An orange sun set across the ocean that night. With the surf lapping at the tips of their toes and young boy and girl sat on an old wooden dock and looked out in the yonder. Sora felt his face flushing red as the girl he liked gave a pleasing sigh. Kairi I love you. Go on say it! The thought was repeated inside his hair covered skull- tell her how you feel. He knew he couldn't of course and he hated it. It felt as if his insides were flipping around like an acrobat. Sora had never been that great for showing his feelings through words. He was more of an action guy- He could show his feelings by protecting the ones he loved; the problem was right now no one needed protecting. Sora lowered his head slightly in defeat. Chicken! He told himself and immediately felt better. It was strange how that worked; Sora found he could handle things if he told himself what he really thought. Riku would never have given up like that- knowing his best friend he would have leant over and hooked up with that beautiful angelic face. Dude- she looked like she had been made by the tear drop of god himself! Sora felt sick inside- why did he get stuck with the kind of personality that made him shy around girls? He longed for this girl, he needed her yet, because of his character he could never have her.

'Isn't this an awesome sun set?' Kairi asked not moving from her heavenly perch, 'Yeh…' Sora let it slip from his lips like a summer breeze and raised his hands to rest against the back of his neck.

Summer- it was always summer on the Destiny islands, sandy beaches, warm clear blue water, tropical fish, coral reefs. It was the life. It was the only life Sora, Kairi and Riku had ever known, in fact they were sick of it. That's why they had built the raft. It had taken several weeks but finally they had a boat and enough provisions to sail away to one of the other worlds Sora's father had spoke about before his death. It was simple- to most this island was a paradise, but to the heart-seeking freedom it was a tiny prison surrounded by water. And so Sora and his friends sought to escape. Now the finally could.

Tidus- another boy living on the island was a sceptic. He claimed that he had swum out into the ocean and there was nothing there, just nothing but blue sea and sky. And he described a strange presence he felt at one stage it was almost like an invisible barrier stopped him from going too far. Sora had never believed Tidus- he was an arrogant stuck up know-it-all.

'You know, Riku has changed' Kairi said with what? Sadness? Regret?

'What d'ya mean?' Sora said staring in her beautiful purple eyes,

'Well…' she seemed unsure- what couldn't she tell him? They had been best friends for years and Sora could tell that she was holding back something. He looked at her manipulating his facial features to say: Tell me! You can trust me! But she ignored him, 'you can tell me Kairi' Sora exclaimed and turned to look at her face, but only for a moment because he began to blush,

'I'm not sure exactly…' Kairi said, 'He seems distant than what he used to be, it's like something is killing him inside' she lingered on that for a moment,

'Riku is over that depression Kairi- trust me' Sora said and comforted her. They sat again in awkward silence. Sora twiddling with his hands and Kairi breathing quietly suddenly her eyes lit up, 'Sora! Let's take the raft and go–just the two of us!'

'What?' Where did that come from?

'We could go now and leave all our problems behind us! Wouldn't that be cool? We could try and find my home'

'But what about Riku? He wouldn't like it if we left him behind!'

'He. Just kidding' she giggled.

Sora melted inside. That laugh! It was so cute, 'What's gotten into you Kairi? You're the one who's changed!' Sora grinned and rubbed his face,

'Maybe' she seemed distant again,' you know, I was a little scared at first… but now I'm ready. No matter where I go and what I see, I know I can always come back here… and I know that you'll be with me the entire time… right?'

'Yeh! Of course!'

'I just can't wait, once we set sail- it'll be great'

'Yeh. No more parents telling us what to do, we could be our own masters! Go anywhere we please, do anything we please- No responsibility!' Sora exclaimed,

'We could do that…' Kairi said thinking,' …or we could be heroes! Fighting evil and being invited to everyone's parties!'

Sora smiled at her as she stood up to leave, her white sleevless t-shirt glaring against what was left of the sun, 'Don't ever change Sora. Don't ever change' she seemed to order him warmly, and the poor fourteen-year-old boy felt like complying with anything she said, 'I won't' he replied and she smiled.

What happened next stunned Sora, leaning forward Kairi kissed him lightly on the cheek, her warm lips pressing against his skin. She then gave a nervous giggle and skipped off leaving Sora a very happy guy.

Confusion was rushing through his mind, leaving him behind. Riku never would have guessed that this time things would be different. The tables would turn, he had always been the more masculine guy at of him and Sora, and he was the one the girls went to most of the time, only after he had gotten over his problems of course. Yet from behind the grove of trees he had set up his hammock in this afternoon Riku had heard everything.

A guy can tell when another guy is flirting, just like to girls can- and Riku could tell Sora wanted Kairi. The problem was so did he. He wasn't that sure why he liked her in the first place. Sure she was hot, but there were plenty of other good looking chicks on the islands. He though maybe it was her warm personality, she was always kind and caring. A great person that Riku enjoyed being around because she made him feel good inside.

Riku had never dealt well with competition, he was a competitor but he let winning get to him so much he so many times would do anything to accomplish his goals. He was not going to let Sora get the better of Kairi. He would talk to him, nicely. Tell him how he felt and then they would go from there.

About five minutes later Sora got up to leave as the sun was gone now and the sky was black. Suddenly out from behind one of the tall palm trees stepped the white haired Riku, one of Sora's oldest friends. Something was different and Riku knew it. Now that he saw his friend, who was obviously bedazzled by Kairi, Riku didn't feel like bargaining with Sora. He didn't mean to but found himself growing more possessive by the second until eventually he made the mistake, 'You can't have her you know' he told Sora. He advanced threateningly and Sora found himself backing up against a boulder, 'What are you talking about Riku?' he gave a hesitant laugh,

'You can't have her- She's mine!' Riku sternly put it,

'Let Kairi choose for herself!' Sora squeaked in fear. Riku could not handle this, he knew who Kairi would choose- the guy that understood her more, the one who had found her. He started to froth at the mouth and roared to Sora,

'She is mine! I WILL HAVE HER!'

'But…'

Riku could see the fear in Sora's eyes and he was calmed a bit. He never wanted to hurt or scare his friend. He tried to fix it but his pride and ego where to big,

'Sora I'm telling you this because I'm your friend- Stay away from her. I've liked her longer- she is rightfully mine'

The two stared at one another for a minute before Riku grinned and ruffled Sora's hair. He turned to leave for home, 'don't forget this conversation Sora!' he called back,' I know I won't!'