Kingdom Hearts 2: Untitled

Patience. ;) She's doing monthly updates, so you can expect the next chapter at the end of the month.

On topic: Nice work, Princess. It's great to see you putting a lot of effort and thought into your writings. Keep it up! :glomp:

 

Chapter 14

Here's the next update!!

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Kairi
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Kairi turned over in her sleep, pulling her covers up to her chin. The sun's rays were shining brightly through her window, their warmth on her sheets and face. She was already half awake anyway and the warmth was just waking her up more. Kairi gave in, slowly opening her eyes and squinting because of the rays of light. She stretched, pointing her toes and yawning. The girl slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, whipping her covers off of her. Kairi walked over to her window, kneeling on her window seat as she pushed it open and the fresh breeze filled the room.​

"Today's the big day," Namine said eagerly. "Are you ready?"​

"A little nervous, really," the red-head replied.​

"Don't be. You'll do fine."​

Kairi walked into her bathroom, turning on her shower. As the steam started to fill the air from the hot water, she got undressed and stepped in. Tons of thoughts were running through her mind. Will I be able to handle everyone I face? Great, today's the day I have to confront Chaylie again. What about Sora? He's going to be there....and that's just going to add more pressure and get me more nervous.​

A few minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, now refreshed and awake. She wiped the fog from the mirror and sighed. Her nerves were starting to get to her, but she couldn't let them get the best of her. She ran her fingers through her wet hair quickly, parting it like normal. Kairi walked into her bedroom to get her clothes. Once she grabbed her usual, she quickly changed. After smoothing out her dress, the girl grabbed her towel and squeezed the water out of the ends of her hair. Once she was done, Kairi tossed the towel in her dirty laundry and got herself ready for the day.​

Teeth brushed, hair dried and ready, and makeup finally done, Kairi was ready for today's events. She walked out of her house, locking the door behind her, and went on down the path toward Sunset Beach. The tournament was going to start in about one hour and she wanted to go to Mr. Texen's before the first round.​

"Mr. Texen?" Kairi called, placing her hands on the counter. "Hello?" She leaned over the counter, looking left and right for the man, but couldn't find him. She heard a noise from behind the shack and decided to sneak around to the back.

"Mr. Texen?" There was a big "bang" and she came around the corner. Mr. Texen was only taking out the trash, trying to get the lid to stay on the can.

He turned, eyes widening in surprise as a smile crept across his face. "Miss Kairi! Nice seeing you here!" He walked over to her, wiping his hands with a cloth he had in his pocket. "Whatcha need?"

Kairi looked to the sand beneath her shyly. "I...kinda wanted to talk to you about something."

The man nodded. "Sure, of course. Let's go around to the front and you can tell me all about it, okay?"

"Mhm," she hummed, following the man to the front of the café where he sat down on a stool.

“C’mon, sit down and tell me what’s been on your mind,†he said, patting the stool next to him. Kairi did as she was told, sitting down on the seat and sighing.

“You know how there’s this tournament today, here on Sunset Beach?†she asked. Mr. Texen nodded. “Well,†she continued, “there’s this girl, Chaylie--â€

“Ah, Miss Chaylie,†Mr. Texen interrupted. “I’ve heard quite a bit about her in the past week. She’s a trouble-maker if there ever was one.â€

Kairi nodded, “Yeah. Well, she challenged me to compete against her in the tournament today. I know I shouldn’t let her get to me…but, I’m really nervous.â€

“Nerves are a part of it, Miss Kairi. All you have to do is think of something else, like when you win this tournament today and what it will feel like.â€

“When I win?†Kairi asked, arching a brow.

“Yes,†he replied bluntly. “You’ll be fine out there.â€

“Thank you,†she smiled. “Um, anyway, I was talking to Selphie about the tournament yesterday…and she said it was going to be really difficult. Which I didn’t even think about when I signed up.â€

“It obviously wasn’t that important if you didn’t think of it then, now was it?†he asked curiously, smiling slightly.

“…Right,†Kairi agreed. “It might not have been that important, but I just wasn’t thinking clearly and-â€

“Yeah you were.â€

“Huh?â€

Mr. Texen leaned against the counter with his elbow. “All you were thinking about was proving yourself to Miss Chaylie. If you ask me, that’s clarity. Miss Kairi, you’re being far to hard on yourself in this type of situation. You’re doing the right thing by standing up for yourself. Nobody else has anything to do with it except you and Miss Chaylie.â€

“Um…actually, there is one person,†Kairi admitted shyly.

“Who?â€

“Sora,†she said quickly.

