Sora opened his eyes, barely. He stretched his arms and legs out as he laid on his couch. A full night's sleep was doing good things for his energy. At the end of the day, he was glad he could look forward to rest and relaxation rather than simply a break from fighting.
His half-open eyes detected a figure standing above him.
"You're so cute when you sleep."
Sora heard this and smiled softly. "Why, thank you, Kairi," he mumbled, still half-asleep. Then he heard chuckling follow this statement. Sora froze for a moment. That chuckling, for sure, did not come from Kairi. He blinked several times to clear his vision and, regrettably, he saw Riku holding his stomach, chuckling wildly.
"Riku!" Sora complained. "What the heck are you doing?"
Riku just shook his head in laughter. "Come on, Sora! You gotta admit that was priceless!" He cleared his throat and imitated a girl's voice. "You're cute when you sleep~" This only extracted more laughter from him, as well as more anger from Sora
"Not cool, Riku," Sora complained, laying back in bed.
Riku finished his laughter and stood up. "Come on, now. Kairi's training begins today, remember?"
Sora nodded softly before Riku exited his room. With a sigh, he got out of bed and stood wearily up. This is going to be a long day... he lamented to himself.
After Riku left, Sora got ready. This time he dressed in a plain white T-shirt and greyish- blue jeans. Lastly, he put on a pair of white tennis-shoes. Needing no time to fix his naturally spiky hair, he walked out of his room and towards the front door. Riku was waiting for him, wearing noticeably darker clothing. His shirt was red on the torso with rolled-up black sleeves, slightly worn jeans, and black shoes.
"Ready to go?" Riku asked. Sora nodded in return. At that moment, his mom came around the corner in a bathrobe, rubbing her tired eyes. She must have awoken from the noise they had made while getting up, but she was still mostly asleep. "Sora?"
"Morning, Mom," Sora greeted with a small smile. "Riku and I are going outside to do dangerous, life-threatening activities."
His mother yawned softly. "Okay, honey. You two have fun with that." Sora and Riku snickered softly at her unaware state of mind. The parted with a few waves of their hands, then walked out the door. They made their way down the steps to the path and then walked towards Kairi's house.
"Nice weather," Riku observed, noting the sunny sky with a slight breeze to keep the temperature perfect.
"You gonna miss it?" Sora asked curiously.
"Yeah," Riku answered, nodding. "You?" Sora nodded. "But focus on the important thing right now: Kairi needs this training, Sora. Badly."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked. "Kairi doesn't seem that bad at fighting."
"She's only fought with a Keyblade once before," Riku reminded. "She can't truly wield a Keyblade properly. Remember what happened in gym?"
FLASHBACK
The baseball field was packed with inhabitants of the island, attending the physical education class. Kairi was stepping up to the plate, holding the bat and taking a few practice swings.
"Come on, Kairi!" Riku supported from the line of waiting batters. He looked out to shortstop, where Sora was standing idly, waiting for the pitcher to throw the ball.
Kairi nodded to Riku and got into batting stance. The pitcher threw the ball towards home plate. Kairi stepped forward with her left foot and swung. But instead of the big CLANG sound that a bat makes when it makes contact with a bat, there was a WHOOSH as the bat slipped out of her fingers.
Sora was gazing off into space when it happened, but he heard the bat fly out of her hands and the gasp of the other students. "Huh?" He looked back towards home plate, not seeing where the bat was...at least until he looked a couple feet to his left. "Holy- OW!" Sora had looked in time to have the bat collide with the side of his head, knocking him to the ground.
Very hard.
"OOOH!" A group of students flinched in unison at the impact. Others laughed wildly at the pain of their classmate. Kairi gasped loudly and put a hand over her mouth, and Riku's mouth was wide open, unsure of how to react.
"Oh man..." Sora laid back on the ground, in too much pain to get up, wincing from the pain he felt. A bunch of students gathered around to see if he was alright. He sighed a final sigh as the world went black.
END OF FLASHBACK
Sora gulped softly. "She probably could use some help," he agreed instantly.
