The Start of a Tale
L.A.: Hello everyone and welcome to Oddball. I'll start off by saying that although this follows the first Kingdom Hearts storyline, I am taking creative license to manipulate some of it to appeal to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I only own my character Rin.
Rin stared out her bedroom window, a contented sigh escaping her lips. She loved lazy days like these. The warm breeze lazily floated through her window while a seagull cawed in the distance.
It was summer, her favorite time of year, and she was going to spend it building a raft on the small island nearby.
It had been Kairi's idea that she helped out.
"Come on," Kairi said as she grabbed her books from her locker and slammed it shut. "It will be fun."
Rin smiled. It was funny. At the beginning of the year, Kairi and she barely exchanged words. Kairi always hung out with Riku and Sora, two other boys in school.
As fate would have it though, Kairi and she were made lab partners for their science class. The first couple of days were spent in silence only speaking when something needed to be done.
Finally one day while they were filling up beakers, Kairi said, "you know, your hair is really cool."
Rin unconsciously ran her hand through her brown hair with purple highlights. "Thanks, yours is cool too."
They both stared at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing.
They had been best friends ever since.
"I don't know," Rin said as she grabbed her books and followed Kairi. "I was thinking I would get a job this summer."
Kairi rolled her eyes. "We're still kids, remember? Our summers are precious. We shouldn't waste them with jobs." She grinned. "Besides, Riku will be there."
Rin immediately blushed. Rin, like a lot of the girls in school, had a huge crush on Riku. And, like most of the girls in school, he didn't know she existed.
"It would be a great bonding experience," Kairi added, imitating the puppy dog look.
Rin sighed. "Okay, why not."
And that was how Rin found herself waking up early on her first day of summer vacation to go work on a raft. With a slight yawn, she put on a purple tank top and jean shorts. She pulled her hair up in a ponytail so that it would be away from her blue eyes. She searched through her messy drawer until she found the necklace she was looking for.
It was a silver chain necklace with a silver charm of the sun being eclipsed by the crescent moon. She had the necklace for as long as she could remember. Because of this, it had a lot of sentimental value to it so she would wear it whenever she could. The fourteen-year-old looked over herself one more time in the mirror before heading downstairs.
Her uncle was already awake and in the kitchen reading his newspaper. Rin lived with her uncle. She couldn't remember her real parents but never really asked about them. This was because the few times that she did, her uncle would tell her that "the past was past, we must worry about the present." This made her think that he was hiding something from her. Whatever, it was, she trusted that it was for the good. Her uncle had always been like a father to her.
"Good morning," Rin said as she grabbed a banana.
"Going to go build that raft to see other worlds?" He asked, never once taking his eyes off his paper.
Rin winced. When she had told her uncle that she was going to help Kairi and a couple of friends build a raft to see other worlds, he laughed. It had made her feel juvenile like he knew something she didn't. "Yep, sure am," she said as she quickly grabbed her backpack and threw her lunch and her journal in. "So, I'll see you later today."
Her uncle grunted in acknowledgement as he flipped the page. With a slight skip in her step, she headed to the pier.
Everyone had their own little wooden boat to take to the small islands nearby. This was because many of these islands held the best fruits and fish around. It was about a ten minute paddle from the main island to the island that she was meeting Kairi, Sora, and Riku. She had only been there a few times over the past couple of years. When she did, she felt like she had entered a playground. Many of the local kids enjoyed spending their time frolicking on its pristine white beaches. Also when she came, she felt like she was entering someone else's home. This was probably because Riku, Kairi and Sora had grown up playing on the island.
As she tied her boat to the pier, Kairi came running up to her. The short red-haired blue-eyed girl was positively beaming when she saw Rin. "I'm so glad you made it!"
"Where's Sora and Riku?" Rin asked as she stood up.
Kairi sighed. "Riku is probably already gathering materials for the raft and knowing Sora, he's probably sleeping."
Rin giggled at the thought. "So, Riku's the productive one and Sora's the procrastinator. Where does that leave you?"
Kairi grinned. "I'm the one who sits around and looks pretty."
The two girls laughed as they linked arms and headed into the island.
A couple minutes later, they found Sora. As Kairi had predicted, the fourteen-year-old brown haired boy was sprawled out on the sand asleep.
Kairi held a finger to her lips as she motioned Rin to follow her.
Sora's face was scrunched up as if he was experiencing something unpleasant.
"Sora," Kairi said.
Sora simply turned away.
Kairi frowned while Rin raised an eyebrow.
"He must be a sound sleeper," Rin said.
"Well, he won't be asleep for long," Kairi said as she leaned towards Sora's ear. "Sora!"
His eyes snapped open. Kairi and Rin quickly backed away as Sora sat up. He let out a yawn as he rubbed the back of his head. "What happened?" He mumbled.
