A story for antaurilover685, who owns Kairi. :) Here you go, Amiga! :) Enjoy! :)
Balan Wonderworld belongs to Square Enix. I only own Rachel.
The Maestro Of Her Heart
Rachel whistled a song she loved as she headed down the street. She had just finished her day at work and had the next week off and she was planning to go visit a friend on her vacation. As she continued walking, her mind drifted to Kairi, who had been sad lately.
Kairi worked at a restaurant and it had good days and days that were tough, as any workplace did. The other night though, Kairi had a male customer be very rude to her and his words had left her in tears. Rachel had comforted her and told her not to listen to those rude people.
She now stopped as she gave it some thought and then smiled. "I think Kairi's got some vacation time," she said. "I'll talk to her boss, because that girl needs some time to relax."
As she drew closer to the restaurant, she noticed a small puffball that was colored yellow and she smiled, recognizing it to be a Tim. When it saw her, it chirped and she went up to it, petting it gently. "Now that's a great idea," she said to the Tim. "Kairi loves magic and I think your guardian is a person she needs to meet."
The Tim chirped happily and she smiled. "Would you please tell him that I'm on my way with a friend?"
The creature nodded and hopped away, to which Rachel headed for the restaurant, entering just in time to see Kairi looking ready to burst into tears as a male customer was yelling at her. "You're too slow and look at you! You look horrible!" He said.
Rachel narrowed her eyes and marched over to the table, standing in front of Kairi and glaring at the man, who blinked when he saw her. "Oh! Miss Rachel," he said, knowing her because he owned a company that Rachel's own company had granted a loan to to start his business.
"You know, my boss has a very strict policy of no bullying others and that includes berating someone for no reason," she said. "In fact, I've seen him cancel loans because he has seen some of people asking for them be bullies to others. And once a loan is cancelled, it's on a person's record for good."
The man looked a bit worried now and she knew why. He needed the loan because he was having a hard time getting his business going. "Um, perhaps you don't have to tell him?" He asked nervously.
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "Apologize nicely and meaningfully to my friend here and I might reconsider telling my boss what you did," she said, stepping to the side to reveal Kairi standing there and looking grateful that her friend was there. "Her name is Kairi and she doesn't have all day to wait for your apology and neither do I."
The man looked very flustered now and he apologized profusely to Kairi, not only paying for the meal but leaving her a good tip too before heading out. Rachel turned to the brown-haired girl and hugged her. "You okay?" She asked gently.
Kairi nodded. "I am now," she said, sniffling a little as a few tears escaped her. "Thank you. This isn't the first time he's been rude to me."
"Well, he better take my warning to heart, because if my boss gets wind of this guy's behavior, he can kiss that loan goodbye."
The owner of the restaurant came out and she smiled at Rachel. "It's good to see Kairi has good friends that will stand up for her," she said.
"Thank you, Ma'am, and I'm actually glad to see you. I was hoping to ask you if Kairi has vacation time," Rachel said.
"She does and I was about to ask her if she'd like to take the next week off for her vacation," the owner said. "She's put up with that man for the past three weeks and I think she's earned a vacation for being the better person when he was rude to her."
Kairi blushed and saw Rachel smile before she nodded. "If it's okay, Ma'am, then yes, I'd like to take next week for my vacation," she said.
"Consider it done," the owner said with a smile. "And you can head out now if you'd like. You've earned the rest of the day off."
Thanking her, Kairi grabbed her things and Rachel took her hand. "Come on," she said with a smile. "There's this one place you have to visit. In fact, I was going over there when I decided to stop by and see about when your vacation was."
"Really?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah," the blonde-haired girl said. "Come on. It's just this way."
With that, Rachel led her friend to an alleyway and at the end of the alley, there was a building that looked a bit old, but something about it was drawing Kairi to it. "What is this place?" She asked.
"It's a theater, one that belongs to a good friend of mine," Rachel said as she knocked on the door, which opened moments later. "Come on."
She gently pulled her friend inside and down the hallway. "He should be around her somewhere," she said.
"Who?" The brown-haired girl asked.
"My friend who owns this place," the blonde-haired girl said. "Trust me. You'll love me. He's awesome and he always cheers me up after a bad day."
They came to a large room with tables and there was a stage at the very front of the room. Kairi blinked as she realized it was a place for live plays, but she had never heard of this theater before. Feeling Rachel let go of her hand, she gazed around, noting that it looked magnificent and the colors were bright, almost like they were beckoning someone to come have a seat and enjoy the show.
