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dusky-dancing · 4 years

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The Prince and the Pirate - CH 5

For SoKai Week - Day 5

Story Summary: Sora finds himself far away from the walls of the Radiant Garden he's known his whole life, kidnapped by a rowdy group of pirates whose captain is as alluring as she is mysterious. What he thought was a simple hostage negotiation turns into an adventure that Sora couldn't have anticipated. He doesn't know which is worse, not knowing what's up ahead, or liking it that way.

Rating: T

Genre: Romance, Adventure, Pirate AU

Length: ~ 2900 words

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Links for story navigation:

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The first sensation that hit Sora was just how cold he was.

No, it wasn't just cold, he was soaking wet in his clothes, his hair, everything. He tried to breathe in but only found himself choking.

Breathe.

I can't breathe!

Waking in a startle, his lungs forcefully coughed up sea water until air rushed into his lungs.

The lullaby of gently tossing waves almost tempted him to lay back down, but then his memories came flooding back to him. Specifically, his memories of the one who'd saved him from drowning.

"Kairi!"

He pushed himself onto his knees and glanced around. Besides the beach sand, whatever island they'd washed ashore was covered almost entirely in green, from the lush bushes to the tall palm trees.

Well, atleast it seems livable, he thought to himself.

Then his eyes caught a splash of pink, and he was on his feet not a moment later.

"Kairi!" He shouted over and over as his weakened legs carried him across the beach.

Besides the wind tossing her damp hair, she wasn't moving. His knees crashed into the sand beside her.

She lay on her back, breathing - thank the gods - but he knew the sight of a broken leg anywhere. His heart ached, like he'd just watched priceless porcelain shatter. She wasn't going to feel great when she woke up, and she wasn't going to like what he'd have to do.

The break was recent enough that there was still time to set it back into place. It wouldn't heal perfectly, but atleast she'd be able to walk normally again.

"Kairi." He lifted her torso and brushed the hair out of her face. "Please, wake up."

His only warning was a gurgling sound in the back of her throat before she began coughing sea water into the sand. Her eyes slowly opened, and for a moment relief washed across her face before it was replaced with a painful wince.

She glanced down by her leg, but he kept her down. "It's broken pretty bad," he said. "Probably best that you don't look before I… I have to…"

She nodded in understanding. "Just give me something to bite."

That part was easy. With the amount of plants and trees just in their vicinity, spare branches and sticks lay just beyond the shore. Sora picked one that was hard enough to do the trick, but soft enough to not damage her teeth. At the same time, he gathered sticks and vines sturdy enough to serve as a temporary splint.

He returned quickly, dusted it off, and silently handed it to her. No words could properly communicate how hard it would be for both of them, but the quicker it was over with, the better.

Kairi bit down on it and rested back on her elbows. Closing her eyes, she nodded in preparation.

Sora knelt by her leg. In any other circumstance the act would've felt much more intimate. Her legs were so smooth yet hardened from her life on the sea. Sora took several deep breaths before gently placing his hands above and below the break.

Just focus on putting it back in place.

Don't think about who it is.

Counting down would only make it worse, so he just went for it. After a final inhale, he flexed his hands and moved her bone back into place.

Even when muffled, the blood-curdling scream that followed made Sora shudder. In that moment, he felt like a worse monster than the Kraken that had caused this. Her back arched as she kicked and tore through the sand with her healthy limbs. After securing her leg with his improvised splint, He rushed back up to her upper half and pulled her close.

"The worst is over, Kairi," he tried to remain calm despite his accelerating heartbeat. "I'm so sorry."

She muffled more cries of pain in his chest, and he endured the punches to his torso. The stick finally fell from her teeth as her breathing steadied. Jabs turned into tight grips on his jacket.

"Thanks," she breathed.

Now that he knew she'd be okay, the reality of their proximity hit him. He'd barely done more than shake her hand before, and now she was lying in his arms. Even the chilled ocean breeze couldn't stop his face from warming. Afraid he'd crossed a line, he set her back down to support her own weight once she relaxed.

"I should be thanking you," he said. "You saved me."

She met his eyes for the first time since waking up, though her own were still wide and unfocussed from the pain.

"And you saved my crew," she smiled before turning her gaze away. "Besides, I worked hard to get you. I wasn't about to lose you to some sea monster."

Sora wasn't about to let her sincerity hide away again. "Oh, so you'll just toss me to the sea once we're done?"

She tensed up. "No, of course not! I-" her eyes narrowed once she noticed his smirk. "How mean, to tease a girl when she's down."

"Couldn't help it," he smiled. "Speaking of which, though, what do we do now?"

She sat up further and turned her gaze to the sea. "Now we wait. I told my crew to get the rescued to safety first, then circle back for us. It hopefully shouldn't take more than a few days."

"A few days is pretty fast."

"You're right. Plus, the Leviathan won't be as fast without my magic." She closed her eyes, but the growing anxiety showed itself all over her face. "Let's make it a week."

"Hey, on the bright side, this isn't the worst island to be stuck on," he smiled.

Careful of her leg, she turned around and took in the cliffs, waterfalls, and endless green that stretched all around the beach. The island was small, but not uninhabitable. Under different circumstances, it would've been a paradise. Some relief washed over her, and she relaxed again.

"First thing's first, though," he continued, "we gotta make you a better splint."

One thing neither of them could deny was that the island was beautiful. It transformed as the sun moved through the sky. The tide crept up the beach, but not too far or too violently. Salty air complimented the scent of life-filled trees and shrubbery.

But what caught their eyes the most was a small sub island just off the shore.

During their slow journey up the beach, with Sora practically needing to carry Kairi, they'd spotted food like mushrooms and coconuts - nothing as bright and yellow as the star-shaped fruit that rested on that tiny island. Sora laid her down within some nearby shade and stared out at it.

"I'm sorry," Kairi said after a moment.

He sat beside her. "It's okay, Kairi, but you'll have to get more specific," he cracked a smile in an attempt to lift her spirits.

"For not being entirely honest, from the beginning."

He lay back and laced his hands behind his head. "You were being vague for sure, but anything that pulled me from home was going to be exciting."

Her fingers traced random lines in the sand. "Remember the story from the other night?"

"The Leviathan one? That's the quest you're on, right?"

She nodded. "There's more to it. I'm not the only piece to the puzzle. Although the Kraken is powerful, he's not omnipotent. Remember how I said he had to lock away her heart?"

Sora sat up and regarded her curiously.

"Well, where there is a lock, there is also…"

His heart stopped. She'd paused to let him think, but Sora blurted the answer before he could stop himself.

"A key."

Besides the smile that graced her features, Sora couldn't pay attention to the rest of her explanation. Something about the same light creating a key and bestowing it upon a worthy heart. His mind was racing. It all made perfect sense why she needed him and why the Kraken had attacked him. But why had Kairi been so...forceful?

"You figured it out," her voice drew him back from the pit in his stomach.

"Why didn't you just ask?" he shook his head. "I would've gone with you still, without the kidnapping or anything."

She hummed. "Maybe you would've, but would your kingdom have let you?"

"What about your powers?" he asked. "They come from Leviathan. People would believe you in a heartbeat."

She laughed, "As always, you give people too much credit, Sora." Her gaze drifted out to sea. Though the evening had begun to darken their surroundings, she seemed focussed, possibly on the sound of tossing waves or the smell of the ocean breeze.

"In a world where the ocean is terrifying and monster-infested, what would people think of a girl with water-based magic?"

Her eyes were filled with sadness, and Sora wasn't sure if he wanted to know how many times she'd tried to win people over, only to be feared and tossed out.

"I suppose I've always been believed." His hand extended forward between them, and his Keyblade manifested before her. Her eyes grew wide, and she shuffled closer. "When my Keyblade appeared, my father took it as a sign of strength and heroism, and therefore that our family must be blessed. The irony is, I don't think I've done a single heroic deed with this blade. Fought some battles, sure, but nothing to actively help people." He chuckled, "If this whole time I'd been kept locked away, I was supposed to be helping people by ridding the ocean of those monsters, then my life's been a waste."

She reached a hand out and hovered it over the neck of the blade. Her eyes asked for permission, which he answered with a simple nod. She waited not a moment longer before touching the cold metal. Her fingers ran slowly from the hilt to the teeth a few times before she glanced up to him again.

"You're here now," she said, "that's not a waste." With her curiosity satisfied, she drew her hand back and regarded him fully. "It seems we're both missing something the other can provide. You need a heroic quest, and I need a hero to complete my quest."

The chilled night air suddenly grew warmer. Sora's chest tightened, but in a way that just made him want to sit closer to her. Instead, he cleared his throat and turned away.

"Well, we both need a way off of this island first."

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A day passed, and still Sora couldn't shake the island with the star-shaped fruit from his mind. Though it sat easily within swimming range, even at high tide, he found the rock and soil too slippery to climb.

It was a strange little sub-island, able to sustain a single tree that didn't grow anywhere else. He swam back to the main shore, bested again by the mysterious island.

"Still trying, huh?" Kairi giggled.

"It's killing me." He turned back to face it with his hands on his hips. It mocked him, standing just out of reach.

Kairi sat up and began unfastening her splint. "I have an idea," she said. "Take me with you."

"What? No! Kairi your leg-"

"Will be fine," she finished for him with that stubborn smirk of hers. "See, I'm taking the splint off so it doesn't get wet."

He was never given the chance to deny her again, for as soon as it was off she extended her hands out for assistance. He pulled her to her feet and supported her weight as they made their way back into the water. A hum of delight escaped her throat when the water hit her ankles. He hadn't thought of how much she must have missed the water. It probably pained her to be sitting a few feet from it all day yet unable to go in.

Once waist-deep, Kairi sighed and let her legs float. "Oh man, why didn't I think of this earlier?"

Sora chuckled. "Feel better?"

"Amazing." She closed her eyes and let her legs suspend in the gentle waves while Sora supported the rest of her weight.

If she hadn't been injured, this would've been the perfect moment to splash her while she'd been distracted. Later, Sora promised himself.

He shifted so they both floated on their backs, with her upper body weight supported on his chest. Through the blush spreading across his face, he told himself the position was necessary to get them to the small island. Gently, he began to kick his legs and guide them along. He half-expected Kairi to use her abilities to push them through the water, but she remained still in his grasp.

"Letting me do all the work, huh?" He teased.

Her torso shook as she laughed. "You'll see."

Sora's feet soon touched sand again as they neared the island.

"Stop here," she commanded, "and stand with me."

