Chapter 32

~Day ?~

How much time had passed before the Keyblade was thrown in front of her, Kairi would never be able to say. She slowly uncurled her stiff body, stuffing the picture of Sora into her pocket as she did so, and stretched a hand out to Rainfell. It vanished into her being as soon as her fingers wrapped around it. She instantly felt energy returning to her, enough that she was able to sit up, and see who had returned her weapon to her.

"Axel!" she exclaimed as she cowered from him, instinctively bringing her fists up to protect her face but having no intention of fighting. She probably deserved whatever he had in mind since she had cast the sleep spell on him and abandoned him.

He did not attack her, though. His mouth was in a straight, unreadable line, and his eyes shone with firmness and determination. "You remember when me, you, and Roxas all said we were best friends, right?"

"Yes..." Her voice was hoarse from having not used it in so long. She had given up talking to herself during her time in the cell and had decided to spend her captivity as a mute.

"You also remember when Roxas suggested we all run away together?"

"Of course."

Axel crouched to be on level with her, then extended his open hand to her. Kairi looked up to his eyes, trying to confirm what he seemed to be telling her. They were leaving the Organization. They were going to get Roxas back and run away.

Kairi took his hand.

Axel pulled Kairi to her feet, and she let out a weak groan as she stretched her limbs, stiff from sitting still so long. It reminded her of her first few days in the Organization. So much for following that mental note.

A Corridor of Darkness opened, and Kairi followed Axel inside. He handed her an elixir, which she eagerly drank. After, she blindly combed her fingers through her hair to try to make herself look presentable. After being in a cell for days, though, she doubted that would be happening soon. She cast a "Refresh" spell in a last attempt. She had learned the spell to cheat life on days when she was too tired to actually wake up and shower before going on her missions.

Neither said a word until they stepped out onto the other side of the corridor. Kairi recognized the area as the secret passage above Beast's Castle. To her left was the crack in the wall that overlooked the Entrance Hall.

"Roxas is here?" she asked, looking at Axel doubtfully. Roxas had never shown a particular interest in that world.

"He's right down there." He pointed through the crack in the wall. Kairi jumped on top of the box, landing silently, and peered over the edge.

She saw a head of spiky brown hair.

She nearly fell off the back of the box. Axel grabbed her arm to steady her, then jumped on with her, pulling her to look over the edge with him.

"Don't ask me why, because it would be too difficult to explain. Roxas is inside that boy down there. The only way we can get him out is if you release that boy's heart with your Keyblade."

Kairi looked up at Axel, her eyes thrice their usual size as her lower lip quivered. "You want me to kill Sora?!"

Axel stiffened, and then turned to her, eyes narrowed to a glare. "You really do remember Sora?"

The fact that Axel knew who Sora was caught her off guard. Kairi instinctively leaned away from him as she searched for words, coming out with, "Why shouldn't I?"

Axel grit his teeth in frustration and shook his head. "Kairi, this is the only way to get Roxas back! We need to get Roxas back! So I'll take care of the duck and dog, and you stick your Keyblade in that boy's chest! Got it memorized?" Before she could respond, Axel flipped himself over the edge. Kairi bit down the urge to yell at him as she leaned through the crack. Axel landed on the staircase, sending one of his chakrams rolling across the floor to make a barrier of fire. Sora's companions were on the staircase, Sora on the level ground below. He looked confused, unable to see through the fire to Axel engaging his cohorts.

Kairi's breathing echoed through her ears as she felt her throat closing up. Sora was alive. He was really alive.

She had to kill him to get Roxas back.

Before she could convince herself otherwise, Kairi flipped herself over the edge, landing lithely and silently behind Sora. She briefly examined him, noting how different he was even just from behind. His hair was lighter, and he was definitely taller. It had been a year, had it not?

The boy she once called her best friend, or the boy on the clock tower. Admittedly, her relationship with Roxas had been strained those past months, but that was Sora's fault... Sora was a friend from a past life. Roxas was her friend at that moment. Yet, there was Sora.

At least she did not have to see his face. Rainfell came to her hand, and before she could let resolve bleed through, she ran at Sora.

He turned at the last second and lifted a Keyblade to stop her. The swords locked with each other.

His face was still boyish, but it had matured greatly. His lit blue eyes tripled in size when he saw her, and his jaw hung loosely. "K-Kairi?!"

She weakened, for just a moment, and found herself staring at him. No picture she or anyone ever drew could capture those eyes.

Destroy them, Kairi! She growled and lifted her Keyblade, pulling herself back. She pointed Rainfell at him and yelled, "Firaga!"

Sora dodge rolled from her attack, not unlike Roxas. "Kairi, what are you- why are you-?!"

"Stop talking!" She charged him with a combo of melee attacks, which he smoothly blocked, the last one harshly knocking her Keyblade back to make her lose balance. He reached for her shoulder. She could not touch him. Kairi jumped away from him.

"Kairi, what's wrong?!" he asked. "Why are you here?! Why are you... and why..." She told herself she was mistaken in seeing tears in his eyes. She cast a gravira spell to pull him towards her, but he curved his body to avoid her blade, grabbing her shoulder and pulling himself back down to the ground. She hit the ground and scurried away as if his hand was made of knives.

She could feel it. She was not just remembering it, she could feel his touch.

Kill him and get Roxas!

