Sorry for the late post everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the holidays (for those of you that have it). So here's a new chapter to celebrate! Lol. Time to find out what Master Eraqus wanted with Manami. Oh, I also want to say thank you to my two betas, SolaShines and a non-FFn user; they have helped immensely in correcting my grammar and keeping my story on track. Anyways, enjoy my darlings! ~KB
Disclaimer: I don't own KH... it belongs to Nomura-san.

Ch 8: The Meeting

"Enter," called a deep voice.

Manami took a deep breath and entered Master Eraqus office. He stood behind his desk, staring out the window.

Manami bowed deeply. "You requested an audience, Master Eraqus?"

"Yes," he replied, turning around to face her. "I was hoping you would be able to explain what this is."

Master Eraqus stepped in front of his desk and held out a sheet of paper. Manami stiffened; she didn't even have to look at it. She knew it was the letter she sent him.

"That would be my letter of resignation sir."

"And do tell me, why are you resigning?" he said, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Because I can no longer adequately preform my duties as a Keyblade wielder." she replied coldly.

Master Eraqus stared at Manami for a moment. This was a girl who put forth her full effort into becoming a Keyblade Master. She had trained under him from the day of her arrival. He was well aware of her low self-esteem but never had he thought he would see the day where she would just give up.

Manami stared back at Master Eraqus. He's gonna kill me. I'm so dead. Is this how a Heartless feels when it's about to die? I knew he'd be mad at me. I'm dead. After all these years-

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as Master Eraqus spoke, "So you believe, that because you can no longer summon the Keyblade I'm going to kick you out and send you home?"

Manami hung her head and responded, "Yes, sir."

Eraqus looked at her in disbelief and shook his head.

"Manami, look at me," he said. And she did. Her eyes widened in shock. Master Eraqus had crumpled her letter into a ball and lit it on fire.

"That's what I think," he said to her, smirking. "Manami, you should know that I wouldn't send you home immediately. We're going to try and fix this first."

Manami's jaw hit the floor. "But Master Eraqus, I can't summon my Keyblade! No matter what I do it won't come. How can I continue if I can't-"

"Stop right there," he said sternly. "I am more than well aware of your situation. You made it perfectly clear in your letter," he said, gesturing to the pile of ash on the floor.

Manami blushed in embarrassment.

"Now," he continued, placing his hands on Manami's shoulders, "we are going to figure out what happened and why your Keyblade disappeared. I'm sure this isn't the first time this has happened, but we'll have to do some research. We will find a way you can summon your Keyblade again."

Manami couldn't believe her ears. This may not be the end! I still have a chance.

"If that is all, you are dismissed." he finished, patting her on the back.

Manami started to leave but stopped in her tracks. She turned around and said, "Actually sir, there is one thing I would like to discuss with you."

"Alright. Go ahead."

Manami took a deep breath. "Uhh, this might take a while sir."

Master Eraqus gave her a quizzical look and gestured to a chair at the side of his desk. Manami nodded and pulled it in front of the desk as Master Eraqus pulled his in front as well. Seldom did Manami seem this concerned about things and Eraqus was giving her his undivided attention.

"Sir," she began, "I hate to question the teaching methods of another, but what Master Xehanort had me do was unbelievable. Every single day for the past two weeks he's had me fight against countless Heartless."

Master Eraqus was shocked, to say the least. Never had he imagined that Xehanort would throw something like this at his student. Heartless could be formidable creatures if proper precautions weren't taken.

"It started out with only a few," Manami continued. "First it was a Shadow and a couple of Neoshadows. Then it was five Shadows and one Neoshadow. The number of each would vary day by day, but more and more appeared with each session. The morning sessions were lighter than the afternoon ones; almost as if they were warm ups. Next thing I know, I'm continuously fighting Heartless for hours on end."

"Where are all these Heartless coming from?" Master Eraqus questioned.

"I'm not entirely sure about that sir," Manami replied, "Having to fight the Heartless so often, I tried asking Master Xehanort but he didn't give me a direct answer. He just said that I needed a more 'practical experience' than our normal training. As for where they come from-"

Manami suddenly fell silent. Her eyes fell to her lap and Master Eraqus knit his brows together in concern. He reached out and held the top of her hand. Manami looked up, eyes full of fear.

"It's all right," he reassured her. "You can tell me."

Manami breathed deeply and continued, "Sir, Master Xehanort didn't exactly say how he did it, but something he said bothered me. He assumed that if we could travel to the Realm of Light, we should be able to reach the Realm of Darkness. I think that's how he's gathering all the Heartless together."

Once Manami finished speaking, Master Eraqus released a sigh. Things weren't going well at the Castle and to hear that his own friend was traveling to the Realm of Darkness. Eraqus marveled at how quickly things were unraveling.

"I will speak with him," he told her. "This is definitely news to me, thank you."

With a slight bow, Manami left his office.

Master Eraqus went back to his window and started outside. Things were indeed taking a turn for the worse.

FIN

Ooooooooo, somebody's in trouble *dances around room* What do you think's gonna happen? What do you want to happen? Please review! They help in planning and writing. Thanks for reading! ~KunoichiBlade