Date started: 5.07.06
Date Finished: 5.13.06
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the characters in it.
Authors Note:
Thanks to everyone who left a review or put this story on their favorites list! It means a lot to me that people are actually reading this story. So, thank you very much! Read and Review please!
This story takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts, and disregards everything that happens in Kingdom Hearts II (for the most part). Just incase you get confused.
Roxas slammed his fist against the wall of the computer room. He had been so close to getting that spiky haired idiots heart. The army of Nobodies he had sent to take care of the air ship had succeeded in destroying the ship, but some how Sora had slipped through the cracks and escaped.
"You shouldn't get so angry," a voice from behind him said.
Roxas turned around to see Zexion standing behind him with an amused look on his face.
"What's so funny?" he asked angrily.
"Oh, nothing, nothing. You just seem to give up so easily, or maybe you're just trying too hard."
"What do you mean, trying to hard?"
"You keep trying to eliminate him completely, but maybe you should wait and let him come to you. He is, after all, looking for that silver haired boy."
"Are you suggesting that I do nothing to eliminate him? That I stop trying to get his heart?"
"No, I'm suggesting that you lead him right into the hands of the Organization. Manipulate him, set a path for him to follow."
"And what makes you think that will work?"
"Oh, come on Roxas, you're just jealous that I thought of it before you. You know that it will work. Just because you have the boss fooled doesn't mean you can manipulate all of us to be your minions."
"Well, well, if it isn't Axel and our little hostage." Xemnas said, as Riku and Axel entered the large throne room.
"Hiya boss," Axel said, "I must say, you look wonderfully…er…evil today sir."
"Hmph, I already know why you're late Axel, don't try to get out of this one."
"So Saïx was lying," Riku thought.
Riku looked over to see Axel shifting uncomfortably.
"Ah, well you know, this is a big castle and all…"
"Shut up you fool, I'll deal with you later. Go wait outside until I'm done with this brat."
"Yes your royal darkness sir!"
Axel turned and walked out of the room. Riku turned to see Axel give him a thumbs up as he closed the door.
"So, you're the one he says is going to bring us the key bearer."
"Excuse me?" Riku turned to Xemnas and gave him a quizzical look.
"Oh, nothing," Xemnas said as he approached Riku.
"What are you going to do with me? What are you planning?"
"I guess there's no harm in telling you our plan, seeing as you're not going anywhere. Our plan is to use you to bring us the key bearer and then we will use his heart to complete Kingdom Hearts. And why do we want to use his heart to complete Kingdom Hearts you ask? Because with a heart as strong and as pure as his, we can finally be reunited with our own hearts and this will bring us ultimate power!"
Xemnas turned to him and grinned with a malicious look in his eyes.
"But that's not all, you don't think we would use you once and let you get away did you? No, we need you to unlock the power of the pure one's heart with your keyblade. Only the one who possesses the keyblade that has the power to unlock hearts can unlock the power of the pure one's heart."
"No, never! I would never help you hurt Sora!" Riku said, angry flashing in his eyes.
"Yes, get angry Riku, join us, revert back into darkness, it is the only way for you to become whole again. If you join us in darkness, you will have more power then you could ever imagine. "
"What do you mean 'whole again'?"
"Well, I could tell you, but that would take the fun out of my plan, I think that's enough for one day. And don't worry, I'll leave your little Sora alone…for now!"
Xemnas turned and clapped his hands. Two hooded figures appeared and grabbed Riku.
"I'll never help you!" Riku yelled as he was dragged out of the throne room. "NEVER!"
Kairi woke up to yelling. As she stumbled down the stairs to find out what was going on, a small shuriken whizzed passed her and hit the wall.
"Yuffie, give me back my Materia!" Cloud yelled as he dodged another shuriken.
"I didn't steal any of your Materia!"
"You kleptomaniac! I know you would be the only one to take it!"
"Fine, so maybe I did take some. But I'm not giving it back!" Yuffie yelled and stuck out her tongue.
