are you tired of being nice.
don't you just want to go apeshit.
She thought it was just a light.
Kairi struggled to catch her breath, chest heaving as she stared, wide eyed. There was something about the tower that stood out among this strange city, the brightest light she'd ever seen shining at the top – a beacon. It called to her, somehow, and she wondered if Riku felt it, too.
He must have, since he'd nodded once their eyes connected, the two of them quickly running towards the pull, the light of the 104 fiery against the night sky. She never tested her abilities to run up something so tall, and Riku stayed close to her side as they raced up the side of the building, ready to grab her if she lost her footing.
But she didn't; she didn't fall, and she was here, staring, trying to catch her breath as she –
She thought it was just a light.
Spikes of bright, blinding crystal spread across the metal grates of the roof, reaching up into the sky, high, higher – and in the middle, a figure. Familiar.
Frozen.
Kairi couldn't help the low, mournful noise that slipped from her lips, feeling as though her knees were about to give out. Her lips moved, trying to form sound, to say his name – but she couldn't say it. Nothing would come out.
At her back Riku was still, muscles locked as they stared at the person they spent so long trying to find. Kairi wasn't sure if he was even breathing.
They had a lead. After over a year of searching, combing the ends of the earth for a clue at bringing Sora home, they had finally found a lead. Brought to this city, the same one that constantly called to Riku in his dreams, Kairi didn't know what to expect as she stared at the lights and empty, sprawling streets. A ghost town.
Nothing could have prepared her for something like this.
What do we do? Kairi's thoughts were frantic, her words still stuck behind her teeth, how do we fix this? How did this happen to him? What –
"Who are you?"
She didn't jump at the deep voice that jerked her from her spiraling panic, but it was a close thing, and behind her she felt Riku stiffen up even further as a figure appeared from behind Sora's crystallized form. He looked at them shrewdly, mismatched eyes sharp with distrust, "I said, who are you?"
"I feel like we should be asking you that," Riku said, his tone like the crack of a whip. "Who are you? What are you doing around Sora? Wh –"
"You know Sora?" the bite of suspicion left his voice slightly, but the boy's shoulders were still set in a sharp, defensive line. "You seem…familiar."
Kairi's heart was pounding in her ears.
"Do we-? Yes. He's our friend, we've been looking for him –"
"What have you done to him?"
Kairi's voice was thin, words pushed through numb lips as her eyes stayed locked on Sora's crystallized body. Her heart continued to sound in her ears, loud and insistent, and her hands slowly curled into tight fists. "What have you done?" She asked again, louder.
"I saved him."
"You –" she finally tore her eyes away to face this stranger, incredulous. "Saved him? Saved him?"
"As was my goal." He turned his back to them, reaching out to place a hand on Sora's knee, "I was instructed to 'save Sora'. Save him, or he would be lost. He fought, but – here, he will be safe."
"Safe," Riku repeated, voice tight as he tried to keep his tone level, "you think…that this is safe?" He laughed once, and it was hollow, "this – this doesn't look safe to me."
Keeping his hand on Sora's knee, the stranger turned back to face them, eyes roving across Riku's face. "I have to save him," he said simply, "this was the only way."
"Give him back." Kairi took a shaky step forward, "give Sora back to us."
Something was boiling in her chest, a sharp pain sparking across her palms as her nails dug into her skin from how tightly she was clenching her fists. Her heart pounded away in her ears, slowly, steadily –
Wait.
Thump…thump…
Her eyes darted back to Sora.
Thump…thump…
It was not her heart.
Her Keyblade appeared in her hand in a flash of light, and she watched the boy's eyes drift to the blade in her hand, eyes widening slightly.
"Kairi?"
"He's not meant to be here," she hissed, "he's – we've been looking for him! All this time! And you've taken him, and hidden him from us, saying it's safe."
The boiling in her chest – she could name it, now: fury. Kairi was furious, her Keyblade practically vibrating in her hand. She ground her teeth, and a scream built in her chest as Sora's faint heart continued to beat sluggishly in her ear. Safe? Here, in this unknown part of the worlds between, and this boy has the gall to tell them that Sora was safe?
He must have been hurt, Kairi despaired to herself, he must have been scared.
