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Watching the sunset on Destiny Islands was not the same by herself. The water seemed to reflect the sun’s rays less, the sun itself seemed less bright, and the rays that once comforted her with their warmth now felt cold.
Ever since Sora disappeared, the sunset looked less and less beautiful.
When Kairi came out of her sleep with no success in finding any clues as to where Sora could be, Even had told her to let her mind and body rest for a good while since the sleep had taken a toll on her. With all her friends being busy with the search for Sora, she was alone on the island with little to nothing to do. Sure, she had Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka, but they didn’t understand what she had gone through. She couldn’t put on a false smile for them and pretend she was enjoying herself. She couldn’t do that to them, and she certainly didn’t want to drag them into this.
“I miss you Sora,” she said. “I just hope that wherever you are, you don’t feel as lonely as I do right now.”
“Bummer to lose the person most important to you, am I right?”
Kairi jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, turning her head to see that she wasn’t alone sitting on the trunk of the paopu tree. She couldn’t make out a face, for the person was wearing a black coat – not unlike the Organization’s – with the hood pulled up. She could only tell that it was a man by the voice. Still, that coat meant trouble. She had no doubt about that.
The man must have sensed her discomfort, for he waved his gloved hands in front of himself. “Oh no, no! I’m not affiliated with those Organizers. Trust me. I’d have to be stupid to get myself involved in that.”
Kairi couldn’t get a sense that he was lying to her, but he still gave her some unease. “Who are you and why are you here?” she asked.
“I’m nobody really, well nobody in this time at least,” he answered as he casually leaned back on his arms. “But to you, I can be the most important person you’ll ever meet, next to Sora that is.”
“Sora? How do you know Sora?”
“Better question: Who doesn’t know Sora? He’s the beginning and end of every story, every chapter. He’s connected to everyone and everything.”
“Even you?”
“Especially me, or maybe it’s the other way around.”
“What do you-”
“You asked me why I’m here. Well, I wanted to give you this.” He outstretched a hand to her, revealing a crystal watch that was half white and half black. While there were arms on the watch, there were no numbers on it.
“A broken watch?”
“Oh no, it’s far from broken. You see, this watch is gonna make all your dreams come true.”
Kairi raised a brow at the man, clearly not following him. “A watch?”
The man sighed and pointed at the arms on the watch. “You see, this little thing is gonna let you get your hubby back. It’s going to take you back to a particular point in time and you’re going to live through that time. The closer you get to the end of that event, the more the big arm is going to move. When the big arm reaches the bottom of the watch, that means you’re halfway through the event. When it reaches the top, the event is over.”
“So, I can save Sora by going back to the point where Xehanort killed me?”
The man shook his head. “You’re not going back there. That just wouldn’t make sense.”
“What- what do you mean?”
“If you try to stop an impactful ‘permanent’ event such as a death from happening, the butterfly effect will take part so if it’s not you dying, someone else will.”
“Oh,” Kairi said, a bit dejected. “Then, what time are you taking me back to?”
“Can’t tell you. It might change the way you change events in the point in time. You’re gonna have to figure out what needs to be changed yourself.”
“How am I supposed to know what to change?” Kairi asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.
“That’s why you’re gonna live through that event the first time around just as a spectator.”
“First time?”
“Yep, first time. The second time, you’re gonna be able to change the outcome of that point in time. After that, you’re gonna return back to the present.”
Kairi looked at the watch with apprehension. It seemed perfect, a little too perfect of an opportunity. There had to be a catch to this. One couldn’t mess with time and not suffer some sort of consequence. After all, didn’t Sora disappear because he travelled back in time?
“But won’t I disappear just like Sora did?” she asked.
“Ah now here’s the difference,” the man began. “Sora used the power of his entire being and heart to go back to save you. You on the other hand are using the power of this device, not your own so no harm will come to you.”
“And what’s in it for you? Why are you helping me?”
The man shrugged. “You’re not the only one that wants Sora back.”
Kairi contemplated the opportunity. It didn’t seem like there would be any drawbacks and in the end, it was all to save Sora. She would do anything to bring him back.
