The Sapphire Sorceress
Disclaimer: The rights to Kingdom Hearts belong to Disney and Square Enix.
Act 55: The Afternoon Streets
"Sora, don't ever change."
Destiny Islands: Mainland ( Kairi's POV )
"Alright, class. Today we will be handing out the final results of the fourth S.E.E.D exams for each of the students of this academy. Now, I know that you will all be heading out for Summer Vacation over the next three months since the parents were able to convince President Rufus to spare you all some more time to rot away everything you've learned." Quistis said in a joking manner while everyone laughed at that comment. Yes, thanks to the efforts of the staff, students, and parents we had gotten extra time off than what was originally planned.
"I guess someone has filled that miser's heart with some love and kindness."
"Yeah, but I wonder if this is some trick so that he can give us, even more, tests when we all come back from break."
"At least we can have fun at Lighting's big party next week!" Claire had wanted most of the class to take part in a huge celebration as she felt like her graduation into the next grade was set in stone. Quistis clapped her hands to get everyone's attention while she began to bring out everyone's folders that would contain their final grades for the year of work we've done. Some would pass, the others would have to spend more time in summer school to make up for a failing grade, and those who really messed up would not be going to Lightning's party or any party for that matter.
'I know those last few tests were not easy, so as long as I can do well enough to pass that will be more than enough for me.' Looking at the huge stack of paper underneath a yellow folder with my name on this file. My hands were shaking when I began to open it. Dread filled my body, my eyes widen as I unleashed the content within, and my mind was slow to register what I was reading. Crossing my fingers I began to digest the final report on my grades to determine if I was stuck in this school for a while longer or not.
"Oh, this sucks man! Now, I gotta stay here with the rest of the poor saps! Why did I skip out of those math classes!"
"Great! I have to hang out with the other kids who screwed up." Looking at some of the class moan out their frustration I began to read the grades ranging from C's to B's and quite a few A grades equaling to a grand total of 82% for all of the S.E.E.D exams. Meaning that the combination of all my scores equates to me barely having enough to get a passing grade that brings a huge sigh of relief from me. This wasn't a flattering success, however, I would take this victory.
"Hah! You all thought I was just another airhead in this school which I heard some of you say behind my back! Well, this girl got an 81 more than quite a few of you jocks in this class, so eat that and weep!" Everyone either booed her or cheered on their idol for her passing the required limit for her grades. Snow looked less than thrilled, and the other students confirmed that he only got a 78 grade for his final scores. Lightning suddenly looks saddened as she watched Snow pound his head into his personal desk.
"That's just gonna give you a headache, dude."
"Enough! You can pound your head on a hard suffer to injury your brain some other time. Before any celebrations can truly begin I would like to say a few words, let me warn you that this speech might go on for a while longer."
"Oh, errr sure go ahead, teach." Quistis walked up to the chalkboard while writing down something with the white chalk nearby, and eventually the words formed into a single sentence.
"Life is so short?" Those are the words placed on the green board while Quistis removed the clip holding her hair up, her long golden locks becoming loose from their usual position as she took off her glasses.
"W-woah! Is teach trying to um...look even prettier than usual?!"
"Dude why haven't I been paying attention to her earlier..."
Rolling my eyes under such a comments Quistis reached out with her right hand to make a grasping gesture with your hands.
"Regardless of whether or not you passes of fail, the important detail is you all gave it everything you had this year! That kind of effort is all I wanted from each of you over this past year in your lives. Some are new; some are from a previous and know more than the first years but you're all the same inside people trying to learn how to live out the rest of your lives. That is why now more than ever we must take care of each other despite our differences with one another, the key to our future doesn't lie in a mere keyblade rather the bonds such a key can unlock within people."
No one said anything to disagree with our teacher's words since they like myself were being enthralled by this powerful, passionate, and strong speech being given by someone who's gone through her fair share of strife over this past year.
