So! Before the beginning of this chappie, I guess I kind of need to explain exactly what Kairi's claws are. There's two parts to it. It's almost like gloves, but with no fingers or thumbs. When she wears them, they almost looks like she has claws like wolverine from the x-men, only hers are much thicker and not attached to her skin. She has one of these on each hand. Both 'gloves' are made of hard leather and go about two thirds of the way up to her elbow. On her right glove, there is also a sharp metal disk that acts kind of like a boomerang when she shoots it.
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Kairi almost tripped over the blocks and she stumbled backwards. Her mind calmed surprisingly quickly, though she could still feel the adrenalin pumping through her veins. She straightened up and lifted her right hand, brandishing her claws menacingly and ready to shoot the disk.
"Riku." She said, trying to sound un-intimidated. She cringed. Her voice shook, revealing her fear. He stepped toward her, and she stepped back away from him. "Don't come any closer." She commanded, her voice more confident this time. Riku sighed. He didn't look like he was in good shape. His eyes were dulled to grey. While he wasn't physically hurt, his spirit was broken.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. Kairi faltered. This was the last thing she had expected to hear.
"Excuse me?"
"I said I'm sorry." He looked up at her, still not looking her in the eye, but at least he wasn't staring at the ground any more. There was silence for a moment. Neither of them moved. "You said you wanted to know what these blocks are?" He asked, his voice shaking now. Kairi nodded, still silent. Riku picked one up, and studied it sadly. "These are all people who either have or will give up something very precious to them for the greater good." He explained blandly. Kairi was trembling, but she was afraid to ask what she so wanted to know.
"So…what did the Bellerophon guy give up?" she asked, avoiding what she knew was coming.
"He had to kill his brother."
"And Zaon?"
"He gave his life." That obviously shook Kairi greatly. What happens if that's what Sora has to do? What happens if it's Sora I have to give up? What if I never get to see him again? What if it's my life that I have to sacrifice? She dropped her hands to her sides and looked at the ground.
"And…and what do I have to give up? And Sora?" She asked quietly. Riku stepped towards her again, and she stumbled away from him.
"I can't say. It hasn't happened yet." He replied, staring off into the darkness. He had his back to her now. There was another long, uncomfortable silence before Riku turned to face Kairi again. The movement was so sudden that Kairi stepped away from him again, holding her claws out in front of her threateningly. Riku beckoned to her. "I can show you how to get to Sora." He said, pointing into the shadows. Kairi didn't move.
"How do I know I can trust you?" She asked weakly. Riku frowned, seeming hurt.
"I don't blame you for questioning me, but I'd say you don't have much other choice. You can follow me and risk being betrayed by me, which I won't, or you can wander here for ever. Listen to me Kairi. If you don't know your way around, you'll never get out."
"Oh." There was another long silence. Kairi moved to step forward, signaling to Riku that she would follow.
They walked through the darkness for a long time. Kairi wanted very much to know how Riku was so confident in the direction he was going. After all, it's not like there was anything to mark a path. Finally, a strange sight came into view. There was a door, painted black so she almost walked right past it or even into it, and would have if Riku hadn't stopped so suddenly in front of her. He turned to face her, his expression serious.
"You're going to meet a group of people once you walk through this door who are going to take you to Sora. Then, you and Sora will have a job to do."
"What job?"
"Believe me, you'll know. Be careful though. You're going into a world you've never seen before; it'll be much different from the Islands. There are a couple of things you're going to need to know…" Riku explained a few basic things that Kairi would need to get by in this new world, and things she'd have to know so people wouldn't think she was completely crazy. Kairi listened intently. Riku finished his explanation and sighed. "Kairi, if you do through with this…you won't be going back to the Islands again. Ever. Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked solemnly. Kairi nodded, taking a deep breath. Just because I won't be going back to the Islands doesn't mean I'll die on this adventure. Maybe I'll like this new world so much that I won't want to go back. She told herself, trembling. Riku had disappeared into the darkness, leaving her alone with the door. She grabbed the handle, squeezed her eyes shut and, taking a deep breath, opened it and stepped through.
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Yuna, Rikku and Paine were all sitting on the floor of the green themed dressing room (AN: pardon the typo in the last chappie where I said it was a blue themed room), trying to write a song. They had 15 minutes left, and they were barely finished the first verse.
"We need a chorus." Rikku observed.
"We're very much aware of that, thank you Rikku." Paine snapped, somewhat stressed out. Yuna threw up her hands.
"We can't just write a song. We have to think of something else. What can we do to stall for time before and in between the songs?" She asked. All three girls went silent. They looked at each other, seemingly hoping to get inspiration from each other's silence. A bright flash from half way up the loft stairs drew all their attention. There was a little shriek and a shape rolled down the stairs with a thump. All three of the girls stared in utter surprise at the person lying flat on their face on the floor next to them. The newcomer sat up and groaned.
"That was NOT cool."
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I'm sure it's entirely and blatantly obvious who the newcomer is, but I'm going to leave it as a cliffy to surprise those who don't, and besides, I think it makes a good ending! I don't mean to be arrogant or anything, but I'm really excited about this story! I'm just getting warmed up! Yes! RR! And to clear up something for my dear friend Emma (this is about a comment she made on my old version of this story). No, Tidus and Sora do not know each other because the Zanarkand Tidus and the Destiny Islands Tidus both have different histories and I need the Zanarkand one for the purpose of this story, and also: no Rinoa isn't with Squall in the KH game (Leon, as he calls himself, is with Yuffie and Arieth). Cool? Cool.