Just Believe

Kairi was sitting in the forecourt of the Land of Departure after a tiring day of training with Aqua-wondering for the umpteenth time if she was doing the right thing being here and not with Riku and Sora-when suddenly, a red-haired girl about her age (with hair that reached her shoulders, as well), appeared before Kairi's very eyes.

And at first, Kairi had to rub said eyes to make sure she was seeing things correctly. Because at least on Destiny Islands, there was no one else with a hair color similar to hers, and so Kairi had come to the conclusion at a young age that her shade of locks must have come from Radiant Garden. She was not at all sure if the Land of Departure followed similar rules to that, but she was thrown by the situation, to say the least.

Especially when the girl summoned a Keyblade and pointed at her!

Though this surely wasn't the right thing to do at all when one was pointing a weapon at you, Kairi found herself pulled into a flashback against her will, about Aqua's recent theory that Kairi's own grandmother might have been a Keyblade wielder, since she knew about the War. But thankfully, Kairi snapped out of it right away and summoned Destiny's Embrace to her hand and fired a Fira spell at her assailant, before putting some safe distance between the two of them.

"Who are you?!" Kairi hissed, jumping atop the waterfall embankment that would take her back towards the castle if she saw fit.

"The girl who is going to lead another on the path towards their destiny," the wielder answered, sending waves of flowers Kairi's way before she could blink. Thankfully, they didn't cut to the quick like Marluxia's apparently did, and the princess couldn't help wondering at this Keyblade Master's—for surely she was that—choice to not hurt her. She no doubt could if she really wanted to. "Don't you want to find Sora and Riku?"

"How do you know Sora and Riku?!" Kairi demanded, throwing her Keyblade at the enemy so she could teleport over there and kick at her head, before aiming a vicious slice to her waist—which she did expertly, if she did say so herself. "And if you have a Keyblade, why didn't you fight in the recent War? The Guardians of Light could have used your help!" 'Could have used someone like you instead of me at that time,' Kairi thought, but didn't say.

Jumping into the air, Kairi was about to rain her shotlock down, but she was stopped when the lady warped away, only to reappear much closer to Kairi, so that she could grab her in a chokehold.

Kairi, fortunately, did not panic. It would have gone against everything she had set out to achieve with her training if she had.

She swung in the woman's arms with all of her strength (even though it caused her to be choked with even more strength for a single, painful second), so that when she was moreso in the girl's vicinity again, she could kick into her legs.

And the princess did so. She also raised her Keyblade into her arm and aimed a Pearl at this stranger's head—which singed the woman's hair, before she released Kairi and dove away, landing in a crouch.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Kairi. But you're making me go on the defensive by your offensive… But with how others have targeted you in the past, I guess it makes sense that you'd react this way."

Kairi was about to snarl at that, because putting someone in a chokehold was really going on the defensive, but Kairi did have to admit that that had only happened after she'd attacked first. Hmm…

"What do you want, then?" Kairi asked with her hands on her hips, and working to keep any fire out of her voice. "Like you said, with my history, I don't like it when people appear out of nowhere, seeming to know more than I do, and begin talking in circles."

"That's fair," the pink-haired girl agreed (because now that Kairi was seeing her better, perhaps her hair was more a reddish-pink? Somewhere near rose, perhaps?). And she smiled at Kairi, a small and secret smile, before allowing herself to get closer to her target. "What I want… is to stop the Master of Masters.

"He did, arguably, save my friends and I from a terrible fate-and a prison we've been in, it's true-so I should be thanking him… but from what I've learned of his plans… I don't like them."

"And let me guess: only Sora and Riku can stop them?" Kairi guessed. It was, after all, an old song and dance at this point. But one she did cherish, because she would always believe in Sora and Riku, no matter what. How she loved them both so.

"Only the three of you. And Kairi, the only one who can free the boys from the trap of Quadratum is you."

"What?"

