Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel would snort at Vanitas and Ventus's whining about the bedtimes, of course he'd at least speak up "first off, you two are younger than say myself and Aqua, and even Shiro, Crystal, and Riku are, so you -do- need more sleep than the rest of us do. as for Ven's comment of sleeping for thirteen years..." he'd give Ven a deadpan look that still had eyes shining in amusement "not even Coma's count as actual -restful- sleep, it counts for all intents and purposes being -unconscious-, which does -not- rest a person." he said calmly enough, before pointing up the stairs "now get on up there." he'd say cheekily, showing all too well he could handle marching Ventus and Vanitas upstairs if he had to to get their shower and into bed.

Roveth of course had hummed a bit, watching the night sky, sure, he hadn't seen any stars disappearing yet, so that was alright with him, instead, he would pull out a simple black glove and put it on, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the odd artifact he ripped out of that Heartless General, proceeding to look at it, looked to be some glorified golden triangle, but even Roveth could feel and sense the divine energy within it ~hmph... some chosen of power that Heartless General called himself, if he got himself corrupted by his own power and fell into the charms of the Darkness.~ he thought to himself while looking at the object, the triangle gave off a small ping of a shine, before giving off a soft glow which begun to lull Roveth to sleep... where he'd have an interesting meeting indeed.

Shiro meanwhile would finish drying off, and was currently leaning forward out the window a bit to look upwards to the night sky, more like trying to sort through his own thoughts, having not noticed what Roveth was up to or anything, he was more just frowning in thought, even as he let the mask Makenshi gave him slide over his face, and allowing him to properly breathe out mist into said mask to at least keep it from affecting the area "... maybe all i am is a sword... cold.. unfeeling steel outside of the times things make me passionately hot or angry..." he'd whisper, distorted for his voice through the mask, but he didn't care, he was more just looking down towards the ground level, off towards where more than likely Crystal and Roxas were "... even then... i really need to learn how to be. more human i guess..." he mumbled, before closing an eye, which the still open one began to glow a soft blue color, as if he was enhancving his eyesight, of course, seeing Yuffie only barely in the bushes, he'd decide to at least partly ruin her day... "Per.. so... na." by summoning Pixie to fly out and go... well persuade Yuffie to leave the two alone, by letting pixie use Zio on Yuffie's behind until she got in gear to leave.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Okay, I guess you do kinda have a point about that," Ventus conceded to Axel.

"And we can at least have some more fun in the shower before bed," Sora added with a conspiratorial grin on his face.

"You've got to be kidding me," Vanitas was already incredibly baffled by how quickly everyone had transitioned from treating him like an enemy to treating him like a child. However, when Sora suggested they would be showering together his expression changed from snarky petulance to a priceless look of bewildered embarrassment. "Wait, what?"

"Come on Vanitas, you need a shower too," Ventus insisted as he took Vanitas by the arm and with Sora's help proceeded to drag him up the stairs.

Leon sighed and shook his head. "If Shiro was smart, he already finished his shower so he won't have to deal with those three."

"At least they seem to be getting along," Aqua was still slightly worried about having Vanitas around, but with Ven and Sora already so willing to at least try to accept him it was starting to seem like it was probably going to be okay.


Vanitas's embarrassment hadn't subsided in the slightest as the other two boys quickly stripped off their clothes upon entering the shower room and making sure to shut the door behind them. Once Sora and Ventus were both completely naked they finally noticed that Vanitas hadn't yet removed any of his clothes.

"What's the matter Vanitas? It's just us guys. There's nothing to be nervous about," Sora tried to sound encouraging.

"Actually, I think I'll just wait until you're both done," Vanitas was blushing horribly and he really just wanted to wait outside the shower room.

"Nonsense! There's no need to be shy now!" Ventus had circled around to clap him on the back and somehow in the seconds that followed he and Sora proceeded to ambush Vanitas, undressing him until all that remained on his person was a towel fastened around his waist.

"Hey, wait! Cut that out!" Vanitas protested in futility and before long found himself already situated in the tub with the other two boys like it was totally normal somehow. How the heck was it that those two could move so fast to catch him off guard like that? Regardless, once they started splashing each other and laughing slightly too loud for the time of night, Vanitas had already forgotten his embarrassment by getting in on the ensuing water fight.

"If they're going to treat us like kids, then we might as well act like it, right?" Sora's logic seemed, to him, to be totally infallible.


Xion and Kairi had finished with their showers and were drying off to get ready for bed when they heard the mayhem going on in the boy's shower room.

