It started just the same as any other, ordinary day for Sora Kido. But, as a Bearer of the Keyblade, things could turn from "ordinary" to "bizarre" in a hurry, and often without much warning.
Today, the turn in question took the form of a knock on the door at just past noon.
The brunet boy went to answer – being the only occupant in his house at the time – opening it to find a young girl around his age standing expectantly on the doorstep. She had dark-red hair pulled back into a high ponytail, the hair forming into long leaf-like tufts, as well as bright purple-blue eyes, which lit up in delight upon seeing Sora beyond the doorway.
"I did it! I did it!" The stranger jumped up and down, a big grin splitting her face. "I traveled to the past!" Sora blinked in confusion when she uttered that. Had she said what he thought he had heard? It took him a moment to process the ramifications of...those words, the mysterious girl dropped an even bigger bombshell, as she dove into his arm with a warm embrace. "Daddy!"
That broke Sora.
That broke him in ways no villain could ever hope or imagine to.
For around five minutes after the fact, Sora could only respond in incoherent babble, staring off into space with a vacant and dazed expression on his face and in his eyes. The girl (from the future), seemed to catch on to what was happening, and matched Sora's dazed nonsense with a stream of rapid-fire stutters and stammers.
"Oh God, Daddy – No! I mean, I uh... That's not what – I-i-it's complicated..." This continued for sometime before she finally got her act together. "I'm your daughter from the future!" Sora finally silenced, blinking. "My name is Kyrei, you're my dad and Kairi is my mom, and I've traveled back here to warn you! To warn you of impending disaster to prevent the destruction of the future – my present."
"Okay..." Sora responded, slowly. That honestly wasn't the strangest or most outlandish thing he had heard or experienced in his lifetime. It was plausible, at least. Now that he was no longer a damaged, rambling mess and could take a good look at Kyrei, he could see a resemblance to himself and Kairi. Her eyes and hair colour, his hairstyle and smile. And, hey, he and Kairi had a kid sometime in the future. That was pretty great, no way he would look that gift horse in the mouth.
But he should probably get some second opinions before he fully committed to her story.
"Uh, why don't you come inside, Kyrei? I am going to make some important calls to some people..."
A short while later, Kairi and Riku both arrived to Sora's household, bewildered by his claim of a "child from the future". For her part, Kyrei seemed incredibly happy to be in her (supposed) father's childhood home, and to meet people she (supposedly) knew (in the future). The three took turns grilling the strange girl about her cover story, trying to see if held water. Well, Riku grilled her, Sora and Kairi both seemed far too taken by their future child, both as a person and as a concept.
"Well, it's far-fetched, but it's not implausible, considering what we've been through." Riku muttered, mostly to himself, leaning back in his chair. Sitting opposite of him were Sora and Kairi, with Kyrei, the three still chatting excitedly. Kyrei and Sora both had the exact same dopey smile plastered on their faces. If this girl was some kind of villain or clone or monster or whatever, they had done their research and had it perfected. "However, I don't know..."
"Don't know what, Riku?" Sora asked.
"Even if this is plausible, this all feels too "fanfic-y" and "Fire Emblem-y" for my tastes."
"Oh, don't be like that, Uncle Riku." Kyrei chided, gently and with an air of familiarity. Riku look stricken and taken aback at her words.
"Don't call me that!"
Kyrei covered her mouth and giggled. "Oh my gosh! You sound just like the Riku I know – he hates it when I call him that, too!" Riku only huffed, crossing his arms.
"Okay, so I'm a grouch in the future. Guess that scans."
"Like that's a hard prediction to make." Sora said with a cheeky grin, drawing an annoyed look from his silver-haired friend. "Is there anything else you can tell us about your future, Kyrei?" Sora gave the mysterious traveler an expectant look. "Maybe that might be able to clear up any questions we still have."
"Well, I don't know..." Kyrei had flipped her ponytail over her shoulders and was nervously wringing it with her hands. It was the first time the girl hadn't looked bouncy and ebullient since her arrival. "I'm mean, telling you details about the future would be pretty bad, right? Prob'ly cause it to change, but...I'm a pretty normal kid, all things considered. We're a close family, too. Even if you two are always really busy with work, you always make time for me and T-" She stopped herself, staring off into the distance. She had almost blabbed the names of her siblings, and that definitely would change things even more. "For me and my siblings," She said at last, finally continuing. "And we always go on outings whenever possible, to far-off worlds you visited in your childhood, or to see Auntie Nam and Uncle Rox out in the country..."
