Although we've come to the END OF THE ROAD...

-Chapter Ten-
Truth

Sora walked down the street, his small steps getting him nowhere quick. He had just passed through the neighborhood park by taking a shortcut around the bushes. Having memorized the streets like the back of his hand, he knew Kairi's home was just around the corner at last. It had taken him a while to get here.

He stopped across from Kairi's house and noticed the downstairs blinds were open. Even from his distance, he could easily see inside, the off-white color walls bright. It felt empty though. His eyes wandered up the walls of the building, making their way up to Kairi's room. The blinds were drawn, but he knew she was inside. Frowning, Sora walked across the street and stood on the porch.

In his hand was the cup of paopu passion ice cream that was now melting under the intense summer sun. It would completely liquefy before Kairi had the chance to eat it, his shot at an apology melting away. Sora rang the bell, and took a seat on the steps until Kairi came to open the door. While waiting, he rubbed the back of neck with his hand, wondering to what to say. How was he supposed to pacify a girl with a bigger appetite than himself? It was apparent that Kairi's favorite "time of the month" had to be lunch. Obviously, it was Sora's favorite time as well.

Sora furrowed his eyebrows. Maybe she was sleeping? He knocked on the door, yelling her name out. His knuckles began to turn red, and, still there was sign of life. Sora jumped off the porch and reached down to scoop up a couple rocks. Taking aim, he tossed one into the air, hitting the window pane.

"Kairi, open up! It's Sora."

He threw another one. This one hit the glass.

"I have ice cream!"

He was running out of ammunition and patience. On the other hand, Kairi would have to get her windows washed.

"Open up!" Sora tossed his final rock just as Kairi pushed open the windows. She shrieked as the grey pebble whizzed past her head, landing harmlessly on her carpet.

"SORA! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Oh man…"

He could see fire in Kairi's glaring eyes and his knees buckled. She was definitely pissed off. "SORA! COME HERE!"

The boy forced the lump in his throat down as he shamefully walked up to the door. He swore the ground was shaking around him, and he could hear Kairi's heavy steps as she came down the staircase. It made his heart tremble. Girls sure are scary when they're mad.

He flinched as the door bolt clanged back, the door swinging out in front of him. It felt like he had been hit by a typhoon, and he took a step back to prevent falling over. In the middle of the storm, stood Kairi. She had a hand resting on her hip, the other curled into a fist. Her face was red as her hair and the aura of hell exuding from her petite body.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" she yelled as her fist ran into Sora's arm.

"Nothing," Sora whimpered as he rubbed the location of injury while silently casting a cure spell. He had been hit harder many times before, but this caught him by surprise. Kairi surely didn't hit like a girl anymore. "I just wanted to bring you something to eat. I brought ice cream." He offered the gift, regretfully. It would have made a good ice pack for his bruise. Instead, she reached out and grabbed the ice cream, engulfing it- not exactly lightening the mood.

"You seemed mad back there and I wanted to make you feel better," the boy continued. "You haven't had lunch yet and that's probably why you were grumpy."

Kairi's eyes widened. Sora was definitely saying the wrong things today, and though he claimed innocence, his ignorance was not at all bliss. "Do you want to know why I'm grumpy?"

"Uh…sure."

"I'm grumpy because SOME BOY DECIDED TO TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS AND BREAK MY HEART LIKE IT WAS AN AIR HOCKEY TABLE!"

She found out Sora thought to himself. "It wasn't my fault though. We were caught up in a heated game."

"That's not what I'm talking about," she snapped. "I'm talking about that dumb dare! You're a jerk, Sora. I can't believe that everything you did was a lie. I thought we were friends…"

"We are friends," Sora assured.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I thought it was stupid too, you know? I mean, what was I supposed to say? 'Hey Kairi, Riku dared me to kiss you. So could I kiss you?' I don't think it works that way!"

"You should have tried it though. I would have…" Kairi shifted her eyes downwards at her feet, a slight blush staining her cheek. "Selphie told me everything."

"Wait, you knew? Kairi…I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Sora. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me." Kairi grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I trust you, but you're going to need more than just ice cream to get back on my good side."

"Yeah, I know."

An awkward silence filled the air as Sora leaned against the wall, his eyes wandering to the traffic outside.

"So, you wanna tell me what is really going on?" the girl's voice chimed in.

"I thought Selphie told you everything." Now that he thought about it, he hoped Selphie didn't mention anything too embarassing, like not knowing how to properly dress or scripting himself so he wouldn't say anything wrong.

"She did," Kairi stated. "But you know her, she exaggerates everything."

...About half an hour later...

Sora finally concluded: "I didn't want to take away your kissing virginity by doing something stupid. I'm not a sleaze bag like Riku". Inside, he imagined giving himself a high five knowing he had oven roasted Riku. That felt so good!

Kairi smiled for the first time and it was a welcoming sight to see. Sora breathed a breath of relief. At least, Kairi wasn't in devil mode, and that made conversation a lot easier.

"Sora, you're not a sleaze bag. You're just a lazy bum!"

"But I'm your lazy bum."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in. I'm not very proud of that fact. But I can't believe you actually went to Selphie for help."

