"Man, what I wouldn't give to stretch my legs!" Sora yawned. Shuffling towards the rear of the ship accompanied by a rather obnoxious yawn announced the end of the brunette's long nap (and the ship's pleasant silence). "How much further until the next stop?"
"According to the map, at the speed we're going we'll be lucky to make it there in another hour or so," Azami said. She pulled up said map as a visual for the ever curious brunette.
"Any ideas on where we're headed?" the brunette asked. He peered over the girl's shoulder to get a better view of the map but found the image he was looking at to be blurred.
"I can't say for sure," Azami admitted. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at the image but shook her head when she couldn't decipher the location. "I'm not familiar with the coordinates and the picture is too hazy to make out any details." From behind her, Sora shrugged his shoulders and threw his arms behind his head in his careless fashion.
"Guess we'll just find out when we get there," he said. Azami nodded her head in agreement before casting her gaze around the ship.
Her other three companions were sound asleep towards the rear of the ship. Donald and Goofy's snoring could be heard easily from where she sat in the front most seat while Riku's slight drooling brought a laugh to her lips. Sora smiled lightly at the sound.
"You handled yourself pretty well back there," Sora complimented. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a natural Heartless slayer!" The brunette plopped down in the copilot's seat across from Azami and offered her a goofy smile.
Despite the obvious joking in the boy's tone, Azami's smile faltered slightly, her hand automatically reaching for the locket tucked beneath her clothing. The girl rubbed her thumb across the smooth surface of the jewelry to offer herself some comfort, a gesture not lost on the Keyblade master.
"What's that you got there?" he asked, curiously. The boy was surprised to see the girl flinch slightly at his harmless enquiry. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"He was quick to add.
Azami softly shook her head, her bangs effectively shielding her eyes from view. She smiled almost grimly as she dropped the locket back beneath the folds of her clothes. "It was a locket from a woman I barely remember. It's the only thing I have left proving that at one point in time I wasn't a monster, that someone loved me."
Sora opened his mouth to reply but found no words. Stupidly, he closed his mouth and silently cursed his persistent curiosity.
"You don't have to be sorry you asked," Azami reassured. "If I didn't want to talk about it I would have said so. I realize that by asking questions like that you are only trying to get to know me better; excuse me if I suddenly drop off like that, it's just been a while since I've opened up to anyone about such things." The blue haired girl smiled softly at the solemn brunette.
Sora quickly waved the apology away and offered the girl a smile of his own, full of cheer. "Hey, there's no need to apologize! Sometimes the past can be hard but talking about it with a friend can help ease that pain, ya know?"Azami felt her eyes widen in surprise at the brunette's words.
"Friend?" She tried the word on her tongue, tasting it to see how it felt coming out of her mouth. She rarely used the word, and admittedly vaguely knew what it stood for. Sora's smile widened, if that was even possible, pleased by the girl's surprised reaction.
"Of course! Who else would risk their life for another but a friend?" Dumbly, Azami nodded her head in agreement, a little shocked but very much pleased at her new found friendship.
Beeping from the monitor immediately ended the tender moment and shook the others from their sleep. Turning her attention towards the noise, Azami saw that the readers had picked up on the next world: a beautifully sculpted coliseum complete with two large, golden gladiator statues with their swords locked in battle acting as gates. What the coliseum didn't touch the sand that made up the world covered, rolling off the world's edge by the tons.
Azami maneuvered the ship to where they were coming in for a slow, gentle landing, taking in her surrounding with silent awe. "What is this place?" she softly breathed.
"It's the coliseum," Sora explained. His face was eagerly pressed against the front window pane as more of the world came into view the lower the ship sank.
"Where the heroes come to train!" Donald exclaimed. He too had somehow managed to make his way to the front of the ship and was fighting with Sora over a view of the new world.
"It sure will be nice to see Philoctetes again," Goofy said.
"Philoctetes?" Azami asked, pulling the ship into park. She flipped the switch for the landing gear to lower. Almost immediately a gust of sand blew into the ship, covering everything it could reach in a faint cloud of gold. The hot afternoon sun was quick to follow.
"Phil for short," Donald corrected. He and Sora were quick to detach themselves from the window and were racing for the door, determined to be the first out. In his haste, the brunette grabbed Azami's wrist and dragged her along firmly, ignoring her surprised protests.
"He's the trainer of heroes!" Sora explained further. Azami had only a second to shoot Goofy and Riku a pleading glance before being forced off the gummi ship and into the scorching sun of the coliseum.
Preview:
"...I want to see how strong you three say you've gotten. Let me round up some contenders and see how much 'training' you've actually kept up with."