Hey wassup? What's happening? Like I care! :D You guys might recognize me from my other stories, so you probably know what to expect from this new fic, but it will be different. The main story will be in third person (possibly omniscent) and the flashbacks will be in Kairi's perspective to see how her way of thinking progresses throughout her life.
Great, now it'll be harder to keep up with another story AND high school. Ughhh. -.- But I had to write another one so don't hurt me. D:
I mean, it was stuck in my head for a while and I actually had a dream about something similar to this, so I was like wth, lemme write it with SoKai and RokuNami! :D
Well, I introduce you to Secret Treehouse! Yay! :D If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to review or PM me. Now let's begin shall we? :)
Secret Tree House: Reminiscing Part 1
Just to Remember...
They say that the most horrid and terrible things happen because something good will always come out of it, like Pandora's Box. Pandora was just too curious to pass up the opportunity to see what was in the box. But as we all know, that curiosity unleashed all the evils in the world today. Not only that, but at the very end of all those evils stayed one great thing.
Hope.
Also, you never know what you'll find when you dive into the dark abyss that is your past. You'll remember things that might make you uncomfortable or make you feel warm on the inside. Or things you regret doing and things that you wished you had that impossible second chance to do.
Kairi Nomura was doing just that on her fluffy queen-sized bed in a spacious violet room, listening to the lovely melodies of a piano being played in the headphones of her ipod. Three books were sprawled out in front of her, and those three books were very significant to her. They told of her experiences and adventures through the years. And each page was full of the words "Sora" an "I."
Sora Shimomura. He never really realized how important he was to her. Kairi sighed and couldn't help but frown at the first journal laid out for her. It was a baby pink color with little hearts on the cover. She opened it to the first page, which was happily waiting to be read with the eyes of someone else.
"August 22, 2006," she spoke aloud softly."The first day of fourth grade."
"My first day wasn't all that special. Stella, the wicked witch, and her flying monkeys are still after me, but Sora was there to save the day... Again. I knew Sora was going to be in my class again. He was always in my class. For some reason, I felt weird when he kept smiling at me today. I don't know, diary. I think I have a crush on him. I'm not scared of having a crush on him. Sora doesn't have coodies... Ew."
Kairi smiled when she read that part, unconciously holding onto her favorite raggedy doll. She was so girly and childish when she was younger.
"But I don't think it will last. Sora's like a brother to me. He will never love me, and I will never love him. And I'm too ugly for him to like me! End of story! Today..."
I was outside, sitting on the steps of my house, waiting for my mom to take me to school. Today was my first day of fourth grade, and I couldn't be anymore excited.
"Kairi!" I looked up to see my best friend, Sora, running up to me. "Your mom said she was taking me to school today!" He smiled brightly.
My mother told me that every minute of my live was spent with him. I knew that was a lie, but it kinda feels true.
"Oh, really? I guess we should get going, but my mom is probably stuck in candy land or something." I mumbled irritated, even though I had a smirk growing on my face. Sora chuckled and sat down next to me. I felt uncomfortable; he was sitting too close.
"Say Kai," he was looking straight ahead. "Do you think we'll make new friends this year?" I wasn't the kind to make friends easily like Sora. He was very happy and nice. He could make friends with anyone, even the bullies. But he never made any because he was always with me.
"I don't know, Sora. It's a new school year, after all." I heard the front door behind us open and close hurriedly and the clacking of heels.
"Sorry I kept you two waiting!" I turned around to see my mom. She had honey blonde hair and stunning violet eyes like mine. "So, you guys ready for another year of school?" She asked with excitement.
Sora and I got up and put on our biggest smiles. "You know it, Mrs. Nomura!"
"Okay mom, let's go before we're late!"
We rushed into the car and drove in the direction of our school, Riverside Elementary. I looked out the window, silently watching the scenery pass by in a green blur. We passed by my favorite place, Verdant Park. I always go there with Sora nearly everyday to play and talk about school or other important things.
We were actually there yesterday. We were playing tag and he was the one chasing me. I rounded one of the trees and he was coming the other way, and he crashed into me. I ended up on the floor with him on top of me. The way he smiled at me... My heart stopped, and I felt afraid and excited at the same time. I don't know why, but I felt like I was waiting for something to happen... like a kiss. That's when I came to the conclusion that I need more time away from him. I was getting too close to him.
"KAIRI!" I jolted from my seat, the seatbelt restraining me painfully while Sora just laughed. "Silly Kai, I was calling you like a billion times! Come on, we're here!" I looked out the window again to see the school looming over us, intimidating me with it's enormous size. I muttered an oh and got out of the car.
"Later honey! Bye Sora! I'll pick you up when school ends," my mom shouted as she started to drive off, away from the school. I sighed as I watched the car turn into a speck of black.
Another year of school was going to be so annoying.
I felt someone grab my hand gently. Sora was turned the other way, facing the school. He looked back slightly, which made my stomach tighten, and went back to facing the same direction, pulling me along. Why does he make me feel weird? I think I'm starting like him... As in "like" like him. The girls in my new class are probably gonna hate me for liking a boy, especially him.
We stepped into the front doors of the school, which lead into the cafeteria. The bustling noises of other kids eating and talking went through me like a gust of wind. It was too loud here.
"Quick, let's go to the playground before the bell rings," Sora yelled over the noisy students and started running down the halls, making me stumble trying to keep up with him. He was still holding my hand; the feeling in my stomach was picking at me even more.
"S-Sora, slow down," I whined. My arm was starting to feel sore from being pulled on so much.
"Why? We're here, anyway," he stopped in front of two double-doors, pushing one of them open. He rushed me out, holding the door open for me as I walked through.
