Aqua sighed and settled back down into the hospital bed when she felt the presence of her familiars fade away. She was finally given a moment to breath.

But something struck her and she sat up again. It just occurred to her that she was missing something important, something she forgot about until now. Her keychain was nowhere to be found—not on the tables or trays, and not on top of her salvaged clothing.

She barely had enough energy to cast another spell and with no keyblade at her disposal, she was absolutely defenseless.

-x-X-x-

X: Best Wishes and Denial

-x-X-x-

Axel leaned over, frowning as he fiddled with one of the knobs to his new stove. Twisting it only resulted in empty clicking and no flame. He had spent a whole ten minutes trying to figure the damn thing out and the macaroni was definitely not going to cook itself on its own.

And there it goes, ticking like a clock through my disappointed soul, Axel thought to himself, rolling his eyes. He resisted the urge to call forth his newfound powers and start the fire himself—that's what he did the other week when he brilliantly tried to ignite his gas-powered stove the cool way, only to have it explode in his face.

"Axel, I'm hungry," came an over-dramatic wail from the sofa. Roxas was sprawled on his furniture, laying on his back as he flipped through whatever was on TV. His half-finished homework was tossed in disarray not too far from where he was lolling around, but the two of them knew that they were both done with studying for the night. "Remind me to get you easy-mac next time we drop by the store."

"I'm working on it," growled Axel through clenched teeth. Since when were kitchen appliances so intent on making his life difficult? Hopefully it wasn't because of the fire demon currently snoozing in his heart. "Good food takes time, fake cheese or not."

Axel could practically hear the other's eyes rolling as he jumped up from the couch, stretching and yawning. "Well I'm going to the bathroom."

"Whatever, you didn't have to tell me that," he replied and Roxas only laughed as he left him alone.

The stovetop finally sparked to life as the flames ignited below the saucepan. Axel inadvertently cheered by throwing up his arms and the flames faithfully followed his moments, nearly scorching his face in the process. The redhead coughed and batted the fire back down before huffing tiredly.

Finally, he could sit and take it easy.

"Hello, mister Axel."

Axel cursed and almost knocked over his pot of macaroni and water when he whirled around, wondering who in the world said that. He didn't remember inviting any creepy girl voices into his apartment last time he checked.

Maybe the source of the creepy girl voice was the glowing blue orb floating in front of him. The orb trembled a bit and Axel stepped away, backing up into the stove. The light finally held still as it transformed into the shape of a glowing blue fish—a round little goldfish to be exact.

"Oh, please don't tell me you're here because you're mad about being flushed down the—"

"Master Aqua sent me to look for you, she wishes for you to return a favor."

Axel blinked. It wasn't surprising that that woman had something to do with this goldfish-ghost-thing. It was probably one of those magic or spirit shenanigans that she was probably entangled in. "Master Aqua? Are you her personal messenger or something?"

The fish bobbed its headas if it were nodding. "In away. I am one of her faithful familiars—her soul gives me shape so I carry out her will."

Axel wasn't sure what to make of this. So apparently there are demon hunters, demons, and animal spirit things called familiars. How could I not have known this before? He supposed a glowing blue goldfish was girly enough for the cerulean-haired woman—it fit her to a tee when he thought about it. "Gotcha… So what type of favor does she want anyway?"

"It concerns her brother, Ventus, who you are surely familiar with. As you know, my master is currently out of commission and she wishes for you to watch over him until she is well again."

"Wait, she wants me to babysit—?"

"Miss Aqua lacks the energy to maintain any more protective wards so that is why she requires your help," the goldfish explained, answering his unspoken questions.

Axel pulled up a bar stool and sat on it. He thought about his options as the goldfish patiently waited for him, floating there.

"I'm not sure… I'm busy and school is a bitch, so…"

Sadness filled those little fish eyes as they stared balefully up at him. "But mister—!" It cried out, its mysterious demeanor suddenly giving way as it swished its tail frantically.

"…I probably do need another distraction," Axel finished, sighing deeply. He'll probably regret it in the morning but that woman Aqua backed him into a corner. If someone like her was that banged up, then no doubt an unprotected and unaware Ven was easy prey. "Tell her to send him over soon—I don't answer the door after twelve."

The fish continued to stare at him before letting out a cry of what he guessed was joy. It swam around his head in a circle, saying, "She'll be grateful to hear that, thank you!" before vanishing in a flash of blue light. Axel blinked and rubbed his eyes.

The sound of bubbling came from the stove and he realized with a start that the macaroni was boiling over.

