Part 3: Luminosity

We were getting nearer now.

Was it just my imagination, or was the sun starting to dim?

Suddenly, I was vaguely aware of something... disconcerting... in my head. Something trying to smash its way through my world of happiness. Trying to break it to pieces. Trying to claw its way to the surface.

Axeas.

As soon as the name went through my head, my world came flying apart.

With a shriek that nearly rent me in half, Axeas came to life. A portal of darkness appeared in front of me, and she stepped out of it, her eyes glowing with the hatred that she couldn't really feel and her ebony hair flowing.

Riku let out a frightened shout, but with a single sweeping motion of Axeas's hand, he was flung away from us, and an impenetrable bubble of darkness encircled us. Just me and her.

"You!" I screamed. My hands curled into fists at my side.

"Yeah, me," she sneered. "The voice that tried to talk a little sense into you. You think you can get rid of me? Go ahead and try!"

I was ready to rip her apart with my bare hands, if that's what it took to get rid of her. But suddenly, I felt something heavy in my right hand, though nothing was there. I looked down, and was surprised to see my fingers curling involuntarily around something I couldn't see. Then, a keyblade materialized. My keyblade, with the waves on the handle and the flowers on the blade.

For a moment, her eyes flashed with an imitation of the fear she could not really feel. "The keyblade," she hissed. "Why do you wield it?"

There could be only one reason. "Don't you see?" I called across the bubble of darkness, triumph in my voice. "You were wrong! This proves it. Two hearts, residing inside one another! One destiny!"

The keyblade gleamed, and I could feel a definite warmth in the handle.

She gnashed her teeth together, then, with a shriek, flung herself toward me. With a flash of her arm, little silver daggers shot toward me, aimed at my heart.

But I was not afraid. I turned sideways and felt two of them whistle past me. The keyblade seemed to pull me onward, toward my enemy, and we shot toward her with incredible speed. Like the strike of a cobra, we met her in the middle, and I we caught her in the back with the tip of it. I could feel a tremendous force rushing through my limbs, enabling me to lift the heavy blade with ease.

She shrieked and spun around, her nostrils flaring. And then, in a flash, she drew a sleek black sword from a sheath beneath her robe. And then she lunged at me.

I heard a shout from somewhere outside of our little arena as I drew the keyblade in front of me just in time. With a metallic bang, the sword hit the blade and nearly knocked me flat. But the rebound knocked her over onto one knee. She recovered herself quickly.

We circled one another like animals, our teeth bared and our nostrils flaring.

"Aiee!" She screamed, lunging at me again.

This time, I leapt over her sword as she sped toward me and smacked her upside the head with the keyblade. Light came from it, and wisps of darkness began to sail from her form and into the air. She gasped, then dealt me a swift blow on the cheek with her fist.

I was knocked to the ground, and I saw stars. It felt like she'd broken my jaw. I looked up, my head in a whirl, to see the keyblade fly from my grasp and land in the sand a good eight feet away.

"I'm going to end this, now," Axeas snarled, her black hair swirling about her burning eyes as she pointed her sword at my chest. "Return our heart to the darkness, whence it came!"

Suddenly, I there was something heavy in my hand. It tingled, and the keyblade materialized beneath my fingers.

She stared at me in shock and disbelief, and that moment of hesitation was all I needed. Was all we needed.

The keyblade in my hand shot toward her, and though it did not have a sharp edge, cut her in two from her waist to her left shoulder in a flash of golden light.

She looked at me for a brief moment, disbelief written clearly across her face.

"My heart belongs to me," I said triumphantly. "And never to the darkness!"

Darkness rose from her in wispy clouds of black and purple, until even her blank, shocked expression was gone, gone away from this bright and beautiful place forever. The dark bubble around us faded too, until only I stood on the battlefield, shaking and gasping for breath.

The keyblade vanished, and the weight was gone from my hands. The danger was passed.

A flash of bright white light nearly blinded me. I gazed around, shielding my eyes, looking for its source. I noticed a movement in my peripheral vision.

A girl with light blonde hair, wearing a tiny white dress and a serene expression stood not far from me. Her mouth curved into a gentle smile.

"Naminé!" I cried, running to her. She took my hands in hers.

"Kairi," she murmured. "I knew you could bring me back."

"Why did you go?" I asked her, fresh tears beginning to collect in the corners of my eyes.