“How’d he get himself wrapped up in this?â€

Kairi let out a nervous laugh. “Um…this whole feud between Chaylie and I is about him.â€

“Oh, I see. You’re talking about what happened back at the island, aren’t you?†Mr. Texen asked with an eyebrow up.

Kairi jumped. “Huh?! How did you know about that?â€

Mr. Texen smiled slightly. “Sora talked to me about everything.â€

Her eyes widened drastically. “Are you serious, Mr. Texen? I mean, I’m really not in the mood for a joke right now.â€

“Honest to God, Miss Kairi.â€

She leaned forward in wonder. “So, what’d he say?â€

Mr. Texen leaned against his elbow now on his knee. “He told me everything that happened from you walking in unexpectedly to him sitting alone, thinking about everything that happened in a big blur.â€

Kairi stared at Mr. Texen in disbelief. “And?â€

“And I gave him a few words of advice. Then the boy left without a word.†Kairi switched her gaze from Mr. Texen to the sand on the ground beneath her. She could feel Mr. Texen staring at her and he said, “Listen, Miss Kairi. You’re going to rock that tournament today. You know it, I know it, Chaylie knows it, and Sora knows it.â€

Kairi planted her feet back on the ground, nodding. “Right. Thank you, Mr. Texen.â€

He smiled wide. “Sure thing.â€

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Sora
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After rushing out of his house, Sora quickly made his way to Sunset Beach for the “DITS Tournament,†as Tidus liked to call it, before it started. He was wanting to see how they set everything up for the big day. When he got there, there was a platform two feet above the ground set in the middle of the beach. It was elevated high enough for anyone to see the two competitors dueling it out. “Whoa. I guess the Activity Committee went a little overboard for this thing.â€

“Not really,†Roxas said. “This is how the Struggle battles were back in Twilight Town. The platform looks exactly like the one I fought on myself.â€

“Let’s hope someone doesn’t fall and break a leg.†Sora made his way around the platform and over to where there was a table with things needed for the tournament. It held two medals and one big trophy. The munny must’ve been hidden in a suitcase somewhere, that way it wasn’t stolen. Sora went into a trance staring at the trophy. It was a teal color like the Islands' surrounding waters, the body of it twisted. At the top, there were two arching branches that stuck out to the left and right, a dark purple orb hanging from the left and a white orb hanging from the tip of the right branch. At the very top of the trophy, the twisting body went straight up to make another branch, this one holding an orb with the color of magenta.

“Sora? Sora, hello?!â€

Sora shook his head, noticing the waving hand in front of his face. He turned to see Selphie glaring at him. “Don’t get attached to that trophy. You might not be the one that earns it.â€

“Way to have a little faith, Selphie,†he teased.

“I see you’re in a better mood today!†called a voice from behind. Sora turned around to see Tidus and Wakka walking over.

“Hey, guys!†Selphie waved. Wakka waved, but Tidus ignored her.

“So, you ready?†Tidus asked, slapping a hand on Sora’s shoulder.

“I’m getting there,†he answered.

“Well you don’t have much time, Sora,†Wakka stated. “The tournament’s gonna start in less than thirty minutes.â€

“I’ll be okay. No worries!†the boy insisted, a grin spreading across his face. “Anyway, I’m going to go finish checking everything out. See you later!†Sora walked off past Selphie and continued in the path he was headed before.

Leaving the trio behind, he came across a board that seemed to be the one holding the scores during the competition. There was also a pile of wooden swords for the competitors. It didn’t matter to him though. He didn’t want everyone to find out he was the Keyblade master anyway.

Sora went off to sit down at the shoreline. He leaned back on his palms and took in the fresh morning air. He needed to calm himself and get ready for all of the events that might unfold throughout the day.

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Kairi
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Kairi said “goodbye†to Mr. Texen as she started for the location of the tournament. After a friendly “good luck†from the man, she felt a little better about how things were going to go. She came to a stop when she saw the platform that she was going to have to compete on. “Great. Now I have to worry about not getting hit in the face AND falling off.â€

“Don’t worry, Kairi,†Namine advised. “You’ll do great!â€

“I hope so.†Kairi went around to have a good look at the platform, biting her lip anxiously. Continuing down her path of travel, she came across Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka near the trophy table.

“Kairi!†Selphie hollered. Kairi waved and joined the trio.

“Kairi, long time no see,†Tidus said with a cheesy grin.

“I know, but you two have been so wrapped up in your Blitzball these days, you haven’t had time for us normal people,†Kairi teased, glancing at Tidus and Wakka.

