Leela basked in the warm heat of the Agrabah bazaar. The sweet smell of dates clashed with the scents of spices, making her eyes water. With one hand she waved away an enthusiastic vendor who was thrusting a bowl of spices in her face, while she used the other to drag along Ayuto, who was trying to look as pitiful as he could.

"Can we please go back now?" His thin wrist was slicked with sweat and he was in danger of being swept away by the crowd. Leela felt a short pang of pity for him, before reassuring herself that being dragged along on excursions once in a while was something everyone did for the person they were dating. Her resolve grew when she remembered how he and Jean had tried for hours to interest her in Traverse Town's new austerity policies, and what it meant for the citizens. At least this excursion was for a good cause.

Still, Ayuto's pale skin was already reddening from sunburn, and she didn't want him to collapse from heatstroke. She paused to let him catch his breath and said, "You'd better get used to this or you won't be any help on our exam."

"I'm dying. Tell the others I loved them."

"No, you don't."

Ayuto groaned and rested his head on Leela's. "Okay, not Kayla. But everyone else." He paused for a few seconds before adding, "But you especially."

Leela brushed his black hair out of his eyes and kissed him on the cheek before moving away and said, "This is nothing. When I was a kid it would be so hot you'd burn your skin off if you just touched the sand."

"You are such a local." Ayuto said. "What are we even here for again?"

"Cindy's birthday present." Leela chirped.

"No wonder I forgot." Ayuto muttered." Leela lightly jabbed him in the ribs and continued walking. "What are you even looking for?"

"That's so beautiful!" Leela darted to a stall boasting dozens of multicolored ceramics. The new dyes extracted from plants in the forests of the Dwarf Woodlands resulted in deep purple and red hues that ceramicists used to decorate the majority of their commissions.

"Got them fresh from the forges of the Dwarf Woodlands." The vendor boasted. Her turban was a garish green and beneath her robes Leela saw the brass ring that marked her as a member of the Merchant's Union. "They've seen the hands of master Dwarves."

This was a blatant lie, as Dwarves worked strictly with metals and minerals, leaving clay to the hands of humans. But Leela didn't bother correcting the vendor. She peered at a yellow and brown cup that looked like the landscape of a desert. The vase beside it was a vibrant green and blue, and had been glazed so well the surface seemed untouched by dust or scratches. These pieces had never seen the hands of Dwarves, but it was clear they had been made by practiced Magesmiths.

Beside her Ayuto was examining a chillum pipe that fit into the palm of his hand. He twirled it between his long fingers and asked, "How much?"

"Ah, you have good taste." The vendor swooped towards Ayuto. "This was made by the best artisans Agrabah has to offer. Smoke flows through this pipe like water flows through a river."

"Oh, light." Leela said. "Are you going for the pretentious philosopher look? Because with your books and pipe, you're getting pretty close."

"It looks nice." Ayuto protested. He put it back and said, "Are you getting anything?"

"No, the mugs are too heavy and Cindy wouldn't use them." Leela sighed and moved away. "But they were definitely nice. The new trade deals between Agrabah and the Dwarf Woodlands are great, and don't," she pointed at Ayuto. "start some lecture on economics."

She ducked under hangers of shirts and Ayuto had to double over to follow. It was only when she emerged on the other side and glanced at her watch that she realized they had been here for too long. "We're going to be late!"

"What do you mean, we were told to be back by sundown." Ayuto's eyes widened in horrror.

"The sun sets quickly here." Leela said. "Damn, I'll have to get Cindy's birthday present another day."

"Just get something now."

"But it's Cindy, it has to be right." Leela felt torn and wanted to run in three different directions.

"Here, I've seen Cindy wearing things like these." Ayuto tugged a long sleeved undershirt off a rack and desperately waved it in Leela's face.

"I don't have time for bargaining." Leela said, like she was explaining something obvious to a junior apprentice. "It would be an insult."

