Kairi lie in bed looking up at the ceiling. She had just awakened and the pain in her body prevented her from getting up. She closed her eyes and thought about Sora. She had met the real Sora in that dream, but she didn't know if he had come back with her. She was afraid of this new, dark Sora that she had saw. She opened her eyes when she heard a soft knock at the door of her room.
"Come in." She said a little weakly. A woman walked in and the first things Kairi noticed about her were her bright green eyes. They seemed to almost glow and they went well with the warm smile she wore. Her simple pink dress clung elegantly to her body.
"Hello, my name is Aeris," she said softly. "How are you, Kairi?"
"Okay I guess," Kairi said sitting up with effort. "Um, but who are you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Aeris said. She took Kairi's hand and shook it gently. "As I said before, my name is Aeris. Cloud and the others are my friends," she explained as she sat down on a chair next to the bed.
"Oh," Kairi mumbled, looking around. She saw that the room she was in belonged to Aeris. There were pictures of her everywhere and many of them had Cloud in them. Only one was a big group-picture with some people she recognized, and some she didn't. Kairi smiled.
"Is that guy, Cloud, your boyfriend or something?"
Aeris smiled as the blood slightly rushed to her cheeks. She looked down in embarrassment and brushed a brown bang out of her face. "Um, no. I just, he…" She stood up. "You must be hungry."
Kairi shook her head, laughing on the inside. "No, I'm not hungry. I just want to know how Sora is right now."
Aeris looked down. "Um, I guess no one told you."
"Told me what?" Kairi asked, her heart pounding. "Did something happen to Sora?"
"I'm not going to lie to you Kairi. We think Sora is in a coma." Kairi's eyes grew wide as she continued, "He hasn't awoken since you arrived a couple of days ago."
"I, I have to see him," Kairi cried, struggling to get out of bed. After a failed attempt, she fell back into the bed sweating and panting lightly.
"You need to rest," Aeris stated firmly. "Sora will be okay. He needs to rest also." She got up and began walking towards the door. "Just sleep for now and when you feel better, you can see Sora." She walked out and closed the door softly behind her.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sora opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. All he saw was an endless expanse of white. He got up and began to walk. Where am I, he thought. Last thing I remember, I went berserk and fought Seryl.
"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone there?!" The only answer he got was his own echo. He suddenly felt a cool breeze blow and he shivered.
Why…?
"What?" Sora muttered. He looked around trying to pinpoint the location. He couldn't find the source and continued to walk aimlessly.
Why do you fight…?
"I…" Sora thought. Why was he fighting? What did he have to gain from it? All it had brought him was pain and misery. Was the keyblade a blessing, or a curse? But he had shouldered that burden because he was chosen as the keyblade master and he had to protect…
"My friends!! I fight so that my friends don't have to!"
Who is this enemy you fight…?
"The…the darkness?" Wasn't it the darkness that had been after him ever since he got the keyblade? Wasn't the darkness the source of all Heartless, demons, and ultimately, all evil? "The darkness," he stated more confidently.
How is the darkness your enemy, when you used it to fight…?
Sora remembered his descent into some kind of dark form. "That's because…" Sora didn't have an answer. He had used some form of darkness to defeat Seryl. "I had to…"
Darkness does not necessarily mean evil…
"What are you talking about?!" Sora exploded. "The darkness is what's been trying to kill me and take the hearts of all worlds! You can't tell me anything about the darkness!! Now come out and show yourself!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Sora saw a void appear in the endless field of white. It was as black as a raven's wing and he could make out the form of a being inside. The form glided out and lowered softly onto the ground. Sora blinked and the form had taken the shape of himself. The only differences were that his hair was white and longer, and his eyes were blood red.
You believe that darkness is evil, however you are mistaken. Darkness, just like light, is just another part of nature. Something is only evil when the person wielding it is evil. Even light itself can be used for malevolent intentions.
"Okay…" Sora raked a hand through his hair. "Next question. Who are you?"
I am the soul of your keyblade. The essence of its true form.
"And you were here all this time?" Sora was still doubtful. "How come you never did anything before."
I had to wait until you were exposed to darkness. The essence of this keyblade contains both light and dark. Previously, you were only a child of light, but once you were in oblivion, you were shown the heart of true darkness.
