Work Text:
“I can't believe I'm doing this”
Kairi grumbled under her breath as she stared at the Fairy grandmother's house, where she also knew Aerith was waiting for her as well
She glared at her feet and thought
Why did I agree to this?
…
Oh yeah-
*~~~*
“Therapy? That sounds great! I went with Aerith and it helped me out a lot” said Ventus as he took a bite of his pie, the rest of their friends looking up at them before going back to talking.
Kairi rolled her eyes “Yeah, Yeah”
Namine blinked at her “Kairi? Are you not planning on going?” she sounded worried, suddenly all of them stopped and looked up at her
Kairi shrunk into the chair and shrugged “Maybe?”
“Kairi” Aqua frowned
She sighed and crossed her arms “Look, I told Even, Ansem, and Ienzo that I would give it a TRY, I didn’t say anything about committing to it permanently”
Terra tilted his head “Don’t you want to get better?”
“With what exactly?”
“The Self-worth issues that you have,” Xion said casually as ever
“Xion!” Axel scolded
“What?? She knows she has them!” Xion defended herself and looked at Kairi for help.
Kairi blinked “Meh” she nodded in agreement and took a bite out of her piece of pie
She sighed as they waited for her explanation "I'm sure that I'll be fine and Fairy Grandmother and Aerith are amazing but-" she shrugged "-I just don't want to share a lot with them."
Aqua gave her a gentle smile "You are at least going to give them a chance? Right?"
Kairi nodded at her and said "Yeah, just to make everyone feel better"
Everyone relaxed
Kairi did her best to ignore the bright smile Namine had sent her way
But she couldn't and ended up feeling all happy inside.
*~~~*
This is for them, to make them feel more relaxed.
Kairi took a deep breath and knocked on the door, Aerith opened it and offered her a gentle smile "Come in" Kairi gave her a nod and smile of her own, she stepped in and looked around.
The house was small and admittedly, she felt comfortable inside the house.
Kairi stood there, sitting down once the Fairy Godmother arrived and placed some tea on the table. She grabbed the tea and drank it slowly, she smiled a bit and said "Thank you"
Aerith gave her a gentle smile
Fairy Godmother sat down and said, "I assume you know why you are here my dear?"
Kairi sighed "Concerning my…habits" she showed her fingers that were no longer covered by her usual gloves.
Aerith Smiled "We'll get to that slowly, for now, we just want to know how you've been feeling since…the Unversed"
Kairi blinked at that and asked "Just to make sure. You guys aren't going to share this with everyone else"
They shook their heads "This stays between the three of us" Fairy Godmother smiled at her gently.
Kairi nodded
She took a deep breath and said "I guess I've been fine? I'm still trying to figure out how to open up to everyone about..you know" she waved her hand "All the scars and injuries I hid"
Aerith nodded a smile on her face "But you're slowly opening up?"
Kairi nodded
"How so?"
She hummed
"Well, I tell Aqua whenever I get backlash from Magic or I tell Ven or Terra whenever I get bruised or injure myself like when I trip"
Fairy Godmother noted it down
"It's the same with the others but uh, admittedly I'm a bit more- a lot more open with Namine"
"And why is that?" Aerith asked
Kairi coughed "Um…"
"Oh! I'm not asking about your relationship with her or anything like that! I simply want to know why you feel more comfortable with Namine compared to the rest of your friends"
Kairi relaxed "Well…Namine was my nobody, my other half in the past. And despite us, not knowing each other for a long time…I feel close to her- she understands me in more ways than Sora and Riku ever did"
Fairy Godmother noted that down as well
"Would you say she makes everything better?"
Kairi blinked, she slumped down and said "Yes and no. I feel happy with her! But…I just don't want to make her cry again as she did when she learned about my injuries"
Aerith nodded, a knowing smile on her face
"But uh, I've been doing better. At least I think I am"
Aerith nodded "That's good"
An alarm went off
Fairy godmother smiled "Looks like our time is done"
Kairi blinked "Wait. That's it?"
The two nodded at her
“We want to talk to you about more…serious things but only if you wish to” Fairy godmother smiled at her along with Aerith
Translation: We’ll move on to the serious things if you decide to come back
Kairi tilted her head “You guys just wanted to know how I was doing?”
