A salty fragrance permeated the air on the beach below the scarlet sky. Palm trees with large emerald leaves murmured softly as they swayed gently under the tender breeze, their fruits dancing along with the smooth rhythm. The sand was a glistening expanse of gold and swirled through the breeze like a whirlwind of golden dust. Soft waves lapped over the sand dune beach before retreating back into the deep blue haven waters. Squawking ivory seagulls soared across the vast blue sky and swooped down into the waters to grab a bite to eat and return to their nests in the trees. The rigging of boats smacking against their masts filled the air. The orange sun blazed across the sea like an amber gemstone pressed against blue velvet. Several stars twinkled dimly in the sunset colored sky, winking down at the two children hurriedly wading along the shoreline, the gritty sand cushioning their pounding steps.
The silver-haired boy sprinted up and down the sand dunes in long strides whilst his friend towed several paces behind him.
"Come on, Sora!" Riku shouted over his shoulder as said boy willed his legs to move faster.
"I'm trying, Riku!" he stammered, breath bated.
Sora pumped his minuscule arms and managed to come neck-and-neck with his companion. Once they reached the bridge leading to their goal, Riku shot a wicked smirk back at Sora and began to pull ahead, laughing once he heard Sora whine in defeat.
Riku glanced over his shoulder for a moment and noticed a small figure lying on the sand, the blue waters lapping over her ankles and retreating back into the blue haven. Furrowing his silver brows, he slowed to a stop, oblivious to the fact that Sora had ran past him and victoriously slapped the paopu fruit tree.
"Ha! I beat you, Riku! I win! I win!" Riku didn't respond to his outburst of cheer but only narrowed his eyes at the figure. He calmly sauntered his way down to the shoreline with Sora calling out from behind him, "Wait Riku! I was kidding! You win! You win!" Once Riku drew closer to the figure, he found out that she was actually a girl.
He kneeled down beside the girl and scrutinized her with his critical aquamarine eyes. She was around Sora's age, probably one or two years younger than him. She had a heap of caramel curls on her head that clung to her pale face and she was dressed in a black tank top and black biker shorts. She wore no shoes or socks on her tiny feet but she wore a silver necklace with a small paopu fruit charm.
He slowly reached a hand out to push back the curls from her face, causing the girl to stir slightly in her sleep. Suddenly, without warning, he felt a tingling sensation of warmth fill his chest and his heart skipped a beat. Narrowing his gaze slightly, he silently scooped the girl up into his arms and cradled her to his chest with a faint smile of content.
For some odd reason, he felt as if he wanted to keep her close by in his arms, not wanting to let her go.
"Who's that, Riku?" Sora asked joining Riku's side, "Do you know her? Why was she sleeping down here? She looks familiar... Have we seen her on the main island before? Riku? Why aren't you answering me? Riku!"
"Let's take her to the main island," Riku suggested, absentmindedly ignoring Sora's swell of questions, "She might catch a cold."
Sora nodded in agreement and silently followed Riku as droplets of water trailed after them.
"Riku!" Sora whined once Riku laid the girl on the couch where she turned over on her side so that her back was facing them.
"You still didn't answer my questions!" Riku rolled his eyes and stared down at the girl and almost instantly, a flash of affection claimed his youthful features. Sora followed his gaze and smiled gently but his smile fell just as quickly as it had came once a rush of realization washed over him.
"Is she breathing?" he asked worriedly.
"Of course she's breathing," Riku snapped but his impatience didn't dampen his spirits.
"Oh," he paused then curiously asked, "Are you sure we haven't met her before?"
"I dunno. I feel like I met her before..." Riku trailed off.
"Like in a dream..." Sora wondered aloud. Riku glanced over at Sora and gave his spiky-haired companion a friendly ruffle on his head.
"You're so weird." Sora laughed heartedly and threw his arms behind the back of his head as he swung his right foot around his left ankle.
"Not as weird as you," he retorted with a grin. Riku rolled his eyes in return.
The girl stirred slightly in her sleep and the two boys froze instantly, Sora watching with wide, startled eyes and Riku staring impassively. She cracked open an eye only to squeeze it shut once sleep tried to overtake her before moaning and tossing a hand over her face to shield her eyes from the blinding white light coming from the lightbulb overhead. Sora cautiously approached her, only to be stopped by Riku's hand. The girl sat upright and froze once she noticed the duo staring at her. Sora's face broke into a wide grin.
"Hiya!" he greeted in his usual cheerful tone, "I'm Sora! This is my best friend, Riku! What's your name? Where are you from? Have we met before? Do I know you from school? Are you in any of my classes? Hey, maybe I know you from-?"
"Sora!" Riku scolded, "Can't you see that she just woke up?"
Sora glanced over at the girl whose distressed eyes had fully adjusted to her surroundings and he grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling nervously in spite of himself.
"Heh heh. Sorry..." he murmured.
The girl stared for a brief moment but then, gradually, her lips grew into a broad grin that was almost identical to Sora's. She shot up to her feet with her grin growing ear-to-ear.
"Hi! I'm Sonny!" she introduced in a cheerful tone, "It's nice to meet you!" Sora found himself not able to avoid the urge to mimic her expression.
"It's nice to meet ya too!" Riku watched the two converse, shaking his head in spite of them.
The girl was too much like Sora; big hair that defied gravity, bright eyes the epitome of innocence, and identical personalities. It was as if they were twins, despite their physical appearance. Riku actually admired that about the girl, how she was so cheerful and friendly to strangers.
Riku managed to fight back a grin as he watched them burst into a fit of laughter from what joke Sonny had told.
They even laugh the same... Riku thought shaking his head.
"Riku, we should introduce her to Kairi tomorrow!" Sora suggested, his grin never faltering and his laughter never fading. Riku nodded in agreement.
"Sure." Riku shifted his gaze on Sonny and stared at her with narrowed eyes, silently wondering why she looked so familiar to him. Sonny stared back before presenting him a broad grin and this time, he wasn't able to fight back the smile tugging on the corner of his lips.