Fear
He could hear the ticking of the loud clock in the living room, and now he understood why she hated it so much. It was a gift from Peter Pan, he had said more than once when she suggested throwing it away. Now he really wished he had listened to her.
Joining the clock in its dark, depressing ballad was the heavy rain as it crashed down upon the roof. Some might have been worried about the roof caving in under such intense rain, but he knew better. The homes on Destiny Islands were designed to stand up to greater storms than this.
He sighed as he hunched over, sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. There were many things that Sora Hikari was associated with, but fear wasn't generally one of them. He was their hero, he was brave, and he could stand up to anything with a smile on his face. It was an exaggeration, but in all fairness, Sora did hide his fears well for the most part. It was always about helping others, and never about himself.
Perhaps that's why, now that he was confronted by true, raging, horrifying fear, he didn't quite know how to handle it. His hands were shaking, the skin that adorned them paler than normal. His cerulean blue irises stood out much stronger than they normally did as tears first turned the normal whites of his eyes into a pale red before continuing on their journey down his cheeks.
Some might have called him a wimp, and others would have been shocked to see him in such a state of weakness. Those who didn't know him would start fearing for their own lives, because if something drove the Keyblade Master, their savior, to tears, it must be trouble for them. Those who knew him though, his friends, would have told a different story. They too would have been fearful, but not for themselves. They knew that there was only one thing that could truly break Sora. They knew that there was only one thing that could send him to his knees in a state of hopeless.
Kairi was the only thing in the entire universe that could break him like he was at the moment. Whether it be by her anger, her disappointment, her absence or anything else, he was always effected.
There had only been a handful of times he was as afraid for her life as he was now. The first had been when she had vanished when the islands fell apart, and he later found out that she didn't have a heart anymore. Then, he had been terrified when he found out that she had been kidnapped by the Organization. There had been a time or two after that has well, and just over a month ago, something horrible had happened to make him truly fear for her life. Now, it was like it was happening all over again.
The worst part was, was that he couldn't be with her. He had to stay at home while the paramedics took his wife, the woman he loved more than anything, to the hospital. He could still see her face, paler than normal and contorted with pain, and he had yet to clean the blood off of the bathroom floor.
Sora took several deep breaths as he tried to force himself to calm down. The sound of the annoying clock, the pounding rain, and crashing lightning was joined by another sound. He groaned as he felt his head pounding, wishing the sounds would all just shut up.
There was a moment's pause before Sora's head suddenly shot out of his hands, his eyes wide with panic. He launched himself off of his bed and practically slid on the hardwood floor in his desperate attempt to get to the room across from the one he and Kairi shared.
He quickly got to the edge of a tiny bed with tall, plastic bars in place around it in order to stop the person sleeping inside from rolling onto the floor. This was where the 'horrible' sound he had heard was coming from.
Sora reached into the crib and carefully picked up the tiny, wailing baby from inside it. He carefully took the very small child into his arms, exactly the way his mother had shown him how to. He rocked the baby back and forth for a moment, trying to figure out why the tiny figure, clothed in a pink that was pale compared to the skin on her body, which was colored by her screams, was crying in the first place. He glanced over at the clock in the room suddenly, studying the time. She must have been hungry.
Nervously, Sora moved out of the room while cradling his baby girl, who was only a week old. He made a quick, mental note to move her crib into their room for the next little while, and then he made his way to the kitchen.
The small child in his arms was the reason Kairi had begged him to stay home when she awoke as the paramedics were taking her out the door. The little girl was only a week old, and to take her to a hospital in the pouring rain would have been a terribly stupid thing to do. Sora knew this, and that's why he stayed behind.
The fact that he was alone with his new daughter for the first time also scared him. He had never once been alone when dealing with his baby girl. Kairi, his mother, her mother, hell, even Roxas had always been around to help. It was raining too much for him to call someone else though. He didn't want to endanger anyone else's life.
"It'll be alright," he muttered to his daughter. "Mommy will be okay. You'll see."
VVVVVV
Laughter echoed around the yard as the sun shone down, keeping the island air warm and welcoming. Kairi looked up as she watched Sora bother Riku, who was helping him clean up the heavily used barbeque. Both of them were eagerly talking about something, and their laughter made her smile.
"Kairi?"
She looked around as Naminé approached, her eyebrows pinched together with confusion.
"Yeah Nami?" she asked curiously, leaning over the picnic table that she had just cleaned to listen to her friend that had once been her Nobody.
"I—well…I feel a little bad about something," she said honestly.
"About what?" a third voice asked. Both women looked up and saw a third woman, whose face was similar to both of theirs, approach. She sat down at the picnic table quickly and rested her hand under her chin, her black hair falling into her curious eyes.
"Well," Naminé said, not the least put off that Xion had joined them. "It's about Roxas."
Kairi leaned forward a little more, her eyes alight with interest, and Xion let out a groan before asking, "What did my idiotic brother do now?" Xion, Roxas and Sora saw each other as siblings. It was a little odd at times, since she did look quite a bit like Naminé and Kairi, but when she became her own person, she took on a few more of Sora and Roxas' features.
"It's just, I may or may not have looked into his memories after I found a little black box hidden in his underwear drawer," Naminé admitted, a guilty smile passing over her face.
Immediately Kairi and Xion both perked up, excited looks crossing their faces, but they moved farther apart when they heard a loud bang. They all watched silently as Roxas walked out of the house, bringing a bucket full of cleaning supplies. The boys had promised to clean after having a barbeque with all their friends, so that was what they had to do.
Once Roxas was out of hearing distance, they leaned back together to continue their conversation.
"Do you really think that Roxie is actually gonna propose?" Xion asked excitedly.
"Why wouldn't he, is there something wrong with me?" Naminé replied quickly. Xion held her hands up, but Naminé just shrugged, understanding what she meant. "Really though, I get it. He's a pretty big chicken."
"But it was an engagement ring, right?" Kairi asked.
