Unattainable Desire

By Chiharu Tanaka

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A/n: I'm glad for the reviews you guys are sending...so happy to know that you guys aren't giving up on me, with my frequent laziness and work and all. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. If I owned them, be prepared for lots of mush.

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Chapter 9: Reunion, Separation

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The 'newbie' Elena texted about didn't mean Riku in the very least. The young 18 year-old Sora joined the team only days ago. Tidus immediately placed him as a junior under Elena, since the Chairman had seen the boy in real action instead of a simulated test during an interview. Still, Sora had to go through some form of physical exam, and even Elena was surprised at his lightning-fast ability in martial arts and shooting. His shots almost seem to never miss.

Now a bodyguard, Sora stood at the doorway of Kairi's penthouse, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie, holding a small bouquet of carnations in his hand. His messy brown hair was still as messy as ever, though he tried to smoothen out his locks with a bit of styling gel. The First Daughter couldn't love the look more.

"Err…hey," was all he managed to say. "These are…for you," he then said embarrassingly, handing the bouquet to her.

God knows how long they both waited for that moment of reunion. Kairi accepted the bouquet before letting him come through the door. The door closed just as Kairi placed the flowers in a vase on a small table. She turned around to face him, her indigo eyes still as wide as ever.

Somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming!

Her mouth creased in effort to mouth out some words, but all that came out was, "How…?"

Sora grinned at her over-the-top reaction. "You must be wondering how I got here and how I landed a job as your bodyguard, am I right?" he guessed. She could only nod at his question. "Well…it's a long story…" he began.

"Oh, right!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Please…have a seat."

The two of them headed for the living room Kairi left moments ago and both took a seat – Kairi at the 3-seated sofa where her mobile phone laid motionless and Sora across her on an armchair. Kairi couldn't take her eyes off him as he started explaining, from start to finish, about the discovery of his parents' will, finding his old house and saving Tidus. He kept the part about the vault in his house a secret, though.

"So now I'm here as your bodyguard," he concluded. He noticed that she was still staring at him, blinking very rarely. "Uhh…Kairi? Were you listening?"

Her dried-up eyes blinked quickly. "Oh, of course!" she lied – she barely heard his story. "How's Yuffie, Ruby, Cid and the rest?" she asked, changing the topic.

"They're fine. Though a little cheerless since you returned here," Sora replied. Just as how I was…

"Oh…that's a…relief," said Kairi.

"So, are you still going to breakfast at De Fresco?" asked Sora, his piercing blue eyes penetrating hers.

"Umm…yeah. Give me 10 minutes. In the meantime, make yourself at home," she said, her right hand reaching for her Nokia phone. "Excuse me," she said quickly as she got up from her seat and hurried off to her bedroom. Sora found himself smiling and his face flushed as she left. He tried not to show it, but he was dazzled at her beauty. The scent of strawberries left from her Body Shop lotion still lingered in the room, which made him all the more thrilled.

I'm so glad destiny brought us together again…

Once inside her pink-wallpapered bedroom, Kairi locked the door and went inside her larger than life closet, or more like a dressing room. She hid herself between two gowns on a rack and pressed '3' on the keypad of her phone – speed dialling Naminé.

The blond girl was seated at the living room, watching television, waiting as Riku was still in the shower. Naminé dug through her gold clutch purse for her silver Motorola mobile phone as it rang. She briefly looked at the name that appeared on the screen before answering the call.

"Hello, Kairi?" she said.

"Nami!" exclaimed Kairi in sheer excitement. "You're not going to believe who is in my living room right now!"

Stunned at Kairi's chirpy, half-whispering voice, she took a wild guess. "Squall Leonheart?" she asked.

"No, silly – Sora!" squealed Kairi.

When Sora's name was registered into Naminé's brain, her blue eyes went wide open. "WHAT?!!!!" she screamed, so loud and high-pitched Riku cringed, before wondering why the glass doors of the shower didn't break. He grabbed his towel and was about to get out of the shower half-naked to see if she was all right, until he heard her scream, "Oh my God, no way! You did not just say his name!"

"Well let me tell you, girl…I just did!"

Both of them screamed again, making Riku realise it was probably Kairi on the phone with some 'big girl news'. "Oh my God, how? Tell me everything!" squealed Naminé in excitement, adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream as well.

