[fic] Kingdom Hearts - We Were
Title: We Were
Author: winged_requiem
Series: Pre-Kingdom Hearts I (before Kairi goes to Destiny Islands), later on post-KHII.
Pairing: Cloud/Kairi, Cloud/Aerith, and Sora/Kairi.
Characters: Cloud, Squall (Leon), Kairi, Ven, Aerith, Sora, and Yuffie. Aqua, Terra, Tifa, and Xehanort are mentioned.
Rating: Teen (13+)
Type: One shot.
Summary: One day she was here, and the next day she was gone. And when she came back, it was over.
Notes: This is what happens when you think up some random idea at almost midnight. Er, yeah, it's set in canon someplace before the destruction of Hollow Bastion, so Leon was Squall. Inkeeping with that in this fic.
They were inseparable. They were never, ever seen apart. Whether it be at school, during a calm, civil conversation, in the middle of a heated match of wits with swords or walking down a street. Cloud Strife and Squall Leonheart were never seen without the other.
For both being seven, they were surprisingly well known and well praised. They brought in good marks at school, fought with abilities not seen for many many years and were duty bound to become 'protectors of Hollow Bastion'. With his startling blonde hair, Cloud got a share fair of favour for himself - Squall was equal in every respect.
It was of no surprise, then, when one clear, early Saturday morning that they'd snuck out to the Bailey to play-fight. Cloud had his toy, wooden, surprisingly heavy Buster-sword, whilst Squall stuck to his toy great sword.
Cloud frowned - even though young, frown-stretch marks had started to appear on his face. He was not accustomed to loosing to his sparring partner. "That's not fair," he muttered, folding his arms and leaning against a wall. "I'm not fighting you anymore."
"Cloud, stop being such a baby. You're not even trying, now," Squall replied back hotly, poking his best friend in the ribs.
He wasn't roused, only giving him a perfected glare for his efforts. They stayed staring at each other for a while, before Squall broke off. "Fine, then. I'm going home. But first I'll tell your mom that you snuck out..."
"Hey! You snuck out too-!"
"Correction," Squall jabbed him in the side again. "You came to get me. I think it's your-"
Whatever was about to be said was lost in a flurry of red-hair and white, flower embroided cloth, as a small girl came hurtling into the side of where Cloud was standing, obviously not paying attention, and falling over backwards.
As with most five year olds, she immediately burst into tears.
"What?!" was Cloud's loud and overly dramatic response, causing an even louder up serge of tears. "Who?"
The girl continued to sniffle, and Squall sniggered. "Ah, you made her cry..." despite the smirk, he looked nervous. Girls were not their fortieth.
"Hey, you," Cloud looked down at her, a mixture of sympathy and annoyance and grievance crossing over his young face. "You should be more careful, yeah? You alright?"
The girl didn't immediately respond, instead continuing to cry, tears gushing out and onto the floor around her - how a child could cry this much was beyond Cloud, but still, she carried on. After a few moments of staring down at her, he knelt by her side, offering a hand. "Hey. Stop that."
"It hurts!" She finally spoke, wiping her eyes with her left hand, and revealing her right hand - which she'd somehow scraped in the scuffle. It was stained red, the colour of a bruise, but it wasn't bleeding - but children this age were, afterall, sensitive to knocks and bumps.
Usually, Cloud would have uttered this in the back of his mind - seven seemed to make you feel more grown up - but there was something about her that made him truly feel he had to comfort her. "Come on. You'll feel better if you get up."
She looked at him through tears with those innocent eyes she'd obtained from somewhere, and hesitated before she reached out, placing the injured hand within Cloud's own. Cloud slowly stood, before he pulled her upright. "All better, now."
The girl nodded. As soon as Squall spoke, however, she hid behind Cloud's legs, causing him to totter forwards out of balance. "Who is she? I haven't seen her before."
The beady eyes answered for themselves. "Kairi," she stuttered.
"Kairi huh?" Squall looked thoughtful. "Like the sea or ocean. Mom told me. I'm Squall - and that's Cloud," he thrust a finger out to point at Cloud, and Cloud sent him a disproving look. "What now?"
"Nothing," Cloud said accusingly - temporarily Kairi had been near clinging to his leg for dear life out of fear - which he saw as being Squall's fault. "Kairi, it's okay. He won't hurt you."
The red hair vanished for a moment again, before she remerged beside him. "Kairi hurt herself, but... it's like Cloud said. I feel better after getting up."
"And not crying," Squall chipped in, before Cloud continued, "It really does work, honest."
"Oh!" Kairi seemed to forget the current conversation for a second, straining her young eyes to see across the bailey. "Almost forgot to go see if he is here," she said slowly, still trying to see the invisible. "Can... can Kairi come see Cloud and Squall again?"
Cloud offered one of his rare smiles that a first time visitor would never dream of getting in a million years. "If you want," he said offhandedly, but Squall shook his head. Cloud shrugged at him as she disappeared off. It wasn't like she'd remember in the morning, right?
***
After leaving the pair to fight again, Kairi rounded down the side of the bailey, breathing fast as she took the steps two at a time - she could hear him calling for her, and if she didn't get there she'd be seriously told of, again - and just before she got there she tripped on the final step, but he was there in a second, steadying her upright again.
