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Dance While You Can

Chapter 7: Mission Statements

In which a wild plot appears.

ミ

"I bet this is Lea's fault. I know I haven't done anything bad today."

Lea swatted at Kairi and she laughed, twisting out of the way. Well it only served to reason, in her opinion: why else would Master Yen Sid ask the three of them to come to his study atop the tower? Obviously someone was in trouble.

"Why do you guys always think I've done something wrong?" Lea complained, folding his arms as they climbed the steps. "Here I am, just trying to be a good student, and you just have no faith in me, Princess."

She knew that tone. He was joking, of course. Over the past few weeks of training, she'd gotten to know Lea quite a bit, and considered him a good friend now. He reminded her a lot of Riku, to be honest: he was biting and sarcastic when things didn't go the way he wanted them to, but was actually pretty soft and kindhearted. He just didn't want anyone to know that.

"Guys," Riku said, rolling his eyes and reaching for the door as they crested the stairs. "I think if someone was in trouble, Master Yen Sid would have just called that person to his study. He's not the type to embarrass someone in front of everyone else."

Kairi supposed he had a point.

"Whaddaya think's up, then?" Lea asked, pulling at the back of his neck and looking a bit nervous.

"It doesn't matter what I think is up," Riku insisted, grasping the handle and giving the door a push. "Maybe we should stop guessing and just go find out."

Lea glanced at Kairi, making an exaggeratedly serious face—mocking Riku—and she hid a laugh behind one hand. She was pretty sure Riku just rolled his eyes before stepping into the office and giving Yen Sid a polite bow at the waist.

"Master Yen Sid, you called for us?" he said, and Kairi scrabbled into the room after him, leaving Lea to close the door behind them.

Kairi was still a little bit awed by the old wizard. With his intense eyes and stern features, he looked really intimidating. Riku had of course assured her that he was a kind man, and only had the worlds' best interests in mind, but she still thought he looked a little ominous. Maybe it was the hat.

"Riku, Kairi, Lea, thank you for coming," he said, moving away from the window where he'd been peering out into the expanse beyond the tower and taking a seat. Kairi straightened her back a bit where she stood and tried to look studious. "I am pleased with how your training has been going," Yen Sid said quietly, stroking his beard. "Despite a rocky beginning, the three of you seem to work well together, and that makes the entire undertaking easier, I must presume."

Riku nodded stoically.

"They don't always take things seriously," he said, giving Lea a pointed look, and then he turned his eyes back to Yen Sid, "but they're good students, I guess."

"You guess?" Lea echoed with an incredulous shake of his head, and Kairi laughed softly.

"Wielding a Keyblade is an art that can always be honed further," Yen Sid said. "Even those who are called masters can never truly master every facet of the Keyblade; it simply holds too many secrets for one lifetime."

"Of course, Master," Riku said, bowing his head, and Kairi just peered at him. Riku looked so serious in that moment, his eyes locked on Yen Sid and his shoulders thrown back. "I still have a lot to work on, myself."

"I have a project I would like the three of you to help me with," Yen Sid said after a brief pause. "You are aware that the train that connects this world to Twilight Town used to connect many other worlds as well, correct?"

"You showed me the routes it covered," Kairi said, intrigued, "in one of your old books. The tracks connected so many worlds, once."

"It was truly a remarkable mode of transport, long ago," the old wizard said with a sage nod. "It utilized the spaces between worlds in a much safer capacity than The Lanes Between or the Dark Corridors, and did not require the aerial combat skills necessary to pilot a Gummi Ship. The routes were efficient and straightforward: it is no wonder, then, that the Heartless sought to commandeer the tracks for their own uses."

"And that's why the train lines were shut down, right?" Lea asked, folding his arms over his chest and tilting his head a little. "If the Heartless got a hold of the routes, they'd have been everywhere in no time flat."

