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A portal opened upon the Destiny Islands, giving way to a male figure clad in a black coat that obscured everything about his identity. He stepped forth and witnessed immediately the setting sun. A school was behind him, and all around were houses and the like strewn along a path toward the end of this large island. Below the falling sun, he could see a glimpse of another, smaller island covered in trees. "Hmm. I don't know if it's a good thing that a sunset is the first thing I'm seeing in a place that's supposed to alter my destiny. Whatever. I can probably fix anything bad that happens in my future, unless I explode or something."
The portal which opened up also had another within. A young girl with raven hair separated into large pig tails also stepped out. She was attired in green tribal-like clothing, boots and small assortments of armor pieces. There were lots of wild feathers on her clothing, as well as purple lines of makeup around her body. Whatever the case she stepped out and the portal closed behind her. Upon hearing the words of her companion she sucked her teeth once more shaking her head from left to right. "There's nothing bad about a sunset. It just means moon rise is coming. Different light same day~" the girl mused. Her logic about life and perspective seemed to dictate that nothing could be bad, it was simply a matter of finding the good in it. "This place is pretty nice though~" she chimed stretching her arms above her head before taking a stance with her left hand upon her hip. "Think that volcano is active?" she asked sniffing the air and turning her head to look at the mountainous thing behind them.
"Can you be sure about that?" the male asked of his companion. "Sunset means darkness. Darkness means a danger to the world. Even though Darkness isn't evil by its nature alone, the things that come from it have instincts that create problems for everyone," he explained while stepping forward. He turned around, setting his gaze on the volcano at the island's center. The idea of it being active created a vision of an interesting contrast in which the light faded on one side, and a different light spawned from the other. Alas, it didn't seem this volcano would be producing anything naturally. "It doesn't seem active, but I don't think it matters much. If you want it to be active, I could try throwing a Mega Flare at it. I doubt any of that fruit is on this island anyway."
"Can anyone be sure about anything?" the girl responded to the question she'd been asked. The pair of them were having an oddly philosophical conversation for a couple of teens looking for destiny-altering fruit. Still as the boy went on to explain himself and the coming dangers of the darkness, she realized that he was oddly skeptical about darkness as a part of nature. He seemed to find it problematic regardless of the more neutral nature it maintained because of the instincts which went along with what backed it. "Sure, sunset brings darkness, but it also gives the opportunity for light to show brighter by contrast. The instincts of the creatures of darkness aside, even a little speck of light is enough to hold them at bay..." the girl thought absently as she took a step or two forward. It seemed that there was a way to possibly make the volcano active, and he didn't think the fruit he was looking for could be found on this island anyways. A grin crossed Kairos' face as it became obvious what he was suggesting. Though she was herself quite fond of the idea of everything burning in a bright light, even she wouldn't sacrifice an entire island in blinding light just to have her strange desire sated a bit. "Ano, that's a bit extreme, yeah? Gonna have to take a pass... I'm a certifiable pyromaniac and even I know we shouldn't just cause a volcano eruption. Moderation~ That Mega Flare spell is pretty cool though... I gotta come up with something like that of my own. Lots of fire... you're the magical Master... so you should give me a few pointers~" she chimed as she looked around. She also didn't see any obvious place to find fruit trees or anything of the sort. Even so, she also had no idea where to go. "So, where do we look for a life-changing fruit, if not here?"
"Yes... Some things," was all Luxu had to say about this apparent certainty. As they both moved forward ever so slightly, Kairos suggested that the smallest sample of Light was enough to hold off the Darkness. Luxu had seen far too much already, and knew otherwise. "The world was born in darkness. From that darkness came light, which became hearts. Now, darkness grows again to consume everything." As he spoke, Luxu materialized the Keyblade he was given by his master, which bore her very eye at its tip. By his will, numerous portals of Darkness opened around the island, each one taller than any building in the area. What came from these giant portals was an army of massive, muscular, humanoid creature with skin black as night. Their appearances were identical to one another, featuring short legs with upward-curled feet, long and stocky arms, tiny twisted wings, and heads covered in twisted black tentacles. As well, they all possessed large heart-shaped holes in their abdominal regions. There were so many of these giants present, their shadows created a false night on the island.
With this done, Luxu reached up with his left hand to pull his hood away. He was then able to view Kairos directly with those amber eyes of his. "You're passing on the fireworks, so how about we swap that out for a show of the real danger in this world. I've seen your Unions and their members fighting against the Darkness... but I've also seen the bigger picture. Your master and the other Foretellers... Do you think they're prepared, and can prepare the rest of you, for this?"
Master Luxu went on to claim that there were some things which were certain, at least to him. Kairos couldn't help but smirk at this, because she could believe in certain things but that was usually in reference to certain people. "That makes it sound cyclical," she mentioned only to watch as something strange happened. Luxu materialized his Keyblade and called forth numerous portals. And from these portals came a mass of darkness, Kairos had never witnessed before, her eyes widened at the sight of giant-armed darkness with heart-shaped holes in their chests. They had tiny wings and short legs and were terribly muscular and thus intimidating. Kairos took in the proportions of these beings, and a giggle escaped her, initially but she quieted it, by the time that Luxu removed his hood to look directly at her. "Kuku... Ahem. Sorry, those arms are ridiculous though," she managed with joy still present in her eyes. Soon though she turned her attention back, she wondered if the other Masters would be able to combat something like these creatures. "I mean, I don't know most of the other Masters. Right now all I have to go on are you... and Invi," she said looking up at this darkness and feeling something strangely akin to a thump in her chest. Her eyes came back to Master Luxu and her brows drew together in light confusion as she took in his visage and once again struggled with why his face seemed so familiar to her, and yet so strange. "I think, given the type of people you guys have shown yourselves to be, you'll do your best to make sure everyone is ready... To us normal uninformed people, shit like what I fought in the Cave of Wonders might be a bit too crazy," she mentioned knowing that something like these would test her skills just as much."But we will do what we always do, and try to overcome the challenge in front of us. And if nothing else, even a dozen weak people together could probably handle like one. And sometimes... that's enough." she offered honestly. By her own assessment something like this would be quite dangerous even to her. But she didn't plan to rest on her abilities and even if she had to branch into things considered less than normal, she'd do it to save herself and those closest to her.
