:AN: (clears throat) … Enjoy.

Sin's Remorse
Chapter nine

A most curious light seeped through the air, washing the surrounding area with tones of violet and deep blue. But it wasn't darkness, it wasn't just darkness. She opened her eyes slowly, still a bit tired. Everything seemed like a daze now, she could no longer remember the last time she was awake. Well, she remembered it, but it was foggy. She had been asleep for nearly a day. It was amazing that just a few days ago she never slept, and now, here, she seemed to be always asleep. She liked it here, she never dreamt. Well, if she did dream, she didn't remember them. Half the reason she never slept at home was because of the nightmares, the horrible recollections of her sorrowful past. She'd wake up in a panic almost every night. It got to the point where she was actually afraid to sleep, afraid to close her eyes. She didn't like reliving it, or even thinking about her past. So much had happened to her when she was young, so much, and at such a tender age. But that was her past; she knew she couldn't change it.

She woke now, not to the slightly familiar air of the room she had first slept in, but outside. She was set down on a blanket atop a ground of tall grass. The grass looked violet too. The dew reflected the deep, sapphire sky. Kairi yawned and sat up, letting the wool blanket slide off of her shoulders. It wasn't as cold out here as it was in that dark place. She felt comfortable, a greater solace. She looked around, her eyes slowly falling from one object to another. There were lots of trees, tall trees. And then, in the near distance she could see a lake… it was surely a lake, yet it did not end. It spanned out like and sea, but it seemed to have no waves. It was calm, eerily calm. She remembered it, when she had looked out that window up in that room. She remembered seeing the sky, but she couldn't see the ground. It was bizarre. She let out a soft sigh and stood up.

Where to go? Kairi questioned herself. She had no idea. This place was so unfamiliar to her. And there seemed to be no one who wanted to show her around, tell her what to do. She was used to a lack of guidance, but it's different when you're somewhere you know nothing about, a place so big and unimaginably mysterious.

Her eyes wandered over to the lake's edge where she noticed a figure sitting there, his back to her. Kairi smiled slightly, finding a touch of familiar in a world so foreign. She slowly began to walk toward him, knowing he would lend some guidance, at least. The grass felt strange on her bare feet. She had grown so accustomed to the hard floors in that place, whatever it was. She bit her lip and sat down beside him, watching as his gaze shifted over her and then darted back into the water. She stared at him, a simple expression washed over her face.

Neither of them spoke for some time, not knowing what to say. Sora just stared down at the oddly calm water. It looked like glass, a mirror. His reflection glared up at him, mocking him like it always did. Kairi eyed him curiously, knowing there was something on his mind. There was always something on Sora's mind; Kairi learned that a long time ago. It had only been four years… Four years. He hadn't changed much, aside from the fact that he was, now, a completely different person. Kairi accepted that. She was different too, no matter how hard she'd try to deny it. But that's really all she knew how to do, deny. She was pretty good at it.

Sora quickly drew his gaze away from the water and stared out over the horizon. Kairi sighed and looked down at the water's edge.

"Do you miss it?" Kairi questioned lightly. She fingered the pebbled ground gently, twisting blades of grass around her finger.

"Hmm… Miss what?" Sora asked with a questioning stare. Kairi looked up at him with a blank expression on her pale face.

"Home… our island," she spoke softly. Sora sat still as he let his gaze shift down to the ground.

"I… um, I don't remember it that well, actually," he replied lightly. Kairi bit her lip again and looked up at his face. "But… I miss what I do remember. If that makes any sense," Kairi nodded.

"What do you remember?" she asked quietly. Sora looked down on her and smiled. He thought about it for a moment.

"I remember… The sun and the sand…" he said lightly. Kairi grinned.

"Do you remember the ocean?" she solicited. Sora nodded slowly.

"Well of course, it was an island wasn't it? You can't have an island unless there's an ocean." Sora smiled. Kairi agreed silently and brushed some pebbles into the water, enjoying the look of it as it rippled.

"Do you remember… the sunset?" she asked as she kept her attention on the ground.

"Yeah… And I'd watch it with you, right? On that dock?" Kairi nodded excitedly.

"We'd sit right at the end, and we'd talk. Just you and me," Kairi smiled. "And we'd tell each other secrets," she giggled.

"Hmmm…" Sora pondered reflectively as he looked out over the water.

"Do you remember how I told you that me and Riku shared a poupu?" Kairi questioned lightly with a grin. Sora smiled and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I think I got mad at you," Sora replied.

"You weren't mad, you were jealous," Kairi snorted.

"I was not. I was definitely mad because-"

"You wanted to share one with me… You were jealous," Kairi spoke happily with a grin. "You told me that you didn't care, but I knew you did because your face got all red and you kept saying that poupus were stupid and that you didn't believe in them anymore," Kairi spoke.

"I lied. I believed in them," Sora replied softly. Kairi stared at him as he looked over the water. He turned to her and she looked down quickly.

"I lied too… I never shared a poupu with Riku," she admitted quietly.

"What?" Sora exclaimed in outrage. Kairi grinned. "Why'd you do that?"

"Heh… I wanted to see how you'd react," she spoke in pleasure. "It was pretty amusing."

"What's so amusing about me sending death threats to Riku over something you just made up?" Sora spoke.

"I know, you didn't talk to him for a month," Kairi giggled. Sora sighed and looked down. Kairi sighed too, leaning over slightly, resting her weight on her elbow. "We shared one though, remember? The night before you left," Sora looked down at her with a blank expression as she played insatiably with the long blades of blue grass. A silence washed over them and Kairi slowly let her gaze drift up to his face. She sighed, figuring he probably didn't remember that.

"You know… I stopped believing in it, the legend. I never thought I'd see you again, therefore, how could our destinies be connected, right?" Kairi began quietly. "But now… I guess it is true," she spoke softly as she let her eyes sink down onto the ground. She couldn't explain why, but she suddenly felt very sad, very homesick. "I found your letter." Kairi mumbled beneath her breath. Sora looked down at her in confusion.

"What letter?" he questioned as Kairi kept her gaze plastered on the ground. She laid still, pondering whether she should bring it up. Maybe he had forgotten about it, it was just a silly letter anyway. She sighed and didn't answer.

The soft, violet glow spilled down from a starless sky. There was nothing but still water reflecting miles of empty clouds. There was no moon, nor was there a sun. As people get older, they tend to forget. When their childhood slips away from them, so do the memories. They fade; they may even burn out altogether. Our innocence is locked within our memories, and when our memories fade our innocence slips away. It's all very simple really. We can never get that innocence back, but memories can be rebuilt in time. That is fate, when all we have left is our memories, recollections of our past. It may not seem like much, but that's life. We love to hate. We rise to fall. We live to die.