Truth

I never thought the waves would sound so daunting to me. I never thought the sunset would make me feel slight dread in my heart. But when I think about it, I would have never thought that Sora would hide anything from us. From his friends, from Riku…...from me.

I sigh as I watch the waves from the familiar paopu tree where the three of us used to watch the sunset together. I hadn't felt this nervous for a while, not since Riku had taken me to Yen Sid's tower, being told that I was to train with Ale- I mean Lea, at Merlin's place in Radiant Garden. But this is something on a different level and my heart raced by the thought of what I was going to do. The daunting level only grow stronger as Sora was running late, as usual. The simple things to show that Sora was just the same Sora that he was all those years ago.

But its not the simple things I am worried about.

"Kairi!" A familiar voice called. I looked behind me to see the familiar brown spiky hair boy running towards me. I shook my head as he approaches me out of breath. "Sorry…...I'm late." He puffed as he sat on the paopu tree as well.

"Sora, we were meant to meet here two hours ago." I frowned at him. What I needed to tell him was quite serious and Sora has been hard to catch as he is normally going from world to world. Time was of the essence.

"I know. I'm sorry." He looked away from me. "I know you said it was urgent…. I just got caught up with some stuff." He summoned his keyblade but it was different. It wasn't the Kingdom Key but a smooth, cylindrical, grey shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It has a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rod. The base of the guard connects to the grip, and both sport several small indentations lining them. The grip itself is somewhat unique in that, while most Keyblade grips are cylindrical, the grip is squared. The teeth are in the shape of an "E". Sora pointed this keyblade forward, so I could look at it fully. "I did come to the islands early to make sure I wasn't late. Then I found this on the beach." The keyblade dissolved in his hand before looking at me. "Either way, I should have been here sooner."

I looked at him with a heart-warming smile as he gave a sheepish grin while scratching the back of his head. His smile always made my heart skip slightly. "So long as you don't go rushing off straight away. I guess I can forgive you." I joked slightly. Only slightly as I know that if I didn't tell him what I thought now. I won't have the chance again.

"Don't worry." He softly spoke as he shuffled a little closer to me on the tree. "I'm not going anywhere." I feel my face go slightly red from his words that I had the look away, tucking my hair behind my ear. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked cheerfully.

I looked back at him, seeing his concerned look and took this moment to take everything in. His slightly more controlled hair, the difference in his body from the last two years of fighting heartless was a sight, before returning right back to his eyes.

His eyes that looked tired, exhausted and slightly green. Not his usual blue. I need to tell him. "I wanted to talk about you, Sora."

"Me?" He said with surprise, a confused look on his face.

I took this chance to jump off the tree and walk towards the edge of the little island before turning back to look at him. "Yes Sora. Have you been okay?" I said to him vaguely, maybe by starting vaguely he can start the talking himself.

Instead, he just looked at me with confusion as he tilted his head to the side. "I'm doing okay." He answered before laying down on the paopu tree now that I had moved. "I am worried about Riku though. He said that he would contact us when he and Mickey got into the realm of darkness." I watched Sora pull a communicator from his pocket that all of us received from Izeno in Radiant Garden. He looked at it intently, "But I haven't heard anything yet."

He wasn't hiding everything there. I was having trouble with contacting Riku myself. I wanted to see that he was safe as well, but I wanted to ask him what happened doing their Mark of Mastery. I know that Riku would tell me the truth unlike Lea and the others, who would tell me everything but the reason why Sora had failed. Why did Sora fail? After everything he has done for the worlds, why was he not granted the mark. Either way, Riku isn't here now so I will just have to find out from the source himself.

"I'm sure we will hear from him soon." Then I added, "I mean he is a Master now."

"That's true." He agreed. "And you're right, Kairi." He sat up and smiled at me. "Riku will be back before you know it."

There it was again. I thought as I caught the glimpse of green in his eyes and his grin posed wide like he was having a photo taken. It was staged.

I didn't think anything of it at first. When I had bumped into Sora in Radiant Garden during my training, I has asked him if he was okay and he assured me that he was fine. I trusted that Sora would tell me if anything was wrong, so I left it at that. But after we had gotten our communicators, we started talking more while I was doing training missions in other worlds. I started noticing that he didn't sound as chirpy as he normally is. He would avoid certain questions. He would mask his face to show that he was fine.

He wasn't like that before the Mask of Mastery, so what happened to him.

"Are you okay, Kairi?" I snapped out of my thoughts to pull my attention back to him. He looked at me with concern. "For someone who wanted to talk urgently, you've been quiet the last couple of minutes."

"Sorry. I was just in my thoughts." I looked back at him, if I don't ask soon. He will have to go. I took a deep breath and looked at him, my eyes locked on his. "Sora, why didn't you pass the Mark of Mastery?"

I could sense his concentrated glaze on me as he jumped down from the tree and approached me. "I was meant to gain a power in the sleeping worlds and I didn't gain it at the time." He turned to face the sunset. "I have that power now. I'm a Master now. So, I overcame that challenge."

