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

Author's Note: This chapter was supposed to have Miss Gainsborough instead of Mrs. Ire, but then I remembered they weren't in school so I had to quickly change it. Okay, so this one is sort of just for "aw"…if you know what I mean. No progress (well, maybe a bit for Sora), but I promise next chapter will be HUGE.

Warning: P-O-I-S-O-N I-V-Y ahead!

Quick Author Babble: I never expected to go this far.

Chapter 16: Poison Ivy

"Aren't you enjoying this hike, kids?"

It was a couple of days after Kairi had gotten out of the hospital. Mrs. Ire's voice rang out through the cold, winter air cheerfully, as if no one was freezing to death. Kairi, wrapped up in a long-sleeved shirt, three sweaters, a light jacket, and a winter jacket felt her lips were too frozen to reply. Pence walked beside her, a camera in his trembling, freezing hands. He was determined to get as many pictures as possible. Kairi knew she should've done the same—there was a camera right in her pocket. But even with gloves on, it was way to cold to let her hands out of her pockets just to snap pictures of the wildlife.

"I-It's f-freezing out h-here, Mrs. Ire!" Hayner chattered from somewhere at the back of the line.

Mrs. Ire turned and smiled warmly, as if Hayner's suggestion didn't bother her at all.

"Yes, Hayner, but in the winter we can see different things than we can see in the other seasons," she said. "White rabbits…snowy owls…The list goes on."

Kairi heard Hayner murmur something like "it's not worth it" but didn't catch the rest.

Mrs. Ire was taking Kairi, Naminé and their friends on a winter hike—something she liked to do every year. Even though she was a nurse, she also felt nature was wonderful as well, and got her daughters to let her do this with them and their friends.

Pence stopped to take a picture of a very snowy blueberry bush. Kairi stopped and waited for him. Hayner passed them, but when Sora reached them he stopped.

"T-These pictures b-better be g-good," Pence said. "I'm f-freezing!"

"I'm s-sure they w-will, Pence," Kairi remarked. "Y-You take g-great pictures."

Sora nodded. By the time they started down the path again, they were way behind the rest of the group. Kairi stuffed her hands further into her pockets.

"W-Why didn't H-Hayner wait?" Sora muttered crossly. "That g-guy…sometimes h-he gets o-on my n-nerves…"

"It's H-Hayner," Pence said. "W-What do y-you want f-from him?"

The wind stung their faces, but they trudged on. They weren't happy about it, and after a couple of minutes Kairi was almost completely caked in snow.

Suddenly, very far away, Kairi heard a very familiar sound. She halted and listened.

"Kairi?" said Sora, stopping. "W-What is it?"

"My mom…I t-think she's c-calling us," Kairi remarked.

"There's no w-way we'll r-reach her in t-time!" Pence cried hopelessly.

Kairi looked around and smiled as something caught her eye.

"L-Look," she said, pointing. "There's a s-shortcut over t-there."

The thin pathway led right into the forest, up and around and onto the main road a couple yards away.

"That d-doesn't look l-like a s-shortcut to m-me," Sora stated doubtfully. "It l-looks more l-like an o-old, beaten p-path. It m-might be d-dangerous. After a-all, it l-leads right i-into the f-forest."

"L-Life's all a-about taking c-chances," Kairi said. "Do y-you want t-to get y-yelled at b-by my m-mom about h-how separating f-from the g-group is d-dangerous, or d-do you w-want to r-reach the e-end of t-this hike, l-lecture free?"

Sora looked at the path and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Well…" He looked like he was considering it for a second, and then shook his head. "N-No. Kairi, i-it's not w-worth it. I-If one o-of us g-gets hurt…"

But Kairi had already started off down the pathway.

"Kairi!" yelled Sora into the forest. "Kairi! Ugh…W-Why doesn't s-she ever l-listen?"

Kairi sighed. She honestly didn't know why Sora was so worried. It was just an old path. How dangerous could it really be?

Suddenly the path sloped downward. Kairi was caught by surprise. Gravity pushed her forward. Kairi screamed before she fell, making birds scatter around her. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't hurt—she'd landed on something soft.

"What was that?"

Pence's voice seemed very far away.

"I think it was Kairi!"

Sora's voice could also be heard from a great distance. It was quiet for another few minutes. Kairi stood up, feeling like a total idiot. Sora had been right. Why was he always right?

Kairi heard footsteps crunching through the snow. It wasn't long before Sora and Pence ran up to her.

