Valiant Hearts II
Chapter XV
You and You and I –
Under the Moonlight
“That's it for today.”
Naminè was more than just tired. Training had been going on for over five hours that day. Aerith was a nice person, but too ambitious when it came to magic. It was past noon, time for lunch, and training was finally over.
Kairi's training must be still going on. Would she go and see it? It wasn't that far a detour anyway, so she decided to go. Aerith would go back in advance to prepare lunch. Tifa was probably still training Olette, or rather torturing her, as she called it.
“You're making good progress, Naminè. I think you'll have fire done before the week ends.” Aerith was smiling at Naminè, proud of her apprentice.
“I'm going to look how Kairi is doing. I'll come back with her.”
“It's her first day after recovering. Give her a slap on the head if she's overdoing things…actually, I'm sure she is.” Aerith sighed and tried to imagine Naminè actually slapping Kairi on the head.
Hilarious. So hilarious that Aerith started to smile so widely that Naminè gave her a weird gaze before she left. It was still around noon, so there was enough time for lunch.
Naminè made her way from the canyon all the way up to the castle grounds. The place was a mess back from when Hollow Bastion had been Maleficent's headquarters. Leon had decided to not repair the place and instead use it as training grounds.
Naminè could hear swords clashing from a distance and it got louder when she got closer. That was the sound of fighting, and there was little question who was fighting.
The last corner, Naminè came upon an amazing sight. Leon was running towards the castle walls, his sword magically enlarged to an enormous size. It was his special attack. To use that in training was quite extreme.
Kairi was in front of Leon, standing near the castle walls. Leon was about to strike, and Kairi was a sitting duck. Naminè was following Leon's movements. He looked serious enough to make her think it was a real battle.
The finishing strike came. And Leon ran blindly in the trap. Kairi fired gravity magic on the ground and jumped to the side, evading Leon's blow. The swordsman hit the gravity spell and got his sword stuck. He decided instantly that it was better to break up the power-up spell, which freed his sword.
Kairi was already close enough to prevent him from using his power-up again. He had to defend against a series of blows, randomly coming vertically and horizontally. There was little room for a counterattack.
“Fire!” Leon yelled, and Kairi backed off, anticipating a fireball.
But nothing came. Instead, Leon closed in and hit a surprised Kairi with a kick to the ground. It was useless to disarm a Keyblader so he prevented her from attacking by using two gravity spells on her wrists. Kairi was unable to get up, and with Leon pointing his sword at her throat, the fight was over.
“Kairi!” Naminè was rather shocked to what lengths they went.
“Naminè?” Kairi looked to the side, seeing the blond girl running over to her.
“Are you all right? That looked like a real fight, you got me scared for a moment!” Naminè knelt next to Kairi.
She had bruises and cuts all over the place. Leon was definitely going too far with this!
Leon undid the gravity binding and knelt down. He was sweating and exhausted. He had only a few bruises, displaying his superior combat abilities. They were still far apart, Kairi and he. She would have to go through a lot of training until he had to be really serious.
“Good work. I didn't anticipate the gravity bind. But that's useless if your opponent can choose the length and the shape of his weapon. Keep that in mind. Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow,” Leon said and stood up, slowly walking away.
Naminè could only listen and watch in astonishment. She didn't like Leon, but he didn't seem like a bad person. But his training seemed to be much worse than Tifa's or Aerith's.
Kairi was exhausted. It was nothing new that Leon beat her, but it really was surprising that he praised her tactics. The main point of their battles was not to enhance physical or magical abilities but to gain tactical experience. No power in the world meant anything if the opponent could see every single move in advance.
With Olette and Naminè on her side, Kairi was more serious than ever. She wanted to show them that she was trying her best, not allowing herself to fail like she had on their last mission. One day, she would function as the tactical head for those two. She couldn't neglect training her body and mind, though. She would ask Tifa to let her train together with Olette. It wasn't enough if she trained thrice a week with Leon. There was enough time to train at least once with Tifa and Aerith. That still left her two days to rest.
“You're pushing yourself too hard, Kairi. Aerith told me I should give you a slap on the head if you do. I won't, but promise me that you take better care of yourself!” Naminè was worried Kairi was overdoing things.
“If I don't train hard, I'll never be strong enough to take on…him.” Kairi had not-so-fond memories of him.
“Even if you don't train this hard, you aren't alone. I also do what I can. Even Olette!”
“You…don't understand that.”
“Then explain it to me!” Naminè looked at Kairi in incomprehension.
“Maybe later,” Kairi said and got up. She had asked them to go with her to that place today.
“You're so stubborn!” Naminè complained, but followed the redhead.
“I know. And you're as curious as a cat.”
“What does that mean?” Naminè had never heard of the saying.
“You'll find out one day.” Kairi had gone back to smiling.
Naminè made a sulking expression. “Why do I feel like you're making fun of me?”
Kairi said nothing, but giggled. Her body hurt and Aerith would probably scold her for being reckless. What Tifa would say…well, she already knew. Tifa would, as usual, threaten to beat up Leon.
The two girls made their way over to their home. Naminè linked her arm with Kairi's, doing so without any deeper intent. It didn't seem to bother Kairi.
“You'd love to stay like that forever, wouldn't you?” Kairi was teasing her.
“If you don't mind.” Naminè was still cautious about such things, but Kairi seemed to be much less distanced than before.
“I do, but we can stay like this until we get home.”
Their relationship had changed. Kairi knew that Naminè had a romantic interest in her, but nothing good would come out of just pretending it would go away if she ignored it long enough.
---Valiant Hearts---
Kairi was taking a shower first, while Olette and Naminè were talking, or rather, arguing in their room.
“Now stop sulking, Olette. I was just walking with her.”
Olette had seen them from the windows walking, arms linked together. She knew that it wasn't a big deal, but she still played the offended and sulking one.
“You're so lucky. I want to walk like that with Kairi too.”
“Are you sure? Didn't you complain five minutes ago that Tifa is killing you and you don't want to move a single step—” Naminè knew that Olette was pretending. It was so obvious, she decided to play along and tease her a bit.
“That is different! Who knows what you two did before you got to the house!”
“Kairi said I shouldn't tell. You would go crazy.” Naminè had to suppress her laughter, and turned away from Olette.
“I knew it.” Olette buried her face in her pillow, trying to avoid showing her big smile to Naminè.
Naminè climbed up the ladder and sat down on Olette's back. The brunette moaned from the sudden weight on her back. Her sore muscles were just as bad as the day before and Naminè only made it worse. To top it all off, Naminè started tickling Olette. And what a victim she had found herself!
