#post-khiii

“It’s beautiful!” Ven smiled brightly up at him. “It suits you.”

Madness Surprisingly enough, it hadn’t been Kairi’s idea for her to train like it was the only thing she had left in the world. It had been Riku’s—as many things in her and Sora’s life had started out with him—as he had thought that she should actually try and do something and have less reason to hate herself that way. “But is that… really a good idea?” Kairi had asked him when he’d suggested it, as she’d sat on the paopu tree—the stupid place she had lost Sora at—and worked on making more lucky charms for him and letters, on the off-chance that one of them would work and bring her boy back to her. “Riku… maybe I just was never cut out for fighting. Sora paid a high price in bringing me back. Do you really think I should dishonor his sacrifice by putting myself into even more danger that I can’t handle?” Riku had looked like he wanted to push Kairi into the water beneath them then—and honestly, she could have hardly blamed him even if he had; she’d been so weak then, and she was ashamed to think of it now—and got right into her face as he said, “That’s not the girl who said she wanted to fight like me and Sora, so we wouldn’t be the only ones getting hurt… or who said that she was tired of getting left behind and that ‘wherever one of us goes, the other follows’. Kairi… you made all of these promises to Sora before the Keyblade Graveyard. Do you really want to go back on them now?” No, she hadn’t. That was the last thing in the world that she would have ever wanted. But the person she’d been a few months ago—who had said so much of that stuff—was so different from the girl she was now. That Kairi had gotten a Keyblade into her hand for the first time and had thought that with just a little training, she would easily become as strong as Sora and Riku were. That wasn’t the part of her that had gotten training and still couldn’t get her body to cooperate… and had had to realize that most of her worst nightmares might actually come true, as Terra-Xehanort had charged at her. And they had come true after that. Oh, how they had. Kairi had had one brief moment of peace and pride in herself—when she had kept Sora from fading away, that had then allowed him to save everyone else—but then it had all gone to hell, like so much of Kairi’s life had, and she didn’t know if she wanted to go there again. “Kairi, the problem is we had you train with someone who isn’t a Keyblade wielder at all… And is actually someone who uses his magic to stay away from enemies, when you—in pretty much using a sword—would be in close contact with people. That was our fault, not yours… I’ll properly train you now, so you never have to feel so horrible again. Just let me.” And that was what started it. Many hours a day—eight or more, as if they were working a full-time job and in Kairi’s eyes they were—Riku was training Kairi in the hours that they weren’t looking for any hint as to Sora’s whereabouts. And while it started out rough, and Kairi had continued to think that maybe she should just work on her light magic because of it, she steadily got better and better and even she could see it—it was nothing like what she had encountered with Merlin and Lea. It was actual tangible progress that she could see in her scars and feel in her muscles. And Kairi took it even further than that. She didn’t tell Riku or anyone about this because she didn’t want to worry them, but in the hours when she should have been sleeping or resting, she would do the familiar drills again until they were completely beaten into her. And then she was taking the gummi ship that Mickey had thankfully left for her and Riku out into the ocean between worlds, to find Heartless or Nobodies to fight: something that didn’t help her that much, because Kairi had been able to handle these just fine in the Keyblade War, but every little bit of actual experience helped. And she’d just hoped against hope that on her journeys she could run into some Darksides or Twilight Thorns, and how happy she was—the first time she’d been remotely that in ages—when she did, and began handling them better and better: with little injuries and destruction to her hair and outfits. And at one point—when Kairi had unintentionally taken a page out of Roxas, Xion, and Lea’s book—and had bested five giant Heartless in one night, she had finally felt good about herself… and that nothing could ever happen to her again. She wouldn’t let it. And that furthermore, she knew that she was going to find Sora and bring him home. But it was just when she was beginning to feel great, that such a feeling of euphoria didn’t last. Kairi heard a Corridor of Darkness open from behind her in Twilight Town—a sound she’d made certain she always knew now, as not being able to recognize it with Xemnas before had led to her death—and who would come out of it but someone cloaked in an Organization robe? Of course. Kairi had backed away from her assailant, growling at them as she prepared to send Firaja after Firaja after them. But first, she’d had to berate them a little bit. “You have got to be kidding! I thought the lot of you had been defeated in the Keyblade War. All that we did—which- which led to Sora’s death—was so we could defeat any of you who would survive to try and get the X-Blade again. So, who are you?! And are you at all connected to Sora’s fate?! Do you know where he is?! Tell me!” “Tsk tsk, little princess,” the attractive voice of a man replied—as he motioned with his hands that Kairi should calm down, in