Author's Note~

This is my first published fanfiction so feel free to give critical feedback!

Leave a review letting me know what you think and thanks for reading!

Kairi's life on Destiny Islands was perfect in every aspect. She had her best friends Riku, Selphie, Namine, Xion, and Roxas to spend every free hour possible laughing by the ocean, enjoying peaceful days, and talking about anything and everything. She also had Sora, her childhood crush and now boyfriend. He was the kindest, sweetest person she'd ever had the fortune of meeting, and by some miracle, he returned her feelings. She couldn't possibly ask for anything more. Senior year at Destiny Islands High School was half way over now. Midterms just finished and the weather was becoming warmer again. Kairi eagerly awaited spring. It was her favorite season because the warming weather and blooming flowers always kept her spirits high. As Kairi sat beside her friends on their favorite little island off the main island shore admiring the cloudless azure sky, she couldn't even imagine a dark cloud approaching to change the blissful atmosphere. Shadows were unfathomable in comparison to the orange rays of sun reflecting on the rolling turquoise waves. Sora's hand was warm and comforting twined with her own. He was so stable and sure, just like the sky. They were both things that she knew would never vanish from her life; they brought her peace and happiness.

"Hey, Kairi." Sora said quietly, his voice unusually serious.

"Yes Sora?" She turned her head to look at him. He was looking at the sky too. His eyes matched perfectly with it; that perfect blue she absolutely loved. Her heart skittered when he turned to meet her gaze. He opened his mouth as if to say something but smiled instead.

"Nothing. You look really pretty." He squeezed her hand.

Kairi felt her cheeks heat up. "Thanks..." She whispered giving him a smile.

"I hope we can stay like this forever." Sora said aloud for everyone else to hear turning to look up at the sky again.

"Agreed." Riku said from beside Sora.

"I wish." Xion sighed wistfully from beside Kairi.

Roxas let out a small chuckle. "It would be nice..."

"Yeah..." Namine agreed quietly.

"I think we'll always be able to be together like this." Kairi said happily.

Kairi never saw the storm approaching from behind. The strong gusts of wind that chased them all back to their homes on the main island that day were only the beginning. Some knew what was coming, although not completely. The rest were unassuming to the brute force of the storm

And it all started with Sora's cousin coming to stay with him. Vanitas.

"Have you noticed that Sora's been a bit distant this past week?" Kairi fretted while scratching her pencil absently on a blank notebook paper.

Namine looked up from her sketchbook to give her red-haired friend a curious look. "Sora must have something on his mind. Have you talked to him lately?"

Xion gave Kairi a rueful smile. "Come on Kairi, since when does Sora ever have something on his mind besides you, soccer, and food? He must be planning something special!" She closed the textbook she was reading and placed it beside her. The three girls were sitting in Namine's backyard studying for classes. Well Kairi and Xion were studying, Namine who had all her work done when it was assigned was making sure the other two were keeping on task.

"He hasn't talked to me outside of school this week." Kairi sighed scribbling harder on the paper.

Namine and Xion exchanged a look.

"That's odd." Namine said quietly.

"Very." Xion agreed. "Usually Sora can't keep his mouth shut!" She mimed one of Sora's ridiculous faces causing Kairi to smile and Namine to giggle.

"Maybe he does have something going on..." Kairi put her notebook to the side and brought her knees to her chest. "I've asked Riku, but he said Sora hasn't been speaking to him either."

"Then go and talk to him!" Xion exclaimed prying Kairi's arms from around her legs and dragging her friend to her feet. She winked at Kairi while shoving her belongings into her arms and pushing her towards the house. "Now!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Namine frowned at them. "You guys are supposed to be studying!"

Xion pouted at Namine. "But Kairi needs to talk to Sora! Besides, midterms are over, who cares about the rest of the school year?"

"You should." Namine poked Xion's side with a colored pencil. "You don't want to fail a class and have to repeat it over the summer, do you?" She smiled while waving the Biology textbook in her other hand.

Xion paled as she took in Namine's seemingly sweet smile that contradicted her dangerous tone. "You can be scary sometimes Namine, you know that?" She took the textbook with a resigned sigh flopping back onto the grass and opening the tome to a random page.

Namine turned to Kairi and gave her a genuine smile. "Go to him, Kairi. I think he needs you. Studying can wait in the essence of helping someone important to you."

"You're the best Namine." Kairi gave her petite blonde friend a hug and hurried out the gate and onto the road. She would walk to Sora's house, which wasn't that far away. Everyone generally lived pretty close to one another.

