A/N: When you wish upon an edited chapter…

Nothing really happens.

Why would you do that?

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

The store was packed. But then again, at this time of year, it seemed like every store in town was filled to the brim. Kairi, and Yuffie stood near the front of the line by now, having stood in line for a good twenty minutes now, it seemed. Yuffie blew out her cheeks, looking around at the Christmas decorations and toys that stretched from wall to wall, and floor to ceiling. To pass the time, the girl had been keeping count of how many wet-nosed kids had erupted into a temper tantrum over being refused a toy or candy. She was up to twelve so far. And by the looks of everything, she'd better be prepared to count higher.

"So can we make sure what we have everything?" Kairi prompted, turning around to look at Yuffie with a raised eyebrow. "I really don't want to get up there and then realize we're missing half of what we needed." Yuffie blinked, seeing sense in the idea. Reaching into her back pocket, ready to whip out her list and look it over. She was pretty sure that they'd handled everything, but she might as well double-check. There wasn't any harm in being secure, at least.

But to Yuffie's surprise, as she was rooting around in her pocket, she came up with a sudden vibration instead. Her phone went off in a loud buzz, and she perked as she realized that someone was trying to call her. Sorting through her priorities, the girl turned and changed tactics to wriggle her phone out from her pocket instead. Kairi blinked, seeming a tad frustrated as she jostled the load of new items she was holding. But Yuffie jus raised an index finger to signal that she would be quick, clearing her throat and calling out a greeting as she raised the mobile up to her ear. The black-haired girl waited a moment, yet as she did, a confused look slowly crawled over her face. "…What?" She seemed puzzled, managing to look completely lost.

Kairi started to ask what was going on. But before she could, Yuffie gave a loud groan, shaking her head and giving her index finger to the redhead a second time. "Hang on a minute, Aerith it's too noisy I can't hear a thing you're saying." Bringing her phone away from her face, she looked at Kairi apologetically. "I gotta go outside, otherwise I'll probably end up deaf." Kairi would have given her a thumb's up, but she was kind of preoccupied. So instead she just gave a nod and a small smile. Yuffie spun around quickly, weaving through the maze of people in her pursuit to the door. Her voice drifted over to Kairi a moment more before it was lost to the crowd entirely. "Start over. He did what?"

Blowing out a huff of air, Kairi turned her attention back front, a frown creasing over her face as yet another sense of impatience surged through her. The line moved ahead a little bit, and Kairi inched along behind the person in front of her. She hoped the line would at least stay still until Yuffie got back. Yuffie had the list to make sure they had everything, andshe had the munny too. It wasn't like she had any sort of way to pay for any of this. Kairi just came along because the ninja wouldn't let her keep staying cooped up inside all day. Which she guessed was okay. She certainly didn't feel as stifled as she did sometimes when she stayed inside.

But it wasn't like she would just forget everything and occupy herself with shopping instead. Usually the redhead liked shopping— she and Selphie would routinely go out during the weekends and waste munny on the most trivial of things. But that was much different. Now she couldn't get Sora out of her mind. Was he still sleeping? Was he in pain? Would he be alright? She shook herself, trying to rub away her worries as best she could. Of course he could be alright. Why wouldn't he be? He'd been fine for the past few days. Why should that change now?

Yet her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as something collided hard into her leg.

Immediately Kairi jumped, turning around and looking over her shoulder. Yet her irritated look was quickly replaced with a more sympathetic one as she realized what had bumped into her. A little boy jumped, his eyes flying open as he looked up at her with astonishment. "Jeez!" He seemed thoroughly embarrassed, and he bounced from foot to foot anxiously. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to knock into you! I just can't find my mom in here; I think I'm lost!" He turned in a full circle as he spoke, his eyes roving the much-taller people towering over him. Kairi frowned. "It's just that…I think my mom might have left me all alone and now—" He broke off, his hands wringing together in front of him as he looked pleadingly up at Kairi.

