Concealed

By: Snakey

Chapter 9: Believe

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Kairi stared at Sky fly around them with her eyes wide open. A human, flying! This wasn't something she was used to seeing, but it was she was so amazed that she started jumping up and down as well, attempting to fly about like Sky. Unfortunately, she just fell back down onto the deck. Selphie and Tidus then started jumping as well, but couldn't reach the height that Sky was at. With everyone jumping up and down except Riku now, they all stared at that silver haired boy.

"Don't even think I'll do something as childish as attempt to fly by jumping up and down…" he said in a cold voice.

"Aww Riku, you're just afraid to be embarrassed later because you can't fly like Sky." Selphie joked, and that seemed to have triggered something in Riku.

"Oh yeah?"

Riku gave a slight hop on his right foot and suddenly elevated up towards Sky. Selphie glared at Riku, and stuck her tongue out at him when he wasn't looking.

"Show-off." She mumbled softly, but still it was audible to Riku.

"I'd like to see you come up here." And with that, Riku stuck his tongue out at Selphie as well.

"Oh my, Riku makes silly faces too?" Sky (Sora) chuckled.

Riku turned back to Sky, and gave him a hard smack on the back. Sky spun about in the air, and started to get dizzy after a few rounds. Riku didn't show mercy at all with that smack.

"My hand slipped."

"I'm so sure…" Sky pulled his own cheeks and stuck his tongue out at Riku, which was an action that seemed more like something Sora would do.

Kairi felt like she felt Sora around her after seeing that face. She thought that it may have just been an after effect from jumping up and down.

"Umm… I'm going to rest in the cabin first… I didn't get much sleep last night after piloting. Sky, can you teach me how to fly tomorrow?" Kairi said as she walked to a door on the pirate ship.

"Sure thing!" Sky yelled out his answer with a big grin on his face.

Kairi opened the door, walked in, and shut it behind her. She really was tired today. And she can't stop comparing Sky to Sora. 'They're two different people, I know that! So why can't I stop all these comparisons in my mind? Have I replaced Sora with Sky? No, that can't be right!' She didn't want to think anymore of it, and plopped down onto the bed, falling asleep the instant her head hit the pillow. As always, her dreams were filled with memories of Sora, and again, caused her to wake in the middle of the night. Usually she'd just go back to sleep, but she heard a voice outside. She stood up, opened the door slightly, and peeked outside to see who it was.

"I wonder what Kairi would do at the end of the journey, when she finds out the truth?"

'Truth? What truth?' Kairi thought to herself, but continued to listen to the voice of the being in the shadows of the night.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure she won't hurt you when we're finally separated."

Kairi stuck her head out further, and tried make out the image of the one speaking by squinting her eyes. The voice was hard for her to recognize now that she was only half-awake. It was definitely that of a young boy though.

"To be honest, I don't even know if we'll find anything in Hollow Bastion about you."

Pause.

"Hey, cheer up; I'm not one-hundred per cent sure, either."

Pause.

"We'll think of something."

Kairi couldn't take anymore of this. Her curiosity was eating her alive, and she had to find out who was speaking, and possibly speaking to whom, since there were pauses in between. She took a deep breath, and stepped forward. She marched right towards the figure, and pulled him towards her on his shoulder. The figure turned around, revealing ocean blue eyes (yes, two eyes, not just one.) and chestnut brown hair.

"Sky!?" Kairi squeaked out from her voice.

She stared at the face, something wasn't quite right. Then it hit her like a rock. BLUE eyes. The only big difference in appearance from Sky and Sora. She continued her staring into those blue eyes, without even noticing the tear trickling down her eye.

"K-Kairi?" The one in front of her said.

"… it's you… You're back…"

"Huh!?"

"Sora!!"

Kairi practically pounced onto the boy, hugging him as tightly as she could. Sora winced at the tightness of Kairi's arms, but couldn't help but blush a cherry red. But realizing what had just happened, he squeezed out of her tight grip, and took a few steps back.

"You've mistaken, I'm not Sora, I'm Sky. You know that Kairi". He told her with the most Sky-like impression he could force out at the moment.

"… Yes… you are… I know…" Kairi started to cry, not knowing if they were for joy or relief.

"No, I'm not." He walked passed Kairi, and headed for the door to the cabin to get some rest.

"Wait! I know you're Sora! Sky wouldn't have those blue eyes!" Kairi yelled.

He stops in his tracks. 'My eyes are blue right now!?' He thought to himself. How could he not have known? He must've been able to see his own reflection after regaining control of his body! Sora didn't know what to do anymore, but hearing the sobbing done by Kairi, he couldn't help but to turn around and comfort her.

'Sora, just tell her the truth.' Sky said to him.

'But what if she can't handle it? I mean, I've been with her all along and I don't tell her? She's been worried sick about me!'

'What are you going to do then? Just keep lying to her?'

'… No… I can't keep this up, can I?'

Sora took a deep breath, and bent down slightly so his eyes would meet those of Kairi's. He put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it would provide the slightest bit of comfort.

"I'm sorry, Kairi. I didn't know what to tell you before, but now I do."

