A/N: OKAY. It seems that some people have...issues with Naminé dying.
I am sorry, but that is my plot. And the genre of this fic is TRAGEDY/ROMANCE. Okay? Okay? I would also like to point out that I am also a Namixas fan.
SHEESH, GUYS.
If you have a Nobody Break, of course, you gotta have a Trinity Break. Yay.
I've given this a LOT of thought. 'cause ya hafta save the best for last, ne?
Sorry. This one's a bit short.
Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix.
You Don't Miss It 'til It's Gone (c) Numina-Namine.
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Ikanaide
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T r i n i t y B r e a k
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Kairi watched, and braced herself as the Oblivion spun in its deadly circle towards her.
Her life flashed before her eyes; a memory of a young brunet boy finding her washed up on the white sand shores of Destiny Islands. A door to darkness--her heart finding refuge in Sora's. She restoring his heart after his sacrifice. Getting separated--watching Kingdom Hearts return the stars and the Islands, but keeping its Key for itself. Forgetting him, and then memories rushing back. Their reunion, the warm feeling of his embrace.
The Oathkeeper returned...all memories of the half-Heartless she now sacrificed her life to save; the half-Heartless now smirking behind her as she blocked Roxas' oncoming Strike Raid with her body. It was a fitting thing to do--Sora deserved so much more from her; she who had been the one to shatter his heart unmercifully, blinded as she was with pain and hatred on that warm Halloween Eve.
She imagined the thalasssa shells, and she managed to smile, remembering the old legend of safety at sea, remembering a time when she wholeheartedly believed in paradise skies and the shrieks of seagulls and untroubled seas; in a time when Heartless and Nobodies were unheard of; in a time of peace.
She remembered that the Oathkeeper had something of a star shape, and something else came to her mind.
I won't be able to share a paopu with him after all...
She stared dead ahead, the ominous whirring of the Oblivion Keyblade filling her ears. That's when Kairi remembered something--something that she'll never forget for the rest of her life: Roxas had two Keyblades.
Beryl eyes looked on in horror as Roxas concentrated, his cerulean-blue eyes darkening with the intensity of an impending storm. He called back the ebony Oblivion--disappearing in a haze of darkness and reappearing in his right hand--, stopped for a split second, and swung out, with his left hand, the angelic Oathkeeper; the silver blade spinning rapidly towards her.
Roxas finally learned how to Recall!
Kairi, by that instant of time, was far too close to the ground to block the Keyblade of Light--Roxas had calculated his swing so that she had no chance to block the Oathkeeper. She hit the floor with an icy numbness as she stared up; the Keyblade caught Sora by the chest, and light exploded.
"Roxas! NOOO!" She screamed, but by that time it was too late.
Oathkeeper had found its mark perfectly.
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They say when you die, your whole life flashes in front of your eyes.
However, in Sora's case, he had died about 287 days, 23 hours, 46 minutes, and 34.98 seconds ago, on that warm summer night, by the Dark Keyblade held in his shaking hands. So it's politically incorrect to say that his life flashed before his eyes--let's just say his existence did that.
Antiform screamed; Roxas had done his final job: to take control of Sora's Antiform at all costs. Even at the cost of his life. Of course, the fact that he and Antiform killed Naminé earlier must've had some effect, but still.
Sora felt his Heartless shatter into inanimate strands of darkness, and he knew what it meant for his own existence.
In time, the darkness would reform in Kingdom Hearts, but by then it would have no corporeal body to inhabit.
...meaning the realm of light would be safe from his Antiform.
He found the situation funny--everything seemed to be in slow motion, Organization XIII's mouths hanging open, Riku staring at him in disbelief, Kairi missing the Oathkeeper, Roxas' cerulean blue eyes, born of Sora, boring into his own.
Sora knew Roxas keeps his promises. As he fell to the marble floor he mouthed a heartfelt 'thank you', and the blonde nodded his head, hand raised up as he caught the blood-ribboned Oathkeeper.
He hit the cold white marble floor with a peace he had not felt for a long time--he was free.
For freedom, and the safety of the realm of light, he had paid a very heavy price.
His existence.
Tears, finally crystal clear tears, not blood-tainted ones, fell into tiny little drops on the floor as Kairi, recovering from her shock, scrambled to his side.
