More Than Meets The Eye
"Perhaps the greatest enemy we have is ourselves."
Kairi wasn't sure where she'd read the sentence, maybe from one of the books she leafed through in between missions while it was Riku's turn to drive. But as she stared at the cloaked figure before her, the words rang true. It was just the two of them in this abandoned city, this ghost town, and all the pieces were falling into place.
She'd thought this man was their enemy. She'd fought him several times now, had engaged him in battle because that was what she was supposed to do. Princess of Heart, Guardian of Light, it was her job to fight anyone who stood in the way.
"I know who you are," she said as the wind whistled through the empty buildings that were mere skeletons of what they'd once been.
"Nah, not possible," he said, but the words had no conviction in them.
"Sora."
He froze, then his hands lowered to his sides.
"It is you, isn't it?" she said as she took a step closer, an old rusty piece of metal creaking beneath her feet. "You can try to fool me all you want, but I know you. I know your heart."
He waved his hands in the air. "Nah, I'm just messin' with you. I'm the Master of Masters. It's in the name. I'm pretty good at tricking people into thinking I'm someone I'm not."
She shook her head. "No. You've changed so much I couldn't tell at first. But you couldn't deceive me forever."
"C'mon, Princess, the joke isn't funny anymore—"
She caught his gloved wrist, and his breath hitched. He didn't stop her as she pulled the glove off. His fingers were long and elegant; older and with more scars and calluses than when she'd last seen them. She supposed her hand was different now, too.
She intertwined her fingers with his, and on instinct his fingers curled around hers. The conviction in her heart grew stronger with each passing moment. If this man wasn't Sora, then he was a very convincing imitator.
But she knew, deep down, that it was him. Still, she had to see for herself. Had to see with her own two eyes. Reaching up, she lifted his hood off, her breath catching in her throat as she unveiled him. Sure enough, as the hood fell away from his face, his brown spikes poked out every which way. Even after all this time his hair refused to be tamed. One blue eye stared down at her, and the other was covered by a black eyepatch.
"It really is you," she said softly, her lip trembling. Was she relieved? Happy? Sad? Hard to say. A whirlwind of emotions tumbled through her as she gazed into his remaining eye. The other one was in Xehanort's old Keyblade now, and she shuddered as she thought about what he must've done to put it in there.
"So what happens now?" he asked. "You kill me? Capture me? Drag me back to all our friends and say, 'I told you so?'"
She shook her head again. "No. They don't even know I'm here."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why not? It was stupid of you to come alone."
"Stupid? Perhaps it was. I suppose you could just as easily kill me or capture me. Why haven't you?"
He was silent for a moment, then finally said, "Wouldn't be any fun that way. You beat me at my own game, fair and square."
"This isn't a game, Sora."
He chuckled, but there was no mirth in his tone. "No, I guess not. I've got a lot of blood on my hands. Guess I deserve what's coming to me."
She didn't know what to say to that. Why was it so hard to reconcile the two Soras in her head? The one from her youth, kind and caring and with a heart as big as the sky, with this man who had willingly brought such devastation and destruction and heartbreak. They seemed at odds with each other, and yet she knew they were both the same person now. If only she could split the bad from the good and keep the good.
"I'm glad it was you," he said at last. "Any one of our friends could've found me out, but at least this way I got to talk to you one last time." He took a deep breath and smiled sadly. "I'm ready, Kairi. Take me back."
She stared at him, at the way he was looking at her, at the way he was smiling at her. A lump settled in her throat, and her eyes watered.
"No. I can't. I can't."
His lips parted, and she threw her arms around him.
"Take me with you. Please."
He stood there for a few moments, then his grip around her tightened as he hugged her back. Even after all this time, his hugs still made her feel the same way. Still made her feel safe. It was wrong to feel safe at the hands of a man who had orchestrated the Keyblade War, she knew that much. But in her heart of hearts, this felt good. Right. It was how things should've been. How they were supposed to be.
"Kairi—"
"Don't tell me we can't be together. I can't… I can't live like that anymore."
"I can't either," he admitted. "So please… take me back. Our friends will do what has to be done if you can't."
She pulled away from him. "No. I'm not taking you back to them. I'm coming with you. Wherever you go, I'll go."
He shook his head. "You really want to be always on the run? Never able to see our friends again except to fight them? That's not the kind of life you deserve."
"But at least we'll be together."
He hesitated. He was silent as he mulled her proposition over. The light was quickly fading from this place as the sun set, and the wind had picked up. It really did feel like they were the only living things left in this empty place full of ghosts and memories.
"Is being together really that important to you?" he said at last.
"Yes. I can't… I can't watch you die. Not again. Please, not again."
He found her hand, and his was warm. "Then come with me."
He put his hood over his head and summoned his Keyblade in his other hand. The eye that should be in its rightful place in his head stared out at her from his Keyblade instead. All this time, it had been his eye watching over everything. His eye that had seen it all.
A few moments later, a swirling black Corridor of Darkness opened up nearby. "Together?" he asked.
"Together."
He led her through it as the final light from the sky faded, and right before it closed, she thought she heard someone calling her name. Riku.
She glanced back, and he was running towards them with his hand outstretched. The others were with him, too. A pang of regret went through her before she brushed it off. Sometimes, sacrifices had to be made. And if this was what she had to do to be with Sora… if this was her best chance of helping him… then so be it.
It didn't matter what he'd done. No, it did matter what he'd done. It mattered very much. That was why she had to go with him. Because deep down, in her heart of hearts, she'd never given up on him.
And she sure wasn't about to now.
This story was inspired by imaginative-ink's recent post and artwork on the "Sora is the MoM" theory on tumblr and twitter, along with conversations with Alja and Rapis_Razuri about the idea. It also includes some thoughts about Dark Sora that have been swirling inside my head for a while now.
I'm thinking about continuing it, but I have some other projects on my plate right now, so we'll see. For now it shall remain a one-shot. Hope you enjoyed! Happy SoKai Day!