Boiling point

Kairi was lurking inside a bush, cautiously peering through the leaves at her surroundings. Ventus and Xion were also hiding nearby. Other than the she saw no one. Wind was rustling through the trees, birds chirping somewhere nearby. But she could hear nothing alarming.

"Looks like we're in the clear. Let's get moving." She said to the others. They got out of their hiding places and continued further into the forest. They held their weapons at the ready, their eyes scanning for movement around and overhead.

"It's been a while since we ran into anyone else. Ven, are you sure we haven't gotten lost?" She asked as they walked on.

"Pretty sure. We ought to be getting close to one of the possible flag sites." He replied.

"You don't sound confident." Xion commented.

"Well it's a handmade map drawn from memory from previous rounds. Can't expect that to be one hundred percent accurate." He replied, waving the piece of paper in his hands. "And there aren't that many good landmarks around here. Everywhere I look it's just… trees."

"Well, if we happen across a map store somewhere, I vote we buy ourselves a proper one." Xion quipped.

Kairi chuckled. "If I see one I'll be sure to holler."

Once they had finished moving everything necessary here, Aqua had put them all to work on improving their coordination as a team. It had started out as randomly chosen duels, so they could learn more of each other's strengths and weaknesses. Then it had moved on to matches between small teams. They had sought to improve bad team configurations as best they could, while taking note of the good ones.

These training missions had been Aqua's latest idea. Once more they had been divided into teams. Their goal was to retrieve the flags somewhere in this forest and defeat the members of the other team while protecting their own flags. The exact conditions varied form mission to mission. Sometimes there was only one flag per team, sometimes several. Once there had been a single flag both sides had fought to claim. Much of the time the teams were kept around the same size, though there had been a couple of times where one side was given the numerical advantage, so the smaller team could practice making the most of limited resources while the bigger team could train on coordinating a larger group. Typically they were also split into two teams, though of late a third team had been introduced into the matches just to create additional confusion that they needed to adapt to.

Aqua mostly worked with one team or another. At others times she stayed back, observing, collecting remarks to pass on to the others. Even then she sometimes joined a side that was losing, just to ensure the challenge was as big as possible.

Since Naminé lacked the means to participate directly, she also helped out by observing and ensuring that the rules of each specific match were observed. Which was challenging enough considering their training area was large and they were spread out all over the place. They were left to their own devices a lot of the time. Like just now. There had been no real attempts at rule breaking, but certainly efforts at bending the rules at every opportunity. Aqua had actually encouraged this kind of creative thinking, seeing it as the central lesson she wanted to pass on to the rest of them.

Sometimes all of them took part in the training. Sometimes only part of them. And they were never told who belonged to the other team. Today it was Kairi, Xion and Ventus that had been sent out to capture the other team's flag, while Lauriam and Isa remained on guard for their side's flags. The strength and composition of their opposing team was largely unknown at this stage.

Largely…

"Okay, I think we're here." Ventus said. His eyes moved around. "There. There should be a flag near that big rock over there.

"Only… there isn't one." Xion commented.

"That's… true. Blast, another wrong guess. And I was so sure we had it this time." Ventus said rubbing the back of his head.

"There is nothing for it. We need to head to the next place and hope we get lucky." Kairi said. "It's going to take more time though. Let's hope the Lauriam and Isa are doing ok protecting our flags."

"Hmm… I sure hope the other team hasn't thought to move the flags somewhere else. We'd have a real difficult time finding them then." She pondered.

"Wouldn't that go against the rules?" Xion asked.

"The rule is there are no rules, beyond what are given to us at the start." Kairi pointed out.

"That's right. There are no rules in a real fight. Only what you can do." A new voice spoke from overhead. Kairi growled. Back again apparently.

She just got her shield up before a score of knives hit it, dissolving into a jolts of electricity. She turned eyes up, seeing Elrena standing on a branch of a nearby tree.

