7Heart of the Free Wielder
By: warrior of six blades
Chapter 1: Destiny Island Arc, Part I
Beta: AngelOfFluffiness
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC Matthew so far, so don't even think of suing me.
AN: I dedicate this story, not the chapter, but the story itself to my feelings to Elly and my prayers for us both.
AN: If anyone has a problem with OC or OC falling in love with characters from a series. I suggest you leave now because this has both and I have no time to waste on haters. For those of you who are more accepting. Please read, enjoy, and review.
The morning sun is shining bright in the sky, casting its warm sunlight on the little islands below. Matthew notices some of the kids playing there already as he rows his little row boat to the dock. Matthew finishes tying it up in time to see Riku coming over to him with a smile as he gives a wave in greeting.
"Hey, Matt! It's about time you showed up. What kept you?" Riku asks Matthew, who scratches the back of his neck nervously.
"Sorry about that, Riku. I wanted to get some breakfast first and grab my wooden sword for some training today," Matthew explains to Riku, holding out his wooden sword to prove his point.
This surprises Riku slightly, as Matthew doesn't usually get involved in sparring too much, even though he knows Matthew can hold his own pretty good.
"I'm ready to start working on the raft when you are though! So where are we building it?" Matthew asks at this point, looking around to see if he can spot the logs they have collected so far for the raft.
Riku can't help the grin on his face getting a little wider on this subject. It is the only way Matthew knows he is truly eager for either a good spar or something that interests him.
"The other side of the island, I thought it would be best not to do it around the others. I rather not risk Wakka hitting the raft with his beach ball or Tidus breaking it while sparing by mistake," Riku explains to Matthew while walking off the docks.
Matthew ends up following in step behind him as he leads the way to the ship's location. He decides to take the time to look at the scenery as he followed Riku. The islands are still as beautiful as he remembers. Tall exotic palm trees that lightly sway with the wind with some shrubbery dot the yellow sandy beaches. The blue ocean that sparkled light off of the sunlight filled the air with a salty scent, and even the big treehouse built on the giant tree that you climb some ladders to get up to added some flare to the islands Matthew called home. Another ladder lets you get on a walkway that leads to a balcony where he can actually see someone swinging a stick around. If Matthew had to bet, he would bet that it's probably one of the kids he knows, simply practicing for some sparring action today. As Riku jumps off the island divider with Matthew following close behind, he notices the waterfall next to a tiny cave that a child could crawl into as well as a seaside shack near a bridge.
"Come on, Matt!" Riku shouts to Matthew, standing under a bridge connected to a separate island with some more exotic palm trees on it, "Don't go day dreaming on me now! You're almost as bad as Sora!"
Riku continues to playfully scold his friend with a smirk on his face that he usually has when teasing his friends. Matthew narrows his eyes in accusation and annoyance, before he rushes after Riku. Said boy runs up a ramp made from a piece of sturdy wood leaning against another divider, which leads to a brown door.
"What do you mean, 'I'm almost as bad as Sora?'! I don't go around sleeping in broad daylight!" Matthew shouts his complaint as he is chasing Riku, who only laughs at Matthew's complaints since he is aware that Matt isn't mad at all, but just playing around with him too.
Soon Riku makes it to the other side of the island, with Matthew following close behind as he sees this part is quite different from the front side. This time, the divider stops at the small hill of beach sand that leads into shallow ocean water. However, there is also a wooden bridge connected to it that definitely needs some repairs sometime in the future. This is rather obvious judging from how some of the wooden platforms and boards are missing, but thankfully look solid enough to support people for the most part. So it can probably wait a little while, but they have to remember to jump the gaps. This point being proven as Matthew spots Riku jumping over the gaps in order to head for the raft's supposed location. He makes it there, simply stopping at the other side of the bridge before waving him over.
"Come on, Matt! This way!"
Matthew shakes his head, amused and happy to see Riku so excited to start their work on the raft. He finds himself quickly following after his friend, but being careful to jump over the gaps. Especially the loose-looking board hanging on one part of the many platforms by only a few bent nails.
'Someone really needs to fix that...' Matthew thinks to himself as he lands on another platform.
Soon making his way to Riku, Matthew ends up seeing a brown scaffold tower with a ladder leading up. Attached to the tower is a zip line used to get to the other side quickly, over where down the rocky divider of boulders was more palm trees, more yellow sandy beach, and the big blue ocean. What finally gets Matthew's attention though are the four big logs, one long skinny pole that looked sturdy, and one long rope.
'Guess Riku couldn't find everything we need. There isn't enough rope to securely tie those logs together. Plus we need a sail, food, and drinking water to think about too,' Matthew thinks to himself, while looking at the supplies that will be used to make a raft.
"So you ready to get to work, Matt?" Riku asks Matthew, smiling in excitement to get started as he rolled some big logs tight together.
Matthew, understanding Riku's plan, moves to tie the rope ends from under the aforementioned logs together. He then starts pulling the rope tight, in order to keep the logs secured.
:Time Skip:
Matthew grunts as he finishes securing the mast post that will hold the sail for their raft. Looking up to Riku, he sees him standing a distance away tapping his foot impatiently. Matthew knows Riku is getting fed up with waiting for a certain someone...again.
"Sora's late to help us again isn't he?" Matthew states this more than asks.
"Yup," Riku answers, without breaking his foot tapping or his annoyed gaze from the door leading to the other side of the island.
"Was he supposed to help us build the raft or get us supplies? Cause I'm out of rope and we need a sail," Matthew inquires further, dusting himself off as he stood up.
He's clearly poised to move, ready to go looking for Sora in either case since it's better that he finds Sora and they finish this project soon. After all, he knows how important this is to Riku...
"Both, actually. But it seems Sora is most likely snoozing around again," Riku responds, sighing before turning his full attention to Matthew, "-would you mind going to look for Sora to wake his lazy butt up? I'd like to finish the raft as soon as possible so we can check out the other worlds."
Matthew smiles in reply with a nod and walks to the other side of the beach, "Leave it to me, Riku!" Matthew calls over his shoulder without looking at Riku as he makes his way to the door.
"And don't go daydreaming again! I don't want to go looking for both of you now!" Riku calls out to his friend with his ever smug smirk, with Matthew playfully glaring at him before opening the door and walking through it.
