Bonding

L.A.: Just had to get this chapter out before exams out. Hope you enjoy!

Rin yawned. She had dozed off for a few moments while they were flying in the Gummi Ship.

"Have a nice sleep, Rin?" Goofy asked.

Rin yawned. "Sort of. I had a weird dream."

"Did Rin wake up?" Sora called from the front seat.

"Yeah, I did," Rin said.

"Good, we're about to land in Traverse Town."

Rin had almost forgotten about that. After their adventures in Wonderland, they had agreed it would be best to rest up for a night in Traverse Town. Rin was relieved to hear the news. If any of the other worlds were like Wonderland, Rin would need a lot of rest to protect her sanity.

Rin popped her neck as she stepped out of the Gummy Ship. It felt good to be able to stretch again. The Gummy Ship might be big, but there weren't many opportunities to walk around in it.

"Well," Donald said. "Let's stock up on supplies. We leave tomorrow morning…and Rin, make sure you get there early."

Rin frowned. "Why?"

Donald crossed his arms and grinned. "Since you seem to be able to use magic, I'm going to teach you how to use it properly. Starting bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Are you serious?" Rin said.

"Get some shut eye." Donald said as he snickered.

"Why does Donald keep picking on me?" Rin asked as she collapsed on her bed. They were once again spending the night at the hotel in the 2nd District. Rin was beginning to think of it as their headquarters.

"I don't think he's picking on you," Jiminy said from his perch on her bedside table. He was furiously writing in his journal.

"Then how come he's only making me practice magic?" Rin asked.

Jiminy sighed as he put his pen down. "I only came to to their world recently but I think that magic users are rare there. The great socerer, Yen Sid, taught their king and the king taught Donald. I think Donald's never actually had an apprentice. Seeing how you can use magic, he's probably eager to share his skills."

"Huh," Rin said as she glanced at the Heartstaff. It was leaning against the wall where she had left it. After the incident in Wonderland, the Heartstaff had remained dormant. "It would be nice to learn more about the Heartstaff."

"That's the spirit," Jiminy said as he started writing again.

Everything was dark. Rin wasn't sure how she got here or why she was here. As she stood wondering what she should do next, she heard voices singing from far away. Curious, she walked towards the sound.

A T.V. appeared in front of her. The T.V. was displaying static. The voices soon came closer and she was able to understand them.

"Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. You're as welcome as can be."

Rin frowned. Were the voices coming from the T.V.? She started to walk toward it.

"M-I-C…K-E-Y…"

The T.V. abruptly cut off.

Rin woke up with a start. It took her a moment to remember she was still in her hotel room. That song, it had seemed so familiar to her. Like a childhood memory.

"Who's Mickey?" Rin whispered. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. She felt sweaty and gross, so she decided to go outside for a bit of fresh air.

As she crept to her door, she saw Jiminy curled up asleep in a shoebox bed. He had a frown on his face. "Pinnochio…" Jiminy mumbled as he turned over in his sleep.

I wonder who Pinnochio is, she thought as she slipped out of her room.

As she stepped outside, she realized she wasn't alone. Someone was standing on the fence gazing out at the 2nd district. She wasn't worried. There was only one person who had spikey hair.

"Hey Sora," Rin said as she walked towards him. "Mind if I join you?"

Sora grinned at her. "Sure." As she came to stand beside him, he said. "Couldn't sleep?"

"I needed some fresh air," Rin said. "I think Wonderland freaked me out a bit. What about you?"

"Just couldn't sleep." Sora said. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"It's got to be hard. Being the Keybearer," Rin said.

Sora sighed. "It's a lot to take in."

"Having to travel to each world and defeat the heartless has got to be tough," Rin added as she inspected her nails.

"I mean, how do they expect me to be heroic? I'm just a kid…" Sora's eyes widened as he realized what he had said. "Heh," He grinned sheepishly.

"You shouldn't keep things bottled up." Rin turned her attention back to the 2nd district. "If we are going to go on this journey, we need to be able to talk to each other. This isn't something that one of us is supposed to handle on his own." She turned back to him. "Not when you have other people to talk to."

They stood in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Hey Rin," Sora said. "I'm sorry."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry, I never got to know you back on Destiny Isles." Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "You're real nice."

"Well, it's not your entire fault," Rin said. "I didn't make much of an effort either." Her eyes lit up as a thought occurred to her. She abruptly turned to face him. "Let's start over then." She held out her hand. "Hello, my name is Rin. And, you are?"

Sora laughed as he took her hand and shook it. "I'm Sora. It's nice to meet you."

Rin placed her hands on her hips. "Now, we need to do something to seal our new friendship." She paused for a moment to think. "Let's make a promise."

"Right now?" Sora asked.

"Right here. Right now," Rin said. "Let's promise that no matter what happens, we'll have each other's back."

Sora grinned. "Alright, it's a promise."

"It's so early," Rin groaned as she leaned against the Heartstaff. She was beginning to regret letting Donald train her. She hadn't had enough sleep the night before and was now cold and groggy.

Judging from Donald's body language, he wasn't going to cut her any slack.

"You can manage." He pulled his staff out. "Now, it seems you were able to perform blizzard magic. You're going to need to know more than one spell if you want to work with us." He pointed his staff at her. "So, let's try fire."

Fire erupted from his staff and charged towards her. Rin let out a yelp as she dodged the spell. "What was that for?"

"Now that you've seen the spell, you should be able to copy it," Donald said as he crossed his arms.

Rin pressed her lips together as she brought the Heartstaff up in front of her. She closed her eyes. "Fire."

Nothing happened.

Rin opened. "What did I do wrong?"

Donald pinched the bridge of his bill. "What were you feeling when you cast the blizzard spell?"

"Fear," Rin scratched her head. "And, I guess protective. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt."

"Uh, huh," Donald nodded his head. "That's your problem. Magic draws from the user's emotions. Powerful emotions emit powerful magic. Try to imitate the feeling you had before and cast the spell again."

Rin sighed and closed her eyes again. Evoking the feeling wasn't as hard as she thought. All she had to do was imagine Sora, Donald, and Goofy sprawled on the ground in pain with her as the only one between them and a giant Heartless.

She held the Heartstaff in front of her as she felt a wave of protectiveness wash over her. "Fire!"

Flame sprang from her Heartstaff. She could feel the heat brush her skin as it traveled away from her.

A loud yell caused her to open her eyes.

Donald was currently running around in circles with his tail on fire. A bucket full of water was nearby so Donald quickly raced toward it and dunked his tail inside. "Ahh," he said as smoke swarmed around him.

"Heh, heh," Rin said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry about that. Guess I shouldn't cast magic when my eyes are closed."

Donald's face turned bright red. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by someone else.

"What happened?" Sora asked as Goofy and he walked towards him.

"Gawrsh Donald, shouldn't you have taken a bath earlier?" Goofy asked.

"I am not taking a bath!" Donald said as he stood up with clinched fists.

"I might have set his tail on fire," Rin said, "by accident."

Everyone excluding Donald and Rin started laughing.

"It's not that funny," Rin muttered. From the glare she was getting from Donald, she had a feeling that she was going to stay on his bad side for a while.

"That's enough," Donald muttered. "Let's get going to the next world."

As the Gummy Ship left Traverse Town, someone was entering it. The silver hair teen looked around the 3rd district, in confusion. "Sora? Kairi?" He called out. "Is anyone here?"

L.A.: Aw, so close. If they had only waited a little longer. I know this chapter is short but I wanted to take time to help develop the relationships between the characters. You know what to do. READ and REVIEW!