Time to Rest
"So your power is…magic. Mystical power that you can shape and whatnot. And there are no ties to genetics as there are with Quirks?"
"Yes."
Todoroki stared at Izuku before glancing at Sora.
"Are you sure?"
"Todoroki, I'm sure!"
"What if you're distant relatives?"
"That is not how this works!"
Goofy chuckled to himself as he listened to the boys talk. They had woken up not too long ago, which was fortunate. They were almost back to Traverse Town. They still looked exhausted, but that was fine. They could finish resting once they were back on solid ground.
"So it's not possible for people to be related across worlds? Even as distant relatives?"
Izuku buried his face in his hands and shook his head. "Are we almost to Traverse Town? If not, I'm going back to sleep."
"You can't hide from the truth Midoriya."
"What truth?"
Sora snickered and watched the two go back and forth. "You know, he has a point. What if all Keyblade wielders are related somehow?"
"Sora, do not start with me." Izuku narrowed his eyes at Sora's mischievous grin.
"Oh for the love of- The Keyblade is supposed to choose people depending on who is worthy. At least that's what the King said, and he can use a Keyblade! Do you want to tell me you're related to a mouse?" Donald sat up from his makeshift bed to glare at them.
"Thank you…" Izuku sighed. "Not to mention, if it were somehow genetic, you really think that there wouldn't be at least one or two Keyblade families in our world? And they'd be well known? Considering that a Keyblade can get rid of Heartless permanently?"
"It could be a recessive gene. I just figure there has to be a connecting thread somewhere."
"Do you want a corkboard?" Sora grinned. "To keep everything organized?"
"Hmm…that would probably help."
I think I'm having a stroke. Is this what a stroke feels like?
Izuku wasn't sure he preferred Todoroki when he was trying to kill him or the conspiracy nut he turned into while Izuku explained the worlds, magic, and Keyblades to him. Would it be right to call him that?
…Yeah it would be.
I guess everyone has their own ways of processing…
Izuku slumped in his chair as Goofy laughed to himself.
"How many Keyblade wielders are there in the first place?"
"Uuhhhh…" Sora leaned back. "Izuku…me…his master…Donald, you did say your king uses one, right?"
"I'm not answering that."
"Okay, so four." He held up four fingers. "Izuku, you happen to know any more?"
"I am not part of this conversation anymore."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I've checked out. I'm going back to sleep."
"Well, I'm gonna check you back in."
"Absolutely not."
Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Did your master know any other Keyblade wielders? The more examples we can draw from, the better theory we can make."
Izuku pulled up the hood of his jacket in a futile attempt to block them out.
Thinking back…this was a better conversation compared to Todoroki insisting he was a secret love child. He had been happy when they finally managed to stray from that topic…so why did it feel like they were starting to loop back around it?
"Hey Goofy, are we almost to Traverse Town?"
"Even better, we're already here."
There was a light rumble as the ship docked at the station. Once it stopped, Goofy began to flip a bunch of switches and power down the ship.
"Oh, thank god." Izuku got out of his seat and went towards the hatch. He ended up falling over when the ship shook one last time.
"And that's why you wait before you get up. Because you'll fall and hurt yourself." Donald watched him.
"You good Izuku?" Sora peeked over his seat.
"I'm fine!"
"Cool, so as we were saying-"
"No!"
Goofy got up and looked over to see Izuku hurriedly opening the hatch and climbing down. He laughed and stepped aside as Sora chased after him. Like Izuku, he ended up falling over as soon as he got up.
"Gah, my leg fell asleep!"
"That's unfortunate." Todoroki got up and passed Sora. He looked down the hatch to see Izuku almost at the bottom of the ladder. He looked at Goofy and pointed down. "Just down there?"
"Yup, once we all get down there we can show ya around. Leon'll help get ya set up, but ya might have to share a room."
"Leon?"
"The guy that beat us up when we first showed up here." Sora slowly got to his feet, favoring one leg. The other one was tingling painfully. He tried to walk forward and stumbled a bit. He leaned over the hatch to see Izuku run off.
"Hey, get back here!"
"How are you this energetic?" Donald watched Sora slowly climb down the latter. "What happened to being tired?"
"No idea!"
As Sora went down, Todoroki went next and looked Donald in the eye.
"It's fleeting. We're still tired." Without another word, he climbed down after the others.
Donald sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Teenagers…"
"Come on Donald, they ain't that bad."
The adults descended to see Izuku running to the doors. Sora had hopped off the ladder when he was closer to the bottom and chased after him. Todoroki took his time in following after the two.
Izuku hurriedly opened the doors and ran out, with Sora following after. He yelped when he almost crashed into someone passing by. Then he recovered and ran towards Cid's shop.
"Running away isn't going to help!"
"Yes, it will!"
Izuku went up the steps and opened the shop door to see Cid and Toshinori leaning over the counter and talking about something. They had looked up when the door opened and Toshinori gave him a warm smile.
"Ah, you're back!"
"Yeah, we are. Where's E-gah!"
He fell to the ground when Sora crashed into him.
"Oh, hey Mr. Yagi!" Sora greeted him from the floor. "We're back."
"I can see that."
"Please get off me."
Sora looked around the shop, then back to Toshinori. "Hey, where's Eri? And Iida too?"
"Sora please…"
Toshinori sighed and went over to help them up. "Young Eri is spending time with a few other children she befriended. She's right next door in a shop."
Izuku . "That's good! I'm glad to hear that, and Iida?"
"I believe he's with Aerith. She needed help with something."
"Iida's keeping busy, that sounds like him."
"So, is he at the hotel or something?" Sora asked.
"I believe so."
Izuku sighed as he brushed himself off. "We found someone else from our world. We found Todoroki!"
"Young Todoroki?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah, and he's okay now."
Toshinori smiled. "I'm glad you've managed to track down another one of your friends. What about you, Young Sora? Have you managed to find any trace of yours?"
Sora's face fell for a moment, before he shook his head. "Uh no, no not yet. But I'm sure they're out there somewhere. We just gotta find them." He pulled at the bandages around his arms. "I hope they're alright out there…"
They watched him for a moment before Toshinori put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find them. I'm sure they must be looking for you too."
Sora looked down and nodded.
"Aside from that, what in the world happened to you two?" He gestured toward the bandages. "Was the last world you visited that dangerous?"
"Uh…well…" Izuku looked away.
"That was my fault."
Sora and Izuku jumped at Todoroki's voice. They hadn't heard him come up behind them.
"Todoroki!" Sora looked over. "A warning, please! A warning! Where did you come from?"
"The ship?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I mean…okay, fine."
Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean that was your fault?" He asked Todoroki.
"Uh…" Izuku looked at the other two, then back to the adult. "Well…"
Sora eyed Todoroki before smiling. "Well, we kinda had to fight each other. And I guess you could say…"
"Sora, I swear…"
"Things got…heated."
The small group was silent until Todoroki looked up.
"Oh, like fire? I get it."
Izuku covered his face and shook his head. "I'm leaving, I'll be next door if you need me."
"Wait no, come back!" Sora followed him.
-.-
Needless to say, Eri had been thrilled to see they were back.
She was in the shop with four other ducks, and in her excitement, she knocked over a stack of books to get to Izuku.
It had been good to see him again. He came back, just like he promised.
She wasn't shy about introducing Izuku and Sora to her new friends, a set of ducks that introduced themselves as Webby, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
The red one, Huey, looked excited to talk to them, but had been dragged away after the others realized that if they were back, then Donald and Goofy had to be back.
Sora had to bite back a surprised noise when they said that Donald was their uncle. He muttered something about how fun that must be.
