Chapter 7: Three's A Crowed
For weeks they trained. They had simple little sparring matches that tested each others skills. They went to the same spot to train every day. By the end of each day, the two of them were dripping with sweat. They would rest, and would go home. Or at least, Lee would. He knew Rose had no place to call home. Where had she been staying his whole time?
One morning Lee was stirred from his sleep.
"Lee, you sleepy head, wake up!" came a soft voice.
Lee mumbled in his sleep for a second. Then he rolled over and said "Not yet sis, give me a few more hours."
"I'm not your sis, silly. Now get up!" Lee sat right up. In his bedroom, setting at the foot of his bed, was Rose. She didn't have on her robe though. She had on a plain, light blue T-shirt, black shorts that were knee length, and a gray beanie over her head. Her figure was more viewable in this attire. Lee couldn't help but stare.
"Hey perv!" She shouted "What's wrong with my cloths, huh?"
"N-nothing!" Lee yelled back "But why are you here? And in my room for that matter!?"
Rose stood up and smiled. "We got training to do, let's go!" She then turned and walked out of his room. Lee quickly got up and threw on some cloths. The usual attire was his choice. Jeans, shirt, and that was it. Plain and simple. He fixed his hair and bolted out his bedroom door.
"Good morning lazy bones!" His sister Elizabeth was setting in the kitchen drinking some water. "Your girlfriend here said you two had a date today. Better get your rear in gear!"
Lee didn't know what to think. His first thought was why the heck did she let a stranger in the house. His second was-
"S-she isn't my girlfriend!" he shouted.
"Aw c'mon babe, she should know." Rose said with a playful wink.
"Rose what are you-" Lee began to say.
"Lee! Just because you got your little girlie-friend around doesn't mean you can skip chores. Now Get on 'em!" Elizabeth was scolding him, but not as bad as usual. It was probably because someone else was in the house. She liked to keep her public appearance nice and easy going. Lee huffed and started the dishes. In no time, they were done. He took out the trash and swept the house, the whole while he could hear Rose and Elizabeth talking. Mostly about girl stuff like cloths. But occasionally Elizabeth would ask Rose a personal question like who her parents were or where she grew up. Rose actually gave pretty good answers. Lee thought maybe she was lying but then again he remembered that in her home world she probably still had family. That is, before the Heartless invaded.
Finally Lee was finished. "There!' he said. "C'mon Rose let's go." Lee headed for the door before his sister could say anything.
"Goodbye Rose, it was nice meeting you" Elizabeth said. "Don't you two get into any trouble, okay?"
"Okay Mrs. Emeric. It was nice to meet you too." Rose said with a smile.
"Oh please just call me Elizabeth ."
Lee was waiting around the corner of his house with his skateboard. When Rose rounded the corner he half shouted, half whispered "What the hell was that?!"
"What was what?" Rose teased.
Lee was getting flustered. "You told my sister we were dating? Why?"
Rose giggled. "Because, it'll make it easier to hang around you."
"You could of just said we were friends!"
She stuck her tongue out.
"Rrrrrrg" Lee growled.
Rose's expression changed to a more saddened one and she asked "Are you saying you wouldn't date me?"
This caught Lee off guard. His cheeks flooded with color. "W-what!?"
"Heehee, just kidding." Rose stuck her tongue out again and then she jogged towards the road.
"Are we training at the same spot again?" Lee asked, finally regaining his composure.
"Nah, I got another place in mind." said Rose. She ran off down the street.
Lee jumped on his skateboard, shouting "Hey! Wait up!"
After a long and speechless walk, the two had arrived at a line of trees that signaled the beginning of a small patch of woods. Lee remembered that in the winter, kids would come and play in these woods. It was the only place where there was untouched snow. Perfect for snowball fights, as well as sparring sessions.
"So, we're going in there?" Lee asked nervously. Secretly he had a small fear of the woods. He felt like something would jump out from the tree tops at him. The woods were so dark and mysterious, Lee thought, that he did his best to avoid them as much as he could.
"Yup" replied Rose. "I thought a change of scenery would be nice. Well, for me that is." Rose started for the woods. It took Lee a few seconds to register that he had to follow her. So, reluctantly, he ran to catch up with Rose.
The woods were like any other woods. Trees, trees, and more trees. At one point, a small stream of water cut through the path that Lee was following. He quickly jumped over the stream.
"So...why are we in the woods?" asked Lee.
Rose smiled. "Just a change of scenery is all."
Eventually they came to a stop at an opening in the trees. It was a circular patch of land that was full of grass and flowers. the field was a perfect sparring ground. Lee thought it was a very nice place. Rose seemed to think otherwise, for her face seemed pained.
