For Kairi, things were starting to fly by far too quickly—specifically, night-time. Her and Sora had begun to have nightly sleepovers, ones that consisted of whispering and laughing and waking up with their bodies tangled together in a giant heap. They mostly went to Sora's dorm—which, to Kairi's dismay, was a lot nicer than hers—because they wouldn't be caught by any nosey girl roommates there. Whenever Namine and they others noticed she wasn't in their building, Roxas would usually cover for her and say he saw her leave early to go the library.

The days flew by so fast, in fact, that Kairi had completely forgotten about one important date, one that everyone seemed to be looking forward to.

Visiting Day.

It was the one day parents and families were allowed to come to the Academy and visit their children attending the school. They would round up all of the kids that were in the same year, stick them all into one of the big halls, and call them out when their family arrived. They would have the entire day off with their family or whoever it was that came to visit, but would have to stay on school grounds. Either way, it was a great chance to catch up with loved ones—and Kairi was excited to see her dad.

So, when everyone in her year was piled up into a large room in the Centre and awaited being called out, she couldn't help but feel the surge of adrenaline through her veins. Knowing it might be awhile before she was called—she didn't know when her father had left or when he would arrive—she searched around the giant, packed room. Struggling to push through the thick crowd of people, she tried to look overtop for the familiar head of spikes, but couldn't see; grunting, she pushed forwards, hoping she would stumble across her boy eventually. Overhead, the loud speaker came on, announcing ten unfamiliar student names, informing them that their families had arrived and that they could meet them outside. Kairi thought the entire ordeal was a bit unnecessary—why couldn't families just meet their children at their dorms, without any of this business?—but she supposed it was so that the faculty could keep tabs on their students, know who had left and who was still around to prevent any kids from skipping class.

"Kairi!" A voice called, high above the loud murmur.

Kairi turned, eyes landing on Namine a little ways away; she pushed through the crowd, making her way towards the blonde. Beside Namine was Roxas; he gave her a warm smile. "Hey, guys," She greeted, having to speak a bit louder to be heard over the chatter.

"Is your dad coming up?" Roxas asked, hard to hear.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah—what about you two?"

"My older brother is coming up," Roxas explained. "And Namine's parents should be here any minute."

"That's great," Kairi smiled, slightly distracted as she scanned the crowd for Sora. "Hey—I'll see you guys tonight, yeah?"

"Of course," Namine smiled.

Kairi stepped back and within a second her two friends had been sucked up into the crowd, disappearing from sight. Pushing her way gently through the crowd, attempting to be as polite as possible, she continued to look around for her best friend. She knew he was here somewhere—skipping was strictly prohibited on Visiting Day. The Dean didn't want anyone to skip class if their visitor never arrived.

The intercom bleeped on, calling out over a dozen students, announcing that their families had arrived. Within those names were Namine and Roxas—but no Sora. Knowing he was still within the hall, she pushed even harder through the hordes of people. If she was spending the majority of the day with her dad, she wouldn't have nearly enough time with Sora—she had to make the best of it, find him as quickly as possible. It was like he was a drug and she was terribly addicted—just a sleepover with him tonight wouldn't suffice. She needed more.

"Sora!" She cried, eyes landing on the spiky-haired boy sitting in the back corner all alone. His head snapped up and looked to her, and it dawned on her that he wasn't completely alright. He didn't look awful, per say, but he didn't look good; the bags under his eyes were harsh against his skin, the look in his ocean eyes horrid and scary. Kairi pushed closer to him, finally breaking free from the crowd and entering his little bubble of solitude. Nobody wanted to go near him. "Hey—are you okay?" She asked, voice thick with concern.

He looked tired; he craned his neck to look up at her. He didn't speak, but his expression seemed to say enough—he looked wrecked, broken like he had the first night he'd come to sleep with Kairi.

She wanted to sit down beside him and ask him everything and try to make him smile like usual, but the raspy voice over the intercom started listing off the names again, this time including hers. Her heart fluttered, anticipation surging through her body at the thought of her father being so close, only minutes away. Her head snapped toward the direction of the door, then back to Sora, looking bleak and dark on the ground.

He seemed to understand. "Go."

Kairi made a face, then kneeled down beside him. "I want to listen, Sora—meet me in the corridor by the theatre at five o'clock, okay? We can talk then. I'm really sorry—I've just gotta go," She whispered, pressing her lips to his cheek before standing up and hurriedly pushing through the crowds, heart now lifted up with excitement and buried down with guilt.