Kyrei continued for a little while longer, taking care to keep her details vague, but trying to be earnest and heartfelt. She desperately wanted the three to believe her tale, that much was obvious. During this, Sora and Riku shared a look, practically reading each others thoughts in that brief instance. A skill that only came from a lifetime of friendship and brotherhood. Sora's natural optimism lead him to want to believe Kyrei's tale; Riku's inborn cynicism told him to air on the side of caution, and keep the girl at a healthy distance. But neither could fully prove or disprove her, and neither could break this stalemate.
After Kyrei finally began to trail off, Sora and Riku still hesitant, Kairi stood up, moving to be in the middle of the room. While she lacked the innate bond of the boys, she could still read a room as well anyone else.
"Look, I think the only way we can see if this is real or not is if we find out what this 'impending disaster' is, and see whether that's real or not." The redhead turned to Kyrei. "So, Kyrei? What happens now that has affected your time so badly?"
"Right, mommy-" Kyrei caught herself, freezing with a vibrant, crimson blush spread over her cheeks. "Sorry, sorry, I know how weird that sounds...it's what I'm use to calling you two." Both Sora and Kairi made gestures telling the future girl it was okay. She took a deep breath and continued. "From what I've gathered, around this point in time, the two of you-"
Suddenly, a blazingly bright flash of light consumed everything in the room, followed by a deafening POP! and the smell of freshly baked bread. Where there were once four people in the room, now there was five. The new occupant was a young, teenaged girl with long, flowing blonde hair, dressed in a Gothic Lolita styled dressed. Her eyes immediately fell upon Sora.
"Father! I've traveled back in time to save my future!" The blonde declared dramatically. "My time is in dire danger, and only preventing a catastrophe now can save it!"
"Oh boy..." Sora chuckled nervously. He quickly scanned the room. Kairi was curious, Riku wore a face of oncoming exasperation, while Kyrei looked defensive and guarded. He wanted to diffuse the tension in the room. "Guess this is going to be more than one-time thing, eh guys?"
"Is this...your sister, Kyrei?" Kairi asked. The future girl's eyes had narrowed and hardened, much like Kairi's whenever she got into a fight.
"I've never seen her before in my life. Who are you?"
The blonde coolly stared down the redhead. "I am Misha Kido, I've traveled here from twenty-years in the future to save my world, as well as the lives of my parents, Sora and Namine. I-"
"YOU JERK!" Kairi bellowed out, pushing against Sora, knocking her boyfriend backwards into the couch. "You and Namine? Behind my back? How could you guys..." Kairi was both angry and hurt, while Sora was too confused to offer and explanation or counter. Which was fair to him, given the situation he was in.
"Wait, this makes no sense." Kyrei said. She still hadn't taken her eyes off of Misha. "Auntie Nam married Uncle Rox, and they have children together." Both future girls began to slowly approach each other, cagey and wary, examining the other. "Like I said, I've never seen her before."
"Nor have I seen a girl like you."
"Which means..."
"AAGH!" Riku threw his arms up in defeat. "Multiple alternate future timelines! This is just great, this is just perfect, this is..." He sighed, "Exactly what I expect to happen to us."
Kairi's anger ebbed slightly, contemplation striking her face. "If this is the case, which one is the real future?"
At the same time, Kyrei and Misha mirrored each other, pointing at themselves with their thumbs, and loudly declaring, "Mine is!"
The turn girls quickly turned back to each other, glaring dangerously at each other.
"There's no way your from the real future." Kyrei stamped her feet in frustration, staring down a girl who while, technically, was a half-sister, was now a rival in practice. "Everyone knows the Key Bearers Sora and Kairi were always destined for each other. It was a romance written in the stars for the longest time."
"Yes, it was. Keyword 'was'." Misha responded, haughtily. Already, apparent differences were on display between the two. "Then Namine, my mother, was revived, and my father's memories of his journey in Castle Oblivion were returned to him. He was at a difficult crossroads for a longtime after that, but finally made his decision, choosing mother. Even if something is written in the stars, it can be re-written."
