The Sapphire Sorceress

Disclaimer: The rights to Kingdom Hearts belong to Disney and Square Enix.


Act 47: Friends In My Heart

"I wish I could fight like you and Riku... I know what you're thinking, but you guys shouldn't be the only ones getting hurt."


Destiny Islands: Mainland ( Kairi POV )

- Day 216 - Revenge

Where are you hiding! I know you are hiding in this forest damn you! Nowhere you can hide will keep you from me anymore...

"Kairi! Wait a minute!" Sorry, Yuffie I can't listen to you right now. I finally managed to find this heartless monster today, and I didn't care if I would be late for class or not this heartless had to pay for the crime it committed! No more waiting around for this creature to play with other people's lives like Zidane! This beast is living out its last day on this earth!

'Checheche!' Laugh at this monster! My magical spell blasted a hole through the forest knocking down trees that keep this bastard out of harm's way. I know this is a wrong thing to focus on, but right now all I was seeing is red in my line of vision. This time he was going to suffer long and hard before I destroy him like other heartless, the being deserve to feel what it has done to me and others before Zidane!

'This isn't the right time! You will be late for class, Kairi!' Don't mock me with Aqua's voice again! The heartless was nimble, but my determination would have to be faster than its speed! There were a few weakling standing in my way, but I cut through them with ease since they were not my target. These monkey heartless were taunting me with their bottom-slapping, the joke isn't funny and I'm certainly not in the mood to laugh.

"Kairi! You have to calm down this guy is messing with you right now!" She was right about that but I ignored her cries as my keyblade took down the enemy while they tossed out bananas like the damn dirty apes they are...

'Missing your "boyfriend" yet? I know this is too soon to ask, but did you kiss him before he bit the dust?!' You son of a b-

"AHHHH!" My weapon swiped at the monkeys while they got in the way of my true enemy! Soon you won't have any of your pals to save your sorry ass when I get my hands on you! The darkling was on the run despite trying to make me angry with the petty insults directing at my past failure to protect someone I cared about, but that was the best it could to me. Sending out a Blizzara spell to keep this heartless around I saw that he was now stuck in two trees, the legs and arms wrapped in my cold ice attack.

'Hold on a second! You don't need to get angry with me! This was my instinct to have the heartless gobble your friend's heart, as is the nature of all heartless!' Yeah but you enjoyed it! That must be due to its hold on Aqua's heart, so why should I believe you didn't like making me suffer! I suddenly saw some fire heartless hover around, their blasts sent me back as they were trying to help out their ally?

'Checheche! This is what friends are for! Is that right, Kairi?' You aren't getting away even in this fog! While the trees were beginning to catch on fire I knew this heartless couldn't get away once again, the opportunity to seek revenge was too much to pass up! That's when I felt Yuffie grab hold of my arms...to stop me.

"Listen! This fire might grow bigger, and this guy clearly has the numbers on his side. You need to live and fight another day." What are you talking about? This guy was not going to mess with my again; the fact you're trying to let him go is something I refuse to let happen!

"This school might burn down if this fire continues on unstopped! Your duty as a keyblade warrior comes before blood vengeance." You mean I should let this guy cause more trouble in the future, then I saw the blaze begin to light up the trees slowly growing into something bigger than a small fire. I knew that this place had my friends come here a lot, so perhaps the safety of this school was more important than making this monster pay for its actions.

'Checheche! Gonna let that girl hold you back? You must not have really loved that boy after all, huh?'

Shut up...just shut up already before I change my mind about letting you get away! At least that is what I thought when Yuffie was actually holding me back with a lot of strength in her arms. Watching the heartless poof away into the air made my body shake, my eyes were focusing on the fire it left behind, the mess ensuring I wouldn't be able to finish my business with it...at least not until later.

"Damn it!" I cast blizzarra on the fire to cool things down, but I let out my anger with screaming and some punches to an unburnt tree that had the misfortune of being my punching bag.