A pang of sympathy quickly won the redhead over. She gave the little boy a smile, setting her things to the side and crouching down to be eyelevel with the child. "It'll be alright." Her voice was bright and bubbly as she tried to reassure the little boy. "We'll find your mom; it'll be easy." She glanced up, leaning over to look over at the line in front of her. But the cashier seemed to have gotten sidetracked— he was in the middle of what looked like a nasty fight with an old woman over some coupons. Would she have time to try and help find the kid's mom? She figured she might as well try. "What's your name?" She prompted, looking back down at the little child.

"Akira," he mumbled, reaching up and wiping his eyes roughly. "Could you really find my mom?" He sounded as if he didn't believe her. But before Kairi could try and reassure him, he added in a rush: "My friend is here with us. She might be lost too, we gotta find her. …What's your name? My mom says not to go with strangers."

Kairi figured that that rule had already been tossed out the window. But she merely smiled, tipping her head to the side. Though her heart was slowly beginning to ache. This kid reminded her of somebody. Not in physical appearance— he had black hair and green eyes. But with personality…he was reminding her of… "I'm Kairi." She offered him a small grin with this.

Akira hesitated a moment before returning the smile. "Well then, I guess we're not strangers anymore," he said, his voice lightening somewhat with the conclusion. Kairi giggled, watching as the kid became serious once more, turning around and narrowing his eyes. "So…where do you think my mom could be?" He sounded like Sherlock, trying to sort through some kind of impossible case. Kairi stood up, turning and trying to see whether or not she could catch sight of a frantic mom or anything like that. Someone poked her in the back and cleared their throat, turning her attention front again. And the girl jumped guiltily as she realized that the line had shot up and she hadn't followed them. Gathering her things again and grabbing hold of the kid's hand, she pulled forward until she was level with the line once more.

"What does she look like?" Kairi asked, getting on her toes and peering around the store. It was certainly packed with people. It was like trying to play a Where's Waldo game. But Akira didn't seem to hear her. He just turned and looked back and forth, hopping from one foot to the other. He seemed utterly lost, and Kairi couldn't help remembering when she had felt the same way, back when she had first washed up on the beach when she was little. The memory made her wince, but then the edges of her lips turned up in a small smile. That was back when she had found Sora…well, it was more like Sora had found her. But nevertheless, she had found Sora, and Akira seemed to have found her.

"Hey!" Kairi jumped yet again, cursing herself for becoming distracted. She turned around and gave a sigh of relief as she caught sight of Yuffie looping her way over to them. And when she finally came to a stop, her eyes landed on Akira. Akira blinked and held tighter to Kairi's hand – she hadn't realized she was still holding his – and Yuffie's face clouded over in confusion. The ninja opened her mouth to say something, and Kairi hoped that it would be about what she had been talking over on the phone. The curiosity was starting to bite at her. But the dark-haired girl only pointed down at Akira, her forehead creased. "Okay, I know I left to answer the phone…but I know I didn't take that long."

Kairi scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He's not mine." Yuffie feigned dramatic shock at the reply. "He's lost and he doesn't know where his mom is. I was hoping that we could help him find her." The little boy glanced up at her as she explained the situation, eyes shaded with a slight regret at the fact that the two girls had to drop everything in order to help him. In response, the redhead shook her head, flashing him a warm smile. It was no problem. Yuffie didn't even mind— she just gave a nod and stuck her hands into her pockets.

"Should've known that I couldn't leave you to your own devices," Yuffie teased, giving a small wave to the kid. But she looked back up at Kairi a grinned. "Okay then, you can handle him. I'll stick around here." She gestured to her phone before she turned and pocketed it. "That was Riku that just called; they just gave me a cra-" Glancing down at the boy, she backtracked hurriedly. "A lot of new things to go and buy. They don't think we're buying enough as much as we should."

Kairi's forehead creased. "What?"

