A/N: Sorry for taking so long to uptade but I was a bit busy. I shouldn't take so long to update again so enjoy.

Through the Test of Fate

Chapter 8

Super Keyblade Man!

Magic had to be the hardest part of his training thus far. To use it he needed a crazy amount of concentration and self control, neither of which he could boast of. When Kairi had sprung this up in training a day ago he had made a lot of progress, in just a few hours he could already gather the necessary power to use magic but it was the next part where he was stuck.

Every Keyblade Wielder had a power deep inside that could be used to cast spells. To use it, one needed to tap into it and give it shape using only their mind. There were limits of course, one couldn't think up a dragon and have it wreck havoc, the spell used needed to be within the realms of possibility of the user. The stronger the Keyblade Wielder was, the more powerful and advanced the spells used were. Most of these spells were not original though, having been passed down through generations, but there were apparently some Keyblade Wielders that had made their own spells.

Kairi had explained that in order for him to create a spell he needed to understand the theory behind giving his inner power shape. Since he could not fathom the thought of thinking up a spell, it was no surprise that he was making no progress. The girl almost gave up hope on him but after hearing from Xion that he had used magic before his memory loss, Kairi decided to push until he gave results.

Sora sighed, even now he couldn't began to think about how to give something he couldn't see shape. He tugged on the straps of his backpack as he walked to school, his hair still a bit wet from his earlier shower. His feet dragged ever so slightly thanks to a particular harsh training session with Kairi, speaking of which she was acting nicer than before, this time she let him finish his training early so that he could have time to shower.

"Sora!"

He half-turned at the mention of his name as a grinning Lea approached him.

"What's gotten you walking like a zombie? Still half-asleep or something?"

"You could say that," he muttered tiredly.

Lea chuckled at his lazy friend, "Anyway, there's a rumor going around that you've been seeing some girl after school. Care to tell me the dirty details?"

"Girl? What girl? Are you crazy?!" Sora laughed nervously and smacked Lea on the shoulder, making him cry out in surprise, "Oh! I know what happened! You see, my cousin kind of looks like a girl. Poor guy, he says he hates it but can't do anything about it."

"You've been acting really odd lately...maybe you should be more open about these things so people don't get the wrong idea," Lea reasoned with a shrug. "But who cares about that?! Did you heard about the TV show thing going on tonight?"

"TV show?"

Lea nodded with a grin, "Tonight at seven there's going to be a live broadcast at school. I really haven't seen the show before but I heard that it's about some superhero fighting actual crime with cameras following him around. Maybe you should bring that cousin of yours, that way the rumors will stop."

Sora put on a thoughtful look, "I'll think about it."

"I told him I'd think about it but there's no way we can go," Sora said after explaining Lea's suggestion to Kairi. They were in his room with her sitting on the bed and him sprawled over the futon on the floor.

"We should go."

"Huh?"

"I said we should go. Sure it's not the best idea for me to be around cameras but I could wear something to disguise myself," she proposed. "You need the distraction, maybe it'll even help your training. Remember that resting properly is fundamental for growth."

"She's right," Xion broke in after emerging from the small balcony.

"You were here?!" Sora and Kairi exclaimed in alarm.

"I just got here. Why do you guys come in through the front door anyway? It's way easier to jump to the balcony."

"Don't talk as if we're doing something wrong," Kairi said.

"But it makes no sense, it's way faster to jump to the balcony," Xion argued.

"You're missing the point," Sora said a bit irritably, "The whole point of using the stairs is so that no one suspects Kairi of being here. If word got around that people are jumping up balconies on the fifth floor, then we'll have the crazy people looking for Kairi knocking on my door."

Xion shook her head, "Like I said, using a balcony is a lot easier so I don't think they'll take the stairs either."

"That's not the point."

"I was kidding," she replied flatly, "I made sure not to be seen but if you'd like I will use the stairs from now on." Shaking her head, she moved to sit next to Sora.

