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date Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500
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1 Prism Hearts
2 Chapter 3
3 Radical Dreamers
4 by Amazoness Duo
5 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
6
7
8 A bundle of clothes got tossed at Kairi shortly after she entered
9 the dressing room of the band of part time entertainers and full time
10 thieves, the Radical Dreamers. She stumbled back as the rather large
11 dress threw her off balance. She held it out, watching it unfurl
12 before her. The dress was made of enough cloth to make six of the
13 outfits Kairi was wearing. She looked at it with a bit of
14 trepidation. “I’m supposed to wear this?”
15
16 “Of course! You’re playing the princess. You have to look regal and
17 courtly,” Yuffie explained, opening a chest to get a few more props.
18
19 Glancing back at the dress skeptically, Kairi shook her head. “Isn’t
20 it a little... big?”
21
22 Yuffie looked back over her shoulder. “No. You’re just not used to
23 wearing anything like that. You get used to it. If you’re gonna be
24 playing a princess, you have to look the part. Trust me. I’ve had to
25 play the princess now and then myself.” It looked like her words
26 helped soothe some of Kairi’s concern, though truth be told, she
27 hated playing the part of the princess. She preferred the prince’s
28 outfit to that nightmarish gown any day. Sure, it looked pretty
29 enough, but Yuffie was used to actually being able to move her limbs.
30 She and Zidane had been set to flip for who was going to be the
31 princess in the day’s play if Kairi hadn’t shown up, so she was more
32 than a little grateful at the younger girl’s arrival.
33
34 “But I don’t know any of my lines!” Kairi said nervously, watching
35 Yuffie pull out some prop swords. She suddenly realized the big
36 difference between playing pretend and doing a play. You didn’t have
37 to know what you were doing when you were playing pretend. She felt
38 nervous, butterflies swirling about in her stomach as she held onto
39 the large dress.
40
41 “What lines? We’re doing ‘Sleeping Beauty’. You lie there for most
42 of the play. You’re lucky we’re not doing ‘I Want to be Your Canary’.
43 The princess in that has most of the best lines,” Yuffie explained,
44 taking a few experimental swipes with the blade. She’d give that one
45 to Locke. She preferred a shorter sword herself. Even if it wasn’t
46 her weapon of choice, it did have a nice stage presence.
47
48 “Sleeping Beauty?” Kairi repeated, blinking.
49
50 “Yep. Everyone needs a story that ends with a ‘and they lived
51 happily ever after’ now and then. Especially with how things have
52 been lately. Which is exactly why we aren’t doing ‘I Want to be Your
53 Canary’. The ending isn’t the happiest, if you know what I mean.” The
54 brunette ninja glanced back over her shoulder at the recently dubbed
55 Keyblade Mistress. “Why? You don’t like ‘Sleeping Beauty’?”
56
57 Kairi shook her head quickly. “No, I love it! It’s one of my
58 favorites!” She could vaguely remember lying on her bed in her room,
59 resting on her stomach with her chin in her hands, the lights off and
60 a video playing. She could remember reciting the lines as the prince
61 said them, as he made his way to Sleeping Beauty. Could remember her
62 eyes tearing up, thinking ‘I want my happily ever after’. But that
63 couldn’t be real. Sleeping Beauty was Princess Aurora. And she had
64 met her at Hollow Bastion. She was one of the seven Princesses. So
65 she couldn’t be some movie she had seen. Kairi tried to dismiss the
66 thought. It wasn’t true. This was all real. That other place, that
67 home was only an illusion. It had to be.
68
69 “You better get changed. We don’t have much time. The people are
70 probably already taking their seats.” Yuffie stood up, holding the
71 pile of swords and belts. “As long as you don’t open your eyes when
72 your supposed to be sleeping, you’ll do fine.”
73
74 Kairi didn’t feel much better even with the ninja’s ‘helpful’
75 advice. She turned to ask where to change, but Yuffie had already
76 left. ‘Just think of it as another part of finding Riku and Sora. The
77 sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can get back to finding
78 them.’ Sighing, she began to take off her clothes, setting them on
79 the chest Yuffie had retrieved some props from just a short time
80 before. Setting her skirt down, she looked back at the dress. Just
81 how was she supposed to get that thing on, anyway? It still looked
82 too big for her.
