OOOOO
She Will Light The Way
Chapter Twelve
Getting Back To Business

Kairi was incredibly thankful, that, after the events on the Coliseum, things seemed to settle back to normal – or what passed for normal – for her and the Gullwings. Her training continued, at the same hurried but focused pace as before, as their unnamed ship (Rikku had been referring to it as the Kelvin, but she was the only one) rocketed off to the location of the next Blackheart Stone.

However, Kairi was also incredibly frustrated and annoyed that her... romantic life had become quite the topic of interest for Yuna and Rikku (Paine didn't seem to care one way or another, thank goodness). Not a day went by where she wasn't pestered by Rikku, or where Yuna didn't make some sort of cryptic comment, accompanied by a polite, but knowing, smile. At first, Kairi just tried to ignore their comments. Then, she tried to do the gracious thing and just calmly brush pass the topic, tell them that it wasn't too important, that they had better things to focus on in the interim.

And yet, neither Gullwing would relent, as Kairi felt her guard be slowly worn down, hour after hour, day after day. Not helping the matter was what Megara and Belle had said, or the fact that their words would repeat in her head at the most awkward of times.

Seriously, what have you been telling people, Sora?

Have you been going around telling all your friends we're a couple or something?

Kairi honestly didn't know how to feel about that scenario.

Obviously she didn't like the idea of a guy – any guy or anyone for that matter – going on and on about how they were together without her knowledge or permission. But, on the other hand... it was Sora! Charming, brave, sunny, daring, friendly, kind, sweet, wonderful Sora!

Not to mention did you see how much he's grown in the last year? A more... perverse part of Kairi's mind rang out at a point. Sora's always been a cutey, but now he's so striking and handsome!

...

At times, Kairi herself was her worst enemy during this period. As much as she didn't really want to talk about it with others, she couldn't deny it, deep down, she had a very strong, resonating crush on the boy. Her best friend. The most wonderful person she had ever met in her life.

Her hero, who had traveled to the ends of the world to save her.

The boy who had gave up everything, possibly risking the safety of the universe, all for her.

"Alright, alright, I like Sora! Okay? Happy?" Kairi broke down one night, during dinner in the galley. They were only a day out of the next world, she was surprised she had lasted this long. "I like Sora. I have a big, big, biiiig crush on Sora! Happy now!?" Kairi took a big bite of the meat pie she and Paine had prepared for dinner, chewing on it while holding her hands out to Yuna and Rikku, signaling for their input on the matter.

"I mean, yes, I am glad that you admitted it." Yuna said, with a little bit of bemusement to her voice.

Rikku pouted, pushing around a bit of her meal with her fork. "Well, I'm not! Now that you've admitted it, I can't tease you about it. You always take the fun out of things, Red." Kairi's face screwed up in annoyance, before Yuna spoke up again.

"Don't you feel better now that you've said it aloud?" Kairi shook her head, glumly, earning a comforting pat on the back from the brunette. "Well, maybe you will when the two of you are reunited and you can tell him in person."

An alarmed look overtook Kairi, looking like she was about to spit out her food, when Rikku jumped back in, lips curled in a mischievous smirk.

"Ooh! Yeah, yeah! Whacha gonna do when you run into him again, Kai-Kai?" Rikku shifted her chair across the floor, shifting so that she was sitting right next to the Key Bearer, encroaching in on Kairi's personal space. "You gonna cry? Tell him you love him? Hug him? Whisper sweet nothings into his ear? Kiss him?" By this point, Kairi had swallowed her food, but was still chewing on her thoughts and emotions, blushing a vibrant scarlet. "Maybe you'll strip him down and get on your knees and – GAAK!"

Paine roughly tugged on Rikku's scarf, with enough force to both enclose it around her windpipe and pull her from her chair. Kairi shot the dark and dour woman a thankful look before speaking.

"I'm not going to do anything." She shook her head. "No, I mean... I'll be very happy to see him again, but what's the point in telling him this stuff, right? He's been all over the place, met so many people, and is just so amazing... he could have any girl he wanted, why settle for plain old me?"

Both Yuna and Paine looked towards each other, silently sharing their doubt about Kairi's question, but neither said a word about it. The three continued to eat in silence, as Rikku clambered on back to her chair, pushing it away from Kairi, as well. Before long, however, Kairi spoke up once again.

"Hey guys, weird question, but, have any of you ever been in love?"

The three Spiran woman exchanged looks with each other, taking a little bit of time to process the question and their own answers. Paine took hold of the serving knife, slicing up a second piece of pie for herself, as she explained.

"Well, Yuna certainly had her fair share of suitors back home, both good and bad.. Kind of to be expected, after all. Daughter of Lord Braska, a Summoner in her own right."

"Oh, there was certainly some bad. A whole lot of bad." Yuna grimaced slightly. "But I never really gave any of my suitors much thought. It was never really something I concerned myself with, even to this day." With a wistful look on her face, the young mage held her cheek in one hand. "I guess I'm one of those types who is waiting to find that one special person, and once I've met them, that will be it."

Kairi nodded along, absorbing the knowledge, before shifting her eyes in Paine's direction. She was in the middle of eating her pie, and seemed to tortuously stretched the chewing and masticating to avoid the question for as long as possible.

"Don't expect a whole lot from me either." Paine finally said, before taking a drink of her water. "For me, romance means going to a bar, having a guy buy me a drink or two, then we go back to his place and we..." She paused, eyeing Kairi, clearly taking her age and innocence into consideration while choosing her words, very carefully. "And we 'fool around'. Then, come morning, I leave and we never see each other again." Paine turned away and muttered, "That's good enough for me, anyways..."

Before Kairi could fully process what Paine had said, or ask any follow-ups, Rikku had scooted her chair over to the Key Bearer's side again, and quickly launched into her own explanation.

"As for me, well, I don't mean to brag, but I've had more than my share of flings across the worlds." Rikku declared, proud and beamish, throwing an arm around Kairi. "All sorts of men and women have fallen to my charming flirtations!"

