A/N: Whoa, I haven't updated this in forever! And it'll probably take me just as long to finish the next chapter. Thanks a ton for the reviews, favorites and alerts so far! :D Really, it's thanks to you guys that I still have the motivation to post stuff on here. ^-^ Terra's still eleven years old here and Aqua's ten. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter. :)

Special thanks: AquaStormXIV, MonMonCandie, Terra ForceXIII, CloudKittyVII, Chandramukhi, Myfandomneedstherapy, Topazdragon98, Jizzle Pop, The Trio of Twilight, outofthesun, FireGypsie, italktotherain, and M. L. Ayala, for her awesome beta reading skills. :)


~ Terra sucked a little too much at magic to trust himself with it. ~


It was late in the afternoon when Terra headed back to his bedroom, absolutely beat. His pace, however, was much slower than usual and sometimes, he would even grimace from the sudden bolt of pain that seemed to travel from his stomach to his skull and back again. The former hurt after getting a blow on it. Sure, he already had muttered a quick cure spell over it to alleviate the pain, but it didn't really help that much. Of course, he could've tried a more stronger spell like cura, but truth was, Terra sucked a little too much at magic to trust himself with it. A hurt stomach, he could handle (if barely), but if something worse happened...

He didn't dare tell Master Eraqus about it, either, because he would first scold him for waiting so long before coming to him, and then tell him to take a potion. He hated the bitter taste of it, though. It always reminded him of home, of the bitter times that were his childhood, and how poor they had been during that time. Too poor to buy his ill mother potions to make her overcome her illness. Too poor to pay for a doctor to help her get better. Too poor to be able to give her a proper resting place, let alone a tombstone. Too poor to be noticed by the rest of the world...

He'd learned that one shouldn't waste something that valuable on unnecessary matters. After all, it wasn't like he was going to die from it. No, his wounds would heal by themselves if he left them alone. Since he knew they weren't lethal, he wouldn't need any elixir. He would be alright.

The boy was about to open the bedroom's door when he heard heartbreaking sobbing, coming from the closed door opposite from him. Aqua's room, he realized; one of the few places in this castle that he'd never set foot in before, but at the same time, he was dying to know what it looked like.

But it wasn't like he could just waltz into her room and announce nonchalantly, "Oh hey there, never mind me, I was just wondering what was in this place so I came to take a look."

Hah, the thought alone was too laughable for words, because things were still a little awkward between him the new apprentice. Okay, maybe it was more than a little. It wasn't that he was doing it on purpose or anything, but she was naturally shy and usually wouldn't start a conversation and he... well, he didn't know that much about girls except for the fact that they were weird. Not weird like your hyper pets could be sometimes, but mysteriously weird... if that made any sense.

Terra then frowned, because there the sound was again. Before the brunet boy knew what hit him, his hand, which was already resting on the doorknob, opened the door. He stepped inside, finding the bluenette crouched on the floor, practically crying her eyes out. At first, he wanted to turn around and leave before she would notice him, but he couldn't. His legs refused to listen to his brain and cooperate.

When he saw her in that state, though, something inside him broke. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked.

She didn't even jump when she heard his voice. The little girl that looked so much like a doll didn't reply, but slowly rolled up her blue sleeves, showing him all the dark, angry bruises, forming a stark contrast against her otherwise flawless, milky white skin. And honestly, that said more than enough.

"I-it hurts..." she whispered, before a hiccup escaped her, making her look even more vulnerable.

Of course it does, he thought, as guilt started to gnaw at him right then and there.

This was all his fault... Their sparring match, which he had won, albeit barely, had taken its toll on her. You could say a lot about Aqua, but she certainly wasn't weak. That little fact, he'd learned fast enough. But weak or not, she was still new to this life, so he couldn't blame her for crying like this.

Terra habitually ran a hand through his chocolate brown locks. "Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you like this," he said, truthfully, because something about this sight made him feel very uneasy. Especially now that he knew it was his fault she was in pain. "It won't take long until the pain goes away... I promise. Just... I'm really, really sorry."

"I-it's not your fault. You did what you had to do... I just... it hurts so much."

Terra frowned, not sure what he should do next. He was mad at himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid Terra! Did you have to take out all your anger on her? She's just learned how to summon a Keyblade and here you are, almost killing her off for it. It's a wonder she doesn't hate me. But maybe... she already did...

