Chapter 8: Lessons

Note: Just a reminder I don't treat KHX as cannon to this story.

"Somehow, this really wasn't what I expecting when I thought about being trained as a Keyblade Wielder."

Aqua stood at the front of a small side-room in the Land of Departure's library, where years ago Eraqus had taught her, Terra, and Ven their lessons. Her two students, Olette and Kairi, sat at desks with notebooks open. She gave Kairi a small smile and tapped on a chalkboard. "Being a Keybearer is more than swinging a key around, using light or magic, and fighting against imbalance in the worlds. You require the same kind of skills you'd learn in the classroom of a normal world. Mathematics, sciences, history, etiquette, diplomacy, lessons about key worlds..."

Olette raised her hand. "What worlds specifically? I mean... I only know of a few, and I've heard there's a lot, how many of them are important?"

Aqua gave her an encouraging smile. "Well, it may have changed over the last ten years, but, for example the worlds that the Princesses of Heart resided on were by default considered worlds that we should have some background information on."

She gave a self-depreciating chuckle. "...not that I read up on that before starting out on my own journey. I didn't even have a mental list of the princesses at the time."

She shook her head. "Of course, our records are not always up-to-date. If a Princess of Heart should perish, or pass on from old age, their power will find another vessel, generally a young child, to imbue itself to. That does not necessarily require the new Princess in question to be on the same world. It can be a bit of a mess to try and locate a new Princess of Heart when the time comes."

"Oh, so... its not a bloodline thing?" asked Kairi with an odd quietness.

"Well... there's been evidence of both," admitted Aqua, "Mothers passing the power onto their daughter should the parent die early on in their life, or on the other hand, it goes off to a completely unrelated person on another world. I have no idea how its actually chosen."

"I suppose I could have been either," murmured Kairi.

Ah... that's right. Aside from the girl's grandmother, Aqua had never actually heard her mention other non-adoptive family.

Olette raised her hand again. "Umm... what exactly is a Princess of Heart? I heard of it first from Kairi when she was telling you about your past in the mansion, but I don't really know what they are."

"Hmm," said Aqua, tilting her head back, "Perhaps... I should started with the history of the Keyblade to lead into that?"

How in the world did Eraqus make it seem so easy to chain one lesson or subject to another? She thought getting the basics in would be the way to go, but a single question made her wonder if she should have done another lesson first. Olette had no idea about what the duty of a Keybearer really entailed, and Kairi might be a little biased at this point. Perhaps she should have sat down and planned this out before stumbling into it...

She smiled a little. Story of her life there.

Though... if she wanted to explain in full... there was information that was generally Master or even Steward level in it's requirement. Yet... perhaps if they understood from the beginning, knew the importance and the dangers... Aqua herself had never even heard of the X-Blade or the Keyblade of Hearts or any of that until the conflict with Xehanort began... never knew the dangers...

She nodded to herself. These were her apprentices, she would teach them as she saw fit. With complete understanding to pass on to their own apprentices one day, so her own disaster was not repeated.

"Alright, hold off on that question Olette, we'll get to the Princesses in a bit," she said, turning to the chalk board and writing three words on it, 'Kingdom Hearts', 'X-Blade', 'Keyblade'. "To understand our purpose as Keybearers is to go back thousands of years. To before the Keyblades Keybearers wield even existed. Long ago, in the Age of Fairy Tales, there existed two great entities. Kingdom Hearts, and the X-Blade. Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds made manifest. It is said to contain ultimate power and wisdom..."

She thought briefly of that Xehanort Report she had read 'years' ago. "That the one who opens its doors can have the power to remake the worlds."

Kairi shifted in her seat uncomfortably, Olette just looked perplexed and raised her hand once more. "How do we know it can do that? Did someone use it before? Is that how they figured it out?"

Aqua blinked at the notion. "It's implied that no one has opened the door to Kingdom Hearts before, but... well... I can't answer that question because I don't know. No one alive would know I think. So much was lost at the end of the Age of Fairy Tales. How our fore-bearers figured out any of the mysteries about the X-Blade and Kingdom Hearts is knowledge beyond me."

Her sharp eyes caught Olette making a big question mark on her notebook, her tongue a little out the side of her mouth and clenched down in thought. Aqua had a little smile forming at her diligent and inquisitive student. Her eyes flickered to Kairi who... hadn't wrote anything down yet from what she could see. Hmm... hope she had a good memory then when she eventually started quizzing them. She returned her focus to the chalkboard.

"Now, the X-Blade," she began, "Its pronunciation differs depending on who you ask, some would say 'Kye' or 'Chi', but, loose translation brings it almost to the same meaning every time, death."

"So.. 'Death-Blade'?" asked Olette uneasily, "Sounds bad. That's what the Xehanort guy wanted, right?"

Aqua pursed her lips at the mention of Xehanort, but brushed it off. "The X-Blade is not in nature good or bad, it just is. Its whoever uses it and their actions that defines good or evil. The other translation of the 'X' is 'ending', the End Blade or perhaps the Blade of Endings. Which, if Kingdom Heart's ability is to be believed, more accurate. The X-Blade opens the door and signals the end of the current world, and Kingdom Hearts gives birth to the next."

She cleared her throat. "The X-Blade is said to coexist with Kingdom Hearts. The original key in which all Keyblades were made in the image of. Its full capabilities are unknown, but it is safe to assume anything a normal keyblade can do, the X-Blade can do as well, if not better. It's role is to serve as the guardian, the protector, of Kingdom Hearts. The only key that can open its door."

She continued, "It is a shameful beginning for the Keybearers, but, Keyblades were original forged in the image of the X-Blade in order to try to claim the power of Kingdom Hearts. People greedily sought the light of all worlds, and in order to conquer and control that light, they fought in a great and terrible Keyblade War. One that nearly destroyed all the worlds. Kingdom Hearts was lost to the Realm of Darkness, the worlds nearly blotted out, and the X-Blade shattered into twenty pieces, thirteen of dark, seven of light."

"And... that's the Princesses?" asked Kairi with confusion, "I'm a part of the Blade?"

Aqua held up a finger. "Not quite. I can see where you draw that conclusion, but the seven Princesses of Heart differ from the seven shards of the X-Blade."

"In the aftermath of the Keyblade War, when the worlds were drowning in darkness and nearly destroyed, its said that the light of children kept the remaining worlds alive and pushed back the darkness. Where originally, all worlds were together as one, in the aftermath, they were separated, but surviving. Those childish lights were made manifest in the Princesses of Heart, whose existence keep the Realm of Light afloat with the absence of Kingdom Hearts. The light of the X-Blade's shards became an equal amount of lights, to protect that same number of pure hearts in the world. Or so the story goes."

"How does anyone know that they're a shard of the X-Blade?" asked Olette, "That Xigbar guy said Xehanort was going to try to use thirteen of his own heart to try and make it by fighting the Keybearers," she started counting on her fingers, "Terra, Ventus, Mickey, Sora, Riku, Yen Sid, and that's not even a full seven if Kairi is counted as Princess and not a shard. And how would thirteen of the same darkness even work? What kind of guarantee is there that the Keybearers are any of the X-Blade's lights? Could Kairi count as both a princess and a shard?"

