AN: GOD. DAMMIT. *CRIES* I was editing and saving several different chapter drafts, and rearranging them, and somehow I- I ERASED SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS! GONE! They're not here on FFN docs or on Ao3 drafts! I think I accidentally COPIED OVER a chapter with another chapter's contents by mistake, because I realized the chapter count was kind of funky last night vs the actual CONTENTS of the drafts, and then I had to correct it...OH GOD. :( I guess I'm just posting this chapter as is, and next chapter will have to just be...I don't know? I don't think I could even just rewrite it all from memory. It was so good and complete. Nooooo...
End of AN!
Aced slashed his Keyblade before him, creating a single blade beam that formed into a black hole, sucking in the Nightmares with unrelenting force.
The vortex closed and vanished, leaving the area clear again.
"Annoying little creatures..." he muttered, lowering his weapon and looking around himself. The tall grass fields of rolling hills were empty of any enemies now. Sparse trees stood in the distance - the only thing worth noticing.
"I kind of like them," Gula said casually. "They're interesting, at least."
"Interesting? Well, I guess if you like infestations," Aced laughed. He glanced at Gula again, then shut his mouth and let his Keyblade vanish. "Anyway, how many worlds do we have left to search for this Keyblade?"
"Just this one, now," Gula replied. "I hope the others are having better luck than us.."
"Ira and Invi?" Aced gave another laugh, setting his hands on his hips. "Those two probably haven't even gotten more than one or two worlds down their own list! They're probably too busy doing things like- holding hands or- staring into each other's eyes to notice anything going on around them!"
"If you're jealous, you can just say it, you know..."
"W-what?! Who said I was jealous?! That would be ridiculous-"
Gula looked at him.
Aced's mouth opened as he froze. He swiped an arm and turned away with a growl. "I'm not jealous, I'm just- worried about them! They're letting themselves get...distracted! If they're so busy with each other, they're not going to be paying enough attention to their enemies!"
"Riiiight...keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better."
"No one asked your opinion, anyways!" Aced snapped, whirling back to the boy. "And- and you know what I think, Gula?"
"Nope...but I'm sure you're about to tell me anyways."
"Grrr. I think all these shots you keep taking at me are just a cover for your own feelings!" Aced spoke firmly.
"My feelings? For who? Invi?" Gula said, laughing now in disbelief. Mockery.
"Hah, no - because that's right, isn't it? You were always so close with Ava, weren't you? That's why you've been so desperate to find her!" Aced retorted fiercely.
Gula laughed again. He shook his head, clenching a fist at his side. "As always, you can't see past your own emotions, can you, Aced? Ava was the closest friend I had out of any of you, yes - but I didn't think of her like...that. Not like you and Invi."
"Well, I-" Aced started, stumbling over the words, not even sure of what he was going to say (damn Gula's quick tongue and cool head!). Fortunately, he didn't have to come up with anything as, next second, a swirling portal of light appeared nearby, and a blur of a shape came speeding out of it!
Aced turned and summoned his weapon back to hand, holding it high.
Gula spun around and held his out, too, in one hand, on guard.
The speeding shape turned out to be a vehicle - with a person riding on it! It came to a spinning halt in front of them, allowing Aced to see who was riding the contraption.
"You?" Aced exclaimed. Then he paused, staring as the- woman turned to look at him. No, it wasn't that woman - the new era Keyblade Master, Aqua (who wasn't even one now, anyways!). It was that...artificially created person - what was the name again?
"Oh - hey," Gula said, lowering his weapon and striding forward with a shrug. "Kana, right?"
Kana, that was it! Aced had known that! He'd definitely been about to say it, if Gula hadn't beaten him by- by like one second!
Aced let his own weapon fall to his side as he hurried forward. "What are you doing here? How did you even find us?" he asked the woman whose name was Kana, and he had known that!
Kana shook her head, then reached down into the front of her- very small, sleeveless, torso-exposing top to pull out a long, twirling ponytail of shimmering dark purple hair. She flashed a smile as she swung one of her...long legs off the seat of her vehicle. Two differently colored, thin swords clattered at her waist, hanging from the belt of her...incredibly short- shorts. Her shoes crunched on the dirt and grass as she shifted her stance. "I'm here to save the worlds - and, a wizard did it."
Aced opened his mouth - then he froze in pure confusion. "Huh?"