He did as she said. Using one hand for balance on him, she brought her other up in a familiar elegant motion. As expected, the water followed her lead and swelled around them. He suddenly felt less like he was in the water and more like the water was gripping him.

His instinct proved true when she raised her hand even further, and the water lifted them. Quickly, he was the one clinging to her for support as their roles reversed. In one smooth wave, they glided up and onto the raised sandy platform.

Even up close, it looked like any tropical tree that bore colorful fruit. Sora couldn't quite place what had drawn him so deeply to this tree, whether it was the fact that it only grew there or just his own stubbornness wanting to prove itself. Regardless, it felt anticlimactic as he stood beneath it.

"Well?" Kairi's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Only then did he notice she'd hopped herself over to the tree and pulled herself up to sit on its tilted trunk. "Are you gonna stand there, or are we gonna try this fruit?"

He joined her side and stood under the star-shaped fruit. "I was just thinking, how do we know it's not poisonous?"

She shrugged, "We don't, but something tells me it isn't." Without further hesitation, she reached back and plucked one from the leaves.

Sora winced, feeling a bubble of guilt for ridding this tree of half of its harvest. As she offered the fruit to him, however, the guilt subsided into a sense of peace. They knew this was a one-time trip, and surely the tree would grow more fruit soon in the perfect environment. He picked the final fruit, sat beside her on the trunk, and extended it to her in return. The fruit she'd picked was much larger than his, and she smiled victoriously.

Instead of taking the fruit from his hand, she leaned her head down and bit from it.

The sight sent Sora's mind spiraling, compounded by the pleased look on her face as she took in the flavor. His eyes glanced down at her own offering staring him in the face. With a move like that, how could he not respond in kind?

The flavor burst onto his tongue immediately, and he understood Kairi's expression. It was sweet, unbelievably so even for an island fruit. A bite of tang danced across his mouth just enough to purse his lips a little. The flavor only deepened with each second, and this was only the first bite.

A pleasant aftertaste lingered, enough to leave him happy for the day, but when he opened his eyes to the woman beside him, he found his heart stuttering.

He knew her appearance, understood her cause, and had seen her in both joy and pain, yet as he took her in again, he saw much deeper into her as a person. It wasn't only understanding her, but knowing her, feeling her emotions right alongside her. Not only appreciating her beauty, but cherishing every inch of her. Not only tagging along with her mission, but desiring nothing more than to see it through to the end and beyond.

And based on her wide eyes, she was experiencing something similar.

"Sora…" She dared to speak, with an affectionate hint in her voice that drew him in further.

Sora blinked and shook his head. This was the woman who had him kidnapped to use for his abilities. She was a pirate.

A pirate who was kind and hospitable. And only raided those who committed evil. And cared for her crew. And was drop-dead gorgeous even after washing ashore a deserted island.

Her hand touched his arm and startled him. "You felt it too, didn't you?" she asked.

He couldn't even parse what had happened in his own mind, so how was he supposed to articulate it to her, whatever "it" was?

"Yeah," he responded as calmly as he could, turning away.

Her hand retreated. "Must just be something in the fruit." her voice had returned to normal.

He nodded, trying to convince himself that was the case. Even when each subsequent bite hadn't caused the same reaction as the first. Even when the sensation hadn't subsided hours after they'd returned to the main island.

Up until the very moment he admitted it to himself:

He didn't want to leave her side…

Because he was in love with her.

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A/N: This whole fic began when I asked myself, "What if two pirates reluctantly working together were stranded on a pre-civilization Destiny Islands, unknowingly shared paopu fruits, and intertwined their destinies forever?". Then of course I answered myself, "Yes, and make it SoKai," and it just kept building from there! There's still much more to happen though, so I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading and leaving your feedback :)

#sokaiweek2020 #sokaiweek #kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #sokai #sora #kairi #pirate au #romance #adventure #pirate sora #pirate kairi #major character injury #paopu fruit #long post #dusky writing

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disneydreamlights · 4 years

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Guide To AO3 Tagging

A guide to help get people to properly tag their fics.

So we’re going to go through each of the tag sections in importance. Just as a note remember when it comes to the Archive Warnings “No Archive Warnings Apply” means there is no need for a warning. “Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings” means that whatever would be in the archive warnings is a spoiler in the fanfiction and thus cannot be revealed at time of writing. So anyways, let’s go through this.

Note: All examples are Kingdom Hearts because that’s my blogs primary fandom so if I’m gonna end up in some tag might as well be that one. This does not exclusively apply to that fandom.

Fandom:

The fandom section is used to navigate what fandoms are shown. This is for all fandoms in which the fanfiction progresses or uses the characters of or story of in some significant way. For example:

You’re writing a fanfiction for Kingdom Hearts. This fanfiction takes place in the Harry Potter universe, and details Sora’s journeys as he interacts with the Golden Trio at Hogwarts. You would tag this both “Harry Potter” and “Kingdom Hearts” in the fandom category. As both Harry Potter and KH characters are used.

You’re writing a story in which Sora, Riku, and Kairi are Pokemon trainers in Kanto collecting the eight gym badges to become a Pokemon Master. While they may never meet any significant Pokemon characters, you would still tag this “Kingdom Hearts” and “Pokemon” as the fandoms. However you would also tag it as “Pokemon AU” in the additional tags section, so it can easily be filtered out while browsing. This is okay to tag as the fandom because of the fact that the story is still wholly reliant on the Pokemon universe.

You should not use the fandom section for concepts that are merely taken from that universe. For example:

You’re writing a fanfiction where Sora, Riku, and Kairi are students attending Hogwarts. There is no reference of any major Harry Potter character (even professors have been replaced by Disney and FF characters) and the main antagonist is unconnected to the main universe. You would tag this as only “Kingdom Hearts” in the fandom category. In order to allow people who are uninterested in Harry Potter universe to filter it out, you would tag it as “Hogwarts AU” in the additional tags section.

You’re writing a fanfiction where Sora, Riku, and Kairi are still in their universe. Everything is the same except they have daemons from the His Dark Materials series travelling with them. You would tag this as “Kingdom Hearts” in the fandom category. In order to have it filtered out and identify the concept, you would write “daemon AU” in the additional tags section.

The general rule of thumb would be if the reference to the second series is minimal, don’t tag it.

Also please stop making giant drabble compilations with twenty million fandoms. Nobody likes these. Make them a series and publish individually or simply publish all your drabbles for one fandom in one story and another in another story.

Relationships:

First off, slashes denote romance, ampersand denotes friendship or familial bonds. Do not use both when depicting a tag. Yes, all romances should be founded on friendship, but people looking for a friendship fic do not want romance. If somebody’s looking for a fic where Sora and Kairi are friends, they shouldn’t have to wade through SoKai to find it. SoKai fics should be tagged “Sora/Kairi”. Friendship fics should be tagged “Sora & Kairi.” Then we all win.

So now, let’s go over what, when you’re writing a pairing, should be tagged as pairing and what should be tagged in additional tags to give people a heads up.

Tagged in Pairing:

The main pairing(s).

I think this was obvious but if you’re writing SoKai, Sora/Kairi should be in the tags. If you’re writing SoRiku, Sora/Riku should be in the tags. Common sense.

Important Side Pairings

You’re writing a SoKai fanfiction and SoKai are the primary couple, but occasionally you deviate and write some RokuNami. They’re not a main couple but they’re very obviously there. Roxas/Namine should be in the tags.

Tagged in Additional Tags.

Past pairings

This one is a personal pet peeve. If the relationship is no longer happening in a majority or all of the fic, do not list it in the main tags. If Axel and Saix broke up years ago and now Xemnas is dating Saix and he occasionally references that he dated Axel, it’s not AkuSai. Don’t put it in the main tags. Putting it in the additional tags gives enough warning.

Mentions

If the ship gets five or less lines in the fic, put it in the additional tags. If Sora and Kairi are the focus and you mention that Roxas and Xion are on a date, tagging it as Roxas/Xion in the main pairings just clogs the feed.

Parts of an OT3

You’re writing a SoRiKai fic. Tag it exclusively Sora/Riku/Kairi. SoRiku, RiKai, and SoKai shippers who don’t include the third member of the trio should not be constantly seeing the OT3 flood their tag. (Esp RiKai they’re rarepair hell.)

Likewise, if the characters are in the poly relationship, but the primary focus is almost exclusively on a particular side, only tag the side that’s in focus, not the whole ship or ignored side. (A SoRiKai fic focusing on SoRiku should only tag Sora/Riku in the main parts, with SoRiKai, RiKai, and SoKai being in the additional tags.)

The ship is bashed/parody fics in which the ship is viewed as negative.

Due to the nature of one-sided and nonendgame ships, these are a bit harder to place. In general, if it’s super important (i.e. Sora spends over 50% of the fic in a relationship with Kairi before ending up with Riku, and there are several chapters that portray it as healthy) I would begrudgingly say to still put it in shipping tags as something like that may not be to taste of SoRiku shippers either, but I would make it clear that SoRiku is endgame in the tags, and I’m still not a fan of this. It’s just understandable why you would.

Characters:

Same deal as above.

Tagged in Characters:

The character is the main character

The character plays a significant role

Tagged in Additional Tags

The character is only referenced

Yes this includes in a ship like capacity. You can write a SoKai fic where Sora only mentions Kairi and not mention Kairi.

The character shows up for only a small while, and plays a minor role.

The character is bashed.

I don’t know if I need to include this section I’m mostly doing it just to be safe.

Closing Remarks:

Nobody is perfect in regards to this stuff. I myself have done one or two of these in the past in my fanfictions, but the important part is to decrease the amount of these that happen, so that others can get the maximum enjoyment and ease while browsing their archive, and filtering out certain categories and even ships becomes significantly easier.

Just remember, posting in the wrong category may in the short run increase readership, but in the long run just piss off all the people reading those fics hoping for something they love, and just getting nothing in its place.

#Heather Does Something

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oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years

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For SoKai Day/my headcanon day for Kairi’s birthday. Aqua intentionally bequeaths Kairi the Keyblade upon their first meeting, which gives her the Keyblade at four-years-old--that she then uses to force Apprentice Xehanort to stop torturing her and send her to Destiny Islands faster than he would’ve liked--but she can’t summon it when she loses her memory. But the night the Islands fell, Destiny’s Embrace returns to Kairi and she doesn’t lose her heart. Thus she gets to go with Sora on his journey from the get-go, and the story shifts. AU. Canon divergence.

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/26506168

Hero

Chapter One

Kairi—when she eventually remembered this had happened—would always be thankful that Aqua had decided to bequeath her with a Keyblade in the moment that she had saved her...

