Of Keys and Blades [Azecreth & Kinzie Kensington]

A clash of blades rang through the air before a training dummy vanished into thin air, vanquished by the force directed against it.

Riku panted as he straightened up from that finishing blow, looking around the open arena. All the dummies had been destroyed, and the place cleared out. The evening sky hung overhead, reminding him of just how long it had been since he had begun training, yet he didn't mind and paid little attention to that fact. It was all worth it in the end after all. Not just anyone got to train with Yen Sid, and he wouldn't waste a moment of that if he could help it.

He sent his keyblade away then as he turned and headed for the entrance, thinking over all that had happened. It had been some time since Kingdom Hearts had been saved yet again, but there was no rest for them. Afterwards they had had some time to rest on Destiny Island, before being whisked away by Yen Sid for training, to prepare for the coming darkness anew.

So he, Sora, and Kairi had gone off to learn. it was hard days, long, nights, but slowly and surely they were getting better. He could feel it, and he knew that he had to try harder to improve. He had to make up for all that had happened, to atone for all the evil stuff he had pulled while under the influence of the powers of darkness. Even if no one else thought that he did, he owed it to himself.

For now though he went to go get something to eat. It had been a long day, and he could use the food. And if anyone joined him, he supposed he wouldn't complain.

Beads of sweat dotted along her hair line. Her red locks had once been pulled neatly into a pony-tail, but with hours of rigorous training, rogue strands now clung to the side of her damp face. That wasn't the only sign of her hard work - her skin was flushed and her chest rose from ragged breathing, though she moved and twirled much too fast for any untrained eye to see that. However, with a final swipe, their day of intense training had ended. The practice room was cleared of all obstacles Master Yen-Sid had tasked them with destroying, and now, it was time to rest.

Adrenaline still flowed through her veins from the incredible work-out. In a way, it reminded Kairi of the days she spent running around the play island with Sora and Riku. She was always smiling afterwards, breathlessly egging on the competition her two friends seemed to always have going, and now was no exception. The only difference this time around was their exhaustion came from serious training, and there was no playful banter between the two boys (mostly due to the fact that Sora had dragged himself to bed early, surprising Kairi that he'd skip out on food).

She left the training area with food on her mind. Her fingers came up to run through her newly released hair with the tie now safely on her wrist. Even though her limbs were sore and felt like jello, Kairi kept a normal pace as she took the path that led to the kitchen. It was a small room, furnished to the brim with all sorts of food to feed the growing keyblade masters-in-training and it was staffed with the magical brooms Yen-Sid controlled. Just as she rounded a corner, she saw the familiar figure of Riku walking casually in the same direction she was headed.

Had she been the spikey haired brunette, she might have taken the opportunity for a sneak attack, but she knew better. From what she heard from Mickey, Riku used a blind-fold so his eyes couldn't lie about the darkness he eventually used, and even though Kingdom Hearts had restored him to his normal self, she was sure he had retained some of his "sixth sense." That being said, she made no attempt to conceal her footfalls as she quickened her pace to eventually walk side-by-side with him. Considering he was a good head taller than her, Kairi had to walk at an awkward pace between a relaxed stroll and speed walking.

"Hey, can you stop walking so fast for just a little bit?" She joked, referring to his longer strides than her own. "Some of us weren't graced with exceptional height, y'know." A pout formed on her pink lips, which barely hid the playful, upbeat grin that threatened to show.

Riku walked along with a calm step, hands resting in his pockets in the process as he headed towards his destination, the kitchen. He was tired, sure, and he would undoubtedly need to bathe later, but for the moment he would survive. Sweat was already starting to dry, leaving his clothes to try and stick to his skin, something that was annoying but that he could also live with. After all, magic would be able to set it straight. Otherwise, he looked remarkably intact from his training exercise, in spite of all the effort that had gone into it.

As Kairi had expected, Riku did indeed pick up on her approaching from behind, though he gave no indication of it at the same time. He'd gotten used to that sort of thing, and it helped in a fight to give no sign that you knew you were being snuck up on. So he let her do what she willed, and soon enough she was walking alongside her, or trying to. And with the lack of Sora, he found he couldn't really complain.

Riku chuckled aloud at the comment, a light smirk making it's way to his features at her playful banter. "Maybe you should work on getting taller then," he noted with a counter of his own, even as he slowed down so that she didn't have to work so hard to keep up with him. He wouldn't mind the company, especially when it was in a more casual setting such as this. "Done with training for the day?"

Despite Riku's suggestion, Kairi's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Someone has to be the short one, and I think Sora will go down kicking and screaming if I tried to get any taller than him," she joked, the pout disappearing from her lips. "It's better this way."

She nodded at his question. "I had thought about staying longer for some extra practice, but that probably would have done more damage than good." Kairi felt like she had a lot of catching up to do, considering she had her keyblade for the least amount of time between the three of them. That's not to say she was complaining - the red-head was beyond thrilled to have the chance to fight alongside her best friends, and she wasn't about to slack off.

"I'm kind of excited for the spar tomorrow. Think you're ready?" It was solely with their keyblades. Magic wasn't allowed, something that put her at a disadvantage considering it was what she excelled at., but she didn't let it get her down. "Though, I am a little nervous with Master Yen-Sid and King Mickey attending."

Riku let another chuckle slip free at Kairi's counter, bringing up how Sora would be annoyed at being the shortest again. Not that he would complain about that particular fact, if only out of friendly humor if nothing else. Even with all they had been through he still found it amusing to mess with his friend in some ways, small ways. Just to keep things from being too serious.

He nodded in understanding as she explained why she was finished, an acknowledgment that did not slow him as he headed towards the kitchen. If that was what Kairi thought then he wasn't about to object to it. After all, she knew herself best. Certainly he had no right to stop her after everything he had put her through. Even now, he was still trying to make up for it all, one step at a time.

He looked back down to her at the mention of the spar tomorrow as he nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. A spar? that was basically nothing with what they had been through, even if they all had to basically learn new fighting styles from scratch as opposed to just swinging away. Her comment brought a little smirk though, as he reached over to ruffle the top of her head. "Don't worry. You'll do fine."