Wow...so many reviews... *faints*

Roxas: Oh man, did she faint again?

Axel: Yep.

Roxas: Sigh...then I'll have to take over for the moment. *turns to the audience* Well, if I were in the author's shoes, I guess she'd thank all of you for the reviews. So thanks guys for giving this story so many reviews, we really appreciate it! There's a little special something going on in this chapter that involves Kyrie and Axel's relationship, so I'm pretty sure you guys are going to either kill the author or hug her.

Demyx: Rox, you can't say that! We need the author to live for the story to get to part three! That, and you're not supposed to spoil anything for the chapter!

Roxas: Okay, okay! Look, just do anything but kill the author, okay? Now that that's out of the way...let's start the story!

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 49

A few hours later, the group found themselves in front of Beast's Castle as they stood in the courtyard, staring at the castle in awe.

"No matter how many times we come here, that castle still freaks me out." Kyrie thought as Sora opened the doors. Waving a hand for them to follow, he walked inside, with Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie following right behind him. Once they got inside, they spotted a familiar face as the Beast paced in front of the stairs, wearing…a suit?

"Wow. I didn't know the Beast could even wear a suit, let alone own one." she thought as she blinked. Sora smiled and waved.

"Hey there!" he called. The Beast looked at them, aggravation on his features as Donald looked around.

"No Heartless and no Nobodies!" he stated. Goofy nodded warily.

"I think they're close, though…"

"Better watch out!" Sora cautioned. Kyrie nodded but the Beast simply growled in annoyance. Kyrie huffed and crossed her arms while the others looked at him in confusion.

"What are you so mad about?" Donald asked. The Beast gave a huff before answering.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"The Nobodies' world has to be around out there somewhere. We're looking for a way in." Sora explained. At that moment, Belle appeared at the top of the staircase, in a lovely golden dress with her hair and makeup done beautifully. Kyrie smiled and waved to the girl, who smiled and gave a delicate wave back as she came down the stairs.

"Tonight is very important." The Beast spoke as he began walking up the stairs, meeting her in front of the ballroom. With that he opened the door and the two walked inside, hand-in-hand. The group blinked at this before Goofy spoke up.

"Uh, maybe we came at a bad time." He stated, a small blush on his cheeks. Kyrie nodded in agreement, but something about the two walking hand-in-hand bothered her. She didn't know why they were walking hand-in-hand, and it sorta frustrated her.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Donald cried as he ran up the stairs. The others sighed and shook their heads before Sora tried to stop him.

"Donald!" he cried as he ran after the duck. But he quickly pushed the doors open and ran in, making the group sigh as they followed after him. Once inside the ballroom, the ran into Lumiere as he was just finishing up his speech. Taking note of their presence, he turned to them.

"And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too."

"A welcome indeed." The group stiffened as Sora and Kyrie ran into the center of the room, recognizing the voice immediately. They spotted Xaldin on top of a balcony as he stared down at them, his hood masking his features.

"The organization!" Sora exclaimed. Xaldin merely gave a huff at his appearance.

"You just don't know when to quit. And as for you," he pointed at Kyrie, who was glaring at him venomously. "I'll deal with you personally, girl." she snorted at him as Donald ran to their side, glaring at her before glaring at the man. She gave a soft sigh.

"Donald still doesn't trust me. Not that I blame him, though. He has every right to not trust me." she thought in dismay as he summoned his staff.

"Oh yeah! We'll show you!" he called. Beast snarled from where he was standing protectively in front of Belle, before rushing to their side.

"Get out!" he snarled. Kyrie was quick to run to Belle's side, knowing that a fight was about to commence. But the girl was glaring at the man, something quiet uncommon for her.

"Not tonight!" she exclaimed. Kyrie gave her a sympathetic nod before the two looked back at the cloaked man. He quickly snapped his fingers, summoning his Lancer nobodies before Beast roared, knocking them out of the way. Kyrie summoned her keyblades immediately and stood protectively in front of Belle and the servants in case any came near.

"I've come to take something that you hold dear." Xaldin continued. The Beast glared at him and roared indignantly, insulted by the man's very presence. He gave a dead chuckle. "Yes. Let your anger grow…" and with that, he disappeared, leaving the group to deal with his nobodies as they swarmed. Sora looked at the Beast.

"Beast! We have to get rid of these guys first!" he called. The Beast nodded and the group ran in, with Kyrie leading Belle and the servants safely out of danger. Standing in front of them for protection, the group watched as the four fought the nobodies, taking them out easily. But Kyrie kept her attention elsewhere, to see if Xaldin would appear and carry out his threat.

"Belle is important to the Beast, so he might come after her." she thought as she looked around. But the man never appeared, and within minutes, the fight was over. Sora and the others looked around for a moment. "Where's Belle?"

"Over here!" she called, making Sora and the others turn as she, Kyrie, and the servants approached. Sora sighed and wiped his brow in relief.

"Whew, she's okay." Goofy nodded as he held up a finger.

"Guess Xaldin didn't take anything after all." He spoke, smiling. But the Beast stiffened, turning and running out of the ballroom as if the devil were after him. Sora and the others blinked in confusion.

"What's wrong?" he called. But Belle ran after the Beast as well, passing both him and Kyrie as she did so. "Belle? What's with them?"

"Maybe Belle isn't the only thing precious to the Beast." Goofy suggested. Sora shrugged his shoulders but followed after the two nevertheless, with Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie right behind him. As the group ran through the West Wing, Kyrie's eyes were following the shadows on the walls, trying to see if she can spot a familiar black cloak.