-x-X-x-

He blocked out the world—or at least, whatever was irrelevant to what he was doing now. His legs stood wide apart as he held himself close to the ground, determined not to lose his balance. He blinked slowly as he timed each breath—every second a minute to him. In his hands, he gripped the wooden handle of a fake katana. He struck, once, twice, and successfully disarmed his opponent whose weapon was knocked from his hands.

The color returned to his vision as he straightened his back, smirking triumphantly.

"Aw man, I'm really out of it today, huh?" Zack groaned, kneeling down to retrieve his sword.

"Just a bit, but come on… I know you can do better than that, Zack," Terra replied, resting the dull side of his sword against his shoulder. "What's on your mind?"

Zack grinned up at him and Terra couldn't help but notice that there was a faint flush of color in his cheeks. "So you could tell that easy? Well I guess it can't be helped then—I'm asking Aqua on a date, and it's not gonna just be any date, it's for Homecoming." He practically jumped in excitement when he stood back up. "Awesome, huh?"

Oh. Oh.

Terra smiled to reflect his best friend's enthusiasm, but for some reason, his heart disagreed with his head as it beat woefully within his chest. "That's great… What do you think she'll say?"

"Beats me," Zack said nonchalantly. He shrugged and began a series of squats, swinging his arms in the process. "I really, really hope she'll say yes though. I asked her in the note with the flowers I got her earlier—the florist said they're good luck. Do you think she read it yet?"

"Well there's only one way to find out. You can ask her for real when we come back in an hour."

"Yeah…" The black-haired young man stopped for a moment as he stared off wistfully. Suddenly, he frowned. "Terra, wait a minute…"

Terra stuck his training sword into the ground a little harder than necessary before leaning on it. "What's up now?"

Zack turned to face him, looking a little worried and uncertain for once. "You like her too, don't you?"

"I—" Terra straightened himself as his chest constricted painfully all of a sudden. "—Not at all, where did you get that idea?"

"You can't fool me like that," Zack said, spinning his weapon between his fingers. He sighed and lowered his gaze—Terra did the same. "Man… I didn't even know until now."

Terra plopped down onto the ground, huffing. For some reason, beating Zack seemed less satisfying than before. "She's a friend—stop making things more complicated than they are."

The other didn't seem so convinced. "Are you sure? I mean, now that I think back on you two, it just seems a tiny bit obvious… I think. Tifa is way better at this than I am, maybe I should've talked with her first…"

It's… obvious? What's obvious? How could that be when he himself wasn't even sure about his own feelings? He cared about Aqua and she made herself out to be a close friend to him, but anything beyond that was so confusing to think about. Terra turned his face away as he flushed—could he even imagine himself with her? Then again, it was hard for him to imagine her with his best friend, he figured with a bitter snicker.

"Yeah, Tifa is way better at this than you are," Terra replied casually. "I said she's my friend and besides, I don't think I'll be going to the dance anyways."

Zack crossed his arms. "No way, you're coming and even if only one of us has a date, it'll still be like last year—I promise." He paused for a moment as a look of realization dawned on his face. "Maybe we can find someone else—!"

I think you're more in-tuned with your feminine side than you know, buddy.

"I'll consider." Terra's mouth twitched and for a fleeting moment, he genuinely pictured himself looping arms with Aqua. Well, he could probably humor Zack for a bit as he stood back up, readying his wooden sword in front of him. "But stop looking at me like that—you don't have to demote yourself to matchmaker. I said I don't mind… but on second thought, you might want to find another girl…" He smirked, "Aqua is way out of your league, man."

Zack opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "H-hey!" He stammered. "Weren't you being encouraging just a minute ago? Oh—wait, I get it… You're trying to mess up my Zen and make me lose control of my emotions or something so you can beat me again. I don't think so, I'm way ahead of you, Terra."

Terra pointed his sword at him. "Best two out of three?"

Zack flashed him a grin. "Bring it."

The two friends went back to sparring, but they never managed to finish a single match. The timer rung before either of them could strike down the other. Even then, they continued to fight until both of them were short of breath and sweat dripped liberally down their foreheads. When a silent understanding passed between them, the two boys threw down their weapons and collapsed onto the floor, wiping their faces with the sleeves of their uniform.

"Tie?"

"Whatever."

The sky had darkened considerably and Terra guessed they had a couple hours before nightfall. The evening air was forgiving on their skin though, and the breeze that ruffled their hair as they rode back to the hospital was a godsend.

