CHAPTER THREE: THE DECISION

Kinohi thought for a moment before she answered.

"I don't know Sora ... my Mom and Dad will be upset when they wake up and find that we have disappeared."

"Is that all?" Sora said with a sly grin, "I can solve that problem.”

With that, Sora lifted up the large key in his hands. Kinohi instantly recognized the mystical item. It was called the Oblivion Keyblade, capable of destroying heartless foes and granting its user magical powers.

A crackle ripped thru the living room air. Kinohi felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Sora lifted the Keyblade over his head. "STOP!" he shouted. A bright flash of light filled the room and with a sound of a chime, it was all over.

Silence. No snores were heard from their mother. Not a sound from the clock or the refrigerator. Not one sound in the entire house was heard for that matter.

"What was that Ga-Ga?" asked Ka'ili.

Sora answered the question instead. "I stopped time,” he replied with a broad smile. "That way you can help me and then come back home without your parents even knowing."

"I don't know if it's a good idea,” Kinohi said quietly. "We're just little kids. What can we do?"

"Listen, I thought the same way" answered Sora. "But I learned if you believe in yourself and try your best, there is no end to what you can do."

Kinohi remained quiet.

"Look, I get scared too sometimes" Sora admitted. "That's why I really could use a couple of friends to watch my back."

Kinohi looked down at her brother who still clung to her tightly.

"What do you think Ka'ili-boy ... want to go on an adventure with Sora?"

Ka'ili looked at his big sister, then at Sora and gave him a thumbs up sign.

Kinohi let out a nervous sigh and answered, "Okay, we'll help."

"That's terrific ... I'm so happy you said yes! " Sora glanced at them both and continued, "Of course, I think you might want to put on something more that a pink nightie and underwear."

Kinohi felt her face turn red from embarrassment. Grabbing Ka'ili's hand she said, "Come on Ka'ili, let's go change." They rushed to the bedroom for more clothing.

Kinohi stuffed her backpack with a few of her favorite things and even was nice enough to put a few toy cars in for Ka'ili.

It was a few minutes later before they came back to the living room changed, brushed and ready to go. They were surprised to see Sora sifting through a basket of wooden toy blocks.

"What are you doing?" asked Kinohi.

"Hmmmm ... oh, the blocks ... well ... the Gummi Ship was attacked by the Heartless. I need a few of these to fix the damage, if that's okay?" replied Sora.

"You rode in the Gummi Ship?" asked Kinohi. "Where is it?"

"Parked on your front yard" answered Sora.

In a flash, Kinohi raced to the front window and as she pushed the curtains aside, she saw it. The Gummi Ship. Parked in HER front yard. She could hardly believe her eyes. Of course, this was a night of many surprises.

"Wow ... COOOOOL" said Ka'ili.

Kinohi agreed. The bright yellow and orange ship was a bit larger than her family van. The damage did not look all that bad. Smoke and sparks could be seen on the outside of the ship but for the most part, it appeared fine.

"That should do it" Sora said as he was stuffing his pockets with blocks. He glanced at Kinohi and paused. "Hey!" he said.

"What ... what's the matter?" asked Kinohi looking around, half expecting Heartless to be jumping out of the shadows.

"That's a cool necklace!" Sora replied. Sora lifted his crown-shaped pendant he wore around his neck. "That makes us twins" he said with a smile.

Kinohi looked down at her Kingdom Hearts necklace that she got as a birthday present from her brother Ka'ili. "Uh ... thanks" she managed to say.

Sora sensed her discomfort and ruffled Ka'ili's hair. "So are you ready for action big man?" he asked.

"Let's roll Eskimo!" answered Ka'ili.

Sora let out a loud laugh and said, "I guess that's a YES!"

CHAPTER 1: THE VISITOR

Kinohi could not sleep. She tossed and turned and tried her best to get comfortable. It didn't help. She snuggled tightly into a ball under her soft pink blanket like a turtle. It didn't help. She closed her eyes and imagined fluffy white sheep jumping over a picket fence. In her mind she counted them as they leapt lazily in a perfect rhythm. "1-2-3-4-5..." She got to one hundred and realized, without a doubt, that she just was not tired.

Kinohi lay on the ground in her parent's room. She didn't sleep in her bed like other children. Instead she enjoyed the comforts of the softest pillow in the house and a thick blanket for a bed. It wasn't much but she loved it.

Outside the evening was warm, sticky, and unusually still, but her parent's room was special. It was air conditioned.

Kinohi looked up at the machine that had kept her cool on so many hot nights. The soft hum drowned out any outside noise. It was soothing, like tiny waves washing ashore at Bellows beach. Green numerals shone in the dark indicating the temperature. "68" Kinohi said. "Just how I like it." Cool. Refreshing. "Like being inside the refrigerator."

"Why can't I sleep?" Kinohi whispered to herself.

She tapped her finger against her head and thought.

Was it Mommy's snoring? She sat up in bed and gazed over at her mother who slept soundly on a mattress. Kinohi could see her mother's mouth wide open. The sound that exploded from the open hole could only be described as a runaway train crashing into a forest filled with lumber jacks sawing every single tree in sight. That was on a normal night. She was used to it.

So what was it? Was she missing something?