'Yeah, yeah, whatever,' Matthew ponders silently, both amused and a little annoyed at Riku's playful banter.
Seriously, it's not his fault his mind kind of drifts off at times. It's just if he gets bored or his mind gets caught on a certain thought. He tends to lose focus on what's around him as his mind drifts off from things around him to his thoughts. It doesn't take long, however, before Matthew makes his way to the other side of the beach. Enjoying the sight of small white clouds in the clear blue sky, Matthew begins searching for Sora.
A search that proves rather short as he sees him sleeping on the beach.
'Sora...what are we gonna...wait...' Matthew thinks, exasperated at first, before noticing the way Sora is tossing and turning in his sleep.
'Is he having a nightmare?' Matthew wonders, becoming concerned, and making his way over to his seemingly distressed friend only to notice Kairi doing the same.
However, the smile on her face makes Matthew wonder if she even knows he is having a nightmare or not.
'Better wake him up anyway,' Matthew thinks, about to call out to Sora, only for the boy to gasp upon waking up on his own.
He seems out of it for a minute, before gasping and jolting into a sitting position when Sora finally sees Kairi leaning over him. Seeing Kairi and Sora sharing a light chat about him being a lazy bum relieves Matthew slightly.
"No! This huge black THING swallowed me up" Sora shouts as he remembered what he saw in his bizarre dream.
Matthew freezes at this. Did Sora just go through what he did in his own dream?
"I couldn't breathe, I couldn't- Ow!" Sora tries to explain before his head starts to hurt.
"Are you still dreaming?" Kairi asks Sora playfully, clearly not seeming too worried about what Sora was talking about.
"It wasn't a dream!" Sora cries out seriously, before looking unsure of his own words, "Or was it? I don't know..." he mumbles while trying to make sense of what he experienced.
All the while, Matthew quietly watches Sora, very worried and curious about whether or not they had the same dream.
"What was that place?" Sora seems to ask himself, "So bizarre..."
'Good question,' Matthew wonders as well, placing a hand on his chin in thought.
"Yeah, sure," Kairi says dismissively, apparently not bothered by her friend's behavior or the weird dream he went through.
Matthew watches as Kairi walks toward the beach a bit further past Sora, just out of reach of the tide. Standing there, she ends up looking off into the distance without a care in the world. While Matthew just can't help smiling at how Sora hasn't seemed to notice him standing not too far from them.
"Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?" Sora asks Kairi, watching her just look out into the distance.
'When Kairi is around, she's all that he can think about...Except his rivalry with Riku that is,' Matthew mentally notes while watching their interaction in amusement.
Deciding to keep quiet for now, he waits to see if Kairi will finally admit her secret crush to the boy or not. Said crush is something that he found out easily, but Kairi swore him to secrecy using the threat that she would reveal his own secret interest for romantic adventure stories...
"I told you before, I don't remember," Kairi answers before looking at Matthew, "-how about you, Matt? Did you get any of your memories back yet?" Kairi asks, making Sora look behind him and jump in surprise.
The brown haired boy is just now noticing one of his friends behind him, while Matthew smirks at the look of surprise and shock on Sora's face. It is a look that just screams, 'When did he get there?' which he secretly feels is fun to see at times.
"Matt! When did you get here?" Sora shouts in surprise to his friend, who only shrugs in response.
"I got here while you was having your nightmare, but you woke yourself up before I could even try to. After that, I let you and Kairi have your little chat," Matthew answers honestly, earning a sheepish smile from Sora.
While Kairi placed her hands on her hips looking at Matthew with an annoyed expression, "Don't dodge the question, Matt. Did you get any memories back yet?"
Even though Kairi asks, Matthew swears it feels more like a demand. Maybe she's still upset about him not having his pants on when she came into his room this morning?
"No, I wish I did have some of my memories at least though," Matthew told her honestly, frowning at his own lack of memories.
Memories that he's lacked ever since he was found here on the islands by Kairi's adoptive family. They had found him all bloody and cut up on the beach. He's been her adopted brother ever since that day. Together they have tried to get back their memories, though Matthew has felt like he is the only one really trying to remember his past. To him, it really seems that Kairi has accepted losing her memories.
He honestly doesn't understand why she seems to not mind losing her memories. Though he believes Sora may have something to do with it. Not that he is mad at Sora for it, but it's still weird how she seems not bothered by her lack of knowledge or memories of her life before the islands. Sora, however, frowns at Matthew's answer before deciding to get his attention by patting his arm. Matthew looks at Sora to see his encouraging grin.
"Don't worry, Matt, you'll get your memories back someday," Sora tells him before turning his attention to Kairi who is just looking out into the distance again.
Neither of them know why, but they don't question it.
"Are you sure you remember nothing Kairi? Nothing at all?" Sora asks, hoping to learn something new about his redhead friend and secret crush.
Something he works hard to keep secret, both from Riku and especially Matthew. He has nothing against him, but he knows how brothers are protective of their sisters... He knows Matthew as a good friend who never fights without a good reason or to keep in shape through sparing. It's just that he isn't ready to ask Matthew or Kairi's dad for permission to date Kairi yet. Meanwhile, Matthew smiles as he watches Sora's curiosity of Kairi. He knows Sora wants to learn more about her because he has feelings for her despite his obvious attempts to play off his feelings as just friends. Well...him and Riku from the look of things. He isn't sure if Riku is serious or not, but he knows there is more seriousness in their competitions when Kairi is somehow involved or around. Matthew supposes that might be what being in love is like. He just wishes he would meet someone like that himself. Sadly, the girls on the islands that he's met so far aren't girlfriend material to him. He soon shakes those thoughts out of his head and turns his attention back to Kairi and Sora.
"Nothing," she responds.
"You ever want to go back?" Sora asks softly.
"Well, I'm happy here," Kairi finally tells Sora simply, while Matthew resists the urge to roll his eyes.
He knows exactly why she is happy here and in some ways, he can't blame her. Her heart seems happier both with Sora and the islands they've called home for years now. With that being one of the reasons why he gets along with Riku better than Sora and Kairi, it is not that he has anything against them or their love for being on the islands. He likes it too, but it gets so boring here at times and he feels like it will be nice to see what is really out there...
"Really..." Sora trails off, a little confused on her content nature to her lack of memories.
While he knows Matthew is actually quite curious about his own past, not that Sora blames him. After all, he would hate it if he forgot those he cared for.
