Hi, guys! This is the start of what I proclaimed at the end notes of the last chapter! The start of the Side Stories! They're totally relevant to Ignis because not only do they feature her backstory, but also more information on her that you guys normally might not notice! So, it brings more emphasis to Ignis' character, even if a little.
But, you'll understand what I'm talking about the more you read more of these Side-Stories Content. Not sure if I'll just name them as Side Stories or something else like Interludes, but we'll see! BTW, might want to read the end notes for this chapter, as they'll describe the crossover world I may or may not be considering to do.
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Kingdom Hearts series, only the OCs!
Would it be considered strange to feel lonely, even when having a Master and a friend by your side?
Both little Terra and Aqua felt that way sometimes, even when it was just them along with Master Eraqus. They've been apprenticed under Master Eraqus to become future Keyblade Masters for a little over a year now, and yet sometimes, they can't help that overbearing, lonely feeling nagging within themselves.
Everyday was the same ever since they began their apprenticeship with Master Eraqus. Wake up bright and early, do some chores, eat breakfast, finish morning chores, begin morning training, rest and eat lunch, spend the early half of the afternoon studying and being educated, finish training during the other half of the afternoon, finish the remainder of the chores for the day, eat dinner, and then rest up for the rest of the night before sleeping.
Both little apprentices were grateful and loved their Keyblade Master, sure, and they definitely had each other to spend time whenever they had free time, but...it still didn't feel right. They trained together, ate together, did chores together, read and played with each other, and despite being close friends, it still felt like a gap was missing within them.
Once they grew older and looked back on their past, their older selves would soon come to the realization that it was because they lived the same ways and because they were very akin to each other that they felt something amiss.
For a much better clarification, this was because both Terra and Aqua were too similar.
Both of them were heavily focused, dedicated, and serious students wishing to live to their Master's expectations. They own their Master a lot for not only taking them in as his apprentices, but also like his own children as well. They wished to repay this debt by making him proud; becoming Keyblade Masters that would protect the weak and innocent and destroy any instances of evil.
But, it was because they were too focused, that they lacked the motivation to have any fun. They didn't have any thoughts, any inspiring ideas to find fun in their spare time. Even though they were still children and growing, their mindset was focusing on their studies and training towards becoming Keyblade Masters, so they couldn't even think of anything to have fun with.
That's what led to the nagging gap within themselves.
Being the perspective person that he is, Master Eraqus also noticed the problem within his two young students. Therefore, he tried several ways to remedy that issue. He tried game nights, exploring the Lands of Departure, anything that he thought might be suited for children. Alas, he was an adult, and even though he was very wise and combat-experienced, he was no longer a child, thus he couldn't understand the ways a child's mind functioned.
One day, their lives changed when Master Eraqus brought in his new and third apprentice, Ignis.
Ignis was...clearly very different than the dedicated and mature Aqua and Terra, though she was very close to their age. She was a playful, very spirited, and cheerful young girl that, upon laying eyes onto her two fellow apprentice mates, happily and loudly declared them as her newest best friends. This bewildered the two children, while also bringing amusement to Master Eraqus as he watched Ignis hugging her new friends.
Flashback...
"Terra, Aqua, a new friend will be joining us from now on. Please welcome your new friend and fellow apprentice, Ignis," informed Master Eraqus, bending down and clasping Ignis by the shoulders from behind.
Before either apprentice could greet and introduce themselves, Ignis did it first. "Hi! I'm Ignis! It's so nice to meet you too! I can't believe that I'm going to have not one new friend, but TWO!" she chirped excitedly, rushing forward and grabbing their hands with her own, shaking them rapidly up and down.
Flabbergasted and stunned by Ignis' energetic nature, Terra and Aqua stayed silent, allowing Ignis to shake their hands. Aqua broke free of the silence by greeting herself first. "R-right! It's nice to meet you, too!"
"So? What are your names?"
"I'm Terra, and she's Aqua," answered Terra, gesturing to himself, and then to Aqua. "I-I hope we get along."
"Me too! Oh, we are going to do SO much stuff together! I can't wait to play lots of games and train and fight you and do magic! I LOVE magic! Ooh! I hope we get bunk beds! But, bunk beds are two beds, right? Soooo I hope we get TRIPLE beds! Oh! You guys are gonna be my newest, bestest friends!" squealed Ignis, saying everything in one breath before embracing both her new friends tightly.
