Gemini

by Nenilein

Vanitas never had any reason to be loyal to Xehanort. Had he realized this fact the day he was created, maybe his life would have taken a different path entirely? / An Alternate Timeline in which Vanitas betrays Xehanort and is taken into custody by Eraqus. Will cover the entire time-span of Birth by Sleep. No Pairings.

10. Comfort

"In your hand, take this blade. And so long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be made!"

"What's that about? Who went and made you Master?"

"Being a Keyblade Master is all I've dreamed about!"

"Well, you're not the only one,"

"I know."

It was only the three of them, gazing out to the dazzling, blue sky. That afternoon he'd been trying to fight and beat Terra. Not to be better than him, just to walk with him and Aqua, on the same world, living the same life. It was scary, to have that key raised against him, again and again, but he'd realized that if he wanted to be by their side, he had to be stronger. Not stronger than them, just strong enough to be with them. Strong enough to not run away and hide in a bright place whenever the dark drew near. He shouldn't be afraid of the dark in the first place. That person, the one who wasn't here, had so much less light than they had, and yet his color was just as pleasing and important to him. All their colors were. That was why Ventus couldn't run away anymore.

Bathed in the light of the sun, Terra knelled down before Ventus and handed the wooden Keyblade to him.

"We all share the same dream."

With the sun behind him like that, Terra looked radiant to Ventus, just as beautiful as the borrowed light he'd turn to whenever he was scared, but far more colorful, far more alive and real. In fact, everything seemed more real when they were there. Voices had colors, colors had shapes, shapes had textures and depth and temperature and a surface that could be touched. Aqua had taken care of him, and Vanitas had protected him, but it was Terra who had led him here. Terra who was telling him what his dream was. Terra who was giving him such an important gift. If he just didn't run away anymore, Terra would definitely lead him everywhere, and he'd never have to be alone again.

Ventus laughed. The moment he touched Terra's gift, the wooden Keyblade, the world seemed doused in millions of shining colors and Ventus forgot that reality had ever looked or felt different to him. This way he'd never be able to run away and hide in the borrowed light again. He would be brave now.

---

A pure heart would never have been able to sustain so many falsehoods for long without eventually revealing them. It was a good thing that he wasn't a pure heart. Lies were Vanitas' everyday life now, both the lies mandated on him by Eraqus, as well as the lies that Ventus' mind had made up to fill the gaps in its heart's fragmented memory. Whenever they became relevant to him, he would simply go along with, sometimes even embellish them. Sometimes doing that was quite fun. 'Reminding' Ventus of amusing mishaps that never really happened to him. Attributing successes in Ventus' actual past to himself. Explanations were found and internalized, for the boy's differing attitudes, their likes and dislikes, their opinions and believes. Little by little, lie by lie, a past was built that all of them believed in.

Solidifying their new shared reality, the four young Keyblade Wielders soon fell into the final version of the rhythm that should become their everyday life, training together several times every day, sharing meals, and splitting their tasks by 3.5 (because, in spite of all scolding, Vanitas would still only do his chores every other day.) Days passed by and turned to weeks. Soon the days became long and hot and the sun's angle in the sky so sharp, it was blinding. Summer had come, making outdoor training an unusually tedious chore. Especially Vanitas found the harsh sunlight so unbearable, he would refuse to train outside, and attempt to manipulate the others into doing the same. Of course, Aqua and Terra would have none of it. No matter how good a job Vanitas did at half-jokingly convincing Ventus that stepping outside in this weather would quite literally result in all of them bursting into flames, their two elder companions were always quick to step in and set the record straight.

"C'mon, Ven. You know he's just messing with you." Terra would say, and ruffle Ventus' hair.

"Right..." The blonde boy nodded, still seeming a little uneasy.

Vanitas, meanwhile, scoffed, "Killjoy."

"Hey, I'm not the one here who's been refusing to do anything but indoor combat for three weeks in a row!" Terra returned. "You still owe me a rematch on the hill, remember?"

"Yeah, sure. Will do. In October, maybe."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Terra, and just a few days later, him and Aqua had arranged for the entire group, including their Master, to have a picnic down by the river. When the day of the event came, Vanitas just found himself dragged along down to the river bench, forced into a swimsuit the others had conjured up for him from somewhere, and all resistance was futile. It was a deeply humiliating experience, leading to the black-haired boy's retreat into the shadow of a nearby tree as soon as the group arrived at their destination. He also made sure to pocket about half the sandwiches that Terra had made before he split from the others. It didn't take 3 minutes for Ventus to come after him.

"C'mon. You can't seriously want to spend the whole day over here."

"I can. I do. I will." Vanitas replied. He demonstratively shoved a whole sandwich into his mouth.

Ventus sighed. "I know, I know, it's hot and all. But that's why we're down here! Really, how about a swim in the river? That's sure to cool us down."

"Except we don't know how to swim."

"-Ah. Right! We don't."

Vanitas made a very unimpressed face at that reaction. It was what he'd expected, of course. This confused way of self-correcting was how Ventus usually acted when his mind was frantically trying to fill in a newly found gap in his memory. It was like watching a six years old desperately trying to blotch out the equation '2+2=5' before their teacher could see. Ventus himself never seemed aware of how awkward these moments were, and Aqua and Terra simply did them off as a slight air-headed streak. Vanitas got to keep all of the second-hand embarrassment to himself.

"Still, that just means that this is a good chance to learn, right?" Ventus' eyes were shining with enthusiasm. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Me having to go out in the sun."

"I'm telling you, it's gonna be fun!"

"Drowning."

"Like the others would let us drown!"

"Having to listen to any more of your nagging."

Ventus understandably had no counterargument for that. His face fell into a little frown as he tried to think about how to possibly work his way out of this stalemate. No way could he just allow Van to stay over here in the shade, when everyone else was by the water and having fun. Or were they? It was now that Ventus noticed a pair of blue eyes glistening in the bushes right behind his brother. Just a second later, the leaves parted and a large shape lunged out like a hungry wolf.

"Gotcha!" Terra's triumphant voice rang out.

"W-Wha-!?"

Vanitas found himself trapped in one very firm headlock, courtesy of the eldest apprentice.

"Say, have you been getting slower?" Terra grinned down at his hostage. "I could have sworn you'd be able to get away from this one."

Vanitas just growled, trying to wriggle himself free. "Sneaking up from behind is dirty."

"You do it all the time."

"Just let me go, Terra!"

Terra laughed. Fairly unimpressed by every kick into his backside and punch into his gut his unwilling passenger tried to land, he dragged the young boy over to the riverbank, where he finally gave him a hearty push, tossing him into shallow water. Like a carp leaping up a cascade, Vanitas immediately shot back out of the water again, sputtering and trashing around enough to splash everything within a five meters plenty. Watching him gave his two observers up on dry land a good laugh.

"Didn't I say it was gonna be fun?" Ventus called down to his brother.

"Shuddup! You can take your 'fun' and shove it!" Somewhere in-between all this thrashing and splashing Vanitas had summoned his Keyblade. "Hey, Terra, if it's a fight you want just say it outright!"

"Sorry, but no Keyblades today." Terra replied. "If you wanna beat me, you'll have to line up behind Aqua."

"...Behind Aqua?"

Before Vanitas could ask what Terra meant, he heard a voice echo out from somewhere above them.

"Hey! Boys!"

All three of them looked up at a nearby rock formation, on top of which they spotted a very familiar silhouette waving at them.

"It would be safer if you all got away from there! I won't hold back!" Aqua called down to them.

"Sure! Just give us a moment!" Terra replied. He reached a hand down to help Vanitas out of the water.

Well, there had certainly been a point in tossing him in the first place now, right? Why yes, Vanitas did feel quite irritated by all of this. Still, the whole affair had also spurned on his desire to stick it right back to Terra quite a bit and he couldn't deny that he was curious as to what kind of 'competition' it was that Terra and Aqua were holding. After what just happened, he had to make sure to become its winner. Looking up at the rock Aqua was standing on, Vanitas had to squint a little. The sun was right behind her and stung in his eyes, but he managed to make her form out clearly in the end. She wore a two-piece swimsuit and her long hair was pinned up in a bun. It was a little odd to see her without the flowing fabric she usually had tied around her waist tracing her every move, but it was unmistakably Aqua nevertheless.

