen? Why are they laughing at you... again?"

This resulted in the two Delta Force members laughing even harder at the misfortunate boy.

"*sigh* No reason at all Sensei. They're just... idiots."

"I concur" Fukiyose added.

"Well then, be that as it may, I hope you all enjoy your lunch break. Once class starts, we'll be going further delving further into our extra lessons along with playing a game for who answers the correct questions. Depending on if you answer questions incorrectly, you'll be tasked with a bit more homework to get done. Of course, Kamijou-chan, you'll already be assigned to do the extra homework since your grades are so low" Komoe elaborated which got the two idiots to chuckle.

Touma couldn't help but let out a loud sigh as he realized this might be what misfortune he was sensing.

"Oh! Also, Yomikawa asked me to pass along a message to you for Sora. She said that his books and whatnot will be available when normal classes start up again and that he just has to stop by the teacher's lounge to pick them up along with you giving him advice about the school uniform. She'll send him a text message later but in case she gets to be busy, then it's your job to relay this information to him."

"Hai. I'll let him know."

"Great! Well then, enjoy your lunch and get ready for afternoon lessons."

And with that, the small pink-haired teacher left the classroom leaving the group and a few other students to remain in the classroom. Touma reached into his pocket and started texting Sora to fill him in on what he was just told. This also led the wielder of Imagine Breaker to wonder just how the boy's day was going so far. Hopefully, things were going better for Sora than they were for him.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Standing at the top of one of the buildings within Academy City

There was so much to do yet so little time to get things done. That was what the being identified as Darkness thought as they looked down at the city. It had been a rather hassle trying to find the boy that piqued their interest. Research into the #2 and how his esper ability delved into the subject matter known as Dark Matter...

The ability to create something that doesn't exist in this universe until the moment he creates it... such an interesting concept. Especially when there were now factors in this world that... were not particularly from this universe.

Those factors were the formless figure currently covered in darkness and the spiky-haired boy who wielded the giant key-shaped weapon. These two were not of this world. Not even from this universe. And yet, here they were. Living proof of irregularities in this world.

Suddenly, the area around the dark figure began to contort and leave what appeared to be a dark corridor allowing them to sink into it and leave that location for another. This allowed for the figure to appear on the top of another building which had another point of view of the city while also being the location of their target.

Inside the building at one of the top levels was a dirty blonde man with shoulder-length hair wearing what appeared to be a dark maroon-colored suit with a white collared shirt, both unbuttoned, revealing a red V-neck under them. This young man who tended to wear a cocky smile was the 2nd ranked Level 5 in all of Academy City. Kakine Teitoku, also known as Dark Matter.

He was currently scrolling and tapping away at his tablet while also reading another report to come in regarding another breakdown of the first rank's esper ability and the fundamental applications that seemed to correlate with his power. Reading further into the report just angered the dirty blonde and beckoned him to start reading another report that didn't relate to Accelerator.

"You're not all what I expected you to be... You're more... disappointing really."

The dark being said this as they watched from the corner of the outside window taking in the appearance of the 2nd ranked. Though they could have gone after other targets connected to the science side or even on the magic side, the thirteenth darkness remnant had taken a keen interest in the boy who could create unique possibilities. However, they also knew that things could be moving at a relatively faster pace. Which is what they were about to do right now.

Back inside the apartment, Kakine started swearing to himself in frustration after skimming through another report that did absolutely nothing to benefit him with ideas to become stronger not only in his ability but to outclass the white-haired bastard sitting at the top. He was about to leave the apartment and find something else to do when he suddenly started to feel as if... someone was watching him.

Turning his back to the apartment's plethora of windows, he knew better than to let whoever was watching him get the first strike. Hence, in quick succession, he threw his right arm around his body while twisting his entire body to stand still while several large white, yet disproportionate wings appeared to sprout from his back. He had also narrowed his gaze at whatever was watching him only... it wasn't exactly a person.

Floating there in the middle of the air was what appeared to be a figure enshrouded with dark mist around them as they floated there. You couldn't really see their face as everywhere on their body was covered with darkness leaving how they looked like a complete mystery.

Eyeing the dark figure, Kakine did not let down his guard and instead kept it up while trying to get a read of what he was looking at before reducing it to the molecular level.

"Aren't you a disgusting sight..."

"..."

"Tsk. Whatever you are I suggest that you say or do something before I leave nothing behind to ever show you existed in this world."

"... I'd like to see you try."

Smirking while still narrowing a hard gaze at the dark figure, Kakine began to start demanding answers.

"So, you can talk. How amusing. Now, what the hell do you want?"

"Well now, aren't you direct? I can work with that. Truth be told, I'm here for you."

