Disclaimer: Yea, i don't want to get sued, sooo..i own nothing that has anything to do with kingdom hearts, final fantasy VIII or disney... Kingdom Hearts is owned by square enix and disney ... :)

Kingdom Hearts III-The Past Reborn

Chapter 1

As soon as Leon stepped off the gummi ship and onto the shores of Destiny Islands, he couldn't help but feel out of place. The island carried a warm air with it, a feeling that was there not only because of the tropical climate. It was a peaceful place, one free of hostility and darkness. But Leon could never stay in a place like this for too long; his life had always been surrounded by combat. His ability to fight and protect kept him going through the worst of times. It was his one constant; it seemed there'd always be a reason to fight. Still, Leon appreciated places like this. They were beautiful havens that deserved to be kept secluded from the darkness lurking outside its borders.

Leon looked toward the orange sky and his thoughts strayed to a subject he always tried to avoid. He mentally kicked himself to get back on track. He couldn't afford to get distracted.

Finally he stepped forward allowing himself to continue with his mission.

"So I was sitting here, at this very spot actually, when suddenly it all came back, I remembered you!" The young girl exclaimed. Her flipped out hair bounced as she nodded enthusiastically. The young girl, Selphie, was sitting at the edge of the docks with two very good friends. They swished their feet around in the warm salty ocean, and watched the evening sky change colours. "And then, I knew right away that you weren't crazy Kai."

The red head girl sitting beside her punched her playfully in the shoulder. "Selph! You were the one telling everyone I was fine when my parents thought I had created imaginary friends."

"Kairi, you're probably my closest friend. If you really were making up imaginary friends, I wasn't about to abandon you! I mean you needed a real friend too!"

"How's this for imaginary friends?" and Kairi dipped her hand in the ocean sending sprinkles of water splashing over her friend.

"Kai!" Selphie cried. "You'll get my uniform wet!" Pouting playfully, she sent water back her way.

The once forgotten boy sat next to the two girls on the dock, his hair spiky as ever. As he watched them, he thought about his journey as the keyblade master, and how great of an experience it was to travel to different worlds and meet new friends…There were so many close calls, so many moments where he could have been erased from existence and memory…

Kairi had always kept his memory alive, even when she didn't know what to call him; she always knew he was out there somewhere. He laughed and smiled with his friends. He was so grateful to Kairi for always keeping his heart safe. And he was so grateful at that moment just to be able to laugh with his friends. Then, a bit of ocean water was sent splashing his way, breaking his thoughts. "Uugh! You'll get in my hair!"

"Oh, don't act like a little water will get that mop to stop defying gravity Sora." Selphie said.

The three teens had left school much later today. Kairi and Selphie were a part of the art club; they were making posters and planning the setup for the skateboard competition, which would be held later that week. Sora was registered to take part in the competition, so he had stayed late to practice. Even though things were back to normal, Sora still felt strange sometimes, not having to worry about saving the world. It was weird how after-school functions now topped his priorities. And every now and then he had to wonder how he found his way back to this point. There he was, living the simple life of a teenager on Destiny Island, when only two years ago, the people of the island had forgot he existed.

"So, Selph, everyone really just forgot about me?" Sora asked, scratching his head in thought after the water-play had ended.

"Yeah," Selphie said, feeling a little guilty that she too forgot about her friend. "It's weird too, looking at you now, I can't see how I ever managed to forget someone like you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kairi smiled sweetly. "Didn't you know? You're one in a million Sora." Sora melted at her soft eyes and delicate smile. He smiled back at her. I couldn't agree more Kairi.

"Yeah," Selphie nodded in agreement. "I've never seen anyone with hair like yours! But seriously guys, it's been two years since all that craziness, since you guys came back, and you still haven't told me what happened."

Sora shrugged. "It doesn't matter now, nothing really that interesting happened anyway."

Like that's not the biggest understatement of the year. Dry sarcasm that was not Sora sounded within his head. Sora's eyes rolled upward, and he resisted the urge to tell himself to shut it.

"Try me." Selphie smirked. Anyone could tell she was a little annoyed. Kairi especially knew that she hated being kept out of the loop. "I know something happened. Kairi, before you came back you couldn't even draw a stick figure straight, and now you're like one of the top artists in the art club! And Sora, did you go off to some training camp? Because you came back ripped and in better shape than ever!"

Sora turned a little red at the last comment. "It's kinda complicated…" He mumbled, scratching his head.

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't believe the half of it…" Kairi added.

"Half of what?" questioned an older boy with white hair. He joined his three friends, sitting on the dock next to Sora.

"And you too Riku!" A pointed finger came his way. Riku furrowed his brow a bit taken aback from Selphie's sudden forwardness. "What?"

Kairi giggled, "Selphie wants to know about our big adventure."

"Tell her Riku! It wasn't that great." Sora said.

Riku sighed, his face slightly darkened. "Great is definitely not how I would describe it."

"You know what? I think I'm gonna get us some sea salt ice cream, and when I get back the three of you better have some sort of explanation ready." Selphie gleefully smiled. She jumped up and skipped along off the dock.

"So how did this subject come up?" Riku asked, as Selphie disappeared.

Sora sighed. "Selphie asks us about it every chance she gets."

"You know, when you two were gone, she was probably there for me more than anyone else. I think she just feels left out because I haven't talked about it." Kairi said.

