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Author's Note: Apparently, people like the way I describe the characters. That's very much appreciated. Thank you.

Chapter 5

Why Nobody Likes a Beast

"I don't understand," An odd haze seemed to have descended on Kairi's brain. "Are you saying Sora and I are…are the same person?"

Merlin shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying at all, my dear. I am merely mentioning that you and he have extraordinarily similar hearts, so similar that it seems likely you would be able to wield the keyblade if opportunity arose…"

Leon started slightly at this, and the barest trace of anger flitted across his face.

"You mean that giant key thing Sora has?"

"Precisely," Merlin answered, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "The keyblade chooses a master and will only allow that person to use its powers."

Yuffie had sat back down at the table, evidently convinced that Kairi wasn't about to rip their throats out. "Yeah, and the keyblade chose Sora." She giggled.

"What's funny?" Kairi wasn't in a particularly amused mood.

"Oh, nothing really. It's just that, the first time we met Sora…we had to explain the same things to him. Me and Leon, I mean."

Suddenly, Kairi was hit by another blast of déjà vu, much stronger this time. "Have I met you all before?" she asked, without thinking about it.

Yuffie opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say no, of course not, but she paused. "I—I don't think so…" She didn't sound so sure.

"It's very possible," Merlin interjected.

"What?" Yuffie stared at him wildly. "Believe me, I would remember someone like her."

"Hey!" Kairi piped up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up both of you. Let Merlin talk." Leon was glaring, looking immeasurably scary.

"Thank you, Leon." Merlin narrowed her eyes, letting them focus in on Kairi. They were the only part of him that didn't seem old. "Now, all of you stop and think for a moment. You recall, don't you, that period of about two years when we forgot all about Sora? It's quite possible—even probable, seeing as how she seems so tied into all of this—that we forgot Kairi as well."

"So you're saying…" Kairi began, feeling a little overwhelmed, "That I might have been here before?"

Merlin nodded. The room was silent for a moment while everyone present attempted to remember. Leon simply look introspective, Yuffie looked annoyed, and Cid looked pained, as though thinking wasn't something he did very often. Not wanting him to strain something, Kairi spoke up.

"Okay, so we know each other. Fabulous. But I don't remember any of you, so I'm just gonna act like I'm new to this little…club." To herself Kairi said, damn, I really am becoming Miss Cynical. Well, that's fine. I'm sick of being the sweet little heroine. I'm gonna find Sora even if I have to get dirty to do it.

"So what now?" Yuffie asked.

"I need to find Sora," Kairi answered without hesitation.

Leon turned his moody glance on her. "That might be more difficult than you think. Sora's on a mission. He's fighting the heartless and the nobodies. He's also world-hopping quite often. We have no idea where he could be."

"Oh." Kairi felt disappointment weigh down on her like a cement block. To distract herself more than anything else, she asked, "What are nobodies?"

Yuffie and Leon glanced at each other. "They're what's left when someone becomes a heartless." Leon clenched a fist. "Usually they just become little white creatures—."

"They're flippin' creepy," Yuffie chimed in.

"Yeah. But someone with a particularly strong soul's nobody can manifest into human form, just like someone with a particularly strong heart's heartless can. There is a group if these humanoid nobodies called—."

"Organization 13," Kairi finished for him.

Leon nodded. "Yes. How did you know that?"

Kairi shrugged, trying to keep her voice casual. "I don't know. Must'ave just picked it up somewhere." Leon seemed satisfied with the answer.

Kairi stared down at the stained tablecloth. She had no idea why she hadn't mentioned Axel. He wanted to kidnap her, he was the reason she had been thrown into this crazy mess. But something had stopped her from revealing her sources. If these people, the Restoration Committee, thought she was a liability, like she might be used as some trap for Sora, they might do something to her. Something unpleasant, like tossing her off a cliff.

Sighing, she stood up, intent on seeing if there was any more coffee in the pot. She took a step and suddenly found herself engulfed by cold. The ramshackle living room was gone, replaced by the swirling darkness she had unfortunately become so familiar with. A moment later, she was standing once again in that swirling tunnel of nothingness. The Realm.

"Welcome back, baby."

Axel was standing several feet in front of her, arms folded, that obnoxious smirk plastered on his face. Kairi knew she should be afraid, but instead she just felt slightly inconvenienced .

"God, don't you have anything better to do?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"Nope. Sorry, babe, you're my mission."

"Oh, so it's 'babe' now?" Kairi asked, disgusted. "What happened to sweetheart?"

Axel shrugged, his expression rather listless, as though he didn't really care about anything she asked. "I decided that you're attractive enough to be known as babe." he answered airily.

"Great. I'm so glad I pass your test." Kairi should have been creeped out, but she wasn't. Once again, she was just annoyed.

"You should be. Now, please allow me to escort you back to—."

"I'm not letting you escort me anywhere!" Kairi said forcefully. "I'm not gonna be your goddamn bait! Sora would never fall for that, anyway."

Axel laughed. "What? You think Sora's smart enough not to be enticed by a pretty girl?"

Kairi glared, feeling a sudden need to defend her friend. "That's not what I meant, but Sora's not like that, either."

"Gimme a break, my sweet, naïve thing," Axel chuckled. "Sora's a guy. A sixteen-year-old guy. He's as bad as the rest of us. Just 'cause he's the King's shiny new hero doesn't mean he's not a perv. All guys are, got it memorized?"

"You're an asshole."

"You're right," Axel agreed, "I am. And you're a hostage."

