Sora was drifting. The borders between dream and reality had grown increasingly blurry over the years. The ethereal sense of being washed along the waves of consciousness was all too familiar to him.
He sank, deep into his heart. Darkness all around him. Down and down he went, deeper than he'd ever gone before. It felt endless. Until, at last, his feet lightly touched on a pane glass floor. The Station of Awakening.
Opening his eyes, Sora gazed at the floor beneath him. It was a visage of himself when he was 14, lying asleep. The familiar ring of friends was arranged behind him. Riku, Donald, Goofy… Kairi, of course.
Choose.
A voice echoed through his head. The familiar sight of a staff, a sword, and a shield came into view, hovering above the glass.
Sora began deliberating. He'd done this enough times to understand what was coming next. It would be just like always. It would be another great excuse to spend some time with Donald and Goofy.
"Choose."
Another voice rang out, but not in his head.
… You shouldn't be here.
The voices were both familiar yet, no matter how much he tried to understand where he heard them before, they kept slipping away from him.
Leave at once.
"No. The final phase is about to begin. And I can allow none to stand in my way."
Cracks began webbing across the surface of the Station. The images of himself and his friends quickly grew unrecognizable as the cracks grew and grew.
CRACK!
The entire Station began to crumble, Sora wailing as he drifted endlessly further into darkness. He didn't much fancy another wayward trip to the Quadratum without being prepared for it. Manifesting his trusty Kingdom Key, he whirled around and spread himself out to slow his descent. The problem was—
"Grrrrr…"
Something was looming in the darkness around him. A giant serpentine creature. Its large, pale, yellow eyes gleamed at him from the darkness. Another Heartless.
"Leviathan. Beast of the great sea," the voice announced. "A prouder creature there rarely was… except for me, of course. Oh, how terrible to see it fall as low as being consumed by darkness."
A rush of blue scales whirled itself around him, trying to crush him to death. A flurry of light slashed its way out of it as Sora used Ars Arcanum. He continued to fall, tilting into a full dive in his effort to escape the creature. Yet it was to no avail.
Something was worming its way into Sora's mind as he fought. Something alien and… blinding. He could almost perceive the entity in its mind's eye, but he understood it to be far more than what he could comprehend. Could ever hope to fully conceive of. And again, he felt like he'd encountered it before…
Sora fought the terrible beast ever deeper into darkness. In the back of his head Sora panicked over whether he was entering back into the Quadratum or a realm so far beyond what anybody had managed to chart before he'd be lost forever. Or, perhaps, slip from sleep into death like Chirithy had warned him about.
SLASH! He beat away Leviathan just as those negative thoughts threatened to consume him. He couldn't let this be the end. And so what if he ended up somewhere? What if he ended up dead? He'd still make his way back, he always had.
He owed too much to everybody like Riku to let this be it. He owed too much to Donald, Goofy, and the king. Too much to Yen Sid, Leon, Yuffie, all his friends.
Too much to Kairi.
Sora landed on solid ground again with a shudder, Leviathan coiling around him. Looking down at the new Station he'd landed on, he saw himself once again asleep. Except it was him as he was now: a young man. Around him were seven circles, each containing a heart. The one at the top began fading until Kairi's visage took its place.
Her bright smile brought strength to Sora's limbs he'd felt very few times before. Standing up, he mustered up his ultimate form and turned his gaze on Leviathan. Leaping, he pelted it with a flurry of slashes from different weapons and lances. He moved fast, faster than the eye could see. Fast as light itself.
The serpent roared as Sora wound back for a finishing move. Speeding forward, he sliced clean through. Silence. Then a rumble as Leviathan faded into darkness, and Sora gracefully landed on the Station.
The voices, both the invader and the one speaking to him, were gone. He peered down at the stained glass. It was pure white. Crystalline, even. Different from the traditional colors of other Stations. The only clear colors were the images of himself and Kairi.