The dirty blonde boy began twisting his hand around which resulted in the wings on his back to start fluidly moving and now aiming right at the dark figure.

"You wanna clarify that? I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit."

"...You're searching for something."

"..."

"It's clear that no one else will ever be able to understand what it is that you're capable of or what you're able to create. Of course, that Dark Matter ability of yours is in a way... out of this world, no?"

"It sounds like you're just stating the obvious. Get to the point already" Kakine commanded the dark figure.

"What I mean is that the thing you are searching for something... whether it is influence or an answer you will not be able to find it by using conventional methods" the dark figure clearly stated.

Kakine continued to narrow his gaze at the dark mass and for a split second, his face relaxed before becoming serious once again.

"Go on..."

"Heh. Tell me... what do you know about darkness?"

"What? Are you playing some game with me?"

"No, no. You're thinking within the box. You need to start thinking outside of the box that is better identified as your world."

"Tch. And what the hell would you even know about thinking about something like that? Believing that you know about the principles of reality. Ha, don't make me laugh. Whoever you are, I suggest you- "

"Are you so sure about that?"

The Level 5 heard this and went silent while continuing to watch the dark figure only this time he really tried to see who was speaking.

"There are many things that I know of. Things that... you won't find the answer to at the rate you are progressing. Perhaps, the so-called scientists you tend to listen to might have what you need to take the next step in reaching power. But... Would they even be willing to give it to you? And... who knows? Maybe what you're searching for isn't in Academy City?"

"Now you're really just talking utter nonsense. And what the hell gives you the idea that I listen to those wastes of space? You've got a lot of nerve to say that to my face!"

Having had enough of the figure's game, Kakine threw his hand forward which instantly caused the wings sprouting from his back to strike where the dark clouded figure was floating. The attack created not only strange sounds but dust and debris to go flying both in and out of the apartment while also leaving nothing behind.

Waiting for the cloud of dust to disappear, the dirty blonde had his eyesight locked onto the spot where the dark figure was last expecting to see nothing but what he saw left him grinding down on his teeth and ready to kill someone.

There floating in the air not having moved at all was the dark figure still completely surrounded by the dark mist that covered their body.

"You have a temper."

"And you are about to be ripped to shreds with your head being the first thing that goes."

"With that kind of attack... don't make me laugh. I've seen children younger than you create stronger attacks than what you just did. I've even heard of a duck pulling off a stronger attack than what you just did. That was just... sad."

Dark Matter was now seeing red and wanted nothing more than to kill the figure. But before he could act, the dark figure waved what appeared to be its hand in the air while calling out to the boy.

"Stop, stop. You'll only hurt yourself."

"The fuck did you just say? I'm going to show you- "

"Just who you are messing with? Yes, I know who I'm messing with. Which is why I came to pay you a visit?"

"Why?"

"Well, you see... there are things within this city that... interest me. One of those things happens to be... can you guess?"

"...Me."

"Bingo. Heh, maybe you do have a brain up there next to all that imagination you use to create things that don't exist in this world."

The wings on Kakine's back began to move back and forth like they were waves on water with how fluid their motions were. Nevertheless, he was still on the defensive about this dark figure and wanted nothing more than to shut them up.

"Just get to the goddamn point. Why are you interested in me?"

"Because you have something that the number one doesn't have... potential."

"Ha, you're shitting me. You think sweet talking me is going to work?"

"It's not sweet-talking if it's the truth." Taking a step or rather floating closer to the second-ranked, the dark figure continued his explanation. "You see, you might have heard this from all the scientists you've ever met in your life about how you're second-rate or old garbage."

Dark Matter's fist was clenched and was now beginning to change color.

"But what those nuisances don't understand is that there is more to your ability than they or even you think. I mean, it's the name of your ability. Dark Matter. You can create things that don't exist in this world. Wouldn't that alone be something grand to investigate?"

"I don't need anyone else to tell me about my ability."

"Maybe not. But... what if I were to say that I could help you... open your eyes."

"What?" Kakine muttered, confused at what he was hearing.

"There's so much more to learn... all it will take is a little... influence."

The dirty blonde didn't know how to retort what he was hearing but just as he was about to say something the sound of an elevator activating could be heard signaling that someone was coming to the apartment.

Seeing this as the perfect send-off, the dark figure began to slowly move toward the open area of the apartment before stopping and expectedly staring at the boy.

"Think about what I said. We can continue our chat another time. There's so much out there, Dark Matter, you barely covered the surface of true power..."

With that being a standout statement, the dark figure went through the open hole of the apartment and unbelievably disappeared in what could be ascertained to be a dark portal leaving nothing behind to show that he was ever there in the first place.

