Chapter 7: An Outlet

Kairi pulled into the driveway that night after she and Sora parted ways. It was Tuesday, and Sora was due back in to see her that Friday. That would mean a whole two days without contact. His breakdown in the office only sent worrying chills through her spine. Would Sora be okay for the next couple days? Was he going to be okay seeing Kairi only once a week? For whatever reason, Sora was a patient that had Kairi worried off the job more than any other patient.

"Guys! I'm home!" Kairi called out as she stepped into the house. There was no answer. She took one cycle through the house, finding nobody, before she finally texted Namine.

'Hey, where are you and Yuki?' She texted.

'Oh crap! Sorry, I forgot to text you! I went and picked up Yuki after soccer practice and we were craving pizza, so we're at the pizzeria right now. You want us to bring you anything?'

'Nah, it's fine. Thanks.'

Kairi sighed as she set her phone down on the kitchen counter. Had she known Yuki wanted pizza for dinner, she would've just ordered it in and they all could've eaten it together. Kairi looked at the time, it was already almost 6:00. She had hoped that Yuki and Namine didn't stay out too late. It was a school night and Yuki would've had homework to do. Yet, the homework wasn't even the issue. Yuki was in the first grade. She couldn't have had that much to do, right? Namine surely had some housework to do, right?

Blossom scratched at the door, begging to come in and snapping Kairi out of her train of thought. She opened the door and watched Blossom walk right past her and into the kitchen where she began to munch on her dog food. Kairi couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat, almost as if she were really sensitive to the fact that her own dog didn't want to sit with her. Am I just a burden to be around nowadays? She thought as she hurried upstairs with her head throbbing. Is it too much to ask for my family after a long day at work? Her thoughts bounced throughout her mind, echoing as if they were yelling.

Kairi ran into her bathroom and slammed the door behind her, confused and hurt. Why was she feeling this way? This wasn't the first time Namine has taken Yuki and done something with just the two of them.

Maybe a nice shower will make me feel better. Kairi thought as she turned on the hot water. She began stripping off her clothes, only to come to a halt after removing her top, nearly exposing her torso. The painful sight in front of her made her skin crawl. Towards the side of her stomach, there it was, a scar that stretched out as far as about six inches. It was almost about the same size as the one Sora showed to her earlier. Her cold fingertips brushed along the scar that was a permanent reminder of her past. She started to remember what Sora had said earlier. We're all gonna die anyway, so what's the point? His voice echoed through her mind as Kairi pressed her hand against the scar.

Kairi could suddenly hear sirens and could hear multiple voices yelling. She could suddenly see bright lights shining her face and blurred faces of strangers that were hovering over her. She could suddenly feel the same pressure of these same strangers pressing against her stomach and another one holding an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. It came rushing back to her. The racing adrenaline, the dizziness, the possibility that this could be the end. Kairi's arms started to tremble as she wrapped her arms around her half naked body and collapsed onto her knees. If felt as if her oxygen was being cut off.

For Kairi, it seemed like an endless cycle. She got up in the morning, went to work, came home, went to bed, and then did it all over again. It was a daily routine that done all while being emotionally drained from holding back whatever baggage she had. She was a mother. She had to be strong for Yuki. She was a doctor. She had to be strong for patients. Sora...Kairi remembered that she had to be strong for him. He was counting on her to be there, to help him through what he was going through. I can't...be like this. She struggled to stand back up.

"Mom!" Yuki's voice echoed from downstairs.

Kairi let out a gasp, reacting to the sudden break in silence. "I'm coming, sweetie!" She scrambled to put her top back on and turned off the water.

"We brought you home some pizza!" Namine said as Kairi hurried down the stairs and met the two of them. She raised an eyebrow after making eye contact with her sister. "You okay? You don't have a lot of color in your face."

"Oh! Right!" Kairi laughed while brushing hair behind her ear. "Probably because I haven't eaten in a while." She took the pizza box that Namine handed and opened it up to a fresh pepperoni pizza with pineapple and olives. "This looks great! Thanks you two!" Kairi sat down at the table with Yuki and started to eat. "How was practice?"

Yuki crossed her arms and rested her head on the table. "Practice was good. School was dumb."

"How so?"

"There's this new boy in my class and he's an asshole!"

"Yuki!" Namine and Kairi both frowned at Yuki's use of language.

"But HE IS!" Yuki stood up from the table and threw her arms up in the air. "This boy is named Koga and he keeps on poking me in the back in class!"

"Oh...does he?" Kairi asked crossing her arms.

