Author’s note: This is a story I wrote after finishing Squaresoft’s

beautiful game, Kingdom Hearts. This may or may not become a series,

so please, please tell me what you think. ^-^ This is only a one shot

right now, but if I get a positive enough response or if I just feel

crazy enough to actually write a series about this, I just might do

it. This is shortly after the end of the game. So you might not want

to read if you don’t like spoilers. ^^;;

Prism Hearts

by Amazoness Duo

amazonessduo@hotmail.com

‘Thinking of you, wherever you are.

We pray for our sorrows to end,

And hope that our hearts will blend.

Now I will step forward to realize this wish.

And who knows:

Starting a new journey may not be so hard.

Or maybe it has already begun.

There are many worlds,

But they share the same sky;

One sky, one destiny.’

Sitting on the end of a small pier, Kairi looked off into the

sunset. The beautiful colors that descended to the earth looked like

a painter’s most vivid dream. The sea reflected them, shifting

recklessly as if it was jealous of the attention the sky was

garnering for itself. But it wasn’t the sky that Kairi was interested

in. She was trying to look past it, for something brighter than even

the most beautiful sunset. She had done this often recently, so much

so that the others on the island had finally stopped questioning her

about it. They may think she was crazy or just daydreaming, but she

was busy searching. All she needed was the tiniest hint. And the

skies would stare back, teasing her with half-glimpses and images in

the cotton candy clouds. But she would not let that deter her. She

would keep searching forever if she had to.

“I’ll be waiting for you. If you come here, you’ll find me. I

promise,” she whispered, her voice carried off by the wind to

destinations unknown. “Even if your ears can’t hear me, I know your

heart can.” Her hand rested on her chest, feeling the beat of her own

heart. When she closed her eyes, she could almost feel their rhythm,

all beating in unison. It didn’t matter how far apart they were.

Their hearts would always be one.

When she blinked her eyes open, he was there. Just as if he had

never left. His silver hair moved about in the light breeze. His eyes

were shining and determined. He was reaching out for her, just as he

always did. He was always reaching out for her, as if he could pull

her along with him, to some place far away. Her hand left her chest,

reaching out slowly for him. But before she could take his hand, he

was gone. With a weak sigh, her hand fell into her lap. So close, yet

always so far. It was like he was perpetually just out of reach. If

she could just reach a little further, they could be together again.

She knew Riku was far away, but she swore she could feel him

sometimes, as if he were right behind her. That’s why she kept

looking. Because she knew eventually they would be together again.

A laugh reached her ears from the beach. It was laced with memories

and feelings. “Sora!” She whirled about on the pier, her back aching

from twisting so suddenly. Her hands lay on the deck as she gazed for

the source of the boy’s laughter. Her heart sank when she saw that it

was only Tidus, laughing at something Wakka had done. Shoulders

slumped, the young girl turned back to the empty sea. The vast

expanses that surrounded her encaged her as surely as any prison.

It was ironic that this had all began as an attempt to escape with

her best friends from this island, to taste the freedom and the

excitement of other worlds, to see all the beauty they had to offer.

And now she was trapped on that same island, her friends somewhere

far off. They were now distant stars to her, lost somewhere in the

heavens. She would sit up at night, peering into the moonlit sky,

striving for any glimpse of the two boys that held her heart up.

Sometimes she would mistake a falling star for one of them, hoping

they were returning to her. But her hopes were always dashed when she

didn’t find them running to her on their beach.

Her memories were still clouded, distant things that seemed to come

from another lifetime. She knew that she was a princess, but of where

she wasn’t certain. But those memories didn’t matter to her. The

memories that she cherished, that she held onto with all the strength

in her heart were of her days with Riku and Sora on the island, of

all of their moments together. Those were things she would never

allow herself to forget, no matter how painful they could be or how

lonely they might make her feel. They were her treasures, her little

gems that she would sneak looks at whenever she could.