Kairi rolled her eyes. "Sora, you lazy bum, you were dreaming."
Sora shook his head. "You don't understand. There was this huge black thing that tried to swallow me up. I couldn't breathe and…"
Kairi whacked him on the head playfully. "You were dreaming."
Sora shot her a glare before glancing up at Rin. "Who are you?"
Rin shuffled her foot as Kairi stood up. "This is Rin, remember? She was going to help us with the raft."
Sora's eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah, I remember now." He quickly stood up and stuck out his hand. "My name's Sora. It's nice to finally meet you Rin."
Rin shook his hand. "Yeah, nice to formally meet you too."
"Where's Riku?" Kairi asked as she looked around.
Sora frowned. "I think he said he was going to go look for some wood." He shrugged. "I figured I'd wait for him until he came back."
"Sounds good to me," Kairi said as she flopped down beside him.
As Rin sat down beside her, she couldn't help but notice how at ease both of them seemed to be around each other. Granted, she had heard rumors that Sora, Riku, and Kairi had been friends since they were really young but she was still surprised.
"Hey Kairi," Sora said as he gazed out at the sea. "What was your hometown like? You know, where you grow up?"
"I told you, I don't remember," Kairi said.
Rin frowned. "Wait, you're not from here?"
"Oh that's right," Kairi said, "I never told you. I originally came from another world when I was around six years old." She sighed. "I just don't remember where it was."
"That's one of the reasons why we wanted to build the raft," Sora said as he glanced at Rin. "We want to see her world and see if other worlds are out there…" A dreamy smile crossed his face. "I want to see them all."
"I'll go with you," Kairi said. "And so will Rin, right?"
Rin grinned. "Yeah, seeing other worlds would be fun."
"Hmm, looks like I'm the only one working on the raft," said a familiar voice.
Rin blushed as she slowly looked behind her. Riku stood looking highly amused with them. The fifteen-year-old had a log propped on his shoulder as his silver hair glowed in the sunlight.
"So you noticed we weren't working," Kairi giggled. "Okay, I admit we did, but we had a good reason."
Rin quickly stood up and held out her hand. "I'm Rin."
Riku grinned as he shook her hand. "Oh, so you're the famous Rin Kairi's been telling us about. Nice to put a face to a name."
Rin blushed as she muttered. "I wouldn't call me famous."
"Okay," Kairi said as she stood up. "Now that introductions are done, let's finish the raft together." She grinned mischievously. "I'll race you!"
"What?" Sora and Riku said at the same time.
Kairi gave Rin a pleading look. Rin rolled her eyes. "We should race. It will be fun."
Sora and Riku sighed as they took their places.
Kairi raised her hand into the air and tried to look serious. "On your mark... get set…" She grinned as she grabbed Rin's hand and ran, giggling.
"Hey," Sora yelled. "You never said go!"
Although Rin still felt slightly out of place in this trio's circle, she couldn't help but let out a delighted laugh as she ran after Kairi.
After the race, Riku designated jobs for each of them. Rin was assigned to find a sail. Kairi suggested checking the old tree house.
"Every kid uses it for some game," Kairi said. "I bet there is loads of stuff up there."
With a deep breath, Rin climbed up the old rickety ladder. Once she reached the tree house, she went inside. It was almost stripped bare minus a sheet that was nailed to a wall. That looks like a perfect sail, Rin thought as she began to take it down.
A rustle to her right startled her. She looked over and froze. A strange black creature with antennae and yellow eyes stared back at her.
I've never seen a creature like that before.
It let out a strange yelp before lunging at her. Without even thinking, Rin yanked the sail off the wall and caught the creature in mid-leap. It thrashed wildly as she tried to keep the creature from escaping. As she quickly pinned it to the ground, she wondered what the heck she was going to do with this thing.
A moment later, the thrashing stopped. The sail went completely flat. She frowned as she peeked into the sheet. Her eyes widened as she spread the sheet opened. The creature was gone.
"What the…"
"Rin!" Kairi called from below. "Are you about done up there?"
Rin shook her head as she cleared her thoughts. "I must have imagined it."
"Rin!"
"I'm coming," Rin said as she hurried out of the house. She wanted to believe that she had imagined that creature but a part of her wasn't so sure.
By the end of the day, they had finished building the raft. All four of them were tired but pleased with their results. Enjoying their accomplishment, the four of them decided to relax for a couple of minutes on the fallen log.
"So," Sora said. "Kairi's home is somewhere out there, right?"
Riku shrugged. "Could be, we'll never know if we stay here."
Rin leaned back on the log and closed her eyes. She was too exhausted to have a deep contemplative moment.
"But how far can a raft take us?" Sora asked.
