A/N: an update!

I won't really be following the story line to KHUX, but I will include the major events that happened in the game.

Guest: maybe haha

Draconicflare: Lol! I sometimes still do that too. And thanks! Yup! We'll see more of the face-planting boy. Hehe thanks! And I think it's a great edition! We get to have new stories in the game lol

Guest: yup! I just posted a drawing of Nova at deviantart

Lulu9814: Go Nova~! Lol and thanks!

Gry21: those are some interesting ideas, thank you for sharing them!

Guest: go Nova~!

TheIrishWriter: thank you! Perhaps, he might be lol. And my guess, is that Ventus is quite short in KHUX? I don't know, I just imagined him to be short since he's still a kid. Haha

Unipony626: Lol me too! Thank you so much!

KH © SE, Tetsuya Nomura

Chapter 3
friend

Another week passed.

"—va?"

Nova looked down, turning to look at the Spirit.

Two weeks passed since she arrived at Daybreak Town. It had been a quiet week. Since she spoke with the clumsy boy, she never spoke to anyone else except to her Chirithy. Perhaps when she wanted to buy some supplies from the vendors, but that's it. She became quieter than before and she was already quiet when she first came here. And her Chirithy was worried that she might've lost her confidence.

"Are you okay? You've been spacing out lately." Chirithy asked in concern, looking up at his wielder with worry in his eyes. His wielder wasn't much of a talker from the start, but to stay quiet all the time was not good either. He tried to start up a conversation, to at least get Nova to talk. From what he gathered, Nova doesn't seem to have any hobby except drinking tea—if that could be called a hobby. "Is everything, okay?" he asked.

Nova nodded her head. "Yeah." She progressed a little since she first came. She wasn't easily tired out by the stairs anymore, that's a start. But apparently, that wasn't enough to upgrade her keyblade. Her keyblade was still the very basic one. Every day, she saw different wielders wielding different keyblades. She even found some that has the same structure as hers. The difference was that theirs are more 'updated' than hers. "Everything's okay…." She added, lowering the keyblade.

Daybreak Town was quiet. Most of the wielders had left to another world to collect LUX, but some stayed behind to collect LUX at town—though only a few. Nova's missions had only been in Daybreak Town instead of going to other worlds. Sometimes, she wondered why her missions were always at Daybreak Town. She wanted to join the other wielders to the outside world. Instead of asking Chirithy, she kept the question to herself.

Nova sighed.

The blonde turned her head to her left when she saw someone from the corner of her eyes. She was standing quite a distance from the person she just saw, but that didn't mean she could see how the person looked. Tall, buff—a giant really from the girl's perspective. He wore similar clothing to her master, but everything was light brown instead of yellow. His mask though was completely different.

A bear.

Her eyes followed the assumed master until he was out of her line of sight.

"That was Master Aced." Chirithy said, answering Nova's unspoken question. The girl turned to look down at her Spirit. She has heard the master's name quite a few times during her stay in Daybreak Town. The man was Jay's Union leader. "He's the leader of the Union Ursus."

Nova nodded her head.

"You see, during missions, the Foretellers also went along the keyblade wielders to visit the worlds known to us so far." Chirithy began as he turned to look at the direction where Aced went. "They also collect LUX, but their job is to mostly monitor the keyblade wielders so there would be no conflict when collecting LUX." He explained.

The blonde followed Chirithy's gaze. "…it almost feels like a competition." She sighed.

"I guess so…" Chirithy agreed, nodding his head.

Nova let out a soft sigh.

"Well, how about we take a break? You've been working very hard!" Chirithy wasn't convinced with Nova's answer. He jogged over to the bench and hopped onto it before sitting down. He patted the empty seat beside him and Nova couldn't help but smile and complied. The girl sat beside her Chirithy with her keyblade leaned against the bench. "It's a very nice weather today, huh?" the Spirit sighed in content.

"Hmm," Nova hummed in reply, nodding her head. She took a deep breath and exhaled, enjoying the cool breeze with her eyes closed. They were sitting beneath the tree in the waterfront park. The sound of waves gently crashing against the rocks was calming. Silence fell between the two. "Hey… Chirithy?" she decided to break the silence.

"Yeah?" Chirithy turned in his seat. He gets excited whenever his wielder wanted to talk. Usually it had to be him to start a conversation, so hearing his wielder wanted to talk without him asking is a great thing.

