Everyone has seen through the eyes of Sora. The Keyblade's ultimate Wielder. It's okay to love a princess of the heart. It's easy, it's understandable. But how is it to see through the eyes of someone who can't possibly be loved in return?

fire spirit: Haha, yeah. He won't be here today, though. Instead, we'll have a psychopathic killer who looks like him to Kumei! Read on and you'll find out why I'm acting more psychotic than usual. :)

Z-AKA Andrea-: Thank you! I'm real glad you like it. Demyx! Tell me when you find one!

Echo:) I like making the flashbacks. Hmm.. Not much romantic stuff on this update, unless you like incest.. Well, technically, it's not incest, since Cloud and Kumei aren't related, but.. never mind.

Angel Of Blacksouls: Hahaha. Here's the update!

To everyone, I am so sorry about not updating for so long. I was going to last Friday but our internet connection and our telephone suddenly died, and it only got fixed yesterday. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!

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"AAHHHH!" Demyx and I screamed, as he, Axel and I ran away from a bunch of leopards chasing us through the jungle. Where was Tarzan when you needed him? "Taaaaaaaaarzan!" I yelled, as we jumped and screamed(Axel was exempted from this) and glided and fired our way through the jungle. "Why can't we just kill them?" Demyx asked. "Where's the fun in that?" Axel asked, laughing. "Do you have a fetish for near-death experiences or something!" I yelled at him. "No," Axel replied with another chuckle. "It's just fun seeing you two scared out of your wits." "But we could easily get rid of them, righ-aaaaaaahhhh!" "Demyx!" I gasped, and dived down after him. "Kumei? What're you- damn it!" Demyx had fallen over the waterfall, I had followed to save him (come to think of it, why didn't I just fly? Oh well, too late now), and Axel was obliged to jump in as well.

I spluttered and coughed as Axel dragged me out of the water. "Are you stupid, Kumei?" Axel yelled, shaking me. "You can't swim! Remember?" "Demyx!" I yelled, not wanting to admit that I actually forgot about my swimming problem. "Demyx!" "No time-" Axel muttered, and picked me up. "Those leopards are here." He picked me up and backed away, until we realized that they had cornered us to the side of the cliff we just fell out of. I closed my eyes. "You know we can kill them right now," I told him. "Wait for it.." Axel told me. "Wait for it.." I waited for it, until I was sure that 10 seconds had passed. I opened my eyes as I felt Axel stand up after he set me on the ground. Tarzan saved us! ...Where was he? All the leopards were dead.. "Who are you?" I heard Axel call out. "Kumei," A familiar voice replied. "Where are Sora, Donald, and Goofy? Because I'm confused as to why you would concern yourself with risking your life with two lollygagging idiots when you already have three." I jumped up in glee. "Big brother!"

As if on cue (and he was, I'm sure), he came out of the trees, holding a bloody sword... And a wet Demyx? Teehee. I never thought big brother swung that- "Get your mind out of the gutter," He interrupted my thinking. I grinned. "Yeah, yeah. What're you doing here, big brother?" "He's your brother?" Axel asked. "He saved me, pretty girl!" Demyx shouted. "I only call him that," I replied to Axel's question, and just smiled at Demyx. "I was in the neighbor- er.. I was in the world, anyway. Tarzan heard you and your friend here screaming your lungs out and was about to go out to save you, but I told him I'd go ahead and do it myself, because Sora, Donald, and Goofy don't scream like girls." "Hey!" Demyx pouted. "I do not scream like a- aaaahhhh!" Demyx screamed like a girl (hey, I resent that) as he saw the dead leopards for the first time. I ignored Demyx and smiled at big brother. "Well, thanks." "Well," Big brother mocked me, "You haven't answered my question yet. Where're Sora, Donald, and Goofy? I thought I told you not to lose sight of your light." "I didn't," I replied. "But they lost sight of theirs." "How?"

I pointed at Axel and Demyx. Big brother growled and was about to charge, but I stopped him. "They're not bad. It's not.. um.. entirely their fault." Big brother eased up and stared at Axel and Demyx. "Don't blame me!" Demyx said. "While that stuff was happening, I was-" "Baking cakes. In the kitchen." Axel interrupted. "Well.. Yeah.. But at least I have an alibi!" Big brother, Axel and I sighed. "Never mind," I muttered. "It's not important. I've got a friend working on a way to get their light back." "Cid?" Big brother asked. I shook my head. "No, it's a new friend. I think I can trust him. Just got this feeling.. Y'know?" Big brother Cloud shrugged. "I don't." I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, thanks again for helping out.. Also, I was wondering if you could keep seeing me and the guys a secret from everyone else?" Big brother narrowed his eyes at me. "You mean Leon and his gang." I smiled nervously. "Pretty much." He shrugged. "I guess. As long as these two promise me one thing." "What is it?" Demyx asked. "What?" Axel followed, still not appreciating being called a lollygagging idiot. Big brother sighed and looked at the two. "Don't get her into too much trouble. She's already in a lot on her own." "Hey!" I pouted. Axel chuckled, and he and big brother shook hands. "You've got yourself a deal."

