*exhales* Okay, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait; I have been busy, busy, busy (and I still have some more work to do, so I probably won't update exceptionally frequently for the next week or two). But, I've left you all hanging for long enough.

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I continued to stare at Xemnas for a minute, then turned slowly back to Kairi. "You killed Xemnas?"

She looked upset, but nodded. "In a way," she said. "I made him kill himself."

"You hypnotized him?"

She nodded again. "I got him to admit that he actually had killed his wife, then gave him the knife and told him to think about what he'd done. I…kind of vented my frustration on him, of being called inhuman and an outcast. I said that he was less of a human than I was, and that he didn't deserve to live." She indicated the body. "I got through to him."

I was silent, still fully processing the situation. Kairi had gone out and killed Xemnas? "Why?" I finally managed to ask.

For a moment, she didn't answer. Then, she said, "I noticed how upset him getting out had made you. I wanted to make sure he got his just desserts and didn't hurt his kids again."

She had done this for me? I wasn't sure whether to feel upset…or touched. On the one hand, she had directly caused the death of someone. On the other hand, he was a murderer and an abusive father, and she had done it in order to make me feel better.

She was willing to kill for me? Just how deep did our relationship go?

Donald broke the silence. "So…we do have a dead body on our hands…"

I blinked. "Oh. Right." I turned back to Xemnas. "Yeah, we need to do something about him."

"Can we just toss him in the dumpster?" asked Donald, glancing at it.

"Maybe." I looked around. "There's no one here, so…" I heaved a sigh. "All right. Let's do it, but be quick about it."

Donald opened the dumpster while Goofy and I turned to the body. "We have to make sure not to get fingerprints on him," I said. "If he's found, we don't want any way to be linked to this."

"Should you take back your knife, then?" asked Goofy.

"Good point." Gripping the handle, I yanked it out, prompting a large flow of blood from the wound. "Gotta take care of this quickly, now," I said. We took hold of him, making sure not to get fingerprints on surfaces that would be easy to dust, and, as quickly as we could, ran him over to the dumpster and dropped him in, Donald closing the lid right after. "Well, that's taken care of," he said.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

But I knew that it wasn't. Xemnas might be dead and his body hidden, but there was still the matter of Kairi. I had accused her of reverting to her old ways when she hadn't, and broken my trust in her. And I could tell she was upset about that.

She did manage to not bring it up as we walked back to my apartment, though. In order to keep people from getting a good look at her, the three of us stayed close, and she kept her eyes down. The bloody knife I concealed under my coat, which I had retrieved from Kairi.

"You found her?" asked Roxas when we got back.

I nodded. "Yeah, but we've got to get back upstairs."

"All right." He let us in, and we made our way to the elevator.

"I think I've got it from here, guys," I said to Donald and Goofy.

They nodded. "Okay, but let us know if you need our help," said Goofy.

"Will do. Thanks for helping me find her." Implicit in that was a thanks for calling my attention to Xemnas, and stopping me from saying more things to Kairi that might have hurt her. I hoped they noticed it.

We got up to my apartment and entered, still in silence. Kairi didn't look like she was prepared to say much, and went to the living room and lay down on the couch.

I sighed. "Kairi, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

She looked at me. "Good to see you trust me so much."

"I just—" I sighed again. "I assumed things that I shouldn't have when I first saw the scene. It was a mistake."

She remained stone-faced, and turned on the TV. "I don't think you've lied to me," I continued, "and I don't think you're a murderer."

"Don't you?" She turned to me. "You sure seemed to think otherwise."

"I told you, I—"

"Said the first thing that came to your mind. And that was condemning me as a cold-hearted murderer. Isn't that right? I had hoped that I had managed to convince you that I wasn't, but I guess that was just a fool's dream, wasn't it?"

"No, it—"

"I told you everything about me, Sora. I practically poured my heart out to you, because you had made me believe you were different, and that you wouldn't just see me as a monster. But you just couldn't get over that impression, could you? That was just too much, especially for someone like you, who takes down creatures like me for a living."

"I don't—"

"And now, I don't know how much I can actually trust you. If you don't trust me, then what's the mutual trust I thought we had set up but a lie?"

"It's not—"

She turned away from me and folded her arms. "Forget it, Sora."

