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Kairi had never thought she had a particularly easy-to-read face, but now that she had two largely-identical sisters, she was starting to reconsider.
Xion wanted to talk to her about something. That was as plain as day, as plain as the nose on her face.
Both of their faces.
It was by and large the same nose.
What wasn’t as plain to see was what Xion wanted to talk about. Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi could see Xion glancing at her; she couldn’t watch her sister straight-on, as she was currently piloting their gummi ship.
Now that Ienzo had gotten his inter-world communications network working properly, Yen Sid had been going through his old Rolodex and making a list of worlds and world leaders that could be brought into the network. Most of the worlds Sora had visited in his travels were no-brainers (at least those which were inclined to peaceable relations at a distance), and could be reached easily via Light Corridors. Some, however, could only be reached via gummi ship, as no one who was able to make Light Corridors had visited them previously.
Thus, a newly-minted Keyblade Master (and didn’t that still feel strange and uncomfortable, considering what Kairi had been through during her examination) and her littlest sister found themselves sailing through the Lanes Between.
In silence.
“You ever wonder why Yen Sid doesn’t tell us the world names before we get there?” Kairi said into the silence. If Xion wasn’t sure how to start the conversation, she’d start it for her.
Xion did, indeed, start. “Oh. Um, I don’t know? Maybe he wants us to arrive without making assumptions based on the name,” she said.
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Kairi said. She waited patiently for Xion to continue the conversation.
“You excited to start college?” she said, once it became apparent Xion wasn’t going to.
“More excited to move in with Lea and Isa,” Xion said. “College is just… more school, but different, right?”
“I think it’s a bit different, or at least it’s supposed to be,” Kairi said. “You nervous?”
“Wouldn’t you be?” Xion asked. She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”
“Well hey, if you ever need to, you know. Talk to me. About… anything,” Kairi said, only slightly pointedly. “I’m always down to listen.”
“Right,” Xion said. She then failed to elaborate.
Kairi was contemplating other potential conversational topics when the proximity alarm sounded. “Looks like we’re here,” she said instead. Xion made a sound of assent, reaching up to press the Invis-G control.
The world they were visiting had no knowledge of other worlds, of course. Therefore, it was common practice to use a newly-discovered gummi block to cloak a gummi ship on approach.
With practiced ease, Kairi passed over the tiny town they’d appeared above. It was bordering a large, fish-shaped lake, and the town itself was laid out in the shape of a fish as well. All of the buildings appeared to be boats on the lake, in fact, moored to the bank, with a few more on the other side of the lake. There was a wide expanse of field in the “middle” of the town, save for a few scattered large trees. On the other side of the “fish”, dense trees extended as far as the eye could see, with a few clearings popping up sporadically.
It was in one of these that Kairi set the gummi ship down, once they’d swooped past the world name. “Did that… say what I think it said?” she asked, glancing at Xion.
“‘Lake Hoohaw’, right?” Xion said.
Kairi clapped a hand over her mouth. “What?” Xion asked.
Kairi waved her other hand at her. “Tell you later. Once we’re done.”
“All right,” Xion said, with a look that appended “weirdo”.
Kairi stifled her laughter. “Right. Well, before we head in, one more thing.”
“One more thing?”
“The residents here are Toons… and there are no Hume-shaped Toons in this world,” Kairi said, with a grin. “So that means…”
Xion groaned. “Not transformation magic.”
“Transformation magic! Yeah!” Kairi said, beaming as she rose from her seat.
“You know, horrifically abusive to me as the Organization was, they never made me do this,” Xion grumbled as she followed Kairi out of the cockpit and down to the entrance ramp.
“Yeah, cause you all were a bunch of delinquents messing with the World Order,” Kairi said cheerfully, as she summoned her Keyblade. “Relax, I’ve had plenty of practice at this.”
“Didn’t you just become a Master like a month ago?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Kairi said, winking at her as she summoned her Keyblade. Xion continued frowning. Kairi sighed. “You and Roxas seriously haven’t tried… you know?”
“Tried what?” Xion asked, still frowning.
“...You know what, what Sora and Riku and I get up to on our own time is not your business. I’ve just decided,” Kairi said. Before Xion could respond to that, Kairi cast the spell.
When the magic faded, Kairi took a good look at the both of them. “Huh. Minks… I think,” she said. “Not bad.”
Both of them had become the same type of animal, tall and thin with a weasel-like face and a bushy tail. Kairi’s fur was brown where it wasn’t reddish; Xion’s was grey where it wasn’t black.
Xion sighed. “I always hate that.”
“Hey, it can be fun!” Kairi said.
