Hallo there, Chapter three is here. Slightly longer than the other two… :D please enjoy…
Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one…
Being Human
Chapter 3
We Are Wha- Who We Are
She had known that he would come back. He could be so predictable sometimes; and from where she sat, half hidden behind a large rosebush, the sun hard on her back attracted to the black coat she wore and blonde tendrils of hair poking out from underneath the hood, she cursed herself for not being smart enough and seen this coming a hell of a lot earlier. Because Larxene was sure that if anyone were to follow some cute little wolf around like some pet on a leash it would be Riku. The attachment the boy had on him was nothing like the one he had once had on her and in the deep depths of her cold heart the woman almost felt the slight twinges of resentment and jealously towards the brunette with short spiky hair and the bluest of eyes.
Larxene huffed in her crouched position, feeling the pain in her legs and the cracking of old bone rubbing against each other.
She was way too old to be doing this.
Besides, she knew that Riku had other thoughts on his mind other than what plan Paine was thinking up; the silverette was a fool not to be getting involved in it. Larxene already knew that the Head of the coven had tried to get in contact with the boy, resulting only in an unwanted meeting with the Superior of the Organization.
Yeah, Larxene thought bitterly, she was lucky to get out of that one alive. So, the blonde really didn't like her, she didn't know many who did. But Paine was the Head, the Leader of the coven, and an impossible amount of years old, it would be suicide to argue against whatever she said.
She was ancient.
And probably one of the dumbest smart people Larxene had ever had the oh-so-great pleasure of meeting.
God did Larxene hate that grey haired freak.
She really hoped that one day, she could take a razor sharp piece of wood, sharpen it some more, then some more for good measure, then, when she was least expecting it, sn-
"…ting our living room that colour Sora. And that's it."
Larxene hadn't even been bothering to watch the people she was supposed to be following. Not that she was actually supposed to be following them if anyone was being truly honest. What she should have been doing was completing the mission Superior had given her and she had been, right up until Riku had suddenly come into view and then everything else had taken second priority and suddenly Demyx had more thrown onto his workload and Larxene was busy sneaking around in the hot sun in a big, heavy black coat trailing a guy she had history with and his dog companion she couldn't care much for.
The blonde watched as the two sauntered past her, out of the small pizzeria they had been sat at, Riku nearly struggling with a hefty amount of shopping bags, to proud to ask for help, while the brunette frowned at him and clutched his stomach slightly.
"Wait!" She heard Riku exclaim and for a moment she thought that maybe he had spotted her from her position behind the bush, but then she saw him somehow comically attempt to pat his backside and a small smirk twitched at the edges of her mouth.
"Riku its right here." The brunette said a moment later, dunking a hand into a bag and pulling out a brown wallet. Riku looked faintly sheepish and muttered a 'thanks' before continuing on.
Larxene moved forward, out from behind the bush and slowly made her way across the street, moving in plain sight yet hidden from the boys walking not too far away from her.
In all honestly, Larxene didn't know why she was bothering with all this. Curiosity was one thing; and she also like to have a little leverage on others should the need to blackmail come to call. But the Superior had already given his warning, although it had gone to Paine and that meant it probably fell upon deaf ears and hadn't reached Riku yet; and Paine, although she wanted him back, would go things about this her own way and in her own time. So really, this was some personal vendetta for Larxene to be pursuing. Though the thought of the Superior finding out that her mission time was being spent following false allies wasn't exactly a pleasant one, the woman really couldn't help herself. Maybe she should just do as normal people do and talk to the guy, but god, that would be awkward. They hadn't seen each other in how long…? Fifty or so years, give or take, it was too long a time just to start up standard conversation.
Still, when the brune- she really ought to find out his name, starts with a 'S' right? – laughed at something Riku said and then tripped over his own feet and flat on his face, causing Riku to bend down slightly and for once let that calm mask of his drop, a sincere worried look spreading over his face before that damned smirk came back full blast; Larxene really felt a pang of jealously, because, once upon a time, Riku had looked at her like that.