I stood with my mouth hanging open. She really was mad at me. Well, for good reason, I suppose. But it didn't look like we'd be making up any time soon. "Kairi…"

She didn't respond.

I let my shoulders sag. "All right. I said some things that I shouldn't have. It was very wrong of me, and I admit that. But if you still need some time to cool off, that's fine. I'll give it to you." I started towards my room, then stopped. "But I would like to see you again, and talk with you about how we can overcome this."

I think her expression softened a bit, but I wasn't certain. I tossed the bloody knife into the sink, and then made my way off to my room, where I got a text from Goofy.

Holding up all right?

I texted back. Kairis mad at me.

For accusing her of murder?

Yeah.

Did you apologize?

Yeah, but shes still mad.

Maybe give her some time to cool down?

Yeah, thats what im trying.

Okay. Hope it goes well!

Thx.

I sighed and flopped down on my bed, my mind concentrating on ways to make it up to her.

That night was a restless one. I spent a lot of it tossing and turning, and when I did get to sleep, I didn't sleep very deeply, and woke up the next morning feeling pretty tired. Lethargically, I got out of bed, showered, and went into the living room, where Kairi was reading Persuasion. Seeing her reminded me that last night had been the first night in a long time that we hadn't spent reading Harry Potter. She looked up as I entered, then turned back to her book. But at least she was there, which meant that she was willing to talk things over. "Good morning," I said, sitting down.

She didn't say anything, and turned a page of her book. "I'm here to apologize again, Kairi, and however many more times I have to until you can forgive me."

She blinked and glanced sideways at me, but still remained silent. "I don't like being at odds with you," I continued, "and I hate to see you like this. I know you're hurting. I know you, or at least some part of you, thinks I'm untrustworthy. But I swear to you, I have been making a genuine effort to get along with you these past few weeks."

I sighed. "But you're right. It's not easy to completely rid myself of my fears about you. I've been working on it, and have managed to mostly dispel them, but I can't get rid of those small fragments that cling onto my mind. When I saw you last night with a dead man, drinking his blood, it gave those fragments an excuse to grow and take over my thinking for a moment. I…I was scared, and I lost control a little bit."

Finally, she turned to me and spoke. "Scared?"

I nodded. "I was terrified that I'd lost you, the you that I know. I've come to really like you, to think of you as a really good friend. I was afraid that the days of talking, of learning about each other, and of reading Harry Potter were over. And I guess my fear took over."

She was looking intently at me, as if trying to confirm that I was telling the truth. "Really?" she asked, but her tone wasn't skeptical—it was hopeful.

I nodded. "So, tell me what I have to do to make it up to you. I…you've become very important to me."

She stared at me, her expression difficult to read. Then, she said, in a soft voice, "You've become important to me, too."

For a moment, we sat staring at each other. I could feel my heart pounding. Then, very slowly, she began to lean in, and I felt myself mirroring her actions. My heart rate increased. Holy shit, were we actually going to…

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, and we both jumped and straightened up. "Uh, that's me," I said, reaching into my pocket. The message was from Donald, and it asked how I had done with Kairi last night. "It's…it's just from Donald."

"Oh."

We sat in awkward silence for a moment, then I got up. "I had better get to work."

"Yeah. Yeah, right."

"Well, uh, see you later."

"Yeah, you too."

I grabbed my coat and left, not even bothering to get breakfast.

My mind was reeling as I made my journey to my office. We had been about to kiss, back there. Was this what our relationship had become?

Yes, it is, said a part of my mind. You've had thoughts like this for some time.

It was true; thoughts of being in a romantic relationship with Kairi had crossed my mind multiple times before, but I either discarded them as insignificant or reinterpreted them as referring to something different. Now, though, I was forced to face them as something significant.

But this can't go anywhere, said another part of my mind. Remember what happened last time you became really emotionally invested in something involving supernatural creatures?

This is different, argued the first part of my mind. This is nothing like that. There's no potential for what happened to happen again.

Even so, how do you view a future for a human and a vampire? She'll live forever, while you won't.

Unless she turns you into one.

Do you really want that? You've heard what she's said about being an outcast of society.

You'd have her, though. And your close friends.

But do you honestly think that being condemned to an eternal life of vampirism is worth it? You've only just realized that you like her; it's way too early to think that you'll want to become a vampire just to be with her.