"Ven!" Kairi said loudly in surprise. "I thought I heard you calling me!"
The blonde shook his head. "Kairi, you really shouldn't run down these - one day I won't be here to catch you."
"But I wanted to see you," Kairi protested, her face suddenly falling. "You never come see me anymore."
Ven took a deep, long sigh - it was true. He hardly ever did see Kairi anymore. He was off here, there, everyone, on this mission, at that mission, assisting Terra, assisting Aqua - he never had the remaining energy to return and visit Kairi's once he'd finished his duties.
Which part of him could not help but feel rightly guilty for it. "I know. And I'm sorry."
Kairi's palm reached into his hands', and she held it there. "It's a big thing, right? Something only big people can do. That's why you're always working, and training. Like Cloud and Squall."
Ven nodded, though his eyebrow raised in surprise at the mention of two new people - two boys, none the less. "Cloud and Squall?"
"Uh huh," Kairi looked up at him, a portrayal of innocence flittering back into her eyes. "Cloud's got blonde hair, and Squall has dark hair. They were both training down at the baye.. bale.."
"Bailey," Ven corrected her, saying the words clearly for her to follow.
"Bay-lee?" Kairi said phonetically, before nodding to show she understood. "They were nice."
Ven tilted his head to one side. "Nicer than me?"
"No!" Two arms wrapped around one of his legs, in protest. "Ven is the nicest!"
He laughed, shaking his head. "I'm glad to hear it..." he trailed off as he began to relieve his leg of the red-headed child, before he noticed some fresh bruises on her arms. "... Kairi? Be honest with me. Where did you get these bruises?" he pointed to them.
"I ran into Cloud," she said on cue, and her face fell. "And then I fell over and hit my arms and knee. It hurt a lot!"
He patted her lightly on the head, ruffling her hair a little. "Were you a big brave girl and didn't cry?"
She looked hesitant, nodding. "For a little bit. But... Cloud told me not to cry," She said bravely, her hands behind her back as she smiled boldly up at the other. "Kairi feels better for not crying!"
Ven crouched alongside her. "That's good," he smiled, and she blushed in innocence. "Xehanort wants to see you, Kairi. It's kind of important." He offered her a hand. The small, baby fingers found their way around the mans, and she held on tight as he led her back up the hill towards the main postern.
"Ven?"
"Yes?"
"Can we go someplace after this? After we see Xehanort?"
Ven didn't quite have the heart to look down on her and see her eyes swell up with sadness. "I can't. Only by chance did I get to come see you now..." his voice vanished into nothing, as they continued up through the fissures and the multitudes of equipment slowly churning away to itself, keeping the city alive.
It was peaceful, despite the loud noise. But Kairi had another question. "Ven?"
"Yes?"
"Can I see Cloud and Squall tomorrow? They were nice."
Ven let out a smile laugh. "Of course you can. It's nice to have friends."
"Like you're friends with Aqua and Terra."
Ven nodded to her. "Like I'm friends with Aqua and Terra."
She paused for only a moment, another couple of steps, before she started again. "Ven?"
He sighed a little. "What is it?"
"Can I have a piggy-back?" Underneath the innocent voice, her smile was sly and charming at the same time. Only Kairi seemed to have had this technique mastered from very early on, and usually made Ven fall for it.
Resist, he told himself. "Aren't you a bit big for it?"
"But," she started.
Ven sighed again, reluctantly crouching down to her height. "Alright. But this is the last time, you hear?"
***
Ven didn't turn up the day after - but life went on, and Kairi, under Ven's - if it could be called that - guidance, she turned to following Cloud and Squall most everywhere. Which both of this disliked, and disowned her. If they weren't fighting, they might converse briefly with her; if they wanted to deter her, though, that was the biggest mistake.
But, little by little, their friendship grew.
At first it was forced - Kairi often turned up on a whim, before she learnt their routine patterns for turning up at the bailey early each Saturday morning and was usually there waiting for them. To begin with, both parties saw her as a nuisance, but Kairi was far from it. She sat quietly on some upturned rocks, watching them spar against one another. Sometimes she brought her crayons with her, and other times she brought Aerith. Aerith was another one of the girls in Cloud and Squall's year, and was well known far and wide for being one of the prettiest young girls in the entire suburbs, and the daughter of the flower seller as she often ran errands. Together, they seemed to create a small cheering team for the two boys, though apart from that, the two never really talked.
After a while though, Squall began to appreciate and anticipate Kairi's arrival. Cloud however, showed no emotional change, until one week Kairi was bedridden and all he could debate was when she would care to turn up. She'd slowly warmed both their hearts in her quiet and princess-like ways. After that, Cloud openly showed a smile when she came visiting.
In fact, Cloud probably smiled the most when he was around her and Aerith as time went by.
If he truly knew what that would mean, one might even say he'd fallen for her charm.
***
And one day, she was gone.
