By: Koorino Megumi
Chapter 25: Inevitability
The discussion in the meeting room was actually quite short and mostly consisted of Ansem's giving a better explanation of what exactly had happened to Kiru and everyone's verifying that Kiru really was all right now. The only real decision made was that the Keyblade Masters would not leave until after Ansem had taught magic to Riku and after a feast had been provided for them. Queen Minnie had insisted on the feast, and she had repeatedly assured everyone that there would be no formalities involved. It would be just like a regular meal, simply with more food provided. After all, there was no telling how long it would be before the Keyblade Masters had another chance to eat. Although most everyone there, especially Ansem, was still worried about how much time this would all take, the queen made it very clear that there would be no arguments on the matter. The queen also orchestrated the preparation of backpacks for the Keyblade Masters filled with food and various potions.
After the meeting, Ansem and Riku left to begin Riku's training. Kairi said that she needed to go lie down, and Kiru said the same. The others stayed in the room to continue discussing their battle plans. As Ansem kept assuring them, the Heartless were coming to the King's Castle, and soon.
After Riku and Ansem had gone one way and Kairi and Kiru the other, Kiru, who had been walking slightly behind Kairi, stepped up beside her, matching his pace with hers.
They were silent for a moment, Kiru wanting to speak to her but unable to say the words. Kairi kept her eyes trained on the ground, purposely not looking at him. He wondered why, and it unnerved him. Finally, he decided that he had better say something or they would wind up reaching their rooms and separating before he ever told her what he wanted to. Taking a deep breath, he began nervously, "I know you didn't want me to before, right after I woke up, but I...I really wanted to thank you again. You know, really thank you without...passing out in the middle of it." Kiru frowned, feeling sheepish. Couldn't he have said that any better?
"You don't need to thank me. You were the one who had to work so hard to find me, and then you gave me the White Keyblade, and that's my chance to save Sora. You've done so much for me already. How could I not help you?" Kairi's gaze came up to his now, her eyes filled with gratitude.
"Well, I..." Kiru faltered. He finally settled for, "Thank you."
Kairi smiled grimly. "You're welcome. Oh, Kiru..."
Kiru's eyes widened as her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears. "Kairi, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I..." Now it seemed to be Kairi's turn to be tongue-tied. "I..." Her voice caught in her throat, but she managed to force the next sentence out. "I have dreams, too."
Kiru stopped in his tracks, his expression stricken. "Dreams? You don't mean...?"
Kairi stopped beside him. "Ansem told me about your dreams," she explained. A tear slid down her cheek. "And we realized...I realized... My dreams aren't the same as your dreams. First I see events from the past, but then...then the past changes, and all of a sudden..." Kairi took a deep breath. "All of a sudden I'm seeing the future."
Kiru took an involuntary step back, all his features exuding shock. "You mean...you see things, too? You see them, and then they happen later, and...and you knew they would before they happened..." His words cut off abruptly, and his face was filled with an expression of pure terror. "You haven't...seen any dreams lately, have you?"
Kairi nodded solemnly, more tears falling.
"So, you know?"
"We can't let it happen, Kiru!" Kairi burst out, "We won't let you do that. You won't get hurt like that. You don't have to do it, Kiru! You don't!"
Kiru looked down, sighing. This was exactly why he never wanted to share his dreams. They were always so hard for anyone to accept. "These dreams can't be changed, Kairi."
Kairi shook her head viciously. He would not look at her to see the expression in her eyes, but he knew it was desperation. "But you know now, Kiru! What reason do you have to go through with it when you know what will happen?"
Kiru finally brought his eyes back up, his intense sky blue gaze locking onto her deeper blue one. "You and Riku are my reason."
"What!?"
Kiru narrowed his eyes. "You said you saw the past. So you didn't see everything, did you?"
"No, I...I guess not. What I saw was like the destruction of Destiny Islands. Right up until you...until you..."
"Shh," Kiru whispered, "Don't worry about it, Kairi."
"Don't worry about it!?" Kairi burst out. Her tearstained face was red with anger now, and tears continued to pour down her cheeks. "Kiru, I saw you die! How can you tell me not to worry about it? Do you think it doesn't matter to me? Do you think I could just let you get yourself killed without caring!?"
Kiru took a step back, shocked by the intensity of her reaction. His eyes saddened. "That's not what I meant, Kairi," he said quietly, no longer meeting her gaze but staring down at the ground instead. "I just meant...there's no reason to dwell on something that we can't change."
"Can't change!? But Kiru, if you just don't-"
Kiru shook his head, and Kairi's words died on her tongue. "In my dream...I saw exactly what would happen. The Heartless were attacking. Riku was there, and someone was fighting with the White Keyblade. I couldn't tell if it was you or Iraki at the time, but I know now that it was definitely you. The Heartless knocked your Keyblade away, and I lost sight of you. I couldn't find Riku either. You were yelling, and Riku was yelling, and the Heartless were everywhere, and...and I had no choice, Kairi. I had to do it. Losing you or Riku...either way would be a thousand times worse than losing me. No, when it comes down to it, I'm sure I'll do exactly what I did in the dream. I just can't risk not doing it."