83
84 Before Kairi could figure it out, the door swung open again. “Are
85 you coming or not?”
86
87 Kairi dropped to her knees, covering herself as best she could, clad
88 only in her undergarments. Her cheeks burned as Yuffie simply blinked
89 at her for a moment. “Yuffie!” she cried. The ninja finally looked
90 away, busying herself with something she apparently saw on the roof.
91 She felt like she was going to die. This had never happened before on
92 her island. The boys were always polite enough to knock first. She
93 wanted to grab her clothes, get dressed, and leave. But she knew she
94 couldn’t do that. She still had a play to do.
95
96 “You were supposed to follow me, Kairi,” Yuffie said, still staring
97 up at the roof. “But.. umm.. If you wanna change in here, that’s
98 fine.” She closed the door swiftly.
99
100 Her head slumping in embarrassment, Kairi sighed. So that’s why
101 Yuffie had left. She was supposed to go with her. This probably
102 wasn’t the dressing room after all. But she was so worked up about
103 everything that she hadn’t been paying attention. Grabbing the dress,
104 she tried to get dressed as quickly as she could. When she was
105 finally finished, she felt a little awkward. It was a little too big
106 for her after all, but it didn’t seem too noticeable. But she still
107 wasn’t used to such an extravagant outfit. She turned, trying to get
108 used to the way it swished about her as she moved.
109
110 “You look like a real princess, Kairi,” a voice said warmly from
111 somewhere behind her.
112
113 The brunette whirled about, her eyes wide as she came face to face
114 with Riku. He was grinning, a hand on one hip. “Riku!” She was
115 breathless. It had been so long since she had seen him. Tears burnt
116 at her eyes. She had waited to see him again for so long.
117
118 “But then, you really are a princess, so it shouldn’t be any big
119 surprise,” the silver haired boy reasoned.
120
121 Kairi ran to him, nearly stumbling in the large dress. But she
122 didn’t care. She just wanted to be near him again. To know that she
123 wasn’t alone anymore. To know that he was really there. To hold on
124 and forget all about other worlds and what was real or not. She could
125 see him so close, smiling at her. Her arms tried desperately to hold
126 onto him, but she passed straight through, stumbling to her hands and
127 knees behind him. Her heart plummeted as she sat there, lacking the
128 strength to even get back up. She hit the floor angrily with her
129 fist, her vision blurring with tears. “Every time I see you...” she
130 began weakly, “you aren’t really there. Riku... Please don’t leave
131 me.” But there was no answer. He was gone, as suddenly as the wind.
132 She closed her eyes tightly, her small body shaking with bitter sobs.
133 He was always right there. But he was always a universe away.
134
135 A knock at the door punched through Kairi’s shroud of depression.
136 “We’ve gotta hurry, princess! You’re on in less than a minute!”
137 Yuffie called out.
138
139 Slowly getting to her feet, Kairi sniffled, her body still shaking
140 lightly. She wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of the gown.
141 “Coming!” she called out, hoping Yuffie didn’t hear the tremble in
142 her voice. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to stifle
143 the tears that were still unshed. “I’ll find you Riku. Wherever you
144 are,” she whispered. Holding onto some semblance of being fine, Kairi
145 hurried out the door.
146
147 Yuffie waited, leaning against the wall. She smiled when Kairi
148 exited. “See? You do make a good princess.” She stretched, the sword
149 in her belt hitting the wall.
150
151 Kairi blinked in surprise, unable to keep from staring at the ninja
152 girl. “You’re the prince?”
153
154 “Yep.” Yuffie turned around, holding onto the cuffs of the prince’s
155 jacket. “What do you think? We take turns with a lot of the parts. It
156 helps keep us all on our toes. Though I have to admit, I much prefer
157 being the prince to the princess. No offense. It’s just not my
158 style.”
159
160 “I.. uhh.. it’s different,” Kairi said, smiling nervously. This
161 hadn’t been what she had expected. She thought maybe the catboy would
162 be the prince. His outfit looked regal enough. Or maybe the man with
163 the bandana. But she certainly hadn’t been expecting Yuffie. But with
164 how upside down things had been, she should have seen it coming.
