Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
NOTE: Since Dani-Chan brought this up, Terra doesn't look like an actual, cranky, old hermit. He looks like he normally would, albeit older. (Picture that to your best extent because I can't.) So, he doesn't have a beard, he's got a clean shave. :P (I really can't picture him with a beard.)
Sorry to say, this chapter was put in last minute. So what I said in chapter two didn't come to pass. This wasn't the original chapter two, as you can tell. That chapter is next.
Chapter 4 – Lesson
As Terra had requested, Sora would keep his existence secret. Especially from Xehanort. This strange request still had Sora addled, he made a mental note to bug his new Master about it every lesson until he got an answer.
At the moment, he was riding out to the stream to meet Terra. He'd woken just before dawn, dressed, sneaked an apple from the kitchen, darted down to the stables, saddled up Striker, and they left, making sure no guards were watching them.
Striker rode up to the very same spot of the river where he'd met Terra the day before. The Keyblade Master was nowhere in sight, but his clothes and gauntlet were. They lay sprawled out next to a bar of soap and a towel.
His Keyblade Master was taking a bath in the river? Sora shook his head at the thought. Talk about exposure.
Sora dismounted and heard a splash. He turned to see Terra rising out of the river in a pair of black boxers. His hair lay matted against his head. Grasped in his hand was the orange star charm.
"Good morning, Sora," Terra said.
"Um… good morning…?" Sora replied, slightly addled by the sight of his Master in his underwear.
"Sorry to be bathing just as you got here, but I needed to get clean," Terra apologized. He waded over to Sora and grabbed the towel, drying his arms and torso off first.
"We're about to get all dirty, though," Sora said. "So, why take a bath?"
"While that's true, I like getting wet in the morning. Water… just helps me clear my head. Makes me… feel closer…"
"To what?"
"Someone I knew long ago… That I miss."
"Who?"
"It's…" Terra grabbed his black shirt and pulled it over his head. "Personal. I'd rather not talk about it, Sora."
"Master—"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Terra snapped. He reached for his pants and pulled them on over his still wet underwear, followed by a pair of socks and his boots. He pulled his gauntlet on last.
"Say, why do you wear that thing?" Sora asked, pointing at the armor glove.
"For protection," Terra answered. "And it has a hidden trick."
"Trick?"
"You see this button?" Terra pointed his right index finger at a gold circle about the size of Sora's own fist. The Prince nodded to indicate he noticed it. If I hit it, this small gauntlet will transform into a full body suit of armor."
Sora's eyes widened. "Whoa… Can I see?"
"When I teach you the importance of wielding it in combat. I'm not teaching you about something you're not ready to learn about. But I will teach you, in due time."
"Aw man," Sora groaned.
"Learn to be patient, Sora," Terra said. "It's a virtue." He toweled off his hair, making the spikes jut out in all directions.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"The last bit doesn't really have to do with anything, it's just something I used to hear as a kid. However, you will have to learn the importance of being patient. True Keyblade Masters know the importance of patience. Eraqus taught it to me years ago, you'll have to learn the same."
"Alright, well, what's our first lesson, then?" Sora asked.
Terra just turned his back to Sora and picked up the bar of soap on the ground.
"First," he said, "you're going to follow me to my hut. You'll go there from now on instead of here. But if you can't find me there in the morning, you can just come to the river. I'm normally there when I'm not in my hut."
"Got it," Sora said.
Terra's hut was really more of a cabin. Single-story, built entirely of wood with a chimney poking out of the side, and big enough to house two people easily. A single window was right next to the door.
Inside, the entrance showed a small kitchen and two side doors, one supposedly to a bathroom, and another to a bedroom. Sora could see a little light pouring through a window in the room off the kitchen.
There were two sofas in the room, just big enough for a single person to lie down on or two people to sit on. A table was in the middle, with a plate on it and some silverware, probably remnants of Terra's last meal.
"This place is big for just one person, Master, "Sora said.
"Well, this place is actually where Master Eraqus lived before I did. He gave it to me when I moved out here so I could get my privacy."
"Wait, I thought you said no one knew you were out here," Sora said.
"Eraqus is the only one," Terra explained. "I told him I needed to go somewhere when I left and he gave me the directions to this old house. He said he grew up here, and though it had been a while since he'd lived here at the time, I would find it in good shape for living."
"Was it dusty?"