The playground was one of my favorite places in the school, but it was also the worst. Why? Well, the playground was the usual hangout spot for...
"Look who we have here, girls." In front of the slide stood three blonde girls. Tracey, Margoux, and the one I hated the most.
"What are you doing here, Stella," Sora tensed up a bit. He didn't hate Stella as much as I did, but he knew she was mean, especially to me.I had to deal with Stella and her followers since the day I tripped and fell over Stella's barbie doll, breaking it, on the playground. That was two years ago.
"I should be asking you that. She's not even pretty, and you're still friends with her? That's so not cool! If it's anyone you should be with, it should be me." She flipped her long blonde tresses as I hung my head down in saddened shame. This wasn't the first time I've heard this.
"I would never be you're friend, and Kairi is pretty!" I could see his hands were balled into fists. Then, with a smirk, he added, "Prettier than you'll ever be." Why does Sora think I'm pretty all of a sudden? He never told me that I was pretty. All the boys in my class last year said that Stella was the prettiest in the class. They made an official list, and I still remember where my name was...
"Yeah right," Tracey shouted indignantly. "You're just saying that because that girl won't leave you alone, and you feel sorry for her!" I felt the tears sting like salt in my eyes, so I wiped the sleeve of my shirt on my face before they threatened to reach the floor. My chest started hurting, and I coudn't keep the tears in any longer. Seeing this, Stella gave me a sadistic smile.
"I'm s-sorry, but I think I should find my classroom b-before the bell r-rings." Wiping more tears out of my eyes, I quickly turned around and went back inside the building and ran down the hall, ignoring Sora as he yelled out after me. I started to slow down after a while, the cramp in my stomach urging me to. Ms. Alvarado's classroom was close by, so I sat down in a deserted hallway, curling up into a ball.
Sora doesn't like me. I'm too ugly...
I clutched the straps of my bookbag tighter as the pain seeped through my chest. Why do people like hurting me so much?
"Hey you," I didn't bother to look up to see who it was. I wasn't in the mood. Seconds went by until I felt someone nudge me with their foot.
"I said 'hey you'! Are you deaf?" The voice wasn't mean, just curious and amused. I finally lifted my head to see the blue sandals of a girl around my height with long platnium hair and violet-blue eyes. Her white spaghetti strapped dress fell right above her knees. I sat up a bit more at the sight of my cousin.
"N-Namine!" I smoothed my hair out because it felt frizzy.
"Why are you here by yourself? Where's Sora?"
"I don't want to be with him anymore. It would be best if he had a new friend to play with," I muttered.
"Does he want to be with you?" I shrugged.
"Oh, okay... Well, whose class do you have?"
"Ms. Alvarado; it's down the hall," I said, pointing down said hall outside of the one we were in.
She smiled. "Really? Me too!" The bell rang, signaling the start of class. "Come, let's go." She held out a hand for me to hold, which I gratefully took, and we both made it to class on time.
Since this was the first day, we could sit anywhere, so we sat in the middle of the class. Soon, kids started filing into the classroom, and I also saw Stella glaring at me as she walked in with Tracey and Margoux.
Great, they're here!
When the tardy bell rang, the teacher stepped into the classroom.
"Well, good morning everyone! I'm Ms. Alvarado and I'll be your fourth grade teacher for this year. Now let me just close the door, and we can begin." She carelessly let the door close on it's own. Before the door closed, someone bolted into the room, which caused the door to rebound the wall with a bang.
"M-Morning!" said person panted.
"Ah, Mr. Shimomura, you decided to show up," the teacher said with a sarcastic smile.
"Sorry, I was just looking for-" I froze as his eyes locked with mine. "-a friend."
"Well, don't let it happen again. I don't like slackers, Mr. Shimomura," she added snidely as he took the only empty seat in the front of the class. "Now, I'm going to go over our school supplies and the requirements in this classroom, so you should write down a few important things. You'll need a box of twenty-four crayons, a pack of construction paper, two..."
Her voice faded into nothingness as I was still frozen in my spot.
His eyes were so... intense. There was so much determination and confidence. They intimidated me. No doubt he was going to pull me aside for an interesting conversation today...
"Psst, Kairi!" A jab in my side caused me to squeak and jump out of my seat. My face heated up as a hundred eyes stared at me, but most importantly his eyes, piercing right through me.
"Is there a reason why you're disturbing the class, Ms. Nomura?" Ms. Alvarado asked, irritated that she was interrupted yet again.
"Oh! N-No, I, uh, just thought I saw a spider, that's all..." I giggled nervously, looking down knowing she didn't buy it.
"Plant it, Nomura," I automatically sat in my seat at the sound of her strict voice, my cheeks flaring to a hundred degrees. I looked to my right to see Namine smiling apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Kairi, I just wanted to talk to you," she whispered sadly.
"No, no, it's okay... So what is it?" I whispered back, doodling nonsense onto the paper that was forcefully taken out. "Do you think Sora's mad at you?" That's a really good question. What if Sora is mad at me? He looked like he ran all over the school looking for me. And then he got a tardy note. What if he went into the fifth grade building, where all the other kids never returned if they went in there? He probably risked his life for me, and I was in this building the whole time. I wouldn't blame him if he were mad at me, but he didn't look angry at all. What if he starts yelling at me during lunch, or after school?
"I... I hope not... I just hope that he won't-"
"Last warning, Ms. Nomura," the teacher let out a frustrated sigh.
"I hope you're paying attention. You can deal with you're friend problems during recess or at lunch, but not here."
