Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Sora, Kairi, Riku, etc.

Author's Note: I am SO sorry this took so long! I just haven't had lots of time to write. It took forever just to FINISH this, so…yeah. But, don't hate Naminé because all of this really isn't her fault. And don't blame Riku either because most of it isn't his fault.

Warning: I don't know how to describe it, but I can guarantee that there's SOMETHING BAD ahead.

Quick Author Babble: Math homework…French homework…I want to shoot myself…

Chapter 6: Just Like It Used To Be

Kairi walked down the stairs tiredly. It was Saturday. Kairi had finally succeeded to get all the gel out of her hair. She threw herself in front of the TV and turned it on. It wasn't long before Naminé came downstairs as well.

As she joined Kairi on the couch, Kairi noticed something different about her—she was smiling. It wasn't a smug smile. She actually looked happy.

"Um…good morning, Naminé," Kairi said, looking at her peaceful face.

"Good morning, Kairi!" Naminé chirped. "Aren't mornings lovely? Aren't they just the best?"

"Uh…sure…"

"How about I bring you some breakfast?" Naminé asked. "Are pop tarts okay?"

Kairi's eyes widened.

"Naminé, are you feeling alright?" she remarked.

"I'm feeling great!" Naminé sang out. "I feel awesome!"

Kairi sprang up. Naminé was suddenly a lot more interesting than her TV show.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked.

"Oh, I think you know why," Naminé said, and she skipped into the kitchen.

111

"I swear, Yuffie, it was really weird!"

Kairi sat with Yuffie along the shore. She was still thinking about Naminé and her newfound happiness.

"Well, even Naminé has her happy days," Yuffie said.

"But she said 'I think you now why'," Kairi remarked. "What do you think that means?"

"Hmm…" Yuffie murmured. "Maybe it's her birthday and you forgot."

Kairi looked at her.

"Yuffie, Naminé's birthday isn't till January."

"It was just a guess. Speaking of which, isn't your birthday coming up really soon?"

Kairi dipped her hand into the ocean and pulled out a handful of saltwater.

"Yeah, but no one ever remembers," she said, a note of sadness in her voice.

"Well, I remembered, didn't I?" Yuffie asked. "Come on, Kairi. You've got friends. Tell them things!"

Kairi giggled and chucked the water at Yuffie.

"Hey!" Yuffie cried. "No fair! I was being nice!"

Yuffie chucked some water at Kairi. Just as Kairi was going to throw some water back at her, she felt water hit her in the back.

She screamed and turned to see Sora laughing his head off.

"Sora!" she screamed. "Whose side are you on?!"

"Isn't it clear?" Sora said. "Yuffie's."

And he threw water at her face. Kairi, now dripping wet from head to toe, scooped up as much water she could hold and threw it at Sora. Yuffie hit her from the back.

"That's not fair!" Kairi cried. "It's two against one!"

"I'll help you," Roxas said, walking down the beach.

"It's your funeral," Yuffie giggled. "Sora, get ready. And…throw!"

As water splashed all over Roxas, he raced into the ocean and splashed Yuffie. Kairi was busy trying to dodge Sora's constant water throws. When she had the chance she'd throw some water at him.

"You can't win," Sora said.

"That's what you think," Kairi remarked.

She leaned into the water to create a wave. Sora realized what she was doing.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Sora cried, tackling her.

Sora bumped into Roxas, who nearly fell over.

"Hey, watch it!" Roxas shouted. "Whoa!"

And he fell into the water, but not before grabbing Yuffie's arm to try to balance. Yuffie shrieked and fell into the ocean.

"Ugh!" Yuffie cried, leaping up. "Roxas! I just bought this shirt!"

She kicked him.

"Ow!" Roxas yelped. "It wasn't my fault!"

"Oh, yeah, it was Kairi who pulled me into the ocean, when she was way over there!" Yuffie said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't have toppled over if Sora hadn't pushed me!" Roxas claimed.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Sora?" Yuffie asked, crossing her arms. "Oh!"

Kairi was bright red. When Sora had tackled her, she had fallen over, and now Sora was lying on top of her.

"It isn't what it looks like!" Sora cried, jumping up.

He helped Kairi to her feet. Both of them were bright red. Yuffie and Roxas exchanged glances.

"Um…whatever," Yuffie said. "Let's just go have lunch."

"A very good idea," Roxas agreed.

They both turned and ran to find a restaurant. Sora, who was still blushing like crazy, turned to Kairi.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to…"

"I know," Kairi remarked. "I'm sure you didn't. Let's just go eat, okay?"

Sora nodded and, still bright red, followed Roxas and Yuffie.