Whoosh

"Alright!"

There was a sound of a Heartless disappearing followed by a yell of victory. Both Nova and Chirithy turned around to the source. A boy—around Nova's age—was seen not far from her. He wore mostly black, but his shirt was white and his scarf was red in color. His hair though was a little different than the other keyblade wielders she had seen in Daybreak Town. Sure, she has seen shades of blue to pink, but she has never seen silver before.

"He seems lively." Chirithy commented and Nova only nod her head in response.

The boy didn't seem to notice them.

Nova's eyes widened when a pool of darkness suddenly appeared behind the boy. One by one, Heartless began to emerge from the darkness. The boy didn't seem to notice the danger behind him. Nova debated whether or not she should help the boy. For one, he was far stronger than her. His keyblade proved it. On the other hand, it would be wrong of her not to help someone in need.

"N—Nova!" Chirithy called out to his wielder when she ran towards the boy.

The boy's expression went to surprise when he saw Nova running towards him with her keyblade in hand. The boy was prepared for a fight. He raised his keyblade in defense and took a step back. Nova reached her empty hand out and pushed the boy's shoulder, making him duck down. He was more surprised when the attack wasn't meant for him, but for the Heartless behind him.

Nova thrust her keyblade above the boy's head, killing off the Heartless in one hit.

"Ah!" The boy's eyes widened when he finally realized the danger behind him. He turned his head when he noticed a hand from the corner of his eyes. The boy trailed his eyes up the arm to the girl's face. She gave him a small smile before he took her hand. "T—Thanks!" he replied as he stood up.

The blonde nodded her head in response before turning her head to look at the swarm of Heartless gathered around them. She positioned herself to a fighting stance and the boy did the same.

"I don't know who you are, but let's go!" The boy shouted as he attacked first, taking out the Heartless in his way.

Nova followed his steps, but she stayed behind a little bit, taking out the Heartless on the opposite side. She ducked down, avoiding a fire ball blast at her way. She quickly slashed the Heartless across before it could cast more fire spells at her. It was more convenient for her to kill magic-based Heartless with magic, but she wasn't much of a magic user to begin with. She rather used her keyblade as a sword rather than a magic staff. The only magic she used were barrier and cure since the two were the most important thing when going against the Heartless.

Nova swung her keyblade randomly, hoping she would at least hit the Heartless. They were swarming around her. She was bound to hit something with the short distance. She spun on her heels in a circle, taking around the Heartless around her in a swing. One after another, black smoke filled the air with all of the Heartless the two keyblade wielders killed.

The blonde jumped back and raised her keyblade in defense. She blocked the claws aimed at her face and pushed the Heartless back. It recovered quickly and lunged at the girl once more.

"Fire!"

A ball of fire hit the Heartless from the side.

Nova turned her head to the source and saw the boy pointing his keyblade at the direction of the Heartless he just hit. He lowered his keyblade, a smile of his face. The silver-haired boy walked towards her casually, the smile never leaving his pale face.

"Nice work!" The boy raised his hand and a grin was seen on his face.

Nova stared at his hand before gingerly raising her own.

"High-five!" the boy chirped as they high-fived.

"So, what's your name—!?" The silver-haired boy abruptly stopped when the pool of darkness suddenly grew wider in diameter, covering their ankles in black fog. A large Heartless began to emerge from the pool of darkness. The two teens' eyes followed as the Heartless kept on rising up from the ground until it reached its' full height. "A Darkside!" the boy shouted, raising his arm in front of Nova.

The boy took a few steps back, making Nova do the same as well when the Darkside take a huge step forward. The two keyblade wielders readied themselves for another fight.

"We can take it! There's two of us and only one of them!" The boy encouraged, turning his head to look at Nova.

Nova's eyes widened when the Darkside raised its' large hand. It happened so fast, despite the Darkside was known to be slow. Nova pushed the boy away to safety just as the Darkside moved its hand to swat the keyblade wielders away. She raised her keyblade up in defense, casting a shield in front of her to lessen the impact from the hit. Though the Darkside's hand hit her, the claws didn't injure her.

"No!" The boy watched in horror as the girl was flung back into a distance.

Nova landed across the park. She hit the ground and skidded to a stop a few feet away from where she landed. The blonde immediately looked around for her keyblade. She had dropped her keyblade when she hit the ground. It was a few feet away from where she laid.

