Chapter 1 – Heartless

The Heartless were closing in. Kairi had no weapon, no plan, and no way to fight, but it didn't matter. "This time, I'll protect you!" she vowed. She was determined to keep Sora safe, no matter what.

As if in response to her promise, there was a strange tugging on her heart. Her arm felt heavy, and a blade materialized in her outstretched hand. With a start, she realized it was Sora's blade. The Keyblade. Well, no time to waste. She shook her head to clear it, then swung the Keyblade at the nearest Heartless. Her movements were awkward and sluggish, but they got the job done.

"Kairi!" Donald and Goofy were by her side in an instant, helping her to defeat the rest of their foes. Before long, it was only the three of them, the three of them and one last Heartless – the one Sora had become to save her.

She stared at the Keyblade in her hand. How…

A roar shook the castle. Kairi looked up at the mysterious fountain above them. A hulking figure wearing torn clothes and a long, purple cape was balanced on top of it. He took one look at the scene in front of him before lunging and swiping at Sora.

"Hang on!" Goofy rushed in to protect his friend.

"Beast, that's Sora!" Donald shouted.

The Beast halted in his tracks. He stared in disbelief at the Shadow at his feet. "Sora? What… happened?"

Kairi's grip around the Keyblade tightened. "It's my fault. He became a Heartless to save me."

The Beast eyed the weapon in her hand. "So now you have the Keyblade." He turned to Donald and Goofy. "We need to seal the Keyhole. Belle and the other princesses can't leave until we do."

"But Beast, there were an awful lot of Heartless up there," Goofy pointed out. "Kairi doesn't really know how to fight yet. Do ya really think we oughta—"

"We can handle the Heartless. All she has to do is seal the Keyhole." He lifted Kairi up and placed her on his shoulder.

"We're going back?" she squeaked. Riku had told them to run. And how was she supposed to keep Sora safe if—

Too late. The Beast had already taken off, and it was all Donald and Goofy could do to follow. She twisted around to make sure Sora was with them. Thankfully, he'd figured out how to sink into the ground and travel that way. It was a good thing, too. There was no way he would have been able to keep up otherwise.

oOo

"Wak! I said its horn! Attack its horn!"

"I'm trying!"

"Gawrsh, Donald, look out!"

Ansem and Riku were gone when they finally made it back up to the Keyhole. The Beast cleared out most of the Heartless, and Donald and Goofy took care of the rest. Kairi helped where she could, even managing to defeat several more Shadows herself.

But then their luck ran out. They went inside the Dark Depths to seal the Keyhole, and a great big Behemoth was waiting for them. The monster charged them and stomped its enormous feet, and Donald and Goofy shooed her back outside. She knew they wanted her to stay out of it, but she couldn't just stand by the sidelines and wait much longer. She had to do something.

Something cold and clammy touched her arm. She jumped and summoned the Keyblade, ready to—

A small Shadow blinked up at her, shrinking away from the weapon in her hand.

"Sora, that's you, isn't it?"

There was a pause, then the creature nodded. Wait, did that mean—

"You can understand me, can't you?"

Another nod. She had no idea how, but she wouldn't question it for now. She let the Keyblade disappear and knelt next to him. "Good. Look, I need your help. I don't really know how to fight, and… well… they need the Keyblade. They need you, but I'll do what I can to help."

Sora waddled over to the Dark Depths and launched himself through the opening. He was gone for a few moments before returning to her. With his strange, clawlike appendages, he grabbed his antenna and smooshed them together.

Oh, she knew what he was doing. It was like the games of charades they used to play as kids. Sora had always been good at it, with his expressive faces, over-the-top gestures, and competitive streak. Whoever was on his team usually won. No amount of goofiness was too much for him, if it meant his teammates got the right answer.

She just never thought it'd come in handy for something like this.

He pressed his antenna together again, more impatiently this time, and her focus snapped back to him. "Oh, right, it's got a horn."

Next, he swung his… arm? around, mimicking the hacking motion he always used when he fought.

"So I should attack the horn. Got it. I figured as much, from what Donald said."

He hunched over and pointed to his back, then made a climbing motion with his arms.

"And… climb up on its back to do it?"

He bobbed his head up and down.

"Great, thanks." She swallowed. It was worth a shot, and she wanted to help. "Stay here, I'm gonna—" But he'd already charged back in. "Sora, wait!" She took a deep breath and jumped through the opening after him. By the time she'd gotten her bearings, he'd scrambled on top of the Behemoth's back. He turned and beckoned to her.

"Right, I'm coming!"

Donald and Goofy whirled around at the sound of her voice. "Kairi! What are you doin' here? We told you to—"

Goofy was interrupted by a shot of dark lightning. Kairi ducked out of the way just in the nick of time. She jumped and dug her fingers into the Behemoth's hairy side, pretending it was one of the trees she used to climb with Sora and Riku back home. It stomped its feet and threw her off. Unperturbed, she launched herself at it again, this time successful. She scrambled up its back and stumbled towards its horn, hacking away at it as soon as she was close enough.

"Good idea!" Donald nodded his approval and joined her. "Wak! Oh, that's just you Sora. Look out!" His Blizzard spell hit the horn of the Behemoth, and it finally stopped moving. The Beast moved in, his claws working swiftly and effectively, and Goofy launched himself, shield and all, at it over and over again.

