Shadows of Reality: Final Mix
Chapter Three – From The Heart
There were some small blessings in life, Kairi realized. One of them included having her eighteenth birthday on a Friday. Originally, the party was supposed to be a surprise for her, but that was one surprise she had managed to drag out of him early on. Selphie had been disgruntled at that, but she also had to admire Kairi's ability to get almost anything out of Sora. She tried some of the same tricks on her own boyfriend, but he still never told her anything. Then again, Selphie was also pretty sure he was cheating on her, but that wasn't the point.
Compared to Naminé, Kairi was much more easing going, but she wasn't really a party person. Really, none of their small group consisting of Keyblade Bearers was. Still, they would all attend if one of their friends were hosting the party, though it was agreed that at least one of them would stay sober. Naminé usually chose to based on the sheer fact that she couldn't hold alcohol at all, but the rest took turns.
Despite the fact that some people expected them to be partiers (probably because when one of their friends wanted to have a party, they used Sora's house), and none of them got drunk every weekend. Though Riku and Midori had snuck into a bar once before they were both legally allowed to go into one.
Kairi couldn't understand why people thought that she was a partier. She was actually pretty reclusive, sticking close to her friends while ignoring everyone else. A lot of people thought she was stuck up because she never spoke to anyone else, but she always just figured that everything else wasn't really her business and it would be rude to poke her nose into it.
So summarized, she was obviously one of the most horrible people for being 17, going to a party and drinking every once and a while, and having sex with her boyfriend. Forget the people who did drugs, slept with several different people, cheated, shoplifted, raped, got into fights, and all those other things. At least, that's what it felt like at times.
There was a knock at her door, startling Kairi out of her thoughts. She sat up, still in her tank top and pajama shorts, as Naminé walked in, already dressed in her uniform, her hair held up by a towel to dry. The blonde happily jumped onto her bed, a grin on her face as she said, "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks Nami," she replied with a giggle. "What did you get me?"
Naminé rolled her eyes and said, "Greedy little thing, you are. Of course I knew you were going to cajoled Sora into skipping classes with you, so I was going to do the nice thing by giving the teachers an excuse. Maybe even rush home to delete the message from the school on the phone. And here you are asking for presents." There was a pause before Naminé grinned and said, "Okay, I admit, I did get you something." For her part, Naminé wasn't nearly as uptight as people (Kairi included) made her out to be. She was very encouraging of all of her friends relationships, including Sora and Kairi's, she just tended to worry about them being careless.
Kairi watched as Naminé slid off the bed and reached underneath it, the towel falling off of her head in the process. Seeing the redhead's surprised look as she took a wrapped present out from under the bed, she shrugged and said, "My room is too neat. You would have found it. Your room, however, is a disaster area rivaling Sora's. While Roxas and I may kill each other with cooking, you and Sora are going to have to wear hazmat suits to survive when you live together." She once again sat on the bed opposite of her cousin and threw the present at her. "It's from Roxas too."
"You mean you chose it and he paid for it?"
"Something like that," the blonde admitted.
Kairi eagerly tore the wrappings off, tossing them every which way. Kairi grinned broadly when she saw the clothes that Naminé and Roxas had bought her. The black and white tube top, black skirt and pink shorts would match the pink boots that her mother had gotten her (she saw them in her mother's room when she had been snooping around), but there was a bit too much black for her liking.
"Oh!" Naminé said suddenly, as if realizing something. She jumped off of the bed, dove back under and reappeared with another present. "I completely forgot about this. It's from Midori. She was with Roxas and I when we got these."
Kairi opened that present a little slower and found two armbands that were yellow with solid white stripes in the middle. There was what looked like a long, flowing pink sleeve for her other arm, and a sort of dress-coat thing. It was the same dark pink as her boots, except for a few spots that were outlined in white and the part of it that was black. The only things she could tell that kept it on were the crisscrossing purple straps that went around her neck and across her back. It was a little strange, but then again, she had owned a dress that had three zippers on it.
"Thank you Nami," Kairi said, moving to give her cousin a hug. "I'm sorry I've been a right bitch lately."
"Me too," Naminé replied, hugging her cousin back before standing up. "So, you and Sora are going to have an awesome day today, and tonight is going to be insanely fun."
"You going to drink?"
"Oh god no," she said with a laugh. "Remember Riku's birthday? Not happening again. I am going to be enjoying all of you acting like complete idiots. If you and Sora decide to do anything though, please lock the door this time. I really don't need to walk into a room and see that again. Why do I seem to walk in on everyone?"
