A/N: Okay now it is chapter twenty. I hope this is enough fluff to fulfill all of your needs. Lol, not that it's a lot but it's not the quantity but the quality! I'll be honest though, I'm not the best when it comes to fluff, but I'll try! Besides only a person with real fluffy experience can write good fluff, but there will be fluff in this fan-fiction whether it sucks or not!

Sora: Yes, then there's still hope!

Hayner: Hope about what?

Sora: N-Nothing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter Twenty: Sour Memories

"Come on, let's go home."

Kairi smiled and linked arms with Sora. They ran home despite the horrible thunderstorm. During their journey they only saw occasional flashes of lightning in the distance; they did, on the other hand, hear plenty of thunder. The two were completely soaked once they reached home. Sora opened the door and then closed it behind them. "Sora, thanks for tonight. I had fun, but I'm going to go change into my pajamas and get some sleep, okay?" Kairi said as she rubbed her arms to try and regain some warmth.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, me too," Sora agreed. The two walked up the staircases and went into their rooms.

Kairi changed into her pajamas and slipped under her covers. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. Ever since that fateful day when she was younger she feared thunderstorms. She thought she might be able to overcome her fear, though. After a few minutes of listening to the rumbling outside Kairi decided she couldn't do it anymore. She quickly left her bed and hurried out of her room. She scurried across the hallway that was suddenly lit by a flash of lightning; Olette had left her room door open. She pushed open Sora's door and saw him lying on his bed with his hands behind his head. He was staring at the ceiling dressed only in his boxers. "Sora," Kairi whispered. Sora looked over at his doorway to see Kairi standing in the shadows.

He sat up and looked at her strangely. "What's up, Kai-Kai?" he asked curiously. Kairi entered the room and quickly approached his bedside.

"I'm scared," she mumbled as she looked at the floor. She was afraid he might laugh at her for being afraid of a thunderstorm. After all, it's not like it could hurt her while she was indoors.

"It's all right Kai-Kai, so what do you want me to do about it?" Sora asked. His head tilted to the side. He didn't understand why Kairi was sharing this information with him.

Kairi stared at him with innocent, begging eyes. "Could I sleep with you tonight?" she asked as she fiddled her fingers nervously. Sora blushed and scratched his head. Should he let Kairi sleep with him? He would feel awkward the entire night, but she would be scared all alone in her room if he said no. He nodded; he couldn't let Kairi be alone with her fears. Kairi smiled and climbed into his bed.

"Umm, make yourself comfortable," Sora said as he watched Kairi settle down. Kairi laid down and turned away from Sora.

"Thank you for everything. For helping me at the dance and for this…and for being my friend," Kairi whispered as she slowly began to drift off into sleep.

"Don't mention it," Sora replied quietly as he laid down next to her. He now wished he had a wider bed. He was so close to her he could feel the strands of her hair touching his nose. Sora huffed blowing the strands away. He didn't things tickling his nose in his sleep. He heard her whimper. "Don't be scared," Sora cooed as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. Kairi nodded before closing her eyes. She soon drifted into sleep still wrapped in Sora's protective shell.

A small, auburn-haired girl ran into a kitchen holding a piece of white computer paper in her hand. "Mommy!" she cried happily as she jumped up and down continuously. The woman called 'Mommy' smiled at her daughter as she continued to cut lettuce. She was dressed in a pink apron and her long hair was tied into a ponytail at the top of her head.

"What is it, Kairi-dear?" the woman asked gently.

"Look I drew our family! You, Daddy, and Me!" Kairi exclaimed as she held up the picture to show her mother. Kairi depicted their house which was drawn with purple crayon. Beside the house were three stick figures of different sizes standing together while holding hands; they were drawn in black crayon. The woman smiled and nodded. Kairi sniffed the air. "What are you making mommy?" she asked curiously.

"Chicken Salad," she answered.

Kairi tilted her head. "Is that good?" Kairi asked.

"Yes, and it's very healthy for you too," Kairi's mom replied before giving Kairi's head a pat, "When daddy gets home you can show him you're picture too." Kairi nodded eagerly. She turned around to leave the kitchen, but instead locked eyes with her father.

"Daddy!" Kairi exclaimed before she ran and hugged her father's leg.

