How to Become a Keyblade Master in One Easy Step

Riku bows deeply to the old master before him and then to the trio of friends eagerly congratulating him for having made it through the exam and receiving the Mark of Mastery. A smile plays on the lips of the normally solemn boy, so happy he is to have had Sora's blessing and of course, the blessing of his friends.

Sora himself leads the cheers for Riku, despite having had been nearly highjacked by the Darkness not even an hour earlier. The boy is hilariously ecstatic and seeing him so happy makes Riku laugh along with him. Then it hits him, again, that he had gotten the reward that had been their goal since the beginning of the exam... while Sora, the hero of the Keyblade, had been told he failed due to being captured by his dreams. Due to something that isn't his fault.

After all, who would have guessed that Xehanort... or even worse, multiple Xehanorts would have crashed the exam?

The older boy scuffs his shoe against the tiled floors even as the trio (and Master Yen Sid) begin talking eagerly about having a little party in celebration. He feels awkward now and guilty for taking something that should have belonged to both of them. Sure, Riku knows he had faced plenty of danger throughout the year they were apart to the point of making Sora cry when he saw him again. He knows that at any moment he could have died.

But even so, he isn't the one who had rescued the worlds. He doesn't hate himself for rejecting the Keyblade at first or the events that followed soon after but he does feel sad that Sora hadn't gotten gotten any appreciation for all he had done. Riku himself has several notches on his voyage belt but none compared to Sora's.

He thinks for a moment before interrupting Master Yen Sid's comments over what kind of cake would be appropriate for this kind of party.

"Master?"

Every eye swings to see him, each curious at the sudden interruption.

Riku smiles and plows on. "So... since I'm a Keyblade Master now, I can take apprentices right?" He asks softly, his own gaze flickering towards Sora.

The younger boy jumps at the idea and then thinks about it, his cheerful expression turning contemplative as he imagines something in his head. Master Yen Sid, however, simply narrows his eyes at Riku before nodding hesitantly.

"Yes, Master Riku, if you so wish," The old master says slowly, his voice curious. "You may well indeed take an apprentice. Most wait years to have their first however."

Riku nods before turning to Sora. "Sora, you're my apprentice now," He says matter-of-factedly before raising a finger to his friend's shout of surprise. "And your test of Mastery is to defeat Ansem the Seeker of Darkness," He starts listing off Sora's accomplishments to an increasingly confused group and even more shocked Sora. "Defeat Xemnas, bring back the Organization members Evan, Ienzo, Aeleus, and Dilan to their true states by destroying their Nobodies and letting them reunite with their hearts, and to have a Keyblade. Also, you have to learn magic. At least nine different spells. You think you can do that?"

The entire group stares at him in complete silence before they turn to glance at each other and then back at Riku.

"... Uh..." Sora stutters out in confusion. He raises a hand up at his "master," confusion written all over his face. "Riku? I already did all that." He informs him before taking a step towards Riku, his hand outstretched towards his friend's forehead as if to feel for a fever.

Riku smiles.

"I know, Sora," He chuckles. Raising his hand to the air, the Way to Dawn Keyblade appears in his hand. Sora blinks at him as Riku taps each of his shoulders in a mock knighting ceremony. "I pronounce you, Sora, for all your service to the worlds, a Keyblade Master!"

Master Yen Sid takes offense to that and strips them both of their titles, citing if that Riku was going to hand out Keyblades and Masteries to any idiot he wanted, there would be no point of the office.

Step one, have Riku as your friend and have someone write him with a sense of humor.

How to lose a Keyblade Master in one step. Have Riku have a sense of humor.

Just a small joke fic about how I feel over Riku becoming a Keyblade Master over Sora. I mean, seriously, he's a Master now, he could have just handed Sora the damn title. They've both been through enough to warrant them even if they don't have the same levels of training/battle experience as Aqua, Ven, and Terra.

Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts belongs to me. I took over both companies with a tin of fish, a strainer, a stressed out Caucasian man, a recording of "Party in the USA" and oregano. ... No, I'm kidding, don't sic the lawyers on me! Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix.