Aw yeah updating WAY sooner than I thought I would! Booyah!

This one was just... Easier to write for me, idk why, but it worked out pretty well. Some parts are kinda iffy, but hey, I feel like I still made it work.

And hey! I didn't think I'd get a review for the last chapter at all considering how avoided this story's been but aw yeah I got a review like a day or two ago! Thanks dude! I don't remember your username right now... Something to do with bunnies I think? Eh, you know who you are

So enjoy this chapter

Chapter 10

Release

Hikari's been on edge lately; something I didn't think she could do. She's waiting for that "path" she was talking about before, that's all I can think of.

"Hikari." I start and she looks up at me from where she'd been looking at a book my mom gave her.

"Yes?" She sounds normal again, not distant or lost in the slightest. It's taking some getting used to, actually.

"Just how is this 'path' to Xanoon going to show up? And when?" I don't know how many times I've asked this, but for whatever reason, I keep doing it.

She sighs lightly and closes the book. "I don't know. But... It'll come, and I'll be able to go back." She lowers her eyes and clasps her hands together. I frown.

"It'll be dangerous, you know that." I say, leaning close to her to see her face.

"I do know." She turns to face me and almost seems shocked for a moment. I almost ask what's wrong, but... Then I realize how close I probably am now. I swallow, suddenly unable to move away. Hikari glances down for a moment, but seems to have a hard time looking anywhere else but at me.

I avert my eyes for maybe only a second. "I... Could always go with you," I mutter. I'm not sure if Hikari's even listening at this point. "M-Maybe help." She's so close... I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. I want to take her hand in mine, show her I can really be there. If she goes alone, she could...

"N... No, I..." Reasons flash through my head- she does want to go home, she doesn't want me to get hurt, or... Then there's that boy...

I grit my teeth at the thought of him and turn away. "Fine." What if she just doesn't want me to get in the way of them when she gets back?

Hikari frowns. "Sora, no, I just-" She reaches out to me, but I just push her hand away and stand from the couch.

"No, I get it." My hands are clenched into fists and I think I'm even glaring at her- glaring. What's wrong with me? It's not my place to get all upset just because she might want to be with the black-haired boy from her memories. She obviously loved him, after all.

Hikari blinks, clearly confused yet hurt by my behavior. "Y... You do?" Her cheeks are red, but for whatever reason, I don't care.

Before I can say anything, there's a knock at the door, followed by it opening.

"Sora? Hikari? Come on! We got a time limit here!" Riku's voice reaches my ears, but I don't turn around. Hikari doesn't move from the couch, but at least looks at him for a moment before going back to me worriedly.

Kairi makes a sound. "There you two are. What're you doing? Get ready and let's go!" I pause for a moment to think. "... Is something wrong?" She asks.

I look hard at Hikari. I don't want her to go. I don't want her to go alone. I don't want her to go back to the black-haired boy.

"Everything's fine," I say and avert my eyes. "Come on." I mutter and turn around, not waiting to see Hikari stand up or speak to me one more time. Kairi and Riku look at me quizzically but don't say anything once we're ready and out the door.

Hikari stays a few feet behind me as we walk. What're we doing today again? Riku says something to me, but gets no response, so instead slows to walk in sync with Hikari instead. Kairi's hand brushes against mine as we walk, but there's no reaction from that either.

I guess I really have changed.

"Alright, fess up."

Hikari can't tell if Riku sounds angry or not. She can't tell if she's confused or not. Is she confused? If it's just that, then why does she feel this ache in her chest?

"Hikari."

Oh, right. She never responded. Where did Sora and Kairi go again? Oh yeah, they went to look at other stores while she and Riku stayed here to rest a bit. She looks up at Riku- why does he have to be so tall? "What?" His expression softens. Does she really look that bad?

"What happened between you and Sora?" Hikari opens her mouth to speak, but doesn't- what's wrong with her? She sighs and looks away. Riku growls and grabs her shoulder, forcibly turning her back to him. "Hey. What did you do? Speak up already."

