A/N: So... all of those HORRIBLE things I was planning for this story, I just cut the majority of them. There will still be some, but not as much. Lol. But no worries! I will still make this story awesome!

o.o.o

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Chapter Twelve

o.o.o

'Sora... where are you? I need you, Sora...'

Kairi couldn't see more than two inches in front of her as she walked through the dark abyss. She could hear someone laughing—and it wasn't normal, either.

'W-Who's there...? This isn't funny...'

All of a sudden, she could feel herself falling. Kairi screamed and struggled, but it was like it never ended. She reached her hand out. Almost instantly, her surroundings changed and she was floating in the middle of a cloudless sky.

'Sora... means... sky...'

And then, once again, the sky turned to darkness and all she could see as she was plunged downwards were a set of yellow eyes.

o.o.o

Kairi woke up in a cold sweat, taking deep breaths. Roxas was still asleep and everything around her seemed normal, but she couldn't shake the terrified feeling she was having from that dream.

Those yellow eyes...

Did Vanitas really alter his appearance to try and trick her?

Or was that... really Sora?

No... it couldn't have been...

"Kairi...?" Roxas mumbled; his eyes half open. After a few moments, he lifted his head up and squinted at her. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm... fine..." Kairi laid back down. Roxas put his arm around her stomach and moved closer to her.

"Okay. I love you, Kairi."

She said nothing.

o.o.o

The next morning, Roxas made breakfast as usual. Kairi came into the kitchen and shyly sat down at the table. A little surprised, Roxas smiled at her.

"Hungry?" He asked.

"A... little..."

He set down a plate of bacon and eggs on the table and gave her a fork.

"Milk, orange juice, or... water?"

Kairi wasn't listening. She was still thinking about that dream.

Roxas waved his hand in her face. "Hello?"

"Oh! I'm sorry... what did you say?"

Roxas read her anxious expression and decided to pull up a chair. "Alright, what's the matter?"

"Huh? N-Nothing..."

"Come on..." Roxas gently nudged her. He was feeling a little more playful today and he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Kairi was actually being somewhat nice to him?

"Roxas..." her serious expression made him calm down a little.

"Yeah?"

"Do... we really... have to move?"

Roxas sighed. He pushed her hair back behind her ear so that he could see her face clearly and gave her a sympathetic look. He did say that in the heat of the moment, but he truly felt like moving was the right thing to do.

"If not the Islands, then where?"

"Somewhere new... like... Radiant Garden..."

"Kairi, even with your salary we can't afford anything over there." Roxas reasoned.

Kairi seemed to agree, because she just put her head down and sighed. "I really... can't go back..."

"I understand, but—"

"I don't think you do."

He could feel her getting irritated with him, but Roxas didn't back down.

"We can live on another side of the island. Surely you haven't been everywhere. It would be like being somewhere new."

"You mean, the ghetto?"

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know." He took her hand in his. He really didn't want to fight, especially when things had been decent between them lately. "Don't worry, Kairi. Everything will be okay."

"I hate when people say that..." she responded instantly, throwing him off guard.

Roxas thought for a moment before choosing his words. "Well, anyway, we're moving. That's the end of it." He stood up and stretched, then walked out to calm himself down. He knew if he stayed in the room it would just start another fight. But strangely, Kairi didn't argue.

Later that night, Roxas went online and bought the one way tickets to Destiny Islands. Even he was a little iffy about going back; he wasn't really sure what he would do there.

It was for the best, though.

o.o.o

As soon as Roxas fell asleep, Kairi quietly sneaked out of bed. She didn't want to leave without seeing Aqua. She put on her pink jacket and tip toed outside. Even though she was a little afraid to go out at night by herself, she just wanted to go back to the club one last time. Kairi caught the bus and sat near the back; just staring out at the streets that she has lived on for over a year. It had definitely been quite a stressful year—not only for her, but she knew that Roxas was miserable too and she blamed herself for it. Maybe moving was a good idea after all; besides, she was getting tired of all of the pointless drinking. It was a nice escape for a while, but she just couldn't do it anymore.

The bus made a few stops; people came and went. 'How long is this ride?' her nervousness made her impatient; she felt like she was being watched even on the bus and started to regret coming out.

"This is the last stop. Are you getting off, or what?" The bus driver asked, parking.

"Oh... yes..." Kairi tried to prolong her time on the bus by taking smaller steps, but there was only so far that she could go. The bus driver took one last look at her. He noticed how sad she seemed to be, but brushed it off and drove away.

Kairi was left alone on the dark, empty street. The club was just one block over.

'Alright... I can do this... I can make it...'

o.o.o

Vanitas was at the bar across the street from the hostess bar with Seifer. He was going on about some girl that he met at another club, but all Vanitas could do was keep his eyes on the billboard outside.

"Are you listening, dude?"

All of a sudden, he saw her. Astounded at his apparent stroke of luck, Vanitas was mesmerized. Was this his second chance?

Ding ding!

Vanitas' eyes shifted over to his tipsy friend, who was still talking about whatever. He lightly tapped Seifer's shoulder, causing him to shut his mouth and pointed across the street.

"Is that... Kairi?" Seifer asked. Vanitas nodded eagerly, smirking.

"I need you to do me a little favor." Vanitas said.

"A favor?"

"I want you to invite Kairi out to Karaoke. I'm... too afraid to do it myself." He lied. Seifer gave him a strange look. "I'm sure she would do it for such a faithful customer..."

Seifer looked as if he was thinking really hard about it. "But... she doesn't work there anymore."

"What?"

"Yeah, she was fired last night."

