Happy Holidays! And for anyone interested in Bleach, I'm betaing for a kind writer, cleverminded619, who's writing Rise of the Shiba Clan. Be sure to give it a read~
With the events of Aqua's final battle in the light unfolded, everyone took on a pensive stance. Where is Terra— where could he be? is a deep rooted question for Aqua. The groups many visits to Radiant Garden yielded no sign of a man by his description.
"Gosh." Mickey cradled his face in his hand. "I wish I'd have seen the man, at least once, to know for sure."
"If Terra had trouble remembering you, and if by chance his memory never returned," Riku eased Aqua into the idea- "who's to say he hasn't become an entirely different person by now?" - with all the finesse and consideration of a bulldozer.
Sora slapped a hand to his mouth with a stiff laugh. "Riku's crazy sometimes, huh?"
Riku peeled said hand off, holding it before Sora with a raised brow. Sora, in turn, managed to look sheepish as he pulled away.
But Aqua took it in stride. "It's possible, however, the keyblade doesn't vanish with memory. A man with no identity, wielding a keyblade, would catch someone's attention."
"Take Roxas for example," Lea interjected, "he had no idea who he was, but that keyblade popped into his hand and-" Lea snapped his fingers. "-Organization had him the moment he stepped into the world."
An understanding blossomed around the room, so Aqua asked, "who's Roxas?"
"Roxas was my nobody," Sora put forth the information with a hint of apology.
Lea crossed his arms and turned away, closing off the conversation from going any further with him. Aqua caught a question on the tip of her tongue, and decided against it.
"As for Ventus," she turned the tides of their current topic, "I need to see if he's awake."
Mickey tipped forward, lilting the words, "do you think his heart found its way home?"
"I'm afraid to be positive or negative," she confessed, clasping her hands together, "checking in later will make that a yes or no. I'd rather not dwell on maybes any longer."
"Then why wait?" Riku scooted out of his seat. To which Sora eagerly followed.
"I can't imagine it being safe." Aqua waved a hand down as if to quell their energy. "Given a few more days I'm sure my strength will return enough for a safe journey."
"Nonsense!" Sora rebutted, "we can handle any danger. You need your friend back!"
"But..."
"You're going to have to accept you're not alone anymore," Lea interrupted.
Despite the tremor in her hands, she nodded.
Casting a glance at the rest of the group to confirm they were caught up discussing the upcoming journey, Lea laid a steady hand on her trembling ones.
"Hey, this is okay, right?" he softly queried.
Aqua inhaled. "I can't get my hopes up." She met his eye. "What if he's not there? What if he left to find me, and got lost? Or... what if he's still asleep? How will I wake him after all this time?"
Lea passed a basket of cinnamon rolls to her from the center of the table. "Letting yourself hope doesn't ensure a happy ending." When she didn't take it, he handed one to her. "You have to believe in yourself first. That if things do turn out bad, you'll do your best to make it better." He sat back in a chair, and bit into a roll. Then flippantly added, "and if your hope alone isn't enough, you can borrow some of mine. We're friends now. So believe me when I say we'll get your friend back."
Despite Lea's nonchalance, Aqua felt his waterfall of comfort wash away a majority of her fears. Like the weight on her shoulders shifted to lie on his as well.
She closed her eyes slowly with a breath of relief. "Thank you, Lea."
"Wow," Sora sighed happily.
Riku nodded. "That moved even me."
Turning away from them, he cupped his chin in his hand and laid his elbow to the table with a glower. Inadvertently facing only Aqua, so she could giggle, front and center, at the furious blush decorating his cheeks.
"Yeah, yeah." Lea waved them off.
The group gathered in the towns square. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Riku, and Lea all stood behind Aqua. An indomitable air hushed the everyday bustle surrounding them. Shopkeepers, and passersby alike curiously glanced at the large group. Unable to set aside the sudden need to whisper as they continued their business.
Aqua reached above to summon her blade in a graceful sweep as she slashed it down to point forward, calling out, "are we ready?"
They resolutely nodded.
Lea held up a finger. "Is it too late to grab an ice cream?"
The group faltered; caught somewhere between frowning, and rolling their eyes.
"Ouu, bring me one!" Sora chimed in.
Riku raised a fist.
"Ow!" echoed behind Aqua's back. She concentrated on the power within her blade as Sora complained, "I would've shared!"
Pure light bloomed a portal to life before them. Tendrils of glowing wisps danced at the edges, beckoning it's summoner to enter.
Aqua thrusted the keyblade down to her side, flicking the remnant energy off. She met their steady gaze over her shoulder, asserting with a steely confidence, "let's go."
Next time we get Theseus and the Minotaur! In which the maze is Castle Oblivion, the Minotaur is Ventus, the rest of the group is Theseus, Aqua is probably the string, and no one dies. Because no one should ever die RIGHT NOMURA
VampireLady92, thank you! Ya know what, I like you.
Aw, my dear sweet Guest, thank you!
Anyway, I'm not sober today and I shouldn't have to be. Slay me in the reviews.