Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Sora, Kairi, Riku, etc. (Why do I always have to say this?)

Author's Note: Guess what? I have great news! We all know this story has been going on for…well…let me check my watch…ever, so I am glad to say next chapter is the last chapter! (Applause)

Warning: Er…um…yeah…Oh, just keep reading, I have nothing this time! (Cranky stare)

Quick Author Babble: Losing brain…from writing this much…

Chapter 26: Kiss On the Cheek

It was quiet and dark—so quiet and dark it might've unnerved some people. But not Sora. No, he was quite at peace with himself. He'd gotten the scholarship. He'd been nervous at first, but he'd done well. As soon as he saw his friends he would tell them and they would be happy and hopefully proud. Sora couldn't wait to go to Bizarre University, the best university in this region of the universe.

There was only one thing on his mind—the sweet redhead. Or should he say two redheads?

It could've been the best day of his life, he was sure. But when he saw them, it plummeted downwards, faster than a speeding rocket.

And as he winced angrily in his sleep as an image of Axel appeared in his mind, a noise woke him up—a sob. Sad, hopeless, and lost, it seemed small, yet familiar.

Slowly, Sora's eyes opened. He blinked as the light and brightness of the white room all hit his eyes at once. As soon as the rainbow-coloured dots disappeared, he admonished his surroundings—a white hospital room with a single, shining window, sunshine leaking through it, a fruit basket from his mother, a white door, white sheets, white pillows, white, white, white.

And then, there was red.

For a second, Sora was the tiniest bit frightened that it was blood, but the next moment he realized it was hair, that was connected to a head, that was connected to a body, that was shaking miserably as it cried.

Sora was confused. How did Kairi know he was here, and why was she crying?

This came as such a shock to him that for a moment, he couldn't move. Then, finally, realization came back to him.

"Kairi?" he asked, the name coming out awkwardly as he reached out to touch her arm.

The girl looked up, face tearstained, violet eyes wide. Sora smiled reassuringly—or, at least, tried to—as she stared at him, agape.

Suddenly, Kairi tackled him, knocking the wind out him, wrapping her arms around him so tight he could barely breathe.

"Sora, thank God…" she whispered.

Sora patted her awkwardly on the back, laughing a little oddly.

"Are you okay, Kairi?" he asked slowly, as if talking to an insane person.

Kairi pulled away and smile.

"I'm great," she said, wiping away tears and laughing a little as well.

Sora was about to ask what was wrong—he'd just come to have a quick checkup with Dr. Ryan on his broken arm—when the door to the room opened and Dr. Ryan came in, red curls sticking up oddly on his head, amethyst eyes twinkling rather tiredly, a bright, toothy smile on his face.

"Hello, Sora, Kairi!" he chirped. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything…"

"Uh…" Sora stuttered, with a sideways glance to Kairi, "I guess not…"

"Good, good!" Dr. Ryan said. "Sorry I couldn't get to you earlier, Sora, lots of patients since the train crash. It has been insane around here lately. Honestly, I can't rest for a second!"

"Er…Dr. Ryan…" Kairi said slowly, as Dr. Ryan crossed the room over to Sora's bedside to examine his arm.

"Yes?" Dr. Ryan replied, removing Sora's cast and examining the possible scratches or dents that could've appeared on Sora's arm.

"Isn't Sora…supposed to be…you know…?" Kairi asked slowly.

Sora and Dr. Ryan looked at Kairi then looked at each other.

"Didn't you see the news?!" Kairi cried, stunned.

"Oh, sorry, Kairi, it's been too busy around here for me to watch TV," Dr. Ryan said. "I've been taking the late shifts too. Why, what was on it?"

"Well, the news lady…" Kairi stuttered awkwardly. "S-She said…"

Both Sora and Dr. Ryan leaned in, apparently forgetting the broken arm.

"She said Sora died in the train crash!" Kairi cried.

"What?!" shouted Sora.

"That's preposterous!" Dr. Ryan exclaimed. "Sora is very much alive!"

