MANDATORY AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here we are, lucky number 50! I can't believe we've made it this far and the story's still going strong. Here, we're going to start noticing a realistic shift if Sora and Kairi's relationship. They have so many issues, they're dripping in them. And to the reviewer who asked about my relapse, after you read this chapter, you'll understand. I was recovered from it for a year, and just relapsed. Anyway, you probably don't want to hear me rambling. On with it, then! And thanks to all of my readers and reviewers!
DISCLAIMER: This disclaimer applies to the entire story. Kingdom Hearts and any and all things having to do with it do not belong to me. However, the plot and plot events are entirely MINE, along with the band Destiny's Embrace, the use of the word Hikari as a name, and the characters' personalities.
NOTES: This story is rated M. This chapter has graphic depictions of eating disorders (Bulimia), and I warn you, it's not pretty.
ENJOY!
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Chapter Fifty
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Kairi didn't know when she started throwing up her food. It was either after lunch the day after Sora's near-suicide, or it was later that night. All she knew was that whatever she put down just came right back up. Perhaps it was the stress of her lie or maybe even the guilt . . . Did it really matter, though? If she couldn't cut herself, then she had to punish herself somehow.
Food was a liberty that she would no longer allow herself.
Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, Kairi could almost see the grumbling hunger in her stomach. She placed her hand over it, imaging the baby inside. She knew it was still alive at this point. After doing some research, she had learned that miscarriages happened as soon as death comes to the fetus. So if she hadn't miscarried yet, that meant it was still alive.
But she knew that it didn't mean there was hope.
Her lower lip began to tremble and she hugged herself tightly. It didn't make sense, her constant eating and vomiting, vomiting and eating. She knew she wasn't fat. She knew that she didn't have a full-blown eating disorder. She'd never felt that way about herself. Was this just a phase? It had been nonstop everyday for two weeks now. Every time she even looked at food, it made her nauseous. Especially when Sora was around. Just knowing that he was believing her lie made her ill. He kept talking about the baby excitedly with everyone else. Once, a few days after coming home from the Play Island, he and Olette had stayed up all night on her laptop looking at baby stuff of the Internet. Olette wanted a boy. Sora wanted a girl.
Kairi just wanted a baby.
Kairi didn't want to fail Sora even more by using a razor, so she just used food. It was easy enough, especially since she could do it in the shower. She knew that if she ever got caught, she could just blame it on morning sickness. Which was super fucked up when she really thought about it, but then again, her whole life was fucked up, wasn't it?
"Hey," she said into the phone one afternoon as she was finishing up drying her hands after doing the dishes. "Can you come over?"
"Uhh . . ." Olette laughed nervously. "Kinda with Vanitas right now."
Kairi rolled her eyes. Vanitas was supposed to be at work. "Jesus H. Christ, Olette. A few months ago, you guys were dating. Then you broke up with him because you thought he was too violent.' Now you're dating him again?"
"Says the girl who should NOT be talking," Olette teased. "Don't judge my choice in boyfriend, and I won't judge yours."
Kairi laughed. "Hey, Im not judging. Vanitas is an awesome guy. I'm just messing with you. But anyway, can you come over later then? There's . . . Something I need to tell you."
Yes, it was true. Kairi couldn't hold her secret in any longer. No, she wasn't going to tell Sora. She was just going to tell Olette because she trusted her to keep the secret, especially since she knew that Olette was as scared of Sora committing suicide as Kairi was.
"Can't you just tell me over the phone?" she complained. "Vanitas, stoppitttt . . . I'm ticklish there."
Kairi rolled her eyes. "No, it's a secret. And you better not be being gross."
Olette snorted. "Yea, tell that to the thousand and one times I've heard you and Sora getting' it on, bitch. Anyway, a secret? I like secrets. Vanitas can wait—I'll be over soon."
"Nooooo," I heard Vanitas whining in the background.
"Tell him I said he needs to go back to work," I grumbled. "He's the one who made such a big deal about not wanting me to get a job, so he needs to go to work."
Olette giggled, "Vanitas, she says you need to go to work . . . Kairi, he says poop on you."
Kairi pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it in amused incredulity. "Well, all right then. So when will you be here?"
