They all stared at the maze made of cushy gym mat material, before someone finally asked, "What happened to the gym?"

"This," the teacher said, "is for the Drama Club." She silenced the groans with a Look, and continued. "Those in, or," she smiled, "are joining the Drama Club will need to be athletic, and acrobatic. So," she gestured to the obstacle course, "I've devised an obstacle course. Those in the Drama Club will get their practice, and the rest of you will get your exercise." She smiled the Devil's smile at her hapless students.

Her gaze swept the small crowd of shifting students. "Sora."

Sora resisted snapping to attention only because he was very careful not to, in this class; the teacher sounded like one of the drill sergeants in the Land of Dragons, sometimes. "Yea?"

She aimed the full scope of the Devil's smile at him. "You're in the Drama Club, right?"

"I am?" A moment to think back, oh shit. I am.

"Your athletic prowess is beyond standard." She reached for a wooden sword leaning on a rack next to her, and threw it to him. "Perhaps you will like to be our first volunteer?"

Sora stared at the obstacle course. "Uh…with a sword?"

She gazed at him with some annoyance before Riku stumbled forward, and upon regaining his balance, turned to glare at Kairi. She gave him a cheeky smile, before turning to the teacher, "It's an obstacle sword fight, right?"

"Yes! Perfect!"

A resigned Sora, taking that as some kind of cue, threw Riku another of the swords, and imitating Beast's regal and arrogant manner as best he could, "Will the Princess' knight grace me the honor of this duel?" He bowed, with a smile that was neither entirely mocking nor entirely serious.

While the students oohed and gaped, Riku stared a moment, and then turned with a helpless look at Kairi, who shrugged and raised her eyebrows, a smile on her lips. What will you do, Riku?

Riku turned back to Sora, who had straightened, and was giving him the same challenging look.

I'm going to regret this… "Depends on how ready you are to lose." and then, barely a pause after his words, he moved forward.

Sora dodged, and effortlessly jumped and flipped over the cushion that was presumably meant to be a wall. He had time to wince as he went over: he'd overestimated the strength of the cushy material, before somersaulting backward to avoid Riku stepping on his face.

Sora only saw Riku's own wince and the somewhat panicked look in his eyes because Sora was used to battle, was used to catching glimpses of color as he moved, and Sora stopped, and met Riku's eyes, and stared him down.

This isn't you against me, Riku. This is you with me.

He raised his wooden sword. Smiled. Let's dance.

Riku stared at him a moment, at the outstretched sword, and then smiled—smirked, really—in return.

Sora only just saw it before he had to block, and riposte, and jump over the obstacle on the floor.

Whew. Kairi watched the mock duel, relieved. Forcing Riku wasn't something easily or wisely done; she hadn't been sure he wouldn't just bolt. But he hasn't sparred since getting back. And at least he isn't as tense anymore.

The students behind her gaped, staring in wonder at the two fighters who were vaulting and jumping and slashing as if in a choreographed dance, each movement matching and opposing the other.

Sora got distracted by a cushion wall he'd back up against, and so was unprepared when Riku swept his legs out from under him, and the point of Riku's wooden sword was in his face before he could recover.

They stayed that way a bit longer, not breathing hard but out of breath, the rise and fall of their chests quietly gentle as they stared at each other.

Then someone started clapping, and startled, they turned to their audience, where Kairi was beaming at them, smile radiant.

"That was low," Riku said flatly as they walked home.

"All's fair in love and war!" Kairi said, tone carefully light as she swung her arms.

There was a pause before she continued, "Sparring takes two people."

And then silently cursed as Sora and Riku both looked away. "Ah, I mean—" she scuffed her soles, "I need someone to practice with."

"Kairi," Sora said softly, and she turned to him to see that unreadable look on his face, "You don't need to—"

"I do need to," she interrupted. She touched his face with one hand, the other reaching back to take Riku's, "You're not leaving me behind again."

"Wouldn't think of it," Riku murmured, and Kairi threw him an annoyed look, because if there was something they'd all learned, it was that intent didn't really mean anything if they weren't prepared.

Riku laughed then, that almost held a hint of real amusement. "Okay. Okay. We'll spar with you. But—"

"But you'll have to spar each other, too." Kairi swung their arms, dragging a little on Riku because of the height difference. "Keep in practice."

Riku glanced at Sora under his hair and saw, to his irritation, that Sora was smiling. Somewhat forced, but that smile meant he wasn't going to argue.

I, Riku decided, have some terrible karma. Hesitated, and then thought darkly to himself, well, of course I do.

Riku dropped the practice sword. "I can't."

"You can." Zack picked up the practice sword and put it firmly back in Riku's hand. "This is just a spar, not a test," he said irritably, moving backward to direct the match. "You've done it hundreds of times before."

"I—it's different now." Riku closed his eyes so he didn't have to see Sora's level stare, sword loosely held in his hand.

"Of course it's different."

Riku's eyes snapped open to glare at Zack, somewhat out of surprise, somewhat out of something that felt uncomfortably like panic.

"You're older now," Zack finished, giving him the same sort of firm, level stare that Sora was giving him, ignoring Riku's reaction.

Riku closed his eyes, cursing Zack for being Zack, Kairi for insisting on this, Sora for looking at him like that.

