A/N: Hoo boy. Life is crazy.
This chapter is a bit short, because a) This is finals week, b) there's a convention on Sunday and I still have to embroider Yuna's skirt and redo her staff, c) I feel like a blob of unrequited love, and d) the plot's moving a bit too fast...
On another note, is anyone else here going to Ozinecon? In the Philippines, I mean. XD
Kingdom Hearts is not mine. Maybe someday. Just not today.
iv: responsibility
"If you would please stop pacing and muttering bloody murder under your breath, I'd greatly appreciate it," Riku started, glowering with a glower to end all glowers. "Stop it. Stop pacing."
Leon glared. And glared some more for good measure. The silver-haired teen flinched, averting his eyes and turning his attention to the flaxen-haired girl sitting next to him on the couch. Naminé was twisting the nearest throw pillow into an unrecognizable heap, probably out of worry.
"I knew it," he breathed heavily, brushing mahogany hair out of his eyes. "Sooner or later."
The moment that blond had yelled, he knew at once something was horribly wrong. A portal of darkness had opened right in front of the punch table, and the next thing he knew, people were screaming. There was almost a stampede; the night would have ended in quite a tragedy if not for Rinoa. The ebony-haired teen (was she still a teen? In true time she was already twenty-seven...) had shouldered her way through the confused crowd right to the blond Sora had last been talking to and cast a massive Curaga on him.
That...creature with an amber eye and darkness across its face had managed to maim Seifer seriously. He would have been disfigured for life if not for Rinoa. Leon hadn't even known that magic that strong existed.
After casting the Curaga she had visibly weakened when she came face-to-face with Sora, and that was something that, not matter how Leon tried to deny it, frightened him. What could possibly weaken a sorceress just like that?
She had shouted something he barely heard oven the din of the people, and the Hall immediately fell silent. Riku then just threw an arm around Sora and dragged him through the portal, which led right here.
Kairi's home.
Foster home.
His gaze strayed to the long plush seat across Riku. On the right end, with ebony hair fanning across the white upholstery, was Rinoa herself, forehead beaded with sweat and muttering incoherently while she slept.
On the other end, with his legs curled up his chest, a hand loosely covering his knees, was Sora. Amber eye darted around with unnatural swiftness, as if checking for enemies. He looked quite torn; like he was fighting a smile and a frown at the same time. He had reached over and felt Rinoa's forehead with a sharp-tipped hand for quite a few times now, as if guilty. Ha. As if.
"She'll be okay," Kairi suddenly announced, coming out of the kitchen, towelette in hand and a basin-toting Yuffie in tow. "She just fainted from the stress, that's all. I think we have to thank Roxas for something."
The blond Wielder was the one who had supported the sorceress during their brief interlude in the Corridors. Halfway through Rinoa had blanched white and had fallen to her knees, and Roxas had to half-drag her through. Once they had arrived at Kairi's, he had closed the portal and done...something that made Rinoa, at least, turn a healthier shade of normal.
Who was, speaking of...
"Roxas!" two simultaneous yells echoed throughout the Dalmasca household, and Leon was glad that Kairi's foster relatives were at the mainland, blissfully unaware that their home was now host to a sorceress, a rabid attacker, two Nobodies, and a whole lot of confused people.
Number Thirteen had just keeled over.
Leon slapped an exasperated hand over his face. Kingdom Hearts, we have a problem.
Quicker than he could blink, Naminé had already leapt out from her seat and rushed to the blond Nobody's side, who had fainted just as he had come inside the living room.
However, before Naminé could insomuch as touch Roxas, a hand had shot out and hauled her up to her feet.
"Don't touch him," Sora hissed, dragging her by the arm and roughly depositing her on the couch where he was sitting moments ago. As he turned back he saw Kairi with a washtowel in hand and with the intention of feeling Roxas' forehead; with a single roar and a step of his feet he had grabbed the auburn-haired girl and set her, much as she did with Naminé but with the gentleness one would associate with porcelain, right beside a stunned Riku.
"I told you," he spoke in a voice laced with concern, whether it was real or not, Leon didn't want to know, "Don't."