"But what else is important to the Beast? I thought he cared about Belle." she thought as she ran, trying to figure out what else the Beast held so dear. But once they got to his room, they watched as he paced in anger, growling and snarling under his breath as he did so. Suddenly he gave a loud roar, making the group jump as Belle took a step forward.

"What's wrong?" she exclaimed in concern. But he didn't answer and just kept growling and pacing. But Kyrie blinked, something was off.

"Huh, something's not right, something's missing…did he paint the room? No, that can't be it, it still looks gloomy…" she thought as Beast and Belle argued. Then it hit her.

"Oh yeah! That glass case that held the rose, it's gone! Is that the other thing that's precious to the Beast?" she thought as she zeroed in on the table where it was supposed to be. Whatever the Beast said next seemed to have hurt Belle, as she turned and walked out of the room. Kyrie turned and watched as she left, before glaring at the Beast and following after her. Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed after them, just catching Belle before she could leave the hallway.

"Don't worry, Belle. We'll get his rose back." Sora spoke as he tried to reassure the girl. But she nodded sadly and continued on, with Kyrie and the servants following after her.

-Later, Belle's room-

"It's okay dear, you know the master's just upset is all. I'm sure he doesn't really want you to leave." the Wardrobe spoke as she tried to console the girl. Kyrie nodded in agreement, the three were currently sitting on Belle's large bed as they waited to see if Sora was successful with convincing the Beast to fight back. Kyrie pulled out her notebook and began to write.

Yeah, Belle. I'm sure the Beast doesn't want you gone, he just doesn't want you in danger, that's all. Xaldin could come back and kidnap you, so he probably just wants you to safe.

Belle gave a sad little nod as she sighed.

"I hope you're right…" she sighed. Kyrie looked at the girl sympathetically, she didn't know what to do. It was obvious that Belle cared about her friend, but something was still bugging Kyrie. The two acted like friends in a sense, but they also acted a little different from that. After a moment, she wrote more and tugged on the girl's arm, causing Belle to look at her.

"Yes?" she asked. Kyrie quickly placed her notebook on the young woman's lap as she began to read.

Belle, is the Beast your friend?

"Why of course he is. Why do you ask?" she answered. Kyrie was silent before writing more.

Because you sorta act like friends…but at the same time, you don't. Is there something more going on?

The young woman's cheeks flushed a little at her question.

"Well…what you are talking about is love. I care for the Beast…but, uh…" but before she could finish, Kyrie had written more and plopped the notebook back on her lap.

Belle, what is "Love"? Can you explain it to me?

The young woman nodded at this.

"Why, of course I can. Love is when you care about someone very much, and you want to always be with them. You want to see them happy, and it hurts when they're not happy so you do everything you can to make them happy again." she explained. Kyrie nodded eagerly before she continued.

"You're always thinking about the person, and you're always happy when they're around. Sometimes being with the person hurts if they don't know or return your feelings, but somehow, you get through it. That's the best way you can describe love." she finished. Kyrie nodded, her mind swirling with the new information and questions she had for her.

So you're always happy to be with that person? Do you feel like there's butterflies in your stomach, your hands get cold and clammy, and your cheeks heat up when they're around?

"Well, yes. Why are you asking this?" she answered. The girl was silent as she twiddled her fingers, before writing her answer.

Well…there's this friend I've known for a long time, and for some strange reason recently, I've been feeling butterflies in my stomach when I'm around him, my cheeks flush red, and my hands get cold and clammy. My heart speeds up without me knowing it, and whenever he smiles or smirks, I feel like all the air just flew out of me.

The Wardrobe and Belle looked at each other before speaking up.

"Well dear, it sounds like you're head over heels in love with this boy. And you've definitely got it bad from the sounds of it." she spoke, wiggling her eyebrows. Kyrie blushed brightly and looked away before the two laughed.

"It's okay, there's nothing to feel ashamed about. But does he know?" Belle asked. Kyrie shook her head, making the wardrobe sigh.

"Well you better hurry and tell him. He's not going to wait around forever!" she insisted. But Kyrie stayed silent, her hand over her heart as she thought about this.

"But am I in…love with him? Does he…no. He can't feel the same way. He's a nobody…" she thought, disheartened. The room was silent for a few minutes, before Belle got to her feet.

"Well, I better change. The party was ruined so there's no reason why I should keep wearing this."

-A little while later-

"Ah…the night air feels so good…" Kyrie thought as she and Belle stood on the balcony. The two decided to get some fresh air after Belle got done getting changed, because really, who wanted to be in a stuffy room on a night like this?

But Belle didn't seem to notice how lovely the night was as she rested her head in her arms on the balcony, looking out into the distance. The two were silent before Kyrie heard the sounds of the large entrance doors being opened. Looking down, she spotted Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast as they walked out into the courtyard. The group looked like they were looking for someone, before Goofy just happened to look up. Spotting them, he began to wave. Kyrie smiled as she waved back, causing Belle to look as well and gasp in surprise. She stood to go back inside, before spotting a familiar glass case sitting in front of the balcony doors. Kyrie turned and smiled as well.

"The rose!" she thought. But then her eyes narrowed suspiciously, how did the rose get there?

"Is that…" Belle spoke as she quickly picked up the case and smiled.

"Look! It's the rose!"

...Wait, what just happened?

Axel: GAH! K-chan, would you please stop beating around the bush and just have me and Kyrie kiss already? This is getting really annoying!

Me: I'm building it up. Besides, it's not like she's going to know her feelings for you right away! She's been missing for 11 years AND lost her memory! How's she supposed to know what love is?

Axel: Why you...

Sora & Roxas: *rolls their eyes at the two before looking at the audience* Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!

Axel: Got it memorized?