Kairi was looking at the sky as she was walking. The sky was periwinkle today with white tufts of clouds blocking the sun. As she continued on her way to Sora's house the clouds began to darken and grow heavier with impending rain.

"Oh please don't start raining." Kairi mumbled glaring at the sky as if willing it to hold it at bay. Not paying attention to where she was walking, Kairi stumbled into someone and fell straight onto her butt.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I should have watched where I was going!" Kairi looked up to see a boy that looked eerily like Sora but with black hair and piercing gold eyes. The similarity between the two ended with the spiked hairstyle and face shape. This boy gave off a completely different aura compared to Sora. He felt dangerous and cold whereas Sora radiated with warmth. "Uh, sorry!" Kairi dipped her head to the strange boy apologizing again.

He gave a grin that seemed mocking for whatever reason. "You apologize too much pretty-girl." His voice was like the purr of a large cat.

Kairi was taken aback as he leaned towards her and looked her up and down. "Just be careful next time." He offered her a hand, which she took subconsciously, and helped her to her feet. "Not all strangers are as nice as me."

Kairi snatched her hand away. The second he touched her was like her touching a live wire. Her body tingled and she suddenly felt extremely nervous.

"Uh...thanks. And sorry again!" Kairi smiled politely and stepped around him quickly. He made her feel uncomfortable and wanted to get away as quickly as possible. She heard him chuckle as she rushed away. The sound sent shivers down her spine, or maybe it was from the wind picking up from the oncoming storm.

Two storms in one week is odd, Kairi thought trying to get her mind away from the lingering intensity of that golden stare. She looked over her shoulder just to make sure no one followed her and thankfully saw no one.

Kairi arrived at Sora's house just in time. Pellets of rain were just beginning to fall as she stepped onto the Caelum's covered porch. She gave the door a light knock and stepped back admiring the homey colors of the house. She always enjoyed being at Sora's; the atmosphere was always welcoming and warm, just like him. His parents were just the same. Kairi enjoyed seeing them, too.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Sora opened the door. He looked surprised to see her standing there. The surprise faded to happiness.

"Come in Kairi!" He opened the screen door for her .

"Sorry to be here without asking." Kairi apologized while stepping into his house and slipping off her shoes.

"It's always good to see you, don't worry about it!" He engulfed her into a hug causing her to smile.

"I've missed you." She said wrapping her arms around him.

"We just saw each other the other day in school." Sora mumbled into her hair. However his voice betrayed that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I mean talking to you, silly." Kairi admonished letting him go and pulling him to the couch in the den. "Somethings on your mind, I know it."

Kairi perched herself on the couch as Sora flopped onto it. He rest his head against the back of the couch and sighed wearily. "Yeah, I have some things on my mind."

"You can talk to me. I know you haven't spoken to anyone this week. Talk to me Sora. Maybe I can help!" She clasped his hand in hers and tilted her head giving him a gentle smile.

Sora sat up and returned a sweet smile. "You're so wonderful Kairi."

"Thanks, now spill!" Giggling, she poked his chest playfully.

Sora turned away looking pensive. "My cousin is staying here until further notice." He said slowly as if the thought was a heavy burden he had to bear.

"Your cousin?" Kairi questioned. Sora never spoke of extended family. She wasn't even aware he had any.

"Yeah...he's bad news." Sora said with a frown. "My dad's brother's son."

"You've never spoken of them before." Kairi murmured caressing his hand. She could feel his tension. This was so unlike Sora to be tense and worry over something, it made Kairi feel uneasy and worry as well.

"I've never met my uncle. Supposedly he's mixed up in some bad things. My dad doesn't speak to him often, if at all. I've met my cousin a few times. He used to stay with us for a while when my uncle was away for whatever things. We never got along. We fought constantly." Sora's eyes were dark with memories Kairi didn't know of.

"I can't imagine you fighting with anyone. You're too good and too nice." Kairi smiled and nudged him with her shoulder hoping to lighten his mood.

Sora gave her a small smile, his eyes brimming with the care he held for her. "Thanks for thinking the best of me. But this guy just brings out the worst of anyone. He's vain and cruel and arrogant and just plain mean!" Sora groaned, rubbing his left arm. "The last time he was here he broke my arm!"

Kairi gasped thinking back a few years when Sora suddenly had a cast on his arm. "And you said it was from falling off your bike." She glanced at him in curiosity. Why did he lie?

