Altered Tundra

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Was he though?

Kai couldn't explain it. Nothing in his body nor what he has experienced today or any day in his life has prepared him for this moment. It was unnerving, to say the least. Kai wasn't usually the guy who hesitated. He was always the first one to dive into adventure. Sometimes it was reckless and sometimes the recklessness was rewarded. Whenever people needed him to act, he acted. Whenever they needed his strength, they had it. Whenever Kai needed to be strong for others, he always stood proudly. But as he gazed upon the Guard Armor and saw Leon, Yuffie, and Cielle struggle in their efforts, no matter what he told himself at that moment to hype himself up, or what the voice of reason in him tried to tell him so he could get the courage to go forward, Kai stayed frozen.

And to make matters worse, he couldn't even answer Aerith when she asked him if he was okay. Someone who showed him nothing but kindness since meeting him, Kai couldn't give a single answer.

"N-no, I c-can't.."

Kai was backing up, even more, his entire body trembling.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Though it was usually in his nature to respond to praise he received from others, there was this small part of Kai’s mind that told him to simply remain quiet. Maybe it was the voice of reason that told him not to do it. It’s funny, the voice of reason was always Aira. She knew exactly how to keep Kai tame and not dig too much into the praise he often received from people. She knew what to say to remind him that he shouldn’t soak it all up all the time. He was a humble boy underneath it all.

At times like this… “At times like this, I really miss you, Aira.”

“Hm?” Yuffie asked, looking over to Kai.

“Ah, it’s nothing - just mumbling to myself.”

Yuffie gave Kai a look, though she seemed to give up not long after.

Though Kai dodged that bullet, he was stuck on the thought of his dear friend. He wondered if her captors were taking good care of her. He had no idea who The Darkness was nor did know the extent they would go to make sure whatever they were planning went without a hitch. He was just a kid from Twilight Town. He wasn’t some intergalactic fighter like Yuffie and Cielle was. He didn’t understand half of the things that were happening around him and to him. It also didn’t help his cause that, whenever he stared long and hard at Cielle, he was reminded of Aira.

Being stuck in his own head, Kai had no idea that they were already at the Third District. More to the point, Kai ran into Yuffie, almost knocking her over.

“Wha-hey! Watch it, Kai!”

“Sorry,” Kai apologized, being uncharacteristically minimal in his words.

“You okay there?”

Kai nodded, looking forward. And there, with a weird gun-like sword, he saw a man who looked far older than Kai imagined he would be. He was a man with long, dark locks, wore a fur-like coat, and pants. He moved rather fast and Kai could tell he knew exactly what he was doing, though his opponent was no slouch either. It was an odd-looking foe. Kai gathered it was a heartless when he saw the emblem on its head. But, again, Kai’s mind went to the way it looked. It was like a hollow suit of armor.

“What in the--” Kai couldn’t move. Unlike previous times when he would jump head-first, he was frozen solid. The big suit of armor was intimidating, yes, but it was something else. Kai has seen it before. “This is...Guard Armor…”

But how did Kai know this?

Post Your Pikcha

@POOHEAD189 Diggin the hairdo, my dude.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

“It’s nice to feel included,” Kai joked, giving Yuffie a laugh before giving the Large Body his full attention.

As the trio of teens was facing off against the Heartless, Kai heard some mention about a guy named Leon. He, like with Yuffie until just a few moments ago, didn’t know who this person was, but he would likely get to know this Leon very soon. Of course, that was assuming they were able to deal with the fat heartless in front of them. After a brief exchange between Yuffie and Cielle, Kai deduced that this one was only the appetizer and whatever that Leon fellow was fighting was the main course. And right now, Kai was both intrigued and worried about who it might be.

Shaking his head, Kai, once again, diverted his full attention this heartless in front of him. Cielle went on the offensive as Kai and Yuffie stood ready. When she did her thing with her keyblade, Kai noted how she obviously had her way of fighting. Though Kai was new at this with the Keyblade, he also had his own style. It was nothing like Cielle’s, however. She was certainly elegant in how she conducted herself against the heartless.

On her cue, Kai nodded he jolted forth, doing the same thing he did when he met Cielle. He took to the air and used her Keyblade as a stepping stool, though there was the added bonus of the Large Body’s arm adding an extra boost to elevate Kai into the air. Then, as Kai was airborn, he twisted his body to where he was upside down. To his surpirse, he felt something deep in him that he couldn’t quite explain. It would soon manifest on his exterior. He soon became surrounded by some kind of aura of green hue. Whatever it was, it gave Kai an additional boost in his capabilities. As a bonus, he was magically able to push off of the air and dive into the heart of his target.

He contorted into a spiral, aiming his Keyblade at the back of the head of the Large Body. In one, fell swoop, the large heartless fell victim to Kai's attack, the large body fading into darkness like all other heartless before it had done.

When he landed, the aura was goen and Kai looked at Yuffie and Cielle. "Whoa, that was too trippy. Did anyone else see what just happened? I feel...weird."