As they started their trek to the hotel, Eri ran in circles around them.
"Where did you guys go this time? What was it like? Do you have any pictures?"
"It was really cool!" Sora spoke up before Izuku could. "There was a coliseum there that we ended up fighting a bunch of Heartless in. There was a crazy monster dog with three heads! It was huge, almost as big as a house!"
Eri looked up in awe before looking at Izuku. "Was there really?"
"Hey, why would I make that up?"
Eri grinned to herself as Sora mocked offense.
"It's true." Izuku confirmed. "Although I'd say Cerberus was bigger than a house."
"No, he wasn't." The younger Keyblade wielder crossed his arms. "I mean he looked big, but really-"
"Hey, I got stomped on by him and chased around the arena. I can definitely say, he was bigger than a house." He looked at Eri. "If he were next to Mt. Lady, he'd probably look like a regular dog."
"No way!" Eri bounced around. "Please tell me you got a picture, I wanna see how big he was!"
"Sorry, I was a little busy running around and trying not to get squashed."
"And yet it still happened."
"Hey!"
"Is that why you've got bandages?" She pointed them out.
"Oh these?" Sora held up his arm. "Nah, these are from something else. Not a giant dog."
"What are they from?"
"He ran into fire." Izuku answered.
"And you used so much magic it backfired on you. Seriously, I didn't know that was a thing! When were you or Donald gonna tell me?"
"Uh…I had guessed that Donald explained the dangers of backlash when he taught you that fire spell. Sorry."
Sora huffed. "Yeah, some teacher he is."
Eri laughed as they opened the doors to the hotel, in the middle of the main hallway were Leon, Todoroki, and Yagi.
"Hey guys." Sora greeted them. "What'd we miss?"
"Not much." Todoroki held up a key. "I'm sharing a room with Iida…who I have yet to see."
"The kid's making deliveries for Aerith and a few other people around town. Things are picking up more since the Heartless have quieted down." Leon glared down at him. "I'm sure it goes without saying, but don't wreck the place."
Todoroki merely gave him a thumbs up.
He rolled his eyes and looked at the two Keyblade wielders. "Where are the other two?"
"I think they're still in the courtyard in front of Cid's house. They're talking to some other ducks. They're family."
Leon hummed to himself and began to walk away. "I take it you lot are crashing?"
"Oh yeah."
"Good, you all look exhausted," Toshinori added.
Eri was about to beg Izuku for more time to talk about their adventures when she spotted a familiar face. That's right, Izuku mentioned finding another one of his friends.
"That's your friend right? He's…Todoroki?"
"Yeah."
The dual-quirked boy looked up when he realized he was being watched. He looked around to see Eri staring at him.
He looked around before giving an awkward wave. She waved back with a smile.
Todoroki was quiet for a moment before turning away.
"Good night."
He walked away without another word and left them in silence.
"Anyway…can you tell me more about the world you visited?"
Izuku smiled. "Maybe tomorrow Eri. I'm sorry, but I'm beat."
"Yeah, tomorrow for sure." Sora leaned against Izuku.
"Sora, I'm not-"
"I'm tired!"
"That doesn't mean you have to lean on me."
Sora made some mocking noise, and Eri laughed.
"Alright, you two off to bed." Toshinori nudged them along. "We don't need you two falling asleep in the hallway."
Sora groaned and slowly walked to the door.
"You want me to braid your hair real quick?" Izuku asked.
"Yes!"
"Okay."
"I'm probably gonna crash before you get in, so goodnight."
"Take off the bandages first, Sora. They should be good now." Izuku didn't look up from the braid he started. "At least that's what Donald said."
"Ugh…"
"Sora."
"Fine!"
-FH-
When "morning" came, it was early. At least too early for the boys.
Sleep had been quick to claim them and refused to let go. The exhaustion of the day before hit them as soon as they settled down. The fire, clashing blades, the non-stop fights. It had taken its toll on them.
They were deaf to the knocking on the door and the loud squawking on the other side that told them they had 5 minutes to wake up. The two of them began to stir a moment later, but neither could muster the energy to wake up.
The two of them were startled awake when the door flew open, and the lights were switched on.
"It's been 10 minutes boys. It's time to get up! We've got things to do!"
"Ugh…" Sora pulled the covers over his face. "Five more minutes."
"I already gave you five."
"Then give us another!"
Izuku groaned at the raised voices and forced himself up. He struggled to open his eyes and began to drag himself out of bed. He didn't make it far before falling back onto the bed, he covered his eyes and tried to block out the light.
"Come you two, up and at 'em."
"We'll be up in a second…" Izuku muttered.
They heard the duck huff before hurrying off somewhere.
When they heard him leave, Sora peeked out of his blanket to glance at Izuku. "You think we can get away with getting back to sleep?"
"No, he'll probably yell at us."
"Ugh. Let him. It's too early to exist."
"Yet you're existing anyway."
Sora rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, no offense, but you don't look too good."
"I'm not going to look at you, but you sound just as tired as I feel."
Sora muttered to himself as he turned away to get back to sleep. Izuku sighed as he dragged himself back up again and trudged over to Sora's bed.
"Come on. Let's go."
"No."
"Come on."
"Nooooo."
"I don't want to be up any more than you do." He yawned. "But we should get up—Donald's right. We have stuff to do. We've got other worlds to visit, and I'm sure we can rest on the Gummi Ship."
Sora was quiet before he groaned and sat up.
"Fine, I'll get up."
Izuku nodded and grabbed his jacket and shoes before walking out with Sora trudging behind him. The two made their way through the hotel and out to the Second District.
"Are you gonna say goodbye to Eri?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, I don't know if she's awake or not. If she's still asleep, I'll circle back and say goodbye then. I'm sure he and Goofy still have some prep to do before we leave."
Sora hummed. "Donald will get upset at having to wait."
"Let him be."
He snorted, and Izuku sighed.
"I'm sorry, that was mean."
"He woke us up early in the morning. We get to be mad."
Izuku looked up. "Is it technically morning if it's always night?"
"It's morning because I say it's morning."
Izuku gave him a look before shrugging.
The two made their way through the District and saw world residents passing by. Some were heading into buildings and looked tired and worn out, while others were walking around wide awake and ready to face the day.
It looks like it being perpetually night messes with people's circadian rhythms. Or maybe time works differently from world to world?
Izuku didn't get to ponder for long when someone came by to pull him from his thoughts.
"Good morning!" Toshinori had been walking nearby when he spotted them. He held a paper bag in his arms, and they could see steam rising from the bag.
"Morning, Mr. Yagi." Sora waved. "Whatcha got there?"
"Some sweet buns. Cid told me about this shop, and I figured it would be a quick bite to eat. Looking at it now, though, I don't think we can clear this whole bag. You two want any?"
"Yes, please!"
The boys dug into the food, unaware of Toshinori watching them. He took note of the disheveled look and eyebags they sported. They were less energetic as well. They seemed more weighed down than anything.
"How long have you been awake?" Izuku asked.
"A little while. Though I can see you two just woke up, you look worn out; perhaps you should go back to bed."
"It's fine." Izuku tried to wave off his concern. "We can shake it off. I think we just need to be awake for a little longer."
"Speak for yourself," Sora muttered. "Donald woke us up and told us to get ready. I don't feel like getting yelled at today, so yeah."
"I see…" He frowned. "Well, I'm heading back to the First District. How about I walk you there?"
Sora nodded in agreement.
Izuku hummed as he took another bite. "Is Eri awake? If she was she'd be with you, right? Or with Donald's nephews and niece?"
