A/N: I fear that my readers are getting LAZY! Gr… Lack of reviews tells me one of two things: (1) Everyone's just studying really really hard for their finals, and don't have time to submit a little FEEDBACK! Or… (2) The story sucks and no one finishes the chapter once they start it… (which I wouldn't know that it sucks because no one reviews to tell me!) ….Me, being the pessimist that I am, would naturally assume the latter. Which depresses me to no end, since I am putting my heart and soul into this fic: (

That being said… hugs and kisses to those diligent readers who do review!! (you know who you are) You guys are awesome! ; )

Oh, and BTW… when I first posted the last chapter, I forgot to add the whole "tell Kairi I don't love her" thing in Kairi and Riku's conversation… So I went back and added it:

"He… he…. He doesn't love you…" Riku's voice was barely audible, barely above whisper. Yet they rang in Kairi's eardrums as if he had shouted them.

Gasp! I know! How could I leave out such an important part of story!! I dunno…. I just did… sorry: )

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Cut

He doesn't love you… Riku's words stung. No… not stung. A bee stings, a paper cut stings… Those words, they CUT. Deep. They shot to her core and ripped at her heart, leaving long ugly scars in their wake to ooze with dejection and despondency. The pain in her chest caused by those words was insurmountable and it blurred her vision with numb tears as she tripped up the long flight of stairs leading to the Bailey.

The only solace she found… the only sliver of hope still flickering in the depths of her bleakness… was the fact that those words had not come from his lips. Those words, which stabbed her heart with rejection and abhorrence, had no viability until she heard them from him. As she rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, the flicker of hope burned a little brighter at the sight of his smile. …just seeing Sora smile had always been enough to make her happy… She almost laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing, excusing it as just a crazy dream, a nightmare of sorts…

But as she neared him, the fake grin plastered across his face vanished, and she instantly felt the flame dimming in despair. She stood, now only a few feet away from him, shaking involuntarily as silent tears trailed down her chapped face, her arms hugging her chest as the slight wind whipped her hair about in a crimson halo around her head. She had every intention of speaking, shouting, sobbing, doing something! But the unmistakable sour expression on Sora's face left her numb, unable to move.

Sora stared at her, anguished. Struggling to hide his own heartache as his stormy eyes met hers. He stood silent, afraid to speak. Inside he was screaming, calling to her, holding her… But the pain written into her face was almost tangible, pain that he caused, and he stood silent. Awaiting her response…

"Sora…" her voice shook, and she vigorously wiped at her face with her hands as she tried to steady her breathing. "Is it true?"

Sora had rehearsed a hundred times what he was going to say when she got here, now the words were jumbled up in his head and they left a bitter taste in his mouth as he replied… "Kairi… I can't do this. I have to stop fooling myself, and you. I'm the Keyblade Master! I have duties I have to uphold… like protecting the realm of Light… and protecting you…" The words were sloppy on his tongue and they seemed to fall flat off of his lips as he attempted to put them into sentences that made sense.

"Is that what this is about?! Protecting me?!" she shot back, her voice strengthening. "What makes you think I need protection Sora? I don't want protection." The tears behind her eyes dried in the wind as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Kairi, it's not just that…"

"Well then, what is it?" she asked shortly.

"I just don't feel that way about you! Okay!" he answered curtly, averting his eyes to the cobblestones under his feet as he shifted in his shoes uncomfortably.

The flicker extinguished and the initial cut deepened. Deepened to the point Kairi thought her heart might literally break into shards in her chest. She inhaled deeply, bearing the brunt of her pain as she closed the space between them, her face on inches from his downward gaze. "Look me in the eyes and say that…"

He slowly met her gaze, trying desperately to hide his heartbreak behind a stony expression. "I. Don't. Love. You."

And Kairi's heart shattered…

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The next few hours were a complete blur, nonexistent in Kairi's mind as she went through the motions of the day. The shards left of her broken heart rattled in her chest with each breath. Her eyes dried up from hours of endless tears and after days of remorse and depression, she wondered if it was even possible to mend a broken heart. Seeing Sora only intensified the pain in her chest until she felt nothing, numb to the world around her. Leon and the gang tried desperately to reach out to her and provide some sort of comfort, but Riku was the only one she found any friendly support in.

And after a week of zombie-like stature and emotionless encounters, Riku had finally had enough...

Bam.

Kairi's eyes shot open with the slamming of the front door.

"Kairi, get up."

She noticed the early morning sun streaming through the windows, rolled her eyes and rolled over on the sofa. "Go away, it's too early…" she mumbled, pulling the covers up over her head. Only to have them yanked to her feet and a splash of cold water take their place.

"Riku! What the fuck?!" she sat up quickly, wiping the water from her eyes as she glared at him.