She took special note of the way Xion flinched as she did.
“You okay?”
Xion shrugged. It was adorable. “It’s fine. Let’s get this done so I can be me again.”
Noting that as well, Kairi nodded, and grabbed the parcel of materials they’d been given for the world leader.
Kairi always found it kind of funny that somehow, you could always tell when a furred Toon had what on a Hume would be called a beard. Mayor Jeff, as he was known, had a tiny tuft of white fur on the underside of his muzzle that couldn’t be anything else. He had whiskers as well, but as he was an otter this was unrelated to the question of facial hair. Kairi hadn’t known otters came in cornflower blue, but Toons came in all shapes and sizes.
In addition to the beard, Mayor Jeff was wearing a knit hat in red and orange, a purple scarf around his neck, a pair of glasses, a pair of big brown boots, and a delighted expression. “It is a pleasure to meet the both of you!” he said, as he shook both their hands. “And it was a pleasure to hear from old Yen Sid again, though,” he added, giving them an appraising eye, “I wasn’t expecting either of you to… blend in so well.”
“Well, wouldn’t want to give the game away, right?” Kairi said, ignoring the way Xion was glaring at her.
Mayor Jeff laughed. “Well, that’s true! You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like – tell me, how are things on the Destiny Islands? I haven’t heard from your father in years.”
Kairi laughed, and sat down in a proffered seat. “I’m more surprised you know him at all.”
“Oh, yeah, we used to send letters back and forth, way back when you were… Hmmm, I’d have to say three?” Mayor Jeff said.
“Sounds about right,” Kairi said.
“No idea how the post office managed it, but then again there’s some things we mere mortals weren’t meant to know!” Mayor Jeff said, cheerfully. “He’s doing all right?”
“Perfectly fine. We haven’t let him retire yet,” Kairi said, winking.
While they talked, Xion was taking an interest in the various articles strewn around Mayor Jeff’s… it was unclear if they were in an “office” or a “living room”, as the mayoral offices were apparently also just Mayor Jeff’s house. “See anything interesting?” Mayor Jeff called to Xion, with the eagerness of someone who wanted to discuss their collection.
“A lot of phones, but none that look like the kind we brought with us,” Xion said, sitting down at the table. “More like the house phones back on the Islands.” She held up the gummiphone they’d brought with them, which was a compact, hand-held unit with a clamshell design.
“Oh, my, that is interesting!” Mayor Jeff said, gazing at the device eagerly. “It’s all inside the casing? No wires?”
“Well, none outside the casing,” Xion offered, and the both of them laughed.
“Good thing we didn’t bring the magic mirror version,” Kairi said. “We have it for worlds that are more magic-focused than technologic, but it would stick out even more here, wouldn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so,” Mayor Jeff said. Xion had handed him the gummiphone and he was busy carefully opening and closing the lid. “I’ve got one question though. Is it waterproof?”
“Is it… oh,” Kairi said. “Uh. I don’t know, actually. Xion?”
Xion was frowning. “Oh. I… don’t think so, actually. Is that a problem?”
“Well, if I’m careful, I suppose not, but I do live on a houseboat,” Mayor Jeff said, frowning as well. “Better safe than sorry. If this breaks, I don’t know how I’d get in touch with you for a replacement.”
“Mayor Jeff! Are you in here?”
The three of them looked over as a trio of much younger otters entered the room. Only the youngest, with light beige fur, was wearing any clothing on their body; a diaper at that. The other two were a comparatively-short, wide boy with red-orange fur wearing only socks and brown shoes, and a comparatively-tall, thin girl with fuchsia fur and purple hair wearing only socks and black-and-white shoes.
“Peanut! Butter! Jelly!” said Mayor Jeff, naming the boy, the baby, and the girl in turn. “What brings you over today?” It was Xion’s turn to clap a hand (paw) over her mouth.
“We heard you were having visitors and we wanted to come say hi!” said Jelly.
“If that’s all right,” Peanut said, glancing at Kairi.
Kairi smiled. “Of course it is! I’m Kairi, and this is my sister Xion.”
“Nice to meet you,” Xion said, smiling in kind.
“Kairi and Xion brought me a new phone for my collection,” Mayor Jeff said, showing them the gummiphone. He winked when Kairi glanced at him in alarm. Well, there were many ways to hide something, Kairi supposed. “In plain sight” could be just as effective as any other method. “An old friend of mine sent it from far away. But there’s a slight problem. It’s not waterproof, so I’m not sure it’s safe to keep here in my house.”
“Not waterproof?” Peanut asked, frowning. “But why wouldn’t it be waterproof?”
