Author's Notes: A very short final chapter, but here it is. A last few bits of confusion before things are finally settled in Part Three!
By the way, guys, here's a challenge for you.
Like to draw? If you do, I'm opening up a contest to all of my readers. I'm totally bored during this summer vacation and I need something to do! So give me some inspiration. Send me your fanart depicting one of your favorite moments in this fic. It's open all throughout Part Three, and it ends when we reach the final five chapters of the story. Sorry, no multiple entries - so if you want to participate, pick and choose and draw as best you can!
The prize for this little contest is a fully drawn, colored, and inked picture of a main pairing from this fic, drawn by me. (that means Riku/Sora, Leon/Cloud, or Ansem/Riku, if you're feeling dirty. But I'll bet nobody's going to jump at that chance, eh?) You choose the pairing, and I'll send the picture to the winner by e-mail in the final chapter of the fic. The winner will be announced in the second to last chapter. ALSO, the winner of the contest will unlock a bonus lemon scene that will be posted on my LiveJournal. Everyone will be open to read it after the final chapter. That's just a gift not only to the winner, but to everyone who participated!
If your interested, send in your drawings! You've got plenty of time to cook up your stuff, and it makes things a little more fun. Don't be afraid to show off your talent, either. The more you send in, the better I write. Call it energy food for my Muse.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, START YOUR IMAGINATIONS!
Edit: Some questions came to my attention that I think I should answer.
1) Yes, you send it to me by e-mail. Just attach the picture and ping! Up it pops in my inbox. My e-mail should be in my profile on this website.
2) Yes, if you participate you still get to see the bonus lemon. As I've said, the bonus lemon is sort of "unlocked" by the winner, but it's really a big present for everyone.
So if you guys want that extra lemon...I encourage you to send in pictures!
Chapter 44
"Connections"
That night, Sora was treated to eating biscuits, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, and all sorts of other yummy things. Everyone was either eating in the kitchen or in the living room, and after eating, Sora was pulled aside by Kairi. She looked up at him with a smile.
"Sora?"
"Yeah?"
"When we talked a while back, you said that the next time we met, you wanted to kiss."
Sora blinked, pausing. Yes, he did vaguely recall saying that. But... But...do I still want that? He wondered.
"...Yeah," he said, "So...?"
Kairi giggled. "Well, c'mere, silly." She lifted her hands up and cupped his cheeks. She drew him down to her—she didn't need to do much, since they were of similar height—and kissed his lips gently. Sora felt a tingle. He closed his eyes and sighed, and kissed her back. It was a sweet kiss. Still, as good as it was, it wasn't what he was expecting. Kissing a girl feels so much softer, he thought. For some reason, Sora wasn't feeling enough pressure. He liked it when he was kissed firmly...soundly...liked to actually feel the other person's lips on his.
Like when Riku kisses me, he mused. He frowned suddenly, in his head. Why am I still feeling so confused?
Kairi ended the kiss and opened her eyes, and she smiled at Sora. Sora's cheeks were flushed, and he made a soft grunt—more of a sigh—blinking.
"So...?" She murmured. "Didja like it?"
Sora blinked some more, and then he smiled and gave Kairi a hug, kissing her again. However, this was more of another "tryout"—and when he was done, he felt horrible. Kairi's kisses, Kairi's hugs, Kairi's looks—she was pretty, no, gorgeous, but it just wasn't what he was looking for. It was frustrating. Up until Riku—actually, up until he moved here—he'd been head over heels for her. But now...now? She was just a pretty girl.
"I love you, Sora," Kairi purred, as they began to rock back and forth slightly in each other's arms. Sora frowned, but Kairi never saw it.
"I love you, too," he murmured. He noticed that his tone was unusually flat when he said it. It's because I don't feel that way anymore, he thought dejectedly. He sighed. I feel terrible...
Seconds later, Tidus burst in. "Hey, lovebirds!"
Kairi glared at him. "Hello, Tidus." She growled. Sora smiled at him.
"Hey."
"Yo, can I borrow you for a minute?" He asked. Sora frowned.
"Um...sure," he said. He glanced down at Kairi. "I'll be with you in a minute, okay?"
Kairi looked a little disappointed, but she nodded anyway, and let Sora go, going off to get seconds of some helpings. Tidus stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"So, I hear Riku's goin' to court."
Sora sighed. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to be very pretty."
"Well, has his mom found a lawyer yet?"
The brunet shook his head, brow creased. "I don't think so. She mentioned she was still finding one when we dropped Riku off."
"Well, why don't you give 'er a call and tell her to get in touch with this lady?" Tidus handed Sora a small white business card. Sora took it, staring at it.
"What is this?"
"Mom's feeling really guilty because she feels a little responsible for Riku's running away and all that. She grounded me when I told her something was wrong, so she's hoping she can make up for it somehow. She told me if you ever come back, to give it to you and Riku." Tidus motioned to the card. "That lady's a friend of my Edea's. She's really good, from what I hear. Won a whole bunch of cases." Tidus shrugged. "Anyway, it's just a thought. Tell Riku about it, see if he and his mom wanna give it a thought."
Sora nodded. "Sure, I will. Thanks, Tidus."
"No problem."
As Tidus left him to stand there, going to get more of Lisa's cooking, Sora's eyes skimmed the card with slight interest. A really good lawyer, huh...? It was a simple-looking card. Not that it was supposed to be impressive. It gave a number and a name: Lulu Sykes. A picture of the woman was printed in a square box on the right side of the card. She looked extremely serious—she wore a lot of dark make-up and her hair was black and done up in a bun, although bangs still framed her face. Well...she looks like she'd know what she's doing.
"Not feeling hungry?"
Riku sighed and pushed his plate away. "I'm sorry. I'm just feeling kinda off."
"That's all right." Tifa took his plate and hers. "Probably feeling a little overwhelmed, eh?"
Riku looked out the window. It was raining tonight. The weather said it would rain tomorrow, too. "I guess so," he mumbled.
Actually, the truth of it was, he was missing Sora. Terribly. And he was really looking forward to that phone call tomorrow. He needed to hear Sora's voice...if that, at least, just to make sure he'd be okay until Ansem got what he knew was damn well coming to him.
The silver-haired teen sighed.
Four years, and it's finally going to end, he thought. I almost feel like I'm stuck in a dream. Some of this is just too good to be true...hnn. Sora...please be okay.