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marinerendevouz · 10 months

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enemies to lovers with fine + switch !

ft. eichi tenshouin, yuzuru fushimi, tori himemiya, wataru hibiki & natsume sakasaki, tsumugi aoba, sora harukawa

eichi tenshouin

• listen. hear me out here. being the younger sibling of rei and ritsu.

• SO many opportunities for silly shenanigans to ensue

• i can imagine eichi being the one to attempt (keyword: attempt) to court you first

• which obviously, considering his history with rei, is honestly REALLY WEIRD?

• you’re just like . What the fuck are you doing while eichi like . Winks at you or something

• seriously so awkward. you hate his guts tbh and are planning on his downfall together with rei

• ritsu finds it so So stupid. probably gossips ? gossipED ? about you with eichi at tea club . eichi was kicking his feet and giggling the entire time

• part of him doesn’t believe his crush is genuine at first. he thinks that it’s amusing, obviously, but real feelings ? he is simply not allowed to feel those…

• until now that is !

• he thinks your snarky remarks and nonchalant gaze are enrapturing

• meanwhile, you: (ʘ言ʘ╬)

• you accompany rei and ritsu to ensemble square quite often, which means you are (unfortunately) greeted by the presence of eichi almost Daily. A Nightmare for sure

• as time goes on, you see how hardworking and charismatic eichi is while performing his duties as executive for starmaker productions and well. even You can’t deny it’s a little attractive. ONLY a little (a lot)

• once eichi catches on to you reciprocating his feelings, he is SO ANNOYING!!!

• teasing gets way wayyy worse. honestly it’s over for you, personally i would have kms by that point

• and once rei notices your banter with eichi turning into FLIRTING? it is joever for you

• half of him is extremely disgusted . he is clinging to his beloved ritsu to console him . the other half is impressed somehow

• “ah, of all people, it had to be him?” “listen i didn’t want this either, rei” - you

• to see your hatred of what eichi did turn into understanding… really even you’re impressed with yourself

• and eichi is Actively trying to be better . he is a little fucked up but it’s okay you can fix him (and also make him worse)

• also i think it’s so funny to imagine eichi’s pale ass figure visit the dark, brooding, gothic sakuma estate. Family dinner visit !

• rei does not give his approval. he almost throws a plate at eichi

• ritsu just gives you two a thumbs up

• a happy family for sure ❤️

yuzuru fushimi

• as the best friend of tori, you have personal beef with his butler

• WHY is he always with tori. how are you two meant to get up to mischief with him constantly Watching. Always Watching.

• and yuzuru thinks you are a horrible influence on his young master

• an OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM which you are ready to fistfight him for . you exude nothing but purity, innocence and charm

• tori is somewhere between amused by your hatred for yuzuru and tired of hearing you talk about him ALL THE TIME

• “and why does he have to constantly be watching you? seriously, he should get a hobby. he’s an idol, too, right? actually i can kind of see why, he definitely has the looks to make it in the industry. anyway—” “OH MY GOD SHUT UP (Y/N)”

• tori doesn’t understand why you’re so Oblivious and so Dumb . he cries to eichi-sama about it who is too busy . idk watching wataru turn into a bird

• yuzuru just watches you with that type of . Evil and Scary closed eye smile that he is a pro at

• honestly? you’re quivering in your boots. but also admiring his smile. his smile is really pretty. Wait a minute.

• the complaining turns into swooning ! who would have guessed (tori) (he guessed) (he knew) (and now he has to listen to you talk about yuzuru 25/7)

• you clean up your act in order to impress him. No More late night snack runs with tori. you are a SAINT

• yuzuru finds it endearing and honestly quite entertaining

• soon enough, he finds himself completely charmed by your. erm. really strange(?) behaviour

• he, himself, is also a strange individual so there’s no surprise there

• tori sets up tea dates for the both of you as well awwww. What a good friend (he invites you over for tea with him then runs away when yuzuru comes to serve you tea. it is a Kind Of tea date)

• honestly you scored a 10/10 baddie GOOD FOR YOU

tori himemiya

• ok i know i have done the sibling ones So often already but. tsukasa’s sibling. YOU being tsukasa’s sibling that is.

• you and tsukasa are constantly discussing how tori has Wronged you everyday

• tori just looks at you both and calls you a fugly pair of siblings

• “listen i’m not saying we bring a lighter to the next fine concert But”

• “that is not appropriate at all… that being said i am not discarding the idea”

• dw about tori he has his own personal bodyguard (yuzuru) to ward off predators (you and tsukasa)

• how is he so much cuter, more successful, prettier, funnier, cuter—

• you know that type of jealousy and hatred that you realise is actually. Much deeper feelings. Yeah. it’s that

• tori gets a lot busier with idol work and that’s when you realise you miss going to the student council office just to banter with him.

• it is so so lonely and so so cold… (2 hours no tori)

• head on the desk. you feel yourself drifting further and further away…

• “hey, what’s up loser”

• RAGE. tori himemiya.

• half play fighting half unbridled rage . its like a pair of kittens toppling over and hissing

• tori also (maybe) (kind of) missed you too. he complained. Loudly. to yuzuru who was like Alright we are going to see them then!

• eventually the teasing insults and fighting turns into the type of fighting that you do as a couple. idk it just KIND OF HAPPENS?

• tsukasa is like. Well i do not approve but at least it’ll be good for our family business

• a good end. a happy end. eichi and wataru have adopted the two of you as their own

• “AMAZING! when is the wedding” “NEVER SHUT UP”

• you buy matching, cutesey couple items and then fight over them

• really what’s a good relationship without a few death threats here and there

wataru hibiki

• i really cannot imagine wataru having an enemy. SURE he has a lot of haters (tomoya) (hokuto) but even then it is done so in an affectionate manner. There is simply No hatred in his heart. only silliness

• so unfortunately your hatred of him is one-sided ! enemy to lovers part 2

• being a rival actor to THE wataru hibiki is certainly a predicament. i mean he has sentient hair is there anything he can’t do

• and it pisses you off. Majorly. who does this absolute clown think he is

• you try your hardest at Every show, you sing your heart out, put the most effort in

• and then there’s wataru. who is Equally as hardworking but somehow 10x more charismatic

• even eichi tenshouin is his biggest fan . he has capitalism on his side

• so you have a burning jealousy and hatred for this man . Well until he offers to do a show WITH you

• you just give him the blankest stare . What are you on about

• while he’s laughing to himself and monologuing on how you two would make the perfect lead roles

• ????? SERIOUSLY

• that’s how you get roped into performing with him and a bunch of idols in dramatica . And well they are certainly an interesting bunch

• as you prepare for the (romantic btw) musical you convince yourself the warmth you feel in your cheeks at his love proclamations is just Method Acting

• IT IS NOT!!!! no one can resist his charm

• you also see how well respected he is as an actor and his true talent on stage

• like . He was one of the eccentrics for a reason. he is stupidly good at acting

• jealousy turns to admiration and well. yeah you guessed it ! admiration turns into an intolerable crush

• wataru, similarly, is impressed at your prowess for acting and shows no signs of being quiet about it. he is yelling how talented you are every 5 seconds and joking how he may Really fall for you

• spoiler warning: he does

• flash forward 6 months . Time for the play

• at the kiss scene it all really comes together . it is a sincerely romantic and genuine kiss

• the crowd is going WILD (except eichi) (he’s jealous) (“i wish that was me fr”)

• backstage, you may just pass out

• but of course wataru is there to lift you up and be a shoulder you can lean on

• And that’s how you scored a date with THE wataru hibiki . he is everyone’s wataru but especially yours

• absolute 10/10 power couple watch out hollywood (and eichi)

• tomoya is just hoping you can tame him or something

natsume sakasaki

• i am so normal over him guys trust (lie) (such a lie)

• he is the perfect candidate for enemies to lovers . something about him just screams ‘i love you in a way that is so painful and so mean’

• anyways . being the apprentice of wataru after natsume stops being his apprentice

• I AM SO SANE OVER THIS CONCEPT

• obviously you were Not Really involved in the war so you’re pretty clueless as to natsume’s former relationship with wataru

• which makes you question why he is such an asshole to you. LIKE he does not take your magic seriously at all

• he thinks that you are not qualified which is . so stupid like you cannot gatekeep being an evil wizard okay that title is for anyone

• in reality… he is a tiny bit insecure that you’re good enough at magic to be wataru’s apprentice

• magic and alchemy has always been something that his character is largely based on and for someone to take over that role so quickly ?!?&:!

• so he Pretends that whenever wataru is telling him about your latest experiments and tricks that he is Not impressed .

• he's basically the yawns . sloppy. boring. lazy .

• he actually really wants to discuss magic with you but every time you meet he just scowls and acts like a bitch. in usual natsume ‘i hate being vulnerable or showing any feelings’ agenda

• so that means you’re going to have to make the first move. otherwise the enemies to lovers slowburn 100k words pining fic ends HERE

• if you ask him for help with magic he is going to be so smug

• like “hM, i figured the likes of you would need help from me afterALL”

• just try not to punch him in the face it will be WORTH IT OKAY!!!

• his hands are actually really shaky the whole time and he is trying his hardest not to mess up it’s actually So so cute

• and natsume gets to assess your magic prowess too (he’s impressed btw. he wouldn’t tell you that so i’m passing on the message. he's falling in love so quick but don’t tell him i told you ok)

• and so you meet up at his secret room regularly ! and with sora too who you become apprentice buddies with ^_^ so joyous

• listen i wasn’t going to include the love potion natsume trope in this but these headcanons are tropey enough let me have this

• you confess by making a love potion together with him PLEASE HEAR ME OUT

• anyways you are the best most magical couple in all of ensemble stars . you create tricky little spells to foil your enemies (eichi tenshouin) and then kiss wearing witch’s hats . the end

tsumugi aoba

• another good enemies to lovers candidate but in a More pathetic way i think

• you’re the producer for past fine. please hear me out on this concept

• i think your beef would be similar to eichi and hiyori . like divorced couple type romance

• you are regretful of the war and find the memories to be bittersweet. then you talk to tsumugi and he’s like Yeah haha i would probably do it again

• HE HAS ISSUES

• and yet he’s still one of the only people who truly understands and unconditionally supports you… this is a sick and twisted world

• i think tsumugi is too moe kyaah anime girl to have any hatred towards you so the enemies to lovers will (once again) be one sided

• he brings up your time as second years and you feel the need to throttle him

• yet you know him so well too, especially how he overworks himself

• and as an ensemble square producer you have to take care of his soggy pathetic self. Sorry

• that one romance trope of the person bandaging the wounds of the love interest . that’s you two except it’s you dragging his ass to bed at 3am

• he will complain . so you have to compromise on letting him cuddle you

• everyone notices how close you two are btw . sora is that one image that’s like ‘hey why does senpai call you babygirl’ ‘how about we stop talking for a little while’

• you Deny all the outrageous claims that you CARE??? for him and say it is rather your past together that makes you feel obligated but it was like two? three? years ago mostly everyone has moved on. stop lying to yourself

• you two have healed Together… and that is what makes your love so raw and vulnerable and eughhsjk this is so sappy and cute. Throws up

• hiyori and nagisa are both so happy that you two are together and finally found peace (sort of)

• eichi is like Hm. interesting . this is awkward

• but it’s okay . because everything is fine (haha get it) now and you and tsumugi are (past) war criminals together ^_^

sora harukawa

• sora is too full of JOY and HAPPINESS to be enemies with anyone . So we are going a bit off script you are rivals in this scenario

• video game rivals to be precise ! i feel like the 🤓 typing this but it’s CUTESEY I PROMISE

• mostly you two play multiplayer games together and get a teensy bit competitive . in the video game club of Course which means we get natsume to be the (totally unbiased) judge

• sora is realllyyy good at video games which means you frequently lose . this is why you have waged war on him

• you will not STOP until the ultimate gamer title becomes yours

• sora is just ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ he’s happy to indulge and play games with you because your colour is always so bright and vibrant when you do !

• little does he know you are plotting his Demise. his demise on little big planet or something

• days, nights, weeks, months you train to beat him. and you never do

• he keeps winning everytime and always acts so modest about it which is even WORSE!!! you can't even get mad when he’s so polite about beating you

• once sora notices your colour becoming more dull because of how demotivated you are he gets really worried (◞‸◟；) he loves playing games but loves spending time with you more…

• once you admit that you’re upset about being worse at games he thinks of a quick solution ! play games together instead of against each other and he can teach you all his tricks

• (natsume offers to help too but he's Not important and he is an asshole . Do not trust)

• so your weekly gaming tournaments basically turn into gaming dates ft thirdwheel natsume and sometimes tsumugi

• cutest CUTEST couple 10/10 i love

• natsume approves too btw . 10/10

• tsumugi is a Little confused but he has the spirit (he also rates 10/10)

• (rinne will not be Making an appearance in fear of shu finding out but he also rates 10/10. Save him from shu)

OKAY KIND OF IMPORTANT MESSAGE SO PLEASE READ!!!

i would have made a separate post for this but i feel like no one would read it so. i’m finally back after um. 10 months. i was super busy and kind of lost interest in enstars and other things so i pretty much abandoned this blog… BUT I HAVE RETURNED! i’m going to try posting every so often and interacting more with you guys on here ^_^ i cleared out my inbox (sorry to anyone who sent things in, it was cluttered and stressing me out haha) so feel free to send me any asks! i will NOT be opening specific requests, but you can feel free to send suggestions for prompts, scenarios or characters you want me to make headcanons for and i’ll try my best!! i also want to try out writing proper fics alongside the silly hc posts, but i might mostly post those on ao3, though i would like a nice balance between silly and serious(ish). i will also try writing for other fandoms like mhyk, twst and pjsekai since i am heavily in those as well but yeah!! my official comeback methinks. hope to chat more with everyone! ♡

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verathena14 · 1 year

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Fellas, is it gay to give your bestie your family heirloom when they get scared of a meteor shower as kids and hold up a wooden sword and swear you'll always protect them? Is it gay to be overcome with feelings of jealousy when said best friend starts hanging out with a girl? Is it gay to joke about sharing a magical fruit with him that means your destinies will be intertwined? Is it gay to open the door to darkness when he draws a picture of himself sharing THAT SAME fruit with the girl you're jealous of? Is it gay to realize that you fucked up and sacrifice yourself to save your best friend and the girl he likes because you know it's more important that he's happy? Is it gay to spend an entire YEAR watching over your comatose best friend while his memories get repaired, and say multiple times "everything is for Sora"? Is it gay to see someone who, for some reason, appears to look like your best friend (xion) and stroke their face? Is it gay to give up your form and take the body of the person who manipulated you into falling to darkness in the first place to help your best friend wake up? Is it gay to avoid him even when he looks for you, saying "there were some things [riku] couldn't tell sora. it had always been that way" in a VERY closeted-gay manner? Is it gay to have your best friend fall to his knees when he FINALLY finds you and cries "i looked for you! i looked everywhere for you!" after he just shared a very awkward hug with the girl he supposedly likes? Is it gay to throw yourself in the way of a devastating blow, earning yourself a scar and probably chronic pain in the process? Is it gay to sit with your best friend in LITERAL HELL and say you'd be fine there as long as you're together? Is it gay to UNCONSCIOUSLY CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE SPECIES to protect your best friend in his dreams? Is it gay to have a conversation with Hunchback of Notre Dame characters about "having to keep things from the outside world, at least until you have time to figure them out" (THIS IS A METAPHOR FOR BEING IN THE CLOSET)? Is it gay to have your combined hearts' song be called "dearly beloved"? Is it gay to think of your best friend as your light? Is it gay to parallel LITERALLY EVERY DISNEY COUPLE UNDER THE SUN? Is it gay to refer to your best friend as your "taisetsu na hito" (roughly translates to "precious/ cherished person" or "person I love most") and say that your "doubts and fears are gone" and your adoptive father (michael mouse. dont ask) tells you "perhaps it's because you've finally found that special strength to protect the things that matter (the JP line is taisetsu na hito; the english translators made it very no-homo)"? Is it gay to sacrifice yourself again for your best friend? Is it gay to call out your best friend's name when you're about to collapse and see him FALLING FROM THE SKY and stare at him with the BIGGEST HEART-EYES EVER? Is it gay to have your souls form a giant rainbow-colored sword with a giant heart at the top? Is it gay to care so much for your best friend that you let him go save the girl (who's dead now oops) that you still think he likes because you're too oblivious to realize that HE LOVES YOU BACK IDIOT? (tbf tho neither of them realize it; sora's goin thru some major comphet)

Is it gay to have SO MUCH gay subtext that someone can make a 6-hour video essay about why you're homosexual?

