Was he hearing things? He had to be hearing things, right? Fait didn't just contact someone about a date in the middle of training, did she? Not on his watch. When he looked at his friends' faces and noticed the same expression being exchanged from one pair of eyes to another, Riku felt a headache forming as the girl actually dismissed her keyblade and walked to the sidelines to leave the training ring. Needless to say, the other masters weren't appreciative of the sudden disruption in Fait's training. Sora went through great lengths to convince Master Yen Sid to train Fait or at least evaluate her skills, and the one day they scheduled her for training before the Mark of Mastery Exam would be the day she accepts a date from someone.
Of course, Fait's phone call did spark Kairi's interest. While she and Fait were rivals, she wasn't aware of the girl having a romantic life. She thought Fait was strictly interested in Sora with the occasional flirting, and she won him over on a few instances (especially when she sung a love song to him upon request) but Fait was more of a social butterfly than she let on. Speaking of said romantic interest, he seemed to be the most shocked at Fait's phone call with his mouth propped open. Now, Sora was the definition of shy when it came to his own feelings, so him scoring a date every now and then would just be alien. From his expression, however, he looked like he couldn't decide between feeling frustrated or being curious. Riku, on the other hand, was just plain annoyed. So was Donald as he growled and stomped. Riku folded his arms in an attempt to calm his nerves and be serious, but his following behind the girl and watching her step off the ring to sit down next to her bag of junk soon undid him. She was seriously stopping her keyblade training to pull out something from her ginormous purse for some guy!
"A-ha!" Fait exclaimed, pulling out another device.
"You cannot be serious about leaving in the middle of training," Riku deadpanned, growling. "Your Mark of Mastery is a few days away, and you're skipping out just to cuddle up to some weird guy?"
Fait stood up and smiled brightly to respond, "Yup! I try to go on at least one date whenever I can since I'm always on missions or doing training. Sorry to cut the lesson short, teach, but I'll be late if I don't leave now. It's nearly impossible to find something to do in Traverse Town."
"You're going on a date in Traverse Town?" Sora questioned, growling only slightly to show his frustrations.
Not that he was jealous of how freely she was able to make friends or boyfriends or anything, but Sora could confidently say that Fait was the strangest girl he'd ever met. It was just odd that she put dates above her title as a keyblade master. He thought for sure that finally gaining the title would be a great honor after having worked so hard under Maleficent's tyranny. Then again, he wasn't much different from her. Like Fait, he was fine with being a normal person who just so happened to be part of the much bigger fight against evil with other keyblade masters. In her case, she seemed to be a normal girl who just got mixed up with the users of darkness. He fought Fait before. She wasn't weak. Rarely does Fait ever consider lifting a weapon to fight, and if she does then that means her opponent is tougher than normal. Even when Kairi was slightly powered, Fait didn't use her full strength to fight her at all; in fact, she used her reaction timing against Kairi and defeated her easily. Maybe that was the part about her that he found strange. Despite her power, she lived a completely normal life with no pressure from Maleficent at all.
Sora then asked, "Couldn't you reschedule? This exam's not easy. It was impossible to get Yen Sid to even give you a chance!"
Fait stopped smiling for a second to look at the two boys with growing concern in her eyes and then to Kairi and Aqua to evaluate whether they had similar feelings. They seemed to share similar displeased expressions, but she was more bothered by Sora's words than Riku's. He seemed to be purposely ignoring her warnings about getting involved in her lifestyle. It would only be a matter of time before he did something that would threaten the lives of her people. Deciding against warning Sora for the billionth time since meeting him, she merely let a chilling wind caress her face and let her heart beat calmly to stand in a relaxed state. When the cool breeze disappeared, she looked at Sora strictly and smiled mischievously.
She then hummed in thought and asked cautiously, "You've never been on a date before, have you?"
"W - wh - wha - what? Uh... Sure, I have!" Sora lied, blushing profusely. "You wouldn't know 'cause we only met a little while ago! I don't go on them much because I don't have the time."
Yeah right... Fait thought, humming in response.
She opened her device to activate it and toiled with buttons and switches before responding to anyone else's complaints. Part of her wanted to tell them that the only reason Maleficent wanted her to train with Master Yen Sid's students was so he could formally call her a keyblade master, but the title was just so Maleficent could showcase her powers for later. This was all a repeat of the past. Every time Fait completed her training with her untitled master, she gained a new power or some new insight on something and had to use her new knowledge to convince someone that Maleficent wanted to join forces with to rely on Maleficent. It was part of some grand master plan that Fait never knew the details of. The blonde reasoned it was probably best she never knew any of her mistress's plans. When she finally set her TimeGuise to Traverse Town's time, she merely walked away and ignored Riku standing close to her to get her attention.
