Kairi

Kairi is one of the major characters of the Kingdom Hearts series and a lead character in The Interference and The Interference II. She is one of the seven Princesses of Heart capable of opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, and one of Sora's childhood friends, as well as his romantic interest, and a capable Keyblade Wielder in her own right.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kairi grew up in Radiant Garden, raised by her grandmother. One day, when out collecting flowers, she was assaulted by a mysterious group of monsters and bumped into a mysterious woman with a Keyblade. The two of them were then encountered by more of the monsters, but a stranger helped them and then disappeared. Kairi thanked the woman for helping her, giving her flowers. In return, the woman touched her pendant and told her that one day, if she found herself in trouble, she would be sent to somebody who could keep her safe. Kairi's grandmother then came to collect her and took her to the castle library, and telling her an old legend about how the worlds came to be.

Kairi eventually forgot about the strange woman and her apparent prophecy, having not run into trouble again. However, a year later, when she was picking flowers from the beds at the outskirts of town again, she sensed something and looked up into the sky.

Kingdom Hearts
Kairi's world was destroyed by the Heartless, and she had been carried away to Destiny Islands, where she was discovered lying on the beach, not remembering anything about the world she came from. She was taken in by the island's mayor and raised her as his adoptive child. While growing up, she played on the same islet as some of the other island's children, including Sora and Riku. Sora grew fond of her, even inviting her to the space that he and Riku kept their most secret of places. Kairi grew fond of him back, and they drew on the walls together.

Riku, meanwhile, was constantly intrigued by Kairi's mysterious origin and proposed that they build a raft to sail out into the ocean and find another world. Kairi joined in these plans as well, keeping track of the supplies required to build the raft, but recognized that Riku's personality seemed to have changed a little recently. Two nights before departure, she talked to Sora alone and proposed that the two of them take the raft together and leave Riku behind, then took the idea back with a giggle.

However, the next night, the island was attacked by the Heartless. Sora found Kairi in the Secret Place, but she was swept through him by a massive force of wind and then disappeared.

During the attack on the islands, she had lost her heart, which chose to reside in Sora. Her body, meanwhile, went missing until it was found by a traveling Riku. Riku kept Kairi's body with him as he journeyed the worlds, trying to find her heart and how to reassure her. From that point on, it was in possession of the villains, including Maleficent, who was collecting the Princesses of Heart. Despite being heartless, it was still able to respond to Sora, but only by twitching briefly. Meanwhile, her heart residing in Sora allowed her to appear to him numerous times during his journey.

Kairi's body was taken to Hollow Bastion with the other Princesses of Heart, where Maleficent and Riku planned to use them to open the Final Keyhole. However, Kairi's lack of heart made her useless to the plan and left them unable to form the Keyblade of People's Hearts. However, after Maleficent was changed into a pawn using the same Keyblade, Riku, possessed by Ansem, lured Sora into the castle and informed him that Kairi's heart was within him and that the incompleted blade could still be used to free it. Sora unlocked his heart, freeing Kairi's from his body. She was returned to normal and ran towards Sora as he fell, only to see him disappear into light.

In denial, Kairi prepared to fight off the Heartless with Donald and Goofy, while Riku's body became fully possessed by Ansem. Riku, however, fought back against Ansem and gave the three of them the chance to escape from the room and travel back to the castle. While they were surrounded by Heartless, a strange Shadow appeared, which she recognized as Sora. She held it and promised to protect it, and her words brought Sora's consciousness back, transforming him back into a human shape. They escaped to Traverse Town with the help of Sora's Keyblade.

Once at Traverse Town, Kairi and Sora talked in the underground waterway. While residing in Sora's heart, Kairi had still been able to access her memories and had in fact begun remembering things from her life at Radiant Garden, including the memory of her grandmother telling her the legend about the worlds' creation. Sora's memories of Kairi had also saved him from completely losing himself as a Heartless. Kairi wanted to complete the journey with Sora and save Riku, but Sora told her to stay behind and said that she'd still be with him since their hearts were connected. She gave him the lucky charm she had been making before they'd left.