#fellas is it gay #soriku #this is my submission for the basically canon bracket :>#i wanted to keep the rant. I spent too much time on it to not keep it #athena rambles

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burningupp · 1 year

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stray kids one shot where the reader is a fellow idol (and secret stay). when at a performance they lost their mic which is v recognizable due to the stickers they’ve put all of it (including a few skz stickers). and maybe han or someone is the one who finds it and teases them a bit but then reveals he’s also a fan of their group 🥰

naurrr this was rly cute 🥰 i hope you like it, and thank you so much for requesting!! <3

masterlist

pairing: han jisung x f!reader

wc: 1.5k

warnings: they're both painfully awkward, y/n is a bit emotional, tooth-rotting fluff lol

“Nononononono,” Y/n hissed, breathing heavily as she looked through the bags she just brought up from the car. “Eonnie, did you see my microphone?”

Her manager, Sora, looked over with wide eyes. Sure, it was just a mic, technically speaking. She could use any old microphone and it would do the same thing as her own. Except… could it? Her company had gifted her that mic when she debuted, and it meant the absolute world to her. If she lost it, she was so extremely sure that her life would be over.

“What do you mean have I seen it? Don’t tell me you lost it?!” her manager fretted, aware of the weight the piece of equipment held for her charge. “Seriously, Y/n, don’t joke like that.”

“I’m not, I would never!” the idol whined in response, fighting hard to keep her tears at bay. Her makeup was already done, and she didn’t want to cause an issue for anyone. “Are you sure there’s nothing left in the car?”

Her voice was thin, wobbling and straining. She didn’t want to throw a fit like an actual baby, but it was becoming progressively harder as time passed. She had earned that mic with years of hard training and literal blood, sweat and tears. Without it… she felt like she was still that trainee, the girl who didn’t know when she would be considered good enough, pretty enough, to debut.

“I’ll go check again, babe, but I don’t think so,” was the response. Not what she had been hoping for, but she sincerely thanked her manager for her trouble nonetheless.

Time passed slowly as she waited for news on where her precious mic was. She’d decided to alert the crew of Music Bank that she might need to borrow one, just in case the mic wasn’t found. Her heart was heavy as she spoke to the stagehand about it, but she couldn’t let a simple microphone ruin an entire performance. That would be childish. She was twiddling her thumbs, pacing, biting her lower lip, pacing… name a nervous habit, Y/n was doing it. She still hadn't cried, and honestly, she was kind of proud of at least that much.

She wanted the microphone found, but then again… Her cheeks kept flushing as she imagined the look on the face of whoever found it. The mic was, uh, decorated - with mostly stickers of Stray Kids. There was nothing wrong with being a fan of something, but as a female idol she wasn’t supposed to talk about or reference male idols at all unless directly asked during interviews. She dreaded having to explain it to someone.

No one had seen the stickers, as they were nicely placed right where her hand always was positioned. She’d also thrown off suspicion through the use of other miscellaneous stickers, just in case some meticulous fan (bless their hearts) managed to spot a bit of sticker between her fingers or something.

Y/n let out a tiny shriek when there was a gentle knock on her door. She rushed to get up and fling the door open, convinced it was her manager with news that would either further devastate her or solve all of her problems. As soon as the door was open, she felt her cheeks flood with color and gasped out loud.

“Uhm, hi,” Han Jisung said awkwardly.

She gulped once, closing her eyes to try to get a hold of all her warring emotions. On one hand, her most prized possession was missing, but on the other… One of her absolute favorite seniors was standing outside her greenroom, waiting to talk to her. Presumably. She shook the thoughts off quickly, plastering a kind smile on her face as she bowed low.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” she greeted quietly, cheeks still burning - she absolutely dreaded looking in the mirror later and finding out how red she had been during the entire exchange.

“You too!” Jisung hurried to say, bowing just as deeply in return. “Uhm, I found this laying on a table, and it, uhm, says your name on it,” he started after a few seconds of silence, hastily and clumsily bringing a case out from behind his back and presenting it to her. “I figured you probably needed your mic for the performance.”

His smile was pretty bright despite the general air of awkwardness hanging over their conversation, and normally she might have died inside, but all she could see at that moment was the case holding her microphone. She squealed loudly, grabbing it and pressing it to her chest, holding it close as she took a deep breath.

“Y/n?” a voice asked from behind Jisung before either of them could say anything else, and she snapped her gaze to her manager.

The older woman had looked apologetic upon first approach, but looked delighted as soon as her eyes fell upon the case tightly pressed against the female idol’s chest. Y/n grinned excitedly back as her manager approached, holding the case out to her as they both giggled in relief.

“Thank God,” she groaned as she gently pried the case out of Y/n’s arms. “Thank you so much, Jisung-nim.”

As Jisung smiled back, waving the thanks off as if it were nothing, the woman in front of him widened her eyes in horror as she realized she forgot to thank him properly- or at all, really. She immediately sank into a deep bow, thanking him over and over again.

“Nonono, there’s no need for that,” the man said almost in a panic, bowing even deeper.

The manager stopped for a second to regard the two, but decided to leave them. She smiled smugly to herself as she took the case into the greenroom and shut the door behind her, letting the young ones figure out their own awkwardness.

It took a while, to say the least.

After a while, Jisung got up and gently touched the girl’s shoulder to get her to stand upright again. As she did, he realized that her eyes were swimming with unshed tears, and his brow furrowed immediately. He was certain that if she let him know it was his fault, he would fling himself out a window without hesitation.

“Are you okay, Y/n-nim?” he asked gently, hand still warm against her shoulder.

“Y-yes, I’m sorry,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around her stomach. “The mic just, uh, means a lot to me,” she murmured.

“I would imagine so, considering all the stickers on it,” he teased, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth in shock and horror. He wasn’t supposed to see it!

“Oh God,” she groaned to herself, her hands traveling from her mouth to cover her entire face from her idol. “I-I… I really like your music,” she breathed, blushing and beating herself up six ways to Sunday in her head.

At his laugh, Y/n decided she should face her embarrassment head-on and lifted her gaze from the floor, where it had been intently fixed previously. Her cheeks felt warmer than ever before, and she just knew she looked like an entire tomato.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jisung said after laughing a little more. “To be honest…” he blushed, as if what he was going to say next was as mortifying as what she just went through, “I really like your music too. The other guys too. We kind of… Played rock paper scissors to see who would get to return this to you.”

For a second Y/n was stunned. She was torn two ways; first, she was screaming, crying and fainting all at once - only on the inside, of course. On the other hand, she was screaming, crying and fainting out of embarrassment as opposed to excitement. The rest of the group had seen her mic, too. Damn her luck.

“That… somehow makes it worse,” she laughed, and the boy’s form relaxed. He finally caused her an emotion other than intense embarrassment or shock. He chalked it up as a win in his book. “Anyway. Sincerely, thank you so much - I know it’s silly, but the microp-”

“The microphone means more to you than anything else. I know,” he smiled shily, and she chuckled again.

“You really are a fan of mine, huh?”

“You have no idea,” he grinned.

“Yeah, hi kids,” Y/n’s manager chirped as she stuck her head out through the door, “it’s really lovely to see you guys talking it up and getting along, but I have to ask that you wrap it up; little miss Fussy is going on stage very soon.”

“Oh shoot,” Y/n murmured, her eyes wide again. Adorable, Jisung thought.

“Hey, I hope it’s not weird, but uh…” he murmured, and then cleared his throat as if to buy himself some time. “Could I… have your number?”

The manager rolled her eyes and retreated into the room she’d abruptly came out of. She waited impatiently as the two finished their conversation, both of them blushing in the way that’s only possible when meeting someone you really like. And if Y/n was smiley for the entire week, that was only a perk for the manager.

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phoenix-downer · 4 months

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I Really Could Stay Chapter 1

I Really Could Stay: ~1700 words. Sora and Kairi are starting to feel the strain of endless battles and missions on their relationship. Neither of them are sure they want to settle down and give up their life of adventuring for good, however. But a looming separation on Christmas makes them both think about what they want for the future.

Story Info: Sora/Kairi. Set Post-Canon. Alternating POVs. Established Relationship. Light Angst, Romance, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Christmas.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Sora was in one of his moods again.

Riku had known Sora his entire life, and his best friend had never been particularly good at masking his emotions. Not that he was really trying to at the moment. He was currently gripping the controls of the Gummi Ship with a scowl on his face so fierce that it would’ve been intimidating if it were directed Riku’s way.

Long gone were the days when Sora’s scowls made him look like an angry puppy. Riku was always going to be taller and bigger than his friend, but Sora had finally hit his adult height about a year ago and had the strength and fighting prowess to show for it.

Lucky bastard. He was just the right size to still move quickly while also packing quite the punch, as their sparring session earlier today had proven. Riku was stronger but not as fast, and he had a bruise on his arm from a well-aimed Keyblade blow to prove it.

“What’s wrong?” Riku asked, lounging on one of the nearby seats. He took a swig of his green tea and tried to keep reading his book. High school had to get finished somehow, and Riku was already two years past the normal graduation date. Twenty years old and still a student, how lame. At least he’d be graduating soon.

“I’m fine,” Sora ground out, though his tone made it clear he was anything but.

“It’s Kairi, isn’t it?” Riku didn’t even have to look up from his book to sense the change in Sora’s demeanor.

“It’s already been a week since I last saw her,” Sora said, his voice charged with emotion as the Gummi Ship lurched to the right, “and now I get sent on another last minute mission without any break? And right before Christmas too. What if I miss Christmas with her? How are we supposed to have a relationship like this?”

“You’ve managed this long,” Riku pointed out. A week or two weeks of separation was nothing compared to an entire year.

The Gummi Ship bounced up and down, and Riku’s tea splashed on him. He sensed more than saw the daggers Sora was glaring at him.

“Eyes on the skies,” he wryly remarked as he surveyed the damage to his clothes.

“Things are different now, Riku. We’re not kids anymore,” Sora said with just the note of petulance in his voice that made him sound like he still was one. Riku supposed his friend still had some maturing to do. They all did. It wasn’t like any of them had had normal growing up experiences. In some ways they were far beyond their peers; in others, far behind, and times like this made that very, very clear.

“Then stop moping and whining and ask Kairi to marry you already,” Riku said as he mopped up the spilled tea. His friends would have a lot more official recognition and the perks that came along with it if they would just tie the knot. They’d been dating for several years at this point. Why not just seal the deal already?

Sora groaned in frustration, running a hand through his spiky hair as he began the landing cycle. “But that would be even worse! Being separated from my wife all the time? I’d be a deadbeat husband.” He sighed and examined his hands, still tightly gripping the controls as he steered the ship. “We couldn’t bring kids into that mess either. I don’t want to be a deadbeat dad. I’m already a deadbeat boyfriend.”

Riku returned to his book. “Then you’ll have to make a choice. Do you keep traveling the worlds as the hero of the Keyblade, or do you settle down with Kairi?”

“I can’t make that choice yet!” Sora cried, his eyes flashing. Riku grabbed a spare scrap of paper to use as a substitute bookmark. This was going to take more than just a half-assed conversation to resolve. He waited patiently as Sora landed the Gummi Ship.

“If I don’t stop,” Sora continued once the ship’s engines had powered down, “it’s gonna drive Kairi and I apart! But there are still so many people out there who need my help. How can I turn my back on them?”

Riku sighed deeply. When they’d first started this adventure, things like marriage and family and long term commitments had seemed far away. Now those things loomed closer and closer. He didn’t have an answer for Sora because he didn’t have an answer for himself. And Kairi being a Keyblade wielder too made things more complicated. She was often sent out on missions as well, and even the times when Sora was on a break, there was no guarantee she would be too.

“The hero’s dilemma,” Riku told Sora at last. “We’ll never have normal lives, Sora. If you want a normal life, you’ll have to give up all of this,” he said, gesturing to their surroundings. “And no one can make that choice for you. Someday, you’ll either have to sacrifice your relationship with Kairi or your life as a Keyblade wielder. She’ll have to make that same choice if you want to make a relationship work long-term.”

Sora’s head jerked back at hearing the words “sacrifice” and “Kairi” in such close proximity to each other. But he was silent. The only noise was the faint Christmas music playing from the Gummi Ship’s speakers. It took a moment for Riku to notice the teardrops splotching onto Kairi’s lucky charm gripped in Sora’s palm.

Riku hated seeing his best friend cry. It made him uncomfortable because he couldn’t easily fix the problem.

“Listen, I’ll call Master Yen Sid tonight and ask if we can go back early if we finish the mission quickly,” Riku said. It was the best he could do under the circumstances. Maybe they could still make it home in time for Christmas.

“That sounds good,” Sora said, wiping his eyes. “I just wanted to be with her on Christmas. But I feel like Master Yen sends us out on missions on purpose when I’m more agitated and aggressive. Like he thinks I’ll fight better.”

That was entirely possible. Master Yen Sid was a good man overall, but he was also very calculating and would 100% figure out when each of them was in peak fighting condition.

“Well, do you?” Riku asked.

“When it’s between about four days and ten days of being separated from her, yeah, I do fight pretty well. After that I’m so irritable I’m worthless.” His eyes dropped to his hands. “And before that I’m too lovesick to be at my best,” he mumbled.

“With calculations like those, maybe you missed your calling as Ienzo’s research assistant,” Riku wryly replied as he opened his book again. It was surprisingly interesting and far less revolting than discussing Sora’s love life, and he really did want to know how it ended.

“What else am I supposed to do when I’m bored and frustrated?” Sora whined, flopping dramatically on the seat. “If I know when I’m in peak fighting condition, I’ll also know when I’m not. And that means I know what steps I need to take to avoid getting hurt—”

Riku scoffed. “You, be careful? You and Kairi both love to rush into danger, and then I have to fish you out of it. Imagine if you did get married and Master Yen Sid sent you on more missions together. My job would get a lot more stressful.”

“Hey, I’m trying my best here.” Sora scowled and his eyebrows did their best to express his sass, but then he sighed and rested his head against the back of the seat. “Do you think that’s why we don’t get to go on more missions together?” he asked in a small voice.

“You can’t concentrate to save your life when she’s anywhere nearby. You fight really well together, but the moment she gets so much as a cut, you panic and lose your focus.”

“So it is my fault.” Sora’s head drooped and his eyes were pained.

“I wouldn’t look at it like that. Keyblades make things more equal, sure, but you’ll always have certain advantages over her during combat. Magic can level the playing field, and she is a better mage than you—”

Sora pouted, and Riku rolled his eyes.

“—just barely, don’t look so offended. You’re never going to compete with the light in her heart and you know it. And she and you are both better mages than I am. But even with that advantage in one area of combat, the natural differences in raw physical strength between the two of you are still there. And that goes for any guy she has to fight. It’s only natural you worry about her.”

“Xemnas nearly broke her arm,” Sora whispered, resting his face in his hand. The haunted look in his eyes told Riku the memory might as well be from yesterday instead of four years ago. “Like he was just snapping a twig. And even when it’s just me and her…I’m not a big guy, but it still surprises me how much stronger I am than her sometimes.”

“But you know how to properly use and restrain that strength,” Riku pointed out, “and that’s what matters.”

Sora was silent.

“And did you just admit you’re not that big?” Riku asked, changing tactics. “Someone has finally given up on ever hitting six feet tall.”

“Hey, I made it to five ten, that’s pretty dang good for a runt!”

One look at Riku’s face made them both burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay, five eight and a half,” Sora amended.

“Who knew you had it in you.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’ll always be taller than me.” Sora was so mournful and melodramatic about it that Riku burst out laughing again. Sora grinned, and it was a welcome sight. Riku promised himself he’d complete this mission as soon as possible so his friends could be reunited in time for Christmas.

