The first day on the island, they relaxed. They needed it, the stress of having all the things thrown at them smack them in the face had been overwhelming. Kairi packed a lunch and took Aqua to the play island where her and Riku spent most of their free time. Before they left, she sat at her desk, Ven still sleeping on the bed behind her as Aqua checked on him, and wrote on a piece of paper in big letters with thick marker "COME HOME NOW," underlining "now" several times for emphasis. On the way there, she grabbed an empty bottle from a crate sitting on the side of the street, shoving the rolled up paper inside. Aqua could only laugh as Kairi threw the bottle out into the water as far as she could.

On the island, Kairi gave her a tour. There wasn't much to see or do, but waiting was all they could do at the moment and it drove Kairi crazy. She didn't have the energy to act on it the first day, and it was clear Aqua felt the same way. The entire day she seemed to be dragging, the weight of their situation pulling her down. And, possibly sleep. She didn't look like she had gotten much. When the two sat in the shade of the palm trees around the back of the island to escape the harsh afternoon sun, she dozed against the tree and Kairi let her.

Late afternoon, Kairi noticed three boats heading towards the island. She pulled Aqua into the Secret Spot, a cave where her and Riku would play in and draw on the walls when they were younger's—their secret hideout. She didn't want to be spotted by the three on the boats. Her parents were one thing, but… her friends were an entirely different matter.

"Friends of yours?" Aqua asked, peering around the thick trunk of the tree to watch the three teens dock their boats.

"Waka, Tidus, and Selphie." Kairi nodded. "We came here after school all the time. Some things never change."

When the three stepped into the sand, the two escaped into the depths of the cave. There, Kairi entertained them with stories of her and Riku's home life. The stories of how they were always in trouble, the dynamic duo, partners in crime, best friends until the end. She almost missed those days, but lamented how, even reliving these stories, it always felt like something was missing. There had always been something nagging at the back of her mind, trying to replace the missing piece. She could never put her finger on what exactly what should have been there.

"I want to say it was Sora," Kairi admitted, adjusting herself into a more comfortable position. Aqua didn't say much through her stories, but then again, Aqua never really did. She wasn't much of a talker. "I know he should have been here. But, things don't really work like that, right?" Kairi asked, chewing her lip. "There's a timeline and a destiny, right? And if Sora was supposed to go to the Realm of Darkness for a while, then that's where he went.

"But then, how come something never quite felt… right? Something just seemed so out of place for as long as I could remember." Kairi shook her head. "I know it sounds weird and crazy, but… the feeling never went away."

Aqua leaned against the wooden door to the heart of their world, looking at a picture of a strange bird that Riku had drawn within the last few years. She frowned, playing with the hem of the shorts Kairi had let her borrow. Kairi's clothes didn't quite fit either of them. They would go and do some shopping when they got back to the main island.

"It's… the same for me, too." Aqua admitted. "Since… I think since I met Sora and DiZ." Her crystalline blue eyes met Kairi's. "The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he wasn't supposed to be there. Not because he was a child. He was destined to be… elsewhere. Someone had thrown him off of his chosen path."

"Do you think so?" Kairi asked.

"Absolutely," Aqua nodded with certainty.

That was when someone called into the cave. His voice echoed all the way down. Kairi scrambled, pulling Aqua behind a rock as the footsteps grew louder.

"Helloooo?"

"No one's in here, Tidus." A girl huffed.

"Den whose boat is that?" asked a boy with an odd accent.

"We've turned this island inside-out and we still haven't found them."

Kairi silently cursed herself. Of course they'd be curious to see who else could be here. Aqua gave Kairi an assuring smile as she placed a hand on her shoulder. For a moment, they shimmered blue and the other relaxed, taking caution not to make noise. What did she just do? They had to be on their toes. They had to be prepared to move in case—Wakka, the tall, oldest boy peered around the rock they sat behind. Aqua only gave Kairi a friendly smile as she waved in front of Wakka's face. The boy's eyes roved over them, as if they weren't even there before he turned back to his friends.

"Dey aren't in here, mon," Wakka sighed. "Let's go check around da back, ya?"

Kairi stood up, watching the backs of her three friends disappear down the hall of cave. Aqua followed her, brushing herself off and twisting her hair back, clearly satisfied with her own trick. They shimmered once more, the blue shattering into light and fading.

"How did you do that?" Kairi asked.

"Magic," Aqua laughed. "It's a common charm on my home world. Much like the one I placed on you when we met."

Kairi wanted—no, needed to know more. She was so curious to learn more about Aqua. She had given her a little insight about her childhood and where she came from the night before, but now the light had been ignited. She asked Aqua more about what her home was like. She obliged, albeit she clearly had trouble remembering the finer details. Being away from home for so long, even before the Realm of Darkness left her forgetful.

