So, this is my new Kingdom Hearts story. Please bear with me, I've never published on this site before. Reviews would be great, I'd love to know what you think so far.

I don't own anything other than my OC.

Along the sands of Destiny Island sat a girl no older than fifteen, her streaked locks of brown and crimson swaying delicately in the cool breeze. She sat with her eyes closed, deeply inhaling the sweet, yet bitter scent of the ocean. She welcomed the warmth of the sun's rays on her glowing complexion and sat in silence as the waves crashed by her feet.

She then heard footsteps drawing nearer and her pale violet eyes opened and she craned her neck over to see her younger cousin by a year, the red-head known to all as Kairi, running towards her.

"Livia!" she called, panting slightly, one arm waving through the air.

"Hey Kairi," Livia responded with a smile, amused by her cousin's frantic yet enthusiastic behaviour. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Sora?" she asked. "We need to get our things together if we're going to finish building the raft."

Livia's hand was brought up to her forehead. "Oh, I completely forgot about that!" She mumbled a mild profanity under her breath and said, "I think I saw him napping by the docks...where's Riku?"

Kairi shrugged. "I think he's looking for logs for the raft. He can't be too far off. Thanks, Liv!"

Livia gave a small wave as Kairi jogged off in search of their spiky-haired friend. She stood up, deciding that she had better lend a hand to her friends if they were ever to complete this huge undertaking. She dusted the sand off the back of her legs and rear before hearing someone whistle about five metres away.

She turned to see her silver-haired friend, a large log tucked under his right arm, smirking at her not too far away. "Wow, Riku," she chortled. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"I would," he grinned, "but..."

"...I'd kill you?" she finished for him.

He let out a laugh and replied, "Exactly. Now come on, let's go find Sora and Kairi or we're never going to get this raft done."

Moments later, they were on the other side of the island, walking up to their friends by the shoreline.

"Sora, you lazy bum," Livia heard Kairi say, "I knew I'd find you snoozing out here."

Then Sora began babbling on about some dream that he had, his eyes frantic and thoroughly confused. "This huge thing swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't...Ow!" His sudden exclamation came a moment after Kairi bonked him on the back of the head.

"Maybe you've been getting too much sun," Livia called as she and Riku approached.

"Have not!" Sora pouted.

"Hey," Riku interrupted. "I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." He tossed the log he was carrying at Sora, who had just managed to scramble to his feet, only to find himself on his back again with a log weighing about ten pounds lying across his chest. "And you," he said to Kairi, dramatically placing his hands on his hips, "are just as lazy as he is."

Kairi let out a giggle. Livia rolled her eyes inwardly, but smiled nonetheless. "So you've noticed," she mused. "Okay, let's all do it together! I'll race you!"

"What?" Riku plopped down next to Sora, who was still struggling to move the log. "Are you kidding?"

Livia and Kairi exchanged glances. "I don't know, Kai," Livia grinned. "I have a feeling that they'd both lose against me in a race. They're too lazy to even get up and try because they don't want to get embarrassed."

"Those are fighting words!" Sora hollered as he finally tossed the log aside.

"Bring it on, little man!" she shot back playfully.

"I'm only a year younger than you!" he wailed in his defense.

"On your mark," Kairi interceded, "get set...Go!"

Suddenly, Riku and Sora sprang to their feet and started running along the beach. Livia kept up to speed, her long legs carrying her athletic build across the sand with a practiced ease. She'd raced against--and beaten--both boys before. Soon, she was ahead of them, nearing victory, when suddenly she was tackled to the ground by a pair of strong arms around her waist.

She turned her head to see Riku smirking at her, very similar to the way he had before, saying, "I think you lost."

"You did too," she countered. "You're the one who tackled me down. Way to let Sora win."

"This is no fun!" Sora whined from a few feet away. "I demand a rematch. Riku, quit tackling Livia down all the time. Get a room already!"

At the mention of that, Riku immediately let her go and scratched the back of his head as his cheeks tinted pink. "Ahaha," he laughed, almost nervously. "Right. Sorry Livia...truce?" He held out his hand for her to shake.

She grinned slyly and rose to her feet. She took Riku's hand, and then at the very last minute, gripped his wrist with her free hand and caught him off guard, not exactly throwing him, but half-dragging him into the water.

He spat out the salt water from his mouth and glared at her playfully. "Okay, so we're even now," he conceded. "I give, I give."

Livia smiled at him and helped him up. Then as Riku and Sora walked ahead, Livia strolled casually with Kairi, who was lagging a bit behind.

"You always look so happy," Kairi said to her cousin, "...when you're with Riku."

Livia raised an eyebrow at her cautiously. "I could say the same with you and Sora."

Kairi just gave her a wink and said, "At least I've admitted it to myself. You're still living in denial."