MANDATORY AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am SO SORRY for how long it took. My laptop charger died, and I had to wait to write this until I could use my sister's while visiting her for a day. So sadly, this will be the only update of this story for a little while, too. I hope it suffices! I thought about putting a lemon in it, but figured I'll save it for the next chapter or maybe the chapter after that. Anyway, onward!
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.
NOTE: Special thanks/credits goes to SoraKairix7, my best bae because she helped me get out of my little writer's block, and also for the "Don't say anything" line. Thanks, girly! THERE IS LIME IN THIS CHAPTER.
ENJOY!
~x~
Chapter Fifty-One
~x~
Kairi didn't talk to Sora for a full three days. She slept on the couch or on the floor in Vanitas's room, and she flat out ignored Sora whenever he so much as looked at her. The teenage girl was off the charts done with him. If he wanted to join another gang, then fine. That was his prerogative. Kairi couldn't make his decisions for him.
The redhead wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her knees aching from crouching on the bathroom floor for so long. There went another massively unnecessary binge. She had no idea when or if she was ever going to stop this. All she could do was hope that it wouldn't get worse.
"You almost done in there?" Olette whined from the other side of the bathroom door. She slept over with Vanitas often, so it wasn't a surprise to Kairi that she was at the house.
"Yep," Kairi responded, flushing the toilet and going to the sink to wash up. Her voice was a bit hoarse, but there were no other issues to give her secret away.
"Hurry up, I have to peeeeee," Olette complained.
When Kairi was all cleaned up, she opened the door to Olette's pouting face. She stepped aside, smiling gently as her friend passed her by.
"Did Sora tell you?" Olette asked as she sat down.
"Tell me what?" Kairi asked, her anger flaring a bit. Was there something new he was keeping from her? Not that she was any better, of course.
"He wants you to take that steak out of the freezer. The band is having a big barbeque tonight," she replied, giving Kairi a weird look. "Jeez, you sounded so defensive. You must really be mad at him."
"Well, I just don't really understand why he feels the need to join an entirely new gang," Kairi explained in irritation. "We have so many other options, youk now? We could go to the police, we could move . . . We could even talk to my dad. He has money. He knows people."
"Yeah, but the police weren't really much help with Zexion and the rest of Riku(s lackeys, now were they? And besides, Sora's really overprotective. He just doesn't want to sit by and let them get away with it."
Kairi glared at Olette incredulously. "So you're telling me that you think it's okay that Sora is doing this? You do realize that once he's in, he's in for life, right? If he tries to leave, all of this will happen all over again."
"Hey, you can't hate me for having an opinion, girly." She flushed the toilet and went to wash her hands. "I think Sora should do whatever he feels is best."
"I just don't want him to make such a huge commitment. It's a mistake, Olette."
"Well, have you told him you feel this way?" Olette asked, drying her hands on one of the towels that was hanging on the wall.
"We discussed it once. Sort-of. Believe me, he knows why I'm angry with him." Kairi raised her eyebrows at her friend.
"I think you need to explain it to him differently," Olette said, walking down the hallway with Kairi. Tokki weaved in and out of the girls' ankles, yipping and barking for attention until Kairi leaned down to pick him up.
"What do you mean?" Kairi scoffed. "I've already explained it to him as bluntly as possible. I mean, I literally told him to his face that I didn't want him to join another gang."
"He obviously didn't get the hint, Kairi," Olette said. She went into the kitchen and sat down at the table, Kairi following suit. "Sora seems like the type of guy who just . . . He's really optimistic. I think he truly needs people to like, hammer things in for him to really get it, you know?"
"That's true," Kairi sighed. "Sora is like, ferociously overprotective. Like he does stupid things because he's so sure that they will solve everything. He's a problem solver. He just wants to solve problems!"
Olette giggled, reaching over to hold Kairi's hand and squeeze it. "Just talk to him. Text him right now and tell him how you feel, if you're too scared to say it to his face. I'm sure he won't freak out if you're honest."
