The distance between water and vanity

Hi, everyone!

This is a direct sequel of my previous story "The dance between water and vanity", if you didn't read it, please check it out first ;).

For these who know first part of this series ( I assume now I can name it "Water and Vanity - The series :) ) I hope you will enjoy the next adventures of Aqua and Van.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts Universum. I also use a few sentences from the game, but it is only for story purposes.

I

Aqua didn't know how many days had passed since she had seen him last, and even now she was only seeing the black helmet on his head. She had missed him so much that it was almost painful, but fate, destiny, or any other divine being decided they had to stand against each other one more time.

She tried to see his face through the blackness of the mask or guess what expression he could have at that moment. Did he smirk, that vicious smile he always wore before a fight? Or maybe he was bored, like any time he had to listen to someone who talked too much. In the end, it didn't matter, because Aqua knew she would be pleased to see any of it, to see his face, to feel his touch, to get him back.

But now, on this forsaken land, these wishes couldn't be granted. It was a time when no words but blades had to decide the future of them all.

Aqua looked at Terra and Ven, who stood next to her, and nodded. They knew what must be done, what was their purpose and responsibilities. This war could drown all worlds in a sea of darkness, and only them and their allies could stop this madness.

Finally, the one who was with Vanitas came closer and spoke:

"The time has come, everything is set, every piece is on the board, the game is reaching its final round."

"You sound very certain about your victory, but we are still standing," said Terra with confidence.

"Right, we will never allow you to win!" added Ven, battle enthusiasm clearly heard in his voice.

"You won't even see when you will fail," said the man.

Aqua was sure he must be one of Xehanort's versions, however much younger, because he displayed the old teacher's attitude.

"We will see…" she said and prepared her Keyblade to battle.

"For fuck's sake, how long are you going to babble?" suddenly Vanitas snarled and at the same moment in his hand materialized a very familiar weapon. Without any more words, he raised the Keyblade and attacked.

A few months earlier

"I could swear, this place looked a little bit different," said Vanitas, as they stood in front of Castle Oblivion.

Aqua rolled her eyes.

"It's camouflage, only the person who has Master Eraqus' Keyblade can break the illusion."

"What a happy coincidence that we have it," Vanitas added. After they had left the beach on Destiny Islands, he was in a very good mood but Aqua assumed that it had to mask his discomfort. He certainly didn't look forward to meeting with Ven. They had many unfinished businesses.

However Aqua didn't comment on it, only materialized her Keyblade and began to cast the spell.

Vanitas almost jumped when the Castle started to transform in front of his eyes. It took a couple of minutes before everything stopped and was back to the previous appearance.

"Welcome to the Land of Departure," said Aqua when the spell ended.

Vanitas crossed his arms and looked at the building with a critical eye; after a moment he smiled even more mischievously.

"After consideration, I prefer the previous style. That mad design had a specific charm."

"Can we leave the art discussion for a better time?" Aqua asked rhetorically.

Vanitas only shrugged.

"Thank you," she added, as he said nothing more.

After that, they went upstairs to the big door that led to the building.

With each step, Aqua felt a growing anxiety. There were so many doubts. Would she find Ven? Could she manage to wake him up? And if she could, would he forgive her that it took so long? So many questions, that made her heart beat faster, almost frantically. And when she looked at Vanitas she knew he thought the same. Maybe he didn't ask the same questions, but he was also nervous. She was seeing it in his fake smile and the hand still curled on the Keyblade as if he was preparing himself for a sudden attack.

As they walked through bright corridors, Aqua also felt a specific warmth in her chest. It was her home, so familiar and so beloved; there was a time when she had thought she would never see it again. But here she was, more determined than ever to fix her mistakes and make everything as it should be. She couldn't fail anymore, never again would she allow her friends to suffer. She would wake Ven up, and save Terra, there was no other option.

At last, they walked to the main chamber with three chairs on the back. Aqua felt like her heart skipped when she saw a figure sitting in the middle.

Ven sat there as she had left him so long ago. Without thinking she ran to him.

"Ven…" she said and after a moment of hesitation, she touched his face and then embraced his head.

"I'm sorry it took so long," she whispered.

But there wasn't any answer to her words. A little disturbed Aqua looked at the boy and said louder.

