Riku threw down his pencil, absolutely frustrated with his lyrics. He'd spent all day in the front room, attempting to WRITE SOMETHING for Namine and Kairi. Since they had started this band he had been the song writer as well as the drummer. Axel was the guitarist, and played at being the stylist. Roxas was simply the shy quiet bassist. Namine and Kairi were the lead singers, with Kairi at the front, since namine was quite afraid of crowds. This left Sora as the publicist and as their manager. Riku always wrote long slightly overdramtic lyrics, simply hoping the ditzy girls could bring it to justice. they did, but nobody ever really saw the man behind the words.
"Bright as the diamond amid the stars in the night sky, diamond of the evening,
Bright star that rides the heavens, fire flaring, remember my voice…"
Riku heard Kairi practicing, her voice melodic and slow. She walked in with her slinky dress, apparently tired from "Practicing"
"Hey have you seen Roxas anywhere? He promised we could go out tonight," she said pouting.
Without letting Riku answer she walked off. Kairi and Roxas had been dating for about 2 months, and from Riku's standpoint it seemed like all Kairi did was talk, whereas Roxas simply listened. It worked, and it was cute. he kept her calm and focused on the band, and she kept him alive and social. Otherwise he would just play his bass all day. As Kairi walked back in to complain more, both SHE and Riku turned to the door.
Shredding up hi air guitar, Axel walked in loud and proud, ending on his knees in the center of the room.
"Yowww! Hiya!' Axel said with a smile. "Seen your sis yet?" he pointed at Kairi. She eyed him, AND THEN STARTS laughing at his face. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing Axel" she said with a smile. "No, I haven't seen her. I'm looking for Roxas." Axel shrugged and continued to chat with Kairi about their plans tonight. Riku tried to tune them out, still focusing on producing new lyrics. No matter what his actual intentions were, his songs still seemed to sound like love songs. As much as he knew everyone in the world loved to sing about love, he didn't. He would rather sing about Loyalty, Bravery, Beauty, and even Lust. He wanted to be able to smile and think that he was creating something new.
x
Although the band was Axels idea, Riku quickly adopted it. It wasn't for money, OR for recognition. Riku just wanted a way to hang with friends and create beauty at the same time. the name came from one of Riku and Roxas's adventures on the island. It was Roxas's first time at the smaller island that the other 3 had played at as a kid, so he decided to show him around. Roxas was immediately drawn to the paopu fruits, even though he had no idea as to what they were. apparently, he had this thing with stars. Roxas was entranced, so they hung there the whole day, with Riku going back and forth with the times he teased Kairi and Sora about it. That was when he first noticed how quiet Roxas was whenever he mentioned Kairi.
"They aren't together." Riku said.
"Huh? Who?"
"Kairi and Sora"
"oh…" Roxas turned bright red. "Guess you can see right through me. I figured they would be, since that's all Sora ever talked about. Well, you too…
but I thought he was going to propose or something when he found his way back… guess not."
Riku laughed, making Roxas turn even redder.
"Honestly, they were pretty brother and sister right from the start. Soon as we got back, Sora and her never really connected like they thought they would… Go for it Roxas" he said as he stood up and walked to the edge of the island.
"Are you sure she even looks at me that way? What are you doing?"
Riku walked up the trunk of the crooked tree, grabbing the fruit like it was a delicate flower.
"I'm helping" he said as he handed Roxas the fruit and slowly walked away.
During that conversation, Riku had been thinking that it was all destiny, the way they ended up together. and from that, Roxas and Kairi came to grow.
"We are simply Destiny's Fruit" he thought with a smile.
x
About a month and to songs later, he caught up with the rest of the gang to test it out. They loved it, and practiced all the time. Since then, Riku wrote whenever he could, while everyone else struggled to catch up. Lately, Riku hadn't been able to write. Since he wasn't writing, the group took it as time to practice and just hang out together. it wasn't all bad. Riku was still daydreaming when Namine landed hard on top of him.
"Get off of me! I didn't 'steal' your dress! you gave it to me!" said Kairi as she dusted off. Namine still sat on Riku, clearly upset over the issue of their wardrobe. Namine simply wore a light blue T-shirt and some jeans, which was clearly more comfortable than the dress. so Riku didn't understand. He picked her up off of his lap. Axel still stood in the corner, clapping and laughing at the girls' argument.
"Girl on girl action, Yeahhh!"
He said with a grin, walking over to calm the quieter girl down. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and lightly kissed her on the cheek.
"c'mon babe, we might be late!"
Making Namine smile once more. They left, Namine dragging Axel off excitedly to wherever they were going. Kairi snickered.
"She is so rough, she really needs to chill" WHILE Namine still remained quieter, she had definitely gotten stronger since the world had last seen her. She was sheltered and innocent. Since she started dating Axel, she had gotten more confident and powerful. Riku thought it was great, but kept that to himself, since he knew Kairi HATED it.
"So what are you doing tonight?" asked Kairi nosily.
Riku looked up at her brilliant blue eyes, simply motioning to his notebook. Kairi sighed and sat down next to him, giving him the look he knew all too well. As much as she was ditzy and dramatic, she was also really caring. She liked to mother Riku and Sora like it was her job, and sometimes took it a little bit too far. However, they both secretly loved it, as much as they loved Kairi. after all, they had been there for each other through everything. He smiled at her, hoping she would understand he just wanted time to focus on writing. He stood up an stretched, catching Kairi roll her eyes and sigh again. He laughed, messing up her hair.
"Heyy! Rikkuuu…"
She said pouting. She got up and walked into her room to fix it. Riku retook his spot on the couch, making sure to stretch out and maintain his dominance over his "Throne".
x
He looked at the ceiling, as if searching for an answer. It slowly lured him into another day dream.