"Precisely," Yen Sid said. "Xehanort's reach is long already; if he were to ever have discovered this method of travel, he could have used the Heartless to consume many more worlds. Only one track remained open: that which connects my tower to Twilight Town, and even that was a calculated risk." He paused (perhaps for dramatic effect), and then regarded Riku. "However, now that the Heartless are under control and are no longer swarming worlds in droves, now that Xehanort has fallen back to regroup, it may perhaps behoove our efforts to utilize these train routes once more. If we are to maintain the peace and prevent Xehanort from tainting all the worlds with his plans for use of the Darkness, we will need a safe and fast means to access any world at a moment's notice."

"What d'you need us to do, Master Yen Sid?" Riku asked, his spine straight and his hands fisted at his sides.

"I wish for the three of you to use the train to access one of the worlds the lines once connected to," he said. "An old comrade of mine oversees the safety of the world, and will be able to tell you if the Heartless are still a threat. If he has deemed the world adequately safe from the Heartless, we may reopen the route to the world again and use the train to access it as we did once long ago. You will have to use the utmost discretion, as always when visiting other worlds, but I feel the three of you are up to the task."

Kairi's heart sped up, and she brought her hands to her face.

"Master Yen Sid, you want us to actually go to another world?" she asked.

"Yes, Kairi," he replied with a nod. "It is a world Riku has been to before, so you should have no trouble finding your way. When you are ready, the train will take you there; all you need do is make use of the access panel at the front of it. As more worlds are reconnected, they will appear as destination options for you."

"Thank you, Master Yen Sid," Riku said, bowing his head again; "we'll make sure to carry out this mission with the utmost discretion."

Kairi had barely heard anything past 'yes'. She was finally going to get to go to another world! In traveling with Riku before they'd been reunited with Sora, she'd seen a few other worlds, but their time had been so limited, and they'd been sort of on the run the whole time, that she'd been unable to actually explore any of them. This was it: she was finally going to get to see another world! She would get to meet new people, try new food, see new places—just like Sora and Riku had during all that time she had been left back on Destiny Islands.

She'd been waiting for this for two years.

She didn't even realize she had followed Riku out into the hall until the click of the door and Lea's amused laughter jarred her from her thoughts.

"'Utmost discretion' huh?" Lea gave Riku a sly look. "That didn't sound like you at all."

Riku's gaze shifted uncomfortably. "Shut up," he said, and Lea snorted.

"Okay, use 'discretion' in a different sentence, Shakespeare," he said, and Riku balked.

Kairi came to his rescue. She snapped both arms out and grabbed Riku's wrists, giving an eager little bounce.

"Riku, Riku this is so exciting!" she gasped, bouncing in place and squeezing his hands. The startled look on his face hardly registered. "I'm finally going to see new worlds! Just like you and Sora did!"

"K-Kairi, calm down," Riku stammered, looking at her hands around his for a moment before his cheeks flushed pink and he glanced away. "It isn't that big a deal; Yen Sid even said it was a world we've already explored—"

"A world you've already explored," she corrected quickly, releasing his hands and turning to look at Lea then. "You've both done a lot of traveling between worlds, right? Well, I haven't, so this is really exciting for me! I can't wait—I've wanted to see other worlds since before I ever left Destiny Islands!"

"Right, on a raft," Lea snorted, hiding his amusement in one hand, "with some fish and coconuts."

Kairi kicked his shoe and then hurried to follow Riku down the stairs. Why was he being so stiff about this? Couldn't he even be a little bit happy for her? He of all people should have understood her position: he'd wanted to see new worlds, too, right? And he'd gotten to. She hadn't yet, so of course she was elated.

"Riku, wait up," she called, jumping the last two steps and catching his wrist again before he could open the door to head out of the tower. "What's wrong? Aren't you even a little bit excited about this assignment? Master Yen Sid really must think we've made good progress if he's giving us missions on other worlds now."

"I'm glad," he said after an instant of hesitation, "that he thinks you two are ready for this. I guess I'm just a little worried."