Kairi noticed in annoyance that Xion sat a bit – no – very – no – extremely close to Sora. To make matters worse the idiot didn't seem to notice, why would he? Even though Xion was cute enough to get the attention of people on the streets, she felt a bit of relief over Sora being an extremely clueless guy. Or maybe it was all an act and he was enjoying himself...

As if suddenly realizing what she was thinking, Kairi pushed the thoughts away as fast as she could.

"Come on, let's go to the TV thing, it'll be fun," Xion continued with an easy-going smile.

Sora grumbled but decided that if the two were okay with it then they might as well go. There still remained a problem though, his friends thought he was bringing over a cousin. How would he explain the other girl accompanying them? Also, much more importantly, which of them would agree to dress as a guy?

"I said I would wear a disguise but this isn't what I had in mind," Kairi muttered in an annoyed tone as she, Sora, and Xion moved through the crowds gathered around the school.

"You make a good boy," Xion commented with an amused grin, "I bet being a washboard comes in handy."

Kairi glared furiously as Xion who smiled in response.

"I think I see my friend," Sora stood between the two girls before some sort of battle would happen. "We're over here Lea!"

The red haired classmate spotted the trio and walked over to them, a wide smile on his face when he saw that Sora brought a girl with him. However, the guy next to him, sporting a baggy gray hoodie and a baseball cap covering his face kind of ruined the mood.

"You actually came," Lea chuckled, "And you brought your cousin too."

Sora nodded with an uneasy smile. While Lea was not the sharpest tool in the box, Kairi's disguise was not exactly perfect, at least not to him.

"Yeah, this is Kai from Destiny Islands," Sora introduced before turning to Xion, "And this is, um... my cousin's... girlfriend?"

Almost instantly Sora felt a chill run down his spine as two heads snapped in his direction, both with murder in their eyes.

"Just kidding!" He laughed in half-panic as a cold sweat ran down his face, "This is my cousin's sister, Xion who came over today."

"The name's Lea, got it memorized?" He introduced himself to the two girls despite having his full attention on Xion.

"He's a bit too aggressive, your friend," Kairi whispered to Sora while watching Lea engaged in a one-way conversation with an annoyed Xion.

"See, dressing as a guy was not so bad after all."

She looked at him with a small smile, "Fine, you win. But next time I'm going to dress you up as a girl so that you see what it's like."

He laughed in response, "Yeah right. As if I'll ever need to disguise myself like that."

After a few minutes of the group talking amongst themselves, mostly Lea telling stories of his ever clueless adventures, the show was finally about to begin.

Up in a stage set up at the school's courtyard, a short man took a microphone on hand.

"Welcome everyone! We're very exited to be here in Twilight Town! Now! Are you ready for today's live episode of the amazing Key-Man?!"

The crowd roared in eagerness while Sora, Kairi, and Xion looked at each other. All of them thinking that there was no way their luck was that rotten. Surely this Key-Man was not someone who could actually wield a Keyblade.

"Here he comes!" The man yelled into the microphone.

A guy in his early twenties walked into the stage with a cocky smile. For some he might have seemed handsome with his brown mullet but to Sora, the guy seemed like a wimp despite his confident attitude.

"Hello everyone, Key-Man here! Are you ready to see me kick some evil butt?!"

"Yeah!"

"Kick their asses Key-Man!"

"Show them how it's done!"

"Go Key-Man!"

The guy chuckled to himself and snapped his fingers, "Release the Heartless!"

"Now don't worry everyone. Key-Man has done this hundreds of times before going out to hunt the baddies. Rest assured, none of you are in danger," the announcer spoke into the microphone.

Key-Man smirked as a large box opened to reveal a Soldier type Heartless. Without a care in the world he flicked his right wrist and a Keyblade in the shape of a guitar appeared in his hand.

"Now, dance water, dance!" Key-Man strummed his Keyblade and a torrent of water shot out of the tip, hitting the Heartless on the chest and destroying it on the spot.

The crowd cheered loudly for the Key-Man who bowed for them with a grin, "There's more where that came from folks! Release the Darkside!"

Sora and Kairi looked at each other in worry. Was this idiot realizing the danger he was putting everyone in? Was he basking in the attention so much that his brain imploded?

