Here's chapter twenty-five! Thank you reality deviant, A.K.J.19, Aburg76, ultima-owner, DPSS, Parks98, and a guest for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Tournament
Sora tapped his pen against the Gummi ship's dash. A letter sat in front of him, half-finished. He scrawled, Shirou's training is going well. Mostly. I mean, he still can't really do magic beyond heart magic, so we haven't really been focusing on it. I've been trying to teach him Keyblade transformations—I thought it might be easier for him. He can't handle it for very long, but he can change it, at least.
How is Radiant Garden? Everything going alright on your end? I'm sure there's a lot I'm missing out on. Sorry. But I promise I'll come visit sometime! Hey, you'll finally get to meet Shirou, right?
Talk to you later, Kairi.
-Sora.
P.S. Please don't let Aqua know about this. I know, I've asked that before, but—ah, it's complicated.
He considered explaining, but left it. Of all people, he figured Kairi would be the one to be able to read between the lines, especially if Aqua told her about the Puppet Master.
He sighed and sat back, folding the letter. His gaze drifted toward the communicator. He worried his lip and considered returning Aqua's call—he wanted to know how things were going, if the Puppet Master was under control, and just to catch up. His hand inched towards it.
A long, dark claw stretched for the communicator.
Sora jerked away, summoning the Kingdom Key.
The claw wrapped the Keyblade, trailing darkness, and Sora slowly came to the realization that he stared at his own hand. Gradually the image dissipated.
He released the Keyblade and stared at his shaky hand. He wrapped his fingers around the wrist and held it still.
He took a deep breath. "Right! I'd probably better check and see how Shirou's doing." He turned and left.
He hand still shook
-Shirou panted, using Vir as a support.
"Hey," Phil called, "why don't we call it quits?"
Shirou shook his head. "I can keep going."
"I'm all for hard work, kid, but you're exhausted. Take a breather."
Shirou looked to him a moment, then to the training field. Reluctantly he released his Keyblade.
Phil offered him some water. "So, how's traveling with Sora treating you?"
"Fine." Shirou sipped his water. "We've seen a lot of other worlds."
"You don't say."
The two lapsed into silence. Shirou scanned the arena, paying special attention to the shadows. He tapped into his magic, sending small tendrils outwards across the arena. A vein throbbed in his temple, and he winced.
"Something wrong, kid?"
"It's nothing." He took another sip of water and closed his eyes. His head ached, but he continued his magical extension until his head grew light. He released the magic and opened his eyes. Black spots momentarily filled his vision, and he steadied himself. He brushed sweat off his neck. "There aren't any Heartless here."
"Don't be too sure of that."
Shirou flashed him a look.
"Oh, we haven't had too much trouble with them in recent years, least not in the 'terrorize the populace' kind of way. But in tournaments? Loads of them. They can't seem to get enough of it. Works for me, though. Moving targets."
"I see."
"Hey, don't be so serious. You're, what? Seven? Give it a few years. I heckle him, but Sora's got it covered."
"Nine," Shirou muttered, frowning.
"My point stands."
"Hey!" Sora's voice carried from the arena entrance. He waved, moving closer. "How'd training go?"
Phil said, "Kid's got a lot of promise. Though maybe you should've been here watching."
Sora scratched his cheek. "Sorry. I had something to take care of and didn't realize how much time had passed."
"It's fine," Shirou said, though his voice sounded resigned, and he tried to quash his own vague disappointment.
Phil shook his head. "Whatever. Listen, you'd just better be ready for the tournament tomorrow, you hear? Because if you're not, I've got two words for you: disappointment."
"Relax, Phil. I'll be fine." He turned to Shirou, grinning crookedly. "Why don't I show you around the world?"
"Okay." Shirou walked towards him.
"See you later, Phil."
"Yeah. See you, kid. And you." He fixed Shirou with a look. "Keep training."
"Right."
The two Keyblade wielders left the arena. Sora led Shirou past the Gummi ship and out of the Coliseum proper into a small town. Stands filled the dusty area, shopkeepers calling wares. Pots and other trinkets sat haphazardly near columns and buildings. Shirou looked around, blinking.
Sora's grin brightened. "So, where do you want to go first?"
