A oneshot for my eternal OTP: SoKai.
Enjoy.
It was finally over. Xehanort and Organization XIII had finally fallen. Sora was a Keyblade Master, and the worlds were safe from the Keyblade War.
Terra, Ventus and Aqua were moving to Radiant Garden to help the Restoration Committee. Sora was also suspicious that Terra had something on his mind other than the well-being of that world… Something that involved Aqua…
Lea had gone with them. Apparently, he had some unfinished business with a certain young ninja whose name rhymed with 'goofy'.
Speaking of Goofy, he returned to Disney Castle with Donald and the King; now that there was peace, they needed time to enjoy it.
Sora reclined in the pilot's chair of the Gummi Ship. This one belonged to him. Donald and Goofy had taken the Highwind that they'd used throughout their journeys back to the Castle with them, but Chip and Dale had given him this one, "to check up on your pals," they'd said. He'd called it Excalibur. After all, that was the name he'd wanted to give the raft.
"Sora," Kairi called to him. "Where are we headed?"
"Twilight Town," he called back.
"Why there?" Riku said, sounding puzzled.
Sora smirked, not that they could see it. "You'll see."
**KH**
They landed near the Old Mansion. Sora and Riku's faces were sombre; Kairi's was puzzled. "What is this place?" she asked.
"This is where DiZ…I mean, Ansem the Wise…and I kept Sora while he was sleeping," Riku replied.
"It's also where we found the gateway to Organization XIII's world… Well, the old one, anyway."
"Wow…" Kairi's voice was filled with both sadness and surprise.
"So Sora," Riku asked his best friend, "why are we here?"
"I want you to meet some friends of mine… Oh, and Kairi's."
"Huh?" Riku's eyebrow rose quizzically.
Kairi giggled. "I think I know who Sora's talking about."
"I'm glad you do, because I don't."
Sora led them through the woods that surrounded the mansion and to the back alley. Gingerly, he threw back the torn fabric that covered the gap to a small enclave.
Sitting on piping and a battered old couch were three teens. One was about Sora's height with slicked-back blonde hair. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and a khaki vest over it. His pants had a camouflage pattern, and his shoes matched. Around his neck he wore a wooden 'X' symbol.
The second boy was fairly short and a little pudgy. His hair was black, and he wore a headband. His shirt was a red jersey that sported the title 'Dog Street' and a cartoon of a dog and bones.
The girl of the group had dark brown hair and green eyes. Her clothes were orange, with a floral pattern.
"Hey, guys!" Sora called to them, a grin on his face.
"Hey," Kairi waved at them.
"Sora! Kairi!" the trio shouted. The girl hugged Sora quickly before realising how awkward it was. Bashfully, she hugged Kairi instead. Sora shook the pudgy boy's hand before he bumped fists with the other boy.
Once the reunion was over, the three looked at Riku, the question in their faces.
"This is Riku," Sora made the introduction. "He was the one who was helping the King. You know, when Kairi came here."
"Oh yeah," the taller boy said. He walked over to Riku and held out his fist. "Name's Hayner."
Riku smiled and bumped fists with him. "Riku."
The pudgy boy shook Riku's hand. "I'm Pence. Nice to meetcha, Riku."
Cautiously, the girl walked over, her hands behind her back. "I'm Olette."
"Nice to meet you all," Riku said, and he actually meant it.
"Hey, Sora," Pence said then, "we're all going to Sunset Station soon. You guys wanna come?"
"It'll be great fun!" Olette added.
Sora looked briefly at Kairi, not that she noticed it. "Sure."
"Alright, let's go." Hayner's voice was decisive.
**KH**
Everyone had bought some sea-salt ice cream, and Riku looked like he was actually having fun.
Sora again glanced at Kairi as she laughed at some ridiculous joke Hayner was telling everyone. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Olette's hand was firmly in Hayner's. Huh. So they'd started going out, huh?
He looked at Kairi again, remembering the last time he was here, and the old man's words. 'Sunset Hill's a great place to take someone you love,' he'd said.
Sora tapped Kairi's shoulder. "Hey, can I show you something?"
Kairi looked at him, a thousand questions in her eyes. "Sure," she said finally.
"Hate to interrupt," Sora said to everyone else, "but I'm gonna take Kairi up to Sunset Hill, OK?"
Pence's eyebrow shot up; Hayner and Olette looked at each other and laughed. Riku just looked at his two friends and said, "Don't be too long."
Sora flushed but said nothing.
**KH**
"Wow!" Kairi marvelled as she saw the sunset over the hills.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
"Yeah! Now I know why they call it Sunset Hill."
Sora nodded and looked at her. She looked amazing in the setting sun. He again admitted privately how much he loved this girl; he had for as long as he could remember.
"Sora?"
"Huh?" She'd noticed him staring.
"Are you thinking about…what happens now?"
"Uh, yeah." He flushed.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I just wanna put it behind me."
Sora shrugged. "I guess I wanna forget all the trouble we've been in…" He lowered his voice. "Especially you…"
"What?"
He ignored her and kept talking. "But I don't wanna forget all the friends I've made… You know, like the guys here… Terra, Ven, Aqua, Lea, the Restoration Committee… The list goes on…"
Kairi said nothing.
"But you're right," Sora continued. "Time to move on." He placed one gloved hand on hers; startled, she moved it away, but Sora caught it.
"Kairi…" He was looking her straight in the eye. Like he was staring into her soul. She kind of liked that feeling. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For all the trouble you've been in."
She waved it off. "It wasn't your fault. I mean, the first time it was Riku…under Ansem's influence, of course. Then it was Axel…but Lea apologised for that a while ago." She moved her hand to cover his. "It was never your fault, Sora."
Sora nodded solemnly "It's just…"
"Just…what?"
He looked at her again. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. I…" He flushed. "I care about you too much to…"
"Sora…"
"Kairi, I'm just gonna come out and say it. I can't live without you. Melodramatic, I know, but I think it might be true. I mean, you were the one who brought me back when I was a Heartless, so what if the light of your heart is the only thing keeping me going? I just…"
He couldn't finish the sentence. The main reason was probably the fact that Kairi's lips were pressed firmly onto his.
His mind reeled. He vaguely remembers there being tongue involved in the kiss, but not much else.
Eventually, the kiss stopped. "I can't live without you, too, Sora," Kairi whispered.
He held her hand tightly and kissed her cheek. She giggled and squeezed his hand.
Nearby, Olette held Hayner's hand, a tear running down her cheek. "Finally…"
Hayner's arm went around Olette's shoulders as she broke down out of happiness. He gently kissed her forehead.
Pence smiled awkwardly at Riku. "Great. We're the third-wheels."
Riku was smiling at his best friends. "In my case, that's not such a bad thing."
Please please PLEASE review! PLEASE!