"Sorry, um Miss, Kairi has no friends!" the boy who yelled out was Eric. He liked Stella, so I think you can see where this is going. He gave a confident smirk, proud that he made the class laugh, and the teacher wasn't doing anything about it!
Something inside of me snapped. I had enough!
I slammed my hands on my desk violently as I got out of my chair. "You know what, Eric? I had enough of you, pushing me around like you always do!" I was all up in his face; he didn't see it coming. "I'm tired of you pushing me around, I hate Stella and her flying monkeys calling me names, I hate that Sora has to protect me all of the time, and now, I don't like you," I pointed at Ms. Alvarado with all of my anger. "For being another teacher who's not doing anything about it and just standing there! You should be ashamed of yourselves because I am!" I vehemently crammed my things into my bag before storming out of the classroom, slamming the door shut only to hear it open again, running as the warm tears made my sight blurry.
I already knew who was running after me. I started pushing myself to run faster because his footsteps were coming closer with more speed. I felt scared as a hand wrapped around my wrist.
"Let go of me! Just let go!" My tears were still blinding me as I continued pleading and trying to fight, to pull my arm away as hard as I could. With one final pull, I gave up as I was brought into a tight hug. I cried into his shirt while he played with my hair.
"I hate seeing you like this," he whispered. "But I'm so proud of you, Kai."
"H-How? It wasn't the right thing to d-do!" All I did was scream and yell like a five-year-old. That's nothing to be proud of! He started rubbing my back the same way my mom did when I woke up from a bad dream.
"That doesn't mean you're a bad person... You finally stood up for yourself, and I'm proud that you did."
"Y-Yes it does... I wanna go home, Sora. I wanna go home..." He kept rubbing my back.
Even though I was angry and crying out to Sora like always, I couldn't help but feel that weird feeling in my stomach again. He was hugging me, holding me so close. This made me really nervous. I tried pushing myself away, but he still held me, shifting around so he could see me.
"What's wrong, Kai?" His small smile was adorable, and I was shocked realizing that I thought he was adorable for even a second, making me push him even more, but he wouldn't let go.
"C-Can you stop... With the hug? I-I think that's enough-"
"No." He had a full-on "Sora-like" smile, hugging me closer if possible.
I squeaked. "Wh-what?"
"You heard me. I'm not letting go until you think better of yourself!"
"But then we'll be here forever!" He laughed. "Fine with me."
"You must be crazy! Why would you- How could you-?"
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF CLASS?" We both turned around to see the vice pricipal, Ms. Judy, walking towards us menacingly. Sora quickly pulled away from the hug, which I was thankful for, and grabbed my hand.
"Run, Kairi, run!" We bolted down the hall, getting smiles and whoops from some fifth graders that were probably on their way to the media center.
"Go, Sora, go!" They cheered.
It was impossible not to laugh as we made our getaway, crisscrossing through hallways and going up and down stairs. We already lost her by the time we made it to the second floor of the fifth grade building.
"We... did it... Kairi," Sora panted when we finally stopped for a breath.
"Y-Yeah," I giggled."That was amazing! With how fast we were going, that old bat couldn't keep up!" We both laughed together.
"Man, we're so dead when our parents find out!"
"Totally..." we stared at each other for five seconds until we bursted out laughing again.
"Kai, I just wanted to say that-" he couldn't finish his sentence because he was interrupted by the screeching of the intercom.
"KAIRI NOMURA AND SORA SHIMOMURA, GO TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE. NOW!"
"-we're in trouble..."
Kairi smiled widely as she turned the page reading more.
"... We got an earful from not just Ms. Alvarado and Ms. Judy, but also the principal. His face was so red! Mom and dad weren't too mad about it, but they punished Sora because it was 'his idea.' When we returned to Ms. Alvarado's class, everyone was quiet, and they didn't look at me, or glare. I was fine with it and it was like that for the rest of the day. Even though we got in trouble, we went to the park after school like we always do, but Sora..."
"Hey, about today..." Sora began. We were sitting against one of the trees in Verdant Park, enjoying the soft breeze of the late summer.
"Are you mad at me?" I blurted out. Sora gave me a weird face.
"Mad at you? What for?" He looked at me curiously as I played with my skirt.
"Well, you looked all over the school for me, got a tardy note, and I got you in trouble for leaving class..." I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, it was my idea to look for you and leave class, so stop blaming yourself all the time."
"I just feel like it is my fault..."
"Look, about today, what they said about you... It's not true. I'm your friend because..." he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, because you're pretty inside and out... And you shouldn't let what others think or say about you get to you so much, or else what happened today is going to happen pretty often..."
"Yeah... Thanks, Sor. Oh, and you were running pretty fast today. Are you interested in doing anything? Like sports?
"Unhuh! I was thinking soccer or football. Which one do you think I should do, Kai?"
"You should definitely do football! You're pretty strong!" He laughed a bit.
"Yeah, I'll keep your word for it."
"I can't wait until spring," I sighed dreamily. "Then we'll be here everyday..."
"Only for two weeks," Sora countered, yawning tiredly.
"So? I just can't get enough of this place!"
"But my hugs are enough? Wow, that hurts, Kairi," Sora feigned hurt. I rolled over from the tree, burying my face in the grass. The dew drops tickled my face.
"Kai? Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah! Never better!" I couldn't let him see my face. I was probably as red as a tomato.
Gosh, he just had to remind me of why I don't want to get so close to him. I heard the grass rustle as he crawled over to where I was.
"Are you sure?" I heard the familiar beep of the car horn, and I was never felt so happy that my mom had come to pick us up. "Huh, your mom's here... Hey do you feel sick or something? Because your face is red..."