"That's Sora for you," Kairi couldn't help giggling. "He really knows how to lighten the mood."

"Yeah, I think those two are probably in good hands with him," Xion was inclined to agree. She naturally assumed that Roxas was still out with Crystal and had managed to dodge being dragged into whatever was going on in the next room.

It sounded like the rampage was still going on next door by the time the two girls had finished drying off and getting into their pajamas. Hopefully the rest of the boys would be finished by the time Roxas got back. Xion wasn't sure he could handle that kind of excitement right now.

"Well, someone should probably check up on Shiro to make sure he isn't brooding too much about the whole singing thing," Xion decided as they left the shower room behind them.

"Holy s**t! That guy's tail is real?!" Vanitas's voice carried through the wall as Zidane apparently joined the rest of the boys in the shower room.

Kairi nodded to Xion. "That's probably a good idea."

The girls bid each other goodnight before splitting up. Kairi headed for the room she had been using since she'd started staying at 7th Heaven while she continued her training with Merlin. Xion headed for Shiro's usual room and quietly knocked at the door.

"Shiro, are you doing okay in there?" Xion would ask.


"What the?! Eek, ow!" Yuffie flailed and jumped out of the hedges. "What the heck Shiro, that's cheating!" She knew it wasn't Roveth's magic at work because it seemed like he generally needed to be somewhere nearby for his cards to materialize like that. And, of course, it couldn't be Crystal because she'd only just now noticed that Yuffie was even there and was struggling not to laugh as Roxas sat up to see what exactly was going on.

"Well that's what you get for spying on us," Roxas also found himself trying not to laugh at Yuffie's predicament.

"Anyway, we should probably start heading back," Crystal suggested while watching in amusement as Yuffie kept trying to smokescreen dodge out of the way of Pixie's attacks. She looked back to Roxas. "Are you at least feeling better now?"

"Yeah," Roxas nodded with a quick smile. "Thanks to you, I think I'm going to be okay."

"Oh no, my camera!" Yuffie had dropped it somewhere and immediately started freaking out.

"Right then, let's go!" Crystal was definitely blushing a little bit as she took Roxas by the hand so they could start heading back to 7th Heaven together while Yuffie began to search frantically for her missing camera.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro just smiled within his mask, seeing Yuffie rant about being unfair and him cheating when he let his open eye glow a bit more vibrantly as Pixie stiffened a bit, before Shiro's voice came out after the little one giggled "next time try not to make it so obvious you're spying on my friends then Yuffie. have fun looking for your camera." he commented, and with that, he'd ease off his control on Pixie, letting the little flier give off a few sparkles of Dia to heal Yuffie's behind, before flying off to go back to Shiro with a satisfied smile and all. meanwhile back with Shiro Physically he'd resume staring off into the sky as his one glowing eye dimmed once pixie returned, and he de-summoned her a moment just as Xion was asking if he was okay, he'd at least look towards the door, before opening the mask and gently smiled a bit "... i'm alright Xion.. i just figured i'd at least get to my room first so i could avoid the chaos of Sora." he said, while moving and at least gently opening his room door, even if he was at least still topless and all.

