#kingdommad

Sora turned his head so that his face was not longer in the seat, allowing him to speak. “Kairi kicked me out. We had a fight.” He stared out blankly.

“A fight?” Riku looked at his friend in shock but tried to keep his voice down as he spoke. “What happened? You guys never fight?” He questioned.

“I don’t know.” Sora sat up as he spoke. “She suddenly got really mad at me.” His eyes started to get teary. “Riku! I don’t want to lose her.”

Riku placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You are not going to lose her.” He assured him. “C’mon. Let’s get you dry.” After calming his friend down, Riku grabbed his friend some fresh clothes to borrow, a towel to dry his hand and had placed the kettle on to make a warm hot chocolate for him.

While doing all of this, Naminé had emerge from the bedroom, asking if it was Sora that decided to visit them at 3 o’clock in the morning. She explained that Kairi had message her on her gummiphone to ask if Sora was round their house as she didn’t know where he had disappeared to after their fight and feared the worst. “Do you know what they are fighting about?” Naminé asked him.

“Sora is too zoned out and upset to go into detail.” Riku sighed. “What about Kairi? How is she?”

“She hasn’t said much about their fight. She just wants him to come home.” Naminé explained, looking at her gummiphone with concern. “I will call Kairi to see if she is okay. You take care of Sora.” The two of them nodded in agreement, with Naminé giving Riku his own shirt in the process and each went to help a friend.

Riku returned to the kitchen to see that Sora had helped himself to making the hot chocolate as he grabbed another mug and past it over to him. “Thanks.” He took a seat and took a sip out of the hot chocolate before he looked over to his friend, who was staring into his mug. “What happened?” He asked him once more. “Start from the beginning.”

Sora looked away, unsure at first, before he started to explain. “Kairi has always been bold in our relationship. She was the one to suggest that we would take the raft without you. She was the one to offer the Paupo Fruit first. To kiss…. I just wanted to show that I can be bold too.” He sighed, holding the mug tightly. “After you guys found me, I have been trying to make up for lost time. To make things up to her and so far, everything has been like a dream. So, I thought that I would do this romantic dinner for her and show her that I can do bold things. It was going well, and we were enjoying each other’s company but...” Sora halted as he stared into his drink.

Riku raised an eyebrow at this. “But what?” He prompted.

Sora sighed as he looked away, as if he was ashamed. “I saw the scar.”

“What scar?” He looked at his friend in confusion. Riku had never seen any form of scar on Kairi, not even when they had gone swimming…. now that he thought about. Ever since they had defeated Xehanort and they had managed to get Sora back home after overusing the power of waking. Kairi will always have a white shirt over her swimsuit. He just assumed that she just like stealing Sora’s shirts.

When Sora reminded silent to the question, suddenly looking pale as he was deep in his thoughts. Riku suddenly looked away as he remembered where this mysterious scar came from.

When the two of them had to watch their dear friend get stuck down by Master Xehanort.

After a moment of silence, Sora wiped his eyes as he continued his story. “After all this time, she was hiding her scar with magic.” He took another sip of his drink. “I tried to ask why she had hid the scar and before I knew it, we started fighting about when I used the power of waking to save her…….where I traded places with her—” the rest turned into mumbles as Sora moved cup slightly so that he could slam his head on the table and place his hands on his head.

Before Riku could comfort his friend, he saw from the corner of his eye that Naminé enter the room. She past the gummiphone to him so he could read Kairi’s side of the story before she went over to Sora. “Remember the scar that you gained when you saved Kairi? Do you hide it?” She asked him.

Sora shook his head as he looked up to her. “I am proud of it! It reminds me of the time that I would do anything to save her and it reminds me when she brought me back from the first time, from when I turned into a Heartless.” He held hand to his heart as he spoke.

“Do you show it off to Kairi?” Riku asked, looking away from the gummiphone for a second to give him a serious look.

Sora looked back at Riku. “Kairi, Donald and Goofy have asked to see it once. I wouldn’t brag about it to them though. I know they worried about me that day.” He admitted.

“Now think about Kairi’s scar.” Naminé told him, only to see Sora frown at the suggestion. “The scar that Kairi bears wasn’t one that she chooses to have. She lost her life and had to deal with the guilt of losing you when you traded places with her.”

“To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to help myself if I saw that scar.” Riku added. “A reminder of what happened to the both of you.”

“She hid it so that she didn’t have to remind anyone of that day.” Naminé looked over to Sora to see that he was processing all the information. “Sora. She didn’t want you hurt you out of everyone.” She placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort, seeing that he was still deep in thought.

Sora took a deep breath. “It took me by surprise.” He sighed, memories of that day running through his mind, like it has done hundred times before. It took him a while to process everything before he rose from his chair, smiling at his two friends. “Thank you Riku! Naminé!” He said with gratitude. “I know it’s a bit late—”

“Go.” Riku urged him, pointing him to the door. Sora nodded before he headed out the door. After his friend left, Riku rubbed his eyes from exhaustion. “Why don’t you head back to bed, Naminé? I don’t think I will be able to get asleep now.” He suggested to her. He may have to fly to Disney Castle in the morning but now that he had the image of Kairi’s demise in his mind, there was no chance he was sleeping.

Naminé had other ideas though as she walked over to Riku, wrapped her arm round his and started to guide him to the hallway leading to the bedroom. “You’re coming to bed too. I will remind you of your memories.” She told him.

Riku only smiled. He has enjoyed every second that Naminé has been back in their lives. He didn’t need to fully be awake to know that.

 Sora slowly opened front door back into his and Kairi’s place, only to see that the Princess of Heart was trying to keep herself awake on the sofa, as her head kept nodding up and down. As she hasn’t noticed his return yet, he walked over to her and kneeled to her level. “Hey. Let’s get you to bed.” He lifted her up into his arms and started to carry her back into the bedroom.

As Sora carried her, Kairi looked up at him with tired sore eyes. “Why did you leave?” She asked him drowsily. “I was scared I would lose you again.” She wiped her eyes to try and wake herself up as Sora placed her on the bed with him sitting beside her. “Not again.”

Sora looked at her to see that she had been crying just like he had. “I’m sorry for the way I acted before.” He took her hand as he spoke. “It caught me by surprise and all the frustration and angry and guilt from that day just came out. But that’s no excuse for me to take it out on you.” He looked away in shame. “I shouldn’t have left the house either. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

Feeling Kairi squeeze his hand, making him look back at the Princess of Heart with teary eyes. “I’m sorry too.” She said, keeping a hold of Sora’s hand as she spoke. “I hide it because I was ashamed of it. It reminded me of how I was taken down so easily, like I wasn’t even a threat to them. It just made me feel like I should have stayed at home. At least that way, you didn’t have to die for me again.” Her eyes started to water again. “You died because of my mistakes.”