Kairi blushed heavily at the memory. Riku's birthday party back in March, she and Sora had slipped off somewhere. Naminé and Roxas walked in on them. It had certainly been a sobering moment. Especially since Naminé had been wasted (it had been Roxas' turn to stay sober) and had yelled to the world about what they were doing. Of course, that wasn't the most embarrassing thing that Naminé had done that night. Apparently she could be very talented with improve when she was intoxicated.
Kairi got out of her bed and quickly pushed by Naminé to go to the bathroom. She thought about what Naminé had said and got out her tangerine shampoo and conditioner and her vanilla shaving cream and body wash (Sora often joked that she smelled like a creamsicle at times, but she pointed out that he liked creamsicles). It was true, ever since the day she and Sora had talked about his mother, they had both been so busy with a sudden surge of school work that they didn't get the chance to do more than exchange a small kiss and hug when they saw each other. Kairi's mother had made her take part in different volunteer groups, for university she said, and she was busy helping different people in what would normally be her free time all week. She longed to just have a moment to sit with Sora at least, but would prefer to have more than a moment to kiss him without having to run off a second later.
She realized just how pathetic she sounded. It had been a week and a half and she felt like it had been months. Maybe Naminé was right and they did an intervention. They honestly weren't that bad, but it was still a little pathetic.
She shook her head and took her shower, making sure to remove every pesky little strand of hair that she didn't want on her, and scrubbing her hair and body thoroughly. This day was going to be perfect; there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Of course, she had to make her mother think that she was going to school, but that wouldn't be a problem.
She dried her hair and stared at it, not sure of she wanted to leave it, straighten it or curl it. She had done her hair up in messy curls for her anniversary with Sora, and he had commented that he found that ridiculously sexy, but she wasn't sure if she wanted her hair like that right now. She settled on straightening it, figuring that she could change it before the party if she wanted to.
She put on her uniform before straightening out her make up. By the time she got downstairs, her mother had breakfast out on the table and was about to come upstairs to get her.
Suzu smiled warmly and said, "Happy birthday Kairi."
"Thanks mom," she said and hugged her tightly.
"I made your favorite. Strawberry pancakes!" the woman said happily and motioned for Kairi to sit down. Naminé, who was already at the table, grinned at her as they ate in silence for a few moments. Suzu cleared her throat as they finished eating and both girls looked at her. "Naminé, you can go and get your bags and everything ready? I'd like to talk to Kairi alone for a moment."
Naminé nodded, shooting Kairi an odd look before leaving. The two sat in silence before Suzu said, "Kairi, honey, you're a legal adult now, but I just—I feel like I've been avoiding telling you certain things. It feels like yesterday that you washed up on the shore without a clue to who you were. I just don't want you to do anything reckless now that you have more freedom. I know there are going to be things that seem tempting now, things that you should wait for but—"
"Wait," Kairi said, a doubtful look passing over her features. "Are you trying to give me some sort of birds and the bees talk?"
There was a pause before her mother shook her head and said, "It's not just that. I—okay, we'll play the honest card. I know about the parties you go to. I know about the one tonight. People talk. I know that you drink at them. Naminé sometimes too. I also know that you're…intimate with Sora."
Kairi had seen this coming. She folded her arms in front of her chest defensively and said, "So what?"
"Kairi, that's a huge step to take in a relationship. You're both just so young and you don't know what will happen."
"Sora's not going to leave me," the redhead said. She was desperately trying to keep herself calm, but she could feel her temper rising.
"I never said that. Your situation is different from a normal teenager, but still, there could be other people—"
"No," Kairi snapped, her anger rushing out. "No there won't. I love Sora and he loves me."
"That's what I'm worried about. You two have your whole lives ahead of you and you shouldn't have to feel like your obligated to stay together. You're all each other has known." Suzu snapped back, annoyance leaking through her voice. "Tell me Kairi, how many dates end up in sex? Would he still be with you if they didn't?"
"Of course he would and it's none of your business."
"You're my daughter, it is my business. Have you ever felt like you've been forced to have sex?"
Kairi's face had turned red from anger, but at those words she suddenly paled.
Her mother's face turned into one of anger and said, "He has forced you to do things then, hasn't he? Maybe we should get him over here too."
"No!" Kairi exploded at her, her mind reeling through a sudden rush of memories. "Sora hasn't forced me to do anything! Not once! He got rid of the person who forced me to—" She cut herself off, staring at her mother as tears welded up in her eyes. There was something about having this discussion with her mother that violently forced all of the memories to the front of her mind.