"Do you mean the old Master, Yen Sid, who gave us all this mission?" Gula said.
Kana nodded. "Yes."
"Right. So he sent you to us as backup, did he?" Aced spoke up quickly. "Well, sorry to tell you, but we don't need-"
"So when do we get to fight? What are we doing here?" Kana spoke over him, stepping forward and leaning into his face! Her lips spread into a wide grin, her eyes- shined at him, all purple like her hair... "Where's Darkness? Where are these Nightmares? Or that Ultima Weapon?"
"H-hey!" Aced exclaimed, shoving out at the woman and stumbling backwards. "Don't get so close to me - and- and one question at a time, alright?!"
Kana leaned back, setting her hands on her hips - above her swords. "Okay. So?"
"I'm sure we'll stumble onto more Nightmares soon enough," Gula stated. "We haven't seen any sign of that Darkness, though. Or the Ultima Weapon. This is the last world we have left to search before we go back to Yen Sid's Tower."
"That's lame," Kana stated back. "Though, we'll probably find it within the hour, with me here now."
Aced stared at her. Then he burst into laughter. He gasped for air, regaining himself as he saw the look on her face. "Oh- oh, you're being serious? Who do you think you are, exactly?"
Kana frowned at him. She shrugged. "I'm Kana. Who are you?"
"Aced! Ancient Keyblade Master, and the strongest one out of the five Foretellers!"
"Wow - don't pull any muscles patting yourself on the back there..." Gula murmured.
"Do we need to have a repeat of our battle before, in Daybreak Town?" Aced glared at the boy. "As I recall, it took you, Invi, and Ava just to challenge me! And even after that fight, I still stood tall and took you down-"
"How strong is 'strong?'" the woman said, stalking forward again and - getting right into Aced's personal space! Her face was- manic! Crazed! What was with this woman? "Show me! Let's fight. Now!"
"Wha...? You- you're still being serious, aren't you?" Aced said slowly.
"Of course I'm being serious - why wouldn't I be? Will you fight me or not - please?" the woman added, as some kind of afterthought.
Aced grinned. He raised his Keyblade to rest it on his shoulder, puffing out his chest. "Well, I can't say no to a challenge! But you're going to wish you'd never made it."
"Are you serious right now?" Gula said, staring between the two of them. "We're not going to just have you two-"
"Stay out of it, Gula!"
"Yes we are!"
Aced and Kana spoke at the same time.
"I don't see what the harm is in a little friendly sparring match," Aced went on.
"YES! Exactly!" Kana said passionately, beaming at him. She threw herself into a sudden series of backwards handsprings, culminating in her whipping out both those swords of hers, and holding them out away from her body. Her- slender, curving- body... "Okay, let's do this!"
Aced shook his head furiously, then brought his weapon out in front of him, held in both hands. He turned and strode off across the grass, before stopping again, turning back to face the woman from afar. "Okay - but don't start crying when you lose to me! I'll have you under my blade in a minute, tops!"
Kana laughed in a high, light tone. She twirled her swords and hopped on the spot. It was- surprisingly distracting for Aced. "No, I'm going to have you under my shoe in...thirty seconds! No, ten!"
"...Fine, this is happening today - okay," Gula murmured, backing away a good twenty feet or more. "Do whatever you guys want. I've never been able to talk any sense into you, have I, Aced?"
Aced ignored him, focusing only on Kana. He grinned at the woman as he changed his stance, and weapon position. "I'm ready whenever you are - Kana! Give it your best effort; I won't taunt you too badly for losing!"
"I'm going to taunt you forever after I win," Kana retorted, with a grin of her own.
"Prove it-"
The woman flew forward in a rush of speed and power, gliding across the ground itself - not even running!
Aced turned his weapon aside and took a step back-
And blocked her.
Dirt and grass exploded all around them, creating a cloud of dust and shredded grass blades.
But when it cleared...
The woman was being held back by Aced's defenses, strong and steady.
Though, to be fair, Aced had been surprised by the amount of speed and force the woman had in her - it just wasn't enough to get past him!
The look on her face was one of total shock and confusion.
"Hah! Not bad..." Aced said, in tones of exertion. "Not bad at all. But...now it's my turn!" He set his jaw and pushed out against her, sending her skidding backwards across the ground, and he ran at her and came down in an overhead strike!