Sora closed his eyes as he started to feel her guilt. He started to feel guilty for making her feel this way.

He never intended for her to carry his hurt.

“Kairi, we all would have died way before facing the seekers if it wasn’t for you. We wouldn’t have been able to save Xion, Roxas, Terra, Isa and even Naminé if it wasn’t for your strength.” He told her. “And who went from world to world, looking for me after I disappeared. You. I am here because of you.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead, trying to calm her at the same time.

It didn’t take for Kairi to pull Sora into a hug, who returned the favour. Both feeling that they both regret the fight from before, a fight that not only ruined their night but had disturbed both Riku and Naminé as well. They would defiantly need to make it up to them.

Sora pulled away to look at her again. “We need to face what happened.” He said to her. “I know it will hurt but we need to accept what we saw and experienced that day. It will always be part of our relationship. If we continue to pretend that it didn’t happen like we have been doing these last two years, then the hurt will be ten times worse.”

Kairi nodded in agreement. “I know we do. I just wish the start of the two of us being together didn’t begin with you disappearing in front—” She didn’t the sentence as she wiped her eyes once more.

Two years on and the pain, hurt and suffering were fresh on their minds. Both having to witness the other disappear in front of them.

Squeezing her hands once more, Sora looked away slightly before looking back at Kairi. “Our beginnings may be rough, but I promise that everything will be smooth sailing after tonight.” He looked away again, looking slightly nervous.

Kairi started to catch on his behaviour. “What’s wrong?”

“Well. I was just wondering…” Sora took a deep breath again. “C-can I look at it?” He asked nervously. He looked into her eyes to see if there was any confirmation. At first, he saw the surprise in her eyes from his question. He could see that she was unsure. “Only if you are comfortable. We can take our time.” He assured her.

“It’s okay.” She smiled, leaning in to give him a kiss. “We both need to address this. Just like we did with your scar.” After that, she turned around and lifted the back of her shirt up.

The scar was a lot bigger than the one that Sora had on the chest. As she had got slashed downwards, the scar showed the deeper impact near her lower back. Sora started to trace the scar with his fingers, making the redhead jump slightly. He quickly checked if she was okay with what he was doing, after she nodded, he continued with what he was doing.

As he guided his finger slightly over the injury, he couldn’t help noticing the difference with the softness of her skin, making him lose his breath for a sec with his cheeks going slightly red. Even though his original plan was to be a little bolder tonight, he didn’t think he would be doing this. “How does it feel?” He forced slightly, making Kairi look at him questionable. He couldn’t miss her slightly pink cheeks though. “The scar. Does it hurt?” He added, gaining his breathe again.

She giggled as his reaction. “It can hurt a little at the bottom sometimes.” She admitted.

The softness of her skin started to drive Sora slightly mad. How she had gotten this scar started to fade from his mind as something he hadn’t felt before began to emerge within him. “Kairi. Stop me if this isn’t comfortable but I want you to know that this scar doesn’t define you.”

Before she could question what he meant; he started to kiss her scar.

He made sure that he just covered the top half of the scar, knowing that the bottom half would properly hurt her. Every kiss that he did felt like he was healing her pain and suffering of the pain. The pain that their enemies and himself had caused her. His bit his bottom lip, wanting to be bolder but resisted as he pulled away, allowing Kairi to look at him, her cheeks gone completely red.

Sora grinned as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry. I just wanted to—”

Kairi didn’t allow him to finish as she leaned in, holding the side of his face and slamming her lips onto his. This was different to kisses they had shared before. These kisses were much stronger, messier, showing all the boldness that the two of them have for each other. She pulled away before they got carried away. “I love you.” She breathes.

Sora bit his lip before he couldn’t take anymore and returned to their passionate kissing.

“I love you too.”

“Kairi!!” A familiar voice called. I looked behind me to see the familiar brown spiky hair boy running towards me. I shook my head as he approaches me out of breath. “Sorry…...I’m late.” He puffed as he sat on the paopu tree as well.

“Sora, we were meant to meet here two hours ago.” I frowned at him. What I needed to tell him was quite serious and Sora has been hard to catch as he is normally going from world to world. Time was of the essence.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He looked away from me. “I know you said it was urgent…. I just got caught up with some stuff.” He summoned his keyblade but it was different. It wasn’t the Kingdom Key but a smooth, cylindrical, grey shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It has a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rod. The base of the guard connects to the grip, and both sport several small indentations lining them. The grip itself is somewhat unique in that, while most Keyblade grips are cylindrical, the grip is squared. The teeth are in the shape of an "E". Sora pointed this keyblade forward, so I could look at it fully. “I did come to the islands early to make sure I wasn’t late. Then I found this on the beach.” The keyblade dissolved in his hand before looking at me. “Either way, I should have been here sooner.”

I looked at him with a heart-warming smile as he gave a sheepish grin while scratching the back of his head. His smile always made my heart skip slightly. “So long as you don’t go rushing off straight away. I guess I can forgive you.” I joked slightly. Only slightly as I know that if I didn’t tell him what I thought now. I won’t have the chance again.

“Don’t worry.” He softly spoke as he shuffled a little closer to me on the tree. “I’m not going anywhere.” I feel my face go slightly red from his words that I had the look away, tucking my hair behind my ear. “So, what did you want to talk about?” he asked cheerfully.

I looked back at him, seeing his concerned look and took this moment to take everything in. His slightly more controlled hair, the difference in his body from the last two years of fighting heartless was a sight, before returning right back to his eyes.

His eyes that looked tired, exhausted and slightly green. Not his usual blue. I need to tell him. “I wanted to talk about you, Sora.”

“Me?” He said with surprise, a confused look on his face.

I took this chance to jump off the tree and walk towards the edge of the little island before turning back to look at him. “Yes Sora. Have you been okay?” I said to him vaguely, maybe by starting vaguely he can start the talking himself.

Instead, he just looked at me with confusion as he tilted his head to the side. “I’m doing okay.” He answered before laying down on the paopu tree now that I had moved. “I am worried about Riku though. He said that he would contact us when he and Mickey got into the realm of darkness.” I watched Sora pull a communicator from his pocket that all of us received from Izeno in Radiant Garden. He looked at it intently, “But I haven’t heard anything yet.”

He wasn’t hiding everything there. I was having trouble with contacting Riku myself. I wanted to see that he was safe as well, but I wanted to ask him what happened doing their Mark of Mastery. I know that Riku would tell me the truth unlike Lea and the others, who would tell me everything but the reason why Sora had failed. Why did Sora fail? After everything he has done for the worlds, why was he not granted the mark. Either way, Riku isn’t here now so I will just have to find out from the source himself.