165 “Curiouser and curiouser,” she said to no one in particular. When
166 Yuffie looked at her oddly, she just laughed. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
167 She held out her arm to Ninja Prince Yuffie, who obligingly took it
168 and led her off to the stage.
169
170 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
171
172 “So she has the Keyblade. I don’t see how that affects anything. The
173 other was unable to lock away the Heartless even with his Keyblade. I
174 doubt she will be any more successful,” an effeminate man said,
175 brushing his hair back over his shoulder.
176
177 “It is a cycle. One we must break. There will always be those
178 searching for ways to stop the darkness. But it is an inevitable
179 cycle of loss and suffering. When will they learn to simply succumb
180 to it? One cannot triumph over darkness. One can only start the cycle
181 over again. But if darkness reigns, then the cycle can end. Only then
182 can their be piece,” an oddly tranquil voice added.
183
184 “Because they refuse to see the futility of their efforts. Despite
185 what is taken from them, they continue to march onward, believing
186 that what they do is ‘right’. Perhaps if they truly understood what
187 they stand to lose, they would not be so willing. That boy, Riku, he
188 understood. He was willing to side with darkness to get back what he
189 had lost, the heart of that girl. Sometimes extreme measures must be
190 taken. Who is worthy of deeming what is ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Such a
191 fine line exists. It is merely how far you are willing to go. That
192 boy showed that he was willing to go further than his friend for the
193 girl. Even to the heart of darkness. Perhaps we can use that,” a
194 woman mused.
195
196 “What can one little girl possibly hope to achieve? I’ll end her
197 little nightmare now and send her to a place of eternal nothingness,
198 a shrine she can spend eternity enjoying. Oh, I’ll be the most
199 wonderful court artisan she has ever seen, making for her a palace of
200 emptiness.” The man punctuated his statement with a maddening laugh.
201
202 At last, a silver haired man spoke. “No. Not yet. She has further
203 she must go. She may yet prove her usefulness to us. Her importance
204 goes far past being one of the seven princesses. She is the final
205 piece to this puzzle. She is the key to it all.”
206
207 “But, Sephiroth, don’t you think it much wiser to get rid of her
208 before she can cause any trouble?” the woman asked.
209
210 “No. She is at the heart of all of this. She isn’t our enemy. She is
211 more important to our success than any of you know.” With that,
212 Sephiroth turned away from the others. He had business to attend to.
213
214 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
215
216 ‘Dear diary,
217 I’m starting to get worried. Tidus and Wakka found a hole today on
218 the island. Not just some deep hole in the ground or anything. An
219 endless hole. Like it leads to nowhere. Like someone took some
220 scissors and cut out that part of our island. Wakka dropped his beach
221 ball down in there and we all waited around for a sound of it hitting
222 anything at all, but nothing happened. It was like it was just gone.
223 It’s scary. I shudder just thinking about it, and I’m under a nice
224 heavy blanket right now. Weird, huh? I usually hate blankets because
225 they’re too stuffy. But it’s been so cold and windy and rainy outside
226 that mom brought them out again.
227
228 The only good thing I can see from all of this is that cold and
229 rainy is perfect snuggling weather. So I need to head over to
230 Quisty’s house soon. Maybe we can snuggle up under her covers and
231 just forget that there’s any scary hole or that Kairi’s missing or
232 that the weathers getting worse. That’s easy to do in Quisty’s arms
233 anyway. It feels so warm and safe when I’m with her, like I know
234 everything’s all right. Even her worrying doesn’t seem to matter. It
235 just makes me wanna try harder to take away all her worries. It’s
236 almost like a game. To try to make her smile when something’s on her
237 mind.
238
239 I didn’t realize how good a study Quisty really was. She can quote
240 me before I even say anything, like she knows what I’m gonna say
241 before I say it. I thought it was so cool when she did that! It lets
242 me know that she’s paying more attention to me than to those silly
243 books of hers. She said it’s because she knows me really well, so she
244 knows what I’m thinking a lot of the time. It’s nice to know someone
245 does because sometimes I don’t even know what I’m thinking about.
246 There are so many things to think about! It’s hard to sort them all
247 out sometimes.
