Concealed

By: Snakey

Chapter 11: Disbelief

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The two took in deep breaths, and sighed as they fell to their knees. Tidus put Kairi down between him and Sora, and then relaxed onto the floor. This wasn't anything like they'd expected in the beginning of the journey. It was supposed to be a great adventure filled with fun and laughter, with maybe just a few obstacles they'd have to overcome. But nothing like this was ever expected. Here they were, having just abandoned two friends, tired and completely exhausted.

"Sky… I mean… Sora…" Tidus mumbled as he faced the ceiling.

"Yeah?" Sora tilted his head to face the other teen.

"…Welcome back, although this probably wasn't the welcome you expected…"

"Thanks, Tidus. But I was always with you guys."

"What?" And that's where he lost Tidus.

"…It's a long story…"

"Put it in one sentence then."

"…I am Sky."

"Okay… Let's try two sentences then…"

"How about I give you a briefing?"

"That'd work too…"

"Well, I was exploring a new area with Donald and Goofy before. I was looking here and there, but that place was so dark and it was raining too. But for some reason, even in that kind of situation, I managed to spot one single treasure chest. I later found an ultimately strong keyblade and keychain, so like anyone else, I decided to equip it. And then suddenly, everything went black. By the time I woke up, I realized I couldn't move my body, and that Sky, who is another person, shared the same body as me."

'Wait! Sora! You said you found a keychain!?'

"Yeah, I said I found a keychain!" Sora exclaimed to Sky.

Tidus stared at Sora, who, having just talked to himself, was rubbing the back of his head now in embarrassment.

"Oh, Tidus, remember I said Sky and I shared the same body? I can also communicate with him and switch control of this body anytime."

"I understand now… So, somehow you were washed up on Destiny Islands during that title wave, but during that time Sky was the one in control of your body?"

"Exactly."

"You IDIOT!!" Tidus stood up abruptly, catching Sora off guard.

"W-What???" Sora didn't expect this from Tidus.

"If you were there all this time, why didn't you tell us? More importantly, why didn't you tell Kairi??" Tidus was red with anger.

"I couldn't tell her! I didn't even have a proper body I could call my own at that time! And I needed to help Sky!"

"You could've done both!"

"I just didn't want to worry you guys too much…" Sora looked down at his feet. Maybe it was a mistake to have told them so late.

"Anyways, were you talking to Sky before? Go ahead with your conversation while I get out the beds." He turned, and looked through the storage for theirs mats, blankets, and pillows.

Sora continued staring at his feet. Now he felt like what happened had been his entire fault. But this was no time to feel ashamed of one self.

'What was it you were talking about, Sky?'

'About that keychain…'

'Yeah?'

'…Do you remember that female dark figure that I talked to when I was on DestinyIslands' A/N: Refer to Chapter 4

'Uh… sort of… she was trying to drag you off somewhere… but then you somehow had me conscious in your body at the same time, making our eyes purple… and she left…'

'I don't know why… but the place she wanted to drag me to most likely was my home. But…It didn't feel right.'

'What?? You're saying you could've been home before the journey even started?? Sky!!'

'That's not what I mean!! That female dark figure… she needed me to be somewhere against my will… saying how they need me…'

'Your point!?'

'Well I remember that I had a dream about this girl… and something about my home… then somehow the place just disappeared and all I remembered was something about keybearer, keychain, and a girl saying "Don't Cry…"'

'…Sky, I think we're getting close to unlocking the mystery of your past, as well as where your real home is.'

'You think so?'

'I know so.'

Before Sky could put up another argument with Sora, Tidus screamed from the back of the gummi-ship. The scream had also woken Kairi from her slumber. Sora shot up, and ran to see what was going on. His eyes widened immediately. Tidus was on the floor, and his eyes, closed. Kairi wanted to know what happened as well, and glanced over Sora's shoulder. She nearly fell backwards at what she saw. On top of the unconscious Tidus was one female who was dressed in pitch black, not to mention that she, herself, was entirely black, face included. Another dark figure!

"Kairi, hide in the corner!" Sora demanded.