The moment the path was cleared and Terra gave a sign, Aqua took a little run up and leaped off the rock in a high arc. Spinning in the air a couple of times, she finally stretched out straight, pointing the very tips of her left foot's toes at the water's surface. They cut into it and she graciously slid underwater, making quite sizable waves as she did. A few moments later Aqua came up again, shaking off the water in her face and hair.

"So? How was I?" she asked. Her voice sounded confident.

Terra stroked his chin a little, "Hmm... A 6.5, I'd say. That wasn't exactly what I'd call a decent splash."

"You never said that it was supposed to be about splashing," Aqua claimed.

"It's diving, what else is it supposed to be about?"

"Body-control and technique."

Terra sighed and shook his head, "You always think so... fancy."

"In the first place, I don't have the body-volume to make a splash like the one you did earlier," Aqua added. "So I don't think judging by that would be quite fair."

"I give Aqua an 8.5," said Ventus, one hand raised. "She didn't splash, but I thought those twirls looked pretty cool!"

Aqua laughed, "That's the same score you gave Terra earlier, isn't it?"

"Well, he didn't twirl!"

"Because I wasn't trying to twirl."

"And Aqua wasn't trying to splash. So it's even."

The bickering was all in good fun. The three of them had bright smiles on their faces. Still, Terra felt in need of resolution.

"Alright, looks like we're gonna need a tie-breaker," he said. "Van, what did you think about-"

'Van' didn't answer, because he wasn't in his spot anymore. Terra found himself appealing to air. Just when he thought the boy had run back to his hiding space under the tree, Terra realized that Aqua and Ven were making excited faces at the rock formation. He followed their line of sight, just in time to see Vanitas charge off the edge of the platform. Keyblade summoned, the boy roared and summer-saulted midair, then charged the Void Gear with energy, thrusting it down onto the water with full force-

SPLASH

The impact of the weapon was powerful enough to momentarily displace all of the water in its way. For a moment after his landing, Vanitas was standing on the more or less dry ground of the riverbed, feeling a sense of superiority. Then the laws of physics decided it was payback time. The water of the slow-moving river, which had seemed stationary in front of, behind and besides him for a good second, now came crashing down onto him like a collapsing border wall. The moment Vanitas saw the tidal wave descend to bury him from above, his confident smirk dropped, his eyes widened and he knew that he'd made a terrible mistake.

The next 3 minutes of Vanitas' life were a blank. The first thing he heard when he came to were the chimes of a curative spell, as well as Aqua's voice repeatedly asking him if he was okay. He could feel Ventus shake his shoulders and when he opened his eyes, he saw Aqua sit by his side, sighing with relief, and Terra standing over him, rubbing his temple.

"Thank goodness... But that's why I said no Keyblades!"

"Listen..." Vanitas coughed up some water. "I splashed hard enough to part the river and looked cool doing it. You either give me this win now, or I'm out of here."

Aqua, Terra and Ventus collectively stared down at their companion, incredulous at his words. Ventus actually did a double take, looking at Aqua and Terra, then back to his brother. He ended up being the first of the three to speak up. "Whoa, wait! You almost drowned, I can't judge that!"

"You can just judge what happened before I almost drowned."

"It's kind of hard to think of what happened 'before', when the after part is 'almost drowned'." Terra argued, but Van still wouldn't let off.

"You guys gonna give me my 30 points now, or what?"

In the end the four of them settled on repeating the contest from scratch, this time with clearly set rules. Among them were: No Keyblades, no tidal-waves, and splashing and acrobatics were equally valid stylistic choices. Additionally, Aqua would cast a floating spell on Ventus and Vanitas to ensure their lack of swimming ability wouldn't get in the way of the game again. (She also made it clear that they would get started on teaching the twins how to swim properly before the end of the day.) Despite all these rules, there was no clearly discernible winner in the end. They forgot to keep track of points over the fun of coming up with more and more ridiculously elaborate ways to dive into the river. In his mind, of course, Vanitas held that he was obviously the only true victor.

"If you say so... But I still think my third jump was the best of them all!"

Vanitas raised a brow when Ventus said this while the four of them were splitting up and eating the remaining sandwiches.

"The one where you tried to break-dance mid-air?"

"Wasn't that awesome!"

"You looked like a drunk salmon."

"Hey, it felt awesome to me!"

How Ventus felt about his stupid maneuver wasn't what Vanitas was wondering about. He could feel that much for himself. No, something else about what Ventus had said had caught his attention.

"...You really think that one was the best? Not one of Aqua's or Terra's...?"

"Or yours! Nope, I'm sticking with it. That one stays my favorite, even if you don't agree with me!"

Giving himself credit. Deserved or not, that was not something Vanitas had expected Ventus to do. Was that really that same Ventus? Well, he supposed it wasn't. That 'same Ventus', the one from his memories, would have been the two of them, together, as one person. But even so, just a while ago, this Ventus had been unable to do as much think without help. And before that, he'd allowed Xehanort to-

'It's in the past...' Vanitas closed his eyes and took a bite out of his sandwich. 'What's it matter now if Ventus is a weakling or not? It's not like we're ever going back.'

His mind was still searching for reasons to hate Ventus. A part of him still did hate him, he supposed. In the end, though, he knew that there was no actual point to it and he tried not to pay those feelings much mind. Being able to spend his days like this, getting in and out of trouble and growing stronger alongside the others was usually enough to take his mind off the pain, which faded more and more into the background like a barely noticeable buzzing noise with every passing day.

---

Weeks passed by and turned to months. Winter meant longer nights and shorter days, but it also meant biting cold, which the castle's wood-powered heating system wasn't equipped to handle. The morning when Aqua and Terra woke up to find their rooms raided and devoid of blankets, pillows, sweaters and everything else fluffy and warm was when they both made a mad dash for Vanitas' room and hammered against the door. The black-haired boy spent twenty minutes angrily yelling at them that, no, he had no idea where their stuff went, and, what the hell, did he look like he'd be building a stupid pillow fort in his room, what are you even thinking, leave me alone! - until, finally, Ventus approached the group from behind,

"Hey, guys, the Master's got a bad cold. I've been trying to keep him warm all morning, so I had to take some of your stuff when you were still asleep. I hope that's okay."

What followed were some very awkward exchanges of guilty looks and angry glares, along with profound apologies. The rest of the day was spent with Terra and Ventus cooking soup, Aqua tending to Eraqus and Vanitas going out to get some more wood to get the overall temperature in the castle up by at least a couple of degrees. With nightfall all of them gathered around the fireplace in the dining room, where Aqua began to tell a curious tale.

"It's said that somewhere out there is a world where a man lives who can see into the hearts of all children. If they only wish so, he will visit them on the night of their world's winter solstice and bring good children who believe in him wonderful presents."

"Wow!" Ventus leaned forward a bit. "Is that really true, Aqua? But I thought only we Keyblade Wielders could travel between worlds."

"That man is special," Aqua winked.

"Yeah. Not actually existing is pretty special." said Vanitas and yawned.

Shocked, Ventus turned to look at him, "Don't say that! Didn't you hear what she said? You're not gonna get any presents!"

"If you want presents so badly, Ven, just say it." Terra stepped in. "We're not gonna forget about you. That's what friends are for, right? Look at me and Aqua. She got me an Energy Bangle last year."

Aqua protested, "That wasn't me, that was Santa." And she glared at Terra warningly.

He just rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Aqua. You were the only one who knew I wanted one of those. Why credit someone else?"

"I don't take credit for things I didn't do." she said. "But maybe this year I'll really have to pitch in and get you something extra. I don't think Santa will want to come to visit you again with that attitude."

Terra was baffled by Aqua's insistence on her story. He turned to Eraqus. "M-Master! Say something, please."

"You would do well to not underestimate Santa, Terra," said Eraqus, a nostalgic look on his face. "Why, I remember a marvelous crystal chess set I received from him one winter, when I was just a boy training under my Master..."

Terra gave up all hope when he heard that. Despondent, he sat back down in his chair and scowled at the flickering fire.

"So, when we're all done philosophizing about Annual Gift Man..." Vanitas got up from his seat and stretched a little. "I'm up for sparring. Anybody coming to the hall with me?"

Terra spoke, "I'd like to... But somebody should stay with the Master. Just in case."

Eraqus laughed at that. "It is just a cold, Terra. I appreciate the care, but there is really no need to worry about me."

"Excuse me, Master, but the castle is still much too cold to be sure you won't get worse," Aqua stood up and looked at the man. "I think I should probably stay here with you. Just... in case."