111

Kairi sat down in the pizza place. The comforting scents of cheese and tomato sauce drifted throughout the restaurant.

"Ah…" Yuffie said, taking a deep breath. "There's nothing like the smell of fresh pizza."

"What would you guys like to order?" Roxas asked, picking up a menu and flipping through it. "I vote for cheese."

"I'm good with cheese," Kairi remarked with a shrug.

"So am I," Yuffie stated.

Sora nodded in silent agreement.

"Still red, are you, pal?" Roxas asked.

Yuffie and Roxas laughed. Kairi smiled apologetically as Sora quickly his face behind a menu.

"So, when are we actually going to do something about Riku and Naminé?" Kairi commented to take everyone's attention off Sora.

"As soon as we have enough people," Yuffie said, shrugging. "We can't do much with only four people, can we?"

"I know but…we've got to do something to discourage them from picking on people," Kairi stated. "I mean, before Riku became this popular, he was my friend. There's got to be a good side somewhere in there."

"We can't take chances," Yuffie remarked. "Riku has too many followers. Besides, he's bad, Kairi. You can't be too careful around that guy."

Kairi leaped up so suddenly that the table was nearly knocked over.

"You don't know that!" she shouted. "Riku can be a nice guy! I was close to him once! I should know!"

Yuffie stood up as well, a very serious look on her face.

"Once, Kairi!" she cried. "It's more like 'once upon a time'! You're living in a fairytale! And one thing that's certain about fairytales is that they're not real."

"How can you say that?!" yelled Kairi. "You hardly know anything about Riku!"

"I know enough about him to say that he's a bad person!" Yuffie retorted. "You've seen him! I don't know how you can be defending him!"

"We made SCARF to change people, not insult them!" Kairi shouted. "I joined to help Riku and Naminé! You won't insult Naminé in front of me because she's my sister! How is Riku any different?"

"Because Riku is worse," Yuffie said stubbornly.

"You don't know that!"

"I'm sorry, Kairi, but it's pretty clear."

"I can still remember when Riku was my friend, and he was a pretty nice person to me!"

"To you! How do you know what he was like to anyone else?"

"It was only because of popularity! It's not Riku's fault!"

"Only an idiot would let popularity take over them!"

"Riku is not an idiot!"

Kairi slammed her fist against the table.

"If you'd seen him earlier, you would realize that Riku's a lot better person than you think!"

And before she could do anything else, Kairi ran out of the restaurant.

111

Kairi sat on the rocks and looked over the ocean. They didn't understand. Of course they didn't understand. They'd never seen Riku a couple of years ago like Kairi had. Kairi smiled as a memory came into her mind.

"Hey, Kairi, come look at this!"

Kairi looked up from her book. She was sitting on the beach, relaxing in the afternoon sun. She sighed and stood up.

"What is it now, Riku?" she asked.

The tall, white-haired boy raced across the sand toward her.

"I learned a new surfing move!" he cried excitedly.

"Let me guess, this'll end with a splash like all your other moves," Kairi said, rolling her eyes.

"No!" Riku retorted. "I've perfected this one! Come on, just watch for a second."

Kairi sighed.

"Fine. Make it quick though. I'm at the end of my book."

Riku smiled triumphantly and Kairi followed him across the beach. Riku picked up his surfboard and waded out into the water. As soon as the first wave came he stood up. He waved at Kairi, but as soon as the wave crashed down Riku fell into the water. He swam up to the top, sputtering out water.

"Oh, yes, that was brilliant," Kairi called from the shore.

"Shut up!" Riku yelled teasingly.

Kairi giggled and as she turned to go back into the shade she saw two ninth grade boys kicking sand at a little kid. Kairi felt anger rise up inside her and she stomped over to them.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"None of your business," said one of them, and he raised a hand to punch the kid.

Kairi pulled his arm back.

"Hey, quit it!" she yelled.

"Get out of the way!" the boy shouted.

The other one slapped her across the face, knocking her into the sand. Kairi rubbed her now red cheek, thinking how stupid and violent these people were. The one who had slapped her lifted up his foot as if he was going to stomp on her, and Kairi screamed.

Suddenly the boy was pushed back.

"What are you trying to do to Kairi?" Riku asked, standing in front of her.

The boys growled in reply. Obviously they didn't have much in their grammar. They had pure, brute strength, and the odds were looking pretty sad compared to two ninth graders against Riku, a seventh grader. One lunged at Riku.

"This is…kind of pathetic," Riku sighed, shaking his head.

He kicked out his leg and the boy was sent flying back, using his own brute strength to get more hurt. His friend helped him up and they both left quietly, as if they were just choosing to go on their own.