“Get off me, you witch,” Olette was laughing while saying so.
“Force me, you brute!” Naminè continued tickling her.
Olette tried to move around and throw Naminè off and it worked. They forcefully switched positions and now Olette was on top of Naminè, tickling her. The blond girl was not quite as sensitive as Olette and could resist laughing.
“I knew you two were close, but I didn't knew this close.”
Both girls looked down, seeing Kairi in the door frame. It was embarrassing off the scale. It certainly looked like they were doing that.
“She started it!” It was the first thing that came to Olette's mind.
“We were just teasing each other!” Naminè only made it worse.
“Wow, hold it. I didn't want details.” Kairi knew exactly what it looked like, but it was too funny to see the girls embarrassed like that.
“It isn't like that!” Olette got away from Naminè, and was glaring red.
“Olette's right!” Naminè was no less red than Olette.
“Lunch is ready, come down, you two lovebirds.” Kairi felt good. It was so much better to deal with all this once she had made up her mind. It was now only a matter of…telling them.
“We aren't lovebirds!” both girls said simultaneously.
“Yes, of course.” Kairi smiled and left, going down the stairs.
It only took the girls a minute to get down, still embarrassed over the misunderstanding and looking rather awkwardly at each other.
“This is your fault!” Naminè pointed at Olette.
“It's not!” Olette didn't want to argue about this anymore. It was embarrassing, especially in front of Kairi.
“It's okay, I know it only looked like that,” Kairi said and rolled her eyes. The girls really took some things too seriously.
Aerith had observed everything and was smiling to herself. Tifa was in the shower and missed everything. She would tell her later. It was good to see the girls getting along.
“You three look like you're having fun.”
“Looks like Naminè is not only learning magic from you, Aerith. What else are you teaching her?” Kairi gave Aerith a guilty look.
“I don't know what you're talking about.” Aerith was innocent and Kairi knew it.
Lunchtime flew by. They talked about nothing but how Naminè was taking after Aerith, and Kairi had a lot of fun comparing Olette to Tifa. That only led to Naminè and Olette joining forces and comparing Kairi to Leon, who was equally stubborn. The redhead had more to say and in the end, the girls accused each other of being younger counterparts of the adults. It led to three sulking girls and a laughing Aerith.
Tifa joined them when they were just past comparing Olette to her and everyone looked at her with wide eyes. Tifa was confused and asked what it was all about, and everyone but Olette started laughing.
They girls went back into their rooms when lunch was over, while Aerith and Tifa went out for their own training session.
“Do I really act like Tifa?” Olette was complaining to Naminè, who was lying on her own bed below Olette's, and reading the novel she got from Aerith.
“Maybe.” Naminè answered halfheartedly, occupied with her own thoughts.
“It's not true, isn't it? I'm not that irresponsible!”
“Maybe.”
“Naminè, are you even listening?”
“Maybe.”
Olette climbed down the ladder, leaning over Naminè and finally getting her to look away from her novel.
“Am I like Tifa?” Olette was thinking that it wasn't too bad.
“I don't know. I do think you're sort of like her. But that's not a bad thing, really.”
Naminè liked Olette, and if she was like Tifa, what did it matter?
“I was just thinking…have I always been like that?”
Olette was thinking that maybe being in this world was changing her. Maybe being with Kairi, with everyone else, was changing her. But was it a good or a bad thing? Meeting Kairi certainly was a good thing.
“I don't know. But I'm changing too. I don't think we are changing for the worse.”
Awkward silence fell over the two. Olette sat down on Naminè's bed. Should she talk to her about it? They were in the same boat, and what Tifa had said still bothered her.
“It's weird like this.”
Naminè could guess what Olette meant. She felt the same. How long would this go on? How long would they have to wait?
“It's up to Kairi…”
The atmosphere was going downhill. They both didn't know what to say. They each knew the other liked Kairi, and they knew Kairi would have to choose.
The door opened and the very subject of their troubles entered. Kairi looked rather confused, seeing Olette down next to Naminè.
“Want to go to that place? I asked you yesterday, so…”
“I'll go.” Olette was up in a second.
“Me too.” Naminè put a bookmark in her novel and stood up.
It was still light out and it would take a bit longer for the sun to set. That place was the best when the sun was going down, but it wouldn't hurt to go up a bit earlier.
Kairi was nervous. She had made up her mind, even if it meant completely changing their relationship forever. Her thoughts went back to the night they got back, the moment Yuffie told her about Olette.
---Valiant Hearts---
“I thought a lot about it, Kairi, but no matter how much I want to deny it, I love you.”
Silence. It was an earsplitting silence, like it had occurred after a terrible accident. Neither said anything, the silence just continued. Kairi finally centered her thoughts and tried to answer.
“So that's what she said?”
Nothing else came out. Kairi was at a loss for words. Why didn't she notice it? Why hadn't Olette said anything?
“Well, I guess my time is up, I'll be leaving. Sleep well, Kairi, and welcome home.”
The black-haired woman left through the window, and Kairi was alone with her thoughts.
“Olette…why…?”
Kairi could feel her heart ache. Was it an error to trust Olette? A error to act around her like that? But…
Sleep was completely out of the question now. Kairi glared at the ceiling, burying her face in her hands. Just what should she do now?
“First Naminè…for no reason and now…Olette…why, dammit?!”
Kairi's feelings went from confused to rage. Why did one girl after another force their unrequited feelings on her? How would she deal with them? Did she have any feelings for them?
Her mind was clouded with anger. Just why did they both have to fall in love with her? What was so special about her? Sometimes she wished to be a boring regular girl, without all these burdens.
That thought woke bad memories. Memories of when she wanted to run away, throw away everything and give up. And she had promised herself to never let it happen again.
Taking a deep breath, Kairi tried to clear her mind. It was wrong to get all angry over it. There was nothing she could do about the feelings of others. But this situation couldn't go on. If she told Naminè she wanted to stay friends, would she do the same with Olette? But it was already awkward enough, knowing one girl loved her. Wasn't that…just running away?
She had never bothered with romantic feelings or the sort. Asking Aerith or Tifa would only lead to them encouraging her to look for those things herself. One couldn't explain feelings to others. Maybe she just wasn't ready for it. Maybe she would never be. Was is right to have the girls waiting forever for her? Was it fair? Did she want to do that to them?
“No…”
But would telling them so ruin their friendship? It surely would change their relationship forever, irreparably. Did Kairi really want that? It had only been so long since she got to know them, and there was still a lot she didn't know about them. Would they hate her? Would they walk away from her?
