"Sora, it was my choice. Please, don't blame yourself for the aftermath of the fight. If I had just trained a little more before the battle, then I probably would have been able to defend myself better." I take his hand quickly before he can say anything else. "We're both here now, we're both alive now. That's all I need to be happy. This is enough." Except it isn't. I've always wanted more, but that's what started this problem in the first place. It's time to be selfless. Riku and Sora need this now. After what they did for me while I was at the hospital I have to return the favor. That's what friends do, and that's what I should have been focused on saving.

People fall in and out of love, but our friendships can last forever. They will last forever, I'll make sure of it.

With these ideas running through my head, I hug Sora to my chest, waiting patiently as he sobs lightly into my shoulder.

Don't Be a Gentleman: Flooding Dam

I don't know how long I spent holding him but eventually Sora's tears dissolve into my shirt in dry rings of sadness as he quiets down, gripping me tightly. We don't say anything and in this one moment I actually feel . . . peaceful. It's like how he is at the islands, beside me sitting in that lopsided tree with Riku watching us with protective eyes. We all laugh as Sora cracks a joke, and then I bravely suggest making a boat, seeing new worlds . . .

I shake my head, dismissing the memories while he releases me. My body shivers lightly, experiencing a slight rush of air in his absence. I look up at him, wishing he would hug me again but settle with saying, "How do you feel now?"

Sora chuckles softly while looking away. "A little better."

"Good." I rub my own knuckles absently, searching for something better to say. I guess I thought everything would click into place once I saw him again, but now I just feel . . . awkward. Hmmm, I bet he does too. Why else wouldn't he say anything back?

Before I can embarrass myself with the standard weather questions, Sora opens his mouth, cheeks tainted pink. He gets out a low mumble before his mom walks in nearly sending me into a jump. I yelp lightly, then inwardly slam myself with a hammer. What a perfect reaction.

She smiles at me before handing me a slim pendant. "We really should have returned this too you long ago, but with the move I forgot all about it. I was actually going to have Sora bring it to you today, but you're here so . . . " She gives me a sheepish grin, one that reminds me of Sora's old spirit and I smile. Sora in turn blushes more but also smiles as I take the pendant.

It's shaped like a star with four small blue stones that form into the five-pointed tips. "Ah, my grandmother's pendant. I thought I left it with you guys." It was such a long time ago, probably a week before the beach party where Sora's antics first started. I attach the chain to one of the loops on my jean shorts. "Thank you."

"Of course." Mrs. Wilmington stands before glancing at both of us in turn. "So, Kairi, is there anything else I can get you? Sora did bring in more food after all."

"Oh, um, actually I was wondering if Sora could come with me. My dad just has a few questions for him and . . . stuff." I cringe lightly as Sora's face instantly pales. His mom looks worse, eyes wide and mouth parted slightly.

"Oh . . . oh, I . . . I see." She sighs and looks down. "I guess I should have expected this." She gives Sora a sympathetic glance, but he dismisses it with the wave of a hand.

"No, don't worry about me, Mom. I'll be fine." He smiles reassuringly but there's still some color missing from his face. He gets up and rocks on his heels before lowering a hand towards me. "Shall we?"

I swallow and take his hand. A snippet of the warmth from his hug earlier returns and my hold tightens, whitening my knuckles. If my grip is hurting him, he doesn't show it. Instead he softly says goodbye to his mom and in a few steps we're out the door and walking on the open road.

The trip is quiet, with just our calm breaths hitting the air. I can't help but feel that Sora and I have only skimmed the surface of our issues with each other, but perhaps when we talk with Dad and Riku things might come to light. At least, maybe I won't be as lost as I have been throughout this whole undignified week.

I pause, glaring at the ground as an unpleasant idea comes to me. An unlikely idea, but all the more still plausible with what I've seen of Sora recently (which isn't much). A single touch on the shoulder alerts me to his confusion but I still don't move.

"Kairi? Something wrong?"

I bite my bottom lip before looking him in the eye. "You're not going to lie this time, are you?"

