A/N: Finished my homework for the day! This chapter… is going to be a lot of fun to write. Just saying. For the Struggle, I'm using the logic from the KH2 Manga on how the orbs stick to them. Just google "kingdom hearts manga struggle," and it's like the first two under Images. (The manga is awesome, by the way, even if I've only read the KH1, KH:CoM, and the first two volumes of the KH2 ones. I need to get the others…)

Also, I'm taking the chapter titles from what the theater mode in the game calls them.

Well, here we go! ONWARD

…

Chapter Four: Day Four – Road to War

Olette noticed the difference in Aurora last night when she had come home from training. That difference carried on into this morning, too.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Olette asked.

"I'm just… worried about a friend of mine," Aurora admitted. Olette nodded, before linking her arm through Aurora's.

"Well, just try to focus today, okay? I know it might be hard, but with the Struggle Tournament…" Olette trailed off as Aurora's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah, that! Common, we have to meet the others!" she said, grabbing Olette's wrist and running forward. It wasn't that Aurora forgot about DiZ's words, just that she was trying as hard as she could to immerse herself in the Twilight Town culture.

After all, who knew if she'd ever get out of here.

…

This morning was a mess. The gang had agreed to meet at the Sandlot, which was set up for the Tournament, and Roxas, Hayner, and Aurora had promised to make it to the finals.

But after yesterday…

Aurora had made it to the lot first, even before Olette had woken up. When she and Pence got there, though, Aurora was just standing in a corner, her arms crossed, seeming lost in thought.

She didn't even say hi to them.

Then Hayner got there. He simply nodded to Pence and Olette, but more so focused on training with his Struggle Baton.

Roxas finally showed up, looking around. He spotted Aurora and how lost in thought she was, and thought that was strange. He thought about approaching Hayner, but the fierce look on the boy's face changed his mind. Finally, he decided to stand off to the side, on his own. Olette and Pence wore worried by the three.

Meanwhile, the crowds of Twilight Town gathered around the Sandlot, and even on the roofs of the buildings surrounding it, cheering. The Struggle Tournament was an annual thing that the entire town loved. People even got off of work for this event.

Little did they know of the tension surrounding these five friends.

Trying to break that tension, Pence turned to Olette.

"Who are you going to root for?" he asked.

"All three of them, silly!" Olette answered.

Fireworks burst in the air, representing the start of the Tournament.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Struggle-fiends of Twilight Town!" the announcer began. "It's time for summer's most sizzling clash! That's right! Today is the day for the Struggle and title match!" he announced. The cheers got even louder. "Who will be the one to break through the ranks and take on our champion, Setzer!?"

"Seifer, y'know?" Rai called from where he stood next to the boy in the white coat.

"And who will leave today as out new Struggle Champion!?" the announcer continued.

"Hayner! Roxas! Aurora!" Pence and Olette called in response.

"Setzeerrrrrrr!" most of the girls in the lot suddenly cheered as the silver haired man walked onto the stage, stepping up next to the announcer. Most of the audience took up chanting his name as he waved to the crowd.

"Yes, the crowd is fired up, so you know what comes next: Let's…" the announcer started.

"STRUGGLE!" everyone yelled with a cheered, and more fireworks were set off.

Hayner and Roxas steadily fought their way through, each skilled with their Struggle Batons. But Aurora… she was a demon. Her fights were wild, and each time, her opponents went down quickly, losing all of their orbs within minutes. And each time, she never said a word. She'd simply walk off the field and back to her corner.

Finally, it was time for the finals. A new announcer, this one younger, stepped up.

"Hey, now. It's time to introduce today's combatants!" he said. "The three bad boys, and lady, who struggled their way through the preliminaries!"

He held a hand out towards the first. "Regular finalist and head of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee: Seifer!" Cheers met his words.

He turned, holding his hand out to the next one. "Underground favorite and local attitude problem: Hayner! It's his first trip to the finals!"

Roxas turned, trying to catch Hayner's eye, but the latter turned pointedly away from him, watching the announcer.

Another turn and hand gesture. "Local sweetheart and study bug, Aurora! She's been the epitome of focus today, folks!"

Roxas gave up on Hayner with a sigh and turned to look at Aurora. She wasn't even watching the announcer. Her eyes were on the ground, her arms crossed. It was… odd to see her so closed off.

A last turn and hand gesture. "And Struggler number four, who happens to be my absolute favorite customer: Roxas!"

With a sigh, Roxas looked down at the ground, disappointed.

"So—who will win this sweltering summer Struggle!?" the announcer continued. "Who will take home the grand prize?" He motioned towards the prize table. "The summa cum laude of Struggle—the Five Crystal Trophy!"