Aqua really wished Olette would stop bringing up Xehanort, unfortunately, that bastard's mad plots were the girl's only frame of reference, but... "All valid points and questions."

Olette waited a second before asking, "And?"

"Give her a bit," scolded Kairi, "She's..."

"No no, it's fine," said Aqua, waving Kairi off, "Because the truth is Olette, I don't know. The Keybearers as a whole don't know. Or maybe, they didn't want to know. Wanted to bury the Keyblade War, the X-Blade, and Kingdom Hearts, leaving them forgotten in the past."

"That's dumb," said Olette firmly, "How are you suppose to learn from the past if you don't know it? You're more likely to unknowingly repeat a mistake if you don't understand what you're doing wrong."

"Maybe," said Aqua, "Maybe not."

She thinks on Xehanort for a long moment. Would he have started this madness if he already had the answers he sought? Or would it just have enabled him more? She leans more to the latter, though she might be a bit biased in the matter. "The Keyblade War is a dangerous subject, as is knowledge of Kingdom Hearts. Those who know of it's power may crave it."

"Bad people are going to be bad regardless, even if they don't have this 'Kingdom Hearts' to go after," said Olette, "It's in their nature, they'll just go after something else."

"Not untrue, but some would say its better they don't go after something on the scale of Kingdom Hearts," Aqua tilted her head. "Still, that thought is rather wise from someone your age."

Olette blushed a little. "Just repeating something you told me years ago."

Aqua hid a frown, turning to the chalkboard again. Her Nobody might be a part of her, but she wasn't her specifically, she tapped the chalkboard. "That, is a basic summary of the three and the Princesses of Heart. It is our duty, as Keybearers, to both protect the Princesses, and maintain balance in the Realm of Light. We originally also protected the world order, but... that's changing. Originally the worlds were not to know of eachother..."

"Why?" asked Olette.

Aqua shrugged. "That's just the way it was."

"It was dumb and pointless," said Kairi, "Unless you had a Keyblade then how could the average person even get to other worlds?"

"If we assume Dark Corridors aren't an average method, then Gummi ships, I'm also led to believe there are a few other ways, though I'm not an expert on them," said Aqua.

Aqua hesitated. "I... believe the original thinking of the World Order may have been to discourage large scale warfare of the level of the Keyblade War. Worlds knowing of eachother could both be a boon and a tragedy waiting to happen. Greater collaborations, but greater potential for conflict. And a greater interest in the Keyblade would be bound to happen as well, which could lead to more Keybearers potentially and perhaps a re-ignition of the war down the road."

"I'm starting to notice a pattern," said Olette, "Was every big decision made because of the Keyblade War?"

Aqua gave a strained smile. "There's a high chance of that. I believe, in the aftermath of the Keyblade War, it was the surviving Keybearers who came together with the remaining world leaders at the time and made the call for separation. Being the event that nearly destroyed all the worlds, they wanted to prevent it from happening."

Olette crossed her arms, a stubborn look on her face. "Sounds more like they wanted to shush it up and forget it happened rather than prevent it from happening again."

"And I thought I was opinionated," said Kairi.

"You're not saying I'm wrong."

Kairi shrugged. "Aqua is my master, and Sora is... a friend. But otherwise I don't have high opinions of the other Keybearers and their order."

Aqua suppressed a wince. Kairi held one hell of a grudge. Aqua personally threw Kairi's attempted imprisonment into the mental box labeled 'What the hell was Eraqus thinking?' and tried very hard to forget about it and the other idiotic garbage than man had put them through. She mentally sighed and felt a weariness take her. Sometimes, just thinking of Xehanort and Eraqus could take all the strength from her limbs. One was thankfully gone, and the other was trying to learn from his mistakes. Though its not like she was innocent or mistake free either...

"Alright you two, fifteen minute break for a snack and something to drink, then you get your butts back in your seats," said Aqua in a faked-teasing tone; she just wanted a little bit to compose herself again.

Kairi whooped and was out of her seat instantly. Olette took her time to close her notebook and adjusted her seat to be presentable, pushing Kairi's chair back to her desk as well before she left. Aqua leaned back tiredly in her chair, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She closed her eyes and just sat there, resting...

"Well, that's... an interesting topic."

Her eyes opened and she turned her head to see Terra standing in the doorway, a slight frown on his face as his eyes washed over the chalkboard. She wanted to groan, she really didn't want to hash this out right now. "The best way to make sure they don't repeat the mistakes of the past is to have them understand it."

Terra hummed, non-committal. "I see."

He didn't.

She could see the disagreement in his eyes, the wariness as they linger on the chalkboard, on 'Kingdom Hearts', and 'X-Blade'. "So, how's teaching the kids?"

He is avoiding confronting her on it though, she's not blind to that. She swears if he really starts walking eggshells around her she's going to blow a gasket at some point. "Olette is very inquisitive, but, this is all relatively new to her. She had some understanding while she lived in Twilight Town with my Nobody, and from when Sora and Kairi visited there, but, experiencing and learning it is something else."

Terra had a soft smile. "Think she'll do what we did the first time we got our armor and went into the Lanes Between?"

Aqua takes a moment to recall, and then snorts with amusement. "Absolutely flip and starting flying away from the Master to explore?"

He's not abashed in the slightest, but then again neither is she. "Yeah."

"She might," said Aqua, tilting her head, "She might not. Shes inquisitive, but she's not impulsive, not like Kairi and Sora are. Or like I was."

"Any of us," corrected Terra, "Trying to reign in Ven during Xehanort's madness was an experience all unto itself. I was just as impulsive, but to busy trying to keep up with Ven to get any ideas myself."

"He was always so energetic," mused Aqua, trying to push down the agitation at another reminder of Xehanort.

"Whose energetic?" came Kairi's voice.

The pair turned to see Kairi and Olette returning with a bottle of water each, along with an apple and an orange; Terra gave a teasing smile. "We were picking on poor Ven."

Well, so much for having a few minutes to herself. Aqua withheld a sigh and adjusted her seat, pushing in herself a bit. "You still have a few minutes, finish up, and no orange peels on the floor please."

Olette rolled her eyes. "Yes Master Aqua."

"She's saying that from experience," said Terra with humor, "Whenever we made a mess of the classroom, Eraqus had us make it spotless afterwards. 'Builds character, discipline, and responsibility' he'd say."

He gave Aqua a conspirator look. "I think he was just mad that one time he slipped on your..."

"It was not my wrapper," said Aqua with a huff, "Unlike some boys, I was not raised in a barn and know where to put my trash."

Terra just grinned in response as the two girls giggled and moved passed him.

Aqua's eyes trailed her students as they sat down in their adjacent desks, Olette flipping open her notebook to review her notes. "Hey Kairi, can I see your notes? I wanna make sure I didn't miss anything."

"I didn't take any notes."

Olette gave her an owlish look. "How are you going to study for tests and exams?"

Kairi gave her a blank look. "We get tested on this stuff?"