His eyes flash briefly. His mouth trembles and he looks so hurt that I almost backtrack. But then his face hardens and he speaks. "I didn't lie. I told the truth when I brought you to your father. Whether it's true for you is up to interpretation." He sounds so smooth as he says it, like he's stating a mantra for a speech. I start to think that perhaps Sora has been giving this more thought than I anticipated, every word and response is practiced.

I swallow then stare past him. "Fine. But I'm speaking first."

Sora laughs. "Planning to discredit me?"

I narrow my eyes. "Something tells me you're planning to make yourself crash and burn. Your form of self-justice isn't appealing to me."

Sora laughs harder, and the sound is almost enough to make me smile. He's a good actor. He shoves me playfully. "Like I said, interpretation."

"I hate you."

"Really? I guess I deserve that."

"And I hate that response. Ugh, you guys are killing me!" I pull on my hair dramatically. What? I can act too if I try.

Sora raises an eyebrow at me, mouth open in mock surprise. "Whoa, Riku too? Well, that sucks."

"No kiddin. I swear sometimes I wish both of you would turn into girls for a second. Then you would understand." I cross my arms.

Sora just blinks at me. Then his smile shakes and I can tell he's trying not to laugh at me. I dare him to do it by giving him my classic death glare and that sends him into guffaws. "Ugh, you are just . . . you will feel my pain. Someday!" I shake my fist in the air, smirking.

"K-Kairi stop! Oh, my stomach!"

I start laughing, people aren't lying when they say it's contagious. I then tackle him, letting my fingers attack his chest.

"No, please stop! No, I'll be-beg! Seriously, I'll beg!"

"Seriously? You're already begging now!" My wicked smile widens as I continue tickling him. After a few minutes of tearful laughter, I show some mercy and let my hands rest on his stomach in warning.

Sora's face is flush with mirth and sweat from laughing and he breathes in with a small chuckle. "You . . . are . . . evil."

I smile widely, showing my teeth. "That's what you get for underestimating me."

He blinks, then sits up, face a few centimeters above mine. "I have underestimated you." He pulls me forward fast and his mouth catches mine instantly when I gasp. The kiss is soft and hesitant, almost a peck really. Nevertheless, it surprises me so much that for a moment my body freezes while my eyes open as wide as they can go. The bruise on my neck flares and I pull back roughly, shaking as my arms and legs tingle. It's like my whole body was numb a second ago, then all the feelings return along with the pain from my neck. I grit my teeth to hold back a shout as my body shakes.

I almost miss Sora's reaction to my strange anxiety attack. His confused face morphs quickly into terror and his voice shakes. "K-Kairi? Are you okay?"

The moment he says my name my face snaps up, and then my vision turns . . . purple? I blink three times and the third time I open my eyes his face is literally inches away from me (again!) but this time I'm over him. What the, how did that happen? Sora just stares at me and glances warily at his arms that I'm holding down. He moves against me, but my knees dig into his waist, keeping him down. What is going on? I can't control my legs!

My vision darkens and it opens me up to all the light and darkness swirling around his chest. "That was a very dangerous move, Sora," I hiss. Oh god, what am I saying?

Sora shudders and his face is full of guilt. "Oh no, now it has you."

What? What has me? Oh no, he doesn't mean-"Shut. Up." My hand swings forward and rakes into his face with my nails. Sora shivers but keeps his mouth shut. I watch three lines of blood flow down his face and I shiver. What the heck? He needs to, I need to . . .

I pull my hand back and it's like lifting something that weighs a ton. I watch it shake in front of me and my neck lights up on fire. Weird chortles of laughter mixed in with sobs escape from my mouth as my vision lapses between a field of purple and red.

The struggle to control the strange emotions rattling in my brain distracts me enough so that I miss Sora's hand flying towards my throat. I freeze again as he firmly grabs my bruise, pressing a palm of light against my skin. The light floods over my entire body and my eyes crash closed, encasing me in a world of black.

When I come to Sora and Riku are sitting across from me on our couch and my Dad is frowning beside them, standing stiffly to the side. Dear light, how long was I out? I lift a hand but my neck flares, sending a stabbing sensation to my arm. I drop it instantly, sucking in a breath to stop the whimper in my throat.

Dad just shakes his head again while Sora fidgets. Riku just blinks and stares at me with a neutral expression. I gulp. "Ah, what time is it?" I ask.