It was a difficult choice. But wouldn't making them wait forever make them hate her even more? It would be, as a friend, a terrible act to do.
Kairi had been alone for a long time. Even if it meant being alone again, she had to make a choice.
Her thoughts wandered back and forth for so long, she didn't even know how soon the morning came. In the end, her choice was clear. It was for the best this way.
---Valiant Hearts---
It was still early to go to the observation deck, but Kairi had something else to say. Something that was weighting on her shoulders, something that they had to admit to themselves or they would never get over it.
“The air is so clean up here.”
The deck was as beautiful as ever. High above Hollow Bastion, one could feel the wind and the sun, could see the whole town.
“Did you guys ever ask yourself what's down there?” Naminè pointed at the canyon.
“Aerith said that they tried to measure the ground once, but they couldn't reach it. It seems like a bottomless hole,” Kairi explained, and leaned on the fence.
“Wow…I hope I don't fall down there.” Naminè took a step back, looking over to Olette. “But you two would come and save me, right?” The magician looked at her friends.
At first, Kairi thought she had misheard.
“Are you sure? Wouldn't you like it if Kairi came and rescued you all on her own? Like a shining prince on a white horse that saves the princess?” Olette teased her, with a big grin on her face.
“But Kairi isn't a prince. And a white horse? Olette, did Tifa give you something odd to drink?”
Kairi and Olette started to laugh. It was sometimes funny that Naminè took such sayings literally. But who could blame her? She had no memories of her past, and they still didn't know her true age or birthplace.
The atmosphere was good, and the girls enjoyed themselves up there. Olette preferred to lay supine on a bench with Naminè next to her on the ground. It had become a fixed habit of patting her head, and Naminè let no one else but Olette and Kairi do it.
Time went by, and they silently enjoyed being together. For Kairi, it was not quite as enjoyable. She wanted to forget it, to get over it. But it wouldn't be easy to bring it up. Maybe the direct way really was the best…
“We failed.”
Olette and Naminè stopped everything they were doing and looked at Kairi, confused.
“We failed because I was too weak. A town burned down, many people died, and even you two almost died. And it was all because I'm stubborn and incompetent.”
Kairi blamed herself for her lack of power, her lack of foreseeing the enemy's moves. Blamed herself for getting injured and almost dying, blamed herself for what Olette and Naminè had had to go through.
“Don't be so damn stupid!”
Kairi was pulled out of her world. Olette had stood up and yelled at Kairi, looking really angry. Kairi had never seen Olette like that. She was clenching her fists, looking at Kairi.
“How am I stupid? Do you honestly believe it wasn't my fault?!” Kairi yelled back.
Naminè hated this. Hated Kairi and Olette yelling at each other. It made her feel sad and angry inside, and the blond girl could only look on the ground, unable to face whatever was going on between the others.
“Yes I do! How damn self-centered can you be that you believe everything is your fault?” Olette said everything in a rage. Olette usually never talked to her like that, but Kairi's attitude made her angry.
“How is it not? I screwed up when fighting him, I almost died trying to let you two escape just to find out that you two were trapped in the world and almost died fighting him again! It's all my damn fault!” Kairi was no less angry.
Olette knew how Kairi was feeling and why she was blaming herself, but it was too much to take all the blame herself. Why didn't Kairi trust them? She wasn't just a sole fighter that had to protect them.
“Didn't you say we're a team? In a team, there is no 'my fault.' There is only 'our fault.' Don't you understand that?” Olette walked to Kairi, standing right in front of her.
Kairi didn't know what to say. True, she had called them a team, and Olette was right.
“Let us shoulder some of that fault, Kairi. It's not yours alone. We could have stopped you from going. But we were so sure of ourselves. We thought we could handle it.” Olette slowly calmed down.
Kairi sunk to her knees, staring at the ground. It felt good to let it all out, to yell and to be angry. She rarely allowed herself to feel like that.
“You're not alone. Not now, not in the future. You will always have the people from Hollow Bastion. Have Tifa and Aerith. And especially us. We stepped into this world, and we won't ever leave it.” Olette didn't feel like hugging Kairi, so he went back to Naminè and took a deep breath.
“It felt good to let it out…” Kairi felt much better. Now…now, she had the courage to finally say it.
A few minutes of silence went by. Naminè had calmed down and was sitting on the same bench as Olette was, and Kairi was standing at the fence, looking at the sun, which was slowly setting.
“I…have something else to say.”
It hurt. It already hurt. The thought of how they would react hurt.
“We already yelled at each other, I hope you now have some positive news.” Olette was trying to lighten up the atmosphere.
“You have no idea…” Kairi whispered to herself, not loudly enough for anyone to hear.
“What is it? You can always talk to us. We will always be there for you, Kairi.” Naminé wanted Kairi to believe her.
“It's about that. Exactly that. You two and me.”
It was like a curtain of anxiety fell over them. Kairi was still standing at the fence, directly in front of the sun. The setting sun wrapped her into a dark red light.
“I only…like you two.”
They didn't dare to say a word. Their hearts were beating like mad, and their minds were blank, unable to think anything.
Kairi felt different. Her heart wasn't beating like mad, it was like something icy had grabbed it. It was painful to breathe, painful to speak. But there was no way back now.
“You are friends, and that's it. Nothing more than that. Why don't you understand that?”
Kairi couldn't continue. She had to take a deep breath and collect all of her courage to say it.
Turning around, the crimson sunlight shining around her silhouette mostly masked her. But they could clearly see her face. The words came slowly, and each of it felt painful.
“I don't love either of you. Give up already. Stop forcing your expectations on me. Just leave me alone!”
Without waiting for any response, Kairi turned around and started running. She didn't want to be near anyone for now. What would they think of her now? In a mere second, she had turned their relationship upside down. But it was her decision to do things this way. She had always been a lone wolf and would always be. Maybe she just wasn't made for romance.
Olette and Naminè were left behind, in many ways. Still sitting on the bench, the sun had set, and darkness started to devour the light, started to devour their hearts.
“I didn't know it would feel like that,” Naminè whispered.
Olette was looking at the moon that was coming up. A single tear ran from her eyes.
“Olette…” Naminè was resting her head on Olette's shoulder.
“I know how you feel…we knew it could end up like this. We knew it…but it still hurts.”
“I don't understand. Why did Kairi look so sad?” Naminè was looking up to Olette.
“I don't know…”
If they had ever needed each other, then it was now.
Olette felt miserable. She had always told herself this could happen, and she thought she was prepared for it. But in the end, she wasn't. It hurt, but she didn't cry. For a while, she didn't want to see Kairi's face, just so that this feeling would go away. It surely would, if she just had some distance.
