Okay, chapter two up! Yeah, I know I need to work on Pokemon and Snickers Bars, but I haven't been able to do that. I decided to post the second chapter of this instead! So, enjoy (hopefully…)

Oh yes…and I don't own shit. Just sayin'. If I owned Square Soft/Enix, KH III would be out by now.

Every couch in the meeting room was full. Momiji and Ashley occupied the ugly flower printed one that no one but them was polite enough to sit on. Stephan and Hikari occupied the deep brown one, perfect for the tall boy's long legs. Elizabeth and Piper sat on the white one, and Michelle and Serena had taken the red one. The meeting room didn't have any sort of theme or color scheme. That wasn't what a meeting room was for, anyway. The only thing that each of the couches had in common was that they all sat in a 'U', facing a black leather recliner.

Master Archard sat there, a cup of strong coffee in his hands. Though rather young for a teacher (only thirty years old) he was still quite a powerful Keyblade Master. Having completed the Mark of Mastery ten years ago, thus completing his own training, he already had ten years of teaching under his belt. It had almost come to a shock to him all those years ago, how only six months after his graduation, he was assigned students to be placed under his care.

At the time, he had considered it to be the worst graduation present ever.

Now, even he couldn't deny that he genuinely cared about these kids…even if they did give him migraines daily…

"All right," he sighed, putting down his coffee on the table before him. "Can you tell me what went wrong?"

Hikari sniffed. "I can," She pointed to Serena accusingly. "Serena attacked without being the signal. Again."

"That had nothing to do with not being able to kill the big one." Said Serena defensively.

"We might have been able to come up with a plan if you hadn't jumped out there!"

"I think we should have come up with a plan before we went out there." Ashley pointed out.

"Agreed," Stephen put in.

"The reason why I sent you out in pairs was because I wanted you to learn how to improvise. So the 'plan' part is clearly not the issue." Master Archard said, stroking his chin.

Serena exhaled in relief. "See, I told you…"

"But," Master Archard held up a finger. "That's no excuse for you to run into battle recklessly. What were you thinking, Serena? You could have gotten yourself hurt. You could have hurt everyone else."

"I…I dunno. I guess I was just…lost in the moment…" Serena stammered.

"Well, you have to keep working on that. Show patience, Serena. Missions will be safer and more effective that way. Understood?"

Serena looked at her hands in her lap. "Yes, Master."

"Good. Now, just because Serena rushes into the battle doesn't mean everyone else," He looked pointedly at Michelle. "Can just run in after her."

Michelle crossed her arms. "I wanted to help Serena!"

"Yes, you wanted to. You didn't need to."

"Hikari went after her!"

"Yes, because as Serena's partner, Hikari did need to rush in after her. It was her duty as her partner.

Michelle pouted. "It's not fair…"

"Life's not fair. Life's not forgiving." Replied Master Archard. "And that goes for the rest of you. The rest of you could have—and should have—waited for Momiji's signal. But that's not the main problem here." He paused to sip his coffee. "No, the real problem is that you girls—"

Stephan cleared his throat.

"—and Stephan," Amended Master Archard, "Can't seem to work together as a team. Don't you know how crucial that skill is? With efficient teamwork, anything can be overcome. So I want you to work on that from now on." He leaned back in his seat. "Now, Michelle, Stephan, I want you to start dinner. Ashley and Serena, you can set the table. As for the rest of you," He added as the students in question began to stand. "I'd like a word."

As the others exited the room, Momiji, Piper, Elizabeth, and Hikari moved to seats closer to their teacher.

There was half a minute of silence. The four girls shifted uncomfortably, awkwardly glancing from each other to around the room to their teacher. Master Archard held the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, his eyes squeezed shut.

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at his students. "Look, girls, I know what you're going to say. 'It wasn't our fault…'"

"It wasn't!" Exclaimed Hikari.

"But that doesn't mean you don't hold responsibility."

