Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Danmachi. Both belong to their respective owners.
Hello my supportive readers, I come with a new chapter once more! And I've managed to reach an achievement for a fanfic writer!
I'm recommended on Tv Tropes! Hell yeah!
Now all I need to do is keep writing enough content to earn myself my own Tv Tropes page.
And in case you didn't know, today is also my birthday! Geez, time sure flies by. Hopefully, time flies by fast enough for Kingdom Hearts 4 (and possibly Verum Rex) to come.
In any case, let's start the chapter.
Chapter 11: A Rowdy Rumble
Ais has been acting rather strange these past few days, as Lefiya has observed.
She noticed Ais to be in a rather exhausted and ragged state for the past few mornings. Normally, she would spend her mornings at the Familia's garden, honing her sword stances and swings. Nowadays, she spends a lot of her time in her bedroom. The alone speaks of how abnormal it is, considering how Ais is always finding time to hone her sword. Not to mention, Ais's appetite for breakfast has greatly diminished, to the point where she only eats a quarter of it, before she gives the rest to either Tiona or Tione, the former who happily accepts seconds to her breakfast.
Curiosity has gotten the best of Lefiya, as she decided to follow Ais to wherever she's heading off to in the morning. She saw her leave the Twilight Manor, and left soon after to track her down. However, Lefiya lost track of Ais along the way, making Lefiya lost in the middle of her search.
"Where could Ais be...?" Lefiya muttered in wonder and confusion.
She was starting to worry that she completely lost track of her idol, and is forced to end her pursuit here and now.
As she was looking around looking for her idol, she was soon approaching a corner, and ended up bumping into someone that she didn't expect to run into at this time. This made the elf mage fall onto the ground on her behind.
"O-Oh, sorry about that!" a voice apologized.
"N-No, I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was..." Lefiya attempted to apologize, but soon paused when she looked up and saw someone she recognized and hasn't seen in a while.
After all, who would forget such a distinct hair style and clothing?
"S-Sora!?" Lefiya squeaked in surprise and shock.
Sora blinked when the person before him said his name aloud, and then recognized who said the name.
"Oh, hey Lefiya! It's been a while!" Sora greeted, before he recognized the positions they're in. "Wait, hold on, let me help you get up first." Sora said as he held out his hand to her, to which Lefiya accepted as he helped her up. As he did, they heard another voice yelp beside them.
"S-Sora, you're touching her...!" the white haired boy frantically told Sora.
"Touching her...?" Sora responded with a confused look.
It was then Lefiya saw the white haired boy walk up to Sora and whisper in his ear. Sora blinked a bit owlishly when he heard this, before he slowly looked at the hand that was holding Lefiya's hand. It was then his eyes widened in realization and shock as he lets go of her hand while taking a couple steps back.
"O-Oh, um, sorry! I didn't know elves hate being touched-! Sora yelped in panic.
"O-Oh no, it's fine! I'm okay with having physical contact with others, really!" Lefiya hurriedly reassured Sora.
Hearing this caused Sora to deflate in relief.
"I-Is that so? Thank goodness..." Sora sighed in relief.
After the group took a short moment to calm themselves down, Sora gave a curious look towards Lefiya.
"Gotta say, didn't expect to run into you so early in the morning!" Sora remarked.
"I-I can say the same to you." Lefiya responded in turn. It was then Bell turned to Sora with a confused look.
"Do you know her, Sora?" Bell curiously asked, making Sora nod at him.
"Yeah, I ran into her during Monsterphilia, and we fended off this abnormal monster." Sora explained to Bell.
"Ah, is that so...?" Bell said while turning to look at Lefiya.
"Y-Yes, your help is greatly appreciated..." Lefiya trailed off, and she now found herself a bit tongue tied at the moment. After all, she didn't expect to run into Sora so soon, and she was planning to do so after she came up with a plan on how to repay him. Now she was trying to come up with something that wouldn't fall into awkward silence.
"I'm just glad that things turned out well." Sora said while nodding, before he gave her a curious look. "So what are you doing out here so early in the morning anyway?"
"O-Oh, well, um, I'm just hoping to find someone, that's all..." Lefiya tried to wave off so she won't concern Sora with her problems.
"Finding someone? Oh, if that's the case, then maybe we could help you with that." Sora offered.
"H-Huh!? O-Oh no, I couldn't possibly trouble you with mine! All I'm doing is just searching for someone, that's all! No need to trouble yourself with mine." Lefiya responded while waving her arms around to wave off her predicament.
"Even so, I don't mind lending a hand to help your search. You can give us a description of who you're looking for, and we can point you in the right direction." Sora offered with a grin
Lefiya wanted to turn down Sora's kindness, seeing how much she received his help during Monsterphilia, but she was running out of options on tracking down her idol.
"W-Well, if you ever run into someone with blonde hair and is named Ais, I would greatly appreciate it if you pointed me in the right direction..." Lefiya threw out, all the while trying to look like it wasn't a big deal.
Both Sora and Bell blinked when they heard this, and they turned towards each other with raised eyebrows. They then turned back to Lefiya.
"Well, actually..." Sora started, making Lefiya blink when she heard this response from Sora.
~ Break ~
"So that's what Ais has been up to..." Lefiya muttered as she was walking alongside Sora and Bell, as the three were making their way towards the location where Ais is.
The young elf mage was starting to get the full picture.
Seems like Riveria and Ais has beaten her to the punch on repaying Sora, which honestly bummed her out. She personally wanted to repay the debt, not have others do it on her behalf. Alas, she was too late in finding Sora.
Sora's repayment is Ais offering some training sessions with Sora's fellow Familia member, Bell Cranel.
To receive personal lessons from Ais is something Lefiya could only dream of! She wanted to hate Bell for gaining Ais's attention, and wanted to accuse him of being an outsider gaining the attention and personal time with Ais.
However...she honestly can't do that. Lefiya could only acknowledge that this happened because of the circumstances that occurred, from both the Minotaur and Monsterphilia incident. She had an indirect part to play in the latter incident, so it's not even Bell's fault to begin with.
Even with all of this, Lefiya couldn't help but feel a tad envious towards Bell's situation.
Lefiya gave a pouted look while also shooting Bell a small envious glare, all the while Bell was ignorant towards her look.
"Yeah, we didn't really begrudge you guys for the minotaur incident, and we were willing to put this water under the bridge. Though, Ais and Riveria were rather insistent on repaying this debt, so we just settled for fighting lessons." Sora told her.
"I-I'm glad to hear that. Though, they are right on repaying the debt. I only wish I met up with you sooner so I could do it, after all you've done for me..." Lefiya said while looking a bit disappointed of the reminder of her blunder during Monsterphilia.
Sora noticed her look and gave her an encouraging smile.
"Hey, c'mon, you don't need to be bummed out about that! I don't really mind giving up a magic shield if it meant protecting you and turning the situation around! And I would to it again in a heartbeat if I we were to go through it again." Sora told her.
Lefiya blinked a bit in astonishment, a bit caught off guard at Sora's response.
"R-Really?" Lefiya stuttered a bit, once again dealing with Sora's kindness once more. Her cheeks went a bit red, not sure how to handle Sora's goodwill.
"Of course!" Sora optimistically responded. "So don't sweat too much on the details. You really don't owe me anything."
Lefiya could only fall into silence upon hearing this. How could Sora just write this off like it's nothing? His own fellow Familia member almost got killed due to their blunder, and he had to give up a valuable and expensive magic shield. Even with all of this, Sora never held so much as a grudge towards the Loki Familia.
Sora is certainly someone who doesn't fit the standard definition of your typical adventurer.
Once they finally arrived at the top of the walls surrounding Orario, they were greeted with the sight of Ais looking out in the distance, and she turned her head once she heard footsteps. Her eyes widened when she saw a new addition to Sora and Bell.
"L-Lefiya?" Ais said in surprise.
"H-Hello Ais..." Lefiya awkwardly greeted. After all, she certainly didn't expect to just meet up with her idol, after Ais went through some lengths to keep the meetings private.
"We happened to run into Lefiya on the way here." Sora said as he gestured to Lefiya. "Lefiya was pretty worried about you Ais. She noticed how strange you were acting during the mornings. Probably assumed you were sick." Sora told her.
