Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------A New Friend Tags Along

Kairi woke and found herself in a grass hut on a bed similar to hers at home. She was rather confused, so she kept calling for her mom. When she realized that she wasn't home, a girl walked in.

"Hello, Kairi. Long time no see." She said. She looked about 17, maybe 18.

"Who are you?" Kairi asked as politely as such a question can.

"Of course you don't remember. I didn't expect you to. But I did expect you coming back."

Coming back? What's she talking about? I've never seen this place before!

"Umm…I'm a little confused. I want to see my friends, I don't know if they're here or not." Kairi said.

"Let's see…a guy with a cloak, another guy with silver hair, and yet ANOTHER guy with brown hair, blue eyes? Those guys your friends?"

"Yea! How'd you know?"

"Well, two things," she held up two fingers. "You've always been very attached to guys, and they've been wanting to see you for the past hour and a half."

"Where are they? Can you take me to them? Please?"

"Okay, okay, slow down! Yes, of course I'll take you to them. But first I think I should tell you what's going on. You've seemed confused since you got here."

Oh, yea. Kairi thought.

"Well, I guess I should start at the time you were born. You see, you were born in this very room, and Mother was very happy. She was so glad to finally have had her second child!"

"What?"

"Oh, yea. I'm your older sister, Kairi! It seems a little strange to have to introduce yourself to your little sister, but I'm Nari (pro. na-RYE). This may be new to you, but we happen to be the…umm…I'm not sure if they call us 'princesses' or not, but that's basically what we are. Mom is waiting to see us after I'm done explaining."

"Wait. If I'm one of the 'princesses' of this island, how did I wind up on Destiny Islands?"

"I'm getting there! Well, there was a big storm while Mom was on the boat that was taking all of us away from this place. Oh, by the way, the name of this island is the Isle of Hearts. Yea, weird name, I know. In the big storm, since you were only about two, you couldn't remember, but you were washed away. Kind of like what brought you back. Seems kinda ironic if you think about it. But anyway, you probably just floated from island to island, because the tracker came off on Kitarnia Island, when you were 8, the standard age for the tracker to fall off. They must have wiped your memory and sent you to Destiny Islands, because you wouldn't have escaped that place. I'm just glad they didn't keep you." Nari shuddered at the thought.

"Well, now that I know now that I'm a nomadic princess with an older sister I've never seen, I drifted from island to island since I was two, and then got sent to my former home after having my memory wiped, then drifted back to my true home in a storm, the same way I was lost, let's go see my mom that I have never heard of before!" Kairi yelled at her older sister.

"Oh. I see your problem. I'll tell Mom you need a rain check while you get used to everything. Do you still want to talk to your friends?"

"No, thanks though…it was Nari, right? It's gonna take a while before I get used to anything…too many changes…"

"I'll leave you be. I'll tell your friends you're okay. See you later, Sis."

Kairi stared at the thatch roof of the grass hut, wondering why everything was happening to her. She saw through a hole in the roof that it was getting dark.

Sora confessed…Demyx came back…I washed ashore my birth island…and then I found out I'm a princess? This is way too much for me to take in. I'll talk to Sora in the morning. That is, if I don't die from confusion in my sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kairi's dream that night

"Kairi, I love you so much" Sora said.

"Sora…I…I love you, too." Kairi said.

They leaned closer, ever closer to one another, just about to kiss. They were almost there, lips practically touching when…

"Kairi!" Sora said suddenly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Back in the grass hut

"Kairi! Kairi!" Sora's voice kept saying over and over.

Kairi tried to get the moment back, she tried so hard, but the voice wouldn't stop. Finally, she opened her eyes. Sora was kneeling, his face an inch from hers. Kairi jumped backwards at seeing the smiling face first thing in the morning.

"Kairi! Yes! Nari, or whatever your sister's name is, said you were okay, but I needed to see you for myself."

"Oh, Sora, before I forget, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, Kairi, what is it?"

"Well, actually, now its two things. First things first, how much did Nari tell you?"

"Not much, basically 'hello' 'Kairi's okay' and 'goodnight'. Why?"

"Well…" Kairi then explained the conversation between the two girls the night before.

"Really? You're a princess? Awesome!" Sora said afterwards.

"Yea, well, the next thing isn't so awesome. I had a dream last night. It was about us. Just us. We were…kinda…about…to…"

"C'mon, Kairi, you can say whatever you want to me! You should know that by now."

"Never mind. I'll tell you later. I promise."

"Okay, whatever floats your boat." Sora said with a disappointed look on his face.

I really thought she was gonna tell me she loved me. Oh, well, maybe later.

Later that afternoon, Kairi and Sora went fishing on the beach and all Kairi could think about was Sora and how much she actually did love him.

I don't know why I'm so sacred to tell Sora how I feel! He told me! Plus, he looked so SAD when I told him I'd tell him later! Kairi thought.

Then, that evening, Kairi returned to her hut, and Sora followed her. Kairi heard him and thought he was trying to cheer her up, because she had been looking somber all day, according to Sora. She smiled at the thought of Sora tickling her and trying to make her laugh. The dream replayed in her head over and over as she walked to her hut.

She pulled out her CD player she had been given and turned on her Evanescence CD. As usual, she had it blaring.

DON'T CRY TO ME…ME…ME…ME…

"Oh, great, now my CD's messed up! Great!" she yelled at herself.

At that moment, she got the greatest surprise of her life.