So with her mind made up, she took the watch and clasped it onto her wrist. As soon as she did, the watch glowed a brilliant white. The light from the watch began to surround her.
“I’ve got faith in you Kairi! Don’t let me down!” the man said with a two-finger salute.
And then the light took over her vision, causing her to shield her eyes. When she was able to see again, she was in Twilight Town. More specifically, she was in a bedroom in Twilight Town. She looked around the slightly messy room until her eyes landed on a figure sleeping in the bed, a rather familiar figure. Suddenly, the person in the bed sat up abruptly and she instantly recognized the blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes.
It was Roxas.
So that meant that this was the Data-Twilight Town that he had spoken about, the one that DiZ had placed him in until he could go back to Sora.
“Roxas?” she said.
She thought that the boy had heard her at first, for he got out of bed and began walking toward her only to walk straight through her. Kairi gasped and panicked for a split second, thinking that the watch had killed her or something but then she remembered the man’s words about experiencing the event the first time. She was just spectating for now, so she couldn’t interfere even if she wanted to. She needed to pay close attention to what she had to alter. Considering that the only real person in this town was Roxas, she figured that she had to change something that had to do with him.
Kairi was thankful for her ability to phase through people and objects, for when the blonde began taking off his shirt to change into his day clothes, Kairi let out a yelp, turned around, and phased through the door. She didn’t need to see more of her friend than what was necessary. They weren’t that close.
She followed Roxas closely once he left his room. He headed toward the usual spot, claiming that he couldn’t sleep as he saw Hayner, Pence and Olette, but when he approached them, he phased right through them.
“Roxas, to the mansion! The time has come!”
That had to be DiZ’s voice, but how was she able to hear it if Roxas had recounted that it had been in his head? Something only he could hear? Then she remembered that her heart was connected in a strange way to Roxas’ because of Naminé’s encounter with him. So, it wasn’t completely unusual that she could hear DiZ speaking to Roxas.
When Roxas exited, Lea – well technically Axel – was waiting for him, obviously ready to fight. As the redhead raised his chakrams to strike, time completely ceased, causing him to halt in his action. It was rather strange that she had travelled back in time and yet time was being manipulated here. Then again, was time even real on this fake world?
She followed Roxas to the mansion next. As soon as he got past the gates, he ran toward the mansion doors. Kairi didn’t miss Riku’s appearance at the front of the gates, ready to fend off the Nobodies that had been following the blonde.
Inside, Roxas encountered Naminé for one final time before she was taken away by DiZ. She witnessed as his memories began coming back and how he smashed the computer until it was unusable. She saw as he fought his best friend and defeated him. She saw as he screamed in frustration as he realized that DiZ was too cowardly to face him. She watched Roxas suffer through so much pain in a matter of minutes.
But what was perhaps the most painful was watching him meet Sora.
The pod opened up, revealing a sleeping Sora and Kairi’s heart nearly stopped. It was Sora, her Sora. He was here and alive.
She shook herself out of her momentary daze, remembering that she had to pay close attention to her mission. She saw Roxas’ scowl soften as a sad smile came upon his face. In his eyes, she could see him go through a whirlwind of emotions in the matter of a couple seconds. She saw his emotions go from frustration and anger to sadness and despair to acceptance. It was weirdly beautiful and yet the saddest thing she had ever witnessed a person go through. So much emotion in barely any time. She couldn’t imagine what that felt like.
Roxas lowered his keyblade, smiling up at Sora. “Looks like my summer vacation is… over.”
And with those final words, she watched as his body glowed brightly until he disappeared, and Sora glowed just as brightly as his Nobody returned to him.
Kairi looked down at the watch and saw as the big arm finally reached the top, and then in the time she blinked, she was back in Roxas’ bedroom again. Although when Roxas woke up this time and looked in her direction, he let out a yelp and fell off the bed. The redhead was confused until she realized that this time around, he could see her.
“Who are you? How’d you get in here?” he asked, his eyes narrowed as he got up from the floor.
“Roxas, it’s me, Kairi.”
“Kairi? That girl from the dreams? The one I talked to as I was falling?”
