I own nothing
Shared Love
Running alongside Kairi in the Castle That Never Was, I could feel my molecules trying to merge back with her heart. Fighting the urge as best I could, I ran even faster, matching her stride for stride. When the thrumming of our resonant molecules was just too much for me to bear, I lightly leaped inside her skin. She was shocked for a minute when I disappeared, but quickly forgot about me in her mad run toward safety.
The longer I was inside her, the harder it became to remain separate from her heart. As the minutes dragged on, I began to fervently wish that I could stay separate long enough to see Roxas again.
Sensing another fragmented heart nearby, I ripped myself completely free of Kairi. The pain was so bad, it felt like having a full-body suit made of duct tape ripped off of me in one swift motion. Recovering the ability to move my own eyes, I looked around and quickly found Sora. He was with Riku and the others. They were trying unsuccessfully to open a portal to leave the World That Never Was and go back to Destiny Islands.
After seeing Riku fail to open a portal, I realized that they would be stuck in this dark and depressing world forever if I didn't help them soon. Using the last of my energy, I casually waved my hand and opened a large portal onto Destiny Islands.
"Thank you, Namine", Kairi said softly from behind me.
"Sure", I muttered. Feeling Roxas tug at my attention from inside Sora, I walked over to him. "See? We meet again, like we promised", I told him happily.
"Huh?", asked Sora, confused as ever.
"You said we'd meet again, but when we did, we might not recognize each other", Roxas said, stepping out of Sora. Jumping in surprise, Sora just stared at him in shock. I giggled into my hands and turned to Roxas.
"I did, didn't I?", I said quietly. He frowned slightly.
"But I knew you", he continued. Tilting my head, I studied his translucent face as all sorts of different emotions flitted across it.
"Mmm...it's strange", I said, unable to figure out his odd expressions. Finally, he smiled brightly.
"I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you", he tried to explain.
Smiling, I said, "I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness..."
"Yeah, but you and I didn't. We got to meet our original selves", he said happily.
" So we can be together again!", I exclaimed, pressing my hands together. He nodded and walked over to stand beside me.
"Right. Anytime Sora and Kairi are together", he clarified, motioning to them. Taking the hint, Kairi grinned and turned to Sora.
"We'll be together every day. Right, Sora?", she asked him. He jumped up straight, tearing his gaze away from us long enough to answer her.
"Um...yeah!", he stammered. Kairi giggled into her hand and winked at me knowingly. Smiling in response, I walked toward her and prepared myself for the feeling of disappearing into someone else's body.
Holding out my hand to Kairi, I finally gave in and allowed my molecules to merge back with her heart completely. Flowing back into Kairi, I gasped inwardly as I lost all control of my arms, my legs, even my eyes as they became hers again. Right before I fully lost control of my body, my memory of a heart thumped once, painfully, as I glimpsed Roxas shimmer back into Sora. As soon as my happiness bubbled up at seeing him, Kairi's unconscious slammed me down into a distant part of her heart. Still reeling from the blow, I was amazed to hear a voice floating down to me from her as she walked through my portal.
"I'm sorry", she whispered to me,"I didn't do that on purpose." I tried to respond to her, but I couldn't. Locked away in her heart, all I could do was watch sadly through her eyes as she waited patiently on Destiny Islands for Sora and Riku to reappear. Over and over again I tried to move her eyes, twitch a toe, anything! My despair grew as I quickly realized that, no matter how hard I tried, I could not even move her pinky finger.
Suddenly a pair of bright comets burst through the lower layer of clouds over the ocean. Feeling both her happiness and my own, we watched the comets slam into the ocean. Moments later, Sora and Riku popped back up to the surface, slinging water out of their hair and effectively spiking it back up to normal in an instant.
As if she heard my silent pleas, Kairi began to jump up and down, waving her arms frantically. Spotting us in record time, Sora swiftly swam over to us, followed by a much slower Riku. Before he could reach us, however, he was attacked. Kneeling in the surf, Sora was tackled and knocked over into the water again by Donald and Goofy. After hugging them as briefly as he could, he wiped the salt water out of his eyes and smiled up at Kairi.
"We're back", he said happily, with Goofy and Donald still on his back. Extending her hand, she smiled back at him.
"You're home", she corrected. Grinning like a fool up at her, he grasped her hand, pushing the paupu charm into it. Feeling a shock travel up her arm, I was pleasantly surprised when Roxas's face superimposed itself over Sora's.
"I never got a chance to say goodbye. I can't stay long but I promise I will see you again. In person, I mean. Even though I can't see you, I can feel you in there somewhere. Goodbye, Namine", said Roxas, using Sora's mouth. Clearly struggling to maintain his dominance, Roxas hauled Sora's body up to the eye level of Kairi. Quickly kissing the corner of our mouth,he gasped and fell back down, relinquishing all control back to Sora with a grimace.
Bracing myself, I resisted the pull of Kairi's heart and forced her lips to obey me. "Okay, I...trust you, Rox...as", I ground out carefully. Lingering just long enough to see the shock on both their faces, I laughed to myself as I willingly retreated back into her heart.
