Hey guys here's the next chapter of my story. Sorry that I didn't update when I said I would but some things came up. Anyway expect more updates soon.
Kingdom Hearts: Slave of Love
Ch. 21 Training Begins
Auron and Sora were walking on the outskirts of Radiant Garden. They had gotten out of town through the North Gate which led towards a luscious green forest with many mountains in sight. It had taken them a few hours to make it out of town because the school was located on the Southeast part of Radiant Garden. Radiant Garden had four different gates out of town that were a great distance away from each other.
Auron had a stoic expression on his face as the two walked. He wasn't used to having company on his travels but he was a little eager to teach the teen. He had never had a pupil before so it would be nice to have someone pass on his legacy and Sora being already skilled was just icing on the cake.
Sora on the other hand had a small smile as he walked. He was exited to start his training with Auron and he was still thinking about what had happened earlier that day. He sighed happily as he thought of the events. It was a bittersweet thing to do since he had to say goodbye to his friends but Kairi had made that moment memorable. Sora grinned like an idiot and touched his lips.
"Thinking about your little girlfriend kid?" Auron asked with a smirk.
"What?" Sora asked with a blush. "I wasn't," he lied. "I'm just thinking about how the training's gonna go."
"Sure you were," Auron said as they continued to walk. He then eyed Sora's arms with a raised brow and shook his head.
"What's up?" Sora asked when he saw Auron looking at him.
"What's wrong is that your arms are nothing but bone kid," Auron said with a frown. "If you want to be good at swordplay then you have to have some muscle on those arms."
"I do have some muscle," Sora said with a pout.
"Whatever kid," Auron said with a small chuckle. "Here," he tossed a circular keychain with the number fifty on it to Sora. Sora caught it and held it to his face.
"What's this?" Sora asked while eying the keychain.
"It's a keychain for your keyblade, try it," Auron said with a smirk. Sora summoned his keyblade and applied the keychain only to be brought down by the weight of the blade.
"What…is this?" Sora asked as he tried to lift the keyblade. The whole keyblade had changed into a light grey color and the blade seemed a little bulkier.
"That keychain adds fifty pounds to your keyblade," Auron said. "I want you to carry it everywhere and to use it while training."
"Are you crazy? How am I supposed to do anything if I can't even lift this damned thing?" Sora asked with a frown.
"Take it easy kid, you're not the only one with a weighted weapon. My swords weighs about a hundred and fifty pounds and this is the lightest one I have," Auron said. Sora stared at him in awe and broke into a grin.
"Okay then I'll do it," Sora said as he lifted the keyblade and slung it over his shoulder.
"Umm kid," Auron said pointing at Sora's shoulder. Sora felt something warm run down his torso and arm.
"Dammit!" Sora yelled when he noticed that his shoulder was bleeding.
"This is going to be a long two weeks," Auron said with a sigh.
VvV
Kairi sat on Namine's comfortable couch with a smile on her face. She was currently alone since Namine had gone out with Roxas, Terra, Aqua and Hayner in order to give keyblades to the three that didn't have any. Kairi had declined to go because she wanted to think about what had happened earlier that day. She had acted on impulse and didn't regret what she had done; in fact she was proud of her bravery and happy because of the outcome. She sighed happily and didn't notice Namine entering the living room.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Namine asked with a smile.
"N-nothing," Kairi said with a blush adorning her cheeks.
"It's something good, I can tell by your blush," Namine said in an exited voice. "Come on. Tell me why you in a good mood," she pleaded as she took a seat next to Kairi.
"Fine I'll tell you," Kairi said in a nervous voice. "But don't tell anyone before I do."
"Fine," Namine said with a smile. She had an idea of what had happened but couldn't believe that her friend had the guts to do it.
"W-well you see," Kairi started with a blush.
-Flashback—
Kairi woke up from her slumber by the sound of running water. The first thing she noticed was that Sora was gone and Akira was sprawled over the bed with a calm expression. Kairi was glad that the nightmares she used to have were gone. Akira had woken up crying on several occasions leaving Kairi or Sora to calm the girl down. She wouldn't speak of her nightmares because she was too scared to speak about them. It wasn't until they arrived back to Radiant Garden that Sora got the girl to speak about her nightmare. Sora had told her that he and Kairi would always be there for her and that she wouldn't go through any pain as long as he was alive. Since then Akira didn't have any nightmares but it was still too early to know if she got rid of them for good. Kairi couldn't help but think that Sora would be a great dad and for a second she pictured Sora holding a red haired baby. Kairi blushed at this and covered her face with the covers of the bed.
"What am I thinking?" she murmured with the blush still there. The bathroom door suddenly opened and a shirtless Sora walked out. He had his normal black shorts on and was holding his shirt and vest on his right hand. This did not help Kairi calm her blush and she turned her head away from Sora.