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Kairi watched, frozen, as Sora carved a graceful arc into the air as the Oathkeeper sliced through him; right where his heart should have been. As the light resonated throughout the hall, all Heartless in the vicinity dissipated into dust. The black taint that covered half of the fallen Keyblade Master faded away into the still night air, leaving his skin as pale--and as pure as before, and sky blue eyes stared sightlessly into her own.
Crimson trails of blood traced their deathly trails on the pristine marble floors as he hit the ground with an almost cruel thump.
"Sora!" she cried as she frantically crawled over to his side and cradled his head in her arms, in imitation of Roxas saying goodbye to Naminé earlier.
Roxas.
Tears started to stream forth as she looked over her shoulder and screamed at the blonde number Thirteen with hysterical anger. "Roxas! Why?" her voice broke. "Why did you have to do this?"
He stepped forward, swinging the dripping Oathkeeper over his shoulder, and tapping the Oblivion on the marble floor--marking the Castle That Never Was indelibly with Sora's blood. "He deserved it," Roxas spat, every syllable dripping with utmost hatred.
"He deserved it?" She screamed once more, even louder. "For crying out loud, he gave you a heart, Roxas!!!"
"He killed my heart!" he roared back, tears spilling over stormy-blue eyes. "He killed Naminé!" With those words the Key of Destiny turned his back on her and Sora, walking heavily with bloodstained Oathkeeper trailing scarlet on the white floor.
"How could you..." She trailed off, emotion choking her next words. "Ro--"
"Hey..."
Roxas stopped short and whirled around. She gave an involuntary gasp as Sora's warm fingers traced her jaw, gently turning her face towards him. She immediately placed her own hand over his, savoring his touch. "Shhh, Sora, save your strength...Curaga."
Soft green light flowed over the brunet Keyblade Master, and she looked on in desperation as it did just that--and only that. Somewhere in the back of her head she expected this; Healing Magic could only go so far. No magic was strong enough to bring back somebody who was already at death's door--none had been known to do that.
He shook his head slightly, clear sky-blue eyes staring up sadly. "I don't have strength left, Kai."
"No! Don't say that!" Kairi cried, bowing her head, watching sightlessly as her own tears sparkled on Sora's crown necklace. She wrapped her arm around his neck tighter, struggling to understand why this had to happen. "Just don't...don't let go, I'll save you somehow...!"
"I do the saving around here," he smiled weakly, a feeble attempt at that goofy grin that he was known for.
"You idiot," she murmured, laughing and crying at the same time--then overwhelming guilt filled her as Sora's breathing grew markedly ragged.
This is all my fault.
Kairi Dalmasca had never felt pain such as this before. The guilt. The sorrow. The anguish of knowing that she was the primary cause; she had shattered his heart, that she was the reason why Sora was bleeding and dying and lying in her arms with his sky blue eyes staring up at her in concern -oh God of all things- loving concern. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything, Sora! Don't let go, please, don't!"
"I forgave you a long time ago," he coughed, blood spilling out of the corner of his lips. Kairi's finger trembled as she wiped the drop of crimson away, and her other hand squeezed his involuntarily.
"Well you have to hear my formal apology! You have to live! You have to get through--"
Sora stopped her by raising a shaking finger and pressing it to her lips. "I'm already dead, remember...?"
"That's not funny!" She said through gritted teeth, shaking her head, redwine locks swaying in the nonexistent breeze.
He smiled once again.
She put her head against his crimson-splattered chest and sobbed, the absence of a heartbeat fueling her grief even more.
This wasn't happening. This was unreal. Sora couldn't be dying--they were supposed to live happily ever after! They were supposed to have kids who'd annoy Riku until he went crazy! They were supposed to find a way to give Organization XIII a heart of their own! They, the Keyblade Master and the seventh Princess of Heart was supposed to protect the realm of light! They were supposed to be together forever!
Fate is cruel.
"Riku?" she heard Sora rasp out, and she lifted her head from his bleeding chest, half of her face smeared with his bright red life-blood.
The platinum-haired Wielder was awake, and was staring at them in shock, aquamarine eyes wide. "Oh God, Sora, Kairi..." he trailed off, apparently at a loss of words to describe the situation.
"T-take care of her."