Lefiya turned to Sora in shock. She didn't expect Sora to tell Ais about her feelings straight out, or the fact that she was out following her!
Before Lefiya could deny or play it off, Ais gave a soft frown when she heard this.
"I see. I'm sorry Lefiya...I didn't want to worry or drag our fellow Familia members into this..." Ais apologized.
"N-No no no, it's alright! I understand why you did this in the first place after Sora explained to me what's going on!" Lefiya hurriedly reassured her idol.
"Ah...is that so?" Ais quietly responded, before a small relieved smile appeared on her face. "I'm glad then..."
The two fell into a short silence, not really sure on what to say to each other after. Thankfully, Sora saw the situation resolve between the two of them as he simply nodded and decided to move things along.
"Well, since we cleared things up, I guess we can move onto our usual thing. We don't mind if you stick around, Lefiya." Sora told the elf girl.
"O-Oh, um, thank you..." Lefiya responded as she took a step back a bit.
"Right. If that's the case, let's get started-!" Sora began as he dug into his pocket, but then stopped when Ais raised her hand as a gesture for him to stop.
"Before we start...," Ais said, gaining everyone's attention, "...Sora. I would like to spar with you once more."
Everyone blinked in surprise upon hearing this. Sora stared at her with a bit of surprise, before he tilted his head in confusion and curiosity.
"You want to spar with me again? Why is that?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ais went silent for a bit, trying to think of the appropriate answer for Sora. Truthfully, she wanted to spar with Sora once more, due to the fact that he's someone who's capable of taking her head on and come out unscathed. She wanted to figure out why she can't land a single hit on Sora and how he's able to stay ahead of her. She wants to learn what she's lacking with her swordsmanship through their spars.
But she didn't want to say it out loud that she wanted to use him to improve herself. That would be too hurtful to say, not to mention defeating the purpose of her trying to train Bell and receiving training instead.
"F-For a...warm up...?" Ais weakly answered, feeling incredibly awkward when saying this.
Everyone blinked at Ais, especially with Sora who was owlishly blinking at her.
"A...warm up?" Sora repeated with a confused look.
Ais stiffly nodded.
Silence reigned for a short moment, before Sora gave a grin.
"Well sure! I guess you need to prepare yourself before you start your sparring sessions with Bell." Sora answered as he stepped forward with his Kingdom Key in hand.
Ais could only feel relief that Sora simply bought that answer without any doubt.
Lefiya could only stare in surprise on what's happening. Even though it's a training session for Bell, Ais desires to spar with Sora? Well, Lefiya supposes that Sora could benefit from this, considering how he's a Level 1, even though he had physical stats to fend off a Dark Violas.
She watched as Ais took out her sword and went into her stance, her eyes absolutely focused. This could only confuse the elf mage even more. She saw that look before, and it's when she's fighting the monsters in the Dungeon, with the intent of going all out against them.
She glanced towards Bell, and Bell was simply looking at the fight without any worry. If anything, he was intent on watching it with full concentration, as if he wanted to gain something out of this.
When she looked towards Ais and Sora, the two stood before each other in a short amount of silence. One could hear the wind gently breezing through the air.
It was when the breeze came to a pause that the two closed the distance between each other and their blades clashed against each other. The clash of the metal reverberated throughout the air, and a small air shockwave was unleashed as well. And from there, the two began to rapidly swing their blades at each other.
It was from there that Lefiya could only gape at what she's witnessing. It an unbelievable sight for the young elf mage.
Ais swings were swift and strong, and yet Sora kept parrying her blows without any trouble. Every time Ais went into the defense, each blow to her had her struggling to keep up with Sora's strength. The swordsmanship that made her so well renowned was easily having its flaws being exploited with Sora's own swordsmanship.
The sight of this alone was mind boggling towards Lefiya.
How? How was this even possible? Ais is supposed to be Orario's best user of the sword; and yet Sora, a Level 1 of all people, is able to keep up the pace with her.
The sight of this absurd clash between Sora and Ais made Lefiya feel a bit weak in the knees upon realizing something.
She wanted to catch up to her idol, and she's working hard to do her best to support and fight alongside Ais. But what does all that effort even amount to when it pales in to comparison to Sora, a Level 1 who's able to keep up with Ais. It's just absurd. No Level 1 should be able to do this. And yet Sora is living proof of this.
"They're amazing..." Bell spoke up besides her, breaking Lefiya out of her daze as she glanced at Bell. The white haired boy was watching the fight, mesmerized by the sight before him.
"T-They really are. S-Sora is able to keep up with Ais is...overwhelming..." Lefiya quietly and reluctantly admitted as she glanced towards the fight.
"It truly is something else. But it's because of that..." Bell remarked with awe as he watched the clash of their weapons creating multiple sparks through the air. "...It just serves as a reminder that I still have a long way to go before I can truly catch up to them..."
Lefiya blinked when she heard this from Bell.
"Catching up...?" Lefiya repeated.
Bell nodded at her.
"...They're strong. So strong that the gap between me, Sora, and Ais is too large. They're just that amazing..." Bell admitted while looking a bit down when admitting this fact, but a fire soon lit up in his eyes as he clenched his fist. "But...even with that large gap, I'll do all I can to properly catch up to them. I refuse to stand by the sidelines and let them do everything..." Bell said with conviction.
Lefiya's eyes widened in surprise.
What Bell said...it just hits way too close to what she felt with Ais and the gap between them, and her desire to catch up as well. But Bell was showing such a strong conviction on wanting to catch up to Sora, even if he is a Level 1, which meant there was a bigger gap between him and Sora compared to her and Ais.
Just seeing Bell's determination in wanting to catch up to the people they look up to made Lefiya feel a sense of relief and oddly motivated.
She felt relief that she wasn't the only one who felt this way, and it helped strengthen her resolve, seeing how a Level 1 like Bell is working hard to catch up to the people they look up. If a Level 1 like Bell is working hard, then why can't she do so as well?
Bell soon blinked at what he just said, and his cheeks went a bit red in embarrassment
"Ah, s-sorry...I kind of rambled a bit there..." Bell meekly apologized while looking a bit bashful, realizing he was caught up in a moment.
However, Lefiya simply shook her head.
"It's alright...I understand. We truly do have our work cut out for us if we want to catch up to the people we look up to..." Lefiya quietly remarked.
Bell stared at her with a bit of surprise, before he gave a small smile and nodded in agreement as he turned back to watch the fight. As they continued to watch the fight, the young elf mage's feelings of envy towards the white haired boy was slowly being washed away by feelings of kinship.
It was then the sound of metal clashing against one another soon came to a stop, and the two turned their heads to see Sora striking Ais with enough force to send her skidding back from the force. Once the distance was made once more, Sora simply grinned as he hefted the Keyblade over his shoulder.
"Heh, gotta say, it's not often I get fight spar with fellow sword users in pure swordsmanship. It's rather refreshing." Sora remarked with a grin.
What he said wasn't wrong. Even though he did fight sword users in Organization 13, like Vanitas, Riku Replica, etc., they're often augmenting their sword style with magic. To fight someone purely in swordsmanship alone is a rarity for Sora.
Ais stood there in silence for a bit, once again being having been cut off with their sparring session. And like last time, she didn't land a single hit on him.
'How is he able to keep up with me and my sword...?' Ais thought in wonder.
"Gotta say though, the way you fight has made me notice something." Sora remarked while giving a thoughtful look, making Ais blink upon hearing this.
"Notice what?" Ais asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...I don't want to make it sound weird, but...you're not used to fighting people, are you?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
'I'm...not used to fighting...people...?' Ais thought in confusion, and tilted her head in confusion. "What...do you exactly mean by that?"
"Well..." Sora started while scratching the back of his head while trying to figure out how to explain it properly. "You kind of remind me of how I started wielding my weapon. I mainly prioritized on a lot of striking power, something your swings definitely have. It's not exactly wrong per say, but this style isn't exactly good against people in general, and more for monsters." Sora explained.
Ais blinked upon hearing this. He managed to understand her sword style despite clashing with each other for only 2 times? He's a lot more analytical than she thought he was. He wasn't wrong when he said that, when her style of sword fighting was maximum striking power in order to truly kill the monsters before her.
