F I V E
Summary: Kairi finds five little gifts on her doorstep, one each day. Who could they be from? Sora x Kairi
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts. ): ...but I don't.
Author's Note
Just a 4,000 word oneshot! :) I was going to make this a five-shot (i/e: the title), but I decided not to, on account I have two other long-fics to work on & a whole more oneshots. Well, read on!
I've always been into mystery. I guess you could say my cousin-slash-best friend, Naminé, got me into it. It had been a few years back, both when we were eight, and Naminé had been sleeping over at my house. It was late, so when I got up to pee I noticed Naminé huddled in bed with a flashlight and a book. "Naminé?" I yawned, rubbing my eyes.
Her blond eyebrows shot up. "Oh! Kairi!" she shut her book.
"Why are you still up?" I asked suspiciously.
"I was reading this book," Naminé confessed, holding up a paperback book labeled Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock. "It's so good. I can't put it down!"
"Let me see," I held out my hand. Naminé passed it to me and I read the back. It seemed interesting enough, so I asked Naminé if I could borrow it when she was done. Two days later, Naminé was at my doorstep with it.
"You'll like it, I'm sure," she smiled as she went back down the porch steps.
She was wrong.
I loved it! I read it through lunch and dinner, and even brought it with me to do my 'business' in the bathroom. All too soon, the book ended and I was disappointed—until Naminé told me she had the other first four books in the series. Delighted, I read right through them, following Nancy through extreme mysteries, each one just as thrilling as the other.
Ever since then—seven years ago—I've been in love with mystery and solving cases. I couldn't wait to stumble upon one myself.
—S&K.
I was surprised on one particular day to see a deep red rose on my doorstep. There was a note attached and it read: To Kairi – Roses are red, violets are blue. You've never known this, but I'm in love with you. Love, your secret admirer. The writing was slanted and seemed like the writer was trying really hard to print neatly.
What in the world!
"Secret admirer?" Naminé questioned.
It was a few minutes after I found the rose. I had rushed over to the phone and called Naminé. This was definitely worth a long phone conversation.
"Yes, secret admirer," I sighed, flopping down on my bed. "Who could it be, Nam? The suspense is killing me!" I rolled over and faced the white ceiling.
"Seems like we have a mystery on our hands," Naminé mimicked Fred from Scooby Doo, one of our favorite shows when we were younger.
"Awesome!" I smiled, chuckling. "Where should we start?"
"Come over to my house. We'll take a look at the hand writing and see if one of us recognizes it."
"Excellent idea," I nodded, even though Naminé couldn't see me. "I'll be over in a few."
—S&K.
"Nope." Naminé shook her head. "Sorry, Kai, I don't recognize it."
"That makes two of us," I sighed.
"Let's list off some possible guys," Naminé suggested, grabbing a nearby notebook and a ballpoint pen. She took a few minutes to write down some names before going over them. "Ok. Hayner?"
"No way," I shook my head. "He and Olette are totally in like with each other. Plus, he's not the type to write his feelings down. Don't you remember how he asked out Olette?"
"Oh yeah!" Naminé and I laughed. Poor Hayner, so new to the dating business. He had asked Olette out by incoherently mumbling "Will you go out with me?" which sounded like "Will youp goat ouf wif me?" all thrown together. Olette had finally caught on (smart girl!) and had accepted his offer. They were still happily together, just about to hit two years.
Naminé crossed off Hayner's name and looked down at the second boy. "Pence?"
"Are you kidding me!" I gasped. "PENCE? No flippin' way. Pence is way to…I don't know, non-poetic to write something like that." We had English together last year and when we had to write poems, let's just say Pence wasn't exactly…good at that. The guy just wasn't into poetry, and two lines of I love dogs, But I don't love hogs, didn't cut it for our English teacher.
"You sure?" Naminé raised an eyebrow, pen poised over the list.
"Completely," I nodded. Naminé drew a line through Pence's name.
It went on like that for a while, and by the time we had gotten down to our last two names it was nearly dark outside. "What about Sora?" Naminé asked me.
I forced a laughed. "Nam—it's Sora. My guy best friend? The boy who failed English in eight grade?" I shook my head. "Sora's just so…Sora." As much as I would have liked for him to be it, it couldn't be. Besides, he was my best friend. Not a boyfriend or lover—we weren't meant to be like that, as sad as it was.
