Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. I am merely a fangirl eagerly awaiting Kingdom Hearts III and Terra's return. Terra...!

Thanks to Xelaric the Nobody, who looked through this chapter for me! Go check out her stories, they're great!

Wild Rose Blossoms

by Salve-SiS

-Dedicated to my younger sister, FaithfulWater-

Chapter One:

To Be Free

"Kairi Hartlin!"

Clad in a blue cap and gown, Kairi headed for the stage, smiling as she shook the principal's hand and was handed her high school diploma. Holding the diploma in both hands she faced the crowd in front of her, eyes searching for one particular person. She had to squint a bit due to the bright rays of the sun, but it didn't take long to find her, and she rushed off the stage into her waiting arms. She reveled in her squishy, soft embrace.

"I missed you, Grandma!"

Her grandmother chuckled and ran a tender hand through Kairi's hair. In the background, several other families went about their own celebrations. "I've missed you, dear." She placed her hands on Kairi's shoulders, put some distance between them, and studied her intently. Her grandmother had dressed up for the occasion, her hair pulled up into a bun and her neckline adorned with a diamond pendant, shaped and colored like a teardrop. Pleased with what she saw, she nodded.

"You've grown so lovely," she said. "And now, off to Splendore's School For Musicians..." Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. "Your mother would be so proud."

Kairi felt her stomach lurch at the mention of Splendore, but it was overshadowed by the millions of warm happy tingles multiplying throughout her body. Her own eyes began to water. "Grandma..."

"KAIRI!"

Two girls appeared, having weaved through the crowd to reach Kairi: her close friends Anna Frederiksen and Selphie Tilmitt. Selphie, who had already discarded her graduation robes, wore a green and white tank dress with dark brown boots. Her hair had been brushed down so that it curled around and framed her face. "Hey Kairi, you ready to hit the town?!"

Anna had yet to take off her gown. She tried to take it off as she ran, and tripped and fell face first to the ground with a loud shout. Random people gasped and turned to look at the source of commotion, but none of them made any attempt to help. In fact, Kairi thought she saw someone take a picture.

She hurried over to her. "Anna! Are you alright?"

Anna grunted. "I'm okay, I'm okay! But, uh, a little help, please?" She spit some grass out of her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi saw another flash of light.

Selphie rolled her eyes as she helped Anna up. "You're so lucky you didn't get grass stains on your dress-or did you?"

She started pulling Anna's gown off. "Whoa!" Anna exclaimed. While Selphie examined her outfit, she shook her head in an attempt to regain some composure and smoothed out the crinkles of her magenta halter dress before looking up at her friends and smiling brightly, if a little embarrassed. "Well, that's one way to start things off! Come on, you guys, let's go!"

"Ah, the energy of youth," Kairi's grandmother commented from the sidelines, observing her granddaughter and her friends with an amused expression on her face.

Kairi hesitated. "Oh, Grandma...did you have anything planned for tonight? Because-"

Holding a hand up, her grandmother answered, "Oh, don't worry about me, dear. Go and have fun with your friends. We'll talk later." She winked.

Kairi grinned. "Thanks, Grandma." Pecking her grandmother on the cheek, she gave one final wave before heading off with Anna and Selphie.

"Can you believe it?!" Selphie squealed as she got into the driver's seat of her glistening car. "We're high school graduates! Legal adults! We can go and do whatever we want!"

"We can join the army!" Anna said, and then added, "Not that we're going to join the army, at least I'm not, but no one can stop us if we ever change our minds!"

"It feels so unreal." Kairi gazed out at her now former high school, Radiant Garden's Prep School For Girls. The large campus shrunk as the girls zoomed farther and farther away, until finally it faded from sight. The redhead felt something click somewhere in her mind, a part of her cementing into itself. "Who knew the time would pass so quickly...?"

"Not that quick," Anna said. "Remember history sophomore year? Meanie Miss Farron must have given us, like, twenty detentions."

Selphie glanced sideways at the freckled redhead. "What do you mean by 'us'? You're the one who wouldn't pay attention in class, and you would have gotten even more detentions if we hadn't been there to bail you out."

"I don't think lobbing paper balls at Anna's head helped out much," Kairi commented. "And the time you hit her right in the face right when Miss Farron turned to look at you guys definitely wasn't helpful. Didn't you both get detention that time?"

"You bruised my cheek, too..." Anna grumbled, rubbing aforementioned cheek. "And it's not my fault her lessons were so boring! She could have tried to spice them up at least a teeny bit."