Kyrei was hearing none of it, puffing out her cheeks petulantly. "Look, I know my daddy, and-" The blonde let out a bark of laughter.
"Seriously? 'Daddy'? Do you know how much of a child you sound like right now?"
"Shut up! I'm not gonna take that from some faker!"
Before Misha could respond with what would undoubtedly be another icy barb, Sora held his hands up, attempting to keep the peace.
"Now girls, this is not the time for fighting." Sora stood between the two bickering girls, giving each of them a look that was part stern and part soothing. A look that was almost...fatherly. "We need to calm down and figure this out. So, I want you to apologize to one another."
Both Kyrei and Misha looked well enough ashamed, taking turns muttering apologies to each other. Kairi could barely contain her laughter as she watched the scene, as she watch her boyfriend try to slip in to the paternal role for both these possible future daughters. It was equal parts cute and hysterical.
"As for which future is valid," Riku began to muse aloud, shortly after the girls halfheartedly made up, "I think it's entirely possible both of them are." The silver-haired teen commanded the attention of everyone else in the room. "This is mostly personal belief, but I saw some of Ansem's research regarding the timestream and possible futures. Essentially, there isn't one set-in-stone future, but rather, every action we take and don't take creates new futures. At any point in the now, an infinite – or near-infinite – number of futures exist, and that they can coexist parallel to each other."
"But wait, if that's correct, then wouldn't that mean-"
Another flash of light.
Another POP.
The further scent of bread.
Another person had appeared in the room from thin air, this one a young guy. "Yo! I made it!" He cheered with a hearty clap. This supposed future child has a mop of messy, dark blond hair and green-blue eyes. His face was smeared with soot and grease, and a pair of goggles dangled loosely from his neck. Taking in the situation of the room, the blond began, "Listen up, my name is Lanto Kido, and I've-"
"Traveled from the future." Sora finished.
"Yeah! Right, and I-"
"Have come to prevent a great disaster." Came Kairi.
"Uh...yes, and that will-"
"Save the future you come from." Riku grumbled bitterly.
Kairi stroked her chin. "Maybe we should start making signs...if this is going to be a common occurrence for the day..."
Lanto let out a sharp whistle, clearly impressed. "Man, you guys are all up on your stuff. Colour me impressed!" Sora then approached, what was presumably, his future son, getting a better look at him. Up close, he could see a faint spiral pattern in his irises.
"Lanto...you're mom is Rikku, right?"
A big smile broke out on the blond. "Sharp as ever, pops!" He slapped Sora on the shoulder. "Ma's the one who helped my figure out how to move through the timestream! And now, that-"
"NNNRRRRRRGGHHHH!"
With her fists balled up, her teeth clenched together, and a look of utter shock and abject rage on her face, Kairi let loose a piercing and terrifying shriek. "You mean to tell me, that there's a future...where Rikku gets her claws into Sora!?" The girl looked like a core tenant of her worldview had been destroyed in front of her.
Everyone present, including Kyrei and Misha, took a step away from Kairi.
"Um...yeah," Lanto nodded along nervously. "I guess ma was right, you do have a bit of a possessive streak, Miss Kairi."
Kairi hunched down and flared up "I do NOT! I don't want to hear-"
Light. Pop. Bread.
"Why does time travel smell like bread!?" Sora questioned aloud, utterly mystified by this repeating scent. "Seriously, I just want to know!"
Future child the fourth entered the room, this one another young man with feathery blond hair and purple-blue eyes. He took a quick look at his surroundings, turning to Kairi with the intent to announce...well, everything everyone had heard so far. But, before he could get a word out, Riku pointed straight at him, halting him in his tracks.
"Before you launch into your spiel, kid, we know. You're from the future, blah, blah, blah. So save us the tedious part and just tell us your name, and who your parents are."
"Um, alright then." The blond looked a touch rattled, but composed himself quickly. "My name is Alton Kido, and my parents are Roxas and Kairi."
"Oh, gross!" Kyrei spat out from across the room. "Mommy and Uncle Rox? That's so disgusting! There's no way you're from the real future."
"You're one to talk, impostor." Misha sniffed dismissively. "I'm still certain the whole lot of you are part of the disaster I'm trying to stop. All of you should stand aside, and let me work unheeded."
