Chapter One: Celebrations
Sora grinned proudly as he finished tying up the surprise banner to the other palm tree for when the others return from Yen Sid's. He stepped off the ladder to take in the set up. Placed on the beach were a few tables with some white cloths over them, balloons tied to some of the tables, party hats and paper places on the tables with some party poppers. The banner itself was huge white banner that said, 'Congrats Master Kairi and Master Lea!'.
"Wait until the guys see this!" He said excitably, he chuckled to himself slightly though as the wind picked up and blew some of the paper plates and party hats away. "Maybe I should have considered the wind." He smiled softly as he walked over to pick up the paper hats. As Sora picked up the fallen hats, he started to think of everything that had happened to them leading up to this.
It had been two years since the final battle with Xehanort and his seekers, a journey that ended up being the hardest out of all the journeys that he had been on. It would be an understatement to say that he has been enjoying the sense of peace that came knowing that Xehanort was forever out of the picture. The first thing he did was have a long, satisfying nap on the beach of Destiny Islands, something that his friends laughed at him for. The second thing was going on a tour to the other worlds with Riku and Kairi, something the three of them wanted to do from the very beginning.
Things between Sora and Kairi have changed dramatically since they defeated Xehanort, something that still makes the Keyblade Master smile warmly as he reminisces the events. Before their battle with Xehanort, they had taken the chance to share their feelings and fears to each other, sharing a Paopu fruit with each other in case the worst was to happen in the battle. There was even a moment where Sora had to watch Kairi get taken away by the villain himself. He had even swapped placed with her in order to bring her back. It was only six months later that Kairi and Riku had managed to find him again within the Realm of Dead. He just remembered the speeding hug he received from her and thinking how he never wanted to let go of us again. They had made things official the night after they returned to the Islands. Spending the night under the stars in each other's arms.
After that, they have spent most days with each other's. Travelling the worlds with Riku, training and sparring with each other and working together in sync if they are needed for any Heartless control. They will be days where the two of them might not be together, like if Sora spends the day hanging out with Riku or if Kairi was doing some special training with Aqua and Lea to prepare for her Mark of Mastery but normally these days, you wouldn't find one without the other.
After making sure that the hats were not going to fly off again, Sora walked around the table set up one more time as a beam of light appeared on the beach. Sora shielded his eyes slightly before looking to see who was first to arrive. "Riku! You're here!" He grinned as he walked over to his best friend.
Riku's appearance hasn't changed much over the two years, he was still taller than Sora by a good couple of inches, still ready for a fight. "Hey goofball! I've been looking over for you." He said before looking at the mini party. "Oh, not this again…" He groaned, shaking his head at the sight.
"What? It's tradition." Sora proclaimed, walking back over to the table." We did it for you and you passed the Mark, we did it for me, Roxas, Terra, Ven…." He listed. He turned around, having grabbed a pair of round glasses with a fake moustache and placed it on his face. "I even found this." The sight of the glasses just made Riku burst into laughter. "See? It's fun. I thought Kairi and Lea should get the same thing."
"Sora. What are you going to do if they don't pass?" Riku asked him, looking at the giant banner.
"They will. I know they will." He smiled in belief, taking the glasses off and putting them on the table. "Either way, everyone is coming here after they get their results from the Mark of Mastery."
"Who is everyone?" Riku raised his eyebrow, not wanting to be surprised again when Sora tried to invite literally everyone he knew before Donald had told him off.
"You know, the usual." Sora shrugged as he started to collect some wood to start a little campfire on the beach to keep people warm. Riku automatically started to get some of the logs they save in one of the shacks to use as seats.
"That includes Aqua?" Riku asked. Sora nodded in response, placing the wood in the fire pit before looking at him questionably. "It's just that she wanted me to ask you to talk to her when you can but since you invited her to the gathering, she can talk to you herself." He explained.
"Is that why you were looking for me?" Sora questioned, having his friend nod in response as he placed the log down. "I wonder if everything is okay?" He wondered. Before the two could think more about the subject, more people started to show up.
Donald and Goofy were first to appear. They greeted the two Islanders before spotting the afternoon tea and sandwiches on the table and head straight the tables to take a seat. Roxas, Naminé, Hayner, Pence and Olette showed up, Sora greeted the Twilight Town crew as guided them to the tables. It was then that Sora saw that Tidus, Wakka and Selphie had rowed over from the other island with the last of the supplies that Sora needed to set up. While Sora and Selphie hanged up the last of the decorations, he noticed that Aqua, Terra and Ventus arrived, the last of their guests. Before he got a chance to greet them, he saw that Riku had covered for him while he finished up. He would have to catch up with Aqua and the others later.
