A/N: It seems as though there are some who are actually enjoying this, so I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who took the time to read chapter 1 and an extra thank you to those who left reviews. Thanks for the feedback, it's you guys that really make me enjoy writing. This isn't my first fanfic but it is my first Kingdom Hearts one, so I'm trying hard! Now I have something to ask you, the readers!

This is a Kingdom Hearts fic so of course eventually the characters are going to travel to other worlds. For plot purposes some worlds are already set but I want to know where you readers would like to see the characters travel to, and I'm not restricting this to Disney worlds. Seriously, list any world you can think of. From Anime worlds, to My Little Pony, to other video games. I can't guarantee all of them will make it, but I thought it was a cool idea. So message me, leave it in the reviews whatever you want. Hope to hear lots of great ideas and I hope you enjoy chapter 2!

Chapter 2:

Putting her in harm's way

The moment Sora had breached the doors to the tower and found a quiet, sort of hidden area to hide out at he immediately felt bad. He shouldn't have snapped at Master Yen Sid and more importantly he shouldn't have treated Kairi like that. He had made himself look like a jerk, nothing more. He hadn't even explained why he was so upset. It had been a huge bomb that Yen Sid had dropped on all of them. The worst part was that Kairi had accepted and Sora found himself wondering if she had accepted because of Sora's interruption.

He should have been proud of her, proud that she was willing to fight the darkness along with the other warriors of the light. She was willing to give up her peaceful life on the island for a hard life of fighting Heartless and Nobodies. Fighting evil incarnate itself in the form of Xehanort and his many apparitions. It would be more dangerous than ever and they would need all the help they could get but why did it have to be Kairi?

Sora ran a hand through his spiky brown hair and looked up at the sky. It was curious. Full of stars and not blue but more of a combination of colors one of the main ones being green. It was almost a representation of what Sora was feeling, all the different mixed colors representing his confusion. He sighed and began viewing different outcomes in his mind.

He saw Kairi and Riku at his side with their Keyblades in hand. The three of them fought Heartless after Heartles, Nobody after Nobody. They stopped Xehanort together and although there were many good images crossed through his mind only one bad one appeared but that single image was enough. Xehanort Keyblade clutched in his hand the tip extending before him. It pierced Kairi's chest and ended her existence completely and he cringed. He couldn't risk letting that happen.

Sora clenched his fists and vowed silently to himself that would not happen.

"That was so unlike Sora." Mickey said looking up at the wizard who had trained him.

"Indeed. He fears for the safety of Kairi." He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully.

Mickey hesitated before responding. "Are you sure it's safe for Kairi to be involved in this? She's a princess of light. Isn't this like handing her over to Xehanort."

"Perhaps. Under normal circumstances, but she will be trained and able to defend herself. It is Sora we must deal with. He is powerful but I fear that these events will discourage him from the fight that is to come. "

"We don't have much time." Mickey paced back and forth as he spoke, he tried to hide it but still he could not completely mask the concern in his voice. "We have to rescue them."

"Yes Mickey. You are right; I believe I have a solution that will satisfy Sora. In the morning we will summon him here along with Riku and Kairi." As an afterthought he added "Lea as well."

"And about saving the others?"

"We must first locate Master Aqua. Without her we have no hope of locating Ventus' body, and after hearing the events that transpired during Riku's attempt to awaken Sora I believe I know the location of Ventus' heart."

Mickey could only nod.

All that Kairi had been able to think of for the first couple hours after what had happened was that Sora had been such a jerk! She couldn't understand because she'd never seen him act that way before. They'd always gotten along and Sora had been her hero on more than one occasion. From her scraping her knee when they were kids to sacrificing himself to release her heart he had always been the best, but now she wasn't sure what had happened to him. Maybe he actually was upset about not having become a master and that now he felt threatened that Kairi was joining the fight as well? No, that's not like Sora at all. Kairi thought to herself. She sighed.

She raised her arm upwards and in a blinding flash of light summoned her Keyblade. It was very colorful the blade itself being a mix of yellow, red and orange. Flowers graced the "key" part of the blade. An orange one, a purple one and a pink one. She wondered if this Keyblade reflected on her at all. She released her grip on the handle and in the same flash of light it disappeared.

With a sigh she realized even though she'd been calling Sora a jerk for the last two hours she missed him. She hadn't seen him since he'd left for the Mark of Mastery exam and her anger was already fading. She couldn't stay mad at him. She pushed herself off of the bed and went to find him.