"Have you ever sparred with anyone in your Familia?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ais shook her head. She never did. Most of the time, whenever at her Familia's home, she works on her swordsmanship alone. At the Dungeon, that's her usual training spot. And with her opponents being monsters, she worked on striking them down while not focusing too much on technique.
"I see. Seems like you're not used to fighting with people in general. You can work on that if you ask your fellow Familia members for sparring." Sora pointed out.
Ais gained a contemplative and skeptical look. What Sora suggesting sounded rather productive, yet at the same time, her main intention with the sword is for Monsters, not people in general.
Then again, her past opponent, Revis, has shown her how outclassed she is in terms of status and skill. Even her magic and swordsmanship wasn't enough to give her the edge. And even with the Level Up, Sora has proven to be ahead of her in power and skill.
So sparring with actual people may help give her the experience she needs to grow stronger. Especially with Sora, considering how he's already pointing out the flaws she has in her swordsmanship.
Still, not one of her Familia members ever even asked to spar or train with her. And she's not too sure if they're even able to keep up with her, save for the higher Level members of her Familia. Finn, Gareth, Bete, Tiona, and Tione are possible sparring partners, but that idea is just too strange for the Sword Princess.
"...I'll...keep that in mind." Ais answered.
"Great! If that's the case, Bell, it's your turn." Sora said as he turned to Bell.
"R-Right!" Bell said as he hastily took out his knives in preparation. When Lefiya saw this, she could only blink when she realized something.
'W-Wait, Cranel is going to spar with Ais this time? Does that mean...?' Lefiya thought in shock, seeing the possibility that Bell is in the same league as Sora.
Those types were soon cut off as Sora took out some kind of item from his pocket and held it in front of Ais.
"Force."
And just like that, some dark purple energy enveloped Ais, and Ais gave a small grunt as she was struggling to stand up from its effects. Just seeing this alarmed the young elf mage.
"W-What are you doing to Ais!?" Lefiya questioned in shock and alarm.
Both Bell and Sora blinked when they were questioned upon this, before Sora gave a small chuckle while scratching his cheek.
"Oh, right, forgot to explain it to you. You see, this neat little item has control over gravity magic. I'm using the gravity magic to give Ais a handicap. If I didn't, Bell wouldn't really gain anything out of sparring with her." Sora explained to the elf.
This made Lefiya blink dubiously upon hearing this.
'That small item...controlling gravity magic to such a degree...?' Lefiya thought in astonishment and confusion.
She's seen her fair share of magic items, but none of them even come close to what the magic item is performing before her. It would be more plausible if it was a magic sword since their scale of magic is impressive, but that possibility didn't seem so realistic. Who on earth would use a magic sword for a situation like this?
'...How was such an item created in the first place...?' Lefiya thought in confusion. The creator of this magic item must be highly skilled if they were able to achieve such a thing.
Lefiya was broken out of her thoughts when she saw Sora step back to give the two some space. As soon as he did, Bell and Ais gave a silent stare at each other, before the closed the distance between each other.
When the two began sparring with each other, Lefiya could only blink at the sight before her. Bell looked like he was giving it his all, but even he was having a difficult time just trying to land a hit on the Sword Princess. Ais, on the other hand, was doing relatively well with the handicap given to her. If anything, she was delivering a few blows to Bell, but he kept on going strong.
Seeing the sight before her made Lefiya realize that Bell isn't like Sora. He's truly a Level 1 in the correct definition.
But even as a Level 1, Lefiya began to take note that he's performing relatively well above your average Level 1. It just shows that he's truly working hard to catch up to the people he looks up to, just like her.
'If he's willing to work hard to catch up to the people he looks up to, then so could I...!' Lefiya thought, a newfound motivation lighting up within her.
As she was watching the fight, Sora was standing next to her and took notice of her expression.
"Say, Lefiya, you interested in taking part as well?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"H-Huh?" Lefiya lets out a surprised noise, caught off guard with the sudden question.
"Well, it's a lot better than standing around doing nothing. I don't really have anything else to do either, so I think training in something will help kill time while Bell and Ais spar with each other." Sora told her.
"O-Oh no, it's fine really!" Lefiya frantically said while waving her arms a bit. "You don't have to go through the trouble doing that! I already owe you-!"
"This isn't about owing each other something." Sora cut her off, and then gave a grin. "C'mon, what's the harm in taking part in training? I got nothing to lose, and neither do you."
"W-Well, it's more like I'm gaining something from you, while you're-" Lefiya tried to reason.
"It's fine, really. If anything, you're helping me relieve a bit of boredom, seeing how I mostly just stand around watching them spar." Sora reassured her.
Lefiya stayed a bit silent once more, a bit caught off guard on how Sora is just waving all of this off and is very altruistic in wanting to help others without seeking anything to gain.
"W-Why are you so insistent on helping me out...?" Lefiya couldn't help but ask with an confused look.
Sora blinked at her question.
"Well, we're friends, aren't we? Friends help each other out." Sora simply answered with a simple grin.
Hearing the answer caught Lefiya off guard, as she didn't expect that type of answer at all.
"Y-You consider us friends?" Lefiya asked, even if they knew each other for only a short moment of time? Even though this is their second meeting?
"Of course!" Sora happily answered.
"B-But we're from different Familias...!" Lefiya pointed out.
"Is there a rule saying that it's forbidden for people from different Familias befriending one another?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"W-Well, no, but-"
"Then I don't see what's the problem then! There's no harm in it!" Sora said with a grin
Lefiya could only stare at Sora with an astonished look. The sheer confidence, cheerfulness, and optimism was just a sight to behold. Honestly, that attitude of his reminded her of how energetic and cheerful Tiona is, and how she's really friendly with a lot of people, including her. She supposes that there are people similar to Tiona.
In the end, the only thing Lefiya could do is simply just go along with Sora's perception of a friend.
"...I-If you're fine with it, then I suppose we can be friends..." Lefiya awkwardly answered while fidgeting a bit.
"Great!" Sora happily replied, before he simply gave her a curious look. "With that being said, it's safe to assume that you specialize in magic, right?" Sora assumed, as he remembered Lefiya casting a powerful ice spell to stop the Heartless Violas in its tracks.
"Y-Yes, I specialize in magic." Lefiya answered.
"I see...," Sora muttered while giving her a thoughtful look, "Is there anything that you want to improve upon?" Sora curiously asked
Lefiya blinked when she was asked that question.
"What I want to improve upon..." Lefiya muttered, as she gave it some thought to that question. She wants to catch up to Ais, but how to catch up to her is something that hasn't put much thought on. She already has 3 spells under her, with her third spell, Elf Ring, allowing her access to spell used by other elves. She supposes raising her status is one thing, but she can't really benefit much from physical close combat training like what's going on right now.
"I'm not particularly too sure on that part..." Lefiya answered with an unsure look.
"I see. Perhaps I should look at other magic users..." Sora muttered with a thoughtful look.
Immediately, his mind remembered about two particular magic users: Donald and Aqua.
Donald is pretty skilled when it comes to casting magic. He can cast various spells, like fire, lightning, ice, aero, healing, meteor, and flare spells. He had just the right spell to help out in any situation.
There was Aqua, who was the more magically inclined fighter within the Guardians of Light. Compared to the other Guardians of Light, Aqua's magic was something no one could underestimate. If you're far away, Aqua is capable of bombaring you with a barrage of magic. If you were to close the distance, even her magic while augment her close quarter combat style.
'Close quarter combat...now that I think about it, Donald also whacked around the Heartless with his staff when they got too close for comfort.' Sora recalled, before he gave a thoughtful look to Lefiya.
"Perhaps use your magic to help you in close quarters combat?" Sora suggested.
Hearing this made Lefiya blink owlishly upon hearing this.
"U-Use magic for close quarters!? Why would I do that!? Mages like myself are long range fighters, so we need to be far away as possible!" Lefiya pointed out to Sora.
"Really? My friend Donald is able to cast magic while whacking around monsters with his staff, and he's a long range fighter as well." Sora pointed out, to Lefiya's shock.
"H-He does!? Wait, you mean to tell me that he knows Concurrent Chanting?" Lefiya asked in surprise.
Sora blinked when he heard an unfamiliar word before him.
"Concurrent Chanting? What's that?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't know!? How could-!?" Lefiya soon stopped herself when she realized the magic Sora is capable of performing.
