Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and its merchandise are copyrighted to Tetsuya Nomura, Square-Enix, and Disney. Under no circumstances do I have co-ownership.
Note: Since KH has yet to (or never will) define the Destiny Islands' school system, I have decided for a mix of American with Japanese. What's American is the fact that 9th grade is in high school, which solves the problem of how Sora can be in the same school with Kairi and Riku. The rest is Japanese influenced. Also, if you don't know what a culture festival is, scroll to the bottom.
The Fortuity of the Culture Fest
It had been less than a month since the Destiny trio came home from their cataclysmic adventure. The journey that truly determined the fate of all worlds. It was the adventure that dubbed Sora and Riku "keyblade masters." And yet, back home on Destiny Islands, they were known as just Riku and Sora. The two boys who were gone missing for almost two years. They two boys who were held back in school.
It was true; both of them were placed in the same grade they were in when they first left. For the keyblade masters, it sucked thoroughly. A classroom full of freshman made obvious glances towards Sora while he stood in front them and when he walked to his new seat. Even Selphie and Tidus, two of his old friends, kept gawking at him. Sora sighed as he plopped onto his chair.
For Riku, it was much of the same treatment when he entered his new class. Everyone except for one student stared him with a 'deer-in-headlights' expression as he introduced himself and headed for his assigned seat. The one student who didn't gaze at the silver-haired youth was Kairi. She smiled warmly as he sat next to her. The school year may not be so bad was what gone through Riku's mind.
And now, having grown used to the reappearance of the two young men, school had sailed on smoothly for everyone. Until the cultural festival was announced.
"Okay, so we've decided that our class will be doing a café, right?" Asked the class leader. He used a piece of chalk to point at the words, 'café', written on the blackboard. The majority of the class nodded in reply, one of them being Kairi. She, personally, wanted to do a haunted house, but there were other classes - supposedly two - that already decided on that idea. "All right, then we better plan out the shifts, and should we set up a theme for our café?" The class president asked.
"Of course! And it should be a color theme! The colors will be, of course, black and orange," said the class vice president.
"Why black and orange?" The class president question with a curious expression.
"Because of Halloween! Duh!" Replied the vice president. The girl looked quite perturbed at her associate, as if he asked the most insipid question in the world.
"Oh yeah," the president drawled out. His face looked as if he had been enlightened to a new miracle of religion.
"Yes. How, if we may continue…" the vice president's voice began to drown into a blurry noise in Kairi's ears. She had lost interest in the main subject of her class.
She sat in boredom, finding nothing to do at the moment. No make up work, no classwork, and the class council is pretty much deciding who does what, she thought with a sigh. Her eyes began to roam around, focusing on nothing in particular. Then, they landed on Riku, and what an unusual sight to behold. Sweaty temples, concentrated stare, and his pen is moving fast enough to burn a hold through his desk. Hmm… Kairi gave a compassionate smile. "Working hard, I see."
"Huh?" Riku asked, eyes still focused down on his paper.
"What're you working on?" Kairi inquired. She leaned over, peering over her friend's shoulder with an exaggerated curious expression. "Ah," she said. "That history essay is a killer, isn't it?'
"Mm-hm," replied Riku. There was an awkward silence afterward, but Kairi was probably the only one thinking that.
"Y'know… Until the culture fest is over, classes really aren't all that important. You could take your time for the few days," she said, twiddling her fingers about.
"But if I don't finish it now, I won't get it done till the last second," Riku said with his brows furrowed. "Sorry, it'll be only a minute… Oh crap!"
"What?!"
"I still need to finish my algebra homework! Kairi…?" Riku gave his female friend a puppy-eyed look. One that was the most pitiful he could make. And it worked.
Kairi sighed and said, "Oh all right, I'll help you." She received a sigh of relief from her silver-haired friend.
"… And that's why we should have a haunted house for the culture fest!" Selphie, who had just finished her grueling and long speech, placed her hands firmly on her hips. The rest of the class breathed, as if completely drained of their energy - which they were.
Jeez… Sora thought while slumping in his chair. Only Selphie can exhaust thirty-nine people with just talking.
"O-okay," Tidus said. "We'll do a haunted house. Any objections?" He looked around for hands, but found that everyone kept theirs tucked safely in their desks. "Then we'll start on planning it out. How should we arrange the room to make it a successful haunted house?"
"Don't cheat on special effects," Selphie blurted out.
