Aaaaand here we go! Sorry this update was posted a little late, the characters just would not cooperate with their dialogue.

Anyway, it's here now, so . . . forgive me? :3

Also, quick note on the way magic works in this story. While it's largely the same, I always felt that it could be more versatile if used correctly, especially considering the many, many, many different continuitys that Kingdom Hearts is cross-overed with. It's just never used that way in the game because, well, game mechanics. So there. My explanation.

Obligatory Disclaimer: Own nothing except my OCs.

Training Simulation

I idly flipped through the pages of the book, titled 'Laws of Magic', eyeing it with nothing short of absolute boredom. Every rule in here was basically just common sense with the word 'Law' smacked onto it to make it sound special. There were times I was tempted to just drop the book on the floor, put my feet up, and fall asleep. Really. It was that boring.

How much longer until we reached the next world?

Being the only one in the room, I couldn't expect an answer. Still, we'd been on the star-road for a while now, so it had to be soon. Sighing, I glanced around the empty passenger deck (the place had become my personal safe haven, it seemed), wishing for something to do.

The muscles in my arms twitched as I leaned back in my chair and gave the book a rueful glare. While it may have been a small book, like five chapters, it was positively jam-packed with information which just made it seem so, so much longer.

With an irritated huff, I flipped over to the next page, languidly reading the words that came next, "Chapter III, On Magical Energy. Alright then. Whatever," Settling down, I continued reading, "Magic by itself exists only as a singular form of energy that flows through all things, but this potent force possesses malleable properties that can be shaped as the caster sees fit, blah blah, Merlin already told me this in so few words . . ."

Skimming through the next paragraph, I flipped over to the next page and continued reading, "A word of caution: Due to the unstable nature of magical energy, it is unwise to attempt to cast more than two spells at once. While such a feat is possible with great premeditated control, please note that such attempts more often than not have only been met with failure and even death, oh, well isn't that wonderful? How many times did this happen before you decided you needed to write that one down?"

A pair of arms suddenly wound around my throat, pulling me back against the seat and choking me off.

"Hi, Hikari! Whatcha doin'?" Mari's overly energetic voice asked.

Wincing at the close proximity and the constricting grip around my neck, I managed to grunt out, "Reading. Let go."

The arms relaxed, but Mari did not pull away, instead leaning over my shoulder to stare at the book in my hands. A spark of realization flickered in her eyes, "Oooh, is this the book Donald gave you?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to finish it, but it's just so fantastically boring that that may not happen," I replied, tapping a finger against the open page.

"It looks like scribbles and dots," Mari said nonsensically, tracing a finger along the small sentences.

I shook my head, "Of course . . ."

"Whaaaat?" Mari inquired lightheartedly, smiling.

"You know what," I told her, "Now let me get back to work."

"And leave you to suffer this tedium all by your lonesome? I, think, not," Mari declared adamantly, hands placed staunchly against her hips. Flashing me a bright grin, she held out a hand and gave me a thumbs up, "Best friends stick together through thick and thin, after all, so it's only right that I be here to support you as you read!"

"And there goes any chance I had of finishing," I said, smacking the book closed.

"H-hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Mari demanded, arms dropping to her sides as she pouted.

A soft knock by the door conveniently saved me from having to explain myself. Craning my neck over my shoulder to see who it was, I blinked in surprise when I saw Sora standing in the doorway, "Uh, hey Sora. Aren't you supposed to be in the cockpit?"

Walking forward, hands casually laced behind his head, he replied, "Nah, not really," Smiling somewhat bashfully, he continued, "To be honest, I actually don't really need to be there. Donald and Goofy can do everything on their own.

"I see," I said, "So, what are you doing now?"

"Well, since there weren't any enemy readings around, I though it would be a good idea to go get some training done," Sora smiled at me, "And I was wondering if you wanted to join me?"

His whole body tensed when Mari's eyes suddenly zeroed in on him, and he held out his hands defensively, "Just to train, I swear!"

My eyes narrowed dangerously as I stared at the blonde-haired girl, "Don't you dare pull another one of your stupid 'forbidden love' stunts again, because I swear, I will end you personally if you do."

In a rare display of intelligence, Mari contemplated my words before wisely backing down. But not before giving Sora a due warning, "Okay. I will take your word for it. But no funny business!" She leaned closer just so, voice dropping to a creepy whisper, "I'll be watching. Closely."

" . . . W-what?" Sora inquired hesitatingly, and he actually looked a little bit intimidated, which surprised me. Then again, he didn't know that one should take Mari's 'warnings' with a grain of salt, so I guess I can't really fault him for that.