Larxene could remember those nights so clearly, nights when he and her had both been tangled in white sheets, sweat lining their bodies as they explored each other. Each minute, each second, like fire…
But that was a long time ago. Each moment broken into nothing more than a memory, and two lovers melded into nothing but friends and then…well…she left. Left to follow new horizons, see new sights and eventually, stumble onto Xemnas and the Organization and have her whole after life, turned around.
Larxene narrowed her eyes as the two nearly moved out of eyesight, not realising that she had stopped walking and stood motionless in the street, causing those around her to give her odd looks. Giving an irritated sigh to how far she was getting herself into all of this she moved forward again, quickening her path to catch up with the two men in front of her. In a matter of moments she was only feet from them, a little too close for comfort, the woman crossed the street, this was so she could easily manoeuvre out of sight without being too conspicuous.
She watched as they neared their destination, a small house that Xemnas was taking a little too much interest in, something that intrigued Larxene to no end. But who was she to question on it? She was not a high-ranking member of the Organization any questions she dared to ask would be met with a painful answer no doubt and a resounding 'don't ask.'
Larxene pulled her hood off her head, needing to feel the breeze, these things were really damn hot and she had no idea why they had to wear them, but they did. Company regulations and all that. Huffing a sigh she continued along the sidewalk, throwing glances at the two every so often, it wasn't until she cast her eyes sideward and found nothing but empty space that she realised they had yet again stopped. She spun round, blonde hair flicking her face, eyes flying back and forth until they finally landed on two familiar figures. Riku and…boy, seemed to be looking for something and it was only when she took a good look at where she was did she realise that they were only minutes away from their house and they were probably searching for their keys. Casually, Larxene stepped forward and leaned against the conveniently close streetlight. Eyes never leaving them.
Lucky I'm dead she aimlessly thought to herself, realising that night had slowly crept up on them and had she been human, it would have been slightly harder to follow the two with the now darkening sky, nonetheless that good ol' vampire gene of hers meant that seeing in the dark was a lot easier than it use to have been, being a creature of the night and such…
Larxene folded her arms, finding herself getting bored quickly, how long did it take them to find their keys. Really.
Not paying as much attention as she should have she barely noticed Riku stiffen, a slight sniffing sound reverberate, the flicking up of his head and his searching eyes finding their way to her lone figure; and by the time she did it was too late, their eyes met. For her it was like time stood still, a flash of panic coursed through her body and in Riku's eyes she could see nothing but confusion.
It was in that second he made his mistake, and it was in that second she made her escape.
Riku turned his head to the left when Sora called out his name.
Larxene turned her back on them had made off into the darkness.
By the time Riku looked back at the street light that had cast a spotlight effect on her, Larxene made sure she was gone.
-- --
"Hello…?"
-- --
The last thing that Riku expected to be doing on his first night in his new house was to be throwing cold water over a passed out Sora in a last attempt to arouse him from his catatonic state. He had been generous, he really had. He had waited for the brunette to wake himself up, after carrying him into the living room, grabbing a blanket from the hire van and placing the boy in what looked like a very comfortable position on the floor. But when Sora woke up, took one look at Kairi and fainted again, Riku decided the whole situation was getting a little too ridiculous.
"Sora. Wake Up!"
SPLASH!
"ARGHHH! Riku! Dammit! That's cold!" Riku smirked and looked at Kairi, who was stood on the other side of Sora, hand covering her mouth as she held back a giggle. She really shouldn't be laughing, she didn't know the boy and it was her fault he was like this. Letting her hand fall to her side, the girl kneeled down tilting her head to the left, watching as Sora blinked rapidly, shaking his head of the water clinging to his bangs and face, before pushing himself onto his knees and sitting there stiffly, head hanging limply, eyes shut, trying to regain sense of himself.
Holding her hand out Kairi smiled, "Need a hand?"
Sora slowly raised his head, peeking an eye out and letting it examine Kairi slightly before falling on her outstretched appendage. Timidly he took hold of it and let himself be pulled to his feet by a kind faced Kairi, letting a small smile grace his lips as he muttered his thanks.
"Sora. You can handle knowing about Vampires and Werewolves but when it comes down to innocent ghosts like Kairi you crumble? I thought you were stronger than that…" Kairi stifled another giggle as Sora dropped his hold on her hand and turned his head to glare at Riku.
"I wasn't expecting it. I was caught off guard with it that's all." Jerk.
"Aren't we all?" Riku held his smirk again, raising an eyebrow again at Sora's feeble attempt to regain his dignity back, from behind the brunette Kairi rolled her eyes, these guys acted just like her brothers sometimes.
"Put that bucket down before you hurt someone will you." Riku, who had been swinging a horribly dark green coloured plastic bucket by its handle, changed its course and expertly aimed it for Sora's crotch. The boy in question took five quick steps back out of Riku's shot and continued to frown at his friend until the silverette held one arm up in mock surrender, muttering under his breath and chucking the thing to the side of the room.
"So…"
Wow, awkward.
"Er…Kairi, this is Sora. My housemate. Sora, this is Kairi…she's a ghost." Sora, turned to Kairi, gave a short sweet smile and held out his hand.
"Thanks Riku. Think we've established that." Riku rolled his eyes, but watched as the two shook hands and then said nothing else. Which was strange because usually people found it hard to keep Sora quiet.
"Right. Well…er…"
"Ever the articulate one aren't ya Riku?" Sora shot Riku a smirk before turning back to Kairi and leaning in slightly.
"A habit you have to learn to deal with I'm afraid-"
"Hey!"
"Not the brightest tool in the shed either. But I like to keep him around ya know? He's decent company…"
"…"
"…on occasion."
"Thanks Sora. Means a lot to me that does."
Sora shot Riku one of his award winning smiles, not really caring that all his got in return was a sour look that held no amusement. Kairi, not being able to stand the 'apparently' tense atmosphere, shifted from one foot to the other, later she would come to realise that this was normal for the two boys and it really wasn't that uncomfortable when you knew what held the two together.
"I'm sorry." She pitched up, looking between Riku and Sora, a shy smile greeting them.
"Huh?"
"And you say I'm inarticulate…"
"Shhh!"
"I said, I'm sorry. For scaring you earlier, and for dropping this whole thing on you. I mean, last thing you wanted on to find out on your first day in your new house was that it was occupied by a ghost right?" Aquamarine, cobalt and azure eyes flicked from one to the other, each unsure of what to say. Finally it was Sora who spoke up.
"Oh, well, that's ok. I mean, I wasn't all that scared earlier by the way, you just…" The brunette trailed off when both Kairi and Riku raised their eyebrows at him.
"Okay. Well maybe I was a liiiitttllleee freaked out. But that was because…ya know…you're a ghost!" Kairi contemplated Sora for a minute, the corners of her lips twitching in amusement.
"And you're a Werewolf. Shouldn't I be the one who's a little freaked out here?"
"Well I- Wait a minute…how did you know about that?! I-Wait wait wait. Time out." Sora made a T shaped sign with his fingers before turning on Riku a demanding yet confused look beating beneath his eyes.
"She asked how we could see her while you were out for the count. I gave her answers. Don't look at me like that, who she gonna tell?!" Sora rolled his eyes and sighed, Riku had a point there, but still, it didn't mean he wanted every Supernatural being to know about his…condition…every time one happened to pop out of nowhere. Sora huffed unable to think of anything decent to say, because no matter what he did say, Riku had him beaten and he knew it.
Kairi giggled, tucking a stray strand of marooned coloured hair back behind her ear, a fond smile falling on her lips before it quickly slipped away, her eyes turning dull.
"What's up?" Kairi looked up and straight into Sora's own deep pools of blue and unable to escape the look of concern that suddenly flashed there she flushed slightly and took a step back, never breaking eye contact. He didn't even know her and yet…
"Nothing…it's just…you guys remind me so much of my brothers. I…it doesn't matter." Kairi forced herself to look away, unsure of what to say. Like these two really wanted to hear about her family, they probably had more important matters to worry about. Like what the hell were they going to with this ghost?