Disappeared. Vanished. All of them worked. Cloud didn't care about the specifics - what irritated him most? No one seemed to care, or seemed too bothered. Like she'd been wiped clean from existence, and he was the only one to remember her. He visited all the places they'd ever been together, he, her and Squall, where she talked to Aerith, the school, even - no one knew where she was at all.
Why did no one seem too bothered about her? Why did they all seem to know what was going on in the big picture, except him? He was a just a child. He wasn't meant to understand. His mother told him it was probably she'd just moved away - but he doubted that. She was happy here. Wasn't she?
Yes, she said so herself, he thought sadly, his feet thudding against the cobbled stones as he climbed the steps to the area surrounding the outer skirts of the town.
Eventually, Cloud went to the one place he had left to search, though upon arrival, it was empty. The place they'd met - the bailey.
Even if she wasn't there, that was where they had met, wasn't it? It was special. And yet he was alone. No Squall. No Aerith. No Tifa.
No Kairi. She was gone. He'd lost a friend.
Throughout his life? It seemed like a track record that would never quite give up and leave him alone.
And so he stood there, elbows rested neatly on the edge of the window ledge he could no reach, staring out into the crystal fissures. And it was then he let out a long, long sigh, speaking properly for the first time in the entire day.
"Where did you go, Kairi?"
"You're not still on about her, are you?"
Cloud whipped round at the voice, to be met by the gaze of a rather bemused boy, his eyebrows raised and his hair a mess, as always. Perhaps Squall was pitying him - perhaps he was just as fed up as the rest of Cloud's acquaintances for Cloud's moping for the best part of the entire day.
"Squall," he said tonelessly. "Don't you care?"
Squall seemed to consider, before he shrugged lightly. "She's just a girl, Cloud. Even if she was a nice one and we spent a lot of time together. Like your mom said - she's probably just moved away," he paused, hesitating, and he slightly smiled at Cloud. "But you ain't going to listen to that, are you?"
Cloud shook his head. At least Squall knew him well in that respect. "No," he said quietly. "I'm just going to stay and think here for a while."
For a startling moment Squall looked as though he would reject, but half shrugged again, before he patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Okay. I'll come see you later, then," he nodded, taking a few steps back towards town and waving once to him. Cloud watched him go, before his eyes adverted back to the fissures.
Squall had never been quite as close to Kairi as he had been. Kairi had always seemed to fear him slightly, at any rate. Even by Squall being calm to begin with, Cloud was far quieter - most people would be deterred by that, but not Kairi. She could see through it all, and had become good friends with him.
So she wouldn't have left. She was happy here.
Unconsciously, his hand clenched, as he continued to stare blankly over the blue and purple and white colours forming the fissures. Where is she? Even more so, why was he taking this blow so bad? Why? Someone had moved away - no big deal. Kairi wasn't here anymore. That was the big deal.
"Cloud?"
Yet again, Cloud forced himself back to reality, only this time, to find himself face to face with a neat, pretty young girl his age, her hair in a short plait, a red ribbon tying it together. Aerith. Her appearance was well known for being heavenly. She was perfect in every way imaginable - like a glass china doll taken out of its case, and not harmed by anything. But that didn't mean she didn't have a certain spark about her. She was friends with everyone, she was slightly mischevious, she was kind and gentle - and she was one of Cloud's close friends.
He looked at her, sweeping his eyes over her briefly. "Hm?" he muttered.
"You've looked down all day," she said sympathetically, walking towards him, standing a metre away from him, leaning against the edge of the window ledge. "What's the matter?" she smiled.
There was something else about Aerith. Her smile? It reminded him so badly of Kairi's, each and every time.
And there was something about it, that just persuaded him to tell her everything she wanted to know.
"Kairi," he said simply, his face edging on a mixture of expressions but not being able to settle on the one. "She's gone, Aerith. I don't know... it feels..."
"Empty?" Aerith provided, resting a hand on his arm, which caused him to briefly flinch before settling. "It would, when you're friends with someone."
"I wonder where she went," he said simply, gazing out into the crystallic sculptures. "I don't want to just forget her."
Aerith tilted her head to one side, before a light, mischevious smile appeared there. “Say - I'll remember with you. If one of us forgets, we'll remind the other. Okay, Cloud?"
Cloud looked at her - she was trying so hard. And yet he knew, that even if it was a strange thing to say, for both of them - that she really meant it. "Okay."
The childhood promise between them would last into their teenage years, as one day, when Cloud returned from his ventures, Aerith promptly reminded him of her, and brought a weak smile to his face - and to Squall's.
***
They had become separable. They were seen apart, one walking a road of light and the other of darkness, till one day the blonde returned back to his true home, together with his friends. A part of his mind have never quite forgotten the red headed girl, or Squall, or Aerith, or Tifa, so he'd come back to find them all again. Now, they fought each other daily, kept to a strict training regime.
It was true that Leon and Cloud were the best defenders the city had ever had. As they were foretold to be.
"Cloud," Leon said absently, as he blocked another hit from Cloud's buster sword with ease. "You know Sora's coming today, don't you?"
"Sora?" Cloud confirmed, before shaking his head lightly. "Might have missed it."
There was silence for a little while, before Leon said simply, "I think I've won today, Cloud."
