And Maybe Light Will Prevail

Chapter 1

0o0o0

Eraqus wasn't sure what to think of the new apprentice that had joined him in his training. It wasn't that he minded having someone else studying under his teacher and Keyblade Master… in fact, it was pretty nice to have some of the attention off of him and to have someone to spar with besides a fully trained individual whom would always beat him no matter how hard he tried. It was just that Xehanort seemed so dissatisfied with everything.

The silver haired teen had left his home world and ended up here at the Land of Departure on his own. No one had aided his coming there. He had arrived on his own accord, seeking to travel between worlds, and now that he was here, he seemed like he was still lost in his thoughts of the universe. Xehanort wasn't the friendliest person, whereas Eraqus was quite accepting of anyone he had ever met.

They seemed to be clashing because of these factors. Eraqus was perfectly happy staying where he was and training, perfectly willing to accept this newcomer into his company, and he was doing everything he could to break through the teen's shell and figure out what kind of person he was on the inside… but it was beginning to grow awkward being the one doing all of the talking; he wasn't even sure that his words were being heard at all.

That was the reason that after training was done for the day Eraqus didn't utter a word as he left the main hall, no smile on his face as he let his mind wander as to what he could possibly have done wrong to make Xehanort dislike him.

"Hey, wait up!" he heard Xehanort call from behind, jogging to catch up.

Eraqus halted, turning around, thoroughly confused. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Concern was evident in his golden eyes, something that Eraqus had not been expecting at all. "You usually start talking on and on about… well, everything… as soon as we're done training."

Puzzled, Eraqus was at a loss as to what to say. He couldn't admit that he had simply given up for the time being. "I'm fine. I just have something on my mind." That was as good of an excuse as any, wasn't it?

"Oh… okay then." Xehanort looked relieved. "I thought something was seriously wrong if you weren't talking my ear off."

He had been worried? "Nope, nothing's wrong… See you around." He turned to continue down the path.

"Wait!" Xehanort called, making Eraqus stop again. "Don't you want to spar or… or something? You usually do."

Turning to face his acquaintance, Eraqus knew he couldn't hide his perplexed expression any longer… but if he had actually been able to get through to Xehanort, he couldn't readily admit that he had given up. "Oh, um, sure… actually, do you play chess?"

Xehanort shrugged. "I have a few times anyway. So are we going to go do that?"

Eraqus nodded with a smile. "Come on," he agreed. He turned around and headed towards the castle.

…

"That was fun!" Eraqus commented once the game was finished at they were each headed towards their individual rooms. "We should play again sometime!" Eraqus smiled. It was a quiet game, so he hadn't really learned anything new about Xehanort; the mysterious teen's secrets were still hidden. But at least he knew now that Xehanort didn't hate him for some unknown reason.

"Hmm," was the only response Xehanort offered, but Eraqus caught a smile sneaking onto his face. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah!" Eraqus waved and headed to his room, leaving the other teen behind. His excitement that Xehanort had shown some signs of at least not disliking him had yet to fade. It was a start. Eraqus wanted to be friends with his fellow apprentice. Xehanort seemed like such an interesting person. He was quiet, but he seemed nice enough. It was refreshing to find out that there might actually be a chance that a friendship could start. Maybe he could figure out what was going on in his head, find out what had made him leave his world… Xehanort was an enigma, and maybe he would actually be able to see what was beneath the surface.

0o0o0

Xehanort scowled as he fell face first onto his bed. He was exhausted from all of the training even before they played chess for three hours; three hours of chess. Really. That was just ridiculous… especially considering he was the one who kept asking for rematches when he lost. That stupid Eraqus was apparently extremely good at the game or else Xehanort was really bad at it, which he didn't really want to think about as an option.

Stupid Eraqus with his stupid cheerful attitude, with that stupid smile and those stupid blue-grey eyes that sparkled when he was excited; that dumb kid with all of the talking and insisting on trying to get to know him… Xehanort wondered why he had even cared when he thought something was wrong earlier. Hadn't he been trying not to enjoy his company?

But Xehanort did enjoy being around the annoyance, and he knew that there was little he could do about it. The boy was so nice that it was impossible not to like him.

Xehanort knew full well that something had been wrong, and that it had more than likely been something he had done. It was ironic that he had finally accomplished his goal of ignoring the problem until it went away only to suddenly change his mind and think that Eraqus wasn't a problem at all. He realized now that he had been subconsciously enjoying having the pest nearby, and for that reason he knew he had to say something to stop him from going away.

It wasn't like he ever had very many friends. Maybe this would be a nice change of pace; not that he was going to become friends with the nuisance. No, not at all. He was just tolerating him…

Well that was a lie, and Xehanort knew it. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to like the frustrating teen. He was becoming less annoying by the day and more of something that he knew to expect, much like training and the other little things. That's why it had been so jarring when Eraqus had left without a word earlier. He didn't even say goodbye; he just walked out.

But Xehanort wasn't ready to admit that he liked him at all. Not yet anyway. Yes, he was just enduring his time with the teen. "Stupid Eraqus," he muttered into his mattress, but he couldn't stop the smile that reappeared.