Kessie's Short Stories

[Kingdom Hearts][KHUX] Happier

Originally written 8/4/2020

"I'm mad at you!"

Ephemer paused, then turned around to see Chirithy glaring back up at him. He knew it wasn't his- don't ask him how, he just did. Who else would have a Chirithy that would suddenly declare it didn't like him? Then he realized it. He knew who this Chirithy belonged to, and it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"We can't tell her, Chirithy." the boy told the Spirit. His tone did not sound very confident as he said it. "You, me, and Skuld all agreed to it."

Hearing this made the Spirit shrink a little. "Y-yeah, but..." It looked up at him with a conflicted expression. "Do we have to?"

Now it was Ephemer's turn to look away.

"No." he admitted, quietly, under his breath.

Chirithy jumped a little in surprise at this.

"Then why...?" it started to question before trailing off.

"Because it's just... safer that way."

"Safer?"

Ephemer continued to avert his gaze as he let out a small, "Yeah. Safer..."

As it started to get over its intial shock, Chirithy carefully observed the boy.

"You're scared." it suddenly blurted out loud. "You... you're scared of her getting hurt again. Aren't you"

Ephemer's silence was the only answer the Spirit needed.

"Ooooh...!" Chirithy bitterly declared, making a weird motion that reminded Ephemer of a toddler's temper tantrum, "If I wasn't already mad at you, Ephemer, I would be all over again!"

Without any other warning, Chirithy jumped toward Ephemer. He caught it just in time, but now found himself face to face with a very angry Chirithy. It was a lot more threatening than you'd think.

"Anora is a perfectly capable Keyblade wielder! And a very strong one too! I watched her myself as she single handedly found the... the...!"

Chirithy did not finish their sentence. The word that they were going to say (Foretellers) quickly brought back a lot of sad, painful memories. Chirithy jumped back out of Ephemer's arms, then walked a short distance away from him.

"I worry about her too, you know." it quietly told Ephemer. It turned to look at him before adding, "But I try to not let that control me. To control her. It's hard, but she's not going to grow if we constantly keep trying to clip her wings. You know?"

"Yeah," the boy slowly admitted, "I know."

Chirithy looked at him- it's face unreadable.

"Do you really?" it questioned before taking its leave. It left Ephemer there alone with his thoughts, and regrets.