A/N: This is a story that is basically an AU I've had on my mind for a while now, where Kairi is far from useless or defenseless and actually has her own role to play. This story is Kairi-centric, which means most changes will revolve around Kairi, and since we've arrived at KH2, some will also revolve around Naminé (and somewhat Xion).
Also, please review! Tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only own an OC who will appear much later in the story (about KH3-ish).
Note: Remember that if I don't add a scene (or don't write out the whole thing; same goes with the designs), it means that it's the same as in canon. Just FYI.
This chapter begins the KH2 Prologue, and the focus is turned back to Kairi as she tries to help Roxas avoid his fate. This entire chapter takes place in Twilight Town.
Also, the outfit Kairi wears in this chapter (the one in the current cover image, as of August 19, 2020, at least) is one of my personal favorites that I've ever drawn. If you want to see the full version, go to my DeviantArt page (same name) and search for "Kairi ~ Oathkeeper AU".
!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~O~A~T~H~K~E~E~P~E~R~~A~U~~!
Kingdom Hearts: The Oathkeeper
Chapter 9: Kingdom Hearts 2, Part 1
"A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory. A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream. I want to line the pieces up—yours and mine."
==The 1st Day==
~The Usual Place~
Kairi was enjoying conversation with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, while Roxas sat there, just thinking, as the train passed them on the tracks overhead.
Roxas was brought out of his train of thought when he heard Hayner say, "Man, doesn't that tick you off?"
"Yeah, that's just wrong," Pence agreed.
Olette added, "Seifer's gone too far this time."
They looked over at Roxas, who only nodded.
"I don't know..." Kairi carefully added. "A villain has never turned good by being treated as a villain."
Hayner jumped out of his seat, "He started it this time, Kairi! We've got a score to settle with him and everything, and he knows it. I don't really mind if he thinks we did it. I can't really blame him if he does. What really bugs me is that he's goin' around tellin' everybody we're the thieves! Now the whole town and their mothers are treating us like the Klepto Club! Have you ever been this ticked off before in your life? 'Cause I haven't. Nuh-uh, never. Now...what to do..."
Olette didn't know what to say, so she looked over at Roxas, who shrugged. "Uh...well... We could find the real thieves," Roxas suggested. "That would set the record straight."
"Hey, that sounds fun!" Pence said.
"What about Seifer?" Hayner asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Roxas stood up, "First, we gotta clear out names. Once we find the real culprit, everyone will get of our backs."
Hayner slightly growled.
"Oh no!" Pence cried out, all of a sudden. "They're gone!" The other four looked over and saw Pence holding his camera. "Our — are gone!" Pence put a hand to his throat as his inability to say the word 'photos'. "What?"
"All our —, gone? Huh?" Hayner did the same.
"Huh?" Olette was equally as confused. "You can't say —? Why not?"
"What's going on?" Kairi asked.
"But you do understand what I'm saying, right?" Pence asked. "Our — are gone!"
"Stolen..." Roxas corrected. "And not just the —. The word —! They stole it too!"
"What kinda thief is that?" Hayner asked.
"He's right," Kairi added. "Seifer could never have pulled that off."
"Yeah!" Roxas agreed.
"Alright, time for some recon!" Hayner then led the others out of The Usual Place and into the town.
Roxas began to follow, but he became light-headed. "Huh?" He then fell and black out.
"His heart is returning. Doubtless he'll awaken very soon."
Roxas woke up to find himself on the ground. Confused, he stood up and dusting himself off. He questioned himself about what just happened for a second, before he heard footsteps getting closer to him.
He looked up to see Kairi's mildly concerned face, "Roxas, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Then, come on."
Roxas nodded and quickly followed her.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Market Street~
Roxas and Kairi caught up to the others in town, and Hayner quickly spotted them. "Over here!"
The two approached their three friends in front of the Armor Shop, as Pence said, "Let's get this investigation underway."
"Yo, Roxas," the Armor Shop's storekeeper said. "Never thought you'd do such a rotton thing..."
"We didn't steal anything, alright?" Roxas asked.
Kairi was quick to stand up for him, "Yeah, Roxas would never do such a thing!"
"I'd like to believe you," the storekeeper replied, "but who else would steal that stuff?"
"What stuff?" Roxas asked.
"As if you didn't know," the storekeeper answered. "Hey, I'm not gonna tell you. Go ask the accessory shop."
With that, the five turned around to see said shop. Hayner pushed Roxas into asking the owner.
Roxas approached her, and she greeted him in a much friendlier way than the storekeeper did, "Oh, it's you, Roxas...Please don't let me down. You used to be one of my favorite customers."
"I'm not a thief!" Roxas cried.
"Okay..." It was obvious she didn't exactly believe him.
"It's no fun having everyone suspecting me, ya know," Roxas told her.
"Then you've got to find a way to clear your name," the owner replied. "The woman at the candy shop is pretty disappointed, too."
The five then turned to the candy shop.
"Roxas?" the woman running the candy shop asked. "Have you seen my cat around?"
"Er..." Roxas looked up and saw the cat on the awning above them.
After he retreived the cat, the woman smiled at him, "Thank you, Roxas."
"Did they steal something from you, too?" Roxas asked her.
"Oh, my, yes," she replied. "Something important."
"Just so you know, we didn't do it," he quickly said.
She surprised him by saying, "I believe you."
Roxas smiled, before saying, "Thanks for that, ma'am. So what did they take from you?"
"My —," she replied. "My precious —."
"Looks like the culprit is going around stealing —," Hayner said.
"Yeah," Kairi agreed. "And not just —, but the word —, too."
"This isn't your average thief..." Pence said.
"I wonder if Seifer would know anything about this," Olette wondered.
"We gotta talk to him," Roxas said. "C'mon, to the sandlot!"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Sandlot~
The five ran to the Sandlot, where they found Vivi, Rait, and Fuu talking. Vivi was the first to notice them and stopped, making the others turn around.
"Thieves," Fuu said.
"That was low, y'know!" Rai added.
Vivi shook her hat.
"Oh yeah?" Hayner asked, as Seifer walked in.
"Nice comeback there, blondie," Seifer cut in.
"What'd you say?!" Hayner demanded.
"You can give us back the — now," Seifer said.
"How do you know we took them?" Kairi asked, a solid glare on her face.
"You're the only ones who would take it, y'know?" Rai said.
"That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers," Seifer laughed, as Kairi rolled her eyes. "So what did you do? Burn it? Ha, not that we need some — to prove that you're losers."
"Replay!" Fuu said.
Seifer laughed, "Now you're talking!" Seifer, Vivi, Fuu, and Rai readied themselves for a fight, as did Hayner. "I guess if you get on your knees and beg, maybe I'll let it slide."
"Just cut it out, Seifer," Kairi shot back. "We don't need your nonsense right now."
Roxas placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, as he moved closer to Seifer and his gang, who all laughed at him. Seifer crossed his arms, as Roxas moved to kneel down.
"Roxas!" Hayner called.
"Roxas?" Kairi asked. Was he about to give Seifer a dogeza? Like Seifer told them to do?
She breathed a sigh of relief when Roxas instead picked up a Struggle bat that was laying on the ground.
They were going to duel instead.
It was a quick yet close fight, and fortunately, it ended in a victory for Roxas.
Seifer fell to his knees upon his defeat, heavily annoyed. Rai and Fuu both moved in front of him to guard him.
"Seifer's not feelin' so hot, y'know!" Rai excused.
"Tournament decides," Fuu added.
"Sure," Kairi's sarcasm shone through. "Looks more to me like Roxas kicked his butt." She turned to Roxas, smiling. "Nice job!"
Roxas returned her smile and they shared a wrist bump.
Pence got out his camera to take a picture of Roxas. After the picture was taken, Pence gave him the thumbs up when a white-colored squiggly creature appeared out of nowhere and stole the camera straight from Pence's hands.
