Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro had closed an eye, thinking about it, while shrugging helpessly "you're right on Crystal's part, she is a miracle worker." he said, while looking at his own hand a moment "honestly, i think Crystal carries a burden from when she left her to"i guess a sword can't really wield himself, huh..." he said softly, thinking all too well about his origin and element, sure, he could see more that were faded out, slowly becoming clearer, but it would take time, and much self reflection, for now as it was, he closed his eyes "most days i wish dreams would come true, all the people i've met still alive and well, drinking merilly on their worlds... but, it's not always the dreams that come true, the nightmares sure do though..." he finished, before he'd drift off into an uneasy and guarded sleep, as if just 'waiting for those nightmares to come.

though it'd be an odd thing, for Xion, once she fell asleep as well, her dreams would be different, it seemed she was in some place, probably farther away or long gone, where a Tree, massive, mighty... yet slowly dying, stood as war waged around it, two... no three people stood, with them seemed to be a little baby "we have no choice, *****, our boy has shown he's able to do it, we have to save the Tree of *******!" the obvious male of the two said, while the female seemed to be looking over the boy "maybe, but ******, shouldn't there be another way? we already made him have the ***** Sword infused into him, must we put the Seed of the great tree in him too?" the third voice spoke up "the tree will protect the boy, *****, it will also house the ****** ******* within him, which holds our worlds ***** ***** and skills, and teach him slowly as he grows up, he's adaptable, your little ****." the woman looked over to the other person, before looking down to her son "is there no chance for this world to survive?" she asked quietly, it was a hard choice and all, to leave her baby behind, but with everything going on, it wouldn't be fair to leave him in this dying world "it's for the best, *****, the Seers fortold our world's demise and young ****'s leaving this world, carrying its legacy... he's going to face great pains, but he will meet one blessed by a Goddess, and then he'll be safe, i promise, the seers haven't been wrong yet." the woman looked torn, before passing the child to the third person "please... make sure he makes it safely..." the person nodded, moving to head inside the opening within the tree, just as explosions happened right outside, and the male and female were both engulfed in flames. flames which turned obsidian in color, crackling, cold, unforgiving, and ever-burning, though once the scene panned out, it'd show a much younger shiro, looking dead in the eyes, walking through the blazing fires, as corpses try to reach out for him, begging for help, so on, and inside, Xion could hear something -crack- if not -snap- within the boy, the boy who somehow walked through the flames unharmed... as if the flames were afraid to touch the boy...  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

of course, the first one awake, to no one's possible surprise was Roveth, as he came out of the room yawning a bit, looking around as if wondering if everyone's still asleep, and then he'd quietly pull his camera from his pocket dimension and snuck around, heading towards Shiro's room, sneaking in via Shadow Travelling he would peer over to see if he could take a few pictures, thankfully his camera was noiseless and lightless, so he could handle that quietly once he's taken a few pictures, he would quietly head off as stealthy as he came and headed down towards the 'bar' area of the inn, figuring there might be food out or something at least.

Axel of course would be next, wandering out of his room mumbling something about craving sweets and would head downstairs to get something to eat, nothing too fancy for him at least.

Demyx and Wolfwood..? still sawing logs.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Obviously, Xion was still asleep next to Shiro given there had only been the one bed in the room and she didn't begin stirring until after Roveth had already left. Once Xion was awake she kinda scooted away from Shiro, vaguely wondering how it was that he could sleep through all that turbulence going on inside his head. Those projected dreams or memories or visions or whatever they were had been pretty unsettling.


Isa had woken up already and was down in the bar area, accompanied by the Moogle who seemed ready to set up temporary shop by the entrance. "After all that action yesterday, the night was surprisingly quiet," Isa spoke as he waved in greeting to Lea. "Although I suppose that means we're still waiting one everyone else to get out of bed."


Roxas was very predictably seated up on the clock tower staring off into the distance. He was therefore taken completely by surprise when he soon discovered he was no longer alone.

"Yo! This seat taken?" Crystal greeted him, offering up a bar of the sea-salt ice cream she had acquired shortly before making the climb to the top of the tower.

Roxas nearly jumped in his surprise. "Crystal? Wait, hang on, how did you even get here?" He did manage to calm down enough to take the ice cream at the very least. "I mean, this is a dream, right?" Even he had some sense that this wasn't the real Twilight Town.

