Chapter 6: Appraisal
Kairi and Sora walked into the keep of the Land of Departure, Kairi with a proud face, Sora with a Kairi fist sized welt on his forehead. Riku was waiting by the bottom of the steps and held up a hand for them to stop.
"The Masters are talking privately upstairs about our 'guest'," said Riku, giving Kairi a pointed look, "Wait a bit."
Kairi crossed her arms and moved to lean against the nearby wall. "Fine."
Riku raised an eyebrow and looked at Sora's head. "What happened to you?"
Sora gave Kairi a cheeky grin. "I didn't run fast enough."
Kairi rolled her eyes, but didn't respond.
Riku slowly shook his head and mirrored Kairi, leaning against an opposite wall and waiting. Sora sat down on the steps and began to fiddle with his gloves. None of them said anything for awhile.
"So, Riku, what's your Keyblade?" Kairi decided to ask.
Riku held out a hand, and a rather plain looking Keyblade flashed into existence. Yellow handle, steel blade, an actual key-shaped key portion of the keyblade, but nothing extravagant. The keychain on it's bottom almost looked like a mouse head of all things.
"It's the Kingdom Key," said Riku, slowly running a hand down the length of the blade.
Kairi studied it for a moment. "Huh..."
Riku scowled at her. "Doesn't need to be something fancy. We're Keyblade Wielders, we safeguard the worlds from the darkness, nothing more, nothing less."
Kairi nodded. "Fair enough."
She glanced briefly at Sora. "What was yours called?"
"Oblivion," he answered, briefly summoning and then banishing his Keyblade, "And yours?"
"Oathkeeper," she answered, "Though... I'm really not sure how the name came to me, it was during that weird dream that..."
"We don't talk about those," interrupted Riku.
Kairi blinked a few times. "Huh?"
"The dreams that a wielder has before they awaken their Keyblade, or before a great change to themselves happens, is for that wielder, and that wielder alone," explained Riku seriously, "They are sacred things, a dive into the depths of one's heart, we do not discuss them with one another."
Kairi's eyebrows furrowed. "That's... dumb... why the hell not?"
Riku shrugged. "It's the way things are. Personally, I'd rather not talk about them anyway."
Stupid, who cares it it was against some 'rule'? She was still confused on half the things she heard and saw in that dream, and she felt it was important. She would have appreciated having someone to talk it through with. Arthur wouldn't have hesitated to sit down and help her figure things out. But... those she had come to trust and count on over the years were gone. All she had now were these apprentices and their masters, and she didn't personally know much about them. Riku and Eraqus seemed fairly serious, and Sora was on a permanent happy pill or something. Who knows what the others were like?
"Sora, Riku, escort our 'guest' to the thrones," called down Eraqus from above.
Finally!
Kairi didn't wait for Sora or Riku to 'escort' her anyway. She took to the steps and walked up ahead of both of them. There, at the top, were all four of the Keyblade Masters, three on the thrones, Eraqus standing next to them on the left.
On the right throne sat a whom Kairi could only assume was Mickey Mouse. He was, of course, a humanoid mouse. Big black ears, just round black eyes, and an almost adorable black nose, almost because she refused to admit it aloud. He was dress in a red undershirt and pants, with a black and white overcoat with two gold buttons. He had pure white gloves on his hands.
On the left throne sat a young man, in his early or mid twenties. His hair faintly reminder her of Clouds, spiky and blond. His eyes were blue, kind, yet hardened for someone with such a soft and pleasant face. His clothes were a whole mess of designs. White on one half, black on the other, crossed by a black cloth with the Keyblade symbol. On his arm was a piece of armor with a button on it. His lower half was a mixture of light and dark gray, cut in half and looking like they were pieced together. He had armored steel boots on. The last thing she noted was a checkered black and white band slightly below his wrist.
