A/N: And here's the second birthday part.

Birthday Gift II

KAI: My sister's gift made me so happy. It shows how much I mean to her. I want to give her something for her birthday in return.

Six month since joining.

Kai has appreciated his birthday gifts. He now wore his new green scarf with his uniform, and he kept his good luck charm in his pocket at all times. Lord Ansem's gift has proven very helpful to Kai. The blade, Muramasa, has allowed him to learn Spellblade a lot easier. He was able to learn Icebrand and Thunderblade quicker then Flametongue with it. Fire, Ice, and Lightning; he's mastered the three basics in magic. But he wasn't gonna stop there. He needed more.

Just a week ago, the Recruits had gained two new additions in the form of Lea and Isa. They both now wear the Recruit uniform, with Lea retaining his yellow scarf. Lea traded his frisbees for a pair of spiked chakrams, and Isa now held a longsword.

At the same time, an older Recruit member, Zack, who had gone on a special training trip last year, had just been retrieved by Sephiroth. The guy claimed to have met a few Keyblade Wielders during his trip, and was even hoping to get a date with a girl he had met, but never saw again. Word is, he left with a longsword but returned with an even larger sword, which he called the Buster Sword.

Now the Recruits were having a special lesson given by Aeleus, with the help of an armored magic training dummy provided by Merlin. "Alright!" the Guard said. "Last month, you had been informed ahead of time of this particular session, Limit Breaks. Let me review what Limit Breaks are. As the name suggests, in order to perform these, you're gonna have to push yourself beyond your limits. The idea is to focus your inner strength into a single attack, be it physical, magical, or perhaps a combination of both. And everyone is different, so don't try to imitate a move that's not suited for you, and if possible be inventive. Rest assured, much like magic, this is not for everyone, so it's not required. A master at these can use them at will, but since your all novices, you'll most likely only be able to use it while on your last legs." He turned to a man with short blond hair wore a blue coat and brown goggles and had a toothpick in his mouth. "Cid?"

The man named Cid nodded as he walked in front of the recruits and set down a peculiar looking circular stand. The man than said, "Alright kids. Anyone who wishes to volunteer, just step on this stand and it will drain your energy to the point where it should be possible for you to attempt a Limit. Gotta warn you though, it's gonna be painful."

The first one to volunteer was Cloud. He walk up to the stand, and stood on it. There was a painful electric surge that coursed through him to a few seconds. After it was over, Cloud was slightly jittery for a few more seconds before he exhaustedly walk toward the training dummy.

"Okay!" said Laguna. "We gave you all a month to come up with a move. Now show us what you've got!"

Cloud stood several feet from the dummy, panting up a storm. Soon, he focus his energy into his longsword. His sword faintly glowed as he shouted, "Sonic Blade!" Cloud then dashed blade first through the dummy with lightning speed, causing the dummy to fall apart. Cloud then knelt down to the ground in exhaustion.

"Not bad." Laguna said as he pulled out a blue bottle of green liquid. "Here take this Potion, it'll make you feel better." He handed the bottle to Cloud, who drank the potion. It had a bitter taste, but he could already feel his energy restoring.

As Cloud walked back to the crowd he was patted on the shoulder by Zack, who said, "Nice work, Cloud. Good to see your not falling too far behind me."

"Thanks, Zack," replied Cloud.

"Okay!" shouted Laguna "Who else wants a shot at this?"

Squall stepped forward. He stood on the draining stand and felt the same thing Cloud did. He approached the dummy as it magically put itself back together, looking as if Cloud never struck it in the first place. Squall breathed heavily as he focused his energy into his gunblade. It started to glow as he raised high in the air. A blue light engulfed the blade as it expanded into three times the its length. He then shouted, "Blasting Zone!" as he brought the extended blade down onto the dummy, cutting it in half, and bursting as it hit the ground, leaving a long dent on the ground.

"Nice work, Kiddo!" Laguna said as he clapped. He then tossed him another bottle of Potion.

Squall drank from the bottle and said, "It's not perfect though. I want to be able to use it for more than just one attack."

"Well, keep up the good work, and you'll improve it in no time," said Aeleus.

"Alright," said Cid, "Anyone else?"

Now it was Kai who stepped forward. His stepped on the draining panel, which gave him a bigger strain on him than the others. He approached the dummy as it repaired itself again. He panted as he struggled to focused his energy into Muramasa. The katana glowed brightly. Kai pulled his blade back and shouted, "Sonic Wave!" as he swung it and an arc of energy shot out. The arc rotated on it's side as it darted towards the dummy...and then it missed its target, leading it to blow up a nearby pillar.

Everyone had flinched at the blast, and Kai grunted in frustration as he collapse in exhaustion.

Ryu then bursted out laughing. "What a lousy shot!" This earned him a smack to the back of the head, courtesy of Lightning.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Laguna. "Now that was pretty impressive."

"Yeah, but the control could use a lot of work," said Aeleus.

Laguna handed Kai a Potion, as he said, "Don't sweat it. You'll get the hang of it."

"Are you kidding?" said Cid, "You want him to try working on such a destructive attack that could cause unwanted collateral?"

"Hey, be nice, Cid," replied Laguna. "This kid has surprised us before. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

Aeleus then decided to move on, "Anyway, Next!"

Later, the Recruits were taking a break from training. Kai lied down in the grass, looking up at the sky in deep thought. Some of his fellow rookies were watching him with interest.

"Cloud wasn't kidding when he told me that kid was full of surprises," said Zack.

"He sure surprised me when he first showed me what he could do. You think he's sore about screwing up his Limit Break?" asked Lea.

"More likely just thinking about how he's gonna improve his control," answered Isa.

"I don't think it's his training that's on his mind right now," stated Lightning.