She can't let the boy fight on his own against the Darkside. She reached her hand out to grab her keyblade, but as far as she reached, the keyblade was too far from her grasp. She had to get back up to her feet. She winced in pain as she pushed herself up, prompting herself up with her elbows.

When Nova looked back to the direction of the boy, he was not alone. A large group of keyblade wielders had gathered around the waterfront park to defeat the Darkside. The boy was among the crowd, his back facing her.

'Oh…'

The boy doesn't need her help anymore.

"Nova!" Chirithy quickly appeared by her side, watching his wielder in concern. He helped the girl sit up and stared at her in worry. He was thankful that he had taught her the barrier spell when she first started her day, otherwise it could've ended worse. He placed his paw on the girl's hand, making her look at him. "Nova…"

Nova held her the side of her head, trying to make the pain go away. She patted Chirithy's head, assuring that she was alright. When she turned her gaze forward to look at the battle, her view was blocked with a black-gloved hand.

"You okay?" It was the boy.

The blonde gave a nod. "Yeah..." she took his hand and he pulled her up. She patted the dust and dirt on her clothes as she checked for injuries when something was given to her by the boy.

"Your keyblade." The boy held the keyblade out, his eyes looking at something else rather than Nova's face. There were a few seconds of silence before the girl took her keyblade back. "Thanks for saving me again. I owe you a lot." He thanked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Nova shook her head. "Don't mention it—"

"It's you!" the two keyblade wielders and Chirithy jumped at the loud voice. They turned their head to the source and found a boy, staring angrily at both Nova and her Chirithy. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded, marching closer to the three.

Nova frowned.

"Uh well… she lives in Daybreak Town…so…?" the silver-haired boy trailed off, unsure how to react to his Union member's sudden outburst.

"I wasn't talking to you, Ephemer!" The boy—Jay—snapped.

The silver-haired boy quickly retreated back, his hands raised up in the air in surrender.

Jay turned to look at Nova again. "You're here to steal our LUX, huh? That's why you're here, right?" he crossed his arms, giving a glare. "Think you can just waltz in here and defeat that Darkside to take our LUX?"

Chirithy stepped forward. "Don't assume such things! Nova would never do that!" he defended.

Ephemer nodded his head in agreement. "Her Chirithy's right, Jay. You can't just assume such things so quickly." He didn't like the way his member treated the girl who just saved his life twice so rudely. Sure, they might be from different Unions, but that doesn't mean he can just accuse the girl of something that she didn't do. "And besides, she was here first, so technically those LUXs was supposed to be hers." He placed his hand on his hip, making his point.

Jay clicked his tongue. "Whose side are you on here, Ephemer?" he asked in annoyance. "We defeated that Darkside. So, we won the LUX fair and square. And here, you're telling me the LUX belongs to her now?" he emphasized, hissing out the word.

A girl stepped out from the growing crowd.

"Just stop it, guys! There's no need to fight over this." The black-haired girl stood between Jay and the three.

"Skuld…" Ephemer called out to the girl.

Said girl turned to face the silver-haired teen, giving a smile. Her light brown eyes fell on the blonde beside her friend. She flashed her a soft smile before turning to face her fellow Union member, her gaze sharpened.

"Do you really need to spark up a fight with another Union, Jay? She didn't do anything wrong here, you know?" Skuld huffed out, her arms crossed.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Oh please… She's from a different Union, that makes us enemies, rivals." He pointed out, moving his hand as he leaned a bit forward.

Ephermer stepped forward. "But that doesn't mean you can just downright bully her—,"

"You all saw her right? Her keyblade." Jay cut Ephemer off, making everyone in the crowd turn their attention to the newest keyblade wielder's keyblade. The girls shrink in her spot when all eyes fell on her. Her grip on the keyblade tightened before summoning it away in shame, but everyone had a good look at her keyblade before she summoned it away. "Everyone here agrees. She's weak—she can't even hold herself against the Darkside. Anyone can do it. Her keyblade proves it." He sneered, his nose held up high.

Nova's hands were balled up into fists as she tried her best not to run away.

"Hey—!" Chirithy jumped up in anger.

"You wanna know the reason why you don't get missions out of Daybreak Town?" Jay pushed his way through Skuld, Ephemer and Chirithy before standing in front of the girl. "Your keyblade, that's why. Look at everyone here, Nova. We all have moved to the next stage. You haven't—and that's why even in your Union, no one choose you." He stared intensely at the shorter girl.