“Well, you know…gotta be ahead of the game next season!†Wakka explained, twirling the blitz ball on his index finger.

“Way to show off, Wakka.â€

“Hey, Riku,†the boy replied. Kairi looked to her right to see Riku joining the party.

“Kairi,†he greeted.

“Riku,†she nodded.

“You ready?â€

Kairi shrugged. “I guess so. A little nervous though.â€

Riku shook his head, silver hair whipping back and forth. “Don’t be. You’re well prepared. You’ll be fine.â€

“Yeah, Kairi!†The redhead turned around to Selphie. “You’re going to be awesome!â€

This, of course, made her blush a deep red. She never did like to have the attention be directly on her. Kairi turned around to face the platform that was behind her, looking over and across from it. It was there that she made eye contact. Her heart stopped. Sora?!

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Sora
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Sora stood on the opposite side of Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus, getting some space. He looked around and noticed all of the teenagers that were coming for the special event. Sora scanned over them all, his eyes falling upon a tall teenager a year older than him. It was Riku, and next to him Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, and…Kairi?! Sora had made eye contact with the girl he hadn’t spoken to in days.

They both stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like decades before she finally looked away in embarrassment. Sora watched as she turned around and stood there quietly for a few seconds before starting up a conversation with Selphie. He looked to the ground and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He felt her charm in one pocket and his in the other. Sora pulled it out and examined it. He had to give it to her before her big fight with Chaylie.

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Hahahaha!! I DID IT!!! Right in the nick of time too! I am so proud of myself for getting this finished. It was kind of rushed, if you couldn't tell, so cut me some slack. Well, I hope you enjoyed. Things are starting to heat up!

 

Woot, you finally posted an update! Good chapter as always. Was it shorter than the others? It felt like it. Or maybe I was just that excited that it went by quickly xD

 

Someone would be very proud for you, but fot the rest of the fans like me? Gratz, hope to see more and fabulous stuff!

 

nice one, i can't wait for the fight with kairi and Chaylie

 

Omg that was awesome.

No, it didnt feel like it was rushed at all :)

C'mon, you have to let Sora see Kairi before the fight... right? You wouldn't be that mean...right?

 

Well I finally got around to reading this XD. The first couple of chapters were a little boring, but I made myself keep reading. I'm glad I did, since it got more interesting later on. Nice work, and I can't wait to see your next update at the end of the month! ;)​

 

Chapter 15

Omg. It's an early update! :xp: Yes, you guys get lucky this month. I'm going on vacation, so I thought I'd update the story before I leave. Enjoy!

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Kairi
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“Hey, Kairi?”

“Yes?” Kairi looked at the boy.

“I think you better go get ready. It’s about to start,” he advised.

Kairi’s eyes widened in horror as she realized that she had to actually do this. “N-Now?” The boy only nodded and she turned around, searching all of the people that came to participate. She suddenly felt her stomach turn, the butterflies forming. The girl brought a hand to her head as she tried to calm herself down, but her hand was shaking as well. Kairi looked back at the boy. “Riku, I don’t know if I can do this!”

His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Uh-uh. There’s no way you’re backing out of this now. You worked too hard for this and to put Chaylie in her place. You’re competing, whether you like it or not.” He grabbed Kairi by her shoulders, turned her around, and started pushing her toward the crowd of competitors as they stood and waited for the rules. Kairi tried to stand her ground, but Riku was too strong for her. After he came to a stop, his hands leaving her shoulders, she whipped around.

“Riku!” she hissed. He only smirked as he walked back to his recent position. Kairi watched him and then looked over at Selphie. Riku was now standing next to her and she was waving and smiling in support.

“Relax, Kairi.”

Kairi turned around to see Wakka and Tidus next to her. Wakka gripped his blitz ball and Tidus held two wooden swords in his hands. “You'll be fine,” the blonde whispered as he handed her a sword. She took it with a shaking hand and saw that everyone else had one as well. They were all facing a man, obviously the one meant to explain the rules.

“All right. Welcome to the Destiny Islands Teen Sparring Tournament! I hope you guys have prepared yourselves well because this is going to be tense this year!” Kairi’s eyes widened a little more as she gripped her sword tighter. “Okay, you guys are each going to battle your way through the preliminaries. The top ten participants will proceed to the semifinals. The final five will head to the finals, the top three competitors receiving awards for all of their effort. The third place winner will receive a medal and one hundred munny.” Everyone cheered at this statement. “The second place winner will also receive a medal and get three hundred munny!” Kairi scanned everyone as they clapped and cheered again. “Finally, the top competitor and winner of this year’s tournament will receive five hundred munny, bragging rights for a whole year, and the remarkable Destiny Islands Teen Sparring Tournament First Place trophy!” Kairi winced when everyone roared with excitement and cheered. This just made her even more nervous.

