//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Come back  [Kingdom Hearts crossover] 
// by Yelilia 
//------------------------------//

Opening the door, a faint ring of bells echoed against the dark and dusty walls of the library, in the city where he had been catapulted.
Huge bookcases and shelves were filled with books of a thousand colors and a thousand sizes.
Sora had never been a lover of books, making him think in some way about the school and its epic failures in any subject he tried, but he could not deny that the ancient suggestion that place gave him made him almost want to start reading one. Almost, though.
The windows were formed by opaque, colored glass diamonds that filtered the light so that it did not bother the eyes.


Behind him, one on the right and one on the left, Twilight and Sunset who had offered to accompany him, leaving their friends to do their chores. First of all, Pinkie at the bakery.
Shortly before, the young friends had had to interrupt their chat in front of a steaming cup of tea because, like every day, the Sugarcube Corner opened its doors to the citizens who could not wait to enjoy some well-deserved relaxation while eating some delicacies.
This relaxation, however, was not shared by Pinkie, who ran from side to side holding trays full of cups, sweets and hot drinks in her arms.
To each client she repeated the same sentence "I recommend the specialty of the day" but, denying revealing what this was, both to the people sitting at the tables and to Sora and his friends, few people dared to order it.
Sora wanted to try it. His stomach growled but he didn't even have a munny with him. Apparently, otherworldly journeys did not include the possibility of carrying "baggage".


An elderly gentleman poked his head out from the back of the store, his skin gray as if he were sick, a long white curly beard and short hair, of the same color.
He was wearing a bizarre blue sweater with little stars embroidered on it.
"Hello StarSwirl, how's your back today?"
Twilight passed Sora, approaching the man who laughed under his mustache, massaging his back with one hand "It would be better if I was your age"
Sunset pretended to be surprised but actually she was amused "Do you still remember when you were our age? Has it not been a century? "
The man named StarSwirl laughed again "In less than no time you'll find yourself like me, missy"
Sora thought that those two had to know the librarian very well, their connection was palpable.
It was enough to see the way they laughed at each other and the way the girls took the books from his hands to put them in his place, to understand how much they were related to that elderly gentleman.
"I brought a friend of mine, Sora. He'd like to use the computer "
Sora stepped forward, smiling confident to the man who seemed so kind and helpful.
"Oh, hi Sora. Of course you can use the computer, come on. "He invited him with one hand to follow him, as he flicked towards an unknown wing of the library.
"Thank you very much!" Sora replied, not delaying even a moment to follow him.
The girls were going to go with him but StarSwirl asked them if they could clean up the tallest shelves in that place.
There didn't seem to be any other people besides the four of them.
"Are you a foreigner?"
"Kinda" Sora scratched his cheek, keeping himself vague
"I see." StarSwirl, on the other hand, gave him a fleeting glance, with his small eyes, and looked him over. "Here you go," he continued, showing him a table on which was placed a rather heavy and bulky computer, the same gray as the man's skin.
Sora immediately remembered that he had already seen that kind of contraption but had never tried to use them. If Pence had been there, he would have made it work in no time.
The man, seeing him thoughtfully in front of the computer, made for him appear a white screen with a search bar.
In Sora, it was so much like magic, instead, as Sunset had told him on the way to the library, it was just 'technology'.
"You can do all the research you want now"
Having said this, he moved away from Sora, coming out of his sight.


The boy took very little to understand that, to start a search, he had to enter it in the bar that flashed before his eyes.
"Where is Riku?"
He wrote as a first question but, all that opened before him, were announcements about a company that sold fertilizer for lands.
Sora laughed at the computer. Fertilizer. Poor Riku.
The second time he tried to search for the islands of destiny, but the photos of a public pool were the only thing that appeared on the computer.
Finally he tried the word 'Xehanort'.
The computer went out instantly, turning Sora's eyes off as they were lit by the monitor light.


"You shouldn't be here"
StarSwirl's voice frightened him, making him jump up from his chair in seconds.
"You told me I could use the computer" Sora replied confused, feeling embarrassed. Had he broken the computer by accident? It was not his intention.
"You shouldn't be here" He repeated "Boy, I say this for you" he lowered his voice, approaching Sora cautiously. "This is not a place for who's ali-"


"StarSwirl, we're done!" Twilight joined them, pleased to have helped.  "Sora, did you find what you were looking for?"
"Kinda" Sora replied, still, but he didn't lose eye contact with the old man. What did he want to tell him?
"Thanks, what would I do without my favorite clients?" Starswirl turned his back to Sora, turning to the girl with the lilac skin "Now I think I'll go buy something for dinner, and you have to do the same. No more missed dinners. See you tomorrow, honeys" having said that, he dismissed them who, like it or not, had to leave the place and find themselves on the street. Night would fall in a few hours.


The girls greeted him. Sunset was busy with dinner, that evening was her turn to cook and, as a good roommate, she would not break the promise. Twilight, on the other hand, would have joined Fluttershy and would have helped her with that dogsitter job.
Sora then decided to return to the only place he knew of that city.


He did not start immediately, tried several times to return to the library first, but this was now closed. Then he walked around the neighborhood. At every corner that turned the people in the street stared at him. Was it so strange for that place to have a visitor?
Only late in the evening he crossed the threshold of Pinkie's pastry shop, now empty and with only a couple of people at the tables.
Her pink-haired friend sat on the counter while, with the menu crooked before her eyes, muttered something to herself.
"Hey Pinkie, what are you doing?" Sora asked, leaning back against the curly girl's counter.
"I look at things from another perspective" She lowered the menu, looking at Sora. "You see? So it's more interesting "
"Yeah," the blue-eyed boy answered, not really paying attention to how interesting the upside-down menu could be.
"Are you sad because you didn't find what you were looking for?
Sora ran a hand through his hair
"I do not know. I don't even know where to stay tonight. I'm so lost "
"Everything that is lost, sooner or later, is found. So don't get down. And then, above my room there is an attic. You can stay there. I would really like someone to keep me company" Pinkie gave him two pats on the back, smiling at him "Now, to pay me back, you will taste today's specialties"
Sora smiled, regained strength in himself.
He would come back home, but first he would eat anything Pinkie had brought him. He was so hungry.
And then, the next day he would go to StarSwirl.