"We have to do something," Kairi muttered under her breath, not wanting Lea to hear them. Thankfully his attention only went from the show to Xion, who was looking a bit displeased.

"Maybe he'll show off his strength and take it out before anyone gets hurt?" Sora half-wished nervously.

"Does he look like someone capable to you?" Kairi deadpanned.

Glancing back to see Key-Man dancing as the giant Heartless began to take shape, Sora knew better than to hope this guy could actually protect anyone.

"What can we do though? It's not like we can risk anyone seeing your face on camera."

Kairi agreed but noticed something just behind a couple of nearby security guards, "When in Rome Sora. When in Rome."

"Huh?"

The Darkside proved to be too much for Key-Man who was trying valiantly to-

"Screw this! Who the hell brings an actual Darkside here? Where are my fakes?! Someone is gonna be so fired!"

It was at this point that the crowd realized that maybe, just maybe, Key-Man couldn't defeat this giant mass of darkness. As the realization came, the crowd dispersed and ran for the exit, only a few remained there, among them Lea and Xion.

"What are you standing around for? Let's go!" Lea urged the girl but she wouldn't budge from her spot.

"Where is Sora?" Xion wondered out loud while scanning the area for any sign of him.

The Darkside grew more violent as it swatted at the various tents set up around the area, kicking aside a few trailers nearby. Key-Man took this as his cue to leave and ran off with some of the staff following after him.

Lea panicked and begged Xion to leave but she appeared unconcerned. Was she insane? If they stayed then that giant monster would kill them!

However, at a nearby rooftop two figures were spotted. One had a Keyblade in hand and wore a plain white mask with two slits for eyes, a green jumpsuit, and a red cape. The one standing at his side was a girl with the same mask but covered part of it with a white hood, she also wore blue shorts and a loose green jersey over a long-sleeved white jacket. Unlike the other one she looked like she just found something lying around and put it on, not to say that the one with the Keyblade looked the least bit heroic.

"S-Stop that you fiend..." The one with the Keyblade stated lamely.

The masked girl at his side crossed her arms and looked at him, "What kind of heroic line is that? Put some more heart into it."

"Shut up! Do you even realize was embarrassing this is?!"

"Oh come on, quit dragging your feet and take care of that thing already. With how your training's been going you should be able to handle this thing without too much trouble."

The one with the Keyblade sighed dramatically before jumping to the school's gate and pointing his blade at the Darkside. "Stop that you fiend! The Super Keyblade Man will stop you!"

"Super Keyblade Man?!" The masked girl let out incredulously before busting out laughing.

"Shut up! It was the only name I could come up with! What, you want me to use my real name?!"

She waved a hand dismissively, "Sorry. Sorry. Just fight him already... Super Keyblade Man."

Super Keyblade Man ignored Kai-uh... the masked girl's laughter and focused on the Darkside. He had to admit that unlike the last time he faced one, he felt a lot more confident. Now that he could actually measure its strength thanks to his training in sensing, he had a rough idea of what he was dealing with.

The huge Heartless turned its attention on the person with the Keyblade and punched at him without hesitation. Lea watched in muted panic as the giant fist neared the new superhero but he jumped over the fist at the last second and ran up the length of the thing's arm. The masked hero then slashed at the Darkside's face, cutting off several of the tentacles on its head causing it let out an ear-splitting screech.

Super Keyblade Man jumped down from the Darkside as it staggered backwards. With it hurt and confused, he charged in at it and hurled his blade at the thing's head, piercing its face and drawing another loud screech.

Sora smiled from under the mask as he watched the huge thing lose its shape before disappearing into the ground, another hasty retreat.

"That was awesome! You're the real deal aren't you?!"

He turned to see an amazed Lea smiling brightly next to a very amused looking Xion.

Doing his best to hide his voice he responded, "Glad to help. I uh... I must take my leave!"

Xion did her best to avoid laughing at the cheesy line as the masked hero ran off.

