Chapter 70: Epilogue...Sort of.

OH! MY! BLEEPERS!!!!!!!!! *bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*!!!! It's the LAST CHAPTER!!! *tears* WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!!!!! *bleeeep*!!! Okay, whew. This is it, peoples! It's over! It's over! Strongbad says it's over! It's over! *cries* Until the sequel, everyone! *^^* Much love...~~Emi Hikari

In the Middle of the Night

Your POV

You just can't sleep. You feel lonely in this big room all by your lonesome. Plus you just really want to talk to Sora. Where's the intercom system when you need it?! (^^)

After contemplating for a few minutes, you finally get up and walk outside of your bedroom. Sora's is right next door; his bedroom door is open. You tiptoe inside and quietly shut the door. You wonder how bad you'd scare him if you jumped on him right now.

Pretty bad, you decide, tiptoeing over to the other side of his bed. As quietly as possible, you lay yourself down next to him. He's a pretty sound sleep. He's cute when he's asleep, too. (*^^*)

Placing your head against his back, you squeeze him around his waist. The cool, soft cotton shirt feels good against your skin.

"Huhhhh?" he mumbles, his hand touching your arm. "Oh."

Sora sits upright as you release him.

"What's wrong?" he asks, stifling a yawn. You sit up as well.

"I've...just...aahh...I wanna..."

You continue to trip and stumble over your words as Sora watches you concernedly.

Suddenly he kisses you, and time seems to stop. It's like you forget everything and freeze, then everything you want to say and know comes flooding back for a reboot. The problem is...you have a hard time actually getting into that whole reboot process. (^_-)

"Okay," he says, touching your cheek and tracing your high cheekbone. "Talk."

You sigh. "Do you...really wanna know about...my secrets?"

"Heck yeah," he replies, grinning.

"Okay. Then, tomorrow-"

"Wait, you're just gonna tell me?!"

"No," you say, shaking your head.

"No?"

"No. I'm going to show you." You lay your chin on his shoulder. "We're going to my house."

"For real? But you just went."

"So?"

Sora leans against the wall, thinking it over.

"Okay," he finally says.

You smile, feeling a lot better in some ways and a lot worse in others.

"Okay," you echo, sitting in front of him.

"Okay," you say in unison. Giggling, you press your nose against his.

Aaaaaaaaand Moving On...SUNRISE

Kairi's POV

You sit in the sand, watching the sunrise. It's nice...the island can see the sunrise on one side, and the sunset on the other. And it's always so peaceful.

Suddenly you feel someone's prescence behind you. You smile a little to yourself.

"Hey...Tidus," you murmur, pulling off a loose string from the bottom of your frayed jeans.

"Hey, Kai...can I talk to you?" he asks, coming into full view.

You nod as your heart jumps to your throat. Tidus sits next to you and sighs.

"...I dunno what I wanna say first," he mumbles, stretching out his legs. "So...I guess I'll tell it to you straight. Look, I think we're being stupid." You look up at him. His blue-hazel eyes are staring out at the ocean. "Kira and Sora are right. We are being chicken. And I think we'd both be a lot happier if we weren't...right?"

"..." You don't know what to say. He pretty much just said everything you were thinking. "...I...I, um, think that, too. I just..."

"You just...?"

You laugh. "I was just too afraid to admit it."

Tidus laughs a little, too. "It's almost amazing what fear can do to a person."

You nod, your smile fading.

*Not anymore,* you decide. *I don't want to be afraid anymore.*

Before you can say anything, Tidus gives you a small kiss on the cheek. You feel yourself blush.

"Come with me?" he asks, standing and holding out his hand. Shoving his hand aside, you jump up and kiss him. And you don't care if the whole freaking universe sees you. As long as you're both happy, everything is a-okay.

And it is.

Later That Day...LIGHT

Your POV

"You are crazy," Nami hisses in your ear as you prepare to head out for home for the second time in 24 hours. So much for that little white lie.

"Maybe, but I know this is right," you say. "You'll see soon enough; Roxas will want answers, too."

Nami sighs and shakes her head.

"See yous," you add, walking away. You sneak up behind Sora and grab him by the belt loop on his baggy jeans. "C'mon let's get going."

"Okay, okay," he says as you drag him into the ship. You continue to force him around and into his chair. "Stop or you'll pull my pants down."

"Point?" you say, winking playfully. He pokes your side, causing you to squeal and fall into your chair. "Okay, let's go. It'll take, like, ten minutes tops."

"Awesome," Sora says, smiling. You sigh. He's so excited about this...

"You're really pumped about this, aren't you?"

