Disclaimer: Hi! I still don't own KH or KHII and I still own the OCs and plot.

Chapter VIII

Kaylee followed Zexion into the training arena where she had first fought Axel.

"What are we doing?" she asked, to her surprise, more out of curiosity than nervousness.

"I'm not doing anything. You're fighting Demyx," Zexion stated. Kaylee felt the little color in her face vanish as she grew paler than before.

"What?" The girl stopped dead in her tracks, refusing to take another step.

"I've seen how well you did with Axel. Now I need to see if that was dumb luck or a good fight." His voice kept a consistent, calm monotone only broken when he put emphasis on a particular word.

"And I-I'm fighting Demyx?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"N-No Zexion."

"Good." Zexion pointed to the center of the arena where Demyx was waiting, his lips set in a warm smile as Kaylee walked in. "Whenever you're ready."

There was a long pause between the two as they examined each other and waited for the other to make the first strike. Suddenly Kaylee sprung at the blond musician, sword raised.

"Squee!" she shouted. Demyx stifled a laugh as he remembered the hyper-active teen's battle cry. He strummed the sitar's strings and a blast of water kept her away. It did more than that, actually. Kaylee was pushed to the ground, some of the water dripping off her steel blade.

"Ow…" She pushed herself back up and tried again, and again she was blocked with another blast of water. "Owie!" The third time she tried he accidentally sent too strong of a wave her way and when she hit the ground she said or did nothing.

"Kexlae?" he asked. Nothing. He ran to the fallen warrior and tapped her shoulder. "Kexlae?"

"Ouchies…" she groaned. Demyx held out a hand and helped her up. She looked at him with a huge grin. "Thank you!"

And with that Kaylee had jumped up and threw her arms around Demyx's neck, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. A confused Zexion walked out to them and watched them with, well, confusion.

"Kexlae? Kexlae?"

"Yes?" Kaylee asked, not releasing Demyx.

"He's turning blue."

"Oh." She let go of Number Nine and looked him with complete sorrow.

"It's okay. It didn't hurt that much," he reassured. She grinned and was desperate to keep herself from pouncing on him again.

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Nicolette stood at her window, looking out to the destroyed portion of Hollow Bastion. A small sigh escaped her lips.

How much longer do I have to do this?, she wondered. She sighed once more and returned to her desk where she found an unopened message on her laptop. It was from Kaylee. She rubbed the pommel of her sword, which was belted at her hip, and thought about how much she hated the Nobodies. Kaylee's letter was reassuring but didn't settle her nerves. Upon reading it she found her hand moving from the sword's pommel to her necklace, which she gripped so tightly it seemed as if she wanted it to save her life. She couldn't think of anything to say to her friend, so her reply simply asked if she had found out anything about the Organization.

She clicked send and stayed immobile for a few minutes, refusing to let go of the charm on her necklace. There was a knock on her door.

"It's open," she said weakly. When the door was pushed open she was shocked to see Leon enter. "Leon?"

"Yeah?'

"What are you doing?" she asked, hoping she didn't come across as rude.

"I wanted to know why you came to my room the other day." She rubbed the charm, still not letting go.

"I gave you my reason. It hasn't changed." He nodded.

"Just being sure." As he turned to walk out she couldn't help but ask,

"You're not used to people caring?" He turned suddenly.

"What?"

"You're not used to people caring." This time it came out as more of a statement than a question.

"No, it's not that."

"Okay."

"Really."

"I believe you." Leon turned but didn't leave. He just remained in her doorway, back turned to her.

"They don't care," he said without turning.

"Who?"

"Yuffie and Cid. They don't care."

"I'm sure they do." Leon shook his head.

"I used to say the same thing. They don't care." He held onto the doorframe, keeping himself from punching the wall out of frustration. The two stayed silent. "Why do you care?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you care?" he repeated.

"Because I know who it feels to have the world against you." He turned and gave her one of those 'what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about' looks. "My parents were taken by the Heartless when I was little. I don't know what happened or if they're still...I just know how you feel." She stopped herself before tears started flowing. She didn't want to embarrass herself.