"Ah, both you chicks are crazy." Lanto swaggered on over to the girls, his smile having changed to a slight scowl. "There's only one real McCoy and he's me!"
Quickly, very quickly, things began to escalate as the four future children crowded against each other, exchanging vindictive barbs alongside spurious claims of their legitimacy.
Riku could only run his hands through his hair, as the argument grew more and more heated. He desperately wanted to wash his hands of this whole thing. "Holy hell, this is just growing more ridiculous by the second." He was honestly considering the use of physical force and violence, if only to put an end to this nonsense in a hurry.
In the interim, Sora had sidled up to Kairi, bearing a smug look on his face. It took a moment for the redhead to notice. "What?"
"You and Roxas? Behind my back? How could you?" Sora said, affecting an over-the-top, melodramatic tone.
"Well, that...that was in the moment and... I'm sorry, Sora." Kairi admitted, slouching her shoulders in shame. "I overreacted back there, when I shouldn't have. You never would do that to me." Sora leaned in, putting an arm around his girlfriend.
"Don't worry about it, hun. We all have moments like that."
"And, just for the record, I apologize for over acting with you and Namine. I will never apologize for what I said regarding you and Rikku."
"Yeah, yeah. I figured as much." Kairi stuck her tongue out in faux-defiance, only for Sora to pull her closer and sneak a quick peck of a kiss on the tip of her nose.
"See. See!" Kyrei had broken away from bickering with Misha and Lantus, wildly gesturing towards her supposed parents. "How can you say they aren't meant for each other? How can you say that their love isn't destined?"
"Because they aren't." Misha interjected. "I know for a fact, my parents – Sora and Namine – belong together. And adore each other. Even if the theory is correct, that our futures can all coexist together, that is the truth I hold, and nothing is going to dissuade me from that truth."
Alton slowly began to approach the trio of future children. "From what I've gathered, it seems we're at a dilemma." The young man spoke very calmly and carefully, trying not to incite any more bickering, or get dragged into the current verbal brawl. "There's no easy way to determine who is right here, or who is wrong, and even then, we all believe we're more correct that the others."
"Yeah, exactly, Alton is right." Kairi spoke up. She made eye contact with the boy – her "son" – for a brief moment, instantly regretting it. Trying her hardest not think about Roxas at this current moment, she continued, "What we need to do is stay calm, to stop arguing with each other, and figure this out together."
There was a murmur of general consensus from the future children, Alton smiling and nodding along. "Well said, mom."
The redhead was sent reeling back, totally mortified, clenching her teeth in distaste.
"Also, everyone, please refer to us by our names. This is starting to get really embarrassing, real fast."
Once more, from the top, a pulse of light. A booming clarion. The scent of bread. However, this time, the sensations were doubly as strong, as two new people entered the fray.
"Mom!"
"Dad!"
Riku facepalmed. "Oh your god...There's more of them!?"
Indeed, a duo of strangers had appeared at the exact same time – a tall and willowy young woman with long, chocolate brown hair held in a loose ponytail and a gentle countenance, accompanied by a boy around the same age, wearing a serious and intense expression, with shortly shorn hair that was a shade of vibrant scarlet.
"This right here, is Ellea Kido," the boy introduced, putting an affectionate hand on the girl's shoulder, "and her parents are Sora Kido and Tifa Lockhart."
Ellea in turn smiled and presented her companion. "And my beloved next to me is Orion Leonhart, son of Kairi and Squall Leonhart."
Together, the two struck a pose, declaring as one, "And we've come back in time to save the future, with the power of our love!"
The future children all froze and observed, not too keen on the prospect of more competition and confusion. Riku scowled and stressed and swore, his patience had long been growing thin. Sora and Kairi, however, possessed a different set of reactions.
The two pivoted and pointed at the other, almost mirrored in action and response.
"You and Tifa?"
"You and Leon?"
Kairi coughed in her fist, blushing slightly. "Well, yeah, sure he's moody and kind of rough around the edges, but he's noble and brave, does a lot to help so many people... and he's terribly handsome, too."
"I mean, yeah, you're certainly right about that last part." Sora mused. The couple briefly shared a dreamy expression on their faces, only for the brunet to quickly snap out of it. "Hey, aren't you even a little...miffed about me and Tifa?" Sora chose his words carefully. Kairi did have a possessive streak to her, no matter how much she denied it, so it was odd she didn't have the same fiery reaction to Ellea as she did to Misha and Lantu.