"What the hell is going on?"Leon suddenly raised his voice, nearing his breaking point. "For crying out loud, the kid's having trouble breathing! He's passed out on the floor and what do you do? Tell us to leave him be and let him die?"
"Nobodies can't die," Sora said matter-of-factly, ignoring the vehement noise Naminé was currently making. "And if either of you even just get close enough to Roxas, you will be the one who dies."
"That doesn't explain anything," he replied coolly, watching out of the corner of his eye as Yuffie absentmindedly patted Rinoa's forehead with a towel.
"It takes a lot of power to open a portal," Riku cut in, clearly intending to break the tension.
"That doesn't stop Nobodies from doing it all over the place, does it?"
Aquamarine eyes narrowed. Leon ground his teeth inwardly. "Rinoa did it in Disney Castle. She was the one who opened the portal. You don't open portals in Disney Castle; the Cornerstone sees that it doesn't happen."
Leon frowned even more. He had heard of the Cornerstone of Light, essentially a very large glass ball with enough power to dispel darkness within the walls of Disney Castle. Wait. How did Rinoa even manage to open a portal?
"She's a sorceress," Naminé observed quietly, her eyes only on Roxas. "Of course she can open a portal, but only if she overcomes the Cornerstone's power. Maybe it took so much out of her that Roxas needed to help her get through the Corridors."
"And so this explains why he," Leon pointed a finger at Number Thirteen, over whom Sora was currently crouched and muttering, "is out cold?"
Half sky-blue and amber raised up and regarded him with an icy gaze. "Roxas transferred darkness to your sorceress, Leon. He gave almost every drop of power just to be able to keep Rinoa breathing. You should be thankful."
Leon was halfway through opening his mouth and giving the half-Heartless a piece of his mind, concerning the part of 'your sorceress', but he changed his mind when Sora held out a hand and summoned his Keyblade. Oblivion.
"Pray tell me, who are you planning to maim now?" he asked, narrowing grey eyes.
"Leon," Kairi said warningly in a voice that indicated she was at the end of her rope.
He relented and sighed, rubbing his forehead with a gloved hand. He could feel a migraine coming on.
Sora had cradled his Nobody's head in one arm (and Leon couldn't help but notice how close those sharp fingernails were to Roxas' pale throat) and held the Oblivion on the other. He passed the Keyblade over the unconscious Wielder once and Leon had to bite his tongue -literally- in order to stop himself from cursing.
Ribbons of darkness slid out of nowhere and started going into the unconscious teen, making him glow a ghostly shade of blue. It continued on, and Sora had let Roxas rest on the carpeted floor before steadying himself with a hand.
"What are you doing?" Naminé asked in a half-frightened, half-furious voice, which, not surprisingly, sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Leon looked over his shoulder at the memory witch; if there was such a thing as pale, it was Naminé right now.
Sora smiled wanly, as wan as a Heartless could get, probably. "He needs darkness."
"That's the most absurd thing I have ever heard," Leon finally spoke up, a growl deep in his throat as he advanced on Sora. By the way Roxas was breathing heavily, the golden-haired boy was having a hell of time.
Kairi had already stood up, face set in a scowl, but it was Yuffie's arms that encircled him from behind and held tight.
"Please, Squall."
Her voice sounded like a broken mirror, desperately trying to reflect light even though it had already been shattered into a thousand shards.
But Leon had had enough. This night proved more than not that Sora was dangerous and was not someone he wanted around his sister. He gently untangled himself from the ebony-haired girl's embrace and sent Yuffie an apologetic glance, before turning back to the brunet Wielder.
He was too stunned, however, to say anything, when Sora gasped and the Oblivion shook; the stain across his face and trailing down his bloodstained arm was slowly dissolving into the air, where it joined the other strands of black into Roxas. The brunet shivered once before he slumped sideways, the ebony Keyblade fading away together with the ribbons of darkness.
"Sora!" Kairi cried out, kneeling beside the brunet and helping him sit up. Apparently, he had not passed out; he was only breathing extremely hard and trembling.
Riku was mumbling something along the lines of 'you idiot' and 'stupid' as he got up and went into the kitchen.