I stretched my arms and yawned. "Sleepy again, sis?" Sora asked. He had forgotten all about his question earlier, it seems. I rubbed my eyes carefully. "No, but this make up is killing me. I can't even rub my eyes without it hurting!" We walked into the Hinterlands, and I paused to look at Jack, still in his Santa outfit. Before I could say anything, he waved at us and grinned. "Perfect timing, gentlemen! And lady, of course. Lend me a hand, won't you? These presents must belong to Sandy Claws. So I thought I'd better return them." I stared at him some more. "I thought we were already finished with the whole I-want-to-play-Santa phase?" "What, this? It's just a costume. And Sally worked so very hard making it!" "And you just happened to find the gifts?" Little brother asked, crossing his arms. "Of course, Sora." I chuckled as Jack bent down to poke Sora in the nose. "I'm finished with Christmas fantasies. You know that." I sighed. "Are you sure, Jack?" He nodded with a smile. "I'm sure! Now come on. We've got work to do!"

We followed Sir Skellington into Christmas Town, and entered his shop. I laughed and saluted him once more as we saw each other. "Ah, Kumei! What brings all of you here? Christmas isn't in a few months." I snapped, and Jack and the boys set the gifts on the table in front of Santa. "Oh!" He exclaimed. "Wherever did you find these?" "In Halloween Town," Jack answered. "You'll be needing them for Christmas, right, Sandy?" Sheesh. How many times do I have to say it? It's Santa, not Sandy. We're Disney, not Nickelodeon! Blargh. I hate Nickelodeon. "Of course," Santa nodded. "But these are just a few of the Christmas presents that were stolen." "Stolen!" The boys and I gasped on cue. We all turned to Jack. I didn't want to point fingers, but hey. Everyone was doing it. It only felt right to stare at him, too. Jack gasped. "Oh, Sandy. You don't think it was me?" "Still wearing the outfit, I see," Santa told him, looking at his suit. "I just thought I'd dress for the occasion!" "Listen, guys," I shook my head. "As much as I love all this witty wordplay, we've got presents to look for, seeing as Jack obviously didn't take them. So, if you don't mind, Santa, we're going to go look for 'em." Santa sighed, shaking his head as well. "Alright, I'll leave it to you." Jack nodded, and turned to us. "All right, guys! We're off!" Santa and I stifled our laughter as the boys slumped down. And anyway, it was my idea.

Before we could leave, though, there was a crash in the Toy Factory. I sighed. "We'll go check it out.." The boys nodded in agreement. Perfect! Right on cue. I looked to Jack. Why wasn't he nodding? Hmph. We entered the Toy Factory and I wasn't so surprised to see Lock, Shock, and Barrel going through the presents. "Nope!" Shock said, as Lock tossed a sailboat away. Barrel held a stuffed bear up. "This looks good.." "No!" Shock shook his head. "Boring.." Lock agreed. "This one?" Barrel held up another toy. "No way!" Lock shuddered. "Hey!" Donald yelled for their attention. Seems the brats finally noticed us. "So you three took 'em!" Little brother said, pointing at them accusingly. "Took what?" Shock asked. "You stole the presents, didn't you!" Jack said. "No.." Shock shook her head. "But it sounds really fun!" She turned to the other two, who nodded. "Run for it!" They yelled. I sighed. "Brats." I snapped, not bothering to turn my head. "Boys!" "Gotcha!" Sora nodded, and he, Donald, and Goofy trapped the brats in boxes. I tapped the boxes with my Keyblade, locking them to the ground. "Who sent you?" "What?" Shock yelled from the box. "Let us out!" "Where'd you put the presents?" I asked, hitting the boxes. "We didn't take them!" I hit them harder. "I said-" "Kumei!" Donald scolded. I looked at him, "What?" "Gawrsh, Kumei, don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" Goofy asked. I laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah.."

I let the brats go. "Why are you here?" I asked. "We're looking for parts for the experiment!" Shock replied. "Experiment?" Little brother asked. "Dr. Finkelstein's making us a friend!" Lock cheered. "One we get to boss around!" Barrel nodded. The boys and I looked at each other. "That doesn't sound very much like a friend.." "It's true the doctor's been hard at work making something lately.." Jack muttered. "Besides," Lock rolled his eyes. "Christmas presents are boring. Not scary or gross.. So what good are they?" "There's nothing fun here," Shock stated, looking around. "Let's go back to Halloween Town!" The other two nodded, and they left before I could lock their feet to the ground. I groaned, sitting down. "Is it just me, or has today been really tiring?" Jack and the boys looked at each other, shrugging. "Maybe you should rest in the gummi ship, sis." Sora told me. "Yeah!" Donald nodded. "Sora's right," Goofy agreed. "You sure you guys can handle it?" I asked. "Last time I left you guys alone to fight, little brother.. Got turned into a Heartless." Donald rolled his eyes, "Only because you left us! But this isn't such a big thing so we can handle it!" I looked to Goofy, Sora, and Jack. "Sure?" Donald groaned and nodded (I wasn't asking him!), "Yes, yes, now scram!"

