Disclaimer: I own nothing written about in this story.

Pursuit

AN: Grats to troyboltonsgirl for guessing Aqua's new outfit! Yes, it is Lightning's from FF13. (Can you just imagine Aqua in Light's outfit? OMG the epicness!)... Read on and Enjoy!

Chapter Three – of Friends

"Riku, you're really back!" Ventus exclaimed when he entered the council room. His blond hair was kept short as usual, and it still spiked upward in an uncanny swirl. His attire hadn't changed much over the years, although much like Sora's, his clothes had been altered to compensate for his final height change into adulthood. His blue eyes sparked with excitement as he approached the silver haired Grand Master and reached out for a handshake at the arm in a brotherly greeting. "You finally gonna tell us what you found out there?"

"Ven," Riku returned the greeting with a nod and met the blond's grip with his own. "I will, as soon as everyone assembles." The Grand Master gestured to the empty seat beside Terra, a silent suggestion for Ven to take his seat.

Ven offered an easy grin and did as he was bid, crossing to his seat with a sweep of the room. "Heh, glad I'm not the one holding us up."

Ven took his seat beside Terra at the long, rectangular table in the council room, with Aqua only a seat away beside her husband. The three friends spoke softly together as they waited for the rest of the masters to assemble. Apparently whatever Riku had to say was important enough, yet not so confidential that he could share it with the others. Riku and Sora sat on Aqua's other side, with Riku taking the head of the table, as he was taking charge of the meeting. Kairi soon entered and took a seat next to Sora, sharing fond smiles and a greeting with her two best friends.

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news," Riku announced when the last of the masters filed in and took their seats, his gaze passing over all the people assembled. All the masters in the Academy were present, keybearers or not. "The good news is, all the worlds I visited seemed stable. The bad news is, I've recently been encountering Heartless."

There was a sudden, collective gasp and murmuring among those gathered. "There will always be Heartless," Leon said, arms crossed as his gaze drifted calmly. "Just as there will always be darkness. What we need to be aware of is another uprising."

"Right," Riku agreed, nodding to the older man respectfully even though he outranked him. "I don't think this is an uprising, but their numbers have been growing steadily this past year. There was a time when I didn't come across any, but lately it seemed like every world I visited, I encountered at least five."

"Hardly n' uprising," Cid muttered. "But a concern t'be sure."

Everyone else nodded their agreement. Cid wasn't a master, but his seniority and input were both respected as if he were one. Riku looked up to Sora and then Aqua. "I'm not sure what we should do about this for now. Other than continue to monitor their numbers and wait."

"Are you kidding?" Yuffie howled with excitement from her place across the table. "This is the perfect opportunity for us to take our apprentices out in the field! Nothing better than hands on training, nothing at all!"

"Yuffie," Lea groaned and pulled her back to her seat as apparently she had stood up in her exclamation. "Sit down."

Yuffie hissed at him but folded her arms and harrumphed with a pout.

"I agree with Yuffie," Tifa announced, giving the ninja a sly smile to which Yuffie returned before obstinately sticking her tongue out at her red-headed husband. "We should take advantage of any opportunity to train our future Guardians in case a crisis does arise soon."

"Agreed," both Cloud and Leon echoed.

This continued as everyone voted in favor until it came to Lea's turn and all eyes turned to him. He groaned, loudly, and eyed his dark haired wife incorrigibly. "There won't be any talking to her after this..."

"Your vote, Lea," Riku pressed; it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, yeah, I agree already," Lea groaned again, waved a bothered hand and glared when his wife all but laughed in his face.

Terra watched the exchange with a wry smile, thinking that if Lea had cat ears they would be switched back in aggravation, matching his fierce, cat-like green eyes. Terra often wondered how the two ever managed to get along long enough to-

"We're in an accord then," Riku announced firmly, rightly cutting into Terra's suggestive thoughts. "We'll start assembling teams right away, and decide how many should be deployed at any given time. We should also synchronize check in times, so we know if the teams run into trouble."

With another furtive glance to Yuffie and Lea, Terra noticed they were no longer listening to the discussion. In fact Yuffie seemed to be making a snide comment of some kind and prodded Lea in the ribs in a challenge and he in turn looked about ready to pounce on her and tear her into tiny little pieces. It suddenly occurred to Terra that perhaps they never actually did get along, and that was how they-

"Shouldn't we setup some kind of tracking system on the Gummi ships?" Sora interjected suddenly, once again shattering Terra's questionable thought pattern. "If a team does run into trouble, how will we find them?"

