#he wanted to hurt Naminé if she did something to sora

[aitsuheart]

Ermm... i get whiplash everytime I see Riku a gay man with a girl romantically

[mythicalartistx]

Updating KH ship lists

Again I don't care if those disagree or like another better as long as no one calling each other delusional

Anyways here are my 11 KH ships + a few honorable mentions

#1 Soriku

This is probably my favorite ever, there's so much to say I don't even know where to start. I shipped them as friends but who also should date. Besides they're just really cute and silly to me.

The dark realm scene in kh2 is so good, they have an understanding of the other and are happy to be there together with the other person.

They both just love each other and do everything for the other (Riku's sacrifices for Sora in days kh2 kh3 and trying to save him in ddd) Sora is always trying to find him because he wants to be with him; and he just misses him. Riku's jealousy and feelings showed his insecurities to bring the island to darkness when he feared Sora's and Kairi's relationship and leaving him/ Sora befriending others with the belief he was being left behind.

The novel also has some added cute scenes where Sora is just bashful around Riku or just happy to be with him. They hug and hold hands more. Also there's a scene in the kh2 manga where Riku gives Shang a papou fruit to give to Sora. And Sora instantly know who gave it to him because "only Riku would do something like that".

The papou scene in kh1 manga Riku gets so close to his face and then Sora is blushing later, thinking about it. In DDD, it's about Riku's feelings for Sora and the darkness right? Some of those things are seemingly parallels.

Finally in kh3 Riku scarifies life for him because he doesn't want him to be sad and with the parallel to Hercules sacrificing someone because all he knew was that he loved someone and didn't think. Sora is just always thinking about Riku and wants to be with him especially with the failing to be a keyblade master.

Also there are no orders to these

#2 RepliNami

Honestly this is the only Riku that I like with her at all and also people end up confusing which Riku did what— they're different people, Sora said so himself. Repliku still has his feelings for Sora but now he decides to keep a promise for Naminé even if it didn't happen because he wants to do something himself.

Not something with memories that belong to Riku. And Naminé also does care for him. There's mainly KH CoM and Kh3 to go by. In COM he fights for Naminé against Sora thinking it was him (though all these things end up fake) but still he choses to embrace these memories for the sake of Naminé.

In kh3 he admits that everyone moved on except for him who was in darkness. When Riku notices his presences they work together and Repliku admits that he has one more thing to do and wants to save Naminé.

Then in his death he finally leaves the world and gives up the chance to have a body all for the sake of her having one so he asks the original Riku to dl him one last favor and making sure she's okay.

#3 Rizoriku / Yozoriku

Rizoriku because lack of RIZZ and it sounds so silly

I recently got into this and yeah I'm probably like one of the few people who are even into this.

They haven't EVEN INTERACTED. Riku felt Yozora in his dream/ secret ending but they never really seen each other. Yozora probably had in the secret ending/ dream. He was looking at him at that matters.

But imagine the possibilities, they are both tied together by Sora. Riku is searching for him and Yozora potentially hurt him, he hates that. They cannot stand the other. They fight the other so much. They're both looking for "Sora" to save. They look similar and Yozora has been stealing other's forms (It's toxic but eventually turn cute.)

Now they have to work together to find Sora / Nameless Star and then they start being cute and caring. I thought there might be at least more of this but no it's so rare I only seen like 4 fanart pictures of this and it's all from the same person

I got so happy when I saw some

#4 AkuSai / LeaIsa

It's so toxic. They've broken up too many times to count. They're divorced. And there's a whole ton of tension. It also have parallels to soriku.

Lea and Isa worked together to save X but she was gone and decided to become apprentices to save her. Then Saïx had to work his way to the top to find out what happened while Axel went off making friends and spent less time with Saïx which caused jealousy.

Their arguments and tension is so thick in 358/2 days, and in kh3 during that clocktower scene. You can tell there is something there. Also during DDD when he faced Saïx when saving Sora.

Then they finally have an understanding and Saïx apologies and admits he was jealous. Lea holds him in his arms, then after Saïx gets recompleted I think they finally will calm down and get back together, let's see how long it lasts.

#5 Kailette

I'm not super into this one because lack of content but I feel like this has potential to be super interesting and fun. Olette being one of the first real people she meets outside of the world and besides from Sora and Riku who kept unintentionally leaving her behind.

They befriend each other and Olette likes listening to the stories Kairi tells her.

I think they're really cute and have potential to go places or even Kairi becoming part of the sea salt + twilight town gangs. I see more fun fan content for this that makes me love it and hopefully we'll see more in the future.

#6 Zemyx

They're so silly together. I honestly love this. I ended up loving this because of fan content. It was just so great to me.

Like Demyx is kinda silly and dumb and Zexion is smart and intelligent they can't help be attracted to the other.

That one manga panel of them played twister though.

Also when they finally meet in kh3 and he realizes is that you? Also props to the manga version of the scene where he calls security on his bf until he realizes he's on their side.

#7 Xehaqus

They're actually so cute. I'm not joking. The fanart is so good and honestly dark road just shows their relationship and how it fell apart.

Eraqus is so silly and just enjoys his time with Xehanort but also believes to do what is right for fear of everyone losing to the darkness (which is why he did what he did in BBS).

I love that they often worked together and whispered just between themselves that the others would often say what are you whispering about?

They're post kh2 Soriku in dark road and then it turns into kh1 Soriku. Eraqus was blinded by love and didn't want to separate from him which is why he kept him around during BBS after he disappeared.

They're chess buddies and there's a deep relationship there and finally at the end of 3 they can be together at last

#8 NamiXi / Namishi

I don't think about this pairing as often but I also like it. Like I see the vision and I'm definitely for it. Naminé is definitely a lesbian + whatever thing she has going on with Repliku. Again I'm a multishipper so 🤷

Naminé helped Xion see who she is and actually honest with her. They're definitely friends too, but then will date. What they have at the end of kh3 is really cute to me where they collect seashells together

Also with them both being aspects of someone else can relate to seeing memories that aren't theirs/ wishing to be another person.

(no picture of them interacting 😢💔)

#9 RepliVani / VaniPliku /NamiVanpliku

I originally liked them as the duo first being friends who are just silly and fight. But now I'm really into them as also a couple. Naminé is definitely there breaking the tension.

I wish they did interact since they're similar both being created from someone else. Vanitas being part of Ventus and Repliku being part of Riku.

As a fan of lost trio I also think the concept of them fighting over Naminé could also be interesting like who better friend/ Vanitas thinks he is going to be left out and pretends he doesn't care. But their interactions I need

#10 MarLar

I don't think about them that much but again I really like them. This is probably my only one that's part of Union x in a way.

Marluxia is the only one Larxene really tolerates and they both have plans to be overthrow the organization together.

They are closer than any of the others and keep finding their ways to each other.

In Union x they were also close and befriended each other and ever since then they stuck together even if they had memories or not.

#11 Roxner

This could also be with the HC of transfem Marluxia

I'm still new to this ship but I recently thought you know I actually like this. Roxas and Hayner's relationship is honestly likable friends that could honestly be something more. Especially in kh2 beginning with how they interact with the other.

I also want to point out kh3 desire for him To want to find Roxas too.

Also in days when Roxas spends the day hanging out with him and the rest of them.

Fandom makes this honestly nice and cute couple through fanart and comics.

Conclusion

Anyway that's the ones I like in no specific order except Soriku is number 1.

Those that aren't here means I am either indifferent/ neutral towards to ship, dislike it, or I think it's weird as in an adult that's 26 being with 14 yo would be.

And most I don't even dislike if seen my other posts about this subject 99% I'm neutral towards except og Riku and any female ship.

However honorable mentions towards Brain and Marluxia I think they have potential to be interesting but not a lot about them, this goes for Brain and Ephemer too.

Cinderella and Aqua, it's honestly the only Disney + original character pairing most people agree one is good.

I like seeing the art about it but that's about it.

Larxene and Aqua as well as Terra and Marluxia as honorable mentions, I've seen some fanart that makes me think otherwise.

[edenfelled]

While I'm going through the Kingdom Hearts series again (and crying at reCOM because fuck I hate the card system), I am diametrically opposed to the way the game(s) frame Kairi as a McGuffin at best and a hopeless damsel at worst. You mean to tell me that a tomboy growing up on an island where her friends play-fought with balls, jump-rope and wooden swords, who was fully ready to sail the seas with her best friends, doesn't know how to fight? A girl that, if given the opportunity, would have absolutely made Yuffie/Leon (or both!) teach her applicable battle skills to defend against the heartless? I can completely understand from a gameplay perspective why she wasn't included—even if I don't agree with it given the companions you get in each world—and from a story perspective why Sora asked her to stay behind given the weeks/months he had to fight and improve while she slumbered... but to frame her as 'getting in the way' does a disservice to the both of them when I fully believe Kairi can and would kick both his and Riku's butt if push came to shove, she just didn't need to prove it to them in that way, and she has too much self-determination to just stay behind in Traverse Town while Leon and the others left.

As far as my canon for her goes, I Kairi went back to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden when Aerith, Yuffie and Leon did because it's still a home to her (even if it's not her true home anymore) to continue to assist the princesses in any way she knows how, clear out heartless and train to try and become as strong as the others. Like, I can even see the dialog the game would have her say; something like, 'Of course I came with them! Silly billy, did you even read the note Aerith wrote for you?' / 'Leon and the others are helping me train while we keep the library safe. Soon I'll be kicking your butt again—just you wait!' / 'It's strange to be back here. In my heart, our Island is home. But I still want to protect it. I really hope you find Riku soon.'

Obviously this is cut short with the conclusion of KH1 and Kairi goes home, but she would have trained up until the events of Castle Oblivion/her friends sinking back into day-to-day activities, school, etc. Once she does remember, she goes right back into it.

I don't mind the idea that she's not as well versed as the others because of her slumber/memory loss/etc, but I just... do not like the game's insistence she's hopeless and I want to rectify it in my canon. Does Kairi occasionally get tripped up in a real battle verses training? Of course, that's being human, and I do think that is taken advantage of. Is she so hopeless that Sora and co. turn around and she's passed out? No. I think she'd go down fighting (ha) in any scenario she's put against, and I feel like their enemies weaponize that in her and the boys innate need to protect her.

In the words of my partner and I, "Girls like Kairi are the first in, last out, clever as a whip, elbow them where it hurts." She's absolutely bit someone. To be honest, I reckon that part of her possessed Naminé  and she bit Ansem!Riku (to his mortification). Literally a case of "If I wasn't sure which Somebody you belonged to, I sure do now! Thanks Kairi!"

[pred1059]

Runaway Wind Chapter Twenty Four

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Cid let out a sigh as he saw his ship touch down outside and began to put away his tools. Knowing how fast Yuffie could run, he didn’t want to be holding anything sharp when she came barging in. Still, this was mostly touch up work for the main castle hall, turning it from evil lair to semi-respectable base and disabling some of Maleficent’s locks. Sure enough, a few seconds later a loud bang was heard as the front doors were kicked open.  “So my ship is still in one piece.”

Yuffie gave a thumbs up. “Yep. And we did good. Mirror’s in pieces and Maleficent’s on the run!” Her cheer faltered slightly as she looked back to the entrance. “Though…”

“Naminé’s been having some trouble lately,” Ventus answered with Naminé leaning against him as they walked in. He looked over to her as she winced. “Her head’s been hurting, bad.”

“I...I don’t know...I’m seeing things I don’t know…” Slowly, Naminé sat down in one of the rebuilt benches, eyes screwed shut.

Cid paused. Seeing things. If her story was right, there was something else Naminé could see…

And change.

He asked tersely, “Is it like seeing Sora’s memories?”

Because despite the girl being as kind as she was, that power scared him more than anything.

Slowly, Naminé nodded. “It’s...the closest thing I can think of. But it’s all a jumble.”

Cid crossed his arms. “Maybe part of you is playing catchup with what Sora’s been doing recently?” If that was all it was, then there wasn’t much to worry about. But if it was something else?

She sighed and shook her head. “Nothing I’m seeing leads to him. It’s so hard to put it together even though it seems familiar.”

Yuffie scratched the back of her head in puzzlement. “Didn’t you have this problem before? After we finished in the Enchanted Dominion?” Naminé gave her a nod and at that Yuffie relaxed. “Then it’s probably just him and you just needed time to sort it out.”

Naminé seemed unconsoled by the advice. “But I can hardly recognize anyone there.”

Ventus sat next to her on the bench and looked to her in concern. “Could you draw them?”

Naminé considered for a moment, but then sighed. “If my head wasn’t hurting.”

“Early rest after dinner then. That way you’ll be ready in the morning.” Cid put the lock on his tools and led the trio down the hall. Fixing the castle was a big concern alright. But the kid’s memory powers going haywire would be a whole lot worse. Might be worth talking to Merlin about it so the old windbag could have something to do.

But for now, he was in the mood for food. 

Erxart couldn’t quite shake the unease that had come over him after meeting with Xemnas. Granted, only Larxene had to stay and explain why she ran off with Naminé and ignored Xemnas’ orders. But ever since then, Roxas had become quiet. Still, as they arrived in Twilight Town for some downtime, Axel attempted to lift his spirits with a smile. “So, ice cream?” The man rubbed his hands together in anticipation, though some part of it seemed strained.

“No.” And at Roxas’ refusal, Axel deflated with a sigh.

Erxart looked to him and Roxas with concern. “What happened?”

Axel floundered hands fidgeting as he tried to find the right words, “It’s…Well...”

“Ventus, Naminé, and Yuffie told me things about what the organization did,” Roxas snapped, his hands balled into fists at his side as he continued, “Naminé was tortured. And they were going to try and brainwash someone.”

Erxart’s eyes narrowed. Larxene didn’t deny the accusations of torture during the mission, in fact she almost seemed to take pride in her work. But brainwashing? “What purpose would brainwashing someone serve?”

“Well…I...” Axel stammered for a moment, before he went silent and turned away.

Roxas stepped forward, pleading, “Axel, please, I just want to know the truth.”

Axel turned back, his brow furrowed. “It’s a bit hard for me to talk since I was just assigned to guard detail while Larxene and Marluxia were the brains behind it.” Roxas tersely nodded as he continued, “Basically, after finding Naminé and learning about her powers, they wanted to have them change a particular someone’s memories so that they’d work for us a bit more easily.”

“And Xemnas signed off on this plan?” Erxart asked tensely. He already had his suspicions, but if the superior was willing to let this plan continue? That would give grounding to his fears. “Who would they want so badly?”

Axel looked around for a moment before answering, “A kid with a keyblade. As far as we knew back then, the only one out there. But here’s the thing.”  He held up a finger as he explained, “All they told Xemnas is that they’d convince him to join us. They didn’t mention a thing about changing his memories, or what they would do to Naminé to make her co-operate.”

Roxas was incredulous. “And they weren’t suspicious of them? At all?”

“Of course they were, which is why they sent me.” Axel flashed a grin as he explained, “I was going to keep an eye on them and make sure they weren’t doing anything to compromise the Organization.”