"Don't listen to her." Paine interrupted, casting her blonde companion a disapproving look. "She talks a big game, and hits on anything that moves, but she's never closed the deal with anyone before." Rikku deflated in the face of Paine's withering words, resting her chin on the edge of the tabletop.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go and change that soon enough." Rikku said from her vantage point on top of the table. "I mean, if our fearless leader is giving a pass on Sora, I may as well take a swing at him!"

Kairi dropped her fork in disbelief at what she had just heard, the utensil loudly clattering against her plate. "I'm sorry, what?"

Rikku perked up, sitting back to full height. "Yeah, I mean, you always talk up about what a great guy he is. Plus, he's a total cutey to boot! So I figure, why not? I bet we could make each other very happy." Rikku's tone was serious, yet playful, even as she gave a bit of a taunting side-eye towards Kairi.

The Light wielder shook her head, vociferously. "No. No. That is not happening, Rikku." Kairi's voice was low and serious, almost commanding or threatening.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at that comment. "And why is that?"

"Because it's just not, okay?"

"No, I mean, why do you get to say who can and can't date Sora?" Rikku countered, jabbing a finger into Kairi's shoulder. Paine made motions that she was about to speak up, but the Al-Bhed girl cut her off. "Lemme say my piece first, Paine, 'kay?" Rikku quickly turned back to face Kairi, giving her an uncharacteristically austere and straightforward look. "I mean, you guys aren't dating. You just said there's no point in confessing your feelings to him. And he's his own man, you don't own him or possess him and you definitely don't get to say 'No' to me like that."

Kairi hunched down, flustered, yet frustrated. Just the idea of Sora and Rikku being together had sent a surge of alien jealousy rushing through her body. Rikku was right, she knew that; she had no jurisdiction on what Sora did with his life or who he involved himself with (Kairi was certain he had more than a few flirtatious encounters with the various people he had during his travels, another fact that set her blood to boil and her heart to racing. Why was that? Why did those thoughts cause that reaction?), but having Rikku rub it all in her face was just too much for her to handle.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Kairi began. "Listen, Rikku, I know what I said sounded kind of rude and possessive, but what I meant is -"

Rikku suddenly stood up, and began to circle the table, talking over Kairi as she did.

"And, he's his own person with his own agency, too. Maybe he's not into me. Maybe I'm not his type. Maybe he rejects the two of us and we hook up while we're on the same rebound." At that, Rikku turned to Kairi, giving the Key Bearer a saucy look, while batting her eyes furiously. Now there was the Rikku Kairi knew.

Kairi could not tell if Rikku was being serious or not. Worse still, she couldn't tell exactly how she felt about Rikku's (sincere?) (playful?) advances.

I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me...

"But, ya know, seeing as how we're friends and junk, I'll give you this, Red." Rikku continued, rapping her knuckles on the table. "I'll let you have the first shot at confessing your feelings. But I ain't gonna wait to ask long, and neither should you. Love isn't a fair game, it's a gamble. You either roll the dice, or lose your turn.

"So, what's it gonna be, Kai-Kai? You gonna woman up and tell him when you come together? Or are ya gonna pussyfoot around the obvious and just try and jealously hold on to him?"

All eyes in the room fell on Kairi, the looks the Gullwings gave her seemingly prickling at her skin. Rikku was, of course, looking on intently, but Yuna's eyes were lit up with curiosity, too. Even Paine seemed to want to know what her answer was... or maybe she just wanted for this escapade to finally come to an end and finish her dinner in peace.

Kairi certainly did.

The redhead sank down in her chair, withering beneath the three sets of eyes, a pile of emotions swirling inside of her, no exit in sight, as she didn't even know how to process or vocalize them. Desperately just wanting this to be done with this conversation, Kairi did the first thing that came to mind...

The girl shoveled the remnants of her dinner into her mouth, then quickly bused her plate over to sink, offering the trio a muffled series of thanks through her mouthful of food.

Kairi could not have left the galley fast enough.

In the aftermath, Rikku stood with her hands on her hips, wearing a look of smug satisfaction. "Yep! I knew I had her type pegged from the beginning. The kind to sit around and be passive." Rikku busied herself collecting her and Yuna's dishes and placing them on the countertop, as well. Her cousin just sighed and shook her head.

"I really wish you would stop teasing her like that, Rikku. Especially about this. Sora was her best friend before anything else, she's probably just confused by these feelings and doesn't know what to do." Yuna said, but that only earned a dismissive gesture from the younger blonde girl.

"Oh, it's okay, Yunie. She can take it, right? 'Sides, girl's gotta learn. In life, you don't get anything by just sitting around and waiting politely. If you want something, you gotta take it with your own two hands!" Rikku punctuated her declaration by aggressively snatching at the air. "'Course, even if I give her the first shot, there's no way she'll make the first move when those two finally reunite."

Paine turned to her, still working through the last few bites of her pie. "You sound pretty confident about that, Rikku. Care to put your munny where you mouth is?"

The blonde perked up again, rushing over to the older woman's side. "I do! Oh, you can bet I do, old girl." Rikku bobbed her head back and forth in anticipation, a cat-like smile crossing her face. "Let's say a thousand. A thousand munny!" Paine nodded in agreement. "Now, what do you wanna wager on...?"

"Mhm, well given what we've been discussing, let's say, when Kairi reunites with Sora..." Paine threw her head back over the seat of her chair, wearing a very slight confident smirk. "She kisses him. When they come together, she kisses him."

Immediately, Rikku said, "BUT she has to initiate it. And it's gotta be," the blonde puckered up and pointed at her lips, "Right here, baby. Not the cheeks or forehead or anywhere else." Paine just shrugged, still seeming very confident.

"Fine. But I want odds. Two-to-one." Rikku grumbled in compliance, as Paine and her shook hands, making the wager official.

Yuna, having moved over to the sink to clean the dishes, sighed and shook her head again. "You two shouldn't be betting on stuff like that..."

The white-haired woman chuckled to herself. "Oh, don't you worry, Yuna. This is easy munny. I have Kairi's type pegged. She's the kind of person who always performs best under pressure."

