Bittersweet Melody: by hikari-aozora

Bold: parts of the chapter's song

Italics: a thought or flashback

Underlined: emphasis on words

Disclaimer: Okay, so, because I despise disclaimers so much ... I'm gonna keep it short and to the point ... Do I own KH? NO! Do I own FF? NO! There you have it, folks! Enjoy the second-to-last chapter!

(A/N: yup ... pretty much covered it all there in the disclaimer ... yup)

CHAPTER TWELVE: Goodbye to You

There he was, sitting on the docks, dangling his feet over the edge, his shoes barely skimming the briney water below. He was gazing out upon the sea ... watching ... waiting ... as she, herself, had done so many times before. He was leaning back, his weight resting on his hands, and he was facing away from her, not yet aware of her prescence.

Or maybe ...

He sat up abruptly and turned his head to look at her, giving her a quick, weak smile, before averting his gaze to his previous object of interest ... the water.

Kairi smiled back -- a nervous one, a smile that didn't seem to belong -- but he had turned away too soon. It was almost as if he didn't want to see. He had made it a point not to look into her eyes ... like he always did ...

Of all the things I've believed in

Sora scooted ever so slightly to the left, and Kairi interperated this as her que to sit beside him. And so she did, leaning forward in her seat, gripping the wooden planks beneath her so tightly ... but whether it was in fear or anxiety or whatever, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that, as soon as she had looked away from the back of Sora's head and toward the horizon, glowing with the setting sun, she had been struck with a painfully strong sense of deja vu.

I just want to get it over with

And the feelings that accompanied it ... weren't so desirable, either.

"So ..." she said, breaking the silence, and daring to glance at the boy beside her, "what's the bad news?"

Sora huffed at this -- it was almost a chuckle, but that would have been too out-of-place -- and from the view of the side of his face that Kairi had, she saw an almost-smile grace his lips. "What m-makes you think it's bad news?"

"Sora ..."

"What?" Sora retorted, snapping his head to the side, thinking that Kairi was still looking in the direction that he had been. But, finding that, instead, she was looking at him, he accidentally caught her gaze. He couldn't look at her ... she would see right through him! She always knew ...

And as much as he wanted to ... he couldn't look away.

He saw in her eyes the worry, sadness, and confusion that could only be found in the eyes of someone that loved you.

She saw in his eyes what she had hoped she wouldn't ... fear.

He looks ... so sad ...

The last time she had seen that look on his face had been when ... when ...

Kairi forced herself to close her eyes, shaking her head violently in protest to what she had seen. "No, Sora, no!" she cried, her voice soft but intense. She didn't want that to be the reason. Not again. She begged him, pleaded with him. "Please, Sora ... tell me you're not ..."

But he couldn't deny it, and neither could she. Deja vu ... It was happening again.

"I'm moving," Sora blurted out, and those two simple words hit Kairi like a ton of bricks. She squeezed her eyes shut from the impact, wincing a little as the words reached her. She had hoped and prayed with all of her being that those two words would never come out of his mouth ... and now that they had, she hoped and prayed she was just hearing things ...

But deep down inside, she knew she wasn't fooling anyone.

Sora sighed, relieved that he had finally gotten the words out, but as soon as that weight was lifted off of his shoulders, a heavier one was dropped carelessly on top of him. He loved her, yet he was hurting her. He didn't want to lose her, yet he was leaving her. He was breaking his promise ... yet he was powerless to stop it.

You promised.

You promised.

You promised.

You should be ashamed.

His conscience mocked, and he shook his head to rid it of the voice. When he returned his attention to Kairi, he noticed she wasn't looking at him anymore. She was staring blankly at the shimmering, calm, glassy, endless sea ...

And God knew just how many times she had done that before.

Her face was pale, but she sat silently, and he just watched her. Blink. Blink. Blink.

Then he sighed. The silence was deafening. "Look, Kairi, I --"

"When?"

Sora stopped, frozen in place. What? "What?"

"When are you leaving?"

The boy gulped. He knew she wasn't going to like the answer, but even if he refused to tell her, it was only a matter of time before she found out. So what was the use of keeping it from her? He swallowed hard and answered, "One week."

He saw her shudder as his lips formed the last word. That's so soon ... She closed her eyes tightly, but whether it was to keep the view out or to keep the tears in ... she didn't really know herself.

Tears form behind my eyes

She wanted to cry. Oh, she needed so badly to cry ... just cry her heart out, right in front of Sora ... her poor, tattered heart ...

