I think that we're overdue a little bit of action, aren't we? Time to have a little fun with them and their fighting skills.
She liked to think that they were still like the rest of their friends on Destiny Islands. That they hadn't changed that much. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate meeting other people and expanding their horizons or even finding out exactly where she was from. But sometimes she wanted to pretend that she and the others hadn't changed that much.
Of course, most of the teenagers that they sent to school with didn't go to other worlds after classes.
But Kairi knew that was exactly what the three of them needed. Riku especially wouldn't take a break unless someone literally forced him. Which was why she invited him and Kiru to come with her to Twilight Town.
Besides, she had to make up for that day at the beach. Roxas almost drowning wasn't the way that she'd wanted their visit to go. They deserved something better. They all deserved some normal fun without someone getting hurt or almost killed. And she hoped that they would have better luck on their home turf than they did on Destiny Island.
Their journey through the dark corridors always felt strange. Like it should be more uncomfortable than it was. The darkness surrounded her and tried to press down on her. But it also slid off her, unable to get a grip on her. Kairi was immune to the darkness. She didn't need any protection against it getting a foothold in her heart.
She did sometimes wonder how it felt for Riku. He didn't need the protection for a different reason, even if they both wore clothes with protection woven into the fabric. Riku embraced his darkness and used it without succumbing. His immunity was different and the dark corridors probably felt different to him.
They weren't certain if Kiru had any form of natural immunity. He wasn't Riku and they couldn't assume that he would have the same careful balance that let the older boy move through the darkness without being lost to it. Kiru didn't fear the darkness, his own or otherwise. But it wasn't something that they wanted to test unless it was necessary. They'd already learned that Roxas didn't have all of Sora's skills. It was better to err on the side of caution. But once Kiru threw on his old black coat, they were good to go.
The distance between the worlds was hard to judge. But it was never as far as she would have expected before they emerged into the warm golden light of Twilight Town.
It took a moment for Kairi to get her bearings. Then she recognized the alleyway outside the local kids' hideout. Somewhere off the beaten trail enough not to catch anyone's attention. Which was probably why Riku brought them there.
"All right," said Kiru, peeling off his coat. "Where are we supposed to meet them?"
"They're supposed to be waiting at the Sandlot," she said.
Looking around, Riku said, "You still haven't told me what they have planned."
Kairi grinned and said, "It's a surprise. Xion helped me organize it with Hayner."
Grabbing both of their arms, she pulled them along. Kairi and Xion had wanted to find something fun that they could try with everyone. They'd considered watching a movie at the outdoor theater, but Kairi didn't think that Riku would be able to sit still that long without feeling guilty about not using that time to search for Sora. Something more active and with less time to dwell on his thoughts would work out better.
The entire group was waiting at the Sandlot. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were unloading a pile of different Struggle bats. Roxas and Xion were already testing out a few of them, give a couple of swings before trying a different one. Even Isa and Lea were standing around, waiting for them to arrive.
Noticing them suddenly, Pence waved and called, "Hey, guys. You're just in time."
"In time for what?" asked Riku, crossing his arms.
"Well," said Xion, "we thought it might be fun to spar a little bit. But with Struggle bats instead. That way we can all try it. Winner of each round buys the loser of the round ice cream."
Swinging his own bat a few times, Hayner said, "And as good as I'm getting by practicing with Roxas and Xion, I should probably test my skills against some other opponents. That way I'll be at my absolute best by the time that the big Struggle tournament rolls around."
Crossing his own arms, Isa said, "I still question the wisdom of this. It might get out of hand."
At least with certain opponents. Kairi knew which combinations that he was worried about. But she had more confidence in everyone than that.
"And that's why we volunteered you as the referee," said Lea.
"No magic, no complicated combos, no aerial combos, no flying," recited Olette.
Nodding thoughtfully, Kiru said, "I could try. You'll have to teach me the rest of the rules though."
"We'll fight a round," said Hayner as he stepped over to him. "Don't worry. I taught Roxas and Xion everything that they know."