“Yes.”
“How are you here? Why are you here?” His eyes fell to the floor and a small scowl came upon his face. “Wait, you’re here to see Sora, whoever that is.”
A small smile came upon her face as she walked up to him. “Actually, I’m here to see you.”
Roxas blinked in surprise. “Me? What for?”
She grabbed his hand in hers and looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Listen Roxas. This is going to sound insane, but you have to believe it, okay?”
“Uh, sure…”
“A year from now, some really bad things are going to happen. One event in particular to be exact, but I think you can prevent that from happening.”
“Wait a minute, are you from the future?”
“Yeah, I guess I am,” she said with a chuckle. Then, her expression turned to one of worry. “Do you… believe me?”
Roxas looked down at her hands grabbing his own. Then he looked up at her with a soft smile and placed his other hand on top of hers. “I do actually. I don’t know why but I do.”
Kairi beamed, ecstatic that the blonde actually believed her. She had thought that it would be difficult to get him to trust her words but luckily their hearts were connected enough to gain his trust. She hugged him, saying a million thank you’s.
“Alright,” she said as she pulled back. “Now get dressed and meet me outside but wait until I’m out of the room. I don’t need a repeat of you undressing again.”
“Oka- Wait what?!”
Once they were outside, Kairi suddenly realized that she had no idea what she was supposed to do now. What was she supposed to get Roxas to do differently? He still needed to get back to Sora but not much had happened between the time he woke up and meeting Sora that could be altered greatly. The only main event that really happened was Roxas becoming one with Sora again. Unless…
Unless the event that had to be changed was Roxas meeting Sora. Maybe she was supposed to stop Roxas from going back to Sora.
But how would that even be possible? Didn’t Sora need Roxas to wake up? Then again, in her time, Roxas and Sora had lived separately as their own person because Roxas had grown a heart and had been trapped inside Sora’s. Maybe there was another way for Sora to wake up while Roxas’ heart developed completely.
Maybe, just maybe, Roxas would be the one to develop the power of waking in this point in time.
But how could she get Roxas out of this Twilight Town? The only other real beings here were Axel, DiZ at one point, Riku, and Naminé at one point as well. Naminé could very well travel through corridors of darkness but there was no way that Roxas would be able to get past Riku in time to save the girl from DiZ’s clutches, so she was ruled out.
Axel was another candidate that could work but he was so intent on eliminating Roxas that he might not listen to reason anymore. After all, once Roxas remembered him, he still tried to carry out his orders, so he was out as well.
DiZ shouldn’t even have been on her list of candidates in the first place.
That only left Riku. Riku was working with DiZ though, but he had let Naminé, and Axel go, and he did feel regret for what he had put Roxas through from what she remembered in her time. It was why there was still tension between the two. But maybe for that exact reason, he could be persuaded to take another path.
She had her plan.
“Roxas, we’re heading to the mansion.”
When they nearly reached the end of the woods, Kairi stopped, causing the blonde to do the same as well.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I… I don’t think I’m supposed to go any further. If I do, I might mess things up.”
“But what am I supposed to do if I don’t have you to guide me?” he asked, slight panic in his tone.
“You won’t be alone. You’ll have another guide. He’ll show you the way and stick by your side. I promise.” She pulled out her good luck charm, giving it one last sentimental glance before grabbing Roxas’ hand and placing the charm in his palm. “Show him this. Tell him that there’s another way to wake Sora up. Tell him that a friend sent you. He’ll understand.”
“Do I know him?”
Kairi nodded. “Just try not to be angry at him. Try to understand him. Please try to work with him, okay?”
Roxas gave a firm nod. “Okay, I will. I promise. When will I see him?”
“He’s going to appear once you run past the gates.”
“Got it.” He turned to leave but then stopped and looked back at the girl once more. “Will I ever see you again?”
Kairi smiled reassuringly. “Of course we will. Don’t worry. Thank you, Roxas.”
Roxas gave a curt nod and ran toward the mansion. Peeking from behind a tree, Kairi watched as Roxas unlocked the gates and ran past them. This time however, he quickly stopped and turned around as the gates began to close, jumping through the gap and standing next to Riku who had appeared just like she said he would.