"W-We heard y-you scream," Sora panted. "A-Are you o-okay?"

Kairi nodded, not wanting to talk because of the irritating chattering her teeth did, but she knew she had to.

"I fell down the hill, but I landed on this thing…"

Kairi stopped as she realized that her teeth weren't chattering. She was warm…and itchy. She scratched, realizing the ticking feeling was growing and growing until it was almost painful. Her body was heated but she didn't have time to appreciate it.

"W-What's with y-you?" Pence asked.

"I don't know…" Kairi muttered. "I'm all itchy."

Sora's blue eyes widened and looked at the thing that had stopped Kairi's fall.

"Kairi, what, exactly, did you land on?" he asked.

Kairi looked behind her. The thing was covered in snow. She reached down and swiped back the snow to reveal a patch of light green, three-leaved plants. She gasped and took a step back.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" she kept repeating.

"P-Poison ivy," Sora said.

111

"You did what?!"

Kairi cringed at Mrs. Ire's raised voice. She scratched the back of her neck, then her face, then her neck again. She was so itchy she could hardly concentrate on what everyone was saying.

"Oh, Kairi, you're so foolish, walking down trails you're not certain are safe!" Mrs. Ire continued. "I thought I've taught you better than that! Oh…you're all splotchy…"

As Kairi scratched at her arms, Mrs. Ire dropped her angry expression.

"Oh, my poor baby…" she cooed. "I didn't bring itch ointment. I'm so sorry, sweetie…"

Kairi looked around at everyone. They were standing just outside the forest. Everyone was at least one meter from Kairi except for Mrs. Ire. Kairi sighed. It wasn't like she was contagious.

"Come on, let's go home," Mrs. Ire said. "Hopefully this terrible rash will go away in a week or so."

Kairi groaned. Her mom was right. She was so foolish…and Sora had been telling her not to go the whole time.

111

Kairi sat in her room, looking at herself in her mirror. She had horrible, red splotches all over her face—her arms were also covered in it. Mrs. Ire had to very carefully clean all her clothes.

"I look awful…" Kairi muttered, half sobbing. "And Christmas is coming up so soon too…"

There was a chance that Kairi would be cured by Christmas Day, but if that happened it would be a Christmas miracle.

"Knock, knock," someone said from outside.

Kairi sat up. It definitely wasn't her mother's voice, and no one else came in to visit her.

"Who is it?" she asked uncertainly.

"Sora," the voice replied.

Kairi screamed inside her head.

"No!" she shouted. "Don't come in!"

"What?" Sora asked. "Why not?"

"I'm a mess, that's why!" Kairi cried. "I'm all red and splotchy…"

"Kairi, you fell into poison ivy," Sora said. "I don't expect you to look like Miss Universe."

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny! But I'm serious, Mr. Smug! I don't want you to see me like this! Only Yuffie and my mom are allowed in!"

There was a very long silence, and for a moment Kairi had thought Sora had left.

"This is discrimination, you know," Sora remarked.

"I don't care!" Kairi shouted. "Go away!"

Kairi plunged under her quilt and stuffed her head into her pillow.

"I'm hideous," she said.

"No, you're not," Sora stated.

"Want a bet?"

"Well…we'll decide if you're hideous or not if you let me in."

Kairi paused and with a sigh got up. Reluctantly, she opened the door. Sora walked into her room, looking a bit triumphant. He had a container of something in his hand.

"Sit," he said, gesturing to the bed.

Kairi sat down and he sat down beside her. He looked at her and smiled.

"You look fine," he said. "Honestly, Kairi, by the way you made it sound, it was like the world was over."

"What are you talking about?" Kairi asked. "I'm all blotchy…I have a horrible rash…"

"You fell in poison ivy," Sora stated. "You're supposed to be blotchy and have a rash. And it's not even that horrible. Now…"

He opened the container to reveal cream.

"Your mom told me to give you this when I came up," he said. "It's for your rash. It should cool down the itching."

Kairi looked at it.

"I won't be able to put that on without scratching," she muttered crossly. "I love my mom, but really…"

"Why do you think she sent me up with it?" Sora asked. "You're mom's a nurse, Kairi. You should give her more credit for these things."

"Wait," Kairi said. "You're going to touch me?"

"Uh…is there another way to put it on?"

"No, it's just…everyone else refuses to touch me…except my mom, of course."

"Why? You're not contagious or anything."

"Well, I look like I'm contagious, don't I?"

"I know, but you're not. Now hold still."

