- AUTHOR'S NOTE -

This story took over two years to make for two reasons: 1) I only worked on the story in my spare time, and 2) I accidentally deleted it when I was halfway through writing it and had to write it from memory ALL over again (oh believe me, I was VERY angry!). I was totally obsessed with Kingdom Hearts at the time of beginning the story (well I still am. lol), but over time I wrote Sound of the Islands not just because of liking the game, but because I enjoyed making my own story with well-known characters and a decent plot. I asked myself: What would it be like if Kairi, Sora and the gang were real? If there were no Heartless (the bad guys in the game)? How would the characters interact with one another and with me? I enjoyed writing this story more when I asked myself these questions. I wanted to make my own version of Kingdom Hearts, with only the inhabitants of the Destiny Islands. No Goofy and Donald in this story, lol. Plus, I made the characters more "real" by telling their behavior in situations and their reactions to things. That was my favorite thing to do in this story was to really make the characters come alive without the help of a TV screen. Plus, Kairi was one of my favorite characters in the game, so I knew I could make her a close friend in the plot, and I really liked that idea. So, if you read this story I hope you like it. You should for all the time I worked on it! lol And oh yeah, one more thing -- back off girls, Sora's mine! hehehe...

- BlueEyedMystery -

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Chapter One

- Paupo Fruit, English Homework, and Honey Chicken -

It was perfect.

The morning came bright and beautiful when I went for a stroll along the shore of the Destiny Islands. Seabirds were appearing over the ocean, diving for their breakfast. The heavens were streaked with neon pinks and oranges, and the sandy beach was calm and quiet. The sereneness of it all made me sigh with contentment and wonder if I was in reality.

About half a mile into the walk I passed a tree house, one of many that had been built on the islands. I didn't look in its direction, for I was too enthralled with my surroundings. Suddenly, I heard a boisterous yell from and jumped, wondering whom it was. When I looked up I smiled widely.

Kairi quickly climbed down from the tree house and ran to me, arms flailing gaily. Her delicate, small form got closer, and soon she was beside of me, a little breathless.

I had met Kairi at a restaurant in Traverse Town – my family and I was visiting and had trouble finding our way around. So we all decided to stop in a small restaurant for directions. Inside I spotted an attractive dark-haired girl sitting at a small table by a window. I went up to say hello, and somehow she and I clicked. Now, a few years and several visits later, we were still fast friends.

Kairi giggled. "Sorry for startling you," she said, still catching her breath.

"What were you doing up there?" I laughed.

"I'm not tellin', well…not yet anyway." She flashed me a small, secretive smile. "What are you doing out on the beach? It's seven o' clock."

"I was just taking a walk. It's so gorgeous here, especially in the morning. I wanted to see the beach again before I go back home." I hung my head sadly, remembering that my stay at the Destiny Islands was only temporary. Kairi put her hand on my shoulder.

"I know you don't wanna leave, but it's okay – this place can always be your home away from home, and you can come whenever you want. Besides," she snickered, "it's not like this place is going anywhere."

I looked up at Kairi and gave her small smile. "Thanks," I told her.

She chuckled and smiled back. "Anytime, Jess."

We then walked together along the shore in silence, taking our shoes off and digging our toes into the cool, wet sand. After a few more minutes of walking we saw a familiar hill with a poupo tree growing there. It had been there for many years, and bore large, yellow star-like fruit. Legend was that if two people shared a poupo fruit and really cared about each other, their destinies would become intertwined, and they would become a part of each other's lives no matter what. I didn't really believe in legends, so I hadn't paid much attention to it. Some of the kids on the Destiny Islands, though, had strong faith in it. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I still thought it was a little funny, because it was really just a fruit that tasted similar to a mango. I didn't think it had any magical "destiny" powers, I believed that it was just like any apple or orange.

I told Kairi this as we sat on the tree's trunk, watching the sunrise. She nodded her head and listened silently, her wiry, yet well-built legs moving slowly in parallel motions. She had a habit of doing this that drove Riku, a teenage boy that lived on the island, crazy. I didn't mind at all though.

When I was finished telling Kairi about what I thought about the poupo fruit, she smiled at me. "I think about that too," she told me. I breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes having different opinions about something can lead to arguing about which opinion is right and which is wrong. I had gotten into one of those with Selphie, a girl that lived on the island. She's a romanticist and quite a spitfire when it comes to arguing, but soon after the short fray we made up.

Before I could say another word, Kairi gasped and pointed at the horizon. "Look, Jess! Isn't it beautiful?"

