#kh3countdownchallenge

Axel regarded her with a quizzical look. “Sure, I guess. What did you have in mind?”

“If you could say anything to Roxas, what would it be?” she asked as she picked up her pencil again.

Axel hesitated, and his eyes got a faraway look in them. “I…”

“I can’t wait to see you again, maybe?” she suggested. She wasn’t really sure if he and Roxas had been on good terms before Roxas had left the Organization, but she could tell how much Axel wanted to see his friend again.

Sure, Sora would be the one reading the letter, but maybe the message would still reach Roxas, some way, somehow.

Axel shook his head ever so slightly, his eyes focused on something far away. “There was something… something I always used to tell them…”

“Them?” Kairi asked, tilting her head.

“Yeah, Roxas and…”

Kairi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Roxas and who, Axel?”

He turned to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time.

“Axel?” she gently prodded.

She couldn’t have predicted what happened next. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as she stared at him with a mixture of surprise and dismay.

“A-Axel?”

“I don’t know,” he said, his shoulders shaking and his voice choked with emotion. “I don’t know who it was. But it’s someone I feel like I’m supposed to remember.” He brought a hand to his face and touched his wet cheek. “Why can’t I remember?”

Her heart sank, the all-too familiar pain of her separation from Sora settling over her again. “I don’t know, but… even if your mind’s forgotten, your heart still remembers.”

He regarded her with a sorrowful look. “Yeah.” He sniffed and wiped his eyes. “You know, sometimes I miss being a Nobody. Things were a lot less complicated when I didn’t have a heart.”

“I think you did have a heart. Otherwise you wouldn’t have tried so hard to get Roxas back. You even told me you missed him, remember?”

“Yeah. Tell him… tell him I’ll see him again soon.”

Kairi nodded and added that to her letter.

“Y’know, if you haven’t told Sora already, you really should let him know how you feel,” he said presently.

She paused and chewed on the eraser. “I think he already knows.”

Her mind went to the cave drawing. Surely he’d seen it before he’d gone off to take his Mark of Mastery exam, right?

“Yeah, but that’s not the same as hearing it from you. You should tell him in case something ever happens to him… or to you.”

Her grip on the pencil tightened. “I won’t let anything happen to either of us. I’ll keep him safe and I won’t let myself get captured again.”

“A noble sentiment, Kairi, but our enemies do not play nice, or haven’t you noticed? They’ll exploit Sora’s feelings for you and they’ll exploit them ruthlessly.”

“They already have,” she said, giving him a pointed look.

He sighed. “Point taken. I’m just saying, what are you waiting for? The perfect moment? I can tell you right now, it doesn’t exist. All you’ve got is now. Don’t wait, act.”

She brought her finger to her temple in his trademark gesture. “I know, I’ve got it memorized.”

He gave her a half smile, and she was glad for that. She didn’t want him to stay down in the dumps like this.

Her eyes wandered to the piece of paper in her lap again. “I just… I don’t want to tell him in a letter, you know? I want to tell him face-to-face.”

“Fair enough. But maybe hint at it at least? Say you’re looking forward to seeing him? Mention what you like the most about him? He could probably really use some encouragement right now.”

Kairi stared off into the sunset. What she liked the most about Sora? Where to even begin?

“Okay, it doesn’t have to be everything or we’ll be here all night. What about him sticks out to you the most?”

“What about him… sticks out to me the most?”

She thought back on her favorite memories of him. There were so many of them, and her heart filled with warmth as she thought about him.

Out of all of those memories, though, one in particular stood out. The moment he’d raced towards her after coming home, face shining like the sun, not even caring when he tripped and fell in the water because he was so happy to see her.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She knew exactly what to write about now. The words came quickly to her after that, and before long, she was putting the finishing touches on her letter.

“So,” Axel said as they finally stood to go. “What did you write?”

She pulled her eyelid down and stuck out her tongue. “Not gonna tell you. It’s between me and him.”

“Boo, you’re no fun.”

She giggled and gave him a playful shove. “You know that’s not true. Race you back!”

As she took off running with him right at her heels, shouting about how he was gonna win this one, she couldn’t help but smile.

Not that long ago she never would’ve thought this kind of situation would even be possible. She hadn’t trusted Axel, and for good reason.

But something had changed. He’d apologized for kidnapping her. He’d done what he could to make things right. And it was nice having someone to confide in, someone to ask for help with training, someone to eat ice cream with at the end of a long day.