Nova furrowed her eyebrows.

"You're weak."

The blonde coughed once, holding back a sob.

"Oi—Jay!" Ephermer stepped forward.

"It's true…" Nova spoke quietly, making the two of her defenders and Chirithy look at her. The corner of her lips twitched to a bitter smile. She raised her gaze to look at the group. She smiled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I accept it… what he said was true. I'm weak…" she admitted.

"No—," Ephemer paused when Nova turned to look at him.

"Thanks for your help." Nova bowed to him before giving the girl named Skuld the same bow. She looked down to her Chirithy and motioned her head for the to leave. She walked ahead of the cat. "Let's go, Chirithy…"

The crowd made way for the blonde to walk. Their eyes staring at her, judging.

Chirithy quickly followed his wielder.

As soon as the girl and her Chirithy was out of view, the crowd began to disperse, soon only leaving Jay's group and Ephemer's group.

"Jay!" Skuld shouted, pulling the boy by his shoulder—away from the girl. "You've gone too far."

Ephemer glared. "What you said was not true Jay—,"

Jay scoffed. "You have to be blind to not see that she's weak."

"What do you have against her anyway?" Ephermer decided to ask, his arms crossed.

"She's from another Union." It was short and simple.

Ephermer stared at the boy in disbelief. "Only that?"

"Duh."

The silver-haired teen turned his head to look at the direction Nova had left.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"N—Nova! Wait up!"

Chirithy struggled to keep up with Nova's pace.

"Chirithy." The keyblade wielder abruptly stopped. Her head hung low as her hands balled up on her sides. Her voice sounded so strained, as if she was holding back the tears and sadness she had been holding. The two of them had stopped inside the short tunnel that leads back to their house. It was quiet and the air around them was thick. "Be honest with me, okay?" she said quietly, tuning her gaze over her shoulder.

The cat nodded his head slowly.

"Do you think I'm weak too?" Nova asked.

"No!" was her immediate answer. The girl turned around and kneeled down when her Spirit moved closer to her. The cat kept jumping up and down, giving encouragement to lift the girl's spirits up. "Don't say that! You're not weak at all, Nova! You're growing stronger and stronger from the minute I met you! So, don't ever listen to those kids, okay?" he huffed out.

Nova smiled, patting Chirithy's head. "Thanks…"

The cat's body began to shake in angry. "What that kid said was too far! It's time I tell Master Aced and Master Gula—!"

"There's no need for that." The two gasped when they saw someone at the end of the tunnel. Their back leaned against the walls with their arms crossed. It was just anybody. It was the Master himself, Master Gula—the Union leader of Leopardus. The two quickly stood up and bowed in respect to the master. "I've seen and heard enough from what happened today." He said, his voice a little strained.

Nova looked at her master before looking down. She was disappointed at herself because her master had to come down and help her sort out her bullying problem.

"Please… don't tell Master Aced…" Nova said quietly.

Gula raised an eyebrow, turning to look at his student in surprise. "Why? You're a part of my Union, it's time I take this matter into my own hands." He walked closer to the girl, watching the girl shift uncomfortable from the tension. He knew of the problem Nova has with the bullies from Ursus, but he had never expected it to come this far. At first, he was positive that Nova can take care of the bullies by herself, but this was going too far. "Aced needs to control his students better. I don't tolerate them looking down on my Union member." He continued.

"But what he said was true… I am weak…" Nova said quietly, but both Chirithy and her master heard her. "My keyblade proves it…"

Chirithy placed his paw on Nova's hand. "Nova…" he glanced over to the man cloaked in yellow, silently praying that the man can help pull his wielder out from the sadness of insecurity.

Gula stared at the girl for a few seconds before turning around on his heels.

"M—Master?" Chirithy turned to the master in surprise.

The leopard masked man stopped at the end of the tunnel. He glanced over his shoulder and motioned his hand for the two to follow him. "Follow me." He instructed before continuing to walk.

Nova and Chirithy exchanged glances before following the man. The blonde jogged to catch up with her master. For a man dressed in robes, he sure can walk fast. She walked behind him, a few steps behind to give some space between them. She didn't know what her master was going to do. She didn't know him that well to know what. She silently hoped that he won't go over to where Jay and his group is. Sure, she doesn't like him or anyone in his group, but she also doesn't want to get them in trouble and make them hate her more because she got her master involved.

