All characters belong to Square-Enix and their respective properties and all that jazz. I own nothing except the story.

Summer Promise

"Kairi, run!" The young boy shouted as his bare feet thudded onto the wooden planks beneath him. He risked a sideways glance behind him and saw his younger companion trailing just behind, her heavy breaths causing her glasses to nearly leap off of her tiny nose. They continued to run, climbing up wooden steps in front of them, gasping with each stride, their exerted muscles groaning in protest. "Hurry, Kairi!" he exclaimed once again, reaching behind him and grabbing her smaller wrist in his sweaty hand in a continued effort to try and outrun what was behind them, closing in on the young friends. In the few seconds that stretched on for eternity their wooden ground ran out, leaving them with nothing in front of their way but emptiness as far down as their adolescent eyes could see. Kairi swept her red hair out of her pale face and looked behind her, into the danger.

"What are we going to do?" She panted, looking towards her older friend; her aquamarine eyes held nothing but fear and unease. The young boy looked around quickly before he looked back down into the unknown below him.

"We jump." He said, as he nodded his head in determination. The young girl looked back behind her once more; there was hardly any time left. She seemed to realize there was no other option. "Right." She said, moving his hand from her wrist and clenching it in her own thinner fingers. They moved to the edge of the drop in front of them, their sand-covered toes gripping the edge in preparation for their leap of faith off the Island. They counted slowly, their breaths fading into the air around them.

One. Two. Three.

They flew from the danger just in time, hand in hand; their feet higher than the sun setting in the far off horizon. They fell into the darkness, plummeting into the unknown.

And landed on their backs a few feet under into the safety of the sand, giggling the way only children can. The danger above them melted back into their neighborhood playground, the darkness that was once underneath them faded into dusk. It took them a chunk of time to gather their breaths, the oxygen making its way into their small lungs. The kids laid where they landed, side by side, next to one another.

They let go of each other's hands.

"That was fun," said the young boy to nobody in particular as he sat up, pulling the sweaty t-shirt from his body to stop it from clinging to his frame. Kairi didn't move; she continued to stare into the infinity that was the sky; her red hair began to pool around her head as she lay. Her lips allowed a sigh to escape between them.

"I don't want to go," She spoke, hiding her oceanic eyes behind her eyelids as she said it. Her older companion didn't turn to look at her. He began to pick up the soft sand with his hands and let it sift through his fingers, watching it land and grow into a hill of sediment. Kairi sighed once again and slowly sat up, readjusting her once again askew glasses. Her friend had turned his eyesight towards the direction of home.

"Then don't," the boy finally spoke up, breaking the growing silence between them. Alex looked at him questioningly, her head tilted towards the side as if she was having trouble processing his statement. "What do you mean?" She asked. Her confusion was written on her face.

"Just move in with me!" her best friend shouted suddenly, leaping up to his bare feet, a plume of sand forming as he did so. He struck an impressive pose as if trying to persuade her even further to move in with such an important figure. She giggled at his childish act, snorting as she did so. "I don't think your mom would like that," she stated, a small smile on her face. "No way!" He exclaimed as he walked over to her. "She likes you. C'mon! You can move in and we eat Mac 'n Cheese and we can go to The Island every day!" he said, motioning to the playground they were currently sitting in front of.

Kairi remained silent; her small smile was still on her face. Her friend's excitement dropped as he sat down in front of her, grunting as he landed on the sand. Their silence continued, the only audible sounds being the crickets around the playground. He looked at his friend.

"Is everything ok at home?" He asked Kairi. He didn't really know what else to say.

Kairi shrugged and began chewing on the ends of her long, red hair, just like she always does when she's thinking or nervous, as if she's chewing on the words inside her mouth that she couldn't form. It stayed quiet. The two kids avoided eye contact with each other; neither seemed to have anything to say. The red-head let the hair she was currently chewing on fall from her mouth.

"I have to go," she said quietly. Her friend looked at her.

"I know," he said simply. Neither child moved.

Kairi sighed yet again as her friend began to draw absentmindedly in the sand; the sun was nearly behind the horizon now which made it difficult to see anything.