-O-SWLTW-O-

Kairi had read (and seen) about the various transformation magics that had effected Sora, Donald, and Goofy through their travels, transformation to both blend in with their environs, and – in some cases – to survive the world itself. She already squeed over the utter adorable-ness of Sora's lion form, plus his strange, Gothic Halloween outfit ("I guess he's suppose to be a vampire?"), plus Sora's appearance as both an old-timey black and white cartoon and a computer program. And then, of course, there was the form most relevant to Kairi's current situation – Sora's merman form.

Prior to warping down beneath the waves and surf of the vast oceans that made up the majority of Atlantica, Yuna did her best to assure the Key Bearer that the enchantments woven into their battle clothing would transmogrify them when they arrived into the world, trying to dissuade Kairi's fears of drowning and being crushed by the untold fathoms of pressure.

But, beyond that, Kairi was very much looking forward to a trip to Atlantica. Growing up on the Islands, she had come to love the water – her elemental namesake – sometimes spending endless hours swimming in the ocean or her family's pool on her days off. The sea, the water, the life that teemed through it's depths... they were all things the redhead loved and was fascinated by, and so an entire world of that stuff seemed right up here alley.

And then Kairi arrived on Atlantica...

Her and all three Gullwings had taken on proper forms to adapt to the ocean waters – just like Yuna had said – in the same vein as Sora's merman forms. For all four girls, everything below their waist was replaced by the tail of some sort of aquatic creature. Kairi's form was the closest to Sora's, being a cetacean tail with rosy pink coloured skin, but the Gullwings were variations upon the theme. Rikku's was clearly based on a clownfish (to the surprise of approximately no one), striped white and orange with bands of black; Yuna had the lower body of a weedy sea dragon, light blue scales, with a tail ending with a slight curl, broad, leaf-like fins elegantly floating about her; and Paine, fitting for herself, was based off the most fearsome of creatures, with her ending with a dark-grey coloured shark tail, complete with a sharp, angular dorsal fin.

The problem that Kairi was having, however, was that, in addition to their lower bodies, the transformation had robbed the four of all of their clothing, and had only provided them with the scantest piece of covering imaginable. While Paine was wearing an athletic tankini that covered everything save her midriff, Kairi, Yuna, and Rikku only had their chests covered with a clam-shell bikini top.

"This is ridiculous! This is obscene!" Kairi ranted in embarrassment. Her face was blushing hard, with her arms cradled close to her chest to cover up more of her body. "Why did the fairy's magic do this? Are we really going to fight and explore like this?"

"You're panicking over nothing. All the locals probably look like this, so no one of importance will see us and think any differently." Paine dismissed coolly. The temporary mershark was already busy scouting the area. It was peaceful. Only rocks and plant-life and water as far as the eye could see.

"It's the principle of the matter, Paine!" Kairi protested, haughtily, still covering herself. "Besides, of course you'd say that – you're properly covered up! Why do you get to be dressed like that?" Paine just shrugged, causing the Key Bearer to grumble in annoyance.

"Oh, come on Red, don't be so down!" Rikku swam over to the pouting Princess and smacked her on the back, trying to cheer her up. Kairi was having none of it, so the mischievous blonde tried another method of attack. "I mean, just think about it, if we're dressed like this, then Sora probably was, too..." Kairi's eyes dilated, shrinking into pinpricks, as the mental image formed in her head. "Can you see it? Your little loverboy swimming around here topless..."

Kairi was still a little sore from the needling and taunting the day before, but she wasn't made of stone, and couldn't help her imagination from running. Oh, he's been running around the world for so long, I bet he's in great shape. His chest and abs they must be... oh! Oh dear...

Kairi soon found herself lost in the reverie of a hormone-induced daydream, as all three of the Gullwings tried to get her to come back to the real world, all three of them calling her name repeatedly.

"What? Huh? Whazz goin' on?" She blinked, shaking her head furiously. "I certainly wasn't think about Sora's broad, rippling chest and eating -" Rikku broke out into a great Cheshire grin, as Kairi caught herself and stopped. "Er, I mean... what's going on?"

Yuna coughed into her hand. "You just sort of... spaced out there for a bit. But, on the topic." The brunette mage looked between her two companions. "We just want to apologize for getting on your case for the last few days. About you and Sora, I mean. We obviously took things and little too far and we're sorry for it." Judging by Yuna's tone and choice of words, she was speaking about one energetic, blonde, Gullwing in particular, but Kairi dismissed her regardless.

"It's okay, Yuna. I should apologize for reacting the way I have been." At the very least, the constant talk about her and Sora and her crush had at least given Kairi a bit of pause, some time to think about herself, her feelings, and what she wanted. "Clearly I have some... complex feelings on the subject and I need to work through them." She had yet to find an answer from her soul-searching, but she was confident she would, eventually. "But, that's not important right now. We came here for a reason, so let's find that Stone, everyone!"

"And that's where Rikku comes in!" The impish blonde shouted, raucously. "Ta-da!" Rikku pulled out a small, electronic device and began to fiddle with the buttons and dials.

"What even is that, Rikku?" Yuna asked her cousin.

"Where were you even carrying that...?" Kairi wondered in a sotto voice. Rikku's ubiquitous array of pouches were not present in her mermaid form.

"Hey, remember when I said I wanted to copy the radar program for the Kelvin and create a portable device?" The others nodded along with Rikku's query. "Well... it's finished!" Rikku presented the device, proudly. To Kairi, it sort of looked really similar to a handheld video game system with a big bulky antenna attached. "Time to take this baby on it's maiden field test!"

"You made that thing waterproof, right?" Paine asked, snark lacing her voice.

The Al-Bhed inventor took offense to that question. "Of course I did! What do you take me for?"

"A flighty, scatterbrained ditz."

"I was going to use the term 'airhead'." Kairi noted.

Rikku mockingly mouthed both of their responses back, before going back to fiddling with the device, burying herself in her work for a while. Eventually, the little radar began to respond to something, emitting a variety of electronic noises – the bleeps, the sweeps, and even the creeps.

"Well, Rikku? Where do we start looking?" Yuna asked her cousin.

