"Is that what this is to you?" Yui glared at her, her green eyes flashing. "A bleedin' vacation?"
"What else would it be?" Hikaru asked quietly. She kept her head high, but she couldn't help the way she shifted in her seat under her sister's burning stare.
For a moment, Yui looked like she wanted to say something. A muscle jumped in her cheek as she clenched her jaw. But she shook her head. "Forget it," she muttered. "Gods, Hikaru, you're such a…"
Yui didn't get a chance to finish her words. A ground-shaking rumble silenced her, jostling the seats and table as the dim lights overhead flickered. The rest of the pub fell silent, aside from the murmur of the music and the rattling of the wine glasses hanging on the wall behind the bar. Hikaru and Yui looked at each other before turning to the window.
"What was that?" Hikaru asked. Out in the street, people had stopped walking to look around in confusion. She rose from her seat, craning her neck to get a better look at the sky, but the clouds were so thick that she couldn't even see the stars. "Was that thunder? Or… an earthquake?"
"That wasn't the weather," Yui said. "That was magic."
"Magic?" Hikaru repeated. "How could you tell?"
Yui just shook her head, bright eyes still trained on the window. The conversation began to slowly return around them, the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses—but maybe it was just Hikaru's imagination that the atmosphere felt a little more uneasy than before.
It was all interrupted by the shattering of glass and the crash of chairs hitting the floor.
to watch over them now."
Akihiko grimaced, giving a curt nod of his head, while Yui's eyes narrowed. Hikaru, though, was left confused. "Mam, what're you going on about?" she asked, dread settling into the pit of her stomach.
But again, Mam didn't answer her. "Whatever happens, stay together, and don't panic," she said instead. "Hold onto those watches, and they'll lead you to a world that's safe. When you arrive there, look for the king, and tell him I sent you. And if you're ever separated from each other, remember—"
The ground began to shake, a violent tremor that made the buildings creak and shudder around them. Hikaru gasped as she looked past her mother's shoulder. "Mam…!"
A dark shape was bubbling up from the ground, larger than any of the other creatures rampaging through the town. It rose up until it was a looming giant towering over the street, yellow eyes glaring down at them through a mass of black hair-like tendrils. It grabbed at the buildings with its massive hands, cracking the stone and brick and sending debris showering down on them.
But her mother stood with her back to the creature, her blazing green eyes focusing on Hikaru and her siblings.
"Go," she said before turning around. The giant creature lumbered towards them, but Luna remained undaunted. She stepped forward, hand raised, aiming at the massive creature as she took a deep and steady breath. "May your hearts…"
A bright flash, blinding and hot lit up the night—
—and suddenly Hikaru was falling.
The wind howled, violent and deafening in a world of darkness and light. Colors streaked past her, a hundred thousand gleaming stars in the void. She was falling, tumbling, hurtling through space, as her ears rang with her own terrified screams.
"Hikaru!"
Hikaru jerked her head up, eyes wide as she saw the others plummeting through the void above her. Akihiko. Tatsuya. Uncle James. All three of them were unconscious. But… "Yui!" she cried out when she saw the panicked and desperate glow in her sister's green eyes.
"Hold on!" Yui gritted her teeth, reaching her hand out towards her. Hikaru reached out too, straining with all her might against the brutal winds. Just… a little… more…! Her fingers hooked around Yui's sleeve for a single moment.
And then they were blasted apart by a writhing mass of yellow-eyed creatures.
"Yui!" Hikaru screamed as she tumbled uncontrollably through the air. The world was spinning around her, dizzyingly fast and blindingly bright, as the living storm of demons scattered them to all directions. Hikaru took one final gasp, her cry fading away in a rush of air.
Then she crashed into the darkness.
She began to sink, like sinking in water, drifting through the dark tides that rocked her aching body with its soothing ebb and flow. Her vision began to blur at the edges as looked up through the rippling waves.
The lights were moving further and further away.
They looked like falling stars.
… … …
It was a quiet night.
Sora folded his hands behind his head, looking out his window and watching the stars over the ocean as a fleeting thought crossed his mind. How many stars were out there? How many worlds existed just beyond the wide horizon? If Riku was right, and there really were other worlds besides these islands they called home, then Sora didn't know the answer.
Maybe I could count them, he thought, lifting a hand and pointing to the shimmering lights. One. Two. Three…
He paused, tracing his finger through a blank space in the sky. The bright star that had been there moments before at the end of the Little Dipper had twinkled out of sight. Well… Counting was going to be harder than he'd thought. He lowered his hand, holding back a yawn and turning away on his side.
If there were other worlds out there, what did it mean? Riku had been talking a lot about seeking answers and being part of something bigger. Sora didn't really get it. As far as he knew, leaving the Destiny Islands and exploring other worlds—it was all just a big adventure. A chance to see rare sights. Broaden their horizons. Become strong.
Maybe they would find Kairi's home.