“This should be interesting,” Tidus whispered.

“What?” Kairi arched a brow at him.

“I think your friend is over there.” He pointed a finger across the crowd. Kairi mentally face palmed. This was not who she wanted to see stare at her right now.

The big eyes were locked on her, a message being sent to her though them. Kairi stared back, too frozen in shock, anger, and tension. After the longest few seconds of Kairi’s life, the emerald green eyes flicked away, staring back into the crowd. Kairi slowly exhaled, looking to the ground.

“Kairi? Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Kairi quickly looked up at the voice.

“You’re knuckles. They’re as white as snow,” Wakka explained. Kairi glanced at her right hand. She was gripping her sword so tightly that her knuckles were white. She twirled the sword around in her hand, loosening her grip as the grown man continued to explain the rules.

“Okay, now it’s time for you to hear the rules,” he started. “We’ve randomly selected your names and placed you with an opponent. You’ll fight one match. The only contact you can make is through your weapons. No fists, no feet. Just your wooden sword. Whoever is defeated before time runs out loses. The winner will proceed further, fighting their way into the semifinals. I’ll explain what will happen when the time comes. Now, are there any questions?” He searched the crowd, calling on a familiar blonde in the back of the crowd.

“Yeah, is there any possible way that you can use sorcery in this tournament? You know, magic?” People started murmuring and chatting with their neighbors quietly after this question was asked, all gazing at Chaylie as she stood with her arms crossed, a smirk on her face.

“Um, well, I’ve certainly not been asked a question like that before,” the man admitted. “Since this is a physical contact tournament, I really don’t think that’s excusable.” Chaylie shifted her sight to a brunette not too far away. The girl was staring in disbelief at Chaylie, her mouth open. Chaylie only smiled in satisfaction.

“Excuse me,” came a voice. Kairi, as well as the rest of the competitors, stared in the direction it came from, her eyes falling on the same brunette, Lea. “Have you ever had it done before?”

The man thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. It’s never been brought up before.”

“Then what harm can it do to try it out? You never know until you try, sir,” Lea said. The man stared at her for a moment before turning back to the DI Activity Committee. They grouped together, whispering. After a moment, the man stood in front of the crowd once more.

“We’ve come to a decision,” he began. Kairi glanced over at Lea to see her biting her lip anxiously. “We’ve decided…we’ll give it a go this year.”

“Yes!” Lea smiled widely in happiness as others nodded in agreement. Chaylie frowned, turning away.

“Okay, are there any other questions?” The man scanned the crowd again, calling on the person next to Kairi.

“We can use blitz balls, ya?” Wakka asked, twirling his ball on his index finger.

“Yeah, that should be all right. Any others?” He waited, no hands were raised. “Okay! Let’s get started! Akira Miyazaki and Jiro Satou, you’re up!” Kairi watched as the girl and boy made their way up the stairs, the battle beginning shortly after. She walked back over to Riku and Selphie, Wakka and Tidus right behind her.

“At least you’re not first,” Riku smirked as she joined him.

“Yeah, but that means I have more time to panic.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. You prepared yourself well, thanks to my excellent training.” Kairi backhanded him on his shoulder playfully, causing him to laugh. “Okay, you put in some good effort, I’ll give you that.”

“Much better,” she smiled.

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Sora
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The explanation of the rules finally came to an end and Sora sighed. When Chaylie tried to make it so Lea couldn’t compete, he simply shook his head in disapproval. He knew she shouldn’t have stooped to such a level as to try and disqualify her best friend. Or were they friends anymore? Sora didn’t know, so he silently watched the competition from a beach chair, waiting patiently for his turn.

If Lea was allowed to use magic, could he do it, too? Sora shook the thought from his mind. He couldn’t let anyone know about the Keyblade. That’d blow his and Riku’s cover. The boy shook his head, his spikes flying this way and that. He couldn’t risk it. If he went against Lea, though, he’d probably have to.

“Sora.” The boy looked up at the sound of the voice, his eyes falling on the blonde. “I see you decided to join in on the competition.” Sora simply stared at her and she continued. “So, why’d you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Sign up, duh!” Chaylie rolled her eyes. Sora shook his head.

“Why does it matter?”

She smirked. “It doesn’t. Tell me anyway.”

