Title: Kairi's First Day
Author: Me (ZiggyK)
Status: One-shot
Word count: 3,445.
Pairings: Implied SoKai
Okay, it's been awhile since I've done some fanfiction, so it's a little rusty but feel free to critique it or whatever, constructive criticism is always welcome.
I don't really like writing with non-OC, so there personalities may be a little bit out of character at some stages, but I watched a lot of KH cutscenes so hopefully not.
Enjoy
EDIT: Also this is just a copypaste from Microsoft Word, so for that theres no formatting, indenting, paragraphing, because it didn't copy paste properly and I'm too lazy to do it. If you want it to be formatted or something then just ask. Also there's very little spell and grammar checking, it's 'hot off the plate' if you will. Why? Because I'm lazy
EDIT EDIT: Spaced it out
__________________________________________________________
Author: Me (ZiggyK)
Status: One-shot
Word count: 3,445.
Pairings: Implied SoKai
Okay, it's been awhile since I've done some fanfiction, so it's a little rusty but feel free to critique it or whatever, constructive criticism is always welcome.
I don't really like writing with non-OC, so there personalities may be a little bit out of character at some stages, but I watched a lot of KH cutscenes so hopefully not.
Enjoy
EDIT: Also this is just a copypaste from Microsoft Word, so for that theres no formatting, indenting, paragraphing, because it didn't copy paste properly and I'm too lazy to do it. If you want it to be formatted or something then just ask. Also there's very little spell and grammar checking, it's 'hot off the plate' if you will. Why? Because I'm lazy
EDIT EDIT: Spaced it out
__________________________________________________________
Kairi's First Day
To Sora, the sky had never looked more beautiful.
That night Sora couldn’t sleep. He lay awake, his small, six year old body wrapped up in blankets, layer after layer, gazing out his window at the sky.
The night sky glowed, as if on fire as meteor after meteor flew through the night sky, dancing amongst the glimmering stars, their shine dulled by their bright visitors. It was magnificent.
Sora stared in awe, his bright, blue eyes wide. The normally dark sky shined with thousands of colours, reds and oranges and yellows and colours in between that Sora couldn’t name, reflected from the meteors off his window panels.
“I wonder what causes meteor showers,” he wondered aloud to himself. They seemed beyond his realm of thought or understanding.
“They can’t be from here,” he decided quietly. “Everything here is too boring and quiet. They must be from someplace else.”
Sora remained transfixed on the meteor shower for quite some time, until eventually fell asleep, his unconscious face gazing out the window. He had no way of knowing that what would happen the next night would be far more enticing than any meteor shower.
~
“It’s true; I saw it with my own eyes!” Sora exclaimed excitedly, as they walked down the wooden planks, leading down from the tree house.
“You sure you didn’t just hear it this time?” Riku asked sceptically, inspecting him with a sharp eye.
It was a peaceful, quiet morning on the island. The waves rolled lazily onto the beach, drenching the soft, dormant sand before rolling back out again, like a lazy dog rolling in grass. The morning sun calmly inspected the small island, drenching it in warmth.
It was all too boring for Sora, too lazy. And he knew Riku felt the same. There was no adventure!
“What difference does it make?” Sora asked defiantly, as he climbed down the ladder after Riku.
“There’s a huge monster, I tell you!”
Riku kicked his feet against the sand, sending it into the air.
“All right,” he said. “Suppose there really is a monster,” he turned to Sora, who had reached the bottom of the ladder, his tone turned suddenly, from lazy disinterest to excitement. “Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?”
“No problem!” Sora exclaimed, Riku’s excitement infectious. “Let’s do it!”
They both froze. They were there.
It looked dark, and seemed to go on forever. The entrance to the secret place. Under tangled overgrowth, the small entrance was barely visible. It was dark, like the opening of the mouth of a giant monster, wanting to eat them up.
They both jumped out of their skins when they heard the noise.
“There!” Sora exclaimed with excitement. “Can you hear it growling?”
“Sssh!” Riku hushed, his tone quiet, only building the suspense. “Quiet. We’ve got to be careful.”
Riku took the lead, holding his wooden sword, with Sora close behind. Bravely, they moved, trying to dampen the sound of their footsteps. Riku brushed the branches aside, ignoring the moss collecting on the grip of his shoes. They came to a large cave, tree branches grew up the sides of the grey, stony walls. It was obvious this place was not used to people.
Sora grinned. “SORA!!” he yelled loudly, and then grinned as his echo repeated him.
Riku quickly hushed him and turned his gaze upwards, to a crevice in the roof.
“See?” he announced confidently, as if he had known all along. “It was just the wind making that noise.”
“Aww, man!” Sora complained, stretching his arms behind his head. “I wish it was a monster.” Then something large and brown caught the corner of his eye. “Wait, what’s that over there?”
