Translated by ninelein

Ventus sat on his bed, his eyes open and his upper body upright, but still he was staring into the distance absentmindedly.

"So, does anything hurt?"

Aqua didn't receive a response to her question. Before the eyes of Master Eraqus and Terra, who had come run to join her, she stroked Ventus' face and again asked him,

"Are you sure you're not in pain?"

...

"Or are you hungry?"

Though also that last question remained unanswered, Ventus still moved his head just the smallest bit.

"I still got some of the cake I baked yesterday left. I'll bring you some, good?"

With that, Aqua left the room.

"So, you proud now? Hey, if it's getting too much for you, maybe you should take it easy," Terra then said teasingly to Ventus, who had regained consciousness only a few minutes ago, as if he was trying to provide an relaxed atmosphere. Ventus however only kept staring at him, emptily. It was then that Aqua returned. In her hands she was carrying a tray with sponge cake, from which an icing of snow-white sugar was hanging.

"You know, actually, you're not supposed to eat in bed, Ventus. But today's special, so: Bon Appetite!" Aqua said with a smile. And yet, Ventus still didn't show all too much of a reaction. Still Aqua proceeded to cut off a mouth-sized piece of the cake with the fork and then brought it to Ventus' mouth with one hand. Ventus then moved his head, slowly and in a somewhat robotic fashion, to look at Aqua.

"Good! And now say "Ahh!", OK? You need to eat a lot so you'll get better soon!"

Aqua opened her mouth, so show Ventus what he had to do and finally, the boy began to do the same. Now, Aqua could feed Ventus the cake. He closed his mouth again and slowly started to chew.

"So, how is it? Too sweet?"

Terra didn't get a response to his question, but Ventus, after having swallowed, actually opened his mouth again.

"Ha, I think he likes it! That's great! Hm, you think he could try eating by himself already?" Ventus wasn't moving one bit while Aqua wondered this aloud. Aqua then handed the plate and fork to Ventus who wordlessly accepted it. He took the fork and began to cut off pieces of the cake to eat them.

"Ah, it worked!"

"Still, he has yet to completely recover. We will need to keep watching him attentively for now," Master Eraqus said and both Aqua and Terra replied with a simultaneous:

"Yes."

Terra then looked Ventus directly in the eyes and spoke to him,

"So, when you're then finished with Aqua's Calorie-bomb, get some more rest, OK?"

"Don't let dear Terra's complaining confuse you, Ventus, he merely isn't a great friend of sweet food. Truthfully, Aqua is a very skilled baker," Master Eraqus added in a serious manner. Terra could only sigh at this and shake his head.

"Excuse me Master, but I will never get how you and Aqua can love stuff that tastes like it had been dipped in sugar three times over that much."

"You just lack the developed taste of a gourmet, dear Terra."

"There's nothing wrong with my taste, Master, I just don't think-"

As Master Eraqus and Terra were still quarreling like this, Aqua suddenly began to giggle uncontrollably.

"Ah, Terra, I know you're all "nuts" for nuts, so I prepared something with them for later. It shouldn't be too sweet, so don't worry. Master Eraqus, will you join us for dinner?"

"With pleasure, Aqua," Eraqus nodded quickly, but with delight.

"We also got some cake without icing left, Terra, so I guess you could have some of that for dessert."

"Ah, well, I guess if there's no icing, I can take it," Terra replied relaxed.

Throughout that entire conversation between the three of them, Ventus silently kept eating his cake.

Standing in the harsh winds of the Badland, Vanitas closed his eyes. There had been a great movement in Ventus' heart, just now. But he didn't know if that meant that Ventus' heart itself was moving now, or if something else had moved it. But whatever it was, it made Vanitas feel warm, just a bit. It was a feeling as if lukewarm water was flowing through his chest. But despite this, that bit of warmth was not enough to warm his heart and it grew cold again as soon as the feeling faded. Before he had even had a chance to try savior the warmth a bit, it had frozen over again. He could feel that the Unversed were surrounding him once more, but he heard nothing except the sound of the wind. It seemed to be in-synch with the soft movement of Ventus' Heart and for once, Vanitas felt barely any hatred or sorrow. Absentminded, he just stood there and let the day pass by.

