#light mention of Sokai

[evaundertale]

A post no one asked for but I wanted to share.

So I got inspired off of seeing a couple if Venkai posts so imma post my take on it. Might do the same for Soriku, Kailette and more.

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This will straight up be a post off headcanons and how I view the Venkai can work I know it's a rarepair and most don't talk about it much.

This mainly will have headcanons and theories on what could possibly grow and how I personally see the ship.

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Okay let's start with Ventus as we know Ventus was alive during the period of time Union Cross takes place but in Birth By Sleep he looks and acts as if he hasn't age in that period of time.

My theory is he got sent forward in time going off not only the of subject X being Skuld but also both Lauriam and Elrena being present in the organization despite being older they were before.

Ventus also been treated like a child/teen from multiple different people. Mainly Aqua and Terra same with some of the others in different worlds to.

There's even his little interaction with Isa and Lea where he might be around their age then.

In this case Kairi and him are kinda treated to same in parallels.

Kairi may not be treated like a kid by her friends but, she is more often left behind for her protection with the both of them often treated like their fragile.

With how Aqua tries to convince Ventus to go home instead of following Terra and Sora and Riku leaving Kairi behind on two different occasions.

(This person made a better comparison on the Riku and Kairi scene with the Ventus and Aqua scene. ⬇️⬇️)

Now you may wonder why I brought up Ventus age. It's mainly because I don't think he aged sense he was awake in BBS as stated earlier.

My theory stems from the time he seeked shelter in Sora's heart he has been asleep or in a stasis like state until he started to wake up in kh1.

My theory is it might have been due to Kairi's heart joining him in Sora's heart.

With that being said I don't think his heart was fully healed in kh 1 but it might have been really close. Especially since we see Kairi have moments where she not only interacts with Sora but there is a scene that I know most say is Kairi recognizing Raident Garden but it could of also been a hint to Ventus who also went there as well.

(I personally think it's Kairi but it's a really nice thought that they both could of recognized it and that caused Sora to think this)

Though I personally don't think he's fully conscious untill Dream Drop Distance or Kingdom hearts 3 due to scenes that implie he's there or at least now he's recognizingly there.

To help support this theory we know that Roxas had impacted Sora emotionally in Kh 2 and even make contact with him in the same way Kairi could in kh 1.

Based on this information we can't say Ventus didn't or couldn't either especially with these moments.

In DDD Ventus armor protects Sora with in kh 3 Sora doesn't even know what comes over him when he says he'll save Aqua.

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Why do I bring this up? It's because I think Venkai as a ship is in the same area of Katara and Aang from ATLA.

Aang was in the iceberg for 100 years but his body and mind are still 12 he didn't age both mentally or physically.

Long story short Ventus is in a similar situation to Aang with his aging.

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Now back to Venkai okay so we know Aqua put a charm on Kairi as a kid to protect and lead her to those who could protect her.

And most say she went to Sora but I'd argue she went to Riku and Sora both. As you may know related to how much I reblog this I think Riku is the light (not just Sora's) but others as well with Aqua and Terra both stating as such when looking at him as a kid.

But not saying much to Sora. Yes Ventus came to Sora's heart seeking shelter but that's due to him already making a connection to a new heart which is Sora's.

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So if Kairi showed up to the Island not having a connection to Sora or Riku yet. Kairi still was sent to seek both the keyblade when sent out but also to find a safe place because the charm.

She probably appeared because Ventus being in Sora's heart and because Riku's heart to.

With Kairi being a princess of heart she could probably recognize darkness and light in a person's heart.

With Kairi in kh 1 stating Riku had changed but not really giving much context and telling Sora not to change. Maybe she felt both the light of Ventus and Sora's ad comfort sense Riku heart was change.

We know Darkness has a scent sense Riku has recognized it before but don't really know if the princess of heart are able to sense a hearts intention I'd assume based how Kairi reacts sometimes to people. We only get to see that side of the princesses through Kairi.

That being said Kairi could have grown a close connection to Sora through the light in Sora's heart (aka Ventus)

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Finally at least this is what I picked up that could have happened if Ventus started to grow conscious again in kh 1 he already has a connection to Kairi through the time she was in Sora's heart.

Meaning that Kairi and Ventus would have a sense of familiarity with eachother not saying it'd go full on romance but in her time of training with Aqua they could grow to be close.

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Both relating in being treated like their fragile. Or how they both were treated like pawns in Xehannorts plan. Or even how they both have memorie issues.

There is alot to work with especially sense Ventus heart is probably still mainly the light side of it sense Vanitas (his darkness) is no longer able to fit there.)

Now that could be like that cause Ventus heart grew darkness back in its missing place. Or Ventus could have a heart full of pure light similar to Kairi's.

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Now into full on fanon side i know most compare Ava and Gula to Sokai but the possibility of them being a great reference for Venkai is there to.

I just think you could honestly build Kairi and Ventus future interactions based off these two.

Not only in similar body shapes but with how the two interact. We've never really gotten and opportunitie to see Kairi fully protect Sora the same way he does for her and if it's cause she hasn't felt confident enough to or cause they might not be as connected as she thought there's a chance she might fot someone else.

(Yes I know in kh 1 she trys to protect Sora in his heartless form but that was once and yes she held him together in the new world but he also got a second change cause of Riku's sacrifice.)

What I mean by protecting Sora is like how much he does by blocking her from attacks or more we don't see that which sucks. And we already know their bond was weakened to begin with.

There's a chance they might just keep growing apart. And in that absence she might grow with other.

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I'm rambling a bit near the end but yeah that's at least my view on venkai and if it ever develops platonically or romantically or whatever i due think the two have a lot of parallels and more to their connection then most think about.

Next probably gonna be a post about Kailette. Or maybe a post about how I view Riku and Kairi's friendship but yeah.

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Extra ramble

There's alot more that could be speculated like this not only being Kairi recognizing this but also Ventus sense he visited it and we know he got memory issues to its a stretch but still interesting to think about.

[ivystoryweaver]

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This has been in my drafts for a year, enjoy that

Poe Dameron Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Summary: You expected your best friend to be as optimistic about Life Day as he is about everything else. But he's different this year. (This is set after the events of The Last Jedi if you're interested in the timeline)

Pairing: Poe Dameron x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.1k

Content: Poe is a sad/tipsy/handsy puppy, angst, inebriation, drinking, kissing, misunderstandings, discussions of death, probably inaccurate Life Day nonsense, friends to lovers, pining, this boy's trauma deserves some attention ok

Poe wasn't at breakfast.

He missed your morning run together.

Life Day spirit was in the air and General Organa had released as much personnel as could be managed, particularly those who celebrated.

Maybe Poe headed back to Yavin 4 without mentioning anything?

Your best friend usually told you everything, so if he left without saying goodbye...

"Have you seen Poe?" You asked a few dozen people throughout the day, even going so far as to find General Organa, pleading with her to tell you if he was off on a solo mission, or a secret one.

She assured you she had ordered no such mission.

So where was he?

Deciding to head back to your room to change for the festivities, you tried to shake off the anxiety prickling your skin. After a quick trip to the fresher, you put on your best outfit - which was basically the only thing you owned that wasn't Resistance-issued attire.

Upon checking Poe's room one final time, you reluctantly made your way to the mess hall, which, for the people remaining at the Resistance base, would serve as a dance floor.

Colorful strings of lights illuminated the dimly lit room, mismatchedbulbs from droids and ships and even various lanterns. Trinkets special to Resistance members were strung up here and there - good luck charms and souvenirs from missions - anything that would reflect and sparkle and shine.

As if holiday magic itself was guiding you, the sparkle of a familiar gold necklace glinted, catching your eye. All the sudden, there he was, sitting in a corner, surrounded by people, slurring his way through a story of battle glory.

Shit, he was already tipsy? Not good.

His dark brown eyes brightened as they landed on you.

"There you are," he laughed out, reaching out for you, suddenly ignoring the others vying for his attention. "I was just talking about you, come here."

Despite the fact that he was nestled in a corner booth, he insisted you shimmy your way to sit down beside him.

"Poe, it's okay, there's no room. I can just - "

"Nooo, 'sokay," he waved his hand dismissively before reaching up to pull on your sleeve. "Sit with me, right here. Been waiting for you."

Poe was so damn stubborn when he'd been drinking...which is how you ended up smooshed up against his side, halfway on his lap.

"You smell so good," he murmured, burying his nose behind your ear as his arm slid around your waist.

Nudging him with your shoulder, you couldn't help but smile. "How much have you had to drink? It's early."

The corner of his mouth curled knowingly as he touched his forehead to yours. "Started early. You weren't here to stop me."

Your face heated up at how flirty he seemed this evening. "What are you talking about? I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Not everywhere or you would have found me here," he shrugged, pushing his half empty drink toward you. "Gotta catch up."

"Uh, no thank you," you giggled, trying to find a comfortable sitting position that didn't land you all the way in Poe's lap. On second thought, maybe if you finished Poe's drink, you could keep an eye on what else he chose to imbibe for the rest of the evening.

"Actually, give me that." You downed it in a couple gulps, to Poe's great amusement and a whoop from your table mates.

"Okay, okay, you have to play the game too," a fellow pilot informed you, nodding to a cheap looking bottle of something or other in the middle of the table. "Truth or dare?"

You glared over at Poe. "Truth or dare? How old are we?"

"Four-hundred thirty-seven," an alien pilot opposite you teased. "Haven't played Truth or Dare since I was around two-hundred."

"Exactly," you decided to let a couple of centuries make your point.

"Come onnn, play with us," Poe breathed on your ear, goosing your ribs, which sent your backside jerking against his thigh as you shrieked in surprise. You nearly lost your balance, but Poe wrapped his arms around your torso to steady you.

"Truth or dare?" You were asked again.

With a groan, you decided on truth.

"You've hooked up with Commander Dameron," she declared. Everyone at the table leaned in, ready for your answer. You should have known.

"No, I haven't. That's the truth."

"Commander?" She challenged, fact-checking your statement with Poe.

"Don't ask me, it's not my turn," he mysteriously shrugged, which elicited some 'oooh's' and made you groan.

The game continued until it was Poe's turn. He choose truth and was posed the same question as you. His answer confirmed yours - no hookups between you. That fact didn’t stop his thumb from languidly tracing circles on your stomach as he held onto you.

On your next turn, you tried to avoid another probing question by choosing dare.

"Kiss Commander Dameron," the older alien pilot challenged. You felt a chuckle rumble in his chest.

"Fine," you shrugged, turning your head to peck him on the cheek. A chorus of 'boo's' went up, but you silenced them, letting them know they didn't specify where or how you had to kiss Poe.

So, naturally, when it was Poe's turn, he chose dare, and was dared to kiss you. On the mouth.

"Okay, time for bed," you decided, attempting to climb out of your crowded seat and off Poe's thigh, which you were certain had fallen asleep by now underneath your weight.

"Aw, don't go," Poe complained, keeping a loose hold on your wrist, but not holding you back, in case you really wanted to leave. "It won't be Life Day without you. Promise I won't kiss you."

Your eyes met his and you swore you saw a flicker of sadness dance across them. "Okay, I'll stay, but no more Truth or Dare." Hitching your thumb at your table mates you whispered, "They're ganging up on us."

"Then let's go dance," Poe proposed, releasing your wrist and clambering out of the booth and onto the dance floor. Just to make you laugh, he did a silly twirl and struck a pose before offering his hand. “Shall we?”

"Wow, you are so drunk," you cackled taking his hand and following him willingly.

You made it to the middle of the makeshift dance floor, and he pulled your hand to his chest, slipping his other arm around your waist as you began to sway to the music.

Smiling at him sweetly, you released his hand, pushing your fingers up over the exposed skin of his chest, revealed by one too many buttons unfastened. Not that you were complaining. Up your fingers traced, toying with the chain nestled there, over the smooth column of his neck. His throat bobbed under your touch.

Looping your arms around his neck, you tugged your bottom lip between your teeth, swaying back and forth with a silly, dramatic flare, which earned a chuckle from Poe. His hands found your hips and squeezed, dragging you closer until your chest pressed against his and his forehead dropped to yours.

"What is going on with you?" You murmured, heart fluttering in your chest as you attempted to keep your wits about you.

"Nothing, just...really glad you're here. Missed you today," he whispered, alcohol tinged breath ghosting your lips.

"Could've fooled me. I couldn't find you anywhere, Poe. I thought you went back home for Life Day without even telling me."

"Without you? No," he shook his head as if trying to clear the cobwebs. "Not without you. Without telling you, I mean."

“But I couldn’t find you,” you insisted, resisting the urge to toy with the curls at the base of his neck. It felt good to be close to him - to have his attention. But he wasn't in his right mind and you couldn't take advantage of your friendship. "I thought maybe you were avoiding me. I was worried."

His gaze dropped, jaw clenching as your swaying eased to a stop. "I'm sorry."

In a group, drinking and telling stories, he could keep up a festive facade but you saw right through him.

"Hey," you softly redirected his gaze back to yours. "It's Life Day. You love Life Day. Right? The tree and the lights?"

"Yeah," he whispered, eyes flickering down to your lips. "I just...I'm not feeling so festive this year."

Stepping back, you ran your palms down his arms and took his hands. "Wanna get out of here? Let's get some air. We can look at the tree."

He nodded, following your lead out into the night, gripping your hand as if you might evaporate right before his eyes if he let go.

You walked quietly for several moments, cheeks burning as a few passersby noticed you holding hands with the Commander, prompting you to finally release your hold. Without the tether, Poe’s walking slowed, turning into a listless stumble, which was how you realized he might not be in any shape to take a stroll through the woods.

Perhaps he was better off tucked into a booth, surrounded by people. The fact that you misread the situation and his needs brought a wave of trepidation and regret. You stopped walking and turned to him, pressing your palms against his chest.

It took his mind a second to catch up, so you guided him around the side of the closest building - closed for the holiday. Steadying him up against the wall, with hands on his chest once more, you apologized. “I should take you back to your room.”

Gripping your elbows, he stared at you so intently it made your knees go weak. As your body swayed into his, he wrapped his arms around you, gathering you close. Mistaking it for a hug, albeit an intimate one, you turned your head to lay it on his chest, but his mouth met yours, capturing your lips in a breathy kiss.

All the air rushed out of you as he tasted you, spreading his hand over the curve of your back and pressing and pulling you into him harder. The heat of his tongue and the solid warmth of his body consumed you utterly and you found yourself kissing him back with fervor.

The sound of voices and a clattering bottle nearby jolted you out of...whatever this was, sending you stumbling back, dazed. You felt as drunk as Poe apparently was, but from him alone rather than the half drink you’d downed.

Poe, mistaking your withdrawal as rejection, reached for your arms, murmuring, "No, no, I'm sorry, don't go."

Noticing his obvious distress, you allowed his touch, gripping his biceps through his leather jacket. "It's okay. I'm here," you breathlessly gasped, mind reeling and heart pounding. "Let me take you back."

"I don't want you to go," he whimpered, grip on your forearms tightening. "Don't be mad. I don't want...I can't - "

"Hey," you soothed, touching his cheek to direct his bleary gaze to yours. "I won't leave you. Not ever."

This seemed to appease him and he followed your lead back to his room. Your instincts seemed to somehow be way off with him tonight, and you regretted tearing him away from the fun he seemed to be enjoying before you interrupted.

Maybe it was you. Perhaps that's why he'd avoided you all day. Hot tears burned your eyes as you guided him to lie down on his bed. As he pleaded with you not to go, again, you hushed him, swearing you wouldn't.

You worked his boots off his feet before helping him sit up to remove his jacket. Climbing into bed, you wrapped your arms around him, guiding him to lie down on your lap. His distress calmed almost instantly as he murmured, "thank you" a few times, burying his nose in your tummy.

"Love you so much," he whispered so faintly, you convinced yourself he must have said something else.

Raking your fingers through his slightly damp curls, you shushed him a few times, realizing you'd never seen him like this. Tipsy? Yes. Drunk? Maybe once or twice. Handsy? Always. But broken? Not like this.

He fell asleep in minutes and only then, did you let tears escape your eyes. Before long, you felt your eyes grow heavy, so you worked your way down onto the bed, hoping not to wake Poe.

Somehow, exhaustion mingled with the pounding in your heart - from worry, from sharing Poe's bed, from the flavor of alcohol on your lips from his kiss. And from the words he uttered - things he probably wouldn't even remember.

Sleep finally came, granting you both reprieve.

The next morning, you awoke while there was barely light in the sky. Since Poe was still asleep, you decided to freshen up a bit and get him some toast and something hot to drink. You crept out of his room and back again as quietly as you could manage.

Upon your return, you were surprised to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows digging into his knees and head in his hands. Dark curls tumbled over his fingers, obscuring his handsome face from you. His shoulders slumped defeatedly.

"Hey there," you softly greeted, presenting the tray of bland food and hot tea to him like an offering. "How are you feeling?"

"Like an asshole," he lamented, voice muffled by his hands.

"Well, I'm used to that," you attempted lightly. "But you had a lot to drink last night. What was that about?"

Raking his fingers down his face, he managed to face you then, eyes bloodshot and lips parched. It was kind of endearing to see him not looking completely perfect for once.

"First of all, tell me how pissed you are. I can take it." He visibly withdrew, waiting for your verdict on how he behaved last night.

"I'm not pissed," you assured him, "just really worried. Why don't you eat something and then we can talk?"

After Poe choked down some toast, you decided to swing by your room and change while he visited the fresher. You promised to return, and when you did, he was waiting for you with open arms.

Folding you close, he breathed on your ear how sorry he was, over and over, while you pressed your nose to the clean scent of his damp neck, exposed by the clean, thin shirt he wore.

Easing back, you reached to toy with the wet curls flipping out behind his ear. "What are you sorry for?"

