Kairi likes to think she is a decent Keyblade Wielder.

She trained alongside Axel, or Lea(Whatever he preferred really), who had taught her many techniques. And although those techniques were mostly used whenever she was sneak attacking enemies, the fact of the matter was that she had trained with Axel and had won many of their sparring matches.

"Nice going little red!" grinned Axel as he ruffled her hair up, getting a laugh out of her and making him nudge him with her grin on her face

And she also knew many advanced spells, even impressing Merlin with how fast she seemed to be learning them.

"Why my girl, it seems you were born to wield a keyblade" He had said as he smiled at her with pride

She had even managed to get a smile out of Master Yen Sid for light's sake!

"I am proud to see just how fast you are growing dear princess of heart" he gave her a nod and smile as she stood in front of him

...she would like to still believe those words

But now?

She couldn't

She wouldn't believe those words. Not until she could earn the right to believe those words.

Some would probably tell Kairi that she had earned the right to believe them. She fought In the Keyblade War, in a combat skirt no less, helped defeat Xehanort, and did her part in helping to finally end everything he had started.

...but they didn't see the issues she did

Kairi had fought in the Keyblade War, sure. But! She had also been kidnapped, a second  time, she got killed, her best friend revived her and then disappeared, because of her.

She saw nothing but failure.

She had been nothing but useless.

It was the reason why, after Sora disappeared, she allowed Ansem, Ienzo, and Even to put her to sleep for an entire year and try to find something in her memories.

And they had found something...but it had resulted in Riku leaving her behind to chase after Sora.

Kairi understood, she did!

...but

It still hurt

She wanted nothing but to grab his hand, to go with him, to make things right, and to finally be anything but useless.

But she understood that she couldn't go with him...she wasn't strong enough to go with Riku and save Sora.

That was probably the reason she had gotten into...a 'troubling' habit.

What habit?

The habit to hide her injuries of course.

It had started with small injuries, accidental cuts on her fingers while she was helping her Dad with cooking, bruises, and scrapes after she tripped, and sometimes the rare injuries she would get while using her magic.

She didn't mean to ignore those injuries but...compared to the aching Scar Xehanort had given her on the back the injuries she received as of recently barely hurt a lot. Besides! she didn't want to bother her friends with her injuries, they were nothing.

And she especially didn't want them to know about it after she asked to be taught by Master Aqua.

Which resulted in Kairi getting more...layered kinda clothes to make sure that  Aqua, or Terra and Ventus, to not see the many small, but still there, scars that she had gotten due to her little 'accidents' 

This was why Kairi now wore pants with boots that were like the one organization XIII wore. And she also wore a sweater with long sleeves and gloves on her hands.

Again, it wasn't like Kairi wanted to hide her injuries from the others but...she just didn't want them to do anything extreme to help her...not like Sora did.

So with that thought in mind, Kairi just decided to keep It like that.

She would keep her injuries by herself and take care of them by herself, it wasn't hurting anyone if anything it was keeping everyone focused on their own thing.

Goofy, Donald, and Mickey were in their world again living their own lives and doing their part in trying to help Sora and Riku.

The Twilight gang(With newly added members, Axel, Roxas, Xion, Isa, and Namine) were told not to search through Roxas' and Xion's memories anymore as they had found where Sora was and was now living their own lives as they should have been.

And Her, with Master Aqua, Terra, and Ventus in the Land of Departure, training and getting better in their skills.

They didn't need to worry about her.

She didn't want them to worry about her.

…so it was fine!

Everything was fine!

They didn't have to worry

She would make sure they didn't worry about her.

1

In all honesty? She didn't even mean to get hurt

She and Master Aqua had gone to see Queen Minnie and King Mickey to talk and see if there had been any Heartless activity in any other world, seeing it as a chance for Kairi to train.

Master Aqua had allowed Kairi, after much begging on her part, to explore around, giving her a hair ruffle and a small "Be careful!" 

And Kairi was careful!

It was the Heartless around the area that had an issue with it.

Kairi had been looking around the kingdom, eating ice cream, and playing games with…giant fruit? When the screams rang out.

She, being the person she was, of course, ran towards the danger with her Keyblade in hand.