"Nova, tell me something," Gula suddenly said, surprising the blonde girl. She tilted her head and waited for him to continue. She continued following him until they come to a complete stop beside the Fountain in the plaza. He stood there with his back turned against them. "Why do you think the keyblade choose you?" he asked, turning around to meet his keyblade wielder.

Nova blinked. "Ummm…" she began to think. She tried to find the answer, but can't seem to find it. She didn't want to tell her master that she can't answer his question, but how can she answer a question she doesn't even know the answer. "I… don't know… I don't know… why?" she trailed off, looking down.

"Your heart, Nova. It chooses you because of your heart." Gula answered, taking a few steps closer to his Union member.

Nova placed a hand over her heart. "My heart?" she echoed.

Gula nodded. "Only people with a strong heart can obtain the power of the keyblade." he mimicked his student's actions and placed a hand over his heart as well.

"Nova, your heart is strong."

Nova looked up, staring at her master with wide eyes. She felt her spirits being lifted up when she heard her own master saying that her heart is strong.

"Don't let other wielders tell you otherwise." Gula gave a smile.

Nova felt a smile spreading across her lips. She quickly bowed down, hiding the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

"Thank you, master!"

Gula nodded his head, a small smile on his lips. "Raise you head and wipe those tears off, someone's here to see you." He instructed and turned his head to the direction of the stairs. As if on cue, a voice calling out to Nova could be heard.

"Hey! New kid! You up there?!"

"Looks like you have a friend looking for you." Gula pointed out and turned his attention back to his student.

"Y—Yeah…"

"I should be going." Gula announced his leave and turned around on his heels, heading towards the stairs on the other side. He stopped just when his foot stepped on the first step of the stairs. He turned his gaze over his shoulder. "May your heart be your guiding key, Nova." he said before continuing on his way.

Nova stared at her master's back, the smile still plastered on her lips.

"Hey—new kid!" the boy from before—Ephemer—panted as he reached the Fountain Plaza. Nova turned around to face him as he ran towards her, stopping right in front of her. He held out a finger to her as his other hand was placed on his knees to support him. He took a minute break to catch his breath before standing tall to his full height, staring at Nova with a determined look. "Listen, what Jay said—don't let it get to you, okay?" he panted out.

Nova smiled, shaking her head. "Don't worry… I won't."

"Don't say that—Huh? Oh…" Ephemer blushed when Nova's answer wasn't as he expected. He gave a sheepish laugh before he let a gasp escaped his lips. He reached his hand inside his pouch, pulling out a familiar glass container to give the girl. "Here, you can use my potion. You'd be lying if you said that the hit you took for me didn't hurt." He smiled, holding out the potion.

The blonde took the potion. "Thank you…" she said softly.

Ephermer grinned. "Well, that's what friends are for! We look out for each other!"

Nova stared at the boy with a surprised look. "Friends?"

The silver-haired teen blinked. "Well, yeah… we high-fived, remember?" he raised his right hand up and pointed at his own hand. "We might be from different Unions, but we can always be friends, right?" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah…" Nova looked down at the potion, a smile on her lips. "Thanks."

"I'm Ephemer from the Union Ursus! Nice to meet you, New Kid!" Ephemer held his hand out.

Nova chuckled. "I'm Nova from Leopardus." She shook his hand.

A glow began to emit between their hands.

"Whoa!" Ephemer exclaimed, staring as the bright light continues to spread. He closed his eyes as the light continues to glow. A few seconds later, the light finally dies down. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light before his blue eyes landed on the keyblade in Nova's hands. "Hey! Congratulations!" he grinned.

Nova stared at her keyblade.

It was different from the old one, though still similar.

The shaft had a gradient color, making it darker closer to the top. The star at the teeth was now gold and the spike opposite has been replaced with a fanning trail that looks like a shooting star. The section of the shaft where the trail passed through was colored in gold as well.

"Wow, congratz, Nova!" Chirithy clapped his paws together, jumping up and down in joy.

"How does it feel? Now, you can show Jay what you're made of!" Ephemer pumped his fist up, giving a smile. "Proof him wrong, sista!" he laughed.

Nova couldn't help but smile.

This is her next step as a keyblade wielder.