"Where do I begin?" He scoffed, his gaze dropping. "I ruined your Life Day. I ignored you all day. Kissed you."

"So...you're sorry for kissing me," you clarified, your stomach dropping.

"Yes. No." He shook his head, confused. "I didn't want to be alone." He winced, regretting the words as they left his mouth.

Your jaw clenched as you struggled to maintain your composure. "So you're sorry for kissing me? Or you're sorry that you kissed me while you were drunk, just so you wouldn't be alone?"

Pacing away, one hand landed on his hip while the other tore through his hair. "That's not what I meant. I...I was trying to forget everything and just drink and have fun, but not with you."

Shit. Wrong wording. Again.

"So, that's why you avoided me all day." It wasn't a question. The realization of it stole your breath from your lungs and you sank down on the bed as tears burned your eyes.

"No, baby. No." Poe was quick to kneel down before you, reaching desperately for your hands. "This is...shit, this is coming out all wrong." Seeing tears pool in your beautiful, shining eyes seared his insides with guilt and shame - his companions ever since the events leading up to the Battle of Crait.

"Tell me what's going on," you whispered. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," he insisted, bringing your fingers to his lips and kissing them urgently.

"Too many people have died," he finally confessed, his head bowed and his voice a broken whisper. "It was supposed to be Life Day, but there's only death. We lost over half the fleet."

"I know."

"So many families couldn't celebrate Life Day. Too many." His eyes met yours, wet with fresh tears. "And how many of them are dead because of me?"

"Poe, we all know what we're signing up for when we join. We're all ready to give our lives, you know that. You can't possibly take the blame for what the First Order has done to us."

"There's blame enough for me to share, believe me," he insisted. "And I just couldn't hang anything on the tree yesterday and celebrate life. Not with over half of us gone."

Eyeing him sympathetically, you squeezed his hands. "Life Day isn't only about being alive. Death is a part of life. Life Day is also about remembering the dead. And part of living is grieving the dead, and sometimes feeling a little guilty that you're still here."

“But I don’t, though,” he admitted. “I’m glad I’m here, and more than that, I’m glad you’re here. You, most of all. You're the one person I don't wanna...that I can't..."

"Come here," you coaxed. Poe joined you on the bed but never let go of your hands. "You're my one person too, you know. The person I look for after every mission. The one person I need to be okay.

"It scared me so much yesterday when I couldn't find you," you went on.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles. "Please don't hate me for yesterday. It's been a long time since I had that much to drink. I know it's no excuse for what I did."

"So you don't remember, then...what you said?" You should have known Poe would only kiss you and utter heartfelt confessions when he was wasted.

Releasing your hand, he titled your chin up to meet his gaze. "I know what I said. I do love you. Always have." A nervous, breathless laugh escaped his perfect lips. "But I understand, you know, if you don't - "

You silenced him, pressing your mouth to his for a tender kiss. "Believe me. I do."

The sadness lingering behind his eyes started to seep away, replaced by a flicker of hope. "Is there any way we could re-do yesterday?" He proposed, tracing the shape of your jaw. "I only have one meeting today."

"That sounds perfect," you agreed, leaning into his touch.

Hand in hand, you visited the Life Day tree, said the prayers, remembered those lost. Then you had something to drink with friends - just one though, before dancing and laughing all evening.

When he kissed you this time, he meant to do it, and everyone saw it. And when you walked back to his room, he asked you to stay. And you did. Every night.

1000 Follower/Holiday Celebration Masterlist

Poe Dameron Masterlist | Main Masterlist

[pred1059]

A King's Thone - Sokai Day 2023

Kairi had a comfortable chair in the Mayor’s office. She’d replaced the old one when she was elected, her father’s seat having long since passed its prime. Her new one had a sturdy frame, but also cushy padding, perfect for Kairi to work through the day. The swivel was set just right, rotating as needed so someone could turn their attention to anything on the desk with ease. Even though he’d only sat on it a few times since it was brought in, Sora swore it was one of the best seats he’d ever sat in. 

Sora had his own work as her secretary answering questions and listening to the people’s feedback that kept him from her office normally. As comfy as his own chair was at first, all too quickly it became mundane. The routine work wearing out the initial novelty. Not that he was too jealous. Kairi’s work was busy enough with hearings and committees that she had the privilege of using the chair whenever she wanted it or needed it.

Of course, he was probably more drawn to Kairi herself when work was over, rather than the chair. The smile on her face after work made everything worth it. Even the few times she had to make him wait while she was on a meeting call were filled with anticipatory glances at him. He just knew it was the same way for her as she could hardly wait to join him.

Both of them looked forward to two of them walking home hand in hand, talking about their day or their plans for the evening. Plans for dinner, for trips, or nights spent together whispering sweet nothings. All the things a couple dearly in love after years would do.

After everything they had been through, being torn apart, flung across worlds, fighting with their keyblades to protect all they knew and loved, Rescuing one another, they had certainly earned that much at least. On one hand Sora was certainly happy for the freedom to live their lives together. And yet…

As he saw the empty office, Sora’s smile fell as he realized he had to wait. One of Kairi’s hearings probably was taking a little longer than expected. He moved behind her desk and sat down, sighing at the plush feel of the cushion. Given how hard he worked, the comfort of a fine seat was appreciated. Even if desk work wasn’t as demanding as fighting with a keyblade 

Not to mention a faint but familiar scent he cherished: a hint of Kairi’s perfume, stirring up memories of moments together. Of reunions, of dates, of a long awaited wedding. Memories that Sora wouldn’t trade for the world.

Even if there was one he might have liked to have. A small silly idea, not worth really getting bent out of shape over. Honestly, it was something that would never really happen no matter what he did.

Still…

“Look at you, sitting there like you’re king.” Kairi’s voice roused him from his thoughts as he met her own adoring gaze. She was standing in the doorway in her violet suit with a smirk. 

Sora shrugged and shifted himself up from the slouch his daydreaming left him in. “You’re the mayor, I’m just married to you.” 

Shaking her head, she walked up to where Sora was seated and brushed her fingers against his. “Don’t sell yourself short. You do a great job figuring out what people need.”

“Thanks Kairi.” Taking her hand, Sora caressed it as she gave a light giggle. Though the comment earlier stuck slightly in his mind. As it was a bit closer to the mark than he would have expected. Still, if anyone would figure out his unspoken fantasy it would be Kairi. Sora looked to the side with a sigh and a smile. “Still, after everything I’ve been through with an adventure involving saving a princess…”

“Usually that’s the point where the hero becomes King.”

Kairi hit the nail on the head with her guess as Sora mused, “You hear so many versions of the story growing up, the idea sticks with you a little bit.” Bedtime stories of the hero returning triumphant over his trials, wedding the princess, and ascending the throne as the new king. “I can’t say I didn’t think about it when I first got the keyblade. Learning you were a princess of heart also didn’t help.“

Kairi giggled as she leaned forward. “Sounds like the perfect setup if you ask me.”

Sora’s smile fell as he gave her hand a tight squeeze. “But I wouldn’t want you put in danger just so I can get a reward.” Sora never wanted to see Kairi’s life put in jeopardy again after what they had been through. “Not to mention how everyone else was at risk too. It wasn’t just us.”

“But we made it,” Kairi said to him as she reached out with both hands to gently stroke his cheeks. “You did save everyone, and we finally got home.”

“I know. I’m not complaining too seriously,” Sora whispered as he relaxed at her touch. “A title might be nice, but living with you is more than enough.”

Kairi gave Sora a pat on the cheek as she offered, “You know, people would say being mayor is more or less royalty, and we are married.”

Rolling his eyes with a smirk, Sora pointed out, “But I don’t have royal blood. So even if you were queen, I'd be…some title.” He furrowed his brow with a nervous smile as he tried to recall the proper term…

“Prince Consort.” Kairi nodded at him.

Yes, that was it. Sora shrugged with a grin. “Doesn’t sound quite as impressive,” 

Kairi moved closer to Sora as she murmured, “Well, you’ll always be a king to me.” With that proclamation, Kairi met Sora’s eyes with hers and whispered, “My king.”

Smirking, Sora ran his hands up Kairi’s arms and murmured,“Then will the queen kiss his majes-” Only to stop as he stumbled on his words, looking aside and muttering, “Your majesty? Her majesty?”

Giggling, Kairi turned his face back to hers and answered, “Yes, she would.”

As his lips met hers, Sora’s heart couldn’t help a small flutter. Years had done nothing to dull the love between him and Kairi. A content hum came from them both, as Kairi gently sat on his lap. He didn’t need to be told to hold her closer as they continued to make out. 

Pulling away however, Sora saw that Kairi’s smile had taken on a more wistful look. “I get it, you know?” She gave a small sigh as she recalled,  “We pretended who knows how many times that I was a princess to be saved. Learning I was a real one made me think of it.” Leaning her forehead against his, Kairi mused, “Living in a castle, ruling wisely and justly. The king that saved me at my side.”

Sora closed his eyes as he simply felt the warmth from her. “You’ve saved me just as much, you know.”

Kairi let her hands fall from Sora’s face as she agreed, “There’s a lot that goes into a happy ending that stories and games can’t quite get across.” The trials and tribulations they both had faced had pushed Sora and her to the brink. Hugging Sora, she leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’d make you a real king if I could. After everything you’ve done you’ve earned it and more.” 

Returning her embrace and patting Kairi’s back, Sora assured her, “Hey, I’m the one who recommended you to run for mayor. You’ve got more of a head for administration and paperwork than me.” Title or not, he couldn’t regret the decision for their campaign as Mayor of Destiny Islands. Not when they worked so well together.

Sora couldn’t see her face, but could imagine the smirk Kairi had as she chided, “Don’t you think home would be a better place to sweet talk me?”

It was a fair point, the sun was already beginning to set. Though Sora couldn’t help himself as he began to grin. “But you’ve got such a nice chair.”

Pulling back in their embrace, Kairi grinned at Sora. “I’m sure we can find a more suitable throne at home, my king.”

Sora nodded as he gave her a gentle squeeze. “Then lead the way, my queen.”

A/N: Special thanks to @currantlee for taking the time to beta read this!

[phoenix-downer]

The Princess of Light Chapter 2: Growing Up Cold

~2140 words. Angst, Romance, Fluff, Fairy Tales. For SoKai Week 2021, Day 2.

Summary: Princess Kairi is cursed to be without love when she is a baby. She grows up cold and without a heart to help her understand other people’s feelings, no matter how hard her parents try to help her. One day, however, she meets a mysterious prince from a faraway world, and he just might hold the key to breaking her curse.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

As Princess Kairi grew older, her parents never stopped searching for a remedy to her curse. They called the greatest entertainers in the land to put on the most deeply moving plays and performances. Kairi laughed and giggled and smiled and chuckled, but she did not cry, nor did her mirth have any warmth to it. This, then, was a fruitless avenue to breaking the curse.

When she could read, her parents lent her the most widely acclaimed books in their collection, including tomes from other worlds. The best of the best, the books that always moved everyone who read them to tears over their touching, beautiful stories, just puzzled her. She brought one such book to her mother one evening after supper.

“Mom, what are these people doing?” she said, pointing to a lavishly illustrated picture of a royal family mourning at their father’s funeral. The queen knew this story quite well, as it was one of her favorites. Ever since she’d lost her father, it resonated deeply with her. 

She set her sewing to the side and tenderly touched the pages. “They’re mourning for their father. They’re sad he’s gone.”

Kairi considered this, then peered at the illustration. “Why is water coming out of their eyes?”

“Those are tears. People shed them when they’re very sad or very, very happy.” 

“Oh. That’s funny.” 

Kairi turned the page, and the queen had to bite her tongue. Other than her curse, Kairi had enjoyed a very safe, happy life, and she did not know grief the way her mother had. The queen knew it wasn’t her daughter’s fault she was so casual about the grief of others, as she simply didn’t understand it. But it still pained the poor queen, and she could only hope Kairi would understand someday. To grieve was to be human. What kind of person felt no pain at the prospect of losing their loved ones? The queen wondered if Kairi would even cry once she and the king died, or if the poor girl would be puzzled by the whole affair.

Well, that would hopefully be many years in the future, the queen thought to herself, and with any luck Kairi’s curse would be broken by then.

A few days before the princess’s thirteenth birthday, her father took her to the light pool to explain her future role as Guardian of Light. It was a task his mother had passed down to him, and someday, it would be Kairi’s job to guard the light and thus the people of Radiant Garden.

“When I’m gone, you must protect this pool with your life,” he said.

Kairi was quite curious about the shimmering pool in front of her, but her father’s words piqued her interest. “Where will you go?”

“To the country beyond,” he replied, for that is what the people of Radiant Garden called the afterlife. There were various explanations of what the place would be like and how best to get there, and even if it existed at all, but the king thought that explaining death in this way might make it easier for his daughter to grasp. 

She tilted her head. “What’s that?”

“Everyone dies, even me. When that happens, I’ll leave Radiant Garden.”

His parents were no longer of this world, and his daughter would not be queen till he was gone. He had to prepare her for the concept mentally if not emotionally. 

“Oh, I’ve heard of death before,” she said. “It’s that thing that happens when people don’t wake up because their hearts stop beating.” 

The king tried not to despair, for Kairi had recounted this information like she was reciting something from one of the books she studied with her many tutors. The thought of her not being grieved by his eventual death made his heart heavy, as it would any father’s.

He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Kairi, my dear, I hope that someday, you understand the gravity of death. It’s more than just a heart ceasing to beat, though that is a part of it.” 

She shrugged and rested a hand on her chest, near where the hole was. “My heart doesn’t beat. I don’t even have a heart.” She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face. “Am I dead?” 

The king sighed deeply. “Not dead. Just cursed.” He launched into a more detailed explanation of Maleficent’s curse than he’d ever given before noticing Kairi had wandered off. He was about to call her back when she took a wrong step and fell straight into the light pool. 

“Kairi!” he cried, for no one had ever entered the pool. His parents had forbidden him from doing so, though he didn’t know why. He feared his daughter might burn up from the heat of it, and he dropped to his knees at its edge and anxiously searched for where she might be.

Her head popped up a few moments later, and she was all smiles and giggles. 

“This feels amazing! Is this what ‘warmth’ is like? It feels like I’m bathing in pure heat!” she cried as she paddled around. Her poor father was so relieved she was alright that tears filled his eyes. Kairi tilted her head and touched his face. 

“You have water leaking out of your eyes, just like those people in Mom’s books.”

The king just smiled sadly. He knew it would be fruitless to try to explain to Kairi that he was relieved she was okay, that crying was a natural response to strong feelings of emotion. 

Once word spread that Princess Kairi had taken a plunge into the light pool, the priests and scholars had heated debates about whether a human body, royal or not, should be allowed to keep contaminating the light, as the princess wanted to continue swimming in the pool. She claimed it was the only place she felt what other people must mean by “warm,” and indeed her parents noticed that her manner was warmer and sweeter when she was in the pool. Both sides of the debate produced very convincing arguments, but in the end something, or should I say, someone forced the king’s hand on the eve of Kairi’s birthday. 

You would think Maleficent’s curse on the girl would be quite enough revenge for one lifetime, especially because all that happened was that Maleficent wasn’t invited to Kairi’s christening. But evil is often maliciously petty, and Maleficent lived up to her name in terms of inflicting petty evil upon other people. Especially when she felt slighted, when she felt that other people were getting too much positive attention, and even just for the fun of it.

Now the problem with being evil is that it really takes a toll on your appearance after a while. Long ago had Maleficent begun dabbling in black magic. The better she got at it, the more the physical toll was reflected in her appearance. The curse at Kairi’s christening had really done a number on her looks. Her skin had turned an unnatural green, and her entire eyes save the pupils were now yellow, not just the irises. All of her lovely silver hair had fallen out, and she hid this fact with a scaly black hat that formed two horns to better intimidate her enemies. Dressing in black robes added to the effect, as did wearing the royal family’s color: purple. 

Now obviously, she’d been banished after cursing Kairi, but she simply enchanted an ancient castle for her purposes and made sure no one could breach its walls. Wearing purple was a way to spite her brother, his wife, and their daughter for not allowing her her (in her mind) rightful place as ruler of Radiant Garden. 

“Today is the eve of the little brat’s thirteenth birthday,” she said as she stalked back and forth in the throne room of her dark, gloomy castle. Kairi, in her mind, was responsible for everything wrong with her life. Despite placing a secret curse on her brother and sister-in-law, they’d managed to conceive, those blasted, fertile-despite-all-odds idiots. Probably because of that ghastly light pool. Oh, if only they’d remained childless. Then Maleficent could take the throne as second-in-line when her brother inevitably died of a convenient accident with no fuss. 

Now there was another second-in-line, Kairi, and the older she got, the closer she came to taking Maleficent’s “rightful” throne. She was almost thirteen, and after several more years, she would be of marrying and child-bearing age. If she managed to have children, that would knock Maleficent further down the line of succession, and if she had more than one, well, it would be hard to off them all without suspicion. 

The little brat was pretty, too; Maleficent had to admit that much. The more Maleficent’s evil magic made her ugly, the prettier Kairi seemed to become. Life just wasn’t fair to a poor witch who went around putting curses on newborn children. Maleficent knew it would not be long before Kairi had all manner of suitors knocking at her door. Even though she didn’t have a heart, some fool might still be willing to marry her, and this prospect terrified Maleficent most of all. For if one of those saps could truly love her in spite of her heartless state, not even Maleficent’s magic might be enough to keep the curse going. This was hardly something she would actually admit, but even she knew that that horrid thing called “love” had strange effects on people that no amount of studying could make clear to her.

