As Beautiful As You
Part One

From the moment I saw you…
From the moment I looked into your eyes
There was something about you I knew…I knew…
That you were once in a lifetime
A treasure near impossible to find…
And I know how lucky I am to have you

It was supposed to be the perfect night. Kairi had everything all planned out. He would come to her house, both would be all dressed up, and then they would go to the Christmas Formal together. Yes, it was a date, but they were only friends. Her plans involved them leaving the dance as more than friends. It was perfect, and it was romantic.

Kairi was getting frustrated with him for not making a move ever since he got home. She knew damn well that he liked her. She couldn't understand why he couldn't seem to find it in him to ask her out as more than a friend. Then again, it was Sora. Maybe he didn't realize how she was kind of (absolutely positively insanely crazily) head over heels in love with him.

But no, all of her perfect plans were ruined. She didn't blame Sora though. She couldn't. None of this was his fault.

Kairi brushed her tears out of her eyes as she leaned against her closet. She had put so much thought into everything, and now she was sure that fate just didn't want her to be with him…

VVVVVVV

The blaring sun beat down on the students of Destiny Island High. Most of them were hurrying along, trying to get into the school before they suffered from heat stroke or combusted into flames.

Kairi was not one of these people. She slowly walked towards the school, distracted and lost in her thoughts. She was humming a bit, something she usually did when she was thinking.

Kairi loved to help with things at the school, and even though she wasn't the smartest person, or necessarily the best behaved in class (she had a bad habit of talking to her friends). However, she was deemed a good enough student to become the head of the Social Committee, even though she was only in eleventh grade. Then again, no one else wanted the job of organizing dances.

So naturally, she was the first to know the exact date that the annual Christmas Formal would be on. The formal was always a bigger deal than any of the other dances, so it was always crucial to recruit more people to help plan this. Or for just manual labor.

And that was what she was thinking about at the moment. The manual labor. She was trying to think of a way to guilt her friends into helping, even though both would scoff at the thought of a dance. Kairi knew damn well that the only reason they even attended any of the other ones was because she was in charge of them. It would take more than that to get them to actually help though.

Target one was the easiest. Sora. Kairi knew that she could just give him watery eyes and a pout and he'd eventually cave in. It took a little time, but it always worked. Riku was more difficult though. He was immune to her puppy-dog stares, and she couldn't very well flirt with him like she did Sora. She didn't want to make herself out to be some kind of tramp or anything. That's why it was crucial to get Sora first, because he would help her get Riku to help. Then she would demand that Wakka and Tidus help on the pain of her taking all their blitzballs.

'Finally, air conditioning,' a voice whispered as Kairi entered the school.

'Come on Nami,' Kairi thought back. 'It's not that bad. Now, you'll help me persuade Sora by bugging Roxas, right?'

'You know it,' her Nobody, Naminé, answered happily. 'Speak of the devil. Target acquired at 9 o'clock.'

Kairi turned to her left and grinned. Sure enough, there was Sora, sitting on the ground close to where their classroom was. Yes, he was always early to school these days thanks to his parents, but he usually ended up falling asleep in the hallway or outside, so he would have been late anyway if it wasn't for her.

Kairi walked towards him and say down beside him. She waited for a moment before leaning in close and flicking his noise.

Sora's eyes snapped open, revealing the cerulean color that she loved the most. He stared at her blankly for a moment before Roxas gave him a kick-start (literally) and he said, "Give me a break Iri."

Kairi smiled at the nickname. He was the only one who ever called her Iri. She told no one else of the nickname because it was his. Only he was allowed to call her that. End of story.

"Class starts in fifteen minutes Sora," she said in a singsong voice.

He groaned and Roxas muttered, 'More sleep.'

"Well put Roxas," Sora muttered as he leaned over and closed his eyes again.

Kairi blushed deeply as Sora's forehead pressed close to the side of her neck. She sighed a bit, wondering how she was going to ask him when he was in this state of being.

'That's it!' Naminé cried out.

'What's it?'

'Ask him now while he's half a sleep!'