The first reaction Kairos had to the swarm of Darkness was an interesting one. Above all else, she chose to jovially address the warped physique of these creatures. More to the point though, her only points of reference were Invi and Luxu himself as far as masters were concerned, and she allegedly believed such masters could indeed prepare for enemies such as these. "You think so? I don't think Invi could have defeated Kurt Zisa. Actually, I saw him fail once in that same cave. I'd also only give Kurt Zisa a three out of five, if I were to compare it to others I've seen." Luxu looked up as the Darkness spread around these creatures, encompassing the ground across this entire world by pouring their essence in all directions. It seemed the world itself would be consumed rather soon, but what's more, Shadow spawns of varying types began emerging from the Darkness along the ground. Inhabitants of this world were in grave danger, as was their home. In fact, the same could potentially be said of the two Keyblade wielders visiting the Destiny Islands. "You're right, though. Even the smallest amount of Light can overcome Darkness... if it can become bright enough. Keep in mind though, the opposite can also be true. So... are you going to take these guys out, or not? You said you wanted some pointers, right?"
According to Master Luxu, after the apparent hilarity of the darkness before them had been addressed by Kairos, there was something else of equal import. He was in the know that one such as Master Invi would have fallen to a beast such as the one Kairos had managed to defeat alone in the Cave of Wonders. She inferred this based solely on the conversation they were currently having as the name Kurt Zisa was one unknown to her until this moment. "Ah, well... that's disappointing isn't it? I mean, Invi basically said the same thing the other day but... still. You're crushing my optimism. I'm goal-oriented. If he doesn't stand properly above, then this is going to get really boring for me..." she mused still seemingly enamored. "And that's a shame if you are only calling it a three out of five, that was a pretty rough fight, ya' know?" she said aloud. But the growing mass of darkness would seem to be one which needed to be taken care of in one way or another. "But even if he couldn't you could, and who knows what other sort of overlooked talent lay hidden among the others, like me. And you've got a better handle on the general powers of your would be apprentices and your peers," she said the last word as if stretching it, like she almost didn't want to use the word but she could at least believe a bit in the ones she didn't know.
Regardless there was a more immediate problem in the form of the darkness spreading themselves and their essence about in a manner which would likely be considered dangerous, even to Kairos at this point. The words spoken by Master Luxu seemed to be ones of goading asking if she intended to do something about the impending threat. "Hm, I thought I was done with work for the day, but an encore never hurt anyone~" she mused as she summoned within her hand that thorny looking keyblade with is black color and that still thumping cardinal heart in its teeth. "I know, I know... we got this," she mused aloud but not to the boy with her, but instead speaking directly to the weapon. Whatever Kairos intended the first of her actions would be to cast a quick succession of spells as she dove into battle without a second thought. "Zero Graviga! Magnega! Firaga!" this trio of spells aimed lock in dozens of smaller pieces of darkness around her, first launching them into the air in a bout of weightlessness, before pulling them into each other and physically damaging them in the process and lastly she aimed to set this mass of darkness ablaze with darkness enhanced flames. Whatever the outcome of this, her body was still in motion as her body flipped up the extended harm of one of these giant pieces of darkness as she intended to attack its face directly with her Keyblade. Upon the first strike those dark colored runes would aim to spread down the body of this particular heartless maiming it in such a way as to keep it from moving or utilizing its magical abilities.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm sure your master could have defeated something like Kurt Zisa, but... he didn't. There were a lot of variables, and they didn't work in his favor after fending off the other Heartless. Invi never excelled with strength or Magic power, so Kurt Zisa left him with no way to actually deal much damage. As for my ability to do something... well... I have an edge the other masters don't have. We both do," he concluded, glancing toward Kairos once more as he produced his final clause. "Only a few of us are unfocused enough to handle something like this though. Are you?"
Luxu awaited the answer of Kairos, and soon, he got it when she called upon her Keyblade. He hadn't seen the likes of this weapon since he gave her the first Keychain she wielded, so seeing it here was something interesting indeed. Her approach began with a trio of spells cast, the first two of which lifted and pulled the lesser Heartless nearby into her physical assault. The last of her combination aimed to set ablaze the pool of Darkness itself while Kairos moved onto the head of one giant enemy. The rune seal of her Keyblade began spreading down its head and part of its torso while Luxu looked on with a raised brow. "Darkside aren't weak. You'll have to hit it a lot more than that to stop it, but then what will you do about the other forty-nine?" he asked rhetorically, simultaneously offering the precise number of 'Darksides' brought to this area. Some Darksides were already making use of their massive arms to punch at Kairos at varying intervals and angles, while some others were beginning to manifest spheres of dark energy which shook the island with their collective power. "Your limit isn't going to be enough. So, what sort of spells are you capable of?"
Kairos was soon informed about the nature of Master Invi and apparently a few of the other Masters. It was stated that he could have beaten something like the darkness she'd faced alone, if not for the other variables involved in the day. That was at least reassuring, because it would have been boring if the Masters weren't capable. Even so, it seemed that there was a certain flexibility required to deal with the massive problem produced by Luxu on Destiny Islands. "Dunno, guess we're about to find out, huh?" she asked most rhetorically.