Roveth of course would eventually find himself in a color absent place (white, black, one of the two) looking around the expansive area floating he'd look down to his hand, to where the glowing triangle was as as it glowed brighter, and summoned what looked to be a very beautiful goddess much like cosmos, but with wild fiery red hair, and what looked to be wearing a belly dancer's outfit of sorts (Din from Oracle of Seasons looks) "hmmmh.... so you're the one who managed to pry the Triforce of power out of my previous wielder's body... bit on the pale side but you do look hot." Roveth would actually raise an eyebrow hearing that as he spoke up "you're easy on the eyes yourself, toots. so, where am i, and might i ask for your name?" the girl would giggle, pitting her arms behind her back while appraising Roveth some "name's Din, i'm one of three Goddesses who shaped the world known as Hyrule actually. there's also my sisters Farore and Nayru, the goddesses of Courage and Wisdom, with myself being the Goddess of Power, when we finished our work in creating Hyrule, we departed from the mortal planes to return to the realm of the gods, and that exit point bared pieces of each of our powers, a perfect triangle made of three smaller triangles, known as the Triforce.. eventually, each piece of the Triforce was given to three very gifted individuals we would call our chosen, for those times when hyrule would be in need of saving, whether from the darkness that constantly encroached our world, or from enemies within.. unfortunately, you met my last wielder." Roveth nodded, sighing a bit as he looked to the triangle itself "yeah... Ganondorf... an unsightly individual if there ever was one to fall to the darkness and actually become a Heartless General." he said, looking back to Din lightly as his eyes softened "sorry i had to kill him." Din shook her head, giggling "not at all... i'm glad you did, he's caused nothing but trouble over the years in Hyrule, before he became a Heartless General, each time stopped by the Hero of Time, Farore's champion of Courage. speaking of champions..." she would walk around Roveth, humming in thought, as if still looking for something "you are a being of darkness... no, shadows, but yet you aren't corrupted like Ganondorf... so curious question: why?" Roveth raised an eyebrow, while rolling his neck a bit to get a crick out of it "well, truth be told i am one half of a whole, so to speak, i am Shiro's Darkness, however i've long since seen that becoming insane or corrupted with power is never a good thing, so instead of going the madman for power route.. i chose to do what i have been doing: protecting those i care about, and making sure that my light half stays safe, Unlimited status or not." he stated as Din hummed in thought, clearly impressed with the young man in front of him " i see... you are a very interesting individual, Roveth... and given that you use your powers to protect, and not try to conquer things... i think you'll make a perfect chosen of Power." Roveth raised an eyebrow, standing up a bit, looking at Din with a raised eyebrow "even though divine or holy power does hurt like a b***h for me?" he said, while Din waved a hand dismissively, smiling a bit "details my chosen, details, besides, once i bond you to the Triforce of power, you will be able to handle all kinds of divine or holy energies so long as you filter said energy through it first. so the question is... do you accept becoming the Chosen of Power?" Roveth nodded, humming a bit, this meant if he fused with Ra again he'd have to alter the fusion status and maybe even do something -crazier- with the Egyptian Gods... "if it helps me protect my light half, as well as those i care about beyond that, then yes, i humbly accept becoming such." Din smiled, clapping her hands together "perfect! now then, one thing to note, while it does massively enhance your powers and give you a lot more magic power to deal with, due to your kind and good nature you'll also be able to utilize light and holy magics from it, though most base magics you possibly know about will probably still be inaccessible, you -can- create weapons, shields, and barriers of divine energy. granted normally those with the Tri-force of Power are offensive in nature, it enhances -all- attributes, so even those of defensive or healing properties will be greatly enhanced. Roveth nodded as he started fading, with a golden glow suffusing into him "i'll be watching over you, my handsome chosen~!" Din giggled while Roveth eventually woke up, still glowing slightly golden in aura, while looking down to his hand, seeing no sign of the relic in hand, he'd instinctively turn over his hand, and saw the tattoo on it that he saw on Ganondorf's hand, with the top-most triangle glowing and whitened out to make note that he is the Chosen of Power now "heh..." he mumbled a bit, before moving to at least resume his sleeping.

Axel of course just nodded to Leon, chuckling a bit lightly "that's probably why he went upstairs first actually, to avoid the chaos known as Sora. either way i'm glad Ven's adjusting well with everyone... man. ten long years..." the last part he reminisced on given it had been quite a long time since he had seen or heard from Ven at all, not that dealing with Vanitas helped much and all.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Xion certainly wasn't used to Shiro being so casually without a shirt considering how very self conscious he was previously about being seen without one. Although, she fully expected that Crystal would have been surprised as well, but that didn't change the fact that seeing him like this did cause Xion to blush slightly. Still, it was only Shiro and she managed to get over it quickly enough.

"You know, we were all pretty worried today when you left to go after Sephiroth," Xion mentioned to him. "Crystal and Roveth especially. I don't know how they managed to keep it together as well as they did, but I know they did it to keep Ven and Sora away from harm. Of course, we're also worried about Roxas and I think Crystal must have already decided that he needs her the most right now or she'd probably have been the one to come see you instead of me. And I know that Leon isn't going to like it, but I think it would be best to let them stay together."


"We're back!" Crystal greeted Axel, Leon, Tifa, Kailah, and Aqua as she and Roxas returned from their outing in the gardens. Naturally, Yuffie was still out there searching for her camera and would very likely be out there all night trying to find where she had dropped it. Once they were back inside Crystal and Roxas immediately went upstairs to hit the showers before bed, with Roxas being very fortunate to discover that Sora, Ventus, Vanitas, and Zidane were all finally finished with their showers and drying off by the time he arrived. They were still being loud amongst themselves, but at the very least Roxas didn't have to worry about being splashed or jumped on by the other boys as he got undressed to take his own shower. Honestly, Roxas was very thankful to be left alone for the moment. After talking with Crystal out in the gardens he was feeling much better and he didn't want Sora or someone to be an idiot and ruin it for him.

