Authors Note: Sorry if it starts off slow, I need to set some things up and I want to establish the characters and what they're thinking before the action starts. It was very interesting to write. :3 Anything gummi block/kingdom related will be in the next chapter. And I think Riku and Kairi are too cute together. What do you think? Orrr should Kairi stay with the love struck Sora? (:
Kairi sat in the midst of her grandfather's library, completely absorbed in her research. Who was she before Paradise Islands? She remembered a grandmother, she recalled the large, castle terrace; she often dreamed of sitting there on her grandmother's lap. Who was her mother? Her father? How had she gotten all the way to another world if she was barely old enough to add two plus two? Had someone put her on a ship? The Destiny Island's mayor just said he'd found Kairi wandering around the marketplace, and then was duly adopted into the community shortly after.
She had never really bothered to ask questions about her past, even when others did. However, the closer to this castle she'd gotten, the faster she'd bonded with it. All the secret hallways, all the old architecture and art; the library was glorious and the view was unmatchable. She wondered what it was like; she wondered who had loved her then.
Not that she would ever wish for a life other than the one she's been blessed with. Given, she may have liked to have kept her heart those few months Sora was saving the Worlds from heartless. She would have liked to been conscious, too. But, being a princess? Sora, becoming so strong and brave through his experience with the keyblade? All the companions she'd met on her travels? No, she wouldn't give that up for anything less than a friend's life; God forbid that ever happened.
She was in charge of World Cooperation's, checking in on one World a week to make sure everything was up to snuff and void of all heartless. Not to mention void of those pesterous Nobodies. She physically shivered at the thought. Then, the guilt overcame her. It wasn't like, a punch in the gut kind of guilt, it was the what – do – I – really – know? kind of guilt. It was the slow, kind of sad guilt. Nobodies were said not to have hearts, but what about the exceptions? What about Namine? What about Axel?
"Maybe… waiting isn't good enough."
"My thought's exactly! If you have a dream, don't wait. Act. One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?"
"Who are you?"
"Axel. I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora. Why don't we go see him?"
And then they came…. the gray snake- like strangers. A portal opened. An unfamiliar yellow dog urged me forward. A sense of security in all the confusion. Though, I couldn't figure out why. Big, black, ominous holes aren't usually inviting.
"We've got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss something we care about."
At the time she didn't really understand, nor care why Axel kidnapped her. She was angry, she was lost. She was also to close to the problem to understand it in its entirety. Organization XIII. She would never condone their actions, never ever. However, why they did it was understandable. Their brain replayed foreign memories to them, but what would they mean if you couldn't feel them? If you couldn't feel what was happening? If you couldn't feel yourself feeling in that memory? Could Nobodies' feel? Could they feel it, but not understand it?
Either way, being a Nobody would seem rather frustrating. And without a heart you certainly can't have a conscious, how were they supposed to know any better? Maybe they did know better, but were just too desperate for an answer to care less. That was inexcusable, but from an unbiased point of view: completely and sadly understandable.
Then, there was Axel. He cared about someone. She didn't know who, but it came from his very lips. He was the one nobody she was sure had to have a heart. Or at least, remnants of one. An exception to Ansem's rule. Maybe it wasn't even his heart, but his will.
"Doing a little light reading?" teased Riku, sitting across from her in the intricately carved mahogany chair. She jumped a little bit, startled by his sudden presence. He had a knack for that; creeping to someone's side unannounced. Or maybe she was just so wrapped up in her own problems lately, she never noticed.
"Ugh, Riku. You've got to stop that, one day I might just have a heart attack."
"Let's hope not." he smiled, but his eyes told another story.
"Oh, um, Riku… well, you know, I should just pay attention more. I'm just so into this; discovering my past here." she sighed, propping her elbows on the table, then dropping her head dramatically into the palm of her hand. She grinned cheekily as she passed the large leather bound book towards him. As he chuckled his eyes brightened a little, too. Mission accomplished.
That was her self-charged assignment these days; make Riku happy. It elated her to do so, so why not? He is her friend, and as a loyal friend, making him happy is practically her job.
"Don't worry, I understand. What's made you so interested all of a sudden, though? I remember when we were little; Sora and I asked you questions, but you always said it didn't matter."
Kairi smiled at the memories, "Well, if I don't find out anything it won't be the end of the world. But, being here? I guess it's just made me curious, that's all." she paused a moment before adding with a shake of her head, "It really doesn't matter."
"I think it matters. I'll help you find out something, even if I have to read every book in this library. And there are some pretty big books."
She grinned, "You swear?"
Riku laughed, "I pinky swear."
In a very dorky, childish moment that lasted longer than it should have, they locked pinkies. Both of them noticed the lull and awkwardly let go of each other's fingers. Kairi clapped her hands together before changing the subject, "So, did you find anything about Cid's Three Kingdom's?"
He cleared his throat but managed to choke out clumsily, "Um, no, not yet. Yeah, I'm starting to doubt whether his story is even real."
He glanced at the paper, scrutinizing its contents. "What is this?" he asked incredulously, perplexed. He lifted the book carefully (it was so old, mishandling it all might just break it) to sneak a peek at the cover. "Whose… Yen Sid?" He laughed, "Property of Yen Sid, in big letters across the cover. That's an interesting title."
Kairi smiled, "I thought so. The books full of magic spells, though. It's the coolest thing! And the name Yen Sid sounds awfully familiar." She shrugged, whipping through a few more pages.
