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oveliagirlhaditright · 5 years

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Swallow - A Dark Kairi/SoKai/KHIV Story Chapter Three

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456412/chapters/51131662

Summary: My idea for a Kingdom Hearts IV--that will eventually have all that entails, like Shibuya and Verum Rex and Sora's PoV--but that deals with the idea of a dark Kairi after everything she's been through, because this girl deserves to be allowed to feel things.

Author’s Note: So, Re:Mind came out since I last updated this. And, sad to say, it’s not canon to this story… because the idea that Kairi didn’t get to spend much time with Sora at all—or get a chance to prove herself in the Keyblade War in her eyes—is part of why she’s so messed up here. But the rest of KHIII and its ending is canon to this, as is all our theories about where the series is going next. And to be clear… though this is a “dark Kairi” story… so far, at least (I might change my mind about this later. IDK) she’s not literally getting darkness within her heart—as she’s a Princess of Heart, and that shouldn’t be impossible—she’s just moreso experiencing the emotions that usually lead to darkness, but don’t with her because of her unique makeup. Also, last chapter Kairi had no idea that who she met was the Master of Masters—or even who the Master of Masters is—but since then, she’s figured it out. And I've only edited this massive chapter once (oops), so if there are any weird mistakes... that's why. Sorry Magic in the Midst Kairi’s PoV “Kairi, I was too hard on you,” Riku began, as he found her in what was still her favorite place somehow: the paopu tree. “I never should’ve said what I did. Especially when losing Sora’s been so… hard. “I know- I know you were just thinking of the greater good. I would have killed Ansem, I mean…” Except that Riku was being way too hard on himself here, and Kairi knew it. But since she didn’t exactly want to give up her newfound strength yet—and admitting that Riku had actually been right about her would make her have to do it—she selfishly didn’t correct him. Instead, she decided to focus on what really mattered—as she scooted closer to Riku, so he’d be able to hear her perfectly as she said this. “Master Yen Sid thinks he may have a new idea for where Sora may be. Another world that we haven’t been to yet… But Riku, I’m scared. The Master of Masters said that every world I’d go to on an upcoming adventure would be tied to my- my anger. And first off, I don’t know if I’m ready to face that worst part of myself. But it also makes me think that we won’t find Sora at all. Because how could he, of all people, ever be in a place connected to that?” Riku smiled at Kairi sympathetically, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder… which was probably the only thing even remotely keeping her connected to the World at this point. Seeing this nice side of Riku again—from before he’d become obsessed with seeing the outside world and had lost himself some (huh. If thatdidn’t sound familiar right now)… that- that had been the Riku she’d had a crush on even before Sora. But as it was—as nice as this was—Kairi would never love another besides Sora. And having another guy touch her now, almost felt like a betrayal to him, even though she also knew it was really, really stupid to think that way—because of course her best friend should be allowed to try and comfort her… even if she didn’t at all deserve it. “Kairi, I’m not going to lie… when I was told, in Castle Oblivion, that I would only see beings of darkness—and places tied to my own darkness—I probably felt exactly what you’re feeling now, or close to. But as Sora would probably say… there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. I definitely found my own there, in learning how to use light and darkness back to back. So you- you gotta believe the same about yourself. “Especially since I know something you don’t. It would seem this so called ‘Master’ was wrong. Master Yen Sid told me that the world of ‘Andalasia New York’ is a happy one. And that the reason he thinks Sora is there, is because… Sora’s already left wherever we were first sensed him, and now Yen Sid thinks Sora will be going only to joyful worlds: because- because he thinks he’s more likely to find you in those, and because he wants to show you those kinds of things himself… We’re going to find Sora, Kairi. Believe in that.” And Riku came over to Kairi and put a flower behind her ear like he had done when they were kids, and Kairi leaned into his touch and allowed herself to believe there could be a good future… for just a moment. … Master Yen Sid ended up being absolutely right that the next world she would go to would be a wonderful one. Kairi landed on the planet the moment that a giant singalong was about to take place—though she hadn’t known that at