Forever Starts Now (1x1 RP with Forever Love)

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi closed her eyes, setting the picture back down on the endtable. She lowered her hand from her mouth as she swallowed back the tears, refusing to cry now. She knew this would be sad, so she had to be strong.

[Peanut 26]

"...Kai..." Sora said gently, looking to her face again. That was all that he could think to say, the teen keeping up his action of running his hand over Kairi's back. Was she alright? Did she want to leave?

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi opened her eyes and turned her head, looking back to the young man she loved. "Um...let's keep moving," she said with a very small nod, her eyes leaving Sora's after a second. She knew she was vulnerable right now, but she needed to do this.

[Peanut 26]

Sora caught the look in Kairi's eyes, that look holding determination. "Alright," he said softly, taking his hand away from her back so that she could move wherever she wanted to go. He would stay close.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi turned her head away from Sora and started further into the living room, her eyes scanning it and locating pictures of her grandmother and some of her with her flowers. She always did love them, and she figured that was why her Keyblade was what it was. Flowers were symbolic to her because of her past. Kairi put her hand on the rocking chair, picturing her grandmother inside it and reading her a story or shushing her to sleep. She smiled weakly, running her hand along the wood. There were so many memories here, ones she had forgotten until she actually saw this place. It was bizarre.

[Peanut 26]

Sora stayed where he was, his eyes following Kairi before he looked away and gave her privacy. This was her home, huh? It was really nice, even if nobody lived here for a long time. But he couldn't picture Kairi here when she was little, running around with her parents. He could only picture her by his side.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi's sad smile remained when she started out of the living room and stepped into the kitchen. There were still towels hung up near the counter, a vase of dead flowers on the table. I probably gave those to her, she thought silently. She kept moving, seeing letter magnets on the fridge, which coincidentally spelled out "Faith in the Light". She stopped to stare at it for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing. For some reason, she felt this was important.

[Peanut 26]

Sora stepped into the kitchen, letting his eyes wander to different areas so Kairi could have her privacy. The dead flowers gave away that nobody had been here in a long time, but he wondered just how long. It wasn't completely broken down like he expected it to be; it wasn't in bad shape at all, actually.

[Forever Love 82]

"...Sora?" Kairi called softly, having heard his footsteps when he walked into the kitchen. Her back was to him, her eyes still set on the message on the fridge. "Do you remember my grandmother's story?" He saw it through her, didn't he? When her heart was within him?

[Peanut 26]

Sora blinked at the question, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. It had been so long ago that he hardly remembered the story Kairi's grandmother told her. "I don't remember any of the details," he said, faintly shaking his head. Where did that question come from?

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi smiled sadly at the memory, turning around a little to look at the young man she loved. "'Even in the deepest Darkness, there will always be a light', remember?" she said softly. "It was all about having faith in the Light." And she never forgot it, and neither had her grandmother.

[Peanut 26]

Sora looked to Kairi, humming and nodding faintly in recognition. That's right. He remembered now, especially the part about there always being a light in the deepest Darkness. He had told that to Xehanort's Heartless during their final battle, after he had heard it from the story Kairi's grandmother told.

[Forever Love 82]

"Hm," Kairi said, turning around again to look at the message on the fridge. "She told me about it every day, and she left hints of it all over the house. It was really important to her." The one thing she never knew, though, was why it was so important. She knew that the Light in children's hearts restored the worlds, but was there something else that Kairi needed to know? For the future?

[Peanut 26]

"Having you with her probably gave her a lot of hope with the Light, since your heart is so pure," Sora said, that being the most logical thing he could think of. He knew from experience that whenever he started feeling down, he looked to his Light. He was sure that Kairi wasn't only his Light, but the Light of all those important people in her life. Surely her grandmother was included in that group, since she seemed to have loved Kairi dearly.

[Forever Love 82]

"Mm," Kairi hummed softly, lowering her eyes to the floor. She then closed them, feeling some of her hair fall over her shoulder. "But what about my parents?" Her Light wasn't enough to save them, was it? They were gone...

[Peanut 26]

Sora blinked again at the question, having not expected that. He didn't really know what to say, since he didn't know a thing about Kairi's parents. But they were gone, and connecting that to what Kairi just said, that probably meant that she was wondering what her Light meant to them. "I don't know anything about your parents," he said softly, honest. "...But I can see them doing whatever it took to protect you, because you're worth fighting for." Again, he knew that one from experience. He always fought for Kairi in his life, because she was too precious not to fight for. Somebody had to protect her and her Light, and he wanted that somebody to always be him. Of course, he knew Riku wanted to do that too, since he loved Kairi like a sister.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi nodded, opening her eyes and turning around to look at Sora. "Right," she said softly, nodding. She didn't know her parents, and couldn't even remember them, but she believed Sora could have been right. They looked like they loved her dearly in the photograph. Did they really die trying to protect her?

[Peanut 26]

"Maybe there'll be something in the house to give you some answers," Sora said a bit more optimistically. They had only been in two rooms thus far, so they had a lot more of the house to explore. Kairi would have a lot of time to dig things out since she lived in this world now. He still didn't like that, because he couldn't protect her, but he couldn't force her to move back to Destiny Islands with him. This was her life, and she had to choose how to live it.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi smiled weakly, finding encouragement in Sora's words. "Let's go upstairs," she said softly. If she remembered correctly, her room was up there. She wondered if things were still the same way she left them.

[Peanut 26]

Sora nodded slightly, taking a step out of the kitchen doorway and motioning for Kairi to go ahead. "Lead the way," he said softly, realizing that she probably didn't remember much about this house, so it didn't make a big difference who led. Either way, she could go before him. This was about her, not him.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi kept her eyes on Sora as she approached him, and once she was by his side, she reached for his hand. He wouldn't just follow her; he would be with her through this. This was only going to get harder, and she knew that wasn't just an opinion. It was a fact. It was hard enough.

[Peanut 26]

When Kairi grasped his hand, Sora understood what Kairi was thinking. He hummed shortly and nodded to her in understanding, knowing that she was nervous to face the upstairs of the house. He didn't need to know why that was, nor did he try to figure it out. He would focus his attention on Kairi and support her that best that he could to help her get through this.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi led Sora up the stairs, her hand in his the whole way. There was a hall that led to the bedrooms and upstairs bathroom, the walls covered with photos. She saw one of her and her grandmother, and another with her grandmother and the mother that Kairi lost. It nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she didn't stare at them for long, moving to one of the doors that was open. It was an empty room with a dead plant near the window and some curtains, so Kairi moved on to the next one, wanting to uncover her past and any messages that could possibly be passed on to her.

[Peanut 26]

Sora stuck with Kairi as she explored some of the upstairs, his hand staying in hers. He held it gently but securely, bringing Kairi the best support that he could right now. He already figured by now that his coming today wasn't just coincidence; he was meant to be here today to help Kairi face her past. But was that the only reason? For some reason, it felt like it was even more than that.

[Forever Love 82]

Kairi passed another room, a bathroom. But the next door was closed, and she hesitantly reached for the handle. She opened it, though her eyes softened at the sight. It was her bedroom, from before. There was a small bed with colorful sheets, the walls a light green. The carpet still had some of her clothes laid out, though they were outfits she remembered wearing for fun. There was also a toy box that was open, a few of the objects spread out around it. She saw a few dolls and a teddy bear, memories rushing back to when she used to play with them. Kairi released a shaky breath, unable to believe this. Everything was exactly the way she left it.