Author's Note: I can't wait for the characters to return to school… and get rid of all the bullshiting sadness.

Everyone can ignore the poll now. After taking some advice from fellow readers and stuff, I decided on which one is going to be the final pairing. Of course, it's still gonna take a long time for that. But vote if you want too, I might change my mind based on your reviews and votes.

(Listened to Kingdom Hearts's Dearly Beloved soundtrack when writing most of the chapters. The music almost brought me to tears…)

By the way, any David Archuleta fans out there? I'd like to meet other fans too. Yes, I'm an Archuleta. I know there isn't many male fans out there, but who cares? His music is amazing and always reminds me of my old crush. ;) And yes, some of my chapter titles are taken from David's songs.

Chapter 26 – Touch My Hand

Sora's POV

I seriously owe Roxas my life. He really helped me through that mess. I hope Namine is alright with the date ended, but she seemed okay… God… Okay, pull yourself together Sora. Pull yourself together. Kairi is waiting for you.

I grabbed the keys to my Chevrolet from my room and ran to the garage. There, I quickly entered my car and started the engines. Before I could get on the road, my phone rang. Damn.

"Hello?" I answered the call, not bothering to check the damn caller ID.

"Heya, Sora. It's Riku. I wanted to ask ya about Kairi." Riku? Oh right, I gave him my number, and talk about coincidence.

"Hey, Riku. Listen, I'm going to Kairi's house right now."

"Huh? Wait, what happened yesterday?" Riku asked me.

"Long story. I'll give you the details later. Right now I have to meet Kairi."

"Okaayy… call you later. Bye Sora. I'll need all the details soon, buddy."

"Alright. Bye, Riku." I said and hung up the phone. Riku's head must be exploding right now. I drove my Chevy out of the garage and began my ride to Kairi's house. I just hope that 'Nate' guy isn't there. He already warned me to stay away from Kairi. Well screw him. Unless he's Kairi's 'father' I don't give a shit about him. However, what if her mom's home? What in the name of God would I do then? Argh! I'll have to do something if it ends like that.

Break Of Sora's POV

….

~Namine's House~

Naminechanged into a white shirt and a long black skirt after arriving from the 'date'. Xion had decided to accompany her friend home, as Helen Robertson was not present for the moment. Namine came down from her room to the living room, where Xion was waiting.

"I hope Roxas is alright." Namine said while settling down to the couch.

"Y-yeah. Me too." Xion said in response, despite knowing it was just an act, including the whole double date.

"So… Roxas huh?" Namine said teasingly, or at least she tried to be teasing. Xion blushed, much to her own surprise. Why was she blushing at the thought of Roxas? They were not even on a real date right?

"What do you mean?" Xion asked Namine but hid her red face from the blonde.

"Xion… You're… Blushing… Aren't you?" Namine said trying to get a look on her best friend's face.

"N-no… I'm not…"

"*giggles* I think you are. It happened to me a lot of times when I'm with Sora. Sora likes it though when I'm red on the face. There was once when I was blushing at school and he… grabbed my cheeks and kissed both sides… then he pulled away… but I called out to him and kissed him first… then he sorta took control of me I guess…" Namine elaborated. She could only be open minded of such matters towards her raven haired best friend, who was getting uncomfortable of such statements she was receiving from Namine.

"Nami?" Xion called.

"Hm?"

"Too much information."

"Oh. S-sorry…"

"You know, I'm really… happy for you Nami." Xion said.

"For what?"

"You have Sora." Xion said but drifted her head away.

"Huh? Don't you have… Roxas?"

"Uh… I don't know… We were just ac… I mean we were just starting out."

"I see. Roxas is a good guy. You two will do fine, Xion,"

"Right…" Xion rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you look downed. Are you okay? It's about the date isn't it?" Namine asked.

"Maybe…"

"Don't worry about it, Xion. Roxas will recover and you two can start over it again. I'll be rooting for you!" Namine cheered.

Xion could not stand it.