The creature fled (or flew?) toward the Market Street.
"What was that?" Hayner asked.
"The thief?" Olette wondered.
"Chase him!" Kairi ordered.
The five chased after the creature.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Usual Spot~
Roxas returned to the Usual Spot, all the pictures the creature dropped upon its defeat in his hands.
"What's this?" Hayner asked, all five of them looking at the pictures.
The picture on top was of Roxas and the Armor Shop storekeeper. Roxas explained, "I was his first customer after he took over the shop. So we took a picture."
"It's a really nice photo," Olette said, before realizing what she just said. "Oh...!"
"Hey! You just said 'photo'!" Pence realized it too.
"Yes!" Kairi pumped her fist into the air. "We did it!"
"Yeah!" Olette and Kairi shared a high five in celebration.
"So, Roxas," Hayner said. "Tell us about the picture thief."
Roxas decided to lie about what the creature said to him, that the creature called him 'my liege', about the Keyblade that showed up in his time of need. "Not much to say. The pictures were just lying there."
"Then how do we prove we weren't the ones who took 'em?" Hayner asked, before spotting the next picture and chuckling. "It's a girl..."
"You look happy, Roxas," Olette said.
"Do not," Roxas shot back.
"So, like, anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of Roxas?" Pence asked, bringing up a good point.
"Ohh," Olette replied in understanding. "So that's why everyone thought it was us."
"You mean Seifer didn't go around accusing us after all?" Hayner asked, and Kairi shrugged.
"Are they really all of me?" Roxas asked, a little concerned about this could possibly imply.
"Yeah," Kairi replied. She took the picture in his hand. "See?"
"Look!" Olette said.
"Right?" Pence cut in. "Every single one. Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the real Roxas or something?"
"C'mon, get serious," Hayner said. "Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?"
"Oh, thanks!" Roxas shot back.
The five friends laughed as the train station bells rang and the train passed overhead. They all looked up at the tracks.
After a while, Hayner, Pence, and Olette left for their respective homes, Olette waving as she left.
But Roxas lingered behind, and Kairi was quick to notice, so she also stayed behind.
"Roxas. You okay?" Kairi asked.
"What if Pence is right?" Roxas replied. "What if there really is someone trying to kidnap me?"
He must've found something. She was quiet for a moment, before asking, "Who was the thief?"
Roxas knew he could trust her, and he did trust her enough to tell her the truth that he couldn't tell anybody else, "That weird creature. It called me 'my liege', like I was in charge of it or something. I've also been getting these weird dreams lately. I don't know what's going on."
She walked over and slung an arm around his shoulders, "Everything's going to be okay, Roxas. No matter what happens, remember that we'll all protect you. We're your friends. We'll never let you disappear."
Roxas gently smiled at her, "Thanks, Kai. I'm glad to have you as my best friend."
The two shared a hug, as Kairi replied, "No problem, Rox. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay."
Roxas watched her leave, before leaving after a bit. He held out his hand to block the sun from his eyes and he heard a voice.
"Where...am I?" The voice sounded a lot like his, with some clear vocal differences.
"Who's there?" Roxas asked.
"Who are you?"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
The screen in front of the man became scrambled, "Restoration at 12%."
The now much taller Riku, with his hood up, walked up to DiZ, who was sitting at the computer desk, in front of many lit screens.
"Organization miscreants..." DiZ muttered. "They've found us."
"But...why would the Nobodies steal photographs?" Riku asked.
"Both are nothing but data to them," DiZ replied. "The fools could never tell the difference."
"But why is Kairi here?" Riku asked.
"He must've called out to her for help," DiZ surmised, "and she answered him."
Riku was worried, "Does she really believe she's always lived here?"
DiZ theorized, "She must have a fear of not fitting in, so her heart has made it so no one suspects that she's an outsider."
Riku tensed up, feeling protective, and he got ready in case DiZ gave him the order, "Should I pull her out?"
DiZ was quiet for a moment as he observed one of the screens, which showed Kairi's movements that day, "No. You say Kairi is the most important person to Sora, so let's see if that has any effect on the process. We are running out of time. Naminé must make haste."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
==The 2nd Day==
~The Usual Spot~
Roxas walked up to the other four, sitting down and talking, enjoying some sea-salt ice cream. Kairi was the first to see him and she offered him the extra bar she had.
He took it as he sat down next to her, "Thanks."
"Do you guys think we'll always be together like this?" Pence asked.
"I sure hope so," Olette replied.
"Huh?" Hayner asked. "Where did that come from."
"Oh, well, you know," a flustered Pence tried to save face. "Just thinking out loud."
Kairi replied, softly speaking, "I doubt we can be together forever, but that's what growing up is all about. What's important isn't how we see each other, but how often we think about each other."
Pence laughed, "Did you get that off a fortune cookie?"
Kairi lowered her eyes into a playful glare, before reaching over and snatching (or attempting to) Pence's ice cream away from him, "That's it, no more ice cream for you!"
"No!" Pence laughed, as Hayner sighed.
"Man, today's turning out to be a drag," Hayner said.
"Maybe because of yesterday's memory thief," Olette wondered.
"Nuh-uh," Hayner replied. "You know what it is? We don't want summer vacation to be over. That's all! So, how about this?" He stood up. "Let's all go to the beach! And why do we go to the beach? Because we haven't gone once this entire vacation! Blue seas! Blue skies! Let's just get on the train and go!"
The other four stood up as well, but neither of them said nothing.
"No?" Hayner didn't believe this. "Aw, c'mon."
"Maybe you forgot," Roxas said, "but we're broke."
"Maybe you forgot I'm smart!" Hayner shot back. Kairi gave him a sarcastic look, a classic raised eyebrow, and Hayner immediately turned red, "Shut up, Kairi!"
He then raced out of the Usual Spot, and the others ran after him.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Market Street~
Roxas found the others at Station Heights, reading a poster on the wall about The Struggle.
"Just two days to go," Hayner said, before turning to Roxas, "You and I have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the five of us split the prize!"
"Okay, you're on," Roxas said.
"You two are gonna clean up!" Pence cheered.
"Go get 'em!" Olette encouraged.
Kairi pumped her fist into the air, "Yeah!"
Roxas and Hayner bumped wrists, before Hayner said, "It's a promise! Now, let's get down to business. One ticket to the beach is 900 munny. How much for five of us?"
Olette replied with, "4500 munny."
"And 300 each to spend there," Hayner said. "What's that for all of us?"
Olette answered, "1500 munny. A total of 6000 munny."
Pence put his hands behind his head, as Roxas asked, "To spend on what?"
"Pretzels, of course!" Hayner said.
"Really?" Kairi asked, having expected a better answer. "Pretzels?"
"What else is there?" Hayner asked.
"Well, there's always watermelon," Roxas reminded them.
Hayner shook his head, "Too pricey. They're, like, 2000 munny apiece."
Roxas shrugged, "Pretzels it is."
"So, where were we?" Hayner asked.
"We need 6000 munny altogether," Olette said. "But all we have is..."
"I've got 800," Pence said.
"...650," Olette replied.
"500," was all Kairi said.
"150," Roxas answered. "Sorry."
"That's 2100 munny!" Hayner chose to be optimistic. "We need another 3900. Let's find ourselves some odd jobs and earn some dough! We have 'til the train leaves to earn 800 munny each!" He then ran off, calling after him, "Meet at the station with cash in hand!"
The other four watched Hayner run away. Pence asked, "Didn't he say he had it covered?"
"No offense," Kairi said, "but I doubt him sometimes."
"Whatever," Roxas shrugged it off. "Those pretzels are sounding pretty good."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Station Plaza~
Roxas and Kairi (having worked for their munny together) met the other three at the Station Plaza a couple of hours later.
"All present and accounted for?" Hayner asked.
"Yep," Kairi smiled, before she and Roxas shared a wrist bump.