248
249 Oh, on a really sad note, I think they’re gonna cancel the Destiny
250 Islands Festival! Please say it isn’t so! I always love the festival.
251 And Quisty and I were gonna dance under the stars, too! I had the
252 dress I was gonna wear all picked out and everything. But the adults
253 are all saying that the weather’s bad and that too much has been
254 going on lately so we shouldn’t have one. But that’s exactly why we
255 should have one! To cheer everyone up! That way everyone can have
256 something to enjoy, to let them relax. Well, if they adults aren’t
257 gonna throw the Island Festival, then maybe we can throw one
258 ourselves. Yeah, I’m sure Tidus and Wakka would help. If I can drag
259 them from that underwater ballgame they made up. And maybe Quisty
260 will help, too. We can make our own little festival! We’ll still
261 dance under the stars, Quisty! It’s my promise to you! Booyaka!
262
263 Love,
264 Selphie Tilmitt’
265
266 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
267
268 Surprisingly, Kairi found herself able to quote nearly all of her
269 lines, seeing the scenes unfold before her as she did. Even the
270 Radical Dreamers seemed impressed, not having expected much from
271 their stand in. She was a little shocked, but overall proud of
272 herself, glad to actually contribute to the play rather than just
273 being another prop. And so she was slightly disappointed when it
274 finally came time for her to fall into her endless sleep. But even
275 lying there, she could follow along with the rest of the play, her
276 mind supplying the lines even as the other performers were saying
277 them. Kid actually did a good job of getting rid of her accent when
278 she was performing, giving Kairi trouble following exactly who was
279 saying what at times. Nonetheless, the play had overall been a fun
280 experience so far. She almost wished she could go along with the
281 Radical Dreamers. The thought of performing with them, travelling to
282 all sorts of different worlds, seeing so many new things, it was all
283 very appealing to her. But she couldn’t let that tempt her. She had
284 to find Riku and Sora. Then she would tell them all about her short
285 stint on stage.
286
287 Despite feeling rather good natured about things, Kairi found
288 herself getting more and more nervous as the play began to near its
289 end. She knew far too well what happened at the end of Sleeping
290 Beauty. This would be her first kiss, even if it was just a stage
291 kiss. And the thought of it being with Yuffie had her worried. She
292 still didn’t even know who she wanted her first kiss to be with, Riku
293 or Sora. But it didn’t look like she’d have to worry about that for
294 much longer. She almost wanted to rush off the stage, but she lay
295 there paralyzed, almost as if she really was under some spell.
296
297 Yuffie did make a good prince, at the very least. So if she let
298 herself pretend this really was Sleeping Beauty, that she really was
299 the princess, then it wasn’t too bad. It was only when she remembered
300 that she was Kairi that she got all nervous about it. She was nearly
301 counting down the lines as it neared the play’s climax. Locke was
302 playing Maleficent, which helped the stand in actress disassociate it
303 with the Maleficent who had used her along with the other seven
304 princesses to open the final keyhole. If just the thought of the
305 sorceress didn’t make her want to shudder, the thought of Locke
306 playing her would almost be funny.
307
308 And then it was time. Her hands held on her chest squeezed
309 themselves tighter. She could hear Yuffie’s final exclamation as her
310 ‘prince’ got ready for their kiss. She could feel the butterflies
311 returning with a vengeance, tickling the inside of her stomach as she
312 lay there, eyes shut tightly. What should she do? She couldn’t ruin
313 the whole play, right? And it was just a stage kiss. But.. but...
314
315 The ninja’s lips pressed warmly against her own delicate lips, both
316 soft and firm at the same time. The young princess blushed furiously
317 as she felt herself get pulled into a sitting position, Yuffie’s arms
318 around her. The crowd burst into applause. When Yuffie finally pulled
319 away, Kairi could only sit and stare, stunned. Wow... Kissing wasn’t
320 such a bad thing after all. She was already having thoughts of trying
321 it again with Sora or Riku when she finally found them. She blushed
322 when she looked up at Yuffie, the other girl looking down at her with
323 all the princely concern in the world. She really was a good actress.
324 Kairi had almost forgotten that it was just a play. She smiled up at
325 the ninja, trying her best to look love struck by her prince.
326
327 The rest of the play was a blur for Kairi, her mind on other things.
328 There wasn’t much to say during the play’s closing segments anyway,
329 so it didn’t matter too much that she was daydreaming throughout it.
330 She finally found herself backstage, though this time she remembered
331 to get to the dressing room before changing.