"Miss me?" Elrena asked, turquoise eyes glinting with mischief. Kairi sent a blast of fire at her, Ventus and Xion following suite with their own spells immediately after. But Elrena sidestepped, now standing in the air, a cloud of swirling lightning at her feet. The spells harmlessly struck the tree instead.

"Yup. Missed me. Try to lead your target, kiddos." Elrena said, her tone mocking. "My turn. Do try to keep up."

With that she launched herself to an attack, carried through the air by a stream of electricity. Knives and lightning rained down on the trio in the ground. The three of them did what they could to avoid those attacks, just managing to avoid the kind of hits that would count as them defeated in this match. They also returned fire with magic. But they failed to land a hit on their opponent. Elrena's flight pattern was erratic, creating small clusters of electricity she used as stepping stones to change her direction mid-air. It was next to impossible to predict which way she was going to go next. And all the while she was laughing. Laughing at them. Like she was just playing with them…

The exchange continuing for a while. Then Elrena suddenly swooped low swiping at Kairi with her keyblade as she flew past. Kairi raised her keyblade in time, sparks flying as their weapons met. But that did not stop Elrena's foot from hitting Kairi in the back of the head. Since it wasn't done with a keyblade, it wasn't a hit that counted for the purposes of the match, but it was still painful. Elrena continued onwards, circling a few laps around Ventus, trading a series of blows with him. Then she moved away, bringing herself to a halt some distance from them.

"Well, that was fun. But I must say I'm a bit disappointed. All this training and you still can't aim properly." She said with a smirk.

Kairi snarled and sent another fire spell at her. But Elrena just dodged again, almost lazily.

"See what I mean? Hopefully you'll do better next time around." She mocked.

"Well, see you all real soon!" She shouted over her shoulder as she weaved her way into the woods, soon disappearing from sight.

"She's so annoying…" Kairi muttered, rubbing the back of her head. Elrena had located them early into the mission, and she had been doing these hit and run attacks on them ever since. It had been hard enough to weather her attacks, let alone pin her down long enough to land a solid hit on her. And each time she retreated there was no way to know when she might return to launch another attack. Honestly, it was starting to wear on her nerves.

"Don't fall for her taunts. She does that on purpose." Xion advised.

"Huh? Of course it's on purpose." Kairi said.

"I mean she wants to get under your skin, so you'll get mad at her. Once you're angry you'll start lashing out, come at her stupid. And that's when she's going to take you out of the fight. Trust me. I've worked with her in the Organization. I know how she operates." Xion explained.

"So there is a plan? I figured she was doing that just because she likes to." Kairi said.

"The two aren't mutually exclusive." Xion quipped.

"You have to admit it's a good lesson though. Heartless act on instinct and don't speak. But a person? They definitely could try something like that if they think it might work. Better keep that in mind when we face the Foretellers." Ventus said.

"Vanitas would certainly try it. And I suppose that means his sibling Darknesses would also." He contemplated.

"Yeah. And they don't always even have to try. Sometimes you getting angry at them can be just a byproduct of the things they have done. And it can still end up being a mistake. Even if you're in the right and have every reason to be angry, acting rashly can cost you." Xion said. Her hand went to her chest for a moment, and she suppressed a shiver.

Then Kairi was surprised to see Xion smile. "Besides, if you are distracted by something that makes you angry, there is a chance you miss something important. Something right… in front of you!"

Suddenly the black haired girl swung her weapon, delivering a firm tap to Ventus's side.

"Ow! Hey, what the-" Ventus protested.

"You're out of the fight, Ven." Xion said, as she turned her attention to Kairi. And she was right. A direct hit to the body counted.

"Xion, what are you doing?" Kairi asked in confusion, retreating several steps as Xion pressured her. In response Xion raised her left arm. Kairi gasped in surprise. Before each fight hey were distributed arm bands so denote which team they belonged to. Only… Xion's armband was now blue instead of the red of Kairi and Ventus's team.

