Disclaimer: Oh wow, look at that. I didn't own it last chapter either.
Thanks for reviewing oh lovely people who reviewed! Sorry, Yoko Kurama Girl, but I just can't see Cloud kidnapping Kairi.. Or even falling for her at all for that matter.. :/ But I spent a while thinking about your suggestion, and I came up with some new ideas, which is really cool because I ran out of them a while ago. So, Cloud won't be all over Kairi, but he will be in the story a bit more here in a bit. Thank you for your suggestion!
~~~~~
The mall was absolutely packed with last-minute shoppers. Kairi led Riku through the mass of people by the hand, sitting down next to the nearest water feature to catch her breath.
"I can't believe anything is still in stock! Look at all of these people!" She exclaimed, clutching her own shopping bag to her and staring around.
Riku laughed, sitting down next to her. "Yeah, you'd think people would catch on by now and start shopping earlier, like during the summer. But it's the same thing every year, the mall becomes a war zone." He shook his head and poked through the bag he held, pulling out a bag of chips.
Kairi stared unbelievingly at him, "Everyone in town is fighting to get into these shops, and you buy a bag of chips? We could have stopped at the grocery store outside, which is empty!" She exclaimed, snatching the bag away from him. "These are terrible for your health, by the way." She added, shoving the bag into Tidus's hands as he walked by with Selphie.
"Oh! Hey, Kairi! I didn't see you there!" Selphie giggled, plopping down on the bench next to her.
Tidus loitered uncomfortably nearby, trying not to look like he was there with her. Riku never would have caught on to anything had Selphie not grabbed Tidus and pulled him down next to her, hanging on his arm. He mouthed the words 'help me' to Riku, who laughed.
"I don't know what it is with this boy, but he's so darn shy when we're around people we know!" Selphie exclaimed, a bit louder than necessary. Tidus blushed, trying to hide behind her shoulder.
"You should see him when mistletoe is involved, Whoo-!" She was silenced when Tidus clamped his hand over her mouth, pulling her to her feet and backing away from Kairi and Riku.
"Oh, ya know what? We really gotta go uh... Wakka wanted us to pick up some candy canes before the party tonight, and we better go get some before they run out! You know how it is! Heh!" He cried nervously, disappearing into the crowd with Selphie, who waved frantically to Kairi.
~
Hours later, Kairi sat on the beach, watching Riku as he played blitzball with Sora and Wakka, Tidus and Selphie hadn't been spotted since the mall. It was still light out, but it was getting pretty late, the sun just beginning to drop down towards the ocean. The waves were turning orange and pink, splashing softly along the shoreline.
She sighed happily as she watched the game, her mind slowly drifting away to watch the sun sink in the sky. She didn't notice Riku had plopped down in the sand until he put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. They watched the sun set for a while, the sky finally beginning to darken. Brilliant waves of purple and red streaked across the heavens, the grand finale before the sun slid out of view, leaving the islands in darkness.
Riku slipped down until his head was resting in Kairi's lap, smiling up at her as she stroked his silver hair. After a moment, he sat up, looking up at the dark clouds.
"Kairi, it's snowing!" he exclaimed, watching as random white flakes began to fall around them.
He jumped to his feet, pulling Kairi up after him and running down the beach. It began to snow harder, and Kairi shivered, grabbing Riku and pulling him into her like a coat.
"I'm hungry! And it's freezing out here.. Let's go home and watch the snow." She pleaded, smiling sweetly at him.
~
The snow continued to fall heavily outside Kairi's bedroom window. She watched as it slowly built up on her window sill, snuggled warmly against Riku as he slept. Looking up at him, she couldn't help but smile. He looked so peaceful, a surprising change from his usual confident disposition.
She turned her attention back to the window, meditating on what Cloud had said. It startled her how he seemed to see right through her. Shifting her gaze back up towards Riku, she suddenly felt apprehensive. She knew Ansem was no longer in Riku, but there was still something dark around him.
Pushing the thought from her mind, she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. His soft breathing lulling her to sleep.
~
Kairi groaned and sat up, head throbbing. Her limbs ached and she stumbled groggily to her feet. She squinted as her eyes focused in the orange glow. Stepping forward a look of horror crossed her face as she realized what she was looking at.