"And then at recess, he kept on tagging me and then running away!"

Namine rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It sounds like he likes you. I remember when boys used to do that to me."

"I think that's the stupidest logic I've ever heard…"

"But Kairi, you remember how boys are like at that age."

Kairi groaned and stood up. "This is the problem! Parents are teaching our children that it's okay for boys to pick on and tease little girls when they like them and parents are telling their sons that it's okay to treat girls like that!" She pulled some fruit juice out of the fridge and vodka out of the cabinet. "When did it suddenly be okay for boys to provoke girls into aggravation as a form of affection, huh?"

Namine twiddled her fingers. "Kairi, I didn't think you'd ever make such a big deal about this."

"Well, it's boys like Koga that turn into boys like Vanitas…"

Yuki sunk into her seat. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to make you mad."

"No…" Kairi shook her head and sat back down next to Yuki. "I'm not angry with you at all." She rubbed her daughter's back. "I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all. Why don't you go get changed while your aunt and I talk?"

"Okay." She nodded. Yuki took her backpack and hurried upstairs leaving the two ladies alone.

Namine exhaled deeply. "Kairi, I'm so sorry for taking Yuki out and forgetting to text you. I'm sure you were freaking out."

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it." Kairi said as she took hers and Namine's pizza boxes and put them in the fridge. "I smell sausage on this pizza. You don't like sausage."

"I know. I had a craving. Anyway, are you sure everything's okay? You seriously look like you're gonna pass out."

"I'm fine. I just had a rough day at work."

Namine sighed. "I think you and Yuki need to take some type of vacation sometime."

"I can't. I work. I can't leave my patients. They need me."

"But you need to have a life! You spend practically your whole life dealing with everyone else's problems. You need to take some time for yourself and your family. Go take Yuki on a vacation, go hang out with Riku, you know he's been wanting to hang out with you for a while."

"Because this IS my life!" Kairi yelled. "That's all I've basically committed to be! I've basically become somebody that is always needed. Everybody needs me to solve their problems, Yuki needs me to be a good parent, our family needs me to be involved with the family, can't I need somebody for once? Everyone brags about the 'strong independent women who don't need a man'. Well, you can only be strong for so long, you know?"

Namine watched as Kairi began pacing back and forth before finally grabbing her wallet and slipping her shoes back on. "Kairi, where are you going?"

"To find an outlet!" She yelled before slamming the front door shut and leaving a stunned Namine.

Kairi got back in her car and drove down the near empty roads downtown. She tried her best to keep her composure. The last thing she needed was to get into a car accident because her driving was impacted by her emotions. The farther she drove from her house, the more she had no clue where she wanted to go. The longer she drove, the more impaired her vision became. The more impaired her vision became, the more dizzy she felt. Kairi finally pulled over to the side of the road and put on her emergency flashers before finally breaking down and crying.

How was it possible to get to a point where Kairi didn't know what she wanted? Was she even happy with her current life? Did all of those years of graduate school suddenly feel like such a waste? Did she make the wrong decision in choosing to become a parent despite the fact that she obviously wasn't ready when Yuki was born? Kairi rested against the steering wheel and hid her face in her arms as she continued crying.

Kairi jumped at the sound of a knock on her window. She looked through the window with her glassy eyes and saw a familiar face. It was the last person she expected to run into at this time on a Tuesday night. He had a very concerning look on his face and looked like he was dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie.

"Riku?" Kairi muttered as she rolled down her window.

Riku cocked his head to side. "Kairi, you okay? I saw your car was pulled over and wanted to make sure your car wasn't broken down."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She turned her face and briskly wiped her tears, trying not to sniffle, but failing miserably.

"Kairi, you're crying." He jogged around and got into the passenger seat. At this point, Kairi didn't even bother trying to hide her tears. Riku knew her better than anyone outside her family. Riku smiled warmly at her and rested his hand on her back. "What's wrong, Kairi? Talk to me."

Kairi hid her face in her hands as she began sobbing. "I can't! Because I don't know what I want!" She shook her head. "I feel like day after day I go through the motions and there's no satisfaction anymore! I don't even know if life's worth it anymore...My only purpose in life is to be there when someone needs me. Other than that, I'm nothing! I can't always be there for everyone and I can't do everything by myself!"

Riku sighed heavily and took her hands in his. "You don't believe that, Kairi. I know you don't. You're one of the strongest people I know. You've always managed to pull through."