"My mom and dad didn't want anyone to know that their nephew did it. I don't know if they were protecting me, or him, or themselves, or my uncle for some reason." Sora shrugged.

Kairi was silent for a moment taking it all in. "So...when is he getting here?"

Sora grumbled. "He's been here for the past week. He got here when we got back from the island last weekend."

"Ah...so this is why you've been keeping to yourself this week. You've been thinking about him." Kairi mused leaning her head against Sora in a gesture of comfort. He leaned his head against hers.

"Yeah...he's still a pain." Sora sighed.

"Are you sure he hasn't changed? It's been a few years, right?" Kairi asked hoping for the best as always.

"No, he definitely hasn't changed." Sora's voice was dark. "The moment he walked in here he reminded my parents that they were selfish people and cowards for running away. From what? I have no clue, but his tone made it clear he has no intentions of being nice. My parents just took it though. Then he just brushed past me and told me to stay out of his way."

"Maybe he's just reacting that way because he's scared or uncomfortable?" Kairi suggested.

Sora scoffed. "Definitely not. He's always been this way. Saying things he shouldn't and being straight up rude. I can't even imagine how he was raised. He's definitely a demon."

"Sora..." Kairi frowned. "Give him a chance. He's just been dumped on your doorstep. He probably feels unwanted and unloved. Maybe he just needs a little brotherly TLC to open up his good side."

"He doesn't have a good side."

"C'mon Sora! Everyone has a good side!"

A silence settled over the two. Sora seemed to be thinking, probably about his supposedly demonic cousin. Kairi was beginning to become jittery from Sora's silence. Xion was right when she said Sora rarely kept quiet. This was such odd behavior for him.

"Let's play a game!" Kairi smiled gesturing to his Wii. She got up and wandered to his cabinet of games looking it up and down. "How about...Mario Party! This silly game is sure to cheer anyone up! We can call Riku and Roxas over too! I'd say Xion and Namine as well, but they're studying. Namine has Xion right under her thumb."

Sora looked up at Kairi with a befuddled expression. "Namine having someone under her thumb? And Xion of all people? Are you sure?"

"You don't know the true Namine beyond her gentle and worldly appearance." Kairi said ominously before falling into a fit of giggles. "So are we playing Mario Party or what?" She waved the game in front of her as if it were a tantalizing piece of food. "I'm definitely going to beat you this time!"

"Oh you're so on!" Sora jumped up grinning. "Lemme text the guys. I don't think any of them are busy." He typed away on his phone for a minute and a minute later he got replies with excited yeses.

"It's a go!" Sora pumped his fist into the air.

Kairi laughed aloud as Sora gave her a cheesy wink. "Let's make some popcorn!" She dragged him into the kitchen and put a bag in the microwave and set the timer. As they waited for the popcorn to finish and the guys to arrive a silence lulled between the two again.

"So what does this cousin look like? Does he have a name?" Kairi brought up the sore subject again figuring since Sora was thinking about it he might as well talk about it.

"His name is Vanitas. He looks a lot like me except with gold eyes and black hair." Sora said looking at the fridge. Kairi followed his gaze to a small framed picture. It was of Sora and a boy that, as Sora said, looked like him except with gold eyes and black hair. They were both covered in mud, smiling, with their arms around each other. They looked to be about five.

Kairi looked at the picture closely. This Vanitas looked awfully familiar. This was the strange boy she walked into on the way here! She kept this to herself not wanting to make Sora more unhappy.

"You two looked like you got along at one point."

"When we were really young things were fine." Sora deadpanned. The beeping of the microwave stopped Kairi from asking further questions.

"Mmmm!~ Smells like heaven!" A voice behind them chimed.

Kairi and Sora whirled around to see Roxas making a dash for the popcorn. Riku was leaning against the wall nonchalantly looking amused by Roxas's enthusiasm. "We brought along a few stragglers." Riku added gesturing behind him.

Wakka and Tidus strode in wearing sheepish grins. They weren't as close to Kairi as Sora, Riku, and Roxas were, but she knew they were very sweet guys. Selphie, who grew up with Wakka and Tidus, confirmed so.

"Sorry to intrude bro." Tidus shrugged.

"We heard you've been down so we're here to cheer you up!" Wakka punched Sora's shoulder lightly.

"Thanks guys." Sora gave a bright smile that left butterflies in Kairi's tummy. It still amazed her that Sora's little gestures could still make her feel like a like she was on cloud nine.