"Riku." The voice was not exasperated, not impatient, and Riku, after a moment, gathered his courage and opened his eyes, to look at Sora.

"Don't think." Sora held up his sword. "Just fi—dance."

The upraised sword was a mirror of what Sora had done just that morning, and Riku knew that Sora had been about to say 'fight,' but had replaced it with 'dance.' I'm so pathetic.

His gaze skittered off Sora and landed on the silent Kairi, who'd orchestrated it all, damn her….

This must be what a condemned man feels like.

Hemmed in on all sides by that exact same look, by the faith and the trust, oh gods, Riku raised his sword.

Sora and Kairi followed him cautiously out the dojo, in case he was still—

"Sora. Kairi."

As one, the two of them flinched. "Yea?"

"…"

Sora and Kairi cautiously stared at his back, not sure what was coming next, but hoping he wouldn't blow up at them until after they'd gotten safely to his room, when he would have had that entire walk from the dojo to his home to cool down a little—

"…just…" Riku raised a hand to his forehead, "Just…" he sighed irritably. "Never mind."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other, but followed when Riku started walking again, and after a few steps moved forward to take his hands, cautiously, and tried not to show their relief too obviously when he didn't pull away.

Kairi did something of an awkward hop to get out of the range of Selphie's attack, and in three steps had gotten inside Selphie's guard before the other girl could recover, and, in two quick hits, Selphie was on the ground.

"…Wow." Tidus walked up, awe and astonishment all over his face. "Never knew you were that good, Kairi!" he exclaimed as Selphie got up, "Have Sora and Riku been teaching you?"

"They have," Kairi confirmed. And then, amused, she added, "We do go to the same dojo, you know," she pointed out.

"You never sparred with us, before," Selphie said in lieu of explanation. She smiled, "Why not? That was fun."

"Yea, I want a go, now!" Tidus exclaimed.

"If you're sure you can handle it," Riku said, walking up. Ignoring Tidus' indignant squawk, he nodded at Kairi, "Did it work?"

"Perfectly," Kairi answered, grinning.

It was a moment before Tidus and Selphie caught on, the duration in which Riku and Kairi shared private, secret grins, before Tidus' and Selphie's objection were loudly voiced,

"HEY! You told her how to beat us!"

"She had it pretty much figured out anyway," Riku said flippantly, turning to walk away.

"Nuh-uh! That wasn't what you said before!"

"Uh—no offense, Kairi," Selphie added as they walked more slowly after the bickering pair, "So did he tell you how to beat us?"

"A few pointers," Kairi admitted. "They taught me how to slip past your guard. And the weak points of your three-on-one style."

Selphie perked up. "Really? Let's fight three-on-one sometime?"

Kairi laughed. "No way I'm ready for that."

"Yet," Riku added as the girls caught up, amusement on his lips.

They got Zack in, because that was the only way to equalize things, the four of them against the three opposite.

The seven of them stood in their guard positions, in the quiet that precedes a battle, waiting for some kind of signal.

More than a few of them thought it would come from Zack, but he was still, a half-smile on his face. He'd been amused when they'd asked, but he'd been the one to teach and train all six of them, and so he could believe it when they said they needed to even the playing field. But he would not give the signal, because he was not here as their teacher.

It was Riku who moved first, and there was a hollow thunk as Zack parried smoothly, easily. Then it became a blur of color and movement, some blurrier than others. There was a moment when Riku thought they had Zack, before Selphie came in with a well-timed movement, aiming at a sword and not a torso, throwing Sora slightly off-kilter, enough for Zack to sidestep and parry Riku and Kairi in rapid succession.

There was a moment where Tidus and Wakka had flanked Kairi, and Kairi could only block in one direction, Sora and Riku too far away to help. Kairi sidestepped at the last second, the ball hitting Tidus instead of its intended target.

There was a confusing melee where all seven weapons were engaged in a giant crowd, the combatants struggling to throw someone off, or to disengage, or something to break the deadlock. It wasn't until Zack took action, shifting to kick Sora and jerking his sword away that they were freed.

Tidus was the first to fall, run out of energy and taken too many hits; his weakness in blocking attacks had been well exploited.

Then was Selphie, when Riku caught her weapon by one end and Sora striking from her left.

Kairi was next, when Zack took an opportunity when she was distracted by a barrage of blitzballs.

Wakka hesitated when he saw Kairi go down, and Sora and Riku took that moment to close in.

Then it was just Sora and Riku and Zack, Sora and Riku warily circling, Zack keeping his distance, allowing them the brief lull, watching.

Then they all moved at once, knowing better than to wait for someone to signal, and in a few moves, Riku was down, taxed beyond his endurance.

Then Sora struck, and Zack liked to think that it'd been luck or fortune or something, because he hadn't seen what Sora did, that disarmed him, and Sora's weapon was in his face, Sora himself run out of the energy to take another step and strike, before Sora fell onto the sand, exhausted.

Zack eased himself down more leisurely, laughing. "Yoku yatta. Good job, you guys. The six of you," he added, leaning back on his elbows, out of breath. "Good fight."

The sun made its languid drop over the horizon, fading vestiges of twilight brushing the three laughing children on the beach, glad that they, at last, had found this little bit of happiness.