"You switched teams!?" Kairi asked.

"As part of today's training. Now defend yourself." Xion said, and attacked.

Kairi was well trained, but Xion also knew what she was doing, and was the more experienced among them. The result was more or less a standoff. And then Kairi began to hear a familiar sound of crackling electricity in the air.

"Not now. Not now!" Kairi pleaded in her mind.

Cackling as she arrived, Elrena returned to the battle. Kairi was forced to ward off another volley of knives with a barrier. Then she only barely blocked a blow from Xion. With Ventus taken out of the fight and facing two experienced opponents Kairi found herself at a severe disadvantage. If she kept fighting here she would be defeated in short order. She decided on her only real option: retreat.

Without warning she unleashed a blast of wind to push Xion back. Having bought herself a moment, Kairi hastily put on her armor and glider. Then she launched herself into the air launching a hasty spell towards Elrena to keep the other woman off her.

Then trees were swirling past her as she fled deeper into the woods. She did not turn to see if she was being followed, half expecting the sting of a spell that would take her out of the fight too. But eventually after dodging multiple trees she realized she was alone. She touched down and sent her armor away again. She listened for sounds of pursuit, but could not hear anything alarming.

"Well, I made it out for the moment." She contemplated.

She took stock of her situation. With her on her own now, it would probably be best for her to return to the others to perhaps salvage this situation somehow. And she should bring news of Xion, so what was left of her side would not fall to anymore tricks. But the problem with that… was that she wasn't exactly sure where she was. The map had been left with Ventus, and as he had been their guide she had not perhaps paid as much attention to where they were going as she should have. Her headlong escape had taken what sense of direction she had had. And just like Ventus had said, this place was trees all over.

"Right. The most important thing now is not to panic." Kairi told herself, subconsciously mimicking the voice of Master Aqua in her head. Glancing at the sunlight filtering through the trees, she tried to remember which way it had been when she had been going towards the enemy team's flags. She figured not enough time had passed for the sun to have changed position from when she had fled. Finally she just struck out in what seemed like a good direction, hoping to find a familiar landmark to guide her the rest of the way.

She tried to keep herself alert for a time, but as nothing continued to happen she found herself drifting into her own thoughts. She lingered on her escape from battle. She found she was not terribly proud of herself for having done so. It had made sense in the moment, but a part of her still wished she would have stood and fought.

"I didn't run because I was scared. It was the smart thing to do." She reminded herself.

This was and exercise, so she knew Ven was perfectly fine. But if this was real she realized she might have made a different choice. Definitely if Ventus was only hurt and in need of help. The odds would not matter in that case. Even if not… she would still have likely wanted to stay behind to avenge him. But she was also reminded of what Xion and Ventus had told her about not acting rashly. Would wanting to stay against overwhelming odds end up being a mistake that would only serve to see her defeated as well?

These were the hard choices she realized. Sometimes you needed to follow your heart and not worry too much about what ifs. And sometimes you needed to stop and think about your actions, so you didn't squander what chance you did have. The difficult part was knowing which of the two you needed to do when.

"Well, what have we here? A princess I spy, all on her own in the woods." A voice interrupted Kairi's thoughts. She was startled at first, then turned annoyed as she recognized the voice. She turned her eyes up and saw Elrena sitting on a branch right above her.

"You're back again? Seriously, you need a hobby." Kairi said.

"I'd say I have one." Elrena said, and jumped down. "Plus figured it was better to come hunt you down so you don't tell anyone of our defector. Advantage for the team and all that."

"So was it your team that had Xion turn on us? Or was this Aqua's idea?" Kairi asked warily.

"Oh this was Blue's notion all over. Stunt like this wouldn't be allowed without her say so. She sure does like to spring unexpected situations on us. I suppose that's a good way to teach us to adapt." Elrena replied.

"Well then. Shall we finish this? Or would you rather save on time and surrender?" She said.

