Bittersweet [Sora, Kairi]

[Castle]

Sora watched Zexion disappear up the mountain path. The ominous warning echoed in his mind, and he mulled it over. That sounded like some pretty serious darkness, but, after all he'd seen and done already, it somehow managed not to bother him too terribly. What could be worse than what he'd already encountered?

"The Champion of Darkness, huh..." he murmured thoughtfully.

If he was going after worlds, and the warriors who fought for the light, this new threat would definitely have to be taken down. But, where to start? Sora had no idea where to find this guy. On the other hand, if what Zexion said was true, the Champion just might come to find him.

He turned back to Kairi. As he did, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the Champion showed up while she was around. He pushed those thoughts aside. He'd just agreed to let her come, and he couldn't just go back on his word. Besides, having both of their light together would be a good thing in a fight against darkness, right? He'd think about it more later.

"Hey Kairi, do you still have that keyblade Riku gave you?" he asked, a smile returning to his lips.

[Aerith]

Destiny's Embrace

With the exit of Zexion, Kairi's full attention could be paid to Sora. Despite his reassurances that he was all right, she couldn't help but feel mild paranoia that at any moment, he might be reduced to the vision she had seen. And if that happened, she had no idea what she would do to stop it. Namine had said someone had tampered with Sora's memories, but should they start to unravel again, Kairi didn't have the slightest clue how to fix them.

There was no use worrying about that now. She would attempt to ford that raging river should it crash across her path. When she saw Sora looking at her again, a smile on his face, all her anxious thoughts fled.

"Oh, yeah. I remember." As soon as she said that, the Keyblade in question appeared in her hand. In a way, as long as she had this, she carried Riku with her. Or at least a reminder of him. That thought gave her comfort, even though she still wanted to find him, too.

"Looks like I do still have it," she said with a wink and a playful grin.

[Castle]

Sora's own grin broadened. He hadn't fully realized how lonely traveling by himself was until Kairi winked at him like that. It was good to have a friend around again. Maybe they could find Riku, too. At this particular moment, the idea seemed entirely possible.

"Good, because you're going to need it," he said with a professional air, though he was still smiling.

The statement reminded himself of why he was here in the first place. He looked around at the surrounding mountains, and then back at Kairi. She definitely wasn't dressed for this weather. Technically, neither was he, but the cold never really bothered him that much, and Kairi was a girl.

"Um..." he began awkwardly at this potential setback, crossing his arms. He thought for a second, and then continued, "...I was in the middle of looking around out here for any sign of the Heartless, but I haven't seen any. We could head back down there, where it's warmer." He finished with a gesture to the direction from which he came, where the green of the countryside below was visible.

[Aerith]

Always Be on the Lookout

Destiny's Embrace disappeared in a burst of light, and Kairi smiled at Sora. When he mentioned going all the way down the mountain, she nodded with enthusiasm. It was much too cold to be all the way up here without a large coat or something. And the prospect of getting to explore the land below was exciting.

"Sure. We should go." She looped an arm around one of his and huddled close to keep warm.

As happy as she was to be with Sora again, the mention of Heartless put a damper on their reunion. There were still problems to be solved, threats to be stopped, people to save. Danger would be a close companion on this journey with Sora. But she could handle it. She would have to.

"Have you seen any Heartless at all?" She hoped he had not. "What about Nobodies? Just because Zexion didn't attack me, that doesn't mean there aren't others who might try."

[Castle]

It got noticeably warmer when Kairi looped an arm around one of his. The action took him by surprise, but it was a surprise he could handle. They started down the path at an easy pace, treading over the footprints Sora had already made in the snow.

Kairi asked about the Heartless and Nobodies, a very appropriate question. Sora thought back.

"I've seen a few Heartless so far, but not as many as there were before, and I haven't seen any on this world yet," he recalled. After the Castle Oblivion incident, and his visit with Aerith, he had hung around Radiant Garden for a while and found some Heartless there. However, their numbers were nowhere near as drastic as they were a year ago.

"As for Nobodies..." His paused, his cheerfulness fading a notch. "...Well, there was Axel at Castle Oblivion, but I haven't seen any other Nobodies besides him and Zexion."

He decided to come right out and say it. Kairi would have to hear about the whole situation sooner or later. It was better to get it over with.

"But, Axel said that the whole Organization is back, including Xemnas," he told her, his tone becoming grim in spite of himself, "And then there's the new goons that Maleficent has, and that Champion Zexion just talked about." He turned his head to look at Kairi directly. "It might get really dangerous soon."

[Aerith]

So Much to Handle

Even though being close to Sora was enough warmth for her, Kairi still appreciated the increased temperature that resulted from making their way off this mountain. Perhaps she could come back here later, when she was dressed more appropriately for the cold. The vibrant green landscape below looked inviting at this point.

Sora told her that the Heartless were scarce. "That's good though, isn't it? Not as many Heartless means the worlds are safer."

There was a noticeable difference in Sora's tone when he shifted to the subject of Nobodies. But if he had hardly seen any, why did he sound so melancholy?