Sora is capable of performing a short chant healing spell. Meaning he never had to chant at all.
If one doesn't need to chant in order to cast the spell, then there's no need to learn about Concurrent Chanting.
No wonder Sora doesn't know!
When Lefiya realized this, she soon cleared her throat a bit.
"W-Well, considering how you have a short chant healing spell, I suppose you don't know. Concurrent Chanting is when the user is chanting a spell while performing another action, like running around or fighting. Trying to do Concurrent Chanting is rather difficult for magic users, because it's like trying to deal with a bomb in your hand while fighting. One wrong misstep and the magic will end up exploding on you." Lefiya explained to Sora.
"Is that so...?" Sora muttered in surprise.
This is something new to him. He's never dealt with magic that ended up exploding on him whenever he casted it. He supposes this is another law that the people of this World have to follow, and he falls outside of it.
However, hearing this just gave Sora an idea.
"Well if that's the case, why not get started on learning Concurrent Chanting?" Sora suggested.
"M-Me!? Learn Concurrent Chanting!?" Lefiya asked in surprise.
"Yeah, it's a rather invaluable skill for magic users like yourself. The ability to move around all over the place while not getting hit and bombarding your enemies with magic makes you a force to be reckoned with!" Sora told her.
And he should know, considering his experiences with the Mirage Staff; being able to bombard the Heartless with magic while constantly moving all over the place when the Heartless are trying to catch him. Donald and Aqua are also perfect examples of magic users being very mobile.
"B-But it's Concurrent Chanting! It's not something you can easily pick up, and-!" Lefiya tried to explain, but was cut off by Sora.
"Have you tried learning it?" Sora curiously asked.
"Well, no, but-!"
"Then why are you already calling it quits if you haven't even started?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
Lefiya opened her mouth to retort to that answer, but soon found herself at a loss of words with that question alone.
Sora gave a good hearted chuckle at her silence.
"How can we know whether or not you can do this Concurrent Chanting? And even if you couldn't get it at the start, that's the point of training." Sora pointed out.
"T-That's..." Lefiya couldn't find any arguments with that.
"Well that's settled then!" Sora said, before he looked around his surroundings. "Probably not here..." Sora muttered to himself, before he glanced out to lands outside of Orario's walls.
He's got a good idea on what to do.
~ Break ~
Lefiya soon found herself standing on the lands outside of Orario's walls, while also in close proximity to the walls. She and Sora were standing alone with each other on a plain grass field. According to Sora, they're doing it out here because they don't want Orario's guards to see Lefiya firing magic from the walls, which may cause some misunderstandings. So they're taking it outside of Orario so they won't disturb anyone.
"Right, this is a good open area for practice." Sora said to himself as he dug into his pockets and took out an item that looked like some form of chaplet. It had this aquatic blue color scheme to it.
"What's that?" Lefiya asked with a raised eyebrow.
"This is a magic item that will help with training." Sora told her.
Like before, what Sora is using is a cover for his actual use of magic. The Aqua Chaplet is a defensive item used for reduce damage from water magic, but Lefiya doesn't know that.
Sora began to channel his magic into the spell he needs for, and Lefiya could only slightly jump in surprise when she saw 5 colorful orbs appear out of nowhere.
"W-What's this?" Lefiya asked in astonishment.
"These are Balloons." Sora answered as he then magically directed them to float a good distance away. "These magical balls will serve as good target practice."
Lefiya could only blink incredulously at the magic constructs before her, and then looked back at the Aqua Chaplet in Sora's hand.
'Another magic item capable of casting magic to that extent...?' Lefiya thought in absolute shock and confusion.
Just how is Sora getting his hands on these kinds of items, and who was able to create such items in the first place?
Lefiya soon shook those thoughts off, as she focused on the present task at hand.
"So you want me to use my magic to hit them...?" Lefiya wanted to clarify.
"That's the goal. But..." Sora said as he walked a few steps ahead of her and turned around. He then prepped himself as he went into his usual combat stance. He then gave a small smirk.
"Don't think I'll make things easy for you." Sora told her.
Lefiya blinked once upon hearing this, before she blinked twice afterwards. It was then she processed what Sora told her.
"W-W-Wait, hold on a moment!" Lefiya quickly said while waving her arms around a bit. "You're going to attack me!? But I can't possibly-!"
"Well, how else are we going to practice your Concurrent Chanting?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
Lefiya froze a bit when she heard that response. Sora certainly had a point there. She can't really get started if Sora doesn't do anything.
"W-Well, um..." Lefiya tried to find the answer, before she slumped a bit when she realized that she can't argue against that. Seeing no way out of this, Lefiya could only raised her hand up and pointed it at the floating Balloons before her.
"...A-Alright..." Lefiya muttered to herself in preparation. She forgot to bring her staff this morning, seeing how she didn't expect to end up in this situation.
"Unleashed streak of light-" Lefiya started, only to yelp in freight as Sora closed the distance between them and swung his Keyblade at her. She watched as the blade suddenly stop a few inches away from her, causing her to stumble and land on her behind.
"Woah, you alright?" Sora asked with concern as he held out a hand to her.
"Y-Yes, I'm alright..." Lefiya meekly responded as she took Sora's hand and stood up, and then looked a bit downcast.
"I knew it...Concurrent Chanting is something I can't do easily..." Lefiya muttered.
"Hey, you shouldn't give up so easily Lefiya! I'm sure you can do it!" Sora encouragingly told her, before he gained a pensive look. "That being said, I think we should start off small. Close combat is something you're not used to right now..."
It was then Sora gained another idea in mind, as he dug into his magical pockets and took out another item to use to hide his magic.
Lefiya could only blink at the sight of another magical item being brought out of Sora's pockets. The item in Sora's hand appeared to be some kind of fan. It appeared red with these symbols that she couldn't recognize, along with some kind of wind-branch pattern to the sides.
"What exactly is that?" Lefiya asked with a raised eyebrow.
"This neat little magic item is called the Storm Fan. It's able to manipulate wind magic, though the offensive use isn't that great." Sora told her.
"Offensive use isn't great? How so?" Lefiya asked with a raised eyebrow.
Sora turned to the side, and then swung his fan while channeling Aero magic through his hand. As he did, the Aero magic was being absorbed by the Storm Fan, but the item doesn't completely absorb aero magic, only to a certain percentage. But this is what Sora wanted.
Lefiya watched as a small ball of air came from the fan, and watched as it aimlessly sailed through the air before dispersing. She could only blink at the sight of what just happened.
'So it's able to cast wind magic...but it's rather weak...' Lefiya thought, befuddled at another magic item to perform this type of magic. Though, it wasn't as impressive compared to the other items Sora has used.
It was then her eyes widened in realization upon noticing why Sora brought out this item.
"So you're..."
"Yep! I'm going to be launching wind magic at you! Trust me, it won't even hurt at all, just a light push at most really!" Sora told her with a grin.
Well, that certainly seemed a lot more appealing compared to what Sora used before.
"I-I see. Yes, let's go with that." Lefiya told Sora as she readied herself once more. Sora nodded as went back a good distance before Lefiya.
As soon as the two got into their positions, Lefiya started.
"Unleashed streak of light-" Lefiya chanted, and Sora swung his Storm Fan, releasing a small ball of Aero magic towards her. She flinched a bit, but she soon noticed that it was traveling rather slowly towards her, slow enough that she didn't feel too intimidated by it. Lefiya simply side stepped to avoid the magic, making the ball of Aero magic sail past her.
"-bow limbs of the holy tree-" Lefiya continued her chant, and watched as Sora swung his fan once more, releasing another ball of Aero magic. This time, she noticed the speed picking up a little compared to last time. Even so, Lefiya wasn't as intimidated as before, as she once against sidestepped to avoid the incoming wind magic.
"-You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies-"
Sora gave a small smirk as he swung his fan two times, this time with two balls of Aero heading towards her. Lefiya's eyes widened at the sight of two Aero magic heading towards her, and immediately, she forced herself to jump to the side rather than stepping, managing to avoid the incoming Aeros.
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy! Arcs Ray!" Lefiya finished the chant as she fired off a beam of magic, traveling straight through the air and ended up hitting one of the floating Balloons.
