Summery: A boy who lost his heart, after it was locked away by the Keyblade. Everyone was ready to give up all hope for him. Then, came a princess. A story of how a girl found a boy's heart, and a boy who found the girl to share it with. Sora x Kairi
A/N: I thought of a somewhat clever thing to do. For each world Sora and Kairi go to, I'll hint of what world it'll be by the title. If you know your Disney movie songs, you'll know what to expect. It's also spares me the thought of trying to come up with a nifty chapter title. Hehe, its not cheating! It's just...fine. It's cheating. So what? You guys only want actual story in the chapter! So no complaining! XD
And I'm SO SORRY this took so long! You know how I said doing the cover art (and don't even get me started about my job hours. Oy.), but geez, I seemed to have a lot of trouble writing this. I think it's because it just incorporating more Disney worlds and characters or something. I must have written and re-written this chapter at least four times! Again, I'm terribly sorry you all had to suffer, what? Three-four days of no new material for Those Without Hearts.
Hey, someone want to do me a favor? How about finding my muse and giving them a good beating for playing hooky. LOL. ;3
One last note, I changed the format a little, in case you people were wondering. If it's too confusing, let me know and I'll revert it back to the way it was.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
The Lionheartless
Those Without Hearts
XI: Strangers Like Us
Trees swayed in a sudden motion, opposing the mighty wind that breathed the life into the exotic forest. Flamboyant colored birds chirped uneasily, fluttering away from their nests at the disturbance. Both predator and prey alike both felt the new, foreign presence invading their paradise.
Sora rubbed the back of his neck, not expecting the rough landing. He had overlooked the detail of making sure the gate he opened at least would lead to stable ground. Perhaps it was an ill omen that Sora and Kairi would begin their adventure together, falling into the depths of the unknown.
Ruffling the leaves out of his hair, Sora rose to his feet, then quickly caught his balance as he stood on a thick tree branch. He glanced up, seeing the ripped opening in the canopy he and Kairi had created from their fall. Sora did not have to search long, as he heard Kairi yelp aloud. Following the noise, Sora jumped up onto a branch, pulling himself up and around the trees arms like a gymnast rotating around on a high bar.
Tangled in a set of vines, Kairi tried to free herself from the green cords. Fortunately, while Sora had fallen into a tree, with only hard branches to cushion his fall, Kairi had been caught by the looping vines draping from the trees.
There was something about seeing Kairi helpless struggling, while also being fully aware of her distance to the ground...that all made Sora just want to watch. He couldn't remember the phrase people would compliment others on what it was. She looked clumsy, vulnerable, and positively...Sora shook his head when the word came up in his mind.
Cute.
Deciding it better that they not remain in the same place for too long, Sora's Keyblade flew out, spinning around like a wild pinwheel. Severing the cords, Sora wrapped a spared vine around his his wrist, then dove after her. Pulling him back, Sora's wrist popped from the sudden pull of his weight, as well as Kairi's. Pumping his legs, Sora willed them back and forth, until his feet touched a stable branch.
"That was a bit exciting," Kairi said, her face reddened as she quickly jumped away from Sora. Sora assumed she must have overexerted herself, or Kairi simply disliked heights for her face to be that red. As Kairi picked out the pieces of scenery that had placed themselves in her hair and latched onto her clothes, Sora began to wonder.
Seeing how the two of them were now able targets for their many multiplying enemies, how would he and Kairi manage?
The Keyblade returned to Sora's hand, which led him to an idea. It was something Mickey had taught Sora to do, but urged to limit himself to whom he could pass it on to. Nearly jumping up from the thought, Kairi, whom was facing her back to him as she dusted herself off. Sora thought it might be easier to unlock the potential within Kairi to avoid unnecessary explanations. Kairi was a clever girl, after all, she would understand...right?
Pointing the Keyblade at her, Kairi was oblivious as the tip of the mighty weapon was directed at her heart. A curious wind whirled around her, Kairi discarding it as a simple draft. Sora's eyes were fixated at her, trying to see through her and into her heart. Perhaps it would have been easier if she was looking at him...but he was already involved in the procedure, any interruptions could end up disastrous. The Keyblade jerked, excited, and Sora finished with a twisting, unlocking motion.
As expected, a light between the Keyblade, and also from Kairi's heart emitted for a fraction of a second. The princess froze, everything about her stopped. From her breath to her movement, she simple stood there until the light faded. Her arms fell to her sides, her knees weakening and barely rotated around as she gracefully collapsed.