The world was called Lightcrest Kingdom. Aqua had lived there, with her mother and father and twin brother, Glaciem. It was a peaceful little world, much like Destiny Island. There, magic was abundant. Her father was a powerful magician and her mother, a strong healer. Her brother was training to take their father's place someday as the court magician and serve under their benevolent king. Aqua had never known pain or suffering. The only thing she knew was the struggle of hard work and dedication and the power to do what was right.

When Eraqus had come around, searching for pupils, her father knew what he was. Of course, he told no one and had the world order to keep. He asked Eraqus to take his son to train with him, believing he had the potential. He was considering it when Aqua had met him. From the moment he met her he was kind and generous. She wasn't sure who he was, but only knew he was there to examine her brother.

Unfortunately, her brother did not seem to have the qualifications Eraqus was looking for. What he couldn't see in her twin, he saw shining to brightly in her. Before going to her father, he asked her if she would like to train with him. She wanted to, of course. Whatever he was going to train her for, if she could use it for good, she was more than glad to go. She had her reservations, though. Her father had asked him to take on her brother. Would Glaciem get mad? How would her father react?

Her father agreed without missing a beat. Her brother was mad at first. He was angry for a while. Eventually, he got over it and the two grew close again. Aqua and Glaciem were a bit like Riku and Kairi growing up. The two were inseparable and wrecked havoc, mostly because Glaciem dragged her into his messes. They always fought the good fight, though. Always to protect and help. Always to keep others safe, even if it put them in danger. They didn't like bullies.

Through the hole in the cave ceiling, the sky was turning pink. It had been the most Kairi had really heard Aqua talk that wasn't about training or Xehanort. Aqua… never talked about herself and somehow, that seemed to just hit Kairi. She made it a point to ask more questions about her from now on. Aqua was her master, yes, but now they were in this together. She wanted to know more about her friend.

When the coast was clear, Kairi and Aqua made a break for Kairi's boat. They squeezed into the small dingy and Kairi rowed back to shore. She had some munny in her pocket for clothes, hoping they wouldn't need too many. Hopefully, Kairi could get back to Traverse Town and get some things. Right? Was that possible?

At the little boutique, they looked for practical clothing. It was all Kairi had been conditioned to look for anymore. What could she fight in? What could she move in? What was breathable and wouldn't ride up? It was much more difficult to shop for clothing now. She had become so picky. Aqua had the same problem. The first time Kairi took Aqua clothing shopping when she came back from the Realm of Darkness, the master became overwhelmed. She hadn't had to do that for a long time, even before the darkness.

When they finally picked out a few outfits, deciding if they stayed longer, they'd just keep washing them until they were found, they dropped all the clothes on the counter and pooled their munny together. As the woman was scanning, Kairi looked below the counter at the jewelry. She didn't wear much these days, just her necklace that she never took off and maybe a bracelet or two. It got in the way most of the time. But something caught her eye. A necklace in particular.

"Excuse me," she asked the woman. "Can I get that, too?"

When they left to boutique, Kairi dug through the bags to pull out the box with the necklace. Opening it, she furrowed her brows. Aqua chuckled a bit. "I think that's a bit too gaudy for you."

"It… It's for Sora," Kairi said slowly. "It suits him, doesn't it?"

Aqua thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Somehow, yes. I can see it."

After dinner that night, Aqua had her own gift to present. When the four of them retired to the back porch to lounge after dinner, Kairi telling them of some of the amazing adventures she had been on and Aqua sharing some stories from her training days, Aqua handed Tarou and Mai a seashell. They gave her an inquisitive look as she smiled kindly.

"It's not much, but… as far away as Kairi goes, with this, you'll know she's out there and can always return home." She tapped the blue-tinted shell and magic shone over it, sparkling gently. "It's a promise. When you hold this shell, you will know she's safe. And… if anything were to ever happen to her and she couldn't return, it'll break, like her promise." Aqua put her hands over Tarou and Mai's as they looked up at her sharply. "It's my promise, too. I promise I'll bring her back to you when all of this is over. It's the very least I can do to thank you."

Kairi's chest swelled with emotion. With this, they would be assured of her safety. They would know she was alive and they would know she was coming home one day, even if it took longer than expected. Kairi wondered if she had given her own family a similar talisman. She wondered if it was still in one piece.

The night, Kairi's dreams became murky. She would catch a glimpse of faces, one standing out in particular: Saïx. He spoke to her, his voice muffling in the gauzy vision. He disappeared. There was a sketchbook and some crayons. Drawing after drawing, several of them still unfinished. A weird taste in her mouth, something salty but sweet. A sunset. A friend.

