A/N: I absolutely loved everyone's reaction to the police incident. XD

If you're wondering why I brought Roxas' family into this story, A) I needed to get him back to Twilight Town and B) it's part of the story flow. I almost feel bad that you guys hate him so much. Lols

o.o.o

Follow Me Home

Chapter Thirty-Two

o.o.o

Kairi was frozen.

'What... just... happened...?'

'Did they say... what I think they said...?'

The nightmares were coming back...

Her heart beating out of her chest, Kairi couldn't quite understand the intensity of the situation, but her paranoia and anxiety took over. She never wanted to hear that name again, yet the police just mistook Sora for him...?

'That must mean...'

Kairi was about to scream, when all of a sudden she heard footsteps near the front door. Frightened, she instinctively searched for a place to hide, but in this two bedroom apartment there weren't many choices. Under the bed was too easy. In the closet was another common place.

The door cracked open, sending Kairi into a panic. She went into the master bathroom and locked the door, knowing very well that whoever it was must have heard her. She leaned her back against the wall and rocked back and forth, trying her very best to stay quiet and not to bust out crying. Was he here? Was he going to kill her?

The sounds of the wooden floor and someone walking across it were terrifying. Kairi could hardly breathe. It was going to happen again... and nobody would be here to protect her.

The steps got closer; now she could tell that this person was in her room. They grunted, and she could tell that it was indeed a male.

Then the sounds stopped.

Kairi put her hands over her head and cried as quietly as she could, but her panting was starting to become uncontrollable.

'Just go away... just go... away...'

Someone was standing in front of the bathroom door.

Kairi held her breath, but she couldn't for long. She saw the doorknob turn and stop due to the lock. Her fear was at an all time high and she really considered jumping out of the bathroom window—five stories down. Anything would be better than seeing the embodiment of her nightmares again. Anything.

"Hey, Zack. It's locked."

There were two of them?!

"What's the girl's name again?" she heard the other male voice.

"Kairi. She was all Sora ever talked about."

'They know... Sora...?'

"Kairi, this is Sora's uncle, Leon. If you're in there, you need to come out quickly."

Kairi didn't make a sound.

How did she know that they weren't lying?

"I've sent my wife to go and bail Sora out. You need to hurry and leave with us. There are some bad people after you."

'Bad... people...?' Kairi managed to stand, but didn't open the door.

"Vanitas killed my friend, Seifer." the other male voice said.

Kairi shuddered at the name.

"Kairi, we can only hold them off for so long. You need to trust us."

Kairi reached for the doorknob, but she was still so scared that she couldn't bring herself to do it. She never met any of Sora's aunts or uncles. But at the same time, the other guy knew about the death of Seifer.

Just who were they...?

"Kairi, they're coming! You need to come out now!"

In a panic, Kairi unlocked the door and it flung open. A tall, muscular man with shoulder length brown hair reached for her hand and grabbed her.

"Wait! I need... my... medicine..."

"Medicine?" Leon asked.

"It's... in my... purse..."

Leon spotted her purse on the kitchen table and told the other man to get it. "Is there a phone in there?" Leon called to him.

"N-No," Kairi said before Zack searched through, "it's over there. Sora's too."

"Good, you don't need it."

"Huh?"

"As long as you have that phone, they can find you."

Leon and Zack led Kairi out of the apartment and ran towards a red car. Kairi wasn't sure what was going on, but she got into the back seat and locked the door. Leon and Zack sat up front. Right before they left, Kairi swore that she caught a glance of him...

"Cloud and Genesis will hold them off. My wife, Rinoa and Sora will meet up with us."Leon sped down the road.

"Cloud...?" the name sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"We're all friends of Sora." Zack clarified, "so when I found out that his twin was causing havoc-" he was interrupted by Leon.

"Shh!"

'Twin...?'

"Sora... has... a twin...?" Kairi repeated in a dreadful voice. Leon sighed.

"I guess you need to know. Vanitas is Sora's twin brother. They were separated at birth and Sora never knew about it. Vanitas doesn't know either. They-"

"Stop..." Kairi started to shake, "...stop saying... that name..."

"Sorry." Leon apologized, "But it's true."

It made sense, but at the same time, to Kairi it didn't make sense. They may have looked the same, but they were complete opposites. She could hardly wrap her mind around it. She didn't want to think about it. She just wanted... to see Sora...

"Shit, they're coming!" Zack yelled, looking past Kairi at the car trailing behind them. "Kairi, duck down!"

"What?"

All of a sudden, a gun shot was heard. Kairi screamed and did as she was told.

"Shit, it's the ringleader!" Zack reached into the glove department and pulled out a gun. "Open the top!"

Leon did so as he maneuvered past all of the cars skillfully. Kairi could hardly keep her balance on the seat so she held onto the handle for her life. She felt like she was in a terrible action movie and she was the target. Kairi shut her eyes tightly; her anxiety was building up again. Not even her medicine could calm her down. This was way too scary.

"Shoot the tires out." Leon told Zack as he lifted himself up on the seat until half of his body was outside of the car.

'This isn't happening... this is just a bad dream... I'm going to wake up any-"

Gunshots.

"AHH!" Kairi shrieked.

More shots.

Leon glanced in his rear view mirror and saw the car behind them spinning out of control. Zack plopped back down.

"Got them. Hurry! Turn this corner!"

Leon nearly hit another car as he made the spontaneous turn. If it weren't for Kairi's seat belt, she would have flung onto the floor. Zack directed him through the streets to their destination. Kairi didn't dare look up; she was too scarred to even think straight. After what seemed like forever, Leon finally parked. He and Zack got out of the car, but Kairi didn't move. She felt like she was about to go crazy.