As this battle went on the first of her maneuvers appeared to be successful in dealing with the smaller number of darkness as well as her initial assault upon the first of the Darksides. Though that came with a bit of chiding from her would-be mentor who went on to explain that such a creature would need more work applied to it than she'd managed initially. "Ah, well that's news. I've never used that on anything and had it not work, but fine..." she muttered, considering that against strong targets the natural ability of her Keyblade would need a bit more umpf. "Also you could hold back just a little. Fifty is a huge amount to overcome. I'm one girl, sir!" she claimed, only to throw her Keyblade directly as she jumped away from the face of the Darkside, this would send it ricocheting against said face in a circular motion, more than a dozen times, building the number of runes on its person until it was all but consumed. There was also the matter of the coming large-fist heartless aiming to punch her out of the air. "Reflega!" this created a spherical barrier around the girl where she'd have fists bashed against it and be bounced around a bit like a pinball between these large creatures. "Kukukuku!~" she laughed as she was all but tossed around like a rag doll within the safety of this barrier. "Hm, in addition to the ones you've probably already seen, I can also do water spells and wind spells," she said not making mention of the barrier she'd obviously already used. This would take her grand total up pretty high as she seemed to have a pretty decent balance of offensive and defensive spells. Though technically she was better versed in the use of supplementary and defensive spells. "Ah, I should say, I'm better at the ones which aren't innately offensive... that's important. I've known them way longer and use them more freely." she said. "Firaga!" she mentioned setting the barrier she was within on fire as she was bounced between several of these Darksides, aiming to cause them even more damage as she tried to think up a proper strategy for dealing with them.
"I guess we are," was the retort of Luxu, who hardly warranted the attention of these Heartless for whatever reason. His gaze remained unbroken while Kairos made use of her Raid technique to increase the severity of the first Darkside's seal, though she fell quickly to a defensive spell when facing the melee attacks of the others. As he watched her bounce around due to contact made with her reflective barrier, he held a hand to his chin. "Fire, Water, Wind... Magnet, Gravity, and barriers..." he muttered. He was beginning to get a feel for what he could recommend Kairos, and the more he saw her physical capabilities, the more he realized this was an easy feat. The fire spell she used around her own barrier completed the idea he was having, which he rather quickly produced for the girl to hear. "Raging Storm. If executed properly, someone like you should be able to make an Ultimate-class spell by surrounding yourself in swirling pillars of fire, sort of like Fire Surge. As long as you're able to turn your flames into pillars, they should become concentrated enough to meet the power demand you need for this sort of thing. From there, your ability to maneuver around your enemy should take care of the rest."
As Kairos was being bounced around among the melee attacks of several Darkside, she was soon given a tip. Though she was already applying a bit of fire based damage to those who would attack the barrier she'd encased herself in, it was hardly enough to properly discourage their actions. Master Luxu had a bit of a boon for her, in the way of a spell he referred to as Raging Storm. His claim was that she could use the things she already knew to create pillars of fire around herself with the concentration of flames needed to dispatch the large number of enemies he'd placed in front of her. "Huh... like Fire Surge, but bigger and more intense..." she seemed to look a tad inquisitive, but she didn't have much more time to consider it. 'So I need like... to swirl fire while also concentrating it? That would make pillars right?' she questioned herself. Even her barriers had a limit and the one she was in began to crack around her. She called her Keyblade back to her hand as she noticed this happening. "Welp, looks like it's showtime..." she murmured. As she began to gather magical power at the end of her Keyblade. Though she could have easily cast magic directly from her person, in this case she felt she needed the safety net of her Keyblade to try something so new. The idea of intensifying her own use of fire and trying to meld it into columns was extreme. This was especially difficult and time-consuming for a girl who could present hear the cracking of her own barrier.
Every second that went by she continued to be bounced around, but managed to keep her balance like a gyroscope, balancing herself in the same way she intended to balance all the magic she was mixing and its power. Even so it wouldn't be until the last possible second that she'd make anything of it. In fact her entire body was glowing with magical power, even as her barrier shattered around her. No matter what happened though, it wouldn't be until she was ready that all of this magic would be released. A torrent of swirling fire would spread out from the tip of the girl's keyblade around her body in a solid column of fiery winds which spread out around her person in all directions. What was more, these would aim to mar the field in around her completely aiming to engulf all around her in intense flames. Even if they weren't felled by flames alone, the girl would begin to move once more, aiming to physically attack each of the fifty present Darksides directly. A flurry of flips, agile side-winding movements, Keyblade throws, and even spins, would have the young woman making slashing physical contact with every single piece of giant darkness in sight. What was more, between the flames and the binding applied by her weapon, she was almost certain she could take them out, though she'd be admittedly exhausted regardless.
Following his explanation of a potential new spell for Kairos, Luxu fell silent. He was more than content to simply observe what Kairos had to offer, even while he continued questioning his own choice in letting her be so near to him. Perhaps it was best if he treated this as part of his farewell tour, like his visits with the other masters. It would likely be for the best to leave well enough alone in this case, if only to prevent doing to another what had been forced upon him. Regardless of this train of thought, he rather enjoyed the show put on by Kairos when she was released from her barrier and left to make use of the Raging Storm spell. Her efforts against the Darkside swarm was a valiant one, and her use of the fire spell managed to reach all fifty of its targets thanks to her maneuverability. However, it seemed she'd only managed to damage them with fire, and only slow them with the power of her Keyblade. Seeing the girl exhaust so much of her ability for so little output made Luxu realize one of the major reasons he'd scouted her as his apprentice: she could truly accomplish much, much more by accessing the Darkness within her. Sadly, there was more to it than this. The Darksides may have been maimed, but those which had begun forming orbs of Darkness had accumulated enough to forge a single, super-massive sphere to black out the sky. The others were not so much a threat at present, but this single mass was a potential world-ending creation. "Well... you stopped them, and they all seem weakened. That there's a problem though. So? Still think it's enough?"