After thanking Selphie, Sora took a moment to sit down and look at his communicator. All that needed to be done now was wait for a message from King Mickey. Since Mickey would be brining Kairi and Lea to the Islands, it made sense that he would send the message to hide when they are ready and to be ready to abort if they did fail but he didn't think they would fail. Both Lea and Kairi have been working hard for the Mark of Mastery.
"Sora. It's good to see you."
He looked over to see Ventus, the boy who slept in his heart for most of his life. Ven walked over to him as the two gave each other a huge brotherly hug. Since freeing Ven's heart and getting to know him as a person, the two of them grew close very quickly. Ven was like the older brother Sora never had, who had always been there to guide without him knowing. Sure, Sora treated Roxas like his own brother as well but having someone's heart within you for so long, their relationship is different.
"Did you find it?" Sora asked him, knowing that since Ven's heart was returned to him. He had been having dreams about a life before Master Xehanort in a place called 'Daybreak Town'. He would dream about discussing things with his friends. When we had asked Chirithy about 'Daybreak Town', they explained that it was the land of fairy tales, where keyblade wielders used to live. So, Ven has been spending the last year, travelling the worlds to look for clues about 'Daybreak Town' and how to get there.
Ven shook his head. "Not yet. But I have heard that there was once a book called 'The Book of Prophecies'. Pete accidently mentioned it when I had to deal with some of his Heartless. So, I might check out some of the library's the worlds have to offer to see if I can find the book." Ven yawned at the thought. "Then again, Aqua likes that sort of stuff. Maybe she will help me."
"Isn't Aqua busy with her students?" Sora asked before adding, "And if you are all here, who's looking after them?"
"They went to visit their families for a couple of days while we came out here." Ven shrugged. "So, she can help me with the books."
"What about Terra? You can get him to help too." Sora suggested.
Ven smiled at the idea, leaning back slightly as he looked up at the sky. "We can use this to just be the three of us…just like old times."
"But don't you guys hang out?" Sora asked him. "I mean, you are all based in Land of Departure." He would have thought that the three of them would be exploring the worlds together like himself, Kairi and Riku did after they returned home.
"Well Aqua has her students and they can be a handful. We try and help with training every now and again, but Terra has his responsibilities and I'm still working on finding Daybreak Town. To be honest with you Sora, coming to this party has been the first time in a while that I have got to hang out with both Terra and Aqua without thinking of our responsibilities." Ven explained before jumping up from where he sat. "Just remember Sora. I may be busy with finding the book and the town but if you ever need me. I'm a call away." He smiled before walking over to the others.
As if on cue, Sora's communicator started to go off. He pulled the device out of his pocket and clicked on the screen to see a message from Mickey. When reading the message, he couldn't help but cheer with excitement, giving the others a clue what was going on. "I knew they could do it!" He grinned. Kairi is now a master! Both Lea and Kairi have become masters but he couldn't help but be prouder for the Princess of Heart. After all their practise duels and training and even the whole orderal with Xehanort when she had begun her training, she has earned the title, 'Master.' He placed the communicator back in his pocket before turning to the party guests. "Guys! They are on their way!" He shouted to them, making sure everyone could hear him. "We have five minutes to hide."
The next five minutes couldn't have been more manic for the group. They first all tried to hide everyone and the tables with a spell, but the result led to Hayner tripping over one of the chairs and taking Donald and Wakka down with him. Then everyone tired to hide in the seaside shack, only for Tidus to break the old, wooden door when leaning against it, meaning that only a few people could hide there. Then Roxas decided it would be funny to push Riku into the waterfall, only to be pushed in by Naminé as a result. Eventually, everyone spread themselves around the small play island in different locations, making sure they were staying quiet.
They stayed in their hiding spots for a couple of minutes before another beam of light appeared a small mouse king with two familiar red heads, who look like they had just been put through hell and back with their exam. They would only jump when all their appeared from their hiding spots to shot 'Surprise!'.
Lea was the first to reaction with a huge laugh as he took in the sight of Roxas and Riku's soaking hair and clothes. "Why did you guys hide under the waterfall?" He snickered, holding his sides.
"Because!" Roxas walked towards his best friend, looking as if he planned the whole thing. "You would never expect it." He said.
"Yeah! Only Roxas would voluntarily jump in a huge amount of water to hide." Hayner joked.
Sora didn't waste anytime to run over to Kairi with excitement as he picked her up and spun her around, gaining a surprise gasp and giggle from her. He slowed down and kissed her on the forehead, smiling lovely at her. "I'm so proud of you." He told her before pulling her into a hug.
"I couldn't have done it without you." She muffled in Sora's jacket before she pulled away, looking at everyone while taking Sora's hand into hers. "And everyone here, thank you."
"Yeah! We both promise to be the best masters out there!" Lea added before looking over to Riku. "I bet we could beat you!" he challenged.