But I do not cry

This was way beyond tears.

This was way beyond pain.

This was the definition of agony.

Counting the days that pass me by

So then why did she laugh?

Not that it was much of a laugh. It was so ... fake, and forced, and would probably have meant more were it unexistant. But she chuckled all the same. "So," she said in that quiet-yet-painfully-intense tone of hers, one that was now almost harsh, "that's what you came to tell me? You called me down here to say 'Goodbye?'"

I've been searching deep down in my soul

Words that I'm hearing

Are starting to get old

Sora shook his head in reply. "No," he assured her. "Not goodbye." He reached out, daringly, and took her trembling hand in his, though she still refused to meet his gaze. He understood the pain she was going through ... or at least, he tried to understand ... and he choked back tears of his own to say, "I don't want to say 'Goodbye' ... Not yet."

Kairi was still, and for a moment, Sora thought she was going to glance his way, but she didn't. Instead, she lowered her head, watching intently her other hand as she fidgeted nervously with a pleat in her skirt. "It ... It hurts so much, Sora ..." she mumbled ever so softly, and then, he thought he heard her add something along the lines of, "Some birthday ..."

That last little remark he thought he heard hit him hard. How could he do such a thing to her? She was the last person he ever wanted to hurt ... And yet, here he was, cutting her more deeply than she had ever been cut before. How could you?

It feels like I'm starting

All over again

The last three years were just pretend

And I said ...

"Kairi," Sora said, his voice quaking as he struggled with his own emotions, squeezing her hand a little more tightly, "I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

His words ... they were so simple, yet so ginuine, and Kairi, no matter how battered and bruised she felt, couldn't help but smile. "I know, Sora. I know ..." And she raised her head. "But what's done is done ... and there's nothing either one of us can do to change it." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "A-And I'm sure that ... the pain ... will go away with time ... right, Sora?"

Sora found himself shaking his head so slightly that it went unnoticed, and he sighed heavily. "If there's anything I can do ... anything at all ... to make it up to you ..." To ease your pain ...

At hearing his words, the girl turned to face her love, and she grinned wider. "Stay with me tonight," she said, and both of their expressions softened. "Please?"

Goodbye to you

Goodbye to everything

I thought I knew

Sora opened his mouth to speak words of protest ... but found there was nothing to be protesting about. Sure, his mother would wonder where he was, but it was understandable, considering just how well he took the news himself. Besides, he loved her ... and he would do anything just to make her happy, and put a true, genuine, happy smile back on her face. And so, nodding his head in agreement, placing his other hand delicately on top of hers, he smiled at her, making her eyes light up. "I will."

You were the one I loved

The one thing that

I tried to hold on to

And Sora stayed.

I still get lost in your eyes

And it seems that I can't live a day

Without you

That night, they were happy, but the rest of the week was dismal and grey. Rain clouds loomed overhead every day, threatening the town, while fierce winds whipped through Sora's hair as he helped load up the moving van. It was strange but ... as he was heading back into his house to assist in lifting the next piece of furinature, he stopped, looking up at the impending doom above him ... and he couldn't help but marvel at how much the weather reflected how he was feeling inside.

Dismal and grey.

Kairi felt much the same as she watched Sora from afar. She was staring out of her bedroom window, the panes opened, allowing the breeze to pass through. She wanted to help him ... but that would just be too much to handle. Besides, she was already having trouble admitting to herself that she was wrong.

The pain hadn't gone away.

In fact, it had done quite the opposite. And it was driving her insane.

Closing my eyes and

You chase my thoughts away

A clap of thunder was heard in the distance, and a particularly strong gust of wind hit Kairi full in the face. She struggled to close her window and lock it, and the winds subsided, but she didn't close the curtains. She was still watching him intently, all the while wishing she wasn't.

To a place where I am

Blinded by the light

The dark sky was lit up momentarily as lightning flashed and yet another rumble of thunder was heard.

And from several houses away, Sora was thinking the same thing as her.

A storm is coming.

But it's not right

Yet, miraculously, it didn't reach them until many days later. And what day might that be?

It was that day.

Kairi was awoken by the sound of her doorbell. Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with nothing but darkness. She didn't know whether it was day or night. All that she knew was that she didn't want to answer the door. She didn't want to go outside.

For obvious reasons.

Goodbye to you

Goodbye to everything

I thought I knew

Yet, with a sigh, and a heavy heart, she arose from where she had been resting on the couch and shuffled to the door. Sniffling, she reached out a trembling hand, and with a new-found strength she threw the door open, preparing to unleash her rage upon whoever it was that disturbed her on this rather depressing day.