"What've we got?" Pence asked.
"Let's see..." Roxas muttered, before he and Kairi pulled out some money. "Between us two, just this."
"Good job, you two," Hayner told them.
"Nice work, everyone," Olette said. "Added to what we started with, we now have..." She showed them the munny pouch she made with the munny inside it. "Tada! 6100 money!"
"Sweet!" Hayner exclaimed.
Olette gave the bag to Roxas. "Let's get tickets!"
Olette, Kairi, and Pence ran ahead into the station.
"Kairi's right," Hayner told Roxas. "We can't be together forever...so we'd better make the time we do have something to remember."
"Huh?"
"Gotcha!" Hayner jokingly punched Roxas in the stomach and joined the other three. Roxas quickly followed but something invisible made him trip.
"Woah!"
A small stick dropped to the ground, and Hayner, Pence, and Olette stopped. Hayner stepped back a bit down the stairs.
"You okay, Roxas?" Kairi asked him.
Roxas gruntly slightly as he came to his knees, touching his lip. He then saw someone in a black cloak standing beside him. "Huh?" The person picked Roxas off the ground and whispered something to him. "What?"
"Roxas!" Hayner called. "Three minutes!"
"Okay!" Roxas called back. He looked back at the figure, and was surprised to see no one there. He shook his head to shake it off, before running forward to catch up to his friends inside the station.
Hayner bent at the teller stand and held up a hand with all five fingers extended. "Five students!"
Pence whispered, "Roxas, the money!"
"Wait—" Roxas searched himself for where he put the munny pouch Olette gave him. "No!"
"Huh?" Hayner asked.
"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.
Roxas looked back out toward the plaza and remembered the cloacked person picking him up. "He took it!" Roxas began to run outside into the plaza.
"Where are you going?" Kairi asked, worriedly, her voice getting closer, indicating that she had followed him.
"Remember when I fell?" Roxas told her. "I had the money before that. I bet that guy took it!"
"Guy?" Hayner repeated, confused.
"He couldn't have gotten too far..." Roxas told them.
"What are you talking about?" Hayner asked him, remembering Roxas getting himself up. there was no guy there. "There was no guy."
The train station bell woke Roxas up. "Huh? But he...There wasn't...Really?"
The train whistle blew, making them all realize they missed the train.
"Oh boy..." Pence muttered.
"There wasn't anyone...there?" Roxas asked, as Hayner, Pence, and Olette left the Station.
Roxas lingered, sad and dishearted. Kairi walked up to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Roxas?"
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sure the others don't blame you," Kairi told him. He said nothing. "I couldn't see anybody, Roxas, but I did sense someone there. I believe you."
She recalled the moment too. While Roxas said there was a guy there, and Hayner (including Pence and Olette) said there was no one, Kairi could see a dark cloud there, lingering over Roxas. And she found that cloud familiar. It had a prescence she knew she could trust...
But she didn't tell Roxas that.
"You do?" Roxas asked. She really believed him?
Kairi smiled, "Of course I do. We're best friends. I'll always be there for you." She slung her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry, Roxas. Everything's going to be okay."
Roxas let her lead him away from the station.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Clock Tower~
Later, the five were eating sea-salt ice cream on the ledge. The train moved in the background, while Roxas sat and though about what happened earlier, his ice cream dripping.
"It's melting," Olette told him.
"Sorry."
"Cheer up already!" Hayner said.
"Yeah, the beach isn't going anywhere," Kairi told them. "We can try again later."
"She's right," Olette agreed.
"That was definitely weird, though," Roxas said.
"Strange," Olette said.
"You said it," Hayner agreed,
"'Can you feel Sora?'" Roxas whispered to himself, remembering what the figure whispered to him earlier.
"Can you feel Sora?"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
The screen became scrambled, "Restoration at 28%."
"Naminé, hurry," DiZ pleaded.
Riku juggled the munny pouch while DiZ remained at the computer screens. "Is it really that hard to make a beach?"
"No," DiZ replied. "And I would have allowed it, but then we'd be giving the enemy another entry point."
"True," Riku replied, before holding out the munny pouch he stole from Roxas. "And this?"
"We can always buy some sea-salt ice cream," DiZ laughed, as Riku juggled the pouch again. "Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. We can delete that."
Riku chose to keep it. He couldn't stop thinking about Kairi had responded to Roxas's call for help. Her heart had formatted her mind in order to ensure that she would fit in, but still kept in mind why she was there:
To help Roxas.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
==The 3rd Day==
~Market Street~
'Meet at the station. Today's the day we hit the beach—and don't sweat about the munny!' Hayner's note had said. Roxas felt better in knowing that Kairi was right, that the others didn't blame him for what happened yesterday.
He was walking to Station Heights now, when he saw Pence and Olette walking towards him, "Hey."
"Morning," Olette greeted, before the two froze midwalk.
"Huh...?" Roxas, confused, ran up to them, but he immediately stopped when he saw a blonde girl in front of him.
It was the same girl that was in his dreams last night
"Hello, Roxas," she greeted with a gentle smile.
"Uh...Hi...And you are...?"
She held up a hand to politely quiet him. "I wanted to see you again one more time."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
Flustered, Roxas scratched his head, wondering what she meant by 'again', as the girl walked away. Pence and Olette unfroze.
"Olette dragged me along to go shopping with her and Kairi," Pence explained, like nothing had happened.
"Hey, you wanna come with us?" Olette asked.
"Um, uhh, wait..." Roxas muttered. "Did you just see that..." He looked in the direction the girl left in.
"He's stalling," Pence said.
"Very well, then," Olette replied. "We'll see you later, Roxas, okay?"
"Y-Yeah..." The two left and Roxas looked in the same direction again. "Did she got to that haunted mansion?" he asked himself.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Sandlot~
Roxas just ran, not bothering to turn and look behind him. The squiggly things were back. There was more than one, and they were currently chasing him.
He ran back to the Tram Common from the forest, and the into the Sandlot, where he, unfortunately, caught the attention of Seifer and his gang (Fuu, Rai, and Vivi).
"Hey, chicken wuss," Seifer called out to him. Roxas stopped as the squiggly things entered the scene.
"Who's that?" Fuu asked, as she and Rai got into their fighting positions, while Vivi ran away.
"I dunno," Seifer replied, "but they've already crossed the line. Find a weapon!"
Roxas spotted a Struggle Sword and sumersaulted over to grab it. He tried to fight these creatures, but he was thrown down. Just like before, the Struggle Sword in his hand had no effect on these things.
He stood back up and noticed that Seifer and his gang were completely frozen in time.
"Not good..." he muttered.
The creatures approached a weaponless Roxas, and he felt scared. He had nowhere to go. They weren't cornering him.
But then, a beehive barrier formed in front of him and successfully blocked one of the creature's attacks.
"Roxas!" it was the blonde girl's voice. Surprised, he looked up at the on the roof of a nearby building, overlooking the Sandlot, and saw her standing there. She lowered what looked like a Keyblade of her own. "Use the Keyblade!" she told him.
A creature attacked him, and he blocked with his hands, and was immediately transported to another location.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
Roxas struggled in the darkness, produced by the Twilight Thorn when he it fell on top of him after he defeated it.
He held out a hand to nobody in particular, hoping somebody would help.
But it genuinely surprised him when someone grabbed his hand, and light immediately filled his vision.
He found himself in a white room, standing before the blonde girl, who was sitting on a ledge above him.
Before he started to speak, she placed a finger to her lips to quiet him, before placing a hand to her chest and introducing herself, "My name is Naminé. Roxas...Do you remember your true name?"
His true name...?
The cloaked figure from yesterday appeared from a dark portal and picked Naminé up by her arm, "Say no more, Naminé."
"But if no one tells him, Roxas will..." she protested.
"It's best he doesn't know the truth," the figure replied.
