Just One Day
Rated K
All characters and concepts copyright to Square Enix/Disney
Summary: Post KH2-- While fighting Heartless in Radiant Garden, Sora is sucked into the darkness and awakens in the past. Destination? Destiny Islands. Time? Ten years ago.
Oneshot.
-----
Pain blossomed in his head, added to by the constant poke of something wooden and hard against his skull.
With a groan, Sora slowly opened his turquoise eyes, and looked around, extremely disoriented. As his vision cleared, he noticed a young, chocolate-haired boy standing over him; possibly about seven or eight years of age, and poking him with a small stick.
He vaguely registered water being swept over his legs and the distant cry of seagulls. Slowing turning over on his side, much to the younger boy's surprise, he found himself on a small beach. It was mostly uninhabited, with the exception of a few boys and a girl running around.
Destiny Islands.
How'd he get here? The last thing he remembered was walking back to the Gummi Ship after visiting Ansem's lab, looking for more clues on how to get rid of the Heartless. The Heartless had attacked, and he was swept away into the darkness. But what happened after that? How'd he get back home? And who were these kids?
The younger boy noticed the confused look in the older male's eyes. "Mister, are you okay?"
That voice sounded familiar. Sora rubbed his eyes before gazing back up to the little boy. "Yeah." But one-word replies weren't enough to quell Sora's curiousity. "Who are you?"
"My name's Sora!" The younger boy replied eagerly, sending a wave of complete and utter confusion through the older male. How was this boy... him? "I'm eight years old! See?" The boy added, holding out eight fingers.
The older Sora sat up on the ground, one arm leaning against his leg. This seems familiar somehow. Am I in the past? "Sora, huh?"
"Yep! What's your name?"
Sora paused. Telling this kid his real name may not've been the best idea. He would have to explain the entire situation to an eight year old; about the Heartless, the portal to the past, and the entire concept of time travel.
Not wanting to confuse or upset his younger self, Sora fumbled with another name. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be here; obviously Donald and Goofy would've realized what happened and were trying to get him back as it was. He needed to lay low for awhile.
"Um... I'm... uh..." Sora fumbled, but then it hit him. There was one name he could use. "Roxas. My... my name is Roxas." Sora hated having to use his Nobody's name, but it was only for the time being.
"Where'd you come from?" The boy asked eagerly, folding his arms behind his back and bouncing on his heels.
"I'm... uh... on vacation." Sora quickly lied. "I... I wanted to come over to this island for a bit and my boat tipped over." He added, with a nervous chuckle. "But I probably won't be here long, I'm afraid."
"Aww! That's too bad... the meteor shower's gonna be tonight!"
At this, the older Sora perked up. Tonight's the meteor shower? This was the night Kairi came here! But why was I brought here, I wonder?
But before he could say anything, the younger Sora was running over to a silver-haired boy climbing the paopu tree. "Riku!" He faintly called out. "Riku, come here! I want you to see something!" The second the silver-haired boy climbed back down, Sora was pulling on his arm and pointing to where the older male was sitting.
"Sora, if this is another stupid snail race, I'm gonna--"
"Hey." The older Sora waved, then stood up.
"...Sora, who's that?"
"His name's Roxas!" The younger boy replied happily.
"Nice to meet you." 'Roxas' nodded, then shook the younger male's hand. Riku only stood there, dumbfounded.
"Riku, what's wrong?" The younger Sora asked his companion.
"He..." The silver-haired boy began. "He's... tall."
The younger Sora turned back to the older male. "Mister Roxas, will you play hide-and-seek with us? Riku cheats."
That certainly got the other boy's attention. "Hey! I do not!" He yelled, stomping his foot, and giving his best angry face.
"Sure." 'Roxas' replied. Might as well do something to pass the time. He thought.
"Okay!" Sora hopped up. "You count, and we'll go hide!" And with that, the two boys ran off, laughing.
Kairi'll be coming here soon anyway. I'll-- He'll have someone else to play with.
-----
"...8! 9! 10! Ready or not, here I come!"
For a split second, Sora had forgotten how good he and Riku used to be at hide-and seek. Within a few minutes, he had already combed the entire island, but the two boys could not be found anywhere. He'd even checked all of their old hiding places; the shack, the cave by the star-tree, and even the abandoned boat, but they were nowhere to be found.
But then it hit him. There was one place he hadn't looked.
Sliding down the palm tree, Sora made his way to the Secret Place, certain the boys would be there. Crouching into the cave's entrance, he found the two boys by the wooden door, looking upon it with interest.
"I keep hearing growling." The younger Sora whispered. "Is it a monster?"
"I don't know." Riku whispered back. "Nobody's been able to open this door, so I think we're safe."
"What're you doing?" Sora asked the two boys, causing them to jump.
"Roxas! The door's growling! Should we open it?"
Sora's response was simple and firm. "No." He knew all too well what would happen if the door was to be opened.
"But there's a monster in there! It sounds scary!"
"Leave the door shut. You guys can get in a lot of trouble if you open it." Anticipating the boys' response, he quickly added, "It belongs to someone."
"Aww... okay." Riku pouted. "It's probably just a dog or something anyway, Sora. Let's go." And with that, Riku walked off, leaving Sora and his older self in the cave. The younger Sora noticed the sad look in the older male's eyes.
