Disclaimer: The following contains characters and elements from Disney, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dissidia Final Fantasy, TWEWY, and some OCs. I own nothing but the idea and the OCs.
AN: Okay, back again with chapter 3! Last chapter, we found out that Riku's full name is Riku Kye Xanderville, which for those of you who paid attention to the prologue, is a little interesting. Also, still recapping, we met Vanitas, Yay. Now, in this chapter, we meet a few more characters (yes, I know, more) and hopefully the pace is going to pick up a little! So without further ado, let's begin, shall we?
Chapter 3: Mastery Reached
When Riku and Vanitas walked into the still unopened store, all activity stopped. That is, until Sora knocked over a display shelf full of stuffed animals. The boy immediately began to crawl around the floor, gathering as many of the toys as he could, and dropping a lot of them in the process.
Roxas scrambled to lift the shelf back into place and help Sora with the stuffed animals. Rhyme started laughing uproariously. Riku merely smiled.
"Vanitas is going to be helping me in the café kitchen today. Is the retail side ready to go?" "Everything's completely ready, on both sides," said a young woman in a short pink dress, her light pink hair pulled into a sideways ponytail.
Riku nodded. "Thank you, Serah. Alright, everyone in position. Vanitas, you'll be with me, Namine, and Serah in the kitchen. Xion, Arlene, Lea, and Myde are on the registers. Olette, Kairi, and Fujin, you will be waiting on the tables in the café side. Remember, if anyone asks, no we do not serve alcohol here in order to condone a safe environment for young children, ok? Luxord and Marluxia, you two will be at Customer Service. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Pence, and Hayner, you five are on Disabled Customer Assistance. Neku, Beat, Joshua, Rhyme, Shiki, Even, Ienzo, Sora, Roxas, and RR, you'll all be on the floor."
Riku stared hard at Sora. "Sora, try not to break anything this time."
He then turned to RR. "And RR? DON'T. SCARE. ANYONE."
RR hissed.
Riku glared at him. "I'm serious! The last thing I need is another crying kid and an angry mother screaming in my face. Now, Seifer, Rai, Dilan, and Aeleus, you four will be on Security with"-
"-Me. Make sure your lackey there actually pays attention this time, Seifer."
A brown haired young man in his early twenties, dressed in dark blue, entered the store from outside. He nodded to Riku. "Hey, Kid."
Riku returned the nod. "Noel."
Noel stepped to one side. "Just thought you'd like to know, we have a visitor."
Mickey approached the group, smiling around at them. It was nice to see all of the New Order's most active members together. Even Vanitas was there. Mickey stepped into the center of the store as the New Order members circled around him.
He nodded to them all in greeting, and then turned to Riku.
"I have a message for you from Master Yen Sid."
Riku nodded, encouraging Mickey to continue. "What do you need, Master?"
"Master Yen Sid told me to inform you that there are still two volumes of The Keyblade War Historia missing. He wants you to go back to the ruins and find them."
"Tell Master Yen Sid he can consider it done."
"Thank you, Riku. Oh. Before I forget, I have a note for you, Riku. It's from Master Yen Sid and Master Guinness."
Riku started as Mickey pulled a small rolled up paper from one of his pockets and handed it to him. A note from both Master Yen Sid and his uncle? Was something wrong?
"Master Yen Sid said you might find the contents of that note interesting."
Mickey smiled. "Well, that's all I came here for. See ya, fellas."
Mickey turned on his heel and walked out as Riku unrolled the note.
Noel clapped his hands together. "Well, we've done salvage work before. It shouldn't be too difficult. I say we"-
Crash! "Riku! Are you alright!?"
Everyone turned at the sound of Vanitas' yell, to see Vanitas struggling to pull Riku up off the floor. Noel darted forward and yanked Riku back onto his feet. He shook the boy's shoulders roughly. "What happened!?"
Vanitas picked up the note from where Riku had dropped it.
Riku looked like he was in shock. He leaned against Noel, who quickly wrapped an arm around him to better support him. Noel nodded towards Vanitas. "What does the note say?"
Vanitas looked down at the paper in his hands. "It says;
'To Riku Kye Xanderville, Knight of The New Order of the X-Blade, from Order Masters Yen Sid, Mickey, and Guinness. We are pleased to inform you of your successful completion of The Mark of Mastery Examination. As soon as you are able, report to Master Yen Sid's Tower to receive your Mastery Key. Further, due to your unique Keyblade Affinity, as well as the difficult circumstances under which you were required to train, we have both a gift and a request for you. With that in mind, we would like you to meet us as soon as possible. Until then, congratulations, and well done, Master Riku. You have truly earned the title.
Yours in all sincerity,
Master Yen Sid,
Master Mickey,
And your uncle, Master Guinness Xanderville.'
Vanitas looked over at Riku and grinned. "Well, how about that? The New Order finally gets a Master that didn't carry the title over from the Original."
"About time, Ri," Lea called out.
Arlene reached over and gave Riku a light slap. "Oh come on. What are you so surprised for? We all knew you were going to get it first."
"Riku is a Master, Riku is a Master, Riku is a Master!" Myde and the majority of the younger members, including Riku's brothers and sisters, had joined hands in a circle and were bouncing around, declaring Riku's accomplishment at the top of their lungs, and probably waking up the rest of the neighborhood in the process.
Vanitas gently pulled Riku away from Noel and sat him on a chair on the café side of the store. Riku still looked stunned.
Vanitas softly rapped on Riku's head with his knuckles. "Still alive in there?"
Riku jumped. "Sorry, Vanitas. I guess I blanked out for a while."
"I noticed." Vanitas placed a hand on Riku's shoulder and squeezed affectionately. "It's funny, really. You're the one who succeeded, yet everyone else is doing all the cheering. Aren't you proud of yourself?"
"Well, I know my uncle will be,"-
"So would your father, if he was here. Your mother, too." Vanitas smiled warmly at Riku.
Riku suddenly stood up at hugged him, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Thank you, Vanitas. That means a lot."
Vanitas returned the hug and patted Riku's back. "You're welcome. After everything you've done and went through for me, I owe it to you. Besides, it's my job to cheer you up. I'm your partner, remember?"
Vanitas pulled away from Riku a little and the gold eyes met the green a second time that morning. " No matter what kind of trouble you get yourself into, I will always protect you, my dearest friend."
Riku smiled. "Aren't I the one who's supposed to say that to you?"
"Not this time, partner. Maybe next time."
AN: I know, I know. Vanitas is completely OOC in this chapter! Okay, now can someone please let me know what they thought of this? Kinda difficult to work out any mistakes you're making on your own, you know. Anyway, leave a review. PLEASE!