"There has been good days, bad days, and the days when we all wished had been simply a horrible dream," Gripping hold of a glove that belonged to Zell when he tried with some kids in the gym area she looked at us with eyes that were close to being filled with tears. "That must mean we have to continue living for those who are no longer here with us." Nodding, I could see many of the other students felt the same way as Quistis on this issue. Even Light and Snow were paying attention to the words being spoken towards everyone in this class.
"Your futures are all dependent on your own personal desires and dreams that you've all had, so that is why you all must continue learning from mistakes or issues you have during your time off from this academy. After all, this place is not the only place where you can learn about important things involving life and how to find yourself in this world we live in. With that said your period is over, but just know that I will miss you all during this break for those lucky enough to enjoy it. With that, I leave you with this: this year has been enjoyable to experience with you all!"
The rest of the day was rather calm despite everyone being ecstatic about this being the final day of school for a while, the break was something mostly everyone was looking forward to having including me. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus were all thrilled about passing the final S.E.E.D exams allowing them to go on this break for the summer. Yes, the hurdle of getting past my first year in this school was finally over however this was simply the start of a new beginning for myself. The nobodies were up to something, and it was up to people like me to find out their whole endgame...
"Hey, Kairi!" Before I could say more Selphie asked me over to ask how I did with my grades. Tidus and Wakka invited me to have drinks with them, but I felt like there was somewhere else I was needed today besides hanging out with my pals. Still, this might be a rare opportunity to spend time with my pals from the islands, so I decided to go along with them to this huge after-school get-together in our dorm area.
"Oh yeah, pa-rt-y t-im-e!" Tidus was the first to drink up a ton of papu juice for his choice in beverage while Wakka chugged down several different drinks as me and Selphie just chowed down on our choice of meal for this celebration. Everyone happy, enjoying themselves, and laughing with one another made the hardships I've had to overcome worth it.
"Here is a cheer for our hero of the hour! The butt-kicking, heartless slaying, school girl and superhero without a costume: Kairi!" Everyone brought up their drinks while giving me loads of support, which brought warmth to my heart knowing theirs would still beat today and going forward. Watching Selphie jump into a dance with Hope made me appreciate how much things have changed in just a year.
'Now, the next thing I would need to worry about is finishing my training.' Hopefully without having to deal with people like DiZ who don't value people who don't agree with his methods of obtaining vengeance while judging people who can't have the ability to feel like a somebody.
'I know it is hard, but you have to remain strong Aqua. Even if you don't believe in me I will still look for a way to save you and those other nobodies from being stuck in such an existence.' For the moment I relaxed knowing that at least for tonight I would be able to enjoy my life without the pressure of dealing with heartless or school in these following months. The bedsheets covered my body once I was exhausted enough from all the partying and fun I did with all of my classmates and friends I've made during my year in the school.
During my dreams, I began to have flashbacks of those peaceful times when I had no idea my life would take on such a drastic change from when I was still a little girl on those other islands. Then, those images of when I wasn't even living on the islands rather the castle is known as Hollow Bastion with that elderly lady who helped take care of me. Of course, there was also my time spent in Radiant Guardian with everyone living there as well along with that moment, which sent me down the path to becoming a keyblade wielder.
"Hey, Kairi." Coming to my room had been Selphie who wanted to see how I must have been doing right now. The night was young however I knew that I had to get some long sleep before meeting with Yuffie and Squall about what we should do next with my ongoing training.
"So, umm how is being a hero, fighting off creatures of darkness, and visiting other worlds? I never got to hear much about your experiences from you in person, since everyone kept saying things about your actions or making up rumors about your actions." That is true, but I knew that not everything they said was correct. After all, rumors and gossip are easy to spread in a school full of students looking for a huge thing to latch onto.