"He's safe, now." Sora said weakly, waving off Kairi and miserably failing to do so. It irked Leon in how she, a Princess of Heart and the crown princess of Radiant Garden, could stand being so close with a creature of such darkness.
Naminé was already halfway through casting a Curaga on Number Thirteen, and she was entirely focused on the blond teen in front of her.
"Kairi," he said in a tight voice, making her freeze momentarily in the act of heaving Sora into an upright position (and she looked extremely tangled up with him as she did...). "I--"
"The stupidest thing," Riku was saying as he came back into the living room with a tetra pack of juice. Leon watched in confusion as he threw it in Sora's direction, and it bounced off the brunet's head with a quiet 'ow', making him stagger slightly, and making Kairi glare at the silver-haired teen.
"You didn't have to do that--" she started crossly, frowning.
Naminé looked up. "Riku, how'd you know--"
"Can somebody please pass the paopu?" Sora reached over, but Kairi's hold on him proved it impossible.
"Yes," Leon tried to cut in, knuckles turning white in agitation, "The stupidest thing--"
Once more, he was cut off, but this time, by a voice that he had never heard take on that tone before. A frightened Yuffie sounded like the end of the world, yet here she was.
"Why?"
The living room fell silent.
Leon turned around, only to have his heart fall and his words choke in his throat.
Yuffie looked more like a frightened child rather than the twenty-year-old woman she really was, and the sight of her in such pain and fear seemed to be a vice that gripped his heart and tightened. Ebony eyes wide and the white washcloth held tightly in clenched hands, the ninja stood silhouetted in the moonlight, the ribbons of her forehead-guard flapping in the night breeze.
Riku made a choking noise.
Yuffie regarded them all with a frustrated gaze, before finally settling on the brunet sprawled on the floor in a tangle of limbs with his sister.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because wow, knowing that Sora is a Heartless Keyblade Master is oh-so-enlightening," Roxas suddenly spoke up, apparently having been just revived successfully by Naminé. Who had immediately clamped a firm hand over his mouth and shot him a glare that would promise pain later.
Sora paused, and curiously enough, glanced at Leon with clouded sky-blue eyes. He shifted positions so that he was only leaning on Kairi for support.
"I couldn't."
Leon eyed him suspiciouly, and the brunet hung his head.
"I can't weigh you down with the knowledge that your savior is actually a devil," he swallowed painfully. "Not when you're all happy that everything's all right in the world, that I'm here, the Keyblade Masters are here to save your day. A little white lie could make everything else hurt less."
"But it's still a lie, damn it!" Leon roared, rocking back on his heels.
"Stop it, Leon!" Kairi yelled, tears brimming in her beryl eyes. "He saved Roxas! Isn't that proof enough that he's not who you think he is?"
"If he hadn't gone berserk, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place, would we?" he asked smugly.
"It's not his fault!" Riku said defensively. "If King Mickey hadn't even done the stupid--"
"Oh, so it's King Mickey's fault this time! The King had an absolutely valid reason for doing what he did!"
"Absolutely valid?" the silver-haired teen asked increduously. "What in the Creator's name could be an absolutely valid reason to risk the life of somebody who had saved reality twice, even thrice?"
"The safety of the reality he saved, Riku!"
"Stop acting like a child, Leon!" That was Kairi.
This time, he rounded on her, knowing at the back of his head that he'd probably said more tonight than the rest of his previous life. "Then stop acting like nothing's wrong. There's something wrong with this farce and you know it, Kairi. Sora is a danger to everyone around him, and I can't have you being near to someone who's bound to kill you someday!"
"Don't say that!" the auburn-haired teen suddenly stood up, every inch of her the Princess that she was and she was just radiating anger.
"You know I'm telling the truth!"
"Squall."
There was Sora Hikari, Keyblade Master, Knight of Disney Court, a seventeen-year-old boy with eyes the color of the sky and a feared determination that was known throughout all the worlds he had touched.
Leon flinched at the way Sora had said his true name, a name that he swore he'd never use since the incident. He turned steel-grey eyes on the brunet and crossed his arms.