On the table sat the dark blue trophy, with five branching, swirling parts. At the end of each part was a crystal: one red, one green, one yellow, one dark blue, and one light blue, almost clear.

"AND!" the announcer continued as Setzer stepped onto the stage once more, "a chance to take on our defending champion, Setzer!" The man in purple pulled the champion belt off of his shoulder and held it up as the girls cheered his name. It was like a wrestling belt, with the plate in the middle showing the Struggle logo. Around it were depictions of the five crystals.

"It won't be long now, folks. We'll get started as soon as the Strugglers are ready!"

As the announcer stepped off stage, the four challengers walked over to him.

"You already know the rules," he said. "So I expect clean fights out there. Any rules broken results in instant disqualification."

The four nodded.

"Good. Let's get this started! Roxas, Hayner, you'll be facing off against each other. Get out there!"

The boys nodded, stepping onto the stage. The cheering grew louder as each boy pulled on a vest and helmet covered in Velcro and began sticking the orbs to them. Once each had covered their vest and helmet in the 100 orbs, the promoter handed each a Struggle Baton.

Hayner stepped back a few paces and brandished his Baton at Roxas. Roxas let out a sigh, looking away for a moment, before looking back at him.

"Hey… Sorry about yesterday," he said.

Hayner let the Baton drop to his side, standing up straight. "What, you still worried about that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head. "You need to learn to let that stuff go."

"I've got a lot on my mind," Roxas admitted.

"Sorry, man," Hayner said. Roxas shook his head at that. "Wait," Hayner said, suddenly pulling a face, "what am I sorry for?" He grinned at Roxas, who smiled back.

Olette and Pence didn't hear what they said, but the smiles were enough for them to know that all was forgiven and forgotten. They grinned at each other, before glancing over at Aurora.

Aurora didn't smile, however. Her eyes were focused on Roxas with an intensity neither had ever seen on her face.

Both Roxas and Hayner got into their fighting stances as the announcer began. "Our first match of today's Struggle Finals will be between Roxas and his best friend Hayner!"

"Ready?" The announcer called. "STRUGGLE!"

Both boys dived at each other, swinging their Batons. At the last minute, Hayner managed to dodge, coming up behind Roxas and smacking him across the back. Three orbs fell, and Hayner snatched them up, sticking them to his vest. Roxas spun on his heel as Hayner was distracted, however, and managed to hit him in the shoulder. No orbs fell, but Hayner was thrown off balance. Roxas pressed his advantage, striking out two more times, once to the helmet, another to the chest. Orbs dropped, and Roxas grabbed them and stuck them to his vest as he jumped back, avoiding Hayner's counter attack. The boys continued this way, until Roxas got a strong combo on Hayner, making all of his orbs fall off. Roxas rolled out of the way of Hayner's counter, right through a pile of the orbs, getting them to stick to his vest and helmet. As he stood, only one orb still sat on the ground.

If he grabbed it, he would win. Hayner looked from it, to Roxas, then dove forward. Roxas dove at the same time, and, by a stroke of luck, managed to wrap his fingers around it.

"That's the end, folks!" The announcer yelled. He walked onto stage, next to Roxas. "And the winner is Roxas!" he yelled, grabbing Roxas's wrist and holding his hand in the air. Roxas grinned, waving as the announcer let go of his hand. "Not even friendship will slow this kid down. And Hayner put up a great fight, too," he said. Roxas jumped slightly, turning to where Hayner laid on the ground.

"I lost," Hayner said dramatically, lifting his arms and letting them flop to the ground. "Aw, I can't believe it!" Finally, he stood, rubbing his head with a sigh. "I guess I taught you well," he said.

"I had a lot of fun fighting you," Roxas said with a grin. Hayner grinned back for a moment, before pouting, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Yeah, well I didn't, wise guy."

"Hey," Roxas said, clasping his shoulder. "Let's find a way to cheer you up."

"Nah, that's all right," Hayner brushed his hand away, playfully punching the palm of Roxas's other hand. Those two began to walk off stage, only to almost run into Seifer. Aurora stepped onto stage from the other side, holding the Baton loosely in her hand.

"Out of the way," Seifer snarled at Hayner.

"You in a rush to lose?" Hayner taunted, grinning at Aurora. Aurora simply glanced to the side, where Roxas was standing.

"Heh," she smirked. A chill ran down Roxas' spine at that noise. He and Hayner quickly vacated the stage as the two Strugglers got their vests and helmets on and covered in orbs. Seifer frowned, glaring at Aurora, who wasn't even looking at him.

"Don't mess with your betters," he growled. Aurora finally turned to face Seifer with a small frown.