No matter how many days passed, I would still be a being of Darkness, right? I didn't know when the world would start to move. Maybe, it had already started, long ago. But in the future ahead of me, I could see nothing but the Darkness that had been bestowed upon me.

I had only one hope. And that was the χ-Blade.

Terra and Aqua were having their usual sparring session by the bond near the mountain summit, outside the castle. The swords the two used were just training weapons made of wood and had a very special shape - They were fashioned like Keyblades. Though they were both using wooden Keyblades, Terra and Aqua had a unique fighting style each. His eyes still as empty as always, Ventus watched them from a bench close by. Or maybe "watching" wasn't the right word, as he couldn't really quite comprehend what was going on anyway. A small bird was sitting by Ventus' feet, picking the ground. Then, it jumped onto his foot. Then, it flew up and landed on his shoulder. But despite all this, Ventus showed not a hint of a reaction. Terra and Aqua looked over to him and saw this, exchanging glances regarding the matter afterwards. By now, Ventus could manage to move his body by himself, but he still hadn't said a single word since he had woken up and was unable to execute even the simplest tasks without help. Whatever Terra, Aqua or even Master Eraqus tried to say to him, he would just continue to stare of into the distance all day. He never even made a single sound.

"Hey, Ventus!" Terra shouted, causing the bird to take off and leave. Ventus looked over to the older boy.

"Just a moment!" Aqua, too, stopped sparring for a bit and hurried over to Ventus' bench. There, she picked up a basket resting close to Ventus' feet and smiled at the boy.

"Surprise~! Look!"

Aqua pulled a small cupcake out of the basket.

"I added an extra serving of nuts and wild almonds today!"

"-Finally something edible!" Terra said and snatched the cupcake from Aqua.

"And one for Ventus!" She pulled out a second one, handing it to the younger boy.

Ventus just stared at the cupcake with unblinking eyes.

"Here! You can eat it!" Aqua urged Ventus and finally, he took a bite from it. Meanwhile, Terra too was enjoying his treat.

"Uhm, yeah, that's good. Looks like Aqua's a girl after all. Huh, who'd have known?"

"What do you mean, "After all"?"

"Well, sometimes it's hard to tell with you, but I guess if you like baking and are into sweetstuff, you probably qualify as a girl. What do you think, Ventus?"

Terra was waiting for the boy to agree with him, but he just silently kept eating his baked good.

"Oh, so anyone who likes sweet stuff is automatically a woman now? Well, I'm sure the Master would be thrilled to hear that."

"Which reminds me, the Master said the other day we should try to gradually integrate Ventus more into our activities," said Terra with a sigh, wiping off his mouth after finishing his cupcake.

"Does that mean we should train with him?" Aqua seemed a bit uneasy when she said this.

"Well, there's no harm in trying, right?" Terra replied before he took his wooden Keyblade and handed it over to Ventus. The boy stared at the weapon before he took it in his hand and stood up from his bench. The weapon's teeth were pointing behind his back, when he seemed to be positioning himself.

"Uhm" I don't quite think that's how you hold it, but- alright! Let's try!"

Aqua watched over Terra and Ventus when they got ready.

The moment Terra raised the wooden Keyblade above his head, Ventus staggered. The wooden weapon he had been supposed to hold onto slipped out of his hand Ventus appeared to be losing his balance.

"Ventus!"

Aqua rushed over and tried to calm the boy down by embracing him. And for the first time since he came here, Ventus lost his conscious again.

I'm scared.

When suddenly a strong emotion overcame him, causing a pain like that of a wound, Vanitas momentarily stopped breathing, grasping his chest with his hand.

Was this Ventus?

It couldn't be anything, he was sure. But just as suddenly as the feeling had come, it vanished again, leaving only the pain. Vanitas took a deep breath. Ventus' heart had stopped again. He didn't know what had happened to him. But he knew that somethingmust have happened.

Far away, a far more carefree heart also experienced a "motion".

"Don't let it get to you like that, Terra," Aqua told Terra, who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his head hanging.