"Sheesh Kairi, give me a break! I didn't know where else to turn. Besides, she knows a lot about this kind of stuff."

"So the movie thing was her idea?"

"Yeah."

"And the…at the beach?"

He had totally forgotten about that. Instantly, images of that fateful day started to flood into his mind. Kairi's frame fitting into her two-piece, the joy radiating from her purple eyes, the closeness of their lips, and the dancing flames that symbolized his burning desire for her. Now he would never forget it. That moment had been singed in his skull by the heat of embarrassment. He was certain his face was glowing red.

"Hey Sora?"

Sora snapped out from his thoughts. "Sorry, I blacked out there for a moment."

"Wanna play truth or dare?" she suddenly asked.

"What? You mean right now?" Sora's startled look said it all. Here, he was expecting Kairi to chew him out. Instead, she was inviting him to play games.

"Please..." Kairi dropped her smile into a tiny frown. Sora felt a pang in his heart. He hated to see her sad, and he really hated it when she did that.

"...Fine," he defeatedly answered.

"One condition, though. You have to pick truth."

"If I have to-"

"You have to," she cut in.

Persistent isn't she? "Alright. Truth."

"Did you really just want to kiss me so you could win?"

"I uh...no," he admitted. "It was a surprise when Riku dared me to do that. I like you Kairi. I really, really, really like you. If traveling across 15 million different worlds without a map, killing 100 Heartless in two minutes, and killing myself doesn't mean I don't love you, then I don't know what does." Sora stood to his feet, his eyes glazed over from recalling the hardest day of his life. "You know when I thought you died back in Hallow Bastion, I felt my heart breaking more than when I stabbed myself."

There was silence once again as Sora felt the life drain out of his body. Closing his eyes, he turned around no longer able to face the girl he had fought so hard for. He cursed himself for taking that stupid dare. It would have been better for him to live as a Heartless. Surely, it was better to live without a heart than to have one broken into tiny pieces. Fighting against the hot tears that were welling in his eyes, he slowly walked away. But before he could take the final step off the porch, he felt something crash against his body.

"Sora, where are you going?" He immediately recognized it as Kairi's voice. He froze unable to fight off the arms that were latched around his midsection. "Don't," Kairi mumbled, her face pressed on his back. "I always loved you too."

Sora's eyes shot open, the tears gone. Instead, he was filled with joy. Turning around, he embraced the girl tightly. The sweet scent of strawberries filled his nose as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. Closing his eyes, he could feel the world stop, the surroundings diminishing into nothingness. It was just him and her. Sora looked down into her clear purple irises, finding himself lost in her eyes. As he imagined himself drowning in them, it felt like he was dreaming. He was floating unable to believe that this was real. Opening his eyes, he found himself immersed in a tranquil darkness, and he could hear the deep recesses of his soul.

Growl.

"You know, I haven't had lunch yet so…" he admitted.

"Are you asking me out, Sora?" The ends of her lips were slightly upwards, full of expectancy.

"No. I'm just saying that I'm hungry."

"Well, I dare you to ask me out to lunch."

Sora shrugged. "I think I can do that."

"And pay for me?" she cutely inserted.

"Yea-What?"

"Thanks!" she laughed as she lightly pecked his lips before running down the street. "Come on, I'll race you there."

-KH-

The sound of steps along the ground ceased, and after a moment, Riku reared his head from the bushes to find the street totally vacant. He got off his knees and stood to his feet. Patting the dirt from his pants, he blew a couple silver locks that were dangling over his brow. A smile played on his lips as he pushed a couple buttons on his camera, scrolling past page after page. When he had come to the end, he enlarged the photo of Kairi kissing a sheepishily stunned Sora. Riku could barely contain his laughter as a tiny spark shined in his eye. He turned off the camera and slipped it back inside his pocket. Heading home for the day, he wondered what was going to happen in round two. He needed a lot of ammunition, because this game was far from over.

END

Finally, it's done! For a story that was only 10 chapters long, it sure took a while. I didn't think I could bring it all together. There were all these different ideas hitting me from all sides, like an air hockey game. I was scared that I was going to lose the reason why I wrote this guy in the first place. But, whew, I'm done!

I decided to end on a lighter note, and make this chapter short and sweet. I've had people tell me to get the point already (Transitions End, Allied Forces), and God knows, I can't write long chapters like Redeeming Endeavor or long stories like Shire Folk. Chickenman00712, Craxuan, and dearlybelovedangel know that fact very well since they been with me for quite a while. Good to see you guys again! Goldenpeltthewarrior, also, probably knows how bad a writer I am by now since she read/reviewed every single chapter. =D But, while I enjoy the company of older friends, I'm always happy to hear from new faces: dramione torenn, PEARLSHIPPERBRETT, Namilaa, SonChan, burningbright, nanny kiwi gurl, Alice Hates Wonderland, WaterAngel-Alyssa, Chaos, Ziddy 2343, and Melow. Thank you all for sticking with me these past 3 months! Thanks for all the encouragements, comments, and feedback. So, that's it from my end. But keep on writing and who knows, maybe I'll stumble upon your latest work and I'm sure it'll put a smile on my face just as this story put a smile on yours, I hope.

Rock out, party hard, live hardcore