"Kairi, don't worry you will get him eventually; would you waste your energy on this stupid wood or against the heartless?" Ugh...she had a point there. I guess this can wait for another time, but my conscious won't rest until this gets settled once and for all...

Sitting in the classroom was still getting to me as it had been a few weeks since the huge funeral for Zidane. The seat where he once sat in this math class remained unstated in tribute for him, and everyone was still feeling down over his death with myself and Garnet taking it the hardest. She even talked with me during the memorial service a couple of days ago.

"He had moments of being less-than-noble, but that didn't mean he wasn't a good man deep down inside of himself."

"Garnet. Listen I never kissed him or anything, but during our last moment together, well the good one I was tempted to plant one on his cheeks. I know you don't want to hear it-"

"No! That is perfectly fine trust me. I've had moments of jealousy before however, I knew that is how Zidane was when I first met. Over the months we managed to understand our flaws and strengths we each have so that we could build our relationship up from there. You obviously saw something in him that I got to see while we had gone to school. That doesn't mean you did anything bad if you thought about kissing, so I'm glad you took me into consideration and decided against the urge to act on your feelings."

"I'm not sure if you know who I really am or not, but I thought you should know I'm sorry that I could not do anything to help him."

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me, and it was Quistis who told me about well what you do besides classes and homework. That doesn't mean everyone is going to try using you like Rufus. In the end, humans might commit mistakes, but it doesn't mean their hearts are completely black or lost to the darkness. Perhaps that is why you were picked to be a warrior of light. To help show those who have lost faith in the light to never give up..."

"You mean like Aqa-"

"Sorry did you say something?"

"Oh, nothing just feeling lost for a second. I...I see what you mean about what my duties mean besides simply fighting the heartless. Protecting people from the dark, which also means helping out the ones who are in danger of embracing such temptation from that darkness." I began to consider what Sora did while he was around, the realization of his actions were not simply to get revenge for the heartless absorbing the island he lived on-and the possible loss of his mother in that attack on our former home.

"The desire for revenge is what makes us human, but it shouldn't be our main motivation, the poison might infect our sanity making us lose reason and become similar to the heartless in the end..." A cycle...a cycle of hatred that continues even after the target of such hatred is gone. I-I didn't think about what Garnet meant until now, so when I recalled our conversation I began to understand what she truly was telling me. If I continue to seek out that heartless for selfish reasons, which I had been doing even until this moment I might end up consumed by this hunger for vengeance.

'I can't let that hunger consume me into continuing the cycle of revenge...' Garnet had unknowingly gave me helpful advice that I would have taken for granted if what happened earlier didn't occur with the students observing the now ruined trees around our school, the smell of burned wood reminded them of all the bad things they came here to avoid seeing.

"Zell and Zidane were both good men who were taken way too soon in their lives. I only pray they will be the last to fall victim to the heartless around here, so at least you can have a semblance of normality despite your position."

I doubt that will be the case...I'm a keybearer like Sora and many others before me, and this life won't be enough to hold me back from such duties. I've made my decision that I will tell everyone the truth since it might as well come out at this point. Looking at myself in my doom's mirror I could feel the nervousness creep through my body on if this was the best decision or not for myself going forward; everyone could easily become worse if all of my classmates understood this fact about me.

"H-Hey Kairi..." Selphie...

"I know you've been held up in this place for a while after what happened with you and Zidane." She watched out for me when I refused to head out to school during the first day since he was gone, and she looked out for me while I was weeping in sorrow about feeling so helpless. I took for granted how much of a good friend she was considering how often I had to avoid talking with her to continue on with my training with Yuffie and Squall. I decided to make that up to her by admitting the truth about myself.

'So, you're like Sora? That means when you had to skip out on classes or disappear on some occasions you were off trying to help save the world?" She...didn't exactly take that news well when she learned why I had gotten special "sick days" according to the official reports.