"But you know..." Kairi ponders, grabbing both boys' attention as she smiles out at the sea. "I wouldn't mind going to see it."
Just like that, Kairi finishes her sentence, while Sora readjusts himself on the sand in order to sit comfortably. Looking out to sea just as Kairi is, with Matthew admiring the sight of the large blue body of water. He has to admit that despite how boring the islands can be at times, they are quite beautiful to just sit back and relax. Taking the time to enjoy the beautiful view and sounds on these islands...it is something that some would say it's paradise or maybe a good spot to settle down.
"I'd like to see it too," Sora tells her with a bright look in his eyes full of curiosity and wonder, "-along with any other worlds out there! I want to see them all!" Sora exclaims, excited and curious of what they might find.
Matthew smiles as he understands those feelings all too well, wanting to go see the other worlds for himself as well. Something they hope to accomplish by completing the raft...
Wait...
'Shoot! I was supposed to bring back Sora to help us finish the raft!' Matthew realizes in worry, mentally kicking himself at getting side tracked for so long.
Kairi and Sora don't seem to notice Matthew's internal worry as Kairi smiles at Sora, turning her attention to the boy.
"So what are we waiting for?" Kairi asks Sora, but does glance at Matthew to let him know she is asking him too.
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" Riku inquires, walking up behind them.
Throwing Matthew an accusing look as said boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, Riku wordlessly passes the amnesiac boy. Matthew finds himself muttering a quiet 'Sorry,' to Riku who shakes his head. A small smile on his lips tells Matthew he isn't angry, making the young boy feel relieved.
"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft," Riku tells them with a humored smile as he passes Sora, tossing the log on him.
This ends up making Sora fall back trying to catch it properly, causing Matthew to chuckle quietly with a small smile at Sora's silly attempt of catching the log. Kairi giggling as well, either at the sight of Sora's attempt to catch a log or at Riku, Matthew isn't sure.
"And you're just as lazy as he is!" Riku exclaims with a playful accusing tone to Kairi with no heat or anger to his words.
Kairi however doesn't seem to mind or try to deny. She ends up giggling at the accusation and taking it in stride.
"So you noticed," Kairi speaks with a smile on her lips, before smiling at Riku, Sora, and Matthew, "-okay, we'll finish it together."
"I'll race you!" Kairi declares as Riku plops down next to Sora while Matthew raises an eyebrow at Kairi.
He is wondering if she is serious or not, not that he would mind it too much...
"Huh?"
"What, are you kidding?"
Sora and Riku both respond to Kairi's declaration for a race respectively. Kairi doesn't mind the reactions one bit.
"Ready? Go!" Kairi calls out and without a second delay, Matthew shoots off while taking advantage of Sora and Riku's mistake for sitting down.
"Cheater!"
"That's not fair, Matt!"
Sora and Riku cry out behind Matthew respectively. They take off running after Matthew only a second behind their friend as they get on their feet. Kairi goes running behind them, giggling as Matthew looks behind him with a challenging smile on his face.
"Maybe next time you lazy bums won't be sitting around when Kairi starts a race!" Matthew calls out behind him, before focusing ahead of him.
Sora gapes comically while Riku's eyes narrow at the challenge.
"But you had a head start!"
"All is fair in love and war, Sora!"
"Then don't mind me if I pass you!"
"Not that easy, Riku!"
"Don't you two count me out yet!"
"Give up, Sora! No way you're beating me!"
"Sora's not your only opponent, Riku!"
"You two are so eating my dust!"
Kairi continues to giggle while trailing behind the three racing boys as they rush ahead. Smiling the whole way as they traded competitive words to one another, Matthew has to admit, it is small moments like these he does honestly enjoy about living on the islands. Though it may be boring at times, he has to admit it does have some fun moments too. Especially with friends like Sora, Riku, and Kairi in his life to make things interesting...
:Time Skip:
Matthew watches the clouds with a tranquil smile as he waits for Sora to come tell him what they have to find. Even with a head start, Riku won Kairi's race. So, as punishment for both the head start and for "daydreaming" again, Matthew has to help Sora collect whatever items Kairi tells Sora they need. Yet, he can't help feeling like it is partly because Riku doesn't want to risk Sora taking another afternoon nap again. Not that he can blame Riku if that is the case.
'Speaking of sleeping... should I ask Sora about that?' Matthew wonders to himself with slight concern.
He soon ends up wondering if it is a smart idea to ask Sora about the dream they both might've had in the same day. Unlikely as it was, it's not impossible for two people to dream the same thing. But in the same day? That's even less likely...
"Hey, Matt!" Sora's voice calls out to Matthew.
This call breaks Matthew out of his thoughts as he turns his head to see his friend run up to him with a smile, with a question of, "You ready to go get those items for our raft?"
"Sure, but are you sure you know what we need or do you have to ask Kairi again?" Matthew responds, giving a teasing smile to his friend who pouted at his teasing.
"Yes, I know exactly what we need...this time." Sora speaks, before muttering the last part quietly.
Not that it helps much as Matthew has a small grin on his face, much to Sora's ire as he walks ahead of Matthew who follows close behind.
"Now first we need two logs, one cloth, and one rope," Sora lists off, Matthew nodding in understanding as he looks at the log Sora picked up.
"Make that one log now, but you get what I mean right?" Sora asks Matthew looking at him to make sure he was paying attention.
"Yeah, two logs, one cloth, and one rope at first. Now one log, one cloth, and one rope left. I just hope we find the rest soon," Matthew explains calmly, but on the inside wants to get this search done soon.
After all, he is serious about having some spars to sharpen his skills and increase his strength after all. Sora doesn't seem to mind as he gave Matthew a smile.
"Great! Then let's get those items to Kairi and maybe we can spar with our friends along the way!" Sora chimes, happy at the thought of some spars today before ribbing Matthew with his elbow lightly, "Seeing as you're carrying your wooden sword today, I take it you want to spar too?"
This is asked with a knowing and eager grin.
"Yeah, that's the idea, Sora," Matthew confirms with a small smile as Sora cheered.
"You better bring your best, Matt! I plan on beating Riku today and becoming strongest on the islands. Which means I would like to spar with you sometime today too!" Sora exclaims, eager to become number one strongest on Destiny Islands.