"Well, then, I guess you'll just have to visit me every summer then!" Kairi's face seemed to perked up when she heard her friend speak. The excitement had begun to return to his voice. She looked up at his young face and saw the beginnings of his usually large grin returning. She started to smile as well.

"Totally," she said with a laugh. "Every single one!" She said, with more enthusiasm as the boy's young smile became infectious.

"Promise?" he asked, staring directly into her large eyes; his own large orbs burned with curiosity as he waited for a response. Kairi nodded once.

"I promise," Kai said, she smiled once again. "I'll totally call you as soon as I can."

"You better!" He said, with a jokingly threatening voice. He got up and repositioned himself next to her, plopping down with a loud thud and a puff of sand. Kairi positioned her head on his bony shoulder; she closed her eyes and rested as he leaned back on his hands. He didn't mind at all that his shoulder was going numb.

They sat in silence for a bit longer as the sunlight nearly vanished. A voice called out in the far off distance. Kairi's eyes fell to the ground.

"I have to go," the young redhead repeated again.

"I know," he also repeated.

The young girl remained stone still for a moments time before quickly, before leaning over and giving her childhood friend a quick kiss on the cheek, in the way her mother used to before she would walk to school. "Bye, Sora," she said quickly. Before the young boy could even react, she had already leapt up and began to walk away. Sora watched as Kairi began to fade from sight into the horizon. Once she was completely gone from his vision he also stood up, dusting the sand off his baggy shorts. Not even bothering to wipe the sand off his feet he slipped into his old, neat-up tennis shoes and fled home; his already sore legs burned as he ran.

"Mom!" he began as soon as he shouldered open the door; the sound of a startled gasp and the clanging of a dropped ladle came from the kitchen. "Kairi is going to call soon, can you let me know as soon as she does?" He said, rushing into the brightly lit kitchen, as his mom began to wipe the counters clean of spilt spaghetti sauce. "Sure honey," she said, still wiping red from the granite countertop.

"As soon as she calls, ok? She's going to be coming over as soon as she can, ok? She promised."

"Sure honey."

And with that, every summer for many years, the young child couldn't be pulled away from the phone, constantly waiting for a forever looming call.

Mom, did Kairi call?"

"Mom, did she call?"

"Hey, did anybody call before I got home?" Those questions soon turned to others, however.

"Hey, Mom, did I get any messages?"

"Did Na' call, mom?"

"Did Superior Cafe call about the job?"

"Hey, Rikku said she called, did she?"

That as well changed.

"I don't know when I'm gonna be home, Mom."

"Is it cool if I borrow the car? I promise I'll be super careful."

"Yeah, I know, but it's not that far Mom, and I'll totally come visit when I can."

"Hi Mom. Me and Ri' are gonna be down, is it ok if we stay in the guest room?"

"Yeah, I know it's sudden Mom, but she's always wanted to do it during the summer."

"I'll be home soon, Mom."

He swiped right on his touch screen, making a mental note to clean the smudges when he got the chance, and answered. "Hey baby, what's up?", he said, walking through the crowded downtown area, careful not to hit a single pair of knees with the grocery bag in his left hand. The sun was directly overhead, showering all the anonymous faces in bright rays of sunlight. "Oh, nothing, just running some errands real quick." He said. He pushed his shoulder into his face, keeping the phone in place and switching the groceries in his hand. "Dammit. No, I forgot, sorry. I'll pick some up on the way home, babe." He said he his goodbyes and hung up the phone just as he reached his car. He opened the door and flung the bag into the back seat with less care then he intended to before groaning as he remembered: 'The eggs.'

He sighed slightly before coming to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing he could do about the destruction many future omelets currently and instead got right into the front seat. "Ok, coffee," he said to himself out loud, wishing he would have remembered to buy the roasted beans before he had left the supermarket. He shrugged to absolutely no one and figured he might as well go to the old cafe. He always liked the 'American Blend' they sold there. Even though it wasn't the extra strong roast like she preferred, he was sure she wouldn't mind it either.

