*Insert sentence here so the chapter selector doesn't move the title of the chapter to the left*
Chapter XXI
Two Peculiar Pairs
1525hrs, August 13th, 2024
Shirotsume Town, Fiore, Earth Land
At this moment, Terra was in Fiore, walking around a town called Shirotsume. Since Kairi and Naminé told him that Aqua joined Mermaid Heel, he decided that he should also join a Mages Guild, and that's why he traveled to Earth Land. The Keyblade wielder also wanted to work, so he took a request before leaving Radiant Garden. It wasn't exactly a request since it was Isa the one who put the paper on the board, but it was still a mission.
"All right, according to Isa there should be a big Heartless around this town," thought Terra as he looked the paper he had in his right hand. The Keyblade wielder couldn't see any Heartless in the town, which looked really peaceful at the moment, so he decided to explore it a little.
Shirotsume was a small town located in a mountainous area, so it was normal that there were less people than in that other city where he met Sora's friends from Fairy Tail. Terra wondered why the Heartless would attack this town since there were other towns where there were more people, but that could be something that had to do with Maleficent. The Guardians still had to figure out what she was scheming, so in the meantime they had to protect the worlds from her and her Heartless army.
Terra suddenly saw something that caught his attention. There were some people in a nearby alley, and the Keyblade wielder decided to get closer and see what was going on. When Terra reached the alley, he saw that the men who were there were surrounding someone, so he decided to intervene, but he stopped when he saw the face of the person who was surrounded.
"Wait, isn't that…?" thought Terra.
"So you are not going to tell me where your hideout is?" asked the person being surrounded.
"What do you think, woman!?" said one of the men. "In fact, I think we have to make sure you don't look for it!"
"Yeah, let's take care of her, guys!" said another one.
"You leave me no other choice, then," said the woman.
The next thing Terra saw was the ten men flying into the sky after being hit by the sword that the woman who was in the valley summoned. Her attack also destroyed part of the wall of a building.
"Now, about your hideout's location…" said the woman as she turned to look at the men who were planning to attack her, but she didn't finish her line when she realized that the men weren't there anymore. She also saw the damage she caused to a building, and an expression of guiltiness appeared on her face.
"You should have spared at least one of those guys, Erza," asked Terra as he approached the woman in the valley. She turned around quickly and pointed her sword at the person who was behind her. "Hey, easy there…"
"Terra," said Erza surprised when she saw the Keyblade wielder.
"Hey there," said Terra in response. "You overdid it a bit, don't you think?"
"O-oh, you saw that?" said Erza slightly embarrassed which caused Terra to smile. "It happens more than I would like…Anyway, it's good to see you again, Terra. What are you doing in Fiore? Are you on a mission?"
"Just like you, I suppose," said Terra as Erza approached him. "You're looking for someone's hideout, right?"
"Correct," replied Erza. "I heard about a band of thieves that had a hideout located near this town, so we came here to investigate. What about your mission? Is it a Heartless, perhaps?"
"Exactly," answered the Keyblade wielder. "So you are also alone? Didn't you come with your team to this mission? I thought you and them always worked together."
"That's true, but this time I took a request on my own," said Erza crossing her arms. "We've been working a lot lately, and they wanted to take a break. Well, it was Lucy, Wendy, Carla and Happy the ones who wanted to rest. Natsu and Gray wanted some time to train."
"Train?" asked Terra somewhat curious.
"Yes, for the tournament that will take place in Radiant Garden," replied Erza. "I was going to train too, but the person who sent the request to Fairy Tail asked me personally to take care of this problem."
"You know about the tournament?" asked Terra surprised. "Who told you?"
Erza smiled. "Your Guild Master did."
"I should have supposed it was him," said Terra returning the smile. "Well, if you want to know, Riku and I saw that the coliseum was already finished when we were working in Radiant Garden, so we decided to ask the person who was organizing it about it."
"Oh, so you know when it's going to take place?" asked Erza.
Terra nodded. "It will start in February 10th, so you have plenty of time to train. It'll be a competition between twelve teams, each of them representing a guild or organization."
"Then it's going to be like the Grand Magic Games…just like Sora told us…" said Erza pensively. "And twelve teams…Do you know how many members each team can have?"
"No, sorry," replied Terra. "They are still working out some of the details of the tournament."
"It's okay, at least now I know how much time we have before the competition starts," said the redhead. "I'll be looking forward to compete against you and Aqua. The day we met I could sense that you two were really powerful, so I'm really eager to see what you can do."
"Then you'd better train hard, because we're not going to go easy on anyone," said Terra with a confident look on his face.
"I don't expect less from you and the other Keyblade wielders," said Erza, who had the same expression Terra had. "Oh, by the way, how's Sora? Is he all right?"
"He's doing fine," replied Terra. "He's now protecting a world from the Heartless with another member of the guild. Someone asked him personally to go to that world."
"I supposed so," said Erza. "He told us he'd come to visit if nothing happened, so I thought it was something like that the reason he didn't come."