That thought only made her angrier.
"I won't accept this!" She pointed her Keyblade at the boy, eyes narrowed, "turn Sora back to how he was! Bring him back, so we can take him home."
"…Ah," the boy said softly, eyes still locked on her Keyblade, "you have one of those, too."
Red lights gathered in his hands, and Kairi's blood rushed in her ears as Riku choked on a gasp. His right hand held a crossbow, his finger already resting on the trigger as energy gathered at the tip. In his left hand was a blade, and though it was a bright, furious red, the shape of the handle and the shape of the end of the blade reminded her of –
"You say that Sora isn't safe here?" The boy said calmly, Sora's Keyblade resting in his hand, "you want to try and wake him? You'll have to go through me."
Kairi saw red.
She was halfway to taking another step forward, ready to charge him, before Riku's hands wrapped around her upper arms, pulling her back into his chest.
"Riku, what are you doing?" she hissed, and he squeezed her arms in response, giving her a light shake.
"Focus, Kairi." He said quietly, cold as ice, "don't just charge at him - we can't afford mistakes here. We don't know what we're up against."
"I –"
"We won't get a second chance." He shook her again, "okay, Kairi? This is it. We have to do this. Are you with me?"
Kairi inhaled deeply, trying to hone the fury burning through her blood into something harder, something more focused. Gripping her Keyblade in both hands, she lightly pressed back into Riku's chest, keeping her eyes on the challenge that waited ahead. "…I'm with you." She finally said, "always."
"Good." Riku's hands slid away from her arms, and Kairi felt the flare of magic in the air as he called Braveheart to his hand. "Let's go get him."
Kairi's senses sharpened as the high-pitched hum of a laser reached her ears, and she braced her Keyblade just in time to block three rapid shots aimed at them, hissing as one glanced against her arm, burning the skin.
"I'll make this quick," the boy said, raising his stolen Keyblade overhead, and a wave of water rushed at them.
They dived to opposite sides, the water that would've pushed them off the building sailing over quietly, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, the boy was in Kairi's face, poised to swing.
He's so fast -!
She brought Destiny's Embrace up in time to guard against the first hit, the impact so heavy it made her teeth rattle, but wasn't able to dodge the second one, the boy whirling around and striking her in the side, sending her flying across the metal grates.
"Kairi!" She heard the rapid clash of blades colliding, and rolled onto her elbow with a wheeze, pushing herself up and scrambling to the side just as a wave of thunder struck where she once was a moment ago. Her ribs ached in protest at her movements, and Kairi knew she wouldn't be able to take another hit like that.
I need to focus. She staggered to her feet, frustrated. I'm not leaving without Sora. I won't!
A sharp cry reached her ears, and she watched as Riku staggered, blindsided, as the Keyblade that struck him from behind flickered and disappeared. We've barely scratched him! Kairi grunted when the boy vanished again in a flicker of red lights, a bright afterimage remaining before he was suddenly back in her face, striking quickly. She ground her teeth, holding up her guard as best as she could, and cried out at the sudden stab of pain across her legs, unaware of the clone of the boy's stolen Keyblade appearing to slice at her.
Kairi could feel the blood run down her leg, and as the boy flickered away and reappeared across the roof, she barely held in a scream of frustration. The whirring of lasers filled the air once again, and Kairi sprinted ahead, her Keyblade already raised to guard. "No, you won't!" she screamed, digging her feet into the ground and blocking the strikes, seeing an opening and rolling forward, the heat of the lasers searing as they glanced over her head.
Jumping to her feet, Kairi flung her Keyblade at the boy just before he tried to disappear, and before she vanished into streams of light, she saw Riku appear at the boy's back, Keyblade raised and expression thunderous.
She reappeared in front of him, Keyblade in hand, and struck just as Riku hit his back; she felt a savage satisfaction at finally being able to land a hit – and she wasn't ready to back away now. She struck quickly, not knowing when her opening would end, and sure enough, before she could land one last hit, the boy disappeared in a flash of red lights. Kairi watched Riku grind his teeth, visibly frustrated, and they landed on the ground just as he suddenly appeared above them, Keyblade overhead to deal a harsh downward swing.