As if someone had flipped a switch, all menace quite suddenly left Mari's face as she stood upright and laced her arms behind her back, smiling from ear to ear as she cheerfully asked, "So why do you want Hikari to spar with you anyway?"

At this, A slightly flustered look crossed Sora's face, and I quirked an eyebrow at him, "What's with the embarrassment?"

Having been caught, he nervously rubbed the back of his head and started to explain, "Ah, well, it's just," he glanced at me and smiled somewhat awkwardly, "I've . . . kinda always wanted to practice with another Keyblade wielder."

His eyes dropped to his now raised hand, curling it into a fist, "Ever since I was chosen by the Keyblade, I've kinda been on my own. Not like, alone, alone, because I have Donald and Goofy, and all the other friends I've made, but when it comes to the Keyblade . . ."

I saw where he was coming from almost immediately, and my eyes softened, "You were on your own."

" . . . Yeah," Shaking his head, he quickly added, "It's not that there aren't others out there. I mean, there's King Mickey," Oh yeah, he did have one, "And Riku too," Really? "But they . . . can't be here right now," I thought I saw a flash of dejection appear in his downcast eyes, but when I looked again, it was gone.

He dropped his hand and looked up, and this time I saw for sure the more hopeful look that had taken up residence on his face, his voice taking on a more energetic tone as he finished, "But that's changed now that Hikari's here! And since we're both here, I just . . . I thought it would be cool to spar together, you know?"

He looked between the two of us, asking, "That's not that weird, is it?"

I smirked, "No, not really."

"D'aaw, Sora, do you realize just how cute you can be?" Mari asked whimsically, eyes sparkling, and I smiled to myself when I saw Sora's blush. Smiling teasingly, Mari continued, "I can totally see why Kairi has the hots for you."

Sora's face flushed even more, uttering a soft, "H-huh . . . ?"

I decided that the mood had been officially lightened.

Now, about Sora's offer . . .

For one thing, it wasn't reading, which I was pretty damn sick of by this point. Also, sparring! I hadn't gotten a good session in since that fateful day on the beach, and man did it sound appealing right about now. And like Sora said, a chance to duke it out with another Keyblade wielder? I'd have to be some kind of fool to turn that opportunity down!

Smirking, I stood up and nodded, "You know what? I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'm just about done with this book anyway."

I held it out for him to see, and I noted his (no doubt involuntary) grimace with some amusement, "Judging from your face, I take it you had to read this too."

"Yeah," Sora said, nodding. Lifting one hand to absentmindedly scratch at his cheek, he continued, "I remember trying to convince Donald that I'd read it even though I really hadn't. I know he wanted me to know that stuff for safety reasons, but the book was just so . . ."

I quirked an eyebrow, supplying, "Boring?"

"Yeah, very," Sora admitted, sighing.

"Well, if it makes you guys feel any better, I don't have to read it," Mari said cheerfully, nonchalantly holding up her hands as we both shot her a look.

"Keep that up, I might just make you," I snapped, shoving the book into my bag, which was actually quite impressively spacious despite it's seemingly small size.

Mari held out her hands in a pacifying gesture, though the smile on her face told me she didn't feel the least bit threatened.

Turning away from her, I looked back to Sora and asked, "So where exactly are we going to spar?"

At this, Sora smiled and raised a beckoning hand, "Oh that's easy! Follow me!"

{******}

So, the training room. For one thing, the fact that they even had a training room on the ship was pretty damn impressive on it's own. This 'Gummi Ship' (it was seriously called that) seemed to have everything tucked away somewhere in it's deceptively small frame.

But anyway, the training room. As far as training rooms went, this one seemed pretty normal. If you considered a fifteen foot by fifteen foot metal box with a small control panel nestled in the corner normal.

"Oooh," Mari hummed, examining one of the walls with fascinated eyes. What she saw that was so fascinating I could only guess, because all I saw was metal-plate.

"Sooo, we're sparring here?" I asked Sora, who was busy mucking around with the control panel.

"Just . . . a sec," he said, twisting a few small knobs into place with a few sharp turns. Looking up from his task to Mari, he asked, "Hey Mari, are you gonna train with us too?"

"Hmm?" she hummed, glancing at him from over her shoulder, puzzled. Evidently, she hadn't heard him.

Cupping a hand around his mouth, he asked again, louder this time, "Do you want to train with us?"