"Dreams are connected," Crystal sat herself down and pointed off into the distance. "As for how I got here, well that's usually where I'd make a bad joke about getting lost and finding myself here by accident, but that's pretty far from the truth. I made a path after a ghost from my past told me to stop moping all by myself in the memory of a place that's long gone now. So, I came here, partly because it's somewhere familiar, but mainly because I thought if I was really lucky I might manage to find you."

"Usually the only one who finds me here is Axel," Roxas admitted. "I'm still a bit surprised to be seeing you like this. Not that I mind," he added quickly. "I could use the company." Then he decided to change the subject. "So you were moping, huh? What about if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not really anything in particular," Crystal spoke while looking off into the distance. "More just a bunch of random stuff all at once. Believe it or not, there was a time when I didn't think I could really trust anyone and that there was only one place I could ever feel safe. Sometimes I even have to remind myself not to revert back to that way of thinking. People aren't all bad, but they aren't all good either. None of us is perfect."

"Trust issues, huh? I can sort of relate to that," Roxas replied.

"Anyway, I'm glad I found you here," Crystal couldn't help but smile. "It will make finding my way back here a bit easier I think. But, I think right now it's probably time to be waking up."

Crystal woke up first with Roxas waking up not long after. "Well, that was a pretty strange dream," Roxas peered at her meaningfully, although honestly it already getting pretty hazy to remember.

"I don't usually find my way that smoothly," Crystal pointed out. "And I think it probably only worked out that way because I had a little bit of help."

"What sort of help?" Roxas wondered with genuine curiosity.

"Well, the one who showed me the way--" Crystal trailed off and started to search through her stash of belongings until after several minutes of digging she finally came up with a small oval-shaped locket. "I thought I might have lost this by now," she admitted before prying it open and holding it up so that Roxas could see the two tiny pictures inside. One showed her, many years younger, standing in front of a rather large man holding up a huge broadsword that she herself was dangling from by the hilt as he seemed to easily lift her into the air. The other showed her slightly older, but still far younger than the young man dark spiky hair and violet eyes standing beside her. "Tyriel was the captain of the royal guard and my master from the moment I figured out how to lift a sword. The other one, well, he was my older brother. Jake was next in line for the throne and he was also exceptionally gifted as a cleric. Even though he's basically moved on and his soul should be at peace, he still checks up on me from time to time when I'm dreaming."

"So then, they were your family?" Roxas realized.

"Jake was always looking out for me and wanted a better life for me," Crystal nodded. "We lost our parents when I was still really young. Tyriel practically raised me himself. And I guess you could say that Jake is still looking out for me in his own way. Sort of like a guardian angel. Still, I'm glad I found this," she pocketed the locket. "It was getting hard to remember their faces without it." The chain had broken ages ago and she'd never quite gotten around to finding a suitable replacement for it.

"Okay, well, I'm confused and kinda hungry," Roxas rubbed the back of his head looking a little embarrassed. "This is definitely a pretty weird way to start the day. But, I am glad you at least told me about them."

"I figured once Jake started prying into my business I was going to have to mention them sooner or later," Crystal admitted. "I used to think it was going to be too difficult to talk about them, but I guess now it really isn't so hard after all. Still, it's definitely about time to head down for breakfast."

Naturally, they were both dressed by the time they went down to the bar to regroup with the others. Since his regular outfit still necessitated cleaning Roxas was dressed in black pants and a black and white hoodie with a checkerboard pattern that still matched his usual aesthetics. Crystal, on the other hand, was dressed quite differently from normal having rediscovered her old thieving outfit, namely the blue-colored version of the skirt and bolero jacket combination that Kid typically wears complete with a white tank top torn at the midriff. Shiro would no doubt recognize it immediately once he was there to see it. It had taken several long minutes for Roxas to regain his composure after seeing it himself before the two of them could actually leave their room to head down for breakfast.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro had shifted a bit hearing movement from Xion waking up, which in turn started waking him up as well as he yawned a bit lightly, opening an eye, though normally with it full of life.. it seemed at the moment they had the same hollowed in/dead look in the pupils as when he was in the fire, frowning a bit as he looked at his hand a moment ~that dream again... damn those flames...~ he thought to himself, before perking up, his eyes starting to look less dead and more normal at least before remembering who was in the room as well, and gave a closed eyes smile to Xion "morning." he said with a gentle voice and all.