"Hey!" Roxas called out. "You're that pickpocket! Don't try to lie! Kairi said she could sense you!"
The figure very noticably, very obviously hesitated for some reason Roxas couldn't see, before he held out his hand and conjured a dark portal behind Roxas.
Roxas leapt away from it, but the figure pushed him inside.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Sandlot~
Roxas woke up to see Fuu taking a picture of a posing Seifer while Rai and Vivi stood around her, using Pence's camera.
"How 'about one more, y'know?" Rai cheered, and Fuu snapped a photo of Seifer standing over Roxas, still laying on the ground.
Roxas stood up, "What's that for?"
"Keepsake," Fuu told him.
"Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y'know?" Rai said.
"Cakewalk," Fuu said.
"What were those things?" Roxas asked. 'And where did Naminé go?' he asked himself.
"Outsiders, that's what," Seifer said, and Roxas shook his head.
"And if they don't wise up to the rules around here," Seifer bragged, "I might have to take 'disciplinary measure'."
"Oh yeah, Seifer's always lookin' after the town, y'know?" Rai said.
Roxas rolled his eyes, "And you wonder why Kairi doesn't like you." Seifer had a crush on Kairi, and Roxas knew that Kairi didn't like him like that.
"Roxas!" Speaking of whom, Roxas turned around to see Kairi there with Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
But then Hayner huffed off.
"Wait up!" Roxas ran to follow them.
"Hey! No chickening out of the tournament tomorrow!" Seifer called after them.
"We'll be waitin', y'know?" Rai added.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Usual Spot~
Roxas arrived to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette having sea-salt ice cream already, without him.
Kairi came up to him, no ice cream in hand, "I tried to talk some sense into him. I'm sorry I failed..."
"It's okay..." he told her.
"So...you hung out with Seifer's gang today?" Pence asked.
"N—No...It's not like that..." Roxas tried to explain, before he remembered. "Oh yeah! How was the beach? Wasn't that today?"
"We didn't go," Olette softly replied. "It wouldn't be the same without you, right?"
Roxas averted his gaze toward the ground. "...Sorry. Hey...how 'bout we go tomorrow? We could get those pretzels and—"
Hayner cut him off, "I promised I'd be somewhere."
"Huh?" Roxas asked, before he remembered, "Oh."
"You and I have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the five of us split the prize!"
"Okay, you're on."
There was a short, intense silence as Roxas waited for a response from Hayner.
"I'm outta here," he said before leaving. Pence and Olette followed him.
But Kairi, once again, lingered behind.
She wrapped Roxas in a hug, and he returned it, as she told him, "Everything will work out in the end. I promise."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
The screen became scrambled, "Restoration at 48%."
Riku asked, "Was that Naminé made of data?"
"No," DiZ replied. "Naminé hijacked the data herself. What is she planning on doing?" he asked himself.
"Calm down," Riku said.
"It doesn't matter," DiZ replied. "As long as Naminé and Kairi accomplish their goal, we needn't worry about what befalls Roxas."
DiZ's comment made Riku wonder what would happen to Kairi once DiZ no longer needed her, when Sora was restored.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
==The 4th Day==
~Sandlot~
Roxas ran out of the Usual Spot, only to run into Kairi.
"Roxas! There you are! C'mon, let's hurry! We're gonna be late!" She said.
She then grabbed his hand, and he let her lead him to the Sandlot, where there was a stage and many people who had gathered there to watch The Struggle.
Olette greeted them, "Hey, Kairi! Hey, Roxas, good luck!" He returned her wave before going to the board to review the rules.
Pence asked the two girls waiting with him, "Who are you two gonna root for?"
Olette answered, "Both of them, silly."
Kairi's replied with, "Roxas, of course!"
Olette and Pence looked at her, teasingly, as Olette said, "You sure you're not just saying that because you have a crush on him?"
Kairi did not blush, and her answer was completely straight-laced, "No. It's because he's my best friend."
He needed her. He needed someone to be there for him. Deep in her heart, she knew he didn't like being alone.
In that moment, fireworks appeared in the sky and the crowd took that as their cue to cheer.
The producer spoke next, "Ladies and gentlemen, Struggle-fiends of Twilight Town! It's time for summer's most sizzling clash! That's right! Today is the day for the Struggle and title match! Who will be the one to break through the ranks and take on our champion, Setzer!?"
"Seifer, y'know?!" Rai said.
Seifer turned to Kairi, "Hey, if I win, you have to give me a victory kiss."
Kairi scoffed, "You wish." She then winked at Roxas, who smiled back.
"And who will leave today as our new Struggle Champion?!" the producer asked.
Olette, Pence, and Kairi loudly cheered out, "Hayner! Roxas!"
Other fans called out, "Setzerrrrr!"
"Setzer! Setzer! Setzer! Setzer! Setzer!"
"Yes, the crowd is fired up, so you know what comes next," the producer said. "Let's—"
"STRUGGLE!" the crowd finished.
More fireworks went off, and the producer got off the stage for the commentator to begin.
The commentator began, "Hey, now. It's time to introduce today's combatants! The four bad boys who struggled their way through the preliminaries! Regular finalist and head of the Twilight Disciplinary Committee: Seifer! Completely out of nowhere—who knew he'd make it so far this year? Vivi! An underground favorite and local attitude problem: Hayner! It's his first trip to the finals! And Struggler number 4, who happens to be my absolute favorite customer: Roxas!"
Hayner looked at Roxas, who returned his gaze, but Hayner solemnly look away. Kairi watched this exchange, worried.
The commentator continued, "So—who will win this sweltering summer Struggle!? Who will take home the grand prize? The summa cum laude of Struggle—the Five Crystal Trophy and...a chance to take on our defending champion, Setzer!" The said main held up the championship belt. "It won't be long now, folks. I suggest our challengers go over the official Struggle Rules before we begin!"
After a quick refresher of the rules, Roxas and Hayner were up first. The producer gave them both a Struggle Sword and patted them on their shoulders. Once the producer left, Hayner pointed his sword at a clearly unhappy Roxas.
"Hey..." Roxas said. "Sorry about yesterday."
"What, you still worried about that?" Hayner asked. "You need to learn to let that stuff go."
"I've got a lot on my mind."
"Sorry, man." Roxas merely shook his head, before Hayner shook it off, "What, what am I sorry for?"
He smiled, making Roxas smile as well. Olette and Pence stopped their clapping to smirk at each other as Kairi let out a smile of relief.
Roxas readied himself for battle, as the commentator announced, "Our first match of today's Struggle tournament will be between Roxas and his best friend Hayner!"
"Ready, Roxas?" Hayner asked.
The two battled it out, and after a while, Hayner lost.
"And the winner is Roxas!" The commentator raised Roxas' arm, who waved to the crowd and could easily tell that the loudest cheer was Kairi's. "Not even friendship will slow this kid down. And Hayner put up a great fight, too."
With this, Roxas ran over to his friend still laying on the ground.
Hayner groaned, "I lost. Awww, I can't believe it!" He stood up. "I guess I taught you well."
"I had a lot of fun fighting you," Roxas said.
Hayner smiled, but then stopped and crossed his arms. "Yeah, well I didn't, wise guy."
"Hey, let's find a way to cheer you up," Roxas teased.
"Nah, that's alright," Hayner said, as he began friendly punching Roxas' hands, before leaving.
He almost walked into Seifer coming up on stage, "Out of the way."
"You in a rush to lose?" Hayner teased.
Roxas was startled by the sudden appearance of Vivi by his side. Vivi looked up at him and giggled, before Roxas and Hayner went to watch with the other three.
Soon, Vivi and Seifer are alone on the stage, and Seifer's next line was cold, which was unsual considered he was fighting one of his own.
"Don't mess with your elders!"
"Whew, just look at those sparks fly!" The commentator said. "I guess Seifer didn't expect to fight one of his own boys!"
