Duels and discussions

The next day arrived, and Kairi woke right as the sun rose above the horizon. Once she had gotten dressed and left her room, Aqua greeted her in the hallway. She told Kairi to meet her on the castle grounds once she had finished breakfast. Nothing terribly unusual so far, though Kairi was pleasantly surprised she was not being asked to do anything before breakfast this time around.

As she was eating, she noted there did not seem to be others around. At first she just thought the others were just not awake, yet. She and Aqua were usually the first to rise in the morning due to Kairi's ongoing training. For the others there was less need to get up as early as that. But then she took note of the dirty dishes in the sink. There seemed to be enough for several people. She realized she actually be among the last to wake up today.

The only other person she saw while having breakfast was Ventus. He seemed to be in a hurry, barely saying good morning to her. He quickly drank a cup of coffee and snatched a fruit from a nearby tray before leaving as quickly as he had come. It looked like someone was running late. Was he to play a part in today's training as well then? She wondered what was going on with him. He looked… pretty tired actually, with heavy bags under his eyes.

She hastened her own eating. It was obvious that she was expected. It would not do for her to be late as well.

As she was finishing up she gave some thought to the things she had learned last evening. But she soon decided to put those questions out of her mind for now. She had work to do. She needed to clear her mind and focus. And she wasn't even sure what she wanted to do with this information yet.

As requested she made her way outside, where the morning mist was just dispersing. Dew still lingered on blades of grass, green matter clinging to her shoes in a matter of moments. Aqua was already there waiting for her, as were Terra and Ventus. Kairi also noted Naminé sitting on a bench nearby, Chirithy right next to her. And close by… were also Lauriam and Elrena. Those two got a long look from her. She of course remembered that Aqua had called them back, but she had not realized they were already here.

"Kairi. You're here. Good." Aqua said in greeting.

"Good morning." Kairi said, giving a short bow to Aqua. "Now then, will I finally get to know what today's lesson is about?" She asked.

"Indeed you will." Aqua said. "You see, up until now you've only faced me in practice fights. But it's not a good idea to fight a single opponent too often. One might become too entrenched, too accustomed to a certain kind of opposition. So for today's practice you'll be facing off against Ven and Terra, so you'll get a feel against different types of opponents."

"And the rest of you? Kairi asked.

"We are just here to watch." Naminé replied, a slight mischievous smile on her lips.

"What she said. A chance to see the whole lot of you fight? No way would we miss a showing like that." Elrena added.

Kairi was a bit hesitant at being the center of attention like that, but nevertheless she nodded. So be it then.

"We shall begin with between you and Terra. Make yourselves ready. The rules are as usual." Aqua declared.

Terra and Kairi took their positions, then waited for the whistleblow to begin. Once it sounded, the two circled each other, evaluating their opponent. Terra made the first move, closing the distance and striking a downwards blow with both hands. Kairi made to block… and was almost immediately knocked off her feet. She managed to stay upright only barely, using her free hand to keep her back from hitting the ground. Terra followed his first attack with a broad horizontal sweep. Again Kairi blocked, this time sent skidding several meters along the still slippery grass, again almost losing her balance.

Kairi was panting, eyes wide. There was such tremendous strength behind every one of Terra's blows. Her wrists were starting to feel numb even after just these few attacks.

"No point in trying to block his attacks." She decided. She would just end up wearing herself down trying to withstand them. Or one of them would just knock her off her feet and end the duel then and there. This called for a different approach.

Terra's next blow she dodged. And the next one after that, putting some distance between them. From now on she put her focus on evading his attacks and trying to stay out of his reach. Her own attacks were now mainly focused on magic and quick hit and run strikes, retreating away from his retaliations before they could reach her.


As Terra and Kairi were fighting, Lauriam and Ventus were watching from the sidelines.

"She fights well. But so does Terra." Lauriam commented.

"Do you think it will be a close call?" Ventus asked.

Lauriam thought about it, grasping his chin. "Maybe. Though I still think Terra will be the winner. He has the advantage of greater experience." He finally said.

"Plus while Kairi's change in strategy makes sense, in a waiting game Terra still has the advantage I think. Odds are he can keep his endurance going much longer than she can." Elrena supplied. "Her best chance now would be to outthink him, get past his defenses somehow. Her delaying tactics will give her more time to do that. We'll see if she can make proper use of it."

"…So… after today… you're planning on leaving again? To look for Strelitzia?" Ventus asked, changing the subject.

Lauriam nodded. "There is still a task for us to do there. You waking up may have cut our first attempt short, but we really do need to get that done."

"Take me with you when you go. I can help you find her." Ventus offered.

Lauriam smiled. "For my part I would be glad to bring you. Though I'm less than sure that Terra and Aqua would be comfortable in letting you to come with us on your own. They trust us with a lot now. But I think that much might still be a step too far for the moment, despite you and I being old friends."

"And furthermore keep in mind you have been asked to go to Radiant Garden, so the researchers there can examine the Darkness trapped in you. That is an important task as well." He added.

"Oh…" Ven said, instantly realizing Lauriam was in the right.

"I'm not telling you not to come with us. But think carefully where to concentrate your efforts. Where will you be most helpful in all of this?" Lauriam said.

"…If it was up to you, where would you have me go?" Ventus asked after a moment of silence.

"I believe I know why you asked to come along. But if you wish to set things right with her, then I think for the time being the most important thing for you to do is to make sure this Darkness in destroyed once and for all. Do that and you have done right by both me and her. And right by yourself too." He said.

"Okay… I can do that." Ventus said. "But… wasn't getting help to find her one of the reasons you came here in the first place?"

"It was. And that is also something we have had, thanks to your fellow guardians. Yen Sid has kindly provided us possible worlds to search through. And I understand Axel is searching through the worlds as well, looking for signs of the Foretellers, which may help our own efforts in the meantime. And Roxas and Xion stand watch over the worlds we cannot go to, and will be sure to alert us if they happen upon Strelitzia within them. For now we have what we need." Lauriam said.

"And should there be need for more help later I'm glad to know I can rely on you to be there." He added.

"Absolutely. You bet." Ventus said. "Just… be careful when you're out there, okay? With the Foretellers running around and there possibly being more Darknesses… it sounds like it's getting very dangerous out there."

"Of course." Lauriam said with a nod. "But you need to be careful as well. As you said, there may be other Darknesses on the loose. And based on what Vanitas told you, they might try to come for you. And we both know that his ilk are probably like. You need to be on your guard."

Ventus nodded.

"It's still rather difficult to believe… that the Darkness we faced is Vanitas. That I ended up fighting on the same side with the thing that hurt my sister." Lauriam said. He grimaced. "It's going to take quite a long while to get over that part. I had a hunch he might have been the one, but… I had really hoped to be wrong about it."

"At least you weren't the one who wound up bringing him to this age. When I took him into my heart… I really had hoped to put an end to him right then and there. But it didn't work out like I had planned it. Not at all really…" Ventus said.

"For what it's worth we all thought you had managed to do exactly that. And even if we had known the truth I don't think it would have changed anything. We were not about to leave you behind." Lauriam said.

"And while I don't like the idea of this creature being in your heart any more than you do, at least we know it's there. Better that than have it remain hidden until disaster strikes. Now that we know we will take care of it. Don't worry." Lauriam said.

"I suppose. I hope so. We'll have to see what they come up with in Radiant Garden." Ventus said.

Lauriam thought for a moment. "You know… it occurs to me that Radiant Garden is one more world we ought to search through. There are after all a great many people living there. At least we should check it out so we can discount it in the future. And it would be most interesting to see some of the other former Organization members. Who knows, maybe one of them will even end up dropping a hint on our laps. Some clue that we do not yet know about. So if you want we could come to Radiant Garden with you when you go."

Ventus smiled. "I'd like that."