Better to ensure Kairi didn’t meet any suitors at all. Better to ensure she couldn’t court them properly, couldn’t easily touch them even. A cruel smile came over her face. She had just the plan.

~~~

Kairi felt the effects of Maleficent’s schemes the next morning. For while Maleficent hadn’t placed any new curses on Kairi, she had accelerated the effects of the current one. When the poor girl woke up, her entire bed was frozen solid, and she was stuck to it. The ice all came from her. Her coldness was so much colder now that anything she touched for more than a few seconds would freeze over. The hole in her heart was bigger now too.

Her nurse Aqua came running at her shouts. As soon as Aqua saw the predicament the princess was in, and on her thirteenth birthday too, she lit a candle, placed it near the bed to begin to thaw it out, and called for the king and queen. 

The queen, quite beside herself at the sight of her daughter, instantly ran to her and touched her arm. But poor Kairi was so cold that the queen yelped and pulled her hand away. It was a lucky thing too, for had she waited even a moment longer, her hand would have frozen solid. She had to be treated for frostbite as it was. The king and Aqua and the guards all lit candles and small fires around Kairi until her surroundings unthawed enough to free her. 

“Please, Dad, may I go to the light pool?” Kairi asked as he lifted her into his covered arms and placed her in a special heated blanket. “I think it might help with my condition.” 

That, then, solved the question of whether Princess Kairi should be allowed to continue swimming in the light pool. No one dared argue that the poor princess be denied one of the few places she could relax and enjoy herself without fear of freezing everything around her. After consulting with the fairies, her parents made sure all her clothing was enchanted by them to always be warm, and they used the very light from the light pool to do so. So long as she didn’t touch things with her bare skin, the curse was manageable. 

But it did have Maleficent’s intended effect; she withdrew from other people save for her parents and nurse because the risk of an accident was too high. She couldn’t stray too far from the light pool either, as it was where the magic keeping her warm came from, and straying too far from it would weaken that magic. And this meant that she couldn’t go out and meet any young suitors; they had to come to her, and their efforts to woo her just baffled her. None stayed long enough to truly get to know her, and so several more years passed until the princess was on the verge of her eighteenth birthday, and she was no closer to being married, much to Maleficent’s delight.

But Maleficent, for all her plotting and scheming, could not predict the arrival of one very brave, very unusual prince. He was about to shake things up in a way none of them could have ever foreseen.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

I initially wanted to make this right after KHIII came out, when people thought Sora was being hesitant in the paopu sharing scene (though I did make a text post of this comparison that got a lot of notes). In some ways, I think the paopus scene is an evolution of the dock scene... which has Sora agreeing to share the paopus with her, when he didn’t agree to “take the raft and go, just the two of them”, near two years ago mean all the more:

Though I think even here, he really wanted to be with her (he’s just a shy fourteen-year-old, who also didn’t want to leave their best friend behind).

Because you got this scene, where Sora’s thinking over her earlier words... and it sort of seems like the dolls he has in that boat are supposed to represent him and Kairi, like he thought about doing the same thing himself (and the KH orchestra even used this scene in SoKai montages):

And, of course, there’s also this scene at the end of KH1: Sora’s going to save Riku, because it’s the right thing to do, but he wants to be with Kairi at the end of it all: 

But back to comparing the first scene with the following scene:

And let us not forget, that Sora was the one who wanted to share paopus with Kairi first, because he was worried she’d choose Riku over him:

...And then Kairi saw what he drew and responded:

And Sora eventually saw that response and was happy about it, and he mirrored what happened with Kairi, which makes it one of Nomura’s favorite scenes:)

And don’t even get me started how in Re:Mind, Sora finally goes on an adventure with Kairi--just the two of them:

...And purposely spends his last moments with her and just her, really:

[allegorism]

See, I have always find fascinating that Nomura and company, which like... Square, seem to hate women... they also do not? Specially when you put Kingdom Hearts under scrutiny since the flag that puts Kairi on a different light is the romance one.

Literally only Kairi is denied dept and agency, on any game after the first one because almost anybody that wrote that game left after it except for Chain of Memories which... explains stuff. Also, there is the thing that CoM and 358/2 Days were written not primarily by the usual people.

Anyway, my prime example of this is how Naminé changes writing wise. Chain of Memories? She is allowed complexity that only Riku is allowed, she manipulated by Marluxia and Axel but she also admits of agreeing out of her loneliness and selfishness... that is interesting! That even when knowing how to do better? She choose to attempt to keep Sora for herself, that is interesting! but then again... Chain of Memories does have character depth that other games lack... even Sora is actually an interesting character here.

Same with Xion, but this does put in some other level since Days is complex character wise just by its premise of a friendship that has a clock over it, she is allowed complexity. Xion becomes very aware that she has her days counted, that her friendship is finite and yet even when Axel denies it and Roxas is unaware... she confronts it! It is so interesting how Xion, with the worst demise, does not run away of her fate. Even when she is told that looking for answers is bad and such bad things happen she keeps on going.

Is there the fact that CoM and Days have different writing teams in play? Absolutely but also, a game with the regular team and shit... Birth by Sleep.

BbS is... lackluster in writing but Aqua is the one allowed the most complexity of the three, being basically the main character at a certain point and I want to point out her relationship with Terra... I think everyone and their mother have noticed that... they are somewhat romantic but never... actual romantic? And to me this is simple to see why, because this is just like Roxas and Xion and more importantly... Sora and Riku, when the writing is not about romance? It flourishes, it truly does. They write about people being devoted to each other, trusting one another and wanting for not only actual safety but also a caring for self actualization and emotional growth.

Kairi is truly not allowed anything because of her role as romantic interest and it is wild to me! But then again, we have the sister series The World Ends With You which has romantic undertones but allows the female characters, Shiki and Shoka, be their own and be complex... with Shoka being the best character of her game.

kh is a Weird case because you do have female characters like xion (which is in my biased opinion the best written out of all of the female cast), aqua and namine and then you have kairi. i have some issues with both aqua and kairi. aqua because of the rushed development in kh3, but also with some of the writing in bbs. however, aqua does have her own moments and is the main character of her own story at a point. kairi has never been the main character of anything, not even of the game in which she's supposed to be that.

there's also the fact that destiny trio hasn't been a trio since kh2. it's always a two-character dynamic, it's always sora and riku or sora and kairi, never sora, riku and kairi. that's one of the reasons why i like axel, roxas and xion so much, because they take the time to give the same dedication to each side of the trio. wayfinder trio... i have my own thoughts on it, but at least the same work went for terra and aqua. not mentioning ventus here because that guy's lore is insane.

moving on to the romance thing... yeah, you're completely right! aqua sacrificing herself to get terra back and then dooming the world to 12 years of darkness because of that choice... that's literally more romantic that anything sokai has ever done. it's obvious that they tried to fix it with the kh3 dlc, but. honestly, after neglecting kairi for entire years, a single dlc is not going to work.

and well, talking about kh3. the writing for women there is just. wow. namine only showing up for the epilogue, everything that went down with kairi, aqua having no agency in her fall to darkness and then everything being solved with her after you beat her up, AND THEN needing to be rescued by ventus... that last thing would have been acceptable because, well, she's been 12 years down there in the darkness and now we beat her up, but damn, this among everything else doesn't look good.

[currantlee]

The Bloody Anniversary

(Ao3)

Sora's and Kairi's paopu fruit anniversary is coming up, and they want to celebrate. However, things do not go as planned.

~ 3.5k words. Rated T (Teens and Older). Written for SoKai Week 2022. Beta-read by @theeeveetamer Warnings: (non-sexual) nudity, menstruation and blood (obviously)

If you feel uncomfortable with any of the topics mentioned in these warnings, please feel free to skip this fic!

I hope you give it a try regardless, since I feel like menstruation is a very important topic for everyone (plus one that is unfortunately still surrounded by a lot of misinformation), but it's up to you. If you feel uncomfortable and decide to skip, please don't feel bad about it! It's okay.

She could faintly hear the birds singing outside, and something warm was tingling on her face as the darkness slowly faded into a warm red.

Kairi blinked.

The sun was peeking through the curtains of Sora’s and her shared bedroom. They had left the window open last night, and the light breeze was making the curtains flow a little bit. It seemed like a perfect morning.

Kairi yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes a bit to make that morning blurriness in her sight go away. She felt a little sore in her lower area and legs. Maybe she had overdone it a bit last night… But it would surely get better over the course of the day, or she would just forget about it. They had so much planned, and she couldn’t wait to get started.

She glanced to her side. Of course, Sora was still sleeping.

He was rarely up before her, and when he was, there was a decent chance it was due to their Keyblade wielder duties. He didn’t want to wake her up by walking into their bedroom in the middle of the night whenever he returned from a mission late, so he usually just napped on the couch. Those were the days he would usually surprise her with breakfast in bed in the morning.

Not that she would ever complain about him being a late riser. Kairi loved watching him sleep – he always looked so peaceful and cute. Not that he couldn’t be when he was awake, but it was a different kind of cute.

Aside from that though, she admittedly enjoyed getting an extended look at his currently naked body. Who could fault her? She loved him, and now at twenty years old, he was more attractive than ever – or well, maybe she was just hornier than ever.

Whatever it was, she loved him.

Kairi leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. Sora stirred a bit in response and murmured something she couldn’t understand.

“Keep sleeping, love ,” she whispered and carefully caressed his cheek. “You don’t have to get up yet.”

Today, she wanted to be the one who surprised him with breakfast in bed. After all, it was a very special day for the both of them, and it was about time she repaid the favor.

Sora sighed and relaxed again. Once Kairi was sure she hadn’t woken him up, she pulled her blanket off…

Only to notice a very prominent, dark red spot on the sheets.

Was she still sleeping? Kairi rubbed her eyes, and slightly pinched her own palm, but the dark spot remained where it was.

Well, that was unexpected. She shouldn’t be due for her period until at least two days from now! Sure, Kairi had noticed the common signs of her cycle ending soon over the past few days, but she wasn’t in puberty anymore. Her period cycle had settled into a nice 33-day-pattern, and it was only 31 days since her last one started.

Kairi could feel her womb cramping. Her muscles suddenly decided to act on their own, and she knew that she was leaking. She glanced down. Well, those bedsheets would certainly need to be changed…

“Fuck!”

She scrambled herself out of bed somehow and ran straight into the bathroom, probably losing a few more drops of blood on her way, which… Great. More to clean up later on.

Kairi slammed the bathroom door shut harder than she intended to in her hurry, and turned the lock. For now, she had to make sure she didn’t make even more of a mess. She opened the bathroom closet – damnit, where were her pads? Right, they had reorganized the closet two weeks ago… Why had they decided to do this again?

She sighed. It wasn’t like she could change it now. Where had they put her pads again? If her memory served her right, then they were… Yup, bingo!

She pulled one of the small, black cloths from the little box she kept them in when they weren’t in use, or in the washing machine. That should suffice for now. She could get her period panties later, for now she had to worry about the mess…

Damnit, where were her regular panties?

Kairi groaned – of course she had left those wherever they had been tossed in the bedroom last night. Great. That meant she had to go back to the bedroom and get some new ones, probably creating even more of a mess that she had to clean up…

A soft knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Kairi?”

Sora still sounded a little sleepy, yet worried. Great, now she had woken him up too… Why did this have to happen today, out of every possible day that it could have happened?

“Sorry for the mess,” she blurted out. Gosh, something this big hadn’t happened since she was a teenager. Sure, there had been some minor incidents, but never something this big of a mess. “I’ll clean it up in a minute!”

 “Kairi, are you alright?”

Oh no… The puddle of blood she had left on the sheets was probably one of the first things he had seen today, and here she was talking about cleaning up while he still didn’t know what was going on. No wonder he was so worried.

“I’m okay,” she said. “Just got my period ahead of schedule, that’s all.”

She could hear a sigh of relief behind the door. “Can I get you anything?”

“I need some underwear to put my pads in.” Part of her didn’t want to ask him to do such a mundane thing for her, but she was relieved that he was offering it.

“I’ll get you some clothes then,” he announced. “Your period panties are in the same drawer as your others, right?”

“Yes. The ones in the pink box.” That way, she never had to search for long.

“Okay,” Sora said. “I’ll be right back.”

Kairi let herself drop on the toilet and sighed. Not only did her period catch her slightly off-guard, but on the worst day possible.

Today wasn’t just any day – today was their five-year-anniversary of first sharing a paopu fruit with each other, and their first anniversary of moving in together. That also meant they now shared their last name for a year now, since on Destiny Islands last names were tied to the place someone’s house was at . They’d have to wait another until they could get married , but Kairi didn’t mind. Sharing a house and with it a name already felt like such a huge step for their relationship that. She didn’t mind settling in a bit before taking the next, no matter how much she was looking forward to it.

It was a big deal to both of them, and therefore their friends had agreed to cover for them for one day.

Being a Keyblade Wielder meant having to be available all the time, even when the likes of Maleficent, Xehanort or the Master of Masters weren’t threatening their reality. Heartless and Nobodies existed regardless of big, universal threats after all.

There were days where nothing happened at all, and then there were days when everything seemed to happen at the same time, and someone else had to abandon whatever they were doing to move out. Usually, that was someone who had time, meaning they had no other responsibilities like raising the next generation of Keyblade Wielders, going to college or working at an ice cream shop – which was to say that usually, it currently meant either Sora, Riku, or her.

Recently, more Heartless and Nobodies than usual had shown up, and therefore Sora and her hadn’t gotten to do a lot of the things they enjoyed for quite some time. Naturally, there were a lot of things they had planned for their anniversary, all of which were now for nothing because knowing her body, she wouldn’t be able to stand anymore in a few hours due to the back pains.

Sora knocked at the bathroom door again.

“Come in,” Kairi murmured. She wasn’t afraid of him seeing her like this. After all, he had already seen all of her plenty of times.

Sora pressed down the doorknob, only to find that the door was still locked.

“Sorry!” Kairi sighed. Right, she had forgotten about that…

She pushed herself up, and unlocked the door again. When she opened it for him, she couldn’t help but think about how strange this looked to him, considering that she was all naked and had a menstrual pad in her hand .

“Here.” Sora handed her a bundle of clothes. “Take as much time as you need for yourself, okay? I’ll take care of the rest.”

Part of her wanted to argue, simply because she had made the mess in the first place so she should clean it up again, but she was relieved that he offered to do it for her. Any physically demanding activity was always such a pain while she was on her period, especially on the first day. So she nodded. “Thank you, Sora.”

“Of course,” he said, and leaned in slightly to kiss her forehead, before closing the door again, probably to give her some highly appreciated privacy.

She placed the bundle of clothes on the washing machine. Sora had not only gotten her menstrual panties for her, but some of her loungewear, including her favorite pair of socks to wear at home. Kairi noted that he had even put one of his own shirts into the mix – she loved borrowing his clothes, admittedly mostly without asking, especially when she didn’t feel particularly great. There was something comforting about it.

She knew he secretly loved seeing her wear his clothes, but him acknowledging that she liked to borrow them when she didn’t feel good was an entirely different level. It was such a small gesture, and yet it made her so happy. He made her so happy.

Gosh, she loved him.

Kairi set the clothes aside for now. She really wanted to take a bath, and afterwards she wanted to slip into those clothes, wrap herself in a blanket, ideally together with Sora, and make the best of the day like they always did. Maybe they could cook together later. They both loved doing that.

… Yeah, maybe all of this wasn’t too bad. At least if her womb and back wouldn’t be killing her in a few hours. But as long as she would get to spend time with him, she could live with that.

After adjusting the temperature of the water, she turned back to the little bathroom closet. If she was going to take a bath while being on her period, she was going to need her menstrual cup – why hadn’t she thought of that stupid thing earlier? Oh right, because she kinda hated that thing. However, bathing in her own blood wasn’t something she was keen on either. Maybe she should just have showered instead. But now the water was running already… Oh well, she was looking forward to that bath anyway.

Picking out a bathing salt brightened her mood again though. Kairi loved bathing salts for all of their different scents, and they were some frequent souvenirs she brought from other worlds. Today, she quickly settled on hibiscus and vanilla though, one of her all-time favorites.

She let herself sink into the tub and sighed. The warmth of the water helped her relax, just what she needed. Now she was even more grateful that Sora was cleaning up for her.

He was so sweet and respectful when it came to her period, and he always had been. Back when they were still seventeen and had just gotten together, she had had what was probably her scariest accident yet. Thinking about it, it hadn’t been too much unlike what had happened today. She closed her eyes as she let the memory play in front of her inner eye again.

“I gotta get up,” she says. “Can you make some space, please?” They have been sleeping in Sora’s old childhood bed together, so naturally space is a bit limited. It gave them an excuse to cuddle throughout the entire night though, something Kairi appreciates. She is still a bit shy when it comes to these things. It’s just so new, and she doesn’t want to overstep.