Again he got no answer, because this time Mari just straight up wasn't listening. No, instead she was off running down the length of the room for reasons unknown until she suddenly braked to a stop, feet sliding across the smooth metallic floor for a good few feet as she laughed with childlike enthusiasm, "Wheeeeee! Hey, guys, you should totally try this out, it's so cool!"

A strange blend of both amusement and exasperation crossed Sora's face as he watched her, and I shook my head. The girl with the attention span of a fruit fly, ladies and gentlemen.

Spinning around to face us, she grinned, "Come on, it's loads of fun, I promise!"

Placing my hands on my hips, I called, "Hey Mari, remind me, what's this room for again?"

She tilted her head to one side, eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement, "Huh? Training, isn't it?"

I nodded, "Okay, good. Now, tell me what it's not used for!"

At this, a small, nervous smile tweaked the corners Mari's lips, and she lightly twiddled her fingers together as she slowly said, "Not . . . sliding around?"

"Very good," I congratulated her, sarcastically clapping. Pointing at Sora, I continued, "By the way, he has a question for you."

Taking the opportunity to turn the subject away from her insanity, Mari dove toward Sora, placing her elbows on top of the control panel and leaning over it as she idly laced her fingers together and propped her chin on them, asking sweetly, "Yes, Sora my dear, my sweetie, my hunny, what is it you wish to know from this one?"

Sora leaned back, and I had to stifle the urge to laugh when I saw the absolutely befuddled expression on his face. Poor boy. At this rate, he'd never learn how to deal with Mari and all of her . . . uh . . . eccentricities. Yeah, let's call it that.

"Uh," Sora said, "I was just asking if you wanted to train with us?"

Mari blinked, "Oh?"

She smiled impishly at him and twisted around so her hip was braced against the corner of the control panel, one hand pressed against the top with the other one placed firmly on her hip, "Naaah, I'm good. A master like me doesn't need to train, after all! Besides, I'd much rather watch you two duke it out, that sounds way more fun!"

"A master like you?" I inquired, eyebrow raised as I crossed my arms, "And since when were you a master?"

"Pfft!" Mari droned, waving a dismissive hand at me, "Details, details! Anyway, hop to it, you two, I wanna see some down-and-dirty action! Epic sword-fighting! Crazy flips! Magic tricks! All of it!~"

She jumped up and energetically pumped her fist out, grinning toothily despite the stares we were giving her.

I rolled my eyes, "Oy vey . . ."

Hopping around the counter, Mari enthusiastically leaned over Sora's shoulder to watch him press a few more buttons, asking, "So, how's this electronic thing-a-ma-jiggy work anyway?"

"Like this," Sora said, flipping one last switch.

Suddenly, the walls began to flash and glow, bathing us all in a flood of white brilliance. It wasn't a blinding light however. I could still see quite clearly, and without my retinas burning, which is always a plus. The light seemed to pulsate, and a cascade of digitized static ran over the walls and floor, banishing the white and creating another image in it's place. A gust of cool wind blew across my face and my feet suddenly sank into soft earth, and I looked around in nothing short of awed fascination as slowly, with every piece of fractal code that rendered it, the metal room was transformed into the likeness of a picturesque island beach.

Soft shores of white sand, rippling azure tides, tall, leafy palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze, it was all here! Right down to the finest detail! I could even hear the sound of seagulls crying in the distance. Another gust of salt-tinged air wafted passed me, and a faint twinge of nostalgia rose up from my heart. It was almost like I was standing back on the shores of the Islands. The Islands I'd left in what felt like forever ago. Huh, it was interesting . . . I hadn't realized just how attached I'd gotten to the place . . .

"Cool, huh?" A soft voice asked me, and I turned to Sora with a slight smile.

"Very cool," I admitted. Turning back to face the gently rolling water, I said, "It's almost like I'm back on Destiny Islands."

"Yeah, that's why I picked this one," Sora said, and I did not miss the wistful note that colored his voice, "Someplace familiar, you know?"

I glanced at him and felt a stab of guilt. Here I was going on about being all nostalgic, when Sora had way more reason to feel that way than I ever did. The Islands were his home. His real home. And for all my perceived feelings, I could not claim the same. Not even a little bit.

"Yeah, familiar," I echoed softly.

A sudden crackle of static and a long buzzing assaulted my ears, quickly dispelling the illusion of the peaceful beach as a curious voice asked, "Hey, hey, is this thing on? Testing, testing, one two three!"

A soft bapping noise followed, and I could only assume that Mari was tapping whatever she had gotten her hands on. Sora began frantically waving his hands, shouting, "No Mari, don't do that!"

