Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Kairi

Here's a story for SoKai Week's Day 3 prompt, "Thinking of You." Enjoy!

Kairi's eyes were closed as she listened to the rhythmic flutter of the wind through thousands upon thousands of emerald-green leaves. The tune carried through the wood to flit up to the small bluff on which Kairi was seated. The grass was cool against her legs, which were tucked up to her body. She cracked an eye open when she felt a peculiar crawling sensation and found a ladybug creeping over the soft skin of her thigh. She extended her finger in front of the small creature; it poked at her fingertip with its thin black feelers before clambering up to perch contentedly on her fingernail. Kairi raised her hand into the air to frame the red-and-black beetle in the bright sunlight. It flapped its wings before fluttering off with a muted buzz.

Kairi exhaled deeply and reclined back on her hands, pushing out her legs so that her ankles dangled down over the chasm extending beyond the bluff. A sea of green stretched on before her, and the breeze ruffled waves into the expanse of leaves. Kairi could almost imagine she was back on Destiny Islands, lounging in the hot sand with the surf kissing her toes. She closed her eyes once more. She pretended that the forest breeze carried a hint of salt, and the sound of the ruffling leaves was the crashing of waves against the shore, bringing with them salt spray and seashells and promises of worlds far, far away.

Kairi hummed contentedly and smiled at the image. She could literally smell the sweet coconut milk and taste the succulent flesh as she mentally cracked one open. She could feel the waxy, smooth surface of the palm tree leaves as she imagined her fingers coasting over them. She could hear Sora and Riku laughing blissfully as they clacked their wooden swords together in their daily fight. Sora turned to her with that goofy, toothy smile that never failed to make her heart sing in her chest like a reverent choir. The peaceful image suddenly took a bittersweet turn, and Kairi found tears brimming in the corners of her eyes and her bottom lip wobbling. With a shaky breath, she opened her eyes to stare out into the sea of green.

"I miss that," she whispered. The breeze picked it up and carried it away. She fancied that it delivered it all those worlds away, wherever Sora was- her simple message and unspoken wish to see him again. "I miss you, Sora."

Sighing deeply, Kairi looked down at her hands to mindlessly play with her cuticles. It seemed like a life age since she had last seen him; for the last several years, they existed lightyears from one another. Though Kairi no longer had to play the spouse waiting for their soldier to come home and carried a Keyblade, the distance was still agonizing. Suddenly, she flopped back into the grass. Pollen clouded into the air and was whisked away with the breeze. Unfortunately, the wind couldn't carry away her melancholy. Kairi could see Sora's face before her waking eyes, all toothy smile and sparkling bright eyes.

"Where are you now?" she wondered aloud. The dandelions beside her head fluttered and dislodged their seeds as if to say, we are everywhere yet nowhere. That's what it felt like to Kairi, the enigmatic Sora. He tromped from world to world, leaving a clear trail of friendship and light in his wake, but to Kairi, he was nowhere. No matter how fast she ran, how desperately she reached out, he eluded her. She could only grasp the glimmers of light he left behind. She lolled her head to the side to observe the dandelions; a few of their floatable seeds clung to the stems, hesitant to go on into the world.

I remember being like that, Kairi smiled wistfully. Even though I had only a hazy memory of you, I still waited on that beach for the day you came home. That endless blue expanse had frightened her immensely. What dangers lie in its black deeps? What waves waited to toss her about and lead her astray? She had waited, and waited, and waited- and eventually, destiny had been forced to come to her. Kairi pursed her lips and blew strongly on the dandelion seeds, forcing them to detach and coast away as the breeze picked them up. "Sometimes destiny comes to you," she chuckled wanly.

She sighed again and looked back up at the sky. It was brilliantly blue that day, with puffy white clouds sailing through its expanse. "Are you looking at the same sky? I suppose you can't, since we're not in the same world," she mused ironically. "Still, is the sky you see as beautiful as this?" The grasses rippled in response to the ever-present wind. "I wish I was there with you," she lamented quietly. Sora's role in this tremendous inter-world battle was monumental; Kairi knew that. She just wished she could fight properly at his side for once. Sure, he had Donald and Goofy and the rest of their friends, but sometimes, Kairi wondered how many burdens he shouldered alone.

"I hope you're eating and drinking well," she chuckled. "Can't save worlds on an empty stomach!" The breeze rushed past her again, apparently intent on being her mail carrier. She liked the idea that the winds crossed time and space to bring her wishful thinking to Sora; it made his long absences slightly more bearable. "You always did love to eat. When was the last time you had salted fish and fries? Your mom used to make the best!" Talking to the wind had been awkward at first, but as she conversed with her silent partner, the words came more naturally.

"I hope you've outgrown your clumsiness, too," she chuckled, holding her knuckles to her lips as she shoulders shook lightly. "I remember how many times I had to put bandages on your cheek or your knees because you fell and scraped yourself up… I have a feeling that Donald wouldn't dote on you like I would." Her laughter rang through the quiet wood air. The birds twittered in response, and a few even joined her to hop amongst the logs and wildflowers, pecking at grasshoppers and aphids camouflaged in the spring green. Kairi chuckled again and sat up, fingers skipping over her knees and elbows. Small, healing scrapes and scratches decorated the skin there, evidence of her long training in the hidden, timeless world.

"Now I look the clumsy one! I find bruises and scrapes I don't even remember getting! I swear that Axel tries to beat me up in my sleep so that he doesn't lose face," she laughed.

"What? No way!" she could hear Sora chime. He'd raise an eyebrow and playfully nudge her with an elbow. "Axel has a right to be scared, though. No one's tougher than you, Kairi!" She hung her head down as she chuckled breathily. Yeah, that was definitely something Sora would say. He was always so encouraging and kind; he was just an all-around good, sunny guy. It was no wonder she was kind of in love with him.

She wasn't sure quite when it happened. Yet, happen it did; her feelings were unmistakable. Whenever she pictured or thought of Sora, her heart would flutter, and her veins would flood with a bubbling happiness. Light danced around his image in her mind. He was her sun, casting light on her world. She only wanted to be an equal light for him, to chase away the darkness that threatened to encroach on him at every turn.

Kairi exhaled through her nose and stood up to walk up to the edge of the bluff. She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled as the breeze wrapped around her, embracing her with invisible arms. Had Sora spoken back, and hugged her to tell her they would see each other soon? She liked to think so. With a serene smile, she expressed her final words to the wind for that day.

"Be safe. We'll see each other soon, Sora. This time, I'll fight alongside you." The winds rushed forward to deliver her words to the boy so far, far away from her. It ruffled her skirt in its enthusiasm, and the gentle sound joined the melody of the tree limbs shaking in the gale. As she turned around to head back towards the training grounds, she could almost imagine what he'd say.

"Can't wait! I'll bet you're even stronger than I am." The breeze echoed with his joyful laughs. "See you soon… Kairi."

"Until then, I'll be thinking of you."