I'm so sorry for having such a slow rate of delivery lately, but I've had one unexpected family visit after the other ever since December, so I've been even more busy than I was in the fall. For Day 150, I only have the first half posted here. It ended up being longer than I thought it was going to be, so I decided to post what's done instead of taking more time for the rest. I hope you enjoy ^_^
“Yeah! The first time we found him, he mistook me for you! He even told me how glad he was that I was okay and everything!” Yuffie said.
“He was always talking about finding his friends, and going back to the islands together,” Aerith said.
Kairi couldn’t stop smiling. She was flattered by what she heard.
“If you ask me…I’d say there’s a strong bond that ties you to each other.” Leon said.
Kairi looked up at the night sky, as a shooting star ran by. It was the gummi ship, heading back to Hollow Bastion. “Sora…“ she said
slowly.
There was a long pause, as the four them looked up at the wide expanse of stars, hovering above Traverse Town.
Yuffie looked back over at Kairi. “Hey! You aren’t worried about him, are you?”
Kairi looked back down, facing the ground. “What if we…get separated again?”
“Hmph.” Leon closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest with a slight smirk on his face.
“There’s no need to worry, Kairi. Nothing can ever tear you two apart.” Aerith said. She titled her head to the side, smiling. “No matter
how far away the light gets, your heart’s voice will always reach it.”
Kairi blinked, looking back at Aerith with a curious expression. She turned around, bringing her head down. She thought long and hard
over what she was telling her. Raising her head toward the night sky, she closed both eyes, remembering the warmth she felt in Sora’s
arms. She took in a long breath, opening her eyes back up, and smiling.
______
Kairi stood on top the usual grass hill, as the light breeze of morning ran through her red hair. She was wearing her pink dress, laced
with zippers, and a black hood. She could hear the soft sound of the untrimmed grass beneath her feat, swaying with the whisper of
the wind.
She looked out the entire mainland, as the sun's rays tinted the ground with orange, each house casting its own dark shadow on the
ground beneath.
"Kairi!"
Kairi looked down, to see Selphie, making her way up the hill.
"Hey!" she said with a smile.
"How long were you waiting for?" Selphie said as he stepped onto the top.
"I'm not sure..." Kairi said. Her face suggested she was trying to remember something. Her eyes drifted downward, then back over to her. "Maybe an hour"
"An hour?!"
"Yeah." Kairi said with a nod.
"What were you doing for that long?!”
“Just sitting here…” Kairi said slowly, as she turned to look out at the ocean. Selphie gazed back at her with curiosity. She cocked her head slightly, with a look of confusion, then turned, matching her view with Kairi’s.
"Hey!" Tidus said, as he made his way up the hill, followed by Wakka. He was holding a sundial, about the width of his chest, with a ruler set on top in his arms. Wakka was holding a long, red pole, similar to the one Tidus used to use, in his left hand. Both of them turned, slowly stepping over to them. "Is everything here?” Selphie asked.
"Yeah! Where do we start?" Tidus said.
"We can start here if you'd like," Selphie said cheerfully.
"Sounds good" Wakka said, stepping next to Tidus, and sticking the long red pole into the ground.
All four of them stood behind it, facing away from the ocean's view. As they slowly brought their heads up, they watched the rays of light creeping over the mountains scattered across the mainland. The giant circle of orange slowly rose, higher and higher into the sky, it’s warmth touching the faces of each of them. Kairi smiled, as the light reflected a twinkle into both her blue eyes.
________
“Um…S-Saïx…”
Saïx turned, looking down at the small, hooded figure looking up at him.
“Xion-What could you possibly want at a time like this?”
“Well…it’s just…I think I know where the imposter might be and I was-“
“Absolutely not.”
“But I-
“After yesterday’s performance, you deserve nothing more than to match the likes of you with that of your failure.”
Xion looked down at the ground, clenching her fists as the frustration insider her grew and grew behind every passing moment.
“Just give me another chance!” she yelled back at him.
“We can’t afford to expend any more chances on you…” He turned, stepping into the opposite direction, but stopping to release one
last utterance.
“You were a mistake we never should have made.”
Xion stood there, both in a state of shock, and despair. She sunk her head, as the combination pierced into the space where she knew
a heart would be, if she had one. Coursing through her veins, throbbing in the back of her neck. The only thing that stopped her from
bursting into tears right on the spot was the sound of a soft, familiar voice, coming from behind.
“Xion?” It was Roxas, slowly making his way up the stairs of Twilight’s View.
Too distraught to think of anything to say, Xion kept silent, before fleeing in the opposite direction. Her eyes were pressed tight with
frustration, as her feet quickly tapped along each step of the descending stairway.
“Is that really what I am? Am I just…a mistake?”
She grabbed her head with both hands, clenching her teeth as the pain of uncertainty tightened its grasp on her mind.
“Who am I…really?
________
“Alright…steady…” Tidus was holding on to the sundial with both arms. His eyes were focused in carefully, as the triangular plane formed a shadow across the circular platform. Wakka was holding on to the long red pole, watching the angle of the shadow closely, before sticking it into the ground. Selphie carefully placed one end of a compass on top an edge of the shadow, slowly bringing the other end directly in front of the sun’s light. Kairi, watching only few steps away, reached into the small black pouch on the left of her waist. She pulled out the small brown log, and a small pencil.
“Ready Kairi?” Selphie called out.
“Mhmm”
“It’s about…twenty-four degrees”
Kairi carefully added the number 24 to a list of others, below a drawing of a triangle.
Tidus let go, wiping off the sweat from his brow with his right arm. “Hey Selphie, after this let’s try doing the rest from the island, yeah?”
“Sounds good to me!” she said in return.
Kairi shut the log, tucking it away into the pouch. She looked back up, to see all three of them looking back at her.
“Ready?” Selphie asked.
“Yeah” Kairi said, nodding her head in return. They all turned around, beginning their walk down the hill.
“So, the sun’s really far away, isn’t it?” Tidus said.
“Yeah! Millions of miles in fact.” Selphie said.
Kairi turned, looking back at the circle of light that hid behind the hill more and more with every step.
“It’s crazy how we still get all that light.” Tidus said.
“We can’t ever take it for granted, ya?” Wakka said.
“That’s right…”
Kairi turned back around. As the morning breeze carried through the small group, the sound of their conversation slowly faded away in
Kairi’s mind. She laid a hand on her chest, sinking her head. Her heart was remembering something her mind had forgotten, and it
made her wish more than anything that she knew what it was.
_______
“Pitiful…” Saïx said slowly. He was making his way down the hallway of The Castle that Never Was, on the way back from his confrontation with Xion. Turning into his private bedroom, he closed the door behind him before taking a seat on the bed, reaching into a small drawer and pulling out a journal and pen.
Dealing with Xion
As expected, the Duplicate is starting to show its limits. The Program showed promise, but a puppet is just a puppet: something to be toyed with until it breaks.
I am utterly at a loss as to what Roxas and Axel see in that thing. How best to dispose of it merits my consideration going forward.
Saïx paused, bringing his head upwards to face the ceiling, then back down to continue writing.
As for our plans collecting bait, consulting the will of lord Xemnas will be needed before beginning. Xion’s actions reinforce that fact with every passing day. If we can proceed, then the first step will be reconnaissance.
Saïx paused before lifting his pen for the next sentence.
Sora. You will be ours soon enough.
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This is only the first half of Day 150! I'm currently working on the second half, and it should be posted in less time than this part took. Here is a preview: