Chapter 6

"Saix,"

"Yes Master Xehanort?"

"Is their training going well?"

"Yes, what about their origin?"

"Xemnas was defeated by the girl. She drew from the strength of Kingdom Hearts itself," Xehanort explained, "Being the seventh Princess of Heart, she can absorb the power of the other six Princess' hearts and open Kingdom Hearts."

"Then you want her to be a darkness," Saix concluded.

"Yes," Xehanort nodded, "If she is a darkness then Kingdom Hearts is ours no matter what they do."

"What about Ventus? How does he play into this?"

"His heart is split. He may have defeated Vanitas but Vanitas was not destroyed. He's too stubborn for that."

"I'm not certain I follow."

"Bring out Vanitas, create tension in his mind and heart, and he will collapse into the darkness."

"Ah, and those two boys? Will they be a problem?"

"Not at all," Xehanort smirked, "They are playing directly into our hands."

"Xehanort," Xigbar called, "The kids have returned."

"Begin their training for today," Xehanort ordered Saix.

Saix nodded and left the room.

"Are you sure telling him all that was a good idea?" Xigbar asked.

"Of course. He will try to use it to his advantage and be right where I want him."

Xigbar chuckled, "Whatever."

Kairi walked up to the towering spire with Ventus beside her. That's one more hint. I need their full plan though. Of course they have one of their own but let's see if we can't twist that to our advantage.

"Xikari, Svextun," Saix struggled with the latter name.

Kairi lifted her head.

"Training?" Ventus asked.

Saix nodded, "Let's go."

The two of them followed him into a courtyard.

"You'll be fighting each other and I will be assessing you," Saix's voice was cold, colder than ice.

Kairi nodded. She turned to Ventus.

Ven smiled at her, "Well?"

She smirked, "Try me."

"You're on," Ven summoned his Keyblade.

Kairi did the same.

A soft breeze tousled their hair. Ven smiled and leaped forward.

Kairi met him in the middle. The following battle was brutal to say the least. Kairi came out on top but not uninjured. Ven sighed, "Man, I guess you win again."

"Yeah," Kairi helped him to his feet.

"Again," Saix ordered.

Kairi glanced at him, "Of course." Man, let us have a break first. We just finished beating each other up. Ugh, whatever.

Ven leaped forward and knocked her feet out from under her. A strong gust of wind lifted her off the ground and easily fifty feet into the air.

"I don't think so!" The wind dropped her. Kairi twisted so that she was falling face first towards the ground. One, two, three. Now! She flipped and slammed into the ground in a crouch. She sprung off the ground and leaped towards him with the tip of her Keyblade pointed towards her feet.

Ven blocked her blade and spun around to hit her in the side.

She twisted and kicked him in the chest.

Ven fell, landing on his back on the ground.

Kairi followed and would have landed on top of him had he not rolled out of the way and flipped onto his feet. Man! Oh well, I guess it's better that I hadn't landed on him. It could've killed him.

After many hours of fighting, Saix called a halt.

Kairi stopped. Her jaw was bruised and she had a cut on her arm that would probably scar.

Ventus had a large cut on his leg and a few bruised ribs.

"That's enough for today," Saix stalked away.

Kairi sighed and fell to her knees, "That was awesome." Her voice was laced with sarcasm. She sat on her feet.

Ventus sat cross legged in front of her, "Yeah."

Kairi handed him a potion, "Here."

"Thanks," Ven drank it gratefully.

Kairi smiled, "It is kinda fun though. It would be more fun if we weren't actually fighting but just sparring."

Ven nodded, "Yeah, it would be way more fun. You remind me of my friend Aqua."

"Okay?" Kairi shrugged.

"Xehanort wants to talk to you two," Xigbar chuckled and shook his head as they both jumped.

"Uh, yeah," Kairi nodded and got to her feet. She led the way into the tower. The hallways were dark. There were lights at regular intervals but most of them were off. She didn't dare turn one on. No one else did so she wasn't going to. What does he want? She sighed.

Xehanort stood in the middle of a circular room. It was the brightest lit place in the entire tower, "Welcome. We have a couple of meddlesome Keyblade wielders to take care of. They have been interfering with our task at every turn. The two boys have begun to irritate me. Xikari, Svextun, are you ready for your first mission?"

"Of course," Kairi kept her voice even and cold.

Ven nodded.

Kairi cringed on the inside. Oh, no. I was afraid of this. Oh, well. I'm not done yet. I don't have what I want, or what I need yet. I have to play the part. Besides, Sora and Riku are tough. They can take any of the beatings we give them. They'll only come out stronger for it. She nodded. Yep. I'll be helping them get stronger so hopefully they'll be able to take care of Xehanort when the time comes.

"Go, find these two boys and destroy them."

Kairi nodded, "Let's go." She turned and flipped up her hood.

Ven flipped on his hood and opened a portal. The two of them disappeared.

"And so the game begins," Xehanort smirked.