It had taken a while but finally she had found Sora. He wasn`t aware of her yet and she took a few moments to observe him moving a strand of her hair away from her face. Sora wasn`t moving at all, his back pressed to the cement of the tower with his eyes closed. She carefully made her way over to him her steps slow and soft as to not startle him. Even when she got closer he didn`t noticed her and she frowned leaning down a little to look at him only to realize he was asleep.

That was so like Sora! Causing a scene and worrying everyone only to go take a nap afterwards. Lazy bum Kairi thought affectionately.

Kairi couldn`t help but giggle softly and that did finally get a rise out of Sora. He groggily rubbed his eyes and opened them to find Kairi looming over him. He gasped and stood up quickly only causing Kairi to giggle more. It took Sora a few moments to realize exactly what was going on. He stretched, raising his arms high above him before focusing on Kairi and finally addressing her.

"Kairi, What are you doing here?"

"I just...Wanted to talk." She gave him a hesitant smile. She was half expecting him to snap at her for her decision.

Sora nodded. "Sure." He sat back down."

Kairi sat beside him and pulled her knees up to her chest. Her pink dress was getting covered in dirt but she didn't care. She was unhappy with the situation. Talking to Sora or being around him was never awkward. Being around Sora was always so easy and being close to him always made her feel happy inside. He had that effect on people, it was just how he was and she was saddened that they were having trouble saying anything to each other.

Eventually Sora broke the ice. "Kairi I'm sorry for how I acted..."

Kairi turned to face her best friend. She hadn't been expecting him to apologize first. He'd seemed to angry. "It's okay Sora. I'm sorry too, I was kind of mean. Can you just tell me why you acted like that?"

"It's kind of embarrassing to admit to you, Kai'." He spoke in a softer tone now.

"It's okay Sora, you can tell me." Her voice was confident but at the same time reassuring. It made Sora realize he truly could tell her, he'd always be able to tell her anything and she would listen without judging.

"You have to know Kairi I think it's great, what you want to do I really do. It's super brave but if..." the rest of his words were lost as he mumbled them.

Kairi tilted her head, and her silence was indication that she hadn't heard.

"If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do." He repeated, even the thought of something like that happening caused his heart to ache.

Kairi's heart skipped a beat and she felt her cheeks grow a little warmer. She was sure they were changing color as well and she hoped Sora didn't turn around to see this. What he'd said was sweet and it all made sense now. He wasn't such a jerk after all just worried. He was still the same Sora she'd always known.

"You once told me if I went with you I'd get in your way. Do you remember, back in Traverse Town?"

"Yeah."

"I won't be in the way next time." She grinned as she spoke; she was comfortable talking to Sora again. Things returned to their natural state almost instantly with the understanding of what had happened. She lightly punched his shoulder with her fist before continuing. "You won't have to protect me next time, Sora."

Sora smiled, as pleased as she was that things were back to normal between them. His defenses were down now and he said something he might not have normally said."I like protecting you though."

Understanding passed between the two and Kairi only smiled as she responded. "I like being protected by you too, Sora."

They sat there in silence for the next little while enjoying each other's company. No more words were exchanged because everything that needed to be said had been said.

Riku too had been searching for Sora. It had taken him longer to find him than it had for Kairi. By the time he arrived they were in the middle of talking and he didn't want to interrupt. He stayed there behind the curve of the tower where he could be seen and listened. He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping on his friends but he was too curious to simply walk away.

When they were both done talking he just smiled to himself. He knew it was best to let those two have the time to themselves right now. If he showed up it would only ruin the moment and he didn't want to do that. He knew how both of them felt for each other and one day when they were both ready they would tell each other. He suspected they both knew of the others feelings on some level, but then again he wouldn't doubt that Sora was too dense to understand.

He walked away thinking maybe things weren't so bad after all.

In the Castle that Never Was the twelve Xehanort fragments gathered and each stared up at the leader of the new Organization XIII. Master Xehanort. Although they were all fragments of Xehanort they did not understand why he had returned to his old, fragile body when he had acquired a younger one years ago but they did not question it. They had failed in taking Sora, but Master Xehanort was not worried.

"Who will replace the boy?" one of the twelve called out?

"Replace? Why would we replace him? He is perfect. We would not give up so easily. I would not give up so easily." Replied Master Xehanort with heavy meaning behind the last part of his words.

"His heart is lost to us. We can not bring him to darkness his heart is too powerful." Called another of the twelve

"Yes, his heart is powerful. Wielding a Keyblade on strength of heart alone is astounding, something that has never been done in the history of Keyblade wielders." He said seeming to only confirm what one of his fragments had said.

"Then...?"

Master Xehanort grinned maliciously before answering what was essentially himself. "We cannot attack his heart or body so we will attack him where he is weak. We will attack his mind." He chuckled deviously. Soon the X-Blade would be his.