Erxart raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why not tell us?”

“You’ve got to be careful with this sort of espionage. Give away too much, and they’d do something drastic.” Axel walked forward and put a hand on both of their shoulders. “I couldn’t say much to you guys cause I wasn’t sure where you both stand. But seeing as you both understand how badly this goes against the Organization, I think it’s time I start filling you in.”

Roxas relaxed. “That’s why you couldn’t say anything. You weren’t sure if Larxene was watching.”

“So what do you need us to do?” Erxart asked, “Did you want us to watch her, or do recon at Castle Oblivion?”

Axel let them go and stepped back. “Right now, just pretend like everything is normal. We don’t want her or Marluxia to realize we’re onto them. I’ll let you know when I need your help.” 

“And we’ll bring her to justice.” Erxart gave a nod. After Larxene’s words on Naminé’s treatment, he had some misgivings. Fortunately, it seemed there were enough good people in the Organization looking to do the right thing.

In time he might be able to talk about what Ventus had brought up. How he had called him a name Erxart only heard in his dreams.

But for now...

“So? In a better mood for ice cream?”

Roxas gave a small smile. “Yeah. I think so.”

For now the boy needed a bit of time to rest.

Yuffie leaned on Leon’s shoulder, munching away at her dinner. “Any luck finding what might have gone on with Ansem?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

She rolled her eyes and groaned. “Oh come on! There’s gotta be something! Even just a team photo!"

Aerith shook her head and looked at the charred remnants of old books they had in a pile. “That’s just it. The entire lower archive was burned. Even the researcher rosters were destroyed.” She stirred her food with a sigh and looked to Merlin, “Any luck finding what might have happened to Xehanort?”

He shut the tome in his hand and set it to his side as he took another sip of tea. “Just myths and legends. The most I could find is that he once fought alongside an Eraqus.”

Leon scoffed, “And from Ven’s story, we all know how that ended.”

Cid turned to Merlin, “Well, while we’re on the topic of history, about Naminé…”

Yuffie had a good idea of what was next. A whole lot of magical theory that she didn’t care too much about. She was a bit more interested in how Naminé herself was doing. Yuffie got up and moved over to where Ven sat with her. But even though he still looked at Naminé’s condition with concern, there was something else. Yuffie could see it in how he sometimes stared into the distance.

“You’re worried about them.” He looked up at Yuffie’s statement, confusion still clear on his face. “Erxart and Roxas?”

He looked beside him sadly. “And Naminé.” At her name, the girl gave a small smile before trying to resume slowly eating her food.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Yuffie sat beside the two. “From what I could tell, you seemed pretty convinced he was your friend.”

“They practically look the same except the cloak.” Ven sighed and set down his fork. “I...I promised I’d save him. That if Terra fell to darkness that I’d bring him back.” He shook his head slowly. “Now I’m not sure there’s anything left. It’s like he’s completely gone.”

Naminé looked up from her food. “Maybe his mind has forgotten, but the heart never forgets.” She placed a hand on his own. “I know you’ll find a way to bring him back.”

At Naminé’s words, Ven was able to perk up a bit. Honestly, Yuffie just wanted to leave the conversation with that and him happy. Unfortunately, there was the other member of the Organization they had met and made an impression on. “And then there’s Roxas.” 

And of course, Ven deflated at having his doppleganger brought up. “He seems like a nice enough guy, just mixed up in something bad.” And after a moment, he scrunched his eyes closed. “I really don't want him to end up like Vanitas.”

The dark keyblade wielder Xehanort had molded into a weapon was definitely something Yuffie hoped she would never have to see. That kind of power in the wrong hands, as well as the Unversed Ven talked about just sounded like a recipe for disaster. 

Though it seemed like there was one advantage Roxas had that Vanitas didn’t. As Naminé pointed out, “He has friends he wants to help. I don’t think they’ll turn out quite the same.”

Though there was a bit of a fly in that ointment. “Shame he wants to stick with the shady Organization to be with them though,” Yuffie grumbled.

Ventus held his head in his hands. “I just..I don’t know what I have to do.”

Yuffie couldn’t tell if Naminé was frowning from pain, or from seeing her friend so lost. But even so, she managed to talk, “You won’t be doing it alone. We’re here for you”

“At the very least you probably shouldn’t be doing it after what we went through today. And while Naminé needs to recover.” Yuffie clapped him on the back gently. “Take it one day at a time, okay?”

Ventus took a breath to steady himself before letting go of his head. “Yeah, you’re right. I think we need some rest. Just some time to straighten things out before we go and take care of that Heartless in the Castle of Dreams. And after that...”

“What happens happens.” Naminé finished. And Yuffie could get behind the sentiment.

In any case, she was sure they’d all sleep soundly tonight.

There it was again. 

A chilling cold that smothered him.

Darkness all around. A mangled landscape.

Ventus had hoped after a week free from those nightmares that it was just a dream. But this was too familiar. Too real. 

“Where...?”  He looked around, hoping that somewhere in this dark world he could find Aqua. It might be the only way he could find her. Yet he couldn’t find anyone or anything. 

“Ven?”

He looked up to the voice. It was the light. That same light which had been with him since that first nightmare. Which guided and protected him. As it reached the ground, he stepped forward with a raised hand and a simple question. 

“Who are you?”

“Well, well well.” 

At Vanitas’ voice, Ventus summoned his keyblade and looked around frantically. Desperate to find the source. “I was wondering if your heart might become darkened enough to bring you back here again.”

Ventus tried to hold onto the light next to him, and sure enough he felt a hand in his own. But even though it glowed a little bit brighter, it did little to stop a mass of Unversed from appearing from the shadows around him. Bruisers began to advance on him and the light, and Ventus held up his key to protect himself. “This...this is a nightmare! You’re…!” 

“Dead? Ventus, Ventus, Ventus. You already know the truth.” Ventus looked up to where he could finally see the masked boy perched on a twisted crag of rock. “I was always there with you in Sora. Not as well off as you, but enough to survive.” As he scowled the last word, the bruisers swung their fists. Ventus pinned down as he tried to hold off their barrage. “And when your heart left that prison, the keyblade caused some of your will to be scraped off. A husk that could move with a will of its own.”

And Ventus knew exactly what he was talking about. “A Nobody.”

Vanitas chuckled, “Whatever you want to call it, an empty body was right there, so why let it go to waste?” He snapped his fingers, and the bruisers raised their arms. Ventus just had enough time to roll away with the light. He raised his keyblade in an attempt to fire a spell. 

“Ven!”

He looked up at the voice. A familiar voice. And that’s when he saw the unversed knocked back. 

By a figment.

And as he realized who his light was, her image snapped into focus.

“Naminé!?”

Looking down on them, Vanitas began to laugh. “Is this weak little girl your new light, Ventus? How long till I crush her too!?” He leapt forward towards the two of them, keyblade ready to strike them down.

[sunhalf]

xion is so — deeply traumatized, and while i often focus in on her reprogramming or her battle with axel or the other actual events that justify that, i do that because xion focuses in on those events, too.  because she feels justified, or at least understands why, feeling furious and raw and hurt when she thinks about xemnas’s hands in her chest, rearranging her, remaking her, heedless to her screams.  she feels like it’s okay, or at least it makes sense, that she might flinch away from touch after the sensation of drowning insider sora’s heart, forgetting where he ended ands he began.  but those events aren’t the reason why sometimes, oftentimes, she wants to scream and break anything.  those events aren’t the reason why she doesn’t trust the world and has trouble trusting strangers and why her fingers still shake and why she’s desperate to be good and strong and sacrificial because on some level she still feels like living is a privilege she has to earn.

the events aren’t it.  they’re bad.  they’re sick.  they give her nightmares.  but it was the every day hurts that made the events stick.  it was the tiny little incidents — puppet.  it.  it was the sensation of being seen as a thing.  it was the constant sensation of being in danger.  her whole life, every day, she was in danger.  if she broke, or failed, they would kill her.  her whole life she felt like she had to earn the right to exist, and that the requirements she had to reach were just barely out of reach, just barely beyond where she could touch.  she constantly felt like her existence was something she was seconds from losing, a misstep she couldn’t make.  there was never, not a single moment, in her life where she felt secure.  where she felt like she wasn’t seconds from xemnas or saïx or someone killing her.  killing it.

they made her feel like she didn’t deserve to exist.  like she was only still alive because she’d tricked them into thinking she was useful.  like if she didn’t constantly push herself farther and break herself more they would realize the trick and she would die.  she is fifteen years old.  she is less than two years old.

and that’s — awful.  that’s sick.  but she can’t say that every day, even in the happiest moments, the weight hovering over her shoulders was unbearable.  was crushing her into a fine powder.  she can say xemnas broke me.  she can say saïx called me it.  she can say i drowned inside sora.  those are events.  but she can’t say that every single day convinced her more and more that she couldn’t keep the charade up, that she would die, that they would kill her, that they would make it quick and short and call her it while they did it, that they would think of it like tossing aside a broken blade.  and not care.  and not care.

xion’s emotions are ugly and furious and angry and defensive and sometimes she hates everyone, roxas and lea and naminé and aqua and sora and kairi, sometimes she hates all of them.  her whole life her heart learned that it was in danger, that the world was the enemy, that she had to earn being alive.  she wants to believe she’s safe now, but it’s hard to undo.  maybe impossible.  and she feels guilt for wanting to break things for being so angry for being unfair, but it’s not her fault.  it’s not.

[alieinthemorning]

Fragmented Memories: The Encounter [Kairi & Riku]

Content: Angst, Angst With A Happy Ending, Suicidal Thoughts, Post Re: Mind. Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don't forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work's concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots.  Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Header: @/unchainedstar on Twitter

Kairi was tired. Fighting the Xehanort from her childhood was a strenuous challenge that she truly wasn't excepting. And although he wasn’t as powerful as he was during the Keyblade War, he was still a tough opponent.

Exiting through the light, she stumbled back into the land of sea and sky.  She'd been in this place for so long… or maybe not long enough. She still hadn’t found a clue about Sora. Actually, she hadn’t seen a glimpse of Sora— or Riku for that matter, since she started these trails. Was it because the memories she shared with them didn’t need to be fixed? Then what about Naminé? Why did she sometimes appear in this safe place? Could it be their connection or something more? 

Slowly, her eyes left her own reflection and up to…

Riku.

Riku was here.

What was he doing here?

She shook her head. The only real person here was her. He had to be a figment of her memories. She pushed past him, feeling his eyes on her form.

“So you’re just going to ignore me?” There’s no malice, just exhaustion.

She squared her shoulders then faced him. “Riku… you’re real…”

“Yeah… what is this place?”

They talk— ten feet from each other, neither attempting to move closer. Her shoulders shag with every new sentence. Just him standing there reminded her about everything that happened.  “It’s all my fault.”

“You’re right, it is.” It came out so quick that Kairi thought she had imagined it, but the glare that Riku sent her was so cold she involuntarily shivered.

“Excuse me?” She asked, shock lacing her tone. She knew she was the problem and he had every right to be mad at her. She just couldn’t believe he actually verbalized.

Her brows furrowed, watching as his eye color flickered from palm leaf green to a bright shade of orchid. “I said you’re right. You are the reason why Sora’s gone.” Venom lacing every word.

“And I feel horrible—“

“And all you’ve done is sleep and deal with your own problems instead of looking for a way to find him.”

“Riku, I—“

“Shut up!” He snarled, eyes flickering once more. Lingering on the foreign color longer than before. “This never would have happened if you never showed up on the island.” He paused, then all but snarled. She could have sworn she saw fangs. “I wish you drowned in the ocean.” 

The silence was deafening.

He wished she would have drowned?

...

Maybe she should have. If she was never found, none of this would have happened and Sora would still be here. Not her.

She doesn’t deserve it.

“You’re right.” She summoned her Keyblade, taking the new stance she’d adopted on this journey. “So put an end to me.”

Riku stayed silent, violet stare piercing through her heart.

“If you really think I should’ve drowned, then fight me!” She lunged for him. Metal meeting metal as he summoned his own blade to block her strike. “Fight me!”

She knew she wouldn’t win. He was a master and she was... nothing. He wasn’t really trying though either. Her vision blurred from the tears, and she let go of her Keyblade, it disappeared in a flurry of flower petals. She dropped to her knees as she held herself tightly.

“Just kill me!”

Silence.

“I don’t want to live anymore! Not knowing that I did all of this! I can’t! It hurts too much!” She clawed at her chest, wishing to separate her heart from her body herself.

A few more tense seconds passed before her hands were roughly yanked away and were replaced by the warmth of Riku’s chest as he embraced her tightly.

She could feel him. His heart. She could feel the sadness he felt when Sora faded. Then the determination to find him. When he looked over her sleeping form the first time, she could feel another pang of sadness. A flash of Sora sleeping in a pod. Then slowly as the year went by sadness became anger, anger became jealousy and that all became disgust. Disgust that he felt toward himself, for harboring such negative emotions. Which is what she felt now, rolling off of him in waves.

This wasn’t the Riku she knew.

And he knew it, too.

Slowly, she lifted her hand to grasp the back of his jacket, clinging tightly. As if he would suddenly disappear into light flurries.

Then, she let it all out.

And so did he.

Eyes dry of tears, checks itchy from irritation and throats raw from strain, the two simply stay in the other’s embrace.

Until finally she spoke.

“He didn’t deserve any of this.”

Riku held her tighter. “We didn’t deserve this.”

She chose not to respond and instead turned her face into his neck. Taking in the solace of finally being back in her best friend’s arms.

No longer did they have to push forward alone. They would find him together.

But before that...

“I still have one more memory to remember. Will you be there when I wake up?”

“I promise.”

Which is exactly where she found him when she woke from her year-long slumber. In front of her with his hand outstretched, waiting for her to delicately place her own atop of his.

“I will not make promises anymore, those things are for pleasing somebody.”

Every time I take a look at this I want to try to work on it again.

Looks at TwistedχHearts

Maybe so...

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

[themadauthorshatter]

... I think you guys are going to like this.

358/2 Days REWRITE Part 2

Riku is around, but he's all over the place, and he has a mission: Find and capture either Roxas or Xion, unless he CAN manage both, so DiZ can use them to help Sora recover. He's on a time limit, though, because Sora's heart is damaged and the longer Roxas and Xion are around, the less likely Sora is to waking up or even sleeping; I mean, he'll BE sleeping, but it'll be much quieter and it will be absolutely pointless to try waking him up.

For the first few days or months, he keeps his distance, trying to decide who he's picking, sadly.

Pros of bringing Roxas to DiZ: He has the closest connection to Sora, being his nobody, he's got the keyblade, Riku can probably take him one v. one, if there are any problems, he just needs to get a reaction out of 'Sora.'

CONS of bringing to Roxas to DiZ: Have fun trying to run from the remaining Organization members, he'll have to avoid Non-form or he'll get beaten all to Hell, he runs the risk of hurting his friend for reals, Roxas is rarely alone, Roxas is one hell of a runner and fighter, he'll just feel bad.

