Chapter three guys! Wow, it's kinda fucked up that I never actually made it to this point with any of my stories. Speaking of which, I am working on chapter two of my DBTLR fanfic, but I'm also tossing around the idea of taking it down. I'm also working on chapter three of my Shaman King fic, chapter two of my Frozen/Tangled fic, and chapter one of my Goofy Movie fic. Jesus, I got a lot of work to do. By the way, this set just before the Shepherds move to attack Valm and just after Validar tried to kill them in the canyon, literally the mission after they find out who Lucina is. Also, I have never played Kingdom Hearts 3D. A good portion of what I know of the recent story is from the KH Wiki.
Sora: A bit over-extended, are we?
Ben: … *snaps his fingers* Hey Sora, what's that behind you?
Sora: *Turns around* Is that the Grand Canyon?
Ben: *Kicks him over the edge* Onto the story!
The light of dawn flooded the camp, glinting off the armor of Frederick the Wary as he surveyed the camp. Chrom had given him orders to make sure all the Shepherds were awake by dawn for morning training. A loud yawn came from his wife, Maribelle, as she walked out of their tent. "Dear, do we really need to wake up so early? Naga is still asleep right now."
"The early bird catches the worm, my love. I'm going to begin waking everyone so you can go on to the mess hall and eat some breakfast. I'll join you in a bit." The knight said, kissing the Valkyrie before walking down the line of tents waking everyone. The only two he had trouble waking were Lissa and Marcus. Lissa woke first, scrambling to find her clothing after their activities the night before. Marcus just snored loudly, not budging. Frederick sighed lightly. "Milady, would you please step outside for a moment?" Lissa glared at him as she pulled her dress on, pulling her boots on as she walked out of the tent. She jumped when she heard Marcus yelp and run of the tent, soaking wet and still nude.
"Cold, cold! So cold!" He yelled, freezing for a moment as everyone started laughing at him. Lissa giggled and handed him a piece of leather, the tactician quickly covering himself as he glared daggers at the smirking knight. "Why would you do that?!"
"It seemed the best idea to wake you, my friend." He chuckled as he tossed Marcus his robes and breeches, his smile fading. "Lord Chrom has requested that all present be in attendance for morning training. We must be ready for when we attack Valm."
Marcus only nodded as he pulled his breeches on, robes coming after. "Lissa, I'm gonna help Frederick. Go on and eat." He said, giving her a quick kiss.
She returned the kiss and hugged him, smiling as she tried to put a frog down the back of his robe, screaming as a cold sensation ran down her back. She jumped back to see Marcus laughing, holding a wooden cup in his hand. "That is so not fair!" she pouted.
"All's fair in love and war, my dear." he said, kissing her again, deeper this time as she giggled.
She pulled back, smiling and holding one hand. "Love you."
Marcus smiled back. "Love you more." He let go of her hand as she walked to the mess tent. Marcus turned to a grinning Frederick. "What?"
"Nothing, Marcus. Let us be on our way." he said as he started walking, opening the flaps of the tents and waking everyone.
Marcus started on the opposite side, waking everyone in the same fashion until he got to Lucina's tent at the end. He opened the tent to see the princess already dressed and ready, her practice sword and Parallel Falchion in hand and on her waist. She looked over at the tactician. "Can I help you, Marcus?" Her face was expressionless as she regarded him. "Are you here to ask me to spar with you for the day?"
Marcus smirked lightly as an idea began to hatch in his head. "Oh, no, but there is something you can do for me." Lucina looked at him strangely. "You see, Lissa wanted me to join her for breakfast, but I had to help Frederick. You know how your aunt can be when she doesn't get her way." Lucina nodded, still looking at him suspiciously. "Well, I was wondering if you'd finish my rounds for me. Sora's the only one left to wake up. Bye." He ran out of the tent as Lucina started throwing things at him.
"You snake in the grass!" she yelled as she ran out of the tent, seeing that he was already halfway down the tent line. The young princess sighed as she turned to walk down the path to the medical tent. She began to think about why she was so angry about this. It wasn't that she didn't like Sora. She didn't know him. She just felt… Strange around him. She didn't know how to act or how to react with him. She shook her head. Enough. Just wake him up and walk away.