Selphie harrumphed. "Well, whatever. All that's behind us now! Goodbye RGP, hello Splendore's! Wait until the world gets a hold of us, Kai. We're gonna knock 'em dead!" Selphie was set to study Acoustics at the prestigious Splendore's School for Musicians there in Radiant Garden. Internationally known for its Vocals program, Kairi also planned to attend—she'd been taking various vocal lessons from skilled instructors her grandmother hired with her considerable wealth since she was twelve. That same wealth allowed Kairi to attend RGP and soon Splendore with little obstacle, save for the latter's mandatory try outs. Which she had passed.

Kairi played around with her fingers. "Yeah. Knock them dead. Can't wait."

Her fingers found their way to the top of her head, where her cap was still clipped on. She sighed quietly to herself, removed the clips, and held the cap gingerly in her hands. Moving it around a bit like a seesaw, she was hit with a blast of boldness. Inching to the edge of the car, she opened the backseat window and tossed her cap into the air. She watched it teeter down to the road, keeping her eyes on it until it faded from sight.

The bell placed on the top of the door jangled as he entered the restaurant. He sighed in relief as the cool air enveloped him and made his way to the counter, where his notepad and apron awaited him. He tied the apron around his chest, picked up the notepad and pen, and tapped the counter bell thrice to let the others know he had arrived.

He was greeted by the interim manager, who frowned immediately upon seeing him. "Sora? What are you doing here?"

Sora smiled. "Hey, Tiana. Just thought I'd stop by and get some extra shifts in."

Tiana's frown grew deeper. "I thought you had that graduation barbecue at the beach tonight. Your friends were talking about it the last time they were here."

"Oh. That. Yeah, I told the others to go on without me."

Tiana blinked. "But you were so excited to go. What happened?"

Sora, who had been fidgeting the entire time Tiana had been talking, let out a delighted laugh. "You won't believe this." Beaming, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. He practically shoved it into Tiana's hands and waited excitedly as she read the letter's contents.

"Oh, Sora, that's great!" Tiana lifted her gaze up to smile at the teen. "Congratulations!"

"Ha ha, thanks!"

"Congratulations on what?" The two were joined by the restaurant's resident baker, a blue haired woman named Aqua. A top notch baker when it came to sweets, people from all over town came to get a taste of her creations. Like Tiana, she frowned when she saw Sora. "Sora? Why aren't you at the barbecue with Ven and the others?"

"Aqua, look!" Tiana handed Aqua the letter. Bemused, Aqua held the letter up close and read diligently.

Dear Mr. Cleford,

Congratulations! We are pleased to welcome you to the University of Zoology and to inform you of your admission for the Fall 2015 Quarter! You have already proven your academic ability and potential for success at the university.

The University of Zoology is a school filled with excitement and enrichment, known for our study abroad programs. We offer you the chance to study multitudes of animals up close in their natural habitats, something not available in other zoology schools. Your admission is provisional until you meet the requirements checked in the enclosed Provisional Admission Checklist. Please read the checklist carefully and follow all the instructions. Note that if not all provisions are met, your offer of admission may be withdrawn by the following date...

Aqua skipped over the rest. She peered up at Sora and beamed. "I knew you'd get in! Why aren't you out with the others celebrating?"

Sora's grin became sheepish. "You know how this is my dream school, right? Well, dream schools are called 'dreams' for a reason..."

Understanding dawned on Aqua's face. "How much?" He told her. "What? Will you be able to make that much by then?"

Sora ran a hand through the spikes of his hair. "I'm gonna have to work my butt off for the next couple of months, but I'm sure I can do it!"

Tiana gave Sora an approving look. "That's the spirit, Sora."

"Still, though, are you sure you don't want to start tomorrow?" Aqua asked. "It's the first day of vacation. You're young. You should be out with your friends."

Tiana said, "If he's gonna go to this school, he's gonna have to get serious. No slacking off now, you hear?"

"Yes, sir, ma'am," said Sora, salute and all. The two older women laughed.

As the first customers of the day arrived, Aqua and Tiana retreated into the kitchen while Sora took their orders. The Lucky Cat Cafe was a medium-sized restaurant/bakery with a slight Japanese theme, a nod to the owner's own Japanese heritage. On display were several types of cookies, cakes, donuts, and other pastries you'd expect to see in a bakery. The menu displayed on the top half of the wall behind the counter listed types of meals you'd expect from a diner, as well as a variety of coffee and teas from which to choose from. There was a staff total of seven people: The owner and primary chef Cass Hamada, secondary cook (currently primary, since Ms. Hamada was away on a business trip) Tiana Wilson, baker Aqua Vesital, waiters Max Goof, Tifa Lockhart, the owner's nephew Tadashi (only during college breaks), and Sora.

He'd been a waiter at Lucky Cat's since he was fourteen years old. Since that time it'd become a sort of second home to him, with Tiana and Aqua as the the older sisters and Cass the kooky but lovable aunt. Not just to her actual nephews, but to all of her employees. His fellow waiters were good friends too, even if he wasn't quite as close to them as he was to his other group of friends. In fact, it was through one of those friends that he had these friends now.

