Chapter 25: Long awaited reunion

Sora looked at Kairi before he looked at the beach to see everyone playing around with Donald and the twilight town gang creating sculptures, Ventus attempting to catch the frisbee thrown towards him. He could see all of his friends enjoying themselves as they each went through their own personal hell thanks to Xehanort. He got up and saw that he was back at his home in Destiny Islands after having done everything he could to save Kairi. He looked at his hand once again and noticed that he was not fading anymore.

'This is weird...I know I was fading away…'

Sora looked confused for a moment before noticing that Kairi was looking at him worried. He turned towards her but before he could say anything, Kairi looked at him and in a concerned tone of voice asked,

"Are you okay?"

"Yes...sorry about that Kairi, I just had a lot on my mind."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry."

Sora gave a smile in order to reassure her that everything is alright, to which Kairi trusted Sora. As the two were getting off the tree they were sitting on, all of a sudden Sora's chest felt some pain which caused him to fall to the ground for a brief moment. Kairi noticed this and asked him if he was alright, causing Sora to reassure her as best as he can that he is alright. She did not believe him and started to ask him what was wrong. Sora took a deep breath before he managed to say something to her.

"Sorry, I guess I'm still feeling the effects of the Power of Waking. I honestly will be alright Kairi."

"Okay, I just want to make sure that you are okay."

"Hehe I am seeing you here, Kairi."

Kairi gave a small hit on Sora's head before helping him get up with Sora trying to think to himself about the feeling of guilt he has in his chest. He realized that he has been feeling guilty for some reason yet he is unsure. He tries to think of anything else yet realizes that something is missing in his heart, as if he had forgotten something. As the two were together, they were approached by everyone who hugged the pair for having made it back alive. As everyone was all chatting, they had asked Sora how it was and what he needed to do to get Kairi's heart. He smiled and crossed his arms to think carefully before explaining that he went back in time to the point where they had originally lost in order to make sure he gained fragments of Kairi's heart before forming them together.

"That's pretty cool Sora, seems like that should be the end of Xehanort."

"I hope you are right Ventus, I think we all deserve a break from all of this."

"Agreed Roxas."

"Well let's all have fun while we still can."

"Right! Where is the frisbee Ven?"

"Here it is!"

Ventus got the frisbee out and quickly led Lea, Isa, and even Roxas to head back to the beach to continue their game. Xion and Namine both return to the beach to watch the boys play their frisbee game with Hayner, Pence, and Olette all three deciding to compete with Donald and Goofy in making the best sand sculpture. Riku, Aqua, Terra, and Mickey chose to stay behind with Sora and Kairi to ask a couple of questions. Riku turned to Sora and asked him,

"Do you think that Xehanort didn't plant something in you so he could return?"

"I don't think so, we already defeated him in Scala ad Caelum and in the world between worlds. I don't think he will be coming back again."

"Kairi, how do you feel?"

"I'm just happy that we are all together again."

"I'm happy about that too. Mickey, anything you would like to ask either of them?"

"Yes! Sora, I want to ask if you feel weird or off?"

"No your majesty."

"Hmm well make sure to report if you do feel a bit weird, you abused the power of waking and that comes with consequences."

"I know but I had to save Kairi."

"I know, I'm just glad you really are both safe."

"Yeah, I'm happy that all of us made it back. Master Aqua, how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay Kairi, I'm just glad you were saved by Sora."

"Yes, I'm happy too."

Kairi smiled at Sora as she thought about all the work her closest friend had done for her since they had left their island. Sora smiled at everyone before the guilt that was hurting him earlier started to hurt him once again with a much larger pain. As Sora held his chest, everyone around him noticed this and quickly asked him if he was alright. Sora held his chest tightly as hard as he could while thinking on why his chest was hurting him.

"We should get him to Master Yen Sid, he might know what to do."

"No your majesty...I'll be okay..."

"But Sora, you are in pain..."

"I know but I might be just exhausted from using the Power of waking...give me a moment to rest on my own..."

