Author's Notes: I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor its characters – only my OCs which are Asuka, Hana, Isamu and Shenmi!

Chapter 5 – Rokurou and Eleanor!

*SLASH-STAB-SLASH!*

The silver blade pierced through the dummy like it was made of paper and its pieces disconnected immediately before tumbling onto the floor. The man released slow tiring breaths as he dismissed his small blades while stretching himself.

His appearance consisted of black-colored mid-length spiky hair that was tied into a low-ponytail with each strand flickering out – interestingly, it covered the right side of his face.

As for attire, it consisted of black legwarmers, pale-lilac samurai pants and woven robes. Another layer of dark purple robes was worn over and tied around his waist. The purple layer of clothing featured orange as its inverted color. Chest-plate guard and presumably something of the similar sort for his arms, which was finished off by a thick, plated shoulder-guard were featured while a strap was attached to his torso which he hanged his sword on the back of. Lastly, his footwear consisted of traditional sandals with straps and socks.

He continued to stretch his arms while releasing a heavy sigh. "Time, Eleanor?" He inquired to the young woman called Eleanor whose emerald green eyes were scanning a timer which she had just stopped.

Her long bright-red hair with alternating streaks of a peach-pink were tied into long twin tails by two spiky teal hairbands that ended with orange parallel-laced ribbons while her fringes were placed towards the side which revealed her fair-skinned forehead.

As for attire, it was that of a priestess/princess - a mid-length dress with multiple layers of white ruffles and matching long boots with both of them having a golden-orange pattern with a form of insignia on them and her dress also had an extending flap which stemmed from the collar and through the midpoint of her outfit. Over her dress, she wore a blue-colored long-sleeved jacket of variant shades. The jacket's length was short and reached her upper waist. It had the same lacing as her dress, as well as multiple buttons and a meandering orange shape at the wrists, which were finished off by finger-less gloves.

"Hmmm… I'd say 2 minutes and 5 seconds. You're getting better, Rokurou." Eleanor stated with a smile towards the man known as Rokurou who sighed yet again.

"In a way… but I can still improve, mind you." The swordsman replied as he sheathed his blade and stretched himself.

"Don't push yourself that much, Rokurou. We'll need all hands-on deck if we are to defeat the Heartless – training is good but don't overdo it." Eleanor advised him but the black-haired swordsman laughed a bit.

Eleanor sent him a scolding look before placing the timer on a nearby table. "This is hardly the time for jokes, Rokurou. I'm being serious right now… we need everyone prepared if we are to win this war."

Rokurou grinned at that answer. "You're so tight, Eleanor… I can see why Velvet loves you so much." His response made Velvet blush deeply.

"R-rokurou! My relationship with Velvet is none of your b-business! S-stop it!" Eleanor demanded to stop with the teasing but Rokurou just laughed.

It was no secret that Eleanor and Velvet were in a relationship of sorts but they chose to keep it a secret since they were both embarrassed and scared of the teasing from either Rokurou or Magilou. Those two often joined forces to tease the couple though they did their best to ignore it… which was a challenge.

Rokurou's laugh diminished although the grin remained. "Stop what exactly?" He asked in an innocent tone which made Eleanor groan in annoyance.

"You know what I mean! Stop it!" She demanded with an embarrassing blush on her face which made Rokurou laugh once again.

Just then, his smile faded away and he stopped his laughter. "Trouble is coming." He warned but didn't take out his blade.

That didn't stop Eleanor from summoning her staff. "Have the Heartless made it into the building!?" She asked in a worried tone.

Rokurou shook his head and concentrated. "No… wait…" He went silent and closed his eyes.

Something was approaching very fast… something magical… something with a flair for the dramatic… something very familiar…

Rokurou opened his eyes once more, sighed and grinned. "Yep. I was right." He declared and scratched his nose.

Eleanor raised a brow. "Right about what exactly?" She asked with a curious look.

"It's Magilou." He declared as Eleanor dismissed her staff and sighed heavily. Joyful… the all-powerful sorceress was on her way – to tease her most likely due to her relationship with Velvet.

"Here we go again…" Eleanor said in a disappointed tone and shook her head before feeling a pat by Rokurou. "Ah, don't worry about it, Eleanor. I'm sure she won't tease you… that much. Although, hang on – this is new." He commented with a confused look.

"What is new exactly?" Eleanor wondered.

"Magilou ain't alone… she's bringing someone here." Rokurou commented as Eleanor ended up being surprised. "A new refugee?" She asked.

"Possibly… guess we'll find out in a couple of seconds." He answered as a magic cloud began to fill the room which made both Eleanor and Rokurou cough heavily.

*POOF!* "And the number one magician in the universe has finally appeared! Thank you, thank you! Hold your applause!" The high-pitched and sarcastic Magilou declared as Rokurou began to clear the smoke while covering his mouth.

Eleanor continued to cough before she fixed a glare at Magilou who was still grinning. "One of these days, woman… I will teach you how to rely less on magic!" She declared.

"Who's the newbie?" Rokurou wondered as he pointed at Asuka who was on the ground and her eyes were spinning. Eleanor also saw her and immediately came to the conclusion that Magilou kidnapped her. "Magilou! How could you kidnap a kid!?" She screeched in anger.

Rokurou's face morphed into a surprised one while Magilou rolled her eyes before responding. "First of all, Elly – shush and calm down. Second – she arrived with Shenmi a while ago… also, don't think for a second that she's just some ordinary kid. Rokurou, we gotta put her through your training schedule!"

Silence overcame everyone… except for Rokurou and Eleanor who were staring at Magilou with an expression that read 'You alright, woman?'. Asuka was just shaking her head and snapping out of her dazed form.

