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He’s late. But by now, Kairi expects as much.
She sits on the ledge of a fountain, immaculate in its detail and proud in its stature. Nice and snug in her pink yukata with white flower embroidery trailing down the right and the checkered purple obi that binds her waist, she waits patiently as she watches the children attempting to play despite their limited movement, the couples walking hand in hand, and the numerous booths and games on display with prizes for the taking.
Still no sign of him. Despite the sigh that escapes her, her smile doesn’t waver. Even though it would have been nice if he were a bit more on top of things, Kairi wouldn’t have him any other way.
Just as her eyes propelled to the sky glittered in stars, she hears a voice.
“Kairi!”
Right on cue. She snaps her head in the direction of the sound to find her favorite lazy bum scrambling towards her, his movement stiff due to his dark grey yukata with horizontal light streaks streaming downwards. He nearly bumps into someone carrying a recently won goldfish and apologizes profusely, the distraction doing little to derail his attention from Kairi for too long. She giggles as she clasps her hands together and rises to her feet just in time for him to reach her.
“Hey! Sorry I’m a little late, something came up a little unexpectedly,” Sora apologizes, rubbing the back of his head. “I hope I didn’t make you wait too long, at least. It was just, uh… kinda urgent.”
She sends a knowing look accompanied by a smirk. “You took a nap, didn’t you?”
“Whaaat? Of course not!” he denies. Kairi rests her fists against her hips, dipping down as her eyebrow arches in a way that intensifies her smirk even further. “O-okay, so maybe I napped... a little.” Sora emphasizes this by pinching the air with his index finger and thumb.
Kairi grins triumphantly. “Should I really have expected any less of you, Sora?”
“It’s not what you think, though. Naminé wanted to look through my memories to see if there was anything she could find that might help us with, y’know, the current situation,” he nearly trails off before he perks back up, scratching his cheek with a bashful smile. “And, well, I kinda had to be asleep for it. That’s all.”
Kairi smiles as well, though it’s laced with a tinge of bittersweetness. “Well, in that case, I suppose you’re forgiven.”
“Thanks! I was real worried that—”
The sudden warm of her arms wrapped around his torso quickly puts Sora into a trance. For a brief instant, his mind wanders back to the time when they found each other in the original Organization’s stronghold and soon he returns the embrace.
“As long as you’re here, that’s all that matters to me,” Kairi says, nuzzling into his chest. “Let’s just... make the most of today, okay?”
Sora nods, his eyes firm before he pulls back and sends an assuring smile in hopes of lifting her spirits. “Just like we always do.”
They wander the busy festival streets with their fingers laced together under a beautiful starry sky, making sure to check out all the attractions and games at their disposal. As he walks with Kairi with their hands intertwined, being able to hear the soft giggles and witness her kind smile in person, he thinks just how much this feels right. Even the little things she did found a way to make his heart swoon.
Meanwhile, Kairi adores the way Sora’s eyes light up whenever something catches his attention. The way he pulls and drags her in every which way looking to find adventure in every corner of the festival.
After they both write and hang their wishes on their tanzaku, both having an inkling of what the other wishes for though neither mentions it, Sora leads Kairi to a hill on the outskirts that gives them a view of the whole festival. From here, they can take in the ornate lights hung in droves, the fluctuating colors uniting together in harmony.
She rests her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes as she feels his warmth pressing against her cheek. Watching her almost angelic face is enough to make Sora’s heart flutter.
“This is the way it should be,” Kairi says. “I wish we could just stay like this. Forever.”
Forever.
Suddenly, the air grew tense, as if something taboo had been said. Sora keeps his sights set on the grass while Kairi draws invisible circles on the ground. It’s a reality neither wants to accept, but know they’ll have to face. Sooner, rather than later.
Sora looks down at his hand and watches as it almost looks like translucent glass. He sighs before putting on a smile. “Kairi, I have something for you.”
“Huh?” Kairi asks, lifting up from his side as she sends her wide, curious eyes and a slight tilt of her head. Sora chuckles at her reaction.
