Yuki stood on top of a building in the center of Twilight Town, panting as she tried to regain her breath. She was scanning the area looking for what she hoped wasn't what she had originally seen. She had run here all the way from the station plaza after seeing what looked like a giant Heartless. She couldn't identify exactly what it was, however. She just knew it was a Heartless.

Yuki took a calming breath. It wasn't here. Nothing was in sight. It must have just been a trick of the light. Yuki turned to return to her mission but froze hearing a great roar the didn't belong to a creature of this world.

Yuki spun to see what had roared. Not far away she saw a large Heartless, about half as tall as the building she stood on if it had been on all fours like it should have been. It looked like a lion, with dark fur and a bright blood red mane. It's tail, however, looked like a scorpions. It stood up on its hind legs, it's front paws on a building, nosing at a figure in a white coat. The figure patted its nose before sending it off.

Yuki jumped from the building she stood on to another as quickly as she could. Her eyes remaining on the large Heartless as it ran around the center of town, chasing anything it could see. On its back, she saw a green Heartless emblem outlined in blue. Of course, that identified the member controlling this Heartless.

Yuki stopped breathless on the same roof as the figure in white. Her silver hair fell down her back. Yuki clenched her fist.

"Syrine!" Yuki yelled. The silver-haired woman looked over her shoulder curiously. Her sapphire blue eyes looked at her with an innocent look that Yuki knew she shouldn't have.

"What kid?" Syrine asked. Yuki was frustrated by how calm she was. Did Syrine not see the giant Heartless destroying Yuki's town?

"Why is that here?" Yuki asked, fighting to keep her voice calm as she pointed to the Heartless. It didn't work as she herself could hear the anger.

"What? Manticore?" Syrine asked as if confused. She laughed as if Yuki's question was amusing to her as she turned to face the young Heartless. "Orders, something important is in this town. Just don't know where." She explained, motioning around her. Yuki ground her teeth together. What could be so important in this town? There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just normal people who were about to have their day ruined by a very angry Heartless.

"So it's bait?" Yuki asked, her eyes flicking over to the Manticore. She managed to catch sight of it just as it left the area.

"Basically," Syrine admitted.

"What about the people in the town?" Yuki demanded. Syrine looked at her in confusion. She tipped her head to the side and motioned with one of her hands.

"What about them?" Syrine asked. Yuki briefly thought that perhaps the Heartless hadn't thought of them. But Yuki dismissed the thought quickly. Syrine delighted in the pain of others.

"What if they get hurt?" Yuki asked. For some reason, Yuki thought of the trio of friends she had seen days ago. Syrine shrugged.

"Sucks for them." She said. Yuki glared at the older Heartless.

"Get it out of here." Yuki ordered. Syrine looked at Yuki, her head raised in an arrogant manner.

"No can do, kiddo." Syrine said calmly. Her eyes watched Yuki, waiting to see what she would do. Yuki glared at the older Heartless once again before turning her back, preparing to chase after the Manticore. "And where do you think you're going?" Syrine asked.

"To get rid of it," Yuki replied, not turning to look at Syrine.

"No, you aren't." Syrine said, narrowing her eyes. Yuki summoned Heartless Keeper into her hand and turned, pointing it towards Syrine.

"Are you going to stop me?" Yuki asked calmly. Her blue eyes looked at Syrine innocently. She knew Syrine could force her to stop, she was a higher rank. But it didn't matter. Not when the town Yuki cared for so much was at risk.

"Don't get cocky, brat," Syrine said. All of her attention was focused on the keyblade that was pointed at her throat.

"Is that a yes?" Yuki asked. Syrine summoned her own weapon, a chain scythe.

"For sure," Syrine confirmed.

Without further warning, Syrine threw the scythe towards Yuki. Yuki brought up Heartless keeper to block the blow. The scythe wrapped around the keyblade. With a hard pull on the chain Syrine pulled the key from Yuki's hand, throwing it to the side. In her other hand, Yuki summoned Twilight Keeper.

Before Syrine had a chance to pull her scythe back to her, Yuki jumped forward and swung the key at her. Syrine moved aside, but not fast enough to avoid the entire hit. The keyblade nicked her side as she managed to retrieve her scythe. Yuki jumped back, skidding to a halt where Heartless keeper lay on the roof. She picked it up and held it backward in her hand. Syrine swung the scythe forward on its chain, hitting Yuki's arm. Yuki hissed in pain but darted towards Syrine. The older Heartless smirked as she pulled in the chain, bringing the scythe closer. Yuki slashed forward with Twilight keeper only to be stopped by the scythe's blade. She brought Heartless keeper to the side, slashing Syrine.