When she finally broke through the crowd and pushed out of the hall, she was met with a joyful cry from her father. She rushed towards him and hugged him, breaking down into tears immediately. She'd underestimated how much she'd missed him.

Before they walked off, Kairi turned back and looked through the glass door into the hall; although she couldn't see Sora, who sat on the far side, she could feel his sorrow. Guilt for leaving him when he looked so awful seemed to hold her down, preventing her from having a fully happy time with her father.

Kairi took her dad down to the café—it had taken them at least an hour to get their order; apparently, that had been the first stop for all the students and their parents—and then they sat out on one of the benches. It wasn't all that cold that day, so they made the best of it; she showed him every part of the campus, even the places she hadn't worked up visiting yet. Better late than never, she guessed.

She showed him her dorm building and her room, talked to him about all of her classes and her friends, explaining who liked what and how they all were. She mentioned Sora generally, not pointing him out or making him sound anymore special than the others, even though that was the case. She knew if she was too specific, her dad would catch on that this boy was important and would tease her about it, so she kept it pretty quiet.

Her dad told her about everything that had gone on back home in her absence: family dramas, deaths, births, injuries and dilemmas. He gave her notes that her two best friends had written for her, which were jam-packed with pictures and photos and kind 'we miss you' signatures from the people back home.

They told stories and laughed, and it was almost like she was back home and they were sitting in their shitty little beach shack, eating leftover pizza and listening to the sounds of the ocean. Kairi had missed her dad—she'd noticed how much older he looked; there were bits of gray flecks in his dark tresses—and a part of her was scared for when he would leave. He was her family, her entire past life—how was she supposed to handle things without him, without speaking to him?

Of course, she knew exactly how she was going to handle things—with Sora around, it would be easy.

Kairi and her father headed off to dinner at one of the restaurants on campus—again, it took a while to get their order; every place on campus was stock-full of families of students—and chatted more, the knowledge that he would have to leave right away lingering over them both. Once they were done eating, Kairi walked him back to the main hall where he was parked; he would have to leave right away if he wanted to make it back home for work tomorrow.

They'd walked back in the Centre to grab his things; as they did so, they'd passed the big hall she'd been crammed into earlier that day. As she strode past, she looked through the glass door. The large hall was deserted, as she'd expected—all of the students had met up with their families and left—except for one small figure in the far back corner, sitting on the ground. The figure's spiky hair was quivering slightly, it's body shaking. Kairi's throat tightened and her chest ached when she realized that Sora had not met up with his family, had not been escorted out of the room. According to the rules, he wasn't permitted to leave before five o'clock unless a visitor came to get him—and so, there he was, crying and alone in the back of the hall. Kairi grabbed her father's things and ushered him out to his car, packing them in the trunk. She hugged him tightly, whispered that she loved him in his ear, and didn't cry until he had driven out of sight.

Then, she quickly made her way to the nearest washroom and broke down, her sadness and love for her dad erupting over her and suffocating her momentarily. After about twenty minutes, she was far too tired to have her emotions take any more control of her; she wiped her tears, washed her face with some cold water, and hurriedly made her way towards the arts building, realizing that she was late for meeting Sora.

The corridors were dark; only every fifth or sixth light in the hallways was on, leaving long, dark patches lit by the a soft glow from one several paces away. Kairi peered around, looking for Sora, hoping he'd came. Part of her was terrified he wouldn't—after all, she'd deserted him. He'd been all alone, and she'd left him there.

Then, as she neared the entrance to the theatre, she made out a figure in one of the dim sections of the hall leaning against the stone wall. Picking up the pace a little bit, she called out.

"Sora?"

There wasn't a reply. She sped up, jogging slightly.

When she was only a few steps away, she heard the sniffling coming from the boy; her eyes had adjusted enough to see that it was indeed Sora, his back pressed against the stone, his head casted downwards. Kairi didn't bother with a greeting; instead, she flung herself at him and hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around his body and pressing her lips to his collarbone a dozen times, kissing up his shoulder and back down to his neck. They were small, sweet, apologetic kisses, and she hoped he would understand.

"I'm so sorry, Sora, I shouldn't have left—I should have stayed, I just wasn't thinking I—"

He cut her off, wrapping his arms around her in response. His grip on her was gentle but there was an urgent need behind it; his face dipped and he pressed his nose to her shoulder before breaking down into terrible sobs that echoed throughout the corridor.