Matthew only shakes his head at Sora's enthusiasm, he wants to be strong too, but not to be number one. Rather, he wishes to get stronger solely to protect his friends. That way he can be strong enough to keep them safe just as they did him when he first met them..or rather he should say when Sora insisted on befriending him. He stills remembers how shy and quiet he was around other people at first on the islands. Even around his adoptive family he was shy and quiet back then, though Kairi was someone he was slowly warming up to at the time. It was mostly because he felt so confused and worried at his lack of memories. On top of being surrounded by strangers in a strange place he had no memory of no less. It's no wonder he had confidence issues about approaching anyone on his own.
Which is why at first, he was nervous around the energetic and happy boy, but as Sora played some games with him. He slowly started coming out of his shell more and more. Sora even helped him conquer his childish fears of heights and crawling in dark places like the secret spot.
Having Sora as his new friend only helped him more so, as he saw how strong Sora was and soon got to meet Riku. Watching their spars made him feel like watching two knights in training. Something he honestly wished to be more and more, as he was told a few stories about knights who fought to protect others.
He never knew where the stories came from or the knights themselves, but it didn't lower his interest in any way. His adoptive parents mentioned how they were noble warriors who lived with a code of honor, fought for the sake of their people, protected those precious to them. Yet, that meeting with Sora, and eventually Riku, made Matthew feel like he needed to repay them, for being so kind to him and being his friends.
They didn't have to befriend the shy quiet boy he was or help him gain confidence in himself, but they, mostly Sora, did. He could never forget such kindness and wanted to be a true friend to them for it.
It also made Matthew want to be strong to protect Sora and Riku too. Just like in those stories of the knights from his bedtime stories. To no longer be a burden when he saw how much they cared for each other and for him too. He even learned how to fight with a wooden sword under Riku's and Sora's teaching in his effort to be stronger.
If learning how to fight by experience alone and basic stances counts as training that is... He just hopes he will become strong enough to be able to protect his friends. It is the least he can do after they helped him become who he is today.
"Sure thing, Sora, but not right now. I think I'll spar with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie a bit before we spar," Matthew tells Sora as they walk down the beach in search of the items for the raft.
"What about Riku? Aren't you gonna spar with him again?" Sora inquires.
"Riku is a given, I don't even need to bring him up. Though that's after I spar with the other three," Matthew responds to Sora's question as they walk past the bridge and make their way to a cabin which connects to the bridge thanks to the hidden staircase inside the cabin and the large rock connected to it.
"Then what about me? I want to spar with you too!" Sora replies, glaring at his friend, "Don't tell me you're gonna try to duck and dodge me now."
Sora's tone becomes accusing as he narrows his eyes at Matthew, while Matthew raises his hands in a placating manner.
"Nothing like that Sora. I'm just saving our spar for last," Matthew assures his friend with a small smile.
Seeing this makes Sora grin, completely ready for the their spar later, before he goes rushing off.
"Then let's hurry up and get those items!" Sora calls over his shoulder, Matthew shaking his head with a small smile before rushing after Sora.
As Matthew runs after Sora, he spots someone waving at both him and Sora as they run up to the guy. The aforementioned boy has orange hair styled up in a spiky manner, but held together in an enormous blue coif. His eyes are brown and he has small stud earrings. The boy is also wearing his yellow baggy pants that close up halfway down his lower legs. Each leg of these pants have a large, gray, "X" -shaped strap with blue tips. He also wears a pale yellow tank top with black lining. Green sandals on his feet and blue wrist bands attached to his wrists finish the outfit. The boy is currently holding a white with blue markings blitzball in his right hand.
"What's happening man?" The boy greets both Sora and Matthew with a smile as Sora and Matthew stopped in front of him.
Sora smiles widely back at the boy as he emits a chuckle, while Matthew gives a small smile back to him.
"Nothing much, Wakka, just collecting stuff for the raft. Riku and Kairi got me to come along to help Sora with it," Matthew told the boy.
At this, Wakka winds up chuckling. This ends up making Sora narrow his eyes and Matthew begins to look confused.
"What's so funny? Huh?" Sora asks, upset at Wakka's chuckling, and obviously missing the joke.
"N-Nothing much, man. But you h-have to admit. It's not so smart to leave you two in charge of supply gathering, man," Wakka answers Sora, while trying to calm down his own laughter.
"What's that supposed to mean? We can handle it! Either of us could handle it on our own even!" Sora protests, feeling insulted while Matthew internally agrees, but says nothing.
Deciding to see how this plays out for now, Matthew merely waits to see what is said from there.
"Please! I know for a fact you don't send a boy who takes afternoon naps during the day," Wakka accuses Sora.
This responses causes Sora to look sheepish at the claim and unable to defend against the claim, seeing as it is true. Matthew turns his head to hide a smirk. He has to admit, Wakka definitely got Sora there.
"Or a boy who daydreams, to gather supplies as a task," Wakka finishes, making Matthew keep his head turned, not to smirk anymore, but now looking sheepish too.
As with Sora, Matthew knows Wakka has him there, but he is mostly a serious person about any task he is given.
"Riku would've been a smarter choice since he would take it seriously."
"Hey! I can be serious!" Both Matthew and Sora respond at the same time.
Once again, this causes Wakka to chuckle again at the two.
"Y-You two really think you can handle this? Well, I suppose maybe Matthew could, but are you sure you won't take a nap again, Sora?" Wakka teases Sora some more, making him narrow his eyes.
"That's enough, Wakka. Sora's every bit as capable as Riku or myself," Matthew speaks seriously with narrowed eyes and a slightly angered tone.
His annoyance is rising now, but just barely noticeable. He knows it is just playful teasing, but Wakka and Tidus are known to sometimes say things without thinking them too much. True, they mean no harm by it, but it doesn't make their words less annoying to put up with. Matthew doesn't like anyone insulting his friends. True, Sora takes naps at times, but he knows Sora is a reliable friend when he's needed. Sora looks at Matthew, thankful for his trust, before narrowing his own eyes at Wakka as an idea forms in the boy's mind.
"Then how about this? I'll go and find the supplies alone, while Matthew spars with you. If I can finish and make it back with Kairi before you two finish sparing, then you have to admit I am capable of doing my tasks seriously," Sora challenges Wakka, who looks like he is thinking it over.