I rubbed my eyes as I sat down on the couch, propping my feet up. "Today is just not my day.." I muttered. All of a sudden, the Twilight Keyblade seemed to summon itself as it appeared, then flew off into the control room. I sighed and entered the control room. The Twilight Keyblade reappeared in my hands, then pulled itself onto a few buttons in front of us. "What the-? Damn it, I can't dri-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!"

Oof! I held my head, as the Twilight Keyblade dragged me out of the gummi ship in the middle of the air and made me fall on the ground. The cold, hard ground. I stood up and looked around. Oh. I was in Hollow Bastion. "Hmph," I stuck my tongue out at my Keyblade. "If you think I'm apologizing to Leon, then you're wrong." Hmm.. Still, I have a feeling that that wasn't the reason why I was here.. Here meaning the Dark Depths in Hollow Bastion. I shuddered as I remembered seeing Xemnas here. "Ack!" I jumped, as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around. I 'ack'ed again. "It's you!" "What is Cloud doing?" Straight to the point, I see. I scoffed, "I don't know, you're the one stalking him around everywhere!" He narrowed his eyes at me. For an evil psychopath, he sure had good hair. If I ever had a son with such long hair, I'd make it as pretty as his. "Who are you?" He asked me. I gave him an incredulous look. "How do you not know me? I almost beat your ass to the ground last time! Well, I supposedly did, but you're still here, so I guess that's a false fact.." He held my chin up, making me look at him. "You look.. Terribly familiar." "Probably because I beat your ass to the ground once, remember?"

He didn't reply, since he took his masamune out and pointed it at me. "Who are you?" "You should know, because like I said, I beat your ass to the ground before!" Urgh. What was up with everyone's memories? He shrugged. It looked annoyingly like Axel's shrug. "Well.. That's an interesting sword you're carrying." I shrugged, too. "I guess I could say the same to you. Nice sword." "That's.. The Keyblade." I felt the need to groan, but stopped myself. "Oh, so you stalk everyone." "No," He replied. "I just know. I don't know why." "Ooh, Sephiroth's a psycho." I rolled my eyes. "Newsflash! Everybody knows that." Sephiroth smirked. It looked annoyingly like Axel's smirk. "Perhaps." I slapped my forehead. That wasn't on cue. "That was so uncalled for!" He gave me an odd look. It looked annoyingly like Axel's odd look. "Whatever," I frowned, jumping into a fighting stance. "You're here to fight, are you not? Then let's get to it." He chuckled. It reminded me of.. My chuckle. Freaky. "Maybe later," He told me. "Where's Cloud?" He was so.. Persistent. And to the point. Like Axel. Argh. "Oh, he's not here right now," I said, very annoyed. "But would you like to leave a message?" "Yes, in fact." Sephiroth nodded. Oh, God. I didn't know if I was supposed to burst into laughter or burst into tears. "Tell Cloud to come here. Tell him Sephiroth is looking to settle things." Meaning he's looking to get his ass kicked.

I ran into the Marketplace, looking for big brother Cloud. Thank God Yuffie and the others were (probably) at Ansem's castle. "Big brother!" I yelled, seeing him walking around by Dewey's shop. I grinned, giving myself a piggyback ride on his back. He chuckled softly, "Hey, Kumei." "What, looking for new clothes? I just got you those." He smiled and turned his head to look at me. "Did you need something? It's not like you to go running around now that those three are back." I sighed, getting off him. "Well.." "Yes?" "It's Sephiroth." Big brother's smile turned upside down. "What about him?" "He's waiting for you. At the Dark Depths." Big brother instinctly held his sword, then looked at me. "Did he hurt you?" I shook my head, "No.. He wanted to fight you." Big brother closed his eyes. "I see.. I guess it's time we settled this." He walked past me nonchalantly. I clenched my fist, taking a little shortcut to the bailey and to the Dark Depths. Sephiroth had his back turned to me. "Did you give him my message?" He asked. "Perhaps."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sephiroth."