“But we don’t have to go anywhere today,” Sora protests. He is almost pouting, and it honestly looks pretty cute. Kairi almost feels a little bad for him. “Besides, it’s way too early to get up!”

Kairi automatically glances at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It reads 7:10 AM.

“You’re not wrong,” she admits. “It is early.” And not just for Sora.

However… “I need to use the bathroom though.”

“Oh.” Sora sighs. “Well, I guess we can keep snuggling once you come back?”

She giggles. “Of course we can.”

He gets out of bed, and the first thing Kairi sees is the prominent, dark red spot on the leg of the shorts he is wearing. It is a rather big one, and it scares her. “Sora, are you bleeding?”

He looks down. “What?” Then he sees it too, and pulls the leg up to check.

But there is no wound.

“Strange,” Sora muses, before his expression changes into a concerned one. “Wait, Kairi, are you…”

She looks down. Her entire pajama pants are stained with dark red. His sheets have dark red spots too. And she only starts noticing now, but her lower belly hurts. Suddenly, she knows what is going on. “I’m sorry…”

“You’re bleeding,” Sora says, and she can’t help but realize that he is pale. “It’s… A lot.”

She can’t hold back, she has to chuckle. It’s too embarrassing. “Sorry for ruining your sheets…” The chuckle turns into a nervous laughter. Why today? Why now? Why in front of him? Why can’t she help but laugh? He must hate her now.

“It’s okay,” Sora says. “Lemme just…”

He takes a breath. “Heal.”

That is when she realizes he has absolutely no idea what is going on.

“Sora, I’m not hurt…”

“You’re bleeding,” he points out.

“Yeah, but not because I’m hurt. It’s just shark week.” She can’t remember when the last one was. Maybe she has even skipped it. It wouldn’t surprise her, given the stress that was saving the universe.

Sora seems confused. “The sharks aren’t doing anything this week.”

He clearly doesn't get it. Maybe if she explains it in a different way… “It’s the crimson tide!”

“Well, last time I checked, the water was still blue…”

“I’m just getting Mother Nature’s gift, okay?”, she tries again. Seriously, why can’t he just get what she means, and then they can both move on with their lives? This is bad enough as it is.

“Hey, why didn’t I get one?”

She knows he isn’t doing this intentionally, but that just makes it worse. Damnit, Sora… “I’m on my period!”

“Oh,” he says. “Wait, your what?”

Had they not explained this to the boys in sex ed? “You know, this thing all females get once a month?”

“Oh,” Sora says. “Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

He’s saying it as if he’s talking about the most mundane thing in the world. Kairi wants to tell him it’s not that easy, but Sora keeps chattering before she can.

“But couldn’t you have waited with spilling all that blood until you used the bathroom?”

She wants to scream at him in this moment. How does he even get this idea? He must think all of this is disgusting – that she is disgusting – even though he isn’t showing it.

Instead, she just starts crying.

“Kairi?”

She sobs.

“Did I say something wrong?”

He doesn’t know, Kairi suddenly realizes. He clearly doesn’t know…

“Hey, whatever it is, I’m sorry…”

“I have no control whatsoever over this!”, she finally blurts out, louder and probably more hysterically than she means too. “It just happens, okay?!?”

She curls up on the bed. It’s bloody all over, but she doesn’t care. Her lower stomach area hurts so much…

“Kairi, I’m so sorry,” Sora says. “I had no idea…”

He sits down next to her on the bed again. To her surprise, he carefully puts a hand on her shoulder, as if he isn’t afraid to touch her at all. He is so warm… She doesn’t pull away. She doesn’t want to pull away. His touch is so soothing.

“Does it… Hurt?”, he shyly asks.

“Like hell,” Kairi mumbles. “You have no idea.”

Sora wraps his arms around her, and when she doesn’t pull away, he pulls her close, much to her surprise.

“You don’t have to do that if you think I’m disgusting right now.” Stuff like this is not supposed to happen after all, especially not in front of… Kairi usually never thinks of Sora as a man, but as the person she loves . Being confronted with the fact that they have been raised differently due to some biological differences almost makes her even more uncomfortable than she already is. And all of this is her fault…

“Kairi, the only disgusting thing about all of this is that they assured us in sex ed that not only can females completely control this, but it’s completely painless and if someone makes a fuzz about it, she wants attention.” He sounds mad, but she knows it isn’t directed at her. “I’m sorry, I should have known it was…”

“It’s okay,” Kairi interrupts him. “They aren’t wrong. I should have been better prepared.”

“It’s not okay,” Sora argues. “They’re telling you to be ashamed for something that’s just completely natural and that you have no control over, and they’re telling us to shame you for it, all because of some mundane differences in our bodies. It’s fucked up.”

He believes her, more than he believes his teachers at school. Something about that makes her so happy that she almost forgets about everything else. She has to sob again.

Sora squeezes her a little tighter. “What can I do to make this easier for you?”

Later that day, they had quite the extensive talk about how their bodies worked. In retrospect, that was probably when the initial awkwardness in their relationship had faded. Maybe being on her period wasn’t just terrible after all. It was still the worst time of the month though!

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. “Can I get you anything?”, Sora asked through the door. He must be finished with cleaning up.

She suddenly felt the urge to have him close to her, but she also didn’t want to leave her bathtub. The warm water was too nice to pass up on. “Would you mind joining in?”

“You mean,” he opened the bathroom door just a little bit, and his head poked through, “joining you in the bathtub?”

She nodded.

“Sure, why not?”

He closed the bathroom door behind him before taking off his clothes, a sight Kairi enjoyed every time. She made some space for him so he could get into the bathtub behind her, careful to not slip by accident.

Sora sighed as he wrapped his arms around her and leaned back, something Kairi didn’t mind. She wanted to cuddle. It was always extra good when there were no distracting layers of clothing between them.

He gently pulled her closer, and Kairi carefully turned onto her side to rest her head on his chest, right on the scar above his heart. She enjoyed listening to his heartbeat, it was relaxing.

“You know,” Sora said as he gently caressed her back, “Maybe this isn’t too bad. We haven’t spent an entire day at home in a while.”

That was true. They never really got a break from being Keyblade Wielders after all. “It would be perfect if it was raining.”

Just as she said that, the first drops hit the window. Strange. Hadn’t the sun been shining earlier?

Sora chuckled. “Looks like you got your wish.”

“What can I say? I am a shooting star after all.” Or at least, she had arrived on this world in the form of one all those years ago. “So, is there anything you wish to do today?”

“Honestly, just spending the entire day with you is already enough for me,” Sora said. “Although… How about we watch a movie?”

They hadn’t done that in quite some time too. “Sounds good,” she said.

Sora planted a gentle kiss onto her head. “Happy anniversary, Kairi.”

“Happy anniversary, Sora.”

[thelovelyghostwriter]

Sideblog (HxH analyses): @hunterexamcheatsheet​ . If you wish to only follow for general hxh analyses content, please follow the side-blog as this main blog features KuraNeo. ​

My other social media [link] (Instagram, Ko-fi, AO3)

HxH Theory Masterlist Compilation Post

“Is it possible for Kurapika and Neon to be canon in the official hxh universe?” Read this link to find out!

Other tumblr post links to read about KuraNeon theories:

KuraNeon Marriage Theory

York New Times: Kurapika and Neon Exclusive - Read it all here!

包办婚姻：全是生意？

HxH 2004 Databook: Evidence that Kurapika did help the Nostrade family post-York New City arc 

Kurapika’s Rise to Power in the Mafia

Cognitive Dissonance Theory + Mafia Structure

KuraNeon on V-Day and White’s Day Mobage

Tanabata Mobage Cards: KuraNeon and Hisomachi as star-crossed lovers

KuraNeon in Games and Other Media Compilation

KuraNeon Mobage Cards (Public Archive on Google Drive)

Neon Nostrade is Not Dead: Debunking all common theories + Kurapika's dolphin ability

How Kurapika functions under the mafia

Neon Nostrade Character Analysis

Kurapika Character Analysis

Will Kurapika and Neon want to have kids? 

How KuraNeon Baby Would Look Like

KuraNeon Baby Names 

TGG-KuraNeon Parallels

KuraNeon Playlist

KuraNeon Dynamics Chart

Old 2002 KuraNeon Website

KuraNeon Instragram Page [not owned by me] 

KuraNeon ABC Headcanons

Kurapika NSFW ABC Headcanons (with mentions of KuraNeon)

Neon NSFW ABC Headcanons (with mentions of KuraNeon and KuroNeon)

Kuraneon 100 AO3 Works Breakdown 

List of Kuraneon and HxH in general artists

Short KuraNeon comic

Neon Nostrade outfit ideas

See My Mood Boards

Kuraneon Mural

The Four Interpretations of the KuraNeon ship:  

SOkay so there’s A LOT of interpretations of Kurapika/Neon that we shippers have explored. I think I broke it down to a few of such interpretations. 

Here we go: 

1. The Vanilla Interpretation

This is usually the most innocent form of Kurapika/Neon, where Kurapika is very gentle towards her and Neon is friendly towards him. Even if she’s a bit of a brat, Kurapika is patient towards her. 

“She’s a flesh collector” conflict: Low to Non-existent

Enmity: Low to Non-existent

R-ratedness: NIL 

Fanfics that involves “The Vanilla Interpretation”: 

Star-struck by Numbkid

Marriage: Mission Impossible! by Animercom (this is one of the pioneer founding long KuraNeon fics ya’all!)

Mistletoe by Diamondsnsins (Other works by @unuxunu : Secret Admirer , Buenos días, mi querida señorita Neon , Verona , Stalking , A Vampire Story , I belong to you) 

Stepping into the Light by Sunny_Window

After Hours by Cb_w (Not sure if this should be here or #2; @anotherworldash)

2. The Vanilla Interpretation with Hot Chocolate Sauce on Top 

It gets REAL saucy from here onwards so read with caution:

Okay, this is kind of like them liking each other, but you know, with all the sex and lust explored. Kurapika is concerned about her being a flesh collector and he might even be a little annoyed with her, but he still is attracted to her anyway. Neon also adores him. She might even act bratty to him so that he can punish her later on. Calls him “Daddy” whenever possible. 

“She’s a flesh collector” conflict: Medium to Low

Enmity: Low to Non-existent

R-ratedness: Yes or Maybe

Fanfics that involves “The Vanilla but with Hot Chocolate Sauce on Top”: 

Un coleccionista de carne by Amanojaku6

Hot Vacation by Cb_w

Arm x Candy by brocon

No alpha can deny an omega's wish by diamondsnsins

Cocktails and Strange Encounters by Kaatyr

Pulsão de Vida by Myara (see also: Paz , Inconveniente ) [@itsmyara] 

Nurse Neon by diamondsnsins

Neon’s Bday Surprise to Kurapika 

3. “Yearning for the Pleasures of the Flesh of the Flesh Collector” Interpretation

Kurapika dislikes Neon’s attitude and her hobby. He hates the fact that she still has an effect on him. He lowkey is attracted to her, but denies it because of her hobby. He’s always wondering why she’s so emotionally detached. She might also dislike his stern-ness and think that he’s boring and controlling. They can’t resist their desires and eventually falls in love. 

“She’s a flesh collector” conflict: Medium 

Enmity: Low to Medium

R-ratedness: Yes

Fanfics that involves this interpretation: 

Marriage of Convenience by Sweetsysy

Strange Bedfellows by Numbkid 

Better Than Him by Cb_w and Numbkid 

Short Tumblr Brat Taming PWP by Numbkid

4. Pure Hate-Sex Interpretation. Enough said. 

They said “Fuck You” to each other. LITERALLY. 

The most extreme (and hottest) form of Kurapika/Neon Interpretation. It’s when both of them can’t stand each other but they fuck anyway. He objectifies her because he feels that she should be punished for objectifying his clan into mere objects. She lets him touch her because she wants to feel useful and alive again, since everything went wrong for after she lost the Lovely Ghostwriter. She’s obsessed with the way his eyes glow red because she finds them beautiful. He’s angry at her for making him feel desire towards her; she blames him for her father’s newfound favouritism in him. Lots of sinful attraction, possibly narcotics, alcohol and cigarettes in the mix. 

“She’s a flesh collector” conflict: High

Enmity: High

R-ratedness: MEGA YES. 

Fanfics that involve this interpretation: 

The Bodyguard and the Employer by Numbkid

No Salvatore by Cb_w, Numbkid  

This is the most fucked-up KuraNeon fic we’re ever going to make. 

AIGHT. I tried to get every single fics out there. I might miss out some or haven’t checked the content of the others. 

Isn’t this ship amazing?? Fuck yes. It’s so versatile in terms of interpretation. 

And you know what’s the best part? 

They are a thing in the mobile games. 

Also: Kurapika is the head of the Nostrade Family in the current manga arc. What are the chances of him possibly marrying into her family... Hmm...

Other notable links: 

My Favourite Female Characters

Fanfic Writer Q&A

[themelodicenigma]

We really need to spend more time talking about how fandom uses localization as a scapegoat for THEIR problems, and how this even goes beyond localization and even affects, or is done to, the original sources. We need to change the way WE perceive things within fandom culture, as opposed to demanding that all other sources change to our liking. A problematic thing content-wise should be evaluated on that level without being a projection of our own issues and subjective feelings. It should just be, if it is, but often times, it isn’t.

If I’m REALLY looking for the heart of a problem, then we need to address where it really is coming from more than anything else.

I recognized this first in the KH fandom. I didn't turn to the Devs and think they should've considered Soriku vs Sokai fans when having Olette say "What a romantic story" vs "What a wonderful story" after hearing Kairi talk about her journey of finding Sora, in a game where Sora daydreams about Kairi and having a character who never met her says "You're that girl he likes", or when Kairi says "Well, we still like you" vs "Riku is [still] Riku" in 0.2 when talking about how Riku has changed, or when Sora says "I feel strong with you" vs "You are strong" in the Light tunnel in KH3 after the kid JUST talking about how amazing her feats were, and I watch as Soriku fans AND Sokai fans perceive it as a problem of the content, instead of themselves and their fandom petri-dish of how they think of said content. How subjective impressions are pushed as fact and then placed on the writing itself. This goes beyond even proclaimed shippers. It happens everywhere because having an efficient and objective perspective in fandom isn’t something that is pushed within. The Devs shouldn’t have to and reasonably can’t take that into account without it blowing up in their face.

Fang and Vanille is probably THE most pivotal example I can think of when it comes to the devs tailoring something based on them trying to intercept the perception of the audience, but it being a classic thing of them being completely unaware of the extremity of romanticism in the thoughts of shippers and non-shippers in general. You can’t stop people from thinking these things. And how misinformation can spread and tailor their OWN perspectives on viewing material and such, which isn’t inherent to what’s actually written. Or even just people treating their personal feelings as a “fact” that other people, including the creators, should perceive as so. Should these fans become a basis for change in the content itself? Absolutely not. Why?

Because the content ITSELF is completely fine, and if people don’t get it when it’s this way, that IS on them. Compromises should be made from a fan perspective, too, and that comes from actually putting in effort to understand all versions of a product and see both differences AND similarities objectively. To honor those things even if personally you don’t like it for YOUR own reasons, you can still understand it and make informed conclusions about it. To have conversation ABOUT the content, but most people that I’ve seen project issues about localization don’t actually do this—which happens to be the same type of people who will have strikingly bad perspective on the material itself even in its source material.

Is it a problem of the content, or the people perceiving it a certain way?

There might be times it’s both, but I find more often people are just the problem—I think about this for the OG, too. As inefficient as the ENG localization was, acknowledged by both fandom and developers (not even just ENG, but even FR acknowledged their own), I definitely don’t agree that it’s the cause of the LTD. Absolutely not in the truest sense of the heart of the issue from the LTD nonsense over the years and how people have acted from it—there’s no stock in even saying it “started it”. Trying to pin it on the localization is bypassing what should be talked about instead and that’s fandom behavior and perception. It REALLY starts there.

The ENG localization didn’t create the car, even if it provided more fuel for those drooling at the opportunity to use it as such. When we’re talking about LTD, we can’t just talk about the localization—this isn’t like with Digimon all those years ago. The ENG didn’t create the game mechanics of the typical affection points for the Gold Saucer, it didn’t make Tifa’s Highwind scene variable and put into question Cloud’s relationship with Tifa if you favored Aerith through the game, it didn’t create Aerith falling in love with Cloud and seeing her first love through him, it didn’t create Cloud NOT saying his piece on his feelings towards Aerith, it didn’t create Aerith showing up to Cloud after Sephiroth’s defeat and talking about meeting her in the Promised Land, and even beyond the OG, it didn’t choose to NOT have Cloud and Tifa straightforwardly say “we’re in a relationship and love each other”—ALL things that are really the foundation of the main topics of the LTD for 20+ years that people find their own issues with that don’t exist as real issues—people just use localization differences as a tool to siphon their convictions through, which are still sourced at the things previously mentioned, BUT, even if the differences weren’t there, we already KNOW people in fandom will create their own fuel regardless—a “I’ll do it myself” attitude—because they want to drive that car anyway.

And top it off with the fact people do this without knowing ANYTHING about how SE does their localization?

People want to debate and be angry and feel vindicated in their beliefs, you don’t do this for 20+ years if it was sourced by the localization alone, as if it’s MAKING you, and if it’s MAKING you ignore what should/could also be understood from the JPN as well. People in JRPG circles should have seen this countless of times, and this is definitely not limited to that type of content. It’s one of many precedents in fandom—if we so commonly have people acting absolutely horribly to each other in ways that isn’t at all predicated in the source, we know the localization being used as fuel doesn’t matter. Like life, they find a way—THIS is the persistent problem in our fandom culture  and I would rather pay attention to this fact than that of turning away from it for the sake of criticizing the localization, cause what we’re really talking about goes beyond the development team’s actions.

For the content, it’s ultimately inconsequential in itself and makes all this very silly to pin it on the localization when the active parties here doing things for 20+ years is that of the people in fandom, not the devs: and to be clear, this is only for those in fandom who encompass the predictably petty, unreliable, and very personal perspectives and toxic behaviors—they just do what they do despite what a story says or what’s intended. Maybe the majority don’t, which I think is really true, but those who participate in a certain way in fandom circles most certainly do and reading their perspectives is the equivalent of running fingernails on a blackboard.

We are the ones that need to change for the most part.

[amyhayanora]

Sokai Weel 2020 Day5 - Tanabata Looks like this year I can do only sketches, lol. Again, my friend @paintedwithapalette wrote a piece based on this little illustration, check her full work HERE.

