Enamis09: Yeah, I figure that since the Yoshidas adopted a little girl who washed up on the beach, and have had Sora and Riku hanging around their house ever since then causing who knows what kind of trouble, they're probably used to just taking everything in stride. ;)

coolmegan123: Ooh, that's actually something that I haven't really thought about yet. Good request! Since we're already past that point chronologically, I'll come back around to it in a few weeks after I've finished the others.

This is part 2 of the return home, starting immediately after the last one ended. This one mostly covers things that were included in the original story, but adds in a few more details. Originally, it actually had even more extra details in it, but some of them I liked so much that I went back and added them into the story (the part about her getting scared of Kairi's dad, for instance).

On that note, I would definitely recommend this method for those of you who are writers! If you get stuck on your story, or just want a fresh outlook on it while editing, try writing things from another character's perspective and see what happens!

Chapter 52 Remix

(Runs parallel to chapter 52)

Mrs. Yoshida's Perspective

Mrs. Yoshida studied the girl on her sofa with pity. She was young, probably not any older than Kairi, but there was something about her that gave the impression she had seen more than her fair share of sorrow. Perhaps it was the pained expression that was etched onto her face, even while unconscious. The state she was currently in certainly didn't help. Of course Mrs. Yoshida didn't know what she normally looked like while healthy, but even so she could tell that her cheekbones and collarbone were protruding just a bit too much. Kairi and her friends had been cryptic when mentioning the girl's injuries, so Mrs. Yoshida didn't want to press. She had to wonder, though, what she might have been through. Without knowing a thing about this girl, her heart ached for her.

Using her finger to trap some of the drink in the straw, Mrs. Yoshida inserted the other end of the straw in between Meli's lips and released the liquid into her mouth. After a few minutes of waiting and repeating this process, a bit of color started returning to her lips, and her eyelids began to flutter. Then they slowly opened wide, revealing sapphire blue irises just like Kairi's. She sucked in an audible breath as her eyes darted around the room, trying to place her surroundings.

"It's alright, sweetie," Mrs. Yoshida soothed. "I'm Kairi's mom. You're at my house."

Meli swallowed. "What...happened?" she whispered hoarsely.

"You fainted, and your friends brought you here." Mrs. Yoshida held the straw out towards Meli's lips again. "Here, take a drink. This should help perk you up a little. Then we'll get you to the table and get you some real food."

Obligingly taking a sip, Meli glanced around the room again. "Where's Kairi?"

"Just in the next room, along with your other friends. They're eating some breakfast. Drink some more." The next several minutes were spent mostly in silence, as Meli sipped on the drink and gathered some strength.

"Do you think you could sit up now?" Mrs. Yoshida asked eventually. Meli nodded, and Mrs. Yoshida set the bottle down and stood so that she could help pull her up. "Take it slowly, sweetie. Don't push yourself."

Mr. Yoshida's voice came from the doorway. "Do you need anything, hon? Oh, she's up! Good."

Turning to face her husband, Mrs. Yoshida smiled softly. "I think we're about ready to move into the dining room. She's going to need some help, though."

"Well, I could carry her in there..." Mr. Yoshida began, walking further into the room, but he stopped short and nodded towards Meli with a look of concern on his face.

Mrs. Yoshida spun back around to find that the girl had curled herself into a ball as far back into the couch cushions as she could get, wild-eyed and trembling. Glancing back and forth between her husband and Meli, Mrs. Yoshida dropped quickly back down to her knees and placed a gentle hand on Meli's arm. The girl jolted at the touch.

"It's okay, sweetie. This is Kairi's dad. He's not going to hurt you."

"I'll go get Goofy," Mr. Yoshida offered. "She'll feel more comfortable with someone she knows."

Meli stopped shaking as soon as he had left the room, and when the tall, lanky, dog-like creature walked in a moment later, she relaxed even more. "Hiya, Mel," Goofy greeted her. "Glad to see you're awake. We've been eatin' breakfast, and it was real good, a-hyuck."

"No, no...you don't need to carry me," Meli mumbled as Goofy came closer. "I don't want you to..."