Once he was sure he was safe to do so, he backed up and drove towards the cafe, bopping his head unconsciously to the generic pop music that plagued the airwaves. He shook off the hate he had for the generic music blaring through his speakers and zoned out while he drove, memory serving him well as he made the familiar turns and drove the familiar streets. It didn't take him long before he reached the familiar building, despite the fact that it had a brand new paint job and the falling 'S' in the name had finally been straightened, the potholes in the parking lot were still there, however, he noted to himself, as he drove over one, hoping he didn't need to purchase a new tire as he did so.

He popped out of the car, making sure to lock the doors behind him and headed inside. A blast of cold air greeting him as well as the spicy smell of tomato soup as it reached his nostrils. The cafe was buzzing; the was hardly an empty chair in sight as people were engaged in serious conversations of homework, weekend plans, and which filter went the best with which selfie.

There was only one lady in front of him and she was nearly done. The brunette cashier handed the lady her beverage with a smile, revealing a set of nearly flawless white teeth. "Thank you so much for coming to Superior Soups, come back soon!" she said with a wave as the lady smiled and nodded. The cashier's brown eyes then travelled over to Sora, who was waiting patiently, He smiled at the cashier.

"Oh, what do you want?" she said as the man grinned. "Nice to see you too, Yu," he chuckled, walking up to the cash register. "Coffee," he said, nodding to the white packages behind her. "There's tons of other places you could have annoyed, why did you come here?" She asked, reaching for the particular roast he enjoyed so much.

"Because then I wouldn't have the absolute pleasure of seeing your sparkling personality, now would I? Besides, I've known you for fifteen years now, you're practically family."

"Yeah, well I hate most of my family." She said, the tiniest of smirks appeared on her small lips. Sora snorted. Same ol' Yuffie."Anything else, or can I go deal with someone who I actually like now?" She said, tossing the coffee his way and, motioning him to put his wallet away.

"Uh..." He said, scanning the menu he already knew so well quickly. "Just a bagel," he said as Yuffie let loose an over-exaggerated and very dramatic sigh. "Here," she said, handing him a plain bagel wrapped in a napkin. "Now, go away please." She said. He returned her smirk as he turned to look for a place to sit down. "See you at the wedding," He said as he searched.

"I'm not bringing a present!"

"You never do!" He called over his shoulder, his mouth full of bagel as he spoke; his hands were busy pulling up his jeans which had fallen a little when he put his wallet back in his pocket. He searched quickly for a quiet seat to sit and enjoy his warm bagel. There were only a couple seats open. The first was at a table that was surrounded by a bunch of young teens and guy with long blonde hair and a plaid shirt and holding a guitar but, as Sora could help but note, wasn't even attempting to play. Sora watched with amusement as he listed off all of his unique inspirations, much to the delight of the starstruck teens.

Hell no, he thought. His eyes kept searching. He found an empty seat next to a tiny girl with red hair, a bunch of papers cluttered the table with hastily scribbled notes lay in front of her, her pale, small face furrowed in exasperation and confusion.

For some reason he felt compelled to keep examining her.

She was chewing on her red hair, which caused her black-rimmed glasses to slide down her tiny nose. He kept staring, unaware of why he was suddenly so confused.

Without warning, the young woman looked up at that exact moment and caught the eyes of the man gawking at her; her piercing eyes blue eyes caused a shudder as they stared directly at his. He felt as though he was in fast-forward in a movie, yet nothing was moving. He noticed everything about this woman at once, the way her glasses framed her nose, the furrowed lines on her forehead that suggested someone in constant thought, the way she was staring at him questioningly, her eyebrow quirked slightly, as her head was tilting ever so lightly to the left.

He was also suddenly very aware of the bagel that was still in his mouth.

He instantly turned on the spot and headed for the door, forgetting to pull it open instead of pushing, and nearly sprained his wrist on the way out. He quickly managed to figure out the right combination of door physics however, and soon fled the room, before Yuffie could so much shout at his back on the way out.

He didn't look back over his shoulder as he left, ignoring every single patron in the cafe.

He parked the car in the deserted lot and got out, his long legs nearly hitting the car door as he did. There was hardly any source of light except the stars above once the brightness from the car had shut off, He had found himself at a place he hadn't been in years.

The Island.

