Alright, here's the next chapter. Thank you Mythfan, Parks98, DPSS, Gold2King, ultima-owner, idea . getthe, blackfirekingkoncor, ZidanReign, animesguardianangel, uknounx, and swiftrabbit for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Nine: Training
Sora checked Riku's Gummi ship first, then, when not finding him, went to his parents' house.
His father—a light-haired, lanky man—answered. "Well. I'd heard you'd come back, but I didn't actually think you'd stop and visit."
"I'm actually looking for Riku."
"Heh. Like old times. He's out back with Emi." He moved aside.
"Thanks." Sora passed him and hurried through the house and out the back door.
Riku stood in the garden. A makeshift dummy had been made from a bed sheet, grass, and sticks. Emi held her Keyblade with both hands; the weapon was slim, but long, and shook in her grip. She muttered something Sora didn't catch, and a small ball of dark fire shot from her Keyblade's tip. She stumbled backwards and fell. The fireball glanced the dummy's arm. Small dark embers dissipated.
"Nice job," Riku said.
Emi nodded and stood, playing with her shirt.
Sora called, "I didn't know you were working on Dark Firaga!"
Emi jumped.
Riku replied, "Actually, that's Dark Fira. We had to experiment and downgrade until she got the hang of it." He searched him. His heart echoed a faint question and a faint hope.
Emi tilted her head. "Are you here to train with us?"
Sora shook his head. "I just, ah, wondered if Riku had any stories about your early training days."
Riku asked, "You have no idea how to train Shirou, do you?"
"Ahaha. What makes you say that?"
"Come on, Sora. You've never been that crafty."
Sora waved his hands. "Alright, alright. So any ideas?"
"It'd help if I knew what you'd already done. Where's Shirou?"
"He's at my parents' house, for now. We'll be heading back to the Play Island tomorrow morning, but I thought I'd give him time to rest."
Riku eyed him.
"Anyway, he's having trouble with magic."
"As in?"
"We haven't actually gotten a successful spell yet. I explained how magic works and I think he got the idea, but…nothing." Sora shrugged.
Riku frowned and cupped his chin. "Why don't you bring him here and let him train with Emi for the day? She's good at magic, so maybe watching her would help him. And since she's not good with sword-play, it might be good to work with someone closer to her level."
Sora considered the offer.
"Come on. You're the one who came for help."
Sora chuckled and scratched his head. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get him."
-Shirou swung Vir. The weapon cut an arc through the air and hit the ground, sticking. He panted, resting against the Keyblade, sweat running down his face. A cool island breeze stirred the grass and trees. Shirou wiped his forehead, then tugged Vir free, stumbling.
"Shirou?" Grace called. "Are you still out there?"
Shirou nodded, too tired to call a response.
Grace appeared. "Why don't you take a break? You don't have to practice all the time, you know."
"What would I do?"
"You could play. Sora has plenty of old toys in his room."
"Play?"
Grace suddenly seemed embarrassed. "I could never convince myself to let go of them. After he left home that first night, he didn't have much time left to visit, so they were kind of like a keepsake."
Something pinged in the back of Shirou's mind. His vision flickered, momentarily.
"Is something wrong?"
Shirou shook his head. "I'm going to keep training."
Grace sighed. "You'll run yourself ragged."
Shirou lifted Vir. His arms shook, but he swung, then nearly collapsed.
Sora's voice drifted towards them. "Hey, Shi—there you are. Were you practicing?"
Shirou nodded.
Sora scratched his head, then exchanged looks with Grace. "We're going to train with Riku and Emi for a little bit. Hopefully we can figure out why you're having trouble with magic."
Shirou dismissed Vir and followed Sora.
Despite Sora's promises, Shirou had actually seen very little of the Main Island so far. He hadn't had any particular desire to explore, and Sora had seemed more concerned with deciding how to teach him magic, and so he only knew the road between Sora's house and the beach. The house itself stood, like several others, along the main road, a small yard behind it. Now Sora led him along that road, past several houses and a few small shops. Palm trees crowded close at one point, behind short wooden fences. A few children raced past, tossing a ball. Shirou rubbed his arms.