"Well, I can see that!" Kairi shouted, irritated. "Her exact words were, 'Let's all send our hearts out to Sora Roma, a good student, friend, and child, who died this afternoon.'"

"That's odd…" Dr. Ryan murmured thoughtfully. "Oh, wait a second!"

Both teenagers looked at him quizzically.

"There was one person who died…it was a teenager too…" he said, his voice dropping a little sorrowfully. "But it was a girl. Her name was Sara Roman, I believe…"

"That's it!" Kairi cried. "They must've mixed up the names! They never mentioned the gender on the TV!"

She threw her arms around Sora again, this time beaming. Sora winced a little because of his sore arm.

"I'm so happy," she said with a smile. "So, so happy…"

"I'll leave you two alone for a while," Dr. Ryan said, still smiling brightly, and with that, he left the room.

"""

"Sora!" squealed Yuffie excitedly, jumping up characteristically and pulling Sora into a tight hug as soon as she opened the door.

"Hi, Yuffie," Sora said, smiling wanly, quite sore from Kairi's previous hug.

"Don't 'hi, Yuffie' me!" shouted Yuffie, poking Sora roughly in the stomach. "I thought you were supposed to be dead!"

She looked over his shoulder to look at Kairi.

"He was supposed to be dead, right?" she asked.

"Funny thing, actually…" Kairi began.

"I don't want to hear it!" Yuffie fumed, stomping her foot on the ground. "I was worried sick for the past two days, thinking, 'Sora's dead! Oh my God! I lost Spiky!' And here he is, randomly showing up 0n my door, looking as alive as ever! What do you expect me to say?!"

"So…you're disappointed that I'm not dead?"Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I never said that…" Yuffie said, blushing slightly. "I'm just surprised, is all. Everyone thought you had died, I mean—where did you come from, anyway?!"

Yuffie looked absolutely furious and shocked.

"I mean, how am I supposed to know that he isn't a zombie that came back to life and wants to eat my brains?" Yuffie asked sharply.

"Trust me, I'm not a zombie, Yuff," Sora said dryly.

"Like I can trust a zombie!" snapped Yuffie.

Sora and Kairi exchanged looks and looked at Yuffie. In a few seconds, she burst out laughing.

"Kidding!" she giggled. "Now tell me what's going on, before I kick you out of my house."

She seemed serious. Kairi explained very quickly what happened, about Sara Roman, the name mix-up, and how it was all a big mistake that Sora was declared dead.

"Why didn't you talk to us when you came back?" Yuffie asked, sounding a tiny bit hurt.

"I had a broken arm, and my mom insisted that I stayed home for at least a day," Sora explained. "Then I had an appointment with Dr. Ryan the next day. It was all a big misunderstanding."

Yuffie breathed out and smiled brightly at them.

"Good," she said firmly. "Wouldn't want my spikiest-haired friend to be dead, would I? Let's go eat some cookies from the kitchen!"

She turned and began walking towards the kitchen. Sora turned to face Kairi.

"Is my hair really that spiky?" he asked, touching one of his brown spikes self-consciously.

"Mm…we'll work on it," Kairi said with a slight giggle and followed Yuffie into the kitchen.

Sora touched his spikes one more time before running after her.

"""

"This is bizarre," Yuffie said, taking another cookie and stuffing it into her mouth, frowning thoughtfully. "It feels weird having Sora back here, especially after the assumption he was dead. It feels like…I'm in the presence of a spirit…woooohhhh…"

She raised her arms and wiggled her fingers.

"I'm not dead, and never was dead," Sora said. "How many times do we have to go through this?

"Until I can contemplate it," Yuffie replied casually.

"That will take forever," Sora said, rolling his eyes.

"Sora!"

Yuffie punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" Sora cried, rubbing his sore arm.

"Serves you right," Yuffie muttered.

Suddenly Goofy ran into the kitchen. His eyes widened as he looked at Sora.

"You're really late for playing with me!" he said, glaring at Sora accusingly.

"Sorry, champ," Sora apologized. "I was…uh…"

But he never found out what he was going to tell Goofy he was doing, because Yuffie quickly interrupted.

