Training

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"C'mon, pick it up!"

The two Keyblade wielders-in-training turned on their heels and sprinted to the other side of the room, all while the most recent Keyblade Master watched from the sidelines. One hand rested on his hip, the other holding his weapon in slack. He surveyed the trainees' activity with narrowed aquamarine eyes, which had one of the two redheads quaking under their weight.

"Faster, Kairi!"

She grunted and forced herself to run at a higher speed, but not without a bit of attitude. "It's not my fault he has longer legs!" she hollered, panting as she reached the other side of the room, her fellow trainee passing her up with a cocky grin.

"I'm simply quicker than you, princess. Got it memorized?" he quipped over his shoulder.

Kairi snarled under her breath and skidded to a stop. Summoning her Keyblade had become easier, its weight familiar to her now as it came to her palm. Along with a new outfit provided by the three fairies, she donned gloves to keep her from getting calluses; she felt Sora and Riku's hands and how rough they'd become over the last year, Riku's moreso than Sora's, and while it was a mark of their experience, she didn't favor the feeling on her pale skin. Sora didn't either, or so he said.

Her best friend's eyes widened. "Kairi, what're you d—"

A fireball left the tip of her Keyblade at the sudden rush of anger that overcame her, the warmth from the spell spreading over her skin. The spell collided with Axel—Lea's backside, right on target. The girl couldn't help but smirk at his yelp.

"Son of a—!" He rubbed the spot on his rump that sizzled from the magic, smoke rising from his pants. "What is your problem?"

"I thought I'd make up for speed with sass," she replied coolly. "I may be a princess, but I have the attitude to match. Got it memorized?"

Laughter to her left alerted her to best friend's amusement, while Lea gaped at her. His emerald eyes narrowed into slits. "Hey, Mr. Master!" he called. "Aren't you supposed to be disciplining your student?"

"Riku knows when to pick his battles," Kairi answered, leaning against her Keyblade. "Don't you, Riku?"

The young man ran a hand through his short silver locks. "Most days," he agreed, "but I'm not getting in the middle of this one. Sorry, Lea, you're on your own."

"What!?" Lea gasped. "You've got to be kidding!" When Riku shrugged, he sighed and rolled his eyes. With a tilt of his head he met Kairi's gaze, the girl lifting her eyebrow at him. He lifted a hand. "I guess I did say you had guts, huh."

Kairi nodded. She remembered-the day she ran through the corridor Riku summoned for her on the Islands, Axel caught up to her and claimed she "had guts" for running through a corridor the way she did. It was her only option, really. What else could she have done? As if she would have stuck around when Dusks surrounded her! Honestly, she had been terrified, but she trusted her instincts. It paid off...to a degree. She did get captured in the end.

"No taunting the princess," Lea announced. "Got it."

At the term, Kairi's Keyblade glowed with another growing Fire spell. "What did you say?" she hissed lowly. She had no problems with her title, except for the instances when it was used to degrade her, much like this moment.

"Uh, n-nothing!" Lea stuttered, holding his hands up. "Nothing at all."

"Hmph," Kairi smirked, lowering her weapon as the spell died.

"So..." Riku stepped forward, Way to Dawn resting on his shoulder. "You guys good? There's still a lot of training to do before Sora gets back."

At the mention of the boy, Kairi sobered quickly. He'd been gone for some time; she got here too late to see him off. Wherever he was, she silently prayed for his safety. She hoped her charm worked its magic well enough to promise his safe return. With what Riku told her, he had been happy for their best friend's success in being named a Master, but...his optimism had been somewhat forced just before he left.

Sora. I hope you're alright.

"Kairi?"

The girl lifted her head, chicory eyes widening at the call. "Huh?" she asked, brushing her longer red hair from her face. At Riku and Lea's looks of question, she blinked in recognition. "Oh, yeah. Right. Let's do it."

Lea smiled slightly and headed toward one side of the training room to get some water, but Riku hung back. He approached her, his Keyblade dismissing in a shroud of blue. "Hey," he said, voice low as he stood in front of her. "You sure you're alright?"

Kairi willed her weapon away as well, relieving herself of its weight for the time being. "Mm," she hummed with a faint nod.

Riku's eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head. "It's Sora, isn't it?" he asked after a moment, surprising her.

Kairi tucked her hair behind her ear, looking away. "Maybe."

"He's fine. He promised he'd be careful."

"That's what worries me, Riku," she replied. She met his eyes and felt dread in her heart. "He's always been careful without having to promise. The fact that Xehanort's even after him makes me—"

"Stop." Riku lifted his hands to her shoulders and squeezed. "He won't let them get to him again. I may have been the one named a Master, but we both passed that test. He's strong enough to handle himself."

"I know, but..." Kairi lowered her gaze to his chest. "...I never got to say bye."

Riku squeezed her again. "You won't have to. You'll see him soon."

'See you soon.' That was what she had told him just before he left for the Exam. It had been weeks now since she'd seen him last. Where could he be?

"Trust his judgment," her best friend requested. "His heart never steers him wrong."

I do trust him, she wanted to say. I'm just sick of you two leaving all the time. But she would never say it, even if Riku probably knew how she felt. At least he came back to bring her here for training. At least she was involved in some way and not kidnapped for the third time. She never wanted to put Sora in that position again, ever.

"You are the fire that fuels Sora's anger."

The memory left her heart feeling colder. The dread that had coursed through her... She never wanted to feel it again.

"He'll be back in no time," Riku assured her, lowering his hands to his sides. He smirked. "And when he is, you can show him how good you've gotten with your Keyblade. Maybe even show up Lea a few times."

"Hey!" the man called from his spot.

Kairi giggled softly. "Thanks, Riku."

He nodded and turned to the other trainee. "Alright," he began. "Time for some dodge work. Kairi, you aim. Lea, you evade."

"What!?" Lea yelped, eyes wide. "She already used me as target practice!"

"Scared, Lea?" Kairi taunted.

The former Organization XIII member stood taller, eyes hardening. "Bring it on, princess."

Kairi summoned her Keyblade and within a second had the air around Lea cackling. A single strike of lightning pierced the ground next to him and he jumped in his place.

"Guess we're starting now," Riku realized aloud, wisely moving out of the field.

The Princess of Heart simply called to another Thunder spell, prompting Lea to start running around the area in fright.

A/N: I'm gonna be honest and admit that I wrote this months ago and just now remembered to post it. For shame.

Also, title choice is horrible. For shame x 2.

Hope you enjoyed!