"Doubts pushed me away." She continued upon seeing the puzzled look on my face. "See, you've always been so pure of heart that, when you actually lost your heart, no Nobody was created. Instead, I was created – some kind of freak Nobody – lacking all the elements of an ordinary Nobody. So when the doubts entered into your heart, a sort of Nobody was created… up here," she tapped my forehead with one finger. "But it wasn't me. It was the ordinary Nobody that should've been created in the first place… if you had been an ordinary sort of person."

"Oh, Naminé," I wept, clutching at her hand. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright now, Kairi. I'm me again, exactly how you remember me, rather than an echo of doubts. You see, I'm whatever is in your heart," she continued to smile sweetly. I knew it was true. Though I was still ashamed of my doubts, my heart was as pure as before.

"The doubts are all gone? Really?" I murmured, smiling through my tears.

Naminé cocked her head. "They could come back, if you let them. But I think I know a way to chase them off for good." She lifted her hands, and placed them on my forehead.

Suddenly, my friends standing a short distance away, incredulous, and Naminé, all disappeared.

I could see a much younger Riku, walking along the bridge with Sora, with a Paopu fruit in one hand. It was sunset, and we were just leaving our favorite spot to watch the glowing horizon cast bright red light over the sea.

"Sora, you wanted one, didn't you?" he said, his voice from so long ago echoing. I could see Sora now, the eyes I loved alight with curiosity, but on a much younger face. Riku tossed the fruit to him, and he caught it in one hand.

"A Paopu fruit?" Sora wondered.

"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku explained, walking toward the still standing Sora. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what."

Sora gaped at him.

"C'mon, I know you want to try it."

Sora was defensive. "What are you talking-"

"Ha, ha ha," Riku laughed, passing Sora. As Riku walked away, however, I noticed his eyes flash with jealousy.

The scene shifted, and now Sora stood on the white sand, in the shade next to Riku. "If I win..." Sora said, "uh... I'm captain! And if you win-"

"I get to share the Paopu fruit with Kairi," Riku finished, his face serious and determined.

"Huh?"

"Deal? The winner gets to share a Paopu with Kairi."

"Wha- Wait a minute..."

"Okay, on my count!" I said, raising an arm to start the race.

But then the scene shifted, and I saw something from my own memory. My voice, immature and reproachful, said, "Take this. It's my lucky charm, be sure to bring it back to me." My hands were on my hips.

"I will," he said, smiling and wrapping his fingers around the metal star.

"Promise?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"Promise."

"...Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you."

Then, we were standing on the edges of two different worlds, our hands interlocked.

"Kairi! Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"

"I know you will!" I cried out with the purest, sweetest faith in my voice. There was no hint of doubt, then.

And then our hands were wrenched apart, and my island began to restore itself, but Sora faded away into the glittering night... glittering with the worlds he had saved, and the worlds that would stand between us for another long year…

The scene shifted, and I could see Sora, older now, standing in front of a train station. The words seemed to echo. But that didn't alter the power in his voice as he said, "I'm gonna find Riku. Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there, waiting for us. What are you guys gonna do?"

"Aww, do you have to ask?"

And now he stood on a foggy, seaside cliff, where another nearby couple embraced. I didn't know who they were or what their story was, but very much felt and understood Sora's next words: "Good for them."

Donald and Goofy stood silent beside him for a moment, then Goofy suddenly said, "Hey, Sora, how come your face is all red?"

"What? It is not red!" Sora cried, covering his blush with his hands. I giggled.

"Aw, I know who you're thinking about," Donald said slyly. My heart thudded.

The scene shifted again, and we stood in a place that looked like a town square. It was creepy looking, but sparkling snowflakes were falling, and a couple spun round and round, while Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched.

"Maybe I never gave her a real present after all," Sora suddenly said, looking almost forlornly at the pale brunette and tall skeleton man that danced around the square. He was dressed in a dark, dingy black suit that matched the scenery.

"Who?" Donald asked.

Goofy stepped forward and put his hands on Sora's shoulders. "Aw, I bet Kairi would have liked most anything you gave her," he said.

"I know. That's what made it so hard to decide."

"It's not the gift," Donald said. "It's what's in your heart!"

"My heart..." Sora repeated, staring off into space.

"You bet!" Donald said. "Kairi's like Sally."

"How?" Sora wondered.

Goofy smiled, then said, "Well, as long as she can be with you, what else does she need?"

"Yeah..." Sora said, and for a moment his face fell, and I knew he was wondering if he could give me that gift at all. But then he brightened, and I watched his eyes glow with a faraway look, a warm smile spread across his face. I wished I could see what he could, but then realized that I probably already had. He blushed and laughed.

Then everything changed. "I don't care about any of that! Just let me into the realm of darkness, okay?" Sora was begging, intense pain written clearly on his face.