the time, of course—and she saw her charge, Giselle (that she would learn the name of later) right away, based on the way she was dressed and how she soon started singing. Basically? It wasn’t hard for Kairi to spot another Princess of Heart like herself, and how she prayed that this woman would end up leading her to Sora as she tried to help her! But since this world was so glorious—with bright colors everywhere, sunny colors, sweet people, and more delicious food than Kairi had ever been able to dream of—she had no idea why an acidic apple came flying towards both Giselle and a man on a bicycle. Only the Princess’ great reflexes with the Keyblade kept both of them safe… and the apples even began to try and burn through Destiny’s Embrace and shatter them the way Riku’s Way to the Dawn had. But Kairi uttered a quick “curaga” on her blade and was thankfully able to save it in time. But Kairi did not make Giselle and Robert’s (she’d learn his name later, too) acquaintance right away. No. She lost track of them in the massive throng of people, and instead ended up in a diner—at first just thinking she’d order something to eat and figure out her options then—when she saw what had to be the Princess’ prince based on what he was wearing, and the way he looked into the distance hopefully: the way that Kairi had often seen Sora look right before they were reunited again. “I will find Giselle, Nathaniel. This hard world will not deter me!” “As it shouldn’t, sire,” the man who Kairi could only assume was “Nathaniel” answered back to his prince before scurrying away somewhat suspiciously, but Kairi didn’t give it much mind. Instead, she went to sit beside the sweet—and somewhat clueless, it would seem—prince, who reminded Kairi a bit of her Sora, if she was being honest. She reached her hand out to shake the man’s hand and said with start of a smile, “Hello there. My name is Kairi… and I think I may have seen the woman you’re looking for. And I think I could find her for you, if I really tried.” “Could you really, kind lady?!” And the prince was on his feet at once, before then kneeling and then kissing Kairi’s hand—something that made her feel guilty like Riku hugging her had, but she tried to force the feeling down—“Oh, you doing that would be worth more than all the money in all the lands. What can I do to make your search up to you? Just name it, and it’s yours.” Normally, Kairi would have told this prince—Edward, he was whispering his name to her now—that that wasn’t necessary. That she only wanted to help because it was in her heart to do so… but Kairi also couldn’t help feeling this was her chance and lead to Sora, perhaps! Sora had always aided others in the worlds on their quests, that would then take him further in his own, right? Maybe the same thing was happening here. Perhaps Edward was meant to find Sora for her, and she’d find Giselle for him. “I- I’m looking for a lost love, too. A ‘Sora’. And if you happen to see him, and could just let me know, I’d appreciate it.” And having found a camaraderie with each other, the two began telling each other stories about their beloved. Prince Edward told Kairi that Giselle had the most beautiful singing voice he’d ever heard—and the sweetest heart… And Kairi told him about some of her and Sora’s more childish moments: of when Kairi was sad that she had swallowed her tooth, and was worried the Tooth Fairy wouldn’t give her a dollar because of it, and Sora had then pulled out his own falling tooth via a door, and given it to her. But also of their older times together, too: of how, oddly enough, Kairi had felt more butterflies when Sora’s fingers had just brushed against hers when she’d given him Mickey’s letter, than when he’d given her her lucky charm back slightly before that… and how that had just kept growing and growing. The two of them—totally lost in their love for others… and not even realizing people had gathered around them to listen to their “fantastical narratives”—probably would have continued on there, if Kairi hadn’t started hearing an ominous voice in her head… coming from the kitchen, it sounded like, and talking about killing someone? If she’d heard them correctly?! And if she hadn’t started feeling darkness in that exact moment… that she know wasn’t coming from Prince Edward, but where, then? “I- I’ve got to get out of here,” Kairi whispered, hating herself that she was leaving early through this cute chipmunk’s—who’d just shown up on the scene’s—attempts to tell them something about Giselle. “I- I promise I’ll find your Giselle for you… but if I don’t leave right now, I’m going to do something stupid.” Like find this caster of darkness and sell my soul to them—or it—in order to find Sora. And as Kairi pushed her way out the door, she heard this voice in her head: 'Oh, little princess—much like Giselle here—you have no idea who you’re dealing with, or even what you’ve begun for yourself, do you?

