SEEING STARS
by Rem-sama
Even for Destiny Islands, the summer months rarely ever reached the hot temperatures where an egg could cook on your doorstep before noon came. The muggy days, keeping the residents inside from even the temptation of a cool swim, were unprecedented. The trio agreed to meet at Sora's air-conditioned home with refreshments provided courtesy of his mom... and so they had planned for this particularly stifling day.
The problem was Kairi hadn't shown up yet.
"Any more news from the King?" Riku asked. He was lying on the floor with the air conditioner vent blowing in his face. Sora, still in the middle of a generous glass of his mother's lemonade, gulped it down and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm before answering.
"Nah. The last I heard from him was in spring, remember? When Huey, Dewey, and Louie started their mailing business?"
"Yeah," Riku laughed. "I can just picture the three of them flying a gummi ship from world to world, delivering letters! Must be a lot of them going around since the Princesses of Heart were reunited."
Both of them were quiet. Neither of them wanted to look back on that dark spot of their friendship... when all the princesses were gathered together.
"Where's Kairi?" Sora broke the tension, looking behind him from his position on the bed as if expecting her to walk in on cue.
"'Dunno," Riku shrugged, his hair whipping around his face from the blast of the vent. "Maybe Axel kidnapped her again."
They both laughed at this, despite the sharp ache it gave Sora deep in his chest, somewhere were Roxas could hear them.
Just then, the sound of a door shutting caught their attention.
"Oh, hello Kairi!" Sora's mother's voice rose up through the floor. "He's up in his room with Riku. Terrible weather we're having, isn't it? Tell your mother I'll be over for her fireworks party, though I suppose they'll all melt in this heat."
"Yes, I will," Kairi's response was patient. The sound of footsteps climbed up to Sora's room and she came in with a smile. She didn't even wait for them to greet her; the news seemed to explode from her like she couldn't have held it in any longer.
"You'll never guess what's happened!" she cried, fanning her reddened face with a large manila envelope. The heat had compelled her to wear short-shorts that were pink striped just like her blouse... and a moment later, just like Sora's cheeks.
"You're a princess!" Riku shouted with feigned shock.
"Your natural hair color is blonde!" Sora joined.
"Your keyblade's grown weeds!"
"There's another Ansem!" This last one caused both of the guys to double over in laughter. Riku covered his face with his hands and his deep laugh echoed in them.
"Ha-ha, you two are so funny." Kairi tried to sound serious, but the suppressed laughs were screwing up her face. She waved the manila envelope around like a toy mouse in front of the eyes of hungry cats. They began to calm down, caught by its intrigue.
"It seems like you two aren't the only ones interested in knowing I'm a princess."
Sora's tilted his head sideways, half amused, half concerned. He jumped off the bed and went over to Kairi.
"What does it say?" he asked. Kairi's smile widened. She turned the parcel over, showing the side with her address and two stamps with moogles on it. She slipped the papers out and handed them to Sora with an air of authority.
"A decree from the Restoration Committee of Radiant Garden," she announced proudly. "They've rebuilt half the town and are nearly finished rebuilding the castle! They've invited us to come and see the final tower put into place on it! The decree is a formal request made by the townspeople. They want their princess to come back for the ceremony. That's me!"
"That's great Kairi!" said Riku.
"But..." Sora began. "If they're requesting you to come back, doesn't that mean they may want you to stay?" Sora looked worried as he looked over the contents of the letter, reading every word twice. It said everything Kairi had told them. Kairi seemed to be expecting this answer because she didn't miss a beat.
"Yeah, but that's okay. I'll tell them that Destiny Islands is my home and I couldn't possibly live anywhere else. I'm sure they will understand."
"Maybe you could elect Squall to be King of Radiant Garden," Riku said. An image of Leon, surrounded by a flowery garden, wearing a crown of Mickey Mouse ears, made Sora snort loudly. Suddenly they were all at it again. Kairi was still giggling when three hard knocks came from the front door downstairs. A moment later Sora's mother called up.
"Sora! You and your friends have visitors!"
The three of them shared the same look.
"You don't think...?"
"Already?"
"That's impossible..."
And quick as a flash the trio was tumbling over each other as they raced down the stairs and through the hall. Sora's mother stepped back out of the way as they thundered past her to the front door. It was wide open. An aura of terrible heat smacked them in the face as they approached, the sun blinded their eyes. They nearly stopped in their tracks and slowed down immediately. In shocked fascination they emerged from the house and looked down on the scene before them.
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A/N: What do you think? Good imagery? Too fast or unrealistic? Good characters or are they a little OOC? Please review with your thoughts/ predictions/ kind criticism!!