This chapter is another one similar to a chapter from Sweet and Salty Days, but there are differences. And I will be going back to Sweet and Salty Days to edit this chapter because of a continuity error.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

My OCs © to me!

Chapter 11: Sea Salt

"Are you sure?"

On the gummi phone, Axel grinned. "Of course! We have plenty of room here!"

"Alright. We'll be there tomorrow morning. Thank you."

Ven smiled down at Chirithy as Aqua ended the call. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I'll stay here and hold down the fort." The dream eater nuzzled his friend slightly. "You guys have fun."

Ven sighed but smiled anyway. "Alright. Enjoy the alone time."

"And you guys have a good time."

"We'll try."

"Whoa! This place is cool!"

"It looks so warm."

They walked up to a large mansion, the sunset twinkling in the windows as the warm brick felt almost natural in this light.

The front door opened and Xion stepped out, smiling as the three who approached. "Nice to see you again!"

"Good to see you too, Xion." Terra smiled warmly at her as she took a few steps toward them. "How are things?"

"They're going well. You're coming to see Jiminy, right?"

Aqua nodded. "He wanted to check in with us. And we're probably due for a mental health check-in."

"More like 10 years too late." Ven smirked.

"Hey guys! Welcome to our abode." Axel and Isa exited the house. From behind Isa came a black and white spotted dog that ran up to Aqua, sniffing her leg.

"Puppy!" Ven gasped, reaching out, only for the dog to pull back.

Isa walked over, patting the dog's head. "He is shy around men for the most part. Give him some time and he'll warm up to you."

"Aw, ok."

As the guests came inside, Xion hurried to the kitchen. "Isa, I think it's almost done!" She called.

"Let me come look." He followed her in with Aqua trailing behind, the young woman smiling at how the two seemed to be getting along. "I think so. I hope it comes out right. And if it doesn't, we'll find a way to make it work."

"Ok."

Aqua looked into the kitchen just as Xion reached into the oven. "What are you making?"

"I made a chocolate meringue pie!" The girl pulled out the pie tin, with the swirling, toasted top poking over the edges. "It's my first time making meringue."

"It's a tough thing to get right. I messed up my first few times making it." Aqua looked at the pie. "Do you bake a lot?"

"I mostly cook savory stuff. Isa has been teaching me."

He had?

The woman smiled warmly. "I love baking myself. I can send you some of my recipes if you want to try some more desserts. And I have some great bread recipes."

"I'd like that!"

Isa patted the younger girl's head. "Let's let the pie cool for a bit. Why don't you go check on the others?"

"Ok!"

As she ran out, Aqua turned to Isa. She still wasn't as sure about him just yet. "How are they settling in?"

"Well. They've been going to school and are involved in club activities. There's been a bully problem, but the teachers are keeping a close eye on Roxas and Xion. And if we have any more incidents, Axel and I are going to have a meeting with the parents of the bullies; we've got some choice words for them. How about you three? I'm sure going back into the Realm of Darkness wasn't easy."

Bullies?

That didn't sound good, but it did seem like they had a handle on it.

She let out a long sigh as she sat at the kitchen table. "It wasn't, but not being alone was wonderful. We also made the plan to only stay in the Realm of Darkness for short durations at a time- a week or two. Then, we'd come home and rest for a little bit. And Jiminy checking up on us has been nice. He insisted that we come see him during our rest."

"Jiminy is a saint. He's been doing counseling for all four of us as well."

She looked back at him, her eyes studying him. "How are you doing? I know Roxas and Xion probably didn't trust you at first."

"I was going to ask the same thing." Terra stepped into the room with a soft smile. Aqua and Ven might still be slightly suspicious of Isa, but Terra saw a kindred spirit in him.

For obvious reasons.

Isa leaned against the kitchen counter. "It was interesting at first, but after I took guardianship of Xion, things started getting better. I think they trust me completely now."

"They do." Axel slipped in behind Terra. "We all do."

