This is a bit of a different speed for me. I usually don't like fics that use original plots but aren't comedy, as they are either way to cheesy or just feel like a wasted opportunity to write something real. However, I was struck with inspiration in the form of some fan art, and I decided that writing this would be like a massive character exercise that would ultimately better me as an author. Let it be known that there is actually a plot outside of the character issues we see in this chapter.

Anyway, I'll stop talking and let you read the stupid thing.

Normal Life

Chapter 1: First Days

Kairi's first day was an interesting one in that absolutely nothing was known about it. As close as anyone could figure, she was a few weeks old when she turned up on the Mayor's doorstep. She had been fast asleep in a thick cloth, apparently home woven from assorted materials. There was a note sitting next to her, which only read 'Protect Kairi'.

It had been a rather dark evening, shortly after a thunderstorm. The mayor's wife had stepped out to see if any damage had been done when she found the baby. The child had red hair, almost exactly like her own. The girl could have easily passed off as the mayor's daughter. And so Kairi was taken in as the mayor's daughter. There had been brief discussion between the husband and wife, but they decided that whoever Kairi really belonged to, they had chosen them for a reason. They had been wanting a child anyway, but had discovered that, due to medical complications, it was impossible.

Of course, there was the message: 'Protect Kairi'. It could have simply been the parent's way of telling them her name, but something about the use of the word 'protect' seemed to call for a protection above and beyond the norm. And so Kairi was a sheltered child for her first few years. She didn't run around and play with other children. She didn't go swimming off the beach. She stayed inside, or in the impressive back yard of her father's estate (which in itself took up a good deal of land inside of the Island's most private neighborhood). She had one good friend, who happened to live across the street; the girl was daughter of a close friend of mayor's wife.

Namine was one of the most timid girls ever known to man. She was shy to the point that she would nearly faint upon meeting strangers, and would always flee or hide behind someone familiar if she happened to remain conscious. However, in comparison to Kairi's estimated birth date, the two were close in age, with Namine being a few months older or so. They had known each other since infancy, and Kairi was one of the few people she would open up to other than her direct relatives.

In appearance, the two girls were opposites, yet very similar. Their facial features and build were almost identical, but where Kairi was moderately tanned, Namine was frighteningly pale. Kairi's hair was red and she usually wore bright colors, where as Namine was blond, and nearly always wore pale white.

The two served to balance each other out. Kairi was outgoing and curious of almost everything, whereas Namine shrunk back at the idea of venturing out into the world without constant supervision from her parents. Not that they would have anyway: their expeditions were usually restricted to the mayor's mansion and yard, both of which took several years to fully explore before Kairi grew weary of them.

It was at six that she truly began to yearn for the outside world. It was also at six that her parents first thought it safe to leave her with a sitter. Due to the letter's request, they had always either left Kairi and Namine's house or simply not gone wherever they were supposed to be. However, as the Mayor's reelection was approaching, they were far more busy traveling, and even visiting other islands in some cases. They recruited a fine young middle-schooler with a massive amount of community service hours under her belt to be Kairi's companion. The fourteen-year-old's name was Aqua, and she and Kairi instantly took a liking to each other.

The girl's hair was blue, and she insisted that she didn't dye it. She had kind, loving eyes that would suck you in and hold you tight, whether you wanted them to or not. Aqua was also a strong young woman, who participated in various sports on the side to her community projects and near devout studying for school. However, she found much of her life being pushed aside to make room for Kairi, who became something of a younger sister. Kairi never had trouble going to sleep for Aqua at night, because the girl actually learned to sing the same lullabies the mayor's wife would use, and she read Kairi bed-time stories with the same vigor that her father would.

Needless to say, Aqua was making a killing.

Kairi became so attached Aqua that she actually invited Namine over for a sleep-over a night when the older girl was sitting. Namine had cowered at first, mortified of being left alone in a big house with no one but Kairi and a stranger, but again Aqua weaved some sort of magic through the air that quickly won the girl's trust and affection.

Then school reared it's ugly head. Kairi and Namine were starting the first grade, and Aqua was beginning her first year of high school, something she was both looking forward to and dreading. She attempted to convey the message that she wouldn't be seeing as much of them, but they didn't seem to understand.