Naminè took it worse. She had always loved Kairi. Sadness had a tight grip around her heart. For a few minutes Naminè was about to cry, but with Olette near her, only tears fell in complete silence.
They continued to sit there, and darkness had already covered most of Hollow Bastion. It got colder, and Naminè moved in closer to Olette, freezing.
“Can we go home?”
Naminè was cold and despite everything that happened, she wanted to be at least in the same house Kairi was.
“I…don't want to.”
Naminè thought she had misheard. Why would Olette not want to go home? It was the only place they had left to go to. And even if Kairi had rejected them, Naminè wanted to be close to her, even if it meant only knowing she was there.
“Why not?”
“Because of Kairi.”
Home was where Kairi was. For now, Olette didn't want to see her face, or to be anywhere near her. If that meant not going home, then Olette wouldn't go. It hurt to just think about her, but seeing her, knowing she was just a room apart, Olette couldn't stand it.
Olette shook her head. It wasn't like that. Not exactly. But she didn't want to see Kairi's face now or tomorrow. It would only stir up bad feelings.
“Do you dislike Kairi now?”
“No, I don't. But…I'm different from you. I don't want to see her right now. It would only make me feel worse.”
Naminè sighed and hugged Olette. She understood her point, even if she didn't understand that feeling. But if Olette needed to be away to get better, Naminè wouldn't stop her.
“Will you stay with me?” Olette didn't want to be all alone. At least Naminè should stay with her.
“I want to go home. I don't want to be away from Kairi, no matter how she feels about me.”
Olette sort of understood how Naminè felt, but she wasn't able to share that feeling. Olette just needed a bit time alone to handle this matter.
“I won't go home. Not today, maybe not tomorrow. Please understand that. Do you still want to go home, alone?” It was Olette's last try to make Naminè go with her.
“I do. I promised myself I would never leave Kairi alone again.” Naminè could see the disappointment in Olette's face.
“You're strong, Naminè…” Olette couldn't do that. Couldn't go there. Naminè seemed to still love Kairi. It was not surprising. But how about herself?
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Let's go home.”
It was dark and cold when they got down. It was night and thestars and moon were out, shining over the town. It was a beautiful sight. But in this moment, Olette couldn't see anything beautiful in it. The girls were quiet until they reached the door to their home. Naminè had already her hand on the doorknob when Olette turned around.
“Where are you staying? I want to be near Kairi, but I don't want to be away from you.”
“I'm going to crash at Yuffie's place. You can come and see me anytime. Good night, Naminè.”
Before Naminè could reply, Olette hugged her tightly and whispered a few words, feeling worse than before. If only Naminè had gone with her.
---Valiant Hearts----
The way down had been long, and Kairi still felt miserable. Their faces, when she told them…that image…would she ever get it out of her head?
“Why am I so stupid…how is this the right thing? How is this better? Why did I have to tell them, why didn't I just wait a couple months?! Just why can't I do a single thing right?!”
Sad about what happened, angry at herself, Kairi only wanted to get home, wanted to get in her bed, and wanted the day to end. Why didn't she just let it be? That sure was a great way to start working things out between them right after they had gotten back from their disastrous mission.
There was no one home. Tifa and Aerith were out. Kairi stood in the living room for a bit. The sun was almost down and only a few last fragments of light were finding their way into the house.
“I'm so stupid…”
Kairi had enough of it. She only wanted to be alone. She slowly walked up the stairs to her room. She stopped for a second at the room Olette and Naminè were sharing. Would they come back? They surely wouldn't want to be anywhere near her right now. And they were right. With a big sigh, Kairi walked away from the door.
Going into her own room, not even bothering to undress, Kairi went to bed.
“I wish things went as easily as in books…reality is much too harsh…”
Slowly fading over to the realm of dreams, Kairi was once again confronted with her inner demons. The faces of Olette and Naminè when she told them the truth, the fear of failing to meet the expectations everyone placed on her…
Time passed by, and Kairi was deeply asleep when her door was opened, and a pair of curious eyes looked inside the dark room, only to vanish a second later, closing the door.
“She's asleep.”
Aerith was standing in front of the door, Tifa next to her, carrying Naminè. They had found her on the couch, sleeping with a sad expression still on her face. Next to her was Olette's note. They knew it was useless to go over to Yuffie's. She would only tell them to get lost at this time of night.
“What in the hell happened between them? Kairi is sleeping, Naminè on the couch making such a face and to top it off, Cid told me he saw Olette going into Yuffie's apartment. Talk about a crazy day.” Tifa was rolling her eyes in annoyance. What the hell had happened in a few hours?
“I don't know. And I think we shouldn't rush to conclusions. Let's carefully ask Kairi tomorrow.”
“I'm getting her into bed.”
Aerith was left standing in front of Kairi's door. If all three of them were like this, she could already guess what happened. It would only make things worse to drill for an answer. If the girls wanted them to know, they would tell them.
A few minutes later, Tifa fell onto her own bed. Training with Olette was one thing, but training with Aerith was extremely tiring. The pink-clad woman sat on her side of the bed, leaning over, playing with her lover's long hair.
“You need to learn to take it easy on me. You almost blasted me up that one time.” Tifa was complaining, but not being serious.
Aerith smiled and started making a pattern in Tifa's hair. She loved to play with Tifa's hair. That way she didn't have to fix it afterwards.
“If I weren't serious, you'd win too easily, Lofa.” Aerith was giggling for no reason.
“Lofa? What's that mean?” Tifa looked up, confused.
“Your new nickname.” A wide, big smile was on her face.
“But what does it mean?” Tifa wanted to get up, but Aerith was still twiddling with Tifa's hair.
“Now you're being lazy, Tifa Lockhart.”
It took a few seconds until Tifa realized. She rolled her eyes and smiled.
“Very creative, really.” Tifa sighed and closed her eyes.
“Hey, if it were too complex, you'd never get it.” Aerith was making an evil smile.
“You're so mean, Raina.”
“Now you're just taking random letters from my name and making up a nickname,” Aerith complained.
“So? You did the same.”
“At least think of something better.” Aerith was still playing with Tifa's hair.
“What are you doing the whole time with my hair anyway?” Tifa grew gradually suspicious of her lover.
“Nothing, really.” Aerith couldn't suppress the giggling anymore and fell down on the bed.
“I swear, if you did something to my hair again, I will—oh, goddamn it!” Tifa stood up and looked in the mirror.