The pier creaked behind Kairi, but she didn’t turn around

immediately. For the first few days she had turned at every sound,

every whisper that came her way, hoping that she would see the two

boys again. But now she wouldn’t let herself be distracted about such

things. She was trying to focus past all of the surface noise and

images, to see where the two were out there.

“Kairi?” A voice asked tentatively. Selphie waited for a moment, not

quite expecting an answer. With how out of it Kairi had been lately,

she wouldn’t be at all surprised. But she could understand. Love did

that sort of thing to you. Especially when your love was very far

away.

Kairi slowly turned, her legs still slowly kicking away from the

deck. She spotted Selphie waiting behind her. With Selphie was a

blonde girl with glbumes and a long pink dress. The blonde girl

looked about a year or so older than Selphie. She could vaguely

recall seeing her before on the main island of the Destiny Islands

when she had been visiting with Sora and his parents. “Oh, hi,

Selphie,” Kairi said, a little sheepishly. She placed a hand behind

her head. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

Selphie giggled, her hands behind her back. “Yeah, but you’re always

like that lately. Thinking about someone special?” She grinned wider.

Selphie loved romance. And watching it unfold on the Destiny Islands

was her favorite past time. And she’d been wondering for quite some

time what would become of the love triangle between Kairi, Riku, and

Sora.

Kairi sighed, looking back at the ocean waves beneath her feet.

“Something like that.”

“Oh, this is Quisty. You probably haven’t seen her much. She spends

too much of her time studying. I practically had to drag her out

here,” Selphie stated with mock exasperation. She perked up

immediately, dropping the façade. “But it’s nice and romantic at

sunset on the beach and she needed a break from all those books.”

Quistis sweatdropped, not quite sure what to say. She had indeed

been studying when Selphie had taken it upon herself to get her to

relax and had dragged her off to the island. Of course, she knew

Selphie too well to believe her pretenses about relaxing. Selphie

wanted a moonlit stroll on the beach or to sit and watch the sunset

together or something. And how could she have possibly said no to

that?

Kairi giggled softly, looking at the two. It sounded like this

‘Quisty’ was the exact opposite of Selphie. Studious and mature, the

slightly older girl didn’t seem anything like the spunky and childish

brunette. But her smile slipped slightly as she saw them holding

hands. She missed Riku and Sora. She wanted to watch the sunset with

them again. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, smiling warmly

at the two other girls. “That sounds like fun. The sunset’s gorgeous

tonight. It’s perfect to watch with someone.”

Selphie bit her lip, watching Kairi for a moment. “You really miss

them, don’t you? I’m sure they’ll come back soon. They must miss you

a lot, too. They’re probably both on their way right now. You’ll see

them before you know it.” She smiled brightly. There was always hope.

No matter how dark things were, there was always some light tucked

away in the shadows.

Staring back at the pink and orange sky, Kairi nodded, smiling

softly herself. “I know. I can feel them. They’ll come back to me.

Someday. Besides, Sora promised me that he’d bring my lucky charm

back. And Riku risked everything to get my heart back. I know he

wouldn’t give up on me no matter what.”

Tilting her head to the side, Selphie tried to see what Kairi was

looking at. It was almost like she was looking through the sunset to

something behind it. Finally giving up, Selphie looked at Kairi

again. “Remember what I said about Paopu fruits? How they intertwine

your destiny forever with someone when you share it? I can get you

one if you want. Then you can share it with one of them when they get

back.” She squeezed Quistis’s hand, feeling a giddy thrill run

through her. “I finally found someone to share one with. It’s

wonderfully romantic. You should really try it.” She could tell

Quistis was blushing, but that just made her want to melt against the

taller girl.

“I will,” Kairi promised. She leant back on her hands, staring

straight up at the sky. “But I’d have to share it with both of them.

So the three of us will never be apart again. So we’ll always be

together.” Her blue eyes closed as she imagined them all sitting

together, sharing the star shaped fruit.