… It must have been Kairi’s day to go to restaurants—despite the fact that she was seasoned Keyblade wielder, who should have been out on the streets fighting Heartless… wasn’t that what she’d wanted and what the worlds usually seemed to want?—because after a lot of searching; and not before she fought a Heartless version of herself, that some mysterious force had made who had kept taunting her about her stupidity—Kairi found herself going to a pizzeria just for a bite to eat, since she was getting famished. And who should she find there but the very princess she was looking for? Kairi saw Giselle with the man from earlier and an adorable little girl, that made Kairi think that if she ever found Sora… she did want to have kids with him one day. Kairi walked over to Giselle—not even worrying about ordering food at the moment—and prepared to tell her the good news about her prince Edward… but had to pause when she heard Giselle seeming to insinuate that she was on a date with this man—and almost seeming to be excited about it—before he hastily corrected her? Perhaps? Kairi was about to turn around then, thinking that maybe this woman wasn’t Giselle, after all, or to maybe ask Prince Edward if he was maybe confused about their relationship to each other if this was Giselle, when the orange-haired-girl saw Kairi and stopped her. “Uhh? Excuse me? Miss?” and Kairi could only assume that Giselle was talking to her, since—other than Giselle—she was the only woman in this place, as the rest of the restaurant seemed to have been rented out for some father and son bonding, if the signs were anything to go off of. “I believe I saw you out and about in New York today. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw you sending a flying apple from out of our way. And I’d like to thank you. What a strong and kind heart you must have, to do such a thing.” “What?” asked the dashing man beside Giselle—who, if Kairi was being honest, was probably closed to what her idea of “tall, dark, and handsome” had been when she was young. “Giselle, there were thousands of people out and about today. You can’t really be sure that-“ “It was no problem,” Kairi was already answering, though, before those doubtful words had even caught up with her. “Protecting people is sort of what I do. I was happy to help,” …But if only she’d been good at helping people when Sora had disappeared—and been conscious, in order to stop him from senselessly sacrificing himself for her—but- it was probably best to not dwell on that now (even if she wanted to); these strangers didn’t need to know all about her woes. No, she would smile for them and pretend everything was alright, instead. Wasn’t that how she always was with strangers now? It was only around her friends, that she showed how broken she was… but then when she did, she had to even wonder if that was a good thing to do. Because Riku had been hating on her some for it, hadn’t he? “You’re a hero?!” the little girl with the cute curls asked Kairi, as Kairi took a seat beside them… thinking that if they were going to be having a conversation here, she ought to be polite and not block everyone’s view of the TV. “That’s so cool! Do you think you could give me hero lessons?!” “I’m- I’m really not a hero,” Kairi argued, as she put a gentle hand on the child’s hand—to try and let her know that she wasn’t disagreeing with her because of her, but since she hated herself. “I’m anything but… And while dreams of… heroing are lovely; and some day you may become one yourself and it will be wonderful for you… try to enjoy the simple things of being a child while you can.” “Yes, thank you! The last thing I want, is for Morgan to think that doing dangerous things is good. And Giselle’s right: thank you for bouncing that ball out of the way for us today. I’d thought it was a ball, but it was an apple? That’s crazy. But thank you. I’m Robert, by the way.” He reached his hand out for Kairi to shake it, and she did. And the moment she touched him—maybe it was her Princess of Heart powers—Kairi could tell that Robert had once been a bright light, similar to her, until he’d become jaded like her. And Kairi felt a certain camaraderie there. And while she’d still try to do what she could for Prince Edward… Kairi thought that if Giselle had found someone to balance her out, when she was maybe too idealistic otherwise, was probably a good thing. “Ahh. I guess I’ll do that, then…” Morgan said with a bitter edge to her voice as she began coloring again, but still with a grin for Kairi. And maybe that’s why Kairi chose to then tell everyone gathered who she was (even if she despised who she was). “…Kairi. My name’s Kairi, and it’s nice to meet you all.” And here Kairi bowed at them, that the three seemed to appreciate, but Kairi also thought she’d done something wrong by their reactions. Oh well. “It’s nice to meet you, Kairi. And while I get where you’re coming from—because if I hadn’t tried to rescue Pip, the chain of events that led me to this strange place may have never happened—I’m also glad that I did it. Because Pip deserves to live, of course. And this land is magical, despite everything, and I never would have experienced without my actions… so I’m here, but I’m holding onto my love for my past through my memories.” “You tell them, Giselle,” Morgan supplied, and Kairi noticed that she was giving the woman she was coloring orange hair, too. Maybe… maybe Giselle was right. Perhaps she was looking at this whole thing wrong. And could she, too, now balance her sense of reality with that old idealism somehow? And it was just when Kairi was about to tell Morgan of some of Sora and Riku's adventures--to prove she wasn't completely against teens saving the world--that the chipmunk Kairi had seen earlier appeared on the scene! "Pip!" Giselle exclaimed, as both Giselle and Morgan--and even Kairi herself cooed over him--and when he told Giselle that her prince was there to save