"Well, I wasn't really listening to his explanation because I was ogling at him, since he's wearing a black suit, by the way…"

"Get out!" said Naminé, thinking that if etiquette tutor heard her, she'd get a 3000 word essay for a nightly assignment.

"But bottom line is, he's my bodyguard," Kairi ended with a sigh.

"Your bodyguard?"

"I think Tidus has something to do with it."

"I'll ask Riku then. But goodness! What luck! I have to meet him!" squealed Naminé.

"We're having breakfast at De Fresco later, can you believe it?"

"No way! I gotta meet him! I'm so going to breakfast with you."

"Sure, the more the merrier! But will you be okay? I mean, what with the paparazzi and all…" asked Kairi as the tone of her voice softened, slowly getting up from her seat and looking through the rack of blouses.

Naminé nodded. "I'll be fine. I have a bodyguard of my own, remember?"

"Guess we're on the same boat. See you at De Fresco!" said Kairi, ending the call with a happy tune. Naminé slid the phone shut, a little breathless herself and pink in the cheeks. She stared at the window beyond the TV, looking at the penthouse where Kairi would most probably be scrambling out of her closet after picking the loveliest sundress she owned and putting it on. She could almost imagine Kairi putting on make-up in a 5-minute rush as taught by her make-up artist.

The sound of a closing door startled Naminé from her slight reverie. She turned around to see Riku dressed in his uniform, adjusting his necktie and his silver hair still slightly damp. "Are we going or what?" he asked rather irritably. Naminé just smiled at him when she stood, as his sour mood didn't affect the aftermath of the good news a few minutes ago. Riku was taken aback by her grin, but shook his head quickly and turned to look for a mirror.

He turned around again when he felt her touch his shoulder. "What?" he asked. She needed no prompting, as her hands quickly held his black tie and straightened it into place. Once again, he was flabbergasted, but he couldn't help but take a whiff of her sweet-smelling hair at such close proximity.

"There. Let's go, I don't want to miss breakfast with Kairi," she said, walking towards the door.

She withdrew just as quickly as she came onto him, leaving Riku rather speechless as he trailed her footsteps out the front door. As they rode the elevator down together in heavy silence, Naminé suddenly blurted out a question. "Is there a new bodyguard in the agency?"

Riku's aquamarine gaze turned to her. "Yeah, I think his name was Sora or something like that. Why do you ask?"

Naminé's brain rattled as she searched for a quick cover-up. "Oh, Kairi brought it up…he's replacing Elena, I think."

A smirk crept on Riku's lips. So that's what the screaming on the phone was about…but why were they screaming about him?

"No, silly. He's under training, so Elena has him as a junior," corrected Riku, remembering a conversation he had with Elena about the spiky-haired newcomer being quite the good-looking boy.

Naminé nodded, saying nothing more until they got to the lobby door. She placed the large white Sunday hat on her head and put on a pair of sunglasses, as requested by Riku before she left. Once outside, they got into a white SUV with black tinted glass, as ordinary as all the other cars that came out from the condominiums, and Riku drove to the avenue where De Fresco was nestled in.

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She could barely keep her eyes off him. It was torture enough that he looked so good wearing his casual clothes back in downtown, which she assumed were made by Yuffie, but now that he was dressed in a proper suit that was trimmed and pressed for perfection; he looked like something that came out of a men's magazine. But of course, as Kairi took one last glance at him – his attitude and personality was nowhere near like a metrosexual of uptown Mirage, which seemed to flock her by the dozens.

"Would you like something to drink, Miss Herrington?" asked the maître d', distracting her from her ogling.

"I'd like a glass of cold water. Miss Castell will be joining me shortly, so I'll be ready to order by then," she told him. He nodded, handed her and Sora the menu, before excusing himself. Sora felt uneasy about sitting beside the First Daughter, and even more burdened as he looked at the menu and its expensive prices and French names.

"Umm…" he began, wondering what he should be eating.

Kairi smiled at him. "Confused?" she asked. He nodded with a slight frown. She leaned over and started explaining what each item was in English, her polished fingernail tracing down the embossed menu paper. He found himself literally lost in translation as he looked at her unwavering violet eyes, accentuated by long, clean lashes. He never had her close to him, except when he had kidnapped her in the darkness – even then all he could smell was her intoxicating strawberry scent.

