an acquaintance made this point in the server I'm in. I personally wouldn't mind Kairi being a pawn because it's a good way for her to have to explore her character as she tries to break free for the sake of her friends.

What I don't like about this theory is that people use it to say that Kairi is a sort of "false light" for Sora. Her being a light in the darkness and a princess of heart is pretty much all she has right now, and if that's taken away from her, what does she have? Jack shit, or at least nothing that would be satisfying for her character.

If this theory holds any merit, it would risk being narratively misogynistic. The idea that the mere existence of Kairi is meant to be a deception put there by the master of masters. It's also contradictory to the point of Sora's character as well. "Kairi was put there to distract Sora from his true light." So he is special? He was fated for something. Part of the intrigue of Sora's character is that he's an accidental hero. He was never supposed to wield a keyblade and only did so either because Riku's light transferred to him or because the keyblade chose him after seeing the darkness in Riku's heart, depending on your interpretation.

To clarify, even though the person in the image is talking about Sor1ku, this would still very much risk being misogynistic without a romantic love interest for Sora to fall for. The idea that Kairi just exists or is in his life purely to distract him from being the best he can be, sounds like some awful incel shit you'd hear on an Andrew Tate podcast. "Oh don't let a bitch weigh you down. She'll take all your money and hold you back." Like, damn.