______________

They wander the busy festival streets with their fingers laced together under a beautiful starry sky, making sure to check out all the attractions and games at their disposal. As he walks with Kairi with their hands intertwined, being able to hear the soft giggles and witness her kind smile in person, he thinks just how much this feels right. Even the little things she did found a way to make his heart swoon. 

 Meanwhile, Kairi adores the way Sora’s eyes light up whenever something catches his attention. The way he pulls and drags her in every which way looking to find adventure in every corner of the festival. 

 After they both write and hang their wishes on their tanzaku, both having an inkling of what the other wishes for though neither mentions it, Sora leads Kairi to a hill on the outskirts that gives them a view of the whole festival. From here, they can take in the ornate lights hung in droves, the fluctuating colors uniting together in harmony.

 She rests her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes as she feels his warmth pressing against her cheek. Watching her almost angelic face is enough to make Sora’s heart flutter. 

 “This is the way it should be,” Kairi says. “I wish we could just stay like this. Forever.” 

 Forever. 

[maddrmatt]

A Beautiful Future: A Premonition or a Punishment?

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Greetings, readers and fellow SoKai fans!

Time for a certain Princess of Heart to take the spotlight in this story!  

Fair bit of warning though, I sort of used this chapter to showcase a few headcanons and speculations regarding the future of the series.  

Also, there’s a little challenge within this chapter that you can take on if you wish.

Enjoy!

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 3: Writings of a Princess

Land of Departure

Dear Sora,

I know it’s been a while since I last wrote to you.  I haven’t really had anything really important to tell you since I came here.

Now something incredible has just happened and I had to tell you first before anyone else.  But before that, here’s a few updates on what’s been happening on this side of reality.

I’m still training hard.  No offense to Merlin, but I think I’m getting way better with my Keyblade training under Master Aqua than him.

My days here at the Land of Departure are filled with learning various fighting techniques or improving my magic skills.  And to test them, I often spar with Aqua, Terra or Ven.  One day, I might even get a perfect score against one of them in our matches.

All of three of them and Chirithy have been very good to me. They’ve really made me feel like part of their family.

But as great as it’s been with them, they’re no true replacement for everyone back home.  I miss everyone:  Mom, Dad, Selphie, Wakka, Tidus, Riku, and you.  Especially you.

Sorry, Sora.  It’s just so hard every day knowing that you’re trapped in that fictional world.  I really wish I could’ve gone there with Riku to save you.  But after being out of action for a year and the fact that I couldn’t even land a single blow on that memory of Xehanort, I knew it was the better choice to stay behind and train even if I didn’t like it.

I really hope Riku finds you soon.  We’re all so worried about both of you.  Since nobody really knows anything about this Quadratum place, we’ve all thought Riku was a little hasty in just taking off there alone.

We still haven’t heard anything from Mickey yet either. Hopefully, he’ll come back soon from Scala Ad Caelum, and he’ll have found something we can use to help you and Riku.  Until that happens, all the rest of us can do is wait.

Anyway, time to tell you the real reason for this latest letter, Sora. And you are not going to believe what it is.  I can hardly believe it myself.

Last night, I had a dream.  It was actually the first dream I’ve had since I came to the Land of Departure.

Not that I’ve minded not having dreams just in case they ended up being recreations of my worst memories.  I’ve already watched you vanish twice.  I don’t think I could bear to watch it happen again in my dreams.

But the dream I had was nothing like that at all.  It was of a wedding, Sora.  Our wedding.

It was an amazing sight.  It was in this gigantic chapel that looked like it was in Radiant Garden, and it was filled with all your friends from around the worlds.

Many of our fellow Guardians of Light and closest friends made up our wedding party.  It was hardly a surprise to see Selphie as my maid of honor or Riku as your best man.

You looked so handsome in the suit you were wearing.  And judging from the stunned look on your face when you saw me coming down the aisle, I must’ve looked pretty beautiful to you.

It was truly incredible, Sora.  It felt so real and so wonderful.  I wished it never ended.

But, unfortunately, as it is with dreams, we all have to wake up eventually.  And when I did, the happiness I felt ended up giving way to other emotions as I reflected on the dream.

First of all, I felt a little confused.  As good as that dream was, I couldn’t help but wonder why I had it at all.  I mean, wouldn’t you find a little strange to have a dream about a wedding especially since we haven’t even had our first kiss yet?  It’s kind of rushing things a little.  

But don’t get me wrong, Sora.  I know, deep down in my heart, how we truly feel about each other. I wouldn’t have shared that paopu fruit with you otherwise.  And when the time is right for it, the idea of getting married to you is something I will embrace wholeheartedly.

So, I thought more about the dream and believe it or not, I started to think that it was not merely just a dream.  I wonder if what I saw was our future.  It definitely did feel like that since there were so many unfamiliar parts in it.  

For example, I had no idea there was a tradition in Radiant Garden weddings for the bride and groom to crown each other with symbolic flowers.  Then again, I could have known that if the knowledge came from a memory from when I lived there.  Maybe I attended a wedding there when I was young.

But what really stood out to me and made me believe that this could be our future was the many unfamiliar guests.  I knew that because I’ve been studying the details of your last two journeys from Jiminy’s Journal and the Gummi Phone.  And even though the Journal of your first journey was erased (Naminè’s still really sorry about that), I still remember everything about it from being in your heart through it all.

So, I was able to recognize who you had met and who were strangers. They were far too numerous to mention. But here are some examples that really stood out to me.

A tall woman with long black hair wearing a tan colored dress and a beautiful turquoise necklace with a raccoon, a dog and I think I saw a hummingbird flittering around her.

A pair of robots, one yellow and box-shaped, the other white and cylindrical, who were holding hands.

A couple that consisted of a redhaired woman and blonde-haired man who appeared to have some kind of hairless rodent on his shoulder.

A teenage boy and girl along with a younger boy and a company of animals such as a bear with gray fur, a panther, an elephant with a tuft of brown hair and a quartet of vultures.

A large family that appeared to be a mix of humans and skeletons along with a very colorful winged dog and a giant winged cat.

A boy with red hair (whose head looked triangular) along with another boy with green hair and a bunch of other teenagers as well as some kind of strange teal animal that looked like a cross between a duck and a beaver and a man with brown hair, poor posture and wearing a lab coat (who wears that to a wedding?).

A princess dressed in a beautiful green gown accompanied by a prince in a green suit with a blonde woman dressed in pink, a short old woman dressed in white and wearing sunglasses and a snake around her shoulders as well as an alligator who was carrying a trumpet.

A very unusual group consisting of two men and a woman with blue skin and pointy ears along with a dog-sized dragon, a centaur, and a winged lionlike creature with horns and a scorpion’s tail.

A girl with bushy brown hair among what appeared to be a family of giant frogs.

A woman dressed like she was some kind of islander with a burly man with numerous tattoos (I think I saw one of them move) over his body along with a pig and a chicken that didn’t look very smart.

A family who seemed to be some kind of royalty consisting of a princess in a simple green dress with long curly red hair along with three identical boys with the same kind of hair, their big, strong father with a peg leg and their very elegant mother.

A boy and a girl who looked like they were twin siblings who were accompanied by a pair of old men who looked like twins as well.

A redhaired boy in the company of a group of what looked like various human-sized bugs.

There were so many more, but I think I’ll stop here.  With the large number of guests at this wedding, I could go on listing them for a long time.  But it does seem there’s a lot more friends for you in the future.

Unfortunately, while I was mulling over the dream further, a horrible thought came to me.  I started to wonder if the dream, as beautiful as it was, wasn’t meant to bring me happiness at all because it was actually showing the future that we could have had but now would never have.  And the true reason of it was to punish me for my failures in the fight against Xehanort.

I know you wouldn’t like to hear this, Sora.  But there are still days where I can’t help but feel responsible for your disappearance and think that if I had made some different choices, you’d still be here.

I know it was my choice to fight alongside you because I wanted to keep you safe the same way you’ve always done for me.  But looking back, I now see it was foolish to assume that my training alongside Axel would turn me into a Keyblade wielder on yours or Riku’s level. And it was probably an even worse idea for a wielder with very little actual battle experience to go from basic training to a high stakes battle with nothing in between.

We may have been desperate to stop Xehanort before he went after the New Seven Hearts especially since he had already assembled all his darknesses. But we probably could’ve and should’ve explored some other options instead of going to fight the Organization right away after you woke Ven.

Since Ienzo told us that they had a replica body ready before we even left for the Keyblade Graveyard, we could’ve gotten Roxas or maybe even Xion out of your heart before the fight.  In Axel’s words, they were the old hands when it came to Keyblades.

We also could have made a bigger effort to find and save Terra first even if our chances were pretty low.  That would not only have gotten us a more experienced wielder, but it would’ve also lowered Xehanort’s ranks by one.

Maybe if we had done things that way, we would’ve had more experienced Keyblade wielders to fill out the Seven Guardians of Light.  And even if it would be disappointing to be put in the reserves, it would’ve been worth it if it led to you being safe.

So, those are the reasons I believed that dream was a punishment. But you’ll be glad to know, Sora, that I only entertained those beliefs briefly.

After thinking it over some more, I decided that it didn’t matter what that dream’s purpose was.  Comfort or punishment, I’m going to actually use it to serve my own purposes instead.

I’m going to let it remind me of what my ultimate goal is and drive me to be the best Keyblade wielder I can be.  One that’s going to make the forces of darkness think twice before causing trouble and one that you and Riku will be proud to have fighting alongside you.  And hopefully, that will lead us to a future like the one in the dream or at least one that’s pretty close.

In fact, after seeing that dream, I think I may end up actually proposing a couple of ideas to Aqua and Master Yen Sid.  I’ve been thinking about them a lot and maybe now is the time to try to put them into action.

Since I need to get some real battle experience to become a stronger Keyblade wielder, I’d like to go on a journey throughout the worlds to gain some. Hopefully, Aqua will think it’s a good idea.  And even though there’s been little sign of the Heartless and Nobodies since Xehanort’s defeat, there is one thing I really wish to do.

I’d like to try to find and identify the remaining three of the New Seven Hearts.  After all, who’d better to find them than someone who’s part of the same group?  And if we knew who they were and what their home worlds were, we’d be in a better position to protect them if someone tried what Maleficent and Xehanort did.

Who knows?  Maybe all those unfamiliar faces at the wedding were not only friends you’ll make on future adventures, but ones I’ll make on my own adventures.  Maybe even the remaining New Seven Hearts were among them.

I also have an idea that may be able to help in the quest to bring you home. If Fairy Godmother could bring me back to the Final World, I could talk to that girl from Quadratum again.  She may not be able to remember certain things. But she might be able to tell us something about that world that could help.  

Naminè might even be able to help with this plan.  Even if you only met that girl briefly, that may be enough for her to be considered connected to you and therefore, Naminè’s memory powers can work on her.

Hopefully, the Masters will think that these are good plans.  I really want to do any part I can to not only help bring you and Riku home, but also to protect the worlds as both a Keyblade wielder and a Princess of Heart.  After all, with you two gone, someone’s got to pick up the slack.

Well, I think that’s enough for now.  It’s nearly time for breakfast and then it’s training until lunch.  But before I go, there’s just one final thing I’d like to say.

Whether that beautiful dream shows a wonderful future that is meant to be or not, it doesn’t matter.  Because the only kind of future I’ll ever wish for is one in which we’re safe, we’re happy, and we’re together.  That’s all I really need.

See you soon,

Kairi

________________________________________________________________

Much later, the training hall in the Land of Departure was filled with the sounds of clashing Keyblades and various shouts of magical invocation.  While those sounds were nothing uncommon in that location, there was an unusual intensity that day.

As Aqua, Ven and Chirithy watched, a heated sparring match was taking place between Kairi and Terra.  But much to their surprise, the more experienced Keyblade wielder was actually struggling as the young rookie was keeping him mostly on the defensive.

“Wow!  Kairi’s on fire today!” exclaimed Ven.

“She is, indeed,” concurred Chirithy.

“Well, she has improved a lot in her skills since she came here.  But you two are right.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this driven before,” said Aqua.

“You’ve got that right, Aqua.  If she lands one more hit on Terra, this’ll be the first time she’s won by a perfect score,” said Ven.

As the match went on, Terra blocked blow after blow from Kairi.  Then, strangely, she ceased her attack.

Terra saw his opportunity and charged toward her with a downward slash. The Princess dodged to the right narrowly avoiding the hit.

“Light!” she cried out as she fired a small but powerful Light spell at Terra’s side.  He grunted as the magic struck him and knocked him off his feet.

“Point to Kairi,” declared Aqua.

“That’s three to nothing!  Kairi wins!” exclaimed Ven as Chirithy clapped its paws together.

“Well done, Kairi,” said Aqua.

“Thank you, Master Aqua,” Kairi said as she walked over to Terra and helped him up.  

After exchanging bows with each other, the Princess of Heart said, “I hope that didn’t hurt you too badly, Terra.”

Terra chuckled.  “Not at all.  It helps that you’ve learned how to restrain your magic during training.  But I’ve got to say, Kairi that I am impressed. That’s the first time since you’ve come here that I’ve been unable to land a single hit on you.”

“You’ve certainly come a long way, Kairi.  Today, you showed some truly exceptional skill and strength.  You should be very proud of yourself,” said Aqua as she, Ven and Chirithy approached.

“Well, I’ve had a good teacher and some great sparring partners.  But I think it really helped that when I woke up today, I just felt a little extra drive,” said Kairi.

“Yes.  We noticed,” said Aqua.

“Why is that exactly?” asked Chirithy.

A certain smile came to Kairi’s face which caused her four friends to exchange knowing looks.  They had spent plenty of time with her by now to know what exactly brought out that special smile of hers: thoughts of a certain someone close to her heart.

“I had the most amazing dream.”

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Notes from the Mad Doctor:

I thought the best way for Kairi’s spotlight chapter would be to do in the style of one of her letters to Sora.  I’ve used it before as readers of my big fic Kairi’s Epic Journey would know.

So, in case it wasn’t obvious, the challenge I mentioned at the start is that list of unknown guests.  It was quite a challenge to write all those characters by description alone.  I hope you all will take a shot at identifying them. Some are pretty obvious, but some may be a little more difficult.

I hope I did a good job in trying not to make this chapter’s narrative too similar to the previous chapters.  I actually tried having Kairi leap to the punishment notion before the premonition notion.  But unfortunately, the flow didn’t work right.

Fortunately, the views on the punishment notion are a little different. Sora has absolutely no regrets for what he did and believes that he’s being unfairly punished for breaking rules he had no idea existed.  Kairi, however, believes her punishment is deserved since she blames herself for what happened to Sora.  Fortunately, both are able to use that dream to keep on fighting.

I hope you all aren’t put off that this is more like a series of one-shots centered around a certain plot device (the wedding dream) instead of a congruent storyline.  That was what this project ended up being.

I give my thanks to whoever reads this chapter.

I also give my special thanks to @fandomchanger, @flynn-science​, and @ladylucky​ for their likes on the previous chapters as well as @sokaiweek, @phoenix-downer, and @the-secret-place​ for reblogging the previous chapter.

Comments, likes and reblogs are much appreciated!  Stay tuned for what comes next because it’s going to be a real feel-good chapter!

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Onto the next chapter!

[cgmayra]

Sokai Prompt, My brain is enamored by the idea of Kairi housing Sora’s heart, and he can just ‘fade’ into their reality to help her. Gosh, my mind never stops..!

They’re living rent free in my head, man.

Prompt:

It was strange, you know?

These dreams I’ve been having… it’s like… two worlds… blend and mend into one seamless… long lasting world.

But… is this reality even real? Or… not?

“Every time?” Riku asked, sitting beside me on the street as Yozora had asked us to stay hidden, but that was kinda hard when our clothes made us stand out the most…

“Yeah… at first, I thought it odd, but…” Thinking about it too long made my head hurt…

I gripped my head and kicked my legs out, “Ah! This is so frustrating! Do you think I’m somehow connected to Kairi too?”

I had just finished telling him about these dreams where I’m looking through Kairi’s eyes, and sometimes… when she goes to sleep, I can see her talking to me from within the horizontal, stained glass window of her heart.

I remember her words well too… the first time I was there, and every night since, the script doesn’t seem to change much… but I can tell it’s hard on Kairi.

Within the dream, Kairi is always speaking to me, and though I can see her and she can see me, I can’t talk at all.

It’s kinda tormenting, seeing her struggling but trying to keep her spirits high and not being able to comfort her that I’m alright and safe, and that Riku made it here too!

“I know that I’m not ready to face the other side of this reality… the fictional side… but I’ll get there, Sora. I won’t fail!” Kairi had her hand bundled against her chest, nodding with a strong determined look in her eyes… but I’d see how much she’d work at her training with Aqua, how hard it really had been compared to Merlin’s and Master Yesid’s quick lessons. Kairi was highly talented, and I didn’t have anyone in the beginning! She’s progressing so much faster than I ever did!

Riku said the same thing too, that if it is Kairi, she shouldn’t push herself so hard. It took us a long time to get even remotely close to where we are, and I had to regain some of my strength! I told him I couldn’t tell her that, and for some reason, I can’t speak back to her at all.

“Do you know if it’s even possible that this might just be you worrying about her?” Riku adjusted how he was sitting, taking his arms that were just resting on his knees up behind his head… wait, was he mimicking me? “I mean, it’s normal, I guess.”

