A/N: This story is the reason why I haven't been updating Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots. =.=; Don't kill me. I'll eventually get going on that story again. I'm re-writing it, actually, because the plot isn't good. It's just crazy and all over the place, and I need my plots to be perfect. .O Anyway, enjoy this story, which takes place in the world of Kingdom Hearts~~

Chapter One~~ The Past is the Future

I can’t remember, for the life of me, the last time that I was happy. And when I say happy, I mean utterly, honestly, and amazingly happy. Overjoyed. Delighted. Exuberant. All words that are no longer in my vocabulary. Sure, I smile and laugh a lot when the situation calls for it, but does that mean I’m happy overall? And even though I can’t remember the last moment of happiness that I had, I can recall when the joy left me like a baby sparrow leaves its nest when it grows older.

When Sora came home.

I instantly noticed the change in his eyes. It was the change I’d been fearing ever since we’d first been separated by the darkness, when we were young, fourteen, and naïve. It burned like a never-ending fire in his cobalt blue eyes, striking fear inside of me whenever I gazed into their oceanic depths.

He was a teenage boy.

He liked girls. He wanted to like girls. I’m not saying that’s bad, it’s just that those girls weren’t me. There was once a time in my life where I wanted the only girl he liked to be me, Kairi. Hell, I still feel that way, but I know that’s not the way it is, and it’s not the way it’s going to turn out. I love him, yes, but he doesn’t love me back. Of that, I’m sure.

The worst thing is seeing him flirting with girls at school all the time. Nonstop. As if he lives to flirt, and if he stops, he’ll die of suffocation. Every single time I see him give another girl an interested glance, or wave at another girl in the halls, I feel the pangs of jealousy that have become like a plague to me. I don’t want to believe it, but maybe . . . I’m not the girl he wants anymore. Maybe I’m just not the girl he ever wanted in the first place.

These thoughts—these fears—are the fears that my mind mulled over for hours while he was gone, off fighting the darkness. I would stand on the sandy beach, staring off at the vast, endless sea, wondering whether or not he was thinking of me, or if he even cared about me at all.

I was beginning to think that he really did love me after he came back, when it happened.

He got a girlfriend.

Apparently, according to Riku, “Selphie got hot”, and Sora seemed to sort of migrate to her like an ant to a grain of sugar.

Maybe the moment I saw him hold her hand was the moment my happiness dissolved.

Or maybe it was the first time I saw them cuddling, when we all went to Riku’s house to watch a movie on Friday night.

Or maybe it was the time I accidentally walked in on them making out in the bathroom at The Spot, a local restaurant-slash-hang out spot for us teenagers on Destiny Island.

Yeah. That’s it.

Most of the time, I liked to be alone now. While Riku, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, Sora, and a new addition to the group, Hiroyuki, all went off campus at lunch, or hung out together on the weekends, I preferred to either go home to my room to sit and listen to music, or go on walks on the many different beaches. Sometimes, Roxas and Namine joined me.

Namine and Roxas were now able to separate from Sora and I at free will. Nobody had any idea how this could be, but it happened gradually, over the months. By the time the four of us were seventeen, Roxas and Namine were walking in and out of our bodies as if we were just doors. Sometimes, they went off in the middle of the night to God-only-knows-where for hours on end, and when Namine returned to me in the early morning, she would refuse to say anything.

One time, however, when I asked her about their late night visits, all she said was something rather deep.

“Roxas’s love for me runs as deep and as fast as a river, Kairi,” she smiled, sitting down on the thick branch of a paopu tree. The wind caught the ends of her thin blonde hair easily and whipped them lazily about her face.

She sighed and went on, “I don’t deserve him.”

I remember her words clearly to this day. They’re words that I wish I could say about me and Sora. More than anything.

At the sound of footsteps behind her, Kairi looked up from her sketchpad to see Roxas come strolling up with his hands in the pockets of his tight black jeans. She was sitting on a warm patch of sand, beneath the noon sun.

“Hey,” he said casually. “What’re you doing?”

“Drawing,” Kairi said quietly, tucking a strand of her elbow-length crimson hair behind one ear.

“Since when did you start drawing?” he asked incredulously, his eyes widening in amazement at the perfect caricature of him and Namine cuddling on the grass. He watched her hand skittering across the thick, smooth paper for a moment before he yawned.