"True yet again," Naminé crossed his name off the list. She looked up at me worriedly. "You don't think it's Roxas, do you?" Being Naminé's best friend, I happen to know Roxas is someone she likes. A lot. Dark blond hair, sea blue eyes: cute, but not my type. Besides, everyone could see he was completely in love with Naminé. Well, everyone but Naminé.
"Of course not," I laughed. "He likes you, Nam. Can you not see that?"
Naminé blushed and looked down at her list. "Well, then that's it. That's everyone."
"Crud," I sighed and fell back on Naminé's soft white bed. "This is going to be harder than I thought."
—S&K.
The next day, my father asked me to get the paper.
As I stepped out of the house, I noticed that there were three things on my doorstep. One: the newspaper. Two: A very cute little box of chocolates. Three: A note sealed in an envelope with a red ribbon tied around it that said Kairi on the front.
I picked them up, ran inside, and tossed my father the newspaper.
"What's the matter, Kai?" he asked. "You seem jittery."
"Uh…I just need to pee," I said quickly. Once inside my room, I hopped on my bed and gently opened the envelope, careful not to rip it. While it wasn't another poem, it was a note:
Kairi—
Every day when I think of you my world just brightens. It's the little things you do that make my life so enjoyable. Hope you like the gift I got you—they're milk chocolate, your favorite—though they'll never be as sweet as you.
—Your secret admirer
P.S. Sorry if I sound like a crazy thirty year old stalker. But I'm not. :)
"WHO ARE YOU?!" I cried. I opened up the box and slipped one of the chocolates in my mouth, thinking. He sounded so sweet (no pun intended), I just had to know who he was. After devouring the last bite, I called Naminé and told her.
"Aww!" she cooed into the phone when I read her the note. "Gosh, this guy sounds so adorable!"
"I know," I groaned. I flipped the box of chocolates around on my bed, when I caught sight of a logo: Sweetheart. "Naminé!" I gasped. "The person who bought the box got it from Sweetheart's. There's only one Sweetheart store on these islands…"
"Genius!" I could hear Naminé clapping. "Good observations, Kai. We can go to the store and ask if anyone's bought those candies recently."
"Meet you outside in ten minutes," I promised.
—S&K.
"Those candies, hmm?" the man at the cash register rubbed his chin. "Sweetheart Original Chocolates," he read the box. "Let's see…" He disappeared through the back doors, mumbling to himself.
"Let's hope for the best," Naminé whispered.
My hands were shaking as the man came back.
"Well, I can't tell you girls much," the man said. "Just nine people bought those in the last week. Most of them were tourists just strolling through."
I groaned.
"However, one young man did buy a lot of boxes."
"Who?" I asked eagerly.
"Don't know his names, but he was around your age. Fifteen, sixteen. I'm leaning on sixteen, though."
"Thanks," me and Naminé said before exiting the store.
"Well, that went well," I sighed.
"Well, now that we know the boy's definitely our age, we can push Axel, Zexion, and Demyx off the list," Naminé said gently. The boys were older then us by several years—and it showed on their handsome, chiseled faces.
"Hi Kairi! Hi Naminé!"
I'd recognize that voice anywhere.
"Hi, Sora!" I smiled as Naminé waved.
"Watcha guys doing?" he asked, his blue eyes quite smoldering. They were so pretty, I just wanted to stare into them forever…
"Trying to...exercise," Naminé quickly covered, elbowing me in the ribs.
I blinked. "Oh. Um, yeah!" I nodded.
"So why do you have a chocolate box?" Sora asked, raising his eyebrows. As naïve as Sora is, he can be pretty observant at times. Darn him.
"Um, we were exercising off the calories," Naminé grinned.
"Oh!" Sora nodded. "Got it. Well, I better get going. I'm meeting Roxas at the arcade for a few rounds of Mega Death. See you around!" Sora waved and headed down the street.
"I swear, I love that boy." I sighed. Namine looked at me. "Er, I mean, I love the way he…likes playing games."
The smirk stayed on Namine's face for the rest of the day.
—S&K.
The moment I woke up, I sat up with my eyes wide. My secret admirer—did he leave something today? I raced down the steps and flung open the door. Day three's gift: a cute pair of sunglasses with my name engraved on the side. I gaped at it. Underneath it was yet another envelope. I picked up the gifts gently and trudged to my room.