"And… at some point… I'd like to visit Scala. I need to go see Ephemer. To say goodbye." He added seriously.

"Of course. I don't imagine anyone would want to deny you that. And at least now you can." Lauriam said.

"Yeah. And I'll try to look for signs of Brain and Skuld while I'm there. We should find out what happened to them too if we can." Ventus said.


All the while the clash between Terra and Kairi was still ongoing, with Terra trying to chase down and strike Kairi, while she continued her strategy of evasion and rapid counterattacks. But then without warning Terra unleashed a blast of fire from his keyblade. Kairi was too close to react to it. As per the rules of their duel the spell lacked significant strength, and she got through it with minor burns and some singing of her clothing. But while she was still reeling from that Terra managed to get close enough to hit her in the stomach with the flat of his keyblade. Kairi let out a strangled gasp, doubling over from the strength of the impact. Immediately after the whistle was blown, ending the duel.

"Not bad. Well done both of you." Aqua congratulated.

"Terra, technically speaking that keyblade strike was a bit of an overkill by the rules of the duel. But I can see why you did it. It's a natural follow up in an actual fight, and it left no question as to the result." She continued.

"Yeah, it was something of an instinct for me." Terra said. "Are you alright, Kairi?" He asked.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just a little out of breath after that. You hit pretty hard. And I bet that wasn`t even at full force. Oof…" Kairi replied, rubbing her stomach.

"Kairi, you did a decent job in adjusting your tactics to Terra's preferred combat style. But you'd do well to remember that your opponents can do so as well. Smart warriors hold a little back when they can, so they have something they can fall back on when they need to. And they use their skills creatively, even when they are out of their comfort zone. In Terra's case for instance he prefers to use his keyblade in direct combat, rather than his magic. And his form prefers power over speed. But all the same he has some magical ability as well, and was able to use it here to tip the balance in his favor." Aqua said to her.

"Right… right." Kairi mumbled to herself, doing her best to listen to the lesson despite lingering discomfort.

"Feel free to heal up your wounds and take ten minutes to rest. Then you're up against Ventus." Aqua said.

Kairi nodded, cast a healing spell on herself and sat down, grateful for the opportunity to rest. Five minutes in she stood up long enough to do a series of stretches before she became too stiff. She was glad she remembered. She needed to maintain her mobility for the next match.

Once she was ready she returned to the center of the field. Ven joined her there moments later, summoning his keyblade. As they waited for the signal Kairi observed him, taking note of how exhausted he still looked. Hmm… maybe she could turn that to her advantage. At least it would balance things out a little, since neither of them would be facing each other completely fresh. The strange reversed grip with which he was holding his keyblade was going to be a problem though. It would make it harder to anticipate where he was going to strike. She would need to be careful with that.

Once she was sure both contestants were ready, Aqua blew the whistle again. And in that same instant Ven was already upon Kairi, striking at her, with her barely managing to block in time. That first strike was followed by a rapid succession of others.

"Holy…!" Kairi breathed, trying to get away from the flurry of attacks, blocking desperately. Ven was so quick! While his attacks had far less strength behind them, he was able to land four of them for every one of Terra's. And try as she might, Kairi could not get away from him. He effortlessly remained close to her, keeping the pressure steady. There was no time to think, to formulate any kind of sensible plan. She could just try to hang on as best she could…


With Ven and Kairi now locked in combat, Terra had moved to the side to observe. After a few moments Elrena decided to walk to him. It was not long before they struck up a conversation, discussing the most recent discoveries.

"So the old geezer actually had a bunch of friends in the past? I would have pegged him as the type who has never had any, not ever in his life. And now it turns out I could not have been more mistaken about that. Who would have thunk?" Elrena said.

"Not us for sure. And we can't figure out what might have happened to them. If there were still alive you'd think we'd have heard of them at some point. But we have never seen them, and the Master never spoke about them. It's almost like he didn't want to." He said.

