Another new year and another one shot I have no idea why I wrote it. XD I wanted it to be some silly piece, but I guess it didn't turn out that way. Oh well, I'll share whatever I have down. For now, enjoy!

Title: Grandpa Ven

Type: Story

Summary: Ventus may not remember everything, but ever since Chirithy came into his life again, he's been slowly recalling stuff. But his words don't sound all new to his friends, if anything, he's starting to sound like a grandpa.

Idea: "Back when I can remember, we didn't have the fancy Keyblade Armor to keep us safe… Back in the day, we had to walk through the corridors, we didn't have keyblade gliders to help us to the next world." (Not exact dialogue, but that's the idea I'm basing this around.)

Sub-Ideas: Look for the rest at the bottom.

-.

Date: January 31, 2023

.

Grandpa Ven

"Hey Aqua, why are you cleaning your keyblade that way?"

"Because this is the method Master Eraqus taught us to clean and maintain our keyblades well? Don't you remember Ven?"

"Hmm… It's weird, I don't remember that. When I first got my Keyblade I'm pretty sure I was taught you had to use a special oil in order to get into the spots that are hard to clean out. It makes it easier and keeps its luster in the long run."

Both Terra and Aqua looked at Ventus oddly, was this something from his past with Master Xehanort? But if both masters were trained together, why would he learn a different method?

"Oh! I think I know what you're talking about Ven." The little Chirithy got excited and pulled out something from the coin purse that donned its neck. It was a small glass bottle of oil. He thanked Chirithy and watched as he poured a single drop on the rag and began to clean away. Surprisingly, the one drop did wonders as those intricate and hard to clean places on the Keyblade seemed to sparkle and shine brightly as if it were brand new.

Aqua looked at Terra and both nodded to one another. It was another strange thing to add to their list of oddities between Ventus and Chirithy. Ever since the little cat-like creature, a dream eater Riku corrected them before, had entered their lives, they began noticing the odd behavioral changes in Ventus. It wasn't anything too major. He was still the cheerful, curious boy he was, but somehow, he seemed… She couldn't find a word.

"Older," Terra completed, "He's younger than us but talks like he's older than both of us."

How could it be? She wondered about that ever since that talk with Terra. Something about the things he said, did, and remembered just seemed familiar and foreign all in one. It was bugging her more so than Terra who simply said,

"I don't think we should worry too much about it. Ven will tell us when he remembers everything."

Ah, that's right. He still has that amnesia even after all these years. Chirithy, a friend to the Ventus of the past, never did probe him for what he remembers. They just let their bond take its course and rebuilt it up again. It must've been hard on the little dream eater since they couldn't reminisce about old memories together. Still, their past is such a mystery, especially with how little Chirithy spoke of it. What was this nagging feeling in her that she should at least know about all this?

Oh well, for now, they had to make their reports at Radiant Garden and then check in with the Twilight Town gang on what's been happening. It seems there is still no update on Sora's whereabouts. How long ago was it already? Almost half a year now? Time loses meaning when they're in the Realm of Darkness. What felt like days there could be hours, weeks, or even years up here. It was a good thing the Gummi Phones still kept track of time in the Realm of Light, or they never would have known the right time to leave.

"Hey guys!"

"Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa! It's good to see you all again!" Aqua greeted kindly as Ventus, with Chirithy riding on his head, went up to Lea and Roxas, catching up with what's going on. Terra went over to Xion and Isa, since they came back, he seemed to get along with them far better than the other two.

"So, Ventus, up for a rematch?" Aqua watched as Lea egged Ven on for another sparring session. He only used his full name when he was raring to go for battle. Lea had yet to make even on their score. He was usually behind two or three overall wins, but he never admitted it and always claimed tie. Ven would laugh at that, guess there was some inside joke between the two.

"You bet! But I still say I have the upper hand on the wins."

"You may be the original hands, but Roxas and Xion have been studying your tactics. So I'll be the one to come in a blaze of glory and claim victory."

"You're on! Three match special like usual!"

The sparring match started and everything was going smoothly in the first match. Lea could not get a hit on Ven because he had preformed a new move he had been practicing when they had been fighting heartless on their search.

"That's one for me!" Ventus cried out happily.

"That was just the warmup, you'll see how hot these flames can really burn!"

The second match began, and this time Lea had the upper hand. It seemed to catch Ven off guard and that was his downfall.

"Yeah baby, that's how it's done!" Lea shouted as Roxas and Xion cheered for Axel.

"Ah, I was just testing you too. This tiebreaker is the final decider!"

Now the third match was when something weird happened. Lea had did a double throw when his Keyblades transformed into chamkaras, and Ventus dodged. He did get a little damaged from them, but shook it off. It really looked like he was struggling. But for a brief moment, Ventus wasn't quite there, his face contorted as if thinking hard before reaching into his Pocket. He pulled out a strange metal coin(?) and attempted to attached it to his Keyblade. For a moment, he was lost as to why the medal wasn't attaching anywhere on it. That was the moment that Lea decided to take advantage and what caused Ven to lose.

