It had been several weeks since Sora and Riku had taken the Mark of Mastery, faced Xehanort and learned of his plan to forge the X-blade. All had been quiet. And that worried everyone. He knew now who all seven princesses of heart were and where they could be found. The princesses, of course had been alerted to the danger. Not like much could be done if Xehanort decided to take them. In that time, Riku had begun proper training for a new Master, as had Sora so that he might pass the next time. Kairi and Lea had also been getting proper instruction as Keyblade wielders.

Rachel and Bryan had been brought on board completely to prepare for the upcoming challenge. They'd been Masters for not quite two years but they had a trick or two they could share. Bryan was the superior swordsman and Rachel had made great strides on her way to becoming an official sorceress.

Bryan spent a lot of time in the training grounds with Sora, Kairi and Lea. Kairi knew some about combat from the better part of her life watching Sora and Riku settle disputes and such with a friendly fight. The challenge, Bryan discovered as he coached them was she hardly had a mean bone in her body. So he tried to break her of the mentality that, although for an important purpose, this, for the moment at least was just a friendly practice session. In practice people don't really get hurt. Bryan explained to her and Lea how he and Rachel had been trained not to be afraid to hit a friend so they would be no problem hitting an enemy even harder. Kairi insisted she had what it takes to fight well. She had fought Heartless in The World That Never Was so she did know a thing or two. Bryan countered that he too had fought Shadows before he came to study under Master Yen Sid but that didn't change how he was taught.

To prove his point, Bryan stood with his feet apart and arms wide open in front of her and told Kairi to strike him. Anywhere and anyway. A kidney shot, a rabbit punch, even a half or full-Nelson if she could manage it but the hit would have to be real. Like expected, she couldn't do it. Perhaps in part it was an awkward request. He was a friend and she'd never hurt anything before. Lea on the other hand had no such problem. When Kairi couldn't pull through, Lea walked over and socked Bryan right in the eye.

"Did I ask for that!"

"Stood to reason you'd put me through the same test." Lea said casually.

"Well I wasn't. Between what you've told us about yourself, both as a competitive kid and your days as Axel I figured you'd have no problem hitting things." Bryan called Cross-Cut and used Curaga on the side of his face. "That being said you've got a heck of a right hook."

But that didn't leave Lea without his share of problems. Battling with a Keyblade required an entirely different style than what he was used to. He had confidence he could hold his own against Bryan just fine…but ended up getting his tail kicked. No contest. Bryan was by far the better. Lea however, welcomed the challenge of one day throwing down the gauntlet and making Bryan pick it up.

The situation in which the ever-growing circle of friends found themselves in was certainly an interesting and unique one. Every one of them had a unique style of battle. Adjustments would have to be made for each of them depending on who they practiced with, both learning how their friends fought and how to make their own style work to their advantage. The more they knew about how to adjust to different opponents was more critical than ever. Rachel and Bryan were especially tickled with this chance to grow. They had become very set in their ways of fighting with each other over the years. Each of them knew the others style perfectly and how to fight against or in perfect harmony with. In later practices they would partner up and spar in pairs. Everyone would come to dread when the masters were set up as a team against everyone else. But the opportunity to improve was there for everyone. For example, Riku was familiar with Sora's combat style so he had an idea of how to effectively attack and defend. Against Rachel or Bryan he'd have to do his best while feeling out their way of fighting. But the set up was perfect for rapid and dramatic improvements. From the time the training began to the weeks that followed, Kairi especially was surprising everyone.

But between the time of Sora and Riku taking the Mark of Mastery exam, Sora eventually passing the Mark of Mastery test and the beginning of the next great challenge, another adventure (of sorts) took place.

On Master Yen Sid's instructions, Rachel was to study magic with greater vigor than ever before. Fighting pure darkness with the power of light would be foolish. Darkness and light were two sides of the same coin and forcing the two to clash with such power, as would be needed to fight Xehanort, could only bring destruction. Especially if their combined light still wasn't enough to at least match the darkness Xehanort had controlled and built up for longer than any of them had even been alive. Not only that, the chaotic clash of Darkness and Light was exactly what Xehanort was after. So it was agreed to excel at other offensive strengths for the upcoming battle. Lea, understandably could still make Fire answer his every whim without question. It also came to little surprise to find out his Ice spells were far below average. Bryan was the unchallenged Master of Music. Not an element in the traditional sense but there was no questioning its power.

So when she wasn't sparring with her friends, Rachel spent most of her time trying new spells and improving her magic. Master Yen Sid even made her start taking potion making more seriously. With an inevitable storm in the unforeseen future she would need all the skills she could acquire. Besides, he couldn't one day pronounce her a true sorceress if she wasn't well-versed in all areas of magic.

