Five years ago the final battle was fought and won. Xehanort and his darkness was defeated by the light and a semblance of peace washed over all the worlds. The Keyblade Masters had won. There were costs, of course, but none too great.
With the end of Xehanort came time for a great decision. The worlds could not be returned to their original states - they could not be made as one - but as long as the lanes between worlds remained open in any fashion darkness would always have a chance to grow. Even if they remained vigilant for the rest of their lives it would only delay the inevitable repeat of Xehanort's actions. Clearly something had to change.
Census
HUMAN
KEYBLADE MASTERS
KEYBLADE APPRENTICES
DREAM EATER
NOBODY
HEARTLESS
Total
The bell rang for the end of class, and Rain jumped. All the students came out, and Rain looked down and brushed her hair in front of her face. She was quiet, and did not say anything. All the students filed out without talking to her, but Rain just got more nervous, because she saw the nameplate was "Master Riku". She had her glasses off again, so it would be easier for her to talk.
"You can do this." She whispered and folded her hands in front of her mouth."You can do this." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You are strong. And confident. You can do this."
All she needed was a favor. So if they said "no" she could just leave. But for some reason this really scared her. She was not a student, so maybe they would just kick her out, and she did not like that idea. Or worse, would he recognize her? She hoped not. The door stopped opening, so Rain assumed all the students were gone. She held her hand up at the door for a few moments then knocked.
When he was younger - much, much younger - Riku had imagined he would grow up to be some great and famous athlete. Barring that he would have to become something like a doctor, or something successful. The idea that he would ever be a teacher had never even crossed his mind, and a teacher at a school he had helped to set up himself? It was a weird realization and there were occasions when he still found it difficult to fully wrap his head around it. It was far from where he had imagined himself, but now that he had spent the past four years teaching Riku really couldn't imagine doing anything else.
It had been exhausting at first, and it had felt completely alien. Riku wasn't using to being gentle and patient and he had found himself astounded at first by the assumptions and thoughts of so many of the 'students' who went to eh academy. It seemed to easy for them to forget what had been sacrificed for them and for the longest time he had struggled to keep his anger at bay. Now, though, he understood that it wasn't out of any sort of cruelty that they spoke. It was just out of ignorance.
He was finishing looking over his class' latest completed assignment - completed really was a stretch - when he heard a small knock. The silver-haired teacher glanced up, one hand pushing some stray strands of hair back behind his ear as he did. "Yes?" It wasn't often that anyone knocked before just barging into his room which meant that it was most likely someone new. "It's unlocked. You can come in."
Rain's stomach lurched. He only spoke, but she already wanted to turn and run. This was a really bad idea. She scolded herself. She shouldn't be this scared. He didn't even know who she was before, so why should he now? And it was years ago. She shouldn't have to be afraid. She was too paranoid. She was acting like- like-
You're acting like Kiri.
When Rain realized that, she got angry. She didn't like feeling like this. Not in front of him. She grabbed the doorknob, and nodded once to herself. She said it once in her head. You can do this. She opened the door.
... I never imagined you behind a desk.
Rain blinked once at the unexpected picture. She forgot "master" meant he was a "teacher" now. He was older and broader and stronger, and from this distance, Rain could see he was different than when he first left the island. I almost didn't recognize you. She realized she was staring. So she smiled.
"Hello. Sorry to bother you. Are you busy?" She shut the door behind her and closed the distance between them. "I'll just be a minute." Her steps should have been heavy and awkward with her thick boots and large feet, but they were light and easy and smooth. When she was three paces away from the desk she stopped. Rain tucked a bit of dark hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture, but laced her hands in front of her to keep them still. With her young face and modest attire it was a prim and proper pose, but her height and the black handles of her tonguns sticking up into the air offset any meekness in her appearance.
"Hi there. You probably already guessed I'm not one of your students. My name is Rain. It's nice to finally meet you, Riku. How are you?" It was just polite inquiry. But Rain realized the moment she said it that she really wanted to know.
He had been expecting a student to come walking in through the door, but when Riku looked up to see a girl he didn't recognize he realized that wasn't the case. That was fine really - it wasn't as common but considering how the academy was designed and set up non-students had easy enough access. It was to make it easier for them to see if this was a place they wanted to join and train at.
"No, we can talk." He was busy but when was he not? Losing a couple of minutes that would have just been spent on grading wasn't really that great of a loss. He could easily find time to make up for it later on.
