Kairi and Sora came back from Neverland in high spirits. Kairi introduced Sora to Peter Pan and the two hit it off very well. The three of them took down Heartless and reinforced the Keyhole and Kairi was glad this mission went much more smoothly than Sora's last one. Kairi did not want to have to deal with the Organization if she didn't have to. Which they didn't. And the three of them had some time to enjoy the adventures of Neverland before returning to Traverse Town.

By the time they made it back, the two of them were beat. Too many Heartless. Too much excitement. The very long trip to and from. After they landed in the first district, Sora grabbed Kairi, swinging her off her feet, and fell back into the grass by the lamposts with his arms wrapped tightly around her. He must had decided he wasn't comfortable like that, since he proceeded to roll them over and nestle his cheek into the crook of her neck. Kairi was still trying to process what just happened as he sighed with contentment. It all happened so fast.

Clearly, he saw no shame in snuggling up to her. He was very comfortable with being close to her. Then again, he had grown with only two people for company and she was sure their relationship was intimate. She didn't know if he understood boundaries or social norms or that people didn't just do things simply… because that wasn't what was done. But Kairi knew if he suspected she might not be comfortable with something, he wouldn't do it.

She wasn't exactly uncomfortable. Just… surprised that he was so bold. She adjusted herself so she would be comfortable, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to stroke his hair. It was surprisingly soft. His arms around her torso squeezed encouragingly, urging her to keep doing that. Kairi snorted, obliging. What a brat.

"Kairi," Sora hummed thoughtfully. She felt his lips move against her skin, like he was chewing on the words, trying to find the right ones to say. She let him take a moment to search. "If you were a house, I'd be home."

She wasn't exactly sure what to say. What was he even talking about? "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've never really… had a home." Sora explained, his voice becoming soft. "We never settled in one place and I don't think I've ever really understood what 'home' meant. Aqua and DiZ would talk about 'going home' and taking me home and I didn't really get it. When I asked Aqua what home was for her, since she didn't have one, she said anywhere, as long as she was with Ven and Terra. Her friends were her home. If they were in the Realm of Darkness with her, she'd still be home. DiZ would talk about his castle and lab and that was home to him. A place.

"And… I guess home to me used to be where I lived before… with my… parents." She could hear the frown in his voice. "But… I don't think so anymore. When I think of home… I think of you. When I think of a place I feel safe and secure and welcome, it's you.

"So… you're my home."

Kairi's face burned. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. "You… you just do and say whatever you want, don't you?" she sputtered. He had to not do that. In fact, maybe he could just shut up forever. He was banned from this world. No longer welcome. Traverse Town would no longer accept him. That had to be the only way to get him to stop talking.

"Yup!" he rubbed his nose against her jaw-line playfully. "Your heart's beating really fast."

"Theeeey tend to do that sometimes."

Kairi felt his lips pull back into a wide grin as he chuckled. She wanted to push him off of her. She wanted to run far away from him. She wanted to deck him in the face for being so blunt. Instead, she wrapped her arms even tighter, squeezing his neck until he couldn't breathe. He laughed through his choke, tapping out.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop talking!" he laughed, resting back into the crook of her neck. "Your turn. Tell me a story."

"What kind of story?"

"One from Destiny Island."

Sora had heard exciting stories his entire life. He heard from Aqua about training and protecting the worlds from the Unversed. From DiZ, he heard about life in Radiant Garden. Mostly about science and the history of a monarchy. But Sora never had a chance at a normal life. He liked to hear stories about what could have been if he never left. He would ask Riku and Kairi about their lives before the Keyblade every chance he got, not even caring if he heard the same boring story twice. Then again, they usually had different tales to tell when it came to Riku and Kairi. Kairi would tell the truth while Riku strung a web of lies.

Okay, maybe Kairi exaggerated sometimes.

Or all the time.

"Hmm…" Kairi thought for a moment of the perfect story. There really wasn't much to tell. Life there wasn't exciting or amazing in any way. But there certainly were memories and a lot of them. Her and Riku got into trouble constantly. So, which story should she tell?

"About five years ago—I was like, ten; Riku was eleven—we got in trouble with the police." She noticed his confusion. Of course he wouldn't know what police were. "They're people who hold up the law. You know, put away bad guys and protect the population."

"They did a terrible job when it came to Xehanort."

Kairi laughed. "Got that right. Anyway, Riku got into one of his detective moods. It had been five years since you were taken and people sort of… forgot about you. He was getting really frustrated that people stopped looking for you. I mean, your parents didn't give up hope. But it drained Riku.