Rikku's response came in the form of a gesture. She pointed upwards, one finger aiming up to the endless expanse of water above the quartet.

Up above, the shadow of a gigantic ship passed overhead.

-O-SWLTW-O-

A few days had passed since the skirmish on Atlantica. It turned out the Blackheart Stone was mounted on the prow of someone's wedding ship ("This is probably going to be the oddest location we find one of these." Kairi had said, at the time). While the Stone was quickly alerted to the presence of the Key Bearer and her companions, summoning a colossal sea serpent Heartless, the four warriors gained a handle of their mermaid forms fairly quickly, allowing them to maneuver in the water with grace and ease, and fell the Heartless in short order.

With the Heartless and Stone destroyed, and Atlantica secured, the team left in a short order, setting their course for the next world and the next Stone (Kairi noted that this world did not appear in any shape or form in Sora's journal; this would be their first mission flying blind), and Kairi and her team set to while the time away by continuing Kairi's training.

Her magic training with Yuna was going along swimmingly. Kairi's elemental spells were still the highlight of her repertoire, as now Yuna had her work on shaping the form of her spells into crazier and wilder forms, while attempting to maintain both power and consistency. Through this, Kairi found that she had a much easier time working with her Fire and Water magic than any other spell, leading to the dual-eyed girl lecturing her on the concept of "Elemental Affinity".

"Basically," Yuna began to explain while Kairi used the edge of Destiny's Embrace to keep several volleyball-sized flame aloft, batting them into the air and juggling them all around her, "Each person has a natural, inborn affinity to one or more specific kinds of magic, that is set from very early on in life. Affinity usually applies to the elemental Black Magic spells, but it can also relate to the more esoteric nature of White and Green Magic, too. Regardless of what class of spell you have affinity for, the end result is always the same: you naturally and instinctively have stronger control over those spells, and with that control comes greater power, more efficiency with your mana, and your ability with those spells will grow at a faster rate. So it is very fortunate that we have identified some of your affinity spells. Now, we can work even harder on perfecting them..."

While Kairi's elemental magic was her strong suit, she was also making progress in other areas, as well. Now that she had used Reflect in the field, in the heat of battle, it only took a few more hours of practice for Kairi to get that down pat, too. Cure and Esuna were also slowly improving, too. A single cast of Cure no longer completely wiped Kairi out, and she was able to keep Esuna stable and cast it successfully and consecutively, even if her range was still a little short.

Still, it wasn't all good for the fledgling Key Bearer and apprentice mage. While her Reflect magic had made progress, Kairi was still faced with a major roadblock regarding Protect and Shell. The two Green Magic spells still gave her quite the difficult time, and, just as Yuna had said, until she had the mastered along with Reflect, it meant no Time Magic for her.

In other area of training, Kairi still drilled daily with Paine, still dueled with her, as well, and still was consistently getting the floor wiped with her body, too. At the very least, Paine had taken up her shield when fighting Kairi, which was encouraging. The Keyblade Wielder was growing enough that she could push the veteran warrior to fight with more and more strength and skill, to put more effort in order to test Kairi and challenge her. It was a definite and tangible proof that Kairi was growing, little by little.

Though, even with her burgeoning talent and power, even if she was progressing, Kairi had yet to eke out a single win against Paine. She had come close, just like their last duel before landing on Beast's Castle, and she had come even closer since then, but Kairi never pushed enough to clinch victory, always slipping up right before the finishing blow.

And that's where Kairi found herself now, at the end of a busy day of exercise, and magic lessons, and physical training, once more dueling Paine. Their fourth of the day, with Yuna witnessing the proceedings (the standings stood at thee for Paine, nada for Kairi, as to be expected). Despite the long day of training and sparring, the two had been going at a sustained and furious pace for the better part of five minutes, and didn't seem to show signs of slowing down. Kairi, in fact, had no intention of slowing down. The redhead was certain her opponent outclassed her when it came to stamina, so she had no expectations in being able to grind out a win. She needed to push the advantage and settling things in a hurry.

While, along with basically everything else, her skill at swordplay and physical strength had risen in recent days, Kairi was still sticking to her stick-and-move strategy, darting in towards the dark swordswoman, hitting a flurry of light blows, and then retreating, forcing Paine to chase, and then launching a flurry of spells to further wear the woman down.

With one such flurry, Kairi flung a series of icy knives at Paine, who easily blocked the attack with her shield, sending the frozen projectiles scattering and shattering about. The Key Bearer took this opening for all it was worth, dashing off to the left, around Paine's guard, to try and strike at her exposed flank. Paine was too quick and too sharp for such a tactic, however, quickly pivoting to face Kairi, Destiny's Embrace's teeth skidding off the surface of her shield, just like the Blizzard spell.

Paine rushed forward, shield still out, pushing Kairi backwards, while also thrusting forward with her sword. The redhead weaved about the lunging strikes, trying to keep ahead of the pressure, but she knew, sooner or later, if she stayed on this course, Paine would push her back into a wall, and then she would be done. Tapping into her magic, and performing what was quickly becoming one of her signatures moves, Kairi summoned a geyser of scalding water and aimed it underneath, using the force to launch herself into the air, tumbling over Paine and her sword, landing on all fours behind the dark swordswoman. Crouching low to the ground, the Key Bearer twisted herself around, one leg extended outward, hooking behind Paine's own appendage, intending on sweeping the woman off her feet and sending her sprawling across the ground.

That's what Kairi intended. Instead, her leg just bumped against Paine's kneepit, barely causing her to budge, let alone tumble over.

Kairi winced and cursed herself. Oh, why did I think sweeping the leg would work?

Paine spared her a disdainful look, clearing thinking along the same line as Kairi, before tossing her sword into the air, freeing her right hand, and using it to the snatch the prone Key Bearer by the ankle, effortlessly pulling and tossing her up as well. Paine's sword fell first, the white-haired woman deftly catching it in one hand, before rearing back to strike at the descending Princess. Quickly, Kairi conjured a gust of wind from her left hand, the stream of air blowing outward, causing Paine to stagger against the force, while Kairi was sent flying by the force of her own spell, coming to an unsteady landing, where she needed a few steps to steady and balance herself.