"I...," Why does he look so troubled? He doesn't have anything to do with this, does he? "I don't know."

He raises a brow at her. "What do you mean you don't know?" He looks frustrated. Oops.

Should she tell him what the voice in her head said? The path to get back to Xanoon? She sighs.

"I... I found that there might be a way to get back to Xanoon and... Sora said he'd come to help, but I said no." That's about as simple as it gets, but Riku still looks incredibly confused.

"You found a way back? How? Why haven't we used it yet? And why would Sora need to help you? Why..." There's so many things he wants to know, but Hikari can only answer so much at a time.

"It's not available to us yet. I don't know why or when it'll be here- but it will. And Sora... There's something bad happening back there. I have to go back. I...," She trails off and swallows. "They need me there."

Riku looks around and shakes his head as if ridding himself of a thought. "Who needs you? What's happening there right now?"

"The king is a Heartless," His eyes widen considerably. "I saw the symbol on him in a memory. I have to go back to help them- to help the people. I... I have to fight."

Riku leans against the wall and lets out a shallow breath. "Heartless... Always either Heartless or Nobodies...," Then he blinks and looks at her. But wait... Nobodies? "That's why they came here then. That guy must've sent some after you."

Hikari gasps. "Me?" She breathes. "They came here because... Of me...?" So it's her fault the Heartless came here and hurt all those people? Did anyone die? Dead... She feels dizzy all of a sudden.

"Hey, hey. Whoa," Riku catches her arm. What was she doing? "Calm down. It's not your fault. It's not like you did it on purpose or anything." He says, eyeing her concernedly.

"I... Okay," She breathes again. After a moment he lets go of her and she leans against the wall as well. "But you see why I need to go back. And Sora wants to help... I can't let him go with me."

"HIkari, if there's one thing I know about Sora, it's that he'll do whatever he can to help others- even if they don't want him to," Riku says, a smile on his face as he does so. "Why don't you want him to though? Does this have to do with that guy you know back in Xanoon?"

"What? No. My past self loved him. I... I don't," Hikari had never really said it to herself out loud before. It feels strange... Almost empty. "I just don't want Sora to get hurt. And... And what if there's no way to get back to Destiny Islands once we get there? He'll be stuck... And it'll be my fault." Then again, she'll be stuck too. She still doesn't want to go, but if it'll help the people of Xanoon, then it's her duty as a Rebel, right?

"No matter what you want, Sora's going to find a way. You know that, right?" Hikari nods. "Then just wait for it to happen, I'm sure Kairi and I will be there, too." He says simply and her eyes widen.

"But-" He points at her.

"Ah. What did I just say?" She sighs and he smirks. "Exactly."

He pauses and his smirk falls. "Plus... I don't think Sora was upset just because of that, anyway." Hikari looks at him in confusion.

"What? Then why?" She asks.

"Think about it," He taps his head a few times. "What would be waiting for you when you go back?"

"Um...," She trails off. What's back in Xanoon for her? Her old house? The Rebels? Wait... "The boy from my memories?" She says uncertainly. Riku nods.

"Right. Now what would that mean for Sora if he goes with you? What if that other guy thinks you still love him? What would you do? What would Sora do?"

These questions aren't making any sense to her now. Is this what Sora was thinking earlier too? If they both ran into the black-haired boy, then... What would Sora do? What would she do?

"Hikari?" Riku's voice cuts through her thoughts. She blinks and looks at him.

"Yes?" He averts his eyes and glances down.

"Do you... Like Sora?"

"Like...," Like? What's that mean? Like is a fondness, so... "Is that the same as love?" She fears the answer.

He seems surprised by her question and chokes on nothing. "U-Uh, yeah. Yeah, it is." He stutters.