"What..? Is this.. My neighborhood?" She stared into the bright flaming mass that had at one point been her house.
Her stepmother's car still sat in the driveway, windows shattered. The snow was gone, it appeared as though it was mid summer. Kairi stepped cautiously forward, looking up and down the street. Several houses were already burned to the ground, leaving smoking piles of debris. The road was cracked and torn up in places, as though a large plow had come through and ripped bits of it up. Sparks crackled overhead through the ruined power lines.
Tears were forming in her eyes when she heard yelling down the street. She ducked back behind the shattered stump of a tree, watching as three shadowed figures sprinted in her direction. Several more dark characters pursued them closely, quickly catching up. The middle of the three tripped in one of the large ruts carved in the road, landing painfully on the asphalt.
"Tidus!" The other two shouted, stopping in their tracks and turning to defend him as he stumbled to his feet.
Kairi's eyes widened in realization as the keyblade flashed in the glow of the fire, its wielder taking up a battle stance and preparing for the attack. Lunging forward, he thrust the keyblade through the chest of a rather surprised Heartless, swinging around gracefully to counter another. He caught an offending Heartless in the neck with a back kick, sending him reeling into the ground. Kairi watched in wonder as the remaining Heartless were either caught in his final devastating attack or retreated. He stood there for a moment, finally putting the keyblade away and turning to face his two friends.
"Sora!" Kairi called, dashing out from behind the tree stump and latching onto her friend in a tight embrace.
"Kairi?!" He stared at her, absolutely bewildered. "What are you doing here? We thought you had been taken! Are you all right?" he asked, checking her for any injuries.
She stepped back a bit, breathing a sigh of relief as she looked around at Tidus and Wakka's puzzled faces. Something clicked at the back of her mind, something not quite right. She shook the feeling off and smiled back at Sora, who returned it, too happy to speak.
"What's going on here? Why were those Heartless chasing you?" She asked, suddenly remembering the state of her town.
Sora and the others exchanged questioning glances. "What do you mean? We should be asking you that!" He paused when a loud grinding noise filled the air, everyone turning to glance back down the road. "Crap! We gotta go!" He yelled, grabbing Kairi's wrist as the three boys darted back down the road.
~~~~
Thanks for reviewing oh lovely people who reviewed! Sorry, Yoko Kurama Girl, but I just can't see Cloud kidnapping Kairi.. Or even falling for her at all for that matter.. :/ But I spent a while thinking about your suggestion, and I came up with some new ideas, which is really cool because I ran out of them a while ago. So, Cloud won't be all over Kairi, but he will be in the story a bit more here in a bit. Thank you for your suggestion!
~~~~~
The mall was absolutely packed with last-minute shoppers. Kairi led Riku through the mass of people by the hand, sitting down next to the nearest water feature to catch her breath.
"I can't believe anything is still in stock! Look at all of these people!" She exclaimed, clutching her own shopping bag to her and staring around.
Riku laughed, sitting down next to her. "Yeah, you'd think people would catch on by now and start shopping earlier, like during the summer. But it's the same thing every year, the mall becomes a war zone." He shook his head and poked through the bag he held, pulling out a bag of chips.
Kairi stared unbelievingly at him, "Everyone in town is fighting to get into these shops, and you buy a bag of chips? We could have stopped at the grocery store outside, which is empty!" She exclaimed, snatching the bag away from him. "These are terrible for your health, by the way." She added, shoving the bag into Tidus's hands as he walked by with Selphie.
"Oh! Hey, Kairi! I didn't see you there!" Selphie giggled, plopping down on the bench next to her.
Tidus loitered uncomfortably nearby, trying not to look like he was there with her. Riku never would have caught on to anything had Selphie not grabbed Tidus and pulled him down next to her, hanging on his arm. He mouthed the words 'help me' to Riku, who laughed.
"I don't know what it is with this boy, but he's so darn shy when we're around people we know!" Selphie exclaimed, a bit louder than necessary. Tidus blushed, trying to hide behind her shoulder.
"You should see him when mistletoe is involved, Whoo-!" She was silenced when Tidus clamped his hand over her mouth, pulling her to her feet and backing away from Kairi and Riku.
"Oh, ya know what? We really gotta go uh... Wakka wanted us to pick up some candy canes before the party tonight, and we better go get some before they run out! You know how it is! Heh!" He cried nervously, disappearing into the crowd with Selphie, who waved frantically to Kairi.
