Just a quickie that I just thought of; I'm working away at school and at work, but I'm also working on Last Requiem when I can.
It was high noon and very hot. Too hot even for the Island-folk. Tidus and Wakka were swimming in the sparkling blue ocean while Selphie lounged in the shade. Kairi did not feel like joining them though. She had mostly kept to herself for last few weeks since the summer started, not revealing anything of what had happened to her, not that anyone had asked. No one had seemed to notice anything amiss upon the world's restoration. For Kairi though, the island seemed far too empty.
Bored, and feeling nostalgic, Kairi decided to head into the secret spot in the hill. It was just a cave really, but only Kairi and those closest to her knew of its existence. Inside were ten years worth of nick-knacks and drawings scratched onto the walls with rocks and chalk. It was also nice and cool inside. Ducking under the tropical plants that obscured the entrance, Kairi strolled through the twisting tunnel that led to her special childhood cave.
It was the same as always, but it was always fun to come in and look at the "art" they had made there. A giant face scribbled onto a boulder, a lame attempt to be creepy. A big bird-thing, probably from some movie or video game they had played. A giant duck in the corner that she had once drawn made her laugh a little bit.
On the other side of the cave, set into the wall, remained the gigantic door. No handle, nor lock, visible it was quite a strange door; but Kairi had finally learned its purpose, among other things, during that adventure. Behind that door rested the Heart of the World that had once been claimed by the heartless, now restored to it's rightful place. Placing a hand on the door and concentrating slightly, Kairi was able to make the Keyhole appear on the face of the wood. Its ominous, yet mysterious visage instilled all kinds of feelings in Kairi, not the least of which was dread that the heartless might return. But they had been destroyed, right?
But more than anything, it gave her a sense of relief. It reassured her that the adventure had not just been a strange dream, that she really had been to other worlds... that she had not always been alone...
Casting these thoughts out of her head, Kairi turned to head back out of the cave. But she stopped when she spied a blank section of wall next to the base of the door. How strange, Kairi could have sworn that they had covered every inch of the cave with their silly drawing long ago, and yet here was a spot just begging for decoration. A small smile appeared on her face as she knelt down to inspect the rock-face. It was very smooth, ideal for drawing on. And Kairi did enjoy drawing. But what should she draw? A picture in the other corner caught her eye, a picture of a night sky, studded with stars. Stars... like the famous fruit that only grew on destiny island. The Paopu Fruit! Of course! How fitting, she would draw a picture of the Paopu fruit reuniting her with her lost friends.
Smiling at this idea, Kairi picked up a nearby stone and prepared to start scratching away. But a mere inch from the wall her hand froze, the smile fading from her lips. Confused, she repeated the thought in her head,
'The Paopu fruit reuniting me with my... friends? There was more than one?'
Kairi could have almost dismissed this as an error of thought, but something else was nagging at her. This section of wall... she was sure there had been a drawing here... But of what? It did not seem likely that she would remember every drawing in the cave, but she had a feeling that this one in particular had been important.
It started to come back to her, very slowly. It had been the very last section of wall to be filled in. No one else had some to the island that day, so they had spent the whole day playing together. But who was it? Was it... Riku? It had to have been, she wasn't all that close to the others, except maybe Selphie. But she had been in town that day... No, it definitely wasn't Riku either, he had been too sick to come out to the island. So who was he? 'He?' Yes, Kairi was sure it was a boy...
Kairi closed her eyes, her brow furrowed in frustration. She sat and leaned against the wall, back to the blank spot. She thought hard about every person she had ever known to come this island. Faces of boys and girls crossed her mind's eye, faces of people whom had grown too old to want to come, people who had moved away, people who still came but just stuck with their own posse. No one filled the blank spot. But she knew in her heart that she was forgetting someone, someone very important to her. Even more than Riku.
It was strange, thinking of Riku. Every memory of Riku that she could think of seemed off somehow. Like they had never really known each other. Why were they so close? Something, or someone had always been there with them... But she couldn't think of a face, not even a name. What was wrong with her?
Kairi pressed her palms to the side of her head, willing herself to remember. But there was nothing. Just nothing.
There was nothing for it, she got up. She wanted to go back outside, it would surely come back to her later. Probably long after she had stopped thinking about it.
As she started to walk away, Kairi took one last glance back at the wall; half-hoping something there would give her a clue.
And there was. There WAS something there! Kairi stopped short, staring at the wall. She rushed back and fell to knees.
Scratched onto the rock was the image of girl's face. It was very rough, a pretty bad drawing, but cute in its own way.
"Is this... me?" Kairi asked out loud, almost hoping for an answer. "Who drew this?"
Nothing. No memory of this drawing, and yet... It was so familiar. But she knew that neither she or Riku had drawn it. And no one else knew of this cave.
That proved it. She had forgotten someone very close to her. Her AND Riku.
But there was nothing left of him. Kairi felt sickened by this revelation. Sickened and ashamed. Ashamed of herself, ashamed that she could just forget a person so easily.
Turning, Kairi ran from the cave. Ran from all the memories and half-memories in the cave. Past the beach, to the dock, and into her canoe. Picking up her oar, she rowed furiously away from the island and did not stop until she reached the mainland. There she collapsed to her hands and knees in the sand, panting; and softly sobbing.
Far, far away; in another realm, a blond girl sat in front of a large, white, translucent pod. In her lap was a thick sketchbook...