Riku didn't know what he was talking about... Sure, he was in a pretty similar situation and still had a girlfriend, but that was different. They were both officers... They both knew the dangers... Kairi would have no idea what she was getting herself into. And besides, Sora's mother wasn't weak. She was one of the of strongest people that Sora ever knew and it was still hard. Something like that would be hard on anyone.

Sora had been struggling with himself for the past hour. Even after talking to his mother and all the time he'd spent with Kairi herself, he just couldn't shake the fact that he was being unfair to her. Maybe he should just stop hanging out with her. He should distance himself like he did with everyone else. No... He couldn't do that either... Ugh... Why was this so hard?

Riiing!

"Leave me alone..." Sora groaned at the inanimate object.

Riiing!

"Can't you see I'm having a crisis here?"

RIIING!

"Fine!" Sora swiped the phone off his bedside table, "Hello?"

"Hey, dude. Just got a call from the boss. We're on patrol tonight. Get your ass down here."

Sora let out an irritated gurgling sound that Riku thankfully let slide, "Fine... I'll be there in ten..."


Sora arrived at the station and Riku hopped in the passenger seat as soon as he pulled up. "Hey!" he said enthusiastically.

Sora didn't return the greeting, "Why are we on patrol again? We did patrol a few days ago."

Riku shrugged, "Well, if we're being honest here, I actually took the shift from the guys who were actually supposed to do it tonight."

"What? Why would you do that?" Sora growled.

"Now, now... That's not how this works. Since I confessed something, now it's your turn... How do you really feel about Kairi?" Riku smirked ignoring his friend's aggravation.

"Riku..." Sora warned.

"Oh, come on, Sora... You can't blame me for wanting to know. And you certainly can't expect me to be scared of you. Out with it, princess," Riku teased.

Sora shot daggers at him, but it seemed Riku wasn't going to let up about it and they were stuck together. "Alright, fine. I like her. So, what? I'm supposed to profess my feelings to her with roses and, and then we drive off into the sunset. We kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas and she teases me because I'm wearing an ugly sweater... I shoot back that my mother made it for me and she just laughs. Years go by and we're married with children. She waits until late at night for me to come home and guess what? I don't. One day, I just don't come home. Then, what happens?"

Riku just stared at him with an unwavering expression of apparent apathy. "You know if you don't stop bitching about dying, I'm gonna have to hit you."

Sora just stared incredulously at him, "What are you-"

Riku raised his hand, "I'm serious. If I hear you say one more word that even sounds like 'dead', I'm gonna hurt you."

Sora sighed. He hated it when Riku did that. Sora was allowed to be emotional about some things, right? And this was death-

"Don't even think it," Riku scolded.

"I wasn't-"

"You were. Eyes on the road, stupid." Sora glued his eyes to the road as his anger continued to build. Stupid Riku. Stupid Emotions. Stupid guys hiding in the alley nearby. Wait, what?

"Suspicious activity on my right," Sora began to pull over as Riku took notice of the two men.

"They don't look too suspicious, why are you-"

"I know them," Sora simply said as he climbed out of the car.

"You what?" Riku followed.

Sora put his finger to his lips indicating that they should quiet down, "Those are the guys that attacked Kairi that night," he whispered.

Riku nodded his understanding, "Let's get them."

They each made sure their pistols were loaded before making there way into the alley. They couldn't have the guns out unprovoked, but they were ready to take them out if necessary. The two men noticed the officers approaching and faced them confidently, "What do you want?"

Riku stepped forward and flashed his badge, "DIPD. What's going on here?"

The shorter of the two stepped forward, "We didn't do nothing."

Sora stepped up, "Really? Because I seem to recall a particular case of assault and attempted rape a few weeks ago."

A look of recognition passed over their faces as the two men looked at Sora. The bigger one leaned down and whispered in a not-so-quiet voice, "That's the guy that beat the crap out of us, Shadow. What do we do?"

"Shut up," the other one, supposedly called Shadow responded. He faced Riku and Sora again, "I have no idea what you're talking about, officer."