Two nights before school was to begin, Aqua made one final visit, despite the fact that Kairi's parents were actually home that night. It did give the adults to enjoy an evening to themselves, but that isn't what we're here to talk about.

Kairi was practically bouncing off the walls of her playroom with excitement. She had been seriously looking forward to school for several weeks now.

"Tell me more about first grade, Aqua!" she demanded, running around the room as if trying to burn off what energy she hadn't expunged earlier. "Is it fun? Who's the teacher? What am I gonna learn? Are the other kids nice? Are they as old as me? I'd like it if they were younger."

"Calm down, Kairi," Aqua giggled from the center of the room, where she was seated on a rather large beanbag. "I don't know. There are a few different teachers, and I'm sure there will be kids older and younger than you."

"Is it scary?" Namine asked, sounding rather tired. She was in a beanbag about as large as Aqua's, so it was more than big enough to consume her entire form.

"I don't remember all that well," she replied. "It was a while ago, you know. I don't think it was all that scary, though. I think I had fun, and I know I made some good friends."

"Will we make good friends, Aqua?"

"I'm sure you will, Kairi. Now come and sit down, before your parents here your feet and come up here to kick me out."

Kairi obeyed, throwing herself onto a bag next to Namine's. "What are you reading us?" the red head asked as she tried to find a comfortable position.

"How about you pick tonight?" Aqua asked as Namine let out a yawn. She grinned at the blond. "You sure you you don't want to do this in the bed room?"

"I... I'm 'wake..." she murmured, sinking back into the seat and shutting her eyes.

"She is the cutest freaking thing I have ever seen..." Aqua thought briefly, smiling warmly at Namine.

"How about 'The Boy with the Magic Key'!" Kairi suggested. She still seemed to have enough energy to light Manhattan built up in her.

"You do like that one, don't you?" Aqua said as she got up and walked over to the book shelf at one end of the room. She pulled it out, already knowing where it would be. She came back over to her bag and plopped down, opening the story book.

"Once upon a time," she read. "There was a brave young boy. He had a strong heart and loved all of his friends. But one day, his two very best friends went missing. He looked everywhere for them, but they were nowhere to be found. Eventually he found out: they were on another world! But he didn't know how to get to other worlds.

"Until he found the magic key. It allowed him to travel between the worlds with ease, and soon he reached a strange, mysterious town. It was always night there, but the city lights were so blinding you wouldn't notice. The boy met all sorts of creatures there that were strange to him, yet were normal wherever they had come from; he met crickets who could talk, men with weapons larger than you can imagine, and even animals that stood on their hind legs and wore clothes. There was one explanation for all of it: magic."

Aqua looked up here. She always enjoyed Kairi's reaction of 'Wow!', no matter how many times she had heard the story. The red head was still staring at her intently, though Namine's eyes were half closed, and her mouth was hanging agar drowsily.

She continued. "The boy searched through the city, but couldn't find his friends there. So he went to the next world. It, too, was a strange place, with rooms that were either too big or too small, and people who all seemed to be a bit crazy. Again, he didn't find his friends."

About several worlds later, she looked up. Namine's head was pressed into the beanbag, her eyes closed tightly and a bit of drool running out of her mouth. Kairi hadn't seemed to notice, too focused on the story. She, too, was beginning to look drowsy though, leaning back in her seat.

"Finally the boy found both of his friends, but a great evil witch had captured them both. But the boy used his key to free them from her and defeat her once and for all. Then they went back home, traveling through all the worlds the boy had visited and saying good-bye to his new friends. When they finally got back home, the boy made sure to seal the world off, so that on one could ever hurt him or his friends ever again."

She looked up. Kairi was almost out, her arms limp on the bag and her eyes nearly shut. Aqua rose and walked over to her, sitting down. She put an arm under the younger girl, and let her head rest against her chest. She held up the book for the sleepy girl to see. "What does it say, Kairi?"

The girl looked up at the watercolor illustration of a boy and a girl, their backs to her, gazing out across the ocean as shootings stars rained down. "They... all... lived..." she murmured, her eyes closing. "Happily..."

"Ever after," Aqua whispered in her ear. Kairi's head fell to the side, and she was asleep.

-First Day of School-

Kairi's mother and father wished her good luck as she walked out the front door into the humid tropical morning. This was a really early rising time for her, and she was still half asleep. Namine, however, was awake as awake could be. She was about to ask why that was, but Namine shot off back into her house as soon as the school bus rounded the corner.