Forced to see through her eyes again, I watched as Sora and Kairi recovered from the surprise kiss and silently walked home with Riku.
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A captive in Kairi's heart, only able to see and hear what she did, I began to retreat further and further away from the outside world. It hurt too much, watching her play and have fun, while I couldn't even speak to anyone besides Roxas. Days passed in a blur, until I had even forgotten what month it was in the real world. Since I was only able to speak to Roxas when Sora touched Kairi, we practically never spoke to each other.
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Waking up one particularly bright day, I tried to ignore Kairi as she talked to some other girl named Selphie on the phone about how fun today was going to be. Apparently she had memorized what day it was, because she never once looked at her calendar. Curious, I tried to pierce the wall that divided our minds, but, as weak as I was, I could not make the slightest dent.
Sensing my frustration, she slowly lowered the wall herself until I could see why she was so excited. Today was Valentine's Day, and she was going to spend the whole day together with Sora on their island. Sighing, I closed the wall again for her, since she never likes to leave it down for too long.
"I'll make sure to hold Sora's hand. You'll be able to talk to him almost the whole day", she promised. Since I was unable to respond to her, she took my silence as happiness and continued getting ready. Retreating back down into her heart, I resigned myself to a long day spent watching them make horrible lovey-dovey eyes at each other while Roxas and I were unable to even hug one another.
An hour later, she was paddling over to the island, humming a tune as she went. I could feel her immense happiness bubbling up inside her as she saw Sora waving to her from the shore. He seemed a bit distracted and preoccupied but Kairi didn't notice that. Only I saw the frown that flashed across his face when she pulled the boat up onto the shore beside him.
"Hi Kairi!", he said, reaching out his hand to help her drag the boat up past the high tide mark. Ignoring their conversation, I searched desperately for any sign of Roxas in Sora's touch. He seemed to be there but he was...doing something odd.
Suddenly, without any warning, Roxas sent a jolt up Kairi's arm and shocked me out of her heart. Seizing my chance, I swiftly took charge of Kairi's body, gently pushing her down where I used to be. Molding her body to my will, I changed her bright red hair to my own soft blond color. When I was done, I glanced up at Sora's body.
To my infinite amusement, Roxas was still struggling to change Sora's hair to match his own but he had messed up somehow. Instead of being a brilliant dirty blond or a deep chocolate brown it was neon green! Reaching up, I yanked a few of his spikes out of his face and showed him how to change his hair color. When he was finished, he pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead.
"Didn't I say I would see you again in person? I've missed you so much Namine", He whispered. After nearly a year of silence, I couldn't find anything to express how happy I was in words. So I blushed lightly and hugged him back instead.
"How long will this last? And how did you do this?", I finally asked. Pulling away slightly, he leaned back and studied my new real face.
"I practiced that's how. As for how long...all day if my calculations are correct", he said. Remembering all those times I'd let Kairi have her way and push me around, I ducked my head in shame. Oblivious to my pained expression, Roxas took hold of my hand and tugged me down the beach toward the glittering blue water.
"Come on, I want to show you something! Sora was going to show this to Kairi to impress her, but I think you will appreciate it more than she ever would", he said. Letting my frown slide off my face, I kicked off Kairi's uncomfortable sandals and followed him through the wet sand.
Racing him into the water, I gasped in surprise as the cold water hit me like a ton of bricks. The bathing-suit that Kairi had picked out that morning was clearly meant to be more like glorified underwear than a real bathing-suit. Gradually overcoming the cold, I dunked my head underwater and swam over to where Roxas was waiting.
"What did you want to show me?", I asked, twisting my long hair out of my face. He pointed underwater. Holding my breath so that the water would calm down, I peered into the crystal clear water.
Beautiful schools of fish darted in and out of these huge green structures. Colorful fans swished back and forth in the current, some of them almost reaching to my legs. Surrounding the green structure, a forest of seaweed followed the same movements of the fans, only differing when a fish would swim by. Scanning the shape of the massive structure I noticed something peculiar. Swimming backward to see it in it's entirety, I laughed out loud when I finally saw the entire shape of it. It was a giant heart!
"It's beautiful! But what is it?", I asked. He paddled back over to me in two swift strokes and shrugged.
"Sora's memory calls it a coral reef. Apparently the whole thing is alive. He says it's even prettier at night. Something about bioluminescence", he said nonchalantly.
"Well, I think it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Thank you for showing it to me", I said, turning to him. Blushing slightly, he smiled.
"I knew you would appreciate it more than Kairi ever would", he said happily. Lapsing into silence, we treaded water and studied the coral reef together for a long time.
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Eventually the light began to dim and the water became significantly colder. I shivered and glanced over at Roxas. He was shivering just as bad as I was, and his teeth were even chattering!
"Do you want to go back to the beach? You're shivering pretty badly and I'm cold too. This bathing-suit is useless", I said regretfully. He nodded and took off for the beach without another word. Following close behind him, I nervously glanced at the sun's position in the sky. Could it really be that late already? Checking Kairi's watch once I was back on the beach, I was dismayed to find out that it was indeed six o'clock.