Pros of bringing Xion to DiZ: She has more 'keyblade' potential, maybe her voice will help wake up Sora(?), she looks and sounds like Kairi, Naminé gets a new friend(as long as DiZ doesn't decide to throw her away).

CONS of bringing Xion to DiZ: She looks and sounds like Kairi, she's crazy skilled, she hits hard, she's laughable when she's mad, but it's gut wrenching to see her cry or be hurt, she looks and sounds like Kairi, Naminé is probably getting Thanosed when DiZ is done with her because he's a dick right now, so giving Xion to her as a friend will mean nothing, the connection to Kairi, he'll feel bad.

As you can tell, Riku is great at making decisions(sarcasm)

While he's too caught up to do anything, let's check on the sea salt trio, who are getting closer as friends, i.e. seeing Hayner, Pence, and Olette do stupid stuff a KH equivalent of TikTok, which the trio repeats on their own without a phone recording them, eating ice cream, talking, and exploring the Disney worlds for fun, both old ones and new ones that will appear in future games.

In this time, Xion becomes a mix of Kairi and Naminé, outspoken, but careful with who she runs her mouth to, smart, but still open to learn, protective and still needs something if a protector, etc. She is also a wickedly fast learner.

We also get organization shenanigans like Demyx being lazy on missions, Roxas getting annoyed at Xigbar for calling him tiger, dealing with  Saïx, trying not to annoy Xaldin, even getting head pats from Xemnas, and, for fluff, Roxas and Xion finding Axel asleep on the floor of the clock tower and the two scaring him away for shits and giggles. 

Yes, a lot of time passes, about 9-11 months, give or take.

Roxas and Xion also become closer as well with Axel being something like their chaperone, only he reports to Xemnas and Saïx.

Speaking of Saïx, he meets up with Axel one day and expresses disdain with the fact Axel would rather be friends with an unstable Roxas and a literal puppet that doesn't even exist.

Axel, on edge already with Xemnas on his back, tells Saïx to put a cork in it. Saïx only pushes back, asking if Roxas even KNOWS what Xion is, even what HE is. To both their credit, the two are wonderful at playing make believe and Axel, being the child he is, is a great at being their playmate.

Axel shoves Saïx back, snapping for him to shut his mouth before he says something he'll regret. Saïx, losing his composure, shoves back, asking if he should because Axel can't handle the truth; he never has been good at it, so it's not surprising.

Ring a bell, someone, please, because Axel throws a punch into Saïx's cheekbone. Saïx returns with a left hook directly to the side of the neck and knees Axel, who grabs his leg under his knee and rolls, making them both fall and throw more punches on the ground, bruising and bloodying each other in full view of the remaining organization members. Maybe we get a gag of Xigbar and Luxord placing bets on who will win, Demyx worrying because they should probably be stopped, Xaldin scoffing at the immature display, and then Roxas and Xion walking in and instantly getting worried because Axel is not winning this fight, as evidenced by Saïx slamming his head into the floor.

When the two stand up to keep fighting, Roxas and Xion race between them, the boy in front of Saïx and a very nervous Xion in front of Axel, who tells her and Roxas to stay out of this or they'll get hurt.

Roxas obviously refuses, but Xion leads Axel away from Saïx, who asks if Axel really needs children to protect him.

No, he needs to protect these two idiots, especially Roxas, who hasn't moved and his eyes have gone Non-form-y, like he's about to transform.

Saïx returns with berserker eyes and smashes Roxas into the wall by his neck, daring him to try it.

It draws a gasp from EVRYONE, even Xaldin, but Saïx scoffs that they shouldn't try pretending to be worried, what with how unstable and how much of a nuisance Roxas is, not too mention weak, which he says while watching Roxas try to break free. He kicks at Saïx, and misses, but Saïx smirks and summons his claymore, wanting to see how tough Roxas really is.

There's a reason Xion pulled Axel away and is so nervous, because said reason puts a hand on Saïx's shoulder and asks him if he enjoys this façade of a life and would rather not disappear.

Yep. Xemnas is here, and everyone backs down, including the the bet making Xigbar and Luxord, who so they can have deniability.

Saïx snaps out of berserk mode in the blink of an eye and begrudgingly lets go of Roxas, i.e. lets him drop down.

Axel and Xion start toward him, but freeze when Xemnas eyes them, like scary eyes.

He has an announcement: There's an imposter and he could be anywhere. He's in a coat just like everyone else's, but his hood's usually up. When he's not wearing it, he's a silver haired teen. Oh, yeah, and his name is Riku.

Axel, Roxas, and Xion all gasp, Axel because Riku was in Castle Oblivion and probably knows where Sora is and Roxas and Xion because it brings back memories from Sora.

Xemnas sees the reaction, but only focuses on Roxas, asking softly if he's okay and if he was hurt.

He's fine and he wasn't and he shakes his head to chase away Non-form.

Xemnas still helps him up and orders everyone to keep their eyes open and report ANYTHING on this imposter because the sooner they catch and... well, just catch him, the better, that part being Xemnas not wanting to upset Roxas, make him go into Non-form, and have everyone need to knock him out to calm him down.

Xemnas takes Roxas away to be checked on, in case he was really hurt and doesn't know it, and Roxas asks what will happen to Saïx and Axel for fighting. He didn't see a lot of it, so he’s not even sure who started it.

They’ll be 'interviewed' and reprimanded accordingly, but they won't die, so relax.

What about the imposter? Who's Riku? And who's Sora??

Xemnas stops checking on Roxas and puts a hand on his head, which he doesn't need to worry about because the organization can deal with it. All he needs to do is keep doing missions and giving his 100%. Roxas sighs that he IS, hell he's giving 150% because Non-form's acting up, but he's kept it calm, even with the hallucinations of Sora, Ven, and now Non-form.

Xemnas finishes checking for any wounds and commends Roxas, saying that is why he chose him. Before Roxas can ask, Xemnas tells him to go in the lobby because he has a mission with Xaldin.

Roxas does so and passes by and reassuring Axel and glaring Saïx, though Roxas glares back.

Xemnas has the two sit down and that warmth he had with Roxas is GONE IN A SECOND, asking both of them what they were thinking, picking a fight in front of everyone and endangering the two most vital components to the plan. Saïx jabs that Axel is letting himself be distracted while Axel states he's doing his job and doesn't want either of them to get upset or angry to the point of dysfunctionality. Besides, He did not start that fight, which he didn't even WANT to partake in.

Does Axel have legs? For now he does, yes. Can he stand? Yes. Can he DEMONSTRATE that he can stand? This is getting tedious, but sure, and Axel stands. Now can he walk from where he is to the far wall? Again, this is tedious, but yes.

If he did ALL OF THAT, why didn't he actually do it?

With no words, Xemnas dismisses Axel, telling him to accompany Xion on their mission.

Axel nods and leaves Saïx to be scolded.

We cut to Riku as he watches Roxas and Xaldin fight of heartless and some knights in Beast's Castle, maybe even go toe to toe with Beast himself, who manages to catch Roxas off guard and momentarily confuses him with Sora.

Xaldin knocks him away and the two leave, Riku coming out and asking if that smaller nobody really was Sora.

Beast admits it was a spur of the moment, but he could have sworn it was Sora.

Meanwhile, Xion and Axel fight hard in Hollow Bastion, squaring off against Squall, Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud, where we see both more of Axel's gymnastics and Xion's ability with a keyblade.

The fight ends when Xion stops who she believes is Riku the imposter and chases after him, Axel following her in case shit hits the fan.

Xion follows Riku to a cliffside and he gives her an offer and a warning: either give him Roxas or hope that they never meet face to face again. Xion arms herself and demands to know what that means, but Riku also arms himself right as Axel throws a chakram between them and tells Riku to fuck off before he gets hurt.

Riku gives Xion one last glance before falling off the edge and leaving through a dark corridor, making it look like he just disappeared like a badass. They’re both confused, but still call it a day, Xion asking if Axel is okay after that fight with Saïx, because he’s still a little banged up. He expresses he’s fine(he’s a big boy!!) and tells Xion not to worry. 

She’s going to anyway because Riku is after Roxas, and threatened her with a fight if she didn’t bring Roxas to him. Axel, although he’s shook, tells her everything will be fine.

LIES, because Xion is sent on a mission to defeat Riku. All she needs to do is knock him out and they’ll come collect him, no problem.

Xion IS strong, but not strong enough because Riku wipes the floor with her and is about to take her to DiZ when dusks, samurai, and Non-form Roxas, who also gets whooped, but at least fairs a little better. 

The two wear Riku out enough for a lance to graze his arm, an arrow/bullet to hit his leg, and a few cards to distract him. 

The rest of the organization arrive, even Saïx and Xemnas, the latter using thorn/vine things to bind Riku’s hands behind his back. 

He remarks that Riku’s a lot bigger than he thought he would be, stronger too, and we get one of those creepy manga Xemnas moments as he grabs Riku, pulls him close by the jaw, and states he’ll have fun seeing just how strong he is; he knows that Riku is hiding Sora, Kairi, DiZ, and his witch, and will tear him apart with his bare hands to know where they are.

With Riku thoroughly freaked out, Xemnas stands and everyone returns, all tired and ready to find Sora. 

Xion, however, isn’t. Because Riku said some very interesting things to her during their fight. 

She considers telling Roxas, but he’s too worried making sure she’s okay, because Riku was tough. She goes to Axel instead, knowing he has a key to the dungeons, and he’s instantly skeptical; she asked if he could take her to see Riku. Xion lies through her teeth and says she just wants to rub in Riku’s face that they won and he lost.

Axel agrees, but decides he’s going to follow her, just in case.

They arrive as Xigbar leaves, asking if they’re going to welcome the new arrival and need help in doing so.

Xion counters that she’s actually going to return a favor and would like to do it alone. 

Axel’s surprised and Xigbar whistles for her to stand down; he was just asking because she got kicked like a soccer ball, no harm in asking for help.

He leaves and Xion goes toward Riku’s cell, asking Axel to stay by the door until she’s done.

He does so and Xion walks towards Riku’s cell, where she and we the audience see Riku is banged up from being interrogated; looks like Xemnas is taking his time.

Riku asks what she wants and Xion responds with a deal:

Tell her about Sora and she’ll give the organization a good enough lie to let him go so he can help Sora. During their fight, the two had an argument, Xion saying she was going to protect her friend and Riku snapping she had no idea what friends were because she’s a nobody and a replica, and the reason Sora can’t wake up.

 Spark Notes of the deal: If Riku tells Xion about Sora, Xion will give the organization an answer that will buy Riku enough time to get back to Sora.

Fair, but he has one condition: If he tells her, she was to decide what she will do; he’s not refusing because she genuinely wants to know more about Sora.

Xion agrees and Riku tells her to take a seat, because they’re going to be here for a while.

[mimiplaysgames]

Terra Week Day 7 (Courage/Legacy/Self-Reflection)

Word Count: 2,674

Summary: Terra’s abilities grow beyond his imagination. Finally, he sees his strength.

Read on AO3

A/N: This is for Terra Week 2022!! You can find the event on Twitter.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scar Tissue, Ch. 7

“See? I’m back,” Terra says. He’s holding his arm still for Aqua so she can run her hands over and heal him. She’s already worked on Riku and Isa, who were worse for wear. A calming rush sweeps across his skin like a sigh after coming home from a long day. “I didn’t break my promise.”

She scowls at him. He’s always found that funny. “And Ven? You don’t seem too concerned, so I imagine he’s—”

“Safe.”

Aqua finishes his arm and drops her hands to her lap. “What does that mean to you?”

“I wanted him safe,” Terra softly says. “And”—he shrugs one shoulder—“I think the Guardian responded to that.”

She blinks, absorbing this information. Her brows wrinkle. “That’s why it kidnaps us?”

“I guess you can call that affection.”

She slaps his bicep. “Where did Ven go? He disappeared when he made contact with the Guardian. It was similar to…” She pauses, bringing her fingers to her chin. “To Xehanort.”

Terra understands. Xehanort has become easier to read, once Terra understood more of his written word. “When he made a portal out of himself to Scala.”

“Yes.”

“When Sora made gateways into his own heart.”

Aqua bites her lip. “Do we all have that capability?” She looks hard into Terra’s eyes. “Don’t they technically fall under powers of Darkness?”

Terra smiles, but it doesn’t reassure her. Riku and Isa stand in the background, keeping their distance and giving Terra and Aqua their space. Still, they throw anxious glances. 

“Do you not feel safe in the castle?” Aqua quietly asks. She’s disappointed.

Terra doesn’t answer—after all, Aqua is the one putting up wards every night. Terra places a hand over his heart. “They’re somewhere they can’t get hurt. Not even by broken glass.”

“And that…” It almost sounds like she was going to say “that Thing,” like a condescension. “The Guardian. Is it going to stay?”

Terra scoffs. “It doesn’t want to leave.” At the way she deflates, Terra says, “It’s here to help.” She doesn’t seem convinced, nodding without enthusiasm. “I’ll make sure of it. There was so much that I saw.” He pauses. He doesn’t know how to make her see. “I understand what it’s going through,” he continues, and looks up at the sky. The sunset is so potent that there are no stars. It’s a lonely experience. “It wants what I want, and I want to guard those who really matter to me.”

Aqua brings her eyes to meet his. She’s crying, but she doesn’t dry them. “Do you know what it did to me?”

Terra takes her hand as a reflex. No, no, I didn’t, but I do now. “Aqua, you know I would never.”

“I know.” 

“I want to fix that.” But I can’t, can I?

“I know.” Aqua wipes her eyes, but it does little to stop the rivers. “But what does it matter? If we vanquish it for good, a part of you would go missing.”

And to lose those pieces, piece them together, lose them again, could spell the same fate as what happened to Sora. Terra decides not to respond to that. I know, I know, I know. There’s nothing he can do except to distract, focus on the silver lining. He jerks his head in the direction towards the armor and taps her arm. “Let’s get them back.”

His armor is erect, with its arms slack, looking vaguely unfinished without a weapon. If it wasn’t so recognizable, so personal to Terra, it would have looked like an abandoned statue, out of place in the wilderness. 

“It came on its own here,” Aqua says, crossing her arms. 

“It’s not done with its job.” Terra caresses the chest place. It’s cold. “I asked it to look after you in case something happened to me.” Terra exhales. “The only thing left I need to do is knock.”

“You mean on a door?”

“Of a type.”

If the Guardian were to place Ven and Naminé anywhere in the worlds or the in between, it would be a place where Terra felt sure of himself, a place where he could keep another pair of eyes on them. Somewhere that made sense to a child’s mind.

He knocks the chest of the armor three times. Silence. 

Then it knocks three times in response, from the inside.

The helmet shudders and pops off the shoulders. Out comes Ven’s head, puny by comparison to the body of the armor. He has an amused smile on his lips—amused at the way Aqua is gaping at him. “Did you miss me?” When she frowns, Ven says, “Of course you did. I’m your favorite.”

Riku and Isa scurry over, gawking like it’s the spectacle of a parade. Riku opens his mouth to ask, but he doesn’t have to.