“Normal?” I tilted my head, confused. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re about at that age… dreaming of someone you care about isn’t all that strange anymore.” I about lost it.

“Riku! T-that’s not-! That’s not what I meant at all!” I went to contend it but saw him crook a humorous smile, as though he really was just joking around with me. “Ah, you…!” He grappled my head and it was like old times, rough-housing until we saw someone paying attention to us.

“Let’s go.” Riku turned serious again, letting me go and getting up.

“Y-yeah.” I rushed after him, following behind. Looking over my shoulder, I could see these ‘business’ like guys in suits trying to follow… guess our talk about dreams will have to wait-

“Kairi’s strong, Sora. You need to trust her.” Riku jumped over a trashcan, which I jumped and summoned my keyblade to knock over, turning around.

“Fire!” I cried out, gripping it with two hands as the ball of blazing light clashed into the paper in the trashcan, creating some smoke but blocking the pursuers from keeping track of us.

We darted into the woods, panting as I gripped my knees to stay upright and Riku leaned against a tree.

“Man… what do you think they want with us, Riku?” I looked back, glad we weren’t able to be followed.

“Don’t know, but I think that’s why Yozora wanted us away from the streets… we’re far enough now to be out in the open, but this world has a collective eye that doesn’t like us around… it seems.” Riku summoned his own keyblade, looking it over, “Looks like us being keyblade wielders is more noticeable than I thought.”

We were trying to keep a low profile and not reveal our keyblades, but looks like Riku was right, even without them--people still somehow could tell we were from another world…

Though, I think our clothes wouldn’t set that many alarms off in people’s heads… right?

“Besides…” Riku raised his head, looking off in the distance, “...The only way I could find you was… through a dream too.”

“H-huh?” This was the first time I had heard about that. I sat down and spread my legs out, getting ready to hear his story, and placed my hands down in the middle while unsummoning my own keyblade. “You mean… you had a dream… about me?”

“Don’t get too flattered.” Riku grinned over his shoulder and I flashed him a signature goofy grin of my own, closing my eyes to emphasize I wasn’t gonna make that joke… at least aloud, I didn’t seem to need too.

“Yeah, well… It seems your connection to Kairi is somehow different and… maybe stronger.” He nodded his head towards the distance again. “Think you can try again? This time, maybe speak back to her? Tell her where we are?” he looked sincerely back to me, but I shook my head.

“I’ve tried, she can’t hear a sound.” I admitted, “I just remember… she was in danger and I…” I looked at my hand…

“You… what?” Riku asked, trying to follow up.

“...Nevermind.” I let it go, I couldn’t tell him how odd that felt. One moment, I was sleeping, seeing Kairi in The Final World and fighting a piece of her heart that looked just like Xehanort. “Maybe you’re right… I just see her being so strong for my sake… I’ve never realized… how much she tries for me too.”

“Too?” Riku folded his arms after gesturing away his keyblade, mocking me again. He loomed over me a bit and teased with another joking smile, “You should know,... Sora… more than anyone… just how much she works for us all.”

I couldn’t argue with that, I had been saved by Kairi too, I knew that much.

I just always thought I wasn’t enough for everyone without my friends… but Kairi… was always enough. At least, that’s what I had once thought.

Now I realized that I had been a strength for Kairi all along, and that she also struggled with becoming strong enough too. I just wish I could tell her what I’ve learned and the things I’ve gained from being together and apart. But…

I picked up a rock and threw it, “I just wish I could tell her that! Tell her that… I can see her… I can see now... I-...” I covered a part of my face with my hand, feeling a bit hopeless.

Riku must have seen that and bent down, putting a hand to my shoulder, “It’ll be okay, Sora. I found you, we found you. We’ll get you back to Destiny Island and this time, we’ll all celebrate together… alright?”

He beamed, “Yeah! You got it.”

“Tonight, if you do have that dream, try and see if you can change it somehow.” He instructed, which made me wonder--change it?

“How do I reach out to her?” I gestured my hand out, showing I was in a bit of a pickle here. “The dreams are pretty random. I see her training when she’s awake, or getting upset with herself not progressing soon or fast enough for her. I can see her… let’s see… writing letters?” I gripped my chin and thought about it as Riku got up and moved a little away, thinking as well.

“Strange… I saw the buildings, and you walking around… I never saw through your eyes though.” Riku comments made me think maybe it was the real Kairi, and maybe she was having some pretty bad insecurities, but smiling and making promises to me in her-

“That’s it!” I scrambled on the ground to try and hurriedly get up, growing excited. “Riku! It’s when she’s sleeping! That’s when I can connect to her! When we’re both not awake!” I stumbled a bit on making my way over to him, “All I have to do is take a power nap and hope she’s sleeping too! Then I can try and grab her attention somehow and-” I grew very animated in my planning, but Riku just cocked his head, replying sharply.

“And play charades?”

I slowly felt my energy dissipate by his words, flopping my arms down, “Y-...Yeaaahhh…” I kicked the ground, letting my body wobble and sway slightly in my disappointment. “What would you do? Write on her heart?”

“That might not be best.” Riku shook his head with a smile, “But… If you really can’t communicate, then I guess all you have is... you.”

I nodded my head, though it may be difficult, I’d have to communicate with my body instead of my words.

“Guess I should train for tonight!” I twisted my torso and stretched out my arm socket, rotating it around and doing some exercises in place. “Think you can interpret me alright if I train hard for it? Then I can match how hard Kairi’s working too!” I stopped to grip my two arms into fists and hold them up, showing I would do anything to give her some peace of mind.

Riku laughed lightly and agreed, “Alright, we don’t have much to do until Yozora tells us what’s going on with his friends and if we’re safe to find a way out of here yet or not.”

“Isn’t your heart the key to returning home?” I pointed to him and he sighed.

“Should be that simple… but the heart I used to connect to this world is bound to the ‘inbetween’. Since I don’t have her heart here at present, it means we have to somehow bring her heart back… which could be disastrous if someone else takes it during our attempt to retrieve her.” Riku explained.

“Oh, right. The Star.” I remembered, I still had something to tell him. “You mentioned her… before.” I nodded, showing my understanding. “Her body needs to be rescued, yeah? Then what are we all waiting for?”

“Well, first, we need more intel. Yozora, for some reason, is being pretty tight-lipped about it.” Riku and I both mimicked the other’s actions and folded our arms, ‘hmm’ing as we studied the ground and thought.

“... Oh, well. Can’t sit around doing nothing, if Yozora wants to get things settled his way before involving us in it, then… I say… that’s up to him, right?” I wanted to be sensitive, it seemed the Star and him had a deep connection that was being jeopardised by these ‘business suit’ people. Whatever they wanted, they got it, at the expense of their bond.

“Right.” Riku looked disturbed, maybe feeling bad for the Star, so I gave him my best smile and patted his shoulder, gripping it for good measure. ‘Cheer up, Riku. I’m not just trying to get you to help me, I just can’t stand still for very long. It’s really not your fault.’ I didn’t want to say that to him at the moment though. Riku had so much to worry about from back home, to me, to now thanking the Star that risked a lot to get him here.

When he showed up, I guess the suit guys got wind that the only possible way he could travel to their world was through her. A shame it had to be like that, but now they were doing everything to double-up on their protection and securement of the Star’s body.

“Who is she? Do you know?” Riku asked and I shrugged, letting his shoulder go.

“Yozora’s dear friend… but besides that, it beats me.” I wanted to respect somewhat of their privacy…

“...Does it, though?” Riku looked away, apparently putting two and two together.

I just grinned with a faint blush of embarrassment, scratching behind my head. “They do seem fond of each other…”

“...Enough to dream about one another?” he looked up into the sky and I knew he was teasing me again, but in a more contemplative way this time.

I immediately jumped on my feet and was ready to brawl, “Why, you-! Quit teasing me on that! Every jab is like a blow to my pride!” I gestured vigorously out with my hand so he’d see this meant a lot to me, and if Yozora was the same… “I respect him for him!”

“Heh, you two show things differently… but I think I can see the same feelings and emotions towards it. Well, I won’t pry, but I think our only hope of getting out of here and back to our world is finding a heart connected to ours.”

“Our hearts?” I inquired further for clarity sake.

“Our world.” Riku emphasised, “Which means, even with her back in her heart and body joined back together again… There’s no telling if she’d be able to get us back. Her heart got me here… but…”

“And my heart’s missing… too.” I touched the empty space where a heartbeat should be… and knew that Kairi was keeping it safe. 

“Wait…”

I rose up my head.

“Kairi..? Is Kairi my key back home!?” I stomped my foot down to lean into Riku’s vision line again, since he kept looking away to think to talk.

“Kairi..? If it were that simple, you could just use my heart, right?” He flipped his hand out to dismiss it, but I shook my head.

“You can’t go home with your own heart leading the way, right? Not without jeopardising it. You said that because you used the Power of Waking on the Star’s heart, that you were thrown into a similar position as me, right? That means… we need both a heart from our world that we can connect too… but someone to open the gate for us. You could be the gate, since you didn’t lose as much as me, and Kairi could be my path to getting us home.” My reasoning stood to be tested, but you know what? I think it makes sense!

“That’s pretty far-balling it, Sora.” Riku stated, not too sure about it. His eyebrows creased together into a furrowed brow and I knew he’d need more convincing. “If what you say is true… then we use my heart as a type of channel to yours, then have someone unlock your heart from Kairi’s, and basically ride the channel back to our world.”

“We’re all connected, it could work.” I was excited, but deeply concerned I would make him worry again.

I wanted to give him some hope… anyway.

After a minute that seemed like forever to me, Riku finally conceded. “We’ll keep it in mind.” which was enough to satisfy me! I put my hands behind my head and lifted a foot back behind my other, just glad we were on the same page.

“So… Tonight…” Riku addressed the other matter that broke me from my relaxed positioned and made me nervous again. “What exactly do you want to convey to her? That we’re alright, and that she shouldn’t stress out so much about not being on the same level as us yet?” He took one of his arms that were folded and swayed it about, as though we were kids and I hadn’t thought this through yet.

Well… he was right, if that’s really what he was assuming.

“I… uh… well…” I pivoted a bit from him, pushing my pointer fingers together in a bit of shyness. “Maybe…” I wanted to say a lot more then that… but I wasn’t gonna admit that to Riku! He’d tease me for… well, for forever!

“I see.” He dropped his hands and seemed to chuckle to himself, and I decided he already knew what I meant and just dropped it too.

“It was hard enough to try and think of putting it into words… but now…” I lowered my head, “Riku… what if I’m not enough to help her?”

He shook his head, “What are you talking about? Don’t be silly, whatever you try and convey, I’m sure it will brighten Kairi’s spirits.” He walked ahead of me, “Everyone’s worried about you… not just Kairi. So, whatever you say, should be something she can relate back to others, yeah?” He was right, I should tell her about this other world too, but it’s hard to put anything simple into a step-by-step gesturing game.

“What if… she thinks I’m just a dream too?”

“Then convince her you’re not, show her the truth of it.” Riku wasn’t really helping… but I appreciated that he was believing me now.

“Easier said then… charaded!” I tried to mime myself swimming, then swinging, then playing ‘peek-a-boo’ and he sighed and realized I wasn’t very coherent in anything.

“Alright, let’s take it from the top.”

We only had a few minutes to really rehearse and concrete anything that showed ‘clarity’ of what I was trying to say when the suits found us. That was a whole ride, we battled and got finally got somewhere when Yozora--accompanied by his friends--finally met us up at last and we were able to get a lot done and figured out that day.

That night, I was exhausted, and I practically forgot about seeing Kairi and what I was gonna try and convey.

When I went to rest for the night under a huge tree with a big enough space under it’s truck for us to rest in, I looked over and saw Yozora looking up at the stars in the night sky…

‘I understand, buddy.’ I thought to myself, empathizing, and remembered Kairi.

“Ah! Riku…” I looked over to him and saw his back facing me, he was already getting ready to lay down and threw up a thumbs up for me, apparently having thought of it before I did.

I smiled, looking down at my grass bed, “Okay… here goes.” I got comfortable and tried to sleep… reaching out to her… ‘Kairi… This time… I won’t just silently listen… I want to say something back, and I hope you’ll understand me this time.’

When I opened my eyes, I was already standing up and upon Kairi’s heart, looking at the design and smiling at the familiar feeling of knowing this was her.

I looked up into the darkness above me and closed my eyes, until a flash of light triggered and I saw window planes of memories flying around me.

I walked around, realizing Kairi must not be asleep yet.

‘Okay, I’ll wait.’ I nodded, and summoned my keyblade. ‘Let’s see what she’s up to.’ I pointed it out, watched the tip of it begin to glow with bright, radiant light and slowly rose it to the top of the blackness.

It shot out and then fell like a beam over me, opening some path to me from her heart into her mind and eyes.

When I opened my eyes, Kairi was panting and running, Aqua using all her might to lunge and attack her.

‘Still training? It’s so late.’ I felt her heart racing and gripped my own chest, ‘Kairi…’

She turned around and perfectly blocked the attack, ‘Yes! You’ve got it!’ she had improved so much since last time! It was awesome! I gripped my hands into fists and held them up, getting pumped during her training before I saw her stance weaken and heard her grunt under Aqua’s high-stakes pressure training. ‘Oh no…’ I looked down at my foot and slid it into position, having her own foot fade like a ghostly after-image over mine. ‘Kairi… like… this-!’ I twisted my foot to scoot hers into the right direction.

Immediately, Kairi pivoted her foot and regained her balance, letting her force push through without fault.

‘YEAHHH!!!’ I jumped up and cheered as I floated in the space where I was seeing her fight. ‘Way to go, Kairi!’

Aqua pulled back, looking a little surprised by her sudden strength, and then smiled. “Looks like you’re learning quicker than I can teach. Tell me, when did you figure out your footing was misplaced?”

“I… I just felt someone guiding me… as if…” She got back up and placed her hand on her heart, but before she could say my name, she started to collapse.

‘Ah!’ I wanted to grab her but I couldn’t, and in her after-image of falling, I saw Aqua quickly hold her up.

“I thought I requested a good night’s sleep the other night. What’s keep you resisting my instructions?” Aqua lightly scolded, tilting her head as though understanding Kairi’s commitment, but trying to show her that it was unfruitful for her training purposes.

“I wanted to… re-run a few combos… ugh…” She gripped her head.

“Have you eaten?” Aqua asked.

‘She better have!’ I felt my whole being wanting to just skyrocket through her eyes and be there with her… taking her into my hands and not someone else’s… More than anything, I wanted to be there for Kairi… help teach her and train her too, maybe train together with her! I know I’ve forgotten a lot of things, and mostly learned what I could from actual experience… ‘Kairi… Kairi… please, just rest so I can connect with you!’

“I’m fine.” Kairi smiled weakly, but sheepishly got up and began to bow to Aqua, “Master, I’m sorry for not resting enough as you’ve told me to.”

“It’s alright, but let’s meet somewhere in the middle.” Aqua’s tenderness made me glad that Kairi was in good hands… even if I couldn’t be there for her now… “I still require some toughness from you… but please, take care of yourself. Your keyblade is only an extension of your power, you are the true key.” she gestured to Kairi then her own keyblade, before finally nodding and placing a hand delicately to her heart. “Power and strength… are nothing without the will that controls them. If your body is exhausted, then it can’t do as the will commands, and you’ll never be able to progress beyond this point.”

I felt Kairi’s breath get taken and felt so sorry that she was misunderstanding. Aqua wasn’t saying she couldn’t ever get stronger, only that if she didn’t find the right balance, she’d only weaken herself and slow her training down further.

‘Kairi… be brave, don’t falter now.’ I urged, but as I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

‘Please… hear me, Kairi!’

Kairi lowered her head and I looked down at my fist, seeing her ghostly after-image over my own… her fist was tightened and shaking in her frustrations…

I felt my face bend in anguish, opening my hand and holding her own shaking one… even though I knew it was just my spirit and hers… I hoped she could somehow feel the comforting touch.

I had hoped that’s how she would see it, but as she flinched and looked at her hand, I seemed to have only scared her.

I pulled it away and looked away… it was hard to see this. See how much she really was trying to be strong enough to save me with Riku too…

‘Kairi…’ I just squinted my eyes closed, what was this feeling? Of wanting so desperately to be by her side and…

“Kairi?” Aqua tilted her head.

“R-right. Sorry, I understand now. I’ll… go straight to bed, Master Aqua.” She nodded to her, remaining humble, and gave her a formal bow of her head with her keyblade pointed down and held with both hands, a sign of respect. “Excuse me, and thank you for the training.”

Aqua nodded, but seemed concerned as Kairi retreated.

‘Aqua… you’re doing fine.’ I wanted to reach her heart too, but as Kairi pulled away, so did I. I held out a hand to her, though, ‘Let me try and be there for Kairi too… We’ll help her… together.” I nodded my resolve and waited for Kairi to actually get settled.

Giving her some space and privacy, I floated back down in the pillar of light to her heart, resting and trying to review the things Riku and I discussed.

‘Okay, simple words and think of imagery strong correlations… Ah, what were those again?’ I gripped my head, ‘Man, all I can think of is-!’

“Sora..?”

The voice was so gentle, it resonated in me…

I tried to relax as I took a deep breath, and turned around to face her.

‘Kairi…’ I tried to mouth her name, but it seems she couldn’t perceive that either.

She smiled to me kindly, but I could see her face shift to insecurity as her eyes began to show her true sorrow.

“I tried hard today… and I’ll try harder tomorrow. You… and Master Aqua needn’t worry about me.” She shook her head, then looked squarely in front of her where I was, not willing to show me any loss of will. “Today, I learned that my will isn’t strong enough either. I need to re-dedicate myself. I thought my promise to protecting you and bringing you and Riku back home safely was enough… but if my body can’t keep up, then it means I have to train both my will and being at the same time. If they’re strengthened together, then I can keep pursuing my promise to you, without any limitations.”

She was so strong… her eyes were filling up with glossy tears and she wouldn’t let a single drop be shown to me…

‘Kairi…’ I walked towards her.

She lowered her head and continued to bundle her hands into fists, shaking them to the side of her. “I felt you… today, I felt you correct me. I was happy to feel you again… but… scared to rely on you too much. But then… Master Aqua got me thinking… what if… What if you’ve been my strength this whole time, Sora? What if… I need to rely on my own strength? But saying goodbye to you twice is too much!” She gripped her head, and I moved quickly in response, gasping inaudible as I raced to meet her. “What if… I’d rather be strong with you… even if that means I’m not strong on my own?!”