Sora was right. Riku teased him, but all those separations from Kairi couldn’t be good for their relationship. Helping his friends be reunited in time for Christmas was the least he could do.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: This story is based on some ideas Alja and I brainstormed together earlier this year about how Sora and Kairi would handle being separated from each other frequently, and this is both a very belated birthday present for her and a Christmas present all in one. Happy belated birthday and Merry Christmas, @angel-with-a-pipette ❤️

There will be five chapters total, and I'll be updating daily until it's done.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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friends-to-lovers-tournament · 10 months

Note

Soriku propaganda because i have brainrot <3

Fellas, is it gay to give your bestie your family heirloom when they get scared of a meteor shower as kids and hold up a wooden sword and swear you’ll always protect them? Is it gay to be overcome with feelings of jealousy when said best friend starts hanging out with a girl? Is it gay to joke about sharing a magical fruit with him that means your destinies will be intertwined? Is it gay to open the door to darkness when he draws a picture of himself sharing THAT SAME fruit with the girl you’re jealous of? Is it gay to realize that you fucked up and sacrifice yourself to save your best friend and the girl he likes because you know it’s more important that he’s happy? Is it gay to spend an entire YEAR watching over your comatose best friend while his memories get repaired, and say multiple times “everything is for Sora”? Is it gay to see someone who, for some reason, appears to look like your best friend (xion) and stroke their face? Is it gay to give up your form and take the body of the person who manipulated you into falling to darkness in the first place to help your best friend wake up? Is it gay to avoid him even when he looks for you, saying “there were some things [riku] couldn’t tell sora. it had always been that way” in a VERY closeted-gay manner? Is it gay to have your best friend fall to his knees when he FINALLY finds you and cries “i looked for you! i looked everywhere for you!” after he just shared a very awkward hug with the girl he supposedly likes? Is it gay to throw yourself in the way of a devastating blow, earning yourself a scar and probably chronic pain in the process? Is it gay to sit with your best friend in LITERAL HELL and say you’d be fine there as long as you’re together? Is it gay to UNCONSCIOUSLY CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE SPECIES to protect your best friend in his dreams? Is it gay to have a conversation with Hunchback of Notre Dame characters about “having to keep things from the outside world, at least until you have time to figure them out” (THIS IS A METAPHOR FOR BEING IN THE CLOSET)? Is it gay to have your combined hearts’ song be called “dearly beloved”? Is it gay to think of your best friend as your light? Is it gay to parallel LITERALLY EVERY DISNEY COUPLE UNDER THE SUN? Is it gay to refer to your best friend as your “taisetsu na hito” (roughly translates to “precious/ cherished person” or “person I love most”) and say that your “doubts and fears are gone” and your adoptive father (michael mouse. dont ask) tells you “perhaps it’s because you’ve finally found that special strength to protect the things that matter (the JP line is taisetsu na hito; the english translators made it very no-homo)”? Is it gay to sacrifice yourself again for your best friend? Is it gay to call out your best friend’s name when you’re about to collapse and see him FALLING FROM THE SKY and stare at him with the BIGGEST HEART-EYES EVER? Is it gay to have your souls form a giant rainbow-colored sword with a giant heart at the top? Is it gay to care so much for your best friend that you let him go save the girl (who’s dead now oops) that you still think he likes because you’re too oblivious to realize that HE LOVES YOU BACK IDIOT? (tbf tho neither of them realize it; sora’s goin thru some major comphet)

Is it gay to have SO MUCH gay subtext that someone can make a 6-hour video essay about why you’re homosexual?

just woke up so i don't have the brain power to process all that but i appreciate the effort nonetheless <3

#ftl propaganda #mod deli 🎀#ftl mod answers #anon #soriku #kingdom hearts #long post

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sora-human-rot · 2 months

Text

The Creation and the Meaning - pt2

"When you're living on the street, you need to get used to street life. Get used to garbage, animals, hunger, thirst, dirt, and especially blood.

But when you've been indoors your whole life, this can be a more difficult task.

"MAMA! DAD! PLEASE! PLEASE, LET ME IN! PLEASE! I DID NOTHING WRONG! PLEASE!" The screams and cries of a boy who has no idea why he is being abandoned by the people who loved and cared for him his entire life.

Imagine if you simply lost the only people you have? Lose your home, your life, everything?

And now, those you called your friend have turned against you. Children who used to play with you by throwing rocks into the lake now throw rocks at you. The boys who taught you how to play ball leave your side every time you're around. The girls who thought you were cute hold you by the arms and burn your body with a baby liss straightener. And you have no idea why.

It's simply because you were born. Or rather, he wasn't born. You were never born, Sora. That's why they hate you."

Michelle ( @kiim-michelle ) approached Sora, who was tied to the wall. His body was covered in open bruises, and now she would be cutting into the boy's abdomen. His body stood out in a dark blue aura. It was his ability that was keeping Sora alive, as his body was open, but he could feel everything.

While he screamed in pain, and cried, the most painful tears of the child's life, with a neutral face the woman continued holding the scalpel, and continued speaking.

"Do you know where are you, Sora? You're inside a laboratory. This is where you were created. You are not human, you were the seventh attempt. You're Sora Satou 7, the SS-7 experiment."

All the pain disappeared after he heard that. Suddenly, everything started to make sense. All. He began to understand everything, all the questions the boy had before were answered at that moment. And as soon as his ribcage was opened, amidst a lot of blood, Michelle reached inside the boy and pulled his heart out. Showing that in that horrible and ugly heart, they had some words. Artificially made in LabXPlora. Sora Satou 7 - SS #7 - observation experiment // human instrumentation: first attempt.

"Now, Sora, let me rebuild you, since I opened you. Just as I built you, I created you 12 years ago."

#oc lore #mine #original character #original story #bsd #bsd oc #bsd rp blog #bsd rp #bsd roleplay #sora.🥀#bsd rp oc #ooc #this is so fucking cool to write

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p-artsypants · 2 years

Text

Rage Awakened (12)

In Which Sora Comforts Kairi

FF.net | Ao3

Ten years ago, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus lost their fellow apprentice, Sora, in Deep Jungle. Now, they are to return with two new students, Riku and Kairi, to lock the heart of the world. All the while, something watches from the trees. Feral!Sora AU

Kairi cried the entire trip home. It was agony to all those that were with her. Riku sat by her side, arm around her shoulder, while Sora rested his head on her lap.

Sora grappled with his poor grasp of language. Through the words that he remembered and could understand, it sounded like Kairi’s home had fallen down. Did that mean the world collapsed? Or did her castle fall apart? He didn’t quite know, and he didn’t think it was wise to ask for clarification at the moment.

Instead, he pressed his face into her stomach as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Truly, he wanted to cradle her in his arms, but she didn’t seem to want that, especially in front of everyone else.

All Sora wanted to do was protect her and make her feel better. It might be the only thing he could do. He hasn’t had the chance to try.

But he hadn’t had the chance to fail either, so that was okay for now.

The Land of Departure was just as peaceful and serene as they had left it. Eraqus met them at the gate.

“Welcome home. Did you have a nice dinner?”

“It was nice,” Aqua said, reserved. “But—“

Eraqus noticed Kairi immediately when she got off the ship.

“Oh no, what happened?”

“Radiant Garden—it—she—…” Kairi clenched her eyes shut as more tears came. They just wouldn’t stop.

“Ansem the Wise came to Disney Castle. Radiant Garden fell.” Terra provided.

Eraqus closed his eyes, a single tear falling from them in sympathy. “My sincerest apologies.”

“Cmon Kai, the others can fill Master Eraqus in.” Riku squeezed her shoulder and led her into the castle.

As soon as she was gone, Sora raised up to his full height and barked, “Help Sora!”

“What’s wrong?” Asked Aqua.

“Kairi home fall down? Can’t pick back up? Rebuild?”

The collected group wilted a little at that.

“No Sora, it’s not that kind of fall,” Terra explained. “The world was taken over by darkness.”

“Ooooh,” Sora nodded his head sagely. “Swallowed.”

“Not quite that, either,” Aqua clarified. “Radiant Garden thankfully can’t be swallowed, because its keyhole is incomplete. But the heartless moved in and kicked everyone out. All led by Maleficent. You remember that name, right?”

“Dragon!”

“Yes! Her! After her world was swallowed by darkness, she amassed an army and has been trying to conquer other worlds. Most of them get swallowed instead.”

Sora summoned his gnarled keyblade. “Take Sora to Kairi home! Rip out dragon lady heart! Devour!” He snarled.

The group stared at him wide-eyed. “Um, let’s not do that quite yet. We have to gather intel and find out what we’re up against.”

Sora frowned, but dismissed his weapon. “Kairi hurt, so Sora hurt.” He said tactfully.

Then Riku returned, without Kairi. “I took her to her room, but she wanted to be left alone.”

“The girl hasn’t had time to cry by herself,” said Aqua. “Let’s leave her alone for the night.”

“You’ve all had a very long day,” said Eraqus. “Why don’t we all get some rest. We can create a game plan in the morning.”

Sora understood ‘long day’ and ‘rest’ and took it that the meeting was over.

Since he was among humans now, and doing human things, he walked upright, toddling along and bringing up the rear of the group. He had to use his hands to climb the stairs, but was able to walk again inside.

It had been so long since he was in this castle, that even though he remembered each room he walked in, he struggled with where they were.

The castle was also a great deal smaller than he remembered.

He followed Riku to the hallway where their rooms were and went to push on Kairi’s door.

“No Sora, leave her alone for tonight, okay?”

Sora whined in his throat, but abandoned the door, opting to go into his room.

It was dark, since night had fallen. The tarp hanging on the back wall rustled as the draft from the door hit it. Cold air came from that side of the room.

The light from the hallway gave him enough to see by as he wandered around his old room. It didn’t really reflect him anymore, but he wasn’t quite sure who he was anyways. When you’re fighting for your life day after day, you don’t really get the chance to consider what things you like and dislike. What your hobbies are, what things you want to do. Only things you have to do.

What need did he have for toys and Knick knacks? Why would he hold onto things for just beauty or sentimentality?

Of course, Sora himself didn’t think like this anymore. More so just, ‘why is this here? How does this help me live?’

Later, he would ask Riku to help him toss the needless stuff away, but for now, he would rest.

Rest on a bed. A mattress at that.

He remembered the transition, all those years ago. Sleeping naked on the dirt, getting bitten by insects. It took him so long to figure out how to climb those trees and make a home in the canopy, where it was safer. Those early nights, he barely slept for every snap of a branch had him awake. Even up until recently, deep sleep eluded him. There was never a time to let your guard down in the jungle.

Just here in his old room, in the Land of Departure, there was no threat, no impending demise.

He struggled far too long getting out of his shoes, and even longer out of the too small clothes they had forced him in. His undershorts, however, were far superior to the loin cloth of Deep Jungle. This was a permanent change.

He crawled into bed, making a nest with his blankets and pillow, and tried to get comfortable. The mattress was plusher than the pile of furs back in the jungle, and the blankets were soft instead of scratchy. Even the air was more pleasant, cool and dry.

But his chest ached, because Kairi was hurting, and he could feel it.

He slunk out of the bed, crawling along the floor until he reached the door. He peered out into the hallway glancing back and forth to check for the others. When the coast was clear, he scurried over to Kairi’s room and quietly turned the handle.

Inside was very different from his room. She had a large bed with fluffy white sheets and a white lace canopy draped over it. She had a plush white carpet that was soft under his calloused knuckles. The walls were pink with gold geometric designs on it. The window had leaded glass, though it was too dark out to notice much. Finally, the room was illuminated by a nightlight that sent out cartoonish stars and moon shapes on the walls and ceiling.

Kairi laid on the bed, face down, still in her party clothes, even her shoes.

Sora shut the door gently behind him.

“Kairi? My Kairi?” He chirped.

She startled, looking at him, before she relaxed. “Oh Sora, you scared me.”

“Sora leave?”

“No, no you can stay. I think I’d rather like it if you stayed.”

He crept closer until he was on his knees in front of the bed, resting his arms on the mattress. “Kairi hurt?”

She nodded solemnly as she wiped her eyes with her hand. “I’m sure it’s hard for you to understand what happened.”

“Sora knows. They tell. They…explain.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t hafta talk about it. Sora hold Kairi? Sora sleep with Kairi?”

Kairi’s eyes widened as she looked at him. He was only in his underwear. Sleeping in the same bed as him was incredibly intimate, and she wasn’t sure it was appropriate.

But she could really use the comfort.

“Okay.” She sat up. “Let me just change into my pajamas.” She got off the bed and went to her dresser, pulling out a large T-shirt.

Sora watched as she moved.

“Don’t look!” She chastised.

“Why?”

“I’m changing!”

He tilted his head, confused. “Change what?”

“My clothes?”

He was still confused.

She sighed slightly, realizing that she was looking at Sora, the boy who hated pants. He had basically been naked when they met. Why would he bother with privacy?

“You’re not supposed to see me without my clothes on.” She explained patiently.

He stared at her. “But Sora want to see Kairi without clothes.”

She sputtered, wide eyed. He had no shame whatsoever. “Being naked…isn’t normal, you know? That’s why we make you wear clothes, remember? Being bare is something only really close people experience. Like husband and wife. You see?”

“Kairi Sora best friend.” He stated like it was obvious.

She sighed again, “look, I just…can you just not look? It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Oh! Sora sorry!” And he firmly turned his back to her.

She made a mental note. Sora didn’t care about what was normal, only what she wanted. Maybe it would extend to others in due time.

Kairi slowly got undressed, occasionally looking at Sora, who very politely looked at the wall.

Finally, she changed into a large t-shirt that reached down almost to her knees. “Okay, you can look.”

Sora turned to see her, and his eyes lit up. “Cute!”

She smiled at him. “Thank you.” She walked past him and crawled into bed, getting tucked under the sheets. Sora observed her, and did the same, laying on his back with the sheets pulled up to his chin. He moved his hand under the blankets until he found Kairi’s and held it. “Haven’t slept like this in long time.”

“Are you comfortable?”

He shifted slightly, and turned on his side. “Nest is warm, soft. More soft than furs.”

“You mean my bed?”

“Bed!” He corrected. “Bouncy.” He wriggled, making the bed move.

“It is,” she smiled.

“Sora hold Kairi now?”

Kairi swallowed her nerves as she scooted closer to him, pressing her side against him. “This is…kind of intimate. Especially since we…well, we haven’t known each other long.” Kairi tried to remember that he has been in isolation for so long that he was probably touch starved.

“Sora leave?”

“No, I don’t think I want you to leave. I’m just…nervous.”

“Ner…vous?”

“Yeah, it’s when you feel kind of scared, but only a little.”

He pouted, his eyes widening in fear. “Sora scare Kairi?”

“No, no not at all!” Well, maybe a little. “It’s just new. I’ve never slept in the same bed as a boy.”

“Slept with Sora in tree,” he said casually.

“And I was nervous then too.”

Sora wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, so she was pressed to his chest. “This good?”

The feeling of his bare skin and against her arm was so nice. Granted, she could feel his body heat through her thin shirt, but there was much to be said for skin on skin contact.

However, among all these new and exciting feelings, there was something else. As she pressed her ear to his chest, she could feel his heartbeat. This felt wrong. Maybe to anyone else, the thump thump thump of his heart would sound the same, but to Kairi, a princess of heart, it felt ill. Diseased. It made her nauseous.

“Um…can I turn around?”

She turned her back to him, not pulling away from his hold. His arms were warm, and his body was flush against her back. His hand rested on her tummy.

“Sora say something, may hurt Kairi?”

“You…want to say something, but you think it might hurt me?”

He grunted.

“You should tell me anyway. I’ll try to take it in the least painful way possible.”

He nodded against her, laying his forehead against the crown of her head. “Sora…lose home too. Kairi and Sora have no home…together.”

She rested her hand on top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I understand, and you’re right. We’re together in this. Thank you.”

Sora chuffed, a sound that was close to a laugh or a sign of excitement.

“Goodnight Sora.”

“Night Night!”

–

Technically, Roxas was doing as his master instructed. He was given the task of finding the Princesses of Heart that were hiding in the fallen Radiant Garden, a place his master had renamed ‘Hollow Bastion’. Roxas knew in his head that the intent on finding these Princesses was to take them to Maleficent, since she was in charge of gathering them. But since his master had been so vague on termanology, it was up for interpretation.

Once his Master found out how rebellious Roxas was, he’d probably be more specific with his commands.

As it stood, Roxas decided to interpret ‘find the Princesses in Hollow Bastion’ as ‘find the Princesses and move them to a different world so they would be safe.’

He knew it would only delay the inevitable. A heart of pure light was extremely rare, and it was unlikely to go unnoticed for long. Still, Roxas was a chaotic soul and malicious compliance was his favorite game.

He delved into the depths of the castle, where Maleficent would probably assume they wouldn’t be. Considering the lack of heartless patrolling the area, she assumed they’d be up around the living quarters.

Roxas had never met the Princesses, but knew a few things about them. 1.) They’d been living in this castle since their worlds fell. 2.) They were not delicate little flowers. All of them had a life of hard work and chores before they became royalty. Cinderella and Snow White were practically slaves. They could handle themselves.

But it had been three days since Radiant Garden fell and became Hollow Bastion. Who knows how they were fairing? Did they have food?

He was in the boiler room. It was easily the largest room in the entire castle, with all the pipes that led steam up throughout the castle. The boiler was immense, the size of a house. It was covered in knobs and dials, and had a large grate in front that glowed red. There were dozens of smaller boilers around the edges of the room as well, all connected with snaking copper wires jutting out at odd angles and disappearing into the ceiling. It was a little like a man made forest.