"What's Kairi's favorite food?"
"What the hell?" he burst out, uncrossing his arms.
Sora narrowed sky-blue irises. "I asked what Kairi's favorite food was."
Leon bit his lip. The kid was on to something. "Citrus."
"Pasta. Specifically chicken carbonara." The brunet teen shifted into a more comfortable position. "What's Kairi's favorite place?"
"Her room here."
"Somewhere on the play island that I'd not really like to disclose. What's her favorite subject?"
"World Literature," he ground out. Leon was getting seriously pissed off.
"Materia Handling II. What's her favorite game and on what console?"
By this time the grey-eyed knight was too much confused by where Sora was going with this. He rubbed his temple with a gloved hand. "I don't know."
"Katamari Damacy II on GameStation 3, with Lego Star Wars a close second. (At this Kairi made a choking noise and was now staring fixatedly at Sora.) What's her dearest hobby?"
"Collecting thalassa shells."
"No, her hobby is taking her collection of thalassa shells and finding some crazy way to put them together with White Materia to make the awesomest Keychain ever."
"Sora!" Kairi slapped a hand over her forehead, her blush growing.
The brunet took no notice, and Leon matched him stare for stare. "What's her favorite color?"
He took one look at his auburn-haired sister, and then at her flaxen-haired Nobody kneeling on the floor. Both were wearing some sort of Songstress dressphere, and they had asserted that Kairi was the one from Zanarkand and Naminé was the one from Bevelle (or something to that effect), but before they had changed to the identical costumes, he remembered that the memory witch was wearing Kairi's usual outfit. Which was...
"Pink." He answered with a triumphant smirk.
Sora looked up at him and paused for a second, before shaking his head. His eyes seemed to glow in the dimmed light of the living room, and Leon suddenly knew what the correct answer was.
"It's blue. Sky blue." The brunet teen said in an almost possessive voice, staring at him unblinkingly.
Kairi blushed furiously, and Riku raised an eyebrow at the two of them.
Sora reached over for his juice-pack and stabbed the straw through it. His voice lowered a few octaves. "Did you know that during her first year here in Destiny Islands, she was the shyest and most quiet girl among us?"
Leon hesitated. "I--"
"Did you know that she has a ratty old bear that almost has its nose rubbed raw and its arms falling off, and that she has never let anybody throw it away because it's the first doll that the Mayor had gotten her?"
"She's--"
"Did you know that she believes that everytime it rains, it means that the sky is crying?"
"What--"
"Did you know that she has this tiny almost heart-shaped scar near her hairline and nobody has seen it because her bangs cover it? Did you know that the book that she had checked out the most times from the library was a history book where each and every historical romance is documented? Did you know that her favorite flower is a rose that's so crimson that it's almost black? Did you know that she has a recurring nightmare that has been happening on Riku's birthday for the past ten years? Did you know that everytime she looks up into a meteor shower she doesn't see stars but only the dying pieces of a shattered world?!"
"I don't, Sora!" Leon was finally able to get it through, a scowl etched on his face. "I admit it, I don't!"
"Then don't act like you know her, " Sora breathed quietly, anger evident in that whispered tone. "Don't act like you were here with her all those years since she washed up on Destiny Island's shores. Don't speak for her, don't say that you know what she's thinking. Don't treat her like some doll you put on a pedestal and proclaim the princess of your home World. Just because you suddenly turn up and say that she's your sister doesn't make it so. You say that you're her brother but you don't know anything about her."
There was a silence that was only broken by the sucking sound made by his straw as he took a deep sip of whatever the hell he was drinking. Leon was processing Sora's words carefully, and with a heavy heart, he knew that Sora was right. But what could he do? He had lost his sister ten years ago. All he could think about was getting her back.
"I may not know her," he started, choosing his words, "but Kairi is still a Leonhart, and she is still my sister. Nothing can change that. I will protect her at any cost, at any price, even with my life and even with yours."
"And so will I," Sora replied.
At that moment, as he stared into the sky-blue depths of his eyes and as Sora stared into his, Leon knew they had reached a silent understanding.
Without so much as another word, Leon turned on his heels and went out of the house.