After dismounting, Terra slipped both thumbs under the edge of his helmet to pull it off, but a terrible screeching suddenly filled his ears. He grit his teeth and wrenched the helmet off, looking around in alert.

"What the hell was that?"

Zack turned to face him. "What was what?"

"That sound… it was like nails on chalkboard, screaming even."

His friend frowned as he cocked an eyebrow. "I hear crickets and cars, but no screaming. Are you chickening out already? I mean, I know you hate hospitals and all—"

"That's not it," Terra snapped. How could he not have heard? "I swear I just heard it, I'm not going crazy…" He trailed off and when Zack opened his mouth to speak, he raised a hand to silence him as he listened intently.

Sure enough, there was something else besides the rush of cars and crickets chirping. It was a subtle, wailing sound and as he listened closer, he found that it was actually made up of several voices stacked on top of each other. They were a far cry from the high-pitched screeching he heard a second ago, but the wailing chilled him to the bone all the same. His eyes darted to the other, searching for some sort of indication that he heard it. There was none and Zack looked as confused as ever.

"Can't… you hear it?" He asked, almost desperately.

Zack shook his head. "No… Terra you're freaking me out, let's go."

Terra looked over his shoulder to see if the source was behind him. It wasn't and the echo of Zack's words within his head caused the last of the cries to die out. "Yeah… sorry. It was probably nothing."

The other didn't seem so sure as they started walking. "You said you were hearing things too when we first found you, don't you remember?"

"I… It was different though. It was a little girl screaming, and that… Well I'm not sure what that was. Didn't we figure it was just Tifa? I mean, it was just you, her, and her father."

"True, not that she would admit something like that." Zack sighed and rubbed his temples. "Whatever, this talk of voices is freaky. Let's hurry up and find Aqua."

Terra complied; he didn't want to talk about it either.

-x-X-x-

Aqua sighed deeply. She loved her brother, but this was turning into a headache.

"I want to stay here with you!"

"You know you can't do that, Ven. You have work still, and I want you to go to school tomorrow."

"Forget school," Ven said, almost angrily. "I can make it all up later—family comes first, doesn't it?"

"Ven…" Aqua said gently, "I'll be fine, it's just for one more day—"

"No!" Ven shouted, stunning Aqua into silence. The blonde lifted a hand to his mouth as if he was surprised with himself too. He shook his head and lowered his gaze. "You always tell me you're going to be fine, Aqua, but look at you now. Don't you hate it when you have to worry about me? That feeling that squeezes your gut… it's bad isn't it? Because that's what I feel right now and I can barely stand it.

"But I get it, I can't stay. That's not it, though—I may be your little brother, but you're still my sister, Aqua. The stuff you do that I don't know about, I don't like it, whatever it is. I'll go to Axel's like you said, but I want you to stop hiding things from me," Ven finished with a pleading look in his eyes.

Aqua gave in, but she resisted the urge to avert her gaze. "I put you through a lot… I know, and I'm sorry." How was she supposed to explain the truth to him? How was she supposed to explain that his parents were murdered and that she slays monsters while he sleeps? How was she supposed to explain the strange power that coursed through her blood, giving her unbelievable strength and regenerative abilities?

How could she tell him… that she was not the same girl after their parents' murder?

"We can talk more… after," was all she said.

Ventus's shoulders slumped but he seemed just a tiny bit satisfied with that. "Sorry for pushing that on you… I've just been bottling it up lately." He scratched his head. "That's not healthy, huh?"

"No," Aqua replied, "but I shouldn't be talking. We'll sit down and talk about everything though, okay? I promise."

Ven nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. "Yeah… Good night, Aqua. Get well soon—it's not just me that misses you, you know."

Aqua returned the smile and gazed around at the flowers and cards she had yet to read. "Yes, I know. Good night, Ven."

-x-X-x-

Aqua was in the midst of reading one of the many cards that the others left for her when the two of them walked in.

"You two… look worn out," she remarked with a wry smile.

Both guys straightened their backs while pressing and smoothing down their own hair.

"We sparred at Tifa's to pass the time," Terra explained.

Zack was nervous. His skin was a deeper shade than usual and he seemed to be adjusting his collar a little more than normal. Terra stifled a chuckle, but his amusement was short-lived when his gaze flittered to the bundle of lilies.

What are you getting all bitter for? You deserve this so get over it.

Aqua was right—both of them probably did look terrible right now, but the young woman didn't seem to be in the brightest of moods either.

She looks… worried almost.