"Oh...," Great. Is this what Riku was getting at? Can't she just avoid the question? Probably not. Riku gets scary... She nods. "I... I think I do... Like him. I've noticed that I get the same feeling toward him as I did around the boy in my memories." She says.

"So then what will you do when you meet that guy again? You don't love him anymore- you said so yourself. If you like Sora now, then..." He trails off. What is he doing?

"I don't understand..." She says with a frown. Riku sighs.

"Think if you were in Sora's shoes when this happens. What if you went back with the boy and forgot all about Sora? How would you feel?"

"I... I'd feel bad," She starts and sucks in her breath for moment. That would be a horrible feeling, actually. "Sad."

Riku nods fully. "Exactly. So if Sora thought that might happen and he thought you were thinking of that guy when you said he couldn't come along, then..." She blinks.

"Oh," She looks down. How could she not have thought of that? Maybe because there's still more than enough that she still doesn't know. "Oh, no..." She breathes.

"Right. So just talk to him when he comes back, yeah? You two will make up just fine." Riku says and leans back against the wall. Hikari nods and closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath, leaning back as well.

Something flashes in Hikari's eyes for a second. The king. Her brother's lifeless body as a heart floats out into the sky. Hang on... "Riku?"

He looks over at her in question. "Yeah?"

"How are Heartless born?" He looks uneasy. "And you mentioned Nobodies before... What are they?"

He takes a deep breath and stands up straight. "Well..."

"... Sora, you can't stop her from going back home."

"That's not what I mean!" I groan while also being thrown random shirts and such from Kairi as she goes through different clothing racks. Am I being given advice to or just being used as a cart?

Kairi shoots me a look. "Well, then what do you mean?" She asks and I sigh. She drags me to a dressing room with her and she goes inside one of the rooms, leaving me to sit on a bench nearby.

"I just don't want her to get hurt while she's over there, that's all!" I run a hand through my hair. "I mean that place is crawling with Heartless."

"But you said so yourself that she can fight. You saw her do it," Kairi says through the door. Through the space underneath I see her sock-covered feet go back and forth through the room. "Plus there's that boy from her memories, and the rest of the Rebels."

"I know, but..." Kairi pauses in her movement when I trail off.

"But there's something else to it?" Her question sounds cautious. Am I treading on thin ice right now?

"That guy..." I trail off again. How do I even explain this?

"The boy she loved?" She said "loved". That's right. But that could easily change when she goes back.

The door opens, but I don't look up from where my hands rest in my lap."... Yeah."

"Well he sounded like a nice guy. Plus what if Hikari feels the same way about him again when she finds him? She'd have someone to-" My hands clench into tight, shaking fists and I notice she takes a step back. "... That's not what this is about, is it?"

The tone in her voice... I look up at Kairi and I realize my mistake. My eyes widen for a moment.

"Kairi..." She puts a hand up in front of me.

"This isn't about me. Sora, do you or do you not... Like Hikari?" It sounds painful on her tongue. I feel terrible for talking to her about this now.

"I... I do." I say and she nods, blinking a few times and I notice her eyes are a bit shinier. Tears.

"Then you need to talk to her. About everything you told me," She says and closes the door behind her. "Come on. Let's go back to Riku and Hikari, yeah?"

"Kairi," I stand up as she starts walking away. She doesn't turn around, but she stops. I lower my eyes and look hard at the back of her head. "I'm sorry."

She turns her head a little bit, but I only see her mouth.

"It's okay."

Hikari averts her eyes the minute she sees me walking back while Riku just inclines his head at us. They both have colorful cups in their hands- probably from the juice stand just a few feet away.

"Hey. How was shopping?" He asks. I lower my eyes after glancing at Kairi. She's putting on a brave face.

"Fine. No luck though. Let's just head back home for now." She sighs and Riku raises a brow at her.

"I thought we had a few more stops," He points out, then pauses for a moment as he looks at us. He frowns. "Well, there's always tomorrow." He mutters.