"That will take some time to program," Cid replied, sharing a look with Leon. "But I think Tron might be able to rig something up for us."

"Good idea," Riku agreed with a nod and stood up, a silent signal for the meeting to be adjourned. Which was a good thing, because there was no telling how much longer there would be peace in the small room with the way a certain couple had started bickering... loudly. "We start planning tomorrow then," Riku added with a heightened volume, though his tone implied he didn't care to acknowledge the couple's disturbance, and neither did anyone else for that matter.

Everyone except Aqua stood up to leave and she held out a hand to Riku and Sora. "I need to speak with both of you for a minute."

"Hm?" Sora turned to her, his shining blue eyes curious. "What's up Aqua?" Riku turned to her as well, a silent and steady patience in his expression.

Aqua shifted on her feet uncomfortably and crossed her arms to mask the feeling; this wasn't going to be easy, especially in light of the meeting just now. She caught and held Terra's gaze for an instant as he followed the other masters out of the room. Sky blue uncertainty met with cobalt determination and Aqua suddenly knew without question that she would have to follow through with her request. She had told her husband she would at least mention it, and she was a woman of her word. She did feel a prickle of guilt though, knowing Sora and Riku were both so selfless and caring that they would by no means deny her request, and she felt like she was taking advantage of their kindness.

"What is it, Aqua?" Riku finally prodded gently, his patience seeming to ebb somewhat. Aqua regarded her fellow leaders objectively as Terra shut the door behind him.

"Hey Cid," Terra called as he caught up to the older man with a few hasty strides. "Got a moment?"

"Eh?" was Cid's grumpy reply. He hunched his shoulders as he walked, his hands jammed into his pockets while twitching his toothpick around in his mouth. "Maybe." The blond man sized Terra up before refocusing on his path, not pausing his steps for an instant. "Talk fast, I got work to do."

"Well, the thing is," Terra began hesitantly, knowing his request was rather dubious. "I need a ship. A ship with enough room for five people."

"Five?" Cid rumbled, his question rhetorical. "Most of my ships are two or four seaters," he said, scrutinizing. "Why in the world would you need room for five?"

"Come on Cid, I know you've got at least one ship like that," Terra replied, neatly sidestepping the older man's question. "You've got one of everything when it comes to Gummi ships."

"Yeah I got one," Cid grumbled, though he rolled his shoulders and chucked a thumb across his nose arrogantly. "When do you need it? I may not be able to install the tracking system until I have Tron work up a program for it. That could take days for all I know."

"That's fine," Terra said, clapping a hand on the blond's back appreciatively. "We should be leaving tomorrow, and we won't be going anywhere dangerous, so we don't need the tracking system."

Cid hummed suspiciously and watched the keybearer from a sidelong glance, chewing his toothpick for a moment before shrugging his shoulders indifferently. "I'll hav'er fired up and ready for ya by tomorrow then." He shook a pointed finger at the dark haired man. "But bring 'er back in one piece, got it?"

Terra held up his hands defensively and offered a sheepish smile. "Yeah, got it, not a scratch."

With one final grumble, Cid waved a dismissive hand and carried on to his beloved Gummi ship hanger, leaving Terra to backtrack and retrieve his son.

Aerith's emerald eyes looked up and she smiled warmly as Terra entered the small room that served as a daycare which was stationed just down the hall from the council room. "Eraq has been waiting for you," she told him, turning her smile to the boy in turn. "Very patiently I might add."

"Thanks for watching him, Aerith," Terra replied with an appreciative smile as Eraq ran up and dove into his father's arms. "I'm not sure how well our council meeting would have went with the three of them running loose in there." He noted idly that Marlene and Denzel were already gone, Cloud apparently picked them up to continue his role as babysitter for the day.

The woman waved a lazy hand at him. "It's no trouble at all, they're all very well behaved. Especially Eraq," she told him, coming forward to poke at the boy's nose. "He wants nothing more than to make me smile." She stepped back and placed both hands on her hips plaintively. "In fact I wish you'd let me babysit more often, he really brightens up my day!"

"Is that so?" Terra blinked at the normally passive, gentle woman before him. Seeing her even somewhat miffed was a rarity for him. He let a grin slip and hefted his son slightly. "You hear that Eraq? You're a valuable commodity around here." Suddenly bashful, the boy buried his face in his father's shirt in an attempt to hide.

