AN: Hey guys! This was written as part of a portfolio that I had to submit for a request to join their college.. I got in, but I'm going somewhere else xP So yeah, here's something a little different. I just can't get KH outta my head. Not that I'm complaining. The prompt for this was exactly as the title is put: An abandoned fishing rod at the end of a dock.
Warning: Hints of AkuRoku and SoRiku
Disclaimer: lol.

ENJOY!

"What are you doing?"

A simple question. An honest inquiry. Though after days and days of repetition, a simple and honest answer grows irritating.

"What does it look like?"

"You know as well as I do that you're just wasting your time." The blond teen sighed and sat next to his brother on the edge of the dock. "Fish are gone, Sora. We have to find a different way."

"Roxas, our family has fished here for twelve generations." Sora narrowed his eyes as he explained. "We've made our living off this trade for years. It's been full of fish after every typhoon and after every drought. How can you say the fish are gone?"

"Those were natural disasters, Sor," Roxas said gently but with clear conviction. "This is different and you know that."

The brunet kept his gaze trained onto the ocean. It wasn't fair. Because of one practical (and stupid) joke, Sora and Roxas' family would have to alter their way of life and change the way they provided for each other. Nature could repair itself after nature. But nature had a heck of a harder time repairing itself after man and his abhorred creations tampered with it.

The brown-haired boy took a deep breath, wincing at the coppery smell of the tainted water. Sora only knew how to fish. That was the extent of his skills. The fourteen-year-old didn't know the first thing about a kitchen; he was too clumsy for anything to do with ironwork; he'd easily get lost in the woods; and he knew nothing of animals that inhabited dry land.

His grip on his father's fishing rod switched back and forth between slack and vice. He hated his brother's flippant disposition. It was as if he didn't care a bit about tradition and customs. He hated Roxas for moving on so easily. Just because Axel taught him how to cut wood… He sulked and crouched down, his blue eyes still gleaming with the sun's reflection on the water. How could he become a man if he couldn't use his skills?

"Come on. Let's go help Axel measure the logs he cut." Roxas stood up, dusting himself off. Sora didn't react from his spot on the dock. "Then Riku's coming by in the afternoon." Roxas leered at his twin. "He says he'll teach you some of the stuff he learned at school."

Sora's head perked up, and he turned around to look at his brother's face for any sign of falsehood. "Really? Like that arithmetic thing?" Roxas only smiled when Sora stood up at the thought of being able to count past thirty.

As the blond nodded, Sora looked at the scenery before him. Even with barrels of acid, their inlet of water still seemed as though it had always been there for years. Wide, vast, and completely simple to lose oneself in. Sora would never forget the first time he was taken to the dock. He would never forget the thrill of his line drawing quickly off his spool on a big catch. He would never forget the surprised look on peoples' faces when he walked into the shop, ready to sell a 24-inch trout.

But it was time to adapt. And his brother and friends would help him make a new start. It was frightening, but the young boy knew it had to happen soon. He placed the rod on the edge of the dock and walked alongside his brother, away from the ocean.

When the two reached the top of the hill, Sora looked back towards the place he'd spent the majority of his childhood in. The metal end of the fishing tool could be seen glimmering back at him.

A surreptitious but resigned glance at Roxas, and he kept on walking. It was time to be a man.

Nature would definitely restore itself. And when it would, the fishing rod on that dock would be used again by another little boy ... however many years later.

Thank you for reading!
Sora's so cute (x-x) wanting to count past thirty
Sorry, that was my favourite part xP
Reviews are very much appreciated :D

YHS
xDelfin