Sora reached into the ointment and gently spread some of it on a splotch on Kairi's arm. It was cool against the burning.

"So…the other day, what were you thanking Riku for?" Sora asked.

"I told you before, it's a thing between me and him," Kairi said.

Sora frowned and looked back down at Kairi's arm. Kairi giggled at his unhappy face.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Sora!"

Sora's head snapped back up.

"I'm not! Why would I be jealous of Riku? I just can't think of anything that you would thank him for."

"Uh huh…Sure…"

"I'm not!"

"I believe you."

"No, you don't! I can tell!"

Sora moved onto another itchy spot on Kairi's arm. He was still frowning thoughtfully, and Kairi could tell he was trying to get ideas into his head.

"You know, there's no reason to be so worried," Kairi said.

"I'm not worried," Sora remarked. "I'm just…curious."

"Okay, then your curiosity ends here," Kairi remarked, sitting up straighter.

Sora looked up at her.

"You've already seen it," Kairi said.

"I have?"

"Does this look familiar to you?"

Kairi reached over and held out the golden necklace before her, gleaming a little in the lamplight. Sora looked at it, eyes wide.

"Riku gave you this?" he remarked.

Kairi nodded.

"On my birthday," she said.

"But why…?" Sora began, but he couldn't finish the question as he looked at it, obviously remembering the picture inside.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kairi giggled. "He trusts you, Sora. He thinks you can look after me better than he did. You know, he doesn't show it, but Riku watches out for a lot of people."

She put the necklace back down.

"And…and you wear it?" Sora asked.

Kairi turned a little red as she nodded.

"Oh."

Sora and Kairi were silent after that, neither able to look at each other. So, as Kairi looked at the gold necklace intently, she gave a little gasp as Sora suddenly touched her face.

"Oh, sorry," Sora quickly apologized. "I have to put it on the rash on your face too."

Both were bright red as he continued to tenderly put the cream on her face. Finally he pulled away.

"There," he said, relieved. "Done."

Kairi breathed out.

"I've got to go return this to your mom and wash up," Sora remarked, standing up.

Kairi's phone suddenly started to ring like mad. Kairi reached over to pick it up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Kairi, Kairi, Kairi!" Olette's voice cried at the end of the phone. "You'll never believe this! Look outside your window."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

Kairi walked up to the window, her phone still clenched in her hand. She opened the curtains and looked out the window.

Through the fat snowflakes lazily floating down to the ground, the sky was completely black. The stars seemed to be bigger than ever and a very bright silver. The moon was so close it was like she could touch it.

"Oh…wow," Kairi breathed.

"I know!" Olette said. "I've never been much of a sky watcher, but this is amazing. I'm watching from my backyard right now."

"I could watch this all day…" Kairi whispered.

"Yeah, well, just wanted to tell you," Olette remarked. "Now I'm going to phone Roxas and tell him! See you!"

"Bye…"

Kairi hung up, looking at the magical, night sky. She remembered what Sora had told her before: "The same stars are always there, but they never lose their beauty."

"Hey, what are you looking at so seriously?"

Kairi turned and smiled at Sora, her mind somehow still trapped on the glowing, silver moon above.

"It's just…the sky…" she murmured.

Sora walked up to the window and looked out. He was silent for a few moments.

"Come on," he said, walking out of the room.

"Huh?" Kairi muttered, looking at his retreating form. "Sora, where are you going? Sora!"

"Hurry up before I leave without you," Sora remarked, walking down the stairs.

Kairi looked at the window, at the hallway, and at the window again. Finally she raced after Sora, her feet pounding on the staircase. She stopped suddenly as she noticed Sora was about to go outside.

"Wait," she said. "You want me to go…outside? Like this?"

Sora froze, his hand still on the doorknob.

"You look fine, Kairi," he stated. "I thought by now you've learned to listen to me."

"Well…you're a boy," Kairi remarked, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then who are you hiding yourself from?"

Kairi paused, realizing she couldn't think of any answer to that.

"Exactly," Sora said. "It's too dark for anyone to see you anyway. Come on…"

His voice had gone into a high-pitched whine.

"Okay, fine!" Kairi said crossly. "But that's only because your voice is irritating when you do that."

Sora laughed evilly.

111

Sora and Kairi walked down road after road, until finally Sora turned onto the grass. Kairi followed him a bit reluctantly. Sora trekked upwards, Kairi behind him like a shadow, until finally he stopped.