The oddly placed pause in Aqua's words didn't pass by Vanitas, and neither did the oddly meaningful smile she was giving Eraqus. Things became especially suspicious when Eraqus returned said smile. Just what were the two scheming?

"Alright. In that case, Aqua will stay here," said Eraqus. "You others may go and attend to your daily training."

Barely were the words spoken when Ventus leaped out of his chair and over to Vanitas.

"I'll race ya!" he proclaimed and dashed off.

"Don't whine when you're eating my dust again!"

And with that, both of them zipped out of the door. Terra, who'd long since learned that no amount of will power could help him keep up once the twins got like this, followed at his own pace.

---

Four days later was the night of the winter solstice, which they celebrated with a proper feast. The morning after, Ventus woke up to find a group of four neatly-wrapped boxes by his bed.

"Wow! It really worked. Santa was here!" Excited, the boy got up from his bed and picked up one of the quartet of parcels, lifting it up to his ear and shaking it a little. "I wonder what's inside... I should probably open them together with the others."

Ventus picked up a spare cloth of linen from the cupboard and got to scooping the four boxes up into it, so he'd be able to carry them to the dining hall without risk of dropping one. He just couldn't wait to open them up. If Santa really knew what was in his heart, the presents had to be great, right? At least that's how he'd imagined it worked when Aqua told him the story. Ventus had just picked up the fourth box and moved to put it into the cloth with the others, when he found himself stopping. Quietly, he stared at the three boxes that were already inside for a while.

"I wonder..." He mumbled, not quite sure where he was going with this sentence himself. "...What did I get last year?"

Last year's winter solstice... He'd been there for it, hadn't he? Of course he was there, where else would he have been? So, Terra had gotten an Energy Bangle from Santa last year. But what did Ventus get? He'd always been nice, he was sure of it, but try as he might, he couldn't remember Santa's last present to him, or how long ago that had been. Ventus' forehead wrinkled a little. Another blank. That happened sometime. Master Eraqus had told him it was normal, and that some memories just weren't as easily recalled as others at certain times, but sometimes Ventus wasn't too sure of it.

He thought for a bit longer. Nothing. It just wouldn't come to him. Ventus sighed. "I'll just have to ask Van... He'll know."

Vanitas always seemed to know the things Ventus was wondering about whenever he was drawing a blank. Either his brother's memory was really good, or Ventus' was just very bad. Regardless of which it was, it could get a little embarrassing to be corrected by him all the time. Of course, it was still a lot better than just constantly guessing, even if most of his guesses ended up being correct anyway. He just had to get better at remembering things. Back when he was sick and got his wooden Keyblade, Terra had told him to never forget that he'd been with Aqua and him that day. He wouldn't forgive himself if he forgot that of all things. Ah, yes. The wooden Keyblade. Ventus' eyes briefly wandered to the shelf where the precious keepsake rested, making him smile a bit. No matter how great Santa's presents would be, he thought, nothing would ever be a better gift than this Keyblade. It had been Terra's pride when he gave it to him, lovingly carved to perfection. To be completely honest, Ventus still didn't entirely understand why Terra had entrusted him with such an important possession that day. Keeping the fact that they all shared the same dream and ambitions in Ventus' memory must have been insanely important to him. All the more reason to work on making his recollections from here on out more thorough and long-lasting.

Ventus had even considered writing a diary for a while, but he proved a little too impatient to put down much of anything coherent. All he wrote down would end up as an unintelligible mess of keywords and stream of consciousness. He just wasn't very good when it came to staying focused, he supposed. Sometimes he wondered if Vanitas had the same problems, but he was always quick to dismiss the thought. No way. Van always stayed on point, going straight for the shortest route from A to B with everything he did. It was one of the things Ven admired about him. Just imagining the other's mind 'meander' seemed silly to him. Probably not a genetic problem then. Just a difference in focus. Though, maybe it was a good thing Ventus' thoughts tended to wander about as they did. As impressive as his amount of focus was, Ventus had to admit to himself that Vanitas' single-minded determination and stubbornness could get a tad too intense for him now and then. At times it downright scared him.

'Scared'. Right. That was another thing he had to work on. There were so many things Ventus knew he was scared of. Being the last person left in an empty room, being surrounded in combat, waking up in pitch black darkness in his room at midnight. Sometimes he even found himself instinctively backing away from the strike of another's Keyblade in combat, rather than properly blocking it. He had far too many fears for his own liking. This just wouldn't do. It was embarrassing. If he wanted to keep up with the others and become a Keyblade Master one day, he'd have to get better, a lot braver. More fierce when it came to standing his ground. More like Terra, who never let anything shake him for long without shaking back.

Ventus shook his head. He was being unfocused again, wasn't he? What was he doing here, musing to himself? He had to get to breakfast already so he could open his presents with the others! Getting changed from his pajamas into his regular clothes took him a couple of minutes. Unlike Aqua and Terra, who'd been fitted with Keyblade Armor and the proper footwear to use with it last summer, he and Vanitas were still too young and, according to Master Eraqus, not yet eligible to wear those parts of a Keyblade Apprentice's attire. Of course, Ven's brother had taken personal offense to this perceived sleight and yelled angry insults and obscenities through the castle all day after one ill-conceived attempt of his to raid the Master's personal armory had been thwarted, but personally, Ventus was actually quite happy he didn't have to wear all those heavy parts quite yet. It made getting ready in the morning a lot easier.

He was in the hallway now, making his way to the dinning hall in quick, wide steps. In the bundle he carried with him, the presents rattled back and forth so much that for a moment he was worried he might accidentally break something, so he pulled the cloth tighter and moved more steadily. He just couldn't wait to unpack those boxes. Hopefully he wasn't late. Were the others at breakfast already? He couldn't say for Aqua and Terra, but when it came to Vanitas, his question would be answered just seconds later, when Ventus turned around a corner and found his brother leaning against the wall next to his room's door, turning and examining some sort of small object in his hand.

"Oh... Morning, Van!"

The black-haired boy reacted to Ventus' voice by turning his head and looking at him, head to toe, then raising an eye-brow, "What's with the sack? Laundry day was yesterday, slowpoke."

Ven sighed. As always, his brother wasn't one for morning greetings. But would it really hurt him to be a little nicer? Just once? "It's not my laundry, I finished it yesterday before you did yours, remember? Anyway, I was heading for breakfast. You coming too?"

Vanitas was already back to playing with the thing in his hand. "Nah, not hungry. I'll pass. See you at Morning Training then."

"W..What? But! It's the winter solstice..!"

"So?" Vanitas flicked the thing he was holding in his hand. Only now Ventus got a closer look at it and could tell that the 'small object' his brother had been playing with was actually a pendant on a chain of sorts, shaped like a teethed silver coin with a large, black jewel in the middle. Ventus leaned in closer.

"Wait, is that... a Keychain? Wow, those are supposed to be super rare! Where did you get it?"

"Hm, oh. This thing?" Vanitas caught the token between his index and middle fingers and held it up. "It was in some purple box next to my bed. Guess somebody must have left it there."

'Box next to his bed'. Ven's face fell immediately in disenchantment. "You opened your presents without us? Aww, c'mon! Van!"

The reaction alone was enough to make Vanitas snort a little. He started mimicking Ventus' voice mockingly, "'Vaaaaaan' what? If it's a present, then it's mine and I can open it where and when I want, right? Right. Alright." He turned his attention back to the Keychain.

Ventus, however, wasn't quite giving up on his dreams of the perfect solstice morning yet. What Vanitas held in his hand was only one Keychain. In Ventus' bag, there were four presents.

"Um, so... Those boxes. You've got a few more of them, right?"

"Hm? Yeah, I guess." Vanitas replied. "There might've been one, two more..."

That was all Ven needed to hear. At once he tore open the door to Vanitas' room and dashed inside.

"W-Wait, what are you doing- VENTUS!"

Nobody was allowed in Vanitas' room without prior permission. Nobody. Especially not Ventus. The sheer amount of pure, concentrated murder on Vanitas' mind the moment he saw the other enter into his den was rather immeasurable. Ventus probably did not even understand the grave risk he was taking by committing this terrible act of trespassing, but even if he had known, he might not have minded. In fact, getting Vanitas agitated enough to chase after him was quite perfect for his intentions right now. In five seconds flat, Ventus had grabbed the three boxes he found tangled up in a stray quilt cover (without an actual quilt inside) next to his brother's bed and put them into his bag. He made sure to remember what they looked like, so he'd be able to tell them apart later. Then, jumping past Vanitas, who was just in the process of leaping at him, he left the room and sped down the hallway. If Ventus had taken a second to check, he would have seen that Vanitas was coming at him with his Keyblade. Either way, Ventus was fairly certain his brother wouldn't catch him. When it came to speed, the two of them were equally matched. As long as he didn't slow down, Vanitas wouldn't catch up. Hopefully.