Riku chuckled at this, "You forget who helped you prepare for the mark."
Terra stepped toward, looking at the two with a huge amount of respect. "Just remember, gaining the rank of 'Master' is just the first step. There will be many challenges you will have to face in the future."
Aqua nodded in agreement. "But for now, let us celebrate the here and now."
Naminé raised her tea cup in the air, "To Master Kairi and Master Lea!" She cheered.
"To Master Kairi and Master Lea!"
"Congratulations!"
"We believed in you both!"
"GO KAIRI AND LEA!"
It wasn't long before the sun started to go lower in the sky, creating a warm orange tint in the sky that reflected onto the sea. After consuming all the sandwiches and biscuits, Kairi and Lea explained test to the others and what they had to do. From the sound of it, Yen Sid had created illusions of their worst fears that the two had to face and he had placed them in the Keyblade Graveyard of all places. The two had worked together, just like they did on that day two years ago and came out victorious.
After the story, Sora and Kairi decided to walk over to the Paupo tree for a bit of time to themselves. They could see that no one had notice them leave as most of lot of the guests were watching Lea and Roxas duel against Terra and Ventus, providing the evening entertainment. The only ones that looked a little more serious was Riku, Mickey and Aqua, who seem to be talking in detail.
Sora sat down on the Paupo fruit while Kairi leaned on the trunk itself, standing in front of Sora as he wrapped his arms around her with Kairi stroking his arm in response. "So, this is what it's like to be master of the keyblade." Kairi spoke out loud as the two of them took the sunset in. "I expected to feel…a little different."
"How so?"
"Well, it's hard to explain." Kairi thought about it. "When I first got given the Keyblade, I had a huge sense of responsible rush through me. It gave me that sense of growing up. I thought becoming a master would do the same."
"Don't worry, Kai." Sora assured her. "Once you get as busy as Aqua and Mickey does with their students, you will properly feel like a master then."
"Well, what about you?" Kairi turned around to look at Sora. "You've been a master for two years now. Don't you feel like one?"
Sora hummed in thought, thinking about it properly. "Well, not after Xehanort." He admitted before shrugging. "It doesn't matter whether we feel like one or not. What matters is that we ARE masters." He jumps down from the Paupo tree and swings his arm around the Princess of Heart as they took their eyes on the sunset once more. "Just imagine! Now that we are masters, we can go where we want to go. Do what we want to do. Be who we want to be."
"Couldn't we do that anyway?" Kairi questioned.
"I mean…yeah." Sora said bashfully, before he looked at his girlfriend. "What I meant to say was that now that the both of us are masters, we can decide our own fate. We could find students, beat bad guys, do what Master Yen Sid does, whatever it is…. we will do it together."
Kairi shook her head and smiled at him, "You are such a goof ball." She leaned in to place a kiss on his lips, something that still makes Sora melt over after the two years together. "So long as we are together then I couldn't be happier, Master Sora." She said softly. "I love you."
He never gets tired of hearing those words. "I love you too, Master Kairi." He kissed her hand and held on to it tightly as they both leaned in for another kiss.
"Sorry for interrupting. Can I talk to you both?"
The two of them paused and turned around to see Aqua walking towards the two of them. "Aqua, is everything okay?" Kairi asked, letting go of Sora as she turned to face her.
"Don't worry. Everything is fine." She smiled at the two of them. "Ven, Terra and I will be heading off soon and I wanted to make sure that I got to talk to the both of you before I headed off."
"Riku did mention that you wanted to talk." Sora suddenly remembered the conversation that he was having with his friend before everyone started to show up.
"Well it was just to ask if the two of you could get to Land of Departure next week." Aqua told them. "I wanted to wait until Kairi and Lea passed their mark before going over the details. It will acquire all of the new masters."
Both Sora and Kairi looked at Aqua with concern. "Is it something to worry about?" Sora asked her.
"Oh no, nothing too serious like that." Aqua assured them, making the two sighed in relieve. "It's just easier for myself and Mickey to go over the details if everyone is there."
"Mickey as well?" Kairi questioned. "What is the gathering about?"
"It's better if I explain everything then. Otherwise, I will be here all night explaining." Aqua smiled, "So I can expect the two of you to come?"
"We'll be there." The two of them nodded.
Aqua clapped her hands with excitement, "Excellent! That's everyone then." The three of them looked over to Terra and Ven to see that the two of them were calling Aqua over, showing that they were about to go. "Well done again, Kairi. I will see you both soon." She hugged the two of them goodbye before she followed Terra and Ven further up the beach where they were engulfed by a bright light.
Sora and Kairi could only wonder what the meeting at the Land of Departure was about. How important is this meeting if it requires everyone that is a Keyblade Master but there isn't any danger?