A/N: Yeah! I updated again in less than 24 hours! Man I'm good… haha

Let's see… where were we… Ah, yes, now I remember… He closed his eyes and could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips as his heart raced with anticipation… (laughs evilly) …Damn… I just realized that I am still the tease I was in high school… (sigh) oh well…

Interruptions

"Damn it Yuffie! Don't you ever just SHUT UP?!" Cid's intruding voice rang throughout the small room as he, Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith stumbled through the door, shattering Kairi and Sora's tender moment to the ground in a million pieces. The commotion was enough to wake the entire town and Kairi winced at the sound.

Sora sighed in disappointment and he and Kairi quickly withdrew, avoiding each other's eyes. Thanks guys… Perfect timing… He shifted his eyes towards Kairi's. She was fumbling with her hair and doing anything but look at him. Feeling the awkwardness of the moment, he quickly stood up and crossed the room to greet his old friends.

"Holy shit…" Cid stared in disbelief at Sora as he walked up to him. "Is that… Damn! It is you kid!"

"Hey guys!" Sora's irritation with the intrusion dissipated as he took in the faces of the friends that he saw so little of. "How's it going?"

"No offense, kid…" Leon interjected.

"Hey! Would you guys stop calling me 'kid' already?! You know… I turn 17 in a few weeks…" Sora interrupted.

"As I was saying…" Leon rolled his eyes and continued, "No offense, Sora… but your presence here never means that thinks are hunky-dory. That being said… What's wrong now?"

Did Leon just say 'hunky-dory'? "Uh…nothing's wrong… I'm just looking for my friend… Riku…" Sora rubbed the back of his neck nervously, If they don't know about the heartless yet, they soon will… He purposely left off the fact that he had been battling his own problems since the end of their last journey… "So… is this the kind of welcome that all your honorary members get??"

Sora immediately regretted his words as Yuffie picked him up in a bear hug, narrowly squeezing the life out of him as she squealed incoherently in his ear. It wasn't until after he regained his senses and the color in his face that he noticed the pungent odor of…

"Have you guys been drinking??" Sora laughed as Aerith tripped over her own feet as she stumbled towards him.

"Sorry Sora…" she said in the soft sweet voice that was only Aerith's as she gave him a friendly hug, "We just went so long without relaxing and having fun… Guess you could say that we're catching up on old times."

Sora smiled at the thought… old times… watching the sunsets… playing on the beach… just him, Riku, and Kairi… Kairi… was I really just that close to kissing Kairi… Kairi! "Oh! Guys, I almost forgot… Guess who else is here!"

Kairi smiled meekly as she crossed the room to make her presence known. Yuffie proceeded to strangle her with the same bear hug she had just encased Sora in. "Oh my gosh! Kairi! You've grown! Gosh you're gorgeous! I love what you did with your hair! You're almost as tall as me now! Where'd you get the new outfit? And how'd..." Sora rolled his eyes as Yuffie rambled on, not noticing the 'help me' expression Kairi was sending his way as Yuffie still hadn't loosened her grip on her.

"Yuffie, honey…" Aerith, however did notice, and she gently pulled the bubbling brunette from Kairi and led her to sit down in a nearby chair. "I think you need to sit for a little while…" she turned her smile towards Kairi who mouthed a 'thank you' and hugged her calmly, "It's good to see you Kairi. Sorry about Yuffie, I think she may have overdone it a little at the bar…"

"A little?" Leon asked sarcastically as Yuffie continued to ramble off in gibberish to no one in particular.

Sora laughed genuinely at his friends, "Man… it's really good to see all of you!"

"Aw, damn it kid…" Cid grabbed Sora around the neck and pulled his head to his waist in a headlock, "It sure is good to see you…" he laughed as he ran his knuckles across Sora's skull.

"Hey gramps! Knock it off…" Sora laughed as he pulled out of the headlock. "So, um… you guys haven't seen Riku… have you?" He asked the question, afraid that he already knew the answer.

"Nope, sorry…" Leon answered coolly. "How is it you are always loosing him? Every time we see you it seems like you're looking for him—"

Leon was cut off with Aerith's elbow in his ribs as she glared at him. "Unbelievable Squall…" she whispered harshly.

He returned the glare at the sound of his real name and rolled his eyes, turning his attention back towards Sora… who wasn't wearing a very pleasant expression himself.

"Look, Leon, he left Destiny Islands a few months ago on his own accord. I need to find him…" he turned his attention towards Kairi, "We need to find him."

Leon sighed as he shook his head, "Sorry Sora…" he mumbled, "he hasn't been by here."

Sora nodded understandably. "Okay… Well, guys… we um… we kind of need a place to stay for the night…"

"Yeah! Stay here!" Yuffie exclaimed as she raced from her chair and grabbed Kairi by the arm, jumping up and down at her side. "We could have a sleepover!"

Sora looked at Leon and Cid, raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders, "Do you guys mind if we crash here tonight?"

"Of course not kid! You know you can crash here anytime!" Cid replied warmly.

"Thanks gramps. Appreciate it…" Sora smiled as Aerith turned towards a chest and pulled out some blanket and pillows.