There were many Heartless, varying from small to large. Kairi took a step back and frowned, great…

She could handle Heartless but…after a year of being asleep her skills were rusty, to say the least.

"Kairi!"

She turned around and grinned "Donald! Goofy!" She waved her hand, yelping as she dodged a heartless

"Stay focused!" scolded Donald

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she said "Sorry, it's just nice to see you again after so long"

Goofy smiled and patted her back "It's nice to see you too"

Kairi grinned and looked at them "Now, let's take care of these heartless!"

"Yeah!" chorused Donald and Goofy

They did quick work, getting rid of the heartless in a matter of seconds.

Everything was going well!

Until…

Kairi bit her inner cheek as she felt her foot hurt. She landed on her two feet, stumbling

She stared at her foot and glared at it

Sprained…

She looked at Donald and Goofy breathing a sigh of relief as she saw none of them had noticed

But groaned when she saw the remaining Heartless, a giant that loomed over them

"Kairi!"

Kairi jumped and looked over her shoulder, smiling at the sight of Master Aqua

Aqua stood beside Kairi, her Keyblade in hand as she asked "Are you alright?"

Kairi nodded, leaning her entire weight on her keyboard and other, uninjured foot, as she smiled "Nothing me, Donald and Goofy couldn't handle"

Donald flew past them and crashed into a stand

Aqua raised an eyebrow at her apprentice

She sighed and glanced at the remaining giant heartless "Of course we're having an issue with this big guy"

Aqua smiled "I'll help" she raced towards the heartless, Kairi behind her, wincing at the pain that shot from her foot

It was only a matter of seconds before Aqua and Kairi defeated the heartless.

The two stood beside each other, blinking as they heard clapping.

They looked around and saw the residents clapping. Aqua smiled and gave them a wave while Kairi did her best to keep smiling as she focused on leaning her weight on her uninjured foot.

"Gwarsh"

Kairi looked at Goofy

"You look a bit hurt Kairi, are ya ok?"

Aqua and Donald, who had walked towards them after getting out of the stand he had crashed through, both gave her a worried look.

Kairi grinned, jumping and screaming inside at the pain, "Yup! Just a bit tired, still a bit rusty and all that"

Aqua frowned "You're still getting effects? I thought Ienzo said you wouldn't suffer anymore"

Kairi shrugged, faking a smile "I still feel a bit sluggish, I guess he just made a mistake"

Ienzo never made mistakes, but it was the best excuse she could make at the moment.

The three shared a look, Goofy and Donald shrugged while Aqua patted her head with a smile "If you say so"

Kairi smiled "I need to go to the bathroom so…" she took off and waved at them "I'll be back soon!"

She ran towards a back alley and made sure no one had followed her and then made sure that she couldn't be seen.

With a relieved sigh, Kairi took off her boot and cringed at the sight of her foot.

It was red and a bit swollen and was bruised.

She lifted her hand and the green glow of her casting cure surrounded her hand. Kairi winced at the pain she felt in her foot, squeezing her other hand as she hissed in pain.

Once it stopped, Kairi lifted her hand and stared at her foot

It was healed but it was still slightly red and swollen. It was still bruised.

She would need to bandage it later when she and Master Aqua returned home(The Land of Departure)

Kairi put her boot back on and stood up, shaking slightly before she walked back to her friends, smiling at them as she ran toward them.

They didn't need to know.

Besides, she healed it so it didn't matter anymore. All she needed to do is bandage it up and it would all be better! No need to worry them about this.

Kairi didn't notice the looks Goofy, Donald and Aqua shared behind her back.

2

Ventus and Terra get distracted easily, that was Kairi’s only defense.

They were in another world, just exploring around. What was weird about the world is that when Ventus, Kairi, and Terra arrived they were Bears, actual bears.

It had been confusing at first and it had been hilarious to see Terra struggle to get used to his now four legs but eventually, the three of them just enjoyed the world.

They lay in the sun

Caught fish in the river

And just chased each other around like the friends they were(In all honesty they were siblings at this point)

But of course, things didn’t go as planned.

While they were with the other bears, Ventus and Terra hanging out with a small bear named Koda and his brother and sister, Kenai and Nita, Kairi had heard something.

