Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, nor have I made it.
Tibby: This story is based on the second Kingdom Hearts game. It's kinda stupid and only written for the purposes of me wanting to write some fluffy stuff. It takes place after the end of the game and on the idea that they returned upon being sent the letter.
Sora stares out across the vast landscape of Hollow Bastion, lightly leaning against the metal bar. He looks down, though he could not see the ground. He crosses his arms on the bar and rests his chin on top of them, "A long way down…." He gazes across at the castle, thinking of his adventures there with King Mickey and also with Tron.
"Sora…?"
He blinks before standing up fully and turning around. He immediately grins upon seeing a familiar girl with red hair, "Kairi!"
Kairi smiles gently before walking up next to him, gripping the railing, "Hey, Sora. Has it been a good day so far for you?"
He turns back around and rests his folded arms on the railing, now standing close to her, "Yeah, there haven't been too many Heartless today. It's days like these that make me feel like I'm actually making a difference. I feel like I'm almost done destroying them all and that all of this fighting will end soon." He had smiled while talking, though the smile had quickly faded at the last few words.
Kairi frowns a little and opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by a rather loud, yet hoarse voice.
"Sora!"
The two turn to see Donald and Goofy walking over.
Donald looks up at them, though his eyes mainly focus on Sora. He smiles, "Guess what?"
Sora blinks, wondering why Donald was smiling (since he was usually grumpy), "What?"
Donald opens his mouth to speak, though Goofy interrupts, "Ya know Simba? Well, him and Nala got together and a lil' cub was born! Simba wants us to come today since they're gonna celebrate the cub's birth early tomorrow mornin'!"
Sora smiles brightly, seeming to be very excited by the news, "Simba and Nala had a kid! That's great! Is it a boy or a girl!"
Goofy laughs a little before winking, "You'll just hafta find out for yourself, Sora!"
"Let's get going already!" Donald exclaims.
Sora pumps his fist into the air, "Yeah! I want to see what the new cub looks like! Besides, we need to congratulate the new proud parents, right?"
Kairi watches the small celebration, frowning slightly again. She quickly puts on a smile and looks at Sora, "Sounds like you're going somewhere again. I hope you have fun and you need to stay out of trouble."
Sora looks at her, his grin fading slightly at the thought of leaving her behind, "Eh, I'll try my best to stay out of trouble. But…" He drifts off, looking at her apologetically before looking at Donald, "Can't we bring Kairi with us?"
"No!" Donald shouts immediately. "The gummi ship is only for our use! Kairi has to stay here!"
"Aw, c'mon Donald," Goofy says, though the duck kept his foot down.
Sora sighs, glaring at Donald before looking at Kairi with another apologetic look, "I'm sorry Kairi. Donald's so stubborn. I promise that we won't be gone too long and I'll try not to have fun, at least not too much."
Kairi shakes her head, smiling a little, "No, I want you to have a lot of fun! What would be the point of going if you won't enjoy yourself?" She pokes him in the chest, "Don't worry about me. I can find ways to entertain myself. Besides, Riku's around. I can hang out with him for awhile, once he's done helping the King."
Sora continues to stare at her with uncertainty before nodding and attempting a smile, "All right."
Donald looks up at Sora, "Let's get the ship loaded up and head off."
Sora nods and waves goodbye to Kairi before heading off with his two partners, feeling rather guilty.
Kairi watches them before getting an idea and running off.
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After stocking the ship up, the three make a mistake of heading back to say goodbye to everyone. Sora was surprised, but mainly disappointed with not being able to say a final goodbye to Kairi. She was nowhere in sight and no one had seen where she went. Riku wasn't there either, although both Leon and Yuffie had said that he had very recently returned. Sora heaves a sigh as they head back to the ship.
They hop into the ship, paying no mind to recheck the stock of items that they had brought onto the ship, which was hidden under a tightly stretched fabric. Supplies weren't the only things under there however.
Riku and Kairi stare at each other, smirking lightly. Kairi holds a hand over her mouth, trying to refrain from giggling. Riku holds a finger over his mouth to try and hush her, though he was quite amused himself. The boy was becoming a little cramped from trying to hide in the small space as he was starting to get tall in stature.
They felt the ship lurch and take off, which meant that their plan had worked.
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The group soon land in the Pridelands and Donald works his magic, turning the three into animals so that they wouldn't stick out and also due to the rules of the worlds.
Sora yawns, padding around on the soft grass of the jungle. He stumbles slightly, "Guess I have to get used to being a quadruped again." He looks back at his tail, flicking it about.
Donald flaps his wings, "Let's head out. It's already getting late! The sun will be going down soon and we want to be there with everyone by nightfall."
Sora nods and three begin to walk when they hear a thump coming from inside the ship. They look back, confused, and Sora edges closer, "What's making that noise?" His question is answered when Riku and Kairi appear. Sora's eyes widen, "Riku! Kairi!"
Riku smiles and waves once, "Hey. Thought you could go without us, did you?"