Seifer and Vivi faced each other down. Vivi flew at Seifer, who jumped away with Vivi in pursuit.
"When did Vivi get so tough?" Hayner asked.
Roxas shrugged.
"I'm getting a bad feeling," Kairi quietly said.
Olette comforted her, "Hey, it's okay. We both know Roxas is gonna win no matter what."
Kairi didn't respond, only watching the fight in silence.
After a few attempts at hitting one another, Seifer blocked Vivi's slashes and knocked Vivi aaway, dropping one of Vivi's orbs.
"You're mine!" Seifer said, before lunging for the orb when Vivi returned and knocked Seifer down.
"I-I'm not sure what just happened..." the commentator said. "Um...but...the winner is Vivi! In a positively blistering comeback!"
Seifer sat up and shook his head and walked off the stage. As he walked past Roxas, he said, "That's not Vivi."
"Huh?"
"Thrash 'im."
With that, Seifer, Fuu, and Rai left the Sandlot.
The producer walked up to Hayner, "It looks like Seifer's withdrawn from the Struggle for third place."
"So I'm in third now?" Hayner asked, before celebrating. "Aw, baby!"
"Nice job, Hayner," Kairi said with a smile, before turning to Roxas, "Be careful, okay? I'm getting a bad feeling from Vivi. I think Seifer's right."
"I'll be fine, Kai," Roxas smiled at her. "Don't worry."
Now on stage, the producer handed Roxas and Vivi each a Struggle Sword. "Keep it clean, fellas."
The two stared each other down as the producer left the stage
The commentator announced, "And now, the match you've been waiting for: Roxas VS. Vivi!"
Vivi was a lot tougher than Roxas had expected, but he managed to catch Vivi off-guard. As we went in for the last strike, something stopped him, and he turned to see that everything had frozen in time. No one was moving, not even Kairi.
Roxas turned to Vivi, only to see one of those Squiggly creatures in their place, and then more appeared.
"Again?!" he demanded, before his Struggle Sword transformed into the Keyblade. "Again..."
He was tired by the time all the creatures were gone. He was able to relax, even though everybody else was still frozen.
He was alerted by someone clapping him behind him. He turned around to see a man in a black cloak, but his build was different from the pickpocket.
"Roxas, alright," the voice was different from the pickpocket too. "Fight, fight, fight." The man walked closer to Roxas. "You really don't remember? It's me." He took of his hood to reveal his spiky, flaming red hair. "You know, Axel."
"Axel?" Roxas asked.
"Geez," Axel muttered. "Talk about blank with a capital 'B'. Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." His chakrams appeared in his hands in a cloud of flames and he caught them in his hands.
Roxas immediately backed up, "Wait a sec, tell me what's going on!"
Axel looked around, "This town is his creation, right? Which means we don't have time for a Q&A. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story. You're the only one here out of the two people I'm looking for, so I'll just have to try again later."
Why did Roxas get the feeling that Axel here was talking about Naminé?
Axel got ready to fight, but he straightened up when he noticed the space around Roxas whither, like wind blowing through the area, "Uh-oh."
Roxas sighed and looked at the Keyblade in his hand, before throwing it down in frustration, "What's going on?!"
But the Keyblade appeared back in his hand with a flash of light.
"Number XIII," Axel said. "Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one." Axel readied to fight again.
"Okay, fine!" Roxas lowered into a fighting position. "You asked for it!"
Axel smirked, "That's more like it!"
After a short skirmish, there was no clear winner. Axel said, "Not bad, Roxas."
That's when DiZ appeared.
"So it was you," Axel growled. "And you do have Naminé. Because only she...could cast a Stopga spell so strong that it could stop a Princess of Heart in their tracks." Axel's chakrams lit up in flames, and Roxas readied himself for the attack aimed at him, but he was surprised when the attack was instead aimed at the man who just appeared. "Give me back my friends!"
Axel's flaming chakrams had no impact on DiZ, as if the man had a barrier protecting him.
DiZ turned to Roxas, "Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!"
Axel shot back, "Roxas, don't let him deceive you!"
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
They continued to fight each other by calling Roxas' name, the poor boy in the middle of everything without much of a choice.
He held his hurting head in his hands, a headache forming, before he burst out, "KAIRI!"
DiZ and Axel both watched as Kairi, despite being frozen in time, let out a burst of light in the shape of a heart, and the light was strong enough to overpower Naminé's Stopga spell.
Roxas opened his eyes to see that time had resumed like nothing had happened.
The crowd was cheering at Roxas' victory against Vivi.
"What?" The commentator asked. "What just happened?"
"Huh?" Vivi asked. "How did I get here?"
Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Kairi rushed the stage, calling out to Roxas.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Roxas—our new top Struggler!" The commentator announced.
Kairi noticed that Roxas was a little distraught, "Roxas?"
But the fans interrupted whatever he was going to say next, "Setzeerrrr! Setzer! Setzer! Setzer! Setzer! Setzer!"
Setzer drunk up the attention, and Roxas' four friends were ushered off the stage.
Olette called out, "Roxas! It's starting!"
The producer warned them, "You two, play fair now. You're at the top of the bracket."
"There's only room for one up here," Setzer said.
"Well, may the best man win!" the producer said, before walking offstage.
"Hey, Rucksack," Setzer said. "How about you throw the match for me?"
"Roxas! Focus!" Hayner called out.
Roxas glared at Setzer, who said, "Let me win, and I'll make it worth your while."
Roxas scoffed, "Get real!"
The commentator said, "Roxas, our underdog hero, versus Setzer, our defending champion! The winner of this match will be the true champion! That's bragging rights for a year year, folks!"
"Whatever you think is right, you're wrong," Setzzer told him. "And that is a big mistake. My life's a chip in your pile. Time to ante up!"
It was a long fight, and it was a tough fight, but he did it. He beat Setzer!
"I'm not supposed to lose!" Setzer groaned.
"Roxas! Roxas! Roxas! Roxas! Roxas!" the crowd cheered.
Setzer walked offstage and pointed back to Roxas, whose four friends ran past Setzer and up on stage to celebrate with Roxas.
Kairi happily engulfed Roxas in a hug, as Olette said, "You did it!"
Setzer turned around and left.
"That was awesome, Roxas!" Pence said.
Roxas waved to the crowd. The producer presented him with the championship belt. Roxas held it up as the crowd cheered.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Clock Tower~
The five sat on the ledge above the train station. Roxas held the crystal trophy, and he took off the yellow crystal and tossed it to Olette. He took off to red crystal and tossed it to Hayner. He took off the green crystal and tossed it to Pence. He took off the purple crystal and gave it to Kairi (who was sitting next to him) before taking off the last one, a blue one, and held it up to the sun.
"As promised," he said.
Kairi also held hers out, "Thanks, Roxas."
Hayner, Pence, and Olette followed suit, as Hayner said, "One more treasure for us to share."
After a short silence, Olette announced, "I've got a present, too...for all of us." She took out five bars of sea-salt ice cream.
"Whoa!" Hayner exclaimed.
Roxas stood up on the ledge to take his bar, and he teetered on the edge. He then lost his balance and fell off.
Kairi's heart nearly jumped out of her chest, and she watched him fall, the two being too far apart to grab hands, "ROXAS!"
But then everything suddenly went black, and Kairi couldn't see anything but darkness.
"Kairi?"
She was immediately filled with relief. "Roxas? Is that you? Are you okay?"
"Who's Roxas?"
Now that she thought about it, the voice was different from Roxas'. "Wha...? I don't recognize you...Who are you?"
"What?! You don't remember my name? Thanks a lot, Kairi!"
"Huh? Who are you? How do you know me?"
"Okay, fine, I guess I can give you a hint. It starts with an 'S'!"
"An 'S'?"
The boy speaking to her didn't reply, and the darkness faded back into a sunset, as she woke up on the clock tower.
"Kairi? You okay?" Olette asked. Kairi looked around to see that it was just her and Olette up here.