She pushed the flap of the tent open, seeing a heap on the bed. "Sora, wake up. My father wants-"
"For what?" He said, rolling over to look at her, his brilliant blue eyes locking onto her own baby blue ones. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine as she looked at him. He smiled at her. "Ya know, I don't think we're gonna get anything done if we keep staring at each other."
Her eyes widened a bit as her face flushed dark red. She scowled at him before picking up a set of leather armor Chrom had left the night before and tossing it at him. "Morning training. Now." She stormed out of the tent, her face still dark red. She made her way to the training grounds, trying to ignore Sora's chuckling behind her. She turned back to see him slipping the leather over his bare upper body. She hadn't gotten a very good look while they were healing him because she kept herself turned away, but now she had to admit, he was a bit impressive.
His body wasn't heavily muscled like most of the men around camp, but it was easy to see the power in his structure. He was lean, but not skinny, his shoulders not very far apart but squared off in a masculine structure. He was about as tall as Inigo, who practically towered over the princess. His chocolate brown hair was untamed and stuck up in spikes everywhere, this, coupled with his handsome face, gave him a boyish look with the body of a strong young man. Wait.
Did I just think of him as handsome? She almost violently shook her head, trying to dislodge the thought before it took root. She wasn't thinking this, she couldn't be thinking this.
Sora just stood behind her and raised an eyebrow. A young man with ruddy red hair walked by him. He'd learned the night before his name was Inigo. "Hey, Inigo, is she okay?" he said, pointing at the young woman.
Inigo just laughed. "Oh yeah, she's fine. She just does that sometimes when she starts thinking about something she doesn't like." Sora shrugged lightly, pulling the armor over his right shoulder, groaning loudly as a jolt of pain ran through him. His legs began to give out from under him, Inigo having to catch him. Lucina looked back, running to help the boys as Inigo sat Sora down. "Maybe we should tell your old man Sora isn't up to training yet."
"I think you're right, Inigo. Let's get him back to the-"
"No. I'm okay. Just help me stand up." Sora said, gritting his teeth as he tried to find his footing. Inigo looked at him like he was insane, but helped him anyway, letting his weight weigh on his shoulder. Lucina didn't know what to say or think. The wound couldn't be healed properly, even with their most powerful staves in the hands of their most experienced healers and yet he refused to let it slow him down. Inigo tried to help him walk to the training, but Sora refused the help, pushing himself away as he walked.
Lucina came up behind him and wrapped her arm around his, supporting his right side. "You will say nothing." The look on her face had the Keyblade user wishing he hadn't been born male, but the cute blush on her face also helped him to get a smile back on his face. They walked like that up to the training grounds, Lucina unable to meet anyone's gaze and Sora almost unable to keep from laughing. If he weren't border line terrified of the young woman on his arm, he would be.
To make matters worse, Sumia had seen the two and ran to get Chrom, unbelievably happy to see her daughter with someone. Lucina never noticed her father coming up behind them, but Sora did. "Don't look now, but your dad is behind us."
"What?!" Lucina turned around quickly, her elbow hitting the poor boy in his ribs, just above his scar. He yelped in pain and doubled over, everyone in the area rushing to his side. He'd become pretty popular after saving Lucina.
"Gods, Lucina, I was just coming to ask if anything was going on. You didn't need to immobilize the poor boy." Chrom said, a light chuckle in his voice as he helped Sora to his feet. "Maybe you should rest some more, Sora. I don't think you're ready to be out here with us."
"What is with you people? I've been worse off than this. I want to be here. Now, will someone get me a practice sword?!" Sora yelled, pain and annoyance driving his temper through the roof. Chrom stared wide eyed at the boy as did most of the people in attendance.
Chrom smiled at him after a few seconds. "Lon qu, toss me a sword for our friend." The hardened swordsman just grunted and tossed a wooden sword to Chrom, who in turn handed the sword to Sora. Sora reached for the blade only to have it pulled away at the last second. "You can train on one condition. You have to be able to keep up with one person of your choice in here for a full rotation. Deal?"