Initially, Kairi had had her Destiny’s Embrace Keyblade when she was four and five. And she had even used it against Apprentice Xehanort to the best of her ability, when he had kidnapped. And she now thought that was what had allowed her to get to Destiny Islands (where it was safe and beautiful, and not painful and horrendous like Radiant Garden had become).

After that, she had lost her Keyblade for years. Probably because she had lost her memories. But it would appear again when Sora and Riku both needed her to have it, and that mattered more than anything in the world to her.

Three Years Earlier

The fourteen-year-old Kairi, who was now looking out at the sea and trying her best to reminisce, did not recall much from when she’d washed up on the shore of Destiny Islands and Sora had found her. She vaguely thought she might have had some sort of weapon in her hand, maybe, but it had vanished the moment her best friend had found her... and so she’d for a long time believed him, when he’d said it had just been a water gun that the ocean had carried away again.

And while a future Kairi would laugh at this—and wonder how Sora had been so blind in that moment. But, hey. Memories became hazy over time—she still became friends with him after he doubted her. And his best friend Riku, too.

And speaking of Riku… it wouldn't be until Riku went into a secret place on the Island and sought out a mysterious door there—for the second time, he would tell Kairi when she followed him in there—would the Keyblade return to her, and Kairi attempt to seal a Keyhole (after Riku had already left) and be unable to.

After that scary moment (as Kairi tried to focus on the pretty lights and colors she’d just seen from the Keyhole and not the larger parts of what was happening), some memories returned to Kairi. And she didn’t want them at all! Not of these ones, anyway, of her grandmother screaming and her being ripped away from her as she did so.

And as Kairi ate dinner with her family that night, getting ready to go on their great draft adventure, she dreaded the other shoe dropping next, as that always seemed to happen for her.

So Kairi tried to focus on the good things while she could—that it seemed like Sora was starting to realize it was okay to like orange more than red... That Riku seemed to be seeing that there was more to Selphie, after all... That she was about to be a class representative—and focused on them when Riku, later, seemed to be looking at her angrily, as she held her Keyblade in the storm. And he then tried to kidnap Sora before he fended him away with his own Keyblade: Kingdom Key, if Kairi was hearing its name right in her heart.

And as the redhead saw strange shadows all around her now… to say that she felt horrible for doubting Sora when he’d talked about these sorts of things earlier, would have been an understatement.

She should 've known it was real—even if it had just seen them in a dream—and that even though Sora had dismissed the reality of it easily when she had somewhat pressured him to... he had only done so because of his trauma of it, much like what she had done with her own memories.

"I'm sorry, Sora!" Kairi yelled out to him now, as she was almost blown off the paopu islet by the wind whipping all around them. She wanted him to know that, in case something unseemly happened to one of them on this awful night.

But Sora, being Sora, didn't seem bothered by their earlier argument at all.

Instead, he grinned at her through this tornado—grinned!—and caught onto Kairi's hand so they wouldn't lose each other. "That's okay, Kairi. But you know how you can make it up to me? By admitting that I'm cooler than Riku right now!"

And before Kairi could really react to his joke at all, Sora was already charging into battle against the massive shadow with his Keyblade in hand.

And Kairi could tell that this was something he wanted to do before he died, if it came down to it: defend her to his last breath.

And so far, he was doing a pretty good job of it! He'd somewhere gotten the clever idea to run up the monster’s arm and attack its head, which was doing some substantial damage. Kairi could tell this by how it seemed to be taking the creature more and more of its leftover strength to summon more of its minions.

Thought now there were homing lasers coming from the beast, that Sora seemed to have no idea about and were heading right for him!

But not being one to be undone, Kairi ran towards Sora as fast as she could. She meant to just wrap her arms around him and sacrifice herself for her dear friend, but she'd accidentally positioned her Keyblade just so, so that she deflected the lasers... into the monster's head, no less!

And Sora noticed what she’d accidentally done, the same moment that Kairi did and he beamed at her. "Kairi, see if you can do that again! Let's work together and try and beat the boss!"

"Okay!"

Since Sora was still more agile than her, he continued to rest on the abomination’s arm and attack its head.

Kairi, meanwhile, was attacking its one hand—being sure to steer clear of the one sphere it sometimes made—and trying to deflect lasers (Sora was, too, and he probably managed to send back one-in-ten for her every one-in-twenty).

But when their enemy found a last bout of strength to summon more and more of its minions, that was almost too much for Kairi. She had cuts all over her from where they’d attacked. And then there was darkness on the ground that tried to pull her into it like quicksand?!

"Sora, it's too much!" Kairi complained, just as the two of them har miraculously landed their final blows on the boss.

But they didn't get too much time to celebrate; the gust that had almost taken Kairi into the air before, grabbed both her and Sora now and they were thrown into the ether.

As they flew, Kairi told a misty-eyed Sora, "I'm glad I was finally able to stand by your side, Sora! I've secretly always wanted to do that, and I'm so glad that I did!"

Kairi may have heard Sora say her name after that, but she couldn't really be sure. Because soon, she knew nothing.

…

Kairi did not pass out upon entering a new world like Sora did—and how amazing it was, to think that they were in another world!—Instead, she landed on her feet... which was probably why she stayed awake, because after landing on them from the height that she did... she nearly snapped her legs in half. And oh, the pain there was great.

Sora was unconscious at the end of the small alley they were on. And once she’d deemed that she was able to walk, without hurting herself—because there had been no guarantee she hadn’t twisted her ankle from such a fall—she’d been walking over to where he was to wake him up, but a yellow dog licking his face beat her to the punch.

"Eww! Gross, doggy!" Kairi cried out for Sora’s sake. "I swear I actually like dogs—and you, I’ll bet—but I’m sure Sora won’t appreciate being slobbered on like that!

And just as Kairi had exclaimed that, and Sora began to stir, she heard a voice before her insulting their companion? And another one... calling for a Pluto? Oh! Pluto must've been the dog, Kairi realized numbly. For as soon as the puppy had heard that name, he had darted off.

And even Sora, who had only just woken up, was reaching for him; and it made sense to the redhead, because if anyone adored canines it was Sora.

"Kairi, what's going on?!" Sora asked her with a very tired voice, the moment it became clear that the little guy wasn't coming back. "Where are we?"

"...We're in another world, Sora, if you can believe it. And it’s as advanced as our home’s become! It has cobblestones and lights that I can see just above us. Impressive, huh?" While Kairi said all of this this like a teacher telling their student something, she partly hated herself for it... Sora and Riku had wanted to see other worlds more than she had, so shouldn't they have been the ones to figure all of this out and tell her?

And speaking of Riku... Kairi had temporarily wanted to exclude him from her and Sora's trip... and now he had fallen. Was it her fault? If so, Kairi wasn’t sure how she could ever forgive herself. She had to make it right!

Sora must have noticed that Kairi had lost some of her initiative… because linking her arm with his, he began leading her into the city. "Come on, Kairi. Let's see if we can find any adults here who can help us."

And Kairi nodded sadly, as she let Sora take her away. But she tried to find some of her usual fire again, by the time they found an establishment. The last thing she wanted right now was for Sora to worry, after all. He—and they—had already been through enough.

"Yo, mister!” Kairi called out, taking a page out of Riku and Sora’s book. “Could you give us some shelter, and perhaps help us find our friends?" She and Sora had just strolled into a shop painted in green.

Before they'd come here, Kairi and Sora had gone up one story in this town, and Kairi had seen another store that was sealed off.

And when Kairi—being more daring than she even had been on the Islands for some reason—had gone atop its roof and looked down the chimney, she'd seen the most adorable little creatures!

The redhead had then been struck by the desire to try and go down the chimney like Santa Claus, in order to get to the cuties. But Sora had pulled her away from it faster than she could blink, sighting that since they didn't know if Riku was injured somewhere or not, the last thing they needed was for her to get hurt. It was then that they’d realized they needed some sort of semblance of reality.

So here they were: at another shop in this small town. And was it Kairi... or was Sora looking at her with an amused but happy expression on his face after her outburst?

But Kairi didn't have time to focus on any feelings Sora might or might not have for her right now. Instead, she was paying attention to the man coming from behind the tan counter, with a band on his waist that matched it. Kairi wondered what that was about...

"Well, if you aren't a fire cracker for a child. You remind me of someone else I know. So what can I do for you, again?”

"We-we're looking for a friend of ours,” Sora supplied, now seeming lost in thought. “Way taller than Kairi and I, with silver hair and green eyes and a huge attitude problem. This is gonna sound crazy... but we think we're in another world from our home one,"

This blond man—with hair that looked like an ice cream dip to Kairi, like Wakka's—gave Sora a sympathetic look, before sighing and returning his attention to her. "I hate to break it to y'all, but I guess I better prepare ya for this new, cruel world yer in... If your star—your world—blinked out, there's a good chance many o' your loved ones are dead."

"No, I don't believe it!" Sora exclaimed, banging his fist on the counter as he did so. And Kairi instantly put a reassuring hand on his back and leaned into him some, as she tried to not cry herself.

She wouldn't believe her friends and family from Destiny Islands were gone, any more than she believed her grandma from her home world was dead. She just wouldn't.

"Why don' ya two have another look around town, and see if ya can't find yer loved ones. Now that you've explored a little, the magic keeping the doors to the other districts sealed should be open. And then if ya still can't find anyone older ta take care of ya, I’ll do it. I’m Cid.”

“I’m Sora.”

And after Sora had introduced himself, Kairi found he didn’t have to be told twice. The two fourteen-year-olds went back outside and tried to find the door to the next district.

And as they went through said door, Kairi would spy two strange fellas who seemed to be looking for someone… just as another stranger summoned a monster!

Author’s Note: When I first played Kingdom Hearts, it wouldn’t let me go to the other districts until I explored thoroughly—I think my game was glitching some, when it did this even when I’d been all over the first district—so I decided to make that canon here.

I wish this chapter was longer, but I sadly don’t have the time at the moment.

This is the story I’ve mentioned about Kairi getting to be a hero and part of things from the get-go—that wasn’t supposed to have any shipping, as I feel fans attach Kairi to a relationship too much—but SoKai is of course in here, because it’s me. But at canon levels. Like canon KH1 levels here.

And the first part of this chapter is more telling, not showing. But I mean to have flashbacks about those parts later, that are more showing.

And while Kairi is the hero here, I’m trying to have her develop that way realistically (and not completely outshine Sora), since I still doubt Kairi ever sparred on the Island and whatnot. So she still has to learn the ropes, but she will.