As Olette was talking, Kairi heard the front door opening and closing. She inwardly hoped that it was Zidane, since he had told her he'd bring her a bunch of DVDs his family had laying around that they didn't watch anymore. Much to her surprise, however, it wasn't Zidane who came around the corner . . .
"Olette."
"What?"
"A puppy just opened my front door and is now running around my kitchen sniffing everything."
"What?"
Kairi looked up and saw Sora standing there in his work clothes. His hands were on his hips and the biggest, most infectious grin was spread across his handsome face. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes were sparkling and it looked for all the world like Christmas was here.
"Olette, I have to go." Kairi hung up before Olette could get another word in edgewise, and she just stared at Sora. The puppy was sitting on the linoleum floor in-between her and Sora, looking between the two with excitement and a wagging tail.
"I, uh . . . Got you something," Sora said sheepishly after a while.
"Yeah," Kairi laughed. "I can definitely see that."
The redhead knelt down and picked the puppy up. It was a small black and brown Yorkshire terrier with neatly-kept long fur and a very happy countenance. He or she seemed ecstatic to be in Kairi's arms, let alone the house, and Kairi couldn't help but feel a bit sadly nostalgic. She always thought about Memory, but seeing this new puppy reminded her of the fact that she was dead.
"It's to, you know, help us get used to taking care of something together," Sora said, sounding shy. He sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of his girlfriend and scratched the happy-go-lucky puppy behind one ear. He smiled fondly.
"Sora . . . I don't know what to say . . ." She felt the guilt rising up like acid.
"You don't have to say anything," he said, reaching over to ruffle his hands in her hair playfully. "Just know that I know nothing can ever take Memory's place, all right?"
"I know," Kairi said, lowering her gaze to the puppy. "Now, what should we name him? Or is a her?"
"It's a him." His eyes sparkled.
Kairi giggled again and kissed the puppy's nose, who in turn yipped and licked her lips once or twice. She set the puppy on the floor and he hopped right over to Sora's lap, who laughed joyously.
"If I let you name him, then I get to name the baby," Sora said, cuddling the puppy close. "Deal?"
Kairi didn't know what else to do besides to agree. "Let's name him . . . Tokki."
"Tokki?" He raised his eyebrows.
"It means 'bunny' in Korean," Kairi explained before launching into attempting to teach Tokki his new name.
Sora and Kairi played with the dog on the kitchen floor for an hour or so, chatting amiably about different things. Kairi tried to keep his mind occupied with things like music and work and the puppy so he didn't bring up the baby. She didn't want to talk about it. Every time he mentioned it, it reminded Kairi of the fact that she was a horrible liar, and it made her want to tear through the cupboards, binge, and then purge.
"Vanitas is thinking of quitting the band," Sora said suddenly.
Kairi gasped. "What? Seriously? But I thought he loved screaming!"
"He does, but . . . I think he just wants to keep moving forward at the cell phone store. He told me they're thinking of promoting him, and that would mean him moving to the mainland . . ."
"Aww," Kairi pouted in dismay. Tokki was asleep in her lap now. "Does he know when that would be? And what would the band do? Just break up?"
"He says they've already offered him the position, he's just waiting until after everything settles down here to make his decision. And no, actually. I would be taking over as lead vocal for the band."
"No more guitar?"
Sora shook his head no. "We've got someone you wouldn't expect who wants to take over that department . . ."
"Who?"
"Fuu!" Sora grinned. "She plays a mean electric guitar, so she's gonna be taking over that, I'll do all the vocals, Zidane stays on bass, and Tidus on the drums."
"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Kairi said, grabbing Sora's hand and squeezing it. "That's really good to hear, especially since my dad is so connected with the right producers and stuff. You shouldn't give up on music. You're too talented and you love it too much."
Sora gazed at her lovingly for a moment before tilting his head to the side and murmuring, 'I love you too much."
Blushing, Kairi gathered Tokki up and stood. "I'm gonna go into the living room and wait for Zidane to bring me the movies he promised to bring me."
"Kairi, wait!" Sora hurried to get up. "Before you go, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you about . . ."
"Yeah?"
"I know things are still tense because Xion and the other two are still out there, but . .." He frowned and Kairi could tell he was concerned about something. "You're not getting too stressed out, are you?"
"What do you mean?" She adjusted Tokki in her arms, and the puppy barely budged from his deep slumber.
"Like . . ." He lowered his voice. "You're not . . . Cutting again, are you?"