Her friend completely ignored her protests, scooping her up in his arms like it was nothing while continuing his chatter. "Mr. Yoshida's makin' a plate for ya. Come on, let's go see everybody."

Everyone had nearly finished their meal already when they entered the dining room. "Meli!" Kairi exclaimed brightly, obviously feeling more chipper after having some food. "Here, I saved you a seat next to me." She patted on the chair, and Goofy set Meli gently down onto it. Meli managed a small smile in Kairi's direction, then cut her eyes warily over to Mr. Yoshida as he walked in from the kitchen with two more plates of food.

Seeing this, Mrs. Yoshida took one of the plates from his hand, and crossed to set it in front of Meli. At the sight of the bacon, eggs, and pancakes, tears began to roll down her cheeks. "What is it, sweetie? What's the matter?" Mrs. Yoshida asked, bending down to look her in the face.

"Nothing." Meli shook her head, lifting a hand to wipe away the tears. "I'm sorry. Thank you."

Sighing with worry, Mrs. Yoshida took her own seat and smiled a thank you at her husband for the food he had set there. The four friends resumed their conversation about the Islands, but she kept her focus on the girl across the table from her. Meli's hands were shaking slightly, but she managed to stab and eat a bite of egg, chewing slowly and pausing to let it settle before going for the next bite. She only managed to repeat the process a few times, however, before she began crying again.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Yoshida asked her.

Meli dropped the fork down onto the plate and pulled her hand back into her lap. "I'm sorry. I...don't think I can eat anymore."

"That's okay," Kairi assured her. "I couldn't eat all of mine, either." Mrs. Yoshida glanced over at her daughter's plate and smiled slightly when she saw that she had eaten all but one pancake.

"I'd say it's perfectly normal for you to not feel like eatin' much to start with," remarked the mouse from the end of the table.

Mrs. Yoshida nodded. "And don't worry, you're not hurting our feelings a bit. There will be plenty of time for you to eat more later. Right now, I think you just need some rest." She pushed her chair back from the table and looked to Goofy. "It's...Goofy, right? Would you mind bringing her upstairs?"

Meli began to protest again, but no one was listening to her. Goofy happily followed orders, carrying her up the staircase behind Mrs. Yoshida and setting her on the edge of the bed in the guest room that was indicated. Mrs. Yoshida went into Kairi's bedroom next door, digging a pair of pajamas out of the top drawer of her dresser. She knew her daughter wouldn't mind sharing, and the two girls were practically the same size. When she came back to the guest room, Goofy gave Meli an affectionate pat on the head, then took his leave.

"Here, you can put these on if you'd like. They'll be much more comfortable to rest in." Mrs. Yoshida placed the folded pajamas on the bed next to Meli. The girl nodded wearily, but made no move to begin undressing. "Would you...like some help taking off your shoes?"

Meli hesitated, staring down at the dusty black boots. "Yes, please," she whispered finally.

Smiling, Mrs. Yoshida stooped down and began untying the laces. "I bet it will feel good to have these off," she commented, trying to set Meli at ease. When she had removed the boots and set them to the side, she stood again. "Now, would you like me to give you some privacy, or do you need some help with the rest of it?" She didn't want to overstep her boundaries, but at this point it looked like Meli was barely capable of remaining upright, much less dressing herself.

"I don't...know if I...can." Meli sounded like she was on the verge of tears again.

"Well, then, I'm happy to help." Mrs. Yoshida began with the choker, unclasping it and setting it on the nightstand, then slid the vest off of Meli's limp arms. Tears were indeed sliding down her cheeks now, though whether from embarrassment or exhaustion it was impossible to tell.

Grasping the hem of Meli's shirt, Mrs. Yoshida pulled it carefully up over her head, then took a sudden step back and had to swallow a gasp. Strange, purplish-brown marks were covering Meli's body, clustered like a spiderweb all over her stomach, in particular, but also crawling up her rib cage on every side, and all the way up to her neck and shoulders in the back. Meli seemed to be too out of it to have noticed Mrs. Yoshida's reaction, so she swallowed hard and tried to regain her composure.