Kairi hadn't been all that scared to board the bus until Namine ran off. Now she was not only alone, but what if Namine knew something about the bus that she didn't? What if Namine's mother told her something terrible that happens when a kid gets on the bus, and she just hadn't been able to get the message over to poor little Kairi?

The bus stopped in front of the house. It towered up above her from her position on the side walk; she would have believed it was the tallest structure in any of the islands.

The door opened. A woman who was not only old, but also very mean looking, gazed down at her. Her name tag read 'Mrs. Roz'. "Hello there," she said in a voice that was perhaps the most hideous voice Kairi had ever heard. "You gonna get on?"

Kairi wanted to say no. No, she wanted to scream no and run back inside and tell her father to put the woman in jail. But instead she found herself nodding and climbing up the steps. Internally, she was screaming at herself to stop, but her body did not respond.

At the top, she turned to see a bus full of kids so occupied with talking that they probably hadn't even noticed that they were pulled up outside the mayor's mansion. She couldn't see anyone in her age group-then again, they were probably all too small to be seen over the chairs.

"Take a seat, girly," Mrs. Roz said. "We've got to get moving."

Now that Kairi was committed to the position, she felt as though the best thing to do would be avoid ticking the driver off. She ran down the isle as fast as she could, and eventually found an empty seat near the middle. She didn't even look to see who was there; she just jumped in.

The bus lurched as they started moving again. Kairi peeked around the back of the brown seat before her to get a look at the driver, and she could see the woman's eyes in the rear view mirror, looking right at her.

She let out an 'eep!' and shrunk back behind cover.

"Are you rich?"

She looked to her right, having completely forgotten that there might be someone else sitting next to her. It was a girl her age, with long brown hair that hung down to her shoulders and stuck out in a few places near her temple. She wore an orange shirt that screamed of summer. Her green eyes pierced through Kairi for some reason, looking at her with a wit and intelligence a child of her age should not have possessed.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were rich. That big house was yours, right?"

She looked behind her, as though expecting something to pounce once she was distracted. "Yeah, it was... But I'm not rich. I'm the mayor's daughter."

"Oh really?" she said. "That's cool!" The girl held out her hand. "I'm Olette. I'm starting first grade."

Kairi eyed her hand for a moment before shaking it vigorously, as children often do. "Kairi. I'm starting first grade too."

"Really cool. How old are you?"

"I'll be seven in three and a half weeks!"

"Aw! I've got to wait two months..."

Kairi grinned. "Great! I'm older than someone!"

"It's not funny!"

Kairi noticed that some older students across the isle had their backpacks off and in the floor. She pointed it out to Olette. "Maybe we should put our bags down too."

"I guess," the girl replied. "It doesn't feel good sitting and wearing it at the same time."

They dropped their backpacks to the floor, and Kairi found herself asking, "What have you got in there?"

"Just school stuff," she answered. "You know, the stuff that was on the list."

Their conversation continued for the seven minute ride to the school; Kairi's had been amongst the last stops. They pulled up outside the large, one-story building, where there were several other buses and a huge crowd of kids both Kairi's age and older. A sign somewhat blocked by students read 'Illuawa Public Elementry'. The door opened, and Mrs. Roz ushered everyone off, announcing to first-graders that there would be signs leading to their classes.

"Which teacher did you get?" Kairi asked Olette. "I'm with someone called Mrs...," she checked the card her parents had put in her pocket. "... Uh, Mouse."

"Wow, even cooler!" Olette said. "Same here!"

They walked through the throngs of children, feeling increasingly smaller as they wandered through groups of their upperclassmen. In fact, the older students were so tall that they almost got lost in the ocean, loosing their sense of direction entirely and finding the building only by luck. Inside, they found it surprisingly clear; most of the people inside were either adults or first-graders trying to find their classes. It wasn't difficult; there were plenty of people pointing the way, in addition to the signs that had been put up.

The halls felt large and somewhat unwelcoming, but only because they were unfamiliar. Kairi didn't mind so much, though. She was just relieved that she hadn't been kidnapped my Mrs. Roz.

