By: Naela
Summary: A being tied to Sora is awakening and now more than ever the Keyblade Master is needed. Only, no one seems to know where he is. How are Riku and Kairi tied into all of this and who are the Non-Existent Ones?
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. They're all property of Squaresoft and Disney.
Chapter Three: Paradise
"You ready?"
Kairi held up her staff and slid into a fighting stance. Warm sand slipped into her sandals as she slid her feet apart. She pushed a stray lock of hair back and gripped onto the staff. She grinned at her opponent, who stood only a few metres away from her.
"Whenever you are!" she shouted back.
There was a smirk on Tidus' face as brought up his sword and beckoned for her to attack. Kairi charged, her sandal flying off her foot when she closed the distance between her and Tidus. Every time her foot thudded across the ground she kicked up sand and left behind deep burrows. She was only a few feet away from her opponent when she lost her other sandal.
The girl brought her staff down on Tidus and strained when he brought his own weapon up and blocked her blow. The blond grinned at her and shoved her back. Kairi stumbled backwards and drove her staff into the ground to regain her balance.
Tidus stood back, his own weapon, the same red wooden stick he'd used since childhood, was resting against his shoulder. He'd graduated from a wooden stick to a real sword years ago, but for the sake of safety he'd gone back to using his childhood weapon.
"Come on, you can do better than that!" he shouted at her.
"Gimme a break will ya?" Kairi mumbled.
"You think your opponent will do that for you in a real fight?" Tidus retorted and cleared the distance between them with one long jump. Kairi anticipated his next attack and rolled aside. Sand sprayed everywhere as Tidus' weapon slammed against the ground.
Tidus jerked his head away as sand flew into his eyes. He blinked rapidly and swung wildly as he heard the girl charging at him. His swing missed her and instead left him open. Kairi slid her hands near the base of the staff and brought her weapon down on his shoulder. The blond cried out and reared backwards, ignoring the pain in his eyes as he jabbed forward and met her staff. The girl giggled at his clumsy attack and shoved him backwards. The blond fell onto his back, and he stayed there, groaning at his embarrassing defeat.
"That was pathetic," he said, bringing a hand up to his forehead and wiping away the beads of sweat. Kairi sat down beside him and grinned.
"You've gotta stop doing that move," she said, wagging a finger at him. "It always leaves you wide open."
"Yeah, yeah," Tidus retorted. "You're getting good."
"I learn from the best," Kairi said. She leaned forward and punched him playfully on his shoulder. "And you were going easy on me weren't you?"
Tidus' sheepish grin was answer enough. Kairi rolled her eyes and glanced over towards the dock. Selphie stood on the edge, calmly watching Wakka swim in the water. There wasn't a doubt in Kairi's mind that he was practicing his blitzball moves. While Wakka was a great blitzer, it was Tidus who outranked him in that particular underwater sport. Tidus, on the other hand, didn't seem interested in a career as an athlete. He'd admitted to her once that he wanted to be a swordsman and train under Auron, their resident swords master.
"So how are things going on between you and Yuna?" Kairi asked.
"Okay," Tidus replied. He sat up and frowned. "Things are getting a little bit shaky."
"What's up?"
"Her and her Yevon," Tidus replied snidely. "It's always, 'Sorry, Tidus, can't make it tonight, I have prayer at the shrine.' I'm beginning to feel like I'm secondary in her life."
Kairi smiled softly. "Even if you see things like that, I'm pretty sure Yuna doesn't mean it," she said. "To her you're the most important person in her life. She's just got obligations."
Smirking, Tidus shrugged and winced at the painful reminder of his injured shoulder. "Guess you're right about that." Standing up, he pointed his stick at her. "You ready for another round?"
Jumping to her feet, Kairi knocked his weapon away with her staff. "You betcha!"
It was two hours later when Kairi and Tidus had called it quits and were sitting underneath a palm tree, enjoying its shade. Both Wakka and Selphie joined them. It was just like old times when all of them would just sit there and talk about anything.
Things had changed of course, two of them were missing and they had all grown up. Now they were the ones who would watch the other younger children run around trying to beat each other up with makeshift weapons.
"You guys realize what day it is today?" Selphie asked.
Two heads shook. "Today would be the first time we ever met Kairi!"
"Oh yeah!" Wakka exclaimed.
"Whoa, sorry, we forgot, Kairi," Tidus said, looking apologetic.
Kairi shook her head. "Doesn't matter," she replied and waved her hand, dismissing the matter. "It's not a bit deal."
Sora and Riku had always made a big deal out of it. She remembered one year when they'd tried to organize a concert, which failed miserably when Wakka had accidentally destroyed their stage with a loose blitzball.
They'd been so down after that.
She still kept tabs of dates like these, Sora and Riku's birthdays, the first time they'd met, the first time Sora had broken his arm, and the first time Riku got sick after eating a bad mushroom. Usually no one else remembered things like this, but it made her smile that other people still thought of the two.