To say that Kairi was shocked would have been an understatement. Sure, she was often needed to unlock Kingdom Hearts… but in the past, that had always led to her being kidnapped and used as a pawn. And maybe she was hoping that she could stand beside Sora and Riku in the future. But to hear that she could be the key to something like this-her?-was it really possible?

"I… I want to believe you," Kairi admitted, looking at the girl standing across from her for any signs of deceit and finding none. But what did she know? And she didn't trust as easily now as she once had. "Anything for Sora and Riku. But I- knowledge about the past-and what upholds the Realm of Light-are things I don't really know yet. Would you mind confirming this with my Master Aqua?"

And Kairi hated that now that there was a part of her that would react horribly if this was a lie: if she finally got a chance to look beyond her castle walls, only for it to be for naught.

"Of course, Kairi," the girl said, already walking past the Princess towards the Land of Departure castle, which was definitely not suspicious, Kairi thought sarcastically. "But you really should learn to have more confidence in yourself. What was it that that girl Naminé told you? 'Believe in yourself.'"

"Gee, thanks…" Kairi started, with pure ire dripping from her voice now, getting more and more untrusting by the moment. It just made no sense that someone she'd never met before should no so much about her. Unless she had something like a crystal ball, like Ursula had according to Sora. Or she had time traveled and spied on her, similar to Xehanort's own methods… and neither of those options inspired much confidence.

"Homura," the pink-haired girl offered her name at last.

"Homura, then."

And proving that Kairi had every reason to find her suspect, Homura headed off in the direction of Kairi's current home—somehow knowing exactly where it was—leaving the auburn-haired girl trailing after her.

In the past, Kairi would have dutifully accepted her place in the back. After all, it seemed that she wasn't as outgoing as she had once been, and perhaps even more than that… She was usually kept in the dark about things these days-whether it was intentionally done by her friends or not—and she didn't know enough about the World to really position herself as a leader.

But right now, Kairi was trying to get stronger, wasn't she? So maybe she really should start trying to push so much passiveness behind her again. Besides: Homura going ahead of her could get the other girl killed, since Terra, Ven, and Aqua weren't exactly expecting guests: something Kairi tried to express upon her companion now, as she sped towards the other girl and grabbed onto her arm, trying to stop her.

"Hey, there. I don't really know if my friends will be rolling out the welcome wagon, if you just barge into through the entrance hall, best let me-"

"And there's the Princess of Heart we're looking for!" Homura cried gleefully, once both girls had awkwardly made it to the front door of the castle. "The one who will save the day, for sure!"

But Aqua, who had heard all of this-and was walking outside of the castle that very moment-didn't seem like she was much willing to let Kairi try, the Light noted: at least not with this mysterious stranger. "Princess of Heart?!" Aqua echoed in disbelief, before summoning Stormfall to her hand. "What do you know about it?!"

"Aqua, it's okay!" Kairi gasped, before things could get out of hand, though partly wondering if she really should be offering this stranger an olive branch. "Homura here has come to talk to you about the World Order. And it sounds like she may have some clue about- about Sora and Riku."

Inwardly, Kairi cursed herself for having momentarily tripped over Sora's name. After what the love of her life had sacrificed for her, he deserved all the attention he could get-and so much more than that-but sometimes, Kairi found it so hard to talk to him. Especially now when she was the closest person to Sora left in the Realm of Light.

If—the Light forbid—she never be able to get him back… maybe she wanted to keep things about him private, and in her heart of hearts she thought that if she talked about him too much, it would be like countless others were intruding on her precious memories. It was somewhat contradictory emotions she felt about it all, to be sure.

As if sensing that Kairi was about to break down, Aqua offered the young New Heart a small smile, as well as a reprieve. "Kairi, why don't you go back inside and see if Terra's ready to teach you his handstand-push-ups yet, since you've been doing so well with all your other workouts? I'll begin talking to our guest out here."

Kairi didn't have to be told twice; she could need some of Terra's strength and sterner outlook right now, she thought.

Except that, now that she really thought about it, Kairi wasn't sure if she was really ready to deal with anyone else right now. She felt too… raw. Which she knew was probably the opposite of what she should have been feeling. Homura had come to her so she might lead the charge here, but she'd clearly come after the wrong girl. Hadn't everyone learned that by now?

