Gold and Blue
Seraphim Earl (former kallen vi britannia)
Chapter 2: Shifting Auroras
Author's notes:
I am sorry for posting an almost blank chapter! I am not actually sure what I posted and when I opened the document it was almost blank!
Sorry. You see I got some draft and reserve files that are continuous and a separate one to be posted here so it all get mixed up. I thought I already copied that chapter!
Sorry sorry sorry sorry… I am so stupid to do that!
0-0
Aqua sat through her classes with a very disappointed expression, she expected the day to be exciting and somewhat special but as she sat cramped on her seat, she wondered why she felt like that. Their teacher, Lady Belle was teaching them about animals and how are they are similar to humans, she was rather really bored as she thought of why she took up such a course but sometimes it was interesting. Today was the exception. This was the third class she sat with a frown on her face and she hated it. Lady Aurora even slightly scolded her for being inattentive. She sighed again as she tried to drone in somewhere that her mind could go. She watched the scene outside the window, thinking of when the fun will start.
She was bored of herbs, animals and psychology. The only thing she was waiting for the whole day was Master Eraqus' class. Magic and Keyblade mastering. Only few were chosen in that class, recently it was only Riku, Kairi and her. Kairi was a student of Riku's class as well but she specializes in magic and some in Keyblading. Also the Sword Mastering class held by Lady Mulan is another thing to wait. She remembered Zack in this and inwardly groaned, he was still persisting on taking her out. He vowed to date her when he defeated her in a sparring match and of course, it never happened thank the heavens for that.
She gasped when she felt a tap one her shoulder. She turned to see Aerith, a flower in hand and a smile on her face.
"You scared me. What is it Aerith?"
"Class was finished a while ago, shouldn't you going to Master Eraqus by now?" Aerith said with a point at the door. Aqua slapped her forehead for being inattentive, thanking Aerith, she rushed to her next class, her extra class. She rushed through the corridors and hallways of pure white and tried not to get herself late. If she did come late most of the class' time will be spent on being scolded by Master Eraqus.
"I'm here!" she said in success as she entered the large room.
"Oh. Hey sis." Riku greeted as he cut his chat with another student she was unfamiliar with. The boy, about Riku's age, was looking at her strangely that she felt embarrassed of her outburst awhile ago. "You're late."
"Oh please, at least Master's not around yet." she reasoned out with a wave. "Who's this?"
The boy with blue eyes darker than hers and a lot darker than Riku's was holding a keyblade already. "I'm Sora! Your new classmate!"
"Sora here is new to Radiant Garden." Kairi said as she took a place by Sora's side. "He and his brothers just enrolled a week ago."
"Oh. Really? That's great, I'm kind of getting tired of seeing the same faces this past months." she said with a big smile. "I'm Aqua, nice to meet you Sora."
"Same here!"
"Ah I see you have acquainted yourself Sora, it's a good start." Eraqus said as he finally arrived to the room. "Are you ready for a sparring match so that we can assess your abilities so that I may now what I still need to teach you are?"
"That's fine." he said in a grin. "Well, who can I spar with?"
"Well you can spar with Aqua since she's late." Riku said calmly while Aqua was fuming for having a sparring match when she almost run miles just not to be late.
"Late? I see, that can be a suitable punishment then." Eraqus said with that fatherly smile of his that seemed to sparkle with mischief. "You will also spar with the two others that will be arriving tomorrow."
"She'll be sparring with my brothers too?" Sora was surprised at this and then turned to Aqua. "Wow, you seem to be very good at this."
"Not really, she's just a usual late-comer." Riku blurted out again. Aqua smacked her brother's shoulder just to shut him up from that sarcastic comment of his. "Ow! I'm just saying the truth."
"Whatever. Let's do this?"
"You bet we will."
