Brightness and Darkness

by Winter Yuy

Ansem smiled at the two weakly, "My children, I can only hope that with my death that the light from your hearts will show that I love you both and always will"

3. Aggressions and Apparitions

Brightness and Darkness
Chapter Three: Aggressions and Apparitions

Pairings: Sora/Kairi, Riku/OC, Cloud/Aerith, Leon/Yuffie, and maybe Riku/Sora

Author's note: The story seems to be getting a little bit more popular. Hopefully I'll have a good chunk of reviews soon! Please! begs Anyways, here's Chapter Three! ENJOY!

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Kairi didn't have time to defend herself from Kaze's outburst. The blow to her face came quick as she heard a small crack in her jaw. She landed on the floor with a thud and looked up at her friend, confused beyond belief. Kairi couldn't believe Kaze had just slapped--no, punched her in the jaw. Her tiny hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kairi's muffled voice called out to her best friend. It somewhat hurt to talk.

"I told you to never go in my room, Kairi. I hate nosey people, you know that."

"Well shit, Kaze, you didn't have to fucking hit me, now did you?!" Kairi practically screamed, despite that pain in her jaw.

Kaze raised her head and stared down at the girl sprawled on the floor. She smirked and sauntered past Kairi towards the door and down the steps towards the kitchen. Kairi frowned and picked herself up off the floor, hand still to her mouth, and dashed down the stares to see Kaze's head in the freezer, taking out pieces of ice and placing them in a rag.

"I was talking to you!" Kairi tried to sound somewhat mean, but it just wasn't happening. The bruise on her jaw was already starting to hurt worse.

Kaze shut the freezer door and turned to Kairi, wrapping the ice cubes in the purple rag, "Sit down."

"Why?"

"Unless you want me to hit you on the other side of your face, I suggest you do as I say," Kaze's voice didn't waver one bit. Oh yeah, she was still pissed off.

Although Kairi had the urge to fight, she decided that getting hit by Kaze again was not on her 'things to do list'. So, with a frown on her swollen face, she sat down at the table.

Kaze sat on Kairi's right side and held up the homemade ice pack, "Move your hand."

Kairi did as she was told and shivered when she felt the cold of the rag on her jaw. She winced and held the icepack in place as she watched Kaze get up and rummage around the kitchen for something to drink. Thankfully, the coconut milk was still hot, and she poured herself another mug, intent on not smashing this one in the wall. That's when Kairi noticed it.

"What happened to your hand?"

"I imagined a solid rock wall was your face and started punching the shit out of it," Kaze said bluntly and sipped her milk. "I honestly didn't think I would end up hitting you today."

Kairi rolled her eyes and shifted her weight, "Neither did I." She winced again.

Kaze smiled morbidly, "It's only a broken jaw."

"Oh…only a broken jaw. That's lovely," Kairi sneered.

The two women sat in silence for a while before the ice started to melt and water dripped into Kairi's lap. She cursed, but choose to deal with it. Kaze shook her head and took the icepack from Kairi, walking over to the sink to dump the contents out.

Kairi ran a hand over her jaw and felt the knot starting to form. She couldn't believe she had acquired a painful broken jaw over reading measly little diary, which brought back the unanswered questions Kairi wanted to ask Kaze. Applying little pressure on the right side of her jaw as a crutch, she looked at Kaze, who was now sitting across from her again.

"What happened next?"

Kaze looked up and raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? Did I hit you too hard?"

Kairi shook her head, "What happened after Riku kissed you that night? You know, before he left with Sora to go back to Hollow Bastion."

"Kairi…" Kaze gripped her mug tighter. If I don't tell her now, she'll bug the piss out of me until I tell her. Dammit, why does she insist on poking her nose into my business?

"You can tell me anything, Kaze," Kairi said, trying to sound persuasive.

The white headed girl shook her head, "You're being nosey again, Kairi. Do you want to get hit again?"

"Please don't hit me again!" The younger girl pleaded.

