I watched in horror as Ventus collapsed on the floor, a large splatter of crimson on his chest. I quickly knelt down next to him and lifted his back. "Ven?! Wh…What happened?! " I cried as I tried to shake him awake.

He coughed and placed his hand on the splatter. "S-Sora got me." He said with a weak laugh. "I never thought he would do something like this."

No, no. It couldn't be. "Sora was the one who shot you…?"

He nodded. "Yeah. And he's coming this way. You've gotta run, Kairi!"

"Are you kidding?! I can't just leave you here!" I cried.

"You have to!" He retorted. "It's already over for me, but you can still win this!"

"But…!"

"Kairi." I felt his hand firmly grip my wrist. He looked at me with stern eyes and said "Go. Sora'll get here any minute now. It doesn't matter if he finds me; you have to continue with the mission. Live on, do you understand?"

I squeezed his hand. I didn't want to leave him alone, but Ventus was right. As much as I hated to do it, I stood up. I took one last look at Ven. He smiled and whispered 'You can do it'. I smiled back before turning around and ran.

Ventus, I promise your sacrifice won't be in vain…We'll beat those guys, we'll beat Sora!

I ran and ran, ducking and sneaking around the maze-like battlefield of a town. I took out my gun. This is bad, I'm out of ammo. I need to get back to base as soon as—

I heard footsteps from around the corner and froze in my tracks.

Sora appeared, gun in hand. His eyes widened as he spotted me, before a grin formed on his face. He lifted up the gun and took aim.

I ducked on impulse and avoid the first shot. I scrambled to my feet and ran, ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Sora was on my trail, but thank Light he wasn't fast enough to catch up. He fired another shot, but I turned a corner just in time.

I saw an old, rundown mansion in the distance. There! I'll lose him in there! With the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I sprinted toward the place. I rushed inside, Sora still in pursuit. In frenzy, I took a path leading to a series of identical corridors. Left, Right, Left, Left, Right, Left? No, maybe that last turn was a right, I couldn't tell. I kept turning at random.

I slowed down once I realized Sora's footsteps were nowhere to be heard. I stopped to catch my breath. My lungs were burning, and my legs felt like they're about to collapse. I leaned against the wall. My heart pumped in rhythm with my head. Sigh…All I need to do now is get out of here without him finding out.

I still couldn't believe it. He shot Ventus…And the way he looked while chasing me down. A predator if I ever saw one. What happened to him…?

My head shot up. Footsteps, meters away from where I am. Adrenaline jolted through me again in a millisecond. I quickly stood up and made a break for it. I reached a section of the corridors that had no roof. The sun can either be my ally or enemy here. I can use the shadows to know if he's near, or vice-versa.

I ran, this time with a bit more thinking. I hid at certain points, waiting in case Sora was headed this way. So far, so good. I haven't encountered him yet but…The paranoia is eating me from the inside. I take another turn that lead to a long corridor. I had a lot on my mind. I didn't notice the brick wall in front of me until I walked right into it. "Ow!"

I rubbed my nose and was turned around. I wish I didn't, Oh how I wish I didn't. I froze in my tracks as I saw the figure standing a few steps away. Sora. His hand was ready to pull the trigger.

I backed away, shaking. "Sora, P-please, this isn't like you!" I pleaded.

"Isn't like me? Whatever do you mean, Kairi?" He replied, gun still pointed at me.

"Y-you were never this…this ruthless!"

"I was always like this." He smiled. "Even back on the islands, don't you remember?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't."

"Eh, I guess I picked it up while saving the worlds." He shrugged. He aimed the gun at me and placed a finger over the trigger. "Anyways, sorry about this. But you have to go. No hard feelings?"

I closed my eyes and waited for him to fire.

BANG!

There it is, and I waited but…Nothing. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at my chest, but there was no stain. I turned my gaze to Sora.

His gun clattered to the floor. He turned around, wide-eyed. The splatter on his back…He was shot! By…

"Riku…Why..." Sora fell to the ground.

Riku stared at him and lowered his gun. "You okay, Kairi?" He asked as he stepped over the fallen body of our friend.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

"Come on. You're out of ammo aren't you?"

"How did you find me?" I asked.

"I saw you running around in the corridors." He replied.

"Oh." I looked at the brunet on the ground and solemnly said, "Sorry it had to be this way, Sora…"

Riku sighed and rolled his eyes. "You two are so dramatic." He said. He nudged Sora with his foot. "Get up."

"Aw, come on, Riku!" I whined.

Sora opened his eyes and sat up. The blue paint on his back from Riku's shot stained the floor he 'died' on. "You're killing the moment, dude." He pouted.

"Okay, one; It's just paintball. Two; That was really cheesy." He retorted.

A new voice called out. "Oh snap, Sora got shot too?" Ventus appeared from around the corner. The red paint on his shirt had already dried.

"Yeah, and Riku killed it."

"Aw, what? And I put a lot of emotion into my dying speech!" Ventus said.

"Which I'm sure was also very cheesy." The silver-haired boy replied.

I punched him the shoulder playfully. "No it wasn't!" I said.

"Well, me and Ven are out." Sora said as he high-fived the blond. "We'll leave the field. Good luck to you guys!"

Me and Riku nodded. We watched as they were both hit by a beam of light and transported out of the simulated battlefield.

"Shall we continue with the mission?"

"Let's go!"


Sora and Ventus rematerialized back in the former Heartless Manufactory, clothes still covered in paint. They went upstairs to the Control Room. A banner that read "Out of the game." Hung from the wall, above a bunch of chairs. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith watched the paintball war from a holographic screen. Tron was monitoring the simulation and everyone inside.

Lea was sitting in one of the chairs, covered in blue paint. The two were laughing as they took the nearby seats. "Paintball not your thing?" Ventus asked.

He huffed. "If you were this tall and had easy-to-spot, bright red hair it wouldn't be yours either."

"So, who's ahead?" Sora asked.

"The blue team got two of the red's bases!" Yuffie said. Ventus pumped his fist in the air.

"Say, whose idea was the paintball war again?" Leon asked.

Sora raised his hand. "Me, Kai, and Reek. Our school used to hold them every year."

"You don't think the paint's gonna be a pain to wash off, do you?" Lea asked.


Splatoon's gameplay looks really fun. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I got lazy at the end, But yeah no one's actually dying. Sora is just freakin aggressive when it comes to paintball. Also I planned turning this into a comic but my hand won't cooperate. This is also me practicing writing as my skills are getting worse. sigh. Writing in 1st Person POV without sounding repetitive is tough imo.