Another Side, Another Friend
Chapter 2
In You and I, There's a New Land
(Uploaded on March 2, 2019)
Summary: Sora's back from his trip through the Sleeping Realm – and he's got a new friend-slash-Heart Squad™ member to share with everyone! (Kairi and Naminé aren't too surprised, really. This is Sora they're talking about…)
Notes: This chapter is set after the opening Dive to the Heart sequence in Kingdom Hearts III, but before Sora, Donald, and Goofy set off toward Olympus. In addition, Riku, Mickey, Kairi, and Lea have not left the Mysterious Tower yet.
The Mysterious Tower
Sorcerer's Loft
"I'm backkkkkk~!" Sora's voice sang through the doorway.
Kairi's face immediately lit up at the sound of her best friend. "Sora!" she cried happily, delighting in seeing that familiar dumb and goofy grin hanging off his face. Her sentiments were echoed to a degree with Riku, King Mickey, and Lea, all three of them exclaiming his name in unison alongside her.
Naminé giggled. And here's the star of the show, fashionably late as usual, she commented from within the princess's mind. Honestly, it felt like forever since the two of them had seen him—though that might have something to do with the dire straits he had been in literally the day before. I could watch that smile for days, Kairi thought.
Are you sure you just want to watch it? her Nobody asked. I can think of a lot more things you'd like to do with those lips~
She fought to keep a blush from forming. Shush, Naminé, not now.
Close by and sitting at his desk, Yen Sid nodded at Sora's presence. "Ah, Sora," he greeted, eyes unblinking (How are they so beady?). "You have arrived just in time. We were about to go over the details of the great battle upon us once more, before we begin our work."
Kairi walked over to the beaming Keyblade wielder and flicked him upside his head. "You need to stop taking so much time, you dummy!" she lightly reprimanded him, though her happy tones didn't completely disappear. "We've got a lot of things to do, you know! You can't be a lazy bum forever!"
"Hey, I made it here, didn't I?" he replied, hand scratching the back of his head. "Besides, I had a lot of Dream Eaters to greet! There was Meow Wow, and Kooma Panda, and Necho Cat, and—I just had to thank them for all their help! You should've seen 'em all! You and Riku!" He turned to their aforementioned friend. "I dunno which ones he ended up making – aside from Komory Bat, you can totally tell that was him – but I think they really wanted to see him too!"
Riku paused. "Wait—really? I don't know about that… I mean, we've got a lot of stuff to do, and I don't think we had that strong of a connection…"
"C'mon, Riku! Don't you want a big, big hug from them? That's what friends do for each other, after all!"
The newly-minted Keyblade Master was full-on blushing, now. Despite everything, he was still the same Riku they knew over two years ago. "Wh-Wha!?" It was hilarious to see, given how serious (and edgy, Kairi's mind supplied) Riku was prone to being. And, of course, Kairi just had to join in with teasing their other best friend with him.
"I think you'd make a good hugger, Riku," the Princess of Heart suggested. "It'd be a great way to let off some steam; you should really give it a shot!"
He spluttered profusely, trying to come up with some sort of coherent response and failing immensely. Next to him, Mickey was lightly chuckling, and Axel—sorry, Lea (It was hard to call him anything else, okay? At least he didn't seem to mind anymore)—was grinning himself. "Man," the ex-Organization member snorted, "and here I thought you were the master of being cool. Guess I shouldn't have gotten that memorized, huh?"
Naminé had her own response: He tries so hard to stay collected… it's kinda cute. He should probably stop letting his guard down like that, though…
And then that unsettlingly Sora-not-Sora voice started drawling from the doorway, "What—don't we get any special hellos?" Popping in and following right behind Donald and Goofy were the ghostly members of Sora's Heart Squad™: Roxas, Xion, Ventus, and Vanitas; and it was the latter who was the owner of the voice. Even now, it was still super, super weird to have a black-haired, yellow-eyed, incredibly snarky Sora just floating around the Destiny Islands spooking all the kids. "We're just as important as Parachute Pants McGee over here."
Kairi blinked. …'Parachute Pants McGee'? That was new.
