Chapter Nine: I Won't Say I'm in Love

After spending the whole afternoon with Sora, he and Kairi returned home, laughing.

"Wow, what a day." Sora said with a laugh. "First that restaurant by the bay. Then that play. Oh man, can you believe that Oedipus thing? Man, I thought I had problems."

Kairi chuckled weakly as she glanced a look at the bird bath and saw two birds with Yuna and Rikku's heads on them.

"Stop fooling around." Yuna whispered angrily.

"Yeah, get the goods, sister!" Rikku whispered back before they vanished.

"I didn't know that playing hooky could be so much fun." Sora said with a kind smile.

"Neither did I." Kairi said as she smiled back. She hadn't expected to actual like any of the stuff they did. She just wanted to get Sora comfortable enough to figure out what his Achilles heel was.

"Thanks Kairi." Sora said with a wide smile.

"Don't thank me just yet." Kairi said, more to herself than to Sora. She then gasped and fell into Sora's arms.

"Whoa, careful." Sora said as he held her up.

"Sorry." Kairi mumbled. "Weak ankles."

"Oh." Sora said plainly. "Maybe you better sit down for awhile."

Sora then picked Kairi up and sat her on a bench.

"So…" Kairi said casually. "Do you have any problems with this?"

Kairi then put her leg right in front of Sora's face as his eyes widened as far as they'd go.

"Uh…" Sora said nervously.

"With weak ankles, I mean." Kairi explained.

"Uh no." Sora said. "Not really."

"No weaknesses whatsoever?" Kairi prodded. "No trick knee or ruptured discs?"

During this time, she edged herself closer and closer to Sora.

"Well…" Sora gulped. "No. No I'm as fit as a fiddle."

"Wonder Boy, you are perfect." Kairi half groaned. No way would she be freed from Sephiroth's control now.

"Oh, thanks." Sora said as he picked up a stone and tossed it into the pond, accidentally breaking the arm off of a brand new statue.

"Don't worry, it looks better that way." Kairi said as she walked up. "It looks nice, really."

Sora and Kairi starred at each other and didn't stop until a shooting star passed by.

"You know," Sora said finally. "When I was a kid, I'd have given anything to be like everyone else."

"You wanted to be petty and dishonest?" Kairi asked as she thought about her old boyfriend.

"Everyone's not like that." Sora said simply.

"Yes they are." Kairi said sadly as she wiped a tear from her eyes. She was just as bad as that jerk that dumped her. She was essentially trying to find a way for Malik to kill a good, heroic person.

"You're not like that." Sora countered.

"How do you know what I'm like?" Kairi countered.

"All I know is that you're the most amazing person with weak ankles that I've ever met." Sora said with a simple smile.

Kairi laughed awkwardly as she backed away and ended up poking her rear end on the point of a stone arrow held by a statue of cupid.

What the…? Kairi thought as Sora took her hand.

"Kairi, when I'm with you, I don't feel so alone." Sora said simply.

"Sometimes it's better to be alone." Kairi said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"No one can hurt you." Kairi went on.

"Kairi, I would never hurt you." Sora said as he held Kairi's hands.

"And I don't wanna hurt you, so let's do both of ourselves a favor and stop this… Before… We . . ."

As their heads began to incline a light suddenly shown. They looked up to see Tidus, holding onto Pegasus's head. The light was coming from the lamp on Pegasus's head.

"Alright break it up!" Tidus called out. "Break it up! The party's over! I've been looking allover Thebes for ya!"

"Come down, Goat-man." Kairi said agitatedly. "It was all my fault."\

"You're already on my list, sister!" Tidus said angrily. "Don't make it worse!"

Kairi couldn't help but laugh a little.

"And as for you, you bum," Tidus said as he grabbed Sora by his jacket. "You're going to the stadium and getting the workout of your life!"

"Okay, okay." Sora said calmly.

"I'm sorry." Kairi said sheepishly.

"Eh, he'll get over it." Sora said as he picked a flower off of a tree and gave it to her.

"MOVE!" Tidus called out.

()()()()()

Sora got on Pegasus's back, and they flew off.

"How many times do I have ta tell ya to keep your eye on the ba-AH!"

Tidus was so busy shouting, he got hit in the head by a low hanging branch and fell off.

"That's it!" Tidus said in a dazed voice. "Next time, I'm driving!"

And he passed out.

()()()()()

Kairi starred happily at the beautiful white flower before she grimaced.

"Oh, what's the matter with me?" Kairi asked herself. "You'd think a girl would learn."

If there's a price for rotten judgment,

I guess I've already won that.