'Look at you Nami… Talking like everything's okay… When will you learn… that Sora loves another girl too… I hope that day never comes… but for how long can Sora keep that away from you?'

"Xion! Are you listening?"

"H-huh? Yeah… I'm in…"

"Come on. Let's just watch TV." Namine got up from her seat and went to grab the remote.

'Watch TV? How can I simply watch TV with this mind-blowing secret locked in me?'

Namine took her seat again, noting Xion face along the way.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Really." Xion said and sighed.

"I know you're worried about him, Xion. He'll be fine. It's just a stomach ache. Wait. I'll go get drinks for us." Namine walked to her kitchen.

'Ever the innocent Nami… What if… what if I tell her about Kairi? Should I keep it hidden from her?'

"How about lemonade!? Does that sound good?" Namine asked Xion from the kitchen.

"Y-yeah! That's fine!" Xion shouted back.

'But Roxas said it must be kept secret… I understand Sora is not doing this purposely… But this is my best friend… I never lied to her before… On the other hand, I tell her the truth, and she will be heartbroken for sure… I can't live to watch that…'

"Want any snacks?!" Namine asked again.

"No thank you, Nami. Drink's enough." Xion answered to the blonde.

'Your innocence has always been your weakness, Nami…'

"Here you go. You'll feel better by the time you finish that lemonie." Namine made probably the cutest smile ever as she placed the drinks on the coffee table.

'A lemonade isn't gonna to solve this…'

….

~Kairi's House~

'She doesn't like me being happy… Why would you hurt me Mom…'Kairi thought of her mother, Veronica Dixon.

The crimson haired teenager was on the floor, her back leaning against the wall of her bedroom. Kairi set her gaze on her left wrist, which was marked with bruises. She let out a tear from her beautiful eyes that matched the ones her love possesses.

'He said he will come for me… Did he… forgot about me? Doesn't he… want me?'

Kairi slightly touched her bruises with her free hand, and flinched from the sudden pain.

'Of course… He has Namine right? Who could want a disturbed girl like me? He just said… he loves me… so that I'll be happy… Not true…'

-there was a knock at the front door-

'Who's that?' Kairi wondered. She had to answer it as Veronica was not home. The redhead slowly got up, adjusted her dress and proceeded to the entrance. She opened the door and…

"Kairi… I'm sorry I'm late…"

It was him. It was Sora. Kairi could not possibly help herself from hugging him (lot of hugging these days...) She needed him.

"K-Kairi?" This was déjà vu all over again for Sora. Namine did the same earlier to him.

"Sora…" She cried silently, and Sora noticed when her tears began soaking his shirt. Sora wrapped his arms around her to comfort Kairi.

"Kairi… please don't cry… I'm really sorry I'm late." Sora apologized.

"No, Sora… I'm not mad at you…"

Not his fault? If it was not him, why was she crying?

"Then, what's wrong?"

"…" Kairi pushed herself closer to him.

"Tell me what's wrong, Kairi. It's because I'm late right?"

Kairi shook her head.

"Then?" Sora said.

"Sora… take me away…" she almost whispered.

"Huh? W-what do you mean?" Sora said, his eyes slightly widened.

"Take me away… from here… please…"

"Kairi, what happened?" the brunette asked, and he began to panic.

"Please… just take me away from here… Get me out…"

'What is she talking about!? Is she gonna run away from home!? With me!? I mean where do I even take her to!?'

"Kairi, is your Mom home?"

"No… she's not… That's why I'm asking you."

"Then what's wrong?" Sora broke away from her, and when he touched her left wrist without looking at them, thus Kairi expressed the pain she was enduring.

"A-ah!"

"Kairi!? Huh?" Sora looked down and found bruises on her wrist.

"K-Kairi!? Damn it, what happened!?" Sora said while checking the wound.

"I-it's nothing…" Kairi hid the stripes of wounds from Sora's view.

"Nothing!? You call these nothing!? What happened!? Tell me!"

"I… I can't."