Kairi huffed and readied herself. "Do your worst."

Elrena grinned. "Oh, I don't think you want me at my worst. There's far too much Larxene in my worst. That could prove to be messy. But I think I can manage to give you a solid challenge if that is what you want. Not to worry, I'll take you down gracefully."

And so Elrena swung her weapon at her. Kairi blocked… and as their weapons connected she felt a painful surge travelling down her arms. As their weapons separated she could see that Elrena's was crackling with electricity.

"So that's how it's going to be…" Kairi said in her mind.

Elrena was a tricky opponent, her skillset somewhere between that of Ventus and Aqua. Not quite as fast as Ventus, not quite as strong or versatile in magic as Aqua, but still quite adept in both categories. And her control of lightning magic was better than anyone Kairi had seen. She was also a lot taller, so her strikes came from difficult angles. But that was true of just about every opponent Kairi had had to face. And you had to watch out for her knives as you fought. More than once Kairi had warded off her keyblade only to be nearly caught unawares by a fistful of tiny blades. Her non-physical methods of attack were still the worse part. The taunts Elrena slipped in as they fought. The constant laughter as they battled, grating on Kairi's nerves. Even Elrena's body language, her expression, conveyed a sense of unconcerned confidence. Like Elrena wasn't even giving this her all. Which got on her nerves even more.

She wanted to wipe that smugness off Elrena, so show her that her overconfidence was without merit. But for now her opponent seemed skilled enough to keep her from gaining the upper hand. Truth to be told she did not like her odds right now. She had already lost a couple fights with Elrena in earlier matches, unable to score a win against her. It left her feeling frustrated, frantically searching her mind for a solution.

Their fight continued. As Elrena's keyblade was still charged with electricity Kairi tried to avoid blocking her strikes directly, favoring barriers and evasion. But it was not always possible. Now and then she was left with no choice than to block an incoming strike. And Elrena was purposefully deflecting every time Kairi tried to strike her. And each time electricity jumped between their weapons and to her. Her arms were starting to feel a little numb from the constant surges, her swings a bit more clumsy. To that add the lingering headache from the kick to her head and a building resentment within her.

Kairi attempted another blow, already half expecting the pain that would follow. But instead of blocking Elrena unexpectedly sent her keyblade away and sidestepped Kairi's attack instead. For a brief moment Kairi was off balance when their weapons didn't strike together like she had expected. In that instant Elrena resummoned her blade and delivered a blow to the back of Kairi's knee. Her leg jerked and she let out a shout. She backed away, a slight limp in her gait now. Her opponent approached, weapon at the ready.

Elrena might have defeated her if she had chosen to strike her in the back instead of her leg. That she hadn't… sent Kairi's mind racing. Was she just toying with her? Was that it? That thought, added on top of everything else, made Kairi's blood boil. How dare she do that!? After all her hard work, all the effort, she had the gall to stand there and try to humiliate her! To try to make her feel like she wasn't good enough!

Just as Elrena was about to strike again Kairi raised her hand. "Light!" She shouted, a bright flash erupting from her palm, striking Elrena in the face. Kairi just managed to glimpse Elrena's face in shock. Then the other woman was stumbling back, dropping her weapon. She doubled over, holding her face with both hands. Thinking to press her advantage Kairi raised her weapon to strike, only to be stopped by Elrena's raised hand.

"Wait! Wait! Stop. I surrender…" She said. And Kairi lowered her weapon. Something in her voice… the haughtiness in her voice was gone, like it had never been there.

Elrena was still hunched over, rubbing her eyes with her hand.

"Are… are you okay?" Kairi asked hesitantly. Her anger had disappeared, replaced by concern. Something wasn't right…

"That spell of yours… it was way too much for a practice fight like this! And here I thought you'd be the one to stick to the rules no matter what. It feels like its burning straight through my…" Elrena began to say before halting suddenly. "Oh crap…" She cursed as she finally removed her hands from her eyes.