Slightly uncomfortable, and feeling some tight pressure from the hugs, Aqua and Terra tried awkwardly to hug her back or at least pat her back. They both looked up, giving exasperated looks to their Master for help. They knew deep down that Ignis didn't intend any harm, but her hugs were starting to feel really tight and they really needed to breathe! They weren't used to such a cheerful person welcoming them so easily!
Master Eraqus only shook his head at their silent pleas for help. Instead, he was only amused at both their reactions and Ignis' antics. He could only hope that with Ignis' help, she could help them relax at being children. After all, they were all still children, and it takes a very long and hardworking path to becoming a true Keyblade Master.
And just as Master Eraqus predicted, Ignis fits in right with them all. And it proved beneficial for his other two students, as they needed to learn to let loose every now and then. Education and devotion was always welcomed, but Aqua and Terra were TOO focused in their studies to realize the value and importance of freedom and having fun, especially when they're still young children. It was like the gaping, nagging feeling within them was resolved with the appearance of Ignis in their lives.
Though, things escalated very chaotically from there. Ignis was quickly found to be the troublemaker amongst their group, always finding the time to pull pranks and cast magic at every change she got, ESPECIALLY the magic part. She loved fantasy and fictional books compared to the "boring and complicated" history books, ESPECIALLY loved casting magic such as fire magic, eating sweets, pretty things, and loved the outdoors so much, that just exploring the area around the building just wasn't enough for her. Master Eraqus knew that she was going to start setting her sights onto the forest, a location he specifically forbidden any of them to enter until they turned 13, the age for young teenagers. He knew it was going to be a challenge and that Ignis was likely to disobey him or somehow find loopholes to that particular rule to try and explore the forest sooner than later.
Flashback...
"Aqua! Terra!"
Aqua and Terra, who were sparring with each other using wooden swords, ceased their fight when they heard Ignis calling out to them. Wiping away the sweat off their foreheads, they put down their weapons and headed towards Ignis' direction. To their surprise, the closer they got, the more they could see Ignis as she tried to run towards them, holding a cookie jar with messy hands covered in paint.
No, it wasn't just her palms, but parts of her face, hair, and clothing were smudged with different colored paint, though the painted parts seemed recent, but dried up.
"What happened?" asked Aqua, curious. "And...is that the cookie jar?"
"I thought we weren't allowed to have dessert before dinner?" reminded Terra, crossing his arms.
Putting the cookie jar down on the ground, Ignis puffed her chest proudly. "Dinner isn't until much later! Besides, I worked really hard to get those cookies! In fact, since we all worked hard at today's training, we should get at least...3 cookies each!"
"That's way too much. We'll be full before dinner!" Aqua scolded.
"Fine! Then, I'll just have all the cookies to myself!" declared Ignis.
"Wait...how did you convince Master Eraqus to give you cookies before dinner?" wondered Terra. "In fact, I thought we weren't allowed to take the whole cookie jar?"
"...Uh...Um...Hey! Let's eat some cookies!" Ignis chirped, trying to change the subject as she opened the lid. She fetched out two cookies before giving one each to her friends, and then snatching a cookie for herself.
Grateful that she has a cookie, Aqua bit down on one, savoring the sweetness of the sweet treat. Out of curiosity, she leaned her head down to see how many more cookies there were left. "Hey...wasn't there supposed to be more cookies in here? There was a lot last time."
Chewing on her cookie, Ignis tried to swallow to answer them. "W-well, it's been a while, so maybe you misc-miscal-um..."
"Miscalculated?"
"Yeah!"
"But...we made a new batch yesterday," pointed out Terrra.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...You can't prove it was me! I demand justice! I demand proof!"
'Yup, she definitely ate some cookies before,' both Terra and Aqua thought in deadpanned tones, though they kept the thought to themselves. Still, at least she was considerate enough to leave some cookies for them instead of hogging them all to herself.
Though, where did the paint come from...?
"IGNIS!"
"Yeek!" squeaked Ignis, startled. Glancing around, it was clear that she was trying to find a good hiding spot. It didn't take much to convince her that hiding behind a nearby tree was probably her best bet at hiding, which is where she ran off. "Don't tell Master Eraqus where I aaaaaammmm!"