"What? Olette?"
"You fell asleep," Olette explained with a gentle smile. "It's time to go home. The others already left."
But Roxas was falling.
Right?
"O-Oh...right..."
Meanwhile, Roxas was also faced with black, seeing nothing but darkness.
"Naminé?" he asked. "What's happening to me?"
"I'm sorry, Roxas," Naminé answered. "For everything..."
"Sorry? For what?"
He got no answer.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
The screen became scrambled, "Restoration at 79%."
Riku juggled the blue crystal that Roxas had as DiZ said, "His progress is astounding. I suspected that Kairi being here would speed things up, and I was right."
"So what happened?" Riku asked, as he placed the crystal into the munny pouch. He had decided not to swipe the purple one from Kairi. He didn't have the heart to.
DiZ explained, "In a moment of desperation, Kairi's heart put her in contact with Sora's, and hearing her voice affected him greatly. You see?"
"Kairi and Naminé..." Riku muttered. "Both are such wonders."
"Naminé wasn't born like other Nobodies," DiZ said. "She can interfere with the hearts and memories of Sora and those aligned with him."
"True..." Riku said.
"Young man," DiZ spoke up, "perhaps you could tell me your true name?"
Riku revealed his face from under his hood, replying with, "It's Ansem."
DiZ just laughed, "It's an honor, Ansem!"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion~
Tifa and Cloud watched over Kairi, as Yuffie and Leon entered with food for them all.
"It's concerning how sick Kairi's been lately," Yuffie said.
"She's not sick this time," Aerith cut in, revealing herself by the door. "It could just be backlash."
"She just needs to rest," Tifa said, and Cloud nodded in agreement.
Aerith sat in a chair next to Leon, "But I do share your sentiment, Yuffie. We still don't know where her fever came from, and why it was so high..."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Castle That Never Was~
Axel was seated in the Round Room, with only Xemnas and Xaldin (both of whom were hooded) for company.
"No way!" Axel protested against the suggestion that was just offered. "It's too soon! You can't seriously get rid of both of them?!"
Roxas and Naminé...he was about to lose them both? There was no way.
"It's an order," Xaldin said. "Why do you hesitate? You, who has been ruthless towards those who've turned their backs on the Organization?"
"But it's not like that!" Axel shot back. "They didn't betray us! They can't come back!"
"If they don't return," Xaldin said, "you know what you must do. Or you will face the consequences."
Xaldin summoned a naginata without uncrossing his arms and drove it towards Axel. It struck to his right and some hair was sliced off, but Axel remained unflinched.
Xemnas held up a hand to pacify Xaldin, who looked to the leader and then looked away.
The naginata vanished, and Xemnas summoned a sphere of energy, electrical bolts shooting out from it towards the walls.
"So, you'll turn me into a Dusk..." Axel paused. "Tch, alright! I'll do it, if that's what you want!"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
==The 5th Day==
~Roxas' Room~
Roxas felt himself falling through space, and a second later, he woke up back in his room. After regaining his composure, he sighed.
"I'm dreaming...I remember Kairi calling out to me...it seemed so real...So which parts...were the dream?"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Usual Spot~
The train passed by over the spot where the five friends were gathered. Olette walked up to Hayner and put her hands on her hips.
"Only three days left of summer vacation," Hayner said. "So don't even mention that assignment!"
"But we agreed we'd get it finished today," Olette said.
"Yesterday..." Roxas said, "I fell of the station tower, didn't I?"
"You wouldn't be here if you did!" Hayner pointed out.
"But man, that was a close one..." Pence muttered.
Kairi stood up and gave Roxas a tight hug. She whispered in his ear, "I'm so glad you're okay." Roxas returned the hug, as he remembered her scared scream.
"Stop changing the subject!" Olette shot back.
"Okay, already!" Hayner said. "You win. We'll do the homework. Stupid independent study. So, anybody got any bright ideas for a topic?"
"Maybe we could study the stuff that's happening to me," Roxas suggested. "You know, the dreams, and the guys in white..."
"Forget it," Hayner said.
"Why?"
"You know, things have been weird with you and the town since the photos were stolen, right?" Hayner asked.
Pence added, "Well, tomorrow, we'll all gonna search the town and find out what's been goin' on."
"Lots of people are helping out," Olette said.
"All that for me?" Roxas asked.
"Yeah," Kairi replied. "I told you, Roxas. We're friends. We're not gonna let anything happen to you."
Roxas brightened up considerably, before exclaiming, "I'll go get some ice cream!"
He ran out of the Usual Spot to get the ice cream. Later, their conversation resumed when he returned, the five of them eating their ice cream.
"There's this strange rumor going around. Wanna hear it?" Pence asked. When he got no objection, he continued, "You know the stone steps at Sunset Station? We use 'em all the time, without even thinking about it. But—and this is the weird part—the steps count different going up and down!"
"Seriously?!" Hayner asked.
"And there are six other weird stories like that," Pence continued. "It's like...the seven wonders of Twilight Town."
Hayner then got a good idea, "We should investigate those for our school project! Pence, you're a genius!"
"There might be other rumors going around, too," Pence said. "Let's split up! I'm gonna look for the seven wonders..."
"Olette and I will go find some new rumors!" Hayner said. "C'mon!"
Pence turned to Roxas, "That leaves you, me, and Kairi, Roxas. Let's try the train first. To the station!"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
After about an hour, it was just him and Kairi now, and the two approached the Gates of the Old Mansion.
"You know something's up too...don't you?" he heard Kairi ask.
Startled, Roxas turned around to face her.
Kairi continued before he could ask anything, "I heard Pence say that we were gonna check the mansion out tomorrow. It is the most suspicious place, after all."
"Right..." Roxas replied.
"Even Seifer's gang was gonna help," Kairi added.
"Seifer?" Roxas asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, Hayner had me ask him," Kairi turned her gaze to the side, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance.
Roxas chuckled before looking up to the dusty window of the mansion, and he saw Naminé in that window. "So what're we lookin' for?"
"Well," Kairi answered, "they say there's a girl who appears at the second floor window, even though no one's lived here for years."
Roxas looked back up at the window and in a snap, he found himself inside the room itself.
It was a white room with a long table and pictures on the walls. Everything but the colors in the pictures was white.
The first picture he saw was of a familiar red-haired girl holding a paopu fruit.
"That's Kairi..." he muttered.
"Roxas..."
"Naminé?" The next picture he was shown was of him, Naminé, and Axel all in Organization cloaks. "This is...me? And you and Axel're here too."
"We are best friends..." Naminé replied.
"Very funny," Roxas replied.
"Don't you want to know the truth about who you really are?" she asked.
"No one knows me better than me," he replied.
"Of course..."
"But...I don't get what's been happening lately." She expected him to say this. DiZ didn't want her to help Roxas, but she had to. Roxas had no idea what was going on.
The next picture she showed him was of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
"You know these three, don't you?"
"Yeah. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They're from the dreams."
"About a year ago," Naminé began, "some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart. But now... I'm putting them all back exactly the way they were. It's taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again. The process has been affecting you, too, Roxas."
"You mean...the dreams?" he asked.
"Yes...You and Sora are connected," she said. "And...in order for Sora to become completely whole again...He needs you."
The next picture she showed him was of himself with Sora.
"Me? What for?"
"You hold half of what he is..." she explained. "He needs you, Roxas."
Roxas took a deep breath before asking, "Naminé?"
Another flash, and now, he and Naminé were seated at opposite ends of the long white table.
"Naminé...who are you?"
"I'm a witch with power over Sora's memories and those around him," she explained.
"A witch?"
"That's what DiZ called me once," she said. "That's what the Organization calls me. But I don't know why I have this power...I just do. I'm not even sure there's a right way for me to use it."
