Chapter 9: A Bittersweet Reunion
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Chapter Nine
o.o.o
Riku answered the phone. He hated it when unknown numbers called him, but he wasn't doing anything in particular at the moment.
"Hey, Riku?"
"...Who is this?" Riku questioned; he felt like he had heard this voice somewhere before.
"It's me. Yo."
'Yo...?'
"Me... who?"
"Uhh, your best friend," he chuckled, "Sora."
Riku dropped the phone.
"Hello?" Sora heard the dial tone. "Hmm... I'll call back."
Riku heard his phone buzzing once again. Shaking, he could hardly believe what he just heard. 'Is this some sort of cruel joke?!' He quickly picked up the call in fury.
"Who are you? That's fucked up!"
"Whoa, Riku! Calm down!" Sora said. "It's me, really!"
It was quiet.
"Hello?" Sora said again.
"...Sora?"
"That's me. Can you meet me at the pier in twenty minutes? You can bring Namine and Ken too."
Shocked, Riku hung up without responding. 'What... the hell...?'
Namine appeared in the room holding some diapers. "Who was that?"
The astounded look on Riku's face confused her. He stayed on the couch for a few moments, trying to register in his mind what just happened. A text came in.
"I'll be here waiting."
o.o.o
Kairi lay on the kitchen floor, worn out from all of the trouble that she caused from her own depression. Roxas sat near her, one arm wrested on his knee and the other leg stretched out. It had been quiet for several hours; he wanted to move her but he figured leaving her be for now was the best thing.
This wasn't the first time that she tried killing herself.
In a way, Roxas thought that she didn't really want to die—but it was more-so a call for help.
He was doing everything that he possibly could, yet it had no effect on her.
Olette must have gone to sleep, because she didn't come out for the rest of the night. That was it—he couldn't put his friends through this anymore. Hayner barely even came home on time anymore if he knew that Kairi would be there. Olette must have felt terrible. He was ruining their relationship for his own selfish need to take care of this girl. But yet, he still had to make a living. He still needed to get out of the house for his own sanity, but he couldn't. Leaving Kairi by herself was very dangerous, obviously.
Regardless, he didn't want to be a burden to others anymore. This was his own choice.
The kitchen floor was cold on Kairi's pale face. It didn't matter, though. She knew how pitiful she must have looked, but she didn't care.
She reminisced memories of her and Sora. 'Why did I have to go astray? He was so much in love with me... he treated me right even when he wasn't physically there...'
'Why was I so... weak? Why couldn't I just say no...?'
If she could have just said that one simple word, she would still be with him now. They would be engaged, married, whatever. She would be happy.
'You don't know what you have until it's gone...'
She looked over at Roxas. She could see the pain in his face. 'I caused this. He's doing all of this for me...' he didn't look back at her, but he knew she was watching him. Kairi slowly lifted herself up. Her arm stung from the cut she inflicted on herself. Regret filled her and she was very fortunate that Roxas and Olette were there to stop her. She was thankful.
But she didn't know how to tell them that.
"Do you..." she began, "...want to go to bed?"
Stash this away. Forget.
Roxas was surprised she even said anything to him. Kairi inched closer to him. 'I have to forget this pain... for now...' she told herself as she closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss him. After no response or advancement from Roxas, Kairi sighed, turned around and leaned her back against his chest. Roxas positioned himself so that she was comfortable, but he was still very lost. "Roxas, please... hold me... like you always do..."
She needed the comfort. She needed the affection.
Roxas slowly wrapped his arms around her stomach. Almost immediately, he was reminded of the unborn child. Kairi was thinking the same thing, but she tried to block it out.
"You know... I wonder what that child would have been like." Roxas said in a low tone.
Kairi didn't respond. She didn't like thinking about her miscarriage. It was just one of the many things that went wrong in her life, not to mention what happened right after that.
"Sorry. I'll shut up." Roxas lightly kissed her cheek. "Let's go to bed."
"Okay..."
o.o.o
Riku and Namine drove up to the pier where this guy that claimed to be "Sora" was. They had no idea what to think; as far as they knew, Sora was dead. So why was he just calling them out of the blue? It had to be some sort of set up.