'Naminé! I'm shocked! That is so deceitful!' There was a pause. 'I like it!'

"Sora?" she whispered into his ear, ignoring Naminé's giggles. "Sora?"

"Hmmm?" he mumbled.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" she asked.

Sora's eyes slowly opened as he straightened up and stared at her. He might be tired, but he was awake enough to know that her tone of voice was different from normal. However, he was not awake enough to realize that she was using a very flirty tone of voice. Something she only ever did with him.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"Will you help me decorate for the Christmas Formal?" she asked him quickly. "Please? You don't have to plan, you just have to help put the decorations up."

"You're kidding, right?" Sora asked.

"Please Sora? It would mean a lot to me," Kairi said, leaning in closer to him.

Sora stared at her before he rubbed his forehead, not saying a word.

'You better hope she doesn't bring the weapon out,' Roxas said suddenly to Sora. 'Otherwise we're both stuck staying after school for these 'Formal' meetings.'

Roxas seemed to speak a little too loudly though, and Naminé heard him loud and clear. She repeated the message to Kairi, who decided to pull out the big guns early.

She pouted and her eyes because a little watery as she said, "Please Sora?"

'…Damn them,' Roxas muttered. He and Sora both knew very well than neither could turn down the pout and watery eyes from Kairi (or Naminé, in Roxas' case).

"Fine!" Sora answered quickly. "I'll help!"

Kairi grinned broadly and said, "Thank you!" She hugged him tightly. "Now will you help me get Riku to help?"

"He'll help," Sora answered firmly. He grinned slightly as Kairi arched an eyebrow at him. "You see, I told his mother that he was at my house on Saturday night…"

"And he wasn't," Kairi finished his sentence. She laughed and said, "Would you be so low as to blackmail your best friend Sora?"

"He'd do it to me if he had the chance Iri,' Sora replied dryly. "Actually, if you really wanted something, you would too."

"No I wouldn't," Kairi said as she stood up. Sora yawned again and stood up beside her. "Want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I have you wrapped around my pinky," Kairi said with a giggle as she walked passed him and into the classroom. "And we both know it."

Sora stared at her retreating figure and Roxas said, 'She does have a point.'

'Shut up!'

'Well she does!'

'I know! That's why it's frustrating!' Sora sighed and walked into the classroom. This was going to be a long month. But hey, he got to spend more time with Kairi than he would if he wasn't helping, so that was always a bonus.

'Maybe you can even work up the courage to ask her to go with you,' Roxas suggested.

Sora was about to yell at him mentally when he stopped. He eyed Kairi for a moment before taking his seat beside her, leaning his forehead on the cool desk, and saying, 'You know Rox, that's not a bad idea at all.'

VVVVVVV

"You know," Riku said as he watched a rather embarrassed looking teenage boy walk off. "You should really get a move on and ask Kairi to go with you before she actually accepts one of these idiots." Ever since the Christmas Formal had been announced, it seemed as if everyone in the high school lost a vital screw to their brains. It was all people talked about, and boys that wouldn't dare approach Kairi were suddenly talking to her, while girls that just watched Sora and Riku from afar were always jumping them at the most random times.

Riku had less of a problem. He was going to the formal with a pretty blonde girl who was in grade 12 with him. He did have a problem, however, with Sora not asking Kairi yet. And in turn, Sora had a problem with Riku, because his constant nagging was giving him a terrible headache, something that had become common over the past few weeks.

"I'm working on it," Sora snapped back as he tugged at his school tie. Really, it was even too hot IN the school these days. He blamed global warming and people who had cars that didn't need them. Like him.

"While you stick iridescent snowflakes to a glittery blue background?"

"Last time I checked you had purple paint on your face and glitter glue in your hair!" Sora growled. "And yes, I am working on a strategy."

"I'm pretty sure, considering Roxas is technically you, that talking to him doesn't help much."

'Tell him I hope he gets syphilis from that blonde girl.'

"He hopes you get syphilis from your date," Sora informed Riku with a bored tone of voice.