"Oh yeah! That's how it's done!" Lea did his signature victory pose and Roxas and Xion tackled him into a hug, nearly making him fall.

Terra and Aqua went up to their friend who was still sitting on the ground, "Ven! Are you okay?"

He seemed a little dazed but he was none the less okay.

Lea noticed that Ven wasn't responding properly and the three went over, "Hey, sorry buddy, didn't mean to go that hard at the last second."

"Oh, it's okay Lea. I was just wondering why my medal didn't work on my Keyblade?"

Everyone looked at him confused, "Medal?"

"Yeah, medal. The way to equip magic and special kinds of attacks to use while fighting. It use to be cards, but the medals made it so much more simpler."

"Ven? What?" Lea was lost.

"Yeah Ventus, I don't really understand." Xion also put in her word. But Roxas was contemplating a little before he realized something,

"Ventus, you really need to get out more and stop reading old fictions about the ancient keyblade wielders and their love lives."

"Huh?"

Huh indeed. What in the world was Roxas talking about.

"Yeah, I read them in some old books back at the Mysterious Tower. Yensid said those were fictional stories about keyblade wielders and the stories of how they fought."

Xion looked oddly at Roxas, "Since when were you into reading?"

"Since you and Naminé took up so much time with the Three Fairies learning how to make clothes and cook. So I just looked around and that's when Yensid said I could read in the library. I went to the historical fictions section."

"Biggest mistake of my life, since they could only cook with magic we can't use. I probably should have just asked Little Chef at the Bistro." She sighed, "But they did have an eye for design, so that was fun and helped me to know what kinds of clothes are trendy."

They were getting off topic, she decided to step in and redirect the conversation, "Ven, is what Roxas saying true? Did you really think medals could enhance the Keyblade?"

He got up from the ground and got a little upset, "It's not fiction Aqua, they really can. I remember when first got my Keyblade that I had to use cards first. Medals were an upgrade to the system and were used to preform really difficult attacks with ease because they were connected to others."

"So, like our D-links?" Terra offered.

"Kind of? But also not exactly." Ven was struggling to come up with the right words.

"It was a long time ago Ven, Keyblades may have once used medals and cards. But after the Keyblade War, the way things were done changed." Chirithy patted his head.

"Oh, I guess that's true." He thought for a moment, then thanked Chirithy.

Then just like that, the conversation was over and they spent the rest of their day together with the Twilight Town gang.

Although, throughout their day, Ventus would make comments here and there about things that really felt different.

"Ah come on Ventus, no way you use to walk through Corridors of Light. Wouldn't that be like impossible since the worlds aren't connected? Even if you could, wouldn't you need protection like our coats or your Keyblade armor?"

"What about when we used our Corridors then, Roxas?"

"That's different Xion."

"Well, what do you say Axel?"

"Don't look at me. I just knew they worked somehow. But for real, the longer you keep talking like that, the more they'll keep labeling you a Grampa, Ven."

"But, it's how I remember things."

"Yeah, like eons ago maybe. Everything you've told us, I read in those books."

"Still can't believe you read something, Roxas." He crossed his arms and pouted at Xion's comment knowing she was only teasing.

"Yeah, whoever thought Roxas was a nerdy book worm?" Axel had added, Roxas could only heave a sigh of frustration.

Aqua, being silent most of the day, really thought about all this. Where was all this knowledge coming from? She trusted Ven, he wouldn't lie about these things being fictitious. Even Chirithy offered explanations to the memories he remembers differently. It made her think back to the first day that they met Ven, when he was still an empty shell of his former self. That brought up an old question they never really got a proper answer to… just how old is Ven?

.

Sub-Ideas:

-Ventus is sort of recalling the events of the past, but at the same time not really.

-Clinging to weird feelings that this was how he remembered certain things being done.

-Mentions of old techniques cause the teasing to begin by his friends and the Twilight Town gang.

-Ventus, you really need to get out more and stop reading those old fictions about the ancient keyblade wielder and their love lives. (He's never read fictional stories about keyblade wielders, barely even paid attention in history class with Master Eraqus. Science was more his thing after all.)

-.

I wanted this to be something silly, but I just couldn't get it there. More parts were written for this, but a lot of them felt incomplete so I omitted them. May come back and share another chapter of this. The idea basically comes from many of my other stories & ideas as well as the thought that Ven is young but also comes from a completely different era. Whenever he begins to remember, I think those old habits and memories could slip back into his newer daily routines. Then again, maybe it wouldn't. We'll never know for sure, unless they decide to address that in the series.

This is what I have and eventually I'll come back around to share those unfinished parts.

Thank you again for reading another little story idea! See you next time when a new chapter is up!