With a loud collision, Riku blocked the strike, sparks flying between them from the force of the hit, and over his shoulder, Kairi cast a quick Blizzard spell with a cry before the boy could vanish again.
Ice quickly spread across his arms and legs, frosting over his weapons and weighing him down, and with a grunt, the boy quickly collapsed onto the metal grates, unable to escape so frozen over.
"Great job, Kairi!"
Riku quickly sprinted over, Keyblade slicing through the air as he got a few good strikes in, and Kairi raised her Keyblade high and called down a wave of Thunder. By the time the lightning had cleared, the boy had vanished, and Kairi readjusted her grip on her Keyblade, head whipping around. "Where is he? Where did he g –"
Horrible, burning pain slammed into her side, and Kairi let out a scream as she was dragged across the grates, lasers burning into her skin. Another heavy shove, and Kairi was pushed to the edge of the roof, her boots scraping, trying to find purchase. Wind pushed at her back, and her stomach swooped at the rush of vertigo that overcame her, the long drop that awaited her hovering at the edge of her vision.
"It's hopeless, you know," the boy said casually, eyes hard with distrust, "you won't win. Sora stays here."
His words and tone did nothing but piss Kairi off even more, her face twisting into a vicious scowl, and she shoved herself away from the edge, using the little leverage she was able to purchase to plant her foot and kick out, feeling grim satisfaction when the heel of her boot connected solidly into his gut.
He grunted, not expecting a move like that, and Kairi took the opportunity to move, jumping and flipping overhead to try and get some distance between them as bright streaks of Dark Fire raced towards him.
"You alright?" Riku asked as she made it back to his side, and Kairi nodded, quickly downing a potion and trying to catch her breath.
She was frustrated; here she was, already worn out, and this boy barely looked tired. Riku almost looked as tired as she felt – but they couldn't stop. They wouldn't.
In the corner of her eye, the spikes of crystal shined brightly in comparison to the evening sky, and Kairi tried not to focus on it.
A rough shove pulled her out of her thoughts, and Kairi automatically tumbled into a dodge roll just as a laser sliced through where she was standing. "Watch it!" Riku snapped, and she looked down at her torso, encased in a bright red target, and quickly rolled away again as the whine of another laser filled the air.
"Riku!" She called out, raising her Keyblade to guard a laser beaming for her, "look out – move!"
Three crossbows hovered around him, bright red lines quickly connecting to form a triangle, and Riku was quickly trapped in a bright, crimson pyramid. He tried to dash, to escape – but was too late. Riku let out a hoarse yell, lifted off his feet as multiple bolts of light shot at him, the force of the blows eventually pushing him out of the pyramid and sending him flying.
"Riku!"
Another pyramid began to surround him as he struggled to his feet, and Kairi stopped it, quickly casting Thunder and sending the lights and the boy scattering. Sprinting past Riku, she shoved a potion into his hands before leaping at the boy while he was stunned. Her strikes were so intense her arms began to shake, and when he tried to call forth another pyramid to entrap her, she sent it away with another wave of Thunder, taking that opening to hit him hard enough to send him flying across the grates.
It felt a little fair now, Kairi thought, her chest heaving – the boy was finally starting to look as beat down as they were, wiping a streak of blood off his chin as he rose to his feet, eyes burning.
She glared right back, gripping her Keyblade tightly as Riku returned to her side, looking better after drinking the potion she gave him. "Better?" She asked shortly, and he nodded, eyes hard, "yeah – thanks, Kairi."
"I'm getting tired," she admitted quietly as the boy rose back to his full height, "I – we can do this, right?"
"We can." He said shortly, his confidence bolstering her up, and Kairi let her shoulders drop with a sigh, gloves creaking as she tightened her sore fingers around her Keyblade.
"Incoming –" Riku's voice tensed up, and when she looked, the boy had vanished, the only thing remaining a fading red afterimage.
The charge of a laser reached her ears, and Kairi had to bite her tongue to stop from yelling in exasperation at the sound. Their heads jerked up to see the boy hovering over them, stolen Keyblade clenched tight in his fist and crossbow aimed directly at them. "Stay down," he said coldly, as a beam, larger than the others, slowly streaked towards them.