Sora was starting to get angry again, "We have eye witness accounts of everything. You can either come quietly or-"

"RUN!" the big one said before turning tail and running down the alley.

"Neo, you idiot!" Shadow yelled over his shoulder.

"I got him," Riku tore past Shadow and followed Neo down the alleyway.

Sora raised an eyebrow to Shadow, "So, are you gonna get in the car, or are you gonna follow your friend's lead?"

Shadow seemed to be struggling with his answer as he heard Neo being restrained not too far away. His eyes glanced toward the gun at Sora's hip, "I don't wanna do anything with that gun there. It's making me nervous."

Sora rolled his eyes, "You want me to get rid of my gun?"

Shadow countered, "You've made it very obvious you can handle me without it, so what's the harm?"

Sora didn't want to get into all the examples of criminals pulling concealed weapons on officers when they let their guard down, so he simply said, "I'm not stupid. You probably have something on you."

Shadow lifted up his hands and turned out his pockets. He even made a point to lift his jacket and pull up his sleeves, "I got nothing. See? I just don't like the gun."

Sora sighed, "Fine. If it will make you feel better. I'm gonna take out my gun," he lifted it out of its holster, Shadow's eyes following it the entire way, "And I'm gonna set it right here where it can't hurt anyone." He placed it on a nearby dumpster a good distance away from where both of them were standing. "Now, will you come?"

Shadow made a grab for the gun. He hadn't even made it halfway when he felt the barrel of pistol against his head, "Nice try." Riku was standing right behind him with a smug look on his face.


And just like that, both criminals were in the backseat. Neo was knocked out. Riku said that he felt that it was necessary because Neo got car sick very easily. Sora didn't question it. "So, were you really that stupid? You actually gave in to the demands of a criminal?" Riku quesioned.

Sora laughed, "I knew you were there. I saw you standing behind him. I just thought that I'd give him a chance to redeem himself. The endeavor didn't go over well, as you can see."

Riku just rolled his eyes, "Whatever. It was still stupid."

A couple of minutes passed in silence when Sora spoke up, "My mom's not weak."

Riku raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Earlier... You said how strong Kairi was and how she would be fine if something bad happened. You implied that my mom was weak..." Sora explained.

"Sora..." Riku warned.

"Just listen. I know that's not what you meant and I know you told me not to talk about this anymore, but think about this. If anything happened to Xion, how would you feel?"

"Sora-"

"How would you feel?" Sora repeated.

Riku sighed, "I don't know. Honest to God, I have no idea what I would do if something happened to her..."

Sora chanced a look at Riku. His expression had changed. He no longer had the look of some who was scolding. He looked genuinely worried, "Riku... She's gonna be fine."

"How can you say that?" Riku snapped, "When you're so worried about something happening to you that you won't even date some girl that you obviously like and who obviously likes you back. How can you possibly tell me that she's gonna be fine when she's in the middle of it all. She's surrounded by Nobodies, man. And the only other guy out there on our side is some jerk who's probably trying to get in her pants."

"What are you talking about?" Sora was worried now. Not about Xion, but about Riku. He'd never seen him like this.

"The guy that she's partnered up with for this mission. He's some womanizing jerk," Riku spat.

"Who is it?"

"Some guy named Roxas..." Sora started laughing, "What? What's so funny?" Riku growled.

Sora shook his head, "Dude... Roxas is Cloud's son. I've known him since we were kids. He is not a womanizer. He's actually a really nice, respectful guy." Cloud Strife was the head of the police department in Destiny Islands. He and Sora's father were partners back in the day. In fact, Cloud has Zack to thank for his life.

"Hmph... Doesn't mean I have to like him..." Riku was staring out the window avoiding eye contact.

"Are you seriously this jealous?" Sora questioned.

"So what if I am? I have a right to be," Riku argued.

"Riku... Xion is a great girl and I'm sure that most any guy would want her, but she's your girl. She knows it. You know it. Just about everyone else does, too. Not only would she not cheat on you in a million years, no guy would be stupid enough to try anything while knowing full well you would kill them for just thinking about it." Riku grunted, "Relax, man... You have nothing to worry about."