"She's awake, she was actually excited to be up before you. She should be with the kids right now."
"Looks like you won't have to make Donald wait."
"Looks like it."
As the two made their way through the doors separating the districts, Toshinori eyed them from behind. They didn't look rested, and he was hoping Donald and Goofy would see that. Maybe give the boys a day or two to recover.
He had no idea what happened at the last world they visited, but it must have been a lot to take a toll like this. Then again, after their first departure, they only had a couple of hours to rest. They couldn't keep at that pace forever. Burnout would hit them at some point.
"There you are!"
They all looked up to see Donald and Goofy standing in the center of the plaza.
"It's about time! What took you so long?"
Sora mumbled something to himself, and Izuku apologized.
"Do you two have everything you need? We have to go!"
"Any reason why you're in a rush?" Izuku asked.
"We need to find the King, and get rid of the Heartless." He reminded them of their goal. "And we can't do that by lying around."
"We gotta find my friends too." Sora reminded him. "Izuku's too."
Goofy looked between the boys and Donald, then at Yagi. The knight saw the man narrow his eyes.
"I dunno Donald, are ya sure we should take off? They look pretty tired. Ya look worn out too."
"It's fine." The magician waved him off. "They can rest on the way. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can find everyone. Come on you two."
"Just let me say bye to Eri first." Izuku turned to leave but was stopped by the gaunt man.
"Or," Toshinori stepped forward, "you could give them time to rest."
"What?" Donald turned around.
"I said you could give them time to rest. These two are exhausted. I'm not sure what you all went through from your last visit, but clearly, they need time to recuperate. They were still injured when you arrived, more so than the two of you."
Sora looked from Izuku, then to the duck to gauge their reactions. Izuku was just as surprised as he was.
"M-Mr. Yagi…you don't-"
"I'm sure resting on the Gummi Ship will be fine." Donald insisted. "We'll be going a little further out, so there should be plenty of time to catch up on sleep."
"Yes, because sleeping on a ship is the same as resting in a warm bed."
Goofy leaned down. "I mean, he's got a point Donald. They don't look too good."
"But we need to find the King and the reports before any more worlds disappear. We're on a time limit here!"
Toshinori placed himself in front of the boys. "I understand the gravity of the situation, but you must remember that these two aren't as seasoned as you. By all means, they're novices. They don't have the same conditioning as you."
Donald opened his mouth, but Toshinori cut him off. "Even heroes in our world are given recovery time. Some choose to take it, and others don't. Some…have to have it listed as mandatory before returning to the field. If these two, the ones you depend on, aren't in any shape to fight, you would be giving them a death sentence."
Sora's eyes widened, and he glanced at Izuku. That… went from 0 to 100 real quick.
Izuku didn't say anything but averted his eyes when he saw anyone looking at him.
Goofy looked down at his friend. "I mean, to be fair Donald, those two got a little more banged up than we did. Even with potions and magic, healing makes ya pretty tired, don't it?"
"Because they're reckless."
"We're not that bad." Sora rolled his eyes. "Well…maybe Izuku is."
"You ran straight into fire."
"You burned yourself with your own magic and got squashed by a giant dog."
"Boys." Toshinori stopped them. "My point is, these two need to rest and regain their strength. It's unwise to bring them out in their current state."
Donald looked around at all of them and huffed. "Last I checked, Goofy and I were in charge."
The man watched them, and Goofy found himself shuffling back.
"You are in charge of them while you're visiting different worlds. I put my trust in you to protect those two out there." As he spoke, he stopped slouching and drew up to his full height. Even without his power, he knew he towered over them. Donald, at least.
"I am a faculty member of UA. By all means, Young Midoriya is under my care, and I have no qualms about drawing Young Sora under my care as well. If you're so anxious to do something, I'm sure you can visit your family that's here. Can't you?"
"Yeah, you can!"
They looked over to the Item Shop and saw Dewey peeking out. He had fallen over after speaking up, then was dragged back in by the others.
Donald looked between them all and sighed in defeat. "Fine." He frowned. "We'll stay for a day or two. Then we get going again. How does that sound?"
Toshinori looked at the teenagers, who nodded.
"Sounds good!" Sora said. "Now, I'm going back to bed."
"So you're staying?" Eri jumped out of the item shop.
When Izuku nodded, she cheered and ran toward him. "Yes! Now you can tell me more about the Coliseum, right?"
"I can, but can I get a little more sleep first?"
Eri pouted, then nodded. "I guess so."
Izuku smiled and hugged her before heading back with Sora. As he left, he promised he'd see her later.
When they left, Webby and the triplets came running out after Eri and stood in front of Donald.
Huey pointed at Donald with an accusatory finger.
"You, Uncle Donald, owe us an explanation!"
"And don't think you're getting out of it this time!" Webby added.
-.-
Leon rubbed his eyes as he walked throught the halls of the hotel. He hadn't meant to sleep as long as he did. He left Yuffie patrolling along for too long.
As he walked he passed by Todoroki, who was carrying a large stack of supplies.
Leon paused and turned to look at the boy.
"What are you doing?"
"...Something."
"What is something?"
Todoroki looked around. "Something."
Leon looked him up and down before sighing and turning around. "Whatever, just don't kill anyone."
-.-
Indeed there was no getting out of it.
Once The triplets and Webby secured their time with their uncle, Yagi left for Cid's shop. But not before offering them some of the food he bought.
Now, Donald was in the Item Shop and helping them unpack boxes and finish setting up the shop. He was there, and he could help them out. He was here, so he may as well.
Goofy had been unhelpful, at least in this situation, and went to go see if the others needed help with something. He insisted on leaving Donald to spend some quality time with the kids.
Then again, it wasn't too bad. It had felt like forever since he had seen his nephews. He both looked forward and dreaded to know what kind of mischief they had gotten into. With them being around Uncle Scrooge and Della, it was inevitable.
"So…" Dewey slid in front of him with a smile. "Uncle Donald, our favorite uncle named Donald, the one who raised us and-"
"Oh, quit sugar-coating it and just ask." Louie cut him off. "Uncle Donald, since when can you use magic? And why have you kept that from us? Check that, why didn't you use it way back when? You know, with job hunting and stuff? Couldn't you just, I don't know, conjure up some money? Does your magic do that?"
"If magic conjured up money, I'm pretty sure Uncle Scrooge would have done something like that at some point." Huey passed them with a box of potions. "But yeah, he's got a ppoint, Uncle Donald. Why didn't you tell us?"
Donald sighed as he emptied the current box he was working on. "Boys, if I told you I used magic so long ago do you really think you would have waited for me to teach you something like that? Or ask on a daily to teach you?"
Huey opened his mouth, then eyed Louie, and shut it. "Okay, fair point. But that doesn't answer the question, how long have you been able to do that? And what kind of magic do you use?"
Donald sighed and rubbed his eyes. He knew they were going to jump straight into the meat of everything. Of course they would, it was just how they were.
"I started learning magic when I met the King- er, Mickey."
"Wait, Mickey?" They all looked up at that.
"A King?" Eri, who had been quiet previously, spoke up.
"Yeah, since when is Mickey a King? When did that happen?"
"Then what does that make Donald, the court jester?"
"Hey!" He shot Louie a look. "I'll have you know I'm the Royal Magician! And don't you forget it!"
"So you're the top magician in Mickey's court?" Webby came forward with a book in her hands. "But in the family records, I never found anything like that. You would think that something that big would be in there!"
"Unless someone messed with the records." Huey offered. "If all the adventures he had with Della and Uncle Scrooge are in there, why not the other ones?"
