A/N: Sorry about the wait. Writer's block, real life stuff, laziness. Anyway, wanted to have a chapter of the sibling trying to cope with their loss before moving forward.

Family

KAIRI: I never thought I'd feel this way before. Losing Grandma was so hard for me to bear. Kai tried not to show it, but I could tell it was hard for him too.

After Grandma Elise's funeral, Kai and Kairi, with Dawn in her arms, both stood alone in the cemetery. In front of them were three headstones, all of which had different names: Suzaku, Mira, and Elise. As Kai looked at those names, sadness overtook his heart. Three people precious to him are gone, all of which he was helpless to stop. How much more must his lose? Kairi placed a few flowers in front of the graves. She had just experience her first loss. And losing her grandmother was unbearable for her. As if sensing her sorrow, Dawn nuzzled Kairi's cheek in an attempt to comfort her. The girl smiled at that but only for a second before returning to a frown.

Kairi also held a picture in her hand. As she looked at it, two smiling faces stared back at her. The one on the right was a man with short, crimson red hair combed to the side, green eyes, and wore a Castle Guard Uniform. The one on the left was a woman with long, blond hair that draped over her shoulders, violet eyes, and wore an open, blue, light jacket over a white dress. These two were Suzaku and Mira respectively. This picture was the only connection she has ever had with her parents. How happy they looked together. It saddened her even more that she never got to know them.

"Kai?" the girl said. The boy looked at his sister. "What were Mom and Dad like?"

If Kai wasn't so depressed right now, he probably would've flinched at that question. Kairi had never asked him that question before. He never had to describe his parents to anyone before either. He looked at his parents' graves for a moment before answering as best as he could. "Dad...was the best swordsman I knew. I looked up to him because of how strong, brave, and calm he always was. He may have been a little strict sometimes, but he was always supportive of me. He was...my hero. And I have wanted to be a great swordsman like him. And Mom...she was beautiful and kind. She was a bit quiet, but always had a cheerful smile on her face. If there was one thing about her that was strong, it was her love. Love for her family: Dad, me,...and even you, Kairi."

Kairi listened intently, then look at the sky. "I wish I could've met them," she said. She then look at her brother. "Big Bro? You won't go away too, will you? We will always be together, won't we?"

The young recruit could see the sadness and worry written all over the little girl's face. He could see her trembling a little. It was clear to him that after losing Grandma, she was afraid of losing him too. Kai place his hand on top of her head and petted her hair to comfort her. "I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I'll always be here to protect you. I promise."

Kairi wiped her watery eyes before smiling at her brother.

Later the two siblings were walking through the castle corridors with Lord Ansem and Ienzo. They were quiet for a while, until Ansem decided to speak. "I hope you two will like it here. I'll do whatever I can to help you feel comfortable in my castle."

"It took me a while to get used to it," said Ienzo, "but trust me, this place is great." Ienzo had been getting less shy recently. It turns out that he was exceptionally smart for his age, so Ansem decided to make him his youngest apprentice in science. After that Ienzo had slowly gain more confidence in himself, and started speaking his mind more.

As they continued to walk, they had passed by Xehanort and Braig walking the opposite direction. Kairi had hidden behind her brother as they passed, as she still had an unexplainable fear of Xehanort. Kai had noticed Xehanort glance at his sister with a look of interest, which made him shoot the man a look that said, 'touch her and you'll regret it', which Xehanort seemed to ignore. But that wasn't the only thing he noticed. He also noticed Braig giving him a strange look, a look that told him, 'I've got my eye on you,' which creeped him out. Kai knew that Braig was someone to watch out for. He had a feeling the sharpshooter knew something about Xehanort that no one else in Radiant Garden did. But, as always, he kept his thoughts and concerns to himself as they continued through the hall.

They stopped when they reach a red door. "This will be your living quarters." Ansem said as he opened the door and everyone walked in. Inside was an apartment-like dorm with a small living room and kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. It wasn't much to look at, but then they hadn't brought in their stuff yet. Also the window in the living room had a great view of the town. "We'll help bring some of you stuff up here later. If there's anything you need don't hesitate to ask."

Kai looked down. "Why are doing all this for us?"

"Why?" said His Lordship. "Do I need a reason to help the children of an old friend?"

"I...don't want us to be a burden."