Lucina swallowed lightly, praying to Naga that Sora said no. "Deal."
Are you not listening or something, woman?! Lucina thought angrily. "Sora, you're wounded. You're gonna get hurt more. Please, just go back to the tent." she pleaded.
Sora ignored her plea, searching around the room. He wanted a challenge, but he didn't want to be beat down either. He knew he wasn't at one hundred percent, but he wasn't going to just sit on his butt and wait to heal either. He looked around the room, searching each person. His gaze stopped on Marcus for a moment, but figured that the tactician was much more experienced than him. His gaze flicked over to Lucina. He didn't like the idea of facing a girl. Finally, he came to one last person. "I choose you, Chrom."
Lucina's eyes widened in disbelief as the Shepherds began to step back from the two. Chrom smiled and drew his own practice sword, readying himself. "I hope you're ready, Sora." Sora started to think that choosing Chrom was a bad idea as he dropped into his usual stance. Before he had time to even tighten his grip, Chrom rushed him, swinging downward. Sora backpedaled and rushed forward, swinging outward. Chrom deflected the strike and jumped into the air, somersaulting midair and bringing the sword down. Sora was just barely fast enough to stop the attack. Damn it! It feels like I'm fighting Cloud again!He didn't have time to keep going with his inner monologue as Chrom twisted around, bringing his boot into Sora's chest. The strike reminded him of the test in Radiant Garden, but this kick hurt so much more. Blood and spit shot from his mouth as he was lifted off his feet, hitting the ground a few feet back.
Chrom resheathed his weapon. "Lucina, Frederick, Donny, take him back to the medical-"
"No!" Sora yelled as he stood back up. "I can keep going." He presented the sword to Chrom, dropping his stance again.
Lucina stepped in front of Sora. "Sora, no one is going to think any different of you. Please, stop this. My father is a master swordsman. You're going to get hurt."
Chrom chuckled, pulling the sword free again. "I can say this much, you're dedicated." Sora rushed forward with a new level of speed, easily stepping around Lucina, his speed closer to what he'd been using when he fought Chistroff. Chrom had little time to deflect the initial strike before the second came, catching the exalt in the shoulder. He stepped back, slashing upward at Sora only to have the blow deflected to the side, the Keyblade user stepping in and bringing the point of the sword to the underside of Chrom's chin.
"Looks like this round is mine, Your Highness. " Sora said, a large smile on his face.
Chrom just laughed. "Check again, playboy." Sora looked at him confused before he felt a tight grip on his sword arm. He looked to see Chrom's hand wrapped around his wrist and his sword point against his stomach at an upward angle. "We'll call this a draw, deal?"
Sora hung his head, stepping back and sheathing his sword. "Thank you for the match, sir."
Chrom patted his shoulder. "Don't be discouraged, Sora. You did better than Marcus in his first match. I'm honestly surprised. And I have a proposal for you."
Lucina just rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples, a migraine beginning to form as Sora looked at Chrom suspiciously. "What kind of proposal?"
"I actually meant to talk to you about this last night after you saved Lucina. I think that what you did and the display of raw talent you just gave us solidifies my choice. Now, I think I speak for everyone here when I ask you, Sora, if you would like to join our ranks as a Shepherd?" Chrom smiled at the awestruck boy as everything grew quiet.
"Chrom, I just crashed here four days ago. I have no idea what's going on or how I'm going to get home for my best friend's wedding. If I don't get back, Riku will kick seven shades of shit out of me and Kairi will take my manhood and put it on display." All men present groaned in unison, especially Virion and Inigo. "So what I have to say is… Why not? I'll join up if you help me find a way home."
"We'll do that and more, my friend. Welcome to the Shepherds, Sora." Everyone began cheering loudly as they ran forward to hug their newest member, all except Maribelle and Frederick. Not because they disliked him, but they didn't know if they could trust him. But they did rush forward when Sora cried out in pain. Chrom laughed as everyone backed up. "Maybe you should rest now,huh? How about tonight at dinner, you tell us your story, eh?" Sora merely nodded, finding it hard to catch his breath. Lucina took his arm again, helping him to get to his feet.