They turned into their classroom, which was one of three first-grade rooms. Inside there were other students milling about and a woman who looked to be in her fifties or sixties. She was short (as adults went), with big ears and an obscure nose that couldn't really be described. She had big eyes that were both kind and stern, and she wore a smile across her face that was much younger than the rest of her body. She turned when she heard the two girls enter. "Hello there!" she said sweetly, with an irregularly high voice. She motioned for them to step through the threshold, which they did.

"You're Mrs. Mouse?" Kairi asked.

The woman looked slightly confused for a moment, but then smiled. "Oh, that's right. You're Kairi, aren't you? Your parents said you couldn't make it to the open house." Kairi was about to ask exactly what an open house was, but Mrs. Mouse continued, preventing her from doing so. "You can call me Minnie, dreary; that's what I told everyone else."

Kairi had always been told to refer to adults by their last name, but she didn't have time to object before the woman said, "Your name is on one of these desks. That's where you'll be sitting, okay?"

She nodded and she and Olette walked into the rows of desks. "Let's see if you're by me!" the girl said, leading Kairi to her desk. Sadly, they eventually found that Kairi was on the completely other side of the room. The red-head noticed that Namine's desk was directly behind hers, in the very back corner of the room. "Mrs. Mouse?" she asked, walking back up the the head of the room.

"Minnie, dear," she insisted.

"Uh, a friend of mine, Namine... she didn't get on the bus this morning."

Mrs. Mouse seemed to recognize the name. "Oh dear..." she looked up at the class room. Most of the students were chatting amongst themselves, or were occupied in some way. "Do hold on, I'll be right back," she said, stepping out into the hall.

Surprising that even on the first day of school, the students already knew exactly what to do once the teacher stepped out. "Well, well," a boy from the rear of the room said. He and a few others approached the two girls. "If it isn't Poor Penniless Olette."

Kairi looked between the boy and Olette in surprise. The girl only rolled her eyes and turned around. "What do you want, Seifer?"

"Nothing," the boy said. His long blonde hair stuck out from under a snow-cap, slightly covering his green eyes. "Just wanted to know how you can afford to get into this place."

"Seeing as it's a public school, it wouldn't matter even if I didn't have any money. And I have money, I'm just not a spoiled meany like you."

Kairi was having trouble processing what was going on. Seifer gave a "Hrmp," before turning and walking back into the group of boys again.

"W-what was that-?" Kairi began, but Olette cut her off. "He's just mean. His parents are the richest people in my neighborhood; my dad is the poorest."

Kairi wasn't liking where this was going. "Just your dad?"

"My mom left a couple years ago. She and my dad both used to drink a lot (Kairi didn't understand what that meant), and she eventually just left. Dad's pretty much stopped, but he's not doing so well..."

Kairi was about to ask for clarification when Minnie walked back in. "Namine's mother is bringing her," she told the red-head. "She just got a bit scared; she isn't the first to run away from the bus on her first day." (A/N: Yeah, I would know...) She looked up at the rest of the class. "Alright everyone, please go to your desks..."

As Kairi took her seat, she noticed that a chair other than Namine's was empty. It was the desk to her left, which the only desk that was adjacent to her other than Namine's and another one in front of, her which was occupied by a girl she didn't know. She leaned out of her chair to read the name, but Mrs. Mouse started taking and she leaned back into her chair. She looked over at Olette across the room, who looked very deterred by something...

-Lunch-

Mrs. Mouse lead them all to the cafeteria a bit past noon. It's size intimidated Kairi, but not nearly as much as it intimidated Namine; the girl had practically been glued to her side since they left the class, and now she looked like she was going to faint again.

"Namine, it's not all that bad," she said as the two sat down at the designated table for girls in their class. "Really, there's nothing to be scared of."

Namine didn't reply.

Olette joined them a few moments later. She had purchased lunch, whereas the other two had brought them from home. As Namine had missed the introductions at the beginning of class, Olette decided to introduce herself. "Hi! I'm Olette!"

Namine again didn't reply, instead sliding on the bench even closer to Kairi. "Namine!" Kairi giggled. "Really, she's okay!" She looked at Olette. "She's just really shy is all."

"Oh," said Olette. She scooted over slightly to indicate she didn't have any intention of touching Namine. The blond detached herself from Kairi and sat up on her own, opening her lunch box carefully as if it was a bomb. She kept glancing out the corner of her eye at Olette. The real danger, however, was across the table, where another girl accidentally tapped Namine's foot with her own.