"Tell him I hope he gets AIDS."

Sora glared and said, "Thanks Riku."

Riku blinked and said, "You know what I mean! It's weird thinking that the guy who always insults me is you, but he's not you." Suddenly a dark look appeared on his face. "Trouble at twelve Sor."

Sora turned around and saw a tall guy walking towards Kairi. Sora knew him, everyone did. He considered himself to be the best looking, richest, most perfect guy in the entire school. Sora thought he was a grease-bag from the beginning, but ever since the slime ball had taken an interest in Kairi over the past few weeks, Sora wanted to introduce him to the Ultima Weapon.

The guy strutted (honest to god strutted!) over to Kairi and said, "Hey babe."

She rolled her eyes and ignored him, going back to cutting out more snowflakes.

"Aww don't be like that baby. You know you want to go to the dance with me. Maybe hang out at my place afterwards?"

"You know you want to go away," Kairi snapped.

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

"How about goodbye? Not happening? Get lost? Not comprehending? How about nain? Non? Nee? Oh I know! Screw off!" Kairi snarled at him.

The guy seemed stunned for a moment before saying, "Was that last one an offer from you?"

Sora stayed on the sidelines for so long, knowing very well that she could handle herself in most situations. That, however, was unacceptable. He shot up and before Kairi knew what was happening, he was between her and the grease-bag. "Get lost asshole. She said no, and she means it."

"Who do you think you are?" the other guy snapped back.

"I—I'm—"

"My date for formal!" Kairi blurted out, causing both of them to stare at her. "Right Sora?"

"Yeah, that's right," Sora answered quickly, facing the guy again. "So back off."

"I don't believe you," the guy sneered.

"You better believe it," Sora said. "Because you'll see it on formal night."

"Looking forward to it, since it won't happen. I'll see you there babe, and don't worry, my parents won't be home later." The guy winked at Kairi, and that was it for Sora. He growled angrily and lunged at the guy, but was held back by Riku.

"Later loser," the grease-ball said as he sauntered (honest to god sauntered!) off.

"Do you WANT to get suspense for fighting?" Kairi's voice broke through Sora's thoughts. Riku let go of him and he faced her. Everyone else that was helping with the formal turned their eyes away from the scene and went back to working, but all were still listening.

Riku sniggered a bit and said, "Nice plan of action Sor. Did Rox come up with it?" With that he wandered off. A pretty brunette was having a hard time reaching the tall shelf, so naturally he needed to help her.

"Plan of action?"

"Umm…well you see…" Sora trailed off.

'Memo to me…memo to me: Maim Riku later,'

'Why's that Roxas?' Naminé asked. He didn't realize he had said that so that not only could Sora hear, but Naminé and Kairi did as well.

There was a pause before Roxas said, 'Memo to Sora…memo to Sora: Maim Riku AND me later.'

Kairi looked at Sora curiously and asked, "Well?"

"I have to maim Roxas and Riku later?"

"No, what plan of action?"

Sora blushed and said, "Well you see, I was kind of trying to figure out a way to ask you if you wanted to go to the formal with me anyway, but I knew that so many people asked you, and I know there are a lot of other, better people, and I know you were going to say no but I—"

Kairi laughed as she covered his mouth with her hand. She giggled and said, "Sora, you silly bum. Of course I would have said yes. You're my best friend." Neither of them realized how much those words hurt the other. "Besides, I kind of…wanted to go with you anyway. I know you won't take advantage of me."

Sora smiled warmly at her and said, "So, no regrets about lying to the grease-bag?"

Kairi laughed again and said, "No regrets. But Sora?"

"Hmm?"

"You DO know that you're going to have to come shopping with me this weekend, right?"

"What? Why?"

Kairi sighed and said, "Silly boy. So I can help you choose a suit, since I know your old one is too small. That, and you need to get a tie that matches my dress, which I have to buy this week. Then we have to decide how we're getting there and if we're hanging out with any of the others afterwards and—"

Sora stared blankly at Kairi as she stopped abruptly and said, "Well, just be home when I call you Saturday, okay?"