"It can be kinda scary as I'm still not ready to become a "master" like Aqua was, but I have improved since when I began one year ago. There has been good days, the bad ones, and the moments when I just wanted to give up and never fight again with this keyblade." It would have been easy for my to give up and let Sora handle the rest once he got out of his slumber, but that isn't why Aqua picked me to be her successor in the first place. I could not simply pick the easy way out of things when my life suddenly got much worse.
"There were plenty of exciting new places that I've gotten to visit certainly, and the new people I've gotten to met have given me a huge understanding of the universe we are a small part of, Selphie." Each of the stars all represents a different world with different kinds of people living there some likely unaware they weren't alone in the world.
"Man compared to boring tests and dealing with kids you have a much more exciting life. Still, do you umm miss being around those two knuckleheads?"
Well, yeah without them being around it made being here incomplete and even when I got to be with Riku again it wasn't the same as before on that island. The events involving Ansem were still affecting him, and not to mention being around that jerk called DiZ likely wasn't helping him out. He must be dealing with a lot of emotional problems right now and without me or Sora being there it could only get worse.
"So, are you gonna hang out with your training buddies for the vacation? I know that stuff is more important than hanging out with non-special people like me..."
"That isn't true at all! You are very important to me, and so what if you can fight heartless? You are still a very close friend of mine, the one who I can talk with when Riku and Sora were busy on that other island; the emotional support provided makes you anything but unimportant to me." She began to tear up when I expressed my feelings on her.
"You - I'm sorry I've been feeling like that lately I guess since the classes are out for summer I will be missing times like this while you're gone for training."
"It won't be for the whole summer unless something happens. Once Sora is awake things will get less busy for me...hopefully, that is the case." If everything goes well on DiZ's end but I certainly didn't want to spend any more time with that horrible man after what I experienced so far.
"Do you think we can go to the shores like on that other island? I know Riku and Sora won't be there however it has been so long since I've been that far to the ocean."
Yes, the chance to watch the waters move around and see the sunset would be nice. Then again I enjoyed the world like Twilight Town with the afternoon streets that I walked down when I tried out some of that world's ice cream. Sea-salt ice cream, the taste at first was kinda sour but after some time it became rather sweet to me. Would Selphie enjoy visiting such a world if I could take her with Tidus and Wakka? She...might be afraid like I was during that first trip with the Gummi Ship, and even using one of that Spider-Woman's watches might scare her.
"That would be perfect..." She grinned before shaking my hand in response to my cheerful attitude towards her.
"I'm so glad you're my friend even after everything that's happened. I know that our party was big so I'm gonna let you catch some rest now."
"Thank you, Selphie...for not letting everyone else get to you."
"No! Thank you, Kairi for providing me with the words I needed to hear rather than what I wanted to hear out of you. That is why I value our bond together..." Same here, Selphie. Waving goodbye I began to prepare myself for some good night's sleep after fluffing my pillow where my head would lay down on once my eyes closed. For some reason, I wasn't having my usual dreams of being with Sora and Riku, since instead of being on a sunny island I was stuck in a dark void. This place is somewhere I've been to before in my life...
"This is - back when I was in slumber without my heart!" This world that helped shape my journey once I regained my heart from Sora's body in Hollow Bastion, but why is this happening to me once again? Looking around I could see the same old stained-glass floor below my feet with the images of me and those closest to me, the vast empty space around myself, and the creepy bright light coming down from the sky.
'We meet once more, and introduce ourselves once again, chosen one.'
"I guess so..." My ears could hear the disembodied voice, however, we could not tell who exactly was speaking to me right now, so I merely went along with that whole thing since I didn't have much else to do at this moment except for well sleeping. Holding out my hand in the warmth of the light in this unknown place the voice rang into my head once again.
'You have learned so much, but you still only know so little...' Well, I'm only been at this stuff for about a year now. I can't exactly become an expert at this stuff in a year of my life. Only with more years, training, and time could I ever consider the notion of being on Aqua's level. Speaking of whom I wondered what she must be feeling right now if Xion or Roxas had disappeared in order to revive Sora.