Tidus smiled sheepishly at his classmate. "Sure," he said. Sora looked at his blond friend with sympathy, knowing how bad Selphie could get despite his year-and-a-half absence. The keybearer tore his gaze from the front of the classroom to the outside of a window.
Goofy… Donald… King Mickey, how are you guys? He thought with some melancholy. Hope you're doing well. I'm okay, but school is getting stressful with the culture festival coming up. I wish you could come and see… His eyes, that weren't particularly focused on anything, gradually began to droop. "I wonder what Kairi and Riku's class are doing for… His head made a soft thump on his desk as he began to snore quietly.
Selphie took notice of Sora's nap not five minutes after it began. She walked over to the brunet swiftly and with a grin, she shouted in his ear, "Sora, if you don't wake up, we're going to fill your pants with capers!"
The targeted boy jumped out of his seat, his mind out of with the residue of sleep still stuck in it. "Wha-? Huh?!" He exclaimed in a slur.
"Good morning, Sora," Selphie said in an extra sweet tone. "Why don't you participate with the class, hm?"
"Uh… sure," he replied. You didn't have to blow my eardrum, though. Sora gave a small sigh when the spunky brunette turned her back to him. It's gonna be a long week, he thought.
Many days later, the cultural festival was underway. Despite Destiny Islands being so small, there sure are a lot of people attending the festival, Sora thought. He stood by an open window, looking down at the multitude of people gathering towards the entrance of the school.
"Sora!" Shouted Selphie. Over the course of time it took to get to the opening day, the keyblade master had grown accustom to Selphie's shrill voice being at a high volume.
How she hasn't lost her voice by now is beyond me, he thought to himself. The brunet was decked out in a costume that, coincidentally, resembled his Halloween Town costume. It gave him a great deal of nostalgia to look at the jacket and gloves, and remember his friends: Jack, Sally, and the rest of the crew. His mind wandered off to the moment where he watched Jack and Sally dance with each other, and how he imagined Kairi and himself dancing like the Halloween Town couple.
"Sora!!" Selphie shouted a second time, walking the said boy from his reverie.
"Y-yeah?" He replied as he rushed to the spunky girl's side.
"What is with you today? Anyway, we need you to drop a few things off to the Art Club." She picked up several boxes one by one, stacking them in Sora's arms. "Your shift starts soon, so be back in her ten, okay?"
"S-sure," Sora replied with a slight strain. The boxes weren't heavy, but they were large, and that made it difficult for Sora to see where he was going. What in Kingdom Hearts name did we borrow?
"Shove off, sailor!" Selphie demanded with a rough pat on the back. The vampire-like boy nodded to his boss, who was dressed like a bat.
Sora thought with worry, I'm going to be in so much trouble if they fall. Why couldn't we have sent Yamada to return these? He's taller than me, and he isn't even a display in our haunted house! His feet crossed with each other, sending the keybearer in to a temporary stumble. Oh nuts! Several kids around him snickered and stared at his clumsiness. Sora took a second to glare at one boy who openly laughed. Laugh all you want, Chuckles. You wouldn't find it so funny if I dropped these on you!
"Excuse me, waiter! I'd like the parfait with a cup of soda, please!"
"Two waters, please!"
"Can I get a salad instead of the cherry pie?"
"But I know I asked for a sundae!"
"Oh my god! I'm about to crack!" Riku exclaimed as he slouched against the windowsill out in hallway. He was decked out in a white dress shirt, orange vest, black slacks, and shiny black shoes. It was the uniform designated for all the men in his and Kairi's class. He held a silver tray in his right hand as he adjusted his red tie. "Stupid thing is too tight," the silver-haired boy grumbled.
"Sorry! Excuse me! Coming through!" Came the voice of a sprinting Sora. Riku watched as his best friend barely dodged a few people who were standing in line for the café - the one run by Riku's class.
Waving his tray in the air, Riku called out, "Hey, Sora!" This immediately caught the brunet's attention.
"Oh! Hi, Riku!" Sora said with a tired grin. "What's up, man?"
"Nothing much, taking a self-appointed break." Riku gave his friend a pleading look. "Don't tell the vice president, she'd kill me." He groaned at the thought.
Sora laughed. "Don't worry; I don't even know what she looks like! Besides, I gotta drop these off, like, now!" He jostled the boxes, making them slightly more comfortable to carry.
"Oh, well, before you go…" Riku walked over to the back door of the classroom. He slowly slid it open before waving Sora over with a grin.