When Kairos finally stopped moving she looked up to see that all the Darksides still remained. Though most were unmoving and even more had been maimed not one had been felled by what she had to offer. "Eh? Well, first off that big ass thing is a showstopper and downright unfair," she claimed showing the slightest hint of annoyance at the situation presently shown to her. "Second, I did like two thirds of the work, a solid sixty percent starting point ain't half bad really... Though I did think I'd do a bit better than that..." she commented understanding the gravity of the situation. She was tired from all she'd done, so she couldn't say she'd be of much use physically, and she'd exhausted a great deal of her own magic stores doing all she'd done. Had it been enough? If even one had fallen she supposed she could have said yes. She could have been satisfied by this outcome, but... it simply wasn't the case. Still... there was a bit of optimism left in her and she went on to explain her thoughts about it. "I did say I was goal-oriented. I'm probably better suited to setting stuff like this as a goal. And to be honest it isn't enough right now, but it might be one day, and that is what actually matters right? That's why everyone is doing stuff, to get better and try to be ready for shit like this..." she mused. As she stared at the large orb created by all the Darksides scattered across the battle field she got the idea that using such a wide-scale attack against them, infused with darkness might be enough to wipe them out. It was against her nature to have attempted such a thing initially because of how she viewed herself. And though she'd taken on her more jolly persona, she realized in this moment she'd had doubts which had lingered a bit past her good mood. Without thinking about it consciously, her Keyblade materialized in her hand, once again and she looked out at the giant orb exhaling another exhausted breath. 'Not over until the curtain falls right?' Her thoughts on this moment, were aligned with her heart's desires, so maybe... what she had in mind was possible.
"That's my whole point. A speck of light isn't enough to take out the masses of darkness. But... even the greatest darkness still can't extinguish the smallest light. The two can't really exist without each other." Luxu offered this additional clause as he nonchalantly twirled his own Keyblade in his right hand. "It might be enough one day, but if you're not there for it, what difference does it make you? Also... that's not at all why your Unions are doing things." Luxu was more than prepared to deal with these Heartless and their ultimate assault himself, but Kairos herself was not quite done yet. At the summoning of her Keyblade, Luxu ceased the twirling of his own, taking it up in a reverse grip. "May your heart be your guiding key," he stated prior to taking to the sky himself, launching himself directly toward the sphere of Darkness. His Keyblade rose against it and began spinning again, seeming to force the sphere away with only a slight amount of effort required of Luxu himself. "If you want a piece of my mind to go with that piece of my heart you have, though... Darkness isn't evil. Darkness isn't a weapon, a tool, or a crutch. Just like Light... Darkness is a necessity," he said during the ascent of the dark sphere, as well as his own climb higher into the sky.
Apparently Luxu was very much into his ideas about the darkness and light needing each other to coexist. Kairos supposed she hadn't thought of anything like that before this point, but it did at least make sense. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, but at the very least she could accept it as a probable truth. As the conversation continued though, Luxu questioned how she felt about whether the small light would grow into light enough to bring down the darkness if she wasn't going to be there. "Eh? Well, I suppose it doesn't make much difference. I never know where I am going to be at any given time, so all I can do is look forward to it. Smiling helps..." she said with a gentle nod of her head, as for the bit about their Unions not actually doing what she'd been told she shrugged it off. "Another mystery, that may or may not actually matter to me at all~" the girl chimed. Still in her heart she knew she wasn't quite done with with fight yet. And it seemed Master Luxu was finally ready to act as well as he jumped into the air Kairos did as well, and his parting bit of advice made her look to the lad remembering their earlier interactions. "Necessity huh? I still think that is a bit too rigid, but... I guess it is an improvement over evil~" she chose to take this message with optimism. "A piece of your heart and a piece of your mind, hm. I wonder what piece I'll end up with next~" she mused though strangely this wasn't exactly a joke, though her mood was still jolly. Meanwhile Luxu held off the dark orb above, even forcing it away. And after her speech, Kairos began making one similar to that one at the tip of her Keyblade aimed downward, at the fifty Darksides below. As it grew in size, a grin spread across her face that wouldn't simply be removed. 'I guess I can deal with that...' she mused internally.
"Heh! Talking like that, you sound like me," he said in a most casual manner. Kairos, having taken the clause of necessary Darkness in stride, joined Luxu in the air while commenting on his previous statement and the fragment of his heart she held. Such a thing caused the male to laugh as he launched the Darksides' energy away. "No clue, but I've been feeling generous lately. Is there something specific you'd like?" he asked, apparently being in a good humor at the moment. With Kairos forming her own ball of Darkness, Luxu reached around her right side with his own Keyblade to place it parallel to hers. Magic was channeled through the tip of Luxu's Keyblade to further feed the effort Kairos put forth by both enlarging the ball and infusing it with a mighty - and in this case, dark - swirling wind. "Aeroza!"
