Just a little note before we start:
My Internet access died Monday.. This was supposed to go up then, but a big storm hit and killed it. So.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRAY-RAIN SKIES!! This one's dedicated to you!
Disclaimer: Nope. Own nothing.
The end of and adventure isn't the end…
Two forms, falling from the skies into the waters below. One silver-haired, the other spiked brown.
Splash! Splash!
The two hit the water, and surface, eyes wide open.
"Sora! Riku!"
The spiked brown haired boy looks toward the shore, and sees the one person that he had fought so hard to find.
Kairi.
Standing on the shore, Kairi waves at the two Keyblade Masters. Sora immediately starts swimming to shore, Riku close behind. Sora starts to run at the shallows, towards a smiling Kairi. But suddenly, three overjoyed animals run past her, jump for joy, and two, hug Sora. The third, a mouse, jumps at Riku, and Riku lifts the mouse into the air.
Sora, finally escaping from Donald and Goofy's bear hug, looks up into gentle eyes of Kairi.
"Heh, we're back!" he says, giving her his signature carefree smile.
Kairi smiled, and extended her hand. "You're home."
Sora takes out the Oathkeeper Kairi had given to him in the Secret Waterway in Traverse Town. He grabs Kairi's hand in the same one with the Oathkeeper. Kairi smiles once again, and tries to pull Sora up.
…But since Sora is bigger than Kairi, they both end up in the water, with Kairi on top of Sora, laughing hysterically. Their eyes meet, and they both realize just how much they missed each other. They started to lean towards each other…
"Uhh, guys, I'm still here, remember? And please, get a room…"
Kairi blushed a never-before seen shade of red, while Sora blushed and murmured a "shut up, Riku"
The mouse, still there and feeling a bit rejected, cleared his throat and spoke.
"In recognition of your great deeds, I think you two should be knighted. We'll talk about it some other time. I gotta go take care of some business back at the Castle, so see ya later!"
Sora and Riku kneel, and reply with a quick, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
And within a few minutes, King Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were gone.
Silence…
…
…
Sora scratched his head. "Okay…we just saved the multiverse for the second time. So…now what?"
Riku smirked. "I'm sure you and Kairi could find something to do…"
"RIKU!"
Riku laughed, and said, "Just kidding, Princess. We could probably put together a party, if that hasn't been planned already."
Sora groaned. "Yep, that's all I need after saving the world twice. Two sugar addicts at a party. Are you sure you're still not all evil?"
"Heh, that's for me to know."
Suddenly a high pitched screech comes off the island, and Sora visibly (and quite severely) twitched.
"SORAAA!!!!" Sugar addict one.
"WANNA FIGHT?!" Sugar addict two.
Sora turned slowly, and saw one of his nightmares. Selphie and Tidus running, full speed at him.
They somehow managed to stop short before plowing him down.
Selphie spoke first, "Sora! We put a party together for you and Riku and Kairi! Come on!!"
"D-do I have to come?"
Tidus cut in. "Yeah! You three are the…the…um…"
Kairi glanced at them. "Guests of honor?"
"Yep! That's right! And don't worry; there'll be lots of food and stuff! It's at your house, too!"
Sora paused, a confused look on his face. "You broke into my house?"
…
Selphie grinned. "Uh, yeah! Now c'mon! Everyone's waiting!"
The three heroes stared. "Everyone…?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"She…really meant everyone."
"Yeah. In my house…" Sweatdrop.
Sora, Kairi, and Riku had entered Sora's house. And Sora, to say the least, wasn't happy.
Kairi, always trying to be optimistic, said, "At least we get to see Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, and the others right?"
Sora sighed, and closed his eyes and sat on his couch - or what was left of it – with his friends.
"Nothing wrong with seeing them," he said, "I'm just worried about having a guy with a Gunblade, 'world's greatest female ninja', and Mr. Sunshine – Cloud - in one place."
A screech erupted from Destiny Islands the second time that day. Riku fangirls.
"RIKU!"
Riku's eyes grew wide, and he shouted, "Selphie! What possessed you to invite them?!"
"I didn't. They came."
At this point, Riku had bolted off the couch, and most likely out the door.
…But that meant he and Kairi were alone on the couch. "Um, Kai, I think we should move before one of my groupies sees you with me and decides to kill you."
"I-I agree, let's…go outside or something."
As the two got up from the couch, Kairi noticed just how many death glares other girls were giving her. They stepped outside, into the calm night air. Sora led Kairi down to the beach, which wasn't too far away from his house, but not too close to it either. Upon reaching the sand, Sora flopped down and looked up at the stars.