On the middle throne was a tall and powerfully built man. Brown hair, masked blue eyes, betraying almost no emotion. Almost, because she was a faint hint of recognition in his eyes. To be frank... he seemed vaguely familiar, as if she had seen him once before.. He bore a tight black high-collared shirt with a red X on it. Like Riku, or maybe Riku was dressed like him, he had a brown hakama with golden armored boots sticking out of the bottom. His belt was dark grey, connecting the two parts, a gold version of the Keyblade symbol on it. On his left shoulder was a plate of gold armor with a button on it. Down that same arm was an armored gauntlet, covering him all the way up to, but not including, his fingertips. His other arm simply had a black sweatband on it below his wrists.
The middle one, by far, emanated the most raw power between all the gathered Keyblade Masters. The young man to the right emanated the second most, followed closely by Mickey and Eraqus. Kairi was actually rather surprised the young man felt stronger than Eraqus. Still though... her eyes trailed back to the middle one, staring at him, trying to piece together where she had seen him before...
The middle man spoke, "Welcome, Kairi, Princess of Heart and Keyblade Wielder, to the home of the Keyblade Masters, the Land of Departure."
That voice...
Kairi frowned. Where had she heard that voice before?
The man saw her expression. "Is something the matter?"
"Have... we met before?" asked Kairi.
He nodded slowly. "Briefly, in Radiant Garden before it fell. To be honest, I had thought you were lost to darkness with the rest of the world."
Kairi tensed, her eyes narrowing slightly. It was him. That man. The one to slow to save her grandma...
She closed her eyes and tried to force away her anger. It wasn't fair to him to think like that. He had tried to save grandma, and had gotten Kairi to Leon and Yuffie.
"Kairi?" questioned the man.
She cleared her throat and opened her eyes. "What happened, that day?"
The man sighed heavily. "I fought the Leader of the Heartless, and lost."
So, even back then, on the first day IT had appeared, this man hadn't been able to make a difference...
Kairi brushed aside the bitter thought and simply nodded. "I see."
The man rested his hands in his lap. "It is good, to see another of Aqua's chosen ones, with us here today. Albeit, perhaps ten years to late..."
"Ah come on Terra, don't start that kind of talk again," chided the younger man.
The middle one, Terra, shot the younger one an amused look. "Sorry Ven, forgot."
So, these were Terra and Ven, Master Aqua's friends... and Eraqus her master... how did the Mouse fit into this equation? She turned her head towards him curiously.
Mickey smiled at her. "Hiya, I'm Mickey! Nice to meet ya Kairi!"
Well, he seemed friendly enough. "Hello, are... you one of Master Eraqus's former apprentices too?"
Mickey shook his head. "No, I trained under Master Yen Sid."
So, just an ally then...
POP
Kairi had to forcibly resist the urge to jump as an elderly man in a full body blue robe with a pointed hat and a king gray beard appeared next to Mickey's throne in a puff of magic. "My apologies for my tardiness."
Mickey turned his head. "Master Yen Sid, meet Kairi!"
The old man titled his heard courteously, but said nothing, studying her with interest.
So that was Mickey's Master huh... he sure reeked of magical strength. Even with how old he looked, she figured he was no joke. It was hard to imagine, with all five of them plus the other two apprentices helping, that this group could lose. Yet... even with their light here, even with the light of the Princesses of Heart, she could still feel IT's presence, out their devouring the worlds...
She had a lot of work to do if she was going to tip the scales, she wasn't anywhere near any of the master's level, and even with her own training plus Leon's the other two apprentices were probably ahead of her too.
"Kairi," began Terra, "I know Eraqus asked you about your inheritance ceremony, but, there are still more things we as a whole would like to ask you."
Kairi frowned. "Okay, but, can it be quick? I want to start training immediately."
Eraqus chuckled. "Young and eager, I can only faintly recall those days myself."
Terra crossed his arms, studying Kairi. "That was one of the things I did plan to ask you at the end. Is the path of a Wielder truly one you wish to walk? You could stay here, safe within these walls with the other Princesses of..."
"No thanks," cut off Kairi immediately and with heavy disdain.
Terra raised an disapproving eyebrow, the other master's following suit.
Eraqus cleared his throat. "Respect, is something that should be given without question within these halls, young one."
"Sorry," murmured Kairi.