"What do I get if I win?" Wakka asks, wondering what he would get and if it was worth it.
Though sparing with Matthew sound like a tempting idea, he wanted to see what he could get out of this challenge.
"Then you get to have Matthew or myself help you out with whatever you want for a week," Sora replies, making Matthew glare at Sora in annoyance.
Why did Sora just offer him up without asking first?
"Don't I get a say in this?" Matthew asks, hoping to get Sora to listen to reason without any arguments, but both Wakka and Sora looked at Matthew in deadpan.
"No," They both answer him, making Matthew's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
Not minding Matthew's annoyed look, Wakka shakes Sora's hand, "It's a deal, best get a move on man! If you can actually collect your supplies that is!"
Wakka finishes his sentence, before turning quickly and throwing his blitzball at Matthew. Immediately, the boy responds by dodge-rolling off to the side. Readying his wooden sword as he springs to his feet from the roll.
"I'll be finished soon, Matt! Just enjoy the sparring match!" Sora calls out, running off up a wooden pathway leading to the big treehouse.
Matthew just looks at Sora in annoyance, before feeling a blitzball slam into the back of his head and bounce off it back to Wakka. Matthew looks behind him to see Wakka pick it up from the ground.
"Keep your eyes on the action, man!" Wakka calls out to Matthew challengingly, before smirking, "Though I hope you're not gonna cry when you lose!"
Wakka grins then, jumping up and priming his arms for a two handed throw, "Eat this!" he shouts, throwing the ball fast with both arms.
Matthew eyes widened at it's speed, as he swung at it horizontally like a baseball bat. Hitting the ball with his wooden sword, and launching it back at a surprised Wakka, Matthew watched as the ball made contact.
"AGH!" Wakka yells loudly, holding his blitzball where it hits him.
Unfortunately for him, and to Matthew's shock and embarrassment, it hits him right in the nuts. Wakka looks at Matthew with a mixed expression of hurt, agony, and anger. Matthew watches in sympathy and guilt as Wakka rolled on the ground trying to ride out the pain.
"Why? Why did you...do this...to me?" Wakka groans out as he tries to endure the hell he has been inflicted with.
Sure, he may have been rude with the crying comment, but it cannot be worthy enough to punish him like this...right?
"I got the cloth! Keep him busy, Matt!" Sora calls from above, jumping from the balcony-walkway attached to the treehouse to the ground.
This comes before he finds himself climbing up a different ladder to a new walkway, Matthew watching all of this with an embarrassed chuckle.
'I don't think keeping him busy will be difficult,' Matthew thinks to himself as Wakka slowly got up, wincing a little as he tried to shake off the pain.
"Sorry, Wakka. I really didn't mean to hit you there. Can you forgive me?" Matthew inquires nervously, feeling guilty about the unexpected hit.
Wakka just glares at him for a few seconds before slowly rising and grumbling something under his breath, "Yeah, man, but if you hit me there again..." he trails off and leaves the threat hanging there with a look that promised pain.
Matthew nods in understanding, knowing all too well that no guy likes getting hit there.
"Now le-" Wakka begins, only to get cut off by someone he isn't expecting...
"I got the rope, Matt! Just one more log and we win!" Sora calls out, racing off past them.
Matthew and Wakka end up looking at Sora, before looking at each other. Wakka, thinking quick, throws a ball at Matthew, who jumps to the side and leans his body to the right to avoid the blow. Once he lands from his sudden jump to avoid the ball, Matthew rushes forward to hit Wakka with his wooden sword. He ends up gaining a glancing blow on Wakka's right arm as he spins around Matthew's strike and runs for the ball. Matthew, seeing this, quickly spins on his left heel like a top to face Wakka before launching himself in a thrust that catches Wakka in the back. The blow makes Wakka grunt in pain before putting both his hands on the sand near his ball. He proceeds to duck low and mule kick Matthew in the gut. This only results in Wakka earning a hit on his leg as Matthew's attempt to follow up hits his right leg instead of his back.
'I hate to admit, but I think Matthew's gotten stronger since last time I seen him. He never hit that hard before...' Wakka thinks quickly while rolling to his feet with his ball now in hand.
Deciding to end this fast, he jumps up and is ready to use his full strength in this throw.
"Eat this!" Wakka shouts as a blue light surrounds the blitzball while he throws it at a surprised Matthew.
Matthew, seeing it coming faster then normal again, swung his wooden sword down vertically on instinct to intercept it. Thankfully hitting it back at the again-surprised Wakka as it hits him in the gut as he was falling.
"Gah...That hurt," Wakka groans, rubbing his stomach, before glaring at Matthew who looks slightly surprised at what happened.
'That was close...' Matthew thinks, waiting for Wakka to throw the ball again. That way he could have time to counter if Wakka threw it fast again, 'I need to be more careful if I'm gonna avoid anymore of that fast ball attack...' Matthew determines, seeing Wakka ready to throw the ball.
"Hey guys! I did it!" Sora calls out from the distance, grabbing Wakka's and Matthew's attention.
They both look over, seeing Sora run up to them with Kairi in hand. Matthew cannot help sighing to himself in exasperation at the annoyed look on Kairi's face. Knowing Sora, he most likely talked her into it when she didn't want anything to do with this bet of his. He is relieved to see Kairi and Sora holding all the supplies though.
"I got all the stuff back to Kairi for our raft as agreed, Wakka! One rope, one cloth, and two logs!" Sora cheers proudly with Kairi nodding in agreement.
This ends up making Wakka look at Sora shocked, before looking at Kairi in hopes to salvage a win somehow.
"You mean to tell me he only needed four things?" Wakka inquires to Kairi, but keeps his eye on Matthew while waiting for him to drop his guard.
"Yup, Sora got them all Wakka. Sorry to hear about your bet, but you should have asked what was on the list first before agreeing. At least then you would've known how fast Sora could get them," Kairi explains, making Wakka tilt his head down in embarrassment, before seeing Matthew's guard down as he turned his attention to Sora with a small smile.
'Got you now...' Wakka thinks, quickly turning to face Matthew and throwing the ball toward his head.
Only the boy sees it coming from the corner of his eye, before jumping to the side and swinging his wooden sword. Once again, hitting the blitzball like a baseball again and knocking it back at Wakka. Wakka only has time to widen his eyes before it hit his face. This makes him groan in pain from the impact as his ball falls to his feet. Kairi and Sora both wincing at the hit, while Matthew is feeling sorry for Wakka now.