It was Sora’s turn to roll his eyes as he rested his chin on his fist. After a moment, he let his arm drop to the arm rest of the wooden chair. “I don’t know,” he said slowly, a bit of irritation in his voice.

Chaylie only chuckled in amusement. “And I’m supposed to believe that, Sora? Pa-lease! It’s Kairi!” Sora’s eyes widened and then narrowed.

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?” she asked, eyebrows arching.

“Yes.”

“Well,” she began, “I honestly think I’m right. There was no other way you could get close to her. She was either avoiding you herself or her body guard was in the way.” Chaylie was sitting in front of him now, smirking.

Sora gaped at her in surprise. “Excuse me? The only reason Kairi’s avoiding me is because of you and your foolish act! And that ‘body guard’ happens to be my best friend!”

“I’ll admit, the first one is my fault,” Chaylie acknowledged. “As for the body guard---”

“Riku. His name, is Riku,” Sora interrupted.

Chaylie waved him off. “Whatever. As for Riku, after what I saw earlier, he doesn’t appear to be your best friend.” Sora stared at her angrily as she crossed her arms once she finished.

“You were eavesdropping?!”

“So I’m right?” she asked, smirking.

Sora huffed in disbelief. “Honestly, I thought you stooped to a low level before, but this is just ridiculous. Maybe you should take a look at yourself and Lea before you say anything about my friendship with Riku.”

“So, you were listening?”

“Everyone heard that load of crap, Chaylie.”

The blonde kept the smirk on her face. “What can I say? I crave attention, even if it costs me a close friendship.”

“It didn’t look like such a friendship to me. What’d you do this time? Insult her? Scream at her? Embarrass her?” Sora crossed his arms as he furrowed his eyebrows. The girl chuckled in guilt.

“Good guesses. Actually, I did scream at her. It almost turned into a physical fight before that wimp of a girl, Naomi, stepped in.”

“If she stood up to you, I wouldn’t exactly call her a wimp,” Sora said.

“My point is, Sora, that I wasn’t on the same level as those two. Heh, their basically below me when it comes to cleverness and originality. Those two did what I wanted, when I wanted, and how I wanted.”

Sora scoffed. “I highly doubt that. It seems to me that they can think for themselves. You just never gave them the chance.”

“Maybe I didn’t, maybe I did. It doesn’t matter anymore. Those two are no longer important.” She leaned in closer to him, resting her elbows on her knees. She arched a brow and smirked. “Kairi, on the other hand, well, she’s a completely different story.”

Sora’s eyes widened in alarm. “What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see,” she said briefly. “Let’s just say, she’s going to dislike you even more when I get done with her.” Sora jumped slightly and Chaylie only chuckled. She leaned toward him, her mouth next to his ear. “See you in the tournament, Sora.” With that said, Chaylie backed up and walked away, leaving Sora to sit in confusion and disbelief.

“Sora, you have to tell Kairi,” Roxas said suddenly. “And I’d do it fast.”

Sora looked around and saw that people were clapping at the outcome of the battle that just finished. He continued to scan the heads of fans and competitors, until his eyes fell on the red hair he was looking for. He had to talk to Kairi more than ever now, before she got hurt.

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You like? :D Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I have a long car ride ahead of me, so I'm sure new ideas will pop up. I'm taking a notebook so I can write them down. Well, I guess I'll see how everything went soon! Thanks for reading!

 

GRRR That girl is evil! Can I beat her up now? Just like...put me in the fanfic somehow so I can take out my anger on her? xD

I did notice a gramatical mistake (which I hardly ever do). Oh well, great chapter! One of your best in my opinion =)

 

good update, but i wanna see kairi's ficht with Chaylie

 

I liked it, but for me it seemed too short *cries*

damn i just want Sora to see Kairi already. Or for a giant lorry to just appear out of nowhere and ram Chaylie into the ground. Oh, and then reverse onto her to make sure she is definatly dead.

Grr I hate that girl. It shows you are a good writer if you make readers feel emotions for the characters.

 

GG Nice chappie.

 

Grrr...nobody minds if I set the blonde on fire, do they?

Good update so far, Kairi. You've got the flow going good, the only problem I see is that you forgot a few commas in some of your sentences(how I want it when I want it...). That aside, nothing serious. Keep it up.

 

I've just come around to see your new chapter, and the story overall was amazing.