-- x -- x --
"That was a scene straight out of a soap opera," Roxas voiced out helpfully, sitting up from his position on the floor and batting away Naminé's hand.
The flaxen-haired girl sighed resignedly. "Way to make the situation less tense," she said sarcastically, slapping him lightly upside the head.
Riku took a deep breath and leant on the couch, on which Kairi was now seated with Sora leaning against her legs. The auburn-haired girl was staring straight ahead and absentmindedly stroking her brunet knight's ear, still probably shocked not at the exchange of words between him and Leon, but at all the things Sora knew about her.
Sometimes, even Riku was surprised at how sweet Sora can be. He frowned, knwing that underneath that exterior was a boy who carried the weight of the entire realm on his shoulders.
Yuffie made to stand up, clearly intending to follow Leon outside, but Riku shook his head.
"I'll try to talk to him," he offered.
The ninja gave a dry laugh. "He's as stubborn as a mule. It'd be like talking to a wall. But by all means, go ahead. Try."
Riku chuckled, nodding at her and following the grey-eyed knight outside. He chanced a look over his shoulder and saw beryl eyes trained on him.
"Please help," Kairi's voice shook, and she bowed her head, "My brother."
He was seized by the impulse to bow and say "Of course, Princess," but he decided against it, settling for a quick smile and two fingers touched to his brow in a mock salute.
The Dalmascan home was situated in the Crystal Circle Subdivision of the south end of the main Island. The Mayor had chosen this spot for his living quarters because it was the home closest to the docks and it was quite far away from the Island business district. He wanted his home to be as far away from work as possible.
The back end of their house was situated directly behind the docks, with only a ten-foot distance between the foundation and the drop to the sandy beach below. Riku remembered once that he, Sora, and Kairi had taken turns floating tiny boats on the ocean right after a huge storm, where the expanse of blue had covered the beach and lapped right at Kairi's back door.
It was here he found Leon, leaning on the veranda, arms on the railing of the back porch and his eyes to the full moon.
"Riku," the knight breathed without even looking back at him. Riku was impressed at how Leon had felt him apporach, until he realized that being a knight, of course the gunblade master would notice.
He walked forward and settled into a similar pose beside him.
Riku hesitated, before gathering his thoughts and starting to talk. "I'm sure Sora meant the best. I mean, in interrogating you like that."
"I'm sure he does," Leon replied quietly, a hint of a wan smile on his lips. "He's quite a protective knight, after all."
"He loves Kairi."
"I know," he sighed, and he turned around, leaning his elbows on the railing and looking up once more up into the sky. "But Sora...he's not the same kid that I've seen a year ago, in Radiant Garden. Heck, he's not even a kid anymore."
"You can say that again," Riku mused. He was right. Getting stabbed sure took a lot out of you.
"I mean, I can still see he's the boy with the perpetually cheery disposition. He still cares deeply for his friends. He's still protective. And judging from his Master's Sword Handling and Maneuvering class, I can tell he's still wicked good with his Keyblade. But there's something off about him and I can't put my finger on it."
Perpetually cheery, yes, that fit Sora down to a tee. Riku knew what Leon was having trouble with. "There are so many of us guarding Sora and his Antiform."
"Antiform. Tell me, have you ever talked to this other side of him?" Leon asked, eyeing him sideways.
Riku shivered involuntarily. It was on a night long ago so similar to this, with the moon brightly shining overhead. "Yes. It's like being with a Sora that you've pushed to the limits," he related, remembering Antiform's sarcasm and snarl-smiles.
"I assume he's after hearts."
"All Heartless are after hearts. Except maybe for those mushrooms and truffles."
Leon tapped the railing. "And you're perfectly okay with the fact that something so dangerous is inside Sora and could burst out any minute."
"Antiform can't burst out any minute, Leon," Riku bit his lip. "Usually he gives warning to us."
"That doesn't explain why Sora turned half-Antiform."
"It's my fault," he said cuttingly. "I ignored the signs."
