Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts copy rights.
Kingdom Hearts: Another Day – A Riku Story
Chapter 1: The First Day
"Sora you lazy bum!" I heard my friend Kairi yell from half way across the island. I sighed as I picked up the log that was lying on the beach. I automatically knew what was going on. My best friend Sora, a lazy fourteen year old with chocolate coloured spikes for hair and ocean blue eyes, was probably sleeping on the job again. Kairi, the only red headed fourteen year old girl on the island and my other best friend, was trying to get him to work. Unfortunately, as I had learnt through observation, she was a little too lenient with him. So of course that leaves me to do all the actually work. But I guess I do have that responsibility considering I am the eldest out of us three.
Oh where are my manners…that's right they're on permanent vacation. Well, I guess I do have to introduce myself. Hi, my name's Riku. I'm 15 years old, that's right I'm mature like that. Unfortunately my best friends are both lazy 14 year olds. But I guess that doesn't really matter. I have straight silver hair, it ends just above my shoulders and it has cool layers in it, since you know that's the style of this century! But yeah silver hair…that's kind of weird…another weird thing about me is the fact that I'm inhumanly pale! I swear I could be a ghost or something I'm so white. Hide me in a snowstorm and I'm invisible! Whatever, at least I have one thing to be proud of, my eyes. They're jade in colour and they just complement me so perfectly!
I realized that I was already walking towards the sound of Kairi and Sora talking. I could see them coming up in the distance. Yeah I was right, Sora was sleeping…again. I watched as he and Kairi joked playfully and smiled. I hope that all times will be like this between us. I hope that we can be together laughing and smiling through out our journey. Oh I never explained to you our journey did I? Well you see, it's complicated…I might as well show you what I remember of that day…
Flashback – 3 months ago…
I leaned against the large bent palm tree on the little island. I closed my eyes and sighed. Today at school was way to boring. I had learnt all this stuff back when I was younger. Sora must have been enjoying it though since at recess he just went on and on about how he finally understood how clouds are made. Of course Kairi being the genius that she is laughed at him for being so stupid. I smiled as I remembered the sound of them bickering and Sora crying for me to make Kairi say she was sorry. Man he could never take care of himself. I was always the one who had to break up the fights, always the one who had to protect them and watch their backs. I was the one who had to teach them things, and I was the one who had to be their leader. In fact as their leader I gave them a specific order to meet here today after dinner…they're late. I looked up and turned my head to the right in time to see both Kairi and Sora running down the beach together.
"Hey…Riks…Sorry…took…long…running!" was all Sora could say before he collapsed to the floor. I turned my gaze on Kairi as she leaned against the other side of the tree catching her breath.
"We had a late dinner…and then we were upset…so we ran all the way…and now we're tired" she said panting. I nodded and motioned for them to sit down.
"So what…did you call us here for Riks?" Sora said as he scrambled up and onto the tree trunk. I turned to face them, seeing Sora struggling I gave him a slight push. I waited till they were both comfortably seated to go over the plan.
"Let's get off of the island" I said staring them in the eyes. For a while all I got were a pair of blank stares.
"Why?" Kairi finally asked.
"Why? Well why are we stuck here in the first place?" I started. I could feel a rant coming on but just couldn't stop. "Why do we have to repeat this monotonous life day after day? Why were you sent here from another world?" I stopped and pointed to Kairi. "Why were Sora and I born here? Why does this tree grow at this angle?" I stopped. I knew it would take them a while to come up with an answer, it always did. "I'm going, maybe not now…maybe not in a year…but soon. I'm going to make a plan, and I will get off this island" I wasn't going to force them to come with me, but seeing as how they're my best friends I thought they should have the option.
"Let's do it" Sora said finally. I smirked knowing fully well that he would come no matter what. I loved the fact that Sora would follow me to the ends of the earth. Now all that waited was Kairi's response.
"Kay, so what about you Kairi?" I asked. This caused Sora to turn and look at her hopefully.
"Aw, come on Kai! It'll be fun just the three of us" he said optimistically. She glanced downwards and played with the bottom of her shirt. We could tell that she was thinking about it, of course usually after Sora and I combine the question with the pleading she gives in.
"Fine, I'll come too since you two obviously need a girl on the crew" she said with a soft smile. "Just promise me that we won't start fighting and kill each other on the trip m'kay guys?"