Soon, Kairi suddenly found herself on a bizarre island of sand in the same realm as Sora and the door. Sora ran up to her, but the island began to break away. Sora promised Kairi that he'd come back to her. Kairi made him promise to return her lucky charm as well, and the island floated off, becoming Destiny Islands around her as light rained down and Sora disappeared.

The Interference
At the beginning of The Interference, Kairi appears to be attending her high school during the summer years. She spends her days going to school with her friend Selphie, and catching up with her other friends Tidus and Wakka. At the beginning of the last year she had repeatedly gone to the play islet waiting for Sora and Riku to return, but over time she and the others forgot many details about Sora. Kairi, meanwhile, held onto Sora's memory the most, but she was still missing his name.

One day, she suddenly falls to the ground in a faint, and finds herself talking to a strange, unfamiliar voice, who recognizes her as 'that girl he likes'. Kairi demands who 'he' is, knowing that it must refer to Sora, and is given the clue of 'it starts with an S'. When she wakes up, she remembers Sora's name clearly, and soon heads to the beach, placing a bottled poem into the ocean that is meant for him.

As her memory clears, she continues coming to the beach. It is here that she is found by Axel, who attempts to lead her into a Dark Corridor and his capture. She is saved by the intervention of (an unseen) King Mickey and Pluto, who she follows into an alternate Dark Corridor. This portal spits her out into Traverse Town, where she meets Hayner, Pence, and Olette. She tells them about her and Sora when Axel appears again. However, Alexander appears to fend him off, and Olette helps Kairi toward the Station Plaza, where Sora is waiting.

Personality
Kairi has grown from a cheerful and flirty young girl into a more mature young woman over the course of the last year. However, she is still fairly confident and a little headstrong. Kairi is prone to demanding information from those she distrusts and will not take mistreatment very lightly, although to begin with there was little she could physically do to reinforce her rebellion. She often trusts her instincts and will sometimes take risks to see her friends again.

This being said, she is not an impolite person. She is very kind to those that she meets and easily makes friends with people. She especially cares for Sora and Riku, who are her closest friends in life, and remembers them even when others don't.

Appearance
Kairi is a petite teenage girl around an inch taller than Sora, with most of her height in her legs. She has very pale skin, dark red hair that reaches just past her shoulders, a round face, and blue-violet eyes. She wears a pink minidress with two false zips and a real zip down the center which is slightly unzipped at both ends, a white underdress with a black hood and violet shoes with the laces tied around her ankles. She wears some jewelry, including three bangles on her left wrist and a pendant necklace, and has a dark blue belt with a small bag on her left hip and a free strap on her right.

Powers and Abilities
Kairi is a Princess of Heart, owning a heart filled with nothing but light, which gives her the ability to sense the presence of darkness around her. It protects her body from being consumed by darkness upon the loss of her heart. As the other Princesses of Heart she shows the ability to hold back the darkness with the sheer power of the light and upgrading magic, it is possible that Kairi may have these abilities as well, which may be evidenced by her ability to use Dark Corridors unscathed.

Meanwhile, Kairi is developing her skills at melêe combat through Alex bringing her into adventures and is capable of wielding her own Keyblade. Roxas lends Kairi her first Keyblade, the Oathkeeper, a white blade with her lucky charm as the Keychain, at Twilight Town after being awoken. The Oathkeeper was originally a Keyblade Sora obtained from Kairi and was also one wielded by Roxas. Kairi's current Keyblade was given to her by Riku in The World that Never Was. The Interference II: Curse of the Crimson Elixir has Alex refer to her Keyblade as the Purity, but its official name is given in Birth by Sleep the Destiny's Embrace, and is the Keyblade she unknowingly gave the strange Keyblade Wielder from her childhood. The blade looks like flowers and a beach and represents the Destiny Islands.

Source games

 * Kingdom Hearts, 2002
 * Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, 2004
 * Kingdom Hearts II, 2005
 * Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, 2009
 * Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, 2010