"What? What is it?" Kairi asked.

"I can't see!" Elrena exclaimed.

"What!?" Kairi gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Did I stutter!? I can't bloody see anything!" Elrena snapped at her.

"Oh no…" Kairi whispered. She hadn't meant to… this wasn't what she had meant to happen. In a few quick strides she was by Elrena's side. She waved her hand in front of Elrena's eyes. But the other woman's eyes simply stared into nothing.

Kairi cast a healing spell. "Did… did that help at all?" She asked after.

"…It hurts a bit less than before. But I still can't see anything. What on earth did you do to me!?" Elrena said.

"It wasn't… I didn't meant for this to happen…" Kairi stammered.

"No? Seriously? Well guess what: It did happen you jerk!" Elrena countered angrily. She kept on ranting to herself for some time. Kairi stood in place and listened, shrunk in on herself, unwilling to look at Elrena.

Eventually Elrena began to calm down a little. "I should get back to camp. Maybe they can do something about this there."

She turned her head repeatedly, like she was trying to find her way. "I, um, uh… might need a little help with that." She finally said.

"Y-yes. Of course." Kairi said. She took Elrena's hand and began leading her through the woods. She still wasn't entirely sure which way she was supposed to be going, but she was all the more determined to find her way.

They had walked for a little while when Elrena nearly tripped on a stone sticking from the ground. Kairi offered a steadying hand, helping her stay upright.

"Dammit! How annoying can you get? I hate playing the damsel in distress." Elrena muttered.

"We all do…" Kairi said.

"Blast it. This better not be permanent you know. I actually like seeing things. If you've taken that from me I'm going to clobber you. I don't care if I'm blind or not." Elrena said bitterly.

"If that's what happened then I might let you…" Kairi mumbled, quiet enough she was quite sure Elrena did not hear. She truly thought finally besting Elrena would feel better. Like she had accomplished something. But this win… it tasted like ashes. She didn't particularly like Elrena, especially when she had been picking on her all day. But at this time they weren't enemies either. This… felt wrong. She just hoped this was not irreversible.

They walked on, Kairi guiding Elrena, occasionally guiding her over obstacles they came across. They finally arrived at a stream, and Kairi sighed with relief. Finally something familiar. Their encampment was somewhere upstream. She just needed to follow the stream until they reached it.

"So… what exactly was the plan?" Elrena asked suddenly.

"Hm?" Kairi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You said you weren't planning on blinding me. So what exactly was the thinking with that spell of yours?" Elrena explained.

"I… just wanted to stun you for a bit, so I could hit you while your defenses were down. But I guess I put too much power into that." Kairi said. "I was… angry." She added, embarrassed.

"Angry, huh?" Elrena said, giving a dry chuckle. "I guess that one is on me. Still didn't need to do this in response."

"Bet it felt good though. Getting a little payback. For yourself and Sora." She added.

"Not… no. Not really… I thought it would too, but… it didn't." Kairi replied quietly.

"Really? Interesting..." Elrena said. "Well, at least I know now what it takes to send you over the edge, much to my regret. Me and my big mouth…"

"Wait a minute…" She suddenly muttered, perking up a little.

"What is it?" Kairi asked.

"It… nothing. Best not get my hopes up just yet. Let's just get me back to camp, alright? We've been walking for a while. Can't be much further." Elrena said. "Unless we're lost. Are we?"

"We aren't. It shouldn't be much further." Kairi replied.

And true enough they soon emerged into the clearing where they had set up their camp. Aqua was there waiting for them.

"Oh. There you are. I was just about to call you." Aqua said in greeting. "We are done with exercises for the day. The others are on their way back. Sorry to say it, Kairi, but your team kind of got overwhelmed this time around. Where were you? We lost track of you partway through."

At that point Aqua noticed how Kairi was holding Elrena's hand, her student looking at the ground, looking ashamed. And how Elrena's eyes did not seem to be looking at anything in particular.

