A/N:
Sorry for the wait, everyone! This story, as fun as it is to write, is a side project of mine so it's not top priority for me. I'm not abandoning it by any means, but my Sword Art Online fic, "Unyielding" is my main project so that takes precedence.
This chapter's a bit shorter than usual, mainly due to me constantly rewriting it. To be honest, this chapter didn't exist in the lineup until just recently, but I figured we should probably check in on the Kingdom Hearts crew for one; we've been with the PokeCrew long enough.
To that end, expect a new chapter soon! Probably next week or the week after. Don't want to burn through my prepared chapters too quickly, now.
Contrary to popular belief, Kairi hated waiting.
For years she had to wait. When they were children, she had to wait to see if Sora would fess up to his not-so-subtle feelings for her. It was certainly obvious enough back then. Then, she had to wait while Sora traversed the worlds with Donald and Goofy in an ironically-futile attempt to save her. Technically speaking, she was with him the whole time, what with her heart being kept safely inside his own for all that time.
Hearts were weird like that.
Then she had to wait for Sora to return home, only for her to forget he even existed - not her proudest moment - and soon after which she remembered him, was subsequently kidnapped, and was forced to wait yet again to be rescued. Things settled down for the most part after that, but still she was forced to wait on the sidelines while everyone else worked to save the universe from Xehanort's machinations. Only recently had she decided to step up and help as a Guardian of Light, and frankly she wished she had gotten involved sooner.
Now, as she sat and looked through a pane of glass at Xion, Roxas, and Namine while they worked to rescue Sora, Kairi knew she was doing it again.
Waiting.
"D'ya think they'll find him?" Goofy asked, his own face pressed up against the window pane.
Donald gave his compatriot a firm smack on the arm. "Of course they'll find him! Have a little faith!"
Kairi had to hold back a giggle at that, actually. There was something about Sora's travel companions that always lifted her spirits. Their antics never failed to elicit a laugh, and Kairi found herself understanding how Sora could remain hopeful and optimistic during each of his adventures. Donald and Goofy undoubtedly played a hand in that.
"Any progress?" Riku's voice rang out from behind. The trio stopped staring into the window and turned to face the silver-haired Guardian. "... I'm guessing no."
Kairi turned back and peered inside. For almost a week now, the former Nobodies had been hard at work diving into their memories and connections to Sora at Master Yen Sid's request and Ansem the Wise's guidance. The former had suggested that the three Nobodies might be able to take advantage of their close relationship to Sora, while the latter had offered his services, technology, and guidance in helping the three achieve that goal. Since Roxas was Sora's Nobody, Xion was created using Sora's memories, and Namine was a Nobody hybrid between herself and Sora, Kairi could certainly see the logic in this new strategy. They were practically his children.
Wait, if Namine came from her own heart and Sora's body, did that make her their daughter?
"No, not yet." Donald groaned, snapping Kairi out of her embarrassing thoughts before the duck plastered his face against the glass dejectedly.
"Well, that's not why I came here anyway." Riku continued, letting out a sigh. "Good news would have been great, but I wanted to know if you all wanted to get something to eat. You've been standing there all morning, according to Namine."
Kairi tilted her head in confusion. Namine was in the next room all day as well. When did she…?
"She has a Gummi phone, you know." Riku headed off her next question. "She messaged me and told me how you three were just standing there watching them. It's distracting, apparently."
A quick glance at Donald and Goofy told her they felt just like she did. They didn't mean to distract Namine. The absolute last thing they needed was to delay her because of their impatience and negligence. The work she was doing, pouring through the memories and connections was far too important. They could afford to give her the space needed to finish her seemingly impossible goal.
"Sorry." Donald mumbled sheepishly, looking down with no small amount of shame.
Riku waved him off. "I wouldn't worry about it. Namine's patient like that, but maybe we should give them some space to work. What do you three say to getting some food? It is getting near lunch time."
"Gawrsh, that sounds like a good idea to me, Riku." Goofy said, a grin plastered on his face. "We could always go visit Little Chef. He's always got something yummy!"
"Yeah!" Donald shouted in agreement. "Maybe we could find some ingredients on the way!"
Goofy, much to Kairi's surprise, had a deadpanned look on his face as he looked at Donald. The magician, for his part, suddenly looked sheepish. Donald then walked off, looking determined and just a bit embarrassed. Goofy plodded along behind dutifully as he shook his head. She and Riku exchanged a confused look.
An inside joke, perhaps?
"That… felt weird."
Kairi looked down at the plate of food sitting before her. Apparently the multi-colored dish was called Ratatouille and consisted of a medley of commonly found vegetables. According to Scrooge, Ratatouille was initially a peasant dish but under the expert hands of Little Chef, was elevated to a masterpiece.
Still, the feeling of a rat playing puppet master by using your hair was not something easily forgotten.