I knew how that felt.

‘Kairi… Kairi, I’m here! You’ve always been there for me, too! Remember? Even if we’re apart, we’re-!’

I embraced her.

She froze a second, probably because neither of us knew we could actually do that in this state.

But we were two hearts now… as long as her heart was here with mine, we could do anything.

I just held her so close, as I felt her arms feeling my own, as though still in disbelief that she could.

“Sora… Sora, are you alright? Did I scare you? I didn’t realize… I didn’t realize your heart could understand everything I was saying… I thought… it was kinda like a comatose state. I thought… if I just wrote and spoke to you in my letters and dreams.., it would help me stay on course.” I felt her wrap her arms around me and we held on tightly.

I didn’t care about telling her or performing my ridiculous dance of charades anymore. There was one thing I could convey, and this embrace was riding on everything for her to understand how I was feeling too.

She moved slightly and I reluctantly stepped back, giving her a gap between us as she reached to grab my hand, holding it like we had before I… disappeared.

She placed her own over mine, “You’re safe?”

I nodded, with my own eyes growing hazy in how torn I was leave her… but I was waking up.

I felt my body disappearing again…

‘No… just a little longer… let the twilight last-! Just a couple minutes longer..!’

“Good.” She lightly giggled through her obvious heartache. If she could only feel my own…

“And Riku and you are together?”

I nodded again, hurriedly, feeling the fading as her hand dropped to show my own had already disappeared.

I saw her whole being lowering as though about to collapse again, then her mouth turn into a sharp frown before her face scrunched together and her strength was gone, jumping into my arms.

“Then I can do it! I’ll work with my heart over both my body and my mind! I won’t fail you, Sora, or Riku, or King Mickey! Master Yensid… Master Aqua… I won’t let anyone down!”

So much of the world she seemed to be placing on her shoulders… and for the first time, I couldn’t lift it off of her.

It was too much for her, though, I wish she’d see that and take her time on her training, but I could tell we now had plenty of motive to sleep at good times and not push ourselves too terribly hard.

Besides… I could hold her and be with her every night… and that was enough for me.

When I woke up, Riku and Yozora seemed to be in deep conversation with one another, “So… this Kairi… could be a way to save both you, Sora, and-” Before Yozora could continue, I groaned and gripped my head, the leafs under me crinkling and scratching against each other, causing a racket.

Riku and Yozora turned around from the entrance of the tree’s open mouth, and seemed ready to hear what I had to say.

“Does she know?” Riku asked.

I just opened one eye and nodded… then a huge smile scraped across my face.

Riku pulled back a second, not sure what to take of my hinted meaning.

“Did you… Did you do as we had planned?”

“N-not… exactly…” I looked away, and Yozora looked confused as he leaned forward.

“Are you… Blushing?”

I covered my face and fell back into my leaf bed, “D-Don’t look!”

Riku finally backed off my back about it, but he often poked my cheek to remind me how ‘adorable’ I looked after I woke up… ‘I thought he said he wouldn’t make fun of me anymore!’ I thought with a red face.

[thedeliverygod]

surprise~ I wrote sokai. actually not a surprise I mentioned writing it after I beat melody of memory, I’ve just been working on it forever since my writing process has been a STRUGGLE lately. my AO3 and fanfiction accounts are linked on my profile if you’d prefer to read there [or just look up thedeliverygod]

Always

Sora blinked his eyes open to see his bedroom, a bright ray of sunlight running through the middle of the floor from where the curtains met. Grunting, he turned over and closed his eyes as he sunk his head down into the pillow again to go back to sleep.

‘Wait… my room?’

The realization clicked and his eyes shot open. As he gazed upon the ship hanging from the ceiling and other odds and ends collected around the room, he knew it had to be his.

“When did I get home?” He sat up and held his head, trying to remember what had happened last.

He had been in Quadratum for some time, but he had eventually met up with Riku and later the rest of their friends. Sora wasn’t used to being the one who had to be saved, but it took everyone’s strength and willpower to bring him back to their reality and the realm of light.

Kairi.

He remembered Kairi comforting him, talking to him softly but he couldn’t remember what she said.

He also remembered being at Yen Sid’s tower and something being mentioned about him needing rest. After that, nothing. Except for waking up here.

He shot upward and immediately felt the muscle aches all over his body as well as a multitude of bruises forming under his skin. Curative spells were amazing, but there was only so much they could do. He sucked in a breath before putting his feet to the floor and forcing himself to stand up despite the pain.

He clung to the banister of the stairs as he made his way down the stairs, but he wasn’t even halfway down before his mom appeared at the foot of them.

“Sora! I’m really glad you’re awake, but do you really think you should be out of bed?” She reached out a hand and took a few steps upward.

“I’m just a little sore, it’s fine.” He waved her off before giving a wide grin, “It’s good to see you, Mom.”

She shook her head but just stared at him with watering eyes as he continued to make his way down the stairs. Once he had reached her, she enveloped him in a tight hug, “I can’t believe how grown up you are.”

“Yeah, me neither.” He answered in a laugh.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

He hugged her tighter, “Me too.”

Hesitantly letting him go, she waved towards the living room, “Let’s go sit down.”

Sora nodded and followed after her, “Okay.” While she took the couch, he took the worn-out arm chair as he always had.

“Kairi filled me on somewhat of all you’ve been through over the past few years. I can’t even begin to imagine…”

“Speaking of Kairi, is she still here?” He asked automatically. After a beat and his cheeks starting to warm, he added, “Or Riku, or anyone else?”

Giving a confused look to his question at first, she realized what he meant and answered, “Oh, you mean on the islands. Yes, Kairi is still here. I believe Riku is still with the others that Kairi mentioned, though I’m not sure where they are.”

He let out a breath and nodded, “Ah, okay.”

His mom looked at him knowingly and smirked, commenting, “Still got it bad for Kairi after all these years, huh?”

Though he made a yelping noise in response to her blunt questioning, he looked away and answered, “Is that surprising?”

“Not at all. And the way she talked about you seemed to be quite different too, so I figured something must have happened. Are you finally dating?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Well, no, not really…” He answered honestly, “It’s hard to really ‘date’ with the life we’ve had.”

“Oh,” She parted her lips and let out a disappointed sigh, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“But,” He started again and she looked back up, intrigued, “Do you remember when we came back to the islands before a big fight before?”

She nodded, “Of course. I was so happy to see you then, too.”

“Well, we shared a paopu fruit when we went out to the play island to watch the sunset like we did as kids. Kairi’s idea, of course.” He flushed again, quickly adding, “N-not that I didn’t want to!”

His mom laughed loudly, “Of course.”

“But it was perfect. I think the paopu helped bring us together again despite the almost impossible odds, just like the legend says.” He gave another soft grin.

“Maybe it did help, but I think a lot of it was just… you two just being who you are, you know?” She gave her own smile in return. Sora didn’t really have the chance to respond before she changed the subject, “So, I suppose you asked about Kairi because you want to go see her, right?”

His face quickly reddening again, he admitted, “Well, yeah. But—”

“You can go.” His mom waved towards the front door, “Just be back before dinner.”

He stared breathlessly for a moment before smiling, “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” She answered as he got up from the chair and slowly made his way to the door.

Once he was outside and off the porch steps, he reached into his pocket for his gummi phone. Unsurprisingly, he had several messages from various people asking for him to call once he had woken up and was feeling better. ‘Well, I still kinda feel awful, honestly.’ He thought to himself, both as a truth and as an excuse to wait to call them later.

He moved to Kairi’s name and hit dial. After a few chirps, he heard her voice ring out through the speaker, “Sora?”

“Kairi!” He answered, grinning widely.

She gave a small laugh, “So you’re finally awake, lazy bum.”

“Yeah. Can’t say the same about my arms and legs, though. They kinda feel like jelly.” He tried to stretch his free arm again and found much of the same feeling as he had when he woken up earlier.

“I’m not surprised, I’m pretty sore too.”

“So… where are you? You’re still on the islands, right?” He bit his lip, hoping he hadn’t missed her.

“Of course. Riku wanted to stay too, but I guess there were some last-minute things King Mickey wanted his help with. Oh, and I’m at my house but I’ll come to yours. You really shouldn’t be pushing yourself so soon.”

He rolled his eyes, “I’m not that out of it. How about we meet halfway? Like around the park, I guess.”

Kairi hummed, “Okay, if you say so.”

“Great. See you soon.” He tapped the red button to end the call and set out on his way.

Pushing himself beyond his limits was nothing new with all of the things he had done on his adventures in the past few years, but he was still bent over in pain by the time he made it to the park.

“I would laugh because I knew you would do this, but you look awful.” Kairi commented as she approached him.

Straightening out and standing up straight, he smiled apologetically, “Yeah, you were right.”

“What a surprise.” She lightly grabbed his hand and tugged him towards a picnic table, “Let’s sit down.”

“Thank you.” He let out, unable to hold it in any longer as he sat down and faced her.

She blinked, “For what?”

“For everything.” He answered automatically. After a moment, he clarified, “For saving me.”

Kairi smiled and shook her head, “It’s like I told you years ago. I couldn’t just let you stay that way and forget about you. That’s the same reason you came after me, right?”

“To be honest, I didn’t really think about it. I just acted. But yeah, I guess that’s the best way to put it.” He admitted with a small laugh.

“That’s such a Sora thing to say.” She reached over to intertwine her hand with his.

He quirked an eyebrow, “I hope that’s a compliment.”

“Of course.” She smiled brightly as she nodded.

“So what’s going on with everyone else?” Sora shifted the topic of conversation, curious, “I know you said Riku stayed behind to do a few last-minute things but honestly my memory is kinda fuzzy about what all happened right before coming home.”

Kairi’s expression dampened somewhat, but she still kept a smile, “Just making sure everything is the way it’s supposed to be. And then we’re supposed to be able to take a break for a little while. Just hang out here on the islands; you, me, and Riku.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “That sounds nice.”

“I’m sure. You’ve been through a lot.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her seriously, answering, “So have you, you know.”

Quietly, she nodded and held his hand a little tighter.

And suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

“Kairi.” He called her name and she looked up curiously.

“Yes?”

“This isn’t really how I ever imagined doing it, but I think this feels right.” He slipped down from the bench and knelt on one knee, with Kairi quickly clasping her hands over her mouth in surprise. “I don’t even know how old I was when I started dreaming about wanting to spend my life with you. And for a long time, it always seemed out of reach; both because I didn’t know how you feel and because of all of the things we’ve been through. But I want to make it real now. No matter what happens next, I want to be by your side, always.”

Kairi nodded vigorously, tears starting to overflow from the corners of her eyes, “That’s what I want too.”

Sora reached out and motioned for her hand, only to pull it towards him and kiss her knuckles. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring yet. But like I said before, this wasn’t exactly planned so…” They both shared a quick laugh before he smiled widely and asked, “Kairi, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She slid closer to him and pressed a kiss against him eagerly, “Yes, yes, yes.”

He cupped both sides of her face and grinned against her, “So… when do we let everyone else know?”

“Maybe keep it a secret for a few days or else everyone’s hugs may crush what little solid bones you have left in your body right now.” She gave a gentle squeeze of his arm which he had to admit hurt much more than he expected.

“Ow.” He rubbed the spot she had squeezed, “But that’s a very solid point.”

“Do you need me to carry you back to your house?” Kairi teased with a tilt of her head.

He shook his head, “I dunno, I think it’s poor form to have your new fiancée carry you.”

“Fiancée, huh.” She beamed, humming, “I think I like the sound of that.”

“So do I.” He kissed her again.

[minijenn]

Happy Birthday, Keys to the Kingdom!

Yeah as of today my own special little slice of hell known as Keys to the Kingdom has existed for the world to see for two years now. And its still going strong even into its second half (which I’m VERY much looking forward to!) I didn’t really plan a big huge celebration for Keys’ 2nd birthday (though ya’ll are more than welcome to do something special for it if you’d like, I’d love you forever if you did) But I figured it would go fun to go back through every chapter of Keys written so far and list my top ten personal favorites. So this is that list. Enjoy!

10. Chapter 30: Recuérdame: This was a really fun chapter if I remember correctly; its a nice mix between plot progression and the Coco stuff (featuring some of my favorite scenes from that movie, so playing around with those was great) but I also loved writing the first in story reveal for Xion and the fight between Sora and Xigbar while set to Imelda singing La Lorrona? Fuckin Iconic if you ask me, this one is great 

9. Chapter 31: Destined Reunion: This is mostly a very dialogue heavy chapter where not a lot happens but honestly I just really like a lot of the interactions in it; there’s a lot of Sora being salty towards Riku in here which tbh is kinda fun to write? But there’s also some soft Sokai stuff and towards the end we get some fun/foreshadowy interactions with our resident Goth Club so overall its a pretty neat one :3

8. Chapter 24: Where the Dream Takes You: So I really love the second Atlantis chapter? It veers away from the movie and also follows it just enough to feel unique in its own right and it has a lot of plot progression for the main story, especially in regards to our good friend the Lingering Will; I like the action in this one a lot and I really love the Trinity Trio’s little emotional talk with each other at the end, it tugs at my heartstrings every time I read it :3

7. Chapter 38: So This Is Love: otherwise known as Prom! Honestly this one is just a sweet, cute fluff-fest and it was so much fun to write the kiddos just relaxing and having a good time for a change. The Destiny Trio in particular just filled my heart with so many warm fuzzies here, especially towards the end when they really start romancing it up! Plus everyone in their fancy outfits was a delight to draw and to write about, overall its a grand time for all ^_^

6. Chapter 21: Depths of Despair; golly this one is just a bit ol drama fest but I think its a pretty great one. Sora spends the whole thing captured and tortured and poisoned and it really is just the biggest shift in the tone of the story so far because of that; Maleficent gets to be the center stage baddie for a chapter, Pete gets a bit of development, and we also get some strong moments from Kairi and Axel and the Restoration Committee, and the scene where Kairi brings Sora back from rage form near the end is still one of my favorites; overall there are a lot of little moments in this one that I love in here, its a really good one. 

5. Chapter 33: Song as Old as Rhyme: A great example of a Disney chapter where the overarching plot kind of takes more of the center stage. This one is a wild ride for sure with a lot of action and intensity, and its Not a very good time for our boy between him having a panic attack over Maleficent confronting him again to getting shot in the damn shoulder to being grounded by his boyfriend for lying it really does tear Sora down quite a bit but I looooooved wriiting all that so its high on my list for sure because of it 

4. Chapter 36: Return to Depart; this chapter features two really great scenes right at the start of it, Sora bonding with Aqua and soft Soriku fluff/angst hour. But then I doubled down by giving the boy an identity crisis between all of the different hearts inside of his and wooooooow I love how I wrote it, its trippy and wild and intense and dramatic; even to the end this one is great because we get our first hints of the bond between Sora and Ven and its soft yet solemn all at once and wow despite carrying some scenes from the game I still think this one is pretty standout 

3. Chapter 35: Distorted Reflection: Whoooooo boy this chapter is hella dark and kind of a mind fuck but golly if it wasn’t such a delight to write. Having Sora essentially hear himself list every fear he has and everything he hates about himself is some quality Character Study stuff; there are so many lines in this chapter I keep coming back to in more recent chapters and I really will continue to do reference it as we move along; it’s also pretty standout that Sora doesn’t even win against his phantom in this chapter, my original plan was for him to win but then I was like “no that’s not thematically right, the entire story is basically about him fighting a battle against himself that he can’t win so why should he win the literal battle against himself?” so I made it sad and had him lost until the Mystery Light came around to help him (I also love that entire part, its such a nice bit of comfort after all the angst this chapter brings). Overall, I love the deep intensity and feels of this one its a classic.

2. Chapter 22: Rise and Fall and Rise Again. Basically a biiiiiig ol bundle of hurt/comfort with some soft angst and romance mingled it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this chapter really is just another big long character study for Sora and golly if it doesn’t have some of my favorite moments in the entire fic so far, despite those moments being quiet and understated and mostly emotional more than anything else; I also really love Kairi in this chapter and I love how it develops her relationship with Sora even more towards their eventual Relationship Upgrade. Its also the first chapter of Keys I got teary eyed while writing soooo ya know there’s that. 

1. And finally, my favorite chapter so far: Chapter 27: What Once Was Mine. Gooooosh this chapter has EVERYTHING. It starts out soft and fun and fluffy with some cute romancy moments, then it gradually starts getting more tense and it builds until basically everything’s gone horribly wrong and ends in a really sad kind of solemn place and we get such nice pairing between the Tangled stuff and the Keys overarching plot stuff. This chapter has so many exceptional moments but I really love the entire section where Sora finally comes clean to Donald and Goofy bc I’m destroyed by Trinity Trio feels every time I read it. Overall, I adore this one but I really do think that it’s very soon about to be outclassed by some stuff I have planned for Keys in the very near future :3

And some Honorable Mentions: Chapter 20: Immortals (mostly for its second half, its first half is pretty weak which is why its not on this list); Chapter 10: Sinister Whispers (aka the chapter where Keys finally starts fucking picking up the pace XD), and chapter 16: Unspoken, Unheard (a nice little Kairi character study)

And those are all the chapters of Keys I really love, feel free to drop me a line about what your favorites are (or even just your favorite moments, general discussion about Keys, things you’re looking forward to seeing, stuff like that). A HUGE thanks to everyone who’s stuck with Keys thus far, I can assure you that the best is certainly yet to come.... :3