“Man, today’s been boring. You seen Nami?” he asked, stretching his arms out above his spiky-haired head. His eyes were so blue that it was unsettling to Kairi.

Kairi shrugged. “She left after I did this morning.”

Roxas sighed. “I haven’t seen her all day.”

Kairi giggled. “What? Now, you’re just dying.”

Roxas stuck his tongue out. “Oh, be quiet. I’m actually kind of worried. She hasn’t been picking up her cell phone, and nobody seems to have seen her all day.”

Kairi frowned. She closed her sketchbook and put her pencil into her black-and-white striped messenger bag. Smoothing out her pleated blue uniform miniskirt, she got to her feet.

“Let’s go to my house and ask my mom if she saw her leave. Maybe she’s still there.”

The two set off for Kairi’s house, their worries over their friend bouncing around in their heads like rubber balls. When they arrived at Kairi’s house, both of their palms were sweating, and they were both shaking slightly. Where was Namine? Was she okay? What had happened to her?

“Mom?” Kairi called out into the house somewhat shakily.

Her adoptive mother poked her head out from the laundry room.

“Yes, honey? Oh, hello, Roxas!” she said brightly. As soon as she saw the two teenagers’ faces, however, her smile dissipated. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you seen Namine?” Roxas asked worriedly. “She won’t answer her cell, and nobody else at school has seen her!”

Kairi’s mother’s brow creased. She called out to Kairi’s adoptive father.

“Sweetie?”

“Yeah?” he hollered from the kitchen. He was most likely baking something. Kairi’s family owned a bakery on one of the main islands, so their house was always stocked with sweets and breads. Why, just then, the smells of fresh cooked cinnamon rolls wafted out into the front entryway.

“Did you see where Nami went?” Kairi’s mother asked him.

He frowned and shook his head. “All I know is that when I got home from the bakery, she wasn’t here. Why?”

“They can’t find her, and she’s not picking up her cell.”

His frown deepened. “Want me to call the police?”

Roxas jammed his hands backward through his hair. “No, that’s okay. She might just be out at the Play Island. We’ll go check there.”

Kairi’s mother looked concerned. “All right, but hurry back. By the time you get out there, it’ll be late. Why don’t you see if Sora can go with you?”

Next to her, Kairi could almost feel Roxas go rigid.

“I’m perfectly capable of protecting your daughter,” he said, unable to hide the iciness in his tone.

Kairi’s father cleared his throat dangerously.

“Watch your tone, young man,” he said from the kitchen.

“Sorry,” Roxas mumbled.

Kairi’s mother just smiled. Everyone knew that the question of Sora’s strength compared to Roxas’s was a touchy subject for both boys. And both of them hated being compared Riku since he was the one with the muscular body. It was almost comical the way they reacted whenever strength came into question.

“I’m sure you can protect her,” Kairi’s mother said. “It was just a suggestion, honey.”

Roxas nodded.

“Well, you’d better get going if you want to stay in the daylight,” her mother went on to say, ushering them both out the door.

Kairi assured her mother that they both had their cell phones, and they were off to the docks, where they purchased a small rental boat to take them to the Play Island.

Roxas took control of the oars while Kairi settled down comfortably on a blanket that was situated along the bottom of the boat. She watched the choppy waters that slapped up against the sides of the boat and wondered what Sora was doing right then. Was he with Selphie? Were they cuddling, kissing, or what? It pained her just to think about it.

“Hey,” Roxas said softly, worriedly. “What’s the matter?”

Kairi just shook her head.

Roxas slowed his rowing down a bit. “You can’t let it get to you.”

“Let what get to me?” Kairi asked flatly, staring pointedly at the ocean.

He scowled. “Kairi, look. Everybody knows things with Sora should have worked out, okay? But you can’t sit and dwell on things. If he likes Selphie, then he likes Selphie. You can’t change that. What you can do, however, is be a good friend and support his decisions. After all, he did travel across twenty or so worlds just to save you two years ago.”

Kairi remained silent.

Roxas just sighed and continued to row the boat.

When they finally reached the Play Island, Kairi was so deep into her distant, far-off thoughts that she didn’t notice that Roxas was calling her name from the docks. She came to with a jolt and stared up at him as if he were a completely different person. She let him help her out of the boat and then gazed around at the empty, lifeless beach.

“I don’t see anyone,” she said with a frown.

Roxas scowled. “Namine, where are you?” he grumbled. “Come on, let’s go check the other side of the Island.”