"I'm gonna get him back to the tent. I'll be back."
"Actually, Lucina, I think you should stay at the tent with him." Marcus finally spoke up, stepping out of the crowd. "You were wounded as well. You need time to recuperate."
Lucina stared at him for a moment before nodding and helping Sora along slowly. "Have our breakfast brought to us, please."
Chrom yelled to her that he would, then he turned to his tactician. "Playing matchmaker again, Marcus?" Marcus only smiled at the young man. Chrom was in no smiling mood though. "Keep in mind, if my daughter gets hurt, I will hold you responsible." Chrom said menacingly low as he walked by his friend. Marcus just kept smiling as he watched the princess walk with the Keyblade user.
It took a bit to get to the tent and when they did, Lucina helped Sora to lie down. She noticed that he had bags under his eyes. Were those there before? "Sora, did you sleep last night?"
Sora shifted uncomfortably on the cot, unsure of how to answer. "Lucina, you've… you've killed men before, haven't you?" The young woman was taken aback by this, but she nodded. "Do they haunt you? Do you see their faces when you close your eyes? All night, while I was trying to sleep, all I could see was Chistoff's face. I couldn't get it out of my mind. I couldn't sleep at all."
Lucina merely stared at the boy, but after a few moments of silence, she finally answered. "Some nights are better than others. As I told you yesterday, it's never easy, but it does get easier. As Shepherds… as warriors, it is a burden we must carry." She smiled up at him lightly, patting his hand. "I'll uh, I'll let you sleep. I'm strong enough to stay in my tent."
As she got up to leave, she felt Sora's fingers curl around her hand, holding her in place, but not hard enough to hurt her. "Ya know, it's not good for you to bottle up everything." She just stared at him, confused. "I can see it in your eyes. You think you need to keep it all in; that you need to deal with your problems alone. You need to trust the people who love you to help carry that burden. Just sitting down and talking about what is wrong can make it easier to carry." His voice was clear and strong, his eyes kind as a lopsided smile stretched across his face.
Lucina's face flushed a light red color, unable to tear her eyes from his. She wanted to pull her hand away and run. She wanted to go back to her tent and curl up in bed, but she couldn't. She simply couldn't. She kept ahold of his hand as she sat in the cot next to his. She didn't notice the little smile on her face. "Well, what do you want to talk about?" she asked.
He smiled as he asked her about what she would be willing to talk about, which led to a conversation of the hellscape that was her world, how the dead roamed and an evil god threatened to destroy all. They talked about her parents, what little bit of a childhood she'd had and how much fun Cynthia could be, even when she was bouncing off the wall. She talked about how she'd always dreamt of a world where there was no fighting, no war. Just peace. Maybe somewhere she could relax and have fun like a normal teen her age, even if she was royalty. Something about how she said that reminded him of a conversation he'd had with his mother. About how he was supposed to be the next in line for a throne in a different world. Then the description of the world she wanted to see.
"Hey, that sounds a lot like where I grew up til I was about fourteen." She looked at him strangely. He just laughed as a young boy, Ricken, if he remembered correctly, brought them their food. "Thanks, bud." Ricken nodded and bowed out of the tent. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, home. Destiny Islands. Everywhere you look, there's beautiful, clear ocean you can almost see to the bottom of and white, sandy beaches that are always warm. It's so peaceful there you can just sleep the day away most of the time and no one would notice."
"I'd like to see your 'Destiny Islands' then, Sora. It sounds amazing." Lucina said dreamily as she sat back up.
Sora smiled more as he sat up as well, a bit slower. "It is. I just wish I could have protected it better when I was a kid… Let's eat. The foods getting cold." He said as he tore into his breakfast, his stomach rumbling violently. Lucina giggled as she began eating as well, showing a bit of restraint. Sora looked over at her. "Ya know, you should smile more often. You look cuter like that." She blushed brightly and glared at him. He only put his hands up in defense. They both laughed as they finished their food.
"Alright, I've talked on and on about myself, but you haven't really said anything, Sora." Lucina said as she drank her juice.