"Yes," Aerith laughed lightly. "Something tells me he's going to be a real heart-breaker when he grows up."

Terra chuckled along with her for a moment until Eraq started bouncing in his arms impatiently. "C'mon Dad, let's go already!"

"Ok, ok," Terra complied and ruffled the boy's already messy hair before looking to the woman again. "Say, Aerith, did Ven happen to pass by after the meeting?"

"Well, yes, actually." Aerith tapped her chin thoughtfully. "He stopped here briefly to say hi to the kids and then he said something about the training room and ran off."

"Training room, great, thanks again Aerith," Terra replied and departed from the small room after shifting his son to ride on his shoulders for the second time that day.

Upon reaching the large training room, Terra singled out his blond friend among the many apprentices and students present. A good portion of them observed Ven's movements in awe and perhaps a touch of envy as he flowed through his strikes and feints flawlessly against his imaginary enemy, Wayward Wind a whirling blur of black and gold in his grasp. "Hey Ven," Terra called and waved to get his friend's attention when he had finished his most recent routine. "Stop showing off and c'mere a minute."

Ven's scowling response didn't last long as he approached obediently. "I'm not showing off," he grumbled as they both sat down on one of the many benches that lined the perimeter of the vast room. "It's like this no matter where I train."

"Whatever," Terra replied, eased his son down off his shoulders and shoved at his friend teasingly, to which Ven automatically shoved back with a smirk. "I've got a proposition for you."

"Yeah?" Ven wondered and watched absently as Eraq ran up to a small group of older children and quickly integrated with them. "Make it quick, I've got a lot of training to catch up on."

Terra smirked complacently. "Something tells me you'll forget all about training when you hear what I've got planned."

Ven rolled his eyes and gave his friend a long suffering look."Terra, we've got the beginnings of a crisis on our hands and you think just anything will sidetrack me from-" Ven's mouth hung ajar in that instant as Terra brandished a handful of Disney Town passes he'd acquired from that oddball duck in the marketplace, the same duck that sold Eraq's favorite blue ice cream. "What are you?-"

"Wanna come?" Terra waved the cards around in a tantalizing gesture that he was certain Ven wouldn't be able to resist.

"You guys are going to Disney Town?" Ven whined, his bright blue eyes glimmering with hope as his inner child burst forth, regardless of the countless walls and barriers he had built in his mind over the years to contain it. "And I'm invited?"

Terra hummed thoughtfully for an instant and cast a brief glance in Eraq's direction, who was currently interacting with the older children in the area. "That depends..."

"Oh," Ven huffed, his eyes shining with a sudden realization. "So you just want me along so I can babysit for you!"

"Only sometimes," Terra admitted with a lopsided grin. "And you won't be watching him alone. We'll be picking up an old friend beforehand."

"And who might that be?"

Terra smirked. "You'll find out."

"But I wanna know now!" Ven complained, his tone and expression reminiscent to what it had been in his teen years so long ago.

"Eraq, stop wiggling and hold still already," Terra grumbled at his son as he fussed with the boy's seat buckle. Once he had the contraption latched, Terra stepped back and surveyed the expansive cockpit of their provided Gummi ship. There were six seats, even though he had only asked for five; apparently Cid had a thing for even numbers. The bolted-down chairs were arrayed in three rows of two and the control console nearby blinked and beeped with various colors as it waited in a dormant, standby state.

Aqua stepped in beside him and deposited a small travel bag in a compartment on the wall before inspecting Terra's handiwork on their son's seat belt and that the boy's new attire wasn't causing him any discomfort. Although his usual clothes were fine for home, he needed something a little more appropriate for travel. He still wore a simple black T-shirt but Aqua had fitted him with a black and red sleeveless vest as well which would provide somewhat more protection for his torso. Instead of his tan shorts he wore a pair of thick, dark brown pants to better protect his legs and his black shoes were swapped out for a pair of brown boots that reached up to better support his ankles.

Aqua nodded her approval and she and Terra shared a mild smile together. Just as they had both anticipated, Sora and Riku had wished them well on their vacation and assured Aqua that they would hold down the fort until she returned. She and Terra had spent an hour before bed last night discussing their trip and carefully considered how many days they would be able to spend between travel time and the one other stop they had to make to pick up their "old friend" before they reached their destination.