“It was designed by a friend of ours that doesn’t live by water,” Kairi offered. “When we go back home, we’re going to let him know this could be a problem.”
“It’s an early design,” Xion added. “Mayor Jeff’s friend just really wanted him to have one as soon as possible.”
“Well, I’d hate for you to have wasted a trip,” Mayor Jeff said. “Do you think we can do anything about this?” The question was addressed to the three kids. Upon noticing Kairi’s confusion, he winked at her.
Ah, she understood. This was a Teachable Moment™.
“I know!” Jelly exclaimed. “Let’s do the Noodle Dance!”
“The what?” Xion said, blankly.
“Oh no,” Peanut said. “I’ll noodle, but I won’t dance.”
“That’s fine!” Jelly said, and Peanut sighed.
“Sorry, what’s the Noodle Dance?” Kairi asked.
“The Noodle Dance is a dance we use to come up with an idea!” Mayor Jeff explained. “We dance until someone thinks of a suggestion for what to do.”
“Dancing in public is so embarrassing, though,” Peanut mumbled.
“Well, Peanut, you never have to dance if you don’t want to,” Mayor Jeff said, patting him on the back. “Ready, Jelly?”
“Ready!” Jelly looked at Kairi and Xion. “Do you want to join in, too?”
“Sure!” Kairi said, rising from her chair. “What kind of dance do we–”
She was cut off as the world abruptly turned blue. The white outlines of various objects floated by as Jelly, Butter, and Mayor Jeff began dancing to the sound of a children’s chorus. Momentarily stupefied, Kairi shrugged and joined in. After a few seconds, Xion followed suit, and so did Peanut.
There was a small ding!, and a lightbulb appeared by Jelly’s head. “I’ve got it!” she declared as the blue void faded.
Peanut, who had kept dancing for a few seconds after the world returned to normal, jumped in surprise. “What, what happened, what?!”
“How about we use a special water-proofing machine to make the new phone waterproof?” Jelly said.
“Well, that’s not a bad idea, Jelly,” Mayor Jeff lied, “but we don’t have a special water-proofing machine.”
“Then, how about…” Peanut cast his gaze about and landed on the collection of Mayor Jeff’s other phones. “Why don’t we put the new phone inside one of the older phones?”
“Hey, that’s an idea,” Xion said. “I can put the internals inside a waterproof case. It… probably won’t be as portable anymore, though.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Mayor Jeff said. “Good idea, Peanut. And using the Noodle Dance was a great suggestion, Jelly!”
“Thanks!” both otter kids chorused.
“I don’t suppose you have tools I could use? We didn’t bring any,” Xion asked Mayor Jeff.
His smile threatened to break his face in half. “Do I!”
Kairi watched in amusement as Xion walked Mayor Jeff through the process of taking the gummiphone apart and made a mental note to check in every so often in case he needed a new one anyways. The state of the other gadgets in his home indicated that he was one to tinker.
“Done!” Xion announced, setting the newly-recased gummiphone on the table. The new shell was a push-button phone with the receiver cradled atop the base. Mayor Jeff had picked a bright blue unit to use. “It won’t have video calling, unfortunately, but everything else will work just fine.”
“There should be an address book in with the manual,” Kairi added. “Just in case.”
“Thank you very much,” Mayor Jeff said, shaking both Kairi and Xion’s hands again.
Jelly had watched the whole procedure in awe. “That’s amazing, Miss Xion!” she said. “I want to be just like you when I grow up!”
It was hard to tell with the mink face, but to Kairi it looked like Xion was teetering on the edge between blushing and being about to cry. “That’s very kind of you to say, Jelly,” she managed. “Thank you.”
“Well, unfortunately, we have to get going,” Kairi said, rising and stretching.
“Aw. You can’t stay longer?” Jelly asked.
“Sorry, we’ve got to get heading home,” Kairi said, smiling at her.
“Well, you’re always welcome to come visit at any time,” Mayor Jeff said. “If you’ve a mind to it, you might want to try taking a hike up Mount Hoohaw!”
Kairi carefully made sure her expression did not change.
“The view from up there is lovely this time of year,” he continued.
“Just don’t take the shortcut,” Peanut cautioned. “It runs through a field of Itchy Grass. Take the long way.”
“Thank you, we’ll make sure we avoid it. Pleasure to meet you all!” Kairi said, as Xion stood up from the table. There was a chorus of “Good-bye!”s from the otters, including a shy little “Bye” from Butter. Smiling, Kairi and Xion left to return to their ship.