That's creative, even by Vanitas' standards, Naminé commented.
Well, at least there was everyone else. "Don't be rude, Vanitas!" Xion admonished her… 'friend', kinda, her hands going to her hips, a mock pout on her face. "We're the ones who barely made it here; we don't really have a right to be doing the scolding!"
"What kind of insult is 'Parachute Pants McGee', anyway?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Of all the insults you could've possibly chosen, you went for that one?"
"Shut up. It's not like you or Ven could've come up with anything better."
"Hey!" Ven squawked indignantly. "I can too come up with something better!" He put a finger each to the sides of his head, closing his eyes to think hard… and it was very, very evident that he was having a lot of trouble trying to create a suitable insult to surpass Vanitas'. It reminded Kairi a lot of when Sora was doing a math test, funnily enough. I guess similar minds think alike.
"Ah, yes—and we mustn't forget about our other guests," Yen Sid stated. "It is good to see you too, Roxas, Xion, Ventus, Vanitas."
"That's better," Vanitas decided. "Not perfect, but it'll do."
Sora's Heart Squad™ was probably one of the weirdest things to come out of his (and Riku's, and a little bit of Kairi's) 'overseas' adventures. Kairi wasn't really surprised that he had one – this was Sora they were talking about; if someone really needed it, he'd let them into his heart without a second thought – though their existence was a bit of an awkward subject on the Islands, since they had a habit of materializing their forms whenever they wanted to. (Especially Vanitas.)
Roxas was blunt and had a lot of attitude, though he lightened up around his squad; Xion was a bit shy, and there were hints of hurt in her eyes, but otherwise she was an outgoing individual; and Ventus was cheerful and brave and a fair bit naïve, a lot like Sora—actually, all four of them shared plenty of traits with Sora. No wonder they got on so well together.
And faces. Roxas and Ven had the same face; Xion had Kairi's face back when the latter had been fourteen, plus Sora's sky-blue eyes; and Vanitas, as mentioned before, had Sora's face, just with the yellow eyes that came from being composed of darkness. That was just… bizarre, even more so than everything else. Naminé had muttered once, 'This feels like lazy and brilliant character design at the same time…'
Despite how much their personalities contrasted against each other, however… she liked them well enough. I mean, if Sora likes them, then they're not exactly bad people. Riku and Naminé felt the same way.
…mostly the same way, in Roxas' and Riku's case. Whatever history they had, it was sure evident in the way they interacted. You could almost mistake it for sexual tension, honestly.
…which I probably shouldn't mention out loud. Like, ever. I'd like to think I'm better at running—but they're better, too. A lot better than me.
Xion paused for a moment, and then, she turned and waved her hand brightly at her own best friend, while nudging Roxas to do the same. "Hey, Axel!" she called. Sora's Nobody let a more easygoing smile hit his face, seemingly coming more naturally ever since he had spotted Lea in the post-Mark of Mastery chaos. Ven joined in the hello-fest, too. Stuff like that comes pretty easy to them, Kairi noted.
He waved back. "Yo, Roxas, Xion, Ven!" he casually greeted. "Good to see you're all finally here. I'd hate to have to bring you guys back from wherever you went… again." There was something rather teasing in his tone, reminiscent of an old memory. "Don't wanna be stuck with all the icky jobs, you see."
"Maybe you should've gone anyway," Donald piped up. "Sora's got no sense of direction! He'd get them all lost anyway without even trying!"
Kairi snorted. "I can see that happening easily," she said.
"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Sora protested.
"Well," Ventus admitted, "you… kinda are."
"He definitely is," Riku added.
"I hate to agree with him," Roxas quipped, "but Sora can't find his way out of a paper bag. Trust me on that."
"There was that one time with the Olympus Coliseum…" Xion trailed off.
Even Goofy jumped into the fray: "Gwarsh, they do kinda have a point, Sora…"
The spiky-haired boy slouched. "Aww, give me a break already, guys…" It was really, really cute, in Kairi's opinion. And then he perked up again, realization strung all about his face. "Oh, yeah! I just remembered!" That wide and joyful smile came back, its brightness somehow practically illuminating the entire room. "There's a new friend I want you guys to meet!"