The remaining six portraits of hearts stayed the same, but Sora thought if he squinted he could see some faces beyond them, as if through a curtain. Yet they were still not distinct enough for him to identify them.
Sora's vision began to be blinded by light. He found himself being lifted up, but his gaze remained transfixed on the Station until it was blinked away from sight, and Sora was lifted back to whence he came.
"Ah!" Sora sat bolt upright in bed. Dawn was filtering in through the windows, the warm rays cascading over the room. He hadn't had much time to reorganize it, so it was still caught in the middle between the tastes of a kid obsessed with toys and the messy abode of a young adult.
Even the pyjamas he was wearing were quite old and didn't quite fit him anymore. Blue with star patterns all over. He hadn't bothered to buy himself any new pairs, due to a combination of laziness and not thinking anybody would be here to even see him in such ill-fitting attire.
The mattress sank as somebody sat down next to him. It was Kairi, who'd been bunking with him the past few months in a separate bed beside him. She was still in her pyjamas.
"Sora? Are you alright?" She grasped his chin, examining him for signs of fever.
"Nothing. Just… bad dream. Sorry if I woke you up."
"I've been awake a while now," Kairi replied. She wasn't hesitant about getting close to him, that was for sure. She pressed her forehead against his own to check for a fever. Sora hoped the rush of blood to his cheeks wouldn't be confused for a rise in body temperature.
"Hmm… everything seems normal."
"I'm good, Kairi. Seriously. But thanks."
"Okay. Good." Kairi's smile paired with her deep blue eyes had to be the most mesmerizing thing Sora had ever seen.
"You're staring."
"Wha-? Uhhh… well…"
Kairi giggled as Sora tried to recover. "Come on, your mom's waiting."
Heading downstairs, Sora was startled when a pair of hands covered his eyes.
"Guess whose big sister is back in town!"
"Ah! Aqua, I told you not to do that to me anymore!"
"That's big sis Aqua."
Pulling her hands away, keyblade master Aqua stepped in front of Sora. Her appearance hadn't changed much in the past couple years since she'd escaped the realm of darkness. Save for her outfit, which had acquired more blue highlights.
"Yeah, yeah, stop treating me like a kid. I'm eighteen after all!"
"As you keep reminding everybody. Nice pyjamas, by the way." Sora scowled as Aqua made her way to take her seat.
"Help yourself," he said sarcastically, pulling up a chair next to her.
"Sora, that's no way to speak to a guest." Sora's mother, Akari, came out from the kitchen. Sora had inherited his spiky brown hair from her, which was tied in a loose ponytail falling to the middle of her back. She looked fairly youthful despite some moderate crow's feet.
"Your eggs and bacon are getting cold."
"Uh… yeah…"
"Thanks," Kairi said, sitting down opposite Sora.
"Go ahead, eat up. Who knows when you'll take off on another of your cockamamie adventures again and leave your dear old mum behind," Akari said, plopping herself down in a seat.
"I—Mom, I told you that all couldn't be helped! Darkness was going to invade the worlds a bunch of times. And then there was this Master of Masters guy down in this place called the Quadratum—"
"If there's any Master of Masters in your life, it's me," Akari said sternly. "Eat."
Aqua and Kairi snorted. Sora sighed as he began eating.
"Sora, you have no idea how proud I am of you," Akari said, becoming much warmer. "But you're still only eighteen. Fourteen when this nonsense started. You shouldn't have this stuff about darkness and worlds beyond worlds thrust on your shoulders. It's too much. You're not even a keyblade master!"
"Being a master is a formality and no clear indication of skill. That title means nothing," Sora said bluntly. He paused before turning to Aqua sheepishly.
"No offence."
"Heh, once in my life I actually would've been upset by that. But after everything with Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort… yeah."
Sora decided to keep the conversation going before he could put his foot in his mouth and dig up more old trauma. "But anyway, you won't have to worry Mom. I'm not planning on leaving Destiny Islands anytime soon."