The next day, Kairi and Aqua took their boat around the back of the island, where they spent most of the day training. Aqua gave her rigorous exorcises, admitting she was used to dealing with Sora's level and constantly changing needs. Kairi could take it, though. Much more, and she'd probably collapse. But this was good. Better than good, this was perfect. It was just what she needed to push herself to do better, especially with her borrowed Keyblade.

She wasn't used to still. Taking it into the battle with Ansem was a struggle and she was glad to pull out of it in one piece. She found a different kind of power with it, glad to have something heavy to wield. She could much more easily smash faces in with this beast.

She still wanted her Keyblade, though. The substitute was great, but it wasn't enough to make up for her weapon. It chose her. It was a part of her. Whatever kind of magic Naminé was using to keep it from her, Kairi was going to find out and dispel it.

The next few days went like this. As they waited, Aqua would put Kairi through the ringer and they would hide in the cliffs when Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie came around. They made a habit of beaching their dingy in the same place to make it look like it had been there and hadn't moved. The three other teens didn't come around the back of the island often enough to worry, but the two still kept on their guard.

At night, Kairi's dreams became more and more… lucid. She would sit in a gray metallic room at a gray desk, working diligently on her drawings. She had been given a job, one where she could actually be of use, but the results were beginning to frighten her. At first, they were confusing. They didn't make any sense by any means. She needed to detract memories from others to see if they matched up.

Many of them didn't.

She sat, looking at two different drawings, both of the same moment in time. They both belonged to the same person. So what was going on? Why did the two of them have two sets of memories? Pondering this mystery, she glanced over by her bed. On a hook above where she slept, she had placed the stolen Keyblade, where the chains of light kept it from returning to its owner.

She wondered how long they would keep her at the job. They had told her that her mission was to destroy Heartless and finish Kingdom Hearts. Since their recent loss, she had been put on this recon mission of a different sort. Maybe once she had found the secrets Saïx was looking for? They all had secrets. But which ones were the real ones?

Waking up from these sorts of dreams was disorientating. Kairi would often awaken on her futon, dazed and confused, and not exactly sure where she was. On the fifth day, she had stood up and wandered into the kitchen, panic rising in her throat when she felt like she didn't recognize this place! Where was she? How did she get there? Was this someone's idea of a joke? Oh, please help—no… no, this was home. This was where she grew up. She knew this home better than anyone else. It was small and cozy and her biggest source of comfort at the moment.

How did she forget where she was?

It was the fifth day, when she bid her parents farewell, like she did every time they left for the island—as if it would be their last good bye for a long time—and the two embarked. The two of them carried nothing but what they couldn't bare to part with and a packed lunch as they set out for the play island. There, they went about their routine: warm ups, breathing, forms, limits, shotlocks, finishers, breathing, stretching, and meditation.

During lunch break, Kairi worked on another charm. She had seen how Aqua had made Wayfinders for herself and Ven (she had said she made a third for Terra) and Kairi thought Riku might feel left out of she brought Sora back a present and not him. So, she made them their own Wayfinders the proper way with thalassa seashells. It was the third one Kairi's was working on and she couldn't help but be a little jealous that it was turning out better than her own when everything happened at once.

Kairi was sitting in the shade of the coconut trees as Aqua waded into the waters to cool down. She heard a familiar voice call out, "Aqua!" as a short figure ran towards her from around the cliff, followed by two more. Kairi scrambled to her feet at the sight of their friends. She dropped what she was doing to run at them, tackling Donald and Goofy into the water as Aqua turned to greet Mickey.

"Uh, Kairi!" Goofy cried, embracing her tightly.

"You are in so much trouble!" Donald quacked.

She didn't even care. She was just so happy to see them. They'd finally found their way here. They'd take them back where they were needed instead of leaving them to stand idly by while darkness still pressed onward. Her friends that she missed so terribly were back and she was ready for any sort of punishment they'd give for leaving them out of the fight.

They pulled themselves out of the water and into the shade, Kairi still grinning from ear to ear. She missed them. She missed going on adventures with them and traveling with them and fighting alongside them, even if Donald decided she needed healing at the most inopportune times. These two were some of her best friends and separation was painful when there wasn't time for a proper goodbye nor a happy one with promises of seeing each other soon.

"Now, where's Riku?" Donald asked, tapping his foot impatiently. "I need to give the two of you a piece of my mind!"

"Oh," Mickey glanced around, "Where's Ven?"

"And Sora?" Goofy finished.

