AN: Prompt 96 - "in the storm". I don't own the characters - Square Enix does. I just play with them.
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Rain pounded down outside, making the window panes rattle in their frames. The sign outside the bar swung on creaky hinges, just legible whenever lightning lit up the sky. Seventh Heaven, it was called. Named after the bar where Tifa Lockhart, previous owner, had worked in her youth. Only one customer remained inside, shivering at the thought of going outside in the storm. It wasn't closing time yet, but Kairi, the manager, knew that nobody else would be coming in tonight. She flipped the sign on the window round to "Closed", poured herself a drink, and sat down next to her customer, a girl named Olette. Not the Olette that had lived in Twilight Town with Roxas, but her namesake, Sora's daughter. It was a sign of how much time had passed - the girl was twenty-two, and Kairi herself was in her forties.
"How's Sora these days?"
"Dad? He's ok. Keeps himself to himself since Mom died."
"You tell him he's welcome here any time."
"I will. He won't come, though. Hardly ever leaves the house these days." Olette looked up at Kairi, two sets of blue eyes meeting. "What was he like, years ago, before I was born? He won't ever talk about the past."
"Did he ever tell you the story of Kingdom Hearts?"
"No... what's that?"
"It sounds more like a fairy tale now, or perhaps the imaginings of an old woman." Kairi grinned, Olette shook her head.
"You're not old, Kairi."
"That's what I keep telling her." The man who appeared from the kitchen was tall and skinny, with a shock of red hair. Kairi's other half, Axel. He joined them, pulling a protesting Kairi onto his lap.
"So, about this Kingdom Hearts thing..." Olette prompted.
"Let me tell you the story of a group of friends, two boys and a girl, and the darkness they fought." Kairi's voice took on a mystical air, something that had the power to make everybody stop and listen. She could tell some wild stories when prompted, but Olette had the feeling this one would surpass them all. "The world they lived in was invaded by shadow creatures called Heartless. Darkness enveloped everything they knew, broken only by thousands of pairs of yellow eyes shining out brightly. Nothing worked against these creatures, apart from a mystic, magical weapon called the Keyblade. One of the boys was chosen to be the legendary Keyblade Master. He was born to it, maybe. They never knew."
Olette listened, spellbound, as Kairi related the tale. The descriptions were vivid, it felt as though you were really there, seeing the worlds and fighting the Heartless.
"The girl, one of the seven Princesses of Heart, was kidnapped by Maleficent, held hostage. It was thought she held the key to Kingdom Hearts. The other boy was tricked into fighting on the side of the darkness, acquiring his own Keyblade. He fought the Keyblade Master, eventually plunging the dark Keyblade into the boy's chest. This had some unexpected consequences that weren't discovered until later, but it did turn the Keyblade Master into a Heartless, the very creature he had been fighting to eradicate. His loyal companions, Donald and Goofy, did not recognise him in this form, and probably would have killed him if the princess had not awoken. She knew him, immediately, and managed to restore his heart to its rightful place, changing him back to a human. The evil Maleficent was defeated, and the castle, Hollow Bastion, destroyed."
Kairi paused, taking a sip of her drink. Olette waited impatiently, sensing somehow that this was not the end of the story. "What happened next?"
"The next part of the story begins in a place called Twilight Town, where a boy named Roxas lived. In the forest nearby was a mansion, rumoured to be haunted. When he went to investigate, Roxas was attacked by strange beings called Nobodies. They form from the remnants left over when a Heartless is made."
Kairi went on to describe how Organisation XIII used the Nobodies and the Heartless, the fight between them and the heroes, and how some of the Organisation had their hearts restored.
"Yeah, one of them is sitting in this room right now." At Axel's remark, Olette's eyes widened, and she looked intently at the couple.
"I've been trying to figure out who's who, but I didn't expect that..."
"What do you think, so far?"
"Out of you two, I think Kairi is the Princess of Heart, and you were probably the Nobody, Axel."
"Right so far."
Kairi continued the story, explaining what happened to Roxas and Naminé, but deliberately leaving out the name of the Keyblade Master. Olette, though, had worked it out.
"Dad was the Keyblade Master, wasn't he?"
"He was. It made him grow up very quickly, and I think sometimes he resents that. He lost his teenage years to those fights, and although he saved the world, many worlds, I think he lost something of himself. Don't push him to talk about it, Olette."
"Wasn't there an Olette in Twilight Town, with Roxas?"
"There was, yes. You're named after her. She was one of Roxas's best friends, after all."
"Hard to believe it's all true, that it really happened."
"Ask Cloud, or Leon, or Yuffie. They were all there, too. Actually, I think Yuffie still has some photographs. I'll see if I can get her to dig them out for you."
"Thanks."
It had been a long story, long enough for the storm to have passed and the rain to have stopped. Olette gathered her bag and coat, thanked Kairi for telling her the story, and left. Axel wrapped his arms tighter around Kairi, kissing her softly on the side of her neck. "Nobody spins a tale quite like you, my love."
"Spins a tale?" Kairi was indignant. "It's all true and you know it."
"I know. It's the way you tell it, as though everything was destined to happen the way it did."
"Maybe it was. We'll never know, will we?"
AN: The review button wants you to click it.