"And that was with a bat," Riku reminded. "That knocked you out for twenty minutes. A Keyblade could probably get you for two hours." Riku chuckled a little bit. "Or permanently."
Sora glared at him "Riku, that's not funny. You know Kairi has never played baseball since that happened."
"She didn't want to hurt anybody like she hurt you," Riku explained. "She's strong, but she's got a good sense of control. Kinda like you, Sora." He smirked. "Of course, that's what makes you such a sap."
"Says the guy who gave me ice after the incident?" Sora chuckled, earning a light smack from Riku on the back of his head. "Ah!" Sora rubbed that spot with his left hand. Worth it, he thought.
Soon enough, both the boys approached Kairi's house. On the side of the house was a small garage opened up. Inside was a man waxing his car. He was tall, fairly muscular, and lean. This was the mayor of Destiny Islands and Kairi's surrogate father ever since she arrived, more than ten years ago.
"Morning, Mayor," Sora greeted politely, saluting him.
Riku whistled when he saw the car. "She's quite a beauty, sir."
The mayor stood up, chuckling softly. His voice was deep, but smooth. "Glad you think so, Riku." He put down his buffer on a work bench full of tools just to the left of the car. "What brings you boys here? Looking for Kairi?"
"Uh, yeah..." Sora nodded. "Is she around?" He tried to keep his cool, as it was a little intimidating to be talking to the man who, essentially, was Kairi's father.
"Yup!" The mayor nodded towards his house. "Go on in. She's in her bedroom upstairs." He chuckled at Sora's stiff posture. "You gotta relax, Sora. You and Riku have known her so long, you're one of the few I trust to even go near her!"
Sora exhaled softly, relieved. "Right...hehe...thank you, sir!" He nodded happily to him before he started up the steps to the door. He opened up the front door with Riku just behind him. It was a good-looking house, organized and smelling quite sweet, like flowers.
"Wow..." Riku shook his head sadly. "Even with all the power he has as mayor, he can't even control his house from being taken over by the girls." No sooner had he said that did he notice a large T.V, with a couple of football trophies on top of it.
"I guess that T.V and his car are what keeps him sane," Sora joked with a chuckle. He nodded his head in the direction of the stairs. "Come on, Riku." He stepped up the stairs, two at a time. He reached the top and walked down a short hallway. The second door on the right is what he knocked on. "Kairi?" he spoke. "It's me and Riku. You ready?"
The door opened up and was pulled open from the inside. This act of opening a door revealed the face of a smiling Kairi. She wore a pink tank-top with blue jeans that cut off just below her knees. "Morning, guys!" she greeted. "I'm ready to train!"
"Right this way, future warrior princess!" Riku gestured towards the stairs. Kairi stepped out of her room, closing her door behind her. She followed her friends back down the stairs, through the living room, and out the door.
Waving to her stepfather, Kairi started along the dirt path with her friends. "So what am I going to learn first?" she asked, her voice becoming something of an eager squeal.
"How to handle the Keyblade properly," Riku answered. "You've fought with it once, but a little technique could help you, and others around you."
"Others around me?" Kairi tilted her head. "What do you mean?" Sora wordlessly signaled to the side of his head, then made a motion with his arms as if to swing a baseball bat. "I'm really sorry for that, Sora. Honest!" She forced a small smile, trying to get past the guilt.
"That was a while ago, Kairi," Sora reminded with a small smile. "It doesn't really hurt that much anymore."
"Oh really?" Riku smirked. "Let's test that." He used his palm and bopped Sora on the spot.
"AAH!" Sora winced a bit, seething from the sting. "Riku!" His best friend laughed until Kairi punched him in the side.
"Lay off, Riku," she demanded, chuckling a little. "I need you both in good shape for my training."
"Sora's only going to halt your progress," Riku affirmed. "You need a real warrior to train you."
"You're right, Riku," Kairi nodded. Then she smirked. "Do you know any?"
It was roughly ten more minutes until they reached the beach. Across the water was the island they usually hung out. They all piled into a small rowboat. Kairi sat happily while Riku and Sora each held an oar, turning them in the water and pushing it across the distance to the island. The water reflected the clear blue sky.
