A/N: Damn, I should have started bitching about the lack of reviews weeks ago!! lol YEAH! You guys rock! Thanks for all the input! It makes it a lot easier to update if I know everyone is still enjoying it: )

Reflections

Sora trudged through the streets of Radiant Garden, his shoes scuffing along the gritty pavement, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, and his eyes fixated in a sad sapphire stare on the road ahead of him. Cold wet raindrops lightly pelting his face, and he cursed as he pulled his black hood up over his head. "Perfect. Shitty weather for a shitty day…"

After a week of avoiding Kairi and conspiring with Riku, he was already wondering if lying to Kairi about his feelings for her was such a great idea… "Well, too late now…" he muttered under his breath as he heard the giggles from the opposite side of the Burrough…

"See! There's that smile I was talking about…"

Sora rolled his eyes at Riku's comment and continued his trudge up the long flight of stairs leading to the Bailey. He wasn't looking forward to today's lessons with Merlin. Today, he was going to finish building the barrier separating his heart into opposite poles of light and darkness. It had been a painful and unpleasant experience, to say the least, and the lack of sleep that had accompanied it for the past week had left him cold, sarcastic, and short-tempered. His outburst at Riku earlier was case-in-point…

"Pretty boy…" Sora smirked out loud, chuckling as he paused at the top of the stairway. "Well he is kind of a pretty boy…"

"Yeah, and he's with your Princess of Heart right now…"

"What?" Sora stopped dead in his tracks and spun around on his heels. The stairway below was deserted. "Who's there??"

"It's maddening… Isn't it…"

Sora spun back around the other direction, his eyes darting around madly trying to find the owner of the melodic voice ringing in his ears as the rain intensified into a steady downpour. He shielded his eyes against the water beads trickling down his forehead as he peered around him.

"Here you are, trying to protect her… trying to save the world… and he's down there with her, with your Princess of Heart." The voice taunted, "He doesn't deserve her!"

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked as he continued scanning his surroundings, his feet still planted at the top of the stairs.

"You know what I'm talking about… I'm talking about Riku and Kairi… Alone. Together…"

Sora remained silent as he grit his teeth together while mulling over those words…

"Don't tell me that you are so dense that you didn't even consider him moving in on your girl…"

"She's not my girl. Besides… Riku is my best friend. He knows that I love her… he would never do that…"

"Ah…. But perhaps he already has…" the voice chuckled.

Sora huffed in frustration. "How would you know?! Who the hell are you anyways?! Show yourself!" Sora ordered as his two keyblades materialized in his palms.

"Show myself?? Show myself…" the voice chuckled. "You really want me to show myself?"

"Yes! Dammit!" Sora growled as he tightened his grip on his weapons.

"Well, my dear Keyblade Master, all you have to do is look down…"

"What?" Sora replied angrily. "What the hell are you talking about?! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Just look down…" the voice hummed in his ears as the rain began to come down in sheets and a wind howled through the small buildings surrounding him.

Sora rolled his eyes and finally looked down at the cobblestones collecting rainwater at his feet. Directly underneath him was a large puddle of water and all he saw was his reflection looking back at him, his dark hood covering his eyes, his chocolate brown spikes hanging loosely in his face.

"All I see is my reflection…" Sora answered flatly.

"Look closer…"

Sora squinted down at the puddle against the turrets of rainwater pressing down on him as a gust of wind blew by him. Again, all he saw was his hooded reflection squinting back…

Suddenly, a gust of wind caught his hood and blew it back over his shoulders and out of his face. Sora cursed as the rain drenched his hair and face as he grabbed for the edges of the hood to replace it. Suddenly, he stopped…

He peered down at his reflection in the growing puddle underneath him, and squatted down to get a closer look, the blades of his weapons resting lightly on the ground on either side of him. Long beads of water ran down his cheekbones and dripped from his jaw line. He rested the Oathkeeper against his thigh and slowly brought his finger tips up to his tanned cheek and ran them along his cheek bones, his reflection below him performing the same gesture… only with black claw-like fingers running along black smoky skin. He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face and though his hair while he tried to calm his racing heart.

When he opened his cerulean eyes again, they were not met with the same ocean blue stare from his reflection. As lightening pierced the cloudy sky above him, the black reflection in the puddle winked one sickly yellow eye at him, "Surprised to see me?"

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"What do you think of this one?" Kairi asked raggedly as she stepped out of the dressing room wearing a black leather jumpsuit outfitted with a long black cape.