When the boy finally snapped and snatched the device away, Fait simply turned to him and looked into his eyes. She forgot to compliment him on his eye color earlier. He really did have a beautiful hue. Ignoring those thoughts, she said, "Yes?"
"Your date's cancelled for today until you finish your lesson," Riku said, adding a growl to his voice. "Either call that weirdo back or watch me smash this thing to pieces."
Fait raised her eyebrow at the supposed threat then smirked mischievously. She put a hand on her hip and waved her free hand to say to Riku, "Tell you what. Undo my shackles and I'll train with you seriously when I get back. No holding back, no more ignoring your orders, and I'll even leave Sora alone and focus all my attention on you. As a bonus, I'll tell Master Yen Sid a little bit about my training with Maleficent. He might learn something of interest from that chapter in our lives. Deal?"
"To be honest, I just wanna see what weirdo decided he wanted to date you," Kairi said, putting a finger to her bottom lip. "Something has to be wrong with him."
"I'll say," Aqua mumbled, nodding with agreement.
Fait merely smiled elfishly at both girls and waited for Riku to comply. Said boy seemed to be thinking of the terms and, when he nodded his head in agreement, he handed the device back to her. Fait flipped her device like a coin in the air and looked up to watch it transform. The device glowed brightly and she leapt into the air to engulf herself in the light. When she came down, no one spoke and she didn't care if they did. She wore a red, sheer, long-sleeved top over a spaghetti-strapped tank top, red high-top shoes, and a midnight blue, flower-print skirt that was a half-inch above her knee. She put a red beanie on her head and then deep red lipstick on her lips. Had the group not known Fait beforehand, they would've thought she was just a regular girl and not an impressive fighter. Her outfit further cemented the fact that she was going on a date, though, and that made Riku angrier than before. He was supposed to be her teacher for the day, and she was completely blowing him off for some random shmuck! Who was this guy anyway?
Fait turned around to wave goodbye before entering a Corridor of Light and said, "Be back in a few hours!"
"What kind of keyblade wielder are you?" Riku shouted, grinding his teeth.
"The fun kind!" Fait said before disappearing in a burst of light.
She's gonna fail... Sora thought to himself, sighing as he heard Riku stomp off to Master Yen Sid's tower. But... I wonder who asked her out on a date. Fait's not an ugly girl. A bit on the weird side but not ugly. Maybe she really likes the guy the same way I...
Sora looked up at Kairi as she was trying to calm Riku down, who decided to sit on the sidelines where Fait was, and blushed at the thought of her dressing up in a similar manner Fait had to go someplace special. It wasn't a bad idea, and it probably was a good thing to take that kind of break from fighting. That worried Sora a little bit. He knew Fait on a personal level. She had a family, friends, and possibly a love interest. She was a living human being versus a war machine that Maleficent was using. By that logic, he wondered why Maleficent allowed Fait to have a life that conflicted with her overall purpose. Fait was being used as a super soldier in the dark fairy's army. There wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind about that fact, but the girl herself didn't act like a robotic, lifeless fighter. Now, Sora was more curious than frustrated. What was she like on a date? Did Maleficent teach her how to behave in social situations like that?
"Hey, guys," Sora called, gaining everyone's attention. "Let's follow her to Traverse Town and teach her a lesson by messing up the date. Then, she'll take us seriously."
"Sounds like fun!" Kairi said, nodding mischievously. Any opportunity to get the upper hand on Fait was welcomed. She wondered if this was how Sora felt when Riku always won or bested him at things.
Goofy hummed with concern before saying, "I don't know. Fait sounded serious when she said she didn't get out much. Maleficent's been givin' us trouble since we started our journey. Maybe this kind of info is somethin' we should look at, Sora. Maleficent ain't quite the type to just give her henchmen free time. Fait must be really important to her, especially with her being a keyblade wielder."
"Goofy's right... again," Donald agreed, nodding. "Maleficent always has a new plan up her sleeve. There's gotta be a reason for her being so nice to Fait. She's not even that nice to Pete, and we know for sure that he's been with Maleficent ever since he was banished from our world."
"Then, we'll follow her to see what Maleficent sees," Riku suggested, standing up. "Master Yen Sid told us that Maleficent trained Fait as a keyblade wielder without having the title of master herself. Maleficent's not like Master Yen Sid, so she had to learn how to be a teacher and a master herself through everything that happened to us. She had to pay careful attention to all of the older masters that were teaching us and even closer attention to Fait. Because of that, Fait's training and her missions were different compared to ours. Maleficent's always been a confident woman, but I've never seen her so sure of herself when it comes to Fait."
"Fait also doesn't use her keyblade to fight. I don't think that's something Maleficent taught her how to do," Aqua chimed in. "I think that's something she learned on her own. There must be other powers she restricts herself from using just like her weapons."