The last thing I saw was another smile from him before I ran to the enterance of the park, into my mom's car, waiting for Sora to come in so we could go home.
Skimming through a few pages after that entry, Kairi stopped at one of the most important days of her life so far: Spring Break.
"I can't believe it! Sora and I discovered the greatest place in the world, and it's our little secret! It was in Verdant park. We only had five days of spring break left, and then we had to go back to school. Sora and I wanted to make our fun last so we went back to the usual place. I was in the mood for tag and he was it, so I had to work harder to not be it. Sora's running got better. He's faster than any fifth grader that went up against him so far. So he was chasing me...
"Come on, Kairi! You can run faster than that!" Sora and I were running along the edge of the daker parts of the park. There were so many tall trees, they reminded me of a forest.
"N-No I can't! Sora, my stomach is hurting!" I really wasn't in the mood to be it. I felt like I ran for miles, and Sora looks like he's not breaking a sweat!
I suddenly ran into the forest, my puffy skirt billowing behind me as a plan was forming in my head. I can lose him by going through all these trees and then, I'll win!
"Kai, wait, don't go through there!" I ignored him as I ran further into the forest. He was far behind me and I smiled with victory, looking back as I ran.
Terrible mistake.
I didn't see that one of the trees' roots was sticking out in front me until I actually tripped over it and fell to the ground, scraping my knees. I screamed at the pain of my tearing flesh, and I heard Sora shouting for me afterward.
"Kairi! What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?"
"I-I'm right here!" I sniffled, slowly crawling to the closest tree, and sitting against it. "I-I'm hurt!"
"Don't move, I'll be right there!" I tried blowing on the burning wounds so it wouldn't hurt as much. After a few minutes of that, I decided to rest my head against the tree until Sora found me, but it was impossible to. My head rested uncomfortably against the tree. I turned around slightly and saw carvings in the tree.
"What the..." I stood up and backed up slightly to see the tree clealry.
There were deep grooves going up the tree, like one of those rock climbing walls. Then, the craziest thought passed through my mind.
Climb it...
Should I? I guess my mind and my body were on a different pace because I was already hanging to the tree, climbing even higher despite the searing pain going through my knees. I probably passed twenty-thirty feet, and I wasn't even half way there. Right now looking back down won't be a good idea. After a fewminutes of climbing, I finally neared an opening in the thick canapoy, moving through some branches carefully. I didn't want to fall from this high...
My head bumped into something hard. Tilting my head slightly, I saw a large platform; it was as big as a small house. And I was right under what seemed like a trap door. nervously, I reached one hand out, grabbing the handle and pulling it down. It wouldn't budge, so I tried the other way and it opened. I poked my head through the opening and stared up in shock. The platform was actually the base of a small house. The only room to stand up on was on top of the trap door and the miniature steps, which was enough to not be afraid of falling.
I tried climbing through the trap door, but my sneakers slipped against the bark of the redwood. My heart rate increased tenfold as I desperately attemtpted to hang onto the opening of the edge of the trap door. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins fiercely, my heart pounding erraticly in chest so much that it hurt. I tried taking calm breaths and not thinking about dangling over sixty feet of nothing while I clawed my way up over the edge of the trap door.
"Shit," I hissed out my first bad word. My nails carved into the wood, making my grip lessen with each scratch, which made my heart beat even faster if possible.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," My hands started to slip more. There was little friction between my perspired hands and the smooth wood.
"Please, don't do this to me! " I was dangling by my fingertips now. Pleading for God to save me was my only hope.
Then, I felt myself let go, the air whipping me harshly as I tumbled through the air. I don't know how long it took for me to hit the ground, but when I did, I blinked a couple of times. I didn't see the leaves of the canopies of above. I saw a pair of stunning blue eyes; lighter than the ocean, but darker than the sky. I knew who those eyes belonged to. I closed my eyes, so the only thing I could see was darkness.
There was no tremendous pain that I was dreading to come. In fact, I didn't feel any bones breaking. Taking a slow, deep breath, I opened my eyes again to see myself still hanging onto the the edge of the door.
What the heck just happened...?
I recovered my senses and latched my hands onto the metal hooks that were conveniently in front of the trap door. Climbing over the edge, I landed half way on the steps, hyperventalating.
I guess He did save me...
I attempted to give myself the air that my body was desperately in need for, but my breathing couldn't keep up with my heartbeat pace by pace, and my whole entire body was trembling. It took me a long time to prevent myself from fainting by calming down, with what just happened and all.
"... I never felt so scared in that moment in all of my life! I even said my first bad word! It was the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. The only person I thought about at that very moment was Sora. Like, how would he react if he saw me on the floor... dead? What would he tell my mom and dad? 'Oh, hey, Mr. and Mrs. Nomura, me and Kairi were playing at the park, and she fell off of a tree and plummeted sixty feet to her death! The hospital wants you two to identify her body!' Yeah... I don't know how he would respond to the whole situation, anyway..."
The tree house was beautiful. There were stained glass windows and the inside was very roomy. An average sized table stood against the wall to the right with two wooden chairs and boxes were neatly stacked in a niche, next to it. Many drawings and paintings were hanging from the walls; they were so pretty and colorful. But the one that caught my interest was a hand-drawn picture of a girl and a boy hugging each other, the girl's arms were around his neck while the boy held her by her waist. She looked like she was crying into his chest. It reminded me a lot about Sora and I. He was always trying to comfort me or just be there for me when I needed him. Whomever drew and painted these were really good.
I heard something outside of the tree house, so I stepped outside. Twinkling noises were made everytime the wind picked up a bit. I looked around, but didn't see anything until I looked up.