Might as well tell her so she'll leave me alone. Kaze sighed and looked into her friend's eyes, "Well, after the kiss, he told I needed to go to bed, that we both had to get up early the next morning. Although, I'm guessing he decided that he wanted to sleep with me that night, so he climbed in bed with me. We'd done that before, but only when he couldn't see. I didn't seem to mind, but after kissing him like that, it felt a little awkward.

"When I woke up the next morning, he was lying awake in bed, watching me. 'The dark forces are getting stronger, babe. I want you to go to Destiny Island and train Kairi. Something bad is going to happen, and I want her to be prepared for it. But Kaze, I want you to know that even if I don't come back, I'll always love you.' Those were the last words he said to me before he used the Oblivion's power to send me here."

Kairi just stared, mouth wide open. Kaze looked at her, becoming aggravated, and raised her eyes, pressing her lips together, which was her way of asking, "What is it?"

"I…just cannot believe…you actually told me what happened," Kairi said, shocked that her friend had actually told her about the past. "Okay, next question. Why do you hate your father?"

"That," Kaze stared, "is stepping over the boundary."

"Okay then. Who is your brother?"

"Kairi…"

"Okay, okay!" The red head held up her hands defensively, but winced when her jaw once again became sore. "Who raped you?"

Kaze sighed again, "Are you asking for a death wish? Because I'll be happy to give it to you."

"No ma'am," Kairi said sheepishly. She slumped down further in her seat and pouted. She wanted to know what Kaze was hiding. Why did she hate her father and her brother? More importantly, who were they? And who had had the nerve to take Kaze's purity away from her at such a young age?

"Stop it, Kairi. I'm not going to answer your questions, so just give it up," Kaze said coldly. "You see, this is the only reason I've never volunteered any information about myself to you. This is exactly the fucking reason. You'll sit there and ask me twenty questions to the point where I'll lose my temper again and end up breaking more than your jaw."

Kairi blushed slightly out of embarrassment. Kaze had been right, and she felt ashamed for it. She didn't want her friend to feel like that towards her. She muttered something that sounded like an apology and got up to leave, but Kaze grabbed her arm.

"What?" Kairi asked, but was answered when she felt this incredibly, soothing warmth enter her body. She closed her eyes as a green aura surrounded her, and the injury she was dealt early healed.

Kaze smiled, "Normally, I don't do that type of thing, but I felt I deserved you something."

"For hitting me?" Kairi asked.

"No," Kaze shook her head. "For not killing you."

Kairi slapped Kaze on the arm, "You couldn't have killed me if you wanted to."

"Oh really?" Kaze said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're forgetting your place, missy. Who do you think taught you those moves? I could counter anything you dish out."

Kairi laughed for the first time that day and wrapped her arms around Kaze's neck, glomping the other girl. She pulled back and stared into her friend's eyes.

"You know, the way we're acting right now kinda reminds me of Riku and Sora," Kairi's soft blue eyes appeared downcast at the mention of their names. "I'm sorry, Kaze. For this morning and the whole diary thing. I just…I just miss Sora. I wish I knew what was going on."

Kaze, not wanting to reveal her true feelings towards Riku again, shrugged, "I know you do, but, like I said before, we're in for a long wait, Kai. We won't be getting off this island unless something phenomenal happens."

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Laiktu and Kioko stood outside of the Secret Place with Kaori and Haru, Tidus and Selphie's children. Kaori was older than Haru by eighteen months. He had sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes, which he got from his mother. He loved going on adventures and was usually the one to get in trouble by his parents. He was older than Laiktu and Kioko, being eight and a half years old.

Haru, on the other hand, was the youngest of the four. She had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes that seemed to glow when she was excited. She took after her mother not only in looks, but personality wise as well. Haru was always trying to keep Laiktu and Kioko out of trouble, and sometimes had to restrain Kioko from joining the two older boys.

"So," Kaori stared at each of his friends. "Who's going in first?"

Haru jumped up, flailing her arms about in the air wildly, "Have you lost your marbles, bro? Mom and dad said that place was forbidden! As in, we can't go in there!"

"And your point?" Kaori said and shot her a glare. "Look, our parents aren't here. It's not like something is going to jump out and bite us!"