"Mom," Eraq demanded worriedly as he fidgeted under the uncomfortable pressure of the strap across his chest. "What about Kupo?" Aqua drew her attention to the boy and she met his gaze attentively.

"Don't worry about him, Eraq," she told him gently. "Aerith said she'd look after him while we're gone."

"Oh good," the boy sighed with a puff of relief and a wide smile. "She's good at babysitting." This roused a round of laughter from both his parents and the boy's smile only widened; he liked it a lot better when they weren't arguing about things he couldn't understand.

A noisy clamor trotted up the ship's ramp and Ven suddenly appeared in the cockpit, an excited, wild look about him as he dropped his own travel bag unceremoniously on the floor. "This is it then? We're really going to Disney Town? All of us? Together?" His voice was so full of disbelief even though both his friends nodded their heads pointedly every time he punctuated a question. "I can't believe it, after all these years, we finally get to go together!"

"Yeah," Aqua agreed and beamed at him fondly before sweeping a glance over Eraq. "Only, there's four of us this time."

"Soon to be the five of us," Terra put in as he took his place in the pilot's seat and proceeded in pushing various buttons and controls.

"I still wish you'd tell me who that will be," Ven grumbled.

"Nope," Terra replied stubbornly and without a glance to the blond as he studied the console. "You'll find out when we get there."

Ven growled and scratched at his head with both hands with intense aggravation before walking over and plopping down in the co-pilot's seat beside Terra. "Well hurry up! So I can find out!"

Aqua's smile remained and she couldn't withhold a breath of laughter at their antics before she sat down in the seat directly behind Ven and beside Eraq. She looked to the boy, who was currently looking from Ven to Terra and then to her with a happy expression. "Eraq, the ship is going to shake a bit, but you don't need to be scared, I'm right here, alright?" Their seats were only a couple feet apart and she was able to reach out and grasp his small hand easily.

Eraq blinked blankly at her but nodded his head anyway. He yelped with surprise a few seconds later when the ship hummed and roared to life. The floor and walls around them rumbled violently as the aircraft pulsed and hovered over its landing pad in the Gummi hanger. The roof of the hanger opened wide for their departure and Eraq instinctively gripped his mother's hand more tightly and closed his eyes as the ship rose into the sky above. He whimpered as an uncomfortable rising sensation pulled at the back of his neck and stomach; he wasn't sure he liked this flying thing.

"Eraq," Aqua cooed at him as gently as she could amongst the noise of the ship's engines. "It's ok, you'll get used to it pretty soon."

She was right, after a few more minutes of that unpleasant pulling sensation it faded and was soon altogether gone. Eraq finally opened his eyes again to see the cockpit had changed. Well, it hadn't really changed, but it was completely dark outside, and the only light in the room glowed strangely from the ceiling. "Where are we, Mom?" he asked, his eyes shining with wonder as shimmering white dots flashed by his window at a blinding speed.

Aqua smiled fondly at his curious question, though she was somewhat at a loss as to how to answer. "That's hard to explain."

Eraq turned away from the window to gaze up at her in both awe and confusion. There wasn't very many things his mom couldn't explain to him. "But you said we were going to visit another world, so where is it?"

"We're in the space between worlds right now. There's a lot of open space between our world and the others."

"Oh," Eraq hummed contemplatively. "How long will it take us to get there?"

Aqua's smile never faded as she eased her head back against her seat's headrest and closed her eyes contently. "Not long."

Six years later and Olympus Coliseum still hadn't changed much. Aside from that enormous, gold and gaudy statue of Hercules standing in a proud and arrogant pose in the middle of the town square... That certainly hadn't been there before. The three friends plus child stared up at the giant construct with a mixture of astonishment and perplexity.

Ven was the first to break out of the collective stupor. "Well," he announced, one hand on his hip as he gestured grandly at the statue with the other. "Looks like someone became a hero after all this time."

The town square was noisy and there were people coming and going with every known kind of urgency. Though no one else seemed to be paying the ridiculous statue any kind of tribute. Aqua frowned up at it. Unlike their Master's memorial statue at home, which was half as big and much more regal looking and spoke quietly of all his achievements, this monstrosity before her screamed 'I saved the town, now worship my muscles!'. Though truthfully, she knew that couldn't have been Hercules' intent, if he had even condoned such a statue to be erected in the first place.

A sudden excited shouting erupted in the area and Aqua instinctively pulled Eraq closer, though she relaxed when she seen who was causing the ruckus.

