Hey, it's Sarah. This story takes place right at the very end of Kingdom Hearts II. It's just something that I came up with, and while I never play video games, I played this one just to find out what would happen in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Oathkeeper

"W-we're back." His voice was as sweet as ever. There was a certain shyness to it, but it was full of emotion at the same time. It was the first thing he said to her, and he was trying to fight his nerves. Donald and Goofy were at his side, smiling at seeing Sora once again. His light-brown hair was drenched, and he was kneeling in the middle of the crashing waves. His clothes were dripping, but he didn't even care. His intense blue eyes matched the color of the gleaming sea, and they seemed to plunge into her heart, and she was full of joy. He fished the keychain that Kairi had given to him so long ago out of his pocket, and showed it to her. It gleamed in the light, and projected beautiful colors across it. He had kept his promise.

"You're home." Kairi replied sweetly with an honest smile. Nothing mattered as long as Sora was back. She offered her hand to help him up, and he accepted, with the Oathkeeper still in his hand. She pulled him up and embraced him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, inhaling his scent. This caught Sora by surprise, but he eventually wrapped his arms around her, too. They stood there for a minute, enjoying the moment. The sun was setting on the horizon, and beautiful colors clouded the sky. Riku interrupted the moment, and cleared his throat. Sora looked up at him and smiled. Sora and Kairi's arms slowly unraveled, and their attention was turned to Riku.

"It's good to be home," Riku exhaled. He took in the salty scent of the ocean. His long silver hair flew in and out of his face while he spoke. Only the King could tell that his heart was full of shame. He had turned to the darkness, but now he lingered in the light. He was scared of facing everyone after the actions he had taken. "It's been way too long." King Mickey was at his side, studying the emotions that projected across his face. He sensed what Riku was feeling.

"I know," Sora nodded in agreement. "Almost two years have passed by, and every second I was imagining what this day would be like." A wave of relief washed over him, similar to the waves gently tugging at his feet. He was home.

"I've missed this place a lot, too," Kairi replied, which left quizzical looks on Sora, Donald, and Goofy's faces. "It hasn't been the same without you two here. Now that you're back, everything can return to the way it was." Kairi said quietly. "It felt… empty. You know?"

"Yes, I do." Sora replied. He sounded truthful and open. "It's how I felt when I lost you both. That night... when the storm came." It was the night when he first received the keyblade. The night when he found out that his life was far from ordinary. That weapon brought both excitement and sorrow to him; even though he was always on adventures, it had taken him away from his home.

"Well," King Mickey's voice sounded over the crashing waves. "I think it's time for us to head back to the castle." Sora realized that this meant he would have to be separated from Donald and Goofy for the first time since the start of his journey. What would it be like without them there to comfort him or to cheer him up?

"So soon?" Donald asked. He looked sad, like he couldn't stand the thought of being away from Sora. After all, they had been inseparable for about two years.

"Yes, I have some important research to do." King Mickey winked at Sora. "Goodbye Sora, Riku, and Kairi. I believe we will be seeing each other soon." Donald threw himself at Sora, hugging him tightly. Sora fell against the warm sand with a soft thump. Goofy joined them, embracing Sora with all of his might.

"Bye Sora!" Goofy sniffled. Donald looked at Sora through wet eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." Sora assured the two. "We're a team. I'm sure we'll see each other soon- I need you guys!"

"Sora, I'm sure gonna miss ya!" Goofy cried out softly. Sora returned his feelings, but tried not to show it too much. He had to be strong for them.

"I'll miss you too, but our adventure isn't over," Sora explained. "It won't be long before we see each other again."

"Goodbye Sora!" Donald screeched. "Please come to visit!"

"Bye!" Riku and Kairi said together, waving into the distance as Mickey, Donald, and Goofy boarded the Gummi Ship and took off. A lonesome tear left Sora's sapphire eyes and fell to the sand, leaving a small dark spot. He quickly wiped his eyes before anyone could notice.

"Well, it looks like we're back where we started." Riku said with a laugh. "Well, I'm gonna catch up with some of the others, so I'll leave you two alone. I should check in with my family. Good night."

"Good night." Kairi replied. Sora smiled at her. It was such a reassuring smile, and it was so welcoming, so kind. Sora then remembered- he hadn't seen his mother for two years. Was she worried? Most likely she was devastated. She had no idea what kind of journeys that he had been on.

"Kairi," Sora reached out his arm and lightly rested it on her shoulder. "You know that I would love to catch up with you, but I haven't seen my family..."

"I understand," Kairi looked down at the ground. "You know where to find me, in case you want to talk."

"Right." Sora grinned at her with pure joy. Kairi was always so forgiving and understanding.

Sora's bare feet slapped the cold sand as he ran across the beach. The sunset was almost gone now, and the stars were beginning to appear. His heart raced as he ran past the docks to the shore. The memory of the events that had previously occurred flashed through his mind.

"Sora? Is it really you?"

His mother was in disbelief. It was only moments later that he realized he couldn't tell her where he'd been, or at least not any time soon. She would be worried, and most likely wouldn't allow him to go visit other worlds again, but he needed to. He was the one that the keyblade had chosen, and all of the worlds needed him.

"Where have you been, Sora!?"

He had just stared at her. He could feel his steady heart beat in his chest. He couldn't think of what to say next.

"I-I don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry."