"We try to keep it a secret because of the World Order." Donald handed Huey some broken-down boxes. "The World Order is to keep people from finding out about other worlds and abusing that knowledge. It's there for a reason."
"So you kept it off the books just to be safe."
Donald nodded.
"Okay wait." Dewey stopped them. "Let's back up a bit. Uncle Donald, you never answered us. How long have you been able to use magic? Wait, does mom know?"
"Of course, Della knows!" Donald shouted. "She's the reason I learned magic in the first place. She said I couldn't do it, and I proved her wrong."
They were quiet for a moment before Dewey laughed. "Wait, you learned magic out of spite?"
"...Not entirely."
"But that helped fuel it?"
"You try learning magic from scratch. It's not easy! Della can't talk, she couldn't crack it."
"Wait, really?" The triplets all looked up.
It was a surprise to the boys, with their uncle knowing magic they would expect their mom to have the ability as well. In all honesty, Donald would have expected her to get into magic like he did. Just to spend time with him, or make it a competition, if anything.
True to his word, she couldn't get it. Magic didn't respond to her the way it did to Donald. It had been a tedious process to learn magic from a book and experiment with what he could.
Needless to say, it ended with a lot of property damage before he got the hang of it.
Even so, both Della and Donald had their own things they were good at. Della was a master pilot, while Donald was a master magician. Magic was his thing, and it had felt satisfying to find his own niche just as Della had found hers.
"So, if the World Order is such a big thing how do you know about other worlds? How did you find out?" Webby asked. "And did Della know?"
"Della and Uncle Scrooge know." Donald put a box on a high shelf. "So do Launchpad and Beakly by now, if you all are here."
Donald had initially panicked when he first saw the boys. He had feared the worst had happened to their world until they told him Della and the others dropped them off. It was concerning that they left without saying where they'd be going. Donald assumed they either went home or to find a solution to all this, same as he was.
"And how did you find out?" Louie asked.
Donald paused and shook his head, "That's a story for another day. But once we found out about other worlds, Mickey, Goofy, and I took road trips around. Sometimes Della would sneak along to join in."
Dewey laughed. "Sounds like mom."
They continued to talk about Donald's misadventures in other worlds and mishaps with magic. The kids were surprised to hear that Donald actually had used magic around them when he was with them. They just weren't paying attention.
When the stove wouldn't light, a quick fire spell fixed that.
The generator broke one night, a quick zap of Thunder was an easy fix.
Sometimes when the boys went to bed with scrapes and bruises from their own adventures, he'd cast a small Cure spell on them.
Small, unnoticeable things that they would have never paid attention to.
At some point, Huey decided to ask the burning question in their minds.
"Hey, Uncle Donald?"
"Yes?"
"Can you teach us magic?"
"...Maybe when you're older."
"Oh, come on!" They all whined.
-HoL-
"When Mr. Yagi got us more time to rest, I'm sure this isn't what he had in mind."
"Well…no, but it's a good way to pass the time."
"You call this a way to pass the time?"
"Yes!"
Sora yelped as he got his feet swept out from under him. He groaned, then rolled to the side as a Keyblade came swinging down on him. The sound of metal hitting stone rang in his ears as he scrambled away.
Izuku insisted on taking some time to spar with Sora some time after they woke up and had time to unwind. Iida and Todoroki tagged along and insisted on sparring as well, if only to keep their skills sharp.
Sora eyed the two that stood off to the side. Iida was already stretching and gearing up to fight. Who he was going to fight, Sora wasn't sure yet.
As Izuku stepped forward to swing again, Sora held out his weapon to block it. The two blades struck with each other, and the force seemed to reverberate through both of them.
They separated and watched each other. Neither wanted to make the first move, both unsure how the other would react.
Sora grinned as he felt energy begin to crackle along the edge of his Keyblade. He felt it hum through the blade and charge itself up. He was going to win this, he refused to lose. He had plenty of spars with Riku, and compared to that, this was nothing.
He could see Izuku gearing up too. He looked excited, like he had something up his sleeve.
They both tensed up, and just as they charged toward each other, an alarm went off.
"Draw!" Iida shouted.
Both stumbled over themselves and nearly fell over as Todoroki turned off the alarm on his phone.
"Oh man, really?" Sora asked. "Come on, two more minutes. It was just getting good!"
"We agreed on short matches to not tire ourselves out. We agreed on those rules before we began Sora."
"Just two more minutes won't hurt."
"We can pick it back up once we spar again," Izuku said. "Iida's right. We shouldn't tire ourselves out. Besides, if we get an extra two minutes, they have to get that too."
Sora sighed. "Alright, fine."
While they switched places with the other two, Iida spoke up.
"Todoroki, would you like to practice with Quirks or keep it to no Quirk sparring?"
He was quiet and glanced down at his left hand, then looked away in Izuku's direction.
"...No Quirk sparring. I find that I'm…severely lacking in close-quarters combat."
Izuku noticed him staring and laughed nervously.
"Fair enough." Iida said. "I will admit I am a bit out of practice with hand-to-hand combat. Seeing as I usually use my Quirk so often. This will be good practice."
Todoroki nodded and got into a fighting stance. Izuku wanted to try and correct him, but the fight started, and he started the timer.
Sora sighed and leaned against the wall. "How often is hand-to-hand used in your world? Since everyone has powers and all that? Don't people usually use those to fight."
"Well, yeah," Izuku said. "But just because you have powers doesn't mean that should be your only defense. What if a hero is in a situation where their Quirk would do more harm than good? What if they don't have the proper space to use their Quirk? There are a lot of reasons for heroes to use hand-to-hand, especially if a Quirk is more passive or is centered around their hands. Quirks aren't an instant win to everything."
They looked up when they heard a thud and saw Todoroki on the ground. He was quick to recover and resumed the fight.
"I get it. You gotta have options, right?" Sora looked at him. "So, do you know how to fight without a Keyblade?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah, actually I do. My Master insisted that I learn to fight without a weapon. You can't always rely on one trick you have. This was especially the case since my Keyblade hadn't manifested yet, and all I could use was magic."
"Really? Woah, wait, you could use magic before your Keyblade?" Sora leaned forward. "How does that work?"
Izuku shrugged. "I kinda have more of an affinity for it I guess. Though to be fair, my magic was out of control when I first started using it."
He grinned. "I bet. Hey, actually speaking about magic, I wanna know how you do that thing."
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "What thing?"
"You know, the thing. Like you did in Wonderland. When you were all glowy with ice magic and stuff."
"Ah that."
"I will admit, that was concerning when I saw it." Iida chimed in from the fight. "Todoroki, your stance is off."
"And you're wide open!"
Izuku hummed and looked down at his hands. He conjured up a small chunk of ice with his magic. He didn't look up when he heard another thud.
"That…hmm…well, I've done it twice now." He muttered.
"Twice? When was the second time?"
"When he was fighting me," Todoroki answered.
"Shouldn't you be paying attention?" Sora asked.
"He should!" Iida was right behind his opponent.
"One time with Blizzard magic, another time with Fire. When I was in that state, and I used the respective elements, they were stronger than normal."
"Yeah, that, anyway how'd you do it?"
"Well…" Izuku paused. "I'm actually not too sure. I just kinda…happened?"
"Aw, come on. You've gotta know something."
He shrugged. "Well, I was just as surprised when I did it. Both times actually. The first time I thought it was a fluke. My Master told me about something like that once, but she didn't go into detail since I wasn't at that stage yet."
"Well, what about what happened before you did it? Figure out how you did it, then maybe you can teach me. I won't lie, I kinda wanna do it too."