"Kiru..." Kairi's voice was lost somewhere in her throat. She tried to say more, but all that emerged was a sob. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Kiru was supposed to listen to her, he was supposed to promise her that, no matter what it came down to, he wouldn't go through with it. He wasn't supposed to be giving valid reasons why events couldn't go any other way!
"I might live through it," Kiru offered weakly.
Kairi just looked down at the ground, still unable to say another word.
"Kairi, just...just try to remember that I'm happy to do it. Okay? I'm happy to go down that way. It's better than any other death I can think of."
"But Kiru," Kairi sobbed, "It was...gruesome."
"I thought it was heroic," Kiru joked. Kairi just gave another immense sob. Kiru took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't cry, Kairi. I need you to be strong. You still have to save Sora, remember?"
Kairi sobbed again and looked up at Kiru in confusion. Why is he worrying about me? What makes my life so much more important than Kiru's? It's because Ansem says that the three White Keyblade Masters can reveal the final Keyhole, isn't it? But...what if Ansem's wrong? There's no reason for Kiru to...
"There's a lot left to this adventure, Kairi. I'm counting on you to be strong, and so is everyone else. Ansem, Riku...Sora."
Kairi's tears slowed as she continued to stare into Kiru's eyes. "You...really mean it, don't you? Ansem...are you just saying that I'm important because of what you heard from him?"
Now it was Kiru's turn to be confused. The edge in her voice was completely unexpected. He stepped back, withdrawing his hand. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Ansem, I mean..." Kairi looked away. Her tears had stopped now, and the pain of emptiness in her heart flared up again.
"Ansem has done so much for me that nothing I ever do could possibly repay him," Kiru stated seriously, "Please don't judge by appearances. I haven't known you very long, but...I think you're above that. Or you would be if you weren't in so much pain already."
Kairi's eyes widened. Was that really what she was doing? Was she judging Ansem by his appearance? Well, his actions certainly haven't been even the least bit suspicious. And Kiru seems to fully trust him, too... Have I really been such a fool?
"Don't worry, Kairi. I know that Ansem is willing to forgive most anything in an instant. And you will be strong, won't you?"
Kairi locked her gaze onto Kiru's again. She could feel fresh tears building up in her eyes, but something in his expression made her want to hold them in. "Of course I will. For everyone. For Sora. For you."
Kiru smiled slightly. "Thank you, Kairi. I know you'll do wonderfully."
Kairi tried to smile back, valiantly keeping her tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kiru. About everything."
"Don't be. Remember, I'm happy to do it."
Kairi choked back a sob. Kiru resumed walking toward his room, and she followed, just behind him. She knew that, if she tried to say another word, she would start crying again.
And even though Kiru would have liked to say more to her, he made sure to keep his face turned ahead. He couldn't let Kairi see the tears that were sliding down his own cheeks.
Ansem and Riku stood across from each other in a seemingly deserted courtyard. Riku couldn't tell if Ansem was aware of their audience or not, but his ears, unusually sharp due to his current sensitivity to the light, couldn't help but pick up the rustle of movement of the servants who had suddenly decided to water plants, wash windows, and generally do any chore at all that gave them even a partial view of the courtyard.
"Are you ready?" Ansem asked.
Riku tried to focus his attention on the other man and ignore those who were lurking around them. He hated being watched and gawked at. The feeling of all the people's eyes on him made it extremely hard for him to concentrate. Finally he called the Golden Keyblade to his hand, trying to shut out the gasps and whispers that this brought about, and shifted into an attack stance, half-expecting Ansem to start by launching a spell at him.
"Same stance as Kiru," Ansem commented, "All right then, we'll begin." He held out a hand before him. "Light!" he cried.
A white flash shot out from Ansem's palm. Riku moved to block but realized that it wasn't aimed at him. The flash struck a rock on the ground a bit to Riku's right, eradicating all but one corner of it. The remaining corner was only singed; the blast had almost entirely missed it.
"Magic comes from inside you," Ansem explained, "It can't be truly 'taught.' A person can only be shown how to use the magic that they had the potential for all along. The spells that you have an aptitude for learning and even your overall skill at magic are somewhat predetermined due to this phenomenon. My specialty is that light spell. It doesn't have as much offensive power as a fire spell, but it's very handy in dark places. However, despite the fact that some spells will be easier and others harder for you to learn, this is not to say that proper teaching and diligent practice are not just as important."
"So how do we know what spells I'll be able to learn quickly?" Riku interrupted.
"I should be able to judge somewhat, based on your personality. Otherwise, we test and see."
"So how do I...call up this magic from inside me?" Riku asked, impatient to really start the training. He didn't do well with long explanations.
"It's actually quite similar to calling and dismissing a Keyblade. At least, that's what Kiru and Iraki told me. You'll want to close your eyes the first few times until you're more used to focusing correctly."
Riku nodded and closed his eyes, waiting rather impatiently for Ansem to continue. When the man said nothing, he opened one eye to see what was causing the holdup.
Ansem stood across from him just as before, looking as if he were studying Riku. Seeing the open eye, he stated in the same carefree tone as usual, "Keep them closed and relax."