But I don't want Sora getting hurt, much less killed.

One of them has to go. Choose.

"Kairi, why are you working with them?! You're not one of them!"

How dare you say that after all I've been through with them? "Shut up!" She tightened her grip on the Keyblade and jumped to her feet, charging him again. She ignored his cries to stop and continued swinging. She had to. She had to release Roxas.

It's not fair!

Finally, Sora took the offensive, casting a magnet spell. Kairi yelped as she was dragged towards him, and Sora caught her Keyblade hand, holding it away from him. He caught her shoulders with his other hand. She writhed under his touch, and his blue eyes seemed trying to search hers. He looked desperate. "Kairi, you're not a Nobody! You don't belong with them!"

"You don't know anything!" The spell wore off, and Kairi headbutted Sora. He stumbled, dropping her. Kairi landed roughly, recovered quickly, and lifted her Keyblade to cast a blizzaga spell at him. He lifted his Keyblade to block it, but misjudged. The spell caught his hand around the hilt. Kairi dove forward and smashed her Keyblade's hilt into his, breaking the ice, breaking the skin and perhaps more on his hand, and knocking the Keyblade across the room.

They threw me in a dungeon. They don't want me anymore.

Screw Organization XIII. Axel and I need Roxas.

"Kairi, please, stop! It's me! Sora!" He jumped from her attack, landing on one of the pillars. Kairi shot a firaga at him, and he ran up the wall to avoid her attack, curving around the room to avoid all the ones that followed. "This isn't you! Stop fighting me! Please!"

He jumped off the wall and landed by his Keyblade. Kairi cast magnega around it, pulling it to herself and having it fade into her being so that he could not use it. Not that she knew how to wield his Keyblade, but at least he could not block her attacks.

She slowly approached him, trying to talk herself into it, trying to talk herself out of it. You can't be alive. You're not here. You and Roxas can't both exist.

You're here. I've been looking for so long. You're here. I can't kill you.

His features became blurry as he backed from her, soon finding himself against a wall. He was saying something. Telling her to stop. She could not hear. Her ears were ringing, and she could not see anything. Something was wrong with her. She felt sick. She was going to throw up. Her head was driving her crazy.

Kill him.

Don't.

His voice came back to her. "You can't be a Nobody! You're a Princess of Heart, you can't fall to darkness! It is impossible."

Kairi stopped, and lowered her Keyblade. "I'm a... what?"

A desperate smile came to his face, seeing that she was finally listening. "You're a Princess of Heart, Kai!" Something twisted inside of her. "You can't possibly be a Nobody. You've lost your heart before, but you didn't fade away into darkness! You're not capable of fading to darkness."

Not a Nobody.

Liar.

"Shut up." She swung her Keyblade at him. He leaned to the side and the blade was lodged in the wall. Her body was heaving as she pulled the Keyblade out of the wall. She was not even sure what emotions she was pretending to have. It felt like genuine anger and sorrow. But it could not be, because a Nobody could not feel anything. Why did the pain feel justified? "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Her attacks became vicious again, fast to the point Sora was struggling to evade her. With a final, unexpected kick to his stomach, she had him against the wall, slumped against it in a half-standing, half-sitting position. Kairi placed one hand on the wall to lean over him, and pointed the Keyblade at his chest.

She prayed he would lift his face. She wanted to see his eyes again.

"Kairi..." he whispered, gasping for the breath she had knocked out of him. "I'm Sora... your best friend... don't you remember?"

She bit her lower lip, hands starting to tremble. "Remember?" She laughed mirthlessly. "I remember Hollow Bastion... and sunsets with Axel and Roxas... but you?" The tip of her Keyblade fell. "I remember you're important. And that I care about you. And that we used to watch sunsets together... and I remember... I remember..." Her voice broke. She felt her body about to give out as she gave over to sobs. "I don't remember anything else before this bloody Organization! I just remember being a Nobody, and a rubbish one at that!"

Sora pushed the Keyblade out of her hand and pulled her down into a hug. Kairi struggled weakly against him, demanding he let her go, but he was much stronger than her. She could hear him crying into her shoulder, and she failed to avoid doing the same into his. "You're not a Nobody. You're my best friend, my light, my Kairi. You're no one else. You're you."

It would be so easy to kill him right there. She lifted a hand and placed it on his chest... she just had to summon the Keyblade. But she could not kill him. The Keyblade would not cooperate.

"Why can't you just die?" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him, finally giving over to the pain that his touch brought.

Sora pulled her down further into his lap, which she weakly tried to fight to get out of. She herself was just too weak. She could not fight, could not get up, could not even summon her Keyblade to kill him. She could only sit there and cry. Cry because even by not choosing which boy she wanted, she was choosing one. She cried because the people she had trusted turned on her. She cried because she could not remember why she trusted them in the first place.

"What did they do to you?" Sora whispered, hugging her tighter to him. She did not feel too weak about crying since he was doing it as well. The way he was wrapped around her, it almost felt like he was shielding her from something. From everything.

She wanted to summon the Keyblade. She wanted to kill the boy who had caused her so much trouble. The impossible boy. The boy who should not exist, but she could not, because this boy was no longer a figure in her dreams, not just a face that haunted her wherever she looked. "This is real."

To be continued in Eight Lights.

("Simple and Clean" playout.)