The Namine gave a little yelp and jumped a bit, not falling back. The girl only rolled her eyes and grinned.

-Class-

As the first day of class ended and Mrs. Mouse reminded everyone of their bus numbers, Kairi took a moment to look at the name on the other desk. It read 'Sora'.

"Ick," she thought. "There's a boy sitting next to me." She glanced across the room at Seifer, who had managed to get himself scolded several times during the first day, and currently had his feet on his desk. "Hope he's not a meany like him..."

"Remember your bus numbers, kids," Minnie said. "And I'll see you all tomorrow!"

As Kairi approached the front of the room, she wanted to stop and ask Mrs. Mouse about Sora, but Namine clearly wanted to leave and Olette was being pulled out with the crowd, so Kairi decided to hurry out along with the rest.

When they got to the bus, more complications arose. Namine almost collapsed yet again upon hearing Mrs. Roz's voice, but Kairi and Olette managed to get her to a seat. They all sat together, which proved difficult. Not because they wouldn't fit, but because no seating arrangement seemed to work. Namine wanted Kairi next to her, and wouldn't sit on the aisle. She wanted to sit on the window so that she wouldn't be next to Olette. But the brunette pointed out that Kairi and Namine got off first, so the two of them sitting on the inside wouldn't work out so well. Eventually, Kairi was on the aisle, Namine was in the middle, and Olette was on the window.

The bus was about to leave when Seifer sauntered in, a look on his face that would make anyone want to slap him. He flashed a grin at Mrs. Roz as he boarded, which was met with a drawl of, "I do hope this doesn't become a habit with you..." He then walked to a seat that was farthest back on the bus, hands behind his head. He stuck his tongue out at Olette as he passed by their seat, but then doubled back. He stared at Kairi in a confused way for a moment, then smirked, and continued down the bus.

"What was that?" Kairi asked as the bus jerked, looking towards Olette.

"How should I know?" Olette replied. "Maybe he knows you're the mayor's daughter."

"Don't know how he would..." she said, peaking her head out and looking back at him. He was talking very excitedly to whoever was sitting next to him (Kairi couldn't see for the seats and other passengers), and he pointed up towards her a couple of times. She pulled back. "Weirdo..."

Kairi and Olette engaged in small talk, with the later expertly avoiding questions about her personal life. Kairi tried to get Namine to join in, but the blond only stared at the brown seat in front of them. Kairi hoped that she would open up. They always had fun together, and she was sure that Olette could have fun with them too, as long as Namine gave her the chance.

When they arrived at Kairi and Namine's street, Kairi suddenly felt conscious that some of the largest houses on the island were on this street. As she stood and walked down the aisle (Olette said, "See you tomorrow!), she glanced back; Seifer was still talking, and she felt relieved for some reason. She didn't want him to know that she was the mayor's daughter, or for him to think that she was rich. She didn't know why, but it was a gut feeling.

Kairi and Namine disembarked, being the only ones at the stop, and watched as the bus drove a short distance before turning a corner. The red-head looked to her best friend. "Wanna come over and play?"

Namine looked shaken, continuing to stare fixedly at the spot where the bus had vanished. She looked even paler than usual. "M-maybe later," she replied. "I'll have to ask my p-parents first."

"... Right," Kairi said as the blond began to walk across the street to her house. "See you later then!"

"Bye..." Namine called over her shoulder weakly, opening the personnel gate at her front yard and walking to her door.

Kairi turned and walked up her lawn to her door, which opened before she got there. Her mother and father were waiting to greet her.

The mayor was a man in his late forties, though the stress of his long-held position was probably the reason he looked to be in his mid fifties. His short black hair was tidy and flat, pleasantly complementing his hazel eyes.

Her mother was a wonderful woman, with red hair almost identical to Kairi's shade falling past her shoulders. She was something like five years younger than the mayor, but she too looked a good deal older than she was, with her green eyes appearing somewhat shrunken.

"Kairi!" her father said, sweeping her up in his arms when she got close enough. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty good, I guess," she replied.

"Did you learn anything?" her mother asked.

"I learned my bus number." Her parents both laughed, but she didn't know why. Her mother shut the door as she said, "I made a new friend also!"

"Really?" the mayor said, setting her down. "What's her name?"