Then the clashing of blades started with a mutter of words and some keen observation. Kairi and Riku were silently taking bets on what the rank of the newcomer may be. How they will determine that it was theirs to decide. Sora was already using raid commands and some even grazed some of Aqua's skin that were light bruises. Aqua wasn't severely harmed but both were tired already, that was when the bet came of.
"Blizzara!" Aqua said as ice surrounded her opponent and then broke. Immediately Sora was down, panting. "That was good Sora."
"Okay Kairi, pay off." Riku said with an open palm. Kairi took something from her pocket and paid Riku with some munny. It seemed like in two years of being classmates, Kairi does not know Aqua that well. Riku knew that the more his sister uses her spells the harder her opponent is. She mastered the spells easily and is her main strength so when she defeated an opponent with no magic, the opponent was an amateur. "My sister's right Sora, making her use magic to defeat you is a really great deal."
"Indeed Sora, it seems like you are already are advanced for a newcomer. You are in level with Riku and Kairi already." Eraqus said with a nod of approval. "May I inquire who passed you the power as well as thought you the art of Keyblading?"
"My brother."
"Then your brother must be really good." Kairi said as she welcomed Sora formally. "That would be wonderful! I couldn't wait to meet him!"
"Well then we will start training by pairs when the two got some rest, you two practice by now." Eraqus then turned to Aqua. "I would like to have a word with you."
They went a little further from the crowd and spoke in softer voices.
"What did you learned?" Eraqus said as he watched Sora who was watching the other two students spar and teach each other of what to do, when to defend certain attacks. Aqua was deep in thought when her master asked her this, taking a deeper assessment of things. Her master waited patiently, a virtue he learned very important through his years.
"He's the most well-balanced keyblader from us all." Eraqus nodded at this and smiled as a praise to her quick thinking. "A great advantage he has."
"His brothers are well-trained as well. I know their father, and I know that he taught them well." Eraqus said with light melancholy as his attention seemed to drift away. "The oldest of the three is a little older than you, so I think you'll be quick friends."
"Thank you for telling me Master." Aqua said as she excused herself and returned to Sora's side as he sat on the marble floor. They watched as Kairi now pursued Riku with magic attacks as well as how her brother countered them with dash attacks. Having a disadvantage at Kairi's high resistance to elemental magic and attacks, Riku came to a last resort of physical and brute force. That was until she knocked Kairi to the ground with a new technique. "Whoa Riku! That's new."
"That is what I call 'Soaring Beast' sis, envious I see."
"Must everything be sarcasm to you Riku?"
"Not necessarily. I just like using it at you." By this time Kairi joined them with freshly healed wounds, thanks to curing spells.
"Now that's all for today. I praise you Riku for making a command technique by yourself, I know that you learned something this past few days. Class dismissed." the students filed out the door with goodbyes for their next classes or appointments. "Sora."
"Yes Master Eraqus?" Sora inquired as he looked at the master on his shoulder.
"Why did you return to Radiant Garden?"
"Father died." Sora's whisper echoed through the empty chamber.
Aqua walked through the sidewalks as she wandered around Disney Town for a little bit of shopping necessities. Her school supplies are running low and thank her savings for having a really good budget. Thanks to the Keyblader scholarship as well. She declined the girls' offer for having some dancing at Rinoa's place. She was not that good at socializing, she was rather in good terms with boys and children but never with her age grid especially with her friends. The girls understood immediately and went off with goodbyes, having an extra class, she's closest to Kairi than anyone else.
She hummed as she stared at the windows of shops and at stalls and stores, admiring the beauty of each one of them. That was until she spotted Sora eating some ice cream at the ice cream shop. She entered the store and approached Sora with a ready smile.
"Hey Sora." she said with a tap on his shoulder. The kid jumped in surprise before turning to her. "Sorry for startling you."
"Oh hey Aqua. What are you doing here?" Sora said as she sat in front of him.
"I just saw you and thought I would say hello." she replied as she watched him lick the ice cream from his lips. "How about you?"
