Work Text:
When the peculiar boy appeared in Traverse Town, he was alone. Simeon had been the one to find him, curled up behind a garbage bin in an alleyway. He looked incredibly small then for someone who turned out to be rather tall when standing. His hair was blond and messy and standing up from hair gel pushed out of place, his clothing was scuffed up and torn. When he sneered at her he was bleeding from the mouth from what looked like a missing tooth. There were tear marks and blood trails down his cheeks further telling of a very traumatizing rip from his world.
The boy refused to let her approach at first, even though it was clear he understood her when she spoke English. She had to get reinforcements from her wife to get him out of the alleyway for medical attention. Delia had aged closer in the traditional grandmotherly look, even though they hadn’t ever had kids. Her non-threatening look, plus kind, assuring words that they weren’t threatening him had been enough to ease the boy into standing up and allowing them to lead him to the doctor’s office.
Some people didn’t remember everything about their world’s destruction, or didn’t even fully witness it, but his jumpiness as he was touched and prodded by the doctor and nurse team told all they needed to know. He still hadn’t spoken, only hissed when the potion given to him fixed his tooth and healed some of the scraps.
When his face was washed and he was put into a temporary set of new clothes, it was very clear that he was young. He was not quite an adult, with a lingering roundness to his cheeks. He would later mention being in the later midway point of seventeen when his world had been destroryed. Although it was hard to say how long his world had been gone for when time between worlds was such a mess.
After that, Simeon and Delia felt obligated by association to be the one to direct him to the Traverse Town inn. They even walked him most of the way. They had to open up shop soon so they couldn’t linger with him long, but they were able to explain what Heartless were, and the concept of worlds and even what Traverse Town was. In turn he finally spoke, apologizing for his former rudeness.
“When these…’Heartless’ attacked, I was already in the middle of a tense situation. I thought you were with ‘them’” He never elaborated who ‘they’ were, but he wasn’t obligated to tell them his entire backstory.
It wasn't uncommon for new people to show up, so there wasn't much fanfare over his arrival in the beginning. Nothing more than the usual open arms and free warm cups of soup at the cafe to make him feel more welcome until he could get a job. He was just like them all. His world was lost, and his perception of what they thought the universe was shattered. It was customary to allow new people to stay at the inn for free, and the staff there said his room was always neat. He was very polite, although at times to a passive aggressive amount, and passionate as his red eyes.
Unsettlingly enough, there were rumors that he'd expressed confusion over having red eyes. As if that was a recent addition to his appearance.
The boy said his name was Saguru, but he also answered when called Sage. That mishearing of his unusual name passed through town more than once, and he claimed it was just easier to accept it.
Sage didn’t make friends with any of them at first, but he was pleasant with everyone. Nobody knew much about him, but nobody had anything bad to say about him. He kept to himself, and carried an air that he was okay with that. Nobody knew what to think of that, but they gave him his space.
It didn’t take him long to stumble back into Simeon and Delia’s life. He seemed to quite like books, so could be found being a rather fancy background event at the bookstore. Sometimes he helped customers and kept things pristine and organized in a way that meant most people didn’t even need the help to find what they wanted. Adding him to the payroll wasn’t even much of a question.
His outfit was as well put together as the work he did. He had come to Traverse Town clutching a blue banded white top hat and a monocle in his hands. He hadn’t asked the tailor to fix the clothes he’d come in wearing, but he did integrate the idea of the top hat into his new outfit. Brown and gold robes accented in red and a touch of white. It was centerpieced by a glinting red gem that had come with him from his world, repurposed into the metal latch holding his cloak together. He looked like he’d taken some inspiration from the cooky old man Merlin.
As such, it became of little surprise when Sage started to practice magic.
Sage didn’t talk too much about his former world, yet it was easy to tell who came from worlds with magic and who didn’t. Sage was definitely familiar with magic, and took to practicing spells as soon as he was able to get his hands on a teaching guild.
”One of my friends was a witch.” Sage mentioned once to a quiet break room, and Simeon and Delia had looked up from their own books with pity. "She would have loved this-"
It was the only time he would ever mention any of the people he had lost.
