Chapter 50: Slipped Away

Your POV

"This is Chien Po," Mulan says, gesturing to her hefty friend. "And this is Ling." Ling waves.

"And I'm Yao!" Yao enters the area. Your lip twiches as you stifle hard laughter. You come up with the best plan. Thank the higher power for your old acting past.

"Oh, I think I know you!" you squeal in a fake-y way.

"Really?" he says, sounding proud of his famous ego. Which is about to get shoved in the mud. (^_^)

"Yup! Do you remember Sora?"

"Hmmm, yeah, now that you mention-!"

You punch him in the jaw, remembering with Sephy...

FLASHBACK START

Sephy lifted his hand and struck you on the cheek. You let out a little gasp, then felt around with your tongue. No blood, no loose teeth...he just sissy-slapped you! You smiled demonically. *Ehehehehehehehe...*

As suddenly as you could've, you whipped around and punched Sephy in the jaw as hard as you could. Surprisingly, you could hear it crack, and even a couple teeth fell out. SWEET!

FLASHBACK END

Yao falls to the ground, clutching his jaw. You bow, laughing.

"Now you two are even," you say, smiling brightly.

Everyone but Yao bursts out into hysterical laughter. Instead he simply rubs his jaw, cringing a little.

"Oh, I remember that like it was yesterday!" Ling howls, slapping his knee.

"With someone like her, we'll find Shang in no time," Chien Po says to Mulan. You bow modestly, grateful for the compliment.

"Speaking of which, let's get going and get started," Mulan says, suddenly ruining the cheerful atmosphere. "I need to make sure-"

"We have everything we need to protect ourselves, Mulan," Yao says impatiently. You're a little surprised he's talking with that bruised jaw of his. (^_-)

"I just want be sure we're ready to go, okay?"

"Mulan, we're ready for anything," Tidus says, grinning in a cocky way.

"Well...okay. Come on, let's go."

You all follow Mulan out of the area and toward the mountainside. Tugging on your braids, you try to think of what to do. Something huge is coming; you can sense it. What is is, you don't know.

Suddenly, after a while of walking, Mulan stops dead in her tracks.

"This is where is happened," she says. "Keep your eyes open."

You all nod.

Kairi's POV

You step carefully through the snow, trying to expect the unexpected. Your heart is pounding in result. Anytime something could grab your ankle from the snow...*shuddershudder*

Suddenly you hear a roar of some sort, and you let out a small yelp of surprise.

"Get ready to-"

Mulan gasps, her jaw dropping. It takes you a moment to discover why. There, lying in the snow, is a young Chinese man you assume to be Shang.

"Shang...!"

The ground beneath you begins to shake, and suddenly an enormous Heartless flies down at you all.

"Move!" Kira shouts, diving out of the way. *Don't have to tell us twice!* you think, jumping out of the way. You then manage to get a closer look at the creature.

The Heartless that is now standing before you all is in the form of a dragon. Sora had told you dragons protected China and their ancient city, but this definitely wouldn't be one of them. White fangs stick out of it's mouth; smoke curls from its flared nostrils. A pair of ruby-red wings flaps gently, and a long, red and orange tail swishes around. The Heartless crest is at the end of its tail. Unfortunately, it doesn't look too happy to see any of you.

"That's what we're looking for!" Mulan shouts.

"Den let's GO!" Wakka yells, stick in-hand.

You enthusiastically follow your friends to fight the dragon. Summoning your keyblade, you manage to clamber up the Heartless and onto its back. Tidus is already up there, and you grin as the two of you begin to attack the wings, making it nearly impossible for the dragon to fly away.

"Great minds think alike, I guess!" he says, grinning. You nod, giggling, then notice Mulan, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po tending to Shang.

"I wonder if he's alright," you say, pausing briefly.

"Mulan must be relieved," Tidus adds.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Now we just need to find-!!!"

Suddenly you feel your feet lift off of the dragon's scaly back.