They both looked, and walked around the stony walls and large boulders to get a better view.
It took up most of the wall; it was large and very distinct. If they hadn’t been so excited, they would have noticed it immediately. It stood out against the grey wall, brown and oval shaped, with a golden outline. Sora stood back as Riku approached it.
The silver haired boy guided his hands along it. “A window, or a door maybe.” He searched with his hand for an opening or a knob. “It won’t open,” he announced, disappointed.
“Geez, is that really all that’s in here?” Sora moaned, feeling the same disappointment.
“What do you expect in a boring place like this?” Riku asked rhetorically.
Silence filled the cavernous place for a moment.
“Hey, Sora,” Riku said, breaking the silence.
Sora turned to him. “Hm?”
“When we grow up, let’s get off this island!” Riku announced excitedly, a wild and untamed look in his eye. “We’ll go on real adventures! Not this kid stuff.”
“Sure!” Sora replied, enthusiastic. His grin slid off his face. “But isn’t there anything fun to do now?”
“Hey, you know the new girl at the Mayor’s house?” Riku asked.
“I think my parents might have said something,” Sora replied, trying to think back on his morning. “I heard she arrived the night of the meteor shower!” he announced with excitement, remembering. “I saw it last night,” he continued, pushing away branches which led up to the beach. He crawled out the small opening. “It looked really weird, like something outside this world, ya’know”.
He turned around, expecting to see Riku.
“Huh,” he paused, looking around the beach, and down the hole, gazing for Riku, unable to find him. Terror shook him. “Riku?! Can you hear me?! Did the monster get you?!”
“I’m fine,” Riku called out from the down in the cavern.
“Where are you?” Sora yelled.
“I’m here,” Riku said, as he too appeared out of the hole.
“Where did you go?” Sora asked.
“No where,” Riku replied. “I just thought I saw... never mind.”
Sora eyed him suspiciously.
“Come on!” Riku exclaimed. “Don’t you want to see the new girl?”
“Oh, yeah!” Sora grinned.
~
The main island was much larger than the small island they were on, so it took the two of them awhile to row the boat back to the island. By the time they finally hit the beach of the small town, the sun had already risen in the sky. Sora figured, by the sound of his stomach growling, that he was going to miss out on lunch.
“All to meet some stupid girl,” he muttered under his breath. He looked over nervously at Riku, getting out of the row boat, and wondered if he had heard him.
Riku turned to face him. If he had heard, he made no acknowledgement that he had.
They walked in silence, Riku tapping his wooden sword against his shoes with every upward step. It was starting to get hot. Sora dabbed his top against his forehead, wiping away the sweat.
“I’m hungry,” Sora complained, eventually.
“Go home then,” Riku replied distantly, and kept walking.
“No!” Sora exclaimed adamantly.
“What,” Riku smirked, turning to him. “Afraid the monster will get you.”
“I’m not afraid of any monsters!” Sora announced in his defence.
“What’d you do if you met a monster,” Riku asked, brandishing his wooden sword. “You don’t even have your sword anymore, not like me.”
“It’s not my fault!” Sora said. “Mum took it off me after I hit Tidus with it.”
“What, did you think he was a monster?”
“If it was a monster he wouldn’t want to run into me again!” Sora smirked proudly. “After he saw how hard I hit Tidus he probably won’t wanna mess with me anyway!”
Riku laughed. “No monster is strong enough to take on the both of us!” Riku smiled.
“Yeah,” Sora grinned.
They approached the mayor’s house at the very top of the steady uphill climb that was the main island. Riku opened the gate and walked up to the door. The thing about Destiny Islands was that it was like one big community, where everyone knew each other, and it wasn’t uncommon for two young boys to visit the mayor.
Riku knocked on the door.
The mayor’s house was quite small and cosy, it seemed to fit in with the islands homely setting. The door swung open.
The mayor’s belly preceded him out the door.
“Hello boys,” the mayor grinned behind a large, brunette moustache. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Both boys shuffled their feet, their eyes at their ankles, as most children did when addressing adults that weren’t their own parents.
“We want to see the new girl,” Riku answered shyly. “Can we?” he added on hastily, trying to be polite.
“Of course,” the mayor grinned. “I hope you three become good friends.” He turned down the corridor and called out, “Kairi!”
Footsteps pitter-pattered out of site, as if in a hurry. Sora leaned; trying to see passed the mayor’s large stomach, in a hope to get a glance of Destiny Island’s newest attraction. Unfortunately for him, all he saw was a gleam of dark, reddish hair, before the girl disappeared out of sight.
“What’s the matter, Kairi?” The mayor asked politely. “These boys want to see you, don’t be shy.” Then from behind the door’s frame, a small little head poked into view.
