They're going again. Leaving me behind again.

I hate this separation. I hate every single thing that separates me from them. Why can't I ever go along with them? Are they really worried about my safety?

Or are they just trying to rid themselves of responsibility?

There are some things I'll never know. I guess that certain things are just too hard to accept.

Maybe they'll never know how much I want to be together with them. After all, they're just boys going out on an adventure, aren't they? After all the times we've spent together, after all the times we were separated, and even after all the times we found ourselves back together again.

And they're going to leave. Just like that.

We made a promise the last time, that if ever the forces of darkness rose again, we'd fight it together. As a team. I wonder if they remembered that promise they made.

Blocking me out of their lives again makes me feel lonelier than ever. I don't want to have to go through those nights where I cry myself to sleep, thinking of him.

I don't want to wait at the beach every single day just to see them appear over the glimmer of horizon.

Alone again, naturally.

-Kairi

"Alright, people!" Mickey called. "Settle down, it's time to get to the business at hand!" The joyful reunion now over, everyone gathered in a circle around King Mickey. Everyone, except for Riku, who was leaning against a Paopu fruit tree a short distance away. Kairi sat beside Sora, who was eyeing Riku beadily, before turning his attention back to King Mickey.

"Your Majesty," addressed Sora, "what seems to be the matter? Your letter spoke of an extremely urgent situation."

"Well, Sora, I have good news — of some sort — and bad news too. Which would you like to hear first?"

Sora looked over at Riku, who gazed back at him without emotion, and at Kairi, who was staring listlessly at the sand in front of her. Sora took a deep breath, then said, "Good news first, or whatever good there is in it."

"Very well, Sora," King Mickey replied. "I believe that you could restore your lost memories."

Sora stood up in a hurry. "The lost memories? About Castle Oblivion and that Naminé girl?"

"Wack! The time when we forgot Hollow Bastion, what we were doing in the castle, and how Jiminy's Journal got all erased an—mpfgh!" Donald's beak was tightly clamped shut by Goofy, with a loud "Shh!" from him.

"Yes," Mickey replied. "I seem to have uncovered the location of the machine which she used to rechain your memories, which could also rechain your lost memories."

"That's great! I'll finally recover my memories entirely!" Sora gushed excitedly. He looked round at everyone, who was clearly sharing his elatedness, besides Riku, who was staring off into the distance, and Kairi, who looked up worried.

"Will he...forget us...again?" Kairi asked hesitantly.

All eyes were drawn to her. No one spoke for a moment. Then, Sora squatted down beside her and spoke to her tenderly.

"Kairi, you know that I will never forget you, no matter what."

"That's what you said the last time," she replied. "And then you got yourself lost in that castle, lost your memories, broke our chains of memories too, and nearly ruined all of us." She sounded close to tears.

Sora wrapped an arm around Kairi's shoulder. "It'll be alright. Riku's going with me, and he didn't forget me last time, did he?" With smooth sultry tones he reassured her, "We'll be fine, don't worry."

Kairi nodded, even if she didn't feel that way. She had to trust him, didn't she?

Turning back, Sora asked, "Now, the bad news."

"Well... We believe that an Organization XIII member is still alive," he said. Sora clenched his fist tightly, but said nothing. "Mickey continued, "Furthermore, Castle Oblivion seems to be teeming with a small swarm of Heartless."

"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed. "Then it's time to go." He looked round. "Riku, you ready?"

"What about me?" Kairi stood up. "I want to go too."

Sora placed two restraining hands on Kairi's shoulders. "Stay here on the Islands, and wait for us to return back."

"I'm a Keyblade-bearer too! I can slay the Heartless too, y'know," Kairi insisted indignantly. "Why won't you let me go!"

"Kairi, just stay here, we won't be long," Sora said. "We'll be back befo—"

"Forget it, Sora!" Kairi angrily replied. "I won't bother to ask you to let me go. I'll just —just...stay here!" Hot angry tears flowed down her cheeks. Sobbing uncontrollably, she ran off into the distance, back to her hut, where she shut her door with a resounding slam.