Selphie sweatdropped, looking down at the lost princess. “But which

of them do you love? Which one do you want to be with forever?”

Blinking, Kairi slowly focused on the sky above. That thought

puzzled her. It seemed so simple, yet the answer eluded her. It felt

like a trick question. She rolled it over in her mind. But she

couldn’t imagine one without the other. It felt wrong, incomplete.

“Both of them,” she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I love both of them. I want to be with them forever.” And she was

satisfied with that answer. It was what her heart desired, what she

wanted more than anything else. That was why they were all still

together, why their hearts were all one, even if they were far apart.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Everything has been restored. Our world’s back to normal,” Aerith

said, relief filling her soul. For so long they had been cast out

into the universe, their home world a mere shell of it’s former self,

consumed by the Heartless. Now all of those hopes and dreams that had

grown inside of them were realized, brought back as if they had never

been gone at all. But what cost had been paid to return their home to

them?

“Do you think they’re all right?” Yuffie asked after a moment’s

pause. She had been thinking the same thing. They had bound together

in order to stop the Heartless, but in the end they could only pray

the Keyblade Master could stop the outpouring of darkness. She felt

as if she should have been there herself. This was her home, after

all. She should have been fighting for it. No one else should have to

sacrifice themselves for her happiness.

Leon shrugged, his arms crossed. “Who knows? I don’t suppose we’ll

ever find out. The worlds are separated again so we can’t know what’s

become of them.” Though he couldn’t voice it, he felt the same way

Yuffie did. He had spent so long mourning the loss of his home world,

blaming himself for not being able to save it. He had even changed

his name to distance himself from the pain. He had been willing to do

anything to fix his mistake. And a boy had done that for him. He had

to hope the Keyblade Master was all right somewhere out there.

“Hey, guess who I found wandering outside? Looks like he got lost.

Aerith, you seem to have a thing for lost puppies. Maybe you can

handle him.” Cid grinned as the brunette turned her attention his

way. He motioned behind him at a cloaked figure.

“Cloud!” Aerith called out happily, hurrying to the blond man. Now

her home felt complete again. Now she truly felt like she was home.

Her eyes sparkled with diamond tears of joy.

“Aerith…” Cloud could only stare for a long moment. He felt so

exhausted after his long and lonely journey. He wanted nothing more

than to collapse at Aerith’s feet. Or better yet, in her arms. But he

could only stare, his heart thawing now that he had finally found

what he had spent so long searching for. “I never stopped looking for

you.”

Aerith smiled brightly, taking the cloaked man’s hand. “I know,

Cloud. I knew you’d find me one day. I’ve always had faith in you.

That’s why I was never worried. Because I knew one day I’d see you

again. I was just worried you wouldn’t have the same hope. You can be

so dark sometimes.”

Cloud’s emerald eyes shone as he held Aerith’s hand tightly,

reveling at just the simple fact of being able to hold it again. “It

was hard sometimes. But I knew I had to keep looking. I couldn’t

afford to give up. I knew you didn’t die with the planet. And I would

do anything to see you again.”

Leon watched on, his arms still crossed. This was reminding him too

much of something he would prefer to forget. He hadn’t been able to

save her. He had given up hope of ever seeing her again. But this

man, this Cloud had kept searching even when it had been more than

likely that Aerith had died along with almost everyone else on Hollow

Bastion. He felt a cold wind blow across his soul at the thought. He

had been such a naïve child, believing he could protect the woman he

loved from something like the Heartless. He had been unsuccessful.

That was part of why he had changed his name. If he was someone else,

he wouldn’t have to think about losing her. Because Squall had lost

Rinoa, not Leon.

Sitting on the table in the library, Yuffie watched with mild

interest at Cloud and Aerith’s reunion. They really were back home.

With all of their friends. It was slowly sinking in. The world’s

greatest ninja was back home with all of her family and friends. No

more wandering and fighting.