They walked across the beach and entered the Seaside Shack. Once inside, Kairi was intensely aware of a strange smell. It wasn’t a revolting smell, nor was it appealing. It was just . . . Familiar, in a strange way.

Apparently, however, Roxas instantly recognized the scent.

“Heartless,” he breathed with his eyes wide.

They exchanged glances and ran through the Shack, emerging out on the other side of the island, where they could see that it wasn’t nearly as dead and empty as the one they’d just came from. In fact, surrounding ten or so medium-sized unnecessary bonfires were about one hundred or so students from Destiny High, the private school Kairi and her friends attended.

Kairi backed up against the door.

“What’s your problem?” Roxas asked worriedly. “You know all these people.”

Kairi shook her head adamantly. “No way, Roxas. No way. Parties—people —are not my thing,” she said, laughing somewhat nervously.

Roxas stamped his foot somewhat childishly.

“But what about Namine? Maybe she’s here!”

Kairi just looked at him. “You can find her just as easily as I can.”

“But . . . But if there’s two people, then it’ll be even easier!” he spluttered incredulously.

Kairi merely blinked.

Scowling, Roxas shook his head at her in utter disgust.

“You need to get over your anti-social tendencies, Kairi, and go back to who you were. I liked you better that way.” He turned and merged with the moving mass of teenagers yelling and laughing.

Kairi felt the tears filling her eyes before she had even fully began to understand what Roxas had just said to her. Over and over again, she told herself those same things: Go back to who you were, Kairi. Go back to who you were! Alas, it was not to be. Kairi would never go back. Sora had taken the old her and ripped her heart apart, stomping it into the sand as if it were nothing more than a hairy insect.

She lifted her hand and bit her knuckle as hard as she could; people were starting to notice her standing alone, crying. Stifling a sob, Kairi ran back through the Seaside Shack, the Secret Place being the destination she’d visualized in her mind’s eye.

Pushing aside the hanging green ferns, the cerulean-eyed redhead dashed down the long, winding tunnel of darkness until she entered the cavernous room that was the Secret Place. She fell to her knees before the drawing of her and Sora sharing a paopu fruit and wept unashamedly.

When had it all gone wrong? What had she done to deserve this treatment? She didn’t—and couldn’t—understand why Sora made such a horrible mistake. Or . . . Was it a mistake? Could it be that she was the mistake; not Selphie? Could it be that she was so worthless that Sora didn’t even want to think about being with her for any second of their lives?

“Kairi?” came a voice from the tunnel. “Are you in here?”

She stiffened.

“H-Hiroyuki?” she called timidly.

A tall, lithe boy with pale skin and emerald eyes seemed to melt out of the darkness of the tunnel. He was wearing a simple pair of blue-and-white swimming trunks and a white tank top. His choppy, chin-length raven hair was slightly damp with sea water. He looked genuinely concerned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly as he knelt beside the trembling girl.

Kairi didn’t know what to do. Nobody besides her mother and Namine had ever seen her cry. She was frozen with a mixture of embarrassment and terror swirling in her sparkling cerulean eyes. Her bottom lip quivered as she searched for words to fill the awkward silence.

“You can talk to me, you know,” he said, sitting down and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I know you don’t know me that well, but I’m here, okay? I’m here.”

And suddenly, it seemed as if a damn had broken. All of Kairi’s fears and insecurities—whether they were minimal or massive—came spilling out like an avalanche of snow and ice in the mountains. She told him everything—from the beginning of Sora’s, Riku’s, and her journeys to the moment Kairi caught Sora and Selphie kissing. She let Hiroyuki know exactly how she’d always felt about Sora, and how unhappy she was, and how worthless she felt, and . . . And everything. It took her almost one and a half hours to spill her heart out to this partial-stranger, and she didn’t even care.

The best part of it all was that Hiroyuki sat and listened to her through the whole thing without saying a word.

When her tale was spun, Hiroyuki leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her thin, frail, and petite form.

“He has no right to treat you that way,” he whispered somewhat ferociously, holding her gently, as if she were a porcelain doll that was seconds away from shattering.

They stayed like that, holding each other on the dirt floor of the Secret Place. Kairi didn’t know how long they were there either. All she knew was that once they got to talking, time seemed to stand still. They talked about everything—from their families to their favorite things. Kairi smiled in that one space of time with him more than she ever had in her entire life.