"Sora? Hey Sora, is that you? I can see you and Hikari on the little screen here! Can she hear me? Can you hear me? I don't know, this is really weird," Her voice echoed from seemingly all around the beach, making it impossible to tell where she was spatially.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, we can hear you just fine! Now chill out!"

Turning to Sora, I asked, "So where exactly is she? I mean, is she still in the room, or . . .?"

"She's in the control booth," Sora explained before hurriedly continuing, "Now Mari, can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Sure, shoot!" Mari said.

"Please, please, don't touch anything!" Sora pleaded earnestly, pressing his hands together in an almost prayer-like fashion.

A moment of silence, then," Oh, alright, I'll behave . . ." perking up, Mari then chirped, "So, to alleviate my future boredom, you guys better put on a really good show!"

Letting out a short sigh of relief, Sora held out a thumbs up and said, "We will. Thanks Mari."

"No prob!" Mari then began to do a little pleading of her own, asking almost desperately, "And can I please, please, please, pleeease do the countdown? Pretty pretty please with granulated sugar on top?"

Sora rubbed the back of his head, bemused as he replied, "Uh, sure, I guess. You don't have a problem with that, do you Hikari?"

I shrugged, "Nah. Let her have her fun, it'll be better for everyone that way."

"Okay."

Sora walked away from me until we stood about seven feet apart, turning to face me with a smile, "You ready?"

Walking until I stood on firmer ground, I smirked at him, "You bet."

Our Keyblades flashed into existence at the same time, gleaming white and gold in the artificial sunlight that beat down on us from above. Taking our stances, we waited for Mari to start the countdown.

"Okay, okay, okay! You all ready for this? Because I sure am!" Mari's bubbly voice was alive and full of energy as she performed her best impression of an announcer/referee, excitedly calling out, "In one corner, the veteran of the Keyblade stands tall and firm! A proud defender of the light, slayer of the Heartless and the scourge of Nobodies, he is the terror that darkness itself fears! Noble, brave, and cute as a button, give it up for Sora!"

I had been expecting something like this, because this is exactly the sort of thing Mari would do if someone was ever dumb enough to give her a working microphone. On the one hand, it was a bit of annoyance to have to sit through. On the other, Sora's perfectly bamboozled, almost scandalized face made it almost worth it.

"'Cute as a button'?" Sora parroted in disbelief, and I wisely refrained from answering his obviously rhetorical question.

"And in the other corner!" Mari prattled on, oblivious to Sora's (rather blatant) discomfort, "The newbie from fresh off the block! Having overcome challenges the lesser man would have failed, this newbie brings both talent and razor-sharp wit to this duel of destiny! Dark, mysterious, and cool as a cucumber, can this sexy vixen hope to beat the veteran who now stands before her? Let's find out!"

I rolled my eyes, murmuring, "Sexy vixen. Really?"

"See! See how weird it is?" Sora demanded.

I shrugged my shoulders, smirking, "Well, at least I'm the sexy one."

Sora narrowed his eyes, miffed, "Hey!"

"Ladies and gents, let this battle of two wielders now commence!" Mari yelled, practically bursting with barely contained excitement, "Ready?"

My muscles tensed, eyes locking with Sora's as we waited for the cue.

"FIGHT!"

Both of us shot forward at the same time, kicking up sand as our heels dug into the loose earth. Within moments, we we're upon each other, and I raised Dawnstar to strike.

CLANG!

Our Keyblades clashed together, and we remained locked together for only a moment before breaking apart. It had been a test strike, gauging each other's strength through the force of our blow. Sizing up the opponent, if you will.

And it was through that blow that I realized that I had my work cut out for me. How exactly had I forgotten the absolute ass-kicking Sora had meted out to Sitar and his friends? The world may never know.

Keep calm, I thought to myself as we warily circled each other, Focus, and keep calm.

And suddenly Sora was in my face, and only just managed to get Dawnstar up in time to absorb the shock of his swing. And he kept swinging, putting on the heat something fierce as he drove me back with every blow. Good lord, he was strong! And fast! If I didn't get clever with this, I was screwed!

Opening, look for an opening! I thought as I deflected another strike.

Sora swung again, and Oathkeeper grated along Dawnstar's serrated edge in just the right way as to send a shower of orange sparks skittering across our Keyblades, the burning motes dying out as they flew.

My eyes widened just a fraction as a plan began to form on the edge of my mind. That . . . just might work.