Izuku laughed to himself. "That's fair. Well…let's see. Let me try the fire one."
"Why fire?"
"Because I think it'll be easier to manage. Not to mention that Todoroki is right there and he can put me out if something goes wrong."
"This is true." Todoroki chimed in.
Izuku summoned his Keyblade and held it in both hands. "Let me see. Well, before each other activated I used a lot of the corresponding spell beforehand. So much so that I got backlash from it."
He closed his eyes and focused on a Fire spell. It's heat, the ability to cause so much destruction, yet bring soothing warmth at the same time. He knew the spell well.
"Before I did it it felt like…fire inside. Like it was in my veins, and burning me from the inside. So…"
He focused on the fire spell and centered it inside himself. He tried to imagine it spreading throughout his body. He grit his teeth and tried to mimic the feeling of that power appearing. After a moment, he let go and leaned against the wall, he felt overheated and quickly used a Blizzard spell to try and cool himself down.
"I can't forcefully activate it." He panted. "Which is good to know but unfortunate at the same time."
"Yeah, clearly, geez take a minute," Sora said. "Sit down or something. That looked…kinda rough."
Izuku gladly took the advice and sat down. "Yeah, it's a lot harder to do on purpose instead of on accident. Funny how that works right?"
Before Sora could answer, the timer went off, and Izuku stopped it.
"Time!"
Just as he said it, Todoroki was knocked to the ground with another thud.
"And it looks like Iida wins," Sora added.
Todoroki groaned and got to his feet. "Clearly."
"I apologize if I hurt you, Todoroki."
"It's fine. I just know where I need to improve now."
The two took their place beside the two Keyblade wielders.
"So, we were going over one of Midoriya's abilities?" Iida asked.
"Yeah. I tried to force it, but clearly, that didn't work."
"Didn't you already burn yourself?" Todoroki asked.
"Anyway, looking back on it, I don't think it can be forcefully activated," Izuku said. "Like I said, I used a lot of the corresponding element beforehand."
Sora sighed. "So you can't just snap your fingers and use it?"
"No, it's…it's like spinning."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah, like spinning," Izuku said. "You know how when you spin, and you keep going and going and building up momentum? Then at some point, you just let go, right? Well, I would say what I do is comparable to that."
"Spinning," Todoroki repeated.
"Yeah! It makes sense, doesn't it?"
Sora looked up. "Uh…so when you use magic, it's like spinning?"
"I mean sort of. It's building momentum until it explodes, and I do…that." He waved his hands around. "But the issue is that to get to that point, I have to use a lot of magic. So much that I get backlash before I can even muster up that ability."
Sora hummed. "So…if I use a lot of magic, I should be able to do it?"
"Hmm…maybe. I'm not sure if you'd be able to, if I'm honest."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I-I didn't mean anything by it, but I mean, looking at how you usually fight, would it really be useful? Assuming you can."
"Well…maybe. I think it'd be cool."
"Something being cool, and useful are two entirely different things." Iida cut in. "I think what Midoriya means, considering your current fighting style, would it have any real use? Would it be effective?"
Sora opened his mouth, then shut it.
If he thought about it…no, it probably wouldn't be all that useful. But it'd probably be easier than using magic. But then there was the trouble of having to use magic in order to even do that thing in the first place.
Thought it would be cool to just have his Keyblade burst into flames or ice or something, and fight like normal. It would be a lot easier than the magic Donald says to use.
He groaned. "I guess it wouldn't be that helpful. But why do you think I can't do it? What did you mean by that?"
"Ah well, I've been thinking about it for a little while. Mind summoning your Keyblade real quick?"
"Uh…sure?"
Sora called it forward and held it up. "So, what are you thinking?"
"Put it down real quick." Izuku placed his Keyblade on the ground. "Beside mine."
"Okay…"
"So, I had been thinking about this ever since I saw your Keyblade. I had thought about it once or twice back when I was training with my Master, but I think now I have a better example. Especially since I have my own Keyblade to compare."
"Uh huh…"
"Well, hmm, how should I put this? Keyblades are…picky with their wielders. Right?"
"I mean, I guess so."
"Right." Izuku grinned. "So, nobody is the same. Maybe people have similar fighting styles, but the way someone fights is unique in their own right. Like how Iida is more suited for close-quarters combat, but in his case, he mainly uses kicking attacks. Those attacks are fuelled by his engines. Mirko is-"
"Who's Mirko?"
"...Right. She's a hero in our world. Hmm…well, the point is someone can fight similarly to another, but their style is their own."
"Uh-huh. I don't quite get where you're going with this." Sora said.
"I will admit you've lost me as well, Midoriya." Iida said.
Todoroki was silent.
Izuku felt his face flush. "R-Right, uh, what I'm trying to say is that everybody has a different style. And our Keyblades cater to that. Look." He pointed at the two Keyblades on the ground.
Sora leaned forward to look at them.
"Oh, wait a second, your Keyblade doesn't look as dense. And it's a little longer. Can I…"
"Yeah."
Sora reached forward and grabbed Indomitable Spirit. He was surprised to feel that it was lighter than his own. It almost weighed nothing to him. He lightly tapped it against the ground before giving it a swing. If it were any other weapon, he would think it would snap in two with how hard Izuku hit Heartless with it.
"Pick up mine. See what you think of it."
Izuku did so and held it up after a moment.
"Your Keyblade is a little shorter, but it has more weight to it. Clearly, especially given that you can smack Heartless away pretty easily. But you see what I mean, in how our Keyblades are different?"
"Yeah, I think I'm getting it."
Their Keyblades shimmered and disappeared in a flash of light, then reappeared in the hands of their proper holders.
"I guess all Keyblades are picky, huh?"
"They prefer to be where they belong." Izuku shrugged. "Anyway, I focus more on magic attacks. My physical attacks are more based on speed. I can only do a lot of damage physically if I put a lot of strength into it. Meanwhile, you hit hard with every attack."
"But at the cost of magic." Sora frowned, then shrugged. "Well, I guess that's just not in my fighting style. You think Donald will get off my case about learning magic if I tell him about this?"
"No." Izuku gave him a look. "No, you can't just ignore magic as a whole."
Sora groaned. "Oh, come on, I'm not good at it anyway. Donald likes to point that out."
"It's a useful tool. You don't have to master it. Just know the basics at least."
"I'm trying to learn the basics, and you see how uppity he gets about that. He's such a jerk about it."
Izuku looked away. "Donald can be kinda…"
"Difficult." Iida filled in for him.
"Thank you, Iida. And I know he yells a lot…a lot…but I mean, I think he has our best interest at heart?"
"You know, when you say it like that, I'm not as thrilled to work with him."
"Okay, fair."
"He yells at us!"
"He does."
"And I don't like it."
"I mean-"
"And neither do you!"
"It doesn't bother me too much."
Sora huffed and put his Keyblade away. "I'm just saying, he's supposed to help and all, but he doesn't have to be such a jerk about it. In the Coliseum, he said I need to practice, but that's easier said than done when you have no time to practice. I know learning on the spot's a thing, but…I mean, magic is hard. To me, at least. And I need more time to get it. And I wish he'd just get that and not be so…ugh, you get what I mean."
Izuku had to close his eyes and not accidentally fill in the blank with a word Katsuki would use. He could think of them real easy, right on the spot. His dictionary was well-filled with various insults and swears. He grew up with a certain firecracker so of course, it was. But now was not the time.
He took a deep breath. "I get it. It's hard to learn from a teacher that's not too…nice." His old teachers came to mind. "But it shouldn't make you stop yourself from learning about it. But I get it. Sometimes it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
Sora nodded to himself.