Kairi giggled. "Lazy bum," she said, lying down next to him. "You haven't changed a bit."
Sora glanced at her. "I remember sitting on the docks with you, watching the sunset on that fateful night. You told me, 'Sora, don't ever change.' I remember…like it was yesterday."
"That was more than a year ago. And so much has changed since then."
"I suppose. But y'know, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I've been to many worlds, but still I think this one is the most beautiful and peaceful outta all of them."
There was an odd silence between them. Kairi, used to the usually talkative Sora, decided to break their silence.
"You want to go for a walk?"
Sora scratched the back of his head and gave Kairi his signature goofy grin. "Sure."
They rose and started walking, with no destination in mind. They told each other about their experiences, adventures, and sorrows.
"…and then I got down on my hands and knees and begged him to let me see you, but-"
"Hey Sora…look where we are."
"Huh?" Sora looked around them. He and Kairi had subconsciously gone to the Secret Place.
Sora spoke. "The Secret Place…"
Kairi nodded. "Yeah…Hey! Let's go inside, because" At this point, Kairi started to blush a bit, "th-there's something I want to show you."
Sora followed Kairi inside. They took a moment to look around at all the things that had accumulated through the years, but now the once innocent doodles turned into sad prophecies of the future – the one he had fulfilled. What was once a game of tic-tac-toe turned into a defensive battle plan, and the other drawings seemed of battles he had fought.
"You okay?"
Sora snapped out of his thoughts. "Y-yeah." But he knew, even through everything, one drawing would remain the same. The one he and Kairi had drawn as kids, which he had added the paopu to last year. He saw Kairi kneeling before the picture, and she beckoned him to her.
Of course, what he saw was a minor shock, because there were now two paopu. The one he was giving to Kairi, and now one given back to him.
"Kairi…you…when did you draw this?"
"After you returned my heart to me and defeated Ansem. I came here and saw this. I just…was heartbroken. We finally saw each other, only to be separated."
Sora gave her a sad smile, and said, "But I'm here now, right?"
Rain started falling, and Kairi's tears along with it. Needing some form of escape, Kairi turned and ran from the cave, leaving Sora watching as she ran.
'You're not gonna let her run off on her own, are you?'
"Roxas?"
'Yeah. Now go! Who knows what could happen to her out in the rain.'
"Right."
Sora dashed out of the cave and into the rain. "Kairi!" He looked around, and seeing no one, moved on. He called out again. "Kairi!"
Sora saw a faint outline on the paopu tree, and he knew it had to be her. He ran towards the island at top speed. He slowed as he approached Kairi.
"Kairi? Are you-"
"Okay? No. Do you know why? Because even if we did get together, we'd only be separated again. It would only break both of our hearts, and I don't think that's really fair."
Sora sat on the tree next to her and answered, "I'm not supposed to, but I guess bending the rule of 'don't endanger the Princesses' wouldn't really matter if we stuck together. Am I right?"
A small smile spread on Kairi's lips. "Right. Especially with a 'responsible' person like you."
They both laughed at this, and then Sora smiled. "Y'know, without you I'd be a Heartless. I probably would've been dead by now if it hadn't been for you."
"So who'd protect whom?"
"Very funny. But until I get a letter from the King, I've got nothing to do."
"Have you already forgotten the knighting?"
Sora paused. "Not really. But once again, you save me."
Kairi giggled. "You'd be in a whole lot of trouble without me I guess."
"Yeah," Sora replied, getting off the tree and offered a hand to help Kairi down. She took his hand, and pulled her off the tree.
And right into his arms. "I'm sorry Kai."
Kairi was stunned. Sure, they had hugged many times before, but this one seemed more…meaningful. She returned the hug, and she barely heard it over the rain when Sora whispered to her, "Kairi…I love you."
Kairi closed her eyes and said, "I know Sora. And I love you too."
"I'm here now, and I'm never going anywhere without you ever again."
She smiled. "No you are not."
And they stood there, in the cold rain, not caring because of the warmth in each other's embrace.
It's just the beginning of a new one.
END
Wow. I'm surprised how this came out. Anyway, this is dedicated to Gray-Rain Skies, being that she's my only friend here. Also, this is a thank you for all your support and help. I know this is late for your birthday, but blame my crap Internet. Big storm equals sudden death for the 'Net. Just started working yesterday. XD
So yeah, this is my first KH fic (hopefully not the last!!) and please review…and it'd be nice not to have flames.