Pence moved to grab Riku's arm and pulled him to join him and Olette. Kairi could hear him about the importance of cheering everyone on and how big a responsibility it was to have a proper audience. After all, an excited and enthusiastic audience to the matches would make the entire thing more fun and people need encouragement. Kairi hoped that Riku would use it as a chance to relax and enjoy himself.
But Kairi didn't want to stand on the sidelines. She needed a little action. She needed to burn off some energy.
"You two can try next," said Kairi, bending down to grab a Struggle bat. "I call dibs on the first match though." She grinned and pointed her chosen weapon. "What do you think, Axel? Want to see how we've both improved?"
Blinking in surprise for a moment, Lea returned her grin with one of his own. Clearly eager to spar like they did in training. He accepted a Struggle bat from Roxas. Then he struggled a moment to find a grip that he could work with. After years of wielding his chakrams and then a Keyblade with a hilt with a similar shape that he could hold the same way in battle, he needed a moment to adapt some to the Struggle bat's design. No curved shape, but instead a more straightforward handle. But he seemed willing to try.
Kairi didn't have that problem. It wasn't quite the same as her Keyblade; the heft was off and it didn't feel connected to her the way that Destiny's Embrace did, resonating with her heart. But the general shape and the hilt were similar enough. And while the sword fighting games were more of Riku and Sora's thing growing up, she'd swung around the toy sword a few times. She should be able to manage.
She swung the bat a couple of times to get a feel for it, an action that Lea mirrored.
"This should be interesting," said Riku with a small grin. "I don't think I've ever seen the two of you go at it before."
Hayner, Pence, and Olette exchanged worried looks. Kairi could understand their concern. They'd never seen her fight and especially not after her training. They didn't know how much she'd learned. Meanwhile, Lea was taller, more physically imposing, and was the one that they remembered dragging her away so easily in their first encounter with the man. From their perspective, Lea seemed like the obvious choice to win.
It would be fun showing them how much she'd grown since they all met.
"Try not to break him too much," said Isa.
"Hey," said Lea with a laugh, "we've been friends forever. Shouldn't you be on my side?"
"I'll let Roxas and Xion support you. I'm going to be realistic about your chances."
Laughing harder, Lea grabbed at his chest briefly and complained about betrayal and being wounded by their words. Unsurprisingly, Isa didn't look remorseful. Nor that surprised by the dramatics. Seeing the lack of sympathy from anyone, Lea eventually shook his head slowly and tried to settle into a combative stance. Balancing the Struggle bat on his shoulders looked more awkward than with his Keyblade, but he seemed ready to go.
"Fine," he said. "Everyone is turning against me. But when I win, I expect that ice cream promptly."
Grinning brightly, Kairi said, "You'll have to help me pick out a good flavor when I win, Axel."
This felt familiar. The two of them facing off against each other, the sky painted with gold above them. It was like they were back in the Secret Forest in a way, where time seemed frozen in a single moment and training could last as long as they needed. Sparring and practicing with their new weapons. It would be nice to do it again.
"No cheating this time," said Lea.
Chuckling, Roxas said, "Kairi wouldn't cheat."
"I grew up with her," said Riku dryly. "She isn't prone to it, but she's absolutely capable of cheating."
"Real fights aren't fair," she recited faithfully.
"Well, this isn't a real fight," said Lea. "Which means no cheating."
Smiling briefly, Isa said, "Don't worry. I'll be keeping watch for any cheating."
"And I don't need to cheat to win, Axel," she added, balancing on the balls of her feet and ready to move. "I can beat you regardless."
She was practically bouncing by the time Isa declared the start of the match. But she didn't immediately attack. She was watching and sizing Lea up. Trying to get a decent idea of how to proceed. He might have learned some new tricks and she couldn't use all her abilities. She had to keep it simple. And that meant taking her time.