"Well, how about we drop magic for now. If you want, I can try to teach you some of what I know a little later." Izuku offered. "Can't promise I'll be any good at teaching, though."
Sora looked up at him before smiling. "I think I can live with that."
Izuku sighed. "Okay, and like I said we can drop magic for now. Todoroki and Iida are done sparring. How about we have a quick round? No weapons this time?"
"Uh…" Sora looked to the side. "How about with weapons?"
Izuku raised an eyebrow.
"Riku and I…usually…used swords when we sparred. I don't think we ever used our fists. It was also kinda safer."
"Hitting each other with toy swords is safer than punching someone?"
"...I mean, I think so."
"Well, I guess I can give teaching hand-to-hand a try. At the very least, I can show you how to block and throw a punch."
Sora grinned. "Alright, sure. Why not? I don't think it can be that-oof!"
Izuku had swept his legs out from under him. "You know it feels kinda nice not being on the receiving end of that for once."
"You jerk!" Sora got up. "That's it. Teach me all you know, and then I'm gonna beat you."
"You wanna bet?"
"Yeah!"
While Izuku got to work teaching Sora, Todoroki and Iida sat to the side and watched them.
After a moment, Iida sighed and leaned back.
"Those two, they're really something, aren't they?"
"I suppose so."
"Is it strange that I'm still trying to work out the existence of magic?"
"Not really, it's still surprising to me too," Todoroki muttered. "It's a strange power."
"I still find it surprising that Midoriya's power isn't a Quirk. Though, if I truly think about it, there is no logical explanation for a Keyblade. A weapon you summon that allows you to channel different elements, but also specifically catered to defeating the Heartless."
"To think those two don't have a Quirk. Sora, I understand, seeing as he's not from our world. Midoriya…is more surprising."
"You thought his Keyblade was a Quirk?"
"Yes, we all did."
Iida nodded in agreement and watched as Izuku pointed out different parts of himself. Common weaknesses to exploit when in a fistfight. He was saying something about punching someone in the jaw being a knockout button if done right.
"You know," Iida started, "on our way back from Wonderland, Donald mentioned something that piqued my interest."
Todoroki glanced his way.
"He asked if it was possible for someone to have magic and Quirk at the same time."
"Do you think something like that would be possible?"
"Honestly, I have no idea." He admitted. "I know a Keyblade isn't required to use magic. Donald's a fine example of that.
Todoroki nodded. "That is true. It seems somehow that magic is in every world. Save for ours, with Quirks and all."
"Perhaps not all worlds have magic Todoroki, some may have powers like our own. I feel that we've only scratched the surface of what's out there."
He shrugged in agreement. Knowing there were other worlds out there, gods out there, monsters and people beyond what he could have imagined…it really made his own world seem so small.
Their own world used to feel like this huge, vast thing with endless places to explore. And now, it was just a small blip in the grand scheme of things.
"Why are you so interested in magic all of a sudden?" Todoroki asked. "Especially if you're still 'working it out.'"
Iida was quiet before sighing. "I'm sure that you would be, or perhaps are, frustrated at having to be on the sidelines. There isn't a lot we can do. We aren't permitted to join them on any outing because we're liabilities. Our Quirks don't work on the Heartless. If we destroy them, it's only temporary."
"And you think that magic is the solution to that?"
"I believe so. I've seen Donald use his magic against Heartless, it seems it's more effective than Quirks."
Todoroki looked at him, then looked at the other two. "Do you think someone like us can use magic?"
"Perhaps. The only way to find out is to try."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"I suppose Midoriya could teach us, or perhaps Donald could."
Todoroki hummed. "I'm not sure. They'll be gone too often to properly teach us, and Midoriya may not be any better."
Iida raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"
"Because compared to Guardian, he's a novice. I'm not sure if you were listening earlier, but he's still learning how to use that new ability."
"Right…" Iida faltered. "Well, surely someone else could do it! This world is full of refugees from other worlds. Surely someone would be able and willing. Leon may know something."
Todoroki sighed and looked up at the sky. Faint stars glittered in the distance. Each one was apparently a different world. Some new places with different rules, different lives, and different cultures.
Todoroki clenched his left hand and loosened it. He continued that pattern until he could release the tension in his body. "I don't know if I can do that. Add on another thing to learn."
He looked at his left hand.
"I'm still trying to get used to using my fire, and getting to an acceptable skill level. I've fallen behind, and learning something like magic could hinder the progress I'm trying to make. Assuming I'd be able to do it in the first place."
Iida watched him and nodded to himself.
"I can understand where you're coming from, but remember it may be helpful in the future. And you're not alone, I'd be willing to help you in any way I can. If you would like help with your fire, don't hesitate to ask."
The dual Quirk user watched for a moment, then nodded to himself. "Thank you."
"Of course."
They looked up as they heard a loud thud across from them.
Sora had been thrown to the ground and wheezed for breath. He coughed and got up with Izuku's help.
"What the heck was that?"
"An over-the-shoulder throw. I will say though, for a quick lesson, your form is already improving.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, now teach me how to do that!"
"Okay," Izuku helped him to his feet. "So-"
"Izuku!"
They all looked up to see Eri running into the Third District. Trailing behind her was one of Donald's nephews. The red one, Huey.
"Hey Eri!" Izuku waved. "What's going on, is everything okay?"
She nodded. "Yup! Just wanted to see what you were doing."
"We're sparring, nothing much."
"Yeah like getting thrown on the ground isn't 'much'." Sora rolled his eyes.
"Ok, I just wanted to see what you guys were up to. Also…I wanted to know if you were hungry."
"Yeah, I'm starving!" Sora shouted.
"I do think we're due for a break." Iida said. "A longer one, anyway."
Todoroki nodded.
Izuku smiled. "Alright, that sounds good. What do you have in mind, Eri?"
Eri rocked back and forth on her heels and paused for a moment. "Uhm…I was thinking of some home food. Like you made back home."
"Oh so you want me to cook?"
"Yup!"
"Is there-"
"Leon says the kitchen is fully stocked. So…" She trailed off with a smile.
"Alright, alright. I'll make us some. Iida, Todoroki, you want any?"
"Sounds good."
"Thank you, Midoriya! I can assist if you-"
"Actually, Aerith asked for you," Eri said. "She says she has more stuff for you to deliver."
"Ah…sorry, Midoriya."
"It's fine. I'll save you a plate. Huey, would you like lunch?"
The duck startled, then beamed. "And try a culinary dish from your world? Of course!"
"Okay, Sora, you want some too?"
"Uh, yeah. Do you really have to ask?"
"Do you mind helping me out?"
The younger Keyblade wielder paused. "Do I have to go near a stove?"
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Uh…I'm not…allowed near stoves. For reasons."
"Do I want to know?"
"Probably not. No."
-HoL-
"So, Eri filled me in on some stuff about her world. Heroes, villains, Quirks, it's pretty amazing!"
Izuku had figured Huey had tagged along to make sure Eri got to them okay. It turns out he had wanted to talk to him and Sora for a while. Them being Keyblade wielders and being able to visit different worlds and all.
"Since Eri told me a little about her world, could you tell me about yours Sora?"
"Me?" Sora pointed at himself. He hummed to himself as he peeled potatoes. "Well, I'm from the Destiny Islands. It's pretty much what it sounds like, there are a couple islands, but my friends and I live on the big island. Then there was the smaller island where we'd go hang out."
"Destiny Islands, interesting." Huey wrote that down in his notebook. "So, is it just islands? Is there any kind of mainland?"