"What's wrong with her? Did something happen?" Aqua asked, nodding at Elrena.

Kairi opened her mouth to answer, but Elrena was quicker. "We had a bit of an accident. We were fighting each other and she blasted me in the face with some spell of hers. And there were some… consequences."

"Consequences?" Aqua asked, frowning.

"Well… yeah. Because, um… I can't see." Elrena explained.

For a brief moment Aqua just looked on horrified. "Wha… you can't… she… Kairi! What on earth!? Why would you do that!?"

"It wasn't deliberate. Sort of not deliberate… and anyway…" Elrena began to say.

"It doesn't matter if it wasn't! This shouldn't have happened at all. She knows better." Aqua cut in.

"And don't speak for her. She can defend her own actions." She added, turning her eyes to Kairi.

Kairi tried to find the words to explain. But they got stuck in her throat.

Exasperated, Aqua rubbed her eyes. "Right. Alright. Let's take a closer look at the damage then. Kairi, you just… go stand over there and don't get in the way of anything."

Aqua sat Elrena down on a nearby tree stump and went to examine her eyes.

"You know, I think I might be starting to get my vision back after all. Not sure yet, but I think I might be seeing light at least. So it might not be permanent…" Elrena babbled.

"El?" Aqua interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Zip it and let me work for a minute." Aqua said firmly.

"Okay, okay, fine. Do your thing, Miss Keyblade Master." Elrena said.

As Aqua did her work Kairi stood rooted in place, staring at the ground, clenching her fists. Hoping…

Eventually Aqua stepped back. "You were actually correct. You're going to be alright. With a bit of healing magic you should get your vision back in a few hours." She said, giving a relieved smile.

"Really? Thank goodness. Got to admit I was worried." Elrena said.

Kairi allowed herself a smile as well. It wasn't as bad as they had all feared. While she might still be in trouble, at least the worst outcome had been avoided. But her smile faded when she noticed Lauriam emerging from the woods, followed shortly by the rest.

"It seems you managed to get back here before us." He said, his tone light. But the moment he spotted Elrena his good mood evaporated. He walked over to her, kneeling in front of her.

"Elrena? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Eh… there was something of a mishap." She replied.

"Mishap? What kind of mishap?" He asked, frowning.

"She can't see currently." Aqua explained.

Lauriam's mouth fell open. "She what!?"

"It's okay though!" Elrena said hurriedly.

"No it's not! Are you nuts!? How did this happen? Who...?" Lauriam protested, casting his eyes about. Kairi could see the gears turning in his head as he connected the dots. The settle on her as he arrived at the conclusion, his face turning angry.

"You!" He shouted, jumping to his feet and striding to her. Kairi flinched at his sudden approach, and then Aqua was there in front of her, blocking Lauriam's path with her arm.

"How could you!? Why would you!? Who gave you the right to!? Even if you don't approve of her, how does that give you the right to-!?" Lauriam continued to shout past Aqua.

"Lauriam!" Elrena shouted, loud enough to interrupt even Lauriam's angry rant.

"Listen to me. Aqua says I'm going to be okay. I'll get my eyesight back soon." She continued, her voice firm but calm.

Lauriam hesitated, then returned to Elrena, taking her hands to his. Though she still couldn`t see properly, she turned her face toward his.

"Are you sure?" He asked of her.

She nodded. "I trust Blue. And I'm already starting to get better. So, please… don't make a scene."

Lauriam considered, then drew a shuddering breath to calm himself. He turned around, giving Kairi a hostile glare, then turned his eyes to Aqua.

"She is your student. Set this right." He told her.

"I'll deal with this." She promised. "Kairi, would you come with me please?"

"Talk with them." Aqua said to Ventus in a low tone as she passed him by. Ventus nodded and went to Lauriam and Elrena.

