For Love

Past 3

Lady Kairi sighed and leaned against the balcony overlooking the garden. The wind ruffled her hair, which was beginning to get a little too long for her tastes. Her light pink dress was short, stopping at her knees, and the bodice was tight against her chest, making breathing difficult.

She hadn't seen Princess Yuffie since the Summer Ball the previous year.

Not that she had been looking, mind you. She just happened to notice that the other woman never attended another ball at Radiant Garden.

'It doesn't matter,' she told herself. 'I have my prince to protect. I don't have time to be worrying about some silly princess. Even if she was cute.' A blush rose to her cheeks at the thought. 'Maybe Aqua was right… Having Elena and Selphie as my only straight friends is really starting to affect me.'

She looked out at the garden for a moment longer, her mind straying to the night she danced with the Wutaian princess. Shaking her head, she moved away to go back inside. She was determined that before the night was over she would find a hot guy to dance with.

Cloud dropped a Spiran blitzball on the ground between the Knights and the Soldiers. He studied them for a moment, wondering how the game would play out with such an odd assortment of people.

The Soldiers consisted of Heart, Strength, Brave, Sky, Ocean, and a long-haired brunette wearing an orange and white uniform named Diligent Soldier. They were led by Sora.

The Knights consisted of White Rose, Wandering Dawn, Fire Cross, Dancing Flames, Wild Thief, and a white-haired woman called Silent Mist. They were led by Roxas.

"The game is Earthbound Blitzball," Cloud announced. "As our dome is currently broken-" (He cast a disapproving look at Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief, who were wise enough to don apologetic expressions at his words.) "-we will be playing here. The rules are basically the same. Limit your powers to disarm only! No weapons. I don't care if you continuously target one player in particular, so long as they handle the ball. Mist, limit the number of times you obscure the field. Sky, don't abuse your control of wind to send the ball off track."

Silent Mist and Sky Soldier agreed to the conditions and then moved to take their positions on the field.

The Knights followed their lead. Fire Cross smirked at Brave Soldier before turning and confidently walking to a position close to the center. Wild Thief beamed and waved at Heart, blew a kiss to Diligent, and flirtatiously winked at Brave before laughing and bounding away, dragging White Rose with him. Chatting animatedly, Wandering Dawn, Dancing Flames, and Roxas slowly followed suit.

"Heart," Brave stoically muttered. "We had better win."

Heart nodded in agreement, her narrowed eyes never leaving the form of the raven-haired Knight. "Keep it tied in the first half and pull ahead by one point in the last few minutes. We'll go all out in the second half."

Brave nodded and set off to inform the other Soldiers of the game plan.

Heart strode forward and took her place on the field, right across from White Rose. She smirked. Things couldn't have turned out better if she had set the positions herself. Though she had to admit, she'd rather have Wandering Dawn on her team. His Goblin Punches were killer.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the chocobo-loving Knight take a defensive position close to the goals. 'What are they thinking?' She quickly scanned the formation of the Knights, unsurprised to see Silent Mist as the goal keeper. What surprised her was that Fire Cross had taken the position of a shooter and Roxas and Dancing Flames were on defense. Wild Thief and White Rose as shooters made sense. They were small and fast and she knew from experience that Wild Thief was stronger than he looked.

In her opinion, Sora had arranged her and the other Soldiers in a more suitable formation. She, Sora, and Sky Soldier were shooters. Strength was the goal keeper for the first half. Ocean, Brave, and Diligent were on defense.

Cloud picked up the blitzball and held it in one hand. "Ready! Blitz!" He tossed it into the air and promptly dodge rolled away as Heart and White Rose sprang forward to grapple for the ball.

Heart elbowed White Rose in the stomach, to which the other woman replied with a kick to the rib cage. The redhead grunted, but managed to punch the ball towards Sky, who easily caught it and side stepped out of the way of Wild Thief as he made a wild attempt to grab the ball. Before Sky could get too far, Wild Thief hooked his tail around the boys leg and pulled, tripping him just as he was tossing the ball to Sora.