In the time it took Kairi to get her footing back, Paine was already charging head on, shield out in front of her body, broadsword held to her right side. Kairi immediately went to test Paine's defences with a quick series of fireballs, all of which were snuffed and nullified against the surface of the magical shield. Paine continued unabated.

That's fine. That's fine. Kairi planted her feet, taking a wide, steady stance, and holding her Keyblade at the eyes remained locked on her opponent, deeply studying her pose and moves. She's going for a horizontal slash from the right, I'm sure of it. Perfect time to give that a try then...

Kairi continued to lightly pepper Paine with spells, not really trying to hit her, just to further push the woman and bait her further and further in. And, indeed, just as Kairi predicted, once Paine came in range, she reared back with her right arm and shoulder and swung at Kairi, broadsword slicing through the air and aimed at around the redhead's midsection.

Paine lashed out, with Kairi lying in wait. Waiting. Waiting. Until the last moment – at the very last moment – when the edge of the blade bare inches away from her, the Light Wielder threw up a glimmering wall of interlocking hexagonal mirrored panels. Paine's sword collided with Kairi's Reflect spell, with the latter winning out definitively, the weapon bounced off the magical barrier, the sheer might of the impact throwing Paine off-balance, and causing her sword to fly out of her grip, clattering to the ground behind her.

With her opponent disarmed and disoriented, Kairi slipped in past Paine's guard and launched another spell, this time with much purpose. Like back on Olympus, she formed her Water spell into the form of a long, flexible whip, launching it out, and coiling it around Paine's shield, before tugging towards herself, trying to rip the shield from her grip. But, Paine held on strong, refusing to be robbed of all of her equipment, instead falling down to both her knees and planting the shield face down, removing Kairi's leverage. The redhead tried for one more sharp pull, but found both weapon and wielder unyielding, as Paine shot forward with a jab from her right hand.

A desperate dodge followed, Kairi practically limboing under Paine's outstretched arm, before severing the end of her whip from the shield. As fast as she could manage, the Key Bearer snaked the remains of the water whip around Paine's arm, before weaving around her body and torso, entrapping the older woman so that her left arm was pinned at her side and her right arm was bent over and behind her shoulder. Finally, without grace or subtlety, Kairi simply ran into her opponent, pushing all of her weight and might on top of her target, in a bid to knock Paine over and maybe finally secure a win.

The darkest of the Gullwings toppled onto her back, Kairi mounted on top, forearm held to the woman's collarbone, while her Keyblade was held high in the air, ready to come down and strike. Kairi's body and vision remained tight and taut, not taking her advantage for granted, still thinking her wily veteran warrior may have one or two tricks up her sleeve.

A tense moment passed, as Kairi and Paine exchanged hard looks, before Paine shut her eyes and nodded slightly. "You win."

"I won." Kairi repeated, softly.

"I won?" She said again, more disbelieving.

"I won!" She said in triplicate, this time, a proud, triumphant smile spreading across her face. Kairi was overjoyed to have finally overtaken that hurdle, her entire body trembling. Though, that could have just been the adrenaline leaving her system.

The Key Bearer went to help her fallen opponent up. "I can't believe I finally beat you, Paine." Yuna flashed her a smile and thumbs up from the corner of the room.

"Don't let it go to your head, just yet." Paine responded, coolly. Even beyond her normal demeanour, Kairi could tell Paine was happy for her, too. "You've got a long to go, still."

"Yeah, I know. But, hey, got to give me some props for winning right?" Paine just shook her head.

"Except you haven't beaten me, just yet. Finally tally for the day was three-one in my favour. You still lost, overall." Kairi looked a little miffed at that realization. She frowned, deeply. "So don't go celebrating prematurely."

"So, what, I have to finish the day with a winning record to graduated from the House of Paine?"

Paine went to collect her discarded sword. "No. To complete your training, you have to finish the day undefeated. No loses."

Kairi's shoulders slumped forward, as she felt the air leave her lungs. If there was one thing Paine could do well, it was spoil someone else's party.

"But... that's impossible!" Kairi complained. "Winning four or five straight matches against you? There's no way I'm going to be able to do that."

"Don't say anything is impossible, Kairi." Yuna said, coming from behind the redhead. The brunette offered a gentle pat on the shoulder, to avail her spirits and to commend her on her hard work for the day. "You've accomplished so much so far, and hasn't even been three weeks since we left Hollow Bastion. Imagine what you can do after another week. After another month."

Paine strode over to the doorway of the gym, stopping briefly to turn and address her trainee. "Don't think of it as one impossible, challenging goal. Break it down into smaller steps. You got your first win. Now, try and win at least once every session. Then, try and get two wins. Try to finish with a day in a draw, or a winning record. Then, aim for a perfect victory." Kairi nodded along with Paine's advice, but only half-listening, lost in thought once more. "Anyways, you two are on dinner duty for the night. I'll see you then."

Kairi mumbled a farewell, her contemplative expression not missed by the brunette gunslinger.

"Is something the matter Kairi?"

"Uh... not exactly." The Princess idly scratched at her arm, while turning towards her friend. "I was just... has it really been that long since we left? Since we started all this? It's all been a blur of overwhelming fear and exhaustion and joy and accomplishment. I lived it and I can't really believe it."

Yuna smiled brightly at Kairi, before patting her on the arm again. "Believe it, Kairi." Yuna looked at the redhead, up and down, once more giving a fair appraisal to the fledgling adventurer. To the person she had placed absolute faith in. "You've come a long, long way in terms of time, distance, and – most of all – your progress. And we've only just started. The four of us still have a long way to go, and I'm certain you'll only flourish and grow even further."

Kairi flushed from the praise. "Uh... thank you Yuna. Thanks, again, for everything." The dual-eyed girl nodded.

"Anything to help, Kairi. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to start prep for dinner. Go wash up in the shower and join me when you're ready. After that, we'll do more training tomorrow, followed by a rest day beca-"

"Because we'll be at our next world the day after that." Kairi interjected. "I got it, no worries. And I'll be along in the kitchen shortly."