"You couldn't have told me sooner? I thought we're friends, Kairi!" That didn't mean I wanted to not explain it along to everyone else, but that was when I wasn't sure what I wanted to be in my life as either a normal girl or someone with a heart pure enough for a keyblade. She was upset I also didn't tell everyone else besides those helping me, but when I explained my side of the story Selphie began to understand why I couldn't blab about it around the school like common gossip. She was rather upset still, which was understandable however she did admit that I had a good reason for staying quiet about this.

Now, here I was looking at my expression that was worried yet determined on what I needed to say to everyone else despite swearing Selphie to keep my secret until later when I felt confident about revealing it to everyone. Then, I heard a knock at my door with the last person I expected to find standing outside of my area in the doom: Rufus Shinra.

"Kairi, it has certainly been some time since our last meeting but I needed to see you again."

"President Rufus and I must admit I didn't expect you to show up here like this. Let me welcome you inside..." I did need to remain on his good side considering he was still the superior adult to a simple student of his academy. Rufus seemed...actually caring for once. He wasn't wearing his usual smirk, he didn't treat me like I was some kind of pawn, and he seemed to have some genuine concern about me according to Quistis when she talked with him about what happened.

"I know it has been a rough couple of weeks since what happened to your friend. I know you've also been having troubles with your classes and keeping up during the second round of my S.E.E.D exams." Yeah...I guess my classes took a backside to all that has been occurring over the last few weeks. That said I knew that there would be two more sessions plus the make-up work Quistis was making me do to ensure I was keeping up with the lessons. I might have my priorities out of focus in some areas, but there is always time to play catch up.

"I am aware of our last meeting involving the comment I made about you deciding on which life you needed to pick for yourself. I know things have changed since that meeting, and certainly not for the better for anyone here, however, the answer was not told to me from your perspective. In the heat of the moment, you said no back then, so I'm hoping you have had some time to reconsider my words about our last conversation." Yes, I've certainly been thinking about that over many other important things...I guess this the real Rufus and not some duplicate or fake.

"My answer is still very much the same. I refuse to surrender my weapon no matter you and others might think about me as a keylade's chosen warrior." He certainly didn't look happy about my decision as he walked over towards my bed area.

"I see, so you wish to remain stubborn about your beliefs then...I can't really say I'm surprised about this." He tossed out a folder likely containing all of my grades since coming to this academy a couple of months ago; then I was still concerned about my classes being the bigger problems I would need to deal with in my life.

"Even under the threat of getting into trouble with me you still wish to carry out those duties of being a warrior of the light. So be it I'll simply expel your friends out of this school, and ensure your grades will remain below the standards for passing." What? Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka have nothing to do with any of this! How can you do this to them?!

"Leave them alone! This is between you and me, the friends I have don't have any involvement with our problems, Rufus!" My eyes were lit up with my anger as I was refusing to let the president get away with manipulating me and with that my precious friends who only cared about me unaware of my other identity.

"That may be the case, yet they should know who you really are if you haven't told them already. Thus they are nothing more than a liability to your work as a keybearer so why not cut them loose so you can truly focus on your dead-end life as a keyblade warrior." You selfish son of a-

"Now, I hope you will reconsider the consequences of your choice, Kairi. This will not only affect you but those around you since Quistis is aware of your real self then she would likely be next on the chopping block." You're playing with people's lives like they only mean so much to you! That can't happen...

"Who are you to play with people's right like that? You can't make someone do whatever you want no matter how much you threaten them to bend to your will!" Standing up to his smug look I refused to let him get away with this crap again. I'm sick of Rufus Shinra thinking everything would go his way, and this is where I would stand my ground against his machinations, which is a neat word I've learned in class.

"You don't have the authority or power to defy my orders. You are still merely a student in the eyes of most of the classmates." That doesn't mean I'm powerless either after all I wouldn't be here if I didn't have friends to care about not worry about me in return. That is the true heart of friendship that kind of power is something Rufus will never keep locked away in a file in his desk drawer.

