Follow Me Home

Chapter Ten

o.o.o

After a nice long shower, Sora finally joined the married couple for dinner. Namine agreed that he could stay with them for a while in their new, two-story home, complete with a basement area where Sora could sleep. Namine also wouldn't mind a little help around there, especially with Ken. Riku still worked nights at the club and they were very well off, but Namine had also started a work at home job in her own personal office. Sora didn't mind watching Ken, of course. He still loved children.

Since Riku had to be at work around six, Namine always prepared dinner early. She took the beef roast out of the oven and measured the temperature as Sora made some mashed potatoes. Riku was getting ready for work in the bathroom. Ken played with some blocks on the floor.

"He's grown a lot." Sora said, watching him as he finished mixing the potatoes. He set the lid on the pot and went over to the child, making funny faces at him. "We're going to be best buds, now, kiddo." Sora grinned. Ken just stared at him for a moment, but then busted out crying.

"Sorry, he's at that age..." Namine said, "You know, the terrible two's..."

"I'm not worried about it." Sora picked up the child and went over to the glass door that led out into the backyard. Ken squirmed in his arms as he tried to calm him down. "Hey! Look!" Sora pointed outside. Namine set up bird feeders not long ago and there were birds all around them. She also had a small fountain that the birds were drinking out of. This distracted Ken's fake cries and he watched intently.

"See? Your Uncle Sora's not that bad."

"Sora, are you sure that you don't mind being a babysitter for a while?" Namine asked.

"It's no problem!" Sora grinned at her. "Besides, you're letting me stay here. I think it's very fair."

Riku walked into the room; his hair still wet. Seeing Sora with his son was refreshing. He always felt bad for not being around when Namine needed him and he knew that Sora wasn't exactly making up for his mistakes, but at least it was something.

Sora put Ken down and helped set the table. Namine gave him an appreciative look. She couldn't understand why Kairi did what she did. Speaking of Kairi, he hadn't said a word about her. Riku also wanted to ask how he felt now, but they both decided to keep their mouths shut for the time being.

"Let's eat!" Sora said as he clapped his hands together excitedly.

o.o.o

The next day, Vanitas woke up bright and early. He was consumed with this idea and couldn't wait. With Kairi's money in hand, he made his way out to the mall, which was nearly thirty minutes away.

He arrived right when the mall was opening and everyone was still setting up. Not knowing where anything was, he checked the map. Vanitas had never been to a salon in his life. He would have done it by himself, but he didn't know anything about hair dying.

The girls at the salon were still cleaning and setting up when he walked in. The gave him weird looks. Vanitas didn't care; he just went over to one of the chairs and sat down.

"May... we help you, Sir?" One of the girls came up behind him.

"I want my hair dyed."

"Uh... what color?" She asked, staring at his black locks.

"Like this." He pulled out the picture of Sora.

"So... brown?" Her voice was a little sketchy. "Sir, you do realize that we will have to bleach-"

"WHATEVER! Make it happen!" He demanded, alerting the girl. She got to work immediately. The other stylists just watched; unsure of what to do about the weird guy.

"I'm... going to let you know, this will take a while. First we have to bleach your hair... and then the hair dye will have to be left on for at least thirty minutes..." the girl explained to him, but he didn't care about the details. All he cared about was Kairi.

It ended up taking two hours. Vanitas looked at his hair in the mirror; it was a little darker than he wanted, but it will do.

Next—his eyes.

When the people at the Vision center told him that he would have to make an appointment for an eye exam, he nearly flipped out on them.

"I can't just get checked now?"

"I'm sorry, Sir... but we're all booked for today. You can set up an appointment-"

"Find a way to squeeze me in, or else." He threatened, giving her a very convincing glare. The girl at the counter panicked and started looking for a time slot.

"T-There's an... opening at 2:30... that's the... best... I-I can do..."

"Great." He slammed his hand on the counter. "I'll be back."

Vanitas searched for "brighter" clothes. He really hated shopping, but in order for his plan to work, he had to completely change everything about himself. Even though he didn't know much about this guy, he was sure that it wasn't that hard. Kairi was a crazy, delusional girl. Doing this would be easy.

Once everything was done, Vanitas looked at himself in his rear view mirror. His aqua-blue contacts, his dark brown hair... he was even wearing a white T-shirt. Although he didn't like the way that he looked, that didn't matter as long as he got what he wanted.

He knew the address that he found on Kairi's ID was an older one. Now he had to figure out how to find her...

The only place he knew of was the hostess bar. For the next few days, he decided he would stick around the club and wait for her to appear. She was bound to turn up eventually.

o.o.o

Xion and Ienzo were shopping for some groceries with Ayaka that day. Xion was a health freak now, so she only picked up vegetables and things with lots of protein. Ienzo, on the other hand, wanted junk food, but Xion didn't let him.

"Xion?"

They turned around. Xion's eyes widened. "A-Axel?!"

"Oh my goodness! It's been forever!" Axel hugged her without her consent. "And... Ienzo, right?"

"Umm..." Ienzo eyed him.

Axel spotted the young girl in the cart. "Whoa! Who is this?!"

"Um! She's... my friend's kid. I'm babysitting." Xion covered, hoping Axel wouldn't say anything.

"She's so cute! What's her name?"

"Ayaka."

"Even cuter! Hey, didn't you sleep with Roxas a while back?"