Roveth meanwhile had noticed the moogle, and would start working on buying stuff like healing items himself and stuff, to work on learning how to make them himself, or to make mechanical versions of them to generate Auto-Regen, Auto MP Regen, so on.just for new things for the shop to sell, among other trinkets he might think of selling. of course, roveth did get a look at Crystal's attire and smirked a bit before calling out "my my.. going a little bold with that one Crystal? Roxas you're a lucky man~ hope you get to second or third base soon~" he said with a casual snicker, before returning to working with the Moogle.

Axel just yawned once more, before looking groggily towards Isa "mmngh... that sometimes happens, a routine of action during the day and a peaceful night." he said, giving off a minor so-so gesture on things while glancing to Crystal and Roxas, before looking away, deciding to say nothing since Roveth said what he was thinking already.

the man from the desert would be the next one out, heading quietly to the bar area, glancing to everyone in a calculating way, seeing that no one was particularly threatening him or acknowledging him, he would move to the bar and 'silently' order a beer to sip on for the morning, getting an odd look from the bartender but doing as asked.

Wolfwood, Demyx, and Vash... are still out cold. would anyone like to use a Phoenix down on them? oh, wait, prolly won't work, dump coffee in their mouths later.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Morning," Xion managed a smile although it didn't do much to mask her sense of worry. Part of that worry was for Shiro, of course, but another part of it was worry over having seen something she thought she probably wasn't meant to see. "This might sound strange, but it seems like somehow I must have been pulled into whatever you were dreaming about last night. Has that ever happened before with anyone?"


"Don't look at me," Roxas tried to defend himself while struggling very hard to keep from blushing at Roveth's comment. "This was entirely her own idea."

"Well, we were up last night talking and he wanted to hear about my time in El Nido and the handful of other places I had been before Twilight Town," Crystal explained with a slight shrug. "And then just now while I was trying to decide what I should wear for today since my normal outfit is in desperate need of being washed, but then I remembered I still had this old getup and it seemed rather appropriate after reminiscing about my days as a thief." She gave off a slight smirk. "Besides, I think it looks cool and I used to dress like this all the time. It was practically a uniform for when I was with the Radical Dreamers."

It wasn't just the outfit itself that Roxas found so distracting. It was the attitude that came along with it. Crystal might have been deeply embarrassed by the prospect of wearing a certain silver bikini, but in this getup she didn't seem to suffer any loss of confidence. In fact, she seemed as comfortable wearing it as she was in any of her regular tomboyish attire. The difference was she was showing a lot more skin than usual and Roxas was discovering too little too late that he was having a very hard time with not noticing it.

Right, they were down here for breakfast. Maybe that would take his mind off of it. Roxas hoped he could get a grip by the time they were meeting up with Sora and Riku or this visit was going to be extremely awkward.

"Well now, she certainly is a spirited one, isn't she?" Isa made his own comment before returning to his own breakfast. "It's looking like this might be another interesting day after all."

Crystal went to help herself to some breakfast and seemed to be very much enjoying herself. She noticed that the man from the desert was still there at the inn with them, although he was still keeping quiet and remaining at a distance from the rest of them. Shiro would probably be glad to see him as it seemed like the two had reached some sort of mutual understanding out there in the desert yesterday. Of course, Shiro wasn't down yet to try to talk to him again, which meant he and Xion must have been taking their time with leaving their room for some reason. It was probably fine though.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro had reached for his pack to start digging for his outfit he felt like wearing when Xion had asked about the dreams, he had stopped moving a moment, and pulled his bag to his chest, pondering over the dream in particular with a troubled face as he thought about it "the first part of it was completely new to me, and the people within it didn't say anything i could hear..." he said, clearly making it known he was probably the baby in the dream, but at the same time, the fact he heard nothing but gable would probably be a bad thing compared to Xion's point of view "as for the.. flames..." he said, his eyes hollowing back out "...Crystal has seen that particular part of my dreams, sometimes if she wanders into it by accident she'll drag me out with her to someplace safer." he said, sighing a bit lightly as he pulled out his newest outfit: here~! to wear, and headed into the bathroom right quick to change. once he was changed, he'd at least look to Xion with a smile and all "it's probably nothing too big." he said before heading out to go check on the others and all, letting Xion to her thoughts and to get changed.