And that someone was Axel.

He staggered over to the nearest one, a flickering image of him falling to his knees. As soon as he touched it, it disappeared into specs of light, and his heart ached a little less.

“Riku.”

Next he found an image of himself looking at something in his hands. When he touched it, a small surge of energy went through his body.

“Ven.”

He felt a little stronger now. Still shaky and weak, but he didn’t feel like he was gonna pass out anymore.

On to the next one, a little faster this time now that his legs were obeying him better now. When he got that memory back, the one of him sprawled on the ground, a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.

“Donald. Goofy.”

Slowly, little by little, he collected the memories, his heart getting stronger and stronger with each one. Most of them were just usual, everyday memories of his life back home or day-to-day activities. All the background stuff that made up the bulk of his heart.

But some of them were special. Some of them were really important memories. Like Xion thanking him for saving her. Terra apologizing for attacking him as the Lingering Will. Axel telling him he made him feel like he had a heart.

Somewhere along the way he’d gotten the strength to run and jump and climb. He dove down and collected a whole string of memories floating like they were asleep. Then he rushed through an entire group of them and got a whole bunch back all at once.

His strength was returning, he could feel it. His heart was returning, too.

More memories, he had to get them all. His hand reaching down to pull Aqua out of the water. Holding Roxas’s hands and telling him he was his own person. His pinkie promise with Naminé. The King asking him to help him close the door.

With each one of those his heart got stronger and his soul was getting the life poured back into it.

But something was still missing. Even with all the memories he’d gotten back, something was still gone. Something important, no, someone important—

He had to find this person. His heart wouldn’t be complete without them. Couldn’t be. The hollow ache inside him reached down to the deepest levels of his heart, to his very core. Even with everything else mostly falling into place he still felt broken, incomplete.

“Your name, what’s your name?” came his voice, echoing throughout this empty place. “Please, I have to remember—”

But there was no answer. As far as he could tell he was the only one here.

He kept searching, kept collecting more memories, kept piecing himself back together. He checked new areas he hadn’t been to before. Looked at places he’d already visited. Climbed on top of columns for a better view.

But still this person was just out of reach, their name on the tip of his tongue, their face lurking just out of his vision.

“Where are you? I can’t find you.”

His heart throbbed, crying out for the pieces of it that were still missing. It hurt worse than when he’d barely had any of his heart left at all.

There were gaps, so many gaps in his memories. This person was important. This person was supposed to fill those gaps, he just knew it.

Then why couldn’t he find them?

“Please, help me remember,” he begged, hoping someone, anyone would hear him. “Help me find my memories of you.”

Something caught his eye, a soft light flashing in his pocket.

“Huh?”

He reached down into it. There was something there. Heart pounding, he pulled it out and stared at it.

It was a charm made out of thalassa shells from back home. A charm given to him by—

A soft hand rested over his. “It’s my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me.”

He glanced up, and the person was smiling at him. The person he’d been trying so hard to remember. The person who made up so much of his heart. The person who meant more to him than anything. She was really here. She was really real.

“Kairi.”

His voice was choked with emotion but he didn’t even care. Her smile got bigger as she rested her hand against his cheek and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

“You made me a promise, remember?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes took on a playful glint and her voice became mock-stern. “You’re not gonna let something like death get in the way of that now, are you?”

He shook his head. “No ma’am.”

How could he, when she was looking at him like that?

Her face relaxed into a smile. “Good.” She stood on her tiptoes and brought her other hand to his face, then gently pulled his lips down to meet hers. His breath caught as the rest of his memories returned all at once in a thrilling rush.

“Come back to me,” she said softly, her breath tickling his cheek as his mind and heart reeled from the kiss. “Come back to all of us.”

When his eyes fluttered open again, she was gone. His breath was the only sound in this realm as his heart raced and his brain tried to figure out what had just happened.

His hand went to his heart. It didn’t hurt anymore. It was completely whole again. And not just that. It was so full it felt like it was gonna burst.

He brought his hand to his lips and giggled. Boy, did it feel good to hear his own laughter again.

Was this what he’d been missing out on all this time? Because man, it was awesome. Why had they waited this long?

As he replayed the memory over and over again in his head, something hit him like a ton of bricks.

He… he wanted to kiss her again.

No, he really wanted to kiss her again.