Switching to the offensive, I ducked as Oathkeeper sailed clear over my head before sweeping my leg out towards Sora's exposed legs, free hand braced on the ground to give me better leverage and a better kick.

Sora's reaction time was even better than I had imagined, though, because right before I made contact he jumped high into the air, flipping easily over my head and dodging my kick. I could almost imagine this scene being slowed down for dramatic effect had it been on a TV screen. Except this time I was the one on the TV, and I needed to get my act together if I wanted even a small hope of winning.

Sora landed sure-footedly behind me, bringing his Keyblade down on my head in time with his descent to give him more power. I dove to the side, somersaulting to my feet as Oathkeeper's tip struck the sand.

Taking a breath, I shot forward and swung at his head. Sora parried my attack easily, countering by attempting to twist Dawnstar out of the way so he could jab at my stomach. I twisted out of the way just in the nick of time, feeling the sharp rush of air where Oathkeeper had missed it's mark. I leaped back, but Sora remained hot on my tail, rushing forward so he nearly overtook me before swinging at my unguarded side. I held up Dawnstar and deflected that strike as well, and I watched as the two edges grated against one another and created another orange shower of burning sparks.

Perfect.

Taking a breath, I focused my energy into the fiery motes hovering between us, connecting to them like one would connect dots on a scrap of paper. The only warning Sora had was the small, blazing flash of orange light that arced rapidly between the motes a mere second later, and I smirked in satisfaction when I saw his eyes widen.

FWOOM!

The area around me lit up in a fiery ball of orange flame, waves of heat cascading out over the sand and surf alike. I had managed to jump to safety, but only barely. I cringed at the stinging pain on my left shoulder, knowing that it had no doubt gotten a little singed during my fireworks display. A word to the wise; don't stand next to your own explosions, because that's a really stupid idea.

The fireball abated quickly, with only a few small, flickering flames weakly clinging to life. A large black blemish had been left in the fire's wake, smoldering heavily as streams of black smoke trailed up into the digital sky. Sora was standing across from me on the other side of the scored sand, panting slightly and a little sweaty, but for the most part looking unhurt.

No, not entirely. From here, I could the skin along his bare arms skinning, glowing pink in the light of the sun. So I had hit him! Not as much as I would have liked, but still, better than nothing.

"WHOOOAAA!" Mari screamed into the mic, voice ringing painfully around the beach, "THAT WAS SO COOL! DO IT AGAIN!"

"Mari," I said, voice terse, "Training! Zip it!"

Movement to my left, and I reflexively snapped Dawnstar up to block, legs and shoulders tense. Oathkeeper came down hard as I dug my heels into the ground to keep from falling over, one hand braced against the back of my Keyblade to distribute the force of the blow and making it harder for Sora to knock it out of my hands. Teeth gritted in concentration, I narrowed my eyes into his own energized blue ones and ground out, "Well excuse you! I was in the middle of conversation."

He smirked, "Well, technically we're each other's bad guy right now, and bad guys don't care!"

"Well, gee, I didn't know how much you liked being a bad guy!" I quipped tersely, then added, "Anyway, still kind of cheap."

"And that fireball wasn't?" Sora asked, though his tone and smile were both good-natured.

We broke away then, but I could feel myself growing tired. I needed to end this quickly. Perhaps if I kept him talking . . .

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, we never actually bothered to lay down any rules for this thing, did we?"

In the silence that followed, Sora held up a finger as if to argue, paused, then bashfully scratched the side of his head, "Uh, yeah, I guess you're right. Woops."

I shook my head, giving a small, yet amused smile as I watched him. This seemed exactly like the sort of thing he would forget in a training match.

Then he grinned at me, and despite the warmth of it, I felt a positively cold chill go up my spine, "So I guess that means we can go all out now, huh?"

I blinked, alarm bells going off in my head as I slowly realized what was up. Sora had been holding back.

Let me repeat that. Sora had been holding back!

I felt my stomach do a flip as the implications finally sunk in, and, ignoring the sting to my pride, I realized that I was in deep trouble now.

That was when Oathkeeper began to glow, and I knew right then that I had to run. Turning heel, I took off, and not even a moment later did I feel the air electrify behind me and hear the sharp crack of lightning as is it struck the ground where I'd just been standing.

I kept moving, keeping myself just ahead of the lighting bolts that rained down from above. He was not holding back anymore, that was for damn sure!

Suddenly, Sora ran straight into my path, Keyblade hefted to his side, and I realized, too late, that I had done exactly what Sora had wanted. He'd been herding me into a pincer trap! With only lightning behind me and Keyblade vet in front without the time to dive to the side, I knew I had to think quick.