"I don't know. Apparently it was Axel's idea." Perking up, Yuffie turned, a smile coming over her face. "Finally! We're next. You'd better find his mom quick, then, alright?" Turning over to Akira, she added, almost as an after-thought. "And don't worry, kid, Kairi will be able to find your mom. She had a sort of knack for these things." Kairi smile vanished at this, a small frown on her face. Akira blinked, catching the sudden change of mood. "And if she can't do it, then I'll come back and help you two out, okay?" When neither of the two answered, she shrugged, turning around and walking up to the register.

Kairi stood still a moment before she shook herself out of her mental reverie, turning and pulling Akira along gently. "Alright then." She turned and surveyed the store for yet another time. It was apparent that it was crowded, but it was good that this was one of the bigger stores around here. It was made to fit a lot of people like this, so it wasn't tooimpossible to pick people out of a crowd. "Where were you when you last saw your mom? We can start looking there I guess."

But Akira was thinking of something else, his eyes puzzled. "What's the matter?"

Kairi seemed caught unaware with the sudden question. "…Nothing. Nothing's wrong." She looked bemused, but she managed to move on quick enough. She turned back front, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Now…about your mom—"

"You looked sad when that girl said that." Akira interrupted her. It seemed like finding his mom was at the bottom of the totem pole right now for some reason. Which was odd, considering that just a few seconds he had been so worked up. Did all kids have bad attention spans? Had she been like this when she was younger? The boy was still looking at her expectantly, so she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck with a small wince.

She offered a small shrug. "It's just that I have a friend, and he's…not doing very well right now." She was walking on nails right now, trying to avoid the details. He was a little kid, but she might as well give the gist of it if she wanted to get him thinking about his mom again. Otherwise he would just keep bugging her with questions. "I'm really worried about him. Before now, he's been missing a long time, so we're trying to get him to feel better." She gave him a weak smile. "It'll be fine though, I'm sure. He's getting better, I think."

Akira tilted his head to the side. "Well…why're ya buying Christmas stuff then?"

"Because he's going to be well enough to celebrate Christmas. And if he's not, then we'll wait until he is." She answered him easily, and she was slightly impressed with herself.

"Oh." He swung his arm a little bit as he walked. "I couldn't miss Christmas; I'm too excited."

Kairi grinned. "Well…I'm excited to see my friend. Even more than I am about Christmas."

He seemed very impressed with this. But after a second he nodded, seeming more solemn. "I guess that if my friend had been gone for a long time, then maybe I would be just as excited too. Maybe. I don't know, Christmas is pretty great. You get presents."

The redhead contemplated a moment. Then she looked down at the boy, still holding his hand as they maneuvered through as many people as they could. "You've got to cherish your friends." Akira looked up at her, his green eyes wide and earnest as he stared up at her. To his credit, he actually seemed to be listening to her. "Packages and toys will only last for so long." She thought of all the times that she had spent lazy afternoons with Sora. How many birthdays he had been the first one to her house to celebrate. How he had always managed to light up her day no matter how dreary it was. Slowly, she came to a stop, her heart suddenly heavy and her eyes suddenly stinging. And softly, she murmured: "Friends will last much longer than anything else could."

Akira tilted his head to the side. He opened his mouth, ready to say something. When a sudden interruption sliced through them.

"Akira!" A voice drifted over towards them, the two perking at once at the call. Turning, Kairi watched as a small little brunette girl rushed through the dense crowd, her arms thrown out wide as she crashed into the boy to wrap her arms around him. "There you are! We were looking everywhere for you!" From behind her, an older woman walked forward. She resembled the child a little bit more, and Kairi figured that she must be the mom.

The woman looked relieved at the sight of her son, reaching over and grabbing the child's hand, to pull him towards her. Kairi let go, trying to hide her awkwardness with a grin. "Akira!" The mother was obviously cross, looking down at the boy with a stern expression. "I thought that I told you to stay close by! Do you know how worried you got me!? Where did you go!?" Though her voice was sharp, her eyes were affectionate; she was obviously meaning well by the chastisement. "I hope you didn't get into trouble."