"So, every once in a while, we'd go to the police station to talk to the detective. He said the case was still open, but they didn't have the resources or manpower to continue the search. He sent information to the mainland and yada yada and a bunch of jargon we didn't understand as kid. Riku said it was what they told everyone to make them feel better, but… he knew they gave up. He wanted to see what they really knew.

"So, after the detective showed us to the door, we turned right back around and Riku somehow got us into the basement where there were a million boxes with a million files with cases. We were so scared we'd be caught. But Riku showed no fear. No hesitation. He kept my head down, listened for footsteps, and kept us out of sight. He was always good at keep us out of trouble when we were in it.

"We spent so long looking for your file. We hid a lot. Almost got caught so many times. And… after a while, we found it. We pulled it and… there was almost nothing in it."

Kairi felt her throat tighten at the memory. Here he was, the boy that had gone missing so long ago. She could still feel the worry and pain of the unknown all over again. Whenever Sora was brought up, she always wondered if he was alive. She wondered what kind of fear and pain that little boy went through. Now, she didn't have to. He was right here, in her arms. Safe and sound.

"There was only the information we gave. Your Dad gave. What a couple of other witnesses gave. A couple of sketches from the sketch artists. Some pictures of you. There wasn't anything. No clues. Nothing. It was a file in a file cabinet. There were cases that were stored in these huge crates, but not yours.

"They had given up. The people had forgotten about you. Everyone had moved on. Except for Riku and your parents."

"What about you?" Sora asked. He was curious, not hurt.

"I… I remembered you through Riku." Kairi bit her lip. "Riku talked about you all the time… up until he was nine. He was angry that he couldn't remember your face well and that his memories were becoming muddled and foggy. But that happens when you grow up. You disappeared when we were young. I knew you for a little over a year. You found me. You became my best friend very quickly. And, when you were gone, I missed you but… it's not like how Riku missed you.

"I was scared for you. I was scared you were dead or lost or that woman had done awful things to you. You were just a child…"

Sora laughed. "Well, I was lost. And… I was scared a lot. But DiZ and Aqua were there to make sure I stayed brave. If it weren't for DiZ, I would have forgotten you a long time ago."

"You? Scared?" Kairi giggled. "Now you're Mister Fearless."

"Nuh-uh," Sora shook his head. "I get scared. I was terrified when Xigbar attacked. When you lost your heart. I didn't know what to do. The thought I might have lost you drove me crazy." His grip tightened. "I think it's the most scared I've ever been in my life."

Her face was burning again. "You and me, both."

"So, how did you guys get caught?"

"Riku threw a fit." Kairi laughed. "It was actually really bad. He shoved one of the file cabinets over and it made the loudest noise. …We were held in the questioning room until our parents came to pick us up. I felt terrible since… well, my Dad's the mayor and he adopted me and I caused nothing but trouble. Riku, though… he was just so angry. Too much anger stored up in that tiny body of his.

"Riku doesn't really have a father." Kairi frowned. "He left when Riku was two. The closest thing he had to a father was yours so… your dad took us out to the island where he sat and talked to us about everything. Your father was the most patient man I've ever known. He let Riku vent about how angry we was and I cried because I was scared for you and your father listened. Then, he talked about how he wasn't angry and he couldn't blame them because… well, that woman was never coming back to this world.

"We hadn't heard the rumors that spread after you were taken. Our parents made sure of that. But your dad told us. He reminded Riku about a boy that had left the islands a long time ago. How he left for other worlds. He said that the woman was from another world. That he had no idea why she took you or where she went. That the only way to find you was if we had the power to travel between worlds.

"So, of course the police wouldn't find anything. There was no way off of our tiny world. We would just have to hope that maybe you'd find your way back to us."

"That's a sad story, Kairi." Sora pulled himself up to pout at her. "Will you tell a happier one next time?"

Kairi laughed, pulling him back down. "I promise I will tell a happier one next time."

Sora was quiet for a moment. It was strange. Kairi wasn't used to him taking a moment or two to process information. If he didn't understand something, he'd let you know and ask you to elaborate. From time to time, though, he'd stop and think about the information given and give a new insight to the problem. Kairi liked his outside-the-box thinking. Riku was very inside the box and stuck to structure. Kairi was just afraid of toeing the line.

"What exactly was it that made Maleficent throw me into the Realm of Darkness?" Sora asked.

"Oh, right." Kairi punched her palm behind Sora's head. "I forgot to explain that to you, didn't I? I mean, you never brought it up again, and I guess I thought you didn't care so much. Since, well, you don't seem to be concerned with a lot. Like, things you should be concerned about."