They circled each other. Testing the waters a little. A quick swing in their opponent's direction before dancing back out of range. Neither of them making contact. But both of them were grinning fiercely.
"Quit wasting time and fight," called Hayner, earning a sharp elbow from Olette. "Let's see some action."
"If you're that impatient," said Lea back, "you can try fighting Kairi next. I'd love to see her knock you on your back."
Recognizing his brief distraction as he yelled at Hayner, Kairi dashed forward. She swung hard and fast. Unleashing a simple, yet brutal three-strike combo, Lea barely spinning his bat around in time to block her. Then she jumped back out of range as he tried to counter.
Lea spun around, closing the distance again and forcing Kairi to drop into a dodge roll to avoid his swing. And then she immediately rolled back to her feet and brought the bat up to block his next strike. Then she forced him back with her own swing.
She was vaguely aware of the surrounding cheers and encouragement from the audience. Riku and Kiru's voices were similar, but she could pick them out individually. And Olette sounded surprisingly enthusiastic. But she couldn't focus on the actual words. Not if she wanted to avoid the swinging bat trying to take off her head.
Not that she was afraid of getting hurt. They used to spar with Keyblades. A padded bat was nothing.
From there it turned into a rapid exchange. Striking and blocking. Twisting and dodging. Neither of them pausing or slowing. Kairi enjoyed the almost brutal pace. And she loved how Lea didn't hold back when his bat struck hers.
Back and forth, the two of them maintained a stalemate. Lea's greater combative experience matched by her using a weapon closer to her Keyblade's design. She loved the way it made her feel as the match continued. The pounding in her chest, the blood racing through her veins, and the exertion making her muscles burn pleasantly. And Lea's grin suggested that he was enjoying himself as well.
Then, trying to spin the Struggle bat in one of the same moves that he would with his Keyblade or chakrams, Lea fumbled. The simple handle the wrong shape for it to work right. And Kairi took advantage immediately, diving forwards to smack his bat from his clumsy grip. Disarming him. Then another quick swing, with enough strength and low enough to knock him off his feet. And then she tried to finish the combo by swinging her bat downwards—
—only to be blocked by a glowing Keyblade that Lea instinctively summoned for protection.
"And you're done," said Isa. "I'm fairly certain that breaking out an actual weapon is forfeit, Lea."
Banishing his Keyblade and letting his head drop back, he said, "Yeah, I messed up a bit. Kairi won that one. I'll buy the ice cream after everyone is done."
Kairi smiled as she reached down. Lea accepted the offered hand and let her help him up to his feet.
"Okay, I should have taken a few pictures," said Pence. "That was awesome."
Grabbing Kiru's arm again, Hayner said, "Then you should at least take pictures during our match. And unlike those two, I'll show you how the scoring actually works."
The match between Hayner and Kiru wasn't nearly as intense or long as Kairi and Lea's match, but both of them had fun. And Hayner was shocked that he'd never tried sea salt ice cream before. Something that everyone agreed needed to be corrected. Roxas insisted rather strongly. It just wasn't right for the replica to have missed out on that important life experience.
There were other matches after that. Kairi and Xion exchanged blows a few times. Roxas and Hayner did their own familiar matches. Pence tried challenging Isa, but settled for a round against Olette when he refused. Then there was a match with Kairi and Olette and a different one with Kiru against Xion. And all the while, Isa kept careful track of who won and Lea kept track of who owed which person ice cream.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Everyone was having a good time. It would have been easy to avoid any problems or complications.
Of course, Roxas was never one to do things the easy way.
He chose his Struggle bat for his next match, giving it a few practice swings again. Then he walked over to his next chosen opponent.
"Riku," he said, making the older boy turn towards him. "You owe me a rematch. Ready?"
It was the best time to try it. With people around to keep an eye on them and padded weapons to avoid injuries. Ensuring that neither of them would go too far. Roxas was doing his best to get along with Riku, moving beyond their complicated history. But it still seemed safer to have some precautions in place.