"That, I can do," he answered.

Kairi smiled widely and said, "Great. Now get back to the gluing."

"But Kairi," he whined. "I have to lay on that huge thing to put the snowflakes on, and then I get glitter all over me. The glue and the paint and the heat is killing my head!" She stared at him for a moment and he sighed. "Fine."

"You have him so whipped," one of Kairi's friends said with amusement as Sora went to struggle with the mass amounts of glitter, fabric, stars and snowflakes with the other guys that were roped into helping.

"I know," she answered. "I'll be back in a second." Quickly she darted down the hall. It only took her a minute to find the person she was looking for.

"Hey!" she called out. The tall guy with the dark hair stopped strutting (honest to god strutting!) down the hall and turned towards her.

"How'd I do?"

"Worked like a charm, just watch out for him, he might want to punch you," Kairi answered.

"Why didn't you just ask him yourself instead of setting up this scheme?"

"One, Selphie set this up, not me. Two, you are such a guy for asking that question," she answered as she took a twenty out of her pocket. "Here you go."

"If you need my acting services again, you know where to find me," he said as he left.

Kairi grinned and turned back towards where the committee was working. So what if it was a little wrong to pay someone to pretend to hit on her? She had known that Sora would react the way he did. She didn't feel quite as bad though, knowing that he wanted to ask her already. Still, she didn't regret paying the guy to act like he was interested in her. It made life more interesting.

'Amen to that,' Naminé agreed. After all, it had been her idea.

VVVVVVV

Kairi walked through the mall alone. She could have brought Selphie or one of the other girls with her, but she just didn't feel like it. She had all the advice she could need in her head. Besides, she already knew some specifics about her dress that she wanted.

Naminé appeared beside her in her transparent form. Kairi and Sora were both good at talking to their Nobodies without being noticed, so this didn't bother her at all.

"So," Naminé said. "What color are we looking for first off?"

"My favorite color, of course."

"Ahh yes, cerulean blue," the blonde said while nodding her head. "Do you have an example of the color to show the shop owners?"

"I took a color swatch from a picture of Sora," Kairi said, not embarrassed in the least with the fact that she was choosing her dress color based on the color she had taken from a picture of Sora's eyes. Some might call it an obsession; she just called it knowing what she liked.

"And dress style?"

"Not sure, maybe strapless," Kairi answered.

"Fake diamonds," Naminé said suddenly. "They'll shimmer with all the decorations you made."

"Ohhh, good idea."

"And of course, they look great on shoes."

"Naturally."

The Somebody and Nobody pair walked into one of the boutiques, looking through the racks of dresses. Naminé had an extreme advantage, because she could slip into places without anyone seeing her. Kairi knew she would have a hard time finding the color she desired so desperately, but he was stubborn. If worst came to worst, she'd pay someone to make it.

"I like this idea," Naminé said as she touched the flowing material of an olive green dress.

"I hate that color," Kairi said. "But I agree, I like the way the skirt of the dress is so

flow-ey. The top's not that great though." It was just a plain tank top styled one.

"We can work with this though," Naminé said. "We can find dresses with this type of skirt."

"I guess. With a strapless top that has fake crystals or glitter on it."

"Hmmm, I wonder how long that dress with stay where it's supposed to?" Naminé teased. "Thinking of hanging back in Sora's backseat for a while?"

Kairi's face turned bright red and her eyes widened, making her look like a deer caught in headlights.

"That look doesn't work on me," Naminé said dryly. "I am you after all. These thoughts are just your own. You're as bad as a boy sometimes for all the fantasies that roam through your mind."

"Not listening!" Kairi said a little louder than she meant to, earning her a few odd glances. "Anyways, next store?"

"Next store," Naminé agreed and the two set off again.

It was two hours and three stores later that Kairi and Naminé started getting frustrated. They split up to look through stores, tackled them together, and got help from clerks. Still, Kairi couldn't find what she wanted. Sure, she could organize, plan and decorate an entire dance, but that was easy because she could do anything she wanted. And she wanted to get something similar to the dress she had in mind, even if it meant that she skipped school the next day to come looking!