Kairi was speechless.
Sora hurriedly said, "If you aren't, then I'm sorry I said anything. I was just wondering because I worry about you, that's all."
"I'm not," was all she could think to say.
"Well then . . . Can I ask how you're coping with things now?" Sora looked beyond worried. "I just am concerned because of everything that's happened, plus I've noticed you going to the bathroom a lot."
"That's . . . It's morning sickness," Kairi said, her heart beating wildly with fear. So he had noticed her bathroom trips . . . Did he suspect her of purging? She didn't think so . . . Especially since he had probably never heard of such a thing.
"Oh, good," he sighed heavily, seeming relieved. "Morning sickness. Right. I forgot about that, haha!"
Kairi quickly changed the subject. "And anyway, I'm not worried about Xion and them. You promised me you'd handle it, and I trust that you will. But I'm also trusting that you won't go doing anything rash."
"What?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Like joining another gang? That's what you're scared of most, right?"
Kairi started to walk toward the living room. She felt suffocated. Almost as if this were going to turn into a full-blown argument.
"Of course I'm scared of that, Sora," she said, sitting down on the couch and setting Tokki on the cushion beside her. "You know I'm scared of that."
Sora sat down on the other side of Tokki and turned to face Kairi. "It's been two weeks, and all I've done is go to work and come home. Does it look like I've decided to join some crazy gang?"
"No, Sora," Kairi sighed. "It doesn't. But that doesn't mean you can't change your mind, and that's what I'm afraid of. Plus, the only reason why Xion let me go the night she kidnapped me was because of the fact that she wanted me and you to get back together so they could snatch us both at once."
Sora raised his eyebrow and rested his arm along the back of the couch. "Back together? Since when were we apart?"
"Well, come on now, Sora," Kairi scoffed. "We totally looked broken up to everyone else."
"Is that true? Or is that just what you thought?"
Something in his voice made Kairi look into his eyes. There was something there, something heavy and shadowed. It made her feel very sad and even more guilty than she already felt.
"Sora, please," she said softly. "Don't torture yourself over stuff that doesn't matter anymore."
"Except it does matter, Kairi," he insisted, sitting up straight and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. He hung his head. "Because if you believe we were broken up, then that means that at some point, you weren't mine."
"Sora, I was never yours," she blurted out, feeling annoyed and a bit offended. "I'm not your property. I'm not anyone's property?" She couldn't believe Sora was dumb enough to say something like that to a rape victim. Kairi had spent years being brainwashed into believing that she belonged to Riku. And now Sora was saying she belonged to him? Like some fucked up, weird baton pass, or something?
Maybe it was just the fact that she was unbearably and torturously hungry, or maybe it was the weight of her guilt for lying, but Kairi was right pissed off.
"Kairi, I didn't mean it like that, and you know it," Sora snapped. "What I meant was that you believing that we were broken up . . . It just makes it seem like at some point, you didn't want to be with me. I know you had your reasons, but it doesn't make it hurt any less."
Angry beyond belief, Kairi jumped to her feet, grabbing Tokki gently as she went.
"Well, sorry I hurt your feelings, Sora," she sneered. "Next time, I'll be more careful and make sure I cater to your heart's every whim."
"What the fuck?!" Sora was staring up at her, utterly shocked.
Kairi turned and headed down the hall for their bedroom, and she heard Sora coming after her.
"No, you don't get to walk away from this," he was saying as he stood in the doorway of her room. "All you ever do is walk away from your problems. You never want to face them head on."
Kairi set Tokki down on the bed and whirled on him. "So you're saying I'm weak? Is that it? I walked away from the fact that Riku was raping me for ten years. I didn't want to face it." She used her fingers to accentuate the quotations. "Go ahead and keep victim-blaming, Sora. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Dude, what the fuck? Why are you being such a bitch?" Sora put his hands on his hips and tossed his head to get his bangs out of his eyes. "All I ever do is take care of you and protect you and love you, and now you think I'm blaming you for what happened?"
Kairi wanted to tear her hair out. "God, fucking okay, Sora!" she shouted angrily. "You're the fucking savior of the damn universe, and I'm just your special little flower that needs to thank you for every single fucking thing. Like, I'm sorry, but isn't a relationship supposed to be give and take_ You fucking say you take care of me and you love me, but where the Hell were you? Where the fucking Hell were you when Riku was fucking my brains out every night when I was fucking thirteen years old?! Where the fuck were you when he was shoving hair brush handles into me? When he was wrapping my scarves around my neck and choking me until I passed out so he could o things with my while I was asleep? Or what about the time when he took my curling iron and—Oh, God!"