Tifa's hair was made into two braids, similar to Aerith's, but shorter. It made her look really ridiculous and even though Tifa tried to undo the stylistic massacre, she couldn't manage it.
“Dear God, Aerith, each and every time you do this!”
Aerith was lying on the bed, looking at Tifa, giggling and virtually lusting over her lover with her eyes.
“I swear, deep down, you're a pervert.” Tifa pointed at Aerith, slightly angry.
“And you still love me.” Aerith made a overly cute expression and almost got Tifa laughing.
“But you're still a pervert!”
“That's only because you're so good-looking.”
“Talk about yourself.” Tifa, with her hilarious hairstyle, went back to the bed, kneeling next to Aerith, looking straight in her eyes.
“Do you want another workout?” Tifa used a seducing voice, getting closer to Aerith. They could feel each other's breath on their faces.
Instead of a answer, Aerith closed the distance, kissing the black-haired woman, laying a hand around her neck. Tifa's lips were rough from the training, but they never lost their delicious taste. Aerith got pushed down on the bed by Tifa, and with that, their kiss broke up.
“Shower. Now,” Aerith said and got up, away from the bed.
Tifa had a disappointed look on her face, and let herself fall on the bed. The last days had been so troublesome, it had been some time since she last slept with Aerith. And now she just had to go and take a shower.
“Are you deaf nowadays, Tifa?” Aerith was standing next to the bed, looking from above into her face.
“What? But I thought—” The black-clad woman was confused.
“When I said shower, I meant both of us.” Aerith took Tifa's hand and pulled her up. Giggling and smiling, they made their way over to the bathroom.
---Valiant Hearts---
“Ya got any idea what time it is…?”
Olette couldn't find a bell, so she had knocked. For about five minutes.
“Yuffie, I need you to do…me…a favor…and…” With each word, Olette blushed harder.
Yuffie opened the door, but what made Olette blush was her attire. The only thing—the one and only thing Yuffie was wearing—was a very long shirt. It barely covered her hips, but Yuffie didn't seem to mind.
“Whatcha doing here this time…?”
“Can I crash at your place for a few nights?”
“Sure, but why aren't you…oh, I see, you've had a fight with Kairi or Naminè, right?”
“Sort…of, I guess.”
Alone from Olette's expression, Yuffie knew that it was no topic she would make any more jokes about.
“Come in, it's late. I was already sleepin'.”
Yuffie made way and Olette stepped into the most likely worst-organized apartment in history. There was everything everywhere. No sign of order far and wide. It was a amazing view in its own chaotic way. There was no free place anywhere. Even the bed was full of stuff, mostly little colored marbles.
“You're gonna sleep in the bed.”
Olette wasn't one to argue. If Yuffie let her sleep in the bed, that was good. Who was she to deny that hospitality?
“One more thing, you're not gonna sleep with yer clothes. Strip.”
For some reason, when Yuffie said it, it sounded so incredibly wrong that Olette shivered for a second.
“Want something to drink? I believe I have some Malacia here…”
Yuffie started searching through the kitchen part while Olette was more or less embarrassed to undress. There was no place to put the clothes, so Olette just put them atop of Yuffie's. Any more chaos couldn't make this any worse-looking than it was.
“No, I'm fine…I just want to sleep…”
“Okay. I'll dim the lights. I find my way around in darkness just fine.”
“Good night, Yuffie. And thanks for letting me in.”
“Don't worry about it.”
Olette closed her eyes. The bed was amazingly clean and the room too—didn't reek at all. Most of the chaos seemed to come from tools and materials Yuffie used for her weapons.
But the continuous sounds from the other room held her awake for a bit longer. She was cold and the bed wasn't all that warm. Where did Yuffie sleep if the bed was this cold?
A few minutes later, Olette was half-asleep when the noises came suddenly closer, much closer. Just what could Yuffie be doing in a dark room?
A second later, Olette knew that Yuffie had been making her way over to the bed, making a huge ruckus. Something came into the bed, and Olette could feel warm breath on her neck. To top it off, two tender arms were searching their way around her waist, pulling her closer. Olette didn't feel like freaking out, like pushing her off. It was weird, but she actually enjoyed it that someone was apparently caring for her. Her heart was longing for some comfort, and Yuffie didn't seem like a bad person to get it from.
“I thought you said I can sleep in the bed?”
“You can, can't you?”
“But—”
“I never said I was going to sleep somewhere else.”
“…thank you.”
“I just thought you could use someone near you.”
Olette was grateful. Clinging to Yuffie, Olette finally drifted to the land of dreams.
But for the black-haired girl, sleep was still far off. She didn't want to admit it, but she had observed Olette from the corner of her eyes. Under normal circumstances, she would have teased her, maybe tried to get a kiss, but looking at her face made it clear that that would only make her feel worse.
For Yuffie, it didn't matter if it was a guy or a girl. If she was interested in a person, it didn't matter a bit. Lately, with Olette and Naminè around, her interests kind of shifted a bit. She still had an eye on Leon, but chances were she would never be able to actually get along with him, much less have him like her.
She wanted to find out what happened to Olette that made her like that. But it had to wait till tomorrow. For now, it felt good to not be alone. Yuffie would never admit it to anyone, but she was often lonely and got lonely really easily.
Maybe, just maybe…
---Valiant Hearts---
Awkward. The whole situation was awkward. Kairi ate breakfast before Naminè got up and left early. She didn't want to see the girls. Aerith woke up to the sound of the house door closing. She was still laying in Tifa's arms. It was probably just Kairi who left early. That meant she didn't want to talk about it.
Kairi spent the morning at the coffee bar. It was run by a woman named Rydia, a nice young woman with long green hair. Kairi didn't know which world she was from, but she was one of the many people who built Hollow Bastion with Ansem the Wise. At least, that was what Aerith had told her.
“What a rare sight we have here. What gets you here so early, Kairi?” Rydia was still cleaning the coffee bar, as it had just opened.
“Don't ask, please.” Kairi just sat there and looked out the window.
The weather was just like her mood. Cloudy and about to rain, darker than was usual for the season. Kairi was still feeling sick and miserable from the previous day. How long would it take until she could face the girls?
“I won't ask, then.” The woman smiled and continued to polish the counter.
“Thanks.” Kairi just wanted the time to pass.
Staring out the window, it soon started to rain. Barely anyone came to the coffee bar when the weather was like this, and Rydia gave Kairi a big coffee as a courtesy of the house.
Kairi could feel every tick of the clock. Every second that went on stretched to feel like hours. Should she skip training? In this rain, and with her troubled mind and heart, how could she put up with Leon? It would be a waste of time.