Kairi and Aqua exchanged glances, their smiles fading. The royal court listened as the girls told them what happened. They detailed the fight with Ansem and the Organization, grateful that they had no casualties on their end. They told of the horrors of Absolute Darkness and how terribly it effected Sora and Ven, leaving Sora with no choice but to house Ven's heart once again. The Door to Darkness was opened, leaving Kingdom Hearts exposed, yet, unattainable from their side. Aqua spoke of Riku's revelation that there needed to be a Key on both sides to close it for good and Sora followed him into the darkness.

Kairi's heart was aching at the end of it all. She wanted them back—all of them. They were her friends and if they could fight the Organization and Ansem and live to tell about it, I don't see how they could have let the darkness take them. Kairi knew they weren't gone for good, of course. But it hurt to be home, knowing she made it, but they didn't. They were going to make it back here—some day. It should have been the same day she returned. They were supposed to go home together.

"See, Goofy?" Donald sighed. "The two of them are hopeless without us."

Kairi felt a small smile. "You know we are." She snorted, turning up to the sky. "I bet Riku doesn't know what to do with himself without any of us there."

"Then we just have to get him back," Goofy decided, like they were picking him up from down the road. Like it was the easiest thing to bring someone back from the Realm of Darkness.

"And we will," Aqua nodded.

"All of them," Kairi stood up. "Cloud included." She pumped her fist, feeling a surge of energy. She was ready. She needed off this island now. "What are we waiting for?"

Mickey laughed. "Let's go! The Gummi landing pad is this way."

Kairi and Aqua grabbed their bags, a duffle bag and a school bag Kairi had shoved in her closet full of their supplies and needs, and followed the royal court around the front of the island. Kairi felt so good about all of this. Her friends were here and she didn't feel the need to worry about those weird dreams. They were just that: dreams.

As they passed under the bridge, Kairi stopped to pick up another washed up shell. She had enough, but it was good to have an extra. Shells were difficult sometimes and they broke pretty easy. That was when she heard someone calling for her.

"Kairi? Kairi!" She froze, looking up as three teenagers ran towards her. Aqua, who stood beside her, glanced down at her as her friends approached her. She didn't want Aqua to leave just yet. She needed an excuse. Anything to get away from this situation right now. It was the very reason she avoided them.

Selphie threw her arms around her. "Kairi! It's really you!"

Kairi awkwardly pat her back, enjoying the familiarity and missing this girl so terribly. "I'm sorry." What else could she say?

"Where've you been, girl?" Wakka asked, tossing a ball in the air. "We've all been worried about you and Riku. Is he around, too?"

"Friends of yours?" Mickey asked. Kairi looked between him, Donald and Goofy, the two latter showing concern. She must have been pulling a face. She offered them a smile.

"Yes," she nodded. "Could you guys give me a moment?"

Aqua said nothing as she put a hand on Kairi's shoulder for encouragement and continued moving along. Mickey turned, heading into the shack alongside the carved out cliff, where their Gummi pad must have been hidden. Donald and Goofy were only a little hesitant. Kairi gave them a nod, urging them to go on. She'd be right behind them. When they were gone, she faced Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I have to leave again."

"Where are you going?" Tidus asked.

Kairi snorted, putting her hands on her hips. "Riku's in trouble again. I need to get him out like always."

"How long have you been here?" Selphie asked. "Why didn't you at least say hello?"

"Because…" Kairi looked out into the ocean, her smile falling for a moment. "Because I'm terrible with goodbyes. I knew I was leaving again soon and saying goodbye when you don't know if and when you'll see them next… it's too hard for me." She beamed at her friends. "So, forgive us for not saying goodbye. But… we didn't know if we were coming back." Her grin widened. "But I know this time, we'll be coming home. Nothing can stop us."

"So… we'll see you soon?" Selphie took Kairi's hands uncertainly.

Kairi gripped them tightly in return for assurance. "Maybe not soon. But… we'll be back before you know it." She gave Selphie's hands a light squeeze. "Do me a favor. Let my parents know I've left again, okay? I really have to go and I don't have time to say goodbye."

Selphie nodded. "Of course."

Kairi hugged her tightly. Kairi didn't make many female friends here, on this small world, but Selphie had always been one of her best friends. When she wasn't with Riku, she was with Selphie. She felt terrible about leaving her again with these two idiots (whom she still loved very dearly) and began to miss her friend already.

Kairi waved as she headed into the shack, where Aqua waited for her. The Gummi Pad glowed its soft green and yellow, waiting for them to return to the ship. Aqua gave her a kind, yet sad smile. She didn't pity her, but Kairi was sure she felt bad Kairi had to leave her home once again. Kairi didn't mind, if she was being honest. It was back now and it was safe. She could return whenever she was feeling homesick.

Leave home was never the problem. It was the thought of never being able to return.

I may or may not write a chapter for Naminé because what I have planned for her may or may not get confusing if I don't. Hm...