Not a moment later, the sound of the elevator opened, and the clap of heels could be heard coming closer until Kakine looked over and saw a girl with blonde hair and wearing a pink dress could be seen.

"What happened here?" the girl asked as she saw the damage cast over the apartment.

Taking one last look at where the dark figure lingered, Kakine merely scowled and grasped at his hand letting his wings disappear before answering the girl.

"Nothing... Just had an idea come to me..."

The blonde girl didn't say anything after that and figured that he must have seemed... appeased at whatever idea came to him. Moreover, the boy also didn't look to be in the talking mood which gave her the indication to not ask him any more questions. Hence, she got on the phone to call in about the apartment needing repairs leaving the dirty blonde boy alone to his thoughts. Thoughts that revolved around what the dark figure said.

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Back with the Guardian of Light

Sora didn't know how his clothes worked aside from the three fairies probably being the ones to enchant them with magic, he knew one thing and it was that he was thankful for how they worked.

After leaving the restaurant, he went deeper into the city and spent some time familiarizing himself with everything he could in the time that he had. He also got a text from Touma about his school supplies for when classes which was taken care of along with the school uniform curriculum which wasn't too bad. He would have to thank Yomikawa and Touma for helping him with that. Therefore, he also managed to do a bit of shopping to not get fitted for school and life in the city but also to liven up his dorm room and fill up the place with some food as that was now technically his new base of operations.

However, this led to a bit of a problem as he wasn't sure how he was going to carry his supplies and groceries around. Coming up with several ideas that all turned out to not work, he randomly thought of the idea to store some items in his pocket since that was how he stored potions and a variety of things. To his surprise, everything that he carried seemed to fit without even looking like anything was in his pocket. Granted, the largest thing he had bought during his spending spree was a pillow. He also figured that he couldn't store anything living which made total sense.

This is why he was now walking back to his dorm with a bright smile on his face having achieved quite a great deal in one whole day. Even though he had been busy since late last night, he still counted the day a win.

Coming up on his dorm complex, Sora also wondered what Touma and Index were up to seeing that he hadn't seen them since yesterday.

Making his way up to his room, the Keyblade wielder heard what sounded like footsteps coming from Touma's dorm before the door suddenly opened, and out popped the black spiky-haired boy's blue eyes staring right at him.

"Sora, there you are. I thought you were home already and didn't want to bother you" Touma warmly replied.

"Hey, I just got here if you can believe that."

"Heh, good to see you didn't lose your way around. It can be a bit too much at times."

"Yeah... but still... there's a whole lot more I want to see."

"Mm. Hey, I know you said not to worry about dinner yesterday- "

"I did say that."

"But... I can't help it. I was worried. So, in return want to have dinner with me and Index?"

Suddenly, the sound of a meow could be heard coming from Touma's dorm.

"And Sphynx as well" Touma replied, sighing as he was getting slack from the cat as well.

Smiling at the offer, Sora happily accepted while explaining to the boy that he had some stuff to put away and would need a minute. This was understood by Touma as he said to just come on over when he was ready.

Beginning to look for his keys, the brunette realized that he left them inside and recalled how he was brought out of slumber and left in a hurry. Summoning his Keyblade, he tapped the lock which opened immediately, and allowed himself in. This would begin the boy's mission to put away everything that he had gotten in his busy day. Putting food away, then making sure all his clothes were good to go, and then sorting the backpack that he bought while shopping away for school. He then was ready to go next door when he felt something strange.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the two keychains of his best friends, Riku and Kairi better associated with Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and saw something peculiar about them. Oathkeeper's keychain was now slightly back to normal compared to when he saw it the other day faded out in a blue outline like he was in the Final World. However, Oblivion was still partially there and had not looked like Oathkeeper. This left the boy confused but also got him wondering.

Looking for the charm that Hokaze had gratefully given to him today, he also summoned his Keyblade and attached the Olympus chain to it transforming the weapon into Hero's Origin. Examining the blade, he realized that nothing was wrong with it and called it good to go. But he also became curious about the charm he got from Kairi and decided to try it on. In a white flash, the Keyblade transformed into the Oathkeeper design with nothing really wrong with it.

This left Sora confused about what he did to restore the keychain. Maybe it had to do with the connections with his friends. Or maybe new connections? He wasn't sure. But what he did know was that the rest of his keychains were out there somewhere in Academy City, and he had to find them. Along with start looking into how the Heartless were consistently appearing in the city. There had to be a reason for their appearance. He also had to stop them before others took an interest in the dark creatures. If the magic or science side got their hands on the Heartless... flashbacks to all the adversaries that he had fought against left a bad taste in his mouth.