Leon raised an eyebrow, and he continued. "It was getting stronger by the time you arrived. Sora's thirst for blood always makes me feel dizzy, but I dismissed it that night because I thought it was an aftereffect of the training we had that afternoon. And then--"
"Thirst for blood? Like a vampire?"
"That's what Seifer said. Look where he is now."
"The kid deserves it."
Riku turned aquamarine eyes on the grey-eyed knight. "For a second there, you sounded like you're defending Sora. I don't get you. In fact, I don't get the three of you, either."
"I'm not that much of a bastard," Leon said heavily, sighing again. "I just want Kairi to be safe. I don't want to lose her, not after all these years of searching for that auburn-haired kid. I just didn't expect her to be so...stubborn. And really sweet."
"Is that fondness I hear? Is big, bad, talk-to-a-wall Leon actually caring for somebody?"
"Shut up," he answered good-naturedly, before letting out a whistle. "Wait. The talk to a wall part. Was that Yuffie? She's going to get it later..."
Riku stared. "You know, you'd make a great president of something if you weren't so angsty all the time. People would flock and worship your awesome sarcastic powers. And of course, your pretty, pretty hair."
"I'd like to take that as a compliment, thank you very much."
He glanced out of the corner of his eye; Leon was actually smiling. It might have been a small smile, but it was a smile nevertheless. It looked quite out of place on his normally severe facade.
"You should smile more often."
The grey-eyed gunblade master looked surprised at his comment, but he relaxed almost immediately, combing a gloved hand through his hair. "I can't. I've tried, but I can't. I've lost far too many people and precious memories."
"When your world broke apart..."
"Yeah. Cloud went missing. So did Rinoa. And Kairi. That's a list that would take an eternity to enumerate. I tried to find them, to bring them back, but only the Keyblade Master could do that. I had to wait," he bowed his head. "I'm not somebody who's used to waiting. I'm not used to standing on the sidelines. But I was forced to wait for some fourteen-year-old kid with an oversized key before I acted."
Riku closed his eyes, a familiar feeling sweeping through his chest.
Leon's voice sounded strained. "I'm not just a supporting character, Riku. I'm Squall, and my life isn't controlled by anything else. But here I am, world being rebuilt, family and friends scattered to the wind...and I've got nothing else to do but go along with it."
Yes, he thought. We've got nothing else but to go along with it.
The two Knights gazed up into the stars in companionable silence, minds unknowingly pondering the same thing.
--x--x--
"I can't stay."
"Unless you want to get mobbed by a horde of angry islanders," Roxas supplied cheerfully as he popped another candy heart into his mouth.
Naminé rolled her eyes skywards, aiming a slap at the golden-haired Nobody's head. "What is up with you the past few days?"
"Oh, I don't know..." he leered at the cerulean-eyed memory witch. He pelted her with two of the candy hearts, and she shrieked, leaping onto the stool he was sitting on and tackling him to the kitchen floor. The both of them disappeared behind the counter, and the sounds of a serious scuffle filled the room.
"Okay," Sora edged his own barstool away from them with a dubious look. "As I said, I can't stay."
Kairi pinched herself; maybe this was all one massive nightmare and she was about to wake any moment now. Sadly, judging by the fact that nothing happened, this was all real.
There had already been no less that a half a dozen news stations knocking at her door, and all were clamoring for an interview and even a possible shoot of Sora. Apparently the news that a Keyblade Master had turned Heartless and maimed a civilian spread like wildfire; there were even some who said that the brunet had actually killed somebody.
Thankfully enough, there was Leon; one single glare and a swing of the gunblade was enough to send the media scampering away.
Speaking of her brother...
Kairi blinked. Her brother? Since when did she actually accept that Leon was her brother?
Oh yeah. Since last night.
He and Riku had come back inside at around four. Both were looking quite troubled but the smile Riku had offered told her that everything was all right. Miraculously, when Leon woke up this morning, he had greeted them with a radiant 'Good Morning' that had even Yuffie shocked.
Riku had just snorted derisively, and Leon had chucked the nearest washcloth he could get his hands on at the silver-haired Wielder.
Somehow, her brother, grey-eyed Knight and gunblade Master, seemed less of an enigma and more of a human this time around.