'The time of your reunion with the other chosen one is near and far. There will be more trials facing you, Kairi.' The group of nobodies: Organization XIII. Chances are they will be out to come after me or my friends in the future meaning I needed to become strong enough to face them, the question being how I can do that since DiZ won't accept me back after I had abandoned him.
'That door isn't the only one that you can open, but the strength you seek may not be what you expect to find...'
Great more riddles that I needed to figure out on my own. At least you could provide me with a small hint or sign to help me out with all of this. A sudden rumble began to shake the ground I was standing on as I saw a lot of white blobs fall out of the sky. So, this might be the sign I was looking for...which happens to be a bunch of nobodies dangling around me like the heartless.
'Beings that have been stripped of their soul, the hollowness that seeks out a way to restore their hearts.'
I deflected these gimp-looking nobodies who tried eating my hand with their zipper-like mouths. They quickly scattered away when I fired off some light magic toward them to make these guys back off. Then, I could see those shape-shifting nobodies begin to chase after me, so I fled for a higher ground by running up the stained-glass pathway that appeared before me. Catching my breath I noticed there were two doors in front of me, and they both were in the colors of black and white.
'The decision of saving one who lies in the dark or staying within the security of the light is before you, keybearer.'
Would I have to decide on helping out someone or not? Someone within the darkness could mean either Riku...or Aqua? Since both were being lost in that dark side of things I knew that saving them both from being stuck in such a place forever was my duty, but was this voice implying I would have to pick only one to save instead of them both?
No! There must be a way to help out Aqua in regaining her heart, and there was no way I was planning on abandoning Riku! Looking at both doors I noticed each had a keyhole in them both meaning they could only be opened with my keyblade.
'Should a choice not be made, then both will not be saved from their fate...' I had to decide on who I should save, but what door represents who then? No hints or clues for that? Great...
Trying to inspect both of these doors I also noticed they caused a strange reaction when I grabbed the locked doorknobs on them. Touching the black door I got a sense of longing, regret, misery, and despair while my hand was covering the cold doorknob. Riku felt like this when he was seduced by Ansem into falling into darkness, so this might be the doorway to him. Moving over to the other door covered in white I tried to get another feeling out of this, but I couldn't feel anything when I touched the doorknob.
There is - nothing that I can feel out of this door meaning this must lead to Aqua or perhaps what is left of her...
Why do I need to decide between them both when I feel like I should be able to save them both from the darkness - probably because I can't...save them both in time hence this choice before me. A loud boom shook me out of my thoughts as I saw a black clad figure behind me like the one's Aqua and Roxas wear. When it removed the hood I saw a huge nobody appear in front of me with a blue scarf around its neck...just like in that simulation and I wondered if this was also a fake one. I didn't want to risk being hit in order to confirm that, of course. Running at these creatures I poured all of my energy into taking them out with swift and strong hits with my keyblade managing to actually defeat a few before they all retreated from this place.
'The foes you will soon face will be your toughest challenge yet, but if you can overcome such obstacles your dreams of a reunion might come true.'
Just like before when I came here the first time around, the promise of reuniting Sora was meant to be a motivation for myself in order to awaken from this slumber.
'There is another like you; she who is both real and fake also is experiencing such a moment as this.' What do you mean by that? Is this girl trying to avoid not getting hurt by this giant nobody moving around the place as well? Hold a second...her that can't mean Aqua since she doesn't have a heart or her keyblade. The only other person who could qualify for this mysterious narrator's remarks would have to be one nobody or rather replica: Xion.
'Does that mean...something went wrong with the process?!' I wondered what could have went down in Twilight Town, but my focus shifted at the giant nobody trying to grab hold of my body not expecting the other limbs of the creature to take hold of my legs, and suddenly I was being suspended up in the air. Despite my efforts to break out of this whatever was holding my body up mid-air was impossible to break out of, which meant this nobody could do anything it wanted to me right now - like create a huge ball of energy powerful enough to crush me...