It was all he could gather to say. It was true; he didn't want to talk about it. He couldn't talk about it.

"When you're ready to talk, I'll listen."

She was so understanding. She knew just when to back off. They sat and talked for a while. She went on about how much she had missed him. She told him stories that had happened while he was away. He could see in her eyes that she was truly happy.

Sora's mind came back to the present, and he focused on getting to the beach. Kairi was sitting with her feet slightly in the water; her auburn hair was blowing softly in the wind. Sora approached her quietly, and suddenly plopped down next to her in the sand.

"So, what have I missed?" Sora asked. The surprise of Sora's appearance made Kairi jump.

"Nothing, really," Kairi drifted off. "It's been boring with you gone. You've had greater adventures than what's happened here." Sora nodded, knowing that this was true. He had dreamed of going on adventures much like the ones he had recently been on, but it seemed unreal that it had all came true.

"Hey, do you remember when we built that raft to see other worlds?" Sora said with a laugh. "We were so excited. We thought that raft could take us anywhere." That raft was destroyed on the night of the storm, and the only remains were a few pieces of wood, here and there. Sora silently wondered what life would be like if the door to other worlds had never opened in the " Secret Place," and if they had took the raft out to sea.

"Turns out, we didn't even need the raft." Kairi smiled, and then looked down at the ground with a lonely look in her eye. Sora felt that something was wrong. He had known Kairi ever since he was little, and he knew when she was upset.

"Kairi, what's wrong?" Sora asked, sensing sadness in her normally energetic voice.

"Oh, it's nothing…" she responded, trying to cover up her sadness with a false smile.

"Kairi… you know that you can tell me anything, right?" Sora said softly, putting his hand on hers, until their fingers intertwined. "No matter what, I'm here for you."

"I know, it's just that…" she started to speak, and a small tear fell from her sparkling gray-blue eyes. "… I was just thinking that we missed out on a whole two years that we could've been spent together. I was so worried about you, Sora. You have no idea how scared I was. I was so scared that you were hurt- or worse." Sora put his arms around her, and she buried her face into his chest.

"It's okay, Kairi…" he whispered into her ear. "I'm here, I'm okay. You know that I won't go down easily." She pulled away from his grasp.

"That's true." She giggled softly, with her happiness regained.

"Kairi, I was also so worried that something would happen to you," Sora admitted with a bothered look on his face. "When I heard that Axel kidnapped you, I was so scared." As he spoke, Kairi looked up at Sora through her long eyelashes. "Kairi, if anything ever happened to you, I could never forgive myself." The sound of this made Kairi smile, and she gently rested her head on Sora's shoulder.

"You know, everyday can be like this now that you're back." Kairi said while watching the last bit of sun disappear.

"Yeah," Sora said with a dazed look on his face. "I can't believe that I'm actually back home."

"Just like you promised," Kairi turned her head to face Sora, who met her gaze.

"I could never break a promise to you," Sora stood back up and took in the relaxing ocean breeze. "You know that, Kairi." Kairi laid down right next to him, and her deep red hair fanned out over the sand.

"I just wished that I would have known that sooner," Kairi sighed and stood up to join him. "Then I wouldn't have spent so much time worrying that I had lost you…"

"You know, you should never have come to find me." Sora said in a more serious tone. "It was dangerous."

"I know," Kairi said with a saddened voice. "I'm sorry; it's just that I wasn't sure that you were coming back. I thought something had happened to you, and I just couldn't wait any longer. I should've had more faith in you."

"You put me through a lot of trouble, trying to save you." Sora chuckled. He meant it, but the way he said it was jokingly.

"So you're saying that it wasn't worth it?" Kairi jokingly pushed Sora from behind, who fell forward into the water. Kairi's jaw dropped at what she had accidentally done. "Sora! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

Kairi's apologies were interrupted when Sora leapt out of the water and hugged her, getting her all wet. "Sora!" she cried, and tried to push him away, laughing. He took her down into the water with him, and they rolled around, Kairi struggling to break free. The water was freezing, but the warmth of Sora's body made it somewhat bearable.

"That's what you get!" Sora giggled, holding her tightly so that she couldn't escape his grasp. The sun was down, and the only light was from the stars. Kairi shivered from beneath Sora's arms, as they lay in the crushing waves. Sora finally released her, but she remained close to him.

There was a moment of silence, and Sora and Kairi just gazed at the stars in the sky. He had traveled past these stars many times, but now they seemed so far away and out of reach.

"Hey, Sora?" Kairi sat up abruptly to look him in the eye.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the night of the storm, before the storm, when I told you not to ever change?"

"Of course," Sora couldn't forget it if he tried. "It was the last time I spoke to you before I went away." On his journey, it replayed several times in his head. It was what he used to remember her and her voice.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't change." Kairi glanced towards him, so that their noses were almost touching. "You're still the same as the day you left."

"Thanks," Sora replied, while standing up. Water dripped down his soaking clothes. He reached out his hand to help her up, and they made their way out of the water. They laid themselves down on dry sand, which stuck to their wet bodies. Sora scooted close to her. There was a comforting silence, and they laid there until their clothes were dry. Things were finally back to normal. Sora had no more worries. The pleasant sound of waves on the shore and the distant twinkle of the stars in the night sky slowly drifted them off to sleep.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't worry, they'll be plenty more! Make sure to comment, so I know what to fix for next time! Thank you!