"Oh, what? No, no. Not at all." The redheaded girl waved dismissively. "One, that pairing makes total sense to me. And two...I mean yeah! Tifa's amazing, so go for it if you have a shot." With a teasing smile, tapping her hips againt his, she added, "You did really well for yourself, sweetie."
"Ah, thanks hun."
"Unbelievable!" Riku stormed over to where the two were standing, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. "You two – you two hopeless horndogs!" He ranted and raved, pointing between them and the ever growing group of invaders from the future. "Is there no end to this? How many people do we know that you apparently potentially can knock boots with down the road?"
Sora furrowed his brow in defense. "Okay, ease it up, buddy. It's called chemistry, and I have it with everyone. And it's not Kairi's fault she's so darn charming and endearing." Riku only snarled in response.
"Look, as fun and strange and horrifying as this is turning out to be, Riku's right." Kairi said, huddling closer to her two friends. Behind them she could see the various visitors were quietly staring down each other. The storm hadn't started up again, but it would soon. "We need to figure out what exactly is going on here, what this disaster is, how to stop it, and hopefully get everyone back to their proper times." Taking a breath to steady herself, she lowered her head down slightly in contemplative thought. "I still find it hard to believe that so many possible futures could have some kind of calamity that occurs during this exact period of time..."
A look of realization came across Riku. "Yeah, that's a good point..."
Before Riku could elaborate further on the point, the now familiar sensations of breaching the time barrier – light, sound, and scent – reverberated through the room again, ushering in a tall, muscular girl, with snow white hair. Scared and bewildered, she took a few wild looks around the room, before her eyes fell upon Sora.
"Dad! Dad!" Rapidly, the girl from the future ran up to Sora, clutching at his arms, looking at him hopefully. "Look, this is going sound crazy, but I'm your daughter from the future -"
"Doesn't sound that crazy, with the day we've been having..." Sora muttered to himself. He was mostly trying to figure out who this girl's mother could be. He didn't exactly know any women with white hair...
"- my name is Shayla, and... things are terrible! There's this monster in your heart – Vanitas – and he breaks free and goes on a rampage! Aqua, Kairi, mom... they're all gone because of him... But we have time! We can stop him! We have to stop him!"
Okay, at least this one had a decent explanation of what they were trying to. Trying to prevent. However, despite Shayla's forthrightness, there were still questions to be had.
"Hold it there, missy, one thing first." Riku broke in, pointing a finger at the girl. "Who is your mother?" Like, Sora, Riku had wracked his brain trying to think who the identity of the person was. She seemed so familiar, yet he couldn't pin down who she reminded him of.
Shayla looked affronted, giving Riku a hard look. "First of all, whoever you are, don't call me 'missy'." That was odd. Why would Sora's daughter not recognize his best friend? "Second, isn't it obvious? My mom is Riku Akiyama; she was dad's best friend."
Kairi gasped and covered her hands.
Riku looked both confused and distressed.
Sora blushed brightly, doing his best to contain an overjoyed grin.
"Me and Riku? Riku and I? The two of us? Really? Really?" Dare he dream the forbidden dream? Sora was trying his hardest to reign his excitement in, as to not reveal his closeted crush on his best friend, but at the same, he couldn't help but wonder and dream and fantasize... even if he couldn't work out the physical mechanics of the scenario.
Riku, however, still wasn't wholly satisfied.
"Wait... Riku is your mother? As in, born a biological woman?" He questioned her, teeth gnashed and nostrils flared. He was about three future children away from taking his Keyblade out and seeing what followed.
"Of course. What else would I mean?"
"Because I'm Riku Akiyama! Me! The guy, the man, the person."
Shayla's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, trying to process this new information, and now looking at the very angry Riku in a new light.
"Oh great..." Her shoulders slumped, looking deflated. "I entered a different parallel reality. Again." A spell began to form at the tip of her hands, as she looked back up at Sora with a sheepish look. "Um... I'm sorry for the interruption..."
Then, in an implosion of black light, Shayla vanished, leaving a scent of burnt bread in her wake.