Suzu stared at her with surprise, not quite sure what to say at the sudden revelation. Kairi had never even hinted that she had been—but now that Suzu thought about it, the young woman hadn't seemed comfortable dealing with any sort of new male figure. At least not one bigger than her.
Kairi suddenly let out a sob and turned on her heel, rushing by Naminé and back up the stairs, the blonde not saying a word. Naminé looked at Suzu with unreadable eyes, and the woman knew that Naminé wasn't surprised about the revelation. In fact, the blonde seemed to be standing on the staircase, blocking the path to her cousin as she judged the woman before her silently. Naminé had this way to make a person feel like they were under scrutiny. Finally, she moved by her.
"I'll send Sora up when he and Roxas get here. If she gets upset over this, he's usually the only one she'll listen to."
Suzu looked up the stairs. It was such a sudden revelation that it hadn't really settled in her mind. Sora had gotten rid of the person that forced himself on her. Someone had forced the girl that she considered a daughter to do things that she didn't want to do.
Anger flared through her suddenly and she walked up the stairs.
VVVVVV
Tears streaked down Kairi's cheeks as she held her pillow close to her. She couldn't help but be affected when the topic of what had happened to her sprang up without her being prepared. She could feel the memories rushing through her. She remembered being hold down by rough stone that had scraped her skin. She remembered fighting back as much as she could, even if it was disgusting that she had bit off a piece of his ear. She vaguely remembered him slamming his fist into her face, breaking her noise, but that memory was eclipsed by the pain of his smooth, polished knife, slicing into her skin. He had made intricate patterns in her skin, and had he carved his initials in her flesh. She shuddered as she remember the pain that came with the first time that he had used her, and how she had made her throat raw with cries of pain and begging him to stop. Then everything just went numb, her mind blissfully shielding her from the horror of what was happening to her.
Then she remembered Sora and how his very presence had been so warm and soothing. She remembered seeing him, no, a dark version of him, tear the real monster off of her. She had always known what had happened, but she knew that Sora wasn't necessarily proud of exactly what he had done. She also knew that it wasn't really him though, and his heart was connected to so many people that it was impossible to see where the burst of darkness had truly come from. Still, even the dark version of Sora had seemed like an angel at the time, and that was nothing compared to when he turned back to normal. She had instantly known that she was safe the second he showed up, even when Anti-Form had been on the prowl. When she had woken up without him there in Christmas Town, she had panicked.
She hadn't blamed him at all. Sora had tried to help her; he had tried to save her. Getting caught and subdued so easily had been her fault, but outside of that, it was that monster's fault. That revelation had been one of her greatest achievements to getting over what had happened.
There was a knock on the door, breaking Kairi out of her disturbing memories. Her mother walked in and sat down on her bed, running her hand through her hair and said, "You should have told me Kairi. I never—do you need anything? When did this happen? Do you need any medication? A therapist? I wish I had known. Who was it?"
Kairi took a deep breath and said, "It happened when we were jumping between worlds. Sora and I used to use the most dangerous way to travel but it was all we could do." Kairi paused for a moment. "He ambushed us. He broke Sora's leg and he said that if I didn't put my Keyblade away he'd kill him. He had powers and—there was a boulder over Sora's head and he already broke his leg so I didn't fight back. Then he took me somewhere else and I ran but he caught me and Naminé went to try to find Sora and then he—" Kairi sobbed.
"Oh Kairi," her mother wrapped her arms around her and rocked her. "You should have told me."
"I managed to bite off part of his ear," Kairi said weakly, and her mother chuckled a bit.
"Good for you. What happened to him? I swear, I'll find a way to leave this world and then I'll—"
"Sora killed him," Kairi interrupted bluntly. "He managed to find me and he killed him. Then he took care of me even when I was so scared because I didn't want anything near me but then there was Sora and he was just so supportive and patient and—it was my first time."
Suzu rocked her back and fourth as she cried before saying, "It's okay honey. That is nothing for you to be ashamed of. You did nothing wrong. That bastard did. I'm glad Sora got rid of him. I hope he made it hurt. Too bad he didn't drag him back here. Then I could have introduced my hedge clippers to him. First cutting off his apparently most important appendage before shoving them in a place he wouldn't want them."
Kairi chuckled weakly at this before mumbling, "I want Sora."
"He'll be here soon sweetie. Naminé's waiting for him." No sooner had the words escaped her lips, she heard loud footsteps rushing up the stairs. Kairi's door flew open and Sora appeared, looking worried and like he had run the distance from his house. He had done just that, feeling Kairi's extreme distress, but she didn't need to know that.