"I'm not a Master yet. I shouldn't have taken the right for myself to decide whether Ventus is ready to train with us yet or not."

It wasn't often that I saw Terra as upset as this. We had been scolded by their Master before, but it had never caused Terra to beat himself up over it yet. It was probably a shock to him that his actions actually hurt someone by accident. Even though we exercised the use of the Keyblade every day, we were still in training and had never hurt anyone before.

"I've never seen the Master as angry as this before." Aqua was kneeling by Ventus' bedside, stroking the sleeping boy's forehead as she did. Why did Ventus collapse when he saw Terra raise the wooden Keyblade against him? Aqua wondered if that might have anything to do with Ventus' amnesia. Aqua kept watching the motionlessly sleeping Ventus. But she didn't worry. She had a feeling that he would open his eyes again very soon. Call it an' intuition, maybe?

"Wake up soon, OK?"

As if he had heard Aqua's words, Ventus eyelids began to move and raise, slowly.

"Ventus!" Terra called out and ran to join Aqua at Ventus' bedside. As he eyed the boy besides her, Aqua began to ask Ventus,

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

With Aqua's help, Ventus began to move his upper body and sit up in his bed. Then, he looked at the two other youths with him, puzzled. He began to talk.

"A-koo-Akoo-wa, T-Te-ra-?"

"Yeah, that's right! We're Aqua and Terra! Ventus, you woke up!"

Not only had Ventus opened his eyes, he had even managed to say both their names. Aqua couldn't help it, but happily hug Ventus when she realized this.

"Master! Ventus is awake again!" Terra yelled for Eraqus, so he would come and see it for himself.

"So you finally are awake, Ventus."

There was a smile on Eraqus' face where he entered the room.

"Yeah" And not just that, he also called us by our names!, Aqua declared while standing up from the bedside. This caused Master Eraqus to nod happily, "Well, it seems like we had made progress after all in that case. Nevertheless, we must not rush things. Remember that."

"Yes, Master," Terra responded calmly. Ventus kept looking around the room in disorientation.

Xehanort was watching Vanitas from above, his Keyblade in hand.

"Yes, keep on suffering. Savor the pain. Only this way you can become even stronger."

Vanitas got back up from the floor, groaning. As soon as he tried to draw closer again, however, he took a strike under the chin and was thrown through the air. Once more, he hit the ground. Whenever Xehanort returned to this place when he was visiting the battlefield of this ancient war, he would beat up Vanitas with his Keyblade before leaving again.

Vanitas' loneliness fed his hatred and made him stronger. That's why Xehanort was now usually leaving him behind here, by his himself and alone. However, that alone wasn't enough. Whenever this tactic alone proved insufficient, Xehanort would return here to train Vanitas himself. No matter how out of breath he was or how heavily he cried, all he could do was to endure it with gnashing teeth and keep fighting. This didn't mean that he was truly able to simply swallow down all the grief within his dark heart. But showing would have been a weakness. So he just produced Unversed. They could feel it out for him. Vanitas had to grow strong, very strong. That was all he was meant to do. And he also needed his loneliness and hatred. Just before his tears dry his Darkness would be the greatest.

"Yes, Vanitas' Hate them. The people, the world, everything."

From Vanitas, who was still crawling on the floor, Unversed were born. Xehanort shook with laughter when he saw this.

Today, Ventus was once more absentmindedly sitting in the great hall, watching Terra and Aqua train.

"Stronger! You cannot wield a Keyblade like this!" Master Eraqus called at them, and both, Terra and Aqua began to storm towards them. Both of them were fighting frantically, at their utmost power, but they were no match for Master Eraqus.

"Please."

Barely having gotten back on her feet, Aqua charged for the Master again, but her wooden Keyblade was knocked out of her hands. It tumbled right to Ventus' feet. To this point, Ventus had only been sitting there idly, but now he stood up from his chair and picked up the weapon. That was the first time Ventus had done anything out of his own intentions, without anybody urging him to do so.

"Ventus?"

Before the eyes of Aqua, who hadn't been able to stop her voice from sounding uneasy about what was happening, Ventus gazed at the wooden sword for a while, as if he was wondering something, then he took it into his right hand, backhanded, just like back when he had lost consciousness trying to spar. Both the Master and Terra stopped fighting, only looking at what Ventus was doing.

