Chapter 6: Fruits of Labor

Sora fell face first into the ground, hard. His blade was knocked out of his hand and it spun in the air before falling beside him. Leon looked on from the sidelines interested in this little practice fight he had Sora and Riku compete in. It had been a few weeks actually, since Sora and Riku had been training under the watchful eye of Leon. He worked them to the bone with a rigorous schedule saying that "great fighters spend more time practicing than fighting." For six days a week the two teens sweat, ached, and tasted blood. Leon's philosophy of hard work and unconditional training paid off extremely well. Mondays were spent on one-on-one fighting. Tuesdays were conditioning days. Leon had Sora and Riku run laps around the entire town to work on their endurance, stamina, and speed. All three attributes were crucial in winning fights and the object was to be the last man standing at the end of the day. Wednesdays were used for two-on-one battles which pitted Leon against the tandem of Sora and Riku. Wednesdays were by far, the most successful days. The two teen's combination attacks were crisp and sharp evidenced by their strong bond. Their teamwork made them successful in this training. Thursdays were strengthening days. Upper body work comprised of chin ups, pushups, etc. The results were great. Riku had gotten some looks whenever he'd go into town. Girls just couldn't control themselves around him anymore. Before, it wasn't too bad. Now, it was plain hell. Saturdays were lecture days in which Leon would go over some things that he felt needed to be cleared up. It was a cool down before Sunday which was their day off.

Sora turned around and did a sit up as he tiredly lifted himself up. He picked up his sword and held the blade tightly with two hands. Riku stood across from him, his blade held in traditional pose. The blade was at eyelevel and the handle was near his ear. This arrangement allowed the user to strike using stabs and rips and also protected from head strikes. Riku had a triumphant smirk plastered on his face, quite impressed by the move he had just used on Sora. Using Sora's adrenaline against him, Riku read Sora's plunge and lifted his knee which caught his friend square in the sternum. The spiky brunette tumbled on the ground where he currently was laying. Sora wiped his face clean of the debris from the fall. The sun was beating down on him and he wondered if it really was Riku who was beating him. The blistering heat was uncommon for the season they were in. It was the beginning of fall, actually, and the leaves were just about to turn golden brown. The weather should not be this hot.

Sora rubbed his neck feeling the irritation the heat was giving him. When it was hot, Sora had a tendency to scratch. When it was cold, he was perfectly fine.

"Let's go Sora," Leon called out. "Remember, stay low and keep your knees bent."

Sora ripped his eyes away from Leon and readjusted his grip on his sword. Unlike Riku, Sora used an open stance in which he placed two hands on the blade. The sword ran perpendicular from his hip with the tip of the blade pointing away (laterally) from his body. This aggressive modification was used mainly for slashes and can deal devastating amounts of damage if used properly. The only con was that it left the fighter's vital regions (chest and head) open.

Sora charged in again and lifted his blade over his head for a vertical slash. Leon's eyes opened wide as he witnessed what was going on. After a quick second Sora went tumbling to the ground. Apparently Riku got his blade up to block Sora's overhead attack but the play didn't stop there. Sora's momentum carried him forward and he felt himself losing his footing and his sword. He was out of control. Riku ducked to avoid the flying weapon and Sora ended up rolling over Riku's back. The spiky brunette landed butt first. His sword was javelined to the other side of the field where Leon was standing. The sword landed a good 2 meters away from him but Leon just stood there unfazed and unmoved.

"Alright, I guess we'll stop here," Leon said as he helped Sora up and handed him back the sword. "Good work guys."

He exhaled as he watched Sora sheath his sword. The kid was getting sloppy.

-KH-

Magic training didn't get any better for Sora either. He had a hard time controlling his spells and it got so bad that even Merlin himself had to stand a good distance away or else be burned, electrocuted, or frozen. Sora spent most of the time trying to hit moving objects- pots, pans, tables, even large wardrobes were game. He didn't have much luck there either as he missed on every single attempt. There was a consolation prize though, Riku. Sora's eyes followed a moving pot as it circled around the room. Holding his palm out, Sora charged up a fire spell. Once the kitchen supply came into range, Sora launched his fireball. However, it seemed that the pot had a mind of its own and easily barrel rolled out of the way. The fireball curved out of control and hit an unaware Riku on the leg. The grey haired teen yelled in pain as he jumped out of the room into a well that was outside. Sora looked out the window at Riku; an apologetic smiled was on his face.

Merlin chuckled briefly remembering his first trials with magic. Before he was a magician at the castle, he once lived in a small cottage in the depths of the Dryad Forest. He once burned down his house and froze the entire lake. Sora didn't even compare. The old magician was quite a rascal back in the day.

"Oh, Sora." Merlin said. "Don't put too much energy into your spells. It will drain you out."

Sora nodded as he tried once more. This time summoned a thunder spell. Thunder rained down from the heavens as the floating pots and furniture were struck. They fell to the ground instantly. Sora smiled as he rubbed his hands in success.

Riku got back into the tower and shot Sora a hard glare in which Sora's response was a brief thumbs up. The grey haired teen shook his head as he continued to practice his magic. He faired a bit better than Sora. Though he still had control issues with his magic, he could easily feel the fine line between power and control. Riku enjoyed the power running through his veins like blood but every now and then the feeling would spike and Riku would uncontrollably fall to one knee. Merlin diagnosed the problem as a result of overuse and fatigue. He sent both boys home. Dinner and a good night's sleep always worked wonders.

-KH-

The days passed by and Riku and Sora amplified their training. Leon had them practice twice a day rather than just once and even Merlin extended their training time by adding extra hours. This built the boys' stamina and durability. Leon worked them in the morning and at night while Merlin had them in the afternoon. Sora had finally gotten the hang of magic and intensifying it was the next step. There were only two steps in magic. Control and strengthening is all there was to it.

"Man, I'm beat," Sora said as they stepped out of Merlin's tower. He was shaking his hand trying to work out the stiffness from his fingers and wrist. He feared he had fallen to the symptoms of carpel tunnel. Sora had never used his hands this much before. The hot fire singed his hands creating one degree burns and trying to remedy it with ice made things even worse. Though he had become accustomed to their daily training, there was a part of him that wished that he could just take a day off to nap.

Riku nodded in agreement. He had to admit that he was tired and remembering that Leon would work them to the bone in a few hours made Riku's stomach turn. The teen passed the gates into the barracks to find the men already eating their dinner. It looked like chicken was on the menu tonight. He poured himself a cup of cold water and he gulped it down ravenously. Riku hit Sora on the shoulder before he went into his room.

Sora took a seat on an open stool that was nearby and he ripped a chicken leg off the stick. It was piping hot but he didn't care. He couldn't feel the burn anyways from the calluses that formed on his hand. He took a bite out of it as he tried to relax and wait until Leon would come for them. Living in the barracks was a lot better than what he expected. Being surrounded by soldiers and weapons, Sora felt like he was on top the world. Plus the grey dull walls of the gallows didn't damped his spirits or cover his view of the night's sky. The sun was just about to set as orange and yellow hues highlighted the sky. Sora took a deep breath feeling a nap coming on. However, he was snapped out of it when he heard someone giggle next to him.

"Hi, Sora," Kairi said. She had a bright smile on her face as she bent down.

"Done training, I see," another voice said.

Sora looked up and found Kairi smiling at him and the king shadowing over him. He instantly sprung to his feet and bowed.

"Oh gosh. I didn't see you there your highness," Sora said as he bowed repeatedly.

Kairi giggled as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can stop now."

"Oh. Right. What are you doing here?" Sora asked for lack of better words.

"We're just seeing how you and Riku are holding up," the king answered. "I think we put too much pressure on you two."

"No. There's no pressure at all," Sora said as he thumped his chest with pride. "It's an honor!"

"Yes. Well, do your best. Radiant Garden is counting on you."

"And so am I," a voice said.

Sora looked past the king and found Leon there. His gunblade was thrown over his shoulder as he pointed at Sora to get ready.

"Leon, there you are. I was looking for you. Where in the devil did you run off to?" the king asked as he walked up to the swordsman.

They started talking leaving Sora and Kairi to themselves.