Rin frowned as she remembered her uncle laughing at their idea.
"Who knows? If we have to, we can think of something else," Riku said.
That was one of the reasons, Rin liked Riku. He was determined and dedicated to whatever he set his mind too. That was a trait she really admired.
Kairi propped her head in her hand. "Suppose you got to another world. What would you do there?"
Riku frowned. "Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just..." he choose his next words carefully."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?"
Sora leaned back on the tree. "I don't know."
"Exactly, 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."
Wow, he's such a deep thinker Rin thought as a slight blush crept onto her cheeks. That is so cool.
"You have been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked.
"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." Riku looked her in the eye. "Kairi, thanks."
Kairi blushed and looked away "You're welcome."
For a moment, Rin thought that there was something going on between Riku and Kairi. She started to panic before she remembered that Kairi was trying to help her get Riku. Still, that didn't mean that Riku wasn't already in love with Kairi and she was too oblivious to see it.
They all fell into silence for a few moments.
"So, Rin," Sora said causing her to look up. "What would you do if you got to another world?"
Rin frowned as she tried to think of something. All she could come up with was a big blank. "I don't know," She hung her head. "That's bad, isn't it?"
Sora laughed before shaking his head. "No, it's not." He pointed to Riku. "We can't all be deep thinkers like Riku."
Riku gave him a glare.
Kairi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry when we get to another world, the first thing you and I will do is go shopping."
Rin grinned. "Now that sounds like a good idea."
They both giggled as Riku and Sora rolled their eyes.
"Girls," Sora said.
"Hey Sora!" Riku called as he threw something towards him. The sun was beginning to set which meant it was time for them to leave. Rin and Kairi had already gone ahead.
"Huh?" Sora caught the object. It was a yellow star-shaped fruit.
"You wanted one didn't you?" Riku asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"A Paopu fruit?" Sora looked at Riku in confusion.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." He grinned at Sora."C'mon, I know you want to try it."
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.
Someone cleared their throat behind them. Both boys turned around to see Rin with her eyebrow raised.
"Oh, hey," Sora said as he quickly hid the paopu fruit behind his back.
"I thought you already left with Kairi," Riku said sheepishly.
"I thought I left something," she said as she pointed back to the fallen log.
They stood in awkward silence for a couple of moments.
"Okay then," Rin said as she scratched the back of her neck. "I'll just get going then. I'll see you two later, okay?"
"Okay," Riku said.
"See ya!" Sora added.
Rin made sure she was out of earshot before she burst out laughing. Their expressions were priceless.
"Looks like Sora likes Kairi," Rin said after she had calmed down. "This is going to be an interesting summer vacation."
She was practically flying as she ran towards her house. The boat ride took longer than usual so it was already dark by the time she got back. She knew her uncle would not be happy that she was coming in so late.
"I'm here!" She yelled as she entered the house. She doubled over as she tried to catch her breath.
Her uncle popped out of the kitchen looking slightly amused. "You look like you ran a marathon."
Rin stood back up. "I was trying to get here before dark."
"And you failed," He sighed. "Your dinner's in the kitchen."
Rin looked at him suspiciously. "What? No lecture?"
Her uncle shook his head. "Nope, just dinner."
There's got to be a catch, Rin thought as she sat down in front of her plate. She took a bite. It was cold. She grimaced as she swallowed.
"Well," he said as an amused grin appeared on his face. "It would have been warm if you got here on time."
"I knew there was a catch," Rin said as she forced herself to eat.
Her uncle chuckled as he sat down. "So, did you get your raft done?"
Rin nodded. "Sure did. We're getting food supplies tomorrow."
Her uncle smirked.
Rin frowned. "Why won't you take this seriously?"
"I would if I knew you weren't just doing this for a boy."
Rin's face heated up.
Her uncle took a sip of his coffee, satisfied with her reaction.
As she continued to eat, her thoughts floated back to what had happened that day. An image of the creature flashed in her head. Swallowing her food, she said. "What kind of animals live on the islands?"
"Mostly birds, small rodents," He grinned. "Mosquitoes." He studied her for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"It's just," Rin looked down at her plate. "I saw this weird creature today."
"What did it look like?"
Rin scrunched her eyebrows as she tried to remember. "It was black with antennae and big yellow eyes." She frowned as she noticed her uncle stiffen. "Something wrong?"
Her uncle shook his head. "It's nothing." He quickly got up. "I need to do something. Let me know when you go to bed."
"Oh," Rin said as her uncle suddenly left the room. "Okay then." Her frown deepened. What's wrong with him? She stared down at her plate. He couldn't be upset about that creature I saw, could he?
L.A.: And, the first chapter is finished. Rin has been introduced and apparently her uncle knows something she doesn't. Anyway, tell me what you think!