[phoenix-downer]

Still Kairi

~1200 words. Sora/Kairi. Set during KH3. Sora POV. Romance, Fluff, Pining, Longing. For SoKai Week 2022, Day 6: KH3 or MOM.

Summary: Sora returns to the Mysterious Tower and sees Kairi for the first time in weeks.

The Gummi Ship sputtered and groaned as it powered down. Another safe landing. A glance out the windows revealed the Mysterious Tower poking out between the smoky clouds and reaching towards the starry skies. Sora leaned back in his chair, then grinned and put his hands behind his head. At long last, Aqua was home and Ven was awake. This was why he went on his journey. This was why he searched and searched for a way to save the people connected to him. Seeing their smiles was worth every drop of blood and bead of sweat and tear that he’d shed. 

Now if only he and Kairi could figure out a way to save Roxas and Naminé. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he went over the clues they’d uncovered in his head. Then there was that third person Ienzo had found in his heart—not Roxas or Ven, but someone else entirely. 

The question was, who? 

“Hey, not bad,” Ven said, entering the cockpit and breaking through his thoughts. It still felt kinda weird that Ven’s heart was no longer in his, but talking to Ven face-to-face like this more than made up for it. 

Sora ran his finger under his nose. “What, my driving skills or—”

“Yeah.” Ven sat next to him now that Donald had vacated his seat. “Thanks for bringing us here.” 

“Don’t mention it.” He grinned and crossed his arms. “But you should get some rest, sleepyhead. You’ll need your strength for what’s ahead of us.”

“Hey, the last thing I want to do is sleep more,” Ven said with a weak chuckle. “I’ve slept enough to last me a lifetime.” 

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Sora said sadly. He struggled to wrap his head around how weird it would be to be asleep for years and years like that, never aging as the worlds moved on without you. At least Aqua hadn’t really aged either—Sora couldn’t imagine how sad Ven would’ve been if she had, if they’d lost all that time together. Especially because Terra was still missing too. 

“Still,” Sora continued, “that confrontation with Vanitas was kinda intense. You should at least try to eat something and take a quick nap before everyone else gets back.” 

“Sora’s right, we’re having that big debriefin’ meeting here soon,” Goofy said. “Soon as the others arrive.” 

“I think they’re already here,” Donald said, peering out the window. Sora’s heart jumped around in his chest. Did that include Kairi too? The group piled out of the Gummi Ship, but Aqua lingered here with him as he gathered his things and stuffed them into his pockets.

“Aqua? What is it?” he asked. She had a very calming, soothing presence. Warm and motherly too, like the cool big sister he’d never had. 

“I just wanted to say… Thank you, for everything.” She crossed her hands in front of her and politely bowed her head. Everything she did was graceful, and Sora felt the urge to stand taller and behave himself when she was around.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, waving his hand. It still felt weird how she was bowing to him like this when it should be the other way around. “It’s the least I could do.” 

She shook her head. “No, really. It’s thanks to you I’m back in the Realm of Light. It’s thanks to you Ven’s awake.”

“You guys made me who I am,” he said softly, resting a hand over his heart. “I couldn’t just abandon you to your fates, you know?”

She smiled. “I know. It’s not who you are.”

“Not who I want to be, anyway,” he said. “With any luck, I’ll help you find Terra, too.”

A hint of sadness flickered through her eyes at his name, then she nodded. “Thank you, Sora.” 

With that, Aqua left him alone in the Gummi Ship, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out Kairi’s lucky charm. His fingers caressed the thalassa shells like he was greeting an old friend. She’d be here at this meeting, and he hadn’t seen her in a while. Would she notice he’d grown since she’d last seen him? Would she like his new clothes, his new hair? Or would she tell him he’d changed too much when she’d told him not to change—

“Pull it together, Sora,” he muttered to himself, tucking the lucky charm back in his pocket. “This is Kairi. She knows you’re not gonna be the same forever, and she’s changed too.” 

She’d been training after all and could wield her Keyblade better than ever. He wondered if she’d gotten a new outfit or haircut or anything. How much of the old Kairi would be in this new one? Would she still want anything to do with the lazy bum from home now that traveling the worlds was at her fingertips?

Well, guess there was only one way to find out. He left the Gummi Ship and strolled through the bright green grass to the Tower. Then it was up, up, up the winding staircase till he reached the top of the stairs. 

“I’m back!” he called as he opened the door. Everyone was already inside—Master Yen Sid was seated in his chair, Aqua and Ven were to the right of him, Mickey and Riku were next to them, then Donald and Goofy, and to the left of Donald and Goofy were Axel and—and Kairi. She turned to look at him, and he felt like she was the only one in the room. 

Her red hair was in a bob now, and she had gotten a new outfit. Pink dress-like thing with adorable animal ears on the hood and a cute skirt with black frills. Her arms had more muscle tone than the last time he’d seen her, and her legs looked really, really good in that skirt. He swallowed and tried not to stare, but she was just so pretty that— 

“Hey,” she said, a sweet smile on her face and a playful glint in her eye.

“Um, hey,” he mumbled. Donald snickered, and he shot the duck a glare. Kairi giggled into her hand, and that was such a Kairi thing to do that he knew things would be okay. Even though she’d changed and he had too, she was still Kairi and he was still Sora. The way she was looking at him, he figured she still had a crush on him too despite their time apart. 

And maybe, after this meeting, he could tell her that he still had a crush on her too. There was so much stuff on his mind that was kinda hard to put into words, but that seemed like a good starting point. Especially because the road ahead of them was difficult. Saving people always came at a cost. It was worth it, but it wasn’t easy. 

Donald and Goofy made room for him, and he stepped forward. His friends having his back with Kairi at his side, he couldn’t think of a better way to take on this next part of his journey.

Master Yen Sid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “At last, we are all assembled.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Another missing scene fic! I wanted to write something for Sora and Kairi’s initial reunion in KH3 since it was sort of glossed over in the game itself. The title is a callback to another fic I wrote set during KH2 called Still Sora. One of the themes I really love in the series is how despite how people change, they still care about each other. Just felt like a really SoKai thing because they do change a lot from KH1 to KH2 to KH3 and I’m sure the same will be true of KH4, but they still love each other and want to be together. 

Thank you for reading!

[sourcherrybomb]

SoKai Week 2020 - Day 4 - How to (Incorrectly) Summon a Demon

Synopsis: Sora, a wizard in training, prepares to summon a demon in a desperate attempt to improve his magical prowess. However, things don’t go exactly as planned...

Sneak Peek:  “Hey now, didn’t your mother ever teach you not to stare?” the demoness asks Sora in a playful fashion. “At least focus on my eyes for now, darling.”

Tags: Light Romance, Comedy, Slightly Mature, Slightly Coarse Language, F/M, (It’s not smut, I promise)

Prompt for the Day: AU Day!

Words: 2.4k

Fanart By: karya_mukti (Fiverr)

As a pale moon rises, a wizard-in-training rushes around the confines of a messy tower chamber. Curious-looking tools hang on the walls of the chamber alongside the lamps that light the darkness of the room. Various scrolls, textbooks, and phials of mysterious elixirs are strewn across the floor in a messy and uncaring fashion. The moonlight is let in through a singular, round window, the young wizard waiting for it to line up just right with the carefully detailed magic circle drawn in chalk on the floor.

The trainee’s master would most definitely be angered at the state the room is in. The thought of her in another rage brought a shiver down his spine. Besides making a mess, the various summoning taboos the young man was breaking would be enough to make a more rule-abiding student faint. 

But to Sora, none of that matters. 

After years of messing up and being the laughingstock of his fellow trainees, he would finally have the power to succeed. His days of messing up incantations, having spells blow up in his face, and more would all end once he summoned a powerful enough demon to assist him. Sora wasn’t just aiming for any regular old demon, he was aiming for an Archdemon.

Everything was set up. In the sky was a full moon on the sixth month of the year and the stars of Altair and Vega aligned at the perfect angle. Within Sora was enough mana saved up through the use of elixirs. On his right hand was a special tattoo made to match the summoning circle drawn on the floor. And finally, the coup de grace, a forbidden tome from his master’s personal library, one that would aid in demonic summoning rituals. Written in demontongue, Sora had spent a whole month deciphering the text in secret.

All of these tools would aid Sora in summoning a demon and becoming their master.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, he rolls up the sleeves of his uniform’s cloak. Picking up a book bound in a scaly black leather, Sora opens the ancient tome to a page he had previously marked. Raising his right hand, he waits for the moonlight to shine through the window and line up with the magic circle on the ground.

It’s now or never… he thinks to himself. As the lunar rays make their way across the room, Sora begins to speak.

L'ta raeq yoq aem saowar… 

The marks on his hand begin to glow a crimson red.

Aem nph soin… 

The flames from the candles surrounding the magic circle on the ground change to a violet hue.

Aem aony ardor…

The various runes within the circle begin to glow

Maezzael zes gazina…

The center of the magic circle begins to glow various shades of red.

Oth yaeza qae esaeun zoedabbi!

A blinding red light fills the room as a powerful force knocks Sora backwards and onto the floor, scattering all the texts and tools within the room alongside him. As he rubs the back of his head and his eyes regain focus, the light starts to dissipate. In its place in the middle of the magic circle was a young woman sporting a devilishly smug grin. Garbed in pink and black garments, at first glance she seemed normal, but only if you ignored the blood red horns and demonic wings behind her back.

“Hey now, didn’t your mother ever teach you not to stare?” the demoness asks Sora in a playful fashion. “At least focus on my eyes for now, darling.”

Shifting his surprised gaze away, Sora stands up in confusion. “This… is not what I was expecting to happen.”

The demoness pouts and she inches closer to the young wizard. “Oh, so you didn’t mean to summon little ol’ me?”

“W-well I meant to summon a demon,” Sora stammers out. “Besides the wings and horns, you aren’t exactly what I imagined…”

“Oh don’t forget the tail, darling,” she says as the aforementioned limb slowly wraps itself around Sora’s right hand, eliciting a reaction from him that the demoness finds particularly amusing. “I swear, sometimes it has a mind of its own. As for what you imagined, at least when it comes to Succubi like me, I can’t imagine any other appearance would be as… Sensually inclined.”

“S-succubus?!”

“One of many, darling!” The succubus says as she winks. “What, don’t like what you see?”

“It’s not that I don’t, it’s just-”

“Ah, wonderful! Here I thought you were trying to summon an Incubus.” The succubus stares up and down at Sora. “You certainly do give off the disposition of someone who would do so… But darling, your reaction to me certainly proves otherwise!”

As she laughs, Sora sighs and makes a mental note to watch his words around the demoness. “Listen when I attempted to summon a demon, I was aiming for an Archdemon!”

“One of those prudes?” The succubus scoffs. “Honestly darling, you’re better off with me. Afterall, you did use a summoning circle specifically for succubi.”

“I what?!” Sora grabs the demonic summoning tome off the ground and flips to the page he bookmarked. Pointing at the page, he shows it to the succubus. “Here, doesn’t this read Archdemon?”

Pulling a pair of red glasses from thin air, the demoness reads the page. “Hmmm, nope this is a summoning ritual for me and my many sisters. Demontongue is a complex language for humans, I’m not surprised that-”

Sora lets out a frustrated yell and throws the book at the ground. It’s enough to surprise the succubus and cause the glasses to disappear. “Damn it! Why does this always happen?!” This accident was all too reminiscent of how his magical studies would go. Attempt something, fail, look for a crackpot solution, and fail again.

From behind, the succubus wraps her arms around Sora. “Awww, what’s wrong darling? Want to tell little ol’ me? I promise I’m a good listener.”

“And why do you keep on calling me Darling?” Sora asks angrily. “I have a name, you know!”

Letting go of Sora, the demoness puts her hands on her hips. “Ah yes, and I certainly would love to know it. As much as I adore calling you this little pet name-” Moving closer, she softly strokes Sora’s face. “I’ve been told by many men and women that they love it when I call their names out.”

As she continues to caress Sora’s face, he feels the anger melt away. Amongst other feelings and emotions, the gesture calms him down from his rage.

“Sora… It’s Sora.”

The succubus flashes a warm smile, one much different than the smug one she had been wearing since her summoning. The sight of it is enough to get Sora to blush ever so slightly, something she keeps a mental note of for the future.

“Well then, Sora. I’d imagine it’d be my turn to introduce myself.” As she floats backwards away from Sora, he subconsciously takes a step forward towards the demoness. “I am a Greater Succubus amongst my succubi sisters. My name in its native Demontongue is unpronounceable by most humans, but if I were to roughly translate it, in the human language it would be Kairi.”

That’s… A surprisingly cute name, Sora thinks to himself. “Okay then, Kairi. Is there any way to send you back to the Underworld?”

“My my, Sora!” Kairi feigned surprise. “I didn’t peg you as the type to toss aside a woman if she bored you.”

“N-no! It’s not like that!” he persists. “It’s just that, I did summon you by accident. The least I can do is send you back to your home without issue. I’m starting to think this whole demon summoning thing wasn’t a right fit for me, with me getting the translations wrong and all.”

“Pfft. That literal hellhole isn’t much as a home as you’d think it be. It’s been many decades since I last stepped foot in the human world, in all honesty I'd much rather stay here.” Kairi points at the mark on Sora’s right hand. “Not to mention, that seal on your hand? That’s not just for show, that’s my contract with you.”

“Contract?”

A master who can’t or didn’t read all the instructions, Kairi thinks to herself. This will be fun… 

“Yes, a contract! With this seal I am bound to you until the end of your mortal lifespan.” She says to Sora, lying as easily as she could breathe. After all, the seal was less of a binding contract and more of a leash that could be taken off by the master when needed. 

Looks like I have a new mana reservoir for the next… Let’s say thirty to forty years, tops. Kairi thinks to herself. After all, that’s just enough time to play around with my new boy toy…   

“So I’m stuck with you then?” Sora asks, his voice slightly annoyed.

“Oh darling, I wouldn’t say stuck…” Kairi’s eyes flash red at the idea of being labelled as any sort of burden. “After all, this relationship between you and me is mutually beneficial!”

Sora slightly shrinks back when he sees the demonic red behind Kairi’s eyes. “I-If I may ask, how so?”

A sly grin shows up on Kairi’s face. “I’m glad you asked! It’s quite simple, all you need to do is give me mana daily. In exchange, I will act as a servant both in the magical sense-” Once again, Kairi closes the distance between her and Sora, putting her face barely an inch away from his. “And physical sense. I am a succubus afterall, depriving me of my more carnal desires wouldn’t be the best for either of our interests…”

Sora, being the blushing mess he his, could only let out a nervous laugh.

“Of course, you do seem much younger than most of the people who have summoned me in the past.” Kairi floats away, making space between the two. “How old are you anyways?”

The tight feeling in Sora’s chest fades away as he lets out a sigh of relief. “I’m sixteen as of this year.”

“Tsk tsk. Naughty boy, summoning someone such as myself at your age.” Kairi teases. “For now, your dreams should suffice. At least, until you become of age.”

Deep down, Sora becomes slightly disappointed that he’d have to wait a couple years. However, Hell would be more likely to freeze over before he admitted that to Kairi. Pushing those thoughts away, Sora shakes his head to refocus himself. He may have messed up the summoning, but he was going to make the best of this situation.

“Okay so you say you can help me with my magic,” Sora states. “Even someone as inexperienced as me?”

Kairi lets out a chuckle. “Can you really call yourself that after summoning the wrong demon? There’s definitely potential in you, after all. I had every right to avoid your summons and let one of my sisters take my place, but I chose to answer it.”

“But why?”

“Like I said, I wanted a taste of the human world once again!” Kairi stares out the window, gently smiling as she stares up at the starry sky above. The moonlight shines on her in a way that makes Sora stare in awe. “Oh how much I missed it! The last few masters I had always kept me at arms length, never letting me enjoy my time here. I’m only asking this because you seem to be a kind one, but please don’t be a spoilsport and let me have some innocent fun?”

Can’t help but wonder what your definition of “Innocent” is, Sora thinks to himself. “Okay, then. I’ll make a deal with you then.”

“I’m certainly listening.” Kairi focuses her gaze on Sora.

“I supply you with my mana and let you have your ‘innocent fun’ here in my realm,” Sora says sternly. “In return, you assist me in everything having to do with my magic. Giving my spells more power, creating potions and elixirs, you name it.”

Sora extends his seal-adorned right hand. Smiling, Kairi puts her hand on his.

“It’s a deal then,” she says. Pulling his hand, Kairi once again closes the distance between her and Sora, creating an intimate amount of space between them. “Of course, when you come of age, I have a feeling you’d want to revisit our arrangement to factor in my other services.”

As she speaks, Sora feels her scaly tail stroking his chin. Between that and her suggestive smile, he finds himself paralyzed. Sora finds himself unable to say anything in response. 

I may have bitten off more than I can chew, he thinks to himself as images of what Kairi could do to him fill his mind.

“Now then!” Kairi claps her hands together. “I know it’s nighttime and you might pass out after all the mana you’ve just expended summoning me, but I saw a field of flowers at the base of this tower and I demand you take me to them now!”

I do feel pretty damn tired right now, Sora thinks. Some fresh air might do me good before bed, though.

“Let’s head downstairs then.” As he leads Kairi to the stairs, she does a little spin in the air and follows him.

“You’d best prepare yourself, Sora!” Kairi says. “When you wake up, the first thing you’re doing is making me some human food!”

“Hey now, aren’t I the master here?” Sora asks.

“True, but what woman wouldn’t want to be fed breakfast by their boy toy?”

Sora lets out a sigh. He knew what he was signing up for when he planned to summon a demon, he just never expected their mischievousness to include so much teasing.

Things are about to get a lot more interesting, aren’t they? 

---

Gonna be real, part of me really wants to make this oneshot a multi-fic story. I’d change some details, but I think it’d be doable and a pretty fun experience. Fun fact, the root words for Succubus (succuba) and Incubus (incubāre) actually imply who’s on top or bottom, Succubi being the former with Incubi as the latter. 

(Demon girls ftw, go play Helltaker on Steam. It’s free!)

Since this entry was for AU Day, so I decided to go a bit nuts and write something that’s a bit out there. Like before, thanks to the Sokai: Destined Oath Discord server as well as the member Gee for acting as my Beta Reader!

Thanks for Reading!