He noticed the maître d' leading a blond-haired lady with sunglasses and a silver-haired bodyguard towards them. Kairi turned around and instantly smiled. "Naminé!" exclaimed the red-haired heiress as the blonde hurriedly approached her. The waiter pulled up a chair for her to sit opposite of Kairi, and Riku just took his own seat opposite of Sora.

Naminé took of her sunglasses and placed them in her purse. "It won't take long for the paparazzi to figure out that I'm here," she said, and was immediately interested in Sora. Before she knew it, she was beaming at him, which caught Riku by surprise. Naminé's clear blue eyes turned to Kairi, and catching the eye signal, she started the introductions.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Naminé, Riku, this is my new bodyguard, Sora Strife. Uh, I guess you and Sora already met, huh?" Kairi pointed the last question at Riku. The silver-haired lad nodded, acknowledging the newbie in the squad. "And Sora, this is Naminé Castell, my best friend."

Naminé held her dainty hand out, expecting Sora to accept it and plant a kiss on her hand like the gentlemen of the uptown world, but instead he took her hand and gave her a small handshake. The blonde was taken aback by this, and stifled her giggle by biting her lower lip. Kairi was amused by this, too. Naminé was secretly glad he shook her hand; she never did like the feeling of a man's lips on the back of her palm.

So he really is from downtown, just like Kairi said…

Riku had no qualms ordering breakfast, as he took French in school. After they had ordered, the four ended up sitting together at a table eating a very French breakfast with Naminé and Kairi engaged in an animated chatter. Riku's aquamarine eyes turned to Sora, a little curious and even though the brunette could feel him staring, he just poked at the food with his fork calmly, not really enjoying such high-class food.

Suddenly, a swarm of men with their digital SLR cameras hung from their necks started taking pictures from outside the café. Riku's eyes twitched and he was about to get up, just like Sora, but both heiresses held their sleeves, pulling them back down in their seat. "It's okay, Riku, Sora. Whatever pictures they take of me will be of us four eating breakfast. There's no Roxas Parker involved, am I right?" asked Naminé, her voice more tensed than the dreamy one she had seconds ago.

Riku gave a little incomprehensible grumble, before sitting back down. Sora did so too, with a frown on his face. He knew of the story of Naminé and Roxas that had spread across the world, most probably, and he noticed the she wasn't looking very happy about it. But the matter was hers to keep, so he didn't want to butt in; even if Kairi probably knew everything about it.

By the time Naminé had finished her cup of latte, most of the paparazzi had left, figuring out that she wasn't out to see Roxas. "Well, I have some shopping to do," said Naminé, beckoning for a waiter to come and give them their bill. She wanted to pay, but Kairi insisted she did instead.

She handed the waiter her platinum credit card, telling Naminé, "No, I'll pay. It must've taken a lot just to come out of the penthouse, no less the condo!"

Naminé giggled. "Yeah, it took some convincing," she said, her eyes turning to Riku. He scowled at her, still angered at the blackmail he received. Kairi grinned in return, just as the waiter returned with the bill to sign.

It was a little difficult for both Naminé and Kairi to get out, because they were immediately swarmed by flashes of light from the cameras. It didn't help that the paparazzi were asking them the strangest of questions, like 'Are you and Roxas planning on getting married?' and 'How does it feel to give away Roxas to your best friend?'

Sora was very annoyed by this, but he was too busy pushing them back and pulling Kairi to the car they used to get there. They separated at the car park, each in their own cars, led by their own bodyguards. Once they drove away from the café, Sora heard the evident sigh escape Kairi's lips.

"I gotta hand it to you, Kairi, it's a difficult life as a First Daughter," he said, grinning slightly as he looked at her from the rear view mirror.

She smiled back at him from the back seat. "Oh, once you get used to the paparazzi, it's not so bad really. I get to go to places, do charity work, spend my load of money," she said. "But it's a lonely world. I never thought I could make so many friends until I met you, Yuffie, Tantalus, Cid and Wakka."

Sora said nothing in reply at first, realising how cruel her world was. Sure, she was rich, beautiful and famous, but at what price? Both she and Naminé suffered having to be viewed by the public without privacy like animals in a zoo, a simple meeting or date could be misunderstood so much, and having to stick to the etiquette of the prim and proper in order to stay safe, or in other words, boring. When could they hang out at the mall like normal teens? When could they experience freedom just like everyone else?

"I'm your friend, Kairi. You won't be lonely anymore," he finally replied, as true as his heart could ever say.