Donald seems to have a spaz attack while flapping his wings wildly, "You two aren't supposed to be here! This is against regulations!"
Riku looks at Donald calmly, "If you have a problem, talk to the King about it. He doesn't have a problem with it now that things have calmed down a bit and as long as we do nothing to change the events of each world aside from anything related to the Heartless. The King approves of it." Donald stutters, but finally gives up.
Kairi goes to hop out, but her foot catches and she falls headfirst towards the ground. Sora gasps and calls out her name, though he would be unable to catch her while just a lion cub. Riku quickly leaps out and manages to catch her, gently setting her down, "Are you okay?"
She nods, catching her breath a bit, "Yeah. It was just a bit of a scare." She smiles, "Clumsy me. I really should learn to be more agile."
Sora lets out a sigh of relief, "At least you're okay. Don't do that anymore. I nearly had a heart attack…."
Kairi kneels down next to Sora, smiling with a small giggle, "You look so cute, Sora!" She picks him up and holds him out in front of her.
Sora hangs there from her hands, which were holding him from under his forelegs. He stares at her wide-eyed and would have been blushing if he were in his normal form.
Kairi giggles softly at his bemused expression before hugging him to her, her eyes softening, "So this is a little of what I've been missing out on these last few years. I'm a little jealous…."
Sora looks up at her, his ears and tail wilting slightly. He frowns a little before lightly nuzzling her in the crook of her neck, "I'm sorry. You've been in danger so many times and then you had to wait so long for Riku and I to return."
Riku frowns a little as well, bowing his head a bit, "I should apologize for that as well. I made some really foolish choices a few years ago, allying myself with Maleficent and believing what she was telling me. I should have seen that darkness was not the only option before my body was possessed."
Kairi looks at both of them and chuckles, resting her cheek against Sora's head while scratching his shoulder blades, "Neither of you need to apologize to me! If it weren't for you guys, I probably wouldn't be here right now! I'm grateful to you both and I don't want to hear apologies from either of you, okay?"
Sora would have blushed again from the close contact if he had been in his human form. Strangely enough, a rumbling noise begins to sound from his throat and he smiles, taking little to no notice of it as he lightly nudges Kairi's head with his, "Okay then."
Goofy laughs his trademark laugh, "Aw! Sora's purrin'! Must mean he's really happy in Kairi's arms!"
Everyone begins to laugh and Sora freezes, waving his front paws and shaking his head, stuttering, "I wasn't purring! I was… it was my stomach! Yeah!"
Kairi sets Sora back down, still laughing a bit, "Well, if it was your stomach, then we should find something to eat."
"First thing's first," Donald interrupts. "We need to get you guys to fit into this world's appearance. I hope I have enough magic!" He starts by casting the spell on Riku and the boy's form quickly shifts into that of a cheetah cub. He was slightly bigger than Sora and a silver color to match his hair.
Riku takes a few wobbly steps, having not learned how to walk on all fours yet. He pauses to watch Donald attempt the spell on Kairi. Donald's wand gave a spark, but nothing happened.
Donald growls a little, "I don't have enough magic to change Kairi. I've casted the spell too much in a short time. I can cast normal spells… just not this one."
Sora whirls around to face Donald, his eyes widened, "You can't change her at all? What'll happen!"
The bird looks at Sora, "Calm down, would ya! I'll try again tomorrow morning! Until then, we'll travel until we're outside of the Pridelands itself and stay there for the night."
Sora nods, looking back at Kairi, "At least it's nothing serious. We just have to be careful." He looks down at Kairi's shoe and lightly paws at the strings, "You stick out like a sore thumb in this world, though there are other worlds that require us to take on different appearances." He shudders and closes his eyes, his paw lifting slightly, "I'm just glad we're not in Atlantica with the magic not working. You'd drown…. Well, we'd probably be able to get you up to the surface, but we'd also be separated since you would have legs while I would have a fin. You would have to walk on land while I swim in the sea. Gosh, now I know how Ariel felt…."
Donald flaps his wings, becoming aloft, "Lets move already! We need to get some traveling done! Talk on the way!"
The group begins to make their way through the jungle and Kairi had some difficulty at a few parts, though it wasn't anything major. They stop for the night in the Wildebeest Valley, before they would have to make the big leap across."
Donald had flown off to gather some sticks and upon returning, he stacks them in an almost cone shape before igniting them with fire magic. The bird then flew off again and later returned with some fish. He had to make two trips though and bragged about he's the one supplying for everyone.
Kairi takes the liberty of roasting all of the fish over the fire since it would be the easiest for her, seeing as she still had hands. After roasting each fish, she stuck the fish (while still on the stick) into the ground in front of one of the others, saving herself for last.
After dinner, they all lie down, though Kairi, Sora and Riku rested on their backs. Kairi stares up at the stars and raises her arm, her palm open and a small smile on her face, "I remember when we used to stargaze back on the island when we were younger and wonder if there were different worlds, if the stars were different worlds."