^^ We really, really love your stories and will be hoping to hear from you with an extra part soon!! xD​

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*gasps*OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo.......! cliffy. :cryinganime:

 

Holy crap, this thing is late. O_o I am so sorry for the delay. I know it's been a good 2 months or so and there hasn't been a chapter. I apologize greatly, and I hope this much needed chapter makes up for it. Here's Chapter 16. You don't hate me, do you? =(

-&&&-​

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Kairi
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Kairi stood next to her group of friends nervously as more battles were fought and completed. She would be up soon and if she was nervous before fighting her first battle, how would she react when it came to fighting Chaylie -- if she fought Chaylie? The blonde was surely going to be difficult, Kairi knew that more than anything, whether she was taunting her or physically eligible.

Kairi bit one of her nails as she thought everything over, only hearing half of the conversation going on in front of her.

“…ball came flying at my head and I was out before I realized what’d happened,†Tidus was saying, using hand motions and acting out every word. Riku and Selphie were paying close attention to the story while Wakka smirked and twirled his blitz ball on his finger.

“…was always hard-headed, so he didn’t take that much…â€

Kairi’s mind was fading in and out of the conversation. All she could think about was her main reason for taking part in this competition; Chaylie. It didn’t even feel like a competition to her anymore. It seemed more like a…war. Kairi cringed at the word. She didn’t even know the main reason for the challenge in the first place. All Chaylie did was antagonize her from the get-go.

Was this about that day at the Island? Was Sora the main reason of conflict? Or was it just that Kairi was a random victim of Chaylie’s aggression?

Before she could even search her mind for the answers, Riku was speaking to her. “So, feeling any better?â€

Kairi shook her head. “Not at all. I’ve never been this…insecure before. It feels like my self-confidence has just been shattered to pieces.â€

“Probably just another result of Chaylie’s schemes,†he said as he rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Kairi.â€

“I know I shouldn’t be so shaky, and I’ve never been,†she sighed, “but I feel like this is how I need to be reacting to all of this. First, I was upset and crying. Then I had no emotions at all for a while, but I randomly started to feel anger or hate. And now, all of that fire has just dimmed. I have nothing but butterflies in my stomach. What I need now is the anger and hate. I need that fire, Riku.â€

Riku crossed his arms and arched a brow. “Ever thought of reminding yourself of what made you mad? That could help in the tournament.â€

“You mean ‘war,’†she muttered quietly.

“What?â€

“Nothing….â€

“Well, whatever it is that’s bothering you, try and shake it off when you get up there,†Riku said, turning his attention to the board nearby. Kairi noticed him squinting, obviously trying to read the names off in their battle order. A smirk came across his face and he looked down at her. “Looks like you’ll have to shake ‘em off rather fast. You’re up next.â€

“What?!†Kairi turned around to face the battle that started a few minutes ago, which was now ending. She began to panic. “Riku, I…I can’t! I’m not ready for this! There’s no way I can go up there!â€

Her name was announced, as well as another’s, and Riku only smiled at her. “Shake those nerves off. It’s time to go.†He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her to the stairs. He stayed off of them, urging Kairi to do her best. He turned around to join the others while she stood at the top of the stairs, scared stiff.

“Focus, Kairi. You can do this,†Naminé encouraged.

Kairi inhaled and exhaled deeply as she walked to the center of the platform. Her opponent was there waiting for her with the referee. The other competitor couldn’t have been any older than thirteen. He had a buzz cut and big brown eyes. He was a good foot shorter than her, but he looked very confident. Kairi knew better than to make judgments on the spot, so she followed the ref’s request and knocked her sword against the boy’s in a friendly gesture before they backed up a few steps and waited for their signal. Kairi got into her stance, arms slightly extended and right foot slightly in front of the left with sword in hand.

“Three. Two. One,†the referee counted down, shooting off an air horn to start the match.

She charged at the boy, blocking his attack as he swung at her in an upward arc. She pushed her sword against his, forcing him to move back as she charged again. Kairi swung at him, but he dodged her attack. He managed to hit her in her side, causing her to wince in pain and back off. As they paced in a wide circle, Kairi remembered that Riku had said something about this during the course of her training.

"When you aim for the side, you can play pinball with the person's body."

Kairi blinked as she tried to think this through. There was something she had to do before she could take advantage. Ugh, what was it?! She dug through her memories, trying her hardest to find the lesson she needed.

It suddenly hit her then.

“Lesson four: Study the opponents movements and find a pattern.â€

She immediately locked her eyes on the boy as he danced on his feet impatiently.

“C’mon! What are you waiting for?†he called to her. This made her blink in shock, her jaw dropping at this boy’s confidence. He was acting similar to Riku when he was fifteen. Kairi’s eyes narrowed and then she lunged at him, swinging and trying to attack the best she could as she studied his movements.

