Chapter 52: Gomen Nasai
Your POV
You can't believe King Mickey just left you here all by your lonesome! They're gonna rip you apart when they find out what happened! You consider making a run for it, but that would just make them even MORE angry...
"So..." Goofy says cautiously.
"Tell us!" Donald shouts.
"I'm about to," you whimper. Taking a deep breath, you continue in a stronger voice. "My name is Kira. I come from a world called Earth. Unfortunately, about a month ago, Heartless came, and my world was swallowed by darkness. My friend Nami and I washed up on the shores of Destiny Islands."
"That's where Sora lives, right?" Donald asks.
"That's correct. It was then Sora realized that things were getting bad again, and he decided to go out and journey to seal new keyholes and reseal many more. He asked me to go along with him, so I did." You sigh a little. "I've pretty much been through a lot, just like you guys did a couple years ago. We've been everywhere. I got to meet Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid. They're back in Traverse Town again. But they're all fine. Alice is, too. I met her in Wonderland. Cloud is back home with Aerith now. We found him messing around in the Underworld with Sephiroth."
"Sephiroth?! What's goin' on with him?" Goofy asks.
"He's dead. I killed him. But don't take me the wrong way! He killed me when I was seven! The only reason I'm alive is because of Luxord's other. I'm actually the reason he became a Nobody."
"Dead...? Wow," Donald mumbles. You smile a little. Good. He's impressed. "What else did you do?"
"Tarzan and Jane are fine now, too. Hey! You remember that waterfall? It's so lush there now! Oh, and I met Pooh and his friends. That was a lot of fun. In Agrabah, we got to ride carpets! Ohhh, and Aladdin and Jasmine are married now. Prolly livin' it up right about now... Heh, anyway...yeah, we definitely got swallowed by Monstro. And so did Pinocchio and Gepetto. Oh! And I met Jiminy Cricket! He's a cool...cricket. But you know what's really weird?" You're getting a little too into this... "I found out that my friend Nami was my Nobody. She knew Roxas and Namine from when she was younger. They had a successful operation to get hearts. I guess Demyx was faking it when he faded, huh?"
"Wow, that's confuzzlin'," Goofy says, scratching his head.
"Yeah, you're telling me," you say, giggling.
"Tell us more!"
"Okay, well, we went to Atlantica. Ariel is fine. She has a daughter who acts JUST LIKE HER. And Jack and Sally and them just celebrated Halloween. I guess the Christmas phase is over. Peter Pan is fine, too. Wendy's daughter met him. Wendy's all grown up...hard to believe!..." You frown, realizing the happy moments are done and told. "But...in Hollow Bastion..."
"Gawrsh, is this the bad part of the story?" Goofy asks.
You nod, sitting on a table.
"Sora and I were looking around for the keyhole, and...just out of the blue, a ton of Heartless came. ...Sora got hurt trying to protect me. Like, not just little scratches..." You gulp. "I think he might've cracked his head open at one point... But...he passed out, and-because of my stupidity and curiousity-he was stolen by the Heartless. I-I tried to follow them, but someone came from behind and cut my neck open. Plus I was chained to a wall..."
"WHAT?!" Donald quacks.
"Did you not hear what I said?!" you shout, jumping up defensively. "Sora was taken! Do you think I enjoy talking about it?! Do you really think I'm NOT sorry at all?! Well, THINK AGAIN!!"
The room is dead silent until you lose your cool and burst into tears.
"Gomen nasai!" you cry, sobbing into your hands. "I'm so sorry! Y-you must hate me now. I lost your best friend."
"Well, why can't you just go and get 'im?" Goofy says, frowning a little.
"If I could, why would I be here?"
Goofy thinks a moment, then nods.
"Sora made me promise that I would finish locking the worlds. I can't go back to Hollow Bastion and get him until I complete that. I won't break my promise, especially with him. If I went back and helped him, he wouldn't trust me anymore. Do you understand where I'm coming from on this? It would kind of defeat the purpose."
"But..." Donald says, frowning as well.
"But what?"
"But...if Sora wants you to seal keyholes..."
"Then you'd have to have a keyblade, right?" Goofy finishes.
"Right," you reply, nodding.
"And you don't have one, right?"
"Wrong."
In a simple gesture, your keyblade comes to your hand.