"I know...but, I'm exhausted, emotionally." She held her head low. "For the first time in my life, I feel like I need someone...I need a light to pull me out of my dark moments…"

"Kairi, I wish I could understand what you're going through, I really do, but the fact is, I can't because...I've never gone what you've been through, or at least at the same level. But...I'm always gonna have your back." Riku began rubbing his hand up and down her back. "This would be the part where I hug you, but I'm sweaty from running, so I doubt you wanna hug me right now."

Kairi softly laughed and wiped her tears. Much like how he knew her so well, he always had a way of drying her tears. She smiled, feeling her face flush pink as Riku brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Riku." Her eyebrows lowered as she smile mischievously. "So...who is this new Riku and where's the old one? You were never like this in high school and college."

"Heh, I try too hard to be the role model." He snickered. "As I've grown over the years, I've found it's just easier to say whatever's in my heart instead of my mind."

"Well, I like this new Riku."

Riku smiled warmly at Kairi, lowering his eyes until they had a sort of mesmerizing feel to them. She never really saw Riku as anything more than a friend, but for the first time that night, she felt like their relationship had a sort of intimacy to it. Could've it been the fact that they were sitting in Kairi's car with the lights dimmed all alone and Riku was giving her the same eyes that he would always give every single girl he tried to flirt with in high school? Most likely, but for the moment, Kairi didn't mind imagining that they were something more than friends. When she was younger, she always dreamed of marrying a wonderful guy and starting a family with him, and while she did manage to get the daughter she always wanted, the former left much to be desired and even damaged her to a degree to where she couldn't even trust men outside of Riku, Roxas, and her family.

"Hey." Riku softly said as he brushed Kairi's shoulder. "You feel like going down to IKOP and blowing my entire workout on pancakes and coffee?"

Kairi giggled. "You know I NEVER turn down coffee!"

"Okay, so my treat, then!" He said buckling his seatbelt. "Lucky for us, we're not far from there."

"Yes!"

They drove down the road to IKOP, also known to them as the International Kingdom of Pancakes, the perfect place to bum around and eat comfort food with a friend. Kairi had never been more excited to eat pancakes with Riku more in her entire life, especially when she thought back to a time in college when they challenged each other to see who can drink the most coffee before having to use the restroom. Kairi won every single time. Times had changed and so did they. Now, it was more about being in the moment for them, and if Kairi was enjoying anything about this moment, it was Riku's company.

Kairi and Riku both ordered their favorite pancakes, the strawberry cheesecake pancakes. Fresh berries with cheesecake crumbles? How could they not enjoy those? Riku began devouring his pancakes that were swimming in syrup while Kairi nibbled on hers. If she could be honest, she didn't have much of an appetite, but didn't want Riku to be the only one eating and wasn't about to turn down his offer to hang out. Kairi stabbed her fork into the fresh berries and focused on those. She absolutely loved strawberries and enjoyed them more than the actual pancakes.

"How is your food?" Riku asked with his mouth full.

Kairi nodded as she dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "They're great, thanks. You really didn't have to do this."

"Hey, it's not every day we get to just get away from life and chill like we used to."

"You're not wrong about that." She rested her hand under her chin. "Sometimes I wish it could be like the old days all the time."

Riku scoffed. "You and me both. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like being a coach and all, but the soccer moms…" He checked both sides of the restaurant before leaning forward. "Between you and me, you're the only mom who hasn't tried to sleep with me…"

Kairi's eyes widened as she nearly spit out her coffee. "Seriously? At least half of those women are married, aren't they?"

"That doesn't stop them from trying. I'm the only kids' soccer coach who is an attractive male that isn't gay."

"Wow, you're such a stud…" Kairi sarcastically said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey you're easy on the eyes too, you know." Riku said as he sideyed her. Kairi bit down on her lip as she turned her face away, avoiding Riku from seeing her flushed face. "Hey, guess I finally got that date with you I wanted, huh?"

"A date…?"

"We're in a restaurant, I bought you food and coffee, and we're having meaningful conversations, aren't we?"

Kairi sighed in defeat. "I guess...you're right." She leaned back, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Okay, fine! You win, we're finally on that date you've been asking for."

"I'm finally victorious!" Riku overdramatically said as he curled his hand to a fist.

"Easy there, Romeo. The night's still young." She was about to sip on her coffee when she noticed there was something different about Riku physically. "Hey, I just realized you cut your hair."