332
333 Her kitten was still waiting for her, having wandered about
334 backstage for a while. It seemed to know the layout rather well. “I
335 guess you have a good sense of direction, don’t you, kitty?” Kairi
336 laid the dress down, glad to be back in her own clothes again.
337 Kneeling down, she scratched behind the kitten’s ears. “I really
338 need to come up with a name for you. Hmm... Boco sounds better for
339 Chocobos. And Mog for Moogles. What are good cat names? You don’t
340 look like a Duchess. But you do have a lot of energy. And you are
341 kinda bouncy. So how about Tigger?” The kitten lowered its head. It
342 didn’t seem to like the idea. “Shadow? But that’s not really a girl
343 cat’s name.” Her face lit up. “Jessie! I’ll name you Jessie.” The
344 kitten seemed a little surprised by the name, but didn’t otherwise
345 complain. “Good.” Kairi hugged the kitten. “Jessie it is.”
346
347 “You did a good job there,” Kid said, reverting back to her accent
348 now that she was out of costume. “Didn’t really think you had it in
349 you. If you ever need a place to stay, we’d be glad to have ya.”
350
351 “Really?” Kairi grinned. “Thanks! It was a lot of fun. I’d love to
352 again sometime. If I didn’t have something really important to do
353 right now, I’d love to go.” It would be great to have Riku and Sora
354 in the audience, to run into the crowd after the play and see what
355 they thought.
356
357 Kid shrugged. “Hey, I understand. Sometimes there’s just somethin’
358 you’ve gotta do. Ya can’t let anythin’ stop ya. You’ve gotta be
359 single minded about that sorta thing if you’re ever gonna get what
360 you’re lookin’ for.”
361
362 “Trying to steal away my princess? Back off, Kid.” Yuffie laughed,
363 entering the room, clothed in her short green top, khaki shorts,
364 white stockings, and yellow scarf.
365
366 “Ya can’t stop a master thief from getting what she’s got her eyes
367 set on,” Kid replied, grinning.
368
369 Kairi blushed furiously at their comments. She usually didn’t mind
370 being the center of attention, but this was just a little strange for
371 her. She tried to ignore it, focusing on Jessie instead. The kitten
372 was once again struggling to get out of her arms, most likely to get
373 over to Yuffie. But she held on tightly, not wanting to have to pull
374 the kitten away again. Jessie began to meow again, still wrestling
375 with her.
376
377 “Well, if you two are leavin’, I should probably be headin’ off
378 myself. I’ve got some things I need to take care of back home.
379 ‘Sides, the Radical Dreamers aren’t much if we’re missin’ two of our
380 mates. Kind of hard to put on a play with only three people,” Kid
381 said, her hands behind her head.
382
383 “When this is all over, we’ll have to all meet up again somewhere.
384 We can’t have this be our last performance.” Yuffie smiled faintly.
385
386 “I’m not callin’ it quits yet. When we’re all done, we’ll get back
387 together for a huge reunion performance. Everyone’ll wanna come to
388 that. We ain’t done yet,” Kid replied, grinning.
389
390 “You got it!” Yuffie nodded eagerly. “Good luck out there, Kid.”
391
392 “You, too, Yuffie. See ya around, princess.” The thief winked at
393 Kairi as she headed out the door, bringing another faint blush to her
394 cheeks.
395
396 Yuffie sighed, leaning against the wall. “So where to next?”
397
398 Kairi looked up suddenly, feeling a tinge of panic. “I thought you
399 knew. You were one of the heroes searching for the Keyblade, after
400 all. You do know, right?” she asked hopefully, eyeing Yuffie.
401
402 “Of course I do,” Yuffie said nonchalantly. “I’m just trying to
403 decide which would be the best place. Besides, that was usually
404 Aerith’s place in things. She was the one who figured everything out.
405 But don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out.” She smiled
406 reassuringly. Kairi didn’t seem to have complete faith in her.
407
408 A scream from somewhere outside caught their attention. Both girls
409 turned. Something sounded like it was coming down the hallway. Fast.
410 Yuffie ran to the door, peering out. Her eyes went wide and she
411 slammed the door shut, locking it.
412
413 “What is it?” Kairi asked, immediately regretting the question as
414 soon as it was out. Her heart pounded in her chest as something heavy
415 hit the door. She held the kitten closer, though she didn’t know if
416 it was to comfort Jessie or herself.