"Kairi!" Tidus shouts, extending his hand. You almost grab it when you see that the dragon's tail is pulling you off of its back. Screaming bloody murder, you feel yourself fly through the air as the tail throws you. Your butt hits the ground, and you slide back a few feet on top of the iced snow. But then the ground disappears from beneath you.

"Tidus!" you cry, managing to grab the edge of the cliff. You've never been more terrified in your life, and the person you depend upon most is suddenly nowhere to be found. Oh geez.

With all the strength you have, you pull yourself up some. To your relief, your hand finds a crack under the snow that you can hold on to. You've almost got your whole upper body up, when suddenly the crack grows wider.

"No!" you screech, clinging to the rock. But, conveniently enough, your only method of self-salvation is breaking off of the cliff.

*So this is it,* you think. *Never thought it'd end like this!!*

Your hands slip and you scream.

Tidus's POV

Grabbing Kairi's wrist, you dig your feet into the cliff. She stops mid-scream, tears in her frightened eyes.

"Tidus!" she cries.

"I've got you!" you shout, holding out your other hand. She grabs it with her free hand.

"Don't let go!" she shouts.

"I won't! Just hold on!"

Lifting one foot out of its hold, you back up slowly, finding another sturdy crack to stick the tip of your foot through. You continue this until Kairi is up on solid ground again.

"Tidus!" she cries again, sobbing. She throws her arms around you.

"You're alright," you say, holding her close. That was close. You both are shaking. If Kairi had died...what would you have done? Never lived with youself, that's for sure. If you weren't so FREAKED OUT right now, you'd really be enjoying this a lot more.

"T-thank you," she says, wiping her eyes.

"Are you okay?" you ask quietly.

"I-I think so." Kairi hugs you tighter. You feel your face redden. "You saved me."

"I'm just glad you're okay, Kai."

She giggles. "I am, too."

"Come on." You pull Kairi to her feet. "Let's go."

She nods a little, and the two of you walk over to Kria, who is sitting in the snow. She gasps when she sees the two of you and immediately jumps to her feet.

"Kairi, you're okay!" she cries, hugging Kairi. "I saw you go flying through the air (she makes an exaggerated motion with her hands in a way that reminds you of Rikku) and then I lost track of you! What happened?"

"It's a long story..." Kairi says.

"...I see. Well, the Heartless is gone and done for, and the keyhole is yet to be found. Mulan is with Shang, so I think we're pretty good status-wise."

Status-wise? She makes it sound like a game.

"That's good," Kairi says, smiling at last. Kira smiles back, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"It all means we're one step closer to getting to Sora," she says, smiling hopefully. "You were right, Kairi! Remember what you said before?" Kira turns her back to you. "He's in my heart...he's still alive!" She looks over her shoulder at you and Kairi. "C'mon, let's get going. I want to move on. We'll be spending the night here-in the ship."

Kira walks away. Kairi looks at you, eyes wide with shock.

"What's up?!" you say.

"She...just quoted Sora!"

Your POV

You pull Nami to her feet.

"C'mon, we're staying the night," you say.

"...Where's everybody else?" she asks.

"I...!!"

You quickly run forward a few feet.

"Guys?! Where are you at?" you cry. No response. "HEY!"

"Over he-ah!" you hear Wakka's unmistakable voice shout. Breathing a sigh of relief, you run over to where your friends are standing. Mulan and Shang are hugging. You bite your lip a little.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Mulan says.

"How did you even find me?" Shang asks. But before she can say anything, he adds, "Let's go back to the house. You can tell me there, where at least it's warm."

At the House

Still Your POV

"...And so then we headed to the mountains and found you there," Mulan say, finishing the story. You lean on the entryway's trim.

"...Thank you all so much," Shang says. You shrug. He smiles a little, then turns to Mulan. "There's something I need to ask." You swallow hard. *Please don't be romantic,* you pray. Ignoring your friends' gazes, you pretend to rebraid your hair. They turn their attention away from you.