"Wonder when they're coming back," Wakka said, folding his arms behind his head, he leaned against a palm tree.
"Maybe soon," Kairi said softly.
Noticing Kairi's downcast look, Selphie sprung up and began running towards the water. "Hey you guys! Come on, let's go for a swim!"
"Swim?" Tidus repeated. "But we didn't even bring out swimming suits."
"Who cares!" Selphie retorted.
"You go first, man," Wakka said, gesturing after the brown haired girl.
Tidus rolled his eyes and slowly climbed to his feet. Suddenly grinning, the blond grabbed Wakka's blitzball and began jogging towards the waters. "Come on, Wakka, I'm challenging you to a game! Let's see if you can even catch up to me this time."
Wakka immediately shot up and chased after the boy. "That was an off day!" he exclaimed. Tidus was already in the waters by that time. Kairi smiled as she watched after the three and slowly stood to join them. Shuffling across the sand, she paused when her eyes caught sight of a light in the sky. Frowning, she brought her hand up to her forehead to shield the sun from her eyes and saw it clearly this time: a meteor. Bringing her hands to the small of her back, she held one arm with the other in her usual habit of standing and watched as it made its way down towards the water.
There was something important about meteors…
"Kairi! You coming or not?" Tidus shouted.
She jerked her head away from the sky and turned to face the trio swimming in the sea. She nodded and turned back towards the meteor, but it was gone now. It probably crashed into the water or something like that.
Grinning back at the blond, she nodded and began sprinting towards the waters.
***
It was sunset when everyone had returned to the main island. Kairi was the last one to leave the children's paradise and the last one to arrive at residential section of Destiny Islands. As she clamoured onto the pier, she caught sight of Selphie, Tidus and Wakka all waving at her before leaving. She waved back and sighed as she sat on the edge of the pier, her feet dangling in an awkward manner. Her sandals threatened to slip off and fall into the murky depths below.
There was a moment like this five years ago. It'd been a moment of quiet calm with only the sunset ahead of her and the one she cared for the most by her side. In the months afterwards when world barriers had separated them, she always took solace in the fact that they were connected.
Holding a hand over her heart, she could feel its rhythmic beat. At one point her heart and Sora's heart had been one. She wasn't fully conscious at that time, she couldn't understand the different floods of emotions and the fact that she was in her body and outside of it at the same time, but it was Sora's presence that had been enough to comfort her.
Sometimes she could hear his voice in her head. They used to have conversations, she would see what he was seeing and it was the other way around for him.
It'd been years since she'd been able to hear his voice again. On occasion, she would feel an emotion that wasn't hers, and while it reassured her that he was still alive, the reminder that he no longer wanted to speak to her was like a knife in her heart. Every time it happened, the knife twisted just a little more.
The sun had finally set, and Kairi broke away from the imagery. She tried calling one last time for Sora, but like every night before, there was no answer. She sighed but wasn't wholly disappointed. Brushing the back of her skirt of grime, she began heading towards the residential area.
The island was really rows of houses that were spread about randomly. Most of the houses were lit from the inside, and one in particular that sat near the edge of the island had only one window lit. She headed for that house. It was situated at the top of a hill that brought back memories of her and Sora and Riku rolling down it with shaky skateboards. She still bore a scar from one of the many accidents she suffered from the dangerous sport. She remembered hating how fast the board went and how she always squeezed her eyes shut. Riku and Sora always laughed when it was their turn and she could have easily stayed back, only Sora always convinced her to take a risk.
She stood at the top of the hill and paused at the front of the house, like every other building on the island, it had a garden, one that was tended with obvious love and care. She'd worked in this garden a few times before and loved the sight of the blooming blossoms. The garden still had a fragrant scent as she passed by it, taking a small stepping stone path towards the front door.
Kairi didn't need to knock, the door opened before she even lifted an arm. The woman who greeted her, brown haired with matching brown eyes that shone with delight, snatched at her hand and shook it vigorously. "Kairi! I was wondering when you'd get here!"
The girl laughed. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was a little preoccupied."
"Oh never mind that," the elderly woman released her hand and stepped aside, gesturing for her to step in. "Come in, I was just making dinner when I spotted you from the kitchen window."
Kairi nodded and entered the house. She could already smell the spicy aromas of the woman's dinner. "What are you making?"
"A new recipe I found," the woman replied as she shuffled towards down the hall and into the kitchen. Kairi followed her and watched as she tended to the steaming pots on the stove.
"Mind if I help?" she asked.
"I'd love it if you did," the woman said, smiling in a familiar manner at her. She gestured towards a cutting board with a pile of vegetables. "Mind cutting those?"
"Of course not!" Kairi exclaimed and promptly went to work.