As he had as a child, Cloud looked annoyed at that momentarily, but it soon flittered out of existence. "Only because you mentioned Sora."
"You just can't take loosing, Cloud. I know you."
"Well when there's a guy messing with your head you can't afford to loos-" Cloud began, but he never got the chance to finish that sentence.
Someone had run straight into him, obviously not spotting the pair so close to the rim of the crystal fissures, and had fallen backwards. With a mixture of skill and perfected reflexes, Cloud had dropped his sword and rested his arm under slender shoulders, breaking the others fall. He took no look at his find, as she'd barely reacted, her face screwed up in expectance of herself falling - only it hadn't come.
She opened her eyes to look up at him, and her face went as red as her hair. "Oh, er... I'm sorry..."
"You should be more careful," he said flatly, still not looking at her and all set to stand her upright.
The girl blinked twice, her mind trying to recall something... entirely déjà vu about this entire situation. It hit her, as she said quietly, "... Cloud? It is you, isn't it?"
Cloud stared, blinking in surprise. His face become emotionless, and empty, apart from the overly shocked expression of silence. He tried to fit it in together, in his mind - the slender shoulders, the red hair, the wide, blue eyes - and then it hit him.
It was ten years, to the day.
Loosing interest in standing her upright, he remained standing where he was, as if he'd only just caught her. "Kairi?" he ventured.
She nodded. "The one and only."
Cloud's face softened. "You've been gone for so long."
"Kairi!" another voice sounded, slightly far off, causing Kairi to jump and almost fall again, before Cloud helped her upright.
There reunion was never meant to be.
And there was the brown headed boy, running, running as fast as his legs would carry him. Kairi was looking in his direction in an instant, and a long, bright smile stretched over her lips, her eyes wide and full of affection as he slowed, and she ran up to meet him. There was clear strength in his arms as he lifted her near clear off the ground, sending her flying momentarily through the air in a semicircle like in those old, romantic movies, before she was returned to the ground. He almost threw his arms around her and held her close, but she didn't need to be told to reciprocate - she did the same almost immediately.
"Don't... run... off... like... that!" he panted, clinging to her a little tighter, his voice and face etched with worry.
"I'm sorry, Sora."
Sora. Cloud looked at him - his face had matured once again, and he was perhaps taller than he had been on his last visit to Radiant Garden. There was a certain glint and fondness in his eye when he looked at the redhead that spelled it out clear - she was the one he'd wanted to protect, referred many times to Cloud when they'd talked to each other. She was Sora's light, something he'd never loose sight of. His most important person.
And Cloud could see, too, that Kairi was a near reflection of those feelings.
"Cloud." Leon interrupted his thoughts, appearing suddenly alongside. "You look queasy."
"I'm fine," Cloud said bluntly, shaking his head at him. "I'm fine."
A feminine voice was his reply. "You don't sound so sure," Aerith smiled sideways at him, lightly resting a hand on his arm. "I saw Kairi arrive. Yuffie's coming soon."
Celebrating? Cloud felt far from wanting to celebrate Sora's return, now. He felt even more distant than ever. He glanced over his shoulder at the blue crystal fissures, then back to Aerith. "I think I'll stay here." He didn't want to get involved. Getting involved meant getting hurt.
"Okay," Aerith nodded, taking a few steps in a light run after Sora and the others.
Cloud couldn't face them, offering a weak fake smile to Aerith, before turning round to gaze at the fissures, the markings he should very well know off the top of his head by now - he stared at them that often. He listened to the banter and chat as Yuffie joined the crew, before the footsteps died away, and he was the only one left. Alone, as he was meant to be.
"Cloud."
... Or not quite.
And there she was, the bright angel standing behind him. He could sense her light now, and knew who it had to be. "Kairi," he spun round. "You should go with him."
"I will in a minute," Kairi hurried, taking a firm gaze up at him. "I forgot everything here, Cloud. And I just remembered, and I- can't imagine how much I hurt you," she took a step closer in his direction. "I can't... I can't fix it, but... I'll tell you the story sometime, everything. And... do you forgive me?"
How could he stay angry with her? "Yeah."
She nodded briskly. "Good. Come with us next time, okay?" she invited, leaving the invitation hanging for a moment, before she took another step forward, standing on tiptoe - and briefly brushed her lips against his cheek. "See you around, Cloud."
And before Cloud could process, she was gone.
AFTERWORD
I've been writing this for so long, seriously. On and off since about September time. The idea hit me - or parts of it - suddenly and I just had to write it down, and now we have this. Cloud/Kairi? I really don't know where it came from. XD; But it could work. It's entirely random, but for the purpose of this, it's all good.
I always entertained the idea of writing about Squall and Cloud together as kids, so I went ahead and did it. XD I hope it works, it's the first time I've attempted writing for either of them.
And yes, have a Ven. Totally made up a personality for him, so don't judge me on it when the game comes round. XD; Hope everyone enjoyed, and please comment!
Espo (copyrighted to me! ©! No stealing please.) Kingdom Hearts and all related characters © Square Enix and Disney. This is merely a fanfic written by a fan - there is no determination of any of this happening at all. Thank you.