The two boys look over at her for a moment before gazing skywards themselves. Riku smiles, "Well, we know now, don't we? There are many other worlds other than our little island out there."
Sora looks over at the other two and nods, smiling himself, "Yeah, and we're in one of those other worlds as we speak! It's good to know that we aren't, or rather weren't alone. Of course, I rather we not have to fight Heartless and Dusks. Then again, it's because of the Heartless that this whole adventure started and made us some new friends. Because of the Dusks and that Organization, the three of us were reunited. All of the good things have happened because of the bad, but it couldn't have been better I think! Right?"
The other two nod, though Riku frowns, "But how long will this reunion of ours last…?"
Kairi frowns as well, "I don't know…. Something could come and split us up again…."
"Don't think like that!" Sora exclaims, quickly rolling over and springing to his feet. He looks at them, his expression contorted in both anger and sadness. He shakes his head, "You two shouldn't say things like that! As soon as you start to give up… as soon as your heart wants to give in… it's all over!" He takes a few steps before sitting, down, bowing his head slightly. He slowly raises his right paw and rests it over his chest where his heart would be, "Our hearts are connected and if any of us give up or start thinking that something will scatter us, then that connection could break. I don't want anything like that to happen to any of us and I'll fight until the very end to make sure of that. We need to continue to believe and keep our hearts strong. Hope is what's been keeping me going all this time and I don't want to lose it…."
Riku rolls over onto his feet and walks over to Sora. He sits down next to the small lion and nudges him somewhat roughly with his paw, as if punching him playfully in the shoulder. When Sora looks over at him, he smirks playfully, "You really think that Kairi and I will want to give up? We will never completely give up. The Heartless would devour our hearts then and we're not about to let that happen. I guess we're just pessimistic, though we're not stupid. If we can help it, we're sticking around."
Kairi sits up and smiles down at Sora, "Yeah, we won't give up. I want more than anything for us to stick together, like the old days on the island. We're a team, in a way. Unfortunately, I'm not much help since I can't fight and I just seem to always be getting myself into trouble."
The two cubs look at her and Sora is the first to jump up, "Not at all! Besides, what happened wasn't your fault. Actually, you've kept Riku and I on track before and it was because of you that we wanted to see other worlds! You don't need to know how to fight to be useful! You're a Princess of Heart! Riku and I will protect you, so you don't need to fight!" He looks over at Riku, "Right?"
Riku nods, standing up, "Yeah, we will. It's something that we want to do. After all, it's partially thanks to you that we got to eat tonight. Anyone else in our group would've burned the fish to a crisp…."
Kairi chuckles a little, "I'm sure it wouldn't have been THAT bad." She smiles warmly at them, "Thank you so much Sora, Riku. Some people were freaked out when I first arrived on the island, though neither of you were. It's thanks to the two of you that I wasn't alone all that time. I may be a princess, but both of you are like my princes, or knights at least. Sounds like we're playing make-believe almost…."
Sora and Riku look at each other before smiling, turning their gaze back up to Kairi. Without warning, they pounce on her with their front paws connecting with the fronts of her shoulders. She falls over backwards and they remain standing with their two front paws resting on their chosen shoulder.
Riku smiles and lowers his head, rubbing his cheek against hers, "Nothing's make-believe anymore. Princesses are real, as well as any other level of royalty. Monsters are real. Magic is real and Sora and I are proof of that in these forms. The world of fantasy from when we were just children is now a reality…."
Sora lies down in the same spot in which he had been standing and closes his eyes, nuzzling her neck, "Just as Riku said. Fantasy is now a reality. Princesses are real, since you are one. Princes have to be real too since in stories we heard when we were little, there's a prince for every princess. There's a prince for you too and truthfully, I… I would…" He trails off, hesitant to continue.
Riku looks over at him before lying down as well, his head resting in the crook of her neck.
Kairi blushes lightly with having the two of them so close to her. They were slightly curled up against her in animal form while part of their bodies lay across the fronts of her shoulders. She raises her arms up so that her hands could reach her two friends. She smiles gently and scratches this backs, shoulders and heads. Her smile widens upon hearing purring from them and she feels them cuddle with her a little. She blushes again upon realizing that it was really Sora and Riku cuddling with her, not just any normal cubs.
Sora raises his head slightly to look at her before looking off to the side, embarrassed, "This way we can make sure that we're not separated. You also seem a little cold, so…" His ears flick downward, adding to his bashful appearance.
Riku gives a small nod, quite embarrassed as well although he hid it much better than Sora. He knew for a fact that Sora cared for Kairi more than anything else. He couldn't help but feel jealous of Sora, although he wished them the best if they would ever get around to admitting their feelings for each other.
Kairi looks at Sora and smiles, scratching his head, "Thank you. I feel better now. Let's get some sleep though…."
Sora smiles upon getting his head scratched and lays his head back down, curling his tail around his body. He glances over at Riku before yawning and closing his eyes, his head resting in its previous location, "All right. 'Night you guys." After two other utterances of "Good night," the three fall silent and drift off to sleep.