Ventus touched down in the dining hall less than three minutes later, totally and utterly out of breath, but also proud. Very proud. "Mission Accomplished," he whispered to himself with a wide grin. Aqua, Terra and also Eraqus, meanwhile, were rather busy staring at the exhausted looking boy.

"Ven?" Aqua asked, baffled.

"Um, you guys better duck!" Ventus quickly warned his friends, before jumping out of the way himself. It wasn't even half a second after that, that Vanitas broke into the hall, Keyblade brandished, and violently sliding halfway across the room right into its center in a failed attempt to break his own speed. Terra actually had to roll back to not be run over by the boy headed straight for his chair. Aqua, too, jumped. Vanitas paid no attention to the people dodging out of his way, or the chair he'd just smashed into a wall and broken two legs off in the process. He was much too focused on searching the room, locating his dedicated target.

"Where are you, Ventus, you pathetic, little-!"

"AHEM! What is going on here?"

Eraqus' voice broke through Aqua's and Terra's shock, as well as Vanitas' glowing rage. The old Master rose from his chair and placed his hands flat on the table before him. His eyes were piercing Vanitas. The boy, however, just scoffed, "Why don't you ask our perfect, little Ventus. He's the one who thinks it's fun to steal from other people!"

"Says the one who still hasn't brought back the carving knife I lent him half a year ago."

"Shuddup, Terra!"

"That was my chair, by the way!"

By now Terra and Vanitas were glaring at each other fiercely, like they often would shortly before challenging each other to a duel. Looking upon the carnage already wrought upon and still currently ongoing in this room, Ventus bit his lip a little. Oh boy. Maybe he'd overdone it a bit after all...

"Guys, guys! Calm down!" Ventus stepped closer to the others. "I wasn't trying to steal! I just, um..." He paused a moment. "Van was never gonna come here, if I didn't do this! Right, Van?"

"Wanna know what I'm gonna do now, because you did this?" Vanitas ran over to Ventus, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. He raised a hand, whether to summon his Keyblade or just plain punch Ventus, the others would never know. Eraqus reacted quickly and went in-between, knocking Vanitas to the side."Ungh...!"

There they were. The dining table displaced slightly from its usual position, one of the chairs broken against the wall, next to Terra who was standing there with both arms crossed. Vanitas on the floor, Ventus eye to eye with a very displeased-looking Eraqus. And then there was Aqua, who had the pleasure of observing the whole mess. She looked as though she had a headache coming on. Frustrated, she let her face sink into her palms. This wasn't quite how she'd imagined the solstice morning.

"Ventus," Eraqus spoke to the boy. "What did you take from Vanitas' room?"

Ventus was still gnawing on his lip, "I... I took his presents. I'm sorry. I just wanted us to open them all to-"

Eraqus interrupted him. "Was that a good thing to do, Ventus?"

Ventus looked at the floor. "...No. It wasn't."

"Do you regret doing it?"

Ventus paused briefly, looked at the state of the room, then sighed. "I do."

There was an odd silence between Ven and his Master for the next couple of seconds. Enough time for Eraqus to examine the shame on the boy's face thoroughly. Finally, he nodded, "Good. As long as you can promise to not do it again, I will see past it this one time."

"Ah... Y-Yeah!" Ventus stood up straight and smiled, nodding quickly. "Thank you, Master."

Vanitas scoffed at what he saw. For a moment there he'd thought Eraqus was actually going to scold their shining boy Ventus for once. Now, that would have been something. Still, now that he was sitting on the ground his mind was a little clearer, Vanitas actually had to admit to himself that he was quite surprised by what had just happened. Not because of his own actions, of course, but because of Ventus'. The other had actually and willingly broken an unspoken rule between the four of them and even taken some of Vanitas' property just to bait him into following. That was... actually sort of clever. Ventus, trespassing, stealing, being sly... How was Vanitas supposed to deal with this information?

He didn't have much time to try to. Eraqus' attention had turned to him. "And as for you, Vanitas."

Vanitas braced himself. Right. He'd promised the old man he'd never touch Ventus. Well, so much for that now. Now that all the wanton anger had dissipated, the black-haired boy felt fear rise up in him. What was Eraqus going to do to him now...?

"You'll spend the afternoon crafting a new chair to replace the one you've broken. Understood?"

He looked up, surprised. That was all?

"Understood?" Eraqus asked again.

"Y-Yeah... I get it..." Vanitas got up from the floor and nodded. Huh. This was absolutely not the outcome he'd expected.

"And you and Ventus will apologize to each other."

What was this? Kindergarten? Vanitas didn't understand what Eraqus was trying to accomplish. In the past, his outbreaks of anger had always been met by much stricter words on Eraqus' part, sometimes even dire threats.

Ventus awkwardly walked up to his brother, his face carrying a shameful expression again. He pulled his shoulders up a little, "Look... That just now was really dumb of me. And I mean, really dumb. It's just... It's the solstice. I've been so looking forward to this! Can't we at least all have breakfast together and look at the presents everybody got? Please."

Vanitas looked at Ventus' face. It was such a stupid face. Somewhere between regret and embarrassment. He couldn't imagine himself ever making a stupid face like that. Just looking at it made him feel dumber for it, so he looked away. "Just don't do that again. Ever."

It was so incredibly silly. What Ventus had done was just a prank. Just a stupid joke, done with the most saccharine and stupid of intents. Still, just for a moment there, Vanitas had felt as angry as he hadn't in months. Despite all that happened, Ventus still the one person who could still cause him to lose control of his emotions so much more quickly than he'd liked. And now that little idiot had to go and actively try to make him angry. Tch. Moron. No sense of self-preservation.

"I'm gonna help you with that chair, too," Ventus extended a hand for Vanitas and used the other one to awkwardly rub the back of my neck. "I mean, this whole mess is kind of my fault."

There he went again, doing things Vanitas didn't really understand. Why'd he want to fix the chair if Eraqus had already given him a free pass? Well, whatever. Vanitas wasn't one to pass up a chance of doing less work. Silently, he took the hand Ventus had offered him. It was a weird feeling for Vanitas, and it also wasn't quite an apology, but it apparently meant the world to Ventus. The blond boy grinned.

Yes, a handshake really wasn't the same as saying 'I'm sorry', but for Vanitas' standards it was quite something. Eraqus knew that. He observed the boys' interaction quietly, but with interest. This was the first time in many months that they'd seen an outburst against Ventus from Vanitas, but unlike the previous times, this time Ventus had actively prompted it. Even if Vanitas' response had still been disproportionate, it was far from the unprompted and mindless annihilation he'd have expected from him when the two of them had first come here. Ventus himself indulging in mischief was, of course, an unexpected development, to be observed and suppressed if necessary, but if that was what it took, at this point, to bring forth Vanitas' darker tendencies, then that was tremendous progress indeed. Eraqus couldn't help but smile. What he was witnessing here was special. Nothing short of a tremendous victory of the Realm of Light over the Realm of Darkness. He would have to share these discoveries with his friend Yen Sid as soon as he was sure of them. Perhaps this even meant that there was still hope for another friend of his...

Despite all the mishaps, Ventus still ended up getting exactly what he'd hoped for. If Vanitas had been more aware of this fact, he might have been more angry. Instead, he spent the morning together with the others, gorging himself on the unusually richly decorated breakfast table, filled with even more delicacies as usual. There were puddings, open sandwiches, cookies and pies, both savory and sweet. Terra and Aqua had apparently spent a couple of hours in the kitchen the previous night to prepare all of this. This was what they considered a proper solstice breakfast, it seemed. In the flickering light of the hall's fireplace, the group finally got to opening their presents. Ventus first drew everyone's attention to Vanitas' new Keychain, which led to him reluctantly showing it to the others. A silver wheel on a chain, like a gear, with a large black jewel in the middle. Aqua pointed out that it reminded her of the token his Keyblade already had and, sure enough, upon direct comparisons, the design was definitely similar. Further inspection of everyone's presents revealed that each of the others had received a new Keychain as well, the design of each similar to, yet just a bit more elaborate than that of their Keyblade's usual token. The Keychain was a Keyblade's 'heart', which gave it its shape and unique abilities, and while a Keyblade User's first Keychain was usually generated from an image in their heart itself, decorating it with a new Keychain would always result in the Keyblade taking a shape that best represents the owner's emotions, thoughts and memories connected to the equipped token. If so, then what did Keychains that similar to what they already had equipped mean? The Apprentices were quite eager to find out and quickly swapped their Keychains with a simple flick of their fingers. Their Keyblades transformed in their hands, taking new shapes.