How should she explain it? “Sorry, I feel bad about breaking the hearts of two girls, I can't train today”? That sure sounded cheesy and like a poor excuse. But why did she feel so bad about doing it to them?
Did she like them after all? But why didn't she feel anything for them aside from friendship? Kairi could only guess. Her own emotions had always been a mystery for her.
Kairi was regretting doing what she had done. It had been a stupid idea. It would've been better to just say she didn't feel anything for them yet.
One thing that made Kairi worry more than anything was what would happen if she did come to like one of them, or even both, eventually. Wouldn't they think she was just cruel? It was the thing that scared Kairi the most. Falling in love with them.
In Kairi's mind, she noticed one thing. The thought of liking them, the thought of falling in love with a girl, didn't seem gross or weird to her. Was it influence from living with Aerith and Tifa? Or had just something changed inside her in the last few days? Whatever it was, Kairi had changed.
---Valiant Hearts---
In other places, things were different. Much different.
“Sorry, Aerith, I…don't really have any appetite.”
Naminè didn't feel like eating anything. She didn't even feel like getting up that morning. After remembering that Olette was at Yuffie's place, Naminè felt all alone.
Aerith wanted to comfort her, and it meant much to Naminè. Kairi had rejected her, and it still hurt. It didn't hurt as much as it had the night before, but Naminè wasn't particular happy that Kairi had left before she got up.
Tifa was still sleeping, and Aerith was alone with Naminè in the living room. Aerith knew how much a broken heart—unrequited love—could hurt. She had experienced it in the past and truly never wanted to feel like that again. Or, for that matter, didn't want anyone else to feel like that.
“I can imagine, I think, how you feel…” Aerith sat down next to Naminè, laying a hand on hers.
“I feel horrible…I never felt bad like this before. Why…why did Kairi reject me? Reject us?”
“Kairi rejected you? Naminè, will you tell me what happened?”
“We went…to our place. We just enjoyed being there…we really got along the last few days. I was really happy about it. Kairi started talking about the…mission all of a sudden. Olette and Kairi got really angry and yelled at each other. I felt really sick when they did that. Olette then said we were a team and that there is no 'your fault' and only 'our fault'…I thought Kairi knew it, but apparently she didn't. They made up and said it felt good to let it out…then…” Naminè made a break. It felt good to talk to someone about it.
“Kairi always tries to shoulder all the blame alone. Even when she went with one of us, and we screwed up by being outsiders in that world, Kairi would blame herself. Kairi said us she had something to tell us…and then…” Naminè didn't want to repeat it. It hurt a bit by talking about it, by admitting it, by accepting it. “… she told us she doesn't love us.”
Aerith could only sigh and embrace Naminè, who looked like she would start crying any second, and rub her back. There wasn't anything she could say or do about this. Naminè had gotten her heart broken by the girl she had loved since the moment she had gotten here, and it seemed to be her first love too.
It reminded Aerith of the time Tifa was still chasing Cloud. She had secretly been in love with her for a long time, from before their world got destroyed. There had been a time she had thought about giving up, about just admitting that Tifa wasn't interested. It took over a year for the two women to get together.
Naminè was happy being comforted by Aerith. It felt good, it made the pain hurt less, knowing that someone else cared for her.
“Olette is gone too.. she said she doesn't want to see Kairi. Will her pain go away?”
“The pain will lessen…but it will never go completely away. And if she still loves her…she won't be able to forget the pain completely. Not as long as she loves her.” Aerith knew that lying about such things only made it worse.
“What should I do, then? I don't want Olette to feel like that whenever she looks at Kairi. I still love her and want to be near her, but Olette wants to be apart from her. I don't want them to be separated like that.”
For the moment, Aerith was just a friend she could talk with who comforted her, not the parent of the girl she was in love with.
“You can only hope. People's feelings are very delicate and easily hurt. If Olette still loves Kairi, she will come back. If she doesn't, it will take her a bit of time to get over it. They won't be the same as before, but they can be still friends.”
Aerith made a break. Naminè really must be close to Olette to worry about how she was feeling even now. But what about her own feelings? She wanted to be near Kairi, but what about her feelings for her?
“Naminè, do you still love Kairi?”
Naminè took a while to answer. It was only a slight nod, her feelings were confused, but she would never completely stop loving Kairi. She still wanted to be near her at all times, wanted to see her.
“If you still love her, keep trying. Kairi has been slow with romantic things since I first knew her. It might take a while, but maybe she will requite your feelings one day. But there is no guarantee how long it will take. It could take years, or never happen. If you give up on her, you can still be near her, but as friend. Waiting for all eternity is a sad thing, and I don't want you to go through that.”
Naminè didn't say anything. There wasn't a good choice. Only one less bad than the other. For her to forget about Kairi, to give up…she could never do it. She would continue trying. Even if it hurt, there was something inside her that would never allow her to forget Kairi.
Naminè had found her resolve. It was the only thing she could do for now.
“We'll skip training today. Get some rest, please. I'm not going to let you skip lunch and dinner.”
Naminè nodded, finally let go of Aerith, and stood up. “Thanks. For everything.”
Naminè took a deep breath. It was still early, but she wanted to see her. See Olette. She said she was at Yuffie's place, and Naminè roughly remembered where that was. She would tell Olette what her decision was.
“I'm going out for a bit.”
---Valiant Hearts---
It was suffocating. Hard to breathe, as if something heavy was on top of her chest. Opening one eye, Olette saw a chaotic and messy room. Right…she was at Yuffie's place. Looking down on her, she noticed what was lying on her chest. Yuffie. To be accurate, it was Yuffie's head, and her face was buried in Olette's breasts.
Immediately blushing, the brunette tried to free herself, but every attempt only made Yuffie move along, cling to her. She was strong, but by no means as strong as Olette, and after a bit of effort, she finally got free. But what now? Get up? Olette had momentarily forgotten about Kairi, but once she was free and her face wasn't glaring red anymore, it all came back. Now, looking at Yuffie, who was innocently sleeping in her bed, didn't seem so bad a option to go back to.
Olette remembered the last night. Yuffie had come to her, embraced her, comforted her, cared for her. The other people that could have comforted her were all living in the same house as Kairi. And of all places to be, that was the one she didn't want to go to.
Olette's heart longed for comfort, longed for company. And Yuffie was there.
Making her way over to the kitchen part, it took Olette a few minutes to find out where the coffee machine was, and another couple minutes where the coffee was. It had gotten colder, it was still early, and from the sound of it, even raining.