"To who, you?" Ayuto handed the shirt back to an outraged merchant.

"No, to whoever's selling it." Leela grabbed him and forged her way back through the crowds. "And this might be the last time we eat with the juniors. We can't be late!"

Twenty minutes later, the sun now a dull orange almost touching the horizon, Leela and Ayuto rushed through the backdoor of the house they were staying in. It was a square structure with rooms surrounding a central courtyard with a pool in the middle.

"Hey, look who it is." Cindy waved to them from inside the pool. Her long limbs were completely submerged, and only her head remained above water. "The junior's are almost done with dinner."

"No smoke from the kitchen this time?" Ayuto asked. He turned to Leela and added. "See, isn't this a more pleasant way to spend our last afternoon before the exam? Just doing nothing?"

"That's boring." Leela said. She sat on the edge of the pool and let her legs dangle in the water. "Feeling nervous?" She nudged Cindy's shoulder.

"Yes." Cindy said. She paused before adding, "I don't know how you two can be so calm about tomorrow. Did you get anything nice from the bazaar?"

Ayuto jumped into the pool fully clothed and laughed. "Not quite. Someone here kept getting distracted."

Leela kicked water in his direction and replied. "It was a nice experience."

Ayuto cast an Aero spell, which sent water flying in Leela's direction. "That depends on who you ask." He looked back at Cindy and said, "Have you been in here all day?"

"No, just for an hour or so. I was studying up on all the common Heartless before this, and before that I was looking at the local geography."

"What do we need to know the geography for?" Ayuto sank to the bottom and clawed his way from one end of the pool to the other.

"If Keaton sends us out there for an extended period of time, knowing things like where the nearest oases are might be important."

"Isn't that what we have maps for?" Ayuto asked.

"It's just better if we already know them." Cindy said. She shrugged and ran her hand through her chestnut hair that she always kept short. "It can't hurt."

Ayuto opened his mouth to retort, but a quick look from Leela made him hesitate. He cleared his throat and said. "Better safe than sorry, I guess."

"I'm sure we'll do fine." Leela squeezed Cindy's shoulders. "Come on, the food's smelling good."

"I think the juniors have been setting our standards pretty low." Ayuto said.

"The thing with the bacon happened a month ago, and the food's been fine since." Cindy pushed herself out of the pool and started drying herself with a towel she had left beside her clothes. "Stop making them feel bad."

"Admit it, you still get scared at the thought of an unsupervised junior at a stove." Ayuto allowed himself one more somersault before getting out of the pool. "I bet the only reason you can relax now is because Jean and Kayla are in there keeping an eye on things."

"Picking on the juniors for one last time, more like it." Leela sighed.

Ayuto cast an Aero spell around him and let the wind rush around him until he was mostly dry. "They're just feeling sentimental."

As if summoned, Jean and Kayla emerged from the kitchen. Kayla's thick red hair was tied into a tight bun, and her thick arms were folded in front of her. "Dinner's ready," she said.

The food exceeded Leela's expectations. The grains of rice weren't stuck together or overcooked, and she doused everything in chili sauce until her eyes were streaming, just the way she liked it. Ayuto scarfed down seconds as usual, only pausing to flick hair away from his eyes, but even Cindy was eating with enthusiasm, which Leela hadn't expected given her nerves. She turned to the five juniors who had been glancing at the senior apprentices between bites. "This was really good."

"Thanks." Zhao said. He and the other junior apprentices grinned at each other. He looked back at Leela and said. "Good luck on your exam."

Leela felt a pang of pride as she remembered the scared boy from the Land of Dragons that they had recruited three years ago. Just last month he and the other junior apprentices had defeated two Armored Bandit Heartless. She grinned and said. "We haven't passed yet. If we fail, you'll have us for another six months."

"Not unless we die." Jean added. He looked up from his food to wink at Zhao and paused to enjoy the shocked expressions of the juniors. Then he added. "But don't worry, no one's died from an exam in months."