"Stay in the car. I'll check it out." Riku said, glancing back at their two year old before getting out. The sun was setting in the distance. There was someone standing at the edge of the pier, watching the ocean. Riku took a few steps forward. As he got closer, the outline of the guy became clearer. Spiky hair, semi-tall and skinny, baggy pants...
Before he was able to inspect further, the guy turned around.
Those... eyes...
That smile...
Riku got closer to the Sora wannabe and tugged on his cheeks. "Is it... really...?"
"Hey!" Sora pulled back, but understood his friend's actions.
"Oh... my God..." Namine said in shock as she stood there holding Ken's hand. Ken didn't really understand what was going on.
"SORA!" Riku tackled him. They both fell into the water, but that didn't stop Riku from clinging to him.
"Alright, alright!" Sora was finally able to get his best friend off of him. They both walked onto the shore, drenched. Namine was still amazed at what was happening.
"Sora...! How... did you...?!" Riku was at a loss for words.
Sora just laughed, knowing that Riku knew about the train crash. (Maybe he shouldn't be laughing, but he was just glad that they were happy to see him).
"Sora, everyone thought... you were..." Namine trailed off.
His expression changed to a serious one. "I know."
Riku's mouth gaped open, but nothing came out. Namine spoke instead.
"Why... didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell us where you were at least?"
Sora shrugged and stared at the ground. "I guess... I didn't want to be found."
"What do you mean?" Riku asked.
Sora shook his head and smiled at them. "It's nothing, really."
"Nothing?!" Namine was getting all worked up, "Sora, there was even a memorial service for you! Everyone thought you were dead!"
"It must have been for the best." He said nonchalantly.
Riku gave him a strange look. "You've changed..."
"For better... or worse? Who knows?" Sora just kept smiling. Namine and Riku were at a loss. Here was Sora, their best friend standing right before them. He knew that everyone thought he had died, but yet he was acting so casual about it.
"Well, where have you been? You have to tell us everything!" Riku asked.
"I will, but... can we... eat first?" Sora let out a nervous laugh.
o.o.o
As Vanitas was getting out of his car to go inside for the night, he spotted something on the floor on the passenger's side. Picking it up, he realized it was a wallet—not just any wallet, but Kairi's. He opened it. His eyes widened at the amount of cash she kept; probably tips from her job.
"Six hundred and thirty... five..." He counted. "Who carries this much money around?" After he was done, he put the money in his own wallet. "What's hers is mine."
He continued to browse through the wallet. She had a hostess card. Vanitas gave it a disgusted look; she looked just like a doll. He hated the over-glamorous types, but he knew what she looked like underneath all of that makeup. He came across her driver's license as well as another ID.
"Kairi Hikari... age 26. Birthday, July 12th..."
There was her address, but it was for a place called Destiny Islands.
"Apartment... B?"
And then... there it was.
A picture of Kairi with the guy she must have mistaken him for. This guy was almost a clone to Vanitas, he thought, with the exception of the hair, eyes and a bright smile. She had several pictures of him deep in her wallet, all dated with a small heart at the end.
"She pretty much grew up with this guy..." He said as he looked at the pictures. Some dated back to when he would have been in high school.
That's when he had a brilliantly evil idea.
"Such a twisted turn of events..." Vanitas said, examining the picture more closely. "If I could look like him... act like him... then maybe..."
Maybe he could get Kairi back.
It was so heinous, but he loved it. Even though he didn't like the thought of changing his hair, it was sort of eerie that he looked so much like this guy.
'What a wonderful coincidence...' he thought to himself, grinning.
Tomorrow was a new day and Vanitas had a feeling that it would be a great one. He went inside his dark, empty house, threw her wallet on the kitchen table and went to bed.
o.o.o
o.o.o
A/N: Did anyone spot the KH reference(s)?
Thank you all so much for all of your support. I love writing this and I'm glad you're enjoying it. I see so many views to each chapter and I'm thankful for the handful of you that still say something in almost every chapter. It really gives me the motivation to keep writing.
-HASHTAGheartfeltstuff-
Have a great day!