"Hmm...I can't help you there," Roxas said, before looking over at the drawing of himself, Naminé, and Axel. "It's funny...Suddenly I feel like I don't know myself at all...I guess I would like to know. You once said that you and I have met before, and your drawings seem to prove that. What do you know about me...that I don't?"
"You..." Naminé swallowed a big lump in her throat. "You were never supposed to exist, Roxas."
"What...?" Just as she knew he would be, he immediately looked heartbroken. "How could you even say such a thing...even if it were true?"
"I'm sorry," she hung her head. "I guess some things really are better left unsaid, but I promised myself that I'd be honest with you. I'm tired of lying to you, Roxas." She took a deep breath and continued. "You and I were both born when Sora gave up his heart to free Kairi's."
"You know Kairi?" Roxas asked.
"Not personally, but yes," she said. "The connection she and I have is the same connection you and Sora have."
"You mean...?"
"Yes...Rememer when I asked you if you remembered your true name?" she asked.
"Yeah. Based on what you're saying, my true name is Sora," Roxas replied. "Right?"
"Yes," Naminé nodded. "My true name is Kairi." Roxas was surprised at this. "Kairi is where I came from, and to Kairi I shall return. I would like very much to meet her, though."
Roxas could relate, "I want to meet Sora, too."
"And you will," Naminé promised.
Back outside, Kairi shook Roxas out of his staring contest with the window.
"Roxas! Roxas!"
"Huh?"
"Did you see her?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah," Roxas said. "Watch the window—closely." He pointed up to the window, but Naminé was gone.
Kairi shook her head, "It's just the curtains moving. There must be a draft somewhere. I can sense something there, but I can't see anything."
Naminé had returned to the window, and Roxas replied, "...Yeah."
"C'mon, let's head back to the usual spot," Kairi said. "Hayner, Pence, and Olette are waiting for us."
Roxas led Kairi lead him back to their hideout.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
Riku (his hood still up) walked into the computer room, where DiZ was, "Why did you show him the train?"
"Because he missed the trip to the beach," DiZ replied.
"Hmph..." Riku said. "That's almost kind of you."
DiZ didn't tell him that it was possible that all his previous research on Nobodies was wrong. Nobodies didn't have hearts. They weren't supposed to feel anything.
So why did Roxas and Naminé feel so human?
Riku sat on a chair opposite of DiZ, and asked, "I've waited, and now I want to know. What is it that you want?"
"Revenge."
"Revenge...?" Riku asked. "Are you planning on disposing of Naminé?"
"I haven't decided yet," DiZ replied after a moment of silence. "Let's focus on the finishing touches for now."
Riku didn't know what to think about any of what DiZ just said.
The computer screen became scrambled, "Restoration at 97%."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
==The 6th Day==
~The Usual Spot~
Roxas had woken up in his bedroom this morning, not feeling himself, and the dreams he had too confusing and strange for comfort.
But he had shaken it off. His friends were waiting for him. Today, they, Seifer's gang, and the entire town were all going to investigate the strange things that were happening to him.
Besides, he wanted to talk to Kairi about what Naminé said.
When he reached the usual hideout, he found Hayner, Pence, and Olette already there, but there was no Kairi. He simply suspected she must still be asleep.
"Man, I could not sleep last night..." Roxas muttered.
But he got no response.
"Guys?"
He reached out towards Hayner, but his hand went right through him.
"Huh?"
Roxas took a step back, watching his friends laugh with no notion of his existence. Hayner turned around and ran right through him, with Pence and Olette following.
Roxas stopped and sighed, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he noticed a picture they had accidentally left behind. The photo he knew had all five of them in front of the gates of the Old Mansion: Hayner, Pence, Olette, Kairi, and himself.
But this one had no sign of him or Kairi.
What was going on?
Where was Kairi? He had to find her.
So, he ran out of the Usual Spot, calling her name, hoping that she could hear him, at least.
But he was immediately cornered by the squiggly creatures—Dusks. Very quickly after, Axel appeared.
"Look at what it's come to," Axel said. "I've been given these icky orders to destroy both you and Naminé if you two refuse to come back with me."
"You, me, and Naminé," Roxas replied. "We're...best friends, right?"
Axel scratched his head, "Sure...but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for...Wait a sec!" he paused. "You remember now?!"
"Y...eah," Roxas answered, not really sure if he actually remembered everything. He was just going on what Naminé told him yesterday.
"Great!" Axel bought it. "But, you know, gotta make sure and all. So, umm...What's our boss's name?"
Axel sadly sighed when Roxas gave no answer.
"Can't believe this..."
The Keyblade materialized in Roxas' hand in a flash. Axel only watched as Roxas defeated all the Dusks surrounding him.
Once the Dusks were gone, Axel swung up his chakram to strike, but was immediately frozen in time, stopped by Naminé's Stopga spell.
Roxas immediately noticed and eased up his stance.
"I've bought you time, Roxas!" he heard Naminé tell him. "Hurry to the mansion! Now!"
Roxas called out, "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" He then hesitated, before whispering, "...Kairi...?"
But he ran to Market Street, and as soon as he was gone, Naminé released her spell, letting Axel move again.
"Time to face facts," Axel muttered. "The Roxas that I know is long gone. Fine, I see how it is..."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
Roxas had made it to the Mansion. After unlocking the Gate with his Keyblade, he found himself teleported into the White Room, where Naminé was waiting for him.
"Organization XIII..." he breathed. "They're a bad group."
"Bad or good, I don't know," Naminé answered. "But I do know that they're Nobodies, a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. They're desperately searching for something, to the end that they're willing to hurt others for it."
"I was one of them, and so were you," Roxas said. His memories had mostly returned, but he needed Naminé to ensure that he wasn't crazy. "What are they looking for?"
"Kingdom Hearts."
As soon as she said that, everything came back to him (except for a feeling he was getting that was telling him he was forgetting something important). He was quiet for a moment, as he let everything sink in.
"You were our prisoner...despite being given a rank like me," Naminé looked at him surprised. "Axel said you discovered the truth, and that's why you left."
She was quiet, but she answered, "...Yes."
He was quiet as well, "I wish you would've told me. I would've left with you. I left because I was searching for answers that Axel didn't have."
'Somebody knows where I came from. If I can't get answers here, I'll get them somewhere else. That'll be the person I trust.'
Roxas' face lowered into a determined glare, "They need to be stopped."
"They do," she agreed.
"How?"
"The only way is for you to do what needs to be done," she replied.
"Go back to Sora."
Naminé only nodded.
Roxas was quiet again, before asking, "Naminé...Kairi is the girl Sora likes...right?" She nodded again. Rearranging Sora's memories back in Castle Oblivion told her that. "So then why...is she here? With me?"
"You called out to her for help," Naminé explained, "and her heart, whether it recognized you or not, responded and answered your call."
"So Kairi is real..." She wasn't a figment of his imagination.
"She is," Naminé answered. "She's here to help you, to give you a friend."
Roxas smiled, thinking about how grateful he was for Kairi's help, before he chuckled.
"Something funny?" Naminé asked.
"It's just—I think I've been running away from the question I really wanna ask." He walked to the table and leaned heavily against it, trying to steady himself. "What's gonna happen to me now? Just tell me that. Nothing else really matters anymore."
Naminé surprised him by sniffing, tears filling her eyes, "I'm sorry, Roxas...Sora's restoration is almost complete. I'm trying my best to give you a choice," she shook her head, "but I can't. It's already set in stone."
"Naminé..." But then the girl flickered. "Naminé!"
The form of Naminé in front of him broke into several pieces and disappears. DiZ appeared in a flash of data.
"She's right. There's no knowledge that has the power to change your fate."
"Even if it doesn't, I wanna know," Roxas shot back. "I have the right to know!"
"A Nobody doesn't have a right to know," DiZ replied. "Nor does it even have the right to be."
"But what is a Nobody?!" Roxas asked.