Silence was made throughout field, with Lefiya staring in surprise on what happened, and Sora looking at Lefiya, back at the Balloons, and then back at Lefiya. He then gave a grin towards Lefiya.
"Way to go Lefiya! You managed to pull of Concurrent Chanting!" Sora cheered.
"I-I did...?" Lefiya muttered in a small daze, before her eyes widened a bit. "I did...!"
She managed to pull it off, though, this was done at a relatively small scale, rather than an intense real life battle.
"See Lefiya, you'll never know unless you try!" Sora told her with a grin.
"I-I guess so. But even so, this is not that impressive compared to Lady Riveria's Concurrent-" Lefiya tried to wave off, but Sora stopped her there.
"Then let's make sure that you'll get there! C'mon Lefiya, we're far from done with training!" Sora told her with an encouraging smile.
"I-I...you..." Lefiya stuttered, just flabbergasted at seeing how Sora is not letting her go through with her doubts. However, just seeing Sora's optimism and enthusiasm has certainly been slowly wiping away her doubts.
"Now that we got a good start, I'm going to being racking up the difficulty. I'm not going to make things easy for you from now on!" Sora said with a grin as he held up his Storm Fan.
Lefiya blinked upon hearing this, before she soon realized that Sora was serious with this. She couldn't help but pale a bit in realization that things aren't going to be so peaceful when it comes to training.
~ Break ~
"See? What did I tell you? You were able to pop Balloons, even with all of those Aeros being launched at you!" Sora told her with a grin as he and Lefiya made their way up the stairs to reach the top of Orario's walls.
"I-I'm surprised I managed to do so..." Lefiya quietly said with bewilderment.
Despite having an assault of wind magic coming at her, she was truly getting through the barrage of wind and succeeded with popping Sora's Balloons. But every time she went on to pop the next balloon, Sora upped the difficulty each and every time. It started off with a few, but now she found herself being slowly overwhelmed with the number of Aero magic being launched at her.
'But then again...I felt I made progress...' Lefiya thought to herself.
Sure, it was a small start, but she was making progress with her Concurrent Chanting. She's capable of moving while chanting her spells.
When Sora and Lefiya returned to where Ais and Bell are training, they saw the two sitting on the ground while looking completely exhausted from their training with each other.
"Hey everyone, we're back! Seems like you two had quite the workout!" Sora greeted the two.
"O-Oh, hello Sora." Bell greeted with a tired smile.
"W-Welcome back..." Ais greeted, looking rather exhausted.
"Hello Ais..." Lefiya greeted, a bit bewildered to see Ais of all people in an exhausted state. The magic item must be truly powerful it it can tire out Ais of all people.
"Well, since we've gone through quite enough for training, now is a good time to refuel for the day!" Sora said as he begun digging into his pockets and took out jagamaru.
"Right, I've decided to some experimenting with the jagamaru! One's got ham and cheese, corn and bacon bits, and the other filled with tuna and sweet onion! Take your pick!" Sora offered to Bell and Ais.
Ais's mouth watered at the options before her, her eyes sparkling at the options before her. She had a difficult time deciding which one to pick for breakfast, while Bell silently stood there, contemplating his choices as well, but didn't say anything as he wanted Ais to pick first.
Lefiya could only blink dubiously at the sight of Sora taking out Jagamaru out of his pockets of all things. She could only stand there and wonder where and how the heck he was able store these items without his clothes looking baggy. Before she could ponder further, her stomach gave a soft growl at the sight of food.
Sora could only blink at her stomach growling, and turned to her with an owlish expression. This caused Lefiya to blush in embarrassment at her body's biological functions.
Thankfully, Sora was focused on something else entirely.
"O-Oh, right. Sorry, I made 3 jagamarus for the three of us. Had I known you were coming along, I would've made more." Sora apologized.
"N-No, it's fine, really! I intruded upon your training session, so you aren't to blame, really!" Lefiya hurriedly reassured Sora. However, the Keyblade wielder gave a soft frown.
"Still, it's rather bad for you to be left out. Wait, I remember I made a snack for the Dungeon in case we ever got hungry...!" Sora recalled in realization as he dug into his pockets once more. Once he finally found it, he took it out of his pocket and presented it towards Lefiya.
Lefiya could only blink in astonishment once more, as Sora managed to take out a container that would normally make his clothes bulky. But her eyes focused on the food before her.
It was in a round container, and it appeared bright, puffed up, and looked really fluffy. On top of the fluffy pastry seem to be bananas and cream. Even if it was in a container, the presentation of the food before her was highly elegant. The food itself looked appealing.
Lefiya could only look at wonder and awe at the food before her, before she broke out of her stupor and realized what was happening.
"O-Oh no, I couldn't possibly take the food that you made for-!" Lefiya tried to turn down, but the smell of the food entered her nose, and it smelled very fresh and sweet. Just the enticing smell of the pastry before her caused her stomach to growl even louder. Her face reddened even further because of this.
"C'mon, don't worry about it! Really, I'm happy when others are enjoying the food I make! Plus it means I get to cook more, which is pretty fun!" Sora reassured Lefiya as he held it out to her.
Hearing this made Lefiya hesitate for a bit. She really didn't want to trouble Sora any further, but it would also seem rude to turn down the hospitality that Sora is showing her. And the hunger was starting to get to her as well.
With that in mind, Lefiya slowly reached out to the container and took hold of it.
"Y-You have my thanks..." Lefiya quietly thanked as she examined the food before her. With the fork that Sora also provided her, she slowly poked the fork into the dish. The fork sunk into the dish before her, and she scooped out a potion from it. With banana and cream in hand, Lefiya slowly took the food to her mouth and bit into it.
The moment it touched her tastebuds, Lefiya's eyes widened when her tastebuds were met with a taste and texture the likes she has never eaten before. The pastry itself was light and airy, but it complimented very well with the sweet flavors. She could practically taste the essence of the banana, and the pastry and cream was enhancing it to such a degree that she didn't know was possible. And the warm temperature of it made it all the more better on her tongue.
All in all, it's a sweet experience.
"I-It's delicious! What do you call this...!?" Lefiya asked in amazement when looking at the food before her.
"Warm Banana Soufflé." Sora answered with a grin. "Typically, this is meant to be a dessert; but I also remember that soufflés can also be eaten for breakfast as well. So let's roll with that."
Soufflé. She's never heard of such a dish before, but it has proven to be very delicious. And it's a food that can be eaten as both a breakfast and dessert!? Such an innovative dish!
Lefiya could only dig further into the pastry before her, while Sora simply chuckled at the sight of Lefiya enjoying the food he cooked.
And just like that, everyone fell into a content mood of enjoying their breakfast.
~ Break ~
The training sessions lasted for a good period of time, until Sora decided now is a good time to conclude it so they can move on with their own plans for today. The four were walking through a relatively empty street of Orario, since it was still morning. All of them are in a rather positive mood after today's rather productive training session.
"Ow ow ow..." Bell winced to himself while massaging his shoulders.
"I guess healing doesn't take into account of sore muscles..." Sora chuckled while scratching his cheek.
"Even with the handicap, taking on Ais is still a challenge..." Lefiya quietly remarked with surprise.
"...You've improved once more." Ais noted when looking at Bell.
"See, I told you Bell would take you by surprise. He's a fast learner." Sora told Ais with a grin.
"Mm-hm..." Ais agreed while looking towards Bell with curiosity and wonder. Just seeing Ais look at him like that made Bell's cheeks reddened a bit.
"I-I'm still having trouble to keep up with you though, so it's not much..." Bell tried to wave off.
Lefiya pouted when she saw Ais directing her attention towards Bell, a small feeling of jealousy sprouting form her Heart. Before that could fester any further, Sora gestured towards Lefiya.
"Speaking of fast learner, Lefiya is progressing quite well in learning Concurrent Chanting on her first day of training." Sora said gesturing to Lefiya.
This made Ais blink at bit when she heard this, and turned towards Lefiya with a surprised expression as well.
"You're learning Concurrent Chanting...?" Ais asked with a bit of surprise. Now it was Lefiya's turn for her cheeks to turn a bit red, while bashfully looking away.
"I-It's nothing much, really. I'm only at the beginner steps, really..." Lefiya wanted to play off.