The two nodded
She paused
“Nothing that I tell you will reach anybody else”
They nodded again
"I'll come back next week"
They smiled at her and gave her small goodbyes as Aqua arrived on her keyblade glider
Kairi summoned a helmet and put it on, getting on and waving goodbye to Aerith and Fairy Godmother as she and Aqua took off.
"How was it?"
Kairi leaned back a bit and said "It was nice, I'm gonna come back next week"
She could feel Aqua smiling "That's good"
They were quiet for the rest of the ride but it wasn't awkward, it was nice.
0Oo
Today was a session with just Aerith, which was rather nice
"What is your relationship with the others, are they well? Do they help you?"
Kairi blinked at that
"Well…Master Aqua, Terra, and Ven are the family I always wished I could have. Aqua is like a big sister but she acts so motherly towards me she may as well be the mom of our little family"
She smiled, Fairy Godmother taking note of it
"Terra is classic big brother material and Ventus is like my little brother or twin at the very least”
Aerith noted it down “So, they’re your family?”
Kairi nods “Yeah. The others are…similar but not really”
“Elaborate?”
“Well…Axel and I are close, siblings close but not like Terra and Ven, bit it’s more like an Uncle-niece feeling relationship and it’s the same with Isa” she paused a bit “Olette, Pence, and Hayner are just that, friends, I trust them but not…a lot if I’ll be honest. It’s not like I hate them or don’t want to trust them, I just don’t want them to be involved anymore than they already are in the Keyblade world we all live in, you know?” a pause “Too dangerous”
Aerith nodded “I understand”
“Roxas and Xion, well…I see them as little siblings. They’re always smiling and I can just let loose, you know?” She smiled “They won’t judge me and they’ll understand me better than most”
Aerith smiled at her “And Namine?”
Kairi blushed “Uh-” she coughed “Namine is like a close friend, much closer than Riku and Sora ever were. It sounds weird, right? But Riku and Sora were helplessly in love with each other and just too blind to see it like- ugh” Aerith chuckles as she leans back on the chair
“Namine she just…clicks with me. I help her and she helps me, we bring the best out of each other, and like I said before- I felt really bad about making her cry and I just don’t ever want to make her cry again. I want to keep her safe. I don’t want anything to hurt her”
…
“Does that sound bad? It kinda sounded better in my head” she asked, in an embarrassed voice
Aerith chuckled “No, no, I understand what you mean” she sighed “I understand what you mean”
Kairi frowned at the tone of her voice changing “Aerit-”
“Do you know why I asked you this question?”
Kairi shook her head and asked, “Why?”
“I wanted to know of your connections”
“My…connections?” Kairi tilted her head
Aerith smiled “Being connected to other people is something that many of us take for granted, but having those connections is what keeps us going, all of us going. For our family, our friends…the people we love. Connections are what makes us stronger”
“They give us a reason for us to try to be better”
Kairi stared at her
“Remember that, okay?”
Kairi nodded
“How do you truly feel about being a Keyblade Wielder?” Fairy Godmother asked
Kairi blinked, she hummed and chuckled “I honestly don’t know”
Fairy Godmother raised an eyebrow at her
“I mean, when I went after Sora and Riku, I was happy that I finally could help them! That I didn’t have to just wait for them on Destiny Islands anymore and could fight alongside them”
“But?” Fairy Godmother prompted gently
“But I guess…even if I hated it I wouldn’t be able to stop being a Keyblade Wielder”
“Why is that?”
She shrugged and with a wistful smile said “Because it's a part of who I am. I was a kid that got dragged into war, who got kidnapped, killed, and then revived but- Even so I don’t want to stop being a Keyblade wielder”
“Even if it has caused you pain?”
Kairi blinked
“Tell me, you remember bits of your past, correct”
Kairi thought for a moment “I have no idea who my parents are, I barely remember what my Grandma looked like but…I remember how I ended up in Destiny Islands.” she glared at the ground “I don't like remembering that...but it is what it is"
“You are aware that you were always destined to be a keyblade wielder, correct, a piece of a much bigger puzzle” Fairy godmother pushed gently
Kairi nodded
“Knowing that: Do you still love being a Keyblade Wielder?”