The man in the black cloak that stood before him stood tall and indifferent. "If it's Kairi that you're worried about, don't. We're taking very good care of her."

"Take me to her!" Sora demanded.

"Is she that important to you?"

"Yeah. More than anything," Sora gasped. My heart ached for him.

"Show me how important," the tall man said. His eyes were cruel, his mouth twisted in a permanent scowl. I noticed a scar in the shape of an X, centered on his face.

And then Sora did something that would have surely broken his proud, valiant spirit. Something that would have cost him more than I could imagine. He got down on his hands and knees, slowly but steadily, and said, "please," in a clear and carrying voice.

"My. You really do care for her. In that case, the answer is still no."

"You rotten-" he snarled, leaping to his feet, once again ready to fight his way into the realm of darkness.

To fight his way to me. To rescue me from Organization XIII. Because he loved me.

And then, a scene from not so long ago, one that I could have easily recalled without the help of Naminé.

"We're - we're back," Sora said, smiling brightly. He was kneeling in the shallow water, my lucky charm in his hand. I stood on the sand, smiling down at him.

I bent over, and extended my hand to help him up. "You're home," I said.

And then he placed his hand in mine, along with the charm, with a certain sense of finality.

In a flash of white light, I came back to the present. Naminé stood in front of me, smiling, her hands at her side.

"Are they all gone, now?" She asked kindly.

"Yes," I managed to choke through my tears. "Yes, they're all gone. Thank you, Naminé."

~o~

"Kairi!" Someone was shouting. "KAIRI!"

I knew that voice from anywhere. It was the only voice that could touch my very soul, could fill every fiber of my being with joy and light.

"Sora!" I called, turning to smile in his direction. Ouch, I thought, rubbing my aching jaw. "Sora!"

He was running toward me, anxiety radiating from him. My heart hurt to see it - I'd caused him so much pain already.

He surprised me by grabbing me up in a tight embrace. "Kairi!" He moaned into my ear. "Oh, Kairi, are you alright?"

I flung my arms around his neck, and he lifted me off the ground. I pressed my cheek against his, buried my face in his sweet-smelling hair. This was enough. I could stay like this forever. Eternity.

"Yes," I whispered. "I'm fine."

"Who was that?" I heard Wakka shout.

"Someone from Organization XIII?" Sora wondered aloud, pushing me back so he could look at my face. My heart fluttered.

"No," I said, wiping the tears from my face. "She wasn't from organization XIII. She just wore the robe, like Riku and King Mickey did."

They all stared at me, shocked and curious.

"Do you know who she was?" Sora asked me.

"Yes," I said, a little ashamed. "She was my Nobody – kind of. A dark version of her."

"What about Naminé?" Sora wondered. "I thought she was your Nobody." For a moment, his form shifted a little, and I could see someone else in his eyes. Roxas.

"She's fine now," I reassured him. "Restored."

It was quiet for a few moments, as Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie exchanged shocked and confused glances. I looked around, amused by the fact that the island looked exactly as it had before. The sun shone brightly upon the white sand, the sky was a deep, everlasting blue, and the palm trees swayed gently in the ocean air. There was not a trace of the brief but terrifying battle that had happened here - both within, and outside of myself.

Sora was looking anxiously into my eyes, his hands still resting on my shoulders. I ran my hand through his hair, and his eyes closed gently at my touch.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He whispered, his voice hoarse with fear.

"Yes." I touched his lips with my finger. "Better than that, actually."

He hugged me again, and I rested my head on his shoulder with a happy sigh.

~o~

"Okay, this is just stupid," Wakka growled, throwing down his flag in frustration.

It was early afternoon, and the sun shone bright and hot upon the little island. The waves rushed upon the shore, and I closed my eyes and sighed contentedly. Everything was alright now. It had been three days since my encounter with Axeas, and my world was one of complete harmony. But, apparently I was the only one who felt that way.

"I second that," Tidus said, pausing to pick up the bandana on a stick that Wakka had chucked at the ground. "Capture the flag with uneven teams just sucks."

"You guys are such babies," Riku said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it would help if Sora wouldn't just vanish off the face of the earth," Wakka said defensively. "Now your team has an advantage over us!"

"You guys are still ahead by three points," Selphie pointed out.

"Not for long," Tidus moaned.

Riku gritted his teeth. "We're not pausing the game to look for Sora, and that's final. He's probably just trying to sneak around the island to get into a good position." He turned around and began to walk back to our post. "Just grow up and get back to the game!"