"Have you ever read the prophecies of Eli?" you ask, watching as Goofy and Donald stare at the keychain...Sora's crown.
"Eli? Gawrsh...I think I have," Goofy replies, scratching his chin. You smile a little.
"He was Axel-before he became a Nobody, I mean."
"Oh, really?"
"Mmmhmmm!"
"I've read them," Donald says at last. "The part I read was about the five keyblade wielders. A Princess of Heart-"
"That one's Kairi," Goofy cuts in.
"A Twilight."
"Riku."
"A king."
"His Majesty."
"A pure-heart and Sora, of course."
"But we never found out who the pure-heart was. King Mickey never told us."
"You're looking at her," you say quietly.
Donald and Goofy stare at you, this short, dirty (not like that, you sick-minded readers...), teary-eyed girl of sixteen (almost seventeen). They're probably wondering how such a strange girl got to be this powerful. You're kinda wondering the same thing.
"So...you're the pure-heart?"
"Yes."
The room becomes eerily silent again.
"Sora's heart is becoming connected with mine instead of Kairi's now," you say, breaking the silence. "He's still alive. We still have...some time."
"Some?!"
"Well, I'm just being realistic. All I know is that the person who has Sora is really powerful and is a girl."
"Then we'll come with you on your ship!" Donald says.
"Yeah!" Goofy says, saluting.
"Th-thank you both, but...I-I don't have room in the ship for anyone else. I have like...nine of us crammed in already," you say quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Then take these!"
Donald waves his mage's staff in the air, and two gems appear in the air. One is green, the other is blue. Reaching up to grab them, you say, "Wow! Thank you so much."
"You know what they are, right?"
You nod.
"Now whenever you need our help, you've got it," Goofy says.
"Thank...you..." you say, tears rolling down your cheeks. You're so tired...and sad...and...
"Aw, don't cry," Goofy whispers, hugging you tightly.
"I can't help it," you murmur.
Donald hugs you, too, and soon you're a sobbing mess. It really tears you up inside to see how many lives Sora has touched over the years. And now you have to tell them he's M.I.A....
"I really should go now," you say, pulling away.
"Good luck, Kira," Donald quacks. "When you see Sora again, tell him we said hi."
"I will, don't worry."
"And take care of yourself now, okay?" Goofy says.
"I-I will."
"Bye," Donald says.
"G'bye," Goofy says.
Pluto barks, licking your hand. You laugh and kneel to pet him. He licks your face and whines.
"Haha, I'll miss you, ya big cutie," you say. "But...I have to go. Well, actually, I am staying the night, but I'm spending tomorrow in the Timeless River world. Then I'm leaving with my friends for Port Royal."
"Woof!" Pluto barks.
"Yes, boy, that means you probably won't see me tomorrow. So...goodbye."
You stand upright and exit the room, tears coming to your eyes once again. Picking up your pace, you walk briskly in the direction Minnie had led your friends. A few lucky guesses soon lead you to a long hallway with many doors. You walk down to one with the light on and knock.
"Hold on," Riku's voice says from the other side.
"Oh, it's just..."
Riku opens the door before you can finish your sentence.
"...Me," you finish.
"How are you?" he asks quietly.
"Alright," you lie. Really you feel freaking AWFUL. "Ready to get out of here."
"I thought we were staying the night and-"
"We are. The plan hasn't changed."
"...I see. Well, what did you want, anyway?" he asks, leaning against the doorway.
"Um, where's my room?" you ask, smiling a little. You feel pretty stupid right about now.
"Uhh, third door on your right. No, wait, fifth. At the end of the hall." Riku shakes his head. You notice his cheeks redden a little. "Sorry about that. Anything else?"
"No, thanks," you say, walking to your room. What was that about?
Slowly opening the door, you flick on the lights to see its empty. You had been expecting to share a room. But...you are in a castle. It's not like your crammed gummi ship.
Collapsing into bed, you kick off your shoes and peel your socks off your feet. Slipping off your cargos, a piece of paper falls on the floor. You pick it up without even looking at it; you know very well what it is. It's the list.
A tear escapes your eye.
Sora isn't here. It isn't his job anymore to seal away evil right now. It's your responsibility. It's a big one, and it seems too big now that you feel so alone.