"I like this place. It reminds me of home." Rose said as she turned in place, taking in the view. She looked sad. Lee wanted to know more about Rose and her home world.
"What was your home world like Rose?" Lee asked it flat out.
Rose didn't say anything at first. But finally she said "My home world was like this field here. Very pretty…Very quiet…Very…" Her voice trailed off into nothingness. Lee could tell she was homesick.
"Forget I asked." Lee said abruptly, trying to change the subject. "We're going to train? Right?"
Rose set down on a clearing between patches of flowers. "I've…changed my mind. Today…we will sit."
Lee couldn't make sense of what she just said. Maybe because it was so simple. Sit? She wanted to just sit? He didn't understand why she brought him all the way out here just to sit. Lee figured remembered that her home world was destroyed by the Heartless was part of it. But so far, from what he's seen of Rose's was a strong person. He figured that she would be the type to train any time she could. He figured she would want to get stronger and avenge her home world. When Rose said that there they wouldn't be training today, it kind of stunned Lee. He was so used to training, a day off would be tough.
"So…" Lee started to say as he sat down. The grass was soft, green, and still coated in dew. "What are we just sitting for? Shouldn't we be training?" Lee asked. Rose's eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Lee felt like he was staring too much, because he was, so he quickly focused on something else.
"Ya know something Lee…" Rose finally said. Lee looked back at her. "This world….is so nice. Despite all the bad things like criminals and pollutions, this world its beautiful. It truly is nice. Much like my home world."
"Really?" Lee asked. Was he getting a glimpse into the mysterious Rose's home world?
"Yeah" She said. "All the sounds and smells….they're the same as my world's."
Lee felt like learning more about Rose. She seemed to be opening up so now was a good a time as any. "How did you get the Keyblade?"
Rose opened her eyes. They were shining bright white. Lee thought it was kinda creepy that her eyes were completely white. She soon said "It was about a year ago…I think. The Heartless invaded. It all happened so fast I didn't know what to do. I ran."
Rose took a breath and continued "Eventually, I got trapped in an alleyway. The heartless attacked me. The Darkness took me. But just before I slipped away…I was saved by a bright light. I blinked and I was back in the alley way. In my hand…" Rose summoned her Keyblade. "…was my Keyblade, Moonlit Rose."
She smiled. Lee liked it when she smiled. "I tried to help as many people as I could. But slowly everything went black. I woke up and found out I was in another world."
"Wait…" Lee said. "Then how did you get here? To this world?"
Rose released her Keyblade. "I…used a special method."
"What's that supposed to me-" was all Lee could get out. In an instant there was a flash in the sky. And from the flash something fell. It crashed down into a nearby section of the woods.
"C'mon let's go check that out." Rose said as she jumped to her feet. Lee jumped up as well and ran after Rose.
The crash site wasn't that far from where they had been sitting. When they came across a man made trench. It looked as if something had been dragged along the ground.
"What do you think it is?" asked Lee.
"I don't know," said Rose. "but we're about to find out." She followed the trench. Lee was right behind her. As they walked, Lee examined the trench.
"It kinda looks like a person made it." he said.
"Look!" Rose shouted as she pointed towards a mound of dirt. They both ran towards the mound. As they slowed to a halt, the unexpected happened.
The mound of dirt started to move. At first it wasn't much, but slowly, something started to crawl out of the dirt. What ever had crashed landed was now crawling out of its would be tomb.
"Rose get ready!" Lee shouted as he brought out his Keyblade out. Rose did the same.
"Nothing human could have survived that crash." Rose said preparing to defend against this enemy lurking in the dirt. "It's probably a Heartless Lee!"
A hand sprang forth. This made Lee and Rose jump. Soon a second hand sprouted. And finally...
"Gah!" screamed the head that popped out of the dirt. It shook dirt out of its hair, and spat just as much out of its mouth. It was definitely a human. A boy with longish black hair and bright green eyes, which were slanted. This gave him sort of an Asian look.
Lee's eyes were focused the dirt boy. He was just about to ask him who or what he was when-
"Lynn!" Rose shouted. She dropped her Moonlit Rose and threw her arms him.
Lee didn't know what to think. Rose knew this guy? But how? "This guy just fell out of the sky!" Lee thought to himself. "How does she know him?"
"Lynn! I'm so glad you escaped!" Rose continued to shout with joy.
Lynn looked stunned. "Umm…" he started to say.
"How did you escape? And, how did you get here?!"
"Rose!" Lee shouted. She let go of Lynn and looked at Lee. "Your kind of freaking him out."
Rose looked at Lynn. He looked like he was about to crap his pants.
"I….I don't know who you are." Lynn said with no emotion. "Why do you keep calling me...Lynn was it?"