"Yeah," Sora shrugged. "I've spent most of my life in fear and in question and… I guess I kind of just got used to it. I'm not scared anymore because I can fight whatever is thrown at me. I don't question things because they never get answered. I've been told, 'I don't know' so many times… I just stopped asking."

"Well, we didn't exactly ask her ourselves." Kairi started, biting her lip. "We were busy trying to stop her from using the Princesses of Heart to open the final Keyhole and… well, I guess that still failed because…" Kairi shook her head. She felt so guilty helping Ansem open that Keyhole. She was part of the problem. She should have stayed and finished the job by locking it before Ansem got to it. "Anyway… we found this… report, I guess. It was a bit more like a letter. Maybe she sent it to someone, or left it for someone to find, we're not sure.

"It was a paper that explained this meeting she had a long time ago. She met this… guy that told her about a boy that would be her downfall. He told her the boy would be from a world full of light. He was borne of the sky and carried the Key. He had no Master, yet, the Key chose him. He was worthy to carry it. The Light within him shone brightest, carrying more than just it's own weight.

"There was more, but… it didn't make any sense. She couldn't make sense of it either, I think. Which is why she wrote it for someone, maybe hoping they'd understand. The guy talked about how the boy would open the door and… I don't know what door he was talking about. The Door to Light? Darkness? Is there more doors?"

Kairi struggled to remember what the rest of it said. She knew there was some more, but she had put it on the back burner for another day. When Ansem and the Organization were no longer a threat. When the Heartless were gone for good. When maybe they found that small boy that had been taken from them. And here he was. And still… those words didn't seem so important.

"So… I was thrown in there because of what I could have done?" Sora asked, pulling himself onto his knees to look down at Kairi. His expression was… angry. She didn't think she'd ever seen him mad before. She pulled back, sitting up. "I was… I was just a kid. She wanted to kill me as a child. In the worst way." He began to shake, tears forming in those blue eyes. "I was a kid, Kairi. She threw me right into the darkness, hoping it was consume me. But she wanted me to be scared first. Terrified. She took everything from me and wanted me to lose hope before falling into darkness. Because she didn't want anyone to oppose her—"

"Sora!" Kairi grabbed his face, making him look at her. "Look. You've won! You beat her! You held on to all that light, never once letting the darkness in. You've grown more powerful than you would have if you were with Riku and me. You brought Aqua and DiZ back from the darkness. You woke Ven up. You've taken on the Organization and beat them, all on your own. If she was scared of what you could have been, imagine her face if she could see you now. It's so much worse! Because you're so much better. You're stronger and your light is resilient. You beat the darkness. You played her terrible, awful game and won."

She succeeded in talking him down. Slowly, that smile she adored spread across his cheeks, his eyes softening. Sora wiped his angry tears, laughing. "I did, didn't I?"

"And you've got some pretty powerful players on your team." Kairi knocked him playfully over the head. "Don't forget. We've always got your back. I'll protect you, Boy Chosen by the Key."

Sora sat back on his heels, meeting her gaze. "Thanks… Princess Kairi."

She shoved him back, knocking him off balance. He laughed, catching himself and rising above her. Sora took her face in his calloused hands, pressing his lips against her forehead. Oh no. Her face was burning again. Her heart raced as he pulled back to grin at her. She shoved him back, even harder, making him fall back for real. He needed to stop doing things like that. He needed to stop making her feel this… burning in her chest. Like a candle had been lit in her heart.

She wasn't dumb. She knew what it was. She just didn't want to admit it.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Kairi jumped. She hadn't heard Aqua approach them until she spoke up. She beamed down at them, her long hair braided over her shoulder. Sora chuckled, rolling onto his feet to stretch, assuring her she wasn't interrupting. But she was and Kairi was very glad for it. Sora didn't seem to think much about what he did or how embarrassing it was nor seemed to care. Kairi scrambled to her feet, dancing back as Sora began to explode with excitement of seeing a new world.

Aqua smiled as she always did. With kindness and patience and adoration for Sora. It was a different kind of look than she gave anyone else. She cared so much for Sora. She had experienced in childhood and watched him grow and her pride shown brightest when she laid eyes on the boy.

But Aqua had a look for everybody. She loved Sora the way an older sister would. She was so proud of him that it burst from her every time she was in his presence. She loved DiZ as well. It was a different kind of love. She worried for him. She wanted him to abandon his revenge and the darkness and Kairi could feel the pain it put her in when he said or did something she disapproved of. Ventus was her favorite of everyone. She wasn't obvious with it, but it was clear she wanted to spend more time with him, take more care, and shower him with affection. He ate it up without even realizing it. Kairi saw Aqua didn't want to be away from Ventus anymore. Not again.