Kairi couldn't even finish. She was on the verge of hysterics. Her face was red with frustration and her eyes were glittering with tears. She'd always held the horrible memories, but she'd never had the courage to say them aloud. And now, with the way that Sora was looking at her, she didn't know if she felt relieved or regretful.
"Babe . . . I . . ."
"You know what? No. I can't deal with this." Kairi grabbed one of Sora's hoodies from the messy floor and breezed past him. She grabbed his car keys from the hallway table and headed for the front door.
"Kairi, no wait! Please, let's just talk about this.," Sora pleaded, trying to grab her hand.
"No!" she shrieked at him. "I don't want to fucking talk anymore. Sora, I'm so mad at you. Like, I'm so mad, I can't even . . . I don't . . . I just . . . UGH."
Slapping his hand away, she threw open the door and headed for his car. She just had to get away. She didn't know where she was going to go, and she knew it wasn't exactly safe, but at this moment, she just needed to go. It was bad that she had told Sora that she was going to have his baby just to stop him from shooting himself in the head. It was terrible that she hadn't told him that she could never carry a pregnancy to term ever again because of how horribly Riku had maimed her insides. It was horrible that she had given up cutting herself for something even worse.
But nothing compared to victim blaming in Kairi's eyes, and nothing ever would.
Kairi drove around for what felt like hours, until she found herself in the parking lot of a McDonald's, crying her eyes out on the steering wheel. She felt so betrayed. All this time, she didn't think she had ever really faced the pain and torment Sora had put her through. She loved him so much and she had been so willing to forgive him. Her blind trust in him had forced her to forget about it all because she was just so happy he wanted her back finally. But now they were three or four months into their official relationship. They'd been through Hell together, that was true, but that didn't mean that they didn't still have real relationship problems. And sorry, but bullying the girl you love for a year isn't something a person should just "get over."
Like a wave of manic desire, the urge struck her. In a frenzy, she scoured Sora's car for any money she could find. Bills, coins . . . She took it all. There was a twenty and some ones in the center console, five bucks in assorted coins in the cup holders, and a ten dollar bill stuffed haphazardly in the glove box. Kairi gathered it all up, wiped her face, and got out of the car. Like a robot or a puppet on a string, she put one foot in front of the other and went inside.
Much to the employees' surprise, Kairi ordered more food than one girl should ever have the ability to eat. Burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, and McFlurries were only some of the things she got. Piling it high on two trays, she mechanically took the food to the furthest corner of the semi-full restaurant of staring people, and began to eat. And eat. And eat. She ate so much that her eyes water and her stomach felt like it was going to burst. But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the fact that no amount of food could eradicate Sora's hurtful words.
Kairi rushed out of the restaurant when she was done eating in a panic, the only words on her mind being 'I have to get it out. I have to get it out.' Over and over again she chanted those words. She climbed into her car and drove across the street in a daze, to the Safeway grocery store. Parking as quickly as she could, she booked it into the store to find the nearest bathroom.
'I have to get it out. I have to get it out. I'm so disgusting and ugly and worthless. I have to get it out.'
Her head was in the toilet just moments after shoving in front of a waiting preteen, locking the bathroom door amidst the annoyed grumblings. It was a nightmare. The meat and the potatoes hurt like a bitch, as if they were sticking to her stomach walls and begging her to keep them inside. The soda and stomach acid mingled to scald the insides of her esophagus. Her face felt an extreme amount of pressure—like every blood vessel was about to explode. Her fingers, coated with saliva and food, were aching for scraping them against her teeth, in and out. Nothing about this was glamorous, and everything about it made her hate herself even more.
But God damn if it wasn't just as relieving as cutting.
Her cell phone was ringing in the back pocket of her skinny jeans and she answered it with vomit-covered fingers and tears streaming down her face.
"Kairi? I just got to your house and it's a war zone here! Sora trashed the shit out of the living room and the dog you were talking about was cowering in the kitchen, and Vanitas and him got into a fistfight and just . . . God, where are you?"