"Oh, I see," said the brown-haired man in realization. "Well, don't worry about that. I'm sure he'll come here right after he finishes his mission in that world. I know him well enough, so I know he'll do that."
"I know," said Erza. "I just wanted to know if he was all right. I guess I worry about him more than necessary."
"I can't blame you for that," said Terra. "One of Sora's specialties is to make his friends constantly worry about him because of the amount of crazy things he usually does. And he's not the only one…"
"That's true," said Erza after laughing a bit. Then she looked at Terra again. "Say, how about we help each other? We'll finish our missions sooner if the two of us work together. Besides, I have to admit it gets kind of lonely without Lucy and the others with me. What do you think?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," replied Terra smiling. "Actually, there's something I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind."
"Of course not, what is it?" asked Erza, wondering what the Keyblade Master in front of her wanted from her.
"Do you know where the Sabertooth Guild is?" asked Terra. "I heard the Guild Master of Sabertooth wanted to recruit a Keyblade wielder, and I'm interested in joining a Mages Guilds so…"
"Oh right, Roxas said that you and Aqua were interested in joining a Mages Guild," said Erza. "Even so, I'm surprised to hear that you want to join Sabertooth."
"Well, it's the only Mages Guilds I know that doesn't have a Keyblade wielder," said Terra. "The other one was Mermaid Heel, but I don't think they would let me join. Besides, Aqua already joined that guild and-"
"Wait, what!?" asked Erza really surprised. "Aqua joined Mermaid Heel!? When!?"
"That's what Kairi told me," said Terra. "They went to Mermaid Heel after visiting Blue Pegasus and a mage called Kagura tested Aqua. They fought and Aqua joined the guild after that. I think she's still in Fiore."
"Kagura beat me to it," muttered Erza while touching her chin. "Do you know who won the fight?"
"I forgot to ask that," said Terra. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," replied the mage, and then she looked at Terra with a smile. "I'll be glad to walk you to Sabertooth, but first let's finish our jobs, okay? And, in the meantime, maybe we could get to know each other better."
"All right," replied Terra as he and Erza started walking to look for more clues about the hideout the redhead mage was looking for. "Wait, what did you just say?"
Erza chuckled. "Don't worry, I might be a very strict person, but I won't bite you or anything."
"What's that supposed to mean?" thought Terra a bit confused.
-TLG-
0900hrs, August 14th, 2024
Beacon Academy, Remnant
"Okay…let's…rest…for a moment…" said Jaune as he lowered his sword. He had been training with Pyrrha and Ventus in the dormitory's roof for a while, so he really needed to take a momentary break before continuing.
"Yeah, a small break would be good," said Ven before making his Keyblade vanish.
"Come on, are you two tired already? We've been only training for four hours," said Pyrrha with a small smirk on her face. Jaune was recovering his breath so he didn't reply, but Ven did.
"Well, if I had known you were going to wake me up so early, last night I would have gone to bed sooner," said Ven, returning the smirk to the redhead.
"If we want Jaune to get stronger fast, then we have to use all the time we have," said Pyrrha crossing her arms. "Let's not waste any of it! This is a battle we have to win!"
"Now she reminds me a bit of Erza…" thought Ven.
"By the way, do you know when they are going to start investigating?" asked Jaune.
The blond student was referring to what Sora and Team RWBY told them yesterday. The day they heard about Roman Torchwick and that mysterious person in the news, Sora and Team RWBY also heard rumors about suspicious activity going on in the city, so they decided to investigate in order to find out if the rumors were true since it could be Roman, who could be planning to do something in the city. Besides, if they could find Roman, then it was possible that they could run into the mysterious hooded person who appeared on TV.
Ruby and her team were just interested in Roman, but they also wanted to help Sora finding that unknown guy who might be working with him, so that's why they agreed to look for clues in the city at night. However, since a group of five teens walking around the city at night would be kind of suspicious, they also decided that only two of them will go to the city each night. Besides, none of the teachers knew about this, so they needed three of them to stay in the academy to cover them up.
"Tonight," replied Pyrrha. "I think they agreed that Sora will always be one of the two who will investigate since he's not a student, so he won't get in trouble if something happens. He'll choose who goes with him to the city each night until they find out something."
"I hope they can find out where that guy is soon," said Jaune, and then he noticed that the boy who was next to him had a pensive expression. "Hey Ven, what are you thinking about?"
"It's about what Blake and Sora told us yesterday," replied Ven.
"About that man who defeated that flying Heartless in the Emerald Forest?" asked Pyrrha.
"That's right," answered the Keybearer. "That guy, whoever he is, must be really strong to do something like that…Defeating a Dustflier with just one hit is something not even the strongest Keyblade wielder I know could do, you know? I wonder who he is…"
"Are you worried about Sora and the girls?" asked the redhead. "Maybe you should go with them when they find out where that criminal is."
