「The Outside World With You」

Chapter 8

Identities ½:

   Silver eyes shot open to the sound of a heavy clatter. He quickly sat up from the bed and turned towards the area that was lit by the light of dawn. A shadowed figure with a jagged outline lifted itself from its kneeling position and turned towards him. The short burgundy hair caught his eye.

   "You must be him," said the feminine voice. His eyes adjusted and saw a young boy in her arms— Vanitas.

   He narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you want?"

   "Your eyes… I promise to explain everything but please allow General Vanitas to rest here. He isn't given much sleep at the palace."

   After a moment of observation, he didn't hesitate to drag himself from comfort. Her armor looked bright under the light and it gave off a pinkish red glow. He ushered her to sit on the cushion as he sat on the floor. She placed the dormant soldier on the bed and brushed the hair from his eye.

   Xehanort wasn't looking at her when she turned her attention towards him. The stars were barely visible and the sun from outside only peaked through the clouds but he didn't mind. His eyes formed the same yellow hue when in the darkness and he knew that it was completely visible to her. For him to have such a strange eye color, he thought people wouldn't like them. That's why he usually had some sort of light on to avoid unwanted attention.

   "My name is Kairi, a third class soldier of this kingdom. May I ask the name of this young one?"

   "My name?" he repeated, finally looking at her. "It's Xehanort."

   "Xehanort," she whispered to herself. "Then your father must be Xemnas, correct?"

   The two were going to continue but the body from the other bed rolled over and groaned quietly. They remained quiet for another minute or two before returning to their conversation.

   "What does he have to do with this?"

   Even though she was much older than him, she couldn't help but be intimidated by this small boy. He was just like his father; quickly getting to the point.

   She smiled softly and said, "Right now, his m— Xemnas isn't something to discuss." With a pull of a finger, she silently signaled him to listen closely. Kairi glanced at the two sleeping figures before she went on with a quiet voice. "Eraqus is not who you think he is. I'm sure that you've seen the symbol on that item and you already know that it did not originate from here. A thief, he is not. But an imposter, he is."

   Allowing it to sink in, he said, "No matter if he is an imposter or not, I still owe him for a lot of things. If you plan on doing something to him, you can forget about it."

   That once attracting atmosphere suddenly turned negative. She couldn't help but sigh. "I'd rather not bother someone like him. Before we found out his true identity, the lower classes fought with him many times. He's practically unbeatable to us lower knights."

   "He's that overpowering?"

   The older knight sighed again with a nod. "More than just that. He's practically an expert at everything but that's only natural for him specifically."

   The question couldn't be stopped from being asked. "Why do you know so much?"

   Kairi shook her head. "I'm only here to help you. Xehanort, you are the prince of this land and His Majesty, Xemnas, has returned to reclaim his crown. During the war between the two kingdoms, your father had fled in order to keep you safe from the incoming dangers sent by his brother. The reason the war came to a half was because they too had lost their prince. Your highness," she leaned very close to his ear. "They are coming for you."