"Don't be certain about that. Your little afterschool speeches might work on some poor, misguided fool, but I know how the world really works. Anything and everything has a price once you offer up enough money." Lies! You can't buy out my loyalty to my friends no matter what you might to do them. I have had enough of this argument, so I guess it is now time that I make my leave from here. Hold on a minute...why am I getting this cold feeling. It reminds me of...the heartless!

"Rufus! We need to get out of here bef-" A sudden ice blast came through the window nearly hitting Rufus on his shoulder.

"TT-The hea-artless...What are they doing here?! This isn't in my schedule..."

"Wake up and smell the danger already!" Looking at the blue wizard heartless I knew this likely was another attack on the school, which could only be lead by one certain heartless in particular.

"Rufus! If you truly want to be a good president of this school you need to issue a warning to the staff! You don't want another Zidane on your plate do you, President?!" Watching him run away to safety was somewhat enjoyable, but now I had to focus on the matter at hand that being save everyone in possible trouble.

"Kairi! There you are..." Squall was already in battle mode with his Gunblade, his aim taking out the shadow that was coming right for my head.

"Squall, I know what you're going to say I should have been able to see that guy but I was busy arguing with our fearless president." He actually got a chuckle out of then seeing what that blur who moved past him down this hallway must have been like. As the other shadows were quickly dispatched through team-work we noticed screams coming out of a room nearby us.

"Tidus!" I saw the soldier-themed heartless nearing my friend, and I quickly jumped in before they could rip out his heart like with some many other innocent people.

"Kairi...no way is this happened. All of this must be some kinda dream, but you're holding-"that" weapon Sora used."

'I only wish this was a horrible nightmare, my friend.' Looking at him in a serious expression I had to order him to hide somewhere safe in this academy out of the threat of these beasts, the truth being until their leader was gone they wouldn't stop as they were akin to wild animals seeking out fresh meat for their next meal. With Squall, we cleared out any of the remaining areas in the part of the dorm I usually roamed through after classes.

"Where do you think this heartless will be making its next move, Kairi?"

"How should I know that?" I looked at Squall with a mad look frustrated that he expected me to know the answer to that. "How should I understand how that heartless functions. The heart stuck inside belongs to someone I only knew from my childhood, but all that heartless cares about is making me suffer."

"Then, it has some amount of intelligence, and if it has become focused solely on you as the target chances are it will go after those who you hold dear like Tidus." Oh no, that can only mean Wakka, Quistis, and Selphie is next on the list. I have to find them fast before the heartless catches up to them first, yellow was the only thing I could see as my worst imagination of my friends getting their souls ripped out was being played through my mind. Please no, her life was too important-no everyone's life is too important to rip away so quickly...

"You go find your friends, and I'll take care of these guys around the academy. You need to meet in the same place with Yuffie in order to hunt down their leader." A sound plan coming from Leon, and I follow his advice while taking out any straggling heartless I came across in my way. In the lunch area, I saw Wakka fending off some of the knight-themed heartless, a simple blitzball was the only thing he was using to keep the creatures back from his chest.

"Oi, Kairi? Man, I could sure use your help, ya?!"

"Wakka! You need to get out of here right now, the beasts here will suck out your heart if you don't run away from a safe place." He didn't seem willing to move, so I attacked the heartless with my keyblade before they could attack my friend. With Wakka out of danger, I yelled at him to follow my instructions; this kind of image certainly didn't remind my friend of the Kairi he knew from the islands. Nodding he took heed of my warning, his body running as fast as his legs would go out of the lunch room.

"Good...now we can continue where we left off you heartless beasts!" I charged at the enemy with as much strength within me, this body would need to endure to save this school and my friends here. Their swords connected with my blade, each one was weak in power certainly, but with the numbers on their side, it would be foolish to underestimate their strength in battle.

