I Want to be a Hero (KH) Chp. 25

"Sleepyhead.. It's time for us to go do some real work." Blair's sweet voice fills my ears, and I lazily open my eyes. What a change from yesterday. "We're at Beast's Castle.." She offers me a smile and I give an elongated sigh. Beast's Castle, huh? That's where I really started to notice my feelings for Sora.
"Today's gonna suck." I groan as I stretch, pushing myself off of my bed and stumbling towards my dresser.
"Come on, Rea. You're still gonna be grumpy, even after last night?" I rip off my pjs and slither into my shirt and dress.
"Yes, Yes I am, because a kiss on the cheek does not fix a broken heart, scarred arms, armpits, knees, neck, and swollen eyes." Blair huffs and rubs my back as she walks by.
"Sora made breakfast. I think there's sausage~" I feel her knowing smirk as my stomach lets out a response growl. Why did Sora make breakfast? It's rare that we even get him out of his bedroom on time. I look into my mirror and let out a sigh, running my hands through my messy hair and trying to fix my pathetic look. I chew on my cheek and clasp on my necklace that I used yesterday, aware that I never wanted to let anyone in like that again, but still feeling a little obligated to bring it. I still want to protect him despite.. the hurt.
After slipping on my socks and taking a deep breath, I head to the kitchen, enjoying the fact that I no longer feel like I weigh the weight of the world or constantly have headrushes. As I near the doorway, a familiar guitar tune echoes through the air, and it takes me a moment to recognize the song because the only thing that registers in my mind is Sora's soft voice singing over the song.
"You only need the light when it's burning low, only miss the sun when it starts to snow, only know you love her when you let her go. Only know you've been high when you're feeling low, only hate the road when you're missing home, only know you love her when you let her go... and you let her go." I feel the corner of my mouth twitch, thinking back to Atlantica where I last heard Sora's beautiful voice so clearly. As I step into the kitchen, I see Sora cracking and egg into a frying pan on the front burner, his back facing me. I take a seat on the stool in front of the island, watching Sora's back as he cooks. "Love comes slow, and it goes so fast. Well, you see her when you fall asleep, never to touch and never to keep-- cause you loved her too much and you dived too deep. Cause you only need the light when it's burning low, only miss the sun when it starts to snow, only know you love her when you let her go. Only know you've been high when you're feeling low, only hate the road when you're missing home, only know you love her when you let her go..." He turns around and dumps the newly cooked egg onto a plate in front of me, and I shiver as he finishes the chorus staring straight into my eyes "and you let her go."
I force my eyes down to the plate as the music continues playing in the background. Sora resumes cooking "Morning. I hope you like it, I know I'm not the best at cooking... but I'm better than Donald!" He looks over his shoulder at me and I stare up at him blankly. His mouth twitches and he turns back around, there's no way of avoiding this awkward tension, really. I know I should be a bit happier after last night, but I'm not really one to want to hang off of sweet nothings.
As I pick up my fork and dig into the runny egg, the song changes on Sora's laptop to a song that was, for once, not familiar to me. I feel my foot unconsciously shaking to the beat as Sora hums along to the tune, preparing some more eggs.
"So, hold me close and say three words like you used to do. Dancing on the kitchen tiles, yes you make my life worth while, so I told you with a smile--" He gives me a wide grin "It's all about you." I shove my last sausage in my mouth before picking up my plate and bringing it to the sink. Sora sighs "Oh, c'mon. You love music, Rea, why can't I make you smile?"
I scoff. " You can't sing a song about dancing together to me, when we've never danced together."
"I asked you!" I give him a stern look after I turn around.
"That got withdrawn before I even got a chance to answer." I brush past him. "It got my hopes up." I bite my tongue as I head down the hall to the cockpit, pulling on my boots and meeting Goofy and Donald at the door. I take a deep breath and try to shield the fact that I am still irrevocably pissed off at the small duck, but something tells me I still wear it blatantly on my face. One swipe move yanks my headphones from my pocket and pushes them into my ears, and I feel my foot moving again to the beat unconsciously. Blair and Sora join us in the cockpit and I open the door with an unknown eagerness. Sara Barielles sings in my ears as we push open the large doors to the castle and notice Beast pacing in the front parlor.
"Hey!" Sora calls out, and the Beast raises his rather large eyebrows at us.
"What are you so mad about?"
"Tonight is a very important night... Why are you here?"
"The Nobodies' world has to be out there somewhere, we're looking for a way in." Sora's words are ignored as Belle arrives at the top of the main staircase in a beautiful yellow gown. Beast meets her in front of the ballroom, they give each other a bow and curtsy, and continue into the ballroom. Sora scratches his head, "Maybe we came at a bad time."
"Only one way to find out." Donald calls out before bounding up the stairs.
"That's MEDDLING." I call out, and he gives me a glare before pushing the ballroom door open. The rest of us follow him up the stairs and peek inside the room. Belle and Beast stand in the middle of the room staring into each other's eyes. I envy those two, they feel it happening. I bet Beast even knows that the curse on this castle will be broken soon, all he needs to do is love and be loved in return. They're right there, they can nearly touch it.