The ball wobbled and strayed off course, falling short of Sora's waiting hands. Fire Cross snatched it up and hurled it towards White Rose, who had managed to get past Diligent and was in a place where she could easily score a point.

Sky Soldier twirled his hand around twice, calling up a breeze to knock the ball towards one of his teammates. Ocean leapt into the air and punched it towards Heart, who immediately threw it to Sky as Wild Thief lunged for her.

The game continued on with the ball rapidly passing back and forth between teams without anyone scoring. Then Fire Cross got the ball for a second time.

He bowled over Sora first, somehow managed to dodge Ocean's graceful tackle, then jumped into the air and effortlessly performed a spinning kick to send the ball slamming past Strength's defenses.

"Point to Knights," Cloud announced. "Two minutes left!"

Heart growled in frustration and glanced to Brave, who was wearing a similar expression of irritation. He caught her eye and nodded.

They needed to tie the game before the break.

Cloud tossed the ball into the air again.

Sky and Wild Thief jumped for it.

Wild Thief smacked the ball to Fire Cross, who was immediately mobbed by Heart and Sora. The two managed to knock the ball from his hands and it fell to the ground.

Wild Thief and Sky dove for it.

Sky managed to get to it a mere second before him. He blasted the ball into the air towards Diligent, who caught it and passed it across the field to Ocean, who held onto it for a moment before spotting Heart in a clear position close to the goal. She feinted a hit towards Sora while really aiming for Heart.

Heart caught the ball and began setting up to aim when Roxas tackled her to the ground and lobbed the ball to Wandering Dawn.

"Tough luck," he said as he got up and ran off.

Heart growled and got to her feet, forcefully reminding herself to take it easy.

"Time!" Cloud's voice echoed around them as he strode onto the field to remove the ball from Fire Cross's hands. "Take a ten minute break and then we'll finish the second round. If you want to change formation, figure it out now!" He held the ball firmly as he walked away to rest on one of the many boulders littering the grassy field.

The Soldiers and Knights split up, though Wild Thief couldn't resist jumping on Brave's back to ruffle his hair before he was dumped on the ground.

"We're not doing so well, are we?" Diligent asked, nervously wringing her hands. She glanced at Heart and lowered her brown eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this."

"You're doing fine," Strength said reassuringly. "Heart and Brave are just… extremely competitive."

Heart began pacing as the others, with the exception of Brave Soldier, sat down in the grass. It took Diligent a moment to rearrange the long skirt of her uniform.

"We have to win," said Heart.

Sora looked up at her curiously. "I've never seen you two so motivated to win at Blitzball before. It's just a fun game. Relax and have fun like you usually do!" He shrank back at the twin glares he received from Brave and Heart.

"I don't understand what problem you have with them. They're fighting to protect our worlds too. We should work with them." Ocean reached forward and pulled Sky to her chest, ignoring the startled yelp from the boy. Her blue eyes twinkled happily the moment she was able to rest her chin on his head.

Brave looked over at the Knights and scowled at the sight of Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief bouncing around like hyperactive children. "They're frustratingly naïve."

"You were too, once," Sora pointed out. "Cloud told me all about your first year as a Soldier."

A faint red hue spread across Brave's cheeks. "That doesn't matter. It's been at least three years for all of them."

"And what problems have they faced? Overwhelming numbers of monsters and fiends? Doubtful. Loss of a comrade? None. They don't even have to deal with the public like we do," Strength said. "But lets get back to the game. We need to change some things around if we're going to win. Our fastest and lightest players trying to score aren't going to do us any good if they can't hold onto the ball. Someone trade with me."

"I'll do it!" Sora volunteered. "I can't stretch my shield more than a foot from me, but it'll give me enough of an edge to surprise them."

Sky sighed and leaned back as Ocean threaded her fingers though his hair. "I'll switch with 'qua. She'll do better getting out there with the ball. I'm more used to defense anyway."

"Everyone okay with positions?" Sora asked, looking around at his teammates. When no one complained, he stood up. "Let's do some stretching before we get back out there."