Sora ignored Suzu and immediately went to Kairi, who whispered his name and slid into his lap easily, pressing her face to his neck as he hugged her close.
Suzu couldn't help but smile a bit. She could see it, and she knew that Kairi wasn't just lost in a teenage fantasy brought on by silly dreams and hormones when she said that they loved each other. She caught Sora's attention, and he looked up at her curiously.
"You two stay home from school. Don't worry about getting in trouble. I'll handle it. Okay?"
Sora nodded his head and turned his attention back to Kairi. The older woman watched or a moment as he whispered something to her before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.
VVVVVV
"I'm hungry," Kairi muttered as she curled up at Sora's side on her bed, fiddling with the school shirt that was haphazardly done up from his mad rush to get to her place earlier.
"Me too," Sora admitted as he ran his hand up and down her arm. "Naps will do that to ya though. I did have something planned for after school, but I guess I can splurge a little more money if you wanted to get something else to eat. Or I could make you something. I've been working on it and I kinda have mad skills."
Kairi giggled and said, "Well, we do have to go to your house so you can change from your uniform. I'd love to see these mad skills. You're not messing up my kitchen though." She moved up, pressing her lips to the soft skin of his neck teasingly.
Sora chuckled a bit and said, "Well, lets go."
"Are you crazy, I need to get ready again. My makeup is smeared. I need my nice new clothes! And no, I will not go out like this just because you think I'm pretty. You're biased." She got up as she was speaking, and Sora chuckled as he knelt on the bed, placing his hands on her hips as he pulled her down to him, pressing his lips to her own.
Kairi hummed happily before pulling away and saying, "If we want to go anywhere, you need to let go."
"I'm happy to stay here with you all day."
She kissed him again quickly. "I'd rather do something else now, but after the party. Hmm, who knows?" She gave him a teasing wink, followed by a painful noogie.
"You sure? I mean after—well, you know…"
"You make all the bad memories go away," she said, a warm smile on her face before she turned to her dresser to pick up the new clothes that Naminé, Roxas, Midori had given her. She cast a glance over her shoulder, smirking slightly before going to fix hair and makeup.
VVVVVV
"You know, I never said it earlier, but happy birthday."
Kairi looked up at Sora as they walked through the small town on their island, beaming happily and saying, "Thank you." She gave him an expectant look.
"What? Is it your clothes? You look hot baby, I told you that already."
"Sora," she whined. "It's my birthday." She pouted, knowing that he was weak against her pout.
"I don't have your present with me," he said, leaning his forehead against hers. "I didn't want it to get ruined."
"We were just at your house though," she pointed out, her mind thinking back to his 'mad cooking skills'. He had made a mess, but the macaroni and cheese had turned out to be pretty good. They had left the mess for Midori to clean.
"I know, but you can have it later. Wouldn't you rather spend the day with me? Or get a present?"
She paused thoughtfully and in a serious voice said, "Present."
Sora sighed dramatically and took his arm from around her and said, "Fine. We'll go back and you can have your present and then you can go home."
"Sora."
He laughed and took her hand into his own and said, "Good thing that you're beautiful. I just can't stay mad at you."
Kairi giggled and asked, "What are we doing?"
Sora laughed and said, "I was thinking that we could go spend some time at the beach. Just you and me? And then supper at a nice place? Well, not super fancy, your clothes are fine, but some place you've never been?"
"I guess..." she trailed off. She was a little disappointed to be honest. She and Sora always went to the beach and had dinner together. It was pretty much their Saturday night.
"Did I mention that we're going to the beach on the secluded Mystery Island and going to dinner on Future Island?" Sora said, as if reading her mind. "I rented a boat to go out and everything."
Kairi had never gone to any of the other islands before. Any time she was supposed to take a trip over she had been sick or hurt or something along those lines. Automatically, the thought of going somewhere new excited her. She grinned broadly and hugged him tightly.
He laughed once again while saying, "So Princess, do you need anything before we leave? I already have sunscreen since you burn like there's no tomorrow. I have blankets, towels, bottles of water, bathing suits if we need them—"
"How did you get my bathing suit and which one did you take?"
"When you were getting ready earlier, and my favorite one," he explained.
Kairi seemed to think about this for a moment before saying, "But your favorite one is too small for me now."
Raising an eyebrow he said, "Well yeah, that's why it's my favorite. Ow!" He rubbed his arm where she smacked it.
"Do you have any band-aids and polysporn? I used all mine," she chose to change the topic.
"No, why would we need that?"