Elrena crossed her arms, looking at the ground. "Hmm… You know, back in Daybreak Town even before it all came crashing down we now and then had situations where people who went on missions just… didn't come back at the end of the day. No one wanted to talk about it, or think about it, but everyone knew what had happened."

"You… think something similar might have happened here?" He asked.

She nodded. "It could explain why your Master did not want to bring them up. It hurt too much. I've seen that too in my time. Now and then a survivor or two would turn up, all cuts and bruises, bawling over friends that were now gone. People who died, or whose hearts collapsed, turning them into monsters. Those who did survive… what they had witnessed had left them broken. And since everyone else preferred to ignore such things, rarely was there any comfort for them to find and make them whole again. All too often they were the next to fall."

"The next to fall?" Terra repeated.

"Yeah. The downside of having friends as it happens. Because that which we love is what we can't bear to lose. To open one's heart to that light is to also open oneself to the darkness that comes from losing such precious things. Which makes such bonds as much a weakness as a source of strength."

"That's… really how you feel?" Terra asked.

"Do you disagree? Think about it. Ven is a good friend of yours." She said, motioning to where Ventus was fighting. "And there are other friends just like him you've found among the Guardians. Maybe not quite as fierce a bond, but its there."

Then she lowered her voice, smiling conspiratorially. "And well… I think with Blue it's starting to go above and beyond friendship."

Terra glanced at Aqua, then turned his face aside.

Elrena chuckled at his expression. "And there is all the proof I need. No need to be embarrassed on my account. It's actually quite sweet watching you two."

"She and Ven are both precious to you. The foundation of your light. But on the other hand what would it do to you if something happened to them? What would it do to your light? The thing is… every one of us is built in the same manner. And sadly I'm not the only one to have figured this part out. Darkness certainly knows how to turn the tables on us." She continued.

He grumbled under his breath. It was an uncomfortable thing to admit to… but she did have a point of sorts. He already knew the answer to her questions. He had made it his task in life to keep them safe. It was how he had tamed his darkness, by turning it too to that purpose. There was naught that would sway him from that course; that could make him stop trying. But the day that would not be enough… was the day he might well end up losing his humanity. The day the darkness would get to claim him after all. And just the threat of it happening had unleashed so much darkness in him, giving Xehanort an opening to move in and take over. He had known just what to target and had exploited it, just as Elrena said could be done.

"So… if that is really how you see it… then what is your answer? To have no friends at all? That would be better in your mind?" He said, almost in challenge.

Elrena chuckled. "Once that really could have been what I would say. Even something I might have wanted for myself. But the truth is… I've been that empty. I managed to become what I aspired to be. And it turns out it is just another way of becoming a monster. It was a bad answer to begin with."

"No, despite the potential problems we can't do without the light of things precious to us. And I`m not saying these bonds don't have value. Just the opposite actually. But I think it's only smart to understand the other side of the coin too. If anything it's just a reminder why the important things need to be protected. I think both of us understand that part at least." She added.

"Well… I do understand what it means to protect those I care about no matter what." He responded. "But I'm not exactly sure how we are the same."

She shrugged. "And maybe we aren't. It's up to you to decide what you want to believe about me. If you even think it matters."

Terra frowned. "You seriously like holding better cards than the other player don't you?"

"Ha. Yeah, sure, if it means the game happens on my terms. Honestly who wouldn't?" She replied.

"But please… no more card game metaphors from now on. I don't want us to start sounding like Luxord." She added.

This time Terra chuckled. "Fair enough. Card game metaphors are banned from now on."

"But there is one thing I'd like to know. Since you are familiar with what can happened to people who end up too close to the darkness… is that the reason why you are so interested in helping Aqua?" He then asked.

Elrena paused. "...Maybe that's part of it. I've seen the consequences. And I've see the collateral. It's not a pleasant sight. I don't think Blue deserves that. None of you do. And I've seen enough of it for one life. So if there is a way to stop her fall… I'd rather we just do that."