-End Flashback—
"Now I see," Namine said with a knowing smile.
"What do you see?" Kairi asked with a nervous smile.
"How you and Sora unleashed your inner passion," Namine said unaware of the deep crimson blush on Kairi's face. "When he went back into the room you dragged him back to the bathroom and before he could do anything you-"
"What?" Kairi yelled with a blush as she covered Namine's mouth. "Nothing like that happened."
"No?" Namine said with a confused look. "You're no fun."
"Something must have gone horribly wrong during your mom's pregnancy," Kairi said with a sigh.
"Tell me why you're happy. I don't really care about your morning," Namine said with a pleading look. Kairi sighed and proceeded to tell Namine of what had happened that morning.
-Flashback-
Sora, now fully dressed, walked through the school's garden with a sad look on his face. He was expecting to say bye to everyone but because it was too early he only had the chance to say bye to Kairi. Akira had been asleep and Kairi was very distracted for some reason. As he neared the school's gate he saw Auron leaning against the gate's wall.
"You're late," Auron said with a frown.
"I'm not late, you're just too early," Sora argued.
"Fine," Auron said with a sigh. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah…I'm ready," Sora said with a determined expression.
"Let's go," Auron said as the two started to walk towards the road that would lead them to town.
"WAIT!" Sora heard a voice shout from behind them. Sora turned around and his eyes widened when he felt a soft pair of lips on his own. He saw red hair and smiled into the kiss. He kissed back and felt in heaven. The kiss was unlike anything he had ever felt with any other girl. This kiss made him completely forget about anything else and feel only the soft lips of the girl he had grown to love.
Sora and Kairi broke the kiss and blushed. They tried to look away but found themselves unable to since they couldn't stop gazing at the other.
"Kairi I-" Sora started but was cut off by Kairi's finger silencing his lips.
"I don't want to hear it until you come back," Kairi said with a small smile. "You have to promise me that you'll come back to tell me that."
"I promise," Sora said with a smile. Kairi nodded with a smile and gave Sora a quick kiss that paralyzed him on the spot. "Get going," she said with a giggle as she pushed Sora away.
"Let's get going kid," Auron said with an amused smirk as Sora managed to nod and follow the red clad man.
"Sora!" Kairi yelled. Sora stopped on his tracks and saw Kairi smiling with a blush on her face. "Come back soon! You don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting do you?"
"Y-yeah!" Sora yelled back with a blush. He then continued to go on his way but he now had a happy smile.
"I'll be waiting," Kairi said with a smile.
-End Flashback—
"Oh my god!" Namine squealed. "I can't believe you two are together now."
"Neither can I," Kairi said with a smile. "I didn't think that he would feel the same."
"Are you kidding?" Namine asked with an incredulous expression. "We all knew that he liked you, I think you're the only one who didn't know."
"Shut up," Kairi said with a pout.
"I'm really happy for you Kairi," Namine said with a smile.
"Thank you," Kairi responded.
"You're going to take his bracelet off now, right?" Namine asked the redhead.
"Of course not," Kairi said with a huff. "I'll use it for whenever he has the nerve to drool at some pretty girl."
"Some things will never change," Namine said with a sigh.
VvV
Terra was a skilled person. He had been born for a natural talent to almost anything so it was no surprise when he got used to the keyblade in less than ten minutes. He had always been one to rely on power rather than speed and his keyblade only proved that fact. The keyblade had a blue hilt, a dark grey blade and it had six large bladed tips on the side of the end of the blade. Roxas couldn't help but feel jealous because he still wasn't comfortable using his keyblades. He could gloat that he had two but Terra would probably kick his butt in a spar.
Aqua had been good at using the keyblade but she focused in fast paced attacks unlike Terra's slow but powerful attacks. She had used a blade before so she knew how to handle herself with her keyblade; her moves were graceful yet deadly at the same time. Her keyblade was simple enough, it had a dark grey hilt, a blue blade and a crown shaped tip.
Hayner was average at using the keyblade but he still used most of his other weapons to fight. It seems that his keyblade agreed with him because the three spikes that were on the tip of the blade could be shot off the keyblade when the owner commanded it. His keyblade had a black hilt with a ninja star key chain, the blade was a dull grey color, it had a black star-shaped edge on the side of the tip of the blade and the three black spikes that were on the very tip of the blade.
All of them were currently sprawled over the grass since exhaustion had taken its toll on them. They had been doing anything they could in order to improve themselves since early morning nonstop so a small break was like water in the desert for them.
"Man, who would've thought it would be so draining to swing a keyblade around," Hayner said through pants.
"Remember what Namine said," Roxas said. "The keyblades feed off our strength so this explains why we're so tired."
"We should build up our stamina," Aqua said.
"I agree," Terra said with a gasp for breath. "What good will our strength do if we can't handle keeping the keyblades for more than an hour?"