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Hype feeling returns

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

“Hold up! I’m coming too!” Whether or not Aerith and Cielle were going to deny him to tag along, they weren’t in a position to choose. Besides, if they were going to help him save Aira, the least he could do is return the favor by helping them out too.

Kai followed them out of the house they were in and down a flight of stairs. They went through a few corners and ended up in the main plaza of the Second District. There were a few things that caught Kai’s attention. Of course, the first thing he noticed was the heavy-set Heartless in the middle of the spacious plaza fighting a petite girl who had a giant star-like weapon that she was using to fend off the increasing amounts of enemies.

“That’s a huge Heartless,” Kai noted, his eyes wide. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it, but he knew he had to focus. The events around him kind of him kick it into high gear.

The fat heartless aside, there was another to the shadow heartless. They were about half of Kai’s height and had full-fledged limbs. Whatever they were, Kai knew that he had to be more alert than he ever was. They didn’t seem to be the same as the shadows. To Kai, they seemed to be aware and a bit more intelligent than the ones that hugged the ground to move around. Still, they moved slowly, so Kai would be able to pick his spots.

He didn’t wait for Cielle or Aerith to make their first move. He reacted first and ran forward, his Keyblade appearing in his left hand. The heartless saw him and about ten of the shadows and three of the other kind noticed him. Again, acting out of pure instinct, Kai jumped and spiraled at them, hitting about half of them - all Shadow Heartless. The soldiers were a little more capable and side-stepped kai, attempting to hit him. He maneuvered himself to block their hits with his Keyblade and spun around again and delivered a horizontal swipe, executing them all.

Kai’s actions had put him about a few feet away from the one called Yuffie. “Hey, I’m Kai. Kinda new around here, but figured you could use some help,” Kai greeted Yuffie with a smile, looking at the larger heartless, poising himself for battle.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Kai was utterly lost during this whole exchange. Key of Light? The Darkness? Deepa? None of these things meant anything to Kai. But, if there was one take away that Kai could take from this entire exchange was that, if they were willing to kidnap and shroud an entire world -- his world -- into darkness just to get what they wanted, Kai knew that this...Darkness had to be stopped at all costs. And, if his dream was right, this meant that Kai's fate with Cielle and Aira's were intertwined in some way.

Green eyes met the eyes of both Aerith and Cielle. "I don't know what this Key of Light means or what is really happening right now, but if they think Aira is you and if they realize this before we save her, then she's in danger. So, please, help me save her," Kai pleaded with them.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

"That's it!" Kai suddenly shouted, the volume of voice high. He slammed his fist in his other, open palm, giving both Aerith and Cielle a smile, which was a total stark difference to his previous mood. Boy, Kai was all over the place wasn't he?

He looked at them once again, going back and forth between their no-doubt alarmed faces. He knew something about Cielle was familiar. Since laying eyes on her and seeing the way she acted towards him, though it was different than how Aira did, he knew there was something about her that was the same. And even though she was obviously alarmed when he called her Aira, Kai knew that there was a part of her that responded to that name. Kai was never one to dig too much into facial reactions, but it was too hard to miss. Then, when he laid his eyes upon hers for the first time, Kai was trying to figure it out. He was trying to decipher what it was about her eyes that made him follow her.

And then, when she spoke about her grandmother, it hit him like Cielle's head had done earlier.

"Wait..." Kai was suddenly remembering something that literally just came to him as soon as he heard those words come from Cielle's mouth. "Cielle...You're that Cielle!" Kai would, once again, invade Cielle's personal space; only this time his hands gripped her shoulders, demanding she look at him. "When Aira disappeared, there was this woman--girl, I don't know who she is or how old she was--but she called Aira by your name."

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Kai fought the embrace immediately, but that didn't stop Aerith from wrapping her arms around him to lock him in. He still fought her, though. He banged his hands lightly against her shoulders, against her back. In the end, however, it was all for naught. Kai couldn't contain the tears any longer. His face was buried in her shoulder, embracing her embrace, feeling as though there was some, small comfort in how motherly she seemed. Even if it was just for a moment, Kai's mind went to his mother and how she always would comfort him whenever he was feeling down about his father never being around, or whenever he was feeling sad about anything. She wouldn't grill him or judge him. His mother, god-bless her wherever she was now, always comforted him by embracing him until he felt better.

That's how it seemed with Aerith. Kai felt better after a minute or two. He was at the point where he was no longer visibly angry. Truth be told, he wasn't angry at Aerith or Aira--Cielle. He was angry at himself. He should've been able to do something to help his family. He should have been able to do something to help everyone. But he was useless. Just like he was useless to stop the heartless from taking over his world, he was powerless to stop Aira from disappearing.

When Kai collected himself, he gave both of them each a glance, sighing. "I just..I can't process this. But, I don't doubt what you say to be the truth," Kai said to Aerith, then turned to face Cielle, "then I guess you aren't Aira. But..." Kai got closer to Cielle, almost to the point of invading her personal space, "you look exactly like her. How can that be?"

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

I really do feel bad for Kai. :(