Sora glanced at him. "We don't have to train if you're tired."
Shirou shook his head. "I'm fine."
Sora didn't look convinced, but didn't press. He crossed the street to a simple, one-story house and knocked. "It's Sora again."
Riku answered. He wordlessly turned and led them out the back door.
Emi sat in the dirt. She stood quickly, wiping grass off her pants.
Riku said, "Shirou, summon your Keyblade."
Shirou extended a hand. Vir materialized. His arm shook.
"You and Emi are going to practice magic together. We'll watch and see how you guys do."
Shirou glanced at Sora.
Sora nodded.
Shirou turned.
Emi summoned her Keyblade—a long, slender weapon, silver and black, with crescent moon-shaped teeth and a guard that resembled woven vines. She pointed her Keyblade and mumbled, "Dark Fira." A small, purple-and-black fireball shot from her Keyblade and collided with a practice dummy. It ignited.
Riku ordered, "Blizzard." Ice crystals shot and melted, extinguishing the flames.
Shirou frowned. He lifted Vir with both hands and 'reached' for the magic, like Sora had told him. He allowed the image of a hand, reaching from his brain to his chest, to fill his mind. Faintly he sensed a dull, unwilling, shifting force, swimming around his heart. He caught it and tugged. "Fire." He lost grip of the force. Nothing materialized.
"Emi," Riku said, "why don't you tell Shirou what you do when you practice magic?"
"Ah! Um, a clear my head. I don't think about anything but the magic." She turned red. "I try to, anyway."
Shirou nodded, though privately he admitted he hadn't been thinking of anything besides magic before. He tried again, breathing out slowly, and stretched the metaphysical hand towards his heart. Nothing filtered through his mind; his ears buzzed, a faint thumping audible beneath. He latched onto the magic and opened his eyes. "Fi—" He stopped. The world shifted a moment.
Sora asked, "Shirou?"
Shirou shook his head. "Fire." But he knew it wouldn't work; he'd already lost hold of the magic.
"Maybe you should rest. You've been working a lot, you know."
Shirou frowned.
"I have an idea," Riku said. "We could tell you about Keyblade lore. It's like you're still training."
Emi's eyes widened, and she nodded, fervently.
Shirou considered, then nodded.
Sora took a step back, forfeiting the stage to Riku.
The silver-haired man glanced backwards. "Emi, you already know this, but what about you, Shirou? Have you ever heard about the Keyblade's legend?"
Shirou shook his head.
Riku extended his hand a summoned a Keyblade, red-and-dark blue, a long, bat-like wing for the blade, a feathered wing for the teeth. "The Keyblade is a weapon that's supposed to be able to cause untold destruction or to save the world. The ones we wield are man-mad manifestations of a Keyblade wielder's heart. Only those with strong hearts are able to wield the Keyblade.
"Once, a long time ago, many Keybladers all fought for the possession of the ultimate key. The X-blade, the key to Kingdom Hearts. The Heart of all Worlds."
Sora looked away.
"Their battle brought destruction to all the worlds, and cast them into darkness."
Emi interrupted, "But they were saved, right? By the light?"
Riku nodded. "The story is mostly true, but I think it's more of a warning. After all, even and evil person can have a powerful heart."
-The sun fell when the four finally decided to take a break. They'd spent a significant amount of time telling stories, eventually falling back on embarrassing stories from Sora and Riku's childhood, where the two tried their best to humiliate the other. After a point Shirou and Emi sparred; Shirou, despite being inexperienced, faired relatively well against Emi's awkward, clumsy movements, but both were tired before long.
Sora led the way to an ice cream shop afterwards. An orange glow painted the sky and tinted the island. Stores stood in a circle here, a large palm tree in the center. People still milled about, talking or playing, relaxing. Sora had forgotten how peaceful things could be.
He went to the counter. "Hey, what do you guys want?"
Shirou blinked, then shrugged.
Emi said, "Chocolate. Please."
Riku shrugged. "Vanilla's fine, I guess."
"Okay. Um." He glanced at Shirou. "Two chocolate, one vanilla, and a sea-salt."
The shopkeeper said, "Okay, coming right up."