Ven crawls out of the armor and sits on the shoulder. He reaches into the hollow and helps Naminé climb up to open air. She’s smiling, not a scratch or a cloud of shock on her. “Hi, everyone.”

Terra picks Naminé up by the shoulders. She hugs him before he can let her go. “I understand why,” she says. “I didn’t get hurt.”

He hugs her back. “I’m glad.”

“You ok?” Riku asks, his hand on her head once she’s found her feet on solid ground.

“It was like sitting in a dark room,” she says of her experience. “I counted stars and waited for someone to come get me.” She brightens up at Ven. “Then I had someone to talk to.”

Ven shrugs. He hops down.

“It was a little scary,” she tells Terra. She straightens the hem of her dress. “Warn me next time?”

“Thanks, Terra,” Riku says, so low that it’s almost a mumble. “It’s more impressive than anything I’ve ever done.”

“I think not.”

“I think you don’t see how badass that really was.” Riku squeezes Terra’s shoulder and follows Naminé.

“You did well,” Isa says, patting Terra on the back.

Terra sighs. “I don’t think it will ever leave me alone.”

“Such is the mark of guilt.” Isa watches Naminé tell stories of her adventures to Riku, who looks less concerned with each passing word. “Such is the nature of repentance. I must admit, it is a useful asset.” 

Terra rolls his lips, and sticks his hands into his pockets. The others are celebrating in their own way. Isa takes a seat on the grass and enjoys his own silence. Naminé asks him where her notebook went. Ven—who admires Riku so much that he doesn’t hide it—makes out the Guardian’s shelter to be more dramatic than it was. Riku mentions the Inferno, “casually,” several times in an attempt at gathering troops to hunt it. 

Terra finds Aqua by herself, on her toes to fit the helmet back onto the armor. 

“Let me guess,” he says, smirking, “you’re not happy with my choices.”

“I want you whole, in one piece.”

“Do you think I’m really whole?”

Aqua hangs her head and doesn’t answer the question. “After everything we’ve been through—”

“I know,” he says, softer. “I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t do this again.” She pats the armor. 

“Or you’ll kick me in the face?” 

The smallest upturn twists her lips. “If you upset me enough, maybe I won’t have to.”

She’s trying to make a joke out of it. But based on the pages in her book, she’s trying too hard.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Terra lies down to sleep, but he can’t. He hears so much more—not hear, feels. This is what a cat must feel when it’s stalking prey or wandering around the woods. Every little detail rings. The call of a wolf close by, without the song. The rustling of leaves by a hiding rabbit, without the bristling of the branches. Ven is stomping around his room, but Terra doesn’t hear anything. What he feels is Ven’s shadow picking up a shirt and pulling it over his head. Everything is connected through the shadows that Light casts, through a millions heartbeats walking the earth. Without shadows, nothing lives.

That’s his new world: spoken in two languages, Light and Shadow. He knows where his friends are at all hours. His armor is with him now, and yet not. Terra hasn’t the heart to reforge it back with him, just in case... Just in case.

Aqua is meandering around the castle, putting up her wards. Her spells are louder, and she’s taking twice as long as she used to.

When she strolls the resident wing for the second time, Terra meets her. The hallway is dark, its stained glass windows casting a light of gray from the moon.

“There’s nothing here that will hurt us,” he says. It’s exactly what she needs to hear.

“I’m taking precautions,” she says. Her eyes are puffy, her voice cracked. She’s tired. She hasn’t been avoiding Terra exactly, but she does refuse to talk about what had happened. If he brings up the Guardian, she grimaces, choosing to listen to him, never giving her opinion. It leaves them with half-conversations. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I don’t know how to say this, but,” Terra starts, watching her face for permission to continue. “The only shadows inside the castle are us. And Ven.”

“You can sense that?” Aqua purses her lips and tightens her grip on her Keyblade. Be strong.

“The only shadow waiting outside is that of an owl’s,” he continues. “It’s perched on the top balcony of the northeast tower.”

Aqua’s lips quiver. Terra can’t be strong this time. He holds her.

“I was weak before. I let it get to me,” he says. She trembles, and he holds her tighter. He doesn’t know how to make her see. “But I’m stronger now. I promise it won’t hurt you ever again.” She whimpers. “I’m sorry—”

She shakes her head. “I know.”

And he could say he’s sorry again, and he does, and she replies with “I know,” and will continue to, a cycling call and response. Terra doesn’t know how else to apologize to make her say something different. The Guardian rolls behind him, as if it wants to reach out, but Terra keeps it tucked away from her sight. 

Terra lets her go and summons Earthshaker. Tears are falling down his face, and he pretends they aren’t there. “Let me finish the job.” 

Aqua wipes her eyes. “You don’t have to.”

“Go to bed, Aqua.” When she doesn’t move, he says, “You’re safe.”

Her eyes widen. But at least she nods.

Terra waits for her to go to her bedroom. She sits on her mattress and stares at the carpet, her hands folded over her knees. She stays like this for the entirety of the time Terra spends waving his Keyblade over shut windows and locked doors. Not because they need this type of protection, but because he knows her mind does. It’s going to take a while to outgrow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When he was a child, he asked the Master for umbrellas. One for every world.

“I’m not afraid of the dark,” Aqua would whisper.

“I don’t like thunderstorms,” Ven would say. 

For the next storm that rolled in, Terra had built a fort in the lounge. Lights tucked under the hoods, every umbrella a different color like a starry patched quilt in the ceiling.

When Aqua first saw it, she noted several places needing improvement—that some of the umbrellas were lower than the others, that there weren’t enough pillows on one side and too many on the other, and other things that Terra didn’t remember by the time he grew up.

He fixed it to her qualifications and she finally shut up. 

Ven was the first to fall asleep. The thunder rolled away. Aqua nuzzled against him and soon, too, drifted away.

Terra was proud of himself. His best friends were indoors-indoors, and dry. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The breeze in the Land of Departure is a welcome reprieve from the sunlight. Terra sits underneath a tree, in the woods. He chose to come here after trying to re-fix the grandfather clock, but the pieces cannot be put back together, the wood shredded and the gears bent. He’d have to build a new one.

Terra opens his palms up towards the sky, and the Guardian mimics him. He turns them over, and the Guardian follows. He reaches his hand out, and the Guardian touches back. It’s cold, like the chill of fog.

Without him needing to say anything, the Guardian follows his thoughts, and reaches into the tree for an apple. 

“Does it hurt?” Terra asks when he catches the apple. He doesn’t take a bite. 

The Guardian isn’t much for conversation, but Terra feels deep inside a small tug like a nudge from a dog. No. 

“You get to be you,” Terra responds. “We get to be us.” He rolls the apple in both of his hands, leaving it on his thigh. “Are they safe?”

Terra already knows. Aqua has left the kitchen and has peeked her head in the library, calling for Ven.

Yes.

Terra sighs. “I’ve always wanted strength. After failing the Mark of Mastery, I spent a lot of time looking for a shortcut. I wanted it to make sense. I thought, if I could be stronger, if I could defeat more Unversed than anyone else, then I wouldn’t be in this position.” He looks up at the Guardian. “I didn’t wish for you. You were the last thing I wanted.” He scoffs. “But I think life can sometimes be twisted. My wish has been granted.” He pauses, waiting for the Guardian to reply, but it doesn’t. “From now on, we’re going to make sure they’re always okay.”

The Guardian doesn’t respond but it understands.

Terra pulls out a compact mirror from his pocket and opens it. It’s just his face this time, until the Guardian dissolves and reappears in the mirror, two golden eyes by Terra’s shoulder.

They’re approaching him.

“You ever stop looking at yourself?” says Ven’s voice. He plops onto the grass by Terra’s side. Aqua takes the other. 

“You ever see anything besides yourself?” Terra asks.

Ven frowns. 

Aqua hugs her legs. She pointedly avoids the mirror in Terra’s hand. “I see another me. Most of the time, she stares at me, but she never reflects what I do.” She rests her chin on her knees. “She’s always angry.”

Ven leans back against the tree. “I see faces I don’t recognize.” He groans, speaking in a tone that says this is the last thing he wants to talk about. “I’m never alone. There’s always these people around me, and I think I should know them, but I don’t.” He shrugs. “It makes me feel like there’s something I’m missing.”

The eyes in the mirror fade away. The Guardian summons itself, waiting for something to do. 

Ven’s mood shifts, having enough of the conversation. He climbs onto the Guardian’s shoulder. “Look, I’m taller than you.”

“Do you want to fly?” Terra asks.

“You don’t have to ask me.”

Aqua keeps to herself and doesn’t make a motion to join him. “One day, there will be a legend of a shadow that moves on its own in the Land of Departure.”

That’s the first she’s spoken of it. Terra sighs with relief. He silently orders the Guardian to fly up high, to make Ven laugh. “You don’t think it will die with me?”

“Heartless don’t die.”

“So I’ll protect the castle for the rest of time. Not a bad occupation.” He crosses his arms. “Are you okay with that?”

Aqua scratches her leg. “If you’re asking me whether I forgive you, I did a long time ago.”

Terra grits his teeth. There’s something about that word—forgiveness—that sends a chill down his spine. 

“I saw it break break the chains,” she says so softly that it’s almost a whisper. “It set you free.” Her voice chokes. “I know it’s not going to hurt me again. I know.” I know. “And I’ll clobber it if I have to.”

“You know that might hurt me.”

Aqua shrugs and stifles a laugh. “It is what it is.” 

Ven leaps off the Guardian’s shoulder, cackling—until the Guardian catches him by the ankle. “I was trying to somersault,” he whines, but the Guardian won’t let go.

“It’s less destructive than the armor,” Terra says. 

Aqua grimaces. “That’s right. I’m sorry about the clock.”

Terra lifts a finger to make a point. “I found a book about time magic—”

“We can’t reverse time—”

“According to this book, we can.”

“Where did you find—”

“In the forbidden section.”

“Ah.”

Terra pauses and looks at her. She’s watching the grass sway to the wind. 

“There’s a lot we don’t know,” he says.

“I think the reasons why we don’t are appropriate.”

“Shouldn’t we try?” 

She looks back at him. “What do you think?”

Terra hesitates to say more, as though the spoken word would have made it real. But he does anyway. “When the Guardian is near me, I feel like things are finally beginning to correct themselves, if that makes sense. I’m finding new meaning about what I went through every day. I trust myself more. I think… I’ve never been in one piece ever since I came back, and if we had the ability to expect that would happen, we would’ve known better.” 

Aqua swallows. “How many pieces are you in?”

“I’m whole. Like cut slices of a pie.” 

Aqua sighs and leans on a-slice-of-Terra’s shoulder. She takes the apple but she also won’t take a bite. “I’ll think about it.”

Terra lets her rest. Ven is laughing. His best friends under one bright sky, with a safe place to stay. He forgets about the scar on his chest until he scratches it and trips over the knots. It’s changed, not anymore a five-pointed star but three that connect less like a constellation and more like mounds of infected insect bites that swell through the veins. He sees them in the mirror. They don’t hurt to touch. They don’t hurt at all.

[tiifalockhart]

Missing You

Anonymous asked: Can you please make a KH Sora x female reader oneshot? One where the Sora misses his crush so much that he starts dreaming of seeing her again. As he continues his quest to find the power of waking. He reminds himself that if he continues he’ll see her sooner. The sooner he sees her the sooner he can confess and share the paopu fruit with her. But the organization tells him that they have someone special to him. This causes Sora to get angry and ask them where is she?! They ask him how important is she to him. Sora would do anything for his crush. As soon as Sora sees you in front of Xehnort Sora screams her name. But before he could get to his love it was too late.

Anonymous asked: May I ask for a Sora x normal female reader oneshot? Where she doesn’t know about keyblades or heartless. Sora doesn’t want her to be involved with all of this. Because he’s afraid that she’ll get captured like Kairi does.

Pairing: Sora x Reader

Word Count: 3k

A/N: goodness, I’ve been working on this for about two weeks straight. I decided to mesh these two requests together because based on the content of both asks, I could muster up a pretty decent story from both of them. I hope this is okay!!! I really hope you enjoy reading this, I’ve worked on it for so long now haha

Ao3 || Masterlist

It had been so long since the last time you had properly seen Sora. You remembered the first time he went missing when the two of you were just kids. It was terrifying, he, Kairi and Riku suddenly disappearing without a trace. The fact that this was possible by a few kids was scary enough, but they left behind no clues. 

You remembered the adults of the islands were upset over this. They couldn’t seem to figure out why this happened. You found yourself conflicted and confused as well. Your three friends just.. Vanished into thin air. You remembered everyone spent so many days and nights out searching for the three of them, only to continue coming back with nothing. You ended up living in fear. What if they were taken by someone? What if they were coming after everyone on the island? It seemed everyone on the island was paranoid as well. 

It wasn’t until Kairi suddenly returned home when everyone’s nerves finally calmed down. You could never find it within yourself to carry on like everyone else, though. You didn’t really understand it, everyone was acting like Sora and Riku never existed. You asked Kairi about this several times; however, she had the same answer every time: ‘I don’t know.’ She’d answer that way to everything you asked. Eventually you and Kairi grew far apart.

It seemed like a lost cause to try and ask around. No one seemed to remember Sora, and Riku ended up never returning. You grew concerned. Something really bad had to of happened, but there wasn’t any way for you to find out.

...Until you started dreaming about it.

-

Sora couldn’t remember the last time he felt at peace since leaving Destiny Islands. While this adventure was amazing and fun at times, he also missed being home with his family and friends and knowing they were safe. He missed you so much. The day he and the others disappeared from Destiny Islands was probably the most confusing day of his life. He hasn’t been back to Destiny Islands since... And he probably won’t be back for a long time. 

By the time Kairi returned to Destiny Islands, Sora was trapped in Castle Oblivion. Having his memories rearranged and changed, he ends up forgetting Kairi. However, an important aspect is overlooked. 

Sora had spent so much time trying to protect you without you knowing it. During his adventure so far, he was careful to avoid mentioning your name. He was lucky enough that you happened to stay home that night he and the others disappeared. Not wanting to risk another one of his friends getting hurt, he had to be careful when it came to you. 

So Naminé ended up overlooking you in Sora’s memories and focused on Kairi and Riku specifically. Out of every confusing emotion that he had during this time, somehow relief was present. Knowing that you were safe for now made all of this comforting some how. 

As the giant doors to the memory pod slowly shut, Sora felt himself begin to drift off to dreamy state. The last thing to cross his mind was you. Every memory of you that remained untouched played through his mind like a movie, from the time you two first met, up until the day he disappeared. He longed to see you again, maybe even share a paopu fruit with you. As he fell asleep, he looked forward to seeing you again. 

- 

Somehow, his dreams managed to transfer over to you. As you slept, you began to see something similar to visions. Some of them were hard to decipher. You couldn’t tell if it was the future, or if it was the past. You’d see people you didn’t know and live their lives as if it were your own. You dreamt of fighting and wars that you had never seen before. When you woke up, all of it was gone within an instance. 