Of course, this was the first time that Sora had ever done such a thing, and hadn't predicted the consequences. Such as Kairi going unconscious while they were standing in tree.
In her last moments of being awake, Kairi reached out to grab Sora, but only managed to take hold of his necklace, yanking him with her has they tipped back and fell.
Again.
Sora's cold grip wrapped around her, and the world spun around as Sora forced the two of them into a flip so their feet would be the first to hit the ground. Just as they hit a rotting log, which happened to balancing perfectly on a steady rock, Sora landed hard that would usually break a regular pair of legs. His eyes half-closed at the pain of the impact as his bones complained in a creak.
Distracted by the increased numbness in his legs and Kairi's limp figure leaning against him, he failed to notice the log had scraped and bumped into a strategically placed boulder. Slowly breaking out of the dirt it was sealed in. Sora heard the rock rolling out, just as it shadow eclipsed the sun for a brief moment. Plopping down on the opposite side of the log, it vaulted up, catapulting them back into a high, arching fall.
The two drifted, and just by two simple feet, became separated. Sora slammed into another helpless, old tree, knocking him out as his skull cracked against its bark. Kairi had dodged the tree, but her foot snagged to a vine. Yanked down a entanglement of vines and bouncing her like a bungee rope lifeline. Kairi's head nearly touched the ground, only inches away as the vines saved her from a very nasty impact. Kairi was currently dragged in the depths of a dream to even know that she was now alone in the deep jungle.
Nor did she notice the hunched figure drop down from the trees.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-(THoSe WiTHouT HeaRTS)-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Professor, really," The hunter said, rubbing his forehead in irritation. "Those things are nothing compared to the other monsters I've faced. Truly, there is nothing to worry about-"
"Absolutely not!" The short, old man said, pushing past the man as he carried another stack of books. "I will not endanger my daughter just to waste another day going about, only to be chased by those horrible Heartless! I think it would be best if we stop this excavation. I will personally take full responsibility for any troubles."
"But sir, their Majesties will surely be disappointed. You were, after all, hand selected to study the Heartless." The hunter said, trying to use flattery. "And didn't you take up this opportunity to further your research on the animal brutes-"
"They are not brutes, Mr. Clayton." The man countered. "They, at least, have had the sense to leave this jungle to leave this area. I advise we do the same. The Heartless are simply too vicious for me to make a proper analysis."
The hunter smirked. He knew exactly how to sway the man to see his way. "Oh, alright. As you say."
"Thank you!" The old man said, shoving his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Now, go away and-"
"It is a shame, really." The hunter went on. "Just the last hour, one of my dear friends from the ship's crew said he spotted a gorilla not to far-"
"WHAT?" The old man jumped up, then spun around, his interest completely absorbed by the hunter's words. "Gorillas! Where did you-"
"...but you are most certainly right." He went on, toying with the man. "Jane's protection is far more important then just a bunch of dimwitted apes-"
"Pish-posh!" The man interrupted. "Jane would never forgive me if she was forced to pass up the opportunity to study gorillas. And on sight! Oh, its so exciting!"
"But, Professor Porter-"
"Not another word," The old man said holding up his hand. "I'll go get Jane and we leave as soon as you're ready, Mr. Clayton!"
"Of course, Professor." Clayton said, nodding his head to hide his triumphant grin. Professor Porter pushed open the tent's flap, then called for his daughter.
"Jane? Oh, Jane!" He shouted. "Where is that girl...? Jane!" He came around a the tents corner, then froze in place as his daughter shushed him.
"For heaven's sake, father, be quiet!" Jane hissed, pushing back a strand of ginger hair caught in her eyelashes. She only spared a moment to glare at him before returning to her very life-like sketch. The drawing was of a small bird chirping in on top of the set-up flag pole.
"I'm almost finished-OH!" The bird fluttered away in a panic, and the artist bent over in disappointment, nearly smearing her drawing. "And that took so long to-"
Suddenly, a swirl darkness appeared out of nowhere, and several Heartless dropped in from the area from the realm of Darkness. The Professor leapt for his daughter, trying to get her to her feet, but she wrenched out of his grip. Going back to retrieve her precious sketchbook, a Heartless' talon stepped on it. Swallowing hard, Jane slowly rose as its deep, yellow eyes stared hungrily for her heart. Dozens more Heartless surrounded the two, all ready to pounce and feed.