"Well yeah, you always get tested on schoolwork," said Olette, frowning a little, "Did school not work that way on your world?"

"I didn't go to school."

"Oh, your parent's homeschooled you? That's neat," said Olette.

"They taught me what they could," a defensive tone entered the Kairi's voice, "As did the rest of the Guardians of Traverse Town when they had the time. We were kinda busy trying to keep our world safe."

Aqua blinked. Kairi didn't have a formal education?

"Good luck Aqua," said Terra, giving her another teasing look before making an about face and leaving the room. She shot a withering look at his back before schooling her face and looking at her apprentices again.

She wasn't going to be able to go standard with either of them once she covered the basics of the Keyblade and being a Keybearer. They were both going to need their own individualized lesson plans. Kairi more on normal coursework depending in what blanks Aqua had to fill in, Olette more on the physical and magical training. They'd eventually meet back up in the middle once they were both caught up in their respective deficiencies, but it would be a good long while for either of them to reach that point.

Aqua let them finish up their snacks and throw them away before resuming her lesson. "The first subject we will be going more indepth on is the Keyblade itself. It is considered by many to be a weapon, but it is so much more than that. A tool. A key. To us, an extension of ourselves. They are also loosely sentient."

"They are?!" said Olette, eyes wide.

"To a degree, not in the way you and I are, but they can be picky about their wielders," she said, "While we can perform a bequeathing, it is up to the Keyblade to decide if the illuminated is worthy."

"Do you think they get mad about being used like a cudgel or swung around?" asked Olette.

Aqua gave a laugh. "Not sure about that level of sentience. Rainfell's never given me any indications like that."

"They probably don't understand concepts of good or evil either," said Kairi flatly, "If Xehanort's Keyblade let itself be used by him."

Aqua exhaled through her nose, she was tired of hearing that name today. "No, probably not."

She leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling, aimlessly. "I'm not sure anyone has tried to look into the level of sentience of a Keyblade before. If they have goals or wills, desires, concrete thoughts and feelings. Maybe they are just tools that are sentient enough to pick their owners, or maybe they hold a further semi-sentience, I don't know."

She gives the girls a sly smile. "Maybe it could be a thesis topic in the academic side of your training in the latter years of your apprenticeships."

The girl's exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Perhaps a more impactful ability was the power to seal and open barriers between worlds, as well as lock a world's keyhole, which," Aqua said, thinking with illness of her heartless, "Could not be unlocked saved for another Keyblade, or absolutely absurd circumstances."

"What does locking a Keyhole do?" asked Olette.

"It's where a world's heart is," chimed in Kairi, "Locking it is supposed to keep the Heartless out and the world safe."

"Oh," said Olette, frowning a little, "Is there any side effects for a world if you lock it's heart away?"

Aqua blinked. "That's... another question I don't have an answer to."

She wanted to groan. She had defaulted to that far to many times already in this session. A bright, outside inquisitive perspective started poking at their knowledge and understanding and all the sudden it became apparent just how much wasn't actually know. At least to her. She wondered if either Eraqus or Terra, as steward and former steward, would have any answers.

Olette hummed and put another question mark in her notebook.

"Though, speaking of locking," said Aqua, "A Keyblade can open or close any lock or seal. You simply point your Keyblade at the object in question, will it open or closed, and a beam of light will shoot out from your Keyblade. However, this ability comes with some responsibility. To not go into sealed areas without reason, and the obvious of not using it to aid in petty thievery with breaking in and entering homes."

Light, why did speaking of that make her think of Braig? Oh how she hoped he wouldn't be stupid with the Keyblade if one deemed him worthy.

Kairi made a face. "Honestly, that'd be stupid. You get a mystical giant key and someone thinks to go around robbing people's homes with it?"

"It's all about temptation and the easy path," said Aqua softly, "Sometimes... the opportunity is right in front of you, and you don't think about the repercussions of your decision until its to late."

Far to late.

She shook her head and spoke with warning, moving onto the next subject, "For all its power, the Keyblade does have a few default dangers and abilities that must be used and handled with care and responsibility."

She watched as Olette and Kairi's eyes honed in. "The Keyblade is a beacon, their power draws in Heartless to crave it. They will be naturally drawn to Keybearers, even without their Keyblade out, but the effect is magnified when it is summoned."

She gave the girls (Kairi had finally taken the initiative to start taking notes) a moment to write it down before continuing, "The Keyblade... has the ability to release hearts, not just by freeing them from the Heartless, but, by extracting them from people."

She struggled for a moment, with the guilt of what she did with Maleficent, with Terra's condemnation echoing in her mind. "The ability to do so is dangerous, and if handled improperly, can damage a heart, or if the heart is set loose, may turn them into Heartless."

She hesitated for a moment. "In ages past, the heart was only meant to be freed in order to tend to it if it had been damaged. However..."

She made a distasteful face. "It is possible to release your own heart and put it in another's body, trying to posses them."

Kairi scowled. "Like Xehanort."

"Yeah, like what he tried," said Aqua, sighing, "There are several more advanced things he did, that were completely immoral and irresponsible to do. Ven... used to be Xehanort's apprentice, unfortunately. When he couldn't use Ven the way he wanted to, he literally split Ven's heart in half, one side light, one side dark, creating two separate people, Ven and Vanitas."

She shook her head. "That was a sickening and deplorable act."

"U-uh... I think you and Sora skipped over explaining that," Olette whispered to Kairi.

"I got their entire ten year old story crammed into my head in the span of a few hours," answered Kairi uneasily, "Couldn't remember everything. Heck, aside from mentioning he was pure darkness, I'm not sure they actually told me Vanitas used to be half of Ventus."

Olette looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Not sure I wanted to even know that could be done. Is... is there ways to defend against that kind of thing?"

Aqua nodded. "By safeguarding and protecting one's heart. Being aware of its existence as more than a physical part of your body, and with the knowledge of what you should guard against."

She sighed. "I'm sure the other Masters would disagree with revealing so much so soon, but... I think its important to be made aware of the dangers, and the responsibilities, early on, and definitely in being able to protect yourself."

She gave them a sly smile, it was a good lead in to end the classroom portion of the day. "Which means, as the basis for this protection, close those notebooks because its time for meditation."

Kairi groaned. "Oh goodie. This again."

Aqua grinned. "Come on Kairi, it's not that bad."

"Yeah it is."

The girls grabbed their affects and moved to follow Aqua down the halls, into a simple room with no decorations, just white mats, and followed her example in kneeling down after setting their stuff down by the door. "Now, close your eyes, take deep breaths and focus on emptying your mind of thoughts and distractions. Clear out all your emotions, concerns, and worries, and relax."

Aqua, a little hypocritically, didn't actually meditate herself. She hadn't done so since well before she had recompleated. She ought to, light knows she had enough baggage to think about and work through. Just... not now, while she's trying to teach. She watched the girls settle down, and waited. Her eyes flickering and looking for signs of fidgeting or tension, not to rebuke, but just to see how they were doing. Olette has little twangs of movement, Aqua took a whiff of the girl's emotions with the darkness; it was nothing major, a bit of jitters mixed with excitement, perhaps over her first day of lessons. A lot of contemplation over what she had learned. Some squeamishness and blanching, some of the things she had learned disturbed the girl.