"There's still dust in a bunch of places. The only places with no dust are the cabinets for food, some furniture, and my room." Terra headed into the room off the kitchen. His room, Sora guessed.
Sure enough, when Sora wiped his index finger across the fireplace mantle, a thick layer of dust covered it. He sneezed in response to the dust.
"Bless you," Terra called from his room. He came out a second later in dry clothes. The string of his star charm was being tucked into his pocket.
"Thanks," Sora sniffed. "Um… why would you put your wet clothes on if you were just going to change into dry—Never mind. I answered my own question."
"Yes. Yes, you did." Terra smirked.
"Well, anyway, let's get started!" Sora said.
"Right. Back outside. I'm not having you practice in my house only to break my things."
Sora rolled his eyes and followed Terra back outside. Back in nature, Sora took the time to notice the wide-open space the house was located in. Big enough to be a small fighting arena. He was used to this amount of space when Eraqus would mess with the amount of space in an area to limit his and Riku's movement abilities.
Terra walked past Sora and behind the house. Sora tried to follow, but the Keyblade Master/hermit held up a hand to stop him.
Terra returned from behind the house a minute later with three wooden training dummies. He stuck them into the ground, each six feet apart.
"Am I gonna practice with those?" Sora asked.
Terra nodded. "I want to see what you know so far. This is just an evaluation lesson."
"But I haven't even learned anything."
"From me, you haven't. You've been learning from Eraqus for… how long?"
Sora mentally slapped himself at realizing he never said how long he'd been Eraqus's student.
"Five years. Since I was ten," he replied. "That's when I got my Keyblade."
"I see." Terra scratched his chin in thought. "Then show me what you know. First, start off with your combat skills." He gestured to the wooden dummies. "Use these targets to practice on. Show me your speed and physical power. Fair to let you know, this is where I specialize. If you need improvement, I'll help you."
Sora set to work. He used several hacks and slashes, turning the dummies into splinters. He even showed Terra a trick Eraqus had taught him, to combine magic with a physical attack. He used one called Blizzard Edge, performing a jump and downward slash, then releasing the frozen power into the blade. The dummy was frozen wood.
"You know Edge attacks?" Terra asked.
"Yeah. Master Eraqus taught me about a month ago. I'm better than Riku at some stuff."
"Who's Riku?"
"My best friend. He's also a Keyblade wielder."
"You have to keep me secret from him, too."
"Yes, sir," Sora said. "I'm gonna keep quiet."
"Good. Now, get in your battle stance. I'm going to teach you some better balance techniques." He strode over as the Prince crouched and held his Keyblade out to the right.
"Are you right-handed?"
"Yes."
"Lucky for you, I am too, but you need to learn how to wield with both hands in case, say, you break your right arm. You need to be able to wield with both hands no matter what."
Sora nodded. "Yes, Master."
For the next half hour, Terra taught Sora how to fight left-handed. He had him reverse his battle stance, which took three tries for Sora to position himself just right. (Terra had seen the problems each and every time.)
Their main problem was, Sora also fought two-handed. If he had to go into one-handed slashes, he kept unintentionally switching it to his right hand. Terra fixed this by actually tying Sora's right hand behind his back, to stop the two-handed fighting and unintentional switches.
Two hours later, they were sweating and tired, and taking a food break. Sora had already wolfed down three apples and was working on some berries. Terra was taking his time with an apple of his own.
"Sora, come back here at the same time twice a week for your lessons with me," Terra said.
"Why only twice?" Sora inquired.
The Keyblade Master shook his head. "Didn't it occur to you that people might notice your early morning absences if you come too often?"
"Oh. Uh… no," Sora admitted sheepishly.
"Well, then do as I say. Twice a week at dawn."
"Any days in particular?"
"It doesn't matter to me. Just remember to come to this house and you'll find me. If I'm not here, I'll be at the river. Just wait for me here."
"Okay."
By the end of the morning, when Terra told Sora it would be time to leave, he'd learned quite a bit about balance. He promised Terra he would come back in two days and would practice in the mean time.
As he rode away on Striker, Sora thought, 'I'll be a great Keyblade Master yet.'
What'd you guys think? Sorry to be lame, but there won't be many lesson chapters. And sorry this was a short lesson. I'm bad at stuff like this. I don't know how training works for Keyblade wielders, seeing as I'm not one.
Also, the star charm will be called a 'Wayfinder' at one point. Sora just does not know that's what they are called yet.
And another note, the next two chapters focus around Aqua.