That got everyone's attention. Even Yen Sid raised an eyebrow. Of course he'd meet another friend while diving back into the Sleeping Worlds. That's just like him.
I wonder who it could be? Naminé pondered. Do you think he got Riku's Replica? He's got people that look like him and you, but he doesn't have Riku yet.
Mmm… Riku had told her and Sora that there had been a Replica created of him at one point, though he never bothered to go into any specifics. (Probably still a touchy subject, knowing him and Xion.) It's possible… though something's telling me I shouldn't hedge any bets on it.
Vanitas snapped his fingers. "Right—flower girl. Can't forget about her."
"Wak!" Donald squawked. "Another person joining your heart squad!?" ("You forgot the emphasis!" Xion pouted. "It's Sora's Heart Squad™—with a trademark, too!") "You can't just keep adding people, Sora! It's noisy enough in the Gummi Ship cockpit as it is!"
"But I couldn't just leave her alone!" the boy insisted. "She looked so lonely and in need of help—and you know I can't just ignore that!"
(Well, that rules out Riku's Replica, Naminé said.)
"Same here," Roxas stated. A serious look was wrapped on his features, seemingly staring intensely at everyone in the vicinity. (Sora couldn't pull that off if he tried.) "She said she was forgotten, her whole existence erased, her life made a victim through no fault of her own. That's… something Xion and I can relate to."
Lea grimaced, as did Riku—Kairi herself vividly recalled forgetting Sora for over a year, which was still pretty terrible to think about—and most of the others gave the crew a sympathetic look. "Anyway," Vanitas continued where Roxas left off, "she wasn't really doing a whole lot, floating around in the weird place we found her in—so what the hell, we took her in." He shrugged in his typical 'I-don't-care-except-I-kinda-do' manner. "She's cute, I'll give her that."
"An interesting development…" Yen Sid allowed, his eyes closing in reflection. "Truly, your heart proves to be the key that connects all, time and time again. Perhaps, this will be one more link that allows us to turn the tide of this conflict…" His opened his eyes and set his gaze once more on Sora. "Very well. Let us see your newest companion, Sora."
"All right!" Sora pumped his fist in the air. "Hey, Ven, Xion—mind if you go get her for us?"
The duo mock saluted. "Yes, sir!" they proclaimed, equal-appearance grins sprouting on their faces as they promptly went and dashed out the door in excitement. Several more seconds passed, everyone's attention drawn toward the loft's entrance in anticipation. Before too long…
"C'mon, Strelitzia!" Ven's voice drifted up the stairs. "Don't be shy!"
"B-But—I'm, I'm not prepared for th-this!" a girl's voice replied—a voice that Kairi had definitely never heard before. "Can't we, like, h-hold off for a little while longer?"
"Hey, you'll be fine!" Xion chirped. "Everyone's gonna love you! They're not gonna be disappointed, I promise!"
Soon enough, the duo had returned to the room, with their new friend in tow—and her appearance was… whoa. Long orange hair, tied up into two pigtails with orange ribbons, streamed down from the recesses of her head, glimmering emerald eyes and petite nose and cheeks cutely adding to her already super visual appeal. A white dress with black straps slung over her shoulder seemed to flow softly through the nonexistent wind, accompanied by matching sleeves and boots. She looked lost and nervous and a little bit confused and by golly, did Kairi just want to hug her and never, ever, ever let go.
…she needs to be protected, Naminé declared. Protected at all costs.
Yes. Yes she does, Kairi approved.
"So… you are the new guest residing in Sora's heart?" Yen Sid asked.
"Y-Yes, s-sir!" the new girl stammered. "I'm—I'm Strelitzia! It's—It's nice to meet you all!" She smiled so nervously and yet so sweetly; it was absolutely mesmerizing.
Lea whistled. "Gee, Sora," he remarked, "you really know how to pick 'em, huh?"
"It's Sora," Riku supplied, "what did you expect? He'd take in a whole world's worth of friends if they really needed it."