"Brothers huh? Well you'll have to tell us about them sometime…but in the meantime, it's getting late, I'm tired and we've got a hell of a day tomorrow so…" Riku spoke, breaking the tense silence, looking back and forth between Sora and Kairi, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
"Oh right. Well, I'll just…erm…I…" Kairi broke off, unsure of what exactly she should say. Sora and Riku exchanged unsure glances, imploring the other to speak first; eventually, after aquamarine overrode sapphire, a voice broke through the silence.
"Do you sleep?"
Riku looked at Sora aghast. What?
Kairi, who was just as shocked as Riku gave a short laugh.
"Er…no I don't. When your…dead, things like eating, drinking, sleeping, they don't really apply to you anymore." Sora nodded as if knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Right, well me and Riku are just gonna make camp on the floor. Haven't managed to unpack anything obviously. So erm…you could just, I dunno, hang round do whatever you do at night time…" Kairi and Riku stared at Sora, mouths open, but for totally different reasons.
"What? You mean…you mean I can stay?" The girls voice cracked through the awkward atmosphere, shock settling quite nicely into her petite body.
"Yeah. I don't see why not. You were here first right?" Sora gave a half-hearted laugh and rubbed the back of his neck in inelegance. Riku, who by this time had managed to close his mouth, shared a gauche smile with Kairi, shrugging in answer to Kairi's wide questioning eyes.
Gasp.
Squeal.
Giggle.
Sometimes Riku really hated the female species.
In the distance part of his mind, Riku heard Sora Umph, closing his eyes and not really caring about the strange noises Sora was making Riku thought about how far the two of them were getting themselves in with this; because at some point someone was going to tell her goodbye and now Sora had given her the notion that this staying thing was permanent…well…that was going to be one awkward conversation left for a later date.
Before the silverette knew what was happening two thin arms found themselves attached around his neck and his whole body being shifted from side to side.
"Thank you guys so much! You don't know what this means to me!"
Riku patted Kairi's back lackadaisically, still a little dazed. He wasn't expecting to be glomped by a ghost…
When Kairi finally let go, she took a few steps back and at least had the audacity to look embarrassed. Sora threw her a sheepish grin.
"Better start getting the stuff out the van then…" Sora clapped his hands together, sent Kairi one more grin and nudged Riku as he turned and left the room.
-- --
It hadn't taken the two of them long to grab a bunch of blankets and some clean clothes and toiletries out of the small van they hired and dump all their goods in the living room. By this time Kairi had moved off into the kitchen, tottering about like she had a purpose, sorting out the things Sora and Riku had bought from their earlier shopping spree into cupboards.
Riku shot a disparaging glance at her back before he moved fully into the living from the doorframe and turned on Sora, who was rummaging through his bags.
"Sora?"
"Hey, have you seen my nose hair trimmer…?" Riku looked slightly disgusted before he rolled his eyes and ignored the boy's question.
"Sora."
"I know you said that I don't need it but seriously, I feel like I've got a forest growing up there and I can't…"
Sigh. "Sora."
"…I'm not gonna trim to much because I don't want it to go all red and raw because its healthy to have a bit of hair right? Buuuuttttt…"
"So-ra!"
"…looking up there and thinking 'ew'. I mean I know I do sometimes with you but you can't help it right? It doesn't bother me…" Riku frowned at Sora's comment that his nose hair was remotely out of control, a hand automatically went to his nose and he comically tried to feel what Sora was babbling on about. Last time he checked he looked fine in the mirror and its not as if his hair grew or anything; pretty much being dead sorted that out. Shaking his head and pulling his arm down Riku tried not to feel to offended about Sora's remark and noted to put a little extra bathroom time in in the near future, but for now he needed to talk to Sora about something much more important than nose hair.
"…the best thing is it has all these little attachments and-"
"SORA!"
Sora swivelled his head round and up to look at Riku, eyes slightly widened and Riku couldn't help but internally chuckle at Sora's appearance. Face slightly shocked, hands clutching and pointing at a small electronic device apt to fit someone's nose.