"No!" Akira yelped crossly, pushing his mother away so that he could breathe a little bit more. "I was fine! She helped me." He pointed back at Kairi, who jumped, embarrassment flooding over her and making her turn red. The mother blinked, tilting her head to the side briefly. Kairi shifted, not the expert in these situations. She didn't have much that she could say other than she had grabbed the kid's hand and just started walking. Maybe she should have found a store manager instead.

But the mother only smiled. "Thank you." Her voice turned warmer with this. "I wasn't watching him as closely as I should have been. But I appreciate your help, I really do. Without you, who knows where he could have wandered off to?" She eyed her son as she spoke, raising her eyebrows at him. But she didn't linger— she just turned back and offered Kairi one last thank-you and grin. But it was clear that she was pressed for time, just like everyone else was in this store. She turned and began to usher the two out the door. "Come on, kids, let's go. Kinley, your mother will be wanting to pick you up soon; it's getting late."

She was right. The noise was dying down, and the crowd was slowly thinning out bit by bit.

"I thought you would have been lost forever," the brunette – Kinley – laughed, pushing Akira gently on the shoulder as they walked lopsidedly after his mother.

"I was fine!" the boy flared at once, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

"Sure you were!" Kinley giggled. "If you didn't find that girl, you would still be gone!"

"Nuh-uh!" Akira gave a loud yelp. "And don't go and make fun of me! I like you more than I like Christmas!"

Kairi blinked, a small smile coming over her face as she watched the pair race off.

"What does that even mean?" Kinley squawked.

"It's what shetold me!" Akira sounded proud of himself as he looped away. "She said that friends are more important than Christmas and stuff! And I was gonna…" Their voices trailed off once they got too far away, and the girl grinned. Her blue eyes softened, and she tilted her head to the side.

…He reminded her of him.

But she couldn't stop and waste any more time. She turned and retraced her steps back to where Yuffie was waiting near the front doors of the store. "Hey," she grunted, strained underneath the weight of the bags she was now juggling. Kairi leaned over and took up half of the load, lightening it for the ninja, who immediately perked with a grateful smile. Kairi, however, stumbled, grimacing. She hadn't realized how heavy it would be. Yuffie caught the cringe, and she rolled her eyes with a roll of her eyes. "I know right? It's a lot more stuff than I thought I was paying for. Hardly had enough money for it, mind you. Axel seriously better pay me back." Turning, she headed back outside, the air immediately getting much colder. It had been stuffy and musty inside; Kairi was relieved to feel the freezing air wash over her.

"How'd you get all of this so fast? Didn't you have to get a bunch of stuff after you hung up with them all?" Kairi asked, confused as she glance over at her friend. "I thought that you were always ranting about how slow the worker was to get things to you."

The ninja scowled. "Yeah. I complained a lot like…three days ago? I think that one got fired. This guy's much better actually handling work, you know? He got everything together." Despite her words, there was no regret at all in the girl's voice as she remarked this.

Kairi hummed in reply, turning her attention back to the cobblestone street. They were making quick work in walking back to Merlin's house— with how freezing it was outside, they weren't exactly keen on lingering. They really should have brought some coats with them. And the bags were pretty heavy at the same time, and they certainly weren't getting any lighter the longer they went on.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, but all of a sudden the girl cleared her throat, turning over to Kairi with a ready grin. "Okay, so get this. I wanted to tell you earlier, but with the kid there, I figured I wouldn't want to draw attention to it. And then I had to go out and get all that other stuff and you had to go find that mom. I just haven't found the time, so I'm sorry about that. But listen! Sora woke up while we were gone!" She ignored Kairi's gasp, too excited to try and stop short for any questions or shouts. "He got up and walked around and everything!"

