I walk through the town, having cleared away all of the Heartless in the forest and graveyard. My Legato Melodies clink coldly along the cobblestones of the square. I look up to the sky, the full, pitted moon watching me from her resting place in the sky. The air is chilled, my exhales condensing and forming small white puffs.
Ever since that night two years ago, I have made it my mission to make sure that what happened to me would never happen to anyone else. I don't do it because maybe, somehow I would be able to "redeem" myself and regain a heart. I do it because I don't want what happened to Kateri to happen to anyone else, because it is a way for me to satisfy this unnatural instinct I have to hunt and protect. At least...the least I can do with this nonexistence is to save others from it.
I'm the only one in the Town Square, until several Shadows and Search Ghosts materialize in the area. I drop my chains to the ground and whisper, "Hunt the Shadows," and quickly call on my Spirit of the Tigress. As my chains slither through the square, strangling the life out of the weaklings, I slipped into my now familiar element. Claws unsheathed, eyes and ears cat-like and attentive, I leap after the Search Ghosts with feline grace, destroying them as easily as if they were clouds.
Clambering onto the fountain in the square, I collect my chains, the battle now complete. In a crouch, I carefully scan the area for any more enemies. No more Heartless appear for the moment, and I relax. These sort of amateur training sessions are good for me, but I need something more challenging. I know I'll never unlock my true potential dealing with Shadows all night long.
Sighing, I re-wrap my chains around my hands and legs. I make my way back to Kateri's apartment, where I have been staying. I find that all of her clothes fit me perfectly, and she has a decent amount of money, enough to keep me sustained for a little while. I had found an entire arsenal as well, including chains similar to mine, and a pair of handguns I keep as a secondary weapon. Every once in a while, I even catch snatches and pieces of her memories.
I travel through the shadowed night to my apartment, lost in these thoughts, when I hear three high-pitched voices quarreling with each other.
"No, no, no! He wanted this one!"
"You big stupid, he wants this one! This one's better!"
"You two are both morons! This is what he asked for!"
Following the sounds to their source, I find three small children, arguing back in the graveyard. They are surrounding three Heartless, a Shadow, a Search Ghost, and a Wight Knight. All three of the Heartless seem to be suitably subdued, so I approach the children warily.
"Who wants a Heartless, and why?" All three jump and turn around, eying me guiltily.
"Oogie Boogie, of course," says one, a girl. "He wants to create a Heartless army!"
I'm taken aback. "And you three are," I state rather than ask.
The trio lines themselves up as they announce, "I'm Lock!" "I'm Shock!" "I'm Barrel!""And we work for Mr. Oogie Boogie!"
I rifle through the scant memories I have, trying to find anything about an "Oogie Boogie." Everything I have, though, is about Kateri and Giovanni.
"Oogie...Boogie?" I keep an eye on the three Heartless as I question them.
The one named Lock, dressed as a devil, speaks up. "Yeah! He's the baddest bag of bugs this town has ever seen! And he's going to be even badder, once he completes his army of Heartless!"
"Yeah," says the girl, Shock, "he's going to be the strongest guy around! And we'll be right beside him!"
I think for a moment. "So, he's planning on creating an arm of Heartless," I say slowly, "and he plans on using these Heartless to do it?"
"Uh-huh," replies the girl. "Say. You look a lot like someone from around here...do I know you?"
Barrel pipes up. "Yeah! I know, you're Kateri, aren't you?" He shivers, wrapping his arms around his chubby body. "You're a real terror, a downright fright! I heard you even kill people for money," he whispers.
"I'm not Kateri," I say coldly. "I'm Rexikat. Make no mistake. And if you thought she was a real terror, I'll be your worst nightmare."
I point to the trio of Heartless, dropping my chains to the ground. "You said he's using those Heartless, right?" All three of them nod silently. I clench my hand into a tight fight fist and bring it upwards. The chains surround the Heartless, destroying them. "Not anymore," I say. "Next time I find you conducting any errands for this Oogie Boogie, rest assured that I will not only kill you, but I will hunt down this Oogie Boogie, and kill him as well."
I don't wait to see the reaction on their faces as I walk away, my hands fisted in anger. I would not, could not stand for someone trying to end other lives using Heartless as Kateri's had been. I had seen the pictures, read the journals entries, seen Giovanni's memories. Kateri led a happy life, from what I knew. I couldn't let the possibility exist that someone else might lose that kind of happiness. I would do everything I could to protect it.