"I'm waiting for the end of my brother's shift." he replied casually "You see, we arrived at where we're living a month ago from the Land of Departure and my brother started working here so that we can have some budget and savings other than the scholarship from Radiant Garden."
"You're – ?" Sora nodded, confirming her observations. So they were orphans, what a disaster that was. They were struggling to keep everything in order. "I'm sorry."
"No it's alright." but his voice radiated with sorrow that she thought he just made a sin to make the child go sad. "So brother started working here while Ven and I take care of the house, Ven is my twin by the way."
"You got a twin? Awesome." Aqua said with an amazed expression.
"Well we're far from being alike, you can tell immediately our difference just by hair color." Sora said with a chuckle. "Oh here he go! Yo!"
Indeed a man with earth colored hair and the deepest blue eyes were heading their way and immediately Aqua came to admire the loving smile he gave to his brother. She felt her heart going frantic and her eyes roaming his well-built stature as he walked casually to their direction. First word to come into mind when you see him: handsome, second: sincere, third and fourth: slightly intimidating. The young man seem to have spotted her and gave his brother a questioning look.
"Hello Sora. Mind introducing me to your friend here?" he said in a friendly manner as his eyes seem to scrutinize her whole body inside out. Intimidating.
"This big egotistic man here is my brother, Terra. Terra, this lovely young lady here is a co-keyblader under Master Eraqus' tutelage as well." Sora introduced rather a little too much formal for Aqua's taste. After exchanging 'nice to meet yous' and such Sora seemed too excited to ask Terra something. "So Terra, did you get it?"
"What?" the older asked rather innocently as Aqua watched with an amused expression. She remembered these kind of scenes happened when Riku was younger and when his sarcasm wasn't yet in him. Sora pouted at his brother's reaction and gave him that puppy eye look that Aqua almost cooed at. "Of course I got it."
"What did you get Terra?" she inquired shyly, testing the waters of their acquaintanceship. Terra beamed at her when he answered that his eyes darkened and Aqua found that strange.
"A new shift." then it was time to go home for the two of them. Saying their own goodbyes, Aqua watched them go their ways before deciding to go her own way as well.
"Their your friends missy?" a quacky voice said that she turned to see Donald at the door of the shop. "Treasure them well then. Keep them safe, especially Terra, he's way strangely special."
"I will." on her way home, she tried to find a reason on why she said that statement of promise and oath. Well when a smile graced her lips, she figured out what was that very exciting feeling was. It was the feeling of meeting someone new. She thought of those darkening eyes, is he angry or just plain happy? Because normal persons , even Mickey and Minnie and the inhabitants of Disney Town, their eyes brighten when they are glad and happy. She even watched her own eyes if they will darken when she's happy but it never did. It bothered her greatly thinking why, why, why. Strangely special indeed.
Whenever did you saw a man whose eyes darken when happy? It usually lightened up, right?
Those were the questions she asked Riku at dinner, a conversation in which her parents gladly participated in. They gave her various opinions until Riku asked where did she get such notion that it bothers her too much. She gave them an excuse just to evade his knowing look.
"It just caught my eye."
"Oh, like 'poof'" he said in that sarcastic tone of his again. "What do you think Sora's brothers are?"
"They might be very good at it, since they taught Sora."
"Hmmm. Sora… Sora… as in Sora Nehtrae?" their father asked, they could just nod as an answer and it made their father's eyes lighten with great joy. "Good! They got through the hard times and fulfilled their promise! I'm sure Eraqus is pleased."
"It seemed so Dad." Aqua answered softly, watching his eyes as it shifted various shades of blue, how did Terra's eyes shifted to the Darkest of blues when it seemed to defy all her rules in human emotions and expressions? She really was bothered by that simple occurrence and even before she closed her eyes her thoughts were of shifting colors, from the darkest of blue to the lightest and fiercest gold.
-TBC-