The one before Jane barely moved an inch before something slashed through it. A dark figure stood up, holding up a giant key for them, glaring hard at the Heartless. All of them took a step back from the boy at the sight of the Keyblade, but then jumped for him in a suicidal craze.
Jumping up, the boy knocked them back, slashing every one of them just as they came close enough to touch them. Landing, Sora rolled and brought up the Keyblade, standing over Professor Porter. Goring through a Heartless' chest, it died in a puff of smoke, a glimmering heart rising from it's vanquished captor. Not even turning around, Sora tossed the Keyblade to his other hand and flipped it around, the blade coming up from behind and hitting the last Heartless between the eyes.
However, one hidden Heartless jumped down from the flagpole, nearly crashing down on the tree victims. The sound of rifle rung through the trees, and the Heartless fell short, then melted away.
"What's going on here?" Clayton growled, pointing the smoking rifle at Sora.
"Mr. Clayton, stop!" Jane rushed forward, stepping in front of the newcomer. "He protected us...something you were hired to do!"
Clayton's lip came up in an offended expression, and his mouth opened to shoot back a retort. He shut his mouth, thinking better of it, then lowered his gun.
"My apologies, Miss Porter." He said sourly, mocking a bow.
"Well, my boy," The Professor started, turning to Sora. "You've got quite a talent with that...uh..." He gulped at the sight of the deadly Keyblade, not sure if it would be proper to simply call it a sword. "Uh, yes! Where are our manners?"
"Oh, right!" Jane perked up. "I am Jane. Jane Porter. And this is my father-" She gestured at the small old man, his smile hidden beneath his wide, white mustache. "Again, thank you so much for saving us a moment ago..." Sora nodded, dismissing the gratitude humbly.
"Er, sorry," Jane added sheepishly. "But, I did not catch your name?"
Sora opened his mouth, then stopped, hesitating. He shook his head.
"Oh dear," The Professor said, his expression saddening. "You can speak, can you, boy?"
"That seems to be a rare talent around these parts," Clayton remarked, inviting himself into the conversation.
"Mr. Clayton!" Jane scolded, her hands going on her hips. She seemed very touchy on the subject they intruding on now. "There is no shame in-"
"Yes, of course, my dear." He said, rolling his eyes, canceling her arguments.
"This here," Jane said harshly, waving a hand at the man. "Would be Clayton.""
"Charmed." Clayton said flatly, then forcefully extended his hand to Sora, his eyes on the Keyblade. Sora's darkened eyes narrowed at Clayton, completely ignoring the hunter's friendly gesture. Holding back the insult, Clayton forced himself to smile and took back his hand.
"Seems the boy isn't just lacking in a voice, either." He muttered, Jane and the Professor either unable to hear it or trying to overlook the comment. "You're starting to remind me of someone-"
Professor Porter suddenly broke in, stepping in front of the prince. "My boy, could we ask a favor of you?"
Sora looked at him, listening.
"Could you, by any chance, be able to accompany us along-"
Sora looked away, shaking his head.
"Oh, please!" Jane came in, catching on to what her father was asking. "You are obviously very good with that...weapon of yours, and after that attack, we would have been done for, that is, if you hadn't of come along. Well, we should have been fine, if Clayton was at his post where he was supposed to be! Honestly, there is just so much going on, that it's hard enough to get..."
Sora turned his head to the side, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. This woman definitely had plenty of words to say. He was, actually, quite envious of her, since he was lucky enough to just get two words out at a time. Sora felt a weight press against him, as he was reminded of Kairi. Already, they were separated twice, and they had just barely started on their journey! And all because Sora wanted to make sure she would be safe from another fight, he had gone ahead and tried to unlock her heart. Sora could only look to the future to see if his attempt was successful.
Never before had his calculations been so poorly, lately. Sora couldn't understand what was wrong with him. Before he met Kairi, all of his plans seemed to clear and crisp, completely flawless. Now, something was muddling in with his mind. Almost like a second opinion that would not keep to themselves. However, there was something more complete about this new voice. It was similar to the Keyblade's voice, but, much more familiar to him.
And that second opinion had urged Sora to unlock Kairi's heart and allow something that only a Keyblade Master could grant. A Keyblade of her own.