"It's not like the things we went through are easy to talk about." Riku said, and Sora especially knew that he was referring to himself more than his two friends.

"Maybe I'll tell her about it," Kairi said "But not tonight, I'm too exhausted to get into a discussion like that." The three of them nodded.

Eager to change the subject, Riku stood up and spoke. "I bet Selphie will need some help carrying all that ice cream over here. I'll leave you two alone…" Riku nudged Sora with his foot and cocked his head toward Kairi, who was too busy gazing into the orange sky to notice Riku's obvious effort to get Sora to make a move. He then lightly jogged off to catch up to Selphie.

Leon walked along the sand trying to cloud his mind with thoughts of the upcoming war so that there would be no room for anything else. He didn't want to take in the soothing sea breeze or the vibrant setting sun. He didn't want to think about how beautiful she would look if she were with him at that very moment. Her hair would probably blow gently to one side with each breeze that came by. Her porcelain skin would reflect an orange glow from the deep colours of the sky. And she would be carrying that beautiful smile, the one that always softened his heart.

Leon now realized that thinking about all things he didn't want to think about had backfired, and tricked him into thinking about all of it anyway. He looked around him quickly. There was absolutely no one around to witness the tear that had escaped out of the corner of one of his cold blue eyes. He sighed and decided that if there were any place he should permit himself to let his guard down, this would be it. Just for a moment, he sat down atop the sand and let himself smile.

"Rinoa," He said aloud in a whisper. " You would have loved it here."

Sora watched Riku run off and then turned to look at Kairi. The sun shone on her crimson hair, as she gazed into the sunlight. She truly was one in a million Sora thought to himself.

Then why don't you tell her that?! Words of advice from his other half sounded in Sora's brain. Sora rolled his eyes."Let me handle it Roxas!" he whispered to himself.

"What'd you say?" Kairi turned to him.

"Oh nothing I was just…" Sora began, but Kairi nodded and there was no need for explanation. If it were anyone else, they'd think Sora was talking to himself, but it was different with Kairi. Sora, Riku and Kairi all understood each other in a way that no one else on the islands could.

Sora didn't have to go explaining that he had this nobody inside him named Roxas, that liked to make sarcastic comments and throw his two cents into Sora's thoughts and actions, much to his annoyance. Sora didn't question Kairi's brilliant drawings, because he already knew that it was Kairi's way of giving her nobody an outlet, something that brought Naminé joy.

"What did he say this time?" Kairi asked, giggling a little.

"He said the sunset reminds him of the time he spent in Twilight Town, with Hayner, Pence and Olette."

Liar…

"Oh…"

There was a long pause as the two teens watched the sun sink deeper into the horizon.

Kairi's voice suddenly broke the silence. "Sora…promise me you won't leave me behind again…"

Sora was bewildered. Where is this coming from all of a sudden? "Kairi, I…"

"Please?" She turned to him, her blue eyes looking into his, close to tearing. Tearing? A second ago she was laughing. The subject of their adventure usually brought Riku to a slightly dark and brooding mood, but Kairi usually didn't react this way. Sora hated seeing Kairi sad.

"That's behind us now, we don't have to think about that anymore…" Sora replied. He was trying to dodge the words she wanted him to say. He couldn't make that promise.

"We both know that's not true Sora." Kairi frowned slightly, not liking his dodge. "You haven't forgot about the letter, have you?"

The letter. The one the king had sent them only a week after they were all back on Destiny Island. It was simple but got the point across:

'Sora, Riku, Kairi…

It's not over yet, always be ready.
Hope you're doing well

King Mickey

Sora looked away from her, his voice low. "Then you know I can't promise anything…"

Kairi looked disappointed, but she seemed to understand. She always did. Then her expression softened and she said, "I love you."

Sora had always been terrified of this moment, even though he knew it was coming. But looking at her, he calmed right down. "Kairi, thank you for always keeping my heart safe."

She smiled softly. "Anytime." She laughed. "You should hear what Naminé's saying."

"…Roxas wants me to tell you how I feel."

"Oh, and how do you feel?"

Sora hesitated for a moment and he wondered if he should say what really was on his mind. Despite his nerves he felt ready. Roxas was telling him that it was stupid for him to feel nervous. Looking into Kairi's eyes, he agreed with his nobody because he became completely relaxed.

"I love you too." He said, and then he kissed her.

Leon was on the move again. He couldn't afford to let himself stray for too long. He had now reached a spot on the island that was bustling with people. It was a small market area with lots of quaint little shops and restaurants. He scanned the area for any familiar faces. Then he spotted the silhouette of someone with wild spikes atop their head. He was sitting at the end of a pier that stretched out into the sea. There was no mistake it was Sora, the very person he needed to find.

As he made his way across the dock, he realized he was with a girl. Not just any girl. This was Kairi, the girl he had gone to the ends of the worlds (literally) to rescue. And they were looking at each with such intensity. He slowed his pace as he watched them get closer and closer to each other …then they kissed.

Leon chuckled lightly; he was not about to interrupt their moment. His mission would have to wait.

He was about to exit the scene when a voice from behind stunned him.

"Excuse me, why are you watching my friends make out?" The voice was so familiar… and even after all these years he could still place the face to the sound.

But it was impossible. The girl he was reminded of couldn't be standing behind him.

Leon slowly turned and was met with a complete shock, because the impossible had just been confirmed.

Authors Note: Hope you liked it! Please Review...if you like my story, motivate me to update sooner!