#sokai #Sokai day 2020 #kairi #fanfiction #au #alternate universe #universe alteration #canon divergent #canon divergence #kairi-centric #kh1 au #kairi goes on the adventure from the get-go #Shanna writes #my writing #mine #my work #it's still fifteen minutes away from midnight where I'm at. but oh well. posting anyway.happy sokai day y'all #and I'm saving my ultimate creation for tomorrow #sokai day

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jcmorrigan · 4 years

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Kingdom Hearts III Fix Fic Masterpost

(Queueing because I wrote this up at late o’clock when I wasn’t likely to get traffic, so I’m setting it for a more reasonable time of evening)

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m disillusioned with Kingdom Hearts III, and I have at least two projects on my AO3 that take different approaches to FIXING IT. But I’ve also, on my journey, found several great fics NOT BY ME that improve upon canon so much and this really just warms my heart because it proves that this entire fanbase has such a good grasp on these characters and concepts that our homebrews end up being more satisfying than the real thing, and I’m proud of us for being such frickin’ good writers. Not all of these are finished, I’ll warn you.

Anyway, if you were personally victimized by Kingdom Hearts III, you might enjoy one or more of these titles:

Points of a Star by Beastrage is a time-travel AU where, after the events of KHIII make way for an apocalyptic future ravaged by the Foretellers, the most unlikely squad in the world (Skuld, Vanitas, Naminé, Repliku, and Demyx) travels back in time to KHIII in order to make sure things go better this time. Featuring beautiful magical imagery and worldbuilding, addressing of character themes that really should’ve been talked over in canon, and just about every subplot you can think of getting a wrap-up. If you like that, you may also enjoy Beastrage’s other KH writings. Moon Out of Phase is another time-travel AU that changes the timeline, but instead begins all the way back in 358/2 Days, and our time traveler is Isa, finding himself with his post-III memories but in the body of Saïx in the World That Never Was with no explanation. Beastrage’s latest endeavor, Tell Me That I’m Real, concerns a girl from our world coming into consciousness as the Riku Replica’s original personality, and changing the timeline as of Chain of Memories by refusing to let Vexen erase her mind from the Replica’s body and deciding to go off script.

With All of My Heart by greylina acts as a KHIII sequel. Ten years have passed, with little incident. Riku pines for the lost Sora and seeks him for ten years. Then, with the power of love combined with a little magic and a stroke of good luck, he manages to travel back to Scala ad Caelum...to find Sora, ten years wiser, leading a peaceful civilization of oddly familiar people. Largely a feel-good, though it contains some intrigue. VERY SoRiku, which you know is good in my book. Also takes a “Where are they now?” perspective at what the lives of the KH ensemble cast might be like ten years after the fact, and expect some really cute and not-so-predictable background ships! It has a sequel, In the Spaces You Left, that concerns Kairi’s history during Sora’s absence and follows her through graduating school, forming a sisterly bond with Naminé, and falling in love with an OC who would become her wife. This one spends more time on the ensemble cast as well, so get ready for some cool worldbuilding on the Land of Departure and Destiny Islands as well as catching up with the rest of the Keybearer crew.

Riku’s Disposition Has Changed To: by PuppyGuppy managed to figure out before canon did that Riku is still Sora’s Dream Eater and should be able to locate him easily. Riku goes on a poetic, imagery-filled quest through the Final World and the Realm of Darkness to find Sora’s soul and bring him home. Another SoRiku. Includes Riku gaining permanent monster features (including wings), Sora dealing with PTSD, and the cutest bonding scene to end on that you ever did see!

You can tell I’m a SoRiku shipper. But if you want to see how I think SoKai should be done, take a look at To All the Worlds I’ve Written Before by AppleSoda. This is the Kairi-centric fic you’ve been waiting for. As the main quest goes on in the background, Kairi and Lea find themselves on their own little adventure when Kairi’s letters accidentally get mailed and she realizes she has to intercept her love confession to Sora before he can read it. What started as trying to get her letter back turns into Kairi dueling Organization XIII, befriending a few Disney heroines, teaming up with Riku for the Maleficent showdown we needed, and actually explaining a logical way to bring Xion back. AppleSoda also has a SoRiku fic, The Keyblade Master’s Guide to Journaling, which isn’t very far in but has already given the Frozen plotline of KHIII a major facelift, and another Kairi-centric series, Data and Dreams, which concerns Kairi taking her Mark of Mastery DDD-style in order to gain the means to bring Sora back home after III and running into several members of the ensemble cast in the Sleeping Worlds.

Dolorem et Consolationem actually doesn’t count as a fix fic, strictly speaking, but I’m including it here because it entertained me far more than III despite being canon-compliant. This fic is pure, undiluted IsaLea shipfic, traveling from Lea’s suicidal feelings of regret to the moments of comfort and domesticity shared between the two after moving in together in Radiant Garden to their adoption of a Found Family of Roxas, Naminé, Xion, and a dog. Mostly just ship development, but a lot of the ensemble cast turns up, and there is an undercurrent of intrigue regarding a mission to the World That Never Was to tie up loose ends.

And I’ve saved the most esoteric for last. Yes, this person is my friend, but this fic is also really, really good...though it’s not strictly a Kingdom Hearts fic so much as a fic that uses Kingdom Hearts lore for a backdrop for multicrossover shenanigans. Quite a Glittering Assemblage by @gavillain is a Maleficent-centric fic that features our favorite spurned faery gathering a team of Disney villains, Marvel villains, and some villains who just fit the right aesthetic despite having no Disney association in order to create a team strong enough to bring down the Thirteen Vessels of Darkness before they even get the chance to start a Keyblade War, given that Xehanort really, really made Maleficent angry. Expect villain protags, squad goals, and black comedy. The first fic is the only one that really acts as a fixer for KH canon, but if you liked it and want to continue the adventure, GAvillain is currently on the third work in the Quite a Glittering Assemblage series! (Oh, and there’s enough background SoRiku that if you’re still here for that ship, you’ll be well-fed, but arguably more importantly, if you were sad that Hades and Maleficent didn’t get along in III, well, they’re a primary ship in this series, so rejoice!)

Anyway, hoping somebody finds something of interest here! Happy reading! And KH fans, let’s keep continuing to kick canon’s ass!

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts iii #fix fic #why am i even tagging this?#it's a buncha LINKS so it won't show in tags #oh well #i need to share my wisdom

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silva-heart · 4 years

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Sokai The Space Between Us AU

1) The Fox, the Flower Girl, and Another 2) Don’t Think Twice

3) Thinking of You

Chirithy stood beneath the shuddering, creaking light shield, unable to comprehend everything they were seeing and feeling. As fissures ruptured into being across the ancient barrier which ensured this worlds eternal peace, soul-crushing, mind-numbing anguish filled their small body to the brim.

Except it wasn't their own despair which overwhelmed them. No, Chirithy had felt this overwhelming volume of grief only once before--during their first few days of life.

Chirithy's earliest memories were of death and destruction. The Great Disaster which split the world apart, leaving each land splintered and broken. The beautiful and peaceful Daybreak Town--which Chirithy had never had the pleasure of seeing in person--was reduced to rubble. Many lives were lost. Bodies were stacked on ships, over a hundred of them, and sent far out into the ocean to burn in hasty funerals. There wasn't enough land left for proper graves. Family members who were away visiting in other lands were stuck there, unable to reunite with their families. Even as order was restored and Scala ad Caelum built over Daybreak Town's ruins, more lost ones were unearthed in the cleanup, and shadows walked the streets.

The despair of people who lived without hope... Was something Chirithy could never forget.

Queen Kisala, the first queen of Scala ad Caelum, used her own power as a Pure Heart to rechristen one destroyed island into the sanctuary known as the Hikari Archipelago. Her selfless actions shaved fifty years off her life and she died when she was no older than Ava was now, leaving behind a newborn daughter and a distraught King Jaster.

Chirithy could still feel her warm, soft hands clasped around their paw, eyes lightless and glistening with tears as her strength faded and her body turned cold.

Please protect my child, She choked out with her last breath, Keep the darkness at bay.

And because Chirithy had loved Kisala, loved and treasured her before any other, they had promised they would do just that.

Kisala's daughter grew, as humans do, burning bright like a candle in the wind. Snuffed out in her sleep from old age. The same occurred with her son and his heir, and so on, all the way to King Braska. Kisala's sacrifice and the endeavors of the keys who inherited their will bought centuries of peace.

Now, someone was threatening it.

Chirithy blinked and looked at Ava, who leaned her forehead against Gula's as she ran a hand over his cheek. Her eyes were like liquid sunlight--warm and loving and direct.

Chirithy had watched Ava grow, and although the child was rare to complain, and never once cried in the company of anyone but her family members... It was clear to Chirithy now she had never truly been happy. Not with this life that had been decided for her, or with these roles that were thrust upon her, or in that humongous castle which was too quiet and too empty.

"Chirithy?" Ava called softly, and they stiffened as Ava's sincere, questioning violet eyes fell on them. "Is something wrong?"

Chirithy hesitated... they had never once been selfish in their lifetime.

But when Gula put his arm around Ava's shoulders, it was hard not to remember the time before Ava summoned her keyblade and was given her foreteller robes. Before her short seven years of childhood came to an end.

Ava wasn't just a princess, or Kisala's descendent, or her parent's only child. She was a powerful soldier--a keyblade master, and foreteller, and leader.

Whatever was happening, the dandelions would need her.

But... Maybe it was something that could be handled without her?

Read the rest on Wattpad

#GulAva #SoKai #Kingdom Hearts #KHUX #Fanfiction

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bassds · 5 years

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An Emotional Blow (Anima’s SoKai Future)

So...you all know @animazingcreations, right? You’ve seen her SoKai Future and read about her SoKai baby OC. Well, about a month or so back, I asked if I could add a little something to the mix for her AU...and I’m surprised it took me this long to get around to it...but this is only a small sample that I have written now, and I wanted to share it with you all to see how you enjoy it, and to see if it lives up to Anima’s standards; and if it does, I’ll gladly finish it up, so I hope you all enjoy this...little angst-filled piece, with a little brotherly Riku thrown into the mix...

It always seemed like mornings were the worse part for Riku’s day; the grogginess, not wanting to get out of bed because it was too relaxing and not wanting to do anything. But alas, as a Keyblade master, Riku had obligations to attend to, so every morning, as much as he didn’t want to, he willed himself out of bed to get ready for his day...at least around 9 in the morning for his case.

His routine was usual: wake up, shower, dress, and of course having a bit of coffee to motivate and wake him up fully.