"You're always worried," Lea said, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and one eyebrow arched sharply. "I'd say you're gonna go grey before you're twenty, but you kind of already beat me to the punchline of that one."

"My hair isn't grey."

"Sadly the same can't be said for your sense of humor."

"His white hair is Sora's fault, anyway," Kairi snickered, and Riku just make a frustrated noise.

"Look, can we just focus on our assignment?" he asked tersely, tugging his hand free from Kairi's and giving the both of them a frown. "This isn't the time for joking around. Kairi, going to other worlds isn't a game, okay? We have to be careful and not draw a lot of attention to ourselves. We can't meddle in too many things or it could mess stuff up for the progress of the world."

"Right, because you and Sora were both so careful not to interfere with any of the worlds you visited," Lea said, rolling his eyes.

"We helped them for the better," Riku insisted. "If we hadn't, things would have been worse."

"Uh huh." Lea didn't look convinced.

Kairi took a deep breath and held it a moment, then exhaled. "I know it isn't a game, Riku," she said, though it was true she might have let her excitement get the better of her in the moment. Of course Riku was worried—Lea made a valid point: Riku was always worried, especially when she was involved. He knew she lacked the experience both he and Lea had in traveling to other worlds, so of course he was going to be concerned for her safety in joining them. Kairi did know him that well, at least.

She gave him a soft smile.

"I'll be careful," she said, "I promise. I'll take the mission seriously, and follow your lead. You don't have to worry about me so much."

Riku's face colored again, and he shook his head. "Th-that isn't what this is about!" he said, in that way that meant it was at least 65% of what this was about.

"You and Lea will be with me," she said, her smile broadening then. "I'll be fine."

Lea reached out then and ruffled her hair with one hand. She made a noise of protest and swatted at him, and he caught her wrist easily in one long hand, holding it away so she couldn't hit him before he looked at Riku.

"She's got a point," he said. "Come on, Riku, relax a little, before you give yourself a stroke. You're not gonna let anything happen to her, and neither am I, got it memorized?"

Riku didn't look entirely sure about this, but Kairi could only smile. There was a warmth in her chest and a squeezing sensation behind her ribs at Lea's words. She knew Lea was a good person at heart, but he'd never actually volunteered to protect her this way before. Kairi didn't want to have to be protected, but she knew Riku wouldn't be satisfied unless he thought she was safe. Lea's words might not have put all of his worries to rest, but they helped: she could see it in his posture.

Lea released her wrist, and Kairi folded her hands together in front of her.

"If Master Yen Sid thinks we're ready for this, then we must be," she said. "Unless you're planning to disagree with him...?"

Riku looked uncertain, then shook his head. "No way," he said. "I... I definitely think you two are ready for more than just sparring on the beach."

Kairi beamed, glancing up at Lea, who just cast his eyes to the ceiling and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. She walked past Riku and grabbed the door handle then, tugging it open and bounding down the stairs into the grass to head for the ledge where the train would appear.

"Then let's go!" she said eagerly. "I don't want to disappoint Master Yen Sid. Or you, Riku."

"I don't think you could ever disappoint me, Kairi," Riku said, almost too quietly for her to hear, and she turned back to look at him, her lips parted in surprise. Almost as soon as he'd said it, though Riku had blustered and waved her off. "Go, go, the sooner we get going the sooner we can complete the mission."

She reached for his hand again, and after a moment of fluster he gave it to her. Lea refused to pull his hand from his pocket, so she just looped her arm through his, and with that they headed toward the edge of the grass. As the shimmering teal tracks rose into view, Kairi could scarcely contain her glee. She was finally going to be of use to Riku and Sora—no more being left behind. This time she wasn't going to just be a spectator, she wasn't going to just sit idly by while Riku and everyone else suffered to keep her safe. This time she was going to help her friends protect other worlds.

This time, Kairi wasn't just going to be a princess, she was going to be a guardian too.