Good.

There were dangerous things that shouldn't be underestimated or overlooked or thought of lightly.

Her attention turned to Kairi next. Despite how she bemoaned it, it looked the girl already had some experience with meditation, probably from Eraqus's lessons. Her emotions were a bit more sporadic. There was the odd mixture of both glee and boredom, as if happy to be being taught lessons, but also bored by them? It was strange, maybe she was getting the wrong idea from what she detected? There were, even days later, still undercurrents of grief and loss, and taking a moment to carefully look deeper, they almost like they were etched in rather than just in passing or as remnants. It... concerned Aqua a bit (more than a bit if she were honest). Then, she felt an emotion that startled her.

Jealousy.

And it wasn't difficult to see that it was aimed at Olette. If it weren't for the fact that Kairi was keeping a heavy, suppressing lid on it, Aqua would have worried. The girl, thankfully, realized she shouldn't feel it. Yet... where did it come from? This wasn't like her and Terra after her own heart had been cracked and she lost control of herself. What reason did she have to be jealous of her fellow apprentice? She momentarily tried to dig deeper before she felt Kairi begin to subconsciously react to the intrusion, her form starting to stir, and pulled back.

But she had gotten a taste of... inadequacy? And something else she hadn't had time to properly gauge.

Aqua frowned at the girl for a long moment before looking down at the floor between the two. She tried to think back, all the way back, to the first time Terra had shown up at the Land of Departure, had she felt that? The fear of being shown up by a new student? She can't honestly remember. But honestly, it shouldn't be felt, being a Keybearer isn't a competition. It's a way of life, a responsibility (a curse), its supposed to be a joint effort by the Keybearers to protect the worlds. Just because someone is stronger in someway over another isn't the end of the world. Terra has more physical strength than Aqua will ever have, and Ven defines the word speed, but Aqua doesn't feel inadequate, she knows she (used to) trash any of them in magic. Everyone has their on specialty. If she's honest, Olette hasn't even shown any strengths or weaknesses yet aside from being inquisitive. There is no reason to feel inadequate towards her.

Its something she'll have to try to unravel from Kairi before it can become an issue.

"Now," said Aqua softly, watching both girl's head twitch reflexively towards the sound of her voice, "Both of you I believe have some experience in reaching for your strength. Kairi, your own experiences, and Eraqus lessons I imagine, and Olette, from what my Nobody taught you about magic. Focus inward, hold out a hand, and draw out a small portion of energy."

She smiled a little when both girls did so, light emanating from Kairi's hand, and a soft translucent energy from Olette's. "Good. Kairi, I want you to, for the rest of the session, work on keeping it out and in control."

She turned her head towards the newer apprentice. "Now, Olette. Your energy is unfocused, untempered and unaligned, as it should be from someone just starting on their path. Transforming that into light, rather than magic, requires a different kind of intention than willing it into a more arcane form. Light..."

She smiled a bit sadly at old memories. "Light is faith. It is hope, happiness, compassion, love, all of that and more. Memories and feelings of such things help to give your power purpose and form. Think of such things, and let them flow through you."

Her smile turned pleased to see a pleasant look cross the young teen's face, that translucent glow turning slowly towards light. It wasn't a full change, just traces of it, but good for her first attempt.

Olette half opened her eyes and stared down at her hand. "So... it would be the opposite for Darkness? Negative emotions?"

Aqua hesitated for a moment. "Mostly, some emotions can overlap and be used for either, like determination or..."

She tensed a little to see Olette narrow her eyes at her hand, and the energy shifted, the light glow faded, a small tuft of black and purple energy in it's place. Aqua watched the girl as she toyed with it, going back and forth, curiosity in her eyes regardless of the emotions on her face as she threaded to and fro between light or dark. It was... strange to see her, anyone really, being so... malleable between the affinities.

"You should start with the light," said Aqua softly.

Olette glanced up at her briefly, "The dark is what you use though, isn't it?"

"It is," said Aqua, trying to hold back the bitterness of it all, "But, I still knew the light first. Make that your first path."

"If I want to switch later?"

"We'll discuss it then," answered Aqua, trying not to take a clipped tone.

Olette frowned down at her hands. "Can you use both?"

Aqua blinked at the question. "Not that I'm aware of. If its possible, I wouldn't have the faintest idea how."

Honestly, that notion is even more alien than the darkness was when she was a young apprentice. Against both Eraqus, and as much as she loathed him, Xehanort's teachings. Light and Darkness existed in a balance, opposite sides of the coin. She doubted it was possible. Maybe, with intense training, one could learn to switch back and forth between them quickly, but, Aqua didn't think a wielder who did that would really master either side. Not to mention the needed emotional control to be able to do that would be absolutly ridiculous.

Still... she did like that the girl tried to think outside the box. "Anyway, its almost time for lunch. Olette, you're dismissed, you have a few hours off afterwards before I collect you for the evening lessons. Kairi, could you wait a moment? I'd like to speak with you."

"Kay, see you in a bit," waved Olette, rising to her feet and trotting off.

Aqua watched her go for a moment before glancing at Kairi, the girl still sitting on her knees, a little apprehensive. There were a lot of questions that needed to be asked, both about earlier and what she felt in the meditation. How to go about it, and what to start with...

"I'd like to clarify," began Aqua, "You didn't attend school, nor get home-schooled?"

The girl's shoulder's went tense, her voice a little harsh. "No."

"Kairi, easy," said Aqua softly, "I'm not judging you or your family. I just need to know where you're at with your education so I know how best to teach you."

Kairi looked away for a moment before nodding. "Okay..."

Aqua nibbled on her lip for a moment, thinking, might as well start simple. "Alright, what do you know of mathematics?"

Kairi scowled a little. "I can count just fine."

"What about multiplication or d..."

"Division," finished Kairi, "Yeah, I can do that."

Aqua tilted her head. Perhaps they were defining homeschooled as two different things? "So, someone taught you them."

"Well, yeah, you need to be able to do that kind of stuff to take inventory," said Kairi.

Aqua blinked. "Inventory?"

"When I was younger, before I could help out on patrols in Traverse Town, my parents would have me help with taking inventory of our supplies," explained Kairi, "So I'd go around with who else was on the warehouse shift and go from place to place keeping track of what we had and making a report of it. You need to know how many people you can outfit, which doctor or hospital needs medical supplies the most, how much we can afford to feed a district a day before we burned through our food and water supply so we could ration it, that kind of stuff."

Aqua held back how unsettled the last point made her, a child shouldn't have to worry about such things, shouldn't be made so aware of it. "So, a more real world application then. You learned through doing."

Kairi nodded. "No one really ever sat me down and had me read a book to learn. So like I said, not homeschooled."

They could argue the semantics of it, but she Aqua could work with this whether her previous education had been more of a generalized apprenticeship or taught as she went. "What about reading or writing?"