"I'd like you to...refresh yourself on your training - with Eraqus."
Xehanort watched the plain, pure surprise play across his mother's face. She was such a...surprisingly easy to read, simple woman. An open Heart. He hesitated to think the word "weak", but...was it not an accurate observation...? Sticking strictly to facts...
Mother gazed at him still, her lips pursing, her head bowing. "I don't use my Keyblade...I haven't, since I was a teenager."
"Well, it's time to start using it again," Xehanort said.
"Why...?" mother asked, her eyes downcast now.
"Why? Because there are monsters running amok, attacking people and plunging them into wakeless sleep?" Xehanort spoke, with disbelief - and confusion. "Because my own Heartless threatened your life, and I'd feel perhaps slightly better if I knew you weren't going to be cut down instantly should he come to make good on his promises of cruel, spiteful revenge?" He watched the woman, pausing. "Isn't self-defense something everyone should know how to do? Seeing as you already lost your life once to a Darkness, I'd think you would be much more interested in not falling to the same fate again. Do you really want to just let yourself be helpless against any of our enemies?"
The woman still seemed hesitant and even anxious. Xehanort couldn't comprehend it. Then it seemed to clear, and she looked him in the eye and gave a small nod. A small smile, too. "Well, if it's going to give you some peace of mind, I'll do what I can - but it won't amount to much. I was a rather hopeless student," she admitted, with flushed, pale cheeks now.
Xehanort stared at the woman, his lips parted. "But you...did complete your training, didn't you? At very least?" he asked, hoping for the confirmation.
"Oh, I did! You don't have to worry about that; I didn't wash out or anything like that," mother spoke quickly, with a small laugh of embarrassment. "It was just never what I wanted for my life - so after I was done with it all, I went my own way and didn't look back."
"But then...why did you even go through the training in the first place?" Xehanort said, still so very confused.
"Because it was what my mother wanted for me," she replied, quiet. Nervous again. "Your grandmother. And great-grandmother before her, and great-great-grandmother - I think you can get the idea?"
"I can understand family expectations, yes..." Xehanort conceded, quietly now, as well, nodding. "I'd just never thought my own mother wouldn't have..."
But hadn't he, in fact, been exactly the same? He hadn't wanted to become a Keyblade Master for any noble reasons, had he? From the very start, all he'd wanted to do was to gain the power, means, and knowledge with which to travel these worlds and search for his long-lost "friends". Heh...Amaya's friends, that was, he now knew. All the same...his intentions had certainly never been about saving lives or helping people. And if he could have found any more convenient alternatives to that road...he would have taken it. Of course, there had also been the far less justified, more generalized reason than that of finding lost friends: boundless yearning and curiosity to see what was beyond his own little island home.
Xehanort shook his head, looking at the woman anew. His mother. He hesitated, then took in a breath and gave a small smile of his own to her. "Well, in all honesty, I suppose we're more alike in that regard than you'd think," he told her softly. "Becoming a Keyblade Master has- had always been more of a means to an end for me, rather than an actual goal in and of itself."
Xehanort shook his head again and looked around the dining room. He looked to the door. "Anyway - I should be going now."
"So soon? We barely talked," the woman said instantly, stepping forward, her hands turning in the folds of her dress. Her silver eyes were wide, and glinting as they fixed onto his face... "We've barely talked the last few weeks since I- was brought here. You stayed in your room at Amaya's house instead of..." she added quietly, almost fearfully. Still not finishing the sentence.
Xehanort glanced away, an uncharacteristic sense of- unease inside his Heart. Nervousness, even. "I..." He drew breath. "I did," he acknowledged tightly. "But I- would like to try and change that. We'll have plenty of time to talk after this- crisis is over. The sooner we bring it to an end, the sooner I can return to you. Just stay here - and try to train yourself up a bit. I'll see you soon."
He turned away, striding for the exit.
"Please, wait!" A slender, soft hand had seized his, pulling at him.
He stopped, turning back to the woman (despite that he could have done a dozen different things to get her to release her grip on him). "What?" he said, still somewhat irritated.
She let him go and straightened, stepping away. Her hands came together at her waist. The expression on her face was all uncertainty and doubts. A conflict played out in full view of anyone around her (Xehanort honestly couldn't imagine being that way - he certainly preferred holding his feelings closer to his chest, even with those few he truly cared for). "I...could I- give you a hug before you go...to remember me by?"
