Author's Note: Well this story's got a better-than-expected reception. I'm surprised. Wonder what demented crack I should tackle next…

Copyrights: Characters, settings, and back story belong to Square-Enix and Disney. This itty-bitty mini-storyline is mine. The title isn't, if my information's right. Has nothing to do with the song. Same with the chapter title. Cheers!

Disclaimer: It could be my fault Castle Oblivion happened the way it did. I told the Superior that my mission failed, easy as it was. After all, Naminé erased the truth.

Lights and Sounds

3 – Between Mind & Heart

Zexion avoided the close-knit group of teenagers that came ashore using boats. He hid away from them all day, using the shadows of the monstrous trees as his cover. He found the best place in a secret cave that went deep under the largest tree but he didn't stay there long. There was a strange tingly feeling that ran through his limbs when he tried to explore deeper and he smelled something ancient and utterly powerful. Something potentially dangerous reeked in this dank dark place and he decided not to stay there for long. Instead, he stuck near the entrance, which was already covered in shadows of plants, and observed the three children laughing and playing in the white surf. He resisted the urge to crinkle his nose at the smell of salt and wondered why these people enjoyed seawater so much.

He saw her, too, the Princess of Heart. She was standing apart from them, her feet planted firmly in the sand near the waves. She was staring across the sea, perhaps towards the land, but there was an itching feeling, an aching deep inside his body, that told him this was not so. He had a strange, peculiar feeling that he had awoken something in her, something she hadn't thought of in many days. Her body language spoke it plainly.

She must be thinking about the Keyblade Wielder. Sora.

She was upset as she demanded to know why he appeared in her room looking like Sora. She was angry, angry because she couldn't understand why Zexion could do that to her. He couldn't understand why she was so angry, so mad. Maybe he could. Who wouldn't be mad, he decided, to think the person walking down the street was that person, only to find out it was actually somebody else? Guises. That's what threw her off. He was disguised as someone she was…close to.

The next thing flying at him was regret. It overtook and swallowed him so quickly, so abruptly, he couldn't muster a defense. He knew this was regret. Regret was wishing he had done something different. Regret was wondering how things could have been different if he did something else.

But why would he want to think about that? Things happened the way they did and it wasn't his fault he failed his mission so miserably. Why was he wondering about the 'what if' of things? Why did he have to worry? What was there to worry? But then he kept his eyes fixed on her, and suddenly understood that it was her, the Princess of Heart. She was working magic on him again, he decided. But was this magic? What was magic that one couldn't see, one couldn't touch, one couldn't…smell? He could feel it but that was all. Or was it?

Sunset. The three boisterous teenagers on the beach were heading home in their boats. Zexion sighed, turned away, and leaned against the great root of the tree. He tilted his head back and looked up at the darkening firmament. There was a star winking at him. He tilted his head slightly but the star remained hanging in the nothingness, shining. And…there was another star, tiny at first but glowing stronger and stronger. The flush of rosy dark red was vanishing. Night was falling, his domain.

Should he go back and try to convince the Princess of Heart to follow him as honestly as possible? Or…or should he use force? Or should he just leave her and go back to Castle Oblivion, tell the Superior he failed?

"I knew you'd be there," he heard, a soft whisper in the night, and he jumped up and away from the root of the tree. He staggered, stumbled in the dark, and suddenly the solid footing under his boots gave way. Zexion tumbled into a depression and sputtered at the cold water splashing all over his head. He was sitting in at least two feet of cold water, but at least it didn't smell like brine.

"You're easy to surprise, aren't you?" she said, amusement ringing in her voice.

"No, I just wasn't expecting it," he returned coldly. He was embarrassed; the night was his domain and she had spooked him into falling into a pool of water. He rubbed water from his face but his dripping hair clung to the cold skin. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you go back home?"

He thought he could see an outline of a small slender person, a shrug. "I knew you were here. I waited until the others left to find you. Why didn't you go back to wherever you came from? Why are you still here?"

The questions came like shot arrows in the dark. They stabbed into him, pinned him to the spot. Zexion opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "I-I don't know…"

There was a sigh, long and low. "Here. Since I 'scared' you into the pool, I'll help you out. Take my hand."

Zexion considered it for a moment, watched as the Princess of Heart leaned over the ledge. He could see her hand in the faint moonlight but most of her was in shadows.

"Hey, you there?"

He should go back to Castle Oblivion. There was no way he was going to bring her with him; he was certain of that now. There was still the way of brute force, but that wasn't Zexion. He doubted he could carry that façade of strength for long. And, he realized, he didn't want to bring her with him. He didn't want her at Castle Oblivion, hovering within its blinding white confines as a ghost and a puppet, to be manipulated at will. Already he knew too much of her. If she were to look upon the Keyblade Wielder in that manner, if he were to find her in this way, she would self-destruct and be no more. He knew he shouldn't care, that she was only a tool, but…he did care.