Riku was startled slightly; he hadn't been expecting Ansem to be looking right at him. He closed his eyes and attempted to calm down. Somehow the eyes boring into him felt even worse when he couldn't actually see the watching people and had no way to judge how many there were or how they were reacting.
"Reach inside, like you do to call a Keyblade. Except this time, picture a flame in your mind and try to find it inside you. Don't grab it. Just feel it."
Riku pictured crackling flames, burning brightly. The image came easily into his mind. He could almost feel the light of the flames stinging his sensitive eyes. Wait...he could feel the flames. And suddenly he knew what he had to do. "FIRE!"
Riku opened his eyes to watch the fireball go soaring past the side of Ansem and hit a bush behind him, igniting it.
"You didn't let me finish," Ansem stated, his voice as carefree as ever. "You need to focus the flame to a particular place, or your aim will be completely erratic. Without a Keyblade, I can't focus as well as you will be able to, which is why I missed part of the rock. But I believe THAT"--he gestured toward the still-burning bush--"was an even better example than my rock."
Riku could feel his face heating up, but he tried to keep his expression neutral.
"As I suspected, you seem to have an aptitude for fire. We'll have to explore further to see how far that aptitude goes. You may be able to quickly jump to the second or third level spell. But first I think we should try out Blizzard." He smiled slightly.
Riku scowled and closed his eyes before Ansem could make any more comments.
"Picture ice in your mind. Reach inside and try to find the ice there."
Riku did as he was instructed. At the mention of ice, however, his mind instead turned to an image of the ocean around Destiny Islands. He was about to send the image away when he realized that he could feel the ocean. It was even clearer than the fire had been.
"Now feel the Keyblade in your hand. Take the ice from inside you and focus it into that. Send it all the way to the tip, then open your eyes, aim your Keyblade, and force it out of that."
Riku concentrated, feeling the Golden Keyblade in his hand in the same way that he could feel the ocean inside him. He tried to merge the two together, moving the ocean into the Keyblade. It wasn't an easy thing to do, bending his mind that way, but he managed it. Opening his eyes, he pointed his Keyblade at the blazing bush. He almost shouted, "Water!" but somehow he could sense that the ocean in his mind was much too vast for that. "Watera!"
A deluge of water poured from the tip of the Keyblade, soaring across the courtyard and drowning the bush completely, leaving behind a charred, dripping husk.
"Well." Ansem was grinning openly now. "That wasn't exactly the Blizzard spell that I was expecting, but I suppose it works as well. Does that spell of yours not have a level one, or did you think your little fire needed that much water to put it out?"
Riku couldn't help grinning back. "I don't know if there is a level one or not. I haven't tried it. But I'm more interested in whether or not there's a level three."
"I suppose we should try to find out then. Close your eyes."
Riku did. Ansem said nothing this time, apparently having decided to let the young man experiment on his own.
Riku pictured the ocean again in his mind. He squeezed the Keyblade in his hand and tried to feel both the Keyblade and the ocean. But this time, rather than trying to bring the ocean to the Keyblade, he brought the Keyblade to the ocean.
This was an even more challenging twist of his mind. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, trying to do it, before he realized that it wasn't going to work unless he quit thinking about the physical Keyblade. His mind could only move the feeling of the Keyblade--its intangible presence.
And with that realization, it suddenly became easy for Riku to move the Keyblade into the ocean. He opened his eyes, aimed at the dead bush, and cried, "Waterga!"
The flow of water not only drowned the dead bush, but it also washed over the bushes on either side of his target, the force of the water strong enough to snap off many of their branches.
"I'd say you have a definite aptitude for water," Ansem commented blandly, "So, shall we try some other spells?"
By the end of the training session, Riku had managed to learn Firaga, Waterga, a pitifully weak Thunder, Cure, Stopra, Gravira, and Aerora. Blizzard simply turned to Watera every time he tried it, so he and Ansem had finally abandoned the effort.
Riku was by now extremely exhausted. He had completely lost track of the number of Ethers he had used, and the greenery around Riku and Ansem had suffered from quite an assortment of different magical attacks.
"You're going to need to rest before you go," Ansem stated.
Riku scowled, panting slightly. He tried to hold his drooping body upright. "Five minutes and another Ether and I'll be fine."
"Please go rest. No one will be leaving quite yet anyway."
Something in Ansem's voice caused Riku to narrow his eyes. "Why not?"
"There's...something I have to do first."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't say."
Riku and Ansem stood staring at each other for a moment. Riku's suspicious glare finally caused Ansem to look away. "I have to talk to Kiru. About his dream. I can't say any more than that--not without his permission. You'd have to ask him for any details. So would you please get some rest now?"
Riku sighed, letting his glare drop. "All right."
The two left the courtyard without another word. Riku was too busy worrying about Kiru and his dream that no one would talk about to even think of saying thank you. Ansem himself was far too preoccupied to notice. They both simply walked, just a little too much distance left between them for them to be considered side-by-side, and buried their minds in their own thoughts. And both could only come to one conclusion. They could worry all they wanted, but whatever would come, would come. No matter what they tried to do about it.