Yes! On cue, baby. Big brother entered the Dark Depths. He looked at me with a surprised look, but turned to Sephiroth. They locked angry eyes. "Cloud.. You'll never let go of your memories." Big brother glared at Sephiroth, readying his sword. "Shut up!" Sephiroth came closer, holding his masamune up. "You'll never let go of your past." "I said, shut up!" Big brother ran at Sephiroth, who jumped and dodged the attack. They hit each other with their huge probably-compensating-for-something(s) swords in midair. Intense. Big brother backed off as Sephiroth tried to slash him. Big brother jumped against the huge rock (which could pretty much be a wall), Sephiroth following him. He cleaved his sword downward, trying to break Sephiroth's defense. Once big brother stopped, Sephiroth lunged to attack him, but failed as he dodged backwards. Sephiroth came in for a few more hits, which big brother blocked. Still, he's backed against a rock. Sephiroth sliced him with an uppercut, then pushed him down. Big brother spun and gained his footing before he fell flat on his face. Wow, I couldn't do that. They jumped and swung at each other, Sephiroth advancing. Big brother caught himself before he fell, and turned around just in time to block Sephiroth's attack. Wow. It's so tiring to say Sephiroth over and over again in my head. Anyway, their swords were locked together, as were their eyes. Brr, cold!

"Absurd," Sephiroth told big brother. "Defeating me is meaningless. You know that more than anyone, Cloud. No matter how many times I fall, your memories keep calling me back!" "No, Sephiroth!" Big brother and Sephiroth stopped, looking at me. I looked down. Eep! I was floating. And.. Glowing? "What..?" I held my throat. I know I was the one saying that.. But where did it come from? What was I saying? I looked at Sephiroth. "I won't let you bring big brother to the darkness!" "Kumei, just stay back!" Big brother shouted. "You can't," Sephiroth told me. "He'll never let go of his memories. Of his darkness." "He can. The darkness may be there, but the light will always find a way!" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at me. He almost looked exactly like Axel when he did that, except for the hair and the wing and the part where he didn't have any black marks under his eyes. "Is that right? Let's see what this light of yours can do." I gripped my Keyblade, as my feet reached the ground again and my voice seemed to go back to normal. "If you insist!" I lunged at him, but he jumped, dodging. I rolled left before he could slice his masamune down on me. I whirled to my right to punch him, but this stupid rock tripped me, and I was open for an attack. "Kumei!"

Big brother shouted, and pushed me out of the way before Sephiroth could barbecue me and blocked him with his sword. "You okay?" I nodded, getting up. I jumped and tried to stab Sephiroth from above, but yelling 'death from above' probably didn't help, as he dodged that attack, too. Jerk. I rolled to my left again before Sephiroth could even try to stab me again and got up. Damn, I was against a rock. Sephiroth lunged at me- I tried to block with my Keyblade, but he had gotten stronger because of big brother's memories, I suppose, and he pushed through to stab my left shoulder. I screamed in pain as he took his sword out. The last time we fought, the biggest wound he gave to me was slicing my arm. He was actually able to put that sword through me this time? I was getting weak. "Kumei!" Big brother yelled again. "Big brother," I tried to run to him, but he beat me to it. I held my shoulder as big brother helped me stand. "You've got to.. You've got to find your light and hold it close to you. Keep it with you. It'll keep you alive."

Big brother stared at my wound, and hugged me. "Little sister.. You are my light." "No!" Sephiroth frowned from behind big brother. He lunged at us. I squinted my eyes as big brother suddenly started glowing, and suddenly, my shoulder stopped hurting. I opened my eyes. Where were we? No. Where was I? I was alone. Big brother wasn't here. Sephiroth wasn't here. I stood up. This felt familiar. I looked at the walls around me. It was like a museum, with pictures and portraits on each space on each wall. Of course! Now I remembered. It was almost exactly like the dream I had before our world was eaten up. I mean, destroyed by the Heartless. The only difference was that the walls were colored silver and gold, and the pictures were of big brother. Rather, his life. My walls depicted my own life, and in the dream I had, the pictures were blurred and I could understand nothing before the first picture portraying Destiny Islands. Also, I had glass walls with water glimmering in them. Well, not that you care, so on with the story.

So this wasn't a dream.. We- well, I was in big brother's memories. I stared ahead. I could follow the walls to see if there was a door to get me out of this place, like in my old dream, and the door in that dream led me to Destiny Islands. To my world. Maybe if I looked hard enough, I could find the door to big brother's world? But his world was destroyed.. But we restored all the worlds when we defeated Xehanort, did we not? Or were some worlds just destroyed on their own, like that weird place, Earth? Then again, Hercules mentioned earth last time.. Maybe it was an expression or something? Weird. I shook myself out of my thoughts, and proceeded to look at big brother's memories. It would be rather rude, I guess, but hey. I've got nothing else to do. I stared at the first picture. Okay. Blur. I looked through most of the pictures, and I didn't get much, except that that slag Tifa was big brother's childhood friend or whatever, and how Aerith met big brother. I saw a few places like Midgar and Nibelheim, and this odd man named Rufus Shinra. I was about to turn left to see the next picture, when I looked up. Uh-oh. There were tons of paths with twists and turns to go through. Only one thing to do.. "Keyblade!" The Twilight Keyblade appeared in my right hand. I held it tight. "Help me out here, will you?"