Riku sipped from his cup as he watched the rain pour down from the window in the kitchen; the sound of it hitting the roof almost soothing, although it was raining a bit harder than from what it was like last night.

“I’d hate to be out in that mess...” Riku muttered to himself before taking another sip.

Only then did he hear a faint knocking coming from the front door.

Riku turned to look at the door as he heard another small knock occur. He wasn’t expecting anyone; he doubted it was Sora, since he had been off-world for a few days and wasn’t expected back until later that night.

“Coming.” Setting his cup down, Riku made his way over to the door and unlocked the deadbolt, wondering just who would even be crazy enough to be out in this downpour.

He hadn’t expected the sight of a young redhead soaked almost head to toe from the rain; an umbrella in her hand, but it was still fastened together by its strap. The woman’s head looked down at the ground as the appearance of his best friend’s wife left him confused.

“Kairi? What’s wrong with you? You realize you’re totally drenched, right?” he asked as he moved a hand to her shoulder, shaking her a bit to get her to respond, only for her to not make any movement. “Kairi, answer me...what’s wrong?” he could now sense something just wasn’t right.”

“Riku...” she mumbled out a bit

Riku wished he could forget the look on her face when she rose her head up; despite being completely soaked, the redness in her eyes indicated she had been crying heavily on the way over here. Something wasn’t right, and deep in his stomach, he knew it couldn’t be good.

“Come on, let’s get you out of this mess.” he ushered his close friend in, closing the door and quickly moving down the hall to grab a towel or two to help Kairi dry off, the entire time, the look on her face just making him uneasy.

Kairi continued looking at the carpet as she felt Riku wrap the towel around and brought her to the couch. She seemed almost...despondent.

“Hey, come on...what happened, Kairi? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s bothering you.”

“No one….no one can help me...” she sniffled sadly as her body shook.

“That’s never stopped me from trying. You’re my friend, Kairi; no...not even my friend, you’re like a sister to me. Just tell me what’s bothering you. Why were you out there like that?” he said, doing his best to be supportive of her.

“I...I had a doctor appointment this morning...and...they ran tests...” she chocked up a bit, still looking down, doing her best to hide the tears that were forming on her wet face.

Riku began to fear the worst when he heard that. “Are you alright?”

“Fine...for the most part...” she trembled as she struggled to get the words out.

“What was it they told you, Kairi?”

Silence hung in the room.

“Kairi, answer me, please...” Riku said with a worried tone.

“They...” Finally her head rose up to look at the friend who she also considered a brother, tears streaming down her face as she chocked back even more, almost a complete emotional mess. This wasn’t the happy, carefree Kairi that Riku had always known.

“Kai…?”

“They said….I can’t get pregnant, Riku...me and Sora...we can’t have children...” she completely broke down and sobbed in his chest uncontrollable as her words hit Riku like a ton of bricks.

It took a moment for Riku to properly react as the info sunk into his mind as he wrapped his arms around the young woman, rubbing her back to try and console her the best he could.

He knew this was a big blow to them...having a family was a definite thing on the list Sora and Kairi wanted to do after they got married a few years back.

But now another question arose in his mind.

How would Sora take this?

#kingdom hearts #sora and kairi #sora x kairi #sora #kairi #kingdom hearts sokai #sokai angst #animazingcreations

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twilightpromises · 6 years

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the works of startscribbling12

We’re sure that like us, many of you RokuNami fans remember ff.net author startscribbling12. We’ve listed them here! Under read more due to the number. SoKai fans should check out her other Kingdom Hearts works!

Across the Line Roxas cut himself off from the world after loosing his best friend. He seeks relief from his pain in unhealthy ways. Enter Namine: a girl who just may be able to mend his broken heart. But to do that-she must ignore her own suffering. rated T, Drama/Romance, multi chapter, incomplete

Alcohol, Antiseptics, & Coke Zero AU. I've been ignoring his texts cause last night I put him in my phone as 'ignore for atleast a day' and I trust my drunk self. rated T, Romance/Humor, multi chapter, complete

As Much As You Secretly Mean To Me According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves. -Happy Bday SorasKey!- rated T, Romance, one shot, complete

Best Boyfriend Award It's my 20th birthday. Roxas and I agreed no presents. But of course, he didn't listen to me. /Spin-off to The General Principles of the Standardized Prom/ rated K+, Romance/Humor, one shot, complete

bommieNATOR Namine Bom Haru is the school bookworm and model student. On the internet, she is bommieNATOR. She says what everyone wants to say but is too afraid to. But what happens when that backfires on her? rated T, Romance/Humor, multi chapter, complete

Bus Stop Why in the world did he take the bus if he had a car? At least I had a reasonable excuse. -For SorasKey- rated T, Humor/Romance, one shot, complete

Deep Jungle -For elSarah- "So? We don't have to get along. Fighting is what we do best." "They have hotlines for those types of relationships, Roxas!" Who said getting lost in a jungle can't bring people together? Not Namine and Roxas. rated T, Humor/Romance, one shot, complete

don’t touch simple Namine was pretty content with sharing the shower room in her dorm with other people. She didn't like it when she forgot her shampoo and a certain somebody decided to use it. -for kingdomheartsgirl101- rated T, Humor/Romance, one shot, complete

HASHTAGcollege My math teacher staples burger king applications to failed tests. I think he's trying to tell me something. AU /DISCONTINUED rated T, Humor/Romance, multi chapter, incomplete

How Do You Love Me Now? Namine's attending Radiant Garden Academy her senior year with her long time best friends, Roxas and Kairi. But, like always, drama ensues. Follow Namine through text messages, agenda book takeovers, notes, and chat room messages! Roxine! rated T, Drama/Humor, multi chapter, complete

Late Night Records I get a job to get my mind off the fact that the sleeze-bag dumped me. I end up having to work with him and his new pathetic excuse for a girlfriend. FML. /DISCONTINUED? rated T, Romance/Humor, multi chapter, incomplete

Mine Namine never believed in love, never knowing it to be wonderful. When Namine met Roxas, her view on love changed. -Happy Birthday SorasKey!- rated T, Romance/Family, one shot, complete

Monopoly Today in Biology, Roxas got a detention but he pulled a Monopoly Get Out Of Jail Free card out of his wallet and my teacher let him out of it. OneShot rated K+, Humor, one shot, complete

Out of the Ordinary Namine's best friend is acting a little strange. rated T, Friendship, one shot, complete

Scandalous Text "Oh come on, you know you love me." "I'd sell you to Satan for one corn chip." In which Namine is reeling from the embarrassment of receiving texts about sex from her best friend. rated T, Humor, one shot, complete

Sticky Notes & Vitamin Water Roxas decided to drink Namine's last Vitamin Water. It was the worst mistake he could make. -for chibixbabe- rated T, Humor/Friendship, one shot, complete

The General Principles of the Standardized Prom Meet Namine. The girl who vowed to never go to Prom. Meet Roxas. A boy who bets her she wouldn't even survive a minute of it. Now, Namine must go through four months of hellish preparation and the actual Prom. Will she make it, or lose the bet? rated T, Humor/Romance, multi chapter, complete

Turtles Today, I had to convince my 20-year-old boyfriend that not only is his aquatic turtle a reptile, but that it's also cold-blooded and thus can't regulate its own temperature just by going into its shell. He still thinks I'm the stupid one. FML. -Happy RokuNami Day!- rated K+, Humor, one shot, complete

v e g a s skies Over the summer, Namine is taken advantage of. When she moves in with her aunt and starts attending Wesmere Prep, she meets someone who can help her through this tough time. But what if that certain someone isn't so good for her? rated T, Romance/Drama, multi chapter, complete

View From Heaven Roxas writes Namine a letter that she will never be able to read. -For Emily- rated K+, Tragedy/Friendship, one shot, complete

What the Hell is a Gigawatt? Namine drags Roxas to a bowling alley where they meet someone named the Hungarian Hulk? And where does a Gigawatt come into the story? My oneshot for RokuNami day! rated K+, Humor/Friendship, one shot, complete

Yellow Boots She tried to figure out how she got involved with 'terrorists' and aiming to destroy her parents company. How she had fallen in love with a bioweapon. It all began at a boxing match. rated T, Romance/Adventure, multi chapter, incomplete

#kingdom hearts #namine #roxas #rokunami #namixas #roxasxnamine #naminexroxas #roxas x namine #namine x roxas #fanfiction #fanfic friday #a message from your mods #ロクナミ

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phoenix-downer · 1 year

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Enchanted Neighborhood Chapter 4

~2275 words. Sora/Kairi. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. Reunions, Fluff, Winnie the Pooh.

This is a sequel to After Ever After and Love’s Cost. There are five chapters total and the story will update weekly on Fridays.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Summary: Sora introduces his kids to his friends in The Hundred Acre Wood, and they make new memories together.

Haruto wasn’t sure where to look as he followed Dad, Emi, and Pooh. Having a Keyblade was awesome if it meant they got to go on adventures like this. Up ahead was that table they saw in the book, and at the table were a small pink pig, a mopey donkey, two kangaroos, a rabbit with a scowl on its face, a whistling gopher, a rambling owl, and a purple elephant.

Cool, more talking animals. It was too bad the animals back home didn’t really talk. Guess these guys in Pooh’s world were more like Uncle Donald and Uncle Goofy than Destiny Islands creatures.

The rabbit seemed to be scowling at a flash of orange streaking back and forth near the table. “Tigger,” he said as the streak sent everyone’s napkins flying, “stop bouncing around and—”

"The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things!” the orange and black-striped tiger sang as he bounced on his tail, completely ignoring the rabbit. “Their tops are made out of rubber! Their bottoms are made out of springs!”

“Tigger!” Dad cried, his eyes lighting up, and Tigger stopped bouncing. All the other animals looked at Dad, and their faces brightened and all of them but the donkey smiled. Even the donkey’s eyes got a little brighter though, so Haruto figured that was the best he could do.

Wow, these talking animals must really, really like Dad for them to all be so happy to see him.

“Sora!” they all cried, and a moment later, Tigger sprung at Dad, knocking him over and making them both roll over the green grass. Dad’s laughter filled the air and when they finally settled, he had a big smile on his face.

When Dad smiled like that, Haruto felt like everything was gonna be okay. Memories of when he was little and Dad seemed invincible came to mind. But seeing Dad like this really drove home that he’d been a kid once. Which meant maybe he understood all the weird teenage and growing up stuff too.

The other animals quickly joined Tigger in greeting Dad. Dad got a whole bunch of hugs and head pats as he greeted them all. It helped that he remained on the ground so he was closer to their level. It reminded Haruto of all the times Dad had dropped to his knees to be eye level with him when he was younger. How it made him feel safer and more comfortable.