Roveth meanwhile chuckled at Roxas's defending himself to his comments, but seeing the failing at the blushing he felt like he did his work, as Shiro came out first looking like usual, a bit tired, and dead in the eyes, but they weren't completely hollow like how Xion saw them earlier, as he looked to the man from before, their eyes meeting and once more with a small shift in his Reality Marble, Shiro twitched an eyebrow, before nodding a hello, the man doing the same, and Shiro turning to face everyone else "so what's for breakfast?" he'd ask, only glancing to Crystal a bit and give a minor eyebrow raise "... do i have to hide my valuables?" he teased, knowing full well where she got that outfit, hence the teasing on it slightly.

Axel just shrugged with a yawn, working to get a few cups of coffee, and some of those Doughnuts Vash had the night before, though the coffee wasn't for him "before or after you see Demyx when he hasn't had coffee?" he said amused. sure enough, out came from their rooms next were Wolfwood, who looked... chipper, yet serious, Vash, who immediately went to the bar to order LOTS of doughnuts, and Demycx, who upon smelling the coffee Axel got him, walked over like the walking dead and would work to sit down with a slump before starting to take up the cups and devour them as fast as Vash was eating doughnuts. though on his third cup he'd look more normal "morning everyone." he said calmly enough, as if he wasn't like walking dead just now and getting a chuckle from Axel.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Shiro's explanation did actually ease Xion's mind somewhat as him mentioning Crystal had seen at least parts of the dream too meant this type of dream projection coming from him wasn't an isolated incident. Of course, it was still troubling to learn that Shiro himself hadn't heard the voices at the beginning. If he had no recollection of what they were saying, most likely having been the baby depicted in the dream, then why was Xion bale to discern some of what those people were saying? Most of it was pretty vague and jumbled, but it sounded like all the hopes and dreams of his original world now rested inside of Shiro himself. The only part that sounded totally obvious to Xion was the part about meeting one blessed by a goddess because given what she knew it could only have meant Crystal. And the scary thing about that was that it meant Crystal and Shiro's meeting had been preordained. Just how far into the future was Shiro's life going to be ensnared by his own fate? All she could really think to do at this point would be to ask Crystal or Roveth more about it. With that in mind, Xion would get herself dressed and then follow after Shiro to join the others over breakfast.

"No worries, I'm not inclined to actually steal anything at the moment," Crystal responded to Shiro's teasing in stride. "And if I were it would have to be something worthwhile and memorable, something that actually poses a genuine challenge." She had been eyeing a wanted poster that was on the wall next to one of Vash amusingly enough. There wasn't a photograph or anything. It just said 'Bandit King' with a picture of an ornate crown on it. "I hear this guy, though, is infamous for stealing the stars out of the sky and for stealing young girl's hearts."

"He kinda sounds like a Heartless," Roxas pointed out.

"Well, it isn't meant to be taken literally," Crystal explained. "It means that the treasures he steals are priceless, having a philosophical or sentimental value to them, rather than being stolen for monetary reasons. As for the other part, well it just means he's an attractive and charming young man and he probably impresses the girls wherever he goes. Regardless, he sounds like a real pro."

There was a brief pause as Crystal, Roxas, and Xion all stared in wonder as Demyx underwent his coffee-induced morning transformation. Somehow, Roxas and Xion had never actually witnessed it before. Isa chuckled in mild amusement seeing Demyx like this. It was funny because of all the former members of the Organization, Demyx proved that he was just the same as a Nobody as he was as a human. Somehow, compared to everyone else, he had managed not to really lose himself. Sure, he seemed like a lazy and simpleminded sort of guy, but that in itself had been a real talent.

"Well, it looks like we're all here," Crystal nodded to break the silence that had fallen over them. "And we're still going to have to decide whether we're going to head straight back to Twilight Town or if we're going to stick around here to help out with tracking down whoever sicced our new acquaintance on our resident doughnut addict," she gestured toward the mysterious man whom Shiro had connected with in his own peculiar way.

Xion, of course, went to help herself to something for breakfast.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro had nodded to Crystal's assumption, but was about to speak when Wolfwood beat him to the punch, speaking up first from his cup of coffee "truth be told, Crystal, you guys should head back to Twilight Town. i mean, you've got a couple of people who don't have fighting capabilities just yet or are basically support units." he mentioned, motioning mostly to Isa and Demyx in particular "besides, as for who actually got mister silent one over there--" Kaze would turn and look calmly towards wolfwood, before looking away in a scoff like manner almost, with Shiro hiding a chuckle in his food, knowing full well that was a '******** you' look he just gave to wolfwood "i have a pretty good idea or two of who it was that'd send him after Needle Noggin. so since this is my world, my territory persay, you guys don't need to be 'meddling kids' about this, and leave the meddling to your neighborhood friendly heartless General." he said, smiling all the while and all.