White Rose sighed sadly as she looked over at the Soldiers. "This isn't working so well… I thought she'd lighten up once we started playing."

"Heart? Lighten up for a game?" Dancing Flames scoffed at the idea. "She gets worse with Blitzball. She's so damn competitive."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "As if you aren't just as bad. Don't make me regret letting you switch with Fire Cross.

"You wanna win, right?"

Roxas ignored him, instead looking to Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief, who were excitedly making plans to kidnap Brave Soldier once the game was over. "Dawn, are you up for shooting?"

Wandering Dawn's cocoa brown eyes lit up excitedly. "Yes! Z's with me too, right?"

Roxas shook his head. "Thief's switching out with the pyromaniac."

Dancing Flames scowled at the nickname and crossed his arms over his chest. "I take offense to that."

Wandering Dawn pouted and kicked at the ground, hoping it would change Roxas's mind.

"I grew up with Sora. That doesn't work on me," Roxas informed him. "It's just for ten minutes and then you can go on your merry way. Unless it's a tie. Then it's an extra six minutes. Then you can go kidnap Brave and do whatever it is you do."

Fire Cross growled in annoyance. "Do it and I'll show you just what it feels like to have my Hyperion jammed in your ribcage."

Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief shivered and hid behind Silent Mist as though hoping she would save them.

"NO CHANCE," she said, moving out of the way.

The two gulped and clung to each other.

"Fire Cross, stop threatening our teammates," White Rose said. "We need a plan."

"How about you put both knuckleheads on defense and let me score a few more goals," said Fire Cross confidently.

Roxas narrowed his eyes, knowing just what the blond was up to. Axel had pulled it on him too often for him to not know. "No," he said firmly. "If you grope him one more time he'll kill you, game or not."

"Then why're you letting him loose over there?" Fire Cross complained, gesturing to the sulking brunet picking at grass. "He's worse than I am!"

"He knows how to not touch Brave," Roxas replied scathingly. "And sending him out to run is better than keeping him cooped up." He paused a moment to glance over at the stretching Soldiers. "We need to step up our game. I know Sora and Heart and how they plan. They're sending out Strength and Ocean as shooters. Sora's the new goal keeper. Sky's switching to defense."

"Are you sure?" White Rose asked. "Why not keep Strength as a goal keeper? She did a decent job."

"Sora's better," Roxas said bluntly. "There's a reason why he's a Master of defensive magic."

Dancing Flames' eyes went wide. "He's cheating?"

"They're all cheating," Roxas corrected. "Pay attention the next time Sky gets the ball. And I suggest we start cheating more."

Dancing Flames frowned and looked to Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief, who were whispering to each other conspiratorially. "Dawn! You're a wind user!"

Wandering Dawn looked at him in confusion, tilting his head to the side. "Huh? No, I can only sense things on the wind. I know it likes Sky Soldier, but it's afraid of you and Fire Cross and Passion. It's terrified of Strength and Storm."

Dancing Flames opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it and stayed silent.

"Game time!" Cloud yelled.

Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief were on their feet in seconds, cheerfully running through the grass and trampling the few wildflowers in their haste to get back to the game.

"I wish I had their energy," White Rose remarked.

"You don't need it," Roxas said with a tired sigh. "Let's get over there before they do something stupid."

"Too late."

They watched as Cloud firmly bopped each of them on the head and then pointed to their side of the field. The two walked away in disappointment.

"Back to the game."

She should have seen it coming. The very second Wandering Dawn got his hands on the ball in the last half minute of the game.

"Goblin!"

Heart and Strength instinctively ducked. Sora strengthened his defenses so he could at least try to block the ball.

"Punch!"

The sound of Wandering Dawn's fist hitting the ball was equivalent to that of a cannon going off.

Sky let out a yelp as it whizzed past his head.

Sore tensed and then shook it off so he could reach out with both hands to catch it. The ball crashed into his shield with such force that he went flying back several feet into the goal.

"Knights, five. Soldiers, four," announced Cloud. "Knights win the game!"

