Disclaimers: I don't own anything but the game merchandise and this story. OTL The challenge, however, belongs to HawkRider.

A/N: I had trouble getting this done again and I meant to double-post with another one of my stories today. Fail. OTL I hate you class papers and crap! D: This chapter was a little touch mostly at the ending part because it seemed rushed, but I guess it's a lead in for the next one. :) Oh, and I watched the anime series, Hetalia, all day Saturday… Learning history has never been funnier. xD LOL! And guys, KH3D comes out in like two days! I'm so excited! :D Please come out in English soon! -heart-

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!


.: oo4 | Initiate | oo4 :.
~ Innocent Swan ~


"Naminé, I said it's fine already."

"But…" Naminé gave me her teary-eyed face; her biggest weapon in appearing innocent. But of course, I was immune to her charm (sometimes) so her doe eyes didn't do much for her plight. Naminé hung her head in shame. "I didn't think you would get so mad if Sora and Riku knew about Terra…"

I'll admit, I still was, but my anger wasn't aimed at Naminé. "Forget about it. They're guys… I need more girl friends, Naminé; like stat."

That got her smiling and in turn, lit up my face as well. Naminé was always thinking about others before herself. It was a virtuous trait, but it was also a little naïve. I guess that's where I came in as her outspoken, more impulsive cousin. Aqua too, but Naminé didn't get to see her as much as before.

"By the way!" Snapping out of my reverie, I turned my attention to the blonde as we sat in the desks by the far corner of the classroom, waiting for our lessons to start. Naminé turned in her seat to address me since she sat in front. "Did your plan for Aqua work out?"

A sigh escaped me as I shook my head in failure. "Nope… It didn't even get a chance to pan out."

"Aqua found out that quickly?"

"Not right away. She just unintentionally told me she wasn't interested in the guy I was going to set her up with before I could do anything." Oooh… If only Xemnas wasn't Terra's brother! Dropping my head on my desk, I sighed again. "The guy was Terra's older brother without my knowing. It'd be impossible to get Aqua together with him."

Naminé placed a finger to her chin thoughtfully before glancing back at me. "It's that bad just being related to Terra, huh?"

"Aqua she…" Hmm, how to say? Nibbling on my thumbnail, I mauled over the right words I could describe my older sister's disdain for anything Terra-related. I didn't want to make Aqua out as being prude because in actuality, she wasn't. She was very sweet and she always looked out for the well-being of others… But mention anything 'Terra' and suddenly Aqua was a completely different person. "Let's just say…Terra and Aqua are exactly like oil and water. They were always fighting when we were kids and that sadly hasn't changed when I saw them bickering yesterday. It's safe to assume that Aqua won't go for anyone sharing Terra's face."

"I see…" Naminé hummed.

We were silent for a moment and our chat reminded me that I needed to go 'hunting' again for Aqua, but she hardly tells me anything about her social life! I wasn't going to set her up with random guys (come on, I'm not that inconsiderate), but she was leaving me with no other option! I tried spying on her once when she was at the college while I pretended to be sick with a cold, but all the guys Aqua knew were either taken or weren't 'boyfriend' material.

There was this one guy who I thought was perfect: Zackary Fair (or Zack for short). Aqua was on really good terms with him and she even spent time with him outside of class when she wouldn't with anyone else. It was a jackpot deal when I eventually found out that Aqua did have a crush on him and I thought she was set! …Except for the one thing I didn't account for: Zack had pined for someone else and, soon enough, they started dating. Needlessly to say, Aqua was crushed.

There were a certain set of rules I followed when it came to evaluating guys for Aqua: 1) the guy had to be at least Aqua's age, 2) the guy had to be considerate about Aqua's private life and situation, 3) the guy had to be on good terms with Aqua and me, and 4) it didn't hurt if the guy was good-looking; he was going to be dating Aqua after all and she deserved the best! If the guy could follow my criteria, then I could initiate a plan of some sort… But, there was an even bigger rule I followed: single guys who fit my criteria, but had feelings for someone else were dropped immediately. Aqua didn't need a guy if she was only going to be 'second best'. Besides, if a guy already had someone he liked, what right did I have to try and change his mind? Both he and Aqua would just get hurt in the end if they came together that way.

Frustrated, I rubbed my face. "Argh! Naminé, isn't there anything I can do?"

"You can try leaving Aqua alone."

"Not this again…"

Naminé frowned and sternly reprimanded. "I'm serious, Kairi. Maybe this is a sign not to meddle so much when it isn't needed. If Aqua comes around to liking a guy, then she will."

Strange… Naminé was hardly vocal when it came to things like relationships no matter how many times I preached to her about it. Narrowing my eyes suspiciously, I knew exactly why she was being this adamant with me. "You are so seeing Roxas, aren't you?"

She blushed immediately as I predicted. Naminé started looking around and flailed her hands in front of her. "Will you stop saying that? He and I are just friends!"

"Because friends let you 'borrow' their wristband to hide a giant 'paint stain'." I laughed, playfully petting the top of Naminé's blonde head. "You're so cute that you suck at lying."