"You're right," Hayner said. "I don't know how Sora makes it look so easy."
"Sora doesn't apply to that setback," Namine said as she, along with Kairi, neared the group.
"What do you mean?" Roxas asked as he sat up.
"Remember that Sora's situation is different than yours," Namine said with a frown.
"Right," Roxas said as he remembered when Sora's heartless had taken over. It had been frightening how blood thirsty those eyes were and the amount of strength it had. A person looking for power might find that power to be truly admirable but not Roxas. He felt for his friend but knew that he was working on controlling that heartless.
"Since Sora has an inner heartless the keyblade uses both of their energy so he's able to keep the keyblade for long periods of times," Namine said with a nod of her head.
"An inner heartless?" Aqua asked with a frown. Everyone that knew about it tensed since they knew how protective of Sora, Aqua could be.
"W-well you see," Namine started with a nervous look on her face.
VvV
It was near sundown when Auron decided that it was time to rest and set up camp. They were still walking through a dense forest with a few lakes and rivers here and there. The duo had found a clearing and were setting up camp. Sora was currently getting some firewood from the forest while Auron was getting them something to eat.
"Man this is hard," Sora muttered as he walked through the forest with his heavy keyblade in hand. Auron had told him to get the firewood and keep carrying the keyblade regardless. Sora was starting to feel the strain in his muscles and could tell that the next morning was going to be the worst in his life.
"How am I supposed to find firewood in a place with so many healthy trees?" This task was annoying to Sora and he decided to just get the wood his way. Sora walked to the nearest tree and broke a large branch with a swing of his keyblade. "This would have been way faster," he said as he picked up the branch and walked back to camp.
"Seems like a clear night," Sora muttered with a glance at the night sky. The dark sky was filled with bright starts and the full moon shone brightly. He spotted Auron already sitting on a sleeping bag with a few fishes by his side. "Here's the firewood Auron," Sora walked to the stones he had set up earlier for the firewood and threw a few pieces of wood.
"Did you take these off a healthy tree?" Auron asked with a frown. He noticed that Sora tensed a little before turning to him and smiling nervously.
"No I didn't," Sora said while scratching the back of his head.
"Then why is the inside of the wood white with a few specks of green?" Auron asked with a raised brow. "If you had found the wood instead of breaking it from a tree, it would have been dry."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Sora said as he piled the wood and rubbed a couple of sticks together.
"You'll never start a fire like that," Auron said with a frown.
"What are you talking about? Everyone says that you can start a fire like this," Sora said with an angry expression.
"Doesn't work. Here I'll do it," Auron said as he pointed the palm of his hand at the wood. A small fireball shot off his hand and hit the piled wood, starting a fire immediately.
"You're a Special," Sora said with a nod of his head.
"What gave you that idea kid?" Auron said with a sigh.
"How come you use a sword instead of magic like all the others?" Sora asked in confusion.
"I never really liked magic," Auron explained. "Don't get me wrong, I'm actually good using magic but I always preferred close combat."
"I get it," Sora said with a smile. "So what are you going to teach me then?"
"Well since you've no magic I'll just get you into shape and teach you how and why to use your keyblade," Auron said.
"What do you mean, why I use my keyblade?" Sora asked in confusion.
"Everyone has a different reason to use one. For some its power and others use it to seek wisdom," Auron explained. "You have to find out why you use yours and then you'll unlock your keyblade's true strength."
"But I don't fight for either of those," Sora said.
"You do, you just don't know it yet. Ask yourself why you fight and then you'll have your answer," Auron said.
"I fight because…" Sora muttered to himself. He thought back to all the times he had to fight and saw that he had always fought in order to protect those close to him. So how was this seeking power or wisdom? Sora couldn't understand why he would need those because even if he didn't have any strength he would still fight to protect them. Sora turned to Auron with a determine look and summoned his keyblade on his right hand.
"I don't fight to gain power or wisdom…I fight to protect those close to me," Sora said.
"Good answer kid," Auron said with a smirk. "You might just be different from everyone else."
"People always tell me that," Sora said with a grin as he dismissed his keyblade.
"I'll start teaching you some abilities that you can use with the power of the keyblade. Don't worry, you don't have to be a Special to use those," Auron said as he took off his coat and sword and lair on his sleeping bag.
"Great," Sora said with a smile as he took off his vest and jumped to his respective sleeping bag. Sora sighed happily and closed his eyes unaware of the dark figure standing behind a tree.
"A keyblade wielder eh?" the figure asked itself with an amused tone.
Ch. 21 End
Sorry the chapter is a little short but I had to make it this way in order to update quickly. I'll bring you the next chapter in a few days and I hope this chapter came out okay. Guess what? The story has over 10,000 hits, I'm so glad that it does and would like to thank everyone who added the story to their favorites and alert and most of all everyone who reviewed the story.