"Uh…no, actually. It's all just a bunch of islands. Each one is kinda different from the other, but bigger boats, usually some to and from different places with different things to sell."
"Does each island have its own specific resource?"
"Kinda. My island was mostly for fishing and stuff, but we're also seasonal. Some fish only show up for certain seasons and in different parts of the island. But we gotta be careful not to over harvest areas, it's a funny balance."
"That's pretty cool…Sora, potatoes."
"Oh, right!" He went back to peeling them.
"Interesting, and do you guys have any special events over there?"
"Well, we have a festival for the Summer Solstice. There are a bunch of booths and games set up all over the place, and there are really cool fireworks! One year my dad and Riku's dad took us to the small island and we fired off our own. Plus it was cool to see the fireworks from the mainland from so far."
Sora smiled to himself as he recalled it. A few years ago they insisted on bringing Kairi, and they ran around the island chasing each other with sparklers. Then sitting on that tree to watch the sky light up with fireworks.
They had begun to do that every year since then, their own little tradition.
"Do you guys sail to the smaller island by yourselves?" Izuku asked. He winced as he took the lid off a pot with his bare hand.
"Yeah, we do. We're old enough so we're allowed to. Our parents just don't want us there by ourselves in case something happens."
"Has anything happened?"
Sora looked Izuku in the eye, then quickly looked away. "How many potatoes do you need?"
"What you did should be enough." Izuku put the lid back and grabbed the vegetables, then began chopping them up.
"Do you need anything else?" Sora asked. "I don't wanna just stand around."
"You can't be near a stove, right?"
"Please no."
"Can you wash the rice?"
"Yeah."
"Who taught you how to cook, Izuku?" Huey asked.
"My mom."
"Your mom has to make really good food since the food you make is good." Eri spoke up from the table.
Izuku smiled. "She di-does. Whenever she got to come home, I always looked forward to her meals." He glanced at Eri. "Master's food is pretty good too."
She nodded. "It's the best."
"Hey, actually, Eri mentioned that this Aqua person. Your master, trained you. Did she give you the ability to use a Keyblade?"
Izuku froze for a moment, then resumed what he was doing. "No, she sought me out because she could tell I had the potential for it. She gave me the tools to be able to use my abilities, and not let them go out of control."
"Did you know you were capable of manifesting a Keyblade?"
"No…I didn't."
"What about you Sora?"
"Nope."
Huey frowned. "So it really is random, isn't it? Do you two have any sort of family member that could have used a Keyblade?"
"Not a chance." Sora said. "As far as I know, my family's pretty normal."
"Same." Izuku looked over at them. "Nothing in my family really stands out."
Huey narrowed his eyes at his notebook. "Nobody in your family had strange powers? Eri told me about your world and Quirks and stuff."
"Not as far as I know." Izuku shrugged. "It's a pretty normal tree."
Huey groaned. "So there really is no way to tell if someone can have a Keyblade, is there?"
"Told ya." Eri grinned.
"You just have to be worthy, I guess," Sora said. "Which, I have no idea how I am. But I'm glad I got it. Hey, Izuku."
"Yes?"
Sora flicked water in his face and laughed as he fled to the other side of the room.
"Very funny. This is a kitchen, Sora. We're not supposed to-what's that?" Izuku frowned and looked at the corner of the room.
When Sora turned around to see what he was pointing at, Izuku casted a small water spell and splashed Sora.
Sora sputtered and tried to wipe his face dry. "Hey! I didn't use magic."
"Well, you ran away!"
"I'm out of bounds."
"What bounds?"
"The bounds of the kitchen."
"You are still technically in the kitchen."
"I've emotionally decided that I'm not."
"But you-"
"Izuku," Eri cut him off, "the stove."
"Gah!"
They watched as Izuku turned the heat down as a pot began boiling over and checked on the other dishes. Sora laughed, and Izuku turned around, and gave him a look as he pointed at him with a spoon. He hid behind the other two.
"Eri, don't let him hurt me."
"Izuku won't hurt you. He's harmless." Eri smiled up at him. "Right Izuku?"
Izuku smiled. "Yes, I'm completely harmless. There's no reason to worry about me."
"When you say it like that, I don't think I should believe you."
Huey and Eri laughed to themselves as the other two settled down.
Izuku shook his head and went back to cooking. Once it looked like nothing would burn, Izuku turned back around and began to chop vegetables for a side dish.
Things had become peaceful again. Huey asked them questions, which led to topic after topic. Sometimes one of them would go off on a tangent, explaining things about their world or drifting into a story about something they've seen or done.
Occasionally Sora would get up and help Izuku out with something, then get out of his way.
It was peaceful for a while until someone else walked in.
Donald came walking into the kitchen, muttering to himself, then paused when he saw all of them in there.
"What are you all doing in here?"
"Making food."
"Helping him with food."
"Sitting here."
"Hi, Uncle Donald!"
Donald looked around, then approached the island Izuku was working at. Izuku eyed him and then looked back to what he was doing.
"Do you want some too Donald? I'm making a lot. I'm pretty sure I'll have some extra."
"No, I was going to make something else. How much longer are you going to be?"
"Not too long, I'll be done soon."
Donald stepped back with a hum. "Alright, I'll just wait over here then."
"Uh, okay."
Izuku kept to himself as he worked, looking up to the others when they began to talk again. He kept glancing at Donald who was a little too close to his workspace. The magician was just watching him, then looking at the stove, then back to watching Izuku.
Izuku tried to give him a smile as he worked, even as he felt a tick of annoyance.
"So, Huey," Izuku looked at them, "you've asked us a lot about our worlds. Why don't you tell us about yours?"
Huey beamed and nearly jumped out of his seat. "Well, our world is chock full of a bunch of different things. I wanna say it's normal like yours Sora, where the mass of the population are just regular people. And then there are some people or places with magical attributes…or some people that are just kinda the outliers. Like Uncle Scrooge."
"He's anything but normal," Donald added.
"We've gone on a lot of adventures since we met him! Actually, Uncle Donald used to go adventuring with him too."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Really? Donald?"
"Yes me!"
Sora looked at him and shook his head. "I can't see it."
"Hey!"
"Don't be upset about it Uncle Donald, when we first met Uncle Scrooge and we found out, we couldn't believe it either."
Donald grumbled to himself and went back to watching Izuku. "How much longer are you gonna be?"
"Not too long. No offense Donald, but you just standing there and asking me how long it's going take won't make everything cook faster."
"I'm not asking you to cook faster, I just need an estimate of time."
"I'm not sure, 10 minutes?"
"Fine."
Donald turned around to rummage through a cabinet and began to pull out some stuff. When Izuku turned to check on the stove, then turned around to see things that weren't there before on the counter. Izuku shot Donald a look and moved what he pulled out to the side to continue what he was doing.
"I need those."
"You're not cooking right now, are you? I need the space."
Sora looked up at that, then at the others. Eri watched on in interest while Huey looked concerned.
Izuku took a deep breath and continued his work.
Oh my god, is this how my mom felt?
Izuku cleared his throat. "Donald?"
"What?"
"So uh, you cook right? I meant you're going to make something right now, so I assume you do."
"Of course I know how to cook!"
"Right of course. So, uh, do you usually have rules about your kitchen?"
The others' looked between the two as they spoke. Their eyes lingered on the one that was using a knife to chop vegetables up.
Huey leaned towards Eri and whispered. "Izuku is harmless, right? I mean, he won't do anything right?"
"He won't."
"Good."
"...Probably."
"Probably?"
Donald watched Izuku and nodded. "Of course I do. The boys aren't supposed to run around or play in the kitchen while I'm using it. That's the main rule."
