Chapter 21 – Back At Home

Kairi had just gotten out of the shower when Sora walked into the bedroom. She didn't expect him to return for days, or even more than that. Kairi wrapped a towel around herself creaked the door open a little. He hadn't noticed that she was in there, surprisingly, which made the atmosphere quite strange. He sat on the other edge of the bed staring down at the floor. Kairi could not see his face, but had a feeling that he wasn't too happy.

She quietly closed the door, locked it, and then examined her stomach in the mirror. She was about a month and one week pregnant, so the weight was beginning to kick in. After getting dressed, she turned off the light and faced Sora. He looked up at her and smiled, but Kairi knew it was fake. When he realized that she wasn't buying it, he merely sighed and returned his attention to the floor. She cuddled next to him, rubbing his back gently.

"What's wrong?" She wanted to get straight to the point.

His eyes met hers. Kairi had a sudden feeling of fear just by looking into these sad, blue eyes of his that almost told her everything she needed to know. However, just to be sure, she asked him again.

She guessed Sora was trying to pretend that everything was all right, which only made things worse. She pressed a little harder onto his back, but figured it wasn't doing much. Kairi leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Heh," he said in a low, careful tone, "Guess what?" Her eyes directed up to his desperately.

"What?"

"I'm going to be around more often now…" He gave her a small, nervous laugh. Kairi looked at him strangely, unable to grasp what he said at the first few seconds of hearing it, but eventually found out what he was talking about. Her stomach twisted.

"I thought about what you said to me this morning, and on the way to the game I began to decipher it all and… well…" He lifted her chin up. "I quit the team."

All Kairi could do was freeze. "I quit the team…" Played over and over in her head, like she was in a strange dream or something that she couldn't get out of. Sora tried to get response out of her, but nothing came.

"E-Excuse me…." Kairi got up and walked quickly out of the room covering her mouth. She had tons of different feelings at the same time—such as regret, guilt, pain, and a sudden urge to pee. (A/N: o.O) She closed the bathroom door. They had a bathroom in the bedroom, but she went with instinct and went to the one in the hallway.

Sora knocked on the door a few times. Kairi didn't want to say anything. What has she done? He obviously didn't want this… and neither did she… right? Yeah, she wanted him to be around more, but quitting his career as a famous Blitzball player? That chance doesn't come around for just any normal person. She felt as if she had just ruined his entire life…

"Kairi? You okay? I'll be in the kitchen."

The knocks on the door ceased. Kairi waited a few more seconds before sinking down to the floor and burying her face in her hands. She cried.

- - -

"Dad! You're home!" Exclaimed Akira and Kosuke as they ran downstairs. Sora smiled widely at them and ruffled their reddish hair.

"It's ten o'clock, shouldn't you two be in bed?"

"We heard you come in!" Akira blurted out.

Sora laughed. "Well that's nice that you're glad I'm home… I'm glad to be here myself, but you two need to go to bed. You have a little something called school tomorrow, I believe?"

They both shook their heads. "No!" They lied. Sora shooed them upstairs. He smiled to himself, but that smile soon faded when he turned around and saw Kairi standing there. She had obviously been crying. Sora wrapped his arms around her.

"Things are going to change now, you hear?" He kissed her. "Kairi, I love you. I love Akira and Kosuke. I don't ever want you to think otherwise, okay?" She nodded weakly and pulled him closer. Sora held on tight.

"But how…" she said, not moving her head from his chest, "how could you just… walk away from your team like that?"

Akira and Kosuke sat at the top of the stairs listening to the conversation. Akira made "lubby-dubby" faces as Kosuke tried to shush him.

"Well, I guess there are just some things that are more important than Blitzball." Sora reasoned. Kairi pulled away from him. Tears were forming in her eyes again.

"I admit, I used to dream about you quitting your job and coming home, but that was only a dream. Now that it's a reality, it's a nightmare…" Her voice was rising. "I have never felt more guilty in my life! It's all my fault! If I would've just kept my mouth shut like I've been doing for so many years… you would still be playing Blitzball… but no… I have to be selfish…" She turned her head away. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to say what she had to say. Kairi didn't want to yell, but she couldn't find any other way to express herself at the moment.

"Kairi! That's crazy! You're not selfish!" Sora wanted to hold her again, but she wouldn't let him.

Akira and Kosuke suddenly felt a bit gloomy. They had never heard their mother yelling and crying this way, which made them want to go downstairs and hug her. However, they knew they'd get in trouble for eavesdropping on the situation when they should've been in bed.

"I'm nothing but a selfish woman that wanted to destroy her husband's life!" She fell to the floor and cried some more. Sora went down with her, trying to his best ability to calm her down, which wasn't working. Kairi couldn't stop the tears from coming.

"Kairi! I wanted to do this! I want to make it better, I really do!" He argued, but she wouldn't listen. She was too busy drowning in her own guilt.

"Mom is scaring me…" Kosuke whispered. They continued to hear her whining and putting herself down. All of a sudden, Akira got up and headed for his room, shutting the door hard behind him. Kosuke was sure that the parents heard that and rushed after him.

Sure enough, Sora and Kairi did hear the door slam. Kairi got quiet but still cried. She was shaking and felt a little sick. They exchanged worried looks. Sora went upstairs as Kairi headed straight back to the bathroom.

Akira and Kosuke's door was locked when Sora went to go check on them. Kosuke had a bad habit of locking the door, which frustrated Sora and Kairi. Akira was on his side facing the wall, not talking at all. Not even Kosuke could get him to say anything, which was really bad. Kosuke got up and opened the door for Sora, who stood there crossing his arms.

"Sorry, I forgot that I locked it." Kosuke got back into bed. Akira still hadn't moved. Sora said goodnight and closed the door.

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A/N: Aww, poor kid! Poor Kairi too… heh… yes, she is kind of a wimp throughout the series… oh well