Dad shrugs. "Almost five. You slept there for about forty minutes." He sounds calm but from how dark his eyes are I know he's displeased. "Probably longer considering you were passed out a few blocks across from here on Mr. Elmer's porch. The boys carried you here."

My eyes widen and I stare at Sora. The three bloody scratches I gave him earlier are gone. Did that really happen earlier? Did I attack him? I could have sworn my nails entered his skin. Unless he used a potion or something. I look down at one of my hands and wiggle my fingers. The ones on my right hand are a little red with splotches of crimson dried up at the tips. I flinch and swallow back the bile at my throat. Can't ignore evidence like that.

Dad brings a chair over to the side, right in between me and my friends from the left. We're now in a tense half-circle, with him as the head. I feel the blood drain out of my cheeks while Sora and Riku sit up straight. The cold air penetrates our very souls and I take comfort in acknowledging that at least I don't have to suffer through this alone. Doesn't change how bad we all look though.

Dad clears his throat, giving us all very serious eyes. His gaze lingers over Sora. "So, everyone knows why we're all here, yes?"

We all nod in unison.

"Good. Because I have a lot of questions. But let me start off with this, no one is in trouble here." We all give him different facial expressions but the sentiment is the same. Seriously, Dad? "Alright, alright, none of you are in trouble yet. We still need to sort out current events. I suggest that you all do your best to tell the truth, and don't think you'll get away with half-truths either." He crosses his arms, staring at Sora and Riku. "I've known you guys for five years, don't think that your disappearance has changed you so vastly that I can't tell when you're spewing crap. On the contrary, you guys have become even more transparent."

Sora and Riku share a classic secret look before nodding towards my dad. "We understand," Riku says, tone formal and firm. "We'll tell you everything you want to know."

Dad holds up a hand. "Everything I want and everything I need to know. Don't edit something out if it will put Kairi, or either of you, in danger. Boys got that?"

They nod again, this time with pale faces. I twitch and stare at the table.

"Alright, it looks like we understand each other. Now, before we begin, I need you all to drop your weapons."

I roll my eyes. Riku coughs. Sora just looks confused. Dad sighs. "Take out those rotten Keyblades, ya nitwits," He says, obviously a little frustrated.

Riku's face flushes before he summons his Keyblade and places it on the table. I take a good look at the sword-shaped purple spear outlined in black with a dangerous looking handle. Dad's eyes widen briefly but he simply gives Riku an affirmative nod before glancing at me. I sigh and summon my Keyblade, the orange spirals of white and pink pedals flow in the air as I set the light thing on my table. It looks so dainty in comparison to Riku. I try to ignore the light sense of satisfaction my dad's facial expression reveals.

Sora just stares at the table. I bet he's wondering if we should tell Dad that doing this won't really do anything since we can all summon our Keyblades back. Instead of voicing my opinions he shakes and looks at Dad, face flushed and wet with sweat. "All of them?"

Dad tilts his head. "You got more than one?"

"Ah . . . yeah."

"Well, then bring them out."

Oh no. I swallow while Riku just covers his mouth, hiding a shaky smirk. Sora stands and stretches. "Alright." He breathes out deeply, then summons his white Keyblade, the golden handle glowing dimly in the lamplight. He places it on the table and summons another one, it looks like Oblivion but from the silver and golden twists at the teeth of the blade I realize it's Oathkeeper. He puts that down and summons another one.

And another one.

And another one.

Riku just turns his head, glaring at the wall and coughing every few times. I almost let out a giggle by the time Sora has twenty Keyblades out, but Dad's bulging eyes and agape mouth prevents me from uttering a sound. I can see him close and open his mouth, almost ready to yell I'm sure, when Sora sits back against the couch, looking at the Keyblades with guilty eyes.

Dad just nods, as if he's shaking away the weapons of mass destruction with his chin. "So that's all of them."

"Well, actually, it's not. I have a couple more but . . . I have to be in one of my drive forms to bring them out."

"Ah . . . "

I sigh. "He earned different ones with every world he went to, Dad. That's all these are."