"Come on! Get up!" he replied, grabbing her elbow and pulling her to her feet.

She struggled against his grasp, "Riku, have you lost your mind?! What the hell are you doing?!"

He held his grip firmly and started pulling her towards the nearby bathroom. "I'm sick of you moping around. It's time for you to get on with your life, now come on!" He replied as he nudged her into the bathroom, "Take a shower, get dressed, and meet me outside when you're ready."

"Ready for wha—"

The slamming of the bathroom door cut off her question and she opened it and stuck her head out, "Riku! Ready for what?! Where are we going?"

This time, the slamming of the front door cut her off and she growled in frustration, "You're insane!! You know that?!" she screamed towards him and slammed the bathroom door shut.

An angry Cid popped his head out from behind a bedroom door, "WOULD YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP AND QUIT SLAMMING THE DAMN DOORS??!!" he hollered before sulking back to his bed.

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"So you told her?"

"Yeah, she should be taking a shower now…" Riku lazily sat down on the shallow steps, leaning back on his hands as he took in the early rays of the sunrise. "But remind me again, why the hell did I have to do this so early??"

"I just can't stand to see her like this anymore…" Sora answered, "It's killing me…"

"Killing you? How do you think she feels?" Riku replied shortly. "She actually thinks that you don't love her."

"I know! That's what's killing me…" Sora shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned up against the stone wall adjacent to Riku. "I just need you to cheer her up…"

"And who's going to cheer you up?" Riku raised his eyebrows behind his silver bangs and eyed Sora questionably.

"I don't need anyone to cheer me up…" Sora answered flatly.

"Yeah, because you've just been 'Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky' for the past week, haven't you?" Riku smirked sarcastically.

"Look… All I care about is her right now. Okay?" Sora replied curtly. "Don't you worry your pretty little head off about me. I can take care of myself, pretty boy."

"Pretty boy?" Riku stood up, rolling his eyes, "What the hell is your problem…"

"Nothing. Look… just, try to cheer her up." Sora started off towards the Bailey. "I've got to go meet Merlin," he muttered as he drug his feet out of sight.

"Whatever." Riku waved his hand dismissively as the front door opened.

"Riku, what the hell is going on??" Kairi shut the front door behind her… quietly, so as not to piss off a certain blond mechanic.

Without turning around Riku grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards the market, "Come on, we're going to go…" Dammit, what is it girls like to do that cheers them up? "…shopping…"

"Shopping?" Kairi asked derisively, "You want to take me shopping?"

"Yep. You got it Princess," he answered coolly. "We've got to get you some combat clothes."

"Okay, first of all, don't call me that," she retorted as she pulled her wrist from his grasp and stopped in the middle of the street. "And secondly, I know you better to know that you would never just up and decide to take me clothes shopping."

He stopped walking as well and grit his teeth in frustration. "Look…" he turned around and met her gaze, his face softening, "I just want to see you happy, Kairi…"

"And you think clothes shopping will make me happy…" she asked in a tone that said 'how-dumb-do-you-think-I-am'.

"Isn't that what girls like?" A grin began playing at Riku's mouth as he realized that this was Kairi he was talking about, not just any girl… "Sorry, Kai…" he laughed, "I guess I haven't seen you in a while… Kind of forget that you aren't like ordinary girls…"

"Oh?" she raised her eyebrows, "And just what kind of girl am I?"

"I didn't mean it as an insult, Kai. I'm just saying that we can do whatever you want to do… I don't mind…" he answered calmly as he started walking back towards the market again.

"Ooohhhh no," she replied as she hurried behind him, "You said it yourself, and now you're going to have to live with it…" She smiled as she caught up to him and linked arms with him, "We're going clothes shopping for new combat clothes…" she smirked triumphantly. "And you're paying!"

He grinned at her, "See! There's that smile I was talking about!"

She rolled her eyes, a frown replacing her smile. "Whatever, you're still paying…" she mumbled.

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A/N: I know… Depressing huh?... I can't help it, I've been a shitty mood lately and it's really leaking out in my writing… Sorry: )

YES!! This IS a SoraxKairi fic, and I PROMISE it WILL end a SoraxKairi fic. But until then, Sora will suffer for his stupidity… lol, no really… he will eventually "see the light" so to say… (and yes, the pun was intended…) but for the next few chapters, there might be a little KairixRiku fluffiness… she's on the rebound… Riku is Sora's best friend… shit like that happens in those precious teenage years, it's only natural!

But seriously, I REALLY REALLY REALLY want some feedback as to where this fic had headed in the last few chaps. I take flames, constructive criticism, whatever! I'll take it! REVIEW PLEASE!!