A War of White Shadows (Kingdom Hearts)

Sea and Sky III

Yen Sid gives Kairi the highest room in the tallest of his towers—the perfect place to keep a princess. She stands with her back to the window, staring down at her yet-unpacked things. Her books, pens, elixirs, keepsakes.

She does not intend to unpack.

Why are you running off? Naminé's voice whispers in her mind. Yen Sid is right. You're too important to throw caution to the wind like this.

"Maybe," Kairi admits aloud. "But every time I've needed their help, Sora and Riku fought for me. Now they need help. It would be wrong for me to hide and wait, hoping someone else will deal with it. They wouldn't dream of doing that if it were my life on the line again."

I wish I was as brave as you, Naminé says. But I'm scared that we're wrong about Sora. I'm scared he's turning into a monster.

Kairi closes her eyes. She doesn't feel brave. She feels sick with anxiety.

"I love Sora," Kairi says quietly. "I believe in him."

You love Riku, too, and Sora hurt him. Don't you want to do right by him?

"Riku wouldn't want me to resent Sora for this. It's not his fault."

We can love Sora without loving his demons. We've turned King Mickey's story over a thousand times in our minds, searching for loose threads—searching for some other way to explain how Sora and Riku could vanish like this without a single word of explanation.

The thought squeezes Kairi's chest painfully.

He could still come back to us, Naminé whispers. We just have to wait a little longer.

"Not this time. I'm not waiting around to get kidnapped again. I'll find Sora and Riku and drag them back home myself if I have to."

"Oh, will you now?"

Kairi jumps, jerking back to reality at Lea's voice. She looks up to see him leaning in the open doorway. He wears his standard aloof demeanor, but the concern on his face is apparent just under the surface. She stutters out half an explanation before he interrupts.

"Striking off on your own, huh?"

She finds herself searching his face for any indication of protest, or teasing, or disdain. But then she catches herself, turning her back on him before her big, dumb, too-emotional heart can overwhelm her with sympathy for the people she's leaving behind. "I know I can't hide from the Seekers of Darkness forever—not even here." She stuffs a few things into her backpack without really seeing them.

"And that's why you're leaving?"

"Yes."

"You know, I don't believe that for a second."

She peeks over her shoulder at him, trying to summon a glare.

"I mean, sure—if Xehanort's cronies find you, they'll be that much closer to plunging the universe into darkness." Lea strolls into the room, inspecting a few of the baubles that cover all surfaces of the room—crystal balls, snipe feathers, potted herbs of all colors. The only surface uncovered is the bed, where Axel falls back and kicks his feet up, lacing his fingers behind his head with a shrug. "But I think you're doing this for Sora and Riku. Not the universe."

"The two people I love most are somewhere out there, and nobody knows what happened to them or why. Not even the King. I want answers." She looks down. "Is that... selfish?"

"It's very human, if you ask me." He stares up at the ceiling, which is painted to resemble a star-studded night sky. "But I'd say I'm jaded. I've stood by as too many worlds slip into darkness. I've ripped the hearts out of more people than I care to remember."

"But you were a Nobody."

"Even with my heart present and accounted for, I'd plunge the universe into darkness if it meant bringing Roxas back," he admits, resting a hand absently on his chest.

She smiles. "That's very sweet, if... dark."

He smiles, a little—it's a sad smile. She's seen it a dozen times, and been prompted every time to ask him what's wrong. His answer was always the same: she's said something that reminds of him of someone, but he can't remember who.

He sits up. "Nice haircut," he says, nodding to her newly cropped hair.

She brushes a few strands behind her ear. "I'll miss you, Lea."

"I thought I told you, it's Axel." He smirks crookedly. Then he stands and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure this is what you want, Kairi?"

"I'm sure."

"You look sad."

She tips forward, forehead meeting his chest, and sniffles quietly. Her lashes turn wet. When she wraps her arms around him in a weak hug, he returns it.

"Well," he muses, "I have a few too many scars from our sparring sessions to think you won't make it far by yourself."

"I wouldn't have given you so many scars if you fought me without holding back," she reminds him. He's always been protective of her, but could never articulate why. She used to think it was misplaced guilt for the time he kidnapped her, but lately, she's wondered if it has something to do with that mysterious, unremembered person of whom she reminds him so much.

"Sorry—I can't shake this nagging feeling you'll want a friend when you're out there in the universe."

She looks up at him, forgetting what a mess she is at the moment. "Lea, no! You'll get in trouble. If you leave now, Yen Sid might not let you keep training to become a keyblade master."

He shrugs. "Big deal. I'll just tell him you kidnapped me. Besides, I wouldn't be much of a keyblade master if I didn't do my damnedest to protect someone who, frankly, is the most important Guardian we have left, not to mention a Princess of Heart. Think of all the brownie points I'll score for that." He pulls back and ruffles her hair.

"If the Seekers of Darkness catch you, they'll turn you back into a Nobody. Or worse!"

He scoffs. "Their worst ain't jack. And anyway" —he glances aside and looks out the tower's window, up at the thousands of stars just as a comet streaks by— "I have my own destiny to track down out there."