Syrine hissed and backed away. Yuki stopped, watching her cautiously. She had only been hit once, but felt their would be plenty more before the fight ended. Syrine swung her arm suddenly, the scythe blade slicing through the air. Yuki didn't have time to react as the blade cut her opposite arm. She hissed in pain and pulled back, but the blade raked across her side, stinging harshly.

Yuki ignored the pain that was radiating from her injuries and once again ran at Syrine. She threw forward Heartless keeper as she ran. The key hit Syrine before circling back and returning to her hand as she reached Syrine. She swung both keyblades in a flurry of movement slashing at Syrine. Syrine attempted to block the blows with the chain in her hand, but could only stop so many. When Yuki flipped away Syrine was cut up all over her body.

Syrine glared at Yuki and began to swing the scythe blade in a circular pattern. She threw her scythe forward, but it vanished into thin air. Suddenly Yuki felt a sharp pain in her back. She looked over her shoulder to see the scythe blade in the side of her back. She gasped in pain. Syrine smirked and pulled the blade out. It returned to her hand in an instant. She repeated the spinning pattern before throwing the blade again. This time it ended up in Yuki's side. Yuki gasped in pain once again, staggering on her feet. As soon as Syrine pulled the blade away Yuki darted forward. She swung with Heartless Keeper, hitting Syrine in the chest while bringing Kingdom Keeper across her stomach. The older Heartless staggered, coughing.

Once again the two stood staring at each other. Both were heavily wounded. Syrine, however, was barely standing. Yuki stood straight, despite the pain she was in. Her blue eyes once again were narrowed at Syrine.

"You little brat," Syrine said, panting heavily. "You're more trouble than you're worth, should give you back to the idiot that hid you."

"Shut up, just leave." Yuki said, ignoring what Syrine had said. It was clear to her the older Heartless didn't plan to fight anymore. If she continued she might die.

"You'll hear hell about this later." Syrine warned. Again Yuki ignored her words.

"I said leave," Yuki said, more forcefully than before. Syrine glared at Yuki before summoning a dark corridor and disappearing. As soon as she had vanished Yuki fell to her knees. Her breathing was heavy and labored. She hadn't had such a hard fight in a long time. And there was still another fight to find. She had to get rid of the Manticore.

Yuki reached to her hip to find the bag she carried. She searched the bag quickly, pulling out a potion. She drank it quickly before standing up. Some of her injuries healed over, but the deeper ones only lessened in severity.

Yuki left the center of town, jumping from roof to roof as she searched for the Manticore. She listened to the sounds around her, hoping to hear something that would direct her to where she needed to be. Several screams in the distance attracted Yuki's attention. With a heavy sigh, Yuki ran towards the screams.

Yuki found the Manticore in the sandlot. It looked as if everyone had cleared out of the area leaving one less thing for Yuki to worry about. The only person in the area was Riku. He had out his strange sword and was fighting the Manticore. He seemed to be doing quite well.

"Of course," Yuki said softly. "That's what they were looking for." She jumped down from the building she had been standing on and slammed her keyblade down on the Heartless' head. She landed on the ground beside Riku.

Riku didn't give her a second glance. Or at least, Yuki didn't think he did. He darted forward and brought his blade across the Manticores throat. Yuki followed his lead and jumped to the side of the Manticore before hitting it with her keys. The Manticore let out a great roar before it ran into a wall and vanished. It reappeared on the other side of the sandlot.

"You've got to be kidding me." Yuki muttered to herself. She heard Riku give a snicker before running across the area. Yuki followed him, already annoyed with this Heartless. The Manticore reached forward and knocked Riku aside with its paws. Yuki managed to avoid its paws but was scratched when it brought its tail down beside her. Yuki hissed in pain, but jumped forward and hit the Manticore with her keys once again. The Manticore roared once again and collapsed onto the ground. It soon vanished, releasing a pink crystalline heart into the air.

"Why did you help me?" Riku asked as he approached Yuki. Yuki dropped to the ground out of breath and glared up at him.

"You're welcome." Yuki replied out of breath. The scratch from the Manticores tail stung, telling Yuki it was probably poisoned. She fished through her bag for another potion. She pulled one out and downed it quickly. She tossed another potion to Riku, who looked to have not bothered with healing himself. He caught it but didn't drink it right away.

"I asked a question." He said, annoyed. Yuki rolled her eyes leaning back.

"I heard, and chose to ignore it." Yuki replied calmly. She looked up at Riku in thought. "I helped you because I didn't want that thing destroying the town." She said. Riku tilted his head to the side. He looked at the potion in his hand and opened it downing it in a few gulps.

"Thanks." He said. Yuki blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected thanks from him. She didn't even expect him to hang around. She thought he might just attack her.

"They were trying to lure you out." Yuki said looking away.

"Why?" Riku asked. Yuki shrugged, still not looking at the boy.

