Author Space: It tis me again, with another story using the characters from Kingdom Hearts. The thing with this story is that I wrote it while I was taking a psychology class. It was The Psychology of Death and Dying, so this story involves character death. I apologize in advance for that, but the evil plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote this.

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Kingdom Hearts. Pouts in corner And I do not own the theory on death described in this story. That belongs to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

Butterfly

Why was he here? He didn't need or want to be here. Yet, here he was because the anger and sadness had taken over his life. His "friends" had ditched him because his sadness ran so deep. Only his true friends, Roxas, and Riku, and her friends Namine, and Selphie had stuck around.

It had been almost 6 months since he lost the most important thing in his life. He missed her crimson hairs and strawberry lips, her violet eyes and sun-kissed skin. He missed hearing her voice, listening to her laughter and just her in general.

So, maybe he needed to be here. In the cemetery, sitting next to her grave. He had come everyday since she had been laid there. She was in the most beautiful part of the cemetery, surrounded by strong cottonwoods and a majestic weeping willow. He loved the willow; it seemed to share in his misery but also calmed him.

He came everyday to tell her about his life and how he was getting along without her. He also told her how everyday he wished he could have done something different.

Flashback

Sora and Kairi walked down the crowded downtown street. He had his arm wrapped comfortably around her waist and she was leaning into his shoulder. Neither of them expected that this was going to be a day that would shatter their peaceful lives.

They stopped at a dress shop because Kairi was window shopping and Sora wanted to buy her something special for later that night, when he was going to propose.

"Oh Sora, Look at the blue one. It's gorgeous! I wish I could wear something like that but I don't think that it would look very good on me." Kairi pouted.

Sora turned to her in surprise. She had never talked about herself in that way before. "Kairi," he stated while lifting her chin, so she could look into his eyes. "You could make that dress look like a million dollars, for you are the most beautiful woman alive in this world. All the models in the world ain't got nothin' on you."

Sora smiled his goofy smile. It was the smile that told Kairi that he meant every word that he had said. It made her feel special that he only had eyes and love for her.

She hugged Sora tight. He returned the hug before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the store. He wanted to show her that she could wear any dress with a style and dignity that was all her own.

Kairi giggled as she ran around the store with Sora. "Try on as many as you want, Kai," he whispered into her ear, when he pulled her close.

Her eyes went large when he said that. She took off for the dressing rooms with a pile of sparkling dresses. Sora took that chance to wander off to find the blue one that she had seen in the window.

"What do you think of this one, Sora?" Kairi asked as she came out of the dressing room.

Sora turned to see his angel in a black cocktail dress. "That one fits you great, but a person as vibrant as you should be in something more colorful than that. They should have something like this."

Sora pulled a dress from behind his back. It was the blue one from the window. And not only did he have the blue one but he also had it in vibrant, electric purple.

Kairi took the dresses gingerly. "Are you sure this will look good on me?" She asked. "Of course it will!" Sora grinned.

Kairi tried on the blue one first. He was right; the dress did look great on her but her eyes kept drifting to the purple one. Kairi slowly pulled on the purple dress. The color was absolutely stunning and it seemed to set- off her crimson red hair and sun-kissed skin even more then ever.

She slowly opened the door to the dressing room and stepped out to look in the full-length mirror. When Sora saw her, his jaw dropped and he was speechless.

"I knew it! I just knew it wouldn't look good on me!" She whirled around to go change out of the dress.

"No Kairi! Don't change. That dress looks amazing on you. I have never seen anything more beautiful. Please just come and look at yourself." Sora pleaded giving his best puppy-dog eyes.

Kairi smiled and walked over to the mirrors. She had never been able to resist Sora's puppy-dog eyes. Sora had been right though, the sight that beheld her in the mirror really was amazing.

"You know," Sora commented, "It would be a crime against nature if that dress didn't go home with you, Kai."

"You're kidding, Sora. I can't let you buy this dress. It is much too expensive." Kairi tried to counter but Sora had already made up his mind.

"You are getting that dress. No matter what you say, Kairi." Sora smiled as Kairi went back into the dressing room to change. To change out of the dress that was soon to be hers. They walked out of the store, arm in arm, and Sora was carrying the bag with the dress in it.

They continued down the even busier street, completely unaware of the danger that was brewing. Everyone on the street was unaware that the two major gangs of Twilight Town were going to try to take each other out of existence.

Seifer, the leader of the Sandloters, hated Hayner, the leader of the West Siders, and Hayner in turn hated Seifer. The two gangs had hated each other since the formation of both of them and now these two leaders were going to continue that tradition at whatever cost.

"Yo Seifer. Where's you're Sandlot Losers?" Hayner yelled to the lone gang leader. Hayner on the other hand was backed up by most of his gang.

"Who you callin' losers you West Side Freakshow?" Seifer shot back before reaching for his 9 mil.

Hayner saw this and reached for his 9 mil and his gang followed suit. Seifer had gotten reinforcements from members of the Sandloters, who had just shown up.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and all hell broke lose. Bullets were flying here and there, ricocheting of walls and cars. People started running for their lives.

Sora looked around in terror. Neither he nor Kairi knew what to do. Should they run? Should they drop to the ground?

He decided that the best option was t drop to the ground. So that is what he did. He barely missed being hit by several bullets on his way down. He tried to pull Kairi down but he couldn't reach her. They had been separated by several feet at the start of the chaos. "NOO!" Sora screamed as he watched Kairi get hit at least three times. He could only watch as she fell onto the ground in a crumbled heap.