"Magilou, have you by chance started drinking or something… Wait. Rokurou, was this you're doing?" Eleanor wondered with a suspicious tone yet Rokurou sent her a look.

"If I was in charge of this prank, I would have pulled something far better… jokes asides, Magilou – what makes you think that I'm gonna start training this kid all of a sudden?" Rokurou wondered with a raised brow.

His words made Magilou grin in amusement before she pulled Asuka to her feet. "What if I told you that I found the Chosen One?" The blonde mage asked.

Rokurou and Eleanor's eyes widened as they shared a brief glance at one another. Both wondered if this was a prank that Magilou was playing… it had to be. There was no way that this… this kid was indeed the proud owner of the Keyblade! It just didn't make any sense whatsoever!

The brief silence was broken by Eleanor who immediately wasted no time in glaring at Magilou. "Magilou… will you listen to yourself? There's… literally no way that 'SHE'…" Pausing for a moment to point at a confused Asuka before continuing to speak. "…Is the Chosen One! She's just a kid!"

At this point, Asuka overheard her and began to pout. "Oy! I'm not a kid! I can fight!" She told them.

Rokurou placed a finger on his chin. "Hmmm… I dunno… you don't seem like a fighter to me, honey. No offense…" He apologized.

Asuka groaned in annoyance. "I'm. Not. A. Pacifist! I can fight – just let me prove myself!" She demanded.

Those words made Rokurou whistle… seems like the kid had a fire in her belly that increased upon her declaration. Hmmm, this might prove to be interesting…

The swordsman grinned. "Well, alright! I guess we'll give it a shot!" He declared his intention much to everyone's surprise.

Eleanor immediately sent him a look before speaking. "Excuse me, Rokurou… I'm sorry but have you lost your mind!? This is just a little kid! She isn't cut out to be a fighter!" She protested.

"I can fight! Please just let me prove it! Let me prove it like Mr. Rokurou said, Miss!" Asuka pleaded.

Eleanor didn't hear her and instead kneeled before her and spoke. "Look, miss…" She stopped and scolded herself for not knowing the kid's name.

"Asuka. Asuka Kizaki." Asuka introduced herself.

"Right. Pleased to meet you. Anyways, this isn't a game that we're playing right now. We're involved in a war for our very survival against the Heartless… most of us are trained to handle these sorts of situations. The battlefield is no place for a child." Eleanor stated with an apologetic tone.

However, Asuka didn't care and began throwing a temper tantrum. "Let me prove it! Let me prove it! I can fight! Please! Just give me a chance!" She pleaded.

Eleanor was stunned by that tantrum and stared at Asuka in disbelief. Was this kid being serious right now…?

"Okay, maybe you didn't hear me, honey… but let me remind you that out there is no place for a child your age!" Eleanor protested.

Asuka didn't hear Eleanor and continued throwing a tantrum. "I wanna fight! I wanna fight!" She demanded.

Eleanor stared at disbelief while Rokurou hid a smile. For someone her age, this kid definitely had a fire in her belly. In fact…

"Whelp, my mind is made up." Rokurou spoke up.

Everyone became surprised at his words – why was his mind made up?

Rokurou grinned. "I've decided to train the kid." He declared.

The following reactions were ranging from amusement (Magilou); joy and satisfaction (Asuka) and clear disbelief and anger (Eleanor).

"Rokurou! You can't be serious!" Eleanor argued yet Rokurou didn't hear her and continued his plan.

"So, kid… you wanna start training?" Rokurou asked.

Asuka nodded enthusiastically with a grin. "I do!"

Rokurou nodded back and prepared his blades. "Alright, kid. Let's see if you have any potential. Magilou, how about you conjure a wooden sword for the kid?" He requested.

Magilou raised a brow. "Why do I have to do everything? Can't we just get one from the armory?" She asked.

"Is anybody going to be the voice of reason!?" Eleanor protested yet received no response.

"Come on, Magi. Be a pal." Rokurou pleaded.

Magilou rolled her eyes in response to his quote but nodded and conjured a wooden sword which she soon gave to Asuka.

"Alright, kid. Let's see if you have any potential." Rokurou declared as Magilou conjured some wooden dummies for Asuka to practice.

"Strike down the three dummies in front of you as hard as you can. Don't hold back – just strike them." Rokurou ordered.

Asuka nodded and began to attack them with all her might while Rokurou and Eleanor were keeping an eye on her progress. Magilou, on the other hand, was checking the progress of the wooden blade.

After a couple of hits, Asuka ended up being tired and collapsed onto the ground. Rokurou frowned and shook his head. "Mhm… just as I suspected. You focus on heavy attacks… which leads you to tiring out easily. Not a good sign, kid."

Asuka raised a brow at Rokurou. "Great… so, what can I do?" She asked.

Rokurou placed a finger on his chin. With the way that the kid is fighting, she'll definitely get herself killed… yet with the right type of training.

"Alright then… guess we're going through the basics. Magi, conjure another set of dummies… seems we'll be here all-night long." Rokurou decided.

(Meanwhile…)

Back on Avalon Isle, Vanessa had seen to her daughters' departure and returned home. She then locked the door behind her and went downstairs to the basement where a computer laid.

Typing in the opening command, the computer turned on as a shadowy figure appeared on it. "Yes, Vanessa?"

Vanessa bowed as her eyes glowed. "Mistress… the preparations are underway. My children have departed." She explained.

"Have you explained what their role is?"

"I have… fear not, Mistress. In the end, the darkness will rule and we will succeed."

"Good… Keep me posted on their progress."

"Yes, Mistress."