:AN: AH! C'est mon third update today! Woot! Hemmm, ends kind of fruity, but hey, I've been watching a lot of fruity movies lately because there had been nothing good on TV. Therefore, I'm not getting good inspiration aside from that of fruity little movies… Point noted. Well, have a nice life.

Sin's Remorse
Chapter ten

Sora and Kairi had never been the type to sit together in silence. They lived in each other's words, drowned in their own conversations. Obviously, things had changed. A once laughter filled youth had turned into a more distant existence. Kairi, for one, had always had a sort of fondness for Sora, though she would never admit it. They were best friends, the very best. Sora, on the other hand, had always come to her for laughter, for comfort. She always knew just how to cheer him up. Though, in the later years of their childhood, he grew a strong Attachment to her. In other words, he had a huge crush on her. He, as well as her, were way to shy to say anything. But he showed it, subliminally, yet far too often. It was painfully obvious how he felt. Though, he never quite understood it himself. He was always doing strange things, like competing with Riku for her attention, or accidentally telling her how pretty she looked when the sun caught her eyes at just the right moment. He never knew, he ever tried to understand that she felt exactly the same way. Though, she was better at hiding it.

They were a sad pair, the two of them. Sora had an undying suspicion that Kairi liked Riku. This wasn't entirely false, yet, it was just one of those teenage girl crushes. She loved Sora, she really believed that. Riku now, there was no doubt about his liking Kairi either. This is where Kairi liked to play. She'd pretend she liked Sora around Riku and she'd pretend she liked Riku around Sora. Satanic, I know, but very true. She had a strange way of expressing her emotions, quite strange indeed. Leave it up to the confused, teenage girl to ruin the perfect friendship between the three ideal children.

Now, as Kairi watched Sora, she could still feel it, that insatiable longing that most teenage girls get when they discover their first real crush. Only now, she was older. She knew better than to play games. For, it was those twisted games she used to play that screwed them all up. And surely Riku was no longer in the picture. It was just the two of them. That, and the threatening force they were doomed to be submitted to. No bother, though, Kairi had little knowledge of this. She figured that what she didn't know might hurt her, but as long as she didn't know it was hurting her, she was just fine… If that makes any sense at all.

The dark colors of the still violet sky washed endlessly over the world. It was as if the entire spectrum of their surroundings were forever caught in a late sunset, right before the last rays of the dying sun sunk down beneath the calm water of the endless horizon. It was eerily peaceful.

"I've missed you like crazy, Sora," Kairi whispered lightly under her breath, not entirely intended for him to hear. Sora looked down at her, his dark brown hair falling, as it always did, before his eyes. Kairi sighed and shifted her gaze up towards him. A sad smile laced her lips as she stared into his eyes. They once held such a brilliant sapphire glow, so deep and full of life. She could never have imagined them like they are now, faded and gray. It was as if someone had drained all of the happiness, all of the sincere joy out of them. It was slightly concerning. "You know that… right?"

Sora looked at her warmly. He smiled softly and bit his lip, nodding in response. He leaned back, setting his hand atop the cool ground. "I've missed you too," he spoke lightly. Kairi smiled as she sat up. She stared down into the lake, watching her reflection. She took her hand and gently ran it through the glassy surface. It was surprisingly warm.

"I never thought I'd see you again," she stated in a sweet whisper. "And now… I have you, Sora, but… but it doesn't feel right, you know?" Sora stared at her in a questioning manner. She furrowed her brow and stared down at the surface of the lake. "You were supposed to come back… Not get yourself pulled into this. I-I just, it's so unbelievable."

"If it makes you feel any better, I could have just died. Is that more believable?" Kairi stared over at him, pondering his tone. "I had a choice…"

"A choice?" she questioned in a hushed whisper. There was so much she didn't know. Her knowledge seemed to barely even skim the surface of her new existence.

"I was too 'pure'… The darkness would have killed me, it was too much for me to handle because- because I was too young, too innocent…" Sora began slowly. She didn't understand, staring at him like he was insane. "I was scared, I was scared of the darkness… of death. She told me not be afraid because I was strong, that there was something she could do…"

"Who- who's she?" Kairi questioned shakily. Talking about it obviously opened up some kind of forgotten emotions for Sora.

"Mira… she, she's like the ruler of this place. She's twisted… obsessed with the darkness. She insists on making the world nothing but a darkened void in which people do not suffer or feel pain. She wants to drain all existence of everything pure and innocent," Sora explained. "Do you get it now?" Kairi looked down in ponderous thought. She expected to get it, but something felt awkward, out of place.

"There'd be no love… just hate," Kairi spoke tenderly. Sora nodded slowly. "Like… Riku?" she questioned softly. Sora sighed and nodded again. Kairi frowned and eyed the ground intensely. "But… um, did Riku have a choice too? Could he have chosen to die as well?" she questioned in a hushed whisper.