Rose looked as if she had been struck across her face. "W-what do you mean, Lynn? We're best friends. Remember? The day those monsters attacked, we got separated. I thought they had gotten you." Rose frowned. She was being serious. Perhaps this guy was the classic amnesia case.
"Rose…I don't think he knows who you are." Lee finally said.
Lynn spoke up. "I'm sorry. Maybe you have mistaken me for someone else."
"No!" Rose shouted. She quickly stood up. "Your Lynn Shoji. Your my best friend. I remember you. You are Lynn!"
All of sudden Lynn grabbed his head.
"Ahhhh!" He screamed. Rose went to his side and tried to calm him down. She was almost in tears.
"What's wrong Lynn?" she said in the most gentle voice Lee had ever heard Rose speak in. Slowly, Lynn started to calm down.
"Rose," Lee said. "I think he's hit his head really hard. He probably has amnesia or something."
"Let's help him" said Rose.
Lee nodded and proceeded to help Lynn to his feet. Once he was up, Lee saw that he wasn't even damaged from the fall. No cuts, no bruises. Nothing.
"Your lucky. I figured you'd break something from falling that high up." Lee said. "By the way, how did you end up here? In this world I mean."
Lynn didn't answer at first but then he "I don't know. All I remember is...falling. That's it. Nothing before that."
Rose looked depressed. If Lynn was her friend, then he really did have amnesia. Lee felt empathetic towards Rose. He knew that if Wade forgot he was, then he'd be depressed as well.
"Don't worry Rose, he'll remember eventually. We just gotta help him."
"Perhaps," Lee said as he looked over at Lynn. "He looks beat. Let's take him some place to rest."
"But where?" Rose asked. "Your sister wouldn't be cool with him, would she?"
Lee shook his head. "Nah, she is barely letting you come in the house. Do you have a place?"
"N-no...I don't" Roses said, embarrassed.
"What?!" Lee asked shockingly. His guess was right. Rose had been living on the streets ever since she had arrived on his world. "Where have you been staying then?"
"L-look, let's just help Lynn out okay? Do you think he could stay at Wade's?"
Lee thought for a moment. Wade's parents did love him like their own son. "I think Wade's parents might be cool with it, but I can't say for sure. Let's head over to his house and see if-"
Slam!
Something had just attacked him. Lee spun around to see who the attacker was. To no surprise, he found that it was a group of Heartless.
"Defenders!" shouted Rose as she summoned her Keyblade.
"Well this is new." Lee said, drawing his weapon and analyzing the new Heartless. It was fairly big, with purple skin that was covered in light blue armor. The main thing that stuck out was it's big shield that had a demon dog head on the front of it.
Suddenly, before Lee could analyze his foe any longer, the shield charged at him. Lee blocked the attack and rolled around to the backside of the Defender. As soon as his feet were planted, Lee jumped up and struck the enemy with his Keyblade. The Defender howled in pain and spun around, whacking Lee in the side with it's shield.
"Lee!" shouted Rose as she joined in the fight. Rose tried to get the beasts attention by making quick jabs at it's shield. Blocking each one, the Defender didn't notice that Lee was coming up on his rear. With a loud yell, Lee brought his Keyblade down hard on the Defender's back. It reared up, howling in pain. It was over.
...Or so they thought. Immediately it spun around, smacking both Rose and Lee. It's attacked brought the two the ground. The Defender faced Rose and lifted up it's shield. The mouth of the demon dog on the shield opened up, and from within came a red glow.
"Rose, run!" Lee shouted, struggling to get on his feet. Rose was having trouble as well. The blows from the Heartless shield had done a number on them.
A ball of fire was starting to form in the mouth of the shield. The Defender readied it's fire and was about to shoot when...
SLICE.
The Defender dropped it's shield and started to fade. Lee and Rose were stunned to find that they're savior was none other that Lynn. In his hand was something Lee didn't expect to see.
A Keyblade.
Lee managed to get to his feet, but Rose was still stunned to see her best friend wielding a weapon of light. Lee looked to Lynn, then to Rose. Finally he looked at his Keyblade. Three Keyblade wielders were standing in one area.
"Just how many could there be?" Lee thought to himself.
Rose finally stood and stared at Lynn in awe. "Lynn" she said. "how did you...get a Keyblade?"
Lynn's response was to stared at the blade in his hand. Lee hadn't gotten a good look it yet, and was about to, when suddenly it disappeared. The only thing Lee had noticed was that it was completely black.
As Lynn stared down at his hand, Lee said some thing that made even Rose laugh.
"Me, you and Lynn. Keyblade wielders. Man, three's a crowd."
