O' KEYBEARER

"Special circumstance?" She echoed, her lips lifting in a smile. "And what would that be?" She pushed softly, tilting her head back enough to catch his gaze with a curious glint in her eyes.

A pearl of laughter bubbles from her mouth, her face ducking as he mentions even giving Squall a run for his money. The thought itself makes her laugh, but it is also a way to deflect the rising color on her cheeks. "I'll have to get better at hiding it" She muttered, "Can't have you worrying about little'ol me" Someone paying enough attention to her to catch the subtle ways that tiredness and exhaustion manifested. Aerith had thought she was doing a good job at hiding it.

In fact, year long hibernations (repeatedly!) on top of his hours long power naps should be a future discussion.

"Lessee. You in a bubbly mood, there's a certain rush to make, for all we know maybe Cid is moments away of blowing our hair back with all his screaming one day. So, what's a quick flight getaway from one of the windows?" Sora adds in, an impish wink following suit.

There's a thoughtful pause as he felt the ticklish nestle of auburn hair settling against his chest, allowing her clearance to feel the abundant Heart that drums with it's own content beat. It ushers something protective within him, a desire to let her see many more of the glories of the Worlds after all she's done to brighten the damage done. His fingers drew into a more braced hold upon her scarlet coat, the adjacent arm ensuring her legs would never fall into a case of flailing.

Why not make good use of this warmth she shares? Seeing the sunlight bounce upon her being only added to that radiance.

"I know you're strong, Aerith. Never forgot that. Just don't forget I'd like to look out a little bit for you too.

Allowing his strength to serve as a guidance to his imagined eye, it led Sora to swimming descent within the skies, flowing through his namesake flawlessly as his jubilant mood only sharpened his movements. They'd soon fly directly above one of the nearby meadows, a crystal lake silently protected by a groove of trees. Another view they'd crest a circle around is one of the mountains caked with stardust, revealing mysterious caves and a touch of mountain goats seamlessly bouncing from perch to perch.

Another stunning view would be the arrival of Radiant Garden, it hosts waters so unnaturally clear that it reflects the very skies itself, offering an ethereal glow as the once battered town doubled down on regaining it's more pristine nature. Many of it's buildings are now higher, durable, feebly attempting to rival the castle that made a proud, piercing tower aim towards hints of a hidden moon above.

HC; Living Shadow.

This one has been living my head for a good amount of time while having this blog. Sora's whole make up in terms of a being remained complicated after the events of one. Someone who regained his humanity without a nobody, someone who in the process, didn't get his Heartless state destroyed but integrated. I believe the important detail here is that regardless of which form he's in, that sentience and conscious choice is forged.

I'd say that he's a grade above of how Ansem SoD turned out. Instead of becoming a Heartless with a human form, he's become a being who can openly stand upon either border, and can continue to be if one of the other is gone for a time.

I believe it's within this framework we can get an idea on how Sora grew so exponentially in his time as a Keyblade wielder. Its the simultaneous development of the human and shadow sides working in unison, both benefiting from the trials endured.

It's not working in a fashion of someone growing their darkness through grim emotion. It's genuinely absorbing the same experiences in a different means.

I believe Re:Coded managed to give a foreshadowing of this.

Now in this sense we're getting it purely from the perspective of a unique Heartless circumstance.All the same, it introduces the concept of how Sora and his Heartless Physiology do hold the capacity to grow at the same time at differing intervals.

The reason why we don't see a Darkside in KH1 I believe during the sacrifice, is due to the presence of Kairi and Ventus's hearts of light. They serve as a means to distill the worst from coming to be, and allowing Sora to retain a state of where despite being a Heartless, he managed to retain his sentience for a fleeting moment-- but that was all that was needed. So instead of a Darkside spawning? It was simply a shadow Heartless.

Kairi's means of saving him managed to make him regain his humanity. At the same time, this never 'eliminated' any part of Sora either. He threw off the whole Heartless/Nobody dichotomy with this act, and instead allows the Heartless build become a intimate part of Sora's conscious framework. He'd only regain his lost power from Roxas by the end of 2.

Time and time again too we also see these 'limiters' get removed. Without Kairi in KH2 we got the Antiform becoming an avid possibility.

And with Ventus's return in KH3, the new mode of Rage Form began the cusp of a mutation during the battle with Xehanort. However, it was this same anomaly that managed to be the winning factor. Xehanort had the power to quite literally strip any and all into dispersed dark energy, or a Heartless by stripping them of their form.

Sora could maintain a physical and more importantly, conscious shape when this should've been existence wiping him entirely.

By proxy I believe this is the proof of what creates the explosive levels of growth that weaves in tandem with Sora's natural state, through these means he's developing through his own particular path. Could this become a potential threat if left unchecked? Possibly. It'll simply be another means he needs to garner a more intimate understanding of.

