I hope you guys are ready for this chapter.
Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!
Miyako and my OCs © to me!
Other OCs © to their respective owners!
Chapter 18: Proposal
Kairi sat between Hoshiko and Magia at the dining table. She took a bite of crab, listening as the others talked around her.
"If I write the definitive book on Keyblades and their wielders, I'll be famous!" Dylan held his fork in the air, eyes glazed over with dreams of academic grandeur.
Fitz laughed. "She's only one person. She probably doesn't know everything."
"Then we can learn it at the same time as her!"
Kairi giggled. He was so excited.
Hayate shook his head with a smile. "I'm glad you're excited, Dylan, but we do have other things we need to talk about." He took another bite of food. "Such as the LLE. They're back."
"Of course… With the prince coming of age, them coming back was to be expected. They want to deal with the door before the line continues on. What's surprising about that?"
Aegis leaned back in his chair. "They have a giga, a giga they can use and control."
Dylan and Fitz stopped. "What!? That shouldn't be possible."
"Trust me, we know. It was such a shock that Frode took over Yozora for a short time out of shock. Even the evil mastermind was surprised."
Aegis nodded. "And our continued surveillance has shown they are gathering weapons, supplies, members, and parts of destroyed gigas. We think they're trying to rebuild them and make an army, or at least a set of tanks to charge the door with."
"That's bad."
"The question is, how did they get control of them." Fitzroy tapped his fork against his plate. Each clink against the porcelain echoing around the room. "Perhaps it's the AI. Anax may be part of the great evil, but it's still a computer program. Perhaps someone or a team of people was able to hack into it. Have there been an increase in giga attacks recently?"
"Here? No. But I can have General Aiko ask others around the world."
"If there's been an increase, they might be testing the AI system, if they somehow managed to take control of it."
Dylan nodded. "Fitzroy and I can look into this for you if you want."
"Thank you."
The table fell into silence again.
"So," Kairi spoke up for the first time, "how did you and Dylan meet, Hoshiko?"
The minister smiled. "He came here years ago to complete his doctorate degree."
"That's right. While Japan does not use much magic, they do have records of magic and are surrounded by other magic-using countries. And the best library is here in the tower. So, I came and met this lovely young lady in the library. We sat across the room from each other for days; me, surrounded by piles of historical and magical texts, and her, surrounded by books of poetry. Hoshiko is a poet, you know."
"I didn't know that."
Hoshiko giggled. "I don't publish my poems. They're my creative outlet for my emotions. But yes, that's where we met. We could sit and talk literature for so long. And while I'm not much for the historical literature, magical literature is an art of its own. Spells are usually written in poetic ways, and some are even sung, so there is a beauty in them that I find most amazing. We bonded over that." Dylan reached over, laying his hand atop hers. "It wasn't easy for us. My parents weren't too thrilled about me marrying a foreigner, and his weren't too thrilled about their son and grandchildren being so far away, not to mention when they found out that their first grandchild… was the maiden and would have to die one day."
"That hit us all hard. We knew it was coming, but that doesn't prepare you for the emotional scars you'll get from such an ordeal. That's why I began teaching at Oxford; I love my family, but it hurts. And maybe it's cowardly to flee when it gets tough, but… I don't know how else to cope. Fitzroy came with me to try and use the extensive resources in Britannia to find a magical means to save his sister."
"To no avail. But, I'm now looking for a way to break the cycle, so no one will endure what my sister, Yozora, or we went through again."
Hoshiko and Dylan smiled. "A noble goal, Fitzroy."
"Indeed." Hayate laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Your sister would be proud, I'm sure."
Kairi smiled sadly. "King Hayate, do you mind if I ask you about your wife. Yozora hasn't told me anything other than how she passed."
"So you know about that." Hayate smiled before he pulled a photograph from his coat pocket. "I probably should've mentioned my darling Miyako before." He handed her the photo. The photo of a beautiful woman with deep brown eyes and long violet hair.
"She was a distant relative of mine, a few times removed." Hoshiko said.
"Yep, gotta keep royalty in the family. Just not too much in the family, don't want those genetics all screwy.(1)"
"Really Phienhas!?" Dylan snorted, using all his willpower to not spit out his drink.
"What? You know I'm right!"
"Oh Phinehas…" Hayate smirked. "Back to my story. Miyako and I grew up together. I declared that I would marry her when I was sixteen in front of my entire family, and hers. She was the love of my life, and was much more gentle than I. I was always one to make decisions quickly, and rashly. She was the one who kept me from talking out of turn. Helped me keep a cool head and think before I made decisions. She was my other half."
"Your better half."
"Hush, Phinehas!"
Hayate laughed. "No, she really was my better half. She made me a better person. And I'm hoping that Yozora finds a wife who can be the same for him."
"Um, sir." Kairi bit her lip. "I'm sure he'll find someone like that one day, but I'm not sure he's ready to get married just yet. The maiden still has his heart. He's heartbroken still."
The king nodded slowly. "I know, but I'm hoping that him finding a wife will help him move on. Because the fact is, she's gone… and holding on to those feelings will only hurt more."
The atmosphere at the table now felt stuffy, so thick Kairi felt she could cut it with her Keyblade.
No one spoke as Fitz pushed back his chair and stormed off.
"Fitz!" Hoshiko followed her son down the stairs with Dylan behind her.
Phinehas set down his drink and slowly stood up. "I'm gonna… go." He dramatically tip-toed away, possibly trying to lighten the mood with some humor. That, or he was just being a drama queen, as usual.