"Ah, there he is!" She heard the blonde-haired girl exclaim before turning to see her friend run up to a tall being in a ringmaster's suit that was colored white and red while a dark vest was around his waist and his hat came down over half his face like a mask. His golden eyes sparkled as he saw Rachel and he opened his arms to her, to which she jumped at him and he caught her, spinning her around and making her laugh as she hugged him.
"Welcome, my dear!" The tall being said, his voice deep and pleasant.
Kairi took a step back as shyness overcame her and she blushed before hiding behind a nearby pillar, peeking out curiously to watch the tall being with her best friend. She noted that his hair was neon green while his skin was dark, which just added to his handsome features in her opinion.
She then saw him set Rachel down and a bright light emanated from his hands before a crystal in with rainbow colors appeared in his hands and Rachel gasped in surprise as the crystal became a heart and it was on a rawhide cord before he placed it around her neck. "Oh, Balan, I love it!" She said, hugging him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, my dear," he said with a smile. "I know how much you like hearts and rainbows."
Rachel grinned up at him before she perked up. "Balan, you've got to meet one of my best friends," she said, turning to look for Kairi, but she stopped short at not seeing her. "Kairi? Where'd you go, hon?" She called out questioningly.
Kairi ducked a bit more behind the pillar, shyness overcoming her again as she heard both her friend and the tall being speak. "You brought a friend today?"
"Yes, one of my best friends," the blonde-haired girl said, a smile in her voice. "Her name's Kairi and she's very sweet."
"I believe I remember you telling me about her," Balan said, smiling. "Is she the one that set up that surprise for you to go see your favorite country singer?"
"Same one," Rachel said before a look of sadness came to her face. "She had a rough day at work today. Make that a rough few weeks. The same customer came in and was rude to her."
"Goodness," the tall being said before he saw a bit of blue out of the corner of his eye and he turned, smiling as he saw someone hiding behind the pillar. "Would Kairi have brown hair and be wearing a blue shirt?" He asked.
"Yeah," the blond-haired said before looking at him in surprise. "How'd you know?"
"I believe I might have found her," he said, gesturing to a nearby pillar.
Kairi peeked out and gasped at seeing the tall being was looking right at her and she ducked more behind the pillar, biting her lip nervously. Rachel went up to her, smiling gently. "Hey, Kairi, it's okay," she said, hugging the younger girl. "Balan won't hurt you. He's really nice and he's the maestro of this place."
The brown-haired girl took another peek out and blushed, to which the other girl noticed. "Oh," she said knowingly, a smile on her face.
Balan also noticed and he chuckled, approaching them. "No need to be shy, my dear. I don't bite," he said, his voice amused, but comforting at the same time. "Will you come out and let me have a better look at you?"
Kairi felt her insides melting at his voice and she blushed again. Rachel smiled and gave her friend another hug. "Go on," she whispered to her, giving her a gentle push to her back, making her move out from behind the pillar.
The brown-haired girl stood before Balan and she ducked her head shyly, unable to look him in the eye because she was blushing. He's really handsome, she thought to herself.
A gentle chuckle made her look up at the tall being, who smiled gently at her. "Let me guess, you've never met someone like me before," he said in gentle amusement.
She shook her head, noting how his smile seemed to grow and he reached a hand out to her. She held still as he gently cupped the left side of her face with his right hand, which felt warm and she couldn't help closing her eyes softly as she actually leaned her cheek into his hand. He gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb and was rewarded with a content smile from her. "See? I'm harmless," he said, making her open her eyes to look at him and he smiled at her. "You're even more beautiful than I imagined when Rachel told me about you."
Kairi blushed again before looking curious. "She told you about me?" She asked in surprise.
He nodded. "She did," he said before he gently placed his free hand on her right shoulder, gently pulling her closer to him. "Come with me, my dear. I can help you."
She blinked. "You can?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "And...help me with what?"
"Help you forget your troubles," he said. "And to help you feel truly happy again."
Kairi looked at him wonderingly. "You can do that?" She asked before looking away and turning away, hugging herself. "But...why would you do that for me? You don't really know me."
She felt strong arms gently pull her closer to the tall being and her head rested against his chest as he stroked her head in a soothing manner. His heartbeat gently echoed in her ear and she leaned more on him, feeling safe and warm. She then looked up at him and saw him smile again at her as the backs of his fingers rubbed gently over her face. "What do you like the most in the entire world, my dear?" He asked.