"Hey, Kairi. Ready for more?" Terra asked her the moment she was inside, handing her a cold-water bottle-which she did greedily take, even if she wasn't going to motivate herself further today-before he stepped away from the balance beams, making room for her.

Ven, taking a page out of Terra's book, wrapped a towel around Kairi's neck, to help prepare her for the sweat he thought she was no doubt down for. And usually, she would have been. "C'mon, Kairi: let's show Terra we can keep up with him. Just because he was finally made a Master—by Riku, no less—doesn't mean he's got anything on speedsters like us."

Normally, Kairi would have reminded Ven with a nudge that he was the speedy one here: she could just teleport now. An effect, of course, that made her look like she was fast, but she wasn't running at all. But today she just offered them both a strained smile. "Not today, sorry. I think- I think I'm going to go work on perfecting my recipe for Sora's favorite black forest cake, and see if that will get him back here."

A lame excuse, she knew, as she darted up the stairs to her room. And it was exactly that: an excuse.

Originally, before she'd found her strength in fighting (or when, deep down, she feared that her fighting could lead to Sora getting killed again, even if he did come back), Kairi might have tried to call upon something like Sora's favorite food to bring him back to her… something from her heart.

But now that she knew her destiny truly was to be a Keyblade wielder—like she'd wanted for so long—saying that lie was such an insult for so many reasons, Kairi thought as she ran to her room with tears in her eyes… And yet she had done so.

"I guess… I guess I'm still the weak girl you knew who was on blood thinners, long ago. Huh, Sora?" Kairi asked the Valentine card Sora had made her years ago: one where he'd drawn the two of them on it in a childish scrawl, that she'd recently gone back home to the Destiny Islands to bring back here.

"Remember that? I got blood clots as a girl, so I was on blood thinners. But I sort of couldn't win-for-losing, because if I ever got cut while I was on them… well, I could bleed too much and die.

"That's part of the reason I stayed out of sparring from the get-go, of course, but my family even worried about simple things, like me cutting my own birthday cake… A lot of people made fun of me for this, but you, Riku, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka never did.

"Eventually, I got over the blood clotting and got off the medicine, remember? …What am I saying? Of course you do. But I wonder if by then, I'd relied on being weak for too long. Sora. And now, can I- can I ever stop?" Kairi sobbed, throwing herself onto her periwinkle covered bed and punching it once, before burying her face in her pillow.

How was it that it seemed to smell like Riku, even though he'd only been to the Land of Departure once, and that was before she started staying here? It had to be wishful thinking on her part. She missed her two best friends so much… Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, too, even if she did love Aqua, Ven, and Terra now, as well.

"Can I ever stop being weak, Sora?" Kairi couldn't help whispering once more.

Aqua and Homura walked into Kairi's room then, almost as if in answer to her question.

Hastily, she scrubbed her tears away, praying that her companions hadn't seen them. "Well, you two haven't killed each other. So I assume you bought what Homura had to say then, Aqua?"

Truth be told, the Kairi of old would have never spoken in such a way. But ever since she'd fought Xehanort again, within her own heart, and had again found some of her snarky attitude there, she'd been trying out some more spicy dialogue… for a couple of reasons. One being that that was a part of who she was, and she'd lost that for a while. And the second being that… well, Sora and Riku were both witty, and also so strong. So, if she really embraced that, could it also improve her own battle prowess?

Aqua sent a small, knowing smile Kairi's way, as if she knew this secret of Kairi wanting to sound more hero-like—and knowing her, maybe she did—before she sat down beside Kairi on her bed. Resting a hand on Kairi's upper thigh, Aqua explained, "Kairi, did you know that I have reason to believe that Homura here might be one of your ancestors?"

Kairi placed a hand over her heart at the shock of that statement, almost as if Naminé was there (for that was a gesture Naminé had been known to make as well, Kairi knew), and maybe—if she was really lucky—she could somehow hear her former Nobody's reaction to this news

But that was impossible now, of course. Naminé had become her own person, and she deserved no less. So Kairi had to come to her own conclusions about this, didn't she?