“I’m sure we will hear from him soon.” Then I added, “I mean he is a Master now.”

“That’s true.” He agreed. “And you’re right, Kairi.” He sat up and smiled at me. “Riku will be back before you know it.”

There it was again. I thought as I caught the glimpse of green in his eyes and his grin posed wide like he was having a photo taken. It was staged.

I didn’t think anything of it at first. When I had bumped into Sora in Radiant Garden during my training, I has asked him if he was okay and he assured me that he was fine. I trusted that Sora would tell me if anything was wrong, so I left it at that. But after we had gotten our communicators, we started talking more while I was doing training missions in other worlds.  I started noticing that he didn’t sound as chirpy as he normally is. He would avoid certain questions. He would mask his face to show that he was fine.

He wasn’t like that before the Mask of Mastery, so what happened to him.

“Are you okay, Kairi?” I snapped out of my thoughts to pull my attention back to him. He looked at me with concern. “For someone who wanted to talk urgently, you’ve been quiet the last couple of minutes.”

“Sorry. I was just in my thoughts.” I looked back at him, if I don’t ask soon. He will have to go. I took a deep breath and looked at him, my eyes locked on his. “Sora, why didn’t you pass the Mark of Mastery?”

I could sense his concentrated glaze on me as he jumped down from the tree and approached me. “I was meant to gain a power in the sleeping worlds and I didn’t gain it at the time.” He turned to face the sunset. “I have that power now. I’m a Master now. So, I overcame that challenge.”

I looked at his hands to see them clenched tightly. There was more to this. “If it was that simple Sora, the others would have told me the whole story.” I stepped toward to get closer, noticing that he was making sure I couldn’t see his face. “I’ve been told that something happened that Mickey, Lea and the others had to jump in the middle of your test. And I know that Riku had to wake you up.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling him flinch from my touch. I would admit that seeing him react like that hurt a little. “I just want to know what happened.” I spoke with concern.

“I failed Kairi. That’s what happened.” He spoke coldly. His tone caught me off guard, but my worries were starting to be confirmed. He has been holding something in and he hasn’t been talking to anyone about it. From the sound of it, he defiantly hasn’t even talked to Riku about it.

“What—” When I went to look at face, he turned sharply away from me. He started to walk towards wooden bridge. “Sora! Where are you going?” I called out.

“I have to get back to saving Roxas.” Sora replied, still avoiding looking at me. “I have to save them all.” His body moved heavily as he was stomping off.

Is that what this is about? A part of me didn’t want to push him anymore but I knew that if I give up now, I wouldn’t be able to confront him again until I have Riku with me and I have this feeling we will be too late. “What are you so afraid off that you would push us aside?!” I stood my ground, if he wasn’t going to show me his face then I going to sherd no tears. I need to stay strong. “We’re all worried about you.” I watched him stay to a halt from my words. “I’m worried about you.”

We stood there for a while. The sound of the waves filling the space between us. I started to walk towards him when he spoke. “Am I still the same Kairi?”

“What do you mean?” I asked him. What did he mean by that?

I watched him sigh as he looked at his hands, still not turning to face me. “There are so many people connected to me by my heart. Roxas, Ventus…...” He shook slightly, the sound of his voice became more strained as he spoke. “I want to help everyone, but I don’t want to become someone I am not. I don’t want to carry all of this hurt.” He grabbed his chest in response with one hand and covered his eyes with the other. “Everyone is depending on me and I scared that I am not even me.”

Hearing the sobs coming from him just through my body into auto-pilot as I ran over to him, turned him around and hugged him tightly, guiding him to rest his head into my shoulder. I felt his arms wrap around myself tightly as he made muffled sounds into my jacket. I brushed my fingers through his hair and rocked him slightly, telling him that ‘I am here’ over and over to calm him down. A part of me was glad that he was letting this out, but it could have also been prevented. “Remember what you said to Riku when we found him? You said that he shouldn’t do everything on his own when he has friends like us. Well, I am saying the same thing to you. Let us carry some of that fear and hurt and we will face it together.”

He started to calm down before he spoke again. “I didn’t want to worry anyone.” I noticed that he was still hiding his face away. I tired to move to look at him, but he kept me in place within his arms. My concern only grew more.  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Sora, you are worrying me now. Let me see your face.” I asked him. “Let me in.” We stood there in each other’s arms for a minute or two before he shifted to lift his head up from her shoulder. His lips formed a firm line and he kept his eyes shut. “Sora please.” He took my hands into his slightly rough ones. I could feel his hands shake within mine. I have never seen him this scared or upset before. It was starting to scare me.

Then he opened his eyes. Golden ones staring back at me.

“I was captured by Xehanort and the new Organization XIII during the Mark of Mastery.” His voice shook as he started to explain. “I watched everything without the ability to move my body. Xehanort wanted to make me his last member. Make me just another version of himself. And after everything that the others did, to prevent that from happening. I just couldn’t….” He looked away as tears began to form. “Riku and Axel…..Donald and Goofy….the King.” I held on to his hands tightly for reassurance, making him look back at me. “It was my fault that I got captured. They fought so hard to save me, especially Riku. I couldn’t tell them.” He closed his eyes and hung his head in guilt and shame.

While holding his hands, I took the time to process the information given. We had failed to save Sora from Xehanort after all. His heart is part of Sora’s now. He is the thirteen seeker. However, Xehanort hasn’t taken over his heart, Sora was in control. Why was that? I thought back to Sora’s first question, when he was asking if he was still him and what he said after. “Sora. When you said that you didn’t want to become someone you are not. Were you thinking that if you were to save both Roxas and Ventus from their faith, that Xehanort will take over?” It was only thing that might make sense. It was like they were being guards to Sora’s heart from any invaders. I could understand why he hadn’t talked to anyone about this. He didn’t want to make anyone feel that they failed to save them. In the end, I would properly be the only person he thought he could admit this too.

But even I feel I have failed him.

“I don’t know what to do, Kai.” His head hung low. He sounded so lost in my arms. “I can’t just leave Roxas and Ventus trapped within. Using them for my own needs. That would make me no better than Xehanort.” He let go of my hands, suddenly I am missing the warmth that he was giving. “But saving Roxas and Ventus is exactly what they want. They have been taunting me enough during my journey to other worlds.” I watched his guilt quickly turn into frustration as he closed his eyes and placed his hand in his hair. “Either way, I can choose to be a coward and abandon my friends or save my friends to only go to hurt them later.”

I shook my head at this. “Sora, we can find another way. We can always focus on removing Xehanort from your heart first then go back to getting Roxas and Ventus.”