Roveth gave off a passive hum hearing wolfwood's arguments while stopping his work on his devices and tinkerings with some of the buyable stuff from the moogle and all to speak up "looks like the decision's already been taken out of our hands." he said with amusement, while Shiro pouted at not getting to speak up, but then would look to the man getting up "want to come with us?" he asked calmly, the two meeting eyes once more, causing another shift within Shiro's Reality Marble, before the man looked away "i'll pass." he said calmly, while Shiro sighed, figuring as much "so what can we call you if we see each other again?" the man stopped, pondering on telling them his name "... Kuroki Kaze." he simply said, before leaving out the door, as Shiro shrugged, deciding to remember the name though, just in case they did run into him again.

Axel just looked amused at roxas and xion's faces in seeing Demyx's 'coffee transformation' given it was amusing as he stretched a bit "so back to Twilight Town it is, i guess we can get there by Corridor of Darkness if wolfwood got here via that method." Wolfwood nodded, while demyx spoke up "good, also, go pay a few extra months rent and apologize to your land lord." he said, glaring at Axel, showing he still hadn't fogiven him for dumping him with the rent "okay okay! jeez... no need to hit me about it..." he responded rubbing the back of his neck.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

With the decision made it wouldn't be long before the group made the transition over to Twilight Town. Isa would remain at the apartment with Demyx to start getting himself settled in while the rest of the group headed to Master Yen Sid's tower to finally have that long-awaited visit with Sora and Riku, not entirely expecting to find that Kairi and Namine were also there in the tower, but not exactly surprised to find them there either. And that, of course, is when the craziness started.

"Yay! Roxas is back!" Sora was midway toward jumping on the blonde before he noticed Crystal and crashed to the floor mid-flight. "Oh my god, Riku, Crystal is dressed like a girl!" he exclaimed while picking himself up off the floor to reassess the situation.

Riku, of course, gave Sora a light smack to the back of the head causing the smaller boy to feign a wince. "Sora, that was rude. Sorry about him," Riku looked around at those assembled. "He's a little over-excited because it's been a while since he's gotten to take a break from studying for his next Mark of Mastery exam."

Sora recovered and finally made it over to Roxas to smother him in a very unwanted embrace. "I'm so glad you're back! Did you have fun on your trip? You've got to tell me all about it!" He paused, glancing toward the only face that was unfamiliar to him. Well, that wasn't entirely true because Sora had seen Xion's face in a dream once or twice, but this was definitely his first time seeing her in person. "And you must be Xion. I heard about you from Riku," he added with a big welcoming smile. "It's nice to finally meet you!"

"I'll tell you about it later, but first you've got to stop touching me!" Roxas pried Sora off of him. "Anyway, we've got some things to discuss with Riku so why don't you do a better job of introducing yourself to Xion. She's been wanting to meet you too, you know."

So while Riku was taken aside to discuss things with Crystal and Roxas, Xion was left with Sora to get better acquainted. Namine was sitting at the long table with a knowing smile like she already knew exactly what had gone on during the events of their journey so far and was watching these latest events with genuine amusement. Kairi was in the next room getting special lessons from Master Yen Sid otherwise she might have been looking on with a great deal of sympathy as Xion was treated to the over-enthusiastic Sora treatment.

"So, I take it things have been going well for you," Riku observed while he waited to listen to what the others had to say.

"The situation is a bit different than what you initially assumed," Crystal broke into her explanation. "I mean, you were right about me being a princess, but not even close about me being compatible with the Princesses of Heart. Believe me, I'm nowhere near that pure of heart. But yes, it is true that I possess a pure light. That's because in the era I came from I was one of the chosen warriors of the light, a representative of the goddess of light, Cosmos, and a crystal bearer who commands a small portion of the goddess's power. That power, in the form of a crystal, is the source of the light that surrounds my heart and keeps me safe from the darkness. So, as you can see, I was never really in any danger and there wasn't any need to assign me a bodyguard."