Aqua and Kairi left the camp, walking into the woods. Aqua had the lead, while Kairi followed right behind her hanging her head.

"Look, I'm very sorry about what happened there. It…" Kairi began after they had walked for a while.

"Calm down." Aqua said, her voice even. "And I'm not the one to apologize to. You did nothing to me."

She motioned for Kairi to sit down before doing so herself.

"So… what happened out there?" Aqua asked after they were both seated.

"I… we…" Kairi stammered.

"You can take your time finding your words. But I do expect an answer before we can go back." Aqua said, voice still calm.

"Okay… okay." Kairi said, nodding and taking a deep breath.

"Well… we had been training all day. And she had been really annoying the whole time. It felt like she was targeting me specifically, mocking me every chance she got. I wound up facing her on my own. I was losing and started to think she was just toying with me. I just felt so frustrated. I lost my head and lashed out without thinking. I didn't mean it to go that far, but by the time I realized what I had done it was too late." She explained.

"I see…" Aqua said, nodding.

"It's true that she can be remarkably infuriating when she wants to be. That's not a secret to anyone. To her least of all. So I can see how you might have ended up pushed to this point. And occasional accidents and small injuries are to be expected during training. Tempers can flare sometimes too. But do you understand why this time is not acceptable?" Aqua said.

"Because she is going to be okay because of dumb luck. I could just as easily have left her permanently blind. And because… someone who aspires to become a Keyblade Master should control her emotions better." Kairi said.

"Yes. Exactly." Aqua said. "Emotions are the source of our strength. But we must be in control of them, so they don't control us. Something like this should only have happened if you intended it to. And you definitely should not have intended to do it, because she is our ally."

"You're right. And I know you wanted me to set aside my differences with them. I have been trying. I just… failed at that today." Kairi said.

Aqua nodded, going quiet for a bit. "…As always, there is a lesson to be had here. In some ways you have entered a difficult stage in your training. Your power has grown, but your perception of yourself may not have kept up. I think you need to learn to appreciate just what you can do, and learn to actively choose not to. So when you do, it's by choice. When one has learned to wield the sword, the next step is always learning how to keep it sheathed." She finally said.

Kairi hummed, considering Aqua's words.

"Well… it's a good thing there were no permanent consequences. We can all be thankful for that. But since there could have been… I can't let this stand without a penalty. Not the least because I have to keep the peace here. Do you understand?" Aqua said.

"I understand." Kairi said quietly.

"Good. Then for today and for the next three days I'm going to have extra chores for you to do. Since Elrena was the one harmed, your extra workload will come from her share whenever possible. And I do not wish to see another mess like this. Not on my watch. Understood?" Aqua said.

"Understood." Kairi confirmed. Honestly, this wasn't such a bad punishment. Extra work for a few days? She could handle that.

There was a pause, after which Aqua put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "It's an unfortunate business. But it's okay. We'll learn from this and move on. And in the long run we'll be better off for it. And hopefully this will all end up being water under the bridge."

Aqua stood up and was about to leave when she turned back. "I might be wise for you to go and talk to her. Try to get rid of this bad blood between you. I would consider it a favor."

"Now?" Kairi asked.

"Yes. Now. Assuming she wants to hear it. And assuming Lauriam allows you to get within fifty meters of her. If not… then wait for a while do it as soon as the opportunity arises. A candid discussion can do wonders to clear the air. I found that out with Naminé just recently." Aqua said. "Speak with Elrena. Apologize to her if you can bring yourself to do it. And who knows? Maybe you'll get an apology of your own. She was annoying you after all."

Kairi could not help but scoff. "Her apologizing to me? That seems unlikely."

"You might end up surprised. Granted, she can be annoying if she wishes. But more and more lately I've begun to see… it's just one aspect of her. I would never have thought I'd particularly like her, but… she might grow on you, if you give her that chance. Even if not… what have you got to lose?" Aqua said.

"…Alright. I'll try." Kairi conceded.