"I wasn't sure at first," Naminé admitted as a guilty grin appeared on her face. "So I may or may not have looked into his memories when he was asleep to see when he bought it. It's definitely an engagement ring. He was so nervous about buying it and Sora just kept telling him that Roxas shouldn't have made fun of him when he bought yours Kai. Said it was karma coming around."
Kairi giggled while fingering her engagement ring and her wedding band. Suddenly, her smile vanished and her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, Sora knew?"
"He was there when Roxas picked the ring out," Naminé admitted. "Why?"
"I get it," Xion said quickly, a teasing grin passing over her features. It was a look that Naminé nor Kairi could never pull off, but was a smile that she adopted from Sora and Roxas. "You're upset because your hubby didn't tell you about it."
Naminé giggled and said, "Someone's sleeping on the couch tonight."
Kairi opened her mouth to speak but Xion interrupted and said, "Probably not. They'll be too busy working on making a billion babies. I swear, every time I go over I interrupt something."
She blushed a bit, rightfully so, before saying, "I'm married. I'm allowed to do that. Whatever you do with Riku is frowned upon."
Xion stuck out her tongue and turned her attention back to Naminé.
Later that evening, when everyone else had gone back home, Kairi cornered Sora in the living room. He had been sitting on the couch, looking at a few things that King Mickey had sent him. Having a normal job would have been much too difficult with Sora's lifestyle. There was no telling when he'd have to get up and go to fight some new enemy, and because he was gone so much, he didn't have the highest grades in school. Mickey came up with a solution: he officially hired all the Keyblade Bearers. All of them 'worked' under him, per se, and it worked out well for each and every one of them.
They just had to have some proof for their own government that they were getting paid, hence the paperwork that Sora was doing at the moment. The paperwork that Kairi quickly grabbed out of his hands and tossed to the floor.
"Hey, I need that if we want to be able to pay the solar bill," Sora said while shooting her a playful look. He went to get up to grab the papers, but Kairi pushed him back onto the couch and straddled him.
"Not that I don't like this," he said as he placed his hands on her hips. "But I know something's wrong."
Kairi pouted and said, "You knew when Roxas bought an engagement ring and didn't tell me?"
He seemed stunned by the question before asking, "How did yo—Naminé knows, doesn't she?"
"When doesn't Naminé know something?" Kairi said with a sigh as she shifted positions so she was sitting in his lap with her head tucked under his neck.
"That's not all, is it?" Sora asked her while rubbing his hand up and down her arm.
"Sora," she said hesitantly. "We've been married for two years now…"
"Yeah?" he said, encouraging her to continue after a moment of silence.
"And, well, I know we're both only 22 and all, but I…"
"But?"
"I wanna have a baby," she blurted out quickly and squeezed her eyes shut.
She felt Sora tense up beneath her, and refused to open her eyes. She felt him slip his fingers under her chin to tilt her head up towards his, and opened her eyes slowly. Her indigo eyes stared directly into his serious, cerulean ones for a moment.
"Are you sure?" Sora asked. "That's a huge thing Iri. Like, over the top huge. You won't be able to leave the islands or anything eventually, and then after that you'll have to go through labor and then we'll have to take care of a ba—" His normally tanned skin suddenly went extremely pale as his eyes widened.
"Sora?" Kairi said with panic as she sat up straighter. "Oh god, are you alright? It's okay if you don't want to. I—I just…"
Sora cut her off with a swift kiss and kept his forehead against hers while staring into her eyes, "Sorry, I just…panicked for a moment. Is this something you really want, Iri?"
"Only if it's something you want too," she muttered while placing her head on his chest as he hugged her close.
There was a few moments of silence before Sora whispered, "Alright."
"Really?" she asked as she quickly backed up to look at him, excitement passing through her features. "You mean it?"
"Yeah," Sora answered. "Of course I mean it. We can do this. I guess I just don't know where to…start…"
Kairi burst into giggles before saying, "You know very well where to start, Mr. Hikari."
He blushed slightly before replying, "Obviously I get that, and you won't hear a complaint from me as we…try to make a baby. I'm assuming that's going to be quite frequently."
She laughed and winked at him, "Depends on how long it takes. I know what you meant though. I have to stop taking my pills, but that's about all. You just need to worry about how much you can pull this off."
Sora laughed with her and said, "I'll think of it as a mission."
Her laughter quieted down as she snuggled against him, a wide smile on her face. They were going to have a baby! Only a handful of times before had she felt this happy. The first was when Sora was the first one to claim her as a friend on Destiny Islands, the second was when he reappeared after becoming a Heartless, the third was hugging him again in The Castle That Never Was, and the fourth was when he came back home. The first time he asked her out, the first time they kissed, the first time they spent the night together, the day he proposed and the day they got married were the times when she felt the same happiness. It seemed like a long list, but given that she was twenty two now, in comparison to how long she was alive, those nine things weren't that much.
Ten, she thought to herself. Now she had ten memories that she would cherish forever.
VVVVVV
Sora was glad that he had become ambidextrous. Yes, he had actually forced himself to do it over the years. He often broke bones when he was younger, and it always seemed to be in his right arm, the one he wrote with. Later on, having only one Keyblade held him back when he knew he had the potential to do much more. Roxas had coached him on how to use two of them, and now it was just how he fought all the time.
Still, this was an entirely different situation than breaking bones and fighting. It was the exact opposite, actually.
He cradled his crying daughter against his shoulder protectively while making a bottle for her with his left hand. He remembered in the hospital, as soon as Kairi was up to dealing with the nurses, they had started pressuring her to breast-feed. Kairi tried it the first time and said she really wasn't comfortable with it. She hadn't liked that her baby wasn't getting as much milk as she should have been.
Still, the nurses persisted even though Kairi clearly wasn't comfortable with it, and she was having a really hard time with it in general. By the end of it, she had been close to tears, yet the nurses insisted that formula was something akin to the devil and there was no way a child would ever be healthy on that.
Sora didn't see the big deal. Sure, natural breast milk probably was better, but he knew his mother had fed him formula has a baby. Hell, Riku grew up on formula and there was nothing sickly or frail about him.
