Without any assistance Sora limped to the office of the headmaster of the Land of Departure Key blade Academy. They were missing extra crutches in the infirmary so he had to use a cane to assist himself. Leaning didn't exactly help the pain in his stomach, but apparently the heal time on his broken leg was lagging. Ventus had given him a suit to borrow. It was blue with a cream undershirt and a forest green kerchief. Sora used the kerchief to wipe his nose. When he tried replacing it the way Ventus had, he failed. So it drooped from his breast pocket like a sad dead bird as he knocked on the headmaster's office door.
"Come in," called Eraqus from within. Sora gulped and lunged into the doorframe.
"It opens out, Sora," Eraqus added. As Sora nodded he dabbed sweat from his brow. Then he burst inside.
The office was spacious but utilitarian and sparsely furnished. There was a wide window with a seat and cushions beneath it. Beside that was a square table topped with an elaborate, marble chessboard. Eraqus's desk had a small rose window carved behind it. His chair was large, oaken, and prism like. So was the desk. There was a filing cabinet. On the desk were a computer, an inkwell, a collection of quills, several notebooks, and two trays for paperwork. One read, "complete," and the other "incomplete." Nice organization. Eraqus had a gold colored name holder. When Sora reached out to touch it someone behind him slapped his hand away. When he turned around he noticed it was Roxas. He was dressed in a smart black suit and matching skinny tie. He even had a silver tie clip and cuff links. Axel and Reno were dressed the same save for the fact that Reno's suit was baggy with a zipper instead of buttons. Argento wore her normal attire, including her tiara. When Sora took a complete one eighty around him, he noticed Kairi, Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Hayner, Pence, Joshua, Sota, Wakka, all of the girls from Nao's shack back at Olympus Coliseum, Irvine, Zell, Hercules, and even Rose Wilson and the beanie clad boy who called himself Beat. Even Eraqus was surprised by the amount of people who had stepped forward to speak in Sora's defense.
One by one they went up. Kairi talked about how much of a protector Sora was. Reno brought up that Sora lost his ticket on board the Galactic Federation's ship and was nearly arrested on multiple occasions by the captain. Irvine and Zell described how hardworking Sora was. His illegal racetrack activity on board the Galactic Federation ship was brought up in return. Hayner, Sota, Pence, Wakka, and Nao and company spoke of how resourceful Sora was during hero training. Hercules described Sora's good nature and determination. Beat as well. Rose said Sora was kind and determined. That got a snort from Axel. Joshua described how Sora spent long hours going over homework with him. When asked if that was why he was repeatedly late to class, Sora shrugged. He figured that this white lie was less abrasive than the truth. Ventus, Aqua, and Terra said short pieces about Sora's long hours of practice after class on the summit, verifying that they had seen him there on Tuesday between six and eleven at the least. When it was Roxas' turn, he went into a detailed account of Sora's charitable actions through the entirety of their time together. It surprised Sora how much Roxas had noticed.
When everything was over with, all except Roxas, Axel, Reno, and Argento were dismissed. Sora glanced one last time to the door. Then he redirected his gaze to his headmaster.
"Well, Sora," Eraqus murmured. "Your girth of allies is impressive."
Sora smiled in pride. He shrugged. The group of people huddled around Eraqus remained silent.
"But this girth does not change the fact that you have been consistently late for three days of class, that you were absent for half of Wednesday and the entirety of Thursday, that you streaked down the hall naked on Tuesday night, that you copied notes on multiple occasions, and that you have not yet attended a single of the three clubs you were supposed to sign up for on the first day of class."
"I didn't know about that last part," Sora muttered.
"Your inattention to detail is inspiring," responded Eraqus. Then he clicked a package of paperwork on his lap and handed it to Sora. It was pink. On the top page it read "Expulsion." That was the only word Sora clocked before he started getting dizzy. An echoing voice asked him to fill it out. Instead Sora brought his prompt from his pocket and uncurled it. When Roxas saw it his eyes widened. He tried signaling for Sora to put the prompt back in his pocket, but the boy did not understand.
"Is something wrong with your prompt, Roxas?" Sora blurted out. The whole room glanced to Roxas in surprise. The blond slapped his palm to his head in exasperation. When Eraqus asked Roxas if he had given Sora assistance for this meeting, Roxas snapped that yes, he had.
"I don't think it is fair to surprise a student who has just been disemboweled with an expulsion trial," he hissed. Axel grinned like a Cheshire cat behind him. He seemed to love the outbursts. Reno, too, though not as conspicuously.
"Maybe an expulsion slip is in order for Roxas, too," Axel commented. His palm covered his smile as he feigned wiping his nose. Reno chuckled beside him. Roxas pursed his lips. Argento glanced from one to the other with narrowed eyes.
"That is unnecessary," responded Eraqus. Then he redirected his attention to Sora. "The three of you shall decide if Sora is worthy to remain at the school. Because you offered assistance, Roxas, your statement is redacted."