"Are you sure?"

"Let him, Mickey."

"Huh? Riku?"

"Sora must be tired from having pushed himself too far. Let us give him a moment."

Aqua, Terra, and Mickey nod at Riku before they head towards the beach to allow Sora some time to rest on his own, the three trusting Riku's judgement. As they leave, Kairi asks Sora if he wanted her to be there with him. He continued to hold his chest for a moment before he told Kairi,

"I'll be okay on my own, I'll join you all in a bit."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise you that I will be okay."

Kairi nodded and left Sora yet she felt worried for him, as if something bad is going to happen to him yet she trusted his word. As Sora was all alone, he was attempting to figure things out on his own. He is aware that he has a happy ending since everyone survived and he manages to get lucky that the consequences of abusing the Power of Waking didn't happen yet he is aware that something is truly missing. He knows that he has everything yet he feels as if he is missing a few friends he feels like he had made. He also thought about how his friends would be sad when they see that he disappears without explanation. This caused his chest to hurt again, making Sora realize that it is guilt, the guilt of not revealing anything to his friends. Noticing that he needed to relax his mind and body, he took a moment to rest himself for a bit before he went to talk to everyone, feeling like he should talk to people should he actually end up disappearing like he saw he was in the Final World.

He goes to the group and asks them that he wants to speak with everyone, not wishing to tell only a few in case he ends up disappearing before he could tell them what is going on. As Mickey and Terra go to gather the others, Aqua turns towards Sora and begins to ask him if everything is alright.

"Not really, I should probably tell you all what I learned before I went on the journey...the consequence of having used the Power of Waking the way I did."

Aqua stood silent at this, knowing what self-sacrifice is since she had saved Terra from being devoured by the darkness during their fight in Radiant garden. As Mickey and Terra managed to gather everyone, Sora asks where Kairi is at to which Riku respond with,

"She wanted to be on her own for a bit, don't worry I will inform her of whatever we discuss here."

"Thank you Riku but I would like to be the one."

"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" Donald asked in a slightly impatient tone of voice since he was still annoyed that the frisbee destroyed his sculpture of himself once again. Sora smiled as he always enjoys Donald's annoyed tone yet he ended up having a serious facial expression in the end, making everyone realize it was serious.

"The truth is that a friend, Chirithy, had warned me like King Mickey and the younger version of Xehanort about using the Power of Waking the way I did. Chirithy told me the consequence of abusing the Power of Waking was that I would vanish from this world."

"What?"

"No way."

"Darn, we all just got back together."

Everyone was very distraught with the information revealed to them by Sora with Roxas and Xion both asking in unison if there was a way to stop this. Sora looked down for a moment before revealing that he had seen a part of his hand slowly disappear.

"Are you sure? I mean it could've been your imagination."

"Sorry Axel, but I know what I saw and sadly I think I will be disappearing soon."

"Why do you say that, Sora?"

"I can feel it, Namine."

"Oh..."

"But I wanted to tell you all something important before I end up disappearing, I am glad you all are my friends and that each and everyone of you fought alongside me on my long journey. I honestly wouldn't know what to do without any of you by my side."

Everyone looked at silence for a moment, each and every one of them a bit shocked by this yet feeling the need to tell Sora what they feel about the boy. The first to speak was Roxas,

"Sora, you helped me when I needed it the most and kept me safe when I was just a heart with no body. Now I know why the keyblade chose you, it is because you are worthy of it."

The next to talk was Xion.

"You helped me regain my own identity and helped me return back to the memories of others when they were lost. You truly are amazing."

After Xion spoke, Namine decided to chim right in.

"You were there when I needed someone and even though your memories of me aren't there with you right now, our promise is, the one you kept."

Sora smiled and quickly remembered to thank her, causing the blonde girl to smile happily before Axel decided to talk.

"You helped me reunite with Isa, Roxas, and Xion. Not bad for someone who I saved from Xehanort."