Roxas was still on a slight nostalgia kick so as the rest of the boys were getting ready for bed and finally left for their respective rooms he thought about back when he was with the Organization and those awkward conversations with Axel about love and whether he thought if he'd had a heart he could love someone. Thinking back on it now he could genuinely appreciate how that must have been super embarrassing for Axel to have had to deal with from him. And obviously Roxas had a much better and more meaningful answer to that question now. In fact, whatever it was that had happened out there in the gardens, he felt they were somehow even closer than before if that was even possible. Axel had been right about one thing, it really was something special between the two of them.


Crystal had the girl's shower room all to herself so she was taking her sweet time enjoying a nice hot soak. She wasn't blind to what had just happened between her and Roxas out there in the gardens. He was opening up to her more. Truthfully, she hadn't really thought about it and had been fine with how things were, but getting to talk with him like that and to see him laugh and smile and just seeming so relaxed in the moment, it had truly made her happy to see Roxas like that.  

[Kailah S Majessta]

Kailah had said her goodbyes and goodnights to Isa and everyone else before starting to clean up, humming to herself that song Crystal had sung earlier in the evening. She began wiping down tables when Crystal and Roxas came in from outside, smiling and waving to them as a final goodnight as she continued to hum to herself.

Tifa looked visibly tired after saying her own goodbyes and goodnights, but she didn’t want to go upstairs until she knew everyone had a place for the evening. She honestly was mostly concerned with the fact that Leon was still being overprotective, and wanted to make sure that Crystal and Roxas- mainly Roxas, didn’t need to deal with him alone. “Goodnight you two.” Once they were upstairs, she finally yawned and stretched, and Kailah made note of it.

“Hey boss lady, you should really get to bed too. Cloud’s going to need you, I’m sure.” She saw Tifa’s eyes go to Aqua quickly, “Don’t worry, we’ll all be here when you wake up.”

Tifa smiled and shook her head, “I know. And I’m glad things happened in the order they did, otherwise Leon would have had to fix my bar top. Actually,” she turned to him, a scolding look across her features, “What did I tell you about those kids? You need to relax around them. They already have enough on their plate, they don’t need you breathing down their necks.”

Kailah almost laughed out loud, but she kept her head down to hide the smile she couldn’t keep from appearing, glancing at Axel and Aqua before going back to cleaning the tables.

“Either way, I think I am going to check on Cloud, then get to sleep myself. Goodnight everyone,” Tifa said with a smile as she walked upstairs.

The vampire decided not to press Leon, and instead finished up her cleaning and took a seat on one of the chairs, “Tonight was fun for the most part, wasn’t it? And Tifa got a karaoke machine out of it! Oh! And Axel, I forgot to tell him, but tell Demyx I’m serious about actually jamming out with him. It’d be nice to play with another person.”

Upstairs, Tifa quickly washed up and walked into the bedroom with a bowl of water and a couple of washcloths and towels in one arm, and fresh bandages in her other, sitting on the edge of Cloud's bed. With a frown, she started to wipe down his forehead and face, trying not to wake him.

"You need to stop making me worry like this," she said quietly as she continued to wash his face, and was getting ready to redress his wounds.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Leon was very taken aback when Tifa scolded him again and it immediately brought back the embarrassment he had felt earlier realizing his mistake the first time around. Even so, if Tifa was headed upstairs that meant he and Kailah were now going to be responsible for closing up for the night once that time came around.

Aqua tried not to laugh at Leon's reaction, but the look on his face really was priceless.


Even though Tifa tried not to wake him, Cloud had already begun to stir before she got to the room, although he was still clearly in very bad shape. "Tifa?" he glanced around uncertainly. "Where are we?" Cloud was clearly delirious like he didn't even see that he was back in their room at 7th Heaven. "What happened to Sephiroth?" It was probably to Tifa's benefit that Cloud could barely move right now or who knew what he would have tried to do in her absence.


Roxas finished with his shower and started drying off so he could get changed into his pajamas for the night. The other boys had made quite a mess of the shower room with their splashing and roughhousing, not that it was any surprise. Still, it didn't seem right of them to leave it so that Leon or Tifa was going to have to clean up after them. Roxas decided to do his part by putting away some of the bottles and things that had been knocked onto the floor before he headed off to bed, but that was really all he could think of.