Roxas curled his head in defeat. Eraqus asked if Axel or Reno wanted to say whether Sora was worthy in private. They shook their heads. Axel came right out that he did not think Sora had what it took. When Eraqus turned to Reno, the red head bit his lip and asked for Sora's statement. Sora handed it to him. When he read it over, he chuckled and nodded. Sora beamed. The last to decide was Argento. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the office door burst open and Rosso walked in. When asked why she was there, she stated that as Sora's instructor, she had a right to decide if he stayed or not.
"I am head instructor," Argento replied swiftly. Rosso laughed.
"Do you not remember what you said Vednesday?" she boomed. ""Take him," you said, and I did." Then she stood proudly and hissed for Sora's expulsion. When Argento objected, Rosso informed Eraqus that Argento had shown favor to Sora by giving him a stopwatch and protein shakes on Tuesday night. Eraqus decided to discount both of their statements.
"As it stands, we have a statement of support from Reno and a statement of descent from Axel. Equal numbers of students came forward to dissent as did support as well."
"What students dissented?" snapped Roxas. Axel snickered with glee behind him. Sora thought he saw the red head tap the blonde's foot with his dress shoe. Perhaps it was an accident.
"They shall remain unnamed," responded Eraqus. He turned to Sora again. "As headmaster I shall act as final word in this trial. Due to all factors previously considered I hereby expel Sora Nomura from-" as he tried to tap the gavel he had extricated from his front desk drawer, a loud knock rapped the office door. A young woman's voice followed it.
"Excuse me," shouted Kairi from outside. "I want to talk to headmaster Eraqus right now."
"We are in the middle of a trial," responded Eraqus. Outside Kairi stomped her foot.
"I don't care what's going on in there," she snapped. "If Sora's being expelled, then I'll go as well!"
The whole room fell dumb. Upon request Roxas opened the door for Kairi. She stormed in in her beach clogs, black leggings, and a purple flower tank. For a moment she stood awkwardly at the door. When Eraqus asked why she wanted to leave the academy, she said that wherever Sora went, she did too.
"Kairi," Sora whined in embarrassment. But she stepped ahead of him anyway. She even slammed her fists on Eraqus's desk.
"What you all did to Sora was horrible!" she blubbered. "And I won't stand for it!" Then she banged her fist and added, "and I don't want to stick around if he's not here."
"Are you saying that you are quitting the academy?" asked Reno in confusion. Axel pursed his lips. When Eraqus took another expulsion slip from his desk, the longhaired twin bent close and whispered in his ear. Eraqus's eyes widened. He glanced at Kairi again. Then he put the second expulsion paper away and rubbed his sinuses.
"In the interest of retaining a stellar student," sighed the headmaster; "we shall keep Sora on probation for a month. If he does not prove himself within this time, he shall be expelled. Agreeing to these terms, Kairi, means that should he go, you stay."
"But," Kairi began. Eraqus silenced her with an outstretched hand. Then he turned to Roxas. "For assisting a student in expulsion proceedings, you shall be placed on a month's probation as well." When Axel asked if he could decide the terms of probation, Eraqus nodded. Rosso asked if Argento would be put on probation. Eraqus affirmed it, adding that Rosso would be on a month's probation as well. In their absence, Azul, Shelke, Nero, or Weiss would act as head instructor for the first years.
"Or Reno, if he so chooses," Eraqus added. Reno responded that he was very busy with Shinra. Then he glanced to Sora. "But tell me the duties and I'll see if I can abide them." He added that if he took the job, he wanted the names of Sora's supporters and substractors. Eraqus agreed, and with that, the trial was brought to a close. As everyone stood to go, Sora thanked Eraqus for naming him a stellar student.
"I was not talking about you," responded Eraqus in confusion. Kairi blinked in surprise.
"Sora," she said. "He was talking about me."
"He couldn't have been!" Sora gasped. "Kairi, you're just a girl!"
For the first time in his life, Sora got the feeling that it was time to shut up. Every single head in the room turned to glare or ogle at him. Rosso, Roxas, and Argento looked ready to kill. Kairi deflated. Axel and Reno held back laughter. Eraqus rubbed his head and dismissed them all.
As Sora tried following Kairi down the hall to apologize to her, she turned and whipped his outstretched arm away. When he asked what was wrong with her, she scoffed.
"Riku was right to recommend you for expulsion," she snapped. "Turns out you're a real pig." Then she swiveled on her heel and left him in the dust. When he moved again, he met with a bright red heel and tumbled to the ground.
Rosso hissed as she stepped over him, snarling a mocking apology as she went. When Sora glanced up again, Argento met his gaze. Sora tried to say something to her. But she but she shook her head and disappeared.
Once everyone had given him a look of pity, revenge, or disgust, he was left lying in the hall on his own. Only then did he realize he had left his walking stick astride the chair in Eraqus's office.
"Son of a nutcracker," he groaned. Then he lied on the carpeted ground and stared out the hallway's rose window until someone wandered up to get him.