"Aqua, Terra, Ven!" Zack howled with glee and approached at a gallop with a huge grin on his face. "I can't believe it!"

Ven and Terra both instantly moved to greet the newcomer and Aqua hung back with Eraq to observe the man curiously, since he certainly wasn't a teenager anymore.

Zack was so much taller now, even rivaling Terra's impressive height, if not slightly taller. He had also grown quite handsome with his facial features exuding a noble gentleness somehow, while his dark bangs were longer and cloaked his eyes from the side, both attributes sharing an uncanny similarity with her husband.

His outfit had changed dramatically. Instead of his one piece of armor, he wore a sleeveless dark blue shirt made of some kind of protective mesh under his two shoulder pauldrons which appeared to be attached to two leather straps that reached down his chest and connected to another piece of armor that covered his abdomen. He still wore blue pants but they were the same dark shade as his shirt and he had traded his leather sandals for sturdy black boots that reached a few inches above his ankles.

Lastly, an imposing (and somewhat familiar) large sword hung behind his back and it only took Aqua a moment to recognize it as a weapon almost identical to Cloud's buster sword.

Zack's exuberant smile faded into a curious question as his gaze drifted from Terra and Ven to Aqua and the boy at her side. It took him a few seconds, but realization finally hit and his blue eyes lit up as he turned from the boy to Terra and back again; the resemblance between the two was simply just too similar to mistake. "No way! You guys already have a kid?"

"Already?" Terra objected incredulously. "It's been six years."

"Terra," Ven interjected with a condescending tone that matched his expression. "Don't make him do the math, he doesn't need to know how soon you and Aqua-" The blond's comment was promptly thrown off when Terra whacked him upside the head. "-got married!" Ven mended furiously as he clutched his head protectively.

"That's what I thought." Terra smirked complacently, though he soon frowned soberly when Ven turned on him and yowled like a wild animal. Soon they were both grappling and arguing back and forth as if they had reverted to their apprentice years and had completely forgotten about Zack.

Zack on the other hand ignored their debate as it turned into brotherly bickering and he focused on Aqua and the boy with charcoal blue hair. He crossed the short distance to them with such astonishing speed that it startled Eraq and he jerked back to hide behind Aqua with a yelp. "Mom?" he called up to her worriedly, gripping her blue cape attachment nervously.

"It's okay Eraq," Aqua spoke softly to her son. "This is Zack, he's a friend." She stroked the boy's head reassuringly and tried to ease him back around gently. "Don't be rude, say hello."

Eraq made a tiny whimpering noise but obeyed and poked his head out from behind his mother's cape; he didn't want to be rude. "Hi Zack," he greeted with a timid smile and a curious gaze.

"Well hey there," Zack responded as he crouched down to the boy's level and offered his trademark grin and a friendly gesture. "What's your name, kid?"

"Eraqus," the boy replied instantly as he drew closer and out of hiding; the man's gentle voice and expression reassuring him almost as much as his mother's touch. "Eraq for short," he specified proudly, as though it were a very important piece of information.

"Hey, that's like Ventus going by Ven all the time!" Zack chuckled and shot a sly look over his shoulder toward the blond as he added in a whisper to the boy, "yours is way cooler though."

Eraq giggled, amused and moved closer, his apprehension toward the man seeming to dissipate completely. "You're funny Zack."

"Am I?" Zack asked, his eyes closed and his smile turned into a lopsided grin as he ruffled the boy's dark hair playfully. "But I was being completely serious there."

Eraq's laughter quickly died as he wondered for the umpteenth time why every adult felt the need to assault the hair on his head; he wasn't a puppy! He didn't mind it when his dad did so, but that was Dad, it was just different. He wanted to shout his displeasure to the world, but he knew better than to be disrespectful, so he endured the demeaning gesture with little more than a frown and a grumble.

"It's good to see you Zack," Aqua said, smiling fondly and drawing the man's attention up to her.

"Yeah," Zack replied and stood up, relenting his attack on the boy's dark mane. "So, you're a mom now, what's that like?"

Eraq, thankful his head was left alone, watched Zack curiously as he talked to his mom. Zack had one hand on his side while his other hand scratched his neck, and Eraq thought that meant he was nervous for some reason, since that's what Dad did when he was nervous about something. But, he wondered why Zack was nervous; after all, Mom wasn't scary.

"It's demanding," Aqua answered honestly, though her eyes softened as she glanced down to Eraq affectionately. "But worth it."