Aegis finished taking a sip of his drink before slamming it down on the table. "King Hayate, I mean no disrespect, but maybe you need to step back and rethink this whole wedding thing. Yozora isn't happy about this. He's angry."
"Yeah." Magia huffed. "Right now, he's going to be furious with you as long as your keep this up. It's too soon. Maybe help him recover from the heartbreak first, then do a wedding thing."
The king slowly nodded. "I know he's upset. But, I just want him to find happiness. I see my son suffering in more ways than one. I just want to do something to make him happy again. So, I'm hoping he'll find a sweet young woman who will help his heart heal."
Kairi smiled slightly. His heart was in the right place.
Hayate really thought he was doing the right thing for his son.
"King Hayate," she said softly, "just think about it please."
"Hayate, take a deep breath. Think about this decision first."
He smiled at her. "You remind me of my Miyako… I will. So, Kairi, how did your parents meet?"
"Well, I don't remember my biological parents, but my adoptive parents have a sweet story." Thank goodness for the change of topic…
"Do tell."
Kairi took a drink of water. "Well, my father was a sailor and my mother was the daughter of a rich family on the islands. My father used to sit on the docks and sing; one night my mother heard him. She would stand on her balcony and listen to him sing. One night, he climbed up the tree outside her balcony and talked with her. They became best friends. He would have long journeys out at sea, but when he returned, he'd go to her balcony. My grandparents came home one night to find him sitting in a tree outside their daughter's balcony."
"I'm sure they weren't pleased."
"Well, they were concerned and curious. But, my grandfather was a very calm man. He invited my father inside and they had a chat. Now it helped that my dad had never set foot on her balcony at all, and just wanted to get to know her. My grandfather liked how kind and honest he was, so he approved as long as my father courted her properly."
The king chuckled. "Sounds like it all ended well."
"That it did."
The servers came in and began cleaning up the table as the clock ticked for eight. "Well, you three should probably get back."
"Probably."
"Well, you two young men head downstairs. I'd like to speak to Kairi before you all leave."
Huh?
"Kairi, would you mind joining me in the library?"
"Uh, sure…"
What could this be about? The four of them stepped into the elevator, but only she and the king got out at the library. The crysts flittered around in the background, watching silently, as the two walked in.
"Um, sir, what is this about?"
The king put his hands behind his back. "Kairi, you know that I want the best for my son. And, I know that he isn't the biggest fan of this marriage, but I believe this will help him in the end."
"Ok…"
"I told you about my dear Miyako and how she made me a better person. I want my son to have a wonderful wife who can be what Miyako was to me." He smiled. "Kairi, you're eighteen, correct?"
No.
But, that was the age Aegis put on her paperwork…
"That's what my paperwork says."
Not a lie.
Hayate nodded. "I thought so. Kairi, you are a good person. A sweet young woman, and you are sensible. I wanted to officially extend the offer of marrying my son to you."
WHAT!?
"M-me!?"
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
She was underage! … but he didn't know that.
She loved Sora! … but he didn't know that.
Oh no.
What to do?
What to say?
"Um, sir… I-I'm honored, but I… I will have to decline. Thank you though."
He frowned. "Oh… well, I was hoping you'd say yes. But I guess this was a little out of nowhere. Would you like time to consider it?"
"Uh, no sir…" Best to be honest. "My heart belongs to someone else. I have made an oath to him, and when this is all over, I'll see him again."
The king looked disappointed.
Had-
Had this been his plan since the beginning?
"I see. I understand." He breathed out a light chuckled. "I would've said the same thing probably if I was you. D-do you mind if I make one more request then?"
"What is it?"
"Be a good friend to my son. You can still be that good influence for him… a friend who helps him be the best that he can be. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course. Yozora is my friend."
He smiled, nodding. Kairi took this as a sign and headed for the elevator. "Oh, one more thing." She stopped. "This person who has your heart. What's his name?"
"He shares the name with someone your son spoke of." She turned to him, smiling. "His name is Sora."
"HE DID WHAT!"
Stella's eyes widened as she slurped a soda. Lucky began pacing around her bedroom, swinging a pillow around. "Seriously? Seriously!? The king asked YOU to marry Yozora!? I don't care if he IS the king. No!"
"What the heck!?" Stella gasped. "He just did it out of nowhere? Does Yozora know?"
"He doesn't." Kairi rested her head in her hands. She shook her head, having let the smile she held before the king fall. "I wonder… did he plan this from the beginning? Did he just let me join Yozora's squad so I could marry his son?"
Lucky shrugged dramatically. "Who knows!? He might have!"
"It all makes sense! He's asked me questions that he didn't ask anyone else, questions about things of state. What does he think I am!?" Kairi snapped. "Am I just a tool to him!?" Her shoulders shook. "Is that all I am to people!?"
"Kairi…"
"Maleficent and Ansem used me! Xemnas used me! Xehanort used me! I thought I would be paving my own way now! But no! I'm just here to be USED!"
Stella knelt beside her friend, rubbing Kairi's back as the girl fumed. "Why don't you hang out here for the night?"
"Ok…"
"I'm going to have words with Alexis and Yozora." Lucky headed for the door. "Don't worry, girlie. We'll help you figure this out."
Kairi looked over. "Thanks."
But, peace didn't come all that night.
Not with wakefulness.
Not with sleep.
So, that happened.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Footnotes:
(1) This is a joke referencing the fact that noble families tended to intermarry. I don't know about Japanese nobility, but European nobility sure did this in the past.
VAs:
Miyako- Julie Nathanson (Area Mirus Fleuret, Chocolatte, Chocolina, Belle, Prishe)