And idea! How well it worked remained to be seen, but maybe it would give me the time I needed to get out of this conundrum I'd found myself in.

Digging my heels into the ground, I slid to a sharp halt, both hands curled tight around the handle. Sora was coming at me, moving like a panther closing in for the kill, Oathkeeper gleaming white and razor-sharp as he swung it forward.

Now or never! With a cry, I dragged the tip of my Keyblade through the sand before swinging it out into a wide arc, a spray of golden sand hurling off it's tip and hovering in the air in a wide half-circle. Taken off guard, Sora backpedaled, but not before some of the loose sand got into his eyes.

"Ah!" he cried, running a hand over his face to wipe the granules away.

Now was my chance! Running forward, I pulled Dawnstar up and swung toward his vulnerable stomach.

But right before I made contact, Sora spun Oathkeeper in his hand and slammed it's tip into the ground, and suddenly the sand beneath my feet was replaced by a large, slick covering of ice.

"WHOA!" was all that escaped my mouth as I slipped and landed hard against my back, pain radiating outward from my spine.

Get up. Get up!

And then I felt the cool pressure a blade pressed up against my throat, and I opened my eyes to see Sora standing above, one eye closed and with a few grains of sand still clinging to his hair, but with a triumphant smile on his face. I knew right then that there was no point in getting up.

I had lost.

Sighing, I let my head fall back as I groaned, "Damn it . . ."

Around me, the simulated beach began to dissolve, the familiar metallic walls taking the pastoral scene's place as the training session ended.

The pressure on my neck disappeared as Sora dismissed Oathkeeper, and he smiled as he held out his hand to me, "Great fight!"

After a slow moment of just staring at his offered hand (I was totally not sulking), I finally reached out and accepted it, saying, "Yeah, agreed. You are definitely not someone to take lightly, my back can attest to that."

Sora winced as he pulled me up off the floor, "Yeah, sorry about that. I kinda just . . . reacted," he continued, this time more happily, "In any case, you're definitely not someone to take lightly, either! That fireball you did was really something!"

I looked away, brushing a lock of hair back over my shoulder as I said, "Uh, thanks. But it was just a fireball."

Sora shook his head as he released my hand, "No way! When I first started out, I don't think I was ever able to cast a spell that quickly."

I shrugged, "Well, regardless, you still beat me. Pretty badly."

"Yeah, I beat you, but that's just because I've been doing this for a lot longer than you have," Sora admitted, crossing his arms. Smiling wide, he added, "You just need some more practice, that's all."

Hmm, while it didn't quite get rid of the sting, it was nice of him to say that.

The sound of approaching feet made me reflexively tense, and not a moment later did a blonde-headed maniac run full on into my side, throwing her arms around me and crying, "WAAAH, HIKARI, I'M SO SORRY YOU LOOOST!"

"Ow . . ." I mumbled.

Sniffing and ignoring my half-hearted protests, she grabbed my head and (quite suddenly and without any prompting, I assure you) squished it against her chest, stroking my hair and cooing, "It's okay, baby, best friend's here now to make it all better! Shh, shh, everything is going to be just fine. And know that if you need to, you may cry in my bosom."

No shame. None at all.

Hooking my hands between her arms and my face, I began to push them away, tearing myself out of her vice-like hold as I growled, "Mari, if I needed to cry, which I don't, I'd do it well away from your 'bosom', that's for damn sure."

Another set of footsteps reached me, and I looked over Mari's shoulder to see both Donald and Goofy coming toward us. Huh, when'd they get here?

"Oh, hey you guys," Sora said, eyes questioning, "What's up?"

"Oh yeah!" Mari said, rocking from her heels to the balls of her feet, "They got here, like, right after I told you guys to start fighting. Which was awesome by the way!~" she finished in sing-song, eyes going all starry as she gave us a double thumbs up.

"We were just comin' ta let ya know that we've arrived at the next world!" Goofy explained, holding up his hands as he did. Smiling, he added, "And Mari's right. Ya both were amazin'!"

Ah, Goofy, always with a nice word to say, even when they weren't completely accurate.

. . . I'm not sulking.

"Thanks Goofy," Sora said appreciatively, graciously accepting the compliment.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, not-so-graciously accepting the compliment.

Donald picked up on this, and he leaned forward with his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed as he examined me.

"What?" I asked, staring at him.

A cheeky smile appeared on his face and he pointed at me, chuckling, "You're sulking."