Riku finally comes to our rescue. "They each have different levels of strength, magic, and length. Most of them are pretty useless, but depending on the world you enter you'll need a specific one to fight certain types of enemies."

My Dad just stares at the pile. "Right," He mutters.

Sora claps his hands and all the Keyblades disappear. My dad blinks once. "The Hell?"

Riku summons his back. "I'm sorry, Mr. Warner, but . . . ah, that just happens."

I decide to keep mine on the table before Dad loses his sanity. "Um, anyway, Sora you were going to tell Dad the truth about what happened, right?" I ask, a little louder than what was necessary.

"Oh, right." Sora clears his throat. "Well, to be honest this all started during that beach party about three months ago."

"Right . . . " Dad sits back against his chair, eyes trained on Sora. Riku looks at Sora also, and that's when I remember that he hasn't heard the full story either.

With all eyes on him Sora is clearly getting nervous, but he swallows and continues. "As you know, Mr. Warner, even though we defeated the Heartless and Nobodies from conquering the worlds, there are still scattered amounts of darkness that live on this island. It's not enough to turn anyone into a heartless really though, but me and Riku have grown a little more susceptible to it after being stuck in the Dark Region before Kairi brought us out."

"With a . . . letter, yes?"

"That's right. Her letter was the light we needed to get back here. But, um, what I'm trying to say is that darkness will always exist on some level because it must balance out the light. These forces have always coexisted together and we fight to keep it that way. But . . . um, lately I've been taking it a little too far."

Riku's eyes narrow slightly and my Dad frowns. After no one speaks for a few seconds I lift my voice. "What do you mean, Sora?"

Sora blinks once and he looks past me, eyes distant. "It started out very subtle, I didn't even know what I was doing at first. All I knew was that I wanted everyone around me to be happy."

He bends forward, eyes closed tightly and continues. "I remember this family having a picnic at the park. There was this girl, she was crying about something. I remember wishing for some way to help her, and then I . . . then I saw it." He swallows. "Darkness coming out of her chest. I watched it crawl along the ground, away from her and then it entered my chest."

His words sink in the pit of my stomach and I just stare. My mind is working faster, putting together pieces at a rate that my mouth can't keep up with, can't fully express. All that comes out is a nervous, erratic statement. "No . . . "

Sora looks straight at me as he continues speaking. "I'm not sure how I did it, but all I know is that when it happened I felt a little depressed, even though I knew it wasn't my job to help the girl. But by then she wasn't crying anymore, so I brushed it off. I thought the darkness had been a hallucination, so I chose to ignore it." He sighs then looks down towards his hands. "And I continued to ignore it, ignored it at least three more times. Then the voices started."

I repeat my last response like a broken record. "No."

He continues talking, it's like he didn't hear me. "I started getting these strange urges. Most of my emotions were scrambled by this point, but I could always recognize the anger, the bitterness. Most of the time I was able to dismiss them when I was around Kairi, but . . . by then the feelings merged with darkness. There was something else involved, some foreign negative energy. I didn't know what it was, but I figured it was evil since it kept telling me to kill Kairi."

Sora bends forward and brings his hands up, covering his own face. "So, I tried avoiding Kairi. I figured it would be safer for me to battle against these strange forces with Riku's guidance, but then I realized my body was being drawn to his darkness. His darkness came to me in large quantities, and by that point I felt like snapping at anyone. I was almost scared that I would attack my mother, it got that bad." I watch as water leaks out from in between his fingers. "My body was literally going haywire. I had to feel like I was hurting someone, I needed to hear a scream, a cry, anything bad."

He starts shaking and I'm almost afraid he'll snap now, with all the tension and eyes pressing in on him. But he keeps going. "So, I locked my door and stayed in bed, feeling myself grow weaker with each passing minute. Sunlight became an annoyance. The annoyance turned into hatred and pain, so I stayed in the dark. That's when I noticed the strings, the purple strings that were trying to get me out of the bed. I fought back, I fought back hard. The only time I slipped was when I fell asleep. My mom woke me up right as I grabbed the kitchen knife. I . . . I turned her into a heartless then."

Sora takes in another deep breath and it's all I can see, all I can focus on. I would gladly share Riku and Dad's reactions, but now all I can see is Sora. All I can hope for is that he doesn't lose himself now, doesn't break apart right in front of us. Not now.