Maybe too much.

"You really want to sit in that water for the rest of the night? Is that your idea of a good night's sleep or something? I can't stay here for long; I have to go home."

Maybe…strangely…the human side, the shadow of his real self, was coming back to haunt him. There was a soft strange humming in the back of his mind, attuning itself to her. Her voice was causing something to twist in him, but it was a sensation he was able to recall. He realized it happened the first time, when he first crept into her room and saw her stir in her sleep. Was the shadow awake then? Was it ordering his empty body in a fashion his current state of mind couldn't comprehend?

And then it came, the shadow rushing up and taking him.

"Is something bothering-whoa!"

He reached out and his hand found hers. Zexion pulled her towards him, heard-felt her stumble into the pool, and dragged her to him. She sputtered, protested, then yelped as he heard the water pour on her from above. Then he felt her body press against his wet coat, and let go of her hand. She splashed about, unable to understand what had just happened, but he knew, he knew all right. He tugged at his gloves, fought the wet clingy material, and pulled them off with much difficulty. He threw them aside, then sought her face. His cold fingers skimmed the wet hot skin of the person pressing against him, then he found her face, the silky softness of skin, and the shadow of Ienzo overwhelmed him.

He kissed her.

Zexion froze then. His ears were filled with the constant splash and ripple of the waterfall. It was a constant and yet the nuances, the ebb and flow of sound, pulsed in his ear. Alive. The water was alive.

He felt her, her wet skin against his, slipping and sliding yet locked in place. She had stopped struggling the moment his lips met hers, and he felt a shudder rush through her. She stopped moving, protesting, struggling, fighting him. She had frozen stiff.

Then, slowly the life rushed into him. He didn't know its source, couldn't decide between the Princess of Heart and his shadow. Then he became aware of a slight pressure on his mouth, realized it was her. She was deepening the sudden kiss in a way he couldn't possibly imagine. And yet…it felt so incredibly strange, so eerie, so surreal. She pressed against him, soaking wet, pressing forward where he had stopped. Slowly his hands slid from her face and dropped into the cool waters, then touched her slick arms. Then her shoulders. Then down her back. He could feel her spine through the drenched fabric of her dress, and a living heat. And somewhere, deep within his mind, came an answer, a call, a yearning for that same warmth.

A cry for a heart, just like hers. A chance to be Ienzo again.

Her lips moved against his mouth. Water splattered on them, made them feel slick and cool. It sent a shiver up and down his spine. It was utterly foreign to him…and magical.

This was magic. Her magic, and nobody else's. Ever.

Her lips slid away and she stared at him, breathing hard, soaking, and confused as ever. He knew he shared the same confusion and that she could see it in his face.

"What…what…" she gasped, unable to breathe normally. She was heaving, out of breath, and all that had happened between them was a deep and penetrating kiss. He could taste her, something languid, stunningly bittersweet, and hot. He wanted it to stay, whatever it was.

He sat up a little straighter, his one eye fixed on her. Her voice fell away, her breath mingling with the waterfall. Her eyes were brilliant, shining despite the lack of light. The moon and the stars were enough. A light shone in them, a light he had erased from himself long ago, had denied in order to dwell in darkness and shadows.

That same light beckoned to him now.

She tilted her head slightly, her hair streaming over her forehead. Her eyes were half-closed yet her eyes remained as studious and aware as ever. Aware even as he gently pressed his lips against hers and a thrill rushed through his body. He tasted the wetness, opened his mouth a little more to engulf it. Then he kissed the corner of her mouth, her slick jaw line. He could smell her damp hair. It exuded that bizarre scent he had found what seemed like eons ago on the other side of the sea. The shadow in his mind curled around it, seeking to be one with it.

He felt something cool and warm press softly against the side of his face, where the flesh stretched over bone and no fat remained as cushion. She slid her fingers down to his jaw, stroke the bone. Then her hand was moving down and over his neck. He wondered at the heat she brought to wherever she touched, wonder how he felt. Was he colder than she imagined him to be…or hotter than he thought possible?

"…wait…" she murmured as they rested their faces next to each other. She pressed her body against his, their bodies heaving, breathing, as one. His bare hand was stroking her streaming hair; her fingers curled as her hand rested against his chest. They sat there in the pool, the waterfall still flowing freely, as night stood watching over them. She pressed the side of her face against his shoulder, looked at him.

"I…I'm sorry," he said. Ienzo was sinking back into the darkness of faint memories. "This should have never happened…"

"It happened," the Princess whispered. "Despite everything I promised…"

Silence. The water was rippling softly, its lowly waves lapping against them while yards beyond the sea rolled onto the shore and back into itself.