Kairi grabbed her phone out of her pocket, briefly thinking about the things Sora had done for. She was so used to focusing on the negatives that she hadn't really thought about the positives. Like the fact that Sora had literally signed his freedom away to Riku just to keep her safe. Or the fact that he had provided her with a roof over her head for free, a working cell phone at all times, food to eat, clothes, money . . . He really took care of her. He did his best to protect her, even if that protection sometimes failed, and Kairi was repaying him by fighting with him all the time and lying to him about her pregnancy?
She was starting to feel sick.
"You all right?" Olette asked. "You look pale . . ."
"I . . ." Kairi thought about telling Olette about the fact that she was barren and lying to Sora about it, but at the last second, she changed her mind. "I'm fine. I'm gonna text Sora."
Kairi got up and went to take Tokki outside to go potty and play, looking down at the screen of her phone. She opened up Sora's chat conversation with her and began typing out a message.
Hey, so I know things have been a little awkward lately, and I just wanted to know if we could talk about it? Because I really appreciate all the things that you do for me, it's just that I don't really feel comfortable with the thought of you joining another gang. I'm happy that you want to protect me, but I think it would be smarter if we just moved to the mainland.
Hands shaking, Kairi held her phone close to her heart. She was nervous to see what Sora was going to say. Contrary to what it seemed like, Kairi didn't actually like fighting with Sora. She liked it better when they were joking around and laughing with one another. It was just too bad every single serious conversation ended in an argument when it came to the two of them.
The phone vibrated, signaling his reply.
We can talk about it when I get home. I'll be home in ten minutes.
Kairi gulped. Was he mad? She couldn't tell. She hurried to reply.
Are you off work early?
Yeah.
Kairi slipped her phone into the pocket of her skinny jeans and walked back into the house. Tokki was sitting out on the porch, rolling around merrily with his chew toy. Olette looked up from her cell phone when Kairi showed up.
"So what did he say?" she asked eagerly.
Kairi ignored her and said, "Does my outfit look okay?"
Olette looked her up and down. Kairi was wearing a pair of dark wash skinny jeans low on her hips and an off-shoulder pink crop top with a light pink floral print. Her hair was up in a messy bun with her bangs sweeping across her face and she had no make-up on. Kairi didn't really know how she had the guts to wear a crop top, especially sine she was so self-conscious about her weight lately.
"You look good to me," Olette shrugged. "Why?"
"Sora's coming home early," Kairi explained. "Do you think I should take my hair down? No . . . Two pigtails? A tighter bun?"
Olette tilted her head to the side curiously. "Mm . . . You should wear it down. Yeah, definitely wear it down. Maybe don't brush it? So it has that messy look."
Kairi did as Olette suggested, feeling her crimson locks tumble about her elbows in soft waves from the bun. She sighed. Why did she even care how she looked? It's not like Sora cared . . . Except Kairi was starting to wonder if maybe he really did have a problem with the way she looked. She glanced down at her torso. Her stomach was flat, not concave like she wished it were. Showing above her jeans, her hipbones weren't as sharp as she wanted them to be and it made her frown.
"No, you look hot," Olette said. She went back to texting.
"Thanks," Kairi sighed, even though she didn't believe Olette.
Not five minutes later, Sora came into the house amidst the sounds of Fuu, Tidus, Zidane, and Vanitas's laughter. Curiously, Olette and Kairi both greeted them in the living room, wondering what was going on.
"Great news, guys!" Zidane gushed excitedly, coming around to stand between Kairi and Olette and put his arms around them. "Kairi, your dad came through for us—we got someone interested in signing us!"
"What? That's fucking amazing!" Kairi couldn't help it—her joy soared and she threw her arms around a surprised Sora's neck. She hadn't spoken to him in days but none of that seemed to matter at the moment. She felt happy and proud.
"But isn't Vanitas quitting?" Olette asked. "Do they know you guys will have a new sound now that Sora's stepping up and Fuu's joining?"
"They know," Tidus answered, kicking back on the couch with his arms crossed behind the back of his head. "We played a song for them with the different arrangements and they said even though it needs some work, they love it and want to sign us."
"They like my vocals, too," Sora told me, his hands on my bare hips. His fingers sent chills throughout me, as they always had. "They said I just need to learn how to scream from my diaphragm and not my throat, so that I don't ruin my singing voice."
"Well, you'll learn," Olette said with a bright smile. "Vanitas, how do you feel about this?"