"KAIRI!" she heard Naminé suddenly yell. She jerked up quickly and spun around, looking wildly for her Nobody. Some people gave her odd looks, but no one asked.

Finally Kairi found Naminé waving frantically. She made her way over but stopped half ways there. Her eyes widened as she stared at what Naminé had found. It was beautiful! It was perfect.

She rushed over and stared at the dress. This wasn't just similar to the one she had in mind. No, this was dead on. It was exactly how she imagined it. Unfortunately, it was more violet than blue. She frowned at this, and jumped as someone tapped her shoulder.

"Hello Miss," a sales lady said. She was a short, older lady with laugh lines and kind eyes. "I see you looking at this dress. All of this brand of dresses is on sale today."

Kairi sighed and said, "The design of this dress is perfect but…"

"Hmmm?"

Kairi took a piece of paper from her pouch and unfolded it. "I was hoping to find something in a color similar to this."

The lady stared at the piece of paper for a moment before eyeing Kairi and saying, "Wait right here honey."

"What do you think she's doing?" Naminé asked after a moment.

"Not a clue, but she's nice, so we'll wait," Kairi answered.

"Here we go," the nice lady said as she appeared again. "I knew I had seen this somewhere. There was a rip in it that I fixed, but the owner of the boutique didn't want me putting it back up."

Kairi felt her mouth drop. She looked at her color swatch to the dress. It wasn't just close, it was a perfect match!

"Where was the rip?" Kairi asked curiously while eyeing it. It seemed flawless to her.

"Oh, right here," the woman turned it and pointed to the top of the back of the dress. If she looked hard enough, Kairi could see where it was stitched, but it was an amazing job.

"This dress is still perfect," Kairi said after a moment of admiring it. "But…" She looked at the tag. The size seemed right, but she couldn't be sure.

"How about you try it on?" the lady suggested. Kairi nodded and headed to one of the changing rooms.

Quickly she stripped from her clothes she was wearing and slipped into the dress. She admired it in the mirrors, loving the way it looked. Rip and re-stitched or not, she was getting this.

'Can I try?' Naminé asked. Kairi grinned a bit and nodded. There was a quick flash of light, too quick for most people to notice and instead of Kairi, Naminé stood in the dress, staring at it in the mirror.

"I like this," Naminé said, thrilled that it looked just as nice on her as it did her Other.

"How does it fit dear?" the kind lady asked. With another flash, they switched back and Kairi opened the door. The lady's face lit up and she said, "It looks gorgeous miss."

"I know," Kairi said as she looked in the mirror. She wasn't one of those self-centered girls, but she knew when something looked good on her or not. "I'll take it."

'You're definitely going to have to fight to keep this dress on,' Naminé joked.

Kairi ignored her Nobody, happily humming along with the song that was playing in the store. She liked it. She would have to put it on her playlist for the formal.

Kairi went home a very happy young lady. Why wouldn't she? She found her dream dress, and the perfect slow song. Her day couldn't get better.

'Cause I've seen the miracle of snow on Christmas day
The magic of loves first kiss, that takes your breath away
And underneath the mistletoe, I know dreams come true…
''Cause I've never seen anything, as beautiful as you

"I hate life."

Sora's laughter rang through the telephone, mocking Riku. The silver-haired young man glared at the phone intensely before snapping, "Shut up!"

"Sorry," Sora said as he calmed down. "But it's funny! You have to go wearing mostly pink? Why couldn't you just get like a pink tie or something? That wouldn't be absolutely terrible."

"I don't know!" Riku yelled out. "I suggested it to Kinomi, but she just shrugged and said that I needed the pink dress coat. No ifs, ands, or buts."

Sora snickered again and said, "Isn't your date's name Shiki?"

There was a pause before Riku said, "Shut up. I bet Kairi's wearing something pink, meaning you'll get something to match!"

"Pretty sure she's not going to make me get pink pants or anything," Sora replied.