"Uh...best of luck?" Sora blurted out, a split-second to late. "That kind of sucks. Wish we could help her and her reality out." He then brought his hand over his heart. "Also, 'Vanitas'? Is that something we should be worried about?"
"One problem at a time, hun." Kairi advised, putting a comforting hand over his shoulder.
No sooner had she said that, was reality wracked once more, two new fugitives from time appearing. Unlike Ellea and Orion, these two appeared on opposite sides of the room, and in very different intervals. The first was a beautiful and strong-looking woman with shortly cropped hair, coloured dark blue with some striking streaks of red along her bangs. The other was a lanky and cocksure young man with shortly and neatly cut blond hair, but with a fringe of spikes up front, jagged like lightning bolts.
As both newcomers went to speak, Kairi held her hands up, interrupting them. "Please, we know you're from the future and you're trying to prevent some kind of nebulous disaster. Just, give us your names and who your parents are, so we can move one quickly."
The girl nodded, almost proud in her demeanor. "As expected, even in youth, you're forward thinking and prepared, mother. My name is Princess Cascadia, of the Radiant Garden. I am the daughter of two of the most splendid women the universe as ever known – the Luminous Queen, Kairi Ralleone, and her paramour, the Grand Keyblade Master Aqua!"
Kairi's lips split into a delirious smile, her cheeks turning a colour a few shades off of her hair colour.
"Me and Aqua? Aqua and I? The two of us? Really? Really?" Unlike, Sora, she wasn't even attempting to restrain her joy in the scenario. If she couldn't have a future with Sora, she would be more than happy to have one with Aqua. Though one question snapped her out of the reverie. "Wait, wait... how does that work? I mean, mechanically, how would that work."
Sora snapped his fingers in a knowing gesture. "Oh, I know. Aerith told me once. It's real simple, there's a potion that gives a girl a functioning -"
"No no no! Stop! I don't want to know!" Kairi sort of did want to know; it sounded like she could have fun with a potion like that. But this really wasn't the time and place to deal with this. Next time she visited Radiant Garden, however...
"What about you?" Riku turned and confronted the blond boy while Kairi was stuck with the less-than-pure thoughts in her head. "Who are your folks?"
"My name is Raizen," the youth said while leaning against the wall, eyes darting across the various future children. He then pointed to Sora, "That would be dad over there, as for mom, her name is Relena, but... well, right now, you guys would probably know of her as the Nobody Larxene."
Everyone, absolutely everyone, stopped dead in their tracks to stare at Raizen and his wild, wild claim. And no one was in greater shock than Sora.
"What!? WHAAAA?" Sora still hadn't recovered his memories from Castle Oblivion, but from what he had gleamed from what Riku had told him, Larxene was easily one of the vilest and cruelest individuals he had ever crossed paths with. Him and Riku having a future child seemed more plausible than this. "How? How!? Did she drug me or something?"
Riku chuckled, finding Sora's horrified reaction a welcome diversion. "Hey, that's no way to talk about your future wife, Sora."
"Shut up, Riku! This is not funny!"
"What happened to 'having chemistry with everyone'?"
"Yeah, well, imagine how you'd feel if someone claimed they were your child by Malef-" In an instance, Riku charged Sora, clamping a hand over his mouth and shooting him a dangerous look.
"One more word out of you and I'll rob you of the ability to have any of these theoretical children!" He growled in a low, dark voice. Silently, Sora gave him a 'told ya so look', causing Riku to pause and relent. "...Point taken, though."
"Okay, that's the last straw!" Misha stomped forward, looking antagonistic towards Raizen. "You are most certainly a fake, with that absurd story of Sora and...ugh, Larxene." She seemed physically ill just saying the name. Justified, considering who she claimed her mom was.
"I agree," came Alton, supporting the other blond. "These combinations and stories are growing more and more unlikely by the second," he cast a look in Cascadia's direction, "after all, everyone knows Master Aqua is ace."
"Clearly you've received some bad information, then." The blue-haired girl countered, staring Alton down.
"What can I tell you, lady, love sometimes blooms in the most unlikely of places." Raizen finished the distance between him and Misha, taking on a cold and steely gaze.
Alton turned and glared daggers at the other blond boy. "Back away from her, or I'll make you regret it."