Plopping down, I dug my toes into the wet sand absently. Wrapping my arms around my legs, I rested my chin on my knees and sighed. The sun warmed my face as I listened to Roxas lay down on the sand next to me.
"We don't have much time left, do we?", I asked sadly. Waiting for his response, I twirled a piece of hair loosely around my finger. He sighed and sat up.
"No, we don't. Our hair is already beginning to turn back to theirs, but we have about a half an hour left. Just enough time to watch the sunset", he said, tugging at one of his spikes. Focusing my gaze on the hair I was holding, I was shocked to see that he was right. The tips of my hair were already a deep crimson red.
"At least I was able to see you, really see you, today. You have no idea how happy I am, sitting here talking to you", I said quietly. He grinned and mildly poked me . laughing to myself, I laid my head on his shoulder and shivered. Almost automatically, he draped an arm around me and pulled me close.
"Don't worry. We did it once, we can do it again. And who knows? Maybe we can even figure out a way to materialize without taking over Sora and Kairi", he murmured into my ear. i sighed again and scooted closer to him.
"That would be nice", I whispered. Sitting up with a start, he leaned behind us and snatched Sora's backpack off the sand. Rummaging around in it noisily, he triumphantly pulled a small blue cooler from the depths of the bag.
"I almost forgot! I brought us some sea-salt ice cream from Twilight Town. You would be amazed how easy it is to manipulate Sora when it comes to ice cream", he laughed. Accepting the stick of blue ice cream from him, I slowly slide a smile onto my face. As he munched quietly on his, I let the salty sweetness flood my taste buds and sighed in happiness.
"Do you know how long I've wished for some sea-salt ice cream? Kairi hates the taste", I exclaimed. He grinned and stuck his own ice cream back into his mouth. casting a quick glance at him, I was dismayed to see how overtaken his beautiful blond spikes were with brown. Looking at a piece of my own hair again, I could see the red slowly dominating the blond.
"Don't look at it", Roxas said softly. I tilted my head at him in puzzlement. He noticed my expression and looked away. "It makes it harder. You can stay longer if you just ignore it. Trust me", he explained. Finishing his popsicle, he tossed the stick back into the cooler. Looking back at my own ice cream, I quickly began to nibble away at it so it wouldn't drip everywhere.
"You know, I really wish we could exist like this more often", I whispered to him, barely loud enough for him to hear me over the sound of the waves. He glanced down at me and smiled until our attention was drawn toward the sinking sun. It had finally began its slow plunge toward the horizon, bleeding reds and yellows across the sky as it went. He squeezed me reassuringly and we continued watching the sun set together.
Suddenly Roxas turned to me and started opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Before he could say anything, the blond remaining in his spikes drained away and his bright blue eyes dimmed drastically. He gasped and tore himself away from me in one smooth motion.
"Oh no", I breathed, horrified about what I knew was coming.
"Oh, YES!", shouted Kairi from deep inside me. I cringed away from what was left of Roxas, who was still staring blankly ahead, and pressed my palms against the side of my head. Ignoring my remaining sea-salt ice cream, I tried to fight Kairi as long as I could. However, before I could establish a firm grip in her mind, she exerted one enormous tug and yanked me back down, chaining me away in her heart again.
Tossing her red hair back, she grinned and tapped Sora's body lightly on the shoulder. I screamed and writhed, trying to free myself again. It couldn't end this way, we hadn't even said goodbye! "I don't see why I should help you. You stole away my whole special day with Sora and now your jealous boyfriend won't even let him have his body back!", she hissed at me.
"Please! This was the only day I've seen him in a long time! We just wanted to spend one day together, is that so bad? At least let us say goodbye", I pleaded over and over again. She ignored me and kept trying to revive Sora. After several moments of silence, he shuddered and sighed deeply, his eyes frantically searching the beach for something.
"Sora? Are you okay?", Kairi said gently, pressing her palm to his face. He blinked and his eyes finally focused on her face. He smiled and she sighed in relief.
"Sorry Kairi", he whispered suddenly. She jumped in shock and he grabbed her arm, zapping me out of her heart again. I wasn't able to take over her body like last time, but I was able to feel and experience everything she did. My happiness overflowed her heart as I was finally able to sense what Roxas had been able to do.
"This is from both of us to both of you", Sora said with a voice that was a strange mixture of his own and Roxas'. Kairi finally stopped fighting me as he leaned closer to us. She closed our eyes as our lips met. For the space of a heartbeat, I could truly feel Roxas, then we both faded back into our Others.
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"Wow, what a day", Sora chuckled. Kairi smiled nervously and nodded. Packing up their things from the beach, they slowly walked back to where their canoes rested on the shore just above the high tide line. Shaking her head at her sandy suit, Kairi slowly reached over and took Sora's hand in her own.
"It wasn't that bad of a day", she whispered. Sora sighed and gripped her hand tightly. Smiling, they both left the beach to go home and attempt to face school in the morning as if they were normal people.
Unheard by both of them, Roxas and I kept repeating one phrase over and over again to each other as long as we could, not knowing when we would get the chance to say it again.
I love you.