Xion's eyes widened and her face went crimson red. "N-No! We didn't!"

"Oh, well she kinda looks like him." Axel said, shrugging.

"It's... not mine..."

Ienzo glared at Xion.

After Axel was done admiring the baby, he turned to them and said, "By the way,.have you seen him?"

Xion's nerves spiked, but she kept her composure. "I-I haven't."

"Damn. Oh well. Anyway, I've gotta go. Catch ya later!"

"B-Bye..."

o.o.o

A few days went by without any incidents. Roxas just let Kairi do her own thing, but he was starting to get impatient. He wanted to spend more time with her and make her happy, so he offered to take her out, but she just refused every time.

"That's it." Roxas stopped what he was doing and went into their room where Kairi lay in bed. It wasn't healthy for her to do this, especially for days. She needed to get out and get some exercise. Roxas pulled out some clothes for her and threw them on the bed. "Get up. We're going out."

"I don't want to." She said immediately after.

"You don't have a choice right now."

"Who are you? My father?"

Roxas sighed and leaned on the dresser with his arms crossed. He tried to hold back his irritation, but this has been building up for a long time. It was always like this. He was tired of it.

But yet, if he forced her, should would scream. So he had to find a way to convince her that this was the best thing for her at the moment.

"Let's go over to Sunset Hill. Maybe watching the sunset will calm you down."

Kairi did not want to go out. Vanitas could be anywhere.

It was as if he was reading her mind, because he said, "I will protect you, no matter what. Now let's go."

Kairi's muscles ached from being bedridden for so long. She knew that Roxas meant well, but it hurt just to get up. Her back was the worst. Roxas helped her out of the bed and even assisted her in getting dressed. Kairi felt a little bad for her behavior around him. He only wanted the best for her and she acted like a complete—

Once she was ready to go, Kairi reached for her purse and they walked out together. Roxas was surprised that she actually agreed to get out of the house. She had trouble getting down the stairs, but Roxas supported her every step of the way. Although Kairi appreciated what he was doing for her, she didn't really know how to show it and just stayed quiet. Maybe Roxas did deserve a little more credit.

But even though she was feeling guilty about all of this, she just couldn't forget the fact that she was still filled with pain and regret. Being with Roxas—the one she cheated on Sora with was like writing her own death wish. It made it seem like Sora died in vain, yet she couldn't stay away from him. Without Roxas, she would be dead right now, but she figured that it was only a matter of time. After everything that has happened, Kairi's will to live had diminished and she was hanging by a thread. The way she acted at work and home may have been completely opposite, but she didn't know how things would go when she returned to work. She would always be looking over her shoulder.

They arrived at Sunset Hill. Normally, Roxas would go up to the tower for relaxation, but bringing Kairi—who would probably take the opportunity to jump at any given moment—would have not been the best idea. At least the hill had a fence. It may not have been much of one, but it made him feel a little safer. He took Kairi's hand in his and they went over to the fountain and sat down.

He would not let go of her hand.

The sky was a mixture of pink, purple, yellow and orange. Kairi thought it was pretty, but she didn't say anything; just watched. Roxas went back and forth from her to the sky.

'I wonder what she's thinking about...'

There was no telling.

Roxas was right, though. This was a great place to calm her nerves. Kairi felt more peaceful now than she had in a very long time, even if it was only temporary.

'Is Sora watching from up there...?' Kairi pondered. The sky always reminded her of Sora these days. Normally she would start crying, but it was just so beautiful. It almost felt like she was the only one there, but that quickly disintegrated because of Roxas' touch.

His touch...

It wasn't soft like Sora's, but it still had that caring feeling. That one time where he grabbed her was still fresh on her mind, but since then he had done everything he could to make up for it.

Just being here with Kairi made Roxas happy; as if they had finally taken one step forward, but he wondered how long it would last. However, he decided that he would just enjoy it while he could.

"This... is nice..." Kairi said quietly.

Roxas was content right now.

'Maybe I can make her smile...'

A true smile from Kairi would be the best gift she could give at this point.

The sun set in the distance. They watched it together; Roxas had his arm around her shoulder now without any complaints from Kairi. This was seriously the best day he has had in a long time.

But all good things come to an end.

Kairi looked through her purse for her wallet. After a few minutes of searching, she realized that it wasn't in there. She mentally retraced her steps; she didn't remember even touching her purse back at home.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked with growing concern.

"M-My... wallet..."

Roxas tried to recall a time where he had seen it, but he couldn't. "It's not in there?"

"No!" She yelled and started to panic. Roxas tried to hold her close and comfort her, but it was too late. Kairi was already checking her surroundings in fear.

"W-What if... he has it?!"

"Who? That guy?!" Roxas stayed near her, ready to counter any sudden movements.

"Roxas... he has my wallet... he knows my name... he knows where I live..." Kairi started shaking uncontrollably. Roxas held her in his arms.

"You probably just misplaced it at home... everything will be fine..." He tried to reassure her, but it didn't help. "Or maybe you left it at work. We can call Aqua..."

"NO!" Kairi shrieked. She pushed him off of her and ran towards his car. The door wouldn't open because it was locked. Roxas hurried and unlocked it for her and she got inside and curled up in her seat. They went straight home.

It was nowhere to be found.

o.o.o

A/N: I've been trying to make these chapters longer!

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