Terra cleared his throat. "Apology accepted, now, where exactly have you been these last ten years?"
"I awoke in Traverse Town after Radiant Garden fell to darkness, the two people you handed me to, Leon and Yuffie, adopted and raised me," said Kairi.
Terra had a blank look on his face. "Traverse Town..."
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It figures I suppose."
Kairi stared at him with confusion.
Ven explained, "We don't focus our efforts on the worlds in the Realm Between. While they're pretty close to the Realm of Darkness, the Leader of the Heartless never went for them, it was always out in the Realm of Light eating worlds. Most worlds in the Realm Between were impacted far less than the worlds of the Realm of Light."
Kairi pursed her lips at that. "With all due respect, that is untrue."
Ven had a skeptical look on his face. "Is it? Whenever I pass one of the between worlds, I've never felt the raw amount of darkness that plagues the worlds of light."
"We might have not hard armies of Heartless at our doorstep until it fell, but, we had our share of our own problems. I don't know about any of the other 'between worlds', but, Traverse Town is a world of refugees. Whenever any world in the Realm of Light fell, refugees would arrive there. Each and every world that fell to the Heartless impacted my home. We had new districts being formed by our world every other day to accommodate the endless flow, they were in the hundreds. Do you know how hard it is to safeguard that many people? How hard it was to feed them, house them, and maintain some kind of order when most of the populace would stab you for a piece of bread?" she said coldly, thinking of Aerith.
Ven stared at her silently, a conflicted look on his face.
"All the worlds are suffering, in one form or another," said Yen Sid, "Allowing ourselves to bicker because of it is pointless."
Kairi curt tailed a retort. She wasn't bickering, she was merely making a point.
There was a minute of silence, before Terra broke it, "What kind of training have you had, up to this point?"
"I was trained by my father to wield a sword. My mother taught me how to use daggers, shurikens, and uh, 'dirty fighting', among other things," she admitted, not willing to go into the thievery side of what Yuffie had taught her.
"Dirty?" inquired Terra with amusement.
Kairi shrugged. "If a guy tries to get to touchy feely or corners you, a good kick between the legs does the trick. I know from experience it works wonders."
Ven bristled. "Tss. People ought to keep their hands to themselves."
Kairi made a pointed look at Sora, who merely gave her a sheepish grin and a shrug in response.
"That wasn't the same as what you were talking about!" said Riku on his friend's behalf.
Eraqus loudly cleared his throat, silencing them.
Terra had a frown on his face, his eyes dancing back and forth between the three young apprentices. "Hmm."
He held back whatever was on his mind and instead asked, "What about magic? And your powers with light?"
Kairi frowned. "I don't like using magic. I prefer to be right up in a battle, not hiding back like a coward while other's fight."
Yen Sid raised a very disapproving eyebrow at that. "Ignoring that magic can be used within close proximity, a wielder of magic is not a coward. They merely chose to fight in ways different from a warrior. To limit your understanding and experience because of a narrow minded viewpoint is unbecoming and foolish."
Kairi opened her mouth to retort before Sora coughed and shook his head.
"So, you have no experience with magic then?" asked Terra.
"My father tried to get me to learn cure at least, but, I can heal with my light so I didn't need it," she answered.
Terra rubbed his eyes. "You're going to be quite a bit behind then Kairi. Yen Sid is right, magic is an important part of battle. It's gotten all of us out of our fair share of troubles."
"Or into them," teased Ventus.
"Not helping Ven," scolded Terra.
Ventus gave him a cheeky grin, one that reminded her way to much of Sora's.
"What about the light? That explosion in the sky yesterday sure was impressive," said Mickey.
Kairi went silent. She might have readily confessed to the Princesses, but telling the masters about her lack of real skill with the light was a bit of an unsettling notion. It was painful to realize just how much she lacked in comparison.
"I can coat my Keyblade in light, I can cast a 'pearl' spell, and I can heal," she said evenly.
Terra waited for a moment, as if expecting her to continue, before frowning. "That's... it?"
She merely nodded, averting her eyes to the ground.