*Well, this was the hardest part hopefully,* you tell yourself. *The only truly difficult thing left is in Hollow Bastion, and that's still...seven worlds away, not including the Timeless River. What'll happen there? Who is this girl that Axel and Larxene talked about? Wonder if I can get rid of her easily...?*
You stand and get the w.c. out of your pocket, wondering why you had even bothered to take off the pants anyway. Changing clothes, you fall back into bed. You're way too tired to even THINK about taking a shower. You'll do it in the morning. *What if my heart isn't connected to Sora's? What if it's just my mind playing tricks on me?* Fingering your key necklace, you start to think of all the possibilities. Then a song comes to mind...and you can't help but sing it in your anxious mind.
*It's the way you're nervous when you speak, and the way I know just what you mean. It's the kind of thing that's bittersweet. It's a funny feeling deep inside; so many different sides, but still so easy to define 'cause you know it every time, and not just in your mind. You can feel the butterflies sending chills down your spine.*
"What is love but a kiss on a rainy day, a smile that won't go away, a safe place to run?" you sing quietly. "What is love but a complicated simple truth, a bond between me and you, the number one? Oh, that's love."
You flick off the lamp on the nightstand next to your bed. "And the things that never cross your mind, now you're doing all of the time 'cause with someone special, it's so right. It's like dancing when you walk, and singing when you talk, and you're happy just to be alive. Live in the moment; don't pretend. Let it go and take in. You don't have to understand the how, why, and whens. What is love but a kiss on a rainy day, a smile that won't go away, a safe place to run? What is love but a complicated simple truth, a bond between me and you, the number one?
"So take off your hat and stay for a minute. Love is a precious thing if you let it in. You'll never know what you'll find 'til you give it some time, some time..."
You close your eyes.
*What is love but a kiss on a rainy day, a smile that won't go away, a safe place to run? What is love but a complicated simple truth, a bond between me and you, the number one?...*
Rolling onto your stomach, you burst into tears. You clutch your pillow, sobbing into it so it muffles your whimpering. You've never felt so empty or alone before. It's definitely something you're not used to. There used to be someone there when you were sad or confused or really overjoyed or relieved, and they'd hold you close, and they'd tell you everything was alright, even if it wasn't.
That person was Sora.
Now that he's gone, every world seems like the light in it has disappeared.
Just how many times have you hugged each other, for so many different reasons?...Well, let's count.
1. In Traverse Town, after your dream.
2. After visiting Olette and finding out about being her sister.
3. Same as two, but he was the one who did it!
4. In Monstro after realizing Nami was your Nobody.
5. After you accidenally nailed him...heh, good times...
6. After you got hurt in Atlantica
7. In Halloween Town after you told him you were staying on the islands.
8. After singing for the town.
9. Geez, three times in one night! He only wanted to know why you know everything...
10. After Neverland...that one was the best.
But, sadly, you can pretty much say that things probably won't change much between you. Sora was very attached to Kairi for a very long time. Has he really let it go? Maybe you're wrong, but...
On a different subject, you can remember a time when you watched a certain scene on a video online. In KH2, there's a scene where Sora drops to his knees, holding someone's hand. You couldn't read his lips, and since there was some song playing, his voice wasn't heard. But he was crying, and you can even still remember the look on his face. That expression stayed in your mind and haunted you for the longest time.
This is way worse.
At least before, it wasn't his prescence.
And at least you weren't madly in love with him yet.
And at least you had the safety and comfort of your own home.
And at least your heart wasn't connected to his.
...You hope.
Later...
Still Your POV
You wearily open your eyes to see two large hazel ones staring back at you.
"AH!" you cry, sitting up quickly. Nami sits back on her heels, giggling.
"Good morning, sleepy head!" she says cheerfully. You groan and pull the covers up over your head. "Oh, no, you don't!" Nami pulls the covers back completely; you shiver. "Ready to take a blast from the past?"
"Whatever," you mumble, wanting to sleep.
"C'mon, get up! Everyone is waiting on you!"
Here's the thing.
If it weren't for your friends, you wouldn't get anywhere. They all make sure you're okay. They push you onward. If you didn't have them, you'd be in bed all day, moping...or worse. But with your friends by your side, you can do anything.
Meaning you can still save Sora.
