Bittersweet [Sora, Kairi]

[Fate]

Peaceful Intrusion
Music

Land of Dragons, truly a world to behold. Over the town, which was bustling as it normally did, ominous mountains stood and created a picturesque scene. The citizens, after going a little more than a month since their last major attack, lived comfortably and no longer had to worry about another stranger coming in to destroy their home. Their Emperor was safe, as were the guards that had been attacked and the townspeople. Peace was upon this world once again.

Upon the mountains, a bit away from town but far away enough for the naked eye not to notice, a Corridor of Darkness sounded and appeared. Two outsiders to the world stepped out of it, the corridor thus becoming closed once they stood on the mountain. One of them scanned the area, his eyes glancing this way and that for anything of interest. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the world peaceful like the rest. There was no overpowering scent of darkness here. However, another important scent was still here, the exact one they came for.

A light breeze blew, fluttering his hair as he looked back to the other. "Sora is still here," he told her, "Though, I cannot say how much longer he will stay. If you will allow me, I can continue to help you find him; it should help to make this quicker." Hopefully, at least by now, Kairi did trust him a little more. He hadn't brought her to the World That Never Was, bringing her to the world he said he would; that had to mean something.

"Let us go then, shall we?" He gestured down the mountain, though decided he should go first. It was the gentleman thing to do and at the moment, he needed to at least sort of resemble one. Kairi knew what the Organization was like and that they were not the nicest group; he was here to make that image in her mind a bit different, gain her trust so he could gain Sora's.

Then everything could fall into place.

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[Aerith]

Finding the Needle in a Haystack

From the moment she stepped out of the Corridor, Kairi knew she was a long way from the islands. Snow crunched beneath her shoes, and a frigid wind tossed her hair a bit. But far below this mountain, she could see green fields, forests, and even a sprawling city. So much territory to cover. Sora could be anywhere. And she wasn't even sure if they would be able to find him before he decided to leave. That would be just her luck.

When Zexion offered to continue accompanying her, Kairi couldn't hide the surprised look she gave him. She knew that he wasn't doing this out of purely altruistic motives. Nobodies didn't have the hearts required to pity or empathize. So, why was he being so accommodating? She did have to admit that so far, he had kept to his word. They were here in Land of Dragons, and they had not stepped out of the Corridor straight into an ambush of Nobodies. Those were the only reasons she would continue to trust him for now.

"I'd appreciate that." She would be polite and civil so long as he was. In fact, he even went so far as to go ahead of her down the mountain path. Fixing his back with a slightly puzzled stare, it took her a second to shake her head and follow after him. She had to keep reminding herself that he was with the Organization. And they never did anything without a reason.

[Castle]

So far, so good.

Everything was fine in the town. People were going through the routines of their lives, and they seemed happy about it. More were out and about, traveling the streets, and even the places just outside the walls, without fear. There must not have been any Heartless around for a while.

Sora was glad to see that, but he would't let his guard down just yet. There were other places to search, other corners where the darkness could hide. The worlds were made of light and darkness, he knew that, but with everything that was going on lately, he had to make sure that darkness wasn't doing anything malicious. He still had to find those new goons of Maleficent's, as well as the mysterious figure who attacked Radiant Garden. On top of it all, there was the Organization.

He passed through the town gates and looked up at the towering forms of the mountains. He remembered there being Heartless up there before, a year ago.

"It's worth a try," he said to the air. If his usual companions were with him, he would have said it to them, but he was still on his own. He'd thought of saying hi to Mulan, but she was probably busy at the palace. Or with Shang.

He smiled at the thought as he started up the path to the mountains. Maybe he should visit them later and see how they were doing. Though, they might not want him to intrude. He smiled wider and felt his face get a little warm as another person came to mind, one with red hair...

The mountains towered above him before he knew it. It got colder the higher he ascended, and he eventually found himself walking through the snow. He stopped to look around. It was very quiet here, save for the wind.

Suddenly, he heard something in the distance. He turned that way, but only caught a brief glimpse of a shadow moving. Or was it something else? His eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. Was the darkness stirring here, after all?

He hurried up the mountain path.

[Aerith]

Reunion

Kairi and Zexion hadn't been walking for very long, but it had felt like years. Perhaps that was due to the silence between them that hung thick in the air. Not that Kairi minded too much. She didn't have much of anything to say that hadn't already been said. And she wasn't about to try getting friendly with an Organization member, no matter how helpful he might be right now.