Sora choked a bit on his juice as he set the glass down. "Uh uh, we're talking about you here. I'm sure the others will drag plenty out of me at dinner." He looked over at her to see her giving the cutest pout he'd ever seen. "Now, that's not fair." She didn't let up. Lissa had trained her well. Sora finally sighed. "Okay, fine, just quit the pouty face, please?" Lucina smiled and lied back in her cot as she waited for Sora to start. "Well, what do you wanna hear?"
"Why not start at the beginning? Give me a good idea of how this Sora came to be." Lucina said, looking over at the Keyblader.
"The beginning huh? Well, my father met my mom, they hit off, then they hopped in bed and-" He quickly silenced by a pillow to the nose.
"You know what I meant."
"Yeah, yeah. Well, I grew up on Destiny Island with my two best friends, Riku and Kairi. We spent every chance we had together. My mother, Garnet, was like a mother to them as well, making sure they were always taken care of. Riku, well, he's an orphan. He never knew either of his parents. Kairi is too. She was kind of adopted by the mayor, but at the same time she bounced from house to house, normally ending up in ours…" He went on like this for a while, talking about his friends and what they did at school normally, as well as explaining the finer points of blitz ball to her, which she understood the rules, but not the tech. He finally gave up, saying he'd show her if he ever took her to Destiny Islands.
He went on to talk about the attack on Destiny Island by the Heartless, surprisingly not having to explain very deeply how they were created or how they were destroyed. He talked about the many friends he'd made along the way in his journey, mainly Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey, as well as the many enemies, like Ansem and Maleficent. It took a bit to explain how people like him and Donald could use magic without a tome, but he did it. He also promised to show her when he was feeling a bit better (or when she'd let him out of bed). Then he began to talk about the incident at Castle Oblivion and how he was tricked by Namine and the Organization. He talked a little about Roxas, not really sure about what to say.
He got into the battle with the Nobodies and who the Organization were. He kept talking about it until he finally got to the Battle of The Thousand Heartless. He stopped there, unsure of how to proceed. I can't tell her about that. She'll think I'm some sort of monster. "Sora?" He looked up at her, a concerned look on her face. "You alright?"
"Yeah, just… it's a bad memory." He said, smiling reassuringly.
She smiled back, squeezing his hand lightly. "We can stop here for now if you'd like. But I do expect the rest of that story sometime. Understood?"
He gave a mock salute. "Yes ma'am."
She giggled again as she looked at the thin wall of the tent, noticing the sun was setting. "By the gods, have we really been talking for that long?" As if to answer her question, Lissa poked her head in and said dinner was ready, looking at their joined hands and smiling. They both pulled their hands away, their faces dark with embarrassment. "Well, um, I'll, uh, help you to dinner."
"Uh, yeah, thanks. Hey, Lucina?"
She had stood up by then, trying to find a crutch for him. She looked back to see him standing up slowly. "Sora, sit back down. I'm trying to find you a crutch so-" She gasped audibly as he hugged her.
"Thank you, for caring enough to worry about me."
She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, placing her face against the dip between his collar bone and shoulder. "And thank you, for listening."
They pulled away from each other, not really caring about the blush on their faces. Sora smiled down at her and she smiled up at him. He finally reached behind her and grabbed a crutch, starting for the door only to hold it open for her. She curtsied and walked through, Sora close behind as they made their way to the mess hall. Sora thought about what he was going to say, but decided not to worry about it. Lucina just smiled at him as they walked and Sora was having a hard time not staring as she walked in front of him. Man, she's something in this light. Wait. What?
Sora and Lucina's relationship has leveled up to level C.
Jesus, that was long. Well, you know the drill. And I was given some really good ideas by one of my readers and will say this now. I may make a secondary story to this. It will basically be the same with Sora crash landing in Ylisse, but… Well, you'll find out. This Benkei Urahara, signing out! See ya next round! And yes, I realize that these past two chapters seem rushed. They kind of are. A lot has been going on and I have no idea when I'll really have time to sit down and work on my stories again so give me a bit of wiggle room.