Once she found his pattern, she chuckled, a smirk spreading along her lips.

Kairi went after him again, this time making sure that when he jumped out of the way, he responded the way she’d hoped. After waiting a few seconds, she ran at him, a battle cry coming from her throat. She faked an attack, jabbing her sword into the boy’s side when he jumped in the opposite direction. He flew to her left and she hit him again, doing this several times successfully, and when he was stunned for a moment, she whirled around in a quick three hundred sixty degree turn and whacked him. He went flying a few feet from the attack. With a “thudâ€, he hit the floor. Kairi quickly made her way over to his position while he was dazed. The boy was trying to push himself up, and he was doing it slowly. Kairi approached him, and in a swift movement, pointed her sword at his face in triumph. After a few moments of the two staring each other down, the referee fired the air horn to signal that the fight was over.

Kairi huffed in relief. She bent down, offering her hand to the boy. “Great job,†she said.

The boy accepted her hand and she pulled him up. “Thanks. You too.â€

Kairi nodded, the corners of her lips turning upward into a small smile. As the boy walked off, she trailed him with her eyes and then suddenly felt a grip on her hand. She turned her head sharply, glancing at her hand before the face next to her. The referee raised her hand in the air and the announcer said happily, “And the winner is Kairi! Congratulations! Jasper put up a great fight too.†Dropping her hand, the referee looked at Kairi and smiled, whispering a small “congratulations†her way before walking off the stage to prepare for the next match.

Kairi quickly walked over to the stairs, biting her lip. She couldn’t contain this happiness that suddenly built up inside her. It was about to burst if she didn’t laugh, smile, do something. Riku greeted her near the stairs. His face held a smirk of approval.

“What did I tell you?†he asked. Kairi couldn’t help but smile as she stepped down to the same level as him. They walked over to their friends, who greeted her with excitement.

“Oh, my gosh, Kairi!†Selphie ran over to her with a lot of energy. Kairi smiled at her happily and Selphie grabbed her hands. They started jumping up and down like they were kids. “You were so good!â€

Tidus stepped in, causing them to stop their joyful jumping. “Great job, Kairi. You were awesome for your first time.â€

“Thank you, Tidus.†She smiled at him as Wakka made his way over to the group, his blitz ball still under his arm.

“Congrats, Kairi. No problem, ya?â€

Kairi bit her lip at his question. “Well…it was difficult, yes, but I handled it better than I thought I would. He put in a lot of effort too.â€

“That’s right. But for your first round, not so bad, huh?†Riku asked.

Kairi shook her head and glanced around, seeing what was happening. No one was up on the platform yet, so there wasn’t really anything to watch. Her eyes continued to scan the area, groups of people were talking and the record keeper was tallying the scores of the tournament’s competitors. Truth be told, she was searching for one person; the person she hoped she could see in the distance. She needed to see him, absolutely needed to in order to get some courage, because he carried it in his eyes and in his heart.

“I need to see him too, Kairi, in order to see Roxas’ face,†Naminé whispered.

Kairi looked down. “I’m sorry, Naminé . It shouldn’t have turned out like this.â€

“It’s alright. Let’s handle one thing at a time.â€

“Right,†Kairi agreed, nodding. A sudden tap on her shoulder made her look up and see Riku, looking straight ahead.

“Look who’s up.â€

Kairi turned around, looking toward the platform. Her blue eyes grew wide slightly at the sight before her. The person Riku pointed out was up on the platform, knocking swords with an opponent.

--------
Sora
--------​

Knocking the sword in his right hand against his opponent’s, Sora stepped back into his battle stance. His first round of the tournament, and against a boy his age. The boy was the same height as him and seemed a little lanky. He didn’t seem to know what he was doing with the wooden sword as he hesitated getting into a battle stance of his own.

Sora smirked. Easy….

The air horn was blown, signaling the start of the match. Sora charged, a loud “thwack†coming from his sword as he collided with the boy. He kept his hold on the block as the boy tried pushing against him. Sora pushed harder, forcing the boy to stumble backward. He charged at him, releasing a ground combination before sending him up in the air a good foot and unleashing another combo there. On the finishing move, Sora sent the boy back about ten feet, shouting, “Back off!â€

With a short “thumpâ€, his opponent landed on the wooden platform. Making a quick push with his hands, the boy threw himself up in the air feet first and landed smoothly on the floor. Sora waited only patiently for the boy to make his move, and when he did, blocked and retaliated with a jab in the gut. The boy backed up, gripping his stomach, but Sora didn’t let up. He horizontally slashed at him and quickly spun around, whacking him with his sword. Sora watched his opponent back up and slowly go down on one knee in defeat. Another blow from the air horn was heard, and the easy match was over for Sora.