Mickey had carefully explained to Sora other powers Keyblade Masters could grant. Apparently, there was more purpose to a wielder of the Key then simply fighting. Such as unlocking the strength in those worthy, and letting them access a Keyblade. Sora was very confused at first, creating more Keyblade Masters would inevitably lead to chaos. However, the King was certain to let Sora know that their powers were limited, no matter how strong their heart might be. Only King Mickey and Sora himself would be allowed full access of a Keyblade's true strengths.
Sora concluded that is why they were called Keyblade Masters.
"Are you alright?" Professor Porter asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. Sora could have hit himself for rudely retreating Jane's attention and going to his own thoughts, even if she was hard to understand, her speech being so fast.
Sora nodded a white lie. One reason he chose not to speak, was that he wouldn't have to explain anything. Plus, he was too heavily reminded of Kairi, and some strange force refused him to say anything. Much like the second opinion he had gained.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-(THoSe WiTHouT HeaRTS)-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Kairi groaned, her eyes rolling around in her head, trying to find her eyelids. Her mouth felt as though she had swallowed a mouthful of sand, with every pore in her skin stiff and prickling with an invisible wax. Her heart was beating at an unimaginable speed, ready to break out of her ribcage.
Most of all, her head felt heavier then usual...but that must have been because Kairi was hanging upside-down by the ankle.
Opening a creak for her sight to see through, she opened her eyes. A blurry figure was staring right at her. He was being surprisingly quiet, so Kairi couldn't help but assume who it might be.
"Sora...?"
The figure didn't react, but still, Kairi was uncertain. She felt so dizzy, her thoughts were complete agitated. Kairi blinked to regain her proper vision.
Definitely not Sora.
His hair was dark and in long dreadlocks. Wearing only a loincloth and exposing a larger amount of flesh then, one thing Sora would hopefully never do. However, this stranger and Sora did have something in common. Their eyes. Both of them had focused eyes heavily dedicated to staying alert, soaking up every detail they could. And like Sora, this man seemed to be have suffered the feeling being in complete solitude for far too long.
Unsure of whether or not she was staring, Kairi best thought to say something.
"Eh," Was all that came out. "H-hello there...?"
The man backed away for a minute, then jumped up. He made some sort of grunting noises, but actually seemed like a form of an actual, primitive language. Kairi looked up at her ankle caught in the jumbles and coils of vines.
"Sorry, but could you..." She glanced down between him, then back up at her foot. "Could you please, um, help me?"
The man made an enthusiastic hooting noise, then walked around her. Kairi frowned, assuming her was leaving and had not understood her at all. Kairi shook her head and was about to attempt to get herself out, until something heavy pushed against the vines and swung her forward. Looking down, or up, in Kairi's point of view, the same strange man had climbed onto the very vines holding her. He was actually ripping down the vines, using his own teeth to bite off the knotted ones, and throwing them aside.
One particular tug caused Kairi to lower enough, but she had bumped her head against the ground. In a very uncomfortable position, she had to wait patiently with her chin against her collarbone, her neck squished in between. Finally, her leg was freed, and she flopped down on her back, the wind getting knocked out of her.
The man jumped down, resuming to walk on all fours. Pushing off the vines, Kairi slowly got up, but her weak ankle twanged after being pulled at for so long. Only sitting up, Kairi waited as the blood drained out of her head and returned to its normal flow throughout her veins.
"Thank you, by the way." Kairi said finally, her voice more confident. The man turned around, trotting back her on his knuckles. Kairi rubbed her head, had they been introduced yet?
Kairi held out her hand, and was about to politely acquaint herself, but the ringing stinging her ears made her stop dead short. It only left her to hope that he knew what she was trying to do.
The man looked at her hand, much like Sora had when the two of them had first met. The two now seemed to be becoming distant relatives with each passing moment. Taking her hand, he shook it vigorously, her arm wobbling around. She made an expeditious effort to take her hand back before it was screwed off. Her dizzied condition was too much for her to deal with any more odd behaviors. At least he had some sort of concept of a handshake. But, after knowing Sora, Kairi as most tolerant for anything now.
He sat back, his weight going on to the balls of his feet. Scooting forwards he pointed at himself with both hands. "Tarzan."
Kairi squinted. The man shook his head, dreadlocks flying.
Tapping himself, he pushed his knuckles against his chest, he repeated slowly, "Taaaarzaaaan."
Tarzan waited for her reply.