Riku ran a hand through his hair that was shorter, but spiked in the back. "Oh yeah, not gonna lie, I kinda cut it for two reasons. One, I was tired of it getting in the way at practice, and two, I knew it'd repel the soccer moms. For whatever reason, they always found me more attractive with longer hair." He heavily sighed and shook his head.

"I like it a lot, actually. You actually look kinda cute."

"Thanks. You'd be the first to say that."

Kairi found herself stuck in Riku's mesmerizing gaze. The two completely different sides of her brain were having a fight over what was happening. One side being totally into it while the other wondering what was Kairi thinking when only yesterday, Riku was just a good friend of hers. Kairi stared down at her plate. She was practically done, except for Riku knew how much she loved strawberries, so he scooped the last strawberry on his plate and dragged it across onto Kairi's plate before finishing up. Kairi couldn't help but smile. To the average person, it seemed like no biggie, but to her, it meant much more.

Riku paid for their meal before walking out. It was much later than it was when they first met up on the side of the road, but neither of them seemed to take notice. It was also a lot chillier. Riku would've offered Kairi his hoodie if she wasn't just walking to her car that was fifty feet away from the door. He followed her out and opened the driver door for her. In a way, Kairi felt silly just at the very idea of Riku treating her like a proper lady since growing up, they often hung out together like Kairi was "one of the guys", yet tonight, she realized just how different of a person he was from when they were younger and how much growing up he had done, especially since graduating college.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight." Riku thanked her. "I typically come here later at night when I feel like getting out and it gets a little lonely sometimes."

Kairi laughed and shook her head. "I should be thanking you. Thanks for putting me in good spirits tonight. I really needed it." She jerked her head towards the passenger seat. "Hop in, I'll drive you home."

"Nah, it's okay. I live a mile up the road, I can walk."

"Don't be ridiculous! It's forty degrees outside and you'll catch a cold if you haven't already from being outside while sweaty, now hop in."

"Yes, Mother." Riku teased before hopping in the car.

Much like Riku had said, he only lived a mile up the road, which only a couple minutes drive. Kairi pulled up to the gate and input the security code to be allowed into the complex. Despite how close they were, this was Kairi's first time at Riku's apartment complex. Between the two of them having busy lives, Riku just never got around to inviting her over. If Kairi could be honest, she could see why. It was far from the worst apartment complex in Twilight Town, but it was far from the best. It's what you would expect an underpaid high school gym coach to live in.

"Hey," Kairi said as she turned off her car. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom before I head home? The coffee is REALLY hitting me fast."

Riku laughed. "As long as you admit that I win the competition this time."

"Okay, okay, you win!" She whined. "Please can I use your bathroom?"

"Of course."

Riku fumbled in his pocket for his keys and let him and Kairi into the apartment. Normally, Kairi would step in and take in her surroundings, but her body had other ideas. She dropped her coat, purse, and kicked off her shoes before running down the hall towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. While Kairi was in the bathroom, Riku went into his bedroom and began to change, removing his hoodie and the tanktop he was wearing underneath it. He threw them both to the other side and began searching through his closet in the hallway for a towel so he could take a shower.

After successfully relieving herself both physically and emotionally, Kairi was able to gather herself together. She took a look in the mirror and frowned at herself. It seemed to hit her that Riku saw something in her, but didn't understand what it was. She had problems and he knew that she had problems and they were problems he couldn't understand, so why would he express interest in a woman like her? Kairi ran her hands through her hair and fixed it up slightly before stepping out of the bathroom.

Just as she thought she had herself composed, Kairi saw Riku shirtless. He looked good, really good. In fact, no. He looked very sexy. Dammit, Kairi, what's the matter with you? She mentally cursed herself. It wasn't like this was the first time she saw Riku shirtless. He had been shirtless around her multiple times, especially if they went to the beach during their summer vacations. This time was different. She appreciated his muscular build that was well defined. Kairi did her best not to stare, but it wasn't working out that great in her favor, and Riku, knowing her as well as he did, only gave him further permission to tease her about it.

"Too much? I can go put a shirt on if you'd like." Riku snickered.

Kairi shook her head quickly while her face flushed red. "No! Not at all! You're fine! I'm leaving anyway."

"Here, I'll walk you to the door."

Riku picked up her coat and purse and handed them to Kairi as she slipped her shoes back on. "Well, thanks again for tonight."

"Anytime." Riku said as he smiled and leaned in, kissing her cheek.