“Piglet!” Dad cried. “Rabbit! Kanga and Roo! Gopher! Owl and Lumpy! And Eeyore too! It’s so good to see everyone again.”

Dad really was good at this stuff, wasn’t he? No wonder he had so many friends.

“It’s s-so good to see you again t-too, S-Sora,” Piglet said, his little pink face beaming. Dad giggled and lifted Piglet up with ease.

“Oh man, is it good to see you again, Piglet! You haven’t gotten blown away by any strong breezes recently, have you?”

Piglet shook his head. “N-No. P-Pooh has kept me very g-grounded.”

Dad carefully set Piglet down. “Good, glad to hear it. And Rabbit, how are your vegetables doing?”

“There are good days and there are bad days,” Rabbit said. “Maybe they’d grow better if someone stopped bouncing through my fields.” He gave Tigger a pointed look, but Tigger just said hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo and kept bouncing. Did Tigger ever stop bouncing?

“And your tunnels Gopher?” Dad asked. “How are those going?”

“Same as ever, sonny,” Gopher whistled. He dug into the ground to demonstrate, and Dad commented on how awesome his digging was. Again, Haruto was impressed by how Dad knew exactly what to say to his friends. It wasn’t at all like how goofy and awkward Dad could be back home.

“Owl?” Dad asked next. “How are your relatives?”

Owl cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. “I’m glad you asked. My Uncle Albert recently went to sea again, and…”

The other animals groaned, and Owl rambled on for a good couple of minutes about Uncle Albert’s misadventures before Dad politely shut him down and turned to the elephant. “Lumpy? How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been great, thank you, Sora,” Lumpy happily trumpeted, and Dad smiled and patted Lumpy’s head.

“Eeyore?” Dad asked the donkey next.

“My house got knocked over again,” Eeyore replied, his voice dull and lifeless.

Dad scratched his cheek, a pained smile on his face. “Oh, sorry to hear that.” That was definitely his ‘this is an awkward situation and I don’t really know what to say’ look, but he was trying.

“Don’t be,” Eeyore replied, “it’s probably my fault anyway.”

Dad didn’t say anything to that, just turned to the two kangaroos. “Kanga? Roo? You doing okay?”

“Better than ever!” Roo said, his little face beaming as he bounced up and down much like Tigger.

“It’s good to see you again, Sora,” Kanga said. “And who are these people with you?”

Dad’s smile got really big, but before he could say anything, Pooh interrupted. “They’re Sora’s children. Sora’s a father.”

“That’s right,” Sora said, beaming proudly at the three of them. “These are my kids. Kairi and I got married, and I’m a father now. This is Emi, our youngest,” he said, ruffling Emi’s hair. Emi giggled and beamed up at Dad. “She’s eight years old now and very good at hide-and-seek. You’ll have to challenge her to a round.”

“Yes!” Emi cried. “I’d love to play hide-and-seek!”

“We can play after tea,” Rabbit said amiably.

Dad looked to Miyu next, and she cleared her throat and introduced herself. “Oh, I’m Miyu. I’m fifteen, and, um, I like reading books and playing tag?” she offered. The animals all greeted her politely and promised to supply storybooks and play tag after tea.

“Guess it’s my turn,” Haruto said. “My name’s Haruto, and I’m Sora’s son. I like running, painting, and guessing games.” He grinned as the animals greeted him. Was he proud to be Dad’s son? Yeah, yeah he was. And it wasn’t just because Dad was cool now. No, ever since Mom had told them what Dad did for her and then Dad had nearly died saving them, Haruto could deal with a few dorky Dad-isms because Dad was a good guy. And seeing him today, he could see why Dad was so well-loved.

“Well, shall we?” Pooh asked, gesturing towards the table. The group took their seats, and Miyu was on Haruto’s left and Dad was on his right. To Dad’s right was Emi, and the animals were seated at various other spots at the table.

Eeyore, who was seated on Miyu’s left, gave her a morose look. “Sorry you have to sit next to me,” he told her in a flat, lifeless tone.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Miyu replied. She looked at Haruto, clearly trying not to giggle, and he just shrugged.

“Here, dears, have some tea,” Kanga said as she carefully poured them all cups of tea. Roo added cream for them, and Gopher dropped a few sugar cubes in as Owl stirred with one of his claws grasping a spoon. Pooh dropped lumps of honey into the tea with plenty of helpings for himself in between, and Tigger bounded around singing about how delicious a good afternoon tea was. Lumpy used his trunk to carefully place the cups of tea and little plates of cookies in front of them, and Haruto tried to be on his best behavior. Really though he had to sneak a lot of looks at Miyu to remember all those obscure rules Mom and Dad had tried to teach them about fancy dinners and afternoon tea.

The conversation was lively and the cookies and tea were pretty good. Presently, Dad asked him, “You having fun?” in a low voice. Dad’s eyes were bright and he was taking in everything around them like an eagle watching a field.

“Yeah, I am.” Haruto said, then frowned. Dad was clearly having fun. A lot of fun seeing friends he hadn’t seen in ages. Haruto thought about his conversation with Miyu earlier. How much fun and how many old friends had Dad given up for their family?

Of course Dad noticed something was up. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he said under his breath as he reached for his spoon.

“I’m fine,” Haruto said, then caught himself. Nah, he wasn’t fine, he had something on his mind, and it would hurt Dad to push him away. “Um, it’s nothing bad, I just have some stuff I want to ask you. Can we talk about it later?”

Dad’s expression softened. “Sure.”

The tea party was fun, and Owl regaled them with story after story of his aunts and cousins and uncles and other relatives until Tigger challenged them all to a bouncing match. When they were all bounced out, they took a brief break and then played hide-and-seek and tag. Once they were worn out from that, they returned to the table to read storybooks, paint, and play guess who games. Miyu and Emi both giggled when Dad put on one of those goofy sets of glasses with a fake mustache, and Haruto cracked a grin too.

Dad laughed and ruffled his hair. It was funny how Dad was just a little shorter than him now but was still acting so Dad-like. “See, the secret to being cool is being willing to make a complete fool of yourself,” he said, gesturing to his goofy glasses. “It’s when you care too much what other people think that you’ll have a hard time.”

“But you care what we think,” Miyu pointed out.

Dad’s expression softened, and he took off the glasses. “Of course I do. You’re my kids, and I love you with all my heart.”

Man, didn’t Dad ever get embarrassed about so openly admitting to stuff like that? But he wasn’t embarrassed, he was smiling like he really meant what he said. And Haruto knew he did. Maybe that was why he could say he loved them so easily, so openly.

“We love you too,” Miyu mumbled, her face red, and Haruto nodded.

“We do!” Emi cried. “You’re the bestest Daddy.”

Dad smiled, but a moment later, a tear ran down his cheek. He started and then chuckled as he wiped his face. “This again, huh? I guess no matter what age I’m still a softie.” He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly.

“You are,” Haruto agreed, “But that’s okay.” It would be weirder if Dad didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve.

“And you shouldn’t change,” Miyu said quietly. “Don’t ever change, okay?”

Dad’s eyes softened. “I won’t. No matter what I look like, I’m still me.” He rested his hand over his heart as if to prove it.

Emi grinned, a mischievous spark in her eyes, and Dad raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Wait till Mommy sees you!”

Dad laughed. “Oh man, she’s gonna be in for the shock of her life. Seeing me like this again, I wonder what she’ll say.” He rested his hand on his chin as he thought about it.

Lumpy’s big ears perked up. “How’s Kairi? Is she doing okay?”

“She’s doing great,” Dad said. “She’s pregnant again, but once the baby’s born, I’ll bring her to visit, I promise.”

At this revelation, Dad’s friends all cheered and celebrated and congratulated him. Dad couldn’t stop smiling, and it made Haruto excited about meeting his younger brother too. Another younger sister would be cool, but Haruto just had this hunch he was gonna have a younger brother, and he couldn’t wait to meet him.

When Emi was busy playing with Dad’s friends some more, he pulled Haruto and Miyu aside to a nearby creek with a grassy riverbank.

“Is now a good time to talk?” he asked. “I can tell you both have something on your minds.”

Haruto looked at Miyu, and then they both nodded. The three of them sat down, and Dad took his shoes and socks off and let his feet soak in the cold water. Haruto and Miyu joined him, and Haruto wasn’t really sure how to start. Thankfully, Miyu spoke up.

“It’s just that… meeting your old friends, we’re realizing how much you had to give up for us. For our family.”

“Yeah,” Haruto said. “And also, you were really young when everything happened. I guess in my mind you were always eternally ‘Dad,’ but today I fully realized you were just a kid when a lot of your adventures happened.”

“I was,” Dad said softly, “and it’s why Mom and I wanted you guys to have a normal childhood. And having a family was something we both wanted. I won’t lie and pretend it wasn’t an adjustment, but you’re our greatest adventure, and we wouldn’t change a thing about our family.”

He smiled and put his arms around each of them. Emi joined in too, giving Dad a hug from behind, and soon all of Dad’s animal friends had joined in. The group sat at the creek and chatted and had fun until the sun sank low in the sky. At that point Haruto felt a strange tingling in his arms and legs, and he looked at Miyu to see if she felt the same thing. The expression on her face told him that yeah she did.

“Guess it’s time to go,” Dad said as he started fading in and out too. “Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Gopher, Owl, Lumpy, we’ll be back soon, okay?”

A chorus of agreement sounded out, and Dad grinned. “And next time, I’ll bring Kairi too!”

With that they felt themselves being swept out of the book.

#kingdom hearts #sokai #sora #kairi #sora x kairi #sora/kairi #kh fanfiction #sokai parents #sokai parents au #sokai family #sokai family au #phoenix writes #phoenix-downer #post-canon #reunions #fluff

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angel-with-a-pipette · 6 years

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@sokai (because this is too long for your inbox ><)

I’m probably not going to write this down so I’ll share this here. I have this AU where Sora saves Aqua and Ansem from the Realm of Darkness that started before 0.2 was released (so excuse the inaccuracy XD). After finding them and seeing how much of a toll the RoD was on them, he takes them home, to have a shower, a hot meal and a good sleep before they return to Yen Sid to discuss matters.

So Sora’s mom opens the door and sees Aqua and her look hardens. “Seriously? Kairi is gone for one week and you turn up with another girl? I raised you better than that, Sora!” and the poor guy stumbles over his words “What? NO! Mom, she’s just - we’re not anything! I like Kairi!! I mean,we’re not like that yet... but, but-!” and at that moment his mom just starts laughing so hard and ruffles his hair because she loves messing with his love for Kairi xD The air changes immediately and the three of them are totally welcomed to the house and Sora’s mom fusses over them (although Sora is still blushing like crazy and a little pouty over his mom teasing him yet again).