He sighed as he opened his eyes to look back at me. “I don’t think it will be that easy.” He held on to his chest, where his heart rests. “Unlike Roxas and Ventus, his presence fights against my very being. Using whatever darkness I have within me to his advantage. It comes and goes at the moment but it mainly comes when I am feeling down or scared. With all this thinking of ‘Who I am’, I am starting to feel his presence at lot more. I can’t even sleep properly.”  

“We can still use the power you and Riku learnt to----” I jumped in.

“If we do it, Xehanort will properly take every last bit of my darkness with him.” He sighed. “I am not like you or Ven……my heart would break.”

“Then we will bring you back---”

“How?!” The sharpness in Sora’s voice caught me off guard. I didn’t want to admit that there wasn’t anything we could do. That I could do. I had brought him back before when he was a Heartless. I will figure out a way to bring him back. “I broke your promise. I am no longer myself.” He stepped back and placed his hand in one of his pockets, pulling out a familiar charm to both him and I. “I don’t deserve to keep a hold of this. It might be better if---”

I don’t know what came over me but seeing him with the charm in hand, seeing him so crushed and lost within himself that I needed to drive his darkness away. I just leaned forward, placed my hands on the side of his face and placed my lips on his for a quick but passionate kiss. My heart was racing from my boldness and my body was just running on adrenaline from all the emotions that running through me. I looked back at him to see his eyes widen with surprise, what the surprise for me was that his eyes turned from the eerie golden yellow back to his usual comforting blue ones. I was too filled with emotions to question my actions.

“YOU ARE SORA!” I said to him as clear as possible, my hands still on his shocked face. “You are the saviour of the worlds, a fantastic friend, a loving, caring person. Nothing and no one will change that. Xehanort will not take control of you. Your heart has already shown to be stronger than his. Believe me when I say that.” I started to breathe heavily, I took this time to close my eyes, letting go of Sora’s face as I calmed myself down. “Please keep hold of the charm. It’s the only thing that assures me that you will come back home.” With my emotions in check, I opened my eyes to look back at him. He seems to be processing everything I have said and done.

Suddenly feeling regret from my kiss, I step away from him. Something that he notices straight away. “Sora. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—” It was my turn to have my sentence cut off as my dear friend repeated the same action by grabbing my face and kissing me with just as much passionate, only lasting a little while longer. All sense of worry disappeared as I was filled with complete bliss. Feeling my heart sing as I take this moment in.

Sora pulled away from me and looked at me with the warmest smile. A smile that I haven’t seen in a while. “Thank you, Kairi.” He pulls me into a hug. “And I’m sorry. For all of this. I didn’t want anyone, especially you to find out this way.

“But Sora ---”

Sora’s communicator starts to ring. Time was up.

I sighed as Sora pulled away to find his ringing communicator in his pockets. Placing the charm back in his pocket while doing so. I took this time to notice that the sun had gone down during our heart to heart. It was hard to see when the night comes as there is not any light source. I looked up to the sky to see so many stars scattering across the sky. The night sky can be a thing of beauty. To think that all those stars are a world, just like ours.

“Kairi.” I turned to face Sora, it was a little tricky seeing him in the dark. “That was Riku.”

“Is he okay?” I stepped toward slightly, trying to find where Sora was. I felt Sora’s hand and grabbed it. At least I know where he is now.

“He’s fine. He said that Yen Sid needs us all back at the tower. He believes that he has an idea where Terra is.” I held on my hand tightly, feeling the warmth from it. “C’mon, we will give you a lift there.” We start walking across the bridge and jump down to head to the row boats.

Sora lets go of my hand to set up a light source on the rowboat. I watched him intensively as there was one thing that I was wondering about. “You are going to tell the others, right?” As much as I want to be, I will not be journeying with him all the time. There will also be times where we might not be able to communicate with each other as easily so having others near him that he can talk to if he is struggling against Xehanort will help in the run of the final battle ahead.

The lantern on the boat is switched on, allowing me to see Sora’s thoughtful but worried expression. “I will.” He stood away from the rowboats and looked at me, “If you can promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“If I lose the battle against Xehanort after I help Roxas, Ventus and the others……” He stepped towards me and placed both my hands within his. I looked at his eyes to see the slight green colour has returned to his eyes. “Don’t go easy on me.”

Again, the waves filled the silence between the two of us, I could feel the weight of this promise. What it meant if I was to agree and what I was agreeing to. Any other time, I would claim that there must be another way, that it doesn’t have to been like this. But we both know that we will be heading down this path no matter what. If it means that he will spread his worries to the others, so he doesn’t burst then that will decrease the chance of Xehanort taking Sora’s heart.

“I promise.”

It had been two years since the final battle with Xehanort and his seekers, a journey that ended up being the hardest out of all the journeys that he had been on. It would be an understatement to say that he has been enjoying the sense of peace that came knowing that Xehanort was forever out of the picture. The first thing he did was have a long, satisfying nap on the beach of Destiny Islands, something that his friends laughed at him for. The second thing was going on a tour to the other worlds with Riku and Kairi, something the three of them wanted to do from the very beginning.

Things between Sora and Kairi have changed dramatically since they defeated Xehanort, something that still makes the Keyblade Master smile warmly as he reminisces the events. Before their battle with Xehanort, they had taken the chance to share their feelings and fears to each other, sharing a Paopu fruit with each other in case the worst was to happen in the battle. There was even a moment where Sora had to watch Kairi get taken away by the villian himself. He had even swapped placed with her in order to bring her back. It was only six months later that Kairi and Riku had managed to find him again within the Realm of Dead. He just remembered the speeding hug he received from her and thinking how he never wanted to let go of us again.

They had made things official the night after they returned to the Islands. Spending the night under the stars in each other’s arms.

After that, they have spent most days with each other’s. Travelling the worlds with Riku, training and sparring with each other and working together in sync if they are needed for any Heartless control. They will be days where the two of them might not be together, like if Sora spends the day hanging out with Riku or if Kairi was doing some special training with Aqua and Lea to prepare for her Mark of Mastery but normally these days, you wouldn’t find one without the other.

After making sure that the hats were not going to fly off again, Sora walked around the table set up one more time as a beam of light appeared on the beach. Sora shielded his eyes slightly before looking to see who was first to arrive. “Riku! You’re here!” He grinned as he walked over to his best friend.

Riku’s appearance hasn’t changed much over the two years, he was still taller than Sora by a good couple of inches, still ready for a fight. “Hey goofball! I’ve been looking over for you.” He said before looking at the mini party. “Oh, not this again…” He groaned, shaking his head at the sight.