Before Kairi could blinked, he had raised his hands above his head, darkness swirling around them. It flew from his palms, wrapping her in its cold embrace. The last thing she saw was Axel leaning down to admire his handiwork, before her world turned black.

When she awoke everything was dark, but it wasn't the bottomless dark of the Realm. It was natural, almost comforting darkness of night. From where she was lying she could see the sky, strewn with more stars than she had ever seen. For a moment, she wondered why the sky had been reduced to a tiny rectangle, but then she realized she was looking at it through a window.

Kairi sat up, a blanket falling off her. Whoever had laid her to rest in this huge bed hadn't even bothered to remove her shoes. Shakily, she slid to the floor. She seemed to be in a bedroom, and quite a large one at that. She was just about to set off in search of a way out, when a door opened and a tiny light floated inside.

It's a fairy, Kairi thought idiotically. It was obviously not a fairy, it was someone arriving with a candle.

"How are you feeling?" The someone was female, and from the small glow the candle created Kairi could make out dark hair and a kind face.

"I'm okay," she answered, not sure whether it was true or not. She felt fine physically, but her mind was reeling. Apparently, whatever Axel had tried to do hadn't worked, for she was neither in a dungeon nor tied up. She had gotten away again.

"That's good to hear." The woman continued past Kairi and proceeded to light several more candles, placing them strategically through the room until they formed a sphere of warmth and light. "For awhile there I was worried you wouldn't wake up." She lit the last candle and smiled. "I'm Belle."

"Kairi."

"That's a pretty name. I've never heard it before." Belle's smile was warm and inviting, but there was something else behind it, like a sadness that would never really go away.

"How did I get here?" Kairi asked. The last thing she remembered was Axel flinging that gluttonous darkness her way.

Belle crossed to the window. "You were found in the back courtyard. You were unconscious."

Kairi gasped, suddenly remembering something. "There wasn't a…there wasn't a dog with me, was there?"

Belle shook her head. "No. I'm sorry."

Kairi sighed. He hadn't been hers anyway. Still, she would miss the reassuring presence at her knee.

Belle turned back from the window. "The master will want to meet you, now that you're awake."

"Great…" Kairi shifted uncomfortably. Nobody who was known as 'the master' was ever good news. "Where do I go?"

The castle was old. Every time the wind blew the walls groaned, drafts creeping in through the crumbling bricks. At one point it had been grand, and in part it still was, but the master of the house had allowed it to fall into such disrepair that from a distance the place looked abandoned. It was huge, but only a handful of the rooms were ever used.

It gave Kairi the creeps. The very air seemed to be charged with something intense and frightening. Belle led her down the east stairs, pausing in front of a pair of massive double doors, so tall the top was wreathed in the gloom of the front hall.

"Um…there's a few things I need to tell you before you…" She swallowed nervously. Kairi wondered what terror these doors could hold. "The master is currently…moody. Be polite and don't meet his eyes. He hates that," she added sorrowfully.

"Uh, okay," Kairi answered weakly.

Belle pushed on the doors. They swung slowly open, creaking like they were in pain. What lay beyond was a magnificent ballroom, or what once had been a magnificent ballroom. At one point the crystal chandelier must have been lit and shining, the tapestries and garlands would have been aired and flawless, and the mahogany floor would have been waxed. Now it was simply sad and neglected.

Kairi and Belle descended the steps to the dance floor. There were footprints in the dust, leading way toward the end of the hall. Kairi's eyes widened. No, not footprints. Paw prints. Huge and clawed, though whatever animal had made them walked on two legs.

Belle didn't even glance at them, just set off across the floor. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were hooded. She didn't look scared, just kind of…sad.

"Master…"

Suddenly Kairi could make out a huge shape, standing in front of the broken window at the end of the hall. It turned and she got the impression of a hulking monster, shaggy-furred and fiery-eyed. It stared at Belle for a few moments. Then it spoke, its voice little more than a rumbling growl.

"Yes?"

Belle stared at the floor, though Kairi could see her fists had clenched. "The girl that was found in the garden…this is her." She looked up suddenly. "Beast, you have to tell me—."

"Quiet Belle," the master ordered.

Belle stamped her foot angrily, sending up a little puff of dust. "Beast, you have to stop doing this! Why won't you talk to me? You're just being a—."

"Silence!" He lunged forward, clutching Belle's thin frame in one of his giant paws. Kairi screamed, but Belle just stared at him levelly, a rebellious glint in her eyes.

"I don't see why you have to be so mean all the time!" she spat. He let go of her, surprised. She spun on the spot, walking away huffily and leaving Kairi alone with the Beast, who turned back to the window gloomily.

Kairi was confused. At first it had seemed like Belle was afraid of her master, like she was some kind of slave. But this…this was more like a lover's spat than anything else. And sure enough, the Beast's head was hanging, his shoulders were drooping. He seemed depressed.

"I don't know why I let her get to me," he muttered, and Kairi suspected he was talking to himself rather than her. But then he turned, his eyes glinting slightly in the dark. "I know you, don't I?"

"What?" Kairi asked, taken aback. "I don't think so."

"No," the Beast protested, shaking his great head, "I do know you. Kairi, that was it."

Kairi gasped. "How the hell do you know that?"

"I met you, around two years ago." He paused, evidently waiting for her to say something. When she didn't he went on. "It was in another world…Hollow Bastion, it was called. I was looking for Belle. Instead I met a boy named Sora, who was looking for you."

Kairi felt a rush of excitement. "Sora? You know him, too?"

"Yes. I saw him recently."

"You did? He came here?"

"Yes. But he's gone. You're about a month late."

Next Chapter: Brand New Clothes