Flashback end…
I smirked; I could imagine myself killing someone on the journey. Though that would probably be myself. In the next few months we determined that the easiest way to travel away from the island would be with a raft. So we needed to look around for three logs each. Looking at the log in my arms I realized that this was my third. Sweet I'm done preparations for today.
"I'd like to see it too. And any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!" I heard Sora tell Kairi cheerfully. I wonder what he was dreaming about before that put him in such a good mood. Though with Sora you could run over his cat and he'd still be in a good mood.
"So what're we waiting for?" Kairi responded playfully. I pouted. They were always so close. Even though Sora and I had known each other longer, he and Kairi bonded quickly. Plus the fact that they're the same age also factors into it.
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" I shouted at them. I didn't really think about breaking their private moment but I just always seemed to. Seriously I don't look for these moments just to break them up…I think. I guess I am a little confused right now about the state of my friendship with the two of them. But I don't have time to think about that now, I have to organize the raft, build the raft, secure some food, get some oars, and much more! I looked at the two close together enjoying the company and the freedom of summer break.
"So I guess that I'm the only one working on the raft?" I asked rhetorically. I threw the log from my arms at Sora. Hopefully he can catch that, I mean I'm only like five feet away from him. Out of my peripherals I watched as Sora fumbled with the large log before resting it beside him. I sighed and chuckled a little.
"And you're just as lazy as he is" I said leaning forward and pointing at Kairi. I leant back, turning around I dropped myself down to sit beside Sora. I rotated my head around and stretched my neck until I heard it crack. Ew…that sounds so nasty but feels so good.
"So you noticed" Kairi said jokingly. "All right then, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!" I looked at her skeptically. There was no way in hell that she could beat either me or Sora in any type of physical challenge, though she probably wouldn't be able to beat me in any intellectual challenge either. No, I'm not arrogant I'm probably the most humble person you'll ever find.
"Huh?" Sora said trying to comprehend what she had just said.
"What are you kidding?" I asked.
"Ready? Go!" she yelled taking off. Sora and I turned to look at each other for a minute. But before I knew it we had already taken off. Of course I was in the lead, and I wasn't even running a fast as I could. I suppose I shouldn't hold it against them though, after all not everyone can be as amazingly awesome as I am. I skidded to a halt. We were done the race and of course I won hands down. Turning to look back I could see Sora coming up and Kairi trailing a little behind. I crossed my arms across my chest.
"Slowpokes" I mumbled shaking my head a little. Well I was done for the day, but Sora and Kairi weren't. So that means I get to hang out by myself today. I turned and walked off to the small island with the bent tree. Looking around I saw two small wooden swords lying on the floor. Picking one up I started to reminisce about the times when Sora and I would sneak off here to practice sparring. I always beat him, I was stronger…Now that I think about it I'm stronger then him emotionally and physically. I walked over and sat leaning my back against the tree. I listened and occasionally watched as Sora ran around collecting materials, occasionally fighting a few people for practice. I smiled and drew circles in the sand. Looking up at the ocean I was happy.
Time passed by quickly that day. I don't know if it was because I wasn't paying attention, or whether it was because my watch seems to be working double time. And now I find myself once again waiting for Sora and Kairi at the tree before sunset. Taking this time to reflect on things I decided to examine my clothes. Its yellow…took me five minutes for that to sink in. It's sleeveless too, with black straps that form an X shape over it. My pants are blue…or are they purple? All I do know is that I have a tendency to puff them into balloons at the end. Suddenly I hear Sora jump up onto the tree and Kairi running up to touch it. We chatted, trivial things. How beautiful the sunset was, how amazing summer is, how Selphie cried earlier on since Tidus said that skipping ropes were stupid. It was so peaceful.
"So Kairi's home is out there somewhere huh?" Sora asked sincerely. If there was one thing that I could appreciate about Sora it was the fact that he was simple. He enjoyed the small things in life, or at least that was what he portrayed, the simple things.
"Could be," I answered. "We'll never know by staying here"
"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora asked. I paused and thought. I had never even considered that. How far could a raft take us? What if we suddenly entered a storm or encountered any other unforeseen problems?
"Who knows" I replied. "If we have to we'll think of something else"
"So suppose that you get to another world. What would you do there?" Kairi asked timidly. I swore I've answered these questions before. But then again she probably didn't analyze my previous answers carefully enough.
"Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
"I don't know" Sora said lazily as he lay down on the branch.
"That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go." I added.
"You've been thinking a lot recently haven't you" Kairi said softly looking down. I noticed as she pursed her lips. It seemed like she felt bad about this. But why? I liked thinking! I felt like I needed to make her feel better, put her thoughts at ease.
"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks." I said trying to console her.
"You're welcome" she said happily. I knew she'd feel better. I watched as she turned around and she started to walk away towards her house. Sora was next he started off before I remembered something.
"Sora" I called. I watched as he stopped and turned around. He stared at me confused with his large ocean blue eyes. I reached into my deep pocket and felt for something soft. Pulling my hand out I tossed a yellow star shaped Paopu fruit at him. "You wanted one didn't you?"
"A Paopu fuit…" Sora said. He seemed a little confused at the fact that I had just thrown one at him.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it." I said jokingly, though my voice held a serious tone. I had the urge to add something to what I said but feared it would make me sound gay. Which I'm not, at least not fully…No I'm not bi-sexual, I'm just metro sexual.
"What're you – " Sora started. I had to interrupt with a laugh. He was so oblivious sometimes it was so adorable. I just felt like kissing his forehead. I shook my head and ran off towards our houses. I heard the Paopu fruit travel through the air, so it seems that Sora has thrown it away. It didn't really matter to me, I listened as Sora's footsteps were out of pattern with mine. He was trying to catch up but he couldn't. I would reach our houses before him, I'd bully him a little, I'd walk him to his door and talk to his mom, and then I'd head home and do random stuff.
It was late by the time I set foot into my bedroom. Too many interesting things come on television sometimes. Yes, my name is Riku and I have a problem. I am a tele-o-holic. Whatever, I stripped off my shirt and pants and lay down in my boxers on my large four poster bed. Rolling over onto my stomach I fell into a deep sleep and of course I just had to have the strangest dream.
It was dark, not the normal dark of night. It was just pure darkness. There were many little blue creatures with helmets and such on, their yellow eyes followed you. I was scared and wanted to run but I couldn't move. I decided to face these things with courage, but if only I had a weapon. Then something materialized in my hands, a large key with a small crown on a chain at the handle.
"It's called a keyblade" a mysterious feminine voice said. "It is one of the only things that can hurt the heartless"
I nodded. I didn't know if the owner of the voice could see me but I felt like it was the right thing to do. The 'heartless' as she called them saw me and decided to swarm. I hacked and slashed my way through the group, but the numbers were too large. Suddenly a large heartless attacked. It knocked the keyblade out of my hands.
"Stay away from me!" I called pushing it. I felt an energy course through me, a white light shot from my palm. I looked as my hand started to glow a bright white to a dull yellow. "What the hell?"
"Your light is strong" the feminine voice said. Suddenly the scene changed and I saw Sora standing there in the middle of the swarm. I called to him loudly. I watched as he looked around frantically, he was scared and I didn't know what to do. I told him to come to me but he couldn't move. I looked to his feet and saw that the darkness was swallowing him. What could I do to save him? I was so worried and panicked.
"His heart is strong but not as much as yours" the voice said again. "You can save him by giving up your power to save people and giving it to him"
"Give it to him?" I repeated.
"Give him your power, it will protect him. But you will become vulnerable"
"Whatever it takes, I'll protect Sora he looks up to me" I pleaded with the voice.
"Alright, I'll transfer your power" the voice said softly. I felt my energy leaving me. The keyblade in my hand changed from yellow to black. I felt light headed, I groaned. I watched as Sora started to glow. I smiled as he was now able to fight off the heartless. I fell down into them. There was a white light; it was so bright and inviting. I reached out to touch it.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you. You're still chosen" the voice said. I smiled. But felt as the light faded and the darkness enveloped me. Where did the light go? I felt something beside me, it was a body but they were turned away from me.
And then the light broke through my window. I shot up out of bed. I panted and noticed I had broken into a cold sweat. Was that just a dream? Or was I foreshadowing something that was about to happen? And when did I start using literary terminology in real life? I dropped back onto my bed and just stared at my ceiling. Today was the final day before we leave for our journey. One last deep breath and I now I am calm.
End chapter 1