"The last fatality from a Journeyman exam was three years ago." Kayla said. When the other nine apprentices stared at her she just shrugged and said, "I asked master Keaton."

"You ruined my fun." Jean tried to pout, but the stubble that lined his thin face and the scar that ran along his right cheek ruined the effect and made him look ridiculous.

"Did you ask him about the pass-fail rate?" Cindy turned to Kayla.

"He said that it varied depending on the Master, but no cohort of his has ever failed more than twice."

"See, you might still be stuck with us." Jean poked at Zhao.

"Thanks for the confidence boost." Ayuto said. "Makes us feel a lot better."

"If you wanted a confidence boost, maybe you could have spent today training instead of sightseeing." Kayla said.

Ayuto leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "You worry about you and I'll worry about me."

"We're almost Journeymen and you still don't get it." Kayla said. "We're a team, which means our performance is everyone's business. If we don't work as a team, how are we going to fare in the Realm of Darkness?"

"We'll do fine." Leela said. Jean snorted, and Leela kicked him under the table. "Let's just eat, okay?"

"I'm all for the nutritional value for dinner, but we should be realistic." Jean said. "Whatever our chances of becoming Journeymen are, the chances of surviving what's next is lower."

"Thanks for the meal." Cindy got up, shoveled the extra food into the bin, then left.

The juniors glanced at one another, none of them wanting to make eye contact with one of the seniors. The silence was broken by Ayuto, who said, "And this is why Keaton doesn't let you near us unsupervised."

Leela gulped down the rest of her meal and turned to the juniors. "Thanks for the meal. And don't worry, we're just nervous." She then went out to look for Cindy. It didn't take long. She was pacing back and forth on the roof's edge, both arms flung out for balance.

"I'm fine, Leela."

"I know."

"I mean it. You should study."

"One day you'll actually fall."

Cindy hopped off and opened her mouth to reply, but shut it and jerked her head to one side. Leela's Keyblade fell into her hand automatically and she looked for whatever had caught Cindy's attention. Cindy whispered, "I heard Master talking."

The house that Agrabah granted Keyblade Wielders was next to the training grounds for ordinary troops. In the alley between the house and five story high barracks, Keaton's hand glowed as he talked into it. "Won't make a difference if they're not good enough."

The spell he was using to talk lit up his square jaw and blue eyes. "Don't act as if you know what's best. The only precedent we have is Kairi, and she died along with Xehanort. You don't have any more experience in this area than I do."

Leela's face flushed as Cindy glanced at her. She shook her head and kept on listening. "Get another Princess of Heart. The one who inherited Alice's Heart can be spared. Or get Grandmaster Escarra."

He listened to the response and said. "I'm not holding any of them back. If they pass, you'll get them. If not, you won't. Just like I've done with every other apprentice I've sent you."

Cindy started gnawing on her lip. Below them, Keaton said, "Understood. Anything else?" His voice implied that the answer had better be 'no'". His wish was granted. The spell vanished and the street was plunged back into darkness.

They waited until Keaton shut the door to their house before moving from their position. "Do you think a Princess of Heart has died?" Leela asked. "It sounded like they needed a new one somewhere."

Cindy shook her head. "I can't think about any of this. Not on top of our exam."

"Okay." Leela extended her arms out for a hug, which Cindy accepted after a moment hesitation. She clung to Leela for as long as she allowed herself, then drew back and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "We can talk about this after the exam. See you tomorrow." She shifted her feet, then hurried down to her room. Leela stayed outside to gaze at Agrabah, taking in the winding streets, the palace, and the walls encircling the whole city, then followed Cindy.

A/N: So, thanks for reading! This is my first story in a while, so any feedback/first impressions are always appreciated. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Also, shoutout to TorNathan for helping me shape this story in my head and giving me ideas to push this story along. He's a cool author and you should definitely check him out on .