her, Kairi cut in that she had meant to tell her that. But then somehow or another, Pip ended up in a pizza, as a man was trying to get him, and Morgan was frantic. And when the pizza went in the oven, Kairi had never felt worse in her life. And when she proved to be the only one who could calm Morgan down--as she got lost in her tales of Chip and Dale--Robert and Giselle invited her over. … Later that night, once Kairi had exhausted herself in trying to assure Morgan that Pip—from what she had seen—seemed plenty resourceful and had surely escaped with his wits about him, she exited the little girl’s room to find Robert and Giselle in some sort of argument… Well, that wasn’t entirely true. First, she’d unintentionally overheard Robert saying how his first wife had left him and that had made him wake up to the idea that true love didn’t exist. And Kairi’s heart had gone out to him, because even while she still strongly believed in what she and Sora had and always would… it had been losing him that had made her somewhat wake up to the horrors of the world. But after that, Robert began trying to Giselle that Prince Edward wasn’t coming for her for whatever reason—something that Kairi had been about to step in and correct—until Giselle sort of ended up snapping herself. And that was what really called on Kairi to make herself known, despite the fact that none of this was really her business at all. Because… was Giselle also somewhat waking up like she had? Giselle seemed furious for the first time that Kairi had ever seen (not that she’d known her much thus far, to be fair). But she seemed oddly… thrilled about it, as she laughed gleefully at the fact that she was angry… before Robert walked off, after Giselle’s hand had found its way to his chest. Kairi remembered what it had felt like to have Sora’s chest pressed up against her own, as he had saved her from Terra-Xehanort… and it was that, more than anything, that made Kairi finally decide to make her presence known and to tell Giselle what was in her heart. “You- you have a right to angel, Giselle. All- all people do. And don’t let anyone tell you any differently, okay? Especially if someone you love has hurt you… intentionally, or not.” Giselle didn’t say anything for a long time—and Kairi was beginning to wonder if she would—so she occupied her time by looking at the holes in the curtains, that it looked as though Giselle had used to make her dresses… the strange pizza boxes that actually seemed to hold something called “doughnut sandwiches”, and the homework of Morgan’s that was littering the couch and hadn’t found its way into her schoolbag yet. There was such a nice, normal life here… and Kairi selfishly wanted to be part of it… Or rather, a life like this with Sora. "Kairi... if you don't mind my asking, do you prefer the emotion of anger? You're kind of acting like it, from what I’ve seen—or maybe hiding your true heart underneath it, a bit like Nancy—not! that I'm badmouthing you or Nancy! You're such a lovely girl, who I sense is trying to be there for everyone here. And as for Nancy… deep down, I sense that she wants something magical like what I have with my Edward." Wow. Giselle had sized Kairi up even better than Naminé ever had. And that was saying something! Though Kairi felt awful, with what Giselle had taken to mean her preferring being mad to anything else. But what was worse, was that Kairi was starting to imagine she was right. And if she was, the Master of Masters might as well have taken her for his plan now! But even if she was doomed, she would stir Giselle in the right way. She would! Kairi promised herself, as she clenched her fists so tightly that her nails drew blood from her skin that way. "I- I'm starting to think one needs both positive and negative sets of emotions in order to be whole. And since if I’m right, it actually affects you, Giselle, as a New Seven Hearts... I'm going to tell you the truth that I probably shouldn’t." “…You and I both have hearts of pure light. But everyone else in the world—save for five others like us—have darkness in their hearts, preferably in balance with their light. I- I used to think we could Seven Hearts could still feel the negative emotions that would lead to darkness in others' hearts—without it doing the same for us—but now I’m not so sure. “Maybe the way I am, with the light in my heart, makes me broken so that I can't understand those who have to deal with a lot of tragedies in their lives… and that's why they leave me. But I'm not saying you'relike that, Giselle... I’m probably just all kinds of a freak, because I wield a Keyblade unlike any other sort of Princess thus far.” But as all of what she’d just said caught up with her, Kairi instantly regretted it. And for it, Kairi almost thought she deserved for the Master of Masters to show up that very moment and give her a thrashing or something. Kairi knew that she hadn’t been applying any of her self-loathing comments to Giselle... but why even sayany of them out loud, then, on the off-chance that Giselle would still take it the wrong way? Kairi was about to apologize for everything she’d just done, but before she could Giselle was throwing her arms around her. "…It sounds to me that you've suffered very much, Kairi, and I'm so sorry for that... You've given me a lot to think over, and I believe most of it. Before, I honestly would have thought you were wrong about needing to feel things like anger, sadness, and envy... but through comparing and contrasting those with their opposite, isn't that how we know the good?" But even with Giselle offering Kairi an olive branch here, she still wanted to try and make things right with her. She thought that the new Princess was perhaps being too kind to her, like Anna, Rapunzel, and even Elsa. But when the woman pulled away from Kairi with a calculating look in her eyes, the auburn-haired-girl thought Giselle must have figured out all the secrets of the