She gave her rather accent prone boyfriend a dry look before going back into her house. She wasn't about to remind him that he usually ended up injuring himself in one way or another.
VVVVVVVVVV
It was only on the way to Mystery Island that Kairi remembered all the legends and stories about it. Rumor had it that anyone who had gone onto the island vanished and never returned. Sora had pointed out that that wasn't true. The real story was that anyone who went into the jungle itself never came back. It wasn't surprising really because the jungle was so thick and dense that anyone probably got lost or ran into some time of poisonous plant or carnivorous animal.
The beach itself was clean and relatively untouched. They weren't the first ones to go over to that island, but they were the only ones at the spot they landed on. Kairi had been a bit curious, going to the edge of the trees and looking at a few plants that weren't located on their island.
"These are Lilythorn plants, said to be one powerful, natural aphrodisiac," Kairi said after a few minutes, carefully picking off pieces of the plant. "Dunno why they're called that though. They're not lilies and they don't have thorns."
"An afro-lama-hama?" Sora asked, trying to wrack his memory.
Kairi rolled her eyes and said, "Aphrodisiac. Supposed to boost your sex drive or something like that." Looking around, she came to a realization. "It looks like they're picked pretty frequently here. I can't say I'm surprised though. They're supposed to be powerful. Some people probably use them for drugs, not even knowing what they are. Did you know that a paopu fruit is one too?"
"What? Seriously?"
"Yup, only a light one though," she admitted. "Think about it though. We're always told not to touch the paopu's because it 'binds our destiny's' and things like that. That's why people are only supposed to eat them on their wedding nights. Of course, everyone learns about that sooner or later. I'm surprised you didn't know."
"Wow, I never thought about it, but it makes sense."
"I know. I mean, how many times have we been all over each other after eating them. Most aphrodisiacs don't actually work, but the paopu fruit and lilythron plants are pretty much proven to work."
Sora blushed lightly while grinning and said, "So, wanna try this one out?"
"This one is supposed to be powerful. They can be really dangerous," Kairi replied. "Besides, best case scenario, they work exactly like they're supposed to. No offense, but I'd rather go to my party tonight at least for a little bit before running off with you."
He laughed and said, "Fair enough. Keep them for later." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes at him. Still, she picked a few and put them into a plastic bag, feeling like an up and coming druggie just doing that, before putting it into her large bag that Sora had somehow managed to smuggle out of her room without her noticing. She assumed it was his magical pants (actually, the pouches, but magical pants sounded better) that did it.
She stayed on the beach for the most part, only wandering into the water after Sora assured her that the place they were going to eat wasn't over the top fancy or anything.
Some people would expect that an 18-year-old would be all over his girlfriend when she was wearing only a small bikini that looked more like just a bunch of triangles held together with string, but he wasn't. He stared, that much was a given, but rarely ever did he make any type of move on her when they were at the beach, something that perplexed all of their friends. It led to many discussions between Tidus, Wakka and Riku about Sora's mental health.
To be fair, Sora had a few bipolar tendencies, though he wasn't actually bipolar. His moods could shift quickly, but there was usually a good reason for it. There were times when he was a stereotypical teenage boy with his girlfriend and all he could think about was pulling her away somewhere. Other times, he was the sweet, polite boyfriend that the other guys poked fun at, but there was something about the beach that brought out his inner child. He turned into an oversized version of his younger self with a big grin and almost childish wonder at everything. Kairi positively adored this aspect of him, because she thought it was good for everyone to let their inner child out every once and a while. She said that it was just part of his charm.
Kairi watched him as he stalked a crab along the water with a stick in hand, dressed in only his navy swimming trunks, knowing that it could only turn out bad one way or another. She stared at him, blushing and giggling a bit as she thought about another side of his personality. She would never, ever admit it to anyone, but she actually had a "little bit" of a weakness for the whole serious, knight in shining armour thing he had going at time. And by a little bit, she actually meant that she was malleable putty in his hands. She found it embarrassing that, while she always said that liked being strong and able to fight for herself, the sappy, romantic side of her incredibly enjoyed the whole knight-in-shining-armour fantasy.
A yelp of pain distracted her from her daydreams of Sora, causing her to look at the real Sora. The crab didn't get him, but apparently he stepped on a sharp rock. She rolled her eyes and found the one band-aid that she managed to find in her bag to put on his foot.
Sora was a stubborn child though. Instead of avoiding the salty water, he used the fact that she came close to the ocean waves to his advantage.
She let out a surprised scream as he suddenly pulled her into the water. He was quick enough to drag her in while they were still standing, knowing that if he got her hair wet at this point of time, she's probably skin him alive.