"Whoa...!" Aqua marveled at the sleeker, changed form of her Keyblade. Its range seemed to have extended and the hilt was more rounded now, while the teeth had taken on a more refined, elegant design. Similar changes occurred to the Keyblades of her friends. This really was amazing.

"Hm..." Eraqus took a closer look at the Keyblades of his apprentices. "These forms appear to be quite advanced. I'd advise you to not rely on these Keychains until you are absolutely sure you can handle their abilities."

"The Master is right..." Terra swung the new form of his Keyblade, just to test. "This Keyblade is pretty heavy, even for me. I don't think I could train with this."

Aqua agreed. "Something about the balance doesn't feel quite right. I think my aim would be off if I tried to snipe with this."

"I'd be afraid of hitting myself in the face with this. It's so long..." said Ventus.

Vanitas groaned. "Why even give us these if we can't use them anyway? Pointless." So much for the infallible insight of Annual Gift Man then. Vanitas undid the clip on the Keychain and removed it from his Keyblade, replacing it with the Void Gear again.

"We may not be able to use them now, but as we improve our skills, it should become easier to use more difficult to wield forms of the Keyblade as well," Aqua pointed out. "These will definitely prove very useful once we come that far."

"Yeah!" Ventus jumped a little. "All we gotta do is keep at it and practice! Right?"

Vanitas had no response to those wise words. With a disinterested shrug, he tugged the Keychain away into one of his pockets and then turned his attention to the next box placed next to his chair. Much more than thinking about how or when he would actually get some use out of that gift, he was wondering whom that present had really come from. From Terra, maybe? Finding a way to enhance their combat strength quickly seemed like something he would do. But then again, why would Terra get himself a Keychain he didn't actually find convenient to use? That line of logic ruled out Aqua and Ventus as well, which left only Eraqus, but Eraqus had also seemed just as surprised as the others that the four of them had received new Keychains. And anyway, why would Eraqus, of all people, give Vanitas access to a more powerful form of his Keyblade? Weird. The only remaining explanation was that the Keychains indeed had come from that "Santa" that Aqua had told them about, but that was ridiculous. Clearly something else was going on here. Vanitas just couldn't figure out what it was, and it irritated him. Maybe unpacking the rest of the boxes would give him a better idea.

The group continued opening their gifts one after another. Aqua received an armlet made of mythril, inlaid with several bright gems, which turned out to be a gift from Terra ("Paying you back for that Energy Bangle!" - "I already told you, that wasn't from me!"), a blue hair ribbon inlaid with thin gold thread from Ventus ("I'm not sure I did the weaving right... But the Moogle at the counter said the spells should work if I stick to the instructions!" - "Thank you, Ven, it's lovely!"), and, finally, a little package of seeds.

"Lotus seeds!" She identified the gift. "I've been wanting to try and grow them for a while now... The petals are supposed to work very well for boosting the power of ethers and regenerative potions. Thank you, Master!"

"You're welcome, Aqua," Eraqus laughed.

Vanitas listened up at that. How had Aqua known that this had been Eraqus' gift right away? That was when he remembered the way the old man and young girl had been acting when they discussed presents half a week ago, and something clicked. Aqua had probably helped Eraqus pick out his gifts to them. In other word, right now she was just pretending to be surprised, either to make all of them others impressed by Eraqus' gift-picking skills, or to make the geezer feel good about himself. Wow, that was actually kind of sad. Was this part of 'Solstice Etiquette" or something dumb like that? Oh well, not like it was his problem. He dismissed the train of thought and turned back to his own presents.

By now everyone had almost finished opening their gifts. Terra got a mythril ring to boost his magic defense a little from Ven, a book on advanced Kendo techniques from Aqua, and a sachet of almond pits from his Master. ("Don't break them open. These are for planting, not for eating. I hear they taste marvelous when baked into bread." - "Master...") Things looked quite similar for Ventus and Vanitas, both of which received a few Moogle-crafted protective bangles from Aqua. From Terra, both twins received a carving knife each, both with handles in different colors, made of different materials. Ventus' was some sort of horn, while Vanitas' was made of ebony.

"Maybe now you'll feel like giving back the one you've been hoarding in your room one of these days," Terra teased, patting Vanitas on the back. The boy grunted a little at the comment, then returned his interest to the knife. It really was quite a nice tool, and the handle fit his hand very comfortably.

Finally, Ventus opened his last gift: Another sachet of seeds. In his case, the seeds appeared to be flower seeds. He looked at them intently. What kind of flower could the Master possibly want him to grow? "Hm... Oh, hey! Van! Yours look the same as mine." He pointed at the seeds Vanitas was skeptically rolling in his hands, eyeing them as if he wasn't entirely sure yet they weren't actually a clever attempt at poisoning him. Aqua stepped closer to twins, taking a good look at the Vanitas' palm.

"Those are Morning Glory seeds," she said.

"Morning Glories?" Ventus asked, curious.

Aqua nodded. "They're used as an ingredient in simple ethers and performance enhancing potions. You need to be careful when taking them, though. Too many can make you sick or alter your state of mind."

"Alter your state of mind?"

"Simply put, they put you into a waking dream."

Vanitas scoffed a little at that. "So, you guys really are trying to poison me now?" he joked.

"Well, you're not supposed to eat them raw," Aqua repeated.

By now, Eraqus had joined the three of them in examining the seeds. He looked rather pleased with Aqua's explanations and smiled. "Clever, Aqua. Yes, you are entirely correct, Ventus' seeds will grow into Morning Glories, which can be harvested for all of the uses Aqua described. However, the seeds in Vanitas' hand are a tiny bit different. Those are the seeds of the Moon Flower."

"Moon Flower," Vanitas repeated, rolling the seeds in his palm a little more. Again, Aqua had a comment.

"It's a special kind of Morning Glory that only blooms in the light of the moon," she explained. "Normal Morning Glories bloom in the morning sun and wilt at noon. Moon Flowers bloom at sundown and wilt in the morning."

"So they never bloom at the same time?" asked Ventus. "That's kind of cool. I didn't know there were flowers like that."

A flower that only blooms in morning light, another which only blooms in the moonlight... Vanitas' eyes fell on Eraqus, who still looked over his charge with a satisfied smile. So the old man had consulted with Aqua only to decide to get all of them plant seeds. Okay. Interesting choice. This had got to be the old man trying to imply something. Just what was Eraqus trying to tell them with these odd gift choices?

Then again, maybe he was just thinking too much about these things. Maybe sometimes a gift was just a gift, and a flower just a flower.

The day was too much fun for anyone to have enough time to think about anything so silly or trivial as hidden agendas or subliminal meanings. They got to comparing their gifts, talking about them, reviewing who had gotten what from whom, then wondering where the four Keychains had come from. Aqua, Eraqus and Ventus, of course, vehemently insisted on "Santa" as the most probable source, while Terra and Vanitas scoffed at the idea. Aqua began telling stories, of previous years' celebrations, legends and fairytales from faraway worlds. Whatever food was still left on the dining table was quickly eaten up by the young mage's intently listening audience. Even when the bell rang noon, and the group prepared to tend to their duties for the rest of the day, Ventus stayed behind with Vanitas, searching for some wood and lacquer and beginning to put their new knives to the test fashioning a new pair of legs for the damaged chair. They made a competition of it, who could do it fastest, the most precise, just plain better. Eventually, Terra joined them to give advice. The two boys quarreled a bit, over how much of Terra's helping hand each of them was entitled to to make it fair and even. They each had wildly different ideas regarding that, of course. The more Vanitas got carried away, trying to make his part of the work more elaborate and impressive, the harder Ventus worked to catch up and overtake him. At the day's end, the twins were left with a chair that looked nothing like the one they'd started with, and which also bore no resemblance to the other chairs in the room.