As Kairi stumbled into the kitchen she saw that Yuffie and Cloud were standing on opposite sides of the table yelling at each other. She also noticed how everyone else seemed to be standing around watching. Sora spotted her from his perch on the kitchen counter and came over to help her to a seat on the couch.
"How are you feeling?" He asked her as they sat down on the couch.
"How am I feeling? What about you, you scared us all half to death."
"Oh I'm ok. Kairi, do you remember Roxas?"
"Sora, why wouldn't I remember him? It hasn't been that long since we left Twilight Town. Are you sure you're feeling ok?"
"No…I mean, do you remember him when he lived on Destiny Islands?"
"Sora, maybe you should lie down. Roxas never lived on Destiny Islands." Kairi reached up and put her hand on Sora's forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"Well, I could have told you that. But I'm serious, do you remember anything before Riku appeared on the islands?"
"Riku always lived on the islands."
"How old are we in your memories of Riku?"
"I don't know we must be around 6 or 7, why?"
"Exactly, we have no memories before we were 6 or 7. But the funny thing is I keep having this memory of when we were 4 and we are playing with Roxas."
"Sora, that's impossible, we never met Roxas until we moved to Twilight Town. You should really go lie down, I think that you're stressed out."
"But Kairi, I also had this dream, the night we came to Traverse Town. I feel asleep in the escape pod, and had this dream about Roxas, and the secret place."
Sora told Kairi everything that had happened in his dream, in hopes that he could jog her memory of Roxas on Destiny Islands.
"But Sora, it was just a dream. It wasn't real."
"It was too real," Sora said, his eyes darkening. "Even if my mind doesn't remember, my heart does."
Sora felt Kairi's hand ruffle his hair and he looked up to see her smiling at him.
"Then I believe you Sora, because I know that your heart wouldn't lie."
Sora looked at his sister with a pained look on his face.
"Kairi, I can't lie to you now either, my heart won't let me."
"What do you mean Sora?"
"Kairi, I can't let you come with me to find Riku. The trip is too dangerous."
"But, you promised…you promised that we would go together."
"Its too dangerous, I don't want the Organization to use you again. I don't want you getting hurt. You'll be much saf…" he was interrupted by Kairi.
"Do you think I care? Do you think that I can't take care of myself? I don't care what's safer for me, I want to help you, you're always the one saving me." Kairi yelled, standing up. "I'm not a baby any more Sora, I can take care of myself!"
Kairi stormed up the stairs and slammed her door. Sora sat on the couch shaking, he hated arguing with his sister, but he couldn't put her in danger. It took a few minutes for him to realize that the yelling in the kitchen had stopped, and that everyone was looking at him.
"I…uh…" Sora stammered his face turning red.
Cid burst out laughing.
"That's quite a head strong young lady! But, don't worry son," he said slapping Sora on the back, "she'll come around, just give her some time."
"I think your being a bit insensitive towards the situation," Leon said, glaring at Cid.
"Since when have you been so touchy feely? Sora just wants to protect his sister, it's the manly thing to do!"
"Yeah, but what about what Kairi wants?" Tifa asked.
"Well, then that's for them to argue out, but in the end Sora's her big brother and she should respect that! He's the man of the house after all."
"Sexist! Sexist!" Yuffie yelled at Cid.
Cid glared at Yuffie.
"You watch your tongue, princess."
"You!" Yuffie retorted.
"Ok, everybody shut up!" Cloud said, "Arguing about it isn't going to solve the problem. I think that we should let Sora solve this on his own."
"But she probably won't listen to me, she's pretty mad."
"I'll talk to her and try to calm her down."
Sora looked up at Aerith, "You would do that?" Sora asked, "I mean, you don't think I'm doing the wrong thing? I broke my promise."
"I don't think you did the right thing breaking your promise, but I know what its like to want to protect a person you love, even if it means breaking a promise."
Aerith turned and started to walk towards the stairs. Sora saw that Cloud had a surprised look on his face.
"Aerith…"
Aerith interrupted Cloud as she stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to Sora.
"So, I'll talk to her. But not to convince her to let you go off and get killed, I'm only convincing her to give you a second chance."