"...Concurrent Chanting is not easy to learn. If Sora says that you're doing well, then that means you are doing well." Ais told her with a small smile.
"I-I..." Lefiya stammered a bit, feeling rather bashful to hear this from Ais. Not to mention, Sora is indirectly helping play a part in Ais's attention towards her as well.
Before Lefiya could further play it off, however, the group soon noticed that there was something amiss. The atmosphere wasn't as calm as before. Rather, they felt it slowly turning into something dangerous. As soon as they sensed that, the group soon saw a bunch of people wearing some kind of visors or helmets to hide their faces.
Just seeing these mysterious individuals made the four stop in their tracks out of alarm and caution.
"What are they...?" Bell muttered in confusion and alarm, seeing these mysterious people. He soon noticed that more people were filling the streets behind them as well.
When Bell looked forward, he saw a Cat Person standing amongst the crowd with a spear. One moment he was a good distance away, and then suddenly, the Cat Person immediately appeared in front of him with his spear point right towards him. Just as the spear was about to reach Bell, it was immediately deflected by Sora as he swung his Keyblade upward to deflect the thrust.
Sora glared at the attacker as he stepped forward in front of Bell, not at all pleased at how the person before him attempted to harm Bell.
The Cat Person clicked his tongue, before he swiped at Sora with his spear, and Sora once again deflecting the blow with his Keyblade.
"Back off!" Sora yelled as he performed Counter Slash, the empowered strike hitting the Cat Person's spear shaft. The blow from Sora was enough to send the Cat Person skidding back from the force.
When Sora did his counter move, four more people, who looked like Pallums, appeared from above and attempted to attack Sora, only for Ais to suddenly appear before them and strike each and every one of them, forcing them to back off from assaulting Sora.
As Ais and Sora fended off their opponent, both Bell and Lefiya stood there in shock and surprise on what was happening.
"W-What's going on!? Why are they attacking us!?" Lefiya exclaimed in shock.
"I don't know, but-!" Bell said, before he froze when he noticed more and more people were appearing and surrounding him and Lefiya. "Seems like we got company!"
Lefiya could only freeze a bit upon realizing the unexpected situation before them. They were being surrounded, and all of their adversaries closed in on them.
~ Break ~
When it comes to the skill of the spear, one would usually think of Finn Deimne. Certainly, there are other skilled spear users that you couldn't count out. Allen Fromel is another example of being skilled in the art of the spear. After all, it's those skills that earned him the position of Vice Captain in the Freya Familia.
Many would be wary in wanting to face Allen in combat, and rightfully so. A majority wouldn't be able to walk out of the battles with him unscathed.
And yet...
'Why can't I hit this bastard!?' Allen mentally snarled as he was actually putting in all of his effort just to land a hit on Sora. But Sora has proven that he's not one to be easily defeated or hit.
Allen has written off Sora as being lucky to fend off his strike, but their battle has proven that wasn't the case. Sora proved that he's not a Level 1 he can look down on. Even when Allen decided to stop holding back and put his all into putting down Sora, the spiky haired boy easily kept up with him, and was even slowly pushing him back. No matter the thrust and swipe of his spear, where each swing could easily slice apart anything in its path, Sora's own strange looking weapon could endure it.
How was this possible? How could a Level 1 of all people keep up with him and prove to be untouchable?
As Allen could only be confused and enraged that such a thing is occurring, Sora wasn't even all that troubled when fighting against his opponent.
The reason why?
He's no Xaldin.
Sora will consider it a challenge if his opponent comes back with 6 spears and had the power of wind backing him up.
As more time has passed, Allen grew more frustrated at what he's dealing with. While he was busy just trying to land a hit on Sora, he made a quick glance towards where Bell and Lefiya was, expecting the lower runts of the Familia to at least be doing their jobs.
Unfortunately, what he was greeted betrayed his expectations.
The Level 1s of the Freya Familia certainly had a bone to pick with Bell, considering how he's the current target of their Goddess's attention. They intended on putting the white haired boy in their place.
But what they got instead...
One was met with a swift boot to the head.
One had the shaft of his spear cut in with the knife, and then promptly knocked out with the hilt of a knife.
One got slashed across the chest despite the chest armor protecting them.
One got kicked right in the stomach, causing him to collapse onto the ground while gasping for air.
One had their nose broken when the white haired boy promptly punched him in the face.
Many Level 1s of the Freya Familia were going down as time passed on, all thanks the target of their ire. Even Lefiya couldn't help but gape at what she was witnessing.
Bell alone was doing all the work in taking them out. The Freya Familia's Level 1s attempted to get a hit in, but Bell has shown how far he has come in his training. He was constantly moving around in a confusing manner, performing acrobatic techniques and flips to avoid being surrounded and hit, and each of his strikes were enough to incapacitate them.
Being surrounded by Level 1s didn't stress Bell out too much. After all, he's practically fighting swarms of Heartless alongside Sora. High numbers is practically the norm for him.
He spars with Sora and Ais, opponents who are superior to him in stats and skill, and was constantly working himself to the bone just to keep up with them holding back to make sure it isn't a one-sided battle. Opponents like these is practically a cakewalk for Bell.
"He's taking them all out so easily..." Lefiya muttered in a daze as she she silently stood there watching Bell make quick work of the opponents before him. She could only look at Bell with surprise on how efficient he is in handling them.
And for some odd particular reason, Lefiya was being ignored by these masked individuals as they all focused their attention towards Bell, like they had some sort of grudge against him. Considering the fact that Bell is the target of ire from the Freya Familia, it shouldn't be any surprise.
One would think about Lefiya casting a spell to help out with the numbers. But the problem is that her magic will leave a LOT of collateral damage. And she really can't afford in leaving said collateral damage, otherwise she and her Familia will have to pay for the damages. And their funds need to be carefully taken cared of if they want to explore the Dungeon.
She watched as Bell ended up being position to a nearby wall, and all of them charged forward, seeing that Bell had nowhere left to go. However, Bell simply jumped up and planted his feet onto the wall, and jumped off of it, leading to higher elevation above his opponents.
When he was in mid-air, he quickly sheathed both of his main knives and took out his Trancheuse. With a swing swing of his arms, the knives sailed through the air and hit each and every one of them, and thanks to plenty of practice, hit them in the non-vital area.
One was hit in the shoulder.
One to the thigh.
One of them took a knife to the knee.
This was enough to slow them down and/or incapacitate them.
"This guy is jumping all over the place-!"
He was cut off when Bell promptly landed on the guy's face as a stomp cushion. As soon as he did, Bell quickly took out his two main knives once more and quickly prepared himself once more against his opponents.
'Utterly useless...!' Allen clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Seeing the incompetency of the Level 1s of the Freya Familia, the Vice Captain decided to focus back on his efforts in trying to strike down Sora.
Sora, however, decided that he had enough.
When the Allen thrusted with intense speed and force that would pierce through a solid wall, Sora simply raised up his Keyblade to block the incoming spear, and the thrust was completely canceled while Sora didn't budge. This was a shock to the Vice Captain, as nobody except Ottarl is capable of blocking his thrust without even budging.
Before he could do anything else, Sora once more unleashed a Counter Slash that sent Allen skidding back a bit from such a force. As soon as his skidding came to a stop, Sora suddenly sped forward towards Allen with speed that caught him off guard.
Allen's body reflexively raised up his spear in defense to block whatever Sora is coming at him with.
However, it was all for naught as Sora once again defied his expectations.
One moment Sora was in front of Allen.
The next moment, Sora was behind Allen, all the while in a pose that shown that he finished a swing.
The sound of a spear shaft broke resonated through the air, and a pained gasp was made out.
Allen stood there with his spear's shaft cleanly cut through, along with the chest armor that he was wearing. Allen coughed out in pain as he collapsed onto his knee while clutching onto his slashed chest in pain.
If one wondered what happened in that brief moment, the answer to that is that Sora performed a Zantetsuken, a Keyblade technique that delivers a powerful slash in a brief moment.
"Bastard...!" Allen spat out in pain and enragement.
Sora, however, simply pointed his Keyblade at him while glaring at him.
"Why did you attack us!? What did we to do you!?" Sora questioned.
Allen growled in defiance, but soon heard the cries of pain as well, and turned to see four Pallums land right next to him.
"What a monster..." one of the Gulliver brothers muttered.