The entire time that Crystal was talking Riku had been suppressing a smirk, but now he was smirking widely. "You know, I never really thought you were in any danger either. I've seen you overpower Sora in his Anti-Form so it's no surprise to me that you can take care of yourself, more or less. But I did think Roxas might appreciate some time away from Sora. And I thought you might appreciate finally getting to spend some proper time with Roxas. I mean, come on, the way you look at him, I'm surprised you didn't take him with you the first time you left the Destiny Islands."

"So wait, this whole time, you were setting us up?" Roxas stared long and hard at Riku.

Riku shrugged, but the smirk didn't fade in the slightest. "I figured if the two of you started traveling together it would be impossible for you both to carry on ignoring each other like you've done whenever we have these fun little reunions. And it seems like I was right. That unspoken distance you had between you is long gone. I'd even hazard to guess that given the choice, Roxas, you still want to travel with Crystal even if she doesn't require your protection because you actually like her."

Being reminded of that fact while also being all-too-aware of how she was dressed at the moment wasn't doing Roxas any favors with his composure as he immediately went red in the face at Riku's accusation. This also got Sora's attention as he couldn't help overhearing that part of the conversation being as it was the only bit of it he had actually understood.

"Wait, what?" Sora stared and pointed dramatically, going back and forth between Crystal and Roxas. "... no way, you and you? Crystal and Roxas? But I thought Crystal was in love with Shiro! This doesn't make any sense!"

Crystal brought a palm to her forehead. "Dammit Sora, me and Shiro were never anything like that."

"But you're really good friends just like me and Kairi," Sora reasoned. "So, I thought you two were probably a couple."

"Listen, that's not how it is or ever was between me and Shiro," Crystal stated firmly. "He's my best friend, but that's all we are, friends. Anything more than that was never in the cards for us."

This, of course, got Sora dizzy with pointing back and forth between Crystal and Roxas again. "So wait, Riku, you're serious? Roxas likes Crystal... and Crystal doesn't like Shiro, well not like like anyway... and she likes Roxas too! How come no one told me about this sooner!"

"Sora, seriously, calm down," Roxas sighed in exasperation. "It's not like we weren't planning to tell you. The truth is we only just found out ourselves."

"But apparently Riku knew this would happen all along," Crystal rounded on him. "In fact, you were counting on it, weren't you?"

"Look, I know you meant well, leaving Roxas with me and Sora while he was still getting used to his new existence, and he's been fine living with Axel and Demyx in Twilight Town," Riku responded while momentarily abandoning that all-knowing-smirk. "But we both know he wasn't really going to be happy as long as he still felt tied-down to Sora. Roxas needs to get out there making more of his own connections. And I couldn't think of anyone better suited to showing him what experiences are out there because I know you of all people would never let anything bad happen to him. Plus, Xion's reappearance sort of helped that along by giving you both more common ground and forcing you to interact with each other in a more meaningful way. To be fair, I wasn't sure how deep those feelings were going to go, but good on both of you for finally making some progress."

"Riku, you're amazing," was all Sora could say to that. "I never would have guessed any of that!"  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth of course would go into a stone-faced deadpan with his eyes actually dimming from their yellow stance to an almost rough emerald green as he moved to where he was leaning against the wall, and just as he looked like he was about to pass Riku as if going to find a bathroom or something... he'd instead bring his fist back... and slam it hard RIGHT in Riku's solar plexus with an unforgiving cold stare from those green eyes "-that- was for making me put up with all that hormone infused Drama between those two." he said in an Icy tone, making it clear that he was -still- angry over the fact that he had to deal with Crystal's emotions and tells and nearly becoming hostile to her and-or making the mistake of hiding Shiro from everyone just to keep him safe.

Shiro of course watched things, and mentally cringed seeing the punch from Roveth, but then he focused on Sora's lack of noticing his crush or closer relations with Xion and just let his face clear out of emotions, almost as if he was much like a robot.. or an empty husk walking around, which technically he almost -is- one. "Yes, sora, i 'like like' the girl who i consider my best friend and sister figure more than anything." of course that was said with enough sarcasm to choke a horse on before he continued "seriously.. me and Crystal, while compatible as friends... its just that, a deep friendship. besides, i have someone else.... in consideration of liking that way." he said, continuing to straight face the entire way through, no tells, no blush, nothing towards Xion, but those who had seen how he had acted around her, definitely would know better.