Author: winged_requiem
Series: Pre-Kingdom Hearts I (before Kairi goes to Destiny Islands), later on post-KHII.
Pairing: Cloud/Kairi, Cloud/Aerith, and Sora/Kairi.
Characters: Cloud, Squall (Leon), Kairi, Ven, Aerith, Sora, and Yuffie. Aqua, Terra, Tifa, and Xehanort are mentioned.
Rating: Teen (13+)
Type: One shot.
Summary: One day she was here, and the next day she was gone. And when she came back, it was over.
Notes: This is what happens when you think up some random idea at almost midnight. Er, yeah, it's set in canon someplace before the destruction of Hollow Bastion, so Leon was Squall. Inkeeping with that in this fic.
They were inseparable. They were never, ever seen apart. Whether it be at school, during a calm, civil conversation, in the middle of a heated match of wits with swords or walking down a street. Cloud Strife and Squall Leonheart were never seen without the other.
For both being seven, they were surprisingly well known and well praised. They brought in good marks at school, fought with abilities not seen for many many years and were duty bound to become 'protectors of Hollow Bastion'. With his startling blonde hair, Cloud got a share fair of favour for himself - Squall was equal in every respect.
It was of no surprise, then, when one clear, early Saturday morning that they'd snuck out to the Bailey to play-fight. Cloud had his toy, wooden, surprisingly heavy Buster-sword, whilst Squall stuck to his toy great sword.
Cloud frowned - even though young, frown-stretch marks had started to appear on his face. He was not accustomed to loosing to his sparring partner. "That's not fair," he muttered, folding his arms and leaning against a wall. "I'm not fighting you anymore."
"Cloud, stop being such a baby. You're not even trying, now," Squall replied back hotly, poking his best friend in the ribs.
He wasn't roused, only giving him a perfected glare for his efforts. They stayed staring at each other for a while, before Squall broke off. "Fine, then. I'm going home. But first I'll tell your mom that you snuck out..."
"Hey! You snuck out too-!"
"Correction," Squall jabbed him in the side again. "You came to get me. I think it's your-"
Whatever was about to be said was lost in a flurry of red-hair and white, flower embroided cloth, as a small girl came hurtling into the side of where Cloud was standing, obviously not paying attention, and falling over backwards.
As with most five year olds, she immediately burst into tears.
"What?!" was Cloud's loud and overly dramatic response, causing an even louder up serge of tears. "Who?"
The girl continued to sniffle, and Squall sniggered. "Ah, you made her cry..." despite the smirk, he looked nervous. Girls were not their fortieth.
"Hey, you," Cloud looked down at her, a mixture of sympathy and annoyance and grievance crossing over his young face. "You should be more careful, yeah? You alright?"
The girl didn't immediately respond, instead continuing to cry, tears gushing out and onto the floor around her - how a child could cry this much was beyond Cloud, but still, she carried on. After a few moments of staring down at her, he knelt by her side, offering a hand. "Hey. Stop that."
"It hurts!" She finally spoke, wiping her eyes with her left hand, and revealing her right hand - which she'd somehow scraped in the scuffle. It was stained red, the colour of a bruise, but it wasn't bleeding - but children this age were, afterall, sensitive to knocks and bumps.
Usually, Cloud would have uttered this in the back of his mind - seven seemed to make you feel more grown up - but there was something about her that made him truly feel he had to comfort her. "Come on. You'll feel better if you get up."
She looked at him through tears with those innocent eyes she'd obtained from somewhere, and hesitated before she reached out, placing the injured hand within Cloud's own. Cloud slowly stood, before he pulled her upright. "All better, now."
The girl nodded. As soon as Squall spoke, however, she hid behind Cloud's legs, causing him to totter forwards out of balance. "Who is she? I haven't seen her before."
The beady eyes answered for themselves. "Kairi," she stuttered.
"Kairi huh?" Squall looked thoughtful. "Like the sea or ocean. Mom told me. I'm Squall - and that's Cloud," he thrust a finger out to point at Cloud, and Cloud sent him a disproving look. "What now?"
"Nothing," Cloud said accusingly - temporarily Kairi had been near clinging to his leg for dear life out of fear - which he saw as being Squall's fault. "Kairi, it's okay. He won't hurt you."
The red hair vanished for a moment again, before she remerged beside him. "Kairi hurt herself, but... it's like Cloud said. I feel better after getting up."
"And not crying," Squall chipped in, before Cloud continued, "It really does work, honest."
"Oh!" Kairi seemed to forget the current conversation for a second, straining her young eyes to see across the bailey. "Almost forgot to go see if he is here," she said slowly, still trying to see the invisible. "Can... can Kairi come see Cloud and Squall again?"
Cloud offered one of his rare smiles that a first time visitor would never dream of getting in a million years. "If you want," he said offhandedly, but Squall shook his head. Cloud shrugged at him as she disappeared off. It wasn't like she'd remember in the morning, right?
***
After leaving the pair to fight again, Kairi rounded down the side of the bailey, breathing fast as she took the steps two at a time - she could hear him calling for her, and if she didn't get there she'd be seriously told of, again - and just before she got there she tripped on the final step, but he was there in a second, steadying her upright again.
