"Hey Sora, can I talk to you for a minute?" The redhead girl stood above a brunette boy lying in the sand. The boy opened his eyes from his rest, looking up at the girl from his place on the ground.
"Sure Kairi," he started, lazily standing, "what's up?"
It had been a month since Sora, Kairi and Riku finally returned to their home on Destiny Island together. Donald and Goofy remained on the island with Sora, not wanting to break the Trinity. At the moment, those two were lying in hammocks on the other side of the beach. Riku had slept in and was still at home. Kairi had the privacy she needed to talk to Sora.
"Well… it's kind of hard to say," she started, "so please don't interrupt me until I'm done." Sora nodded, and Kairi took a breath, hesitating before blurting it out, "Sora, I love you! You've always been there for me and you just saved me twice and I've known you forever… somehow I ended up falling in love with you!" Kairi's face was almost the same shade as her hair, and she looked at Sora with a hopeful expression.
Sora was caught off guard; he had no idea what to say to her confession. He looked at Kairi's expecting expression and quietly spoke with his reply, "Wow… ah… I think I need some time to give you an answer Kairi…"
"Oh… I understand." Kairi sighed sadly, in a tone that implied that she meant the opposite, "Well… this is awkward…" Just then, saving Kairi, she was called back home. With nothing more than a meek wave, she ran in the direction of her house, leaving Sora alone with his thoughts.
Sora laid back down, letting the constant roar of the tide drown out any other sounds so he could think clearly.
I really have no idea what to think… I thought I loved her too. But, the entire time I was searching for her and Riku through all the worlds, I was thinking of Riku most… It's weird, I saw him on and off during that time and knew he was alive, but I still worried about him more. I mean, I would never forgive myself if she had gotten hurt or killed, of course I still care about her, but she's more like a sister to me than a girlfriend. But if I feel that close to her, and I was thinking about Riku with stronger feelings… what does that mean…?
"Sora!" The familiar voice calling his name brought Sora out of his deep thinking. He looked up, opening the eyes he hadn't realized he closed in the first place, and saw Riku standing above him.
"Oh, hey Riku." Sora stood up, brushing the sand off the back of his shorts. He couldn't help but notice Riku grin when he did this, or that his eyes had a strange gleam to them. "Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" Sora felt himself starting to blush, but he wasn't embarrassed, but a combination of nervousness and excitement that he did not fully understand.
"Ah, no reason." Riku mentally shook himself, regaining his composure, "what happened with you and Kairi earlier?"
"What do you mean?"
"On my way here I passed her heading home. I said 'hello' but she kept going, and she looked like she was about to cry…" Riku had his own suspicions about what he thought had happened, but he wanted to be sure.
"Oh man… I didn't mean to make her cry…" Sora felt guilty, he didn't think that he had hurt her in any way, let alone enough to push her to tears. "Kairi told me that she loved me, but I told her I had to think before giving her an answer…" Sora looked up to see that Riku was shooting him a look that screamed 'you moron!'
"You're surprised that it upset her?!" Riku sighed in exasperation when Sora gave him a mystified look. "Sora, we've been friends with her and fighting to impress her for so long that she expected you to return her feelings, then probably come gloating to me that you got with her instead of me." Riku hoped that Sora didn't need him to explain it any more clearly.
"Oh… yeah… I guess you're right," Sora started, looking at Riku, "I just… I really don't feel that way for her anymore, she's more like a sister to me." Sora half expected Riku to be excited that he had a better chance at Kairi, but instead he was surprised by his response.
"I know what you mean, I realized that just recently myself."
"Well… I guess things really have changed around here, haven't they?" Sora and Riku just stood there in silence, until Donald and Goofy came to get Sora. Riku and Sora parted, and they both realized they had a lot of thinking to do.