Disclaimer:

I do not own Kingdom Hearts. All proper respects go to Square Enix and Disney and Co. All non-cannon characters are created by me.

Prologue:

Rayne always felt a little off about Destiny Islands. Perhaps she had some sort of premonition, but her being a regular human kind of made that null. Her green eyes took in her surroundings: palm trees, blue skies, green grass. Her best friends Keri and Jade stood with her on the hill overlooking the lone island several hundred meters from the mainland.

"Onee-chan", Jade said quietly, "do you feel that?" Rayne turned to her chocolate-skinned friend and replied with a nod.

"Keri?" Rayne asked the other girl who had red hair and tired dreamy eyes. Keri simply nodded and kept her eyes fixed on the horizon. The summer was on the verge of beginning and all three young girls with their young impressionable minds felt the tugging of Destiny on their hearts.

...

Jade:

Jade Genesis was a reasonable child. Her mind was a bit older than her peers, but her heart and body were the same as any child's. Her brown eyes took in everything she saw and experienced. At the tender age of four, her journey to Destiny would begin with an unremarkable insignificant object: Thalassa Shells.

She and her two comrades, Keri and Rayne, were visiting the island with the daycare supervisors. Their class consisted of several children around the same age (4 and 5 respectively). The teacher showed them around the island, showing them different creatures and features surrounding them.

"Now this children, is a paopou fruit," the teacher began showing them the peculiar star-shaped fruit. Jade took no interest in what she was saying. She'd much rather be doing something else. Her eyes wandered around the sand and came across a seashell. Carefully she picked it up and placed it in the pocket of her dress she wore.

"I saw that," said a boy whose name she remembered as Riku, "I'm going to tell the teacher."

"Why?" Jade asked simply, undaunted by the slightly older boy. "Do you want it?" she asked. Riku looked at her, suddenly unsure of what to say. After a brief moment he shook his head, suddenly realizing he had nothing to say on it. Jade, understanding her small victory, silently rejoiced in her head.

She found several more over the course of the day and placed each one in her pocket. They'd make nice gifts for her family and friends. Once they were on mainland she showed her friends.

"Those are pretty, how did you get them?" Keri asked, softly touching a shell. She was amazed at Jade's skill for hiding things.

"I was quiet and careful, but Riku almost caught me," she explained. At the sound of Riku's name, Rayne suddenly came to attention.

"How'd you get him to stop?" she asked, green eyes all aglow.

"I don't know. I just asked him if he wanted a shell, and he said no." The girl had seen Rayne's reaction and was sure that then and there, Rayne's Red String of Destiny had a possible lead.

Keri:

Keri was a simple child. Not stupid in the least. She had simple thought patters, simple tastes, and simple desires. She was quite a daydreamer, sometimes drifting off in the middle of playtime. Not that her "sisters" minded. Both she and Rayne were big sleepers and appreciated afternoon naps. Jade was more active and frequently stayed up late.

She was friends with Sora-who was also a big dreamer as well. They both got caught napping at odd times and were chastised for it by their teachers. But still, they were well-liked among their peers. There was only one slight conflict Keri faced; and that was Kairi.

Keri didn't hate Kairi. Kairi hated how alike they looked and how both of their names began with a K.

"Ugh, why can't you look different from me!?" Kairi said a bit too loudly at the coloring table. Keri just looked at her, unsure of what to say. Keri didn't think they looked alike. They didn't wear the same dresses or wear their hair the same way. She had no clue what the issue might be. Sora tried telling her that the two girls didn't look alike to no avail.

Keri just shrugged and went back to her coloring, the matter seemed to be forgotten. But it seemed to be a source of...issues between the two girls.

"I don't get why she's so mad," Keri blurted one day, "I don't look a thing like her! And she still got mad when I let her sit next to Sora!"All three girls had become tired of Kairi's complex or whatever it was that bothered her. They were children. Who wanted to waste time on such things when there was so much else to look at?

"Just ignore her," Rayne said, "It'll go away soon." Keri sighed, hoping that Rayne was right.

Rayne:

Rayne was a rebellious child, not in great favor of rules. Taking naps was fine, but she preferred her own way of doing things. She tried to run away from daycare many times before. Usually Jade would remark on how useless her antics were, but Rayne tried anyway.

The poor child was restless as it were. Fidgeting, moving, not wanting to do what she was told simply because she wanted to do different. Keri remarked on her behavior , saying that she was going to get in trouble for it. But Rayne hardly listened, continuing her patterns.

She was inquisitive, always wanting to know why. Why she had rules. Why did she have to be in school. Where there other worlds out there? Riku shared her inquiries. No one else seemed to understand her. But Riku did. He shared her mind, not understanding the world. Jade tried to understand her, but even she had limits to her fair understanding. Rayne wanted to leave the island and move on to greater things, wanting to grow up in a hurry. Her parents said to wait, but to her, waiting was not going to be good enough.

...

The three girls spent more and more time on the island as they grew up. The boys, usually consisting of Tidus, Wakka, Sora, and Riku; spent their time play-fighting as they didn't know how to spar yet. Selphie, Rayne, Keri, Kairi, Jade, and some other girls collected shells and talked, playing in the water from time to time.

Jade watched the boys fight and wanted to join them, wondering why they turned her away every time she came with a toy sword. Riku and Wakka said it was because she was a girl and would need rescuing. Jade didn't understand this reasoning. She would try to copy their moves on her own, wishing she had someone to fight. Rayne on the other hand, enjoyed watching Riku fight and joined Jade on the rocks. Eventually all the other girls joined them, cheering on their chosen champions.

Keri however, wandered into the shade too tired to cheer. "Why aren't you with your friends?" an adult female voice asked. Keri opened her tired eyes to see a lady with blue hair smiling back at her. She sat up promptly and yawned. "I was just tired," the little girl replied, "Jade checked up on me a moment ago." The lady smiled and sat down next to her.

"What's your name little one?" she asked kindly.

"I'm Keri, what's your name lady?" she replied. The blue-haired woman let out a laugh. The child's brute and simple honesty was quite amusing.

"My name is Aqua," she said with a smile. From that moment on, Keri felt just a little bit different in the best way imaginable.

Explanations:

I'm trying to avoid using unnecessary words and descriptions here. Jade, Keri, and Rayne frequently refer to each other as "onee-chan" or "_-nee" showing their sisterhood and how they look out for each other. This is in NO way an attempt to add the Japanese language to my writing style. Think of it as a verbal tic. I also have some grammatical problems dotting my work, usually having to deal with my lack of semi-colon use. Please forgive me. Yes, Jade is black. That is all that will be said on the subject.

I would like to describe outfits, but I don't want to get into purple prose when it comes to that, so I'll post pics on my deviant art page of what they wear.