She stared at her and thought about it, she took a deep breath and nodded at her “Some things were meant to happen, and even if I don’t like what’s happened to me and everyone in the past: I don’t think I would be able to change a thing”
Fairy godmother nodded with a smile on her face.
“Do you feel angry?”
Both Fairy Godmother and Aerith stared at her with curious expressions
Kairi sighed “Can I stand up?”
They nodded and with a snap of a finger the room changed to a much bigger one and one that would be able to handle any type of attack. They knew she was about to go off, and she appreciated it
“To me, anger is a different sort of emotion. I’ve never felt it before” she shook her head with a chuckle “No, No, what I feel isn’t anger, it’s hatred ” she hissed the word out
“Hatred for what Ansem did to us, for what Xemnas did to my friends, for Xehanort that started all of this, and for what?!” she threw her hands back, fire coming from it
“At the end of the day, we are no closer to figuring out what they were planning or why they did what they did to us. It just-”
Kairi took a deep breath “It makes me hate them but it also makes me so tired ”
She sighed and rubbed her arm a bit, glaring at the ground “I feel hatred towards everything that they did to us but at the end of everything I feel…tired. I just want things to be safe and everyone to be happy”
Kairi stared at her hands and sighed “But even when Ven said I had every right to be angry, I don’t want to be angry. I just want to move on with my life and protect everyone I love”
Aerith stepped forward “You remind me of a friend of mine, two of them actually”
Kairi blinked and then-
Oh…she knew who she was talking about
“Cloud and Tifa?”
Aerith nodded “Yeah” she took a deep breath “Sephiroth caused a lot of pain towards us, I'm sure you’re aware that we aren’t originally from Radiant Garden, correct?”
Kairi slowly nodded, and she did, Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa along with Yuffie weren’t from Radiant Garden but were instead from another world.
A world that was lost to darkness due to Sephiroth’s action
Many of their friends were lost and they were still healing from it
“Cloud is still chasing after Sephiroth as we speak and Tifa is with him. They want to get revenge for all the lives that were lost because of him”
Kairi slowly nodded
“But underneath that anger, I could tell that they were tired of chasing after the man who ruined our lives…it was difficult for me to see them like that”
…
Aerith took a deep breath, Fairy godmother created a small journal in her hands and handed it over to Kairi
“It would be best to write down everything that you don’t feel comfortable talking about with us in the journal.” she smiled “Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to show it to us but we want you to write it down and to let loose of that anger and if it doesn’t work then we’ll find another treatment”
Kairi stared down at the journal and nodded
0Oo
I hate Sora
Well, I don’t really hate him but…I dislike how important he is compared to the rest of us. Why did Xehanort want him, why did Xehanort say he succeeded in separating the two of us? What’s the connection? Why is he so damn special?
I still care about him but, if Sora had never been excited would all of this even happen? Would we all be happy and live our lives? But I suppose that I can’t think of it that way, Namine, Roxas, and Xion wouldn’t exist without him and Riku would have most likely stayed in the dark without him
…I guess I’m just projecting my anger towards Xehanort onto another person.
Kairi stared at the page and sighed, there were so many issues she had to fix…
“Kairi?”
She jumped and turned around “Namine?” she stood up and walked towards her “What are you doing here?” she paused “I mean, not that I don’t want you here but- uh, you get what I’m trying to say” she stuttered at the end
Namine giggled “Yeah, I do. Anyway, I came to see how you’ve been doing. Has therapy been helping?”
Kairi smiled “Yeah, it has” a pause “Oh! Can we talk over Ice cream? I think we have some in the kitchen”
Namine nodded “That sounds great”
The two left her room and made their way to the kitchen, finding everyone else there. And by everyone she meant, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus along with Chirithy
“Hey guys”
Ventus looked up “Namine! It’s nice to see you”
Namine nodded, smiling at the boy
“If you don’t mind me asking, why the sudden visit?” Terra asked and then the four of them glanced between the two of them “Oh… I see”
“Guys…” Kairi groaned out in embarrassment
Aqua smiled at the both of them “Why don’t you stay for dinner Namine? We could all have a nice meal together”
Kairi groaned again while Ventus let out a laugh, Chirithy chuckling beside him
Namine smiled and nodded “Thank you Aqua” she walked towards the fridge and grabbed to Ice cream bars, handing one to Kairi and proceeded to pull her out of the kitchen
Kairi glared at her friends who were grinning at her, she knew she was obvious but they didn’t have to be like this!