Everyone in Aqua's life was important to her. She refused to take them for granted and appreciated every second with them. Kairi supposed being in the darkness for so long did that.

"I'm glad to hear Peter Pan is doing well," Aqua folded her hands behind her back. Her smile fell. Oh, boy. "But… there's something Riku and Ven discovered. DiZ did some recon and… um…"

Kairi stepped in. "Should we go back to the base?"

Aqua nodded. "Yes."

Now that was a different look that she gave her. Was it Kairi or the news she had? Kairi prayed that it wasn't one in the same. Dread washed over her. She hadn't not thought about the consequences of losing your heart. She didn't know what would happen, especially with her… unique and resilient heart. None of them did. And that's what worried her.

Aqua led them back to the base in the Third District. Sora linked arms with Kairi, giving her an assuring smile that eased her. How did he have that effect on her? It must have been his boyish features and his easy smile. It made her feel like nothing was wrong with the world. He could easily make her forget the worlds were in immediate danger, even if they were talking about them. His bright outlook always just put her at ease.

It disappeared the minute they entered the door. Riku was at the computer, talking to DiZ. His face appeared on one of the side screens as Riku agreed with him about something. Kairi briskly walked over, pulling away from Sora to meet Riku at the console. Riku barely looked up as he greeted her, asking if her mission was successful.

She was a bit sad. They barely talked like they used to anymore. Since Hollow Bastion fell, they found it difficult to talk about stupid stuff like the people they've met and the connections they made and music and television and comics. Now they talked about training and their missions and every once in a while, they'd talk about Aqua, Sora, and Ven and what they did when they were together. With Aqua, it was always training. With Sora, it was Kairi and Sora goofing off. And Ven was… well, Ven. There wasn't a proper way to describe him. Ven was a good balance of work and play and maybe that was what Riku and Kairi needed to take back when it came to their relationship.

Riku just didn't want to play anymore.

This was a conversation they'd have another time. Kairi leaned against Riku's back to look at the data on the big screen. There still wasn't much. It was splayed out like Jiminy's Journals with a brief biography of their new enemy. It was a girl. The image said that much with her tiny figure and timid stance. Her hood was still up. It seemed they hadn't been able to get a picture of her with it down.

"We don't know much," Riku told her. "We think she's your Nobody. But she doesn't seem to wield a Keyblade and her name is kind of… different."

"Different?" Kairi asked, frowning.

"She is called Naminé." DiZ explained through the monitor. "It is difficult to get close to learn more, as Riku and Ventus have discovered."

Kairi looked down at Riku, turning to Ven who ruffled his hair. "We were in Halloween Town when we met her. Well… we think we met her. We were chasing someone across a bridge then… we were fighting a Heartless boss." Ven shook his head. "It was like there was this big thing that happened and we just… forgot. We know time passed. We know we talked to someone. We know we were nearly beat by that Heartless."

"So. Much. Poison." Riku groaned.

"But we can't remember."

"Who is she?" Sora asked, sitting at the table with Aqua.

"The Organization's thirteenth member." Riku explained. "We don't know anything about her. We don't know her title, why her name is different, what her attribute is, nothing. And we're kind of scared to get close, to be honest."

"If she has power over memory," DiZ began thoughtfully, "that would make getting close to the Organization impossible. It would make it infinitely easier for them to find us. They would know everything about us."

"But," Kairi chewed her lip, "if she were my Nobody… wouldn't she remember herself as me? And… maybe be on our side?"

"It seems she doesn't have any memories of her own," DiZ shuffled at his computer, throwing information onto one of their smaller screens. "There was data of her in Twilight Town training with another member. She asked him exactly what they were trying to achieve and why. He explained they wanted to create Kingdom Hearts so that they could get their hearts back. She asked him why they even wanted hearts.

"Why would she ask such questions if she already knew the answer?" DiZ shook his head. "As for why her name is different… it appears she named herself before she was found."

"Where was she found?" Kairi asked.

"Castle Oblivion." That was… an odd place for a Nobody to be born. Wasn't it? Kairi couldn't help but wonder how a Nobody was born. She knew how but not how. How did they form? Did they appear out of nothing? How did they find themselves on other worlds? What cosmic entity decided which world they would land on? DiZ continued. "It seemed the members they had sent there have earned their ticket back home with her as their payment."

"I suppose they couldn't go back empty handed," Kairi smirked, glancing to Ven. "Since we found what they were searching for and all."