"Don't hold responsibility" Well, of course we don't hold responsibility!" Elizabeth sat forward in her seat. "It's not our fault that we have to work with—no offense meant to them, Master Archard, I'm just speaking the truth—complete amateurs"!

"They are not amateurs. They have all been through as much training as you have." Master Archard said firmly.

"They haven't completed the Mark of Mastery exam yet. They're not even close. In this field, that equals mediocrity."

"And I suppose that because you four have completed and passed the Mark of Mastery, that makes you not amateurs?"

"Well, frankly, yes, Master Archard!"

Her eyes closed, Piper silently raised her hand to speak.

Master Archard rolled his eyes, sighing. "Yes, Piper?" He asked in an exasperated tone.

Opening her caramel brown eyes and pointing at her teacher, Piper beseeched. "Master Archard. I just want to let you know. That I," she placed her hand on her chest, "Did nothing wrong. Nothing at all. You see, I," she emphasized again, "actually waited for Momiji's signal. That's right. So I hold, no responsibility for anything. I followed directions." And then, after a moment of thought, she added, "Oh, and Momiji, too."

"Piper, Momiji gave the signal. You were with her."

"I know. And that's why neither of us hold responsibility." She crossed her legs in a dignified way. "And that's all I have to say."

Master Archard closed his eyes, massaging his temples. "Listen, girls," he finally said, opening his green eyes, "You're all resourceful. You're all talented. And most importantly, you're all smart. The four of you can go far in life, farther than you think. Hikari, your understanding of technique will take you places you've never even dreamt of. Momiji, you may not be able to speak for yourself," He shook his head, "But I'll be damned if your words aren't heard by millions one day. Elizabeth, you have the potential to change the way people think for the better. And Piper," He shook his head, a crooked grin on his face, "Call me crazy, but I can't think of anyone I'd rather have run this school when I'm gone."

The four girls exchanged glances, each experiencing a strange mixture of pride and confusion. After all, Master Archard wasn't typically a heart-to-heart kind of person. He'd rather let the students fight out any problems they were having, unless it directly involved him. He never just dished out compliments. As it was, his students weren't sure how to react to this.

Exhaling through his nose, Master Archard took another sip of his coffee.

"What I'm trying to say is, yes, you're gifted. But take those abilities of yours and use them to make a change for the better, all right? The better."

Her brow furrowed, Hikari spoke quietly. "Master Archard? Are you all right?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…" Elizabeth licked her lips. "You're acting a little strange tonight, Master."

"More so than usual." Piper put in.

Momiji nodded fervently in agreement.

"I mean, you almost seem…worried about something." Hikari went on. "Is…everything all right?"

Master Archard opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself, closing it. He silently locked eyes with each of his students.

Taking a deep breath, he finally said, "It's nothing, girls. Nothing is wrong. Remember, you all may technically be Keyblade Masters, but you're still students. There are still scores of things that you have never experienced…and, if you're lucky, you'll never have to." He stood up, coffee in hand. "Now, I'll see you at dinner. Meeting adjourned." And with that, he exited the room.

Like balloons deflating, all four girls slouched in relief.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth said almost breathlessly, "Wow. That was tense."

A few chalk strokes later, Momiji's board read, "I thought the air would snap, it was so tense in here."

"No kidding!" Hikari exclaimed. "The last time Master Archard sat us down for a serious conversation…God, I think it was when we were thirteen and we found that Penthouse magazine under his bed!"

Halfway into a yawn, Piper grinned. "I remember that day. It was very interesting."

"But it wasn't even that serious, as he was blushing and sputtering the whole time." Elizabeth pointed out.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny, actually…"

"The point is, something is wrong." Elizabeth continued. "And he's not telling us what it is."

"I wonder…" Hikari said musingly, stretching her arms.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence.

Then, clapping her hands, Piper broke it, saying, "Well, I'm hungry. Who else is hungry? Anyone? Well, Unless my nose is mistaken, dinner is served. Let's head out, ladies."

Wow. Second chapter done. How about that? Well, I want to let everyone know that I accept anonymous reviews…*hint hint*.