When they neared the dock, Riku was the first out of the boat. He pulled up a rope and tied it to a wooden post. He walked ahead while Sora climbed out of the boat next. Kairi stood up and Sora offered her his hand. With a small giggle, Kairi took it. Sora pulled her up enough to where she could lift her leg to the dock on her own. They followed Riku across the beach, stepping up the ramp and crossing the bridge to their usual spot.
Kairi took a deep breath and smiled widely. "Can we start now?"
"First, summon your Keyblade," Sora encouraged. He and Riku complied with that action, and Kairi nodded. She held out her hand and closed her eyes. Accessing the powers of her heart, she brought the weapon into her hand.
"Okay, I've got it. Now what am I-" She was interrupted when she saw Sora swinging his Keyblade at her. With a shriek, she held it up to defend herself. When Sora's Keyblade made contact with hers, it immediately flew out of her hand and landed a few feet away. The blade plunged into the sand and stayed still. Kairi took a couple more breaths before turning to Sora and Riku with a slightly shocked expression.
Sora relaxed his fighting stance. "That's the first lesson, Kairi. Expect the unexpected. Something could jump out and attack you at any time, just like I did. You have to keep a firm hold of your Keyblade, otherwise you might not be able to summon it back in time."
Kairi nodded. "Got it." She held out her hand, bringing her Keyblade back into her grip. "So I need to hold on tightly?"
"That helps," Riku answered. "But there's also better ways of blocking that will let you hold onto it. You also need to be very aware of your surroundings and what's happening around you."
Kairi nodded, mentally committing these lessons to her memory. "So how will we start?"
"We'll demonstrate it for you." Sora held his Keyblade out to the side with both hands, facing Riku. With an eager smile, Riku held his right hand, the one with the Keyblade, above his shoulder and the other hand out towards Sora, challenging him.
Sora charged at Riku, swinging his Keyblade at Riku's hip. Riku brought his Keyblade straight down to block the attack. Sora released the Keyblade with his left hand and grabbed Riku's hand, keeping Riku's Keyblade at bay. Riku used his own left hand to punch Sora in the chest, to which Sora stumbled back a bit.
Sora nodded softly to his friend. "Good job," he congratulated. He turned to Kairi. "See hwo fast Riku blocked my attacks?" he asked. She nodded in understanding. "And he nearly took away my footing, which would've left me open for some serious hurt."
"Wow..." Kairi blinked a few times as Sora explained this. He clearly knew what he was doing, and it was a whole lot for her to master in such a short time. Still, she was up for the challenge "Alright."
"Your turn again, Kairi," Riku said, allowing his Keyblade to vanish. "This time, don't hold back on Sora, because an enemy won't hold back on you."
Kairi stepped forward, now only a few feet away from Sora. She held her Keyblade low with both hands, pointing it forward. Sora kept her Keyblade horizontal, preparing to defend himself. After a few seconds, Kairi lunged at Sora. With a smile, Sora stepped to the side and swung his Keyblade at Kairi's hip.
He was caught by surprised when Kairi went defensive and blocked his strike. A loud clang was heard, and they were caught in a lock. Sora pressed forward, trying to make Kairi back down.
A moment later, Sora broke the lock and swung at her legs. Kairi jumped over the Keyblade and landed on both feet. Sora swung downward at Kairi's legs again. She swung likewise, making contact with Sora's weapon. Sora forced her Keyblade upward, keeping the locked blades in front of Kairi's face. Then, with surprising strength, Kairi pushed Sora away from her.
Sora raised an eyebrow at Kairi's technique. She was getting the hang of fighting incredibly fast. What's more, he saw her chuckling, enjoying the thrill and the fun that this brought her. Sora smiled and lunged again. Kairi swung her Keyblade at his, pushing it down towards the ground and holding it there.
To finish the contest, Sora used his free hand to grab Kairi's Keyblade hand. He lifted her arm up above her head and kept it there while he held his own weapon to her neck.
"Looks like we have a winner!" Riku announced enthusiastically.