Riku grunted again, "Whatever..."

Sora chuckled, "The great Riku Masamune... Jealous..."

"You know I'm worried about her safety, too."

Sora nodded, "I know, man. Just trust me... Nothing is going to happen to her."

"I hope not, Sora... I hope not."


The next day, Sora had decided that he could remain friends with Kairi as long as he made sure it stayed that way. Just friends. Riku may have been right about him liking her, but the way he had acted about Xion had only reinforced Sora's feelings about all of it. He couldn't do that to Kairi. It would just be unfair.


This is so unfair... Kairi was lying in bed thinking about the past few weeks and there was one thing, or one person rather, that seemed to dominate her thoughts. A young officer by the name of Sora Fair. She just didn't get it. They went to movies together. They went out to eat together. They'd watched a sunset together for crying out loud. Why didn't he want to be with her? Was there something wrong with her? Did she come come on too strong? Was he gay?

She shook the thoughts from her head. Sora had made it perfectly clear that he just didn't want a relationship. It was as simple as that. So, why couldn't she shake the feeling that he liked her. The way he looked at her as they walked along the beach. He just looked so... He looked... Oh, sue me, he looked adorable. That goofy smile of his. That way he seems to get lost in his thoughts one minute and then he goes and does something without thinking in the next. He was ridiculous.

No. She would not be one of those girls who wondered day in and day out why some guy hadn't asked her out. That was not her. That would never be her. She had other things to worry about. Like school and money. She didn't have time for stupid guys with their stupid, adorable smiles. "Ugh..." She groaned.

That's it. She was gonna do what she always did when she was confused or upset. She was gonna sing her song. She went down into the foyer and sat at the piano. She wasn't very good. Not as good as her mother at least, but she knew how to play her song. She'd figured out the notes a long time ago. When she first started playing it, her parents were surprised. They'd asked if she wrote it. Kairi would just shake her head and continue playing. She hadn't written it. She just couldn't remember where she heard it.

Kairi rested her fingers on the keys and took a shallow breath. She pressed down and let the notes resonate as they filled the room. She started playing the melody,

"You're giving me too many things
Lately, you're all I need.
You smiled at me and said,

"Don't get me wrong, I love you,
But does that mean I have to meet your father?"
When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said,
"No, I don't think life is quite that simple"

"Kairi!"

The notes came to a sudden halt as Kairi whipped around to the source of the sound, "Yeah?"

"Can you come here? I need help with the groceries," her mothers voice called from the other room.

"Sure, mom. I'll be right there." She made her way into the kitchen where her mother had set down the bags filled with food and other products. Kairi's mother, Rinoa, smiled at her from the cabinet where she had started putting the canned foods she purchased. Rinoa Leonhart had warm brown eyes and brown hair that reached her upper back. She looked like she would have been very pretty when she was young. Not to say that she wasn't pretty now, she just looked very mature. She had an air of elegance to her that Kairi couldn't hope to match.

They were halfway done putting everything away when Rinoa spoke up, "So, Kairi, where have you been sneaking off to all the time lately? Do you not like us anymore or something?"

Kairi laughed a little, "You know I love you guys, mom. I've just made a new friend recently and we've been spending time together."

Rinoa raised her eyebrow, "A friend? What kind of friend?"

Kairi rolled her eyes, but she couldn't conceal the slight blush that was on her cheeks, "He's just a friend, mom. He's nice."

Rinoa smiled, "Mhm... I'm sure he's very nice, dear. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Good," Kairi said.

"Good," Rinoa responded.

There was a brief pause as they continued putting things away.

"Alright, fine... I might like him a little bit," Kairi admitted.

Rinoa simply laughed, "It's okay, dear. Your father wasn't very easily persuaded either. He came around eventually though. And I'm sure this friend of yours will, too."

Kairi smiled at the thought, "I'm not worried..." She wasn't. There was nothing to be worried about. She and Sora were friends. If that's all they would ever be. That was completely fine. Kairi wasn't worried in the slightest.