~
Hours later, Kairi sat on the beach, watching Riku as he played blitzball with Sora and Wakka, Tidus and Selphie hadn't been spotted since the mall. It was still light out, but it was getting pretty late, the sun just beginning to drop down towards the ocean. The waves were turning orange and pink, splashing softly along the shoreline.
She sighed happily as she watched the game, her mind slowly drifting away to watch the sun sink in the sky. She didn't notice Riku had plopped down in the sand until he put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. They watched the sun set for a while, the sky finally beginning to darken. Brilliant waves of purple and red streaked across the heavens, the grand finale before the sun slid out of view, leaving the islands in darkness.
Riku slipped down until his head was resting in Kairi's lap, smiling up at her as she stroked his silver hair. After a moment, he sat up, looking up at the dark clouds.
"Kairi, it's snowing!" he exclaimed, watching as random white flakes began to fall around them.
He jumped to his feet, pulling Kairi up after him and running down the beach. It began to snow harder, and Kairi shivered, grabbing Riku and pulling him into her like a coat.
"I'm hungry! And it's freezing out here.. Let's go home and watch the snow." She pleaded, smiling sweetly at him.
~
The snow continued to fall heavily outside Kairi's bedroom window. She watched as it slowly built up on her window sill, snuggled warmly against Riku as he slept. Looking up at him, she couldn't help but smile. He looked so peaceful, a surprising change from his usual confident disposition.
She turned her attention back to the window, meditating on what Cloud had said. It startled her how he seemed to see right through her. Shifting her gaze back up towards Riku, she suddenly felt apprehensive. She knew Ansem was no longer in Riku, but there was still something dark around him.
Pushing the thought from her mind, she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. His soft breathing lulling her to sleep.
~
Kairi groaned and sat up, head throbbing. Her limbs ached and she stumbled groggily to her feet. She squinted as her eyes focused in the orange glow. Stepping forward a look of horror crossed her face as she realized what she was looking at.
"What..? Is this.. My neighborhood?" She stared into the bright flaming mass that had at one point been her house.
Her stepmother's car still sat in the driveway, windows shattered. The snow was gone, it appeared as though it was mid summer. Kairi stepped cautiously forward, looking up and down the street. Several houses were already burned to the ground, leaving smoking piles of debris. The road was cracked and torn up in places, as though a large plow had come through and ripped bits of it up. Sparks crackled overhead through the ruined power lines.
Tears were forming in her eyes when she heard yelling down the street. She ducked back behind the shattered stump of a tree, watching as three shadowed figures sprinted in her direction. Several more dark characters pursued them closely, quickly catching up. The middle of the three tripped in one of the large ruts carved in the road, landing painfully on the asphalt.
"Tidus!" The other two shouted, stopping in their tracks and turning to defend him as he stumbled to his feet.
Kairi's eyes widened in realization as the keyblade flashed in the glow of the fire, its wielder taking up a battle stance and preparing for the attack. Lunging forward, he thrust the keyblade through the chest of a rather surprised Heartless, swinging around gracefully to counter another. He caught an offending Heartless in the neck with a back kick, sending him reeling into the ground. Kairi watched in wonder as the remaining Heartless were either caught in his final devastating attack or retreated. He stood there for a moment, finally putting the keyblade away and turning to face his two friends.
"Sora!" Kairi called, dashing out from behind the tree stump and latching onto her friend in a tight embrace.
"Kairi?!" He stared at her, absolutely bewildered. "What are you doing here? We thought you had been taken! Are you all right?" he asked, checking her for any injuries.
She stepped back a bit, breathing a sigh of relief as she looked around at Tidus and Wakka's puzzled faces. Something clicked at the back of her mind, something not quite right. She shook the feeling off and smiled back at Sora, who returned it, too happy to speak.
"What's going on here? Why were those Heartless chasing you?" She asked, suddenly remembering the state of her town.
Sora and the others exchanged questioning glances. "What do you mean? We should be asking you that!" He paused when a loud grinding noise filled the air, everyone turning to glance back down the road. "Crap! We gotta go!" He yelled, grabbing Kairi's wrist as the three boys darted back down the road.
~~~~