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Sora and Kairi
Changing

The waves washed over the shore, leaving scraggly lines of foam to decorate the sun kissed beaches of the islands. Sora watched as the little sand castle he had made melted into mush, leaning back over the bent paopu tree and sighing moodily.

With Donald and Goofy gone, it was rather boring to be home. Somewhere deep down, he wished he could still be out there, fighting heartless and defeating nobodies, and maybe saving a world or two, or even three. But he was old enough to know that the desire stemmed from his own childishness. While it was fun to entertain, he had morals and resolutions to stick to. His experiences with Hercules at the coliseum had taught him that much. Still, he didn't feel like a hero, now that he was once again trapped here. It felt oddly euphoric, thinking back to the old days. Making a raft seemed like the stupidest thing to do now...

He didn't hate himself for it, though. It had been an interesting and memorable adventure. He was just objectifying it, like a good adult should have, which was what he was, or was becoming.

It was hard work mulling over every little thing in his head. If he had had a monster or two to give him pressure, he might not have been bothered as much. Now, though, it gave him a monstrous headache, which was how his little reverie had started in the first place, come to think of it.

"Sora...?"

He turned around. Kairi traipsed the wooden bridge, still in her school uniform, her schoolbag hanging behind her back. She smiled and waved, striding up to him and sat above his spot, dangling her legs lazily over his shoulder. "I thought I'd find you here, again," she said quietly, looking at the same sunset which he had been gazing at all afternoon. "They were looking for you earlier, Tidus and Wakka..."

Sora shrugged, closing his eyes and listening to her voice. Since he had come back, he and Riku had had to start regular schooling once more. He could no longer apply universal theory to these different applications. There was an infinite gap between the basics of algebra and the manipulation of the light in one's own heart. All the more reason to wish he was there.

"Sora?" Kairi called again, kicking his shoulder lightly to break him from his trance. He rolled his head back, taking an upside-down view of her face, "Yeah?"

She giggled, covering her mouth as she did so. "You never change. I'm glad, Sora..." The shared a warm smile, and without warning Kairi hopped off of the tree, walking over to the water's edge, and kicking a pebble into the water. He watched her feel through a small stack of tall grasses, and when she let out another little laugh, he stood up and glanced at her cupped up hands. She walked over to him, slowly revealing a tiny little mouse, which looked around fearfully. "You miss them, don't you?" she murmured, a little happiness and sadness mixed together, though the overall effect was positive. Sora nodded, petting the little creature and taking it in his own hands.

"Yeah," he said simply, his expression vague and distant, as though he were thousands of miles away. Kairi's cheeks turned a very subtle pink, and she fidgeted in her attempt to pretend that nothing was wrong, for Sora's gaze was locked directly into hers. Eventually, he knelt down on the ground, releasing the mouse, which scurried about and down the side of the ridge.

"When we were separated, when Riku and the King locked themselves in the realm of darkness," he started, looking at the sunset once more with a vary vacant face. "what were you thinking about?"

She thought for a long time. She could hardly remember that far back, and yet the feelings were just as strong now than they were then, if not stronger. "You, I guess..." To this, Sora burst out in laughter.

"I know that much. What about me? Were you happy to see me? Sad to leave? Hopeful I would come back?" He took another step forward, glancing at Kairi as though to beckon her to his side. "Me?" he mumbled hesitantly. "There was nothing more I wanted than to come back to the islands and live with you and Riku." He stared at her seriously, though lightly.

"Well," she replied, meeting his gaze, "a lot of things. I was worried about what might happen to you. I wondered, how long would I have to wait for you to come back for me? Actually, I was a little disappointed," she giggled again, more at Sora's dismayed expression than at her own humor. "I was actually hoping you might drop out of the sky, pick me up, and fly me to every world out there, maybe introduce me to your other friends. Riku tells me you've made many since that day..." She gazed at him distantly, in that same way he had moments ago.

"But this is fine," she finished softly, resting her head against his and sighing. "As long as we're together, I know I'll be okay, because you'll protect me, right Sora? And if we get separated, then I know you'll come for me and save me again." Sora blinked, a little surprised. She had been thinking along the same lines as had he, sharing his sentiments, his thoughts, and his desires.

"Kairi...?"

She looked up at him, still smiling dreamily.

"Is it alright if I," he paused, surveying her carefully. "Would you mind if I changed just a little bit...? For you?" Kairi exhaled, and then stopped breathing entirely. She had gone very pink now, and had backed away slightly.

"Sora?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't mind... After all, you've changed a lot since you fell from the sky..." He stroked her chin absentmindedly, finding it harder and harder to break eye contact. "I liked you for who you were then, and I... I like you for who you are now. And I know I'll like you for whoever you're going to be. So I hope you don't mind if I change just a little bit..."

