A/N: For KitexXion, because he likes this pairing. Sorry for the long wait. Since I'm the first one to write about this pairing, I'd like to come up with a name for it. How sounds Tidon? Better than Xidus, right? This is originally chapter 45. Comatose, 51. Element, and 63. Kiss from my story "100 Hopes and Wishes," but I decided to make a one-shot of it. It's post during KH 358/2 Days. Mind you, I've never played that game before, so please tell me if I made some mistake somewhere. Enjoy. ;D

~ "…I'm looking for seashells for my comatose friend. One for every day he's not here, with me," she replied, eventually. ~

If there was one thing Tidus had learned this week, was that it was really boring without having Wakka around. Wakka, his best friend (Selphie was his second best friend, but come on, a guy just couldn't go playing with a rope), had a fever, so now Tidus was all alone. He didn't really like hanging around with the other guys he knew, because they were all kinda mean to him. All he could do after school now, was spending some time on the mostly quiet beach, hoping to find something amusing there (although he highly doubted that would happen).

It was on the third day after Wakka became ill, that Tidus saw this mysterious, cloaked figure on the normally deserted beach. She was dressed in a long black cloak with a hood that hid the person's face. This mysterious figure seemed to be searching for something, which piqued Tidus' curiosity. Honestly, what could one be looking for on the beach? Had that person lost something?

After a short while, he got too curious to just stand there and watch the peculiar scene, so he decided to go to her and ask her (he assumed it was a girl, even though he hadn't see her face yet) what she was doing.

The faintly swishing sound that his footsteps made each time he stepped on the sand were barely audible, but apparently, they were enough for her to hear and stop with whatever she was doing, stiffening slightly. As soon as she heard him approaching her, she swiftly turned around and looked up at him. Her eyes seemed to bore right into his, and he wondered idly what color they might be, because he didn't really see her eyes, he only felt them. Even then, Tidus couldn't see her face, not even some strands of hair. This made him only more curious as to who this was and what her motives could be, if she had any.

There was something strange about her, though. Something that made Tidus a little cautious, but he really couldn't put his finger on what it was. But then again, it was no wonder that he was feeling this way, because, let's face it, how many cloaked people did one meet on a normal day...or during your whole life for that matter?

His mind told him to run away as fast as he could and never bother to look back again, but unfortunately, his brains didn't seem to register what his mind was trying to tell him at the moment. So instead, he stepped forward, taking the fact that she didn't step back as a good sign.

"Hi," Tidus started, unsure of what to say next.

He would know soon enough if he was bothering this stranger or not, just like he sometimes seemed to bother other girls (like Selphie). He gulped and started scratching the back of his head, suddenly feeling a little nervous. This made his hair look a tad bit messier than it already was from the back, but he didn't seem to care, nor notice any of it.

The sound of pure silence greeted him. It had never been so loud before… If she hadn't looked up at him earlier, he would've thought that she hadn't even heard him at all. Or maybe she was just ignoring him (like Selphie did sometimes), thinking that he was some annoying dork. He couldn't blame her that, though, since he hadn't heard for the first time how strange he was sometimes.

"...I'm sorry. You probably think I'm some annoying guy now. I guess that sometimes... I just get a little bit too curious for my own good, heheh..."

Again, no answer was received. Okay, this was getting pretty awkward.

"Do you think... I'm annoying?" he asked, expecting to get no answer, but he tried, anyway.

Just when he was about to turn around and leave again, he caughed that the cloaked figure slowly shook her head. Okay, that was a good sign...maybe.

"Do you want me to leave?" Tidus asked.

For some unknown reason, his heart was beating almost twice as hard in his chest now. Tidus just hoped that the person in front of him didn't hear it, although he wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Again, the person briefly shook her head. That was definitely a good thing.

"Uh…what exactly are you doing?" he asked, breaking the silence once again.

Really, by now he was starting to feel as if he was talking against a wall. A living wall, sure, but a silent one, too. She cocked her head slightly to the side and Tidus could practically feel how she was looking critically at him, trying to see if he was one to trust or not.

"…I'm looking for seashells for my comatose friend. One for every day he's not here, with me," she replied, eventually.

So she trusted him enough to tell him the truth. That was good, a compliment, too. Tidus couldn't help but think that she had a very nice voice. It was soft, like a small babbling brook high in the mountains, but slightly careful at the edges, almost as if she was scared he would suddenly start to yell at her. That was strange, because who would want to yell at someone that looked like such a sweet girl, even when he couldn't see her face?

"Oh…seashells, huh? That's nice, I guess. Do you… I mean, can I help?"

Not like he had anything better to do today, anyway. Not when Wakka wasn't around. Tidus hoped that he didn't sound too hopeful and desperate, though, because that was so not cool.

She seemed to think about it for a minute, before replying with, "Yes. Sure. I would like that."

Tidus's hear leaped from happiness.

"Sweet! My name is Tidus, by the way."

Just when Tidus thought she wouldn't reply, she said, "I'm Xion."

Her quiet voice almost startled him.

"Xion..."

The name itself rolled off his tongue like sweet molten chocolate, before he could stop it. It was a foreign name. It sounded like a secret, which he oddly enough thought that suited her.

"Yes?" she said.

"Nothing. Let's get to work and find the best sea shell on this shore."

The girl nodded, saying, "Okay."

Soon, they started their search. Tidus had never realized how big this beach really looked, especially when you were trying to find something so little in it. But perhaps there was also a good side on this search. Maybe then, when they were finally finished, she could show him her face. Or did she look that bad that she actually had to hide it at all costs and all the time? But someone with a sweet voice like that just couldn't be ugly...right? Wait, why did he even care what she looked like? It wouldn't change anything when he knew, right?