Kairi nods. "Yeah, exactly. Let's go." She walks off with Riku in tow. He looks back at me and I shake my head with a light sigh. Hikari walks over not long after and I follow last.

Why does everything have to be so complicated?

By the time Riku and Kairi went home, she seemed to be doing a little better. So that's good, at least. I can't believe how dense I've been this whole time. How come I didn't notice when I did like her?

I sigh inwardly. Who am I kidding? I didn't notice this time and it would happen the same way again if I had another chance. But now...

Hikari walks beside me at an unsteady pace, as if not sure whether to go left, right, or even backwards. She glances over at me every now and then, but looks away after a few seconds every time.

Just what was going through my head when I got so mad at her? Jealousy, for one. If my Keyblade had a mind of its own, it'd be scolding me right now for how I acted. Hikari doesn't deserve that, she didn't even really say why she didn't want me to go with her. I didn't let her tell me, because I was afraid of the answer. I was afraid the scenario playing out in my head would come true, so I stopped it before it could even come close.

I groan loudly and slow to a stop in my pace. Hikari looks at me in shock and stumbles to a stop as well.

"S-Sora?" She looks at me questioningly. Those eyes... I've never seen eyes that are two colors in each before. Light brown with hazel- almost green- edges all around. It's strange. I don't mind strange.

"Hikari... I-" I choke up for whatever reason, and swallow my stutter before it can happen. "I'm sorry."

A pause. "... You are?" She starts and takes a step toward me. "Why?"

So she didn't even know why I got mad. Just proves I was wrong about the whole thing. Figures.

"For the way I acted before. I was out of line. You didn't do anything wrong... I was just being stupid." I chuckle and run a hand through my hair tiredly.

"No," I blink and look at her. Why does she look so guilty? "No, I... I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry too."

I frown and take a step closer to her. "Hikari, what're you talking about?"

She looks at me. "Well, the boy from my memories. I mean I... I-I thought that you maybe...," She trails off uncertainly, notices my confused expression and silence, and her eyes widen. "O-Oh, am I not making any sense? I-I'm wrong, aren't I? Oh geez I didn't-"

"Hikari," I interrupt her when she starts to ramble. Her cheeks redden and her breath hitches in embarrassment. This new version of her is hard to get used to... "What would you do if I said you might be right?"

She lowers her eyes at my question and bites her lip, tugging at her sleeves like it's her nervous habit.

My heart is pounding in my chest. What am I doing? Is this too forward for her? Maybe if I'm lucky she won't know what I'm talking about and we can just go home. Snow crunches beneath my shoes as I shift from foot to foot. Does Hikari not care about it? I'm surprised she hasn't asked what it is yet.

"What would you do if I wanted to be?" She sounds like she's trying to be smooth, but the tremble in her voice fails her.

Oh my god. Is this actually happening right now?

She sighs shakily and I take another step closer to her. My hand brushes against hers, though this time it sends a spark through my body. There's a sharp intake of breath as she looks up at me with a fearful but also hopeful expression. I feel unsteady on my feet.

I think my hands are hovering over her own now- I'm not sure. But what am I doing? The normal me would be trembling and running away, so what the hell happened? Maybe I'm picking up tips from the guy in Hikari's memories.

"What would you do if... I kissed you?" My shallow breath comes out in white puffs. I expect some sort of excited or even frightful reaction from her, but she just blinks and looks at me confusedly as she cocks her head to the side.

"Kiss?"

"I-" I can't... Is this real? "H-Hikari... Seriously?" I laugh, though I never move away from her. I feel my hands grab hers for support.

"W-What? What is it? What's a kiss?!" She asks, nearly fully panicking right now. If anyone else were around, they'd be shooting us the weirdest looks right now.

I exhale and smile at her, squeezing her hands tightly. "What would you do if I showed you?"