Kairi froze at the warm feeling of Riku's soft lips against her skin. There were so many things wrong and right with that feeling. One, it was her best friend kissing her goodnight, but also, it sent just the right amount of warm shivers throughout her body that she needed. Riku parted, but not all the way, leaving just a few inches between them. Kairi's breathing became uneven as Riku wrapped his arm around the small of her back and pulled her into a kiss. Not just any kiss, it was a kiss she never knew she wanted from him. He was definitely experienced. It also didn't help that he was already shirtless, which drove her hands to immediately start feeling him, only making her crave for more.

Riku wasted no time in indulging in this moment he had been working towards. A moan escaped his lips as he felt Kairi's soft cold hands rest on his broad shoulders and travel their way down his arms that were now supporting her back and head. Kairi opened her mouth slightly giving Riku permission to deepen their kiss. It seemed the longer they made out, the steamier it had gotten, almost to the point that Riku now had Kairi's leg wrapped around his waist with his hand caressing her thigh while his mouth shifted down to her neck.

"You wanna get more comfortable?" Riku asked leaving a trail of kisses.

Kairi nodded. "Yes…" She breathed out.

Riku snickered before he effortlessly picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. Kairi giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life. As soon as they reached the bedroom, Riku flung her onto his bed and climbed on top of her, a much more comfortable alternative to the wall. Little moans escaped Kairi as Riku's hand travelled down below her waist and massaged her inner thighs. She shot a mischievous smile at him as soon as they stopped for air, giving him permission to take things further. She briskly removed her top and threw it to the side before flipping Riku onto his back allowing her to switch and be on top.

Kairi continued to heatedly make out with Riku as her hand slowly traced his build all the way down past his waistline. She slipped her hand underneath his sweat pants and sent herself down a stream that she was not gonna try and swim against. If Kairi's move was the warning signal, Riku flipping her back over so he was on top of her beginning to remove her skirt was game over for the both of them.

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Riku and Kairi lay there nude under the covers, catching their breath. Kairi was especially in need of some decompression. It had not only been good number of years since the last time she had sex, but also the last time she had GOOD sex. She knew exactly what she was getting into based on how he kissed and his performance was even better. Kairi pulled the covers up to her more to hide her shivering that always occurred after she finished. Riku leaned his head back and shut his eyes, also trying to catch his breath. He was athletic enough that he could go for quite a while, but even he had his limits.

"Wow...that was…" Kairi breathed out.

Riku wrapped his arm around her and snuggled her close. "Did I satisfy you?" He asked as he nuzzled his face against her cheek.

"Very much…" She sighed before looking over and being met with another one of Riku's perfect kisses. Her exhaustion started to kick in as her eyes grew heavy and began to drift to sleep in his arms. "What time is it?" She muttered.

"Let me check…" Riku shifted and looked over at his phone. "It's about midnight now." He brought his arm back around Kairi and leaned down to kiss her again. "You should probably just stay the night since we both work early tomorrow." He suggested between kisses.

Kairi smiled and nodded before shutting her eyes. "Yep…" Her eyes shot back open within a second later. "Wait! It's midnight?" Kairi reached instinctively for her phone only to realize it was in her purse in the hallway. "Shit! I totally forgot! I left Yuki at home with Namine!" She frantically paced around Riku's bedroom putting her clothes back on.

"Kairi, are you-"

"-Yep! Perfectly fine, Riku!" She answered, her voice a pitch higher than normal. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta hurry because I have to start praying that my sister doesn't kill me for leaving my kid with her all night, so, thanks for the pancakes, the talk, the great sex, thanks, Riku!"

As soon as Kairi had all of her clothes on, she made a mad dash out of his bedroom and to the hallway to grab her coat, purse, and shoes. She half expected Riku to chase after her since she was pretty much leaving him on a last second notice and probably wanted an explanation, but much to her relief, he didn't. Or rather, he didn't have time to. Once her shoes were on, Kairi split out of the apartment and dashed over to her car that was still in the same parking lot that shouldn't have been in for as long as it was.

Kairi hopped into her car and began driving home. She wanted to get home as soon as possible and if she could be honest, she wanted to forget the whole thing even happened. Did I seriously just sleep with Riku? Her head started throbbing. Great! Wait until this gets around the field! Now I'll be known as "the mom who slept with the coach to get her kid in a striker position". Kairi curled her hand into a fist as the desire to pound something began increasing inside of her. Her heart started racing much like it had when she first left her house that evening. She pulled over into a parking lot in a shopping plaza and allowed herself to catch her breath.