She looked for her clothes, but couldn't find anything. The place she had put them the day before had vanished or was buried under a pile of chaos. There was little choice but to walk around in just a shirt and underpants.
The coffee was almost done, and Olette freezing, when Yuffie showed up, half-asleep but finding her way amazingly well through the chaos without stumbling or falling.
“You already up?”
“I…well, it was kind of hard to breathe with you on top of me.” Olette wanted to be honest.
“Oh, I didn't do that…really? Aw, I'm sorry, Olette.” Seeing Yuffie embarrassed was a fun sight and Olette couldn't suppress to giggle at it. It was the first sign of not being miserable since the last night.
“It was…a bit unpleasant.” Olette was still a bit embarrassed..
“Do I look that bad?” Yuffie showed a smile, turned around and made a really sad face.
Yuffie had always been kind of alone. Having had an unrequited crush on Leon for the longest of times, and given her personality, Yuffie spent a lot of time alone in her apartment, working on weapons, tools, and just being alone. She often wanted to have just someone there to comfort her, someone there to be with her.
“No, it's just…I'm kind of wary with that stuff because of yesterday…” Olette said.
Yuffie walked over and moved behind Olette, suddenly laying both arms around her waist, leaning against her from behind. It was a huge gamble, but if Olette really had a fight with Kairi, she wouldn't turn down a bit of comfort.
“Thank you.” It felt so good to have someone care about her like that. Olette closed her eyes. Yuffie was impulsive, intrusive, and all the time a tease It seemed stupid to jump onto someone else like that, but Olette didn't mind what Yuffie was doing in the slightest.
“What do you think about me, Yuffie?”
An awkward silence fell over them. It took Yuffie a moment to decide. Would she go with the truth, or would she tell what Olette wanted to hear?
“You're cute, strong, and from what I hear, dependable. Also, you're fun to tease.”
“Kairi rejected Naminè and me. That's why I'm here. I just thought you should know that.”
Yuffie wasn't particularly happy to hear that. It always hurt to have unrequited feelings. And if Olette didn't want to see Kairi, Yuffie would let her stay.
“Stay as long as you want. I'll not charge you anything. It's been a while since I've slept so well.”
There was an awkward moment between the two girls and none of them dared to look at each other's face. They went back to reality when the coffee machine made a beeping sound.
Olette poured the coffee in two cups, giving one to Yuffie.
“Can you tell me where my clothes are?”
“I'll trade a cup of coffee for that info.”
Olette gave a cup of coffee to Yuffie, who immediately sipped at it and showed a thumbs up. “End of the bed.”
Olette placed her cup on a tiny free place, going back to the bed. Looking for her clothes, Olette crawled over the bed. It was so cold, Yuffie must have no heater, or had at least turned it off.
Yuffie let her cup stand next to Olette's and crawled next to Olette, who had just picked up her clothes.
“Let the clothes be, it's still early. I'm going back into bed. Won't you join me? I promise to be all gentle 'n stuff,” Yuffie said, and crawled back to her pillow.
Olette spent a split second thinking about what Yuffie said, then dismissed it as teasing. Spending time with her didn't seem so bad. It was better than anything else she could think of in the moment. She didn't have anything to do. Putting back her clothes—at least she knew now where they were—Olette got back in the bed. Looking directly at Yuffie was too embarrassing, so she turned around and lay on her side with her back directed to Yuffie.
They were interrupted right away. Someone was knocking on the door.
“You go. No way someone is coming for me this early. I usually sleep till ten.”
Olette sighed and got up, finding her way through the chaos. At some point, she would force Yuffie to clean at least a path from the bed to the door and to the kitchen.
Opening the door, Olette saw an unexpected guest. A warm feeling came up inside her. It was nice to see the blond girl, even if it was virtually freezing outside.
“Naminè!”
“I wanted to see if you're okay, Olette.”
“I'm okay. Yuffie let me in and even though it's a hell of chaos in here, it's okay.”
“That's all on purpose!” Yuffie shouted from the other room.
“Naminè, are you…okay? You seem different from last night.”
“I talked about it with Aerith. Olette…I…won't give up on Kairi. I just can't.”
It was not all that surprising for Olette. Naminè had been in love with Kairi since forever. But that she would come and tell her like this…the girl wasn't as weak as Olette had thought.
“What will you do?” Naminè was asking, looking at Olette.
“I don't know. I just don't want to see her right now. Will you come in?”
Naminè shook her head. She wanted to talk to Kairi. Maybe she was already back home.
“I'm happy you came to see me. I already started to miss you.”
Naminè giggled and took Olette's hand. “What kind of friend wouldn't come by to see how her best friend is doing? And…I miss you too. It's hard to be apart from you.”
Olette was a bit moved, and when Naminé let go and ran down the stairs, she took a deep breath. If Naminè could show such strength, then it was time she stopped pitying herself.
---Valiant Hearts---
The day went by uneventfully. All three girls ditched training that day and went separate ways. Kairi spent her whole day staring at the rain, letting feelings of regret and rage about her own stupidity overwhelm her.
Naminè kept looking for Kairi, but the redhead never showed up for lunch or dinner. Naminè had no appetite and didn't eat much. Aerith had told Tifa that it was better not to ask. Even though she had promised not to tell anyone, she told Tifa a few important things about what happened. Tifa was often impulsive, but not dumb. She knew better than to mention any of it to Naminè. Olette never showed up for training, but she had expected as much.
Olette's day was much different from the others'. Olette spent most of her time watching Yuffie working on her tools and talking to her. Yuffie was back to teasing Olette, like she usually did, and constantly making more chaos.
The day went by uneventfully, and the night came. Kairi returned home long after night had fallen. Rydia had closed that evening and Kairi aimlessly wandered about the town. She waited until all of the lights were gone in her home. How could she face Naminè and Olette in the future? Avoiding them forever was impossible. The next mission would come, and it would inevitably lead to meetings, to working with them.
Was she…running away from this? Running away from facing her inner demons? Maybe she was. It was her own fault that all of this had happened. Maybe she should have just told them it wasn't their fault, that she just wasn't able to feel romantic about them. The day had been long, and Kairi had thought about a lot of things.
What if it only took time for her? Kairi had come to like them in just a few weeks, but what would things look like in a month? In a year? What if she fell in love with one, or worse, both of them? She had thought about it before, but if she kept running away from this, all her chances to resolve this mess would vanish into thin air.
It was time to stop running away. To face reality. The next day, Kairi would talk to them.
Naminè had lain awake for a long time. Aerith and Tifa had gone to bed, and Naminè looked outside the window, lying in Olette's bed. Her smell sort of calmed her down.