Zack nodded soberly in understanding as he crossed his arms contemplatively, a comfortable smile on his lips. "So what brings you guys to Olympus?"

"We're on a vacation, and we actually came to pick you up," Aqua explained with a wry smile. "We were also hoping you would come with us to Radiant Garden and join our Guardian Academy."

"Vacation?" Zack howled excitedly. "Guardian Academy? I don't know what that is exactly but it sounds amazing!" He started squatting exuberantly, as though it were a mannerism he couldn't control when he got excited. "Let's go then!"

"Well that was fast," Terra remarked as he and Ven finally joined the trio, their hair mussed up from their tussle. "Already got him recruited?"

"I can be very persuasive," Aqua replied and attempted to right her husband's chaotic mane when he drew beside her.

"So just what were you doing outside the coliseum?" Ven asked Zack offhandedly. "You're usually always so focused on training."

"Oh," Zack said, seeming like he suddenly remembered something. "Well, I was with a friend."

"A friend?" Ven questioned, genuinely curious as he looked around the area in search of said friend.

Zack nodded, his gaze drifting across the town square to a side street that led to the marketplace where a woman sat patiently on a bench. "Yeah, you see, there's a girl here, her name is Rinoa. Her world was destroyed a long time ago and I think she might actually like to come with us." He waved at the woman across the square to get her attention and even made a few odd gestures for her to join them.

"Oh?" Terra smirked, a sly glint in his eyes as he nudged Zack's shoulder. "You finally got your own girlfriend?"

"Huh?" Zack scratched his head again, slightly embarrassed though he quickly shrugged it off. "Nah, I don't think I'm her type, though I can't say I didn't try!" He looked up to gaze at the woman in question wistfully as she approached, though his eyes held a platonic fondness. "I think she's looking for someone."

Aqua all but rolled her eyes. Boys. She looked down when she felt the little hand in her grasp tug slightly as Eraq grew restless. Aqua dreaded the day her innocent little boy got old enough to chase after girls, or rather, they chased after him; because frankly, he was the cutest thing on two legs. She paled a little at the thought, feeling completely unprepared for the stress of it all and yet oddly comforted by the fact that she wouldn't need to worry about it for quite awhile yet.

Attempting to distract herself from the thought, Aqua watched as Zack's friend came closer and noted idly that a good sized, brown dog trotted along at her side. The woman's hair was long and black, with what seemed like brown highlights. Her clothes were interesting, though not really extraordinary. She wore a dark blue skirt over black shorts of modest length and a black tank top under a sleeveless light blue, robe-like garment that was tied together below her chest and draped all the way down to her black boots. She also wore a pair of arm warmers of the same light blue shade that reached from her elbows to her wrists. When she drew close enough, Aqua could see her eyes were like rich, dark brown pools, though they glinted with a rare, fiery brilliance as she swept them over the travelers. "Hey Zack, who are your friends?"

"Hey Rin," Zack welcomed casually and gestured to each person as he spoke."Meet Aqua, Terra and Ven," he introduced pleasantly and they each nodded in turn. "They all helped save the worlds, they're true heroes!"

"It's nice to meet all of you," Rinoa met happily, her smile radiating a contagious cheer. "It's not every day I get to meet a hero," she said dramatically and sent Zack a coy look, to which he slumped his shoulders into a deflated posture.

"Awww! Low blow!" Zack whined pathetically, his sky blue eyes peering at her as though she had just kicked a puppy.

"So," Ven started, rightly ignoring Zack's obvious suffering beside him. "Is it Rinoa or Rin?"

Rinoa offered an easy grin. "Call me Rin." Her attention was quickly averted downward when something tugged at the sleeve of her arm warmer and her eyes lit up with adoration at the sight before her.

"I'm Eraq," the boy announced, refusing to be overlooked as he peered up at her plaintively, as if he were offended for not being included in the introductions.

"Well hi there!" the woman chirped, bending down slightly with hands on knees as she regarded the boy with a pleasant smile. "Aren't you just a little cutie pie!"

Eraq giggled at her compliment. "You're really pretty," he told her with a cute tilt of his head, unaware that his mother cringed beside him.

Aqua gaped, her gaze flitting from Rinoa to Eraq and back again. He was far too young to be infatuated with anyone... wasn't he? She sighed with a strangled relief when the boy looked up to her, smiled and added innocently, "not as pretty as Mom though."