I yelped as the Twilight Keyblade suddenly dragged me to the path northwest of the hallway I was currently in. I gasped as I realized the person who was in all the pictures, aside from big brother- Reno. When he first met big brother. I guess they weren't on the same side.. A few more pictures later and I realized that these pictures weren't all big brother's memories. There were pictures in which he was absent, and pictures where it was pretty obvious that big brother wasn't there. Was I walking down Reno's memory lane, too? I watched as Reno was on the phone with that slag Tifa, and chuckled when he was locked out of the room by big brother and Rufus Shinra, and when he accidentally elbowed that partner of his, Rude, in the face(or nose, I think). I think he stepped on his sunglasses, too. Funny, that Rude guy seemed to have tons of pairs in his suit. He also fought these guys named Loz and Yazoo with his partner, and they looked helluvalot like Sephiroth. I think everything worked out in the end, anyway, because the one of the next scenes included him, Rude, Rufus Shinra, and a blonde man with red clothes whose back was turned. He seemed to be leaving. Beside the blonde man was a dark brown haired woman, whose back was also turned (I think she was carrying something), and a little girl who also dark brown hair, but she had very familiar eyes.. She seemed to be waving goodbye to Rude, Reno, and Rufus Shinra, as the blonde man pulled her out of the room.

A few more funny pictures with him and Rude later, he was carrying that same girl on his back while he and Rude seemed to be running. My eyes widened at the next picture. Heartless? They were running from Heartless. Rude was carrying the brown haired woman from before in his arms. I still couldn't see her face. Reno was still carrying that girl. They were fighting Heartless. But how? This felt like it happened way before the Heartless took over our world. I could only stare at the picture depicting Reno's fall... I think he had a strong heart, but he was turned into a Heartless. I looked ahead, and there still seemed to be a long hallway of pictures for Reno. Would it show his life as a Heartless? I had to know. I had to look at the next- "WHOA!"

Twilight Keyblade - annoying. It yanked me backwards, back to the junction of hallways. It yanked me west, where I was supposed to originally turn, and I had to watch fast as it showed me how big brother supposedly defeated Sephiroth when said one-winged 'angel' replaced the form of a boy about my age now named Kadaj, and how big brother's world was destroyed. It also showed how he met Leon, made friends with him, and met me and the boys. How we fought him, how little brother invited him to fight with us, how he refused, how I gave him his nickname anyway, how he beat Leon's ass when Yuffie told him what happened (between us), how he continued to fight Sephiroth, how he met Axel and Demyx, how he would think of Reno for some reason afterwards, how he saw us again, how he kicked Leon's ass again after I left for Atlantica (wait a minute..), and how I jumped him in the Marketplace. My Keyblade let me down as I heard swords clashing. I looked up. "Big brother!" I gasped. There was a large hall, and he and Sephiroth were still at it. Big brother was losing. "I will not just be a memory. I will never be just a memory!" Sephiroth growled, and proceeded to stab big brother.

"Not today," I told him, blocking his attack. "Move." He replied, trying to get through my Keyblade. Not this time. "I don't want to kill you." I laughed, getting angrier. "Are you kidding? We've been at each other's throats since we met!" "Move," He said again. "No," I said. "No. If you can't kill me, then fight me!" Like I said (or thought, at least) by the Prince's Castle, I loved fighting him. And I'm going to kill him myself. Sephiroth frowned, but stood up. "Very well." "Kumei... No.." Big brother muttered, trying to get up. I threw a potion at him, but it would only give him enough energy to stay awake. "Like I just told this guy, no. I'm not backing down. Next to Aerith, I'm your light, right? And your light will keep you ailve. I'm going to keep you alive, big brother. If you can't keep the darkness at bay, I will!"

Sephiroth smirked(that Axel smirk), and lunged at me with some multi-slash combo which I barely blocked. He was open for an attack, so I dashed to him and landed an uppercut on him. I did an aerial combo on him while he was in the air, but he teleported before I could attack him with anything else. I landed, looking for him, but he kindly answered my question as he slid and tripped me. He flipped me over, but I rolled to my left before he could cleave his masamune down on me. I jumped up to meet his sword, which he was using to try to hack me. Don't want to kill me my ass. I blocked his attacks, only to notice at the last minute that I was cornered to a wall. I looked to my left and right. He could grab me from there. Okay.. time for a leap of faith. And I mean leap of faith. I jumped and stepped on his head, using it to get higher into the air. "Ha ha!" I laughed at him, but before I could land he turned around and slashed at my back. I hissed involuntarily at the pain, and turned to face him while I was down. "Cheater." He did the (Axel) shrug. "You set no rules."