Above the tree house, tied to the branches, were many wind chimes, swaying to and fro with the wind. I couldn't help but to stare in amazement as they all created a tune of their own.
So beautiful...
"KAIRI! Kairi, where are you?" The voice made me jump a little. Oh no, I forgot that Sora was still looking for me!
I anxiously looked over the edge and saw him, a speck, right at the base of the tree.
"Kairi, I'm not playing around, where are you?" He sounded extremely worried. I didn't want to make him feel that way anymore.
"Sora, I'm up here! Look up!" He did so and I could tell he saw me because he cried out in surprise, which made me giggle.
"Ah! Kairi, how'd you get- Get down from there!"
"No, you get up here!"
"I-I can't!"
For some reason, I found all of this funny. Hm... I wonder.
"Why?"
"Well, you see I... I'm scared of heights!" Sora? Scared? Ha! That can't be true!
"Hmm..." There had to be a way to get him up here... but how? I went back into the tree house, looking for anything that could help me. I went around the room, scanning from the floor to the ceiling. I spotted a box under the table and retrieved it. I spilled ot the contents, smiling as I unraveled it; a rope ladder. I looked outside of the opened door and stared at the metal hooks that I held onto earlier and examined the ladder, walking over to it as I did so. I hooked the ends of the rope ladder, which were already tied into nooses, onto the hooks and tugged on it, testing to see if it was secure enough. I yelled at Sora, telling him to move out of the way, and threw the ladder down through the trap door, and I watched it unfurl to it's true length at the roots of the tree.
He didn't move from his spot.
"Well?" I was getting a bit impatient at his uncertainty.
"I'm still not climbing it, Kairi!"
Is he freaking serious?
"Please, Sora! I don't want to be all alone up here!" Right about now, I know he would sigh.
"Kairi," he whined as he held onto the end of the ladder. "You make me do the craziest things for you..." I mentally broke into a victory dance as he inched his way up the ladder, taking his sweet time dealing with his terrible fear.
After a few minutes, I saw his head poke through the trap door's opening in the same way I did before. He smiled when he saw me. I helped him through the trap door, and we both walked into the tree house.
"Whoa, this place is amazing, Kai," I watched amused as he explored every inch of the tree house, finding small trinkets and knick knacks that I overlooked. We started to get bored after a while, so we both sat against the wall that was facing the door.
"Isn't this place great, Sor?" Sora ignored my question. I turned to face him, but he stopped me.
"Don't move," his hand trailed from my arm down to my thigh, lighting a fire under my skin. The feeling was unfamiliar, and it felt wrong to feel good about it. His fingers were feather-light against my skin as they traveled further to my knee, where my scrapes were. They looked worse than when I got them. He touched the open flesh; it felt like someone accidentally spilled acid into them. I couldn't help but whimper and squirm under his touch.
Then, his fingers roughly handled my raw skin, which made me jump up from my spot.
"Ah-!"
"I thought I told you not to move," he snapped, stunning me to silence. He held up both of my legs now, examining the damage.
"Sor-So- It hurts so mu-" He tutted at my words.
"Kairi, didn't I tell you to stay put when I said I was coming to get you?"
"But I wanted to-"
"When it comes to your safety, there is no buts about it. None," he interrupted sternly. "What will you're mom think if I kept bringing you home like this?" I sighed and looked away. I knew he was right, it's just that I needed to find this place. I had the urge to climb this tree, injured or not.
"Since when did you become so over-protective of me all of a sudden?" I couldn't but snap back. I was mad that he kept interrupting me.
He glared at me fiercely. "Since we became friends, Kairi..." Damn, I messed up... He was mad at me now. Many scenarios went through my head of him not being my friend anymore, and being friends with Stella, and, worst of all, him not liking me anymore. I could feel the tears stinging at the corner of my eyes, overwhelming me with each thought.
"I-I'm sorry..." I turned my back to him, sniffling. He turned me around and hugged me.
"Darn it, Kai, do you always have to cry when you think I'm mad at you?" He wiped my tears away as I sniffled a second time.
"N-No, it's just that I- I always... Never mind..." I can never tell him the truth. That I was afraid of losing him because I liked him.
"Alright... Yes," he replied.
"What?"
"This tree house is great. We should come here everyday, shouldn't we Kairi?" His statement caught me off guard, his angry frown fading into a smile, growing all the more into a full toothy grin at my elated expression of shock.
"Really?"
"Yep! And we can come on the weekends, too. I wanna know every inch of this place. There's bound to be a few secrets here." I was on the verge of squealing.
Everyday, in a treehouse, with Sora... Even on the weekends, when we usually have a day to ourselves!
"Promise?" I held up my pinky for good measure. Sora knew how serious and important pinky promises were to me. He never broke any of our's.
His slightly bigger pinky wrapped around mine as he merely said, "I promise, Kairi."
It was official. This treehouse was all ours, a secret only shared with us and the skies.
Speaking of the skies, they were golden now. It was time to leave.
Sora helped me up and we both walked out of the treehouse.
"You go down the rope ladder," I ordered. "I'll put it away when you reach the ground, okay?" He hesitated, eyeing me wearily, but complied.
When he was standing safely on the ground, I started pulling up the ladder, coiling it up. Once I had the entire ladder bunched up together, I went back inside, putting it away in the box. I closed the door to the wooden house and carefully made my painful descent down the tree. Sora held onto my hand when I was close enough and brought me down.
"I never knew you could climb so good, Kai," Sora spoke in awe. I giggled at how impressed he was.
"M-Me neither!" His eyes drifted back down to my knees.
"It still hurts?" I nodded my head and he sighed. He whipped out his cell phone dialing a number. He was so young, but he had the money to have his own. I wish my family had as much as his. He had the phone to his ear.