Before them was Ais, not really breaking out a sweat as she managed to fend off the brothers on her own.
When Allen saw the situation before him, he could only gave a massive scowl.
"We're retreating!" Allen told the rest.
When Sora heard this, the Keyblade wielder frowned as he raised his Keyblade a bit closer to Allen.
"Hey, you're not-!"
He was soon cut off when Allen suddenly thrusted his spear towards Sora's face, which made Sora simply swing his Keyblade to block the incoming item. As Sora did, Allen and the others soon broke off into the alleys of the streets.
"Hey, where do you think you're going!?" Sora called out as he was about to make chase, but Ais simply raised her arm to stop Sora from going.
"Ais?" Sora asked in confusion, while Ais shook her head.
"...We shouldn't chase after them. They attacked Bell, so he's their target. Another group may come after him..." Ais warned.
Hearing this made Sora pause for a bit, and soon realized Ais made a point. For some particular reason, this group was targeting Bell for some reason. If he gave chase, he wouldn't be around to protect Bell from the dangers that's targeting him.
"...You're right. They're after Bell for some reason..." Sora muttered, before he turned to Bell, who was heading towards them alongside Lefiya. "Hey, you two alright?"
"W-We are, thankfully." Bell told Sora, before he gained a worried look. "Any idea who attacked us?"
"No idea. Though, they seem to be targeting you for some reason." Sora told Bell, which made Bell look rather anxious.
"B-But why? I don't remember doing anything wrong to them..." Bell said with confusion.
"That is rather worrying..." Lefiya muttered.
"Well, whatever the case, we should keep an eye out for those guys. Who knows when the next time they're going to attack us." Sora told everyone, making everyone nod at this.
"...Agreed. It's better if we didn't go alone." Ais said.
"Yeah, I agree." Sora said while nodding. "In any case, we should get to a more populated area. They attacked us in empty streets, so they won't risk attacking in public."
"...Then we'll head back to our Familia home." Ais said, as she knew that the attackers aren't so stupid to risk themselves fighting against an entire Familia.
"Right. In that case, see you next time. And stay safe." Sora gave them a goodbye.
"You as well." Ais said while nodding.
And with that, everyone departed, all the while cautious from this sudden turn of events.
~ Break ~
After the morning incident, Bell and Sora didn't encounter any other ambushers from these mysterious attacks. The rest of their day went by relatively normal, as well as their time in the Dungeon.
Soon, Sora and Bell were the first to return back home after their dive into Dungeon. Bell was sitting on the couch resting, while Sora was at the kitchen counter preparing the ingridients for dinner. As Sora was cutting through the vegetables, he made a glance towards Bell and noticed Bell's frown.
"Something on your mind Bell?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"...I'm trying to get through my memories on what I did wrong that caused them to target me. The worst is possibly the collateral damage when I ran from the Silverback, but that was mainly the monster's fault." Bell recalled.
"I'm not sure why either, but you shouldn't let it get to you Bell. You've done absolutely nothing wrong. I'm not sure why they're targeting you in the first place, but I know one thing's for sure: they're in the wrong for attacking you. So don't think it's your fault, but theirs." Sora told Bell.
"...Even if you say that, it doesn't erase the fact that they were after me. Especially after..." Bell muttered with a troubled look, as he remembered almost being impaled by the Cat Person's spear.
"Yeah. We definitely need to find ways to keep you safe from those guys. It was a good thing Ais and Lefiya were there to help as well. There are strength in numbers, after all." Sora said while nodding.
"Strength in numbers, huh...?" Bell muttered in thought, before a certain topic suddenly flashed inside of his mind.
"Oh, maybe Summons will help out!" Bell pointed out.
"Summons...?" Sora repeated with an owlish look, before he blinked in realization as well. "Oh, right, my Summons! They would definitely help us out!"
"And what exactly is going to help you out?" a familiar voice asked.
Both Bell and Sora turned to see Hestia opening the door to the room while looking rather exhausted.
"G-Goddess! Welcome home!" Bell greeted his Goddess.
"Welcome back Hestia!" Sora greeted as well.
"I'm back~" Hestia groaned as she flopped onto the bed.
"G-Goddess? Is something wrong?" Bell asked while looking worried.
"Just another exhausting day at Hephastois's shop. And that Captain kept bugging me about Sora..." Hestia groaned in annoyance, which made Sora sweatdrop upon hearing this.
Seems like Tsubaki is really intent on learning about his Keyblade.
"Wow, she really can't take no for an answer, huh...?" Sora remarked while scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah. Kept on asking a bunch of questions about your Keyblade, to which I just shot down." Hestia muttered, before she sat up from her bed. "In any case, I heard you and Sora talking about Summons to help you out. What is that?"
"O-Oh, well, um...Sora?" Bell said, not sure how to explain it without bringing up the incident from their attackers, as it would also expose their interactions with the Loki Familia, a Familia that Hestia doesn't like to deal with (moreso with Loki herself).
"W-Well, um...with all of the dangers occurring lately, I've been thinking about using my Summons to get friends by my side and increase our numbers. Y-You know, safety in numbers..." Sora nervously explained.
Hestia blinked upon hearing this.
"Is that so...? Wait, you can summon your friends here, even if you are in different worlds!?" Hestia questioned with shock.
"Yeah, I'm able to do that." Sora answered with a grin on his face.
Hestia gave Sora a short look of disbelief for a short moment, before she groaned once more while palming her face.
"Just when I thought I would stop learning ridiculous stuff from you..." Hestia groaned, before she shook her head. She decided it's best not to think too hard on this.
"Still, Summoning your friends to help you out? Well, I'm certainly not opposed to the idea, considering how having a bigger party does help your survivability. Still, just having another outsider in this World is going to raise some questions. We're already struggling to hide your other worldy status." Hestia pointed out.
"Yeah, I get that, but it doesn't hurt to have back up just in case." Sora pointed out with a grin, before he gave a hum in thought as he dug into his pockets and took out a Heartbinder.
"Now that I think about it, I think now is a good time to introduce to you one of my friends. Trust me, you're going to love them!" Sora said with an eager look. After all, he gets to see one of his friends again.
Bell's eyes lit up in excitement.
"I-I've always wanted to meet one of your friends Sora! I'm really excited to meet Ariel! I never met a mermaid before!" Bell said with eagerness.
"W-Wait, hold on, you can summon a mermaid!? That's a monster that comes from the Dungeon! And you can just summon a monster to be your aid!?" Hestia questioned with shock.
"Wait, there are mermaids in this world? And they're considered monsters from the Dungeon?" Sora repeated with surprise and confusion, before he gave an unsettled frown.
The mermaids he encountered in Atlantica were all friendly people. They were far from the violent monsters that he and Bell encounter in the Dungeon. Either this World is discriminatory towards mermaids in general, or the mermaids in this world truly behave like the monsters from the Dungeon.
Both possibilities didn't seem so appealing towards Sora.
"...This is a strange World..." Sora quietly commented, before he shook his head to shake off the thoughts as he gave a reassuring grin towards Bell and Hestia.
"Well, I wouldn't worry about Ariel! She's a really friendly mermaid, I guarantee it!" Sora reassured the Hearth Goddess.
Hearing this caused Hestia to sigh while rubbing her forehead.
"Well, if you're vouching for her, then I suppose it's fine. Still..." Hestia said while giving Bell a suspicious glare. "You seem rather eager to meet Ariel Bell. Why is that?" Hestia questioned with suspicion.
"O-Oh, um, well..." Bell stuttered nervously while trying to think of a good answer.
A part of him is really eager to meet Ariel in person. After all, mermaids are described to be rather beautiful creatures, and he managed to get a good look at her through Sora's Gummiphone. He's not going to lie when he says that Ariel is a very beautiful mermaid.
"I-I'm really curious to meet a mermaid! They're rarely encountered, after all!" Bell stuttered.
"Hmmmm...?" Hestia didn't look like she was convinced, even if she didn't see a lie from that statement.
Sora simply chuckled as he dug into his pockets and took out a Heartbinder.
"Well, I think now is a good time to meet my friend Ariel." Sora told the two as he held the Heartbinder close to his chest and closed his eyes in concentration.