And for the first time, Ventus swung the wooden sword, which was much too big for him.

"Do you want to try, Ventus?" Master Eraqus asked. And barely had Ventus heard this, he kicked off the soil. Eraqus easily parried Ventus' first strike. But now that Ventus had started, he was barely able to stop. He didn't know why, but somehow, he knew exactly how to handle the weirdly-shaped weapon. It was easy.

"Good. And now try it again. You have a very good technique."

Hearing the Master's words, Ventus charged again. Rhythmically, the wooden sword kept clashing with Master Eraqus' Keyblade, until finally the boy was knocked away and sent flying.

"Are you alright, Ventus?" The Master held his hand out to Ventus to help him up. Ventus nodded a bit.

"Well then. If that is so, you will be training with the others starting tomorrow."

Eraqus gently stroked Ventus' head. Even though Ventus' facial expression was still unchanged and empty, making it seem like he was not feeling a single thing despite everything, Terra and Aqua came run over and they were gleeful.

"Wow, Ventus, you're amazing!"

"Yeah, I was really shocked by how swiftly you handled that blade!"

Surrounded by the two others, just fixed his eyes on the wooden sword and gazed onto it motionlessly.

"Good, this should suffice for today. We will continue the training tomorrow," Master Eraqus declared and it was obvious that he was in the best of moods.

"How about we go eat something then?" Aqua asked with a big smile on her face.

"What did you prepare for us today, Aqua?" Eraqus asked, stroking his mustache.

"I made my "Dancing Lemon Cake"! There's not that much sugar in there, so I guess Terra will be pleased too."

As the two were talking, Ventus was starring off into the distance, the wooden Keyblade still tightly enclosed in his fist. And then, even if just for a moment, he looked at Terra. And Terra could have sworn that Ventus seemed worried.

In the dusk, Terra was on the mountain alone, handling a knife. He was carving the handle of a Keyblade, modeled after what he had always wanted his own Keyblade to look like one day out of wood. Terra had done this before, so his carving was skilled and he made quick progress.

"Terra!"

Aqua was coming run up the mountain road, followed by Ventus.

"What are you doing up here? Tuning your sword again?"

"You know it," Terra nodded and pointed his beloved weapon at the evening sun, looking at it.

"Terra made his sword all by himself, you know," Aqua told Ventus, while putting her hand on his shoulder. Ventus just curiously eyed Terra's handwork. Just like Aqua was a very talented baker, Terra could make almost everything he wanted to with a knife and some wood.

"Alright, that should do it."

Yes, this was fine, It fit very well in his hand. Maybe a bit more fine-adjusting would be needed, but before long, he should be able to get it just the way he wanted to.

"Are you done?"

"Yeah, for today at least," Terra replied, putting away the wooden Keyblade. Aqua made Ventus sit down next to Terra, then placed herself between the two of them and sat down herself.

The evening sun was shining upon the three of them. Ventus wasn't watching the sunset, but rather he just emptily stared at his hands. Or maybe, he wasn"t looking at anything in particular at all. Just staring.

"So, did you already get used to the Master's training yet, Ventos-eh, I mean Ventsu- Vensu- Oh, whatever! Ven!"

When Terra just cut Ventus' name in half like this to avoid twisting his tongue, Aqua burst into laughter.

"Don't laugh!" Terra complained and let his head hang in shame, as he endured Aqua's laughing. She shook Terra's shoulder.

"Hey, Well, It's not that hard to pronounce you know. Were you even trying?"

Seeming very embarrassed, Terra responded with a groan.

Ventus didn't really understand what was going on. So he looked at Aqua.

"Seriously, what's so funny about it?" Terra sounded aggravated.

Aqua still couldn't stop her own laughter, so Terra called her back to reality by giving her an angry look, "Stop it already!"

It had just been too amusing for her and only now, Aqua finally stopped laughing, wiping off her tears.

"Hm, OK, OK. Maybe "Ventus" is a bit hard to say in the long run."

