Chapter Text
Darkness.
It hugged him, not allowing him to see. It was cold and bitter. Voices. He could hear them. Muddled, as if through a screen. Eyes squeezed tighter. His body; it felt heavy. Not right.
“Are you alright?” Someone suddenly demanded above him, and it caused him to snap his eyes open wide. He didn't recognize that voice, as his mind and heart filtered through what he knew. Fingers wiggled next to him, and he looked. A tanned hand … Where was his glove? The environment felt stilted. He tried to sit up, but a pale hand pressed at his chest. The owner of that feminine voice. Her brunette brows pressed inward, and he could clearly see a concerned look on her bushy-hair framed face. Apprehension crossed her face, and she lowered her hand, but still let it linger within the air. “..You must know, do you remember – that you were passed out on the street?”
Someone beside the girl pulled gently at her arm. “Alright, Hermione, that's enough. Let him be.”
“But-- !” Chocolate hues protested.
“No buts ..”
Hermione? What a strange name .. And their accents … It almost reminded him of.. the Caribbean world. And yet, there were no smells of salt, alcohol, or sweat. Just .. cool, sterile air. He wrinkled his nose, finally taking in the room. White walls stared back at him – a hospital. His head hurt .. “I'm fine,'' the words slip out of the male's mouth, and they sound very odd to him all of a sudden. Younger. A hand reached up and brushed through .. hair. It made him freeze for a moment, but he had to remind himself he was being watched.. Observed. ..His form, already on a knife's edge.
He had to be, to survive.
''I-I do.. It's ..” He started, recalling Hermione's previous words. An act, hesitancy dripping into his tone. Time to make it believable. He shook his head, taking the opportunity to gaze outside. Where was he?
“Saint Catherine's Hospital. It's off 44th Street. You're safe here,'' Hermione offered gleefully, sharing her knowledge even if unprompted. As if she read his damn mind. A sigh came from her mother. At least her daughter wasn't trying to invade the boy's space any longer.
He was grateful. He knew a semblance of a location now, even if it didn't tell him one lick of the world he was on. Discomfort .. he could feel it tugging at him. He finally took a look down at himself, noticing a bandage wrapped around his arm, and he lifted it, instantly curious. A wince.
“Careful, you injured it with a brush burn,'' the girl said, trying to mind the other's space, as she mirrored his own curiosity. She flicked her eyes down at her still outstretched hand laying on some of his blankets and firmly pulled it back. “Sorry – It's just .. I've never seen a boy with silver hair before ..''
.. I'm young? My voice .. “Oh,''' he played the part of a frightened child, eyes jutting down towards the blankets covering him. They were comfortable. “Yes.. it's my .. natural hair..” he muttered.
Hermione grinned. ''I like it. What's your name?”
He drew a blank. He could just use his original name. Couldn't he? He liked it enough, even if several tended to mis-pronounce it over the years. Did he need a last name, as well? “X-Xehanort. Xehanort Blackthorn.”
She squinted her eyes, screwing up her face. “Xena..ho..”
“Xe – ha – nort.” Light, thank that he had patience still.
Hermione beamed. “Xehanort!” She said, the pronunciation clicking right into place.
“Fastest someone's ever gotten it. Congratulations, you're not a moron.”
''I am top of my class, you know!” Hermione bragged, bristling slightly at his words.
“Hermione...” came her mother, and it caused the girl to blush.
“Sorry, mum,'' she muttered, retreating a bit away. Her mother chuckled.
“It's fine, dear. I know you're passionate about studying,'' she said gently, a hand brushing at the girl's curls.
This perked the silver-haired boy's interest -- someone else who valued knowledge?
“So.. how'd you get there?” This time, Hermione's mother asked the question, a smile resting at the corners of her mouth.
Xehanort's eyes snapped onto the older woman's face. “I .. had run away from the orphanage.” Believable? Believable enough. Definitely easy to explain the lack of parents -- assuming he had none here. What sort of time displacement was this, anyways? He had to spin more; the words wanting to tug out of his mouth. "I..." A yawn abruptly rolled out of him, and vision blurred. Oh, figures... One, two blinks. He tried again to let vibrations spill out from in between his lips, but .. nothing. Black suddenly surrounded him again - yet again as a blanket. And so sudden. He felt weak, disassociated. Nothingness appeared within the pit – until his environment decided to be something once again, the hospital bed becoming once again apparent.
The brown mess was the first thing he saw; her head lay on the end of the bed.
Blurriness hit him again. No time to actually think about …
Like a wave, he got pulled underneath the current. And, again, it allowed him to surface.
Would it happen a third time? He was prepared to deal with it, as much as he possibly could be.
So, I'm still stuck here .. The three still semi-strangers all beamed at him, even if the father of the Granger family seemed more reserved. Sleepiness still clung to him, but he managed to get out, ''What?”
“By the way, I never did get to tell you my name.” The girl shot out a confident hand. “Name's Hermione Granger.”
The boy slowly nodded. How much time had passed? “It's a pleasure to meet you.” Automatic motions. Even if he was stuck dazed here. He let her hand grip his own, a wave of emotions trying to crash into him. Strings of happiness were most pervasive. From his weakness, it would have made him dizzy if not for the emotional walls he had placed around himself throughout the years.
“My parents have something for you to sign if you're interested, if you feel up for it.” She leaned back, and Hermione's mother gently showed him a paper. Patience coursed through her as he made the attempt to wake up more.
How .. how am I here? The question wiggled forth again, as he discovered he was staring at adoption papers. I was ..
.. about to fully gain Kingdom Hearts' power.