He met Ven and his twin brother Roxas back in fifth grade. Ven was the one who got Sora his job; Aqua had told him about the cafe's need for waiters, information he passed on to Sora. The rest was history.

The guys weren't coming in today. A group of seniors managed to organize a graduation party over at the beach. The three boys made plans to attend, but then Sora got his acceptance letter. Along with joy came the realization if he wanted to go to the University of Zoology, it was time to stop lazing about and get productive (which was easier said than done, Sora noted after Tiana shook him awake from a nap for the third time that morning). He told them to go on without him. Sure, it stung a little thinking about the barbecue and the ocean and all the fun the guys must be having, but it wasn't a big deal. He'd see them tomorrow, and they'd tell him all about what he missed.

That's what he thought anyway.

"Hey, Sora!" Ven barged into the restaurant early afternoon. Roxas followed suit, numerous grease-soaked bags dangling from his arms. He raised his voice and shouted, "Hey, Aqua! Hey, Tiana!"

"Hey, brother! Mind helping me out with these?" Roxas shook the bags with an annoyed expression on his face.

Ven glanced at his brother for half a second before turning back to a gobsmacked Sora. "Nah, you can handle it."

"Wh-What are you guys doing here?!" Sora asked while Roxas grumbled to himself and set the down bags on an empty table. "The barbecue can't be over yet-"

"Oh, it's not." Ven said. "Last I saw, they were setting up a struggle tournament. But we weren't gonna spend the first day of our last summer together without you, Sora."

"So we waited until lunch and grabbed whatever we could get our hands on. Chips, steaks, hot dogs, stuff like that." Roxas stretched his arms. "We wanted to get some fireworks too, but Axel threatened to tear our heads off if we even thought about it."

"Which I did. Several times." added Ven cheerfully.

"We know you have work right now, so we figure we'll just hang around 'til you're done. Then we can reheat everything and feast like kings!" Roxas grinned.

Sora blinked. "You guys..." Both touched and astonished, he cocked his head to the right and coughed. "Thanks."

Ven smiled. "What else did you expect?"

Roxas flickered his gaze between the two of them and groaned. "Why are you guys such saps?"

"Why are you such a killjoy?" whined Ven while Sora laughed, embarrassed.

The twins sat themselves at one of the tables near the window wall. Sora stopped by in between taking orders, the second time to remind them they were in a restaurant and if they wanted to stay then they had to order something. Ven and Roxas complained they were still full from lunch, to which Sora told them to suck it up and eat like men, darn it. This was accompanied by a warning look from Tiana, who poked her head out from the kitchen to glare at them threateningly.

They ordered hash browns with a side of mercy.

"So when's Riku coming back?" Roxas asked.

"Next week," Sora answered. "I can't wait—I haven't seen him in, like, a year!" Riku was a year older than Sora, Roxas, and Ven, and thus he'd started college a year earlier. Best friends with Riku since babyhood, Sora found life in Twilight Town wasn't the same without him. For one thing, there wasn't anyone around to reel Roxas and Ven from taking a prank too far. Result: lots of chaos.

"Doesn't he write to you?" Ven asked.

Roxas raised his eyebrows. "And don't you guys Skype?"

"Yeah, but that's not the same thing as actually having him here in person. Plus Mickey misses him."

Roxas made a small noise. "You guys must be pretty excited," he said. "Pretty soon you'll be going to the same college together. You've dreamed about that for years."

Sora grinned. "This summer is gonna rock. I'm going to UZ, Riku's coming back; this'll be the best summer vacation ever!" He pumped his fist. Ven copied him, grinning widely.

Roxas rolled his eyes and popped a hash brown into his mouth.

It was loud and smelled like booze everywhere. Kairi could barely make out the dark figures grinding against each other, which she was grateful for when Selphie, after dipping a bit too much into the punch bowl, planted a big, sloppy kiss on some random boy's face.

Anna and Kairi watched Selphie drag the boy to the dance floor. "She's gonna regret this tomorrow," Kairi remarked. Her hair was swept back and she wore a pink baby doll dress. Her lips glinted with lip gloss and her eyelids were dashed with light pink eyeshadow.

"She's gonna wake up with a massive headache. Who knows how long she'll be hurling it up in the bathroom too," Anna said. "You know, it's really a problem for us right now 'cause she's the only one of us who knows how to drive."

"We'll call a cab. No way are we letting her behind the wheels when she's like this."

"She's really excited for Splendore's," Anna observed. "Well, you both are, but she's a lot more obvious about it."