"Sora!" she cried once more, but Riku propped himself up on his elbows and nodded gravely, trying and miserably failing to return Sora's feeble smile.
"You can count on me."
"Riku! No!" she said. "Stop encouraging him! I won't need you because Sora's going to be the one who protects me! Right! Right?" She turned to Sora's face, and she saw no affirmation in his rapidly-darkening sky blue eyes.
"Don't leave me, Sora," she wept. "...Please?"
Hope was something on short supply today, and right about now, they ran out of the warm, fuzzy stuff, leaving only the coldness that was despair.
"I love you, Kairi," he whispered so softly that Kairi had to force herself to stop sobbing just to be able to hear his words. She shook her head fiercely.
"I love you too, Sora," she breathed brokenly, her voice pleading. "Don't leave me. You're not leaving me, don't you dare leave me!"
Darkness, strands of darkness were starting to rise from the cold, hard marble floor, surrounding them. Kingdom Hearts was calling its Key back to where it came from. Sora gave her hand one final squeeze, and Kairi felt her heart shatter. It was a very painful feeling--and she knew how that feeling pushed Sora to what he was now.
"Sorry I failed you, Kai--"
He didn't have a chance to finish saying her name as his eyes fluttered closed; hiding clear sky blue eyes that would never open again forever. That hurt more than the pain any spell or weapon could inflict.
"Sora," she cried uselessly. "Don't leave me..."
And Sora Hikari, like all Nobodies do when they are supposed to die, faded away into the light of Kingdom Hearts.
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Stunned was somewhat of an understatement here, as Riku watched his best friend fade into tiny little sparkles of light, leaving the three-foot Kingdom Key in Kairi's shaking arms.
Sora faded. He wasn't coming back. Ever.
The realm of light had lost a Keyblade Master.
Outside, it started to rain.
"Uhn!"
Summoning his Keyblade, Riku painfully propped himself up into a semblance of a sitting position as he searched for the source of what sounded like a muffled vehement exclamation. His aquamarine eyes narrowed as his gaze settled on Roxas, who was partly hidden behind the now-silent Organization XIII.
He fought the gasp he was struggling to release when he saw what surprised the blonde. He had just turned his head in time to see sparkles of light, very much like the ones Sora faded into, coalesce above Thirteen's head and fade into him. Roxas shook visibly and he dropped onto his knees, both his Keyblades fading away before they clattered on the floor. Axel crouched down beside him concernedly and put an arm around his shoulders as they portalled out. One by one, the Organization portalled away, leaving their Superior as he lingered behind.
If he wasn't mistaken, he had just seen Roxas become a complete human.
"Riku," Xemnas' unsteady voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
He swiveled his head in the platinum-haired Nobody's direction. "Xemnas."
"You heard the Wielder," he said softly, his amber irises flickering into the now hysterical redhead's direction. Kairi was sobbing loudly, her tears running down the length of the bloodstained Keyblade, slowly cleansing it of the scarlet liquid. "Take care of her."
Riku nodded.
Xemnas portalled out.
He took a deep breath. All the loose ends had just been tied up: Kairi had Naminé to control her dark side, and Roxas had Sora to control his. The frayed ends just wasn't tied up in the way that should've left them living happily ever after.
Naminé was gone.
Sora was gone.
He shuffled over to Kairi, who finally dismissed the Keyblade, probably having seen enough of the huge Keys for her lifetime. Her shoulders heaved with a grief Riku knew would never fade away completely.
Wordlessly, he put a comforting arm around her shaking shoulders, and she clutched to it tightly, tears streaming down her ghostly pale visage.
Riku bit his lip, and finally let his tears escape.
They cried together, for her, mourning for the loss of the boy she truly loved, for him, mourning for the loss of his best friend--the one who sacrificed everything for the realm of light.
Sora Hikari. On that stormy night, in the World That Never Was, his name was permanently etched in history.
But more importantly, his legacy was forever etched into the hearts that he had touched.
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Roxas clutched both hands to his chest, staggering, needing Axel to steady him by the elbows as they walked the length of a white corridor. He actually had no idea where they were going, nor did he care. All he wanted was to wake up. Maybe all of this was just a very stupid, very long nightmare, and that any minute now, he was going to wake up.
He hoped to the high heavens that he'd wake up.