Tidus and Wakka humbly resumed their posts, as Riku could be a little bit domineering when he was angry. But I could hear them grumble as they went.

As we were walking, I tapped Selphie on the shoulder.

"Selphie," I whispered, so that Riku couldn't hear, "I'm going to go look for Sora. Just keep playing without me, okay? No matter how long I'm gone."

She gave me a strange look. "Well, alright, but I'm sure he's fine, Kairi," she said, a little louder than I would have liked.

"I know. I just want to make sure," I said evasively.

"Okay."

I faded away into the palms. It was easy to follow the trail that I had followed so many times before, to the little secret cave on the other side of the island. Like breathing. It just felt natural. Therapeutic.

It was the place I had always gone to think about Sora, to trace the patterns and pictures we had drawn onto the walls together.

I had no idea what would be waiting for me when I arrived there - perhaps just an empty cavern - but I had to know.

A familiar musty smell greeted my nose as I ducked inside the entryway. I walked down the short little hallway and into the big room.

The light was dim, but several rays of sunshine came slanting down from the holes in the ceiling, where patches of blue sky shone brightly. Little particles of dust and dirt swam in the light, and so I knew, before my eyes found the form in the corner, that someone had disturbed this place not long before my arrival.

His hands were tracing over the Paupou fruit that I had drawn a year ago, lingering on the place where it touched my cave-drawing hand. He sighed.

"Sora."

He whirled around, eyes wide. "Kairi," he gasped. "You scared me. Make a little more noise, will you?" He laughed nervously.

I laughed, too. "Sorry."

We sat in silence for a moment, each surprised at the other's presence in this place. How long had it been now, since we were here together?

"I - was just on my way back to the game," Sora explained, standing up and blushing a deep red. He must have realized that I had been watching him. "Are Tidus and Wakka mad?"

"Yeah," I said with a shrug. "But that's kind of impossible to avoid."

He smiled at me, and some of the redness left his face. "True," he agreed.

I slowly walked over to where the rough white lines depicting the two of us stood out on the stone wall. Sora stepped back, his eyes following my every move. I touched the cool stone with my fingertips, then smiled.

"I missed you a lot," I explained, still examining the drawing. "And when I came back, I saw this." I touched the Paopu fruit that he had crudely drawn. "It made me so sad, that I had no way to tell you that I..." I blushed a little, in spite of myself. "I've been waiting a long time to tell you," I finished, then let my hand fall from the wall. "And... here you are."

I looked into his eyes, and he looked bashfully back into mine, then put a hand behind his head and gave a nervous laugh before averting his eyes.

I stood there quietly, trying to enjoy only his company and the sound of his breath, going quickly in and out of his lungs. Though I tried to control it, my heart began to beat away like raindrops pelting the ground during a summer storm. I couldn't help it.

He reached down and took my hands, uncertainly, hesitantly, but tenderly. I looked up at him, surprised.

And then, the unexpected happened, as it sometimes does, to the woes and joys of its victims and benefactors. At first, I was so surprised that I was certain I must be dreaming, for this was something that I'd fantasized about for a year and a half, maybe even longer. It could not happen in real life; it just couldn't.

But now that the doubts were gone, their falsehoods were thrown into the light. My world was shaken as I realized the magnitude of it all. They were all lies.

The substance of my dreams had become reality. Love and light lived, now that Axeas was dead.

This I knew, because Sora's long, dark eyelashes were slowly shadowing the depths of his ocean-blue eyes as the lids slid closed in a moment of anticipation; because he leaned toward me, his breath cutting short and the vibration of his thudding heart rocking both of us like an earthquake; because his head was cocked to the side and his lips were searching for mine.

This kiss was not much like our first.

His lips tasted mine so softly, so gently, that it was all I could do to stop myself from grasping his face in my hands and locking my face to his with all the fire that boiled under my skin. The very, very tip of his tongue rested on my lower lip, and he gave a tiny sigh of contentment. His hands slid up my arms and rested upon my shoulders as his lips pulled ever so lightly on mine. Then he pulled away.

We both opened our eyes, and I could see something exciting, something bright and hungry in his. Something that sent my heart galloping. He smiled that smile that I loved, and something in me just snapped.

I couldn't stand the distance between us anymore. It shouldn't exist. It was defying the laws of gravity.

I wrapped my arms around his neck so quickly and so forcefully that he nearly lost his balance and started in surprise, but there was no helping that, now. With a shiver of delight, I brought my mouth to his and tasted of its goodness, smelled his sweet skin and glorified in the tender touch of his hands on my shoulders. I gave a tiny gasp as my hands found the hot skin at the back of his neck. I ran my hands through his hair and held him to me, held him hostage.