Oh. Now she understood. All of Organization XIII had returned. So, everything they had done a year ago... was that all for nothing now? She couldn't believe that. And not only the Organization, but also Maleficent was back, too, and with more underlings this time. But worst of all was this Champion Zexion had mentioned. That seemed to be the biggest threat among big threats.

Normally, she would have tried changing the subject to distract Sora from descending into gloominess. But there was something she had to know. "Sora... what exactly happened in Castle Oblivion? I mean, I know what Zexion said, but I want to hear from you."

[Castle]

Sora turned his gaze away from Kairi again, unable to meet her eyes under that subject. His feelings about the incident were less severe than they were in the days immediately after, since he had plenty of time to get over it, but the mention of it still made him uncomfortable. He kept them walking, but at an unintentionally slower pace.

"It's like Zexion said. Axel tricked me into going to Castle Oblivion so he could try and get Roxas back," he said levelly, "There was something about that castle that... affected me. I think I was there once before, a long time ago, but for some reason, I'm not supposed to remember it."

It occurred to him that Namine was, in a weird way, right there with him, but he chose not to mention the involvement he knew she had.

"But, now that I know that, I don't think I'll have that problem any more, even if I went back there. What really gets me is Axel. He's a Nobody with no heart, but it seems like he just wants Roxas back more than anything. I tried to talk to him, but with everything that was happening..."

Finally, he stopped walking. If there was ever a time to get the rest of this off his chest, it was now, with Kairi.

"I guess what bugs me the most is how weak I was," he admitted, "I still don't really understand what was going on with my heart, but it felt like I couldn't fight back anymore. I gave up. I... ran away, with Zexion's help."

He hung his head, embarrassed.

[Aerith]

Comfort

When Sora's head drooped like that, Kairi knew he was beating himself up. Sora had a tendency to do this, even though he tried to constantly project an aura of confidence. Even heroes had their dark moments of self-doubt. The reason they remained heroes was in the way they navigated that negativity.

"Sora, no one thinks you're a coward, especially not me. If you really couldn't fight anymore, then you did the right thing by getting away. I suppose... I suppose you were lucky that Zexion was there to help." It felt funny to say that. Having an Organization member around was never a very lucky thing.

"And I think talking calmly with Axel might help," she suggested. "I mean, he wants Roxas back, so he probably won't hurt you, right?" Even though they had stopped, they had walked enough to have reached an area with warmer temperatures. Otherwise, she might have tried tugging him farther along the path. But she recognized that this was a moment where Sora was pouring out his heart to her, and she was more than willing to listen.

[Castle]

"You'd think," Sora said after a pause, "I guess he was just really, really mad back there."

Mad enough to set a room of inflammable material on fire, no less, but he wasn't about to say that. Sora lifted his head and realized that they were in a less snowy part of the mountain now, the path ahead mostly brown stone and dirt.

"If I end up seeing him again, I do want to try and get this straightened out. I mean, him and Roxas were friends for so long, and he lost him, twice. Now he doesn't have anybody." He chuckled suddenly. "I just hope he'll let me get a word in before he tries to fry me again."

The grin from his chuckle got wider as he shook his head, snickering.

"Listen to me. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up as sulky as Cloud," he joked. Finally, he looked at Kairi again. "Come on, let's get going. There are other worlds we need to investigate. And hey, maybe we'll run into Riku somewhere along the way."

He didn't want to let this bother him too much. He knew what he had to do, and he would worry about Axel when he saw him again. For now, there were other things to take care of.

[Aerith]

Journey's Start

The idea of a Nobody being angry was a weird one, seeing as they lacked the capacity to feel that anger. But she could understand the reasons why Axel would be upset. For a little while, when she had first arrived on Destiny Islands, she had felt very alone and out of place, not to mention bewildered and distraught over the loss of her home. But then she had become friends with Sora and Riku and soon after that, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka as well. If she were to lose her friends, she would also be upset. Especially if she didn't have any left.

"I'm sure he will," she reassured Sora. "He has to."

When Sora started laughing, she knew the melancholic episode had passed, so she laughed with him. "I would miss your smile if you became that sulky." She had never actually met Cloud herself, but Sora had told her enough about him for her to know that he was practically the complete opposite of Sora.

She brightened further when he mentioned exploring other worlds and finding Riku. "Okay, let's go! We should all be together again."

[Castle]

Sora nodded. "You're right. And if all three of us are together, those forces of darkness won't stand a chance."

The thought put a brighter outlook on things. Maybe the situation wasn't as grim as it seemed. It wasn't anything they had never done before, right? Sure doing it all over again would be a pain, but if he had friends to help him, saving the worlds would be that much easier.

They descended the mountain path until they came to what Sora recognized as a place he'd fought in before, the area with the stream running through it. It was tranquil now, devoid of Heartless. The vegetation was green here and the air was warm.

As they crossed over to the path that led back to town, Sora felt as though he was taking his real first steps into this new journey.