"Okay." Her grip on the charm tightened. "What is that?"

"The charm?" she asked, opening her palm as she felt the sharp edges making marks against her skin. "It's a friendship thing." She let him examine it.

"It's nice."

"Thanks."

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"We have a lot of work to do," Zexion stated. Kaylee nodded.

"Are you going to fight me, then?" she asked.

"No. I'm going to be more of a referee." She cocked her head slightly.

"Then who am I gonna fight?" Zexion didn't need to say anything else, for the hyper teen's question was answered when none other then Marluxia walked in. Kaylee gulped past the hard lump in her throat. "Oh dear."

"Not worry," said Marluxia calmly. "I'm not fighting you yet."

"You're not?" she asked.

"I'm going to show you how to use your opponent's weapon against them."

"Oh dear," Kaylee repeated. Marluxia pulled a long sword from behind his back. The hilt had small flowers carved into it, but to her surprise that didn't make the weapon look feminine. The flowers were carved in an almost medieval way that made them seem threatening. The blade was tinged the faintest red. She unsheathed her own weapon, worried about how puny it looked compared to the sword Marluxia was holding.

"Don't worry. Just step in the arena."

Kaylee did as she told, Marluxia following close behind. As they made it to the center they looked up to see Zexion leaning over the boards.

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"So how long have you been training at the academy?" Riku asked, turning away from the brilliant sunset for the first time in about five minutes. Skyler pulled her knees up and hugged them against her chest.

"I don't know. As long as I can remember; I basically grew up there." She sighed, but he stayed silent, knowing she had more to say. "My parents separated when I was four."

"Any siblings?"

"A brother, Kale."

"Does he train, too?" She sighed.

"No. He lived with my mother. She sent me to the school so that I could defend myself against the heartless. They attacked us after my dad left. They knew we were weak."

"Do you miss them? Your family, I mean."

"Yes. Well, Kale and my mother at least. I don't know my dad too well. I haven't seen him since I was six. I'm sure Kale sees him, though." As she spoke Skyler sensed something in her voice that wasn't usually there. Was it envy? Or even resentment?

"Are you jealous of that?" Riku asked, noticed the new tone as well.

"I don't know. From what I remember of my dad, he wasn't that great. After the divorce he tried to buy back mine and Kale's affection, not knowing that he already had it. We'd see him for two weeks, he'd go away and when he came back he'd give us something he bought for us. Whenever we'd see him he'd try and buy us something. It got a little annoying."

"So how long have you known your friends?"

"Nicolette and Kaylee? God, it's hard to remember. I meet Nicolette when I was little. She had some troubles with her family and lived with us for a while, then my mom sent us to the academy, where we met Kaylee. We've been best friends ever since."

"So, where did you grow up?" There was a long wait for a reply as Skyler wracked her brain, desperately trying to remember.

"I've been away so long. I haven't been home for the summer in years. I don't even know where I was born." Riku gave her a supportive smile and she smiled back. Then the nice moment they were having was broken by Riku being tackled by someone. The two went rolling down the hill Riku and Skyler were sitting on.

"Noooo!" Skyler screamed. It was then that she realized it was only Sora and the were merely rolling down a hill. She ran after the boys at top speed. "Sora, you meanie!" she shouted. And, just as Sora was getting up, Skyler tackled him. In just a few swift moves Skyler had thrown him into the ocean and started walking back up the hill. Poor Riku was left glancing between a flailing Sora and an angry Skyler.

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Soft evening winds blew gently on the red curtains in a plain office. As the curtains blew around they seemed to give some color to the white walls. Behind a desk, Master Adán was tapping a pencil lightly on the oak desk.

"They'll do fine," he assured himself, "They're my best warriors."

And if that's so, why do I feel as if something will go amiss?

A/N

Okay, there it is. The chapter you've all been waiting. Now prepare to wait another (insert estimated period of time here) for the ninth! R&R

Wolf