Disclaimer: All characters, direct quotes, locations, and anything else that I didn't think up on my own are copyright to their respectful owners. So basically, I own nothing.
--CHAPTER ONE--
It was another hot, summer day. Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat on the paopu tree on Riku's island, looking out to the ocean and the horizon.
"Just three more days til we go and find what's out there. Are you sure you're ready?" Riku asked the two younger teenagers.
Sora looked up to the sky and stuck out his bottom lip, deep in thought.
"Hmm... I dunno. And about what's out there... probably other worlds!" he said. Sora was always the enthusiastic, optimistic one. Riku was the strong, competitive one. Kairi, on the other hand...
"Do you really think there are other worlds out there? And what would you do if we found one?" she asked, as if purposely trying to crush the two boys' excitement. Riku, however, wasn't going to let her ruin the fun.
"There has to be other worlds out there. If there wasn't, where did you come from Kairi?" he asked, smirking. "And I haven't thought much about what I'd do in another world."
Sora looked from Kairi to Riku, then decided to add his opinion.
"I've always dreamed of seeing other worlds. I definately believe they're out there, and I wanna see 'em all!" he said, brightly.
Kairi yawned, and jumped off the paopu tree onto the small island.
"You two should start looking for the parts to the raft. I hope you remember what you were supposed to get!" she yelled as she turned and ran across the dock to the larger island.
Riku was the next to jump off.
"Maybe we should just leave her behind, eh Sora?" he joked, as he kicked a coconut into the clear, blue waters.
"Huh?" Sora asked, his innocent face turning towards Riku. "Why do you say that?"
Riku turned away from Sora and looked to the vast ocean. He wanted to get away from the island. He wanted to explore other places, just like Sora. He also wanted to share it with a friend. A close friend. Even though he was more the provider for the other children, he didn't want to spend his new adventure watching over two people who couldn't take care of themselves, although he knew that Sora could watch out for himself. Kairi, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to take care of herself for anything.
"Hey, quit daydreaming!" someone close behind him exclaimed.
Surprised, Riku turned around to see that Sora was gone and Tidus was now in front of him, carrying his long, wooden stick, as usual.
"Riku, I've gotten a lot stronger. Fight me!" he said.
The three younger children of Destiny Island loved to challenge Riku, mainly because he was a tough opponent. He would always go easy on them though, because no matter how strong they thought they were, Riku was still a whole lot stronger than they were.
"Maybe later, pipsqueak," he said, laughing.
Tidus, however, didn't find it amusing.
"Grr... I'm not a pipsqueak!" he shouted, raising his stick.
"Ha, you think you could beat me?" Riku asked, as he leaned against one of the coconut trees.
"I sure can!" Tidus yelled. "Watch this!" Tidus rose his stick high above his head and brought it down quickly. Riku, however, knew Tidus' fighting style and anticipated the attack, moving his head slightly to the right to dodge the stick.
"Aaaargh!" Tidus yelled as the point at the end of his stick got stuck inside the softness of the coconut tree, causing him to flatten himself against the tree.
Riku laughed and started walking across the bridge.
"Maybe when you can learn a new fighting style, then I'll consider giving you a rematch. In the meantime, I've got work to do," he said, and then left the island.