"Good, because you've got four years of school left to catch up on. Have you started your homework?"
Sora chuckled awkwardly. Akari sternly told him to get to it by that night.
Aqua brought up a new topic. "But one thing I'm curious about: you're living here, Kairi? I don't mean to prod, but seeing you come down with Sora is… well…"
Kairi began blushing furiously, stray bits of scrambled egg flying every which way as she furiously waved her arms in negative. Sora, meanwhile, was trying to discern what Aqua meant.
"No, my parents are just out trying to set up trade between worlds! My dad being the mayor and all, and my mom was begging to go with him. Now that interstellar travel is less of a privilege, we've been meaning to make commerce more connected. Destiny Islands is a small player, but we hope to get a wider range of products here."
"Like potions?" Sora chimed in. "I had to stock those up all the time, it was a pain."
"Uh… I was thinking more like special foods and clothing…"
"Oh. Well, that sounds cool too."
"And would you say you're looking forward to getting Kairi that kind of stuff?" Aqua had an airy tone that puzzled Sora.
"What? Ohhhh, yeah! For her and Riku. We could even go on shopping trips together as a group."
Another awkward pause fell over the table.
Aqua sighed, flashing Kairi a sympathetic look. Kairi nodded solemnly. Akari folded her hands in a silent prayer, nodding at Kairi. Sora hadn't the faintest idea what silent conversation had just taken place between the three, but he had a sneaking suspicion it was at his expense.
After eating, Sora made to go back upstairs before Aqua tugged at his shirt sleeve.
"Oh, actually, could you stay down here? They should be arriving any minute."
"Who?"
"… You know what, change out of that first. And for light's sake, don't dilly dally!"
"What are you, mom number two?"
Regardless, Sora complied with what Aqua said. Kairi tried to change at the same time he did, but Sora's galloping heart forced him to steer her out of the room so they could take turns changing. He caught her pouting as he exited and she entered, slamming the door behind her.
Sora and Kairi came down wearing their trademark jackets. Sora in baggy pants, Kairi in a skirt.
"Wayyy better," Aqua commented.
DING DONG!
"And here they are!"
Akari went to the front door and opened it. In came a pair of blonde and ink black hair. Sora reacted with joy.
"Namine! Xion!"
The two girls stood in the foyer. Both were clearly nervous, but Namine was at least meeting Sora's eyes. Xion was nervously avoiding looking at him. He supposed she was just shy like that. They'd had too few chances to talk to each other. The two were dressed casually for a change, wearing fashionable shirts and jeans.
"I thought you were both in Twilight Town?"
"We came to visit," Namine explained. "Aqua picked us up. We hadn't seen you in a while and decided it would be nice to hang out during your summer break."
"R-right. I-it's good to see you again Sora!" Xion strode forward but ended up tripping over the coat rack legs by the door. She fell in a tumble, the coats piling all over her. Sora pulled her up by her armpits, plopping her back on her feet as the others quickly stood the coat rack back up.
"Watch where you step," he chuckled. Xion, understandably embarrassed, stiffly shuffled to a corner where she stared at the wall. The group decided it was best to leave her alone for a few minutes. Akari took the chance to begin interviewing their other new arrival.
"So you're Namine. Sora's told me a lot about you!"
"Oh, really?" Namine blushed. "He's helped me out a lot."
"Oh, nonsense! Don't pretend like he's not been a bother. Reconstructing all his memories. It was like a blank spot was suddenly put back into place for me. I couldn't believe it! Forgetting my own kid."
"Mooooom!"
"Zip it! I've aged twenty years in the span of only four because of you!"
"About the whole memory thing…" Namine twirled her fingers around each other, guilty. "That was my fault. It would never have happened if not for me."
Sora tried to interject but Aqua pressed her arm against his chest, shaking her head.