I rolled my eyes and got up, despite the fact that my back was bleeding. Suddenly, these hugs balls of whatever popped up and I could barely see where I was going. I did see him lunging at me with his really, really sharp sword which could pierce me inside out, so I decided to take my chances with the glowing balls of whatever. He ran past me, and I was about to take the chance to stab him in the back(What? He slashed me first!) when he teleported again. "Why you little.." I growled. "You know, it's kind of unfair that you're using magic. I mean, not that I would need magic to actually beat you, but you know, it's just kind of unfair that you're using magic!" Sephiroth popped beside me. "Then use magic. This battle holds no restraints." "Aha, there you-" Damn. He teleported again, that little.. I mean huge.. Blargh. Never mind. He popped up at the other side of the open hall. "Descend.. Heartless Ang-" My eye twitched. "Thundaga!" I yelled, making him crash down before he could finish. He got up, jumping at me and muttering something. I slid to the right, meeting his sword again. "Holy crap, did you just say 'have at you now'?"

Sephiroth looked at me oddly before pushing his sword down. "Excuse me?" I scoffed, "Oh, now you have manners." We jumped away from each other, and while he stood still where he was, I lunged at him. Suddenly, pillars of fire rose from beside him, burning me and throwing me back. I stared at my charred hands. "You're going to pay for that.." I muttered. He grinned just like Axel, disappeared, glowed red (or was that purple?) and suddenly, meteors started coming from out of nowhere. I dodged them, but they were following me! "Ack!" I yelped and started running. I couldn't deflect those huge pieces of crap! I started running faster and only saw one solution out of this- I jumped and wrapped my arms around Sephiroth, surprising him, then whirled us around- the meteors hit him. Meatshield. Seems he couldn't withstand his own attack, as after all the meteors had come, he leaned on me for support. He dropped his masamune. "I will not.. Just be.." He winced in pain. "A memory.."

I set him down and laid his head on my thigh, almost pitying him. Was this all he lived for? So he wouldn't just be a memory? "You won't be," I told him. "I won't let you be." He squeezed his eyes shut, probably trying to block the pain out. "What...? What and why do you care?" I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I wouldn't want to be just a memory either.. So I promise you. You'll never just be a memory. You'll be Sephiroth. A great fighter. A formidable opponent. I promise, I won't think of you as just an old, rusted memory. Someday, I'll be able to bring you back to this world. And we won't be enemies; we won't be fighting against each other. I promise." He finally opened his eyes to look at me, and it was only then that I took the time to look at his pain-filled eyes. They were like Axel's. But with a little mix of.. "Really?" He asked, interrupting my thoughts. I nodded. "Yeah." He smiled.. His smile reminded me of my own. It was odd. Then, he started to disappear. "I'll see you soon," He told me, and closed his eyes. "Tell Cloud I apologize... For that Ancient.. And for everything." Once he was gone, a silver light floated where he used to be. It swirled around me, and my wounds were healed. "Remember your promise.." Sephiroth's voice said. "And thank you." The silver light entered my heart, just like Demyx's light had. I stood up and walked over to big brother, who had fainted(hehe) of exhaustion in the middle of the fight. Heh. Seems one potion wasn't enough.

I tried to hold big brother up, and as I did, the walls started fading away. Next thing I knew, we were at Merlin's. "Kumei!" Cid exclaimed as he saw me laying big brother on the bed. "How'd you get in here? What happened?" He asked. I sighed. "Long story short, big brother saw Sephiroth, tried to kill him, failed, I saved him." "I see," Cid replied, looking at me weirdly, but stopped as he looked to big brother. "He's stirring!" I exclaimed, and sat beside big brother on the bed as he opened his eyes. "Kumei..?" "That's my name. Actually, it's Hakumei, but either way, yeah." "What happened to Sephiroth..?" "He won't be bothering you anymore," I replied, smiling. "And you won't have to fear your memories any longer." I grinned, closing my eyes as big brother took it all in. "You did that?" He asked. I nodded. "Oh yeah." "You look pretty worn out, Kumei," Cid pointed out. "I actually went here to relax," I yawned. "But I never get what I want.." I heard Cid chuckle. "Well, I did see your gummi ship hanging around outside a while ago. Cloud, you better take her there. Little Miss Keyblade Master here needs her beauty sleep." My eyebrows creased, "I do not need beauty sleep! Just rest." Cid laughed, and to my surprise, so did big brother. I yelped as I felt big brother pick me up. "Hey, where're you taking me?" Big brother chuckled, as did Cid. I felt big brother kiss my forehead. "To the mothershiiiiiiiip. Now go to sleep, little sister. I'll be your light for now."