Donald snickered, his signature rasp coming through even when laughing. "Sora thought the same thing! I think he got used to it after a while. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows how to cook on his own now after learning from Little Chef!"
Kairi smiled. The idea that Sora could cook dishes unassisted was an amusing thought. Back home, he was never culinarily inclined, so to speak, his cooking skills limited to marshmallow roasting or making a simple sandwich. If… no, when they found him, she'd have to see for herself if had the chops to cook now.
"So I've been meaning to ask, but what have you two been up to lately?" Riku asked, taking a forkful of his own dish before looking at Donald and Goofy. "Have you gone back to your regular duties now that the Heartless are mostly taken care of?"
"A-yup!" Goofy answered jovially. "I'm back to bein' captain of the guard, but now I'm trainin' Maxie too!"
"Maxie?" Kairi asked, unfamiliar with the name.
"Maxie's my son!" Goofy said, pride evident in his features. "He's not really sure what he wants to do when he grows up, but for now he's asked me to train him."
"How come?" Riku asked.
Goofy shrugged. "He says he wants to keep his options open. If he wants to take after me, he'll have the experience. If not, at least he'll know how to defend himself, a-hyuck!"
"That's not a bad idea, actually." Riku commented. "You never know what sort of dangers are out there, and I'm sure the training will teach him some discipline."
"A-yup!" Goofy smiled before digging into his own dish.
"What about you, Donald?" Kairi asked. She eyed her dish before taking a delicate stab at it with her fork. She gave it an exploratory sniff before popping it in her mouth.
Oh Light, that was delicious.
Donald snickered again, clearly amused at how voraciously Kairi was now digging into her plate. "I'm back to being the court wizard, but it's not as exciting as traveling across the worlds regularly, I admit."
"What about you, Riku?" Goofy asked. "What have you been up to lately?"
Riku took a sip from his drink before setting it down. "There are still patches of Heartless popping up here and there, so most of the work is just stopping them before they become bigger issues. Ever since Xehanort was defeated, we haven't had to worry about them or the Nobodies causing trouble. There's always going to be Heartless, but we're keeping them in check."
Kairi remembered Ansem the Wise - or maybe it was Master Yen Sid - say something about the darkness being as natural a force as the light. One couldn't exist without the other, so the Heartless were more or less a force of nature. The two forces, in their natural states, were in balance so nothing terrible should happen. It was only through forceful intervention by people like Xehanort that the scales were tipped in significant ways.
You know, in universe-ending ways.
Kairi grimaced. If it weren't for Sora, Riku, and the other Guardians, the universe would have ended as they knew it. Sure, she was a Guardian too, but yet again she'd been relegated to a damsel in distress because, frankly, she wasn't of the same caliber as the others. Every single one of the others were capable fighters before they were officially made Guardians. Kairi's induction as a Guardian was hasty, in hindsight. Even the time-dilating training grounds she and Lea used weren't enough to make up for that.
She needed to get stronger.
"Riku." Kairi said, looking at her friend with a determined look in her eyes. Her brave expression almost broke into hysterics at the startled look on his face, but she kept it somehow. "Can you train me?"
"...Train you in what?" He asked, fork paused halfway up to his mouth.
"When we find Sora, I want to help rescue him." She explained. "I need to get stronger if I'm going to be of any help."
"Where is this coming from?" Riku asked.
"I'm tired of not being strong enough." She said, holding a fist up to her heart. "I want to help, Riku, not be the one needing help. When we find Sora, I know there's going to be a rescue effort and I need to be there."
Riku put down his fork and exchanged a look with Donald and Goofy, who looked just as stunned at the abrupt turn in conversation. "I… you know what? I've seen that look in your eyes before. There's no convincing you otherwise, is there?"
Kairi smiled. "Nope."
Riku sighed before pulling out his gummi phone. "I'm not going to train you."
"What?!" Kairi almost screeched. "But you just said…!"
Riku held up a hand, stopping her before she could continue her tirade. "I've seen you fight. Your style is too different from mine and frankly, I'm not even sure they're compatible. I wield the darkness and you're a Princess of Heart. No, I'm going to see if someone else will."
Kairi tilted her head in mild confusion. "Who then?"
Riku held up a finger before dialing a number. After a moment, Kairi heard a blip, signaling that someone had picked up on the other end. "Hey, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
"Nope, I'm free. What's up, Riku?" A familiar voice said.
Riku turned the phone screen in such a way where all four of them could see and were visible to the person on the other end of the call. A familiar head of blue hair greeted them.
"Master Aqua!" Kairi, Goofy, and Donald all cried out.
"Hi guys!" Aqua exclaimed with a smile. Her head turned slightly as if to address Riku. "So what's up? Terra's not giving you any trouble, is he?"
Riku waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, his training's going well. I think he's getting the hang of keeping his inner darkness balanced."
