Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 21

Goofy watched as the boy's sword sank into Hook's chest, approving of the move. He was a soldier; he knew there were some enemies too dangerous to leave at your back and from a few comments…how scared that Wendy girl had been of the pirates. He could tell Donald wasn't pleased, but he wasn't a soldier, he was a mage.

He met wary green eyes and nodded slightly, seeing the surprise there. The boy looked away, cleaning off his blade before it vanished into magic. It seemed he was a soldier and a mage and the way Sora slipped into his side, how green went soft as he looked at Sora. Well, a Keyblade master surely needed all the support they could get.

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Sora tucked himself into Harry's side as their weapons vanished, wanting to make it clear to Donald and Goofy where his allegiance lay. Harry wrapped his arm around his waist, resting their heads together. Sora had to admit, he really loved the boost in height he'd gotten from merging with Ventus, he just hated that it meant Ven was gone, mostly. His memories and emotions were there, settled now in Sora's Heart and mind. There were some gaps since he'd been so badly wounded plus, he'd had amnesia but most of it was there.

And Ventus' memories raised some questions about Donald and Goofy. They had met Ventus at least once, knew about him, Terra, and Aqua…so why did they never mention them? What had happened to them? Not even Maleficent or Hades knew despite meeting them a decade ago. Why had they referred to Sora as the Keyblade Master? Sora, and Riku, were wielders, not Masters. Ventus hadn't even been a Master!

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Kairi rushed into Riku's arms, letting him hold her close. She knew their plan, knew the four of them were going to be separated soon and it scared her a little. Her bond to Master was the newest, weakest. And with Riku revealing he had a Keyblade, surely the King's men would insist he go with them. Harry would have to keep his distance mostly to ensure no one realised who he really was. What would happen to her?

"You're okay," Riku murmured, stroking their hair. "I've got you."

Kairi clung to him and then smiled as she felt Sora hug her from behind. She let go of Riku and hugged him back, feeling Riku's arm settle around her waist.

"We were so worried about you!" Sora cried, clinging on.

"I'm okay," she promised. "You guys found me." And then came the 'official' introduction to Harry and the two King's men who she knew they had to be wary of. She wanted time for the four of them to be alone and talk but they doubted it would happen anytime soon.

And then Peter returned for Tinkerbell and the whole ship flew towards…a massive clocktower?

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The four of them settled on the expanded bed, relieved to be off the ship, it had been rather cramped with everyone on board. The bed now had plenty of room but they curled together, Kairi and Sora in the middle. The bond with Kairi was already feeling more solid thankfully since it was doubtful the King's men would want to hang around. Silently, they were discussing the pros and cons of Sora confronting them over their behaviour before he left. Riku and Harry were all for him going for it, Kairi wasn't sure, and Sora knew it was wrong but was worried about their cover if they…he confronted them. The Hallows might be three and one but their Vessels and Master were still four individuals, mostly.

Eventually they fell asleep, an alarm set so they could split to separate rooms before anyone noticed.

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Donald wanted to yell at the boy, to tell him there were more important things then finding his friends. Their King was far more important than a bunch of lost kids who'd probably become Heartless as their World fell, except…they hadn't. Sora had found them and a new friend. And Goofy was giving him that look. He looked away. It wasn't his job to train the kid. But Master Yen Sid…he grumbled but finally nodded.

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Aerith smiled and hugged Sora, so relieved that he was okay. And he'd found his friends! She was so happy for him. But now they were being split up again, it made sense, but it was very obvious how hard it was for them. But the ship wasn't made to take so many passengers. His new friend, Harry, had the magic to travel between World himself, very impressive for someone so young. She'd even seen him debating magic with Merlin!

"We'll look after Kairi," Yuffie declared, flinging an arm over her shoulder, and Aerith giggled.

"Of course," she agreed, "we need more girls around here."

She could practically hear Leon rolling his eyes and Cid's grumbling around his cigarette. Served them right, they were outnumbered now, at least when Cloud wasn't around.

Then Harry tossed Kairi a house key, huh, she hadn't seen him around but if he just used it as an occasional place to crash, she supposed she might not have.

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Sora kissed him and Harry kissed back, wrapping his arms around him to hold him close. "Don't want to leave," he whispered.

"I know," Harry smiled at him. "But nothing can truly separate us now," he reminded him.

Sora grinned, eyes shimmering for a moment. "I know, but it's not the same," he pouted. "Can't kiss you through the bond."

Harry laughed at that, very true. "They know I travel, we can 'run into' each other."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, just resting against him.

"And I'll bring Kairi at least a few times once she's gotten some training behind her." Just because she couldn't die didn't mean she couldn't be hurt and then Riku would lose it. He understood that, it was the cost of using Darkness. But they had their Lights to balance them, to keep them from going too deep.

Harry tugged him over to the bed and they collapsed on it to cuddle and kiss. His place was small, one room really other than the bathroom, but it didn't need to be bigger. And Kairi had assured them that she was quite happy with staying there.

TBC…

Been stuck on this for ages, decided I'll post what I've got, maybe something in a review will provide inspiration.