Now the real fun begins! Fight scenes are always interesting to write.
Oh, and if you see a (*), it means I have and explanation at the end.Enjoy! ~KB

Disclaimer: Sadly, Kingdom Hearts belongs to Nomura...

Ch 3: Training.

"Now. Let's see what you're really made of girl."

Master Xehanort snapped his fingers and two Neoshadows appeared. They were just like Shadows, but much larger. Unlike the Shadow from earlier, these Neoshadows had more of a humanoid structure than a bug's. Manami's eyes flickered between the two Purebloods. Their antennas fell behind the head this time but their claws were just as menacing.

She recalled that when they sank into the ground, it just created a black circular shadow rather than a structural shadow. The Neoshadows began to stalk around Manami but she kept her ground and bared her Keyblade. This wasn't going to be easy.

One of the Neoshadows lunged at Manami, but she dodge rolled to the side. Bouncing up from the roll, she swung her Keyblade at the Pureblood. It barely grazed its back, hardly leaving a scratch. Keeping with the momentum, Manami began a flurry of attacks. Each hit became more critical but suddenly the Neoshadow sank into the ground.

Crap! Uh-oh. Where's the other one?

Glancing around, Manami saw two black circles on the ground rapidly moving about. They were trying to find her. Double crap, she thought. There was nothing she could do when they were shadows on the ground, she would have to wait until they resurfaced. That was never fun. When a Neoshadow resurfaced it did one of three things: it either appeared normally, speed lunged towards its target, or sent out a shockwave that blinds its opponent.

The most that Manami could do was to keep running. As much as she hated running, she hated Heartless scratches even more. Those suckers hurt! Even with a potion, it still stung for nearly four days afterwards on missions. Dodge rolls and jumps worked, but not as effectively.

Both Neoshadows surfaced at the same time. And they decided to send out a shockwave, together. Greeeeaaaaat. Manami tried to jump out of the way but was hit midair. She stumbled onto the grass and blinked. No. No no no no no! she mentally screamed. Manami wasn't completely blinded but everything was spotty.

This had only happened to her twice before. The first time Master Eraqus was with her in Beast's Castle and was able to fend off the Heartless while Manami stumbled about. The second time, she was alone in Agrabah*. It was only one Neoshadow but the first she had dealt with alone. Once she was hit, black spots appeared in her eyes as if she looked at the sun for too long. Direct attacks didn't work, Manami learned, because their black bodies blended so well with the spots, every attack became a miss until the spots wore off.

Manami scrambled up from the grass and went into defense mode. As fun as straight up attacking was, it also lead to more injuries. Defense let her get close to her opponent then land a few good blows before getting away with minimal injury. She caught a glimpse of one of the Neoshadows out of the corner of her eye and swung her Keyblade at it.

I missed. Go figure, Manami mocked to herself. The spots were finally beginning to fade and Manami wanted to end this fight. She was getting tired from so much running, another reason she hated it.

Blinking a couple of times, the spots disappeared from sight. It was time to go on the offensive and get this over with.

Manami took a deep breath and charged between the two Heartless. She swung her Keyblade in practiced motions around her body, landing blow after blow on each of the Neoshadows. Being so close to them, Manami took her fair share of damage as well. Minor scratches were scattered on her legs, arms, and sides. Nothing too bad, but enough to cause concern.

Manami blocked a Scratch attempt and was knocked back a few yards. She charged at them again but they sank into the ground. Manami stood still until both Heartless were under her then jumped out of the way right as they surfaced. She had anticipated the shockwave they sent out and managed to avoid it this time. Closing in on them, Manami dashed forward dealing the final blow to both Neoshadows.

Finally. It's over. 'Bout freggin' time! she thought.

Resisting the urge to collapse on the grass and take a nap, Manami scanned the area for any other Heartless. All appeared clear in the rising sunlight; except for that shadowy figure approaching her.

Manami took defensive position before realizing that it was Master Xehanort walking towards her. He looked exactly like a Heartless to her exhausted mind; what, with his hunched over shoulders, yellow eyes, and front hiding in a shadow. Yeah. He could pass as one.

He probably is one, Manami mused suppressing a grin.

"Not too bad," Master Xehanort commented, "but I honestly had expected more from you. After training with Master Eraqus for so long, I hadn't expected the fight to last most of morning."

Manami bit her tongue, repressing a sharp retort. He threw a Shadow and two Neoshadows at her, what did he expect?!

I was right. He's trying to kill me.

"Go get some fresh clothes on. Those are practically falling off after so many scratches you obtained." Manami glanced down to see slits in her black pants and along her sides and arms. She noted how he never once mentioned her injuries. Some Master, she thought.

Bowing to Master Xehanort, Manami left the courtyard being careful of her injuries.

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Back in her room, Manami let down her hair and cast her ripped clothes into the laundry basket. They were still good, all they needed was a quick repair job. Her mother taught her how to sew clothes; a simple but convenient trait. They made good work-out or training clothes.

The scratches she received stung when she applied some ointment. They'd fade after a couple of days when treated to immediately, otherwise they'd continue to hurt like when she got them on missions. Wrapping bandages around the wounds for safe measure, Manami threw on some old clothes she used for training. If Master Xehanort was going to continue like this, she didn't want any more of her favorite outfits damaged or torn to shreds.

She threw her hair back up and glanced in the mirror. A little ruffled but presentable. If there was one thing her dad taught her, it was to always be respectful as well as being presentable. First impressions had major impact on how people treated you until they got to know you. Manami grimaced at the thought, I doubt Master 'Wants-to-kill-me' wants to get to know me.

Breathing deeply, Manami grudgingly exited her room and walked down towards the front courtyard again.

FIN

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*AN – Beast's Castle is from Beauty and the Beast and Agrabah is from Aladdin.

So what'd ya think? Opinions, thoughts, comments, concerns would be nice ^_^
Please leave a review! ~KunoichiBlade