Welcome to yet another not really depressing but not quite happy either fic! This is heavy KH3 spoilers. Don't know for how long I'll be warning about those. Enjoy!
It was a hot, sunny day on Destiny's Island, and while the main island was living its quiet, everyday life, the side island was buzzing with activity.
"Riku, hand me the hammer over, please."
"Watch out for your fingers, this time."
"Hehe, don't worry, even I learn from my mistakes!"
They weren't really children anymore, and they had been through more than many adults already. Riku and Kairi were upgrading their house in the trees, building bunk beds and adding solar panels to the roof. They both had their share of cuts and bruises, splinters and blisters, but nothing could stop them. Kairi would cover any cut with cute little plasters she had since she was a kid, and Riku didn't really mind having pink and yellow bandages, even when they had princesses and fairies drawn on them.
"Sorry, that's all Mum could find," the young woman had apologized at first, but Riku laughed it off.
"Kairi, we've spent years protecting princesses. I'm happy to see they're the ones protecting me right now. Right, princess?" He winked as she shrieked, almost missing the nail.
"Don't you start with that!" She complained. Usually, only Lea called her that because he knew how much she hated it ; seeing Riku and Lea finally get along wasn't that much of a relief if it was at her own expense.
"Alright, what do you think of it?" They both took a couple of steps back, looking at their finished work. With the help of Riku's dad, the shack was now bigger, and with the beds they just built, up to six people could sleep in there.
"That looks just fine! Okay, guys, you can bring everything in!" Kairi called from the door, her eyes sparkling. Their childhood friends came in, wearing futons and pillows.
"Wow, you guys did a wonderful job!" Selphie said, clearly impressed. Wakka looked at everything, checking if things were safe, while Tidus didn't wait to jump on it and test first hand if it would hold. It did. They set up everything, and left Tidus and Selphie in charge of the decoration. The three others left the shack to move to the back of the island, were other people were working hard on some structure.
"Remind me what this is for?" Wakka was looking at the pier they were building.
"A place for the Gummi ship to land safely," Kairi said with a smile. They were getting help from a lot of people, and it was heartwarming to see everyone working so hard. The Gummi ship was a secret they only let their three childhood friends know, as well as their parents, upon Master Yen Sid's approval. To everyone else, this was yet another pier on an island, nothing unusual. This side of the island could not be seen from the main island, which would make visits from outer worlds safer, granted they landed on water a bit further away.
Next to the pier, another area was being built. It was an arena. Master Yen Sid, Donald Duck and even Merlin were here to work on it : enchanting it so that magic could be used within its boundaries, but wouldn't be able to go through and hurt someone. This was the only thing being built where magic was allowed : Kairi and Riku had insisted that everything else should be done by hand only, the way they did when they were kids and magic was just a fantasy in their books.
"I'm so excited about this arena," whispered Kairi. "I can't wait to train there! Remember your promise, Riku. I'll be your first opponent, and no one should hold back."
"I'll take whoever's the winner!" cheered Wakka, and they all smiled.
"Sora won't believe how much this changed," Riku finally said, looking at his island. Kairi chuckled, nodding.
"So… He will come back, then, won't he?" Wakka asked in a low voice. Riku put his hand on his shoulder.
"Of course he will. This is Sora we're talking about. No matter what, he always comes back. We will find him, and we will bring him home."
"You guys sound so confident. Aren't you afraid that he might…" The young man couldn't even finish his sentence, his eyes lost at sea. There was no need. They all understood.
"Are we afraid? Yes," Kairi confided, "we're afraid. Every day. We're worried it's too late. We're worried it's never been too late because there wasn't any opportunity to bring him back to begin with. We're worried we're missing our only chance because we're busy building houses and piers and arenas. But you know what, Wakka?" Even though she was crying, her voice was steady, her eyes filled with determination. "We're doing exactly what Sora would do. We have to save him. We have to bring him home. And we will. But we cannot forget about everyone else, we cannot forget about life itself. We still need to look out for everyone. We need to remember about training, about hanging out with people, about living. Life without him needs to be almost like life with him, just a bit less fun. So that he can be proud of us when he comes back."
This was the way their lives were now. They would keep on looking for ways to bring him back, but without neglecting their duties as guardians, wielders, masters and apprentices. They would train, keep an eye on potential wielders, spend time with their families and friends. They would laugh, they would cry, they would do anything they used to do when he was here.
Because there was no If he comes back.
He would come back home, and they would laugh and cry together.
Just the way they should.
There's no place like home - I wanted to have the kids being able to train while still being home! Of course, they'll have to go and look for Sora, but this is a good occasion to train - even perhaps to train Tidus, Wakka and Selphie as well so that they can keep the islands safe while they're gone!