Following Honnouji Academy's First Graduation Ceremony, Ryuko and Mako now attend Rinne High school, finally being able to live a normal life.
Yeah, that's not going to last very long.
After some rather bizarre dreams and winding up getting pitted against a powerful new opponent named Vanitas, she finds herself on a journey across bizarre different worlds, all while engaging in a new conflict against the forces of darkness.
Don't Lose Your Heart
is a crossover between Kill la Kill and Kingdom Hearts and is written by Shemhazat, aka BahamutReishiki of To My Death I Fight fame. The story is posted on Spacebattles.
Word of God confirms that it's a Dead Fic.
Don't Lose Your Heart provides examples of:
- The Ace: By the time Ryuko turns 28 years old, she's regarded as an acclaimed and legendary Keyblade Master, having decimated armies of Heartless and leaving Maleficent utterly terrified of her. If Ira's word is anything to go by, she's got more authority across multiple worlds than said world's actual rulers.
- Affectionate Nickname: After they get together, Mako calls Ira "Shnookums". He's also developed a Berserk Button for when anyone besides Mako calls him that.
- Apocalypse How: Class X-2 happens to the Kill La Kill world after the Heartless consume its heart, with very few of that world's inhabitants surviving and making it to other worlds.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: Considering how dangerous Vanitas is, Satsuki feels it necessary to take the Scissor Blades from their resting place so that she and Ryuko can better combat him.
- Continuation: The story of Kill La Kill continues after the events of the OVA and crosses over with the worlds of Kingdom Hearts, beginning around the time of the Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep storyline.
- Crossover Relatives: By way of cloning, at least. Ryuko and Xion are related in this story, as the latter is a replica of her.
- Dead Fic: It is confirmed that the author will not be continuing the story.
- Doorstopper: The story is well over 178 chapters long with 520K words across all of them (disregarding sidestory chapters).
- The Dreaded:
- Vanitas was this when he first entered the Kill La Kill world. So much so that Satsuki felt it necessary that she and Ryuko brandish the Scissor Blades to combat him.
- Ryuko grows to become one of the few people Maleficent is fearful of after she becomes a Keyblade Master. Pete is also deathly afraid of her wrath, and nothing in the universe would make him want to fight her, not even any form of power or wealth.
- Eviler than Thou: When Satsuki describes Ragyo to Beatrix, she goes into various details and states that she's far more sinister than Ardyn.Satsuki: Because our mother was a phenomenally evil woman. A monster who viewed humanity as nothing more than livestock to be fattened and slaughtered. Whose relentless greed and ambition nearly destroyed the world. For all intents and purposes, Ragyo Kiryuin was more of a monster than Ardyn Lucis Caelum.
- Evil Is Hammy: Exdeath really hams it up when he fights Sora and co. in the Olympus Coliseum. To show this, all his dialogue is bolded as if to emphasize everything he says.
- Experienced Protagonist: Played with. Despite this being Ryuko from after the events of the anime, she's thrusted into the worlds of Kingdom Hearts, where she's pretty much The Watson. Though by the events of the Time Skip, she has nearly a decade of being a Keyblade Master under her belt and has become very knowledgeable regarding the various worlds she's encountered.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ryuko and Mako. Mako can even sense when Ryuko returns to their world like it's second nature.
- Kid Hero All Grown-Up: Downplayed. Ryuko was in her late teens at the start of the story, much like she was at the end of Kill la Kill canon. Fast forward to years later after the Time Skip, and she's now a 28-year-old Keyblade Master.
- Lady Swears-a-Lot: Ryuko's definitely got the filthiest sense of language out of everyone in the story. The author even makes it a point to warn readers about it early on. Even after being a Keyblade Master for well over a decade, she's still as foul-mouthed as ever despite her increased maturity.Ira (To Ryuko): One cannot question the strength of your heart. You're a Keyblade Master. Your authority surpasses even that of kings and regents. But must you speak with such vulgarity and uncouth language?
- Official Couple: Mako and Ira become this. Following the time skip, they even get married.
- One-Woman Army: Not that Ryuko wasn't this already in her home series, but after she becomes a Keyblade Master, she racks up a Heartless body-count well within the thousands.
- Relationship Upgrade: Following the time skip post-Chapter 10.7, Mako and Ira are married.
- Take That!: During Gilgamesh's dream in Chapter 12.1, he mutters to himself "Hildibrand? What a ridiculous character".
- Time Skip: After the events of Chapter 10.7, there's a nine-year time skip to the events of the first Kingdom Hearts game.
- Took a Level in Badass: Ryuko was already a badass, but she goes from a newcomer to the Kingdom Hearts world to an expert and renowned Keyblade Master over the course of the first part of the story.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: When the story enters the events of the first Kingdom Hearts game, it shifts between Sora, Donald, and Goofy's story and Ryuko's story from chapter-to-chapter.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: Since Xion is actually a replica of Ryuko in this story, she has no connections to Sora.
- Virtue Is Weakness: During their battle, Exdeath disparages Sora's espousing of The Power of Friendship and how he relies on Donald and Goofy to help him in battle, believing that a true Keyblade master shouldn't bother with such things and should stand alone.Exdeath: Friends? Comrades? A proper master of the Keyblade would disregard such pointless distractions!