“Need a hand?” Roxas said as he summoned his keyblade, ready to fight the Dusks surrounding them.
“What? What are you-”
Riku’s words were cut off as Roxas began striking at the Dusks and Riku could only follow his lead. When the Nobodies were all gone, the two stood staring at each other. Kairi couldn’t see Riku’s concealed face, but she could tell that he was extremely confused.
Roxas’ keyblade disappeared in a flash of light and the blonde held out the good luck charm to Riku.
Riku gasped at the sight of the object. “Where did you get that?”
“A mutual friend. She said that I could trust you and that you would help me.”
“Help you do what?”
Roxas shrugged. “Save the world I guess. Change destiny.” He paused, putting the charm in his pocket. “There’s another way to wake Sora up.”
“And that is?”
“Something she didn’t disclose but she was certain of it, so I guess we’ll find out eventually, that is if you’ll help me.”
Riku considered the blonde’s proposition and when Kairi saw him banish his weapon, she let out a sigh of relief.
Thank you, Riku.
She watched as Riku summoned a dark corridor and gestured for Roxas to follow. Once the two stepped through, Kairi looked down to her watch.
The long arm reached the top.
She closed her eyes and could only hope that she made the right decision.
When she opened her eyes, she was back on the islands in the exact same spot she had been before she left. She looked down at her wrist and saw that the watch was gone. She looked around, seeing that she was completely alone and panicked. Had this all been some daydream of hers? Had she just imagined things? Or maybe she had travelled back in time but made a mistake.
“Riku you jerk! Come back here!”
Kairi jumped at the familiar voice. She had just heard that voice mere minutes ago. She had just spoken to the owner of that voice.
She turned around to see none other than Riku running in her direction carrying a bag. Roxas was not far behind him, chasing him from what it looked like. When Riku reached her, he gave her a warm smile and a wave.
“Sorry we’re late. Roxas was handpicking each individual ice-cream bar at the stand,” the silvernette said.
“Each bar has to be perfect and you know it,” Roxas said as he came up to the older teen’s side. “I can’t believe you left as I was paying.”
Riku let out a laugh, one that Kairi rarely heard from the other. It was bubbly and so full of joy and something else.
“I’m sorry Blondie. I was just worried that Kairi would think we ditched her or something.”
Roxas rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the smile that spread on his face. He leaned up on his toes and placed a peck on Riku’s lips.
Wait, what?
“Mmm, I don’t think I believe you,” Riku said, a smirk on his face.
Roxas chuckled and placed another kiss on the silvernette’s lips, this one a bit longer than the first. “There, happy?”
“Ecstatic,” Riku replied.
Roxas shook his head in disbelief. “You’re insatiable.”
Love. It was love that she heard in Riku’s laugh – in his tone. But why were Riku and Roxas together? Like, together together? Didn’t they despise each other? Unless… unless she did alter something in the past. Roxas did end up going with Riku after all, and perhaps the two grew closer during that time.
“Ahh, not with the PDA again!”
That was the voice that made Kairi freeze. It sent shivers through her body in the best way possible. It gave her goosebumps and caused her heart to beat faster. It made her breath hitch.
It was Sora.
The brunette was running toward them, a bright smile on his face upon locking eyes with her. He went up to her and cupped her face, placing a tender kiss on her lips that left Kairi as a barely functioning human-being.
“Kairi are you okay?” he asked, concern evident in his tone.
Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but she fought them back as hard as she could. There was no need to cry, not anymore. He was here. Sora was here and he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Everything’s perfect,” she said as she hugged him tightly.
She had done it. She had really done it. She had changed destiny. She only wished that she would have been able to experience everything that had happened because of it.
But then she realized that with time, memories of those moments would fill her heart undoubtedly because she had technically lived through them.
“If you two take any longer, either all the ice cream is going to melt or Roxas here is going to eat it all,” Riku said as he raised the bag.
“Hey! That only happened like one time!”