Xehanort tensed. "What...?"
The woman's whole body fell, her head dropping. "Never mind...I'm sorry I asked!"
Xehanort stood there for a long minute of time, rigid. Gazing at the woman without seeing her. He only felt the emotions in his Heart - emotions that were strong and uncontrolled, and thus could of course...only be hers. He turned away, closing his eyes. He opened them again to see her still standing there. The turmoil in her Heart was not less than it was; he felt that clearly, still.
"Goodbye - Moreth." He closed his mouth, gave the woman a small nod, and left the room swiftly.
Aced slashed his Keyblade out, sending a wave of pure force and air at the woman in front of him.
She leapt up over it in a twisting flip, landed, and then suddenly raced forward and threw her whole body against his!
He fell backwards, shocked as he hit the ground. He brought his blade up in front of him, only for Kana to twist her body and capture his entire arm between her legs! She curled herself inward and slammed a fist into the side of his head!
"What are you doing? This is a Keyblade duel, not some lowly street brawl!" Aced exclaimed furiously, letting his weapon vanish and seizing onto one of her legs to try to pry her off!
"This- is- a- fight!" Kana refuted, still doing her best to just pummel every inch of his head and face she could reach! "Whoever wins - wins!" she said breathlessly, with triumph in her voice. "And I- am going- to win!"
"Alright- if that's- the way you want this to be!" Aced brought his other arm up and loosened the woman's hold on him! Managing to bring his strength to bear now, he lifted her up off of himself and threw her aside!
The woman rolled away across the ground, getting her footing back and coming up on hands and knees. Then she threw herself straight back at him!
Aced caught her as she closed the gap, lifting her up and then slamming her back straight down onto the ground again; she landed flat on her backside with a great gasp of air, her face filled with shock and pain. Aced heaved a breath and knelt down on her torso, pacing an elbow across her throat. "Looks like I still won!" he declared. "Face it, you just can't compete with me when it comes to strength!"
The woman gazed up at him, gasping in air and striking at his arm, clawing at it - but not with some fearful, mad desperation: with a fierce grin twisted on her face! She tried to extract herself from underneath him, trying to use her legs for attack or leverage. But Aced held her firmly, his full body weight bearing down on her.
"Do you concede?" Aced demanded.
"Not...yet..." the woman strangled out, her face changing color, as a wheezing laugh was released.
"Just let her up before she passes out," Gula said, concern in his voice. "I'd say this was a solid win in your favor, Aced. Good job."
"This match is over now, alright? Stop fighting so I can let you go," Aced told the woman, gazing down on her.
Kana kept fighting for another minute or so, to Aced's incredulity, before she finally seemed to realize she wasn't getting out of this. She relaxed under his grasp, her arms falling to her sides. She nodded her head jerkily and shortly up to him.
Aced released her and stood, stepping away.
The woman immediately sat up - then fell onto her side, hand clutching at her chest as she choked and coughed.
Aced frowned, kneeling down before her. "Are you alright? I hope I didn't..."
She wasn't choking, he realized slowly, as her voice became more clear, and the color of her face returned to normal - no, she was laughing again. She was sitting there, battered and dirty, and still laughing! She raised her head and looked at him with a smile, her eyes sparkling. "You did beat me," she admitted raspily. "But I'll beat you next time - count on it!"
Aced stared at her, then he laughed, too. More out of amazement than anything else, to be honest! He grinned at the woman as he stood up again. "Oho, I doubt that - but I look forward to seeing you try!"
Kana gathered her legs under herself and sprang up to her feet again, unsteady and raising a hand to her forehead. She still somehow found it in her to grin back. She strode off to retrieve her two lost blades, then went and sat herself down on that motorbike of hers. She leaned forward and turned a head of shimmering, curtained purple hair to look at him again. "That was a lot of fun - thank you!"
Aced blinked at her. Then he raised a clenched fist. "Heh. Yeah, it was, wasn't it! However...we still have our mission."
"Look who remembered," Gula said, with a snicker.
Aced whirled. "You just keep quiet, would you?!" he said loudly, feeling his face grow warmer for- some- reason.
AN: Is this the start of an Aced/Kana ship of the crackiest, most epicest power couply/blood knighty proportions?! Bitch it might be! 3