Riku paused for a moment. Then he gave a short nod. Xion offered him a Struggle bat, which he accepted without complaint.
"You two sure you want to try this?" asked Lea as the pair moved towards a good starting position.
Grinning sharply, Roxas said, "It'll be fine. I promise not to break his wrist again."
"I never said you broke it," said Riku.
"Then why did you need that cheap trick to knock me out?" he asked, shifting into a more combative stance. "But fine, keep living in denial. Let's see if you can keep up with me."
Settling into his own stance, his bat held overhead like his old sword, Riku said, "I'm more worried about you keeping up with me."
Isa raised his arm and said, "Keep it civil. Get ready and… Struggle."
As the man dropped his hand, Roxas dashed forward. A flurry of fast and vicious strikes that Riku blocked just as quickly. The padded bats didn't clang with every hit like Keyblades. They were quieter. But the quieter impacts weren't any less aggressive.
They struck at each other before dashing back. Then they would race towards each other again, striking viciously before separating again. The entire Sandlot served as their battleground. Their friends were merely obstacles to weave and twist around. Neither of them ever stopped moving or even slowed down.
The stakes were lower than their last fight, but they were taking it equally seriously.
Roxas knew the rules. The very specific rules that they put into place to ensure that the Struggle matches were fair. But he also knew that not everything was covered by those rules.
Diving for the pile of spare bats, Roxas snatched another one up as he rolled back to his feet. Then he raced back towards Riku. Dual-wielding was always his greatest advantage.
"Oh, I see how it is," said Riku, smirking at him.
Finishing another quick combo, Riku suddenly broke off to run towards the closest wall. He leapt up, shoves hitting the wall, and kicked off in a vicious spiral that flew towards Roxas. The abrupt reversal was enough to get a solid hit in, knocking Roxas away. He hit the ground and rolled back to his feet with the same momentum just in time to block Riku's follow up.
"No rules against Flowmotion," he said, still smirking at Roxas's scowl.
Roxas tightened his grip on both of his Struggle bats. If that was the way he wanted to play it, then so be it. Any tricks that Riku could pull off, Roxas could match with his own skills.
Time to bend some rules.
Ever since he was publicly humiliated by a tiny girl knocking him flat on his back in mere moments, Seifer hadn't been near the small group. Not purposefully avoiding them since that would sound cowardly. And he certainly wasn't intimidated by Hayner's strange new friends. He wasn't that type of person. He wasn't afraid of the newcomers. He was just giving them some space. As he told Rai and Fuu, he was merely being generous and taking it easy on them until they got settled in. It was only fair. And if he decided to use that spare time to sharpen his skills, that was simply a coincidence.
But it wasn't possible to avoid them completely. Twilight Town wasn't big enough for that. And when the trio headed to the Sandlot, Seifer caught a glimpse of Hayner's group across it.
"Hey," said Rai, "maybe you should arrange a rematch against them, y'know."
An interesting idea. Though there seemed to be more around than normal. Seifer could see that Xion girl standing next to a new girl with reddish hair and similar features. Probably a relative. There was also a strange silver-haired boy next to Hayner. And the two adults were standing around.
But his attention was yanked away from the group by a flash of movement. Almost literally. The chicken-wuss, Roxas, was flitting around the Sandlot with another silver-haired teenager. Attacking each other with Struggle bats. But Roxas was dashing around fast enough at points that he almost looked like an orb of light rather than an actual person. And his opponent bounced off the walls of buildings and twisted in the air in ways that seemed to defy gravity.
It wasn't the impossibility of their abilities. The impossibility of the battle that was unfolding in front of them. That wasn't what hit Seifer. It was the absolute skill involved. Beyond the speed and flexible relationship with gravity, the actual fighting was astonishing. These people knew how to fight in a way beyond anything that he'd ever faced.
It was like when Sora fought the weird white monsters. The same feeling of glimpsing someone far beyond his ability to match.