Leon sighed, turning his back on the goings on. He wasn’t a part of

any of this. He felt awkward, like an outsider. But he had always

felt that way. He wasn’t good with people. Until she came along… He

banished the thought, walking away from his teammates. He walked

deeper into the library. He just wanted to be alone right now.

“Aren’t you even going to say hello?”

Leon froze. All of his cold mental reserve shattered like brittle

glbum. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t be… He

slowly turned to face the voice, his heart still frozen in midbeat.

His eyes fell upon a girl in blue leaning against a bookshelf. He

felt dizzy and lost all over again, as if the floor had been yanked

out from under him.

Rinoa smiled at him, brushing back some dark hair as she advanced on

Leon. “You look different. But it doesn’t seem like you’ve changed at

all otherwise.”

“…”

Rinoa giggled, finally reaching the moody gunblade expert. “I love

you, too, Squall,” she replied. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders

as she stood up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.

Leon slowly found himself regaining control as she kissed him, as if

his soul was reawakening because of her. He closed his eyes tightly,

holding onto Rinoa. All that he had thought he had gotten rid of had

only been hidden away. Forgotten, but not entirely gone. And she was

the key to unlocking it all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sora collapsed onto his back, staring up at the cerulean skies above

him. He yawned, stretching out on the soft grbum. His entire body was

sore. It felt like they had been travelling forever. He just wanted

to lie down for a moment. But lying there, his weariness tore at him.

He didn’t want to get back up. He just wanted to lie there.

‘Sora, you lazy bum,’ he could hear Kairi say.

‘I know you’re stronger than that, Sora,’ Riku’s voice called out in

his mind.

Nodding resolutely, he struggled back into a sitting position. There

was still too much work to do. He couldn’t go slacking off now. He

couldn’t let down Kairi and Riku.

“We’re never going to find that door,” Donald said exasperatedly,

slumping next to Sora. His legs ached. He was a lot shorter than

Goofy and Sora, so he had to work harder to keep up. On top of that,

he had to get back to Daisy soon. Or she’d kill him. He gulped at the

thought, resting against his staff.

“We’ve gotta find the door. We will find it. It’s the only way we

can find Riku and your king.” Sora looked up at the clouds, seeing

his friends in them, calling to him. That managed to reenergize his

spirits. They were out there. And they would be together again one

day. If there was one thing his journey had taught him, it was to

believe in the power of one’s heart. And there was a red thread

connecting his heart to Riku and Kairi’s. As long as he believed that

they would be together, they eventually would. He just had to keep

believing.

“Hey, Sora,” Goofy began. “You finally got that friend of yours,

Kairi, back, right? So why aren’t you trying to find a way back to

your island?”

“Because I’m not going back without Riku. I have to find him. We’re

going back to Kairi together. I can’t leave him. And I can’t leave

you guys to find your king alone. We’re in this together,” Sora

explained. He could see Riku and Kairi smiling at him in the clouds.

“And even if I can’t be with Kairi right now, I’ll always be with

her. The same with Riku. But I want us to all be together again. So

I’m going to make sure it happens. No matter how long it takes.”

“Gawrsh. Poor Kairi has to wait all this time while we’re off

lookin’ for that door.” Goofy shook his head sadly.

Donald glared at Goofy, crossing his arms. “Poor Kairi? I wouldn’t

mind trading places with her. Let her find that stupid door.”

Sora laughed. “But you’ll keep looking with us anyway, right,

Donald? Remember, only smiles on this trip.”

The duck looked over to protest but found himself staring at the

oddly grinning faces of both Goofy and Sora. Sighing, the mage gave

up. “All right, all right! Only smiles.”

Sora stretched as he finally stood up. “Good. Then lets get going.

We have to go find Riku and the king. We can’t waste any time.

They’re probably waiting for us right now.” With renewed enthusiasm,

he began walking again. He had no idea where the door to the light

would be, but it hardly mattered. He’d keep looking until he found

Riku.

