Xarik glanced up, teary-eyed. "You mean we have to wait?"

"Yeah," Xaice said calmly, pulling the strings on his hood with obvious boredom. "Why are you so upset about it?"

"Because." the girl said angrily. "I want to kill him now."

"Hey, hey, be patient, Xar," another boy added. He tossed his russet-colored hair and looked at her, his sarcasm and flippant attitude illustrated through his hazel eyes. "You'll get your chance soon enough."

"But…I have to…for my…"

"For the last time," Xaice interrupted, losing his composure in a single moment. "Larxene wasn't, nor will she ever be, your mother. She's not related to you. Just listen to Zai and shut your mouth."

"Yes, sir." she answered dutifully. The other boy, Zaix, blinked.

"I didn't tell her to shut her mouth."

"Well I did, so you shut yours too."

Silently, Xarik stood and stared at the floor. "I know she wasn't my mother. Just like Axel wasn't your father, D-men."

"Ugh, I hate that nickname…but you're right." Xaice said, nodding. "He wasn't. And Saix wasn't related to Zaix, even though someone lacked the brains to name their kid something far enough from that…and Rare has nothing. She's just…there."

A girl walked into the room, glaring at the others with piercing red eyes framed by blonde hair. "Meaning what? Are you calling me worthless?"

"No, no, of course not…why would I call my girlfriend worthless?" Xaice said, grinning. Rarext rolled her eyes and continued scowling.

"I'm not your girlfriend. We Nobodies can't feel emotion, and I'm not for pretending, thanks. Get a life already, Xaice."

The boy's grin faded into a glare. "Whatever. But really, you've got nothing. There was only one girl in the Organization last time around, so it's not like you follow anyone. Xar follows Larxene, so you missed out."

"This 'following' crud is a lie and you know it. It's just something Ri made up."

"How dare you call him that! He's our leader, show some respect!" Zaix argued, giving up when Rarext kicked him in the shin. She continued, speaking in an irritated tone of voice.

"He's trying to give us someone to look up to, so we don't end up stupid and useless, like that failure Xemnas." She shot a poisonous look at Xarik. "Larxene isn't your mother, and the only reason you're hanging on to that is because you idolize her too much. So get your head out of the clouds, idiot, and come back to reality."

"That's wrong. You know that when a Nobody is created, by fate their paths as a member of the Organization are chosen. We have paths that match those of others for a reason." Xarik defended. Rarext swore and kicked the wall, annoyed beyond self-control.

"Who cares? We've got something to fight for, now." Xaice interrupted, jumping off of the chair he had been sitting on. "We got dignity and the good name of the Organization to fight for, remember that. So all in all, it doesn't matter if we're following anything or not. We're fighting for a darn good purpose."

"To defeat Sora." Xarik muttered. Xaice smirked and slowly nodded.

"That's right." a fifth person entered the room, visibly taller than all the rest. Immediately, the four who had already been present dropped to their knees and addressed the figure in unison.

"Superior."

"At ease, all of you." the figure ordered. "Xaice, step forward."

The boy obeyed and took one step forward, bowing respectfully. "The Double-Bladed Menace, at your service, sir." he said eagerly.

"Xarik. Zaix. Rarext."

The three stepped forward and bowed.

"The Pierce of Defeat, at your service, sir."

"The Deceitful Bandit, at your service, sir."

"The Malevolent Princess, here."

"Rarext!" Xaice, Xarik, and Zaix shouted.

"Show him respect." Xaice hissed, becoming serious. Rarext sighed and added a half-hearted, slightly apologetic bow.

"You are all commended for your work on the assignment last night. You have my admiration…both for destroying the island fully and completely, and escorting the three targets away from their home-world effectively."

"Thank you, sir." the four said in unison.

"Your next assignment is in one month." Xarik cringed, noting the time frame between now and when she would have a chance to fight Sora. "The orders will be given in time, but I have decided that only three of you will go. Those three: Xaice…"

"Yes, sir."

"Xarik."

Xarik gasped with joy and shock. "Yes, sir. Th-thank you, sir."

"And Lenexa."

"Len?" Xaice and Xarik asked, blinking. A boy with short black hair, with one blonde streak, and bluish-gray eyes entered, grinning. Rarext rolled her eyes, and even Zaix sighed.

"Heya people, what's going down?" he asked blithely, waving.

"He's going on the next mission…with me and Xar?" Xaice asked, hesitant. Their leader nodded solemnly.

"Yes, he will be needed for this assignment. Lenexa's swift and agile fighting style will be incredibly important in the battle to come."

"Battle?" Xarik's eyes glowed with excitement.

"You will be battling the Keyblade Master, yes. But I can't give away anymore at this time. You will be briefed one day before the assignment is to initiate. Dismissed."

"Sir." all five said at once, bowing as he left.

Xaice shot a death glare at Lenexa, who smiled awkwardly and waved. "Len…" he muttered. "Let's get one thing straight. We go on the mission. We fight Sora. And most importantly, never forget that…"

"I'm the one who's going to kill him." Xarik finished, leaving the room abruptly.

There was a long pause. Lenexa glanced from the door to Xaice.

"Is she, by any chance, like, OCD or something?"

Xaice opened his mouth to answer, but then frowned. "You know…I'm really not sure." Rarext groaned.

"You are so, so stupid, all of you…" she walked towards the door. Xaice waved.