Sora smiled softly down at Kairi and let go of her arm before dismissing his Keyblade. Kairi's head drooped a little, her Keyblade vanishing. She had improved heavily that round, but she had still lost the fight. "Cheer up, Kairi. You did amazing!" Sora assured.
Kairi lifted her head, a small smile having been painted as it came up. "Really?" Sora and Riku nodded affirmatively. "Thanks!"
"We're going to work on training your senses next," Riku declared. He lifted himself up to the trunk of the paopu tree and watched expectantly. "We can't really teach you that, though. You have to learn to use your senses to figure out what's happening around you."
Kairi looked at them curiously. "So how am I going to practice that?"
"That's something you'll learn later, mostly in the heat of battle," Sora answered. "But for now, you need to figure out good fighting techniques. Find moves that are really in your comfort zone."
Summoning their Keyblades, the two went to work. Sora varied his strikes, making them come from several different directions. He kept up his offensive, forcing Kairi to defend against them. Over time, she adapted and started to move less awkwardly in response to his attacks.
Then Sora stepped back, coaxing Kairi to attack him. Once she got the hint, she repeated her learning process. This time, she devised which offensive moves suited her best, and eventually became more graceful with her fighting style.
It was roughly ten minutes of this fighting practice before they both stopped, taking slow breaths to regain some energy. Kairi sat cross-legged on the ground while Sora laid down, putting his hands behind his head. "You're really coming along, Kairi. Good job!"
"Yes, yes, good fight." Riku was clapping slowly, one clap every couple of seconds. "Bravo, you two."
"Don't be a smart ass," Kairi whined. "You have to admit I'm making good progress."
Riku laughed a little. "That's true. But you're running out of energy too quickly." He gestured a circle in the air with one of his hands. "Take a lap around this entire island," he ordered.
"What?" Sora and Kairi both cried out in protest.
"Come on, Riku!" Kairi complained. "Sora's not that muscular, and he can run just fine!"
"That doesn't really help, Kairi," Sora reminded with a small glare.
"Oh no, Sora," Riku said, about to correct him. "She has a very good point. You need some muscles, so you're running a lap too."
"You're joking," Sora said bitterly. "You've gotta be joking!"
"No jokes here," Riku promised. "You both need to get in shape, so get running." With a grumble, Sora and Kairi started off towards the beach to start their running. "And Sora?" He lifted his arm, flexing his muscle a bit. "Don't come back until you've got this."
With a small grumble, Sora followed Kairi through a door leading to a set of stairs. These took them down into the wooden shack on the beach. Coming out of that, they took their spots near that. They both crouched down a bit, preparing to run.
Kairi seemed to notice Sora's irritation. "Something wrong?"
Sora shook his head, clearing his face a little. "I just don't want to run."
"It was your idea, lazy bum!" Kairi giggled happily.
"Doesn't that chestnut get old for you?" Sora replied.
Kairi looked over at him sweetly. "Nope!"
"Enough with the chatter!" Riku called from the bridge. "Get running already!"
Sora glanced up at Riku, then faced Kairi again. "How about we make this a race, Kairi?" he asked, feeling competitive.
"Alright, you're on!" Kairi agreed. "What do you want if you win?"
Sora thought back to the previous day and what had come from Kairi tackling him to the ground. "I want you to agree that we won't have to go to the mall for a week."
"Aww, c'mon!" Kairi whined. But Sora stayed firm and she sighed. "Okay, fine. If I win you have to give me a piggy-back ride all the way back to the hangout spot from the other side of the island."
"Deal!" Sora agreed, eager to win.
They both took off at the same time. Sora saw his chance to redeem himself from the other day. He and Kairi ran side-by-side for the dock, where their race would continue. Sora had run around this place so many times already and had plenty of experience with the obstacles he would have to traverse.
Riku relaxed upon the paopu tree trunk, looking lazily at the sunset while he wait for Sora and Kairi to return. His head twitched when he heard a soft noise. He sat up and listened again. It was the sound of a boy panting. He snickered softly to himself and hopped off the trunk and turned around to see Sora coming up with Kairi on his back.