Aqua and Terra's confusion changed to realization, and then laughter from the two young children when they saw Master Eraqus in the state he was in. Bits of popped balloon bits scattered throughout his clothing, along with his clothing dripping different colors bits of paint. What once was his normally white colored robes was entirely dyed with all sorts of different colored paints.
It looks like another one of Ignis' pranks struck Eraqus once again.
As Master Eraqus approached them, Aqua and Terra tried to repress their laughter to the best of their ability, though they couldn't stop the smiles on their faces.
"W-what can we help you with, Master Eraqus?" asked Aqua.
"Where is Ignis?" questioned Master Eraqus as calmly as he could.
Aqua and Terra loved Ignis, but they didn't love her enough to not rat her out. Which is why they didn't hesitate to point their fingers at the tree, which Ignis was peeking her head out until she noticed pointed fingers at her direction.
"Gah! Traitors! And to think I shared my cookies with you!" accused Ignis, scrambling to climb to the top of the tree as fast as she could, which wasn't too high up, but not quite something Master Eraqus could easily reach either.
Looking up, Master Eraqus called out, "Ignis, come down here and accept your punishment! How dare you attempted to distract me with one of your pranks again just to get cookies? You're going to return the cookies and clean up your mess! And no dinner tonight for you!"
"No way! You can't prove it was me! I-It could have been someone else! Yeah!"
"Ignis, you're covered in paint. Master Eraqus is covered in paint. I'm a kid, but even I can tell it's obvious," pointed out Aqua.
"...He-he could have just painted himself! Yeah!"
"Why would Master Eraqus prank himself?" questioned Terra.
"T-To blame me! Yeah! He wants to punish me!" decided Ignis. "I won't clean up! I hate chores! No matter what, I won't submit! I'll never give up! I-!"
"Aero."
After casting a basic wind spell on Ignis, which forced her off the tree, and levitated her onto the ground safely, Master Eraqus forced a reluctant Ignis to clean up her mess before forbidding her dinner that evening, as well as grounding her for pulling the prank. But, even while he punished her, Master Eraqus could never forget the laughter and smiles on Aqua and Terra had that Ignis herself caused.
But, despite Ignis'...chaotic nature, she proved extremely instrumental in bringing out the energetic, child-like nature within Aqua and Terra, or at least what's close to it. She always urged them forward, trying to get them to play or explore with her. Also, she enjoyed holding their hands or hugging them at every chance she got, which surprisingly raised their morale quite a bit. Her energetic antics and pranks also caused them to laugh happily, especially if said pranks were directed towards Master Eraqus himself. Despite his displeasure for the pranks directed at him, Master Eraqus knew that they were always harmless fun, and that all he needed to do to recover from the pranks was a simple shower.
Plus, as long as the pranks made his students happy and laugh more, getting dirty was a small price to pay.
A surprising additional benefit was that in terms of combat, Ignis helped balanced out her classmates better as well by providing a defensive role. Aqua's specialty was magic, whereas Terra concentrated a lot towards strength and power. But simply having strength isn't enough to truly win a battle, which is where Ignis comes in.
Flashback...
"Ha ha! Nothing can break through my Barrier spell! NOTHING!" declared Ignis proudly as Terra was hacking away at the magical shield spell completely protecting Ignis with his wooden sword.
"This isn't fair! Quit hiding behind that shield and attack back!" complained Terra, still slashing away at her shield. Eventually, Ignis' magic power will run out and her shield will drop, but right now, her defenses remained superior compared to Terra's attacks.
"No way! I don't wanna be whacked in the head again! That hurt last time!" shouted Ignis. "Besides, this is good practice defending against really strong attacks! A hero always defends the innocents! Which is why I'm putting up this awesome Barrier spell!"
"You'll need to attack back eventually, though!" reminded Aqua, watching their spar from afar.
"Ooh! I just have the PERFECT idea!" squealed Ignis. "What if...I cast magic while staying inside the Barrier spell?! Then, I could totally do both offense and defense at the same time!"
"You mean, multi-casting? That's really advanced magic!" cried out Aqua.