Zack chuckled, his eyes lighting on Terra briefly. "A clever one, he's got both bases covered there."

"He doesn't get it from me," Terra admitted outright.

"That's for sure!" Ven agreed with a grin, earning him a sharp look from Terra and dodging an indignant swipe from the man. "Boy, you sure have gotten slow!"

Terra growled at the blond, contemplating chasing him down and giving him a good torture session. It didn't matter to him that his friend was a grown man, he was still hopelessly susceptible to tickling, though Terra resisted the notion. For one thing, Ven was right in a sense and he doubted he could even catch him anymore. "I'm not slower, you're just faster."

"It's the same thing, Terra," Ven argued.

"No," Terra insisted. "It's not."

"How about we make this a competition then?" Zack offered, his attention had been switching between them as they argued but now his eyes lit up excitedly. "Really see how far we've come?"

"Well we're sure in the right place," Terra said, though he wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea, he also wasn't about to back down. "Let's just get it over with so we can leave." Granted, he didn't train as often or as hard as Ven, but he had still managed to stay fit and combat ready.

"To the coliseum!" Ven shouted excitedly and he and Zack raced off toward the imposing stadium, a competition in and of itself as Terra trailed behind with the two women and Eraq, grumbling along about hyperactive grown men.

Rinoa sighed with aversion as she followed beside Aqua. "I really don't like that place," she remarked with a sour look, as though the mere thought of the building brought a bad taste to her mouth. "It's just an excuse for thick-headed brutes to show off their muscles. No offense, Terra," she mended when she remembered he would be participating as well.

"None taken," the dark haired man replied with a shrug. "I'm only in on it because they would have pestered me until I agreed."

"We don't have to go with them," Aqua ventured to Rinoa. "And I don't think I want Eraq exposed to that environment yet."

"Aww, but Mom, I wanna go with Dad," Eraq whined up at her, his hand tugging in her grasp as he reached plaintively for Terra.

Aqua opened her mouth to argue but Terra beat her to it as he drew close to rustle the boy's hair. "You're mother's right, Eraq, you wouldn't like it anyway." The boy dropped his gaze in a pout but nodded his head compliantly as his father stepped away. "Meet back by the statue?" Terra asked, catching Aqua's gaze before he was out of earshot.

"Sure." Aqua smirked after him, one hand on her hip as she gave her head a sly tilt. "If you can still walk, that is."

"Ha-ha," Terra feigned laughter sarcastically with a bothered wave and a grumble. "No respect these days, none at all."

Aqua watched him trudge along toward the coliseum in Zack and Ven's wake for a moment until she heard Eraq yelp and flinch beside her. She looked down to see that brown dog had suddenly drawn very close and was trying to get close enough to sniff at Eraq's head. Aqua instinctively pulled the boy closer, though he was already clutching at her leg fearfully.

"Oh sorry," Rinoa said, her attention drawn to the dog as well. "That's just Angelo, it's ok, she's just curious." She knelt down and called the dog to her and Angelo whined happily as she scratched her head. "No need to be afraid, Eraq, in fact, I think she likes you."

"R-really?" Eraq asked, drawing away from his mother slightly as he steadily became more and more interested in the canine.

Rinoa grinned at him and gave her dog a look as she pointed at Eraq. "Angelo, kiss." The dog gave an obedient whine and before Aqua or Eraqus could object, Angelo hopped over to the boy and gave his cheek a thorough licking. Eraqus yelped with surprise at first but then quickly recovered and laughed as he threw his arms around the dog's neck.

"Look Mom, Angelo likes me!" Eraq called back excitedly, though he had yet to release his hold on the beast. Angelo sat down and whined, as she couldn't maneuver very well with the child latched onto her neck, though she endured the boy's affection with a wag of her tail.

Aqua smiled at the exchange; they were quite the pair with their heads almost exactly the same height. She was glad the boy was distracted from not getting his way earlier. "Is there anything we can do while we wait for the 'muscle-heads'?" she asked, her gaze drifting over to Rinoa.

"Well, we could go shopping!" Rinoa offered excitedly. "Zack is fun to hang out with and all, but he's definitely not a shopper..."

Aqua didn't think of herself as much of a shopper either, but it was definitely better than standing around doing nothing. As they set out toward the marketplace, she hazarded one last glance back at the looming coliseum and hoped the guys would be responsible enough not to injure each other too badly, especially since she wouldn't be nearby to heal them...