And the best part was seeing that he wanted to be my hostage. That he wanted me as much as I wanted him, that I could feel the fire burning through his veins as well as mine, now. It was more beautiful than anything I had ever known, this certainty.

To love and be loved in return.

What could have been minutes, days, or months passed before we resurfaced. I gasped for air and shivered in the sudden absence of his skin on mine, for he had pulled away from me and was looking sheepishly down at the floor.

I didn't let him stand there for long. All I knew was that I couldn't let him leave until I'd had my fill, until his touch had satisfied the wild hunger that clawed at my insides. So I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly backed him up until he was pressed against the heavy wooden door on the wall of the cavern. He looked at me in surprise.

"You're not going anywhere," I tried to growl, but my voice trembled.

He put his hands on my back and held me to him. "Why would I?" he wondered, his voice serious and husky.

"You stepped away," I accused, raising an eyebrow at him.

He blushed again. "I didn't know if you..." he looked at the floor.

"If I what?"

"If you wanted me to... or not," he finished, turning an even darker shade beneath his warm tan skin.

It was silent for a long moment. And then I laughed. Laughed at the absurdity of it all. Laughed at how utterly and completely ridiculous the entire situation was.

Doubts. How had we let such idiotic things enter our minds and hearts?

Sora was defensive as my laughter echoed through the cavern. "What?" He asked warily.

"Oh Sora," I was finally able to gasp. "Of course I wanted you to. That's why I was so upset. I thought you didn't want me."

"What?" He exploded. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He looked at the floor and put his hand behind his head again. "I mean... how could I not..." he blushed again. "You know that I... that I've always..."

"Now I do," I said, putting a finger to his lips. "But I had doubts, just like you."

He looked at me for a moment, then said, "Well that was stupid. You should have just asked me."

I laughed again. "Yeah, I know. You too."

He wrinkled his nose and gave me a crooked smile.

We kissed again, briefly, and it tasted so sweet that our lips met a second, third, and fourth time, until finally we just surrendered to the inevitable.

I held onto him as tight as I could, then sank to my knees, pulling him down with me. He laughed and fell on his bottom, but his mouth wasn't free for long.

I fell back onto the cool earth, and Sora's lips followed mine. For a brief, exciting moment, he straddled me and cradled my face in his hands. I ran my hands through his wild hair, making it stand on end. Our lips moved rhythmically to the synchronized pounding of our hearts.

"Sora? Kairi? Are you in here?"

Whoever the call belonged to did not say it loudly. However, it echoed through the cavern and rang in my ears, and Sora and I both leapt to our feet as though we'd been electrocuted. Sora's hair was still standing on end, his eyes wild.

"Yeah, we're here," I called back, trying to sound like nothing was going on at all. My voice trembled, however.

I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway. Quickly, I stepped over to the wall and placed a hand tenderly upon the old cave drawings, as though I had been doing nothing but examining them. Sora did the same, although he wasn't as good at the acting as I was.

Tidus and Selphie came walking through the entryway, looking around curiously.

"Huh!" Tidus said, gazing around. "I've never been back here before. I didn't even know there was anything here. Hey! Look at all these little drawings!"

"That's what Sora and I were doing," I said quickly. "See, we drew these years ago."

Selphie looked at me suspiciously, but Tidus said, "Really?"

"Yep," I said lightly, trying to draw their attention to myself, since I could see Sora blushing out of the corner of my eye. "When we were little."

"Wow. Huh. I guess that's why Riku told us to look for you here."

"You've been looking for us?" I asked, and Sora and I exchanged looks.

"Yeah. You've been gone an hour," Selphie said, gazing at me with her eyebrows raised.

An hour? "Wow. I guess we just got talking and lost track of time," I said, smiling sweetly. The last part of that was true.

"Well c'mon, let's get back to the game!" Tidus said, tearing his gaze from the cave-drawings. "We've only got a half hour 'til we have to go!"

Tidus led the way out of the cave, and Selphie followed close behind, after giving me another meaningful look. I shrugged my shoulders and followed after her.

I knew Sora was walking behind me, but was still very surprised to feel a warm touch brush across the fingers of my right hand. I looked up at him, and his eyes met mine for a short moment. Then he took my hand in his, and we walked, side by side, out the tunnel and into the warm ocean air.

I smiled at him, and he smiled at me.

We were home.

Thanks for reading! I hope you'll treat me with a review. :)

~LobaLu~