"Consider it as a favor in return, Axel."

Axel and Sora laughed a little at this with the tall red haired man patting Sora in the shoulder before allowing Hayner to speak for his group.

"I speak for Pence and Olette that thanks for being our friend and allowing us to help out against those Organization jerks."

"Yes, thank you."

"Thank you."

"You guys..." Sora looked at the group for a moment before smiling at the three, happy to see that he is seen fondly by the three as their dearest friend. The next person to speak is Terra.

"I can't thank you enough for saving me from my prison, you really helped me get back to my friends."

Sora nodded as he watched Terra also pat him in the back before bowing to him out of respect. The person after Terra was Aqua.

"You really are someone special Sora. You saved my friends, you saved me from the darkness that consumed me, and you helped defeat Xehanort. You truly are a worthy keyblade wielder."

Sora smiled at this as he felt grateful to hear a Keyblade Master like Aqua compliment him on his skills. He turns to Ventus as he was the next one to speak.

"You were there when Xehanort damaged my heart, you gave me refuge when I needed a place to rest and you helped wake me up. You saved my friends and saved me, which is why I want to thank you Sora, for all the help you've done."

Sora smiled and hugged Ventus before he got to hear the King speak to him.

"Sora, I want to say that you are my friend. I will do all I can to help you from whatever fate lies ahead of you."

"I'll find my way back to all of you, your majesty. You can count on me."

"Oh Sora, you have such a kind heart. Thank you for everything you've done for us."

King Mickey went and gave Sora a hug to show his gratitude to him for all he had done. The next people were both Donald and Goofy, who were sad since they don't want to lose their friend.

"Donald, Goofy, don't be sad. Remember when we first met, you both said to me to not be sad."

"Garwish, that sure brings back good memories. Right Donald?"

"Right, no matter what happens we will always be one-half pint."

"Of course! I promise to find my way back to you two."

Donald and Goofy smiled as they saw the Keyblade wielder they fought besides since the very beginning all grown up and about to leave them. The three hugged with Donald having a tear stream down his eye. As they hugged for a bit, they turned towards Riku as he was the last person to speak. Riku looks at his hand and closes it before he begins to speak his mind to Sora.

"You and I, we have been friends for as long as I can remember. Although we had our differences, I'm glad to call you my friend and I will find a way to save you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

Sora and Riku smiled before he told him where to find Kairi, wanting Sora to speak to Kairi last before he disappeared. As Sora nodded, he looked at his hand and everyone noticed that he was disappearing. This made the boy determined to speak with Kairi before it was too late. They all watched Sora rush his way towards Kairi, seeing just how much the girl means to him. As he is running towards Kairi, he begins to feel something in his heart that reminds him of a blue haired girl yet he doesn't know what it is. All he could conclude is the amount he cares for Kairi and how he wants to share his feelings towards her.

As Sora arrives at the otherside of the island, he looks at Kairi and sees her looking off in the distance on her own on the spot that was once the raft.

"Do you remember when we were building a raft to go to other worlds?"

"Yeah, I remember. I remember that you wanted to take it and go with just me."

"I was kidding, though I am glad that in the end we all saw other worlds and made it back safely."

"About that Kairi...I need to tell you something important."

"Um okay."

"I'm disappearing...I abused the power of waking and now I'm going to disappear."

"What?" Kairi was shocked by this and quickly wanted to say something about it yet Sora showed her his disappearing hand, proving that he doesn't have long. Kairi wanted to cry yet she felt Sora's lips touch hers which made her heart race and feel extreme warmth. Sora was unsure on why he is doing this but he felt that this was his chance to do something to show just how much she means to him. He thought about a single hug yet his heart remembered something similar happen to him like this with someone who cared for him deeply. The two stayed kissing for a moment before finally the two stood a couple of inches away with Kairi lost for words. Sora took this opportunity to tell her what he has wanted to tell her,

"I...I love you Kairi. You've always been special to me. I just...hehe I'm sort of unsure on what to say but I promise that I will come back to you. I'll find my way back to you, because you mean so much to me..."

