The Organization left the field after a few minutes to go celebrate. I saw Seifer flip them off as they left. I had thankfully stopped crying, and my friends and I walked up to Seifer's group to see if we could help. As we approached, Rai stood up and barred our way.

He scowled at Riku and Sora. "What? You guys here to bug us some more, ya know?" He folded his arms and frowned at me. "You don't make any sense, ya know. Hanging out with these bastards." He jutted his chin out at Riku and Sora. I was trying to look around his massive frame to see how Fuu was doing, but he shifted so that his beefy arm was blocking my vision.

I looked up at him. "Rai, we're not here to cause trouble. We want to help. Okay?" I said gently. He didn't look like he believed me. "But they're from the Organization." he said doubtfully, reminding me somehow of a little kid. I glanced over my shoulder at Sora and Riku, who didn't seem to find Rai's behavior surprising.

I looked back at Rai. "I know that. But they just want to help Fuu, like you do. They aren't bad like the other members." Before Rai could respond, I had brushed past him to see the others.

Fuu was in bad shape. She was shaking and had tears running down her face. She kept sobbing "Lost, lost," over and over again. I tried hard not to look at her injuries, but it was practically impossible. There were deep cuts everywhere, and bruises were beginning to form where Xigbar had kicked her. Her foot was bent at an awkward angle, and if it was moved even a little her face would go completely white.

Seifer was doing his best to wrap up the worst of the cuts, but she needed medical attention. I quietly knelt down next to the two of them. "Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

Fuu weakly shook her head no, but Seifer nodded yes. I decided to go with what the fully rational person said, so I pulled out my phone and dialed 911. An operator picked up, and intoned "911, state your emergency." I glanced down at Fuu and said "Uh, I've got a teenage girl in need of immediate medical attention. She's got a lot of cuts and bruises, and her right foot is broken. Could you send an ambulance to 2142 West Side?"

"Of course. Please remain calm. A team of professionals will be dispatched to your location." I quickly hung up the phone before she could ask any questions.

I sat back and looked sadly at Fuu. "Is there anything else I can do to help?" I asked. She began to cry some more and shook her head. I looked up at Seifer. He looked positively frightening. "Do you need any more help?" I asked tentatively. He seemed to see me clearly for the first time. "No. I think we can handle it from here. You can stay, if you guys want to. Couldn't see why you would, though." He looked over at Rai, who was still keeping Riku and Sora away.

"Rai, that's enough. They won't hurt us." he said abruptly. Rai looked back at us in surprise and stepped out of the way. Sora came forward, but Riku stayed where he was. I think that he was uncomfortable with being in such close proximity with the other gang. Sora just seemed open to everyone. I felt absolutely awful about this entire thing, so I made a snap decision. "We'll stay, if that's okay with you guys."

Seifer looked surprised, but he shrugged and said "Okay. Fine." He shifted very slowly so as not to move Fuu's foot too much. He sat back and cradled her like a small child, stroking her hair and quietly telling her that help was coming soon.

So we all waited.

* * *

The ambulance appeared not long after that. The hospital was on the other side of town, so it took a little while for it to show up. When it did, I could practically feel the relief flooding through Rai and Seifer. Fuu was deathly white, and her breathing was a little labored. She'd lost a ton of blood.

They handed her over to the paramedics, who were shocked at the state of their new patient. They asked Seifer what happened, and he just shrugged. "I think she got mugged." He said convincingly.

They looked like they didn't believe a word he said, but they didn't ask any more questions. I'm pretty sure a few of them recognized Sora and Riku for some reason. That worried me a little, but when I looked questioningly at Sora, all he said was "We've been to the hospital a few times." Enough said.

We watched as Fuu was loaded into the back of the ambulance. She looked alarmed at being separated from her friends, but Rai quickly reassured her that they would be at the hospital as soon as they could, and not to worry. "We'll be there for you, ya know? There's no getting rid of us." He smiled at her, and to my complete amazement she almost smiled back.

The paramedics closed the back doors and climbed into the front of the ambulance. The driver looked out the window at us as they were pulling out. "You kids aren't in any trouble, are you?" We all shook our heads silently. He stared at us dubiously and said "Don't worry; we'll take care of her." And with that, they drove away.

We all watched as the ambulance disappeared from sight. Finally, Seifer turned to me and said "Uh, thanks. You know, for making Xigbar stop. And for calling the hospital." He shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't used to thanking people.

I attempted to smile and failed miserably. "No problem. Don't worry about it." I walked over to Sora and Riku. Looking back at Rai and Seifer, I waved and said "I hope you guys get home okay. We'll see you around. Oh, and we'll go check on Fuu later, if that's okay."

Seifer shrugged. "Yeah. That's fine. Um, thanks again." He smirked in that friendly way of his and began walking away. Rai gave me a quick salute, and followed his leader down the road.

I looked at Riku. "Can you guys drive me home now?" He nodded. Sora laid a hand on my shoulder as we began walking toward Riku's truck. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. But, you handled it really well."

