The Drabble Diaries

by Tomoyo-chan

Disclaimer: I do not own.

Chapter 1 - June 7, 2012

It had started with a bet. Sora had bet that he could get Wakka to drink tabasco sauce. Wakka wasn't that stupid. So as punishment, Riku got to make him do one humiliating thing. So he went and found the girliest, pinkest, frilliest skirt from the back of Kairi's closet (Kairi only kept it because it came from her grandmother, even she thought it was too girly).

No one expected Sora to manage to get though a whole day wearing it, baring all the whispers and giggles behind his back. Two weeks later, when Selphie saw him coming out of the women's department of the islands clothing store, she figured that he lost another bet. When Tidus commented on how long Sora was letting his hair get, he only replied that it made it less spiky (it was true, the increased weight made it drift down to nearly reach his shoulders).

But when Sora showed up the first day of summer on the play island wearing that selfsame skirt and a shirt that had never at any point been Kairi's for all the design, everyone had to just stop and stare. He had done something to his hair that made it lay flat and even had a lopsided bow; he had found somewhere a pair of girl's sandals that fit him; he had apparently even shaved his legs. He didn't look exactly like a girl, hands and feet too large, and he stood kind of awkward, but...

"Sora, did you loose another bet man?" Wakka ventured. This was just weird. As Sora shook his head, one hand reaching to scratch the back of his head, Selphie made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a hiccup. Evidently it was too much for the girl as she started laughing so hard she had to lean against the nearby seawall. Riku and Tidus soon joined in.

"Wow, Sora. Any girlier and we might have to start calling you Sara."

Sora just angrily huffed and turned away, hands clenched in fists at his side, and started stalking toward the sea shack. "Fine, if you're all going to laugh at me, I'm leaving."

Kairi hurried soon after him catching up just out of earshot of the others. "Sora..." she reached for his hand. He wrenched it from her grasp, pulling the bow angrily from his hair. Once they were out of sight he flopped to the sand. Kairi rescued the bow then sat beside him.

They sat in silence for some time, Kairi picking at the sand, Sora laying with his eyes closed. Finally Kairi started talking again. "Sora... what's with the clothes. I know you asked to keep the skirt, but the rest..." she trailed off.

"It's comfortable," he replied sitting up. Kairi only looked at him, a little in shock.

"I'm not saying it's a battle outfit" he snapped, "but last month, when I lost that bet, after I got over the stares and laughter, I realized I didn't mind the clothes, even liked them a bit. More than I like m normal clothes. So I... bought some more and I've been wearing them when I'm alone," Sora blushed more and more as he spoke, refusing to look Kairi in the eyes.

Kairi, on her part, couldn't believe that one little bet almost two months ago lead to this. She had thought Sora had kept the skirt with the idea of forcing Riku to wear it someday as payback.

"I was just planning to wear the skirt and shirt today," he gestured down his body "but my mom caught me leaving the house this morning. She insisted on 'completing the look.' She's... strangely enthusiastic about this." Sora's face was screwed up in a look of almost disgust.

He shifted, wrapping his arms around his knees. After a few seconds he grumbled under his breath "...my legs feel weird." Kairi looked back and forth between her suddenly frilly best friend and the bow in her hand. She sighed and moved to sit behnd her brunette friend.

"Well, if you're going to wear a skirt, you can't sit like that," she admonished, pushing his legs down. "I can see your underwear." Sora blushed but complied. She began running her fingers through his hair, brushing out where it had begun spiking again. The motion was soothing, but Sora had to know.

"You're still my friend, right Kairi?"

"Of course," she said after a few seconds. "I'm shocked, and not sure about your new clothes. But you'll always be my friend. And I have seen what you call a 'battle outfit' and that thing has more jewelry than I do." A soft smile broke her face as she leaned around so Sora could see it. He tried to give one back.

"But Sora, are you sure about this? You-" she broke off, unable to continue.

"There's a reason I did this today. You guy's are - were - my friends. I can't take everyone at once, but.. I thought..." Sora stopped. What had he been thinking? He hadn't really; it was one of his usual tumble along without a plan moments. He had done dozens of those in his adventures through the worlds. But then he'd always had his friends at his sides; they had always accepted and encouraged him at every turn. Not laughed at him.

But he still had Kairi, even if she was still a little weirded out. She was attempting to do something with his hair, but he shook her fingers loose. "No braids. I still have some manly pride. I only wore the bow for my mom. And even she can't get it to stay in."

The two smiled at each other, still a little awkward, but getting better.

Sora spent much of the summer either with Kairi or alone. After that first day, he only wore 'girls clothes' about once a week - with fashion advice from Kairi - and never again as extravagant as that fluffy skirt. Between Kairi's acceptance and his mom's enthusiasm he started feeling more confident in his feminine clothes. As school started approaching though, he once again began feeling immobilized. It wasn't just that his friends laughed at him. It was the look's on their faces, how they haven't spoken to him since. A few times, they even left if they caw him coming, until he avoided them as much as they avoided him. How would it feel if everyone was like that?