"I um... learned how to read all over the place," said Kairi, "No one person taught me it, and I can write, but I've been told my hand writing sucks."

"That's something we can work on over time," said Aqua before shifting, "What about the sciences? Chemistry? Biology? Physics?"

"Uh... Aerith taught me how to make potions out of herbs, that's chemistry, right?" began Kairi with uncertainty, face flushing a little, "And I've been given the talk, I know what part goes where."

Aqua chuckled, good natured. "Biology is a bit more than reproduction. It is an overarching topic that studies life in itself, what makes people and other lifeforms tick I suppose. Keybearers aren't scientists, our requirements for it aren't to high, but for example, understanding anatomy for when we are forced to fight, can matter a great deal."

"For chemistry," began Aqua, "All keybearers can use magic, even if you are not by default skilled with it, Keyblades are a natural conduit for spellcasting. Knowing how the elements react and why is important. For your own example, its more herbalism, but, you generally need a basic understanding of chemistry to properly make herbal medicine, even if you don't realize it."

She held off on physics. While Eraqus had introduced them to the concepts of it early, without really even calling it physics, they hadn't started actually learning about it as a topic until they had been older than Kairi was now. "We'll go over the basics in our one on one sessions and see what you actually do or do not need help with."

Kairi blinked. "I thought you were teaching us both...?"

"I am," confirmed Aqua, before trying to see if she could work out some of that inadequacy and jealousy from the girl, "But, both you and Olette have different strengths and weaknesses, different skillsets. Olette has no experience with weaponry and combat. I'm going to have to guide her through things I imagine Leon taught you years ago. Having you go through the same thing would be pointless where the most you need is to make some adjustments on your fighting style, perhaps a few katas to go through, and practice."

"Our one on one on the other hand I imagine will mostly go over the academics to begin with," said Aqua, "And you'll have to see another teacher entirely for guidance on developing your powers with the light. Not to mention you're probably on your own for wielding two Keyblades at once."

Kairi slowly nodded. "Okay."

"Alright, off with you," said Aqua, "Go get some grub."

"See you at lunch then, Master Aqua," said Kairi before she left.

Aqua rubbed her nose and closed her eyes, a tired sigh escaping her lips. She had to many things she needed to get ready for the second half of the day to stop for lunch. She left the room and made her way back into the library, walking through rows and rows of books. For Kairi, she began to pick out basic academics, things they could go over one by one and see if she needed anymore guidance in the topic. For Olette, she grabbed beginners books on keymanship, stances and katas and trainings that generations of Keybearers before her time had painstakingly catalogued for future use.

She plopped the books down one by one on a library, and began to refresh herself on the subjects. It had been years since she had been a young apprentice, before she had settled into her own style of combat. Rehearsing the beginnings to teach Olette, so she didn't just by default have the girl emulate her, was needed. So she browsed the book, eyeing the exercises thoughtfully, flipping one page after another...

Until an apple landed on her book, making her jump a little. "Wha..."

"Swear I've seen this somewhere before," came Ven's amused voice, "Aqua so busy studying she forgets to eat."

She looked up to see Ven standing by the doorway, lofting a second apple up into the air and catching it, smiling at her.

She scratched her head bashfully. "I've got two apprentices I need to keep busy."

He walked over and set down the second apple on the table. "Doesn't mean you couldn't just ask one of them to grab you a quick bite to eat."

She sighed. "I'll try to remember for next time."

She plucked the apple off her book and bit into it, savoring the juicy snack, before she set it down and resumed reading.

"So, what's got Terra into a tangent?" asked Ven, moving to sit on the edge of the table, "Wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

Aqua sighed again, rolling her eyes and thumbing towards the side room she had been teaching in. Ven raised an eyebrow at that, but still moved to go in. She could see him crossing his arms and reading the chalkboard. She didn't get a sense of what he felt. He had come a long way in mastering himself, to be so controlled. It filled her with pride to see her friend as a Master, she just... just wished she had been there to see him come into his own. Hadn't had a hand in hardening him into the young man he was now.

He walked back out, a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm not judging either way, but why that? Especially so early?"

"I want them, and any apprentices they one day teach, to truly understand the dangers and responsibilities that come with being a Keybearer," answered Aqua before her voice went sour, "We can't have another Xehanort allowed to cause havoc across the worlds down the road. If things had happened just a little differently, he could have won."

She met his gaze with her own. "The knowledge of the dangers they face can't be put off until those of our lineage become Masters, or perhaps even until one of them became a future Steward. It leaves the responsibility in one persons hands when it is supposed to be on all of us to bear."

Ven tilted his head a little. "Hmm. I see where you're coming from. Though I still think day one is a little to soon."

She gave a sheepish smile. "Well, maybe. I think it had the desired effect at least, I could sense Olette didn't like a lot of the things she learned about."

Ven hummed, but didn't say anything in response, thinking. It was again so strange, to not see him so readily speaking, bouncing along with excitement to be heard; still and thoughtful wasn't a Ven trait she was familiar with. She smiled a bit. "When did you get so patient Ven?"

He gave her a strange look. "Patient?"

"You're still and thoughtful."

He scratched the back of his head. "If you say so. I mean, maybe compared to back then. I kinda had to learn to slow down and wait. Didn't really have a choice at the beginning, I messed up enough times that Terra eventually had to sit me out for a few months in the first year of the Heartless Apocalypse until I learned to sort myself out."

Aqua's eyebrows furrowed. "Ven, what do you mean by 'sort yourself out'?"

"I was all light, Aqua," said Ven, slowly frowning, "That's not true anymore."

She blinked at him.

"After Vanitas... died," after she killed him he meant, "He went back to me. I got all of his memories, his heart became a part of mine, which also meant I got his darkness."

Her eyes went wide.

"I never noticed it in that brief time we had after we thought Xehanort was beat because I was so happy it was finally over, that we had you back, there was nothing for the darkness to feed off of," said Ven quietly, "When... when we lost you, is when it really became apparent. I couldn't help Terra in some of the initial clashes with the heartless because I was having a brutal time learning control. Where before, I could feel and do and use my power however I wanted and still get light, now half of that would bring out my darkness."

"Vanitas' memories of his time as Xehanort's 'apprentice'," he spat out the last word, "Didn't help either."

Aqua swallowed thickly. "Ven..."

She was up and out of her seat, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry."

Ven gave a startled laugh. "Have I told you yet I missed your hugs?"

"I think they were better when you were shorter than me."

That got another laugh out of him. "I dunno."

He shook his head. "It's nothing you need apologize for."

She let go and sat on the edge of the table with her books. "I'm not so sure on that. I am the one who killed Vanitas."

He gave a strained smile. "As much as I wish that he could have lived his own life free of Xehanort, he had to be stopped. He wasn't going to stop until he became whole. Whether through me, or some other means."

"Some other means?"

"He had the thought that maybe he could use Terra or another extreme light to merge and complete with, but... I don't think it would have worked," said Ven, "Him and I were connected, no one else was. Maybe he could have tried something like what Xehanort wanted to do to you, became a parasite controlling someone else's body, but..."