The four adults all smiled.

Clapping his hands, Axel grinned. "Well, I know Xion made pie, but we figured we could do dinner at the bistro and dessert back home. You're our guests after all."

"That sounds wonderful!"

About twenty minutes later, as the adults continued to converse about life, Xion came back inside, going straight to her pie. "Oh no! It shrunk!" The pretty meringue shriveled down to three-fourths the size it was when it came out of the oven, revealing the chocolate filling.

Aqua smiled. She'd done this very same thing before. Meringue's were fickle things. "I'm sorry. It's hard to get meringue right. But I think we can fix this. Do you have any graham crackers?"

"I think so." The girl went and grabbed a bag of crackers.

"Why don't we crush them up and cover the chocolate and make it a s'more pie."

"That's a great idea!"

Roxas and Ven came into the room as Xion and Aqua began crushing the crackers. "So, dinner plans?"

"After the girls finish up with the dessert."

"And it won't take long."

After they finished up, the large group walked through the woods, into the town.

A quiet and beautiful town.

Almost magical in the sunset.

A bright bistro sat in a small corner, and the group of them found a large table outside to eat at.

"This is delicious." Ven shoved more food into his mouth.

Axel swallowed his last bite. "The bistro is the best. It's hard not to eat here every day, but we do have two great chefs in our house, so that helps." Isa and Xion both smiled.

Roxas paused, glancing past Xion. "Hey, Aqua. Can you come with me for a minute?"

The woman looked up, spotting a group of children in the distance. Oh yes, Roxas did call her about him letting some children hold his Keyblade. "Sure."

Standing up, the two left the table, much to the confusion of the others. Roxas pointed. "Those are the kids I told you about." They walked up where four young kids sat talking. "Guys!"

"Roxas!" The four younger kids hopped up, rushing to the teen. He smiled as they chattered up at him, with him barely being able to make out a word amongst the chorus of small voices.

He seemed so happy.

"Guys, I want you to meet someone. This is my friend, Aqua."

A little girl with brown pigtails gasped. "You're so pretty!"

"Why thank you."

Her gaze focused as she looked down at the kids.

Did Roxas accidently pass the Keyblade to one of these kids?

…

"Can you do magic too? My mommy doesn't believe it's real." Asked a boy with brown hair.

Aqua giggled, her gaze relaxing. "Maybe I can show you some other time. Roxas and I have to get back to our friends. See you all later."

"Aw… ok bye!"

They headed back toward the table. "So?"

"I didn't sense the power in any of them, but they could have potential. So, be more careful with the Keyblade in the future. Honestly, Terra and I should give everyone a crash course. Do most of you not know about the many functions of the Keyblade?"

"I know it can be a sword, a magical focus, and it can unlock things and hearts."

"It does more than that."

"Maybe we do need a crash course, though I doubt most of us here plan to use it much unless the worlds need us again."

Aqua sighed. "And none of your chose this burden… well, Axel did, but for yours and Xion's sakes."

A very unconventional situation they found themselves in.

How many times had most Keyblade wielders been self taught? She couldn't remember a time in her history studies.

They lived in interesting times to be sure.

"I'm glad to see you, Aqua." The next morning, Jiminy sat in a small chair that sat atop a table.

The young woman sat across from him, smiling softly at the cricket. "It's nice to see you too."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright."

"And how are things going with your search for Sora? And I don't mean how much have you found. How are you doing?"

The woman sighed.

Jumping right into this.

"I'm doing much better. Having Terra and Ven with me has made the journey so much better. I don't think I can ever go there alone again."

The cricket nodded. "You told me about the story game you three play. That is a great way to distract, and taking breaks between traveling will probably help more. However, if you start getting overwhelmed, do not be afraid to take longer breaks or even sit out during one excursion. Your mental health takes priority."

A smile crossed her face; those words piercing her heart in the best way. Her mental health taking priority! She'd never put it first ever.

And never considered doing so.