“What? It’s tradition.” Sora proclaimed, walking back over to the table.” We did it for you and you passed the Mark, we did it for me, Roxas, Terra, Ven….” He listed. He turned around, having grabbed a pair of round glasses with a fake moustache and placed it on his face. “I even found this.” The sight of the glasses just made Riku burst into laughter. “See? It’s fun. I thought Kairi and Lea should get the same thing.”

“Sora. What are you going to do if they don’t pass?” Riku asked him, looking at the giant banner.

“They will. I know they will.” He smiled in belief, taking the glasses off and putting them on the table. “Either way, everyone is coming here after they get their results from the Mark of Mastery.”

“Who is everyone?” Riku raised his eyebrow, not wanting to be surprised again when Sora tried to invite literally everyone he knew before Donald had told him off.

“You know, the usual.” Sora shrugged as he started to collect some wood to start a little campfire on the beach to keep people warm. Riku automatically started to get some of the logs they save in one of the shacks to use as seats.

“That includes Aqua?” Riku asked. Sora nodded in response, placing the wood in the fire pit before looking at him questionably. “It’s just that she wanted me to ask you to talk to her when you can but since you invited her to the gathering, she can talk to you herself.” He explained.

“Is that why you were looking for me?” Sora questioned, having his friend nod in response as he placed the log down. “I wonder if everything is okay?” He wondered. Before the two could think more about the subject, more people started to show up.

Donald and Goofy were first to appear. They greeted the two Islanders before spotting the afternoon tea and sandwiches on the table and head straight the tables to take a seat. Roxas, Naminé, Hayner, Pence and Olette showed up, Sora greeted the Twilight Town crew as guided them to the tables. It was then that Sora saw that Tidus, Wakka and Selphie had rowed over from the other island with the last of the supplies that Sora needed to set up. While Sora and Selphie hanged up the last of the decorations, he noticed that Aqua, Terra and Ventus arrived, the last of their guests. Before he got a chance to greet them, he saw that Riku had covered for him while he finished up. He would have to catch up with Aqua and the others later.

After thanking Selphie, Sora took a moment to sit down and look at his communicator. All that needed to be done now was wait for a message from King Mickey. Since Mickey would be brining Kairi and Lea to the Islands, it made sense that he would send the message to hide when they are ready and to be ready to abort if they did fail but he didn’t think they would fail. Both Lea and Kairi have been working hard for the Mark of Mastery.

“Sora. It’s good to see you.”

He looked over to see Ventus, the boy who slept in his heart for most of his life. Ven walked over to him as the two gave each other a huge brotherly hug. Since freeing Ven’s heart and getting to know him as a person, the two of them grew close very quickly. Ven was like the older brother Sora never had, who had always been there to guide without him knowing. Sure, Sora treated Roxas like his own brother as well but having someone’s heart within you for so long, their relationship is different.

“Did you find it?” Sora asked him, knowing that since Ven’s heart was returned to him. He had been having dreams about a life before Master Xehanort in a place called ‘Daybreak Town’. He would dream about discussing things with his friends. When we had asked Chirithy about ‘Daybreak Town’, they explained that it was the land of fairy tales, where keyblade wielders used to live. So, Ven has been spending the last year, travelling the worlds to look for clues about ‘Daybreak Town’ and how to get there.

Ven shook his head. “Not yet. But I have heard that there was once a book called ‘The Book of Prophecies’. Pete accidently mentioned it when I had to deal with some of his Heartless. So, I might check out some of the library’s the worlds have to offer to see if I can find the book.” Ven yawned at the thought. “Then again, Aqua likes that sort of stuff. Maybe she will help me.”

“Isn’t Aqua busy with her students?” Sora asked before adding, “And if you are all here, who’s looking after them?”

“They went to visit their families for a couple of days while we came out here.” Ven shrugged. “So, she can help me with the books.”

“What about Terra? You can get him to help too.” Sora suggested.

Ven smiled at the idea, leaning back slightly as he looked up at the sky. “We can use this to just be the three of us…just like old times.”

“But don’t you guys hang out?” Sora asked him. “I mean, you are all based in Land of Departure.” He would have thought that the three of them would be exploring the worlds together like himself, Kairi and Riku did after they returned home.

“Well Aqua has her students and they can be a handful. We try and help with training every now and again, but Terra has his responsibilities and I’m still working on finding Daybreak Town. To be honest with you Sora, coming to this party has been the first time in a while that I have got to hang out with both Terra and Aqua without thinking of our responsibilities.” Ven explained before jumping up from where he sat. “Just remember Sora. I may be busy with finding the book and the town but if you ever need me. I’m a call away.” He smiled before walking over to the others.

As if on cue, Sora’s communicator started to go off. He pulled the device out of his pocket and clicked on the screen to see a message from Mickey. When reading the message, he couldn’t help but cheer with excitement, giving the others a clue what was going on. “I knew they could do it!” He grinned. Kairi is now a master! Both Lea and Kairi have become masters but he couldn’t help but be prouder for the Princess of Heart. After all their practise duels and training and even the whole orderal with Xehanort when she had begun her training, she has earned the title, ‘Master.’ He placed the communicator back in his pocket before turning to the party guests. “Guys! They are on their way!” He shouted to them, making sure everyone could hear him. “We have five minutes to hide.”

The next five minutes couldn’t have been more manic for the group. They first all tried to hide everyone and the tables with a spell, but the result led to Hayner tripping over one of the chairs and taking Donald and Wakka down with him. Then everyone tired to hide in the seaside shack, only for Tidus to break the old, wooden door when leaning against it, meaning that only a few people could hide there. Then Roxas decided it would be funny to push Riku into the waterfall, only to be pushed in by Naminé as a result. Eventually, everyone spread themselves around the small play island in different locations, making sure they were staying quiet.

They stayed in their hiding spots for a couple of minutes before another beam of light appeared a small mouse king with two familiar red heads, who look like they had just been put through hell and back with their exam. They would only jump when all their appeared from their hiding spots to shot ‘Surprise!’.

Lea was the first to reaction with a huge laugh as he took in the sight of Roxas and Riku’s soaking hair and clothes. “Why did you guys hide under the waterfall?” He snickered, holding his sides.

“Because!” Roxas walked towards his best friend, looking as if he planned the whole thing. “You would never expect it.” He said.

“Yeah! Only Roxas would voluntarily jump in a huge amount of water to hide.” Hayner joked.

Sora didn’t waste anytime to run over to Kairi with excitement as he picked her up and spun her around, gaining a surprise gasp and giggle from her. He slowed down and kissed her on the forehead, smiling lovely at her. “I’m so proud of you.” He told her before pulling her into a hug.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.” She muffled in Sora’s jacket before she pulled away, looking at everyone while taking Sora’s hand into hers. “And everyone here, thank you.”