"What am I doing?" Kairi asked herself. She held her head with her hands and screamed. "I'm such an idiot!" She thought leaving Riku would've helped her situation. If anything, she made herself feel worse. Not only does she now have sleeping with him on her conscience, but now she had the guilt of just running out on him when he was nothing but a good friend to her. "How can I fix other people's problems when I can't even fix my own?" She cried, sobbing in her hands, now regretting leaving Riku's house and not having him there for help her through this.

No...I can't. Running back to Riku's house won't change anything. Kairi leaned back in her seat and looked at the time. It was past midnight. She didn't want to look at her phone for obvious reasons. Yet, she did. Kairi took out her phone and looked at her messages. Yep, there were a bunch of "Where are you?" and "Are you okay?" messages from Namine. Kairi had a feeling it was too late to message her back and that she'd be asleep by now. Namine was usually asleep by 10:30 on days where she worked the next morning. She came upon a message that she wished she saw an hour ago.

'I know you're going through stuff right now and you're probably ignoring me because you need space. I really hope you're ok. You're scaring me. I'm gonna spend the night here so if you need me, wake me up, ok? I love you.'

"Thanks, Namine…" Kairi muttered to herself as she sighed in relief.

Kairi shut her eyes and took in deep breaths trying to calm herself down. She knew that Namine was still at the house. Riku had just texted her asking her if she was okay, to which she responded. Both of them checking on her gave her sense of relief that neither of them were angry with her. Well, Namine was surely somewhat pissed that Kairi didn't check in with her, but all things considered, she was more understanding that Kairi needed time to just cool down and find a way to channel her emotions, which is exactly what Kairi knew she need more than anything.

Then, she thought back to Sora. She remembered Sora's breakdown earlier that day, the one she helped him through, the one where she promised she would never leave him. Kairi thought about what Sora had mentioned to her that day. She remembered that he often used video games as an emotional outlet whenever he was feeling down on himself and it kept him distracted.

"An emotional outlet…" Kairi muttered as she looked on towards T-Mart, the largest retailer store in Twilight Town.

Taking a cue from Sora's emotional outlet, Kairi stepped out of the car and wandered into T-Mart. It wasn't busy, thankfully. Most of them were younger folks like college kids that were either buying junk for some time of hangout or doing some after work shopping. She remembered those days of getting out of work or class late at night and having to come shopping for groceries afterward. She ignored the grocery and clothing departments and walked straight to the electronics department. There were tons of video games on holiday season was coming up, so all the big releases were getting pushed in terms of promotion.

Kairi took a lap around the displays before she found a game that she had never seen before, but the name sounded very familiar. Octopath Traveler...her mind read aloud. She remembered Sora mentioning that game during their session earlier. She also remembered how Sora mentioned that playing games didn't always work like he wanted them to, and that it was more like taking an aspirin that would wear off after a couple hours. Still, Kairi was desperate for something that could keep her mind at peace, even if it was only for a few hours a day, it was better than nothing.

The sales associate came by and got the copy for her out of the cabinet and checked her out so she could leave quicker. Kairi hurried out of T-Mart and back outside to her car. The drive home was finally successful and she was able to make it home safely. The house was dark by the time she got home. Both Namine and Yuki were asleep. As much as she appreciated Namine offering to be woken up, Kairi went ahead and let her sleep. Kairi kicked off her shoes and went over to her daughter's Switch, taking it off the dock before heading up the stairs. She poked her head into Yuki's room to check on her. She was still sleeping soundly.

Kairi assumed Namine had borrowed some of her sister's pajamas and was sleeping in the guest room. She was right since one of her sets of pajamas was missing from her drawers. After getting changed and hopping into bed, she booted up her new video game on the Switch. It didn't take long for her to get immersed. The music, the characters, the environment, Kairi was finally in her own little world with her headphones and nothing could distract her from the peace that was circulating her body at that moment.

I see what he's talking about...Kairi thought to herself. She paused the game and looked out at the night sky. She couldn't help but smile as she thought back to the warm innocent smile Sora gave her as he was waving goodbye to her early that night. It was a smile she could get used to to seeing a lot more.

Kairi softly giggled as she ran her hand up and down her arm. "Thanks, Sora."

Author's Note: Holy crap! I can't believe how long it's been since I updated this! And WHAT'S THIS? I PUT RIKAI IN A SOKAI FANFIC? Sorry everyone! Between life, dodging KH3 spoilers, and also having HUGE writer's block on this, time flew right by!

Anywho, many thanks for your patience! This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it'd be and the RiKai portion of the chapter was literally a last minute idea that popped in as I was writing. Hope the length made up for my absence!