He paused for a moment as he finally was able to remember everything, causing him to be conflicted as he also cares for Rem the same way he cares for Kairi. This posed a problem yet he knew that this was his chance to say what he wanted to say. He looked confident once again and continued to speak,

"I know it may be a long time or a short time before I get back but I want you to know that no matter what I will always be thinking about you."

Kairi looked at Sora and gave him a smile with tears in her eyes before the world disappeared from the keyblade wielder, remembering the words he said to Kairi both in the current moment and before he ended up in Lugnica. He smiled and felt free before he started to think about Rem and how she won a piece of his heart since he also feels the same way towards her. He looked around and accepted the darkness he was in, content that he doesn't regret the interactions he had with his friends yet he heard a female voice speak out to him,

"So, you are the Keyblade Wielder he spoke about? Fascinating."

"Huh? Who is there?"

Sora looked around the darkness until he eventually saw a woman in black clothes who had long white hair. Sora was a bit uncertain at first, causing him to almost pull out his keyblade yet he felt that he should listen first before deciding whether to attack. He lowered his guard and began to ask,

"Who are you?"

"Someone who seeks knowledge and judging by what I saw, you have lots of knowledge that I seek as well as from your apprentice."

"So you know Subaru?"

"Ah yes, I do but due to a little compensation, he can't remember me nor will I let him."

"Why not?"

"Because it would be dangerous for him and for you as well. Garfiel already distrust you, for you to ask him about me would only make him more hostile towards you and your friends."

"That is true..." Sora paused to himself, feeling annoyed that he can't learn more of the person he is speaking to yet he knows that he needs to be wary of Garfiel. "Wait, did I take the trial?"

"Yes, you and Natsuki Subaru. You both passed but there are still two more trials ahead for the two of you. I wonder what things we will see."

The world starts to be disorienting for Sora, making him realize that it is time to leave the trial. Having learned that there are two more, this made him wary since he doesn't know what the next ones present to himself and his apprentice. As he was leaving, the woman smiles at him and says,

"Should you seek knowledge, then we may talk, Keyblade Master."

Sora and Subaru both wake up at the exact same time with the two looking around for a moment. As the two looked around, they noticed each other getting up, causing the two to start some small talk.

"Master Sora, glad to see you are alright."

"Same here, Subaru. I want to ask, what did you see in your trial?"

"Well um I got to see my parents...got to tell them what I had felt for so long and I got the chance to even talk about Emilia and you to them. What did you saw?"

"All of my friends, I got to say goodbye to them and even make peace with the fact that I disappeared."

Subaru looked at his master and saw how happy he was for having managed to find some peace within himself. This made Subaru happy has he also found peace with his past yet before he could say something, the two keyblade wielders noticed that Emilia was in pain as she was making noises of fear. The two quickly went to check on her with Subaru moving her gently to wake her up. As her eyes opened, she was consumed by fear and quickly hid herself into a little ball with her hands covering her face.

"Emilia?! Hey, hang in there!" Subaru grabbed Emilia's head gently, "Emilia! Emilia!"

"Subaru? Sora?"

"Yes, Subaru and I are here with you. No need to be afraid."

"...Right...I was undergoing the trial...and..." Emilia was calm for a moment until she remembered what she saw in the trial, making her extremely scared. Her teeth were shivering and her eyes were looking around in terror.

"I-I'm….It wasn't me! It wasn't! And yet...I keep telling you it wasn't me, and yet..."

"Hey, Emilia! Calm down!"

"Subaru, that's not how you-"

"I know but I am trying, Master!"

"No! Don't look at me like that! No! No! It wasn't me!...me all alone..."

"It's okay! Come on, it's okay Emilia!"

"We are with you, Subaru and I are with you!"