“Yeah! We both promise to be the best masters out there!” Lea added before looking over to Riku. “I bet we could beat you!” he challenged.

Riku chuckled at this, “You forget who helped you prepare for the mark.”

Terra stepped toward, looking at the two with a huge amount of respect. “Just remember, gaining the rank of ‘Master’ is just the first step. There will be many challenges you will have to face in the future.”

Aqua nodded in agreement. “But for now, let us celebrate the here and now.”

Naminé raised her tea cup in the air, “To Master Kairi and Master Lea!” She cheered.

“To Master Kairi and Master Lea!!”

“Congratulations!”

“We believed in you both!”

“GO KAIRI AND LEA!!”

It wasn’t long before the sun started to go lower in the sky, creating a warm orange tint in the sky that reflected onto the sea. After consuming all the sandwiches and biscuits, Kairi and Lea explained test to the others and what they had to do. From the sound of it, Yen Sid had created illusions of their worst fears that the two had to face and he had placed them in the Keyblade Graveyard of all places. The two had worked together, just like they did on that day two years ago and came out victorious.

After the story, Sora and Kairi decided to walk over to the Paupo tree for a bit of time to themselves. They could see that no one had notice them leave as most of lot of the guests were watching Lea and Roxas duel against Terra and Ventus, providing the evening entertainment. The only ones that looked a little more serious was Riku, Mickey and Aqua, who seem to be talking in detail.

Sora sat down on the Paupo fruit while Kairi leaned on the trunk itself, standing in front of Sora as he wrapped his arms around her with Kairi stroking his arm in response. “So, this is what it’s like to be master of the keyblade.” Kairi spoke out loud as the two of them took the sunset in. “I expected to feel…a little different.”

“How so?”

“Well, it’s hard to explain.” Kairi thought about it. “When I first got given the Keyblade, I had a huge sense of responsible rush through me. It gave me that sense of growing up. I thought becoming a master would do the same.”

“Don’t worry, Kai.” Sora assured her. “Once you get as busy as Aqua and Mickey does with their students, you will properly feel like a master then.”

“Well, what about you?” Kairi turned around to look at Sora. “You’ve been a master for two years now. Don’t you feel like one?”

Sora hummed in thought, thinking about it properly. “Well, not after Xehanort.” He admitted before shrugging. “It doesn’t matter whether we feel like one or not. What matters is that we ARE masters.” He jumps down from the Paupo tree and swings his arm around the Princess of Heart as they took their eyes on the sunset once more. “Just imagine! Now that we are masters, we can go where we want to go. Do what we want to do. Be who we want to be.”

“Couldn’t we do that anyway?” Kairi questioned.

“I mean…yeah.” Sora said bashfully, before he looked at his girlfriend. “What I meant to say was that now that the both of us are masters, we can decide our own fate. We could find students, beat bad guys, do what Master Yen Sid does, whatever it is…. we will do it together.”

Kairi shook her head and smiled at him, “You are such a goof ball.” She leaned in to place a kiss on his lips, something that still makes Sora melt over after the two years together. “So long as we are together then I couldn’t be happier, Master Sora.” She said softly. “I love you.”

He never gets tired of hearing those words. “I love you too, Master Kairi.” He kissed her hand and held on to it tightly as they both leaned in for another kiss.

“Sorry for interrupting. Can I talk to you both?”

The two of them paused and turned around to see Aqua walking towards the two of them. “Aqua, is everything okay?” Kairi asked, letting go of Sora as she turned to face her.

“Don’t worry. Everything is fine.” She smiled at the two of them. “Ven, Terra and I will be heading off soon and I wanted to make sure that I got to talk to the both of you before I headed off.”

“Riku did mention that you wanted to talk.” Sora suddenly remembered the conversation that he was having with his friend before everyone started to show up.

“Well it was just to ask if the two of you could get to Land of Departure next week.” Aqua told them. “I wanted to wait until Kairi and Lea passed their mark before going over the details. It will acquire all of the new masters.”

Both Sora and Kairi looked at Aqua with concern. “Is it something to worry about?” Sora asked her.

“Oh no, nothing too serious like that.” Aqua assured them, making the two sighed in relieve. “It’s just easier for myself and Mickey to go over the details if everyone is there.”

“Mickey as well?” Kairi questioned. “What is the gathering about?”

“It’s better if I explain everything then. Otherwise, I will be here all night explaining.” Aqua smiled, “So I can expect the two of you to come?”

“We’ll be there.” The two of them nodded.

Aqua clapped her hands with excitement, “Excellent! That’s everyone then.” The three of them looked over to Terra and Ven to see that the two of them were calling Aqua over, showing that they were about to go. “Well done again, Kairi. I will see you both soon.” She hugged the two of them goodbye before she followed Terra and Ven further up the beach where they were engulfed by a bright light.

Sora and Kairi could only wonder what the meeting at the Land of Departure was about. How important is this meeting if it requires everyone that is a Keyblade Master but there isn’t any danger?  

(1),(2)

Edited:07/04/19.

“Hey Riku!” I looked around to see a familiar spiky red hair approach me. A respected fire based Keyblade Master nowadays compared to his days in the original Organization. Seeing him with his spiky hair tied up and in a white shirt and black suit was a strange concept. At least he didn’t come in his old Organization coat. “I’ve been trying to catch you but you’re looking like you’re having too much fun.”

“I am having so much fun, I’m considering hanging up the Keyblade to become a wedding planner.” I joked. After we had stopped Xehanort from bringing a second Keyblade war to all the worlds. I had decided to travel the worlds with my two best friends, like we always wanted to do. After many laughs and memories, we had decided to help Master Aqua find a new list of potential keybladers and teach them about our journey. So, I became a Traveller Master, protecting worlds from new threats and teaching new students about the darkness from time to time. “Then again…” I added. “This wedding stuff is harder then dealing with a horde of enemies in front of you.”

Lea laughs in response. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

As if at that moment, the two of them could only watch as Roxas and Ventus, both in blue suits with a grey top, try to hand out drinks to the guests, only for Ventus to trip and take Roxas down with him, dropping all the drinks with them. I took a deep breath at this, “We’re going to run out of drink at this rate.”

I go over to help them, but Lea stops me in my tracks. “Terra and I will help them. The groom has requested you.” He tells me. Before I could object, Lea already started to causal jog to Roxas and Ventus’ side while waving to Terra, in the distance, to help them. With a quick glance at everything, I started to head to where I would find my best friend.