Then, Roxas almost stepped on a sleeping bag. He started when he spotted it, and then knew he was close. There was a canteen, a book, and a half eaten baguette next to it.

He walked the room, peering around the pipes.

“Ventus? Is that you?” A sweet voice called from above.

A young woman with dishwater blonde hair looked down from a hiding spot within a cage of piping. Then she gasped. “That coat! Oh no! Stay away from me!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay!” Roxas assured. “Are you one of the Princesses?”

She frowned. “No, I’m just a scullery maid.”

“Nice try, but Radiant Garden didn’t have scullery maids.”

She pouted.

“I’m Roxas. And I’m here to help.”

“Why are you wearing that evil coat then? And why do you look like my friend Ventus?”

Where to begin? “Do you know what a Nobody is?”

“A person…that believes they have no importance?” She guessed.

“Yes, but there’s a new kind of Nobody, one related to the Heartless. If a Heartless is a person that has lost their heart to the darkness, what do you think happens to the body left behind?”

“I don’t know, I never considered it.”

“It becomes a creature known as a Nobody. Nobodies created from people with extremely strong wills retain a human appearance.”

“So then, Ventus–?”

“Is fine. My appearance being identical to his is…way more complicated than it should be. My somebody is Sora, a very young keyblade wielder who was lost to Deep Jungle. All you need to know is that I am a double agent. My master has commanded me to locate the Princesses of Heart, but Ansem the Wise asked me to help their cause. Ansem is my friend, and I wish to honor him.”

The Princess considered this and decided to come out from her hiding place. Roxas watched as she strategically used ridges and ledges as handholds as she climbed down. When she stood in front of him, he noticed she was wearing a brown dress with a white apron. Not the ball gown he expected a Princess of Heart to wear.

“If you are the shell left behind from a Heartless, that means you don’t have a heart, right?” She tilted her head to the side.

“That’s what my master says, and sometimes, I believe it. But others…I don’t know if I just adopted Sora’s moral compass, or if I have a connection to a heart somewhere. Either way, I would like to take you to another world, where it is safe.”

She nodded, “as long as I’m here, Maleficent will have a chance of finding me and using me to complete the keyhole.”

“So, you know all about that?”

“Ansem the Wise told us.” She gave a little smile. “After I got my happily ever after with my Prince, I thought my adventure was over. Little did I know it was just beginning. My name is Cinderella, and I will go with you, Roxas.”

He sighed a breath in relief. “Great! Where are Snow White and Aurora?”

She shook her head. “I do not know. We decided to split up so that we wouldn’t be found together. They didn’t tell me where they went. I can help you look?”

“That’s too risky. I need to be able to move around the castle under the guise of looking for you guys for Maleficent. If you’re with me, they’ll just take you.”

“Alright. Then I will leave it to you.” She went over to the sleeping bag and picked up her book. “Whenever you’re ready, good sir.”

He summoned a dark corridor, and then held out his arm. “Shall we?”

–

The corridor spit them out in front of a beautifully ornate, but abandoned, building. “Are you okay to walk a little ways?”

“I’d love to! I haven’t been able to walk around in days!”

He led her away from the mansion, and into the woods. Through the woods, into a crack in the city walls, and then into the town.

“Oh how darling!”

“Welcome to Twilight Town. Let me introduce you to some of my friends.”

They walked through the Tram Common, through the Sandlot, and up into the back alley to the usual spot. There, luckily, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were gathered and talking.

“Roxas, where have you been, man?” Asked Hayner. “We haven’t seen you in like a week.”

“Work was crazy busy,” he laughed, “They’re working me to the bone.”

“Oh right, your…what was it, pest control business?”

“Basically. So, you know how I mentioned I visit another town pretty often?”

“Uh, Radiant Garden right?” Pence clarified.

“Yes! So, weird story that’s probably more fairytale than you guys are prepared for, but the castle was overtaken by an evil witch named Maleficent. This is my good friend, Cinderella, and Maleficent wanted to use her for nefarious reasons. I brought her here because I had a feeling it would be difficult for her to be found.”

“Hello, it’s very lovely to meet you.” Cinderella held her hand out.

The others greeted her warmly with hand shakes.

“Do you guys think you could help her blend into town? I don’t know how long she’ll need to hide here.”

“There’s a spare room at my house,” said Olette. “I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind her staying with us.”

Cinderella folded her hands over her chest. “Oh thank you! I don’t mind working for my stay, either. I’m a very strong homemaker.”

“Cinderella, I will only tell Ansem the Wise and Master Yen Sid where you are. But I’ll come to check on you on occasion.”

“Thank you so much Roxas. When you find the others, you’ll let me know, right?”

He saluted. “I’ll let you know the moment they’re safe. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to cover my tracks.”

“Good luck Roxas! And the struggle tournament is coming up, so make sure you’re back in time!”

“It’s a promise!”

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts tarzan AU #rage awakened #fanfiction #sora #kairi #roxas #sokai

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morethansky · 1 year

Text

thanks to @littlesoka7567 for the tag!

PART ONE

are you named after anyone: some random professor my dad found in a textbook??

when was the last time you cried: when i saw the first gif of Tech falling, and then when i was editing my mourning fic

do you have kids: no

do you use sarcasm a lot: what do you think

what's the first thing you notice about people: i’m extremely face blind, so literally anything else. usually hair or clothes

what's your eye colour: brown (like Tech... i’m doing fine)

scary movies or happy endings: happy endings, or even better, sad, ambiguous endings, when they’re written well

any special talents: analyzing fiction, memorizing numbers, cooking and understanding cooking theory, writing men crying and grieving, doing entirely too much research for fic

where were you born: chill out, opsec

what are your hobbies: writing, reading, drawing, cooking, drinking

have any pets: no

what sports do you play/have played: i have the athletic ability of a rock

how tall are you: not

favourite subject in school: history, sociology, media studies

dream job: to not have to work and not be beholden to anyone

PART TWO

first ship: ever? Tai/Sora from Digimon Adventure

three ships: currently consuming my soul are Crosshair/Hunter and Tech/Wrecker, and i’ve been reading a lot of Thrawn/Eli again

last (current) song: Eucalyptus by the National

last movie: The Banshees of Inisherin

currently reading: TGCF, vol. 5

currently watching: in the middle of rewatching Clone Wars and Rebels, and trying to get through Succession. i was rewatching Bad Batch before, but i had to stop after the finale because it was too much

currently consuming: lemon icebox pie

currently craving: boba

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dusky-dancing · 2 years

Text

An Unbreakable Connection - Epilogue

Summary: After Sora regains his lost memories and returns home, he behaves differently towards Kairi at first. She fears that she's ruptured their friendship somehow, but she'll have to wait for Sora to open up to her.

Rating: T

Length: ~2k words

Genre: Post-KH3, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff

Pairing: Kairi/Sora

Continuation of SoKai Week - Day 7 - KH4/The Future

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Links for story navigation:

CH1 | CH2

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Nights that Sora and Kairi shared became less peaceful and slow-paced after that. As much as Kairi had wanted to keep their connection a secret between just the two of them, getting Sora home more quickly meant telling the others. Then their visits became more about sharing information than just enjoying one another’s company.

She couldn’t imagine how overwhelming it must’ve been for Sora. His memories were gone, but his determination never faltered. Even when it was his turn to speak, he always found the time to ask about her—just her as a person—like he was getting to know her again for the first time. The sentiment touched her, yet he never again mentioned the words she’d spoken to him that first night in her room.

You’re very dear to me, Sora.

Maybe Kairi had spoken too soon, or she should have kept her thoughts to herself and not influenced his emotions. Besides, if their connection was genuine, those feelings would’ve returned on their own…right?

But what if they didn’t?

What if voicing her own feelings had ruined that?

Regardless, their circumstances only continued to escalate until finally, finally, Sora came home. His memories returned on their own without Namine’s help, evidenced by how quickly he was overwhelmed with emotion and pulled everyone nearby into a tight hug. He cried thanks and apologies to all, but never held eye contact with Kairi for more than a moment.

She had ruined it, hadn’t she?

An entire day of avoidance had passed, and it took all of Kairi’s willpower not to catastrophize. Sora would’ve told her if she’d upset him. He probably just needed time, and she needed to trust him.

The Land of Departure, with its safety, seclusion, and room to house everyone, became the base of their celebration. During her training, Kairi certainly couldn’t complain about the front row seat to a field of shining and shooting stars every night.

On the second night after Sora’s return, as their friends all gathered outdoors to tell tales, laugh together, and appreciate the scenery, the boy just a few feet from her was all she could think about. He’d been open and smiling like always—he’d even hugged her—but for over a year’s separation, it felt off. He was stiff, holding something back.

Then, sooner than Kairi would have liked, the night grew late, and sleep called to some. Their friends trickled back inside, promising to continue with a huge feast in the morning. With the food and dessert they’d consumed over the past day, Kairi wasn’t sure she could take more, but she’d oblige. Besides, she’d learned to grow her appetite while training.

Just as Kairi made to follow the rest inside, however, a hand took hold of hers.

“Kairi, wait,” Sora said, and her heart sank at the sadness in his voice. After all they’d been through, she didn’t know if she could bear to see him in pain again. He continued after a tense pause, “Can I talk with you?”

Her mind raced with all the things he could say after avoiding her. Maybe his feelings had changed after regaining his memories. Maybe he still blamed himself for losing them. Maybe he was scared of losing her again. Maybe he’d try pushing her away in an attempt to protect her.

Still, she found herself unable to refuse him. Despite every obstacle between them, trust had never been—and never will be—lost in that same space. She’d promised to be there for him, and had every intention of fulfilling it.

So she turned and squeezed his hand, offering no fake image. “What is it, Sora?”

A gentle sigh escaped from him. He glanced past her to make sure they were alone before answering.

“I just—I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

There he went again, blaming himself for everything. Not that Kairi had a right to judge him for doing so, since she’d held herself responsible for Sora’s disappearance in the first place.

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “It’s okay, Sora, you don’t have to apologize for forgetting about me. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I—” A reserved smile greeted her back, absent of the usual brightness that reached his eyes. He sighed again. “Thank you, but that’s actually not what I’m sorry for.” His gaze darted to the side in thought. “Well, not right now, atleast.”

Kairi glanced down at their hands, where her fingers still rested loosely in his palm. Their arms remained outstretched between them, neither having made a move to step closer yet. Her head tilted to the side in confusion. “Then what are you sorry for?”

His chest expanded with the deep breath he took in. Then suddenly, he stepped right up to her and gripped her other hand, holding both of them close to his chest.

“I’m sorry for not giving you enough confidence in how I feel about you.”

The sudden proximity was welcome after so much distance, but his words took her aback. She moved to speak, but couldn’t find words.

He continued, “You hesitated when, without my memories, I asked if we were more than friends. You said it didn’t feel right speaking for me,” he paused and held her hands tighter, “But you should have. I can see it even now, you’re afraid of us losing each other again, of being pushed to the side or away entirely, and I’m sorry for making you feel that way.”

Kairi didn’t realize she’d started crying until a tear fell onto her collar. Since her hands were occupied, she moved to wipe her face against her hood, but Sora moved more quickly, brushing her cheek with his hand. The absence of his gloves revealed just how warm he was.

Finally, she found her words. “It’s not just you, Sora, it’s everything that keeps happening. Everyone who needs us, each new hurdle to overcome, every enemy that uses me against you.” She untangled one of her hands from his to rest it flat against his chest, feeling how rapidly his heart was beating. “You’ve done so much for me, Sora, and it keeps getting you into more trouble. I just…wouldn’t blame you for feeling tired.”

He smoothed over her cheek with his thumb again, and shook his head. “Listen to me, Kairi.” Another deep breath from him gave her time to compose herself. “I love you, with every part of me.”

His voice broke, and with it, so did her resolve.

“I love you so much, Kairi. Even when memories of you are missing, I’d never felt more at home than those nights when you were there with me. I know our lives have been chaotic, and there might be more up ahead, but I never want you to feel unsure about me. About us.” He gripped her hands tighter. Tears welled in his eyes now, and his voice lowered to a near whisper. “I will never push you away. Ever.”

Kairi nodded, unsure of how else to respond when her heart was overflowing so much. She wept further, and he just held her, catching her tears. It was like the dam holding back all of her feelings since Sora’s return had finally burst. The relief, the uncertainty, the joy, the guilt, and the love. The love she felt for him, that she should have vocalized a long time ago but had never gotten the perfect moment to.

And now her own voice wouldn’t allow her to speak at all.

Instead she grounded herself in his touch, turning her cheek into his hand. Despite his bold words, his hands shook. She was certain that she was ugly-crying, but he didn’t seem to care. The lingering silence between them wasn’t tense with anticipation, but warm and welcomed as peace finally settled.

Finally, she spoke, “Those nights meant everything to me. At first, I couldn’t believe it’d actually worked. I didn’t want to tell you yet, but I tried to show you how-” As she paused to look up into the bright blue eyes that she adored, the next words spilled out easier than she’d expected. “-How much I love you, Sora.”

He smiled, already tearful right alongside her, and cupped her face with both hands. “You did, Kairi,” he said, regarding her deeply. “You always did. And if it’s alright with you, I’d really like to kiss you now.”

A gasp escaped Kairi’s lips as she looked aside bashfully. Of course it was alright with her. Truthfully she’d thought about it since he’d come running out of the ocean to her with her lucky charm in hand, but—

“Sora, I’ve been crying,” she huffed.

“I don’t care,” he said, ushering her gaze back to him, then he kissed her anyways.

Kairi quickly realized that she didn’t care either, because Sora was kissing her. And as he smiled against her lips, she couldn’t resist closing her eyes and following suit, trailing her hands from his chest to wrap around his waist and pull him closer. If his promise was to never push her away, hers would be to hold him for as long as she could.

He’d always been a steady ground for her, and it only felt stronger now. When they parted, she decided to take her turn to dust away his tears. His face was flushed and warm, exactly how her own felt, and she smiled at finally getting to share another piece of herself with him.

“This isn’t a dream,” she breathed, almost like a question.

He shook his head. “For once, it’s not, and to prove it…” he reached into his pocket and pulled out her lucky charm. Despite all he’d been put through, the thalassa shells making up its five-pointed star were in just as good a condition as they’d been when she’d last seen them. He’d taken such gentle care of it, even without his memories, and her heart swelled with even more warmth. He continued, “You gave this to me before my Mark of Mastery, and even if I’m not a Keyblade Master yet, I did promise to bring this back to you.”

Placing her fingers over the charm, she felt more tears about to spill forth. “I mainly just wanted you to come back to me,” she said. “You’ve always kept your promises.”

He turned their hands over, placing the charm back into hers, and curled her fingers around its edges. “I try my best to, and I’m giving it back now with a new promise.” Releasing her hand, he pulled her close at the waist. “From now on, I’m not leaving you behind again.”

Their proximity still left her face blazing, and she doubted this sensation would leave anytime soon. She welcomed it, though. It meant that Sora still gave her butterflies, and she knew just how to rile them up within him too.

With her free hand, she tucked what hair she could behind his ear before combing through his soft spiky hair. His eyes fluttered, the effect immediate.

“Good, because if you ever do, I’m going after you.” She winked.

The eagerness in his eyes didn’t even try to hide, and he leaned down to kiss her again. She met him halfway this time, rising onto her toes and leaning into him for support. No, she wouldn’t tire of this anytime soon.

Time and time again, their circumstances had tried to tear them apart. When their memories had been too powerful, those had been taken. When they’d clung to one another tightly, one would always slip away. When they’d been determined to keep each other safe, death had come knocking.

Sora had told her once that, if it was their fate, then every step forward would be a step closer to home. She’d thought that their connection had defied Fate, but he was home now, holding her in his arms and kissing her tenderly. Maybe he was right, and their fate—their home—was with one another.

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A/N: Y'all can thank Tidus, star player of the Zanarkand Abes, for setting the bar for all Square Enix men to kiss their women even after they've been crying.

Thank you all for reading! So sorry for being a couple weeks late to publish, but I appreciate all of the support and comments :) Hope you all enjoyed this little SoKai hurt/comfort + fluff piece that came to me one night.

#kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #sokai #sora #kairi #romance #hurt/comfort #tooth rotting fluff #fluff #an unbreakable connection #epilogue #my writing #dusky writing #long post

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embraceyourdestiny · 2 years

Note

💜 💬

💜- top 3 favorite lines (I write a lot and it doesn't make much sense as just three sentences so they're gonna be excerpts instead.)