"Ven… wake up. Open your eyes, please!"

She shook his shoulder a little, but he didn't react. Her heart sank at this view.

She knew that waking up Ven wouldn't be easy, but somewhere inside she had believed that he would wake up right after hearing her voice. But hope had betrayed her too many times before, so she should have known better.

"Why? Your heart never found its way home?" she asked rhetorically, not hoping for an answer.

"So Venty-Wenty wants to keep sleeping."

Aqua turned around to Vanitas who stood a few steps behind her, the Keyblade in hand and a vicious smile on lips.

But something was off. His eyes and his voice had the same cruel tone that she hadn't heard for a very long time. Probably since the last time when he tried to kill her.

"What?"

He sighed theatrically and placed his weapon on his shoulder.

"Finally I can end this farce, it was beginning to be kind of boring at some time," he said, almost sadistically, then took a step closer. "It was a very hard task to convince you to bring me here. But my efforts were rewarded, and I'm sincerely grateful, alone I would never have found this place. I must admit it was a neat trick."

Aqua had a very hard time comprehending what she was hearing. She was watching Vanitas with wide-open eyes and didn't believe her own ears. She simply couldn't believe it. If she had time to think, maybe she would have seen how absurd what Vanitas said and did was, how this all didn't make any sense. But there wasn't time for hesitation or consideration, Vanitas was only a few meters from Ven, and his eyes looked like the eyes of a predator who observed his prey.

So she summoned her Keyblade and stood between Vanitas and the still sleeping Ventus.

"Don't make me do this," she asked, much softer than she should.

The man only laughed.

"You are funny. Did you really believe that I felt something to you, that I was somewhat attached to you?" he asked with the same cruelty in his voice.

Aqua clenched her fist and for a second she averted her gaze.

"Yes, I did," she murmured and then suddenly she cast Aero and pushed Vanitas far from Ven. "But it doesn't matter, I won't let you harm him!"

She created a strong barrier that separated them from the still unconscious Ventus. She wasn't going to hesitate, if Vanitas wanted to fight, she would grant his wish, even though her heart ached.

In seconds she felt three strong blows that almost knocked her off balance. She forgot how strong Vanitas was, and how hard to dodge were his strikes. He was quick and unpredictable, but she also knew his weakness; he may have been stronger physically but he hated her magic.

"Thundaga!" She cast one of her strongest spells and the sphere that separated them from the outside world was filled with lightning.

Vanitas cursed when a few of them hit him even though he tried to dodge all of them.

They exchanged a few more blows and separated, making the distance between them grow. Aqua began to feel tiredness in her muscles but decided to ignore it. It wasn't important now. She knew she had to finish it as quickly as possible. The long fight made an advantage for Vanitas because he had more stamina and didn't rely on mana as much as her.

But before she even started thinking about tactics, Vanitas suddenly looked at the sleeping Ven and cast Dark Firaga in his direction. The spell hit the barrier and disappeared but left visible cracks on the smooth surface of the shield. Aqua knew that the barrier wouldn't stand much more, but Vanitas was faster and threw another spell. She didn't have time to think, only ran and stopped the spell with her own body. In the second she felt a burning pain all over her body, and she fell to the floor. The spell was strong but she made it through worse.

She groaned and when she opened her eyes she saw Vanitas standing above her with the Keyblade ready to strike the final blow.

But suddenly the man raised his eyes to the sleeping Ven whose body started to shine with blinding force. In one moment there appeared a pillar of light that hit the barrier, crushed it, and ran into Vanitas.

"Aqua!" She heard a familiar voice screaming her name.

With disbelief but also growing happiness, she watched the awakened Ventus, who attacked Vanitas. Their Keyblades crashed with a loud thump when Ven struck his opponent. Aqua saw how his body was glowing with new energy and how determined his face was. He looked like someone born anew. She couldn't be happier seeing that.

The barrier around them broke into pieces, but now there wasn't a need for it; Ventus woke up and was fully capable of defending himself.

Vanitas jumped back, increasing the distance between them, and smiled one more time. But this smile was slightly different, there was no cruelty in it, only playfulness and very much self-confidence. And for Aqua it was a confirmation of what she had been thinking from the beginning; a deceitful bastard. She managed to stand up and also smile a little bit.