Sora’s first thought was of how pretty she looked. Her dark, reddish hair hung over her forehead, lazily, but didn’t extend beyond her neck. Her cheeks were flushed red, her shy blue eyes gazed at them, caught between curiosity and fear. The hunger in Sora’s stomach was replaced by nervous butterflies.
The girl cautiously stepped into view from behind the door frame, her reddish fringe hanging against her blue eyes. She flattened it hurriedly, as if attempting to hide it.
She wore a short, white dress, which hung to her knees, with purple floral patterns along the seems near the bottom. She cautiously approached them.
The mayor bid them a quick farewell, announcing that a large pile of work kept him from staying.
Then it was just the three of them. The girl, shuffled her feet anxiously, her eyes drawn to a stone she was kicking.
Sora began to introduce himself, but stopped, his voice caught in the base of his throat. He coughed, and started to speak.
“I’m So-“
“Hey, I’m Riku,” Riku said rather loudly.
Kairi looked up, examining him with her large, innocent blue eyes.
Then she smiled. “Hi Riku,” he said, her voice racked with nerves, but friendly nonetheless. “I’m Kairi.”
“I’m Sora!” Sora exclaimed in a hurry, before anyone could interrupt him this time.
Kairi grinned at him. “Hi, Sora.”
“Come on,” Riku announced. “We want to show you something.”
~
“I did not!” Sora affirmed.
“Did too!” Riku exclaimed back.
“Did what?” Kairi asked politely.
“He thought there was a monster in here,” Riku answered with a sense of authority.
Kairi looked around with a sense of curiosity at the secret place. It seemed slightly scary, being here in a damp, dark place with tree roots growing, reaching up against the grey walls. It was quite large. Despite being scared, she couldn’t help feeling excited.
“Yeah, well, so did you,” Sora replied, at a loss for words.
Kairi giggled softly, her hands raised to her mouths. Riku flushed.
“I wish there was a monster,” Riku pouted. “At least it’d brighten this place up.”
“I like it here,” Kairi said softly. “It’s bright and sunny and-“
“Where are you from?” Riku interrupted.
Kairi paused. Her cheeks flushed bright, as she thought back to how she got here. “I... I don’t...”
“Don’t worry Kairi,” Riku smiled. “One day we’ll take you back to where you came from, right, Sora?”
Sora froze at the mention of his name, and hurriedly turned to Riku, trying to avoid the fact that he had been staring at Kairi since she had giggled. “Yeah, right,” he replied.
Kairi smiled. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Kairi beamed, then began walking around, inspecting the new area.
“Ya’ know,” Sora began. “I don’t think Tidus or Wakka know about this place. I think it could be our little spot, just the three of us.”
“I guess,” Riku replied lazily, dropping to the ground, lying on his back. “But what is there to do in here?”
They both stopped and began to think. The silence filled the cavern, broken only by the wailing of the wind, which Sora had once thought was the wailing of a monster. He remembered how scared he had been, but had tried not to show it.
I’ll be ok, he thought to himself. As long as I have Riku. And Kairi, too.
His thought process was stopped instantly by the sound of scratching. He looked up, and Riku did too. “What is that?” Riku asked.
They both turned to the sound of the noise.
Kairi sat there, facing the stony wall, scratching against it with a large rock. Sora and Riku approached her.
“What’re you doing, Kairi?” Sora asked, sitting next to her.
Kairi nodded to the scratches she was making against the wall. They were hardly an artistic beauty, but the scratches seemed to form a regular pattern, sticking to three groups. The scratches seemed to form something that looked almost like humans.
“It’s us,” Kairi beamed. “The three of us.”
Sora laughed. “You’re really bad at drawing, Kairi!”
Kairi pouted. “Oh yeah,” she said, handing him the rock. “I’d like to see you do better!”
“I will then,” Sora announced, sitting down next to her, etching his own drawing into the rock face.
“You too, Riku,” Kairi smiled, handing him his own rock.
~
It took them awhile, but by now the majority of the rock face was covered in small little etchings.
Kairi had followed the traditional pattern of drawing the three of them. Sometimes together, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs, though it was difficult to distinguish who exactly she was drawing. Sora had mostly drawn himself, holding a sword, fighting monsters alongside Riku, saving Kairi, his very own ‘damsel in distress’. Riku, however, refused to show the others what he was drawing until he was done.
“Sora, Kairi,” he said softly. “I’m done.”
They both rushed to see his picture. Despite being the best drawer there, Riku’s picture looked hasty, and cluttered together, despite being quite large.
“What’s it of?” Kairi inquired.
“It’s us,” Riku said. “At your home.”
“My home?” Kairi asked.
“Yeah,” Riku replied. “You know, the place you were before you came here.”
“Oh,” Kairi whispered.