“It is a good view from up here,” Kairi said. She’d moved the gummi ship, still invisible, to the top of the mountain (which in all honesty was more of a hill). She and Xion were sitting on the open entry ramp, through which the interior of the ship could be seen floating in the air. They were sitting with their backs to the town itself, so the hole in the air couldn’t be seen.
“Yeah. Do we still have to be minks?” Xion asked.
“You don’t enjoy being furry?” Kairi asked, innocently.
“No,” Xion said, flatly.
“Fair enough,” Kairi said, and undid the transformation spell.
As they turned back to themselves, she saw Xion shiver and clutch at herself.
“Hey. I know I can be one to stick my nose in where it’s unwanted,” Kairi said, “but are you all right? I’ve been getting the sense you wanted to talk to me about something specific all day. Whatever it is, you know you can tell me anything, right?”
Xion froze, then drew her legs up to her chest. “Yeah,” she muttered.
Kairi waited a few seconds but again, she didn’t elaborate.
With a mental shrug, she drew her own legs up, mirroring Xion’s position. She turned her head to her sister and smiled.
Waiting was a game she could play.
Eventually, without meeting Kairi’s gaze, Xion near-whispered: “Am I...doing it right?”
“Doing what right?” Kairi asked.
Xion’s lip quivered. “...Being a girl?”
Kairi stared at her for a few seconds. “...Xion, I don’t understand the question. You are a girl.”
“...I wasn’t supposed to be,” Xion mumbled.
“Well, you are,” Kairi said, “And anyone who says otherwise can suck it.”
Xion glanced up at her for the first time, and Kairi saw tears in her eyes. “Thank you. But… what’s the point if I’m doing it wrong?”
“I’m still not understanding what ‘it’ is that you could be doing wrong,” Kairi said.
Xion waved a hand. “All of it. I don’t know.”
“See, it’s the ‘it’ I’m having trouble understanding in this sentiment,” Kairi said. “‘It’ is… ‘being a girl’? How is that something you can do wrong?”
“Because I… I was made, not born, and I wasn’t made to be a girl.”
“So?”
“So I… why would I know how to be a girl the right way? I’m a girl because I say I’m a girl, not because I really–”
“Xion, you are a girl,” Kairi started to say, but Xion cut her off.
“No, listen to me! Sometimes you have to break things apart to work them out! I need to talk about it like this to make it make sense, so please stop trying to reassure me and just let me work with the pieces!”
Kairi sat back. “I’m sorry, go ahead.”
Xion took a few seconds for her breathing to slow. “When I say ‘I am a girl, I want to be a girl’, it’s like I’ve signed up to perform a role. But I didn’t get to rehearse it before I had to go on stage. I have to get it right, every single time, and I know I can’t do that. I know I’m going to flub a line, or break character, or ruin a scene, and then everyone will know.”
“Know what?” Kairi asked, softly.
“...That it’s an act, and I’m faking it,” Xion whispered. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. “And then everyone can tell I’m not doing it right. Because I don’t know how to do it right.”
Kairi let her cry for a bit, considering how to answer. “Can I tell you a secret?” she said, once Xion seemed more calm.
“What?” Xion asked.
“I don’t know that I’m doing ‘being a girl’ right, either,” Kairi said.
Xion scoffed. “Of course you are. You were–”
“When I was very little, before Radiant Garden fell,” Kairi interrupted, “I used to sneak out all the time. I was way too young to be wandering around without supervision; I probably wouldn’t remember it at all if I hadn’t seen it in Castle Oblivion. But when the Fall happened, and I came to the Islands, I think there was a part of little-kid me who thought it was somehow my fault. Like if I had been more proper, it wouldn’t have happened. Little kids believe dumb stuff like that sometimes,” she added, in response to Xion’s frown. “When you’re that young you assume you’re the centre of the universe and everything that happens is somehow related to you.
“Point is, I decided that I must have done something wrong, so I decided to do everything right from that point on. Be the perfect little girl. Don’t protest when you’re banned from sparring for being a girl, even though Selphie wasn’t. Do everything right, and then nothing bad would ever happen again.”
“But…”
“Then Maleficent happened, and all of that, and I forgot about Sora,” Kairi said. “When I finally remembered him, Lea showed up to kidnap me, and… I decided I was done trying to be the ‘perfect’ girl. That’s when I started biting. And my only regret is not starting sooner. Well,” she added with a grin, “that and the fact that I didn’t make it all the way through his glove.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Xion asked.
Kairi’s grin faded. “Because I’m trying to explain that I’m also bad at being a girl. Or at least, I’m almost definitely doing it ‘wrong’, if that’s even possible in the first place. And I’m still a girl. So, no matter how ‘wrong’ you do it… you’re still a girl, too.”