"Heck yeah. I'm finally gonna know why you're so smart."

"I was ninth in my class; of course I'm smart."

"You know what I mean."

You nod, frowning. "I do," you murmur. "...Look, Sora, you've got to promise me something."

"Anything," he says, looking at you.

"...Promise not to change too much when you see all of this," you whisper, your voice feeling faint and disconnected.

"I promise."

An awkward moment of silence follows, but it's soon broken by the sight of Earth. You pull in minutes later to land.

"Listen carefully, Sora," you say after landing. "I am being sooo serious when I say don't be seen. If you are seen by anyone besides my parents, don't say a word. Follow my lead, okay?"

When Sora nods, you drag him (by the arms this time ^.^) through the woods and to your backyard. The woods have still got the nostalgic feeling.

Pulling out your keys, you enter through the back door. Once you and Sora are safely inside, you relax.

"Hello?" you say.

"Kira?" your mom shouts.

"Yeah."

Your mom rounds the corner, sees you, sees Sora, and screams.

"Who-?!"

"Kaa-san, it's only Sora," you reassure her. "Don't tell anyone about this..."

Your mother's face softens. She knows the game; she knows who Sora is. You can already see the look of slight confusion appearing on Sora's face.

"Hey," he says, waving a little.

"Where is Dad?" you ask, walking toward the staircase.

"Work. He should be home in an hour or so."

"Great," you say sarcastically, dragging Sora upstairs.

"Kira," your mom says quietly. You glance over your shoulder at her. "Your father...only wants to protect you."

You nod, but on the inside you feel like smacking her. Why does she put up with him?!

Ignoring the tiny feeling of guilt inside you, you continue upstairs until you stop just outside of your bedroom door.

"Ready?" you ask.

"Ready," he replies.

Sucking in a deep breath, you open the door and watch as Sora's jaw drops.

"Are these...of me?" he gasps, pointing at the numerous posters that cover your walls.

"Yes," you answer, waving your mouse to power up your computer.

"Man..." Sora runs a hand through his spiky hair. "This is..."

"Here's the best part," you say, playing a video of the very first Kingdom Hearts trailer. He watches over your shoulder. "In this world, everyone thinks you don't exist."

"W-Why?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You're a video game character."

Sora staggers backwards and collapses onto your bed.

"Everyone is," you continue. "It's called Kingdom Hearts, and I've known you for years. Then there are other girls who say they 'love' you. We call them fangirls."

"..."

You randomly go to Mina's blog out of habit, then shriek at what you see. "HOLY EFFING JIMINY CHRISTMAS™!!!"

Sora runs over. "What's-?!"

Under Mina's article about Nothing's Like Before is a picture of you and Nami-only you're CG characters. It's you...as a CG character...does anyone else find this extremely CONFUSING?!?!?

"Ahh," you groan, logging offline. "This is unreal. I..."

"Now you know how I feel," Sora says, sitting back on your bed. You join him.

"Stop the room, I'd like to get off now," you say, closing your eyes. You feel so dizzy and sick. How fuh-reaky...!

You feel the weight of the bed shift as Sora sits upright, then kisses you. So much for feeling sick. Nothing is better than-

"Zankoku na tenshi no you ni shounen yo shinwa ni nare~~~~~~!"

"My cellphone," you say, snapping back to reality. You'd recognize that ringtone anywhere. Looking around, you see it, glowing, on a shelf.

"Moshi moshi, konnichiwa," you say, out of breath.

"KIRA!"

"Mina," you breath, sitting next to Sora again. You lay your head on his chest.

"Where've you BEEN?!"

"Away."

"...Hmph. Well, did you see my blog?"

"Yeah," Sora says with you. You grin and whack him in the stomach.

"...Who was that?"

"No one. Now what were you gonna say?"

"Well, did you notice one of the new characters looks exactly like you?"

Before you can answer, Sora grabs your phone out of your hands and presses "end." You die laughing. He just saved your butt! That could've been bad.

"Give me my phone!" you insist as Sora holds it out of your reach. "Pleeeeease?"

Sora considers this, then finally gives it back. "For a price."

You sigh, giggle, and then kiss him.

"We're gonna go now," you say after a few moments. "I don't wanna get busted by my dad."

Later on that day...TWILIGHT

Namine's POV

You stand out with your sketchbook, sketching away. Most of the time, what you're drawing is what you can see with your eyes. Today is different. Today you're drawing what's on your mind.

And all you can think about is Riku.

He's become your every thought, the very reason you breathe another time, and another. Your...slight obsession.