No man is worth the aggravation.

That's ancient history.

Been there, done that.

Suddenly, the voices of five women, apparently inside her own head began arguing with her.

Who'd you think you're kidding?

He's the Earth and heave to ya.

Try and keep it hidden.

Honey, we can see right through ya.

Girl, you can't conceal it.

We know how ya feel and who you're thinking of… (Oh no…)

Kairi walked away from where she was sitting. She wasn't falling for the same old trap as before.

No chance! No way!

I won't say it! No, no!

You swoon, you sigh.

Why deny it? Uh-oh?

It's too cliché!

I won't say I'm in love . . .!

Kairi then walked through several statues of various love scenes throughout history, from Vanitas and Iris to Roxas and Namine. They all seemed good at first, but they all also ended in tragedy.

I thought my heart had learned its lesson.

It feels so good when you start out.

My head is screaming, "Get a grip, girl!

Unless you're dying to cry your heart out!"

You keep on denying,

Who you are and how you're feeling.

Baby, we're not buying.

Hon, we saw you hit the ceiling.

Face it like a grown up.

When ya gonna own up

That you've got, got, got it bad?

Kairi then walked through a pond on several stepping stones, trying to get out of that place, so she could just relax and get all these stupid ideas out of her head.

No chance! No way!

I won't say I'm in love!

Iris accidentally stepped on a turtle and nearly fell in before she caught herself on the hand of a statue of Sora as she smiled and got close to it.

Give up! Give in!

Check the grin, you're in love!

Kairi shook her head and walked off.

This scene won't play!

I won't say I'm in love…!

You're doing flips.

Read our lips, you're in love.

You're way off base! I won't say it! (She won't say it, no!)

Get off my case! I won't say it!

Kairi found herself back at the place where she had left the flower and looked at it. Maybe… Maybe being in love with Sora wasn't such a bad idea.

Girl don't be proud, it's okay you're in love.

Kairi smiled. Whoever those ladies in her head were, they won, and she didn't mind.

Oh… At least out loud,

I won't say I'm in… Love . . .

As Kairi lay there, she smelled melting marble and turned to see a statue of a couple dancing split open at the center as Sephiroth appeared in the middle.

"So, what's the stitch, Kairi?" Sephiroth asked as he sat on the ruined statue as if it was a throne. "What is the weak link in Atem's chain?"

"Get yourself another girl!" Kairi said angrily. "I'm through!"

She didn't care what Sephiroth said. She wouldn't hurt Sora!

"Sorry, mind running that by me again dear?" Malik said. "I think I have some brimstone lodged in my ear."

"THEN READ MY LIPS!" Kairi shouted. "Forget it!"

"Kairi, Kairi, Kairi." Sephiroth said as he suddenly appeared in front of her. "Aren't you forgetting one tiny little detail? I OWN YOU!"

His head glowed read as his hair covered almost his entire upper body and turned orange.

()()()()()

"Oh…" Tidus groaned as he got up. "Oh, I've got an extra horn here."

Tidus felt the bump and groaned.

"Sora's gonna do laps for a month!" Tidus began when he suddenly heard something he didn't like. The voice of a man talking to Kairi, he turned around to see a man of about Sora's few years older with silverish-white fire for hair, talking to Kairi.

"If I say I want Wonder Boy's head on a platter, you say?" Sephiroth asked.

"Medium or well done." Kairi recited automatically.

"Oh, I know that dame was no good." Tidus groaned as he thought of Sora. "Oh, this is gonna break the guy's heart."

Sora quietly snuck away, trying to figure out how to tell Sora that his new girlfriend was one of the bad guys.

()()()()()

"You hear that sound?" Sephiroth asked. "It's the sound of your freedom flying away forever."

"Look, I don't care!" Kairi called out. She'd rather have Sephiroth kill him that hurt Sora. "I'm not going to let you hurt Sora!"

"I can't believe you're getting worked up over some guy." Sephiroth said testily.

"This one is different!" Kairi retaliated. "He's honest and sweet, and besides oh Lord of the Dead, you can't beat Sora. He told me himself that he has no witnesses. He's gonna kick your can from here to Tuesday!"

"No weaknesses?" Sephiroth said as he walked up to Kairi and smiled wickedly. "Oh, I think he does, Kairi. I truly think he does."

Sephiroth took Kairi's hand, pulled the flower Kairi was holding away, and it died within a second.


Chaos dose not own Hercules or kingdom hearts, but she owns Iris, Surane belongs to SuraneSpiral, and Hikari belongs to WingBladeWeaver1357