Kairi sobbed, "Olette . . . Something's wrong with me. Something's really, really wrong."
"What?! Are you okay?!" Olette sounded on the edge of her nerves. "What's going on?"
Kairi opened her mouth, but the words just wouldn't come out. Because then Olette would make her stop. She' tell everyone and they'd all make her stop. Or they wouldn't care at all. She didn't know which was worse.
"I'm just . . . Mad at Sora," Kairi cried instead. She told Olette everything that had happened, going into detail about the fight and Sora's victim-blaming.
"What the fuck?" Olette cursed. "That asshole . . . I can't believe he said that to you. Well, you can come to my house tonight if you want. I'll call Fuu over, and we can have a no-boys-allowed sleepover."
"Did you get Tokki out of the kitchen?" Kairi asked, sniffling. She could smell her vomit. She hadn't even flushed yet. It was disgusting.
"The dog? Is that his name? He's super cute . . . But yeah. I'm holding him right now."
"Good. And are Vanitas and Sora still fighting?"
"I don't even know. Vanitas dragged him out to the backyard. Honestly, though, Sora has some real anger issues."
"I shouldn't come over," Kairi sighed. "I need to clean up the living room if he trashed it that bad."
"Fine, then we'll bring the sleepover to you. There's no way I'm letting you sleep alone with that bastard. He might hit you."
"Oh, gosh . . . He wouldn't do that to me. He's just . . . He's upset. I kinda . . . I was super angry, so I told him about some stuff Riku did to me that was super fucked up."
"Grr," Olette grumbled. "You're so difficult. I'm still sleeping over. I'll give you guys fifteen minutes to talk, and then we're cleaning up the living room and making a fort out of the couch and armchair pillows, got it? And Tokki stays with us. Poor thing is terrified of Sora."
"Okay," Kairi said. "I'll see you soon."
"Kay. Bye!"
Kairi hung up and set about cleaning up. A few dozen wads of toilet paper and a flush or two later, everything was clean—toilet, cell phone, her hand, and the lower half of her face. Head pounding from the tremendous strain purging had put on her, Kairi staggered to the mirror to wash her hands and was relieved to see that she hadn't popped any blood vessels in her eyes or cheeks. Still, she didn't look beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. Her hair looked lanky and damp, her skin was pale, and her fingers were trembling ever-so-slightly. Every breath hurt from the acid burns, and Kairi felt fatigued and exhausted.
What was she doing to herself?
When Kairi got home, Tokki ran up to greet her and Olette hailed her from the living room. The brunette was working on cleaning up the mess Sora had left (He had knocked over the medium-sized bookshelf that housed all of their DVDs and video games), but she told Kairi that Sora was out back still and Vanitas was taking a shower.
Taking a deep breath, Kairi headed to the kitchen. Through the sliding glass door, she could see Sora smoking a cigarette in the grass, staring up at the starry night sky. She gave Tokki a kiss and set her down on the ground so she could go outside when Kairi opened the door, and then after a moment's hesitation, she exited the house.
"Can we talk?" Kairi called out meekly.
Sora turned, the tip of the cigarette glowing red. His hair looked ridiculously spiky today, and his eyes were guarded.
"You wanna tell me what the fist fight and the living room destruction was about?" Kairi crossed her hands over her hips. Her words were tougher than she really felt. In all actuality, she just wanted to lie down and sleep. The purging had taken all of her energy.
"Not really," he said mutedly, looking down and toeing the grass almost nervously.
"Look, Sora," Kairi sighed. "You've got to get your anger under control."
"I know," he mumbled.
"Do you?" Kairi shook her head. "Because every time we have a fight, you go ballistic and end up destroying things and getting into fights with your twin brother."
"Well, what you told me wasn't exactly easy to deal with, all right?" Smoke billowed out of his mouth and nose. He looked right at her.
"What you said to me wasn't exactly easy to deal with, either," she shot back. "You can't blame me for feeling upset about it. What you said was selfish and insensitive."
"Well, I'm sorry, okay? I am. I didn't mean to victim-blame, or any of that shit. I was just expressing my emotions the way I thought was best." He used his free hand to gesture to himself. "I just . . . I didn't know that you were holding a grudge still, and—"
Keeping her voice gentle, Kairi cut in and said, "It's not a grudge, Sora. A grudge implies that I'm being petty. I don't think it's petty for me to not be able to trust you the way that I would trust you if the last year hadn't happened."