Crystal got done with her shower and worked on drying off so she could put on her own pajamas. By the time she exited the shower room and headed to the room she would be using for the night she noted that Xion still wasn't back yet.

"It sounds like she decided to talk to Shiro about something," Roxas was there waiting in the hallway not wanting to interrupt.

"Come on," Crystal quietly pulled him into her room.

"I thought I was supposed to be with Shiro tonight," Roxas blinked in surprise and confusion.

"That was definitely the plan to give Leon some peace of mind, but I think Xion is trying to set us up," Crystal mentioned. She noticed a sheet of paper lying on top of the dresser. "There, you see?" Sure enough, it was a note from Xion telling them she was going to stay with Shiro so Roxas could stay with Crystal. Xion was getting to be even more sneaky than Yuffie.

"Well, Leon's really not going to like this," Roxas was still understandably nervous considering Leon kept looking at him like he wanted to skin him alive or something.

"He doesn't have to know about it," Crystal assured him as she climbed onto the bed.

"Right," Roxas relaxed somewhat in the knowledge that Crystal definitely wouldn't let Leon do anything to hurt him. Once he was actually on the bed with the feeling of Crystal's arms around him as he held her close Roxas genuinely didn't care what Leon might try to do to him regardless. Being together just felt right and Roxas really needed that right now.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro nodded a bit lightly as he chuckled and opened the door for his room "i figured that the fact that i didn't see either of them following me meant they stayed behind to make sure no one in the know about my offer to help Cloud whenever Sephiroth was involved would find out and try to help and only get themselves hurt or worse." he said, rubbing the back of his head a bit while turning and reaching to the side, while also letting Xion in so she could get ready for bed and all "and i agree, that's kinda why i punished Yuffie for trying to get blackmail on the two when they were out." he said with amusement while grabbing a simple red T-shirt he usually used with his black PJ pants when getting ready for sleep, and slipped it on, as if by instinct and all "and while i did leave everyone suddenly, i knew i had to help Cloud, or things could've been much worse for him, looked like he was put through a blender really.. almost like the times i fought Sephiroth alone." he mused, rubbing his chin a bit, frowning lightly with his rainbow colored eyes and all.

Axel nodded to Kailah as he chuckled a bit and got up from his seat "well, since the tavern's closing down for the night, i'll do my little part and help clean up the mess upstairs Ven, Sora and Vanitas made more than likely before taking my own shower. and i think Demyx knew you were serious Kailah, he just had probably his next album or something else in mind, maybe his own jealousy over Shiro's voice... jeez, the guy can outcook probably top tier 5-star chefs, has a vocal range that makes Demyx envious of him, and knows his way around a fight better than some of the veteran fighters Radiant garden had... still not a good tradeoff considering he has major psychological issues as it is.." he said, though he mumbled the last bits before starting to head upstairs, glancing to Leon "i really feel pity for any children you have in the future if this is how you're acting about Crystal and Roxas yanno." he said, before heading upstairs not too long after Tifa did to go check on Cloud, so he can clean up the bathroom and get his own shower before hitting the hay.  

[Kailah S Majessta]

“Well at least he's good on the jam session- and yeah that Shiro kid is AMAZING." Kailah waved, hearing the mumbled talk, but deciding not to pry, "Good night Axel.”

She pulled out the broom and started sweeping, “And Aqua, if you feel comfortable down here, don’t feel like our cleaning is forcing you to leave the bar area. It’s your home now, so wherever you feel safest,” she smiled at her, then resumed her cleaning. “You know he’s right, Leon. You’re seriously overprotective. Especially if Tifa needed to tell you.” She leaned on the broom. “Maybe you just need a break?”

-Upstairs-

“Shh… you’re in your bed,” Tifa wiped Cloud’s head again with the cool water from the cloth, “You got hurt pretty bad.” She paused a few moments, “Sephiroth’s gone for now.” She was quiet as she prepared the fresh bandages, “Don’t move, this might hurt a little.” She started with the small wounds and removed the dirty bandages she had put on him earlier, washing it off before replacing them. She did this quietly before telling him, “Sit up, if you can,” and started on the bigger wound on his chest. She repeated what she said when she thought he was still sleeping.

“You really need to stop making me worry like this.”  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Yes, that's something you and Crystal seem to have in common. You can't abandon someone whose in trouble, even if it means putting yourselves on the line to lend a hand," Xion nodded to Shiro. "And it's especially true when the one in trouble is also a friend."