Kairi ducked her head, blushing at his words. If only we could be something more…

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Kairi's 18th birthday arrived with a supreme load of preparation at the Mirage branch of Herrington Hotel. Interior designers, tailors, lighting technicians, sound technicians and event coordinators from all over the metropolis was brought in to make the event a big success – and that was just the decorative part of the event!

Chefs were even brought from Italy just to cook for all the important guests that were going to be there. Of course, when it's the First Daughter's coming-of-age birthday, the President won't expect anything less from 5-star service, and important people, mostly diplomats and ministers were going to attend, along with their children who were acquainted with Kairi.

Kairi herself had to go through a preparation of her own, as Sora had to drive her to the hairstylist in the afternoon to get her hair done, waited in the saloon with her for a few hours, before driving her back to the penthouse, where her makeup artist was waiting to give her face a makeover. The morning of her birthday was already celebrated with a home-like party with her parents, Tidus and Naminé, but the night was going to be a gala event that was only slightly smaller than Mirage's gala dinner a month or two ago.

"I'm sorry I took so long," said Kairi when she emerged from her bedroom, dressed in the little black dress that she had asked Elena to pick up a few days ago. She felt a little bland wearing it, but Sora had to use all his energy just to keep his mouth from hanging open.

Kairi was wearing a velvet tube dress that ended mid-thigh. It didn't show much cleavage, but the thin black belt with a silver buckle that was strapped underneath her breasts made almost all the curves of her body apparent. She had a silver choker on her neck, and her usually straight, shoulder-length red hair was now gently curled, as he had seen after a few hours at the hair salon. It even appeared longer, as he assumed that she did some hair extensions as well. Her face was radiant, but Sora was convinced that it wasn't the makeup alone. Her feet were strapped in a pair of black, diamond-studded Jimmy Choos.

"How do I look?" asked Kairi, walking up to him as she fiddled with the rose quartz bracelets on both her hands.

Sora was too stunned to speak. "Amazing," he said at long last.

Kairi smiled. "Thanks. It's a little calming, at this unnerving time."

It didn't take long to reach the Herrington Hotel and the front area was already swarmed with reporters and paparazzi alike, though not as many during the gala dinner. She saw the numerous bodyguards stationed at every hidden nook and cranny of the front area of the hotel. There were probably more inside, she guessed. The car in front of hers was Naminé's and she saw the petite girl step out of the car after Riku came out of the front passenger seat to open the door for her.

When her car pulled up, Sora did the same for her, and she accepted his hand with ease as he helped her out of the car. She smiled at Naminé's choice of attire, a white chiffon dress with a multi-strand pearl necklace that fell over her chest, and white Mary Jane heels. The hair which she left over her shoulder was tied in a white ribbon. Kairi knew the girl always fancied the white colour, but she just looked a lot paler with so much of it on.

Riku was already escorting Naminé into the hotel, as the shouts of the reporters made talking almost impossible. Sora walked beside Kairi, escorting her as well. The flashes of light blinded him and the questions were loud, which blurred his head a little. But far off in the distance, there was a distinct sound that was definitely not a camera button click.

It was the sound of a gun barrel loading.

All of a sudden, Riku grabbed Naminé by her shoulders; her eyes widened as he spun her around and held her tight, just as the loud sound of a gunshot was heard. The bullet pierced into his back and the crowd became wild. The reporters, paparazzi, doormen, some guests and whoever else around the area, except the bodyguards, ran for their life as Kairi ducked to the ground. Sora grabbed the revolver from his jacket pocket and saw the shadow of a man disappear as he ran from the crime scene. "Kairi, get in the hotel!" Sora shouted, before he chased after the man, and some of the bodyguards followed suit.

Elena was the first to reach the panicked Naminé, holding the unconscious Riku in her blood-stained arms. She shook him gently, tears falling from her eyes as his blood seeped into her dress and she fell to the floor. "Riku!" she screamed, her hands shaking as she touched his pale face, her bloodied hands staining him. "No…Riku!!!" she screamed again.

You can't leave me now! Not when I'm…falling for you!

"We have a man down at Herrington Hotel, I repeat, man down! Send an ambulance and police backup immediately!" said Elena, as calmly as she could into the walkie-talkie. Kairi moved towards Naminé, and gasped when she saw Riku bleeding so much.