"He was busy, Goofy," she said. "He doesn't need to spend every second of the day with you, you know!"

Goofy stuck out his tongue at Yuffie and ran out of the kitchen.

"You didn't have to yell at him like that…" Sora murmured, sounding rather guilty.

"Yeah, well, that kid never knows the right time to say any—" Yuffie began, when she stopped suddenly and looked up.

"What is it, Yuffie?" Kairi asked.

"Oh…um…nothing," Yuffie said quickly. "Sora, can I talk to you for a second? In the living room?"

Sora, bewildered, nodded and stood up. Yuffie grabbed his wrist and pulled him roughly after her into the living room.

"When are you going to tell her?" she hissed under her breath.

"Tell who what?" Sora asked dully, when he came into realization to what Yuffie was saying. "Oh…NEVER!"

"You've got to; I'll die if you don't!" Yuffie cried. "Don't you realize how she was when you fake died?"

"She's with Axel," Sora said grudgingly.

"I don't care if she's with the King of the Universe!" Yuffie snapped, poking him in the chest. "You're telling her, and that's that! Don't make me hurt you!"

She stormed out of the living room with an air of superiority. Sora stood there, shocked.

"If you don't tell her, I will…" Yuffie said slowly, poking her head back into the room.

"You wouldn't dare!" Sora hissed.

Yuffie shrugged and disappeared.

"Hey, Kairi, guess what?" Sora heard Yuffie say very loudly in the kitchen.

In a second, Sora was beside Yuffie.

"Sora l—mmph!" cried Yuffie, as Sora clamped his hand over her mouth.

Kairi gave him a confused look.

"Did I mention…I liked mozzarella cheese?" Sora asked quickly, thinking of a lie.

"Uh…no…" Kairi said slowly.

"Oh, well, I do," Sora stated quickly. "Right, Yuffie?"

Yuffie gave him a hard glare and nodded.

"Uh…great?" Kairi said, bewildered.

Sora laughed nervously and dragged Yuffie back into the living room.

"Fine, I'll tell her!" he hissed angrily.

"When?" snapped Yuffie. "I'm getting really impatient, Sora!"

"I don't know…sometime!"

Yuffie glared at him.

"When the time is right," Sora said, lowering his voice.

"Oh, please, Sora, the time is never right for you!" Yuffie yelled. "You've had so many opportunities and taken none of them! I swear, I promise you with all my soul, if you don't tell her, I will."

Sora gulped, because now, he knew she wasn't lying.

"""

"Well, today was fun, Yuffie!" Kairi chirped, smiling at her.

"Yep, especially since our spiky-headed friend came back from the dead!" Yuffie giggled.

"Alright, enough with my hair!" whined Sora, once again grabbing one of his chocolate spikes self-consciously.

Kairi and Yuffie looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Well, I've got to get home for dinner," Kairi said.

"Yeah, you guys better leave before my mom comes back home," Yuffie stated.

"Um…just a second," Sora remarked. "I've got to say goodbye to someone."

Yuffie threw him a confused look as he walked upstairs. Sora turned down the upper hallway into a bedroom, where a little boy sat drawing rather angrily on his sketchpad.

"Hi, Goofy," Sora said.

"I thought you were too busy to talk to me," Goofy snapped heatedly.

"Now, come on," Sora said, laughing slightly as he sat down next to Goofy. "You can't really tell me you believe everything your older sister says, can you?"

"Well, you didn't show up when you promised, did you?" Goofy snapped.

"That's only because my train was…er…late," Sora replied. "You don't really believe I'd abandon you because I was busy?"

Goofy looked at his sketchpad most determinedly.

"Do you?" Sora asked.

"Yes!" Goofy shouted.

Sora gave him a knowing stare.

"Well…no…" Goofy admitted, looking downward.

"Listen, I'll play with you tomorrow evening, after school, okay?" Sora said almost pleadingly.

Goofy looked at him.

"You promise you'll be there?" he said.

"I swear and promise," Sora stated.