"Riku, I'm right here there's no need to shout." Riku yet again rolled his eyes and stuck his head through the doorway and peered up and into the kitchen, Kairi stood, hands on hips frowning down the aging hallway. The silverette shot her a encouraging smile, making sure she had turned back to concentrate on what she was doing before he ducked his head back into the living room and frowned at him.
"What?" the brunette questioned, eyeing Riku up cautiously.
"Why Sora? Why?!" The man threw his hands up into the hair in exasperation before letting them fall onto his head, his eyes fixated on the other knelt only feet from him. Sora, who looked slightly taken aback by Riku's sudden questioning, took a deep breath and shuffled slightly to get into a comfier position.
"Because Riku. My…condition causes me to grow rapidly in all the most stupidest places. Its enough that I have to deal with turning into a monster once a month, do I really have to look one as well? If I don't take care of this hair than who else is going to? Actually, don't answer that. I mean, it couldn't have helped with my height or anything could it oh no, it just had to turn me into frickin' big foot. It's stupid I know, but seriously, this trimmer is-"
Riku whose face and slowly but steadily been twisting itself into a mask that crossed between utter confusion, slight disgust and mild annoyance, creased until it couldn't crease anymore and Riku held up his hands, calling Sora's name and stopping the brunette's tirade before he really got started.
"I'm not talking about the friggin' nose trimmer hair thing." Riku stuck his head back out the doorway, making sure Kairi was still in the kitchen before he dived back in the room and continued. "I'm talking about the ghost."
Sora's mouth formed an 'O' shape before he stood up, dropped the contraption in his hands into his bag and dusted off his legs.
"What about her?" He said, frowning in his own confusion.
"Wha-? Sora, she can't stay here!" Riku moved closer toward the brunette in order to keep his voice low and yet hold its frustrated tinge.
"Why not?"
"Because. She's a ghost. She shouldn't be here. She should be…ya know…the place you go after you die."
"Riku, its not her fault she's stuck here. Clearly she's got some unfinished business and until she's done it and is ready to move on there is nothing we can do."
"Well it's not our fault either. Sora, she can't stay." Sora look affronted at the tone that Riku's voice held. He was being ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason she couldn't stay, she was nice enough and it really wasn't her fault she was stuck in limbo or whatever they called it. Riku was being his totally unreasonable self again.
"She has as much right to live here as we do Riku. Its her house." Riku sighed.
"Live being the operable word in that sentence. She can't live Sora. She's dead. There's nothing we can do about that. Its time for her to pack up and move on, this house doesn't belong to her. Its ours now."
"What's so different about her and us Riku? Or her and you?" Riku frowned and Sora, although his eyes still held on strongly to the anger that Riku's words had caused, on some small level, he felt he might have crossed a tiny line with that one.
Riku opened his mouth and then shut it quickly, unable to think of what to say. Sora was right with that one. What difference was there between them and her? In fact, he was more like her than he was Sora. After all, both him and the ghost were dead; they died and left behind the worries that human life brought. Illness and physical suffering…well there was always the thirst for him, that could have bad repercussions if he were to go too long without a feed of some sort but still…he couldn't feel the things that humans take for granted. Things they wished they never had.
Like a simple cold.
He remembered when he and Sora were still living out of their own two pockets instead of each other's but only a few months back. Sora, being part human had comedown with a cold. The poor boy had been coughing and spluttering for weeks.
And Riku remembered.
He remembered the envy. He wanted to feel for once, just once, the burning of the throat as the virus attacked. The sting of a cough. The tickle of a sneeze. The small insignificant things most humans despised. He wanted.
Maybe just once.
No. Sora was right, he was dead. Dead on the inside and out. And that wasn't metaphorically speaking. So who was he, a creature that fed on the lives of other things, a monster? Who was he to throw out something that although was passed did no wrong. Kairi seemed so young, she probably didn't deserve the fate she had been given and yet when she met him and Sora her eyes seemed to light up, a past loneliness momentarily fading away. Because here were people who could understand her. Could see her, and learn from her experiences.
But she was a reminder.