I had to agree with that statement. But what's wrong with trying it and seeing where it goes?

Because you could get too caught up in this, and something could happen.

That applies to any relationship.

But there are a lot more "somethings" in this case. It's not worth it. When you go back today, just tell her that it wouldn't work out.

I'd hate to hurt her feelings…

You don't have to. I'm sure she'd understand. Just say that, if things were different, you might go for it, but as things are, it would be too problematic.

I thought. Was that what I would have to do? I suppose so. That part of my mind was right; a relationship between a human and a vampire wouldn't work out. Unless she turned me into one, and I couldn't say that that was something I really wanted. Fine, I'll do it. I just hope she doesn't take it too poorly.

Work passed with that thought in the back of my mind. We had no cases lined up, so we spent the majority of the day researching some of the supernatural creatures in our guide, in case the information needed to be updated. I kept my situation from Donald and Goofy; if everything went well, it would be as if it had never happened, and they wouldn't have to worry about it. Still, I couldn't shut up that small part of my mind that was imploring me to reconsider, to go with my heart and start a relationship with Kairi. No, I kept telling it. You know it would give rise to all sorts of issues. I like her, but it's just not worth it.

It kept me distracted, though, and so I didn't get much done that day. Donald and Goofy asked me a couple of times if everything was all right, and I considered telling them, but ultimately refrained from doing so.

Finally, the end of the workday rolled around, and I was forced to go back to my apartment and face Kairi. With any luck, she'll be pretending this morning didn't happen, thought a hopeful part of my mind, but I doubted it; it was hard to just let something like that go. And so, I steeled myself for what I had to do as I opened my door.

"I'm back," I called, then wondered why I did; she would hear the door opening and know it was me, wouldn't she?

"Hi," she called from the living room, a slight hint of nervousness in her voice.

Hesitantly, I walked in, where she sat on the couch, reading Persuasion, like this morning. Though it didn't look like she had made much progress. Had the events of this morning been too much of a distraction? "How was work?" she asked.

"Quiet," I said. "Not much going on."

"Boring?"

"Well, we did have some things to do."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Mostly researching different supernatural creatures to make sure we have all the right information."

"Oh."

After a moment of awkward silence, I said, "Well, I'd better get dinner ready."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you do that."

I went to the kitchen, still thinking about how to broach the subject. Would it be best to just come out and say it? Should I wait for her to say something? Could I try and work up to it somehow? Damn, this was anxiety-inducing.

So much so that it made me mess up dinner twice. Finally, I threw some leftovers into the microwave and ate them, though my apprehension for what I would have to do after dinner took away most of my appetite.

After dinner, I took my time cleaning up, even though I knew I was only delaying the inevitable. Finally, though, I told myself that I had to do it, and went into the living room, where Kairi was still trying to get through Persuasion. "Look, Kairi…" I began.

Immediately, she looked up from her book. "Yeah?"

I sat down and looked at her. Whoo, boy. How was I supposed to do this, exactly? "I need to talk to you."

"Uh-huh." She put down her book.

I took a breath. "It's about…what happened this morning."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I…it…I…" Damn, I couldn't figure out how to begin. "I can't deny the…connection we have with each other."

"No."

"But…" This was the uncomfortable part. "But…I think it would be best if we didn't take it too far."

She nodded. "Right. I…of course. It's only logical."

Well, that was a relief; we were thinking along the same wavelength. "Not that I don't like you," I said. "And if circumstances were different…I mean, I don't like you any less because you're a vampire, but…"

"But a future couldn't work out," she said.

"No," I agreed. "I mean, I don't want to say you're condemned to an eternity of loneliness, but it's just that…there are too many problems that could arise from…from us taking this to a certain extent."

"Yeah. We may feel a certain way, but pursuing those feelings would only end up badly for both of us."

"Right, yeah." I looked at her earnestly. "I really don't want to stop being friends, though. But, you know, I think that should be it."

"Absolutely."

"Okay, then. We'll keep being friends."

"Sure." She smiled slightly, and I felt a small pang for taking the path I had chosen.

I exhaled. "Well, what do you want to do tonight, then? I've got a few board games that we haven't gotten to."