"No, I'm not worried," said Ven smiling. "I'm just curious to know who that guy is. He must be really strong, but Sora is not a pushover, and he won't be alone. I'm sure they won't have any problem. Besides, I have to protect Beacon while Sora's not here, remember? I'm not going to leave you guys alone."
"Good, because we still have to train much more," said Pyrrha returning the smile, and the two boys sighed but smiled anyway. Then the door that led to the roof opened and the three teens turned their heads to see that it was Sora.
"Hey, good morning, Sora," said Jaune.
"You also got up early today," said Ven with a surprised voice, although it was only to mess with Sora a little.
"Yeah, very funny," said Sora smiling. "Hey, I don't know if you already had breakfast, but Ren made pancakes and Nora is eating all of them, so I'd run if I were you."
Then, as fast as lightning, Ven and Jaune started running so fast that Sora and Pyrrha could only see the dust they left behind.
"I thought they were tired…" said Pyrrha before approaching the brown-haired boy, who was surprised at how fast Ven and Jaune left the roof. "Hey Sora, have you decided who is going to the city tonight with you to investigate?"
"Yes, I'm looking for her actually," said Sora. "Have you seen Weiss, by any chance?"
"Weiss?" asked Pyrrha surprised. "You decided to go with her?"
"Uh, yeah…why?" asked Sora.
"Well, I expected you to choose…I mean, I didn't expect you to choose her to be the first one," replied Pyrrha. "How's that you ended up choosing her?"
"In the Emerald Forest I could see that she fights with precision and coordination," replied Sora. "Someone analytical and tactical like her would be really good at investigating, I think."
"You're right," said Pyrrha nodding. "But Weiss is…well, she's someone a bit difficult to deal with, but I'm sure you already noticed that. That's why I thought you would choose Yang to go with you tonight."
"I…I'm kind of afraid to be alone with Yang at night…" said Sora with a troubled smile.
Pyrrha laughed. "Well, I'm sure you'll be okay with Weiss. According to Ven, there's no girl that can resist to your lady-killer abilities."
"I'm going to kill that guy…" muttered Sora before looking at Pyrrha again. "Anyway, do you know where Weiss is? I'd like to tell her that I want her to come with me to the city tonight as soon as possible."
"Sorry, but I've been here with Jaune and Ven since we woke up, so I haven't seen her today," replied Pyrrha. "You should ask someone from Team RWBY."
"All right, thanks," said Sora. "I don't know where they are, but it shouldn't be so difficult to find them. See you later, Pyrrha."
"Wait, before you leave…" said the redhead, stopping Sora before he could cross the door that led to the dormitory. "About that person you and Blake told us about yesterday. Ven said he must be really powerful if he could defeat that Heartless with one strike. His exact words were: 'Defeating a Dustflier with just one hit is something not even the strongest Keyblade wielder I know could do'. I suppose you think the same, right?"
"Yeah, he's right," said Sora. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't want to sound preachy, but be careful, okay?" said Pyrrha. "If you and Ven consider that person to be really powerful, then none of us would stand a chance, so take care of Ruby and the others too, please."
"Don't worry, I won't let them do anything dangerous," assured Sora grinning. "We still don't know if that guy is an enemy, but I told the girls to leave him to me if something happens…although I think Yang and Ruby weren't listening to me when I told them that…"
"You'll have to keep an eye on those two, then," said Pyrrha amused.
"It won't be a problem…I think," said Sora a bit unsure. "Well, I'm going to look for Weiss. Oh, and since you ask me that, then I want to ask you to take care of Ven. Make sure he doesn't get into more fights with Cardin or any other student, okay? I don't want to hear that he sent someone to the infirmary while I was in the city."
"All right, I think I can do that," said Pyrrha smiling. "Although something tells me that if you had been the one who saw Cardin and his team picking on Velvet that day, you would have done the same thing Ven did."
Sora chuckled. "Who knows?"
"Well, I better hurry before they eat all the pancakes Ren made," said Pyrrha as she started walking towards the door to get into the building. "Good luck for tonight, Sora."
Pyrrha crossed the door while waving her hand at the Keyblade wielder. When the member of Team JNPR left the roof Sora let out a small sigh. He told Pyrrha that they still don't know if that guy was an enemy or not, but he had the feeling that they weren't going to be so lucky to have him as an ally. But if he was an enemy, then why didn't he attack them in the forest and just defeated the Heartless?
"Well, I'm not going to find out that staying here," thought Sora. "I'd better look for Weiss."
-TLG-
1730hrs, August 13th, 2024
Thieves' Den, Fiore, Earth Land
"Fifteen years old!?" asked Terra really surprised as he sent a thief flying with one strike of his Keyblade. He and Erza managed to find the thieves' hideout the redhead mage was looking for, so they were know dealing with the people who were inside.
"Yeah," replied Erza as she kicked a thief, sending him crashing against a wall. "Why are you so surprised?"
"Well, I never thought Master Makarov would choose someone that young to go through the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial," said Terra.