A reminder of what they were both trying to run from. Her being in the house would cause nothing but a distraction to the bare human lives him and Sora were trying to pretend they lived. So, technically neither was as human as she once was but they still could try. Well Sora could anyway. It was over for Riku, there was only so much he could do without having his secret revealed. He and Sora could only take around a five-year residence in this area for example, because people were bound to tell that Riku had never aged. He never changed. He was stuck. Like a memory. Or a picture. Forever frozen.
A piece of time captured in glass.
Eventually, things would change, Sora would find someone. Sora would leave. Though Riku half hoped at the back of his mind that he could one day tell Sora the affection he once held for him only 4 years ago. Deep down though, time, Riku's mortal enemy would catch up and cart off his best friend, his other, his person; and Riku would once again be alone.
Because unlike Riku, Sora couldn't live forever.
It was weird. Such a chain reaction of thoughts and memories, feelings had now led him to think of things he'd rather not think about.
He had enough on his plate without worrying about the future. Like…Larxene?
Could it really have been her? Or some mirage? Was Riku's past really catching up to his present? Maybe thinking about the future was the best right now…
Kairi. Sora. Riku.
Ghost. Werewolf. Vampire.
A forgotten life. A lost life. A regretted life.
Could such things live together? And would Riku and Sora's life be turned upside down by these strange events…this echo of a life and a mirage of a past?
Riku didn't know. But he was certain that of all of this he could control one. Control one so the other doesn't seep in and ruin everything else.
Kairi. Larxene. Notes. Vampires. Werewolves. Mirages. Ghosts. Secrets. Sora.
Life.
Sora look deep into Riku eyes, knowing he had hit a nerve, he could almost see the elders thoughts…cavernous…an abyss of unknown questions and answers. Swirling. Churning.
Disappearing
Reappearing.
"Riku…I-" Sora was immediately cut off by the look his friend gave him.
"One week. She has one week to do whatever the hell she has to. The she's out."
Sora opened his mouth to speak, but Riku strode past him to his bag, his stiff and strained body language telling him not to argue. Grabbing it roughly Sora watch as Riku stalked out the room and headed up the stairs the sounds of his feet hitting the floorboards echoing through the house.
Sora's eyes adverted from where Riku left for only a minute, the waft of an unfamiliar scent reaching his nose and he sniffed, looking up to the flickering form of someone he really hoped, wished, wasn't there.
And had Riku been paying attention, he would have mimicked Sora, and smelled the scent of another. Had he been concentrating on the air and sounds surrounding him he would have noticed the faint wisp of mist swishing through the atmosphere of the hallway; and he would most definitely have heard the sound of each particle gather together, recreating the form of a petite redhead, eyes downcast in sadness.
-- --
Kairi sat in silence and in darkness. She couldn't remember a time she had felt so much emotion at once.
Probably when ya copped it. A snide voice spoke, its words ringing in her ears. Death, such a funny and depressing concept. Kairi had had enough of it now.
Bored . . .
Riku and Sora had long left to the world of the unconscious. Riku upstairs somewhere. He hadn't returned since his and Sora's…argument? Heated discussion? Whatever. Kairi had tried to block it from her mind. It was one of the last things she wanted to think about right now.
She hadn't spoken to Sora either, well, except from a murmured goodnight when she left to take refuge for the night in the Kitchen. She didn't know why Sora didn't just go find his own bedroom upstairs, maybe he didn't want to run into Riku, or maybe he didn't want to leave Kairi alone downstairs or maybe, he was just comfy where he was. Who knows.
Kairi wasn't sure what she should think of this whole situation. Ok, she promised herself she would think about it, and yet here she was, thinking. Letting her mind drift. Maybe she could…no. Could she dream? Could she sleep? When Sora asked her earlier this evening she had automatically said no, she never really bothered before because she was always just blacking out and becoming part of the house but now…to be honest she had never really tried. She was dead. A ghost. So there really was no need for her to sleep. But still, that dreaming, sleeping thing seemed a nice escape from it all right now.