Putting Oblivion back into his pocket, Sora left Oathkeeper and Hero's Origin at the ready to switch between his weapons and got himself ready to head over to Touma's. He was looking forward to eating with friends again and learning more about this city and this world.

A good way to end the day.

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Meanwhile, inside a luxurious apartment

Blast marks could be seen scattered all over the tennis court-sized living room. The one responsible for such attacks came from none other than the tea-color-haired beauty who... did not exactly look good right now.

She had spent the whole day trying to uncover at least one shred of evidence or information about the brown spiky-haired boy but to no avail she got nothing. Mugino had never had a target leave her in the state that she was in. She hadn't really eaten anything throughout the day and only munched on small food here or there. She hadn't switched out of her battle-damaged clothes from the previous night, and she hadn't stopped looking for information and was beginning to feel the effects of tiredness hit her.

However, that was not going to stop her. She would not stop until she found at least one small piece of information about the mysterious boy. The other members of Item had merely kept to themselves throughout the day as they watched their leader become so focused on trying to find anything on Sora that she didn't even notice that Frenda and Kinuhata had left for most of the day. She only took notice when they entered the apartment but then went back to clamoring for information about the boy.

Takitsubo didn't exactly want her leader and friend, even if it was one-sided, to continue pushing herself until exhaustion took over which could then lead to other worrisome concerns. Hence, she braved herself and without uttering a single word walked over to Mugino and tapped her shoulder while holding a wet towel in the other hand.

Seeing this, Mugino was pulled out of her thoughts and growled at the tracksuit-wearing girl.

"What Takistubo!?"

"You need to rest."

"The hell I do!? I haven't found a single goddamn piece of shit thing about this guy. Just how much secrecy does he have around his entire life profile? Nothing regarding him has come up in any databases in Japan. I was about to ask and check to see what the United- "

"Mugino."

"What!?"

"Rest."

Faced with the black-haired girl's deadpan expression, the brunette couldn't do anything else but reluctantly take the towel and wrap it around her head feeling the coolness hit her greatly.

"Ah... that feels much better. Thanks."

"Mm."

Looking up at the wall decorated with nothing but information and speculation about Sora, Takisubo decided to give an answer that would solve the tea-haired girl's problem instantly.

"Mugino..."

"...Yeah."

"You should text Sora."

Were she feeling better and full of energy, Mugino would've lashed out at the girl and screamed at her for asking something so stupid amongst other things. But... how she was feeling now, the girl merely nodded her head and began to walk away.

"I'm going to shower..."

"Ok. Good night."

Not saying anything else, the tea-colored-haired girl whisked herself to the bathroom and began to think about how refreshing a shower would be for her. Also, she began to wonder just what she would say to the boy to meet up with him. Granted, she was going to grill him not only for what happened during their encounter but also about who he really was and why there wasn't anything showing up in any database. And she would not leave or let him leave until she got every one of her questions answered.

Every. Single. One.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Back with Sora

While the boy was eating away with his neighbors and friends enjoying the lively company and vast arrange of topics discussed about the city and magic in this world, he felt his Gummiphone go off which resulted in him pulling it out to see what had happened.

Upon glancing down at the device, he was left a bit shocked but not that much. The person who contacted him happened to be Mugino who had only sent him a location and time via text. This left the boy confused but not that concerned. Hence, he put the phone back into his pocket and went back to talking with Touma, Index, and Sphynx and enjoying another night that he would never forget.

All while remaining oblivious to a grand scheme of events that now included him in how this world would be... changed.

_______________________________________________________________________________

*A/N* - Hey there, finally hit the bottom I see. I hope you liked this chapter and all the things that are starting to ramp up in the city with Sora's inclusion. Things are starting to pick up as one of the thirteen true darknesses starts to plant some ideas into the 2nd rank's mind. It's also a bit crazy to think that not much time has passed since the Keyblade wielder of Light got to this world. Kind of makes me wonder just how much time really does pass when he visits the various worlds in-game. Hope in KH4 we see a more day-to-day lifestyle for Sora and all the crazy things he gets involved in. In a bit of guilty pleasure, some people might see what I'm going for as to have Sora get everyone's phone number and you'd be right. I have the crazy idea of him just having every single Level 5's number along with some soon-to-be-added magical characters ready at the speed dial. In addition, I really like the idea of Sora wanting something so simple as getting together with friends to go out and eat since in all reality... he might never be able to go home and do such a thing. Hence, building connections and bridges to so many hearts. Like they say in the series, "A boy like him who touches so many hearts..."

Thanks again for checking this story out and until next time.