It didn't take long after that to subdue their enemy for good. They let Kairi deal the finishing blow, and the creature's heart was released, free at last from its dark prison. Afterwards, she turned her attention to the Keyblade. She pointed it at the Keyhole like she'd witnessed Sora do so many times and hoped for the best. Sure enough, a beam of light shot out of it and sealed the Keyhole.

"We did it!" Donald and Goofy cheered. They exited the Dark Depths and examined their handiwork.

The Beast grunted. "I have to go find Belle and the other princesses." He was about to leave when something stopped him. "My apologies to Sora for what happened." He placed a claw on Kairi's shoulder and cleared his throat. "But you're not a bad fighter yourself. Take care of him. He needs you."

He gave her a meaningful look, and with that, he was gone. The adrenaline began to wear off, the reality of their situation sinking in.

I have the Keyblade. Riku's gone. Sora's a Heartless. And Ansem's still out there. Kairi slumped to the ground, her energy completely spent.

Goofy put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He's right, Kairi. Now that Sora's…" His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat. "You're gonna have to fight, if you're feelin' up to it."

"You were great back there," Donald added in encouragement. "Jumping up on the Behemoth's back – good thinking!"

Kairi sighed and shook her head. "That wasn't me. Sora told me to do that."

"Sora?"

"But how?"

"He – he can understand me. He's not like other Heartless."

Donald and Goofy looked at each other. "Kairi…"

"You saw him earlier! He hasn't tried to attack any of us, not even once."

Goofy scratched his head. "Well, I guess it's possible. It'd make a lot of sense, actually."

Sora emerged from the Dark Depths to rejoin them. As the truth of what he'd become stared them in the face, it was like all the air was being sucked out of the room. Kairi's heart sank, guilt and sorrow mixing together in a painful combination as she looked back at him.

Oh, Sora. What are we going to do with you?

oOo

Kairi rolled over and groaned. They were on the Gummi Ship, and she was trying to get some sleep below deck… on the floor. She didn't feel comfortable sleeping in Donald or Goofy's beds, let alone Sora's, so she'd stolen his blanket and a spare pillow and dragged them onto the floor with her instead. His blanket smelled like him, and she'd made a cozy nest for herself out of it that reminded her of home.

Still, her muscles ached from trying to sleep in such an uncomfortable spot. She opened her eyes, only to find herself staring straight into a pair of large yellow ones. Yelping at the sight of the Shadow before her, it took her a moment to remember what had happened and who it was.

"Oh, it's just you. Sorry, still not used to the whole…" She trailed off, not really wanting to finish the rest of the sentence, and Sora hung his head. She reached out to try to touch him, but he slunk into the corner before she could.

"Sora…" His antenna perked up in response to his name. She wished he hadn't run away from her. He had nothing to be ashamed of. How could she get him to see that? What he'd done had been so brave, so selfless. Her throat closed as she thought about his sacrifice. It was all too much, the emotions of the previous day finally overwhelming her. She was scared; scared of the duty thrust upon her, overwhelmed by the worry that Sora would never be himself again, that Riku was lost to them forever.

"I-I can't sleep," she finally confessed. The way her voice cracked made it even worse. She wanted to be strong for him, the way he'd been strong for her. At the sight of her distress, he scooted closer, reaching a claw towards her before jerking it back.

Oh, Sora. You're scared you'll hurt me, aren't you?

She realized why he'd been watching her. It wasn't just to protect her, though that was certainly a part of it.

"You can't sleep, either, can you?" she asked, though she already knew the answer to her question.

He shook his head. Kairi felt a surge of pity. What if he couldn't sleep at all? Did he really have no relief from the horror of his current state? Well, even if that were the case, she would do something about it. She patted the space beside her.

"Come here." He did as she asked, waddling over and staring at her. She smiled and held her arms wide, pushing down her natural fear of what her best friend had become. He was still Sora to her, and that was all that mattered. He hesitated for a moment before climbing into her arms. Finally. She pulled him close, imagining what it would be like to hug him for real. He tried to wriggle away, but then relented and nestled his head against her chest. She felt an unexpected surge of warmth at the contact, even though his body was icy cold.

"I'll find a way to save you, I promise," she whispered, curling her body around him. There. Now any attacks would have to go through her first. It was only fair; after all he'd done for her. As she drifted off to sleep, it dawned on her that the very creature known for stealing people's hearts was now resting directly against her own. But it didn't matter. Sora would never hurt her, not even as a Heartless.

Besides, he doesn't need to steal what's already his.

If only… if only he knew.

oOo

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. This story is going to be five chapters total and about 10,000 words, and updates will be on Sundays. I saw a tumblr post a while back that was the original inspiration for the story, but unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to take a screenshot of it, and I can't remember who came up with the idea. Whoever you are, anonymous person, thank you. A big thank you to FlowerLady-Aerith, too, for looking over the story for me before I started posting it. And for anyone wondering, I'm still working on the sequel to Dear Sora. I'm at about 30,000 words now, so progress is coming along smoothly. Anyway, have a great day everyone!