For the rest of the evening, safe from the raging storm outside, Kairi and the boys played video games, made jokes, and shared funny stories mostly involving Sora's antics. By the time everyone was ready to leave, Sora looked as lighthearted and joyful as ever; not a trace of his earlier apprehension.

As Kairi pulled on her shoes, Sora tugged her to the side. His blue eyes shone with gratitude and...something more. He pulled her into a gentle embrace combing his fingers through her hair.

"Thanks for today Kairi. I really needed this." He whispered, his breath just above her ear sending pleasant goosebumps across her skin.

"You're always welcome Sora." Kairi smiled into his shoulder and held him tighter.

He pulled his head back and admired the red-head before him. From her fiery hair to her gentle smile to her angel-like personality; he adored everything about her. Slowly he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

Kairi gave a small gasp as Sora kissed her and then immersed herself in the warm feeling he gave her. The kiss lasted a good minute before Kairi broke away blushing. It wasn't as if they'd never kissed before, but again, Sora always managed to fluster her in the most innocent ways.

"Goodnight." She whispered pecking his cheek.

"Night." Sora squeezed her hand before letting her go. He held the door open for her and leaned outside waving to his friends. "G'night guys! Hope you had an awesome time!"

"We always do!" Roxas shouted back.

"Need a ride Kairi?" Riku asked as he stepped into his shiny sports car. Riku's parents were loaded and unafraid to spoil their only son.

"Sure!" Kairi trudged through the rain quickly and jumped into the front seat of her friend's car. "I wish the rain would stop already." Kairi pouted as Riku pulled away from Sora's house.

"I like the rain actually." Riku replied quietly. "It's peaceful and kind of soothing."

Kairi glanced at him taking in his tall, well-built body. "You sure don't look like the kind of guy who'd say that." She said teasingly and giggled.

"Kairi," Riku said in a pseudo serious tone. "What do we say about stereotyping people?"

"Don't do it unless it's about Roxas." Kairi gave an exaggerated sigh. It was a running joke in their group referencing a time when Roxas used to be stoic and very introverted when he first moved to Destiny Islands from Twilight Town. The joke comes in two parts: Part one when Roxas had a major crush on a popular senior and recited a romantic poem to her. It was cute but very out of character for him. And then Part two is when Roxas was just beginning to become friends with Riku and Sora and they played truth or dare. Roxas picked dare and Sora dared him to put on a dress and makeup and go to the nearest mall and shop for lingerie. Roxas couldn't say no without tossing aside his pride so he did it. Sora recorded the whole event. It was the funniest thing to happen that year and was watched at nearly every party.

"Damn right." Riku chuckled also recalling Roxas's most embarrassing moment of his life.

Kairi giggled again. Riku would be stereotyped into being a tough guy and a player. He was none of those. His appearance may give him a strong air but on the inside he was almost as much a goofball as Sora was. Riku did date around, but he always treated his girlfriends nicely. That's why Kairi hated assuming things about people. Their outsides never necessarily defined who they were on the inside; a person's actions could actually represent something completely different from their purpose.

Kairi wondered what people thought of her, what kind of appearance she gave off. Probably a goody-two shoes, nice to everyone, never done wrong before kind of person. Boring, too. And they'd be right. Kairi never did anything outside her comfort zone. In fact, comfort and safety were constants in everything she did. She supposed she was the contradiction to her opinion of stereotypes, she fit hers perfectly. While that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, sometimes she wished she was a little more outgoing and spontaneous like Xion. Even Namine did some pretty crazy things. It was always Kairi who stood behind the line and cheered everyone on instead of participating herself. This only bothered her when she thought about it in depth. Fortunately her concentration was broken by Riku arriving at her house.

"Thanks Riku!" Kairi smiled at her best friend as she got out of his car.

"Anytime." Riku replied. He revved the engine and sped off leaving Kairi watching the receding vehicle with a bemused expression.

Kairi loved her house above all things on the island. Besides growing up in it since she was born, the architecture, exterior decorating, and interior decorating captivated her every time she stepped back and looked at it. Her mother and father took a large portion of their early-wed lives and a larger portion of their inherited small fortunes to make their dream house. The porch before the front door was surrounded by high arches colored a pale gold. The structure of the actual building was of solid red bricks with unfinished sides giving the house a rugged yet classy feel. The panes of the door and windows were painted a pristine white and repainted annually to keep the pure color.