It would have been nice to have an extra layer of clothes. The climate here wasn't meshing well with her beach-friendly outfit. If the green she had seen below the mountain was any indication, perhaps it would be warmer once they finally got out of this snow. Even if they missed Sora, maybe she could still explore a little. Being somewhere without Sora or Riku was a little exciting.

That feeling didn't last for long, though. But it was replaced instead by a different kind of excitement. They rounded a slight bend in the path, and she immediately saw someone very familiar toiling upward in the snow. His black clothes stood out easily against the white powder. Her face lit up, and she rushed past Zexion.

"Sora!" Keeping in mind the treacherous possibilities on a mountain path like this, she ran as fast as she could down to him. If something had popped out of the shadows to attack her at that moment, she wouldn't have noticed or cared. She had found Sora, and he wasn't lying curled up in the snow as she had feared he might be.

Her momentum carried her forward straight into him, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his back. This was the happiest she had felt in several weeks. "You're okay! I'm so glad you're okay!" Her arms tightened around him like she never wanted to let him go.

[Fate]

Oh Look, I Wasn't Lying This Time

It was quiet on the way down the mountain, neither of them speaking to each other. Zexion was truly not interested in having a conversation with Kairi, not as if there was much to converse about between the two of them. There were mild topics of interest in the back of his mind, ones concerning Radiant Garden and if Kairi truly had forgotten everything about it. He didn't doubt that was the case since she might have actually recognized him if she remembered. It was most likely better that she did not and he was working off a fresh slate; the less she knew, the better.

Sora's scent was growing closer to them as they went down, which meant it would not be too much farther. Zexion held his head with his hand briefly, though let it go shortly afterward; expanding his sensing ability to the entire universe put a bit of a strain on him and he was thankful he didn't have to search much longer than he had. Though, now that they were getting so close to Sora, he needed to make a decision very quickly. Should he let Sora see him again, or should he wait for the right moment to appear?

That question almost answered itself when they turned the next bend. Kairi rushed past him straight for Sora. Zexion instinctively hid himself from Sora's sight, moving so he was before the bend in the path with his back on the mountain. If he timed it correctly, Sora wouldn't have had the chance to see him out of shock from seeing Kairi. He would stay for the moment, wait for the right time to enter the scene again and let Sora see him. Kairi would first need to establish that he brought her here. He could work from that.

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[Castle]

Suddenly, there was movement up ahead. Sora paused, immediately on the alert, but before he could even register what it was that came around the bend, a familiar voice called his name. Sora's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. In what felt like a split second afterward, Kairi's arms were wrapped tightly around him. He didn't even notice that there had been someone else behind her.

Her warmth seeped into him, and her voice practically sang in his ears. He gaped silently while his brain fought to comprehend what exactly was going on here. The connection was hard to make when the situation itself was so very abrupt.

"K...Kairi?" he stammered, his arms moving by themselves to complete their embrace.

For a second, he was worried. Was he hallucinating again? But... she felt and sounded so real. He could almost feel her heart beating. So, if she really was here, then how did she get here? The mountains in the Land of Dragons were the last place he would expect to find Kairi, if anywhere at all that wasn't the Destiny Islands.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally, that being the best and most appropriate question he could think of at the moment.

[Aerith]

Questions and Some Answers

It had seemed so long since Kairi had heard Sora's voice. And when his arms enveloped her in return, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was real. After giving him a squeeze, she loosened her hold on him, though her arms simply dropped to his waist, and she pulled back to look at his face.

"I was so worried about you. I thought I saw you... in pain. And Naminé said that you and Roxas were in trouble." She pulled him close again for another hug. Now that she thought about it, Naminé hadn't spoken directly to her since the vision. She wondered if there was some way for communication between them to always be open or if it took situations of great duress for her Nobody to stir. "She said something about your memories being messed up. But you're okay now, right? What happened?"

In her tide of questions, she almost forgot to answer Sora's. "Oh. Well... actually, a member of Organization XIII helped me get off the islands." She turned around, looking back up the mountain path. "He was right behind me..." Turning back to Sora, she went ahead and offered him assurances of her safety. "He wasn't one I recognized, so I don't know if you might know him. He told me his name is Zexion."