According to Master Luxu, Kairos' recent choice of words made her sound like him. She chuckled about this, finding it funny. "Kukuku~ I am going to take that as a compliment~" she mentioned as she continued to charge her present attack. She'd already decided to use the darkness to try and end the darkness and though it seemed counterproductive, she was also content to continue her joking conversation with the Master. He was apparently feeling generous about the parts of himself that he offered, and jokingly asked her what she'd like. Comedic timing being one of Kairos' specialties she had an immediate comeback. "Oh, buyer's choice, huh? Well, I can't turn down a generous offer, the hair is definitely next on the list~" she claimed, bringing back her thoughts at her first point seeing him in her own head. She would have cut this off completely, but his sudden appearance at her side, even reaching around her with his Keyblade parallel to hers, made her keep talking as she glanced over at his face once more. "Hmm...I don't know though, I kinda like your eyes too... it's too hard to choose~" she whined seemingly in jest. But if she was going to whine about something she probably should have waited few seconds longer, as Luxu decided to add to her current spell build up, with a wind spell unlike any she'd ever seen before and with a suffix she'd never heard before. The massive increase in size and composition of her spell, made her eyes widen. "Wait, wait, wait... 'za' you can 'za' spells? Really?!" she turned her purple gaze towards the young man with her and looked astonished. As an accomplished spell-caster, Kairos knew that magic had great depths, but she'd never had a long standing conversation with anyone who was actually better at it than she was. Such a showing from Master Luxu gave her the idea that her magic could be expanded upon in a great way. With that in mind she released the darkness she'd been building up at many times the size she would have shot it off at, based on Master Luxu's interference. She'd used a water spell, intending to release it like a tidal wave from above, with the addition of Master Luxu's magic to her own, dark water cyclones would aim to ravage the entire population of Darksides below at its release.
In response to his joking offer, Kairos mentioned that she'd lay claim to the Master's hair. Such a thing made him suddenly seem almost legitimately shocked. "My hair? Don't even joke; I've been growing it my whole life!" he said, even though he remained in high spirits. Kairos moved on however, claiming she couldn't choose between his hair or his eyes. "Well... I guess I could give up one of those. I have an extra," he commented, shifting his gaze toward Kairos as he spoke. Her surprise at the notion of spells featuring the 'za' suffix was something to take note of, and it made Luxu realize this was the reason she had used so many spells which capped out at the 'ga' level. "I was wondering about your spell choice. The fourth level is a milestone above the others. If you can manage them, the sky becomes the limit." With that said, Luxu was left to see the end result of his spell being added to the one cast by Kairos. Seeing the massive accumulation of magic cascade over the Darksides and the island below was a treat, but also something that made Luxu realize he'd need to be fixing something in a matter of moments. Of course, he'd always intended to rewind time and not ravage an entire world with Heartless that shouldn't have been let loose anywhere, but that was another matter entirely. One by one, and in some cases two by two or more, the Darksides were blown away and washed over by a tide of magic, and the island began to disappear with it. "By the way, there are more levels beyond that."
It seemed that Master Luxu was at least capable of keeping up the sort of joking conversation that Kairos liked having, even going so far as to mention that she couldn't even joke about having his hair because he'd been growing it his whole life. The almost genuine shock of the moment made the young woman laugh just a little. "I mean, it will keep growing, it isn't like you need all of it~" she snapped backwards without so much as a casual thought. Of course, there was also the matter of his eyes and apparently he was willing to part with one of them which made the young woman click her tongue against her teeth. "Naw, that doesn't work. I'm a little greedy, I need the pair~" she stated plainly seeming to be serious just for a moment before her eyes went on to watch the carnage below. During this, and because of her questioning of the use of 'za' spell suffixes Master Luxu also mentioned that it was something like a milestone to achieve this level of spell. Noting that being able to do so would open up a world of possibilities. Kairos watched while a great number of Darksides began to disappear.
"Wow! Really?! Ya' know, I didn't really know anybody who was better at magic than me before, so I hadn't really considered it could go farther..." she mentioned, thinking it had been a good idea to pick at the man's brain a bit. It'd gotten her a lot of useful information. "I'm gonna do stuff with that... thanks~" she said offering her gratitude for the new information. At the mention that there was magic beyond even that, her eyes widened as she imagined the use of her favored kind of spell on an even more massive scale. She couldn't help but become giddy with laughter about it as an idea, even though she wasn't necessarily set upon the amount of destruction she could cause with such a skill set, she wasn't above having said power. Still she didn't seem too bothered by the fact that everything below them seemed to be disappearing in the tide of the magic they'd unleashed.
"Well that's just downright selfish of you," he jested during a slow, measured descent. Luxu would never reach the coated ground, nor would he allow Kairos to do so. Not moving too far away, he shifted himself toward Kairos. Her intention to go above and beyond the standard for magical ability was much like his own some years ago, albeit with different circumstances surrounding it. "I didn't know anyone better than me either. But... I'm always looking for something more," he stated. With that, his Keyblade's chain switched, converting his Keyblade to its blue state with a clock face at its tip. A misty blue aura emerged from the Keyblade, enshrouding both Luxu and Kairos. Suddenly, they would be standing once again on the island as the sun began to set, though he altered their location slightly so their view would be that of another, smaller island off the shore. "That's more like it. I got a pretty good view of the place while those Darksides were out. There are some trees over there that might have fruit on them."
"Is it?" she said also in jest, like she hadn't the slightest idea why such a thing could be considered selfish, and with this began a minor monologue which bordered upon the level of tirade in its comedic value. "Well, fine... I suppose I could let you keep them. Ya' know, since with gifts it's supposed to be the thought that counts. Plus, I might not like them so much if they were just floating around somewhere. Your face is kinda necessary for the overall ascetic..." she said taking a moment to frame his face with her fingers as if making a picture of his face, including his hair that she stared at a few seconds too long as he moved towards her. Though given she'd also claimed to have wanted his hair she realized that her earlier desires could have been satisfied with much more simple request. And as such that would be the punchline to the jest going for quite sometime. "Hmm, I could have just asked for your head by that logic~" she finished this monologue as they made their way towards the ground but apparently didn't touch it.