Axel of course just shook his head while staying near Namine with amusement "man... glad i'm not Sora or Riku today, so how has things been here with ol' Yen-Sid anyway?" he'd ask, while crossing his arms and smiling regardless, Shiroi Senko of course tilting his head at Shiro's antics, and idly sneaking some greens from his back pocket like normal to munch on with a 'kweh of contentment.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Riku definitely didn't see that punch coming from Roveth and went down hard, cringing a bit from the pain. Geez, no one told him Roveth could hit so hard.

"Oh my god, Riku, are you okay?!" Sora shouted in concern for his friend and initially planned on rushing to his side to check on him, but then he became a little distracted by what Shiro was saying and also more than a little disturbed by the empty look in Shiro's eyes as he spoke. "Well, okay then. Sorry I got the wrong impression before," Sora took a quick step back, away from Shiro who was genuinely frightening him at the moment. Enough so that Sora didn't immediately begin to ponder all too deeply into who Shiro could have meant when he said there was someone else he had under consideration. By that time Riku was picking himself up, although he could be seen to be cradling the spot where Roveth had punched with a pained grimace on his face. But at least it looked like he was going to be fine so Sora diverted his attention back to Crystal and Roxas, seeing as somehow the two of them were somehow the least intimidating presences in the room at the moment.

"Well, I still don't entirely get it, but Roxas, I'm happy for you," Sora smiled his usual honest smile. "And for you too, Crystal, I seriously had no idea you felt that way about him."

"Well, that's not entirely your fault," Crystal admitted. "After all, I was hiding my feelings on purpose and didn't really plan for anyone to notice."

"Yeah, don't feel too bad about that Sora, she was even trying to fool herself for a while there," Roxas added. "Although, luckily for us, she's actually a really bad liar."

Namine smiled pleasantly at Axel. "Things are going smoothly here with Master Yen Sid. Kairi is learning quickly how to become a proper Keyblade wielder and Sora has been studying exhaustively for his next Mark of Mastery exam, although he does whine a lot about how much reading is involved this time around. Master Yen Sid has asserted that in the next battle we can't rely on Sora's natural talents alone and that he needs to shape up into a smarter and more well-rounded fighter if he wants to prove himself to be a Keyblade Master."

Shiro's hollow outburst hadn't gone unnoticed as Master Yen Sid emerged from the next room, accompanied by Kairi who greeted everyone with a friendly wave while Master Yen Sid narrowed his penetrating gaze toward Shiro. "I see, so this boy here is the source of this great empty feeling of foreboding. I'm sure one of you has an explanation for this?"

Crystal and Roxas at least had some small idea of who Shiro meant when he mentioned there was someone under consideration for him liking. And while it was awkward for them, Xion hadn't refused to share a room with Shiro so it was possible she might not be indifferent to him either. At the very least she had persisted in wanting for Crystal and Roxas to spend the night together even with that being the condition.

Xion was, for her part, a little bit overwhelmed by everything that was going on so suddenly.

"So, you must be Xion," Kairi had ventured over to keep away from the now very imposing and potentially agitated Master Yen Sid. "I'd heard about you from Riku, but you're even cuter in person." That got a sheepish blush from the other girl.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth of course had at least walked away from Riku after he pretty much dropped him in one hit, deciding he conveyed his anger enough, he let his eyes look away from that with their mirth towards Shiro, who had quickly started hiding his dead eyes once more behind his mask as he silently narrowed his eyes a moment, before turning his attention to the Wizard "Sora mainly opened his mouth about my light half liking his best friend/sister figure as a couple thing, kinda set him off a bit. trust me, that wasn't him really angry though, if he was angry, well... we might have to hunt for a few dozen Phoenix Downs or something to put Sora back together. heck, everyone of us who've seen Shiro when he's angry knows just how... what's the word without offending anyone here.. ah, right, FUBARed the target of his anger is." he said with a bit of mirth in his eyes, given he was still remembering the suffering Vanitas had against Shiro once -that- switch was flipped.

Shiro of course rolled his eyes at Roveth and just chuckled a bit shaking his head "sorry about that, but yeah, it just kinda annoyed me, just a little." he said, only getting an eyebrow raised from Axel and Roveth, and looking a bit nervous "what? don't give me that, i know when to restrain myself from becoming -that- when angry at an ally."