As I walk over, I start to think about when they had first got together. I remember catching them in the act of sharing a paopu fruit after the final battle was over, but I pretended that I didn’t know so I wouldn’t crush the excitement in their eyes when they told me. I was just glad that they finally got together after everything. They had gone through a lot together as a couple the last nine/ ten years. Journeying the worlds together, Kairi making the mark, Sora deciding to be a Keeper Master to stay with Kairi, getting their first sets of students together, getting their first place together. I could list so many things, even things they did for each other before they got together but then I would miss the wedding.

I stopped and looked around where I was, realising that I was too deep in my thoughts that I took the wrong turning down the corridor. I could never get used to how big the castle is at Radiant Garden. I was also surprised that they had chosen this world instead of Destiny Islands. There was a couple of reasons to it, one of them being that Kairi’s grandmother couldn’t travel. The other reason was that Destiny Islands will always be their beginnings and with their school and home being in Radiant Garden itself, they knew they wanted to make their oath for their future here.

After retracing my steps, I come across the groom’s door and knock on it lightly. “Who is it?”

“The Best Man.” I answer.

The door opens, and I am greeted by Donald, who is wearing Navy blue suit jacket and grey shirt like Roxas and Ventus. The only difference is that he had a custom made wayfinder charm where the boutonniere flower would go clipped in the buttonhole and his suit jacket was a long coat jacket. Such of an attire for the groomsmen. “Where have you been?” Donald said in a panicky voice, letting me in.

I looked at the mage in confusion. “I was greeting all the guests and dealing with a few things.” I looked around the room. “What’s the big pro----” I stopped in midsentence to look at the sight in front of me. “Oh great.” I frowned.

Sora, my best friend since birth, is half dressed, completely shirtless, asleep on the sofa with Goofy, within his groomsmen outfit, trying to wake him up.

“What happened?” I am looking straight at Donald at this, who looks at me with surprise. “You guys were supposed to make sure he got ready. The ceremony starts in an hour.”

“Well Riku, Sora was trying to finish his speech when he asked us to go get him some water and asked if we could get you to help. So, I had got him some water and Donald had sent Lea to go find you.” Goofy explained to me. Now that I thought about it, Lea was trying to grab my attention for a while I was finishing making sure that all the guests were accounted for. “When we came back, he was fast asleep on the chair.”

“We’ve been trying to wake him up.” Donald glared at the sleeping Keyblader, his brown spiky hair covering his eyes. “I’ve tried magic, pulling him off the sofa, whacking him. Nothing is working.”

I took a moment to think of an idea. From the look of his friend, he was in a deep sleep like when they had saved Sora from Xehanort from becoming the 13th vessel. Remembering when I had to jump into my friend’s heart to save him was a scary moment. But why would he call for me to come help me when he decided to fall asleep on his wedding day? There was only one conclusion I could think of. “Donald, Goofy. Guard the door and make sure that the bridal team don’t get any sight of the situation. We don’t need Kairi worrying on her big day.” I instructed them.

“What are you going to do?” Goofy asked.

I summoned my keyblade and pointed it at Sora, making the two jumps in surprise. “If Sora is going to sleep on the job then I’m the one that can wake him up.” I quickly explained. Sora and I started to glow with a radiant light as a crystalize orb appeared next to him. I could see that the two of them knew what I was doing, seeing that they were there the first time I had to awaken Sora’s heart. “I will wake Sora up. Just make sure the girls don’t find out.” I watched the two of them give me the thumbs up before a blinding light took my vision as I entered Sora’s heart once more.

I shielded my eyes from the blinding light until my eyes adjusted but I didn’t need to see where I was to know where I am. The calm waves and the sound of seagulls was more than enough clues to know I was at Destiny Islands. Just like the last time I jumped in his heart all those years ago, being his personally Dream Eater. Even my appearance had turned back to what I looked like all those years ago with the same Dream Eater symbol on the back. The only difference I noticed once I looked around was that it was midday, the sun high in the sky compared to its sunset appearance the last time I was here.

I didn’t have time to wonder what time of day it was in Sora’s heart. I needed to find the idiot and wake him up. I start shouting his name as I start looking for him. I can only assume that if my appearance has changed into my younger self again after all these years, then I could be looking for a younger, 5’ o clock shadow less friend. I looked around the entire beach, by the paopu tree, in the seaside stack, where we built our old raft. I was slightly at a lost at where he was. I ran to the waterfall to hear someone talking within the secret cave. “Of course.” I don’t even though why I didn’t check here first. I crawled into the hole, something that none of us, except Kairi, should do now with our growth spurts over the years and finally found who I was looking for.

Pacing around the cave, looking like his 14-year-old self, was Sora. He was muttering to himself, writing on a piece of paper before ripping the page out and throwing it on the floor with the other piles of screwed up pieces of paper. He sighed before looking around, only to see myself standing there. “Riku! You came!” he grinned at me.

“Of course, I came.” I crossed my arms, feeling slightly frustrated that I had to wake him up this way in the first place. “You need to wake up and get ready. I don’t want to have to deal with Kairi, explaining why I had to carry you to the alter.”

“I know, and I am sorry that I made you come all of this way.” He looked at me apologetically. “I really needed to talk to you in private.”

“We could have talked in private while you were awake.” I pointed out, looking around the old cave. It has been far too long since I have been in here. But I did question why he did wants to talk in private.

“You say that.” Sora jumped in, “But with how busy you have been helping us set up the venue and everything and having a few people keep coming to my room to remind me how long I have meant that if I had tried to have a serious chat with you, someone will interrupt or their would need your help.” He explained.

I did see his point, I remember our last conversation on how he kept having people knock on his door to ask what they needed to do to help with the wedding, mainly the ushers, leaving Sora no time to sort his speech and vows. “You do remember that you are the groom, right?” I reminded him. He did have to power to tell others that he was having a serious chat with the best man. He clearly shrugs with a grin, showing that he didn’t even realise that option. “Well here we are, back to being teenagers again. What was it that you wanted to talk about?” I asked him, finding myself a seat on one of the rocks.

Suddenly Sora looked slightly nervous, “It’s about me and Kairi.”

“You better not be getting cold feet, Sora!” I warned him. I don’t think that he would do that to her but if he did, I would punch him in the face, wake him up and then punch him in the face again.

“No never!” Sora glared at me for even bringing that up. “I will never walk out on her.” He looked towards the old drawing of him and Kairi sharing a Paopu fruit, one that had become quite faded back in the real world. “We have been through so much together. Heck, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. I wouldn’t really know what I would do with her.” He smiled.

I chuckled slightly, “Properly still asleep on the beach.”