With that Aerith turned and walked up the stairs to Kairi's room. Cloud stood rooted to the spot as he watched Aerith disappear up the stairs.
Cid let out a low whistle, "Hell, that was more drama then I need in a life time."
This seemed to bring Cloud out of his trance; he turned and started for the door.
"I'm going out."
As Cloud slammed the door, Sora slumped into a chair that hadn't been knocked over by Yuffie and put his head in his hands.
"What am I going to do?" he thought aloud, "She must hate me now. All I wanted to do was protect her."
"All anyone ever intends to do is protect the people they love," Leon said as he picked up a chair and sat down across from Sora. "You just have to make her realize how much is at stake here. This isn't just about her safety; it's about the safety of the world order. If Organization XIII gets both yours and Kairi's hearts, then everything we have fought for is gone. They will surely take over the worlds, and plunge them into internal darkness."
"But what if I fail? What if I need to be saved? What if they get my heart anyway, Kairi will still be in danger. Would that danger be any worse then the danger she would face on this journey?"
"Sora, even if you failed, Kairi would still be safe with us, you know that we would fight to our deaths to keep your sister safe. You and Kairi are as much a part of our family as Cloud or Aerith. As long as she is alive, there is still hope that someday we will be able to fight back the darkness. Do you know why?"
"Yes. I know why."
Sora remembered the time when he had to face Riku in Hollow Bastion. The images were almost crystal clear in his memory. He remembered turning into a heartless, and how Kairi's light had guided him back.
"She and you share the same pureness of heart. As long as one of you survives, there will always be hope. There will always be a door to the light."
Kairi sat on the bed staring out the window, looking out over the streets of the third district. She couldn't believe that Sora had broken his promise to her. Of all people she thought that she could trust Sora, but she had been wrong.
"I'm such an idiot, thinking Sora would actually take me with him." She sighed and turned away from the window. She heard someone coming up the stairs and quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Kairi? Its Aerith, can we talk?"
"Yeah, but if your trying to convince me that Sora was right, then I'm not going to talk to you."
"I'm not going to try to convince you of anything, I just want to talk."
"Ok…"
Aerith opened the door and sat next the Kairi on the bed.
"You know, its human nature for people to want to protect the person they love."
"Humph, Sora loves Riku more, why didn't he protect him? Why did he choose me over him?"
"How do you know Sora loves Riku more the he loves you?"
"You've obviously never heard him talking about Riku. I doubt he even had this much determination when he came to save me from the heartless. He's always sheltering me; he always treats me like I'm three. Doesn't he know I can take care of myself? Him and Riku always fought side be side, and I always had to stand back and let them protect me. Its not fair!"
Tears started to form in Kairi's eyes and she angrily wiped them away.
"Kairi, are you even listening to what your saying? From what you've said, it's obvious that Sora loves you more then anything, even Riku. I'm sure that this has hurt him more then you can imagine, having to break his promise to you."
"Stop acting like you understand," Kairi said angrily, tears streaming down her face. "You have no idea what its like to have to watch your brother go off and fight while you have to stay home helpless."
"You're right, what do I know about letting someone you love go off and fight? I only watch Cloud go off in search of Sephiroth everyday. But, that can't compare with what you must go through."
Kairi sat in an embarrassed silence, as tears kept dripping out of her eyes.
"Aerith…I'm sorry, I…I just wasn't thinking. I just feel like such an idiot, I knew deep in my heart that Sora wouldn't actually take me with him, but even knowing that, I just thought that maybe, this time, he would be telling the truth."
With this Kairi started crying harder, she hugged her knees to her chest and cried into them. Aerith rubbed her back and tried to calm her down.
"It's ok, I'm the one who should be sorry, and I didn't mean to upset you more."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. Sora was right; I shouldn't be going with him, I'm too much of a burden. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."
"Kairi, you think that you're causing me trouble?"
"Well, yeah, I mean you had to come up here to convince me to not give Sora trouble and stay here. I'm sorry for wasting your time. So, just tell Sora that I will stay here while he flies off to rescue Riku. Tell him that through your convincing, I finally decided his choice was right."