"Her name's Olette and she's really nice and really smart, daddy!" she answered.

"Did Namine like her?"

"No, she didn't." She was somewhat disappointed with her best friend at the moment. "She never likes anyone..."

"Yes," her mother interjected. "But she didn't like Aqua at first, and now she loves her almost as much as you."

"No way," Kairi said. "No one loves Aqua as much as me." Her train of thought switched at the mention of her sitter. "Oh yeah, can I call Aqua? And tell her how my first day went?"

"I don't think she gets out of school for another hour or so, Kairi," the mayor explained. "And then she has to get home. But you can call her after that."

Seeing that she had time on her hands, she switched objectives. "Then can Namine come over? She said she was gonna ask her parents."

The mayor and his wife glanced at each other nervously. "I'm not so sure if Namine will be coming over, honey," her father said. Before Kairi could press the situation, he said, "So, tell us about your day. And about this Olette girl."

-Four days later-

The first week passed rather quickly. Kairi only saw Namine at school, as the girl didn't ride the bus in the morning and never came over on the afternoons, which was highly unusual. Kairi tried to investigate, but the mayor and his wife were illusive about the topic (though she didn't realize it at the time), and Namine hardly spoke at all. She grew closer to Olette, though whenever Kairi suggested coming over to the brunette's house, her friend quickly changed the subject.

Seifer always grinned as he walked by Kairi, Namine and Olette, flashing a very distinct look at the mayor's daughter. She always checked to see if he is looking up when she disembarked, but he is always talking with his mystery friend.

As Aqua had tried to explain, she couldn't come over to see Kairi or even talk on the phone as much as she would have liked to. She did promise to make it over on Saturday, but her anticipation for the day was overshadowed slightly by the events of Friday.

Friday was another first day, but not for Kairi. It was for Sora, the boy who's desk had remained empty throughout most of the week.

"Children," Mrs. Mouse had announced as the last boy walked into class. "We have a new student today."

Kairi had almost forgotten about Sora since the first day, and whenever she had thought about him, she had either been at home or Mrs. Mouse had been occupied with something. Now that Sora was the walking into the room, she was every excited to meet him.

She couldn't tell from the back of the room, but he looked a good bit taller than her. He looked a bit sick; skin that should have been tanned was instead pale, and there were remains of bags under his eyes. However, her attention was drawn away from these by the fact that he was smiling broadly. He was probably the only one in the class who had walked in with that kind of look on his face. Seifer had, but it was a selfish, gloating grin, suggesting that he was better than everyone. Sora's was friendly, welcoming, and made her feel... almost...

She was then distracted by his hair. Ridiculous- it stood up in a way Kairi had never seen. Spikes of brown hair shot out every which way in one of the most gravity defying displays to be witnessed on the islands. His eyes were a deep cerulean that again made her feel strange, and she found herself staring at them as Minnie said, "This is Sora. He was sick when school started, but now that he's better he can join us for class." Being only two heads or so taller than Sora (who Kairi suddenly realized may have been the tallest person in class other than Seifer), Mrs. Mouse didn't lean over when she told him, "Your desk is back there, next to the girl with the red hair."

For some reason, Kairi's memory of the few seconds it took for Sora to walk to his desk were and still are lost on her. By the time she snapped back to reality, Sora had already sat down next to her, without giving her a glance. Perhaps he had, but since she hadn't been paying attention, Kairi missed it.

-Recess-

Kairi spent had spent her recesses thus far conversing with Olette and trying to converse with Namine, who was becoming increasingly reserved and holding extremely close to her. That day, however, the blonde took it to a new level: she chose a corner of the playground to sit in, then dug her face into her legs.

Even though Olette knew absolutely nothing about Namine other than what Kairi had told her, she still liked the girl and felt no objection whatsoever when Kairi asked that they stay in Namine's immediate vacancy, should anything happen.

"You sure we shouldn't ask her if she's alright?" Olette asked, glancing at the pathetic looking girl.

Kairi, though increasingly worried for her friend, had trouble putting it to words. While she was trying to put it to words, she noticed out the corner of her eye that Sora was leaning against a nearby tree, watching them closely. She made sure not to look directly at him before whispering to Olette, "That Sora kid is watching us. Over by the tree." Olette turned and looked his way very briefly, though made it appear that she was in fact looking elsewhere. When she turned back, she said, "He lives in my neighborhood. He seems nice, but I don't know him all that well. Why do you think he's watching us?"