"Hey, hey, hey. Be careful." he gasped, holding the pages down from Kairi's rampage. "You'll rip the pages!" He scolded, bringing it back towards himself to read. Kairi looked embarrassed, grabbing a second book atop her massive pile while Riku looked through the largest one. He skimmed through a passage called The Beginning, another called The Interlude and finally, The Future Story, until coming across some usable information. "Kairi, look at this. Looks like we have a second reason to visit King Mickey."
She gave him a queer look before he spun the book around for her. She scanned the page and beamed at Mickey Mouse's signature garnishing the bottom of the aged paper. "Oh, wow. I wonder what he had to do with this book," she read a few notes on top of the next page out loud, "I, Mickey Mouse, do hereby promise to use the magic I've developed under Yen Sid's teachings in only the most positive and honest way. Under no circumstances will I contribute to violence or magic malpractice. I also promise to never harass the brooms again, no matter how many buckets of mine they steal." The two exchanged a dubious look and, because if Mickey Mouse washing floors and harassing brooms wasn't a ridiculous enough scenario, Kairi's expression was priceless --- they burst out laughing, their mirth filling the entire library.
"Hellooo Radiant Gardens!" chirped an ecstatic Sora, emerging triumphantly from his, Donald's, and Goofy's gummi ship. They'd upgraded just the month before and now it could charge through a meteor - ridden galaxy faster than you could blink your eyes, and then drive out the other side literally unscathed. Sora stretched his limbs, reaching left then right and accidently smacking Goofy square in the face. "Oh no, Goofy, I'm so sorry!" Goofy held his nose, squinting and hopping on one foot to relive the pain. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Sora gasped, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Let's go to Uncle Scrooge's shop and grab some ice!"
The trio sped forward until Goofy was lounging safely on the side walk curb with a pack of ice to his sore nose courtesy of Donald's Uncle. "Thanks Uncle Scrooge." bounced Donald, hopping in and out of the chilly refrigerator to fish out four sea - salt ice cream's, then distributed them to the group. It was nice to have a chilly snack on such a hot day. "Yeah, it means a lot. And again, sorry Goofy!" exclaimed Sora, spinning around to apologize to his partner once more. "Aw shucks, Sora. Don't worry about it."
Sora laughed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly with one hand, but said seriously, "Next time I'll watch where I stretch."
Donald chuckled, "Yeah, otherwise Kairi would be very disappointed." he wagged his forefinger back and forth to prove his point.
Sora looked disappointed, "Would she? Because I --- hey, why do you keep doing that?" He caught on quickly and folded his arms.
"Doing what?" Donald questioned innocently, holding up his palms as if to prove there were no tricks up his nonexistent sleeves. He and Goofy exchanged a glance and started chuckling knowingly.
Sora took an irritable lick of his sea – salt ice cream and when the pair didn't stop laughing, he took a big theatrical bite out of the ice cream, regretting it immediately at the immense brain freeze to follow.
"Sea salt ice cream sure packs a punch, huh?"
Excuse me?
"The ice cream. It's strong."
Oh, I know… but who's there? Who's talking?
"What? You don't remember me?
Well… you sound familiar.
"I look familiar, too."
Sora grabbed a hold of his head, the world squeezing in on his fragile skull ruthlessly.
But I can't see you.
"All in good time, my friend."
Can I know your name?
"You've really forgotten me already?"
Is this… Roxas?
"I'm going to need you to do something for me."
Like what?
"Well son, a brain freeze serves you right. Don't take your frustration out on the ice cream." Old Scrooge joked, patting Sora on the back. Sora pressed his palm to his throbbing forehead, trying to shake the voice into cooperation. He had never talked to Roxas before, not like this.
Roxas.
"Sora."
What is it you need?
"I'll tell you when you get there."
Get where?
"You'll see."
The voice left Sora that final cryptic message before his brain freeze totally subsided. Sora blinked his eyes twice before focusing on a concerned looking Donald. "You okay, Sora?"
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Donald." When Goofy looked doubtful Sora smiled reassuringly. He was a little shaken by the unexpected session with Roxas, but otherwise perfectly fine. "Just an intense brain freeze." The three of them laughed and Sora took another, gentler, lick of his ice cream. It suddenly tasted a lot more familiar. "We should get back to the castle soon, though. And I want to ask Cid about some of the stuff we found. Gummi blocks are his forte after all. And the Moogles about that huuuge diamond! I wonder if we could synthesize something with it."
"It was really strange, though. The magic from that diamond was really strong; but completely harmless. Unusual. Veeery unusual." Donald explained. He wasn't usually taken aback by anything magic related, so not understanding the yellow diamond's magical properties irritated him to no end.
"I wonder what it was used for, then." Uncle Scrooge said, swinging around his cane like a baton. "I found a peculiar diamond once, except it was large and green. Emitted something strange, too. Unfortunately, it was confiscated by the King." he sighed. Not that it bothered old Uncle Scrooge much; he was one of the richest ducks around, with whole buildings full of gold. He used to be awfully greedy about his business earnings, but thanks to his three young nephews, gave half to charity and isn't afraid to spend the rest or share. Material items, he says, is the devil's temptation. I was under its spell for a while, but four loving trouble makers made me realize what's truly important. He's a big fan of preaching life lessons; and all of them useful.
"Confiscated by the King?" copied Goofy.
"That sounds serious." commented Sora.
"And odd." finished Donald, stroking his chin in thought.
"What else can you tell us about this green diamond?" Sora asked, getting comfortable on a nearby bench. The group followed and conversed under shade so graciously provided by the building's roof. Though this was all very interesting to Sora and he was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, he couldn't and didn't want to get one thing --- one person --- off his mind.