"I really wanted to ask you this yesterday," he laughs. "But either way..." He slowly reaches into a side pouch and grabs a hold of something. "Mulan-"

You quietly walk away, completely unnoticed, and you keep walking. Quietly closing the door, you start to run away. Soon you reach a familiar place. It was where Sora first met Mulan. Sitting on a rock, you summon your keyblade.

"Watashi no kokoro e no kagi...Key to my Heart..." you say, reading the familiar words. "If this is supposed to be my replacement for Sora, then I want a tradeback."

You know what Shang was going to ask. All of your friends are probably celebrating right now. Let them, then. Let them enjoy the happiness you can't feel. I mean, do they even realize you're gone?

"If you were here, Sora..." you whisper, hanging your head. You rest your hands on the top part of the handle of your keyblade. "If you were here..."

Unable to finish your sentence, you let out a small sob.

Nami's POV

You all clap and cheer at the great news. Yay happy endings!

"A wedding! How exciting is that?" Kairi exclaims.

"How romantic," Selphie adds, a dreamlike expression washing over her. Wait....

Romance.

You turn to the entrance of the room where Kira was once standing. Not to your surprise, she is no longer there.

"Oh no..." you murmur, running outside.

"Nami, where are you going?" Roxas asks.

"I'll be right back!"

Before he can play, you bolt out the door. Following her familiar footprints, you soon reach a familiar little spot.

"Isn't this from the game?" you ask yourself, slowly coming to a halt.

"Yup," says a familiar voice.

"Kira...?"

"How'd you guess?" Sarcasm is leaded in her tone.

You walk over to a rock to see her shadow coming from the other side.

"Remember? 'You're a...GIRL?!'" You hear her laugh weakly. "I love watching that cutscene. If Earth ever comes back, I might go home just to watch that on youtube."

You smile and walk around the rock to see Kira sitting on a smaller rock, holding her keyblade. Her face isn't visible.

"You okay?" you ask cautiously.

"Yeah. I just didn't want to hear the end of a love story, y'know? It makes mine seem worthless to fight for. Besides, I just realized I need to lock the keyhole. I had forgotten what with all the excitement."

Kira lifts her head, revealing a tear-stained, flushed face.

"I can't cry anymore," she says with a laugh. "I've got nothing left to cry right now." She stands, her smile fading. "Besides, I have a feeling that tomorrow will be bad."

"Why? Where are we going?" you ask.

"Disney Castle and Timeless River."

"Oh."

"...Well, off to the keyhole. Wanna come with?"

Later, At Night

Still Nami's POV

"They said it was too bad we couldn't join them for the New Year's celebration," Roxas says, filling you in. "And they also wished us luck."

"We're going to need it," you mumble, glancing over at Kira, who is talking to Riku about something. You lower your voice so only Roxas can hear you for sure. "You really should've seen her today. She was acting really weird. It almost sounded like she was high or something." You shake your head quickly. "I know that's not it, but I've never seen her act that way or say stuff like that before."

"I can tell what you're talking about," Roxas says. "The whole 'I'm-alright-don't-worry' thing, right?" You nod. "I hate that. It would be better if she were to just feel what she feels. It's better to be moping than a faker."

You nod. "But tomorrow..."

Your POV

"It's so dark out," Namine say, looking out the window. "And it's not even that late."

"This is typical for winter season," you explain, unbraiding your now-wavy hair. Namine's is always wavy now. "It usually gets dark early. It's gloomy-looking, but if you have friends and flashlights, you can have a lot of fun."

"You sound like you're feeling better."

"...No, not really." You lower your head. "I don't want to go tomorrow."

"Are you nervous about seeing his friends?"

"No... I take that back; yeah, I'm dreading it. But..."

"What is it?"

"It's this feeling I've had since this evening. Like...every day that passes by might be the last day for Sora."