"Let me guess," he began. "You let her win again?"
"Nope!" Kairi declared. "I actually won!"
"If you hadn't pushed me into the ocean when we rounded this area, I would've been the winner," Sora complained
Kairi ruffled Sora's hair a bit. "Couldn't let you win, Sora. My time at the mall with you two is too much fun!"
She hopped off of Sora's back and walked over to the tree, climbing up to sit on the trunk. Sora and Riku looked to each other, then bowed their shaking heads. To them, a woman's need to shop was beyond their understanding.
Sora sat at the base of the paopu tree, glancing up at Kairi briefly before looking back out to sea.
Riku, meanwhile, took a few steps towards the wooden bridge. "Sorry to leave, but I have to go spend 'quality time' with my younger sisters."
"You make such a big deal, Riku," Kairi chided. "They're not that bad."
Riku sent a cold stare towards Kairi. "Last time I checked, girls don't mind having their hair brushed, braided, and bunched up by their younger sisters. But in case it's not clear, I'm a guy!"
"He's right, Kairi," Sora agreed, standing up and leaning against the trunk. "They play with my hair almost as much. There's a different deformity to it every time I wake up at their house!"
Kairi nodded softly in understanding, but she was holding in laughter that burst free at that statement. "Awww, are the Keyblade warriors meeting their match to a couple of little girls?"
"Kairi!" Sora and Riku cried out at the same time.
"Relax, guys!" Kairi laughed as she spoke. "It's cute! Nothing wrong with that."
With another heavy sigh, Riku started to walk away. "Well, good night, guys. Be ready to leave at a decent hour."
After waving to Riku, the two turned their sights to the ocean again. The sun was just beginning to touch the horizon. The once-blue ocean was now being reflected with a dim orange color, shadows being casted in many areas. The sky was the dim orange reflected in the ocean, and the cloud were now being becoming darker, illuminated all around with a flair of light.
Sora sighed softly and smiled. "This never gets old either, does it?"
He received no response from Kairi. Sora looked up at the trunk to see her sitting blankly. Her face was directed directly at the sunset. He stood up and took a closer look. She was breathing softly, but not moving. Her eyes were also closed.
She was falling asleep, tired from the strain of today's work. Sora attempted to turn his gaze back to the sunset, but he was interrupted when he felt something land softly against his shoulder.
Looking down, he saw a mass of red hair, which caused Sora to blush ever so slightly. Kairi had dozed off and accidentally leaned over onto his shoulder, resting there. Sora kept his eyes on her for a few moments. He didn't want to rudely awaken her, but he also couldn't simply wait for her to wake up, as it was getting late.
Left with few other options, Sora decided he could carry her. He'd just have to be gentle with his movements, and he could row her across the water. It wasn't that far across, and it hadn't taken him and Riku much time to get here. With care, Sora placed an arm beneath her legs, then one under her torso. He slowly stood up, and then he walked at a normal, steady pace. Looking back over to the dock, he remembered that Riku had already left. The only boat they had was now gone.
Crud! Sora thought to himself. Does Riku realize what my mom will- His own thoughts cut off when he looked around, his gaze falling upon something that made him freeze. Resting close to shore beneath their hangout was a raft with a large, white sail. But it was no ordinary raft: it was the raft that the three of them had planned to use to visit other worlds, over a year ago.
With a steady smile, Sora walked down to the beach and made his way over. Stepping carefully up to the raft, he lifted a foot and pushed against the small piece of the island it rested beside. That was enough to get the raft's journey out to sea started, and the evening breeze caught the sails just right, doing the rest of the work for him. Sora smiled softly, readjusting his stance so he could hold Kairi steady.
He felt her stirring and thought she might wake up, but it wasn't what he expected. Instead, he felt Kairi reaching up and placing her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. Sora blushed a little bit from the gesture, but kept his hold on her as the raft floated.
Once it reached the shore, the raft immediately took a spot on the sand. It slid onto the beach and securely landed, leaving little fear of it accidentally floating away. Sora looked to his feet, admiring the craft. Glad it didn't go to waste after all, he thought. I wonder where it would've taken us if we had been able to use it before. He started along the dirt path, heading deeper into town to reach Kairi's house once again.