Later on, when Aqua gets to stay in Sora’s room (since Ansem gets the guest room and Sora sleeps on the sofa downstairs), she can’t help but look around a little, trying to find out what kind of person Sora is (since she felt Ven’s light inside of him before - you know, making sure her friend is safe with him).

And not only does she see Sora’s little dolls from KH1:

She also sees several framed pictures of Sora throughout the years. The first ones are with him and Riku and then Kairi joins these pictures and Aqua recognizes her immediately. Knowing that the girl lived in Radiant Garden before, she rightly assumes that she must have landed here by some outside force. Seeing how warm and welcoming Sora’s family is and how much positivity and happiness the photos of the Destiny trio radiate (especially the ones taken shortly after KH2 and before DDD), she’s extremely happy her protective spell helped Kairi find Sora’s light.

And as soon as she meets Kairi and hears Kairi talk about Sora for the first time, she ships it. Hard.

#Ugh I hope this makes sense #And this is mushy I know bear with me #Sokai #Sora #Kairi #Aqua #KH

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phoenix-downer · 1 year

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Enchanted Neighborhood Chapter 5

~1225 words. Sora/Kairi. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. Reunions, Fluff, Winnie the Pooh.

This story is a sequel to After Ever After and Love’s Cost, and this is the final chapter.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Summary: Sora and his kids return from their adventure with Pooh and his friends, and Kairi reunites with her family and reminisces with Sora.

Sora landed on the ground of Merlin’s house with a loud thunk, and naturally, his three children wound up piled on top of him: Miyu, then Haruto, then Emi. He groaned deeply because he was still in teenage form and not used to bearing this much weight at once.

“You guys are too big for this,” he grumbled, earning a few laughs and giggles from his kids. And a shocked giggle that sounded out from somewhere above him, a giggle he knew better than any giggle. He spotted a pair of black boots near his head, and his eyes traveled up Kairi’s long, lovely legs and beautiful figure before meeting her dancing eyes.

“Kairi!” he said, trying in vain to wiggle out from beneath the dogpile he was trapped under. “How was tea with Aerith? How are you feeling? How’s the baby?”

She just giggled again. “Sora, what on earth happened?”

He scratched his cheek. “Oh, about that. So Merlin accidentally hit me with some spell that de-aged me, and then I got pulled into Pooh’s storybook…”

“Kids, get off of your father,” Kairi commanded, and the kids quickly obliged. Sora scrambled to his feet, and Kairi just looked at him with a disbelieving smile. He was still taller than her even in this form, but not by much.

“Seeing you like this… It really takes me back,” she said, her eyes sparkling.

He grinned. “In a good way, I hope.”

She smiled and cupped his cheek. “Yes. It reminds me of my teenage years, when I spent a lot of time swooning over my not-so-secret crush.”

“I was pretty bad at hiding my crush too,” he admitted, and Haruto gagged. Sora pouted and ignored his son, and Emi made some comment about how Mommy and Daddy were acting all lovey-dovey. Miyu, he noticed, was blushing. Oh boy, was she thinking about a crush? He’d have to ask Kairi later if she had any info about that.

He turned back to his beloved wife. “I really wanna kiss you,” he said in that slightly whiny voice she never seemed to mind, “but Merlin should transform me back first,” he finished, rubbing the back of his head. It would be kinda awkward if she kissed his teenage self, especially in front of the kids.

Kairi laughed lightly. “I would prefer that, yes. But no matter what form you take, I’ll always know it’s you,” she said softly, and now he really wanted to kiss her.

“Merlin, a little help?” he called, and the wizard at last poofed into existence in a cloud of pink smoke.

“Ah yes, sorry about that, Sora,” he said, then puttered around for the right ingredients and spell, knocking about cabinets and shelves and sundry other places. The kids watched him attentively as he cast the spell in question. Several odd smells and poofs of colorful smoke later, and Sora felt his body transforming into his current self.

He coughed and tested his arms and legs, wiggling and stretching to make sure they were the right size, the right length. He breathed a sigh of relief. Oh good, he was back to normal. Being young again was fun, but this was how he should be, and now he could kiss Kairi—

As the smoke cleared, the kids laughed hysterically, and Kairi was giggling too. He looked down at himself and groaned. “Really Merlin? You couldn’t transform my clothes at the same time?” he grumbled. He was still stuck in his now way-too-small teenage clothes and looked completely stupid.

“Sorry, that’s a different spell,” Merlin said, then thumbed through the pages of his spellbook. “Hmmm, let’s see, maybe I can find it here—”

“That’s okay,” Kairi said, waving her hands, “I’ve got a change of clothes for him in my bag.”

Sora gave her a relieved look. Merlin was a good wizard, but he was an odd duck and sometimes his spells had… interesting results. In this case a regular change of clothes was far safer than random spells.

Wait, Kairi had a change of clothes for him in her bag? Was she hoping they’d—

She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows, and he gave her a knowing grin. She was.

“Alright, kids, let’s get going,” Kairi said, and the kids dutifully gathered together with some slight herding of Haruto. Sora gave Miyu the keys and told them they could explore the shops in the Main Square, get some ice cream from Scrooge McDuck, and then go on ahead to the Gummi Ship. With that the kids were off.

Sora glanced at Pooh’s storybook and smiled. The cover had transformed once again to show him and his kids sitting by the creek with all his friends gathered around. Next time he really would have to bring Kairi with him. Then the book would feel complete.

Now that he and Kairi were finally alone, they went on an impromptu date in the gardens, revisiting old memories and making new ones. Afterwards, as they sat at one of the fountains gushing clear water, she caught him up on how tea time with Aerith had gone and asked about his adventures.

“How are Pooh and Piglet? Rabbit? The others?”

“They’re all great. It was really nice to see them again. And I promised I’d bring you next time, too.” He stroked her hand and smiled. “It’s not the same without you.”

She smiled softly. “I’d like to join next time, yeah.” She rested her hand on her belly. “Once the baby is born.”

“Oh, did Aerith say anything about—”

“We’re having a boy,” Kairi said, beaming happily. He laughed with joy and embraced her, then kissed her deeply. It was still too early to know what the baby would be with conventional medicine, but Aerith had a way of knowing these things, and he and Kairi both knew she was right. She’d been right about the other three, after all.

Speaking of them, it was time to return to the Gummi Ship. They strolled through the streets of Radiant Garden together while holding hands and boarded the ship, and Miyu, Haruto, and Emi were already dutifully seated and ready for takeoff. Sora was about to sit down when Kairi pulled him in for one more kiss.

“For luck,” she said when she released him, her eyes sparkling. “Drive carefully, you wouldn’t want your wife and son to have a rough journey, would you?”

She smiled and winked. It took a moment for this information to sink in, then the kids all reacted at once.

“I knew it!” Haruto crowed, punching his hand into the air. “I knew I was gonna have a baby brother!”

“Oooo, a baby brother?” Emi asked, wiggling excitedly in her seat. She glanced between Sora and Kairi. “I can’t wait to meet him!”

“Same,” Miyu said, her eyes dancing as she looked to Kairi. “Did Aerith tell you?”

“Mhmmm,” Kairi said, a smile on her face. “Let’s get home, I want to start prepping the nursery.”

“Home,” Sora repeated. He sat down and powered up the controls. The Gummi Ship whirred and sputtered to life, and a rush of adrenaline poured through him. He couldn’t wait for this next chapter in his family’s life.

It was like he’d told the kids: every day was an adventure, and this was just the latest chapter of it.

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A/N: Sorry about the delay on the final chapter, but hope you enjoyed this next entry in my SoKai Family AU. Thank you again to @angel-with-a-pipette and @scoobysnack1107 for providing inspiration and reading over the story, and thank you everyone for reading!

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phoenix-downer · 1 year

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Enchanted Neighborhood Chapter 3

~1080 words. Sora/Kairi. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. Reunions, Fluff, Winnie the Pooh.

This is a sequel to After Ever After and Love’s Cost. There are five chapters total and the story will update weekly on Fridays.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Summary: Sora joins his kids on their adventure and reunites with an old friend.

Even after she was safe on the ground, Miyu needed a moment to grapple with the fact that Dad was really here. And not just here but de-aged, like she was looking at a photo from years ago that had come to life.

That was the weirdest part about all of this, seeing him not as the middle-aged man he should be, but as a teenager. As someone around her age. She’d only ever seen him like this in pictures, and seeing him in person like this was unsettling. He was so young, and yet still so… so… Dad. That much was clear as he carefully lowered Emi and caught her in his arms.

“Daddy!” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. “You look pretty!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Pretty? Not strong and handsome?”

She giggled and touched his cheek. “Strong and pretty. Your voice is different too. Still Daddy’s voice, but you sound more like Haruto.”

Emi was right. When he spoke, his voice was a little higher. Still his, but not as deep as it should be.

“Speaking of Haruto…” He set Emi on the ground, and it was weird how he didn’t tower over her anymore. He was still taller than Emi of course, but Miyu figured she was about Dad’s current height, and Haruto might even be a little taller thanks to his recent growth spurt.

Yep, the moment Haruto’s feet touched the ground, he was just barely taller than Dad. Just barely. Though maybe that was his wild hair. Then again, Dad’s hair was pretty wild and spiky too, so it was a tossup.

“This is really weird,” Haruto said, his voice cracking like it had done a lot lately. “Cool, but weird. How old are you supposed to be?”

Dad twisted this way and that to look at himself. “Sixteen, if I had to guess? Man is this surreal. No aching bones, no creaky joints, no dad bod. And yet I definitely don’t have the brain of a teenager.” He paused for a moment. “Do I? I mean I have all my memories, all my experiences.” He looked at them and smiled. “My kids.”

Miyu found herself smiling back. This was definitely Dad. Some things never changed, no matter what his physical appearance was. That was what Mom always said, that she could see Dad’s heart no matter what, and Miyu wondered if she’d passed that along to them or if Dad’s heart really was that strong.

“So yeah,” Dad said, “definitely still myself, just younger with the help of some of Merlin’s de-aging magic gone awry.”

“But we wished for you to come here!” Emi said.

Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, was that what it was? Maybe that’s why things went so wonky. Wishes and dreams are powerful things, you know.” He smiled softly. “They helped bring me back when I was—”

“Excuse me?” Pooh interrupted. “Might someone put me right-side up?” He was still floating and spinning in slow circles, as anti-gravity spells usually made their targets do (something Miyu and Haruto had discovered by accident, sorry Dad).