The keybearer looked at his silver-haired friend in confusion. "What?" He asked. Riku stepped into the room, making sure no one noticed him coming in. He pulled Sora's arm through the doorway, inadvertently pulling Sora's head along in the process. "Riku! What in the name of--"
"Don't get your wings in a knot, Dracula," Riku said, cutting his friend off. "You gotta see Kairi."
Sora gave his friend a puzzled look. "Why?" He asked.
"Just look," Riku replied. "Hey, Kairi!" The said girl was standing at a table, placing two water glasses to the couple being served. She perked up at hearing her name. The Princess of heart turned to her friend.
She smiled while responding, "What is it, Riku?" It was then that Sora noticed just how adorable Kairi looked in her café uniform. The dress was orange with puffy sleeves, and a puffy skirt with white frill. The bow in her hair was red and of moderate size. The apron she was wearing was also frilly, but completely white. Her shoes were plat-formed Mary Janes, and orange. Overall, Kairi was cuter than a kitten with a Christmas bow.
"Look who's in the Halloween spirit!" Riku called to his female friend. She looked to Riku's right, and her face brightened immensely.
"Sora!" She exclaimed, walking over to the two boys. "Oh my gosh! You look great!"
The smile she gave made Sora go red, but he returned the grin. He immediately looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling too embarrassed to keep eye contact with his best friend. What's wrong with me? Kairi has looked cute thousands of times before, but…! I feel like that time… at the Castle That Never Was… Sora's mind floated back to the moment he reunited with Kairi. The few seconds where his best friend rushed up to him and embraced him in a desperate, but gentle, hug. He was taken off-guard with that action, and felt an unusual reaction stir within his chest. It felt warm and fuzzy, but awkward all the same. What was that feeling?
"What do you think, Sora?"
"Huh?" The reminiscing brunet shook his head in surprise. He looked at his friends, who were staring back at him with expecting expressions.
Kairi smiled at her friend's stumbling speech. "I said: 'what do you think?'"
"About what?" Sora questioned, cutting no corners to admit he wasn't listening.
"About what we should do, come the last day of the culture fest," Riku replied with a smirk.
Sora shrugged simply. "I dunno. Go to the open market? Or the Island?"
Kairi clapped happily at his suggestions. "We should do both! 'Cause I've been meaning to do a little shopping. My dad's birthday is coming up, and I want to buy him something nice."
"Okay," Sora replied.
"Sure," Riku said right after.
"All right then," said Kairi. "I guess we should be getting back to work. This festival isn't going to run itself!"
Riku nodded before turning to the brunet keybearer with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Sora, didn't mean to keep you so long."
"Oh no! It's okay!" Sora said with a shake of his head. He turned to Kairi, who took a glance at the watch around her wrist. The warm and fuzzy feeling from before began welling up again, and he could feel his ears start the burn. "U-um, Kairi?"
She turned her eyes to her friend, making his face grow even hotter. "Yes? What is it, Sora?"
"I--! Th-that is…" He was getting nervous and it confused him deeply. "I just want to say… y-you're--"
"Sora!!" Screeched a voice.
Oh no, thought Sora with a moan. It was Selphie who had just yelled at him, and she looked none too happy.
"Delivering those boxes shouldn't have taken more than ten minutes! It's been twenty! What have you been doing?!" Selphie stomped to her classmate, her face looking like she had an intent to kill.
The targeted boy smiled sheepishly and stammered, "W-well, I was… it's just… um…"
"Let's get going! Your shift has already begun and we need you now." Selphie snatched Sora's collar and dragged him down the crowded hallway. "I can't believe you were dawdling around! I understand you want to spend time with your friends, but right in the middle of work! How irresponsible!" She continued lecturing the poor boy, but he tuned her out around the time she said something about 'friends' and 'work'.
Back at the door, he could see Kairi standing beside it - on the hallway side - and waving to him with a smile. This time, Sora didn't go red, which made him happy, and waved back. Today, while exhausting, was definitely a great day. She makes my day so much better… I love her, he thought.
A/N: All right, a culture festival is an annual event held by most schools in Japan, from junior high schools to universities at which their students display their everyday achievements. Many people who visit the cultural festivals come just for fun. Food is served, and often classrooms or gymnasiums are transformed into temporary restaurants or cafés. Dances, concerts, and plays may be performed by individual volunteers or by various school 'clubs' such as the dance club, the orchestra club, the band club, and the drama club.
I just copied from Wikipedia, which is pretty accurate on that subject, unlike other segments. So, I hope you liked this one-short fan fiction because I feel like I could've tried harder on writing it. Concrit is highly requested FYI. Again, hope you enjoyed this! CYA