"I'm happy for them, babe," Vanitas said, placing his hands on Olette's elbows and pulling her forward so he could kiss her forehead. "Why wouldn't I be? Besides, I have to focus on my career and stuff now."
"As long as you're happy!" Olette replied.
"So we got ourselves set up for a celebratory show at The Secret Spot tonight, and then dinner right afterward at Denny's. Is everyone in to go?" Sora asked around.
"I'll call Yuna," Tidus said. "And we're in."
Fuu nodded curtly. "In."
Vanitas and Selphie both shrugged and said, "Why not?"
Zidane was in, along with his girlfriend Garnet, and thus it was settled. Kairi hugged her boyfriend around the waist again. She supposed their talk could wait—this was a happy time; a definite crowning achievement in Sora's life.
Maybe this would be enough of an incentive to keep Sora from joining a new gang . . . ?
"What time do we need to get out of here?" Tidus hollered from the couch, where he was on the phone with who Kairi assumed was Yuna.
"Show starts at 7, so like . . . 5? Takes forever to get out there," Sora responded.
"Okayyy!"
"So . . . You wanted to talk?" Sora said.
Kairi smiled a surprised half-smile. "Right here . . . ?"
"Well, why not?" Sora tossed his head to get his bangs out of his eyes. "Can't be that important, can it? Cuz if it's about the gang shit again, I'll pass."
Olette choked on the air she was breathing and her hands flew to her mouth. Vanitas rolled his eyes, Zidane slowly sidled into the living room, and Kairi looked up at Sora as if he had lost his mind. Because he had to have lost his mind if he was calling her out like that in front of all of their friends.
Kairi folded her arms over her chest. "So . . . Are you intentionally making me look like a bitch, or what? Because I'm just curious . . . Are you trying to make me break up with you?"
Sora scoffed, totally uncaring about the situation. "If you wanna break up with me for making a personal decision to protect you and our unborn child, then that's your decision, dude."
Kairi looked him dead in the eyes, holding his gaze for a long time. She couldn't tell if he was making some huge, sick joke . . . Or if he was serious? Was he truly being this hurtful toward her?
What had happened to him?
Their friends went out to the backyard, leaving them alone in the tense, charged silence. Kairi's throat hurt from holding back tears. She couldn't believe Sora was being so mean.
Sora finally tore his eyes away with a nearly smug smile and walked down the hall toward the studio room. Kairi stood there, her eyes finally filling with tears. She looked up at the ceiling, wiping the stray tears away with her thumbs and sniffling. This wasn't the first time Sora had hurt her feelings, though.
She had forgotten how mean he could be when he wanted to be.
Kairi made her way to the studio room. Sora was practicing his electric guitar, having plugged it into an amp amidst the mess of wires and instruments in the recording room. She stood there, tears still shimmering in her eyes and arms hugging herself. He merely glanced at her and then looked back down at his guitar. He was playing parts of different songs that Kairi new and didn't know.
"Did you really mean that?" she asked meekly, though her voice could barely be heard over the sounds of his guitar.
He stared at her, emotionless.
Kairi started to repeat herself. "Did you—"
He cut her off with a small guitar riff that hurt her ears and made her cringe.
She tried again. "Are you—"
Guitar riff.
"Why won't—"
Guitar riff.
"Sora—"
Yet another guitar riff. Sora was looking her in the eyes, smirking, and otherwise not giving a damn about her frustration. He was acting like a small child! Kairi was frustrated and hurt, all at once, and she just wanted to burst out into tears. Why was he doing this to her? Did he really not care about her opinion?
Finally, Kairi reached down beside her at the doorway and pulled the plug on his amp. He glared daggers at her, cobalt blues glowing dangerously, but she stood her ground. She threw down the cord with vehemence.
"You listen to me right now, Sora Kei Yoshimura," Kairi seethed. "You treated me like this before, but you are not going to treat me like this ever again. Do you hear me? I won't let you embarrass me, make fun of me, or insult me in front of anyone ever again. You made a promise to me. You promised you'd never hurt me again. You just broke that promise, right out there in the hallway, and I don't fucking know what I ever did to you that made you believe I was worth that sort of treatment. If you really don't care whether I break up with you or not, then you can just go fuck yourself, you asshole. If you don't care, then I don't want to be with you. So if that's what you really want, then we're broken up, God dammit, and I'm moving back in with my parents."