the way that Master Yen Sid often told the Keyblade wielders of the new generation to sit down. “It’s… good that you’re so strong now. Go, you! But don’t you know you’re killing yourself? So much sleep deprivation isn’t a good thing. And I know you’re not eating or drinking much, either. You’re going to be dead as a doornail soon, and your boyfriend’s going to come back to see that he sacrificed himself for you for nothing… or worse. That you’ve become a different person from the girl he loved… There’s blood on your hands now, isn’t there Kairi?” Kairi had wanted to deny this, of course. After all, she’d only been fighting Heartless and Nobodies and that was something that needed to be done! But at the same time… she knew that they had once been human, and the thought made her violently sick on the inside. But even more than that… she was hunting the things as sport now, whereas everyone else had only ever fought the beasts when they’d attacked them on their adventures… and she enjoyed killing them too much. And she kept score, the way Sora and Riku once had with their fighting. Every injury she got was a point against her, but each hurt she gave them was a point for her: especially if she could give them many of those without being touched at all. Kairi wasn’t trying to be quick or end their suffering fast at all, but to just use them as target practice as long as she could. And while Kairi hadn’t yet fought another human since the War, she worried that she would do the same when she faced them because it was such a routine now. Sora had only ever told her stories about how Clayton had wanted to kill the gorillas, but Kairi thought that if she herself ever run into him somehow… she’d fight him the way she was now Heartless, and be thrilled for it—that the fear he’d struck in Terk’s heart she could put in his. So, she was falling. Falling into darkness, it seemed… and this man had known this, and it had been only the start for her. “What do you know about it?!” Kairi had demanded then, furious. Throwing her hand out to the side in a way that Sora had used to when he glared at his enemies. “You know nothing. You don’t know me at all! You’re just a forgotten relic from a cause that’s already seen its best day. Now just tell me what you know and get lost, before I-” “Before you what, Kairi?” the voice had cut her off. And there was a sweet cadence in his voice that she hated, as if he’d talked to someone like her before and was trying to be a friend since he’d  apparently cared about this other person. “Do something unseemly to me and make Sora hate you even more that way? He loves his little light princess—that’s why he fights for you so much—so what do you think he’s going to do when he comes back and sees you aren’t like that at all anymore? Do you think he’ll stay the knight in shining armor, or will he move onto something bigger and better? “You’re also angry. So angry. And, hey: I applaud you for it—you’re entitled to those emotions, and I may even have use of them—but Sora preferred the sweet and loving little girl, not the one who’s going to get called to many worlds because of her fury now.” Furious? Was she really furious? Kairi had asked herself. She hadn’t felt it at the time—if torn between “bloodlust” and “fury”, she definitely had thought she was more bloodlust at the time—but the Kairi of the present could recognize how her blood had boiled back then, and continued to do so now. But having not liked what this man had said about her getting pulled into an adventure all about her madness—because that wasn’t her at all—Kairi had tried to backtrack a little. “Maybe… maybe I’ve been a little hard on you. You haven’t really done anything to me. Perhaps if anything, you’re just giving me some… helpful advice. And I guess you don’t have to be with Organization XIII... I know a Moogle has worn the coat before, I mean, and clearly they weren’t one of Xehanort’s vessels. So can you just tell me who you are, and what you wa-” “And how easily you fall back into the Naminé routine. Kairi, did you ever think that maybe the two of you were split for a reason? You may be the Princess of Heart… but you have far more fire to you than your Other did, and there’s a reason for it and you should relish it—you must do so—even if it means you can’t have Sora. You must let him go. Can’t you see that?” This had put Kairi in a horrible mood, and she’d cried. But not because she was sad, but because she waslivid—maybe this man was right about that—as it hit the nail on the head too much on how she’d been feeling lately: that fate was keeping her and Sora from being together. So Kairi made a decision. “Perhaps… perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I should go back to just barely training from now on, and be who I once was. And I will. I won’t fall into your plan, and I’ll be what Sora wants me to be.” And partly to spite the man, Kairi had opened a Corridor of Light—something Master Yen Sid had taught her how to do—and left the guy alone. And she did try to make good on her promise to herself. But it never could’ve worked.. For far too long, Kairi had repressed her feelings… and she was done with that. And she had no idea that trying to force herself to do that again, would send her spiraling over the edge. Author’s Note: I was originally going to have more than just a flashback in this chapter… but since it ended up pretty long, I think I WILL cut it here. Maybe it’ll even work better to have flashbacks and present stuff in different chapters. IDK. But I hope you all enjoyed!