1). From Fictitious Data (Soriku / Sorepliku Data Battle)

“I failed you, Riku. You got hurt and I didn’t protect you. I’m such a bad friend and you don’t deserve that.”

Dark Riku’s mouth fell open in shock, completely at a loss of what to do. He didn’t want this, for Sora to be sad. He just wanted him to know he was hurting, and it wasn’t even Sora’s fault, not entirely at least. Why was he even mad in the first place? It seemed so important at the time, and now he couldn’t even remember. Was none of the pain he caused, both to others and himself, worth it in the end? Had he made a mistake?

“Sora.” His voice came out grovely, rough from the overuse and the screaming, but he ignored it.

Sora sniffled and his voice broke and shook as he spoke but he didn’t care, he had to get it out. “I’ve gone over it so many times in my head. Those few weeks, months even, before the islands fell. I try to remember as much as I can and I know there’s some stuff I’m missing but nothing I remember was bad. We were happy. You, me, Kairi. We made up stories about far away worlds before we even had our plan for the raft and we played games and had sleepovers. You were so happy, we both were, so I can’t figure out what happened. Was it me? Did I do something wrong? Did I force you to the darkness? Riku, I’m so sorry. Whatever I did to you to make this happen to you, I’m so sorry .”

Sora couldn’t hold it in anymore and he completely crumbled, falling onto his bottom and hiding his face in his knees. He sobbed and cried and choked and all Dark Riku could do was sit there, helpless to his friend.

Sora spoke of these moments as if they were ancient history, so far off in his memory that the pain they caused was no longer immediate but instead had become a part of who he was, shaping his future and life without being able to be fixed or undone, but for Dark RIku these moments were fresh. Recent. What had been over three years for Sora was hardly even a few months ago to him. The disconnect between their experiences was startling to Dark Riku, and yet their level of pain was still the same. Just like how deeply Riku’s hurt carved itself into his heart and gave him a painful, open wound, Sora’s pain had scabbed and scarred and was still tender to the touch and difficult to reel in. Dark Riku, no, Riku , had caused this and the boy could only sit there in horror as he watched his friend weep over the things he had done.

2). From A Chance To Say Goodbye (Sora & Winnie the Pooh)

Pooh looked up at Sora and smiled, his other squishy paw coming up to his chest, right over his heart. “Do you remember what you told me, Sora? It seems so long ago now, but I remember it well.”

Sora sniffled, wiping tears away from his cheeks. “What did I tell you, Pooh?”

“You said that you would always be with me, right here.” The bear looked down at his heart in emphasis before looking at Sora again. “And that’s still true, isn’t it, Sora?”

Sora smiled and leaned into Pooh’s side, resting his head on top of the bear’s head. “Yeah, it is.”

“And I will be right there with you, too, Sora.” Pooh reached up to place his paw over where Sora’s heart was and Sora brought his hand over Pooh’s, holding it close to his chest. “I’d have to be, lest you forget about me.”

“I could never forget about you, Pooh Bear.”

Pooh smiled. “That’s good.” The two stayed with their hands on their hearts and leaning into each other until Sora pulled Pooh into a hug, bringing the little bear as close to him as he could, holding him tight.

“I’m really gonna miss you, Pooh.”

“I’ll miss you too, Sora. I miss you even right now.”

3). From Under the Same Night Sky (Sorikai)

“If you say so, Kairi,” Sora’s slightly haughty voice came. “I’ll remember that the next time you yell at me for eating the last of your cookie blasters.”

An arm came from behind Riku to poke at Sora’s side, making his facade fall as he complained and tried not to laugh.

“All these years and you still don’t know a girl’s cookies are not meant to be messed with? Tsk, tsk, Sora, I thought we raised you better than that.

“Raised?! I’m older than you by four months!”

“Semantics. Don’t touch my cookies, Sora.”

“Just for that I’m going to eat them all before you even get a chance.”

“Gasp! You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.”

Their mindless jibes pulled laughter out of Riku who failed to conceal it, earning pouts from the both of them.

“Riku, tell Sora not to eat my cookies.”

“Riku, tell Kairi that cookies are meant to be shared with friends and also that I’m the older one here.”

“Oh, look, we’re here,” Riku remarked with an exaggerated, fake tone, slipping past them and into the house. Outside, Sora and Kairi looked at each other in disbelief before crashing in after Riku, making him laugh at them all over again.

Cookies forgotten, cold melted, unpleasant memories in the back of their mind, the trio made themselves cocoa and soon enough piled into Sora’s room, becoming a mess of bodies and blankets as they laid over each other in his bed.

💬- describe one of your completed works in three words

I'll let the summary do it for me: "Riku, truth or dare!"

Writer Ask Game

#thanks for the ask friend :)#og #asks #embraceyourwords #kingdom hearts #kh #sorikai #soriku #sorepliku

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sophiathesorceress · 1 year

Text

The Last of August- Book Review

Rating: four stars

I highlighted SO many quotes in the Ebook version of this book that I checked out on Sora. The first book in this series figuratively killed me and resurrected me in the span of almost 300 pages. I had a similar expectation for this book and mostly, I got what I expected. Unfortunately, I can't document every thought I had while reading this book. What I can do though, is talk about a few things I thought about while reading.

-1. Charlotte and Jamie's relationship is a painful slow-burn, but well written and not super cringe, which is always nice to have.

-2. Jamie's narration is well-written and I enjoy how his stream of consciousness differs greatly from the chapters where Charlotte narrates. It feels like the author put a lot of thought into writing through different characters' perspectives and I found it easy to forget that it was written by an author and not the two fictional characters.

-3. I enjoyed how easily the author wrote about Europe and didn't make it seem obvious or annoying that it was written by an American author. Like, instead of Ms. Cavarallo thinking: "how should I make sure my readers know I know things about Europe? Let me describe things in too much detail and throw in some random facts!" she thought: "let me do my research, and do it well."

-4. Normally, I find "spunky, confident female characters" to be overused and plain annoying as hell. They are usually very cringe, most of their quotes are terrible, and they seem unrealistic and boring to me. Charlotte, however, is not one of these types of characters to me. She is able to show emotion and even though she is a fighter, sometimes cruel, and makes bad decisions at times, I didn't find myself wanting to punch her in the face every time she spoke. I found this to be a huge win.

-5. The "romance" scenes in this book are very well written and I enjoyed every word of them. Not everyone might believe this though.

Notable exerpts and quotes!!:

"As for you, girl,” he said, “you wanted to see your uncle? I’ll send you there, then,” and he pushed the mouth of the gun hard into her temple."

"It had been difficult. She was beautiful. We’d both been frustrated. She’d said my name. I never wanted to make her cry again. All I knew was that I didn’t want us to fight anymore."

"Excellent.” I paused. “Try to enjoy this. Today. It’ll be fun, I think, for you.” Until it wasn’t fun. Until he never wanted to look at me again."

"We did other things. Dicere quae puduit, scribere jussit amor—I may, for some time, think about his beautiful arms. They are lovely, like those of a statue I once saw when I was a girl, in a museum, somewhere, back when I hadn’t yet cried in my best friend’s bed, in a hotel in Prague at dawn."

"Do you want this?” he asked me, with effort. “I do,” I said, and hated my voice for breaking. “Can we—can we get under the blankets?”

"I had never pretended he was my father. Fathers were exacting and distant and cruel. Leander was none of those things. Still, I was charmed."

"Charlotte. There’s a girl on the roof. She says her name is Lena.” He cleared his throat. “She says she brought the helicopter you wanted?”

"Because, if you don’t, I will have my brother hit this warehouse twenty minutes from now in a precision strike that he’ll write off as a training exercise, and then, for good measure, I’ll do your house. Because I’m holding a gun, you cow, and I am perfectly capable of making your death look like a suicide.” In that moment, I wasn’t entirely sure I was bluffing."

"He’s largely muscle, which makes him quite heavy, and while this was something I had of course noticed (and yes, appreciated, I am in fact a heterosexual human girl), I didn’t like having to haul him out the door."

"My brother,” he growled, “is an addict, so yes, I do know something about it, and unless you just completely shattered her world in half, I can’t imagine this being a situation that . . .” He trailed off. All at once, the blood went out of his face. “Oh my God, Jamie. What have you done?”

"I kissed her slowly. Patiently. It was always too desperate between us, the clock nearing zero, the last secret about to slip out, or too cautious, or too clinical, an experiment gone wild and wrong. It was a huge, impossible thing, kissing your best friend, and each time we’d tried, we’d managed to fuck it up so badly that the next felt even more impossible. I wanted to give her an out. I always did, especially after Dobson. But God, it was hard. When she leaned into me, her fingers tracing the hollow of my throat, I had to clench my hands not to touch her back. Then she slipped a hand underneath my shirt, and I forced myself to pull away."

"I needed to find Holmes, though I wasn’t looking forward to it. Breaking news: I got into a strange car where someone told me I was useless. How was your afternoon?"

"It’s heavy in her arms, but it’s pleasing to look at it. Maybe the package talks. It’s witty. It’s flattering. It makes her feel special, and she likes that feeling. And one day Charlotte leaves it somewhere in public, and poof, it is taken from her. Charlotte is sad. Then furious. Charlotte will do anything to get her present back. Horrible things. Things that will end in her death, or imprisonment. We don’t want Charlotte to do these things.”

"I slipped my arms around Marie-Helene’s waist and kissed her like a man coming home from war. Here was another point under the “monster” column: it was a good kiss. She leaned into me, she put her hands in my hair, she pulled me down into her like she wanted me, like I wasn’t the terrible person Holmes thought I was, like I was somehow good enough for a girl like her."

"Because of course. Of course I’d be expected to make a move here. Touch her neck. Kiss her; hell, maybe sing her an L.A.D song—do something to live up to the ridiculous texts Holmes had been sending."

"She looked innocently up at me from the top of her book. “Bloody hell, I made a bleedin’ mistake.”

"No.” I was going to murder Shelby, and creatively."

"No,” I groaned. “No. Absolutely not. This is like a L.A.D. song. This is like my sister’s L.A.D. fan fiction.”

"Apologize to them? For what—having the misfortune of producing you?”

"I’m willing to call in men, right now, to take you to Lucien,” she continued. “He might be done taking it slow. I’m sure he’d be willing to speed things up. Break your hands. Kill you. Let’s see if I can get you out of the country and to Thailand before your bear of a brother can stop them.”

"Did nobody teach you any respect?” Phillipa exploded. “No one! Did nobody tell you that being clever isn’t enough?"

"I wandered the house like some Victorian ghost."

"There, in the guest room, at the end of my bed, she was easing the heels off her feet. She dangled one from a finger as she looked up at me, biting her lip, and it should have been ridiculous, but instead it made something in my chest burn."

"She’d almost kissed me. I’d wanted her to. Everything was fine."

"For some reason, it felt dangerous to breathe, and so I didn’t. I held myself as still as I could, except for my hand running down her soft, shining hair to her cheek. Her skin was pale in the dark, but as I traced my thumb along her cheekbone, she flushed the barest pink. I bit my lip, and her mouth opened, and without thinking about it, really, I let one finger brush against her mouth, and then her hands slid up my chest, pulling against my T-shirt and then pulling at the collar, pulling me down toward her until I could feel myself pressing her down into the mattress, and my nose dug into her neck and she laughed, she exhaled and her breath was soft and a little sharp, and I tangled my fingers in her hair, the way I’d wanted to for months now, all of this I’d wanted for so long, and she angled her head as though she was about to kiss me—"

"For the first time, I realized that maybe my presence was more of a curse than a comfort."

"This? This had never happened before. I could feel her hot breath, the brush of her mouth. I bit back a sound at the back of my throat and kept myself still, terrified I might scare her away or worse, that this might break apart the both of us. She ran a finger down my chest. “Is this what you want?” she asked me, and with that, my willpower broke completely. I couldn’t answer, not with words. Instead, I dropped my hands down to her waist, intending to kiss her the way I’d wanted for months—a deep, searching kiss, one hand tangled in her hair, her pressed up against me like I was the only other person in the world. But when I touched her, she recoiled. A rush of fear went across her face. I watched as that fear turn to rage, and then to something like despair."

"The best and worst thing about Holmes was that she heard everything I didn’t say along with everything I did."

"The thought made me sick, made me want to climb the walls. It made me want to lay it all out at her feet so we could begin to fix it."

#book review #november #november 2022 #books and literature #boooks #bookish #booklr #review #detective #mystery books #ya novels #novels #ya fiction #charlotte holmes #brittany cavallaro #authors #romance books

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atomic-taco-muffin · 2 years

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The Legend of Hana Chapter 116

Warnings: I’m gonna cry with this part and I bet most of you will too.

Rating: SFW

Sora left Mickey and headed back to the initial fork in the maze. This time he took the other path. While the walls were more aggressive in their attempts to stop him than before, Sora made clever use of the cover available as he proceeded. He could see Riku, Mukuro, Xigbar, Luna, Lily, and Ansem up ahead, locked in combat with Repliku and one of the Remnants of Despair, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu. Observing it all with crossed arms from a distance was Nagito Komaeda. It appeared Xemnas, the twins, Xeha, Era, Baby, Axel, and Kairi had gone ahead.

“Guys!” Sora called.

“Sora!” Xigbar and the others replied. Riku caught an attack from his counterpart while Fuyuhiko fired a barrage from his multitude of guns. The group dodged the attacks and with a silent nod, they each chose a target to go after. Sora, Ansem, Mukuro, and Rumi decided to start with Nagito, who was casually watching the scene unfold. He defended himself with an army of Monokumas, but it didn’t last for very long.

Repliku was focused solely on Riku, engaging him in a frenzied contest of Keyblades off in the distance. That left Fuyuhiko, who was currently fighting against Xigbar, Luna, and Lily. He fired multiple shots at the three, but they were quick to dodge all of them.

“Hmm, I think I’ve had enough play time for now,” Nagito said and disappeared.

“Hey, wait!” Mukuro shouted as she raced to catch Nagito.

“Where are you going?” a voice called out. Suddenly, Repliku kicked Mukuro to the ground.

“Muki!” Ansem cried and raced to help his wife. Fuyuhiko then fired multiple shots at the couple but Rumi raced in and shielded the stream of bullets using her sword.

“Hey, let's speed it up! Keep the line moving!” Fuyuhiko taunted. Now it was Sora, Xigbar, Luna, and Lily against the Remnant of Despair while Riku, Ansem, Mukuro, and Rumi went against Repliku. Xigbar fought with all he could, but with the multitude of guns, he knew he had to fight the Remnant alone.

“Sora, girls. You go help Ansem and his family,” he said.

“But what about you?!” Luna responded.

“Look, Hana’s already hanging by a thread. I can’t have that happen to you guys too.” Luna and Lily clearly weren’t happy with this decision but they knew that there was no point in arguing with him. Sora and the two girls gave a nod and went to go help Ansem and his girls while Xigbar went up against Fuyuhiko.

“You know you can’t win against me. It’s practically suicide,” Fuyuhiko cackled.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Xigbar grumbled. The two of them teleported to the top of a stone wall, while the others had the ground. Thanks to Xigbar’s spacial abilities, he was able to dodge the bullets that fired at him. But it was starting to get tiring and with a loud bang, Fuyuhiko shot Xigbar in the chest. Luna and the others quickly looked over and saw Xigbar stumble off the cliff, falling to his death.

“Xig...no...” Luna whimpered then screamed in grief and agony as her shadows spread throughout the entire area, defeating Fuyuhiko and Repliku in one go. But they wouldn’t stop. It got to the point where it was attacking Sora and the others too!

“We have to do something! Otherwise, she’s gonna kill us all!” Mukuro yelled. Lily decided to take a risky move and hugged Luna tightly and using her powers to try and calm down her shadows. They thankfully worked and Luna looked at her daughter with tear-filled eyes.

“H-he’s dead....” she whimpered as tears fell down her cheeks.

“I know, mom. B-but he would want us to stay strong. For Hana,” Lily replied, hiding back her own tears. The two rested their heads together and as Luna’s shadows returned into her, a Replica in a black coat fell to the ground. The group saw it hit the ground and approached it.

“Is that a replica, for Naminé?” Sora asked. Riku thought for a moment before he answered.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Roxy will definitely be happy to see her again, but first...” Rumi said.

“I know,” Sora agreed.

“I’m going after that Remnant,” Riku said.

“Okay, we’ll go help the others,” Ansem responded. He and the others knew that Xemnas and the others needed their help up ahead, so they hurried off to find them. Now by himself, Riku looked down at the Replica.

“I'll be back...after all of this is over,” he said, sounding as though he were asking for forgiveness. And then suddenly, Riku wasn’t alone anymore.