Kairi, who had tears streaking down her face without knowing it, was still lying in the sand, surprised. Riku walked over to her and knelt down.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kairi said, quickly wiping away her tears.

Riku smiled.

"Good. I'd never want you to be hurt, Kairi…"

Kairi smiled. A tear slid down her cheek. She knew it for sure now. Riku wasn't a bad person. Yuffie had been wrong.

"He's just…confused," Kairi murmured, deciding right there and then.

"Who's confused?"

Sora sat down beside her. Kairi looked up at him.

"Riku," she replied. "Everyone's wrong. He's not a bad person."

"I don't know," Sora said. "I'm sorry but…I think I'm pretty convinced."

"I know right now he doesn't seem like anybody you would want to hang out with," Kairi remarked, "but I'm sure if you'd met him before you would've been best friends."

"I really can't imagine me and Riku being friends," Sora stated.

"I know. Only I can."

Kairi wiped her wet eyes and looked out at the ocean waves. She couldn't look at Sora's face. Her plan hadn't been to talk about Riku around him.

"If you really felt this way why didn't you say it before?" Sora asked.

"It's not that I feel anything," Kairi replied. "It's just that…I miss him."

"He's still here, Kairi," Sora said. "And if SCARF succeeds then he'll be back to normal in no time."

"I wish things are that easy," Kairi whispered. "I still don't know if that's who he really is…I just don't know which one is the façade."

"If Riku was friendly before, he's probably still got it in him. Now come on. It looks like you need an ice cream cone."

111

Kairi sat curled up on the couch. All the lights were off and she wasn't even watching TV. Her parents weren't home and neither was Naminé. It was just her and her thoughts.

Kairi had to admit that it looked a little depressing—a fifteen-year-old girl sitting alone in the dark, curled up with tears in her eyes. But she couldn't stop thinking about how happy she'd used to be, how normal Riku and Naminé had been.

Yes, even Naminé had her friendlier times. There was a time when she and Kairi had been inseparable sisters, always telling each other from anything to everything. They had pulled pranks on their neighbors and went to the park together.

But that had been a long time ago—a history too far away to be remembered, even by Naminé herself. They'd only been seven at the time when Naminé had decided popularity was the way to go.

Only Kairi possessed these happy memories, keeping them close to her heart. Not even Sora and Yuffie had seen the framed pictures on her night table—one of a seven-year-old, smiling Naminé sucking on a lollipop in the park, another of a twelve-year-old Riku standing, soaking wet, at the beach, a big, triumphant grin on his face.

Kairi had framed more recent pictures. A small one sitting on the shelf was of Roxas, who had green paint splashed all over his white shirt. Kairi giggled every time she saw it. Yuffie had created this masterpiece in art class, when Kairi had accidentally elbowed her and Yuffie had stumbled forward, splashing all the paint all over Roxas. Yuffie kept on yelling "someone take a picture" until finally Kairi took out her portable camera and captured the memory.

Even covered in paint, probably to get a good yelling from his parents when he came home, Roxas was laughing, as if paint was dribbling down someone else's collar. He'd always been high-spirited, even in a situation that Kairi would consider a disaster.

A bigger picture of Yuffie sat beside Kairi's books. Yuffie was holding two pencils to her face, trying to impersonate a Frenchman. Kairi had been laughing so hard at the time that she was surprised the picture wasn't all blurry from the movement.

And at her bedside table, right between Riku and Naminé, sat a big picture of Sora. He was sitting on a rock on the beach, and Kairi had taken it before he'd even known she was there. The water was spraying his face, and his hair was being lightly blown back by the wind. It didn't make Kairi laugh like Yuffie's and Roxas's pictures, but it made her smile.

Kairi smiled slightly at the thought of her friends. She suddenly felt sorry for running out on them that day, even if Sora had come to comfort her later. Kairi decided she would apologize to them the next day. After all, it wasn't their fault, even if Yuffie had been a little stubborn.

The door creaked open. Kairi turned and saw Naminé walk into the room. She quietly took off her shoes and was about to go into the kitchen, when Kairi started to speak.

"Did you have fun with your friends?" she asked.

"Oh!" Naminé cried, leaping back. "Kairi, sorry, I didn't know you were here…It's just all the lights were off and it was so quiet I thought you'd gone to bed."

Had she just apologized? Kairi raised her eyebrows, surprised at how vulnerable her sister looked.

"Naminé, what's going on?" she asked. "You haven't been…you lately. Smiling, whistling…apologizing. What's happened to you?"