Yes, Wakka uses a blitzball as his weapon of choice, oddly, but no one wants to get hit by their own ball...or weapon...at all.
"Agh! Man...That...hurt..." Wakka complains, dazed after the ball hit his head.
Matthew now has a sweat drop on the back of his head as he sees Wakka holding his face in pain. Matthew decides to end this spar for good and runs forward, hitting Wakka with a vertical strike on his right shoulder. He then proceeds to begin thrusting at his stomach to make him stumble back to catch his breath, and then spinning around with a two handed slash. This ends up connecting his wooden sword with his ribs to knock Wakka back on the ground. Wakka gets up and spins around, trying to hit Matthew as he gets close again, but Matthew stops himself and jumps back, just barely avoiding Wakka's spin. Wakka tries to throw his blitzball at him point blank, but Matthew dodge-rolls away. Only to notice Wakka grabbing his sword arm and his wooden sword in an attempt to pry his sword loose. Matthew responds by kneeing Wakka in the gut three times, before Wakka stumbles back. A mistake Wakka regrets as Matthew kicks him back and away from him with a kick to his chest. Not wanting to lose the spar, Wakka decides to put distance between them. Quickly he finds himself running to the ball and picking it up, while rolling his shoulder slightly.
'I need to end this now, yeah...Can't take much more hits from him...' Wakka thinks seriously with narrowed eyes.
Wincing a bit from the pain he felt in Matthew's attacks so far, Wakka begins winding up his arm to use his two handed throw. Sure, he knows Matthew knocked it back before, but it is his strongest attack with his blitzball. If he can get him at just the right timing, he knows it will probably knock the wind out of Matthew if it hits the right spot... Seeing Matthew rushing in to finish the fight, Wakka knows it is time to use his ace in one final gamble.
"Eat this!" Wakka shouts as he jumps up, throwing the ball at Matthew.
Thinking that with Matthew rushing, he would have a hard time countering his attack this time, but Wakka soon realizes this isn't so. Matthew, reacting on instinct, swings his sword downward. This ends up slashing at the ball and knocking the ball back toward a once more surprised Wakka. The ball is soon slamming into his gut again and making him stumble from the blow knocking the wind out of him. Wakka is now wincing and grunting in pain as he stands on shaky legs.
"Agh! Not...again..." Wakka grumbles, trying to shake off the pain, but Matthew doesn't want to give him that chance.
Quickly rushing up with a strike to the left shoulder, a thrust to the gut, and a spin slash to the gut, Matthew again ends up knocking Wakka back.
"Gah...Enough." Wakka speaks up, making Matthew pause in worry and wariness as he watches Wakka raise his hand while shaking his head as he looks at Matthew while panting slightly, "I... I give. You win, Matt."
Wakka concedes, as Matthew nods with a frown looking at Wakka with concern. That is, before seeing Wakka pull out a potion and heal himself of any injuries he had.
"Ah! Nothing like a good potion after a hard battle," Wakka chirps, rolling his shoulder happily, before looking at Matthew with a grin, "You've gotten stronger, man! I didn't know you could hit so hard till now." Wakka complements Matthew, who looks a little embarrassed.
Not used to being praised, he has no time to think on it before Wakka wraps an arm over his shoulder.
"You been doing some secret training or something, man?" Wakka asks, wondering how serious the boy's been taking his training.
Not that he minded, but whatever training he's been doing has clearly been working for him. Matthew, not seeing the harm, decides to share what he knows about his training.
"Yeah, but it was mostly on technique with my sword or physical training like push ups and sit ups. I can do a hundred push ups and fifty sit ups," Matthew answers honestly, thusly making Wakka nod his head in understanding.
"That's something, man...Keep up the good work, but how about another spar, Matt?" Wakka asks Matthew, who looks at Wakka a little worried.
"You sure, Wakka? I know the potion healed you, but you know I don't like to hold back," Matthew inquires, concerned, before Wakka waves off his concern.
"Please, you think I'm made of glass or something? I can take it and if you don't keep your guard up. I might beat you this time!" Wakka exclaims with a challenging grin, making Matthew shake his head.
A small smile forming as he grasps his wooden sword and takes his stance again, Matthew soon looks back at Sora and Kairi. They have been watching with Sora grinning and Kairi shaking her head at the boys antics.
"Sora, Kairi, I hope you two don't mind if I start my training with Wakka here. I'll catch up to you two later, if you don't mind," Matthew tells them, hoping they understand.
Sora and Kairi nod, before Kairi gives Matthew a warning glare, "Fine, but you better not get hurt too badly or our parents are gonna flip again!" Kairi exclaims, reminding Matthew of a time he came back injured.
Neither of their parents were happy to say the least and it took a while before they let him spar with his friends again. Once he promised them he would come back just fine and that he would be careful to avoid getting too hurt. A promise he now works real hard to ensure he keeps for both his sake and his friends.
"I know, Kairi. You and Sora go have some fun okay?" Matthew tells them, giving Kairi a small knowing smile that makes Kairi pout at Matthew with a small blush.
She hates when he teases her about her feelings for Sora...!
"Hmph!" Kairi huffs as she walks off, leaving Sora looking at her confused.
"What just happened?" Sora asks Matthew and Wakka, who share a look and a smile; a look that says they know what is going on, but aren't going to tell him.
"Sorry, Sora, but this is one of those things you have to figure out for yourself," Matthew tells Sora with a sympathetic look on his face.
Wakka nods in agreement with Matthew, but smirks at Sora's girl trouble, "He's right, man. There are somethings in life you have to figure out for yourself." Wakka answers Sora, supporting Matthew on the advice.
He wonders if he might win that bet or not against certain friends of his about how long it would take Sora and Kairi to confess to each other...
"Come on guys! Can't you just tell me!" Sora pleads to the two, but mostly to Matthew rather then Wakka.
They're closer friends after all and friends are supposed to help each other. Matthew, seeing the look on Sora's face, decides to throw Sora a bone to help his dense friend figure it out on his own.
"Look, Sora, why don't you just go ask Kairi what's bothering her and how she feels? You might learn something if you just ask her after all," Matthew offers, hoping Sora will get it, but the boy looks hesitant for a moment.