417
418 “Heartless. And lots of them. There’s no way we can fight our way
419 through all of those.” Yuffie refused to let herself panic. She
420 wasn’t the panicking type. But there certainly didn’t seem to be any
421 other options. They were locked in there until the Heartless finally
422 broke in. She glanced around, but there weren’t any ways out.
423 Sighing, she pulled out some shurikens. She couldn’t stop them all,
424 but it didn’t mean she was going to give up. “Get behind me. I’ll
425 stop as many of them as I can. Run when you get the chance,” she
426 commanded.
427
428 Kairi shook her head. No. It wasn’t going to end like that. There
429 was so much more she needed to do. She couldn't get caught by the
430 Heartless now. She had already lost her heart once. Back then it had
431 gone into Sora. Now it didn’t have anyplace to go. It would simply be
432 consumed. And then she would never find Sora and Riku. But there
433 didn’t seem to be anywhere for them to go. And the Heartless would be
434 in at any minute.
435
436 ‘Just believe they aren’t there. They can’t hurt you if they aren’t
437 there. If you’re safe and sound back home, then the Heartless can’t
438 get to you,’ a voice whispered in her head.
439
440 Kairi bit her lip. She didn’t ever want to go back there. Being
441 there was so confusing. It scared her, made her question just what
442 was real. And she couldn’t afford to falter in her beliefs. Not now.
443 But there was no other choice, was there? The pounding on the door
444 grew more insistent. Yuffie got into a fighting position. ‘She’s
445 going to sacrifice herself for you. And then they’re going to get you
446 anyway. Damn it! Make you your mind already!’ Kairi closed her eyes
447 tightly. No matter how much she didn’t want to do this, it was their
448 only chance. “I’m not here. I’m back home. In bed. The Heartless
449 aren’t here. I’m back home.” The pounding on the door stopped.
450
451 When she opened her eyes again, they were gone. She was no longer
452 backstage. She was sitting on her bed again, surrounded by her dolls
453 and pictures. A doll of Yuffie was lying on her lap. Kairi sighed
454 shakily, holding onto the doll. What happened to everyone else when
455 she was here? Did she just disappear from where she was? Did
456 everything else still exist when she was here? Did she even want to
457 know?
458
459 Getting off the bed, Kairi walked to the door, pausing before it.
460 Biting her lip, she slowly reached out for the doorknob, taking a
461 hold of it. Was the person still there? Would the door open? She had
462 to find out what was going on. This was all getting far too
463 confusing. She turned the doorknob slowly. Nothing. It was still
464 locked for her. Sighing, her hand fell away from the door.
465
466 Walking around the slightly cluttered room, Kairi kept hugging the
467 Yuffie doll. It might not be much, but right now it was the only
468 company she had. And somehow she felt better holding onto her dolls.
469 They had always been such a comfort for her, these people she had
470 crafted out of fabric and wishes. She closed her eyes, forcing that
471 thought away. No, they were real. She hadn’t just made dolls of
472 people in her imagination. These were all real people somewhere far
473 away. They were all still out there, waiting for her. But she
474 couldn’t get back to them if she was stuck in her room. She had to
475 find a way out.
476
477 She looked out the window, but it was too dark to see anything
478 outside. It had to be late, wherever she was. Resting her head
479 against the cool glass, the princess tried to collect herself. This
480 place had to be a dream. It couldn’t be real. But why did she keep
481 coming back here? And why was it so familiar. Her eyes closed as she
482 strained to remember. A birthday party. She could remember a birthday
483 party. A recent one. She remembered sitting at the front of the
484 table, the cake being placed out in front of her. She had just turned
485 fourteen. She’d gotten a cute sweater for it. And a few Disney DVDs
486 she had been wanting for the longest time. But who had been there?
487 She tried harder to remember, trying to see the rest of the table.
488 She had been there, of course. And... An older woman she could barely
489 make out. She was smiling so warmly, watching as she blew out the
490 candles, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. Her mother. It
491 had to be her mother. Her heart ached at the thought that she
492 couldn’t even remember her mother except for this small glimpse. What
493 kind of woman was she like? Did she make her mother proud? What kind
494 of relationship did they have? Judging from the smile, her mother had
495 been happy, at least during her birthday.