After getting their group back together, they parted ways with Lea and made their way to Sora's place. As they walked, Sora couldn't help but repeat some of Kairi's words from earlier.

"I needed a break huh?" He teased with a mischievous grin.

Kairi clicked her tongue in annoyance, "How was I supposed to know that they would be stupid enough to call on a Darkside? Also, if we hadn't been there then the Darkside would have destroyed your school."

"Wait a minute," Sora gave Kairi, still dressed in her boy disguise, an odd look, "How was the Darkside able to be here? I thought that the generators kept them out."

"Didn't you see all the weird antennas set up around the school?" Xion piped in, "They're used to create a sort of gap on the otherwise safe town. Heartless travel through a separate dimension we call the Realm of Darkness, that's why if there's a gap on the invisible shield around town then they can appear at the spot without problem."

"Does that mean that my school's gonna be full of Heartless now?"

"Not at all," this time Kairi answered, "As soon as the antennas are taken down, everything will be back to normal."

Sora nodded absently and watched as Kairi took off the cap she was wearing, tossing her hair from side to side with a small smile. The simple action caused him to feel as though someone punched his stomach. Her red hair flowed with the light breeze and he caught a scent of it, had she always smelled this good?

Blushing, he turned away from her to regain control of his sudden emotions. He always thought that Kairi was a very cute girl but it wasn't until now that he realized that she was a lot more than cute.

"You're still going to train tomorrow even though you fought that Heartless," Kairi announced in a casual tone.

Ah that's right. Even though she was able to make his heart skip a beat on occasion, she was still a very harsh teacher.

With a chuckle he watched as Xion said something to Kairi and the two began to argue.

Isa was not usually impressed but when he watched a video taken from a school's security camera, sent to him by what he called 'scouts' helping with his search for the runaway Number Four, he took an interest on the masked person that made a Darkside retreat in under a minute.

Was this person a spy from another organization? Did he have anything to do with the boy he had seen before? They certainly had the same body build.

Well, he was not an observant man and his search for Number Four had grown frustrating beyond belief. It was due time he let off a little steam.

He knew what school and even the name of this very peculiar student.

Sora.

As much as Sora hated to admit it, Kairi's suggestion of going to the TV event at school had helped clear his mind. Now as he watched the orb of bright light at the tip of his blade, he had finally completed the second step of his magic training. The next step was the casting itself and moderating the power behind spells, not as hard as the second step according to Kairi.

Other than his progress with training, he recently realized something a bit...odd? He didn't know what to call it but he noticed that the air between him, Kairi, and Xion was not consistent as it was with his school friends. While it was true that they bickered and fought from time to time, the air of familiarity around them was always there. With Kairi and Xion, things would go from comfortable and friendly to distant and seclusive.

Sora shook away those thoughts, choosing instead to relax as he passed by the park where he usually trained at. It had been three days since the incident at school and things were back to normal, there was even a test waiting for him at class and, while school was the least of his worries, it didn't mean that he could slack off. He wasn't the kind of person to care a lot about his grades, so long as he was passing everything was okay, but his parent's constant pestering meant that he couldn't let his grades slip too suddenly stopped walking, his mouth forming into a tin line when he noticed that something odd was happening.

There were no cars on the street, except for a few parked ones, and no sign of anyone on the streets. After his fight with Xion he realized that some Keyblade Wielders could, not kick out, but create something in an area that people avoided subconsciously, he had yet to ask Xion what it was exactly but he figured that he wasn't wrong in one thing, this was likely the work of a Keyblade Wielder.

"Impressive."

His blood ran cold when hearing a deep voice speaking behind him. He spun on his heels and came face to face with a man in his early twenties. With his blue hair, fair skin, and calm demeanor anyone would confuse this person for mild-mannered and stoic, but there was an unmistakeable dangerous and predatory glint in his eyes that told otherwise.

"At first I thought you were just uneasy on this empty street but, seeing your defensive stance, it seems you might be aware of my presence. Tell me, are you a spy for an organization or just a boy with good instincts?"

Sora fought the urge to flinch when their eyes made contact. There was no mistaking it now, this guy was dangerous. Still, why had he suddenly approached him? Did he know about Kairi?