Kairi glared at him and said, "You suck."
"Come on, you can't come to the beach and stay on the sand all day. You don't tan."
"I do too."
"Kairi," he said seriously, "you burn, and when your burns fade, they turn dark white. We've gone over this a thousand times before."
"Stupid you and your stupid tans," she muttered, poking him in the chest. Sora's skin was naturally darker than her own, but during the warmest days of spring and summer, he got an even darker tan without even trying.
Kairi stared at her skin, contrasting strongly against his. It fascinated her at times, how they were so different, but so much a like at the same time. At first, it bothered her that she was so naturally pale compared to most of the people on Destiny Islands, but she got used to it for the most part.
She did end up staying in the water with him, but because she begged him not to get the salty ocean water in her hair, they couldn't really do much. In the end, they just ended up sitting together in the shallow waves, sometimes talking about random things, sometimes just staring out at the horizon in peaceful silence.
"Sora," she muttered, almost unwilling to break the silence as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Hmmm?" was the only reply she got. His eyes were closed, and his chin rested on her shoulder as he held her from behind.
"I'm starved. Think we could go and get something to eat now?" To prove her point, her stomach rumbled loud enough for Sora to hear and strong enough for him to feel.
His eyes opened and a huge, teasing grin appeared on his face. If Kairi wasn't so used to his sense of humour, she might have been embarrassed, but there were few things that embarrassed her when it came to Sora anymore. Well, aside from the whole fantasy thing.
"I guess," Sora said, making it sound like getting food was a big deal. "Of course, we could always just find a bunch of paopu fruits. They grow here too. One is lots of fun, imagine how much more it would be with even more of those afro-deal-ey things?"
Kairi gently elbowed him in the gut, but he made a dramatic show of her hurting him. She stood up and stared down at him with her hands on her hips, and he stopped his whining, grinning at her happily.
"What?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nothing." She instantly knew he was lying. "You should just, you know, brush the sand off of the back of your neck or something."
"What sa—" She moved her hand back and when she touched the strings of her bikini, they started to let go. She let out a squaking sound that Sora would later swear sounded identical to the weird bird that woke him up most mornings, and grabbed the strings quickly, tying them tightly again. She glared at him and said, "You just wanted me to hit it so my bikini would come loose, didn't you?"
"Why would I ever come up with a scheme like that?"
"Because you are, in fact, male," Kairi said dryly as they started to walk towards their bags. "And right now, you think with your second brain more than your first."
"You think I'm smart enough to have two brains?" he asked happily. He stopped walking a second later, the look appearing on his face that he usually got when someone said something stupid.
The same look appeared on Kairi's face as she said, "Do I need to say it?"
"I am a dumbass," he said while shaking his head.
They got changed back into their normal clothes just within the edge of the trees. They faced away from each other, because though neither of them were the least bit embarrassed to change in front of the other, they still respected each other not to look all the time.
Kairi liked the fact that Sora knew how to drive a motorboat. Most people on Destiny Islands did by the time they were sixteen, since having a boat was much more common and useful than having a car (with Future Island as the exception), but Kairi always found that Sora was able to handle one with extreme ease. It was something she noticed after he returned from his adventures though, so learning how to fly the gummi ship probably helped. Just like knowing how to drive a motorboat probably helped him learn how to fly the gummi ship. Midori sometimes used his mother's car, but for the most part, it just sat there unless it was needed.
Sora was a bit of a speeder when it came to boats. Actually, he was a speeder when it came to any type of vehicle. Sometimes he didn't even realize how fast he was going. That day though, he was keeping the speed in check, if only for her. Kairi was usually pretty easy going when it came to things like her hair, but it was her birthday and she wanted to look more than just nice that day, so she really didn't want him to mess up her hair and makeup too much. He thought she was a little strange, but he respected her wish anyway.
Future Island was fascinating. The tallest buildings on Destiny Island were probably the school, theatre and mall, but on this island everything seemed to stretch up to the sky. Future Island wasn't visible from the side of Destiny Island that she and Sora lived on, blocked from view and mind by the hills and the mountains on the main island.
There were people, cars, and lights everywhere. Kairi tried not to stare, but she just couldn't help it. While she loved her home, this place certainly had its charm too.
She made note of where the pharmacy was as they walked by it, just in case. Knowing Sora, he would stab himself with a fork or something. She never understood how someone who was almost graceful with a weapon could be such a klutz during an average day.