'Can't waste too much time with these guys.' Watching them all approach in a circle pattern I took advantage of that by using a spin-strike while they all were near my body. After that I decided to go in while their guard was down, striking them with the full blunt force of this keyblade while launching them up into the air for more attacks with my weapon. It wasn't a quick battle, but I was able to overcome these forces on my own...the training I've been through has paid off. Stopping to catch my breath I had to find Selphie next along with any other student that hasn't evacuated the building yet.

"Kairi?! What are you doing here I thought you left with the other students." Claire? No Lighting and she looked hurt with a nasty-looking bruise on her arm.

"Those black monsters tried getting to me, so I hid in a locker but...but I don't know where Snow is." Seeing her act like this was somewhat surprising, but right now isn't the time to explore this realm of possibility.

"You need to get somewhere safe...I will try and look for your friend."

"Why so you can talk all the credit?" All the credit why would I care about what people thought about me. Tilting my head Lightning went on with her small rant. "You think this whole situation is your way of looking at a keyblade warrior. Well, in my eyes you're everything but a hero!" You can't really be thinking about that stuff right now, Lighting. I saw one of the knights stalking her, likely eyeing some food so I pushed Lightning out of the way to stab the beast in the chest releasing the captive heart inside.

"Tch, see you're saving people again trying to look like some wonder woman or something!" I don't have time to argue with her again over this pointless rivalry between us. She was in danger meaning I needed to keep her safe from the darkness like everyone.

"Listen to me for once damn it! Do you want to end up like Zidane or not?" Tears were leaking out of my eyes as she realized how that loss has been making me feel over the past few weeks. Despite our issues between each other, the simple truth was she knew that getting out of the way is the best thing she could do right now. She nodded while running away letting me continue searching around the place until I found the gym area where...oh no Selphie!

"Kairi! I found your friend, but she's stuck in a crowd of heartless. She managed to take shelter in Zell's old office however it's only a matter of time before-"

"Don't finish that sentence Yuffie, the only thing I'm focused on is finally taking down that murderer dancing around like a monkey..." I only noticed when I got closer that it was dancing on top of a giant piece of metal floating armor. Well, I'm certainly got my hands full with this thing...

'Checheche! You've arrived at the main event of our little dance, Kairi. I hope you're become strong enough to make your heart tasty for my friends!'

Oh, your pals will be getting something to eat alright...

"Yuffie, keep the other guys busy I'm going after the big one." Not even letting her speak I decided to strike the huge heartless with my best magical spells from ice, to fire, and even some light magic. Unlike the other heartless it is not exactly fleshy meaning it won't budge like most heartless foes.

'Checheche! To think my chosen heir can't handle the big leagues makes me question if you're even with holding that weapon of yours.' How about now?! I slashed at the giant fist heading down over my head, moving when the other came at my side trying to stay quick since it wasn't faster than me. That was my best chance of fighting this guy, but I knew that my strength might not be enough to take it down.

I tried to slice down the legs of the metal armor, but they didn't even get budge with my keyblade's strikes to the metal steel. Come on there must be some kind of weakness in this guy's armor. A kink or anything that can help me out...

"AHHHH!" I was knocked back by a hard punch to my side, which the other heartless saw letting them now charge at me while I am trying to get back up. In hindsight charging after the big guy without any back-up might not have been the wisest move on my part. Okay, I need to stop mentally beating myself up and improve to stop these guys from hurting anyone else.

'Wait a minute. This thing is made out of metal, so perhaps if I can freeze it-' Those science classes might actually help me out here, and I looked back at Yuffie taking out a few of the flying heartless.

"I need you to turn on the sprinkler system for me."

"I doubt a little bit of rain is gonna make these monsters disappear..."