Sora stood there, still glaring, holding onto his guitar. His other arm hung down by his side, his hand balled into a fist, and his chest heaved with what Kairi had a feeling was unbridled rage. Was he going to explode at her? Tell her to fuck off and go then?
There was a very long, drawn out few moments of electrically-charged quiet between the two angered teens, and then one of them made their move.
Sora ripped his guitar strap over his head and threw the instrument aside. It crashed into Tidus's drums with a loud crash and a twang, and then Sora was stepping over things to get to where Kairi was. Kairi backed up out of instinctual fear until Sora was standing right in front of her, so close that if she lifted her head, their lips would meet.
What in the Hell was he doing . . . ?
Kairi gulped and forced herself to continue berating him while she had her turn to speak.
"Y-You knew what it was I wanted to talk to you about," she accused. "I texted you beforehand and spelled it all out clearly for you. You pretended not to know just so you could make me look like a whiny bitch in front of our friends, and now you're acting like a little kid because you're pissed that I won't get off your case about the gang thing. Well, I think it's a stupid decision to make. Once you join, you're in for life, and do you really think that's fair to me? I should just let you sign your life away for my sake when you don't even have to? You—"
Sora slowly lifted his hands up by his head. "You know what, Kairi?" he said in a low, dangerous growl. "You know what? I'm getting sick and tired of you. I am getting sick and fucking tired of you, you presence in my life, what you fucking do to me . . . Sometimes, I look at you and I just want to be sick at the sight of you, thinking of how much of my life revolves around you."
Kairi gaped up at him, her back fully against the wall now. She was crying, not even attempting to hold back. The words Sora was saying . . . How dare he? If this was how he felt, then why did he bother telling her he loved her so many times? Why was he throwing himself in front of bullets for her? Why was he giving her everything he had?
"But guess what?" He lowered his hands. "I don't care."
Confused, Kairi tried to speak, but Sora interrupted her.
"I don't care, because I love you. I love everything about you, and I would go through this Hell a thousand times just for you. And I wouldn't even care if you didn't love me back. I just don't care anymore. Kairi, all I want is you. All I fucking want is you."
Sora's hands were ferocious as he cupped her face in his hands and brought his lips down to kiss her forcefully. Kairi couldn't help but let out a small gasp of surprise as emotion and love overwhelmed her. She kissed Sora back with fervor, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her body close to his. He pulled back, whispering to her in between kisses.
"I'm yours, Kai," he murmured. "I won't ever leave you. I couldn't if I tried."
Their kissing grew more heated by the moment, the familiar scent of vanilla that surrounded Sora enveloping Kairi in warmth. Sora practically slammed her up against the wall again and in the heat of the moment, Kairi lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed scorching kisses along the line of his throat. He panted lightly, his fingers digging into her waistline hard enough to bruise. He took back dominance, tangling his fingers in her hair on the right side and tilting her head to the side so he could kiss her throat instead.
Kairi's toes curled against the carpet as Sora's hand came up to massage her right breast in rough circles underneath her crop top. His lips were on hers with expert skill, their tongues dancing and battling each other for control. Kairi had no chance, of course, finding that her knees were rapidly growing weak. Sora had never been this aggressive with her before, and she wasn't exactly sure she disliked it. With one of his guitar-calloused hands was on her chest and the other was squeezing her rear end beneath the fabric of her tight jeans, she didn't have the mental capacity to think on it for very long.
"S-Sora, what are you . . . !" Kairi cried out against his lips when he pressed her against the wall against and practically tore the button on her jeans trying to undo it. She fought the urge to fight him off, knowing that this was Sora and after a love confession like the one he'd just made, he was just overcome with fervor. He wasn't intentionally trying to scare her, was he? Though his sudden desire for her was a little odd . . .