“Close your eyes,” he requests.
Kairi doesn’t hesitate to comply.
“Hold out your hand.”
Kairi does as told and feels a paper-like substance enter her palm only a moment later. She rubs her thumb across the paper-like texture and concludes in her head that it’s... shaped like a star?
“Okay, you can open them,” Sora says.
The first thing Kairi sees is a somewhat spotty-looking star about the same size as the lucky charm she gave him years prior. Indeed, it is a wayfinder made of leaves tied together with less than grace and on the top leaf there is a face with eyelashes and deep blue eyes. She assumes it must be Sora’s attempt at drawing her face the same way she had drawn him years ago.
“I’m not the best at sewing seashells,” Sora admits, scratching the back of his head. “I know it isn’t the best, but I kind of had to improvise since the seashell thing didn’t really work out.”
Kairi’s lips part for a brief instant before she closes her eyes and reopens them with a gracious smile. “I love it.”
“Really?” Sora asks in disbelief.
Kairi giggles. “Of course. It’s so thoughtful of you.”
“Well, I just figured... I wanted to double our promise.”
He pulls out his own good luck charm Kairi had given him.
“Now, one for the both of us,” Sora says. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll be double the good luck!”
With a sheen of water shimmering over her eyes, Kairi holds it up to the moonlit sky. “It’s beautiful.”
Sora smiles as well. “I know one person that has it beat by a couple of miles.”
Kairi feels the heat rise to her cheeks, but the giddiness never leaves the ends of her lips. “Delightfully corny, as usual. But I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
Sora smiles as they both cuddled together, embracing each other and their final moments. It has been like this for the past few years. Two years and they still hadn’t found a way to bring Sora back to their realm. But for some reason, whether it be fate by whatever deities exist or the universe just having mercy on them, Sora miraculously returned to the Realm of Light on the week of Tanabata. It was a week Sora and Kairi always make sure to make the most of each and every day.
But the hardest part was saying goodbye.
And it always happens on the final day of Tanabata. For the past few years, they made a habit out of coming to this very same spot and watching the stars twinkle above them as Sora slowly faded away.
You’re only everything I’ve ever dreamed...
Despite their gratefulness for being granted the time that they’ve been given, it never made it any easier. The curse placed upon Sora for his abuse of the power of waking had taken a toll on their longing for each other, but in moments like these, despite the hurt, they still had latent hope that one day this will be over.
It helps that the sky is mesmerizing.
Ever dreamed of, ever dreamed of...
They hold each other’s hands tight, neither letting go as they keep close. The wind quietly whistles as it gently caresses their hair.
You must be kidding me, did you really think... I could say no...?
Sora feels it coming. He turns to her and Kairi hesitates, but finds the willpower to sit up from her position, away from his warmth and into the familiarity of the cold loneliness of her usual day-to-day life. But neither let the other’s hand go.
I want you for a lifetime, but if you gotta think twice... baby...
“Kairi...” Sora says. “I think it’s time for me to go.”
Despite how heart aches, Kairi nods understandably. “I know.”
I don’t wanna know, baby... I don’t wanna know...
With equally sad smiles, they close the gap between them and press their lips together. Kairi deepens the kiss as a tear streams down her left cheek. How bittersweet. How could something be so bittersweet and tear her apart all at the same time?
Everything is just right, but if you gotta think twice, baby... I don’t wanna know, baby...
As they part, Sora grips her hand tighter. “I’ll come back to you. I promise.”
She grips his hand back just as hard despite the fact she feels herself slowly beginning to grip nothing but air. “I know you will.”
And just like that, he’s gone.
It’s just her again.
But this time, she looks down at the lucky charm he gives her and sees the determined smile he drew of Kairi. She sniffs, wiping away her tears as she looks up to the sky. An act of forbidden love. But she remembers something that Aqua told her once. And with this trinket of hers, she knows it’s an oath to his return.
“There’s always a way.”
I don’t wanna know...
Final piece for me for SoKai Week! Art by my awesome friend, AmyHayaNora!