The dangerous man flicked his right wrist and a large Keyblade appeared on his hand. If the man was intimidating then his Keyblade was terrifying, the blue color of its handle faded into the very large gray blade that was easily two heads taller than him.

"My name is Isa," he introduced himself with a smirk, "To be honest, I'd like to put you at ease by saying something like 'I'm not that strong' but my pride would not let me. The truth is that I can probably end your life with a casual swing of my blade."

Sora would be lying if he said that the declaration hadn't scared him, but he managed to push through the fear and ask a question, "Why me?"

"Hm?"

"I don't think someone like you would go out of his way to fight me, so why are you trying to?"

Isa smirked in amusement, "Don't misunderstand boy. I'm not expecting you to put up a fight, I just want to let off a little steam and fighting some unknown kid won't have any consequences."

Did that mean that he didn't know Kairi was staying with him?

Yes, that was probably it, otherwise he would have asked for her from the get-go.

Without having to worry about that for now, Sora felt himself a bit calmer as the Keyblade appeared at his right hand, drawing an interested look from Isa.

"I was right. You are a spy."

"That's right, even though I didn't expect to be outed so quickly," Sora smirked, inwardly wincing at his cheesy acting. Still if he could claim to be a spy, not get captured, or killed, then he would draw them away from Kairi if only for a few days more.

Isa barred his teeth in a smile, his expression going from calm to wild in an instant, "Then prepare yourself spy! I'm not going to go easy on you, I will tear you apart!"

Sora gritted his teeth as the man suddenly charged in at him at a very fast speed. At first wondering why he was projecting his attack so much, Sora raised his blade to block the incoming swing aimed at his side only to recoil back and be hurled aside by the power behind the swing. His look of dread and surprise only urged Isa more as he closed in on the teen and jabbed with his large blade but Sora sidestepped and jumped away, putting some distance between them.

'This is bad, why the hell is that guy so strong? He could break my arm if I'm not careful...' Sora took a deep breath and held the Keyblade out in front of him, 'I just have to be smart and wait for an opening.'

He was broken out of his thoughts as Isa charged in once again, but this time he was much more prepared and ducked under the incoming blow before lashing out with an upwards slash that cut through the man's black robes and drew a bit of blood. However, instead of crying out in pain the man laughed and kept on attacking. Sora felt himself panic as he was forced on the defensive, blocking powerful blow after blow, body buckling under the tremendous strain before his arms gave out and left him open for an attack.

Sora could only cry out in pain as Isa cut through his torso, not too deep to badly wound him but deep enough to draw a large amount of blood.

"You actually managed to graze me, that's much more than was expected of you spy," Isa chuckled darkly while watching the boy struggling to get up, his clothes stained with his own blood.

"This is bad..." Sora muttered weakly to himself while propping himself up on his elbows. A stinging pain throbbed on his chest and he wondered what he was supposed to do.

Isa was much more stronger than him, even blocking his attacks hurt! Right about now he wished that some unknown power awakened inside of him, much like a comic in where the protagonist pulled a win from out of nowhere. People called it an 'asspull' he called it convenient.

Without much of a choice he decided that if he could not expect to win then he simply needed to escape. As he stood on shaky legs and watched as Isa smirked at his weakened state, he had a sudden moment of inspiration. Kairi had warned him more than once that he should never use his full inner power on a single spell, without the control he lacked, the spell would end up as a large explosion.

Wind ruffled the teen's hair as he held the Keyblade out in front of him and began to tap into the power inside of him.

What he was about to do was both dangerous and stupid but wasn't this what a high schooler was supposed to be?

Isa watched the boy in interest, wondering what sort of attack he was preparing before he noticed the way his Keyblade began to tremble and shine in a white light. He felt a mixture of dread and amusement as a white flash exploded from the Keyblade, engulfing the area in a large white orb of energy that sent the two spiraling in different directions.

Only the cracks on the street, the bent lamp posts, and a cloud of debris remained where the two Keyblade Wielders had fought.