Naminè had chosen to keep pursuing Kairi no matter what happened. Alone, the thought of giving up on Kairi, the girl who rescued her, who made her life worthwhile, was making her feel sick.
But there was something else. Naminè could feel something connecting her to Kairi. Something that went beyond simple love, beyond anything she had an explanation for. It was hard to describe, to put into words. Naminè could feel Kairi, could feel what she felt. Naminè remembered feeling it once, in the castle when she was held prisoner. Since then, it had gone. But now, since Kairi had rejected her, it was back. Not only did Naminè have to deal with her own feelings, she had to deal with Kairi's too.
But it was also something that enforced her decision to try harder with Kairi. If there was something like that connecting them, it was just wrong to ignore it. Naminè tried to explore it, tried to dig deeper into Kairi's feelings. Only this time, she actually felt something else than sadness.
Regret.
---Valiant Hearts---
Olette spent her whole day with Yuffie, and they had done nothing but assemble weird things and laugh, and Yuffie teased Olette while they had fun. They were tired and in bed, still talking. The conversation took a grave turn around when Yuffie brought up a sensitive subject.
“Did you cry about her?”
Olette didn't. On the observation deck with Naminè, she shed a few single tears, but it wasn't crying. Afterwards, she had confined her sadness inside herself, but being with Yuffie helped a great deal with that.
“No.”
Olette didn't like thinking about it. It didn't hurt anywhere near as much as the day before, but it still felt bad. How long would it take to completely forget that pain?
“Maybe you should. Letting it all out could help.”
Crying never helped. That was Olette's opinion on it. But what if Yuffie was right? Just crying once, when nobody but Yuffie saw it, wouldn't mean the end of the world.
“If I ever feel like crying again, I'll come to you,” Olette said.
She just didn't feel like crying anymore. For now, she was feeling a bit better.
“Olette…”
Yuffie's voice was so serious that Olette turned around, wondering what Yuffie had to say.
Before she could react to anything, Yuffie's face was only a breath's distance away from hers, two tender arms were pulling her closer. Olette felt two small soft lips meeting her own, and closed her eyes in reflex. Yuffie was kissing her with passion, and Olette was either too surprised to push her away, or just didn't want to.
Seconds later, Yuffie broke away, and looked in the eyes of the brunette. There was no anger, just bafflement. Yuffie had a thing for Olette's tomboyish nature, and she was quite attractive too—so cute that the urge to kiss her had just suddenly come up.
Olette was speechless. Her first real kiss, not counting the one with Naminè, stolen by Yuffie. It felt good, but she had no experience. Olette suddenly got embarrassed about how amateurish she must have acted.
“Was that your first kiss?” Yuffie was a bit surprised at how stunned Olette was.
“Y-yeah…”
“Well, mine too. I'd say that makes us even, no?” That was just the kind of logic Yuffie had.
Olette wanted to say something, but she still could feel Yuffie's lips on hers, and she could feel the redness in her face. That was just something she expected from Yuffie. But…for some reason, Olette couldn't be really angry.
“I'm going to sleep.” The brunette turned around and closed her eyes.
A few seconds went by without anything happening. Yuffie had a true devil's smile, and as soon as her hands moved around Olette's body, the brunette went up, startled and surprised. Just how far was Yuffie going to go? She had just groped her!
“Damn it. Aerith was right, you have bigger boobs than I do. That's so unfair.”
Olette was too shocked to be speechless. Yuffie was really a tease, one of the worst kind.
“No groping!” Olette said, and looked straight at Yuffie, who averted her gaze and waved with her hands. It had happened on an impulse when Yuffie remembered Aerith's comment.
“Okay, okay.”
Yuffie instead closed in and tried to kiss Olette again but failed. The Keyblader was too fast and put a hand on Yuffie's mouth.
“No sudden kissing!”
“Prude.” Yuffie made a sulking face, turned around and lay down.
Olette had been teased enough for that night. She lay down with her back to Yuffie, and closed her eyes. Not even a minute later, she could feel Yuffie moving closer, laying her arms around her.
“I'm not groping you.” Yuffie's tone had suddenly changed, went from her usual playful one to a serious one.
She really wasn't. Yuffie only laid her arms around her waist, hugging her like before.
---Valiant Hearts---
Kairi couldn't sleep. If telling them she didn't love them was hard, telling them now that it was a mistake and that she wanted her friends back was even harder.
But Kairi had made her decision. If they were willing to forgive her, she was willing to…wait. Wait and tell them if she really felt something.
Kairi found Naminè at breakfast and Naminè went up the instant she saw Kairi. She stood right in front of her, looking straight at Kairi.
“Kairi…listen.”
The redhead hadn't anticipated that, but nodded. Whatever Naminè had to say, whatever she would do, no matter how much she cursed her, hit her, slapped her, Kairi would take it. It had been her error, her wrong decision, and she had to take the consequences. She had to stop running away.
Naminè turned around, took a deep breath, and turning around once again. It took a lot of courage to even open her mouth. After a few failed attempts to get out any coordinated words, Naminè took another deep breath.
“I'll be blunt. I'm not going to let you go. I'll keep trying. If you don't like me, I'll make you.”
Kairi was speechless. Not only did Naminè say that, she even did it while looking straight in her eyes.
“You really mean that? I mean…Naminè. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have rejected both of you like that. I can't guarantee that I'll never feel anything for you, so I shouldn't say I can't be with you.”
Kairi found it hard to continue. But she had decided to stop running away from hard decisions. Looking on the ground for a second, Kairi took a breath and finished her speech.
“I have…to tell Olette that too. I'm sorry for rejecting you. I regret it. I know this might awkward, but I feel that if I don't do this…we will walk apart.”
Naminè looked at Kairi with big eyes. She hadn't expected Kairi to come up and say something like that. It made her feel happy that Kairi was feeling like that about her, about Olette. Kairi still wanted to be friends with them, and that was something very important to Naminè.
“Where is Olette?”
“She's at Yuffie's place. She didn't want to be near you for a while. I'll go with you if you go to see her.”
“I'll go now. I want this to be over. No more running away.”
Kairi didn't lose a second and walked out the door, followed by Naminè, who had a slab of bread in her mouth, eating away as she followed Kairi.
“I hope she won't hit me. Olette is freaking strong,” Kairi said, and Naminè giggled.
“I won't stand for it. I know Olette, and she won't be pleased with what you have to say.”
“I still hope I'll be in one piece after it.”
Kairi felt nauseous. Naminè was one thing,
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