Kairi's eyes slid to the right, where the door was open. The hallway was still empty, and she could hear that their friends were all joking and laughing outside on the back porch still, but if anyone rounded the corner, they'd have a full view of Sora trying to get his hands down her pants as if he were drunk (which he didn't seem to be. Plus, he'd been at work). It petrified her, but at the same time, it was a teensy bit exhilarating to know they could be caught at any moment.
Suddenly, Kairi was snapped to reality when she felt Sora's hand slipping beneath the waistband of her panties without warning. She immediately buried her face in his shoulder and bit down to stifle the sound that issued forth from her mouth. Her eyes rolled up into her head as he did what he pleased with her, his fingers probing deep with expertise in the way only he knew how. She could feel her legs quivering and her body tingling with electrical shocks of pleasure that ran up and down her torso and pelvis.
"Shh," Sora whispered huskily into her ear, nibbling it lightly and causing her to shiver.
Kairi was trying as hard as she could to quiet herself, but it was all she could do not to bite a chunk of Sora's shoulder out. Instead, she nuzzled her face into the base of the side of his neck and gave great, shuddering breaths punctuated with the occasional quiet moan.
"You have to be quiet, Kai," Sora was chuckling. "Or they might hear you and see us."
"I'm t-trying," she groaned, one of her trembling hands in his hair and the other gripping the front of his work uniform so tightly that her knuckles were going white. "Please, Sora . . . H-Hurry . . ."
"Haven't you gotten today's lesson?" he chided, immediately slowing his movements to a torturous pace. His fingers rubbed the uppermost part of her womanhood (by now, her pants had been pushed down beneath the swell of her rear), making her twitch and have to bite her lower lip to continue to stay quiet. She looked him in the eyes for a moment, and he looked so calm and so smug that it almost made her made. His eyes twinkled, bright and blue, and his lazy grin glimmered with just a peek of his white teeth. His hair was all over the place, mostly from Kairi pulling at it, and he looked way more attractive than he deserved to look after the things he had said to her.
He leaned close and groaned, "You don't tell me what to do. I'll do what I want . . . When I want."
And with that, his began to pump his fingers in and out of Kairi so fast that her eyes rolled back into her head and she was practically screaming into Sora's shoulder. Her body tensed as the desire and pleasure built higher and higher, until she thought she couldn't take it anymore. She was on the very tip of her toes with the strength of Sora's arm, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
"Nn~ . . . S-Sora, I . . . I'm . . ." She whined desperately.
"Fuck . . . I want you to, baby," he groaned huskily before capturing her lips in a ridiculously hot kiss that did nothing but make Kairi see stars behind her closed eyelids. He pulled away and growled between gritted teeth. "Do it. Just fucking do it."
And she did, finding her body reaching the tip-top of the mountain that she hadn't climbed in what felt like ages. Her muscles convulsed violently around Sora's hand and the stars in her eyes exploded into galaxies. She sunk her teeth into Sora's neck as she climaxed, eliciting another rumbling growl from the depths of his chest as the brunette helped her ride out the gift he had so assertively given to her.
After a few minutes of another insanely random and passionate make out session, Kairi was able to detangle herself from Sora's wicked, devilish lips.
"Oh, Sora," Kairi said, finally dissolving into tears as she pulled back. Her heart was beating wildly. "Why did you say those horrible things? Why did you say those things, and then do what you just did to me?"
"Because I was angry. And stupid. And exhausted. I've been doing this for almost half of my life now, running around and protecting you."
"Sora, you don't have to protect me," Kairi wailed. "I've told you this a thousand times. If it's this hard on you, I don't want your protection."
"I want to protect you, though. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you again. I made a vow to myself that after Xion kidnapped you, I would never let it happen again. I was going to do everything I could."
"Sora, what do you want then? I really, really don't want you to join the gang," Kairi complained.
"Kairi, I'm joining it. What part of that don't you understand?" His spiky hair tickled her face as he looked down at her with a serious expression.
Kairi felt her already-stinging heart hurting. "Sora, no! You're not. It's too dangerous, and I don't want you to do it. You don't get to make all the decisions, and since this sort of decision can put me in danger, I think I have the right to tell you no. I—"
She inhaled sharply when Sora suddenly leaned up against her, pressing her back into the wall again. He dipped his head down, their noses brushing and their eyes falling closed. Kairi found that there was such an immense amount of passion reverberating between them at this moment that she could hardly catch her breath. Her skin was still sensitive and covered in goosebumps from their actions earlier, so she inhaled sharply a couple of times.