"Kairi, I didn't come here to convince you of anything. I came her to see if you would give Sora a chance to talk to you and let him explain himself. It wasn't a waste of my time, because I care about you and I wanted to make sure that your ok. So stop wallowing in self pity and act you age, honestly you act just like Cloud."
Aerith got up off the bed, and started walking toward the door.
"Aerith, wait…"
"Just think about what Sora said; you don't have to agree with anything but just think about it. You'll always have people who care about you Kairi, just remember that."
Sora came down to the kitchen that morning feeling as if he had been through a meat grinder. He hadn't slept well for the past three days, and Kairi still hadn't come out of her room. There had also been a lot of unease in the house, Cloud had never come back from his walk and Aerith was mad at Vincent for not letting her go after him. And then there was the alarming appearance of Vincent; Sora still flinched every time he would appear in a swirl of red cloak. It wasn't as if Vincent was that intimidating, but every time he looked at Sora, he felt as if Vincent was probing him with his cold glare, like he was scrutinizing him.
"What does he want from me?" Sora thought as he sat down at the table with a box of cereal and was quietly observed by Vincent.
"Sora."
Sora looked up to see Yuffie enter the kitchen. He looked over to see Vincent's reaction, he had noticed that there was an odd tension between Yuffie and Vincent; maybe it was just their polarized personalities. Yuffie being spunky and energetic and Vincent being as serious as he was, they were like night and day. But looking over towards Vincent, Sora found that he had disappeared again.
"G'morning Yuffie, you look tired."
"Well, I was out scouring the town for information on Cloud all night. But don't tell Vincent, its seems like there's something he's not telling us. I feel like he's hiding something about Clouds disappearance from us."
"He kinda gives me the creeps."
"Yeah, well, he's had a tragic past. Oh, Tifa was looking for you this morning, I think she wants to talk to you."
"Ok, I'll go find her," Sora said, standing up and carrying his uneaten bowl of cereal to the sink. "If Kairi comes out of her room, tell her I want to talk to her."
"Will do," Yuffie said as she started rummaging around the kitchen to find something to eat. "Oh, I almost forgot, Tifa is waiting by the fountain."
"Thanks Yuffie!"
Sora ran out the door and into the Third District. He started to make his way to the fountain, it was an overcast day and the air was borderline freezing. He shivered and hugged himself for warmth as he walked down the stairs towards the fountain. He hoped that their conversation wouldn't last long, he promised himself that today he set things right with Kairi.
"Hey Tifa," he said as he approached the fountain, "Yuffie said that you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes, thank you for coming, I would have just talked to you in the house, but its getting a little crowded these days and I wanted to make sure we wouldn't have anyone listening in on our conversation. I know its cold, so I'll make this brief. The King has contacted Leon and requested that you come to his castle as quickly as possible. He has found out some new information concerning the Organization member in Twilight Town and about where Riku might be. But, you'd need to leave two days from now, the king says that the darkness is growing and soon it will be impossible to bring Riku back."
"What? Is Riku ok!"
"He's fine, for the time being, but the Organization is trying to use him. We can't waste any more time." Tifa said, stretching, "That's pretty much all Leon told me, he would have told you himself, but he is out looking for Cloud at the moment, so he asked me to talk to you."
Sora nodded then, turned to go back to the house.
"Tifa, do you think I'm making the right decision to not let Kairi be involved?"
"I think that it's noble of you to protect her, but only your heart can tell you what's right and what's wrong."
"Hmm." Sora replied as he started to walk back to the house.
Kairi was in the kitchen when he got back.
"Kairi!" Sora said surprised. "I'm glad that your up, I was worried about you."
"Sora, do you think that I'm selfish? Do you think that I'm just some self centered little snot?"
"Kairi, of course I don't. Sure you a brat sometimes, but that's just your job as my little sister." Sora smiled and sat down next to Kairi at the table.
"Sora..."
"Kairi, I'm sorry I broke my promise to you, it was wrong, and I hope I can make it up to you. But, I can't allow you to come with me on a journey that I might not come back from."