I looked at his hands to see them clenched tightly. There was more to this. "If it was that simple Sora, the others would have told me the whole story." I stepped toward to get closer, noticing that he was making sure I couldn't see his face. "I've been told that something happened that Mickey, Lea and the others had to jump in the middle of your test. And I know that Riku had to wake you up." I placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling him flinch from my touch. I would admit that seeing him react like that hurt a little. "I just want to know what happened." I spoke with concern.

"I failed Kairi. That's what happened." He spoke coldly. His tone caught me off guard, but my worries were starting to be confirmed. He has been holding something in and he hasn't been talking to anyone about it. From the sound of it, he defiantly hasn't even talked to Riku about it.

"What—" When I went to look at face, he turned sharply away from me. He started to walk towards wooden bridge. "Sora! Where are you going?" I called out.

"I have to get back to saving Roxas." Sora replied, still avoiding looking at me. "I have to save them all." His body moved heavily as he was stomping off.

Is that what this is about? A part of me didn't want to push him anymore but I knew that if I give up now, I wouldn't be able to confront him again until I have Riku with me and I have this feeling we will be too late. "What are you so afraid off that you would push us aside?!" I stood my ground, if he wasn't going to show me his face then I going to sherd no tears. I need to stay strong. "We're all worried about you." I watched him stay to a halt from my words. "I'm worried about you."

We stood there for a while. The sound of the waves filling the space between us. I started to walk towards him when he spoke. "Am I still the same Kairi?"

"What do you mean?" I asked him. What did he mean by that?

I watched him sigh as he looked at his hands, still not turning to face me. "There are so many people connected to me by my heart. Roxas, Ventus…..." He shook slightly, the sound of his voice became more strained as he spoke. "I want to help everyone, but I don't want to become someone I am not. I don't want to carry all of this hurt." He grabbed his chest in response with one hand and covered his eyes with the other. "Everyone is depending on me and I scared that I am not even me."

Hearing the sobs coming from him just through my body into auto-pilot as I ran over to him, turned him around and hugged him tightly, guiding him to rest his head into my shoulder. I felt his arms wrap around myself tightly as he made muffled sounds into my jacket. I brushed my fingers through his hair and rocked him slightly, telling him that 'I am here' over and over to calm him down. A part of me was glad that he was letting this out, but it could have also been prevented. "Remember what you said to Riku when we found him? You said that he shouldn't do everything on his own when he has friends like us. Well, I am saying the same thing to you. Let us carry some of that fear and hurt and we will face it together."

He started to calm down before he spoke again. "I didn't want to worry anyone." I noticed that he was still hiding his face away. I tired to move to look at him, but he kept me in place within his arms. My concern only grew more. "I didn't want to worry you."

"Sora, you are worrying me now. Let me see your face." I asked him. "Let me in." We stood there in each other's arms for a minute or two before he shifted to lift his head up from her shoulder. His lips formed a firm line and he kept his eyes shut. "Sora please." He took my hands into his slightly rough ones. I could feel his hands shake within mine. I have never seen him this scared or upset before. It was starting to scare me.

Then he opened his eyes. Golden ones staring back at me.

"I was captured by Xehanort and the new Organization XIII during the Mark of Mastery." His voice shook as he started to explain. "I watched everything without the ability to move my body. Xehanort wanted to make me his last member. Make me just another version of himself. And after everything that the others did, to prevent that from happening. I just couldn't…." He looked away as tears began to form. "Riku and Axel…..Donald and Goofy….the King." I held on to his hands tightly for reassurance, making him look back at me. "It was my fault that I got captured. They fought so hard to save me, especially Riku. I couldn't tell them." He closed his eyes and hung his head in guilt and shame.

While holding his hands, I took the time to process the information given. We had failed to save Sora from Xehanort after all. His heart is part of Sora's now. He is the thirteen seeker. However, Xehanort hasn't taken over his heart, Sora was in control. Why was that? I thought back to Sora's first question, when he was asking if he was still him and what he said after. "Sora. When you said that you didn't want to become someone you are not. Were you thinking that if you were to save both Roxas and Ventus from their faith, that Xehanort will take over?" It was only thing that might make sense. It was like they were being guards to Sora's heart from any invaders. I could understand why he hadn't talked to anyone about this. He didn't want to make anyone feel that they failed to save them. In the end, I would properly be the only person he thought he could admit this too.

But even I feel I have failed him.

"I don't know what to do, Kai." His head hung low. He sounded so lost in my arms. "I can't just leave Roxas and Ventus trapped within. Using them for my own needs. That would make me no better than Xehanort." He let go of my hands, suddenly I am missing the warmth that he was giving. "But saving Roxas and Ventus is exactly what they want. They have been taunting me enough during my journey to other worlds." I watched his guilt quickly turn into frustration as he closed his eyes and placed his hand in his hair. "Either way, I can choose to be a coward and abandon my friends or save my friends to only go to hurt them later."