Hesitantly, she closed her eyes, unsure of how to do this. It had only been three years for gods sake. Kairi, adjusted from her position sat on the worktop leaning against the cupboards, shifting here and there finding a comfier position. In the darkness of her closed eyes Kairi could see nothing but Riku's face as he stormed out the living room, eyes filled with uncertain emotion. Kairi, flicked her own eyes open and took a deep breath, maybe this whole sleeping thing wasn't a good idea after all. She didn't want to have nightmares…still…she wasn't one for just sitting still quietly all night. She hadn't had people staying the house for a while, let alone people who could see her and weren't very taken to her in the first place.
Shifting yet again Kairi moved her shoulder so it wasn't digging into the handle of the cupboard door and closed her eyes yet again. And this time, instead of hoping for sleep and good dreams and faraway places where she could eat and dream and feel wind on her skin she dreamed of beyond the open. Blank space. Bright light.
There was no better place, no field with lush grass and white bunnies. No, there was just she and a blank empty space. Black and white. Here and there. Up and down. Left and right. It was all there. In the void. Beyond the open door of the living and round the corner from the after life she had been given.
Kairi raised her hand, surprised at wherever she had come that her body was also with her as well. She took a step forward, or was it backward? She couldn't tell. It felt like she was moving forward, so she kept at it. Although if she was being truly honest it didn't feel like she was moving at all. Because nothing changed. Everything was just devoid of anything. Until a small white portal appeared, circular in shape Kairi noted, in spun and twirled and sped and slowed creating unimaginable patterns. Unsure, the girl lifted her arm and gently moved it toward the white portico, expecting her hand to fall gracefully through however, her fingers grazed against something soft. She pushed with a small amount of pressure and like she expected her hand fell through, fingers tingling under something icily cold and Kairi pulled her hand back quickly as though she were burned.
That was certainly…different.
Feeling a lot braver, Kairi stepped forward, reaching her hand out again, letting it flow threw the nothingness and reaching that invisible barrier that felt soft, sheen and like cling film. She rubbed the tips of her fingers up and down gently applying pressure and when she did, her hand moved forward into the portal. The coldness hit her appendage again although this time Kairi saw it coming and did not feel afraid. She let the air wrap around her fingers and slowly, almost gingerly, pull her forward. She wanted to go in, she really did, but…something was telling her not too. To stop, pull her arm away and go back. But back to where? And why? This was so…so…Kairi couldn't find the words to describe what this was and so ignoring her instincts telling her that this was a bad idea, and no, she didn't want to see what was on the other side for fear of ending up like that poor hedgehog Kairi ploughed in, eyes tightly shut, leaving the blank void behind.
By the time she crossed, Kairi found the overwhelming cold almost unbearable. She opened her eyes, cold snowy surroundings her expectant view but when she looked around she was mildly disappointed.
Because she was home.
The top of the stairs to be precise. Why was it so cold in here? Didn't Sora and Riku feel that? The living room door creaked slightly and another gust of wind swept through, freezing Kairi's toes. She quenched and took a step forward, shivering as she did so.
"Sora…" She muttered, he must have opened a window or something. She wasn't quite sure why, maybe Werewolves get extra hot during the night?
Quietly Kairi crept, the floorboards underneath her feet not making a sound, which was weird considering how long this place had been neglected.
"Sora?" She whispered when she reached the bottom of the stairs, taking a few steps toward the living room door she shivered yet again. Damn it was cold!
"Sora?! What do you think you're doing…down…here…" Kairi trailed off when she finally reached the living room doorway.
There was no Sora. In fact in there were a lot of things. But there was no Sora.
Someone, maybe god? Had miraculously moved all of her furniture back into the house, painted the walls again, removed the mould and put up brand new curtains; which were now billowing wildly in the wind.
"What the…?" To say Kairi was confused would be a slight understated. She was completely stunned. Unable to move except to wrap her arms around her in some feeble attempt to shield the cold her exposed body she-
Wait a minute…exposed? Kairi looked down at herself to see that she was wearing nothing but baggy flannel pants and a small vest top rising enough with her breathing to show a little bit of belly.
What. The. Hell.