Aqua looked at Ventus and their eyes met. When this happened, he shrunk away a bit and let his head hang like he, too was now ashamed. Terra seemed to sympathize with him now, and spoke,

"Right? Also, "Ven" sounds a lot better anyway. Rolls right off the tongue and suits you!"

""Ven" Hm, yes, I guess we could call him that," Aqua replied and Terra put a hand on Ven's shoulder.

"So, what do you think, Ven?"

Ventus- Ven heared what Terra said and nodded a bit.

"Great. Then you'll be "Ven" from now on!" Aqua said and put an hand on Ven's lap.

And still, the evening sun was shining upon the three of them.

The next day, while Terra and Aqua were sparring aside from them, Master Eraqus went through the basics of Keyblade Wielding with Ventus.

"Exactly, this is how you block incoming attacks. The best offense is useless without a solid defense," Eraqus said, while correcting Ventus' stance a bit. Ven obediently nodded at the Master's words. He still wasn't talking a lot, but yet he was notably different from the way he had been when he had first come here.

"In my pursuit for the χ-Blade, I caused great damage to Ventus' heart in hopes of creating it."

And suddenly, Xehanort's words were back in Eraqus' mind again. Ventus was the result of a failed attempt to bring forth the χ-Blade, he had said. Eraqus had heard that the χ-Blade was created out of an intersection of pure Light and pure Darkness. But Xehanort had never told him how exactly he believed the χ-Blade could be forged. Could it be that Ventus was bearing the answer this question within him?

"Master! Could we maybe take a break?"

Aqua's words called Eraqus back to the present.

"Very well. We will take a short break then," he replied and led Ventus' hand, which he had brought up while correcting his posture, silently down again.

"Today I made bottled Strawberry Tarts!" Aqua announced with a smile, causing Eraqus to almost unintentionally lick his lips.

"Strawberrys? Aqua, I must say, you know my favorites just too well."

"I hate strawberries" Terra mumbled, letting his head hang in disappointment. Terra generally had an aversion to fruit, it seemed.

"There should still be some of my "Open Sesame" Cake left from yesterday, Terra, you can have that. Ven, could you help me with the Green Tea?"

Hearing Aqua ask this of him, Ventus walked over to her. His walking movements, too, had become a whole lot less robotic ever since he had first woken up. It was really no comparison to before. It was thanks to Aqua's and Terra's efforts that Ventus had been able to recover as much as he did. Though still very awkward in what he did, the improving Ventus seemed so innocent and honestly happy. Yet, Eraqus couldn't shake the feeling that he could not let his guard down. This boy might be concealing the secrets of the χ-Blade in his body after all. And naturally that brought Eraqus worries and also doubts. At very least it wouldn't catch anyone's attention if he kept a close eye on Ventus right now, as helpless as he still was. Also, while he was here, he wouldn't come in touch with anyone but his fellow students. This too, was probably a good thing.

"Terra, you can be quite picky at times," Master Eraqus laughed as he stepped up to Terra and gave him a little pat on the back.

"I just don't like sweetstuff, that's all. But I'm surrounded by Candy-Maniacs here! I mean, really, You, Master, then there's Aqua- And now Ven is all crazy for the stuff too! I'll never get it!"

"Conversely, I will never understand how you cannot appreciate the delicious taste of a fine, freshly plucked strawberry," Master Eraqus returned with another laugh, before he turned towards the dining hall and walked there. Finally, Terra, looking quite gloomy, did the same.

Terra sent Ven flying with a well-aimed strike of his wooden Keyblade.

"Giving up already? C'mon, Ven. I thought you were stronger than that," Terra stated with a grin, a little out of breath himself.

"Ven, you almost had him! Just try it again!"

"Hey wait, you're teaming up now?" Terra complained with an exaggerated move of his hand, as he watched Ven get up from the floor again.

"Once more, go!"

Terra took a strike from Ven. While the boy still wasn't talking much, he was nothing like he had been before anymore. And again, Terra sent him flying.

"OK, OK. Let's take a break, shall we?"

Terra was just lending Ven a hand to help him get up when he heard Aqua say that.