But to do that, he’d have to find his way back to her, some way, somehow. Yeah, he was dead, but that didn’t seem like such a big problem anymore. Not knowing what waited for him on the other side.

Sheesh, she sure knew how to get him to stop acting like a lazy bum. Riku would call him whipped for sure, and Donald and Goofy would, too, but he didn’t really care. If that was what it took to get him to keep going, to get him to find a way to keep fighting, then that was okay by him.

Plus, the thought of kissing her again more than made up for it.

After one more look at her lucky charm, he returned it to its usual home in his pocket. He couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face if he tried.

His Keyblade appeared in his hands, solid and real. His heart was back and he could fight again.

Pointing it towards the heavens, he shouted, “My name is Sora, and I will return to my friends!”

He grinned as the sky opened up.

Well, he wanted to find a way for Roxas to be his own person. Naminé, too. She deserved to be her own person, too. He wanted to help Terra and Aqua and Ventus get their bodies and their lives back. He wanted to stop Xehanort and keep the worlds safe.

What else. Oh, right. He wanted to see Riku again. Being separated from his best friend all the time kinda sucked. Yeah, Riku had an important job to do, but it didn’t make being apart from him any easier.

His eyes spotted Eugene and Rapunzel together on a boat a little ways away. They both had shy smiles on their faces as they talked about something Sora couldn’t hear. Together they launched a lantern into the air, and Sora couldn’t help but smile, because the two of them together like that made his heart feel all warm.

Love really was a beautiful thing. Time and again he’d watched people fall in love on his journeys, and he never got sick of seeing it. The stolen glances, the blushing and stuttering, the eventual confessions, the first kisses—

Yeah, love was pretty special.

For a moment he didn’t see Rapunzel and Eugene on that boat. For a moment he was in the boat instead, and Kairi was seated across from him. She gazed in wonder at the sight around them, then turned to him and smiled.

“Sora, just think, someday… this could be us.”

“I wish it was,” he said softly. “I wish you were here with me. Then we could finally be together.”

She pulled out a lantern from behind her. “Then let’s make a wish. After all this is over, we’ll come back here. Together.”

She held out the lantern, and he put his hands over hers. His heart sped up a little at that, and Kairi’s smile got bigger. Together they released the lantern into the sky to join all the others, but Sora didn’t let go of her hands.

Her eyes flickered from their hands to his face. “Sora?”

She was so close now, her face just inches from his. His eyes rested on her lips, then darted back up to her eyes. He took a deep breath and swallowed. Her breathing got heavier as he leaned close, her eyes fluttering shut as he—

—tumbled into the water with a loud splash, ruining the moment and his fantasy.

Donald burst out laughing, and Jiminy laughed, too, even though he was still in Sora’s hood and was only kinda shielded from the water.

Sora muttered to himself as he climbed back onto the dock. Talk about embarrassing. He made sure to shake the water from his clothes and hair onto Donald, which didn’t do much to get the duck to shut up.

“You look like a wet cat,” he said in between quacks and cackles.

Sora just glared at him as he took his seat next to him again. “Yeah, well, it happens.”

“You were thinkin’ about Kairi again, weren’t you?” Goofy said, a knowing twinkle in his eye.

Sora wanted to groan. This again. He was never gonna be free of their teasing, was he?

He crossed his arms. “So what? Jiminy said to make a wish, and I did. None of your business if it involves Kairi or not.”

Donald covered his beak with his hands, but a few snickers still escaped, especially when Sora shot him another glare.

“Well, Sora, if you really did make a wish to see her again, I’m sure it’ll come true,” Jiminy said.

As Sora spotted Eugene and Rapunzel again on their boat together like they were in their own world, he couldn’t help but sigh.

He sure wished it would.

I always loved how Sora is a hopeless romantic in KH2 and I’m hoping to see that side of him again in KH3. And I realize I have neglected Jiminy in... pretty much all of my stories, so I figured it was about time I gave him his moment in the spotlight :)

Goofy shot Donald a worried look, and he waddled over to join them. “I’m sure she’ll understand,” Donald said. “It’s not your fault they—”

Sora whirled around to face them, and his eyes were flashing and his fists were clenched. “It is my fault! This is all my fault! I told her we’d be together and then I left her behind again! If we were still together like I’d promised the charm would be safe with her right now!”

No one said anything for a few moments after that, because Xehanort’s manipulation was having its intended effect. Sora’s heart was hurting and they had to do something to fix it before things got any worse.