The two then went their separate ways, Kairi rushing to the bathroom to strip herself of her sweat-drenched training gear, desperate to get clean and soak her aching muscles in a cascade of scalding, cleansing water. She made her pace halfway between enjoying the shower and rushing through it, wanting to help her friend with their mutual chores, but also taking a bit of time to, once more, reflect on her recent train of thought.

"I've come a long way, and I've got a long way to go, yet. But, all I have to remember, is that every step I take brings me closer and closer to Sora. If I keep my eye on that, then I won't fail again. I can't let myself fail again."

-O-SWLTW-O-

Namine briefly glanced at her hand, before returning to work.

"Okay, let's see... The veg and the fruit, a cooler to keep the perishables in... a new sketchbook, the pencils... I think that's everything..."

Namine muttered to herself, sitting on a park bench while sifting through her shopping bags and making certain she had absolutely everything that they needed. The Nobody had taken a sojourn away from her sanctuary on the play island and into the town of Salm – Sora and Riku's hometown, and Kairi's adopted hometown – a place that she had been to a dozen times, while combing over Sora's memoryscape, but now it was her first time in person. Namine... didn't like being here. Much like being on the child's island and The Secret Place, it felt like she was just an intruder, barging into a place that did not belong to her. That's why she was being so meticulous in checking off her shopping list, to ensure she wouldn't have to make a return trip anytime soon.

But, the shopping trip was still necessary, so the slight blonde had swallowed her guilt and misgivings and braved her way into the sleep township, to gather the supplies she and Riku needed to continue surviving in the shadows. Riku was in no state, physically or psychologically, to perform this task, after all. Though, he did provide the spending munny (and Namine didn't want to think too hard as to what he did to get this munny...). So, she had gone forth to collect what was needed: food, water, medical supplies, blankets and pillows. And then, with what was leftover, she grabbed some things that were more "want" than "need" – a fresh sketchpad and some new pencils, plus a lovely little sunhat to ward off the heated rays from beating down on her fair and delicate complexion.

"Alright, time to go." Namine told herself, gathering up her bags, and then hurriedly made her way back to the beach where she had parked her rowboat.

She didn't belong in Salm, anyways. Even if everyone she had ran across treated her with the utmost kindness she had ever experienced in her short, miserable existence, Namine knew she was still the intruder, the invader, the alien. She was just a shadow of someone who did belong in the peaceful community, but was forcibly ripped away. The horrid little witch that had hurt the people who lived and grew up in this slice of paradise.

I do wish Roxas was here, though. Namine thought, despondently. I wish he had been able to come and see this place, if even just once. He deserved so much better... Namine proceeded down the path to the shoreline, stumbling through the haze of her own despairing thoughts, until a familiar voice cut through to her.

"Do you think we should put up more?" The voice was high-pitched, normally very chipper, but was currently sounding quite glum.

No. No. Not her. Not them. Namine knew she was better off just pressing forward and ignoring the girl, that nothing good would come if she involved herself in this. And yet, against her own judgement, the blonde came to a stop and craned her head in the direction of the speaker.

Three girls that were all around Namine's age (well, they would be, if Namine was a natural being instead of an inhuman monster) stood on the other side of the street, standing about a telephone pole, having just taped something to it. The speaker had brown hair, cut short and curling at the ends, wearing a sunshine yellow garment that was an odd hybrid between a dress and a pair of overalls. The two flanking her included one girl with jet-black hair, tied into a low ponytail, and dressed in an orange ruffled shirt and white capris, and a a green-haired girl, her hair in more of a crimped and kinked style, wearing a green camisole and shorts, with a shawl tied at her waist.

Namine knew who they were. She suspected it was them when she had heard the brunette speak.

Selphie Tilmitt. Garnet Alexandros. Rydia Mystere.

Kairi's girl friends from school.

Namine swallowed, feeling even more like an interloper and a thief than before, wanting to just move on and away, but then her eyes fell on what the three had pasted to the pole. A missing persons poster. Baring an image of Kairi. In fact, looking further down the side of the street they occupied, Namine could see a trail of similar posters up and down the line.

"I mean, there's probably a threshold to how many we could put up in one area and it's maximum effectiveness." Garnet answered, in a soft, weary voice. Rydia nodded, holding on to still more posters.

"Plus, we only have about a dozen of these left." The emerald-haired girl explained. "If we want to put them up elsewhere, we'd need to print more off."

Selphie nodded, as well, clearly down about something. "Yeah, you guys are right. Let's go some place else..."

Throwing a comforting arm around the usually happy-go-lucky girl's shoulder, Rydia said, "Come on, Selph. Cheer up. Thing's will work out, I just know it."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's just... I can't help but feel I'm partly responsible, guys..."

"Selphie, don't say that!" Garnet censured, coming close to her friend just like Rydia had, trying to buoy her spirits. "This is not your fault, or anyone's. This is just a bad accident. A really bad accident..."

"But it is, guys. Before Kai vanished, she was going on and on about the play islands and finding Sora and Riku!" Selphie whimpered in fear and pain, closing her eyes shut. "And I just told her to ignore it. I should have taken that stuff more seriously. I should have helped Kairi!" The brunette sighed, deeply. "I should have been there to help my friend... And now she's gone..."

Immediately, Rydia wrapped the other arm around Selphie, pulling the girl into a deep hug. Garent placed a soothing hand on Selphie's back, as well.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Selphie..." Garnet said. Selphie nodded along to the words, but she still looked like she was about to breakdown into tears.

"If you're at fault for what happened, then we all are." Rydia explained. Selphie had taken to burying her face into the girl's shoulder. "We all knew how much Kairi missed the boys, and how she believe she felt something was calling her to them. Hell, the week before she vanished, she was talking about all sort of weird things. Magic and monsters and other worlds... She was growing crazier and more depressed, we all could have done more." Rydia gripped at the fabric of Selphie's dress, knuckles turning white.