"Whew, just look at those sparks fly!" the announcer said. "It's no secret that these two can't stand each other, but who knew it'd come to this?"

Seifer got into a fighting stance, while Aurora simply stood there, the Baton loose in her hand.

"Ready… STRUGGLE!"

Aurora didn't move. After waiting a moment, Seifer sprang forward. His strokes were fast, but Aurora simply swayed out of the way, dodging each without even showing any effort.

"When did Aurora get so fast?" Hayner gasped as the crowed 'ooh'd in surprise. Roxas simply shook his head, worried about their friend's strange behavior.

Finally, Aurora went on the offense, her strokes twice as fast as Seifer's. It was all the boy could do to block them, until finally, he ducked under one and managed to land a hit on her chest. One orb flew off and across the stage.

"You're mine!" Seifer yelled, rushing forward. Aurora suddenly dashed over, ducking under him, and grabbed the orb. As she came up, she struck twice: once to the head, knocking all of the orbs off of his helmet, then again to the chest, this time with enough strength to not only knock all of the orbs off, but to send Seifer flying across the stage as well.

The boy hit the stage with an 'oof!'. The crowd gasped in surprise as orbs rained down around the girl, who slowly stood up straight and collected the orbs.

"I-I'm not sure what just happened…" the announcer stammered. "Um… but… the winner is Aurora, with a positively blistering counter!" he finished as she picked up the last one and turned her back on Seifer, who was still laying on the ground, stunned from her last attack. Seifer finally sat up, shaking his head.

Once he was okay, he stood fully, stepping off the stage. He and his gang walked past where Hayner and Roxas stood.

"That's not your friend," Seifer said, gaining their attention.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"Thrash 'er," Seifer growled, continuing on his way, Rai, Fuu, and Vivi at his heels. Those four left the Sandlot without so much as a glance back.

Roxas watched after him for a moment, before looking across the stage, to where Aurora stood. He was startled to see that she was staring intently at him, a smirk playing across her lips.

Just then, the announcer walked over to Roxas and Hayner.

"It looks like Seifer's withdrawn from the Struggle for third place," he said to Hayner.

"So I'm third now?" Hayner asked. "Aw, baby!"

The announcer smiled, then turned to Roxas.

"Ready?" he asked. Roxas nodded, stepping up. He hadn't bothered to take off the vest or helmet, and neither had Aurora, so they quickly stuck the orbs to themselves, and turned to face each other.

"Keep it clean, you two," the announcer said, handing them their Batons.

Aurora took hers without so much as a nod, and walked over to the starting position. Roxas glanced after her with a worried frown, before taking his own.

"And now, the match you've been waiting for: Roxas versus Aurora! Yet another friendship put through the Struggle!" the announcer yelled, getting the crowd pumped. Roxas got into his fighting stance, but Aurora simply stood there, the Baton loose in her hand, just like before. She stared at Roxas with that creepy smirk on her face. It was beginning to unnerve him.

"Ready? STRUGGLE!"

Roxas was expecting her to stand and dodge, just like she had with Seifer, so he was taken completely off guard when she launched herself forward, her Baton swinging quick and hard at him. His body responded instinctually, dodging and blocking her attacks. The crowd grew wild at the fast paced battle, despite neither Struggler having landed a hit yet.

Finally, Roxas managed to dodge behind her and go on the offensive. She stumbled forward as he hit her with a fast combo, making her loose half her orbs. She turned, however, and lashed out with her Baton, striking him across the head and stunning him with the power from the attack. He grunted, stumbling back from her.

She didn't follow up like he was expecting, though. She simply stood there. He managed to shake away the dizziness and ran forward, ready to strike, when the atmosphere changed, and it grew silent. He held the attack, looking around in confusion.

Everyone was frozen mid-cheer. Everyone, that is, except for Aurora, who was simply watching him with that same, creepy smirk.

Suddenly, a light surrounded her, and when it faded, it was one of those silver things, like the photo thief, in her place. Two more appeared, surrounded him. Roxas gasped, looking around at them.

"Again!?" he exclaimed. Suddenly, the Struggle Baton in his hand changed, becoming the large, key-shaped sword. "Again," he repeated, quieter, and to himself. He gripped the sword, ready to fight.

…

In a flash of light, everything Roxas had just seen vanished. The cheering had started again. He was, once more, holding the Struggle Baton. And Aurora stood in front of him. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she suddenly dropped to her knees, then forward, passed out. The crowd gasped in shock, once again confused as to what happened.

"What? What just happened?" the announcer asked. Roxas lurched forward, kneeling down next to the girl, putting a hand on her back.

"Aurora!?" he asked, worry lacing his voice.

"Huh… Roxas?" she asked, opening her eyes and pushing herself up. She looked confused as she glanced around. "…How did I get here?"