“I was thinking,” Riku continued. “It’s weird how you came from nowhere, so what if...” he paused. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
“No,” Kairi beamed. “I promise.”
Riku turned his head to Sora. “You too.”
“Fine,” Sora huffed. “I won’t laugh.”
Riku turned back, not looking at either at him, only at his drawing. He hesitated, then continued. “So what if you came from another world, Kairi?”
“Another world?” Kairi asked.
Riku’s eyes became wide, looking at his drawing without really seeing. “This can’t be just it,” he responded, staring blankly into space. “This can’t be all there is to the world, just this island. There has to be more than just... this. Maybe where you come from out there, far away from this island, maybe we could take you there, just to see it.”
“You aren’t making sense,” Sora responded.
Riku sighed, and then laughed hastily. “I guess not.”
~
The setting sun hung lazily in the orange sky. By the time they finally left the secret place, it was already getting dark.
“I have to go,” Riku announced. “Otherwise I’ll just get in trouble.”
They watched as Riku ran down the beach and onto his boat, before rowing back to the main island.
“Don’t you have to go to?” Kairi pondered.
“I’m sure I can spare a few more minutes,” Sora smiled. He grabbed her by the hand. “Come with me.”
He led her to the small shack, up the stairs and across the bridge over to the small, separate piece of land, with a bent tree.
He took a seat on the branch, and then pulled Kairi up next to him. She sat next to him.
“Riku and I normally come here, to watch the sun set.”
“It’s beautiful,” Kairi said in awe. It definitely was.
The sky glimmered with shades of orange and red, as if the sky was burning bright above them. The sun lent lazily against the dark horizon, a shade of black, mixing with the reds and yellows of the sun.
“I wonder why the sun sets red,” Sora pondered.
“I don’t know. It looked the same where I come from.”
“What do you remember, about your home?” asked Sora rather tactlessly.
“Nothing,” Kairi replied. It seemed easier to talk to Sora about this than it was to talk to Riku. “I don’t remember anything before this morning.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know that the sun looks the same where you come from?”
Kairi paused, and thought. “I don’t know, I just remember it does.”
“Then maybe you do remember stuff from your home,” Sora smirked.
“I guess,” Kairi replied quietly. “I guess this is my home now though. With you, and Riku.”
“Of course,” Sora grinned. “We’re your friends.”
Kairi smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You know what!” Sora exclaimed excitedly, jumping to his feet. “One day, I’ll take you back to your home, I promise! And we’ll bring Riku with us!”
“Really?” Kairi wondered. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course,” Sora confirmed, as the sun sunk below the horizon, shrouding them in darkness.
“Look,” Kairi said, pointing upwards. “A star.”
“So?”
“It’s the first star of the night,” Kairi pouted, then giggled. “You’re supposed to make a wish!”
“Uhh... alright?” Sora remarked, unsure.
“Just close your eyes, and make a wish.” Kairi giggled. “I’ll do it too.” With that she closed her eyes.
Sora hesitantly closed his eyes, following Kairi’s lead. He paused, wondering what to wish for. What could he possibly want?
Sora frowned, and thought to himself. I’m not sure how to do this, his thoughts echoed on the inside of his head. But, I want to be happy, with Kairi and Riku, on the islands. Oh, and I also want to see Kairi’s home. With that he opened his eyes.
Kairi was already staring at him. “Finished?” she asked.
“Yeah...” Sora replied quietly, and then asked. “What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you,” Kairi smiled. “It’s a secret. If I tell you it won’t come true!”
“Oh” replied with disappointment, and then a grin of excitement spread across his face.
“Come with me!” Sora grabbed her by the hand, yet again.
~
The stars, one by one, popped into view in the dark sky.
“Even in the deepest darkness,” Kairi commented. “There’s always light peeking through.”
“Yeah,” Sora replied lazily, unwilling to decipher her cryptic message.
They laid in the sand, next to each other, Sora’s hand folded within Kairi’s, listening to the sound of the waves lapping lazily against the beach.
“I’m glad you came here, Kairi.” Sora said after a long pause.
“Me too,” Kairi smiled through the darkness. “I’m glad I got to meet you, and Riku.”
“Yeah,” Sora said, before getting to his feet. He started spinning.
“What’re you doing?” Kairi giggled.
“I’m dancing,” Sora replied, a grin on his face. “Won’t you dance with me?”
Kairi giggled again. “Okay.”
She got to her feet and started spinning as well, their feet kicking the sand upwards.
They both laughed, spinning in the dark.
“Ahh!” Kairi screamed, as she lost her balancing, collapsing, landing in the sand.
Sora laughed. “Are you okay.”
“Fine,” Kairi pouted.