Kioko curled her lips up and shook her head, "We don't need to go in there, you guys. Mom always told me that the cave was haunted and it had a strange power. She said a door was in there too, and she didn't want me to ever go in unless I was with her."

Kaori rolled his eyes, "You always do what she says. Fine, you two can be a wuss. C'mon Laiktu, we'll go in."

Laiktu sighed, "Dude, I have to say I'm with them on this one. Even though I'm dying to know what's in there too, I just don't think we should go in there unless we have an adult with us."

Kaori turned around, "I can't believe you're chickening out on me! Wait until the island here's about this! The fearless Laiktu is afraid of going in a cave!"

"What did you say?" Laiktu's eyes turned to slits as he stepped up to his friend. "Dare to repeat that?"

Kaori took the younger boy's challenge, "I said you were a wuss. I bet if your father were here, he'd go in! From what dad told me, Riku wasn't afraid of anything. He'd probably laugh at you too and call you a wuss."

"Take that back," Laiktu growled and bawled his fist up. "You know nothing about my father. So, if you want to keep all of your teeth, Kaori, I suggest you shut your cake hole before I fill it with my fist!"

"Laiktu, no!" Kioko hissed and grabbed Laiktu's shoulder and pulled him back towards her, "Calm down, Laiktu. There just words. He can't hurt you."

"What, you have little girls protecting you now?" Kaori taunted. "I never realized what kind of a wuss you are until now."

"You shut the hell up before I splatter your brains all over the fucking lawn!" Laiktu whispered harshly.

Ignoring her best friend's choice of words, Kioko stepped in front of him, blocking each of them from the other, "Leave him alone, Kaori. If he doesn't want to go in, then he doesn't want to go in. Let's do this some other day. I have a bad feeling."

Kaori turned towards Kioko, "Unless you wanna get hit, momma's girl, I suggest you stay out of this."

Oh, that's it! Laiktu thought. No one talks to Kioko like that and gets away with it!  In a flash, Laiktu and tackled Kaori, causing the two to fall into the little pond in front of the Secret Place. The two wrestling in the water while Kioko and Haru were trying to get them to stop. Suddenly, a mysterious wind blew out of nowhere.

You shouldn't fight young children. Come inside, and I will show you what lies beyond the door, chimed in a low voice deep inside of the Secret Place.

Kaori, Laiktu, and the struggling Kioko and Haru trying to restrain them both leaped backwards.  Kioko and Haru scrambled over the two boys towards the entrance while Laiktu and Kaori unglued themselves from one another and looked around wildly.

"Who's there?" Kioko meekly asked with the air of one answering the door.

"You dummy!" Laiktu growled.  "Do you always ask that stupid question to bodiless voices?"

There you go again, the voice said, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.  The kids stared horrified into the bleak darkness.  Wouldn't you like to do something more…worthwhile than arguing? Wouldn't you like to come inside?

It didn't take more than five seconds for the kid's reaction times to sink in. In a flash, they ran out of the cave, Kaori and Laiktu crawling over the girls, screaming their heads off.  Indeed, they ran themselves almost into the ocean to get as far as humanly possible away from that voice.

Panting, Kioko was the first to speak.

"What was that?"

Laiktu responded to this, regaining his voice, and bad temper back.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT WAS THAT'? ARE YOU REALLY THAT DUMB, KIOKO, OR DID AUNT KAIRI ACCIDENTALLY COOK YOUR BRAINS FOR BREAKFAST ONE MORNING!"

"I…told…you," Haru said, chest heaving.

"You are all a bunch of thumb sucking babies!" Kaori bit out, returning to his pompous self now that he was clear from the shadows of the Secret Place.

Laiktu, who had momentarily forgotten about their little scuffle thanks to the appearance of the creepy voice, made a move to lunge for him, but thought better of it.  Very reminiscent of his father, he closed his eyes and casually put his hands in his pockets.

"You're right, Kaori."

"HE WHAT?!" shouted Kioko and Haru at the same time while Kaori looked dumbstruck.

