I wanted to get a story out so I'd at least have something on my account besides my random, rambling profile… so I decided to write a oneshot. Hopefully I'll get my multi-chapter story out soon, but… yea, it takes time.

Summary: Terrible pain from Sora's leaving is slowly destroying Kairi's body and heart. The promise Sora made before he disappeared was the only thing keeping her alive, but now… she's beginning to forget.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it.

Never Forget

oooooo

Kairi, never forget. Your heart is in mine, and we're never truly going to be apart. I'll come back to you. I promise.

ooo Kairi ooo

He'd been gone for… who knows how long. At first, there was that beacon of hope, that confident knowing that he'd return to her and that she would be able to go on with life before all of this had happened.

But now, her life was a 'before and after' scenario. The life she wanted was the one she had before the Heartless had attacked Destiny Islands, before Riku turned away from the light, before she lost her heart, before Sora left her…

She thought she'd never forget him. His windblown, auburn hair, his beautiful, sky blue eyes… he was impossible to forget.

'No, improbable', the girl corrected herself, biting her lip in sorrow and guilt. 'If it were impossible, I—I wouldn't have forgotten him…' Bits and pieces of the memory were sliding away, slipping through her grasp like grains of sand.

Her pale violet eyes filled with hot tears as she pounded her fist into the sand. Looking up at the night sky, she called out,

"I thought I'd never forget! But now, the pain you've caused is the only thing I won't forget!" And she buried her face into her arms and cried and cried…

ooo Sora ooo

He'd been gone for… who knows how long. Ever since the Keyblade had chosen him to be its master, he felt burdened, but powerful. It was nice to be the 'chosen one', the one who could save the world without Riku overshadowing him. But the satisfaction was bittersweet.

He'd had to leave Kairi to be the Keyblade bearer. If someone had offered him a choice, a chance to take her with him, there'd be no question. Of course, Kairi would come. It would've been dangerous, yes, but he'd have his princess, speaking both metaphorically and literally, at his side. But she wasn't and wouldn't be.

But new friends, new faces, and new worlds seemed to take up the greater space in his memory, and his old life seemed to fade and waver like a dream. The pictures he held in his heart were dim and sketchy, like a ripple on the surface of water.

He thought he'd never forget her. Her silky, crimson hair, her gentle, lilac eyes… she was impossible to forget.

'No, improbable', he corrected himself with a sigh; it was a sigh full of sadness, responsibility, and just plain, deadened weight.

A sudden picture flashed into his mind, as if a movie had suddenly unfurled in front of his eyes. A small girl with short red hair scribbled something with white chalk on a wall made of stone. A young boy with messy brown locks stood next to her, a grin on his face. Finished with her picture, the girl backed away and smiled at it. Two stick figures, one boy and one girl, smiled back at their human counterparts; a small, star-shaped object, a Papou fruit, was in between their hands.

Sora smiled sadly at the memory. True, the Papou fruit was said to bind their destinies together forever, but what was the point if… if…

If you lose this, I'll never forgive you!

That's what she had said, pressing that small, lucky charm into his palm, her purple eyes brimming with tears. Automatically, Sora slipped his fingers into the pocket and around that warm, familiar, comforting object. Familiarity. That was a word he didn't use much.

Darkness. Now that was a word to be used. The void he had fallen into; it was complete and utter darkness, everywhere, underneath him, around him, in him.

"Kairi," Sora whispered, holding up his hand. He willed that flash of light to burst forth with all his might, willed the Keyblade to appear to take him home, to Kairi. Gritting his teeth, he searched his mind for that one memory, that one, last bit of strength…

"I want to line the pieces up. Yours, and mine."

Pieces of Kairi… pieces of Kairi's heart… warmth suddenly flowed through Sora's body, and a familiar, tingling sensation buzzed in his fingertips. All too soon, the smooth metal handle of the Keyblade materialized in his hand, and the darkness began to melt away.