"Chihiro! Get her off of me," the man grumbled as he shook his leg. Chihiro giggled.

"Kairi, go draw another picture, Daddy's not in the mood to talk right now," Chihiro said as she shooed Kairi out of the kitchen with a wave of her hands. Once Kairi left Chihiro turned her to husband with a sad look on her face. "What's the matter Seiko? Yyou always enjoyed Kairi hugging your leg," she asked with a voice filled with concern.

Seiko rolled his eyes. "I just wish she'd go away, she's the reason we're having financial problems right now," Seiko spat as he walked past his wife. Chihiro gasped.

"Seiko! How can you say that about our daughter?" Chihiro asked angrily. She followed Seiko to the refrigerator and watched as he pulled out, yet, another beer. He yanked off the top and took a drink from the bottle. "You're the reason we're having financial problems! You use all our money on beer!" Chihiro cried.

Seiko threw the bottle on the floor. The bottle shattered into the pieces and the liquid spilled all over the floor and bottom cabinets. "Don't you blame our problems on me, woman!" he shouted angrily, "You didn't say that when I married you! And you didn't say that when Kairi was born! It's time I put you back in your place!" Seiko grabbed Chihiro's throat and began to strangle her. Chihiro gasped for air as she struggled to get away from her husband's death grip. She slowly grabbed her cutting knife and cut his fingers with the blade. He quickly pulled away and groaned from the pain.

Chihiro ran out of the kitchen and into the living room where Kairi was happily drawing pictures of their 'happy' family. Chihiro grabbed her daughter pulling her to her feet. "Kairi, you have to get out of here! Run from Daddy!" Chihiro shrieked as she began pushing the reluctant Kairi toward the front door.

Kairi started to whine and cry. "Mommy! What's going on!" she cried but before Chihiro could answer Seiko growled as he emerged from the kitchen with a butcher knife in his hand. Chihiro screamed as she grabbed Kairi and held her in her arms.

"What are you doing?" Chihiro cried desperately as she held onto Kairi protectively.

"I'm ending our financial problems. Now, get out of the way, Chihiro!" Seiko demanded. Chihiro shook her head violently. "Fine, then you'll just have to go too!" he cried. Seiko plunged the knife into Chihiro's back. Chihiro gasped for air as her grip on Kairi loosened.

"How much…did you drink?" Chihiro asked as she toppled to the floor. She quickly died.

Kairi screamed as she stared at her dead mother. "Mommy!" she shrieked as she began to shake the bleeding corpse. "Mommy! Wake up!" Kairi begged.

"Shut up!" Seiko commanded; he lifted Kairi from the ground by her collar. Kairi screamed louder as she locked eyes with her drunken, blood-crazed father. Seiko growled in pain; the frequencies of Kairi's screeches were annoying him. He slammed Kairi into the wall as an attempt to shut her up. Kairi's tears were streaming down her cheeks. "You're the problem! I wish you were never born!" Seiko cried mercilessly.

Seiko pulled the knife out of Chihiro's back allowing her blood to drain everywhere on the carpet. Kairi screamed as loud as she could as she struggled to pick herself up. Seiko held her against the wall and began to run the blade down Kairi's back; she cried in pain. Seiko growled and threw the knife on the ground. He went to the front door and kicked it open. He threw Kairi out the front door and onto the concrete sidewalk in front of their house.

The pouring rain soon soaked her; a thunderstorm was already forming. Seiko stumbled down the porch steps lifted the screaming girl once more. He threw her into the street causing her to taste the asphalt. Her forehead and nose were now bleeding. "Get up!" Seiko shrieked from the sidewalk.

Kairi cried harder but was unable to move because of the fierce pain she was feeling. "Daddy!" she cried, "Stop!" Seiko growled and ran to where Kairi was lying on the ground. Kairi screamed closing her eyes tight. Seiko pulled at Kairi's hair as she wailed. Soon she was unable to scream and instead they turned to whimpers. Seiko released her hair; he bent down and started to whisper in her ear, "No one loves you, Kairi. No one could ever love you; you're such a burden to this planet. You're a mistake."

The tears continued to fall as Seiko chuckled. He removed himself from Kairi's side and went back to the sidewalk. He broke into a strumbled run and disappeared into the stormy night. Kairi was on the verge of passing out; her vision was fading. The thunder rumbled loudly and she could see the bright flashes of lightning in her peripheral vision.