"Well, if you guys ask me, this is the best chair in the whole castle now. Hands down," Terra assured the boys, before ruffling the hair on their heads with his hands, a gesture, from which, Vanitas, of course, pulled away quickly. Terra and Ventus laughed at that. Eventually, Vanitas laughed too. Just a little bit. The whole situation was pretty silly, if you thought about it, he supposed. Just like this whole day. He supposed he wouldn't have minded living through a few more pointless, silly days like this one.

---

Aqua: Obtained Stormfall (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

Terra: Obtained Ends of the Earth (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

Ventus: Obtained Destiny's Wing (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

Vanitas: Obtained Fate Blank (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

---

The passing months came close to turning into a full year. Eraqus had set aside a small patch of grass with a shallow pond for the four of them to use as their personal garden, where they could plant the seeds they'd been given and tend to their sprouts, so they'd eventually be able to reap their benefits. Aqua had already laid out everything. The pond and the bushes by its shore were hers, where she planted her lotus along with several kinds of berries, herbs and fruit that she was planning to use in her cooking and her magic. Chamomile, aloe, salvia, rasp- and strawberries, lemon saplings, peppers and potatoes. Nothing Aqua planted was just there to look pretty. It all had a purpose, and she made sure to put every plant into just the position and spot it needed to be to grow and flourish. The plain a few meters west of that was Terra's domain, where he planted the almond pits, which had already sprouted nice saplings by the time he set them in the ground. He contemplated adding walnut trees and hazelnut shrubs sometime down the line. A few steps further west, there was a small hill. This patch belonged to Ventus and Vanitas. Their seeds didn't need much maintenance to grow. They just had to spread them across the hill, make sure they got enough water and wait for the flowers to take root. Aqua told them that first blossoms wouldn't open until summer, so right now what was growing there looked like nothing but a mess of vines to them. Somewhat unsightly, and not at all useful like what was growing on Aqua and Terra's patches, or so Vanitas complained. Of course, he clearly also had no intent of using the space given to him to plant anything that would require a little more care. This was just him being a Negative Nancy, as usual. Aqua knew that. She decided to bring a counter-argument.

"There is one kind of Morning Glory that can be used as a vegetable, actually," Aqua told the twins that day in the garden. "They have thick, orange roots that are called 'Sweet Potatoes'."

"A 'Sweet Potato'? I don't think I've ever had that before. Is that like a regular potato, but sweeter?" Ventus asked.

Aqua laughed, "Kind of. You can cook them in all sorts of ways. They're really delicious. And healthy."

"When have you ever cared about food being healthy?" Vanitas asked, and Aqua threw a sharp glance at him.

"Yesterday, when I mixed cream spinach into the lasagna you had for dinner."

That statement shut the boy up. Well, aside from the sudden gag reflex he displayed, of course. Ventus, meanwhile, tried to keep his mind off the fact he had eaten a portion of that same lasagna as well, and brought the conversation back on course.

"Anyway, Sweet Potatoes sound really great! Man, now I wish I could try some..." Ven looked at the vines of his own, probably very inedible Morning Glory plants curiously and with a hint of appetite. Aqua couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Well, incidentally, I did happen to buy a bunch of Sweet Potatoes when I was out shopping the other day."

'Incidentally'. Of course. Vanitas, who'd now finished expressing his disgust over Aqua's deceitful culinary tactics, felt very certain that what their friend was actually trying to say was 'The entire reason I started this conversation is to get you interested in eating the result of my latest impulse purchase'. And, sure enough...

"If you'd like, I could make us baked sweet potatoes for dinner. I'm sure even Terra will appreciate that."

"Really? That sounds great!" Ventus tried to not show, but his mouth was clearly watering. "Count me in!"

With a smile Aqua nodded and showed that Ven's enthusiasm was very much appreciated. She then turned her attention to the other twin. "How about you, Van? Can I interest you in a freshly baked sweet potato tonight as well?"

That offer caused Vanitas to wait for a moment and raise a brow, expecting Aqua to throw up her hands any moment now and yell 'Just kidding!'. When that didn't happen, he eventually started laughing and shaking his head. "What, you're serious about this? Aqua, 'Sweet' Potato. Sweet. Potato. I thought you knew that already, but the word 'sweet' and I, we don't exactly go together in a sentence. Or at all."

Rather than being offended, Aqua responded to Vanitas' laugh with a smile of her own. "And I'd thought you'd know by now not to judge things by their first impression."

"Hm?"

Somehow Aqua managed to make Vanitas curious enough to convince him to give her Sweet Potatoes a try, even though he feared he'd regret the decision soon enough. This just sounded too much like the sort of food Ventus would enjoy and, as it follows, Vanitas wouldn't enjoy. But Aqua had a way of proving her black-haired friend's perceptions of reality wrong time and time again. As soon as she presented the twins with their plates that evening, Vanitas realized something quite interesting: She'd topped the baked roots. Not just that, the toppings on his and Ventus' servings were quite different from each other. Whatever it was that he was able to make out on top of Ventus' sweet potato seemed to have caramelized in the baking process. Brown sugar, red berries and honey, maybe. It didn't really matter, it looked and smelled disgusting to him all the same. Sticky goo on top of a sticky mess. But what was on his own plate was something else entirely. Aqua had topped Vanitas' serving with a deep, red barbecue sauce, peanuts and what looked like small cubes of chicken. While the sight of it didn't make him gag like Ventus' portion, it did confuse him. This was supposed to go together? Really? Maybe he should have gotten a second opinion from Terra before agreeing to this. However, Vanitas' doubts disappeared as soon as he took the first bite. The dish was nothing like he'd expected. Savory and spicy, with a nice hint of sweetness in the back to balance it all out. When Aqua asked him if he was a fan, he was put before the choice of either reluctantly nodding yes or lying just for the sake of lying itself. He went with the former. If he did the later, she'd just see right through him anyway.

He'd figured out how these things worked by now. When speaking to or about Ventus, he had to lie, and the lies had to be real. They had to be internalized and make just as much sense as reality, because that's what they were supposed to be. When talking to Aqua, however, he had to avoid any other lies, because Aqua could smell lies like a bloodhound trained to chase them down in the most mercilessly jovial and friendly manner. Especially when it came to his own likes and dislikes, there was no point in lying to her. She would read the truth from his face and quickly make him feel ridiculous for his own lies. What's more, she never used his likes against him anyway, but was far more likely to use them in his favor, so the benefits of lying to her about them were minimal, at best. With Terra, lying was optional. It was a good way of messing with him and confusing him, riling him up for a good fight. Much unlike Aqua, he wasn't especially good at reading lies, regardless of type, but if he happened to find out anyway, he would rarely take kindly to them. Still, it usually only made sense to lie about pointless things to Terra. There was rarely a good reason to lie about anything important in this place in general. Much to the contrary, in all matters that didn't pertain his and Ventus' past, honesty tended to be rewarded in this place.

He learned. How to act around the others, how to correctly read their intentions, how to sort of avoid conflict when it was bothersome and how to provoke it when it made sense. He even learned how to laugh at the same time as them, if only a little. The point of that, he still didn't know. It just seemed right, somehow. It helped with the mood, he supposed. Kept their spirits high and kept them doing things together. In any case, there were many advantages to it.

Ventus learned things too. He learned how to tell when Vanitas was teasing him, learned how to tease back just a little. Learned how to tease Terra, too, even if he didn't really mean it. He never learned how to tease Aqua. Only Terra really knew how to do that. When it came to the twins, she seemed positively unteasable. Ventus learned how to swim, as did Vanitas, and then Ventus learned how to take shortcuts in races to try and overcome the limitation of his and Vanitas' identical speed. Of course, as this was a skill his brother had acquired long before him, it still rarely helped him win, but it did make things a bit more interesting.

Vanitas and Ventus never sparred. When one battled, the other had to sit by the sidelines for a while. Ventus didn't really know why, but the Master had said it was for their own safety. His brother had told him that it had something to do with 'twin Keyblades battling each other being bad luck' or something, but sometimes he wondered if that was really right. Oh well. It was Van's own decision if he wanted to battle with him or not, even if it seemed weird that his brother would decline a duel with anyone. Even if they never sparred with each other, there were other things they did together. They raced a lot. Whenever there was anything to decide, to discuss, to fight over, or just to mildly disagree over, they'd kick off and dash through the castle's gardens and hallways. It was their main way of competing (as Vanitas thought of it) and playing (which was what Ventus considered it.) A sport they both enjoyed immensely in spite of all their differences. Sometimes, they'd vary it up a little, try their hand at other kinds of challenges, but they were rarely evenly matched in these things. Ventus tended to come out on top when they did anything involving acrobatics, for example, much to his brother's chagrin. In other things, however, it was Vanitas who clearly had the home advantage. Board games, for example. On those rainy days when they spent the afternoons inside and Aqua would get out that old dice game meant for quizzing each other on the theoretical application of skills in battle, Vanitas would make the session his own, mostly thanks to his uncanny ability to lure the others (usually Terra) into making obvious mistakes and then mercilessly taking someone's (usually Terra's) hard-earned spaces from them. Actually, Vanitas was probably the only one among the four of them who truly enjoyed that game anyway. One had to wonder why Aqua kept suggesting they play it.