"That's what I like about him," Kairi said. "He'll never hesitate to help anyone, even if he's only just met them—even if they did bad things."
Inside, Naminé smiled ruefully. …yeah. That's what makes him him, she agreed. You and I—I don't think we'd have it any other way. Another thought wandered into her mind. …I wonder how big his heart space is.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was the size of, say, Radiant Garden, Kairi internally replied.
The missions were clear: Sora, Donald, and Goofy were to venture throughout the worlds and defend them from the darkness that the 'real' Organization XIII was sure to bring; Riku and King Mickey were to search out for Terra, Aqua, and Ven's body—and maybe find a way to bring back the others resting in Sora's heart; and finally, Kairi and Lea would be joining the two groups—Kairi in the former, Lea in the latter—as a means to train up for the upcoming battle. Kairi didn't mind. It was about time that she stopped being left behind on every adventure.
Sora and Riku aren't the only ones with a Keyblade, after all.
Though, before everybody set off on this latest and greatest adventure, there was one more thing she wanted to do. Let's go say hello to the new girl, Naminé.
Okay. I think I'd like that. The girl in question—Strelitzia—was awkwardly standing off to the side in a corner—okay, in some unoccupied space in the room. Her eyes shifted back-and-forth between the different groups gathered together—be it Sora, Donald, and Goofy; or Roxas, Axel, and Xion—her face painfully saying that she wanted to join in the fun… but for one reason or another, she wasn't willing to take the first step, staying content to just… watch from the sidelines. (It seemed like she'd done that plenty of times before, depressingly enough.) So, Kairi decided, I guess I'll have to be the one to do it for her. Because, like with Riku, sometimes you just needed to take action in order to get others to take action.
…that sounded right in her head, anyway.
Naminé materialized next to her—it wouldn't be good to startle Sora's new guest too much—and the duo afterward walked over to the transparent girl and reached out to her. "Hey there!" Kairi greeted. "You're Strelitzia, right?"
Strelitzia jolted, definitely not having expected the Princess of Heart (and her own heart guest) to come to her. "O-Oh!" she yelped. Somehow, she looked even cuter that way. "Y-Yeah—Yeah, I am. And you two are…?"
"I'm Kairi," she answered, and with a hand motioning toward Naminé, she continued, "and this is my Nobody, Naminé." She gave out a soft smile, eyes closing in happiness. "We just wanted to come over and say hi! So… hi!"
Naminé gave a small wave, and tentatively, Strelitzia returned a wave of her own. "…hi? N-Nice to meet you…?" She looked confused at something, and it didn't take long for Kairi to figure out what it was. "You, uh… You kinda look like Xion. Wh-What's up with that…?"
"It's… a long story," Naminé admitted with a light shrug. "Trust me when I say it's a lot to wrap your head around." Memories and Replicas and weird perception-related things wasn't exactly something you could just dive into at the drop of a hat—and Kingdom Hearts knows that Sora couldn't tell it, even though Strelitzia was currently residing in his heart. He didn't even remember half of the story to begin with – and he wouldn't really understand it much, even if he did.
"O-Okay… I'll—I'll take your word for it." That's the spirit.
"So—how are you today?" Kairi asked. "Gotta ask, since—you know—you just joined Sora's Heart Squad™ and all. It's like Sora says: this boat runs on happy faces!"
"It's… alright," she answered. "Sora, Roxas, Xion, Ven, Vanitas—they're all not bad people. I've only been with them for a few hours at most… but I don't think I could've picked a better group of people to help me out." She looked down toward the floor, another sad expression on her features. "I'm… not really sure I deserve to have them, honestly…"
"Don't say that," Naminé interrupted her. Her stern tone made Strelitzia jolt again. "You shouldn't put yourself down just because you feel you don't deserve happiness. Trust me, that's… not a road that leads anywhere nice." Oh, Naminé… Even now, she still harbored guilt over what she did to Sora. "Even if things aren't as perfect as they could be, there's always hope for something better."