"What are you saying?" asked Erza with a smile. "Didn't Sora and Riku go through their Mark of Mastery Exam around that age?"
"That's true," replied Terra. "And you say that that woman called Mirajane became an S-Class Mage the next year? If we compare being an S-Class Mage with being a Keyblade Master…People nowadays are incredibly powerful."
Erza chuckled. "Now you're talking as if you were older than you're supposed to be."
"If only you knew…" thought Terra smiling.
"Well, I think we're done here," said Erza as she looked around the room where she and Terra were at this moment. "Although it looks like…"
"I know…" said Terra.
"We might have gone a bit far," said the mage of Fairy Tail and the member of the Light Guardians at the same time as they looked around. The thieves' hideout was practically destroyed, as if someone threw a bomb inside.
"Well, since you were requested to do this, I thought these guys would be really strong," said Terra. "It looks like I was wrong…"
"It's okay, you're not the only one who overdid it…" said Erza. "This wasn't very different from when I work with Natsu and the others, actually. Anyway, let's not talk about this incident with anyone, okay?"
"Yeah, it'd be better that way," said Terra while scratching his head and laughing awkwardly. "At least the job is done."
"Let's look for that Heartless you have to defeat, then," said Erza with a smile, and then she and Terra started walking to the exit of the hideout. "By the way, I couldn't help but notice that you referred to Master as if you knew him from before. Did Sora tell you about him?"
"Oh, you mean Master Makarov?" asked Terra while climbing up some starts followed by Erza. "Sora told me and the others about him a bit, but me and Aqua already knew him. I didn't remember him very well since I was really young, but I could remember some things lately."
"You already knew Master?" asked Erza surprised. "Have you ever visited Fiore before that day you came with Aqua and Sora?"
"Oh no, but if I remember correctly, Aqua and I talked with your Guild Master a couple of times using one of those communication crystals…Lacrima, was it?" said Terra as he jogged his memory.
"I see," said Erza touching her chin in a pensive manner. "That'd explain how Master knew about you two and your Master. Eraqus was his name?"
Terra nodded. "Aqua and I trained under Master Eraqus until the two of us were ready to take the Mark of Mastery Exam. The last month was the first time we visited this world, but I remember that Master Eraqus told us that he used to visit Fairy Tail constantly."
"I wasn't aware of that," said Erza, her eyes widening in surprise. "Maybe I've seen your old master before, but I can't remember having met a Keyblade wielder before Sora. I'm sure he is the first I've met."
"Well, Master Eraqus said they met during their youth, most likely when they were your age, so it's normal you haven't met him," said Terra. "And later Master Eraqus became the guardian of The Land of Departure, the world where he trained Aqua and me, and he couldn't leave just because he wanted to visit him."
"So Master already had some connections with Keyblade wielders before Sora, huh?" said Erza, sounding kind of interested. She thought of asking Makarov about it later. "I'd like to meet your old master, so maybe you could bring him to Fairy Tail someday. I'm sure Master would like to see him again, too."
"Yeah, you're right," said Terra smiling, but then something came to his mind that made his smile disappear. "Now that I think about it, Master Eraqus and Xehanort were really good friends when they were apprentices, so it's possible that the two of them actually travelled around the worlds together…I'd better not mention this. If Master Makarov and Xehanort actually used to be in good terms, then I don't know how Erza would react. She seems to appreciate Sora a lot, so probably she dislikes Xehanort as much as us."
"Terra," said Erza as she got closer to the hideout's exit.
"Yes?" asked Terra, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Since the Heartless wasn't in the town, let's surround the mountain to see if we can find it," replied the redhead. "What do you think?"
"Sure, let's do that," said Terra as he crossed the door of the hideout, although there wasn't any door actually since Erza broke it with a kick when she and Terra found the place. "By the way, Erza, there's something I'm curious about. How did Sora end up joining Fairy Tail?"
"How, you ask? Wait, hasn't he told you?" asked Erza.
"Not the complete story," replied Terra. "I'd like to know since you could say that the Light Guardians Guild exist because of Fairy Tail. According to him, he got the idea of creating a Keyblade Wielders Guild some days after he joined your guild."
"I see," said Erza. "Well, I think Lucy would be more appropriate to answer your question. She was the first person who Sora met in Fiore. He saved her from a big group of Heartless when he arrived. Before coming to the guild he also met Happy and Natsu, who kicked him for a reason that I still would like him to explain to me."
"That guy sure is aggressive…" thought Terra. "So Sora and Lucy have a good relationship, then?"
"I would say so," said Erza nodding. "Sora shares the closest friendship with Lucy among all other members of Fairy Tail. He saved her, after all. Their bond could also stem from the fact that she is responsible for bringing him to the guild."
"That makes sense," said Terra.