"This house had been so empty, just another shell waiting to be whole," He thought with a smile. It was true. The house was abandoned a long time ago, and people on the island avoided it. After being alone for so long, it was really run down and crappy. Well, after Axel and the two blondes found their way to destiny island, Riku decided the house would be the best hangout. So, the group worked together to fix it. they even added rooms so the original three could join in. However, Roxas and Axel still shared a room. They simply put a curtain through the center, and both were happy. IT was crazy how different the two boys were. If you removed the curtain, it was still clear that the room was split in two, with two entirely different types of people inside. The background of the whole room was a solid black, and that's where the likeness ended. Axel's side had three different guitars, thousands of metal posters carelessly placed around on the walls, his many necklaces hanging from everywhere, and his desk messy as hell. Riku laughed as he thought about their relationship. Roxas's side was clean and organized, with only his bass ever out, or some journals he kept of his everyday memories. In fact, he always had a journal on him, filled with stories and memories and scribbles. He had shared with the group one day, asking that nobody ever look without asking, but glad he could open up a little about his terrible memory. Kairi laughed at him for thinking that would affect their opinion of him, knowing he was so nervous about them liking him. Another crazy thing about Roxas' side was the crazy amount of stars. everywhere there was stickers and painted stars and it was insane. Roxas was obsessed. The room was one of a kind.
Riku and Sora always offered to build another, but the boys liked to jam together, and didn't seem to mind being in the same room. Kairi and Namine had separate rooms across the hall from the boys. Their's were fairly EXACTLY the same, just in different colors. Namine's was blue themed, and Kairi's was a dark purple. They really were of the same heart.
On the top floor it was Riku and Sora in rooms on the opposite side of the house, and the room in the middle on the top floor (which used to be a huge nursery of some sort, served as the room they practiced in, and where they kept the drums and souvenirs that Riku and Kairi secretly collected through their visits to other worlds. While they sung, they often kept in mind the friends they made and challenges they had overcome. It was a nice set up.
Riku, Sora and Kairi were the only ones with jobs, but didn't mind letting the others borrow money. Sora was a lifeguard, enjoying the sun every day. Riku worked at the library, writing stuff nonstop. Kairi worked at the bakery, finding her new passion in the kitchen. It all worked out.
x
Riku smiled as he wrote, inspired by the simplicity of their groups happiness.
"Hey guys, what's kickin?"
His voice made Riku jump, suddenly bringing the world back into focus.
Sora stood in the doorway, water drips running down his skin, still wet from the waves. the sun behind caught his eyes for a moment, reminding Riku just how blue they were. Riku was reminded of crystals. HE looked up at him, nodding a hello, returning quickly back to his writing.
"Sorraaa!" yells Kairi, running and jumping on him. "EEwWww your wet" she says with an unsatisfied look.
"Have you seen Roxas anywhere?" she questions trying not to look worried.
"He's at the island, probably just exploring for a bit. Don't worry Kai. I'll be right back, I'm gonna to take a shower."
She looks down, clearly restless, and starts wringing her fingers.
"I hope he doesn't cancel on me..." she says quietly.
Riku looked down, hoping Kairi would be ok. Suddenly, an idea pops into his head.
"Hey, what is there to eat? I feel like baking cookies… What do you say Kai? Feel like surprising Roxas with cookies?" Riku says biting his lip, hoping Kairi would at least SMILE; get her mind off of it. He nudged her softly.
Kairi looked at him suspiciously, doubting his motives. Riku offered a weak smile, willing to take a break from writing so she could relax.
"I'll get the supplies!" yelled Kairi, bolting into her room to change first. Everyone knew she loved to bake, and Riku figured he wouldn't get any writing done anyway, with her upset like that.
He walked up stairs to put his notebook away and change into some scrap clothing. As he was taking his vest off he felt the cold wind brush his shoulders, felt a breeze go through his hair. He looked down at his torso and made a face. Secretly he wished his skin was as smooth and sun kissed as Sora's was. However, he would never admit it. Some chicks loved the pale white skin look. He sighed. Then froze, holding his breath as he felt ice upon his back, breath against his neck. He stayed still until the ice melted, and the breath turned to words…
"You have so many scars still…" Sora said, as he traced them with his fingertips. Riku shivered at the line drawn with Sora's slender fingers.
"Don't you still have yours?" Riku choked out, staying calm like he used to be. Sora looked down at his own torso, motioning to the long scar that ran from his hips to his heart. His hips. Riku looked up fast, hoping Sora didn't catch his cool wavering.
"Nobody else has them huh?" asked Sora, whispering for some reason.
Riku looked into the crystals he remembered so well. He kept the stare, wondering where Sora was taking this conversation. Sora smiled a little, letting the conversation drop as the boys stared at each other.
"Riku!" Kairi's loud voice broke the silence, making both boys jump a little.
"Coming" He yelled back.
"No. Nobody has what we have", Riku said without ever breaking eye contact. He walked faster than he meant to, taking the stairs two at a time. He reached the bottom, suddenly out of breath. Before he could rest though, he burst out laughing. Kairi, queen of stressing over how she looked and what she was wearing, had on an old pink frilly fluffy Easy bake apron. Riku loved when she got carefree like that, and how she simply pouted when he laughed.
"IT'S my favorite!" She said before she too started laughing. They both giggled a little more before starting on their baking.
"so, what cookies should we make?" Riku thought long and hard, closing his eyes as he sat on the counter. Suddenly, he knew exactly what to make. He smiled, looking down at Kairi.
"What's so funny? Make up your mind already!" Riku laughed again.
"How about Banana nut cookies?" Riku said with a light in his eyes.
Kairi looked at him, noticing a sudden change in his whole attitude. she liked this carefree fun side of him though. She smiled back.
"Banana cookies it is."