She looked at Aqua, who was still observing the ongoing fight intently, for now oblivious to all else.

"I must say, she does look a whole lot better these days." Elrena commented.

"She does. And she claimed as much herself just yesterday. Kairi's light has done wonders for her." Terra confirmed.

"That's good to hear. I'm glad. But still, but we ought to be careful for now. She might be better now, or getting there. But we can't be sure of that yet." She said.

"Huh? But wasn't it you who thought it might be a good idea to let Kairi be here? That it might help Aqua?" He asked.

"Oh, absolutely. And I stand by that. It has obviously done her a lot of good. But you should never assume a disease is gone just because the symptoms disappear. We need to figure out just what Kairi has managed to do for her. I she a cure? Or is she more akin to a painkiller that takes away the discomfort the darkness brings? And if the latter, will that be enough to let Blue's heart heal on its own? Or is there something else we need to do?" She said.


Meanwhile Kairi was still pressed hard, still struggling to come up with a response. She couldn't bloody do anything! With Ven's attacks coming so quickly she was unable to make any attacks of her own. Unless… of course! That could work, if she could maintain it.

With that she concentrated, creating a barrier. But she didn't form it into a sphere like Aqua or others might have done. Instead she created a shield attached to her free hand, about as tall and wide as she was. The next series of Ven's attacks she blocked with it, then used it like a battering ram, pushing him away. Ventus retreated backwards, pausing in his attack. Kairi could see the uncertainty on his face as he hesitated on how to respond to this turn of events. The sight brought an uncharacteristically savage grin to her face. Her idea had been a good one it seemed.

She began to move forward, one cautious step at a time, keeping her shield between herself and Ventus. As she got close Ventus attacked again, but each of his attacks was met by her shield. Ven tried to circle around to get past it, but as it was made of pure energy it weighed nothing at all, so she was able to easily keep it between them with only small movements. Once he almost made it through, locking his keyblade into its edge. But somehow Kairi was able to wrench his keyblade from his grasp, sending it flying. He had to jump away from her to get enough time to recall his keyblade to his hand. Another time he managed to jump behind her and send a gust of wind toward her. But she was able to pivot in place, her shield meeting the magic just in time. No way was she going to fall for that twice in one day!

Maintaining the shield was taxing, and a few times she almost lost concentration, she shield starting to quiver and warp around its edges. But she forced the shield back into shape, sweat beading on her brow.

She could see the frustration in Ven's eyes as he realized none of his attacks were making it through. It made Kairi feel encouraged. She was holding her own! She was holding him back! Now she just needed to find a way to…

As Ven launched into another flurry of attacks Kairi spied her chance, striking at him just as his keyblade hit her shield again. She felt her weapon impact something hard.

Ventus lay on the grass, one hand on his head, trying to blink away the stars dancing in his eyes. Kairi meanwhile was staring at him with wide eyes. Had she actually just managed to…?

She didn't even hear the whistle when it sounded.

"Yes! YES! You did it Kairi! Wohoo!" Naminé was cheering, standing up and clapping.

"Kairi! You got him! Well done!" Aqua congratulated as she walked to her, smiling from ear to ear.

Kairi nodded unable to reply. She was just starting to feel how exhausted she was. She dismissed her shield and keyblade and put her hands on her knees, head downcast, panting all the while.

"Are you okay, Ven?" Aqua asked in the meantime.

"Head's still ringing. Augh… But I'll be okay." Ventus said. "That was very impressive. What was that even? I've never seen a barrier used that way."

"It's one of the experimental spells Kairi has come up with. I just didn't realize she could already make it." Aqua explained.

"But how come you didn't use that from the start? Or for that matter why didn't you try to use it with Terra?" She asked.

"Didn't you say… that a smart warrior… keeps a bit in reserve?" Kairi managed to say.

Aqua smiled again, and nodded. "I did indeed."

"Need… to practice that more though. Had a hard time… maintaining it." Kairi said

"Oh, we are definitely practicing more with that in the future. I want to see in action more. And I want to try my hand in devising a counter to it." Aqua said.