It was confusing. You didn’t know who’s memories these were, nor why you were seeing them. There was no one to ask, either. If anyone found out, they would think you’re crazy... 

You managed to mention it sneakily in a conversation with Kairi. After school one day, as the two of you walked together down the beach, you suddenly turned to her in the middle of talking. “You know... I’ve been having weird dreams lately.” You stated. If anyone were to have answers, it would be her, right? 

Kairi simply looked over at you, her expression going blank as you spoke. “Weird dreams?” She asked, raising a brow. “Like what?” 

Finally, some progress. You began to explain in detail of what you were seeing. You mentioned seeing Sora and Riku in worlds that didn’t look like Destiny Islands, or seeing people older than the two of you fighting each other. As you explained all of this, Kairi’s expression slowly twisted into one of discomfort. When you realized this, you immediately stopped talking. “I’m sorry, I-” You tried to apologize, but she stopped you.

“It’s alright. It’s getting late, isn’t it?” She pointed out, looking up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set on the distant horizon. You hesitantly nodded and turned towards the small town. “I need to go home before I worry my parents.” She reminded, waving goodbye as she walked off. 

A slightly frustrated sigh left you lips as you watched her go, unable to find it in yourself to press the situation further. Kairi’s been through enough by now... She doesn’t need you interrogating her. 

Troubled by your overwhelming thoughts and dreams about Sora, you found yourself unable to settle with the fact that he was just... Gone. You were willing to believe anything at this point, you just needed some kind of peace of mind. 

That’s when you first met him.

It had been months since your dreams first started occurring. You and Kairi were much older by now, with no sign of Sora or Riku ever returning. Eventually conversation fell off about them. No one seemed to remember them. 

You don’t really remember how this man ended up on the island. You remembered he was dressed in a black, weird-looking coat, and his face was hidden by his hood. He was the one that approached you first, his hands clasped behind his back as he silently observed you. 

Before you could question him about what he was doing, he interrupted you by simply lifting a hand. “You’re friends with... Sora, aren’t you?” He asked, his voice slightly raspy as he spoke. Something inside of you told you to not answer him, but if he approached you, he already knew the answer, didn’t he?

“...Yes. Who are you?” You questioned, your eyes narrowing slightly. He let out a sly chuckle as he shook his head. 

“I’m no enemy of yours. Promise.” He stated, holding out his left pinky. The cloaked man seemed to be expecting you to link your pinky with his; however, you held your suspicious gaze. “You see, a friend of yours sent me to find you. What was his name again? Something like... Riku...” The man explained, causing something inside of you to snap. 

“Riku?! Is he okay? Can I see him? Does this mean Sora is okay as well?” You asked, the questions basically spilling out of you. You probably should have left off the last question, you didn’t know who this man was. As far as you knew, he could have been the one responsible for their disappearance. It didn’t matter in the moment, though. You were desperate for answers. You needed to know that Sora was okay. 

Unbeknownst to you, you had fallen straight into his trap. You finally established that connection between the two of you. Now they had an opening to attack. “Oh, I thought you knew. We’ve been taking care of Sora for a while now...” He lied smoothly, a twisted smirk forming on his features. “Would you like to see him? I’m sure he misses you a bunch.” The man said, his hand stretching out towards you.

You couldn’t stop yourself from taking his hand. As soon as he held his gloved hand out, you subconsciously reached out, not a single second thought in your mind. The moment your fingertips touched, a pool of darkness formed around your feet. Before you could get a word out, the two of you were consumed by it.

When your eyes opened again, you stood in the middle of a grey room. You quickly backed away from the male, a newfound look of fear in your eyes. “What did you do?!” You demanded, her brows furrowing. Have you succumbed to the same fate as Riku and Sora? 

The male let out a low chuckle as he removed his hood. His long black ponytail fell down his back as his smirk was shown in the light of the room. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you wanted to see Sora.” He hummed, a sarcastic tone to his voice. “As if.” He stated, summoning a weapon similar to one of a gun. “Walk.” He commanded, gesturing for you to go. 

You figured as you were pushed through the twisting halls of this weird building, you’d at least look for a way out. Your eyes scanned the halls, you would stare down every corridor, and you’d examine every opening in the walls. From what you could see, there was really no way out. Each room lead to another room that eventually went in a full circle. The castle was massive, there really was no escape. 

Even if there was, the cell that they placed you in was unescapable. It seemed to float in midair, the bars were thick and too close together. You looked around the inside and realized there was no way of getting out except through the bars. A troubled expression formed on your features as you moved to sit against the wall. 

How did all of this happen? How did this man know who Sora was? He mentioned Riku too... Does that mean Riku is here? But why would Riku let this happen? Wait... How did you even get here? What is this place? You definitely weren’t at Destiny Islands anymore. How could you be so foolish? 

-

It felt like years had passed by the time Sora woke up again. His body was sore and his mind was filled with thoughts and memories of everyone in his life. He wasn’t really sure how much time had actually passed when he was asleep, but he did know he missed his friends. 

His life quickly changed as he eased into being awake again. Organization XIII had been more and more active, Sora was mostly unaware of his previous encounters with them in Castle Oblivion. Mickey and Riku were still gone, and he had no clue when he would be able to return to Destiny Islands to visit you or Kairi. 

It wasn’t until he arrived at Hollow Bastion when he came face-to-face with the Organization members. He met one of them, a dark haired male with a long ponytail and an eye patch. This one was pretty much like a huge jerk. He kept taunting and mocking Sora, causing increased frustration with the group, until he mentioned something odd. 

“We have something you want.” He dropped between his lines. Sora’s expression contorted into confusion. Something he wants? What could he possibly want from the Organization? 

“That’s not true. I don’t want anything from you.” He argued, frowning as he looked up at the older man. Xigbar immediately began to laugh, his yellow eye piercing into Sora’s gaze. 

“As if.” He answered, waving him off. “I guess [Name]’s gonna be waiting a little longer, then.” He shrugged, disappearing into a pool of darkness. 

For a moment, Sora stood in silence. His expression held confusion, shock and a hint of anger, but he knew he was powerless to stop Xigbar now. His eyes slowly moved to his keyblade. They had you. He worked so hard to avoid bringing you into this... How did this happen?

Throughout his adventure, trying to find the Organization felt impossible. It was frustrating to say the least. He wasn’t sure who to blame. Had he accidentally let it slip? Did Riku or Mickey tell them? Where were they anyways? There were so many confusing questions that probably wouldn’t be answered until a long time from now. 

His adventure began to feel like a cat-and-mouse game. He was constantly chasing someone, whether it was Organization XIII, Riku, Mickey, or heartless. It was so exhausting, especially with you constantly on his mind. He couldn’t help but be terrified for you, he was so worried and there wasn’t a waking moment where you weren’t on his mind. 

Things finally began to look up when they finally arrived at the World That Never Was. It was time to face the Organization for good, while finding you, Kairi and Riku. 

-

From what you could remember, Kairi somehow ended up in the prison as well. While the two of you were separated, you still could talk. Even if that was the case, there wasn’t much to say. You felt guilty, the blue haired male stopped by occasionally to remind you that you’re the reason why Sora is being lured here. It made you feel so guilty, you hated that you had somehow become a burden in the middle of a bunch of problems you didn’t understand. 

You missed him so much. You missed Riku, you missed Kairi, you missed Destiny Islands. Why did everything have to go wrong? Why couldn’t everything just be normal? Nothing made sense anymore. 

A shaky sigh left your lips as your eyes shut. With this endless waiting, you found yourself enjoying solitude. There wasn’t much else to do besides wallowing in your guilt. You longed to see Sora again, you missed home so much. 

In the middle of your depressed thoughts, you heard some movement from the cell besides yours. You narrowed your eyes as you moved closer to the bars, before widening your eyes at the sight of a... Ghost? She had light colored hair and wore a white dress, but she seemed to be see-through and she stood in the same pool of darkness that the Organization uses. The two of you made eye contact for a moment, before another pool appeared behind you. Kairi seemed to trust her without hesitation, you could only do the same.

When you entered the darkness, you emerged in a long white hall. You hadn’t seen this part of the Castle before, so you weren’t sure of which way to go. The mysterious girl and Kairi seemed to be separated from you, because they have yet to arrive. 

This only meant that you were on your own from now on. You weren’t sure which way to go, so you ended up blindly choosing. As you explored the Castle, you suddenly heard some talking. When you finally approached the voices, you saw all three of them. Sora, Riku and Kairi were standing together, reunited and smiling. 

Your heart swelled at the sight. They all looked so grown up, they looked so different from the kids you met on the islands. You weren’t sure how to approach them anymore. They were basically different people. You hesitantly took a step closer, noticing how Riku’s gaze moved towards you. 

The grey haired male quickly patted Sora’s shoulder and gestured towards you, making the younger male look over at you. A look of relief crossed his features immediately as he ran over to you. 

“[Name]....” He whispered, seeming to be unsure of how he should approach you. “We were just about to find you, I was so worried, how did any of this hap-” He was cut off from his rambling when you embraced him tightly, your tears falling down your cheeks finally. 

“Sora, I missed you so much...” You whispered, looking up at him and gently cupping his cheeks. “I was so worried, the moment you and Riku never returned, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I kept thinking about you... Everyone else seemed to forget, but I couldn’t.” You explained, shaking your head.

He nodded hesitantly and sighed, shaking his head. “I should have told you what happened, what was going on, I’m sorry that I never could.” He whispered, frowning. “I just wanted to keep you safe.” He murmured, looking down at the floor. 

“It’s okay. You have unfinished business, don’t you? We’ll talk about it when we get back to Destiny Islands.” You replied, nodding slowly and taking his hand. 

He nodded firmly and turned towards the others. “Then let’s finish this.” He stated. 

The entire group ran towards the top of the Castle, preparing to face the final boss. Avoiding obstacles and defeating seemingly endless amounts of heartless and nobodies, you finally arrived at the top. Sora stood in front of you and Kairi protectively. You were basically useless when it came to confronting Xemnas, so you stayed back with a weird looking duck and dog. 

Everything seemed to be going well... You weren’t really sure what was happening. You couldn’t believe your eyes for the most part. All you remember was a giant door opening and Sora and Riku disappearing into it. You couldn’t help yourself become nervous at the sight. What if they didn’t return? There was so much on the line. Eventually, you and Kairi were urged to return to Destiny Islands, the small mouse telling you that Sora and Riku would be home soon. 

You had no choice but to go with them. Your eyes were glued to the sight of the door beginning to shut behind Sora and Riku. You swore you saw something resembling a smile on Sora’s lips. Nervousness formed on your chest. What if he doesn’t come back? What if you never see him again? You found it hard to breathe as you returned to the beach of Destiny Islands. 

You and Kairi waited for so long, neither of you speaking as you waiting at the edge of the coast. You were so anxious as you waited for some kind of answer, or sign that they were alive and well. As the sun began to set, the stars above you began to shine through the clouds. You stared up at the sky for the longest time until something else caught your eyes. 

Two shooting stars, side-by-side, fell towards the ocean. As they splashed into the water, you hopped up to your feet and prepared to run out into the water. That’s when you saw his spikey brown hair peek above the water, followed by long silver hair. “Sora!!” You cried out, running into the water. The two men turned towards you and Kairi, eagerly swimming towards the island. 

The moment that you and Sora met, the two of you embraced tightly, as if you were afraid something were going to separate you two again. You could feel your own tears running down your face, as well as his falling onto your shoulder. “I missed you so much.” He whispered, pulling away and looking down at you. 

“I missed you, too.” You replied quietly, taking his hands and guiding him to the shore. It felt nice being home with everyone again. It had been years since you were all united like this again. You never wanted them to be taken away from you again. 

As everyone exchanged their greetings and hugs, you found yourself slowly walking towards the leaning palm tree. Sora managed to catch up to you, a grin on his lips. “Hey, I have something for you.” He explained, pulling you along and hopping up onto the palm tree. He reached up and plucked a couple of star-shaped fruit off of it, handing one to you. “I heard that if you share these, your lives are connected forever.” Sora mentioned, raising a brow and handing one to you. 

“Share them?” You asked, taking a seat next to him on the tree. “Where did you hear that?” You asked, a giggle leaving your lips. 

He chuckled softly and shrugged. “Some guy named Riku.” He answered, smiling quietly and sighing. He quietly took a bite from one of the fruit, before holding it out towards you. After you took a bite, a soft hum left your lips. 

“So... What now?” You asked, looking out towards the sunset. He hesitated, before shrugging. 

“I’m not sure. The Organization is defeated, we’ve finished our journey, I think.” He murmured, furrowing his brows. “I guess I can finally tell you about everything that’s happened.” He pointed out, grinned. 

You smirked. “You better get started then. You have a lot of explaining to do.” You answered, smiling as he eagerly began to explain everything from the night they left, up to before you found them in the castle. 

Honestly, no matter how hard it was getting to this point, you were beyond happy to be next to him again.

[sunhalf-a]

okay last xion thing from my old blog before i go to play sims —

xion is so — deeply traumatized, and while i often focus in on her reprogramming or her battle with axel or the other actual events that justify that, i do that because xion focuses in on those events, too.  because she feels justified, or at least understands why, feeling furious and raw and hurt when she thinks about xemnas’s hands in her chest, rearranging her, remaking her, heedless to her screams.  she feels like it’s okay, or at least it makes sense, that she might flinch away from touch after the sensation of drowning insider sora’s heart, forgetting where he ended ands he began.  but those events aren’t the reason why sometimes, oftentimes, she wants to scream and break anything.  those events aren’t the reason why she doesn’t trust the world and has trouble trusting strangers and why her fingers still shake and why she’s desperate to be good and strong and sacrificial because on some level she still feels like living is a privilege she has to earn.

the events aren’t it.  they’re bad.  they’re sick.  they give her nightmares.  but it was the every day hurts that made the events stick.  it was the tiny little incidents — puppet.  it.  it was the sensation of being seen as a thing.  it was the constant sensation of being in danger.  her whole life, every day, she was in danger.  if she broke, or failed, they would kill her.  her whole life she felt like she had to earn the right to exist, and that the requirements she had to reach were just barely out of reach, just barely beyond where she could touch.  she constantly felt like her existence was something she was seconds from losing, a misstep she couldn’t make.  there was never, not a single moment, in her life where she felt secure.  where she felt like she wasn’t seconds from xemnas or saïx or someone killing her.  killing it.

they made her feel like she didn’t deserve to exist.  like she was only still alive because she’d tricked them into thinking she was useful.  like if she didn’t constantly push herself farther and break herself more they would realize the trick and she would die.  she is fifteen years old.  she is less than two years old.

and that’s — awful.  that’s sick.  but she can’t say that every day, even in the happiest moments, the weight hovering over her shoulders was unbearable.  was crushing her into a fine powder.  she can say xemnas broke me.  she can say saïx called me it.  she can say i drowned inside sora.  those are events.  but she can’t say that every single day convinced her more and more that she couldn’t keep the charade up, that she would die, that they would kill her, that they would make it quick and short and call her it while they did it, that they would think of it like tossing aside a broken blade.  and not care.  and not care.

xion’s emotions are ugly and furious and angry and defensive and sometimes she hates everyone, roxas and lea and naminé and aqua and sora and kairi, sometimes she hates all of them.  her whole life her heart learned that it was in danger, that the world was the enemy, that she had to earn being alive.  she wants to believe she’s safe now, but it’s hard to undo.  maybe impossible.  and she feels guilt for wanting to break things for being so angry for being unfair, but it’s not her fault.  it’s not.