'Maybe I need to help those two more then I thought...' Matthew thinks, about to offer some advice, before Sora ran off with a determined look in his eyes.
"I'll go ask her then! Maybe if I can find out what's wrong! I can make her happy again!" Sora shouts as he runs off, leaving Matthew smiling at Sora's retreating form.
He really hopes Sora understands and will find out Kairi's feelings this time. He knows Kairi has been trying so hard to tell the boy, but always seems hesitant. Rather if it is because of Riku or not he does not know, but he does know she has strong feelings for Sora at least.
"Good luck, Sora," Matthew murmurs quietly to himself, before turning his attention to Wakka with a challenging smirk.
"Ready for round two, Wakka?" Matthew asks as Wakka gains a determined look on his face.
"You better be ready, man. I won't let you catch me off guard this time!" Wakka calls out, grasping his ball and readying to throw it.
Matthew grins then, rushing straight at him with a readiness to continue his training.
:Time Skip:
Matthew sighed as he finally caught his breath from sparring with Wakka. He had to admit that while deflecting the ball is the easy part, once you're used to how fast he throws it, the guy could tank some damage. However, what surprised him was that after a while, it sort of felt like it got easier to beat him and he hasn't lost to Wakka once. Not to say he was expecting to lose or trying to, but Wakka could throw the ball kind of hard for most kids their age. So beating him five times in a spar without losing once was a little surprising him.
Not impossible or rare, but just not something he was used to.
Not that he was complaining.
Then again, he was getting very use to Wakka's fighting style and he could just be getting stronger like people normally do while training. Still, he decided beating Wakka in a spar five times was enough for a day and that now would be a good time to go look for other opponents. So holding out a hand to his downed opponent, Matthew pulled Wakka to his feet and watched his friend use yet another potion to heal his bumps and bruises.
"Thanks, Matt. You've gotten real good, man," Wakka stated, complementing the boy.
He was surprised how easily Matt not only got use to the speed of his throws and fighting style. But also how Matthew was definitely getting stronger too, the aching bruises he had healed earlier was proof of that.
"You think so? Well, thanks I guess. Good to know my training is paying off," Matthew replied not use to complements about his fighting skill level.
Walking away toward the small dock where he saw a girl sitting down on the wooden dock. Kicking her legs as she watched the ocean before her with a content smile on her face.
The girl had green eyes, white skin, and brown hair styled into one large curl on the back of her head and two more on the sides. She wore an odd yellow dress with overall straps and a pocket on the chest. With sandals as her foot wear and a loose blue beaded bracelet on her left wrist. Seeing her, Matthew sighed as he decided to at least speak with her and see if she was up for training with him. Upon noticing Matthew's presence, the girl looked at him and waved.
"Nice to see you, Matt!" The girl waved as Matthew waved back in a friendly manner.
"Nice to see you too, Selphie. What are you up to today?" Matthew asked the girl calmly.
"Sadly nothing much, as Tidus is busy training by himself and Wakka is waiting for Tidus to be done. So they can go check the secret place and see if they can find anything." Selphie said pouting, not seeing Matthew roll his eyes at her behavior. He knew Selphie hated being left out of things and she can get kinda moody when Tidus and Wakka did that.
"Why can't boys just be more normal and not so stupid...?" Selphie grumbled making Matthew snicker at Selphie's complaint about two certain boys she cares for.
Kairi had that same complaint a few times about a certain dense spiky haired boy...
"I'm afraid that boys and girls just think differently, Selphie," Matthew told her honestly, as he didn't completely understand girls either.
Though thanks to those romantic adventure books he swore Kairi to secrecy about, he had a pretty good idea. He knew what to avoid doing in order to not make them angry and, most importantly, some ideas on how to keep them happy. Maybe not to the level to say he is perfect, but he wasn't too ignorant either. He just hopes it helps when he finds a girl to fall in love with. Selphie just rolled her eyes at Matthew's comment before glancing at the wooden sword he brought. A small smile on her lips that Matthew caught and shook his head with a small smile. He knew exactly what she wanted and was glad she seemed up for a spar after all.
"Feel like having a spar?" Matthew asked already knowing the answer as Selphie grinned at him eagerly.
"You bet! Just don't go easy on me or you'll regret it!" Selphie told him as she raced toward the sparring spot on the beach.
Matthew followed close behind as he noticed Sora sparring with Riku on the island...and Sora fell off the island trying to nail Riku with a slash from midair.
'When is Sora going to learn you have to be aware of your surroundings?' Matthew thought, knowing Sora falling off that island when sparring with Riku has happened before.
He didn't know why Sora constantly fights Riku there when Sora complained it was too small of a fighting ring for his taste. Especially since Matthew knew Riku clearly chose that part of the island on purpose to suit his fighting style after becoming the strongest on the islands.
"Matt! Quit daydreaming and get over here already!" Selphie shouted at Matthew from her spot on their makeshift ring on the beach.
Matthew chuckled realizing his slip up and made his way to his spot. Settling into his stance again as he smiled apologetically at her impatient glare.
"You shouldn't keep a lady waiting, Matt!" Selphie scolded him with a frown and hands on her hips.
Her jump rope of a weapon firmly in her grasp as he took a look at it. As expected it had red handles and beige colored rope. He never knew why she used that as a weapon of choice, but she just said it felt natural in a way.
"Sorry, you ready to spar now?" Matthew asked, as she scoffed at his reply.
Leave it to Matthew to be caught up in his own daydreams or thoughts at practically any time of day or night. Sometimes she wondered if he would remember to keep his head on his shoulders if it wasn't naturally attached to him.
"Better not hold back!" Selphie shouted before Matthew decided to honor her request and rush her with his sword ready to deflect the rope and attack when needed.
He learned that when sparing that keeping your guard up, even when on the attack, would be a good way to avoid taking too much damage. As expected Selphie tried to whip out her jump rope and Matthew dodge rolled under it to get into a crouch in front of her. This ended up surprising Selphie just as Matthew lunged forward with a stab, making her step back a bit in pain and Matthew followed up with an overhead slash to her right shoulder. Hoping to make her attacks slower, he spun in a circle catching her in the ribs. Selphie grunted in pain before raising her head to see Matthew coming at her quickly and jumped back an impressive distance.