Sora shook his head at me. He couldn’t deny it, we both know that he would. “I’m serious, Riku. We’ll about to become married. Husband and Wife. A day that I have been excited for ever since Kairi said ‘yes’ to me. A part of me is still in disbelief that today is the today.” He grinned before he looked at me, a worried look replaces his cheerful one. “Riku, do you think I would any good at this ‘Husband’ stuff?” he asked me.

“Of course, Sora.” I replied. “So long as there is balance in your relationship and you both treat each other right and fair. Then you will be able to live long and happy lives.”

“But what about when we have kids, how would that work? Keeping everything in balance like you said, surely you would need to consider the child as well---“Sora started to ramble on.

The conversion about kids did catch me off guard slightly, surprised that Sora was thinking that far ahead. “Sora. Don’t worry about that for now.” I cut off his speech. “You don’t have to worry about that stuff until you are actually expecting. And who knows when that would be.” I told him. There were Keeper Masters like Master Aqua, meaning that they would stay at their school in Radiant Garden to continue to teach their students. They currently have four students altogether; their longest student has been with them for the last two years. They wouldn’t have the time to start a family at this moment in time.

“You say that….” Then Sora explained the real reason he wanted to have a private chat with me within his heart, and not in his room.

Sora did originally ask Donald and Goofy to get myself as he was having trouble with his speech. While the two were gone, he noticed that they didn’t fully close the door, so he went to close it as he was still shirtless. That’s when he heard Aqua and Naminé, bridesmaid and maid of honour respectfully, talking in the hallway.

“You have to make sure that none of the other boys find out about this. Especially Sora.” Aqua explained. “I know it’s hard but Kairi wants to keep it as a surprise.”

“I know but…” Naminé sounded unsure.

“I’m pretty sure Sora would be ecstatic when he finds out that another person would be joining the family. But if we tell him before the wedding then all he will do is cry for the entire wedding. There will be tears of happiness but still tears.” Aqua explained. Sora’ heart froze from Aqua’s words. Another person joining the family? Is Aqua saying what he thinks she’s saying?  

“I just wish that I didn’t have to hide the truth.” Naminé sighed.

“Don’t worry.” Aqua assured her. “Kairi said that she will tell Sora during their first dance, so we shouldn’t have to hide it from long.”

Everything else that the girls said phased out as Sora’s mind when into overdrive with thoughts. At first, he felt feelings of joy, even feeling his eyes begin to tear up but then he felt a heavy responsible rush over him and all he could do was panic for the future ahead.

Once the girls moved on, Sora shut the door before moving over to where the sofa was, sitting down on it as the shock took him. If he doesn’t get this off his chest then it’s going to affect the whole day and the last thing, he wanted to do is worry Kairi. Sora knew that Donald and Goofy would be back with Riku soon but as much as he loved Donald and Goofy, if he mentioned that he would be gaining another family member to them, they would be so overjoyed and properly reveal the secret before Kairi gets too. He needed to talk to Riku alone without anyone questioning what was going on.

“I got it.” Sora clicked his fingers as an idea hit him. He laid on the sofa and summoned the Kingdom Key in hand, pointing it upwards as he starts to cast ‘Sleepaga’. “I know you get what I am doing, Riku. I will explain…...I……prom---ise.” And with that, Sora fell alsleep and his keyblade disappeared.

I could only look at Sora in disbelief. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I don’t think that it helps when we currently look like our younger selves either. “Sora…...” I tried to form a sentence, but I was just too much in shock. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay.” He smiles grateful. “And there isn’t anything to worry about now.”

Finally snapping out of the shock, I looked back at Sora with concern. “This is a baby we are talking about Sora. There is a lot of work when it comes to a little person. It’s different from being a teacher.”

“I know. It will be hard.” Sora nodded, taking this chance to sit next to his best friend. “With running the school and feeding us and the students, there isn’t much munny left over. It’s one of the main reasons we took a while to actually get married after I proposed to her four years ago. But even if we had planned to start a family in the future, life has a funny way of keeping things interesting.” I looked at my friend to see his face beaming, it looks like he wasn’t worrying about the future anymore.

“Well before you get your hopes up of becoming a father, make sure you wait until Kairi confirms it to you.” I advised him, only for him to look at me with a confused expression. “From what you told me, Aqua or Naminé didn’t actually say that Kairi was expecting during their conversation. So, wait until Kairi talks to you otherwise you might make your first dance awkward.”

“But Riku…”

“Nope!” I pointed at him with seriousness. “I mean it. Keep your excitement in check.” I stood up, lending my hand to Sora to pull him up. “Let’s get you married first.”

“Yeah.” He grinned. The two of us started to walk out of the secret cave when a bright light blinded us once more.

It wasn’t long before I was back in the groom’s dressing room. Just like before, Sora had woken up before me, now back to his fully grown, child minded, 25-year-old self. I yawned as I pushed myself up from the ground and adjusted my own suit and custom silver grey wayfinder on my suit jacket. Sora had finally dressed his top half, having the same colour scheme as myself and the groomsmen with the light grey shirt and the dark navy longcoat, but the wayfinder on his jacket was the same wayfinder that Kairi had made him all those years ago.

“Sora! Why did you fall asleep?” Donald impatiently taps his foot while Sora was looking at his speech again, making last minute edits.

“Yeah. Me and Donald were worried about ya.” Goofy added with a little concern.

Sora looks away from his speech notes and looked at the two of them. “I didn’t mean to worry you guys. All this writing and stress about the wedding made me tired. It was only a little nap.” He proclaims.

Donald seems to get more irritated by this. “We know how long you sleep, Sora!” He argued. “You would have missed your own wedding if Riku didn’t wake you up.”

“Don’t worry.” I spoke, showing the others that I have woken back up. “I would have carried him to the alter myself if that happened.” I turn to Sora. “I believe you needed help with your speech.” I remind him. He responds by handing his speech over to him. I quickly glance through, seeing if it makes sense but also making sure that Sora hasn’t added anything that shouldn’t be mentioned until he has talked to the bride. Seeing that it is safe, I pass it back. “Looks good.”

“It’s not too much?” He asked me.

“Oh its way too much.” I laughed before looking at him and adjusting his wayfinder and dusting off his longcoat of any material that might have been on the sofa. “But it wouldn’t be you if it wasn’t.”

There was a knock on the door. Donald opens the door to reveal Mickey, who was in a smart black suit and white shirt with black shoes. He will be the open to marry Sora and Kairi today. “Wow fellas, don’t you look smart.” He smiled, “If you are ready, come with me to the ceremony. Everyone is being seated now.”

I looked back at my best friend as this overbearing sense of happiness and proudness came. He was getting married. My brother was getting married. “You ready?”

Sora grinned back, “Yeah."

With planning a wedding, myself, I found myself suddenly wondering what Sora and Kairi’s wedding would be like.