A beach in the morning (Open)

The rays of light coming from the morning sun beamed into Hikari’s closed eyes, causing her to stir slightly, and the sound of waves washing on the shore got her to finally open up the eyelids, revealing orbs of blue. Quickly, they widened as she sat up and looked around. There was no bedroom, but instead a beach, leading her to take in the rest of her surroundings and realize she was on an island. How did she get here?

She remembered getting ready to go to bed sometime after Asuka left her house, and then some shadows, which was certainly out of the ordinary. After that, everything went dark. She stood up, dusted her pajamas off, and turned in multiple directions to shout. “Kodama?!” No response. “Nozomi?!” Again, nothing came. “If you’re still here, show yourselves!” Aside from the tropical noises, silence followed.

Hikari could not believe what she was experiencing. She was somewhere else, far away from home, and without a single clue on what had happened. She sat on the beach again. It was just so much to take in. What had happened?

Things, here, were seemingly always peaceful. There wasn't ever much that went down here at Destiny Islands; the place where Sora and his friends were from brought the young Nobody different arrays of comfort, though the fact that it wasn't from personal experiences made it.. Slightly disturbing. He had been on the other side of the island that had been named "The Cove," and although he had no recollection of the title, since there were no signs to indicate, he simply knew. All of these connections to Sora gave him memories and intelligence that he wouldn't retain otherwise. That concept, within itself, wasn't exactly something that the Key of Destiny was completely happy about.

As he walked, the sounds of the chains attached to his black coat chimed, the charming noise achingly familiar in the sense that it reminded him of his days controlled by Xemnas and his whim to get what he selfishly desired. Everyone.. Was tricked into that; it made Roxas' stomach twist uncomfortably - he tried his best to push all of those thoughts away for now. If Xemnas had reformed like the rest of them... Roxas would make sure to undo that mistake. He swore with every fiber of his being at that very moment, then heaved a sigh. He was getting sidetracked. He was here to check on the Heartless situation; he came here every day to fulfill that promise he made to the worlds, and just as always, Destiny Islands was in check.

He opened up the door to the shack, then was quickly brought to the other side on the small island overlooking the rest of the small speck of land, only to find that on the beach, was a girl, in her pajamas, it looked like. She was looking around and calling out names that were unfamiliar to the blond, and it hit him that she must have been taken from her world. Roxas remembered what it was like, to open his eyes and be in a new place that he didn't understand in the slightest. Maybe.. There was a way he could help? The light of Sora shined bright inside of him as he decided that was the best course of action; he didn't want this girl to be frightened - the thought almost was enough to make him feel sick. There had to be something he could do.

"H-Hey!" He called out suddenly, carefully jumping down from the ledge he was standing on, leaving the bridge to go to the paopu tree behind. "Is everything alright?" He said when he got a little closer to her, a gentle and kind smile upon his features.

Before Hikari knew it, someone had answered her calls, dropping from the bridge close-by. It was no one whom she recognized. He was wearing a black coat with a hood that was lowered, revealing a boy with blond hair and blue eyes. Who was he? Judging by how he was on the same island as her, there was a possibility that he was familiar with the place. It was a common safety rule to never talk to strangers, but the class representative felt she no longer had a choice but to ask him.

"I don't know," she answered with worry. "I remember getting ready for bedtime, then I saw some shadows before I blacked out. When I came to, I found myself here." There was only one question she had for him. "Where am I?"

It was obvious that the poor girl was very distraught, and who could blame her? Waking up in a new place after having no recollection of what had happened prior to doing so was a hard thing. Roxas was reminded of when he awoke outside that mansion, having to look up and see a man in the exact same type of coat he himself was wearing, and was told that he could be given meaning - purpose. The young Nobody, thankfully, wasn't in Xemnas' complete situation, but he was faced with an individual who had no idea what was going on. Roxas knew.. He wasn't so different.

"Shadows, huh?" He said, crossing his arms as he seemingly entered a state of deep thought. When he put two and two together, the realization was quite physical, his eyes widening and his mouth gaping slightly. Automatically, his arms went back to his sides. How.. Was he supposed to explain this to someone? The Heartless had obviously come and taken her world for their own, but.. This was kind of personal territory.

"Oh-!" He brought one of his hands to the back of his had, scratching his scalp to try and occupy himself, attempting with all of his mind to not dwell. He knew that she might need some space after being given this information, and he was prepared to do whatever the poor girl needed. "You're.. On Destiny Islands. It's one of the many worlds around here. It sounds like the Heartless got to your world and it got swallowed by the darkness. Sometimes, if someone is strong enough..." He trailed off, trying to avoid making eye contact with her, but it was impossible. "If someone is strong enough, they can manage to go somewhere else and not be destroyed with the world."

