I Want to Pick the Pieces up; Yours, and Mine [Ventus, Open]

Ventus should have been happy with the words. Heck, once upon a time he would have been thrilled.
Being around Aqua again, finally, was a huge relief. If nothing else, those hair ruffles and shoulder touches almost always were enough to settle the boy. She knew that, of course, but this time he just had too much on his mind.
He couldn't just pretend like he could, either.

Ventus stared at Aqua's back for a moment before he finally spoke. "When I woke, I didn't remember much," Ventus explained. It was a bit easier to say with her back turned toward him, to be honest. "I remembered the good times, sure. I barely remembered Xehanort. I didn't remember Vanitas or the Keyblade Graveyard at all. To be honest, there are still patches I can't get to, but I have most of it now."

He sighed as he thought back to those first several days. Headaches and confusion all around made for a rough start, but he made it through. "The worst was the cold, though," he continued, "There are nights when I feel that ice cover my body. I can't move at all. I just lay there, motionless, cold, and straining as yellow eyes stare down at me. I can never tell if I'm dreaming, hallucinating, or if I'm back there and I imagined everything after. I know why now, but it doesn't make it any better."

"What I'm getting at is this. I don't know if I could call myself Master or not, but I will take it.
It's not yours to give, but then our Master would probably just try to kill me on sight now, wouldn't he? If I could have stopped Terra from interfering... I remember what I asked you on that last day. You see me as a kid. You always have, and it's probably deserved. If I do become Master, though, you'll need to see, think, and treat me as a Master.
If that means Xehanort and Vanitas start trying to reforge the χ-blade, then... well, you know what I'm going to ask of you."

Ventus understood. A sharp pain filled him at the explanation. Deep down, though, Ven was sure he knew that already. The Master was gone, and Terra had murdered him. Granted, if the roles were switched, Ventus knew he would have done the same. Still, Eraqus had made a choice, and Ventus agreed with it, even if he was scared. Terra robbed them both of that, and as a result, they had all suffered. Eraqus was dead because of Ventus. Yet more weight fell on his shoulders.

Aqua admitted she would have done the same. All three of them would have fought and potentially killed Eraqus for that. They felt they were being protective of one another, but Ventus couldn't shake the thought that they weren't. Aqua was right before. There could have another way, or Terra should have just left. Aqua wasn't there. She didn't see that dark aura. She didn't feel it. Ventus couldn't be sure that they weren't still dancing on Xehanort's strings with that confession.

For the rest of it, Aqua was right. Xehanort could always split someone again. That said, there was no reason to end him here and now. The damage had already been done. If Eraqus had managed to pull it off back then, though, wouldn't they be better off? Ventus and Vanitas would have never joined together. Aqua would have never been put in that position.
Terra was on his path already, but their Master would have still been alive, too. With him and Aqua, they would have put an end to this long ago. All that suffering all came back to that one single decision.

Then again, that wasn't entirely true, either. Ventus never had to listen to Vanitas. He could have stayed with the Master, or gone back home. How many times was he warned? How many times did he disobey? How much better off would they all have been then? Ventus understood that, too.

As these thoughts filled Ven's mind, the boy hardened his expression. A muted scowl spread across Ven's lips as he took it all in. It wasn't his own expression. This one belonged to Roxas. Ventus couldn't handle this, anyway. "If the Master is gone, then I suppose I don't have one anymore, do I? In that case, it seems only fitting that you could be the one to give me the exam. What would you have me do?"

Ventus winced when Aqua mentioned she was exhausted. He hadn't meant to, but he was being selfish. Between the limited time he'd been awake and how similar most of the locations were, it was hard to appreciate how much time had truly passed. 12 years was a long time, and she spent it all fighting and stressing. The reminder was enough to soften him immediately.

It was surprisingly difficult to let his guard down again, but he made himself do it. He'd explore why that was difficult later. For now, he moved next to her and sat down. It was a bit odd, he noted. Partly because of how long it had been, partly because it was only the two of them. On the day of the meteor shower, he was still sure that he had always been in the Land of Departure, that they'd both get their Marks, and life would go on as usual. It was one of the best memories of his life, all things considered. Ventus looked over at Aqua for a moment and decided then to keep the mood light. If that night had taught him anything, it was that life could be turned around on an instant.
He had a reunion with Aqua. He should make it a memory they could both love.

"You know about Heartless. Do you know about Nobodies?" Ventus asked, "Um,
how's the best order to say all of this? I guess... Okay. There is a boy out there named Sora. When I destroyed my heart, his heart took the pieces in to let them heal, I guess. That lasted for, like, a decade I guess. Then,
one day, he was turned into a Heartless. I don't know exactly how it works, but when the Heart runs off to be a Heartless, the body might just become a Nobody. We think my heart stayed with the body, who became Roxas. He looks almost just like me, but you'll have to tell us apart! Because he had my heart, he was able to wake me up. Then we went and traveled together for a while.

"As for what he is like, he's strong. Calm, a bit cool. A little dense sometimes. He's a good friend and a good person, but he takes a while to warm up to people. He was traveling with another Nobody named Naminé. I've traveled with her a bit... more like met up with her and spent time with her a few times, I guess. She's friendly- friendlier than Roxas, I think. She is a bit reserved, and I have a hard time guessing what she's thinking. Me and Roxas are getting to where we can read each other like a book, but I can't read her at all. Still, she's really close to Roxas. She's kind and gentle, but... I dunno. I'm still figuring her out."

There were others, but those were the two he felt he needed to share at the moment. Ven would see if the others would be passing by or active parts in his life before he listed off everyone.

Ventus smiled. He had made a few good friends, and he was excited for them to meet Aqua. She might know a few things that Ventus didn't know he didn't know, and Roxas and Naminé knew the questions he didn't know, too. That kind of information went a long way, and they'd need to know all they could if Xehanort or Vanitas start popping up again.

"You're gonna love them," Ventus finally said as he looked over at her, they have done a lot of good. Roxas is even a Keyblade wielder, though I don't like his Keyblade much. I'm not talking about that, though. I'll talk about most things, but not that."

Ventus laid down with his hands folded beneath his head. It still took a bit of thought to push out of his head. A small scowl spread across his lips as he tried to cling to another thought. "As for Sora, I assume he's okay. He was the last time Roxas looked, but I haven't met him. Or Riku, for that matter."

His eyes flashed up to Aqua's as he said the second name. Ventus knew of Riku, sure, but he hadn't mentioned it.
"So, how did you know that Riku was brought in to this fight? Those two, and their friend, Kairi, have been bringing the fight to the Heartless for a few years now. Naminé is actually Kairi's Nobody. I don't know a lot about them, but those two should be able to fill you in on a lot of things."