He summoned his keyblade, not taking his eyes off of the dark figure. But even with his eyes on her, he did not even notice that she had moved right behind him.

"What the…!?"

Sora's line was rudely cut short. The woman had attacked his head in such quick motion that he couldn't react. His vision blurred, and then he collapsed onto the floor next to Tidus.

"I'm sorry…" The woman mumbled.

"Sora!" A voice came from the corner of the ship, which caught the dark figures attention.

Kairi cupped her hand over her mouth to prevent any other sound to come out. 'Oh no…' She pushed herself as faraway from the woman as she could, but ended up leaning onto the walls of the ship. The women advanced.

"S-Stay away from m-me!!!" Kairi shouted, shaking with fear.

"I won't hurt you. My job is done." The woman spoke clearly.

She turned around again, and picked up Sora with her dark hands.

"Where are you taking Sora? Leave him alone!"

Kairi stood up and ran towards her. The dark figure turned her attention to Kairi, and Kairi stopped in her tracks. She tried to move her legs. Nothing. She tried to move her arms. Nothing as well. She even tried to blink, but still it was no use despite the effort. She was frozen, and unable to move. The woman started opening a black portal, preparing to leave.

'No!!' Kairi thought.

'Sora… Sora!!!!' She could make her thoughts audible.

She stared helplessly as the woman walked through the portal, carrying Sora in her arms. Deeper into the black hole she went, and then she disappeared. Right after she vanished, Kairi dropped forward onto the ground. She was able to move again. But she didn't care. She lost Sora yet again, and this time there were no promises of him coming back to her. Tears strolled down her face, and she cried out Sora's name continuously.

"SORA!!!!!" With that final attempt, she fell backwards and lied on the floor with Tidus.

Sora was gone. Feeling that things couldn't possibly get worse, the gummi-ship suddenly shook. It shook more and more, throwing Tidus and Kairi all over the place. The shaking worsened, and Kairi just couldn't take it only more. Her eyes shut after a heavy throw into the wall, and she lost her consciousness.

Warm air, singing birds, and splashing of ocean waters were present. She could hear them. She could feel them. It was all so familiar to her. 'DestinyIslands…?' Figuring out the answer, she gradually opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the radiant sun and having to close them once more. She sat up this time before opening her eyes. While sitting up, she felt the warmth coming from her palms. It was sand. She gazed forward. It was the ocean.

"Look who's the lazy bum now?" A voice came behind her.

She whirled around to see the source.

"Whoa, what's with the wide eyes? Did I scare you, Kairi?"

'This isn't right… This isn't right…' Kairi could hear her mind telling this repeatedly. This wasn't right.

"…Sora?"

"One and only."

'No… This can't be real…' Kairi couldn't believe what she was seeing. And with disbelief, she pinched herself.

"Ow!" She rubbed her cheek.

"What's with you today?" Sora raised an eyebrow at her.

'Was it just a dream before then? Was I just dreaming of everything that happened on the gummi-ship? Is this truly real?'

This was too much for Kairi to handle. It was all so confusing to her. She couldn't tell dream from reality anymore. She looked at the eyes of the Sora in front of her. Blue, the same blue that she had been used to all her life, which meant that this really was Sora in front of her. She looked around Destiny Island this time. It was in good shape, and it didn't even have the few pieces of scattered wood which were caused by the tidal wave in it. Then she remembered leaving Wakka on the islands and going off to journey with the others.

"Where's Wakka?" She asked Sora, yet still not one-hundred percent sure that it was Sora.

"Oh, he's fighting with Tidus again by the paopu tree. I think he's trying to use Tidus to improve his aim again." Sora snickered as he stared towards the paopu tree.

'Wait… Wakka only did that when Sora wasn't here… How did he know…?' Now Kairi was getting suspicious.

She didn't believe what she was seeing.

To be continued in Chapter 12…

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Snakey: Faster update this time! I just felt a big urge to type for some reason. . This chapter is slightly longer than the last one, but it's still just a short chappie. ; I can't seem to type more nowadays… Hope you all had a great winter break, and continue to support me throughout this fanfic

January 3rd, '05