"How exactly did you do that explosion in the sky then?" inquired Terra.
"It just happens, when I'm in extreme situations, or really mad, my light kind of just explodes out," she answered, "I don't really have a control of what happens, it just, well, happens."
Eraqus nodded slowly. "We will have much work to do to help temper your light into a more usable form them."
Magic, strike one. Light, strike two. Thankfully, there wasn't something to be a three held against her...
"I would like to see you spar, to judge your swordsmanship," said Terra.
Ah... there was three...
Well, maybe, it was just a spar...
"Okay, who am I sparring with?" she asked.
Terra nodded to Sora.
Kairi wanted to groan in annoyance.
"Riku, please stand aside and give them space. Sora, don't go all out, the purpose is to see what she can do, not what you can do," ordered Terra.
Sora nodded. "Sure thing."
Kairi bristled a bit at having her opponent be told to hold back, but curbed her tongue. Both her and Sora walked away from the thrones. Yen Sid raised a hand, and a barrier of magic surrounded the middle of the room where Kairi and Sora were. Both of them summoned their Keyblades and waited.
"Begin," called out Terra.
Kairi immediately ran a hand along her Keyblade, coating it with light.
Sora hadn't moved, merely watching and waiting, his Keyblade loosely held. Neither of them struck out, both waiting. Kairi hated this part, the waiting for the other to make the first move. She never had this problem with mindless Heartless rushing at her, but when sparing? All the time.
Kairi quietly sighed and aimed a hand at Sora, releasing a pearl spell to start things off. Sora swung Oblivion and batted it right back at her. Kairi swung Oathkeeper and batted it back, changing it's direction towards the ground infront of Sora. It burst in a brief spell of light, and Kairi charged right through it, swinging overhead... but Sora wasn't there.
A whistling through the air barely altered her in time to bring her Keyblade around to block his. She winced at the impact of their Keyblade's attacking. He didn't look physically strong, but damn he packed a punch. Sora unleashed a flurry of attacks, forcing Kairi to backpedal and scramble to block them all, hard pressed to keep up with his speed. Kairi locked Keyblades with him, her arms quivering with effort, and released a hand to slip past their blades and place it against his chest, unleashing a pearl spell point blank.
It burst, sending Sora staggering a bit, but not before Kairi latched onto his arm. She yanked, spun, ducked, and threw him overhead, driving her elbow into his stomach as she did to give him more of a 'lift'.
"Waaaaaah!" yelped Sora, flying through the air and landing on the ground with a thud.
To her annoyance, Sora recovered pretty much instantly, rolling and springing to his feet, a grin on his face. "Nice move."
Kairi said nothing, merely flexing her grip on her Keyblade. Sora smirked and, to her surprise, chucked his Keyblade at her. Kairi batted it away, only for it to vanish and reappear in Sora's hand for another rapid throw. Sora repeated a few more times before he threw it hard, the impact on their Keyblades sending Kairi staggering.
"That one's called Strike Raid," said Sora, "It's one of my favorite moves."
Strike Raid huh? Well, let's see if he liked a taste of his own medicine!
Kairi chucked her Keyblade through the air, light shinning from it.
"Woah!" yelped Sora, rolling out of the way.
Kairi recalled her Keyblade and threw it at him again and again before she gave a warcry and heaved it at him hard. Sora barely managed to parry it aside, wincing a little bit at the impact. She recalled her Keyblade to her and rushed at him, attacking in a flurry.
"You know," he said, blocking her attacks seemingly without effort, "You're a pretty quick study if you can replicate a move just like that."
"You call that a move?" she taunted, "You chuck your Keyblade and recall it, it's not that hard."
Sora actually scowled for once. "Is it that hard to give you a compliment? Jeez. Also, watch your footwork."
Watch her wha-
Sora lashed out with a foot, hitting her leg and causing her to stagger. He slammed the handle of his Keyblade into her back and sent her sprawling to the floor. Kairi cursed quietly to herself and scrambled to her feet, swinging her Keyblade behind her as she turned, expecting an attack. Instead, Sora had backed off and was back in his original stance, his Keyblade aloof in his hand and waiting.
Kairi's face flustered with how easily he was handling her, gripping her Keyblade tightly. Light began to trail down her arms from her Keyblade slowly engulfing the rest of her body. Sora watched curiously, but didn't react, at least, not until Kairi burst at him almost twice as fast as before, energized directly by her light. To her chagrin, Sora kept up, putting a bit more effort into the fight.
"Not bad," said Sora between a block and a counter attack, "Making me have to work a little to manage, keep it up Kairi!"
A LITTLE?!
Kairi locked her Keyblade against his, pressed close, and slammed her forehead into his face, primarily on his nose. Sora gave an audible yelp of surprise and staggered, a hand going up to clutch his bloodying nose. Kairi took clear advantage and swung her Keyblade hard against his shoulder, eliciting a pained yelp from Sora before he jumped back.
"Cura!" he said, raising his Keyblade into the air, a green light enveloping him.
He massaged his now healed nose, a eager look in his eyes. "Okay then, let's pick up the pace a bit!"
Sora blitzed at her, caution thrown to the wind. He was moving much faster than before, just how much had he been holding back?! She didn't understand, the energy he was exerting now was much higher than she had detected before. She had always thought her senses were reliable, but... if a person could hide their strength like this...
Kairi didn't have time to keep thinking, struggled to keep pace, each clash of their Keyblades sent tremors through her arm. She couldn't even manage to try and slip a counter attack in. Her heart started beating wildly, exhaustion rapidly tearing at her arms. With a final swing, Sora disarmed her, sending her Keyblade flying, and her crashing to the ground.
In a panic, Kairi aimed both hands at him from where she laid and cried out, "LIGHT!"
BOOM!
An explosion of light burst out of her hands...
"Reflect!" called out Sora a moment before it hit him.
A barrier surrounded him just before the light could take him, flashing and whining on impact. Little spheres of energy appeared and burst around Sora, reflecting a bit of the energy around him, thankfully not hitting her. Kairi climbed to her feet and aimed her hand at her distant Keyblade, recalling it to her. She huffed and huffed, it was a struggle just to keep her Keyblade held up. Fighting against an army of Heartless was one thing, fighting a much stronger Keyblade Wielder was another...
The explosion cleared a moment latter, leaving Sora completely unharmed, both his eyes however were raised. "It 'just happens' huh? Not bad, that coulda hurt a lot..."
He gave her a cheeky grin. "...but that's why magic is awesome, reflect can and will save your life every time."
Kairi scowled at him, but didn't reply. She could reluctantly admit, reflect was something she might not mind learning...
"That will be enough," called out Terra.
The barrier lowered, and Sora started making for the thrones, only to pause when Kairi asked quietly, "How much?"
He turned. "Huh?"
"How much were you holding back?" she asked a little bitterly.
Sora shrugged. "At the end I started going about half-strength."
Kairi's mouth dropped. "How..."
Sora crossed his arms. "Ven meant what he said. I'm not bashing your world or the troubles it went through, but, we fight hundreds of Heartless almost daily on the worlds in the Realm of Light. How much did you fight in a given day in Traverse Town?"
She stared at him. Hundreds?! He fought HUNDREDS of them daily?!
"If it was a good day on patrol, none. Normally, a few dozen over the course of a day. We had a few rough patches here and there, but, that army when my world fell was the first time we ever got hit like that," she mumbled.
"It's only that bad when the Leader of the Heartless is there, but, the worlds in the Realm of Light are still teeming with way more than 'a few dozen'," said Sora.
Kairi merely bowed her head. No wonder he was so strong, constantly fighting and growing... patrolling the streets of Traverse Town was nothing compared to that...
Sora walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it, you'll be as strong as me and Riku in no time!"
She brushed him off, walking to the thrones quietly. She had so much catching up to do... it felt like an almost impossible distance to cover...
Terra studied Kairi for a moment before speaking, "You hold a decent form, but, it is a little awkward at times. You need to learn to adjust to using a Keyblade over a sword. The weight, the feel, and the energy of the Keyblade is far different then that of normal weaponry. It will require adjusting your entire fighting form."
Kairi nodded, saying nothing in response.
Terra glanced towards the hallway to the Princesses' suite. "We need to deliberate on how best to start your training. Return to your room. We will call you when we are finished."
Kairi left without a word...
Sora put his hands behind his head, watching Kairi go with a troubled look on her face. "It wouldn't kill her to smile a bit, she did pretty good in my opinion."
"Yes, I find that a bit curious as well, she's not what I expected out of a Princess of Heart. Disrespectful, bitter, competitive, and unfriendly are not terms I'd associate with one of them," said Terra, before glancing towards a different hallway, "Aurora, your thoughts?"
The eldest Princess of Heart walked out from where she had been hiding and observing, making her way to the throne before crossing her arms and giving Terra a patient look. "With due respect Master Terra, we may be Princesses of Heart, but we are still human beings. We think and feel just the same as the rest of you."
Terra frowned. "None of us have ever said you weren't human, why would you even think..."
Aurora pursed her lips. "If that is the case, then why do you hold such preconceived notions about what she should be like? Do you classify a Princess of Heart as a being unable to show negative emotions, always happy and cheerful, radiating purity and light?"
Terra didn't respond.
Aurora's voice grew thin. "We are all capable of much more than that."
Her eyes trailed towards the way Kairi had gone. "As for that one, she just lost her home and everyone she cares about, what did you expect from her? To put on a happy face and go about her day as if nothing had happened? That she can function at all is a testament to her will when she has nothing and no one left."
"She has all of us," butted in Sora.
Aurora gave him a patient look. "She does not know any of you, nor does she know her fellow princesses. She was terrified of us earlier, when we simply tried to help sooth her pain."
Sora's face fell at that. "Oh..."
He perked up. "Well, we'll just have to become her friends then and show her she can count on us!"
"Easier said than done," muttered Riku with disinterest.
Aurora cleared her throat. "I also do not agree with the choice to mislead her on Aqua's fate. I doubt she would be as forgiving as the rest of us, when she discovers what you kept from her, her reaction is not going to be pleasant in the slightest."
Terra gave her a hard stare. "What exactly would you have us tell her? You told us how she spoke of Aqua, that reverence. What would it do to the child to tell her that her Master's shadow was the cause for all of the suffering she, and the rest of the worlds, went through?"
"Much less then it would to learn the hard way," said Aurora a little coldly.
"I kinda agree," said Mickey sullenly, "It's not right to lie to someone like that, she's not as young as Sora was when you hid it from him. You can't use age as an excuse..."
Terra shook his head. "The decision stands, both Eraqus and I agree that she does not need that as a distraction right now. Now, to the matter at hand. Aurora, what were your thoughts on her capabilities?"
Aurora slowly shook her head. "Her light functions differently from the rest of us. We soothe, we heal, we can hold back the darkness. Our utility is endless, but we cannot fight with it like she can. She is different, a fighter, not a princess. We cannot help you train her abilities."
Terra nodded slowly. "I see."
A troubled look crossed Aurora's face. "That moment at the end, when she unleashed her power unrestrained against Sora. The light within her... it..."
She frowned, trying to mull over what she wanted to say. "It 'churned' I suppose would be the best description I could give. To use the power of a Princess of Heart as a combatant, to my knowledge it's never happened before. Just be careful when training her, she might not be able to call it out at will yet, but her power of light is dangerous, even if her other capabilities are lacking in comparison."
Terra nodded. "Agreed, and on that note..."
He glanced at his fellow masters. "Whom among us would be best suited to begin teaching her?"
"Gosh, what should we focus on first? Helping her master her strength with the light, or cover for her weakness with magic? We can't all stay and train her, we have responsibilities to the Realm of Light," said Mickey.
Terra nodded and leaned back in his chair, contemplative. "Hrm..."
"If I may," said Aurora, "I would suggest, for the time being, allowing her to focus on something she's comfortable with. Focus on the light, and ease her into the rest. While I doubt she wishes to be coddled, right now, she needs something to go in her favor, rather than struggling with something she had no experience with."