Their path ahead back to town was thankfully a harmless one. It certainly didn't mean traversing the deep groves of Radiant Gardens outer expanse any easier, yet the rare flora growing, the small signs of life had made it beyond valuable to gather up the valuables they collected. Still, Sora had noticed there was a minute, if brief stagger to Aerith's steps. The fact she kept up such a visible light to her complexion was a testament to how she's also no stranger for a long days. Just as quick, an idea comes to mind that makes him snap his fingers. "Huh! That would make travel a lot smoother. Say, Aerith." The lack of 'request' locked in his tone signified that impulsiveness rising. Following within that moment was an instant of action, of a now floating Keybearer sweeping her form safely into his arms. Securing her carefully from underneath the knees and along her lithe back, a shimmer of playfulness holds in his cerulean gaze. "How about we take a different type of scenic route? You've looked a lil tired after documenting all those planting being able to grow again."

"A different—?"The rest of the sentence dissolves into a startled squeak as the ground abruptly disappears beneath her feet. "Sora!" One hand flies instinctively to his shoulder while the other tightens around the notebook she'd spent the better part of the afternoon filling with observations. For a moment, green eyes widen in disbelief before a laugh escapes her. Aerith shakes her head, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself. "You know, most people ask before they pick someone up." If she was trying to scold him, the laughter bubbling in her throat wasn't very convincing.

Her gaze drifts past him toward the winding path ahead, taking in the patches of restored greenery pushing through the earth. The sight warms her chest. "...Was I that obvious?" She had tried not to show it. Between cataloging the new growth, gathering samples, and documenting every little sign of recovery, she'd become a bit more invested in the day's work than she'd intended. "Alright," she relents.

Shared laughter was a gem in its own right before they're soon hitting the skies. Belief, a touch of the Heart, and their shared connection had the very winds above welcoming them with grace. The periwinkle skyline of Radiant Garden found itself showing prominence, a farcry from the days where grim ambition led to a madness that tried to devour every denizen. The old work of the Seeker of Darkness finds itself nearly plagued, and the gratitude of such sentiment finds itself before their eyes as he gains altitude, keeping Aerith protectively close all the while.

"No, actually." Sora admits as a few birds with iridescent feathers flew by them. Even then, his attention found itself on her once again, the smaller details that captured his attention.

Traveling with the golden hearted rebels against the dark had taught him a lot. "Out of our entire group, believe it or not you even give Squall a run for his munny. ..It took me some time, but there's small tells with you. Like the way your eyes look somehow look relaxed instead of weary, even when you're tired."

Aerith compared to others like Merlin and Yuffie knew how to serve as a group's core backbone, the reprieve anyone neeed to catch their own second wind. Only time allowed him to truly drink in that appreciation. In the keybearer's own gaze, there was a wisdom that found itself flourishing, at the very least when it came to the people important to him.

SOOOO I WANNA TALK ON THIS.

Do a lil throwback to Sora's younger days and how this had an influence. This will heavily HC based but I like to touch on his upbringing days.

Mana was an energy he had no idea even existed at the time for him. From his perception in the younger days, there's just some instances he jumped a little higher than normal, could push and amplify his strength to do some mildly impressive things.

At the same time it introduced some of his 'Super sleepy' days in his head. If he worked particularly hard while doing his daily life, exhausting his mana supply (usually by roughousing), Sora would burn through would growing supply he had in a heartbeat. Truthfully however? It worked to his advantage.

It gave him a foundation of how to 'push' and utilize mana for the far future, the same goes for the principle of his greatest strength; Heart power.

When it comes to the scope of Destiny Islands, there weren't really anyone proficient in magical arts. However the martial masters would have a familiarity with mana, allowing for augmentation usage in order to empower their strikes, movement and senses. This allowed the concepts to not be seen as unfamiliar to anyone who revealed such bursts of potential in Destiny Islands.

If you have a Heart (in the KH mythos means), you have the potential to awaken and allow your mana pool to thrive

In Sora's case, he was someone who often show specks of his potential, but often burned out too fast before any feasible note could be made about it. Once he has the dream where he enters the Dive to the Heart does a door so to speak opens, a latent awareness that there's other energies swimming inside of him. How in that dream, potential was forging though he was unaware, and it wouldn't be until his journey begins that he gains a true gauge of it.

(As a bonus note, with abilities like MP rage and restoration through combat sleeping in him, it'd expand a glance as to why his stamina was born to be considerable.)

I link this as to why he managed to gain the moniker of the laziest upon the islands. While just plain loving to get a good rest on one hand, he was someone who unknowingly ran through his mana, attributing to a more physical exhaustion and being satisfied with such a reason. He was more concerned with going to play with his pals and enact in those play spars.