Wow, I nearly forgot I had this story. I was supposed to post this nearly a month ago! Haha...

I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. They are owned by Square/Disney.

Anything and Everything

SoraKairi friendship - "She had decided to build a sandcastle and had nominated him to protect it."

"Promise me you'll protect it."

"Fine Kairi, I promise."

"From anything and everything."

"From anything and everything."

Sora sat on the sandy beach wearing his usual red shorts and white and blue t-shirt. Today had been like any other day in his short, eight years of life, until Kairi had made it different. She had decided to build a sandcastle and had nominated him to protect it.

From anything and everything.

So when she skipped away to find Riku, leaving him in charge of her mound of dirt and shells that she claimed to be a castle (he could barely make out the towers) he was left in charge. It didn't seem all that bad at first, sitting next to it and watching the ocean, but as the minutes passed into an hour, Sora's commitment aged and faded.

"Yo, Sora!" He looked up, catching sight of a cheerful Wakka and Tidus on the other side of the beach. Wakka held up what he called a blitz ball. "Wanna play?"

Sora smiled. Though he didn't know how to play, anything sounded better than just sitting alone. "Sure!"

So Sora stood up and left the castle unattended to. Unless Selphie didn't like castles, it'd be safe until the tide rose. Then it'd be in trouble, but he'd be back before then.

A few hours passed. All that really changed was the sun, which began to skim over the water. Sora, Wakka and Tidus laughed, walking along the water's edge.

"That was so much fun!" Sora jeered, thrusting his hands up towards the sky.

Wakka nodded. "Blitz always is!"

"Let's play tomorrow too," Tidus smiled.

"Yeah!" The other two agreed, all three of them coming to a stop as the water crashed against their legs.

"It's getting late, ya."

"So says you Wakka. To me, this isn't late."

"Whatever Tidus; not all of us grew up in a city that never sleeps, ya!"

Sora frowned, Tidus and Wakka's feud fading into the background as he gazed at the sweep of the water against the sand. The tide was coming in; pretty soon it'd be halfway up the beach.

His eyes widened in realization as his gaze shot to where Kairi's castle stood alone – abandoned – beside the water's edge. He saw a wave, in all its foamy, white glory, rise up, ready to come crashing down on the castle Kairi had worked so hard on.

"NO!" He cried out, racing as fast as his little legs would carry him. The sand seemed to fight against him, dipping below his feet several times, causing him to stumble and nearly fall. His eyes kept switching between the wave and the castle – back and forth – until he was dizzy enough to fall.

At the last second, he dived in front of the castle, his back to the towering wave, as he spread his arms apart in hopes to block its downfall.

The wave came crashing down seconds later, washing over him and skimming parts of the castle. "NO!" Sora yelled again, salty water entering his mouth from the sea's spray, as he gazed down at the even more deformed castle in horror. The longer he stood there, the water being sucked back down the beach, the more terrified he became until all the water had been swept away.

He collapsed to his knees, tears clogging his throat in a mixture of fear and frustration. His body shook from a mixture of unshed tears and the sea's icy touch, his eyes locked with the nearly destroyed castle in defeat.

When Kairi needed him the most, he couldn't come through for her.

"Sora!" He stiffened at her call, bowing his head in shame, while he heard her feet slap the sand. Closer, closer, closer. "Sora, I saw everything! What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He wheezed, trying his hardest not to cry. Angrily, he pointed down at the wet, deformed and nearly destroyed castle. "That's what's wrong! I couldn't protect it! I failed you!"

Thick, crocodile tears seeped past the corner of his eyes and he bit back his cries. There was no way he was going to look at Kairi in this state.

He felt her sit down beside him and tensed when she reached out to touch his hand. "Sora," Her voice was soothing, too kind for a failure like himself, "It's alright, you tried."

"But I failed," He chocked out, pressing his free hand to his face in order to mask the tears.

The smile was evident in her voice. "But you came in the end, that's all that mattered. You upheld your promise and, sometimes, there are thing's you just can't win against."

Some invisible weight felt as though it had been lifted from his shoulders. Daringly, he glanced up at her. "R-Really," He sniffled.

"Really," She smiled.

After Notes: See, I can so write stuff with Sora in it :D Sora always reminds me of summer because he's always in a bright mood. So do beaches and sandcastles. In the end, I decided to mix the three which turned into this; taDA!

If you're wondering, Tidus (in FFX) lived in a city named Zanarkand. Throughout the game it's said (mainly by Tidus, but also a few others) that it's a city that never sleeps. Which, is true (as Tidus claims you can go party all night long) . So (in Kingdom Hearts), I believe Tidus grew up for the first few years of his life in Zanarkand before moving to Destiny Island.

Thanks for the read!

Remix 16