And Kairi…being Kairi, went to investigate

She spotted some Bear cubs up ahead and…she knew she had to follow them. She was sure that things would be okay but cubs were cubs! They were just like little kids, running into danger thinking it was a sort of adventure.

So she hung back and simply followed them, and just like she expected something did happen. But not because of the cubs. Because of heartless

Kairi growled under her breath

Why did it have to be heartless?!

Sure she was a princess of heart but by now it just seemed like they wanted to kill her!... Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.

She rushed towards the cubs and yelled “Go back to your parents!”

The cubs, frightened by what was happening, nodded at her and ran away back to where the other bears were.

Kairi summoned her keyblade…holding it in her mouth?!

She jumped “Hm?!”

She was knocked down by the heartless and groaned, she loved exploring around the words but sometimes they could get on her nerves.

Doing her best to fight them, she swung her keyblade, spinning around trying to get used to all of it. And of course, everything got worse.

Because her fight against the heartless managed to make a rockslide, the heartless were fine, but Kairi? Yeah, she wasn’t fine.

She found herself trapped underneath many rocks, and could hear footsteps getting close to her

“KAIRI!”

She groaned “Too loud, Ven” she coughed and looked at her body, she was covered in bruises and dust but nothing was broken.

All except an injury, on her hand or ‘Paw’

She glared at it and breathed a sigh of relief when she managed to cast a cure spell, it still hurt but it did the job and got rid of the wound and got covered up by her ‘fur, being quick enough as Terra burst through the rubble and stared at her with relief in his eyes

Kairi laid there as both Terra and Ventus got the rocks off her, she groaned and stood up, shaking the dust off as she breathed out a small “Thanks”

She jumped as Terra picked her up by the neck “Terra!” she moved around, Ventus laughing and following beside them “Ven! Don’t laugh at this”

He grinned at her and simply said “You’re never leaving our sight again!”

Terra made a noise of agreement

She huffed and crossed her ‘Arms’

They returned to where the bears were, some of the bears staring at the three of them with amused and fond expressions. It made Kairi feel extremely embarrassed

Kairi huffed “This isn’t necessary”

Terra was having none of it.

Soon they were out in a small clearing, Terra placing her down and laying behind her as he laid her in front of him and held her close with his paw “Terra!”

“Just accept it, wherever he and Aqua get like this there is no escaping it” deadpanned Ventus as he lay beside them

Kairi frowned “How do you know, has this happened”

“Yes, it has,” Terra said as he laid his head on top of her

Kairi huffed and laid there “It isn’t that big of a deal”

“Kairi, you were in a rockslide”

She rolled her eyes “So?”

“So you most likely go injured”

“No I didn’t!” she stood up and pushed herself off Terra, rolling onto the ground and glaring at him “I just have some bruises, nothing else”

Ventus glanced at Terra who sighed and lied his head on the grass “You and Ven are going to be the reason me and Aqua have gray hairs before we hit twenty”

“Well-” Kairi began to say that theoretically Terra and Aqua already had gray hair but Terra simply grabbed her and pulled her so she was under his head again

“Nope”

Kairi was just glad that Terra and Ventus didn’t press the issue further, she didn’t want to explain some of the small scars that were covered by her fur and she didn’t want to be pampered by her self-proclaimed ‘Brothers’

She was happy that they got to spend the day together.

….she was happier about the fact that she didn’t mess anything up.

3

Surprisingly, the next injury isn’t even because of heartless or anything of that sort.

It was actually during a training session

Aqua had told her it was a free day, so Kairi decided to go to Twilight Town and catch up with the rest of their friends.

Kairi smiled as she took in Twilight Town, shutting her eyes and enjoying the wind that passed through her now long hair, it had grown out during her sleep and she had just been too lazy to cut it.

“Kairi!”

She turned around and grinned “Axel!”

She ran towards him and laughed as he picked her up and spun her around, she held his shoulder and smiled as he finally put her down.

She looked behind him and grinned “Guys!”

Behind Axel was the classic Twilight Gang(Olette, Pence, and Hayner)

Olette hugged her and said, “You’re hair!”