Wandering Dawn and Wild Thief cheered and set off a round of high five's around their team. Even Silent Mist participated, though all she did was hold her hand up in the air unmovingly.

Heart clenched her fists and walked away without a word.

White Rose stared after her, her smile slipping off her face and her heart sinking. It seemed she could do nothing to impress the pink-suited warrior. If anything, the game had made things even worse between them.

She watched the other Soldiers briefly converse, gesturing after their leader. Then Strength shook her head and went jogging after her.

"Y'know," Dancing Flames remarked, ruffling her hair as he approached White Rose. "You're goin' through this all wrong. Let 'er get to know Yuffie first. Hell, she's still pissed at me for savin' her ass a couple of weeks ago. You do it tons more than so, so she's not gonna give ya a chance."

"Great," grumbled Yuffie, feeling even worse about the state of things.

"Look, I've got a plan. Wisdom and Nocturne helped me come up with it," Dancing Flames told her. "She'll be pissed once she finds out what's goin' on, but it'll help. Sort of."

White Rose raised an eyebrow. "So either I do nothing and she continues to refuse to acknowledge my existence or I try to trick her and get her even more pissed at me."

"But it could work," Dancing Flames reminded her. "Look, Dawn and Thief are coercing Brave to go drinking with them at this very moment. Mist is calming Cross down while he rages about those two and any minute she's gonna tell him to go over there. He'll go, intendin' to yell at 'em, but they'll convince him to tag along by tellin' him Brave's going to the bar. Cloud will follow to make sure they don't do anything stupid. Diligent will go along to keep Thief from doing anything stupid. Then Sora'll decide to go and Roxas will go too, which naturally means I'm going to tag along. In other words, everyone will find out and want to go drinking at the bar. In civilian form."

White Rose's mouth formed an 'o' as she pieced together where Dancing Flames was going with his plan. "So all we have to do is figure out why Princess Yuffie is in town and drinking with a bunch of people she shouldn't know."

"That's easy. Diligent's also a princess."

White Rose didn't have to think twice. "Let's do it."

Kairi grumbled to herself as she let Elena drag her into their favorite bar in Radiant Garden, Angel Wings. She could already hear Bartz and Zidane prancing around on stage singing a song while Selphie and Axel egg them on.

"Elena, I really don't feel like partying tonight," Kairi said.

"Then you can sit on a barstool in the corner nursing a glass of Gaia's finest and sulking while being hit on by that one creepy bouncer." Elena tightened her grip when she felt Kairi attempt to squirm away. "But before all of that, Garnet wants you to meet a friend of hers who flew all the way here to visit."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You're the best friend of the prince and the leader of the five Soldiers who protect him. Of course she wants to meet you."

Kairi fell silent as they entered the main room to the sight of Roxas firmly slapping Axel across the face before stomping away.

Elena groaned and let go of Kairi's hand to go chasing after him. "Roxas! Wait!"

Kairi sullenly walked over and took a seat next to her brother, who was staring after Roxas with a stunned expression on his face. She ordered her usual, an interesting Wutaian drink introduced to her by Elena.

"So what stupid thing did you do this time?" She asked.

"Something stupider than usual, apparently." Axel slumped over the bar and ordered another shot, which he downed within seconds of receiving.

Kairi daintily sipped her drink and turned around to see what everyone else was doing.

Bartz and Zidane were taking their bows on stage while Olette, Naminé, Selphie, and Sora hovered around the computer, pointing out different songs. Riku was nearby, keeping an eye on them while drinking water.

Terra, Aqua, and Ventus had commandeered a table for themselves and appeared to be playing a card game. Every now and then Aqua's brow would crease and she would direct a glare at Terra, who responded with one of his own.

Towards the middle of the room were Squall and Fuujin, both of whom looked bored out of their minds. Seifer soon took a seat between them with a mug of beer and scooted his chair closer to Squall. Smirking, he leaned in to whisper something in the brunet's ear.

"Kairi!"

The redhead looked back to the entrance in time to see Demyx bounding into the room with an amused Prince Ienzo trailing behind him. He slid onto the barstool on her right, the grin never leaving his face.