Only she found that there was nobody on the other side.

Her face softening and her eyes widening in bewilderment, she began to trace with her eyes the path that led from her front porch to the street. As the concrete pavement transitioned into the asphalt road, she froze, taking in the sight that she saw.

There, parked in front of her house, was the moving van.

And there, standing on her front lawn, sopping wet, was Sora.

You were the one I loved

The one thing that

I tried to hold on to

Without thinking, Kairi raced down the path, barefoot, and lept into Sora's arms, throwing her own around his neck. The heavy rain soaked her thouroughly, but she didn't care. She burried her face in Sora's shirt, feeling the contrast between the freezing rain and the warmth of his embrace. He was, however cliche it sounded, her shelter from the storm. And she held on to him as tightly as she could, for she knew, the moment she let go, he would be leaving.

Sora held her to him, his arms crossed around her back, her form securely fitting against his own, and he rested his head on her cold, wet shoulder. She shivered in his arms, and he held her tighter, never wanting to let go, never wanting to leave her side. He could still feel her slightly trembling in his embrace, but from what, he wasn't so sure now. Stealing a glance at her face, almost completely buried in his drenched shirt, he only hoped that she wasn't crying. So he held her, trying to protect her, trying to comfort her ... trying to do something.

Though he knew that nothing he did would change the fact that as soon as he let go, he would be gone.

And it hurts to want everything

And nothing at the same time

After a while -- a minute, an hour, two hours, who cares -- he felt the girl shift in his grasp, and he loosened his hold on her body, allowing her to pull apart from him just enough to see his face. They gazed into each others eyes, filled to the brim with sadness and longing, threatening to spill out, unnoticed against the storm, in silvery tears. They were soaked and freezing, their hair sticking to their faces, their clothing clinging to their bodies, but they didn't care. This was their last moment together in who knows how long, and they were going to make it a happy one, a memory that would forever stand out against the suffering that awated them in just a few short moments.

They both wanted it to last forever.

I want you

But they both knew that the longer it lasted, the worse it would hurt.

But I'm not giving in this time

"Well," Sora began, breaking the silence, practically shouting to be heard over the deafening roar of the storm. He was staring into his love's anxious eyes, entranced by them, and as much as he didn't want to finishe, he knew that he had to. "I guess ... this is goodbye ..."

Goodbye to you

In one swift movement, Kairi cut him short, taking him by surprise as she pressed her lips against his. And they shared their final, most passionate, heart-wrenching kiss, pouring out everything they had planned on saying to each other within it.

Goodbye to everything

"I'm sorry."

"I'll be alright."

"I don't want to leave you."

"It's not your fault."

I thought I knew

"It won't be forever."

"I never blamed you."

"Promise me?"

"I promise."

You were the one I loved

"I love you."

And as they both reluctantly pulled away, Kairi placed a finger to Sora's lips. "I don't want to say 'Goodbye,'" she told him, and with a smile she finished. "Not yet."

The one thing that

I tried to hold on to

Time seemed to slow as their arms fell from their positions around each other, save a hand that remained intertwined, and Sora slowly began to move away, never breaking eye contact with Kairi. Her eyes pleaded with him not to go, but he had no choice. His hand slowly began to slip out of her grasp until only their fingers were touching ...

The one thing that

I tried to hold on to

And then, he was gone.

As she watched the van grow smaller and smaller from her front lawn, she silently screamed for him to come back ... for the bay to be flooded ... for the ferry to be closed ... for one more day ...

But, miraculously, the rain slowed to a stop, the storm began to clear ... and he didn't come back.

Kairi looked up, her eyes shining with tears she refused to shed, and took in the sight. The clouds had thinned and dispersed, and spread out before her were more stars than she had ever seen before, illuminating the once dark sky with a light ... a promising light ...

And then, a shooting star.

Deja vu ...

And when the stars fall

I will lie awake

Only this time, Kairi didn't make a wish, because she had no reason to doubt Sora's return. He promised, he promised, and she had been a fool in the past to ever once think he would break it. That was not a mistake she would ever make again.

Besides, no matter how wide and deep the bay was, how choppy and menacing the water, how long and persistant the ferry ride, he would always be closer than before.

You're my shooting star

(A/N: aww, i'm making myself sad ... only one more chapter (technically) of my first full-length fanfic! there's not an a/n at the end of the next chapter, so i'll just tell you now, there will be a sequel. so ... r&r people! reviews, i like!)