Namine stood, watching the scene unfold, paralyzed by fear and guilt and indecision. The Nobody just wanted to sprint over and pour her soul onto the trio, telling them everything that had happened and that Kairi was okay. In danger, but okay. That she had ventured out and was trying to find the boys and bring them all home, happy and safe and together...

But the dark voice that nestled in the back of her head whispered to her, preventing the blonde from doing anything else but observing.

In the meantime, Rydia and Selphie had broken apart, both looking very sad. Selphie was sad-sad, Rydia was angry-sad. Namine knew that expression well. The green-haired girl was frustrated at herself and her situation.

"But... and I don't know how, but I think Kairi is okay." Rydia said, through clenched teeth. "Wherever it was she went, however she left here... I think she's okay. And she is looking for Sora and Riku. She couldn't live without those two no matter what, so of course she'd try and bring them back..."

Finally, Selphie cracked the barest, thinnest smile imaginable. "I.. I believe you, Ryd. Somehow, somewhere, I know Kai is doing alright... I hope..."

"You two have the right of it, we should keep faith." Garnet surmised, offering a warm smile to the two. "But, we still have work to do on our end." She pointed to the remaining posters Rydia possessed. "Let's go to the rec center and put the rest up in that area."

"Right." Selphie agreed. "I also want to check in on Kairi's mom. See how she's holding up."

With their course set, the girls turned to leave down the street, but, as they did, Selphie's eyes fell upon Namine. They fell upon Namine staring intently at them.

"I'm sorry, is something the matter? Can we help you with anything?"

In the moment, Namine quavered and shook under the gaze of Kairi's friends, even if they were just being kind and curious. Muttering an indecipherable response, Namine pulled down the brim of her hat, as far as it could go, before turning heel and running. Bolting towards her destination. Trying to put as much distant in between her and the girls as she could. To run as far away from her guilt as her legs would allow.

But it was a fool's errand. Namine could never outrun her guilt. She could never escape. It bound her, weighed her down, constricted her very being, like a chain.

I'm such an idiot! Thinking I could be of any help to them. Thinking I deserve to talk to them! That's Kairi's life, not mine. I don't belong here, I don't belong here...

Namine furiously rowed her way back to the sanctuary on the play island, away from Salm and it's people, back into the shadowy fringes where she belonged.

Making her way back into The Secret Place, Namine thought of the other denizen of the dark she was living with. Days ago, Riku had stumbled out of Dark Corridor, bleeding and breathing laboriously, his entire body freezing cold – dangerously so. Namine had done her best to patch him up, but without any magic of her own, she could only do so much, forcing Riku to stay put in the cavern, recovering and convalescing as best as his body could manage. Which wasn't much, considering how much damage his current form was causing him. While Riku hadn't said much in the intervening time, he had explained enough about the debacle on The Land of Dragons for Namine to draw a big enough picture. That his body was wracked with pain internally, causing him to collapse and seize up at the worst possible moment. And that there was no telling when and where this could happen again.

Riku had to do something about the shred of hell that was Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, that still lived on within him. But nothing he or Namine could come up with seemed to be the answer. Or point them closer to the answer.

In a moment of weakness, when Riku first returned after escaping the avalanche, Namine's only thought that entire night was "He is going to die like this. Riku is going to die."

And with every day that passed, that fear seemed to become more and more actualized.

Namine entered the cloistered sanctuary of The Secret Place, glad to be out of the sun and to be able to put her bags down. "Riku, I'm back. I was able to get just abo -" Namine's foot hit something, sending an object skittering across the ground. The sound of glass against stone echoed through the small cave. Curiously, Namine reached down and felt for the offending item, before retrieving it. It was a glass bottle with a label that read "Kingmaker Brewing Presents: Island Kahuna Tropical IPA".

"Riku, have you been drinking beer?" Namine accused him, staring dead into the shadows which he inhabited.

"No." Riku shifted about. More glass scrabbled against the stone floor. A beat. "...No one is going to card me with a face like this."

Anger flashed through Namine. You actually went in to town for this! While I had to go through that just now? Her fist wrapped around the beer bottle. Why you little...

Namine pushed away her anger and frustration, busying herself by sorting through the groceries. "Say, Kingmaker. That's the brewery that -"

"That Sora's dad works at, yeah. Yeah. That's Yakumo's place..." Riku finished for her, punctuating it with a sigh. More of Sora's memories quickly flashed through the blonde's head, clear as day in her minds eye. Riku cared deeply for Sora's family and vice-versa, being this close but so far away must hurt him dearly.

But I know what he would say if I told him to go see Sayaka and Yakumo... Namine shoved the chilled icepacks into the small cooler she had purchased, before filling it with all their perishable items. Even if he didn't look like Ansem, like Xehanort, he would make up some excuse how he couldn't go back without Sora and Kairi. Riku could be so noble and self-sacrificial, it bordered on stupid sometimes.

And yet, that was something Namine did admire about her companion, she had to admit.

"Hey, Namine..." Riku said a time later, while Namine was busy breaking in her new sketchbook. She had chosen to christen the first, fresh page with a self-portrait. It had been a while since she had drawn herself. "I... I should have told you this before, but I saw something while I was buried in that avalanche..."

"What? Don't tell me, let me guess... ice and snow?" Namine said darkly, not even looking up from her work.

Riku took no offence from the comment, and continued. "No. It was... a vision. Another world. Somewhere out there. A blasted wasteland, full of discarded Keyblades..." Namine stopped sketching, her eyes widening in terror. Knowing terror. "And there was a suit of armour? A sentinel? Something or someone was watching over this place, speaking to me. I think I had met them before, and they were calling me to this world. They told me to find them, and that they would help me find my path again."

"No. No!" Namine shouted, suddenly standing up. Her voice rang out through the cramped confines of the cave, even taking her by surprise, slightly. "Riku, you can't go there. You absolutely cannot."

"Why not? What do you know?"

"Only... Larxene told me about a world like that once." Namine's breath hitched, as she mentioned and recalled her tormentor. "Xemnas had been looking for that world, and was looking for something on that world. One day, he, Xigbar, and Xaldin traveled there, and she said they had encountered a living suit of armour, which immediately attacked Xemnas. Even with the three top officers of the Organization there, they were easily bested by the armour and they had to retreat. She said they were badly injured, too. And that, afterwards, Xigbar had claimed he could hear the armour speak inside of his head. But only one word: 'Xehanort'."