Ven grew quieter. "He wouldn't have been whole."

Aqua did her best not to frown. "You sympathize with him?"

"All he wanted at first was to stop hurting, and to be whole," answered Ven, "Everything else came from Xehanort twisting him into what we encountered."

He shook his head. "Learning to manage those memories, along with re-balancing myself in the light, was a chore unlike any other let me tell you."

She squinted suspiciously at him. "Hours of meditation and retrospection?"

"Weeks of it!" he lamented, throwing his hands up into the air, "At least I was able to give Sora some lessons and talk to him when I was trying to deal with my issues, otherwise I mighta gone mad from being cooped up with myself."

He gave a self-depreciating smile. "Hard to feel pity for myself when the kid just lost his family and home. We kinda helped eachother out."

Aqua looked away for a long moment, wishing she had been there to help him. "I'm glad you two could do so."

They grew silent for a time before Ven glanced at the table. "Alright, I'll leave you to your reading."

He wagged a finger. "Don't forget to eat your apples, I know you."

She gave a soft chuckle and waved him off. "Alright, alright, off with you... actually, wait a sec."

He paused at the door. "Yeah?"

"Do you still have that wooden Keyblade of yours?" she asked.

"Erm... I mighta stuffed it in a treasure chest on another world?" he answered sheepishly, "Why do you ask... oh, right, new apprentice who hasn't manifested her Keyblade yet, gotcha."

He grinned. "Maybe I shoulda kept it, the thought of apprentices who could use it never crossed my mind."

She hummed. "There a story why you put in in a chest somewhere?"

"Kind of," he admitted, "Its nothing major, was helping out a guy named Peter Pan and a bunch of kids. We put a bunch of keepsakes in the chest, the wooden Keyblade was my donation to the treasure trove. I can go make a run for it, I'm sure Peter wouldn't mind."

"You don't have to go make a trip just for that, I can have her use Rainfell...," began Aqua.

Ven waved it off. "I'm happy to go do so, 'sides, I haven't seen Peter and his gang in years since their world fell. Would be nice to catch up with them for a bit."

He grinned. "Though I'm a 'grown-up' now, wonder how they'll react to that."

He was out the door before she could say anything else. She merely shook her head in bemusement and went back to planning out her lessons...

Though not before taking another bite of an apple.

By the time her apprentices returned a few hours later, and gave her lip about skipping lunch, Aqua had an idea of how she wanted to go about this. "Alright girls, its a lovely evening outside, so lets move our lesson."

The girls fell in behind her as she led them through the keep, out past the courtyard, and into the training yards. She eyed the ring targets, moving to stand next to one, gently pushing one along as she waited. Unfortunately, Ven wasn't back yet. She turned her head to look at the older apprentice. "Alright, Kairi. I'm going to walk you through a few Katas I want you to practice while I'm starting Olette on the basics. Most of these are defensive in nature, blocks or maneuvers meant to protect you or get you out of harms way."

"Couldn't you just teach me that barrier thing you use?" asked Kairi.

"I thought you didn't like magic?" asked Aqua innocently, "Because its magic in nature."

Kairi scowled a little at the teasing.

Aqua gave a self-depreciating smile. "I use the barrier for a reason, Kairi. My discipline is magic. I don't have the speed or the physical strength others have. Back in my training days, if I tried blocking, Terra would tend to just overpower me, or Ven would slip around. Kind of hard for them to do that when I'm in a bubble. It also requires a hefty magical aptitude and experience."

"Neither which I have," muttered Kairi.

"We all have our own strengths and weaknesses," said Aqua, "I can't even touch the light anymore, let alone use it like you do."

Kairi hesitated. Oddly, she looked rather uncomfortable with that for some reason.

"Now," said Aqua, "Lets get a Keyblade out, one to be specific."

Kairi summoned Two-Become One. Aqua's eyes lingered on it for a moment, wondering if Kairi made a conscious choice in which she summoned when she only called for only one, before walking over, wrapping her arms around the girl from being, grasping her wrists gently. "Now, hold it like this, down to the ground, bring it up horizontal with a snap, with force, as if to deflect a blow, to off-balance your opponent and leave them open for a counterattack..."

Her breathing briefly hitched when she felt a wave of pure happiness and contentedness ripple from the girl, as if all her worries and concerns had just faded away, leaving Aqua just a tad baffled, but continued with her lesson, showing Kairi a number of moves and maneuvers to practice. The entire time, those emotions don't budge an inch. The moment Aqua lets go, they immediately start to fade, not at a remarkable pace, bit she feels the dim, feels a sense of longing rise from the girl.

It leaves Aqua distinctly uncomfortable and uneasy. She should be happy Kairi enjoys the more hands on training, except... something feels terribly off about it, because it wasn't just training, she had tried teaching the girl magic and she hadn't gave off that sensation. Holding and guiding her through something she enjoyed though... it should seem okay, but it leaves a sinking feeling in her stomach...

"Ven Air Services special delivvveeeryyyy!" called down a voice from above.

Aqua glanced up and spotted Ven on his glider speeding down, leaping off, landing, and kneeling in one smooth motion infront of Olette as his armor disappeared, holding up and offering his old wooden Keyblade. "One training Keyblade per your Master's request, m'lady."

Olette had a mixture of amusement and blushing on her face, reaching out and grabbing the wooden Keyblade, running a hand up its dings and nicks. "Thank you."

"Cutting it awfully close Ven," teased Aqua.

Ven huffed. "Peter was being a pest, said if I wanted the Keyblade back I had to catch him."

"And you had trouble with that?" she asked.

"He can fly," answered Ven sourly, "And maneuver way better than a glider can, so yes, I had trouble."

Aqua couldn't help giggling, neither could her apprentices.

"Har har har, I go through all this trouble and I get laughed out," said Ven, pouting.

Aqua walked over and gave him a hug. "Thanks Ven."

He grinned. "No problem, have fun with the kids."

"Now, Olette, until your own Keyblade manifests, this will be what you train with," instructed Aqua as Ven broke off and went inside, "Don't be afraid to break it, but, try not to go out of your way to, it would be nice to start a tradition of passing it down. It was Terra's first, then Ven's, now yours."

Olette nodded, looking it over again. "I'll treasure it."

"Couldn't you just magic it to be stronger?" called over Kairi.

Aqua blinked a few times. "Well, actually, yeah, give it here for a moment Olette."

She hefted the wooden Keyblade in her hands for a moment, sizing it up, before closing her eyes and resting its teeth against her forehead, reaching inward for her power. She wrapped her magic around the Keyblade like a shell, embedding it into the outer wood, with an open reception for its wielder. Not quite like an actual Keyblade, or her good luck charms, but it would bind to whoever used it, drawing from their strength to grant it endurance. She opened her eyes, a glow surrounding the Keyblade before it faded into it.

"There we go," said Aqua, a grin on her face, "I doubt it would stand up to a real weapon in an actual fight, but you're definitely not going to break it smacking it against training equipment."

"Could you make it do the flash thing normal Keyblades do?" asked Olette shyly, "Where you can summon and dismiss it at will?"