The second to last afternoon before school found Kairi and Sora sitting on the dock watching the sun set. Sora was wearing shorts, but all his clothes had a distinctly feminine cut. Kairi too had decided to forgo her usual clothes in favor of shorts. In an effort to distract his mind, Sora had been recounting how his mom had forced him to go school clothes shopping with her.

"Sora, your mom is crazy."

"I know, I think she must have really wanted a girl, and well, now she's got me."

Their good mood trailed off as Riku came up behind them. Kairi still spoke with everyone else, but she spent most of her time with Sora, who had no one else. Thinking Riku was just going to take his boat and leave, Sora was surprised when Riku stopped behind him. He couldn't see him, but he figured Riku was standing hands in pockets, looking down near his feet. That was what he had used to do when he didn't want to do something.

"Sora." It was like a blow to his heart, to hear that voice he hadn't all summer. Kairi placed her hand over his on the wooden dock.

"What do you want?" his voice wasn't as steady as he wanted, but it was sufficiently annoyed.

"To apologize." Riku's voice replied. Sora near got whiplash as he turned around. He didn't think he even got an apology after Destiny Islands disappeared. Avoidance, yes. A confession. A making of amends. But an apology? Not Riku.

"I figured you wouldn't do this all summer, not even as a prank. And if it's not a prank I've kinda been a douche."

"You think!" Sora interrupted. "I thought you were my friend, but you've been treating me like I have an infectious disease!"

Riku's voice raised as well. "You suddenly started acting so weird. I thought you were joking and then you stormed off. It's like you suddenly turned into a girl, and I just wanted my best friend!"

"I'm still a guy, Riku! I want to play blitzball and go swimming and talk with my friends! I just happen to sometimes want to do so in a skirt. How am I any less your friends for how I dress?"

"Well sorry I had trouble figuring that out. It's not like this happens all the time!"

Both boys were glaring at each other. After a few moments it was like their hackles went down, Kairi decided as they both simultaneously relaxed, not quite comfortable but close.

"Sorry."

Sora still looked a little peeved, but he allowed Riku to come sit next to him. Maybe things had been broken between them, maybe they had been since before when Riku had opened the Door, but he was willing to put a bandaid on it. They could be friends one more day.

The first day of junior year was as bad as he figured from his friends' reactions. He and Riku and Kairi had spent the previous day trying to become friends again, but nothing brings people together like the ire of an entire school.

Kairi and Riku walked like bookends around Sora. He had decided to go all out and borrowed some jewelry fro Kairi to go with the new girls school uniform he had bought with his mom. Riku was feeling a little weird standing next to him, but seeing some of the glances he was glad he was. Sora needed all the protection he could get. His old friends might not do anything, but they weren't the only kids on the island.

When they finally had to separate from him (both he and Sora had been held back a year, so Kairi was in his class) Riku took a moment to place his hand on Sora's shoulder. Kairi looked a little worried too, but they left for class.

He was right to worry. Apparently some loudmouth in Sora's first period started a fight even before first bell, and when they went to the principal's office it was Sora who got in trouble for his dress. His mom had then been called in and they spent half the morning trying to convince the man that no where did it say the uniforms were gender specific. And then another hour that if he changed the guidebook now, he could be sued for discrimination. By the time they all met up for lunch Sora had yet to sit in a single class.

Even with the beginnings of a black eye, Sora was smiling. He had one the right to keep his skirt. Riku hadn't seen Sora so viciously determined excited since they had faced Xenmas.

Twice over the next week had someone started a fight with Sora. But when not only Sora (dangerous even in a skirt) but also Riku and Kairi fought back, the physical fights at least stopped. Nothing could really be done about the stares and whispers, so they ignored it the best they could. At the end of the second week, a girl approached him where the three had taken to eating lunch to avoid the stares. She was wearing the typical boys uniform including plaid pants.

She fidgeted for a moment before giving a shy smile to the skirt-clad Sora. He almost never wore the boys uniform in an act of defiance.

"Um... I wanted to, thank you. After what you did, I finally got the courage to wear the boys uniform, like I always wanted. Thank you."

She then promptly turned and fled to another girl waiting next to the doors to the school. Sora just sat there, food still halfway to his mouth, before Kairi started giggling.

"You're a little bit of a celebrity, aren't you Sora?"

Sora only blushed and whacked at them when Riku began chuckling too.

So, for the summer I decided to challenge myself a bit and create a diary of sorts full of the ideas that normally never get off the ground. Each one will be written in a single day, though they might not be published for a while based on computer access. This one was surprisingly long, especially since it is the first one. Not all of them are going to be Kingdom Hearts, but based on what I have so far, many of them are.

If anyone is curious (and/or knows Lolita brands), the skirt I was imagining is Bodyline design #1343, which I actually own and was wearing as I wrote this. Very pink and girly.