Leon opened the back door. "You're safe now. Come on."

It took a few moments for Kairi to realize that it was quiet and that they weren't moving anymore. She looked up at Leon, who was waiting for her to get out of the car. Kairi slowly lifted up and looked around, her heart still beating wildly in her chest. She heard Leon talking to someone on the phone.

"Sora is on his way." Leon told her.

Kairi finally stepped out of the car, with Zack's help. She didn't know where she was, but it was a beautiful place nonetheless. There was a small cottage in front of them, surrounded by a pond and a huge garden. A bridge went over the pond and led to the front door. Mountains were all around them.

"What is this... place?" Kairi asked absentmindedly, in awe.

"I don't know if I should tell you. Ask Sora." Leon grinned and went towards the door.

"Ask... Sora?"

"Anyway, you'll be safe here." Zack reassured her. They all went inside.

o.o.o

Reno and Vanitas were finally able to get away from Cloud and Genesis.

"You're a pussy, you know that?" Reno told him, focusing on the blood tinkling from Vanitas' nose.

Vanitas glared at him and wiped off the blood.

"So... you take those weaker than you just to let out your own anger? Is that why you want this girl?"

"Shut up." Vanitas said, but flinched when Reno raised his hand to hit him.

"It's not my business, but I just think it's pretty pathetic. You can't even fight, yet you can smack a woman around?"Before he said anything else, his phone rang. "Hey, Auron. What? You lost them? Damn it... alright. We'll meet you."

Reno shot one last glare at Vanitas and then told the driver where to go.

o.o.o

"Roxas, where are you going?" Ventus asked as he saw Roxas heading towards a taxi outside of their house.

"I need to go back. I have a bad feeling!"

"Wait! What about mom and dad?!" Ventus grabbed his arm. The tension between the two brothers was building.

"Find someone else! They hate me anyway!" Roxas tried to break away from him, but Ventus was stronger. "Let go!"

"No they don't!"

"They never cared about me! That's why I left! Kairi was the only one who ever gave a shit about me, even if she was with Sora!"

"We care about you!" Ventus said, but Roxas broke away from him.

"I have to save her. If I don't come back, don't miss me." With that, Roxas got into the taxi and headed for the station. Ventus watched the taxi drive away.

"You held us together..." he drifted off.

o.o.o

The sweet aroma that came from the garden outside filled the cottage. The mixture of stone walls and wooden ceilings were amazing. Zack and Leon took a seat on the leather couch near the fireplace. Kairi sat in the recliner.

"So... how did you guys... find me...?" she asked.

"The same way that they did. You see..." Leon hesitated, "...I used to be one of them."

"One of... what?"

"A mafia member." Zack said. Kairi gasped.

"T-The... mafia... is after me...?"

"Not just you. Sora and Roxas too."

"Roxas... but why...?"

"Because... that guy's father used to be good friends with the ringleader and... that guy... must have asked them for a favor."

"So... he's really... out?"

Anxiety.

Leon nodded. "It was all over the news. I don't know how Sora found out."

"So that's why he tried to move in..." Kairi said without realizing it, "...he wanted... to protect me..."

"Probably," Leon answered, "I knew that all of those things he said about never being with you again when he was living with us was bull. Sora can't stay away from you."

"Speaking of Sora," Zack went over to the door, "they're here."

Kairi stood up and watched as Sora and another woman, presumably his aunt, came to the door. Rinoa came in first and Sora followed. Their eyes met and before Kairi knew it, Sora's was embracing her.

"We'll be outside," Leon said and escorted the other three out.

"Kairi... I'm so glad that you're okay..."

"What... happened, Sora...?"

"They thought... that I was..." Sora couldn't finish his sentence. Instead, he just pulled her closer, "What's important is... I'm here now."

Kairi pulled away from him, not taking her eyes off of his. "Sora... do you... forgive me...?"

Her question threw him off a little, but with his actions lately he really couldn't deny it. It was true, he still loved Kairi and that scared him, but was she truly repented in his eyes? He still wasn't sure; he got completely caught up in this entire situation and did everything by instinct. It was time to take a step back and think about his actions instead of just going head first into something.

"Kairi... I... still care about you."

"That... doesn't answer my question..."

"I can't answer it."

Kairi's eyes watered, "Then why are you here? Why would you do all of these things for me? And what is this place? Your uncle told me to ask you... just what is going through your head? What do I mean to you now?!"

"I bought this place for our honeymoon." he said quietly, "It was a long time ago."

Kairi stepped closer to him. Sora had a sad look on his face.

"Really...?"

"Anyway, it doesn't matter now."

"I don't get it!" Kairi yelled, "what do you want, Sora?! Just a few hours ago you tried to move in with me! I'm so confused!"

"I love you, okay?! I don't want you to get hurt! That's why!" Sora yelled, not realizing what he said.

Kairi was speechless. She fell back into the recliner.

That was enough confirmation for her.

o.o.o

o.o.o

A/N: So... I totally didn't plan this for Valentine's Day. It was just a mere coincidence! I mean... uh. Anyway, please leave a review!

You shall understand Vanitas' relevance in the story soon enough, even if you don't care. XD

The cottage idea came from Matilda. I'm just horrible at descriptions.

Happy Valentine's Day! And don't be sad if you're not in a relationship. Anyone can be your Valentine! In fact, I hereby claim all of you as my valentines. Muahaha!

The snow LITERALLY skipped over my town. But it's everywhere else. It's hilarious.

Review and have a nice day!