"It…never happened," Zexion said softly, too spent to speak in his normal tones. "Soon…sooner or later…this will have never happened and I was never here. You…you will forget…and your soul…your body…your heart…will be focused. Focused on him."

"Sora," she murmured. He felt her press against him even more. "But…how can I forget? It happened…how can I forget it ever happened?"

"You'll see…Princess," he replied. Ienzo was a hazy shadow, barely there. "One day…you will wake up and you will have forgotten I ever came into your room. You will have forgotten I looked like Sora the first time you saw me, forgotten finding me at the beach, forgotten waiting to seek me out here, forgotten what had just transpired between us. Because none of this was supposed to happen, it never did. You'll forget…because you'll never see me again."

"Then…" She sounded resigned, not utterly tragic. "Then…this is all but a dream."

"Lights and sounds. Smells and touch. Taste. They can ascertain what is truth and what is lies but only memory will prove its worth in the long run. Your memory will forget, and soon after so will your senses. It is inevitable, Princess. You and I never met."

"If you must…" she said softly. Defeat left its traces in her voice. She shifted, slowly pulled away from him. She slid to his side, sat down in the cool water, and looked at him. He hadn't really moved at all.

"Are you going to go?"

He looked at her, at the moonlight illuminating her. Then Ienzo whispered a word so missing in his vocabulary, so far gone his voice could never work it into his mouth.

She was beautiful.

"I must," he finally answered, once the revelation broke over him and the growing weight in the emptiness drifted away. He rose to his feet, dripping, droplets of water rippling against the stronger tides of the waterfall. He looked at the Princess, said, "They are waiting for me. I must go back. I will tell them I have failed. They will know nothing of what has transpired."

Ienzo had fallen asleep again. Zexion had returned.

She smiled as he tentatively held out a hand to her. She grasped it, her fingers locking around his palm and away from the slick wetness. He heaved her to her feet but she pressed herself to him and kissed him fiercely, pushing him under the waterfall. It poured all around them as she forced his mouth open and dove in. The shock wore off and he fought back with a fury he didn't know was in him. He wrested control away from her and forced her against the wall, the waterfall still falling on them. Then almost immediately the violence stopped. They stood there, frozen, her arms wrapped around his neck, their lips locked together. Then, slowly and with great care, he pulled away. Her arms slid off as he took a step back. She followed him, through the waterfall and through the pool. Then she did nothing, watched rather serenely as he bent over and sought his gloves. He fished them out, wrung them, forced his clammy wet hands back into them. He resisted the want to touch her again, and feel the living heat the shadow inside him craved.

It was over. Zexion's mission was long over but the conclusion was still being drawn. He would end it all.

He stepped out of the pool and onto sand. She followed him; he could smell her as he slowly wove his way down to the beach. There he stood, his one visible eye fixed on the far horizon. She stood next to him, and he looked at her briefly. There was an expression of longing on her face, and he felt moved to say, "Don't worry. One day, you and he will meet again."

He waited long enough for her to say, "I hope so," before he opened a portal and stepped in. He never looked back. He didn't need to. Zexion's mission was done. He had failed to reel in the Princess of Heart. The Organization will have to deal with Sora using only Naminé. She will shatter his memories, and those of all connected to him.

Including the Princess of Heart.

xxx

"Kairi…?"

She stood in the beach, staring across to a cluster of offshore islands, basking in the hues of twilight. Then she stepped forward, ignored the sand as her school shoes sank into it. A few more steps and she stood on wet sand where the water rushed up and melted away. She put her school bag down, then reached in and pulled out a bottle. Within was a piece of paper, carefully scrolled up and sealed inside. She looked at the bottle, cradled it, then knelt down and as the next wave came frothing in, she let the bottle go. The ocean swept it up, carried it away from the land and human hands, and out to sea, to cast it adrift so it may wander as it will.

"What's that?" the young brunette asked, kneeling down next to the redhead, mindful of her plaid skirt touching the damp sand.

"A letter…I wrote it yesterday, to the boy I can't remember," Kairi said softly, with a soft nostalgic smile on her face. "I said that no matter where he is…I'll find him. One day. And when I stopped writing, I remembered we made a promise, something important. This letter is where it starts. I know it."

The girl next to her widened her green eyes in awe. Romantic hues painted her face. "Wow…I hope he gets it."

There was no doubt in her heart that the bottle will find its way to him. She was sure of it.

"He will."

Selphie nodded as Kairi brushed back a strand of red hair and watched the bottle shrink into the distance, swallowed by the sea.

"Starts with an "S". Right, Sora?"

Author's Endnote: And so it ends on a Sokairi note. Bet you didn't expect that! Questions? Comments? Review and thank you. Not bad for a Zexion x Kairi, eh?