"Riku…" she mumbled his name, and neared Elena, who was calming Naminé down.

"Miss Castell, please calm down and don't move him," Elena said, fearing if the bullet moving could injure him further. Naminé sobbed, her tears falling to Riku's lifeless face.

"Elena, Sora's…" began Kairi, but someone else cut her off.

"Reno and Rude are already on his tail," said a man with long black hair slicked to the back, crouching beside Kairi. She recognised him as Tseng, one of the veteran bodyguards. "Now, Miss Herrington, please, we have to get you inside."

Elena looked at her senior. "I'll stay here until the ambulance arrives," she told him, and he nodded in approval as he led the shocked Kairi into the building.

Sora, on the other hand, chased down the assailant with the gun in his hands, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He knew he shouldn't have left Kairi behind, but he couldn't let the man get away with it. Riku had been shot, so Naminé had to be the target – not Kairi.

The shadow disappeared into a demolition site of an old building, but Sora quickly followed suit. The assassin knew of his presence and opened fire at him, from behind a pillar of the old parking area. Sora dodged and hid behind another pillar, his sweaty back pressed against the crumbling old wall. The place was dark, and there was barely any lighting except the dim old lamps above them. He reached into another pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pair of night vision goggles, the same one he used during Kairi's kidnapping.

I knew this would come in handy.

He placed them over his eyes and could see the outline of the man a little bit from behind the pillar. Skilfully, he moved towards the other side of the pillar and fired towards the man. He missed, and retreated behind the wall. Sora heard the man move, and he placed the goggles on his forehead before he moved towards another pillar, dodging gunshots from the assassin. He placed them back on and rounded the pillar before firing a second time.

The bullet fired at Sora almost hit if he didn't jump back behind the pillar. Shit, I missed again.

He only had four bullets left, since he didn't think he would need a reload when he left Kairi's house. Then, he was struck with an idea. He crouched down slowly, and fired at the man when the man came out from his hiding spot only slightly to fire at him. The bullet struck his leg, and Sora grinned in triumph when he heard the man yell in pain.

Sora quickly turned around and pointed his gun at two more that came into the area, but didn't fire when he heard the loud voice belonging to Reno. "Hey, kid, don't shoot!" he shouted, gun ready in his hands. Rude was behind him, as silent as ever.

"I got him in the leg, but he's got reloads, so hide!" said Sora, just before the man started firing again.

Reno hid behind a pillar next to Sora, and Rude did the same at a pillar on Sora's other side. "We'll get him by distraction. You're a fast runner, so you move as you did before during the test, and we'll follow him from the other side and grab him from there. Okay?" said the loud-mouthed, red-haired bodyguard with a ponytail. Sora nodded, and he was soon on his feet to move to the next pillar.

He fired another shot, and dodged some more as he moved to the next pillar. He repeated until his bullets were out, and he was breathless, but the sound of Reno and Rude tackling the assailant assured Sora that it was already safe. When he approached them, he saw yet another redhead with a gun pointed to his head by Reno while Rude handcuffed the man and took his gun.

"The Organization. Should've known you'd be back for revenge after we caught that blonde one," mumbled Reno.

Axel grumbled as he glared at them. "You took Larxene, so it's personal, okay? Now get me to a hospital, I'm fricking bleeding here!" he shouted at them. Sora heard the footsteps of the other bodyguards approaching them, as well as the distant shrill noise of a siren.

Rude began giving commands into the radio, and Sora turned to see his colleagues apprehend the redhead. "Hey, guys, I'm going to go back to check on Kai…I mean, Miss Herrington. That okay?" he asked.

Reno and Rude looked at each other, before turning to Sora. "Go ahead," said Rude.

Sora thanked them before walking briskly out of the abandoned building. Once he was out in the night, he found himself running towards the hotel despite his tiredness. Was Kairi scared? Were there more of the Organization at the hotel? Was Riku still alive? Are the two still in danger? All these questions played in Sora's mind as he ran. He was worn-out beyond belief, more exhausted than a day working under the sun with Wakka. But he continued running, heart pumping as he knew that his questions needed answers.

The little box containing Kairi's present rattled discreetly in his pocket as he ran.

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To be continued…

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A/n: Yeah, it's a cliffhanger nonetheless. I'm working on the next chapter, and Olette will make an appearance! Please review, it means so much to me, and I'll try my best to reply to every single one!