"You'll never believe what Ienzo just told me! I'll give you a hint--It has to do with a certain princess you've been pining over!"

"Princess Garnet is bringing the Wutaian princess, Princess Yuffie, along with her," Prince Ienzo said. "Apparently the two are old friends. I myself have only met Princess Yuffie once or twice."

Kairi's heart quickened in her chest. "S-she's coming here? But why? Are you sure?"

"She wishes to meet the friends of Princess Garnet," said Prince Ienzo. "I would not worry too much about her."

Kairi looked away from the two and gulped down the rest of her drink, wincing at the harsh taste. She motioned for the bartender to bring another drink and then, upon realizing Axel was playing with an empty shot glass, took pity on her brother and ordered him one as well.

"Are those really that good?" Demyx asked.

"It tastes like strawberries," Kairi replied. "Want some?"

Demyx crinkled his nose and shook his head. "No way. You know me and alcohol doesn't mix. I'll stick to water. Nice, refreshing, cold water. Ienzo will have some too. Right, Ienzo?"

"I will have my usual."

Demyx whined and tugged at the prince's sleeve. "But you promised me you wouldn't drink tonight! That's not fair!"

"After the day I have had, I deserve it," Prince Ienzo said, firmly removing the blond's hand. "There is nothing wrong with enjoying one drink."

"Or five," muttered Axel.

Prince Ienzo raised an eyebrow. "I believe it is time for us to cut you off."

Axel grumbled something and pulled his new drink closer.

"He'll regret it tomorrow when I request for Roxas to wake him up for training at six," Kairi said, unconcerned with the problems it may cause.

Demyx winced. "That's harsh, Kai."

"It could be worse. I could ask Cloud to do it." Kairi took a sip of her drink and set it down. "The ones we really need to watch out for are Bartz and Zidane."

"I think Cloud'll kill them if they drink before training again," Demyx remarked.

"Hell, Cloud'll kill them if they and Seifer keep hitting on Squall. You know, I like the guy and all but I'll never understand what everyone's fascination with Squall is about."

"Really?" Demyx sounded surprised.

Kairi wearily looked at him. "Yeah. Do I dare ask why you're surprised?"

"Well, it's just, Squall's so, um… transgenderal?"

"I believe the word you're looking for is unisex," Prince Ienzo corrected. A pleased look briefly appeared on his face when the bartender placed a fizzling blue drink in front of him.

"Looks radioactive," Demyx remarked. "Anyway, Squall's just one of those people that everyone has a crush on at one time or another. I've always thought he looks kind of feminine."

Kairi looked incredulous. "You're joking, right?"

"Just look at him!"

She did so, but still couldn't see anything special about him. He looked like any ordinary guy to her. Sure, his figure may have been slightly effeminate, but the only reason anyone noticed that was because the leather he constantly wore helped to emphasize his body structure. His hair may have been soft--though she only had Selphie's word on that--but it was chopped short and messy. She knew for a fact that practically every other guy she knew spent more time on their hair in a day than Squall did in a week. Plus, there was his scar, which decreased any level of femininity down to zero.

He was just Squall to her. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I don't see it," Kairi said finally, looking away from the brunet. "If you had told me you thought Cloud looks like a girl, I might agree. But not Squall."

Demyx pouted and turned his attention to his glass of ice water.

"Princess Garnet has arrived," Prince Ienzo noted.

Kairi glanced over in time to see the beautiful brunette princess enter the room, her long hair trailing majestically behind her. She was in a simple white dress instead of her usual gown, but she was still wearing her crown.

A shiver ran down her spine when her eyes landed on the second princess.

She wore her dark hair in the same boyish cut, though it was adorned with a simple silver crown for her visit. Also, a black headband covered her forehead. It was a surprise to see her wearing jeans and a t-shirt, since the last time she had seen the girl she had been in typical Wutaian wear. Kairi found it somewhat soothing that she was dressed so simply.

It further proved that the girl was unlike any other princess--and even a few princes--she had met.

Princess Garnet led her to the bar first.