"Wait if the darkness isn't bad, why'd it take away all of my spells?"
You need to relearn those spells in the darkness' shadow. Only then will you truly master them.
Sora summoned his keyblade and looked at it. "So my keyblade is of light and dark. What about Kairi's? And Riku's? And the other girl, uh, Fayne's? And that guy, Yuyami's?"
Your friend, Kairi, wields a keyblade of pure light, while her friend lavender-eyed friend has a keyblade of utter darkness. The other silver headed boy has a keyblade like yours except he discovered darkness before light. The other hooded boy, he's different. His keyblades are nonexistent.
"Nonexistent?"
It means that his keyblades have affiliation with neither darkness nor light. His keyblades can affect one's very soul. The heart contains two potential essences. Light or dark. The soul, however, is different from the heart. It's not affected by light and dark, but it also isn't as strong.
"So, when I went into that form, you gave me you powers?"
Yes, I transferred my abilities over to you.
"Can the others do that? Change into their keyblade soul guy?" Sora couldn't picture Kairi going all evil looking like he did.
No, the other keyblade masters have their own latent abilities that will be revealed when the time is right. As for you, it is time for you to awaken…
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kairi awoke the next morning feeling a lot better. She even got up and began to walk around to get her blood pumping again. The soft glow of Luna spilled into her room as she opened the curtains. She put on her cloak and walked out into the hall. As she closed the door she promptly walked into…
"Riku, hey." Kairi kept a little distance between herself and the silver-headed youth. She was still a little wary of him ever since the incident. "Watcha up to?"
"Uh, I'm just going to go see Sora." Riku noticed that Kairi made careful attempts not to touch him. He reached out to her and watched as she flinched away. "Kairi…"
"I'm sorry Riku. I just can't see you as the same person I grew up with."
She walked away toward Sora's room. She opened the door and gasped. Sora was stretching in his underwear, oblivious to the presence of Kairi. She began to giggle and tried to suppress it, but found it impossible. Soon she was out and out laughing and Sora noticed her.
"Aaarrrgghhh!! Kairi?!" He picked up a pillow and threw it at her. "Get out of here you pervert!!"
Riku watched the scene and felt a pang of nostalgia. He used to be included in the fun that they were having. I guess everything's different now, he thought. He walked downstairs.
"Ha-ha-ha!! Sora what a nice butt!!" Kairi was on the floor laughing hysterically.
Sora struggled to put on his shorts but was too forceful in his hurry. The next thing he heard was a giant ripping sound as his trademark, red shorts ripped in two.
"Dammit!" he cursed. "These cheap pieces of…"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!" Kairi rolled on the floor, crying with mirth.
Sora grabbed the blanket off his bed and wrapped it around himself. "Jeez, Kairi. Can't you go find me some pants or something?!"
"Haha, oh man," she choked. "Your face…" That was all she managed before she fell into another fit of giggles.
"Real mature, Kairi." He walked over to a closet and opened it, blanket still wrapped around his lower body. "Maybe there're some clothes in here," he mused.
Kairi got up as her giggling was subsiding into soft hiccups and the occasional chuckle. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" she asked, walking up next to Sora.
"Not really, just shorts…" he mumbled in reply. He search through the clothes hanging and pulled an outfit out. "Yes! This'll do nicely."
Kairi surveyed the outfit and shook her head. "I don't know if black is your color…"
"Yeah well I didn't tell you that that cloak makes your butt look huge," Sora replied, laughing. He ran out of the room into the bathroom with Kairi hot on his heels.
"It does not Sora!! Take that back!" She began banging on the door and only got an answering laugh from inside. She fumed but decided not to press it until later. She walked downstairs and was just in time to see Riku walk out with his head down. She felt a loosening in her chest and wanted to cry out to him, but held her tongue.
Aeris looked over at Kairi and smiled. "How'd you sleep?" she asked.
"Like someone cast a sleep spell on me." Kairi grinned and examined the kitchen. Cloud was sitting at the table drinking some coffee. He gave her a nod and went back to a book he was reading. "Where's everyone else?"