I rubbed my eyes and stretched myself as stretchy as I could. I was in the gummi ship? What? After ten minutes of deciding whether or not I was industrious enough to get up, I did. I walked to the control room to see spiky yellow hair driving my gummi ship. Well, Donald and Goofy's gummi ship, but they lost it to me on a bet in Wonderland once. So it's mine. "I see you're finally awake," Big brother said, and chuckled. "I could hear your snoring from the control room." I glared at him as I sat down beside him. "Is that a joke? Because you don't joke." He looked at me and smiled, "I do now." Wow. I didn't know defeating Sephiroth would make such a quick change in big brother. "So does Aerith know you're staying for good?" He grinned mischievously. "I'm planning on surprising her later." "You know, Cid could always tell her." "Yeah, Cid could always tell her and never be able to make children." I laughed, imagining Cid's reaction when big brother threatened him. "So.. Now that Sephiroth is gone.. What're you going to do?" Big brother shrugged. "I don't know. I'll start with bringing you back to Halloween Town, then I'll go back to Hollow Bastion. Help Leon out with its restoration, you know? Besides, that story of the royal family Aerith told me about once is pretty interesting."

Oh yeah, the royal family! I forgot I was looking for them. "Cool," I nodded, then remembered Leon. "And we've still got to talk about that fetish of yours." Big brother looked at me oddly. "Fetish..?" "Yeah, beating Leon up." Big brother grinned, then scoffed. "Please. It's not a fetish. Not only does it give me experience, it also gives me a chance to take revenge on him for.. You know." I smiled. "Yeah, but I've been over that for a long time." Big brother grinned mischievously again. "Don't tell me you fell in love with that red haired guy. Heh, reminds me of Reno." I perked up at Reno's name, choosing to ignore his teasing. "Reno? What happened to him?" Big brother frowned, and shook his head. "While Rufus Shinra and the Turks were destroyed, he and his partner were nowhere to be found. We tried to look for them, but they were just.. gone." I nodded. So that's all he really knew about what happened to Reno. "Anyway," Big brother said, changing back to his all-of-a-sudden-creepy-and-cheerful personality which reminded me of Zack, "We're here!"

After saying goodbye to big brother, he was whisked away to Hollow Bastion by Cid, who had actually followed since big brother would leave my gummi ship here. I was standing in the Christmas Tree Plaza, when I saw a huge gift box surrounded by many more little gift boxes! I was about to go open it, but I heard sounds from inside.. "Stop kicking!" Was that Donald? "It's not me, Donald!" little brother yelled back. "Patience, friends," Jack's voice came. I resisted the urge to burst out laughing, as it was my cue, but I wanted to see what would happen. "Shh!" Hushed Goofy. "I said cut it out!" Donald yelled again. "Gawrsh, was that you?" Goofy asked. "How come we have to be the bait?" Sora complained. "Good plan, eh?" Was Jack Skellington really that thick? "Ouch!" Donald yelped. I stopped trying to stop my giggles, as they had actually stopped wanting to come out. I looked up and saw this weird robot thing which was walking towards the presents. Was that.. Dr. Finkelstein's experiments? Looked like something he would make. Just as it was going to get the huge gift box, Jack and the boys popped out of it. "Gotcha!"

I jumped back to avoid being seen. "Huh?" Jack looked at the experiment, confused. "Doctor Finkelstein's experiment did it!" Jack exclaimed. Revealed, the experiment lunged at Jack and the boys, who defeated it with ease. See? I didn't need to help out. I stepped out of my hiding place. "Wow!" I said, as the boys noticed me. "You guys are good." "Sis!" Sora ran and hugged me. "Where've you been?" "Well, I was supposedly in the gummi ship where you sent me, but I ended up fighting Sephiroth in Hollow Bastion." "Really? Did he hurt you?" Donald asked. "Yeah, are you okay?" Goofy agreed. I nodded, "I'm fine, but it would be better if you guys were there. Easier, actually. Not only that, but ever since Sephiroth's defeat, big brother's actually lightened up!" "Wow," Little brother said, amazed. "Never thought that would happen." Kumei! You're back." Jack said. Late reaction, thank you. "The mystery is solved!" Jack then exclaimed. So not on cue. Then, on cue, Santa flew in with his sleigh. "Did you catch the thief?" He asked. "Naturally!"

Sora frowned. "I just can't figure out why the doctor's experiment would go around stealing Christmas presents." "His experiment?" Santa asked. "The thief!" Jack nodded. "It was a moving puppet made by Doctor Finkelstein." Santa walked up to the broken experiment. "Hmm.. The doctor's made a moving puppet? I see.. He is always tinkering with things. Now listen, Jack. I'd like to thank you, and while delivering presents is something only I can do, I can give you an idea of what it's like." Jack gasped, "Sandy Claws?" Ew. The only yaoi pairing I don't mind is little brother X prettyboy, thank you. Jack happily leapt into the sleigh. "Yes," Santa nodded to himself. "All that poor puppet wanted was a heart." "Well, off you go," I said, pushing St. Nicholas back into his sleigh. "We'll see you later, 'kay?" Santa nodded, and Jack was too ecstatic to notice us. Always ditching us. Tsk tsk tsk. "Aw.." Little brother sighed sadly. "We're not even home for Christmas." I laughed, "It's not Christmas in our world yet. I've seen Santa's calendar and Christmas occurs on different times in a few worlds, like Wonderland." "Oh.." Sora sighed in relief. "Then we need to be home by Christmas!"