Sora led her to a dimly lit restaurant, lit with thin, neon lights in curved patterns everywhere. It wasn't a fancy place like he said, but people could probably use it as a place for more upscale occasions, if they wanted.
He rushed off to use the washroom once they were seated, and while she waited for him to come back, staring at her menu, she heard someone say, "Well, how can I help you today?"
She sighed a bit, recognizing the tone of voice that the waiter was using, and looked up to tell him that she was there with her boyfriend. Instead, Kairi just stared at him with wide eyes, her skin going paler than normal. His face was completely different, but the shade of his hair was exactly like Jorix's. The name on his nametag even said Jordan. It didn't help that he was looking at her like he wanted to accost her right then and there.
"Iri?"
She looked around, relief on her face as Sora appeared. He took one look at her and knew that something was wrong; quickly figuring out what it was when he saw the waiter.
He scowled at the boy and snapped, "Leave my girlfriend alone." The boy, who was slightly younger than them, looked surprised before quickly leaving.
Sora sat with Kairi in the booth, hugging her and whispering comforting words in her ear. She hugged him back and asked, "When will the memories completely go away? I rarely ever think about it, then sometimes something just…triggers them."
"When I'm strong enough to erase him from those too."
She smiled warmly and said, "Just being here with me helps any sort of memories of that go away."
Sora didn't say anything else, he just settled for hugging her.
Luckily, they ended up getting another waiter, this time a rather confused, but nice, young woman. Once they finished eating, Kairi looked at the time and decided that they had been out a little too long and headed back to their island. Once they returned the boat, Kairi led the way, and Sora wistfully followed her along, holding her hand and staring off into space. He only broke out of his happy thoughts when he realized that they weren't going to her house, they were going to his.
"Ummm, Iri? The party doesn't start for a while and I thought you wanted to get changed?"
She gave him an odd look and said, "Of course I do. We're going to get you some other clothes."
"Why would I want other clothes?" Sora asked, staring down at his red and white t-shirt and black shorts with confusion. They looked fine to him. The horrified look that appeared on her face made him realize that, while they might have been fine to wander around in, even in public, wearing them to her birthday party was obviously not fine.
Her expression changed swiftly as she let her eyes get slightly wider, appearing just a bit more watery than normal. She pouted a bit and said, "It's by birthday party. My boyfriend has to look just as good as I have to. It's, like, the rules of feminism. You'll wear some clothes I pick out, won't you Sora?"
There were times he really hated her pout and her big, watery, indigo eyes. It wasn't even her expression to begin with! It was his pout that he had developed as a child, continued to use and that she had stolen from him! Still, he had to admit that her version of it was much more effective. The groan that escaped his lips caused her to smile and she knew that she had won.
They went to Sora's house first, and she dragged him up to his room without stopping to look at any of the decorations that were being put up. She made her way around his room quickly, grabbing a bag from seemingly nowhere and throwing a bunch of things inside of it.
"What are you doing?"
They looked around and saw an amused Midori leaning against the door, staring at them. Kairi straightened up and said, "Picking some clothes out for Sora to wear. He can get changed at my house while I'm having a shower, that way we don't waste too much time here."
Midori laughed and said, "Aww Sora, does Kairi keep you on a short leash? You are so whipped."
"Hey," Kairi said before Sora could get a word out, "leave him alone, Midi. Trust me, he wears the pants in this relationship."
Sora smirked at bit at the raven-haired woman.
"But I pick them out," Kairi added with a grin and a wink. Sora's smirk vanished at he stared at her with a pout as she and Midori both laughed.
"Fine, I'm staying here and I'm staying dressed like this. Maybe I'll put something worse on. Plus no present," Sora said as he turned away from them and jumped onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow with a dramatic sigh.
Midori rolled her eyes and Kairi laughed, jumping onto the bed beside him. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "If you want to get any tonight, you'll come back to my house with me, and get changed. If not, I may just have to find some other way to waste some time tonight." It was best to be blunt with him when anyone wanted to get him moving quickly.
Sora looked over at her and, in a bemused voice, said, "You wouldn't cheat on me."
"You're right, I wouldn't," she agreed, "but I never said anything about cheating, now did I? Just think about all the other different things I could do."
There was a pause before Sora said, "I hate you."
She laughed and replied, "Love you too. Now get up and you might get a preview when I'm changing."
Needless to say, he got off of the bed pretty quickly.