Ven snorted a laugh, returning the grin. They knew the members were looking for the chamber Ven had been hidden in. But none of them knew why Xemnas had sent them to look for it. Why was it so important they found the Chamber of Waking? Did Xemnas know what was inside? What was he going to do with a sleeping Ven if he had found him? Kairi was glad they made it to him first.

"One question," Sora raised a finger. "If a Nobody is made from the body and soul that's left behind… then how can this Naminé girl be Kairi's? I was there. Her body never disappeared, just her heart."

"This is why we are uncertain of who she is exactly," DiZ said. "Fret not. I will find out what more I can and get back to you. Stay vigilant."

DiZ's screen blinked out, leaving nothing but a stream of data. Riku brought DiZ's data to the main screen to overlook it. She could feel the tension in his back. The guy needed to let loose. He needed to relax and from the cup of coffee nearby, Kairi was sure he hadn't slept much.

She was exhausted. She wanted to grab dinner and go to sleep. "Riku, come on."

"Hm?" he didn't look away from the data.

Kairi leaned over and closed out of it. He cried out a protest that she waved off. "We're getting food and we're going home. You need to sleep."

"Can't."

She knew what this was. If it had anything to do with Kairi being in trouble or danger, Riku was right there to try and fix it or save her or protect her. She really appreciated it. As strong as she liked to think she was, she was glad he always had her back. She was glad he looked out for her. She had a big brother to protect her.

"You'll work better if you get some sleep."

"How are you not freaking out?" Riku turned the chair to face her. "This… girl has the power to erase our memories! We don't know anything about her! She might… she might be a part of you!"

"And she might not be," Kairi shrugged. "I'm way too tired to get worked up over this. We'll deal with it tomorrow. Please, Riku. Let's go."

"But—"

"Let's go." Kairi pulled him out of the chair. He stumbled to his feet as she continued to drag him towards the door. She smiled at Aqua, Sora, and Ven as she moved. "You guys coming, too, or are you going to hang back?"

"There's something I need to discuss with these two," Aqua said. The two boys gave her identical puzzled looks simultaneously. "You two go ahead."

Kairi held up two fingers for victory as a gesture of departing. Riku was finally moving willingly know, knowing that he couldn't win against her persistence. She would eventually annoy him enough to get him to leave with her, so why fight it?

The two of them headed to the café in the third district to pick up food to-go. It was their favorite little place and the closest thing to fast food they would get here. Apparently, most cultures on other worlds didn't have anything like that. And Kairi supposed it was healthier to get something from a restaurant than some grease-hole. It was just so much easier to grab food when they were tired than to make it.

They ordered their usual, which the owner (they used the term loosely, since it was supposed to be temporary) and all of the employees knew by heart at this point. They rarely made their own food. As they waited, they slumped on the ground against the wall outside in their usual place around the corner of the building. They tended to gather unwanted attention, being the two people pretty much in charge of Traverse Town. Kairi laid her head on his shoulder and he rested his chin on her crown. They were content and comfortable in silence. There were many times the two had actually fallen asleep waiting for their food.

"You're really not worried about this new member?" Riku asked.

"I am," Kairi yawned. "I just don't have the energy to get all worked up like you. You know how Peter gets. Especially when there's a new boy who can be so eager to join the Lost Boys."

Riku snickered. "You're just jealous they didn't invite you to join them."

Kairi huffed. "Sexist, I tell you."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. The sound of people getting lunch and the fiddler in front of the café rang through the alcove. Kairi sighed through her nose, closing her eyes. This was nice. This was good. These were the times she'd missed with Riku. When they didn't have anywhere they needed to be or they weren't just discussing the end of the worlds.

Riku lifted his head. She felt the muscles in his shoulder tense and his blade shimmered into his hand. Kairi looked up, blinking blearily. What was going on? Something was wrong.

Someone was here.

Two hooded figures stood before them. One, tall and broad and confident. The other, small and shaking, standing just behind him.

"Look, XIII. They're tired." The tall one started and Riku and Kairi got to their feet. "This should make this mission much easier."

I'm so sorry. This was supposed to be an action chapter, but then it turned into a fluff chapter. Once I start writing fluff, THERE IS ONLY FLUFF. I only wanted a little, I swear! Then... oh, god. I accidentally the entire chapter.

Sorry it took so long to get out. Finals week and I'm replaying Days and other things. Next chapter! No fluff! All action!

I WAS gonna give Naminé a new name. You know, Kairi-x. But NONE of the scrambles I made or tried to generate sounded good. The letters in Kairi just don't mix well with X which is probably WHY they gave her a pretty, gentle name in the game instead of XIKARI.