Aqua tilted her head back in thought for a moment. "That would be a bit more complex to do."

She gave Olette a sly look. "Someone's eager to have her own Keyblade."

Olette kicked the ground, both hands going behind her back, blushing a little. "Maybe."

"Tell you what, do good in today's lessons, and I'll start working on the spellwork needed to do that tonight, sound fair?" asked Aqua, eyebrow raised in challenge.

Olette grinned. "Yes!"

"Alright then," said Aqua, summoning Rainfell, "I'm going to show you the motions to start building muscle memory, but understand, you are also going to need to do strength, endurance, and speed training ontop of these."

"Did you?" asked Olette, "Since you specialize in magic?"

"Of course," said Aqua, "Just because that is my focus doesn't mean I can slack in the others, because that creates a weakness anyone can exploit. I might not be as strong as Terra or as fast as Ven, but I'm by no means a pushover in either category."

She cleared her throat. "Now, we're going to do this for awhile, then I'll start showing you exercises you can do to start toning your body. Alright?"

Olette squinted suspiciously at her. "I'm going to need a shower at the end of this, aren't I?"

Aqua answered cheerfully, "Absolutely."

Kairi ended up joining in on the exercises after they were done with their Keyblades, while she was ahead of Olette having been raised by a Leon, a swordsman, and Yuffie, a Ninja, neither of those received the training a Keybearer required. Though she supposed patrolling and clearing heartless in Traverse Town had also helped prep her a bit, as did her few months as a Keybearer. Still, it never hurt to add onto that. Aqua ended the session with laps around the courtyard alongside her girls, a race to make them try harder.

Aqua might have cheated a little with teleporting, but it was a master's prerogative. Olette ran on ahead for her newly assigned room, eager to clean herself off, while Kairi and Aqua walked back to the keep at a slow pace.

"You know," said Kairi softly, "I've been waiting for this a long time."

"Hmmm?" hummed Aqua.

"You teaching and training me," said Kairi, taking a deep breath and letting it out before giving Aqua a wide smile, "I'm glad its finally happening."

"You don't count the magic lessons I gave you the other day?" said Aqua, amused.

Kairi made a face. "Bleh."

Aqua took it good nature, chuckling. "Well, I'll try not to let you down."

Kairi shook her head. "You're the best master I could ever ask to have, Master Aqua."

Aqua huffed in response, a bit of bitterness escaping her lips, "Hardly. I've screwed up enough times to have my mastership revoked, caused enough damage to last generations..."

"Everyone makes mistakes," said Kairi dismissively before pausing to surprise hug Aqua, "And I don't blame you for what that Heartless did to me."

Aqua came to a stop to not drag the girl along, hesitating. "Kairi..."

The girl just shook her head. "I don't blame you for anything. It's not your fault any of the last decade happened, its Xehanort's."

"I, and plenty of the others, could argue against that," said Aqua softly.

Kairi just sighed and hugged her tighter. "I wish you'd have more confidence in yourself Master Aqua. Your my master, once you've had a chance to really rest, recover, and catch up, you'll be the best Keyblade Master ever, way better than the others."

Aqua looks down at her, into her eyes, and sees faith there, feels it with her senses. The sinking feeling from earlier is rearing its head again, because the girl shouldn't have such devotion to her. She knows shes not even remotely perfect, she's messed up badly, has enough personal issues to last several lifetimes, caused misery to pretty much every person in the entire Realm of Light, especially those in this world, especially Kairi, her heartless tortured the girl's heart multiple times and nearly sent her on a one way trip to the Realm of Sleep. Yet, its like despite all of this she can do almost no fault, like the girl is trying to put her up on a pedestal... the look in her eye so devoted...

Almost fanatical...

Oh.

Oh...

Aqua swallows thickly as it hits her, and she can't even try to deny it the way the girl is clutching to and looking at her.

Its not devotion.

Its obsession.

Words Kairi spoke in Radiant Garden echo in her head, "We all needed something to hang onto those ten years, something to give us hope. The promise you made me was what I clung to in order to help me keep going."

Dread hits Aqua when she finally and truly understands just how badly she ruined Kairi. If the girl really focused on her over the years... along with so many little things she noticed over the last few days, from her Nobody's interactions with her, hells, Kairi charged through an army of Heartless to hug Aqua's heartless because she thought it was her when she first met it. Obsession makes a sickening amount of sense. Terra and Ven, despite her failings, still treasure her, and (for some reason) still trust in her, but not without acknowledging her faults and failings. Kairi? This is going to end so badly, she knows this. One day, that absolute faith and devotion would fail, one day Kairi would realize Aqua wasn't all she thought she was, that the pedestal she raised her master up on was made of glass, and Aqua prayed when it shattered that it wouldn't destroy the girl.

Because she had no idea how to fix this, Kairi will brush aside anything negative Aqua says, and the girl has little trust in or good opinions of the other Keybearers if Aqua asked them for help, because this was more than needing her to realize her 'Childhood Hero' was human with all the faults that implied...

"Master Aqua?"

Aqua gave her a strained smile and diverted, "C'mon, we both need a shower before we stink up the dinning halls for dinner..."

After dinner, after they've all separated to wind down for the next, Aqua retreats to hide in the library. Its a tactic from when she was a younger apprentice and wanted to be alone. The place her friends or Master always searched first was her room, the summit, the kitchen, then they'd start wandering and eventually find her. She'd always be able to use the 'I wanted to do some studying' excuse for when they found her. She picks a random book, goes into an isle, and plops down with it in her lap to open up in a split second if someone stumbles upon her.

She scrubs at her face, massaging her eyes, sighing heavily. Stressed doesn't begin to describer the last few days for her. Hells, the last few months if she wants to be honest. To go from the end of the Xehanort conflict to suddenly waking up a decade later makes her feel like she's never been able to catch her breath. She can't honestly remember drifting in the Realm of Sleep as anything more than vague notions, and she tries desperately to not think of her Heartless's memories, shunning her Nobody's as well (She literally sat in the mansion doing nothing for the first few years before Olette stumbled upon her, its infuriating!). And now she's training two apprentices on top of all of this, a brand new one that requires a great deal of focus and attention and care, the other who is stubbornly set in her own ways along with 'apparently' being obsessed that her master is the best thing ever. What was she thinking? She should have... should have passed them onto the others for at least a few weeks until she at least somewhat sorted herself out...

She pauses her thoughts when she hears the library door creak open, she grumbles quietly under her breath and props the book up, aimlessly looking at its pages, but the person doesn't go sifting through the library. She stretches her senses out when she hears them go for the side room; it's Terra. Aqua frowns a little, is he still aggravated by her teaching the girls about those topics? She pinches the bridge of her nose, wondering if she should just slip out, stay where she was, or just confront him on it.

In for a penny in for a pound. Why not throw another issue ontop of the rest? She scoffs at herself and stands, dumping the book on a bottom shelf and making to stand and move towards the side room. Except, rather than look irritated or angry, Terra seems thoughtful. He's flipping through a book, his eyes flicking up to look at the notes Aqua left on the chalkboard from earlier in the day. What is he doing?