---

Even when winter had long ended, the days seemed to grow shorter. Time itself was moving faster. The world around the 'twins' seemed to finally be moving at their own speed. Everything continued to fall into place, forming a clear image of what each of them considered a 'perfect day'. How life should be. How it was. Sure, not every day was wonderful. They'd fight sometimes, make plans that would end up not working out, have trouble with their training, do things that would get them into trouble with their Master... Actually, incidents like that, occasional as they were, tended to be caused by the actions and behavior of one of them specifically. More than half the time when anything went awry, he was the one to have started the chain of events at the root of the problem. And as much as he pretended that wasn't the case, he was aware of it. And the more time that passed, the more battles and feasts he shared with the others, the easier it became to laugh with them and the simpler it seemed to understand what being happy meant to them and how he could relate to that feeling, the more it bugged him to be aware of that. It angered him that, more often than not, he was the reason Aqua and Terra weren't - couldn't be what they were supposed to be in his eyes.

It was a day after they'd finally rebuilt the dining hall. The hall had been utterly destroyed in a fire, the unfortunate results of one of their training sessions without Master Eraqus' supervision. Vanitas had lost his temper. It had been two years, and he still hadn't managed to cast even the most basic healing spell Aqua had attempted to teach him. Nothing would work. Not the meditative exercises she suggested, not the sappy stuff about 'happy thoughts' she kept going on and on about. No matter how much his thoughts, his emotions and even his perceptions of the world around him changed, he never managed to bring forth a spell whose power wasn't based in aggressive eagerness, anger or frustration. That kind of energy couldn't heal. Aqua's constant nagging and motivational speeches would never change anything about that. They were annoying and, at times, he felt as if she were mocking him with them. That day had been one of those times. He'd yelled at her and set the entire room on fire, using the magic he'd already mastered. It took them two hours to extinguish the flames entirely, another hour to cast all the spells necessary to secure the castle's structure and avert any follow-up damage from the fire. It was hard work repairing all the damage, and cost them two weeks that could have been spent training, battling, competing, just generally doing more enjoyable things than rebuilding and renovating a burnt out hall. Two whole weeks, wasted. The mere thought was so deeply, deeply disgusting. Nobody told Eraqus about the cause of the fire, but in a way, Vanitas almost wished they had. At least if Eraqus knew and had punished him, he would have something to direct his anger against and yell about, and yelling would help... with what? How exactly would yelling help again? Wasn't that how this whole mess had started? He was so confused. Things used to be so simple. Back then, anything bad he felt, those knots in his stomach, heat in his chest, frustrated headaches and the pain, they were all Ventus' fault. That was all there was to it. Now things were different. He couldn't blame Ventus for things the blond boy had no involvement in, and even when he did, blaming him didn't make him feel better anymore. Actually, he was starting to wonder if it had ever made him feel better. But maybe at least it might still feel better than blaming himself...

The others would hate him if he ever harmed Ventus. He knew that. And if they hated him and cast him out, there would be no place for him to go. He'd lose this tiny, comfortable world he was living in, where the pain and the irritation that had once seemed inescapable barely even seemed to exist on most days. How come he was even allowed to live in a world like this?

So, again, it was a day after they'd finally rebuilt the dining hall. When Aqua was tending to her fruit, harvesting the crops she'd been forced to let sit while they were busy fixing the damage to the castle, she suddenly found Vanitas standing behind her, equipped with several baskets and a hand full of tools. He avoided looking her in the eyes.

"...I'm gonna help," he mumbled.

Aqua hadn't expected this at all. That didn't mean she didn't welcome it. "Sure. You can help me with the raspberries over here. Just try to be gentle when you pluck them."

That sounded like mocking again, but he ignored the feeling. No, a burning hall had been quite enough. They didn't need their garden to burn as well. Vanitas glanced behind himself. The twins' hill laid fairly barren right now. The Morning Glories had already wilted for the day, the Moon Flowers hadn't opened yet. It was summer and it was bright and hot, a time when he usually loathed to be outside. Yet, there he was, plucking the berries from the bushes and placing them in the basket he'd brought. What a dull, dull task. But Aqua did it several times a week each summer, of her own will. She never got frustrated or upset about it, and she never complained that someone else should finish what she'd started. She never blamed anyone for the decisions she made.

He kept his eyes on her while working, watching her from behind. They'd all grown these past two years, even his own body had matured somehow, as if it were no different from theirs. Aqua had changed the most noticeably though. She'd grown out of her old clothing and had to replace her entire wardrobe gradually over time. The height-difference between her and Terra also wasn't quite as enormous as it used to be anymore, though he still had a head on her. She'd also cut her hair, something Vanitas had been vehemently against from the moment he learned of her plans to do it. It was getting in the way while fighting, she'd told him, and she'd rather not fall behind with her training because of something silly as having to spend half an hour each day brushing and tying up her hair. He'd asked her what'd happen to all the ribbons she'd collected then, if it wouldn't be a waste to not be able to wear them anymore, but she'd replied that she could still wear them even if her hair was short. And so she did. Almost as if to prove her point to him, she'd kept a lock of hair on the side of her head a little longer than the rest and every day she tied one of the ribbons Ventus or Terra had given her for her birthdays or for a solstice into it. Looking at her like this, Vanitas realized he'd never actually given her a ribbon himself, or any present to be exact. He wasn't big on gift-giving, even though the others had never failed getting him something so far, not even for January 9th, Ventus' birthday, which he was supposed to share now.

Why'd he been so upset about Aqua cutting her hair anyway? It wasn't as if it affected him. None of the ribbons he claimed she wouldn't be able to wear anymore had been from him, and it was true, the less time she spent getting ready in the morning, the longer he could train with her and battle her. Still, somehow it'd just felt wrong to him. It felt wrong to watch the others change like that, almost as odd and unnatural as watching himself change. He cringed a little whenever he heard his own and Ventus' voices crack, a clear sign that they were deepening slowly but surely. Something about all these changes was unsettling to him. Especially when it came to Aqua. He couldn't imagine what it would be like once she was nothing like the Aqua he first met on the morning after he'd first come into being anymore. All the things he'd already learned about her would no longer apply then, and he'd have to start over from scratch. That would probably frustrate him too much to put in the effort. He'd rather she didn't change at all. It was a selfish way to think of another person, but that was him. Just another thing about him that made it difficult for him to see why he was allowed to be in this world, which clearly didn't suit him.

"Why do you guys put up with me...?"

Vanitas' question came seemingly out of nowhere. It caused Aqua to stop plucking from the strawberry plant she'd been working on and turn her head. For a moment she wasn't sure if she'd actually heard what she thought she heard. Did Vanitas actually say that line? A look at his face, and his expression told her, yes, he did, and it was every bit as surreal as it sounded. Calling this an 'unusual occurrence' would have been a gross understatement. Vanitas was often frustrated or in a foul mood, but he'd never admitted fault before, let alone scolded himself for anything. From his mouth, a sentence like this sounded more impactful than a tearful apology or a long rant about one's own shortcomings. Aqua didn't like the way it sounded at all.

"That's not a question you should be asking. We're friends, Van. Of course we all stick up for each other."

"The two of you and Ventus do. I don't think I've ever done anything to really help, have I?"

"You're helping me right now."

"Hah. Right. There's a first time for everything."

Aqua frowned. She wasn't used to this kind of conversation. The closest she could imagine was talking to Terra whenever he was beating himself up over something he failed to be perfect at, but that wasn't quite the same, was it? She'd just have to keep talking and hope she could find a way to help.

"This kind of talk doesn't sound like you at all, you know."

"Are you saying I sound like Ventus right now...?"

"Huh? No, you just sound... Like a very sad 'you'."

"Oh."