Come on, the creature here might be tougher than most foes I've encountered but it won't hold me down!
'Triangle...triangle...triangle...'
Triangle? How is a shape going to help me out of this situation exactly? Looking at the huge nobody continuing to charge up this giant sphere I knew that action must be taken on my part. Struggling in my binds I could finally get my hand with the keyblade out while the huge nobody sent the sphere in my direction, and if I couldn't move in a couple of seconds I would be done for certainly...
Looking at the giant sphere I gave a desperate move, tossing my keyblade right at the blast not sure if this would even work out or not so I closed my eyes to await the possible world of pain I was going to experience...when instead I felt my feet land on the glass below me. This huge nobody was...actually on the ground in pain meaning it worked? Well, I didn't hesitate to fight back with my weapon landing several blows on its exposed head. As it continued to shake and writhe in pain despite not having the ability to feel it I knew that I might not be strong enough to defeat this guy.
Sure enough, the huge nobody moved back up as I felt my limbs be strung up like they were in unseen strings that kept my body in place. This time I saw a bunch of black and white tendrils coming around my neck, and I knew if I couldn't escape once more they would strangle the wind out of my lungs. Ugh, the vices around my limbs were much tighter than before meaning I couldn't stop these black and white strands from wrapping themselves around my skinny throat. No, let me go damn it! I can't die here not when there is still so much to do-
"...iri...Ka...Kairi?"
That voice didn't sound like that mysterious figure who's been speaking to me. As I felt a blinding light come over my body I thought this was what it must feel like when you're at death's door but then I saw a person above me calling my name once more.
"Kairi! Wake up!" This face looking at me with concern belonged to - Yuffie?! She was in my room while Squall was leaning on a wall like usual, but I felt her hands hold onto my shoulders while I began to realize that I was indeed back in the real world.
"Are you alright now? You've been struggling in your sleep for a while when we arrived in your dorm." Great, they must think I'm a nut for thrashing around in my bed unless they would believe my story, and to my surprise they actually they bought my story suggesting that everything that occurred might have really happened to me.
"The world where only a keybearer can visit sounds like a fun place to hang out!"
"Yeah dealing with that giant nobody planning on strangling the life out of me was a blast, Yuffie." Pouting I looked at my former mentor wondering his intention for waking me up at this hour since when I looked outside the night was still young apparently.
"DiZ has made contact with us about an update with Sora's condition," My heart nearly skipped a beat, the attention I had was fully directed at my teacher who sighed before telling me the news either good or bad. "It seems that he will be able to regain his memories but not in the intended fashion..."
Intended fashion?
"We need to head back to Hollow Bastion to look over the restructuring of that place..."
"Hold on just a second. What. Aren't. You. Telling. Me." Just by looking at his face now I could sense there was something he refused to share with me. That means I won't go anywhere with him until he comes clean about it whatever it might be about...
"Sora - might not be able to survive the process if it goes wrong." My body nearly fell over when I heard Squall tell me that...
"What are you looking at me like that for?! Get off your ass and let us get to Twilight Town already!"
"Kairi. Look I know you're worried, but I'm sure Sora will be able to get out of his sleep alright." Sora has already lost his heart once before, and nearly become another heartless because of that. There was no way I can see him suffer that kind of pain once again knowing there was a chance he - no he will wake up from his slumber!
"That is why DiZ told us not to come into that world, it would hamper the operation and he doesn't want to see your face in his mansion again." Like hell, that man is going to keep me away from my friend. Getting out of my bed I decided to head to Hollow Bastion first since Yuffie and Squall needed to go there first in order to contact DiZ again. I guess this must be the continuation of my journey...
'The choice to save or stop will be yours to make, keybearer.'
"Who said that?!" Turning my head around I thought Yuffie or Squall said that. Then, it had to be that voice from when I was in that other world but I feared what that line could mean...