Riku brought up his Keyblade to block it, wincing when the searing heat grazed him, and before he could bring his arms down, the boy teleported and quickly struck again.
The light of the laser had changed, to a bright, vivid blue, and Riku braced himself to block again, teeth grit in determination. Kairi cried out as the laser broke through his defense like it wasn't even there, and he screamed as the laser beamed into his side, the force of it pushing him backwards. Kairi couldn't even run to him before the whine of a laser started up again, and she was left to block and dodge, running across the roof to avoid the attacks.
"Heal!" she called out desperately, sending the spell towards Riku and groaning at the depletion of her magic. She ached to take an elixir, but before she could even reach for her pack, the boy was on her with savage swings of Sora's Keyblade, his face hard as stone.
Block, counter, block again – it was endless. Sweat poured down Kairi's face as she fought him back, the fire in her chest the only thing keeping her going.
"I will not let Sora remain here with you!" She hissed at him, their blades locked, "I will win. You will give Sora back to me!"
I can't leave him here, she thought desperately, I won't! He doesn't belong here! He belongs with me, and Riku. I won't leave without him!
"Your path ends here," the boy ground out, "it's safer for him as he is. You won't get him."
Furious tears stung at her eyes, and Kairi shoved him back, leg darting out in another attempt at a kick, trying to push him further. He saw the move coming and was able to doge, quickly slapping her leg away with the flat of his blade – but he couldn't avoid Riku, striking from the sky with a heavy overhand swing, his Keyblade crackling with energy.
Riku was relentless, staying on him when he tried to make space, getting back in his face with a flash of flowmotion as he tried to teleport away. When he cast a Water spell to try and push Riku back, he countered with a furious blast of Dark Fire, turning the water into vapors.
"This isn't going to go the way you think," Riku said, his voice shaking with anger, "turn Sora back and let him go, or we'll make you. You're done."
"No," the boy said, rough, as he caught his breath, "you're the ones that are done."
He raised the Keyblade skyward, and above their heads a red, blocky sphere appeared as the night sky and cityscape around them vanished.
Kairi's vision was filled with stars, nebula and constellations spinning before her eyes, and her blood raced in her ears as the sphere above them began to pulse and the charge of a laser filled the air once again.
Riku opened his mouth to warn her but couldn't get a word out before the first laser struck him, bouncing off his Keyblade as he quickly brought it up to guard. Kairi quickly blocked her own laser just as her feet left the ground, and she cried out as the light of the lasers turned blue. "Riku?" she yelled, concerned, as they continued to float upwards, stomach swooping at the speed of their rise.
"It's okay!" He twisted in the air, dodging the blue laser aimed for him, "just dodge! We can do this!"
We can do this, she reminded herself, twisting and gliding away, the heat of the laser grazing against her back. I can do this. I can do this!
With a hoarse yell, she threw her Keyblade at him the moment she saw an opening, vanishing into streams of light and reappearing in arm's reach, automatically moving to strike as soon as she could move. The boy blocked her first attack, but couldn't move in time as she quickly twisted and swung again – and again – and again –
Light gathered in her palms as her Keyblade whirled around her, striking him again and again, and the pull of gravity returned, bringing her back to the ground as the boy vanished once more, only a red outline remaining.
Kairi landed with a light 'tap' onto the metal grates, just as Riku grunted over the loud clash of blades colliding and lasers firing. He was baring his teeth, boots scraping against the metal as he was slowly pushed to the edge of the roof with each attack, and Kairi used the borrowed time to swallow down an elixir, sighing with relief as her energy returned.
Hefting her Keyblade up, she focused, inhaling slowly, exhaling –
Time slowed.
Her senses sharpened, and she could see him, teleporting one place, then another, and when he appeared at Riku's side, Keyblade raised –
Now!
She leaped into the air, stretched out her arms, and burst into light.
Fire rained down upon their makeshift arena, and Kairi came down with it, soaring across the battlefield as the boy darted back, grunting in pain.
"Okay?" She asked, landing next to Riku in a flourish of light.