Axel of course nodded to Namine, chuckling "well it has been a very interesting trip so far with everyone, not to mention we picked up some fun new things, like becoming Power Rangers." he said with a calm face, but knew all too well that he had yet shown his ranger skills to Isa or Demyx yet, he was gonna spring it on them next time he was in the area of Twilight Town as a prank.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"I see," Master Yen Sid kept his gaze on Shiro what would seem an uncomfortably long time before finally looking away from him to observe the rest of his guests. "Well then, as Sora is clearly suffering from an excess of energy at this time, perhaps you all could help to humor him with a few exhibition matches. I would also like to see for myself how it is that you unknown Keyblade wielders are able to fair in battle."

"Well, if it's just for practice, that sounds fine," Crystal agreed easily enough.

"Very good, then you can oversee Kairi's training while I observe," Master Yen Sid nodded in approval.

"You know, she's way more experienced at this than I am... are you sure that's really a good idea?" Kairi was clearly a little bit nervous to be facing such an obviously strong opponent. "Wouldn't she be a better match for Sora or Riku?"

"I don't doubt that she can hold her own against those two boys," Master Yen Sid replied. "However, testing ones strength isn't always a matter of proving who is stronger."

Crystal nodded and flicked her wrist so that Time Warp appeared in her left hand. "Don't worry, I'm pretty good at holding myself back. And I'm not too bad a teacher either."

Master Yen Sid spoke a few words of very old magic and the room they were in vanished, replaced by a large self-contained battle arena. "This way there won't be any damage to my lovely tower," he nodded to himself. "Now then, as you and Sora seem to have some differences that need resolving," he looked to Shiro, "it seems only fitting that you should be Sora's opponent for today. And lastly," Master Yen Sid looked between Roveth and Riku, the latter of whom had finally recovered from taking that punch, more or less, and seemed to be smirking in Roveth's general direction like he'd enjoyed the pain. "Well, it would seem you two have a score to settle, so have at it."

Roxas and Xion moved over to where Axel and Namine were located, which seemed to be outside the magically summoned 'battle dome'. They watched with interest as Crystal allowed Kairi to be the aggressor, coming at her with strong swings of Destiny's Embrace. Crystal could easily read the motions of each swing and blocked appropriately with Time Warp, applying only as much force as was needed to deflect the blows without being enough to overpower her opponent. Roxas recognized what Crystal was doing almost immediately because she had done the same thing when she was sizing him up during their sparring match back on Radiant Garden.

"She's really something," Roxas had to admit.

"Yes, she is," Namine agreed. "It surprised me the first time we met because she doesn't carry herself at all like a warrior when she isn't fighting, but there was no mistaking her fighting spirit."

"It's so strange," Xion agreed. "Especially how they fight together like old friends even though I'm fairly certain Crystal and Kairi have spent very little time together."

"Crystal is someone who connects easily with people who don't pose a threat to her or the people she cares about," Namine explained. "As such, there is absolutely no reason for there to be any tension between them. She knows this and reacts to it intuitively."

"Of course, the real action will come from whatever goes on between Roveth and Riku," Roxas pointed out. "It looks like Riku really wants a piece of him now."

Sure enough, Riku already had Way to the Dawn in hand and was signaling for Roveth to come at him in the same taunting manner he typically would use against Sora. Of course, Sora also had his own Kingdom Key at the ready while sizing up Shiro, although he wasn't entirely sure why they were having to fight each other.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth had eyed Riku, almost to the the wall to lean against, before giving off a one-armed shrug, before bringing his arm up and sure enough, Lockdown appeared in hand with him eyeing the taunt from Riku, and just snorted, while putting his hand on his hip and smirked, almost as if taunting saying 'nope, not taking your bait.' with his smug grin and waiting for riku's true first move.

Shiro had noticed sora's sizing him up as he raised an eyebrow, before proceeding to trace a steel version of a shinai, and summoning Revival into his other hand, before pointing at Sora with a smirk on his face "Radiance of Night, Shimmer and... Fall. Starlight!" he said, guiding his mana as his circuits surged, causing a few five-pointed light stars launch down towards Sora, but from the feeling of them they wouldn't damage the tower at all.

Axel of course raised an eyebrow while chuckling "looks like Roveth isn't taking Riku's bait, then again, he's the type to mock and confuse opponents before beating them down, though Shiro's getting a bit flashy for the start, though from the spell i think it doesn't damage the tower at least, he tries not to do any collateral damage if he can help it."