"You see, I'm what you'd call a "witch." Sora would never have started losing his memories if not for me. There was a lot going on but… yeah. It's always been my fault. I'm so terribly sorry I put you through that. I didn't know what I'd say when I eventually spoke to you but… I'm obligated to say sorry. For everything I've done."
Namine bowed her head. Akari's expression was unreadable for a second before relaxing into a warm smile. She drew Namine into a hug.
"There, there sweetie. It's okay."
"… Huh?"
"I had a feeling this was the case from how Sora told the story," Akari explained. "He's not the type to blame people who don't deserve it. And mind you, he's quite right when it comes to that."
Namine seemed taken aback, both by the rapid acceptance of her apology and by Akari taking such an intimate action, but she nevertheless accepted the embrace by returning it.
Kairi and Aqua huffed happily. Sora grinned. Xion, overcoming her anxiety, rejoined them. She still refused to meet Sora's gaze.
"Sorry about that little tumble. I'm Xion. I was… kind of made to be your son's replacement."
Akari chuckled tiredly, letting Namine go. "Oh, this is turning into a far more interesting day than I'd planned."
Later, Kairi, Aqua, Namine, and Xion were all seated in the living room. Akari had dragged Sora off to go clothes shopping. "Aqua is right. You can't keep wearing those kiddie jammies every night and we're fixing that today!"
"Mooooooom!"
"SILENCE!"
"Sora's mother is pretty awesome," Xion said, licking at some sea salt ice cream.
"Sure you don't want tea?" Kairi offered her. Xion waved her hand. Aqua and Namine sipped their cups.
"The woman's become my idol." Aqua grinned. "I visit Destiny Islands a lot to check up on Sora. Feels like it's what Master Eraqus would've wanted."
"What have you been doing in the meantime?"
"The Master of Masters had some sort of overarching plan we're not sure of. After Sora and Yozora defeated him in the Quadratum, we should be mostly okay. But the king and Yen Sid believe otherwise."
"That's what Riku's been doing lately," Kairi added. "He comes to visit as well in between searching for clues of the Master of Masters' larger schemes. But since Sora isn't a keyblade master, he's been ordered to stay at home."
"He's still not a master, huh?" Xion took a chunk out of the ice cream, chewing and shuddering at the brain freeze.
"Sora swears it's just a title, but I can tell it bothers him," Kairi said. "Before it was just a formality. But now it's different. Nobody says it out loud, but him not being master is really just an excuse to keep him grounded. If they named him one, who knows what trouble he'd get up to?"
"Sora's very powerful," Namine said.
"Which is why he needs to learn to control himself before we can employ him again," Aqua explained. "Hell, he's stronger than anybody. Especially with that X-blade. This is for his own good. Or at least, it's supposed to be."
"But?"
"I won't lie to you guys. The worlds have been shifting lately."
"… How?"
Xion swiftly finished her ice cream and checked the stick. Not a winner. "Are the worlds drawing closer together?"
Aqua grew surprised. "That's… right. How did you know that?"
"Lucky guess," Xion said. "So? What's gonna happen?"
"Well. If every world became one massive world, then that would mean you'd have more hearts in one place than any other time in history. Except before the universe as we know it… but that's just a theory. And with that comes more light and darkness in one place as well."
Kairi's face grew pale. "Kingdom Hearts would appear!?"
"Calm down, these are all just hypotheticals. But… yes. The true Kingdom Hearts would manifest itself. I feel as if Master Xehanort's plan wasn't even scratching the surface of what was possible. But perhaps if somebody did know…"
Solemn silence fell over the group. Namine spoke up after an awkward 30 seconds.
"Hey, we came here to forget about that kind of stuff. Let's put that behind us for the time being, shall we?"
"Right. Which brings us toooooo…" Aqua pointed at Kairi, who began to feel jittery.
"W-what?"
"You and Sora! How did you weasel your way into a co-ed situation?"
Kairi laughed nervously while Namine and Xion appeared taken aback. Xion in particular had blanched.