"Okay," he sighed, weary, "thanks, Kairi -"
The sphere above them writhed, pulsed, and then burst into fragments and disappeared, just as the nebula that surrounded them were replaced by an endless, blinding white landscape. Even Sora had vanished, and that sent Kairi's stomach twisting in panic, eyes darting around to find a trace of him.
A hand grabbing her arm brought her back, and Kairi grunted as Riku pulled her close, forming a barrier around them just as something bounced off it.
More lasers, more rapid-fire teleportation as the boy whaled on the barrier Riku put up, and Kairi watched as thin, spiderweb cracks spread across the surface. Sweat dripped off Riku's chin as he focused, trying to keep the barrier together, and Kairi was tired.
I don't know how much longer we can do this, she realized, looking up into Riku's tired, determined eyes. Her arms ached so badly she was only able to swing her Keyblade through steely willpower, and her skin was tacky with sweat and blood, stinging with scrapes and burns.
More cracks spread, and Kairi could feel Riku tire, the barrier beginning to flicker out of existence. "Kairi," Riku said quietly, leaning in, "you trust me?"
"I do," she automatically said, keeping her eyes on the boy as he struck again, "always. More than anything."
"Good. I have an idea, alright? Stay by me and be ready. Hopefully this will wear him down."
She nodded shortly, and the moment the barrier vanished, shattering into shards of light, Kairi darted forward, blocking a swing that was aimed at Riku's back and shoving the boy away, sending him flying with a fierce swing and a hoarse yell.
Strong, hot winds tugged at her hair, pulling at her clothes, and she grunted, leaning forward and trying to stay upright, peeking around Riku to see what was so intent on pulling them in.
A giant fireball sat at the center of their makeshift arena, sitting where Sora's frozen form once stood, churning and whirling as the winds determinedly worked to suck them in. Kairi turned away from it, gritting her teeth as she tried to pull away, and her eyes widened as the boy appeared out of nowhere, rushing at her and quickly knocking her off her feet.
Kairi screamed, struggling to regain her footing as she was sucked into the pull of the fireball, and Riku's hand darted out, clamping tightly around her wrist as she zoomed past him. She clung to him, nails digging into his gloves, and watched helplessly as her added weight only pulled him in more, boots digging into the grates of the roof to try and find purchase.
"No, no, no, no –" she whispered, and Riku's face twisted into a grimace as he was sucked into the fireball's relentless pull as well, the two of them scrambling at the air as they were pulled in.
It was all she could do to keep holding onto his hand.
Kairi could hear Riku crying out in pain, distantly – vaguely, she knew she was screaming, too, her throat aching – but all she could focus on was the pain. It was too much, too much – she didn't know how much more she could take, how many more hits she could bear – would they beat this? Were they really going to make it out?
When she came back to herself, she stared at the night sky and returned cityscape that surrounded them, chest heaving. At the corner of her eye, Sora's crystal form glittered in the dark – a taunt.
Kairi weakly pushed herself up, looking over to see Riku on his knees, catching his breath. Their hands were still connected, tightly grasping each other.
They made it. Just barely.
In the distance, thunder rumbled, even though there was barely a cloud in the sky.
"Kairi." Riku picked his head up, their eyes connecting, and smiled at her despite his split lip. "I'm ready. Let's finish this."
The air was vibrating with magic, and despite her pain, despite all her exhaustion, Kairi was able to smile. "I'm with you."
She didn't know where the boy had gone and knew they only had so short a window before he struck at them again, so they shakily pulled each other up, gripping their Keyblades tightly in their free hands.
Thunder echoed again, and the boy appeared before them, poised to attack. Nebula and constellations surrounded them again, the city vanishing, and Kairi didn't panic as he cast another Gravity spell, throwing them up into the air.
"Now!" Riku cried out, "Kairi, let's do it now!"
Kairi moved, and it was instinct – a feeling. Like a dance she already knew.
Using the Gravity spell to their advantage, Kairi and Riku twisted around, rising higher and higher, spiraling around each other. The magic in the air was so heavy she could taste it, and when Kairi and Riku crossed blades, the tension in the air finally snapped.
Light burst from her back – a wing, only one, brighter than sunlight, stretched wide and blinding – and from Riku, a dark wing spread to the skies, its shape reminding her of a Dream Eater's wings.