"Oh!" Kairi exclaimed. "I see...you mean your name is-"
The man hooted again, confirming their introduction by pointing at himself. "Tarzan." He touched her shoulder. "Ohisee."
Kairi fell back on her back, a wave of fatigue and frustration pushing her back. She had had her fill of people with limited capacities to understand simple, everyday things. It was yet another thing this man had in common with Sora. However, Kairi was still overwhelmed by the feeling of missing having the Keyblade Prince by her side.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-(THoSe WiTHouT HeaRTS)-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Hold on!" Professor Porter shouted, trying to catch his breath. "No need to...get ahead of ourselves!"
Sora stepped up onto a boulder, surveying the area for any sign of the Heartless. Truthfully, he was more intent on finding Kairi above all else. Sora rationalized that perhaps, if he was with more people, Kairi might be able to hear them much more easily, being as noisy as they were. It was no wonder they had not found the animals they were searching to study.
"I'm beginning to think there is something odd about this jungle," Clayton observed as he watched Sora jump down, then running over to a taller mound. "Perhaps it takes away your humanity and turns you into some sort of animal."
Professor Porter straightened his hat. "You'll be the lucky one if Jane didn't hear that."
"Honestly, Professor, look at this boy." He leaned down, putting a hand on the little man's shoulder and forcing him to look Sora's way. "Uncontrollable, incapable of communication, and completely unpredictable-"
"Wait just a moment..." Clayton held his breath, hoping the Professor was finally getting some sense knocked into him. "Where is Jane?"
Clayton groaned, leaning back. Then turned his head to where he last saw the Professor's daughter. She was nowhere in sight. Clayton suspiciously went to look back at Sora, but we was gone as well.
"This whole jungle is mad." The hunter grumbled, pulling out his rifle as they leaves began to whisper through the new wind
The little baboon jumped around, trying to catch up to the bright butterfly as it flittered around its head. The monkey was so engrossed with the butterfly's movements, it was completely ignoring Jane, whom was concentrating hard between the baboon and her latest drawing.
She only needed several minutes, then she could easily catch up to her father, Mr. Clayton and that mysterious boy that had joined them recently.
The more she tried to figure out the boy, the more her thoughts were redirected towards another and completely different person. No, she took that back. The two had so much in common, so they were not that different at all.
The butterfly suddenly landed on the tip of her stilled charcoal pencil. Jane looked up, the monkey creeping up next to her, its small hands going over the sketchpad. Jane quickly moved it away, so it would not cause any damage, and the butterfly hovered away from the sudden movement.
The baboon leaped for it, but flopped on the ground. Whimpering, it lowered its little head, much like a small human child about to burst into tears.
"Now, now," Jane said aloud, trying to comfort it. "I'm sure it will-"
The baby monkey turned around, jumping for her, completely forgetting about the butterfly. Startled, Jane's sketchbook flew out of her hands, her drawings spilling everywhere.
Frowning, Jane sighed and went to retrieve them before they became too dirty. The baboon noticed the pictures, then hobbled over to inspect them.
Finding one of itself as Jane gathered them, the baboon awed at it, fascinated at the replica of itself.
She laughed as the monkey admired itself. "I'm going to need that back-" Jane heard a twig snap from behind, facing the direction of the noise.
"Oh, hello there!" She waved to Sora. "Did father send you to come and get me?"
Sora shrugged slightly, his answer vague and uncertain. Jane beckoned him forward, "Could you help me here for a moment?"
Looking over, Sora assessed the situation between the sketchbook in Jane's hand and the curious monkey flirting to a piece of paper. Sora nodded, then began to circle around the area, sneaking up on the baboon. Jane added to it, trying to lure the monkey towards her, distracting it as Sora came closer.
Just as Sora leapt for it to capture it, the monkey stopped, then leapt onto a tree, scrambling up the tree trunk.
"Oooh!" Jane fumed. "Come back with that!"
Sora pushed himself up quickly, sensing the reason why the monkey had left in such a hurry. He could feel the choking cold darkness nearing. Vaulting, Sora grabbed Jane's arm and led the two of them away as Nobodies began to drop from the trees. Nobodies were much more evasive and tactful in their fighting, unlike the Heartless who pressed on mindlessly until their target was too exhausted to continue.