Sora smirked, and extended his hand towards her. She took it, wrapping her fingers around his. Sora
pulled her up to her feet, and then took her other hand in his. He started jumping. She started jumping too, before they knew it, they were both jumping erratically, holding hands, flinging themselves along the beach.
“Woah!” Sora exclaimed, losing his footing, falling head first into the sand.
Kairi laughed. “Looks like it was you this time!”
“Be quiet,” Sora pouted, his face in the sand. He rolled over onto his back, and turned his head back towards the sky. Kairi sat down next to him, also looking at the stars.
They were silent for a minute, the only noises were their huffing and erratic breathing. It took them awhile to catch their breath.
Then, Kairi spoke, breaking the silence. “I really like you, Sora.”
Sora froze, as something fluttered in his chest, something he had never felt inside him before. He had never felt so alive.
“I really like you too, Kairi.”
To Sora, the sky had never looked more beautiful.
~Fin
That night Sora couldn’t sleep. He lay awake, his small, six year old body wrapped up in blankets, layer after layer, gazing out his window at the sky.
The night sky glowed, as if on fire as meteor after meteor flew through the night sky, dancing amongst the glimmering stars, their shine dulled by their bright visitors. It was magnificent.
Sora stared in awe, his bright, blue eyes wide. The normally dark sky shined with thousands of colours, reds and oranges and yellows and colours in between that Sora couldn’t name, reflected from the meteors off his window panels.
“I wonder what causes meteor showers,” he wondered aloud to himself. They seemed beyond his realm of thought or understanding.
“They can’t be from here,” he decided quietly. “Everything here is too boring and quiet. They must be from someplace else.”
Sora remained transfixed on the meteor shower for quite some time, until eventually fell asleep, his unconscious face gazing out the window. He had no way of knowing that what would happen the next night would be far more enticing than any meteor shower.
~
“It’s true; I saw it with my own eyes!” Sora exclaimed excitedly, as they walked down the wooden planks, leading down from the tree house.
“You sure you didn’t just hear it this time?” Riku asked sceptically, inspecting him with a sharp eye.
It was a peaceful, quiet morning on the island. The waves rolled lazily onto the beach, drenching the soft, dormant sand before rolling back out again, like a lazy dog rolling in grass. The morning sun calmly inspected the small island, drenching it in warmth.
It was all too boring for Sora, too lazy. And he knew Riku felt the same. There was no adventure!
“What difference does it make?” Sora asked defiantly, as he climbed down the ladder after Riku.
“There’s a huge monster, I tell you!”
Riku kicked his feet against the sand, sending it into the air.
“All right,” he said. “Suppose there really is a monster,” he turned to Sora, who had reached the bottom of the ladder, his tone turned suddenly, from lazy disinterest to excitement. “Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?”
“No problem!” Sora exclaimed, Riku’s excitement infectious. “Let’s do it!”
They both froze. They were there.
It looked dark, and seemed to go on forever. The entrance to the secret place. Under tangled overgrowth, the small entrance was barely visible. It was dark, like the opening of the mouth of a giant monster, wanting to eat them up.
They both jumped out of their skins when they heard the noise.
“There!” Sora exclaimed with excitement. “Can you hear it growling?”
“Sssh!” Riku hushed, his tone quiet, only building the suspense. “Quiet. We’ve got to be careful.”
Riku took the lead, holding his wooden sword, with Sora close behind. Bravely, they moved, trying to dampen the sound of their footsteps. Riku brushed the branches aside, ignoring the moss collecting on the grip of his shoes. They came to a large cave, tree branches grew up the sides of the grey, stony walls. It was obvious this place was not used to people.
Sora grinned. “SORA!!” he yelled loudly, and then grinned as his echo repeated him.
Riku quickly hushed him and turned his gaze upwards, to a crevice in the roof.
“See?” he announced confidently, as if he had known all along. “It was just the wind making that noise.”
“Aww, man!” Sora complained, stretching his arms behind his head. “I wish it was a monster.” Then something large and brown caught the corner of his eye. “Wait, what’s that over there?”
They both looked, and walked around the stony walls and large boulders to get a better view.
It took up most of the wall; it was large and very distinct. If they hadn’t been so excited, they would have noticed it immediately. It stood out against the grey wall, brown and oval shaped, with a golden outline. Sora stood back as Riku approached it.
The silver haired boy guided his hands along it. “A window, or a door maybe.” He searched with his hand for an opening or a knob. “It won’t open,” he announced, disappointed.
“Geez, is that really all that’s in here?” Sora moaned, feeling the same disappointment.
“What do you expect in a boring place like this?” Riku asked rhetorically.
Silence filled the cavernous place for a moment.
“Hey, Sora,” Riku said, breaking the silence.
Sora turned to him. “Hm?”
“When we grow up, let’s get off this island!” Riku announced excitedly, a wild and untamed look in his eye. “We’ll go on real adventures! Not this kid stuff.”