Kairi felt like she was being ripped apart. She hugged herself against him, pressing him against the wall as she held him; her soft kisses slowed into nothing, her lips brushing against his neck as they stood, silently intertwined.

And then, before any more apologies could be made, there were the click of heels echoing through the stone hall, suddenly close and right beside them. Then, a voice; at first it was soft, apologetic—and then, surprised.

"Sora," The voice breathed, upset. "I'm so sorry. You know I wouldn't make you go through tha—oh."

Kairi, realizing that they were no longer alone in the hall, pulled away from Sora; her eyes flickered to the location of the voice, recognizing it. To her surprise, she found the Dean staring at them wide-eyed; her hair was down, loose and messy, and she looked exhausted and bleak.

The Dean's eyes flickered from Sora to Kairi. Eyebrows pulling down, she murmured, "Sora…" Her tone becoming less soft and more warning. She narrowed her eyes. "Kairi?" She blinked in surprise.

Kairi's eyes were wide. "Dean?"

The Dean seemed to realize that her composure was not Dean-like; she straightened up, flipping her hair off of her shoulder. When she spoke, her voice was hard again. "Kairi—I'm sure you know the rules about romances on campus."

Kairi opened her mouth to mention that it wasn't a romance, but the Dean cut her off.

"That's right. Strictly prohibited." Her eyes were stern. "I believe you are aware of the consequences and punishment issued by breaking this rule, am I correct?"

Knowing that resistance would be futile, Kairi nodded. "Yes, Dean."

"Good. If you would please make your way back to your dorm as to not be breaking any more of my rules, I will excuse you from punishment—this time." Her eyes were harsh. "Am I clear?"

Kairi blinked, remembering how much she disliked this woman. She sucked in a breath, giving a glance to Sora, then to the ground. "Crystal," She muttered, taking a step away from the boy.

"Run along, then. I would like to speak to Sora about his punishment."

Kairi chewed on the inside of her cheek, desperately trying to hold back any snarky comments that might bubble to the surface. She took another step away, unable to look at Sora. She didn't want to see his expression, not now. She wasn't ready to see how sad he looked now that she didn't have the chance to make things better. She walked away quickly, the Dean's glare pushing her along faster; she made her way around the corner, slipping out of sight. Back from where Sora and the Dean were, there was silence, as if she was waiting for Kairi to be gone. Wanting to hear how bad his punishments would be thanks to her, Kairi hung back, silently slipping into the shadows of the corridor, listening carefully.

There was a few more taps of the Dean's heels—she walked around the corner to make sure Kairi was gone; she didn't see Kairi in the darkness—and then a few more as she made her way back to Sora. When she spoke, her voice was soft again, liquid and apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, Sora—I told them to let you go, that you didn't have to stay…"

Sora's voice was gruff; he ignored her apology. "Did you have to do that?" He muttered, voice deep from crying.

"Do what?"

"That. To Kairi." He paused. "It was rude."

The Dean sighed. "Sora, you know the rules. I can't allow romances—even for you."

"That wasn't romantic," He grumbled. "She was trying to make me feel better. I sort of had a rough day, if you hadn't already figured that out." There was an odd bitterness to his tone.

The Dean let out a breath; it was shaky. "I know—that's my fault. I'm sorry." There was a pause; she shifted and her heels clicked against the floor. "You shouldn't have had to go through that. Are you okay?"

Kairi's eyes narrowed as she listened, unable to fully believe what she was hearing. Apparently, the Dean liked Sora a hell of a lot more than she liked the other students at the Academy; she was actually talking to him with concern in her voice. Odd.

"Not really," He responded, voice cracking as he spoke. "Sorta feel like dying."

There was a long pause, then; Kairi could hear shifting, and then a sniffle from the Dean. Then, another. When the Dean spoke, it became clear that she was crying.

"Please, Sora—please don't say that. Don't do that to me." She sniffled. "I'm so sorry today was hard for you and I'm sorry that things weren't more properly planned out—but, please do not say those sort of things. I can't handle that."

Again, it sounded like they were shifting; when Sora spoke, his voice was muffled.

"Sorry," He murmured. "I didn't mean it."

The Dean sniffed once more. "I'm sorry," She replied softly. "I know this wasn't exactly what you wanted and I know things are very hard for you, especially around this time—so, if you need anything or time off or something, please, ask me."