Kairi stepped into her empty house. Her parents were important board member of some up and coming company in Traverse Town and worked late shifts, sometimes even staying overnight in the office. Kairi was left home alone a lot, not that she minded. The peace and quiet were welcome to her after constantly being around her hectic friends.

Kairi tossed her bag into her room and lounged across her bed. Kairi's room was her true home. Her walls were painted in a ombre color scheme; lavender at the top to royal purple on the bottom. Her walls were adorned with movie and game posters. A desk inhabited the space in front of the ceiling-to-floor window holding her laptop and binders full of writing. The window faced their backyard, which wasn't much, but beyond that she could see the ocean and the little island.

Her bed was simple; full-sized and covered in a hand-knit quilt made by her grandmother. The quilt depicted a story that Kairi absolutely adored.

'There once lived a boy. He was born a good prince but grew into an evil prince. His parents didn't care for him. They never noticed his pain. They never gave him love. No one tried to help him as he fell further and further away from the light. His heart grew smaller and smaller until it no longer existed. He became cruel and merciless. He couldn't feel anymore because he lost his heart. That is until, one day, he met a girl. She had a pure heart full of love and willing to share. She taught him how to care again. She showed him how to feel again. She brought back his heart bit by bit, piece by piece. The girl became the prince's guardian angel. She became his source of goodness and unconditional love. The prince grew to become a great king because of his angel. He now had a heart full of love and was willing to share, just like the girl had when they first met. And thus, together they lived happily ever after.'

Kairi's grandmother lived in Radiant Garden. It was too far away for Kairi to see her as often as she'd liked. She hoped over spring break her parents would take her on a trip to Radiant Garden again. Maybe her friends would be able to go along too. Most of them never left the island, aside from Roxas and Xion who both grew up in Twilight Town. Riku always imagined it. Sora, too. Namine and Selphie were content with their simple island lives, so Kairi usually spent her childhood nights with Sora and Riku daydreaming about faraway lands and grand adventures they'd all go on. They even attempted to build a raft once to sail to a new land; sadly it sank when they tested it out. Eventually they grew out of the idea of making their own form of transportation and focused on other things that'd get them off the island. Kairi wanted to go to college in Radiant Garden, they had excellent writing and literature programs. She loved studying classic works as well as writing her own stories. She hoped to publish her own novels one day. She always had ideas and started stories, but never finished them.

Sora and Riku were more focused on sports, particularly soccer. They hoped to go to college and join a travel team and go all over playing their favorite sport and exploring the world.

While Kairi always cheered on Sora and Riku in their endeavors on the high school team, and even learned the rules of the game although never having played it herself, no one really understood her passion for writing. Sora was supportive, but he couldn't grasp why she almost always had her nose in a book or a pen in her hand when the sun was shining and the beach was inviting them all to play some sort of game or splash in the ocean. She read her stories to him once hoping he'd give her more ideas but he merely nodded his head and told her it sounded nice. Sometimes Kairi wondered if her writing was even worthy of being published anywhere if her most important person couldn't even get into it. Slowly Kairi stopped writing feeling underwhelmed with her progress. She doubted her skills and wished her mind was more practical so she could become a scientist or a business entrepreneur. Sadly numbers and science were her weak points as her grades showed from those classes.

Thinking of school Kairi reached into her bag for her phone. She should probably check to see if Xion lived through Namine's tutoring. Frowning, Kairi came up empty for her phone. She double-checked the pockets of the vest and shorts she wore earlier in the day. Nothing. Where could she have possibly put it? Maybe she left it at Sora's house. That was probably it. She'd ask Sora at school tomorrow if he saw it anywhere.

Sighing, Kairi rolled under her quilt and snuggled into it. The house was quiet, a pin could be heard if it was dropped in the kitchen downstairs.

Kairi mulled over the events of today. She ran into Sora's evil cousin without knowing who he was at the time. The feeling of his hand in hers remained causing her to shiver again. No one had ever made her feel so...weird before. His gold eyes seemed to bore into her soul when she had looked at him for a few seconds before rushing off.

Most of all, Kairi couldn't shake off how upset Sora was about having his cousin around again. No one could ever get Sora riled up, but apparently this guy could without even trying. Kairi wanted to meet him for real now, to see just how right, or wrong, Sora was. But maybe that was a bad idea. As Kairi drifted off to sleep, she could hear the echoes of his mocking laughter as she scurried away in her memories.

Outside, the storm settled down to a steady stream of rain.