Until now.

He talked with her more about different coping strategies that she could do to help with her journeys into the dark realm.

She told him of her travels there, and the things she saw… including the dark versions of herself that she fought.

He listened, nodding, taking notes, and asking questions. He felt so easy to talk to.

"For a change of topic," he smiled, "I wanted to ask about the coalition. I know it is happening, and there is talk about the first meetings happening soon. What do you think about it?"

"I'm nervous." She admitted. "Not about the coalition itself per say, but for what that means for me. There is an opportunity to find an apprentice in those other worlds. To begin rebuilding the order of the Keyblade that fell years ago."

He blinked. "That is a pretty big deal."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to teach just yet, especially after all that just happened."

"You don't have to do it right away, you know." Jiminy took a sip from the tiny teacup beside him. "Even if you find an apprentice, you can wait until you are comfortable. And when you're ready, everything will work out."

Everything will work out?

It did once before-

Perhaps it will again.

"Maybe you're right."

"Maybe I am…"

The next day, Terra visited Jiminy as well.

"You seem to be doing quite well." The cricket smiled. "After our conversations, you seem to be settling well into life again, and you went to see your family again."

Terra smiled back. "I did. It was great to see them again, and I plan to go back soon. I want to be more involved with them."

"I'm not surprised. Is there anything in particular that has been troubling you?"

Nodding slowly, Terra's gaze drifted far away. "There is still guilt. Every time I hear about something Xehanort or a piece of him did, especially involving those who lived in Radiant Garden, I feel guilty…"

"I can understand that."

"If I hadn't let him trick me, Isa and Axel wouldn't have been turned into Nobodies, Riku wouldn't have been possessed, so many worlds wouldn't have fallen to darkness, Roxas and Xion wouldn't have suffered under Xemnas, and-"

"You don't know what would have happened." Jiminy piped up quickly. "We all know what kind of man Xehanort was. If his plan had failed with you, I'm certain he had a backup plan. We know now that his heart was on the islands, which is what possessed Riku. If it hadn't possessed him, it could have possessed someone else."

"I guess," he knew Jiminy had a very good point, but still, "and I'm really glad people have forgiven me. But, I sometimes see flashes of things Xehanort did. It feels like I did them, not him."

The cricket tapped his chin. "How about, after we're done, you go buy a journal. Every time you have one of those flashes, write it down. And then write down what Xehanort did and what you wanted to do to stop it. Separate his will from your will in a way you can visually see it."

Terra smiled again. "Alright."

He liked that idea.

A lot.

"You look tired." Jiminy raised an eyebrow as the next day, Ven came to see him.

"I am." The boy leaned back in the chair. "I've… been having nightmares sometimes. And I know everyone gets them, but it's been happening a lot."

And Chirithy didn't seem to be able to stop them.

"Do Terra and Aqua know?"

"No. They just started after we got back from the Realm of Darkness last time."

Jiminy turned the page in his notebook, starting a fresh page just for nightmares. "What are they about?"

"Vanitas mostly." Ven's eyes stared at the ceiling, unfocused and blank. "He's being a jerk and then I feel this dark presence. It scares me, and every dream is me either running from it or being swallowed by it with Vanitas laughing at me the whole time."

"That sounds terrifying." Jiminy wrote something down before sighing. "Well, you said they just started. They might go away just as quickly. Let's monitor the situation, and if they don't stop or get worse, we will take more steps."

"What do you think is causing them?"

"It could be lots of things, including something as simple as exposure to darkness in the Realm of Darkness. That's why I want to watch and wait first. And if this does seem to be the cause, you may have to sit out on journeys to the dark realm."

Made sense.

As they talked, Ven… neglected to mention about the past memories he'd been thinking about or things he'd seen while sleeping.

They weren't that important anyway.

Right?

Everything would be just fine.

It would be fine.

Totally fine.

Ventus…

…

Ventus…

…

When you remember, your heart will shatter…

Ominous...