Sora turned to beseech her with his eyes. "I'm just a kid, Kairi. I'm 19. I didn't ask for any of this."
"Yeah, well neither did I, and I was only eight when it all started."
Sora looked away, and it was then that Kairi saw how conflicted and devastated her was feeling. Even if she was angry with him, she still loved him. So she stepped forward and placed one hand on the side of his face, turning him to look down into her eyes.
"I'm not invalidating your feelings or your experiences, Sora," she said sincerely. "I'm not. I just think that you believed that everything was just going to go back to normal. And that's fine. If that's what you believe, then that's what you believe. But I'm here to tell you that it's not. Sora, I'm really fucked up. And so are you. We're both fucked up. But that doesn't automatically mean that we cancel each other out. It means we have to work that much harder to make things work."
"I've loved you for so long, though," he whispered brokenly, lowering his eyelids. "So fucking long. Hearing you say this stuff . . . While I know you're right, it still sucks . . . Where did you drive off to?"
"Just . . . Around." She dropped her hand from his cheek and took a step back. "Sora, eventually, we will be ready to work through this stuff, but now just isn't the time. I don't think we're ready."
Sora's face fell and he paused before taking another drag on his cigarette. "So you want ot break up?"
Kairi shook her head. "No. Of course not. I just . . . I don't want to bring up the past anymore. I just want to focus on the day-by-day. We have a lot to deal with."
"Kairi . . ." His voice was quivering.
"What, Sora?"
"I'm . . . I'm gonna do it."
"Gonna do what?" Kairi's face screwed up in confusion.
He tossed is cigarette butt aside and turned to face her. His hands were in the pockets of his sweatpants and he was wearing a blue V-neck. He looked casual, but Kairi knew he was about to deliver bad news.
"Vanitas agrees with me that this is the best option for us to get past this last hurdle with everything. We just want you to be safe, especially since you're pregnant. Listen, Vanitas has been calling up some old friends and stuff and he got connected with this guy named Loz. Loz says he knows people who can help us."
Kairi merely stared at him. She knew what he was saying, what he was going to do. And she was devastated.
Sora gulped visibly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know you said you really didn't want me to do this, but . . . I just don't know any other way. I thought about it, I really did. For the past couple weeks, but it's just been too long since we heard anything. And I know how Riku works. He's probably got Xion and them waiting, biding their time so that we'll think you're safe. So Vanitas and I are going to get together with Loz and—
Kairi held up a hand for silence, and Sora abruptly shut his mouth.
Without a word, Kairi turned and headed back toward the house. Sora tried to come after her, like he had when she'd left the house during their fight, but Kairi was so beyond done with him right now. She was scared for him, hurt that he was doing this, and beside herself with despair. She didn't want to lose Sora to his own decisions.
"Kairi, will you just wait?" Sora stepped in front of her, barring her from going into the house.
"Sora. Get out of the way."
"No! You're not listening," he said desperately.
Kairi inhaled deeply and placed her fingers against her temples. "Sora, don't even fucking talk to me right now. I can't deal with you. Just . . . Stop flapping your lips, and move out of the fucking way."
"Are you leaving again?" he asked pitifully.
"Sora, move out of my God damn way, or else I'll leave and this time, it'll be for good!"
Kairi fixed him with a withering glare, waited for him to begrudgingly and dejectedly stepped to the side, and she went inside with Tokki hot on her heels.
~x~
A/N: All right so first off, I have a poll on my fanfiction profile page! Basically, since my updates take so long in coming, I'm wondering if any of you would want me to re-upload Love Must Come: Rebirth chapter by chapter to tide you all over? I know some of you expressed your desire to have me put it back up months ago and I said no, but I've recently had a change of heart! If you'd kindly like to go to my profile page and answer the poll, it'd be great!
Secondly, this chapter was tough to write. It was needed, though. Kairi and Sora are at the point where things need to be figured out. Sora can't keep getting away with things, and Kairi needs to find a better way to cope with her stress and self-hatred . . .
Third, yep. Looks like Sephy, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz will be here next chapter. And if I'm nice, I might even include Cloud and Reno. You'll seeeee . . .
Anyway, see you next chapter! Thanks for dropping in!