Leon flinched again when Axel insisted on making one last jab at his expense about the whole situation with Roxas and Crystal. Was he seriously that bad?
Apparently he must have been or they wouldn't all keep calling him out for it.

Not long after Aqua did decide that she should also shower and try to get some sleep so that she could be available to look after Ven and Vanitas once they both got up the next morning. Ven had never been much of an early riser, but she honestly wasn't sure about what to expect from Vanitas so it would be best to try to be ready for anything.


Cloud continued to mumble incoherently in his sleep, but somehow found the strength to sit up so that Tifa could redress the wound on his chest. At the very least it looked like the bleeding had stopped and he hadn't re-opened anything by tossing and turning in his sleep. But he was still feverish and he was becoming restless even though his body was unwilling to cooperate. By morning the fever had broken, but Cloud would still be sleeping fitfully as his wounds continued to slowly heal.


As was typical for their group, Roxas and Crystal were among some of the first to wake the following morning. They were in no hurry to leave their room however as they were still curled up together rather comfortably. This would last several more minutes before the finally decided to actually get out of bed so they could get dressed and head down into the tavern area to see about grabbing some breakfast. And Crystal would finally be donning her 'battle attire' again for the first time since those visions she had suffered when she had returned to Radiant Garden from the Keyblade Graveyard. Roxas was glad to see it simply because compared to everything else in her wardrobe it was certainly the most familiar look for her.

When they finally headed downstairs they would find Aqua already there at a table in the corner sipping some tea. Kairi was there as well, obviously up early to get ready for another day of training at Merlin's. There was no sign of Sora, Ventus, or Vanitas. And Zidane hadn't yet come down either. Yuffie could be heard snoring up in the rafters on her hammock, having been out until the crack of dawn searching for her camera in the gardens thanks to Shiro's extremely unfair meddling with her spying attempt.

"Good morning, you two," Kairi smiled as she greeted the Roxas and Crystal when they finally arrived downstairs.

"Morning," Roxas smiled before glancing nervously at the bar feeling relief wash over him when he realized Leon wasn't actually down yet.

"Good morning," Crystal chimed in too, also glancing to Aqua.

"You're all up early," Aqua smiled at them in greeting.

"Yeah, well, I'm a bit of a light sleeper," Crystal shrugged slightly.

"And we still need to discuss with the others where we intend to go next," added Roxas. "So, it's not a bad idea for us to get an early start."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

thankfully for everyone, or not so thankfully, the next one up seemed to be Roveth, as he wandered in from outside giving off a small yawn and rubbing his head a bit while eventually stretching like a lazy cat of sorts mmh.. okay, that was some decent dreams..." he mumbled, before glancing to everyone up, raising an eyebrow "oh, right.. forgot Tifa manages the food here instead of Shiro cooking, guess that's why he's still in bed." he said with a chuckle before settling down once he got a glass of orange juice and all to drink lightly.

Axel would oddly enough be the next one down despite his absolute zombie expression, given he had no coffee to work with he'd need something to get him buzzing so of course he'd work to get himself some coffee as he heard the mention from Roxas about places to go next "mmngh... isn't it a bit early in the morning to discuss things like that?" he'd ask tiredly while sipping his coffee and all while noticing Shiro and Xion weren't down yet and all... hmm... "wonder where Shiro and Xion are... normally they're just as early birds as everyone else... well Shiro is at least." he'd comment, rubbing his chin lightly in idle thought while sipping on his coffee as Roveth chuckled off to the side having a good idea why Axel isn't making too much of a fuss.

Shiro fortunately, or unfortunately, was still sound asleep, though thankfully he didn't snore or anything like that, but it's probably the most peaceful he's looked in a long time in his sleep at least, and he hadn't had any odd dreams that Xion was accidentally pulled into and all, so the only thing that was probably keeping the poor unlimited-to-be asleep was probably his own tiredness from the fact of him always being on guard and geared up mentally for battle, and having a chance to rest has basically KO'ed him for the moment, at least until someone wakes him up gently at least, he's a light sleeper despite how KO'ed he is at the moment.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Well, considering what Shiro put himself through during our training trip and joining that battle with Sephiroth yesterday he can probably use the extra sleep," Crystal mentioned as she greeted both Roveth and Axel as they arrived. In fact, she looked Roveth over in particular. "Not to mention you and that whole thing with that Castle Oblivion place. Are you sure you don't need more rest too?"