"Anyway, to answer your question," began Erza, "the Heartless invaded Fiore some days before Sora arrived, and everyone was starting to get desperate since we didn't know how to make them leave or decrease their number. But then, we found out about the Keyblade and our hopes to save Fiore returned. That was until Master told us that the number of Keyblade wielder decreased significantly after the Keyblade War. Now that I think about it, I wonder why he didn't mention Master Eraqus that time…"
"I think I know the reason…" thought Terra, the expression on his face saddening slightly.
"Well, that doesn't matter now," said Erza. "It was then when Lucy told us that she had seen a Keyblade before. You can imagine our reaction when she said that the boy who saved her was actually a Keyblade wielder. It was as if he came when we most needed him."
Terra smiled. "He joined the guild after that?"
"Yes, Master was the one who offered him to join Fairy Tail," replied Erza. "You'll have to ask him if you want to know the reason he invited Sora, because I don't know it; however, I'm really glad he did it."
"As I thought, you really appreciate him," said Terra with a smile.
"Well, of course," said Erza, returning the smile. "We spent a lot of time together during his stance here. I couldn't get him to take a bath with me, thought. It would have been a good way to create a closer bond. Natsu, Gray and I used to take baths together, too."
"What the-!?" thought Terra, looking at Erza with a shocked expression and his mouth hanging open, but the redhead mage was too distracted remembering the things he did with Sora and the other mages of Team Natsu years ago, so she didn't notice.
"Sometimes I think I'm too strict when I'm around him," said Erza clenching her right fist and looking at the sky in a dramatic way. "But as an S-Class Mage I have to look out for him and make sure he doesn't do anything reckless. There was this time he actually got into trouble, and I couldn't help but feel guilty."
"Hey, Erza…"
"When he returned to Fiore, I was really happy, but I think my welcome gesture was too stiff," continued Erza, crossing her arms and looking more worried than she should be. "Maybe a warmer hug like the one Lucy and Wendy gave him would have been more appropriate…"
"Erza, wait…"
"And when he told us that he became a Keyblade Master and a Guild Master I felt very proud, but I didn't congratulate him like the others," added Erza. "I really wanted to, but I didn't want him to get overconfident! Being an S-Class Mage isn't something to take lightly, so being a Keyblade Master isn't either, don't you agree? It's not all fun and games. You have responsibilities, too! And since he's also a Guild Master, he has to take his job even more seriously! In other words there's this and that, plus odds and ends…"
"This woman is full of passion," thought Terra.
"BUT!" exclaimed Erza suddenly, startling the Keyblade wielder a bit. "I don't want Sora to consider me his boss or something like that! I want him to think of me as a close friend that worries not only about his well-being, but also about his future! I just…I just want him to understand that."
"Aren't you worrying too much?" replied the brown-haired man, and Erza blinked in confusion. "You must know Sora well enough to know that he doesn't care at all about titles when it comes to his friends. Besides, I'm completely sure that he really appreciates to have someone like you looking out for him."
"So you think he understands?" asked Erza, and Terra nodded in response. "Hearing that relieves me a bit, but I still think I should be warmer towards him. Maybe I could ask Aqua for advice. I'm sure she's really loved among you guys."
"Yeah, she's like a mother to everyone," said Terra. "Sometimes she goes a bit too far, though. Ven and I are used to it, but Riku, Roxas or Sora for example are a slightly annoyed when she goes acting all motherly around them. Sora once said she reminded him of his mother."
"Is that so?" said Erza smiling amusedly before noticing that Terra said something that caught her interest. "You know Sora's mother?"
"No, but he talked to us about her a few of times," said Terra. "He never mentioned his father, though. Well, it's doesn't really matter, I guess."
Erza's expression turned into a pensive one, but it returned to normal after a few seconds. Something came to her mind, but she decided to not talk about it. The redhead mage of Fairy Tail proceeded to ask about Terra's blue-haired old partner.
"Say, now that I mentioned Aqua before I remembered that you and her seem to be pretty close," observed Erza. "What's your relationship with her?"
"Relationship?" asked Terra puzzled. "We're old classmates and friends. Why do you ask?"
"Just friends?" asked Erza smiling. "There's nothing else going between you two?"
"No…and what's with that smile?" said Terra.
"I see the love problems are common among Keyblade wielders," said Erza bluntly.
"Wait, that's what you-!?" asked Terra, but he didn't finish his sentence because Erza started laughing.
"Relax, I'm just kidding," said the redhead.
"That doesn't suit you at all…" muttered the Guardian.
"But Aqua seems like a great woman," said Erza, this time sounding more serious. "You should take care of her."
"Yeah, she's really something," said Terra scratching his head.
It was at that moment when the Keyblade Master and the S-Class Mage saw something flying in the distance. It was a large draconian creature with predominantly light blue and dark blue skin, save for its belly, which was light grey.
"A Heartless?" asked Erza.
"Yeah, it's an Emblem Heartless called Wavecrest," replied Terra. "It's not very tough compared to some of the others dragon Heartless of the same type, so it should be easy to-"
Suddenly, a white laser came out from below the Heartless, going through it and destroying it in the process. This surprised Terra and Erza, but the mage was the only one who knew who was the one who struck the Heartless down with that attack.