And what were said conclusions? That she'd suspected this, deep down. Of course she had. The moment she'd first seen Homura hadn't she been wondering if she was from Radiant Garden, after all?

"And she-" Kairi started to continue what she guessed the rest of the story to be, because hadn't Homura already told her what she needed to do?

But Aqua, seemingly thinking that Kairi wasn't going to speak (and Kairi couldn't blame her, the way she'd put her hand over her heart, and all. Perhaps her friend had thought she was near a heart attack!), interrupted and said, "Kairi… she needs you to help find Sora and Riku in a bid that will ultimately stop the Master of Masters. You have to do it."

Sticking a pin in just how she was supposed to get to her boys for the moment—and not believing she was doing that—Kairi found herself focusing on the matter that made no sense to her. "That's the thing I don't understand, Master… Aqua," Kairi reminded herself, once again, to just call Aqua by her name and not "Master Aqua," when they weren't training together. "What's all this about some Grand Master and the danger he presents?"

Homura looked as though she wanted to answer that question, Kairi could tell. She opened her mouth to do so and had even lifted a finger, but then seeming to think better of it—did she think that Kairi would still distrust her?—and left the floor to Aqua.

"Not that much is known about him," Aqua admitted, crossing across Kairi's room to look out the window to the stars starting to dot the twilight. Or so Kairi guessed that was what she was doing, at least. "From what Master Eraqus told me, he was the first ever Keyblade Master… maybe. And he even invented the Keyblade. It's because of him that Light survived the Keyblade War and that we have the World we do now at all, I guess.

"But according to Master Yen Sid, the stars tell him that the Master's attempts to save anyone from the Keyblade War were really some gambit to win another one. And the methods he'd go to win against his foes don't sound at all promising."

"…Okay," Kairi said, slowly processing this, and not liking one bit what she thought she was understanding. "Homura," she started, nervously turning towards her ancestor now: an ancestor who had apparently seen a lot of this crazy Master's reign, which so didn't make Kairi feel like she was going to faint. "You said that I can get to Sora and Riku and stop whatever the Master of Master's plan is… let's say I believe you for a second. How could I even get to my friends without having the Power of Waking?"

Homura simply smiled serenely at Kairi, before answering in a whisper that the Princess somehow heard with no problem: "That's simple, of course. By doing what the Beast did to find Belle. Just believe."

Author's Note: I started this story because… if I'm being honest? I hate how this fandom treats Kairi. So I'm throwing my own hat into the ring again.

The reason that Homura knows so much is either through the medals in Missing Link and/or she somehow went into the simulation of Kairi's world that the Master of Masters warned against doing in KHUX. I haven't decided yet.

Homura is also supposed to be a new girl that Player meets in in Missing Link (sorry for the spoiler). I don't know yet if I'll mention that in the summary of this story or not, so here's that info here. Though in a lot of ways, she's also largely an OC, of course, because I know next to nothing about the Missing Link character. And when we do know more, all of what I wrote here will surely be proven to be false. But when I needed a story idea for this, the first thing I came up with was, "What if Kairi interacted with the character I saw in that Missing Link leak?" And that's what happened.

For those who don't know, "Homura" means "flame" in Japanese. Flames are red, and Homura seems kind of fiery and full of life, so I went with it.

The whole thing about Kairi being on blood thinners is something I wrote in one of my very first SoKai Kingdom Hearts fanfictions (that's been deleted for years now). That the awesome Kutlessrocker on fanfiction also then wrote a fanfic about after I wrote that fic. So I'm kind of referencing that story of mine and plagiarizing myself here. LOL I'm doing so, because A) I kind of want to have flashbacks with Sora, Riku, and Kairi and build up their past together more (something I really wish the games would do). And I think it also helps with this chapter, where Kairi's doubting herself—in whether she can do this or not—and thinking she's weak and whatnot. Yep.