"What she said!" Kairi chirped. "Everything's gotta start somewhere. Cheer up!" Man, she giggled internally, I sound a lot like Sora right now! He's really rubbed off on me. "How 'bout we talk about brighter subjects, then?" She held out her hand in front of her, and with a flash of light, her Keyblade came into her hand. Flowery and like a wave against the sunset—just the way she liked it. "Our Keyblades seem like a good place to start! Mine's Destiny's Embrace. What's yours?"
One thing Kairi had learned from her experience with Sora's Heart Squad™ was that they could still summon their Keyblades – though it'd be just as transparent as themselves and not very viable in combat unless they synced up with Sora. As a side note, Roxas and Xion fighting together was a terrifying force to reckon with. (That was also how she inadvertently discovered that Naminé could also wield Destiny's Embrace, but that was a story for another time.) She'd seen Oathkeeper, Oblivion, Wayward Wind, and Void Gear already; how could she not be curious to see what Strelitzia's looked like?
"Well…" the aforementioned girl trailed off. Materializing into Strelitzia's own hand was a Keyblade colored with various shades of violet and gold, elegantly decorated with star- and moon-themed ornaments and a sharp, ten-pointed star making up its teeth. It reminded Kairi a little of Sora's Kingdom Key… if the Kingdom Key was exponentially more epic and wonderful, of course. And starry. "…I've got Starlight. It's been my Keyblade for as long as I can remember, and I don't think anything else would suit me at this point."
Naminé looked like she wanted to whip out her sketchbook and immediately begin drawing the Keyblade out with her crayon. "Pretty…" she breathed. Kairi hadn't thought that her Nobody could sound so… starstruck. (Oh, Kingdom Hearts, that was a terrible pun—)
"You… You really think so?" Strelitzia apprehensively asked. "It's… It's just a basic Keyblade, honestly. A lot of people I kno—used to know had it. There's a lot better and fancier ones that I know of."
"All those other Keyblades has got to be on the appearance level of Sora's Ultima Weapon then," Kairi remarked. Starlight may have been something else, but even it couldn't match the complex design of the frequently-totted 'supreme Keyblade'. "You should be proud to have something like that as the 'base', at least. I'm getting a little jealous myself!"
The ghost girl blushed. "It's—It's no big deal," she faltered—but based on the growing smile on her face, Kairi could tell that she enjoyed the compliments. She looked back up at the two, eyes glimmering radiantly and happily. "B-But—I'm glad to see you like it!"
AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHH~! Oh, the adorableness factor was going through the roof! Kairi could definitely add Strelitzia to the 'I'll protect you with everything I've got' category: which, as of currently, included Sora (in big bold letters and right at the very top), Riku, Naminé, Roxas, Xion, Ventus… okay, this list might be getting a little too big to keep track. "Oh, I think we're gonna be great friends over the course of this journey!" Kairi declared. "It's gonna be a new experience for all of us: new worlds, new Keyblades, new people—and we're gonna be doing it together with our good friends!" Well, mostly good friends—Kairi didn't know Donald and Goofy all too well compared to Sora and his Heart Squad™—and also minus Riku, 'cause he had his own business—but the point still stood! We're finally gonna be going on a big adventure, me and Sora—and I can't wait!
And we can't forget Strelitzia, either!
"It'll certainly be a first, won't it?" Naminé agreed. "I've never really done any exploring myself – there wasn't a whole lot to do in Castle Oblivion or the Old Mansion, believe me – so it's gonna be exciting, in a way." 'And I get to sketch out new things,' she didn't say, but was so blatantly written on her face.
"…it's been a long time since I've seen anywhere new," Strelitzia admitted, "so it'd be nice to see how things have changed since I've been gone. Even if I can't be there physically… it'll be great to finally stretch my legs again." She put a hand over her chest, a look of fond remembrance touching her features. "We just have to let our hearts be our guiding key."
"Let our hearts… be our guiding key?"
"It's a… phrase everyone liked to say, back in the old days. So long as we never lose sight of the light in our hearts, then we'll always find a way to keep moving forward back to home. A-At least, that's what I always interpreted it as."