But Ven didn't see that, he only saw an enemy who attacked his precious friend.

"Stay back, Aqua! I will handle him!" he said with determination.

These words made Vanitas' smile stretch even wider, he could act with good intentions but he wasn't going to retreat from Ven. She had to stop them before they would harm each other.

She came closer and placed a hand on Ven's shoulder.

"It's all right, you can drop the Keyblade," she said with a gentle voice.

Ventus looked at her out of the corner of his eye but didn't change his fighting pose.

"He can, right?" she added, this time louder and looking at Vanitas.

The armored man was also ready to battle, but after a moment, he turned the weapon in his hand and placed it nonchalantly on his shoulder.

"You always have to spoil all the fun," he replied with fake, childish sadness.

Aqua rolled her eyes a little and Ven watched with growing disbelief. He looked from her to Vanitas, not sure how he had to react to their strange behaviors.

"It's all right, Ven. Really," she added, seeing his confusion, she didn't want there to be any misunderstanding.

"But…"

"I know, but many things have changed while you slept. Vanitas is here to help us."

Ven looked at her as if she had an additional head.

"He? Help? These two words never should be placed in the same sentence," he said with more anger than she expected.

She knew it wouldn't be easy to convince Ven, to convince anyone, about Vanitas' change of heart, and his malicious smile and attitude didn't make it easier.

But she knew Ven well and knew how to speak to him. So she placed both hands on his shoulders and made him turn around to face her.

"You don't believe Vanitas, but you can believe me. And, as strange as it sounds, I trust him. Without him, I wouldn't have gotten here and wouldn't have woken you up."

She still saw a little disbelief and anger on Ven's face, but it melted quickly with her touch and words.

"He attacked you," he added in the last attempt to push some reasons in her.

"And it was the best he could do. That made you wake up from your slumber."

Ven gritted his teeth still unsure. It was easy to understand, the last thing he remembered was their fight at the Keyblade Graveyard; it was not so simple to change your mind in the blink of an eye.

"Yeah, everybody knows that I'm the best, but it begins to be a little boring to stand here and talk. Moreover, I'm starving."

On the contrary, to an unsure Ven, Vanitas was, like always, full of himself, and although sometimes Aqua hated this part of him, now she was too grateful to be angry.

Besides, she was hungry too. It was such a strange feeling after so much time spent in the Realm of Darkness. It was the next difference between these realms. There she had never felt really hungry, there was only this terrifying hollowness inside her, that no food could fill. Now she fully came back to life with every consequence of it, and it was an overwhelming feeling.

"So come with me, maybe we will find something still edible here," she said, and still holding Ven's shoulder, she made him go to the door on the left. Vanitas walked right after them.

Of course, after all that time, there was nothing fresh to eat in the kitchen, so she asked Ventus to jump to the nearest town and buy the most necessary things. He wasn't very happy about it but went nonetheless. There wasn't any other option, Aqua couldn't go, because she couldn't leave Ven and Vanitas alone, and Vanitas himself didn't look like someone created to do grocery shopping. She smiled a little when she imagined him with bags of eggs, milk, and vegetables as he picked up fresh bread from the bakery.

"What's so funny?" asked Vanitas who sat on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Aqua stood on the other side and prepared the tea, the only thing she could do now.

"Nothing special," she lied and smiled at him a little.

He looked at her with disbelief but said nothing.

"How did you know what could wake up Ven?" Aqua asked after a moment of silence.

Vanitas shrugged.

"Didn't know. I could only guess that he needed a mental punch to wake up. I thought that you being in danger would be enough motivation. And I was right."

"Like always," she added playfully for him and placed the cup in front of him.

He smirked.

"Like always," he agreed, and before she could withdraw her hand, he caught her wrist and added with this specific smile, she thought he addressed only to her. "You owe me an apple pie."

Aqua chuckled when she remembered her promise, made long ago in the devastated train station.

"You need to wait a little longer," she replied and after a moment he released her, however reluctantly.

Aqua was almost sure that the pie was only an excuse for him to touch her. And when she heard Ventus' steps in the corridor, she understood that there was much more she had to explain.