"That's all I ask. Afterwards return to me, so we can get you started on your tasks." Aqua said.

"Right…" Kairi said. She headed back, already thinking about what she was going to say, running different scenarios in her head. Needless to say she was not looking forward to this.

When she returned to camp she spotted Elrena still sitting on the tree stump from earlier. Others were milling about, taking the moment to relax now that today's training was finished. But of Lauriam and Ven she unexpectedly saw no sign. Hesitantly she approached Elrena.

"Oh-ho! If it isn't Kairi. That is you, right? Things are still a little bit blurry on my end." Elrena said as she noticed Kairi.

"Yeah, it's me." Kairi said. "Um… where are Lauriam and Ven?" She asked.

"Lauriam was still feeling upset, so I asked them to go for a walk. Hopefully Lauriam has calmed down a bit when he returns. In his shoes I'd be angry too. Perhaps more than he is. But since we have to live here I thought it better if we can approach this rationally." Elrena explained.

"So what did you want? Presumably you didn't come back for small talk." She asked.

"I… wanted to apologize. About all this. This could have ended really badly, and I can see that." Kairi said.

To Kairi's shock Elrena seemed surprised, then turned introspective. "…How did things go with Blue?" She asked.

"A lecture. And work detail for a few days as the penalty." Kairi explained. "More than fair, considering."

"…You know, it might make more sense to punish both of us. Neither of us handled that situation very well." Elrena said.

Now Kairi was truly astonished. "But I'm not the one who nearly went blind." She pointed out.

"No. But you did say you did it because you were angry at me. I'm not blind. Er, no pun intended. I mean I understand my part in all this." Elrena replied.

"It's just that… when I fight I tap into the Larxene side of me. Happens on instinct. Because in a real fight that meanness can be an asset. And I suppose… I don't always know how to regulate that. Today that seems to have backfired rather spectacularly." She then explained.

"Hmm… more and more that seems to be the theme of today." Kairi pondered.

Elrena shrugged. "Could be. Not my specialty to tell if it is."

"Still doesn't exactly feel right to let you take the sole rap for this." She added. "So if there is something I can do, just between the two of us…"

"Well… Aqua did mention she wanted this to be the only time something like this happens." Kairi said.

"So a ceasefire between us? I think I can manage that. Not like I was after anything different really. I know, hard to believe given how I acted towards you. But I'm not interested in us being enemies for real. So I'll, uh, try to take it easy on you from now on." Elrena said.

Kairi nodded, but then paused to consider. "Actually… I won't mind you keep trying to get under my skin while we're training."

"Huh? Why on earth would you want that?" Elrena asked.

"Because I want to learn to do better. Among other things Aqua has been training me to handle the pain of getting hit, so I can work past it and keep fighting. But what you do… it's a different kind of hurt. One I'm not really used to facing. So… as long as it's understood it's just for practice and it stops when were done for the day… I could stand it. Best way to learn from my mistakes." Kairi explained.

Elrena looked surprised, then began to smile. "Gotta say, that's an impressive attitude. Real productive. Okay then. If that's what you want… can do. Just keep your spellcraft in check from now on.

Kairi smiled, and nodded again. "Deal."

"No offence, but I think it you should be on your way now. I'm done being angry at you over this tussle. But I can't really speak for Lauriam at this point. I'll tell him what we've settled things, and hopefully that'll be enough for him too. But best give it some time." Elrena said.

"Yeah. I'd better go." Kairi said. She was about to leave when she stopped and turned back.

"He really does care about you, doesn't he? For a moment there I seriously thought he might run me through if Aqua hadn't been there." She commented.

"Yeah, I suppose he does. We've been a team for a long while, so I guess it comes with the territory." Elrena said, trying to sound indifferent. But Kairi noticed the momentary smile on her lips.

As Kairi left she realized she had been given a lot to think about regarding what she thought she knew about other people. Aqua had been right after all…