"Oh please!" Kyrei came forth, butting in to this tangled mess of an argument. "You're only so protective of her because your future parents don't conflict with each other." Alton coughed and flushed, looking a little flustered at that accusation. "I was here before anyone else, that should give me more say in who's right and who's not."
"Whoa, hold it there." Lontu now joined the fray. "This isn't concert tickets – first come, first serve don't apply here."
"We should fight for the right of our existence." Orion offered, as both he and Ellea moved in. "The most worthy should possess the strongest heart with the strongest desires."
Ellea nodded in agreement with her beau. "And with our love, there is no way Orion and I can fail."
"I'm willing to bet on my strength against any of you." Said Cascadia, sizing up the competition.
Misha only scoffed. "Resorting to violence to resolve everything. How barbaric."
And so it went, on and on. The powder keg had been lit, leading to this cacophonous, chaotic spiral of an argument, each future child shouting and arguing, growing louder and louder in the need to be overhead by the others and to assert dominance. Sora, Kairi, and Riku all spoke up in an attempt to maintain order and peace, but their voices were drowned out by the eight bickering children before them. Not helping the matter was the fact that the time rifts were still appearing, depositing more future strangers into the living room, each of them also shouting in a bid to be heard and legitimized. And the appearances only seemed to increase in rapidity – whether just naturally or being spurned on by the heated and tense environment.
The various other other future children included a young girl with red hair, blue eyes, gills on her neck, and fins where her ears would be; a young woman dresses in icy blues with striated, dual-coloured hair of dark red and white-blonde; a boy with richly tanned skin, brown hair, and smelling of the exotic spices of Agrabah; a young man in dark pink with dark hair and mis-matched eyes, green and purple; a teenaged girl with light brown hair, topped with a crown of woven flowers; a proud and fierce looking man with light pink hair; another woman with dark blue hair, this one much shorter than Cascadia and with a sweet disposition; a girl with dusky teak-coloured skin, and dark red hair with a pair of rabbit ears poking out from beneath it; and finally...just Sora but with dark blond hair like Roxas's.
The arrival of these children only further heightened the tension in the room, driving things to an even more extreme point. The shouting match raged on, and nothing Sora, Kairi, or Riku could do could abate it. Things had gotten out of control, and there was no containing this anymore.
Eventually, things crossed the final line, as all the children decided now was the time to use physical force.
Each of the children summoned a Keyblade, because of course every single last one of them had a Keyblade.
"Okay, that's it..." Riku grumbled below the clamour, before rising above it. "Everyone! SHUT THE HELL UUUUUUUP!"
Summoning Way to the Dawn in his outstretch arm, Riku thrust it into the sky, and unleashed a wave of darkness energy, buffeting the clamorous clan of children and stunning them into silence.
"Keep your mouths shut for five minutes and listen to me!" He threateningly bellowed, pointing his Keyblade at them. Sure, each of them were Key Bearers and they outnumbered him, but he was certain he could take them on if it came to that. "There's something Kairi said a while back that has been bothering me. So, what I'm gonna do is ask you all one question, and I want every last one you to respond at the same time, got it? Okay... What is this disaster in your future that you're trying to prevent?"
"My parents obtain future knowledge about their lives, who they marry, and what their kids are like, and this knowledge is threatening my existence."
Indeed, all present had answered in a chorus. Sure, their choice of words were slightly different from person to person, but the basic response was all the same. Sora and Kairi were both gobsmacked by the revelation, looking at each other in disbelief. Slowly, very slowly, a look of realization spread upon the children, as Kyrei and Misha and Alton et al came to learn just what they had done, and how bankrupt their mission was in the first place.
Riku, only grew angrier with the confirmation. "And how do you think your parents obtained this future knowledge, huh? HUH? Maybe, just maybe, it's because you're all idiots who jumped the gun, traveled in time, freely divulged information about the future, and created a stable FUCKING time loop!"
A general murmur or shame and embarrassment rose up from the collective, all withering under Riku's baleful gaze and fiery speech.
"Now, all of you, go back to your own futures, never travel to the past ever again, and think about what you've done!"
Defeated and ashamed, all the children began to pop out of time, back to the future, assaulting the room with the stench of burning bread. One-by-one, they all vanished in short order, eventually leaving only one, Kyrei, the first of the children to arrive.
