After running after Terra Y and Ven very quickly got lost. The town was new and not something Y could say she expected. But the bright side was she had Ven this time. He seemed a little different, maybe a little more serious, but it didn't matter to Y. He was ok. For now.
Y suspected where they were was close to the castle. But the exact location was fuzzy. Ven walked beside her looking around in interest.
Very suddenly Ven started forward. Y heard a sound like an 'oof '. Y and Ven both turned to see a little girl on the ground. The girl had dark red hair that reached her shoulders. She wore a white tank top with black shorts and sandals. Her bright blue eyes looked up at them curiously.
"Oh, sorry. You okay?" Ven asked. The little girl stood up and brushed herself looking over her shoulder. She had to have only been five. Y glanced around, looking for anyone older who might be responsible for the girl. She found no one.
"I'm fine." The little girl said cheerfully. She looked over her shoulder quickly before looking back to Y and Ven. She was smiling brightly, despite not knowing them at all.
"Why do you keep looking over your shoulder?" Y asked curiously, glancing where the girl was looking. There was nothing.
"I'm playing a game and I can't get caught." The little girl answered happily. She glanced around them, for some reason. Her bright smile only grew. She darted past Y and Ven, making them turn to keep an eye on her. She was walking over to a young boy with silvery blue hair flopping over his eye. He wore a white lab coat. "Hi, Ienzo!" The little girl greeted. The boy nodded at her, then turned his attention to Y and Ven. He didn't say anything, which for some reason made the little girl laugh. "Come on Ienzo, no need to be shy. Say hello." The girl encouraged.
Out of nowhere, a large group of Unversed appeared, surrounding the two kids. The little girl stepped forward, raising her fists as if she meant to fight. Y and Ven summoned their keyblades, jumping in front of the kids.
"You two need to get back!" Y ordered, not looking over her shoulder at the kids.
"We'll take care of this." Ven said determinedly. Y heard footsteps that she assumed meant the kids were listening.
The fight was a simple one, like most fights against lower level Unversed were. Even better Y had Ven instead of Aqua. She worked well with the blue haired mage, but she spent more time training with Ven. They knew exactly how to fight together.
Once the Unversed were gone Y and Ven turned back to the kids. Ienzo was still looking at them silently. The little girl smiled at them happily. She looked about ready to say something but stopped hearing a man's voice.
"Ienzo! Where are you?" The man called out. The little girl lost her smile and cowered done. "Answer me!" The man demanded. Y and Ven turned to see a man with long blonde hair wearing a lab coat like Ienzo's. Ienzo approached the man, the little girl following him trying to stay out of the man's sight. "Ah, there you are. Didn't I warn you not to wander off, child?" The man said. He noticed the little girl with a frown. "Kiu, what are you doing here? I'm sure your grandmother is worried sick about you. Go this instant." He ordered.
"Yes, Mr. Even." The little girl said glumly. She turned to Ven and Y and waved before running back towards the town. The man, Even, turned to the two.
"We owe you our thanks. We have done our best to raise the boy since his poor parents are not here to do it." He said, motioning to Ienzo. Y smiled softly and leaned down, putting her hands on her knees.
"Oh, you're on your own?" Y asked softly. She hadn't known her parents very well. They had died or something like that when she and X had been very small. The boy continued to look at her blankly.
"Sir, we're looking for a friend of ours. He's a tall guy dressed kinda like me, have you seen him?" Ven asked. Even frowned thinking.
"Hm, perhaps I did see him in the outer gardens. Just follow this road." Even said, pointing down the road towards the edge of town.
"Thanks." Y said, straightening up. Even crossed his arms and continued to look at the pair of keyblade wielders.
"No, thank you, for keeping Ienzo out of harm's way. And, well, let's say I have a feeling we are destined to cross paths again." He said. He walked away, Ienzo following him. Y frowned watching them go.
"That was weird." Y said. Ven laughed a little.
"No kidding." He agreed.
Without another word, Ven took off towards the Outer Gardens. Y followed him a second later. They reached the Outer Garden to see Terra getting ready to leave. X was beside him, looking worried about something.
Ven and Y managed to get Terra's attention and try to convince him to allow them to follow. He didn't of course. X took the time to apologize to Ven for their last encounter, claiming he didn't know he was doing it. Y wanted to believe him. But something was wrong, and she couldn't put her finger on it.
They left the Outer Garden to find Aqua after Terra and X had gone their separate ways. Aqua was in town, looking at the ground with a frown. Y suspected something was off but had no clue exactly what it was.
"Aqua!" Ven called, catching her attention. She looked up at them with a worried smile. It was a look Y was used to on her over motherly friend.
"Ven, Y. Were you able to find him?" She asked. Y smiled and nodded.
"Uh-huh." She confirmed.
"But he's gone." Ven supplied. Aqua nodded, looking back to where she had been before. Y noticed a few bruises and scrapes she definitely hadn't had before. Y frowned glancing around. Flowers were torn up. It looked like there might have been a fight.
"Right," Aqua said. There was a pause, each person lost in their thoughts. "Then I can't stay here." Aqua decided, breaking the short silence that had quickly become heavy.
"Let us go with you," Ven demanded. Y pushed him gently, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye. If they wanted to go with her they couldn't push her. It would only make her insist they were left behind even more.