"Burden? Hardly. I took Ienzo in, didn't I?" Ansem knelt down to the young swordsman. "I owed you father so much, Kai. Why without him, I wouldn't be where I am today. Taking care of his children is the least I could do to repay him for all he's done for me."

As Kairi approached the window to look outside with Dawn, Kai looked at the radiant ruler in the eye. "Grandma told me that...Dad was struck down by a fellow guard. Is that true?"

Ansem looked down. "I'm afraid so. What do you remember about that day?"

Kai looked up at the ceiling. "I remember...there was a tournament going on in the Castle Guard,...and Dad was competing. I wanted to watch,...but Mom wasn't feeling well that day,...so I stayed home to take care of her."

"It's a good thing you didn't go," said Ansem. "What happened there would've traumatized you had you seen it yourself. It was the Final Round. The two fighters were your father, Suzaku, and Zabuza. The two of them had always had a bitter rivalry going on. Zabuza was jealous of your father's strength and respect, and always tried to prove he was better than him. The two fought well in the final round. Suzaku won that fight fair and square. However, the moment he turned his back and sheathed his sword, the unthinkable happened. Without warning, Zabuza took his scimitar, and ran it through your father from behind, right through his heart. Suzaku was caught completely off guard, and died with a look that told me he was longing for his family."

That last statement filled Kai's heart with regret. He wondered how his father would've felt if he had been there when he died. Would he have felt better? Kai then clenched his fist in anger. How could his father, an honorable man, have been killed in cold blood like that? Stabbed in the back, literally. Slain the moment he put away his sword by a coward. He didn't deserve it. Kai's blood was boiling right now. Nobody noticed a hint of black mist emanating from his fist for a brief moment.

Ansem noticed Kai's anger, but continued nevertheless. "The worst part was what Zabuza did after that. He laughed. Laughed like a maniac. He started mocking your father for letting his guard down, and boasting how he finally proved his superiority over him. He openly claimed that the weak don't deserve to live, and only the strong survive. He had no remorse for what he did."

Kai suddenly startled everyone in the room by punching hard on the wall while crying out in anger. As he started breathing heavily, Kairi look at him with worry. She then ran up to him and grabbed his hand in hers, hoping to calm him down. It took a minute, but Kai settled down a little.

With that out of the way, Ansem decided to finish. "We could see him for the madman he was. And so I ordered his apprehension. But Zabuza was more resilient then we thought. Aeleus, Dilan, Braig, and Laguna tried to subdue him, but he was relentless. He began to tear the place apart in the battle. It took Sephiroth's assistance to finally subdue him, and throw him in the dungeon. A month later, Zabuza was publicly executed for his crime."

Kai calmed down completely now. At least they got justice for him. Still, it didn't help the pain in his heart. "Thanks...for telling me all this," he said.

Ansem put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "I feel for you, Kai. Your father's death was a true tragedy. A fate he didn't deserve. We should all do what we can to honor his memory." The boy nodded at this. The wise man then stood up. "Well, I must be going. Aeleus and Laguna should be stopping by later to help move your things. If you need anything, I'll be in my study." He started towards the door.

"Mister Ansem?" said Kairi, prompting His Lordship to stop. Kairi walked up to him and hugged his leg. "Thank you for helping us."

Ansem smiled as he patted Kairi's head. "Anytime." Kairi let go of him allowing him to leave.

As Ansem left, Ienzo decided to speak. "I know how you two feel." He pull his bangs covering the right side of his face, revealing the slight burn scarring on his cheek. "My parents died in a fire accident. When I escaped, I ran. I couldn't believe they were dead. I was all alone. But it was you two and Lord Ansem who helped me find a new home. Though even now I still miss my parents, my only family. But you should consider yourselves lucky. You still have each other. You still have family. You're not as alone as I was. I know you'll help each other through this. And we'll help you get settled in here as much as we can."

Kai gave the boy an understanding nod, while Kairi gave him a hug saying, "Thank you, Ienzo."

Ienzo hugged back saying, "No problem."

Kairi found herself in a beautiful meadow filled with a multitude of pretty flowers. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and the wind gently blew through her hair. How she adored this place. As she frolicked barefooted through the flowers with her kitty cat, Dawn, following her, she caught sight of several familiar faces.