She looked over at her stuffed animal friends. They encircled her bed in the dark like an audience waiting for some movie feature to start. They sat quietly and stared back at her with love and affection. Mommy would often complain about how many she had at bedtime. "We're running out of space", "There's no room to walk" or "Sleep with only one or two" she would exclaim from time to time. Was Mommy crazy? How could she choose which stayed and which had to leave. Kinohi couldn't bared the thought of any one of them being placed high in a shelf in a plastic container. She secretly knew in her heart that they all had feelings. If they weren't allowed for a nightly sleep over, they would feel left out and alone.

She quietly counted and recounted each one. Patting Waffles, her favorite stuffed animal, on the head she announced, "No ... you all are here." She checked on her blankie, action figures and Kingdom Hearts necklace as well. Yup, she had them all.

Maybe I can't sleep cause I forgot to do something, she thought.

I brushed my teeth, took my medicine, checked to see if the windows and doors were locked.

Her mind raced. "Something is not right" she said.

Suddenly something moved in the dark room. Kinohi looked in the direction of the noise. A tiny dark figure squirmed slowly towards her mother. She didn't scream or cry out because she knew who the small shadowy phantom was. It was her baby brother Ka'ili.

Kinohi watched with amusement as Ka'ili's shivering bony frame cuddled close to her Mommy looking for body warmth and a shirt with a hem. "Mommy stole all the blankets again", she thought. Ka'ili stopped his movements and soon Kinohi could hear the distinct sounds of thumb sucking.

Kinohi sat up and whispered, "Ka'ili". The fierce sucking continued. "Hey Ka'ili ... are you sleeping?" Kinohi was about to lie down again when the sucking abruptly stopped. Kinohi squinted her eyes in the darkness and up sprang Ka'ili on both feet. "Yes Ga-ga?!?!" he asked. Startled, Kinohi almost let out a scream but cupped her mouth just in time. Her mother groaned slightly, grumbled, turned on her side and continued snoring loudly. "Whew" Kinohi thought. "Sheesh Ka'ili," Kinohi said sharply "You almost gave me a heart attack." "Sorry Ga-ga" Ka'ili said with sincerity.

"That's okay" Kinohi stated.

"You can't fall asleep too?" Kinohi asked.

Ka'ili shook his head with a firm "no" like motion.

"Yeah ... me too ..." Kinohi said. She wondered if ka'ili was worrying about Hangerman. Hangerman was Ka'ili imaginary boogey man who lived in her parent's mirrored closet. Hangerman could not get out of the closet if it was closed correctly. Kinohi deduced that the reason was because he had hangers for hands and could not slide the doors open. Early in the morning before work, Daddy would rummage thru the closet looking for socks and bebadees. Daddy would almost always forget to close the closet doors. Kinohi would sometimes be awake to observe Ka'ili shutting them with a quick slam.

Kinohi looked at the closed and saw that it was firmly closed. She looked back at ka'ili who had managed to sneak on to the blanket bed with her. "Great" she thought "Just great". "Now I'll never get to bed with you bothering me!" she complained. Ka'ili smiled a devilish grin and proceeded to suck his thumb once again.

Steamed and upset, a slight tapping noise interrupted her thoughts. At first Kinohi thought she imagined it. The she heard it again. Tap ... tap ... tap. Ka'ili's sucking stopped. His eyes sprung open. "Did you hear that noise?" Kinohi asked him. TAP ... TAP ... TAP went the sound even louder. Kinohi and Ka'ili squealed and hugged each other in fear. The tapping noise came from the window.

Someone or something was outside.

FORWARD

My kids are my weakness. I can never recieve enough hugs, kisses, and cuddles from the both of them.

My oldest is Kinohi or Kiki for short. I often wondered what my first child would be like. How they would look and act. I always knew I would love them.

When Kinohi finally came in to my life I was estactic. Her greatest gift to the world is her compasionate heart. Her kindness and awareness to other peoples thoughts and feelings is a cherished quality. She may come across as very shy but she is very observent, inquistive, and creative.

My second child is Ka'ili. Ka'ili is your typical active child and is full of energy and imagination. Having a patient , loving, and playful sister has made him a sensitive caring young boy. He is extremlely personable and happy child.

I am truly blessed.

I started writing "Kingdom Hearts 1.5" several years ago. As an incentive to get my daughter to read.

It worked.

The love for reading has infected her blood. She tears thru Harry PotterNovels, Comics, Manga Books, Usaga Jimbo and many other titles. She has a obession with "Kingdom Hearts 1.5."

"Kingdom Hearts 1.5" is an adventure based on a Playstation 2 video game story that includes my kids as the main characters. The realism of Kiki's and Ka'ili's struggles, likes, dislikes, family dynamics, antics, and personal stories make this tale a classic. As you read this story you will see the uniquiness of my childrens personalities, and will no doubt be amused.

Quite frankly, they kill me daily.

I did several chapters a few years back and took a long break. With the release of the Kingdom Hearts 2 video game, Kinohi lit my creative furnace(begged me) to continue writing KH 1.5. And so I did.

How could I say no.

Like I said before, they are my weakness.

This blog is for them. And it is also for loved ones such as family and friends. This story opens a small window into there personal life and I am sure will give you insight as to why they both give me so much joy.

They truly are entertaining.

The stage is set, my child are snuggled in bed, so let the adventure begin.

Enjoy
Big Daddy