"Er…" Roxas muttered, not knowing what to say. Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran onto stage.

"Roxas! Aurora!" Olette called as Roxas helped Aurora to her feet. The announcer shrugged.

"Well, then, ladies and gentlemen, Roxas! Our new top Struggler!" he yelled. Roxas looked up, and Aurora smiled, hugging him, just as the other three reached them.

"Congrats!" she said.

"Are you okay?" Roxas asked her softly. Aurora let him go, rubbing her head.

"Uh, yeah. Today's a bit of a blur, but I'm fine," she said with a warm smile. Hayner thumped Roxas on the back, while Pence and Olette talked excitedly.

Just then, Setzer stepped onto the stage, announced by his fans. Aurora smiled at Roxas, who still looked worried.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Now, go out there and win," she said.

"A-alright," Roxas agreed, turning to the announcer and defending champion.

Despite Setzer promising to reward Roxas for throwing the match, the blond gave him a sound beating, winning not only the Five Crystal trophy, but also the Championship Belt. After a lot of cheering and grandstanding, the five decided to get away from the crowds to celebrate. Instead, they met on top of the bell tower. Roxas admired the trophy for a few minutes longer, before snapping off each crystal and tossing them down the line: Olette got yellow, Hayner red, Pence green, and Aurora the light blue. Roxas took the dark blue for himself and set the trophy behind him, next to where Aurora sat.

"As promised," he said with a grin, holding his crystal up to the sun, watching it sparkle. The other's followed suit. Even Aurora turned, kneeling on the ground behind the ledge, to hold her crystal up to the sun.

"Thanks a ton, Roxas!" Pence said.

"One more treasure for us to share," Hayner chuckled.

"I've got a present, too… for all of us," Olette suddenly said, reaching into her bag behind her. She grinning, pulling out and holding up five ice cream bars.

"Thanks, Olette!" Aurora cheered.

"Whoa!" Roxas said with a grin, hopping up to his feet on the ledge. His foot suddenly slid off the edge, and he lost his balance.

"Whoa!" he cried again, before falling off the bell tower with a cry of fear.

…

Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Aurora all sat on the top of the bell tower, enjoying their ice cream.

"You're not running off to train today?" Pence asked, looking down at the girl who refused to sit on the edge.

"Nah, I think I did enough, today," Aurora said. Hayner laughed.

"Especially after that match with Seifer?" he asked.

"Hey! I'm not the only one who lost to him today!" Aurora snapped, her cheeks blazing pink. Olette giggled.

"That true. You just did it so… uniquely," she said.

"Yeah. We've seen Hayner loose to him year after year. Yours was actually entertaining!" Pence added.

"Hey!" both Hayner and Aurora cried, offended. Aurora then huffed, chomping at her ice cream as she thought back to that match.

…

Aurora had done it! She made it through the prelims and into the finals. The other finalists were Seifer (of course), Hayner, and Rai. Hayner and Rai had just finished their match, with Hayner coming out at the winner. Now, she was to go up against Seifer.

The bully stood in front of her, holding his Baton easily. As soon as the announcer yelled "Struggle!" he was on her, his Baton swiping left, right, and center.

Aurora was no sword fighter, but she was good at dodging, and dodging was what she did. After she skipped backwards for the fifth time to avoid the Baton, Seifer smirked.

"Gonna keep running, Chicken Wuss?" he taunted. "Or are you just going to give up?"

"I'll never give up," Aurora snarled.

"Really? Because I'd say you were a coward."

"W-what?" Aurora gasped, and for a moment, she forgot where she was. "OBJECTION!" she yelled, automatically pointing at him with her left hand, her right hand, with the Baton, dropping to her side.

That was the opening Seifer needed. He was suddenly right in front of her, his Baton moving. She didn't even have time to move backwards, or block, before he knocked off all her orbs and had them attached to his helmet and vest.

"That's it, folks! And the winner is Seifer!"

…

"Ugh, I'm so embarrassed," Aurora moaned, hiding her face in her hands. The other three howled with laughter at remembering her 'Objection.'

"What even was that?" Pence asked, looking over at her.

"I was training to be a lawyer back home, remember? And, well, we use that word a lot."

"And the pose?" Hayner added innocently. "That pointing thing?" He imitated it with a grin, though in her opinion, it was grossly exaggerated.

"There's a certain finesse—" she began, remembering the words of her cousin. The other three burst into laughter again. "You know what? Just shut up," Aurora grumbled, pouting.

"Oh cheer up," Olette said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're just teasing."

"Yeah, I know," Aurora said with a small smile.

…

A/N: And here we are again! This was a fun chapter, hehe.