“Hey, I thought you'd be gone by now,” the new arrival said.

“You're...the Organization!” Riku brandished his Keyblade at the man in a black coat approaching him from a dark portal.

“Whoa, chill out. I'm not here to fight, I promise. Listen. Name's Demyx. It's a long story, but I'm sorta on your side...well, technically His Majesty’s side.”

“And His Majesty being...?”

“Why, King Xemnas of course!” Riku sighed with relief and dispelled his Keyblade at Demyx’s words.

“So, why are you here?” he asked.

“I'm on a top-secret mission. Apparently, they're looking to find themselves another replica. I heard a rumor that I could maybe find one here from Zex...er, Ienzo, so I've just been killing time,” Demyx whispered as he leaned in close to Riku. He leaned down and picked up the Replica off the ground.

“You sure you know what you're doing?” Riku asked, setting the rest of his doubts aside.

“Don't worry about it! Not to brag, but I've done this before.” Demyx headed back back toward his portal with the Replica slung over his shoulder.

“That's not just an empty vessel,” Riku told him suddenly. “It's filled with important memories. Promise me--you'll be careful with it. Deliver it safely, okay?”

Demyx turned back to the ever-serious Riku with a grin and gave a thumbs up.

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yzafre · 2 months

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we're flying above the valley below | Ch 5

AO3

First | Previous

Sora and Kairi said their good-byes to the Twilight Town trio, promising to be back soon, then began the trek back to their landing site. Silence settled heavily between them, the weight of it pressing down on Sora. Heart in his throat, he reached out, tangling his fingers with hers, pressing their palms together just as the guilt-ache-hope in him huddled near the unease-helplessness-determination in her.

When they reached the empty clearing they finally separated, and Sora shook himself, as if he could toss the melancholy away physically, Donald’s voice in his ear –

No frowning, no sad faces.

“Alright! Let’s get ready to go – the next world is supposed to be – “

A cheerful series of notes cut through the air.

The crew back in Radiant Garden had gotten readings about Darkness moving through the worlds; Donald and Goofy would handle the other Princess – they needed Sora and Kari to see what the Organization was up to.

It was time for them to get to work.

Sora had been to lots of worlds in his adventures, but he didn’t think he’d ever reached one where he was… quite so small.

He hadn’t realized what was going on, at first, only that they’d appeared in the world beneath a large roof, the bright light outside the cover making it hard to see. Once they stepped clear of the overhang, however, the room became clear – and their size in comparison to it.

“Huh, well this is new,” he mused.

“Is it?” Kairi asked, squinting between her hands and the giant-sized furniture around her, “How’d we get so small?”

“Well – “

Sora was cut off by the sharp pop of heartless appearing.

When they defeated the enemy, they were approached by the locals with a mix of caution, outright suspicion, and abject delight. Admittedly, the differences between them as well as Kairi’s blatant staring probably didn’t help.

“The toys are alive?” she breathed as the cowboy, astronaut, pig, and very excited dinosaur huddled, and Sora frantically shook his head at her.

The small congregation of toys got louder, one declaring them suspicious, the other loudly calling Sora “Yozora” and declaring they were from a game he had played. Sora and Kairi just looked at each other in confusion.

In the end, the toys seemed to come to a consensus: with the strange situation they were in, with all their friends missing, they would need some help, so they would accept Sora and Kairi into their group for now – even if Buzz was suspicious. And their next step was to go and visit Galaxy Toys.

At their size, it was… long walk.

“I’ve never seen toys like you,” Buzz said, strolling beside them as they went.

“Look at your joints!” Rex said, much more enthusiastic, “So articulate – but I can’t see any sockets or seams!”

“Ahah, yeah – we’re… really new?” Sora tried.

“Ahhhh! An entirely new line of figures to celebrate the release of the new game!” Rex cried, “How exciting!”

Buzz hummed, squinting at them suspiciously from behind Rex’s rant, but left them alone, moving ahead to speak lowly with Woody. Rex, as well, got distracted explaining the intricacies of this game to Hamm, and the two Keyblade wielders were able to fall behind.

“Does this usually happen?” Kairi asked quietly.

“No! Usually, Donald’s magic transforms us to make sure no one asks questions, but he’s not here and I guess we forgot it would be a problem. At least we’re not towering over them?”

It didn’t take long once they’d reached the store to find the source of the problem.

“Xehanort!”

“Sora,” the youngest version of Xehanort greeted, a sly smirk on his face, “Good to see you again.”

Sora scowled up at him, “What are you doing here?”

“Performing experiments of the heart in preparation for our war. Surely, you’ve noted how different the residents of this world are – simple toys, given life by the will of their owners. But what happens if they’re separated from the ones who gave them their identity? We must know.”

“The one who gave us life – you mean Andy!” Woody realized, “What have you done with him and the others?”

“Done? Nothing. I’ve simply separated you – made a copy of the original world to stretch the connection.”

“You – “

“We didn’t plan for you, Sora, but perhaps your presence can be of use. A true stress-test, if you will,” Xehanort hummed thoughtfully, “Of course, we can’t have it ending too early now, can we? So, let’s start with something simple…”

He snapped his fingers, and the large toy robots on either side of the aisle began to twitch, then stand, energy building up at the tips of their guns.

“Make sure not to die, now. We’ve got so much more left to learn.”

The robots might be toys, but they also hit hard an fast. Thankfully, it seems Buzz’s toy weapons and had become real in this world as well, and he and Woody backed them up, and they were soon defeated to slump to the ground, empty.

“So, you know that guy?” Buzz asked suspiciously.

“Yeah,” Sora answered, “He’s part of the Organization. The bad guys.”

“You seem to have a lot of enemies.”

“Uh.”

“A copy of the real world,” Kairi mused, “Then, is that where your missing friends are?”

“What’s that even mean?” Woody asked.

“Well, it probably means they split the world in two, like in the sleeping Traverse Town. Your friends ended up in one, and us in the other.”

“Or while Riku and I were fighting Xehanort,” Kairi added.

“This sounds like early-toy delusions gone mad,” Buzz protested, turning to Woody, “You can’t tell me you believe this?”

The cowboy shrugged, “I admit, it does sound a little bit far-fetched. But at this point… do you have any other answers for our situation? Or why your laser is suddenly real?”

Buzz sighed but didn’t seem to have a rebuttal, and Woody nodded.

“One thing I think we can both agree on is: this whole situation is bad news. We should get out of here while we can. Let’s go, guys. …Guys?”

When they turned around, the rest of the party was missing.

Gathering Buzz and Woody’s scattered friends was harder than it looked. The store was huge, not even taking their shrunken size into account, and there were a hundred different little nooks and crannies for them to hide in.

And then there were the heartless.

Were they heartless? Toys? Heartless possessing toys? Sora wasn’t sure – he just knew there were a lot of them.

Thank goodness for the army men – they were indispensable at sending them to the right stores, so they didn’t have to cover every inch of the complex. The little alien men were picked up first, quickly rescued from an animated UFO. After that they were directed to the dolls room, where Hamm had been spotted.

The store was eerily quiet, and when they found Hamm, he was thoroughly spooked – and for good reason.

That doll really was creepy.

Sora noted it throughout the entire fight – the blank face, the utter emptiness behind its eyes – the doll was moving, but there was no one inside, not like with Woody, Buzz, or the others.

Buzz seemed just as concerned.

“This isn’t right. These toys should be waking up, finding themselves – not turning into mindless weapons.”

“What is it like for you guys, then? When you first wake up?”

“Shouldn’t you know?” Woody asked, “It sounds like you just woke up recently, yourself.”

“Uh.”

“What he means,” Kairi said, coming to his rescue, “Is what was it like for you?”

“Well, mine was a while ago, and I woke up pretty easy. Andy’s face was the first thing I saw, and that shaped everything. Now, Buzz, on the other hand…”

Buzz groaned, “Come on, they don’t need to know all that. Shouldn’t we be finding Rex so we can go? He’s the last one.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go.”

“Aw,” Sora whined, “But I want to know!”

They found Rex in the video games store; in hindsight, they probably should have checked there first.

“Look, see! Yozora!”

“Huh,” Sora said, “I guess it… kind of looks like me.”

Kairi squinted up at it, “The clothes, maybe. Otherwise… I think it looks more like Riku.”

“Ohhh, yeah! It does! Oh, man, I wish we could show him.”

“Well, why don’t we take a picture?”

“…We can do that?!”

Sora and Kairi took turns posing and taking photos on their phone as the others worked to corral Rex and convince him to leave. The fun all came to a stop, however, when an unfortunately familiar voice rang through the area.

“Having fun?”

Ice flooded through Sora, and he snapped around, Kairi right behind him, Key falling into his hand as he scanned the room.

“Up there!” Kairi called, pointing, and Sora focused in on the top of a games shelf, finally spotting him.

“I know I sure am,” the boy continued, “But phase one is coming to an end – it’s time to progress to the next step. Tell me, Sora, have you figured it out? Why these toys intrigue the Organization?”

“What, because they’re easy for you to jerk about?” Sora sneered.

“Hmph; no. These toys are different from us. When they first come alive, they are implanted with pre-set memories – memories that don’t truly belong to them, yet they take as their own, a template to guide their path. Does that sound familiar?”

“Familiar?” Sora repeated, something itching at the back of his head, a zing of realization echoing from Kairi’s heart.

“And so, this unique world should prove an excellent simulation for testing our concerns,” Xehanort continued, “How strong is such a false heart, truly? When introduced to Darkness, how easily will it be consumed? All this and more – we must know, before the fated battle takes place.”

“False heart – “ Sora shook his head, “You and the Organization, you’re always going on about people being empty or fake or not having hearts – but they clearly do!”

“Yes, that is true – but not all hearts are the same. Some are so much more fragile than others – would you like to see what I mean?”

“What – hey!”

“Buzz!”

A startled cry went up behind them, and Sora spun on his heel. Darkness wreathed Buzz, lifting him in the air even as he struggled. Snarling, Sora spread his wings, leaping up to intercept.

“Oh, no you don’t!”

A few feet away, one foot, mere inches – Xehanort flashed between them, kicking Sora away.

“Sorry, but I can’t have you interfering before we even get started.”

“Like I’ll just let you do this!”

“Hm. In this world, you come from a video game – so why don’t you observe from inside the screen?”

“What?”

There was a surge of magic – one Sora couldn’t avoid – and he went flying back. He hit the wall – no, the tv screen – and then suddenly, he was falling through it, the world warping around him.

“Sora!”

Kairi’s heart leapt to her throat as her Flightmate disappeared, falling through the tv screen rather than shattering the glass.

“And now that that obstacle has been removed,” Xehanort mused, turning back to Buzz. A hazy wave of his hand set the magic surrounding him pulsing, and the toy gave a choked gasp, screws lifting from his body and into the air behind him.

“No!” she cried, throwing her Key. She flashed forward just as it approached Xehanort, snatching the Key from the air and spinning into a blow – one that Xehanort caught, barely, sending him skidding away from Buzz as they slid with the momentum.

Their eyes locked, and her heart skipped a beat, remembering – hitch of a breath, slide of a knife, a heart cut free – before he scowled, heaving his strength against their locked blades, and she had to leap away.

“Princess of heart,” he sneered, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be hidden away?”

“I’m done being left behind.”

“You think you can stop us?”

“I’ve dealt with you once, I can deal with you again.”

Riku had been there, admittedly, but… she couldn’t just let him win.

Xehanort tilted his head, eying her curiously, “Did we meet, then, on my last sojourn through time?”

And that – that gave her pause. “You don’t remember?”

“My memories were lost when I returned to my natural place in time. The longer I spend outside the time-stream, the more the memories come back to me. My other selves, my encounters with Sora, and with the Hero of darkness, I am slowly beginning to recollect. You – I have no memory of.”

He shrugged, indifferent, and something squirmed in her stomach, wriggling like a snake as heat bubbled up.

“Let me remind you, then.”

They tangled together, Keys and magic flashing through the air. She’d fought him before and won – she could do it again. But…

This seemed harder, somehow.

Her back slammed against one of the shelves, and she barely got her Key up in time to block the blow he sent her way. Instead, their blades locked together. He pressed his weight down on her, forcing the sharp edge of his blade closer and closer, crushing her against the wood at her back. Breaths coming fast, she looked up, their eyes met –

He froze.

“You,” he breathed, and she could swear she could see the memories falling into place behind his eyes, each link click-click-click-ing into place, “Those eyes… they’ve haunted me. It was you – the one to tear me from my vessel. All our carefully laid plans, and you...”

“I stopped you.”

“You delayed us,” he sneered, “But it won’t go so well for you, this time.”

He turned, heaving, pulling with his grip on her and throwing her across the room. She tried to pull her wings out but didn’t manage quite in time and hit the ground hard, air punched from her lungs as she rolled.

“I am from further in my time stream than last time,” he said, stalking towards her as she scrambled to her feet, “I have improved. I’ve trained under the great Keyblade masters of old, traveled the world, learned secrets you could never dream of – but you, you’re just the same as you were before. You stand no chance against me.”

He came at her with a renewed fury. If she thought it was a difficult fight before, it was nothing compared to this. It was all she could do to keep her feet beneath her. As her stress and fear grew, she could feel Riku pressing close in worry, Sora’s distracted attention split between her and whatever situation Xehanort had thrown him into. One Flightmate too far away, the other in danger of his own –

She was on her own, for this one.

And she was losing.

Badly.

Despite all her efforts, he had her cornered. Her arms were shaking, her body aching in a way that threatened bruises later. She threw up a Reflect, but it flickered out with a single strike. Grinning triumphantly, he raised his Key high. His blade struck down. She cringed, scraping the bottom of her heart for magic – there was a flash –

The world was still.

“I understand the urge to win, but there’s a proper place and time.”

She... didn’t recognize that voice.

Kairi slowly uncurled. A tall man stood across the room, light glinting off the silver rings in his ear as he observed a card in his hand. Seemingly unimpressed, he turned his gaze towards her, “He really needs to learn to play his cards closer to the chest, don’t you think?”

With a crisp flick of his wrist the card swirled and tumbled to the floor, where it glowed brightly before releasing Xehanort with a bright flash. He immediately turned, snarling at the older man.

“Luxord. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Your older self thought you might need someone to keep you from getting carried away; and he was right, I see,” Luxord said, “We need her, remember? And twice over, at that. Besides, you really should finish the game at hand before starting a new one.”

He tilted his head towards Buzz, who was still floating in his prison of Darkness. Woody, Rex, and Hamm were stacking themselves beneath him in an attempt to reach and rescue him and were close to being successful. Xehanort screwed up his face in frustration, but nodded just the same.

Quick as a flash, he teleported behind Buzz. Alarmed, Kairi stumbled to her feet, reaching out futilely.

“Wait!”

Xehanort did – something, she couldn’t see, some kind of flip of the hand inside the revealed panel on the toy’s back, but it caused Buzz to jerk abruptly, head snapping back, then fall limp.

“Buzz?” Woody called, voice tremulous.

Xehnort set him down, and for a moment Buzz stood, staring blankly ahead, like an empty shell. Then, abruptly, he straightened, eyes darting around the room frantically.

“Buzz - !”

“Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, it is good to see you awake,” Xehanort said, “I feared your crash had damaged you beyond repair.”

“What,” Buzz blinked rapidly, “Uh, yes – what? Who are you?”

“You don’t remember? My people requested Star Command’s help with dealing with some raiders. Unfortunately, your ship crashed on entry, and you ended up captured by them. I was barely able to retrieve you.”

“You – what are you saying?” Woody shouted, “He isn’t going to listen to this nonsense, right, Buzz?”

Buzz turned to them, a furrow in his brow, “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“One of the raiders I mentioned,” Xehanort said smoothly, “I found them performing some type of experiment on you – I believe they were trying to hypnotize you to their side. I got you out, but perhaps disrupting the process damaged your memories.”

“Oh, come on. Not this nonsense again – Star Command isn’t real, and there’s no space raiders – we’re all toys!”

“You see?” Xehanort said, “He seeks to disrupt your reality.”

“I – “ Buzz stumbled, holding a hand to his head.

“It seems you are still damaged. Come with me; you need rest.”

Xehanort held out a hand; Buzz wavered.

“Buzz, no!”

He took the hand.

In a wave of Darkness, they both disappeared. Luxord followed a moment later. For a moment, they all stood in silent dismay, before the tv rippled and Sora appeared in a flash of light.

“Xehanort! Uh… What’d I miss?”

“Was he controlling him somehow, like that doll?” Sora wondered.

“But – that doll was empty,” Hamm protested, “It may have been moving, but there was no one inside! Buzz still had his personality, he was just, just – “

“Back to the way he was when Andy first got him,” Woody finished grimly.