"A laser of light?" said Terra, wondering who was responsible of that technique.
Erza smiled. "It looks like I won't have to walk you to Sabertooth, after all."
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Terra.
"Let's go to the place where the laser came from and you'll see," said Erza before she and Terra started running forward to meet up with the person who defeated the Heartless.
-TLG-
2320hrs, August 14th, 2024
City of Vale, Remnant
"By the way, not that I really care, but why did you choose me to come with you today?" asked Weiss, who was at this moment walking with Sora around Vale. They left Beacon around three hours ago, and now they were trying to find out if there was something out of order in the city.
"That question again…Why is it so important?" thought Sora. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Pyrrha. In the Emerald Forest I could see that you fight with precision and coordination, and I thought that someone analytical and tactical like you would be really good at investigating."
"Never thought you would notice something like that," said Weiss slightly impressed. "If that's the case, then you did well in choosing me. But I remind you that what we heard were just rumors, so I can't guarantee that we will find any clue. We've been walking for more than three hours and we still haven't seen anything or anyone suspicious."
"I know that," said Sora. "But the news' reporters said that they saw in the city that guy called Roman Torchwick with the person I'm looking for, so the rumors could also be true. There's no harm in trying, right?"
"There's no harm for you," remarked Weiss. "That's why we agreed that you will always be one of the ones who come to the city to investigate. However, Ruby, Yang, Blake and I will get into trouble if the teachers find out what we are doing."
"Well, you guys wanted to help me, and the teachers wouldn't have let you do this if you had told them, right?" said Sora. "Anyway, don't worry about that. If they found out, I'll assume all responsibility."
"Wait, really?" asked Weiss, who didn't expect the Keyblade wielder to say something like that. She found strange that someone she met a few days ago would do something like that.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" asked Sora, raising an eyebrow at the white-haired girl, who didn't answer, she just looked at Sora with a puzzled expression on her face. "But if you didn't want to come, then-"
"I didn't say that," said Weiss interrupting Sora. "I don't want to be the only one of my team who's not helping you with this, but I don't want to get into trouble either. Someone like me has to provide example to other students and cause a good impression."
"Someone like you?" asked Sora. "What do you mean by that?"
"If you really want to know…Have you heard of the Schnee Dust Company?" asked Weiss. "It's one of the largest producers and exporters of Dust in the world…in this world."
"Well, I arrived to this world three days ago, so you can't really blame me for…" said Sora before realizing something. "Wait, did you say Schnee? Don't tell me you…"
"My grandfather is the founder and my father the current head of the company," said Weiss as a proud smile appeared on her face. "As for me, I'm the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
"I didn't know you were a person of such stature," said Sora with a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"Right-wait, are you being sarcastic?" asked Weiss, not sounding very happy.
Sora chuckled. "All jokes aside, it must be tough knowing that you'll have to take care of such a big company on your own someday. Although it looks to me that you're looking forward to it, so you must be already preparing yourself for that. You're really something, Weiss."
"What'd you expect?" asked Weiss with a small smile on her face. She always enjoyed flattery, so her reaction to Sora's compliment was normal. "It won't be an easy job, so I have to be prepared. Besides, with the White Fang around, no one knows what will happen."
"The White Fang?" asked Sora. "That Faunus organization the news mentioned?"
Weiss nodded. "They use violent means to counter the perceived and actual discrimination that Faunus receive from Humans. The Schnee Dust Company has a history of bloodshed with the White Fang. I had close ties with numerous people who were either killed by or disappeared because of that organization. "
"Ah, I'm really sorry to hear that…" said Sora, a bit shocked after hearing Weiss talking about the White Fang and how its activities seemed to have contributed to a difficult life for her.
"Forget about it," said Weiss after sighing. "I don't know why I am telling you this, to be honest. Anyway, surely now your opinion of the White Fang isn't very good, right?"
"While I don't like one bit hearing that they kill people…" said Sora with a serious voice and expressions that took Weiss by surprise, but the Keybearer's face softened when he started talking again, "…I don't think it would be fair to judge the whole organization for it. I mean…I'm sure there has to be someone in the White Fang who also dislikes how they act. And it wouldn't be fair to treat all the Faunus as if they were from the White Fang either, right?"
"Yes, you're right…" said Weiss lowering her gaze. "Tch, to think that I would receive moral lessons from you…"
Sora smiled. "Besides, knowing a single detail isn't enough to know about something or someone. Not even a first impression would be enough to know about a certain person, even if it's a good one. My opinion of you would be different if I judge people just by the first impression I got."
"What do you mean by that!?" asked Weiss slightly annoyed by Sora's last comment, mostly because of the grin he had while saying it.
"Well, you weren't exactly being very nice towards me when I arrived here with Ventus," said Sora smiling.