"So what? The stronger I get, the more bigger spells I can lash out! And I LOVE casting spells!" Ignis shouted. "I wanna cast bigger and stronger spells now!"
"Bigger isn't always better, you know," Aqua pointed out. "Sometimes, starting off small is the best!"
"Small things please small minds!" Ignis argued.
"The best things comes in small packages!"
"So do small potatoes!"
"Great oaks from little acorns grow!"
"Talk softly and carry a big stick!"
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!"
"I...um...I'm...large and in charge...?"
"You're too big for your britches!"
"Um...A bird in the hand will keep the doctor away?"
"What? Don't you mean, 'an apple a day will keep the doctor away?'"
"S-Shush! I know what I mean! Ooh! Here's a good one!" Ignis said. "The squeaky wheel gets the worm!"
"It's 'the early bird gets the worm!'" corrected Aqua.
"Um...The...squeaky sponge gets the oil...?"
"Nope. Stop."
Master Eraqus didn't know where Ignis' interest in defensive-like strategies in battle came from, though he had a sneakily suspicion that it may have derived from the amount of comic books and fantasy stories about heroes that she often reads and favors. It may have been why Ignis desired to be a hero, because she must have assumed that becoming a Keyblade Master was a huge step towards being a hero. She...wasn't exactly right, but she wasn't entirely wrong, either.
Although Master Eraqus didn't exactly approve of the fact that her desire to protect came from fictional books and fairy tales, her resolve and determination to protect was still admiring. And if such desire motivated her to work harder to becoming a Keyblade Master, then all the more reason not to deny such motivation.
Magic. Strength. Defense. With all three of these important assets, if his three students held strong together, they could overcome the darkness altogether. With their lights working alongside each other, they could achieve much greater things, possibly even more than him back in his own youth.
BOOM!
"AHAHAHAHA!"
"Iggy! You can't cast Explosion on the trees again!"
"Yeah, Terra's right! You should have casted that on the training dummies!"
"But I can't help it! Trees are way stu...strong...? What was that word again?"
"Sturdier?"
"Yeah, that! Trees are WAY sturdier than dumb old training dummies!"
"Doesn't matter! You're going to cause a forest fire AGAIN!"
"Yeah! Besides, I NEED those trees for training! I'm so close to perfecting that one sword technique! If I complete it, then I can cut down a tree with one slice! Just like that samurai in that one comic!"
"Terra! Not you too!"
Master Eraqus sighed and got up, intent on fixing whatever problem his students have gotten themselves into...again.
Well, this was it for the first side-story content for this story! I really hope you enjoyed it, even if it was a bit short! Originally, I planned to do more for this side-story, but I felt that what I had planned wouldn't really fit in for this "introduction" theme. So, whatever I had planned for this chapter, I'll introduce for the next side-story chapter, which won't be for a while!
Oh! Speaking of which, now's the time to inform you all what crossover worlds me and some other folks online were thinking about. Well, I got some of the ideas about potential crossover worlds from other Fanfiction users, so if you're interested, please list your favorite or opinion about the potential worlds I may implicate within this story! Honestly, I'm still unsure whether or not I actually will put in crossover worlds in this fanfic, but if I do, at the very least, it'll be one world. Or, at most, two worlds! Anyways, here we go!
1. Kimetsu no Yaiba (Also known as Demon Slayer)
2. Nier Replicant (The first game of the Nier series and also the 2021 remake version.)
3. Xenoblade Chronicles (Only the first game)
4. Bayonetta (I'm still wondering how the hell I'm going to implicate the game elements to Ignis' sudden world traveling adventures if this is chosen.)
5. Devil May Cry (I dunno which game I would choose if this happens to be the case.)
I think that's all the potential worlds I could think of. Once again, still not sure if I'll do the crossover worlds in this fanfic or not. But, if I do, then it'll only be for a couple of chapter, maybe at most, 6. The last time I tried the crossover world thing, it did not go well. Also, I refuse to put the crossover worlds in another side fanfiction of Ignis' stories for several reasons. One of them being that these worlds will focus Ignis' interpretation on the balance between light and darkness, and another being that being in different worlds will be essential to Ignis' growth.
So, I might pull up a poll about these worlds in my profile. That said, read and review and if I can think of any other worlds, I'll probably list them in the poll. See ya!