"Whatever. So, what are you guys doing afterwards?" Riku asked curiously. His suggestive tone was not lost on Sora, but he chose to ignore it.

"Not a clue. Have to ask her." His phone beeped in his ear, scaring him slightly at first. "Oh, that's probably her. Talk to you later Rik."

"Whatever man."

Sora switched lines and said, "He-ee-ee-ll-ll-oo-oo."

"You're home! That's good," Kairi's voice rang out happily.

"I promised you I would be," he answered. "So when do you want to go to the mall?"

"Now," she said quickly. "Or as soon as you get here, since I assume you're going to be the nice gentleman and come and pick up the girl without a car since it's boiling outside."

Sora laughed and said, "I'll be there in a minute, kay Iri?"

"Okay," she said happily and hung up the phone.

Sora sighed as he hung up his and Roxas said, 'You've got it bad bro.'

'So do you.'

'Don't I know it.'

It only took Sora about 15 minutes to walk to Kairi's house, so the drive there was pretty quick. He didn't even need to get out of his car though, because the second he put it in park she had already jumped into the passenger's seat.

"I have a few things I have to buy for myself too," Kairi said automatically. "But it's okay, it's nothing that will give away what my dress looks like. First thing first will be your suit though."

"I don't get to see your dress?" Sora asked with a pout as he started driving towards the mall.

"Of course not," Kairi answered as if she was talking to a two year old. "It's a surprise."

"But you get to see me in my suit?"

"I have to make sure it's right."

Sora rolled his eyes a bit and said, "Am I allowed to make suggestions?"

There was a pause before Kairi said, "I guess." It was rather hesitant, but Sora didn't care.

"No pink jackets."

Kairi blinked once, twice, three times, before saying, "Why would I make you get a pink jacket?"

"Riku's date made him."

Kairi laughed and said, "Don't worry Sora. We're going to stick with a black jacket. Besides, my dress is blue."

Relief washed over him at that as they pulled into the mall. He could hear Roxas saying some kind of 'thank you prayer' to…King Mickey, Santa, Hades, Kingdom Hearts and Axel (he wasn't going to ask), but he couldn't focus on that because soon Kairi was dragging him into the mall.

"I know the exact store we're going to," Kairi chatted happily. "The same place where I got my dress, since they sell men's clothes there. The nice lady that helped me should be here, so I'll see if she can help again. Do you have dress shoes?"

"Not ones that fit me," he answered.

"Ok, then that's the next thing," Kairi nodded. She dragged him into the store, glancing around for only a second, before dragging him off again.

"Hello Ms. Ella!"

The woman turned around and said, "Why, hello Kairi. What brings you here?"

"I was hoping you could help us find something that would match my dress for him," Kairi explained as she pulled Sora closer, causing him to blush darkly.

The old lady laughed and said, "You two are adorable together. So, are there any specifics?"

Kairi glanced up at Sora, who sighed and said, "Go ahead."

Kairi grinned broadly and said, "Well first of all I think I want a black dress shirt instead of white." She started walking around Sora in circles. Call her evil, but she already knew what she wanted him to wear, she was just taking the opportunity to look him over. She was sure that he'd do the same if the roles were reversed, so it didn't bother her any. "But you know, it's supposed to be really hot that day, so I don't think that you need an outer jacket."

Sora sighed and eventually stopped paying attention. He just stood there, nodding to anything Kairi or the lady suggested. Eventually, a pile of clothes was thrown in his arms and Kairi pointed him towards a changing room.

Sora looked in the mirror as he changed clothes, noticing that he was in all black with only a blue tie. He glanced at it oddly, recognizing the color from somewhere, but it wasn't occurring to him.

"Sora, come out and show us," Kairi told him. Her voice was sweet, but he could hear the demand in it.

"I don't have the tie on."

"Get out here."

Sora laughed and came out of the changing room. Kairi reached up to the messed up tie, and starting fixing it. She was used to this, because every morning, after getting into the classroom, Kairi would fix his school tie for him. What she didn't know, and would never know, is that Sora did actually have the ability to tie a tie. He just pretended not to.

