Chapter 9-The Mountain

In the several months that followed, everything seemed to finally settle into a routine in the Radiant Garden; Xehanort gradually demonstrated remarkable aptitude in intelligence, and developed a rather professional stance towards his work, yet he was polite and kind when he needed to be. Ienzo, who despite his initial scepticism of him, gradually began to warm up to Xehanort, and in fact, together, they were considering a series of projects concerned with the workings of the heart that they planned to propose to Ansem when the time was right. Sairu and Kairi, on the other hand, still had their reservations about him, with Sairu having more reason than others; every time he made eye contact with Xehanort, the recollection of the nightmare flashed in his mind, and Sairu couldn't help but compare the two men based on their eyes despite the myriad differences between Xehanort and the figure from his nightmare.

Elsewhere, ever since the incident with the two men before Xehanort's arrival, Lea and Isa had established almost brother-like attachments to the trio of friends, and whenever Donny's gang, accompanied by the boy who almost swiped Kairi's necklace, named Jaden Amagai, arrived to cause trouble for them, it took a cold look and some mild threats from Isa to send them home with now brown underwear. Thankfully, they slowly took the hints and maintained a respectful distance from then ever since. Lea and Sairu in particular would spend a great deal of time with just each other, generally over their favourite sea-salt ice cream. On one such occasion, Sairu then brought up something he wanted to ask him ever since he first met him.

"Say, Lea. Can I ask you something?" Sairu asked one afternoon, as they ate ice cream in the Central Square alone; Ienzo and Isa were both studying, and Kairi was out with her grandmother for the day, leaving the two alone to hang out. "Fire away, kiddo. What's on your mind?" Lea responded, genuinely interested in what Sairu has to say. "You know how you always say 'Got it memorised?'; I was just wondering: why do you say it?" Sairu admitted as he turned to look at him. Lea gave Sairu an unreadable look at first, but then, he proceeded to look to the sky, a simple smile adorning his face, which was not usual for him; Sairu knew him either to have a cocky smirk or annoyed look when Isa and he argued.

"Well, it's rather complicated. Believe it or not, I'm quite deep thinking when the mood strikes me; but mostly when I'm by myself, or else Isa will never let me live it down that I actually use my head for more than just ice cream and girls" Lea attempted to explain, but he noticed the confused expression Sairu wore on his face. Seeing this, Lea sighed exasperatedly and then said "Anyway, a while back, there was someone I admired greatly: my grandfather, believe it or not. See, I never really saw eye to eye with my parents; they always seemed to look the other way with me because they work so hard. But, my granddad understood why, and he looked out for me whenever my parents wouldn't listen to what I had to say. He... was always there to make me smile, make me feel like I was there. Just like at home, however, I never really stood out much at school, because... I was much quieter back then than I am now"

"Huh, you were quiet?!" Sairu interrupted, astounded at this revelation, which Leas retaliated with a serious look. Seeing this silenced Sairu and nodded, allowing Lea to continue. "Yeah, I was. And my granddad always was the one to notice me when the other kids wouldn't care less. That lasted until... he suddenly suffered a stroke and died in a care home a month later. However, he left me something important; an entry in his will addressed to me alone. There, he told me that he would always be proud of me, no matter what happened, and that others would see me if I made the effort to get to know them, especially since he wouldn't be there to help me anymore. What I took from this: because my parents still didn't notice me because of their jobs, I am the only one who truly remembers my grandfather and that he lives on inside my heart through my memories. Now I know I can achieve the same: I say that line because I want everyone I meet to remember me, since I'm the only one of me and if no one remembers me, then I disappear forever when my time comes. 'Got that memorised'. That line is me all over"

After hearing Lea's incredibly moving story, Sairu was sat there, mesmerised and awestruck at where 'Got it memorised' came from for Lea. Sairu then also felt a single tear stroll down his cheek, which Lea noticed but gave Sairu a ruffle of the hair and a chuckle all the same. "Sorry if it made you cry, kid. But I do have a favour" "Huh?" Sairu queried, drying his eye. "Promise me that... Isa and the others don't find out about this. I want to tell them myself when I feel ready, kay?" Lea spoke, at which Sairu appeared confused, but nodded all the same. Seeing this, Lea smiled again and, having finished his ice cream, rose to his feet. "Well then, let's get you home. Aerith is going to kill me if I don't get you back before 5. Not that I would mind if it was her..." "Huh? Did you say something?" Sairu queried, at which Lea inwardly blanched but retaliated "U-Uh, n-nothing, never mind. Come on, let's go" he stammered and with a gesture, Sairu and Lea returned home.

