A/N: THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A SORA X AQUA FIC, SO LET ME MAKE THAT CLEAR RIGHT NOW. Like hello. The age gap is 10+ years. Miss me with that. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Huge props to my friend Thomas Walker for providing the idea. Let me know what you think, please.
It had been a while.
Aqua knew she had to stay to protect any others who may venture down this hellish path she'd stumbled upon in life. But that didn't make it easier. It did not make it more clear which events were real and which were not. How did all this unfold, anyway? She had done everything in her power to lead their situation in the opposite direction. Yet it seemed fate did not wish to play, even with her kicking and screaming.
All the pieces lie where they fell.
It was a cold and unforgiving truth, but it was still the truth. She didn't even try to delude herself into thinking chaos would wait on her behalf. She stopped believing that the second Terra gave in. No fighting could change the cycle of war and peace. She just wished she could have seen it all coming. But at least Terra still found reason to counter the lot he'd drawn. She found peace in that. But, of course, war would follow. Would they even remember her here? Would the whole war happen right next to her without her knowledge? One day, she would be known as nothing more than a Keyblade Master who did nothing but wander. Too helpless to fix her own mess, let alone help in a war. Pitiful, poor Aqua who was doomed to a life of darkness. And she would deserve every bit of that reputation. Of course, that would imply she'd even have a reputation. There is a good chance nobody would still know of her.
They would ask the age old question: Who is that?
Aqua darkly chuckled at the thought. Well, she'd rather not be known than known as this sorry excuse of a shell. She then vaguely recalled her encounter with King Mickey. She did not remember the words at all, only the actions. But that was okay with her. It was all she needed to remember to know how to leave. The only issue is that she couldn't do it by herself. That, by far, was the most irritating feeling she'd ever experienced in her life. She just wanted to wake up Ventus. She wanted to speak to Terra for real. She wanted to help fix this chain, not contribute to it by sitting here. It felt as if her life had been frozen and placed on perpetual standby when she had a laundry list of things left to do. It has felt that way for over ten years. And boy, did that feeling spark her anxiety like no other.
"Hello?" sounded a rather bouncy and up-beat voice, breaking Aqua away from her musings. She drew her keyblade, never dropping caution. As soon as the boy rounded the corner, her eyes widened. And then her eyes narrowed.
She showed absolutely no reserve. Immediately, she began firing off magic-based attacks that the grit of her environment allowed her to strengthen. She did not wish to approach him in close combat…yet. First, she wanted to gauge his abilities and what he'd managed to learn over the years.
The boy in question could do nothing more than stand there, dumbfounded...at first. Once he realized that she of all people intended to fight him, he made it his mission to discover why. So he quickly approached her, summoning his own keyblade. The sight of it sent her spiraling further.
"How did you get your hands on that? What did you do? Who else did you have to injure?!" she shouted, barraging him with questions. While speaking, she dug her keyblade into his without warning. It left a nick that he was not sure he could repair. He began hitting back, though not with a desire to harm her. He wanted to understand her in this state.
He soon realized there would be no getting her back unless things got a bit rougher. He acknowledged that she was not as delicate as she seemed. She hadn't been named a Master for nothing. Certainly, she has fought worse than what he was currently dishing out. She could take him putting up a fair fight. So, metal against metal, it seemed to drag on. Some bumps and bruises came up on both ends, but no serious injuries. To him it felt pointless. He wished they could just speak. He then felt like an idiot for realizing he'd never actually tried. After all, it's hard to think about words when you get attacked out of nowhere. When he finally could find words, they came out slowly.
"You are Master Aqua, right?" he drawled tentatively.
"Stay away from Ven! You won't find him, even if you try" Aqua screamed, smacking her keyblade straight across his face. She happened to register that the voice was not Vanitas' about five seconds too late.
Her jaw dropped. He stumbled backwards. She hurriedly mumbled about fifty different variations of an apology for her actions as she cupped his cheek with her hand. Instantly, she began attempting healing magic on the wounds she'd inflicted. While it was not perfect, he still felt much better. Aqua winced when she got back to the deep cut across the boy's cheek. A bit higher and it would have been his eye. She began breathing a bit heavier with exertion as she finished healing him, the tired job leaving a light scar in its wake. She would have fallen over where she stood if he hadn't caught her. He suddenly cursed the fact that her muscle added so much to her weight. However, he managed to clumsily sit them down.
"You are too kind. What is your name? I do not believe I asked" she said between breaths, looking up at him.
"Sora" he chimed back, giving her a smile. But soon, that smile on his face faded into a look of pure concern and heartbreak. He immediately noticed her eyes change after he introduced himself, and thought it must have took a wondrous amount of strength to keep such feeling there. She looked so hurt, so relieved, so upset, so happy, so…everything, all at once.
"Ma'am, are you okay? You-" he began sheepishly, cut off by her hugging him tightly. Her shoulders shook up and down from what he could only assume was crying. Or was it laughing?
She had no idea the young boy from the island would grow up to bear such an unsatisfactory resemblance to someone else she had the misfortune of knowing. Or that he would become so strong so quickly.
"How is Riku? Are you two okay?" she choked out, genuinely curious and worried about what the answer could be. Sora laughed at her.
"Riku kind of had some stuff going on for a bit, but we are so happy he is back now. Would you believe it? He got his Mark of Mastery before I did! I am so proud and excited, though. I just know he is going to be the best at it" Sora rambled. Then he looked directly at her.
"But that is not important right now. Why don't we get you home?"
He could have sworn he heard her whisper "Wow, Terra. Your boy is a Master" as she took his hand, but he chose to leave it be.