Xion sniffed. “Would you like a hug?” Kairi asked.
Xion nodded, and Kairi slid over to wrap her arms around her sister.
“I don’t think you’re bad at being a girl,” Xion mumbled.
“Well, I don’t think you’re bad at being a girl, either,” Kairi said, patting her head. “To extend your theatre metaphor, I don’t think anyone can really play the ‘role’ perfectly. It’s more an aspirational thing. And even then, maybe it shouldn’t be.”
“It’s nice to know what’s expected. That way you know you’re safe if you’re meeting expectations,” Xion said.
Kairi snorted. “The kind of people who measure others like that won’t care if you’re ‘meeting expectations’ or not. They’ll always move the goalposts.” She looked down at the top of Xion’s head. “Who got you onto this, anyways? I would’ve figured you’d have had these doubts and overcame them years ago.”
“There was this lady at one of Roxas’s practices. She took exception to me wearing pants and no makeup,” Xion said. “I think her name was Alex...something?”
“Brahne Alexandros?” Kairi said, sharply.
“Yeah, I think that was it.”
“Right. Well, that harpy is exactly the sort of person whose opinion isn’t worth the time it takes to say it,” Kairi said. “If she shows up around theatre practice again, tell Zidane so he can complain to Dad. She’s not supposed to be there.”
“Why... not?” Xion asked.
“I don’t know the specifics, but Zidane’s wife is her daughter, and legally Brahne isn’t allowed within a hundred feet of her,” Kairi said. “I was only like... twelve when that all went down. I knew Garnet from her music, but apparently there was a lot of bad stuff going on behind the scenes.” She frowned. “Flip, I can’t swear in this world. Just realized.”
Xion breathed out. “So it’s not that I–”
“It’s nothing about you not doing anything,” Kairi said. “That woman is just twisted inside.”
“Okay.” Xion let out a long breath. “I still feel like... I’m bad at it.”
“Well,” Kairi said, “then so am I.” She stood up, and held out a hand to Xion. “Let’s be bad at being girls together.”
For the first time, a small smile made its way onto Xion’s face. She took her sister’s hand, and allowed Kairi to pull her to her feet. “Thanks, Kairi.”
“Of course,” Kairi said, hugging her. “Out of curiosity, is this also why you hate transformation magic?”
“Yeah,” Xion admitted. “It’s...”
“Hmm?”
“If, say, we turned into cows... I’m scared I would turn into a bull instead. If that makes sense.”
“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that unless it’s done on purpose,” Kairi said. “But you could ask Donald about it if you’re really worried. He explained it once but all I got out of it was the phrase ‘morphic resonance’. After that I couldn’t really understand his accent.”
Xion snorted. “Is it an accent?”
“I mean, I’d guess? Huey, Dewey, and Louie sound like him, but Daisy doesn’t.”
Xion chuckled, which Kairi counted as a victory. “Thank you, Kairi.” She broke the hug and stepped back. “I have a question for you now, actually.”
“Sure!”
“Why were you laughing at the world name?” Xion asked. “What’s funny about ‘Lake Hoohaw’?”
Kairi clapped a hand over her mouth again. “Did I say something?” Xion asked, confused.
“Xi,” Kairi managed to get out through spasms of laughter. “You- you’ve never heard the word “hooha” before?”
“Should I have?” Xion asked.
“Well, you did go to high school,” Kairi said. At Xion’s blank look, she shook her head. “It’s a slang term. It means...” She leaned in and whispered in Xion’s ear.
“What?!” Xion demanded, stepping back in horror. “You’re kidding!”
Kairi shook her head vigorously, still trying and only mostly succeeding at holding in her laughter. “I-I guess, there’s been some linguistic drift since all the worlds were one...”
Xion was staring out at the view as if in a trance. “We can’t tell them,” she said, softly. “No one who lives here can ever know.”
“Nnnnope,” Kairi said. She was overcome by another wave of laughter. “Selphie is going to find this hilarious though.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Xion said. She glanced at Kairi, taking in how she was still shaking with laughter. “Very lady-like of you to be laughing over this.”
Kairi snickered. “What can I say? I’m bad at being a girl.” She winked.
Xion grinned, the first time she’d smiled brightly the whole trip.
“Come on, let’s head home,” Kairi said, and stepped backwards up the ramp into the ship.
Xion followed, hitting the door control. “So I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but are you craving a sandwich right now? I am.”
“Light, right?” Kairi said.
The entry ramp retracted, and a few moments later the invisible gummi ship rose into the air, the sound of both girls’ laughter ringing in its wake.