"Sora...don't say that you won't come back."
"I'm just preparing you for what might happen, it's a dangerous trip and if the Organization happens to win, I want to make sure that you are safe."
"But what about you Sora? Who's going to keep you safe? And don't you say Riku, we both know for a fact that if you get in trouble, there will be a very little chance of him being able to save you."
"I know, and I'm willing to accept that, but I'm not going on this journey alone. Donald and Goofy will be accompanying me."
"Hmph, so you can trust those bone heads but not your own sister?"
"Kairi, you know I'd rather have you come with me..."
"Then take me with you!"
"I can't."
"Why not? Because it's not safe, right? Maybe I don't care, maybe if I die to help you save Riku, I'll be happy knowing that you would be happy."
"Kairi, I can't tell you why! It would just put you in greater danger!"
"I can't believe this! First you break your promise and now you won't even tell me why. You know, I was willing to forgive you, but now I don't know if I could ever forgive you! I hate you!"
Kairi got up and started to stomp upstairs, but Sora caught her arm.
"You want to know why? FINE! I'll tell you why," Sora yelled, "its because, if they get both of our hearts, they'll be unstoppable! Sure they only need my heart to gain back their own, but to gain the power of Kingdom Hearts they need both of our hearts. If they use our hearts to complete Kingdom Hearts, it's over for everyone. The Organization will take over the whole universe. Is that what you want?"
Kairi stood frozen to the spot as she listened to Sora panting from his yelling.
"Are you happy now? Well, I hope you're happy, because now you've put EVERYONE in danger."
Sora roughly let go of Kairi's arm and stormed upstairs to his room. After a few minutes she heard a door slam. She couldn't stop shaking, as she sunk into one of the kitchens chairs. She had never seen her brother lose it like that before, it scared her a little bit, that someone as optimistic and calm as Sora could completely lose it like that. She heard the front door open and heard someone come into the kitchen.
"Kairi? Are you ok?" Tifa looked concerned as she looked at the shaking girl.
"I…I'm…"
Kairi gave Tifa a frightened look and then ran up the stairs.
Sora lay in the dark, listening to the sounds of dinner being served. He could hear the hushed voices of the others and the clinking of plates and glasses. It had been two days since his fight with Kairi, and at first the others kept trying to find out what had happened, but after a few hours they had left him alone. He sighed and pulled himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. He would be leaving for Disney Castle tomorrow, but he felt as if there were still a few things he had to take care of before he left. He got up and went downstairs into the kitchen. As he entered the kitchen, it became very quiet.
"Sora," Aerith said, surprised to see him.
"What do you want?" Leon asked, glaring.
"I want to set things right before I leave. First, I'm sorry for causing everyone so much trouble. Second, I have a confession to make. Leon, I know you told me not to tell Kairi about Kingdom Hearts, but we had a fight two days ago and I lost my temper and told her. I'm…I'm sorry Leon."
"You are undeniably the biggest idiot in Traverse Town. No, in the whole universe! I can't believe you told her, but seeing as it's too late to do anything about it, we just have to be more careful from now on. The Organization doesn't know about Kairi yet, so we do have that advantage, but we shall never speak of it again and if anyone asks, you don't know what they are talking about, kapiche? And the same goes for Kairi."
Sora nodded, "I understand, I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you in any way."
Aerith smiled at Sora, "Don't worry Sora, everything will turn out fine"
"I hope your right. Kairi hasn't been down has she?"
"No, we haven't seen her since your fight." Tifa said, "Why don't you take her some food, I'm sure she's hungry."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Sora said, as his stomach growled. "Ha, maybe I should take some food too."
Sora balanced two plates on his left arm and knocked on Kairi's door with his right.
"Kairi? Are you awake?"
"Go away, I don't want to talk to you."
"Aww, come on Kairi, I brought you food."
"I'm not hungry."
"Kairi, you need to eat, you haven't eaten for days. I'm leaving tomorrow, and I want to set things right before I leave." Sora could tell that she was ignoring him on purpose, "At least take the food, even if you won't talk to me."