"Ven!" Kairi said loudly in surprise. "I thought I heard you calling me!"
The blonde shook his head. "Kairi, you really shouldn't run down these - one day I won't be here to catch you."
"But I wanted to see you," Kairi protested, her face suddenly falling. "You never come see me anymore."
Ven took a deep, long sigh - it was true. He hardly ever did see Kairi anymore. He was off here, there, everyone, on this mission, at that mission, assisting Terra, assisting Aqua - he never had the remaining energy to return and visit Kairi's once he'd finished his duties.
Which part of him could not help but feel rightly guilty for it. "I know. And I'm sorry."
Kairi's palm reached into his hands', and she held it there. "It's a big thing, right? Something only big people can do. That's why you're always working, and training. Like Cloud and Squall."
Ven nodded, though his eyebrow raised in surprise at the mention of two new people - two boys, none the less. "Cloud and Squall?"
"Uh huh," Kairi looked up at him, a portrayal of innocence flittering back into her eyes. "Cloud's got blonde hair, and Squall has dark hair. They were both training down at the baye.. bale.."
"Bailey," Ven corrected her, saying the words clearly for her to follow.
"Bay-lee?" Kairi said phonetically, before nodding to show she understood. "They were nice."
Ven tilted his head to one side. "Nicer than me?"
"No!" Two arms wrapped around one of his legs, in protest. "Ven is the nicest!"
He laughed, shaking his head. "I'm glad to hear it..." he trailed off as he began to relieve his leg of the red-headed child, before he noticed some fresh bruises on her arms. "... Kairi? Be honest with me. Where did you get these bruises?" he pointed to them.
"I ran into Cloud," she said on cue, and her face fell. "And then I fell over and hit my arms and knee. It hurt a lot!"
He patted her lightly on the head, ruffling her hair a little. "Were you a big brave girl and didn't cry?"
She looked hesitant, nodding. "For a little bit. But... Cloud told me not to cry," She said bravely, her hands behind her back as she smiled boldly up at the other. "Kairi feels better for not crying!"
Ven crouched alongside her. "That's good," he smiled, and she blushed in innocence. "Xehanort wants to see you, Kairi. It's kind of important." He offered her a hand. The small, baby fingers found their way around the mans, and she held on tight as he led her back up the hill towards the main postern.
"Ven?"
"Yes?"
"Can we go someplace after this? After we see Xehanort?"
Ven didn't quite have the heart to look down on her and see her eyes swell up with sadness. "I can't. Only by chance did I get to come see you now..." his voice vanished into nothing, as they continued up through the fissures and the multitudes of equipment slowly churning away to itself, keeping the city alive.
It was peaceful, despite the loud noise. But Kairi had another question. "Ven?"
"Yes?"
"Can I see Cloud and Squall tomorrow? They were nice."
Ven let out a smile laugh. "Of course you can. It's nice to have friends."
"Like you're friends with Aqua and Terra."
Ven nodded to her. "Like I'm friends with Aqua and Terra."
She paused for only a moment, another couple of steps, before she started again. "Ven?"
He sighed a little. "What is it?"
"Can I have a piggy-back?" Underneath the innocent voice, her smile was sly and charming at the same time. Only Kairi seemed to have had this technique mastered from very early on, and usually made Ven fall for it.
Resist, he told himself. "Aren't you a bit big for it?"
"But," she started.
Ven sighed again, reluctantly crouching down to her height. "Alright. But this is the last time, you hear?"
***
Ven didn't turn up the day after - but life went on, and Kairi, under Ven's - if it could be called that - guidance, she turned to following Cloud and Squall most everywhere. Which both of this disliked, and disowned her. If they weren't fighting, they might converse briefly with her; if they wanted to deter her, though, that was the biggest mistake.
But, little by little, their friendship grew.
At first it was forced - Kairi often turned up on a whim, before she learnt their routine patterns for turning up at the bailey early each Saturday morning and was usually there waiting for them. To begin with, both parties saw her as a nuisance, but Kairi was far from it. She sat quietly on some upturned rocks, watching them spar against one another. Sometimes she brought her crayons with her, and other times she brought Aerith. Aerith was another one of the girls in Cloud and Squall's year, and was well known far and wide for being one of the prettiest young girls in the entire suburbs, and the daughter of the flower seller as she often ran errands. Together, they seemed to create a small cheering team for the two boys, though apart from that, the two never really talked.
After a while though, Squall began to appreciate and anticipate Kairi's arrival. Cloud however, showed no emotional change, until one week Kairi was bedridden and all he could debate was when she would care to turn up. She'd slowly warmed both their hearts in her quiet and princess-like ways. After that, Cloud openly showed a smile when she came visiting.
In fact, Cloud probably smiled the most when he was around her and Aerith as time went by.
If he truly knew what that would mean, one might even say he'd fallen for her charm.
***
And one day, she was gone.
