38 of 40 chapters!

Guest: The next story will be about Terra, Aqua, and Ven. Since they're more involved with the coalition, you see more of that side of the story. After that I plan to write about Riku and Nami.

Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy © to Disney and Square Enix!

Final Fantasy © to Square Enix!

All OCs © to their respective creators!

Chapter 38: Blossom of Life

"Let's go!" Xion picked up her small woven basket, bouncing as Roxas walked slowly behind her. "We don't want to lose the game!"

"You're really excited about this."

"Yeah! But we have to be sneaky."

The girl giggled.

Ever since she'd been told about the tradition of the Blossom of Life festival, she'd been excited. A day to try and collect colored eggs without the homeowners who put them out seeing you. And it was a thing of pride to get more than anyone else.

And she wanted to win.

Grabbing Roxas's hand, the girl pulled him out of the house and into town.

They weren't the only ones out there.

Many kids, teenagers, and even adults were out with baskets, trying to collect eggs.

Xion ran around, looking around for a house not being targeted by anyone at the moment. "This way!"

She ran over to a small house, glancing around for the homeowner as she spotted a tiny fake bird nest resting by the door.

Slinking closer, she reached for the egg.

"Gotcha." A voice piped up. Xion looked up into the gaze of a person who'd opened the widow, poking her head out.

The homeowner.

A woman with short, slightly curled, pastel pink hair and soft blue eyes, grinned at her. "Good try though."

"Aw."

The woman laughed. "I've got a consolation prize for you." As Xion stood up, she looked into the window and saw the woman reaching for some cookies, and next to her was a small bassinet with a tiny person inside.

"Is that a baby?"

"Yes, she was born a week ago."

"Can I see her?"

The woman smiled, handing her a cookie. "Of course. Does your friend want to see her too?" She gestured to Roxas.

"Roxas, come here."

The boy walked over as the woman smiled at them. "You're Roxas and Xion, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She picked up the baby. "My name is Opal, and this is Nancy(1)."

Roxas and Xion looked down at the tiny baby in her arms. The little girl yawned and looked back at them.

"She's so small."

"Yes, she is. Hold on a moment." Standing up, Opal came around to the front door and walked outside, holding the baby. "Would you two like to hold her?"

"Can we?"

The woman sat on a chair sitting on the porch and motioned for them to come closer. Xion came over first, and the woman held out Nancy. "Hold her gently, and make sure to support her head."

Pulling the baby to her, Xion gently held her to her chest.

The infant blinked, staring up at her with wide eyes. Her tiny hands came up, grasping at Xion's shirt as she cooed gently.

A wave of emotion washed over Xion. Blinking as tears formed in her eyes, she handed the baby back. "She's really pretty."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

Roxas walked over, carefully taking the baby in his arms.

A moment later, the same feeling washed over him, but he kept holding the baby. He walked over to a chair and sat down, looking into the eyes of the tiny girl in his arms.

"Were all people this tiny once?"

"They were."

All but them.

That's what this was… jealousy.

Jealous of a baby of all things.

Jealous that they never had that normal life to live.

But this baby would have that.

Opal smiled. "Well, why don't you two go off and try and get some eggs. You won't get many by just sitting here with me."

"Yeah…" Handing the baby back, Roxas followed Xion off the porch.

The girl wiped her eyes. "I-I'm gonna go look for eggs by the school."

"You do that. I don't think I want to do the game."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Roxas handed her the basket. "Hey, Xion."

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to be a parent one day?"

Clutching both baskets, she nodded. "I do. I didn't get that normal life, but imagine what it would be life to bring about new life as it's supposed to be. It's beautiful."

"It is." He sighed. "Well, see ya."

"Later."

Roxas watched her take a deep breath, burying those feelings under a soft smile as she jogged away, looking for an egg to swipe.

He had something else to find.

Or someone rather.

It took him a bit, but he eventually spotted the red hair of his one and only student.

"Caden!"

The boy jumped, looking back at him. "Roxas! Hi!" He came over, grinning widely. "Did you get any eggs yet?"

"No. I let Xion have my basket."

"I didn't get any yet." He sighed. "And lots of them are gone. Hey! Since the chances of me getting a bunch of eggs are slim to none, do you want to go train instead?"

"Sure."

Caden ran to where his mother was standing, talking to someone. He handed her the basket, pointing to Roxas before she nodded. With a wider grin than before, he ran back.

"Ready!"