“The winner of this match, ladies and gentlemen, is Sora!†A few cheers were heard from the crowd, most of them familiar to him. He glanced the way they came from, his eyes falling on Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie screaming his name in happiness for his success. He flashed them one of his trademark grins, but it slowly melted away as his blue orbs flitted and fell on Riku and Kairi, who stared at him in silence; Riku’s face strict while Kairi’s was expressionless. His eyes softened and then became intense as he met their gazes. He slowly turned, looking away from them for a quick second. Sora stood in the opposite direction, his eyes locked on them again over his shoulder before he quickly made his way off the platform.

A few people congratulated him as he walked by them, and he smiled his thanks. He walked over to a corner where a large majority of the crowd decided to leave vacant and he leaned against a wooden post, standing next to an empty dock. He pulled a Leon, crossing his arms and bringing his chin down to conceal his eyes, closing them to relax. He huffed, and then felt a warmth in his heart.

With a twinkle of blue stars, Roxas had formed in front of him. A look was planted on his face, and it showed disappointment. Sora noticed this when he saw his Nobody in front of him and quickly avoided his gaze. He really didn’t want a pep talk right now.

“What was that?†the blond asked.

Sora kept his arms crossed, looking to his right out to sea, and muttered, “What was what?â€

“Not a word to them, Sora. Seriously, what happened to the old you? The one that I was jealous of?â€

This made Sora look back over at Roxas and he kept his stare firm. “You know exactly what happened, Roxas. Don’t play that game.â€

Roxas’ jaw dropped. “Come on, man. You look extremely depressed. Just go talk to her! That will fix everything. You can tell her about Chaylie and what she’s planning to do.â€

“That’s the thing, Roxas,†Sora cried, standing up straight and putting his arms to his sides. “I don’t know what Chaylie’s planning to do to her! It’s driving me crazy!â€

Roxas replied, “Then maybe you should go and at least tell Kairi that she plans to do something! That’d help a lot more than you think.â€

“Maybe,†Sora said, looking at the sand below him, “but that doesn’t mean she’ll believe me. Remember what happened at the island that day? She didn’t believe a word I said after she saw what happened.â€

Roxas was fed up at this point. “Geez, Sora. Think of what you were like before Chaylie appeared; the happy-go-lucky guy that everyone loved, especially Kairi. No wonder she doesn’t want to talk to you. You’re a mess. She seems to be holding out better than you.†He placed his left hand on his hip and leaned to the side, waiting for Sora’s reaction.

Roxas’ words burned a hole in Sora’s heart. ‘‘The happy-go-lucky guy’’ phrase had etched a place in his heart for years and it was reappearing, his chest somehow becoming lighter, making Sora feel a little surprised. His eyes widened just the slightest bit and he brought a hand to where his heart was. The memory of how he once was, of how his heart carried him on in the worst of times; when he was fighting the Heartless, when he was tracking down Riku and the King, when the Organization was plotting something he and his friends didn’t know of at the time, and most of all…when he heard that Kairi had been kidnapped.

Sora suddenly realized that those problems were tremendously worse than the one before him. Chaylie was only a teenage girl, she shouldn’t be affecting him as much as she was! He had been set with a bigger responsibility than anything else, which was being Keyblade Master. This had caused him to mature at a fast rate, and yet, he was acting like a ten year-old when it came to the current problem.

He looked up at Roxas, determination in his ocean-blue eyes. Sora stood up straight and nodded. He knew Roxas took this as a cue and soon felt his other merge with him. He opened his eyes, which pierced through every other person he saw in the crowd yards in front of him. He found the one person who he cared about more than anyone else, and ran as fast as he could to her location, her protection being the only thing on his mind.

-&&&-​

So....what'd ya think? I hope you're not mad at me still. It took forever to finish this, but I'm not using school or anything as an excuse. There is no excuse for this. So, all I ask is that you click the little blue and white button. Don't neglect the poor thing; it has a purpose - let it fulfill its duty. =)​

 

Wow. I like how this is going. And don't worry about the wait. I've always found that my favorite stories are the ones I have to wait the longest for XD​

 

Wow, I love this story.

 

Was that shorter than usual? Just wondering.

I think that chapters been better than your past few, I'm glad there was finally some action!

 

*shakes head* Nuh-uh. It's 5 pages in Word, and the last few have been 5 pages. *shrugs*

But thank you. =)