The sun was rising, creating a golden sparkle on the ocean. The sky was now a brilliant pinkish-orange, and the wispy clouds becoming visible were reminiscent of a painting. "Wow," was all I could gasp. A sunrise like that made the day look promising! With a happy sigh I closed my eyes and dug my feet in the sand.

- - - - -

I had visited the Destiny Islands over Spring Break, so there was no school for another few days. However, for some people who had trouble with a certain subject, there was the option of going to the school for an hour or two and being tutored on that subject. After "school" later on that day, Sora, a 14-year-old boy who lived about a mile away from Kairi, asked me to help him with his English homework. He didn't do that well in it, and he knew that I had more knowledge in grammar than he did.

I was reluctant. "This is what the tutors at school are for. I'm not a teacher," I told him, making it clear that I had no desire to help.

"Come on. I can pay better attention when you're helping me," he said.

Ha. Yeah right.

I rolled my eyes, laughing at how rediculous he sounded. "You must be pretty desperate asking me to help you instead of one of your guy friends. Why didn't you ask Wakka? He gets straight A's in everything."

"Wakka had blitzball practice," Sora responded, looking down at his enormous yellow shoes. I sighed heavily. I didn't want to help him; I would have rather been swimming at the beach with Tidus, Selphie, and Riku. But at the same time I would be very selfish not to help him out, and I didn't want that.

"Is it that long?"

"No, just a few questions I don't understand." Sora gave me a pitiful look. "Please?"

"Okay, okay! Fine," I told him. It was hard to say no to those big blue eyes.

"All right!" Sora cheered, a big grin spreading across his face. "Come on, my house is this way!"

Sora's homework only took ten minutes, if that. Afterwards I changed into my swimsuit and headed down to the beach to play with Tidus, Selphie, and Riku.

When I arrived Selphie and Tidus greeted me happily.

"Hey!" I said, glancing around me. Somebody was missing. "Where's Riku?"

A look of concern came across Selphie's face. "Well, from what I've heard he's sick. His mother said that at about four o' clock this morning he had a bad fever and hasn't improved since."

"Hmmm," I thought out loud. It wasn't like Riku to get sick; he always had bright eyes and a healthy shine to his hair. Oh well, I guess today we'd play without him.

Since Selphie was a girl, I'd usually hang out with her. Sometimes, though, I'd race against Riku or play tug-o-war with Tidus. Tidus had high self-esteem – maybe even a little too high – and thought he was a champ at everything. It was amusing when I beat him at a game of tug-o-war, because he's a shrimp compared to me. When we'd race, however, Tidus usually won because he can swim a lot faster. But on the rare occasion that I beat him at tug-o-war and racing, he'd throw his arms up in despair and go challenge Selphie.

We were all having so much fun that I soon lost track of time, and it was very late by the time I realized I was supposed to be at Kairi's for dinner. Waving a quick goodbye to Tidus and Selphie, I ran to her house as fast as I could.

- - - - -

The door opened and when Kairi got one look at me she giggled, covering her mouth with a hand. "Went swimmin' with Tidus, Selphie, and Riku again, didn't ya?" She put her weight on one leg and crossed her arms. She wasn't angry or anything – this was just another small, no-biggie habit that Kairi had. She would cross her arms anytime, anywhere.

I nodded, feeling a little embarrassed and dripping wet in my yellow towel. Kairi giggled a little more, then leaned close and whispered, "You better come in and change, 'cause you're late for dinner. My mother's in the bedroom and my father's still at work. Mom doesn't know you're here."

"Oh no!" Darting into Kairi's room, I threw off my bathing suit and changed clothes quick as a flash. One of Kairi's mother's worst pet peeves was someone being late for dinner, and I was definitely not on time by any means. Maybe if I changed quick enough she wouldn't notice anything. When I came back out in a slightly damp pair of shorts and a tank top, Kairi's mother was in the kitchen. "I'm ready for dinner Mrs. Hiratada," I said behind her in an innocent voice, leaning on the kitchen table. Kairi stared at me and giggled again, unable to hold her amusement.

"Good," her mother said, smiling at me. "I've prepared one of Kairi's favorites."

Kairi's bright blue eyes immediately lit up with interest. "What is it, Mom?" she asked eagerly, tapping her fingernails on the table.

"Honey chicken with crab ragoon," she announced.

"Mmmm!" Kairi said, rubbing her hands together and licking her lips. "That sounds good. When will it be ready?"

"Oh, it's finished. We're just waiting for your father," she responded in a slightly annoyed tone of voice. "He's late for dinner – again."

Kairi's father arrived a few minutes later, and the dinner table fell silent as we all ate. It was utterly delicious, and afterwards I decided that honey chicken was my favorite meal too!