The neighborhood playground hadn't aged well; or perhaps it did and he was just too preoccupied to notice it as a child. The wooden planks had begun to deteriorate; the paint began to chip off the monkey bars, revealing the rusting metal underneath from all the sweaty palms of past children.

He stepped into the dirty sand; it felt foreign. He began to walk towards the broken playground. It seemed dangerous to him now as an adult; he noticed all the ways one could break their neck playing on it. How could it have changed so much?

Perhaps it was exactly the same and he was just a particularly dumb child.

Yeah, that's probably it," he mused, kicking a discarded soda can in the sand away from him.

He reached the wooden jungle gym now. He reached out a hand to touch the pillars holding it up- and instantly recoiled in pain.

"Goddammit," he cried in pain, grabbing his finger and staring at the offending piece of wood with all the hate his tired body could muster. Splinter.

Shaking his finger in some attempt to alleviate the pain, he looked down. The first step to get onto the contraption barely came up to his knees. He did not need a running start to climb on top of it like before. Against his better judgment he climbed up anyways, his brand new running shoes landing with a thud on the sand-covered board. He was rewarded with a higher view of the neighborhood, which, because it was dark, was no longer visible.

He placed his hand in his pockets and walked, which did him no good as he tripped on a sunken plank, landing painfully on his knees as he did not have his hands to brace him. Using a few of his favorite choice swear words he picked up from Yuffie when he was younger, he got up and kept walking, coming to the other side sooner than he ever remembered before reaching the stairs that led up to the creaking slide on one side and a drop on the other side. 'The plank', as it was once affectionately called. He climbed up the stairs carefully, painfully aware of how high in the air he was getting.

"Kids are insane," he muttered to the night as he reached the top. He did not feel comfortable this high in the air. He saw the old slide up close; there was no way his adult frame could fit through the miniature opening that led down. He turned around to the drop off. It seemed farther down than he ever remembered. The sand seemed cold and uninviting; harder than granite from this distance in the air.

He stood for a few seconds in silence, staring down into the dark sand only a few feet below him. It's getting pretty late, he thought to himself. He decided it was probably time go home, as Ri was probably getting worried. Yet he still stood, as if petrified to the spot.

Then suddenly, unknown why to even him, he jumped, once again, like he did so many years ago.

Shit.

In no time at all gravity did its job like always and pulled him painfully back down. He swore loudly once again as he landed on his rear. He kept swearing.

"Hey, Buddy! You ok?" called a voice in the distance. There was an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a leash in his hand, walking his large bulldog. The man was looking at him, confusion was evident on his face. The dog was using the bathroom, paying absolutely no attention to either human.

"Uh... I'm... Yeah, I'm fine." He called back, trying to sound completely sane and competent, realizing that he's a grown man in the dark at an abandoned playground.

The older man stared at him for a few more seconds out of the corner of his eye before shaking his head and following the dog, who had finished up and begun to wander off.

The loud ringtone had suddenly cut through the night, nearly causing Sora to scream out in surprise. The young man quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and answered it. It didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already had.

"Hey-hello?" He answered, stumbling over his words for a second. "Hey babe. Sorry, I just went for drive and kind of lost track of time." He said. He got up and stretched slightly; pain shot through his lower body. "No, no, I'm done now. I'll be home soon. Yeah, I'm on my way."

He began to slowly trudge to his car.

"Yeah babe." He said as he opened his car door and turned the engine on, listening as the car revved to life. "I love you too, babe." He moved his car into reverse and turned around.

"Babe, you know I hate Mac 'n' Cheese," He said as he drove away.

/Author's notes:

Soo. This story was actually kicked around for like five or so years. I had the idea for like the first page and even wrote a much worse version of the Island scene when I was so much younger, so many, many years ago Then I took a creative writing class last year and had to write a story for my final and couldn't think of anything else except this so I expanded on it, and hammered it out in like… two hours? So it took me like five+ years to write a story that I finished in the time it took to finish the CD I was listening to at the time. Siigh. I wrote it with original characters, but honestly thought these two would fit pretty well, so I just changed the names and figured I'd upload it. That explains why Kairi wears glasses. And if I missed any name editing, just let me know and I'll correct it. Anyways, let me know what you think.