"Okay, I'm calling my mom so she can come get us- Yes, hi mom. Things have been great today, thanks. Can you pick us up from the park? No, it's nothing big, it's only a scrape on Kairi's knees. We're at the usual place. Alright, love you, too. Bye." He hung up and stuffed the phone back in his pocket.
"How long will it take for her to get here?" Sora looked at me as if I were crazy, but then came to a realization.
"Oh! No, she's sending a chauffeur. John will be here in the next ten minutes."
"Ch-Chauffeur? Like the people you pay to take you places?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to tell you until later, but my mom and I moved to a... different house."
"Oh, when?" His eyes were glued to the floor, a bitter storm traspassing in his downcast eyes.
"Um... I'd rather not talk about it..." Sora held onto me as I awkwardly limped to the enterance of Verdant Park, failing to move further than ten feet without my legs protesting in unbearable pain. Sora offered a piggy back ride and I eagerly complied. I laid my cheek on his head, the irresistible scent of cinnamon and burning sage intoxicated me. I decided it would be better if I started a small conversation about anything before he suspected something of my gesture.
"You're really getting better with football..." I started off, hoping I could distract him for a while.
"Yeah! I run faster than anyone and I'm carrying you without breaking a sweat! I'm also thinking of trying out for the middle school team when we get into sixth grade. It's gonna be great!" Mission accomplished.
"That's nice to know, Sor." I shifted a bit, getting comfortable on his back.
"Kai, you should try out for track when we get to middle school. I mean, you're faster than everyone else but me!" My face scrunched up at the suggestion.
I don't think I can see myself running track. Even though I am faster than any other girl in our school, the attention that I'll be getting would be too much for me. But I guess, for Sora, I'll try.
"Hmmm... Maybe..." I whispered in his ear to mess with him. Whenever he asks me to do something for him, I always oblige. However, he was never used to me being so out of line. For some reason, his walking became a little wobbly. "Sora, are you sure you can still carry me? You seem like you can't," I inquired with concern.
"N-No, no. I'm f-fine!"
"It's our tree house now! I was so happy that we could come to the park everyday no matter what! But I have to wait until my scrapes heal, which will take weeks! Sigh, that means I can't go to the park until then, but Sora promised that he'll come over everyday to check up on me..."
We were at the front gate, waiting for Sora's chauffer. Since when did he get one, I have no clue. His family must have gotten a lot more money than they already had if they could afford their own personal driver.
After a few minutes later, my jaw dropped to the floor as a limosine pulled up next to us.
"I knew you would have that kind of reaction," Sora mumbled as the chauffer tipped his hat towards him in greeting. I had no choice but to follow him into the limo and wait until we reached his home, which was actually on the other side of the city. We pulled into a neatly paved driveway that eventually lead to Sora's not-so-humble home. I wonder when he and his family had gotten so rich...
As we entered into the forier of the mansion, Sora's mother walked hurriedly in her classy high heels, quick clacking sounds echoing in the spacious corridor, as if she was in a movie; right on cue.
"Oh my, my sweet Kairi, you must be awefully hurt! You need attention right this second! I know who can help. George! George, come quickly! George-!"
"Mom, stop fussing. We just need peroxide and some bandages, that's all," his voice was sultry as it rung lightly through the empty hall.
"O-Oh... Silly me," Sora's mom laughed nervously, embarrassed as she twirled a loose curl of chocolate brown hair. "I'm overdoing it again, huh?"
"Come on, Kairi, let's go to the restroom," Sora spoke with finality as he lead me to the beginning of the staircase. Sounds of crashing, loud, hard steps, and a few cries in pain were heard while a formally dressed man tripped over some of the steps of the stairs and landed at our feet, his face painfully colliding with the floor.
"What is it, Madame Shimomura!" cried out the clumsy butler in his British accent as he regained his composure.
"Oh, George, I'm so sorry! It happened again..." Mrs. Shimomura was now red in the face from embarrassment.
"Bloody hell Madame, you've scared me of my wits. I was on the verge of a heart attack! When will you learn your lesson," the butler tutted as if he was scolding a . Sanchez pouted playfully, mocking guilt. That was the last of the banter I would see or hear because I was being hauled up the stairs.
When we were inside one of the bathrooms, Sora picked me up, sitting me down on the counter. After washing his hands, he climbed onto the sink, looking through the cabinet for various other items. My stomach churned as Sora placed a bottle of peroxide beside me on the counter, following the Neosporin cream and bandages. He got off the sink and turned the faucet again, making the spout spurt hot water, filling it to the rim with the steaming liquid. Then, he placed a clean rag in the water.
"Sora... I-" I tried my best to stall him, but he knew my intentions.
"It's okay. Just don't look down, alright? Look at me," he said, taking the soaking wet cloth from the pool of water and wringing it. I silently obeyed, concentrating on his cerulean eyes. How they portrayed sympathy and hurt. The way his eyes closed so slowly with a gentle calm.
If it weren't for the sudden burning of the scrape on my left knee, I wouldn't have noticed that he already placed the damp rag on it.
Reacting quickly, I screamed in protest, the tears becoming instant. Sora began whispering sweet nothings as he went to my other knee, thoroughly cleaning my wounds with the cursed thing.
My wailing quieted to painful whimpers.
I sighed in relief as he finally finished, placing the rag into the sink. I could see the smeared blood wash away slowly, making the water slightly turn into a sickening transparent red.
"See, was that so bad?" He wiped some of the tears from my cheek. The lingering pain subsided into nothing.