Grimacing for a brief second, Kairi quickly replaced it with a smile. "What about you? You come up with a plan yet?" Anna had surprised Kairi and Selphie when she announced she wasn't enrolling in University. "Business isn't for me," Anna had said. When they asked her what she planned to do instead, she answered: "No idea! But I can't wait to find out!"

The Anna of the present beamed. "Actually YES, I DO have a plan. And it is amazing. You won't believe it, I don't believe it, and I was there-"

"Anna," Kairi interrupted, a small smile on her lips. "The plan?"

"I'm joining a troupe!"

Kairi blinked. "You're...you're what?"

"I know, right?!" Anna gushed. "I was at the park the other day when I saw the most amazing performance. They were acting out all these wonderful stories, stories my sister used to read to me when we were little. And—And when they finished I went over to them to tell them how fantastic they were, next thing I know we're eating lunch together and they're inviting me to join!"

"...That's...you...you act?"

"Well, I mean, not technically, but Bulda said she'd give me a couple of tips to help get me started. And, you know, my mom still doesn't know I'm not studying business. If I can keep a secret for that long, then I must have some talent as an actress, right?"

Kairi didn't bother to ask who Bulda was. "...Right...Wait, you mean your family still doesn't know you're not going to college?"

Anna smiled nervously. "My sister knows. I didn't want to tell my mom until I figured something out. Now that I have I'll tell her tomorrow."

"I take it she won't be happy about it."

"She'll come around," Anna said breezily, though there was a hint of shakiness in her voice. "She has to. It's my life. She doesn't decide what I do with it."

"You really think this is a good idea?" asked Kairi. "Street performers don't make a ton of money. Where will you live? What'll you eat?"

"The troupe lives in a trailer. We go wherever the wind takes us!"

"But Anna...are you sure you've thought this through?" She'd known Anna for four years ever since she started RPG, and it was apparent from their first meeting Anna had the tendency to spring into action without taking into account the possible dangers. Like the time she spent Spring Break alone with her boyfriend of two weeks. To this day, Kairi was still thankful nothing had happened to her friend.

Anna pouted. "Yes, I have! I thought long and hard about this. I thought about how my mom's been shoving business and finances and other boring company stuff down my throat since I was seven and how my sister's completely given into her and how her whole life is basically our family's company. I thought about it, and I refuse to let it become my life, too."

"So yes, I'm sure," Anna crossed her arms, and then uncrossed them again.

Kairi gazed at her friend speechlessly. Several moments passed until finally she said, "I'm happy for you. I hope you have fun out there."

"Thanks. And I just know you'll do great at Splendore's," Anna hugged Kairi. Kairi returned the hug, but she couldn't help but frown once more, and was grateful Anna couldn't see.

Kairi separated herself from Anna and told her she needed some fresh air. She went to the house's backyard, which was spotted with trees and completely empty save for a few still sober folk. She glanced at each of them and wondered just what did their futures have in store for them? How many of them were heading off towards the lives they wanted like Anna, and how many were forced to concur with what others wanted of them, expected of them?

How many were like her?

Sighing, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed her grandmother's number. "Hello, my little songbird," Her grandmother greeted her affectionately. There was a small undertone of confusion. "Might I ask why you're calling your old grandmother when you should be partying with your friends?"

"Partying's never really been my thing, Gran." Kairi let out a small laugh. "I really missed you, you know."

"I missed you too, songbird. The house isn't the same without you. Though I suppose I'll have to get used to it."

"Not for another two months you won't. Remember, I'm coming back home for the summer?"

"Yes, I can't wait. Two whole months with my baby girl in Twilight Town. Your last summer home..." her grandmother trailed off, sounding wistful and slightly tearful.

Kairi smiled. "We better make sure it's one heck of a summer, right?"

Her grandmother laughed. "That's the spirit, dear!"

They talked for a couple of minutes until saying goodbye. Clutching her cell phone in her hand, Kairi smiled to herself in relief. Talking to her grandmother always cheered her up. She felt lighter, more confident, the future no longer a heavy load but a tolerable, even welcome change. All she had to do was hold on to this feeling and she'd be okay. She had to be.

But just like all other times previous to now, the feeling abandoned her, leaving her with nothing but dread once again.

The format for Sora's acceptance letter was taken and paraphrased from an actual acceptance letter I found online.

Has anyone else noticed most AU Kingdom Hearts fics feature mainly Final Fantasy characters? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but Disney is a part of the series too. Don't they deserve some time in the spotlight? Like in the fic Benefriends by .uta. Mainly FF and KH original characters, but Cogsworth and other Disney characters make appearances as well. Very good read for RokuNami fans, check it out!

Do you know this is the longest I've ever written for a chapter? Seven and a half pages. Hopefully they'll get longer later on. :) Reviews make me feel nice, and they help motivate me! So if it's not too much trouble, could you leave some? Constructive criticism is welcome! Asked for, even!