Masters Aqua and Terra stood in the middle of the throne room in the Land of Departure's castle, both in their battle stances.
"Okay, come at us," Aqua said to Kairi, smiling at her.
Kairi nodded, holding her weapon with one hand at her side, before she went into a swift glide toward her opponents. She went straight for Aqua first, slashing for her when she was within blade's reach; her Master jumped up and flipped back out of reach with ease. Kairi twisted around in the air and darted for Terra, using a burst of magic to speed at him and thrust her weapon forth. Terra twisted out of her way and swiped his own Keyblade upward, knocking hers away.
Kairi landed on the ground again, now realizing she was stuck between both of her opponents. She teleported several feet backwards in a flash of light magic, reappearing with her guard up.
"Good job, Kairi," Aqua called out. "But now it's our turn."
Kairi just gave another nod, setting her jaw with determination.
Today's whole training session was the start of a journey to a specific goal: to improve her battle stamina. It would be long, slow, daily work - but it would all pay off in the end. It was one of her most critical weaknesses, and she was determined to eliminate it!
Aqua and Terra ran at her in the same moment, weapons raised. Kairi watched them come, waiting to see who was going to make the first move...
Aqua made a diagonal slash from above, far slower and with far less force than Kairi knew the woman was capable of. But even still, when Kairi blocked it she found herself straining, her foot sliding backwards on the marble floor; she had to hold her weapon with both hands, and use almost all the strength she had already!
Kairi saw Terra move in, and she swiftly ducked out of her bind with Aqua and twirled to the side. Terra gave his Keyblade a great, sweeping horizontal swing in front of him - again, with so much less speed and force than what Kairi had witnessed from the man countless times before. But, again...well, if Aqua's had been hard to deal with...
Terra's attack struck Kairi's weapon as she held it up quickly to block - and she was sent skidding backwards a half dozen feet, wobbling and righting herself before she fell over completely.
Kairi got her bearings just in time to see Aqua coming at her again. She huffed and raised her blade once more, ready to meet her Master's attack.
The training session didn't go on for too much longer - this game of holding defense, then pressing the offense. It was brief, but incredibly trying; Kairi was left on the verge of collapse, sweaty and exhausted, by the end of it. Which, of course, was the whole point. To push herself to her limits...and then a little bit further. Every day.
After it was over, Master Aqua healed Kairi back up with a powerful Cure, and she was able to climb to her feet again in relief.
"Nice job, Kairi!" Sora called to her from the side of the throne room. "You lasted a lot longer against them than I think I would've!"
"Thanks," Kairi grinned, as she made her way over to him - and the others, too. Xion, and Riku, and Roxas too. "But I'm sure we both know that isn't true."
"Hehe...maaaaybe," Sora admitted, grinning back at her.
"Well, now that that's done, what are we actually going to do today?" Riku spoke up.
"Well," Aqua began. "since you asked: I think it's time we tried having you all do something special."
They all gave her their full attentions now, expectant.
"I think it's time you learned how to conjure your armor," Aqua elaborated. "We weren't much older when we first did - and if things change for the worst again, you children will need that protection more than ever. You could use it...more than ever." She hesitated, suddenly getting a stern look on her face. "Though, if we do this, I want it to be absolutely clear that your armor is not a free pass to get sloppy in battle! The Heartless, or enemies like Xehanort...they're more than strong enough to break through your armor. It provides a good deal of extra protection, yes, and it might even give you a chance to survive otherwise fatal blows - but it's not infallible; it won't make you invulnerable. Do you understand this?"
"Yes, Master!" Sora said seriously, nodding.
"Got it," Roxas murmured.
Xion gave a silent nod.
"Sure," Riku agreed, in a mutter, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Kairi?" Aqua eyed the girl sharply. "I know you love going into a fight like a burning comet - but if having a suit of armor is going to exacerbate that reckless streak-"
"It won't," Kairi said firmly, meeting her Master's gaze. "I won't take it for granted, Master. I promise."