Kairi grinned happily. But after a moment it wavered. She blinked, her face falling somewhat. "…You're not telling me everything." She could see Yuffie stiffen slightly at the objection. Her face fell and she sobered immediately in an apprehensive expression. "What are you not telling me, Yuffie?"

"…I don't know what you mean," Yuffie said innocently.

"Well? Are you?" Kairi asked.

"I'm not leaving too much out," Yuffie mumbled uncomfortably as she looked away. "It's just…he was really confused on where he was; that was what we were expecting I guess. Apparently Riku was in the room when he woke up, and it really freaked Sora out way too much." Kairi winced, her stomach twisting. "And then he sort of…fell down the stairs…" Yuffie mumbled. Kairi jerked, her eye wide. But Yuffie brightened nonetheless, quickly rushing on. "But he's awake now! In no time he's gonna be…Kairi?"

But Kairi wasn't listening. She suddenly too off in a sprint, still managing to hold tight to her own boxes as she ran. Yuffie called after her, puzzled as she watched the girl go, trying to hail her back. But Kairi rounded the corner, beelining for Merlin's house, not bothering to wait for Yuffie to try and catch up.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"I'm here!" Kairi shouted, barely managing to open the door and let herself inside as she held her boxes awkwardly to her chest. Axel and Riku both looked up, seeming surprised by the sudden arrival. Kairi was flushed and out of breath, her run not helped with the freezing temperatures outside. Her nose was running and bright pink, and she stumbled, a little off-balance as she awkwardly bumped backwards into the door again to close it.

Riku grinned at the sight, his eyes flashing as Kairi stuck her tongue out at him in reply. "I guess you found out what happened, then?" Looking at her frazzled expression and gleam of excitement in the back of her eyes, there wasn't much else that could be assumed other than that. Though his words were tinged with little bit of bitterness as he said this, and Kairi was reminded of Yuffie's story. And she offered her friend a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, I did," Kairi murmured, glancing over to the door on the other end of the room.

Axel was standing off to the side, his hand stroking his chin thoughtfully as he surveyed the Christmas tree with a critical eye. Yet with Kairi's entrance, he turned and grinned at the redhead, seeming somewhat enthused. "So you got the stuff, then?" he asked, walking over and leaning over to peer at the stack of boxes that Kairi held. He leaned down and set down her stack, watching with raised eyebrows as the Nobody immediately leaned over to look inside the stash. He seemed enthused.

"Why did you need all this stuff?" Kairi demanded, her forehead creasing over. "Yuffie's still struggling up here with her load. You really blindsided us with this whole new list, you know?" She was still catching her breath as she spoke, gasps puncturing nearly every other word. Riku looked at her, amusement shining in his eyes as he grinned widely. Kairi responded quickly, taking a step forward and jabbing her index finger into his chest with a sour look. "Shut up, before you regret it."

Riku held up both hands in surrender.

"We need to decorate this place more than it is," Axel explained, rummaging around the stack, not even looking up at the girl as he replied. "I mean— if Sora came down here and saw that this was all that we did to decorate, then we're going to have a very disappointed, crabby person on our hands. And I think we've got enough on our hands at the moment without adding that into the mix."

Kairi crossed her arms over her chest, giggling. "I thought you didn't care about Christmas?"

Leon walked over from where he had been decorating the hearth, looking over to flash a smile at the redhead. "I think a little bit of Sora rubbed off on him." The comment came across as amused, and Leon's grin only widened at Axel's irritated look.

"I think a little bit of Sora rubs off on everyone he meets," Riku pointed out.

Leon turned, grinning as he looked over to see Kairi's slightly disheartened expression. "He's upstairs if you want to go and see him. I think Aerith is up there right now. If you want to, you can send her down here. I think she was going to try and start making some of the cookies for later anyway."