"Right. So, you are aware that kitchen rules differ between people right?"
"Are you sure that's a thing?"
"Different people, different rules."
"So where are you going with this?" Donald crossed his arms.
Izuku smiled and harshly cut something in two. "So, are you going to help me?"
"What? No, I don't know what you're making. I'm just waiting for you to finish so I can make something of my own."
"So you don't plan on helping me? At all?"
"No."
Sora felt himself sweating bullets and eyed the door. It would be really nice for someone else to come in right about now.
"Alright. That's fine. So…" Izuku made a shooing gesture. "Can you leave? Please?"
"Why should I leave?"
"Because you're not helping me?"
"You said you're almost done didn't you? And I don't want anybody else taking my place if I leave."
Izuku sighed and turned toward Donald, knife still in hand. "Donald. Please get out."
The magician narrowed his eyes.
"Are you-"
"Donald. Please."
"...Fine. But let me know when you're done." On his way out Donald grumbled something to himself.
"Oh sure I will. And I'll leave you all the dishes too." Izuku muttered.
When Donald was out of the room they were all quiet, listening to Izuku finish cutting food up and putting something in a sizzling pan.
Sora looked around and laughed after a moment. "There is a land called Passive Agressiva, and you are their king."
"You haven't met my mother."
Eri laughed as Huey sputtered. "I-I think that explains a few things."
"There's a reason why my father never went in the kitchen."
"Oh my goodness."
Sora shrugged. "I mean…someone being in the kitchen and they're not doing anything to help while you're cooking, yeah my parents didn't like it when that happened. It's annoying. I mean they'd get on each other's cases when the other did that."
"Is that why you're not allowed near a stove?"
"Oh no, that's a totally different story."
-.-
Leon sighed as he came back from a long patrol. There were hardly any Heartless to deal with this time around thankfully. The most exhausting thing were the locals. It wasn't the first time he had to sort out some kind of spat, and it wouldn't be the last.
There was something about a cat, a dog, and a hamster running around. Nobody knew who they belonged to, and they caused a mess over where the market was trying to reopen.
On top of that there was a kid that was trying to take a guitar, and a speedster trying to help him out.
In the end he wrangled the animals and someone said they'd look after them. He got the guitar kid and speedster to agree to work at the booth they both caused trouble for. At least one of them had the decency to look embarrassed.
He was tired, and he just wanted to rest.
As he walked towards his room he saw the door to the room shared by Iida and Todoroki open. He raised an eyebrow and walked by to make sure everything was okay.
He stopped in his tracks when he got a look inside, and he saw exactly half of the room had been remodled. Standing on the other side, admiring his work, was none other than Todoroki.
"What did you do?" Leon stepped forward.
Todoroki looked at him then at the room again. "I remodeled my side of the room to something more comfortable."
"How the hell did you do this? With, what like a day tops?"
Todoroki looked him dead in the eye.
"With hard work."
-.-
"You know you could have just asked me to leave the kitchen. You didn't have to threaten me."
"Izuku did not threaten you. You just don't know how to listen. Let alone read a room."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
"Here we go again."
Despite sitting at opposite ends of the room, Sora and Donald still managed to argue.
Sora, Izuku, Eri, Todoroki, and Iida all sat together on one side of the room. The other two triplets and Webby, invited by Huey, also sat together. Toshinori hovered around somewhere, while Donald and Goofy were on the other side of the room. Leon and Yuffie also joined them at some point, taking what was left of what was made.
"You know, you hate it when people do the exact same thing Uncle Donald." Huey pointed out. "Lingering around a space you're using and asking how long until you're done."
Donald narrowed his eyes at his nephew. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side."
"I'm just saying."
"Go easy on 'im Donald." Goofy pat his friend's back. "He don't mean nothin' by it."
"Whatever."
Some scattered laughs went around the room as they all enjoyed their meal.
"Hey Izuku, I've gotta a question for ya."
"Hm?"
"Well, I gotta say I've noticed somethin'. Whenever yer around yer friends, they call ya by yer last name, and ya do the same. Why is that?"
"Actually, yeah, I've noticed that too." Sora added. "I don't really get it. If you're friends, why don't you call each other by your first names?"
"Ah, well you see where we're from we use each other's last names because it's more…formal. It's a cultural thing. But when you do know someone well, or are part of the family. they usually use your given name. Like I just met Iida and Todoroki, I don't know them too well, so we use each other's last names."
"But you can't use each other's first names?"
"We can, but it's usually by request, or again if you know someone well. If I considered them close enough and wanted to drop the formalities I would ask them to call me by my first name."
"Oh, so that was why you kept telling Leon to call you Midoriya when we first met."
Goofy paused before around, then back at Izuku. "Ah geez, we just started callin' ya Izuku. We didn't know it was a cultural thing. Sorry 'bout that. Would ya prefer it if we call ya Midoriya?"
Izuku shook his head. "N-No, no, it's okay! I've gotten used to you all calling me Izuku, so it's not a big deal. I figure it probably would have been easier too, since the majority of you all don't do the last name thing."
"Alright then, if yer sure."
"Cool, so I'll keep calling you Izuku," Sora looked at the others. "What about you guys? Can I call you by your first names?"
Iida cleared his throat. "I would prefer it if you referred to me by my family name, please. I mean no offense, I just feel that it is more appropriate."
"Aw okay, and you Todoroki?"
Todoroki looked up from his food. "No."
"Okay, fair enough."
Donald rolled his eyes. "You can't expect everyone to be okay with it Sora."
"I know that. That's why I asked. Because it's polite. Something you apparently can't be in a kitchen."
"Oh my god."
"You know what?" Donald stood up
"What?
"Please don't…" Izuku covered his face.
"You don't get to talk about politeness when you're reckless and you can't-"
"How are those two things related?"
"This is an incident was just a few hours ago. Like two tops, how is this still a subject?" Izuku asked. "And it wasn't even you who was involved."
"I was a third party that was still involved."
"You were sitting there sweating bullets, afraid I was actually gonna do something." Izuku hissed.
"I was involved by proximity."
"You-"
"Alright you two…three." Leon stepped forward. "You," he pointed at Donald, "don't barge into the kitchen when someone else is using it. Be happy it was Green and not Yuffie. You," Izuku, "don't threaten people with knives."
"I didn't-"
"And you." He looked at Sora. "Drop it. I heard you're not allowed near a stove-"
"How?!"
"I take it you set something on fire once. Do not do it in this place. It's bad enough that one," he glared at Todoroki, "remodled half a freaking room. No more incidents in this place. Am I clear?"
They all looked away and grumbled their agreements and promised not to do anything.
The room was quiet until Sora glanced at Todoroki. "You remodeled half a room?"
"Yes, it was easier than I thought."
Leon groaned and rubbed his eyes as Toshinori laughed beside him.
Toshinori smiled as he looked over them all. It was almost strange, this moment of peace. Usually everyone was scattered and doing something on their own, whether it be settling in or working on a task they've been assigned.
He and Cid were almost finished with the prototype of their project, they were sure of it. It was amazing what one could accomplish in such a short time.
Toshinori looked up from his plate to see the others laughing about something while Donald huffed and puffed.
This was good for them. This small piece of bliss that ignored the worlds outside their own and all the troubles that came with it. For now they could have peace and enjoy themselves.
Toshinori smiled to himself as he saw Izuku laugh at something one of the others said.
The weight of worlds sat on their shoulders, but even so-
It was still nice to let them be kids.
-HoL-
A big thanks to KeeperofHounds for betaing this!
Discord: /yFZPD5K