"I don't know..." Kairi replied.

They looked back more blatantly this time, but Sora didn't seem to be looking at them; he held up a finger to his mouth, as though indicating that they shouldn't blow his cover. But to who?

The two glanced down at Namine. She hadn't responded to any of what they had said thus far. Kairi whispered to Olette, "You think that he's watching Namine?"

Olette only walked over to the boy, clearly intent upon clearing up the ordeal. Kairi instead sat down next to Namine, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Namine, why are you so acting so weird lately?" The girl still didn't respond, digging deeper into her legs. "Namine, please... I want my friend back. Olette is fun, but you'll always be my best friend."

Namine jumped up, and Kairi noticed what might have been tears in her eyes. "You don't wanna be friends with a girl who's got... who's got... GAH!" With that, she ran off towards the building.

Olette and Sora, seeing and hearing the commotion, ran over, though the blond was gone before they arrived. "Did she see me?" Sora asked. Kairi eyed him. "Why does that matter?" She looked away from him and ran after her friend. "Namine! Namine!"

Sora groaned as Olette said, "So, why can't you tell me why you're spying on Namine?"

"I told you, I can't! I'm not allowed!"

"And-?"

"I DON'T have a crush!"

After everyone had been called in, Namine was absent from class.

-Next day-

Saturday. Kairi was determined to get Namine over today and find out what had happened, but her parents again told her that she couldn't see her friend. Fed up, she demanded to know why.

Her parents were obviously reluctant. "A few weeks ago," her father began. "Namine went into the doctor to take a test."

"What kind of test?" Kairi asked.

"A... special test. Her parents didn't get the results back until the day before school started, and Namine overheard them discussing it. You see, Namine... well, the reason she's always so shy is because she has a condition called Social Anxiety Disorder. It's a condition where people just can't act normally around other people. She's always had it, but they hadn't tested her for it before. School is always hard for kids at first, and she's taking it especially hard because of this. But... well, the reason she's been so much worse that she would have been even with the Disorder is because she's overreacting. She thinks that she can't be your friend, and that she won't ever be able to make any new friends."

"W-what?" Kairi asked, confused. "That doesn't make any sense! I'll always be her friend, and she knows that!"

"I'm afraid," said her mother. "That Namine just needs time to... figure out how to cope with the news. She's taking classes so that she can get better, and she's on special medicine that will calm her down."

Kairi was having a bit of trouble processing this. She stepped away for a moment, going to the nearest window, which conveniently pointed across the street towards Namine's house. Peaking out, she saw a car pulling up outside of Namine's house. "Who could that be?"

A woman got out. Kairi couldn't make out her features, but she was well dressed, in a business coat. Her car was also rather expensive looking. Out of the back seat, much to Kairi's surprise and confusion, came Sora, whom she recognized all too easily thanks to his spiky hair. They approached the front door, rang he bell, and waited for a few moments before Namine's mother came to the door, and ushered the both of them in hastily.

The girl considered going to her parents and asking about the visitors, but decided against it. She was feeling slightly angry at them for not telling her about Namine at the beginning of the week, so she instead went to her room, where she would have more privacy but retain a good view of the house across the street.

It took about twenty minutes, but eventually the woman came back outside, got in her car, and drove off.

Sora didn't come with her.

Disclaimers: Don't own the characters, Destiny Islands, etc. The only ones who were slightly vague were Minne Mouse (you should have figured that one out, though) and the bus driver, Roz. I won't say what she's from, but she IS from a Disney movie. First person to leave a review correctly identifying her and what movie she is from gets not only a cookie, but an author shout out and the privilege of suggesting a character to appear later in the fic. Isn't that a deal? That's a deal!

I own all the parents featured, and the woman who drove Sora to Namine's. You'll find out who she is shortly.

To all of the people who read my KH continuation series, know that I will still write that (despite my tardiness in updating). Chapter three of Fate of Heart has been an absolute nightmare to write, and only having two reviews thus far doesn't help matters. It is coming, I assure you... after chapter 4, things will probably flow much better since I know EXACTLY what will happen. This is a side project, and the ( ) of Heart series takes priority.