[winterstarqueen]

Hey uh can you write a story where the reader is getting bullied at twlight town and people are making fun of reader insulting her face and her looks and Sora has enough with this abuse and decide to stand up for her and Olette also stand up for her too

That’s it. (Sora x bullied female reader.)

(Warning: mean things being said. A bit of violence.) 

Sora was visiting Twilight Town after a ton of begging. He said that he wanted to find more clues to finding Roxas and Naminé. But,that wasn’t the only reason why he wanted to come here. Sora wanted to visit you. After seeing you a couple times he couldn’t help But,want to see you again. Sora happily walked towards the usual spot. “Wak! Where are you going?!” Donald asked. “To the usual spot. I want to visit the Twilight Town gang.” He said smiling. “I think that’s a good idea. Maybe they found something about Roxas.” Goofy agreed. The trio were on their way when Sora spotted you. You looked worried. “(Y/n)!” He said with a smile on his face. “Sora?” You asked not turning around. You couldn’t let him see you not like this. After all you couldn’t even let your sister look at you. What would happen if Sora saw you? You didn’t want to know. Because you kinda liked him. Plus you weren’t even that pretty. So, you took off running. “Wait! (Y/n)!” Sora said. He turned to his friends. “(Y/n) where are you?!” Olette asked frowning. “Hey, we just saw her.” Sora said frowning. “Yeah. She was going that way.” Goofy said pointing in the way you went. “Let’s look together.” Sora said. She nodded and they tried to look for you in the woods. You stood in front of the old mansion. “What should I do?” You asked frowning. You took one look at your arm. It had a bump on it. You wanted help. But,in the deepest part of your mind something was stopping you. Maybe it was because your bullies were right. You closed your eyes remembering everything.

You were sitting by the sandlot writing a letter to Sora. Of course you weren’t going to send it or anything like that. You just wanted to say thank you to him. Because you could tell how hard he has been working. You looked up at the sunset sky. It probably sounded like you were being clingy or something. That is why you didn’t tell anyone about it. Suddenly someone sat next to you. Oh no, it was Shuka and Yuu. These two girls hated you. “Well,what do we have here?! Look, Yuu it’s the baby!” Shuka said pushing you a bit. “Shouldn’t your sister be baby sitting you.” Yuu said. “N-No I can look after myself.” “What is this?” She asked in a taunting tone. Yuu took your letter. “Can you please give that back?” You asked. “Let me think...no! Besides this is too much fun.” She said. The two of them read your letter to Sora. Afterwards they began to laugh. “Let me get this strait...you like Sora?!” Shuka laughed. You were blushing and you couldn’t say a word. All because your heart was beating at the thought. “W-Why do you care?” You asked. These girls saw him even more rare than you did. That was when Yuu looked at you. “Listen to me. You aren’t pretty enough to have anyone! In fact no one wants you! You can just leave this place and no one would care.” Yuu said looking at you. “I bet your foster parents regret adopting you! Because your always crying to them! You cause so much trouble for everyone including your sister. So,why would Sora want you?!” Shuka yelled. “That’s not true...my sister and Sora care about me.” You cried. That Yuu pushed you down. “Get this in your dumb head! You are ugly,a cry baby and stupid. No one wants you around!” She said kicking you. Shuka tore up your letter and said. “If you tell someone...it will get worse for you.” You were crying because she kicked you so hard. Her words set in as well. That was when she kicked your arm hard. The girls left you broken. You looked at your torn letter. You couldn’t tell anyone about your problem not even your best friend. Your sister.

You began to cry. You didn’t want those girls to hurt you again. So,the best thing to do. Was to hide your feelings and pretend that everything was okay. While avoiding those girls. You heard footsteps and took a mad dash for the mansion. It was the only way for you to calm down. You had to be alone. “I’m sorry...but,I don’t want to see you right now.” You thought running into a room. You hid in the corner as you heard Sora and your sis calling your name. You heard someone come in. You dried your tears and pretended that everything was okay. “There you are. Your sister and I have been looking for you.” A familiar voice said. It was Sora. You looked out the window. Trying not to show him your tears. “(Y/n)? What’s wrong?” He asked. “Nothing. I-I just wanted to explore.” You lied still not looking his way. You frowned upon realizing that you were alone with Sora. He walked up to you. The two of you stood there in silence. But,Sora didn’t like this. This wasn’t like you. You would usually want to talk to him. Ask him if he was doing well. You asked him all kinds different kind of things and you helped out in any way you could. That was something that he could appreciate. Plus you would be happy to see him. Maybe he said something last time he came to visit. “Are you mad at me?” He asked. You shook your head. “No. It’s just...what do you...think about me?” You asked him. Sora blushed. He couldn’t tell you the truth. But,he couldn’t lie either. “Well, you’re really caring. I see the way you treat others. Even strangers. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone quite like you.” He said looking at you. You didn’t know how to respond to that. Was Sora right or was those girls right? You didn’t know who to believe. You wanted to believe him. But, what they said just lingered in your head. No matter how much you told yourself that you’re okay. You aren’t. “Let’s go find your sister.” Sora said smiling. You smiled and went with him. “I was so worried about you.” She said hugging you. You wanted to push her away and tell her that you didn’t need your sis to look after you. After all the two of you are the same age. But, you didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Let’s go get you some ice cream.” She said smiling. “Sounds good to me.” You said smiling.

All of you went to get ice cream. You were almost there. When Sora suggested. “Let’s race.” “Okay. Are you in (Y/n)?” Olette said smiling. You nodded. Maybe you were going to be okay. “Ready...go!” She said. You slowly walked at first. The two of them were confused by this and stopped. That was when you took off running. “I fall for that every time...” Olette sighed. You had a huge smile on your face. You were going to win. That was when you bumped into someone and this person tripped you. Causing you to fall. You shook your head and was about to get up. However, this was when you got a good look at the person. “Oh. I’m sorry did I trip you?” Yuu asked. You got up. But, Shuka pushed you again. “Boy you aren’t just ugly...but,you’re clumsy too.” She said. They were going to say a couple of mean things and let you go. This was until they saw your friends. “You’re a cry baby! I can’t believe that you actually had the nerve to tell them!” Yuu said looking very angry. “No. I didn’t tell them...honest.” You said looking afraid. “You’re lying!” Shuka said. You shook your head. “Time to pay up.” Yuu said about to punch you. Only someone grabbed her wrist. “Get your hands off my sister!” Olette yelled. “Why are you defending her?! She’s worthless little cry baby.” “No she isn’t!” Your sister yelled. “Look at her! She isn’t even that pretty!” Shuka said about to hit you. Sora hugged you tightly wanting to take the hit. But,Donald and Goofy defended you. “These girls don’t appreciate your kindness (Y/n).” Goofy said looking angry. “Oh,please! (Y/n) let’s us have fun with her! In fact she deserves everything that we do to her!” Yuu said. “That’s enough! You must be blinded by your jealousy to say something like that! (Y/n) hasn’t done anything wrong!” Sora yelled. You grabbed Sora’s hand. “She’s right....just look at me...” You whispered. She has already pushed you down and causing your cheek to have a big scratch on it. That was when he finally realized what happened. Sora looked at you as you didn’t want to be seen. That was when he snapped. “How could you do this to someone who is this sweet?!” Sora asked yelling. He summoned his keyblade and this scared the girls off. They must have realized how serious he was. “(Y/n) are you okay?” Sora asked frowning. You didn’t look at him. That was realizing that you were crying. “We’ll go get a first aid kit.” Your sis said going into the restaurant. She was leaving you with Sora. He embraced you. “Shhh. Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe now.” Sora said as you cried. “Listen they’re wrong about you.” “I don’t know Sora...” You cried. “I do. I’ve learned so much while on my journey. But,you taught me very important lessons...” “I did?” You asked. Sora has been to all kinds of different places. What did you teach him? He nodded. “Oh yeah. One of them was to look at a person’s heart not their looks. You care about everyone here. No matter how they look.” Sora said hugging you. “We’re back.” Olette said before opening the box.

She sprayed medicine on your deep cuts. You looked away kinda in pain. It stung a bit. Sora held your hand as she put bandages on your cheek and knees. “Here drink this.” Sora then said giving you an elixir. You shook your head. “You need this for battle...” You said frowning. “It’s okay we have more.” Sora said with a smile. All your friends were too good to you. “I can’t believe those girls! How dare they say things like that you? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that they won’t do anything to you again.” She said. You dried your tears. “Are you feeling a little better?” Sora asked you. You slowly nodded and continued on. Suddenly Sora stopped in his tracks. You stopped as well. His face was red. “Sora?” “C-Can I do something?” He asked you. You nodded. He kissed you gently on head before looking away. You could feel the blush on your face. Sure this was just a kiss on your head. But,to you it felt a little more than that. You needed it and he knew that. You looked down lost in thought. Sora knew exactly what you needed. But,how? Only your parents and sister really knew what you needed to feel better. Everyone had a different something to help them cheer up. And yours was a kiss on your head. “I’m sorry if that was too much.” Sora said frowning. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he actually kissed you on the lips. “No it’s okay.” You said blushing. In fact you wanted him to do it again. But, you couldn’t ask. Maybe shyness took over you. You didn’t know. As the two of you got ice cream Sora couldn’t help but,want to hold your hand. He didn’t know if you would want that. Sora didn’t want to push you. Into doing something that you didn’t want to do. Because that wasn’t right. You smiled as your sister hugged you. “Her smile is so bright. I love it so much.I have to protect this place for everyone including her. I have to keep fighting the darkness.” Sora thought looking at you. After what happened today you became his driving force even more than before. When all of this was over he will spend time with you and try to confess. But,he knows very little about love. He had to go for that goal.

[mythicalartistx]

Kairi probably has Trauma and her reasoning why she is with Sora and Riku

Ansem the Wise is not a good person

He experimented on children and even fed them to the heartless.

Saïx/Isa often heard screams from the Ansen's study and when he and Axel/ Lea snuck in, it's no wonder they tried to find X after she went missing. No wonder why Saïx was so obsessed with finding her because Ansem the Wise does this stuff.

In ff7 nobody likes Hojo and he's seen as a bad person. Ansem kind of does the same thing except people are supposed to feel bad for Ansem and are like he's good now because he regret it??

The thing is we don't see why he regrets it or anything. And we just see he feels bad about Roxas and Naminé. We also see that he only stopped because he took it too far?

But this is the stuff Ansem did and his apprentices continued, or at least Terra-Ansem.

And Terra Ansem was interested in Kairi because she was a princess of heart. He kidnapped her and then he probably did experiments on her.

She probably has trauma. Then he sent her with that pod to Destiny islands because that's where a key blade wielder is at and whenever a pod is used a meteor shower happens.

And then we get to the start of KH1 and there's some things I've noticed. When Sora asks Kairi what her old home was like, she says she cannot remember. Sora asks “nothing at all?” and she makes this interesting expression. Before answering she frowns before quickly changing to a smile when she says, nothing.

What if she does remember and could be lying here because the experience was so traumatic and does not want to share what happened. However, she barely remembers it and could repress what happens, so she could remember it being bad but says nothing because she truly can't remember because of trauma.

No wonder she seems content on the island. Everyone is nice and she has fun with Sora and Riku. Nobody is trying to experiment on her.

She then goes along with it because they want to. People say she doesn't want change and yes that is true because of the trauma she faced. She's scared to go out into the world because of what happened.

When she talks with Sora later she reveals that she was hesitant at first, but now she's not. She probably was hesitant because of the fear that people like Terra Ansem are out there and might experiment on her. Then knowing that Sora and Riku really want to and they all can go together, she wants to. She is with them and isn't alone. She relies on them when doing things and bases everything on them.

However, that doesn't happen and her heart goes inside of Sora's. Riku's darkness gets the best of him and he believes Sora doesn't care about him anymore and is getting left behind, something he always feared.

And during the games going forward she always focuses on Sora and Riku. She mentions how they left her behind in kh2. She has changed and tried growing as a person but she still relies on them.

When Sora and Riku get the letter from Mickey, Kairi seems sad because they will leave again.

Then in kh3, she is keyblade training. She cuts her hair like Riku did. In the novel she wonders if Sora likes short hair and does it because of Riku. She then grows close to Lea / Axel someone who once tried to kidnap her for his own gain. Then she realized he was hurt and was trying to see his friend again and that isn't something that bad. But above all, he is sorry about everything.

She is often left behind. Unless she is in immediate danger, she isn't really thought of. Sora's mind always goes to Riku and what Riku is doing.

In kh2, he keeps trying to find Rikuand only focus is on finding him. It isn't until someone mentions Kairi that he thinks of her. In kh3 he talks about wanting to call Riku and that he wants to show how cool the MH6 world is to Riku. When he sees Kairi in kh3 that's when he realizes oh, you're here too.

She constantly wants to be with them fuelled by both trauma and friendship, However they're constantly leaving her behind.

Tetsuya Nomura once said that Kingdom Hearts is about the friendships that change alluring to how destiny Trio dynamic changes where Sora and Riku aren't as close to her.

In re:mind / mom Kairi falls asleep, hoping to be useful and wake Sora up so things can be like they have always been between the three of them.

Then when she wakes, she and Riku go to try to find Sora and realizes she must stay behind as it is Riku's part not hers. Kairi must grow on her own and not with other people that constantly held her back and left her behind.

I don't think she should be friendless but I think she should grow without them because they hold her back and she is left behind a lot. She is constantly relying on Sora and Riku.

Also it would just be interesting to see her with other characters as it could be an interesting dynamic. I would have loved to see her with the sea salt trio + Twilight gang. Her interacting with Vanitas would also have been great (though not sure if it's possible since he went away).

[memorystormsanctuary]

Day 5~ Memories

As touched upon yesterday, X has a lot of memories. So for today's @khoc-week it's another difficult choice. I decided to go with a character interaction I had never had a chance to write before, but now I'm glad I did. With all the memories X has of centuries past, I thought it might be interesting to see what Naminé would have to say about him.

(Forgive any weird formatting I'm on mobile.)

X had never had a chance to speak to Namine. He had heard a few things about the Nobody from the others. The members of the organizations had always spoken of her like she was some kind of witch. Which was amusing to X considering the magic most of them were capable of. But he had only ever heard stories of what she could do with memories. All they needed was have the faintest tie to Sora and she had complete control of all their memories. Something that was scary to even think about.

DiZ had less nice things to say about her. He had already gotten annoyed listening to the man wrapped in bandages. He didn’t know why his sister was bothering with him, but he hoped she had a good reason. All he had gotten so far was a shared grudge against Xehanort, which was fair enough but he hoped there was more going on. DiZ tended to say Namine was just a nuisance, which he supposed was why he had brought X aside and asked him to take her out silently. X had no intentions of doing such a thing, but he was curious to meet her. So he’d take advantage of the offer.