The sunglasses were pink and red, my favorite colors. My name was imprinted with an elegant font, a little heart next to the final i. I opened up the latest note:
Kairi—
I hope you like these. The sun can be harmful to your pretty eyes, and we wouldn't want that to happen. It might be bright, but in my book, you still shine brighter.
—Your secret admirer
P.S. Glad you ate the chocolates! :)
How sweet! I pressed a hand to my beating heart. Carefully folding the note, I tucked it back in the envelope and sat there, thinking. My phone rang—Naminé.
"Hello?"
"Kai? Did you get anything today?" she asked eagerly.
I told her.
"We need to find this guy," she sighed. Then I heard her sit up. "Wait, read me the last part."
"It might be bright, but—"
"No, not that," Naminé said. "The P.S. part."
"P.S. Glad you ate the chocolates," I re-read. "So?"
"Hellooooo?"
"Oh my gosh!" I cried, sitting up. "You're a genius, Nam. If he wrote that, he must have seen me yesterday, right?"
"Who did we pass by yesterday?" Naminé asked.
"Let's see…Riku, Tidus, and Sora," I remembered. We had seen Riku and Tidus shortly after Sora went away.
"It must be one of them," Naminé declared.
"Obviously," I sighed. "But which one?"
"I think either Riku or Sora," Naminé said. "
"What! Why?"
"Remember that hug Riku gave you on the last day of school? And what about what he said to you? 'It's been a great year, Kai. All thanks to you.'" Naminé pointed out.
"Ok…I can understand that. But why do you say…Sora?" I blushed as his name came out of my lips.
"He likes you, I can tell." I could almost see Naminé smirking on the other line.
"Oh please," I rolled my eyes. "You can't even see that Roxas likes you."
"K-kairi!" she cried.
I smirked, knowing I had won the battle. Riku, huh? I thought, chewing on my lip as I absentmindedly listened to Naminé rant about how I was so accusing and so unfair. I'd known Riku since the beginning of sophomore year when we met in homeroom. He was attractive—all the girls thought so—and he was a gentleman. Maybe it was him.
When Naminé took a deep breath, I quickly jumped in. "Nam? How about we pay Riku a visit?"
"Sounds like a plan," Naminé giggled.
—S&K.
"Kairi! Naminé!" Riku raised his eyebrows as he opened the door. "What's going on? Come in." We stepped into Riku's large, spacious house. It was so modern and clean, I felt like it was something a rich boy would live in. I knew Riku was well off, but not like this.
"Sit down," he nodded to the comfy looking sofa. "Can I get you girls something to drink?"
"Water for me, thanks," Naminé said.
"Same here," I piped up as we eased on to the sofa. Riku nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. "Look at his house," I muttered to Naminé. "It's like something out of a movie."
"It's amazing," Naminé had to agree. "Did you see the windows? Look."
I looked to my right to see two large windows shooting up to the ceiling. They were covered by silky curtains, which made me re-think about the choice I had for my room: white frilly curtains that were cotton and cost ten dollars at the Bed & Beautiful store.
Something told me these weren't from there.
"Here you are, two waters," Riku handed us two chilly bottles—Perrier. I gulped. Sparkling natural mineral water? What kind of life did this boy live? He sat back in an armchair and opened one for himself. After taking a sip, he wiped his mouth and looked at us. "So what brings you two lovely ladies here?"
I glanced at Naminé. We hadn't exactly thought about an excuse.
"We just wanted to, y'know…hang out, talk. We missed not seeing you every day at school. Especially Kairi," Naminé nudged me. I shot her a glare. Sure, I liked Riku, but not like that. Unless of course, he turned out to be my secret admirer. Which was a possibility.
"Really?" Riku raised his eyebrows. "Well then, what's up?"
Naminé and me both took turns asking questions and answering Riku's, looking for any possible sign he could be my secret admirer.
After a moment of silence, Riku looked at us and asked, "Do you want some chocolates?"
I nearly choked on my drink.
"Chocolates?" Naminé raised her eyebrows, discretely elbowing me. She flashed a big smile at Riku. "We'd love some. Oh, but Kairi eats only milk chocolate," she added slyly.
"No problem. I have lots of those," he said with a wave of his hand. Me and Naminé exchanged glances. When Riku was out of the room, I turned to Naminé.
"Why did he suddenly bring up chocolates?" I whispered, my heart pounding. "Is he trying to give me a hint or something?" I realized my palms were sweating and I quickly wiped them on my shorts. Oh God, I was about to have a cardiac arrest. Naminé didn't say anything, merely giving me a clever smile. I shook my head and anxiously waited for Riku's return.