"What do you mean you can't! Tell me, Kairi! I'm worried sick here!" Sora asked demandingly.

"I… Sora…"

"Kairi, I love you. And I need to know why you're hurt. Please, who was it?" Sora tried.

"…"

"M-Mom…" Kairi revealed on who was the cause of the wounds. Sora became shocked at the revelation.

"Your… Mom?" Sora asked, to be sure of himself.

"Yes… She did it." Kairi's cobalt eyes appeared to be prepared on letting tears fall. (I swear… Dunno how many times I caused Kairi to cry…)

"But… why? Why would she do it?" Sora thought. His eyes became livid.

'That woman! She looked very usual yesterday, but in truth she would hurt her own daughter!? And by 'daughter' I mean Kairi! My Kairi! Grr… Calm down…'

"Come on. I'm bringing you to the hospital." Sora pulled Kairi, her right arm, to his car.

"N-no! Please no! I don't want to go there!" Kairi pleaded.

"Yes you are. You're hurt and we have to check those wounds."

"S-Sora… They're not that bad… Please…"

"Then a clinic." Sora said.

"No…" Kairi struggled like a child.

"Kairi… Then… Alright, come on."

"Wait, where?" Kairi asked.

"My mom had some medical training back in her days. She can fix you up."

'Sora's mom? No… I can't meet her. Mrs. Young is a lawyer, and she will definitely ask about this…'

"Let's go, Kairi. You know those gashes aren't gonna go on their own." Sora said.

"Mom's really kind, trust me."

"I don't know…"

"Hey. You trust me right?" Sora placed his hands on Kairi's shoulders.

"With my life." Kairi answered in lightning speed.

"Then? You know you can trust my Mom too. Since you don't wanna check with a doctor, let's go meet the doc we have in the house."

Kairi realized she could not protest anymore. On the other hand, she really did want to meet her lover's mother.

"*sighs* Okay…"

….

~Back at the Young Residence~

Roxas was talking with Xion on the phone regarding the events that have passed on so far.

"Still naïve as ever huh?" said Roxas.

"Yeah… Nami has no clue it was all just an act."

"I feel bad for doing this."

"Don't worry about it, Roxas. We didn't do it on purpose. It was just for helping out Sora. So… What do you think about the whole impasse with Sora and Kairi? I'm not so sure about it."

"Honestly I don't know what to say to that. What I do know is Sora has no intention of cheating Namine or something like that. He would never do that to anyone and I'm positive." Roxas explained.

"It's not that I hate Sora, but it's that Kairi that quite bothers me. You said there's something about her that I don't know. What's that?" Xion asked.

"Trust me. It's not a thing I can say on the phone. We'll talk about it the next time we meet."

"But… My head will go steaming if I don't know it now…"

"Sorry, Xion. Besides, Sora told me that thing's a bit private for Kairi."

"Private? Bummer… Wonder what's that… She couldn't possibly have any problems or something right?… I mean, just look at how she's at school. Happy, lots of friends, adored by many. Not to mention the most popular girl."

"I thought of the same thing at first. Then I blew up when Sora told me everything."

"Roxas! Tell me what's the thing about Kairi now! I wanna know!" Roxas became a little shaken in Xion's sudden change of tone. Yup. This was the Xion that fought with Tifa the other day. The Xion that he actually preferred.

"Err… O-okay. Listen, it's like this…"

Roxas heard the door bell ring. There was someone at the door.

"Xion, talk with you later. I'm occupied for the moment."

"Wait! Roxas! I…" Before Xion could say something else, Roxas hung up the phone. He went to attend the person at the front door of the mansion. Roxas opened the door to find his cousin, Sora. There was a girl standing behind him, or more like trying to hide behind him. Roxas recognized who that was. Kairi. She had a troubled look on her, and Roxas decided to ignore that for the current moment.

"S-Sora."

"Rox… I uh. We… um…"

"What's… she doing here? The date's not here right?"

"No, no. There's no date for now. Listen, can we go indoors first?"