With her footsteps slowing him down, Sora paused and simply picked up the young woman in his arms. Jane protested, of course, making it certain that she was fully capable of using her own pair of legs. Sora saw the drop off approaching, and was half-tempted to see how close the Nobodies were. He did not want to look back though, because that gave them an opening of his minor distraction.
Jane screamed, making his eardrums crack as Sora pushed a foot off the ground, both flying through the air. Below them was a large, crystal pool with a great waterfall pouring into its clean surface. The water was filled with many types of animals, all now breaking into a stampede from the loud scream Jane had emitted.
Sora held his breath just as they crashed through the water. He felt something push him back up, an elephant rising out of the water. It trumpeted in terror as the humans rode on its back, running all the faster as it shoved through its herd. Sora shook his head to get the water off as their unexpected transportation joined the fray of panic. Glancing back, he saw the Nobodies' slick forms fly out of the water, others descending from the air. Standing up so they would not be in danger of falling off, Sora balanced them, then ran along the beast's back, jumping off and going onto another elephants back.
With him on the move and the speeding hustle of the animals, they gained an advantage of speed. Jane was in a constant state of terror, now looking behind Sora as she clung to the boy. Thankfully, they were close in height, so Sora's stability did not feel as awkward when dragging around the woman.
A low branch closed in, Sora stopping his pace, ready to jump on. Sora knew he had to keep moving, the Nobodies being more persistent then most anything he had ever encountered. Almost coming short in the jump, Sora recovered and pivoted his head to regain his footing.
The branch started to bend under his weight, and Sora's final push of weight caused it to snap in two just after he propelled them up into another jump.
Screeching monkeys hollered in the trees, also fleeing from the monsters. Sora followed them, trusting their instincts almost more then his own. However, Sora's shoes lost its fraction, and he slipped. Sora's breath froze as he tried desperately to stay on his feet. Skidding down the trees, Sora slid on his feet down the spines of the trunks. Ducking under stray branches, Sora and Jane went down the very dangerous slide, but the Nobodies still not too far behind them.
Sora's jaw clenched in frustration as they broke through a leafed branch, his face stinging as the twigs slapped his cheeks. Suddenly another blur went past him, Sora reacting by instinct to dodge it and throwing them off the twisted tree. Jane's arms choked him as she hung onto his neck as soon as Sora let go to grab onto a vine. Swinging ahead, Sora shut his eyes as a Nobody dropped down, its piercing fingers shaving off a piece of his flesh on his arm. Luckily, that's all it had managed to get from Sora as it fell to its doom.
Sora hooked an arm around another vine, trying hard to keep going. Sora saw the tanned figure in the corner of his eye, and purposely went to follow it. Even though the Keyblade was not visible, its voice coaxed Sora along. As usual, it was keeping him alive, as well as Jane, at the moment.
Falling onto solid ground, Sora took off after the figure as it clambered up a tree. Sora grabbed Jane around the waist and twisted her around so she was now on his back. With one arm to hold one of her legs in place, the other hand summoning the Keyblade. A new strength poured into Sora as the Keyblade flashed its power.
Not wasting another second, Sora doubled his pace to catch up to the figure.
Cutting through branches that would slow them down, Sora was in a full sprint as he ran up the same tree the stranger had. Stabbing the Keyblade into a branch, Sora moved around so his feet were now on the hilt, creating his own step to launch off to. The Keyblade vanished as soon as Sora's feet left it, but returned to him so Sora could repeat the process.
By now, the Nobodies had lagged behind far enough that Sora could barely sense them. However, he knew they wouldn't give up so easily.
Now at the summit of a tall cliff, Sora panted heavily as Jane let go of him. He bent over, his hands on his knees, exhaustion hitting him like an iron wave. He didn't notice the person following him had also stopped to take a break.
"Sora?" An all too familiar voice said.
"Tarzan?" Jane said a moment after.
Sora only had a moment to look before he was tackled to the ground, Kairi's warmth flooding back into him.
"You idiot!" Kairi cried, her eyes wet from happiness to see Sora. "Don't ever run off like that again!"
Still trying to regain a normal breathing pattern, Sora's arms acted on their own, holding onto Kairi into an embrace. Kairi giggled as the spikes of Sora's hair tickled her forehead, leaning in as their noses touched. For Sora, it felt like a boxing match was raging in his ribcage as something pummeled against it. Sora breath fell short from the feeling, his head feeling dizzy as the feeling was shut off so suddenly, his insides freezing up again as Kairi rolled off of him, Jane coming over to help her up.