Everything went into slow motion, as Sora tried to reach her. He was crawling on his hands and knees desperately trying to reach the woman that he loved. He was finally able to grab her arm and he pulled her close to him.

"Sora," Kairi gasped. "What happened? Why do I feel so cold?"

"Shh, save your strength. You were shot." Sora confessed while trying to hide his fears.

"Shot? By who? Why?" Kairi gasped as Sora tried to apply pressure to her bullet wounds.

"Don't worry about that. We need to get you some help. Where are the fucking cops?" Sora screamed as he repositioned Kairi on his lap, while trying to keep pressure on the holes in her body.

"Sora," Kairi gasped as she coughed up some blood, "I don't think that I am going to make it."

"Don't say that," Sora cried as tears filled his eyes, since his worst fears were being confirmed. "You can't die. You just can't. I won't let you."

"You know you can't prevent death, Sora." Kairi said as she tried to laugh. "Death can only be prolonged."

"Promise me something," Kairi whispered in a barely auditable voice. "Promise me that you will never forget me but you will have to try to move on and find love again."

"You're talking crazy, Kairi. You are not going to die." Sora cried as tears poured down his face, landing on his chest and her body.

"Promise Me!" Kairi demanded, sensing that she wasn't going to make it.

"Ok, Kairi. I promise you that I will try to find love again." Sora whispered, knowing now that she wasn't going to make it.

"I love you so much Sora and I'm sorry we have to separate now." Kairi whispered while tears spilled out of her eyes.

"I love you too, Kairi." Sora cried as he leaned down to kiss her one more time.

They hadn't noticed that the chaos around them had calmed slightly. The cops had arrived and arrested the remaining gang members. Most of them had been killed in the massacre including Hayner and Seifer. The paramedics had arrived to take care of the injured, but they were too late to save her.

Sora pulled his lips away from Kairi's after their last soft kiss. She was barely breathing. He watched as she struggled to tell him something. He leaned down close to her lips to try to hear what she was trying to say.

"Goodbye Sora," Kairi was able to whisper. "Never forget how much I love you."

Sora watched as she said those words to him. Her body then went limp in his arms, her head rolling to one side, and her once electric violet eyes glazed over and were staring even though they could no longer see.

Sora hugged her body close to him. "I will never forget you, Kairi." He whispered into her ears though they could no longer hear him.

He sat there holding her body for a while, crying, until a medical examiner finally came up to him. The medical examiner knew that Kairi was dead, but they needed to take her to the morgue.

"Please, don't take her. Not yet." Sora begged.

"Sorry sir, but we have to." The medical examiner concluded. "You can accompany her to the morgue because we need to gather information about her."

"Ok," Sora whispered as they lifted her onto the gurney. Only then did Sora realize that he was covered in her blood.

Few days later Sora was in the graveyard, burying his best friend and the love of his life. He had insisted that she be buried in the dress that he had just bought her.

He stood there in the cemetery. It had been a month since she had been buried but he couldn't pull himself from her grave. "I am so sorry, Kairi. I wish I could have saved you or taken your place." He slowly placed a single red rose on her grave and dragged himself from the cemetery.

End Flashback

Sora sat there, leaning against her gravestone. He remembered why he was here. He was here because he could never get over her. He wanted to be with her but he also wanted to keep his promise to her.

"I don't think that I can keep doing this, Kairi. I don't think that I'm strong enough."

"Don't be silly, Sora." A voice called.

"Kairi?" Sora questioned, surprises at hearing her voice and then even more surprised at seeing her walk out from behind the large weeping willow by her grave.

"Are you really here? Wait! How are you here?" Sora recoiled in confusion.

"Cause I thought that you might need more closure." Kairi answered while walking towards Sora.

He noticed that she was wearing the dress that she had been buried in, and it was the very same dress that he had bought her. It still made her shine more then anything that she had every worn before.

"What do you mean by closure?" Sora asked, confusion showing in his blue eyes.

"Well, we never got to say goodbye properly. I also wanted to tell you that I didn't fear death; in fact it was a release. And I wanted to make sure you were ok." Kairi said, hoping to clear some confusion.

"You didn't fear your death?" Sora asked.

"No, I didn't. I considered death to be like a cocoon. When it is so wounded that it can no longer go on and live, the cocoon then releases its true inner self. That true self is the butterfly. I am now that butterfly. I am free to fly away to where ever I choose." Kairi explained, spreading her arms wide.

"Can I come with you?" Sora asked, no longer scared or confused.

"Not yet, Sora. But know this, there is life after death. And that death, that is our physical death, is simply that death of the cocoon. Consciousness and the soul continues on a different path." Kairi pointed out while looking towards the sky.

"When your cocoon gets wounded, Sora, and you become your butterfly, I will be here waiting for you. And we will go flying through the galaxies together." Kairi promised.

With those words of comfort, Kairi leaned down and gave Sora a ghostly kiss. She then walked back in the direction of the willow tree and disappeared on her way there.

Sora got up from the ground and walked over to the willow tree. It felt strangely warm to the touch, like there was a new energy flowing through it. He waited there for a few minutes before he walked out of the cemetery. He would still come to visit her, but for the time being he was going to live his life as if it could be over tomorrow. And when it was over, then he wouldn't fear it but embrace it and gladly go flying with his butterfly.

Author Space: Well that was my story. Hope you all enjoyed it even if it was pretty sad. Reviews are nice and I enjoy them. They tend to make my day when I get them.