Needless to say, when Sora saw the tears in Kairi's eyes, he snapped. He would have been angry with anyone for sending her to tears at any point of time, but the fact that she was extremely tired and sore, on top of being very upset, he had blown up.
The nurses threatened to get security, and eventually had gotten security. No one quite knew what to do when Sora's Keyblade appeared in his hand. He told them all to leave Kairi alone. If she didn't want to, and couldn't breastfeed, then she wasn't going to.
Besides, it's not like their baby really cared all that much. She eagerly ate anything that they presented, as long as she got her milk.
"Here you go, Amaya," he said to her after her formula was ready and heated up. He moved over to the chair and shifted her in his arms as he sat down, pressing the bottle gently against her tiny mouth. Her crying instantly stopped as she starting nursing from the bottle.
Kairi had joked that she was already showing Sora's eating habits, and that between father and daughter, they were going to be broke from always buying food.
He glanced out the window; worry once again passing through him. Sora's mother was a nurse at the hospital, and he knew that she was working that night so he had called her. While saying that, due to her relationship with Kairi, she wouldn't be allowed to assist with whatever the doctors needed to do, but she could certainly stay with her and report back to him.
It had been three hours now, and he hadn't heard a word.
Sora looked back down at Amaya and carefully took the bottle away from her, noticing it was half gone. She whined, but he rested her against his shoulder before beginning to pat and rub her back gently, trying to get her to burp. When he heard the soft noise, which thankfully wasn't followed by spit-up this time, he moved her again and let her have the rest of her bottle.
VVVVVV
Sora walked into their house, closing the screen door behind him while staring at the notes in his hand. King Mickey was getting worried about a sector of worlds, so there was a chance that they might have to actually travel there, and from the looks of it, it was pretty far away.
A sudden scream of his name caused him to jump and the papers ended up on the floor. He barely had the chance to look up before his wife practically threw herself into his arms, burying her face into his neck.
"What's wrong?" he asked with alarm as he felt her warm tears on his neck. "Iri?"
Kairi quickly moved away from him a bit and grabbed his collar forcefully, kissing him deeply. Sora was a little stunned, but quickly returned the embrace. She was the first to pull away, grinning all the while despite her tears.
"Iri?" he repeated, but she ignored him as she grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the bathroom.
Kairi giggled happily as they reached the bathroom door and she said, "Look!"
Sora's gaze followed to where she was pointing, and a confused look passed across his face. It looked like she had lined up about seven thermometers on the bathroom counter. She nudged him, giggling happily all the while, and he took a few more steps forward.
Sora glanced at the first one, and his eyes widened at what he saw as he realized they weren't thermometers. He felt his breath hitch as he glanced at each one, and by the time he saw the last one, he was sure he couldn't breathe.
His hands were shaking, and suddenly Kairi's giggles were gone. She came close to him and hugged him tightly. "Sora? Are you okay?"
"Y-you're really...pregnant?"
A worried look flashed across her face as she said, "I thought…I thought you wanted…"
It was true, back in August, they had talked about having a baby, but they had been having some troubles with it. It was October, and she was getting extremely upset with their unsuccessful attempts. She had a strong feeling that if they hadn't been so careful as teenagers, she would have gotten pregnant, but when she wanted to, she couldn't!
Horror flashed through Kairi's body as panicky thoughts flashes through her mind. What if Sora changed his mind? What if he wasn't ready? What if he didn't want children at all? What if he had to leave and that's why he was hesitant? What if he only said yes for the increase in their sex life?
Sora watched her eyes widen and understood immediately. He pulled her close to him and said, "Oh Iri, I didn't mean it like that baby. I just—I know we've been trying but I guess it's still just a bit of…a shock…I guess."
Kairi felt her worries starting to ebb away as she leaned into him more before asking, "Are you sure? I mean…" Her eyes turned to the ground sadly. "It is still early and I can get an—abortion, if you want."
"No," he answered quickly as he turned her face up towards him. He quickly leaned down and kissed her. "No, I don't want you to do that. I just…we're going to have a baby."
Suddenly, a stunned look appeared on Sora's face as he repeated those words again. "We're going to have a baby. Your—you…I—"
She laughed and said, "You're going to be a daddy."
The silence that followed her words was a long one, and awkward at best. Kairi opened her mouth to speak again, when Sora's stunned expression rapidly changed. Instead, a huge grin appeared on his face and he seized her around the waist, spinning her around quickly as he laughed.
Now it was Kairi's turn to be stunned, but it only lasted a second. Her face split into a broad grin and she laughed excitedly as she hugged him fiercely. Sora set her on the ground, and suddenly the spinning didn't seem to agree with her that much.
She stared at him for a second before tearing off towards the bathroom, getting to the toilet just in time to expel her lunch from earlier.
Sora was at her side quickly, rubbing her back and holding her hair. She looked up at him with a weak smile before saying, "This is going to take some getting used to."
He laughed in reply and said, "I'll be here for you every step of the way. Even if it means going rogue on Mickey."
Kairi giggled and said, "You know Sora, I was getting really depressed and anxious because I was starting to think we couldn't have a baby at all."
"Don't worry," Sora replied. "Nothing bad will happen."
"Thank you," she smiled broadly. "But that wasn't quite what I was getting at. I'm in a really good mood now, so maybe a reward for it finally happening is in order?"
"A reward?" he asked, bemused. "What kind of—oh." His eyes widened and a small blush appeared on his face. She loved the fact that, even after two years of marriage and being intimate in their teenage years, he still blushed when they actually talked about sex.
A concerned look appeared on his face and he asked, "Is it even okay to do that when you're pregnant? Won't it hurt the baby?"
Kairi snorted with amusement before saying, "Of course it's okay. The baby's in a sack to keep it safe from infection. Don't worry." She winked at him. "Besides, you must have heard about how some woman, when pregnant, like having it even more than before."
Sora blushed again at her words, and she couldn't help but laugh.
VVVVVV
Amaya was finally starting to calm down as Sora focused on her, rocking her back and forth. He had tried rubbing her back, talking to her, humming, even singing like Kairi did to calm her down. He supposed he shouldn't have tried singing, that probably just scared her more. Finally though, she began to calm down.