"See ya' later, dearest!" he called, laughing out loud. Zaix snickered, and Lenexa went into a complete hysterical fit of laughing.

"Moron!" she screamed back, slamming the door behind her.

The blonde haired boy watched the door. Turning to Zaix and Lenexa, he nodded and smirked lightheartedly. "Ya know it. She loves me."

Sora sat on the bench in the Second District and sighed. "Why are we doing this again, Leon?"

Leon stood about nine feet away, Gunblade in hand. "Because you need to learn to fight, or else you'll never make it."

"I already know how to fight." the younger boy whined, holding up his Keyblade as evidence. "Note the whole 'saved the universe twice' thing."

"You may know how to fight…" Riku said, sitting next to him and shoving him off the bench teasingly. "…but you don't know how to fight the right way."

"Right." Leon said as Sora climbed back onto the bench, fuming. "So I'm going to teach you—both of you—the correct way to fight in a battle. For example…" he picked up a wooden sword from nearby. "How to fight with two weapons."

"I can do that." Sora grumbled, willing another Keyblade to appear. He swung them through the air a few times just to demonstrate his point. "See?"

Riku shook his head. "You're off balance."

"And your timing on each swing is all wrong."

"Not to mention…" Riku began to say, but Sora cut him off mid-sentence.

"Well what the heck, yell at me some more why don't ya?" Riku and Leon exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"No, it's like this. C'mere." Sora got up and walked over to Leon. "Hold them as close to the same angle as possible, and don't swing them separately unless you have a perfectly good reason…like if you're covered on three sides, and you need to hold the third off until you knock the other two away." He lined up the two Keyblades. "Like this. When you do swing them, swing them together, as one weapon. Never treat them like they're separate, because they aren't. They're two halves of the same whole. Now…" he stepped back about thirty feet. "I'm your enemy. Attack me."

Sora looked at the Keyblades in his hands. Two halves of the same whole, he thought. It's true, really. The Keyblade chose me for the power of my heart, and it represents the power of one heart. No matter how many forms of the Keyblade you have, they're always just a part of the whole Keyblade itself. So swing them as one. Attack the enemy as one. Me and the Keyblade, attack as one. He stepped twice, never really touching the ground completely, and broke into a run. Attack as one. Step, step, step…jump. Sora leapt up, now only a foot or two away from Leon, and swung. Both Keyblades sliced through the air in perfect sync, reaching their target at the same exact moment, sending Leon flying back several yards until he landed hard on the pavement. Riku stared in shock.

"What the…that…that was crazy." he said, stunned. "I've never seen you hit anything that hard in your life."

Sora was surprised, too. He had felt a kind of harmony, a more dynamic sense of control, surging in his mind as he had swung. It was like right then, he had really and truly discovered how to utilize the Keyblade as it should be—with every ounce of power and energy it could possibly acquire.

Leon shook his head and stumbled up. "That was…good. You're done for the day."

Sora grinned. "Yes! See ya later, guys, I'm gonna go find…"

"No, you're not." the oldest of the three instructed. "I said you were done practicing for the day. You still have to watch Riku practice."

The Keyblader groaned. "No way…"

"You learn from each other. I can drill lessons into your heads every day for the next year, but you'll never get it down fully until you see it from a different perspective."

Riku smirked. "That's right. Watch and learn from the best of the best, kid."

"Hmph." Sora reluctantly leaned against the brick partition behind him and observed Riku and Leon, slightly uninterested.

"Okay, Riku. Do you have a Keyblade, yes or no?"

The silver-haired boy nodded. "Right here." He summoned it in a flash. "It can't do as much as Sora's. Like seal worlds, for one. It can open stuff, though."

"All of the Keyblades, light or otherwise, can do that at least. Does it swing well?"

"I guess," Riku answered, shrugging. "I mostly used dark attacks along with a swing. But I don't really have any dark attacks anymore…"

Leon nodded, thinking to himself. "That's okay. We'll just find a way to put the same amount of power into just the swing. Try focusing the same way you would for a dark attack, only direct the power into your swing."

Sora sighed and brushed a loose wisp of hair from his face. How's he going to that? The only way of fighting Riku ever knew was with the darkness. He's basically light now, but how's he going to change, just like that? His thoughts were shattered in the next moment. Riku's Keyblade started to glow as he stood frozen, staring ahead of him with no expression. After a few seconds, it glowed more. In an instant, Riku leapt up, clearing four feet of space in a single motion. Landing on the ground and turning in a 180 degree angle on one foot, he kicked out with one foot, knocking Leon to the ground. Placing that foot down ahead of him, he pushed off the ground and back-flipped another foot, landing only for a split second. Rushing forward, he swung downward and cut the sleeve off of Leon's jacket. The entire attack, start to finish, had been executed in a matter of seconds.

Leon, obviously, was stunned beyond words. He sat up, dazed, and managed a small grin. "You've got it in you, for sure. Nice job."

Riku only smiled. "Thanks." Turning to Sora, he nodded matter-of-factly. "What'd I tell you? The best of the best."

The younger boy rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Sure." But inside his head, he was as amazed as Leon was. How did he manage to do that? He was always the better fighter, but never to that extent, really. I guess—people really can change, at any time, as long as they want to. It must not matter what the odds are, as long as they're willing to beat them. He looked at his friend and grinned. And he sure was more than willing to give the good side another try.