[Fate]

A Little Tricky...

From his position, Zexion listened to the small conversation that Kairi was having with Sora. He made a confused face as she spoke of Naminé and how she warned her that Sora and Roxas were in trouble. How was that even possible? Did they have links to each other that no one knew about? The Schemer wouldn't have thought so before, but almost anything was possible with the Keyblade Masters. Though, how would Naminé have known that Roxas and Sora were in trouble?

Wait a moment... of course: Castle Oblivion. Well, that made things a tad more difficult for Zexion now. Hopefully, that tad would not be extrapolated upon. He would give Sora a chance to explain what happened before he poked his head out to make sure it was safe. It was either that or help provide an explanation himself. He waited until after Kairi said his name before even daring to change position, putting himself in full view in front of Sora. He didn't dare approach them from where he was, staying put. He looked at Kairi first, studying her for a second, before shifting his gaze to Sora with a skeptical look about him.

"I believe we have met briefly before," he said, his voice unwavering, "In Castle Oblivion, yes? The castle that conveys what is in one's heart..." He trailed off for a moment, letting a slight pause make its way into the conversation, before speaking again. "Sora was in danger in Castle Oblivion because of its nature to convey what is in one's heart. Axel, one of the Organization's former members, seemed to be trying to extrapolate on this and bring out Roxas. As you can see, he did not succeed."

Things were about to get tricky if Sora went into a fuller explanation. That would also be the case if he figured out that both Axel and him were lying about Castle Oblivion and that it was really just all of his illusions at work. In order to perhaps avoid that, he turned his gaze fully on Kairi. "I have done what you asked of me and brought you to Sora. I can leave now if you wish. I can promise that I will do no harm upon either of you."

Maybe.

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[Castle]

Rather than have his question answered right away, Sora found himself subject to a lot of other answers that he hadn't asked the questions to. These answers only startled him more. Kairi had seen that? She knew what happened to him because of this visit to Castle Oblivion? While he stared at her, too dumbfounded to reply, she seemed to remember that he'd asked her something and finally told him how she came to be here.

That answer was not a very pleasing one.

His blood ran colder than the air around them. As she turned to look back in the direction from which she came, Sora followed her gaze and kept his eyes there even when she turned back toward him. Sure enough, a member of Organization XIII, the one he had seen with Axel in Castle Oblivion, came around the bend.

"You again!" he blurted.

The Nobody, Zexion, went on to elaborate on what happened before. Sora glared suspiciously at him and moved forward just enough to be somewhat between him and Kairi. However, he did not forget that Zexion had saved him before, and so he made no aggressive movements and left the Keyblade un-summoned. For now.

"Is that stuff about Castle Oblivion even true?" he snapped, "I saw you change back from pretending to be another Organization member!"

He paused, taking a small, peripheral glance at Kairi before returning his full attention to Zexion.

"Why did you really bring Kairi here? Is this another trap?" he asked suspiciously.

[Aerith]

Connections

Right after she said the Nobody's name, Zexion made himself known. Kairi turned back around to face him, reluctantly releasing Sora. The cold bit into her skin again.

Now she knew what had been happening to Sora in that vision. A place called Castle Oblivion had done that to him. The name carried a hint of familiarity even though she knew she had never been there before. One thing she knew for certain, there was a lot of whiteness there. It was something some other part of herself insisted was true.

When Zexion mentioned Axel, Kairi's expression hardened but only for the five seconds it took Zexion to finish his explanation. Axel had been trying to draw out Roxas? She gasped suddenly. Connections were being made inside her head.

We have something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about.

Instinctively, she reached out for Sora's hand. "Axel came after me, because..." Any anger she might have felt toward the red-head was fading away. She hadn't ended up in a cage until that other one, Saïx, had gotten her. "They were friends, Sora."

Any further pondering on that subject would have to wait, however. Zexion had told her he would leave, and she hadn't given him an answer. But she hadn't had to since Sora had moved between them and was demanding explanations of the Nobody. Wait. Zexion had also been in Castle Oblivion? What reason did he have to get Roxas back? She couldn't comment on those actions, but she could reassure Sora of something else.

"Sora, he hasn't hurt me. Don't worry."