Sora handed him the money when he returned and distributed the ice cream. He licked the light-blue bar and sat, leaning, on the bench.
Shirou sat beside him. He experimentally licked the ice cream, then blinked, eyes widening slightly.
"Good, right?"
"Cold."
Sora laughed. "Well, yeah. That's why it's called ice cream."
He took another lick, eyes scrunched.
Emi stood nearby, looking like she wanted to sit, but not doing so because Riku hadn't sat.
Sora laughed again, quieter.
Some kids tossed a ball back and forth, tugging their parents forward, and he momentarily imagined he, Riku, and Kairi were in their places. He and Riku were sparring, gnarled sticks clashing, and Kairi followed, laughing, cheering them on.
Riku asked, "Do you ever miss it?"
Sora shrugged, smiling sadly.
They finished their ice cream, and Sora stood. "We'd probably better head back."
Riku narrowed his eyes, and even though he knew the other man couldn't discern the reason for his distance, Riku would know he meant 'back to the Play Island' and not 'back home.' "Come on, Emi," Riku said, walking away slowly, sounding tired.
Emi waved and followed.
Sora asked, "You ready?"
Shirou nodded and stood.
The two moved, quietly, through the streets. Sora's gaze slid sideways. Did I take away your chance at that? Of living like a normal kid? He pushed the thought aside and refused to dwell on it. Instead he asked, "Hey, you know when you asked about Awakenings? Did you have one?"
"Yeah."
"What did you pick, and what did you throw away?"
Shirou frowned.
"There should've been three weapons to choose from in the beginning."
"I threw away the staff."
Sora cupped his chin thoughtfully. "That explains why you're having trouble with magic, then. You basically threw away the 'magic' portion of being a Keyblader, which will make it harder to learn."
"Is that bad?"
"No. But it's weird. Usually even people not inclined to magic can use basic spells. Not that it's a problem if you can't! Though maybe I should worry about teaching you 'cure' instead." He scratched a cheek. "A-anyway. What did you choose?"
"I didn't."
It took a moment for the answer to sink in. "What?"
"A voice told me I didn't have a choice."
Sora stopped. "But that doesn't—"
"Actually," Shirou said, voice quiet, "just after the fire, I had a dream in the same place. There was a sword, and the voice told me to take it. Does that mean I chose it?"
Sora blinked, mind turning. "Y-yeah."
Shirou nodded.
The two continued.
Sora frowned, turning Shirou's words over and over again, until they reached the beach. Sora found the boats, still stored in the small boat house, and smiled to see his, still maintained, stashed in the back. Did Dad do this? He shook his head, then dragged the boat and some oars out to the beach. He pushed the boat into the water near the dock and climbed inside, helping Shirou.
He rowed, oars cutting through orange water, golden trails dripping down the blades.
Shirou stared, eyes pensive, expression serious but almost blank.
Sora stopped rowing.
"Why'd we stop?"
"Just wait."
Shirou frowned.
Sora glanced at the darkening sky. Shirou's earlier words and actions tugged the back of his mind. "Hey, Shirou. What do you want to do?"
Shirou frowned.
"Like, not just 'go to sleep' or whatever's in the immediate future."
Shirou looked at him, then shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"
"Eh? I guess I'd like to see you become a good Keyblader. But, more than that…" He trailed off, unsure how to express his desire that he wanted Shirou to live like a 'normal kid,' especially knowing that that probably wouldn't be possible. "Never mind."
Shirou frowned.
"Hey, don't give me that look. I just wanted to know." He splashed the boy.
Shirou flinched away.
Sora smiled ruefully and leaned back.
The boat rocked. The water slowly faded from orange to blue-black.
"Sora," Shirou began, "it's getting dark."
"I know. That's what we're waiting for. Look." He pointed to the first star.
Shirou tilted his head.
More stars appeared, slowly, winking in the vast black sky.
Sora said, "Now look at the water."
Shirou turned, and blinked. The stars speckled the still water, reflected and glowing, surrounding them.
Sora trailed a hand through the water, disturbing it, a few flickering points reflecting off the darkness. "Pretty cool, huh? When I was little my dad sometimes took me out at night. I almost overturned the boat once."