"You're in a what?" Xion coughed, realizing her tone was too curt. "I mean… what's going on with you two?"
"I'm curious as well," Namine said. "You mentioned spending more time with Sora before, but I didn't take that to mean you were living here together."
"Well, you know, Sora needed enough time to recover. Then my parents left. And then Akari started talking about getting Sora to "man up" eventually and uh. Before I knew it I'd brought my things into his room and made myself at home."
Aqua squealed. It was a rather unusual sight from such a dignified master. "I can't believe it! It's like those romance novels I had at the Land of Departure!"
"Romance novels?"
"What, you think I was going to get girl talk out of Terra and Ven? Master Eraqus snuck them in for me. He at least had the sense to realize he wasn't capable of it either. I had nothing except me, myself, and I on that front for most of my life. Ooooooh, I can't wait to see the wedding venue!"
"Calm down," Kairi put her hands up, seeing Aqua already begin daydreaming. "I'm not trying to go fast. We're not anywhere near ready to talk about a wedding."
"I mean, you can't go anywhere at all without dating at first. Fast or slow."
"So you're not dating Sora yet?" Xion blurted out. She put her hand over her mouth and shrank into her armchair. It seemed she was trying to bury herself so deep nobody would ever see her again.
"Uh, I think what Xion is trying to say is that… you haven't taken any real steps yet?" Namine's tone was guarded.
Aqua looked from Kairi, to Namine, to the rapidly diminishing presence of Xion. Back, forth, back, forth. The gears were turning in her head. You could practically see the lightbulb ding over her head as comprehension dawned.
"Uhhhhh… I'm just going to make more tea for us." Tacitly making her exit.
Kairi laced her fingers together, looking Namine and Xion both in the eye. "I'll be honest with you two. Especially seeing as we're the same person, in a sense."
"Sometimes I think I'm three people," Xion said drily.
"I am not plagued by that setback, thankfully," Namine said.
"Lucky." Xion blew at her bangs.
"I'm serious here," Kairi explained. "I've known Sora all my life, and—"
"So have we," Xion and Namine countered.
"Well… uhhhh…"
Xion smirked as she jabbed her temple. "I even remember when he stopped wetting the bed."
"That's creepy."
"Yeah, point taken."
"And regardless, Sora helped me navigate who I was even when anybody else would've given up." Namine clenched a fist to her heart. "And on top of that… well…"
"He's a cutie," Xion declared.
"That feels… somewhat narcissistic?"
"Oh please Namine, not like you have any room to talk. And Kairi's too nice to say anything harsh back to us."
"Hey, I'm not some pushover!" Kairi felt scandalized.
"Oh yeah? Prove it."
Kairi's eyes narrowed to blue slits. "If you feel so strongly about confessing to Sora, why don't you do it when he gets back? I'll even get all the coat racks out of your way this time."
Xion's face turned beet red as Namine tried to stifle her laughter. In the kitchen, Aqua nearly broke the tea kettle trying to do the same.
Attempting to save face, Xion spat out a retort.
"I mean, it's true. Us coming from Kairi and Sora, Roxas and Vanitas coming from Ventus and Sora. The five million Xehanorts that were running around. We're all one screwed up family at this point. Who knows, somebody's Uncle Earl could turn out to be a clone of the Master of Masters."
"What if the Master of Masters' name is Uncle Earl?"
The girls shared a laugh as the tension abated.
"Oh jeez, what are we doing," Kairi sighed. "Why are we fighting over this?"
"I don't think there's any real bad blood yet. We're all just being competitive about this," Namine pointed out.
"First to win Sora's heart wins," Xion said, grinning wickedly.
"I'm game," Namine said.
"I won't lose to either of you," Kairi said smugly. "I've got a pretty big headstart. But anyway, I always thought you and Roxas were kind of… you know?"
Xion grew puzzled at Kairi's question. "Uhhhhh, no? Roxas is my best friend, but I don't really feel that way about him. It would just be weird for me."