We spent the evening playing Scrabble, and then read a few more chapters from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We were nearing the end, but hadn't quite gotten there by the time I had to go to bed. We said our good nights, and I went to my room and to bed.

But I couldn't sleep. This evening, spending the time with her that I had, made a part of me yearn for a closer relationship with her. I kept trying to tell it that it would be foolish to pursue such a thing, but it wouldn't shut up, and kept me awake.

Finally, I got up, and went to the living room, where Kairi was sitting silently. She looked up as I entered. "What's the matter? Can't sleep?"

I suddenly felt that it would be nice to have her to turn to every night with my problems. Pushing the thought aside, I sat down. "No, I can't."

"What's the matter?" she asked, turning to me.

"It's just…" I sighed. "I have to be completely honest with you."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"I just…feel like the decision I made wasn't right," I said. "I know it was, but…there's this little part of my mind that won't shut up."

"I know how you feel," she said. "I've got the same problem."

She did? Would it be worth it, after all? No, no, no. I had to keep telling myself that. "Right. I really enjoyed spending time with you this evening, and…I sometimes wonder…but I can't…we can't go through with it. But I…I kind of wish we could."

"But we can't," she said. "It's how it is, and there's no use fighting it, because it's reality."

"Yes, but…but how do I convince myself of that?"

She reached over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Sora, listen to me," she said. "You do not have to feel this way. You are a young man, and I will live forever. This isn't our only opportunity. And you know that if we tried it, it would end badly. Our ways of life—and our lives—are too different. This isn't a story where everything will work out. We have to make the right choices, and staying friends is the right choice."

I nodded slowly, looking at her. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

Then, I leaned in and kissed her.

It went against everything we had said, and everything that we knew was logical. It was a foolish action that did not have a good end in sight. It might even make others question my sanity.

But it was what my feelings told me to do. And I did it.

I met no resistance from Kairi; I guess she felt the same way I did. Or rather, I know she did.

After a moment, we broke apart, and it took us another moment to realize what we had just done. "That…wasn't what we agreed to do," said Kairi, looking a little stunned.

I shook my head. "No." And I kissed her again, leaping with joy internally. Sure, it might result in future problems, but screw the future. This was the present. And if I wanted to enjoy the present as much as I could, this was what I should do.

I moved onto the couch with her, and we curled up together. It gave me a sense of security, being with someone at night. Someone who I could share my joys and concerns with. Someone to keep me safe, and that I could keep safe.

Someone to love.

Many miles away, a man sat in his chair, facing a computer, gritting his teeth. The slippery bastard had gotten away again, and now he was back to square one, waiting for his allies and helpers to find something. He hated waiting, but, unfortunately, there was little more that he could do. His specialties lay in…other areas, outside of searching and locating. Once they found his target, he would do the rest.

But he had been waiting for several days now. He had hoped that some of the others would have picked up a trail, but their target was elusive, as well as dangerous. But he would persist. He would follow this son of a bitch to the ends of the earth and back if he had to.

Suddenly, his computer pinged, and a new email appeared in his Inbox. He perked up. It was from one of his helpers. He clicked on it, and it opened to reveal a message and a few attached files.

Got something from NYC. Might be him. –T

He opened one of the files, and saw an image featuring a tan-skinned, silver-haired man being escorted out of what looked like a courthouse. Scanning the picture thoroughly, he looked for his target. There were a lot of people in the background, so he might be hard to spot. If, in fact, he was there…

There. Right there. Upper-right corner. Could that be him? It was hard to tell for certain, but it did look like him.

Heart pounding, the man opened the other files to find other shots of the same scene, some from different angles. All featured the figure that resembled his target. He stared intently at them all, trying to match them to the face that was burned into his mind. By the time he had looked through them all, he was almost certain. The resemblance was too similar. Sure, it might be someone who looked just like him, but that was unlikely; his target had a rather unique look.

Well, then, time for a trip to New York City. He quickly replied to the email, telling his helper that it looked like a positive identification, and that he was going to the city. Then, he picked up his phone. He had a flight to book.

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Well, I finally got them together. (Took me long enough...)

As you might expect, now, the Sora-Kairi interactions are going to be more romance-oriented. There aren't a whole lot left, though; I currently have only six or seven more chapters planned for this story. And then there's the mysterious man who's looking for someone...

Hope you liked this bit! Let me know!