"...so you're planning to accept the offer?" Riku was saying, waiting for an answer as he sipped from a tall glass of milk.
"Planning?" Sora laughed. "I've already accepted it. I want to see how King Mickey deals with the whole universe knowing that he's just adopted the Keyblade Master who went berserk in his own castle."
Kairi frowned. "How can you laugh at a time like this, Sora? If you become crown prince, you'll have to live in Disney Castle. You're going to leave behind Destiny Islands!"
You're going to leave mebehind.
Sky-blue eyes turned in her direction. "Kai," he started gently, taking her hand and squeezing it comfortingly. "It's not only that. If I go to Disney Castle there's a lesser chance that I would turn Antiform because of the Cornerstone of Light."
"That hasn't stopped you before, has it?"
Sora bit his lip at her angry retort. "Riku and Roxas were far away. I didn't really try to control Antiform, either. But I'll try harder this time around."
"That decides it, then," Riku peered over his glass. "I'm going with you, Sora."
Kairi paled. "What? Then I'll have to go too--"
"Or you could just go to Radiant Garden and actually accomplish something," Rinoa suddenly cut in, appearing in a whirl of feathers right behind Riku, who choked on the candy heart he had taken from the bowl in front of where Roxas was sitting a while ago.
The silver-haired Wielder let out a string of very colorful words before shooting Rinoa a glare. "Could you please warn a person when you suddenly appear out of nowhere like that?"
Rinoa just smiled and took the stool next to him. She was wearing her usual black top and shorts, but without the blue overcoat. Sienna eyes darted around, and she raised an eyebrow. "Lovebirds?"
"Which ones?" Riku asked, ignoring the pointed glare Kairi had shot at him. "The pair that's killing each other on the floor, the pair that's currently out for a walk, or the pair that Fate has suddenly decided to screw with?"
"Mine," she replied simply. "I'm taking they're the ones out for a walk."
Kairi had half-tuned out their conversation, thinking about what Rinoa had first said. She was a Princess of Heart, for crying out loud. And if Leon was right, she was also crown princess of Radiant Garden, and she had an obligation, at least, to appear before the citizens.
But she never wanted to be separated from Sora. She was afraid that her one thin thread connecting her and her Keyblade Master would snap if pushed a little bit too far. Like the distance from Disney Castle to Radiant Garden. She couldn't just get anybody's help and portal in right into Disney Castle.
She had to accept the fact that she wouldn't be seeing Sora everytime she wanted to.
But she had her duty, and Sora had his. She couldn't be the damsel in distress forever.
"I'm coming with the Sora!" Roxas said brightly, raising a hand as he slumped against the counter, slightly out of breath.
Naminé climbed over him, and cerulean blue eyes shot Kairi a knowing look. "That means that I'm coming with Kairi."
Her eyes widened. "Nam, neither you nor Roxas could portal to see each other any time you want to do so. Portalling inside Disney Castle? Need I remind you of what happened to Rinoa?"
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," the golden-haired teen said from the floor.
"You don't have a heart," Sora said bluntly, reaching over for a candy heart and looking down at them.
"Same difference. That's why there's such a thing as universal calls, dork."
There was a sound of candy being pelted against Nobody, and Roxas squeaked admirably. Naminé was laughing, and Riku was looking torn between helping Roxas or laughing at him.
Only Rinoa was regarding her with a scrutiny that said I know what you're thinking.
Beryl eyes closed, and Kairi took a deep breath, knowing that Sora had to leave now, or never. Disney Castle was waiting. Radiant Garden was waiting.
Reality was waiting for its defenders to grow up.
"Sora," she spoke his name quietly, as she placed both hands firmly on the countertop and called on a power that she never knew she had until now.
Between her open palms a small outline of a heart traced itself, and it shone gold for a second before the wards of light around her home fell with a quiet whoosh.
Somehow, the prospect of universal phone calls didn't seem so bad after all, she decided, watching the scene with a kind of detachedness that only came with the burden of a duty she had never known she had.
--x--x--
Short, I know. But I'll make it up in the next chapter. Yesss...I will.
Read and review, flamers have my go signal.