multiverse, and she believed in her. … Kairi couldn’t sleep that night, as everything she had thought about and discussed with Giselle hours before—and memories of everything she had been through post-Sora’s disappearance—was causing a conga line of trauma in her heart. So when she eventually heard what sounded like a crash at the door and loud voices, Kairi partly thought she was still dreaming—from the few hours she had been able to sleep—but when she heard the angry tone of Prince Edward, and what sounded like a squeak from Robert, she knew that things had gone to hell in a handbasket and she darted out of bed. And with Destiny’s Embrace acting like more of an extension of her arm than it ever had before, she stopped Prince Edward from dispatching Robert just in time: as she blocked Prince Edward’s weapon with her own. Not having to be told to move twice, Robert moved over to Giselle’s side as they both tried to scream to Prince Edward what was going on. “Fair Kairi, was I wrong to trust you?! Were you also a part of the hideous scheme that took my Giselle away from me all along?!” as he asked this question, the prince was able to cut Kairi’s cheek and—in her shock for that—nearly stab it into her chest. But Kairi simply put a hand over the wound to halt some of the worst of its attributes, and then kicked at him so that he fell into a beanbag chair behind them. Kairi aimed her Keyblade at the Prince, and was about to perform a “Stop” spell on him, if necessary—despite the fact that she didn’t want to seem like she was a witch, to add fuel to Prince Edward’s theory—but it wasn’t necessary when Giselle ran to Edward’s side and embraced him. “Edward, dear, I fell into this land by accident and these kind people have been helping me ever since.” “Oh!” Edward exclaimed, with his demeanor changing completely—back to the man Kairi had actually liked—as he smiled at everyone and offered them his hand. “Then you have my most sincere thank yous, peasants.” And having had enough excitement for one morning—for one life, really—Kairi went back to sleep. She’d deal with whatever Kingdom Hearts was trying to tell her when she had more sleep or caffeine in her system. Preferably both. … When Kairi next awoke—far into the night this time. Oops—it was to find out that Prince Edward and Giselle had gone on some sort of date. And while that seemed right to Kairi—and what she’d been aiming for here along—she also couldn’t deny the sense of wrongness she felt, when she saw how heartbroken Robert looked about it. And as she did notice that, something dawned on Kairi—as she set to making him the kind of tasty coffee that Master Yen Sid had taught her to make with magic—“That’s why you invited me here too, isn’t it? Because I feel in this world, people don’t trust easily and wouldn’t just allow strangers into their homes so easily. You can tell I’m kind of like Giselle. And while you don’t love me, like you do her, you don’t want all magic to leave you and Morgan if she ends up leaving you.” And the way that Robert looked at her then, as he blew at the hot drink that Kairi had just put into his hands, told her that she’d hit the nail on the head. “You’re under no obligation to stay, of course. Neither was, nor is, Giselle. I just wanted to help you both, when I realized you were innocents in New York, of all places, with nowhere to stay and nowhere to protect you… And if you’re able to give a sense of fun to Morgan—that I can’t give her—before you leave, who am I to begrudge you that?” But you are fun to Morgan, Kairi wanted to argue. I could tell that from how she was reading the Madame Curie book, you obviously gave her, before she went to bed last night. She was doing this for you. But she didn’t. Instead, Kairi decided to focus on another question she’d had since entering this world. “I guess I am a bit like Giselle… and come from a place where people believe in one and onlys. So I’ve been confused by the feelings that I’ve seen Giselle show for both you and Prince Edward. But I’ve got to ask: do you think Giselle is your one and only soulmates?” Like Sora is mine, even though I had some crush on Riku when I was younger? And Kairi could tell by his silence, that Robert thought the answer was “yes”, or would have liked it to be. But he’d never say it aloud… probably because he had loved his ex-wife, and maybe thought that she had been a “one and only” for him at the time… Or because he’d become too jaded to voice that he still believed in that stuff, or because he thought it would be inappropriate to discuss or didn’t want to get his heart broken again. But Kairi knew the answer. And it made her sad, as she took a dainty sip from her own coffee and judged the world. “Life isn’t fair, is it?” “No. No it is not.” … Kairi learned the next day—after she hadn’t learned her lesson about getting enough sleep at all, for she had gone out into the night again and fought Heartless after Heartless and Nobody after Nobody—that there was some sort of ball that evening, that both Prince Edward and Giselle and Robert and this Nancy were planning on intending. And while a side of Kairi had been tempted to tell them this was a bad idea—because Robert and Giselle seeing each other all dolled up would surely hurt them even more, with what couldn’t be; Kairi remembered well how Sora had reacted to seeing her older and much prettier in the Castle That Never Was, after all—she’d been unable to deny Giselle and Morgan when they invited her to their “girls night out” to help Giselle get ready. Giselle was also suggesting that Kairi go. And who was she to say no to that, when Kairi was still very much a girl herself and would take any excuse to wear a pretty new dress? So out shopping—and eventually to the salon—they went. Giselle bought an elegant baby purple dress that was almost mermaid and hugged all of her curves… and Kairi went with a similarly cut light brown one (though faux snakeskin)… because she had