I shook my head at this. "Sora, we can find another way. We can always focus on removing Xehanort from your heart first then go back to getting Roxas and Ventus."

He sighed as he opened his eyes to look back at me. "I don't think it will be that easy." He held on to his chest, where his heart rests. "Unlike Roxas and Ventus, his presence fights against my very being. Using whatever darkness I have within me to his advantage. It comes and goes at the moment but it mainly comes when I am feeling down or scared. With all this thinking of 'Who I am', I am starting to feel his presence at lot more. I can't even sleep properly."

"We can still use the power you and Riku learnt to-" I jumped in.

"If we do it, Xehanort will properly take every last bit of my darkness with him." He sighed. "I am not like you or Ven…my heart would break."

"Then we will bring you back-"

"How?!" The sharpness in Sora's voice caught me off guard. I didn't want to admit that there wasn't anything we could do. That I could do. I had brought him back before when he was a Heartless. I will figure out a way to bring him back. "I broke your promise. I am no longer myself." He stepped back and placed his hand in one of his pockets, pulling out a familiar charm to both him and I. "I don't deserve to keep a hold of this. It might be better if-"

I don't know what came over me but seeing him with the charm in hand, seeing him so crushed and lost within himself that I needed to drive his darkness away. I just leaned forward, placed my hands on the side of his face and placed my lips on his for a quick but passionate kiss. My heart was racing from my boldness and my body was just running on adrenaline from all the emotions that running through me. I looked back at him to see his eyes widen with surprise, what the surprise for me was that his eyes turned from the eerie golden yellow back to his usual comforting blue ones. I was too filled with emotions to question my actions.

"YOU ARE SORA!" I said to him as clear as possible, my hands still on his shocked face. "You are the saviour of the worlds, a fantastic friend, a loving, caring person. Nothing and no one will change that. Xehanort will not take control of you. Your heart has already shown to be stronger than his. Believe me when I say that." I started to breathe heavily, I took this time to close my eyes, letting go of Sora's face as I calmed myself down. "Please keep hold of the charm. It's the only thing that assures me that you will come back home." With my emotions in check, I opened my eyes to look back at him. He seems to be processing everything I have said and done.

Suddenly feeling regret from my kiss, I step away from him. Something that he notices straight away. "Sora. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—" It was my turn to have my sentence cut off as my dear friend repeated the same action by grabbing my face and kissing me with just as much passionate, only lasting a little while longer. All sense of worry disappeared as I was filled with complete bliss. Feeling my heart sing as I take this moment in.

Sora pulled away from me and looked at me with the warmest smile. A smile that I haven't seen in a while. "Thank you, Kairi." He pulls me into a hug. "And I'm sorry. For all of this. I didn't want anyone, especially you to find out this way.

"But Sora -"

Sora's communicator starts to ring. Time was up.

I sighed as Sora pulled away to find his ringing communicator in his pockets. Placing the charm back in his pocket while doing so. I took this time to notice that the sun had gone down during our heart to heart. It was hard to see when the night comes as there is not any light source. I looked up to the sky to see so many stars scattering across the sky. The night sky can be a thing of beauty. To think that all those stars are a world, just like ours.

"Kairi." I turned to face Sora, it was a little tricky seeing him in the dark. "That was Riku."

"Is he okay?" I stepped toward slightly, trying to find where Sora was. I felt Sora's hand and grabbed it. At least I know where he is now.

"He's fine. He said that Yen Sid needs us all back at the tower. He believes that he has an idea where Terra is." I held on my hand tightly, feeling the warmth from it. "C'mon, we will give you a lift there." We start walking across the bridge and jump down to head to the row boats.

Sora lets go of my hand to set up a light source on the rowboat. I watched him intensively as there was one thing that I was wondering about. "You are going to tell the others, right?" As much as I want to be, I will not be journeying with him all the time. There will also be times where we might not be able to communicate with each other as easily so having others near him that he can talk to if he is struggling against Xehanort will help in the run of the final battle ahead.

The lantern on the boat is switched on, allowing me to see Sora's thoughtful but worried expression. "I will." He stood away from the rowboats and looked at me, "If you can promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"If I lose the battle against Xehanort after I help Roxas, Ventus and the others…" He stepped towards me and placed both my hands within his. I looked at his eyes to see the slight green colour has returned to his eyes. "Don't go easy on me."

Again, the waves filled the silence between the two of us, I could feel the weight of this promise. What it meant if I was to agree and what I was agreeing to. Any other time, I would claim that there must be another way, that it doesn't have to been like this. But we both know that we will be heading down this path no matter what. If it means that he will spread his worries to the others, so he doesn't burst then that will decrease the chance of Xehanort taking Sora's heart.

"I promise."

It has been a while since I have written a Kingdom Hearts Fanfic but with Kingdom Hearts 3 just around the corner and seeing amazing 'Soranort' stories coming from Chachacharlieco and Phoenix-downer on Tumblr, I got inspired to write. If you guys like this. Let me know and I will try write some more fics.