A/N: First let me give a shout out.
Tsubasa Tsukino 88: Thank you for being my very first reviewer on this site. Also thanks for the advice and suggestion.
Just wanted to established the general life and kindness of these two.
Kindness
KAIRI: My name is Kairi. A little girl in a big city. In Radiant Garden, I always wandered around, played with my friends, and heard stories from Grandma Elise. But most importantly, I always hung out with my big brother, Kai. Kai was always so quiet; he hardly ever speaks to me. But I don't mind, in fact, I think its kinda cute. He's always looking out for me, cuddling me when I was in pain, and just looking at me with those kind but strong eyes of his. I always felt safe whenever he was around. He was more than just my brother, he was my very best friend.
Young Kairi was hanging out with her friends, young Yuffie, Rydia, and the twins, Palom and Porom, while Kai sat down on a bench watching from afar. She and Rydia were bouncing a ball at each other.
"And then Lord Ansem let him into the Guard even though he's normally not old of enough." Kairi said.
"Wow!" said Rydia. "He's so lucky."
"Your brother must be really strong to have made it in," said Porom.
"Big deal!" Palom boasted. "I bet I could get in right now if I wanted. Right, Porom?"
Porom whacked her twin brother upside the head. "Like they'd ever let a loud mouth like you in, Palom."
Yuffie was skipping around swinging a cardboard shuriken. "Well, I bet I can get in soon. I mean if Kai can do it, so can the Great Ninja Yuffie." She jumped up, doing did a quick spin. But when she landed, she lost her balance and fell on her bum. "Ow." She softly said rubbing her posterior.
As the others laughed at her, Rydia said, "Some 'Great Ninja'."
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up!" Yuffie shouted.
Rydia then bounced the ball higher than she meant to, and it flew over Kairi's head. Kairi tried to catch it, but wasn't looking where she was going. She slipped off a ledge and fell onto the concrete. "OOWW!"
Kai saw this. "Kairi!" he shouted as he immediately dash to his hurt sister. As he helped her up, he gave her a worried look.
"I-I'm o..kay," Kairi choked. She was hurt, but she was trying not to cry, holding back her tears. Seeing how strong her brother is, she wanted to be strong like him. She didn't want to look weak in front of him.
Kai was astounded at how his sister willed herself to not to cry. What a tough little girl, he thought. He then saw a scrape on her elbow and immediately pulled out a roll of bandages and a small container of healing ointment. He applied some of the ointment onto her scrape and then wrapped some the bandages around her elbow. After that he massaged her wound gently.
Kairi smiled at this and quickly wiped the tears she was holding back. She then looked at the concerned looked in her brother's eyes. While he rarely spoke to her, sometimes she could tell what he wanted to say just by looking at his eyes. "I'll be more careful. I promise," she said.
Her friends then rushed up to her. "Are you okay?" asked Yuffie.
"I'm fine," answered Kairi.
"I'm sorry, Kairi," Rydia apologized. "I bounced that ball too high."
"It's okay, Rydia. It was just an accident. I'll be alright." Kairi then turned back to Kai and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Big Bro." She said as she and her friends returned to their fun.
Then an elderly voice from behind said, "My, you really are a great big brother."
Kai turned to the speaker, "Oh, Grandma Elise."
"Still, her effort to show as little pain as possible is quite remarkable for her age." Elise said. "She certainly is something special, isn't she?"
Kai watched his sister still playing with her friends. "Indeed," he said.
The grandmother chuckled a bit. "You know, she looks just like your mother at that age; even has her kindness," she said with a smile. But then it turned to a frown. "It's a pity Mira was much more fragile. It was a miracle she survived giving birth to you, but to give birth to a second child, and without her husband to be there for her, her chances were even slimmer. I had hoped that her holding on after the delivery meant she was going to be alright, but I couldn't have been more wrong. But Kairi, she is much stronger than she looks. Seeing her reminds me of Mira, and what she would've been had she not been so fragile."