Kairi blinked and laughed “Yeah, grew out through my one year sleep”

Hayner and Pence wrapped their arms around her shoulder

“Not to mention your little growth spurt!” Pence ruffled her hair

“Love the new look!” Hayner praised

Kairi grinned, it was true, she had gotten a bit taller than what she used to be, growing a few inches and no longer being 5’1 like she used to and now being 5' 5 just three inches shorter than Aqua and being taller than Pence by two inches.

“It’s nice to see you again Kairi”

Kairi looked up and her breath stopped, Namine was smiling at her.

Namine and Kairi got to talking before she fell asleep and let them look at her memories and even though they had little time to get to know each other, Kairi loved every minute of it.

Namine had been new to everything so Kairi showed her most of the things she would need to know and Kairi had so much fun with Namine she was so…bright.

…she loved that about her

Kairi stepped forward and grinned at Namine, looking down at her eyes and saying “Yeah, it’s nice to see you” She held her hands softly, both her and Namine sharing smiles

The Twilight gang shared grins behind Kairi’s back, and Axel and Isa shared a knowing look between themselves.

“Don’t mean to break up this little moment but there are other people who want to say Hi to Kairi” a teasing voice broke through

Namine pulled away with a yelp, her face red while Kairi blinked and chuckled nervously, looking at who spoke.

Xion was smiling at her as she held Roxas’ hand, who was offering her a grin of his own. Xion stepped forward, more like leaped forward, and hugged her saying “It’s so nice to see you again after all this time”

She grinned “Look at you! Looking like a true keyblade wielder”

Kairi felt a bit warm at the praise but dialed it down “Thanks” she looked at Roxas, bumping fists with him and doing the little handshake they had made before she went to sleep

They heard a dramatic gasp that could only belong to one person

All of them turned to Axel who looked extremely offended “You have a handshake?! We trained together!”

Kairi rolled her eyes “Calm down, You and Isa are like Terra, my big brothers. You already have that so we don’t have to have a handshake”

Axel rolled his eyes while Isa blinked at being addressed as her ‘big brother’

Kairi offered Isa a nod and smiled, something he returned. He was never the most talkative person and she knew he wasn’t a huggy type of guy so she decided to stick with that

“Well-”

The keyblade wielders and Isa turned to look at the Twilight Gang

“As much as we would like to stay and hang out with you guys, we have to get going with these jobs”

Kairi smiled, “Still trying to get more munny?” she teased them

Olette laughed while the boys jumped

“Yeah, sorry…” Pence rubbed the back of his head

Kairi smiled “Don’t worry, it was nice to see you guys” her friends nodded in agreement with her

The Twilight Gang smiled at them and soon took off, waving goodbye.

Kairi turned to her friends and asked “Anyway, how have you guys been”

Xion and Roxas smiled “I and Roxas have been going to school along with Namine and the Twilight gang, we’ve been learning so much”

Kairi cringed slightly at that, she wasn’t a fan of school herself but she was happy they were enjoying it “That sounds great”

She looked at Isa and Axel

Axel smiled “We’ve just been working and been building up munny to get a better house. I work at a preschool-” Kairi wasn’t surprised, Axel had a soft spot for kids “-And Isa works at a Library, it’s been going well so far”

She smiled “That sounds nice”

It did

“So what do you guys wanna do?”

Four of them shared a grin, Isa sighed and Kairi couldn’t help but get worried

Kairi watched as Namine and Xion sparred with their keyblades, Xion wielding the Oblivion Keyblade and Namine wielding the Embraced Memories Keyblade.

She, Roxas, and Isa watched from the side while Axel made sure they were following the rules he had placed.

“We’re lucky, aren’t we?” Roxas said

Kairi blinked and tilted her head “What do you mean?”

Isa smiled a bit and nodded “Yes, we are”

Kairi looked between the two before it hit her, she looked at Namine. Her hair is flowing, sweat is falling from her face as she wears a face of confidence, she looks pretty.