At the notion that he hadn't known anyone better than himself either she only scoffed. "Well not all of us can be self-motivated," she offered sticking her tongue out at the lad and managing to seem like she was in a huff, but not being anything of the sort. Still there was the matter of something new happening before her. Strangely, this lad's Keyblade was made into the form she'd first seen it as. Besides this the time around them was altered but both retained a common knowledge of what had happened previously. She even got to see and feel a strange blue mist. "Hmm, that's a bit different... Nice, nice..." she mused as if it was a simple apprasial of his abilities. Moving along from this there was the commentary that a nearby smaller island had some trees on it, that he might find his destiny-altering fruit. "Hm, island-hopping, sounds like a bit of fun. Let's go!~" she mused content to follow along with the same amount of vigor she'd led her previous adventure with.
Once time was reset in this world, Luxu stepped forward with his Keyblade still in hand. Turning to Kairos again, he raised said Keyblade to the nape of his neck whilst wearing a cheeky grin, aiming to address her statements made prior to his time-altering. "Well, if the rest of my face needs to stay, I guess there's no other way, is there? Some queen wanted my head taken off once, but you were a lot nicer about it, so... I think you might deserve it." As he spoke these words, Luxu took steps backwards toward a canoe at the shore's edge. One of these would be a rather easy way of crossing the sea toward the other island, at least for the sake of taking some extra relaxation time and avoiding some teleportation method. "So, shall we go the old-fashioned way? Well, you and my severed head, I mean..."
A cheeky grin would be what greeted Kairos and her eyes would widen just a tad, as it was mentioned by the lad that someone else had once demanded his head. He apparently thought Kairos more deserving of it in this case and it caused her to chuckle just a bit. "Well, that Queen has good taste. And I can't say I blame her, the whole head is a great package, nice eyes, great hair, good brain, and that cheeky smirk~" she mused seeming to find something interesting about those things when taken all together. The thought that she deserved these things in someway was also a bit tantalizing to her, but she couldn't exactly place why. As they moved along, with Master Luxu moving backwards, he claimed that they could take it the old-fashioned way, by a tiny canoe. Kairos having been walking along all this time simply nodded her agreement. "Of course, of course. We have to take time and smell the roses. Or I guess... ocean. Whatever... also, I can't travel with just your head. That'd be a bit boring, I have nothing to carry it in... it'd be a big mess..." she said seeming to find it funnier than she had previously. And giving a confirmation to the idea of taking the canoe in the first place. "Besides, I have no intention of rowing that canoe alone. And... it'd be pretty boring to have to make-up your end of the jokes too~" she mentioned content to take up place in the canoe when it was reached and help row it along whenever they took off towards this new island.
"Oh?" Luxu replied as the Keyblade was moved away from his neck and waved about in a very lackadaisical manner. "Well thanks, but I get the impression that she wanted my head for different reasons. She didn't take to me very easily... or at all," he concluded. Turning around to face the canoe, he twirled his Keyblade until he finally banished it. Since Kairos had no apparent intention of rowing the canoe with his decapitated head in tow, he sighed and shrugged, as if figuring he'd have to leave his head attached. "Fine, fine. I'll just have to figure out what it means to be without a body another day. Well..." Whatever he intended to say, he paused and shook his head while laughing. Without further ado, he stepped into the canoe with a hand extended to Kairos. In a matter of moments after this, he fully intended to push the canoe off shore and begin moving toward the next island.
Kairos walked with Master Luxu as he waved his Keyblade about with reckless abandon. He began speaking on the matter of the Queen who'd wanted his head, and apparently he'd not made such a good impression on her as he did on Kairos. "Awww~ Well, better luck next time~" she said of the boy's lack of bonding with some Queen that wanted to cut his head off. While it was a bit weird to imagine, Kairos could at least find a bit of humor in trying to befriend someone who'd once wanted you dead for a simple reason. Soon enough, Kairos found a hand extended to her, after Luxu banished his Keyblade, she looked at him for a second longer than was necessary. His laughter in the moment prior was startling. She thought it cute in the moment considering how serious he'd been for a while when they'd first met up today. Still she took his hand and hopped into the canoe before he pushed it off and they headed for the island. "I feel like it's no fair if you don't share the punchline, but I also feel like it'd be lost on me~ You're a strange one, Master Luxu~" with that said the young woman looked out over the island with its setting sun and the water with wide eyes. It was quite an amazing sight to behold, and she found herself gently balanced in the boat staring over as if she had no fear of falling.
Luxu could agree to the comedic value of the hypothetical situation in which he would attempt befriending the queen. Of course he would never bother to do such a thing, but it was quite the interesting thought nonetheless. "Luck is an interesting word to apply," he commented, having come to know even more information he had no intention of sharing so openly. Still, he occasionally seemed incapable of holding back these initial statements, even when he intended to delve no further into the clauses. Perhaps it was for such a reason that Kairos called him strange, but as he rowed away bit by bit, he stared out into space without a single apparent worry about that matter in particular. "Yeah... some of my friends always thought so too," he commented, seeming to have lost himself in deep thought for a moment.