Sora stared motionlessly after her shadow, before dropping his shoulders. He turned round, trudging slowly towards Riku. "Let's draw the Keyblades," he deadpanned.

"Do not let your over protectiveness get the better of your friendship, Sora," Riku replied. He got up from leaning against the tree, saying to Mickey, "We're going to draw the Keyblades, Your Majesty."

"I'll be in the Gummi Ship, ready to take whenever you are," he replied. He then whispered, "Don't let the two of them get separated so easily, Riku. Try and piece them up."

Riku nodded his head, walking off towards the hill with Sora. Ascending to the top of the hill, he found Sora looking at the Keyblade Trinity, deep in thought. As he walked closer, Sora looked up.

"Do you remember, Riku?"

Riku nodded his head. "As if it were yesterday. Mickey had just left with Donald and Goofy, and we came up here." He stopped short, before continuing, "We made a promise, that the next time we drew our Keyblades, we would go together, the three of us."

"That's right," Sora replied. There was a pause, before he said, "Was I wrong in asking her to stay here?"

Riku sighed. "It's her own decision, Sora," he said. "It's up to her to decide what she wants to do. The least you could do as a friend is to be supportive."

Sora gazed away at the small hut in the distance. "Yes, but it's so hard to let her go," he lamented. Looking back at Riku, he caught Riku's cold, hard gaze at him. "What's the matter?" Sora asked.

"You ought to let her go," he said. "She's not your property, and you definitely have no right to decide if she goes or not."

"I... I..."

"Get a grip on yourself, Sora." Riku was visibly angry. "She isn't your younger sister, and she most definitely isn't your girlfriend. She's the same age as you and has probably gone through twice of the emotional struggle you went through during our journeys."

"I just can't bear to have her along," Sora reasoned weakly. "It's too dangerous."

"To her, nothing is too dangerous with you."

The statement caught Sora off-hand. He gaped at Riku.

"Yes, Sora," he said coldly. "In the spirit of adventure, you've failed to realize how safe she feels with us, especially you."

Sora remained silent. Riku stepped forward to the Keyblades. Grasping tightly, he pulled a sleek black Keyblade from the stone. The Way to the Dawn shimmered in the sunlight, exuding a twilight aura around it. He swung it a few times, as though unfamiliar with the weapon, before executing a few swift slashes in the air. Landing squarely on the ground, he shouldered the Keyblade, before walking off into the distance.

Before leaving, he said, "Sora. Don't get too protective of Kairi. It could be the one thing that'd spoil your relationship with her." He began to walk off towards the Gummi Ship. "We leave in half an hour's time. Be ready."

Sora nodded. He knew what he had to do.

In her hut, Kairi was sobbing uncontrollably. That stupid Sora! she thought. How could he just force me into staying here? As rage overtook her, she flung herself down on the bed in rage. She suddenly felt a terrible urge to tear up things. Looking around, a picture on her side table caught her eye. It was the picture of the three of them. She picked it up gently.

There she was, in the middle, with Riku, expression indifferent, on her left, and Sora, arm on her shoulder, to her right. She was smiling with joy in the picture. For all this was nothing but a façade, she concluded. Tears began to well up in her eyes as sorrow filled her.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. She knew who it was, only that she would not get up. She would not answer either.

"Kairi! It's me, Sora," he called. "Can we please talk?"

"Go away!" she cried bitterly, although she dearly wanted to talk to him face to face right now.

"Kairi, please," Sora pleaded. "I just want to explain things."

In a fit of her anger, Kairi picked up the photo she was holding and flung it at the door. The photo frame shattered into fragments and scattered all over the floor.

"Well it's too late to explain!" she screamed. She threw herself backwards onto her bed, seething with fury. Who is he to be explaining to me? she thought. I don't need him to tell me what's right or what's wrong.

And suddenly she just started weeping. I don't want to be left alone again! she wept in her heart.