once dreamed she’d find Sora again while wearing that color partly. And if she could try and make that dream a reality, Kairi would gladly do it. At the salon, she also gave herself a buzz cut—because it would help with all her fighting—whereas Giselle just nicely straightened her hair. But since with her hair option, Kairi knew she had—arguably—made herself uglier than she’d ever looked before, she made sure to go all out with her makeup and jewelry to doll herself up even more. But it was as the hairdresser was adding some wave to Giselle’s locks—and Kairi was buying the best smelling hair gel that she could, to even try and spike her hair some—that Kairi overheard Morgan telling Giselle that boys only wanted one thing. And while it was clear that the young girl had no idea what she was saying—thank the light—Kairi couldn’t help becoming livid, that this was always said against boys. Sora wasn’t like this! Riku wasn’t! And neither were any of the Guardians of Light, for that matter! …But then as Kairi realized she was getting riled up at something as silly as this, she guessed that the Master of Masters must have been right about her and that maybe she was doomed, after all. And Sora… he would surely never love her as she was now, right? So as it was… dark thoughts plagued Kairi, and it ruined a lot of her, Giselle, and Morgan’s time together—though she tried not to let it, and to point out bunnies in the clouds before the taxi driver dropped her off back home—and even her half-an-hour in a cab with Prince Edward and Giselle as they rode to the dance together. But once they reached their destination and Kairi stepped outside, she found her mood improving exponentially. Unlike the rest of New York, this part of it seemed to be kept pretty pristine: so Kairi had no doubt that someone had been hired to sweep outside of this theater, which made her appreciate the brown sidewalk of this world for the first time since she’d seen it. Kairi was also impressed by the wide screen TVs just above the building they were about to enter, that were showing various pictures of the inside and announcing in glitter where they were at. Kairi had never seen something quite so beautiful. And she bet her sister—the artist Naminé—would have appreciated it, too. "Well, shall we my ladies?" Prince Edward asked, as he kindly made sure Kairi and Giselle's coats were securely on them—even though they were about to go inside—since it was a bit chilly. And they followed the crowd and went in, and into the most gorgeous room Kairi had ever beheld. It looked a lot like the floor of the ball pit that Sora had gotten to explore on his last adventure—Kairi knew this from Naminé having shown her some of Sora's memories, on the off-chance that it would help them find him. And everyone was decked out to the nines, and seemed to be having the greatest time. And the punch bowl seemed to be made of ice, if you could believe it! And there seemed to be a purple gem theme that permeated the entire room, that even made it into the balloons above them. "Breathtaking!" Kairi gasped, just as Giselle came up to her side and smiled—laying a friendly hand on Kairi’s shoulder as she did so. Prince Edward took both his date and Kairi's coats off of them now. And as he did so, Kairi noticed Robert—and who she assumed to be Nancy—before them and she could tell that Giselle did, too. Nancy looked absolutely gorgeous—with her hair in stylish pigtails, as she wore a green dress with red accents on it. Robert had cleaned up well, too, as he wore a black tuxedo with his hair slicked back. Kairi was reminded of school events that she and Sora had dragged Riku to—as he had never wanted to go to them—but he always stole the show at. Robert and Giselle started making small talk… and with that, Kairi felt somewhat out of place and didn't know what to do. She wanted to tell them both to follow their hearts, but how could she when hurt would come from it? She had followed her heart and fought in the Keyblade War, and Sora had died because of it... So to distract herself from the pain and all of the confusion, Kairi introduced herself to Nancy and then suggested that he and Nancy dance together, when it became clear the first waltz was intended for a man with a woman he hadn’t asked out that evening. As Kairi stood on the sidelines, many young men sweetly began asking her to dance… but she turned them all down, for they were not Sora or even Riku. And it was at that point that she—ridiculously, in her eyes—began crying, and wondering what had happened to the tough girl she'd become, as she found herself almost becoming jealous of all of the couples before her. It was then that Kairi heard the same mysterious voice from before. ‘Oh! Poor dear Kairi: doomed to be forever injured by this cruel, cruel world. But, hey: maybe it doesn’t have to be that way. I don’t want Giselle to inherit my throne, because she and my son will force me off it to follow the rules… But if I share my home with you, you won’t… will you, Kairi? After all, I can tell you care little about rules anymore and only want stability. Or, moreover… perhaps I can give you what you want from the depths of your very heart! And before Kairi’s very heart, a Heartless in the form of Sora was created… Though “Heartless” might not have been the right word for it, because that seemed to imply the Shadow Soras or Anti-Sora that Riku had once created… This dark Sora was so close to the real thing in his Anti-Form or Rage Form—even though, deep down, Kairi knew that it was still a Heartless—that Kairi could have almost believed that it was him, and that she’d found him at long last! But she also wasn’t stupid enough to fall for this trap. Now that she thought about it, this was the second time that Kairi had heard about possible danger for Giselle. And at the top of the stairs, Kairi could see someone trying to give Giselle an apple or something! The Princess of Heart tried with