"Well, if we don't have any other plans, we could probably stay to help Ven and Vanitas to get settled here," Roxas suggested. It wasn't Ven's fault that being around him was causing Roxas an extreme case of existential crisis. That had more do with constantly being reminded of how much the two of them look alike during the previous afternoon. Sure, Yuffie and Zidane were only joking, but it really wasn't funny to Roxas as evidenced by his epic freak out last night before Crystal had managed to calm him down.

"That's true," Crystal nodded. "And Sora might still need more help with his training too." She then looked to Kairi. "Not to mention I'd be more than happy to help out with your magic training again if you'd like me to."

"Oh, that would be great!" Kairi certainly seemed to like the sound of that.

"Oh yeah, we still need to go back to Twilight Town to actually report back to Master Yen Sid don't we?" Roxas remembered they still hadn't actually gone back to address whether or not Crystal had shown the Mark of Mastery.

"I almost forgot about that!" Crystal looked more embarrassed than surprised so clearly she had been thinking about it, but she hadn't been in any real hurry to bring it up herself.


Xion had woken up in the meantime and was very much surprised to find Shiro still asleep until she remembered where they were and that he didn't have to get up to cook for everyone. The way he was sleeping though, Shiro must have been totally exhausted. Xion honestly didn't want to wake him since he probably needed all the rest he could get so she tried to get ready without disturbing him. Although, with Shiro being such a lighter sleeper, that was probably easier said than done.


Zidane had woken up as well and he was taking it upon himself to casually drag Sora out of bed too because he was supposed to be going to train at Merlin's with Kairi and all. Sora wasn't exactly thrilled at being woken up until he remembered that Kairi was there too and then he nearly tripped down the stairs going down to meet her. Roxas sighed and shook his head at Sora's antics, truly glad he wasn't anywhere close to being that clumsy.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel just continued drinking his coffee a moment, only glancing to Roveth and more to his hand holding the juice glass with a raised eyebrow, before turning his attention back to Crystal and Roxas "i agree with Roxas, we should at least temporarily take a trip to Twilight Town for a bit, so you can talk with Yen-Sid and Roveth can prolly pop in and check on Ienzo and Aeleus, after he makes his own reports about his part with Ven and all." he said, only glancing upstairs momentarily at the moment, before hearing the soft snoring of Yuffie, he'd give off a small chuckle and all.

Roveth just gave off a one-eyed stare at Axel, but he kept his silence for now as he was more focused on feeling out the new addition to his powers, keeping quiet for now as he was more focused on waking up and not any other thing than that, though he did give off a small yawn to show while he was 'awake' it wasn't fully awake that he was at the moment, of course without his noticing or even caring, a small glow emanated from his deck box, and out came Kuriboh to poke itself out from behind Roveth's head cutely with a 'puri' noise and all to look at everyone.

Shiro did try valiantly to stay asleep, not because of Xion's quietness disturbing his sleep, but because he heard the ruckus going on outside the room with sora's antics that it made him squint his eyes shut a moment, before opening one up tiredly "ugh.. Sora -really- needs to learn to be quiet in the mornings.." he muttered as he slowly started to at least sit up and rub one of his eyes, thankfully keeping the other firmly planted on the floor at the moment while pondering on if he should sic Pixie on Sora next for being so obnoxious this early in the morning.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"You really still haven't reported back to Master Yen Sid?" Sora realized as he slowly recovered from his tumble down the stairs with some help from Kairi. "Wasn't all that stuff you did helping with my training supposed to be part of your Mark of Mastery exam? You need to go back to find out whether or not you passed!"

Crystal naturally looked even more embarrassed as Sora declared all that. "I know all of you are right, but it still feels a little strange to think about. I guess that's why I've been putting it off as long as I have."

"Based on what I've heard from Sora and Roveth, it certainly sounds like you have what it takes to be a Keyblade Master," Aqua mentioned trying to sound encouraging. "And at the very least you should still find out your assessment from Master Yen Sid."

"That's true," Crystal nodded. "For all I know he still has a few more tests in mind for me to determine whether or not I'm even ready to become a Master."

"And when you pass, which I'm sure you will, that will give Sora even more motivation to focus on his training because then he'll have to catch up with you and Riku," Roxas pointed out with a smile.

Sora shot him a dirty look, but his expression softened when he looked back to Crystal. "Really though, you should go. From what Master Yen Sid told us we desperately need more Masters on our side, right? So, if you've got what it takes, we could really use you now more than ever."