She smiled. "The ocean," she admitted.
She gasped in surprise when he picked her up bridal style. "Allow me," he said, walking towards the stage and stepping onto it as a portal formed.
Rachel, who had been watching, smiled as she saw this. "Get ready, Kairi," she said to herself. "This will be an adventure you won't forget."
She then kneeled down to play with the Tims that had come up to her and she picked a few of them up, cuddling with them as the larger Tims gathered closer. One Tim even placed an egg in her lap and another brought her over some colorful teardrop-shaped gems. The egg in her lap hatched into a white Tim that looked just like a bird. Smiling, she fed it some drops and watched it grow a bit bigger, making her chuckle. "I never get tired of you guys," she said, snuggling against some of the larger Tims while the smaller ones jumped around, some sitting her in lap while she cuddled the newest Tim in her arms.
Meanwhile, Balan had taken Kairi to a part of Wonderworld that was the ocean and she gasped in awe at how brightly colorful it was. She then felt the ocean call to her and she stepped up to it, taking off her shoes and dipping her feet into the water. Balan smiled as he saw this. "The ocean is part of you," he said.
She nodded before stepping further into the water and her legs transformed into her blue mermaid tail. The tall being's eyes widened in surprise before he chuckled. "Ah, so I did sense magic in you, my dear," he said.
She giggled. "Yeah," she said. "I love magic."
To her surprise, a platform rose up from the water and Balan floated over to it, standing on it before a song began and it sounded so wonderful that Kairi moved closer before Balan reached down and picked her up out of the water, her tail transforming back to her legs again before the maestro began leading her into a dance, the music adding to the atmosphere.
Kairi felt like she was floating as she danced with the entertainer, her heart fluttering when he smiled at her so warmly, his golden eyes glowing as she smiled at him. As the song came to an end, the brown-haired girl felt a bit daring and in a bold move, she reached up and gently tugged on the tall being's shoulders. Sensing she wanted him to move his head closer, he did, smiling at her. "Are you having a good time, my dear?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes," she said before taking a deep breath and suddenly pressing her lips against his. Balan's eyes widened in surprise before a chuckle escaped him and Kairi felt him wrap an arm around her waist before he leaned down more, gently making her lean back. Realizing he was leaning her into a dancing dip, she relaxed, holding onto him trustingly as they continued kissing before she felt the maestro gently brush his tongue over her lips.
She gasped and tightened her grip on him a little before relaxing again and he gently broke the kiss. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said softly.
"It's okay," she said before blushing. "Can you...do that again?"
He smiled and chuckled before pulling her into another kiss, again gently brushing his tongue over her lips and she brushed her tongue gently over his lips, making him smile before he deepened the kiss, making her moan in pleasure as he gave her a French kiss. She could now understand why some girls said that French kisses were amazing. Her head was swimming in a good way and she clung to Balan, who gently scooped her up while still kissing her and he walked off the stage, carrying her to behind some rocks on the beach and he gently laid her down on the sand. He then broke the kiss and she took some deep breaths, looking up at him with a smile. He smiled back before tracing a finger gently over her stomach, making her giggle softly as it tickled a little. "You have a crush on me, my love?" He asked her.
She smiled. "I think it's a bit more than a crush," she admitted, blushing again before jumping at him and he caught her, landing on his back with her on top of him. Smiling, he rubbed her back, holding her close.
"I don't believe I've met a more beautiful woman before," he said. "Sweet Kairi."
She blushed at that and gently traced a finger over his shirt-covered chest, making him smile at that. "The maestro of my heart," she said.
She then gasped as his hands began glowing and he held them up and before her eyes, a blue crystal heart appeared in his hands along with a rawhide cord and he reached up to her, gently tying the necklace around the brown-haired girl's neck. "I'll take good care of your heart, Kairi, and of you," he promised.
She looked at him and as he cupped her face in his hands, she nuzzled her face into the warm hands. "And I'll do the same for you, Balan," she promised.
Smiling again, he leaned his head up and kissed her again. She closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss as the sun set into a beautiful sunset, but her focus was only on the maestro that she was falling for.
Rachel, who had gone to check on them, let them be as she smiled. "I think they're going to be just fine," she said, happy for both of her friends.
Please leave a review, but no flames! Or I'll send Lance after you. :)
GoldGuardian2418