Shirou didn't say anything, but his eyes had widened, starlight reflected in them.
"I guess you're probably pretty tired, right? We'll head to shore." He lifted the oars and rowed.
-Aqua browsed the library. Currently she stood on a ladder, checking titles near the top of a bookcase. One spine read, 'The Worlds and Their Inhabitants.' She dragged the large tome free and slid down the ladder, placing the book with the others. She sighed, then sat down, and began reading.
The process of searching had, for the most part, been slow. She'd secluded herself to the library for several days, justifying it by the fact that nothing particularly alarming had happened recently, and spent most of her time searching for books and reading through them. She had a list beside her, with scribbled possibilities of why a world might be hostile: corrupted by the Heartless/another source, stolen memories, accidentally offending a more sentient world, sensing intent to harm. Some worlds didn't take well to too much disruption to their daily life from outsiders. The latter three, she knew, only applied to a small selection of worlds. She wouldn't discard them, but she thought one of the first two options was more likely, and of them, the most likely was the first. With what Sora's report had said, it seemed the most likely answer was that the world had been corrupted, somehow.
And yet.
Aqua rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the blurriness. Sora hadn't been able to connect to the world's heart at all. It made her suspicious that, maybe, this was one of those more sentient worlds, but as for what would offend the world, she couldn't fathom.
Which is why she still sat in the library, pouring over old books and getting nowhere.
She almost missed the heading. She stopped a re-read the words: 'Sentient Worlds.'
All worlds have a heart of their own. However, most worlds' hearts are not like our own. They don't feel emotions, but rather faint sensations, an other-worldly awareness of what is best for the world and its inhabitants, and the desire for self-preservation. Their hearts also function to store a world's 'memories,' or all that has happened, all that could have happened, and all that could be. (For more on memories, see chapter 6, section 3.)
There are the rare few worlds that have hearts very similar to ours. They have a higher consciousness, and are more active in their preservation and handling than most worlds. Their desires and thoughts are still foreign in some ways, in that the normal desire of the world—to protect itself and its inhabitants—is compounded by the influx of human emotion and thought. Thus, these worlds are less likely to be corrupted by outside forces, and more likely to be corrupted by themselves. These worlds will often take any precaution they believe necessary to protect against the foreign corruption and danger. Handle these worlds with caution.
Aqua leaned back. She debated her options, then stood and left.
Lea passed her. "Hey! I've been looking for you. I have my report." He waved the papers.
"Put them on my desk. I have somewhere I have to be."
"What, the great Master Aqua's skipping work?"
"No. I'm visiting an old friend on business. Lea, can you stay here a little while? In case anyone comes looking for us."
"Wait, I'm in charge?" He looked away. "Sure, I guess, but what do I tell people if they come looking for you?"
"Tell them I went to Disney Castle."
That's it for this chapter. Review responses:
Mythfan: Indeed.
Parks98: To be fair, they didn't really have much choice. The training is certainly going to be interesting, to say the least. We'll have to see about what weapons the Final Fantasy characters have, though.
DPSS: Well, you got to see how Sora reacted, at least.
Gold2King: You'll have to wait and see~
ultima-owner: Haha, yep, though his Awakening certainly didn't help.
idea . getthe: The Nasuverse will be more involved, it's just that, since they aren't on Gaia at the moment, most of it's in the background. There'll probably be a part earlier in the story where they return briefly, and then in the second half the group will be more involved in the Nasuverse side of things.
blackfirekingkoncor: Haha, did not expect to see Final Fantasy IV in the reviews. (Love that game.) As for the fire spells, well, he's going to have some trouble with most spells here.
ZidanReign: Whoops. Yeah, checked that, and thanks!
animesguardianangel: I'll give you that yes, she's a canon character. I'll leave you to guess who. And that description sounds very familiar…I'm guessing I probably ran across it while looking at things, and just forgot? Anyway, thanks.
uknounx: It's certainly an interesting combination. I hope you enjoy!
swiftrabbit: Thanks! It was actually something I started doing back when I first joined FanFiction, and the site started taking out my original line breaks. I'm glad you like it!
Any comments or criticisms? Feel free to drop a review!