My grin widened when Naminé started pouting and she swat my hand away. She turned around in her seat just as our math teacher walked into the class, yelling for everyone to sit down. "Very funny. Anyways, I'm going to say this again, Kairi: Maybe it's time to focus on your love life; not Aqua's."

I stuck my tongue out. I'd get on my love life; I just wanted to help Aqua with hers first. After all, I had Terra; he was one of those guys who'd treasure the girl he really liked. And lucky for me, he was fond of me since I was six.

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

"Kairi, I'll be at the college late today. Can you stay over at Naminé's until I'm done? - Aqua"

Humming, I showed the text message to Naminé as we walked towards the exit of the school building once classes were over. "What do you think, Naminé? Is it okay?"

My cousin giggled; her art book clutched against her chest. "Do you have to ask? Mom and Dad would be thrilled since you and Aqua hardly visit."

"Aww, then maybe I should buy them a gift? We should go that pastry shop down on Traverse Street—"

"Kairi!" Stopping in my tracks, I looked over my shoulder, and – the split second I did – I found Sora tackling me that a surprised squeak escaped me. All Naminé did was look on in amusement. Oh, she was not being funny today! Sora brought me back to reality with his bear hug; my face pressed against his shoulder. "Kairi! I'm so sorry about what happened on the rooftop! Are you still mad?"

"S-Sora…!" I struggled to say, patting his back as both a comfort and a request. "Squishing…me!"

He quickly got the message and decided to hold me at arms' length. I got a good look at the brunet when my world stopped spinning, and all I could see was a somber look. That kind of expression clearly didn't suit Sora. Oh, and I spotted Riku too; he was standing beside Naminé, but he wasn't looking at me.

"We're really sorry, Kairi." Sora drew my attention to him again. "We didn't mean to pry or judge or…anything."

Sighing in exasperation, I shook my head before giving Sora a smile. I couldn't help but ruffle his spikes when he continued to pout dejectedly. "Sora, it's okay. I'm not mad anymore."

And like a puppy, Sora sprang up. "Really?"

"Yeah." It was true: I wasn't mad at Sora, but I was still a little miffed with Riku. It clearly showed on my face when I glanced in the silver-haired teen's direction. He caught me glaring and that's when I marched up to him with hands on my hips. "And you?"

Riku remained tight-lipped; bag tucked under his arm and hands in his pockets. Looking to the side, he quietly mumbled under his breath. "I still don't approve…but I'm sorry."

Huffing, I rolled my eyes before brightening my expression. Riku was too tall for me to pet him on the head, so I resorted to pinching his cheeks and cooed in a baby voice. "Aww, is Riku brooding?"

He pushed my hand away and leered. "Stop that."

"Joking!" I stuck my tongue out and shrugged my shoulders. "But geez, Riku. You're acting as if you have feelings for me." Suddenly, that joke of a sentence slapped me in the face and I quickly stared at the silver-haired teen with wide eyes. "Wait! Do you—?"

"Don't even go there." Naminé and Sora started to laugh a little while Riku shot a hand up to stop my line of thinking. "It's not me, it's—"

"Hey! There's someone's loitering in front of the school!" Sora quickly interrupted, standing in between Riku and me as he pointed out the doors. Curious, I followed the brunet's line of sight and realized he was pointing at a motorcyclist waiting in front of the school gate.

…Please tell me I wasn't dreaming!

Almost immediately, I sprinted out the school building with my friends calling after me. The motorist noticed my approach and turned to me; my breathing turned into pants. He chuckled a little and my legs nearly turned to jelly. "You're last class was gym, Kairi?"

"Terra, what are you doing here?" It was the first and only question on my mind even though I was extremely happy to see Terra.

Lifting the face shield of his helmet up, Terra smirked at me. "I realized what school you were going to yesterday and thought I'd drop by; see if you wanted to hang out. You're not busy are you?"

"No, I'm not! …Oh wait." Pulling out my phone, I remembered to reply to Aqua's text message; telling her that I was going to Naminé's house like she asked me to…not. Of course, I'd have to get Naminé to cover for me, but that wouldn't be hard to do. With the message sent, I tucked away my phone and grinned. "Okay, I'm ready!"

"Kairi!" Sora called out my name once he and the others caught up to me. His sky-blue eyes glanced at Terra and he asked. "Uh, who's this?"

Turning around, I intrduced. "This is Terra; the guy I was telling you all about!"

As expected, Terra remained cool and polite as he pulled off his helmet. "Nice to meet you."

Naminé – out of habit – bowed her head slightly and replied shyly. "Likewise…"

Riku was the only one who remained suspicious, but I realized that there was a nagging confusion behind his aquamarine eyes. He played it cool regardless. "You're Terra?"

"Yes." I gave my silver-haired friend a warning look before walking up to the older brunet. "And we're going to hang out; do some catching up."

Sora's eyes widened as Naminé and Riku stared dumbfounded. "What? But, Kairi—"

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Putting on the spare helmet Terra gave me, I jumped on the bike behind him and quickly waved before any of my friends could protest just as Terra drove off. I knew Sora and the others were watching my leave with skepticism and I promised to explain everything to them later, but for now, Terra was my priority.

After all, Naminé did say to get on with my love life.