"Please," Y asked.
"No. Do as I say and go home." Aqua said firmly. Ven looked down in defeat.
"Why can't we go?" Y asked in annoyance.
"I don't want to put you in harm's way," Aqua said. She knelt down and put her hands on both Ven and Y's shoulders. "You understand?" Aqua asked. Y didn't reply, nor did Ven. Aqua sighed before putting her keyblade armor on and leaving the world.
Y glanced at Ven with a sad smile. Ven returned the look.
Y and Ven later found themselves sitting in the town square, side by side. They had their backs to the wall of the flower beds. Ven was swinging the old wooden keyblade he had received from Terra what must have been ages ago. Y leaned her head on his shoulder, staring down at the ground in thought.
Ven swung the key with more force than before, actually succeeding in throwing the key across the square. Unfortunately, it landed at the feet of a boy with spiky red hair. He bent down to pick up the key, looking at it in interest. Beside him was a boy with blue hair.
"This yours?" The redhead asked. Ven nodded slowly. The blue-haired boy rolled his eyes.
"Lea, we don't have time for this." The boy said. The redhead, who was apparently Lea, brushed him off.
"Lighten up, Isa. It'll only take a sec." Lea said. He walked towards Ven, twirling the key in his hand. "You still play with toy swords? That's cute." He continued, offering the key to Ven. Ven took it from him, while Y glared at the redhead. He reached behind him with a smirk. "Now this right here," he said, pulling out a set of frisbees. "Tada! Whaddya think?" He asked. Y snickered, hiding behind her hand.
"Not a whole lot," Ven said honestly. Y laughed once again.
"Your just jealous. I'm Lea. Got it memorized? What're your names?" Lea asked. Ven looked at Y. She shrugged in reply. This kid seemed so hyper.
"Ventus, and she's Y." Ven answered. Lea looked between the two for a moment, then nodded, keeping his cocky smirk.
"Okay, Ventus. Let's fight." Lea said. Ven raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Right. Why would I wanna do that?" Ven asked, sarcastically. Lea laughed, still seeming just as arrogant as before.
"You scared of losing? C'mon." Lea said. Ven seemed to think about it for a moment. He decided to stand up and face Lea. Lea seemed extremely pleased by this decision, hopping back just a bit. Y rolled her eyes. "Yeah! Now we're talking!"
"You're gonna be sorry." Ven warned. Isa laughed from off to the side. Ven and Lea began their sparring match. Y stood and went to where Isa stood.
"Is he always like this?" Y asked curiously. Isa laughed sarcastically, watching his redhead friend in the spar he was clearly losing.
"Only on days that end in y." Isa replied. Y looked to Lea in shock and disbelief.
"How do you handle him?" Y asked.
"A healthy dose of sarcasm, and letting him get out of troublesome situations on his own." Isa replied. As he did Lea collapsed onto the ground, Ven looking down at him.
"You, had enough? Cause I'm willing...call it a draw if you are." Lea said breathlessly. Ven laughed at him, lowering his toy keyblade.
"Right." He agreed.
"From where I stood, the only thing you drew was a big L on your forehead for Loser," Isa said unhelpfully. Y laughed a little beside him.
"Lame." She supplied. Isa nodded in agreement, crossing his arms.
"Laughable." He continued. Lea looked at him in shock.
"Wha-- Isn't this the part where ya, cheer me up or somethin?" Lea asked in disbelief. "'You're just havin a bad day.' Or 'that's what you get for pullin your punches!' Some friend." He said looking at Isa in near desperation. Isa smirked at his friend.
"Oh, you mean I was supposed to lie." He said. Y couldn't help but grin. Lea turned to Ven in disbelief.
"Ya see what I gotta put up with? Sure hope you don't have friends like him." Lea said. Ven looked at him in confusion at first, but quickly he smiled. Y began to laugh quietly to herself, amazed at how much she already liked Lea and Isa. Her laughter soon spread and all four were laughing.
The laughter stopped with Isa looking towards the sky.
"Lea, we have to go." Isa said simply. Y looked at him in interest.
"Kay." Lea agreed without an argument, surprisingly. As Isa turned to leave Lea got to his feet, brushing himself off.
"Already?" Ven asked disappointedly. Lea looked at him with a smirk. Something that adorned his features often.
"I'll see ya when I see ya. After all, we're friends now. Got it memorized?" Lea asked. Ven smiled in return and nodded.
"Okay Lea." Ven agreed. Y laughed walking to where Ven stood with a grin.
"Couldn't forget you even if I wanted to." She said in a joking manner. Lea and Isa went on their way, pausing to talk about something Y couldn't hear. They looked towards the castle at the center of town.
"It must be nice. Knowing who your friends are." Ven said absentmindedly. Y looked at him in shock. He looked sad, probably due to the problems they'd been having with their other friends.
Y couldn't blame him. They all seemed to be drifting apart. No one was who they used to be. They were all changing so quickly. It was like they had all learned something that made it impossible to trust each other.
"Well, we have each other." Y said softly, her hand slipped into Ven's giving it a reassuring squeeze. Ven smiled and squeezed her hand back.
"Yeah, we have each other."