The pickpocket appeared out of a Corridor, "DiZ, we're out of time. Too many Nobodies!"
Out of the Corridor behind DiZ, Naminé jumped out, "Roxas! Listen to me! Nobodies like us are only half a person. You won't disappear. You'll be whole!"
Roxas stopped, "I'll...disappear...?"
"No further outbursts!" DiZ told Naminé.
Naminé ignored him, still focusing on Roxas, "No, you won't disappear! You'll—!"
DiZ cut her off by grabbing her and covering her mouth with his hand.
"Wait!" Roxas tried to run to the portal, but was stopped by the pickpocket.
Naminé pried DiZ's hand away from her mouth, tears pouring down her face, "Roxas! We will me again. And then we can talk about everything. I may not know it's you, and you may not know it's me. But we will meet again. Someday soon. I promise!"
Naminé and Diz began to fade away through the Corridor.
"Let her go!" Roxas demanded.
But the portal vanished along with the pickpocket. Roxas held out his left hand to where Naminé last was.
"Naminé!"
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Main Street~
Kairi ran through town, calling Roxas' name repeatedly, scared for him and confused as to why no one knew him or her all of a sudden. She had tried to speak to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and other people, but no one would acknowledge her.
In fact, when she tried to touch people, her hand went right through them.
She needed to find Roxas. "Roxas?! Roxas! Where are you?!"
When she reached the Sandlot, she found a man covered in dark red robes, waiting for her.
"Kairi," the man spoke, and she stopped in her tracks.
"You can...see me?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yes. My name is DiZ. Your prescence here in the data realm has greatly sped up Sora's restoration."
Sora?
Kairi immediately felt a headache come on when she heard the name.
'It starts with an 'S'.'
Who was this Sora? Why was he so important?
DiZ recalled the tears in Naminé's eyes and Roxas' desperation to save her not even an hour ago. His gaze softened, before he quietly said, "Thank you for your service, Kairi, and I apologize that you had to get involved. Worry no longer. Roxas will be fine."
Kairi's headache became too much for her, and she blacked out, giving DiZ the chance to send her heart back to her body in Radiant Garden.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~The Old Mansion~
After Roxas defeated all the Dusks in the Basement Hall, Axel walked in with his arms crossed.
"Simply amazing, Roxas." He didn't sound too happy.
"Axel," Roxas replied, no hint of confusion in his voice. "Sorry, but I'm not telling you where Naminé is." He had to protect her.
"Oh, you really do remember me this time? I'm so flattered!" Axel's anger caused the edges of the room the erupt in flames. "But you're too late!"
Roxas shook off his fear and his hesitation at fighting his own best friend, and summoned Solarflare and Lunaraqua. Solarflare would help absorb the flame, while Lunaraqua would help combat against it.
"Two?!" Axel was surprised at this. He then lowered his head, as a tear fell down his cheek. "How did it come to this?" he asked himself.
Roxas said nothing, part of him wondering the same thing.
Axel summoned his chakrams, and he looked up, tearfully glaring at Roxas. "Come at me, buddy!"
Roxas charged first. Axel was obviously going through a lot, but so was Roxas himself.
During the fight, Roxas wondered if Axel was currently wishing the three of them were still friends, still on that clock tower having ice cream, still together like they all promised.
If only things had turned out that way.
Axel fell to his knees after Roxas' victory, and the flames disappeared. Roxas stared at Axel and recalled the last time they talked to each other.
"You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"
"No one would miss me."
"That's not true! I would..."
Axel began to fade away, a sign that he was on his last legs. Roxas remembered when Axel almost didn't return from Castle Oblivion. "Axel..."
"Take care of Naminé, will ya?" Axel told him. "Let's all meet again in the next life."
"Yeah," Roxas graced him with one last smile. "We'll be waiting."
"Silly," Axel smirked. "Just because you two have a next life..."
Axel then disappeared, and Roxas walked up to where he vanished.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Later, Roxas walked through the basement corridor. He stopped when he saw two capsules with familiar faces inside.
"...Donald...Goofy?"
He turned to the door at the end of the hall and entered a completely bright room in front of a single large capsule. DiZ was standing in that room.
"At last, the Keyblade's chosen one," DiZ said.
"Who are you talking to?" Roxas asked, without missing a beat. "Me? Or Sora?"
"To half of Sora, of course," DiZ replied. "You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about the realm of light and destroy Organization XIII."
"Why? Who are you? Where's Kairi?"
"I am a servant of the world," DiZ replied. "And do not worry about Kairi. She has served her purpose."
Roxas didn't like that answer, "Was that...Was that supposed to be a joke?" He conjured the Keyblade. "'Cause I'm not laughing!"
Roxas ran up to the man and struck through him. The Keyblade created a wave of data through DiZ. Roxas, surprised, stood up straight.
"My apologies, Roxas," the man said. "This is only a data-based projection."
Roxas screamed in anger, and futilely struck DiZ repetitively with the Keyblade. DiZ vanished and reappeared behind him while Roxas caught his breath.
"Come, over here," DiZ quietly told the blonde.
Roxas simply stared at DiZ, who watched as a hate-filled tear fell down his cheek, "I hate you so much..."
The man's expression softened immediately.
Because his research was wrong. It appeared that Nobodies had the ability to feel emotions after all.
What had he done? He wanted revenge against the Organization, but on his way to it, he only ruined more lives than he meant to.
He quietly said, "And you have every right to, Roxas. You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good..."
"No!" Roxas tried to deny it. "My heart belongs to me!"
But it was too late. There was nothing he could do.
Because Sora's restoration was already at 100%. It was already complete.
Roxas ran and cut through DiZ again, who disappeared and the capsule glowed.
Roxas watched as the mechanical petals opened slowly and revealed what they contained.
"Sorry, Kairi," Roxas sadly muttered, feeling the pull to rejoin with Sora. "Thanks for all your help, but it's too late..." Roxas looked up at the sleeping Sora, floating inside. "Sora...You're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is...over."
To Be Continued...
!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~O~A~T~H~K~E~E~P~E~R~~A~U~~!
Author's Note About Various Changes: Not really much change from canon, but I wanted to set up the rest of the changes for KH2, and put a nice little bow to the end of Days, while also setting up DDD and KH3.
A dogeza is a way to put one's self in a shameful position, to show deference in favor of a person of a higher rank. It is an action that shows the receiver that the giver of the dogeza neglects his image and accepts the shame that is involved with performing the gesture. Sora does this in the canon KH2, and I just now noticed the comparison with Roxas there when I was writing this chapter.
I miss Kairi's sarcasm. That's why she was so cheerful and sarcastic in this chapter. Also, Roxas and Kairi's friendship in this chapter really made me support it more than I already did before writing this.
On Day 4, Kairi still connects with Sora through Roxas, though it happens a little differently, due to what I already established concerning Kairi's memories/amnesia. I'm happy with how it turned out.
Also, now you can see clearly where exactly in the story that DiZ decides to change his mind and decide to atone. I'm happy with how it turned out, and I hope you guys are too (Remember, I had promised not to demonize any character if I could help it. I made that mistakes, and I don't plan on doing it again).
Note: While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom, which means I still don't understand most of the lore. So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. I'm trying my best to stick to canon as closely as this AU will allow me to. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review, so I can correct any mistake I make. If you have any ideas or questions, please let me know.
If you want to know what I imagine Kairi to look like, then go to my DeviantArt page, titled "SepticAbzies", and go to the piece titled "Kairi ~ Oathkeeper AU (Full Color)", and if you want an idea of what I have in mind for Naminé, then you can find it on the piece titled "Number 14 AU". I will update the cover image to match Kairi's appearance (as well as Naminé's and Xion's) as I update each chapter, but keep in mind, Kairi's design in this AU matches how I imagine her growth to be.
Next chapter will focus on Sora beginning his journey while Axel chases after Kairi, who just wants to find this 'Sora' and discover who he is.