The old lady watched the two with a wide grin. To her, they were just too adorable.

"Stand back," Kairi said and Sora did as he was told. She walked around him in circles, this time honestly seeing if the suit worked well.

"Do I pass?" Sora asked with an amused tone.

"Definitely," Kairi said happily with a subtly flutter of her eye lashes, causing him to blush. "And on the first try too! It's amazing how this just fits you perfectly, just like my dress fit me perfectly and it was the only one here of that specific color."

"Yeah, funny," Sora agreed.

After Sora changed, Kairi was standing at the counter, waiting for him to finish putting on his sneakers.

"Need a hand dear?" the old lady asked.

"No thank you," Sora asked as he finally pulled his sneaker on. He glanced at the woman and said, "But thanks anyways. How's Cinderella doing?"

The old lady smiled and said, "Nothing gets passed you, does it dear? She wished that her friends that helped her would have a good Christmas. I did what I could to help."

Sora smiled and said, "You deserve a break Fairy Godmother. Tell Cinderella and Charming that I said hi." He looked over at Kairi, rubbing his head as he did so. All her talking about colors, and pants had given him a headache.

"Absolutely," Cinderella's Fairy Godmother said. "Are you alright dear?"

"Just a little headache from stress, nothing big," Sora replied with a smile. He waved at her then quickly walked up beside Kairi, who gave him a questioning look.

"What took so long?"

"Sorry, had trouble with my sneakers."

"Well, it's 200 munny."

Sora stared at her and said, "You're kidding, right? That costs as much as some of Donald's staffs or Goofy's shields!"

"Sora," Kairi whined.

He continued staring at her before growling and giving the money to the cashier. It was nice to see was destroying Heartless got him.

"Now we just have to buy your shoes. Oh, and I need to get a new necklace since none of mine seem to suit my dress very well. And earrings. We don't need to worry about getting there though, because you have a pretty decent car. Afterwards a bunch of people are heading out to
eat—"

Sora tuned the rest of it out.

VVVVVVV

It was Friday morning, and the Christmas Formal was that night. Already, the school was decorated up for the upcoming holiday, but everyone involved with the dance would get out of class early to help put all the big decorations up.

Kairi was bouncing in her seat, talking to all of her friends excitedly. Sora, however, was not.

Their science teacher decided to give up and not teach them anything that day. Besides, it was the day before Christmas holidays; he knew none of them were going to listen. So he sat back in his chair, observing his class curiously. Or rather, one student.

Normally Sora would jump at the chance to talk to as many people as possible even if he WAS teaching. Now he just sat in his chair, staring rather blankly down at his desk.

"Sora," Kairi said suddenly, causing him to look up. Her big smile vanished as she asking. "Are you alright?" He looked really tired, and a little pale.

Sora smiled at her and said, "I'm fine."

The teacher, Mr. Lon, was one of the favorite teachers in the school because of how easy going he was. That was how he got to see the personalities of so many of his students. Now he knew something was wrong. Sora wasn't speaking loudly, nor was he blushing deeply or anything.

Mr. Lon narrowed his eyes before saying, "Sora, come here for a second."

Sora was startled to hear his name, but he got up. It was barely visible, but he swayed a bit when he got up. He walked a little slower than normal to the front of the room, but when he got to the teacher's desk, he was even paler.

"Do you need to go to the nurses office?"

"Why would I need to go to the nurses office? I'm fine." Sora turned to go back to his seat, but he didn't get very far before gravity acted and yanked the weak boy to the ground.

"Sora!" Kairi cried out with worry as she rushed over to him. He was sitting on the floor, holding his head in his hand. "Sora, look at me. Are you alright?"

He slowly looked up at her before saying, "Maybe I should go to the nurses office."

VVVVVVV

Kairi tapped her fingers against her desk nervously. Her eyes darted from their lecturing teacher, to the clock, back to the teacher, to the door, to the clock, and back to the teacher. She just wanted this student teacher (Miss. Prince) to stop trying to teach them so that she could go and see how Sora was doing. She had been kicked out of the nurses office, and told to go to class and to come back at lunch.