Kairi opened the door begrudgingly, she hated being defeated, but she was hungry. Sora seized the opportunity to jam the door with his foot, and then push past Kairi into her room.
"Did I say you could come in?"
"No, but I need to do this before I leave. It wouldn't feel right leaving if you were mad at me. And besides, if I die I don't want to die with out having said good bye to you."
"Well aren't you the optimist. Fine, but only because I wouldn't want my last memory of you to be a fight."
"Ok, good, but first you should eat, because I know how you get when you're hungry."
After they had eaten through an awkward silence, Sora walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kairi. Kairi scooted away from him, and turned her back on him.
"Kairi, I'm sorry for breaking my promise to you. I wish that I didn't have to, but the fact is that I don't want to lose you to the Organization again. It was too painful the first time, and not because I had to choose between you and Riku, but because you got hurt and it was my fault I couldn't protect you. I'm also sorry for keeping an important secret from you; I should have just told you instead of trying to protect you through ignorance. Do you forgive me?"
Kairi turned around with a surprised look on her face; Sora saw that Kairi's eyes were glazed over with tears.
"Kairi? Are you ok?"
"Sora…I'm…I'm sorry for doubting you."
"Kairi, you shouldn't be sorry, I'm the one who made a mistake."
"No, Sora, I made a terrible mistake. I thought that you loved Riku more then you loved me. That's why I got so mad at you when you said I couldn't go. I thought that you just didn't want me to interfere once you found Riku. I was jealous of you and Riku, because if I got kidnapped, you would ask him to help you. I'm such an idiot."
Sora looked surprised as Kairi started sobbing.
"Kairi, why would you think that I loved Riku more then I love you? You're my sister, and there's nobody who could ever replace you, not even Riku."
"Oh Sora…"
Kairi flung her arms around him, crying into his shirt. Sora wrapped his arms around her and held her until her sobs started to soften. After an hour or so, Sora looked down and noticed that she had fallen a sleep.
"Just like when we were little," Sora thought, "Will things ever be that simple again?"
Sora picked her up and pulled back the covers on the bed. He laid her down, and pulled the blankets over her.
"No matter what Kairi, I will always love you." Sora whispered as he closed the door with a small 'click'. "I promise."
Sora sighed, as he made sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He had changed into his traveling clothes, and put all of his key chains in one of his red pockets. He checked to make sure that his other pocket had some extra potions in it incase he ran into trouble on his way to Disney Castle. He wished he could take more, but there was no need for him to bring a bag and his stuff would be safe here until he got back…he hoped.
He picked up his keyblade, and started to head out of his bedroom door. It seemed as though he was leaving a lot of rooms lately.
"I hope that this is the last time," he thought, "I hope that the next time I enter a house, it will be home, on Destiny Islands, with Riku by my side."
He tried not to think that he might never see Destiny Islands or Riku again. He tried not to think that if he failed, there might not be any Destiny Islands or home to return to.
"I got to think positive," he thought as he closed the door, "I will go home to Destiny Islands, with Riku and Kairi by my side. I won't fail, I can't, because failure is not an option."
Sora turned, and started to head downstairs when Kairi's door was flung open and almost hit him.
"AH! Sora, I'm sorry! Are you ok?"
"Yeah, Kairi, I'm fine, the door didn't hit me. Just watch where you're going next time."
"I was afraid that you had left already. I was afraid that you had left without saying good bye."
"Kairi, I would never leave with out saying good bye to you."
"I know, but I was still afraid that I was too late. Even though I knew you wouldn't leave, I felt like after you left my room last night, you were already gone. I…felt so alone."
"Kairi, you'll never be alone, I'll always be right here," Sora pointed a finger towards Kairi's chest, "in your heart, all you have to do is close your eyes and you'll be able to see me anytime you want."
"Do you promise?"
"Yes, I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that this is a promise that can never be broken."
Blabbing:
AWWW, cute! The ending of this chapter is TRES imprtant so remember it later. Please leave reviews! Because I love it when you do, it makes me happy. Thanks for reading!