In front of her the headlights of a car were growing closer. Kairi tried to move her body but she was losing feeling. The bright lights were growing closer and closer until…

Kairi's eyes quickly flashed open; she immediately began screaming and crying. Sora jolted up from the bed. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he stared at the crying girl. "Kai-Kai, what's wrong?" he asked as he, once again, wrapped his arms around her. Kairi didn't answer; instead, she turned toward Sora and cried into his chest. Sora frowned and hugged her tighter. He laid back down and began rubbing her back. He knew that was what comforted him whenever he had a nightmare. Sora even began to whisper reassuring words into Kairi's ear for extra comfort.

A few hours earlier

"Did ye hear mate? Some girl got roughed up a bit outside," Jack Sparrow whispered into Jack Skellington's ear. Jack Skellington put a hand over his mouth. He had never enjoyed violence.

"Oh my! I hope the poor girl is all right. I should bring her the joy of Halloween," he exclaimed as he pointed his index finger toward the air, "Everyone feels better with a good scare!"

"Good luck, mate," Jack Sparrow chuckled. Jack Skellington walked into the crowd starting his search for the beaten girl. He happened to pass by Riku and Lulu.

Riku and Lulu were now leaning against the wall watching everyone else dance. They had had their fun for the night. Riku had his arms crossed and his aquamarine eyes were glaring at everything he stared at. Lulu simply held her signature 'I don't give a care look'.

Xehanort walked by and sighed. He had decided to come to the dance for leisure. "Great…if you two start a gang together, I swear, I will break it up," he threatened as he glared at Lulu and Riku.

Lulu and Riku glared holes in his head as he walked away. "I hate him," they both growled in unison. They looked at each other. "You hate him too?" they both said again, "Yeah."

Lulu laughed. "I guess we both do have more in common than we think," Lulu said as she crossed her arms, "This is the start of an emo friendship."

Riku nodded and smirked at Lulu, "Yes I believe it is."

Hayner and Olette were walking back to the mansion underneath the umbrella Hayner had brought with him. Their date was coming to an end. Olette looked at Hayner. "Hey Hayner, did you ever finish the poem for Creative Writing?" she asked curiously.

Hayner rubbed the back of his neck. "Well no, but I'll get it finished over the weekend," he replied. He wondered why Olette would mention homework at a time like so. He hated homework; he had better things to do, like play videogames.

"Oh, well I already finished," Olette replied as she linked her hands together, "I worked really hard on it, so I hope you like it. After all, it is about you."

The blonde boy smirked. "Well, if you wrote it I'm sure I will," he replied smoothly, "I'd like anything you created." Olette blushed and rolled her eyes. He had been trying the cheesy pick-up lines the entire date. It didn't look like he would stop using them any time soon. "What? That one was cheesy too?" Hayner asked obliviously.

Olette nodded. "You'll have to come up with better pick-up lines if you want to impress me," Olette stated playfully, "I don't just fall for the cute, stupid guys."

Hayner snapped his fingers. "Man, I thought I had that going for me," he joked. Olette laughed and quickly looked away from him shyly. "Well, here's your home," Hayner announced. Olette looked up and saw they were standing in front of the front door. She hadn't even realized she'd walked up stairs. That must be the effects of good atmosphere.

She turned to Hayner. "Thanks for the evening, I really enjoyed myself," Olette said with a smile, "I definitely had more fun with just you than I would've ever had at the dance. Thank you, Hayner."

"Aww, don't mention it," Hayner replied, "I'm just sorry your dress got a little wet, even though you're the one who wanted to walk in a thunderstorm." Olette laughed. Her dress wasn't that wet. It'd be dry in no time. "Well, I'll see you Monday at school, okay?" Hayner said with a smile. Olette nodded. Hayner grinned at Olette. She could see the mischievous gleam in his eye. Before she knew it, Hayner leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He then quickly jumped down the staircase and ran down the trail with his umbrella in hand.

Olette stood there completely shocked. Hayner had just kissed her. She had been expecting that to happen because she knew what kind of boy she was. But right then and there? She kind of wanted her first kiss to be more romantic. She sighed and walked into her house. She was instantly greeted by the trail of wet footprints. "I guess the others are home," she said, "Well, I can't take a bath in a thunderstorm so I guess I'll just go straight to bed." She climbed the staircases and walked into her room. She didn't even notice the figure of Kairi entering Sora's room.