"Here!" he said happily, handing me and Naminé a box.
Sweetheart Original Chocolate.
Oh my.
—S&K.
"So Riku's the one, eh?" Naminé asked.
"Yup," I sighed. It was the next morning. I had woken Naminé up to talk on the phone. "Seems like it." She was quiet for a while. "Nam? You there?" I asked.
"Yeah," she spoke slowly. "But…I don't know, Kairi. I just get a feeling Riku's not your secret admirer." I could hear her moving on the bed, probably adjusting herself for a more comfy position.
"Why do you say that?" I asked. "I mean, all the evidence points to him."
"I…I just don't know," Naminé confessed. "Did you check what he sent you today?"
"Oh gosh! No," I said, quickly getting up. "Hang on, Nam." I set the phone down on my bed and hurried for the front door. Opening it, I was greeted by yet another small gift and a sealed envelope. Eagerly I grabbed them and raced up to my room, picking up my phone. "I got it," I panted, resting my head against the back of my bed. "Let me open it." As gently as I could, I opened the gift first. "Oh my God!" I screamed.
"What?" Naminé screamed back.
"It's a bracelet!" I cried, wide-eyed. It was a very pretty: there was a thick silver chain with three delicate charms glinting off of it: one heart, one star, and one crown. "Oh my gosh Nam, it's so pretty." I couldn't help but exclaim. I quickly described it, trying not to let my shaky voice be so loud and obvious.
"Read the note," Naminé reminded.
I was so caught up in the gift I completely forgot about the sealed envelope.
Kairi—
I really hope you like this gift! It took me a while to pick it out. These charms reminded me of you: you're sweet (heart), bright (star), and beautiful (crown).
—Your secret admirer
I read it to Naminé who squealed. "That's so sweet!"
"Yeah," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "Listen, Nam, I need to go. Call you in a while, ok?"
"Ok," Naminé agreed hesitantly. We hung up.
I stared at the beautiful gift and re-read the note. Was this really from Riku? It seemed like it. I brushed away stray tears and gently tucked the bracelet back in the box. For some reason, I couldn't bear to wear it yet. I felt that if I wore it and it really was from Riku, I'd be betraying someone. I just didn't know who. The tears started coming faster and faster and before I knew it, I was sobbing into my pillow. Why was I crying? I wasn't sure.
Biting my lip, I decided to go outside for a quick walk to get my thoughts together.
I stared up at the sky, willing for it to give me a sign—any sign—on who this boy might be. A faint wind blew against my face and I relaxed at the coolness. Whoever he is, he must be a sweetheart, I thought, walking down a little farther. Someone who knows me well enough. Someone like Riku. But for some reason, my heart seemed to sadden at the name. What was it trying to say? It's not Riku, is it? I sighed and looked at the sidewalk, willing myself not to cry.
"Kairi?"
"Sora?"
"Hey! I was just out for a walk and then…" Sora trailed off, studying my face. "Kairi? What's the matter? Why is your face so puffy and your eyes so red?" His deep eyes widened. "Oh no. You were crying, weren't you?"
Tears welled up in my eyes again, giving the answer to Sora's unanswered question. Before I knew it, they were spilling out. And suddenly in one quick movement Sora pulled me into him, his arms going around me, my head resting on his shoulder. He didn't say anything, just me crying into his shoulder, mumbling words incoherent to him. "I don't want it to be Riku," I sobbed. "I don't love him, I don't! I-I can't love him—"
"Shh," Sora said softly. "It's ok, Kairi. It'll be all right."
No, I thought, burying my head into his shoulder, trying desperately to stop my tears. It won't be. Because the only person I love…it's not Riku. It's you.
—S&K.
Day five. I had already checked outside for the most recent gift and it was now sitting on my bed. There had only been a sealed envelope with nothing but paper inside. I hadn't read it. I was so afraid of what it might say. What if it confessed that the sender was Riku? I couldn't bear the thought. Riku just wasn't the one. I knew sooner or later it would kill me if I didn't read it, so I slowly opened it up.
Kairi—
You have been invited to dinner with me today, at six o' clock P.M. on Destiny Beach. If you decide to come (which I really hope you do) dress casually. I'll meet you in front of the snack shack. Hope to see you there.