all her might to get to her, but she found that she couldn’t move… because—metaphorically, and even somewhat literally—she was split in two: her heart wanted to do the right thing and help her new friend. But her body, that had somewhat been succumbing to wants and desires in this place, wanted nothing but the Sora before her… even if he was a fake, it didn’t care. And when he did a “come hither” motion, Kairi found her body flowing to him of its own accord… and then it was following him into the dark corridor he’d just made on the floor—as so many screamed out for Giselle in that exact moment. ... Kairi, somehow, became aware that it had been moreso her astral body that had followed this “Sora”—as her physical one was desperately trying to regain consciousness in order to help out—on the ballroom floor, but there seemed like there was nothing she could do to cement the two back together. And the most awful part of all of this? Kairi thought that if she had had to fall, she had fallen for the wrong reason. For the most part—though Sora had been misled before—it usually had nothing to do with him chasing phantom versions of her. She was supposed to be like Sora, wasn’t she? And here she had pulled a Riku, almost, when he had listened to Maleficent’s honeyed promises about saving her. Just what was wrong with her?! And it was when Kairi was having these despairing thoughts—and tearing at the little hair she had in her anger—that a memory of Sora’s somehow came her way... of when he had fought Roxas for the first time and the former Nobody had been raining two Keyblades down on him, and Sora had blocked them with a spin and with just Decisive Pumpkin on hand. Idly, Kairi had to wonder if she was maybe doing the same thing against the Sora Heartless’ physical body now (because it seemed it hadn’t really come to this place and had tricked her. Was it still up there with her body, that was only starting to come awake?)... she felt in her body that she probably was, but she didn’t really know. Not when all her consciousness wanted to do, was to reach down and touch the face that she saw on Sora’s heart platform in his memory with Roxas here. In said memory, Roxas was now asking Sora why the Keyblade had chosen him, and realizing it was because he loved both her and Riku so much—as he stood between pictures of both of them—and Kairi thought she might cry. But she also thought she’d done enough of that for a lifetime, so she held it back. 'Are you somehow talking to me here, Sora? ...Telling me that I’m not a fool for losing myself, just for a moment, in my love for you? Or… if you were able to connect to me in this world, are you saying that you’re in this Andalasia New York?!' But as he had done in some of his second journey there, Sora ignored Kairi and she got no answer. And she was left trying to figure it all out for herself. But wasn't that how Sora himself had been on most of his quests? She knew when Ansem Seeker of Darkness had tried to behead Sora, for instance, that he had thrown Donald and Goofy out beforehand. So, holding onto the belief that if Sora could triumph alone, she could do the same… Kairi decided to be strong just like Sora, and she blinked her eyes open. And whatever the reason, the dark Sora had been encompassed by light and was already starting to dissipate as he cried out… and Kairi almost bawled her eyes out for him, or reached for him, but she didn’t: for through his form, Kairi saw Giselle fighting a giant dragon outside and she knew that that should be her priority. The massive blue dragon was speaking to Giselle in that haunting female’s voice that she had now heard three times, and had climbed to the top of a tower with Robert in hand! And Giselle only had a sword to try and fend her off with! Kairi summoned her Keyblade to aid her once more, and was awe-struck when it wasn’t Destiny’s Embrace she was seeing… but somehow Oathkeeper. And that was all she really needed to know, wasn’t it? Kairi was just about to run outside into the rain, when she was stopped by a plump, blond man, who was wearing outfits that spoke to her of Giselle’s and Prince Edward’s. "Princess of Heart, that beast is Prince Edward's mother, the queen Narissa. She wants Giselle to die so that she won’t have to give up her throne for her, and I'm ashamed to say I tried to help her with that... and with some plans against you." "We- we all make mistakes, Sir, but what matters is that you recognized yours, and told me about it so I can help stop things before it becomes too late. That's what matters. And I’m sure Prince Edward feels the same way,” for it was suddenly clear to Kairi that this was the man she’d seen scurrying away from the Prince when she’d first met him. And just behind them, Prince Edward smiled at this man from his court to seemingly tell him that Kairi was right. But before Kairi could witness anymore of this catharsis with them, she used flowmotion to climb the dragon’s back and was then using “Flare” to try and light it up. Meanwhile, Giselle and Pip were cleverly attacking Narissa’s head with blade and weight. But Narissa noticed what Kairi was doing right away, and sent her tail flying into the Princess' face to knock her away. And somehow, it was not the fact that she was flying backwards into a building that Kairi noticed while she was losing, but the rough indents the spike of Narissa’s tail had just left in her face. They hurt. "Ohhhhhh? Is the selfish Princess Kairi finally here to help her friend Giselle, when before she was lost in her own woes? Well, guess what: it doesn't matter. Either way, I'll smash you both into smithereens and still play myself as the victim here!" Narissa hissed, as she also sent Gargoyle Heartless Kairi's way—that tried to pick her up via her light weight and throw her back to the ground, once she’d finally gotten her bearings. But Kairi resisted like it was nothing. "Holy!" she cried out, as she released a beam of