Naminé bit her lip but at the same time smiled, as if Kairi had just made her year. She sat down beside Kairi, looking like she was containing herself from squealing in delight.

"I guess I have been kind of a jerk, haven't I?" Naminé stated. "I guess you don't remember, but when we were younger, I was different. We were best friends more than sisters."

Kairi's eyes widened. The surprises just kept coming and coming.

"I remember," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Well, I want them back," Naminé remarked. "I don't want to be alone during this, especially since you were the cause of it."

Kairi cocked her head in confusion.

"I guess you saw me and Sora kiss at the semiformal, right?" Naminé asked, ignoring the frown that was now on her sister's face. "Well, Kairi, I don't know if he knows it, but…I think I'm in love with him!"

All down the street you could hear Kairi's heart break to pieces. It was still dark, so Naminé couldn't see the tears gathering in her eyes.

"You…you what?" she squeaked, sounding more like a mouse than a person.

"That's right," Naminé said, her big grin practically glowing. "I felt something that day, and even though he's lower than me, he's special. And it's all thanks to you, Kairi! I can't thank you enough for introducing me to him!"

Naminé gave her sister a big hug. Of course Kairi was sad. Sora wasn't just her friend like Roxas and Yuffie. He was her best friend. He was always there, even when Kairi had silly little problems, and Kairi would never forget the time he'd saved her from being hit by a truck.

But there was something more than that. It wasn't just a bit of jealousy she was feeling. She was feeling something else, like just then and there she'd lost something—something important.

Kairi looked at Naminé. She was actually glowing, she was so happy. Kairi didn't want this spoiled for her. Obviously Naminé had been waiting to tell Kairi for a long time about this. Something you would only tell to a sister that you really cared about.

Naminé was anxiously waiting for Kairi's reply, not daring to breathe. Kairi also wasn't breathing, but it was more out of shock and that strange emotion than anything else.

The room was completely silent for a few seconds, until finally Kairi took a breath in.

"I'm happy for you," she said. "I'm glad you found that special someone."

Naminé squealed happily and locked her sister in another hug.

"It won't be long before you find one too," Naminé remarked, looking quite serious. "I've never told you this, but you're quite pretty and nice. And now that you're out of my shadow, I'm sure you can get lots of dates."

"Thanks…" Kairi murmured.

She was grateful that Naminé had complimented her, but she couldn't shake that feeling that she'd lost something. It was pounding in her harder than ever, almost hurting. It was hard to breathe. Deep sadness was growing inside her, as if she'd just digested the information.

"From now on, it will be just like it used to be!" Naminé stated with a big smile.

Kairi nodded, nearly choking on a sob.

"Yeah, just like it used to be…"

Nohime: Thanks! Actually, the last chapter kind of disappointed me…I finished the twist too fast. So I decided…hey! Riku's my way out! He's evil enough. And then I thought…hey! Naminé can also be of some use! So what do you know? My least favorite characters turned out to be pretty useful after all.

Brindlegone: Finally, a person who had Sora as their favorite character! All I've got recently is Roxas, Roxas, Roxas…But anyway, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked it!

Valor999: Thanks! Here's your update!

Isler: I can update! Just not as often. I hope you all don't mind. I've got homework and from next Wednesday to Friday I can't write AT ALL, so I'm going to work really hard this week and produce at least…two chapters. (I'm supposed to be practicing typing according to my teacher. I don't know if he can GET more oblivious.) Riku is not that popular, I think. Maybe for the boys, the girls…leaning more over to Sora. I got this opinion from my best friend, who stuck Sora's name up in her locker with a heart magnet. Well, thanks for reviewing!

Cheychey41: Here's the next one! I'm glad you like my writing!

SimplySarah1221: Roxas is definitely pure and nice. NO ONE IS LIKE HIM. DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR A ROXAS KIND OF GUY. And I can't answer your questions because it would be spoilers. SPOILERS, I SAY!!! And…thank you for reviewing!

Zestychicken2: Don't hurt Riku. I think he's the only person I think is actually SANE in this story besides Roxas. But anyway, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked it!

Anime-adorer2006: Thanks! I'm glad I'm on your charts!

LOTRchic: Thanks! I wrote more!

Wow, wow, wow. I am beyond happy, you guys. I've already got forty reviews for my first five chapters! Thank you all so, so much. Plus, I've really enjoyed this story that I haven't been writing in my others. (Sorry, Nohime and valor999.) And, considering my teacher asked my whole class to practice typing, I'm TECHNICALLY doing my homework, so he must not get mad at me for ANYTHING this year. Besides, I already type faster than him.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

Read and review!