"Any where's fine."
Sora sighed. "Alright, let's check out some of the shops, then." His drop in spirits disappeared, replaced with a kid-like glee as he dragged Shirou towards a stand with a thin, irritable-looking man.
Shirou allowed himself, and while Sora spoke with the man, cupped his chin and debated whether or not to pose his question. "Sora," he began hesitantly.
Sora turned to him, two strange looking hats in hand, 'Hercules' stamped across the top. "Hmm? Something up?"
Under the image of his master's grin, he faltered. "Never mind." He glanced about. "Can we go there?" He didn't actually know what the shop was selling, but Sora's eyes glowing told him he made a good decision.
Sora passed him a hat.
Shirou sagged, then smiled. He supposed he could try to ferret his questions about the 'Puppet Master' out on a later date.
-Sora stood in the vestibule. He did a few stretches, casting glances towards the doors.
Phil eventually appeared. "Hey. You all ready to go? Your first match is up."
"Yeah." He released a heavy breath. "So, what am I doing?"
"You and your opponent will be fighting Heartless on opposite ends of the arena. If both of you get through that, you fight each other."
"Got it."
"Good luck." Phil moved aside.
Sora strode past him.
The stands around the arena were filled. People cheered as the two opponents emerged from opposite ends of the field. Shirou sat close to the front, watching, expression serious.
Sora snorted and flashed a small smile. Then he turned and faced his opponent.
A magical field sprang between them. Dark shapes spawned on either side. A buzzer rang, signaling the fighters to begin.
Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and jumped. He swept the blade through a lunging Shadow, side-stepped a Knight and speared it. He twirled his Keyblade and sent it flying in a Strike Raid. The weapon slammed through several Knights and into a Large Body, then returned to his hand. Gouts of darkness exploded around him, pink hearts floating skyward.
The crowd roared.
Sora grinned, turned, and pointed his Keyblade at an emerging Heartless. "Fire!" The fireball exploded into the Knight before it had time to react. Sora moved, slamming into a Large Body and twisting. He catapulted off it, twisting in air and coming down on the large Heartless's head. Darkness swarmed around his blade, a pink heart drifting past him.
Phil shouted from somewhere, "Stop showing off!"
Sora absently twirled his Keyblade, but kept it at the ready.
Several Shadow Heartless twitched around him. They lunged simultaneously.
"Aero!" The wind spell swirled around him, knocking the Heartless into the air. "Thunder!" The lightning spell speared the small creatures, causing them to break apart into long, wispy shadows. Sora's form illuminated briefly. When the spells faded, Sora rested his Keyblade on his shoulder. "That all, Phil? I thought this was going to be difficult."
"Don't get cocky," a voice rumbled. The barrier had fallen, and the other competitor—a man of average build, but with numerous scars and a long, thin blade—stepped towards him.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Sora lowered his weapon.
"Did you really believe you could protect them from everything?"
Sora shook the unwanted memory away. "Let's do this."
The man nodded. He swiped his sword in a salute.
The buzzer sounded.
The two fighters launched. Sora's blade slashed towards the man's head.
The man ducked aside, and Sora swept his blade low to parry a thrust. The two skidded apart. They watched a moment, eyeing each other.
Sora transformed his Keyblade. The two guns settled into his hands, and he shot.
The man's image blurred. He disappeared, reappearing above Sora and falling to slash.
Reminds me of Xigbar. He parried and slid aside. Actually, scratch that. It's more like something I've seen Aqua or Riku do. "Thundaga!" Lightning struck around Sora in a ring.
The man jolted, caught by one of the bolts, and gasped.
Sora moved before he could recover, sliding across the ground and behind the man. The Kingdom Key swept into the man's side and sent him sprawling.
The man recovered quickly, rolling over himself and returning to a standing position. He folded one arm behind his back, the other aiming his blade's slim tip at Sora. He circled, feet crisscrossing, then lunged.
Sora moved to a sweeping parry.
The man's blade dipped, appearing on Sora's left side. When he moved to block, the tip dipped again, this time stabbing for his right.
Sora ducked, nearly bending backwards, the tip sliding past him. He slid onto his knees, rolled and returned to his feet.