She nodded very slowly, going from pink to red, and moving forward again, into his unsteady arms. Kairi embraced his chest, pressing her ear against his heart, and hearing it beat. It was then that she started breathing again, gasping for air in a heavy pant.

They held one another for a very long time. The sky became darker and darker, hues of orange melting into shades of red. At some point Sora sat down, and Kairi lay in his arms, holding him, feeling him, and embracing him. And then, as the sky turned purple, the twilight setting about them, she shook her head and mumbled incoherently, "No... No, you won't..."

He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She sat up and shook her head again, her eyes aglow with a strange fire he had never seen before. Out of curiosity he took her hand, squeezing back as she squeezed his. "Kairi?"

"...you won't change, Sora... You'll always be the Sora I fell in love with a long time ago."

He smiled weakly, leaning backwards slightly, perhaps out of nervousness, while she pressed inward, wrapping her arms around his neck, and giving him a gentle, experimental kiss.

Sora watched her, unsure of how to proceed. She giggled once more, more to relax herself than anything else. "See?" she whispered, "You haven't changed one bit..." A firm hand curled around her slender shoulders, Sora grasping her gently in his arms. She shivered slightly, watching his fingers explore her physique with a certain ravenous tenacity. Then he bent down, pushing her face ever so subtly into hers, and kissing her back.

This time, however, she parted her lips, groaning while Sora bit her tongue playfully. Grinning devilishly, she pushed him over, shrieking with delight as they fell into the water below. Sora lay now on his back, his own school uniform soaked, but his eyes gazing back into hers, sharing a strange sort of magic between the two.

"Kairi?" he murmured, wiping one of her wet hairs from his cheek.

She turned a shade of crimson now, her whole body trembling. "Yes?" she answered.

"I love you..."

She felt her heart skip several beats, and fell upon him, hugging him as tightly as she could. "Don't ever leave me, Sora," she begged, as though afraid he might disappear again at any moment. "And if we do get separated, promise you'll come back to me, Sora. Promise me you'll never stop thinking about me. You'll do that, won't you?"

He nodded breathlessly, pulling her towards him again, as they lip-locked passionately. He felt his wrist in her palm, sliding down from her back to her bottom. They eyed each other again, Kairi nodding with a determination on her face that he had never seen before.

"I love you, Kairi," he said again.

"I love you too... Sora..."

And they plunged into a realm beyond their own comprehensions, floating side by side in an everlasting fantasy, or perhaps reality, it didn't matter.

"I love you forever, Kairi," Sora said one last time.

Kairi awoke with a start, jerking her head about alertly. The room was dark, the house silent. She glanced at the window, with its blinds closed, and then felt the other half of the bed. It was empty. "Sora?" she called out, expecting him to be here.

Had it been a dream? But no, surely there couldn't have been a dream that had felt so real. After all, everything that had happened had... well, it just couldn't have, and yet somehow it had to have actually occurred. The clock on her bedside table read eight thirty-four, and yet it felt as though it might have been mid-afternoon.

Slipping on a particularly long and baggy shirt, she strode about her room, looking for her things. She found her school uniform, which was damp and smelled like saltwater, tucked neatly into the hamper. She also found her schoolbag, which was still a little sandy, hanging from the doorknob. Only one thing was missing, she noticed: her lucky charm, which Sora had given to her when he had come back home.

Then she felt it around her neck. It was warm from her body heat, so she hadn't noticed it. But as she bent over to inspect her back it jingled, and she pulled the chain out from under her shirt. "Sora's necklace," she muttered, staring at it as though she couldn't believe it.

Suddenly she threw her shirt off, ransacking her room for her outdoor clothes, primping herself once she had dragged them on, and sprinting out of her house. She ran towards the shore, where the little rowboats they used to get to the islands waited at the docks. Sora was there, lying on his back with his eyes closed.

She walked up to him slowly, as breathless as she had been the night before. Then, smiling happily, she lay next to him and took his hand, gazing at his sleeping face for a moment before, like him, she fell into a restful sleep. She didn't hear him wake up, or see him sit up and look at her, smiling as he ran his fingers through the air. She didn't hear the words he spoke to her while she slept. She didn't have to.

She already knew...

Commentary

I was very surprised when I felt the sudden inspiration to start writing Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. I must say I'm very happy with the way this turned out. I hope you like my first venture into the fanfiction world of Kingdom Hearts. Although I do leave the conclusion up to you, I did write this with the intention that Sora and Kairi do actually engage in intercourse. It's a purely romantic thing, though, and I don't want to splurt lust all over the walls like some other fictions do. Incidentally, this is the first time I ever decided to leave A/Ns after all of my chapters. Enjoy "Memories For The Rest Of Our Lives", and look forward to "Days To Remember Forever", a series of drabbles that take place before Kingdom Hearts I.