"Oh?" asked Lea. "And what do you think he's thinking about."

"My sister had gotten invited to his sister's birthday party today," Lightning said.

"Huh," said Bartz, "Now his sister's birthday is today?"

"Wow," said Zidane, "two siblings whose birthdays are only a month apart. You don't see that everyday."

"I wonder if he has a gift for her yet," said Tifa.

"If not, then that's probably what he's thinking about right now," said Lightning.

Tifa then put a finger on her chin in thought before saying, "Maybe he needs a little help." She then walked over to the lying down Recruit. "Hey, Kai. I hear your sister's birthday is today. Is that right?"

Kai glanced at the brunette before looking back at the sky. "Yeah," he answered.

"Are you excited? She's...um how old now?"

"Five."

"Oh yeah. So do you have a gift for her yet?"

Kai sighed and said, "No."

"Do you know what you want to get her?"

Kai the sat up and said, "Not really."

"Oh," Tifa said sadly. "Well, I'm sure she'd love anything you give her."

"Probably. But...," the young swordsman then pull out the gift his sister made for him, the Lucky Charm. "I want this one to be special for her. To thank her for her gift for me."

"I see." The fist fighting female then thought for a minute. "I would suggest that maybe you make the gift yourself, like she did for you. But somehow, I don't think that's your style, and you probably wouldn't have time now anyways. Hmm. What kind of gift do you think it should be?"

Kai looked down. "I don't know. Its not like I know what she she could want right now. Since joining the recruits I haven't been able to spend as much time with her as I use to. It must get lonely when none of her friends nor Grandma are able to play with her. I use to fill that void for her all the time, but now even I hardly have any time. I was hoping my gift could maybe make up for all that."

Tifa thought again, than an idea struck her. "Maybe what she needs is a friend who will always be there to play with her when no one else is able to."

Kai looked at Tifa, interested in where she was going with this.

It was Kairi's Birthday today. She had invited her friends, Yuffie, Rydia, Palom and Porom, Ienzo, Sera, over for a party. They had a lot of fun together. They played games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Simon Says, Piñata, and Hide-n-Seek.

However, there was one person missing throughout the day: Kai. As the party went on, Kairi started to get worried about him. Worried that he might have forgotten, or the Guard wouldn't let him attend. She would often check to see if he was coming, but no such luck. Kairi was feeling down as she look out the front door window. "Big brother, what's taking you so long?"

Grandma Elise walked up to the little girl and said, "Kairi, it's time to open presents." Kairi didn't move. "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure your brother will be here any minute now." The girl still didn't move. "Now, come along. We mustn't keep everyone waiting."

Kairi looked down and said, "Kay."

The gifts were what you'd expect from such youngsters. Yuffie had given her a bag of marbles, Rydia gave her a white stuffed dragon, and the Twins gave her a prince and princess doll. Sera gave her a floral dress, Ienzo gave her a couple story books, and Grandma gave her a hair clip with a pink heart. She loved her presents. But all the while Kai still hadn't shown up. Kairi looked down sadly, until she heard the door open.

The little girl perked up. "Brother?" She said as she ran over to the living room to look. She wasn't disappointed, Kai had finally returned home. And he was carrying her present from him. It was a big box wrapped in white with pink hearts on it and a red ribbon. He seemed to be carrying it extra carefully. "You're here!"

"Sorry I'm late," said Kai.

"Don't worry about it, Kai," Elise assured. "we were just in the middle of present time. Now that you're here, how about we open yours."

Kai nodded as he set the gift down gently. He looked at his sister and said, "Careful, it's...very sensitive. Happy Birthday, Little Sis."

Kairi smiled at that nickname and she untied the ribbon then ripped off the wrappings. She paused for a second after hearing a soft high pitched sound coming from the cardboard box. She opened the top of the box and looked inside. The first thing she saw inside made her gasp in awe, covering her mouth with both hands. It was a small live kitten, Cyprus breed, wearing a pink bow around its neck. Along with it was was a sky blue blanket, a few cat toys, including a toy mouse strung to a stick, a ball of yard, and a jingle ball, as well as a couple of cat dishes and a few cans of cat food.

Kairi wasn't the only one awestruck by the kitten, all the girls in the party were all mesmerized at the site. "Awww!" exclaimed Yuffie, "So cute!"

All the girls expressed how adorable the kitten was, while Ienzo just smiled, and Palom just shrugged and sarcastically said, "A cat, big deal," earning him a smack upside the head by his twin sister.

Kairi removed her hands from her mouth, showing a joyous smile. She slow reach her hand to the kitten and petted its head, earning a tiny meow from it. Kairi then picked it up and started to cuddle it, kissing it on the head.

Kai smile at her sister's joy. He knelt down and said, "Do you like her? Now you have a friend you can always play with at home."

Kairi put down the kitten and gave Kai a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love her! Thank you, Big Bro!"

He looked over to Grandma Elise, who nodded in approval. Elise then said, "Now Kairi, you must know that having your own kitty is a big responsibility. You have to be sure to take good care of her."

Kairi giggled. "I know Grandma." She then returned to petting the kitten. "I'll take great care of her! She's from my brother after all!"

"Hey, what are you gonna call her?" asked Rydia.

Kairi thought for a minute. She then smiled and said, "Think I'll call her,...Dawn!"

"Dawn?" asked Sera. "That's a nice name."

The kitten, now named Dawn, meowed as Kairi picked her up and cuddled her again. Kairi then set her down and took the toy mouse out of the box. She dropped the mouse and started moving it around the floor by its string. Dawn watched the mouse and began trying to catch it in her paws. Kairi giggled at her new kitty.

KAIRI: My brother is so thoughtful. He always makes me feel special. I don't know what I'd do without him.

A/N: And that's it for the birthdays. I hope you liked them.