"So…how is it here?" Kairi asked as she fought the temptation to shiver at the unclean place. She looked around and a unimpressed look was on her face. The barracks smelled liked roasted animals and dirt and grime was everywhere. It was far from sanitary.

"It's not too bad and it sure beats living in the gallows," Sora answered her. "Plus, I got a cool sword."

He unsheathed his blade and showed it to Kairi. The gold hilt shone brilliantly in the setting sun and light reflected off the blade giving it a heroic aura. Kairi smiled as she looked back at Sora's face. She could see his wide smile that resembled a child's face who had just received a wonderful present.

"It's a nice sword," she complimented.

Sora smiled even brighter so that his eyes could barely be seen. Kairi laughed at his expression. If he kept smiling too much, the veins in his head would explode.

"Hey Sora, do you want to play a game?" she asked.

"Aren't we a bit too old to playing games?" he asked.

"So? Aren't you a little old to be stealing peaches from trees?"

Sora looked down at his shoes in embarrassment. That jerk, Mr. Burr, must have told the king. He dropped his shoulders in defeat as he finally gave into her request.

"Ok, I'll be the princess and you can be the knight."

Sora scratched his head. This sounded all too familiar. He just shook it off and nodded his head. This should be easy he thought.

"Ok, I'll be over there in that building," she said as she pointed to the armory shed. "I'll be trapped inside and you have to come and rescue me."

"I guess," Sora said.

"No, it's not I guess. It's 'alright, I'll come save you, my princess!'" Kairi exlaimed exhuberantly.

Sora just looked at her with mild amusement. She had been reading those princess books again he figured. Kairi looked like a kid when she was all worked up.

"Ok. If you say so…"

With that Kairi took off inside the shed leaving Sora outside. Sora counted to ten before following her. He came to the threshold but was immediately stopped from taking another step as Kairi yelled out more of the plot.

"There's a dragon in here so you'll have to slay it first."

"I don't see a dragon, though," Sora answered back. This was really getting troublesome for him and he hoped that Leon and the king would be done talking so he could get back to training.

"Use your imagination!"

Sora shrugged his shoulders again as he entered the shed. He could see Kairi look at him so he decided to make this good. Sora rolled on the ground pretending to dodge a fireball from the ferocious dragon that he couldn't see. He swung his sword in the air and pivoted out of the way. Rolling on the ground, he disappeared into the darkness. A few minutes passed by and Kairi began to wonder where he had went. Perhaps the dragon got to him? However, she heard a fierce yell from up above as Sora jumped over her slashing his sword with such vigor and might. Kairi's heart literally jumped out of her chest in surprise as Sora landed with a loud thud.

Sensing that Sora had killed the dragon, Kairi dropped to the floor and laid on her back. She closed her eyes and placed both her hands on her stomach as if she was about to die. Sora walked up to her and leaned down next to her.

"You'll have to wake me up," Kairi said. "The dragon put a spell on me and only a knight can wake me."

Sora scratched his head but once again, decided to go along with it. He lightly nudged Kairi on the arm but she didn't wake. Lifting his eyebrow in confusion, he shook her again.

Nothing.

Sighing Sora thought for a second. An evil smirk came to his face and poor Kairi, her eyes were closed to the evil intensions that Sora had. He started tickling her and Kairi laughed as she begged him to stop. Sora stopped after a few seconds, a wide grin on his face.

"You're awake now. I saved you!"

"No, that's not how you're supposed to do it," Kairi said. "You were supposed to kiss me!"

At that very instance, Kairi's eyes shot open as she realized what she just said. She covered her mouth. A mad blush stained her cheeks and she turned away.

"I'm sorry…"

Sora smiled faintly as he looked at Kairi's beautiful face. He really did want to kiss her. Heck, this was the only part of the game he liked but seeing how stressed Kairi was, Sora thought it was best just to disregard the comment.

"Don't worry about it," Sora said. He gently took her hand and helped her up. They walked out of the shed just as Leon and the king had finished talking. Sora looked up to see the setting sun in the sky. It looked like a giant peach.

"Kairi, there you are. We had better head home now. Sora and Riku have training to do still."