Namine was waiting in Castle Oblivion. Well, not waiting, but that was the reports of where she was hiding. X wasn’t sure where DiZ got his information but he didn’t see a point in arguing it. Which was why he stood in front of the strange castle in the middle of nowhere.

X hated this castle. If he looked hard enough he could see the way it needed to bend to return to what it had once been. It was a place filled with unpleasant memories for him. And he didn’t want to have to drag that up. So instead he pushed past the twisting feeling in his gut and the ringing in his ear that sounded too much like Terra’s yells and into the castle.

Inside he found something he didn’t expect. 

Namine was there, sitting calmly on the steps that would lead up to the first floor. While he hadn’t expected to find her so easily, what surprised him more was the giant black and white bird wrapped around her. The Heartless chirped in warning, moving to cover Namine more.

“Whoa Phoenix, I’m not going to hurt her,” X said, holding up his hands. He watched as the fire covered bird slowly cocked its head before stepping back, its chirps continuing softly. X turned his attention off of Phoenix back onto Namine.

She didn’t really strike him as anything special. She was small and petite, with blonde hair brushed over one shoulder. A sketch book sat on her lap, pulled close to her chest along with her knees. Wide blue eyes watched him as he entered farther into the room. Those were the strangest things about her. They were so familiar, but X couldn’t place where he had seen them before.

“Namine, I presume?” X asked as he came to a stop.

“Yes,” she answered, looking down to avoid his eyes. X held in a snicker. She really shouldn’t be so ready to answer.

“We haven’t met, my name’s X,” he said calmly. “Technically DiZ wants me to dispose of you since no one else has done the job. But to be honest I’m not really interested in it.” She looked up at him almost shocked by his words. He waited for her to speak, but it didn’t seem she was going to after a pause. She only continued to stare at him, blue eyes searching. X hoped it was just the eyes of an artist, and not her searching for something deeper. “I just wanted a chance to talk to you.”

“About what?” Namine asked. Her eyes still were taking him in. At least now they had moved from his face and were onto the rest of his features.

“I’ve heard what you can do to memories, I was curious to see if it was true,” X admitted. He stepped closer to her, waiting for any kind of reaction. But she gave him none, only returning her gaze to his face. Something about the look in her eyes unsettled him, the look of surprise and confusion.

“You have so many,” Namine said. X froze where he stood.

“What?”

“Most, only have a relatively short chain. But, you don’t,” Namine said. X tightened his hand beside him, trying to hide the way her words had shaken him to the core. The way he could feel his chest about to explode. “Yours is so long, and coiled around and around. In some places it even seems like it's multiple chains.”

“I guess it’s true,” X said. He forced himself to chuckle. “Ok, so you see how many memories I have. No biggie. What else can you tell me?”

Namine didn’t speak to answer, instead she lowered her sketch pad and began drawing. She worked soundlessly, the only thing to be heard was the movement of her pencil and Phoenix’s chirps. X wasn’t sure what the point of it was, but he allowed her to continue. He took the moment to steady his breathing and mind. It wasn’t like she was the first to know all he carried. She probably wouldn’t be able to tell him much more.

Soundlessly Namine turned her sketch pad towards X. He took a step forward, expecting nothing. But what he saw stole his breath away from him.

It was a scene he saw often when his memories got out of control. A young pair of children both dressed the same, one offering the other a stack of clothing. X could hear one pleading the other to run, to disguise herself and escape while he took her punishment. It made his blood run cold.

“How did you know about this?” he demanded.

“It was the memory closest to the beginning that wasn’t really your own,” Namine explained. She slowly pulled her sketch pad back. X didn’t move. He couldn’t. How did she know? “I am a witch who has power over the memories of those connected to Sora. You are one of those people.”

“I see why so many people were interested in you,” X muttered. He slowly pulled himself back, looking away from her as if that would protect him. How much had she seen? How much did she know? Who would she tell? Phoenix was here, that meant Yuki wasn’t far behind. Would she tell Yuki?

“Do they trouble you?” Namine asked. X turned his attention back to her, despite his better judgement. Namine seemed to understand his silent question as she shifted again. “The memories of your past lives? If, if they did I could seal them like your sisters.”

“Seal?” X asked.

“Yes. It would help you forget,” Namine explained. “But, like your sister you would lose what little power you have kept. You would be almost normal.”

For a moment X could only stare at the Nobody. The idea running through his head. He could forget too? Just like she had all those years ago. When they had begged and begged for the pain to stop. For the torture to end. They had lived the same lives on repeat. And nothing ever changed. He could forget all of the struggle.

What would happen if he forgot?

X almost felt the chill go down his back at the very thought. If he forgot would they make her remember? Was it linked between them? He would never make her carry what he did. She had suffered enough this time around. He had made the promise to remember a long time ago. To protect her from this. To let her have her light as long as she desired it.

“I think I’ll pass,” X said. He glanced back at Namine to see her drawing once again. This time he could understand the memory he saw on her paper. He and his sister along with another woman. The ones who had asked for the change.

“I thought you might,” Namine admitted. “But I thought I should offer. You carry more than you should sometimes.”

“Yeah,” X agreed mindlessly. “Listen, about what you know-”

“I won’t tell,” Namine said. “I’ll keep it our secret.” X could only stare at her in shock. She really wasn’t what she first appeared at all. Just who was this girl?

“Thanks,” X said. Namine only nodded, continuing her drawings as if nothing had happened. X slowly turned his back returning to the door. It took every part of him not turn back and look at her again.

It was quite a power she had.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

Sora x Baby!Daughter!Reader Part 5

Warnings: i had @kalosqueen27​ help me out with this, angst/fluff, twists

Today was your first birthday which was a big deal to Sora. He had everyone prepare for the party while you were napping. Once everything was complete, Sora went to go get you. You were somewhat fussy when he interrupted you nap but soon calmed down. He took you down stairs and started celebrating your birthday. Sora helped you open your presents from your aunts and uncles. The Wayfinder Trio got you your own wayfinder with your favorite color. Kairi and Riku got you a new stuffed animal, Naminé got yo a coloring book and some crayons, and The Sea Salt Ice Cream Trio, including Saïx, got you a new book. When it was time for the cake, everything turned upside down. Everyone sang happy birthday and Sora helped you blow out the candle. You laughed and clapped your hands. When you did, a keyblade appeared right in front of you. Everyone was shocked at that. You were only one years old. It seemed almost impossible for you to do that. 

“Okay. Party’s over. Thank you guys so much for coming.” Sora put you in your highchair and pushed everyone out of the house. Once everyone was out of the house, he locked the door and had a mini panic attack. The keyblade went away and he immediately took you to Master Yen Sid’s. He explained what happened and Yen Sid gave him an suggestion. 

“I suggest that we take her powers away for a while till it’s time for her to use the keyblade.” he said. Sora didn’t argue it. He agreed and Yen Sid performed a spell that took your powers away for a while. When he returned, Riku and Kairi were there. 

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Sora said and went to the kitchen. Kairi and riku followed. 

“We need to talk about it. It’s a big deal.” Kairi said. Sora put you in your highchair and went to get started on dinner. 

“Look, I already took her to Yen Sid to remove her powers till she’s old enough I don’t need a lecture from you guys.” 

“I was going to say that you should do that but looks like you beat me to it.” Riku said. Kairi agreed with Riku but it didn’t make Sora feel better. 

“Still.” Sora said. 

“Why are you so angry? It’s not like she hurt anybody.” Kairi said. Sor put down the kitchen utensil and turned around. 

“Because I don’t want her to learn about her father and who she’s meant to be. I was hoping that she would be just a normal little girl.” Sora started to cry. Riku and Kairi brought him into a hug. 

“It’s gonna be okay. We’ll figure something out.” Riku said. You looked at the trio and wanted to hug Sora. 

“Da-da!” you said. The trio looked at each other with wide eyes. 

“Did she just...” Sora started. 

“I think she did.” Riku said. Sora picked you up and did a little happy dance. 

“You just said your first word. I’m so proud of you!” he said smiling. Kairi and Riku didn’t want to ruin the moment so they left. Sora started to cry again and held you close to him. Later that night, you were sleeping in your crib in Sora’s room again when Ansem snuck in. He gently took you out of the crib and went back through the corridor. You started to cry and Sora woke up. He saw you being taken away but he couldn’t make it. You were taken away from him and now there’s a bigger chance of you giving in to the darkness. 

Ansem took you to the Castle That Never Was while you were still crying. You wanted Sora back. He was your daddy. Young Xehanort saw Ansem with you and took you from his arms. You cried for bit but then calmed down. Ansem wasn’t surprised. Y!Xehanort hummed a small lullaby and put you back to sleep. 

“So, what are we going to do with her?” Ansem asked. Y!Xehanort shrugged his shoulders. He went to the couch in the Grey Area and grabbed a black paci. You took the paci and sucked on it. You soon fell asleep. 

“We should talk to Xemnas. He knows more about the plan than I do.” Y!Xehanort said. He took you to Xemnas’ room and knocked. 

“Enter.” Xemnas said. Y!Xehanort walked in still holding you in his arms. 

“Here she is. She’s zonked out, but I have a feeling that she’s a light sleeper.” he said. Xemnas stood up from his desk and walked over to you and Y!Xehanort. He gently took you in his arms. 

“Thank you. You may go.” he said. Before Y!Xehanort left the room, he asked Xemans a question.

“Remind me what’s so special about her?” 

“She’s a princess of heart and has the power to control Kingdom Hearts. When she’s old enough, she will be able to bring back the older version of yourself.” Xemnas said. 

“Right. Thanks.” Y!Xehanort lef the room and closed the door. He took you to look at Kingdom Hearts and got a better look at you. You were back in his arms and the rightful heir to his throne. 

“Welcome home, princess.” 

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Written for Valentine's Day: Terra keeps being shirtless around Aqua, hoping that it might make her realize her feelings for him and want to start dating. A bit more serious than it sounds. Aqua's point-of-view. Canon compliant. Oneshot. Post-Melody of Memory. Fluff. Humor. Rated T. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29595876

Aqua’s PoV

"Naminé, I need your advice on something..." Aqua told the younger girl, as the two of them sat looking up at the stars in the Land of Departure. "And I hope you can make what’s going on seem more innocent than I’m currently seeing it as," Aqua said, blushing now.

"Of course, Aqua. What is it?" Naminé asked kindly, as she would do to anything

"...I swear Terra's always shirtless around me these days, and I don't know what to make of it! He's like a brother to me, so I want to believe it's nothing, y’know? And I was hoping that talking to you would help me see it that way, since you see the innocence in everything."

But Naminé instantly let Aqua down by giggling. And the dainty way she put a hand over her mouth, and laughed so pearly, reminded Aqua of bubbles on the sea. "Aqua, I think Terra likes you. And I guess it's up to you to decide if you feel the same way or not."

That couldn't be, could it? Sure, they'd kissed that one time... but after that, for certain reasons, Aqua had just assumed that was Terra being a hormonal guy. And Aqua had gotten rid of any feelings she could have had for him, post-haste.

And, of course, it would be when Aqua was trying to prove to Naminé that there was nothing between her and Terra, that the man would show up. And—it really figured, Aqua thought—he was shirtless, dripping in sweat after having sparred with Kairi. And that's what one should have expected from someone in the the Land of Departure, but Aqua still felt flustered... for some reason.

"Hey, Aqua? Do you have any Gatorade? That last sparring session with Kairi really wore me out. I think she's trying to prove something. And you know what? I'm proud of her for it, but exhausted."

"Oh sure, Terra. Let me go look for some." And was Aqua not magicking some right then and there an excuse to leave this awkward situation? Yes.

Aqua made it back into the kitchen as slowly as her feet would carry her, and poured the found drink into a glass, even, to waste even moretime.

To take up another second, Aqua thought about the little two-year-old they had recently adopted, who already seemed to have a connection to the Keyblade. And Aqua beamed for the fact that she was taking well to the cardboard Keyblade they’d made for her. And was already learning how to “fight” with it some.

But with nothing else to do, Aqua finally let herself think back on the time that she and Terra had kissed, as she walked back to him.

"Here you go, Terra," Aqua said, handing her friend the beverage whilst looking anywhere but at him.

Ven, who was now showing Kairi how to run even faster than she already could, wolf-whistled for some reason.

And at that rude hint from Ven, Aqua decided she should face her fear and look into her older brother's face... but was that really how she saw him?

"Aqua, you seem to be acting weird around m-"

Apparently, Aqua wasn't as ready to deal with this as she had thought she was. Because she ended up mumbling, "I'm going to go bake something. Bye!" before just leaving Terra there like he meant absolutely nothing to her.

...

The night before their Mark of Mastery exam... before Ven had come down, Terra and Aqua had already been outside. And somehow and some way, they had ended up kissing. And yes, Terra had been shirtless then too, because he'd come to the summit after going to bed. And Terra slept without a shirt on, apparently.

But Aqua may or may not have given him a sneak peek at the wayfinder charms she had been making for them all... And when Terra had joked that of course they looked like cookies, because she loved baking so much, Aqua had playfully hit Terra... and that had somehow led to her being in his arms and the two of them lip-locking. And, yes: it was every bit as magical as the princesses Aqua would later meet and their princes’ bonds.

But it had ended in disaster... right after Aqua, Terra (and Ventus, too) had had their falling out in Radiant Garden, Aqua had tracked Terra down at the Mirage Arena. He had then decided to hurt her even more than he already had, by saying that he'd never loved her romantically, but had only wanted her for her body.

Later, they had of course made up: in the Keyblade Graveyard twice (once more than a decade ago, and now a year ago), but Aqua had never faulted him for not having feelings for her—as one couldn't control that.

But could it be that Terra did feel for her and had lied about what he’d said in the Mirage of Arena... so when he had been apologizing, he'd also meant to do so for that?

And while Aqua was trying to suss all of this out, she was interrupted by none other than Terra. And, yes: he was shirtless once more. But this time, there seemed to be an excuse for it: he had a massive scar on his chest that needed stitches, which was clearly why he'd come into the infirmary (Aqua was in their right now, because she was trying to use her magic to make some of their medicines even stronger).

"Sorry, Aqua," Terra told the azure-haired girl upon brushing by her to pick up a needle, thread, and some antiseptic. "Sol almost fell off the castle—and I ran and caught her—but in doing so had one of the chains near the mountain go right through my chest."

"Terra!" Aqua exclaimed in pure horror, while she reached for her friend. "I know your Cure spells leave something to be desired, but you don't have to stitch yourself up! Here! Let me heal you. And nice job, saving Sol!"

"Thanks," Terra beamed at Aqua. And at first, she thought he was going to go into a proud fatherly rant about Sol, but instead he seemed to have another train of thought. "Aqua... I think you have feelings for me. Will you admit to that even remotely?"