He blinks and he stares at me, the struggle is displayed clearly in his eyes. "So, Kairi, now you know the truth. You know that I did ignore your calls, I did push you away, and . . . well, on several occasions I tried to kill you. A large part of me felt like I wanted it. And I hated that. But, another part of me also knew that you would be the only one who could save me. When it comes to darkness, yours is the only one I could never take. You were the only one that I knew of who could see where my weaknesses were." He gives me a very small smile. "So, even if it seemed like I didn't care, I trusted you all the way, I trusted you enough to end it. And you did."

The dark compliment hangs in the air, settling in the middle of our calm between the storm. I know I'm blushing now, and it makes me slightly mad. At a serious time like this? After all he just said? I nod and accept his acknowledgement wordlessly, finally taking the time to see what Dad looks like after all this.

I wish I hadn't. His face is extremely white and his mouth is in a firm line. His eyes are wide and blazing, and his back is stiff from the way he's sitting against his intimidating chair. I'm almost too afraid to look at Riku, but I do it anyway. His silver bangs hide his face completely, and now I'm scared out of my wits.

Sora clears his throat, then he turns towards my father. "Mr. Warner, I know an apology will never make up for the stress and pressure I've put you under, but I'll say it anyway. I really am sorry for the way I've behaved. I know no amount of pain I've suffered throughout this will be close to the feelings you've must have felt when I showed up with Kairi's dead body on your front porch. You told me at the start of this not to lie, as you probably thought I was doing when I brought her to you a few weeks ago."

Sora sits up straight, not even blinking as he looks my father in the face. "I don't know if being possessed counts, but I knew that if I had fully explained myself it would just put Kairi in danger. So, I took responsibility for her condition, because even if I hadn't wanted to do it in spirit, my hands were the ones that struck her, and violent thoughts were brewing within me for a long time before our battle. The only thing I can say to you truthfully is that I didn't seek her out, she came to my house even though I ignored her. And I am grateful for it. I probably would have been beyond reach if it hadn't been for her."

When my dad doesn't say anything, Sora turns to Riku. "I owe you an apology too, Riku. I wasn't being forward with you when I first asked you for help. All that time spent complaining about my own love issues was mainly just a way for me to distract myself. I know I misled you, and it wasn't right for me to shut you out at the end either. I should have just asked you about learning to control the darkness instead of pestering you about other things, and I know now that I can't just push all of my problems on you either. What you were going through, and are still going through now, is just as important. But I neglected you too, so I'm really sorry." Sora reaches out and grips Riku's pale hand that's closed into a fist. "I know I still have a long way to go before I earn your trust back, but I hope that you can forgive me despite what I've done."

I watch Sora's hand squeeze around Riku and hold my breath, waiting as Sora's confession registers on Riku's face. I see both of their chests rise in that common state of companionship, a single rhythm of friendship and sacrifice. A special moment of silence encompasses them, and this is when I notice the faint, purple wisps of air passing in between their chests close to their hearts. I keep watching the small puffs of darkness with a slight frown, but I don't say anything. I don't want to ruin this rare moment. I want time to freeze.

But my discovery decides to move time forward. In the next second, the purple air expands and settles over Riku. I gasp just as his eyes narrow with specks of gold. Then he lunges forward and punches Sora in the face.

Well, there we go! I seriously would have had this out sooner but half of my work got deleted in the process, so I had to basically start from scratch at one point. But the revised version came out better, so it's all good.

Thank you all so much for your critiques/support. It really means a lot to me, and I really wouldn't be able to do any of this without you guys.

Speaking of your opinions, I have a new poll up on my profile. Please vote on it if you are interested in seeing me tackle a different POV (or just say so in a review if that suits you better).

Basically, I just want to know if any of you want to see this in Sora's POV or Riku's POV, whether it be in a separate chapter or (dare I say it) a separate story. Or we can just stick with Kairi if that's fine with you. I'm honestly more used to writing in a guy's head, so if anyone wants to see anything from Sora or Riku, I'll definitely have fun working with that.

Anyway, thank you all for reading!