I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix/Disney.

Tears

Terra didn't walk through the woods so much as he glided through them: steps silent, seemingly unaffected by the debris under his shoes. He slunk in and out of shadows, with a slice of moonlight occasionally reflecting off his keyblade. The blade was held tight at his side, swinging with his gait as if it were an extension of his body.

He paused, seeing a flicker of motion in the shadows. He scooped up his keyblade in both hands, holding it parallel to the ground as he crept towards the figure. But his alarm was for naught, and the mysterious figure stepped into the light, hands held open in a gesture of peace.

"Have you found anything?" Master Eraqus asked.

Terra shook his head. "Nothing."

In the faint light, he could only see the tip of Master Eraqus's mouth dip into a scowl. The two of them were on the hunt for Vanitas, but so far, they had found nothing, not even a trace of his presence. Yet Xehanort's notes had been insistent that Vanitas was hiding somewhere on the world, so they weren't giving up.

Xehanort's notes told a lot, actually; almost too much. They were just lucky that Master Eraqus had kicked Xehanort out as abruptly as he had, leaving Xehanort with no chance to spirit away his findings. According to those, Vanitas had come to their world for a reason, and his attacks on Aqua and Ven had similarly been with purpose. Xehanort's notes implied that the old Master knew exactly why Vanitas attacked Ven, but the same could not be said for Aqua.

That was why neither Ven nor Aqua were on this mission.

"I don't understand where he can be hiding," Terra said.

Master Eraqus said, "The forest is thick on this world. Who knows where he has hidden himself?"

Terra grunted and wiped his brow. It was a hot, humid night and sweat lined every inch of his body. The drops liked to roll down his chest, or down his forehead and the connected cheeks, so that they resembled tears.

He swore and threw his keyblade at a tree, where it stuck in the trunk. Master Eraqus said nothing as Terra stomped over and yanked it out again. He wasted a second wiping sap from the blade.

"What now?" Terra asked.

Master Eraqus shook his head. "I believe it is fair to say that searching further will yield no results. It is best that we wait for Vanitas to show himself once more."

Terra bit the inside of his cheek. On one hand, he didn't want to argue with his Master; on the other hand, he didn't like the idea of a hostile party lurking around his friends.

"Terra," Master Eraqus said as he started to return to the castle, "keep a close eye on them."

He nodded, and said nothing as Master Eraqus faded into the shadows. Blue eyes glimmering in the starlight, he clenched his fists.

Vanitas would have to show eventually.