Sora released a sigh of relief before leaning back in the chair a little more and looking at the ceiling. As long as his baby girl was calm and content, that was what mattered to him then and there.
Still, no matter how much he tried to forget about Kairi's predicament, the fear would spike in his heart every once and a while.
Amaya suddenly let out a small sob and Sora looked down at her again. Her eyes, which were paler than both his and Kairi's (although Kairi insisted that they would look like Sora's when they were done changing), were staring at him with tears building up. She wasn't wailing yet, but she was sobbing a little bit.
"What's wrong baby girl?" he whispered to her. "Mama will be alright, you'll see." Sora wanted to be the optimist, but the longer he didn't hear from Kairi, the more anxious he became.
Amaya started crying louder, even as Sora tried to sooth her, and it was only when he saw a small drop of water fall on her head that he realized he had started crying again as well. He quickly removed his tear from his daughter's forehead before wiping his eyes.
And suddenly, it occurred to him why Amaya was crying more tonight than any other night. She was only a week old, so she probably wouldn't notice things like who was in the room with her and who was absent, nor would she notice that the tears on her father's face meant that he was sad as well. What she would notice was the louder than normal sound from the thunder, and the bright flashes produced by the lightning.
Along with that though, Sora knew Amaya wasn't a normal baby. She was the child of the Keyblade Master and a Princess of Heart; she was bound to be different from others her age. It was Mickey who had first proposed the idea. Sora and Kairi's hearts were so intricately intertwined that it was impossible to see where one of their hearts began, and one ended (not the physical heart, of course), so it made sense that both their hearts would be at least a little more in-tune, per se, with their daughter, and vice-versa.
Sora realized, she wasn't crying not because she wanted something. She was crying because, even if she didn't recognize it, her heart could feel the fear and anxiety coming from her father's heart. She couldn't know what the feeling was yet, but she could probably tell that it was different and she didn't like it.
"Shh," Sora whispered. "Shh, I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry. I'm making you upset. I don't want my little girl to cry, ever." He sighed before saying, "You're just feeling how much I worry for your mommy, that's all. She'll be fine though. I know she will."
VVVVVV
Kairi hummed happily as she danced slightly on the spot to the Christmas music that was playing around her. She was wearing a short, red dress that was covered by an apron at the time, and she was just finishing the last few preparations on the Christmas dinner that she was making for their friends and family.
A giggle escaped her throat as she felt Sora's arms wrap around her slender form and pull her close to him. She couldn't help but smile a little broader when she felt his hands travel to her stomach, resting on the place where a bump would soon be visible.
"You sure you're feeling alright to be around the food?" Sora asked her as he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.
She giggled a bit before saying, "Yeah. I think it's because I really really wanted turkey today."
Sora laughed a bit. Kairi's morning sickness had been very violent, so much that they actually went to the hospital to see if anything was wrong. The doctors said that it was normal for some women to have stronger symptoms than others during pregnancy. Unfortunately for Kairi, she seemed to be getting the short end of everything. As she was preparing to go into her second trimester, her violent mood swings were starting to diminish (Sora couldn't count the times when he would come home about five minutes after expected and she was practically having a panic attack, thinking he had left her), her very strong, and mostly very odd cravings were kicking in. In fact, her cravings were usually so odd that he was surprised Kairi really wanted turkey.
Suddenly, he eyed the jar of pickles a few feet away from Kairi, with an opened jar of peanut butter beside it. He let out a sigh, that made a little more sense then her just wanting turkey.
"Smells good," he said as he rested his chin on the top of her head.
Despite Sora's hug, she still continued to finish the last little bit of cooking she had to do. She leaned back a little more and asked, in a flirtatious voice, "The turkey, or me?"
"Mmmm," Sora muttered as he rested her face in her fiery red hair. "Both."
"Good answer," she said happily. She turned to face him and shot him a sly look before saying, "You be good and there will be a reward later."
"You mean you want to do things later," Sora replied with a broad grin. Kairi seemed to be working in all extremes, including an insatiable lust that she seemed to have developed.
"Oh please," she said with a laugh while poking his chest. "I know you're not complaining. Besides, you'll get almost none once she comes out."
"She?" he asked curiously. "Isn't it a little early to know that?"
"I think it's a girl," Kairi said as she rested her hand on her stomach. "What do you think? Do you think you could handle a daughter?"
Sora seemed to think about it for a second before saying, "I—umm…well I know most guys want a son to throw a blitzball around with and stuff, and I would like to have a son someday, but I'll admit," he blushed a bit, "I always wanted a baby girl."
"Aww," Kairi cooed as she gave him a quick kiss. She tilted her head curiously when she saw a deep frown appear on his face. "Sorry, you don't usually seem to mind when I…"
"No, no," Sora answered quickly. "It's not that. I just realized, if we do have a baby girl, she'll be just a beautiful as you, and that means I'm probably going to have to get a gun or something for when she's a teenager." He furrowed his brows together thoughtfully. "I wonder if Leon has a spare gunblade somewhere?"
Kairi laughed hysterically before patting his cheek and saying, "You're the Keyblade Master, that'll scare enough potential suitors as is. Don't worry about it though. We don't want our baby to grow up that fast."
"I know," he agreed as he squeezed her one last time before letting go. "Now I believe there are some very hungry people waiting, so what do you want me to carry in?"
Kairi eyed the dishes that she had strategically placed around their kitchen before saying, "Those ones right there."
"Okay," he said while moving towards them.
"Sora?" He turned around to stare at her curiously. "I—I was thinking. Well, we wanted a special time to tell everyone, right?'
"Yeah?"
"What about after supper?" she asked shyly.
Sora swallowed nervously before saying, "If that's what you want. Still, sometimes I think your father is still going to beat me up if he ever got proof that I was sleeping with you."
Kairi snorted and said, "The wedding bands should be enough proof for that. We're not seventeen, trying to sneak you out of my room or anything."
Sora laughed as he picked up the plates she had instructed and said, "Good times."