Soon the two were outside, sitting on the grass and staring at the sky.
Kairi smiled and bit into her ice cream
“You seem better”
She jumped. “Really?” Namine nodded at her, she smiled “I’m glad”
Namine stared at her, “Can I ask you something?”
“Hm?”
“Are you actually happy?”
Kairi turned to look at her, tilting her head “What do you mean?”
“I mean, at the moment, are you happy- is it getting better?”
Kairi hummed, she leaned back and said “You remember when we had our first actual conversation?”
Namine jumped “Y-yeah? What brought this up”
She closed her eyes and smiled
Cause it was one of her happiest memories
Everyone was talking so loud.
They were in Yen Sid’s tower, trying to figure out an answer to what had happened and why Sora had disappeared
…it was so loud, Kairi couldn’t take it anymore
She could hear Riku demanding answers as Mickey, Donald and Goofy tried to calm him down
She could make out the whispers that Axel, Xion, and Roxas were sharing while Isa stayed quiet and stayed out of whatever was happening.
Aqua, Ventus, and Terra trying to stop Riku from screaming any more than he already was.
She didn’t know if she started shaking or hyperventilating, but it was enough for someone, to finally scream
“SHUT UP!”
Kairi didn’t know who, but the next thing she knew that happened, someone placed their hands on her cheeks and suddenly she was staring at Namine’s eyes.
“Kairi, look at me”
She did, she lifted her hand and placed them on top of Namine’s
“Are you alright”
Kairi stared at her and said, with an empty tone “No”
That was all it took for Namine to grab her hand and pull her out of the room, shooting a look at everyone and leaving the tower with Kairi.
Namine and she spent the day out in Twilight Town. She spoke calmly and softly, smiling at Kairi and eating Ice cream with her.
Namine was the brightest person she had ever met.
…It was the first time Kairi had noticed just how bright someone could be.
Kairi relaxed and said “I guess…after you helped me out It kinda determined me?” she sighed “I mean, I was so…tired and I just didn’t have the energy and then you reached out and called my name” she smiled “It helped and just gave me…hope I guess”
She paused, “To be honest. Things are a lot better than they used to be in Destiny Islands”
“Really?” asked Namine in shock
She chuckled “I know, right? It was my adopted world but…it just felt so hollow” she paused and waved her hand “I love the friends I made! And the mayor took good care of me…but it just didn’t feel like ‘me’ you know?”
Namine nodded “Yeah, I had the same feeling when I was in Radiant Garden and when I tried to live in Destiny Islands with you and Riku” a pause “It didn’t click until Twilight Town”
Kairi nodded “It was the same for me, Here in the Land of Departure I…I don’t have to lie about where I’ve been or where my friends were for an entire year” she smiled “Aqua is a big sister to me, the mother figure I never had or remember having. Terra is my big brother, someone I can count on and Ven is my brother- almost like my twin who I can always be relaxed with”
“Your family,” Namine said
Kairi nodded again “Yeah” she smiled “And then you guys and everyone else. It made things…much better” she paused “I guess I just needed a new place to be in”
Namine smiled “There it is”
She jumped, “Huh?”
“Your smile. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your real smile”
Kairi blinked, and she let out a laugh. Namine laid her head on her shoulder and gave a small giggle, Kairi wrapping her arm around her and the two sitting there under the bright sky.
Namine did stay for dinner before Ventus offered to take her back to Twilight Town, before she left she gave Kairi a tight hug and squeezed her hand
Kairi could practically feel Terra and Aqua grinning at her, and although she was embarrassed she was grinning ear to ear for the first time in months.
Kairi could say now-
Things were looking bright.
Kairi got better, slowly but surely but she got better.
