{ Ursus Pride }

THE THING THAT MAKES MY MIND REALLY EXPLODE IS THE FACT THAT IT MAKES THE BOOK THEME IN THE KH3D OPENING MAKE PERFECT SENSE 

The trip up the stairs was pretty slow. Between the awkwardness of her still holding her keyblade– which she didn’t need to be doing indoors, but who was he to judge, he’d slept with his in his bed before– and her wobbly balance, each step was pretty difficult to keep stable. “You don’t need to apologize, Miss. It’s no trouble.” He assured her, sighing in relief as they got back to flat ground. “All of us are workin’ hard for our Unions. Sometimes that hard work can get a little much. ‘S why we need ta take care of each other.” 

     After finally reaching the second floor, Vivienne pushed her train of thought aside and focused solely on walking. Just as she leaned over to sit in the chair offered to her, Vivienne’s knees buckled signaling they just about had enough for the week. She sighed in relief though, thankful for the help and the relative quiet; the noise downstairs sounded more like a dull roar now. She smiled, but still held her head in her palm as the headache ceased to leave just yet.

     “Thanks... and, uh, sorry. For the trouble, I mean,” she mumbled. “At this point, I’m really not picky -- surprise me with whatever. A glass of water or tea would be cool, too.”

     The girl curled herself up comfortably in her chair, leaning against the wall as she attempted to rest. Her Keyblade still didn’t leave her side though, and she clutched it tighter in her fist as if it’d disappear at any moment. Technically it could -- that’s how it’s supposed to work after all -- but she feared if it left her sight... Well, she wouldn’t get it back. She wasn’t willing to risk it after what happened. She had to be ready.

     What if she came back?

“Where were you? I was ready to file a missing persons report.” He asked, voice still with a hint of concern as he made a move towards his belongings. He pulled his bag off effortlessly and made his way back to the girl’s side in record time. 

A yawn escaped him, he was still rather jet-lagged.

“Well, since yer in such a rush to get going, lead the way.”

“The class if filing out so we should really start moving.” He continued, placing a hand on her back and ushering her in the other direction. If they were lucky, they could probably squeeze in a nap before noon. 

At least, Koda was hoping they could, like… really hoping.

     “Ain’t gotta worry ‘bout me, I know how to--” Before she could even finish her quip, the man was already rushing her outta the door! What the hell?!

     He had a point though; the class was already regrouping near the exit and they were just a few minutes away from being left behind. With a begrudged sigh, Viv pushed her way through the crowd, muttering whatever pardons she could spare in Italian. They reached the group just in time, for their next bus arrived to take them to the hotel they’d be staying at. Of course, with not a moment’s hesitation, Vivienne stepped on the bus first and claimed her window seat again.

     ... Speaking of windows.

     Once Koda finally dragged his tired ass to the seat next to Vivienne, she waited. He said something, but she paid no mind as she stared at the bus seat in front of her, waiting. Waiting very patiently. The bus eventually started to move after all the students (and professor) took their seats. Vivienne glanced over at Koda, and just as she suspected, he was trying to get comfortable enough to squeeze in a nap.

     She pinched his cheek hard, tugging it a little.

“C’mon now, partnering up with me can’t be that bad, now can it? Or am I going to have to put up with that face for the next two weeks?” Koda continued, pinky finger pressing itself lightly to the girls cheek before retracting itself swiftly. 

No sense in losing a finger just yet…

Yes if there was one thing Koda could be absolutely sure of, was that this trip would be far from boring.

Well at least, once they actually made it to Italy. The ‘getting there’ was a bit of a bore, and there were only so many naps one could take on a plane. The man yawned, trying to keep up with his class as they walked over towards baggage claim, what time was it anyway? All sense of actual time was completely lost on him.

“Not mine… Not mine… Not mine but she’s not here yet so…” Koda muttered softly to himself as he pulled Vivienne’s bag off the assembly line of assorted bags and luggage, still searching for his own through tired eyes. “Seriously, where is she anyway? Already avoiding me?”

He looked up taking a moment out of his search to scan the area, she did make it off the plane ok, right?

     {♤} – Vivienne loved the idea of traveling, but after finally getting the chance to do so on her own, she realized something extremely crucial. She hated airports. They were noisy, full of people that were constantly moving, and the overall rush straight after flying for hours made her nauseous. All she wanted was to sit. And eat. And then pass out if the time allowed.

     Although still frazzled, she followed the few classmates that got off the plane before her to baggage claim, where she saw Koda stickin’ out like a sore thumb. Tall and kinda lost. And kinda panicked? What’s his problem?

     She quickly weaved her way through the crowd and tugged gently on Koda’s sleeve to get his attention. She looked down beside him and noticed he picked her bag off the conveyor belt for her -- how nice of him. She scanned the remaining bags and noticed his hadn’t made it yet. Ah.

     “Y’still waitin’ on your bag?” she inquired just to be sure. She’d be in a panic too if her bags got lost on the way to a foreign country. With careful eyes, Vivienne watched as the remaining bags found their way into the line. “Hey, I think yours just arrived actually -- way down at the end.” She pointed while simultaneously taking her phone out of her pocket to check the time.

     9:00am. Not bad.

The way she was wavering on her feet definitely spoke multitudes on how quickly it was all catching up to her. 

“Miss?” He started out, voice audible above the hum, but just barely. “Would you like ta sit down?” Just a gentle suggestion. He didn’t want to make her any more anxious. “I don’ think a little bag a’candy can raise yer spirits up any. Why don’t I make you a sandwich or somethin’. On the house. And there’s a quieter spot in the balcony corner you can take a load off in.” He nodded upstairs, chewing his lip. 