Sora sat still and shook his head softly. "He had seen too much in his life to be given a choice. He was part of the darkness… it couldn't kill him," he replied softly. "But… When a heart as pure as mine, apparently, comes in contact with a force this strong it tears away at it, consumes it until there is nothing left," he continued. "It's kind of like a really good ice cream Sundae… You'll eat it all really fast because it's really good and it makes you happy. But then you get a really bad headache and your stomach hurts. But if the ice cream Sunday has nuts on it, and you absolutely hate nuts, then you'll kind of just pick around at it, slowly eating the good stuff, but avoiding the bad stuff. You're still left with the bad stuff in the end, and you can survive on that, because it's still an ice cream sundae even though it just looks like a bowl of melted vanilla, sticky caramel and uneaten nuts… And, since you ate so slowly, you don't feel that bad… At least, you don't notice it, but you accidentally ate a nut and you're allergic, and now you're suffocating, but you don't realize it because… Because the ice cream still made you happy…" Sora trailed off. Kairi frowned slightly and forced a nod, slightly understanding.

"But… You had a choice, right? How… I don't-" Kairi spoke softly in simple confusion.

"Well, how do you make an ice cream sundae bad?" Sora questioned lightly, looking down at Kairi's intent form. She shrugged. "You add nuts to it."

"They added nuts to you?" she asked flatly. Sora snorted lightly as a grin rose to his lips.

"Not- um, not exactly…" Kairi smiled as she felt Sora's sudden happiness wash over her as well. Whenever he smiled everyone around him could never help but smile too. Not that it was a happy conversation. In fact, talking about darkness and the reality that Sora's last bit of pure innocence was being eaten away by the moment and Kairi was slowly dying without the faintest realization is simply one of the grimmest things in all of eternity to talk about. Yet, the innocence that still seethed within their souls were undeniably more powerful than the unchaste temptations that rang at their hearts. Well… he didn't smile much these days. It was like waiting for a miracle that never seemed to come.

Suddenly Sora rose to his feet, wiping the dirt off of his pants. Kairi looked up at him curiously. He reached out a hand to her and smiled. She shook her head in dismay.

"Come on, get up," he spoke gently as Kairi hesitantly grasped his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She watched as he stepped up to the water's edge, placing his foot on the glassy surface. It rippled out, but it didn't break. He slowly stepped over with his other foot, standing right atop of the water. Kairi shook her head.

"Wha-" she spoke, wondering what in all of the world he was trying to pull. He reached out both of his hands to her.

"Heh, take my hands," he said almost excitedly.

"No!" Kairi exclaimed immediately as Sora grabbed onto her hands. She looked at him like he was crazy, a wide grin on her face. "You're mad, I'll fall thro-" suddenly Sora took hold of both her wrists and pulled her out over the water's surface. She screamed and fell forward into his arms, holding onto him tightly. They stood on top of the water, as if it really were nothing but a large, glass, pane.

"You're okay, you're not going to fall," he said lightly looking down at her shocked form. Kairi pulled away slightly, slowly realizing he was right. She gasped calmly. It was the most bizarre and seemingly random thing. It was odd though; she had always wondered what it would feel like to be able to walk atop water, like elves or something. Kairi smiled softly, looking out over the endless horizon. "Cool, huh?" he questioned frivolously. Kairi turned to him and grinned. "I remember, you told me once that you wanted to walk on water. You said it'd be neat, like elves or something." Kairi let out a light laugh and Sora smiled.

"Yeah," she nodded as she approached him a little. "And I remember, you told me once that you wanted to fly…" Kairi giggled. Sora's expression immediately changed. He rose his eyebrows up in that playful manner that he used to show when he was trying not be blatantly obvious about something. Kairi eyed him curiously. She shook her head and he just grinned.

"It's been too long, Kairi," Sora grinned as he took her hands again and his feet slowly lifted off of the water's surface.

"No, wait," Kairi begged as she, too, began to rise into the air. "Sora, no!" Kairi cried as she suddenly felt herself fall back down. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed as she felt her whole body submerge into the water. It felt warm in the cold air, but it was wet, quite wet. Kairi gasped as she threw her head up above the surface.

"Oh my God, Sora, what are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack!" Kairi exclaimed as she found him floating near to her, laughing. "It's not funny," she spoke in soft amusement. Sora let out a pleased sigh and swam up to her. "Heh, you haven't changed…" Kairi stated in a content whisper. She looked up at him as he stared down at her with satisfaction on his face. She smiled lightly, still a little shocked.

"I'm sorry," he whispered lightly as he stroked the wet strands of deep auburn hair out of her eyes, eyes that reflected the sweet violet of the sky. She looked up in confusion.

"That's alright… I don-"

"No. Not-not for that," Sora spoke gently as an almost sad expression washed over his face. Kairi eyed him intently. "I'm sorry that you have to be here, that-"

"Don't be sorry, Sora… Please," Kairi whispered tenderly as she stared up into his desperate eyes. Sora looked down at her, shaking his head gently. The water was so calm; flowing so gently around the two of them that it felt like the whole world had stopped.

"I love you Kairi," he whispered softly, every strain of emotion spilling out with his words. She stood there, unexplainable tears welling in her eyes. She bit her lip and nodded slowly.

"I-I know…" she replied gently as a tear streamed down her cheek. She slowly placed her hands onto his arms and wrapped them up around the back of his neck, pulling his head down to her own. She closed her eyes and kissed him gently, allowing herself to fall into his embrace. And suddenly, so many memories came back to her, replaying over and over in her mind as she slowly pulled away. The feeling was one she had been waiting for, longing for, for a long time. It was familiar, it was solace. And Kairi knew just then, that no matter what he looked like or how he acted, he hadn't changed. It was still him…

"I love you too," she whispered softly as she stared up at him and then tightly wrapped her arms around his back. "I will always love you."

…He would forever be Sora.