Black coat: Difference between revisions

The {{nihongo|'''black coat'''|黒いコート|Kuroi kōto}}, also called a "cloak",<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories]]''''', '''DiZ''': "However—this cloak that is worn by Nobodies will render their eyes and noses useless."</ref> is an article of clothing imbued with magic that protects the wearer's heart from corruption when traveling through the darkness between worlds. Its abilities allow the wearer to use the [[Corridors of Darkness|corridors of darkness]] to quickly traverse the realms, and as such, it is primarily worn by Master Xehanort and the members of both the original [[Organization XIII]] and [[real Organization XIII]]. When denizens of light, such as [[Riku]] or [[Mickey Mouse]], need to utilize the corridors of darkness, they also don the black coat.  

The black coat first appeared in the secret video ''[[Another side, Another story...]]'', in which they were worn by [[Roxas]] and Riku. [[Xemnas]] also wore the coat in his optional battle with [[Sora]] and in the secret movie ''Deep Dive'' in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Final Mix]]''. This started the trend of all members of Organization XIII wearing the coat. [[Tetsuya Nomura]] stated in an interview that his initial idea for "[[The Gathering]]" was to have [[Terra]], [[Aqua]], and [[Ventus]] wear similar coats to the black coat in order to mask their at-the-time undesigned faces. However, Nomura felt that he could not use the black coat again, and so he donned the trio of Keyblade wielders with armor instead.   

Axel's black coat has narrow sleeves which stop at his palms, while Xigbar's has pleated shoulders and Demyx's has pointed shoulders. Larxene and Xion have coats with broad shoulders, black leggings instead of black pants, and narrow-toed boots with a slight high heel. Vexen's coat seems to be longer than most others, and his sleeves seem slightly longer as well. Roxas's coat comes with black sneakers instead of boots. Mickey's coat is tailored for his unique frame with pockets in the hood for his ears, and it comes with a black version of his signature shoes. Xion wears similar shoes when she takes Sora's form at the end of ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days''.

|In the [[Kingdom Hearts II (manga)|''Kingdom Hearts II'' manga]], the coat is depicted as capable of sustaining damage and being mended like any ordinary article of clothing. Damage appears to nullify the darkness-shielding abilities of the garment, as Axel has Naminé mend his coat before leaving Twilight Town through the corridors of darkness.

Saïx also has tracking devices planted in Demyx's cloaks, as the lazy Nobody tends to shirk away from his missions. When Axel steals one to replace his damaged coat, this allows Saïx to track him down.{{fact}}

Years later, at the same time Master Xehanort attempts to reforge the [[χ-blade]] and take the Keyblade wielder [[Terra]] as his [[Terra-Xehanort|vessel]], his time-traveling younger self arrives at the [[Land of Departure]], wearing the black coat, on his quest to assemble Xehanort's true Organization XIII to replace the initial version that had failed in the future. He is found and fought by Terra, Ventus, and Aqua when each of them returns individually to his or her homeworld, but he vanishes further into the future upon defeat.<!--based on how Nomura and the game describe the time travel, is there any way to definitively say whether Young Xehanort received the coat before jumping to the future?-->{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep}}

Mickey eventually discards his coat when he rejoins Sora's group during the [[Battle of the 1000 Heartless]], while Riku continues to wear his until shortly after he rejoins his friends at [[The World That Never Was]], when the explosion of Ansem the Wise's [[Kingdom Hearts Encoder]] returns him to his true form. When the group reaches Xemnas, the Superior replaces his black coat with his old Keyblade Armor, and finally with a modified version of the coat itself.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts II}} The coat is also mimicked by a group of Heartless named the [[Mushroom XIII]], who model themselves after the Organization, the Absent Silhouettes who manifest from the members' weapons after their destruction, and the Replica Data simulations housed at the [[Garden of Assemblage]].{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix}}

Shortly after the Organization's defeat, King Mickey digitizes [[Jiminy's Journal]] in order to determine the source of a mysterious message that had appeared within it. In the process, the Journal's collective memory comes to reside within [[Data-Riku]], who takes the form of Riku as he was after he left Castle Oblivion, wearing a black coat. Because of his black coat, Data-Sora confuses him with the mysterious figure who appeared in his [[Dive to the Heart]], but he eventually discovers that the figure was [[Data-Roxas]], who had manifested to protect Data-Sora from his own pain.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts Re:coded}}

Members of the real Organization XIII continue to wear black coats in the time leading up to the fated clash. Once the seven guardians of light and thirteen seekers of darkness have all been gathered and meet in the Keyblade Graveyard, all of the Organization except Master Xehanort appear wearing their black coats with their hoods up. Most of them maintain their coats through their individual battles. Lea also maintained his, rather than take a new outfit given to him by [[Merlin]], noting the outfit's association with him as is.