First she saw her brother Kai on top of a hill, practicing his sword swinging, as usual. "Hi, Big Bro!" she called as she waved at him. Kai pause to look towards her, and he smiled as he waved back. He then went back to practicing.

Second, she saw her grandmother, Elise, sitting down, looking at the sky, enjoying the gentle breeze. "Hi, Grandma!" Kairi called and waved again. Elise looked at Kairi and waved.

And last but not least, there were two figures in the distance she was so happy to see. She smiled at them as she shouted, "Mom, Dad!" Mira and Suzaku smiled back at Kairi. Each parent held out a hand to their daughter as she skipped to them. She got close and reached out to grab their hands. She was so close to touching her mom and dad.

...

And suddenly they both bursted into flames. They turned into photo images and burned into ashes.

Kairi was shocked and confused at what just happened. "M-Mom?...D-Dad?" she choked.

Looking around her, she noticed that it was dark out all of a sudden, with the sky covered by dark clouds. The air turned cold, and the wind blew ominously. The flowers all around her were starting to wilt quickly. The poor little girl was frightened, even more so when she saw a cloud of dark fog with dozens of glowing yellow eyes in the distance. She ran away, as fast as her little feet could take her.

Kairi stopped when she spotted her grandmother lying on the ground. "Grandma!" she shouted, as she ran up to her. However, she stopped in her tracks when she felt something wet on the sole of her bare foot. She looked down and saw that she stepped in a pool of blood. Freaking out she looked back at Elise and was horrified when she saw her ash gray skin, soulless black eyes, and blood pouring out of her mouth. Kairi took a couple steps back in fear. "N...No," she cried softly.

Suddenly, Kairi heard Dawn meow and turn around to see the kitten running away. "Dawn?!" she shout in concern as she start running after her. "Where are you going?! Come back! Don't leave me all alone!" But her pleas fell on deaf ears, and before she knew it, Dawn had disappeared into the night.

Kairi then stopped when she saw someone in the distance. It was Xehanort, the man whose mere presence gave her the chills. When he turned to face her, she saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes and a wicked grin on his face. Soon after, a pool of darkness appeared beneath the him with dark tendrils spouting out of it. Kairi screamed as she ran away, with the tendril creeping toward her. The girl ran and ran as fast as she could. However she felt something caught her leg, causing her to fall over. She look back at her leg and saw some of the tendrils wrapped around it, and slowly creeping up. She tried to pull herself free but it was useless. And as she continued to struggle, more tendrils started to latch onto her, slowly covering her from the bottom up.

When Kairi looked forward, she gasped in horror as she stopped struggling. Right in front of her, in arms reach, her brother lied facedown, motionless, with two swords stabbed into his back. Above him, she saw that violet-haired jerk who always badmouthed Kai. He too had those scary yellow eye, and he was laughing like a psycho. She looked back at her brother"K-Kai?" she cried softly. By now the tendril had cover her whole body except for her head and one arm. She reach out her free arm and placed her hand on top of Kai's head.

...

Suddenly, Kai's head rose up, and on his face, Kairi saw another pair of those scary yellow eyes, before everything went black.

Kairi awoke in her bedroom with a scream, startling the kitten sleeping next to her. She was breathing very heavily. She looked around realizing where she was and it was all just a bad dream. But that still didn't stop the terror she experienced from coming back.

Her bedroom door slammed open, revealing Kai, who had been awoken by his sister's scream and barged in to see what was wrong. There was nothing unusual in the room. He looked at Kairi and saw the terrified look on her face. She was trembling, and tears were pouring from her eyes. Kai looked at her with pity as he realized what happened. She had a nightmare, and a terrible one at that.

Kairi looked at her brother, relieved to see him alright but the images wouldn't leave her mind, making her fearful. "Big Bro," she choked.

Kai wasted no time climbing onto the bed and hugging his poor little sister. Kairi still trembled and started cry onto his chest. Dawn meowed as she crawled onto Kairi's lap, prompting the girl to pull the kitty into the embrace. Kairi started to settle down, but not by much. Seeing the state his sister was in, Kai decided to sleep with her tonight, hoping it'll drive away what's left of her nightmare.

KAIRI: Kai is my best friend. My big brother. The only family I have left. If anything ever happened to him,...I don't what I'd do.

A/N: Heavy ending isn't it. I hope this chapter did its jobs.