Once dinner was placed on the table, everyone began eating. Kairi couldn't help but marvel at how much their families had already grown, and how much they would grow. Along with Kairi's adopted parents, Sora's mother and Riku's father, now Roxas and Naminé sat at the table across from Sora and Kairi, and beside Riku sat Xion.
Soon, the food was almost entirely gone and everyone was comfortable in their chairs while talking. Kairi nudged Sora and gave him an expectant look.
He sighed and cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. He stared at them all nervously before saying, "Kairi and I have something to tell you."
Naminé had a knowing look in her eyes. Of course she already knew, she always knew. No one hid anything from her, the engagement ring on her finger said as much.
Kairi's adoptive father scowled and said, "If you've been cheating on my daughter and are getting a divorce, I will murder you."
Sora's face paled from the threat, but at the same time, he looked extremely insulted, as did his mother who argued that she had raised a boy who would never do that. Riku heartedly agreed, saying Sora is too whipped to cheat.
Kairi giggled at them all, catching everyone's attention. She smiled brightly and said, "Of course not daddy, Sora would never do that. We just wanted to let you all know that we're going to have a baby."
Silence practically echoed around the room, only to be interrupted as Kairi's adoptive mother fainted.
VVVVVV
Sora had changed seats. Instead of sitting in the open living room, he had retreated to his daughter's much more colorful and welcoming room. They had put a chair in the room for those late nights when they needed to get up with her.
Amaya wasn't crying anymore, but her tiny eyes refused to close. Sora's mother had told him stories about how he had loved sleeping as a baby, but when he was awake, he was always a very vocal, energetic thing. Apparently it had been a blessing that he thought any less than twelve hours of sleep was unacceptable. He was hoping that she would be the same, but they had no clue how Kairi behaved as a baby, so she could have picked up some of her mother's habits instead.
At least she wasn't crying now, that was something Sora was thankful for. He had her cradled against him using his right arm, and in his left he had a large, thick book. The edges of the paper, when the book was closed, were gold, and the cover of the book was made with a glossy image of a castle, the title in a very fancy font that shined gold. His mother had given it to him when she found out that she was going to have a grandchild. She was a firm believer that all children should have someone read them a story, even when they couldn't understand what was being read to them.
Both his mother and Kairi agreed that Sora had the best voice to listen to. When Sora's mother had given him the book, Kairi insisted that he read it before their baby was even born so that she would be used to his voice.
Sora loved when she had curled up at his side and feeling her protruding stomach against him as he read to her. In turn, she said that his voice was (in her rather biased opinion) the best one to listen to because it wasn't extremely deep and threatening, but it wasn't high pitched and girly either.
So they had decided early on that Sora would read the stories and Kairi would sing their baby to sleep.
"You know," Sora paused in his story. "We're gonna have to have family nights when we all sit together and read something, or mama sings. I think you'd like that Amaya. I know you're mother would."
An odd look suddenly appeared on his face as he flipped to the inside front over of the book. The worn, golden pages at the front cover of the book had a written inscription on it, one that had confused him until he learned the truth.
For our son, Ventus,
May these stories lull you to sleep on the nights when you are with us, and when you're not. Always remember, let your heart and your dreams take you to where you wish to be.
Your parents,
Raiden & Ayame Hikari
Ventus, his elder brother by about ten years. He too had been a Keyblade Bearer, and any memory of his existence was erased long ago, just before Kairi came to Destiny Islands. It had been heartbreaking for his mother, when she finally remembered again.
"You know," he whispered to his daughter. "When I was really little, your uncle Ven used to read to me at night. I still don't remember much about him, but I do know that. Your Nannie (his mother) always says that a baby learns more when you read to them. Of course, your uncle Riku was there at the time and asked what happened to me then."
By this time, it seemed that his voice had finally lulled her to sleep. Now that his baby girl was asleep though, his mind began to wander. He was trying so hard not to think about Kairi, because that would cause him to worry even more, and in turn, Amaya would probably feel the discomfort and wake up in tears again.
He was already worried about the health and wellbeing of his wife, he didn't need to exhaust his week-old daughter as well. She was his only comfort now that he didn't know what was happening to Kairi.
VVVVVV
Kairi broke into a fit of giggles as Selphie spoke animatedly, her hands moving rapidly to demonstrate her point. She was having an extremely good day, which was a very good thing. As she had entered her third trimester, not only did her odd cravings seem to flare up more, but now, due to her largely protruding stomach, her back was always sore, her ankles were constantly swollen, she had to waddle everywhere, she was always tired, and on top of that, her morning sickness came back with a vengeance. It had never completely went away during her second trimester, but it had picked up again when she finally reached her seventh month.
A wave of guilt flashed through Kairi, but she kept her smile on her face. The only one in the room that would possibly notice her sudden shift in mood was Naminé, but she was in an in-depth conversation with their adoptive mother.
Pregnancy had not been nice to her, unlike some people. She was always hungry, tired and sore, and in turn, that made her always cranky. She had taken her anger out on Sora, who definitely didn't deserve it. She could tell by the way he looked at her every once and a while that he was getting sick of her constant mood swings and complaining, but he kept silent about this complaints. Instead, he constantly told her that she was beautiful, and he would sometimes even talk directly to their baby. He treated her like an absolute Queen, even if it meant getting up at two in the morning to try and find double chocolate ice cream with pineapple sauce. She, on the other hand, had become physically violent a few times and felt horrible for that.
"Kairi?"
She snapped out of her haze and stared at Xion. While Xion did look a lot like she did, her piercing eyes were the same color as Sora and Roxas' and because of that and the expression of worry that was on the girl's face, Kairi almost felt like it was Sora or Roxas staring at her.
"Yeah Xi?"
"Are you alright?" she asked cautiously. "I can tell something's bothering you."
"No, I'm fine," Kairi replied cheerfully. She knew that Xion knew she was lying. She could see it from the skeptical look that passed across the young woman's face. It was the same one Sora used whenever she would try to lie to him.
The redhead sighed and leaned back in her chair a bit. "I feel bad about how I've been treating Sora."
