Chapter two: under the stars
Five year later...
A little girl stared up at her ceiling in a trance. Striking blue eyes blinked out from under fairly long sliver white hair.
I have to hurry up. But no matter how hard I try to make it happen, I just can't sleep. There are too many thoughts floating in and out of my head. Tomorrow is the Mark of Mastery Exam.
The girl herself wasn't taking that exam, though. Her two important friends were.
Keyblade Master—was a title earned by worthy warriors who wielded the Keyblade.
Kesia sat up in bed, and heaved a sigh.
She and her three friends were working hard to become Keyblade Masters, training every day. They were both older than Ventus or Kesia, and Ven held no ill will concerning the fact that his two friends, who had been training for a very long time, were getting to take the exam before him. She did feel some sort of vague foreboding, however.
I'm worried. Why, I have no idea. There's no way my two friends Terra and Aqua will fail the exam. Even so, I can't shake this feeling.
Just then, something glittered outside her window.
"A shooting star!" Kesia yelled out.
A little girl ran down a long stretch of stairs out of the castle. A meteor shower was going on when she happened to wake up from her nightmare. She wanted to see it and headed out. Her long light pure sliver hair two strands of her hair were in braids'. Her ocean eyes a lit with delight. She still hide in brush towards the summit and soon stopped as she waited until if her siblings were coming. She was not related to them by blood but she thought of them as her sister and two brother. And her brother and sister thought of her as their special little sister. They were a family. She smiled as she crept slowly and decided to tackle one of them.
Ven stared up at the sky, face practically glued to the windowpane. Shooting star after shooting star was streaking across the sky. He wanted to see them closer up.
I feel like I've seen this before...
Stars everywhere—and shooting stars.
"The starry sky was just like this... that time..."
I feel it, somehow. But I don't know why. This sensation, just like I'm being swallowed up by the night sky. It's...
Ven stared up at the sky, face practically glued to the windowpane. Shooting star after shooting star was streaking across the sky. He wanted to see them closer up.
I feel like I've seen this before...
Ven flew from the room and down the stairs into the garden, to stare up at the sky. He could see the stars falling between the shapes of distant mountains, but he didn't have a very good view from here.
Ven broke into a run again. He wanted to see them from even closer. Maybe he could see them even better if he went somewhere closer to the sky. He ran up an incline that led to the top of a mountain, panting for breath. The night air was a little chilly.
"Wuhh...uh," Ventus sighed in relief, having reached the top of the slope.
Both arms thrown up to the sky, as if trying to grab the stars, Ven flopped backwards onto the grass. The starry sky filled his entire vision, and soon enough he felt as though he were drifting through it.
Stars everywhere—and shooting stars.
I feel it, somehow. But I don't know why. This sensation, just like I'm being swallowed up by the night sky. It's...
Aqua closed her eyes. Her short-cut blue hair cast shadows on her cheeks. Even after training had ended, today Aqua had stayed right here swinging her Keyblade. She was at the place halfway up a mountain on the edges of the world, where everyone always had their lessons together. Even after the sun had gone down she'd continued to work hard and train.
Becoming a Keyblade Master means having one's heart tested. But my heart is shaking so hard. There's no way I'm worthy of becoming a Master, surely.
Aqua's hands stilled, and she sat down on a large rock. Then, she took some glittering pendants from her pocket. They were prettily-shaped charms; four of them, all different colours. One for herself, one for Terra, and one for Ven, one for Kesia. Matching charms.
When did I hear that legend, I wonder? The thing is, I trusted in that legend and made those charms because I feel worried. Unbearably worried.
She looked up and saw—shooting stars falling down.
"How pretty," Aqua heard herself murmur, and she hugged her knees. Star after star went streaking past. It's okay. It's just because I'm stressing out over the exam.
Just then Aqua turned, sensing a presence behind her. Ven was running up the slope that led to the mountaintop. He's chasing after the shooting stars, for sure.
Aqua stood up with a gentle smile. Putting the charms back into her pocket, she headed up the mountain after Ven at a leisurely pace.
Reaching the top of the slope, she found a whole sky full of stars and, spreadeagled on the grass asleep, Ven.
Aqua stole a look at Ven's sleeping face. Did it only take him an instant to fall asleep like that? That sleeping face reminds me of when Ven first got here. We were awfully worried because he wasn't waking up.
Just then, Ven suddenly opened his eyes.
"Argh!" he yelled, sitting up, and Aqua accidentally burst out laughing. "Don't scare me like that, Aqua."
"You scared yourself, Ven. You know, you'll catch cold if you go sleeping in a place like this."
Ven scratched his head self-consciously, and then he looked up at the sky again.
"It must have been... a dream. I thought I'd seen a starry sky like the one tonight somewhere else before."
Somewhere else? A shred of worry flitted through Aqua's heart. She was once again reminded of how Ven had been when he had first come. Ven's definitely not from around here. But where he came from his something Terra and I both don't know. Even Ven doesn't know—well, I guess we were told he lost all his memories from before he came.
Aqua smiled, trying to smooth it over. "We've always been together though, right," she said, patting Ven's head.
Ven nodded. "Yeah... you're right." He looked down for a moment, before throwing himself to his feet. Then, eyes on the sky, he walked to the edge of the cliff and sat down. Aqua walked over to be beside him.
"Hey, Aqua," Ven said, still looking up at the sky. Aqua sat down next to Ven and looked over at him. "What are stars? What is light?" he asked, gaze fixed on the starry sky.
Stars... light... and darkness.
It was a difficult question. "Umm," Aqua replied, choosing her words. "Stars are..."
"Each and every star is a world," came a low, clear voice from behind them, taking control as Aqua wavered over how to answer.