"I see," Kairi said softly. "I guess it's because you guys sort of remind me of me and Sora, is all."
"Hey, love blooms in mysterious places," Xion said.
"How exactly did you get a crush on him?"
Xion began pouting, mumbling an explanation.
"Hmm?"
Taking a deep breath, Xion raised her voice. "You don't understand what it's like, not really knowing who you are… on the one hand my heart was molded based on what Sora thought of you. But then I was accumulating all of Sora's memories beyond just you, to the point where we were becoming the same.
"The first time I ever had any real clarity was when we were fighting. Or rather, he was fighting me from the past. When he said my name, it just… suddenly clicked. Roxas and Lea went through hell for me. It's thanks to Sora we all ended up together again."
"That's so sweet! Aww…"
"Don't give me that, I'm serious about this!"
"No, really… I hear you. I understand how you feel. Sora's got that magical touch to him."
Xion pumped her fist. "Well then, let the best woman win!"
"Exactly!"
Kairi then blinked, looking around.
"Hey, where's Namine?"
The front door clicked open.
"Shopping is over," Sora sighed in relief, Akari pushing him through the door.
"Quit your bellyaching! They look good on you."
"They sure do," Sora said sincerely.
"Welcome home!"
Namine came out of the kitchen with two large sandwiches. One had roast beef, the other turkey. "I thought I'd prepare something for you two when you got back! Dig in."
"You made this for me? Awesome! You're the best, Namine."
Giggling at Sora's compliment, Namine handed the two their lunch.
"Oh, that is so sweet! Thank you dear."
Akari accepted the plate from her, but not before looking on happily as the latest suitor for Sora's affections sat down next to him watching him eat. Then a chill ran up her spine.
Looking out the corner of her eye, she saw Kairi and Xion shooting icy glares at the table where Namine was. She could almost see the actual darkness emanating from them.
In the middle of all this, Aqua stood by the entrance to the kitchen. She pinched her nose, sighing at how fast the energy in the room had grown dour again.
She supposed she would have to support Kairi in this race. She was her apprentice after all, on top of undoubtedly having a head start. The question was if her own shyness would sadly make that all for naught. Especially when paired with Namine's agency. Xion might be no slouch either, off how determined she'd sounded.
She had a few ideas to help Kairi. Just a few.
"I guess this is gonna be what you'd call a long summer," Aqua said, sitting down at the table as well.
But through all this turmoil, nobody caught onto the sneaky glances Sora made at Kairi every few bites of his sandwich. He was disappointed to only catch a glimpse of the back of her red hair in the armchair.
"Yeah. Very long."
Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to True Climax Afterstory! After seeing Sora get into Smash and perusing fanfiction sites, I became possessed both by a new enthusiasm for the Kingdom Hearts and disappointed there weren't any real harem fics. None that I could find, anyway.
While I obviously have zero clue where the series will go next, I'm writing this with the intention of providing a proper conclusion to Sora's story. It'll be a coming-of-age narrative mixed with funny harem hijinks and all the absurd nonsense people love about Kingdom Hearts. We'll visit familiar worlds, see familiar faces, all while going on a new journey that wraps up the story for a bombastic finale incorporating everything that's been built up over the course of 20 years.
Sora is going to be romantically involved with the girls introduced in this chapter along with a few others I'll be introducing as the story moves along. You can already see just from this chapter Akari is thrilled to have so many women interested in her boy. She's going to be a very happy grandmother one day.
Donald and Goofy will appear, along with Riku, Mickey, Terra and Ven, Roxas and Lea, all the other characters we've come to know and love. But the bulk of the adventure is about Sora connecting with each of these fair maidens and saving the universe from Light and Darkness both.
I'd also like to give special thanks to Shadeking666, who provided both valuable input/ideas for the creation of this story along with beta reading for me. Please check his fics out!
Thank you all for starting this journey with me, and I hope to see you soon. Later!