After shaking his head to clear it from these thoughts, the silent boy crouched down next to the little girl.

He held her arm in the light for closer inspection, making Aqua wince at the apparently not so gentle touch. "Sorry," he swiftly muttered, loosening his grip on her slightly. "Why didn't you do anything about this? We have potions, you know."

He was sure Master Eraqus had told her this already, because it was important and Master never forgot about such things.

The girl shook her head. "I'd rather let this heal by my own magic, even if it isn't that strong yet when I use it for my own wounds." When she saw that the brunet was about to protest, she swiftly continued, "I only use potions for internal bruises and when it still hurts the next day."

That earned her a long look. Eventually, he gave her a curt nod and she knew that he understood.

Terra, however, couldn't help but feel his respect for her increase. "Alright, then. But if I see you cry again, I'm gonna dump a mega potion on your head," he told her strictly.

Aqua started to laugh, a melodic sound that chased away the palpable silence, and she wiped her tears away. She was still in the middle of that task, when she noticed something about the older pupil that made her gasp and widen her cerulean eyes in shock.

"What?" Terra asked slowly, already sensing that something he didn't like would come next.

"Y-You're... bleeding!" she let out, her eyes almost the size of saucers.

Almost immediately, Terra's brows furrowed. He automatically followed her gaze and looked down. Aqua had been right: his white shirt was now practically soaked with blood, meaning that the wound must've gotten open again because he'd moved so much. Well, at least it explained why it had started hurting even more. Apparently, he'd been so busy with this blue-haired girl that he hadn't noticed his own condition worsening.

"Let me heal you," Aqua proposed.

"I'm fine," was his immediate response and he looked away, but the bluenette would have none of it.

"Lift up your shirt," she insisted.

However, that only made him more grumpy. "I already told you, I'm okay," the brunet pressed stubbornly, his ears becoming red from embarrassment.

He simply hated the fact that the younger wielder of the Keyblade had witnessed this and if he could do anything to keep what little dignity he'd left, then he would do it... Even if it meant refusing to be healed by the fellow apprentice.

Aqua's face fell, as she whispered sadly, "You don't trust me?"

For a moment, all he could do was blink and stare at her dumbly, wondering what in the world trust had to do with this. Leave it to girls to make everything so unnecessarily complicated, he thought.

Terra sighed tiredly, growling something inaudible under his breath, before lifting up his shirt to do her a favor. And no, he did not like this!

Hiding a small smile, Aqua took a deep breath, as she tried to concentrate. Her blue bangs fell in front of her face and for a moment, Terra felt like brushing them out of her face. But he was able to stop himself right in time.

"Cura," she muttered and green light emitted from the palm of her hand, which she was currently holding right above his wound.

Even though it didn't really look like it, Terra trusted her enough to let her do so. And he knew he had made the right choice when the soreness near his stomach disappeared completely. He looked down and saw that there was no trace left; his skin had healed completely, without even showing scars. It was still a little warm, but the brunet figured that that was just the aftereffect of the spell.

He let out a light sigh at the pleasant change, before finally looking at her. "...Thanks."

"You're welcome... I just have to check if the spell really covered everything."

Not really sure what she meant, Terra nodded briefly and watched as she slowly lifted up a finger... and suddenly prodded him right where the wound had been a few seconds ago. He jumped, at once jerking away from her when he felt an odd sensation at that place. It made his insides tingle and the brunet boy suddenly found himself having trouble with keeping a straight face.

Aqua's eyes widened and she let out a startled, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't think it would still hurt!"

"No... it's not...not that. I uh... It tickled...slightly," he admitted awkwardly, feeling how his cheeks grew warmer and warmer.

If only the ground would open up and swallow him right now...

"Oh... I'm sorry."

At this point, she was at a complete loss for words and that was clearly showing.

"So uh... I've gotta go," Terra spoke and before Aqua could stop him, he made a dash to the door as though the devil was chasing after him.

Quite honestly, he had witnessed enough awkwardness for today, so it was only logical that he wanted to get away as soon as possible.

Aqua blinked, hearing how Terra's bedroom door closed. "Well... that was weird."


A/N: Next chapter: "Look, I'm sorry if I'm acting not so… nice sometimes. It's just… I'm not used to having other kids around me…"