"Roxas?"
"I-I'm fine." He simply replied. He was trembling.
"Are you scared?"
"Of course not! Why... why would you think that?" Sora replied nervously.
Without warning, the younger boy hugged the older male's leg. "It's okay. I'm scared, too."
Sora wasn't usually one prone to such sorrowful emotions and quickly perked up. "Hey, why don't we go fishing?"
Just as he thought, his younger self perked up as well. "Yeah!"
And with that, the older male lifted the boy onto his shoulders and headed for the beach, as far away from that door as he could possibly go. He knew what would happen in the years to come, but forced himself to enjoy the day while he could.
-----
After a long day of hide-and-seek, fishing, and crab-racing, night eventually fell. The boys knew it was gonna be the night of the meteor shower, and rowed home as fast as they could. Riku took his own boat, while Sora rode with his younger self. Once at the docks, a flash of white sped through the sky.
And another. And another, until the entire night sky was ablaze with meteors falling from every direction.
"Wow! Look at 'em all!" The younger Sora shouted with joy. "I've never seen so many!"
"I hear that if you make a wish on a shooting star, it'll come true." Sora informed the younger boy with a smile.
"Okay! Ummm..." The younger boy squeezed his eyes shut. "I want a new fishing rod! No, wait-- a new boat! Um, a new bike! There's so many! I don't think I can make that many wishes!"
"Hey, don't take all the wishes!" Riku cried.
"Why not?" He giggled.
"Save some for me!"
"Well, then, say something!"
"Um..."
"See? You can't think of anything!"
With a groan, Riku turned towards the sky. "Get Sora a girlfriend!"
"Hey!"
The older Sora could only laugh at the irony. It all began with her.
Kairi.
If she hadn't come to the islands, would they've ever known about the other worlds? Would he have met all the friends he has now? Riku was right; they probably would've spent their entire lives on the island.
His friends... Donald. Goofy. The King. Would he ever see them again?
Sora suddenly missed them sorely. He wasn't sure exactly how long he was going to be trapped in the past. Looking up to the stars, a simple request softly slipped through his lips. "I want to go back." He murmured.
-----
It wasn't long before the meteor shower died down, and both boys were exhausted. Cradling his younger self in his arms, and Riku on his back, Sora headed to the older boy's home first. Knocking on the old, wooden door, his mother appeared in the doorway, confused.
"Good evening." Sora greeted politely, before turning around. "I believe this belongs to you?"
"Oh, thank you." His mother sighed, taking Riku off his back. "Are you a friend of his?"
"Yeah. I'm here on vacation. My name is Roxas."
"Well, thank you for bringing my son home, Roxas." His mother replied. "Good night."
Sora nodded. "Good night."
Finished, Riku's mother shut the door, and the hazel-haired boy headed home. The night was so peaceful. No Heartless, no Nobodies. Just a quiet night at home. Knocking on the door, Sora stood back and waited. It felt weird dropping himself off, but also nice to see his old home again. The door opened, and his mother jumped back a bit, surprised.
"It's alright, I'm just a friend of your son's." Sora replied easily. He hated lying to his own mother, but what could he do about it?
"Oh, thank you." She replied, taking the sleeping younger boy off her hands. "And you're... ?"
"Roxas." Somehow, it was getting easier and easier for him to say that name. "I'm just on vacation for awhile here. Um..." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "If it's not too much trouble... do you mind if I spend the night here? I know we just met and all, but..."
"Oh, no, it's fine." She replied. "But I'm afraid we don't have any spare rooms, and..."
"It's alright. I'll just take the couch. I promise I'll be gone by morning."
"Alright." She opened the door more to let him in.
"Thank you." He nodded, then headed for the couch.
"No problem... Sora."
He gasped, and turned towards her. How did she--
"What, you think I don't recognize my own son? So, how'd you get here?" She questioned easily, shifting the younger boy in her arms. He was amazed by how freely she spoke.
"I'm really not sure myself." He replied, scratching the back of his head. "I just woke up here." He looked back down at the boy sleeping in her arms. "You won't tell him... will you?"
"Of course not." She smiled. "Now get some rest, I know you've had a long day." She ordered, walking off with the boy in her arms.
"Yeah." Sora climbed down onto the couch. Just one day to relax.
-----
A few hours later, a loud clang drifted into his consciousness. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked around the dark living room. What made that sound?
Suddenly, he was brought to attention by a large, silver door by his front door. It was beautifully crafted, and it seemed to shimmer. It slowly opened, and a bright, white light shone out of it. Adjusting his eyes to the light, he gave a surprised gasp.
Merlin's door! He could go back to his own time!
Climbing up from the couch, Sora took one last look around his old home. Soon, the peace would be gone. He'd go back to fighting Heartless and Nobodies. He could go through the door and back to his regular life... or stay here and bask in that peace. With a grin, Sora walked away from the door...
...and broke out into a run, diving head-first into it.
His old life was too boring anyway.
It was just one day to bask in that peace. That's all he wanted.
-----
A little girl, possibly about the age of eight, laid on the beach's shore. A shadow swept over her view, and her eyes gently opened. A hand decended on her back, and she looked up.
There, before her, sat a little boy, looking upon her with curiousity.
"Who are you?"
Fin.