Lumiere is perched to one side of the door. "Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle. Please, enjoy the evening." He notices us standing in the door, "And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too."
A voice cuts through the soft music playing "Very Welcome, indeed." On the railing above the dance floor, a member of the organization stands. "You kids just don't know when to quit."
"Funny, coming from you." Blair starts back, summoning her keyblade.
"Xaldin! Get out of here!" Beast starts towards Xaldin and Belle hurries out to the balcony as said Xaldin summons two rather large heartless.
"I've come to take something you hold dear," Xaldin smirks as Beast lets out a rather large roar "Let your anger grow." Those words strike me as Xaldin dissapeers. I place a hand on the Beast.
"We need to take out these heartless. Then we'll get him. I wont let this night be ruined for you." I shyly take my arm back down, "You give me so much hope.." The large beast simply grunts in response and I take that as my cue to summon my keyblade and blast my mp3 player. A mashup starts playing, not my ideal fighting mix, but somehow it's something I really need to hear. "Let it go" vs "Unconditionally". My usual attacks are weak, my want to not give in to the darkness holds firm, but I feel so useless without it. I offer Sora and Blair some support taking on one of the large dragon heartless as they fight it's twin, but I hardly do anything to hold it back.
As Donald step forward to cast a freeze spell on the dragon, it charges at him. Before Beast or I can make it to Donald, he's thrown into a wall and knocked unconscious.
"DONALD!" I quickly slide up to the wall and hold the white duck's face in my hands. He isn't moving, is he breathing? How do I check a pulse on a wing? My breath comes out faster and faster, and I feel my eyes brimming up. I don't even have a potion, how can I help?
"This wasn't supposed to be like this." I shake Donald. "Please. You need to know I'm not mad at you... I'm not. I just. hate restraining myself..." I pull the duck to me as my cheeks start getting covered with my warm tears. "I just want to love. I want to trust and love and.." I feel my chest heave. "I want to make everyone happy."
"Rea!" Blair holds her keyblade up, blocking an attack from the dragon. "Do you hear yourself? The only thing holding you back is you!"
My vision is so blurry, but I still move my eyes to Sora as he joins in, his voice showing the struggle he's having with these heartless.
"Open up your heart, Rea! Just let it go."
"..but-"
"We love you, Rea." A hand on my shoulder, I look up to Goofy and Donald, a curaga potion still glowing around him.
"All of us!" Sora calls out.
"...let it go.." I barely ponder the words before I let out my last pitiful sob. I grab my keyblade and wipe my eyes as I stand up. I take one last look over everyone, seeing my two best friends in the whole world taking on two huge heartless pretty much by themselves. I grip my necklace with my free hand and feel my shoulders drop with a new sense of relief. I just have to let it all out. "I love you all so much. Unconditionally."
"Rea.."
"What is that?"
"Rea?!"
I look from Sora to Blair who can only spare a quick wide eyed glance at me, then behind me to Donald and Goofy who point to my arms. I raise my arms to look and see the black ivy spreading up my arms again. I let out a gasp, but before I can even finish the color starts to change. The black ivy glows and fades to grey, and then pure white before the color bursts away completely, causing me to jump back in shock.
"What?" I stare bewildered at my keyblade as a new color glows in, and all the ivy that was once there is replaced with brighter vibrant vines and blue flowers bloom all over my keyblade. "What happened?" I look to Donald and Goofy, who simply shrug. I turn and face the heartless. I furrow my brow before raising my keyblade. "Firaga."
"WOAH." A large blue flame barely misses Blair and erupts on the large heartless, knocking him to the floor. She looks up to me with wide eyes "You'll have to catch me up after these things are gone." I give a nod before heading over to the heartless Sora was fighting. He knocks the heartless back and prepares for his next hit beside me.
"What happened to your keyblade?"
"I don't know... it just.. changed?" I throw in a few hits beside Sora, and he offers me a boost before throwing me at the heartless' face. I slash a few times, managing to keep my height. As I fall, I aim for it's face before letting out a freeze spell and falling into Sora's arms. the heartless explodes into dark matter only moments after it's twin does thanks to Blair, Donald, Goofy, and Beast. I look up to Sora, holding me tight in his arms. His blue eyes shine, and he places me on my feet with a smile.
"Maybe you changed, Rea."
"It's a start, anyways." I whisper, pulling him close to me, breathing in his scent and calming my heart. I pull away and turn to the rest of the group.
"Belle?" Donald calls.
"Here I am!"
"Whew. Guess Xaldin didn't take what was most precious to him afterall." Goofy smiles and Belle's face drops. She quickly grabs her dress and runs out of the ballroom. We all exchange a look before following her down the hall.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?" Sora lets out a laugh.
"Uh, how about when she freaking elbowed Xaldin in the face? That must have felt awesome." I shake my head with a wide smile as I kick off my shoes on the ship.
"Hey Rea, why don't you take first shower? Sora and I are gonna play each other in chess." I raise an eyebrow at Blair.
"You play chess?"