"Are you cold, sweetie?" she asked, noticing Meli shivering, glad that she had grabbed a long sleeve shirt.

"I'm...always cold...lately," Meli replied.

Mrs. Yoshida smiled sympathetically as she slipped the pajama shirt over Meli's head. "That's probably because you don't have any fat left on your body to keep you warm."

She finished changing her clothes as quickly as possible, not able to help but notice that the marks spread down to her thighs, too. What had this poor girl been through? As she carefully laid her back onto the pillow and pulled the covers up over her, she felt of her forehead one more time. It was a bit warmer than before, and Mrs. Yoshida wondered if these shivers could be partially from a fever developing. With the lack of nutrition, it was almost surprising that her immune system hadn't failed her before now.

"It's gonna be alright, sweetie. You can stay here as long as you need to, and we'll get you feeling all better."

Exiting the room quietly, Mrs. Yoshida met Kairi out in the hallway and held up her finger to her lips, gesturing towards Kairi's bedroom. Once inside, she embraced her daughter, relishing having her in her arms again.

"How is she?" Kairi asked, looking up into her mom's face.

"It's hard to say for sure," Mrs. Yoshida sighed. "It will probably be touch and go for a few days. I think she may be getting a fever, and will probably just want to sleep, but we're going to have to wake her up often to make sure she keeps drinking and eating, even if it's only a few bites at a time."

"I'll help with anything I can. I really appreciate you taking her in like this."

"Of course. You know we wouldn't ever turn away someone in need, especially a friend of yours who has done so much for you." Mrs. Yoshida stepped over to sit on the bed, pulling Kairi by the hand to sit with her. "Have you seen...the marks on her torso? Do you know what they're from?"

Kairi dropped her gaze to her lap and nodded. "Yeah. Those are...from the injuries that we mentioned."

Mrs. Yoshida pressed her lips together, not wanting to pry, but feeling like she needed to know in order to fully take care of Meli. "Can you tell me what happened? What...they did to her?"

"I really...don't know very much, actually," Kairi began, tears welling up in her eyes. "She would never tell me. They would just...take her out of her cell, for a few hours at a time, and every time she came back she'd look worse. Just...worn out, sick. I didn't know they were hurting her, though. I knew she had a Keyblade, so I just figured they were making her fight for them or something. I guess I should have known that they'd have to hurt her to make her do anything for them, though."

She took a shuddering breath. "Anyway, I still don't know what was going on then, for sure. All I know is, in the end, Saix – that's one of the guys that kidnapped us both – made her watch while he fought Sora, Donald, and Goofy. After they won, and he was gone...that's when we finally found out about the band. It was this...thing, around her waist." Kairi waved her hands around her own body. "And it was...Riku said he thought it was using both electricity and some kind of dark magic. I guess Saix must have been able to turn it on and off whenever he wanted. But at that point, he had left it on so that it would shock her every time she moved." Tears spilled over anew, and she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Mom, it was awful. I'll never forget that look on her face. She was so scared, and in so much pain." Kairi wiped her face off. "But thankfully, Riku was able to use his Keyblade to get that thing off of her, and Sora and Donald used magic to heal her. So...I don't think you really have to worry about those marks anymore. At least...not physically. They're just scars now."

Mrs. Yoshida reached out for her daughter, pulling her in close again and kissing the top of her head. A pit had been growing in her stomach throughout Kairi's story. As much as she ached for the stranger lying in the next room, she also couldn't help but be grateful that her own child had been spared.

"She doesn't even have a family," Kairi murmured. "She's got no one, just like me when I first got here."

"That's not true." Mrs. Yoshida pulled away and looked Kairi in the face, her hands grasping her arms. "She has you, and the others downstairs. And she'll have Sora and Riku, when they get back. I'm assuming they're friends with her, too."

A smile played on the corners of Kairi's mouth. "More than just friends, when it comes to Riku."

Mrs. Yoshida's eyebrows went up, and she laughed a little. "Oh, really? Well then, there you go. She has all of you, and now she has Dad and me, too. Just like you did."

Kairi smiled now for real. "Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me, and I know it will to Meli, too."

Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!