Ventus had slept the rest of the day and well into the evening, and he and Aqua decided it would be better to lie low that night. The following night, however, he returned to Destiny Islands while she followed close behind. More than anything, he just wanted to make sure Sora was okay, and figured he'd introduce Aqua to the boy who'd saved his life so selflessly. They arrived at the Paopu Tree's islet and he smiled once they dismissed their armor.

"Up there." He pointed at the Paopu Tree itself, and a warm smile spread across Aqua's face as she saw the fruit growing from it.

"It's so beautiful," she marveled as she looked from it over to the light of the moon shimmering on the waves. The sound of the water lapping against the beach in the otherwise still night air was so serene and peaceful. "I should come with you more often."

"Aw, but if you do, I won't be able to focus on training Sora," he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Not when I'm too busy looking at how beautiful you are in the moonlight." A quick giggle escaped her lips and she turned to kiss him briefly.

"You've literally been looking at the same face for ten years," she said as she stroked his cheek. "How can you still look at me like that?"

"Like what?" he wondered with a playful grin.

"Like you absolutely adore me," she mused. "Like you think I'm the most amazing thing you've ever seen. Like…"

"I'll love you forever?" he finished as his grin grew. "That's because I do absolutely adore you and think you're the most amazing person ever. But most importantly, I love you for your heart, Aqua. And no matter what we go through, that'll never change." She kissed his forehead and took his hands in hers.

"And I you, Ven," she said gently. "Thank you."

He turned at a now familiar sound and found a rowboat coming around the islet. Once he had docked, Sora disembarked the boat and made his way over the sand. He kept a brisk pace, but didn't run like he usually did. Even so, he still had his usual grin on his face and stopped a pace away from them.

"Sorry I didn't show up last night," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I fell asleep right after dinner. I was pretty sluggish yesterday." Ventus snorted and shook his head.

"I don't blame you!" he laughed. "I spent most of yesterday sleeping myself. I wasn't really expecting either of us to be up for a lesson. Anyway," he gestured to his companion. "Sora, I want you to meet Aqua."

"So you're Aqua!" Sora grinned and took her offered hand as she nodded to him. "I've really been looking forward to meeting you. I'm Sora."

"Nice to meet you, Sora," she replied warmly. "Thank you for what you did for Ven. I don't know what I'd do without him." Sora locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back a bit.

"Just did what I thought was right," he shrugged. "Uh, so can today be another history lesson? I'm not sure I can handle you coming at me with a weapon today." Ventus and Aqua both laughed.

"I think that's the first time you've actually asked for a history lesson," Ventus remarked. "But before I get ahead of myself, I want to ask you something." Sora tilted his head curiously. "Now that you know about… us, I guess, about what we are, do you want to train as a hunter?" Sora blinked.

"Uh, wait. You mean like hunting vampires?"

"Yep," Ventus smirked. "I know it sounds weird coming from me, but Aqua and I are actually still hunters in a way. Not all vampires are as… nice as we are."

"Many of them are downright nasty," Aqua agreed. "Call us hypocrites if you will, but most aren't as peaceful as us. They're truly dangerous and we still consider it our duty to save the worlds from them."

"I can teach you how to relatively safely track them and about our weaknesses," Ventus went on. "You can help keep people safe. But if you decide you don't want to do that, I can still just teach you as a Keyblade wielder." Sora crossed his arms and lowered his head in thought for a few moments.

"Might as well," he decided. "As long as I know about you, I should probably make myself useful." He smiled and unfolded his arms. "Count me in!"

"Then make yourself comfortable," Ventus said with a laugh. "Might as well go over the basics with you now."

"SORA!"

The three of them turned to find Riku arriving on the islet followed by a man in his late twenties. Both Ventus and Aqua stared at him in disbelief as he summoned forth a Keyblade they were all too familiar with.

"Slow down, Riku," he commanded, stopping the boy before he could sprint over. "You've antagonized him enough as it is. You need to be careful." He looked up at Ventus and fell silent, his blue eyes widening as his gaze shifted between him and Aqua.

"…Terra…" Aqua breathed as he slowly trudged closer to them.

"Riku," Terra said once he'd cleared his throat. "Th-That boy… That's the one who bit your friend?"

"That's him," Riku confirmed, brow furrowed and eyes burning with anger. Terra clenched his fists, one gripping his Keyblade tightly, as he processed the information he'd been presented with.

"And here I was expecting just another demon," he grumbled through grit teeth, then shook his head vigorously. "Ven! Is it true? Did you bite that boy Sora?" Ventus blinked and looked at Sora, who only gave him a bewildered gaze in return.

"H…How did you know?" Sora called.

"Riku told me what happened two nights ago," Terra explained, his Keyblade hesitating between resting and ready for a fight. "That another friend of yours had seen you disappear with Ventus in his armor, but he disappeared and when you came out, you were weak and dizzy. I've been at this a long time, Sora." He looked back at Ventus, furious. "How could you do this?!"