"That's good." Aqua said with a sigh. "I still don't like the idea of him using darkness but if this will keep it in check I'll have to learn to live with it. Thanks again for helping him with this."
"It's no problem, Aqua." Riku said with a smile. "I was actually wondering if you could return the favor."
"Oh?"
Riku nodded. "Yep. Would you be willing to train Kairi? When we do eventually find Sora, we want her to be ready to help bring him home."
"I'd be happy to help train Kairi!" Aqua said. "I know what it's like to feel helpless and powerless when the ones you love are in danger, so I'll do everything in my power to prepare you, Kairi."
"Thank you so much, Master Aqua!" Kairi said, bowing her head in gratitude. She could feel her eyes glossing over but nonetheless kept her tears in check.
"Think nothing of it." Aqua replied. "When can you start?"
Kairi exchanged a look with Riku, Donald, and Goofy before she nodded. She looked back at Aqua, who was waiting patiently for a reply.
"As soon as possible."
"Good, Kairi! Watch your footing!"
Kairi raised her Keyblade to block the incoming attack. While Ventus was about her same skill level, or slightly better, he had more weight behind his attack than she did. He was taller and heavier so he had physics on his side in this particular bout.
What he didn't have, however, was her agility.
She shifted the Keyblade in her hand to deflect the oncoming blow, which allowed her to side-step Ventus and strike out at his exposed flank. While Ventus was quick to respond, he just barely dodged her counterattack and had to leap back to give some space.
"Geez!" Ventus gasped out. "You're fast!"
"Thanks!" Kairi shouted before dashing forward.
Ventus's eyes widened as he let loose a half-hearted, panicked fire spell. "Fire!"
Skidding to a halt, Kairi quickly brought up a barrier and watched the magical flames lick over the shield. Once they stopped, she dropped the barrier and resumed her chase. Ventus was ready this time, however, and met her halfway. Over the next few minutes, the two Keyblade wielders exchanged blows and spells, each trying their best to overpower or outmaneuver the other. The training room was already covered in scorch marks, dents, and scratches, and this current bout was not helping things.
Finally, Kairi saw an opening. She feinted with a swing to her left. As expected, he blocked, but she immediately transitioned into one of her combos, catching Ventus off guard and lifting him up into the air. She leapt and followed, pummelling him twice with her Keyblade before attempting to end with a strong finisher. As she swung the Keyblade downward, she saw him grin and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
A trap.
She'd gotten overconfident.
Quickly conjuring an Aero shield, Ventus not only blocked her finishing strike, but the winds retaliated and knocked her off balance. Righting himself in the air, he began to harry her with a multitude of strikes. He'd timed his retaliation perfectly and suddenly she was on the defensive. Unable to keep up against such an onslaught, she crashed into the floor. She growled and was about to bounce back up when she was met with the edge of a Keyblade pointed in her face.
She groaned, slumping back into the small crater she made with her fall. That was the fifth time he'd won, and while she hoped she'd gotten better, he was clearly more experienced than she was.
"I think that's enough for today." Aqua's voice rang out from behind them. She strode up to the two and held out her hand for Kairi to take. She helped her to her feet and gave a soft chuckle. She seemed to notice Kairi's glum expression and soon enough Kairi felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't be so upset. You did good."
"I lost five times, Master Aqua." Kairi refuted. "I would hardly count that as 'good'."
"It's your first day, Kairi." Aqua chuckled. "If you were already an expert, you wouldn't need training. That's why you're here, isn't it? To get better?"
"Well, yeah…" Kairi relented, now seeing the logic in Aqua's argument. Didn't make her defeat sting any less, though.
"Can you tell me what you did wrong?" Aqua asked.
Kairi thought for a moment. "I think maybe I was too aggressive."
Aqua snapped her fingers. "Exactly. Based on what Lea's told me, that's not how you usually fight. It sounds like you usually use magic and fight more defensively. What happened?"
Kairi's shoulders slumped. "I don't know, I was trying to change things a little. Fighting that way in the past only got me captured by Xehanort. I figured changing my style would fix that."
Aqua shook her head. "You don't need to change your fighting style so much; there's nothing wrong with fighting with more caution, you just need to know when to go on the offensive. I saw a little of that today and it was starting to work. The problem was you got too aggressive, and Ven was able to lure you into a trap."
"I see." Kairi sighed. "I've got a long way to go, then."
"Don't worry, we'll get you into tip-top shape!" Ventus assured her, giving her a smile that reminded her too much of Sora.
She took heart in the fact that, so long as she persisted with this training, she would one day soon be able to help rescue Sora. She had no idea when the others would find him, nor did she have any idea how dangerous it might be. All she knew was that she was going to do everything in her power to be ready for it. With a master like Aqua taking her under her wing, she'd one day be as strong as Sora. For Kairi, that meant no more damsel in distress.
No more helplessness.
No more waiting.