It took considerably longer to reach it, seeing how Sora was walking with Kairi in his arms rather than by his side. However, Sora kept face. He marched onward with total disregard to his muscles, not even sure if they were too tired.
Kairi continued to cling to Sora's neck to take some load off of his arms. She stirred a little more, smiling sweetly even in slumber. To get more comfortable, she nestled her head upon Sora's chest. Sora blushed softly from this gesture, and even more when he felt Kairi nuzzle against him.
He grew very warm, but shook his head gently to get rid of the feeling. No worries, he reminded himself. She probably just thinks I'm a pillow or something.
He continued to walk, arriving at her house a few minutes later. Kairi now slept peacefully in his arms. He carefully stepped onto her property, climbing carefully up the steps to her front door. He was unsure of how to open the front door, but that problem was solved when it opened for him. He heard a heavy clicking noise, that sound somewhat...no...iexactly/i like a gun being cocked.
Crap! Sora looked in between the open door and Kairi. If her stepdad sees this...I'm screwed! He took a deep breath and looked back and forth, only to see a figure step out of the house. Sure enough, it was the mayor. "Uh...evening sir," Sora spoke quietly.
"Hello, Sora," he replied, his friendly tone less present. He took another step forward, revealing a large barreled weapon in his right hand, just slightly concealed. It was visible enough to where it worried Sora deeply. "What happened to Kairi?"
Sora gulped softly. "W-well she f-fell asleep. I didn't wanna wake her...s-so I carried her back...here?" As the mayor looked over him, Sora felt very uncertain. He couldn't tell at this point which direction this man's attitude was going to go in.
"Well, thank you, Sora." The mayor smiled and brought his gun into visibility, keeping the barrel pointing downard and leaning on it, somewhat like a walking stick. "That's very considerate of you."
Sora kept face on the outside, but he rejoiced in his thoughts. I'm not going to die! Wahoo! He nodded briefly to the mayor before stepping up the rest of the steps leading to the door. "If I may ask, why the gun?"
"Oh, this thing?" The mayor held up the shotgun, pointing its barrel towards the sky. "This is my eight-seventy pump action shotgun. I use it for show, hunting game, and taking care of teenagers who carry around my unconscious daughter."
Sora's face went white for a moment. Then I AM dead... he realized sadly. Before his worries fully kicked in, he heard a deep chuckle from the mayor.
"I'm joking with you, Sora!" He shook his head. "Did I not tell you today that I trust you with my daughter?" He gestured to the house with his head, nodding towards the doorway. "Go ahead and bring her to bed."
Sora nodded briefly and walked inside Kairi's house. Shortly after he reached the stairs, he quietly let out a sigh of relief he had been holding in. He slowly walked up the stairs to Kairi's room, edging through the barely-open door. The room was decorated with purple walls with various sea shells hung up on them. Upon her dresser next to her queen-sized bed, the star-shaped good luck charm he had grown so familiar with. Sora spared a small smile before he stepped away, laying Kairi's body across her bed. He gently pried Kairi's hands away from his neck and stood up to drape the covers over her. Kairi moved around a bit, confused at the change of sleeping position, but succumbed to the soft blankets quickly.
Sora smiled as he watched her stretch her body beneath the covers, pulling them over herself. "Good night, Kairi," he whispered softly before he quietly exited the room and closed the door. He stepped down the hallway and stairs just as cautiously as before, making an even more quiet exit out of her house. A bit more casually, he walked back down the porch steps
He spotted the mayor standing next to his car. It appeared to be a fairly old model, but it shined liked it was brand new. It was then that he noticed the mayor wiping his hands off on his shirt, which was already fairly greasy. Sora hadn't noticed the marks in the light of the gun the mayor was holding only a few minutes ago.
