Chapter 10: Body Crumbles

Cal walked through a white environment. There appeared to be snow on the ground, and his slow and deliberate footsteps sounded muffled.

His heart returned, appearing right in front of him. He shot it and kept walking.

-X-

And that was the end of the movie.

Sora said, "Can't believe I'm saying this, but I kinda wish that was a spooky romcom. I'm a little depressed, now."

Watching the credits roll, Kairi said in disbelief, "I was sure that would turn into a chick-flick at any moment."

"But it never did," Sora concluded, voice devoid of hope. Then, he said, "Technically, it had a chick flicking herself multiple times, but tha—"

"That doesn't coun—"

"Yeah, that doesn't count. Uh...well, at least he didn't appear to be dead at the end. He was just..."

"Dead inside?" Kairi tried answering. "From shooting his own heart, and everything else?

Shaking his head, Sora hypothesized, "This must be what it's like to finish a Kingdom Hearts game."

Kairi shook her head, too, saying, "Yeah, I wasn't feeling the rapey part, either."

"Which one?" Sora asked, cracking a wide smile—

"The one with all the wolf guys—why the hell are you smiling?!"

"What? That one was funny."

"Then, which other part was rapey?"

"Uh...I guess when Cal...offed himself while Ashkennot was sleeping? He was kinda in her personal space."

"Yeah, I don't know what that was. I think this whole movie was made to fuck with people. Might be why I weirdly need a sequel."

"Yeah, well, don't bet on a romcom next time. Oh, and just to make sure, that was his heart that was making them dance at the end, right?"

She replied, "Pretty sure. I thought that was sweet—their hearts were connected."

"Yep, and the WiFi's connected, too. Let's watch that video of the guy winning the bowling tournament!"

Kairi then remembered, "Or you could tell me about your father."

"Oh, yeah..." Sora nodded and said, "Right. He's still a non-Square O.C., but I kind of remember him. Of course, it's up to Square if he ever gets established, but he's definitely...er, not evil, so far."

"Cool. So...does he live with your mom?"

"No."

"Oh."

"He's lives in Bamco with his own family...of other O.C.'s. And, yeah, he helps me pay bills, so that's always great."

"That is great. I like that. He sounds like a stand up guy."

"Hmph. I think so, too. Well, yeah—I'm sleepy. Need to get back to the data world."

"You're definitely gonna get caught if you leave now, so shut up and spend the night."

Sora obliged, "Okay, but can you do one thing for me?"

"What's tha—?"

"Give in to me! Or draw your blade—heresy! Shall mark this—brutality! You shall pay~—face your fears—SWORN THROUGH SWORDS!"

Kairi sat there, appearing exponentially vexed.

Meanwhile, Sora was impressed with himself. "I can't believe I still remember the lyrics!"

-X-

Before falling asleep, all super-laid-up with Kairi in the bed, Sora remembered his conversation with Cal.

"I didn't grow up with them like you did. That's why it's a little less difficult to accept this. But seeing you with her does make me happy, Sora. I guess...I've learned to adapt."

But Sora didn't seem happy to hear that. "But...you shouldn't have to feel that way. Like you're missing something."

Cal smiled. "It's all relative. When you're happy, I'm happy. Don't ever feel guilty because of what you have. Keep it, and never take it for granted."

Sora was so glad Kairi didn't snore. Either that, or she rarely ever did. Also, holy crap—the goodness of his will was on level ninety-nine or something. They almost banged each other, like twice, and there he was, still making self-control look easy. Oh, apparently, they were waiting for "the next step" before allowing themselves to hit that. Probably meant waiting for Square to age them up appropriately, but whatever brah.

Pfft. He was already cupping her booty, look.

So, it goes—another day, another memory before that rhythm game comes out. Tch, yeah, I'll definitely be watching those cutscenes for free, thank you. And here's to hoping for more story leaks as this franchise continues gouging out my sanity.

...

Wait, there's another one.