"Just trust me on this! I know the system isn't far away, but I need you to do this while I hold them off from Selphie!" She gave me a look that said I think this was the stupidest idea you've ever had, but she did run off like I asked leaving me here to fend off the heartless on my own. It wasn't easy to fight off this many of foe, the fatigue I was feeling was only getting worse, but even so, I had to continue fighting no matter how much pain my body is feeling.

I cut down the remaining heartless with help from the water that made their wings difficult to use. My blows were quick and sharp ensuring I would not waste too much energy leaving only the giant to deal with, who suddenly sent its own foot in my chest knocking me onto the hardwood floor. My eyes saw the giant lifeless armor looking down at my body while gearing up to jump down to crush my body, so I had to roll away barely getting out of the way in time. I had to keep stalling until Yuffie could spring the water on, the only way my plan can work is with enough water to cover the metal armor in liquid.

'Checheche! You will only rust up this armor, but it will still be able to crush you very quickly. Why even bother fighting when you and I know this is your final hour!'

"You underestimate me, and by extension the willpower of humans like myself! That is your fatal mistake, heartless!" My words came right on time as the water began to pour in the gym, which had the unintended effect of making the floor rather slippery, but this ended up being useful since the armor was now struggling to chase after me while I slide across the floor.

'Your little water slide won't save you for long, Kairi. I'm gonna enjoy snacking on your heart like I did with Aqua's soul!'

"I'm afraid this is the end for you..." I waited when I moved behind the metal armor before casting out several Blizzaga spells on the different armor pieces, which with enough water cover it began to get frozen stiff leaving it unable to move much.

'What the- Damn you keybearer!' Heh, this is only the beginning as I used more ice magic to create a nice mini-ice path to run down to climb up the huge piece of metal armor while it was defenseless. It tried breaking free, but I sent out some more ice attacks while I was now holding onto its left fist looking for a point inside of the armor where the heart was likely being held captive.

'No! You can't do this I wanted to remain FREE...but you have become so much stronger, my chosen heir.'

"Even if you're a special heartless who took Aqua's heart you can never be like her. This whole "game" of yours was lost the second you chose to fight against a keyblade warrior of the light!" Pointing my weapon at the core I shot out a beam of light, the heart was removed from the cold metal that now faded out of existence forcing me and the heartless to fall onto the floor. Okay, the last part could have gone much better however it was now just me and the murderer of my friend.

'Chech-wait hold on a second! You can leave me alone...I won't pester you guys again promise.'

It doesn't matter what lies you make up to save yourself from this fate heartless. This has been coming for a long time...

'WEAKLING! YOU WILL NEVER STOP US ALL! WE ARE THE NEVERENDING DARKNESS OF ALL WORLDS! EVERYTHING WILL BE CONSUMED!'

"Then, you will be next on that list!"

My hands didn't stop as they moved in while it was unable to move with the ice spell cast on its limbs. I knew this was my last chance, the only other moment to put an end to this nightmare, and this time I couldn't mess this opportunity up. My feet ran through the water as the coldness began to affect my body, the target was pleading for mercy, but I would only provide it along with the end of its pitiful existence like all other heartless. Being who steals hearts, but can never understand why they are so important to have...

'Thank you...Kairi.'

Aqua?! I only saw my weapon strike the heartless right in the head, releasing the captive heart inside while my body could finally relax on the cold, watery floor below my feet. I only saw the heart fly into the air while my eyes began to close, the last thing I can see if Zidane and Aqua looking down with smiles on their faces. Were they happy about this...is this what "revenge" is like? I don't really care right now so long as my comrades are okay...

'I hop-e that I've made you prrroud...the friends in my heart...'


[ Kairi's gotten her payback, and with it released Aqua's heart from the darkness. That should be the end of it right...well not exactly but we will cover that next time. The sprinkler idea was used before in my other story Rubrum Oculus Aranea, but I felt like it would be a good way of letting Kairi get the edge without making her so overpowered right now in the story. Next time we will see if Aqua has been saved or... ]