"Prince Ienzo, Lady Kairi, Demyx, and Axel, may I present to you Yuffie, the Princess of Wutai."

"Hiya!" Yuffie greeted, pushing past Princess Garnet. She took Prince Ienzo's hand and shook it once before moving on to Demyx. "Just call me 'Yuffie'. Calling me 'princess' is way too formal." She smiled and moved on to Kairi, holding out her hand expectantly.

Kairi hesitated a moment and then smiled and shook her hand. "Welcome to Radiant Garden, Yuffie."

Yuffie's smile grew wider. "Thanks!"

Later that night, Kairi flopped happily on her soft bed, her stomach fluttering in a way that wasn't a result of drinking alcohol all night. After all, she'd only had two drinks early in the evening, though the same couldn't be said of Axel.

She knew what the feeling was.

She had felt something similar the year before once the ball was over.

She felt it whenever she thought about the now less-than-mysterious princess.

Giggling, Kairi rolled over onto her side, her smile not fading in the least. She reached out and pulled a pillow close to her chest, hugging it. 'For once I wish the night wouldn't end… Too bad we have training in the morning.' She glanced at her clock and muffled her groan with her pillow. 'Training's going to be hell.'

She didn't know when she fell asleep or even when she closed her eyes. One minute she was grimacing over how rough training was going to be and the next she was being shaken awake by Sora.

"Go 'way…" she mumbled. "'s too early."

"I know, but it's time for training," Sora said. "Get up. We've got a guest today who wants to talk to you guys."

"Who's it this time? 's not Dream Soldier 'gain, izzit? Guy's a creep."

"Nope." Sora gave her another shake. "This guy's the very first Soldier. Cloud finally convinced him to drop by for a little while."

Kairi yawned and rolled over, finally opening her eyes. "The first one? He must be, what, over one-hundred by now? How's he still alive? Can't see an old man bein' able to teach us much fightin'."

"I wouldn't let him hear you say that," Sora said warningly. "Now get up, transform, and get downstairs for breakfast. We're due on the training field in an hour."

Kairi groaned and sat up. "An hour? You mean you could've let me sleep for another half hour? I only got, like, five hours of sleep!"

"You should've left earlier," Sora said smugly. He had left with Riku right around ten once Axel had gotten the microphone and decided to sing a couple songs to Roxas. Needless to say, Roxas was not amused.

"Don't be late." With that warning, Sora left the room to go awaken his next victim.

Kairi slowly got out of bed, though all she wanted to do was burrow under her blankets and sleep for a few more hours. She rolled her shoulders as she walked around her room, trying to get rid of the stiffness that had fallen over her body. Then she activated her transformation necklace.

The cool feeling of ribbons wrapping around her body and changing her clothes helped wake up her mind, but it was quickly evaporated by a yawn bubbling its way up her throat. She sighed and tucked the loose pieces of hair behind an ear as she glanced longingly at her bed one last time.

Straightening her back and bracing herself for the day, Heart Soldier left the room.

Nearly an hour later the Soldiers and Knights had gathered on the field they had come to call their own. People had once flocked to the field for picnics or play various sports, but all of that changed the day the Soldiers began using it.

It was a shame, really. It was such a beautiful field.

"Where are the others?" Heart asked as she sat down in the grass. She looked around at the six people relaxing around her, wondering which one would answer her question.

Sora was laying on his stomach, picking at a patch of clover. Beside him was Wisdom, who was holding a book on the history of Gaia and kept leaning over to ask Strength a question about what he was reading. On their other side were Love and Peace, who were cuddling in their usual sickly cute way. Diligent was across from them, to Sora's left, and seemed to be enjoying the sunny day.

"Ocean, Earth, and Sky went home after their spat at Angel Wings later night," Peace informed her. "Brave, Passion, Fire Cross, and Silent Mist took off for Balamb early this morning. I'm not really sure what is going on over there."

"Most likely it is another uprising," Wisdom said. "I have heard that Galbadia is playing host to a sorceress."

The girls and Sora winced, knowing that such news would only bring disaster for the trio of planets.