"Well I just saw Riku walk out side, Fayne did the same earlier this morning. I assume Yuyami is still asleep and I think you know where Sora is." She smiled mischievously.
Kairi blushed slightly and sat down. "Do you have anything to eat in here? I'm starving!"
Aeris smiled. "Yes we do, I'll just whip something up for you and Sora right now. I asked Riku if he was hungry but he didn't look up to it."
Kairi felt a pang of guilt at this innocent statement. He's the one who betrayed us, she thought. "Okay I'll eat whatever you got."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Riku sighed as the morning breeze went through his hair. He brushed it out of his eyes absently and began walking down the road. What am I going to do, he thought. Kairi hates me and I bet Sora feels the same way now that he got his memories back. Maybe I should just leave, they don't need me to fight that Seryl guy anyway. Sora can handle it. Sora is the powerful one.
He sat down on a huge rock and stared up at the starry, morning sky. He sighed and summoned his keyblade. I remember when I got this, he thought. I was so happy even though I was under the control of that freak, Ansem. I was finally able to contend with Sora again. It put us on equal footing. Now…
"What are you doing, brooding?" Fayne walked up and smiled at Riku. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Fayne."
"I know. I'm Riku." He shook her head and examined. She's beautiful, he thought fleetingly. "I guess you can join me. What do you have to brood about?"
"Everything," she replied, smiling. "We can start with you first, though. "What's up?"
"It's just…I think Kairi hates me," he whispered. "I don't blame her though, after all I did."
Fayne chuckled. "You think Kairi hates you?"
Riku's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, what's so funny about that?"
"She doesn't hate you, that's what's funny. You and that other kid, Cera, were all she talked about when we met up. I got kinda tired of it after a while."
"Sora," he corrected.
"Whatever," Fayne responded.
"Then why did she say that she say that she can't see me as the same person she grew up with?"
Fayne laid back and put her hands under her head. "She's probably just confused right now about where you are. Give her some time."
"Girls always need time," Riku replied, lying back as well. "I think that's like a safety response or something."
Fayne giggled and agreed. "Yeah we do say that a lot, huh? But trust me, she does still care."
"Alright, I do owe her that."
They said nothing for a while and sat in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence though. It was a comfortable one where no one really had to say anything unless it was needed.
"Riku?"
"Yeah?"
Fayne sat up and looked him in his sea-green eyes. "Why did you do it?" she asked.
Riku knew what she was asking about without her even telling him. Why did he betray his two greatest friends and ally himself with their greatest allies? Why did he take Kairi away from Sora? Why did he allow himself to be controlled by Ansem?
"Because I was losing him…" Riku sat up.
"Who?" Fayne asked.
"Sora," he replied.
Fayne looked surprised. "Oh, you…liked him?"
Riku turned to Fayne. "What?"
"Hey it's okay if you like another guy. There's nothing wrong with it."
"Wait, did you just…are you implying…what?" Riku looked stunned.
"You mean he wasn't your dream lover or anything like that?"
"No!! How'd that get in your head!!"
"Well I just thought…"
"No, no, no. He was my best friend, my only real friend I guess."
"Oh." Fayne grinned. "Sorry."
"Yeah…" Riku shook his head. "Anyway, me and Sora were best friends ever since we were little kids." Riku's eyes became distant as he remembered. "We always went everywhere together and we had a lot in common, the biggest being a thirst for adventure. Anything that the other kids were afraid to do, we were the first to do it. We're the first ones that fully explored the island we lived on." He paused, hesitant to tell the rest and reveal his weakness.
"Go on," she prodded gently.
"Well, when Kairi came to the island, everything changed. Sora fell in love with her the first time he saw her and vice versa. They began to go places together without me and I would pretend it didn't bother me. Sometimes I went with them when they did stuff, but it was like I wasn't even there. I felt like she was taking away my friend so I started to train. You know, to get better in everything we did there. That way, I could always beat Sora and he would stay with me more to try and be better." Riku looked at Fayne vulnerably. "Pathetic, right?"
"No, it isn't. You were young and he was your only friend. If my friend ignored me, I would get angry too," she supplied. "You know, assuming I had friends."
"Hey, you got me now." Riku smiled.
Fayne returned the gesture and touched his hand. "Yeah I guess I do."