[Fate]

Some White Lies Mixed With Some False Altruism

Sora seemed to have lost some of that naïveté since Castle Oblivion, doubting what Axel had put forth to him. He mentally deliberated for a few seconds. Should he expose that everything that happened in Castle Oblivion was a farce, that everything that Axel had told him was a lie? It would show honesty, but it would also show that he also did not have pure motives. It would also expose his power and he was not sure that he wanted Sora to know what that was just yet.

"I did change form from Marluxia, yes," he said truthfully, "It was an attempt to stop Axel, although not one of my better plans admittedly." He was not normally one to admit fault, especially in the area of his plans; hopefully Sora would see the humility in that, or something of that sort. "Though, I cannot speak for whatever else you saw in the castle. I simply sensed Axel there and attempted to deter him before any collateral damage was done."

The next question he could answer with almost complete truth. He should have expected this sort of interrogation out of Sora, but it was at least better than an outright battle. "She is right. I happened upon Destiny Islands by chance. I was attempting to find the traces of whom you may know as the Tool of Darkness, now known as the Champion. If you recall correctly, he decimated Radiant Garden quite recently." He paused, giving Sora quite the severe face. He was not a Nobody that fooled around with this sort of thing and the destruction of Radiant Garden had been quite serious.

"I managed to trace him back to Destiny Islands and it seems he had been there a few days ago. You are quite fortunate that he did not destroy that world and did not return to do so." He gestured to Kairi for a moment as he continued to speak, his tone growing a bit harsher as well. "She would have fallen with that world and you would not have been there to save her, just as you failed to prevent the destruction of Radiant Garden."

He dared not continue, knowing that Sora responded to these sorts of provocations much differently than Riku. When he held Riku responsible for the destruction of Destiny Islands, he had quite nearly accepted it. Sora, though, was different. Zexion was now getting to truly see how different he was.

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[Castle]

Sora squeezed Kairi's hand gently. "I know," he murmured back to her when she mentioned the connection between Roxas and Axel. He didn't need any more people telling him that. He would cross that bridge again when he came to it. For now, he had to focus on the situation at hand. He was glad Zexion hadn't hurt Kairi, but he was still concerned about any ulterior motives this Organization member probably had.

He wasn't sure he believed everything Zexion said about his actions in Castle Oblivion, but at this point, there was no proof that he was lying. He would just have to go with it for now. Even a Nobody deserved the benefit of the doubt, at least to some extent. A very, very small extent. It's not like they had hearts to feel bad about lying with.

Then the topic changed to something that made Sora unknowingly tighten his grip on Kairi's hand. The new enemy, the Champion, apparently, had been to his home world. The Islands, Kairi, and their other friends could have ended up like the Radiant Garden, and he hadn't been there to protect them. Again. The news made a flicker of alarm pass over his expression, accompanied by a flicker of guilt over his heart. Then, he gritted his teeth and clenched his free hand into a fist.

"Don't start that again!" he said, even though it was Axel who mentioned the Radiant Garden last time, "It's not like I can be everywhere at once!"

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he wasn't about to let this turn into another episode like the one in Castle Oblivion. He refused to allow the statements of an Organization member bring him down.

[Aerith]

Insecurities

Since she had not been there herself, Kairi wasn't entirely sure what was going on between Sora and Zexion. It seemed, from what Zexion said, that he had only shown up at Castle Oblivion to prevent Axel from hurting Sora. This, combined with his supposed altruistic motives in getting her away from Destiny Islands, painted him in a more benevolent light. Though, Kairi could sense Sora's suspicions, and she knew better than to completely trust a Nobody.

"Yeah, it's not Sora's fault if he can't be in two places at once. He's only human." It was something she had constantly repeated to herself. Being a Keyblade bearer carried a lot of responsibility with it. He had to constantly be on guard against the darkness, which meant he couldn't always be with her.

Her face fell a little at the thought, and she held Sora's hand with both her hands now. "Sora, I... I don't like how you always leave me behind, though." Maybe this wasn't the best time to bring this up, but she felt he needed to hear it. "If I come with you, then you won't have to worry about me, because I'll be by your side."

[Castle]

Having Kairi stand up for him made him feel more secure, and he was silently grateful to her for speaking up in his defense. However, her next words caught him off guard. The suspicious glare he had fixed on Zexion vanished into a look of surprise as he turned his head to look at her. She made her point clearly, and he could see the will in her eyes. It was a look he recognized, the inner strength he knew she had.