The two began walking off toward their training grounds.

"Caden, I have a question."

"What?"

"What does it feel like to grow up?"

Caden blinked, staring up at the boy. He knew a little more than most about where Roxas came from, but still.

It was a big question.

"Well…" he bit his lip. "You change. You get bigger and you get more responsibility. That's what my mom says at least. She said that the bigger you get, the more you have to do for yourself and others. That's why grown ups have jobs, to take care of themselves and families. I'm not old enough for a job yet, but I do more chores around the house, especially since Mom has her new job. It's a great job, but she's gone more often and I'm stuck with the babysitter. I don't mind helping out my mom."

"You're pretty responsible."

"You think so?"

"I do."

"Does that mean you'll teach me some of that crazy-dangerous magic you know?"

"Not a chance."

"Aw! Come on!"

"Great job today!"

"Thanks, Roxas. See you later!"

"See ya."

The boy smiled, waving as Caden ran off for his home.

Wonder how many eggs Xion scored while they were off training.

"Roxas." The boy turned, seeing a man with tan skin and green eyes walking toward him. "How's your day."

Smiling, Roxas approached his math teacher. "Hi, Mr. Jericho. I'm good. How are you?"

"Pretty good. Find any eggs today?"

"Nah, but I'm sure Xion has a basketful back home."

"I'm sure she does." He nodded after Caden. "Looks like you were busy with your student."

"Yep. He wants to be super prepared for the next Struggle tournament."

"I'm sure he'll do great."

"Um, Mr. Jericho," Roxas looked up at him, "do you like teaching?"

"I wouldn't be a teacher if I didn't."

Kicking up a little dirt, Roxas looked down at his shoes. "I was just curious."

"I'm curious." The math teacher smirked knowingly. "Do you like teaching?"

He nodded. "Yes, I do. It's fun, and I like passing on what I know to someone else."

"Are you thinking about becoming a teacher one day?"

"I'd like to. Do you think I could do it?"

A hand came down on Roxas's shoulder, and he looked up into the smiling face of his own teacher. "I think you'd be a great teacher. You have a kind heart, you care about people, and you love teaching already."

The boy felt his heart soar.

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

Roxas grinned.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about that child from earlier… and about growing up.

Growing up to do what?

He knew Xion wasn't entirely sure about what she wanted to do, but him… he knew.

He was going to be a teacher and be there for all the kids who did have to grow up.

And maybe one day, there would be a kid like him, who came into this world different. And he could help them.

He wanted to help.

"Thank you, Mr. Jericho."

"You're welcome, Roxas."

"I got ten eggs!" Xion cried out the moment Roxas came in the front door.

He couldn't even see her until she popped out from the kitchen holding her basket of colored eggs. "I got more than anyone else in our grade! Looks like that stealth training from the Organization paid off!"

"I'm so happy to see our training going to good use." Axel laughed as Roxas entered the kitchen. "And what did you do today? Xion said you didn't go egg hunting with her."

"I trained with Caden."

"Should've known."

Isa looked over from his spot at the stove, looked like he was making some sort of vegetable dish, smelled like it too. "Did you have fun?"

"I did. And I think I've figured out what I want to do after I graduate."

Xion giggled. "I think I know too. Let me guess… a teacher!"

"Yeah."

"You spend so much time teaching Caden, I figured that was the case."

Axel patted the boy on the back. "You'd do great at that."

"Mr. Jericho said the same thing."

Xion clutched her basket, looking down at the eggs. "I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but I was thinking about it." Glancing at Isa, she sighed. "We saw a little baby today. And the mom let us hold it. I've been thinking about it all day."

"So that's what prompted this whole talk about growing up."

"Yep."

Isa stepped over to pat Xion's head. "Well, you can take your time growing up. You don't have to decide what you want to do yet. And even when you reach college, you have time to explore different options and find out what you really want to do."

"I know I want to be a mom one day. But… job ideas are hard. I don't think I could be a teacher. Maybe I could be a baker at the bistro, or run the ice cream stand."

"You have plenty of time to decide."

"I know."

Plenty of time to decide.

And plenty of time to grow up.

Footnotes:

(1) Props to anyone who gets this reference.

VAs:

Opal- Aimee Carrero (Opal, Adora/She-Ra, Elena, Marina Ramirez, Ashari Girl)

Carl Jericho- Chris Hackney (Rauru, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, N, Kamisato Ayato)