That's love. You know this from observations. Kira and Sora came back not long ago. They're completely inseparable. There's always one part touching another, like they're literally connected: hand in hand, head on shoulder, lips kissing...the list goes on. They generate a sort of vibe that's the same feeling you get around Riku.

And you can't help but be a little jealous. It was funny...earlier today, you saw Kira and Sora run off into a quieter spot. You could see them from where you were at, though. You watched in silence as they just sat there, talking and kissing and hugging each other as if no time had passed while Sora was gone. It disgusted you. Well, not because they were frenching or anything-althought they were-...it was because you knew you had really fxcked it up with Riku. You're jealous. You really, really messed it up. If only you and Riku could be like Kira and Sora, just sitting there in eternal bliss. Sitting there, leaving everything but yourselves behind, forgetting everything bad that ever happened... Thinking about it now, well...it hurts. And then you had to stop watching them because you really did get sick of them making out. You had even considered throwing something at them, but you knew your aim wasn't good enough.

"...!"

Suddenly something cold touches the skin covering your collarbone. You look down to see a necklace that wasn't there before. The charm is a little star...no! Oh my gosh...it's a paopu fruit.

You whip your head around, but he's not there. It was him, though. Suddenly you feel like screaming. You realize is that he probably saw your drawing of him. You have to wonder what he thought of it. Did he like it? Did he think it looked like him? Was he embarrassed? You look down at the necklace again.

You still have a chance!

That Night...DARK

Nami's POV

You stand out on the beach, watching as the sun falls past the horizon. The thing you really like about this beach is the because of the way it faces, you can see both the sunrise and the sunset, albeit the very edges. The moon quickly takes the place of the sun, and the stars-the other worlds-come out and shine. Usually this type of thing makes you smile, but tonight, you feel tired and sad.

Sighing, you tuck a lock of hair behind your ear. Kira's right, as usual. But why are you so chicken?

*Because it would mean I would have to accept my fate,* you think. *A life in darkness...but a life in darkness with Roxas...is different, isn't it?*

Tears slide down your cheeks and you wipe them away with your shoulders. You cross your arms and sigh. You want to shout at God.

*CHANGE SOMETHING!* you shout in your mind.

"Please," you add, clenching your fists ever so slightly. A hand suddenly touches your shoulder.

"Nami?" You turn to see Roxas. Sighing a little, you try to say something. He beats you to it. "I'm sorry for...making you wait," he murmurs.

You don't really get a good chance to respond, because Roxas kisses you flat-out on the lips.

*THANK YOU!* you think as you throw your arms around him. *THANK YOU FOR FAST DELIVERY SERVICE!* (^^)

It takes you a moment to realize that you've actually started crying. Roxas pulls away.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," he says, laughing lightly. You shake your head, unable to speak. You are SO HAPPY right now!

"I love you!" you finally manage to shout, hugging him tightly.

It takes life to love life.

And now you love life.

All thanks to a video game character.

Go figure.

The Next Morning...DAWN

Namine's POV

You have good reasons for being up so freaking early. You're playing as bait. He's gonna come. You're sure of it.

"I'm waiting..." you whisper, smiling. You gently touch the white flower in your hair. You had made sure it would survive. Island flowers usually do, though. He gave you that... You're clutching the picture you drew of him last evening.

*This...* you think, looking down at the picture. *...is you.*

A sudden thought strikes you, and you flip back a few pages to find your drawing of the two of you at sunset.

*This is gonna be my future...our future," you decide, closing your eyes.

The sound of approaching footsteps causes you to open them.

Turning around slowly, you look up into his hidden aqua eyes. They sparkle in the dawn's faint light. You suddenly feel so different. You want to talk, but it's like you forgot how.

"Namine," he says.

You lose it. Dropping your sketchbook and pencil, you throw your arms around him, sobbing.

"I love you," you finally whisper, squeezing your eyes shut.

"I always have."

You can't hold it in anymore. You let your tears fall. But now it's okay. You could care less. You know you love him. There's no reason to be afraid.

Now you're free.

~~The REAL FOR REAL I SWEAR End~~

(for real)

(not counting the sequel, of course)

(^_-)

(So I guess it's not REALLY the end.)

(Okay. I got it:)

~~THE END...FOR NOW~~

(okays!)

Alright, so here's the scoop: I am waiting one month to start posting the sequel, due mostly to the fact that I will become super busy finishing another story and plus with band starting back up...so yeah...August 9, look forward to it! :) Thank you so much for sticking with me through this, but don't go away! It's not over just yet.

That's How We Roll, Yo-Sequel to NLB--coming August 9th!

--Emi Hikari