"Good, then," Aqua said simply. "Now, the method of creating your armor is similar to how one first forges their Keyblade - in fact, they're linked together. It's a product of your own Heart, something that reflects you. So you need to look inward, and focus, and try to visualize that protection...and let it manifest."
"So, it's just going to...materialize?" Riku questioned. "And that's all there is to it?"
"That's right," Terra spoke. "Don't overthink it: your Heart and magic will forge it for you, and your will...will...will it into existence."
"That was smooth," Riku commented. "I see why you're a Master. Great instructing, there..."
Kairi giggled, and Sora failed to hold in his snickering.
"Hey. I can't be on the ball every day," Terra responded, laughing as well. "Cut me a little slack here.."
"Okay - please focus," Aqua said quickly (though her voice held undisguised amusement of her own). "Children: visualize. Search your Hearts. If it helps, imagine your Keyblade instead, like you're going to summon it...but instead you need to call out to something else."
"You all know what our armor looks like - try and think of that," Terra suggested.
"Wait a second," Riku spoke again, crossing his arms and cocking his head in Terra's direction. "What was all that stuff you told me before about forging armor with clothing spells or whatever? This is nothing like that..."
Terra's face split with a grin, as he crossed his arms as well. "Did I say that? You must have misunderstood me."
"No way. You specifically said you had to forge your armor with-" Riku persisted.
"I never meant the armor itself," Terra interjected, amused. "I meant the accessories, Riku."
"The accessories?" Kairi asked, glancing at her Master now.
"Oh, right..." Aqua gave a small smile, then touched her hand to her shoulder cauldron, donning her armor in a flash of light. She immediately twisted at the hips, grasping and holding out her long, majestic cape. "They don't just come equipped with these - unfortunately," she added humorously.
"Or the pockets I was holding my munny bag in," Terra informed Riku, with a small snicker.
"Whaaat?! So we don't get to have capes?" Sora exclaimed, crestfallen.
Aqua set a hand on her hip as her armor evaporated from her figure. "Don't worry - we'll teach you the art of customization later. But for now, all that matters is actually conjuring your armor at all."
Kairi huffed, shaking her head at Aqua. She pushed back her hair and closed her eyes to focus in earnest.
The throne room fell silent as the others did the same.
She let her mind relax, and wander down into the depths of her own Heart. She raised a hand and curled her fingers, as if going to summon her Keyblade...but she focused on the mental image of Aqua's armor instead. Blue and shiny and powerful, and just plain cool. She imagined herself encased in a similar, vague suit of armor - being protected by a manifestation of her own Heart's power...
Kairi's eyes snapped open again as she suddenly felt a heat sweeping over her body - her skin and her clothes. She stared down at herself, watching her body be engulfed by a golden flash of light! When it faded, she couldn't believe her eyes: she was now clad in a suit of armor! She looked herself over, raising her arms and turning them to examine herself further. Her armor was sleek, rounded, and light. Its main color was purple, but there were highlights of white and gold up and down the arms and legs, and crossing her torso and sides.
At nearly the same moment as her armor had appeared, so had Sora's - his great whoop of delight tore her focus away from herself.
Sora's armor was a lot like hers, actually: it was minimalistic, basic, even, compared to Master Aqua's or Terra's armor. Sleek and simple. Its main color was red, but there were lines of blue, white, and even hints of yellow all across it. Kairi would have teasingly referred to it as a colorful mess.
And she loved it.
"Haha, yes! Look, Master - Kairi and I both got our armor!" Sora said with a grin, patting himself down and shaking a leg.
Aqua smiled widely. "Wonderful job - both of you!"
"Hey, Riku-" Sora began, rushing forward to his best friend.
"If you're about to tell me to look, I'm going to punch you," Riku interjected, though his lips tugged in an unwilling smile.
"Hey! I wasn't going to do that at all!" Sora said, offended. "I was going to tell you that Kairi and I beat you to it, so you'd better get a move on, before Xion and Roxas manage it too, though," he went on quickly, with a wide grin.