There had always been a bit of a rivalry between Hayner's friends and the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee. Not quite equal; Seifer, Rai, and Fuu were certainly better than those three. But now Hayner was surrounding himself with powerful and dangerous new friends. And Seifer didn't like how outmatched it made him feel.
He felt like he was being left behind. Like he was turning into a joke in comparison. Incapable of defending the town despite their latest training. Because no matter how hard he might try, Seifer knew he would never be able to match them.
Even if he could respect their skills, that didn't mean he had to like it. Seifer could come up with all the excuses and justifications that he wanted. But the pain truth was that what he was experiencing was a mixture of jealousy and crushed ego.
"Those losers don't deserve us wasting our time on them,' he said sharply. "We've got better things to do."
"Movie?" suggested Fuu.
Grinning, Rai said, "That sounds like a great idea to me, y'know."
Kairi was rather impressed by how the match was going. Roxas and Riku were actually having a friendly sparring session. Granted, they were going at it rather hard. But she grew up watching Sora and Riku competing against each other, participating in an eager attempt at one-upmanship and striving to be the best. While Roxas and Riku's relationship didn't share the same form of friendly rivalry, it was close enough to feel familiar.
Leaning towards them, Hayner muttered, "Uh, should we intervene? They're getting kind of intense and I'm pretty sure they are bending the rules a really far."
"They're both intense by nature," said Lea. "That's nothing new. And they aren't actively trying to kill each other. Honestly, letting them get it out of their systems like this would probably be good for them in the long run." He smirked slightly. "That's how I made friends with Ven. Challenged him to a showdown first time we met."
Isa nodded and said, "That's true. Lea lost that fight. It wasn't even a close competition."
"Did you have to add that part?"
"Who's Ven?" asked Hayner.
"We'll introduce him next time he's in town," he said. "He's another Keyblade wielder. Cheerful, energetic, and looks a bit like Roxas. You guys would probably like him too."
Of course Lea thought that they only looked "a bit" similar. Being good friends meant that he could pick out their differences quite easily. That thought made Kairi grin.
"Sounds great. I look forward to it," said Hayner before turning his attention back towards the match. "Get him, Roxas! You can beat this guy!"
Laughing, Kiru yelled, "Come on, Riku. Is that the best that you can do?"
Kairi didn't know which one that she should be cheering for, so she'd mostly been clapping during the match. They both deserved support. And she was excited to see them putting in that much effort without slipping into something darker and more aggressive.
Okay, they were hitting hard enough that someone would fly back several feet whenever they landed an actual hit. But they tended to roll into the impact. Hitting the ground before bouncing back to their feet. Or twisting around for a better landing. They were both too experienced for anything else. Especially with foam bats. So it was a friendly match by their standards, even if it would still seem a bit ruthless for anyone else.
But then a cheerful and chirpy sound started playing. Kairi dug into her pocket as her Gummiphone rang. Considering that most of the people that she would talk to on the Gummiphone were already present, she didn't know who would be calling.
Maybe it was Sora.
Kairi didn't want to get her hopes too high, she knew the chances were slim and there was probably a dozen more reasonable possibilities, but she couldn't help that momentary thought. Just like she couldn't help that moment of disappointment when Ienzo's face appeared on the screen instead of Sora's bright smile.
She missed that smile.
"Hey, is that Ienzo?" asked Pence, peering over her shoulder. "How are you?"
"Actually, I'm doing quite well, thank you," he said. "I have some rather good news to deliver for once. Kairi, could you come to Radiant Garden at your earliest convenience?"
Leaning over her, Lea said, "Ienzo? What's going on?"
Kairi vaguely noticed the sounds of fighting had stopped, Roxas and Riku undoubtedly noticing that something was happening. But her focus was on a quiet, uncertain, and warm feeling in her that Kairi knew wasn't actually her emotions. The realization of what Ienzo was calling about was causing a sleeping heart to stir.
"It's ready," he said. "The new replica body for Naminé."
Looks like someone is ready to rejoin the physical world. And I know a few characters who would be happy to see her.