They kept plucking berries, as Aqua pondered the way Vanitas had just responded.

"...Why did you think I was comparing you to Ven?"

"Why do you think I thought that? Try me."

"Um, let's see..." Aqua lowered her head a little and thought. "Could it be... That you only ever look at yourself in comparison to him?"

As soon as she'd said that, Vanitas averted his eyes from Aqua. Bingo. She was on the right track. Time to keep going.

"You really can't tie your sense of self to how you compare to him. The two of you are separate people. Nobody's going to judge you two using the other as a measure, and neither should you."

Vanitas let out one of his familiar scoffs at that. "Heh, yeah right. Sorry, but that's not how it works."

"Then how does 'it' work?"

This was uncomfortable. Vanitas found it difficult to reply to Aqua's question straight out, and he also couldn't come up with a good question to return, so he paused for a moment. This was Aqua. They were talking about something he disliked. Whatever he said, lying was out of the question. So what was he supposed to say?

"I'm here because of Ventus. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be..." he paused again. "I wouldn't be anywhere right now. But he fits right in with you guys. He's a goody-two-shoes honor student, just like you and Terra. He never causes trouble, keeps his head down to Eraqus, helps everyone, doesn't break anything... How am I not supposed to compare myself to that? It's the exact opposite of everything I am."

Aqua's forehead wrinkled at that, "You think everything you are is disobedient, unhelpful and destructive...?"

"I don't think. I know. I'd have to be pretty damn oblivious to not realize that much."

"That doesn't sound like you like yourself a lot," Aqua said, before mumbling under her breath. "But I already knew that part, didn't I...?" She spoke up again. "Van, do you really think there's nothing else than that to you? That you have nothing in common with Ven or Terra or me?"

"Again, not 'think'. 'Know'." He finally looked up at Aqua again. "Don't be a moron, Aqua. I've been here for two years now, I think you already know how obvious all of that is just from looking at me."

"But looking at a person isn't enough to know what's in their heart," argued Aqua.

"You're looking at the one exception to that rule," Vanitas replied.

Aqua shook her head, "No matter how often you repeat that, I'll never believe it's true. That's just not how I see you."

"Well, then how do you see me?" he asked her, and Aqua started thinking. What would be a good way to explain how she saw him? Her eyes wandered across the garden for a few seconds before she finally got an idea.

"Let's say I told you that there was a fruit that's pitch black, has little hairs sprout all over it and grows on a plant that is covered in thorns. What would you assume that fruit tastes like?"

What an odd question to ask out of the blue, he thought. "Sour and bitter, probably."

Aqua nodded, as if that was exactly the kind of response she'd been hoping for, then put her basket away for a moment. Walking a few steps to the right, she bent down to one of the bushes there and plucked from it a blackberry. She presented it to Vanitas.

"Here. This is your sour, bitter fruit," she said, putting the berry in his hand. "Have a taste."

Vanitas looked at Aqua, then the berry, then Aqua again. "That's a blackberry, it's not bitter, it's sweet."

"That's not what you said based on what it looks like."

"I don't need to go by what it looks like, I know what a blackberry is!"

"And I know who you are."

For whatever reason it was only then that Vanitas realized the exact metaphor Aqua was going for. He felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. That could have saved them the past five minutes.

"I'm not a blackberry," he told her, groaning a little. "I'm the guy who almost set the entire castle on fire."

"Blackberries are sour. You got that part right. It's true, if you can't handle the taste, using blackberries instead of raspberries can ruin the entire dish for you. However, if you can handle it, if you can see past how sour it is..." Aqua plucked another blackberry from the same shrub and ate it. She smiled. "Then you can use them for all the same things you'd use a raspberry for. You can even put them together into the same dish."

Again, Vanitas looked at the blackberry. Then at Aqua. "So you're a raspberry," he said.

"A proud raspberry," she singsonged.

"This is a dumb metaphor."

"Well, it's all I could come up with on such short notice, so it will have to do," Aqua stated, before she picked her basket back up and noticed how heavy it was. "Anyway, I'm bringing these back to the castle now. Are you coming?"

He shook his head at her silently, one eyebrow still raised at the sight of the blackberry in his hand. Aqua left on that note, thinking that maybe a little space would help Vanitas digest what they'd just talked about a bit better. The boy who'd stayed behind sat down in the grass after a while, looking at the garden all around him, thinking about ribbons and spells and fires and berries and black, small creatures he hadn't physically seen in years. Then he thought about people, and how nice it was to have people who'd do things with you that made you feel good. Absentmindedly, he ended up putting the berry he was still holding in his mouth and chewed on it. He froze up and shook.

"...Ugh. Sweet..!"

Maybe he was building up a resistance to it though, because as surprising as it was to suddenly have that taste on his tongue, it didn't quite make him feel like gagging. The sour taste definitely helped. He found himself thinking he might try and have some more of these berries sometime down the line. Only if he was feeling very adventurous though.

He stayed in the garden for a long while that day, plucking berries and helping Aqua harvest herbs and seeds while she came and went, bringing their harvest back home. By the time Aqua fetched the last basket and Vanitas got up from the patch of grass he was sitting on, ready to return to the castle, the sun had set. Over on their hill the Moon Flowers' blossoms were beginning to open. They shone in the light of the full moon like small mirrors. Even he had to admit that it was a pretty sight. Even if planting them had been an effort, it would probably still have been worth it. Maybe.

Aqua's comparison may have been stupid, but he understood it, and he guessed if that was really how Aqua and Terra felt about him, then it was alright that he was here. Acceptable, just barely. Maybe he could make it more acceptable. He'd have to see about that. As little as it suited his nature, this world was a good place to be. If he couldn't be the same as Ventus and had to be a 'separate person', then he wanted that person to live here. And if he'd have to start putting in a little more effort to earn that person's right to stay here, then he supposed he could try. He'd see it as a challenge. Challenges were something he was good at.

The Moon Flowers were small mirrors, reflecting the full moon back at the sky. Light doesn't diminish if it is shared. For every flower, body of water or pane of glass that reflects the moon, the night grows a little brighter. Vanitas followed the moonlight reflected in the nearby river and the castle windows to find his way back home, and didn't realize that from the shadows of the forest he passed by, somebody was watching him, smirking at his silhouette.

None of this was too unexpected. Yes, this timeline could still be worked with. The necessary fixed points and players were all still in place. All would go according to plan.

Gemini, First Half

End

---

A/N:

Also known as "The chapter that was longer than it had any right to be."

This ends the Slice of Life portion of this fic. Starting next chapter, we're squarely within the time-frame of the original BbS' plot. Look forward to Xehanort destroying everything that's good and right with the world. What, people don't generally look forward to that, you say? Well, too bad, this is Kingdom Hearts, stable, smooth living arrangements, what's that, we can't have that, not enough dARKNESS.

Writing this chapter was a mistake. Not because I don't like how it turned out, but because it took way too long to finish and I'm actually currently doing NaNoWriMo working on a novel (an original work), and the time I spent perfecting this chapter should, by all rules of logic, have gone into writing my novel. Now I'm 5000 words behind my goal, because I wrote 10000 words for this chapter in November alone. This part of the story also didn't turn out nearly as compact and coherent as I wanted it to be. If things were any different, I'd have probably given this chapter like 2, 3 more rewrites before posting it, but I really wanted to get it out and just don't have the time to work on it even more. I have regrets. Well, I guess it's worth it, though. Writing a fanfic may mean that I'm creating something I'll never be able to entirely call my own, unlike my original stories, but it's still extremely rewarding in its own ways. For one, there's the opportunity of sharing my imagination with people who're passionate about the same video games as I. Just seeing you guys react to this little story I put together, relating to or scolding the characters, making fun of their actions or guessing what they'll do next is positively thrilling for me to see. Please, keep those comments coming. They never fail to put a smile on my face.

Talking about comments, "Twisted Pxl" seemed a little confused about what I meant when I said I'd tell the alternate BbS events linearly, as opposed to doing one character PoV after another, like the game did. To elaborate, yes, I'm going to be following the Trinity Timeline (though, in this case it's gonna be more of a quartet timeline, I guess), but especially later on a lot of the world orders are gonna be swapped around, due to certain events turning out differently. Let's just say that Eraqus being on bad terms with Xehanort right now is going to make it a lot trickier for our favorite one-man hivemind to goad Terra into going where he wants him to go, which is going to mix up a few things quite a bit.

In any case, the next chapter will come sometime in December. See you guys then!