Zack opened his mouth to speak but Aqua didn't seem to notice when she looked around. "Zack, Terra… did anyone happen to bring in a silver keychain? It looks like a raindrop and it has a blue jewel. I know it sounds odd, but it's precious to me and I've always carried it around." Her eyebrows furrowed and Terra tried not to look too deeply into her face. "It's not here though… I hope no one stole it."

"I can ask one of the nurses," he offered. "They could've missed it. If not, we'll find it for you, Aqua."

Zack nodded. "I'll come—"

Terra shook his head, cutting him off. "No, you should keep her company." He gave him a quick look and glanced at the white lilies. "I won't take long."

Aqua sat up, appearing a little more concerned, but grateful. "Oh, thank you. Please don't worry about it too much though."

"No problem," he said before leaving the two alone. He closed the door behind him and sighed. Well, he had a job to do now.

The hospital seemed a bit more unsettling at night—fewer people were out and about, and the windows that lead outside showed nothing but the night. It was almost lonely.

Terra really, reallyhated hospitals.

At first he wasn't really concerned with his phobia when he had Aqua to worry about, but as he stood there in the empty hallway, it all came inkling back to him. Either way, it wasn't like Aqua needed him, right?

Are you really okay with that?

Terra frowned and walked away. Why was he sulking? And why did his heart ache with every beat?

"Terra?"

Terra whirled around to find that it was just Ven, much to his relief.

"Are you okay?"

"Dandy. I was just going to go ask someone about Aqua's keychain."

"Keychain? Well the nurses don't have it." Ventus blinked, glancing at the closed door. "Zack's here too? What are they doing in there?"

"Zack's going to ask Aqua out for Homecoming," he answered a little too flatly.

Ven brightened up at that. "Wow, really? I bet she'll be super excited for that—Aqua's never gone on a date before…" He covered his mouth. "Oops, I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a secret or not."

Terra couldn't help but smile a little. "It's not like I'm gonna go around telling people."

-x-X-x-

Aqua's cheeks were burning and her eyes were wide as the fingers of her left hand rested upon her open lips. She probably looked ridiculous like that since her black eye and bruises still haven't healed all the way. She was far from concerned about her appearances though.

"…What?" She asked in disbelief.

Zack was beaming at her. At first, she didn't understand why he was acting so restless until he finally asked her the question, and it didn't take long for him to regain his confidence after he handed the lilies to her. "I said, how about one date for Homecoming?"

"Homecoming?" Aqua echoed. "I… didn't think anyone would ask me." Her blush deepened. Kairi was right and now she was fumbling around like a fool. "And I've never gone to a dance, and oh gosh…"

Zack wasn't deterred. "That's okay—I can show you how things are done, but what do you say?"

Aqua wasn't sure what to say, or how to react. A dozen excuses flooded her mind and her duties weren't going to vanish just for the night called Homecoming, but then again, it wouldn't hurt to say yes and she did want to find out what was so fun about it. It wasn't like Zack was pressuring her into some sort of commitment either and needless to say, his excitement was quite contagious.

"I suppose… it won't hurt," she finally ceded, lowering her nose into the flowers shyly. There was something odd about them.

Zack cheered and Aqua couldn't help but laugh when he threw his arms around her. He let go quickly and flashed her a 1000-watt smile before saying something about telling the others as he rushed out.

Aqua blinked, the warmth still lingering in her face. She returned her attention back to the flowers, rubbing the waxy petals between her fingers. Clipped to them was a small card sporting a hasty drawing of what seemed to be Zack himself flashing the peace sign. She smiled and set the card aside.

Suddenly, the flowers came to life with a soft glow and Aqua almost dropped them out of surprise. Pulsating gently, a mysterious and warm energy emanated from them. From the surface of the petals, the light traveled up her fingertips before spreading throughout her entire body. Her skin tingled where the energy touched her and within seconds, the glow vanished entirely and Aqua was left feeling refreshed and strangely vitalized. She stared at her hands in absolute wonder as the pain in her body quickly faded away.

This healing magic… Is this Zack's doing?

It seemed unlikely to her that the other knew anything about magic, but if it wasn't him that embedded the spell, then who…?

Aqua sunk back into bed, feeling much better. She couldn't complain at all—the magic felt wonderful. She supposed she could look the other way and leave it at that and whatever the Order didn't know wouldn't hurt them…

Now all that was left was to find her missing keyblade.

A/N: It's Thanksgiving break for me, but I have so many things to do, it's hardly a break haha. I forgot what I was going to say here so I'm just going to leave it at that. Happy holidays everyone!