Disappeared. Vanished. All of them worked. Cloud didn't care about the specifics - what irritated him most? No one seemed to care, or seemed too bothered. Like she'd been wiped clean from existence, and he was the only one to remember her. He visited all the places they'd ever been together, he, her and Squall, where she talked to Aerith, the school, even - no one knew where she was at all.
Why did no one seem too bothered about her? Why did they all seem to know what was going on in the big picture, except him? He was a just a child. He wasn't meant to understand. His mother told him it was probably she'd just moved away - but he doubted that. She was happy here. Wasn't she?
Yes, she said so herself, he thought sadly, his feet thudding against the cobbled stones as he climbed the steps to the area surrounding the outer skirts of the town.
Eventually, Cloud went to the one place he had left to search, though upon arrival, it was empty. The place they'd met - the bailey.
Even if she wasn't there, that was where they had met, wasn't it? It was special. And yet he was alone. No Squall. No Aerith. No Tifa.
No Kairi. She was gone. He'd lost a friend.
Throughout his life? It seemed like a track record that would never quite give up and leave him alone.
And so he stood there, elbows rested neatly on the edge of the window ledge he could no reach, staring out into the crystal fissures. And it was then he let out a long, long sigh, speaking properly for the first time in the entire day.
"Where did you go, Kairi?"
"You're not still on about her, are you?"
Cloud whipped round at the voice, to be met by the gaze of a rather bemused boy, his eyebrows raised and his hair a mess, as always. Perhaps Squall was pitying him - perhaps he was just as fed up as the rest of Cloud's acquaintances for Cloud's moping for the best part of the entire day.
"Squall," he said tonelessly. "Don't you care?"
Squall seemed to consider, before he shrugged lightly. "She's just a girl, Cloud. Even if she was a nice one and we spent a lot of time together. Like your mom said - she's probably just moved away," he paused, hesitating, and he slightly smiled at Cloud. "But you ain't going to listen to that, are you?"
Cloud shook his head. At least Squall knew him well in that respect. "No," he said quietly. "I'm just going to stay and think here for a while."
For a startling moment Squall looked as though he would reject, but half shrugged again, before he patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Okay. I'll come see you later, then," he nodded, taking a few steps back towards town and waving once to him. Cloud watched him go, before his eyes adverted back to the fissures.
Squall had never been quite as close to Kairi as he had been. Kairi had always seemed to fear him slightly, at any rate. Even by Squall being calm to begin with, Cloud was far quieter - most people would be deterred by that, but not Kairi. She could see through it all, and had become good friends with him.
So she wouldn't have left. She was happy here.
Unconsciously, his hand clenched, as he continued to stare blankly over the blue and purple and white colours forming the fissures. Where is she? Even more so, why was he taking this blow so bad? Why? Someone had moved away - no big deal. Kairi wasn't here anymore. That was the big deal.
"Cloud?"
Yet again, Cloud forced himself back to reality, only this time, to find himself face to face with a neat, pretty young girl his age, her hair in a short plait, a red ribbon tying it together. Aerith. Her appearance was well known for being heavenly. She was perfect in every way imaginable - like a glass china doll taken out of its case, and not harmed by anything. But that didn't mean she didn't have a certain spark about her. She was friends with everyone, she was slightly mischevious, she was kind and gentle - and she was one of Cloud's close friends.
He looked at her, sweeping his eyes over her briefly. "Hm?" he muttered.
"You've looked down all day," she said sympathetically, walking towards him, standing a metre away from him, leaning against the edge of the window ledge. "What's the matter?" she smiled.
There was something else about Aerith. Her smile? It reminded him so badly of Kairi's, each and every time.
And there was something about it, that just persuaded him to tell her everything she wanted to know.
"Kairi," he said simply, his face edging on a mixture of expressions but not being able to settle on the one. "She's gone, Aerith. I don't know... it feels..."
"Empty?" Aerith provided, resting a hand on his arm, which caused him to briefly flinch before settling. "It would, when you're friends with someone."
"I wonder where she went," he said simply, gazing out into the crystallic sculptures. "I don't want to just forget her."
Aerith tilted her head to one side, before a light, mischevious smile appeared there. “Say - I'll remember with you. If one of us forgets, we'll remind the other. Okay, Cloud?"
Cloud looked at her - she was trying so hard. And yet he knew, that even if it was a strange thing to say, for both of them - that she really meant it. "Okay."
The childhood promise between them would last into their teenage years, as one day, when Cloud returned from his ventures, Aerith promptly reminded him of her, and brought a weak smile to his face - and to Squall's.
***
They had become separable. They were seen apart, one walking a road of light and the other of darkness, till one day the blonde returned back to his true home, together with his friends. A part of his mind have never quite forgotten the red headed girl, or Squall, or Aerith, or Tifa, so he'd come back to find them all again. Now, they fought each other daily, kept to a strict training regime.
It was true that Leon and Cloud were the best defenders the city had ever had. As they were foretold to be.
"Cloud," Leon said absently, as he blocked another hit from Cloud's buster sword with ease. "You know Sora's coming today, don't you?"
"Sora?" Cloud confirmed, before shaking his head lightly. "Might have missed it."
There was silence for a little while, before Leon said simply, "I think I've won today, Cloud."