“Now Sora, she knows you left for a good reason—” Goofy began.

Sora’s shoulders slumped, and his arms lowered to his side. “I know, I know. Because everyone’s counting on me to save them.” He opened his hand to look at the broken charm again. “But did they ever think about what it might cost me?”

Donald’s heart sank. Master Yen Sid had warned him and Goofy that Sora needed their help now more than ever, and he was right. Sora had taken the brunt of all this on his shoulders, and they were awfully young shoulders to bear such a burden.

“How am I gonna face her?” he said, his voice breaking and tears welling up in his eyes again. “All I ever do is break my promises to her. I can’t even return her charm in one piece. She trusted me and I can’t even do that.”

“Sora, it’s not your fault,” Donald said. “Kairi won’t blame you. Sure, it might be hard to tell her, but she’ll understand.”

Goofy nodded and gestured to Sora’s hand. “Besides, you’ve still got the pieces of it. She’s a real crafty gal. I’m sure she’ll come up with somethin’ that can fix it.”

Sora ignored them both, just stared at the ruined charm. “It looks like my promise to her now, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s better this way.”

“Sora, snap out of it!” Donald quacked, tugging on his arm. “Don’t you see this is what Xehanort wants? He wants to break your heart so he can take it over! Don’t let him get between you and Kairi like this!”

“But—”

“Donald’s right, ya know. You gotta have some faith in Kairi. Sure, this charm she made for you is awful nice, but it’s just a symbol. Xehanort can break it all he likes, but it doesn’t change how Kairi feels about you.”

“Or how you feel about her,” Donald added.

Sora just stared at them as if he was seeing something new for the first time. Then he looked at the charm again, his fingers tracing over it like it was the most precious thing in all the worlds.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, guys.” He carefully returned the pieces to his pocket for safekeeping. “Broken or not, a promise is still a promise. Kairi deserves to know the truth. And I can’t let Xehanort get me down.”

“That’s the spirit,” Donald said, and Goofy nodded.

Sora didn’t smile after that. In fact, he was pretty quiet all the way back to the Gummi Ship. But as they took off for the next world, Donald noticed he’d taken out the fragment of the charm with his face on it and had put it where he could see it as he drove.

Well, if Xehanort was going after his heart, it made sense that he would try to strengthen his bond with Kairi. She was his light, after all, and while all his friends helped, Donald got the feeling that Kairi in particular was keeping him from falling into darkness.

“That’s right, it was all her fault!”

Kairi whirled around to face him again. “What? That’s crazy, Naminé would never—”

“No, he’s right,” came Naminé’s voice, low but firm, and Kairi had no choice but to face her. “I was the one who tampered with Sora’s memories. I was the one who made him forget you. I replaced all of his memories of you with me. And because of that, you forgot about him, too.”

Kairi couldn’t believe her ears. All this time, she’d thought it was her fault that she’d forgotten Sora. She’d blamed herself for what had happened. Only to find out that… Naminé was the one who had tampered with his memories as well as hers? Her kind Nobody who had done nothing but look out for her?

A gutted feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “But why? Why would you do that?”

“She was jealous of you,” Marluxia said. “She wanted Sora to look at her the way he looks at you.”

“You were… jealous of me?”

Naminé’s lower lip trembled as tears filled her eyes. “Kairi, I’m so sorry. I wish I’d never made him forget you.”

Kairi’s heart pounded in her chest. Was it really true? Was it really Naminé’s fault she had forgotten Sora? Had Sora really forgotten her, too?

Well, even if it was true, something wasn’t adding up here. The gleam in Marluxia’s eyes hinted that there was more to the story. Eyes narrowing, she regarded him with a cold glare and pointed her Keyblade right at his heart.

“You. Get out of my heart. Whatever this is about, Naminé and I will figure it out together.”

Kairi sent a blast of light in his direction, and he disappeared from the dream. Good riddance. Satisfied that he was gone, Kairi let her weapon disappear and took Naminé’s hands in hers.

“Naminé, tell me what happened. I promise… no matter how bad it is… I’ll listen.”

Naminé nodded. “I should have told you long ago. The truth is, Kairi… I was lonely the moment I was born. I wanted someone to care about me. I can see Sora’s memories, and… I saw the way he looks at you. I wanted what you two share for myself. It wasn’t until later that I realized… the more I tampered with his memories, the stronger his feelings for you became. I could never replace you in his heart, no matter how hard I tried.”