She smiled a bit

“Looks like someone agrees with us!” Roxas grinned at Kairi, she rolled her eyes and elbowed him

Isa looked at the two of them with a fond look in his eyes

Kairi shrugged “Come on, there’s nothing between us”

“But you want there to be”

Kairi smiled “Maybe but…I want to take things slow, she’s still learning who she is and is finally being herself” she paused “And I’m still going through some things myself” she admitted, would be the only time she would admit that

Isa and Roxas shared a look

“LOOK OUT!”

Both Isa and Roxas jumped out of the way, Kairi wasn’t so lucky.

Kairi felt a large Firaga shoot into her stomach, it knocked the wind out of her and she felt it burn her. She was thrown a whole mile away, her friends yelling in panic. Kairi groaned as she collided with a tree, knocking it to the ground.

She sat up and looked at her stomach, there was blood and her skin was burnt. Kairi lifted her hand and took a deep breath, she was able to cast curaga and hissed. She felt the burning calm down, the wound closing up. Kairi lifted her hand and stared at the red liquid

She stood up shakily and walked towards her friends who were running towards her.

She smiled and raised a hand “Hey guys”

“Kairi! I’m so-”

She cut Xion off “Xion, I’m fine, nothing a curaga couldn’t fix” she smiled 

Namine looked shaken up and asked, “Are you sure you're ok?”

She was sure the burn mark and scar would remain but she was fine! It was just like the other marks she had on her body.

Kairi smiled “Yeah, just need to rest”

Axel, Roxas, and Isa shared a look

Xion looked guilty and Namine still looked worried

…man, she ruined everything

She grinned at them “Come on! Let’s go get some ice cream” she raced out of the forest, her friends following behind her

They didn’t notice the way her grin fell off her face

+1

Unversed

It was damn Unvesed

Kairi hated Unversed and she hated the fact that many of them remained out in the worlds. 

Kairi and her friends had been called by Master Yen Sid, being told of the Unversed infestation over at Radiant Garden. They had been given the mission of getting rid of all the Unversed and sealing the Keyhole to make sure everything was safe.

Everyone was okay with this, all except Kairi. Kairi and Unversed...didn't mix well, Unversed was the enemy that could leave...lasting effects on her.

She remembered when she and Axel fought them and how the injuries they left on her made her physically and mentally ill for an entire week. She of course didn't tell Axel and handled it rather well, but she was still afraid of them.

"Are you ok?"

She looked at Namine and said "Yeah, just nervous"

"I'm sure things will go fine" Namine offered her a smile

Things did not go fine.

"Xion!" Roxas yelled as she was thrown onto the ground, almost getting stomped on by the giant Unversed, but getting saved by Isa who blocked the attack with his claymore. Axel picked her up and placed her beside him once she was fine.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus were dealing with the smaller ones, giving the rest of them more openings as they fought against the giant.

"Terra! Ventus!" Master Aqua yelled out

Her friends nodded, working together masterfully, clearing the way for Aqua as she took care of bigger opponents.

Now it was Namine and Kairi against the giant, Kairi was using her light, weakening it tremendously but had resulted in dodging as the Unversed locked onto her. She glared at it and yelled out "I need more openings"

Her light could weaken it a lot, but its darkness was also intoxicating to her making it more and more difficult for her to use her darkness.

She yelped as it released poison, she spun around and grabbed Namine, grabbing her and jumping away. Kairi impaled her keyblade on the wall, leaning on the wall while holding onto Namine.

"You okay?" she asked

Namine nodded as she looked at the Unversed

"Oh no..." Kairi groaned out as the Unversed spun around, beginning to glow.

Kairi let go of Namine, Namine landed on the ground and ran as fast as she could, Kairi jumped and rolled on the ground, a laser missing her.

Axel and Isa yelled, grabbing Roxas and Xion and getting behind cover.

Master Aqua was able to cast a barrier, protecting Terra and Ventus.

Kairi and Namine were out in the open, their friends were too far away from them and they couldn't find cover.

Kairi looked up and her eyes widened in horror as a laser traveled toward Namine.

Time slowed down, and she acted without thinking.

She would have been able to cast a barrier but she acted on impulse, she raced towards her friend, her keyblade was dismissed, and did the one thing she thought she could do at the moment.

She pushed Namine out of the way

She looked towards the laser and-

nothing

nothing but pain and the sound of someone screaming her name out

And then everything went dark

"Ansem! Is Kairi okay now?" asked Aqua frantically

"She's fine now but...."