"So, what are we eating today? More cake? I don't see your basket around"

"I didn't bring any today. We're eating with the Master later, so I already prepared everything in the dining hall. I made "Milky Way-Caramel Pound-Cake". You like that one, don't you, Terra?"

While Terra and Aqua were talking, they sat down on the edge of the cliff on the mountain summit. A bit delayed, Ven too joined them and placed himself between the two. He clung to the wooden sword in his hands, like it was his treasure.

"Ven. You see all those dents and nicks you got?" Terra finally asked, pointing at Ven's sword.

"Each one of those is proof you're learning," Aqua added.

Ventus let his head hang a bit, but didn't give any other response.

"You're trying too hard to move your body. You need to learn to let your body move you. Right?"

Saying this, Terra held up his own sword. It was the same wooden Keyblade he had been working on so diligently. Finally, he had finished and perfected it. Now, he had carved his name into the handle. Terra stood up and cleared his throat.

"Ehem! In your hand, take this blade. And so long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be made!"

And then he stretched out the wooden Keyblade to the sky.

"Heh, what's that about? Who went and made you Master?" Aqua asked amused.

"Being a Keyblade Master is all I've dreamed about!"

"Well, you're not the only one," she said.

"I know." Terra kneeled down before Ven all of a sudden. Then, he handed over the wooden Keyblade to him.

"You, me and Ven all share the same dream."

Ven stretched out his hand, to take the Keyblade. He grasped it tightly. And then, for the very first time, Terra thought to have heard Ven laugh a bit. And that made him happy.

"Here. It's yours, Ven."

And with this, Terra made the Keyblade he had actually lovingly made for himself into a gift for Ven. Terra had worked long to make it fit perfectly for himself for all intents and purposes, but now it was much too large for Ven. Even though Terra had tuned it so long, just to make it ideal.

"Huh?"

Witnessing this, Aqua raised her voice.

"But Terra, why're you doing that?"

"So Ven won't forget we did this. Somehow, I have to get it in his head, right? I can make a new sword, no big deal. But if giving this one to Ven is a way to make him smile, Then that's way better than keeping it for myself."

"You heard that, Ven? Terra likes it when you smile," Aqua told the younger boy, smiling herself.

"Thank you."

Having not expected to hear this, Terra and Aqua looked at each other in surprise. It was Ven who said that. It couldn't have been anyone else. This was his voice.

This was the first time Ventus had actually spoken.

"Ven!" Terra and Aqua exclaimed together and stared at Ven, who returned the stare in confusion.

"What's wrong? You seem shocked, you two."

"Y-You talked, Ven!"

Aqua hugged Ven tightly and Terra scrambled the boy's hair proudly.

"H-Hey, T-Terra, Aqua, what are you doing- Stop it, I'm not a little kid!"

When Aqua heard Ven complain like this, she couldn't help it and burst into tears. Terra laughed loud and happily and Ven, still not aware of why they were acting like this, kept trying to get them to quit it.

And then, the three of them laughed together for the first time. And their laughter traveled far.

It was unpleasant when it hit his ears.

Vanitas was laying there, face down, his eyes closed, his hands tightly grasped into fists. In his pitchblack Heart, there was suddenly warmth flowing all over it and he heard laughing voices that kept on echoing in his mind. For just a moment, he felt as if he was there, as if he was Ventus, sitting there.

Ventus was laughing.

There were this two people with him and suddenly Vanitas also knew their names.

The boy's name was "Terra" and the girl was "Aqua".

They were with Ventus, around him. They were laughing together.

Finally, he woke up-

Vanitas got up, shook off the irritation, and slew the Unversed it had caused with his Keyblade. The Unversed vanished without a trace that it had ever existed. There was a malice much greater than the pain in his chest now, dyeing it darker than black. He wanted to cause someone despair and see them suffer.

Ventus?

The entire world?

Maybe Xehanort too?

The people who were laughing with Ventus?

He didn't even know. He just hated everyone and everything.

In the middle of the Badlands, a boy kept standing alone.

~~~

So... if you guys didnt know there where a bunch of "?"s and stuff, and i had to change the "?" too these things~  "  ' , and -

It was annoying.

and there are over 4000 words.

Your

welcome