He found himself smiling a bit wryly at her introduction before arching a brow at her question. "I'm fine," he said as a response. It was a rather short answer but Riku's tone wasn't mean. If anything he was just treating it as a bit of necessary but useless politeness. The standard greetings that everyone had to exchange before they could really get down to business.
"Is there something you need help with Rain?" Riku forced himself to keep an open mind about why she was here. Over the years he had listened to a litany of requests from those who weren't actually part of the academy and it was better if he kept his mind free from any preconceptions.
Rain nodded once, but wondered why she felt disappointed. "I'm fine" was a standard response, so it was silly for her to expect something different. It had just slipped out. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and her stomach was heavy. She kept her smile and her brave face, until he reminded her of business. He was short and straight to the point and she instantly felt guilty for delaying him. "Right, sorry, I mean-" The girl quickly reached back for the two weapons on her back.
She forced herself to slow down. He sounded nice. Almost polite, he wasn't rushing her. But she was still jumpy around him and scolded herself for it. Rain, calm down. She told herself. She had meant to bring them out after talking to him, which left her looking at each weapon awkwardly.
"I... came to ask if the school had a place to keep things safe. Or even just a storage." The girl brought the two weapons together and held them horizontally, each end in both hands. She kept her eyes on them. "I'm a traveler. And my next stop is Atlantica. Thing is that my weapons are... normal. There's no magic in them, and they're not meant for the water. They wouldn't be able to withstand the ocean pressure without getting completely ruined. And I don't know how long I need to be under there. So I wanted to..." She glanced up uncertainly, before looking back at the black tonfas in her hand, keeping her voice steady. "Leave them somewhere safe. Here. With you.
She hesitantly held out the tonguns,both together and held horizontally in the passive position, her eyes glued to her boots.
This certainly was a new situation. It wasn't the first time that someone asked for aid from the academy without being a member, but the requests had never been quite... this.
Riku kept his expression neutral as he walked the girl hold the weapons at her sides. It was an easy-enough task, just holding onto the weapons, but the rest of her statement made it far more worrisome. Why was she going to Atlantica if she didn't even have a proper weapon for it?
"How old are you?" It was... slightly off topic, but it was information that Riku needed to form a full picture of the situation.
Rain kept her eyes down, right up until the "master" approached. And when she lifted her eyes to him, she blinked. So you didn't get taller than me after all... guess it was a good thing I gave up in the end. She thought to herself. Not quite bitter, but not quite happy either. She felt disappointed, but not for herself. For lost time and hopes wasted in ages long past.
She straightened unconsciously at the question. She picked up what he was really asking instantly. It was hard not to- she had been subject to question and skepticism for years. "Twenty-one. And I've learned to fight without them. It's difficult, but nothing I can't handle. Switching the tonguns to one hand, she hiked up the hem of her sweater, which really doubled as a tunic. On her thigh was a foot long dagger, and a cross of balderdashes over her torso, lined with smaller knives, about four inches long. "I'm not completely defenseless. It's just the smaller parts of my tonguns I'm worried about." The girl dropped her sweater and brought the two weapons closer to her face for inspection. The way her eyes shown was a cross between a scientist and a glass-blower artisan; that delicate balance between clinical inspection, and affectionate reverence for something fragile. "The springs are way too delicate to handle that much pressure, and I know for a fact the salt would irritate the triggers and jam them." She turned the pair and held them up vertically to ponder them, unwittingly holding the black tonfas up between them. "The locking mechanism would still function, but using the staff form would probably end up warping the barrels and throw off the trajectory. I'd have to break it down completely and even then the metal would be too brittle to do anything with...
Holding them vertically forced her to look up, looking Riku in the eye and reminding her of her mission. She snatched them back and held them to her chest, whole face burning. "I'm sorry, you weren't asking about all that! I just got carried away and, um- She cursed her nature. How was she supposed to prove she was a capable enough fighter with her babbling on like that? She fidgeted with her hair nervously as she tried to regain her composure. "Sorry, I just meant to say that I'll be okay, really so you don't have to worry about me. Not... that you were, I just, ya know." The girl let her voice trail off, before she straightened and smiled, even when strained heavily with embarrassment. "Trust me, I'm stronger than I look. I'll be fine on my own, promise."
The last phrase was something she had been saying for as long as she could remember. To every person that questioned her, to every person that showed concern or skepticism over "the poor girl traveling out on her own". It was usually enough to finally make others relent and get off her back. At an unconscious level, she fully expected Riku to do the same, end of story. Even with her little slip-up.