After statements of the obvious courtesy of Sora, we went back to Halloween Town. "Interesting!" Dr. Finkelstein exclaimed. "So the experiment wasn't stolen after all! It ran away on its own! In other words, my experiment was an overwhelming success!" Sora nodded. "Santa Claus thinks maybe it left because it was trying to find a heart." "Hmm," Dr. Finkelstein had a thinking face on. "That's quite possible. Unlike my Sally, it wasn't equipped with a heart." The doctor spun his wheelchair around and took off before I could say anything. Blargh. "But if it wanted a heart.. "Little brother said, "Why was it going around stealing all those presents?" "Maybe because.. Presents are a way to give your heart to someone special," Sally's voice came. "Sally!" I greeted happily. Finally, a girl. "Hmm.." Sora nodded. "When you put it that way, I feel sort of bad for it." Me too. I wish everyone had a heart. Before I could think of Axel(oops, too late), I heard the sound of ringing bells. Whoa. Jack just fell out of the sky. I might hafta go Chicken Little on everyone now.

I laughed as Santa waved at us, greeting, "Happy Halloween!" "Happy Halloween!" I shouted back, and he rode off. I turned to everyone as it started to snow. Sally smiled. "What a nice present." I nodded in agreement. "I don't understand," Jack said, shaking his head. "There's no box! No ribbon tied in a bow!" "Jack," Little brother explained, "It's not about the box or the ribbons. It's about what's inside of the box!" No, I don't think that was it, either.. "No, Sora. What really counts - what's really special - is the act of giving the gift. To wish deep in your heart to make someone else happy." Thank you, Sally! "Right.." Jack and Sora nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Sally. You're absolutely right. Wait! What's this?" I think you're overreacting again, Jack. "I feel so strange.. So very happy!" Were we in some broadway show I was totally unaware about? "Jack, that must be Sally's present!" Goofy told him. "Really?" Jack asked. "This wonderful feeling?" He took Sally's hands in his. "Oh, Sally! You've given me the nicest present in the world! And I've nothing to give you in return. What would you like? Just name it. Absolutely anything." Sally looked down, then back to Jack. "The nicest present I could ever ask for, Jack, is just to be with you." I giggled as little brother scratched his head in embarrassment, and Donald and Goofy covered their eyes. Jack smiled at her. "You don't even have to ask for that." This was it. This was my cue! "Cheeeeeeesy!" I yelled, and pushed the two of them together. "Go! Run away together or something! You have my blessing!" Broadway show was right. The two smiled at us, and Jack picked Sally up. They danced around the Town Square. "Maybe I never gave her a real present after all.." Little brother muttered. "Who?" Donald asked. I think it was pretty obvious.. But what about prettyboy? Who was thinking about prettyboy? I think it was unfair to just be thinking of a princess of the Heart. "Aw," Goofy laughed, "I bet Kairi would like most anything you'd give her." "I know," Sora sighed again. "That's what made it so hard to decide." "It's not the gift, it's what's in your heart!" Donald yelled. "Yeah, it's the thought that counts, remember?" I told him, and pointed to his heart. I laughed inwardly as I remembered the time when prettyboy gave Sora blueberry muffins for his birthday once, and was totally unaware that little brother was allergic to them. "It's the thought that counts!" I had told him. Heh, that was funny. I made sure prettboy got told off by his mother all week. I was so evil.

Um.. Fine. Am. Shut up.

"My heart.." Little brother repeated, holding his hand over his chest. "You bet, Kairi's like Sally!" Donald nodded. "How?" Sora asked. "Well, as long as she can be with you, what else does she need?" Goofy answered. I frowned inwardly. It was unfair.. So unfair to prettyboy. I think he deserved little brother more than any princess of the Heart did. "Okay, time to go, guys." I said, and Donald and Goofy nodded. "Little brother?" I waved my hands in his face. "Little brother!" Sheesh, don't make me go Mulan on you. "Huh? Oh, yeah.." I laughed, dragging the boys back to the mothershiiiiip after bidding Jack and Sally good luck and good bye. "Well.. Where we off to now?" I asked the boys. "How about the Pride Lands?" Donald suggested. I shrugged. "Oh-kay." "Hey! I'm driving!" Donald yelled, before I could get on the chair. "Hmph, fine.." I muttered, then grinned mischievously. "I'll get my revenge on you later! Did you know that lionesses love little birds who use magic?"

"Zutto mae ni suki datta hito.."

"Kumei?" Axel looked at me. "What're you singing?"

"Hm? It's nothing. It's this song my mother used to sing all the time."

"It sounds like a sad song, pretty girl.."

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Here's the update! I am so sorry again because it took so long. Review if you liked it, please!