Sometimes he would dip into Merlin's hovel, but it seemed most of his magic was self taught. He was especially excellent in time based spells. This was accentuated by the pocket watch always hanging off his belt. Some wondered if he came from a world where he was some sort of clock king.
In time, Sage learnt to summon a sheild and a staff, a handy set of tools to have now that the Heartless population was picking up in Traverse Town. Sage had gained further favour with the town for being bold enough to face off the Heartless and protect citizens. He wasn’t a knight in shinning armour, but a feral young man in robes was good enough.
The name Saguru meant searching, and a Sage was a prophet with a heart of wisdom. He seemed like a sign of the times changing for the good.
Despite this hope, a problem soon arised with Sage, and that was the singular Heartless he started to keep around.
He'd snuck it into the inn one day under his clothes, and it had given the poor housekeeper a near heart attack. Coincidentally Sage quickly moved into the apartment above the bookshop the very next day.
Sage insisted it was friendly, a bold statement to make of something as dangerous as a Heartless. Delia had been the first to note that most Heartless would not tolerate being picked up and carried around. The Heartless caused mischief, climbing things it shouldn’t have, or knocking down books or other objects up on shelves, but it was far more innocent then attacking people and tearing out their hearts.
It took some convincing to keep customers from running out in terror from the bookstore, but eventually the tiny Shadow Heartless was a common staple of the store. The creature was often perched on Sage’s shoulders and making little chattering sounds at him.
The immediate effect was noticed too, other Heartless had stopped appearing as frequently around the area. As if the pet Heartless was keeping them away.
Outside the shop, the Heartless rarely strayed from hanging around or sitting on the shoulders of its human companion. But the townsfolk eventually could tell the difference between the more malicious Heartless and Sage's seeming pet. The Heartless was on the smaller side for most shadows, barely coming up to Sage's knee not including the antenna. Said antenna curled more at the ends than most Heartless anyone had seen up close. And to top it all off, Sage had attached a little blue bowtie to the Heartless's neck sometime after adopting it. That was soon followed by giving it the top hat and monocle Sage had come with, making it a very distinguished creature of darkness.
Henceforth, the town had adopted the name Blue for this peculiar Heartless. A name even Sage could be found uttering in fondness when chasing the thing off from mischief around customers.
Blue brought out a side to Sage that not many people had seen until then. Sage smiled more now. Whatever reason that he had even found a tame Heartless let alone decided to adopt it was irrelevant to how vibrant he was now.
The months passed on quite pleasantly from there. One day over breakfast Sage declared himself as eighteen now, but made no mention of moving out of Simeon and Delia’s spare bedroom. They likewise never brought up him finding his own apartment now, simply wishing him a happy birthday and asking him to pass the hash browns.
Nothing would change in their lives until one fateful day. Sage and Blue would be out getting last minute supplies from a shop in the Second District while Sage bemoaned the less advanced technology in Traverse Town to the energetic heartless. Sage was just in the middle of explaining his plans to figure out a way to introduce a form of Wikipedia to Traverse town when the two heard a scream.
Towards the staircase a man was mid attack from Heartless, and it was clearly too late to save him as his body and Heart dissolve into nothingness. Sage still summoned his weapons as he could also see an unfamiliar boy walk through the doors as the man’s heart became an armoured Heartless.
More Heartless swarmed up around the boy and Sage ran, Blue barely able to hold on. To Sage’s utter surprise, the boy surrounded a weapon too. Sage skidded to a stop even though he knew he should still keep running.
It wasn’t just any weapon either. This boy was…
"A keyblade wielder…" Saguru had only ever read about them in Merlin's books. The boy glanced around at the Heartless and immediately started bashing at them, clearly inexperienced but not letting that stop him.
Sage started running again, since just because this boy was a keyblade weilder it didn’t mean he should be allowed to fight alone.
“He looks too young to be running around saving the world. I do believe we should step in and help. What do you think…" Saguru scratched the head of the little shadow heartless behind its antenna "...Kaito?"
OBTAINED
Pandora Gem
Glows red under direct moonlight. No other effect recorded.
WHAT WAS LOST?
Everything.