His opponent moved, slashing quickly overhead, then whipping the blade at Sora's midsection.
Sora parried and slid the Keyblade up the slender blade's length.
The man circled away, blade flashing for a feint towards cut towards one shoulder, a feint towards the other, finally ending on a slid towards Sora's neck.
Sora leapt backwards, putting distance between himself and his opponent.
The man teleported, appearing near Sora's face.
Sora stabbed.
The man dodged aside, blade poised to strike.
Sora grinned. "Alright." He lifted his knee and rammed it into his opponent's gut. Simultaneously, he called, "Aeroga!" Wind erupted around him, and his opponent, thrown aside by his knee, found himself caught in the vortex. The man spiraled upward, unable to teleport, thrown when the magic died.
Sora lifted his Keyblade, ice forming at the tip. "Firaga!" The massive fireball collided with the man and sent him sprawling across the arena.
Sora lowered his Keyblade, watching warily.
The man remained prone a few moments, then pushed himself to his feet. "I suppose you're not bad."
Sora laughed. "You're not too shabby, yourself." He rested the Kingdom Key on his shoulder. "But I think we both know—"
"—how this will end."
The echo of a time past ran through Sora's mind. He sobered. The arena seemed to contort. Darkness edged at the walls. The world took on a strange tint, and for a moment Sora found himself back in a familiar, dark place, facing down an entirely different enemy, someone calling his name in panic, only vaguely distinguishable to his addled mind.
Pain speared his shoulder. He blinked and panicked. That Keyblade hadn't been there a moment ago, had it? He slashed, dark claws forming around his fingers. Something pulsed in the back of his mind, reminding him he had to keep the attacker away from his friends—they were here somewhere, he knew they were, if only he could find them—but unreasonable anger and instinctual fear and a strange, familiar, horrifying hunger flooded his mind. He slipped to all fours, hissing at his opponent.
The strange, silver-haired figure watched him, eyes wide with horror. "Sora! Snap out of it!"
A part of him recognized the name, the voice, and something uncomfortable settled in his mind. He pushed the feelings aside irritably.
"We want to help you!"
He snarled and lunged.
The silver-haired boy stabbed.
He yelped. Pain throbbed through his arm, and his panicked anger increased.
Something brushed his heart.
Magic? Wha—Shirou.
The silver figure—Riku, he realized, or a younger version of him—disappeared, replaced by a stunned man. The strange darkness that surrounded him faded, and the arena returned.
The crowd had gone silent.
Shirou stood between Sora and his opponent, shaking, Vir summoned, a sword tip lodged in his shoulder.
And that's where we'll end it. Review responses:
reality deviant: Thanks. I'm imagining he will, yeah.
A.K.J.19: Haha, oh, gosh, yeah, he's going to be a very confused individual. And thanks.
Aburg76: Yep; even if I look at other characters sometimes, it's still technically these two's story. I know, Xion's death was heartbreaking, even if you kind of knew it was coming. Xion's role isn't the same as in Days, though; in this case, she's more a guide.
ultima-owner: Indeed it is. And yeah, that's exactly his problem with the Keyblade transformation now. He's got the gist of it, he just needs to practice to get the transformation to hold.
DPSS: That's actually not something he'd be able to do here. Keyblades are very personal weapons, connected directly to people's hearts, and they can't be traced/projected. That, and at the moment Shirou doesn't even know about that sort of magic.
Parks98: Haha, hey, I love it when people start putting together my cryptic clues, so win-win. It is a more advanced technique, but since Shirou still can't really use any magic beyond heart magic, Sora kind of figured it'd be worth a try to teach him Keyblade transformations. Yeah, that's basically how that transformation works! That is something he could feasibly do, once he gets more control over it, though at the moment that'd backfire on him horribly.
Guest: Thank you so much! I did worry a lot about writing Shirou going into this, so I'm glad you think he turned out okay. The bond does deepen, and I can definitely see your point. I do have a reason for doing it this way, though, so hopefully I'll be able to justify why they're acting this way before the story ends. (Although, there is a certain Princess of Heart who knows more than she lets on…) I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
If there's anything you'd like to say about the chapter, feel free to drop a review and let me know!