Kairi blinked at this, surprised. How close was Christmas, anyway? She looked over at the wall to where a calendar was hanging. Ever since the whole thing with the Organization had happened, Merlin had obviously gone back to edit over all of his meetings and objectives. Things such as 'Meet with Wizard Council' and 'Call Mother' had been scratched out thickly with pen, basically making the entire month scarred away. And each item had been replaced with notes along the lines of 'Change Bandages' and 'Check Vital Sings.'

It was December 23rd already. The date struck Kairi like a slap in the face.

Christmas was only two days away.

Turning around and flashing Leon a smile, the redhead turned and went over to the door on the other end of the room. She stepped over the threshold and shut it softly behind her, going up the steps and taking in a slow breath. She got up to the top of the landing, recognizing Aerith even when the girl wasn't facing her. Instead, the brunette was sitting in the chair beside Sora's bed, watching over the boy's sleeping form with a sense of anxiety. Kairi felt concerned for a moment, but as she got closer, the girl couldn't see anything wrong. He seemed…peaceful. Finally.

"Hey," Kairi called out softly, almost afraid to break the silence that was hanging over the room. Aerith turned, blinking and offering the girl a warm smile. "Um— I think Leon said something about starting to make the cookies...?" She passed on the message, looking a little confused. After all, why was she making cookies already? But Aerith stiffen, her eyes widening as she blinked, getting up to her feet. She ran a hand quickly through her hair and glanced back at Sora, a little torn.

"Oh, right. I nearly forgot that I had to get onto that." Aerith twisted, grimacing as she popped her back. She must have been sitting stiffly for quite some time. "You'll sit with him then?" But it was clear that the girl didn't need to wait for a reply from the redhead. It wasn't like Kairi would ever say no to sitting beside Sora. She blushed but nodded all the same, watching closely as Aerith headed downstairs, closing the door softly behind her. She looked after her, remaining silent for a long moment. And then she blinked, turning to look down at Sora with a small frown. She glanced down and wriggled her thumbs together, turning and walking over to Sora's beside and sitting down on the chair that was placed there.

Reluctantly, she leaned over and grabbed a loose hold of Sora's shoulder, going so far as to give him the smallest of shakes. He didn't open his eyes, but his forehead creased, a somewhat annoyed expression coming over his face. It wasn't much of a reaction, but Kairi's heart immediately skipped a beat, her eyes widening. That was more of a response from him than anybody had gotten for days. Kairi let out a relieved breath, smiling widely.

The redhead sat still a moment more, watching as the annoyed expression flickered away from Sora's face. He fell peaceful once again, and Kairi felt another touch of relief at the sight. He looked so calm…he looked so much younger. He wasn't in pain anymore. He looked…normal. But…at the same time he was so much older. Her heart was wracked with pain as she realized just how much time had passed between them since last time they had seen one another. And she was sure that she would look different to him if he could see her. He looked more mature. Older. But it was hard to look past the injuries that were etched into his skin. That was all he looked at the moment. He just looked hurt.

Kairi blinked, glancing over to the stairs with a small frown. But nobody was coming up— she was completely alone. Turning back and hesitating a moment more, she got up to her feet and shuffled forwards. She turned and grabbed hold of Sora's blanket, pulling it back and slowly wriggling down so that she could lay down beside him. Thankfully there was enough room— she wasn't about to shove him aside or shift him, she could run the risk of damaging him even more. But like this, she was able to slip in beside him without touching him, and she pulled the blanket back up to herself, her blue stare heavy.

How many times had they spent over at one another's house? How many times had they pulled all-nighters together just so that they could try and see the sunrise? She remembered when they had gone out for that camping trip, and Riku had to treat Sora's burn after Sora got too close to the fire trying to roast a marshmallow. And now here they were. …How had it changed so much?