Finally giving up on using her arms to brace the cold her stalked over to the window with all hopes to shut it but when she got there she faltered. Because the window had not been thrown open by some now non-existent Sora – the notion that maybe she dreamed she was a ghost and she was finally waking up from a very long nightmare strongly came to mind – instead, shattered glass lined the floor and the window had a large whole through it. A rather human shaped whole in fact…
Kairi let fear swallow her as she slowly turned around eyes scanning the living room and seeing no signs of life. Slowly she let a breath escape her. The phone was in the hall. If she could just reach it then…well she would call the police, hide and pray for the best. As Kairi moved forward she heard an all to familiar voice, one that incredibly confused her.
"Hello?"
Momentarily forgetting her fear Kairi strolled forward, stopping in the doorway to peer up the stairs, blue meeting blue.
Because Kairi was staring into the face of none other than herself, and although Kairi felt as though their eyes were connecting the other Kairi felt differently, her gaze only lingering on where she stood for a moment before the other Kairi wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her hands down her arms in an attempt to warm herself up.
Kairi's mouth hung open, not quite sure what to do. She stepped out into the hall, staring at herself in a matching outfit wandering what the hell was going on.
"Hi…" She spoke, testing to see if her other could hear her, the other Kairi apparently couldn't though as she continued making her descent down the stairs.
"Hello? Wyatt? You home?" Kairi frowned, as there was a clatter from the kitchen. She took a few steps down the hallway, her other following her cautiously. In the Kitchen a lanky figure moved swiftly about the place, muttering incoherently to themselves. Immediately, Kairi knew it wasn't her boyfriend, the movements were to quick to graceful to be him and she spun round and told herself to go back. Not continue down this path she was going on. Any idiot would know not to go downstairs when they heard a strange noise; but oh no, Kairi's other continued to move.
"Wyatt baby is that you? Making all that noise down here…" The figure didn't even seem to notice Kairi was there, now stood at the kitchen door, eyes blinking mercilessly at the darkness, clearly she had just woken up and hadn't really registered what was going on. Kairi knew this scene. She had been here before. But she couldn't remember. It was like watching the replaying of a film she couldn't remember the name of. It was frustratingly confusing.
Suddenly the figure turned, noticing another presence in the doorway, shrouded by shadow. It didn't notice nor care that this person wasn't part of the plan; it sped forward, a sharp object glinting evilly in the pale moonlight straggling through the Kitchen window.
Time seemed to slow, as Kairi began to shout, her other managed to let a mangled scream escape her throat and the figure moved with more determination than ever.
Kairi felt the pulling even before it happened, something was pulling her toward the scene, toward to glinting object and the frightful figure cloaked in black. She was sucked into the body of her other and just as time sped up her fight or flight instincts flared and Kairi turned into the hallway preparing to lock herself in the bathroom but the figure was ahead of her and lunged forward. Grabbing her waist and pulling her back. Kairi looked up with fearful eyes and into the eyes of the other. Their colour shone out while hers were shaded by the night. The eyes of a killer. Hard. Cold. They pierced her every move and made her rigid the-
"Kairi?"
…help…
"Kairi?"
…protect me …
"Kairi!"
…scream…
"Kair…
…save me…
"Ka…
…please…
Aha! All done! Hope you enjoyed…I really liked writing the end bit with Kairi :D
This is kinda out later than I wanted it to be. I had a show last week (go btec drama students aka the Montagues – we didn't pick the name our tutor did -.-) I had two parts I was a wife having an affair and then I was a vicar…nice contrast there…
So busy with that, and I started reading Twilight (yes yes I've never read it before – saw the movie though -.- nuff said) the book is incredibly good, I'm currently coming to the end of New Moon which is the sequel for all those Twilight virgins such as I was…yeah I'm a fast reader…or a nerd…you decide =P
Erm…I have the fourth chapter semi planned so…we'll see how this goes…this chapter kinda took a mind of its own…but everything I wanted to get in got in so that's good. Oh and you'll find out what Kairi and Riku said to each other later ;) Anyway, this is the longest a/n ever, please review, they make me happier than you'll know and I do reply :D I don't ignore you guys honest…