"So, who's this boy? Just a friend, or is there more between you two?" Tidus asked after a short while, trying to make it sound slightly teasingly.

"...We're friends. Me and Roxas..."

...and Axel, she added in her head, pursing her lips slightly when she thought of the redhead that could control fire almost just as easily as she could control her breathing. Now that she thought of it, that was a pretty intimidating thing.

Ah, so the guy's name is Roxas? That's a quite unusual name. Sounds kinda girly, too, Tidus thought, grinning slightly at that last sentence.

He had never heard of such a name before. He tried to make out of her voice if she was blushing or not, but he found it harder than he had thought it would be.

"Why are you giving him sea shells?"

Under her cloak, Xion blinked a couple of times, surprised by all the questions that the boy was asking her.

"They're all a memory from certain events that took place without him actually being there. The ones that he missed, but shouldn't forget about, and I think that this is the way to remind him of all the things he missed," she replied, before turning away to search further again.

According to Tidus, it sounded a little like she was looking for souvenirs for him. He didn't really get it, probably mainly because he had never been the brightest person around, but it did give him another idea. A good one, and one that would hopefully please Xion.

"Oh...hey, look. I found two of them! Aren't they beautiful?" Tidus cried.

Xion turned around and stepped closer to Tidus to take a look at it.

"Wow, they're both beautiful. But I need only one," she reminded him.

"I know. The other one's for you, from me. See it like a memory. None of us should ever forget what happened today, of how we met and that we helped each other, right?" he explained.

He extended his hand toward her, with the seashell lying right in the middle of it, but Xion didn't step forward to take it from him.

"But that wouldn't be fair, because now I've got nothing to give you..." Xion admitted, sadly.

Tidus smiled at that. This was the chance he had been waiting for.

"Well, you could show me your face in return," Tidus opted, his eyes glistening from exitement. "I mean, how are we supposed to become friends if I have no idea what you even look like?"

For a moment, Xion didn't seem to be breathing, at all. Then, before Tidus could prepare himself, he saw her face when she put her hood down with her gloved hands. Two of the bluest and most captivating eyes he had ever seen, were staring intensely at him, framed by short, silky smooth black hair that looked like soft feathers. She looked like an exact copy of Kairi, except for Xion's slightly shorter hair, of course, compared to Kairi's longer wine red hair. There was another difference between Xion and Kairi though: Xion was by far prettier.

And from that moment on, he knew he would never be able to forget her, no matter what would happen.

To be honest, Tidus really was in his element on the days that Xion came to search for sea shells on the small beach. It made him happier than anything. He always felt like some toddler who could finally unpack the Christmas present he had been waiting for. He couldn't wait until school was over and he had done all of his homework, so he could go to the raven-haired girl again.

On most days, he was the first one to arrive at the beach, but sometimes Xion was already sitting on the sand, waiting for him and staring at the far and endless horizon. And when she would turn around and see him, she would smile at him, her eyes shimmering brighter in the light that hit them.

It probably sounded too weird, but Xion made him feel like there were more things worth living for than school, family, friends, or even Blitzball. And it was even weirder that it was a girl who made him realize this, because, well, you know.

The days with her were spent pretty much in the same order. The two of them would always look for a beautiful seashell first. When they had found one, they would sit down on the sand, near the water and just talk. Sometimes, she would bring some blue-colored ice cream with her. It was called Sea-Salt ice-cream, she had told him. It tasted salty and sweet at the same time, and it was truly delicious.

However, that blissful feeling that always left him deliriously happy disappeared just as soon and sudden as it came when she didn't come one day…and the next day…and the following one... until Tidus noticed that it had been almost a month since he had seen Xion for the last time.

Tidus started to wonder if something had happened. Why didn't she come anymore?

Was she lost?

Had he done something wrong? Was she okay?

Did her father forbid her to come here ever again?

Had she found someone else now or…did she like the unknown comatose boy more than she had ever liked him?

That last thought really hurt. The worst thing about it was that he had no idea where she lived. So he could never search for her, simply because he had no idea where to begin. That was when Tidus really started to hate the boy that had slipped into a coma. This was all his fault of course. He didn't know how, but he was sure of it, as sure as two minus one is one.

But what could he do about all this? Exactly, nothing, save for hoping that one day, Xion might be coming back to him, and hopefully to do a bit more than just talk and search seashells with him.

After some time, though, something utterly strange happened, but Tidus didn't notice it. His memories of her disappeared, all of them at the very same time. They were replaced by a blank canvas with nothing on it to help him make him remember her, and it was as if Tidus had never met her.

Wait a second... Met who exactly?

What the heck was he talking about all the time?

And that was when he shrugged it all off.

Now that he couldn't remember her anymore, everything was the way it was before again in Destiny Islands. At least, for him, but he didn't notice the difference.

~ A few months later ~

Tidus still hadn't had his first kiss yet, which was pretty sad and frustrating, considering that he was fourteen years old now. His mom told him that his time would come, so he didn't worry that much about it. After all, his mom was always right, right?

He didn't know why he dreamt about a cloaked figure who gave him his first kiss, though. Maybe it was just because he so desperately wanted to have one.

He had no idea who this cloaked figure was. He hoped it was a girl. She had to be, because, well, you know, he didn't really like like boys.

Tidus also didn't know what this girl looked like, or if he had ever met her before. Probably not. His feeling told him that she looked almost exactly like Kairi, but with much darker hair.

Intuition was a strange thing indeed.

And yes, Kairi was nice, and pretty, too. So maybe that was why he was thinking such weird things.

Honestly, though, what was wrong with him?

A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Was it good? Horrible? So-so? Review and let me know what you think of it. :) I'll edit it and add more later, but now I have to post it, because there is a time limit. Also, this is my 12th entry for Bookaholic711's Project PULL. :)