"Regardless," Vanitas cleared his throat. He watched as Kairi went inside the club. "She's here now and she probably doesn't have any plans after whatever she's doing. Come on, you know you would love to hang out with her..."

Seifer blushed at the thought. "Well, yeah. Alright, I'll do it."

"Great. Meet me at the Karaoke Zone down the street, but don't tell her that I'm going to be there."

"Why not?" Seifer raised an eyebrow.

"Just do it!"

o.o.o

Sora turned off the light in Ken's room and kept the door cracked open a little. Riku came up to him in the hallway.

"He's asleep," Sora whispered.

"Alright, thanks."

Sora and Riku joined Namine in the TV room. She was watching the news. They sat down and chatted about random things. Sora was so glad that they were letting him stay here. He really had no idea what he would have done if he didn't find them.

"Can you believe how much we've grown?" Namine reminisced.

"Where did that come from?" Riku asked. She just shrugged and giggled.

Being with them made Sora forget all of the pain.

It wouldn't last long, however.

o.o.o

Seifer approached the club. Just as he walked in, he was greeted by a few girls. They all knew that he was Kairi's regular and gave him sympathetic looks before explaining what he already knew. However, he could see Kairi in the distance.

Kairi was waiting for Aqua at the bar, she was currently with a client. Terra was off tonight, so one of the hostesses was being the bartender for the time being.

"Hey!" Seifer came up to her and put his arm around her, causing her to jump. Once she realized it was Seifer, it was like her mood changed completely and she treated him just as she would if she was working.

"Seifer, how are you?" She smiled at him.

"Kairi... I heard you aren't working here anymore!" He complained.

"Yeah... I'm... moving."

"Moving? Where?"

Kairi didn't want to tell him, so she just said, "Radiant Garden... my grandmother lives there."

"Aww!" Seifer said, "well, when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"EH?!" Seifer thought for a moment; Vanitas was probably waiting on him. But why didn't he want him to tell Kairi about him?

"Seifer, are you alright?"

"Me? Yeah... um..." he rubbed the back of his head, "hey, do you want to... come to Karaoke Zone with me? You know, as sort of... a last goodbye... kind of thing."

Seifer was never really good with words.

"Oh, I really have to go home soon..." She looked over at Aqua, who was still entertaining the customer.

"Please? You can come back afterward... just sing one song with me..."

"Seifer, I really... can't..."

"Just one! I've spent thousands on you... you could at least do this for me..."

Kairi considered it in her mind; something was telling her that she shouldn't, but Seifer really was a good customer of hers. Besides, it wasn't like he was asking her to drink or anything...

But it still worried her—would it just be him and her?

"Please?" Seifer begged, grabbing both of her hands.

"Just do it," the girl playing bartender said. "I can tell Aqua that you'll be right back."

"Fine... one song..."

o.o.o

Kairi followed Seifer down the street towards Karaoke Zone; a five story building with private karaoke rooms where people could sing, dance, eat and drink to their heart's content. Vanitas saw them coming towards him, but he didn't want Kairi to see him just yet. He got a room, told the person at the counter that they were joining him and went upstairs to wait for them. He took a seat on the couch in the room. A semi-automatic pistol was tucked underneath his shirt. He was going to be prepared this time.

Kairi and Seifer walked up to the counter. The man told them their room was upstairs. Seifer was surprised that he didn't have to pay, that Vanitas must have already done so. This also confused Kairi; she had a bad feeling, but yet she continued behind him.

They reached the room that Vanitas was patiently waiting in. Seifer smiled at Kairi and opened the door.

Just before they walked inside, Seifer raised both arms up in shock. Kairi was too short to see over him.

"Don't make any sudden movements." Vanitas pointed the gun right in Seifer's face.

"W-W-What the... Hell?!" Seifer's eyes widened with fear. Kairi was able to look past him.

Her scream caused the gun to go off. She didn't stick around to see what happened. Kairi bolted down the stairs. He was here. He was going to kill her. He was going to...

She knew she shouldn't have come.

Kairi ran as fast as she could, but it wasn't good enough. She felt a hand wrap over her mouth. All of a sudden, she felt extremely drowsy. Vanitas put the gun away and carried her back to his car. Everyone was already freaking out from all of the commotion. Kairi passed out.

Vanitas sped off into the moonlight.

o.o.o

Namine was the only one that was still awake by the time the ten o'clock news came on. Sora and Riku were sprawled out on the floor; they were playing a game of monopoly and somehow that wore them out. Namine's eyes glanced back at the television.

'This just in from Twilight Town. A man has been shot and killed at a karaoke bar in the red light district just moments ago. We believe the shooter to be the long time fugitive, Vanitas Spar.'

A picture of the guy appeared on the screen. Namine dropped the controller. She immediately woke Sora and Riku up.

"Guys! Look at this!"

"Huh?" Sora looked at the TV. "What is it?"

'Witnesses say that they saw him carrying a girl into his car. We could have a kidnapping on our hands. Vanitas Spar is armed and dangerous.'

"He looks... like..."

"Don't say it..." Sora interrupted, still shocked himself at the similarities.

'We have the name of the girl. I repeat, we have the name of the girl.'

Sora, Riku and Namine watched in anticipation.

'Kairi Hikari, 26, left the Twilight Garden hostess bar with a customer.' The scene changed to in front of the bar. The billboard shone in the background. 'She was the number eight cabaret girl here at this club, but just yesterday she was fired from her job. All we know now is she went over to Karaoke Zone, which was where the shooting and kidnapping happened.'

Nobody said a word.

o.o.o

A/N: Well that escalated quickly, ne?

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You should look up "Sora's band feat. Riku" on Youtube. This video makes my life complete.

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