As he had as a child, Cloud looked annoyed at that momentarily, but it soon flittered out of existence. "Only because you mentioned Sora."
"You just can't take loosing, Cloud. I know you."
"Well when there's a guy messing with your head you can't afford to loos-" Cloud began, but he never got the chance to finish that sentence.
Someone had run straight into him, obviously not spotting the pair so close to the rim of the crystal fissures, and had fallen backwards. With a mixture of skill and perfected reflexes, Cloud had dropped his sword and rested his arm under slender shoulders, breaking the others fall. He took no look at his find, as she'd barely reacted, her face screwed up in expectance of herself falling - only it hadn't come.
She opened her eyes to look up at him, and her face went as red as her hair. "Oh, er... I'm sorry..."
"You should be more careful," he said flatly, still not looking at her and all set to stand her upright.
The girl blinked twice, her mind trying to recall something... entirely déjà vu about this entire situation. It hit her, as she said quietly, "... Cloud? It is you, isn't it?"
Cloud stared, blinking in surprise. His face become emotionless, and empty, apart from the overly shocked expression of silence. He tried to fit it in together, in his mind - the slender shoulders, the red hair, the wide, blue eyes - and then it hit him.
It was ten years, to the day.
Loosing interest in standing her upright, he remained standing where he was, as if he'd only just caught her. "Kairi?" he ventured.
She nodded. "The one and only."
Cloud's face softened. "You've been gone for so long."
"Kairi!" another voice sounded, slightly far off, causing Kairi to jump and almost fall again, before Cloud helped her upright.
There reunion was never meant to be.
And there was the brown headed boy, running, running as fast as his legs would carry him. Kairi was looking in his direction in an instant, and a long, bright smile stretched over her lips, her eyes wide and full of affection as he slowed, and she ran up to meet him. There was clear strength in his arms as he lifted her near clear off the ground, sending her flying momentarily through the air in a semicircle like in those old, romantic movies, before she was returned to the ground. He almost threw his arms around her and held her close, but she didn't need to be told to reciprocate - she did the same almost immediately.
"Don't... run... off... like... that!" he panted, clinging to her a little tighter, his voice and face etched with worry.
"I'm sorry, Sora."
Sora. Cloud looked at him - his face had matured once again, and he was perhaps taller than he had been on his last visit to Radiant Garden. There was a certain glint and fondness in his eye when he looked at the redhead that spelled it out clear - she was the one he'd wanted to protect, referred many times to Cloud when they'd talked to each other. She was Sora's light, something he'd never loose sight of. His most important person.
And Cloud could see, too, that Kairi was a near reflection of those feelings.
"Cloud." Leon interrupted his thoughts, appearing suddenly alongside. "You look queasy."
"I'm fine," Cloud said bluntly, shaking his head at him. "I'm fine."
A feminine voice was his reply. "You don't sound so sure," Aerith smiled sideways at him, lightly resting a hand on his arm. "I saw Kairi arrive. Yuffie's coming soon."
Celebrating? Cloud felt far from wanting to celebrate Sora's return, now. He felt even more distant than ever. He glanced over his shoulder at the blue crystal fissures, then back to Aerith. "I think I'll stay here." He didn't want to get involved. Getting involved meant getting hurt.
"Okay," Aerith nodded, taking a few steps in a light run after Sora and the others.
Cloud couldn't face them, offering a weak fake smile to Aerith, before turning round to gaze at the fissures, the markings he should very well know off the top of his head by now - he stared at them that often. He listened to the banter and chat as Yuffie joined the crew, before the footsteps died away, and he was the only one left. Alone, as he was meant to be.
"Cloud."
... Or not quite.
And there she was, the bright angel standing behind him. He could sense her light now, and knew who it had to be. "Kairi," he spun round. "You should go with him."
"I will in a minute," Kairi hurried, taking a firm gaze up at him. "I forgot everything here, Cloud. And I just remembered, and I- can't imagine how much I hurt you," she took a step closer in his direction. "I can't... I can't fix it, but... I'll tell you the story sometime, everything. And... do you forgive me?"
How could he stay angry with her? "Yeah."
She nodded briskly. "Good. Come with us next time, okay?" she invited, leaving the invitation hanging for a moment, before she took another step forward, standing on tiptoe - and briefly brushed her lips against his cheek. "See you around, Cloud."
And before Cloud could process, she was gone.
AFTERWORD
I've been writing this for so long, seriously. On and off since about September time. The idea hit me - or parts of it - suddenly and I just had to write it down, and now we have this. Cloud/Kairi? I really don't know where it came from. XD; But it could work. It's entirely random, but for the purpose of this, it's all good.
I always entertained the idea of writing about Squall and Cloud together as kids, so I went ahead and did it. XD I hope it works, it's the first time I've attempted writing for either of them.
And yes, have a Ven. Totally made up a personality for him, so don't judge me on it when the game comes round. XD; Hope everyone enjoyed, and please comment!
Espo (copyrighted to me! ©! No stealing please.) Kingdom Hearts and all related characters © Square Enix and Disney. This is merely a fanfic written by a fan - there is no determination of any of this happening at all. Thank you.