"Why won't you train me?"

Riku stood over Aeleus, jarringly blue eyes staring down at him and asking a thousand questions all encapsulated within one. He seemed to stand firm, staring with the clearest, most determined, yet entirely naive expression on his face. As Aeleus tied his training boots on with a measured ease, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret for ever having ever caused this child trouble, even if he did lack the heart at the time to know exactly why. Excuses were for the weak of mind; he did what he did and there was no taking it back, but that led him to a great deal of confusion as to why Riku was standing before him, in the training area of the Radiant Garden courtyards, demanding an answer.

Truth be told, it was far too much of a nice day to be bothered with such stomach churning thoughts. The sun only hid behind a handful of clouds above their outdoor pavilion, and the blue of the sky almost matched the eyes of the child before him. Birds were singing, butterflies were fluttering along, and a disgruntled teenager was wondering exactly why the warrior had been avoiding him ever since the question had been posed to him weeks ago now.

It had been a simple request really. Something which should have caused someone little to no trouble at all, but the goliath of a man had shook his head slowly, carefully as to not upset him, and dutifully make his hasty exit every single time, without fail. It had been like this for months now, and each and every time, it became more and more of an annoyance Riku reflected angrily.

He was a master of the keyblade wielding arts, he was trained in the controlling and wielding of darkness, but there always frontiers on which to improve. He had seen Aeleus in battle, and it was like seeing a tactician at work. He moved methodically, carefully, and attacked with a ferociousness which Riku had never seen before. He was not called a 'guardian' for no reason, the young man learned. There was one fact which haunted him. Throughout every challenge, every training session, every battle, and aside from the time when Ansem, Son of Darkness, had intervened, Riku had never seen the man lose. The fact dumbfounded him, intrigued him.

He was the perfect fighter. The young master needed to know how, and he needed to learn it as soon as possible. Aeleus seemed unsure of himself as he stood and sighed heavily, as though this were certainly a conversation he would have wished to avoid, and in all truthfulness, he had doing his damnedest to do just that before Riku had hunted him down directly.

"Why won't you-"

"I heard you." Aeleus interrupted, squeezing his eyes shut as though warding off a headache for a shadow of a moment. Riku scowled. He had trained very hard to even be earning the right to be standing here today, alive and quite well. This man acting as though it were such a chore, such a burden to have to give someone a few pointers.

Riku sighed in much the same way. If he could not learn to stay calm during battle, to will the moves and defenses to him like the captain of a boat, they might just be able to win this war. Sora and Kairi would never even have to be in danger.

"Riku, why do you fight?" The sudden question shook the teen out of his reverie quite suddenly. He quirked a brow at the much larger man. Aeleus' voice was even, true and genuine, as it was with all things he seemed to say. His face was grim, as though he knew the answer.

"To defend my friends." Bringing Kairi and Sora to mind made his heart ache so much, it was almost as though that steady thrum was going to pound itself straight out of his chest. Aeleus did not react. He seemed to be waiting for a further explanation as he crossed his tree trunk sized arms. "They're my family. I would die for them."

Aeleus grimaced and it almost looked as though he had swallowed acid. Riku's brow knit in disbelief and confusion as the other man finally looked back down at him. "That's a noble intention, Riku, but dying is far too easy."

Riku's eyes widened as a frown creased his almost impossibly smooth, childlike face. Aeleus looked apologetic. It had not been an insult. He had not meant to try to get a rise out of the young hero, no, there was far more to this than meets the eye. He tilted his head careful, as though considering the words. "What do you mean, 'easy'?" He murmured, very much as lost as he sounded.

"The question is not whether you would die for them, but if you would be willing to kill for them."

Riku felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He almost wished the goliath had done that instead. The truth had left him absolutely winded. Aeleus' look of sympathy almost softened the words. His quiet sigh and steady silence spoke of an accepted and mutual respect for the young man as he waited for him to mentally digest the words, to catch his bearings.

When he chose to finally continue, his voice was soft, careful, but heavy with untold sadness. "Riku, in order to become the hero of your own story, you must be willing to become the villain of someone else's." There was so much crippling pain here.

Riku found himself remembering the hauntingly stark hallways of Castle Oblivion, with it's terrifying memories and endless challengers. Lexaeus had faced him, solemnly and almost angrily, bitterly. Perhaps he had never intended on it coming that far, on having to attack one so foolishly misled and young. Now, Riku knew that he only seemed to live to serve that child prodigy, Ienzo. How heartbreaking it must have been to be forced to challenge an innocent child to protect those you value. How damning it must have been to have been felled doing so and knowing it was exactly what you deserved.

So, he supposed it was true, about the road to hell.

"I'm sorry." Riku had never heard someone sound so heartbroken. He felt a heavy hand pat his shoulder as the guardian walked past him. Their silence was almost deathly, feeling like such a crass opposition to the jovial surroundings, the sunny day, the crisp gentle air, the calming sway of the tall blades of grass just outside the pavilion. Riku was almost numb as his mind whirred quickly, doing it's own thinking as his body chose not to be able to entirely recover.

Sora and Kairi. Yes, his friends. They were all he had, all he really wanted. They had been his family, his goal, his light at the end of so very many dark tunnels by now. Just the mention of their existence brought him some semblance of calmness, of self-assurance. He knew exactly who he was and what he needed to be. He was the keyblade wielder, and he would protect his family if it took his entire being to be able to do so.

"I'm not." Riku blurted out. Aeleus' retreating back paused in mid-step. He turned to face the teen and quirked a brow. "I'm not sorry." Concern painting the guardian's features.

"I would kill to defend Sora and Kairi." He knew the words were true before he even spoke them, and they tasted so heinously sour, like bile. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought that he may regret such a vow, but he cannot deny the truth forever. Sora's smile was worth a thousand lives. Kairi's was worth a thousand more.

Riku locked eyes with the giant as though challenging him to refute him, daring him to question him one more time. Riku's resolve was steely; if he could not defend his family, there was no point in being a hero. Aeleus held the glance, entirely unperturbed and unaffected. His expression was unreadable, absolutely stoic.

"You start tomorrow morning."