In a way, the Nobody felt partially responsible for what had happened, but it was impossible to keep track of every world. Even visiting them all.. Was a feat that wouldn't ever be possible, let alone protecting them all.

"I'm Roxas."

"Shadows, huh?"

Hikari nodded, the boy obviously in deep thought at her words until he finally responded to her questions - Where she was, how she got to a beach, and what was going on back at the place she called her home. She wanted to hear something positive, but the answers she got were not pleasing to her ears. The shadows, which the boy named Roxas called 'Heartless', had taken her world and it was consumed by darkness. In a strange twist of fate, she had survived and ended up on the island.

Heartless? Darkness? What was...What was going on?! If it was exactly what Roxas just stated, then her friends, Toji, Kensuke, her sisters and father, Asuka, everyone, was gone. Her eyes widened, and she wanted to cry, but decided to hold her tears until later. It was all very unbelievable, yet she was here.

"You called them the Heartless," she replied, her voice barely shaking. At that moment, she realized she had not stated her own name. "It's Hikari. Hikari Horaki."

Why was is always so easy to screw things up? Roxas consistently felt that whenever he tried to do something good or tried to explain the situation, his Nobody stature would sometimes lose that compassion chip. It was hard for someone to lose their home and to be torn apart from everything they knew - he knew about that firsthand. Sometimes the blond boy could become lost in what he was doing and forget the fact that others could be affected by his actions. In the end, the thirteenth member of the disbanded Organization was still learning about emotions and how the world worked in general.

You called them the Heartless,

He gave a few curt nods, trying to keep the situation light, but such a topic would be impossible to escape the heaviness that was beginning to shroud the two of them in the midst of their conversation. "Y-Yeah.. They're creatures that are supposedly born from the darkness.. Of people's hearts." He brought one of his hands to the back of his head to scratch at his scalp nervously, then letting his arm fall back limply to his side. This was.. Kind of odd. Roxas had never had to talk to someone like this before in such a serious regard, and to top it off, the content of the conversation was him literally telling this poor girl that everything she knew and everyone she loved was gone.

"It's nice to meet you, Hikari; I'm.. Really sorry I had to be the one to tell you all of this stuff. B-But-!" His expression suddenly lit up, as an idea came to mind. "If you don't have anywhere to go, I live in a really big place, and I'd be more than happy to give you a room! There's plenty of space and food, and the beds are.. Kinda comfy, I guess." He smiled, trying to help as much as he could.

He had already messed up this encounter enough already - if there was anything he could do to fix it, he'd be more than willing.

Judging by how he was nervous about telling her, the topic of the conversation she was having with him was not bright at all. The class representative... No. The former class representative had finally learned from Roxas that the Heartless were responsible for her world's downfall, because there was darkness in so many people's hearts. How many people were there that had darkness, she absolutely did not know.

"It's alright," Hikari replied to try and keep herself in a good mood. Suddenly, the boy offered a suggestion to go someplace he knew. Was he...saying he was going to bring her to what was possibly his home? Hikari bit her lip nervously, contemplating his offer. There was big space, some food, and she was going to have her own room, with a bed to lie down in. It sounded too good to be true. However, she knew she had nowhere to go, having lost her home to the darkness.

And so, her mind was made up.

"It's on another world, is it?" Right now, Roxas needed an answer, and she was going to give him one. "I'm going with you. Since I don't have a living space, I'll work with what I am given." How he was able to get to other worlds was beyond her, but she had a feeling she was going to know very soon.

His offer was responded to positively rather quickly, as it was obvious that poor Hikari didn't have much else to do in the situation she was placed in. It was the least he could do for her, in the end - the girl had lost everything that she once new, and Roxas knew how devastating that could be. The blond gave a genuine smile and gave a few nods, trying to think of anything else he could do. An idea struck him instantly, and he stated it verbally to the brunette.

"First thing's first, we'll have to get you something to get you from place to place." Roxas began to speak, holding up his and opening up a rift in the surrounding area, the dark corridor destined for Traverse Town. Cid, the owner of the Accessory Shop would be more than happy to give them a discount, as long as he was informed that Roxas was a... "friend" of Sora's. "Take my hand and look straight ahead, it'll be fine." The thirteenth member gave a warm and reassuring smile, reaching out and waiting for Hikari to grip his hand.

He lead her through the corridor, the opening behind them closing and leaving the only way out the gleaming light directly in front of them. Roxas would help her get a hold of a means of transportation, and would then take her to her new home. If it could even be called that.

[End]