"What about Cloud and Riku?" Heart asked, wanting to change the subject.

Sora frowned. "Riku… won't be joining us today. Or any other day that our guest is here. He's busy doing something else." He sat up suddenly and brushed off the front of his clothes. "They're here. Get up."

The six Soldiers followed suit without a word. It was then that Heart realized the Knights weren't but a few feet away and were waiting to meet their mysterious guest as well.

Wild Thief and Wandering Dawn were oddly silent, though it may have only been because of the lack of sleep they got the night before. Melodious Nocturne seemed to be the only one who got enough sleep, which made sense considering he only drank water the night before and left an hour and a half after Sora and Riku. Even White Rose looked a little worse for wear, though Heart had difficulty understanding why she wouldn't have gotten sleep. And then there were Dancing Flames and Roxas.

"Don't you dare talk back to him!" Roxas hissed warningly.

"I'm not." Dancing Flames grumpily crossed his arms over his chest.

Sora looked over at them and saw that Roxas was about ready to snap and start up an actual physical fight with the redhead. Waving his hands, he whispered "shhhh!" in an attempt to stop them. "Argue later! Now's not the time!"

Two figures came into sight at last. One was obviously Cloud, with his bright, spiky hair. The other was a tall man with long, flowing hair that stood out greatly against the black leather he wore. The two seemed to be walking comfortably alongside of each other, but even Melodious Nocturne could pick up on a strange tension between them.

Silence fell over the field as the two slowly approached. Even Wild Thief and Wandering Dawn kept from saying or doing anything. Love fidgeted, unable to remain completely still, until Peace intertwined their fingers and gave her a reassuring smile. Aside from some minute fidgeting, the others were still and silent as well.

At last Cloud and the intimidating Soldier reached them.

Heart shivered when her violet eyes met his cold green ones. There was no caring in eyes like those. They were merciless, searching for a weak spot to exploit on a moments notice. She barely took notice when Cloud took a step forward and began speaking.

"What you learn today can never be repeated to anyone. Not even to those who are here today. The chances of being overheard are too great."

"But what about the others?" White Rose asked. "Shouldn't they know about this too?"

Cloud frowned, not wanting to repeat himself. "If they are not here, they cannot be told."

"But Clo--"

"White Rose, they cannot be told."

The female Knight lowered her eyes and unhappily nodded. "I understand."

For a moment, Heart pitied the girl. However, the feeling was quickly gone and replaced by a strong curiosity of what Cloud was about to tell him. Her eyes strayed back to the tall man for a moment. 'He couldn't possibly be the first Soldier, could he? He's no where near old enough. I mean, sure, his hair is silver, but so is Riku's! Come to think of it…'

Cloud cleared his throat and gestured to the man beside him. "Allow me to introduce One Winged Soldier--the very first Soldier to have existed."

End Chapter

I cannot believe how long this chapter ended up being. It wasn't even an originally planned chapter. This was supposed to be Reality 16. It turned out that as I was typing it up, the mini-flashback at the beginning wanted to become a big huge thing and since I let it, it spanned itself out for nearly 10 pages.

I've reached another low point in my writing habits right now and finding time to sit down and write without being distracted is a lot like trying to run through knee-deep water. It's a slow and messy process.

Plus, I've only got about a couple weeks left of school, which means lots of projects and tests in my classes, as well as figuring out what to do about my major. (Business Administration is not fun, folks. Especially when you hate math, like I do.)

I've been working on this story for about a year and 2 months now. Honestly, I never expected it to be this long. In fact, when I first started it I had no idea it would turn into the complicated mess it is now. But it's fun to write and there's no chance I'm gonna abandon this (like I've done with a few others...). My goal is to finish writing this before the end of summer.

When I'm down to the last three or so chapters I'll set up a poll so everyone can vote for the next story I write. I'll have at least three.

Next chapter - Reality 16

"Sora, I don't know what to do anymore."

"All I can tell you is... follow your heart. Don't just rely on memories and feelings of the past. Sometimes they can lead us wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"What was once meant to be may not be meant to be forever."