"Yes, you're right, we're complete babies. We're going to go home and cry our eyes about how a bunch of wimps we are."

"He is?" Haru said.

"I am?" Kaori said.

"We will?" Kioko said.

"We are?" Kioko and Haru said.

Both Kioko and Haru looked as though knocking Laiktu out would return him to his senses, but neither dared to act on it. Laiktu then opened his eyes, a wicked gleam in them.

"I mean…I can't imagine the mighty Kaori being afraid of a little voice…"

"What do you mean 'little'?" Kioko said at the top of her lungs.

"What do you mean 'the mighty Kaori'?" Haru said dumbly. Both seemed a little slow on the uptake of where Laiktu was going with his understatements.

"I mean, I'm sure he was getting ready to defend us all little chickens from that voice the way he acted in the cave…"

Both girls were baffled, but Kaori, who seemed to pick up on Laiktu's motives, blushed deeply and pawed at the ground with his foot.

"Weren't you?" Laiktu threw out, looking the boy dead in the eye, a satisfied smirk on his face. He growled for a moment, then threw out his hands in exasperation.

"FINE!  I was a great git okay, a complete wuss!" He said, contempt heavy in his voice. "Is that what you wanted me to say?"

Reading the expression on Laiktu's smug face, and the fits of giggles the girls were having in the back were enough to answer his question.  He crossed his arms, and without looking at him, said in an unconvincing voice, "Sorry."

Laiktu shrugged it off.  "Don't mention it…ever. If you do, I'll break your face."

"It took you guys this long to figure out he was a wimp?" Haru joked. Kaori tossed a handful of sand in her face. Grumbling, she stood up and dusted herself off.

"Well…I think we should go home?" Kioko suggested, looking at Laiktu.

"Fine, just don't expect to eat properly anytime soon.  The way mom was acting, we'll have to eat out of our shoes from now on."

Kioko gave him a glare while Kaori and Haru tried to suppress their giggles.

"Bye guys, oh and I guess Kaori counts too," Kioko said, a small smile on her lips.  Her and Laiktu walked away, leaving a howling Haru and a grumpy looking Kaori.

When they reached the house, Laiktu cracked the door open.  "Here goes nothing," he said as he swung the door open all the way.

There were no scattered pieces of china or other signs that a murder was committed; on the contrary, the two mothers were sitting at the kitchen table, talking in normal voices. They both exchanged something like "What the hell?" glances.  Not even more than seven hours ago, they were planning Kioko's mother's funeral, and now they were talking with the air of one commentating the weather.

Laiktu shut the wooden door and pursed his lips together. It was then that he tasted cooper in his mouth. He touched his bottom lip and frowned. It was busted open, lightly bleeding. Maybe his mother wouldn't notice. Maybe she wouldn't even notice his existence in the room.

"Hi mom! We're home!" Kioko said happily as she ran up to her mother, wrapping her tanned arms around Kairi's waist.

I wish I could hit her sometimes and get away with it. Laiktu thought. He saw Kairi embrace her daughter back and he frowned. His mother hardly ever hugged him. In a way, he was jealous of the attention Kioko got from Kairi, but remembered that his mother rarely let her emotions show.

Kaze looked at her son like she normally did, with no expression in her eyes, until she saw his lips, "Whom did you fight with this time, Laiktu?" She glanced from her son to Kioko, who jumped away from her mother, a fearful expression on her face.

The little girl held up her hands, "I didn't do it! I swear! He got in a fight with Kaori because Kaori called Laiktu a wimp for not going in the Secret Place with him and – "

Kairi shot up from her seat, the wooden chair falling on the ground, as she slammed her hands down on the table, "The WHAT?!"

Laiktu grumbled in dismay. Reaching out, he popped Kioko in the back of the head lightly, "Nice going, big mouth."

"What have I told you about that place? As a matter of fact, I've told BOTH of you several times to not go in there without Kaze or myself. Why don't you two ever listen to us?" Kairi was practically fuming as she paced through the kitchen. "You two could have been hurt, and who would've been there to help you? Kaori and Haru can't do anything!"