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"Thanks for bringing Sairu home, Lea" Aerith said, just as Lea and Sairu arrived back at home. "Ah, it was nothing. He's a good kid, him and his little pals" Lea responded sheepishly, a faint blush painting his cheeks, at which Sairu could only chuckle before he gave Lea a final wave. Just as Lea said his goodbyes and turned to return home, he then turned around suddenly. "Oh yeah. Don't forget: Christmas is a couple of weeks away. Better get something for those pals of yours, Sairu. Got it memorised?" he stated with his usual phrase and gesture, at which Sairu remembered. "Yeah, thanks, Lea" Sairu gestured with a salute, which earned him a smile from Lea, and after shoving his hands in his pockets, made off on his way.

Once Sairu was inside, Squall approached him. "You ready for the next lesson, Sairu? We have a guest today who will help out" "Huh? A guest? Is it someone I know?" Sairu queried. "Oh, I think you will know when you see for yourself" Squall smirked in satisfaction, and the two made their way towards the dojo. As Squall and Sairu entered, they were greeted with an interesting sight: the figure in question was a tall, well-built man with long flowing silver hair, dressed in a long black coat with silver shoulder guards, black gloves, black boots and a bronze piece around his abdomen with a symbol which to Sairu, seemed like a pair of hands together.

"So, Squall, this is your protégé? I'll be honest when I say he doesn't look like much. But then again, he is just a child; he has room to grow" Sephiroth stated matter-of-factly as he and Sairu locked eyes with one another. "Y-Y-You're... S-S-S-Sephiroth, the hero! Cid told me about you; this is so cool!" Sairu stuttered excitedly. "Squall, why is he here? A hero like Sephiroth to train me, why would he have the time?" Sairu asked, disbelieving yet ecstatic. "Well, because of my choice of weapon, I can only teach you so much. But Sephiroth is a real master of a sword; considering those blue horrors disappeared, hero business has pretty much dried up for him, so he agreed to teach you because of his free time" Squall explained, at which Sairu could only nod his head, understanding.

"In any case, I would like to assess your capabilities in a sparring match, then I will show you some of my basic stances. Alright?" Sephiroth queried sternly, to which Sairu could only nod his head slowly, concerned about going against Sephiroth in a duel with swords. He was relieved when he noticed Sephiroth pick up a wooden katana from the rack, just as Squall fetched one for Sairu, before standing in between the two, acting as a coach. "Do take it easy on him, please. Sairu is exceptional as a student, but you are gifted" Squall advised politely, to Sephiroth, slightly smiling, merely responded with "Hmph. I know, don't worry" As both Sairu and Sephiroth brought their wooden swords into a starting stance, Squall signalled with his risen hand to wait and after swinging it down, Sairu suddenly charged towards Sephiroth with surprising speed but before he could make contact with his opponent's sword, Sephiroth had suddenly flashed out of sight and appeared behind Sairu, and with as little strength as possible, attacked Sairu. Sairu was too late to respond, and despite his opponent holding back considerably, that swing still hurt.

Then, Sephiroth approached with a vertical slash, which Sairu blocked and retaliated with a reverse vertical slash of his own that broke through Sephiroth's guard, and Sairu followed through with a one-handed horizontal sweep but unfortunately, Sephiroth had predicted and parried the blow, the recoil forcing Sairu back. Sairu looks at Sephiroth with gritted teeth and ran as fast as he could towards him, and struck from the left, which Sephiroth predicted and attempted to parry, only for Sairu to smirk and suddenly, switched the wooden sword from his left hand to his right, and successfully struck Sephiroth in his left side. Sephiroth instinctively held his side with his left hand, surprised and intrigued at the feint that Sairu managed to pull off, and was secretly impressed: despite the great chasm that existed between them in experience, he had been able to deceive him long enough to score a good hit; in an actual battle, he could well last, but still...

Although Sairu's eyes were on Sephiroth the entire time, he didn't even see the next attack connect and noticed the wooden sword in his hands had been cut cleanly, leaving Sairu with only two bits of kindle. Sephiroth merely gave a triumphant smile before walking past Sairu and replacing the wooden sword he had used on the stand. Sairu meanwhile, couldn't comprehend what just happened: Sephiroth didn't even move, and yet, he cut through his sword like it was paper, not to mention with a wooden sword, which was far from lethal. In the midst of his confusion, something inside Sairu caved in, and suddenly, he began silently weeping. He couldn't ascertain why, and his confusion fuelled his tears. Suddenly, he felt a strong hand clasp his head and ruffle it almost affectionately.

As Sairu turned to face Sephiroth, he noticed he was smiling sincerely and the words he spoke with next were surprising: "Your skills were impressive for your age, but understand: there are few people who could stand on level ground with me in a fight. Stick to your training with Squall, and I'm sure you could be my equal one day" With those final words, Sephiroth gave a nod towards Squall, and proceeded to walk away giving them both one last wave without even turning his head back.