     Another wave of nausea overtook her senses and shook her body. A pounding headache played a steady rhythm against her temples to the beat of the bustle and it took everything in her power to stop the world from spinning. If only for a moment. She had to think. No. She had to respond. If she was gonna get out of here, she needed to talk.

     “I... I wouldn’t mind that. That sounds, g-- er, fine. Fine.” she waved a hand dismissively before clutching the counter again. Her vision started getting fuzzy around the edges again so she closed her eyes and rested it in one of her palms. “I think you know better than to, uh. Let me walk up those stairs on my own. Sorry for... the inconvenience.”

Ignoring her comment, he shook his head and smiled, keeping his eyes glued to his own phone screen for the time being. They went on in silence for a little while (though he was sure he caught her mumbling to her game from time to time), when Vivienne suddenly spoke up once more.

“Aww, you don’t wanna spend time with me?” he responded, a frown forming at the corner of his lips, eyes meeting hers for a split second before he broke off contact with a light chuckle, “How sad, and here I thought we were becoming fast friends~”

Koda opened his mouth to continue, always enjoying their little back and forth, but the bus coming to a halt and the sound of their professor’s voice told him that it would have to wait. 

Oh right, his travel partner.

Honestly, it really didn’t matter to him who he ended up with, the man had no enemies and his class this semester was nice enough, so he zoned out for most of the sorting process. 

That is, until a very familiar set of names were called.

“Tacorde,Shyrade? Oh, right beside each other, convenient. The two of you will form group 6…″

… Wait, say that again? 

     “Y’gotta be kidding me...” she repeated to herself over and over again. The bus lurched forward again once the light turned green, and Vivienne allowed herself to slump back in her seat even further. “... Did you plan this? You planned this, didn’t you. I should’ve known.”

     The girl pouted and kept her gaze on the window beside her, focusing on the passing cars and many trees that lined the side of the road. It was true that she and Koda were on better terms than when they started, but that was only because they helped each other in class. He helped her in Spanish and she rewrote his atrociously written notes in math. Otherwise, they really didn’t know each other any better than before; she was just... used to his company, she supposed. That didn’t mean sticking them together as partners on an international trip was a good idea.

Despite his annoyance, Silver still answered them, trying to keep as much kindness in his voice as possible.

“I was named after my father.  … Me and him don’t.. see eye to eye..  You can probably figure out the rest.”

     “Well, it ain’t my place to tell you what to believe,” she sighed, eyes cautiously scanning the area for potential danger as she led them both through Daybreak Town’s streets, “but I can tell you somethin’ my own leader’s told us before: ‘The brighter the light, the longer and darker the shadow.’”

     A snide grin tugged at her lips at the thought. It’s definitely not the nicest ideology to wrap one’s head around, but it certainly left quite the impression. She’d be lying if she hadn’t thought about what kind of dark shadows follow the Unicornus Foreteller, much less her very own Ursus Foreteller... But that wasn’t her business.

     “You’d best be careful,” she warned, “Who knows what kinda deep, dark shadows’ll come creeping up on ya if you’re that close to that light, hm? Your namesake might even come back to haunt you if you’re not careful.”

     “Of course, I kid.” Partially. There was some truth to her words, but the nice part about keeping a distance from people is that no one could tell when she was being genuine.

“Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

“Quick, give me his name.” He instructed, having just a little too much fun with this little realization of his. Once given his full name, Koda cleared his throat making sure her attention was still on him before giving his performance. 

“I’m Izuminokami Kanesada!” He declared strongly, hand to chest. 

The man was sure Vivi was going to hate him a little for that, but he couldn’t unhear it, as conceited as it may have sounded. He let her take that in as he returned his attention to his own phone, waiting for his new favorite app to finish downloading.

     Her face slowly started to burn.

     “Ugh, as if I don’t see and hear enough of you almost every day,” she retorted, hiding her flustered face by hunching over her phone and returning to her gameplay. “Now I can’t use this sword... Thanks a lot, asshole.”

     Though her words were harsh, her voice wasn’t nearly as abrasive. In fact, it sounded more embarrassed and defensive... in a helpless way. She wanted to say more, but at this point she wasn’t sure what she should say. There wasn’t a whole lot to talk about and they were almost at the airport anyway. Should she even say anything? Probably not, right? Instead she focused on her g--

     Nya!

     Her head shot up at the familiar sound of virtual kittens. Looks like his app finally finished downloading.

     “Hey, congrats!” she said in a sarcastic tone, “Guess this means you’ll be preoccupied for most of the trip.” Which also means there’s a chance he won’t bother her... Not that he was a complete pain in the ass or anything, but a little peace and quiet on this trip would be nice. Really nice, in fact.

“Oh, that’s right! I should probably inform you all of your travel partners while I have the chance,” the professor called from the front of the bus. “They’re organized by last name, so--”

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💋 — kissing

💄 — makeup

👾 — video games

🎵 — singing

💃 — dancing

🎹 — playing an instrument

🌷 — taking care of living things

🌲 — surviving in the wilderness

👊 — fighting

😇 — following rules

🍳 — cooking

🍼 — taking care of children

🎁 — giving presents to others

🎉 — hosting parties

💌 — romance/flirting

🎨 — art

🍀 — luck

⚽️  — sports

🏊 — swimming

🚗 — driving

🔮 — magic

🔎 — investigating

🔫 — long range weapons

💣 — explosives

🔪 — melee weapons

🔬 — scientific pursuits

🚿 — hygiene

💰 — finance

🌍 — knowledge of the world

👻 — communing with the paranormal

📚 — reading

🔧 — engineering/mechanics

⌛️ — time management

📥 — organization

🍺 — alcohol tolerance

🚴 — riding a bike

🎭 — performance art/acting

⚓️ — sailing