Riku smirked, "You look like you just stepped out of the Matrix…"

"Yeah, you're right…" Kairi replied as she spun around in front of the mirror. "I look like Catwoman or something… it's too dramatic for me, huh?"

"Yep." Riku answered, "Too dark, too… You're a Princess of Heart, not a vampire."

Kairi giggled as she sneered at him, baring her teeth while she stalked towards him, "Rrrriikkkuuu… I vant to suck your bloooood!"

Riku laughed as he grabbed her around the shoulders and steered her back towards the dressing room, "Okay Dracula… We don't have all day. Next outfit…" he smiled as he reclaimed his seat outside the dressing room door.

"Hey Riku…" Kairi called from behind the closed door as she struggled out of the jumpsuit.

Riku smirked at the bare feet hopping up and down underneath the door, "Yeah…"

"Thanks…" the redhead leaned up against the door, crossing her bare arms across the top of it and resting her chin across her arms. She smiled at him, the light finally reaching her eyes for the first time in a week. "…For everything…You're a really great friend, Riku."

"You're welcome Kai." Riku answered back as he tried desperately not to picture what Kairi looked like behind the dressing room door. I'm doing this for Sora… he reminded himself internally as a tinge of red started playing across his cheekbones. "So… uh, what's next?" he asked quickly while he awkwardly ran his fingers through his bangs.

"Oh!" Kairi snapped out of her thoughtfulness and disappeared once again behind the dressing room door.

After a few minutes of tripping against the dressing room walls and mumbling about "damn zippers" and "bony hips", Kairi called out from behind the closed door. "You ready?"

"Yep." Riku answered.

"Promise you won't laugh…" she asked calmly as she peered over the top of the door.

Riku laughed as he eyed the playful cerulean gleam pleading with him, "Kairi come on. I promise I won't laugh."

She sighed, "okay…" and slowly opened the door and stepped out of the dressing room, watching her feet as she shuffled towards the three-way mirror. She was wearing all white, which accentuated her tanned skin and crimson hair. Her radiant sapphire eyes stood out the most against the white canvas, and Riku was awestruck at how graceful and angelic it made her look. The white sleeveless ribbed sweater hugged her curves perfectly, shaping her hourglass figure, the high neckline resting just under her collarbones. The tight white soft-leather pants rode low on her hips, overlapped with a pair of white slender knee-length boots that clicked softly on the hard tile as she walked, making her legs seem endless.

"Damn…" Riku was at a loss for words…

"What? Is it that bad?" she asked as she nervously played with the ends of her hair.

"No!" he answered as he slowly walked up behind her, "Kairi… you look… great!"

She smiled as she smoothed the sides of the shirt, "You really think so…"

Riku just nodded in response, unable to take his eyes off her.

I wonder if Sora will like it… she thought nervously as she turned around, craning her neck to examine her backside. She piled her hair on top of her head with her hands as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked differently than she did only a week ago. Not just the clothes, but something else. She could see it in her eyes, they looked… older, more mature. Somberness was not something that had carried well with her in the past, but her recent heartbreak played in her eyes like fire, lighting them up in hurt and betrayal. Sora had changed something about her…

She brushed the thought aside as she spun back around. "I like it too," she replied decisively. "But… it needs something."

"Needs something?" Riku responded as he was brought out of his reverie.

"Yeah…" she answered as she skimmed the nearby jewelry shelves. "Ah! Here!" she squealed as she grabbed two thick silver bands and clamped one around each arm just over her bicep. "There… now it's perfect."

Riku smirked and rolled his eyes, "Women…"

Kairi smiled and glanced out the windows of the shop at the fat rain drops wetting the glass. "Aw, it's raining…" she moaned as she walked across the shop and lightly rested her fingers against the cold glass.

Riku followed her and peered through the window at the graying skies blanketing Radiant Garden, "More like storming… We'd better get back."

"Yep," she agreed as she headed towards the cash register, pulling Riku behind her.

Riku laughed out loud as a thought suddenly struck him, "Hey Kai! It's raining… and you're wearing all white…"

An elbow in his ribs quieted his smirk and Kairi rolled her eyes as the cashier took Riku's munny, "Men…"

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A/N: Yeah for dirty minds! lol

Gasp! Sora's shadow is in his reflection… dun dun dun

And what changes have taken place in Kairi?!

And why are guys such perverts?! lol jk

Anyways, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW as usual: ) Because a happy writer means frequent updates!