"I don't know. Probably something to do with whoever Sora is." Yuki answered honestly. Riku frowned looking down at her.

"You really don't know him then?" Riku asked. He sounded unsure like he didn't want to believe it. Why he thought it was necessary for her to know Sora was beyond Yuki.

"Not anymore. I think I used to. Naminé said something like that." Yuki replied calmly. She was frowning, trying to find a memory she could hold onto. None came to her.

"You don't remember?" Riku asked. Yuki shook her head.

"I don't remember anything." She admitted. There was a short pause between the two, both thinking of something more important than the would-be enemy in front of them.

"I was supposed to capture you by force. DiZ wanted to speak to you." Riku said. Yuki looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to continue talking to her. If he was supposed to capture her she figured he would have acted sooner. It appeared he really wasn't what she thought.

"Huh," Yuki said, mostly to herself. "I kinda wanted to talk to him too." If anyone had the answers she wanted it would be him. The man in red. That was the only person that Riku could be talking about. Riku held his hand out Yuki. She looked up at him in question.

"Then why don't we make this easier on both of us." He asked. Yuki looked at him cautiously, her eyes going between his hand and his face. His face was neutral, but that might have been because of the blindfold that covered his eyes. She slowly reached up and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and began to lead her through the town.

Riku led her to the mansion, which really didn't surprise Yuki. Inside the manor, he glanced over his shoulder at Yuki as he went up the stairs.

"Wait here." He said calmly. Yuki nodded, looking around the manor in interest. She was always impressed by the grandeur of the room.

Moments after Riku had disappeared the man in red appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked down at Yuki with disdain, like he usually did when they encountered each other. Yuki looked up at him with interest.

"I'm surprised you came here of your own free will," DiZ said calmly. Yuki decided to ignore his statement. She was already regretting getting this close to him. She'd rather leave before things got messy.

"What do you want from me?" Yuki demanded. DiZ seemed surprised by her decision to skip the small talk. However, he said nothing on the matter.

"Nothing in particular. I just need to slow the organizations, so our hero can wake." DiZ said calmly. Yuki frowned looking down.

"Sora." She said softly, thinking. She could hardly remember anything about him, but she was somehow dragged into the story because of him. "How do I play into that?" Yuki asked, looking back up to DiZ.

"Your key and your position." DiZ replied simply. Yuki frowned. She didn't hold a very high position, but because of the keyblade she knew the organizations needed her.

"So if I leave, will that be out of the way enough for you?" Yuki asked.

"Do you plan to abandon your kind?" DiZ asked, sounding shocked by her suggestion. Yuki shrugged.

"I'm thinking about it." She replied honestly. DiZ looked at her with a new level of interest.

"And where would you go?" He asked.

"Haven't figured that out yet," Yuki answered honestly. She glanced up at him once again. "Where did I come from? I know you know."

"I see no reason to tell you," DiZ said simply. Yuki found herself becoming annoyed with his arrogance.

"It was Destiny Islands wasn't it?" Yuki asked. DiZ didn't reply. He only glared at her, confirming her suspicions. "I remember bits and pieces. I know I knew Riku, and Sora too. They were my friends. But for some reason, you took me from them." Yuki continued. She slowly began pacing around the foyer, waiting for his reply.

"For their protection." DiZ said. He was beginning to be annoyed by her, she could hear it in his voice.

"What was I going to do to them?" Yuki asked innocently.

"Not you. Your organization, they would come after you and harm any in their way." DiZ answered, agitation clear in his voice.

"So the organization is bad? I need someone to answer this question. Are they bad? Are they doing the wrong thing?" Yuki asked. It was something she was constantly wondering. But no one seemed to have an answer.

"That is always a matter of where you stand." DiZ said. Yuki frowned.

"Another person who can't give me a straight answer." She said offhandedly. "I didn't ask you to tell me what everyone thought about it. I want to know what you think." She explained, hoping to get a better answer.

"Yes, they are bad," DiZ said. "And what are you going to do about it?" He asked.

"That remains to be seen." Yuki said. She turned her back on DiZ and left the manor. Not casting him a second glance.

*<3*

Day 353- Figuring things out,
I think I'm starting to finally figure things out. It's making me even less sure of this organization. But I can't do anything. Not yet. A few more days maybe. Then I'll have a plan.

~~~~~~~~~~*<3*~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Two fight scenes in one chapter. God that's annoying, even if one was ridiculously short. Why did I decide to torture myself so? I feel like fight scenes are the hardest thing to write. Especially since I know literally nothing about fighting with these weapons, besides what I see in anime and video games. Whenever they're done I feel really disappointed in them. I feel like if I really wanted to I could make them longer and way better, but I every time I start writing I get so annoyed I can't keep the fights up for very long. Anywho, hope you enjoyed and this was all worth it!