Finally, the bell rang, and Kairi bolted. She rushed down the hall and burst into the nurses office, receiving a glare from the evil woman herself. Kairi ignored her and quickly walked over to where Sora was still lying.

He turned and looked at her before saying, "Key Iri."

"Hey, you feeling better?" Kairi asked, running her fingers through his hair.

He winced a bit and said, "Still hurts a bit, but don't worry, I'll be fine for tonight." To prove his point he tried to jump out of bed, but ended up failing miserably as he fell backwards. He held his stomach for a moment as a wave of nausea passed over him, but he didn't throw up.

Kairi quickly helped him up into the bed again and sat next to him. He was visibly frustrated and said, "I'm already ruining your day."

"Don't be silly, you just have a headache. You'll be fine later. Maybe you should go home though," she said as she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"No, I—"

"I've tried calling your parents already Mr. Hikari," the monotone nurse said. "We have been unable to reach your mother, and your father won't be able to get here for another hour."

"That's alright, he can wait," Kairi said scooting a little closer to Sora on the bed. She made him lay his head on her shoulder, blushing deeply as she felt his breath on her neck.

The nurse predicted that Sora was going to argue and said, "Your girlfriend is right, it's best you go home for a while."

Sora blushed a bit, but neither of them protested what she said. This delighted Kairi to no end.

She continued to sit with Sora, waiting for his mother or father to come get him. Neither of them spoke in the nurse's office, nor when Kairi helped Mr. Hikari bring his son to the car.

Sora stared at her before his eyes widened. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys before saying, "Here Iri, take my car home, okay?"

She nodded and said, "I'll see you later?'

"Yeah," he said happily before shutting the door. Kairi watched as Sora drove off before sighing and turning to walk back into the school. Now her headache with finishing the last minute preparations would begin.

VVVVVVV

Kairi sat against her closet, sobbing into her hands. Her dress lay on her bed forgotten, along with her shoes and accessories. The time read 9:00 p.m. The Christmas Formal had started an hour ago. The dance that she had gone out of her way to make absolutely perfect was the last place she wanted to be. All because of a phone call from Riku earlier.

His mother was a nurse in the hospital, and called him when she had found out that Sora was admitted to the hospital when his headache started to get worse, he started vomiting, and his temperature skyrocketed. That was all he knew, so that was all she knew.

Kairi had felt terrible, because before that she had been growling about Sora not answering the phone and ruining her night. Now she just felt like bitch.

There was a knock on her door before her mother walked in. She sat down beside her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Kairi hun, I know you're upset that Sora didn't show, but you should just go to the dance with one of those other boys and—"

"No mom, that's not it at all," Kairi sobbed. "First, I wouldn't WANT to go with another guy, only Sora. Second, I know why Sora didn't show. He had to go to the hospital. I am such a terrible person for being angry with him!"

"Oh Kairi," her mother said while rubbing her back. "Hmmm…I know. Why don't you go visit him at the hospital early tomorrow morning and bring those Christmas Cookies you always make that he loves."

Kairi looked up at her mother for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, "Y-yeah. That's what I'll do. Bake cookies!" She leapt off of the floor and rushed out of the room, going over a list of ingredients in her head. All thoughts of her perfect dance, perfect dress and his perfect suit left her. There were some things more important, and she wouldn't let this incident ruin their Christmas break.

VVVVVVV

END PART ONE

This was originally going to be ONE long fic but…yeah…I'm already up to almost 20 pages on Microsoft word. And the next one is about the same length as well.

Yes, this is a Christmas one, even though I don't usually do holiday fics. This chapter didn't seem very Christmasy, but the next one will…sort of. I just didn't want to be OVERLY too clichéd, but yeah, I failed miserably…

And don't worry about Sora. It's kind funny what I made happen to him. And I actually looked it up, so while it might seem stupid, it could actually happen.

So, I'll update the second part sometime before Christmas. Promise.

Krystal Lily Potter