The World That Never Was: Grey Area ( Auxaq's POV )
"YOU! You caused all of this to happen! Because of your interference...I lost the only person I cared about here," Hands gripped my coat while the furious nobody glared at me while holding me in the air. "You cost me Roxas; the boy who managed to find something resembling a heart despite not having a soul inside of himself. You took away my friend to please your own desires you - you are the one I choose to blame for..."
"Are you finished?"
"W-what? You can just act so dismissive about your actions like that? Don't you give a damn Roxas is not going to be able to eat sea-salt ice cream again? Aren't you the least bit concerned about Xion in that spiteful schemer's hands!"
"That is why YOU will be the one to rescue her from him. Didn't you get the memo during our meeting?" It was Axel's duty to hurt down our lost comrade since the assignment of harvesting new hearts for our Kingdom Hearts falls upon me now. While I'd hope Xion would be able to return to us without much harm, the reality is under DiZ's control she would likely be ripped apart in order to revive the greatest threat against us. It simply meant...I needed to stop pretending to care about things - that was the only way I could not feel any more despair or pain.
"What happened to you?! The Aqua I knew at least fought to believe she still had a soul within her, but now...you've just given up?!"
Given up? Axel, don't tell me you thought I could truly regain my soul on my own...without the true feelings of a heart and its emotions, all of that means nothing to us. Holding out my hand, the beloved Stormfall appeared in it however it didn't feel the same, the shape, design, and power wasn't like it once had been when I slain countless Unversed.
"All of this is merely a facade. This keyblade, this body, and this face are all fake in design. I'm merely an evolved nobody that can think and plan rather than act with pure instinct. Pretending to care and show compassion will only lead me to destruction, and others who seek to destroy us know about such a weakness." Axel's eyes widen like I was the one who talking about an insane concept.
"You don't value our friendship? You selfish, heartless, evil bi-"
"ARE you even considering the fact Roxas is still alive inside of Xion?" Sneering at Axel before he could say something that HE would regret saying I walked near the exit of the room knowing I was late to destroy some heartless in The Land of Dragons.
"I know that rescuing her from him will be a long shot, and I doubt Xion would care to see me when she tried ABSORBING me as well despite saving her existence! Go ahead if you want to say goodbye to Roxas one last time, but I can't bear the thought of pretending to express any more concern anymore about those I can't save..."
"Then, you are quitting on everything you stand for! Terra and Ventus will be lost forever and they shouldn't even have a "friend" like you!"
"NOBODIES can't have friends! Get that through your thick skull already! Just like we can regain our hearts like Kairi thinks since I'm still a hollow shell of a girl who tried fooling herself into such a belief...we've both lost the people we care about so get over it like I have!" Turning around I knew Axel was the last person I was truly close to in this group besides my superior who gave me hope for a future in this false life of mine. I suppose it is a matter of time before the final part of that trio falls into ruin as well...
Let him think I've changed it doesn't matter anymore...not as long as I have this keyblade. Let Sora and Kairi come to strike me down, the two of them are still students compared to myself a former Keyblade Master!
"Good luck with Xion my friend..."
"Aqua! Wait I might have been too harsh but-"
"I didn't feel anything from your comments, and it is AUXAQ since Aqua is long gone..." Yes, I was the product of a girl who suffered a broken heart and friendship, so if the world seems me as nothing but an emotionless witch than so be it. I am a sorceress, The Sapphire Sorceress! Stepping into the dark void where I was born anew this life is something I must protect in order to become human once more...
[ Thus, the KH2 arc has begun however there is some clean-up from 358/2 Days that needs to be dealt with aka Xion and the fallout of what Aqua's actions have done in the scope of this story, which will come into play next time. As for Aqua again she is acting more cruel and uncaring, but I know what things will be heading so don't give up hope on her rediscovering her humanity just yet readers! BTW as you can tell I wasn't exactly fond of the Press Triangle to win method in 2. ._. ]