"That was an excellent showing. It's nice to see new techniques on display." Terra said as he arrived onto the scene.

"Gotta say though, you were a bit slower than usual, Ven." He added as he helped Ventus to his feet. "You might have been able to do better if you had actually gone to bed at a decent hour."

Ven could only smile sheepishly.

"He's… actually… quicker… when he's rested!?" Kairi asked in disbelief between gasps for air.

"I can confirm that. It's actually quite a sight." Lauriam called a bit further away.

"So… what no? Will I be facing… both of them at once…? All three… of you?" Kairi half jested, still out of breath.

"Oh no, no. I think that's enough combat training for one day. We'll go over fighting a group another day." Aqua said, laughing. "For now, go clean yourself up. Then I have some reading prepared for you. You did well today. I'm proud of you."

"Well, I guess the show's over. But that was lot of fun to watch! Maybe we can do this again someday? And maybe next time we can get a try too, right?" Elrena said.

"Who knows…" Kairi mumbled.


"Naminé, a moment please?" Kairi asked as the others were heading inside. Naminé nodded and stayed in the yard with her.

"Is something the matter?" Naminé asked, having noted Kairi's expression.

Kairi bit her lip. "Naminé… you've been here a bit longer than I have. In that time have you ever noticed anything… odd going on with Aqua?"

"Anything odd?" Naminé asked. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I had this really odd episode with her last evening. I happened to overhear her talking with Terra, and… well… one of the things they discussed was apparently her wellbeing. Which would not be that odd on its own, but once Terra had already left she went to look through the window… and she got startled by something. Afterwards I heard her talking to someone. Or something. You should have heard it. She sounded angry, violent. Whatever she saw, whatever she spoke to… she wanted to kill it." Kairi explained.

"Then… who did she talk with?" Naminé asked.

"I don't know. That's just it. I went to look through the window once she was gone. But I didn't see anything there. As far as I know she was alone." Kairi said.

"She also mentioned burning that something out her heart with light." She added.

"You mean… burn out a darkness of some kind, right?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah, I think so. What else does light get rid of? And with us discovering there is some kind of sentient Darkness burrowed in Ven's heart and her giving me a lengthy lesson about how people can fall to darkness themselves… taken all together I'm starting to feel more that a little worried for her."

"I see. Well… now that you mentioned it, I do remember one strange case while I have been here." Naminé said.

"Do you remember what they told us about how they met Lauriam and Elrena in the first place?" She asked.

"They said they had some kind of trouble in the Realm of Darkness. That those two came in and helped them get out of it." Kairi answered.

"Yes. Exactly. But if you stop to think about it the details they've given are pretty vague. So, because I was curious, I ended up asking Aqua some more details. But I remember her getting very evasive about the whole thing. I got the strangest feeling about it. Like I had asked about something I was not allowed to. But the Realm of Darkness is not a pleasant place even at the best of times, and Aqua has endured that more than any of us. So I figured she had her reasons to not want to talk of it and put it out of my mind. But given what you heard… maybe there is more going on than I first thought." Naminé said.

"But even if that is the case what do you suppose we are meant to do about that?" She asked.

"I… don't really know at this point. I just needed to talk about this to someone." Kairi admitted. "Hopefully this isn't actually something we need to do anything about. And honestly right now I'm not even sure it's right to discuss this behind her back. She's been a good teacher to me. I… want to be worthy of that. I don't want her to start distrusting me. But neither would I want to see her being hurt. If this isn't just our imagination and there really is something going on…"

Naminé nodded. "Then… we shall keep our eyes open. And we will be there for her should she need us. But we won't press her for details unless we feel we have to. Until then she gets to decide what she wants to tell us."

Kairi considered. "…Yes. Yes. That's it. That's what I needed to hear. That's what we ought to do. Thank you, Naminé." She said then.

Naminé smiled. "Of course."