"Oh yeah. C-come on." Roxas provided space for the two teens. Sora began entering, but Kairi just stood there. Perhaps she was nervous, or so Roxas thought.

"Kairi, it's okay. Come in." Sora said.

"Yeah, Kairi. We're a negative-free family." Roxas added.

Sora gave his hand to her direction, and Kairi took it quickly. They both went in the luxurious mansion the Youngs owned.

"Where's Mom?" Sora asked Roxas as he brought Kairi to the lounge.

"Working at her office. By the way, no offense but what are you two doing here?"

"I gotta see Mom. Kairi needs help.

"Help? Well… Okay… I'll go tell her. I got a bad feeling about this…" Roxas climbed up to the second floor, leaving Sora and Kairi alone in the lounge.

"Relax. Mom's just gonna fix up that bruise you got."

Kairi nodded. Sora sat down beside her.

"Can you… tell me why your Mom did it?"

Kairi shook her head rapidly.

"I'm sorry… I can't…"

"O-okay…" Sora said disappointingly.

'Mom's gonna ask her the same thing. Would she answer to her at least?' Sora wondered.

"Sorry…" Kairi apologized.

"It's okay. I understand if it's private." Sora said.

"Sora… You're… mad at me… aren't you?"

"What? No… no I'm not…" Sora came closer to her. Kairi leaned onto Sora's shoulders, seeking comfort desperately.

"I'm just worried Kairi. You're hurt, and your Mom caused it, which worries me more. I want to know what happened."

"She… she will kill me if she knew I came here."

"She won't know. Now tell me what happened. Did it happen after I dropped you home last night.

Kairi nodded.

"Mom asked me who you were…"

"Okay…"

"She… we argued after I went inside… Then… I locked myself in my room."

"Then?"

"She forced me to open the door…"

"Why did you open it, if she sounded angry?"

"She said… if I didn't obey… she would kick me out… I… I didn't know what else to do…"

"Damn it…" Sora cursed out loud.

"Mom warned me to not have a… relationship with you…"

Sora was taken back. What kind of a mother was that woman? She was having a boyfriend for herself but she does not want her daughter to have one?

"I protested… I told her… that… I love you… and she… whipped my wrist… for punishment…"

"…" Sora did not say a word. He was the cause of her wounds. And he felt guilty for it. If he and Kairi kept their relationship go further, who knows how worse Kairi's situation could go.

"Kairi… It's because of me… You're hurt because of me…"

"No… No Sora… It's my mother who hurt me, not you. You could never hurt me…"

"Kairi… We… I don't know what to do… If your mom doesn't like me, then…"

"No!" Kairi said out loud.

"No, Sora… Please don't leave me… please… I need you… I love you Sora… Please don't leave me…" She cried. Kairi knew Sora was going to leave her for her own good, but she did not care less. Sora was the only one she needed for the time.

"K-Kairi… I'm so sorry…" Sora hugged her.

"I… I feel disgusted for even thinking of that… Don't cry, Kairi. I will never leave you. I promise."

"Sora… I love you."

"I love you, too Kairi…" Sora said in return. He brought her face closer to his own and began making out with her, hoping to ease the pain she enduring in her heart.

"Mmm… mmm…" Kairi moaned.

"I'll make you… feel better… Kairi…" Sora said in between the very hot kisses they were into. He slowly leaned Kairi onto the couch and lied on top of her. Kairi, right now, had completely succumbed to Sora's will. She blushed heavily as she layed under Sora and her arms were around his head.

"Sora… I…"

"Shh… It's okay…" Sora whispered to her, and he buried his face into her neck.

"S-Sora…" Kairi said his name, which came out as a moan rather than a call.

Sora started kissing her neck, or to be more precise he was sucking her neck in absolute lust.

"Oh… oh Sora…"

"Kairi…" Sora moaned.

"God… Oh god…" Kairi began to feel an overwhelming aura entering her. That was when…

"What in world, Sora!" Aqua entered the lounge.

Author's Note: Heh heh. Slight fluff in the end…