Thankfully, Aqua wasn't as naive as she was back when Zack asked her out. And not coy or young enough to pretend like she didn't know what Terra was talking about when he said “like”, so she simply told the truth. "Maybe I do... but what of it?"

"'What of it?!' Aqua, we could be happy and together right now. Don't you want that? I don't get why you're shutting me out, after I apologized-"

“Did you really apologize, Terra?! God, give me some time! You really hurt me back then. And you left it open-ended so that I might not even realize you’d tried to say sorry for what happened at the Mirage Arena?! Forgive me if I don’t exactly want to kiss you yet, let alone anything else!” Aqua snapped.

And Terra pulled away from Aqua then, looking like he no longer trusted her to use Curaga on him. And he opened his mouth like he was going to say something… but then he quickly closed it and smiled. “…You’re right, Aqua. And I’m sorry again. I really should have been more clear that I meant to apologize for the things I said in the Mirage Arena… and I wish I could take them all back. I’d say that I subconsciously had realized that Master Xehanort wanted to hurt you and Ven, and was trying to push you away to protect you back then… but I don’t even know if I believe that. Take all the time you need. Or even leave me hanging. The choice is up to you.”

And Terra turned to leave, but not before Aqua let her magic find him to help him.

Terra, whether he realized it or not, had given Aqua a great gift in giving her time to think here. And she planned to do exactly that.

…

It was a little while before Terra broached the subject of “them” again, and Aqua was certainly grateful about it.

Though she continued to see him in normal situations: like as they ran the Land of Departure together and continued to train Ventus, Kairi, and Sol… while Aqua and Terra investigated just how the Land of Departure existed between light and darkness, and as Naminé came over again so Aqua could see if she could use her powers to strengthen the witch’s memory magic, so she might be able to connect to the missing Sora…

But eventually, Terra was curious once more… and yes, he had his shirt off again (and this time, it even made Aqua laugh). But this time, there was a good excuse for it: they were putting a pool into the castle. (And Terra had been good before this, and worn his shirt in all the normal situations they’d been having lately.)

“So, have you made up your mind, Aqua?” Terra asked her now, earnestly. And he took Aqua’s hand into his own when he asked this—as if doing so was the simplest thing in the world; maybe it was—and Aqua found her breath hitching in her throat as he did it. So perhaps this would be easy, after all…

“I have,” Aqua smiled, as she resisted the urge to push Terra back into the pool that he’d just gotten out of. She imagined Kairi might have done that to Sora and/or Riku… but Aqua wasn’t that feisty. Yet. Mayhap she would be soon, for having spent so much time with the younger girl these days.

“And to be honest, Terra… This has been hard for me to wrap my head around. For a while, I was starting to think I saw you as a brother—as a defense mechanism?—but you responding to my anger so gracefully the other day? It showed me just how much you’ve grown. And I like who you were back in the day,.. but I think a love who you are now. But while I do have romantic feelings for you, I wasn’t sure if I had sexual feelings for you… but now I think that I might. And I’d probably be willing to try and have a relationship with you.”

And though Aqua was now looking at Terra with the expression of a love-struck teenager, she was sure, she hated how unfeminine she had just sounded. Or like her feelings for Terra were just a business transaction. Perhaps Terra had been right all those years ago, when he’d said that she was “such a girl” only sometimes…

But then Terra pulled Aqua into a kiss out of the blue. And oh, his hand on her back that was ever slightly going down was good—as was them being pressed flushed against each other, while Terra was shirtless—and the way Terra’s tongue probed Aqua’s mouth in a way she was sure another part of him wanted to was also wonderful; and Aqua felt heat growing in her stomach as they held onto each other and made out even longer. Oh, how Aqua loved that Terra was also sweet—his arms wrapping around her shoulders now, as hers were on his waist—and tasted like sugar.

And when Terra eventually pulled away for air, Aqua knew she was grinning at him like an idiot. But surely it was her turn to act like a silly-goose around him, and not the other way around.

“I think you were right before, Terra,” Aqua told her… boyfriend now, holding both his hands like a young school couple would do—surely taking a page out of Sora and Kairi’s book, as she did so. “Let’s be happy and together. I mean, we pretty much have an adopted daughter in Sol now, so why not go the full nine-yards and get married or something?”

And Sol appeared that very moment, as if to prove Aqua’s words as valid. And she grabbed both of Aqua and Terra’s hands and began pulling them away somewhere.

But Terra kissed Aqua on the head—and oh, how she flushed here—before the two of them could trip over their own two feet after Sol, and made her heart still, like he had been doing since they were teenagers. “Proposal accepted, Aqua.”

Author’s Note: The scene of Terra and Aqua in the Mirage Arena is something I wrote in an old Terqua fic of mine (as is Terra and Aqua kissing the night before their Mark of Mastery, now that I think about it), that I’ve since deleted. And I decided to bring that back here:

)In fact, this entire fic was sort of inspired by that story. Because there was one Terra shirtless scene in that fic. And one reviewer of it loved the story, but thought that was a little fan servicey (LOL)… and I decided to take that up to eleven here, almost as a joke: even though this ended up as a serious story in the end.

The Sol stuff is because I figure Terra and Aqua (and maybe Ven eventually?) will probably start taking up Keyblade apprentices, but I don’t know how young or not young a person is when they’re first taken to the Land of Departure. For this fic, I decided to go with really young for the hell of it (even though I doubt someone would be a potential wielder this young in canon), maybe based on some other KH fanfics I’ve read where that happened. And the little girl being named “Sol” is a reference to Terra and Aqua’s daughter in The Genius Mage’s fic “Birth of the Sun”. “Sol” means “sun” in Latin. And of course, the Wayfinder Trio’s names are Latin.

[cutegirlmayra]

Kairi’s Training Prompt

-After Melody of Memory-

                                              *  SPOILER WARNING *

I couldn’t stop thinking about it... I must have gotten over-confident... no, that’s not it. I feel it in my heart. I know why I said that to Riku... Even knowing I wasn’t nearly as ready to face the dangers of a... unreality world... I was just expecting Riku to say what you did.

When I first came back, you had asked if I was ready. It took me by surprise for a minute... but then, you always did.

Riku... I won’t say I’m sorry for asking to go with him, but I will say I knew and respected his honest hesitation.

With how I currently am... and with all the amazing adventures you and him have been on... I’ll keep you safe, Sora. Riku will find you, and I’ll be ready.

When the time is right, Master Aqua will tell me. I will either return to the Final World... or I’ll greet you and Riku when you get back.

But I’m not waiting any longer.

Aqua flung her keyblade up as the two were locked in a duel mid-air. Kairi, clenching her teeth, opened her mouth a moment at the realization of her next attack. Attempting to face it head on instead of her usual dodging route, she spun her keyblade around and fired off a new ranged attack she had been trying to work on.

Aqua was taking her seriously, and unleashed her powerful attack that sent a violent, rippling wave right through her spheres of light, and cut Kairi back to the ground.

As her head hit the dirt, she relived the moment in her heart, where Xehanort had revealed himself before...

As Aqua approached, Kairi’s head was still ringing, and looking up... the dark illusion of him coming towards her glitched into her reality.

“Eh.. ah..!” she shook her head, scooting back a moment as she recounted how easily he would grab her keyblade, how weak she was to try and rival a master. “No...” she gripped her hand into a tight fist by her heart, looking away from the glitching images of Aqua being replaced by Master Xehanort.

“I won’t... fall again!” She pushed off the ground, gripping her keyblade in a new way and shoving it into Aqua’s.

Aqua saw something different in Kairi... a glimmer of raw power she didn’t see before.

“This is...” Her eyes widened... seeing Sora within them. “I see now.” She smiled, and broke the tension of their two keyblades colliding, pushing Kairi back. “Looks like I’m not the only one teaching you strength.” She was glad to see that there was some influence, but couldn’t pin-point exactly why Kairi’s eyes reflected his own spirit in them...

‘They were close friends...’ she told herself, but as she quickly analyzed the battled previously, she noticed that every time she was about to mention--let’s say, Kairi’s footing--that she’d already adjust as though something was nudging her in the right direction.

“...Will lingers.” she spoke aloud, though secretly to herself, but through Kairi’s panting and waiting to see what her opponent would do... she heard it.

“What?” She broke her stance, standing upright again and out of her battle-ready position.

Aqua was looking down, remembering Terra and shook her head as Kairi snapped her out of her thoughts. “Sorry.” She gestured her with her hand towards her, “I should... make it a habit not to think too much while we’re training.” She swiped her keyblade out in front of her again, letting it rest elegantly by her side. “Where were we?”

Kairi’s eyes narrowed again, “You said... will lingers. What do you mean?”

Silence... as Aqua stared at her, wondering...

She sighed, at last, “That’s enough training for today.” Relaxing, she approached Kairi again, placing a hand on her shoulder, “We’ll get your tolerance to attacks up, lots of strength training should do it. As for stamina to keep you up during combat...” She removed the hand to then put it up to her chin, “How about a few laps around the place?”

She was cheery, and her positive but fierce training style was exactly what Kairi wanted.

“Right. A few laps.” Kairi took off, letting her keyblade fade into sparkling dusts of light.

“And no flying!” Aqua cupped her hand to the side of her mouth to make sure her voice and advice carried through the wind. With a slight inward chuckle to herself, she looked fondly after Kairi’s racing image.

“Huh?” She then blinked and scanned the image again... seeing Sora running right alongside Kairi before she looked away, shook her head, and squinted through the light of the sun.

It was just Kairi.

“...I... Hmm... Guess I still need to adjust to the light.” She amused out loud, a bad habit. Though... it didn’t concern her, her odd mirage.

She was glad to recognize some of Sora in her.

That was what she was recognizing,.. right?

After circling about a few times, Kairi looked behind her shoulder, seeing that Aqua had gone and looked off to her favorite meditative spot.

She was focused keenly in on it, a cliff that overlooked the vastness of time to her... a beautiful scenery to be alone.

Though, she wasn’t quite comfortable being alone... she was used to it.

Master Aqua has been training me for days now. Though, I know it’s only been a short time since Riku’s departure in the Final World, I feel as though I’ve gotten stronger.

Maybe I’m a fast learner. It makes me happy to think that.

...How are you, Sora? Still having amazing adventures? I just know you are. I can’t picture you being so disheartened, it’s not like you.

I have a feeling... you’re waiting this time. And don’t worry, I won’t keep you waiting nearly as long as you did me!

Sorry... that was a joke, and this time, I will admit my wrong.

I know you and Riku miss our time on Destiny Island. When we returned the first time from the Final World... do you remember what you told me?

You promised you would return.

I...

Kairi held the pen up to her cheek, as though wondering if she should say this. Pen was permeant. She sort of... wished she had brought a pencil then.

But nonetheless, she told herself, “Well, no going back now.” And happily continued in her quiet letter to Sora. A pastime she felt she needed to do now, not just for herself.

Somehow... she felt his heart could read it. And secretly... she hoped it’d give him strength.

I felt your hand tighten around mine. Though we had seen fireworks, ate sea-salt ice cream together,... even got your friend back with his. I never felt such longing before...

Maybe because you were never physically there, because our hearts were always so connected before.

But in that moment, I had never felt more away from you.

Kairi felt a tear on her cheek and quickly scraped it away, getting ink on her face, but not noticing it.

She kept writing.

Is that strange? To feel close to you when you’re away, and be so happy when we’re together at last... but then, in a moment you wanted me to feel even more so that you would always be there... I felt like your hand was saying goodbye.

I know that’s silly. You hate goodbyes. And honestly? I hate them too.

I know you wanted to comfort me, and you really did. Honest, you did.

The ink smeared across her face as her warm tears kept sliding gently but in a hurried stream down her cheek. Her wrist kept wiping them, but to no avail.

Her vision was blurry, and it made her smile even more.

I miss you. Sora, when I was reliving your past, that time I was in your heart... I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Our fates are one, now... but my fate has never been my own to choose.

I didn’t know that. Did you?

Is that why you were always chasing after me? Is that why I always got you hurt?

I know you wouldn’t say that. Not to my face, anyway. Oh, by the way, Donald and Goofy are really worried about you... But I told them you’re pint is still enough to get back to them!

Suddenly, Kairi felt that presence again... she saw herself glowing and looked at her hand, amazed as her body flashed into light.

Sora then opened his eyes, looking lovingly to the pen, and scribbled words down as quickly as he could. He had a big grin on his face, enjoying every moment of it, before nodding that he was done.

He then took his hand and wiped the remaining tears and ink on her face, carefully trying to indirectly help clean her up, and then closed his eyes again.

Kairi’s body flashed in light and she was herself again; still in a bit of shock, she looked back down at her hand with the pen in it.

“Wha...” she looked at her letter...

and covered her mouth as her eyes widened in more tears.

You know good and well I wouldn’t ever even think that, Kairi!

Even the first line blew her away. “Sora...” She laughed to herself, but noticed there was more and quickly looked over it.

“I never had a reply before...”

Your fate and mine are intertwined now, remember? I know you once forgot my name, but that’s okay. My memory was replaced by Naminé once! So I guess we’re even on that one.

She had to stop reading only to close her eyes and cry, breathing through her hand tightly clasped over her sobbing mouth.

She blinked her eyes open to see what else was written then.

My voice... and maybe even most of me might be consciously lost in another world... one of fiction and fantasy. But Kairi? No matter where I am, I know our hearts will find each other.

You’ve always been my guiding key.

She dropped the paper, covering her face and trying to compose herself. “Sora... Sora..!” She wished she could say the same thing back to him.

As the paper fell to the ground, it was suddenly swooped up by the wind, threatening to fall off the cliff.

“Ah! No!” She darted after it, reaching down at the edge as it floated in twisting turns off the cliff edge.

Determined to read the last of his message, not knowing if they could ever communicate like that again, she rushed back and took a leaping dive off the cliff.

Her hand grasped for the letter’s paper... and finally, grabbed it. “Ah-ha!” she grinned with an open mouth before gliding over the sea and turning over the trees to land safely back to the ground.

She looked to see the last of his message flapping in the newly strong wind that had picked up, seeing it say...

Look to the sky, Kairi. I promised, didn’t I? I’m coming back, and when I do, we’re gonna see all those worlds together again! This time, my hand won’t squeeze so tight... but my arms will.

“Kairi?”

Looking up from the crinkled and flapping paper in her hands, Aqua’s voice had startled her momentarily.

“O-oh, Master Aqua...” She didn’t realize...

Aqua’s hand flung up to her face in surprise, “W-...What happened to you?”

Kairi tried to look down at her cheeks, not realizing that Sora had made the mess even worse, spreading the ink all over her face...

“Ah..!” Embarrassed, she laughed and tried to get it off again. “It.. It won’t come off!” She panicked only slightly, “The wind from when I was flying must have dried it!”

“Flying? Didn’t I tell you-... ah, nevermind.” Aqua shook her head, thinking it best to put her ‘Training’ aside for a moment. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” she kindly spoke out and walked over to her, helping her to the sea so she could wash her face off.

Kairi then looked up to the sky... and swore she saw a cloud spell out... smile.