:: The Guilt to Be Liquid ::

Kingdom Hearts II

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, or any of the Disney and/or Final Fantasy representations within. This story is for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made of this.

Rating: K

Pairings: mentioned Sora/Kairi

Warnings: SPOILERS for the games

Notes: And this would be the oddity we call chapter two. Hopefully, as the story progresses, the chapters will become longer as (hopefully!) fit. And the one-liners at the end of each one will make more sense. Actually, come to think of it, hopefully not all chapters end with spoken one-liners.

Next chapter is Riku and a Very Special Guest.

Critique is very much welcome, as I am still rusty at writing and these brand spankin' new characters are hard to break in.


Chapter Two

The Dream: Kairi

Kairi's favorite dreams were the ones which took place on the Destiny Islands beaches. Especially when she knew she was dreaming.

Perhaps it was due to the fond memories, like the times when she and Sora had carved pictures on the walls of the Secret Place, or when she and Riku had spent tireless afternoons together working on the raft's sails. Unfortunately, now, they were all too old—or rather, too big—to play in the Secret Place anymore, and their raft had gone missing. Both aspects made Kairi feel strangely lonely, sometimes.

Normally the boys were also in her dreams. Tonight was different, it seemed, because Naminé was with her.

The ocean surrounded them, holding Kairi afloat in the very raft she had once helped to build; the raft that no longer existed in the real world. As always in her dreams, the waters were calm; which was good, because otherwise it would be difficult to see Naminé.

Kairi lay stretched out across the wooden logs, her hands folded beneath her chin. The angle made it hard to see what Naminé was doing in her reflection, but Kairi could see that the girl seemed distressed.

"What's wrong?" she asked concernedly.

This wasn't the first time she had seen Naminé in her dreams, though it was the first time she spoke to her reflection. Usually, the girl was sitting beside her, or wading in the shallow ends at the beach. Kairi had plenty of girl friends in the waking world, but she secretly considered Naminé to be the closest. Only Sora shared that secret with her.

Naminé's fingers grazed her collar bone; the lowest part of her reflection the edge of the raft allowed Kairi to see. The blonde smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm worried," she confessed.

Kairi raised herself up on her elbows, tilting her head to the side. "What about?"

"For you," said Naminé. "Dangerous things are starting up again . . . I can feel it."

"Because you're still connected to the Darkness?" asked Kairi softly. Naminé didn't answer, but it was unnecessary. The question had practically been rhetorical anyway. "You shouldn't worry about it, whatever it is. We have Sora."

Slowly, as though choosing her words with the utmost care, Naminé replied, "Yes, but . . . I think this fight will be different. I think you may have to help them."

Smiling, hoping to reassure her friend, Kairi brushed loose hair back and tucked the strands behind her ear. "I can do that. I helped them fight once."

"Yes," Naminé agreed, returning the smile gently. Still, she did not appear any less worried. "I still worry. I do not wish to offend you, but Sora and Riku have both fought strong enemies. Much, much stronger than the Heartless you helped defeat."

Kairi's smile faded a bit. She knew Naminé was right, but it was a disheartening realization. It didn't make her any less determined, yet knowing that she, as she was, could not help the one she cared most about, hurt.

As though reading her mind—and perhaps she was—Naminé said, "I might be able to help you this time, I hope. And . . . Sora won't be fighting alone, I know that."

"Riku?" asked Kairi quietly.

"Not just him," said Naminé. "Did you ever meet Sora's Nobody . . . Roxas?"

No, she hadn't met him, but Kairi knew very well of him. At least, she knew whatever bits and pieces Sora and Naminé had chosen to share with her. From what Kairi understood, she and Sora had unique Nobodies. While she and Sora shared the same heart, Roxas and Naminé had no heart to share—yet Naminé had once said she was able to "speak" with Roxas, sometimes, when Kairi conversed with Sora in the real world. She had never explained how this was possible, but Kairi could believe it. At times, when talking to Sora, she had felt strangely out of place in her own body, although not entirely out of character. And though she had never asked, she knew Sora went through the same experience.

Kairi shook her head in a 'no.'

"We talk, sometimes," said Naminé. "Roxas . . . he can feel it, too. I think he feels some connection with the Darkness, too." She hesitated. "I know he will . . . lend . . . Sora his strength, when the time comes. And I will lend you mine, in any way I can."

Even in the dream, Kairi could feel the warming effect of her friend's offer. In moments like this, it was hard to think of Naminé as her Other; she was so much her own person that Kairi could not help but love her as though she were a sister; a separate, if relatively close, being.

"Thank you," she said, beaming. "If we all do it together, we can win." Then it occurred to her. "But what exactly is it we have to fight?"

"I wish I knew exactly," said Naminé apologetically. "But I don't."

Even as she thought about speaking to the boys about this dream when she awoke, the raft beneath her began to fade, seeming to blend into and become the ocean. Yet Kairi didn't fall into the water. She remained afloat in the air, the tips of her hair falling into the salty water, creating tiny ripples that washed over Naminé's face.

"Kairi," said Naminé. "I will help you, but please, do not call upon my strength too often. And don't let Sora, if you can."

In the face of her earlier offer, this request perplexed Kairi. "Okay, but why. . . ?"

"I can't say," whispered Naminé. Even the ocean began to dim, as though a night sky were falling over it. Yet when Kairi looked up, there was nothing but a void surrounding her, Naminé, and the seemingly endless sea. "And, Kairi . . . things may happen that you won't like."

"How do you know?"

Naminé shook her head, looking down at a ground Kairi could not see. "Just a feeling."

And then the ocean and her reflection faded into the void. Kairi could feel the insistent tugging of the real world pulling at her mind, begging her eyelids to open. But she was not so far gone from her dream world that she didn't hear Naminé's final confusing words.

"But please, if only for Sora's sake, please don't blame Riku."