"Because Riku left me struggling to stay alive!" Ventus snapped, more hurt than angry at the fury in Terra's eyes. "I wouldn't have even needed to hunt that night if it wasn't for him." Terra shook his head and inhaled deeply.

"Sora," he said in a low voice. "My name is Terra. I've been training Riku to hunt demons like Ventus." His gaze flicked briefly to Aqua, but he said nothing. "You're lucky to be alive. You need to stay away from him."

"Why do you both keep saying that?!" Sora demanded, taking a step closer to his master. "Ven is my friend! I offered to help him."

"So did he," Terra spat. "And look at him now."

"Terra!" Aqua interrupted, taking several steps toward him that only caused him to stiffen. "Please, stop this. You know Ven isn't a monster. Neither of us are! It was one big misunderstanding."

"What's not to understand?" Terra inquired sharply. "We had a deal. You don't hunt children! You don't harm them. You had to have known how close he was getting to Sora," he went on before she could say anything. "You should have stopped him."

"But-"

"Just stop," he snapped and turned back to Ventus. "You broke our deal. You know what that means." He sighed heavily and set his battle stance. "I treat you like I would any other demon."

"Terra!" Ventus pleaded. "Listen to yourself! You know I would never hurt a child. None of this would have happened if your apprentice there hadn't provoked me!"

"Oh, so you're saying this is my fault?" Riku demanded.

"I'm not not saying it," Ventus muttered. Riku frowned and curled his fingers into fists.

"Master Terra, let me show this demon what I'm really capable of. I'll make sure he never hurts Sora or anyone else ever again!" Terra only nodded, and Ventus began to panic. His eyes widened as Riku summoned a Keyblade and rushed toward him. He shifted his weight into a defensive stance, but did not summon his own Keyblade.

"Riku, no!" Sora yelled, and before anyone could stop him, he intercepted his friend and a loud clang echoed across the beach as a light suddenly illuminated between them. When it died down, it revealed yet another Keyblade, a simple silver shaft with a yellow guard around the hilt and crown-like teeth. Both the boys stared at each other and they broke apart a heartbeat later.

"You have a Keyblade?" they both said within a second of the other. Ventus shook himself from his awe at the sight of Sora's Keyblade and returned his gaze to Terra.

"That's why I was anywhere near him," he explained. "I was training him as my apprentice. Human or not, it's still my job as a Keyblade wielder to pass it on to someone else. I had no intention of hurting him."

"Terra," Aqua spoke up again. "Please. You have to understand. You must know neither of us want to harm anyone. Do you see that?" She pointed up at the Paopu Tree. "Remember what I told you? The three of us share an unbreakable connection! Does that, our friendship, mean nothing to you?" He didn't immediately respond.

"My friends died ten years ago," he said dully. "I gave you both a chance to honor their memory. That's it." He set his battle stance again, as did Riku.

"If you want to hurt them, you'll have to go through me!" Sora nearly shouted as he readied his Keyblade, but Ventus stepped to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Sora looked up at him, and he shook his head. Despite a desire to protest, Sora complied and straightened back up, lowering his Keyblade to his side. Ventus then turned to Terra and walked over to stand a few paces in front of him. He summoned the Wayward Wind and tossed it away to the ground.

"Alright, Terra," he began quietly. "Our friendship, the battles we've fought together, our time training under the Master, us saving your life, you saving mine… If that all means nothing to you, then kill me." He spread his arms and lowered his head. "If you really think I'm a monster and nothing else, that I don't have any trace of my humanity left, then go ahead!" Terra stared at him, his inner conflict and grief betrayed by his eyes. Ventus bowed forward slightly, lowering his head further. "If everything we've shared doesn't mean anything to you, just do it," he said softly. "Put an end to me." Terra frowned and slowly approached him, raising his Keyblade. Sora cried out and Aqua grabbed his arms to keep him in place despite the grief and pain on her face.

Ventus shut his eyes as Terra stopped before him, gripping his Keyblade tightly. He lifted it into the air with his eyes glaring at his former companion, but he hesitated. He swung the Keyblade down and staked it into the sand hairs away from where he would have struck his target.

"One more chance," he muttered. "My friend is still alive in you somewhere. I won't be the one to end him." Ventus peaked up at him to find him looking over to Aqua and meeting her grievous gaze. "Try to keep your mate from doing anything else that stupid." He turned away and Ventus hurried over to her, his heart clenching at the hurt in her eyes. "Sora," Terra went on without turning around. "I can train you as a Keyblade wielder. If you feel threatened at all, even if you think you're overreacting or being paranoid, I'd be happy to take you on alongside Riku." With that, he opened a path with his Keyblade and gestured for his apprentice to follow him. Riku hesitated, casting one more fretful glance at Sora that turned to anger as he looked to Ventus, but he complied and followed his master.