But this stage of her training was primarily a solo mission. Everyone who ever seriously practiced sorcery went through similar regiments, after reaching a certain level of skill, where they were required to isolate themselves and learn and grow without the guidance of a master. For this, Master Yen Sid showed her a secret place that had been used by aspiring sorcerers for centuries. Down one of the Towers secret hallways, the old sorcerer used a portal door that lead to the magical haven. It looked similar to a castle and made of pale stone. And it was hers to use until she had shown enough improvement for Master Yen Sid to let her move on.

She wasn't entirely thrilled with the thought of going through most of the training alone. Like most people Rachel enjoyed her alone time, but this span of 'alone time' could easily last several weeks or even months minimum depending on how fast and how well she learned. Not only learned, but memorized. If you had to brew a quick potion in the middle of nowhere, you can't exactly go home and get your books and travel kit. She was sure she would come to count the days until she could take a break and rejoin her friends back at the Tower, whether it be for further training with the others or just relaxing. There was no traditional rule however that said she couldn't bring her cat or her unicorn so Tatania and Fantasia came along too. Master Yen Sid suggested if she did that to put a tracking spell on Tatania. No doubt she'd do a fair bit of exploring and there were all sorts of secret and hidden places in the castle.

So everyone had their assignments. Lea and Kairi would receive proper training as Keyblade warriors. Sora worked to improve so he could retake and pass the mark of Mastery. Bryan had tasks of his own on top of being everyone's key sparring partner. To Bryan, Rachel training her magic away from everyone was very strange. He joked and poked fun at her when he learned she'd be leaving for a while the way a brother might. But it didn't take long before he started to notice how weird it was not to have her around. For the better part of their lives they'd been joined at the hip. Even moreso once they began training as a battle team. Together was just the way they did things. Even the days they couldn't stand each other, spat or found the others very presence to be annoying they were never apart for long regardless of what else was going on. It felt kinda like losing a limb. You immediately notice when what you take for granted is gone.

But that was nothing compared to what Riku was feeling. Possibly facing several months before he could see his girlfriend regularly? No way that was going to work. At first he thought knowing she was nearby would be enough. But it was only after one week he cracked. He needed to see her smile more than on occasional weekends. He didn't want their relationship to feel like a custody arrangement. The world often felt bland and empty after going a time without hearing her laugh. And after the whole ordeal with Xehanort (all versions of him) Riku knew he'd need her light more than ever. Throughout his journey through the sleeping worlds, Riku felt he had conquered a large part of the darkness within him. His heart had grown stronger in that time. He credited part of it to what he'd learned from her. But even with that great triumph, Riku knew he would need her unique heart to climb the mountains that lay ahead. Xehanort had to know those who opposed him were gathering their forces to defeat him. No doubt he would use any and every dirty conniving trick to make them crumble. Especially once he found out he and Rachel were together if he didn't somehow know already.

Riku had already read through the journal Rachel had lent him on her view of darkness several times. But it wasn't the same as hearing her unique perspective first hand. So he decided to talk to Master Yen Sid about visiting her. Riku knew the sorcerer wouldn't allow it just because he'd missed her, so he'd have to have a good reason. But not only would it have to be a good reason, it would have to be an honest one. So he thought about it all day before he pled his case to Master Yen Sid. For some reason Riku felt like a kid asking a scary father permission to date his daughter. He credited that to the dread of the answer being no. But he felt he presented himself pretty well.

Although Riku had lain to rest a lot of the darkness in his heart, he knew the shadow of Ansem's handprint still lingered. It was buried deep beneath the strength of his own heart. Light, love and the desire to protect those that meant the most to him. Still, Xehanort was sure to know about it and would no doubt try and exploit it if it so suited him. With Rachel, Riku felt his light was strongest and could grow its best. Also, perhaps he could learn magic from her. Part of the reason she was taking this challenge now was to have a strong magical offense, why not him too? Wouldn't have to worry about the clash of Light and Dark if he wasn't using either. That premise was Master Yen Sid's idea after all. Also, he never said this part of Rachel's training was done alone to test how the individual handled solitude, just that she was out from under direct guidance. Also, Rachel was very social. Company VS solitude might be more beneficial for her studies.

Master Yen Sid had listened quietly and, much to Riku's relief and delight he agreed. It was conditional though. This wasn't a social call and shouldn't be treated like one. Becoming a sorceress was something she'd been training hard for. If the visits proved to be a distraction from her studies they would have to end. It couldn't interfere with his training either. As a Master he was entitled to new skills and knowledge and couldn't let that slip. Also, as part of the agreement, Riku would have to show improvements with various magicks as well as aiding Rachel with hers whenever needed. He'd be stretching himself a bit thin but Yen Sid was willing to give him the chance and Riku was set to make it work.