Chapter Two: A Day in The Life
"Sora..." Kairi muttered, the images flashing through her mind. A brown-haired man weilding a gun-like sword... A large clock tower, a boy dressed in green... Fish people, swimming in an endless ocean... Vast praries, a large rock casting a shadow on the green grass... A world inside a computer, filled with human-like computer programs... A deep canyon, filled with thousands of heartless... The final battle, Xemnas striking the finishing blow...
"SORA!" She screamed, her head snapping up. She looked around her dark bedroom, trying to regain her composure. "I know you're in there, Sora..." Kairi whispered to thin air, "And We're going to fix this, and everything will be back to normal..." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear the echo of King Mickey's warning words. 'You see, it is impossible to repair a broken heart so that it is exactly how it was before. There's no telling what could happen to Sora if we do this...' The scene had plagued her ever since the events three months ago. "It can't be long now... Can it?" She sighed, drifting back to sleep.
"Kairi! Honey, are you awake? You're going to be late for school!"
"Yes, mom... I'm awake. I'll be right down!" Kairi called back sleepily, "Just need to get dressed!" She sighed, putting on the usual uniform yet again. "Every day it's the same... Oh, Sora, when will you come back...?" She asked herself, walking out the door.
"Hey, Kairi," Riku said simply, walking over to her at the lunch table. "You sure you're okay? You seem a little off."
"You've said that every day since the incident," Kairi replied flatly. "I told you, I'm fine. Just worried... I don't understand how you aren't. I mean, our best friend is basically dead. We haven't heard from the king in months, and we have no idea when this is going to be over with. And we have no idea if he'll even be Sora when he comes back."
"You don't need to worry about that," Riku laughed, "The only influence you could have on Sora would be a positive one. Hopefully he'll act a bit more sensible..."
"How can you say that?" Kairi asked angrily, "Riku, it's not just our friend that's at stake here. It's the entire universe! If Sora doesn't come back soon, Organization Thirteen is going to get back to Kingdom Hearts, and then what? Then it's all over, Riku!"
Riku scoffed. "Yeah, like that is what you're freaking out about, lover girl. You miss your boyfriend, and that's all there is to it. Now, how about you admit that and get on with your life?"
Kairi's pale face blushed beat red. "Shut up! You're embarassing me, Riku!"
He merely smiled. "Finally, some color out of you. It took me weeks to get you to blush, you know."
"That wasn't funny, Riku!" she said angrily, cooling down a bit. "Really, that was just mean, playing with my feelings like that!"
Riku laughed. "Oh, so you have feelings, now? You've been so emotionless lately that I could've gotten you mixed up with Namine."
"Riku, not now... You're really bugging me... Please, go away."
"No. Not until you get with the program, Kai. You're a zombie. Sora can't mean so much to you that you're willing to throw your life away for it."
"Riku, that's not fair! I'm in Romeo and Juliet, aren't I?"
"Only because I made you sign up."
"Oh, you're impossible!" Kairi walked off in a huff, leaving her lunch tray on the table.
Riku sighed, shaking his head. "She's really crazy about him..." He said to himself, "I guess it is hopeless for me, after all..."
"Sora... How much longer will it be?" Kairi sat on her bed, staring at a picture of the three together a few days before the Heartless invaded. "I've always been waiting... Waiting for you to finally return... Will the day never come, Sora? I don't know if I"ll be able to go on much longer..."
The boy opened his eyes for the first time in months. He shook his head, mildly suprised to discover the fact that he wasn't breathing. He shrugged shock away, deciding to concentrate on the more immediate issue... Where am I? He said to himself, which was followed by a quick gasp. He hadn't even moved his lips, but the thought echoed around the dark clearing that he was in as if he was yelling into a deep cavern. That's weird... Wait... Xemnas! Riku! Where... Where are they? The memories hit him like an oncoming train; his climb through the grueling levels of the World that Never Was, the many battles against Xemnas, and the final blow... He remembered that part particularly well. I should be dead right now... Then again, maybe this is death. If so, than I've let everyone down... Suddenly, a loud voice rang through his head, as clear as a bell. "Sora..." The voice said, and he recognized it immediately. "Sora... How much longer?"
Maybe I'm not dead, after all, Sora thought with relief, But then where the heck am I?
At around the same time, Kairi could hear Sora's voice ringin through her head. "Sora? Sora! It's you!" She squealed happily, literally jumping off of the bed with joy. "Sora! You're awake!"
Kairi, where am I? And where are you? I can barely see anything... Suddenly, a knock on Kairi's bedroom window brought them both out of their reverie; a cloaked figure with large ears stood on the windowsill, beckoning for Kairi to approach.
"Sora! King Mickey's here!" She said gleefully, "You'll be back in no time!" Smiling to herself, she walked over to the shutters, unlatching them so that the mouse could get inside. "King Mickey, he's awake! He's finally awake!"
"I know, Kairi, I know... Why else would I be here?" He seemed to chuckle at this; yes, there was a smile on the King's face. "Now, lay on your bed so that I may perform the extraction. Again, his old body is gone, and we have no idea what will become of this new one, so don't get your hopes too high yet..." But it was quite obvious from the King's facial expression that he had done just that. "Now," He said, his voice reverted to a solemn tone as Kairi layed herself on her comfortable mattress, "Let's hope this works..." In a very similar fashion to the last time's events, The ray of light extended from the tip of the weapon once again, and Mickey maneuvered it with expert precison into Kairi's waiting chest. Slowly but surely, a fully intact heart followed the beam as the King directed it so that it hovered in the middle of the room.
Sora could feel a slight tingling as his body began to materialize, taking shape for the first time in about a month. However, he could tell that there was definitely something wrong. The first thing he noticed was the silky brown hair that had dropped far below her shoulders, ending at the end of his shoulderblades. The next thing he realized was that he was very unbalanced, as if there were weights tied to his chest that were dragging him down. He gasped as he looked down, realizing that these 'weights' were actually a part of him. He brought his hands up to his new, thin waist, running them down his flared hips in disbelief. "This... What happened to me?"