“Sure!” Sora replied, enthusiastic. His grin slid off his face. “But isn’t there anything fun to do now?”
“Hey, you know the new girl at the Mayor’s house?” Riku asked.
“I think my parents might have said something,” Sora replied, trying to think back on his morning. “I heard she arrived the night of the meteor shower!” he announced with excitement, remembering. “I saw it last night,” he continued, pushing away branches which led up to the beach. He crawled out the small opening. “It looked really weird, like something outside this world, ya’know”.
He turned around, expecting to see Riku.
“Huh,” he paused, looking around the beach, and down the hole, gazing for Riku, unable to find him. Terror shook him. “Riku?! Can you hear me?! Did the monster get you?!”
“I’m fine,” Riku called out from the down in the cavern.
“Where are you?” Sora yelled.
“I’m here,” Riku said, as he too appeared out of the hole.
“Where did you go?” Sora asked.
“No where,” Riku replied. “I just thought I saw... never mind.”
Sora eyed him suspiciously.
“Come on!” Riku exclaimed. “Don’t you want to see the new girl?”
“Oh, yeah!” Sora grinned.
~
The main island was much larger than the small island they were on, so it took the two of them awhile to row the boat back to the island. By the time they finally hit the beach of the small town, the sun had already risen in the sky. Sora figured, by the sound of his stomach growling, that he was going to miss out on lunch.
“All to meet some stupid girl,” he muttered under his breath. He looked over nervously at Riku, getting out of the row boat, and wondered if he had heard him.
Riku turned to face him. If he had heard, he made no acknowledgement that he had.
They walked in silence, Riku tapping his wooden sword against his shoes with every upward step. It was starting to get hot. Sora dabbed his top against his forehead, wiping away the sweat.
“I’m hungry,” Sora complained, eventually.
“Go home then,” Riku replied distantly, and kept walking.
“No!” Sora exclaimed adamantly.
“What,” Riku smirked, turning to him. “Afraid the monster will get you.”
“I’m not afraid of any monsters!” Sora announced in his defence.
“What’d you do if you met a monster,” Riku asked, brandishing his wooden sword. “You don’t even have your sword anymore, not like me.”
“It’s not my fault!” Sora said. “Mum took it off me after I hit Tidus with it.”
“What, did you think he was a monster?”
“If it was a monster he wouldn’t want to run into me again!” Sora smirked proudly. “After he saw how hard I hit Tidus he probably won’t wanna mess with me anyway!”
Riku laughed. “No monster is strong enough to take on the both of us!” Riku smiled.
“Yeah,” Sora grinned.
They approached the mayor’s house at the very top of the steady uphill climb that was the main island. Riku opened the gate and walked up to the door. The thing about Destiny Islands was that it was like one big community, where everyone knew each other, and it wasn’t uncommon for two young boys to visit the mayor.
Riku knocked on the door.
The mayor’s house was quite small and cosy, it seemed to fit in with the islands homely setting. The door swung open.
The mayor’s belly preceded him out the door.
“Hello boys,” the mayor grinned behind a large, brunette moustache. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Both boys shuffled their feet, their eyes at their ankles, as most children did when addressing adults that weren’t their own parents.
“We want to see the new girl,” Riku answered shyly. “Can we?” he added on hastily, trying to be polite.
“Of course,” the mayor grinned. “I hope you three become good friends.” He turned down the corridor and called out, “Kairi!”
Footsteps pitter-pattered out of site, as if in a hurry. Sora leaned; trying to see passed the mayor’s large stomach, in a hope to get a glance of Destiny Island’s newest attraction. Unfortunately for him, all he saw was a gleam of dark, reddish hair, before the girl disappeared out of sight.
“What’s the matter, Kairi?” The mayor asked politely. “These boys want to see you, don’t be shy.” Then from behind the door’s frame, a small little head poked into view.
Sora’s first thought was of how pretty she looked. Her dark, reddish hair hung over her forehead, lazily, but didn’t extend beyond her neck. Her cheeks were flushed red, her shy blue eyes gazed at them, caught between curiosity and fear. The hunger in Sora’s stomach was replaced by nervous butterflies.
The girl cautiously stepped into view from behind the door frame, her reddish fringe hanging against her blue eyes. She flattened it hurriedly, as if attempting to hide it.
She wore a short, white dress, which hung to her knees, with purple floral patterns along the seems near the bottom. She cautiously approached them.
The mayor bid them a quick farewell, announcing that a large pile of work kept him from staying.
Then it was just the three of them. The girl, shuffled her feet anxiously, her eyes drawn to a stone she was kicking.
Sora began to introduce himself, but stopped, his voice caught in the base of his throat. He coughed, and started to speak.