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Despite what Sephiroth expressed to him, something inside Sairu had changed for the worse: since then, it was if all his energy had been drained from that sparring with Sephiroth, and Sairu seemingly lost the ability to speak full sentences, only uttering words of etiquette when they were necessary. Aerith, Yuffie, and everyone else were concerned with this development, yet Squall seemed almost indifferent to the whole ordeal. Sairu began retreating to the confines of his room after each meal, reading books, or just gazing at the ceiling. He didn't even leave the house to go and play with Ienzo and Kairi; not even Lea nor Isa could get him to leave.

This attitude carried on for several days, until, with Sairu currently sleeping in, Aerith decided enough was enough and decided to confront Squall. "Squall, I need to ask you something" she said, turning across to face Squall, who was reading the newspaper. Hearing his name being addressed, Squall placed the newspaper on the table and turned to face Aerith. "What's wrong?" Squall asked warily. Aerith merely gave him a scornful look and replied icily "You know what's wrong. Sairu has been in his room for the past week, ever since you brought Sephiroth here to train him. You told me that he would get over it, but it doesn't look like it to me. Not even Ienzo or Kairi can make him come out of his room. What's more, you don't seem to care about how Sairu is feeling right now".

At this, Squall's stoic demeanour crumbled as he sharply rose to his feet and eyed Aerith angrily "Don't you dare say I don't care about what he's going through. I admit, it is my fault Sairu is like this, but to face an opponent like Sephiroth is experience for him" he retaliated in silent anger. "Experience? He's a child, and the fact that Sephiroth had the indecency to agree to it, it was like pitting Sairu against a mountain; he was never going to win. You broke his confidence because of your "concern" for his development! He's crestfallen, because you don't know how to encourage him" Hearing that, Squall was left fuming at that accusation, but inside, he knew that it was true: Squall wasn't sure how to help Sairu from the beginning, but he stuck to what he knew and it was now clear that he had taken it too far.

"Maybe you're right, but it was better to try the way I was taught first, and now I know: my way led to this situation. I take full responsibility for my mistakes; I was too hard on him because I expected great things of him. But it's not like saying I'm sorry to him is going to change that" Squall countered, using every ounce of willpower he could muster to maintain his composure. Aerith in the meantime sighed and said "I know. But if we can't help him, nor his friends, is there anyone that can reach him?" As the two continued their discussion, they were unaware of a certain great "ninja" listening in. An interesting idea came to mind, and with that, Yuffie set off to gather what she needed.

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Within two hours of their discussion, Aerith then heard a knock at the door. As she opened the door, she was surprised to see Ienzo, Kairi, Lea and Isa standing together. "Hello, Aerith. Yuffie called us over to see Sairu" Isa spoke up coolly, at which Aerith appeared confused, unsure of what happened for Yuffie to do what she did. "I... see. Hold on, I'll get them for you. Sairu! Yuffie! Someone's here to see you!" she called to the stairway, at which two doors opened, and out stepped a certain ninja, looking pleased that they all arrived, while Sairu was simply confused as to the gathering before them.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Sairu asked in a faraway voice. Ienzo answered "Would you come out with us? You've been keeping yourself in your home for days, and you need fresh air and exercise. This is not a request; it's a demand" he then stated authoritatively. At this, Sairu seemed to shrink on the staircase, but nodded slowly much to his friends' relief. As he put on his shoes, he bid goodbye to Aerith as he slowly walked out of the door with Yuffie in tow. As they walked, an uncomfortable silence hung in the atmosphere around them. Soon their walking came to an end, arriving at the front doors of the palace, much to Sairu's confusion.

"Why did we come here to the palace? I thought we would be heading to the park, so why come here?" Sairu asked confused, to which no one responded, whilst Yuffie walked to stand opposite Sairu with a serious expression on her face, and then he noticed that she was carrying two wooden katanas in her hands. Sairu then noticed that she then threw the one in her right hand towards Sairu, who caught it with both hands. If Sairu was confused before, he was utterly bewildered, especially when she rose the katana she still had into a battle stance. "Huh?" What are you-" But Sairu was interrupted when Yuffie lunged at him, their training swords clashing with one another. As they locked eyes, Sairu noticed determination in her brown orbs, just as she detected something in his eyes: defeat.

After the first strike, Yuffie stepped back only for her to attack with a relentless barrage of attacks, and all Sairu did was block as many of them as he could, but his current state meant that he had no drive, refusing to fight and only defend. Their spectators watched carefully; the boys, even Lea, were wearing serious expressions, whilst Kairi had a look of shock on her face. Despite Yuffie attacking endlessly, Sairu did note she wasn't cut out for swordplay. In fact, he never saw her with a sword of any description, as she favoured her shuriken over all other weapons. Which did beckon the question: why was she even fighting him with a sword, if this wasn't what she was best at?

And here's the next one. Hope you enjoy, and please review! Considering this is about nine years before the first Kingdom Hearts game, it felt right to include Sephiroth before he turned evil. So in this case, I have established Sephiroth and Cloud as two individuals, rather than Sephiroth being the manifestation of Cloud's darkness. Just so you know.

Enjoy!