Elise then chuckled again. "I remember your mother told me, while she was pregnant with Kairi, she had an extraordinary dream that her daughter would grow up to become a light of hope for all worlds. I truly believe that one day, Kairi will indeed help bring hope to everyone, just as she foresaw. Oh if only she could've lived to see her grow up."
Kai took in every word his grandmother said. He was still a bit sad about his mother's death, but Kairi's mere existence has always given him hope, and help him move on in life. She still had that mysterious glow he saw since she was born. Deep in his heart, he was jealous of her, but he always cherished her greatly. To him, she was the light within the darkness. He soon began to imagine the young woman she could become. What he saw was beautiful. "Until that day comes, I'll protect her with my life." he said. "I'll keep her safe, not only because she's special, or because she's my sister, but also because she's precious to me."
Elise smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Kai." She looked over to Kairi and her friends, enjoying her granddaughter's happiness. "You know, now that you're part of the guard, you won't be able to spend as much time with her anymore. You might want to make the most of it while you can, before your first day."
Kai looked at his grandma and then back his sister. He then said, "Yeah."
Later, Kai and Kairi went for a walk around the town. They soon came across an old duck with glasses, a blue jacket, a black top hat, and a cane. "Step right up!" he shouted holding up a few ice cream bars. "New in Radiant Garden! Get your Sea Salt Ice Cream Bars right here! A unique flavor indeed! So salty and yet so sweet! Step right up, please! I guarantee you won't regret!"
"Ice cream!" Kairi shouted with glee. "Can we get some, Kai?! Can we?!"
Kai always found it difficult to deny her anything, but he was smart enough not to spoil her. Of course a little ice cream was nothing. Why deny her the opportunity to try a new flavor? Kai nodded as they walked up the old duck.
The duck looked to the siblings. "Ah, my first customers in town. Welcome!" he said as he takes off his hat and bows to them. "Scrooge McDuck at your service." He puts his hat back on. "Would you like to be the first in town to try some new Sea Salt ice cream?"
"Yes, please." Kairi said with excitement.
"Good kids." said Scrooge. "And since your my first customers, I'll give you a discount today only. 150munny each."
Kai handed him 300munny to Scrooge, who gave him two ice cream bars. Kai gave one to his sister, who jumped for joy.
Kairi took a small bite out of the ice cream. She reveled in the its salty sweetness. "It's yummy! So salty but sweet!"
The brother took a bite himself. He too was entranced by the salty sweetness. "It's good," he simply said. Kai was never really good at expressing himself, even when it came to the simple things.
"Well," said Scrooge, "I'm glad you like it. Please spread the word. I would like the whole city to give this ice cream a try. Please stop by again, but keep in mind that next time you'll have to pay full price."
Soon Kairi spotted someone hiding around the corner. It was a boy almost as old as Kai. He had grayish-blue hair with bangs covering his right eye and cheek. He wore a black v-neck shirt, blue pants, and navy-blue shoes. The little girl walked toward the boy, followed by Kai who also noticed the boy.
"Hi there!" Kairi said to the boy. The boy just stared silently, then took a couple of steps back. "My name's Kairi. This is my brother Kai. What's your name?"
The boy took a minute to answer. "I-Ienzo."
"Ienzo?" Kairi said. "Nice to meet you, Ienzo. So what are you doing hiding back here?"
Ienzo didn't answer. He just stared at the ice cream bar in Kairi's hand. Upon closer inspection, the boy had a bit of dirt on him. He looked hungry; like he hadn't eaten in days. He looks like he's been living on the streets recently, thought Kai.
Kairi noticed the boy looking at her ice cream. "You like ice cream? You should try this new flavor. It's good."
"I-I c-can't." the boy stuttered.
Kairi looked confused, "Aw, why not? Your parents won't let you or something?"
Suddenly, Ienzo gets tears in his eyes and starts sniffling uncontrollably, looking like he's about cry.
Kairi was startled, watching the tears run down his face. "Um, hey. What's wrong? Why are you crying? Come on. You can-" she was cut off by her brother's hand on her shoulder.