Donald sighed and slowly got to his feet. “Hey! Wait up!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking along the beach, Kairi was lost in thought. The island felt

so empty without Sora and Riku by her side. She found herself closing

her eyes more and more and wishing that they would be there when she

opened them. But they never were. So she wandered the island,

visiting all of the places that were important to her two best

friends, that held special memories for her. It was all she could

think to do. It wasn’t as good as having them there with her, but it

let her relive those moments they had together. Even if she did wind

up crying because of it quite a bit. She felt so alone without the

two of them. “Come back to me,” she whispered.

Something in the air caught her eye, drawing her gaze to the

heavens. Something was plummeting through the sky, falling like some

shooting star. It took her a moment to realize it was human shaped

and plunging towards the waves nearby. It finally crashed into the

aquamarine ocean, sending water splashing everywhere. Kairi ran to

the water, swimming as quickly as she could towards the figure. Her

mind raced with thoughts, all jumbling upon each other in their

confusion. Riku? Sora? Were they hurt? Was it them? How had they

fallen from the sky? Could she really drag them all the way back to

the beach?

Searching under the gently rolling waves, Kairi finally spotted a

prone figure in the water. She pushed forward, grabbing hold as

tightly as she could. Pulling herself up, she gasped greedily for

air, holding the figure close as she made her way back to land. Her

heart was playing a staccato beat inside of her chest as she

struggled wet and weak along the sand. She finally collapsed with the

fallen person, her curiosity and anxiety nearly maddening. Rolling on

her side while she tried to catch her breath, she found herself

staring back into blue eyes.

Sitting up as quickly as she was able, Kairi found herself staring

at herself lying on the sand. “What?” The sight gave her no relief.

It only served to raise more questions, confusing her further. This

didn’t feel like a dream. But how? This didn’t make any sense. She

could only stare at herself for a long moment, waiting to see if the

other her would do anything. Where had it come from? Why was it her?

What was going on?

It took Kairi a bit before she noticed a difference in the other

her. There was something strange sticking out of her chest. Still on

her knees, she slowly reached toward the strange object. Her hand

jerked back when she saw the chest rise and fall. She finally worked

up the courage to reach out again, taking hold of what she now

realized was a handle. But for what? The girl that looked so much

like her didn’t seem to be stabbed or anything. But the handle still

seemed to lead to something.

“It will be okay, Kairi. I’ll always be with you. There’s nothing to

be afraid of. You just have to reach out and take my hand.”

Kairi looked up in shock at the familiar voice. She could see Riku

looking down at her, holding his hand out for her. “Riku… I…” She

reached forward, trying to take his hand, to pull him close. But his

hand was gone before she could grab hold of it. “Riku…” She looked

back down at herself, her other hand still on the protruding handle.

“Find them,” her other self whispered. “They need you. They can’t do

it alone.”

Kairi slowly found herself nodding. “We should be together. We need

each other.” She couldn’t just wait on her island forever. ‘This

time, I’ll protect both of you,’ she thought to herself. The her on

the sand smiled. Taking a firmer grip on the handle, Kairi pulled it

out of the other version of herself. In a storm of sparkles, the

other her was gone, and Kairi was holding a large key.

“Open the door,” a voice whispered in her head. Who was it? She

couldn’t quite tell. Looking up, she could see a lone door standing

on the beach, apparently leading to nowhere. It had a large keyhole

on it. It almost seemed to beckon her. Kairi slowly stood up. If she

stayed here, her friends might be in danger. She knew they could

handle anything if they were all together again. Sora and Riku were

both lost out there. Maybe she could find them. She would find them.

Wherever they were.

Stepping forward, the young princess used the large, unwieldy key to

unlock the door awaiting her. As the door slowly opened, she knew

there would be no turning back. This was it. But her choice was

simple. She had to find them. Anything could have happened to them

out there, lost on any one of countless worlds. Without a glance

back, Kairi plunged through the door.