Twenty Truths About Sora, Kairi, and Riku Before and Leading to the Events of Kingdom Hearts
(some related, some not.)
1. Sora never told anyone, but he absolutely hated it when Riku paid attention to anyone but himself. It made him feel unimportant, and even worse, alone. He liked it best when it was just him, Riku and Kairi playing on their island and building their sandcastles. It just didn't seem right to him when one of them was missing from the equation.
2. The night before the darkness came, Kairi had a nightmare. She dreamed shadows stalked her, and she saw people running from the dark beasts, trying to escape a horrid ending. They weren't fast enough in her dreams, and the beasts took their long, jagged, sharpened claws, and shoved them into everyone's chests, impaling and pulling out their hearts, then swallowing them with glee.
She woke up, screaming and sweating, and she didn't go back to sleep until the sun was high in the sky and her beautiful boys were off collecting materials for their raft. The next night, her dream became a reality, and she forgot to warn Riku and Sora.
3. Riku was always viewed as the strongest of the group. No one could best him at anything, be it sparring, racing, playing, anything. Riku was always the champ. He was their hero, their idol, their Hercules. He was the light that scared away their boogie men, the one who would walk them into the secret place to show them that there were no such things as monsters, and the one who would ensure that fairness reigned on the island. He was perfect -- on the outside.
On the inside, he longed to cry, to break down and be afraid for once. He was not a brick wall, nor was he a hero. He had fears, and secretly, he was afraid of that lump of clothes that moved ever so closer to his bed when the lights were out. He was a little boy with enough insecurities to last him a lifetime. He was just a little boy who had to be strong for his friends, no, his family. And that's what they were. He, Kairi, and of course, Sora, were a little family. And his family needed him to be strong.
4. Sora was going to tell her before he left. He and Riku hadn't meant to steal her diary and read it, but it was laying there just practically begging them to read it. Everyone knows that little boys are not ones to resist temptation. She was going to be mad. He could picture her reaction now -- all cute and pouty and stomping her feet and "hmph!"-ing at them. But boy, were there some juicy secrets in there! Who would have known that she thought Wakka was cute? That made perfect blackmail material for later, and the scolding they were going to get later sure was going to be worth it.
5. Riku would never tell a soul, but late at night, when everyone was sound asleep, he'd reach underneath of his bed and pull out Mr. Snuggles. The torn and ragged teddy had never failed to frighten away any thing that went bump in the night. Too bad Mr. Snuggles didn't work against the heartless -- the poor bear was ripped to shreds. It didn't stand a chance against those monsters.
6. If Kairi had to choose between a lifetime with Sora and Riku on their little island or taking a trip by herself to far away worlds, she would have been perfectly content to stay right there on her island, with her boys and their sunsets and stories, and lives. She may not have been able to remember where she came from or what it was like there, but she wouldn't have traded her life now for anything.
7. Riku never really liked Tidus. Tidus never really liked Riku. They were fine with that little fact and often left each other alone. But one day, Tidus smashed Kairi's sandcastle to itsy bitsy pieces and laughed at her, calling her childish for building such things. Poor Kairi. She came running to Riku, sobbing and sulking. Riku was seething. Tidus may pick on him, and he may call him names, but no one, and Riku meant no one, made Kairi cry.
That day, Tidus ate the biggest sand sandwich of his life. He also gained a newfound respect for sandcastles and Kairi. He was shaking sand out of his hair for weeks after Riku was through with him. As for Kairi? Well, that afternoon, Kairi and Riku built the biggest castle any of the children had ever seen. In Riku's eyes, the best part of the day was when Kairi hugged him, smiled at him, and told him thank you. To this day, it's one of his most treasured memories.
8. Sora used to hate water. His parents were always too occupied to teach him, so Riku and Kairi took upon themselves to ensure Sora learned. That summer, after school was out, they forced him to their island and dragged him into the water.
"But...I don't wanna go!" an eight year old Sora cried.
"Silly Sora, don't be such a baby! Riku and I will be right here to catch you." Kairi reassured him.
Riku nodded.
"P-P-Promise?" he sniffled.
"Promise," Kairi and Riku told him in unison.
They always held onto that promise.
9. While Sora and Riku were off racing and gathering things for their raft, Kairi focused her attention on making charms to ensure a safe trip. She made one and gave it to Sora; neither of them saw Riku glaring at them from the shadows. What he didn't know was she had one for him, too. His was bigger, and she had spent more time on it than she had Sora's or her own, because everyone knows a hero should get the biggest reward. Sadly, she never got to give it to him because tby the time she had it finished, darkness came, and she had drifted off into an almost neverending sleep.
10. Once, when they were seven and eight, Sora asked Riku what he thought it would be like to travel to other places.
"It'll be fun. We'll go together and see the sights, hear the sounds, and explore. It'll be just the two of us on our own little adventure."
Sora just smiled. He liked how Riku kept using the word "we;" it made him feel like he belonged.
11. Sora and Riku were hardly divisible. Where one went, the other followed. Riku was perfectly fine with that. He had his best friend and nothing could change that. They were going to go to places together, see the sights, and no one could stop them.
That was, until she came along, and suddenly, the two became three, and Riku wasn't really too comfortable with the sudden change. But his best friend was okay with it, and seemed found of the strange girl who appeared out of no where and if he could accept her, then she was good enough for Riku, too.
12. One time, when Kairi was ten, she thought her closet was haunted. She was putting away her dolls when all of an sudden, her two favorite stuffed teddies began to talk to each other! She ran out of her room screaming. She never noticed Sora and Riku cracking up with laughter outside by her window, walkie talkies in their right hands. When her foster mother found the walkie talkies hidden in the shirts of the bears, she saw red. Riku and Sora each ended up with a very very red and stinging cheek that night.
13. The three of them were sitting at their tree one day watching the sunset, when all of a sudden, Sora asked them if they believed in angels. Kairi nodded and said she sure did, because her real mommy and daddy had to be angels. Riku, on the other hand, didn't say anything out loud, but deep down, he was thinking that if there were such things as angels, Sora and Kairi had to be them.
14. Sora's light might have outshone Riku's darkness, but it was Kairi's love that managed to give them both hope when that darkness invaded.
15. So Riku wanted to give Kairi a papou fruit -- what did Sora care? He shrugged it off and said it was no big deal, but he tried his hardest that race and won, too. It never hurt him that he didn't know Riku held back a little so he could win. He wasn't blind. Sora may be denying that he loved Kairi, but Riku could see through his best friend like he was made of glass, and Riku knew that if glass wasn't protected, it could easily shatter, which is why he always let Sora win when it came to matters concerning her -- not that he didn't make him work for it, though.
16. Kairi had sent him on a simple mission to get three coconuts. What did Sora do? He overdid it and brought nine. She ended up laughing at him as he struggled (and looked like a massive goofball) to get them over to her. When she lectured him about overdoing it, he just shot her that adorable Sora-grin and shrugged. She sighed and swore that boy was completely and utterly clueless, sometimes.
17. She remembered their first meeting. Riku had said she looked like a puffer fish, so she hit him. She didn't smack him, no. She punched him. Sora was left speechless. Someone had socked Riku! Right in the face! He secretly admired her for that because no one had ever hit Riku and gotten away with it before she came.
18. One time for Valentine's Day, an eight year old Riku hadn't received a single card. He passed it off and said it was no big deal, but little seven year olds Sora and Kairi knew how much it bothered him. He was used to getting tons and tons of cards, and the fact that those piles were missing hurt his feelings.
That night, sharing a twenty four count box of Crayola crayons, eight markers, and tons of glitter and a messy pile of glue, they managed to produce a huge Valentine's Day poster. They signed it, "With Love, from Sora and Kairi", and they each wrote on half of the board a list of memories they had with Riku. Then they rushed it over to him, where he proudly displayed it on his wall for all to see.
The next day, they discovered that Riku had gotten his piles of Valentines and candy, but the mailman had been late delivering them. He looked them over and said they were nice, and kept each one until the summer he turned thirteen. That summer he threw every one of them out -- all except one. The one his two best friends had worked so hard on was left displayed on his wall. The only thing he did was remove his Destiny Island SandVipers blitzball team poster from its position above his bed, and replace it with the Valentine's poster. It's still hanging there even after all these years..
19. Sora can still remember the first time he and Riku met. He was four and Rik was five, and they attended the same preschool. It was also Christmas time, and the whole preschool was abuzz with Christmas cheer. Riku had told him that the glue he had been using to make paper chains for the preschool Christmas tree was chip dip. Sora can remember how loud his teacher screamed when she walked over and saw him dipping his Cheetos into glue. The lecture and punishment he received for that would last him a thousand lifetimes.
Sora still wants to shave Riku bald for that.
20. Once, right before the darkness came, when they were still children and believed that pinky promises were holy and not to be unbroken, best friends would never stab you in the back, dreams would come true, and things like faith, trust, and pixie dust solved everything, they were just three friends would wanted to get out, explore the world, and always be together. They believed that life would always turn out okay in the end, Riku would always be there to solve their problems, protect them from the harsh realities of life, and dream of exploring the unknown, Kairi would always light their way her hope and unwavering faith and love, and Sora would always be Sora -- a little boy who dreamed of nothing more than to stay by his best friends, and who would always be the one who could, without a doubt, brighten any room just by smiling his happy-go-lucky smile.
Because they were dreamers.
Because they had not yet been tainted by life.
Because they were simply children who did not yet know what destiny had in store for them.
For Touch Of Gray, because her lists gave me inspiration to do this one.
Also, yes! It was posted before but I kindamighthaveaccidentally deleted it..n.n;
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Squenix.
-- Rawkin