"I know," Xion admitted. "He's…complained a few times. But," she raised her hand to silence Kairi, who had opened her mouth to comment, "he's more worried than anything about you. He also says he wouldn't take back having a baby with you, ever."
Kairi smiled broadly and this and wiped away the tears that had started pooling in her eyes. She chuckled a bit and said, "Stupid hormones."
Xion laughed and said, "No worries. You should be happy though, you got so many different things for the baby today." It was true, a baby shower had been held for Kairi that day. Everything was decorated in pink (which was a common theme, ever since they had confirmed that they were, indeed, having a girl) with small, soft dolls, tiny frilly dresses, and piles upon piles of diapers.
All of her female friends and family members surrounded her, and everyone was in a good mood. While Kairi would have loved to have Sora there, she understood that he was doing something with Riku and Roxas. None of them were really all that interested with listening to cooing and awing women all day.
Naminé came over and sat beside Kairi, flashing her a broad smile before glancing at Xion and saying, "Roxas called. They're almost done."
"That's good," the raven-haired woman said. "He's going to drop when he sees the mess that needs to be cleaned here though."
"You and Riku live in a smaller apartment," Naminé replied. "And we couldn't very well have a surprise baby shower at Kairi's, now could we? So Roxas will have to deal with the mess."
"They're almost done what?" Kairi asked curiously, tilted her head. "And this wasn't a surprise, Sora told me."
Selphie, who had been silently listening to them, looked utterly disgusted, causing Kairi and Xion to laugh. Kairi wiped her tears of laughter away before saying, "Don't worry Selphie. Sora just didn't want me to be shocked into early labor or anything."
Selphie sighed before saying, "I guess that's okay then."
"Really though," the redhead said. "What are they doing?"
Naminé, Xion and Selphie just exchanged broad grins, but before either could answer, Sora's mother came over with Kairi's cell phone in hand, talking to the person on the other end animatedly.
"It's Sora," Ayame Hikari, who insisted on going by the title 'Nannie' to her new granddaughter, said. "He wants to talk you."
"Sora?" Kairi asked eagerly as she took the phone from her mother-in-law and pressed it to her ear.
"Hey Iri," she heard him say happily. "Having fun?"
"Yeah, but I'm dying to know what you, Riku and Roxas are doing," she admitted, pouting as if he could see it over the cell phone.
Sora laughed and said, "Don't forget your dad. He's here with us too. He insisted on it. Wakka and Tidus were here earlier too."
"You better not be having a party in my clean house," Kairi snapped quickly, her anger flaring up.
"No, no, nothing like that," Sora answered quickly. "Although, it is a bit messy now."
"What did you do?" she asked slowly as she calmed herself down.
"Finishing you're present," he answered happily.
"Present?"
"Remember how you tried to describe to me your dream nursery?" he asked slowly but happily.
"Yes," Kairi said. "You said I didn't make sense at all."
"And I still say you didn't," he agreed. "But we may or may not have cheated by getting an exact image out of your head via Naminé. That being said, we may or may not have actually made you that exact room."
Kairi felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, from happiness as she laughed and said, "Really? I—I don't believe you."
"I'll send you a few pictures then," Sora said. "Call me back once you get them."
Sure enough, seconds after hanging up, Kairi received several images on the phone. One of their spare rooms had been completely changed. In it was the exact crib she had picked out, along with a matching dresser and changing table. A soft, but large chair was in the room, and the walls were painted half sky blue with puffy clouds while the bottom half was painted a more purplish-blue and looked like calm waves. There were cheerful, yellow paopu all over the room, and all of the blankets matched these simple themes.
It was exactly how she had pictured it.
She visibly started crying as she called Sora back and said, "I love it! Oh my god, I can't believe you all did this!" She laughed happily and said, "I want to go see it right now!"
"Stay at your baby shower," Sora suggested weakly.
"You know that it's almost over anyway," she said. "Don't try to lie to me about it."
Sora chuckled and said, "You're right. Want me to come and get you?"
"I'm sure Naminé or Xion, or someone else can drive me," Kairi insisted while glancing at her friends. They shrugged, but her mother raised her hand, signaling that she could. "Okay, my mom's going to drive me. We'll be there in a few minutes." She managed to get out of the chair (with some help from Selphie), and was briskly walking towards the screen door that led to Naminé and Roxas' yard.
"Take it easy," Sora laughed.
"Of course I'll ta—"
"Kairi! Wait!" Naminé suddenly cried out as she shot out of her chair.
At the exact same time, Kairi stepped onto the step that she normally skipped because it needed to be fixed after the last storm. In that split second, when she heard the wood crack and break under her foot, all she could feel was panic. She lost her grip on the phone, vaguely hearing Sora call her name in fright.
The last thing Kairi knew was that she fell down the five steps that led from Naminé's porch to the cement walkway below, and then, before she could even feel anything, everything went black.
VVVVVV
Sora took a deep shuttering breath as he glanced down at his daughter before kissing her on the forehead. She didn't stir at all, luckily. He had been so terrified when he heard Naminé's yell, but not nearly as much as when he had heard Kairi's involuntary scream before the phone when dead after breaking on the ground.
He remembered rushing into his car and starting to head to Naminé's, when his sister called him and told him the ambulance had got there quickly and were already taking Kairi to the hospital.
By the time Sora had got there, Kairi had been taking in to be examined, and none of them were allowed in. Sora had pleaded to see his wife and baby, but they had refused to let him in. Something about hospital policy, not that he had cared at the time. He had been terrified, because Kairi was only seven and a half months pregnant.
He remembered sitting in the waiting room with Xion on one side of him, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder as she hugged him, and having Roxas on the other side of him, barely letting his grip on Sora's shoulder go. His brother and sister, as silent as they were, had been his greatest comfort that day and he wished they could be with him now too.
He remembered his mother coming over and explaining all sorts of different tests they had to do. She didn't work in this department of the hospital, but she still knew how it worked.