"So… I'm right?"

"Yes, you're right."

"You're back? For good?"

"Yes, I'm back. Sorry to have worried you so much and not saying anything about being back…"

Before he could finish his sentence properly, Kairi charged right at him and squeezed him extra tight. Sora was even having trouble breathing, and tried to struggle out of, or at least loosen, Kairi's grip. 'Not this again…' He thought to himself, remember the hug Kairi had given him not too long ago. When she let go of him, Sora's legs felt weak and he fell onto the floor hard.

"Stupid Sora!!!" Kairi started yelling with tears still pouring from her eyes.

"Shh! Kairi, you'll wake the others up!"

"Oops… Sorry…"

Sora stood up from his spot, and smiled at Kairi.

"Kairi, I brought us to Neverland for a reason… You know what's special about this place?"

"Umm… Is it the fact that we can fly?"

"Right on!"

"So… What about it?"

"Well, I've always wanted to bring you here and well… Show you how to fly."

"But Sora, I'm not sure I'll be able to fly…"

"It's going to be fine, Kairi. You've got me right here with you. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Okay then. I'll trust you, Sora."

After 15 minutes of explaining how to glide properly in the sky, as well as how to stay balanced the entire time, Kairi was ready for the real thing.

"Okay, Kairi. You can do this. Just remember to believe in yourself."

"Believe…"

Kairi closed her eyes, and imagined herself, flying in the air. She gave a little hop on her foot, and straightened her body so she would fly like Sora. Nothing happened.

"Eh… Sora, it didn't work."

"Ah… You could try jumping higher instead of hopping. Maybe that would work".

Again, Kairi listened to her 'instructor' and tried again. She bent down, and jumped up high. She flew straight up in the air with quite a bit of speed. But, being a beginner, she started losing control.

"Whoa! Sora! Help me!" Kairi started spinning around in the air, and was afraid to land in case she would crash onto the deck.

"Don't move your arms so much, Kairi! You have to stay in control!" Sora yelled back, but made sure not to be too loud to wake the others.

"I can't! I'm too afraid!"

Sora flew up into the air, and tried to stop the high-speed flying Kairi. [Author's Note: That's a way to describe Kairi you don't hear often… Oo;] Kairi flew into Sora, and the collision caused both of them to fall from the air.

"I guess we need more practice with this…" Sora said as he tried getting up.

"Sorry about crashing into you, Sora…"

"There's no need to apologize, Kairi. You're still new to this stuff anyways. I can't be mad at you for that".

"I'll do better this time, I promise!" Kairi stated with a proud flame in her eyes.

"That's the spirit, Kairi!"

Around a half hour later…

By now, Sora's body was aching all over. Kairi had tried her best, but landing properly was still a problem for her. Sora was bruised everywhere from being Kairi's 'pillow' when she attempted to land on the deck.

"Does it hurt?" Kairi asked.

"Just a little, but it's no big deal. I've had wounds much worst than this back when I was trying to find you and Riku".

"I'll only try this one more time, Sora. I don't want you to get more injured than you are now."

With the bit of determination she had left, Kairi flew up, flew around in the air for a minute or so, and landed. This time, without crashing, falling, or injuring Sora.

"You… You did it, Kairi!" Sora ran towards his friend.

"I… I really did it… Yes! Sora, I flew!"

The two jumped up and down with joy, and Kairi continued to demonstrate her success in flying. After awhile though, they got tired from the celebration, and rested on the deck, looking up to the stars.

"The sky really is a beautiful sight here in Neverland…" Kairi said.

"Last time I was here, I never really had the time to look up. But I'm glad that now I see its beauty, without worrying about what's happening to you or Riku."

Kairi stared at the stars, and wondered about her current situation. She was alone with Sora, in this beautiful place, and no one would disturb them. It seemed like a perfect time to finally tell Sora her true feelings properly.

"S-Sora… I have something to tell you…" She said with a blush on her face.

"What is it?"

"I… well…"

"Don't be shy about it, Kairi."

"I…"

'Sora, you know what she's going to say, right?' Sky said to Sora.

'What do you mean, Sky? You know what she's going to say? You're psychic too?'

'How slow are you, Sora!? Think about your current position. You're alone, with a starry sky above you, and you're with a girl who has feelings for you. WHAT possibly could she say?'

With that, Sora could only blush. NOW he knew what Kairi would say. It was so obvious that he found himself dumb to not have thought about it before. He looked out Kairi, who was still blushing hard like him. This was their moment.

"I… I love you, Sora…"

To be continued in Chapter 10…

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Snakey: Typing this fanfic is starting to become a problem now… ; I've been completely obsessed with drawing, so not much time is left for the fanfic. I don't even remember how the story goes for this fanfic anymore! But thankfully… I remember the ending… ¯[]¯ So in the future, if I type something that does not fit with something that happened before, it's my memory that's failing me. And for those that are interested in seeing my art, you can visit my deviant art page: http:snakeyhoho.deviantart.com. Or, my real page: http:www.piggyhoho.net.

P.S: I promise that I will get this fanfic finished! OO Just… it might take a long time. So, bear with me please.

July 2, '04