Her blue eyes searched Sora's closed ones desperately, smiling softly at the bittersweet kind of memories that were rushing forward. So lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't even catch the small rustling of movement beside her. That is, the movement became more apparent half a second after. "…Kairi?" A voice weighted-down with sleep and hoarse from unused met her ears, and the girl fought the urge not to jerk with surprise. Such a movement could hurt him.

She looked up immediately, every one of her joints locked together and rigid with shock. Sora's blue eyes were halfway open, glazed over and fuzzy as he stared numbly at the girl across from him. He looked confused, and as he went on to speak, his voice was almost too slurred to understand. "…Is that…is that really you?" His voice was softer than normal.

Kairi felt her heart burn painfully with some unknown emotion as she smiled. She could feel her eyes filling over with tears, and she gave a small laugh that came across as more of a whimper than anything. "Yes." Her voice had dropped into a whisper as well. It was as if the girl was too afraid to speak loudly, as if she feared the volume of her voice could shatter the scene in front of her and cause it to crumble. "Yeah, I'm here." Reaching forward, she grabbed Sora's uninjured hand, intertwining her fingers gently with his. "This is…this is real…"

This was what she had been waiting for. No, she didn't think it would play out this way. She didn't think that it would be like this. But this was what she had been waiting for. This was what Kairi had wanted the hours she had spent standing on the shore of her beach, and this was the answer to her many questions. She knew where Sora was now— he was here with her. She knew how her friend was— he was perfectly fine. Kairi smiled, tears dripping down her face as she opened her eyes to look at her friend with a shaking smile.

His eyes were unfocused; she wasn't sure at all what he was and wasn't able to focus on, if he was even focusing on anything at the moment. But nevertheless, he stared over at Kairi fuzzily. "M'so…m'so glad that you're okay," Sora mumbled, looking as if he was struggling to stay awake and not fall back asleep. Kairi frowned with concern, but before she could say anything, he was talking again. "I thought that…" It was either he was too tired to finish his sentence, or he was too afraid to. Like he was afraid that if he finished his thought, Kairi would vanish in a puff of smoke. Kairi's smile wavered under a weight of sorrow, forced to remember the last time that Sora had seen her. Against herself, she yet again felt a small twinge of regret that she had allowed herself to be bait for Sora. Something to use just to make him bend to the Organization's will. But she pushed it away. None of it mattered anymore. Not now when he was safe.

"I'm fine." She tried not to show how thick her throat was becoming. She tried to clear it so that Sora wouldn't notice; though she wasn't sure whether or not he was actually aware at the moment. "We're all fine. It's going to be alright from now on."

Sora seemed to give up on trying to stay awake, his eyes were beginning to close, and she could tell that his breathing was starting to deepen again. She was falling asleep quicker than Kairi had thought that anyone could fall back unconscious. And suddenly it occurred to Kairi that he was never fully awake in the first place— he was just somewhere in the middle between reality and whatever else he was left in. But she didn't care; she had just been so ecstatic to share those few words with him. In fact, she was just happy to see the smallest flash of his familiar blue stare.

Her heart tore, and again, a watery smile spread over her face. And, curled up close to her old friend, she realized a striking fact. Of course, she had known that the fact was there. There was no denying it at all. It wasn't so much that she was ignorant of the fact just as much as she was trying to avoid it. And now that the danger had passed, and now that she was here, she allowed herself to finally look it dead in the eye.

If Sora had died…she wouldn't have been able to go on. Not really.

She needed him. And he needed her too.

Sora was asleep now— he wouldn't be aware of anything. But suddenly it didn't matter. The girl leaned over with a grimace, trying not to harm him in any way at all. She looked over her friend with a sorrowful stare, looking at everything that he was left with. She felt another pang of guilt as she looked at the bandages wrapped around his head wounds, the bandage that was covering a wide splitting gash in his cheek. He had so many injuries…he was hurt so much.

…She would help him. She would help him get through all of this.

Leaning over, Kairi drew closer to Sora, pursing her lips gently and planting a small, tender kiss on top of the boy's injured forehead.