He also remembered when the doctor had finally appeared and told Sora to come with him. He had rushed into the room and quickly took her pale hand in his. The doctor explained that there was trauma, but both the baby and Kairi would live. She was not, under any circumstances, allowed to leave her bed anymore, and it was recommended that she stay in the hospital for at least a week, and once she was cleared to go home she wasn't allowed to leave the bed expect to go to the washroom.
When Kairi woke up, after all of their friends and family had visited and left, the first thing she asked about was the baby. She had been overjoyed to hear that their daughter would be alright, so much that she had quickly agreed to staying in the hospital and then in bed at home. Anything for her baby's well being.
Sora remembered specifically telling Kairi that she was not having a natural birth under any circumstances. It was something that she had wanted to do, but if there was a chance that something bad could happen, well, it didn't matter. He had been glad she agreed, but it wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't. He was putting his foot down there.
Sora chuckled a bit as he hugged Amaya closer. He knew he should put her back in her crib, but he was being selfish. He needed some kind of comfort, and feeling her warm, tiny body against his, and her small puffs of breath just barely hit his chin were exactly what he needed at the moment.
"You know, your uncle Rox and auntie Nami felt horrible about the whole thing," Sora said aloud to her. "They constantly apologized. I guess that's why your mama and I decided to make them your godparents. To show we weren't mad at them and didn't blame them for anything. You were alive and healthy, and so was your mama. That's all that mattered."
Sora frowned after he spoke. It was true, they appeared to be unharmed at the time, but that didn't mean it had got any easier from there.
VVVVVV
It was late at night, if the position of the moon had anything to say about it. The sky outside her window was perfectly clear, the night air calm, but that definitely wasn't the case for how Kairi felt.
She was panicking, simply enough. The pain passing through her entire body was intense, and she felt sweat mingling with her tears. She was horrified, and she didn't know what to do.
The sheets underneath her were wet, where her water had broken a few moments before. She wished now that she hadn't told Sora to go to talk to King Mickey. He had insisted on staying with her, ignoring the King's need to talk. She had told him to go and to take his time. She was fine, and she wasn't going anywhere.
She also hadn't expected her water to break on her from just laying in bed resting. She hadn't done anything strenuous since she fell down the stairs and she wasn't particularly stressed.
It seemed that the baby decided she was bored of seeing the inside of her mother's uterus and now wanted to be free.
Needless to say, Kairi was furious with Sora at the moment. It was true that she had told him to go, but her body was in too much pain to really comprehend what was going on. She knew that she had told him to go, but at the same time it felt like he had abandoned her.
Her contractions were painful, and they weren't very far away. She let out a sob and said, "No baby, don't so this now. Please wait for your daddy. He'll get us to the hospital. Please baby."
She heard the door downstairs open and close, and felt as if her prayers had been answered. She screamed Sora's name as a particularly painful contraction hit her, and she heard him practically fly up the stairs. A horrified look appeared on his face when he realized what was happening to his wife.
"It'll be okay," he said quickly as he moved to the bed and removed the sheets from her. "It'll be fine. I'll get you to the hospital don't worry. Roxas!"
His blond twin had been behind him, even though Kairi hadn't realized it. As Sora carefully picked her up, she whimpered and hid her face in his shoulder. She had never experienced pain like this before.
"Get that suitcase," Sora instructed his brother. "And drive. I'm gonna sit in the back with her. Just in case."
Roxas, somehow remaining calm, simply nodded his head and grabbed the suitcase that had been prepared early on. Kairi wasn't really paying attention to what was happening, but as she was placed in the car she finally asked, "Just in case of what, Sora?"
He glanced down at her with confusion before saying, "I'm here with you, just in case we don't get there in time."
They did get there in time though. Roxas drove like a mad man, but not enough to get them into accidents or to throw anyone around. Luckily for them, as they came into the hospital, they happened to run into Kairi's doctor, who took one look at her and yelled at the nurse to get a room ready.
Kairi had no clue what was really going on, all she was vaguely aware of was the fact that soon, she was in a hospital gown in a white room, with Sora sitting at her side.
"It's too late for an epidermal," the doctor said. "This baby is coming now. I can already see the head."
"What?" Sora asked, looking away from Kairi's face with panic. "You said she needed a c-section though!"
"She did, but this baby is coming out now," the doctor said. "We'd be doing more damage than good to both by cutting her open."
Kairi let out a particularly loud scream, sweat streaking down the side of her face, mingling with her tears. She clenched Sora's hand tightly, but he didn't complain about the pain. The only way to make the birth more natural than it already was would have been to make her squat or stand up, but they weren't going to do that. This was the one thing they were avoiding, and Sora kicked himself for not being there when this started. None of them could have known that her labour would go this fast though. In fact, they had agreed (when they thought she was going to get a c-section) that if she had a natural birth, it probably would have lasted for hours, knowing her luck.
She was pushing on instinct already, but the doctor encouraged her to push harder. She screamed from pain again, and wondered why she ever thought have a child was a good idea.
As the pain was replaced with shock, she looked up and saw the doctors immediately cut the umbilical cord that attached her to the baby. There was something wrong though, something terribly wrong.
"Why isn't she crying?" Kairi asked in a faint, but hysterical voice. "Why isn't she crying? Sora! Why isn't our baby crying?"
"Mrs. Hikari, calm down," one of the nurses said to her while looking over at all of the machines attached to her with worry. "You need to calm—"
"I'll calm down when you tell me what's wrong with my baby!" she screamed. Suddenly, her eyes closed and her head hit the pillow, one of the machines let out a sound that was equivalent to a scream, in Sora's opinion.
"She's crashing!" someone yelled and Sora was quickly pushed away, despite his protests.
"What's wrong with her?" he yelled in panic, but the only thing anyone said was to get him out of the room.
One of the nurses grabbed Sora by the arm and dragged him to the other side of the room, despite his protests. When they reached his destination, all he heard was, "Come on baby, breathe for me. Breathe…"
Sora didn't know if he could handle being in the room where both his wife and his baby girl were dying. He was a strong person, but this, this was something he couldn't take.
Suddenly, a loud cry filled the room and the doctor said, "That's the sound I like to hear!"
"Her stats all seem good doctor," the nurse said as the crying continued. "This little one is a fighter like her daddy."