"What? What's wrong?" a pause "Ansem?"

"Master Aqua" Ienzo began "Has Kairi ever...gotten injured out on missions?"

...

"What do you mean?"

Silence

"You may want to look at this" Ansem said gently

There was a sound of shuffling and then a gasp

"Wha-"

Even spoke next "While removing her clothing to get a better look at the wound, Aerith noticed multiple wounds on her" a pause "We were expecting the one on her back since..." he trailed off as everyone knew how Kairi had gotten the scar and it was still a sensitive issue despite a year has already passed "-Anyway, we were certainly not expecting her body to be covered in multiple scars, from her fingertips with small scars, her stomach with a burn and scar to the many long faded scars on her legs and other injuries left by what we assume would be an accident with Magic"

"What Even is trying to   say" Ienzo cut his colleague off when he noticed Aqua become paler "Is that this is certainly not the first injury Kairi has received but it is certainly the first that has gotten proper medical care"

Ansem placed a hand on Aqua's shoulder "Kairi seems to have used healing spells to take care of the injuries but....well, there is only so much those spells can do and well-" he looked at the vitals and images "You see the result"

"I see..."

"Master Aqua?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." she took a deep breath "This is just a lot to take in. I'll inform the others and when Kairi wakes up we'll discuss it"

When Kairi woke up she panicked, she was in a hospital gown and she woke up in a hospital room.

Aerith walked in and gave her a gentle smile, she had given her a summary of what had happened.

After she pushed Namine out of the way, Kairi had been impaled by the laser, it went directly through her and if it weren't for Namine being there to cast healing spells she would most likely not be here.

The first thing Kairi asks is "Do they know?"

Aerith doesn't say anything, simply gives her a knowing look and nods

Kairi groaned

...Great

Before she left Radiant Garden, Ansem, Ienzo, and Even stopped her.

Ansem stared down at her and said "You are going to Therapy with the Fairy Godmother and Aerith"

She tried to say no but Even, of all people, cut her off and he did not hold back

"Kairi, this behavior is not good for you, you need help and we are offering it to you. We will not force you to do it but if things get worse we will force you into it which is something all of us want to avoid at the moment"

Ienzo sighed "We are just trying to help Kairi," he said in a much gentler tone

Kairi sighed and glanced away, Noticing the way they looked at her hands(Specifically her fingers) "I'm not hurting myself or anything like that I just...don't want people to worry over my injuries. They don't matter"

"That's the issue Kairi" Again Ienzo in a gentler tone

she sighed "Look if it'll make everyone feel better-" she notices the way they relax at that "I guess I'll give it a shot for one day and if it goes well...I'll keep going, happy?"

"Very" responds Even for the three of them

She rolls her eyes at them and turns around, walking towards the gummy ship where Donald and Goofy were waiting for her.

"Kairi?"

She looked over her shoulder and met Ansem's eyes "Take care of yourself"

Kairi nodded and looked away without a word

0Oo

They arrived in the Land of Departure, Kairi stepping out and facing the gates of the grand castle.

"Kairi?"

She looked at Donald and Goofy

Goofy was giving her a gentle smile while Donald gave her a stern and disappointed look, but she could see the worry underneath it

"Good luck" they both said

And then they took off, leaving her in the courtyard.

Kairi looked at the sky before she gulped and walked towards the Castle, she opened the door and walked to where the three thrones were, she froze at the sight of everyone there. She stopped and looked at the ground.

Nobody spoke until-

"What the fuck-" Xion started but was cut off by Isa

"Xion"

She looked at Isa, who shook his head

"Kairi?"

Kairi looked up and stared at Namine, shrinking as she saw the look of betrayal

"Why didn't you say anything about your-" she doesn't finish, Kairi didn't blame her.