"Of course I do!" She giggles and holds an innocent smile. I narrow my eyes, but shrug it off.
"Whatever, I'm not saying no to a shower, no matter how suspicious you are."
"What?! I really DO play chess!!"
"How many pawns are on a board, Blair?" She pauses, her pink eyes wide.
"Uh.. uhm.. 2?" I sigh.
"Yup. You're up to something." I slip into my room, grab a towel and head into the bathroom. I clip my ipod into my iphone and 'Anything' by Hedley starts playing. I crank the volume up and strip myself. Today was odd, but somewhat fulfilling. Donald told me he'd make a call to Yensid to see what happened with my keyblade. I'm more obsessed with Belle and Beast's happy ending, though. He may not be a prince again yet, but from how tonight ended I'd say he's only days away. That's true love.
I was surprised, as I stepped into the shower my arms no longer burned. A closer inspection showed that my arms were clean from all the scratches that previously covered them. Weird.
"Everybody said 'boy don't go any higher' fuck that, I can do anything!" I scrub my skin, still unsure of the effects of my keyblade changes, but pleased with the lack of scratches and bruises. I close my eyes and let the water run down my skin, letting somewhere between 10-15 minutes pass before I lazily wash my hair and step out.
"Rea?" a knock comes to the door.
"Yeah?" Blair stands on the other side.
"I brought you something. Just. Uh. Put it on."
"What?" I feel my face heat up. I wrap a towel around myself.
"Here, I'm coming in." Blair steps in and hangs up my dress from the last time I was at Beast's castle. I narrow my eyes.
"No."
"Put it on, Rea."
"Why?" She huffs.
"Because if you don't, I will rip that towel off you and force it on." She throws clean undergarments at me and scoops my dirty laundry off the floor. "Now get changed."
"Blaaaiiirrrr."
"NOW." She slams the door and I growl. My eyes shift to the teal poofy dress and I cant help but drop my bad mood. I approach it and let my hand run over the lace fabric. Another knock at the door. "And put your hair up, too! Use my barrettes in the cabinet!" My eyes narrow again and I stop admiring the dress. What is she planning? A photoshoot?
" 'I will rip that towell off you and force it on' " I mock Blair and ruffle my hair dry with a blow dryer. How was I supposed to make this hair look good, exactly? I peek in the cabinet and grab some small slips from the middle shelf. Small pink flowers sparkle on the ends of bobbypins. Cute.
I slip on my clean undergarments and brush out my hair, pulling it into a tight bun before clipping in some of the flower pins. My bangs slide down over my eyes and I sigh. Some make-up, just in case this is about photos (because god forbid I get another photo of natural Rea), and slipping on the nostalgic dress before pulling open the bathroom door and heading into my room. Blair sits on the bed, holding a pair of silver sparkly heels.
"These will do pretty well." She chucks them at me and I roll my eyes before putting them on.
"Are we done playing barbie now? What is this about?" Blair smirks and walks over to the light switch, flipping it off as the door connecting my room to Sora's opens. Small, fake tea candles have created a lit walkway to Sora's room. My heart starts pounding. "What is this?"
"How about you go find out?" Blair shoves me to the path of candles and I swallow hard before slowly stepping into Sora's room. I hear Blair shut the door behind me, and as I peek around the corner, Sora stands in the attire Beast let him borrow so long ago.
"... Sora?" The room is lit with string lights and candles, and soft music is playing in the background. Sora steps to me, his blue coat making his eyes pop, even in this dim lighting. He wraps an arm around my waist.
"I owe you a dance." Michael Buble's 'How Deep is Your Love' starts up and Sora raises my hand to meet his. I'm absolutely speechless. He smiles as me. "Is this alright?" I nod happily.
"This is perfect." We sway to the music, and I rest my head on his shoulder. He leans his head on mine, I feel my eyes close and my heart still pounds and quakes every part of my body.
"I spoke with Donald again last night. He told me that he only ever brought up meddling because he was scared of you getting hurt. You're practically family to him, you've grown so much on everyone. The last thing any of us ever want to see is you upset." We turn in our sways and I'm hanging on to his every word. " And when Donald realized he made things significantly worse, and that I took our whole conversation the wrong way, he explained to me what I could do to change things." I lift my head up and raise an eyebrow.
"Was this whole thing his idea?" Sora shakes his head.
"No, no. I meant.. that he suggested that when this is all over... that maybe we stay... together." I'm taken completely a back and feel the shock my face is expressing.
"But.. I mean. Are we..?"
"I love you, Rea."
"...I .. what?" His hand rises from my waist to my cheek. I stare deep into his blue eyes.
"I love you so much. You came by surprise, showed me that I've always been chasing something unreachable when everything I need is right in front of me." I might die. "I won't mess up again, Rea. I'm so sorry, can we please try this again?"
I grab the back of his neck and slam his face against mine, sucking on his lips with a reignited desire. I rest my forehead against his like always, and feel a few tears fall from my eyes. "I will always love you, Sora. Of course we can." We share goofy smiles before I pause and bite my lip. Sora grow concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"...Can I go take this stupid dress off now?"