Title: Coming to Terms

Summary: After Aqua is rescued by Sora, she comes to terms with the choosing of her successor.

Rating: T

A/N: Yeah. Okay. Kairi…with a keyblade. No…or at least. I want to come to terms with it myself b/c…well Kairi seems like a floating character which remains static throughout the games. She didn't really change. A flat character overall in my eyes.

Oh yes. This is using the theory that Aqua's spell-which said that the light within Kairi would lead Kairi in her "time of need" to the light of another (someone to keep her safe)-was referring to Naminé. It makes sense if you take in account the manga which says that the Organization wears their coats so that they won't dissolve in corridors of darkness yet Naminé can walk through the corridors without a cloak, suggesting that she has no darkness in her heart like Kairi (who could also walk through the corridors without a cloak).

BIRTH BY SLEEP SPOILERS

It hadn't been that long since Aqua had returned to the light, and she found the world different than she had left it. Of course, it had been foolishly dreamy to believe that the world would rest in peace after she was gone. It had been foolish to think that all she and her friends had done would end it all. No, there was always that person who was willing to go the extra mile. That extra strip to become what Aqua would never become. A monster.

To her surprise, the two young children she had seen on Destiny Islands had grown up. Sora and Riku. Riku and Sora. Inseparable except that now there was a third person with them. Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Kairi, Riku, and Sora. Riku, Kairi, and Sora. Kairi….

Aqua remembered that one girl. From a very long time ago. A time faint in her memory and quickly being washed away. Spending time in that dark place had fogged all her memories and left her grasping for the wisps. The young woman remembered the light. The light of Kairi, and she remembered the charm she had cast on Kairi's necklace.

What Aqua did not remember was passing down the Keyblade to Kairi. In fact, Aqua had never planned on passing down the Keyblade except to maybe Sora. After Sora had been cast out of the picture, Aqua had decided to wait until she could truly decide who to pass on her Keyblade to. That was before unexpected circumstances happened, and Aqua had been planning on finding the right person afterwards.

It wasn't like Kairi wasn't a good Keyblade apprentice. It was just that she didn't have the qualities Aqua would have liked. That sense of compassion and justness was definitely instilled in Kairi yet that passion for learning and exploring herself just wasn't there. If Aqua had been placed in Kairi's position, she would've discovered herself long before. That she was powerful and could make her own way in the world.

Sora would have been a friend, not her anchor to the world. Aqua supposed that you could say Kairi cared too much somewhat. There was such a thing as standing on your own two feet and looking into your own heart. To Aqua, all of Kairi's desires mirrored Sora's and Riku's. It seemed like she didn't have any of her own. Was she really that intertwined with Sora and Riku that they all had the same dreams and hopes?

Aqua knew that wasn't true. She had begun training with Riku, sharpening up her battle skills again. She knew that he still wanted to travel to more worlds. Destiny Islands was his home and would always be, but it wasn't where he wanted to spend his precious time. Yes. Riku was so different from Sora, Aqua decided.

Sora simply wanted to stay at home. He was tired of adventure. He hadn't seen his mother in quite a few years before coming home and being jerked away again to save Aqua. Sora just wanted a stable home and to stay there. Kairi seemed to be torn. Kairi both wanted to see the worlds, but she also wanted to stay with Sora.

"Their love," Aqua murmured, "is just too alike to last." Kairi wanted what Sora wanted. Sora wanted what Kairi wanted. If they couldn't think with their own two heads, then what would happen to them? Would you rather love someone who is exactly the same as you or someone who is different?

The shuffling of feet led Aqua to raise her head. She was sitting on one of Destiny Islands' many beaches, watching as the waves lapped up against the shore. She recognized the person out of the corner of her eye as Naminé, Kairi's Nobody. Really to Aqua, the whole subject of Nobodies seemed preposterous. If you can make your own decisions, you have a heart. If you have a heart, you can feel, and if you can feel, you're a somebody. That didn't change the fact, however, that Naminé, Roxas, Axel, and the other Nobodies still alive technically gained a heart from Sora's adventures.

"Sorry," the shy girl said, sitting down on the sand also. "I just wanted to draw the beach. It's always so peaceful here."

Aqua smiled, indicating that it was no problem and couldn't help but draw comparisons between Naminé and Kairi. Kairi was hotheaded and temperamental at time. She was stubborn and would try to follow Sora to the ends of the Earth. Naminé was quiet and shy. She talked but only when it was needed. If Roxas left on some adventure, Naminé would sit patiently until the time was right, drawing in her sketchbook. She made decisions, and she knew herself.

Aqua observed Naminé as she drew the ocean. So peaceful. So quiet. So…like Aqua. Soon enough, Aqua began to draw parallels between Naminé and herself. They both knew when their words were needed. They both knew…themselves. Naminé was comfortable with who she was, and so was Aqua. Naminé had the courage to stand up and protect those who she loved. Aqua did as well.

From the first time Aqua had met Naminé, the blue-haired woman had known what the young girl was. She was a Nobody, but she was also a spell. A spell that Aqua had created herself, and it had worked better than Aqua had never imagined. There was still guilt hanging around Aqua that Naminé had to go through such trials and tribulations to fulfill her own purpose.

"I wish…" Aqua said.

"Yes?" Naminé asked, closing her sketchbook and smiling slightly.

"You would've been a good Keyblade apprentice," Aqua murmured. "I wish…" Kairi was good. Kairi was perfect, but a Keyblade apprentice was not perfect. Was not entirely good. They all had their crises and internal conflicts. Yet Kairi seemed to be wholly untouched by that. Naminé, on the other hand, had survived many internal conflicts. She had risked herself to find the correct answer and had picked right…most of the time, but that was another important trait of a Keyblade apprentice. They made mistakes.

Naminé smiled at Aqua, tucking her sketchbook under her arm and standing up. "There's no time for wishing, but you know...I think I'd like that too."

Aqua watched the blonde-haired girl walk away with a smile.