light from her Keyblade that then washed the world in its vibrance. But while it was enough to keep Narissa’s tail from moving, it didn’t seem enough to do more to her. Kairi was about to worry for that fact, but then she heard Giselle's voice as she slid down the woman's back and stabbed her with her sword. "Kairi isn't selfish. She's one of the dearest friends I’ve never know—who has told me many truths, even though it’s hurt her!" "Giselle-" Kairi choked out at her friend's easy defense of her. And just as she did, she decided to help Giselle with the final blow. "Pearl!" Kairi screamed, as she did an attack similar to Holy... but that separated itself somewhat, so that it could hit every target on Narissa that Kairi wanted it to. And as Kairi did that, Giselle batted the witch on the head one last time and then jumped into the air so she could free Robert from her claw... but then they were falling out of her hand and down the roof! Except... except that Kairi saw they were fine, and now kissing on said roof. Deciding to leave them alone for just a moment, Kairi returned to the ball room... where she saw Edward and Nancy running away somewhere together? Huh. It seemed they had done the switcheroo on mates, after all. They would probably be fine… But Kairi wanted to make sure, anyway, and to finally give this “Andalasia” place some exploring. And when she got there, she saw that time moved somewhat differently there (it also looked somewhat different here: more like the worlds she was used to seeing, whereas the other one had seemed more like the Pirate world Sora had told her about… or so she guessed). Nathaniel, who had once worked for Queen Narissa, was writing a book about everything he’d been through and an agent by his side seemed very interested in it. And in the background—as they looked through books on shelves to try and find inspiration for what Nathaniel’s book should look like—Edward and Nancy were planning a wedding and inviting Kairi to it, when they got all the kinks worked out… which she of course agreed to. And then Kairi was feeling a weight on her shoulder and again seeing the cute chipmunk from earlier. In a much deeper voice than Kairi had been expecting of him—though, to be fair, she hadn’t thought he could talk at all—he was telling her, “It seems to me, that—for the time being at least—little Giselle doesn’t need me anymore. But it seems like you could use a shoulder to cry on, sweet girl. Mind if I go with you on your adventure?” For the first time in a long time, Kairi truly smiled—thinking that this was how Sora must have felt whenever he had gotten Summons before—“No… I don’t at all. And thank you. But first, I think we should go back and see Giselle and get her permission first.” And back to see Giselle, they went… Or, moreover, back to see Morgan first: as Robert and Giselle were in her room, reading her a bedtime story about Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Kairi had been unable to deny helping to read it to her, too. It was when the adults had safely exited Morgan’s room when she was asleep, that hugs and thank yous were given. “Well, I can’t speak for Giselle, of course… But I think she’d be thrilled with you taking Pip as a thank you, since you helped save me and always believed in us… and love, deep down.” “And that’s- that’s why I actually have to go!” Kairi explained, as she looked at her two new friends in turn, so they’d see how serious this was and maybe finally know the real her. “Because- Because there’s a reason I saw myself in everyone here—and also why I’ve become so jaded—my- my boyfriend died… but I think that he’s out there, and I can save him. I just need to try really hard, and all the help I can get.” And before Kairi could even blink, she found herself in a hug from Giselle again—as the other Princess of Heart even kissed her cheek this time. “Then, yes: please take Pip with you. And if you need my help, I’ll even be content to leave here and help you for a little while, if need be. But thinking of here: always know that you’re always welcome back. Pip, Kairi, take care of each other on the long road.” And as Pip nuzzled into Kairi’s neck and she giggled, she found that neither one of them had to be told that twice. And then—right then—Kairi thought she heard Sora’s voice for the first time in years. “K-K-Kairi, go to- go to a world where you think I became the strongest. There’s something for you there.” And as a tear slid down Kairi’s eye, that both Robert and Giselle tried to wipe away for her, she thought she knew exactly where she was going to next. Author’s Note: I’m sorry that this took me so long to write/post. I hand wrote some of it… and that was actually somewhat my downfall, since it took me forever to type it up after that. And after Re:Mind came out and fixed some of my worries about Kairi going forward, I wasn’t sure if this story was necessary anymore and if I should finish it. But I definitely want to, so here we are Enchanted is also a dream world for me, and I wanted it in this story one way or another… but it was really hard for me to write—perhaps for obvious reasons—and I rewrote a lot of it. Hopefully it’s okay in the end. I actually wanted to do stuff with Nancy, but it didn’t pan out. Prince Edward also sort of disappears, which is a shame since he and Kairi were bonding at first (and they do still have that bond, don’t get me wrong). But perhaps it makes sense, that this moreso focused on Giselle and Robert in the end (and Kairi’s relationship with them), like the film.

#long post #sokai #kairi #dark kairi #riku and kairi friendship that's getting stronger again but still rocky because they need to talk about Everything #enchanted world #no remind #kairi feels all the things #fanfiction #mine #my work #my writing #Shanna writes #kairi story #kairi-centric #for now at least #swallow #swallow chapter three #kaiora

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