"Yeah, well, don't forget, everybody is counting on you to show the Mark of Mastery too," Crystal reminded him. "Even if I join the ranks as another Keyblade Master, you're the one we're all waiting to see succeed."


"Good morning Shiro," Xion was inclined to agree with him about Sora's early morning loudness, but it sounded like the tempest of his wakefulness had at least traveled elsewhere so that they couldn't really hear him anymore. "Did you manage to sleep okay?  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro nodded a bit as he yawned, yeah, he's definitely going to need a soda or three down his throat to make him function soon... "yeah, no visions of my past or crazy odd future things that sometimes annoy my dreams, or the times my own nightmares come home to roost again." he said, while reaching up and rubbing his hair a bit in thought before standing up and idly moving to pick up his pack and dig out his next set of clothes, which seemed to be -that- outfit he typically despises. ".... damn, looks like i need to wash clothes pretty soon." he said, frowning a bit lightly while pulling out the pants, top, so on for his outfit, and at least started to sneakily and crazily enough wiggle comically his pants up into his PJ's and getting one leg on underneath, doing the same for the other leg once getting it ready, then proceeded to slip the PJ pants off to reveal the leather pants of his so called CG self, as well as picking up the shirt to do the same, all miraculously without busting seams or anything on his clothes, and switching out of his sleep shirt once ready "how was your sleep, Xion?" he'd ask while keeping his eyes from not looking directly to her in case she was still changing, it'd not be good to make people think he was a pervert and all.

Roveth would give off a small chuckle, and then shrug lightly at his being mentioned on it "well, she, out of all of our group of keybladers, not counting Sora, Riku, or Kairi here since they're their own group, Crystal is the most qualified due to having been formally trained by a Keyblade Master, not only that, Shiro and i, even if we had formal training, would never qualify for the mark." he said, lightly smiling "but! that doesn't mean we can't help in other ways, like providing technical support, or in Shiro's case, being the heavy muscle against some of our stronger foes." he'd mention while giving Sora a serious gaze "however, i will feel a lot more relieved once you achieve your mark of mastery as well Sora." he said in a neutral tone, with Kuriboh tilting it's body in a cute head-tilt kind of way.

Axel snorted a bit, and drank his coffee "looks like the majority's voted on Twilight Town, and given Shiro's thoughts will probably mirror Roveth's... pretty damn near unanimous on going back to Twilight Town for a bit, even if it's only for a short time before we whisk ourselves off to who knows where." he said while chuckling a bit at Roveth's explanation of himself and shiro with the mark "truthfully, if you ever did get the mark, well, either you or Shiro, i'd be shocked, impressed, and probably just gobsmacked on it." he said, knowing full well as well what Roveth said was pretty much a fact compared to any embelishes others would heap on the two.  

[Kailah S Majessta]

Kailah heard the bustling out in the common area from where she was in the kitchen- she got a bit of a late start on breakfast since Tifa had woken her up saying she needed to 'take care of something.' Kailah, of course, had no complaints (she would have normally) considering Cloud's blood coming from the bedroom was still strong in her nose. It was probably best if she went downstairs anyway.

Finally finished, she plated and put everything on a large tray, kicking the door lightly to open it as she announced to everyone there.

"Good morning everyone! Sorry breakfast is little late. Tifa's busy this morning! I haven't had to cook for so many people yet, so I just did what was easy," Kailah set the tray down and set the plates on the bar for anyone to grab. Waffles, bacon, and eggs with syrup on the side. She walked back behind the kitchen and came back with the rest, looking very proud of herself before sitting in one of the empty chairs.

"So, if you don't mind my asking... what's this 'mark of mastery' and why does it sound like such a big deal for Crystal to report back?" She was honestly curious, as she still had no idea how this keyblade wielding worked.

In Tifa and Cloud's room, meanwhile, Tifa hadn't had much sleep. She would wake up from her bed every time there was a sharp inhale from the other side of the room where his bed was. It got to the point where she pulled up a chair and fell asleep with her blanket while sitting next to him.

She only woke up when she heard noises from the hallway, and took that time to wake up Kailah to make sure the kids ate in case they were leaving again. When she returned to the room, she had another fresh bowl of water and clean towels and bandages to change them. Tifa honestly didn't know why she still did it, but even half asleep, she cared enough to make sure Cloud was taken care of. Someone needed to do it.