Tear into the History

[lockandkeyblade]

Who: KH Lightsiders + Friends
When: June 2 - June 6
Where: City (patrols), Woods (training area), Lion's Gate, Riku's Apartment, Anywhere else
Summary:  Kingdom Hearts Light Siders meet and prepare for the upcoming confrontation with Master Xehanort, Training montage   sharpening their fighting skills and patrolling the darkness for heartless or

Comments

Sunday, June 5

[lockandkeyblade]

[lockandkeyblade]

Yeah. Think about it. If you can train with me, then... you can train with anybody.

[Oh geeze. That's a whole lot more self deprecating than it first sounded in his head, and the reasoning is a little weak, but he stands by it! If it'll get Roxas to stick around just a little longer.]

[pullsheavendown]

I...guess so.

[He can't really argue with that. Besides...they do need to train. For Terra's sake.]

Okay.

[lockandkeyblade]

Really? ... You're staying?

[pullsheavendown]

Yeah. I mean...we have to be ready, right? All of us.

[lockandkeyblade]

[He looks surprised at first. And then it melts away to visible relief. Maybe even a touch of gratitude.] Right.

[And inwardly, Sora promises that Roxas won't regret giving Sora a chance. Even if its not really for his sake, but for the others'. He really wants to help them too.]

If Xehanort shows up again, we can't let him hurt anybody else.

[pullsheavendown]

No. We can't.

[There's a had note in his voice. On this, they agree completely.]

[Now that he's agreed to this, he can't back out, so he walks farther into the clearing, enough to have space to move around. Then he lifts his hands up slightly, first one, then the other, lowering them in quick slashes through the air as he calls Oathkeeper and Oblivion to him.]

All right. Let's go.

[lockandkeyblade]

[He gives a nod, following Roxas's example and taking his place on the other side of the field across from him. The training area's already riddled with scorch marks and debris from hard, fast battles of previous sessions. But as Sora settles into his battle stance, he's going for something a little different today.]

[He makes the first move, moving forward into a walk that slowly turns into a relaxed sprint. He closes the distance between them fairly quickly, eyes locked on his other. The first strikes of his keyblade are experimental, testing... but still dangerous.]

[pullsheavendown]

[He agreed to this of his own volition, but as the practice battle commences, Roxas finds he's still uneasy. But he's not sure if that's because he doesn't want to fight Sora, or because he does.

So he let's Sora keep on the offensive, for the most part. It's not hard to block his other half's strikes; Sora isn't going all out, and two Keyblades beat one when it comes to defense in a casual spar. But it's also true that he has to block them if he doesn't want to get hurt.

He's content, or close enough, to keep it like this for a while, blades and fast footwork keeping a real fight from erupting. So far.]

[lockandkeyblade]

[And it does continue for a while, Sora dealing combos and occasional strikes where he sees possible openings. Sora falls into pace easily. His moves are so well practiced, so experienced that it all comes naturally. So much so that Sora finds himself actually able to hold a conversation. Or at least, thinks he might be able to if he just tried.]

[It takes nearly five more minutes of sparring in silence before Sora has another of his blows deflected and leaps back to put a few feet in between them. Sora's not winded and neither is Roxas. He hasn't stopped moving, sidestepping with his keyblade still gripped tightly in his hands.]

[But maybe...]

Hey. Roxas. Have you ever ...

[The silence between is a lot safer. It would be so much easier to just let it keep going that way. But he sets his jaw. That would mean he's taking the easy way out.]

[Figuring out the right thing to do with Roxas is really hard sometimes. But it's also really important.]

Have you ever trained? Before all this, I mean.

[He spins his keyblade in his grip

[pullsheavendown]

[After a while, Roxas begins to relax as they fall into an easy rhythm. Neither of them is trying to beat the other, and he's fine with that.]

[Sora handles the Keyblade differently than Roxas does-now. But it's a lot like he used to, back when he only had one. It doesn't bother him, doesn't surprise him either.]

Sort of.

[Roxas answers without stopping. In a way, it's easier to talk this way.]

I never had a master. I've always been able to use the Keyblade, but for my first week of missions, the other Organization members took me out and showed me magic and stuff.

But after that I mostly learned on my own.

[lockandkeyblade]

I've... never had a master either. Most of what I know how to do right... [A short pause as he ducks under a swing and moves in to counter Roxas's next.]

I learned from what I did wrong.

[He stops speaking there, but it's not as awkward as previous conversations. It's not just Roxas and Sora now- it's the keyblades too, clanging between them, filling the silences.]

Missions?

[pullsheavendown]

I know.

[To this day, he doesn't know every detail of Sora's life-his life-as a Keyblade wielder, before Roxas' birth. But he knows enough.]

I told you before-that was my job. Every day they'd send me to a different world.

[If it seems like he moves just the slightest bit faster now, hits the slightest bit harder for a few seconds-well, it might be one's imagination. But it might not.]

I'd go and fight the Heartless. Collect the hearts.

[lockandkeyblade]

[Sora's eyes narrow slightly, changing his focus for a moment. Because even if Roxas doesn't know he's doing it, Sora is on the receiving end. He feels the change in aggression, however slight.]

[After the long pause, his lips part slightly, as if he might ask something. It feels kind of silly, and unimportant compared to all the other questions he could ask.]

[But a part of him wants to know. Even the little things. A break in the action. Just enough time for a breath and-]

Which ones?

[pullsheavendown]

[Roxas shrugs, an odd and probably unwise gesture in a Keyblade spar.]

A bunch of them. Twilight Town was the first one we visited...and it's where I was born.

[He can still remember that day faintly. Pushing himself to his feet, a boy with no name or memories. The warm rays of his first sunset.]

Other ones, too. Wonderland. Agrabah. A few more.

[lockandkeyblade]

[Sora takes in that information. Imagines Roxas standing there under the perpetual sunset, a world suspended at the end of day. It's... fitting. That place. It feels like Roxas.]

[And those other worlds. Sora stops for a moment, eyebrows raising a little. They're familiar.]

... You've been there too? [Sora plants his feet, launches forward. Continues the offensive.]