—Your secret admirer
Stunned, I called Naminé.
"You need to go!" she cried.
"But what if I'm disappointed with who it is?" I cried, slapping a hand to my forehead and pushing my hair back. "What if it's someone I don't even suspect? Like Pence or even Hayner?"
"Kairi," Naminé said firmly. "Have you learned nothing from all those Nancy Drew books and Saturday morning cartoons of Scooby Doo? Sometimes it's not who it claims to be—and other times you've been on the right trail all along. But it doesn't matter now, because the mystery ends here. It's time to take off the mask."
That girl had a point.
Naminé came over a little after five to help me get ready for my "date."
"Casual, eh?" Naminé glanced through my closet. Since she was more fashion-obsessed in our little pair, she was the one deciding what I would wear. Furthermore, she had brought along about twenty other pairs of clothes with her which were all dumped on my bed. Not finding anything suitable, Naminé dug though the mess on my bed. "How's this?" she smiled, holding up an entirely too-short yellow dress.
"No way!" I cried. It might have looked good on her, but I was a different story.
She made a face. After a few moments, she smiled and held up some denim shorts with a white halter top. I glared at her.
"Those are not shorts. They're practically panties!" I yelled. "And that top is so low cut. How do you expect me to fill that in?" I cried.
"Well excuse me," Naminé mumbled. After a few more minutes of rummaging, she grinned. "Ok, you can't say no to this." It was a simple light pink number that reached my knees and showed absolutely nothing.
"This is cute," I mumbled. Cute and simple: perfect for a casual dinner. I slipped on the bracelet, squeezing the heart lightly for good luck.
"Then that's the one!" Naminé smiled and clapped her hands.
—S&K.
I can't tell you how much I was shaking. Every step I was closer and closer to Destiny Beach was just another step closer to a heart attack. My heart was pumping so hard I could practically hear it. I glanced around. Not a lot of people were there, but it was still bright, thank goodness. There was no sign of Pence, no sign of Hayner, and, thankfully, no sign of Riku. I waited nervously in front of the closed snack shack, wondering who it was, who it could be.
"Kairi…"
Oh my God. That voice. That familiar voice. The voice I'd know anywhere. I was frozen. Forcing myself to think straight, I slowly turned around, my eyes shut tight. I opened them, lifting my eyes off the ground.
"Sora...!"
Tears instantly came into my eyes and the image of my revealed secret admirer grew blurry. The whole world seemed to suddenly melt away, like I was waking up from a dream. I was crying, crying, harder then I was the day previous. There was something in me that suddenly felt whole. Some emotion filled my entire shaking body as I dropped to the sand on my knees. Shock? No. Relief? In a way. Happiness? Completely.
"Kairi!" Sora knelt next to me. "Kairi, I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have done this…"
"Sora!" I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face. "It's you!" I threw my arms around him. I could feel him relax under me, hugging me back and pulling me close.
He kissed the top of my head and whispered, "It's me."
—S&K.
"So it was you all along?" I asked as I ate another mouthful of spaghetti.
"Yeah," Sora grinned sheepishly, biting into some garlic bread.
"I can't believe I thought it was Riku," I shook my head. "To think he had nothing to do with this. Poor guy." I twirled some more spaghetti on my fork and took a bite.
"Actually," Sora coughed. "I got the chocolates from him. Ha ha."
I stared at him. "That explains a lot," I said after swallowing.
"I was really worried you wouldn't feel the same way," Sora chuckled nervously. He smiled gently at me, the sunset in the background lighting his eyes. "Glad to see I was proven wrong." He gazed at the sunset for a moment, then smiled. Reaching behind the picnic basket, he pulled out a small stereo. He got up, switched the stereo on, and soon the beach was filled with soft music.
"May I have this dance?" Sora bowed down and offered me his hand, a smile on his lips.
I felt tears of happiness fill my eyes. "Yes," I said softly, my voice cracking. I took his hand and we began swaying gently to the music, my head on his chest, his arm lightly around me, and the sunset in the background.
Case closed.
Author's Note
So...how'd you like it?! :D I thought it would be fun to do a mystery-type thing, so voila! I was actually about to make this RoxNam but at the last minute decided not to, since I needed more variety. xD Lots more oneshots coming your way including Sokai & Haynette and maybe one Roxine. (you know they're my OTP! XD)
R E V I E W S rock my world. So let's rock it?