I managed to smile at him. "Thanks, I guess. Let's just not talk about it, okay? I'm really tired." Neither of them seemed to have any objections to that, so we remained silent almost the entire way home.

When we pulled up to my house I hugged both of them before getting out of the truck. I shut the car door behind me and lingered for a moment, one hand on the door. I looked at the both of them through the window and said "I'll see you guys around, okay?" They nodded and smiled at me. I waved one last time at them before running up to my front door.

I let myself in and ran up to my room, yelling something to my mom about how I was home and going to take a nap. I barely made it to my room before the events of the day fully hit me. I broke down into quiet sobs as images from the fight filled my mind. I lay down on my bed and let the images wash over me, hoping to get the pain and tears over with as soon as possible.

It was almost midnight when the images finally stopped.

* * *

Sora watched as Kairi disappeared into the house. He wished that he could have prevented her from seeing all of those things, but he knew there was no way he could have stopped it. He grimly reflected on the Game they had seen. It unsettled him how much Fuu was like her brother. Jaan had had all the same mannerisms, fighting styles, and the same features that she did—it was like she was his clone, in girl form.

But she hadn't always been like that. Only after he had died had she stopped joking and laughing; only after that had she become as serious as her brother had been. Sora took a deep breath and leaned his head back against the seat. Poor kid. Laughing everything off was the only way he knew how to deal with things. He wondered how she managed it. I hope she's gonna be okay, he thought dismally.

As Riku turned the keys in the ignition, he studied his best friend closely. "Man, I hope you know what we just got her into. She's practically one of us now." he said seriously. Sora closed his eyes and groaned. "Yeah, I know." he said quietly.

Riku shook his head. "If Roxas ever finds out what's been happening, it won't be pretty. He's already warned you once." Sora sighed ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know that too. We don't exactly have a lot of stuff going for us right now." Riku grunted in agreement. Sora looked back at the house as they were driving away. "Man, I hope she's going to be all right. That was some pretty messed up stuff we saw today."

Riku nodded. "Yeah. At least that poor kid didn't end up like Jaan. That would've messed Kairi up for good." Sora grunted in agreement and stared out the window.

I'm sorry, Kairi. I'm sorry Fuu. I wish I could've stopped this whole thing from happening.

The nightmares that night were all replays of a silver haired girl being brutally beaten by a shrouded figure. The worst part, like every nightmare that he ever had, was that he could do absolutely nothing to stop it.

* * *

I finally dropped off to sleep around 2:00 am. I had nightmares, but I couldn't remember any of them for once. I sat up, feeling extremely tired, and forced myself to get out of bed. I looked at the clock. 10:43 am.

I groaned and rubbed at my eyes, which were sore and puffy from crying so much. I trudged to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower, which helped a lot. After I put on some clean clothes, I ran down the stairs to the kitchen to get breakfast. My mom was gone; a note was hanging on the fridge telling me that she had gone to brunch with some friends.

I sighed and pulled some pizza from the fridge and heated it in the microwave. After it was done, I wolfed it down and went outside. I went to the garage to get my bike, but then I remembered that Sora had it. Fantastic. Guess I would be walking to Olette's house, then.

I locked the front door and set off. It was sunny and bright outside, so I guess I didn't mind walking all that much. At least Olette lived pretty close by.

It took me about ten minutes to get to her house. It was a mid-size house, made of dark brown wood and stone. It looked like something straight out of Europe, which made me think of the Sound of Music for some reason.

I digress.

I walked up to the front door and rang the bell. I waited for a few seconds then heard footsteps. The door opened, and a woman who looked just like Olette appeared. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Uh, yeah. My name is Kairi; I'm a friend of Olette's. Is she around, by any chance?" Olette's mom smiled and nodded. "She is. She's upstairs in her room. Would you like to speak to her?" I nodded, smiling back at her.

Her mom led me up the stairs and pointed out Olette's doorway. I thanked her and knocked before I walked in. Olette was sitting on her bed, which was a very vibrant orange with green flowers on it. She was deep into a conversation with someone on her cell phone, and she was grinning like an idiot. "Of course I'll go to the dance with you! No, that's totally fine with me. Yeah, okay. Sure. Bye!"

She hung up the phone and began jumping on her bed like crazy. I cleared my throat loudly and grinned at her. She jumped in surprise and practically fell off the bed. She regained her balance and rushed over to give me a hug. "Oh my gosh, Kairi! I was so worried when you left the festival! I can't believe some brat with a piñata bat beat you up. Are you okay?"

My mind went totally blank for a second, and then I remembered that email I had sent everyone. "Oh, right. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. But I'm totally fine." I laughed nervously.

She hugged me tight and stepped back, getting a good look at my face for the first time. "Wow, that kid did a number on your face," she said, whistling in fake admiration. I laughed at her. "Yep, he sure did."