“Pooh!” Sora cried. “I’m sorry, I got distracted.” He jumped up and grabbed Pooh, landing gracefully on his feet with the little bear in his arms.

“Sora?” Pooh asked, and Dad’s entire face lit up. He hugged Pooh tightly before setting him down on the ground, then kneeled to be eye-level with him.

“It’s so good to see you.”

“And it’s good to see you, Sora. But I thought you were supposed to be a grownup.”

Dad rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, that. Yeah, I am one. But some special magic let me come visit you again. Sorry it’s been so long.”

“Why did you become a grownup?”

Dad glanced at the three of them, then smiled softly. “So I could get married and have kids. I see you’ve met them. Well, almost all of them. Kairi and I have another one on the way now too.”

Miyu bit her lip. So Dad really had given up his friends here to start their family.

“That’s very good news,” Pooh said. “I hope Kairi is doing well.”

“She’s doing great, and she sends her regards.” Dad took a deep breath and sighed. “Man is it good to be back.” He stood there for a moment, letting the breeze ruffle his hair and tug at his clothes like an old friend.

“Daddy? Why are you standing there with your eyes closed?” Emi asked.

He opened his eyes and smiled. “Because every second is a gift. Every moment is precious. And I wanna treasure them all.” He reached for Pooh’s hand on one side and her hand on the other. “C’mon, you’ve gotta meet my other friends!”

Emi and Pooh grabbed his hands, and he glanced back at her and Haruto. “You guys too.” He winked and grinned. “You’re not too old for this yet.”

With that, he and Emi and Pooh took off skipping, leaving her and Haruto behind. Haruto was oddly quiet.

“What is it?” she asked him.

“After Dad got hurt really badly protecting us, I realized he’s not invincible. And in my head, I knew how old he was when he fought Xehanort and stuff too. But today it’s like I’m seeing he’s a normal guy for the first time.” He looked at her and smiled sadly. “I guess it’s just weird seeing him like this, you know? Realizing he was like us once.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yikes, listen to me, I’m starting to sound like him even.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Miyu said softly. “We are his kids. His legacy. Mom’s too, of course.” She fiddled with her bracelet. “I wish she were here right now, she’d know what to say.”

“Probably something about how she’s glad we got to have a normal childhood.”

“Right. They’ve given up so much for us to have that.”

“Yeah.” The silence lingered for a few moments, then Haruto slapped on a smile. “Well, guess it’s time to meet more old friends of Dad’s.”

She nodded. “Guess so.”

Haruto bounded off after Dad, and Miyu was left staring after all of them. She rested a hand over her heart and sighed.

“Maybe living for someone is just as much of a sacrifice as dying for them,” she said softly. Her words lingered in the air for a moment till they were carried away by the breeze, then she followed after everyone else.

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phoenix-downer · 1 year

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Enchanted Neighborhood Chapter 2

~1500 words. Sora/Kairi. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. Reunions, Fluff, Winnie the Pooh.

This is a sequel to After Ever After and Love’s Cost. There are five chapters total and the story will update weekly on Fridays.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Summary: Sora and Kairi’s children Miyu, Haruto, and Emi meet Winnie the Pooh, and an unexpected visitor joins them.

Of all the ways to spend their time during Mom’s appointment, Miyu had never imagined this. She still couldn’t get over the fact they were tiny and standing in an actual storybook. Having a Keyblade and going on adventures like this really was awesome.

“This is so cool!” Haruto said, echoing her thoughts as he bounded around the pages, and Emi’s eyes were as big as saucers. A delighted smile spread across her face as she looked all around them.

Miyu was glad. Ever since Emi had said she’d felt left out, Miyu had really tried to include her as much as possible. She didn’t want her little sister feeling left behind. Especially because she wouldn’t be the baby of the family for much longer, and as exciting as it was to have another family member on the way, it would definitely shake things up with the family dynamic.

As they walked around, Miyu noticed there were several hand-painted scenes on the two pages they were standing on. One of them was of a long table in a cozy-looking wood. When Miyu and Emi approached it, it suddenly popped up like those pop-up books Mom and Dad used to read to them.

“Haruto, look,” Miyu said. “I think this is where we’re supposed to go.”

Haruto came over and studied it carefully. “Yeah, probably. I wonder where this Pooh person is.”

“Maybe we’ll find him.”

As the three of them approached the pop-up scene, a wind picked up and a strong tug pulled on Miyu’s heart. The magic of the book pulled them in as she held tight to Haruto and Emi’s hands, and a few moments later, she blinked and opened her eyes.

They were on a little dirt path in the middle of a wood. A pleasant breeze blew through the air, rustling through the trees and carrying a few leaves with it. Birds sang and chirped, a nearby brook bubbled, and warm sunlight danced along the ground in dapples and gaps in the shade.

Miyu felt safe here. Something about this place brought back warm memories of when she was little. Of Mom and Dad reading storybooks to her before bedtime. The imaginative games she and Haruto used to play as kids. Hours spent in the garden as the family planted fruits and vegetables together. The smiles on Mom and Dad’s faces when Emi was born and they proudly showed her to Miyu and Haruto for the first time.

“This place is nice,” Haruto said, and Miyu agreed. It was very nice. It was so nice she could spend hours here and feel like no time had passed at all. A quick glance at the watch on her wrist told her it had only been a few minutes, but still.

“Do you think this path goes somewhere?” Emi asked.

“Good question,” Miyu squeezed Emi’s hand. “Why don’t we find out.”

The three of them followed the path, and before long they spotted a great tree ahead of them with a house under its roots. As they approached, Miyu noticed a pile of honey pots in front of the door of the house, and “MR SANDERZ” was written above it with a backwards “N.” A log rested on the path a little ways away from the house, and on that log was a small yellow bear with a red shirt. He looked like he was thinking very hard, though what about, who could say.

“Hey! Are you Pooh?” Haruto asked, not wasting any time on pleasantries.

“Think think think,” the bear mumbled to himself. “How to make new friends when one of your old friends hasn’t come to visit.”

“One of your old friends?” Haruto asked, glancing back at Miyu. “Do you think he means—”

The bear tottered to his feet. “Perhaps you will be my new friends. I’m Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short. And you are?”

“Haruto,” Haruto said, jabbing a finger towards himself, “and this is Emi and Mi—”

“Sora?” Pooh asked as he stared up at Miyu. She started, then realized the confusion. While Emi looked the most like Dad, Miyu took after him too, and that became more and more obvious the older she got. She had Mom’s violet eyes, but her face shape was more like Dad’s, and her hair was brown like his too.

“Oh, me? No, I’m not Sora, I’m Miyu.” She knelt so that she was closer to Pooh’s height. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Not-Sora-I’m-Miyu,” Pooh said as he offered his paw. Miyu shook it, then Haruto and Emi did too. Pooh’s stomach growled, and he patted his belly and sighed.

“It seems there’s a rumbly in my tumbly. You wouldn’t happen to have any hunny, would you?”

Emi’s face lit up. “We actually do!” she said. She handed him the little pot of honey. “Daddy said to give it to you.”

“Daddy?” Pooh asked as he took the honey from her, plonked back down on his log, and started eating it.

Emi nodded. “Our Daddy is Sora. He told me to say hi to you.”

“We’re his kids,” Miyu explained.

“Kids?” Pooh asked, peering curiously up at her. One paw was in the honey pot, the other was dripping honey partway to his mouth. “Sora’s a father? He’s a grownup?”

She nodded. “Yes. We’re his kids. Miyu, Haruto, and Emi.”

Pooh just let the honey drip down his paws and face. “Sora can’t come to see me anymore?”

Miyu exchanged glances with Haruto and Emi, and they all shook their heads sadly.

“Oh, I see,” Pooh said, his head drooping. “So that’s why he hasn’t come to visit. I do miss him so.”

“We can tell you stories about him,” Haruto said. “Would that help?”

Pooh nodded. “I’d like that very much.”

They joined him on the log and made themselves comfortable. Haruto began with a story of one of his earliest memories: Sora telling him a bedtime story and tucking him in during a storm. Emi chimed in about a time the family all made sugar cookies together to celebrate Christmas, and finally it was Miyu’s turn.

“It’s not really one specific memory,” she said. “More like… How Dad is every single day. I can tell he really loves Mom just by the way he looks at her, especially when he thinks she’s not looking. And I know he loves us too. He gave up so much for us to have a normal childhood. His life of traveling and adventuring, a whole lot of fame and munny and respect, and… his friends, too.”

She looked at Pooh, who was listening very quietly. She hadn’t really thought about it before, but by giving up most of his traveling, Dad must’ve drifted apart from a lot of his friends. Not Uncle Riku of course, or the other people in his inner circle like Aunt Xion, Aunt Naminé, and Uncle Roxas, but Pooh and Pooh’s friends…

“Well, Not-Sora-I’m-Miyu, I may not have seen Sora in quite some time, but he’s always with me, right here,” Pooh said, pointing at his heart. “He went away for a while, but he came back, and he’s been with me ever since.”

She smiled sadly. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Still, I wish you could see Daddy again,” Emi said, and Haruto nodded. A slight wind picked up, blowing a few leaves through the air and making Miyu’s skin tingle, but then all was quiet.

“Perhaps I will. But until then, I shall enjoy being your friends, Not-Sora-I’m-Miyu, Haruto, and Emi.”

Miyu was about to reply when that strange wind picked up again. It was so strong this time that it lifted Emi off of the log. Pooh grabbed her legs, Haruto grabbed Pooh’s legs, and Miyu grabbed Haruto’s legs. Emi was well into the air at this point, as were Pooh and Haruto, and Miyu’s feet started skidding along the ground. She gritted her teeth and tried to dig her heels in, but keeping her teenage brother, her little sister, and a small bear grounded was proving to be a challenge. At this rate she was going to be lifted right into the air along with them.

“A little help please? Someone, anyone?” she called. Right as she lifted off the ground, something grasped her foot, and a flash of magic shot past her and made them all float in the air. Wait a second. She recognized that magic. Just a few days ago, she and Haruto had started learning this very same anti-gravity spell.

She glanced down. “Dad?”

Sure enough, she spied the Kingdom Key. It was gripped in the right hand of their rescuer, and her foot was in his left. But instead of her dad, there was a boy about her age in his place. He was wearing mostly black, and he had spiky brown hair, blue eyes, a knowing smile—

Oh my gosh, it was Dad!

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