Once more, Riku's form shifted in the darkness. "Even if that is true, I can feel something in my heart pulling me to that place." Placing a hand on the wall, Riku slowly and shakily started to stand up as well. "I haven't felt anything stir in my heart since I first encountered Roxas. Since I first realized he was Sora's Nobody. I have to go there, no matter what. I just know I do."

Namine wasn't hearing this, at all. "You don't understand. If you go, you'll die! I know that!" Even though she had only heard this story secondhand through Larxene, there was something about it that always resonated with Namine. Something familiar, and something that terrified the girl to her core.

"I'll die if I stay here." Riku countered, firmly. Peering into the shadows, Namine could see he was trying to make the motions to conjured a Corridor. He couldn't possibly be planning to go now, could he?

"Then go and find Kairi! Go find The King! Do anything else!" Namine pleaded, voice rising higher and higher. "You have all this power and yet you just wallow around her all day. God, if I had half the power you had, the things I would be doing right now..." Riku winced and shied.

"I don't have enough power. That's the problem. That's always been the problem. My weakness was why Maleficent was able to manipulate me. It's why I had to tap into this shard of darkness to beat Roxas..."

"Even if that's true," and Namine certainly did not believe it was, "you can still go about and find Kairi, easily enough. All you have to do is -"

"I can't go and see her. I can't!" Riku snapped, yelling viciously at her. "How many times do I have to tell you? I can't!"

Namine stopped in her tracks, flinching at both the volume and the fierceness of Riku's voice. He had never yelled at her like that before.

"I can't go see her looking like this, looking like the enemy. I can't see her without Sora at my side. Without fixing the problems I created. I can't -"

"Stop making excusing!" Now, it was Namine's turn to yell, and, in the moment, it felt good. She was tired of Riku and his verbal evasions. His justifications for his cowardice. "You can see her anytime you want to, and you know – you absolutely know – she will be able to see to the real you, and that she will forgive you. Because that's the kind of person Kairi is! It doesn't matter to her what you have done, what mistakes you've made, your her friend Riku! Her brother!" Namine threw her book to the ground in frustration, fuming and huffing. It felt satisfying to get all of this off her chest...

...At least, that's what she had thought, at first. But, soon after, guilt crept into the space the anger at left. Namine felt sick for snapping at her friend like that. Riku was the only person in the entire Realm that cared about her right now. One of only three people who had shown her any kindness in her existence. Him, and Sora, and Roxas.

One of them, I almost destroyed his heart. The other I let DiZ use in his twisted plans. And now, I just blew up at the third...

You're terrible, Namine. Simply awful.

After a very long and awkward pregnant pause, Riku finally formed a Dark Corridor. In sullen tones, he said, "...I'm going to that world, Namine. I'm going to find that armour and find the truth. Find my answer...

"Or die trying."

Riku vanished into the swirling portal, leaving Namine all alone.

The anger and frustration quickly returned to Namine, as her face screwed up in disgust, her hands balling up into fists.

Guilt and rage and fear and sorrow churned within her empty, hollow husk of a body, before the Nobody left the cave again, letting loose a primal scream at the situation.

At Riku.

At herself.

At the futility of all of it.

"Riku, Sora, Kairi, Roxas... I wish I could help. I truly do..." The blonde muttered miserably, as she aimlessly strolled across the sand. She wanted nothing more than to be able to fight alongside them; to assist Kairi; to heal Riku; to rescue Sora; to go back and time and save Roxas... But Namine possessed no Keyblade, no magic, no skills or abilities of any kind, other than the memory powers that only inflicted harm and suffering to others.

But maybe... Namine's hand fell onto the left side of her chest, where her heart should be, if she wasn't a Nobody. Just maybe, my connection with Sora can help at long last. Maybe, finally, I can help others instead of hurting them...

Namine glanced at her left hand, for just a moment, eyes widening in alarm at the sight. For a few brief moments, the appendage began to flicker and flash, fading and go ghostly and translucent. The phenomenon spread from her fingertips to just down her wrist, pulsing and ebbing, before it all returned to solid flesh once more.

Shaking like a leaf, but still pressing on, Namine held her left hand in the other. If she was going to help, she had to get to work immediately.

Riku isn't the only one living on borrowed time, after all...

I told you guys Namine would be in for a rough time in this story. The tragedy and misery have yet to come to an end for our poor memory witch. And it seems Riku is on a collision course with Lingering Will. At least it's not like LW is the strongest entity in the universe at this point in time and hates everything and anything having to do with Xehanort, whose form Riku is assuming right now.

So, another bridge chapter to tide us over between worlds, with a series of vignettes between Kairi and the Gullwings, as they continue their adventures together. It's a little weird, having had a bunch of these scenes in the back of my mind for years and years, but only now finally expressing them. I hope I'm doing myself justice in finally getting them out of my brain.

Also, while I think I've strongly positioned myself as a SoKai person, that hasn't really come to the forefront into the story before this point. Up to know, it's just been Kairi's idolization of Sora, not her true feelings. But, I've gotten in it in my head that Sora basically knew he had strong feelings for Kairi as he was growing up – probably about 12 or so – but Kairi didn't understand what she was feeling until fairly recently. The end of KH I to be precise, when Sora and her return to Traverse Town and are briefly reunited before being pulled away. That's when Kairi began to realize how much she cared for Sora.

And she's kind of a jumbled mess about it. Being a fifteen year old girl, this being the first time she's felt like this, it being her best friend, realizing these feelings only to be separated for a year, without any to work them out, and all the other chaos in her life has her overwhelmed. She's got a lot of things to work out, a lot on her plate, but I'm certain those two kids will get through this. Me (and you, too) are rooting for them.

But, that will bring things to a close. As always, please feel free to leave thoughts, predictions, comments, and criticism at your leisure. Any and all input is welcomed and appreciated!

Until next time, let the light guide your path forward.