“I’m So-“
“Hey, I’m Riku,” Riku said rather loudly.
Kairi looked up, examining him with her large, innocent blue eyes.
Then she smiled. “Hi Riku,” he said, her voice racked with nerves, but friendly nonetheless. “I’m Kairi.”
“I’m Sora!” Sora exclaimed in a hurry, before anyone could interrupt him this time.
Kairi grinned at him. “Hi, Sora.”
“Come on,” Riku announced. “We want to show you something.”
~
“I did not!” Sora affirmed.
“Did too!” Riku exclaimed back.
“Did what?” Kairi asked politely.
“He thought there was a monster in here,” Riku answered with a sense of authority.
Kairi looked around with a sense of curiosity at the secret place. It seemed slightly scary, being here in a damp, dark place with tree roots growing, reaching up against the grey walls. It was quite large. Despite being scared, she couldn’t help feeling excited.
“Yeah, well, so did you,” Sora replied, at a loss for words.
Kairi giggled softly, her hands raised to her mouths. Riku flushed.
“I wish there was a monster,” Riku pouted. “At least it’d brighten this place up.”
“I like it here,” Kairi said softly. “It’s bright and sunny and-“
“Where are you from?” Riku interrupted.
Kairi paused. Her cheeks flushed bright, as she thought back to how she got here. “I... I don’t...”
“Don’t worry Kairi,” Riku smiled. “One day we’ll take you back to where you came from, right, Sora?”
Sora froze at the mention of his name, and hurriedly turned to Riku, trying to avoid the fact that he had been staring at Kairi since she had giggled. “Yeah, right,” he replied.
Kairi smiled. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Kairi beamed, then began walking around, inspecting the new area.
“Ya’ know,” Sora began. “I don’t think Tidus or Wakka know about this place. I think it could be our little spot, just the three of us.”
“I guess,” Riku replied lazily, dropping to the ground, lying on his back. “But what is there to do in here?”
They both stopped and began to think. The silence filled the cavern, broken only by the wailing of the wind, which Sora had once thought was the wailing of a monster. He remembered how scared he had been, but had tried not to show it.
I’ll be ok, he thought to himself. As long as I have Riku. And Kairi, too.
His thought process was stopped instantly by the sound of scratching. He looked up, and Riku did too. “What is that?” Riku asked.
They both turned to the sound of the noise.
Kairi sat there, facing the stony wall, scratching against it with a large rock. Sora and Riku approached her.
“What’re you doing, Kairi?” Sora asked, sitting next to her.
Kairi nodded to the scratches she was making against the wall. They were hardly an artistic beauty, but the scratches seemed to form a regular pattern, sticking to three groups. The scratches seemed to form something that looked almost like humans.
“It’s us,” Kairi beamed. “The three of us.”
Sora laughed. “You’re really bad at drawing, Kairi!”
Kairi pouted. “Oh yeah,” she said, handing him the rock. “I’d like to see you do better!”
“I will then,” Sora announced, sitting down next to her, etching his own drawing into the rock face.
“You too, Riku,” Kairi smiled, handing him his own rock.
~
It took them awhile, but by now the majority of the rock face was covered in small little etchings.
Kairi had followed the traditional pattern of drawing the three of them. Sometimes together, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs, though it was difficult to distinguish who exactly she was drawing. Sora had mostly drawn himself, holding a sword, fighting monsters alongside Riku, saving Kairi, his very own ‘damsel in distress’. Riku, however, refused to show the others what he was drawing until he was done.
“Sora, Kairi,” he said softly. “I’m done.”
They both rushed to see his picture. Despite being the best drawer there, Riku’s picture looked hasty, and cluttered together, despite being quite large.
“What’s it of?” Kairi inquired.
“It’s us,” Riku said. “At your home.”
“My home?” Kairi asked.
“Yeah,” Riku replied. “You know, the place you were before you came here.”
“Oh,” Kairi whispered.
“I was thinking,” Riku continued. “It’s weird how you came from nowhere, so what if...” he paused. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
“No,” Kairi beamed. “I promise.”
Riku turned his head to Sora. “You too.”
“Fine,” Sora huffed. “I won’t laugh.”
Riku turned back, not looking at either at him, only at his drawing. He hesitated, then continued. “So what if you came from another world, Kairi?”
“Another world?” Kairi asked.
Riku’s eyes became wide, looking at his drawing without really seeing. “This can’t be just it,” he responded, staring blankly into space. “This can’t be all there is to the world, just this island. There has to be more than just... this. Maybe where you come from out there, far away from this island, maybe we could take you there, just to see it.”
“You aren’t making sense,” Sora responded.
Riku sighed, and then laughed hastily. “I guess not.”
~
The setting sun hung lazily in the orange sky. By the time they finally left the secret place, it was already getting dark.