Terra tilted his head thoughtfully before turning his head to grin at Eraqus. "Ready to train another teenager?"
Eraqus scoffed. "I survived you Ventus and Aqua, I'll manage."
Ven laughed. "Hehe that you did."
He sighed. "I miss the old days, I really do."
Eraqus nodded soberly. "Agreed. Days before Xehanort's madness, days before my own failings and mistakes..."
Ven frowned at him. "Eraqus... I thought I told you to leave your 'mistakes' in the past. I never held it against you."
Eraqus chuckled soft, raising his hand to his scarred-closed eye. "Raising my Keyblade against my apprentices is a mistake that leaves more scares than just the one Aqua left me my friend. It is wise, to never forget, so one cannot repeat their mistakes."
Sora frowned and shifted uncomfortably. He remembered, about two years ago, when they Masters had finally enlightened him and Riku on the full truth of what had happened during the original conflict with Xehanort. Out of all of that, two things had hit him the hardest. One, what Xehanort had done to, and wanted to do to Aqua. Especially since Kairi had enlightened them on how Xehanort's meddling almost destroyed Aqua's heart. The second, was that Master Eraqus had actually tried to kill Ventus out of fear for Xehanort's plans, and fought Aqua with similar intentions when she intervened on her friend's behalf. It had left him deeply troubled for a time, to think that a wise and just man like Eraqus could have done something like that. But... the guilt the Eraqus felt, helped him understand that everyone, light or dark, good or evil, made mistakes.
They were all only human after all.
His thoughts drifted to Kairi. He had spent so many years looking for her while on duty trying to safeguard the Realm of Light. Now that he had found and met her... he really didn't know what to think of her. That boot in the stomach she had given him had been a rather rude awakening. He had always imagined a really sweet, kind, and, he blushed slightly, cute girl like Aqua had first told him all those years ago. She was cute if he had anything to say on the matter, but...
He frowned in contemplation. Aurora was right, he should be judging her based off his own expectation. Truth be told, her actions and reactions to him hadn't hurt as much as one simple fact, one that worried him about her to be honest. He had tried joking with her, tried being friendly, tried teasing her, tried complimenting her, but not once, had he ever gotten a smile from her, he hadn't seen her smile once. The closest he had seen was a weak masked one when Master Eraqus had scolded them.
The lack of a smile, that, more than anything else, hurt. Riku teased him about it, but, he considered it one of his missions in life to bring as many smiles to people's faces as he could. To try to beat back the darkness and make them happy in the bleak lives so many lived nowadays, the shadow of Aqua's Heartless looming over them all. To fail to do that was to fail his duty, especially considering who Kairi was.
He had made a promise to Aqua to protect Kairi. Funny thing was, he wasn't sure she was going to need that kind of protection, not for long anyway. Despite her aggravation towards his compliments, he had meant every one of them. She was going to be a force to be reckoned with one day.
So, he'd settle for at least finding a way to put a smile on that serious grouchy face of hers. Maybe after she'd had time to adjust to being here and come to terms with her world being consumed. Well... if she could come to terms with that kind of thing. But, he'd become her friend and help her with that as best as he could.
"Sora, daydreaming again?" came Ven's teasing voice.
Sora blinked a few times, noting that the room was emptying. "Oh, uh, what did I miss?"
Ven walked over and patted his shoulder. "Not much. Eraqus is staying to train the princess, the rest of us are heading out, we're together this time."
Sora beamed. "Alllllrrrright! Sora Ven tag team combo is a go! The Heartless wont know what hit them!"
Ven chuckled before making for the entrance to the keep. "Come on goofball."
Sora spared one last look towards the Princess's suite, feeling Kairi's light off in the distance, before turning and following Ventus out the door...
Author's Notes:
A bit of greetings, meetings, and testings.
No, I wasn't planning on having Kairi be instantly OP as a Princess Wielder (that comes later! :mocking tease?:)
This story will function much like Aqua: HOD did. Told mostly from Kairi's point of view, with brief sections where other's get a chance to.