The others ran down the streets while covering their heads with their hands. Selphie and Zidane would be sleeping over again since the mansion was surprisingly closer than their homes. In other words, Selphie wanted to spend more time with Tidus and Zidane just didn't feel like going home. The six ran onto the porch and into the house. Roxas closed the door behind them since he was the last one inside.

Naminé breathed heavily as she leaned against Roxas's soaked costume. "Now we're all wet and dirty, if only it wasn't a hazard to take a bath during a thunder and lightning storm," Naminé cried in distress.

Selphie shrugged. "We'll just take a bath in the morning, it won't kill us," Selphie answered casually. It was now she took the time to finally look down at her wet, white costume. It finally hit her. Selphie quickly covered her secret areas. "Nobody look at me!" she squealed before she turned and ran toward the staircase.

Roxas, Zidane, and Tidus blushed; they were, after all, hormonal, teenage boys. Riku only rolled his eyes. Naminé slapped them all across their faces. She crossed her arms and muttered to herself about how immature they were all being. Riku growled; he didn't understand why Naminé hit him.

"You know, Naminé. Your costume is white too," Roxas teased. Naminé screamed and covered herself as she quickly retreated to her room. Roxas smirked. Naminé had neglected to cover her butt when she ran so Roxas just got a lovely view of her black thong.

"We should probably get some sleep too," Zidane suggested as he undid the blue ribbon that was holding his blonde hair, "I'll see you guys in the morning." With that said the four marched up the staircase and filed into their rooms. Zidane took the empty room between Naminé and Riku.

Zidane huffed as he quickly changed out of his drenched costume. He fell back onto the futon with only his green boxers on. He stared at the ceiling; he could feel his wet bangs sticking to his forehead. Zidane let out a long sigh. "You still didn't notice me," he said to the ceiling, "Am I that invisible that you even miss me when you pass me in the hallway?" He turned over and rested his head on the pillow. He covered himself with the white blanket and closed his tired eyes.

A thirteen-year-old blonde boy walked down the seventh grade hallway proudly. It was the start of a new year. This time he was going to make sure he wasn't the laughing-stock of the entire grade. He looked down at his tail and sighed. "How am I going to hide you?" he asked.

"He's talking to his butt again!"

"That Zidane, he's just one crazy guy."

"I'll bet he's an alien."

"I can't wait to learn about suffixes and prefixes!"

Zidane sighed and hid his face from his laughing peers. His blue eyes were filled with sadness as he slowly drug his feet down the hallway. Their laughter only grew louder and soon Zidane couldn't take it anymore. He started to run down the hallway in a desperate attempt to escape his peers, but instead, he bumped into someone and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, he landed on his tail. Zidane winced as he rubbed his backside. "That was painful," he groaned. Zidane looked up from the ground to lock eyes with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

The girl had brown eyes and black hair that was an inch past her shoulders. Even if she was wearing the standard collar shirt, plaid navy blue skirt, and knee-high socks she was a true beauty. Her skin looked creamy and her body was so petite and cute. "I'm sorry," Zidane apologized as he helped her gather her books. He took notice of the three library books and binder that she was holding. She was strong for someone with such a feminine figure. "Here," he said as he handed her what he gathered.

The girl took the books from Zidane and smiled at him while mouthing the words 'Thank You'. Zidane was about to start a conversation with her when someone else's voice interrupted him.

"Garnet!"

The girl quickly turned around responding to her name. A brunette girl with a blue eye and a green eye and smug look on her face was calling to her. Zidane already knew her as Yuna. She was the girl that had started his misery in elementary school. She and her friend, Fuu, were ruthless. It looked like Garnet would be their new addition.

Zidane sighed dreamily as he watched her walk away. "So her name's Garnet, eh? I'll get her to notice me no matter how long it takes!" Zidane declared.

A/N: Now you know part of Kairi's past and how Zidane met Garnet. Isn't that wonderful? Lol. Anyway I apologize for any typos I'm typing this pretty late into the night so I'm halfway asleep already. So sorry! Don't fuss at me! I proofread to the best of my ability, lol. Well there's the twentieth chapter.