"Here I come!" Selphie shouted as she spun the jump rope around her, fully believing this method would protect her from his attacks.
Matthew only frowned at seeing this trick and lunged forward to knock the red handle aside. Only for Selphie to unexpectedly start spinning with her jump rope as she was caught off guard by the force of his attack. Even Matthew looked at her in surprise that she was spun around like that from a simple hit.
"Ugh...When did you get so strong?" Selphie asked, trying to stand on her feet despite feeling dizzy from the unexpected force Matthew put in his attack.
"I…guess my training is more effective than I thought?" Matthew told her as he was wondering himself how much stronger he has gotten.
Yeah he could pack a punch before, but to send Selphie spinning was new to him. This day was getting kind of weird, but at least he seems to be getting stronger now!
"Well, don't think you got me beat yet!" Selphie shouted as she finally had her vision righted again and lashed out with a jump two feet from him.
Her jump rope smacking into his head as Matthew flinched from the annoyance of it instead of pain. While it didn't do much damage, it was an annoying feeling to get hit with a jump rope to the head. Though he swore she used to hit him harder than that before... Either that training was paying off or that dream might have made him stronger and tougher to hurt. Those thoughts were soon cut off as he felt another annoying sting from the jump rope, only this time it hit his face.
"Agh! Selphie!" Matthew cried out in shock and annoyance.
"Don't start daydreaming or this is going to be a short spar, Matt!" Selphie called out as she tried to jump toward him again with her jump rope lashing out.
Matthew, having enough of getting hit, used an overhead slash to knock it aside. Selphie lost her balance from the force of the blow before cringing in pain from Matthew's three rapid attacks that knocked her back. Matthew not wanting her to have another chance, ran and thrust forward toward her. Only for Selphie to jump back avoiding his attack again, making him frown in frustration. Matthew had to admit she was good at avoiding attacks and understandably so, given she can't take as many hits as Wakka or Tidus could.
"Here I come, Matt!" Selphie shouted rushing toward her sparring partner with her spinning attack toward him.
Matthew only deadpanned at this as he knew Selphie had only three attacks she used with it. A leaping jump, the spinning tactic with her jump rope, and a quick whip like attack. Deflecting these attacks aren't hard and dodging them is easier if timed right. It's just fighting her was predictable and not one he likes to drag out because he feels like a bully if he does. Not to call her weak, but her predictable fighting style and being unable to take too many hits made for short spars between them.
Just as Selphie was about to hit him, Matthew slashed horizontal to knock her spinning. Taking advantage of her loss of balance in her spin, Matthew rushed forward and unleash another overhead slash to her left shoulder this time, a thrust to her gut, and one final horizontal slash that caught her left arm and ribs.
'Time to finish this...' Matthew thought rushing forward as she regained her bearings, lashing out with a quick whip movement.
Matthew jumped up and slashed an uppercut with his wooden sword to knock it aside. He then ended up bringing it down on her shoulder and immediately spinning horizontally to unleash a slash to her stomach. Landing with a slight slide in Matthew's attempt to regain his balance and stance from his aerial combo, he looked at Selphie who had her hand raised in surrender.
"Oh~ I can't believe I lost!" Selphie whined as she bent over with her hands resting on her knees to catch her breath.
She then found herself digging into her a pouch on her dress for a potion to heal her wounds, sighing in relief as she felt the aches and bruises fade away. Matthew smiled, glad to see that their spar is done and that she was carrying a potion on her. He was almost about to offer his own for a second there, but he supposed this might be best to hang on to. Especially given Sora sometimes doesn't have a potion on him during his own spars and he might need it to heal himself after sparing with Sora. Turning his attention again to Selphie, he saw her smiling at him eagerly like a child got a new toy or saw her role model. Matthew had to repress the urge to chuckle at how excited she always looked after a good spar or something catches her interest.
"You've gotten really strong, Matt! I bet you could even take on Tidus or maybe all three of us now!" Selphie chirped, excited at the idea of Matthew sparring with all three of them at once.
Just like Riku did at times and Sora is showing potential for it as well! This meant more people they could spar three on one against in the future if things kept going like this. Matthew, however, chuckled with a wary smile on his face at that. He remembered the first time he saw Riku fight all three of them at once and won. It was one of the reasons he looked up to Riku as both a rival and as a big brother of sorts. He was strong and protective of those he cares for. Granted he's more serious than both Sora and himself, but that's what big brothers are naturally like in his mind.
"Spar with me some more? Please?" Selphie begged with her puppy dog eye trick.
Matthew knew she surely must've been taught it by Kairi...he would remember to get her back for that later, she knew how he hated when she used that trick on him!
"Fine, but remember I won't hold back, Selphie," Matthew warned her.
However, judging by the grin on her face, he knew that was what she wanted and she'd settle for nothing less.
"Deal!"
:Time Skip:
"Ow…" Selphie whined as Matthew helped her pick herself up slowly.
He found himself regretting that he may have gone overboard in their fifth spar. Why five spars one may ask? Well, she was adamant about trying to beat him at least once, but now he knew he had to put his foot down. She's clearly had enough and he didn't feel like prolonging their spars any further.
"Selphie, I think you've had enough for now. Get some rest okay?" Matthew asked concerned for Kairi's friend and was kind of his friend too.
It was hard to tell with her, but he knew she means well.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that. So can we do the three on one with you sometime later?" Selphie asked wanting to have some fun sparring with Tidus and Wakka as a team again.
For some reason she enjoyed spending time with them, even though they were kind of stupid at times. They were her best friends and she enjoyed every minute she had with them.
"Sure, maybe later though, but for now I'm going to find Tidus for a spar," Matthew told Selphie as he made his way toward where he knew Tidus was training.
He could hear Selphie wishing him good luck from the distance, so he gave her a small wave over his shoulder in response.
This marks the end of the first chapter! Dang, I didn't expect this to take as long as it did, but this is the way I like showing Matthew's training with Selphie and Wakka. Tidus will come soon and so will the three vs one bit. Regardless, I hope you like this chapter and enjoy the next one when it's ready.
Until then, please review and NO FLAMES! I'll accept criticism that is meant to help me grow as a writer or ideas, but not hating for something like my OC's. Especially no hating on OC's falling for cannon characters in any series!
For those of you who accept this, thank you and please stay open minded. The world needs more people like you and I look forward to what you think of my future chapters!