And yet . . . Still, in the back of her mind, Sora’s face hovered. She just didn’t think she could forget him.

“So what is it with that Keyblade thing that Sora’s always pulling out in the middle of his classes?” Hiroyuki asked with a loud yawn. He slipped his arm around Kairi’s shoulders, a movement that Kairi really didn’t mind.

“What?” Kairi asked incredulously. “He does that?”

Hiroyuki laughed. “Yeah, dude. He’ll just whip that big hunk of metal out while the teacher’s talking, twirl it around so all the girls stare at him and sigh dreamily, and then it’ll disappear in a flash of light. It’s really kind of gay.”

Kairi giggled. “I didn’t know Sora was like that. That’s . . . That’s actually really retarded.”

“Tell me about it. You must not know him as well as you think, because that kid is a douche.”

Kairi sighed. “He never used to be that way . . .”

“Because he was young!” Hiroyuki cried. “Now, he’s the King Douche. Did you know what he did to this kid in PE the other day?”

“What?” Kairi asked somewhat reluctantly.

“See, this kid is short—waaaayyyy short. He’s shorter than Tidus even. And you’ve seen how tall Sora is, right? Right. Well, anyway, the PE teacher gives us free time for doing so well this quarter, so the kid decides to shoot some hoops. Well, Sora and his gay-ass lackeys are sitting there, watching him fail epicly with his ball-throwing, so they decide to step in.

“Sora walks right up, asks if he can help the kid, then takes the ball from him. And so ensues the most brutal, bloody basketball game I have ever witnessed.”

That really didn’t sound like Sora at all. Not at all. Or maybe Kairi just didn’t want to believe it. She stared up at Hiroyuki in shock.

“What?” she gasped. “They just . . . Beat him up? For no reason?!”

Hiroyuki nodded, his eyes wide. “I couldn’t believe it. Riku and I stepped in, though, and stopped him from breaking any of the poor kid’s bones.”

“Who was he?”

Hiroyuki shrugged. “Just some Freshman; I don’t know anyone’s names anymore.” He laughed. “Anyway . . . Were you thinking about joining the party at all?”

Kairi sighed. “I guess so, I mean . . . Do you know Namine?”

“That one blonde chick who never shows up to her classes anymore? Yeah; I know her. Why?”

“Well, she’s my best friend, and she’s missing,” Kairi said, biting her bottom lip and staring at the floor. “Her boyfriend and I came here to find her. He’s in the party, looking.”

“Did you want to help look for her?”

Kairi shook her head fiercely. “No. I hate people. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Hiroyuki asked, squeezing her shoulders tightly. “There’s nothing to be sorry about!”

“Well, I mean, I’m keeping you here, and you probably want to join the party—”

“Not at all,” he said with a dazzling smile. “I’m perfectly happy here. With you.”

Kairi wasn’t able to hide the blush that stained her cheeks. She hid her face in her hands. Hiroyuki just laughed and shook her a little bit.

“You don’t have to be so modest all the time, Kairi. Maybe that’s why you’re so unhappy. Everyone’s always telling me about how outgoing and bubbly you used to be.”

“That girl is gone . . .” Kairi said wistfully, gazing at the picture of Sora and her sharing a paopu fruit.

“And what girl is here?”

Kairi turned her head sharply at the change in the tone of his voice. Something about it turned on warning bells in her head. Her whole body tensed when she saw how close his face was to hers; they were practically breathing each other’s carbon dioxide.

“Oh, I have to go,” Kairi lied, pretending her cell phone was vibrating in her pocket. She jumped to her feet and turned to go. Too late, though, because she felt his strong hand gripping her tiny wrist before she could even make another move.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to the party?” Hiroyuki asked.

“I . . . I did. I just . . . I’m going to my boat,” Kairi stammered. She’d made a huge mistake staying alone in the Secret Place to talk to him. A huge mistake.

“Why don’t we stay here for a while more?” Hiroyuki asked. “I like talking to you.”

Kairi tried to twist out of his grip, but he was too strong.

“I—I have to go home!” she said, realizing that she was pleading.

A flash of anger suddenly shot through Hiroyuki’s emerald-green eyes and he shoved her backward. She fell hard against the rock wall and slid down to the floor. Stars exploded in her vision and pain flashed through her head.

“What in the . . . ?” she gasped, rubbing the back of her head. Her fingers came away bloody. She stared up at Hiroyuki in horror.