Kairi was silent, not really sure what to say to this. It was a lot to take in. After a few moments of silence, she gave Naminé’s hand a reassuring squeeze, and Naminé continued.

“Marluxia kept me at Castle Oblivion, like I showed you before. He told me he’d keep me locked in the castle forever if I didn’t obey him. My powers over memory were the key to his plan. He wanted to catch Sora and bring him under his control because he wanted the power of the Keyblade for himself. He thought that if I rewrote enough of Sora’s memories, Sora would become his slave.”

As Kairi had suspected. There was more to the story than Marluxia had let on.

“He manipulated and used you, Naminé. What happened isn’t your fault.”

Naminé’s eyebrows furrowed as her eyes searched Kairi’s. “You don’t… blame me? Even though I knew what I was doing was wrong? Even though I wanted Sora for myself?”

Kairi couldn’t help but smile at that. “Any girl would want Sora for herself. I can hardly blame you for that.”

Naminé returned the smile, but there was something a little bittersweet about it. “He only has eyes for you, you know.”

Kairi’s cheeks got a little warmer at Naminé’s words, and there was a knowing twinkle in Naminé’s eyes as she continued.

“Eventually, I couldn’t go against my conscience anymore. I stopped tampering with Sora’s memories, and I told him the truth. Then I promised to make things right. It was the least I could do after all the trouble I caused him. So I told him I would put his memories back together, but there was a catch. He could either remember me, or remember you, but not both of us. And he chose you, Kairi.”

Kairi’s heart thudded in her chest. It was so loud, in this faded memory of a stark white castle that she’d never been to.

“He chose me?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes. Even though I had unchained his memories of you, he still wanted you. He wanted what was real, not a fake like me.”

Kairi brought her hand to Naminé’s face, and it was solid and real beneath her touch. “Oh, Naminé. You’re many things, but you’re not a fake. Your heart is as real as mine is.”

Naminé smiled at that. “Thank you, Kairi.”

Kairi let her hand fall to her side as another thought occurred to her. “But does that mean… he doesn’t remember you? He doesn’t remember that you helped him get all his memories of me back?”

Naminé shook her head. “All he knows is that he’s supposed to thank me.”

Something stirred inside Kairi.  “Naminé, we have to help him remember you! He’d be so upset if he realized—” She froze, all thoughts and plans fleeing her head at the sight of the tears shining in Naminé’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“You really are too kind,” Naminé said, wiping her eyes. “I was afraid to tell you, and here you are, trying to think of ways for Sora to remember me.”

Kairi’s hand found its way to her necklace. “Well… don’t get me wrong. I’m not happy that you made him forget about me. We can’t ever get back the year we lost, and I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t make me sad. And… I guess… if I’m being completely honest… a little jealous, too.”

It was hard to admit these things to herself, let alone another person. But Kairi knew it was true. The thought of Sora showing interest in another girl made this uneasy feeling settle over her stomach, and she knew what that feeling was.

“But I can’t hold it against you, Naminé. You were in a bad situation and Marluxia was using you as much as he was using Sora. You’re as much a victim as he is.”

Naminé nodded. “It’s true. But not any longer.”

“No, of course not. You’ve done nothing but help him and help me since then. You’re a good person, Naminé. I’m glad you’re my Nobody.” She paused and corrected herself. “No, not my Nobody, my friend.”

“I’m glad you’re my friend, too.”

Kairi smiled and found Naminé’s hands again. “And that means I want Sora to remember you, too. And not just that. You deserve to exist on your own. You have your own memories, your own feelings. And that means you have your own heart, too. I promise, Namine, I’ll find a way to bring you back. You and Roxas both. I know Sora feels the same way. We promised we’d be together so you two could be together, but that isn’t good enough anymore. I want the two of you to be free so you can be together any time you want.”

Naminé smiled again, and this time, there was no trace of sadness in her smile. “Thank you, Kairi.”

As the dream faded away into morning, Kairi couldn’t wait to tell Sora about her new promise. Someday, she would meet Naminé again, face-to-face. Sora would see Roxas face-to-face. He would remember Naminé, and she could introduce herself to Roxas properly, too.

The four of them would be friends, she just knew it.

And until that day came, she would never give up on finding a way for Naminé to be free.