She shrugged "Compared to the one Xehanort gave me, these were practically nothing"

"My friend almost died!" Roxas yelled, Kairi flinched and looked away "How can you say they were nothing"

Axel wasn't saying anything, simply placing a hand on Ventus' shoulder as the young boy shook

Aqua stepped forward "Kairi-" oh boy "-Some of the scars you have were fatal, had we not taken you to Aerith sooner than later they would have left a lasting effect on you. Why- Why didn't you say anything?" a pause "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Kairi broke at how sad Aqua sounded

Terra stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Aqua, she leaned into him

"We deserve an explanation"

They did and it wasn't like Kairi could make an excuse and get out of this one

"You want to know why? I'll tell you why" She said as she looked up at them

Here it goes...

"I didn't tell you because they didn't matter- Let me finish" She cut her friends off "-I mean, they were just cuts that happened while I was cooking, they were just injuries that happened during my private training, they were just burns and scars from accidents. They were fine"

She spread her arms "I didn't want you to worry, because you don't deserve to worry over someone like me you deserve to worry over someone better, someone worthy of it."

She laughed "Someone like Sora-" she winced at the name "-or Riku, or Roxas, or Xion-or anyone" she breathed out "Anyone but Me"

Kairi ran a hand through her hair "I fought in the keyblade war, some of our other friends call me a 'Hero' but I'm not, I'm not- I'm nothing but a failure"

Her friends stare at her in shock and sadness, watching as she finally breaks and lets it out after holding it in for a whole year that she had spent sleeping

"I got kidnapped, for the second time. I fought Xehanort and lost- Yeah! I tried to fight him, did it matter? No. Then I died, I died, ha! Nothing new am I right? and then I was revived by my best friend who then disappeared because. of. ME"

"I could have been better but NO. I had to be stupid, weak, Kairi. The girl of the group. If it had been Riku or Sora they would have won and have ended the keyblade war with nobody dying. If it had been anybody else it would have ended a different way. But because it was me, stupid, weak, useless, Kairi it all went wrong and now my best friend, Sora, is gone and my other best friend has gone after his boyfriend"

"Leaving me behind, AGAIN!!"

Kairi finished as she stared at the ground, panting

She stared at her hands "I just...I just couldn't take it- I didn't want to make any of you worry. I didn't want to see the looks of pity you would send your way and what you would do to heal me"

Silence

And then she heard someone walking toward her, she flinched but then someone grabbed her hand. She looked up and blinked as she stared at Namine, she was crying, oh-oh no...

Namine frowned "You idiot..."

Huh?

Namine gently kissed her scarred fingers, making Kairi jump and Blush

"You're our friend, Kairi, of course, we would worry about you and of course, we would help you"

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus stepped forward

"You're a child, Kairi. And unlike us, you didn't get the required training or experience you needed. You were just a child thrown into War" Aqua stood beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her into a hug as she stroked the top of her head

Terra stood beside Kairi "You aren't alone"

Ventus smiled "And you have every right to feel angry"

Xion smacked her on the side of her head, making her jump, and Namine gave Xion a scolding look "You matter stupid and we'll tell you as many times as we need to for you to believe us"

Isa stood behind Xion and offered her a smile

Roxas stood beside Xion and said "You aren't useless...you're enough Kairi"

Axel stood beside Kairi "You're more than just the 'girl of the group'. You're our friend, a princess of heart but more importantly: You're Kairi"

Kairi blinked and looked at Namine as she kissed her fingers again "You don't have to do this alone, just like all of us don't have to deal with it by ourselves"

She felt tears fill her eyes

"Count on us, Kairi"

Namine bumped her forehead with her own "Don't handle it on you're own, we're here for you"

Kairi broke, she cried as everyone hugged her. And she whispered "O-Okay"

"Okay," she repeated as everyone squeezed her.

Kairi woke up to what could only be explained as a puppy pile of all her friends. She lay beside Namine, she was hugging her by the stomach as Namine held her just as tightly.

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus were beside her. Aqua was closest to her as Terra hugged her waist and Ventus who was at her feet holding onto her pant leg. The rest of her friends were beside Namine, Xion being the closes with Roxas right beside her, and Axel and Isa had dropped their arms over them.

Kairi felt warm, she felt safe

She sighed and relaxed, hugging her and smiling a bit

Okay

Count on us, Kairi. Don't handle it on you're own, we're here for you

Kairi believed those words and decided that she would count on them

Because as long as she had them by her side she knew things would be okay.