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


Deep in Thought

He hurt. Everywhere.

Every time Terra breathed, it was like someone had spilt hot tea inside his abdomen. It throbbed weakly, almost like he was hungry, but pulled on the edges of the site as if about to collapse on itself. Although Master Eraqus may have healed the wound long ago, that didn't mean his ordeal was over yet. General magic took care of the danger, of gashes and broken bones and ripped organs, but just that. For pain, for bruises and scars, you needed a specialist in magic.

And unfortunately for him, their specialist in magic was the one who had wounded him.

Terra coughed, then groaned as the vibrations of that simple actions turned to fire. They started at his stomach, then spread outwards, jumping along his flesh like arcs of lightning. Something cold and damp suddenly landed on Terra's forehead, and he cranked open an eye to stare at a worried Ven.

"Ven, I don't need that," he said.

"Sorry." Ven obediently removed the wet cloth.

He considered sitting up, but the pain quickly dissuaded him from that. "Where's the Master?"

Ven shrugged. "I don't know. He said he would be gone for a little while."

"Gone, huh?" Terra sighed. "Hopefully, he's gone off to one of those modern worlds to pick up some painkillers."

At Terra's silent admission, Ven's eyes widened. "Does . . . does it hurt that much?"

Terra grinned wryly. "Well, I was just stabbed in the stomach, Ven."

"Why?" When Terra looked at him funny, Ven squirmed and said, "I just don't get it. Why would she do that to us?"

"I wish I knew," Terra said quietly, honestly. "Nothing's been the same about her since Vanitas."

Ven scowled and plucked at Terra's sheets. "We don't even know where he went. Or why he came."

"No, we don't." Terra grabbed a mug from the stand next to his bed, and took a sip. The cool liquid trickled down his throat, and it seemed to plug a bit of the hole in his heart.

Ven peered at him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Terra blinked. "Nothing, really."

"Seriously? But you have your 'thinking face' on," Ven said, gesturing at his own face.

"My thinking face."

"Yeah!" Ven wriggled in his seat. "Aqua told me about it! Your forehead gets crinkly, and your eyes sort of close like you're squinting, but you're not actually squinting, just deep in thought."

"Sorry, Ven." He placed the mug back. "But I wasn't thinking about anything."

But maybe I should. He mused over the idea in his mind. He should be doing something other than waiting here, and whatever it was, it couldn't be physical.

"Ven, I need you to get something from the Master's office. He should have a folder somewhere labeled 'Xehanort's Reports'."

Ven looked uncertain, but he obeyed anyways. Terra watched him go as a chant droned through his mind.

There has to be an answer somewhere in there. There has to be.