"Kairi..."

She had changed so much since the Islands were destroyed two years ago. He'd seen that before, back when she helped Riku fight the Heartless in the World that Never Was, and then after that through the rest of the journey. Sora still wanted her to be safe, and he would always want to protect her, but... the thought of having her by his side during these times was undeniably appealing. He'd always had his friends to help him before, so why should he reject the idea now?

He smiled and put his other hand over Kairi's.

"Thank you," he said, the agreement to her offer included in his tone of voice.

Now, back to the other thing that needed taken care of. Sora's expression hardened again as he turned back to Zexion, but he wasn't quite glaring anymore.

"I'm not about to start trusting the Organization, but you did help me out with Axel before, and I'm glad you helped Kairi, too. So... I'm grateful," he said, truthfully. After a pause, he added, "Is there anything else you have to say?"

[Fate]

Changing Directions

Both of them grew rather defensive at his last point, giving him the signal to back off just a tad. It could be seen as sweet how Kairi jumped to Sora's immediate defense and even made it clear to him that she did not want to be left behind this time. Was this the part where he was supposed to tear up and comment on how wonderfully sweet and cute that was? Even if he had a heart, he would do no such thing. He resorted to simply staring at the two of them, his arms crossed.

He had to raise an eyebrow again at what Sora just did. He thanked Zexion and was grateful for his actions. There were no death threats, no Keyblade summoning, or much of anything that had even the slightest malicious intent on it. Sora would of course not trust the Organization, but that wasn't something the Schemer had a particular problem with. The point was that he now saw Zexion in a slightly different light than the others he had met from the Organization; all the better for him.

He was now being asked if he had anything else to say, which was an odd question coming from the Keyblade Bearer; it wasn't like Sora to stop to actually converse with a Nobody. Zexion thought for a minute, shifting into his thinking position, before speaking. "You should be warned about the Tool of Darkness, otherwise known as the Champion now," he said, his tone back to simply being monotonous and unwavering. "He has a very specific intent to bring destruction upon worlds and warriors of light. In other words, he might just be looking to take you down."

Sora could choose not to like those words, but they were the truth. Zexion was not about to bother giving the two the riddle of the Champion at this point either; he had delivered the message enough by this point and was growing quite weary of it. They could speak with Mickey and figure it out if they wished. "I leave you with those words to consider Sora. Be wary of him. His scent of darkness is the most overwhelming I have sensed yet, even stronger than Xehanort's Heartless. It was enough to put an entire world at a standstill."

With those ominous words, he turned around and started walking up the mountain and away from the two. They evidently had enough to catch up on at this point and would be leaving together. He doubted they would follow him either, even if Sora didn't trust him. Zexion walked a fair ways up away from the two before stopping, standing for a moment as he summoned a Dusk in front of him. Axel might like to hear this latest development.

Though, before he told the Dusk anything, he paused. Knowing Axel, he would want a little more than just the fact he now had some of Sora's trust. No, he would also want something having to do with the plan to dispose of Xemnas. Did he truly have anything more on that? Unfortunately, he could only work so fast and he had nothing else. He needed to find more aid for Axel, but where was he going to find that? He had allies of course, but getting them into the World That Never Was would be far too much of a risk. It would be safer if he did not bring in any others, though that only really left him with one option: operate directly instead of indirectly.

The Dusk stared at him as he paced a minute, thinking this over. It was not how he had worked in the past and up to this point; it was much easier to operate through someone and keep one's hands clean. However, should Axel fail, that would put him into a very difficult position. It wasn't as if the Schemer had no power in him either; he could put up a sufficient fight when he wanted to. It would also make a clear statement to the Superior if he actually acted directly. It would show that he is no longer necessary and he was not sticking to the Organization's original goal.

His mind was made up then. He looked to the Dusk and spoke clearly and slowly to it. "Go straight to Axel and deliver this message for me: I have met with Sora and Kairi and obtained trust from both of them. Also..." He paused before saying this, showing a slight hesitance. "Tell him that I will be aiding him in the plan to dispose of Superior directly." He gestured for it to leave after that, the Dusk going into its own Corridor of Darkness. Zexion sighed and disappeared through his own, wondering if he just made a large mistake.

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