He glared down at her, as if a sudden change had come over him. Then, just as quickly, the anger seemed to leave his eyes. He held his hand out to her to help her to her feet.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Let me help you up.”

Kairi stared at his hand incredulously for a long moment. Part of her wanted to just smack his hand away and leave, but there was another part of her that craved the attention he was so willingly giving her. Maybe the reason why he was being so forceful was because he liked her. Nobody had ever liked her before. Well, besides Sora, but from what Hiroyuki had said, Sora wasn’t a very good guy to hang around. Maybe Hiroyuki had just panicked because he thought she was going to leave him. Maybe he was lonely, too.

Yeah. That was it. He was lonely, too.

So she took his hand, making perhaps the biggest mistake of her life.

Namine woke with a jolt, her baby blue eyes staring around her in terror. She could feel the cool metal of shackles tightened around her wrists. She tried to move her arms, but they were chained to the wall behind her.

The stark white wall.

Namine’s heart stopped for a moment.

‘Castle Oblivion . . .’ she thought anxiously, pulling on her chains a couple times to measure how heavy the metal was. It was rather light, but still strong enough to hold her in place. Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to spread her mind outward, to contact Roxas.

She couldn’t have possibly suspected the instant magic resistance that met her mind’s tendrils. She gasped in agony; it felt as if thousands of knives were stabbing her head, herding her thoughts back to her brain. She lifted up the barriers to her mind and looked to the cell door. It was made completely of metal with a small glass window at the top. The rest of the room was an almost glowing white and completely empty save for Namine herself.

After about ten or so minutes of waiting, footsteps sounded outside the door. If Namine remembered her way around Castle Oblivion correctly, she was on the top floor, in her old room. It was a room that was filled with old memories—good and bad.

When the door opened, she shrank back against the wall. It was a man with shoulder-length brown hair that seemed to spike out in all directions. His eyes were a sallow yellow, and his skin was tan. He was tall and thin, but nonetheless frightening. He wore the standard black, floor-length coat that all Organization members wore, and he wore it well.

“Who are you?” Namine stammered.

“That doesn’t matter,” he said, producing a ring of keys from the air. He knelt beside the shaking girl and unlocked her chains. As soon as they clanked to the ground, they disappeared in small flashes of darkness. The man grabbed her tiny arm and hauled her roughly to her feet. She glanced down to make sure she hadn’t been changed into the God-awful white dress they’d forced her to wear when she was still their prisoner. Thankfully, she was still clad in her cut-off jean miniskirt, fluffy black boots, and hot pink lacy camisole from that morning.

The man dragged Namine out into the hall (which was just as blindingly white as the room they’d just left) and opened up a portal.

Feeling like being a bit sarcastic, Namine sneered, “Wow. Too lazy to just walk down the stairs?”

He turned and, unexpectedly, slapped her across the face. She stumbled back, but he grabbed her arm viciously before she could fall and shook her violently. She cried out in pain as her head whipped back and forth, sending the silken strands of her elbow-length blonde hair flying about wildly.

“You don’t want to get on my bad side, little girl,” he hissed, his yellow eyes glowing positively evilly.

Fearfully, Namine nodded, unshed tears glittering in her eyes.

The man glared at her for one second longer before he stepped into the portal, dragging her in behind him.

Roxas shoved aside a drunk boy that he recognized from his Algebra II class, a look of disgust crossing his face. He was so sick and tired of the way some kids acted. It was just plain irritating how stupid drinking and drugs were. He knew, somehow, that he’d definitely find Sora here.

And find him he did.

Scowling, Roxas helped the tall, silver-haired boy formally known as Riku haul Sora to his feet. Riku was clad in a black button-up tee shirt and white skinny jeans. He grabbed a half-empty bottle of Vodka out of Sora’s hands and tossed it aside.

Roxas and Riku exchanged glances before they dragged the half-asleep boy to the edge of the beach, away from everyone else.

“Wh-Where’s Selphhhhh?” Sora asked before bursting out into a wild fit of giggles. He wore a pair of almost skin-tight black skinny jeans and a light green tee shirt with a band name spread across the chest.

“I’m not dealing with this,” Roxas muttered.

Riku pulled a small flask of Hi-Potion out of his pocket and gave it to Sora. He lied, saying that it was more liquor, and Sora guzzled the whole thing down. It was pathetic, really.

Sora blinked owlishly, the Hi-Potion having restored his senses.