496
497 Who else had been there? She could see a shadow sitting next to her,
498 watching her opening her presents. The shadow flickered in her mind
499 as she tried harder to remember who it had been. But no matter how
500 hard she tried, it refused to clarify. Giving up on the shadow for
501 the moment, she began to focus on who else had been there. Slowly,
502 she saw the rest of the table, expecting to see Riku and Sora sitting
503 there, watching her. But it wasn’t so. The table was empty. Her eyes
504 opened wide. “No one... No one was there?” she asked quietly. But her
505 birthday parties on the Destiny Islands were always so much fun!
506 Everyone came and there were presents and cake and games and... It
507 didn’t make sense. Surely she had friends to invite, games to play.
508 She was pretty and popular and everyone liked her. So why the hell
509 would she spend her birthday alone except for her mother and some
510 shadow of a person she couldn’t remember?
511
512 Her eyes teared up, memories of endless loneliness filling her,
513 sapping at her heart. The hopelessness and despair felt like
514 crystalline shards buried within her heart. “But mama, no one will
515 come. No one likes me. Why would anyone want to come to my party?”
516 she heard herself saying. Opening her eyes, she saw another room
517 outside of the window, her mother’s room. There she was, crying on
518 her mother’s lap. Hateful, lost, bitter tears. And her mother looked
519 heartbroken as she tried to wipe away her hot tears.
520
521 Kairi backed away from the window as if it was something alive and
522 dangerous, staring. “It’s not like that. It isn’t like that at all,”
523 she said desperately, her voice barely above a whisper. “I do have
524 friends. I’m not all alone.”
525
526 “Then where are they now, Kairi? You made up all of your friends.
527 Except for mom. She’s your best friend. She’s your only friend. How
528 could you just leave her by killing yourself?”
529
530 Looking up, Kairi could see the shadow of someone on the other side
531 of the door. The voice was back, whoever it was that happened to be
532 behind it. “I didn’t,” she argued, her voice shaky. Her wrists were
533 burning again, fire tearing them apart. But she refused to look at
534 them. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away.
535
536 The voice on the other side of the door laughed. “That’s your answer
537 for everything, isn’t it, Kairi? To ignore it, to pretend. Whenever
538 you can’t handle something, you just run away. It’s too much for poor
539 Kairi to handle, so she’ll just run as far as she can and never look
540 back. That’s why you can’t open the door. Because you can’t face
541 reality. You couldn’t handle life so you just turned your back on it.
542 You embraced your fantasies, ignoring everything that might hurt you.
543 Isn’t that the way it’s always been?”
544
545 “Leave me alone!!!” Kairi screamed, her whole body trembling. Tears
546 stung her eyes, turning her vision into a liquid nightmare. She could
547 feel her tears dripping down her chin, falling to the floor below.
548 She couldn’t stop from crying, the voice finally getting to her.
549
550 “I told you that you couldn’t handle it, Kairi. I don’t think you’re
551 ready to open the door yet. Why don’t you run away back to your
552 fantasies. They’re safe and cozy, aren’t they? Oh, wait. No, reality
553 is beginning to intrude on them, isn’t it? The heartlessness of the
554 real world is starting to take its toll, to intrude on your little
555 wonderland. Go ahead and run away to your dreams, Kairi. Because
556 pretty soon, there will be nowhere left to run. And you’ll have to
557 open the door. Because when the Heartless consume all of your
558 fantasies, real life will be the only place left to turn.”
559
560 Kairi slumped to her knees, sobbing painfully, hugging herself. She
561 didn’t always run away. She was trying to find Riku and Sora. She
562 would never give up on them. She wouldn’t run away, no matter how
563 tough things got. But her voice escaped her, having disappeared in
564 her haze of tears. She wanted to prove the voice wrong, that she
565 would never give up. But her tattered heart couldn’t help but wonder
566 if the voice was right.
567
568 Lost in a storm of tears, Kairi didn’t see the room grow distant. It
569 stretched further and further into the background until it had faded
570 away altogether. Lost in a typhoon of dark thoughts, the princess
571 didn’t feel herself slowly drifting away to somewhere else. Anywhere
572 else. Just as long as she was far away from that room.
573
574