"Do you really think you can tell me what to do?" he whispered. His fingers were hot against her hips, holding her flush against his warm body. "Do you really think you can tell me what to do?"
"I—"
"No, shh," he breathed, their lips brushing ever-so-slightly. "Don't say anything. I am joining this gang and protecting you whether you like it or not, do you hear me? Nothing will change my mind. I am doing this, and you aren't going to be able to stop me."
Kairi could only whimper. He was scaring her a little yet thrilling her all at once. She wanted to open her eyes and look into his but she found that she couldn't. The air was too heavy, too spine-tingling. What was going on . . . ?
"Are you . . . Are you going to hurt me?" Kairi asked in a small voice.
Sora paused for a moment. "What . . . ? What? No! Of course not. Unless . . ." He brushed his lips across her jaw and close to her ear. "Unless you want me to?"
"Sora, what's gotten into you?"
"Nothing."
"Are you . . ." An alarming thought came to Kairi's mind. "Are you high?!"
Suddenly finding her strength, she shoved Sora back and looked closely into his eyes. They weren't bloodshot, but now he seemed to be having trouble focusing on her. He was on something, but she didn't know what. All she knew was that she was worried and angry, and she wanted to know when he'd had time to do any drugs during work.
"What did you take?"
Sora merely smirked. "What they gave me."
"Who is 'they'? What who gave you?" Kairi placed her hands on his cheeks, hoping that holding his head in place would help him focus on her.
"The new gang. It's part of the initiation process," he said honestly. "They gave me some pills. I took them. I don't know what they are. Someone gave them to them, and they wanted me to test them and make sure they weren't cut with something else."
After making sure she had re-zipped her jeans, Kairi sighed and grabbed Sora's hand, preparing to lead him out of the room. She was shocked when he dragged her back against him and turned her around to face him.
"Do you really want to break up with me?" he asked, his mood having suddenly changed again. "Is that really what you want?"
"No, Sora," Kairi sighed. "I thought the things you said were things you meant. But obviously you're high. I can't talk to you until you're sober."
"Okay," he moped. He looked at her with incredibly sad eyes. "Do you . . . Love me?"
"Of course I love you," Kairi said, "I just wish you would have come to me before you went to the gang and started the initiation."
"I'm sorry . . ." He trudged past her, out into the hallway and went straight to his bedroom.
Kairi rubbed her temples. She had been put on an emotional rollercoaster by someone who was on some sort of mood swing-inducing drug combination and she had no idea what to do next. She was already too late to discuss anything with Sora, seeing as he had already gone through with his plan to join the gang. Now, her biggest worry was going to be dealing with the second stage of the initiation process.
Down the hallway, Vanitas was on his way to his bedroom with a can of beer when he halted at the open doorway to Sora's room. He looked from Sora to Kairi and made a "wtf?" face.
"Why is Sora crying?"
Kairi sighed begrudgingly. "He's on some sort of pills, Vani. Don't worry—I'll take care of him."
Vanitas shook his head. "Good. I'm not touchin' this one with a ten foot pole."
Kairi made to leave the recording room and studio, but stopped when her phone began to vibrate. She pulled it out, wondering who could be messaging her since all of her friends were currently in random parts of the house, and was puzzled to see a random number had texted her.
'Probably a misdial,' she thought, opening the message. As soon as she opened the message, she was met with shock and horror when she saw what was there.
A self-taken picture of the house from the outside with Xion in it, smiling brightly as if it were just a normal selfie. Along with the picture came a foreboding message:
'Tick-tock, Kairi. Have you made up with Sora yet? Cuz as soon as you, we're coming for you.'
~x~
A/N: Uhhh yeah, I'm waiting to introduce the other gang members, lol. This chapter kinda got away from me in length! Sora and Kairi have a lot of problems, it would seem. Don't worry, there's lots more to come! We still got a lot of issues, especially with Riku, Xion, and the lackeys, Kairi's developing eating disorder, Sora joining the new gang, and Kairi's lie! See you in the next chapter~