“Is that what Xehanort meant, earlier, about pre-set memories?” Kairi asked.

“Yeah,” Woody sighed, “When he woke up in Andy’s room, he was convinced he was on some alien planet. And that Xehanort guy played right into it. Though, come to think of it, Buzz was a lot more lively, back then. That weird dark magic stuff must have done a number on him.”

“Maybe that means it didn’t take all the way,” Sora said, “There’s gotta be a way to reach him – maybe his memories are all messed up, but his heart is still there. And, you guys are really close, right? There’s no way a connection like that will lose to the Organization’s tricks.”

Woody shook his head, “Maybe, but how am I going to appeal to our friendship if he doesn’t remember?”

“Memories are not so easily lost,” Kairi said, as Naminé pressed the knowledge into her heart, “If there’s even a sliver of a heart to collect them, they’ll remain, even if an outside source tries to remove them. All it takes is the right spark to bring them to the surface once more.”

“She’s right!” Sora said, “I lost my memory, once, but it wasn’t gone forever. Trust in your connection, and you’re sure to reach his heart.”

Hamm snorted, “That’s all well and good, but first we’ve gotta find him.”

The army men came to their rescue once more, pointing out a strange dark smoke spilling from one of the vents.

“This might get dangerous,” Sora said, “The Organization is really strong. Are you sure you wanna come with us?”

“They’ve got Buzz,” Woody answered, and that, it seemed, was that.

Kari crept down the dim vent behind them, trying desperately to swallow down her fear. She’d managed to down a potion when everyone was distracted, so she wasn’t feeling as bad as earlier, but the concept of a rematch didn’t excite her. Even with Sora here, the previous fight had shown her just how behind she was. Wouldn’t she just… get in the way?

She pushed her nerves down, unwilling to let Sora see, to feel her failing courage. Her focus on the boy in front of her meant she didn’t see their third coming up from behind, however, Riku’s heart suddenly pressing into her space with a passing of concern-care-need me?

Sighing deeply, she glanced ahead where Sora was still leading the way before sending back a feeling of sorry-fear-not enough-shame.

Shame? He echoed the suppressed feeling back, immediately followed by a flood of alarm-concern-care-no, and she flinched away from the emotion she hadn’t meant him to see, hadn’t wanted to admit. Taking a shaky breath she forcibly detangled herself from him, eyes burning at the wave of love-love-love he sent even as he reluctantly let her go.

“We’re here!” Sora called from up ahead, and she steeled herself.

They ran into Buzz first, the guiding light for his laser shining out of the darkness with deadly precision.

“He told me you’d be coming. I’m afraid I can’t let you go any further.”

“That’s okay, Buzz,” Woody said, “I’m not here for him; I’m here for you.”

“C’mon, Buzz,” Sora said, “You’ve gotta remember Woody. You guys were such good friends!”

“Another one of your tricks? I’ve already heard all about it, and I’m not falling for it.”

“But he’s the one that’s tricking you!” Sora cried, but Kari already knew it was useless.

Woody edged closer, and the laser-sight snapped over to him, landing right on his forehead. Buzz looked scared, Kairi thought. On edge, even though he had the upper hand on them. The cowboy raised his hands protectively, voice soft.

“You gotta know something isn’t right about this, Buzz. Something in that head of yours is telling you that all of this is just a bit off.”

“Because you messed with my memories,” Buzz insisted.

“You know that isn’t true,” Woody said, “You really don’t recognize any of this? The store, the toys? Andy? Me?”

Buzz scowled, but – there it was, the tiniest flinch.

“You know him,” Kari realized.

Buzz flinched back, “I have no memory of this man.”

“I didn’t say you remembered him. I said you know him – just a feeling, one that comes up every time you see his face. And when you look to the empty space at your side, your heart aches, knowing someone should be there. Right?”

“I…”

Woody gazed imploringly at Buzz who stared, wide-eyed, right back, until he looked away, a finger going to his temple.

“I – I don’t know, it’s all so…”

“Look, it’s okay!” Woody said, “You don’t have to remember right away. But maybe we can both agree that this whole situation is bad news, yeah? Let’s get out of here while we can, we can figure everything else out from there.”

Buzz hesitated – one heartbeat, two, three. Just when Kairi thought it was all for nothing, he sighed, reaching out to accept Woody’s hand.

“Yeah, alri – “

Buzz cut off suddenly, darkness seizing around his limbs. From the shadows behind him, Xehanort appeared, hand wreathed in matching Darkness.

“It was that easy to break through?” Xehanort sighed, “How unfortunate.”

Sora snarled. “Xehanort! Let him go!”

“Why should I do that? I’d really hoped to keep this experiment going for much longer.”

“You were doomed from the start,” Sora said, “It doesn’t matter what you do, the connections between our hearts will always be stronger. You can’t break that.”

“So noted. Then, if the connection cannot be severed, we must take pains to keep the two endpoints from ever meeting. Or, better yet, remove the other anchor all together.” A dark smirk crossing his face, Xehanort cut his eyes back towards them, “Thank you, Sora. You have been most helpful. However, in this case, I don’t need to keep the puppet as an ally in the long term. I just need something to keep you busy.”

Kairi saw the moment the magic began to swell, and darted forward, hooking her hand around her Flightmate’s arm.

“Sora, watch out!”

The surge of magic burst, collapsing around Buzz, the world tearing itself to pieces around them only to reform around the toy as a giant armor set.

“Buzz!” Woody cried in dismay.

“Don’t worry,” Sora called, wings spreading, “He’s gotta still be in there. We’ll find a way to reach him!”

Kairi spread her own wings, calling her Key to her hand. A glance around showed that Xehanort had disappeared, and she couldn’t help the flood of relief that spread through her.

“Kairi! You ready?”

Shaking her head, she turned back to Sora.

“Yeah! Let’s go.”

After the battle was over, after Sora pried open the armor, reaching in with Woody to cover Buzz in shining light, pulling him from the Darkness, Kairi watched the toys reunite from a distance.

She was exhausted, every inch of her aching, but there was also a satisfaction that thrummed through her bones. Sora’s plan had left her to fend off all the armor’s weapons, while he and Woody focused on finding a way to cut through the defenses.

And though it was tiring, she’d held her own. Despite all her fears, she wasn’t in the way. Sora’s gaze met hers across the way with a bright grin, and she smiled back. Riku pulled close once again, brushing her with a concern-hope-better? Huffing a laugh, she let her happiness spread to both her Flightmates. Across the way, Sora broke into bright laughter, bouncing over to sweep her into a spinning hug.

Distractable as ever, Sora soon darted back to their new friends, talking eagerly as they all made their way back down to the front of the store.

Still, while she was strong enough for this fight, by the end of it all they’d be fighting opponents of Xehanort’s power across the board. The others, they’d always been protecting her, but this time… this time, she wanted to be able to protect them to.

She was out here to get stronger, and there was so much farther left to go.

#kh #kingdom hearts #fanfiction #wingfic #wrap your wings au #Yza writes a thing

0 notes

y2kuromi · 5 months

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࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 LOVE LETTERS ?! prologue: dear nagi,

synopsis: love is a foreign concept, often hard to express in words. except your feelings poured into the sweetest letters, intended for your eyes only. when the saccharine envelopes are mailed out to the five boys you’ve loved sparks fly, hearts break and chaos ensues. “heavily inspired by tatbilb”

𝖎. series: seishiro nagi x f! reader (she/they) | wc: 2.8k | contents: semi-angst (if you squint) chaos, fake dating trope. kinda? forced proximity. toxic/fake friends, cheating! heavy pining second person (you/your/yours) flashbacks & swearing in italics .

𝖎𝖎. notes: (y/n)'s last name is adara-sawako although it's not entirely important, i just imagined her as mixed because lara-jean is mixed. the oc's only exist for plot. this chapter is a bit boring but it gets good i promise!

⇆ series masterlist next chapter: parallel lines

THURSDAY ,

. . . ❀ you vividly believed love existed far beyond the body. a bittersweet entanglement of the souls. you could find love in almost everything: the rain pattering gently on concrete, sliding intimately down flower petals. the sun bathing the universe in it’s golden haze. you gawked at the sky and you saw love. in truth, you found love in things a plethora of people wouldn’t understand

you’d found love in his spiky orange hair and the fuzzy undercut he took pride in. you found love in his twinkling auburn eyes and his broad arms that felt like the safest place in the world. you fell in love with how humble he was and you fell in love with his morals. you knew him like the back for your hand

despite all these intricacies, rensuke kunigami wasn’t yours.

kunigami was minai’s boyfriend and you adored him just as much as she did. maybe even more…before he belonged solely to her, the three of you had been peas in a pod. then they started hanging out without you and slowly drifted away.

you were pleasantly surprised when kunigami asked to hangout. just the two of you. no minai. your heart hummed in your chest and heat rose to your face as you agreed. your fingers trembled and the thought of spending time with the boy you loved ran rampant in your head. it all came crashing down when he sat down nervously on your bed in the middle of fifa ‘21

“i need your advice on something” his fingers splayed absentmindedly on the faded bonobono plush on your bed, “i like someone”

for a split second you thought it was you. everything would make sense then, maybe him and minai had been working on his feelings together. maybe he liked you. then you saw the way he looked into space, the soft blush that tinged his cheeks and you knew it wasn’t for you

you mentally ran through a list of girls it could be. kunigami didn’t hang around with a lot of girls. could it be sora? the girl from his history class? minai?

“who is it ren” you asked, ignoring the blood rushing to your head, “i’m sure they like you back”

his lips parted, and you wished you knew what it felt like to kiss them. the name was near dripping off his tongue..then his phone rang. and suddenly he had to go.

that night you wrote your letter to kunigami. dear ren…

your eyes prickled with tears that hurt to shed. it would be an understatement to say you cried a lot that night. you sobbed more than you’d even done before. you missed the days when the three of you were inseparable. you missed the days when you’d been a close knit group of six.

you, sei, rin, kunigami, sora and minai

you knew no one stayed forever, but goodbyes never got easier. they left you feeling hollow and broken, holding on tightly to memories that stung. so you let them go. you let go of all the hurt and made new friends. friends that did the clinging rather than you.

kunigami was the one clinging to the past now. minai moved out of the country and he’d begged to do long distance. minai had adamantly said no. she didn’t cry, her voice didn’t even waver. once minai made up her mind she never went back.

he made it your problem entirely, dragging you to the bleachers to talk about himself daily without fail. you were a bit irritated he’d encroached on your after school routine but you were too nice to complain to his face

“i just..i didn’t think she’d really leave me” he frowned. the two of you were sitting on the bleachers sharing seaweed snacks

“people don’t tell you they’re going to leave” you said pointedly, pausing to chew the salty flakes “unless they really mean it”

“i at least thought we’d do long distance” he frowned, “i didn’t want to lose her”

“maybe she didn’t want to lose you, long distance isn’t exactly child’s play” you mused, licking flakes off your fingers

“do you think she’ll change her mind?” he asked. his warm auburn eyes were filled with so much sadness, your heart hurt

“you never know kuni” you shrugged, gathering your books from the metal seat and standing up, “need to train for the semi-finals tomorrow, see ya”

“(y/n) wait” his thick hand grabbed at your wrist. as soon as he did it your heart paused. you forgot to breathe for that fleeting second “promise me you won’t leave me too”

“what?”

“just promise me please” your resolve weakened then. he needed you. rensuke kunigami, the boy you loved a bittersweet year ago, needed you

“i promise” you said feebly, “now let me go, i want to get in some practice before the other girls show up” much to your satisfaction, the sweet ginger let you go

you ran to the gymnasium with your heart crying out profanities. no. you couldn’t like him again. you just couldn’t. that would be really unlucky

you thought there was no such thing as bad luck. things happened. people come and go, no one lives forever. this notion helped you deal with the loss of your father.

you still missed him every day. when you lose your favourite person the emptiness is near impossible to fill. you drowned yourself in student council projects, part-time jobs and volleyball to fill the void.

sometimes you wished you could go back to the simplicity of grade school. when your only problem was wondering whether you and nagi would play animal crossing: new leaf or read bonobono

but you knew that wasn't possible. nagi was a stranger to you now.

you slipped into the changing room, the air conditioning was permanently on and goosebumps rose to attention on your soft skin

you substituted your school uniform for the comfortable volleyball tee and shorts. you tucked the blazer with houndstooth lapels into your locker and stuffed the silk skirt and dress shirt under it. you slipped on your trainers and jogged out of the freezing room.

you drummed your fingers absentmindedly against the hard volley ball you picked up from the basket by the net.

hakuho's girls team had the semi finals tomorrow and you needed to be on top of your game. there was nothing harder than being the team captain and the libero. at the dying moment it all came down to you

the pressure made your limbs ache but you'd never give up. your dad had loved volleyball, he'd taken you to watch countless games as a child, swinging you on his broad shoulders so you could see above the crowds. you'd wear matching jerseys and get sticky ice-cream sundaes and steaming bowls of nikujaga at night markets to celebrate

you squeezed your eyes shut, bouncing the ball off the wall and digging it aggressively. you refused to cry despite the stinging in your wrists and the pang in your chest. pain was motivation rather than a weakness.

"christ (y/n) what'd the ball do to deserve that?" kiyomi’s voice echoed through the gymnasium. your (e/c) eyes shot open and your eyes settled on your teammates strolling towards you leisurely arms laden with duffle bags, bentos and crystal clear bottles of water

"no food in my gym" you said teasingly, stretching out of your stance and plopping down on the floor

“how long have you been in here for?”

“not too long” you said honestly, “i was stuck with relationship counselling”

“kuni?” kiyomi asked,sitting down beside you “speaking of break ups guess who broke up!”

kiyomi grinned, tucking her strawberry blonde hair neatly behind her ears. her green eyes sparkled as she basked in the attention of the team.

“nagi and sora! she dumped his sorry ass for a college guy she met over spring break. and i bet she was cheating on him too"

"no way!" you gasped, clasping a hand over your mouth. you'd never thought sora would grow to become a cheater. then again, that went to show people weren't really what they seemed

"why is everyone breaking up? is something in the air?”

“aww i feel so bad for nagi, he’s really cute”

“he didn’t deserve that, sora’s such a little bi-”

"the semi-finals against niiyama are tomorrow" you said quickly, cutting off the chorus of reactions, “as bad as we all feel for nagi, we’ll feel a billion times worse if we don’t bring our a-game tomorrow”

“you heard the captain” kiyomi sang, “two laps round the gym and then practice your serving”

your teammates obediently broke into groups, leaving you and kiyomi sitting cross legged by the wall

“is he okay?” you asked, nibbling on your bottom lip

“who?” she asked, shooting you a knowing look, “the first boy you ever loved? the ok to your lala? (y/n), i think you need a boyfriend, it’ll save you a lot of stress”

“cut it out kiyo” you groaned, burying your face in your hands, “i’m just worried, he was my best friend”

“i don’t think he’s in school today” she said, “he wasn’t in econs, and reo came in without him this morning.”

“shit” you grimaced, “she’s horrible, nagi’s a softie at heart and she probably shattered his-”

“he shattered yours” kiyo said pointedly, “i say karma bit him in the ass.”

“you’re horrible too” you said, laughing as you shook your head.