"Oh?" she quizzically asked though it was rhetorical. She thought of it as a funny moment. Beyond this though as the rowing began the lad seemed to be a bit spaced out, mentioning that some of his friends also thought him strange. "Hm... well that isn't a bad thing. Strange is cool..." Kairos said finding the lad staring off into space when she turned around to look at him. Her own choice in friends made it quite obvious that strange was exactly the type she enjoyed. Something she also enjoyed, was the look on this lad's face while he stared off into space. Though she'd mostly been talking in jest for the duration of their time spent together this day, she'd not be at all dishonest or joking when mentioning she enjoyed the look of Luxu's face. In getting to know him she was also starting to like his personality as well and that was a strange thing to consider. The moment she had this thought her eyes widened and she returned her gaze to the ocean and island ahead.
"You think so too, huh? One of my friends said the same thing once..." he added to the notion of strangeness being something 'cool' as spoken by Kairos and one other before. Though he remained spaced-out, he was no less attentive to the discussion at hand. In fact, the wanderings of his mind continuously led him back to this moment which continued to become something resembling his day-to-day life. "You remind me of my friends, actually. Well... some of them. Maybe that's why I considered making you my apprentice for so long."
"Well, we're not wrong~" she mentioned of herself and whatever other friend of his found his strangeness cool. Normal was way too common after all, and something a little different was always worth looking into as far as Kairos was concerned. As they moved along, it seemed that Kairos reminded the lad of a few of his friends. He stated that this was likely why he'd been considering making her his apprentice. Such a thing made the raven-haired lass' brow raise as she turned back to look at him. "Really? Well, that sounds a bit like a compliment. But what do you mean for so long. I know you said it had been a couple of weeks for you since my yesterday... But given your current disposition it sounds like it's been much longer than a few days or even a few weeks for you since the fountain," she mentioned. She wasn't really prying, but she was curious how long this decision had been floating around in this young man's head. Besides that, earlier in this day she'd said she wasn't actively aiming to be his apprentice, but the more she spoke with him, the more she realized it might be exactly the sort of thing she wanted. She wondered what exactly being his apprentice would entail, how much more she could aim to glean from his mind, and strangely how much more time she could expect to spend with him. The last of these thoughts was randomly associated with how much she liked looking at his face and the strange feelings she gained when doing so for longer than a few seconds.
Eventually, Luxu's rowing of the canoe built up enough momentum that he was able to stop, letting the canoe drift along the sea for awhile. This allowed the young master some time to rest, which he used to kick back and cross his arms while Kairos questioned him. Her curiosity led her to wonder how long it had been since he first began seeing her as a potential apprentice. Right away, Luxu fell into deep thought again. How long had it been for him? He traversed time so frequently, he could hardly keep track whilst trying to do so many things while repeating entire days over and over again. "Hmm. It's hard to say, really. Every time I go back, I end up repeating events of the same day in different ways. Sometimes, I even go do something else entirely... just to make as much use of the time as possible before I have to go away. It might have even been a few years since we met, even though I don't seem to have aged any more than these, what... few days? Anyway, it's been a long time. Long enough that I think I've even changed my mind about that apprenticeship."
Her questions seemed to make the young man think quite a bit. They'd built up enough speed for him to stop rowing so they could gently coast along the ocean as he found the best way to answer her most recent inquiry. And when he finally did so, it was in a way that she didn't expect. It was a tale of him going back, living multiples of the same days, doing different things or the same things or altering things, many times. He claimed that up to a few years could have gone by, and he wouldn't know it because of all that he had going on. Kairos tried imagining trying to keep so many variables straight in her head, and decided that it was likely too much to even think about. Beyond this was the point that he'd apparently had enough time to want to make her his apprentice and change his mind about it. This came as a large surprise to Kairos. "What?! I can't even process spending years in the same couple of days... that's pretty crazy. It's good you didn't age too much though, it'd be a bit freaky to know you yesterday and meet you as an old man tomorrow," she said as her immediate reaction, still there was something more to be said than that. "Shame you changed your mind though. Hanging out with you is pretty fun and the idea of being your apprentice is growing on me~"
"It's not as bad as it sounds. It only takes 1,000 hours to become a master of something. Spend 10,000 hours doing something, and you're the greatest who ever lived. Time travel itself is no exception. You could basically consider it one really long memory exercise," he claimed with a light chuckle. Moving on though, it seemed the idea of becoming his apprentice was something Kairos had started considering with some level of legitimacy. Luxu wouldn't have expected such a thing to be the case, but maybe there was a miscommunication somewhere. "I... changed my mind for a reason," he said, deciding explaining this here and now was for the best to avoid any confusion. "Do you remember what I said when you asked if I had a Union?"
"10,000 hours, huh? I am gonna have to get back to my tumbling exercises at some point then~" she said, remembering a wish of hers from a very long time before this very moment. This was a light jest, and though the young man with her claimed the entire thing was more of a mental exercise than anything else, she still couldn't say she'd be anything remotely sane, if she'd had to do the same thing. Beyond this point, Master Luxu thought to clear up why he changed his mind about making her his apprentice, and strangely he did this by asking her to recall some information he'd given her in the days prior to this one. "Hm...." she mumbled thinking about it and then she cleared her throat to give her best Luxu impression. "I don't get a Union, but I do get a direct apprentice." she finished before thinking about it more. There was a sudden shock in her eyes right behind her general understanding. Right beneath the joke she'd so recently made, she realized he likely said that with those words for exactly that meaning. He meant he only got a single apprentice, she wondered what he could be doing to make that the case, but felt like prying in this instance was a bit too much. Even so, she returned to her normal voice, to question this directly just to be certain... "I take it you meant that as literally as it sounded, you only get one person to take with you?" she asked.