Kairi looked over to Sora, laughing heartily and without a care in the world, chatting with Donald and Goofy and looking for all the world like nothing was wrong at all. And then she remembered the lucky charm he still had, and the promise he'd always keep: to bring it back to her, no matter what. "The light in our hearts, huh…" she whispered.
There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky—one sky, one destiny.
"…I think I've got a good idea as to what mine is."
Naminé smiled. So did she.
"That's… good to hear." Strelitzia sighed. "I wish I still had a light to look forward to—but… he's not himself anymore. He hasn't been himself in such a long time. I'm afraid that… if I ever find him again… then it'll be too late for me to save him."
"Oh?" The memory witch seemed a little curious. "Who's this someone you're speaking of?"
"…my brother," she answered quietly. "We used to be close, before I… ended up disappearing." That's a… polite way of saying 'I was killed'. "I know he's still here—still in this time, trying to find me—but in pursuit of that, he's entirely forgotten who he used to be. His identity entirely stolen from him… just like how my existence was stolen from the worlds." She looked out the window, to the brilliant stars and night skies beyond, as if her brother was just a world or two away. (He might've actually been, for all they knew.) "…do you think we'll be able to find him out there on our adventure?"
"We will," Kairi promised. "If he's somewhere out in the worlds, then we won't hesitate to go and get him back for you! Sora, Riku, and I never stopped looking for each other when we were separated—and we're more than willing to do the same for all our other friends! And if Xehanort's got him—then that's just one more thing we gotta do first!"
"You heard her," Naminé said. "Judging by the fact that this person was your brother, he had to have been a good guy before he 'lost himself', right? Then whatever happened to him, be it possessed by Xehanort or something else entirely… I'm sure we'll bring him back to his senses, somehow. Sora's pretty good at doing that to people, no matter who they are or what they've done. It'll be okay, trust us."
"Yeah. You're Sora's friend, so that means we're friends now," Kairi beamed. "And if your guiding key's in trouble, we'll be yours in turn." Because there's no way we'll let anything happen to you after everything that's happened! She grinned, holding up her Keyblade at an angle. "So—what do you say? You ready for a great big rumble together, you and me and Naminé and everyone?"
Strelitzia looked at the Princess-and-Nobody duo, a little awed by their tenacity and firm determination. In that moment, in that place… she believed that they—and Sora, and his Heart Squad™, and all the rest—could really do what they said they could.
"…I'd be glad to have it. We'll be friends, you and me." She held up her Keyblade at an angle too, the tips of both hers and Kairi's connecting together.
"You know what they say: all for one, and one for all! Let's get this party started!"
This chapter's title is derived from the lyrics to… oh come on, you should all know it. I don't have to tell you, do I?
So… surprise! Much like Smile for the Sake of Everyone, I'm not quite done with this one-shot yet! I've got, like, this chapter and another in mind which I might write sometime—and take five guesses what the latter could possibly be. (Hint: she's still pining for him.)
I could've had Sora's Heart Squad™ still be a secret from most of the main cast, but that's kind of boring in my eyes – so I had it be public knowledge from Kingdom Hearts II onward, when the crew had awakened—and Sora basically found himself unable to keep them hidden (because boy, do they like popping up anyway).
I'll be honest with you, I was… disappointed with Kairi's performance in Kingdom Hearts III, to say the least. She barely got to do anything, didn't even have screentime for a large majority of the game's major plot beats—and the only person who had it worse than her was Naminé, who doesn't even get to physically show up with her body until literally right before the credits roll. It only makes sense that I have these underrated and underutilized characters link up with an even more underrated character, eh?
This 'verse is also having her be a major party member traveling with Sora – because gosh darn it, she should've had, like, five times the amount of time with him than she actually got. Actually, make that a dozen. She shouldn't be the only one who hasn't visited any of the Disney worlds, 'cause even Riku got in on the action with Dream Drop Distance—and Roxas and Xion, too, in 358/2 Days. So, yeah. That's my decision, and I'll fight you all on it.
…also, yes, that was another friendship speech. I should probably start trademarking those; they're like my hallmark at this point.
Well, that's all for now – see you guys around!