“you love me” she giggled, “can we hit the konbini before we go to your place? can’t have a sleepover without snacks”

“i’ll think about it” you mused, pushing yourself off the floor and jogging towards the court.

nagi seishiro was the first boy you’d ever loved. the only boy you’d ever kissed. and the first boy you’d written a love letter to. you were fourteen when you fell out of love with him. you were seventeen now and your heart no longer belonged the grey eyed boy. it belonged to no one.

at least that’s what you thought. before your thoughts were consumed by kunigami and nagi now.

long after training, long after the konbini run and long after kiyomi had fallen asleep. you’d crept out of your downy sheets and sifted through your closet.

satisfied when you stumbled upon the (f/c) box at the back. you trudged back to your bed — careful to not wake kiyomi up— and pulled the letters out. there were five in total. to all the boys you’d loved before. seishiro, rin, yoichi, meguru and rensuke. in chronological order. you picked up the first letter

a smile flickered across your face. you vividly remembered what it felt like to pour out your feelings for the first time and seal them in a lemon scented envelope. you’d picked out a bonobono stamp and written nagi’s address in your best cursive….

dear nagi,

it feels so so so weird to call you that. you’ve always been sei to me. i closed my eyes for a second and you became this popular soccer star i barely recognise. and you also got a girlfriend. right after kissing me at rin’s house two years ago.

did you know that when you kissed me it meant everything to me? you’ve always meant a lot to me in retrospect. but in that moment all i wanted was to hold your hand and never let go of you. but i did. i had to. because sora liked you, and you liked her. so why did you kiss me sei? it’s not like we were playing truth or dare or anything. you said i smelled like citrus and then proceeded to steal my first kiss. although i don’t think it really counts as stealing, it belonged to you anyway. it was everything i’d dreamed of and more. i felt like fireworks erupted from every fiber of my being but it was the most natural thing ever. only you made me feel that way. it was over just as suddenly as it started. you went back to playing call of duty like nothing happened. it meant nothing to you. i knew that. yet i thought about it every single second of the day for two years.

and those two years have been torture. i think i lost a few years of my life every time you kissed sora. which was a lot by the way. if i die young, you are solely to blame.

i blame you for a lot of things. it’s not entirely fair but leaving me wasn’t either. i couldn’t bring myself to hate you. i tried. believe me i did. it should’ve been really easy to. you’re the most selfish person i know. it’s honestly a mystery how we stayed friends for so long

do you even remember how we became friends in the first place? you’re never going to see this letter but i’ll remind you anyways. you’ve always been special. you’re amazing, it goes without saying. that’s what made you stand out to me. while other boys ran helter skelter in the playground you would read manga in a corner or play video games. i remember you were reading bonobono, which was my current fave because i was reading it with my dad. i told you everything under the sun about my life, my family, my interests and you just listened, not bothering to shake me off. i stuck to you like glue. we were only seven then. it’s been seven years and i guess the glue’s worn off

i miss you. as a friend more than anything. it sucks that you and sora chose to stop being friends with me, i didn’t deserve that. after all, you kissed me. i thought you were twisted for making me fall in love with you. but now i’ve realised it was inevitable. for a plethora of reasons

firstly, we were inseparable, you know that phrase i loved saying ‘two peas in a pod’ i swore they coined it just for us. we were practically joined at the hip. always there for each other, even if it was just companionable silence.

did you know it meant the world to me when you came to my dad’s funeral last year? i didn’t expect you to show. you never show up for anything. i think that’s one of your only flaws –you’re selfish. you’re unreliable and you’re confusing but then i saw you sitting way at the back, struggling to stay awake and knowing you cared about me enough to show up meant so much to me. it still means a lot to me sei

secondly, you just understood me on a fundamental level. you didn’t give a shit about anyone or anything, except yourself. it was refreshing to be around someone who was like that, sometimes. but mostly you were just likeable. you were cool, funny, smart. i could tell you whatever i wanted without feeling judged. you were so indifferent. it balanced me out. i care so much about everything. despite being polar opposites, you just got me…

and lastly, the most annoying thing about you honestly is how attractive you are and you don’t even try. your stupid messy hair is softer than fresh winter snow. i love winter. i loved you. and your lackadaisical demeanour, i loved your grey eyes, i loved that dumb :x face you always made. i loved sharing secrets and lemon tea with you. i loved sneaking off to the arcade with you. i loved picking out choki with you. i loved watching rom coms with your mom. i loved you nagi. you were the first boy i’d ever loved. i say loved because i like someone else now.

i never thought i would. but i do! i met him a week ago at summer camp. and he’s everything you’re not. he’s sweet and kind, caring and considerate, and he makes me laugh. and he loves strawberry ice cream. not tangy lemon sorbet . and he likes me. the only thing you're incapable of

so i relinquish you from my heart seishiro nagi. it's something i should have done ages ago. i wish you the worst best with sora, i could care less now. the two of you deserve each other anyways. you’re a match made in hell heaven

(y/n) adara-sawako

p.s. i'm sure you're elated to hear it didn't work out with the guy from camp. his name was isagi and he's still ten times better than you. and you and sora are a horrible couple. what is it your ninth break up this week?

you set the letter down, face flushing with embarrassment. you remembered your feelings being intense but you’d almost forgotten how strong they were. you grimaced as you stuffed all the letters under your pillow and drifted to sleep. you promised yourself you’d get rid of them first thing in the morning

but when you woke up they were gone. and so was kiyomi

#ִֶָ 𓂃˖ mimi writes?!#𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 love letters #⋆ 𝓫. llk ﹕#bllk x reader #bllk x you #nagi x y/n #nagi x reader #nagi x you #seishiro nagi x reader #nagi seishiro #kunigami rensuke #kunigami x reader #blue lock #bllk #fake dating

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pred1059 · 1 year

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Runaway Wind Chapter Nineteen

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Riku held his breath as the Heartless belched out noxious gas. Even so, he couldn’t keep from inhaling some of the poison fumes. It burned as it trickled down to his lungs, though fortunately the pain didn’t linger.

It gave him a chance to block the swinging arms hurtling towards him. His knees trembled as the tendrils crashed against his blade, yet he managed to hold his ground. Seeing his opening, he leapt up and slashed at the smaller head atop the Parasite Cage. The creature ineffectually swung at him. But with how high up he could jump, nothing reached him.

Finally the creature was knocked to the ground, and the mouth on its belly opened to reveal the dark core of the Heartless. Riku landed on the jaws, and began to stab his Dark Blade into the weak point. The heartless trembled as it grew weaker and weaker.

But then the jaws began to quiver and widen, and Riku lost his footing.

And the parasite cage bit onto its meal.

Riku cried out as the jaws began to grind into his ankle. Using his good foot to keep steady, Riku saw the still glowing core of the heartless through the teeth. He growled, “What did I say? Eat me, and you’ll get sick!” And plunged his sword into the core one final time.

The heartless shreaked at the blow, and with it, the creature finally expired for good. As it dissolved into dust, Riku chugged down a potion. Muscles relaxing as he could feel the medicine restore his foot to be good as new.

He waited again for something. Anything. One of the black cloaked men, Ansem, The King.

But still the guts of Monstro were silent, as the passage opened before him. All he could do was walk onward, back into the sterile halls of Castle Oblivion.

At least he could take comfort that Sora and Kairi were having an easier time than him. They deserved it.

Kairi ran in between the ice shots aimed at her. As Vexen fired another directly at her, she managed to bat the projectile right back at him. As he flinched from the damage, she focused her power and charged forward, breaking his guard. Again and again she rushed at him with her sonic blade, the final strike knocking him away.

Yet he was unperturbed as he picked himself up, chuckling, “Your skill with the keyblade in such a short time period is commendable.” A cold wind surrounded him before he called out, “But now I must ask you to hold still!”

Kairi tried to block as he sent out whatever it was, only to find that her entire body was encased in a block of ice. The cold was almost too much to bear even as she was empowered by the Keyblade. She didn’t want to think of what it would be like without it.

Vexen however, seemed to take his time walking over to her, “Hmm, combat response is slightly lacking. Though that may be due to a first time encounter with this particular stimuli.” Kairi couldn’t pay much attention to him. All she focused on was trying to fight back and break out of her frozen prison. Soon she felt the ice begin to creak as he kept on muttering “But certainly physically capable, eye response indicates consciousness while muscle activity shows struggle against—” CRACK!

One large chunk of the ice broke away, resulting in the remainder splintering and falling apart. “You talk way too much!” Kairi wasted no time in cutting the rambling Vexen off with a swing of her keyblade.

His eyes widened in surprise as he brought up the shield to defect the blow. But then he began to grin again, “Indeed, quite tenacious! Willing to push on despite the odds! I’d say we were right in giving you a chance to hone your power!” He swung the spiked end of his shield towards her to break away from her.

Skidding against the ground, Kairi saw spikes of ice gathering around Vexen’s feet. Then a larger one appeared in front of him, then another, much closer. Running from the ice needles chasing after her, she kept her eyes on her opponent. Once again, he gathered a cold wind around him. Though this time she was ready, rolling away out of another frozen tomb. She raised her keyblade and called out, “Light!” This time, a pearl of light shot forth to her target.

As it made contact with the off-guard Vexen, he screamed, “AAAGH! Potent! That power is very potent!” Kairi took advantage of his distraction to rush him down, unleashing a blitz of keyblade strikes. As the final attack sent him sprawling to the ground again, Vexen seemed more winded this time as he stood, “I..think that is enough for now. Even though you follow a different path from your father...there are some striking similarities in how determined you both are.” Again, that same tremor in her heart. The dull ache as that connection seemed so difficult to escape. Vexen just began to smirk as he summoned a dark portal to limp into, “I look forward to seeing if you come to the same conclusions he did regarding the heart’s true essence.”

Kairi sighed as she dismissed her keyblade. Another set of stairs, another reprieve from the fighting. But this time there was no calming her heart or her mind. How her search for answers would lead her here.

To the fact that Ansem was a lunatic…A madman.

Even when they met again, he didn’t say anything. Not even an acknowledgement of who she was to him. Ansem just decided that she was to be disposed of like garbage once her purpose was fulfilled. Along with the rest of her friends.

There was no way she could call such a monster her father.

Chugging another potion, she continued further into Castle Oblivion.

How far had he come in Castle Oblivion? How long was Riku here? For all of his bonds to become so loose that all he could remember was fighting him? Sora kept on blocking against the attacks, ”Riku, don’t you remember anything!? Please, you have to try!”

“I know I need to beat you! That’s all I need to know!” And with that, he kept on swinging. Just like Hollow Bastion, Riku had created a barrier to block off Donald and Goofy. The two could only try and batter against the wall of magic as Sora fought on.

“Why won’t you fight back!?” Riku snarled at him. “I can feel it, you’re stronger than this!”

Sora knew he was right. He could beat Riku right now with ease. Especially since the moves he used were hardly as powerful as what he had when they fought for Kairi’s Heart. Perhaps with Ansem gone, he had been weakened by that?

Riku’s sword rang out as it clashed with the keyblade as he growled out a word with each strike, “Quit! Holding! Back!”

…

If there was really no other way to get him to listen…

“Fine!” Sora shouted out as he rolled away from the attack. Immediately, he rained blow after blow on Riku’s back, rising higher as he did so. As Riku was knocked into the air with him, Sora called upon the familiar technique of Ragnarok. An array of energy balls surrounding Riku before they were let loose, seeking out their target.

Explosion after explosion of energy knocked him away. But even so, Riku picked himself off the ground, “No...Can’t lose! Have to win!” And he charged Sora again.

This time Sora tried something new, a skill he had acquired as he climbed up Castle Oblivion. Focusing on his keyblade, he summoned familiar fire. But instead of casting it out like a normal spell, he tossed out his keyblade towards the approaching Riku.

As the flaming projectile struck home, Riku was knocked out of his attack, and skidded along the ground to Sora’s feet. Kneeling down, Sora pleaded, “Now will you please listen?”

Riku groaned as he tried to stand up, “I...need...to—!”

“Win!?” Sora answered, tired of the repeated mantra, “Why do you even want to beat me so bad? Can you answer that?”

“Why do I need to beat you?” Riku glanced up at Sora as he heard the question.

Then he repeated it, “Why do I need to beat you?”

Then his eyes widened, he began to shake and clutch his head,“I...I don’t know why!?”

Sora reached out to him, “Hey...Riku, easy!”

But his hand was slapped away as Riku cried out, “Why can’t I remember?!?” Darkness began to surround Riku as his shaking became thrashing “Why?! Why!? WHYWHYWHYWHY!?!?”

And as the dark portal dispelled, Sora could only stare at the spot where his friend once sat.

“Sora!” Goofy ran up next to him, the barrier finally gone with Riku’s departure. He looked at Sora, wincing as he asked, “Are...you gonna be okay?”

Sora could hear Goofy’s tone to understand that though he had walked away unscathed, there was another wound that was left. “That man said that as we go further into this castle, we lose our bonds with others.” He began to tremble, shaking his head, “Riku seemed like he barely knew anything, Not even himself. Is...that going to be me?”

Donald shook his head,“Sora, There’s no way that’ll be you! You’ve got us!” He pointed to himself, and Goofy nodded as well.

Sora gave an uneasy smile, “Yeah...I’ve got you with me. Let’s keep going, see if we can’t catch up to Riku.” But as they headed to the stairway, Sora glanced back to the spot where his friend vanished.

And hoped that his other friends would still know him when he got back.

“When my heart shattered after fighting Vanitas I thought that was it. But in the darkness I saw a light. A boy called out to me, offered to let me use his heart to hide and put myself back together.” Ventus looked down at the ground as he finished, “And for a long time...I just did my best to put myself back to the way I used to be.”

“And Sora was that boy. That’s why you said you owed him.” Yuffie answered as Ventus’ story of the past came to a close. At his nod, she tapped her chin as she followed the logic, “And it’s why you’ve shown up now. Sora had to release his heart to rescue Kairi. Must have let your heart go free.”

Ventus’ eyes immediately widened in panic before Naminé spoke up, “He got better, Kairi was able to restore him to normal.”

Relaxing, Ventus continued, “After that, I woke up in Castle Oblivion, where I found Naminé and helped her escape. We hid out in Traverse Town before the Organization found us...and I learned I was gone for ten years.”

“And you set fire to the marketplace,” Cid grumbled.

Ventus waved his hands, “Hey, that was Axel! Not me!” Putting them down he continued, “After that, we looked to get some answers from someone...knowledgeable. And they said that Aqua and Terra were last seen here.”

Merlin stroked his beard before asking, “Would this knowledgeable person happen to be Yen Sid?” Chuckling as Ventus and Naminé looked up at him in surprise, he continued, “I may not use a keyblade myself, but I’ve worked closely enough with the sorcerer to know he has a hand in such matters. And that brings us up to...well now.”

Ventus nodded as he stood up, “Yeah. It’s why I need to keep fighting Maleficent to keep X-Blade away from her.” He scratched the back of his head, “Even though I still need to find Terra and Aqua and whatever the Organization still has planned and I’m not sure if...somewhere Vanitas managed to survive. Or if Xehanort—”

“Ventus.” Aerith’s stern voice managed to cut off Ventus’ rambling, “One thing at a time. It’s good you’re trying to be mindful of things, But trying to handle all of them at once is hardly going to help.”

Ventus deflated and crossed his arms, “It’s just...they’re all so important to take care of.”

Leon stood up and walked toward Ventus and Naminé, “Well let’s start with what we can do right now. You said you were looking for clues in this castle to find Terra and Aqua? Well, right now, we’re going to be in the best position to handle that. You’ve already given us a good head start in clearing out this place to begin excavation.” He pointed out the city, which had finally begun to drain.

Cid looked out to the ruins. “That being said, we’ve still got a few nests down in town and in the abandoned fort. He pointed over to a larger structure, now visible from the lowered water.”

Naminé nodded as she heard the plan, “So we work on fighting Maleficent and keeping things safe for you to work putting things back together?” But after a moment, she realized one other concern, “What about the princesses of heart?”

Merlin began reaching into his briefcase and pulling out some parchment. “Well, for the moment I should be able to get in touch with a few of my colleagues. Since Sora met the princesses some time ago, we should be able to locate and protect them with some greater ease.”

“So...I just stay and take care of things here?” Ventus looked over to the town below, sighing, “It’s just...I feel like I ought to be doing more...myself.”

Aerith gave a mirthless chuckle as she walked up beside him, “Trust me, I know how it feels when you’ve got so much you want to handle.” She put a hand on his shoulder, “But that doesn’t mean you need to do it alone.”

Ventus thought about everything. About his journey that had taken him so far from home. How he had tried to fix everything himself. His hand went to his pocket, where Eraqus’ badge still sat. Despite saying so much his friends were his power...he had tried to push them away. To prove that he could do things on his own.

He looked around at the group around the campfire. Everyone from Hollow Bastion who had fought alongside him to reclaim their home. Who were willing to listen and help him through this challenge.

And he looked to Naminé, smiling at him. After all she had endured at the Organization’s hands, she was willing to help him. Still believed in him despite his mistakes. Just he was helping her realize that there was so much more to her than the Organization had told her.

That’s when he finally understood.

They were much stronger together, than alone.

Ventus smiled for the first time after he had begun his story, “Alright, where do we start?”

Yuffie hopped off her seat with a grin, “Well, while you were dozing off, Leon pointed out the closest den of heartless down in town.” She pulled out her kunai with a twirl, “How about there?”

Naminé nodded as she re-attached the sword to her belt and summoned her cards, “That sounds good. Ven?”

He paused, then reached into his pocket. When he woke up after his heart shattered, all his keychains vanished. He knew from his training that keepers of the keyblade often gained new ones over time. As they grew from the worlds they visited, or how their hearts had changed.

And he felt a familiar one.

Though the pain from confronting his Lost Memories lingered, he felt more ready to face the future again

And so he changed his weapon from the bronzed metal blade, to a silver one-winged keyblade with a broken heart.

“Let’s go.”

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