Sora and Subaru both instinctively hug Emilia yet they saw that she was still in fear. The two stayed with her as she was scared, screaming for Puck until finally Sora chose to cast Sleep on Emilia. She felt the hit of the magic and ended up going to sleep, which caused Subaru to get mad for a moment as he didn't like seeing Emilia get put to sleep in such a way yet he rather that than seeing Emilia in pain without being able to do anything. Subaru carried Emilia out with Sora in the front. As the three leave the graveyard, Garfiel and the others look and quickly realize that Emilia is unconscious.

"Da fuck happen in there?!"

"Let's just say that Subaru and I were there in time to help Emilia."

"Let me guess, Barusu was useless and you had to do something to Emilia."

"Hey! What the hell?!"

"I mean I did help ease Emilia's mind by having her go to sleep."

"What?!"

"That's what I expected no less from a useless warrior like you, Barusu."

"Hey!"

Garfiel and Otto both laugh at this before they ask if Emilia would be alright to which both Sora and Subaru agreed that she needs to rest. They all agree and take her to the house where Roswaal is recovering to put Emilia in one of the rooms. As they set her down and leave her to rest, they all head towards the table to discuss with Subaru and Otto sitting in one side, Sora and Garfiel sitting in the other side, and Ram standing in the middle. The conversation starts with Ram saying to Sora,

"Thank you for helping Emilia-sama."

"Subaru helped a little, though I wish we got there sooner. The way she was..."

"Don't worry about it too much, Emilia-sama will bounce back from this."

"Alright."

"Um, may I say something?" Otto raised his hand to get the room's attention. Subaru responded with, "What's up, Otto?"

"It might be possible to get everyone outside the barrier without doing the trial and freeing the Sanctuary."

"Huh? What're yer talkin' about? There's no way in hell."

"Just hear me out. I know that anyone of mixed blood who touches the barrier loses consciousness. I saw it with my own eyes. So...why don't those of us who aren't affected by the barrier carry the others through it while they're unconscious?"

"An amusing idea, but one you would be better off not trying." A young female voice spoke, which got the attention of Sora, Subaru, and Otto. Everyone turned towards the door to see a petite girl with elf ears enter the room with a staff on her hand. She continued to speak, "I would rather not become an empty shell of a soul."

Subaru and Sora both looked at the little girl and recognized her but before anything can be said, Ram puts a hot cup onto Subaru's cheek which gets him to jump off his seat in pain as his cheek hurts a lot now. As he gets up, he looks at Ram very annoyed by her action.

"Barusu, here is your tea."

"Tea, my ass! That's hot! You're gonna burn my cheek off! I didn't know what was going on!"

"So dramatic. What a pathetic excuse for a man." Ram quickly whispers to Subaru's ear, "Avoid making any unnecessary comments."

"Tam, get my amazin' self some tea, too."

"It's coarse tea."

"Don't you usually talk more humble-like?"

"I just brewed some leaves I picked up. Show your gratitude to me for making it by drinking every last drop."

Ram begins to take the tea towards Garfiel while the little girl begins to say to Garfiel about bringing more people from the outside. Otto in a polite manner asked the petite girl who she was to which she replied with,

"I am Ryuzu Bilma. It is my duty, you might say, to represent this community, though I am old and frail, as you can see."

"As we can see? So you're what they call a loli hag?" Subaru asked with interest yet this would only land him a hit on the head by Sora with his kingdom key, detecting some poor mannerisms in Subaru's question. Everyone laughed at Subaru's injury before Ryuzu turned towards the boy to scold him.

"How dare you call me an old woman when we've only just met. Well, no matter. And you are Barusu...which makes you Young Su."

"Young Su?" Subaru asked in a pit of confusion while Otto asked Ryuzu why his plan won't work. Ryuzu stood next to Garfiel's side while explaining that when a mixed blood touches the barrier, it takes away their conscience. This makes the group see that with the barrier still up, they would have to take it down or all the spirits of the mixed blood would be trapped there. As Otto was disappointed that his plan wasn't going to work, they were all startled when they heard Garfiel yell,

"This Tea's gross! It tastes like grass!"