There was a bit of commotion, and Sora was in so much of a haze that he had no clue what was going on until the doctor asked, "Would you like to hold your daughter, Mr. Hikari?"
Sora was stunned at the question. The cry—the cries belonged to his daughter. She was going to be okay. He must have nodded his head, but he didn't remember doing so.
The nurse helped him rearrange his arms, and a small, crying bundle was placed into his arms. Her skin was a little red at the moment, her eyes seemed slightly puffy, and in general, she wasn't what anyone would actually call beautiful (quite ugly, actually), but at the moment, Sora was sure he had never seen something so beautiful in his life. It was his daughter; this little person in his arms was actually his.
"Kairi," he muttered while looking over to where the doctors were working frantically on his wife. He wanted to be beside her, he wanted to stay with her, but he wasn't allowed.
"Your baby needs you now too," one of the doctors said. "You don't want her to be on her own without anyone to hold her, do you? Would your wife want that?"
Sora knew Kairi would have strangled him if he left their baby alone with strangers, so he willingly let them take her to weigh her, clean her and everything else they needed to do, but he wouldn't let them move her into the room with the rest of the newborn babies.
When the doctors came up to Sora later, he was expecting the worst, but they told him that Kairi was stable, although they had lost her once. Sora didn't understand what they were saying had happened, all he did know is that he was allowed to see Kairi and she was going to be alright.
When the redhead finally woke a few hours later, Sora hadn't even noticed at first. The nurses had insisted that they would care for the baby and he should get some rest, but he refused. He wanted to be with both his wife and his daughter. They did check in on him quite often though.
After she woke up, Kairi watched as he held the small bundle close to him, and couldn't help but let out a happy sob. Sora's head whipped around, and a large smile appeared on his face.
"Kairi," he whispered as he moved closer to her. "You're okay. I thought—I thought I lost you for a little while…"
"I thought we lost her," she muttered in reply. Sora knew what she wanted, and carefully placed their baby in her arms, making sure to avoid her I.V. tubes.
Kairi smiled broadly as the little girl's eyes opened just a crack before saying, "She's beautiful, Sora."
"Just like her mother," he agreed.
"For a few minutes," she admitted. "I wondered why I even wanted a baby. Now I know why though. She was worth it all." There was a pause. "Next time, I'm definitely not having a natural birth though."
"Next time, you mean you—"
"I'm keeping the option open," she replied firmly. "You never know what will happen."
VVVVVV
"The doctors said that your mommy would be fine," Sora whispered to Amaya. "They said as long as she took it easy she would be okay. Shows what they know."
The baby's eyes were open again, staring up at her father. He smiled as best as he could before the shrieking of his phone distracted him. Her eyes snapped towards the sound, and Sora supposed that she was startled more than anything.
He quickly stood up, balancing her in one arm as he made his way over to the phone. He took a deep breath when he saw his mother's cellphone number on the display, before quickly snatching up the recover and speaking into them mouthpiece, "Mom?"
"Sora, honey…" his mother's calm voice shook across the phone, and he could hear the hesitance in her voice.
VVVVVV
Kairi groaned as her eyes opened. She let out a tired yawn and started to stretch out, but winced when a powerful cramp passed through her abdomen. Instead, she breathed in heavily and scrunched herself into a small ball, holding her stomach tightly.
After a few moments of calm breathing, she moved her head to look over at Sora. He was asleep, and she was slightly surprised that he didn't wake up when she started shifting around. In all fairness though, he had been awake for nearly 72 hours straight so far, and he was beyond exhausted.
Besides, she thought as she held her stomach, the doctors had told her that cramps were normal after giving birth. She didn't want to wake Sora up and make him worry about something that neither of them could control.
Finally, it seemed that the cramps had passed. Kairi let out a sigh of relief and stretched out a little more, in an attempt to get comfortable to get a little bit of sleep before Amaya woke up, but as she started to drift, another painful cramp attacked her. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn she was going into labor again.
She carefully slid out of the bed, wincing and grabbing a hold of the beside table as more pain wracked her body. She wasn't sure if this was normal at all, but she also didn't want to wake Sora up. Still, she wasn't stupid though. If there was something really wrong, she knew that not going to the hospital would be an extremely dumb move on her part.
"I'll just splash some water on my face," she muttered to herself and quietly padded out of the room she shared with her husband. As she passed Amaya's room, she peered in and was able to see that her baby was sleeping peacefully. That alone made her feel a little better.
Continuing on her path, Kairi walked into the bathroom without turning on the light. She turned the taps on and let the water run for a second before bending over to splash some on her face. As she leaned over, another cramp passed through her, more painful than all of the others.
A pained gasp escaped her lips as she stumbled forward, holding onto the white ceramic sink so tightly that her knuckles matched its pale tone. She took a few deep breaths, but the pain wasn't passing.
A whimper escaped her lips as Kairi straightened herself up, holding onto her stomach as she turned to go back into her room to wake up Sora. She took one step and froze as her foot came into contact with a warm, thick liquid on the floor. Reaching out with shaky arms, she turned the light switch and illuminated the room. The first thing that greeted her was a puddle of blood on the floor, coming from the streams that ran down her legs.
As she stared at the blood, she felt nausea pass through her, and her vision started to swim. With a loud gasp, she vaguely felt herself starting to fall. The last thing she remembered was a loud bang and a flash of pain as her head came into contact with the sink, and then everything went black.
VVVVVV
Never before in his life had he been more afraid to hear that tone of voice coming from his mother. He couldn't hear what she was saying, what exactly was wrong with Kairi or if she was even alright. He couldn't push the pulsating fear that was traveling through him away to be able to focus on the fate of his wife.
In his arms, Amaya started crying.
VVVVVV
Author's Note
I wanted to try something a little different. What do you all think? Judge on the writing first, then on the plot. I've been working on this for a little while. As for Kairi, well, read between the lines. If you can figure out what her fate is (and show me the proof of how you figured it out, not just guessed), maybe I'll see if I can find the time to do a request fic for the first person to get it right.
Krystal Lily Potter