"Am not," I defended, doing my best to ignore the slight warmth that came to my cheeks. Perhaps I said it a bit too quickly, because now everyone was looking at me.

"Are too!" Donald teased, smiling in totally unrestrained mirth.

"Aw, there's no need ta be embarrassed about it!" Goofy said encouragingly, "We all lose sometime!"

"And we knew you were gonna lose to Sora anyway, so it's not like it's a big deal," Donald continued, and I had to fight the urge to punch him in the bill.

Without saying a word, Mari just held out her arms to me, face one of prefect seriousness. Also without saying a word, I shook my head.

"Oh come on, Donald, Hikari's just not experienced as the rest of us," Sora said.

"Yeah, and even you were impressed when she cast the fire spell," Goofy chipped in, lightly tapping Donald on the shoulder.

Donald crossed his arms, eyes narrowed, but he still grudgingly admitted, "Yeah, okay, that's true."

Turning to me, he asked, "Have you finished that book."

I looked at him, "It's a work in progress."

"Where'd you leave off?" he inquired, and I had to wonder just where he was going with this.

"Chapter three," I answered, crossing my arms.

"Hmm," he placed a hand under his chin, deep in thought, before finally saying, "Good enough for now."

Everyone looked curious now as I slowly asked, "And, uh, what does that mean, exactly?"

"Before we go down to the next world, I wanna see just how good you are with your magic," he explained. Holding up a finger, he clarified "Just a short test run. We can do some real practice later, after you finish the book."

Now magic practice huh? Eh, well . . .

"Sure, why not?" I agreed, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oooh!" Mari hummed, looking elated, "I get to watch more magic stuff! Yay!"

"Uh-uh-uh," Donald said, wagging a finger, "Goofy wanted to get you some supplies before we left, and Hikari and I aren't gonna be long, so you should get that done now."

"Oh yeah, I was gonna do that," Goofy said, placing an embarrassed hand on his head.

"Aaaw . . ." Mari sighed, shoulders slumping, "I was really looking forward to it, too . . ."

I guess even her sad face could melt even the stoniest of hearts, because after a few moments of stubborn silence, Donald's face caved and he sighed, "Okay, how about this? The next time we practice, you can watch, okay?"

Mari perked up almost instantly, smiling brightly as she twittered on, "Oh, yes, yes, yes, I'd love to do that! I'd so love to do that!"

Running forward, she threw her arms around Donald despite his squawk of protest, yelling, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She pulled away almost immediately after that, smiling cheekily as Donald patted down his rumpled feathers with an irritated huff. Craning her neck over her shoulder to look at Goofy, she asked, "So, where's the goodies at?"

Goofy smiled at her and held out a hand, "Right this way, ma'am."

With a giddy smile, Mari accepted and began to skip along beside him to go retrieve whatever, but not before throwing me one last, encouraging smile, "You got this Hikari! Rock his feathery world!"

I rolled my eyes as the two departed. At least I wouldn't have to deal with her screaming into the microphone again.

Donald turned to Sora, "Sora, can you turn on the simulation?"

"Sure I can!" Sora said, walking over to the control booth. After twisting and turning a few knobs and switches here and there, he glanced at us, "You guys ready?"

"Uh-huh," Donald said, and I nodded. Hm, I wonder what's going to pop up next.

Once more, the walls flashed and glowed, and like before, another image began to paint itself into existence in place of the training room. Right before I lost sight of Sora, however, I saw him mouth something at me, which I was sure went something along the lines of 'good luck'. Oh boy.

This time, the simulated stage was much less grandiose. Basically, it was a small coliseum-like area with empty rows and silent winds, with only four straw-man dummies arranged in a straight line about ten feet away from me. Above my head, I could see the sky, blue as it should be, but lacking any clouds and a sun, even thought light still flooded the entire space. I guess it required some suspension of disbelief on my part.

"Okay, so first," Donald started, and I realized that now was the time to start paying attention, "See those dummies over there?"

I knocked my head to one side, giving him a sarcastic look and a sarcastic response, "Oh, there are dummies here? I was too busy looking at all the roaring fans in audience. So much energy and activity, it's easy to miss blatantly obvious things."

"Huh?" Donald asked, looking around, "What audience?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Donald, I see the dummies. Now what about them?"

He stepped forward a bit, holding his wand up at the ready as he explained, "I wanna see how good you really are with your magic, so use the dummies as a target when you cast. Like this."