With Kairi's help, the woman was done making dinner quicker than anticipated. As she began washing the dishes, she turned to face Kairi. "How was your day?"
"The same," Kairi answered as she dumped what garbage she could find into the trash bin. "I've been practicing with the staff again with Tidus. He's a pretty good teacher."
"Oh really? That boy's so much like his father."
Kairi giggled. "I think not, Tidus is much nicer."
The woman grinned again. "When you get to know Jecht you'll realize how nice he is. Hmmm… soup's ready." She rushed over towards a large pot and dipped a wooden spoon into it, stirring it a few times. Kairi leaned against the counter, clasping her hands behind her back as she watched the woman.
It was amazing how easy it was to keep up a farce. Talk about this and that, talk just about anything except for a certain subject. This woman, Sora's mother, who insisted in being called Bea, had been living a farce since the day she realized that her son would not be coming home.
"It's getting late," Kairi said, pushing herself away from the counter. "I better get going."
"Oh? Don't you want to stay for dinner?"
She shook her head. "I need to get dinner ready at home anyway," she said. "Send my regards to your husband!"
Bea smiled and escorted her to the door. "He'll be disappointed in missing you," she said.
"I'll swing by earlier tomorrow," Kairi promised.
The woman waved good-bye and watched Kairi traverse down the hill, and eventually when the girl disappeared from sight, she closed the door and returned to the kitchen.
It was a beach, dark and noisy with the churning of the sea. Ahead was a moon glowing with a bright intensity that it seemed almost like a dim star. There were no stars, only an endless night sky. Marring this dark perfection were rock structures, protruding from the ground to rise into arcs and sink back into the soft sand. They formed rib-caged patterns about the beach.
"I've been to see him."
The man who spoke was sitting on a rock, staring off into ocean. He was dressed in a black jacket with a hood pulled over his face, obscuring his facial features from sight. There was another approaching him. The other, with glowing yellow eyes, dressed in a similar fashion, stopped before the rock and was silent. A wind blew at them, playing with their clothing.
The seated man turned away from the ocean and now stared at the one with the glowing eyes. "He looks just like you."
The other was still and said, "It's all coming back to me now, the true…" He stopped and glanced over in the distance, spotting the girl who was backed up against one of the protruding ribs, watching them with wide eyes.
Kairi shot up in bed, inhaling sharply as she did so. An icy breath shot through her heart, causing her to lurch forward. She brought a hand to her chest, clenching a fistful of cloth. The dream, the man with the glowing eyes, the seated man… she knew them.
The icy coolness intensified, becoming a painful touch that made her want to scream. She brought the pillow to her mouth and clamped down on it and let out a pained cry, one after another until the pain subsided and her pillow was covered in her own spittle. Letting it drop into her lap, she closed her eyes and let herself cry; her body shook with each sob. She couldn't understand why she was crying, but a part of her knew that she was mourning over her best friend: over the one she loved the most.
Awww so sad... or extremely corny, well at least I know I made Deja Vu cry. *G* Yes, chapter three has now introduced three of the most important characters in this fic and some of you might be fairly disappointed because for some odd reason a lot of people here don't seem to like Kairi. I suppose some of the fans of the Riku/Sora pairing feel threatened by her presence. I personally don't mind Kairi at all and thought that her character had a lot of potential in the game, only, Squaresoft had decided to make her one of those Damsels in Distress and pushed her off to the sidelines, but judging from one of the English lines of the secret endings "This time, I'll fight," I'm making an assumption that Kairi will no longer be a little pansy girl who can only wait for her 'man' to save her. Anyway, I'm quite surprised by the amount of reviews I got and I hope you guys keep on reviewing. Next chapter will feature Riku and Enigma and we'll take a peak at what they've been doing.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Deja Vu for beta reading AND reviewing!!
Cynthia Chen: HEE HEE!! Yes, I've incorporated the final endings and tried my best to interpret them and such and Behind the Darkness is the result. I'm glad you're not gonna flame me! I was expecting the worst. *_*
Dragonmaster Dyne: Wow! I'm really honoured that you feel that way about my fic, I have no idea but you're review has got me grinning pretty wide. No, I won't drop this fic, I put too much effort and planning on the storyline to drop it!
Amethyst: LOL!! I'm glad you like my writing style and I hope you'll enjoy the future chapters I'm gonna bestow upon you. ^_^
linkinparkdude13: I'll read your fic and review, I promise since you were nice enough to read mine!
Cat: I'm hoping you'll like what happens next chapter. *wink wink*
Koorino Megumi: Oi!! Thank you VERY much for catching that little inconsistency! The thing about Riku's sight that I tend to forget that he's wearing the blindfold while writing. I don't know, there are a few fics out there as far as I recall that are based on FM and I've tried my hardest to make this fic a little different but all of the intros are pretty much the same. Don't worry about being nit picky because I love nit picky reviewers. *G*