Disclaimer: I own very little.
A/N: Set at the end of the first game.
World of Ice
It was Kairi. Kairi, whom he had set out to find, just out of his reach. If he just took one step forward, he would reach her.
One step. That was all that was required now to go back to the sunny beaches of his childhood and leave behind all this cold and snow. He would see his family again and his friends, everybody he had already thought to be lost forever, and most importantly, he would be with Kairi.
Kairi was, Sora mused, one of the most important people to him in the world – no, all the worlds. He would have done anything for her – had he not already fought his way through all those worlds full of danger just to find her? And here she was, right in front of him, waiting for him.
However, even as he thought this, he realised there was still one person he held more important than her. One person only who had a tighter hold of his heart than her.
He had promised to take care of her, yes, and this was a promise he never wanted to break, since he had given it to Riku. However, Kairi would be safe at their home island, she would be safe and somewhat happy, too, and she was not the one who needed Sora most at the moment.
The one who needed him more was Riku. And Riku also just happened to be the one person he held even dearer than Kairi, despite all the corruption of the shadows.
Kairi started to slide away, trying to reach out to him, yet Sora made no move to go to her. He now knew she was safe; he would find her again. Standing still, he watched as Kairi and the warm beach and all the light in his life slowly slid out of his grasp.
Then he turned around, ready to face the cold and ice.
Riku needed him. And he wasn't about to fail Riku.