"I don't recall treating you bad either," said Weiss putting her hands on her hips and looking at the Keyblade wielder with a frown.
"I know," said Sora. "But what I'm trying to say is that now that we got the opportunity to talk without Heartless trying to attack us or Yang…umm, trying to invade my personal space, I realized that you're actually pretty nice. You might look a bit cold and distant from the outside, but if you agreed to what I said about the White Fang despite what they did to you and the people you know, then you must have a heart of gold, which is quite nice."
"…"
"Weiss?" asked Sora, who was waiting for Weiss to say something, but the girl was now unusually quiet. The Keyblade wielder turned his head and saw that, as she walked, Weiss was looking to her left. "Hey, what are you looking at?"
"What's with you, seriously? Saying something like that all of a sudden…" said Weiss in a low voice as she continued to avoid looking at Sora for some reason the Keyblade wielder didn't know.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" asked Sora with an oblivious face. It was in that moment when something that a certain someone told him two years ago came to his mind.
"You don't even realize how girls react to the things you say, do you?"
"Did I do it again?" thought Sora confused. "And why do I remember that now? She didn't even explain me what she meant by that, although probably she wouldn't have done it even if I asked."
"Anyway..." said Weiss as she turned her head to look at Sora again, "just because I have not been treating you like the others doesn't mean I dislike you or something. But you could act like someone of your position would."
"Someone of my position?" asked Sora confused.
"Aren't you the leader of the Light Guardians?" asked Weiss, although she already knew the answer. "It kind of bothers me that someone as important as you acts like…like Yang, for example."
"You should have seen me a few years ago," said Sora grinning. "I think I was more like Ruby."
"You're not helping your case, Sora," said Weiss. "How's that you ended up being the leader of that organization, anyway?"
"The other Keyblade wielders chose me," replied Sora. "All of us thought the Guild Master had to be a Keyblade Master too so we had to choose between me and other three Keyblade Masters."
"Wait…you!? You have the 'Master' rank!?" asked Weiss in disbelief. "Well, now I've seen everything."
"Come on, give me some credit," said Sora.
"And those other three are the same age as you?" asked Weiss.
"No, they are older than me," replied Sora.
"So, you are the youngest Keyblade Master and they chose you to be the leader," said Weiss. "It doesn't make much sense, don't you think?"
"Isn't Ruby the youngest member and leader of Team RWBY?" asked Sora with a sly smile, which made Weiss look at him with a death glare, but the Keyblade wielder only chuckled. "I know someone who has a pretty scary stare, so you'll have to improve yours if you want it to work on me."
"Yeah, whatever," said Weiss crossing her arms. "But I still want to know the reason they chose you to be the leader. And don't tell me it's because you're the one who got the idea of creating that organization. There has to be another reason. You must have done something important as a Keyblade wielder in the past."
"If you really want to know…" said Sora with the same tone Weiss had before she told the boy that she was the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. However, before the Keyblade wielder could say anything, he heard some voices getting closer.
"Well?" asked Weiss a bit impatiently when suddenly Sora crouched behind the car that was parked on the girl's left. Then he grabbed Weiss' wrist and made her do the same. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
Sora made a gesture to tell Weiss to be quiet. The girl was about to protest when she also heard the voices the Keyblade wielder heard before. Then two people appeared from the corner, but the two teens couldn't see their faces without exposing themselves; however, the only important thing now was listening to what they were talking about.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know, they haven't told me."
"But are you sure it's not going to escape?"
"Yeah, don't worry. It's huge, but they told me it couldn't break free."
"The boss would kill us if it does, you know?"
"I know that. Would you calm down already?"
"All right, all right, I'm just kind of nervous."
"The plan is simple. Besides, it will be just a message."
"Fine, see you tomorrow, then."
Weiss and Sora looked at each other while waiting for the two people to leave the street where they were at this moment, and when they couldn't hear steps or voices, they stood up. They looked around to be completely sure no one was there before they started talking.
"All right, it looks like the rumors might be true," said Weiss.
"Something huge…" muttered Sora.
"It could be even outside this city. Vale is really big, so it could take us a lot of time to find whatever they were talking about, even if it's huge…" said Weiss. "We could interrogate those two, but one of them said he didn't know where it was."
"Well, it's not much, but at least we didn't come here for nothing," said Sora.
"I guess," replied Weiss. "Let's return to Beacon. I'll think about what those guys said and try to figure out the places of Vale where someone can hide something big. I'll give you a list so you and the one who you come here with you tomorrow can search for that thing they are hiding."
"Oh, that would be great, thanks," said Sora gratefully before giving Weiss a wide smile. "But if you want, you can come with me tomorrow again."
"…you really want me to stab you with my rapier, do you?" asked Weiss, moving her left hand near her weapon as a deathly aura surrounded her body.
"What did I say now!?" thought Sora, a bit startled by Weiss' reaction. Then the two started walking to return to Beacon. "I guess I should come here with another member of Team RWBY tomorrow and not bother Weiss too much…"
-TLG-
Well, last chapter was a bit intense for the former Organization XIII trio, so this chapter is calmer. At this moment they are recovering after the…beating they received, but they aren't in Radiant Garden yet.