Her insecurities were still there but she slowly got out of the habit of hiding her injuries and although she didn’t go back to her comeback skirt and things like that she did start showing her skin more, wearing fewer gloves, and wearing clothes similar to Terra and Aqua's clothing
But some things were still there
Her hatred, her sadness…how tired she sometimes felt
But she had her family(Aqua, Terra, and Ven as well as Chirithy) and friends there for her. And Kairi got better in that aspect as well
“This is your last session”
Kairi jumped. “Really?”
Aerith and Fairy Godmother smiled at her “You’ve grown Kairi, and you’ve gotten better”
Kairi looked at the ground and shrugged “I guess”
The two shared a look “Are you alright?”
She looked up at them and said “How do I know if things are going to be okay? I mean, what if something happens and everyone- including me of course- gets hurt again?” she paused “What if it all happens again?”
Aerith smiled at the girl and said “Kairi, it’s alright to feel that way but…you need to embrace that something may happen and move on from it”
“Bu-”
“I don’t mean to not worry about it, I mean know that things may change and be ready to be strong and be there for your friends and loved ones” Aerith smiled at her “Keep them close you Kairi, because if you don’t- You’ll lose them and eventually that will lead to you losing yourself”
Kairi listened to Aerith’s words and nodded “Okay”
“And Kairi?”
She looked at Fairy Godmother “Always have hope in your heart. Even if things get complicated, there is always hope for things to be better”
Kairi smiled and stood up, hugging them and saying “Thank you, for everything”
They hugged her back and before she left they gave her one more thing
“What’s this”
“A star shard” Fairy godmother answered for her
Kairi jumped
“WHAT?! I can’t have this!”
They smiled at her
“You can and will” Aerith smiled and winked at her “Especially if you want to take Namine out on a date in another world”
Kairi blushed and asked “Can I?... Can I really have this?”
They nodded
“Thank you, seriously, thank you for everything.”
She meant every single thank you she gave them that day.
Kairi smiled as she watched her family and their friends laughing together, they were on Destiny Islands, having a beach day.
She sighed and leaned back onto the sand, staring up at the sky as the clouds passed through the sky, she smiled and extended her hand to the sky.
She paused
Kairi turned her hand over and stared at the scars on her fingers, she sat up and stared at them. She smiled a bit, jumping as she was pulled up
“Come on!”
Namine pulled her into the sea's water, laughing as Xion soon splashed Kairi with a big grin on her face. Kairi laughed and splashed the girl back, yelping as she was picked up by Axel and thrown into farther waters
“Axel!” Aqua scolded, both Terra and Ventus looked very panicked behind her
Kairi swam up and let out a laugh
Axel rubbed the back of his head “Sorry…”
Isa sighed and shook his head, a fond expression on his face while Roxas chuckled at his friend
She floated on her back and stared at the sky once more, feeling someone swim beside her. She turned and stared at Namine who stared at her fondly.
“Mesmerized by my smile and laugh~?” Namine laughed as Kairi smirked at her “Can’t blame you, I do look pretty good”
Namine giggled, Kairi stopping and staring at her as the light seemed to surround Namine, the way her blond hair flowed and flowed in the wind, her smile with her dimples. She looked beautiful. She swallowed “Go on a date with me”
Namine stopped and stared at her with a blush on her face
Xion, who had been close to them, gasped and yelled “SHE FINALLY DID IT!!” she turned to everyone else “She asked her out! Axel, Roxas, Pay up!!”
Kairi and Namine turned
“WHAT?!” Axel turned to Kairi “You couldn’t have waited one more week?!”
Kairi blinked and gave him a sheepish shrug
Her family stared at them and laughed. Aqua shook her head “At least she finally did it and we don’t have to watch them dance around each other”
Ventus was laughing so hard he fell onto the sand while Terra sent her a thumbs up
As her friends cheered…and argued over some bet they made, Kairi felt Namine hold her hands underneath the water.
She jumped and looked at her, blinking as Namine smiled at her.
She smiled back and squeezed Namine’s hand
As Kairi and Namine swam back to their friends, Kairi couldn’t help but be filled with the one thing Aerith and Fairy godmother told her to keep close to her
She felt hope