Goofy paused, as if to think about it, and then looked at him.

"Okay."

"Great!" Sora said, patting him on the head. "I knew you'd come around, Goofy. See you tomorrow."

He walked out of the room with a smile on his face and nearly walked into Kairi.

"Oh, hey, Kairi…" Sora stated, turning slightly red.

"I was just waiting for you so we could walk home together," Kairi said.

"Yeah, of course," Sora remarked. "Together. Home. Walk."

"I heard you talking to Goofy," Kairi said. "That was really nice of you."

"Yeah, well, you know…" Sora stuttered awkwardly, trying to think of a reason.

Kairi stood on the tips of her toes to get up to Sora's height and kissed him on the cheek.

"I thought it was sweet," she said simply, as if that was the whole explanation for her actions.

Sora's whole face was bright red. He could feel heat going through his entire body. His hand automatically went to his cheek.

"I…have to go to the washroom," he said.

"Okay," Kairi remarked cheerfully. "I'll meet you downstairs."

With that, she disappeared down the hallway. Sora walked into the washroom, slammed the door behind him, and fell to his knees.

"YES!!!" he shouted. "WOO HOO!!!"

He did a cartwheel and fell to the floor, panting, smiling like a crazy person.

He had to remind himself it wasn't even anything that serious—it didn't mean Kairi liked him and she was still with Axel. But he was still happy. He did have a right to his happiness, after all.

Sora opened left the bathroom and walked down the stairs, where Kairi, as promised, was waiting by the door with Yuffie.

"Hi, Sora!" chirped Kairi.

"H-Hi," Sora said, vaguely aware that his face was bright red.

He tripped over the last step and fell to the floor, face-first.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Kairi, running over to him and helping him up. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about him, Kairi," Yuffie said, casually leaning against the wall. "He obviously wants to kill himself again."

"Shut up, Yuffie," Sora remarked.

"Be nice," Kairi said.

"Yeah!" shouted Yuffie.

"I was talking to you, Yuffie."

"Oh."

Sora and Kairi walked over to the door and opened it.

"Bye, Yuffie!" Kairi said, walking out the door.

"See you tomorrow!" Yuffie cried, waving.

Sora stopped halfway out the door.

"She kissed me on the cheek!" he whispered excitedly.

Yuffie squealed so loudly Sora nearly grew deaf.

"So you told her?" she asked.

"Well…uh…"

"Well?"

Yuffie gave him a hard glare.

"No, but…" Sora began.

"Sora!" shouted Yuffie, hitting him in the arm.

"Ow!" Sora shouted.

"You're telling her soon, Sora Roma!" Yuffie shouted. "I swear, I will KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T!!!"

Sora opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Come on, Sora!" Kairi called.

"Bye," Sora mumbled, walking out of the driveway.

He just promised he was going to tell Kairi Ire that he was madly in love with her.

Interesting comments/reviews answers:

Yes, Sora's not dead. I don't know why I'm saying this, because you MUST have noticed…hopefully.

Yes, I defeated Defender X, and I'm now on Mt. Gagazet, worried about defeating Seymour! YAY!

Axel will return next chapter! (Final chapter! YAYYY!!!)

Riku is slightly raising his status. SLIGHTLY.

I am so, so, SO sorry that I'm not updating faster. Writing's getting harder as it's nearing the end.

Sheesh…I can't believe I'm STILL getting Sora-killer reviews. I thought I cleared that up last time!

Laughing is okay!

Kairi's indeed very grown up!

To Muffin: That's so cool that you're making a dedication fic! That's awesome!

That sucks, killing Sora, and what am I saying? I am now officially considered the Sora-killer, when I should be called the…the…Sora-rebirther…or something.

I have never beaten Sephiroth. Ever. Not in Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts, or…um…something else that would have Sephiroth in it, so I wouldn't depend on me for advice.

No, Defender X is in the Calm Lands, I think…somewhere at the end anyway.

Well, I'll look for Final Fantasy VII.

Okay, well, thanks for all the reviews, I am very happy!

Read and review!