Chapter 52

Kairi woke up and went downstairs. She saw Leon in the kitchen, with new food cooking. She groaned and asked, "What's this? You can cook?"

He laughed a quiet and somber laugh and told her it was eggs. He put a plate in front of her and ate his own standing.

She looked down at it (was it really eggs?) and picked at her food. She was really queasy, being in her parents house.

She soon left the table without eating a bite and walked around. She peered in all the closets, trying to get the understanding of the house. She went to the back of the house, where she saw a door with a glass window missing. She walked to it and saw it was a study.

"Leon." She called. He came and she pointed. He went over to investigate and aside from the broken glass that littered the ground behind the door, there was nothing unusual.

"Why is it broken?"

"I don't know." He hadn't seen the house in so many years and had made himself forget and therefore that none of the house was recognizable. But even though he couldn't remember, something was making him remember. Randomly, he left the door and walked away, heading up the stairs. He sat down in a childish fashion and-

"Ebon!"

"Kayl! What happened?!" she cried in surprise as she saw his bloody fist.

"He's gone! They found him!"

"Who, Kayl, who?!"

"Ebon…"

Kairi looked at him oddly. "What?"

"Ebon! He was a friend of the family. The scary man came in, they both went in there, and Mommy came down and I heard a yell, shatter of glass and Mommy flew down the stairs, leaving me.'

"Kayl! What happened?!" she cried in surprise as she saw his bloody fist.

"He's gone! They found him!"

"Who, Kayl, who?!"

"Ebon…"

Kairi walked up the stairs. "How much do you remember?" He looked around. It was all flying into him. He remembered that and that, over there, that vase they hated. The stories of themselves, how he slid down the banister once, and the picnic Clarie talked about. Getting the painting, leaving the house the final time, straddling the horses, riding for days, and finally, the ship.

"Kairi, I remember everything. Our lives, what happened, how they died." He laid down on the top of the stairs and started tearing up, as his past, and half of his life came back to him. He curled on his side, facing away from Kairi where he sobbed some more.

Kairi looked down at him and raised her hand. She gently ran her hand on his shoulder, comforting him. He soon stopped crying and got up. He stormed down the stairs and holding on the door handle of the front door, he hung his head.

"We don't have to if you don't want to, but can we leave soon? This place is too…too…Can we-"

Kairi appeared by his side. "This place is too horrible. I want to leave."

He smiled sadly and walked out the door.

xxxx

Kairi hugged Clarie and said good-bye. "It was nice seeing you again, even though I do not remember you."

Clarie kissed Kairi on both cheeks and then hugged her.

"I'm so glad you came, even though your coming was not happy. I'm so relieved to know what happened."

Leon looked down at her. "I do remember you, Ms. Sangwei."

The old woman looked thrilled. "You do remember! Oh Leon!" She hugged him and then pulled away before she cried too much.

"You two look just like your parents. I shall miss you." She turned and walked in the house. Kairi waved once more from the back of her horse. Leon waved and then turned and trotted away. Kairi followed suit, and before long, they were on their way back to their grandmothers.

They rode at a walk for many days. It could have taken them shorter time but they weren't inspired to go faster. Aside from a slow pace, they didn't talk. Each was absorbed in their own thoughts.

Kairi's were especially upsetting. She had seen her childhood and now had all the pieces fitting in her life. She had no questions left.

Or she tried to tell herself that.

While Kairi had no questions in what happened to her parents, she had many questions unanswered. But the biggest one was how would her life had been different if she grew up with her real family?

She cried herself to sleep every night on the trip and Leon didn't know how to comfort her. He had similar wonders, but he grew up with his parents a lot more than she ever did. His life was shaped a lot more when they died. Who he was was showing through his life already at eight years old. He wouldn't have varied too much.

But then, would he? He grew up bulky because of the drugs and the drive for revenge. Would he have become a fighter or would he have settled with a different job, finding a woman to marry, and raise a family of his own? Would he have a child and woman at his hearth, reading a letter from his dear younger sister, who was currently head over heels for the local paper boy? He would be tired from a long days work, looking forward to sleep, and then waking up in the morning to his beautiful young wife.

But of course, he wouldn't have that. His family was dead, and the Heartless were coming back and because of that, he lived on revenge. And it scarred him more than he ever thought imaginable.

If he ever got his revenge, would he be satisfied? Or would his dream die and therefore his life?

Leon fell asleep, troubled by similar but totally different thoughts.

xxxx

Kairi looked around and saw the familiar city sites. They were back into Grandma's area and couldn't wait to get back home to a living relative.

Kairi walked her horse along the sidewalk, dodging other passerby's, and took the mare to the nearby stable. She handed her to the groom and smiled as she left.

Leon followed suit and they both walked into the door of their grandmother's house.

"Ah! Leon and Kairi! You're back so soon!"

Kairi smiled weakly. "It was horrible Grandma. It was so sad, seeing their old things and their last days. It hadn't been cleaned since they left. My old toys were left out."

Leon spoke up. "And we brought things back. This is our mom's painting." He pointed to the cylindrical box. "And some of her jewelry, and our dad's expensive things. And here are some paintings of all of us, and I took some clothes of his."

"And I took some of hers."

They said this without grandeur and smiles, totally somber and quiet.

"My grandchildren," She pulled them into hugs. "Try not to be too depressed about this. I know my son and his wife would be happy knowing you were happy. If you're sad about their deaths, they will be too. They died to save you. His profession was so the next generation would live and be happy. They died for his job." She wiped away a tear. "Of course you can be sad about it, but live your lives happily. Go find someone to share your lives with."

They looked at her adoringly.

"Go to bed." She smiled back at them. Then she left them and went into her room and shut the door.

xxxx

The next morning, Kairi woke up happy. A huge weight lifted from her shoulders since the speech her grandmother made. She decided she would thank her.

Kairi got up, changed and went downstairs. She looked around in mild confusion as her grandmother was not in the kitchen like she should have been. Kairi walked around and still not finding her, headed to her room.

She knocked, slightly opening the door. "Grandma?" She whispered. She opened it more, closing the door behind her quietly. She walked over to the bed. Kairi looked down and saw the most peaceful sight she'd ever set her eyes on. Grandma was dead, having died in her sleep, and on her face, was the simplest pleasant smile of sheer happiness.

Kairi teared up. She mutely got Leon and he looked down at her, sadness filling his eyes.

xxxx

The next day was the funeral. Three people showed up; Kairi, Leon and the groom who had been a close companion to Grandma.

They lowered her into the ground and then they went their separate ways.

By the middle of the day, they had sorted through all her things, retrieved all her money, and donated ninety percent of her money and the money they acquired from selling her house with everything with it. The other ten, money and items unsold, they kept. Like the album of their parents, and a few other close items. They bought a few things with the money, including a new weapon for Leon, and a prized one at that.

But their last payment, was once they traveled days, the same route their parents had taken all those years ago to get to the sea, to arrive at System Port, once known as Sea Town, to book passage on a cargo ship to Destiny Island.

It had been sheer luck they found the ship, because no ship ever went to that island, as Kairi knew full well, but once a month, as Kairi didn't know, a ship with cargo would sail to the most remote part of the island.

Kairi remembered where it went. There was a place at the far end of the island, where much brush grew. No one could see the other side of the brush. The children were never allowed there. No one knew what was on the other side, except fora few people, because otherwise, the people on the island would want to leave. And they couldn't have that.

But the pair booked passage on it, and started to travel home.

To Destiny Island.

A/N:: Almost done. Reviews are nice...yada yada yada. I'm in the midst of band camp. Oh the joys of life. :-)