"Okay," Sora replied, voice still muffled.

There was more sniffing and more long pauses. After a while, the Dean spoke again, sounding a bit more collected than before.

"So," She huffed. "How have things been going? Haven't really had time to talk."

"Better," Sora replied. "A lot better."

"Really?" The Dean asked, sounding surprised. "Thought things were sort of stuck, for a while there."

"It's Kairi," He said. "She makes me feel okay."

"Kairi—the girl who I just sent away?"

There was silence, but Kairi assumed Sora had nodded. Her cheeks felt a little hot at the mention of her name, but she felt sort of honoured to be spoken about to the Dean, even though she didn't understand how these two knew each other and why they seemed to be so intimate.

"She's making things better?" There was another pause. "How?"

"I don't know. She just does."

"That's good." Another pause, a short one this time. "How are things going with the—" Her words cut off. She must have gestured or something.

Sora breathed in gently. "I don't."

"That's really good, Sora," The Dean seemed pleased; her voice was still soft. "Your appointment is day after tomorrow—plan on going this time?"

"No."

"Please, Sora."

"It's during class," He responded, sounding as if he were frowning.

The Dean barked out a laugh. "Since when are you a stickler for attending class?"

"I like drama," Sora replied, voice quieter.

"Missing one class won't be a big deal—please, just go to the appointment. It isn't easy for me to arrange these things and I really think you can benefit—"

Sora sniffed, cutting her off. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Alright," The Dean sighed. "Anyways, it's getting late—you'd better head back, get a good sleep. Try not to miss class tomorrow."

Sora made a noise in the back of his throat.

The Dean laughed lightly. "Yeah, yeah—okay. It never hurts to pretend you'll actually go, though, right?"

The sound of their steps loomed closer to the corner that Kairi was hiding around, and she knew it was time she left. She slipped down the corridor, the odd conversation she'd just heard pulsating in her ears. Why the hell did Sora seem to know the Dean so well, and what were they talking about? They'd seemed intimate—close, personal, like they had a bond—but it wasn't like the one in the rumors around campus. It wasn't that they were having an affair or secretly dating. It was almost motherly.

Kairi was thoroughly confused by the entire ordeal, and her mind raced as she made her way back to her dorm building. She was far too caught up in her twisted thoughts to sit around with her friends and chat about the time spent with their families, so she gave them a quick greeting and went up to her bedroom. Laying on her back in the dark, she tried to make sense of what she'd heard, but was unable to. It didn't make any sense. She didn't have any context behind it.

Then, there was the tap tap against her window and she looked out, seeing her spiky-haired boy peering up at her; she opened her window and he crawled up and in, and she closed it and they laid together and she didn't ask about the whole thing with the Dean because it really wasn't her business. She'd been eavesdropping. She wasn't supposed to know. And if Sora had wanted her to, he would've told her.

So, they laid together and joked and laughed and it was almost as if every bit of sadness was gone from his eyes; it was like the boy she'd been with just a few hours ago was gone. He wasn't the boy sitting in the corner of the hall and he wasn't the boy crying in the dark corridor—he was just Sora, happy and bright and there. It bothered Kairi how quickly he'd swapped, how easily he'd hidden the things that had momentarily escaped him, but she didn't want to bring it up. She was scared that if she asked, his happy would go away.

He deserved to be happy more often, so she didn't ask. Instead, they just whispered to one another and told cheesy jokes and made one another smile, eventually falling asleep in a mess of long limbs and cold toes.

Kairi dreamt about her day at the beach with Sora, smiling through her peaceful sleep. Sora had a nightmare about his hometown, waking up in the middle of the night sweating and crying.

He'd snuggled up to Kairi, slamming his eyes shut and holding her close, hoping she would chase away the darkness in his heart.

Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! I'm aware how grossly long I have stretched this whole mystery thing out and I'm even beginning to get annoyed with it, I'm really sorry haha. I PROMISE you, everything will be discovered soon and it will make sense (hopefully) so don't lose faith in me yet. I'm sorry I've taken so long to write this chapter and the one before it, highschool has its downsides and I had a shit load of homework to do. Anyways, I just wanted to apologize for the shit writing and the horrible not-very-cliffhangery cliff hangers. Please please pleeeaseee review and give me some comments, those are the only things that are motivating me to write at this point and I'm struggling with the idea of continuing writing this so please help me out! Thanks a ton!