"I'm coming back to finish what I started, Kairi," he said softly, staring at the sword in his hand. "I'm coming to line up your pieces, and mine, into that picture-perfect puzzle."

ooo Kairi ooo

Several hours later, Kairi lay shivering on the rain soaked, mucky sand. A light, misty rain laced her hair with tiny droplets of water, and her damp clothes clung to her frail, slender body. Clutching at her aching chest, the girl let out a small moan of fear, pain, and forgotten love.

"I want to line the pieces up. Yours, and mine."

Kairi opened her eyes, blinking away mixed raindrops and tears. Whose voice was that? It seemed so familiar, but so far away…

"I'm coming back to finish what I started, Kairi."

"H-how—how do you know my name?" Kairi whispered, her vision wavering and blurring. The wet sand suddenly didn't seem so cold, and the stars seemed just a little brighter.

"I'm coming to line up your pieces, and mine, into that picture-perfect puzzle."

"Wait…Sora?" There was no answer. Biting her lip in enraged pain, Kairi cried out in frustration. That voice and his name, his face, had suddenly clicked into a whole piece, a whole picture. Sora.

But he was gone. That place in her heart where there was a hole felt a little better, but it was still empty. So he really is gone then… Kairi thought.

"I never did forget, Sora… you were there all along…" she whispered, and closed her eyes gently, wanting the cold rain to numb her body, her mind, and her heart. Forever.

(No, not the end!)

oooSora ooo

The warmth was fading. He could feel it.

"Faster, faster!" He urged the Keyblade. The sword was blazing, burning white hot, and hurtling through the darkness, and it was everything he could do to keep holding onto it. Sora now knew that all along, he hadn't really ever left Kairi. Her body, yes, was on Destiny Island, but her heart was inside him.

A tiny pinprick of light glimmered on the horizon, and Sora bit his lip, willing the Keyblade to speed up, even though he was already traveling faster than the speed of light. The dot sparkled and swelled into a picture; a dark sky speckled with white stars overlooked a quiet, peaceful island. As he grew closer, a beach and lulling, crashing waves merged into view. Sora's eyes suddenly focused on a dark shape lying on the sand… a Heartless? No, it was a body, a girl's body. The girl's flaming red hair burst into color, and without a doubt, Sora knew. It was her, Kairi.

"Kairi," he said, clenching his fist tighter around the handle of the Keyblade. "Hold on… I'm coming…" Suddenly, the Keyblade vanished, and Sora tumbled headfirst through the opening onto gritty sand, dampened by a light, misty rainfall.

ooo Kairi ooo

Kairi… hold on… I'm coming…

Her chest heaved weakly with rapid, shallow breaths, and her skin was paler than moonlight. A small, golden, star-shaped fruit lay on the ground next to her wrist, and she tried to move her fingers around it, but even that simple move was beyond her.

Kairi…

That voice again. Kairi knew it; it was so warm and comforting.

"An angel…?" she murmured, her voice so soft she could barely hear herself. The wind blew a single strand of scarlet hair across her face, and the rain misted her vision. A sketchy figure was coming towards her, their footsteps muffled by the sand. It was an ethereally handsome boy, his auburn hair windswept and his piercing blue eyes locked on her face.

"Kairi," the boy said, kneeling down beside her. He took the Papou fruit and wrapped her fingers around it, taking her hands in his own.

His hands are so warm… and his voice, so familiar, Kairi thought.

"I—I know you…" she whispered gently, trying to hold to the vision. Afraid the boy might slip away if she closed her eyes, she said, "Are you from a dream?" The boy smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes; only great sadness and pain reflected in them.

"No, I'm not from a dream."

"You have to be!" she cried, several tears slipping down her cheeks. "I know that if I close my eyes, you'll slip away from me again!" Sobbing, Kairi clutched his hand to her chest, her tear-filled eyes locked on the boy's blue orbs.

"Kairi… I'm not a dream. I promise," he said, his voice confused and sad.

"I promise. Kairi, I won't lose it! I swear I won't!"

"You'd better not; if you lose this, I'll never forgive you!"