Kairi waved a good bye, her face was still red. Sora turned around to find Riku standing there.

"So…that was quick."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.

"I know what happened."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you and the princess go into the shed."

Sora blushed as he remembered what Kairi accidentally said about kissing her. Riku had a sly smirk on his face as he patted Sora on the shoulder.

"Good man, Sora."

"Hey! What?"

"Nothing," Riku said as he took off running after Leon.

-KH-

Tonight's fight actually turned out to an intriguing one. It pitted Sora and Riku against Leon. Though the numbers seemed slightly unfair, Leon had planned to get the boys some teamwork training. In reality, he was getting bored watching the two boys fight and he needed something to do. He drew his gunblade as Sora and Riku charged in.

Leon ducked under Sora's first strike then took a step to the side to avoid Riku's stab. He knocked aside Riku's blade to expose his chest. A quick jab sent Riku reeling backwards. Sora jumped over Riku and brought his blade down hoping to crack Leon's skull. However, Leon got his blade up in time and a swift kick knocked Sora to the ground.

Sora and Riku got up and Leon could see the fire burn in their eyes. Seeing that Sora's footwork as in the wrong position, Leon charged ahead and evaded Riku's slash. He zoned in on Sora who brought his blade in to protect his body. Leon attacked but Sora anticipated the move and after blocking it, he spun a full 360 degrees bringing his sword around to clip Leon's jacket. A piece of clothing drifted to the ground as Leon took a step back.

Riku dove forward looking to get Leon from behind but gunblade wielder didn't forget who was behind him. Doing a back flip, Leon landed on two feet in front of Riku. Riku slammed on the brakes just before colliding with Leon's blade. That would've resulted in a pretty unfortunate ending. Riku jumped back before Leon could attack again.

Sora took a deep breath as he walked up next to Riku. They looked at Leon hoping to find some sort of weakness. Leon was flawless. His stance was rock solid and his weight distribution was perfectly even. Even the way he positioned his sword made it tough for anyone to be able to land a scratch on him. Riku kept his eyes focused on Leon as he mumbled some words to Sora.

Once Riku's mouth closed, both boys sprang into action. Riku darted towards the left and Sora broke right. They shot in like a cannon aiming for Leon's sides. However, Leon was able to read their movements and within a second he was airborne. Riku and Sora stopped on a dime and followed him into the air. Leon swung first, hitting Sora's sword. The impact gave him enough rotation to turn and block Riku's strike. All three fighters hit the ground at the same time.

Sora slipped his sword around Leon to Riku who combined both blades as he lunged in. Leon though was able to get out of the way as he chased after the unarmed Sora. Sora bounced on his heels as he parried each and every attack Leon had thrown at him. Riku saw what was happening and he instantly threw the sword in the air. It landed in the ground right beside Sora who quickly picked it up. Sora stabbed downwards hitting Leon's blade. The gunblade was lodged in the ground giving Sora time to deliver a punch to Leon's sternum. The veteran warrior stumbled back as he was able to pull his get blade free. From behind, Riku connected with a shot to the back and Leon fell forward.

Sora pointed his sword at Leon's chin.

"That's 100-1," Sora said referring to Leon's once unblemished record.

"Very good. You might turn out better than Cloud," Leon congratulated. He didn't mind that he had lost. It was bound to happen sooner or later. On the brighter side, at least it was Cloud who hadn't won. "I guess we'll call it a day."

"What's wrong with Cloud?" Sora immediately asked.

"Don't worry about it," Leon replied with a small smirk.

He gave Sora and Riku each a slap to the back of their heads before sending them off to enjoy the remaining hours of the night.

Leon sheathed his gunblade but before he could walk off the field, someone called out to him.

"Sir Leon," the soldier addressed. "I see those kids beat you."

"You saw it alright. Those kids are pretty good."

"Do you think they'll be able to do it? Beat Maleficent, I mean."

"They work hard, that's for sure," Leon answered. "I don't know what to tell you."

The soldier nodded as he placed a warm hand on Leon's shoulder.

"You know, you had better watch out. Those boys could end up surpassing you one of these days."

Leon looked up at the night's sky. Not yet. I still have a few more good years left in me he thought.

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