She giggled and seemed to remember something. "Oh my gosh, you'll never believe this." She trilled in excitement. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what's that?" She grinned hugely and said "Hayner asked me to go to the homecoming dance with him! Roxas already asked Namine, and Pence is taking some girl from his neighborhood. Now I have a date, too! And he is the sweetest date anyone could ever have!" she gushed.

I laughed at her sudden exuberance. "Well, congratulations, then." I said. "I'm very happy for you both." She nodded, still zoned in her own world.

She suddenly gasped. "Wait, Kairi, who are you going with? You haven't told me yet." Oh. I didn't see that one coming. I hadn't really thought about until now. "Uh, I don't have a date yet. No big deal, though. I don't see a problem with not having a date." I was abruptly smacked in the head.

"Kairi! How can you say that? This is one of the dances at our school that you positively need a date for! I can't believe no one has asked you yet. I mean, you're pretty and funny. What else is there? Well, you could also have brains, but that is beside the point." Ouch. That stung a little. "Hey, I have brains!" I said indignantly.

She waved one hand absent-mindedly at me. "Okay, I'm sure there are a couple of guys in my English class who could ask you to the dance. Oh, then there's Brandon in Latin . . . Oh, never mind, he asked Shelley . . . Well, I could always see if one of my brothers or cousins would ask you to go--"

"Olette! I'm fine, really. Besides, I think I already know someone who I want to ask me." She immediately stopped her ramblings and focused on me, her eyes lighting up. "Really? Who is it? Do I know them? Are they tall? Do they--"

I held up my hands in front of my face, giggling at her incessant questions. 'Yeah, you know them. Yeah, they're tall, and I think he has exceptionally beautiful blue eyes." I felt myself blushing just remembering all these things about him. Olette's smile broadened. "Oooh, he's making you blush, whoever he is. Come on, tell me. Who is it?"

I grinned foolishly. "Sora Kingsley."

Olette's smile slowly faded, and I could literally feel her radiance dim. She took a step back and regarded me dubiously. "Sora Kingsley?"

I nodded my head, still grinning slightly.

"Oh." She folded her arms and studied my face. "Are -- are you sure that's a good idea?" I felt a little confused. Hadn't she liked Sora and Riku before? When I voiced this question, all she did was shake her head. "Yeah, I said they were all right, but not to go out with. You know?"

"No, I don't know. What's the problem?" I asked curiously. She hugged herself tighter and avoided looking at me. "Well, um, Roxas said that it would be bad if you went out with them anymore. And, well, I kinda believe him."

I could only stare. "Why would that be a bad thing?" I asked angrily. "Those guys are my friends. They aren't gonna hurt me or anything!"

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "It's not them that I'm worried about. It's those other guys. Especially that pyro kid, the one who did all that stuff to Namine." For some reason the fact that Axel was a pyro didn't surprise me.

"That's so not gonna happen." I said. "They protect me from everything, believe me." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Kairi, how many times have they needed to protect you from something? How much have you been hanging out with them?"

Crap. I'd forgotten how sharp Olette actually was. "Um, I, well, not that much." I said quickly. Of course she saw right through my lie. "Kairi, tell me again. How did you get that black eye?" she asked quietly.

I knew that I'd been caught. "Look, it was a one-time thing, okay? I was trying to keep them away from you guys." She threw up her hands and turned around in exasperation. "Kairi, we're trying to protect you. Not the other way around. Don't you get that you don't need to go through this? Just don't hang out with them anymore. It's not worth it."

I glared at her. "No. It is worth it. They are my friends. Isn't that a good thing? I can hang out with them if I want to. It's my choice." Her eyes actually filled with tears. She looked away from me, clearly very upset. She glanced back at me, her green eyes swimming.

"Namine said the exact same thing to me, last year. 'It's my choice.' Well, her choice landed her in the hospital for months! We told her not to go anywhere near the Organization, but she went out with Roxas anyway!"

She stopped and looked at me. "I'm not going to let another one of my friends go through that. I'm going to tell the others. If anyone can talk some sense into you, Roxas and Namine can."

She took a shuddering breath and calmed herself. She walked up to me and gave me a hug. "It's for your own good, Kairi. I hope you can realize that." I said nothing. I just stood there stiffly, not wanting to show any emotion whatsoever.

She let go of me and stepped back. "I think you should go home and think about this. Can I talk to you later?"

I nodded briskly. "Yep. Of course. Bye, Olette." I turned and walked down the hall. She called out a goodbye, but I didn't answer. At the foot of the stairs, I thanked her mother and left for home.

* * *

Roxas was lying in his bed, dozing. Suddenly the phone rang. Blearily, he read the caller ID; Olette Cell. He picked up and said "Hello?"

The conversation didn't last long. At the end, he said "Yeah, I'm on it."

He threw the phone across the room after he hung up. Sora, he thought furiously, I'm gonna need to have a little chat with you.

* * *

A/N:

Next chapter coming soon!

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