With a practiced wave, he thrust his wand out and an orb of orange flames erupted from the tip, flying forward and striking the dummy on the far left dead center. The flames died quickly, and I noticed that the dummy was practically unharmed, without even an soot-colored mark to hint at its earlier barbecue status. Well, this was a practice simulation, so I guess that was the whole point.

"Now you try," Donald instructed, standing back.

"Alright," I replied, stepping up to the plate. Holding my Keyblade, I took a breath and focused my power into the tip, watching as a small spark flickered into being before an orb of fire burst to life in it's place. With ease, I pointed it at one of the dummies and let it rip, watching as it shot through the air and hit the target in it's straw-filled head.

Smiling in satisfaction, I turned to Donald and waited for his verdict. He had his hand to his chin once more, watching the flames flicker before speaking, "Not bad. You're definitely not as bad as Sora was when he first started."

A sharp buzz of static echoed over the field, and Sora's voice echoed with it, "Hey, I can still hear you, ya know!"

Donald waved a dismissive hand, asking, "What, it's the truth."

I smirked to myself, amused, "What'd he do?"

"Don't answer that, Donald," Sora said sharply, and if I listened closely, I thought he sounded a little desperate. Must have been pretty embarrassing.

Unfortunately for me, Donald decided that the now was more important, "Ah, I'll tell ya later. Right now, let's keep going."

I pretended that I didn't hear Sora's sigh of relief as I waited for Donald's instructions, which he was quick to provide me with, "Okay, now let's see how fast you can cast."

I lifted an eyebrow, questioning, "And how are you going to measure that, exactly?"

"Like this," Donald said, and he held out his wand again. This time, instead of stopping at one dummy, he cast three other fire spells in quick succession with a practiced flick of his wrist, hitting all four dummies in perfect sequence.

Hm, now, a thing I should probably note here is that I didn't really cast fire magic the way Donald did. I mean, I suppose the basic concept was the same, but I don't like standing still to cast spells like he did. He was obviously good at it, no questions asked, but was his style my style?

No.

So instead, I opted to take a path I was familiar with. Holding Dawnstar behind me, I zeroed in on the dummies like a hawk to a family of mice, sucking in a breath as I pushed more power into the length of my Keyblade.

Donald stared at me, confusion on his face, "Uh, Hikari, what are you-?"

And release!

"Here we go!" I shouted as I hurled Dawnstar forward, watching in satisfaction as the spinning blade became engulfed in flames and quickly sliced through all the opposing dummies in a smooth arc before twirling back to me in a shower of golden embers as the flames died. Reaching up, I caught it braced the blade against my shoulder, taking some very sweet pleasure in the gob smacked expression in Donald's face.

"Wow . . ." he mumbled, staring at where the trail of glowing embers that still hovered in the air.

"Good enough?" I asked, smirking.

Roused out of his shock, he shook his head and said, "Y-yeah, for now," furrowing his eyebrows, he pointed at me, "But you still need to be careful with a move like that! If you're not careful, you could hit someone you don't mean to hit."

I held up my free hand, "Aye, sir. But I've done this move before, so I'd like to think I've gotten some practice with the aiming."

Donald shook his head, "No, that's not what I mean. When you let the Keyblade go, you also let go of the spell."

"Beg your pardon?" I asked, confused. Just what did he mean by 'let go of the spell'?

Donald sighed and began to explain, "Magic depends on the caster, and the caster needs something to focus the magic through, like my wand or your Keyblade. That's how we control it. Out there," he pointed at the nearly invisible trail Dawnstar had left, "No one's controlling it. It's all luck until the Keyblade comes back to your hand. Understand?"

"So you mean, when I'm not holding Dawnstar or the magic, it could get out of hand?" I asked, looking for clarification.

"Exactly," Donald said, nodding. Pointing at me, he then added, "And no trying other spells until our next session, got it?"

I smiled at him, "Oh, so you're actually going to teach me something next time? That'll be nice."

Around me, the simulated stadium began to dissolve, leaving the familiar metal box I'd first walked into in it's place. Sora came waltzing up to us, hands laced behind his head, "Nice work in there, Hikari! That trick you did with your Keyblade was really cool!"

"Hey, a girl's gotta have at least one good party trick in her hat," I said, dismissing Dawnstar. Smiling, I added, "So anyway, let's get hopping to this new world, shall we? I'm just dying to see what trouble we can stir up next."

And away we go to the next world! I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, but I felt like this needed to happen at some point. Training, yeah!

Back to the real action next chapter, promise. :)

Review if you feel obliged. 3