“I have to go,” Riku announced. “Otherwise I’ll just get in trouble.”
They watched as Riku ran down the beach and onto his boat, before rowing back to the main island.
“Don’t you have to go to?” Kairi pondered.
“I’m sure I can spare a few more minutes,” Sora smiled. He grabbed her by the hand. “Come with me.”
He led her to the small shack, up the stairs and across the bridge over to the small, separate piece of land, with a bent tree.
He took a seat on the branch, and then pulled Kairi up next to him. She sat next to him.
“Riku and I normally come here, to watch the sun set.”
“It’s beautiful,” Kairi said in awe. It definitely was.
The sky glimmered with shades of orange and red, as if the sky was burning bright above them. The sun lent lazily against the dark horizon, a shade of black, mixing with the reds and yellows of the sun.
“I wonder why the sun sets red,” Sora pondered.
“I don’t know. It looked the same where I come from.”
“What do you remember, about your home?” asked Sora rather tactlessly.
“Nothing,” Kairi replied. It seemed easier to talk to Sora about this than it was to talk to Riku. “I don’t remember anything before this morning.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know that the sun looks the same where you come from?”
Kairi paused, and thought. “I don’t know, I just remember it does.”
“Then maybe you do remember stuff from your home,” Sora smirked.
“I guess,” Kairi replied quietly. “I guess this is my home now though. With you, and Riku.”
“Of course,” Sora grinned. “We’re your friends.”
Kairi smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You know what!” Sora exclaimed excitedly, jumping to his feet. “One day, I’ll take you back to your home, I promise! And we’ll bring Riku with us!”
“Really?” Kairi wondered. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course,” Sora confirmed, as the sun sunk below the horizon, shrouding them in darkness.
“Look,” Kairi said, pointing upwards. “A star.”
“So?”
“It’s the first star of the night,” Kairi pouted, then giggled. “You’re supposed to make a wish!”
“Uhh... alright?” Sora remarked, unsure.
“Just close your eyes, and make a wish.” Kairi giggled. “I’ll do it too.” With that she closed her eyes.
Sora hesitantly closed his eyes, following Kairi’s lead. He paused, wondering what to wish for. What could he possibly want?
Sora frowned, and thought to himself. I’m not sure how to do this, his thoughts echoed on the inside of his head. But, I want to be happy, with Kairi and Riku, on the islands. Oh, and I also want to see Kairi’s home. With that he opened his eyes.
Kairi was already staring at him. “Finished?” she asked.
“Yeah...” Sora replied quietly, and then asked. “What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you,” Kairi smiled. “It’s a secret. If I tell you it won’t come true!”
“Oh” replied with disappointment, and then a grin of excitement spread across his face.
“Come with me!” Sora grabbed her by the hand, yet again.
~
The stars, one by one, popped into view in the dark sky.
“Even in the deepest darkness,” Kairi commented. “There’s always light peeking through.”
“Yeah,” Sora replied lazily, unwilling to decipher her cryptic message.
They laid in the sand, next to each other, Sora’s hand folded within Kairi’s, listening to the sound of the waves lapping lazily against the beach.
“I’m glad you came here, Kairi.” Sora said after a long pause.
“Me too,” Kairi smiled through the darkness. “I’m glad I got to meet you, and Riku.”
“Yeah,” Sora said, before getting to his feet. He started spinning.
“What’re you doing?” Kairi giggled.
“I’m dancing,” Sora replied, a grin on his face. “Won’t you dance with me?”
Kairi giggled again. “Okay.”
She got to her feet and started spinning as well, their feet kicking the sand upwards.
They both laughed, spinning in the dark.
“Ahh!” Kairi screamed, as she lost her balancing, collapsing, landing in the sand.
Sora laughed. “Are you okay.”
“Fine,” Kairi pouted.
Sora smirked, and extended his hand towards her. She took it, wrapping her fingers around his. Sora
pulled her up to her feet, and then took her other hand in his. He started jumping. She started jumping too, before they knew it, they were both jumping erratically, holding hands, flinging themselves along the beach.
“Woah!” Sora exclaimed, losing his footing, falling head first into the sand.
Kairi laughed. “Looks like it was you this time!”
“Be quiet,” Sora pouted, his face in the sand. He rolled over onto his back, and turned his head back towards the sky. Kairi sat down next to him, also looking at the stars.
They were silent for a minute, the only noises were their huffing and erratic breathing. It took them awhile to catch their breath.
Then, Kairi spoke, breaking the silence. “I really like you, Sora.”
Sora froze, as something fluttered in his chest, something he had never felt inside him before. He had never felt so alive.
“I really like you too, Kairi.”
To Sora, the sky had never looked more beautiful.
~Fin
Last edited:
