Once More With Shadows [OPEN]

It was funny how she always found herself back in Traverse Town, since that day after the darkness took her home. Hikari was liking her current life as a civilian, and even though it was a bit lonely by herself, she always managed to earn some munny and food, as well as keep her living space clean and tidy. Things were peaceful so far. No one was attacking her, and Roxas had given her a good start in becoming a traveler, for which she could not thank him enough.

At the moment, she was dressed in a black-and-white striped shirt and a yellow overall skirt, a bag of groceries in her arms as she walked back towards her residence. Something didn't feel right...Not many people were outside that particular evening, which meant she was the only one active. Regardless, she kept moving forward, failing to notice a single shadow appearing behind her.

The instant it slashed at her back, and she doubled over in pain and let out a yelp as she dropped the bag, was the moment she realized she was being attacked. Turning her head slightly, she caught sight of that shadow - that horrible shadow with yellow beads for eyes, a Heartless - and her eyes widened in horror. There was no way to defend herself, and as far as she knew, no one else was around to help her. So, with great haste, she got up and sprinted towards her home, not having enough time to retrieve the purchased food on the ground.

Turning around the building, Hikari stopped. Another shadow was just appearing in front of her, and a third was joining its partner, looking right into the girl's eyes with its own. She let out a whimper, then a short scream as they advanced towards her, and she soon found herself backed up against the wall.

She was helpless. She was not capable of fighting them, and she wasn't able to run, thus there was nothing that she could do. Hikari shut her eyes, trembling in fear as beads of sweat traveled down her face.

Traverse town wasn't his favorite spot on the map of worlds he had visited before but it did have nice snacks and it was worth the trip to get some of those awesome Curry Buns. As Yusuke casually walked down the street he noticed not people were out this evening and suddenly a young girl being chased by heartless! They had her backed up against a wall and were prepared to strike! The girl screamed and shut her eyes in fear but in the instant that she screamed Yusuke had vanished from sight and was right in front of the girl defending her as he got there with his amazing speed.

"Not gonna happen!" Yusuke said as he punched the shadow so hard it had already turned to dust. The other two heartless didn't look pleased and tried to attack from both sides. Yusuke was a natural street brawler so these things were no problem. Yusuke kneed the 2nd heartless to the head and slammed his fist into the other, both of which turned to dust before him.

Yusuke looked around to see if the coast was clear, not a single heartless in sight it seemed. Though some spilled groceries seemed to catch his attention which reminded him of the girl behind him.

"You are safe now." Yusuke said as he turned around and offered his hand to help her up.

"You must have had quite the scare. My name is Yusuke Urameshi, it is not safe out here at night, should I escort you back to your home?"

So much for getting Curry Buns.

In that moment of terror, just when she was sure the end was coming, a voice was heard and she opened her eyes to see the fighter protecting her from the shadows. One thing she noticed was that he seemed to have skills, moreover speed, that she thought no human was capable of, if he was human. Of course, meeting Roxas on the island that day reminded her that such powers were possible for a human to wield.

The second thing which she took in was his attire, a green school uniform that she had not seen in the school she once went to. Just thinking about it brought back memories of her classmates. Toji, Kensuke, Asuka, Rei, and Shinji... Hikari shook her head. There was no time to be stuck in the past when she was being helped up. The moment she began standing, she winced from the pain on her backside. "Sorry. They got the drop on me faster than I thought."

His name was Yusuke Urameshi. That was what he said. It was rude not to introduce herself after her life had been threatened. "I'm Hikari Horaki. Thanks for saving my life." Looking back towards the dropped food, her face bore a look of shock. "No, not the food!" The representative did stop a moment to look back. "Um...This is quite embarrassing." That said, she hastily grabbed her purchased goods, trying her best to ignore the harm that was done to her. "Yes, I'd appreciate that."

After all, there was not much else to do to express her gratitude.