A shiver tingled down her spine, and Kairi whispered, "I-if you lose this, I-I'll never f-forgive you…" and she tried to smile. Sora blinked, and quickly reached into his pocket, revealing that old lucky charm Kairi had given to him so long ago.

"Yea, I still have it," Sora said, placing it in her hand. Although a bit hesitantly, Kairi reached out and took it, in the process dropping his hand. Thunder crashed, and now the rain was pouring down in pelting turrets.

"I…I just don't remember. I know you're not real… my mind, it's playing tricks on me, trying to make me think that you're the boy that I forgot… the one from my memories…" her eyes closed and her hair, heavy with moisture, fell across her cheeks. Sora bit his lip, a burning sensation in his chest.

"Kairi!" he cried desperately. "What can I do to make you remember?" Kairi closed her eyes, rain and tears washing her face a pale silver color. Sora picked up the small, frail body and began walking down the beach. Each step he took, sand clung to his feet, making it difficult to keep moving. A small, dark blotch on a wall of rock came into his line of vision, and Sora kept his eyes focused on it, knowing that one little cave could be the thing to save Kairi.

"We're here," he said gently, laying Kairi's body against the wall. A scribbled chalk drawing of two little kids, a boy and a girl, smiled down at them. Kairi looked up at the picture, and suddenly, pieces of her life flowed back. She closed her eyes and let them go…

"Do you really think there are other worlds out there?" a boy with silver hair asked in a deep voice. He turned to his two companions, another boy and a girl.

"Of course!" the girl said, giggling. The brunette turned to her, laughing also, but his face was blurry and Kairi couldn't make out his features.

"Then why were we put on this dull one?" the silver-haired boy sighed.

"There are… o-other worlds then…" Kairi whispered. Sora gripped her hand and nodded, watching her face.

"On your mark, get set, go!" the girl cried, her flaming red hair slapping against her cheeks as she jumped up and down. Her two friends raced down the beach, pushing their limits to go faster and faster.

"Come—on—" one boy grunted, his auburn bangs falling into his eyes.

The two boys drew closer and closer together until they were neck and neck—then as they were about to reach her, they stopped running, and the girl—no, it was her, Kairi—blinked and that's when everything froze.

The beach and the crashing waves faded away, and the boy with silver hair smiled at her, waved, and disappeared. The scenery was now just a page of blinding white, and it was just her in that vast void of nothingness.

"Kairi!" it was that auburn haired boy.

"Who are you?" she called, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "I—I can't see your face." The boy drew in closer to her, and she saw eyes the color of a cloudless sky. He took her hands and drew them to his chest.

"You know who I am, Kairi," he answered, his voice teasing and playful. "You'll remember, soon, I promise." And he dropped her hands and walked away.

Kairi opened her eyes, and saw those same warm, blue eyes set in Sora's tanned face. His lips were curved in a relieved smile.

"You're the boy…" she said, realization dawning on her. Sora nodded, confirming her hypothesis.

"I knew you were in pain, Kairi," he said. He placed his right hand over his heart and gave her a lopsided grin. "Your heart's in mine, remember?" Never forget.

"Of course," she replied, warmth flooding her body. "I think… that I knew the whole time." Sora just smiled and took her hands in his own, pulling them to his chest, just like in the dream.

"Kairi, I…" Sora began, his voice husky and deep with emotion, and his cheeks pink. Kairi tilted her face upward and her stomach swooped up and down on a wild roller coaster ride. Heated passion dizzied her until Sora's lips were pressed firmly on her own.

Smiling, Sora broke the kiss and looked into Kairi's violet eyes. Tapping her nose gently with his finger, he said,

"Kairi, I told you, never forget, your heart is in mine, and we're never truly going to be apart. And I came back to you. I promised I would."

Kairi kissed Sora again, gently this time. "Sora, I'll never forget."

The End

Well, I hope that was good enough for you guys... (sigh) writing is tough, but fun! Please review, and be kind, because this is my first story. (I also never get why writers put 'R&R' at the end, because they've already read it... why should they read it again, and then review?) So yea... review!

Peace, luvs,
--Alyx -the RainWisher-