Prologue.

A man in white stood alone on a sandy shore, completely enraptured by the sights, sounds and smells of the new world he'd discovered.

The sand was a pearly shade of white-gold and warm to the touch on his bare feet. The air tasted clean and fresh. The smell of the sea was invigorating and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was incredibly soothing.

He turned and feasted his eyes upon the sea of this world. Sparkling like a sapphire, it seemed to stretch on forever.

"Truly the sea is this world's most beautiful feature..." He sighed in contentment as his long, blonde hair blew in the breeze.

*sniff, sniffle...*

Who could that be?

He followed the sound back to the cave he had come from. A girl with red hair sat alone, crying to herself.

What a lovely shade of red. Like the sky of a setting sun...

"Are you alright, little one?"

She looked up, startled.

I was mistaken. There is no doubt in my mind that this young lady is the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Who are you?"

"I am called Hikami. May I ask your name?"

"Kuh-The girl took a breath. "Kairi."

"Well, Kairi, those tears will sting if you leave them. Here."

The golden-haired man knelt down and handed her his handkerchief which she accepted, after a moment of hesitation. Now that he had a closer look at her, he could tell her eyes were the same color as the sea.

"Thank you..." She wiped her face and offered the handkerchief back, but he raised his in hand in protest.

"Please, keep it." he insisted. "Now, tell me, Kairi... what troubles you?"

"Suh-sora and Riku forgot my birthday."

"I am truly sorry, my dear, but I also have an inkling that the story does not end there."

"I-I shouldn't..."

The blonde man put his hand on her shoulder.

"I won't tell a soul. I swear it."

"They were... having se... se... She looked away, covering her face in shame as the tears started up again.

Oh. So that's what it was. Poor girl.

"I... assume you had feelings for one of them?"

She sniffed again and nodded.

"Come with me."

"Huh?"

He offered her his hand.

"Let us celebrate your birthday." Hikami knew just how to take young woman's mind off her troubles.

Kairi, though a little nervous, took the stranger's hand and he led her to the mysterious door in the back of the cave. A wave of his hand caused it to open.

That's weird... this door's never opened before.

The other side was so dark that she couldn't see anything. She'd always been scared of the dark.

Hikami seemed to sense her fear and pulled her even closer to him.

"Don't be afraid." He whispered in her ear.

This made her heart race even faster, but the feeling wasn't exactly unwelcome.

"I'm just... excited."

It wasn't entirely untrue. She was excited, and not just because of how close he was to her. She and her friends had always wanted to explore new worlds, and thanks to this man, she was going to get her chance.

More than anything, she wanted to get away from this world, and all the pain, heartache and... loneliness. Today had been the first time she'd ever really felt lonely.

"Well then, fair lady, your chariot awaits."

Hikami snapped his fingers and a golden chariot appeared from a sphere of golden light.

"After you, my dear."

The Princess of Heart got into the chariot, followed by her charming prince.

"So... where are we going?"

"That would be a surprise."

The golden chariot burst out of the void, out of her world and into a strange vortex filled with swirling Darkness, thunder and lightning.

"You might wish to close your eyes."

"Um, okay..."

Kairi did as he asked.

"C-can I...?"

"Yes?"

"Will you... hold onto me?"

The golden god smiled.

"Of course."

He put his arm around her and held her tightly. She, in turn, put her head on his chest and let the sound of his heartbeat comfort and soothe her.

"I'll let you know when we're there. Just relax for now."

"Mm..." she replied quietly.

If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up.

* Hey, hope you like the story so far. I just want to say I have nothing against the Sora/Riku pairing or the shippers.

I do, however have quite a few things against the ones who bash and/or have awful things happen to poor, sweet Kairi for no good reason.