Kairi looked around. It was like civilization had disappeared. They were up high. The only thing that she could clearly see was…

"The sky," she murmured, looking up at the navy and silver background.

Kairi seemed so close to it that it didn't look real—it was more like a picture perfect painting. It was peacefully quiet. Kairi could hear her heartbeat.

"It's nicer when it's warmer out, because then you don't have to sit in the snow, but still…" Sora said.

"It's gorgeous," Kairi whispered, cutting him off.

Sora nodded with a smile.

111

They watched the night sky for two hours with an occasional comment of the upcoming Christmas. After awhile, Kairi realized it was later than she thought it was. She stood up.

"I've got to go," she said. "It might be vacation, but I still need to sleep."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, standing up as well. "But Kairi…"

He neared her and leaned forward. Kairi's heart beat wildly and she hoped that Sora couldn't hear it as well as she could.

"Don't tell anyone about this place, okay?" he whispered when his face was only an inch away from hers. "It's secret."

Kairi nodded, face still a vibrant red, and Sora turned and walked away. She thought for a moment that he'd…

Kairi shook her head at the ridiculous thought.

"Nah," she decided, and raced after him.

Valor999: Thanks a bunch! Here's your update!

Blubber Nuggets: You don't like cheesecake?! (I'm not a big fan of it either, but still…) I know. I liked Donald too. Thanks for reviewing!

KeiraLoveKH: Thanks! I'm glad they broke up too…There was too much on my mind already…

LOTRchic: Yeah…I don't know either. (Laughs evilly) I CONTROL HIS DREAMS!!! MWA, HA, HA, HA!!! Cough. Okay…that was weird. Sorry, I'm really hyper today. Cough. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Rahi-1: Ha, we'll reach that soon enough. I think. (Frowns thoughtfully) Well, the minimum I'm going to make that happen is in…four days. (That's when the next chapter will probably be out.) Thanks!

- d a y j u a n a: (Laughs) I'm glad you think it's so…fluffy. I wanted to make Donald one of those bratty and naïve little kids who don't know their being bratty and naïve. Cool! I read your basketball one…Oh my God, I loved it! Thanks for reviewing!

Inspire-Illuminate: I needed to make him duck SOMETHING, because…he's a duck. So he's duck-resembling. Thanks for reviewing!

Isler: Yeah, I know. Thanks and here's your update!

Jesus Rocks!!!: I know. And now she falls in poison ivy. What a stupid, stupid girl. Well, maybe not stupid…some people would call it courageous, but I call it idiotic. Thanks and here's your update!

Cheychey41: Must've, especially since he hit his head on a wall. Thanks and here's your update!

Zestychicken2: Thanks, and now it's all clear to Sora, so…hopefully he'll stop being…"envious." Yeah, so do I. I've always loved Donald. Oh, really? I thought Sora would be smart in more stories than that…Oh, well. Thanks and here's your update!

KiaraFay: Yeah! Thanks for reviewing!

Kinotolian: Thanks! Uh…sorry, but somehow I find Roxas x Axel rather…um…I don't know how to put this. Well, I'll throw Axel in there if you want…But not like that…Well, anyway, here's your update!

Bexmar: Okay. No apology was necessary. Sorry, I did it because I as nervous about my new story, which I guess I should be working on…But whatever. I've gotten into this story more, so I have more INSPIRATION. I don't either. Yeah, Donald deserved a little fame. I wonder if I should put Goofy in there…hmm…Not that hard. I mean, big nose…big eyes (ducks don't have big eyes, but in Donald's case…)…pale face…You know, stuff like that that hints towards a duck. Now he knows! Let's see some smiles, Sora! (Sora smiles like he did in Traverse Town for Donald and Goofy.) Uh…smile…maybe…better…and…less…fake…Well, thanks for reviewing!

Sorafanluver: Yeah, I love Pirates of the Caribbean. I guess it would make you think…Like "Hmm…fate?" Thanks and here's your update!

Maddiegurl91: Thanks!

Doortolight57: I love Banana Phone so much! Here's your update!

Okay…Here's the chapter. Umm…yeah, I have to work harder on my Roxette, I guess…I'm spending so much time in this story…But I'm really into this story and I'm sure once I've made more chapters in What If I'll like it too.

My God, I need Riku and Naminé to DO something. Maybe I should make…no…Maybe Riku should…nah. Okay, I'll have the next chapter ready in four days, so be patient. Maybe Naminé should…at Christmas…Riku would watch…No…Uh…

Read and review!