Sadly, the pain shooting through his ribcage kind of pounded into his head that this, all of this, was excruciatingly real.
"Roxas, please," Axel cajoled, supporting his right elbow as they walked. "Don't keep it in."
"I'm okay, Axel," he growled back, trying to wrench himself free of his grip, although he knew he'd collapse on the floor without the pyromaniac's support. "I'm okay."
Larxene was suddenly at his other side, holding his left arm up. "Don't be stupid."
"I'm not being stupid."
"Yes, dude, you are," Xigbar's voice washed over him, and Roxas looked back over his shoulder to see the eyepatched Nobody staring at him curiously. "Hey, we may be Nobodies again, but we're not completely insensitive."
Beside him, Demyx nodded in agreement.
Roxas bit his lip, and jerked forwards, surprising Larxene and Axel and making them let go of him. "I'm okay."
"No you aren't," number Twelve sighed, exasperated.
A very uncomfortable silence, during which Roxas could hear the slight sniffling of Marluxia. She had grown very close to the Graceful Assassin the year before; even if Marluxia had admitted he was using the flaxen-haired memory witch. Naminé had forgiven him readily, saying that it was in a Nobody's nature to be manipulative, anyway.
"Roxas --- " Axel started.
He suddenly whipped around, the taste of bile rising up his throat. He forced it down and gritted his teeth as he faced his fellow Organization members. His bloodstained fists clenched tight once again. "You don't understand how I feel, so stop it. Stop trying."
Marluxia coughed, and Axel glared at him.
Roxas swallowed. "You don't know how it feels. I just killed Sora. And I just killed the only one I had ever loved, Naminé."
"You didn't --- " that was Demyx.
"Yes, I did. If she hadn't saved me, she would've lived. That's as good as killing her myself."
"But it's not the same," Xemnas cut in, stepping forward and crossing his arms. "Roxas, if you haven't killed Sora, we would've faded by now, and darkness would spread over the Worlds. You're a hero now."
"I sure don't feel like one. More like a murderer," Roxas looked up into the face of the Superior, and Xemnas' eyes softened visibly. He turned away, boots softly pounding on the floor, walking forward into someplace he didn't really care to know.
"Roxas, self-pity would do you no good," the silver-haired Nobody called after him. "It's already done. You can't turn back time."
"Go away," he muttered, drawing up his hood, a lump forming in his throat with every painful step he took away from the black-coated figures standing behind him. "Just leave me alone."
He was withdrawing into his shell once more; the empty and lifeless shell he had been when he joined Organization XIII. He was fed up with the world and all its truths; he was fed up with this impossible quest to get their own hearts.
In fact, after what had happened, he wasn't sure that he really did want to have a heart. With hearts came emotions, with emotions came happiness, with happiness came love, and with love came pain.
"No we won't," Axel said matter-of-factly, walking up to him and seizing his left arm. "Don't keep it in, got it memorized? Your face'll get frozen in a scowl that way."
"Go away," Roxas said weakly, but he slowed down walking and finally stopped.
"Yeah, Rox," the pyro murmured, ignoring Roxas' attempt to push him away, as he turned the blonde boy's shoulders to face him. Roxas looked up into his best friend's teal eyes, and saw only sincerity reflected in them. He dropped his gaze and shut his own stormy blue orbs.
"Let it go."
And with that, Roxas broke down and cried.
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ikanaide - don't go.
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Auugh. The drama. It kills me. -dies-
Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy all over. Warm and fuzzy and sad. Awww.
So. Any last words?
You killed me off! -sniffs- What the hell did I do?
Duh. You practically killed Sora.
Buddyboy did it himself -points; Sora snarls and tackles him to the ground-
Uh. Roxas. Say something.
-lifts eyes and stares emotionlessly- I'm going to kill you.
Uhm... Such nice words...
I'll help you, Roxas. -nocks crossbow and aims it at numinanaminé-
Like hell yeah Kairi. You were the one who got the ball rolling.
...shut up.
Leave me a review, and I'll get back to you.
Flamers can go ahead.
skitty 2004, your Larxene/Zexion history oneshot should be up this week. Should. Heheh.
Daniel Ramage, Gray-Rain Skies and Red Wings, you people made me smile. The whole day. I even went to sleep smiling. Like yeah.
Awww...Halloween's just 'round the corner...
-dances-