"Here, you guys can use these. Sorry we don't have any extra beds…"

Sora and Kairi took the blankets and pillows graciously. "That's okay Aerith. Kai can sleep on the couch… I'll take the floor."

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Sora moaned as he trudged through the dark streets of Radiant Garden. Not being able to sleep, as usual, he had decided to take a walk and clear his head. He had been extra careful not to wake anyone as he slipped out, and now he was walking quietly, anxious to see if the Restoration Committee had done anything yet with the pile of rubble that had once been the Bailey. The blackness of the night sky comforted him and he smiled as he acknowledged the thousands of stars dotting the bleakness. No… not stars… worlds. He reminded himself as he neared the landing that stretched out into the Bailey.

Radiant Garden was so quiet… He remembered how it had looked only a few months ago when he departed the last time before facing Xemnas…a sleepy town in the middle of a raging war between light and darkness… A war that he had thought was finally over…

He paused at the window overlooking what used to be Maleficent's castle. He smiled to see that the Restoration Committee had wasted no time in bulldozing it to the ground, the violet chasms that surrounded the town reaching all the way to the flat horizon seamless. Good riddance…

As he leaned against the stone wall, looking out over the dark barrens, he suddenly realized that he had been gone from Merlin's for almost half an hour and he had yet to see a heartless. He shrugged off the thought just as soon as it had come, but summoned his keyblades regardless, just in case…

As he continued to stare out into the night, he slung the Oathkeeper over his shoulder and let the dark Keyblade of Hearts dangle at his side. The weight of his weapons encouraged him, and he felt comforted by their presence. He remembered what he had said about the keyblade before leaving the Pride Lands… "…As long as the keyblade stays with me, I'll just have to keep fighting…" (A/N: he said something to that accord… the words may be screwed up…)

But just how long is the keyblade going to stay with me? He wondered as he raised the dark blade at his side and admired it. And how long am I going to have to keep fighting? Will it ever end?!

Being attacked by the heartless again was… disheartening to say the least. "Maybe… maybe it won't ever end… Maybe, as long as there is darkness in people's hearts, there will always be a war to fight…" he relinquished out loud. "Maybe I'll have to keep fighting this war for the rest of my miserable life…" The thought of never having a moment's peace, never living the life he had dreamed of, never being free from the burden of saving the world made him nauseous. "It's not fair!" he screamed into the night, "I never asked for all this! I thought this was finished! I was supposed to have a normal life now!!" Suddenly, the usual comfort the keyblade brought was replaced with the weight of a heavy burden as it rested across the back of his shoulders. He tightened his grip on the Oathkeeper's hilt as he thrust off his back and glared at it through foggy lenses. The small Thalassa shell charm dangled from it, glistening in the moonlight. He felt sick as he glared at the weapon. Releasing his frustrations, he screamed from the bottom of his lungs and hurled the keyblade into the bleak night, riding himself of the burden that came along with its power…

As the silver blade swirled through the night air, waves of images began flooding Sora's mind. Images that he did not recognize, but somehow he could not shake the feeling that they didn't happen in a dream…

Disney Castle… Night… the Shadow…

As the Oathkeeper rematerialized in his palm he stared at it, shocked. (A/N: Hello… Sora can't get rid of the keyblade that easily…) The images immediately stopped their barrage and he stood against the stone wall, bewildered. He glared at the weapon and again threw it out the window into the darkness, this time with more force.

As soon as the Oathkeeper left his fingertips, more haunting visions intruded his head and he grasp his temples in pain. The images boring into his skull brought him to his knees and he fought the tears that were creeping into his eyes.

Black blood… Darkness… Kairi…

Kairi Kairi Kairi… Tears streamed down his cheeks as her face circled around the images in his head. The nausea in his stomach intensified to the point he thought he might be sick. "Kairi… No…" he moaned through clenched teeth as the images halted with the return of the Oathkeeper.

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Kairi awoke with a start. She sighed as she rolled over, careful not to fall off the narrow sofa. The fire still burning nearby bathed the room in a soft orange glow and she could easily make out the outline of Sora lying under the thick blankets below her. A slight smile worked across her face as she thought about what had happened between them earlier. Well… almost happened between them. She giggled quietly as she recalled Sora's expression when Cid and the others had barged in on them. Thank the heavens they couldn't see anything from their vantage point… She knew that they would never let Sora, or her for that matter, live that one down…

The rustling of blankets startled her and she realized that Sora was sighing into his pillow and mumbling incoherently. "Sora?" she whispered softly, "Are… are you awake?"

Sora moaned as he sat up and peered through the dimness at Kairi, "Yeah Kai… I'm up. Sorry if I woke you. Can't sleep…"

"I was awake already, too. What's wrong?" she asked as she propped herself up on her elbow.

"Kairi… can I ask you something?" Through the glow of the furnace, she could see Sora's face was set in a serious expression as he looked her in the eyes.

"Of course Sora… What is it?"

He took a deep breath and his eyes never left hers, "What really happened the other night in Disney Castle?"

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A/N: See GTA guy!! I told you there was a method to my madness… lol Gasp! Sora didn't get to kiss Kairi! He's sick of the burden of the keyblade! What will happen if and when Kairi tells him what really happened? And why aren't the heartless after Sora anymore?

All this and more to be revealed… (laughs evilly)