"I'm really sorry, everyone. I can't help but feel this is all my fault." The girl apologize, head tilted down at the floor. "Merlin did always say never to meddle with time travel... guess I should have paid more attention to his lessons."
"It's not your fault, Kyrei." Sora said, trying to cheer the girl up. "I mean, you coming back was kind of...not smart, but there's no way you're responsible for the others coming, and – wait, Merlin is still alive?"
Kyrei turned away, scratching the back of her head. "Oh jeez, I need to stop talking... How many times can I screw up the timeline in one day?" She gave a nervous laugh, as Sora and Kairi shared a look with each other. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, then. Or... maybe, goodbye forever?"
"I don't know about that, Kyrei." Kairi offered. The young girl turned to face her. "If we learned anything today, it's that the future is unwritten, anything can happen, but it's all equally possible and it's all valuable. I don't think your future will vanish so easily." Kyrei smiled slightly at that.
Sora stepped up to Kairi, throwing an arm over her. "When you get back, I want you to do one thing, 'kay? Give us, give your folks, a big hug and tell them how much you love them."
"Can do!"
"And then give one to Uncle Riku, too!" Sora added in jest, earning a scoff from the silver-haired boy.
Now Kyrei was smiling grandly, like she did when she first arrived. Like her father would. "At the very least, I'm glad I got to meet the two of you like this, at this point in time." The girl waved goodbye, and then vanished herself, ending the scourge of the future children.
Sora and Kairi breathed a sigh of relief, while Riku could only shake his head in frustration.
"You know, undoubtedly, all those kids were your guys's. And you know why? Because like, you, there were all complete idiots!" The teen glowered and huffed, before turning to exit. "I'm done for the day, Imma hit the gym and blow off some steam." Riku stomped out of the house, slamming the door forcibly behind him.
For their part, the young lovers let Riku's insults roll off them, too mentally exhausted to care. Sora plopped down on the couch, Kairi coming soon after, settling down on his lap.
"Well, that was a thing that happened," Sora joked wearily. Kairi only let loose a half-smile. "Something wrong, Kai?"
She leaned backwards, resting her head against Sora's chest. "I don't know, just...seeing all those kids and hearing about all these people we could potentially be with... don't you find it overwhelming? Confusing?"
"I guess." Sora shrugged. "I mean, I was never one to think too too far ahead into the future. I always take things one step at a time. So, this probably won't change much."
"Hmm, I guess I'm the same. I never thought too hard about...us, our future, but I guess I sorta took our relationship for granted. That we would always be together. Suppose that's pretty childish of me..."
"I think it's really sweet, actually." Sora said, causing Kairi to look up at him. "That you always had such faith in me, in yourself, in us. And I know when you want something really badly, you'll never give up until you get it. You're unstoppable." The brunet threw his arms around his girlfriend and pulled her closer into his lap and chest. "And even if we don't end up together, and we find love elsewhere, that's okay, too. Because I know, without a doubt, we'll always be friends, no matter what."
"I love you, Sora," Kairi said, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. "And I believe that, too." Sora beamed brightly, gently stroking her glossy red hair. "But...just one thing, I want you to promise. If we somehow do end up together, and we do have kids, we're not naming a daughter 'Kyrei'. I want to avoid this whole mess again, if at all possible."
Sora burst out in laughter. Yeah, she didn't have to ask twice.
"Agreed!"
Much like "The Wig" this fic was inspired by an errant thought, this one being about that one Fire Emblem game (I have never played FE before), the one with Lucina. I know the plot involves children from a bad future traveling back in time to avert a disaster, which is a fun little idea. I wanted to adapt that to Kingdom Hearts but didn't want to invest time into a dramatic story, so I figured I'd put it into a little comedic, one-off. Just don't think too hard about how the time travel is suppose to work in this story, it's not important, and it's not suppose to make sense.
And now we can see all the various peoples Sora (and to a lesser extent) Kairi can be shipped with. Sora goes with all the people!
Anyone have any thoughts on our various future children? Any specific one you liked? Would you like to see any of them appear again in any of my future works? Does anyone have any guesses as to the parentage of the gauntlet of children who appeared at the end? Be sure to leave a Review or a Private Message and share your thoughts, I'd be happy to hear from my readers.
Enjoy, and take care, everyone!