Kairi let out a watery laugh, one that didn’t go unnoticed by Sora. She only smiled at his confused expression and placed a kiss on his lips, one that she let linger until she needed to pull away for air.
“Kairi…” Sora said, a bit breathless.
“Come on,” Kairi said, cupping the boy’s cheek. “We’ve got some ice cream to eat.”
“That was generous of you.”
The man chuckled and looked at his apprentice who now wore the face of an older man with a golden eye and eyepatch. “It needed to be done, otherwise my plans would have to be put to a halt.”
“Does it really matter if it takes longer Master?”
“The pace of time affects everything, Luxu. You should know better than anyone.”
Luxu hummed in agreement. “I still don’t get why you need the brat. What role does he play in all this? Must be a pretty big one if you had Kairi save him.”
“He is the key to revealing the true Kingdom Hearts.”
Luxu let out a laugh of disbelief. “I know the kid’s strong but come on. You need someone else with just as much power as you to summon Kingdom Hearts. Not even Ansem, Xehanort, or Xemnas could do it. All they summoned was a morsel of it.”
It was then that the Master did something that Luxu never thought he would ever do in his entire existence. He pulled his hood down and what Luxu saw completely surprised him.
He saw a man with dark brown hair that was almost black that reached just below his jawline. It was layered and tousled, and his bangs hung in his face, covering his right eye completely and leaving half of his other eye exposed. The eye that was revealed was a familiar cerulean, a color Luxu had seen on a certain keyblade wielder. The Master unzipped his coat enough to reveal a chain he was wearing around his neck with a recognizable crown pendant hanging from it.
“So, the chain isn’t just some fashionable accessory,” Luxu pointed out.
“It’s much more than you realize,” the Master’s voice became serious. “The burden of royalty is truly a heavy one.”
“If that’s the case, why’d you leave the chain with the kid?”
“So that he’d find his way to me one day but with him disappearing from existence, it delayed that moment from happening. But now, now everything’s back on the right track.”
Luxu nodded. “So Roxas was the key to preventing Sora’s death? How?”
“By Roxas not going back to Sora, he eventually gained the power of waking which he used on Sora. By doing this, Sora didn’t suffer the side effects of losing memory of his true strength and didn’t have to regain it. After the whole saving the worlds together and defeating Xemnas and all that stuff, they took the Mark of Mastery only this time, Sora passed along with Roxas since his powers only grew since he woke up from regaining his memories. Not to mention that Kairi passed too with Roxas’ help so now you got yourself six masters for the big bad Xehanort battle – Sora, Riku, Roxas, Kairi, King Mickey, and Aqua. You can imagine how much easier that fight went down, and with no casualties!”
Luxu nodded, faintly recalling a memory of him being struck down at the Keyblade Graveyard by Roxas, or was it Ventus? It was amazing what could happen when one variable changed in time. But still, there was one question that was still lingering in his mind.
“Ask. I see those gears turning. I can basically hear them from here,” the Master said.
“Why’d you leave him?”
The Master frowned as he looked down at the group of teens enjoying ice cream by a paopu tree, his focus specifically on one brown-haired boy. “I come from a place, from a time where everything is falling apart. I didn’t expect to have a son. I had only been searching for an answer to my people’s salvation. Guess I got that answer still.”
“And how is Kingdom Hearts gonna save your people?”
The Master gave off a small smirk and he placed a finger up to his own lips. “Can’t spoil that far ahead. Gotta wait and see.”
Luxu nearly scoffed but held it back. “Using the kid, your kid to save others. I don’t know how he’s gonna feel about that.”
The Master watched as the brunette laughed at something the silver-haired one said. He saw the way his eyes crinkled the same way his own did when he laughed. “He won’t have a say in the matter. After all, they’re technically his people too.”
“May your heart be your guiding key. This whole time you were talking about him, weren’t you?”
The Master placed a hand to his chest, a sad look in his eyes as he continued to watch the boy. “When you have something as precious as a child Luxu, they become the reason you do everything that you do. They become your heart completely. The more I follow it, the more time will begin to mend itself.”
Luxu shrugged as he stared down at the group of teens who had no idea what was in store for them. “Only time will tell.”