"I'm assuming you two know each other?" She said, a hint of laughter trying not to break free. Naturally, Kairi automatically bowed, Jane looking to Tarzan by the strange way of greeting. Jane held out her hand.
"I'm Jane Porter." She said, Kairi nodded, taking it and giving it a light squeeze.
"Hello, Jane." The princess smiled. "My name is-"
"Ohisee!" Tarzan said aloud for her. Kairi sighed, her palm kneading her forehead.
"I see you've already met with Tarzan," Jane said, giggling.
"Yes...he keeps calling me that." Jane nodded, completely empathizing for Kairi.
"Trust me, I know exactly how you feel."
"In any case," Kairi perked up. "My name is actually Kairi."
Jane's expression flashed for a moment with shock, as if suddenly reminded of something incredibly important, but was quickly repressed by a friendly smile. "Pleasure to be meeting you."
Sora and Tarzan were also having their own form of acquaintances. The two of them only looked at each-other, both incapable of speaking words to the other.
"Those two will get along just fine." Jane joked.
"Sora isn't actually the most talkative person." Kairi agreed.
"Sora?" Jane repeated. "Ah, so you do have a name, after all..."
Hearing his name, Sora walked over next to Kairi, touching her shoulder. He pointed towards the mountains, then back to where they came from.
"Oh, right!" Kairi exclaimed. "We should probably get moving soon. Don't worry, I'll answer whatever you'd like once we get somewhere safer then here."
Jane nodded, and the four quickly set off to return to Jane's campsite.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-(THoSe WiTHouT HeaRTS)-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"You mean you've actually met with the famous King of Disney?" Jane spluttered, spraying tea all over Tarzan's arm. He was previously trying to drink out of the cup using his toes instead of fingers. "Tarzan! You don't drink it like that-! Really, you're so hopeless..."
Kairi rolled back, laughing. She understood all too well what Jane must have been going through. "He really doesn't know anything, does he?"
"Other then the occasional grunt and gibberish," Jane commented, taking away Tarzan's cup of tea, but he pulled away and accidently broke the china glass from gripping it too hard. "Then, no."
Kairi looked over at Sora, who was staring blankly ahead. His cup of tea was already empty, and he patiently sat by for everyone else to finish. Kairi looked down into her own drink, slightly grateful she wouldn't have to teach Sora proper conduct. However, he had never failed to surprise her.
"Well, he is a fast learner," Jane started again in Tarzan's defense. "Just the other day, we finally managed to get him to walk straight like a normal person."
Tarzan was now curiously looking into the pot boiling over the set up stove, that is, before he burned his finger on the grill.
"So, you've been teaching Tarzan how to talk, too?"
"Why yes, but-"Jane paused. "Hold on, what do you mean by 'too?'"
Kairi glanced over at Sora, whom was wandering around the camp now. "That's exactly what I've been doing with Sora, lately."
"Ah!" Jane clapped her hands together. "So he talks, as well! My, we certainly have quite a bit in common, now, don't we?"
Kairi tamed her grin to a small smile and nodded enthusiastically.
"Sora just has trouble speaking. He knows what everything means, but, its just he can barely get out more then one word at a time."
"Well then," Jane said, standing up. "Perhaps we could help each other?"
Kairi leaned her head back, waiting for Jane's proposal.
"I think all the two of them might make much more progress if they had someone to work with. Tarzan can be very competitive, but I have no doubt Sora is that same, that way." Jane explained. "Just maybe, if the two of them had lessons together, they might motivate the other to work just a little harder. We just might get them to break through, at any rate."
Kairi's eyes lit up at the proposal. "That sounds perfect!"
"Wonderful!" Jane declared. "We'll begin as soon as-" A loud crash of tumbling pots and boxes cut in. Jane moaned, hesitantly looking over to see both Tarzan and Sora coated in pots, pans and even articles of clothing.
"What happened?" Jane said, her tone serious.
Both of them exchanged glances, Sora with a stew pot over his head, and Tarzan with a pair of bloomers hanging off of his nose. Sora tried pointing at certain objects, and Tarzan doing the same, only talking in chirps and low guttural noises. Both Kairi and Jane sat down together.
"This is going to be harder then we thought, isn't it?" Jane asked aloud, but not really stating it like a question.
Kairi cringed as Sora fell over a pole, falling into Tarzan and pushing him into stack of books. "Yeah."