Aqua ran a hand through her hair that had recently been lengthened by her friend and wondered. …According to said new friend, Isabel, this was the hair she should have had after spending a decade in the Realm of Darkness—if normal laws had applied there, that was—and after meeting that alien, and seeing the amazing things she could do to her own locks via magic, Aqua had been eager to give a new look a try. Especially since as she understood it, Isabel could instantly turn it back if she didn’t like it. But she wondered if Eraqus, if he had still been around, would have been a fan of it. And if not, Aqua hated the idea of defiling his sacred place (for they were at the Land of Departure now)—and his teachings to her—with long hair everywhere. At the same time, however, Aqua didn’t know if she cared. As sad as it was to admit… Master Eraqus was gone now. And how long had it been since Aqua had lived for herself? And she was certain that Ven would love her tresses! He was still very much like a little boy, after all. But more than anything… it was Terra who Aqua worried about responding to this, and she had no idea why But she had a funny feeling, that if she talked to her new friend Liz… That, well, the new girl would be able to explain it all too well. Earlier “Anyway, I’m not an alien like everyone else here pretty much is,” this new girl to the Land of Departure, Liz, said to Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, as she kept moving the drink she carried into the sun, so that it looked more green than blue. “…But I guess you could say, that after Max saved my life in the Crashdown Café, our lives became intertwined.” And as Liz had said this, the image that had come into Aqua’s mind for whatever reason had been when Terra had broken free of Xehanort’s control and saved both her and Ven from the Guardian. But Aqua didn’t say that, of course. And just muttered a “That makes sense,” as she tried to make sense of this entire story and thought of Sora and Kairi with their “intertwined destines” some. “We never- we never know where we’re going to find our family,” Terra inserted after hearing Liz’s story, as he came towards the girl and slapped her on the shoulder once before smiling at Aqua and Ven. Aqua grinned back at him. “Like, there was a time I was doubting Aqua and Ven… but I could never find anyone better to share my life with. And even my new friends, like Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Naminé, and you name it… I don’t know where I’d be without them. So I definitely get why you’d make Max, Isabel, and Michael a part of your family, despite everything.” To Aqua, it looked as though maybe Max was going to say something to all of this—clearly eating up all the praise that his girlfriend was getting for her sake—when a short girl with curly, blonde hair and sharp blue eyes came into the conversation. “So, the reason we’re here now is to try and find the last of the Antarians responsible for the Collective Consciousness. You see, our planet has some sort of… afterlife that their thoughts can go into. And the alive Antarians can access it… And some alive ones even had to become a part of it in order to survive a certain trial. But one such one can become… seduced by the voices of their loved ones, and stay there forever… I know Max almost did. The Consciousness possessed him and tried to use him to make the Earth ‘Antar Two’. But now it’s escaped into what you call the ‘multiverse’, so that’s why we’re here.” Wow, all of this was absolutely horrifying, Aqua thought as she summoned her Keyblade into her hand for good measure. This sounded like the kind of thing that Master Xehanort would have done. And she was so sick of anything having to do with him, that she could’ve written a book about it. And there was even a part of her worried now, that her wanting her hair to be similar to the Antarian Isabel meant that she was somehow falling into the Collective Consciousness, but she tried to wave it away. “We’ll do everything we can to find this threat and combat it. Thank you. All of you,” Aqua said, as she reached her hand across the table she sat at so she could shake Max, Liz, Isabel, and Tess’—she thought it was Tess, anyway—from across the table. There was also a Michael, Maria, and Kyle somewhere here Aqua knew, but they hadn’t been too keen on repeating their story it seemed, so they hadn’t done that. “There are also rooms all over the castle that you guys are free to, as you do your investigation!” Ven piped in now, as he handed everyone a plate of burnt pancakes. If she hadn’t been trying to be serious in this moment, she probably would have laughed. It was clear that Ven was trying to cook like she did for everyone else, since she was otherwise occupied at the time, but had somewhat failed. “Oh, dang!” Ven deflated as he took in all the burnt pieces, that were thankfully on all the edges of the chocolate chip cakes and could hopefully just be cut off. “I swear those can be cut off. Let me go get some knives to go do that now. But umm… I swear you can each have a room to yourself. I think this place used to have a lot more Keyblade wielders, when it was a part of Scala Ad Caelum, but now it doesn’t. So…” “It’s fine, Ven,” Max said with a wry smile on his face, as it was his turn to clap someone on the shoulder. “The pancakes will be fine… But if you guys want someone to cook around her, I’d suggest Liz and Maria because they can do it… but moreover, you guys should choose Michael—who can also cook—so that he’s actually doing something productive here.” Aqua was about to tell Max that that was fine… but then she thought better of it. Not so much because it would be nice for these people to somewhat end their keep—though that was certainly slightly true—but because Terra and Ven usually refused to help her in the kitchen (unless nuts were involved, in which case Terra was always there to help her bake banana bread or whatever), so maybe it would actually be nice to have a guy alongside her for once and to see how they cooked. But still… Aqua didn’t want to be too pushy here, so she chose for something hopefully in between as she bowed at Max, Liz, Isabel, and Tess. “Thank you, Max. I can handle it for now… but if that happens, I swear I’ll keep that in mind.” “…I can also cook,” Isabel threw in reluctantly, it seemed, as she threw her hands up into the air. “Usually I think that kind of thing is below me, it’s true—especially since the only one I ever wanted to cook for left me—but I’m trying to act like less of a princess lately, and I like you Aqua. So I’ll also help you if you need it. But right now, I’m going to see if I can Dream Walk anyone in this world and see if they’ve seen the Collective Consciousness.” “Okay,” Terra answered Isabel—somewhat stealing Aqua’s thunder here, but she was trying not to judge. Especially since Master Eraqus had moreso left Terra in charge. But Aqua was just so much more extroverted than he was—“and while you do that, I’ll have our friend Naminé do something similar as she tests our friends memories.” And they all set to work.

Revenge.

Terra’s arms just tightened around him. “…Yeah.”