So, I've seen the boxart of KH HD 2.5 ReMIX…Xehanort's face is…strange…in a bad way. Oh, and Square Enix NA announced that Tetsuya Nomura will be attending San Diego Comic-Con. I think he will be holding a special autograph session.
To animelover276: Oh, you're talking about IMDb, right? I think anyone who's registered in that site can edit it, so I wouldn't believe everything that appears there. Although that doesn't mean it can't happen. Personally, I think it's highly possible Vincent will appear in KH someday.
To warrior mage 03: (1) Maybe in the tournament… ;) (2) No need to thank me! Soul Eater is, along with Fairy Tail, an important anime/manga in this story, so I wasn't going to let them out of the competition, and since at the end of RWBY's first season they were talking about a tournament, I thought it would be a good idea to make them participate too.
To The Dark Dragon Emperor: Is that OC of yours a Keyblade wielder? Because if he is not, then I don't think he'll get along very well with him.
To StoryMakerr014: Sorry, but he's not the Heartless (or Nobody) of any character, you will have to try again XD.
To Sunny Lighter: (1) Ah, if I tell you the game they appear it would be practically like telling you who they are, but I can give you a different hint:. Sora is not playable in the game these mysterious Keyblade wielders appear. (2) Yes, I can consider it. I've been hearing good things about "How To Train Your Dragon" lately, so I think I'll take a look at the first film soon and see if I can use it. The second one hasn't been released in my country yet, though.
To MagatsuIza: Well, they will be exceptions to that rule. After all, some of the people who are participating in the tournament are doing it because they want to compete against Sora, so the organizers of the tournament will have to let him participate.
To Mishka-chan0.0: I'll see what I can do.
To Dracoboy259: (1) I haven't watched the films or read the books, so I don't think I'll use it for the moment. (2) I'm not sure, but I won't discard that idea. It doesn't have to be connected to the spine, or does it?
To AnimeLover513: Sure, I'll check it out.
To Guest1: Well, I have to watch it first. I can't use anime/manga if I don't watch/read it first, right?
To AnimeMasterDub: I can say this, although you and the other readers surely have deduced it already…the people in the yellow, white and brown coats know each other.
To Drag0n-0f-Shu: (1) You'll see a lot of Final Fantasy characters in this story, mostly in Radiant Garden, and they won't be only the ones who already appeared in KH previously. (2) Lightning, you say? Maybe :)
To Ultima Z: (1) Yes. Not the same way as Maleficent, but that's what he basically wants. (2) There are still some things I want to happen in Remnant before Sora and Ven leave, so they will have to stay there for a while. (3) It's not like they are a couple or anything, but I can assure you that Kairi won't like to hear that very much. Probably Ven won't say anything about it, but she will find out eventually.
To Guest: (1) None of them is the leader. They work together, but no one gives orders to anyone. (2) Look forward to it, because when those two meet each other it's won't be very pretty.
To Guest: I think Second Origin should be exclusive to the mages of Earth Land. Besides, they would need the magic necessary to unlock Second Origin called Arc of Time, and if you read the manga or wait until the anime reaches that part, you'll see that that's not possible anymore.
To KeybearerSky13: All right, I'll check it out and see if I can use it
To toto toyobo: Well, I haven't seen them fighting at all, but being who they are, I thought they would be extremely powerful Keyblade wielders.
To kingdom hearts guy: The MGR part won't be exactly like that, but you should look forward to it anyway.
To fallernstar2013: Humbert: Thanks! That guy will receive a beating when the time comes…although perhaps he will deliver another beating to a different Guardian before… Klaus: Sorry about those errors, I'll try to be more careful :P Yes, I heard lot of people saying that DMC2 is the worst of them all, so I'll keep that in mind.
To FrancisVamp0822: Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter too!
To Guest: I'll use them a couple of times. After all, I want a certain mage to know that Sora can also summon friends to help him.
To KH-Hardcorefan4483: (1) As Blake said, it's something easy to make fun of, isn't it? (2) Surely worse than when she found out that he slept in Fairy Hills XD. Regarding the "mysterious Keyblade wielder"…I thought more people would have guessed who he is by now, but at this moment I think only 3 readers know his identity.
To swordfish333: Well, they are Kairi, Levy, Kim and Princess Hisui, so four girls at this moment. It's not a big number, or is it? I mean, I've seen characters with more than four girls in their harem.
To Guest: Fear not, I've planned something like that to happen. A few days before the tournament starts, the people from other worlds will be in Radiant Garden and will meet each other.
To OrionGold: Yes, I'm going to use it, although at this moment I'm only planning to use Cursed Children (including the Initiators, of course) and no Promoters. Anyway, as you said, we will see some people discriminating or mistreating the girls, and Sora won't like that one bit.