They yelled, even though Kairi's throat was torn from all her screams – they yelled, and when they swung their joined Keyblades down, the magic in the air exploded.
Jagged streaks of lightning rained down and furiously pelted the arena, vibrant gold and deep purple, and the light was so bright it stunned her for a moment, the booming cracks of thunder deafening. Her ears rang, unable to hear anything past the rush of her own heart, and she knew that they weren't done.
Together, they dived down, separated to bank around opposite sides of the arena, coasting on the waves of magic as they dove for the boy, lighting still striking and keeping him stunned.
Kairi readied her Keyblade, and she could see Riku do the same, and together they moved, crisscrossing back and forth as they struck the boy again and again and again.
His crossbow and stolen Keyblade clattered to the ground, and Kairi felt something in the air change.
The scenery around them shattered, nebula and constellations and the city's night sky vanishing in fragments of light.
"Ah." The boy looked at the two of them, blinking slowly, "I guess…it's time for him to go, after all."
Slowly, slowly – the boy began to dissolve, vanishing in bright globules of light. He looked at them, eyes clear, and gave them a slow smile.
The metal grates of the roof floated past them, breaking down into tiny motes of starlight, and Kairi looked around as the brightness intensified beneath them. The crystal was breaking, fragments floating up to them like tiny pieces of starlight, and beneath that –
Kairi's breath caught in her throat as she saw Sora's sleeping visage, his heart station bared for them to see.
The light was getting brighter, brighter – Kairi almost couldn't see – and as the boy fully vanished, light drifting off into the black void that now surrounded them, the light finally burst – and –
Kairi let herself fall.
It felt like she was still flying. It felt like the slowest fall in the world. She pushed herself off the disappearing metal grates, using them to give her a boost, Keyblade disappearing in a swirl of light as she stretched out her aching arms. Her vision swam with tears, but she kept going, down, down, down, until –
He was so warm in her arms, Kairi thought numbly, surprised – she expected him to be cold, trapped in that crystal for so long. Hands shaking, she cupped Sora's face, peaceful, so glad to finally touch him again it almost hurt, and pressed her fingers against his skin, beneath his jaw - searching, wanting to be sure –
Thump…thump…
Relief.
Her tears finally spilled over, and Kairi let out a hoarse sob, wrapping her arms around Sora's sleeping form. "Riku!"
In what felt like an instant, he was there, his arms wrapped around both of them, and he was shaking, but they were still falling, no longer a dreamy glide but a fast careen to Sora's heart station. Riku's arm moved, and she heard the loud click of a lock, the light around them brightening to the point of blinding her.
It was time to go.
Kairi squeezed her eyes shut as Riku pulled them away, keeping her arms tight around Sora as they tumbled together, cool winds buffeting at her hair and pulling at her clothes. Just for a moment, peeking through her lashes, Kairi could see the endless horizon of the Final World as they spun through the air - only for a moment, until Riku's arm moved again, the reflective sea beneath them bursting into fragments of light.
She was exhausted, had never been more tired in her life, but she used all the strength she had left to continue to hold on tightly to Sora, arm overlapping with the one Riku had wrapped around his chest. Keeping him pressed between them, Kairi wrapped her other arm around Riku, clutching at his jacket as the air around them changed – became warmer, more humid.
Familiar.
Kairi opened her eyes in time to see clouds rushing past them, the expanse of ocean beneath them as they fell to Destiny Islands, streaking through the sky like falling stars until they splashed into the sea.
Home.
hey y'all. here we are, once again.
I just wanted to write kairi and riku having to beat the brakes off of yozora to bring sora home, and damn did I forget how hard writing fight scenes are. and thinking up a team attack? bitch. hope this delivers though.
also yozora's combat patterns can go to hell because there's so fucking many. there's SO many. if I used all of them this would've gone on forever and we all would've gotten bored.
I hope y'all enjoyed! comments and kudos are always great, as usual. the title's from a lyric in might+u 'cause corny it may be, that song still kicked me in the neck and kinda fits.
okay - done blabbering now. happy sunday! until next time!
cross posting from my ao3! originally posted 3/01/2020