I nodded my head, wiping away the remaining tears. When I removed my hand from my eyes, they widened to the size of dinner plates as they found Sora untwisting the cap on the peroxide bottle. He saw my distress and rubbed my exposed thigh in assurance, which made me blush, as he slightly tilted the bottle over my knee, a small stream of the fluid falling onto it. It hurt a lot less than I expected it to, but I still felt a light sting. After that was over, he applied the Neosporin and the bandages.
"There, all better, he chuckled halfheartedly as he helped me off of the counter. I couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks, Sora."
"Sometimes, diary, I think he does too much for me. I feel like a burden, even though I don't ask for much. And I still have that stupid crush on him! Grrr..."
Kairi thought it was quite odd that she still didn't receive an explanation from Sora about his sudden wealth, but she never pried on the topic afterward. She also questioned herself about the disappearance of his father. From what she remembered, Mr. Shimomura was never around when she started going over the Shimomura Estate more frequently. And when she did ask Sora, he always mentioned a business trip to a different country.
The violet-eyed girl shook her head to relieve herself of the confusing questions, her cranberry hair swaying a little less than violently. Her attention was set back to the leather-bound book, smiling at the nostalgia that had given her a familiar warmth as she turned each page. Nothing seemed interesting until she settled on a date written in her neat yet childish handwriting.
"June 11, 2007..."
She remembered this day like any other. It was a beautiful summer day in Verdant Park, as usual, in their tree house.
"Today, Sora and I were in the tree house, drawing, when we found these awesome wooden swords! Sora suggested that we should play with them, so we went to the field and saw this boy with silver hair..."
"Do you like this one, Sora?" I held up another drawing for him to see. He held it in his hands to look at it more clearly. It was a beach with a bent palm tree. In the leaves were yellow, star-shaped fruit.
He chuckled as he handed it back with a smile. "Kairi, you know I love every drawing you make. Why keep asking?"
"I'm just making sure," I argued, sticking my tongue out.
"Right..." He rolled his eyes, but they kept staring at the niche that was full of stacked boxes.
"You know, we never looked at what's in those," he trailed off, getting out of his seat and walking towards the looming tower of stacked boxes while I took another sheet of blank paper. He placed a hand on them, trailing across it absentmindedly.
"Well, why don't you find out, Sherlock Homes," I jested, never taking my eyes off of the new drawing before me. It was an outline of two bodies, void of all life or feeling. I knew how it would turn out, another one that I would be too embarrassed to show Sora.
A rather loud thump jolted me from my seat, causing me to look at Sora, who had a sheepish smile plastered on his face. He was already kneeling beside the box, or treasure chest to be specific. It was blue with intricate gold patterns crawling along the edges.
"Whoa, this looks so cool!" Sora traced the patterns on the chest before opening it. As he did so, a gold light reflecting on his face, glinting in his cheerful eyes while his smile grew into a toothy grin."Kairi, you should come check this out!" He put his hand in the chest and pulled out a shiny sword for good measure, instantly attracting my attention.
"Wow, who would ever leave this kind of stuff here?" I fawned over the sword in his hand, like a moth to a flame. He shrugged as he fumbled with weapon.
"I don't know," he said nonchalantly, tapping the sword against the floor. "It's not real, though. It's just a piece of wood with a paint job." I kneeled beside him, looking into the chest for a sword that appealed to my taste. The one that captivated my eyes was sky blue, a small curved heart on the hilt. It had a note on it, too. Picking up the sword, I peeled the note off and read it aloud.
"July 14... Hmm... What's gonna happen on July 14?"
"Beats me." He took the note from me and stuffed it in his pocket.
I scoffed. "You never know anything!" Sora frowned at my joke, taking a slight offense.
"Whatever," he mumbled. "Come on, let's have a battle!" We eagerly left our tree house, walking toward the field.
Unfortunately, it was already occupied; the sounds of two boys fighting could be heard with the cheers of another boy and a girl.
"Go, Tidus, beat the living daylights out of him!" The girl screamed, punching her fists in the air. She had light brown hair that was curled at the ends and forest green eyes. Her yellow sundress swished with her frantic bouncing. The boy next to her didn't seem as enthusiastic as he held onto a soccer ball; his red hair was gelled back.
I paid more attention to the two boys fighting. They both had swords in their hands, in a battle stance as they calculated their next moves. I couldn't tell which one was Tidus until I saw the boy with blonde hair smirk at the boy he was against.
I was speechless at the sight of the blonde's opponent. His long, silver hair framed his face, partially covering his aquamarine eyes. His ghost of a smile was being replaced with a thin line of determination and seriousness, his jaw taut and firm in concentration. He was obviously a good-looking boy, so I couldn't stop staring, as rude as it was to.
My face instantly felt hot when his eyes drifted to my direction, with an indifference of my presence. Then, he noticed the boy next to me and looked back at me with a stunning smile, causing my breath to hitch. I could feel Sora's stare on me as I did so.
"Alright, Tidus, how do you want to settle this?" the boy with moonlight hair spoke monotonously, retreating from his battle stance into a slight slouch, a hand in his pocket.
Oh my goodness, even his voice is beautiful!
"I don't know, how about I beat the crap out of you and call it a day?"
Tidus began to charge at him with formidable speed, attempting to hit the boy in his side, but he was faster. The boy side stepped him and turned the tables against Tidus by hitting him in his side, causing him to fall onto the ground with a grunt.
"Two more and you're done, Tidy," the boy teased, his voice suave with mischief. Tidus quickly regained his stance, but this time he was more defensive, gritting his teeth in anger.
"Hey, don't call me that, and don't get too cocky, Silverlocks!"