“Wha . . . ? Where am I . . . ?” He looked around.

“Getting drunk at a party, as usual, dickwipe,” Roxas snarled, smacking Sora on the side of the head. “You don’t even know where you are, let alone where your girlfriend is. Namine’s missing, and Kairi disappeared to God-knows-where. You’re a fucking mess!”

Sora just rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his head. “You’re just too sensitive. I haven’t seen Namine and for your information, I know exactly where Selphie is.”

“Oh?” Riku asked. “I’m not so sure that you do.”

“Yeah,” Roxas added. “She’s probably off fucking one of your stupid asshole lackeys.”

Sora glared at Roxas. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“Listen to yourself, Sora! Even you don’t believe that! Selphie is a whore, and you know it!” Riku yelled.

“Selphie loves me,” Sora muttered, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat nervously. “She wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Who are you?” Riku asked incredulously. “I can’t deal with this. I really can’t. Roxas, go find Kairi. I don’t think Namine’s here, but I’ll ask around for you.”

Roxas nodded and jogged off.

Riku jabbed an accusing finger in Sora’s chest.

“Kairi’s gone missing now, too, and this never would have happened if you hadn’t done a complete one-eighty and turned into the biggest douche bag on this planet. I mean, do you even care where Kairi is?”

Sora held his angered glare. “She’s not my girlfriend, so no.”

Riku began to quiver with rage. He could feel the darkness trembling inside of him, threatening to explode outward and destroy his best friend. He closed his brilliant aquamarine eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“I’m gonna go help Roxas find Kairi. If you care about your real friends at all, then you’ll ask everyone if they’ve seen Namine. Please.” He turned and went off after Roxas.

Roxas was just going into the Secret Place when Riku hollered his name from the entrance to the Secret Shack. Roxas waited, allowing Riku to catch up.

“Did you find anything out?”

Riku shook his head. “I left it up to Sora, and I hopefully made him feel really bad about being such a fucking douche. Let’s—”

“I—I have to go home!”

Riku and Roxas exchanged glances at the sound of Kairi’s shrill, pleading words. They froze for a couple seconds, trying to plan their next move, and then dashed down the tunnel as quickly as they could.

Kairi was standing in front of Hiroyuki, running her fingers through her chin-length crimson bangs. Hiroyuki held one of her hands, as if he’d just helped her to her feet. They both stared at Riku and Roxas in surprise.

“What’s going on?” Roxas growled, glaring at Hiroyuki.

“Nothing,” Kairi interjected quickly. “We were practicing for a play Hiro’s in. Everything’s fine.”

“Oh,” Roxas said, a little bit suspiciously. “You sure?”

Kairi nodded.

“Did you find anything out about Namine?” she asked.

“We left it up to the King,” Riku said, referencing Sora, whom he liked to call the King Douche. He threw a curious glance Hiroyuki’s way. “What are you two doing in here, all alone?”

“Talking,” Hiroyuki smiled. “Kairi and I are dating now.”

Roxas and Riku both saw Kairi tense up and throw Hiroyuki an alarmed glance. What did that mean? Since when did Kairi start liking Hiroyuki?

“Uh . . . Yeah,” Kairi said slowly. “We’re . . . Together now. However, that’s not important. What’s important is that we find Namine.”

All of a sudden, it seemed that a great explosion had rocked the entire cave. The three boys were able to keep their footing, but Kairi stumbled and fell against the rock wall, smacking the side of her head hard against a crag. She was out like a light.

“I’ll carry her,” Hiroyuki said. “You guys go see what happened.”

Roxas and Riku nodded, and ran out to see what had happened. Hiroyuki lifted Kairi into his arms bridal style and carried her out after them.

Roxas and Riku both skidded to a halt once they left the Secret Place, surprised to find nothing out of place. Riku left to check and see if the explosion had occurred near the party. Roxas assisted Hiroyuki in laying Kairi down on the soft grass next to the small spring.

When they both turned, Roxas was shocked to see that a portal of darkness had opened up right in front of them. He was even more shocked to see that black-gloved hand and black-sleeved arm reach out, grip the chest of his red-and-black striped shirt, and yank him into the darkness.

He was gone before Hiroyuki could even blink.

Chapter One~~End

A/N: I hope you liked it! I have so many cool things in store for this story, including the discovery of Kairi's real parents!! I'm very excited about this story, so I hope you all are as well. Review, if you wish. ^___^