VVVVVV
Kairi had thrown Sora's clothes on her bed and instructed him to choose some to wear, but she would be the judge of if they would pass or not. He could have just grabbed the black t-shirt with the black and white vest and a pair of jeans (he was sure she would approve, though he didn't really see a reason to change out of what he was wearing), but he decided to be difficult instead. Instead, he put on a vibrantly coloured polo shirt that he had never worn before (his mother had bought it for him a long time ago and Kairi grabbed it accidentally), so it was a little small, and his jeans. He then popped up the collar and dug around the room. Once he found what he was looking for, he put them on and sat back on her bed waiting for her.
She came into her room a few minutes later, and he couldn't help but love the fact that she was so comfortable around him that she'd wander in wearing only a towel, her hair held up in a second towel. He also loved the fact that her massive towels were obviously all dirty, because this was a smaller towel that showed off a fair amount of leg.
Kairi took one look at him, snorted, and said, "You look like a total douche. Those are the only people who wear tighter than normal polo shirts with popped collars and aviators. Douches. You had better be changing."
He pouted at her and said, "But I like this." It was a lie, but he loved to tease her.
She rolled her eyes and walked over, tugging the sunglasses off his face and tossing them over her shoulder. She then threw the t-shirt and vest that he had picked out earlier and said, "Wear those." She then wandered over to her dresser, looking in the small mirror as he switched shirts like she asked. A small grin appeared on her face as she grabbed something out of her dresser and threw it at him. "Hold those for me."
Sora caught the small orange garments and his eyebrows raised as he asked, "Are these even considered underwear? There's nothing here!"
"Hmm?" she hummed, pretending to be confused as she turned to face him. "Oh! No, no. Those are the wrong ones. See, with my dress I need to wear the right pair or someone will see them. Those ones are too big." She grinned victoriously as his wide eyes and happily grabbed the rest of her clothes and skipping out of the room, leaving Sora to fantasize. She knew exactly how to turn him into basically her own little puppet, which was why she would never let him find out about the whole knight-thing. He would definitely use it to his advantage, if only as revenge.
When she came back, she was wearing her housecoat with her makeup finished, but then she shooed him out of her room and told him to wait downstairs.
While he was down in the living room drinking his glass of water, Kairi's mother came home. She sighed as she tossed her purse onto the couch, but smiled at him and said, "Hello Sora. Have a good day?"
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "I made Kairi lunch at my house, then I took her to the beach and out to dinner."
She nodded her head and said, "Yes, well, I need to go to my sister's house tonight, something about her husband cheating or something like that, so I won't be home tonight. I know that there will be alcohol at her party, don't look so surprised, people talk. I'm not going to do anything about it, just promise to take care of her? I trust you enough to let her go to a party like this, but please don't let her touch any drugs or get hurt."
"I promise," Sora answered. "Nothing will happen to her."
"Sora I—mom, you're home early," Kairi said as she walked into the room. She was wearing a dark blue sweater over a black skirt that went just above her knee. Her clothes weren't extravagant, but she had curled her hair, and with her makeup that was a little more done up than normal, he had to say that she looked incredibly hot.
Her mother gave her a quick once over, and Sora saw the approval on her face before she said, "I'm going to your aunt's house for the night. A girl's night out. Have fun sweetie."
"Okay, tell Aunt Aiko that I say hi. Come on Sora, we don't wanna be late."
"It's your party, you can't actually be late-late. Just fashionable late."
Suzu rolled her eyes and shook her head as the door closed behind them.
VVVVVV
Author's Note
Hmmm…I've been in a huge rut lately. I just don't feel like writing, or reading, anything lately. I need inspiration, but while where I go to university is all warm and sunny right now, here at home there is still snow in spots and it's been freezing, dull, and boring. Not good writing conditions. Not even my Disney movies are helping. I just want REAL summer here ASAP.
Anyway…
The idea that only one small thing can trigger a very bad memory, and even in the most extreme cases, cause a setback in someone's psychological development after something such as PTSD isn't that far-fetched. It actually can happen.
Trying to figure out a place to work in a conversation between Kairi and her mother was difficult. It needed to be done though, even if there was a huge time gap between Shadows of a Dream and this one. I thought it was important to address the issue.
Thank you times one thousand to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I appreciate it! Hope the few people who happened to get my slightly drunk review replies enjoyed that. I'm still a pretty competent writer and thinker when I drink, I just tend to spell things wrong and ramble, most people can't actually tell.
Dear under-aged readers: Don't drink and do stupid things. I'm legally allowed!
Anyway, the following readers get mental cookies of thanks: Trainalf, The 666th necrophiliac, Jad826, Shire Folk, shadowwolf547, Shifuni, and 16afoster.
Any comments, suggestions, questions, criticisms, just leave a review!
Krystal Lily Potter