"It's a beauty, isn't she?" Sora nodded, bringing a small nod from the mayor. "Yeah, she is. I've had her for a long time, but I'm keeping her going." His tone changed slightly after that, becoming a little more serious. "So you guys are headed off tomorrow right?" Sora nodded once again. "Yeah, Kairi told me." He walked over to a work bench, where most of his tools rested, and he sat down on a tall stool. "Sora, I still don't really understand what's going on out there...wherever it is that you're going. But that's not what matters to me." He looked over to Sora, his dark brown eyes meeting Sora's bright blue ones. "I want you to make me a promise, Sora."
Sora stepped closer, leaning against the hood of the car. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, two promises now," the mayor corrected himself. "The first will be to stop leaning on the car I just finished cleaning." Sora practically jumped away from the car upon hearing this. "Sora, I know that we're only her step-parents...but Kairi is very dear to me and my wife. I want you to promise to protect her while you're out there."
"I...I..." Sora was surprised to hear this, and yet not as much. This man and his wife had been a parent to her since she arrived on the islands, so it would be natural for him to care about her. Yet Sora couldn't help but notice how similar he felt. He wouldn't ever want anything bad happening to Kairi. "Of course, sir. Always."
"Glad to hear it, Sora." The mayor arose from his stool. "Because I'll have to kill you if you fail." After a dark moment of silence, he started to laugh. Sora joined in the laughter after a few seconds, but then the mayor snapped back into seriousness. "That isn't a joke."
Sora stopped his laughter and nodded. "I know..." He backed away from the mayor slowly, then turned to walk away. Before he left, Sora faced the man again and smiled. "We'll keep her safe, sir. I promise."
"I believe it's true." The mayor nodded firmly in approval. "Good night, Sora, and good luck."
Sora left Kairi's house and began to progress back towards his own. It was darker outside now, but not hard to navigate. A cold breeze hit after he had progressed down the path for a while, causing Sora to hug himself a bit for warmth. Thankfully, his house was only a few steps beyond that point. Sora opened the door quietly and entered, letting minimal air into the warm house. Closing it, he walked towards the stairs of his house.
Passing through the living room, Sora spotted his mother on the couch. She had fallen asleep there, curled up slightly and hugging a pillow. Sora chuckled a bit, then he took a blanket draped over the back of the couch and covered up his mother's body with it.
"Good night, Mom," he whispered solemnly. "I know you're going to miss me...I'll miss you too." He leaned down and kissed her upon the forehead. "If I'm gone before you wake up...just know that I love you, okay?" Even though his mom slept while he spoke, Sora liked to think that she heard him. With a satisfied nod, he walked back to the stairs and climbed them slowly. Once he reached the top, he immediately turned into the first room on the right. He slipped off his shoes and laid on the bed. Then next moment, his phone began to vibrate. "Huh?" He held it up. "Who's calling me this late?" He flipped open the phone. "Hello?"
"You carried her home, didn't you?" He heard a distinct chuckle on the other end of the line, and he recognized that voice immediately. "I knew you would."
Sora inhaled deeply, exhaling angrily at Riku as he spoke. "Riku..." Then it hit him. "You took the boat early on purpose, didn't you? You left the raft there!"
"You're honestly surprised?" Riku laughed a bit more, then sighed as his enjoyment wore off a bit. "Relax, Sora. I just want to know if you're prepared for tomorrow."
Sora sighed heavily, blushing a little bit on his face, but he nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Alright, then," Riku answered. "I'll let you sleep now. See you tomorrow." Sora chuckled softly, eliciting confusion from Riku. "What is it?"
"I knew you would say that," Sora replied smugly. He heard a small groan from Riku on the other end before his friend hung up. Sora closed his phone and set it on top of his night stand. It hadn't changed much since he left the island...it hadn't changed at all, minus the fact that his room was a lot cleaner since his mom had done work on it to prepare for his eventual return.
The slightly more kiddish scenery of seashells, ocean wallpaper, and a mobile his mom had clung to stubbornly from his early childhood, remained as well. Despite how ridiculous it was, Sora already missed this sight, knowing he would have to leave it a second time for a brand new journey.
Though fearful of what he might face, Sora was determined to go up against whatever would stand against him. What's more, he would win. The universe needed him, and as Sora drifted off to sleep, he promised himself that peace would return one day.