Both Bell and Hestia turned to watch Sora in anticipation, both of them really curious to meet a friendly mermaid, especially with one that comes from beyond their World.
Sora gave a smile of excitement as channeled his power into the Heartbinder, and a glow of power game from the charm.
"Together!" Sora called out to Ariel as he raised his Heartbinder into the air.
Everyone watched as the glow kept getting brighter, waiting for Sora's Summon to come forth.
Only for the glow to suddenly die out.
Immediately, everyone went silent when this happened, and gave an owlish blink.
"H-Huh?" Sora gave a very confused look at his Heartbinder. "What happened? Ariel usually comes whenever I need her..."
"You mean the summoning failed...?" Bell muttered in confusion.
"Has this ever happened before Sora?" Hestia questioned with a confused look, to which the Keyblade wielder shook his head.
"No, this never happened before. It usually works. Maybe there's something wrong with this particular Heartbinder?" Sora guessed, before he dug into his pockets and took out another Heartbinder.
"Alright then, then let's go with Ralph!" Sora declared as he once against concentrated his magic into the Heartbinder.
The Heartbinder briefly glowed with power, only for it to die out in its glow once more.
Sora gained a very confused and worried look when this happened the second time.
"Again...? Then perhaps Stitch...?" Sora muttered as he brought out another Heartbinder. He closed his eyes and concentrated real hard this time, putting in a lot of magic this time to make sure.
Once again, nobody came forth through the Heartbinder.
"...What's happening...?" Sora muttered in confusion as he looked at the Heartbinders before him, before he took out Simba's Heartbinder. Once again, he was met with the same results.
This has never happened before. His friends should be able to come forth whenever he needs them. But now? Nobody is coming.
It's like his connection to them is for some reason severed.
Just thinking about that made Sora feel saddened by this. His connections with his friends are powerful. It can't be cut off that easily. And yet the proof is before him.
"Sora..." Bell muttered in worry, seeing the worried and saddened expression on Sora's face, which is a rare expression that he rarely sees on Sora. It made Bell realize that despite all of Sora's positivity and optimism, there's a part of Sora the deeply misses his friends and wishes to be reunited with them.
"I don't get it. Why aren't they showing up...?" Sora muttered in confusion.
"I think it may have to do with your Power of Waking." Hestia spoke up, making Sora blink and look at her.
"Power of Waking?" Sora repeated, to which Hestia nodded.
"I'm not too sure on the specifics, but I have a feeling that it's related to the Power of Waking. You told us how you misused it, and you ended up here. Perhaps this is another consequence of it." Hestia pointed out.
Both Bell and Sora blinked upon hearing this, before Sora slowly turned to his Heartbinders.
"...That...could be it." Sora muttered, before he frowned a bit further. "I guess...being banished from my home means I can't call the friends I need to be summoned here..."
A sad silence was made throughout the room.
Bell looked rather solemn upon hearing this, seeing how Sora is essentially cut off from his friends at the moment. He can relate to that feeling, as he felt rather alone and sad after he lost his grandpa. He felt alone until he finally met Hestia and formed a Familia together, filling in that hole.
This made Bell soon realize that he needs to help filling in that hole inside Sora's Heart.
Bell looked around the room, wanting to have Sora take his mind off of this feelings of loneliness.
He soon spotted a particular Heartbinder that Sora set aside. Better than nothing.
"Hey Sora, I'm curious about this Heartbinder. Who do you Summon with this?" Bell asked as he raised the Heartbinder for Sora to see, making Sora blink from his funk and turned to Bell.
"Oh, this? This is a Heartbinder for Dream Eaters." Sora answered, making Bell and Hestia blink upon hearing this.
"Dream Eaters? That sounds rather...ominous. It sounds like a monster you can find deep in the Dungeons." Hestia remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh no, they're really friendly creatures, I can guarantee it! Well, the Spirits are the good Dream Eaters. There are bad Dream Eaters called Nightmares." Sora recalled, which made Hestia blink in surprise upon hearing this.
"Wait, you can actually summon Spirits to come to your aid!?" Hestia asked with surprise. Sora nodded and smiled upon remembering the Dream Eaters that he made friends with during his time in the Sleeping World.
"Yeah! The Spirits were a great help to me during my time in the Sleeping Worlds and Mark of Mastery." Sora said while his mind was filled with so many positive memories of his Dream Eater Spirits.
He gave a fond smile as he picked up the Dream Eater Heartbinder.
"Man, I wish I could summon them here! They're really fun and cuddly to be around!" Sora told them as he held it close to his chest, his Heart earnestly wishing that a Dream Eater could show up here.
It was then the Heartbinder glowed within Sora's hand, catching everyone's attention.
"Eh?" Sora lets out a noise of surprise and confusion.
""Eh?"" both Bell and Hestia let out a confused noise as well.
And unlike before, the room was suddenly filled with a bright light, forcing everyone to close their eyes from being blinded.
As soon as the light died down, everyone slowly opened their eyes to see what just happened.
Both Bell and Hestia's eyes widened in shock and surprise upon what they saw before them.
It was a creature they never before.
The creature before them was a plump creature that resembled a cross between a cat and a dog. It has a point at the top of its head, and its eyes resemble plus signs. It has a dog-like muzzle, spots on its side, and pointy ears. There is a small ring of color on its legs, separating its legs from its paws. It has a white underbody and muzzle. The top half of its body is blue in color, and its blue ears possess black tips. Its rear end is black, and its stubby black tail has a pink tip. Its legs are black at the bottom with a pink band wrapping around the middle, and a short pink tongue hangs loosely out of its mouth. It has a small purple nose in the shape of an upside-down triangle, and it sports a short pink horn on its forehead. Three yellow spots decorate its sides, and the pupils of its circular black eyes take the shape of crosses. And on its chest appeared to be some kind of emblem.
Everyone stared at the strange creature before them in surprise and shock.
The creature before them simply curiously looked around, then looked at Sora, Bell, and Hestia. It then gave a cheerful and happy expression.
"Arf!" the Meow Wow cheerfully greeted everyone.
And that's a wrap to this chapter. Man oh man, was that a slog to get through, and possibly my weakest chapter.
Sora, once again, bring a positive influence to the people around him. Thanks to him, Bell and Lefiya start off on the right foot, and Lefiya found a sense of kinship rather than full-out rivalry and envy with Bell. And thanks to Sora, Lefiya is starting off on the right foot towards Concurrent Chanting, rather than subjecting herself to training hell with Ais.
Unfortunately, it's because of his presence that causes some attention that you wouldn't want from, especially from Freya. This chapter demonstrated that. Though this has also established that Sora won't be one to easily mess with, as Sora has shown in his fight with Allen.
(Dream Eaters)
That's right, it seems Meow Wow is the only summonable ally that Sora can bring to his side, while everyone else can't seem to be summoned. Why is that? That, my dear readers, is something that will be revealed later on in the story. Or you can speculate why and give me your theories in the Reviews/PMs.
That being said, I'm actually thinking of Sora lending Bell his Link Summon in case of emergencies. Though, I'm not particularly sure if the Link Summon would work with Bell, considering how Sora's gift helps the Link Summon work in the first place.
There's the fact that Spirits aren't Keyblade user exclusive. Remember, Neku and Beat from KH3D were able to summon Spirits.
In any case, you could say that Bell has a particularly unique Heart as well, if his Liaris Freese says anything about it. Could be a factor to help him summon a Spirit. Perhaps work in tandem with Sora?
If you guys are fine with Bell being able to use the Link Summon then here's another question: Should I limit to only Meow Wow, or should I have Bell summon a Dream Eater unique to him? If so, what Spirit should I choose?
Fun Fact of the Day
Before Ansem SOD was created, Chernabog was going to be the final boss of Kingdom Hearts 1, being the embodiment of all darkness. This was changed for various reasons. Some concept art shows that the battle would take place at Hollow Bastion as he would have emerged from the Final Keyhole (End of the World was not created until after Ansem was.)
Could you imagine it? If Chernabog was more prominent in the story outside of KH1 and more characterization, we would've had the literal Devil as a Greater-Scope villain that rules the Realm of Darkness and the Heartless. But instead, we got some vague understanding of Darkness from KHX. Darkness isn't bad per say, but it would've been a LOT more interesting if Chernabog was more involved in the KH mythos.