So I was listening to my music, when I happened upon this song. It's called on my way home (Hawaiian Lullaby) by the Imagination Movers. I didn't really want to be too angsty with this fic, as it is not only a very upbeat song; it is also a song for young children. Not to sure Disney wants to raise a bunch of people who are venting against the world….now that would be interesting…well, while I go think on that, you go ahead and read. Remember, I own nothing. If I owned Disney, I'd quickly rip off all the junk they have on now. X3

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I'm on my way home

To the middle of the sea

There's an island lullaby

That is calling out to me

Sora lay on the ground, carefully tending to the fire he had made with Donald and Goofy only a few short hours ago, as the sun made its way down in the sky. Both of his friends were asleep- how predictable. But it was alright. It had been a long day, and they deserved what bits of sleep they could scrape up. Sora only wished that he could succumb to slumber as easily.

Instead, he found himself thinking about the home he had lost- not only to the heartless, but out of his grasp. He didn't know what he wanted more than to return to his childhood home. He wanted to see his childhood friends even though he was a child no longer. Thoughts of the islands plagued his mind in the day, and consumed it at night.

I'm on my way home

My pacific paradise

Blue water cools my face

And the mountains touch the sky

My big family waits for me

In a house in the shade of a mango tree

I'm gonna make my Tutu smile

When I do the dance of this beautiful isle

The hero sat up, rustling Jiminy from his sleeping place in his hood. With slow movements, Sora took him out and placed the cricket near the fire- near enough to keep him warm, but far enough that he wouldn't get burned to a crisp. He stood and stretched. It really had been a long day. The next would be just as long and the day after that as well.

It was alright though. Sora occasionally entertained thoughts of his island when the days got long. He imagined what his family was doing, right then. Mom was probably making dinner for dad and herself, wondering where their son had gone. He felt bad about the sudden departure, but who knows what would have happened if he hadn't left that day. Maybe they'd all be heartless by now. In either case, he knew he'd return one day. She'd cook him all of his favorite foods, and both parents could meet Donald and Goofy. Yeah, that'd be nice.

But then there were also his friends. They were close enough to him; they might as well be family. Selphie was probably hanging out with Kairi. They were best friends, after all. There was also Tidus and Wakka, who were undoubtedly playing blitzball. It was what they always seemed to be doing, but Sora could sense that they were waiting for something- perhaps someone. He couldn't imagine who though. When Wakka was not playing blitz, he could be found flirting with one of the girls in the upper class named Lulu something or other. Tidus would crawl up into his favorite outlook on the island, either training or practicing blitz. As he did each activity, he was always lost in his music.*

And of course, there was Kairi.

Sora didn't know what he counted Kairi. Good friends, sure. But was that really all they were? All they were ever going to be? Who knew if he was ever even going to see her again? Sora looked up to the stars, and then down to his hand. In his grasp was Kairi's lucky charm made of tessela shells.

"It's my lucky charm, so make sure to bring it back, okay?" she had said to him in that secret cave in traverse town.

How long ago that seemed to be. Sora made a promise to himself that night. He would find a way back to Kairi. He needed to hold her, tell her exactly what she meant to him. They had known each other since childhood, it should be easy. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder. The worst she could do would be to laugh it off. Sora sighed and returned his thoughts to the island he longed for. He longed for the times when the bright sun shone down on his face as he spent his days with Riku and Kairi; the warm ocean breeze that carried the scent of sea salt to his freshly washed clothes.

See the highest mountain tops

Red dirt below your feet

Fish in the clear blue waters

And pineapples taste so sweet

The island was the very picture of home. Each of the little huts housed some family, and the smaller island carried all of his childhood memories. Sora grew up fishing, although he was pretty terrible at it. But no matter how badly he did that day, his mother would always save him some pineapple, on of his favorite foods. At first he didn't like the tartness, but eventually grew to love it. But there was another fruit that grew on that small island. One that was said to hold magical powers. Powers that would allow two who shared of its sweetness the very bonds of destiny.

He didn't believe in it at first, of course. Being bound to one person forever, no matter what? Now that he had some time away, he wondered if it really were true. If it were….No, he couldn't. Would she even agree to share of that fated star fruit?

I'm on my way home

To the middle of the sea

There's an island lullaby

That is calling out to me

Sora had had dreams of his homecoming several times. In it he heard an old lullaby he was sure his mother had sung to him as a fussy baby. It calmed his nerves, but he still wished for nothing except to be home. It reminded him of some hero of old that had the same problem. Sora couldn't remember the name of said hero from his school classes, but whatever his name was, his story was feeling a bit too familiar to Sora's own tale. **

I see the sea birds flying high

Sea turtles splash below

All the island girls and boys

Shout aloha-aloha

Waves dancing in the moonlight

Gentle breeze across the sand

Hear a song through the leaves of noni trees

Sings a lullaby for you and me

Sora sat down and tended to the fire a bit longer, before he became tired. All of this nostalgia had brought on a wave of weariness. He had been gone quite some time, and he was sure it would be quite some time before he would be able to return. Hopefully though, he wouldn't be alone on the return trip. He would bring Riku back for Kairi's sake and his own. They could pick up where they left off.

As nice as that sounded, Sora knew he had changed. He could never return to the same destiny islands. Kairi would be sure to have changed as well, but that might not be a bad thing. Everyone had to grow up at some point. But there was one thing he was sure would never change. His friendship with Riku and Kairi could only get stronger as the years went on.

E ku'u home

I ka moana

Ke mele o Hawaii

I hea mai la'u ne (calling out to me)

I'm on my way home

To the middle of the sea

There's an island lullaby

That is calling out to me

Yes, there were quite a few things Sora missed about his home town. Not to say he didn't enjoy the many adventures that he and his friends were able to have, but it would have been nice to go home once in a while. With another thought, he remembered something Kairi had told him. "Home is where the heart is, Sora. You could be standing in a million places at once and still be at home, so long as you were where you wanted to be, with whom you wanted to be with, I suppose. But then again, it's nice to know we have homes with foundations and roofs and walls."

She laughed after that, Sora remembered. He lay down on the ground and closed his eyes. Behind the eyelids, he could see Kairi staring at him, with those same beautiful sea-blue eyes. Before he fell asleep, he could hear himself humming the old lullaby with Kairi's words attached to them, along with some of his own.

"Home is where the heart is, I know that's true.

If home is where the heart is, all I need is you."

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Okay, so let's hope that turned out nicely. Just a couple of author's notes for you.

* I figured that since Yuna was a summmoner-turned-pop-princess, Tidus might subconsciously be waiting for her. (I know, halfway-die-hard romantic here) Perhaps he was listening to a cd with her on it….? But I digress. Square really needs to get those two together so everyone can have a happy ending…..that, and Rinoa needs to be added as well, but we shall see. But that's another story all in it's self.

** This of course, being an allusion to Homer's The Odyssey. You have to admit, Kingdom Hearts is quite the classic Greek story, in that aspect.

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