"Tumbling exercises?" Luxu questioned. He had no earthly idea what she could have been talking about, but whatever it was, she apparently wished to be the greatest 'tumbler' to ever exist. Their conversation took a more serious tone over time though, leading to the matter of Luxu and his singular apprentice. Kairos recalled his words as he stood in the canoe, facing toward the island they were steadily approaching. It didn't take much more than this moment of recollection for her to put the pieces of this puzzle together, and likely understood his change of heart. In responding to her query, he chose an approach that wasn't exactly direct, yet would still confirm her suspicion. "That friend of yours from Agrabah. You two are close enough that you were willing to risk falling to your own darkness to save him. Of all the realities I've seen, that one comes up most when I consider taking you with me. It makes me wonder... if I can do to someone else what the Master is doing to me."
It seemed that her reference to tumbling exercises was heard, but not understood. This was to be expected, considering such a statement had simply fallen out of her head because it was the first thing she'd thought of mastering in her entire existence. "Ah... well," she paused a little seeming a tad sheepish for the first time. "I kind of had a dream or rather a wish to be top clown when I was a kid. I am an excellent tumbler, with great comedic timing and all, but I wanted to be the best ever..." she said stopping just shy of mentioning something extremely childish and embarrassing for her. Somehow, looking at Luxu's face made this entire situation way worse for her, as if she was admitting to something embarrassing or remembering it with someone who should know what she meant. But that couldn't be possible at all. As such, she allowed the conversation to shift away from this point, easing into the reason that someone like Master Luxu had apparently changed his mind about making Kairos his apprentice.
Surprisingly enough, there wasn't an actual negative reason associated with it, at least not from Kairos' perspective. Instead, the young master with her, was worried about potentially taking another person from their current situation and placing them into the same boat he was in. "Ah, that's not quite the kind of reasoning I expected... but I get where you're coming from," she said only to chuckle a little. "Well, as much as I can, given I don't really know what kind of task you've been assigned. But I've already figured out that every mask-bearer I've seen has a different task so it's assumable you have something like that too," she said. Agrabah was a interesting point of contention for the lad, apparently the thought of her being willing to throw herself to the darkness to save someone was surprising to him, and marked her closeness with her friend. "Eh, I didn't see it as that risky in the first place, if I am being honest. I would have done the same thing for anyone I considered my friend. It just so happened that at the time I only had one..." she said thoughtfully. "In fairness to you though, it wouldn't really be something you caused, if someone decided to join you," she said while nodding her head considering the best way to bend the previously mentioned sentences to fit her current desires.
"You were a clown, huh? That's an interesting thing for a kid to be doing with their life, but if it's something you found to be worth pursuing... good for you," he stated in regards to Kairos' childhood wish. As for the matter of Luxu's apprentice, Kairos had other reasons in mind for why he would have removed her from the list, but no such reasons existed. She at least understood that the Foretellers each had a role to fulfill, and gave no exception to him in the thought. She was in no way wrong about this, but it seemed Luxu himself had been wrong in assuming Kairos had thrown herself into darkness for a specific individual. "That doesn't make it much better. In that case, I would be telling someone to choose one person over another," he said. Nevertheless, the following words which left Kairos' mouth implied that her own choice in becoming his apprentice would discard any blame toward himself for placing someone in such a predicament. The idea alone was grand, even if still somewhat bitter. In the end, he could only laugh just a tad. "That would make it better, yeah. Knowing the journey ahead though, I don't think there's a reason good enough to fully make it a good decision. That's why I thought... it might be best if I waited until the end to go looking for someone."
"Yep, I was a clown... And it was pretty fun," she said still managing to look sheepish. Though this was thought to be a strange undertaking for a child, Luxu apparently thought it was good for her, so long as she found merit in it. Such a thing made a grin come to her face. Still, it seemed the reasoning behind Kairos' actions after they were revealed still bothered the master a tad, as it was thought that it meant now that he would be making a person choose between situations instead of simply acting based on a previously established notion. "Nope. Nothing like that either, just doing whatever is right in the moment, no choices need be made... Don't think. Feel so good~" this was all Kairos had to say about it. Perhaps the level of happy-go-lucky she was normally didn't allow her to think too much about things like that. The consequences of her actions, the words she spoke, and all of the things about her which made their marks upon the world, were but a passing thought to the lass. Still eventually a laugh would come from this young man, and though it wasn't the type she was looking for, she'd accept it and his apparently logic while shrugging it off, and even teasing the words of the statement she found troublesome. "Laughs gotta come from deeper than that... way down in there," she said. "And, it goes without saying that last bit was too ominous. Overall the sales pitch is a bit creepy, but never underestimate the curiosity of a nosy person~" she said, giving into the idea at least in jest, that she might follow him just to find out what he was worried about. And giving a mild critique of his words as if pep-talking some sort of salesman. She truly felt this lad could spare a bit to lighten up just a tad, but she had been a clown previously and generally felt this way about everyone when she was in the sort of mood she currently was.
Something about the words spoken by Kairos struck a chord within Luxu. Specifically, it was the end of her speech regarding living in the moment. Luxu was suddenly brought back, interestingly enough, to something that was once almost considered a bedtime story to him. 'Kingdom Hearts is always there when you "Don't think, feel so... Good" things wait for those who open their Hearts.' He spoke aloud the words Kairos herself said, but the rest flowed through his mind in a haze. Overall, it was an interesting sentence to speak, and one which immediately took its own place in his mind. Nevertheless, his spirits were lifted somewhat. "Right. I'll work on getting my sales up. Maybe I'll recruit a Moogle to do the work for me. Anyway... I can't do anything about a curious mind; I've got my own to deal with. If you ever wanna know... there's always a door to all the information I have, and it's still waiting for someone to unlock it."