Traverse Town was a bit busier today, or at least at the moment since day seemed to be trapped in an endless night. The café in the First District was definitely crowded with people but she couldn't imagine why. The only thing she could guess was that a special event was coming up for the world. Maybe a festival? She wondered if her presumed date was also busy, but, knowing him a little bit, Fait could safely assume that there was an eighty percent chance that the boy was reading a book in a quiet area. Speaking of books, Fait opened her mission log to read her profile on the boy to make sure she didn't mix up his name with someone else in another world. Although the boy mentioned he was from another world and came to Traverse Town as a young child, she didn't want to break the rule of meddling. Maleficent was very clear about the consequences of doing so. She opened the journal to her "Worlds" tab and then opened the journal to her "Allies" tab. There, she found his name: Valiant.
She chuckled to herself at his description. From what was written, Valiant was a curious young man interested in the history of Traverse Town. He frequently searches for legends surrounding the mystery of the so-called refugee camp, and his dream is to open a museum of sorts to raise awareness of his world. Ah, she didn't know about this part. Apparently, he's part of the Independence Movement and is an active member in the committee hoping to make Traverse Town a new world rather than a refugee camp. ZiZi mentioned that to her when she discovered the Fifth District in Traverse Town. She actually supported the cause very much. The thought made her smile. So, her date was politically active, huh? That's attractive. Now to find the guy she's looking for. She closed her journal and replaced it in her inventory before stealthily walking through the First District.
No sight of the pale-purple haired young man in the crowd, so he had to be in a quiet or "mysterious" place. ZiZi probably would've hidden Valiant in the Synthesis Shop, but the Moogles seemed to be busy at work, too. Two of them were gathering materials and opening boxes just to scramble about some more to craft something new with the unknown items. There were a few customers at the door, watching the Moogles hustle about. With a curious hum, she spoke to a few of the people and to ZiZi while he was floating about. Apparently, Mayor Rida wanted to rebuild the Fourth District and needed a group of volunteers to help in his efforts, but there was a rumor that powerful Heartless were lurking about. These Heartless might have been protecting the district since it was locked away. Now that might have gotten Valiant's attention. It certainly got hers. ZiZi politely offered to upgrade Fait's keyblades since he was able to feel that she had gotten stronger, and Fait gave him her keychains to let him work on them when he got the time. She even traded him a few materials she managed to find on her journey. After the two exchanged goods, she continued her walk to the Second District unaware that Sora and his gang had just arrived.
"Hey, it's awfully busy in this town," Goofy remarked, looking around. "Wonder what's goin' on?"
"I don't know," Sora replied, looking around as well. "Let's ask around."
The Second District was definitely quiet. Although there were customers entering the Inn and Mad Hatter's Shop, no one was really around in the area. Of course, this was the perfect place for Valiant to be waiting for her. Speaking of said boy, she heard a page turn underneath her and decided to quietly watch the boy read his book. Fait made doubly sure not to disturb him until the right time and quietly watched him read. He dressed up quite nicely for this date to say he didn't want to go on one. He wore a nice pair of jeans, clean shirt and snake skin vest. His boots were leather steel-toe's. Very nice clothes indeed. Finally getting bored with just watching him sigh and look at his watch, she summoned a light Aero spell to quiet her footsteps as she walked down beside him as though she were coming down a set of stairs.
"I could never get behind the sister in that story," Fait said, tapping the boy's book. "She should've helped clean the house, too."
"The moral of the story is to honor the righteous first. A dirty house can wait," the boy said, closing his book and then standing to see Fait standing on thin air.
Pretending to not be impressed and regretfully boost her ego further, he put his book away and folded his arms to scowl at Fait. She wasn't late, so he couldn't lecture her on that. She was also beautiful, which sucked because he couldn't pick on her about her appearance, and she still held that intelligence he liked in a girl since she apparently did read the same books as he did. If she wasn't smiling with that annoying beam of confidence, he could squash her ego by saying something clever but he blushed when there was nothing there and she cat walked down to the cobblestone streets near the fountain. Curse her for being non-traditional and knowing that he liked non-traditional girls. Which was ironic because he was obsessed with Traverse Town's history.
He stopped scowling and merely spoke with an inexpressive face, "But I suppose only busy girls can relate to other busy girls. Hello, Fait."
"Hi, Valiant!" Fait greeted cheerfully, giving the boy a hug. That one gesture made him completely turn red and scratch his head in response. She then asked with her mischievous smile, "Ready to solve some mysteries for your new book?"
"You were approximately 20 minutes later than anticipated; therefore, I demand you take us to lunch first and then lead us to explore these rumors you've heard about," Valiant suggested, poking Fait's nose.
"Certainly, Mr. Bossy Brains," Fait said, pivoting and placing her hands on her hips. "You can follow me to the luxurious Tiger Tooth in the First District."