... Because I find it hilarious when Donald calls someone a "palooka."

Anyway, reviews are very much appreciated but not necessary. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy!

Sora struck at yet another Heartless, struggling just to hold his Keyblade steady in his sweat-slicked, trembling hand. Deep Jungle was just full of Heartless; they couldn't go two steps without running into another cluster. It was irritating and extremely tiring, and the tepid climate didn't help matters, but this was their job and really they had no choice.

He spared his teammates a glance between slashes. Donald and Goofy fought valiantly, as always. Sora allowed a smile to grace his lips as Goofy, in an uncharacteristically vicious maneuver, cleaved his shield down onto a Heartless' head, destroying it.

Then he allowed his gaze to shift to Donald, and the smile fell from his face. Even if they were back on the same team, he was still pretty peeved at Donald's disregard to the whereabouts of Riku and Kairi, which at this point was really Sora's greatest priority, destroying Heartless and being the Keyblade Master as a close second. Donald had promised him, back in Traverse Town, that if Sora went with them, he could find his friends. Now the boy wondered if Donald was backing out on his promise, and the very thought aggravated him.

He was fairly sure that the duck didn't like him much, either. He yelled at Sora a lot, sometimes for really stupid things. According to Goofy (who, even if it was probably for the better, couldn't tell a lie), Donald had seemed well and ready to abandon Sora and continue their search for the king without him. If that didn't mean that Donald disliked him, then he didn't know what did.

But Sora would just have to tolerate it, he guessed. After all, Donald and Goofy were towing him around the worlds just for being able to kill Heartless, which was infinitely better than being confined to twiddling his thumbs back in Traverse Town. If Donald didn't like him, then that was fine; Sora just needed a way to find his friends, and staying with these two was his best chance.

Sora was triumphant to come to this reasonable conclusion, but unfortunately, he had been so lost in thought that he had not noticed the large monkey-like Heartless creeping up on him until it had already pinned him to the ground.

Flat on his back and struggling wildly against the beast, Sora couldn't even manage to scream for help. He had dropped his Keyblade, and he knew that by the time he managed to call it back, it would be too late. The Heartless raised a claw; Sora would never be able to block the attack. He simply squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for the end, hoping that getting his heart ripped out wouldn't hurt.

Before the Heartless could cleave downwards, there was a sudden scream that, while containing an indecipherable lisp, sounded a little like "FIRE!" And just like that, the weight on Sora's chest disappeared.

When the boy dared to open his eyes, he was confronted with a very angry-looking Donald, who folded his arms irritably. "Get up, you lazy bum! You're lucky that was the last Heartless, or else you'd be pinned again."

Speechless, Sora scrambled obligingly to his feet, gaping at Donald the entire time. "W... Was that you who cast that Fire spell?"

"It sure was, Sora!" Goofy beamed at him (or, as close as one can get to beaming with only two buck teeth). "Gawrsh, you were in a real fix, but Donald saved ya! All for one and one for all, remember?" Predictably, the statement was directly followed with a loud utterance of "A'yuck!"

Sora still stared at Donald like he had never seen him before. "Donald... I... You... You saved my life!"

Donald, who up until this point had been examining his Mage's Staff without interest, turned a glare on the boy. "Of course I did, you big palooka, and don't you forget it! Now stop staring at me and let's get moving!"

With that, Donald stormed off huffily, while Sora only stared at him, amazed. He owed that ill-tempered, impatient, insufferable duck his life.

And somehow... That didn't bother him.

Sora and Goofy exchanged a glance, giggled in unison, and hurried to catch up with Donald.

After all, it was all for one and one for all.