I don't wait for her to reply and press my lips to hers almost desperately. She seems shocked at first, but after a second eases into it. She's soft and tastes sweet, almost like the hot chocolate she's come to love so much. She wriggles her hands out of my grip and rests them on my collarbone while I rest my own on her hips. The kiss goes deeper and Hikari's hands are now looped around my neck. I don't know how long this goes for, but I don't care. She's here with me- not empty or lost, but whole again.

Finally we pull apart, breathing heavily. Hikari looks dizzy, but I don't let go of her and she does the same.

"S... So that's what a kiss is." She breathes, her cheeks bright red against her pale skin.

"And?" I say with a smirk. She exhales with a light smile.

"... I could get used to it."

I grin wide and pull her into a tight hug. This time, she returns the gesture immediately when I pick her up and spin around a few times. She yelps in surprise when I do, but continues on smiling as I'm sure I still am as well. I set her back down after a moment.

"So... You'll let me go with you? Back to Xanoon?" I ask hopefully. Hikari purses her lips and takes a few steps away from me. I take her hand carefully.

"I just don't want you to get hurt. And... And if there's no way back once we get there, you'll be leaving everything and everyone here behind." She says sadly.

"I know," I start. "I know the risks. But even if it does happen, we'll find a way back here." She turns her head toward me.

"And if there isn't a way?" I look hard at her and squeeze her hand tightly.

"Then at least I'll be with you. That's all I need." I say. Her eyes widen and glaze over for a moment, then she smiles a little.

"Well," She turns. "Even if I did try to stop you- I hear you don't really listen to people anyway." She teases- teases! The Hikari before me is just like the one in her memories. It's eerie, but welcome.

I grin and walk up beside her. "Well hey, as long as you got the basics down about me, then we're good," I fold my arms behind my head. "And Hikari?" She looks up at me in question and we start to walk back on track to my house.

"Yeah?"

I take her hand in mine and kiss her cheek.

"Thank you."

"You ready for this?"

Hikari's past self and the black-haired boy stand facing a building- a familiar one, actually. It's the Rebel compound.

Hands clasp together tightly. "Are you?" Hikari hears herself ask. The black-haired boy looks nervous.

"Well yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I be? This was my idea, after all." His chuckle trails off.

"Because of what you might have to do." She says and he lowers his eyes.

"Please, at least my brother's not in the Guard." He mutters. She squeezes his hand.

"No, yours is nonexistent because you don't have one," She says and he makes a strange motor-esque sound with his lips. "Come on, we either do this, or go home and wish we had."

He takes a deep breath and looks at her. "I love you, -." She still can't hear her name... Will she ever get to learn her true name? For a moment, Hikari wonders if Sora had fallen asleep by now, watching this memory by her side.

"I love you too, Aiden." ... Wait. Was that a name? Is that the boy's name? She finally has his name... This is real, right? It is, it has to be.

"So," Aiden starts, his bright green eyes weary and alert, his black hair slightly ruffled by a breeze. "For the future of Xanoon?"

Her vision shifts from a nod and then goes back to the building.

"For the future of Xanoon."

Oh snap they're together now and whoa we got another name whaaaaaaaat how is this possiblllllllleeeeeee I made it possible bitch. deal with it

So yes? No? Fuck it I'm done?

I've been listening to the piano covers of Simple and Clean and Sanctuary by Kevin Landry for the last half hour lol. They're so beautiful! Ad I also finally heard about KHX today...thought it was new but turns out it's been out for like a year or something so...yeah. Oops. Not like I'd be able to play it anyway.

So how was this chapter? TELL ME. BELIEVE IT OR NOT I STILL NEED ADVICE I'M JUST A WRITING FETUS NOT A FUCKING MASTER SO HALP

Also probaby not gonna get too much time to write for a little while what with school and I'm actually working on a commission. so that's fun. I'm almost done, so not to worry, you don't have to light the torches or sharpen the pitchforks

So yeah... REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE THANK YOU

arigatz