This time "Silverlocks" charged at him, with a much more faster pace than his opponent, striking and slashing, dealing quick blows against Tidus, which he dodged all of the attacks at the last second. The silver haired boy swiped his leg along the floor, knocking Tidus on his back, and struck him on the arm.
The boy stood above him, his black sword pointed at his neck, chuckling halfheartedly.
"I think we both know who wins here, buddy." He withdrew his wooden weapon, holding out a hand for the defeated blonde on the floor. Hesitantly, Tidus took his hand and was pulled up easily.
"Good match, Riku," Even though he lost, his spirits were high as he smiled, shaking Riku's hand. Riku looked my way again and made his way over to Sora and I.
"Enjoy the show?"
"Oh, definitely! You were very good," I complimented, clasping my hands together, my sword in the midst of it.
I could hear Sora mumble grouchily, saying that Riku was weak, so I elbowed him in the stomach.
"What he means is that you fought well," I gave him a playful glare as he gasped.
"Y-Yeah..."
Riku chuckled. "Well, how rude am I not to introduce myself. My name's Riku, Riku Johnson. And you are?" he held out a hand for me.
I giggled. "I'm Kairi, and this is my best friend, Sora," I gestured towards Sora before I placed my hand in Riku's, but instead of a handshake, he pulled me into a hug, making me feel as if I was in a sauna, not at a park.
"So sorry to startle you like that, but I'm a... Friendly guy. And this friendly guy loves giving hugs to pretty girls like yourself," he spoke into my ear.
"O-Oh, r-really?"
Okay, this boy is giving me the butterflies.
I lightly shoved him away from me because I was afraid I was going to burst into flames. I hugged myself as I twirled a strand of my hair around my finger.
"Hey, Riku, why don't we have a battle. A one-on-one, if you don't mind?" I could hear the strain and anger in Sora's voice as he challenged Riku.
"Alright, if you say so." I stayed put as they moved toward the center of the field, preparing for their fight. "Here are the rules. You have to strike your opponent three times to win. You have to stay within the field, and you can't hit your opponent on the head. Ready?"
Sora held up his sword to Riku. "More than I'll ever be."
The battle between them was nothing close to the one between Tidus and Riku. Said boy couldn't even land a hit on Sora, and vice versa. Their fighting brought them to the edge of the field, where Riku stepped up on the tree, sending himself into the air, landing a hit that was blocked by Sora. So often I would see either a smirk or a frustrated face of anger from the two as they continued to brawl.
I honestly wanted to cheer for Sora and Riku, but I knew that would've made Sora mad. By the way he fought him, Sora definitely looked upset.
Sora feigned a hit and dodge rolled to his left, striking Riku at the hip. Riku reacted by sweeping him off of his feet, letting him land on the floor on his back. The blows were merciless and unrelenting, but Sora still kept up as he blocked and rolled on the floor, dodging all of his attacks. Sora tripped Riku and got up quickly, distancing himself as much as possible.
"You're really being a thorn in my side," Sora spoke through gritted teeth. "Why won't you quit?"
Riku tutted at his words.
"Come on Sora, I thought you were stronger than that." This must have made him tick.
"What? Get real, look which one of us is winning!" Riku laughed at his cockiness.
"True, true... But you won't be when I'm finished with you." The battle commenced again as the sounds of wood clashing against would were welcomed again in the quiet field. I couldn't help but watch on with awe as they continued fighting. It gave me a sense of motivation to be as skilled as them. I wanted to fight like them. Soon, it would be my turn to fight, and I couldn't be any more excited.
They were neck-and-neck, two hits each. One more and it was game over for either of them. I don't know why or what Sora was yelling at Riku for, but it did give the latter an advantage. Riku was the one to land the last hit, making me gasp in surprise.
Sora fell on his knees, clutching the side of his torso in pain. I ran up to him, kneeling beside him.
"Sor, how bad is it? Please tell me you're alright..."
"I-I'm fine..." He got up and walked away from me, towards Riku and shook his hand. I ran after them and stood in front of Riku.
"C-Can I fight you now?" I asked excitedly, holding up my sword.
I frowned when Riku laughed loudly.
"You? I'm sorry," he chuckled. "You're not worth fighting, yet, but you are cute. That's worth a lot, isn't it?" I could feel my chest swell up with anger as he ruffled my hair.
I was about to explode and yell at him, but Sora pulled me to the side.
"Come on, Kairi. It's getting late."
"Okay..." We were already at the entrance, with our swords still in hand.
"W-Wait!" Turning around, I saw Riku running up to us with his aquamarine eyes drowning in guilt. "Sora, I'm really sorry for saying that stuff to you earlier, when we were fighting back there. It was uncool and I only said that to make you lose. Honestly, I was scared that there was someone else that was as strong and as fast as me. It was in the matter of winning. So what do you say? Friends?"
Riku's hand was held out in front of him, waiting for Sora to forgive him. Even though he hesitated, Sora took his hand and shook firmly.
"If you do it again, the next time I will kick your ass for sure. Got it?" That was the first time I ever heard him swear, so I was a bit surprised. His words also scared me because he smiled sincerely as he warned Riku, who nodded his head nervously.
"This was going to be a start of a rivalry. That I was sure of..."
*GASP!*
Hmm... what will happen on July 14? Does Riku really like Kairi? Is Sora Jealous? How will things be now that Riku has joined our duo of heroes? What would the next school year be like? Lol, soooooo many questions. :3
I know it's totally long, but bear with me. I wanted to fit as much of Kairi's first journal into one chapter as much as possible, but I guess fifth grade will have to wait. ;-;
Hope you liked it! :D
*heart*