"Did you actually make it with grass?" Sora asked Ram in a curious tone. Before Ram could answer that, Subaru asked Ryuzu why doesn't she and Garfiel take the trial only for her to respond that a contract makes them not take it. Just as it seems like the conversation is finishing, they all hear a knock on the door. This was loud enough to awaken Emilia, who was just confused on what had happened. She got up and quickly went to look for Subaru, worried that she might have scared him off yet she saw that something was going on. She hid in a corner and managed to be able to both listen in and see what was going on. The group was curious about who it is, which Ryuzu went to check. She began talking to a villager who had been looking for a Natsuki Subaru.

"Wait, why would they want me?"

"Young Su, I think you have visitors."

"Wait but who could...that be...no way..."

Subaru was at a pause as he witnessed his parents were right in front of him, both covered in a few bruises as getting to the world Subaru was teleported to was difficult without the organization coats. Sora looked at Subaru and could see that he was in complete shock to which he patted his apprentice in the back and encouraged him to go speak with his parents. Subaru was hesitant at first yet he approached the two with everyone in the room curious to see how the interaction of the three would be. Emilia looked at Subaru's parents and can immediately tell that they are related since Subaru's father shares similar attributes to his son and Subaru's mother has the same eyes as Subaru. She smiled as she knew how Subaru had been separated by his parents for some time now.

"Mother...Father...is that really you two...?"

"Subaru-kun...?" The woman asked with tears falling from her face, wanting to believe that she was really looking at her son that had been missing for almost a year. Subaru slowly walked towards his mother and before he could say anything, he received a slap in the face. Everyone in the room was completely stunned by this, making Natsuki Naoko seem like a cold woman. Garfiel began to laugh his ass off when he saw that, making Ram slowly approach him before slamming his face into the table, showing respect to the moment that is being performed before their eyes. Emilia was in shock at this and almost wanted to go and protect Subaru as she disliked what she saw until all of a sudden Naoko started to bawl profusely into Subaru's neck and refused to let go.

"My baby~My baby...! He's safe..."

She sobbed even louder while Natsuki Kenichi kept a straight face but a single tear welled up in his right eye as he went to hug both his wife and son. Sora, Emilia, and Otto all smiled as they witnessed a family get reunited while Garfiel felt anger in him yet he didn't want to show it since it is a touching scene, even for him. Ram for once respected Barusu since she could see that he hasn't seen his family in a long time and it has been hurting inside. Emilia stepped out of the shadows to show herself to Subaru's parents.

"Hello...y-you two must be Subaru's parents. My name is Emilia, a friend of your son."

"I'm Sora, I'm Subaru's master."

"His master?" Kenichi asked in confusion yet curiosity. He looked at his son and hugged him before pinning him down to the ground, catching Subaru off guard.

"Haha I still got it!"

"Darn you dad!"

Garfiel started to laugh at this as he respected Subaru's father even more because of this while Ram had a smile on her face, enjoying the scene being played right before her. Emilia was shocked by this since she didn't expect Subaru's father to be aggressive. They all enjoyed a laugh before Ram and Sora both checked on Emilia to see if she is alright. She smiled at the two before saying,

"I'm alright, thanks to Sora but mostly towards Subaru."

Emilia smiled at Subaru as he started to pin his father, getting a smile from his mother as she now has her family back. Garfiel enjoyed this yet he had to put a stop to this due to the fact that he needs to now explain the situation to the newcomers. He got up and started saying to both Kenichi and Naoko, "I don't wanna ruin yer momen' but I gotta explain the situation here."

"That's okay, as long as the Nastuki family is together. We will be alright."

"Aight."

As Garfiel was going to explain to Subaru's parents the situation, Subaru quickly got up and told his parents in a respectful yet confident manner,

"Before anything I have to introduce you to the two important people who have helped me, even though they did introduce themselves. Master Sora, the person training me to wield the keyblade and Emilia-tan, the girl I love."