AN/ sorry that it's so short... but considering the last chapter was all Riku and Namine, i wanted this one to be all Sora and Kairi. Thanks to my sister for helping me with the awkwardness, btw =P

Chapter 17: Haunted

They walked quietly around Hollow Bastion; Sora was still trying to show Kairi around. They said very little, except Sora explaining things. Kairi just walked along, trying very hard to act like she was interested. It's not that she wasn't or anything, she was just a bit preoccupied at the moment.

Something wasn't right with Sora… she couldn't place her finger on what exactly was wrong with him. After his… change… in Twilight Town… it was harder to place what was wrong. It had been staring her in the face then, but she hadn't been looking for it, and now that she was… it seemed as if it was running away from her.

They stopped in the entrance hall, where they had started. Sora shuffled his feet nervously. Kairi felt that she should say something, but wasn't sure as to what. So she just stood there, and said nothing. Sora scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say also.

"You know," Kairi said suddenly, if only to break the awkward silence that was creeping up on them. "I feel like I've been here before."

"Really?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, just-" she sighed, not sure where she was headed with that. "Just… nothing…" she muttered.

"Okay," Sora said slowly, but decided not to press the matter further. There was a sudden flash of lightning and loud clap of thunder, accompanied but a roar of rain hitting the ground. "Storm finally started," Sora mused. The clouds had been forming in the sky for a while now.

They lapsed into a silence again. Kairi made her way over to the fountain and sat down, lost in her thoughts. Sora watched her curiously. Kairi had been so… distant since their arrival at Hollow Bastion. He couldn't help wondering: what was on her mind?

He slowly walked over and sat down next to her. "Hey, what's on your mind?"

"I'm just…" she said slowly, shuffling her feet nervously. "I'm- I'm worried about you, Sora."

"What?" he laughed, as if he had no idea what she was talking about. "Why?"

"I- there's-" Kairi paused, trying to word it. "There's something off about you Sora. And it's bothering me… and I can't place what it is…"

"I have no idea what your talking about" Sora laughed, though it was a bit more nervous. The darkness was frantically scrabbling to keep a hold of him, as his worry for Kairi was pushing it down.

The darkness, however, was growing smarter by the minute. In no time, it had a hold of Sora again, and this time it was using his worry for Kairi against him. He slowly reached out and grabbed her hand. "Listen Kairi, I know you're worried about me, but I'm fine. Trust me."

She believed him. Just a little, anyways. There was something about… just the way he said it. And it made her want to believe him, even though a good portion of her was telling her not to. "Sora… I'm scared…" she whispered.

"Don't worry," he said, gently cupping her cheek in his hand. "I won't let anything hurt you. Promise."

She stared at him, and slowly did her best to smile. But it was hard. Even if she knew that he was going to try hard to keep that promise, she knew…

She turned away, not wanting to admit it. But it was staring her in the face.

She wasn't just scared in general, about all that was going on. Sure, she found Hollow Bastion rather creepy, and some of the heartless around here were… scary. But that's not what she was worried about. She was worried about him. She was scared for him.

She could see it. And even if she didn't want to admit it, she knew he was only steps away from falling into darkness.

"C'mon, let's go," Sora said, standing up. "I'm getting hungry."

Kairi couldn't help chuckle at this. Apparently, some things about Sora would never change. Tears formed her eyes and her smile slowly fell.

But YOU'RE changing, Sora, she thought. And I don't like who you're becoming.