Kaze stood up and grabbed Kairi's arm, making the red head stop her pacing, "Stop that, it's getting annoying." She looked down at the two children. "Did anything unusual happen?"

Laiktu shifted from foot to foot, not wanting to tell his mother of the spooky voice. She would ground him and then send him to his room without supper, and he was about to die of starvation. Kioko, however, didn't understand the fact that lying or keeping her mouth shut was for the better.

"Well…we did hear someone talking inside the cave," Kioko said sheepishly, afraid of getting in trouble.

Kaze paled from her forehead down to the tips of her fingers. Her face seemed almost as white as her hair as she cleared her throat, trying to stay calm, "What…what did the voice say?"

Kioko placed a finger on her chin, trying to remember, "Um…he said something like we shouldn't be fighting and that, if we came in, he would show us what was behind the door." She looked at her mom, "We didn't mean to go there, mom! Kaori said it would be fun!"

Kairi rolled her soft blue eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "If Kaori said it would be fun to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

"Well…no," Kioko whispered.

Laiktu smirked, "I would if he jumped with me and we landed in water." He was trying to be funny and break the serious mood.

"This isn't the time for you smartass mouth, Laiktu," Kaze said sternly. She pointed at her son, after placed a hand on her hip. "You and Kioko both went to the one place we told you to never ever go to. From this day forward, you are not to go and see Kaori and Haru unless an adult supervises you. As a matter of fact, you can't see him for a week, and if you give me any lip, two weeks. Is that clear, young man?"

"MOM!" Laiktu whined. Even though Haru got on his nerves, he was the only guy on the island he could converse with.

"That makes two," Kaze said sharply.

"What about me?" Kioko asked happily, hoping she wouldn't get in trouble.

Kairi nodded towards Kaze, "Same goes to you, young lady. You're grounded from seeing those two until we say."

"But that's not fair!" Kioko and Laiktu said.

"And I don't think it's fair you two went against my wishes," Kaze said. She glanced at the clock. "Now, I want you to go and bathe and get ready for bed. It's almost eight o'clock."

Laiktu stared at his mother in disbelief, "What about supper? I'm starving!"

Kaze shifted her weight and walked towards her son, bending down in front of him, "You disobeyed my rules, son; therefore, you can fix your own supper or not eat at all. It's your choice. Now, go bathe or I'll make it three weeks."

Knowing better than to argue with this mother, Laiktu hung his head low and walked up the stairs. Kioko stayed in the kitchen, staring between Kaze and her mother, until Laiktu was out of earshot. She smiled angelically at her mother.

"Am I really grounded, mom?" She said sweetly.

Kairi raised both of her eyebrows and mirrored the face Kioko was giving her, "Yes. I would suggest following in Laiktu's footsteps, Kioko, before I worsen your punishment."

The little brunette pouted slightly and headed up the stairs, feet dragging behind her.

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WEE! I finished Chapter Three! What did you guys think? Suspenseful enough? Who do you think is in the cave? Does Kaze know him? And will Kairi and Kaze ever get to Sora and Riku again? What about Kioko and Laiktu? All of these questions will be answered in the following chapters. Until then, REVIEW DAMMIT! Or I won't write another word to this fic. Well…Silver-hair Angel might disagree against it.

Silver-hair Angel: Damn right!

sigh See, I told you.

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Reviewers Corner:

Harry: I believe they settled the score, no? Kaze is just one person you don't want to mess with.

Silver-hair Angel: Don't you just love the children? They're so cute and sweet and they get along so well! Yeah…right. Yes, you are right, no one should intrude in Kaze's private place, ne? And you'll get an appearance from Ansem soon enough, don't worry.

Linear: I guess Kairi was high when she went into her room, no? I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job on Kaze so far. Yes, she's a bitch with a capital 'b'. How do you think the children should act? I'm trying to get it to where everyone loves them. Feel free to add anything you think should happen.

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Next Chapter: Kairi finally gets her wish as something phenomenal happens, but…who are these hooded figures and why are they taking Laiktu and Kioko? Stay tuned!

Winter Peacecraft-Yuy