"You're all alone, aren't you?" Kai asked. "No home? No family?"
Ienzo nodded, whimpering.
Kairi gasped covering her mouth, realizing what she said. "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" she cut herself off, not knowing what to say. She thought and thought about what she should do to make him feel better. She then look at her ice cream, which she remember the boy eying. "Here!" she said smiling as she held her snack toward him.
"Huh?" Ienzo's tears and sniffling halted as he look as the girls ice cream with confusion.
"Maybe this will make you feel better! You do look hungry."
Ienzo was reluctant, but after Kairi let out a cute giggle, he slow grabbed the ice cream out of her hand. He looked back at the girl, and she nodded at him. He then took a bite of the ice cream. The lonely boy smiled at Kairi, who smiled back. Kai watched the whole thing and couldn't help but smile at his sister's kindness and generosity.
As Ienzo took another bite, Kairi looked at her brother. "Um, Kai? Is there anything we can do for him?"
Kai was amazed at her concern for someone she just met. But before he could answer her question, two men approached them. One was His Lordship, Ansem the Wise, the other had dirty blond hair, wore a white lab coat and a purple ascot.
"Ah, there you are, Kai," said Ansem as the two men approached the kids.
"Lord Ansem," said Kai.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I wanted to personally deliver you your Recruit Uniform." He turned to his subordinate. "Even?"
"Yes, my lord," Even said handing Ansem the folded uniform. Ansem then handed it to Kai. The new recruit look at it. Unlike the official guard uniform, which was a dark bluish grey with a red heart sigil on the chest, the recruit uniform was a lighter grey with a blue-green heart. "This is the smallest size we have," Even said. "It may be just a tad bit baggy. You'll have to figure out the fitting yourself."
"Thanks," said Kai.
Kairi then walked up Ansem. "Um, Lord Ansem?"
Ansem turned to Kairi. "Hm? What is it, Kairi?"
"Can you help this poor boy?" she asked pointing to Ienzo. "He's all alone, and has no home or family."
Ansem kneeled down to get a closer look at the lonely boy. "What is your name, son?"
"I-Ienzo," the boy answered.
His Lordship then moved the boy's bangs from the right side of his face and saw some minor burn scarring on his cheek. "You've had it rough, haven't you, Ienzo?" Ienzo only nodded. The ruler took a minute to think, then turned to his subordinate. "Even, what do you think of this boy staying at the castle for the time being?"
Even think for a minute. "Well, I see no harm in it. And who knows, he could be helpful in the future. With your permission, I would like to test his intelligence."
"The choice is yours, Ienzo," said Ansem. "Would you like to stay at my castle?"
Ienzo was stunned at the wise man's offer. He was hesitant to give an answer. Then he looked at Kairi, who gave him a smile and a nod. He then looked back at Ansem and said, "Y-yes, sir."
Ansem smiled as he stood. "Well, then it's settled. Come along, Ienzo. I'll show you your knew home," he said as he held out his hand.
Ienzo took the ruler's hand and they start to walked away, leaving the siblings, but not before the boy turned around waving the ice cream bar Kairi gave him and said, "Thanks, Kairi."
Kairi waved back and said, "Your welcome! Bye, Ienzo!" Then she was surprised when her brother suddenly held his ice cream bar to her, as if meaning to give it to her. She looked at Kai's face and saw a smile that told her, You earned this. Kairi was reluctant to take her own brother's ice cream. "Are you sure, Kai?" she asked to which he responded by putting it in her hand himself. She then smiled and said, "Thank you, Big Bro."
KAIRI: He's always so kind and generous to me. I can tell that he puts my happiness above his own. As long as I am happy, then he is happy. Sometimes I feel like I'm just weighing him down; holding him back from his own happiness. But I can see how much he truly cares about me. Maybe someday... I'll be able to return the favor.
A/N: I apologize for the cheesiness in this chapter. It was difficult to come up with a way to go about this.
Please review, some insight might help, and I'm open to suggestions.
Next time: The Recruits.