Riku raised a hand with some impressive precision to grab Sora's face and shove him backwards. "Come on, man, lay off - I need to concentrate."
"Sure thing, buddy," Sora beamed. He turned around and hurried up to Kairi instead. "Hey, want to summon our Keyblades and see how good these things can hold up to-"
"Don't you dare," Aqua said warningly, her eyes narrowed.
Sora held up his hands, his grin vanishing instantly. "Forget I said that?"
"Unbelievable - after I just said..." Aqua murmured, exasperated.
"I don't think it's working..." Xion's quiet voice came, along with a sigh.
"It might just take you more time to manifest yours," Aqua told her kindly. "My own armor was as troublesome to conjure up as my Keyblade," she added, in quiet embarrassment.
"Do we need this armor?" Roxas spoke, crossing his arms.
"You don't need it, no," Terra answered his apprentice casually. "It's not a requirement. But it is something that's nice to have in your back pocket, so to speak. If you feel like you'd be better off without it, though, no one's going to force you into it."
Roxas eyed Sora and Kairi, then shrugged. "It just looks...like it would slow us down."
"It can, even with magic enhancing your body," Terra replied, nodding. "That's a valid consideration to have there, Roxas. I'm impressed. You do sacrifice a not insignificant amount of speed and maneuverability - or, flexibility - when you don the armor, in favor of defense. That's why we, ourselves, often choose to forgo the armor before heading into battle. It depends on the situation - on what kind of enemy you're up against. But that choice is yours."
"Okay," Roxas said, uncrossing his arms and relaxing.
Kairi returned her focus to Riku, watching him as he stood there, struggling within himself. Searching...
After a minute of this, Riku gave a great sigh and threw up his hands. "Looks like no armor for me, either," he said.
"It's only your first attempt - no need to get frustrated over it," Terra told him. "It's harder when you try to force it. You can relax, forget it, and try again later."
"Sure, yeah..." Riku muttered, clearly not taking the advice to heart.
Kairi shifted uncomfortably on the spot. Finally, blushing, she looked to her master. "Um, Aqua...I have a question..."
"What is it?" Aqua said.
"How do I get this thing off?" Kairi asked, tugging at her armored arms and gauntlets now.
Aqua laughed. "It's as simple as conjuring it - or your Keyblade. Just relax and let it go."
Kairi nodded, taking a deep breath and relaxing her body...and then the armor disappeared from her form, melting away into golden light particles. "And if I want to put it on again...?" she continued.
Aqua paused, looking thoughtful. "Well, you could just keep calling it through sheer willpower and focus - but taking that much time to concentrate in the middle of a battle wouldn't be all too smart, would it? That's why we've bound our armor to these pauldrons for easy activation." She gestured to the piece of armor on her left arm. "For you, if you wanted me to...I could bind it to your necklace..." she went on hesitantly, indicating the blue pendant hanging from Kairi's neck.
Kairi glanced down at it, touching it unconsciously. "Would that...interfere with any other magic...?"
Aqua's eyes widened a fraction. She shook her head quickly. "No. It should be fine."
"Okay. Then I'd like that," Kairi stated. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Aqua said, striding forward. She stooped down, gazing at the necklace and raising a hand of shimmering pink magic...
"Hey, could you make it so mine activates from my necklace, too?" Sora chimed in excitedly, pointing to the silver crown necklace hanging from its chain.
Aqua glanced at him with a smile. "Of course, Sora."
"Awesome! You're the best, Master!"
Aqua flushed with pleasure. "T-thank you...that's very sweet of you!"
"Sora, you're still in your armor, you know," Kairi remarked.
"I know!" Sora said proudly, raising an armored fist to smack it to his chest with a loud thunk.
Kairi giggled, leaning in to whisper to Aqua, "We're never getting that off of him now."
"Problems for later..." Aqua whispered back, rolling her eyes.