"Terra?" she questions.

He starts a bit, looking over at her. "Oh, hi Aqua."

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Comparing notes," he admitted, "Where did you find some of this information Aqua? Because there's a few things on the board that we weren't aware of."

She was taken aback. "Really?"

"You said Kingdom Hearts can be used to remake the worlds," said Terra, frowning, "All we have is that it is the heart of all worlds, that it is the source of light, of great power and wisdom. That it is what the Keyblade War was fought over."

He rubbed his chin. "I'm not versed on ancient languages either, while perhaps not as important, X being defined as death or ending wasn't something I was aware of. If Yen Sid knew, it was never anything he mentioned in our discussions over the years."

Aqua hesitated for a moment. "Its... this is all stuff I learned when Maleficent and I stole Xehanort's reports and books. You have a copy of the reports at least, the Kingdom Hearts bit was in there."

Terra's jaw set. "I despise reading those things."

Understandable, she could relate. "Fair enough."

There was silence for a time, as Terra continued to compare what was on the board to what he read. It honestly was only a brief overview of the things Aqua had read. Yet it seemed foreign to him. Perhaps she had been right, if Xehanort had found this information within his lifetime, then the Keybearers of the past might not truly have wanted to know. Might not have ever wanted to look for answers or knowledge on these forbidden topics.

"I suppose at some point," said Terra, "We ought to sit down and get what information you can remember from those book written down as well."

Aqua didn't hold back the weary sigh that escaped her lips. Just another thing to do or be worried over added to the list. "At some point."

"At some point," he agreed, turning to give her a concerned look, sizing her up, "Hmm. You look like you could use a day off."

Aqua snorted derisively. "A day."

"Maybe more," he admitted, "So, how about after the morning lessons tomorrow, we take a break from all of this?"

She tilted her head. "What do you have in mind?"

"Want to go to another world?" he asked, "I've made plenty of friends and allies over the years I wouldn't mind introducing to you. One in particular was a great source of advice and wisdom to me and Eraqus."

Its sad when Aqua doesn't instinctively know if that's a good thing or not. Her trip to Radiant Garden with Kairi also lingers in the back of her mind. Merlin's reaction to her. Its not a good idea. But it never will be, will it? Her heartless caused so much damage that it'll be relatively impossible to go anywhere without that kind of reaction. So either she never leaves here, finds some relatively uninhabited world to retire on at some point, or she sucks it up and gets it over with. Deals with the consequences of it all, getting people used to her being around and not her Heartless.

"Could use a change of scenery," she says halfheartedly.

He grins. "You'll like Zeus, trust me on that."

She hums, non-committal, filing the name away. It doesn't ring any bells to her. She doesn't know if he's referencing a world or the person he mentioned. She doesn't have the energy to ask. "Alright, well, it sounds like we have a long day tomorrow, I'll think I'll retire for the night."

Again, his eyes linger with concern. "Good night Aqua."

She nods curtly, turns, and leaves, retreating to her room, turning off the lights, grabbing her wayfinder, and clutching it to herself as she waits for sleep to overtake her...

Except wait.

She had promised Olette she'd try to work on a recall spell for the wooden Keyblade.

All Aqua could do was stare up at the ceiling and groan...

Author's Rant: (Yes, rant, not notes)

Haven't finished KH3 yet.

I got a bit peeved and offput at the Aqua VS Ansem's Heartless cut-scene, where the writers decide to have Aqua try to jump-kick Ansem rather than, oh I don't know, use her magic? Where Ansem looks at Aqua like she's just an amusement not worth his time when Aqua literally kicked Terranort's ass and survived 10 years in the Realm of Darkness? (I really don't like the time-constriction of the RoD, I'd rather it have been a FULL 10 years rather than a shorter time for Aqua).

Not to mention the weirdness with broken Keyblades and how Riku acted during that entire scene (seemed forced to me).

And what I have spoiled myself of the ending, with the writers again butchering Kairi.

I set the game aside awhile ago, not sure when I'll bring myself to finish the game, I think I ended after the Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm a bit disappointed thus far. The best part of the game has been riding robots in Toy Box smashing other robots around, and that grew stale eventually, not much else has really entertained or drawn at me. I'm hoping there's some light in this road, cuz thus far KH3 is coming off as 'just another game', rather than a finale. We'll see.

Also...

BET WE'LL FIND SOME LUCKY EMBLEMS \ tHiS mIgHt Be A gOoD sPoT tO fInD SoMe iNgReDiEnTs

Dear gods make it stop. Please.

To close, have I ever said I find Demon Towers/Demon Tide a lacklusterly designed enemy? The Demon Tower doesn't deserve the Hunter of the Dark music, at all.

Review Responses:

Guest: Sorry, I've already done/doing my Dark!Aqua fanfic. Don't think I've got it in me to do another with all the other stuff I still have to write.

Dark Nightmare: Space out your wall of text, headache to try and read that.

Lance-Log: Fair enough, if you can get by without reading the others, more power to ya. Mmm, IDK if Terra's was entirely inadequacy, perhaps some of it, Xehanort inflamed/encouraged it a bit. Not to mention the whole idiotic thing of trying to be entirely light without acknowledging your darkness. He really went dark at Eraqus when the man tried to kill Ven. The final straw at the graveyard was after he thought Ven was dead.

More hardened and pained, both can be attributed to Kairi. She watched her Grandma, her only family at the time, 'die' (lose her heart) when she was four. Aqua's promise to her never happened (not until now), and she was stuck in a difficult childhood full of danger from the Heartless, losing friends and people she cared for, struggling to survive in a overcrowded and resource deprived Traverse Town. Her difficulties over the last two books only compounded upon that. She's not exactly okay, I won't say Kairi is mentally unstable, she's not, but she has severe issues.

Eh... Terra's always been prone to anger, light or otherwise I'd imagine. Not to mention, Aqua did kind of do a crime against humanity, its justified anger, BUT, he might have been more thoughtful about how to express that anger considering Aqua's own struggles. 'shrug'

Olette isn't an OC. . She's Olette from Twilight Town, the Hayner, Pence, Olette trio. Considering her lack of interactions with them, perhaps that didn't come off as clear.

Mickey and Minne will have an appearance at some point, perhaps Team Keybearer will go visit, but, M&M arn't going to be major characters in this.

Anyway, thanks for the comment ^_^. I actually like it when they're longer and focused on likes/dislikes and things like that.

Vigriff: Not that I'm aware. If you ever find it, and its any good, shoot me the name of it and I'll take a gander.

The Pyro Jawsome: So, on another FF site, I saw that there was this tag that describes my writing: No beta reader we die like men. I thought that was hilarious. :D

Umbrardor: We'll see where Olette starts to go, but she's completely untrained as of the moment, aside from a few magic lessons from Aqua's Nobody. She's not going to have an active combat role in this story (maybe?). I mean, Sora went from swinging around a wooden sword to fighting Heartless with basically no experience. She could theoretically, but it would be irresponsible for the Keybearers to actually have her go do that in a non-apocolyptic scenario (I.E. Sora & Riku's training).