tale's corner: This is a really quick thing I wrote in about a day for a fanfic contest on a month or two ago. The story had to be one that took place in KH canon, and I've felt that the second Island trio—namely, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie—doesn't get quite enough attention. And so this came to pass. It's in Wakka's POV because I'd recently discovered shinrajunkie on Tumblr and deviantArt with his Wakka cosplay, and good Lord what an attractive man.
...But anyway.
Oh! Also! If you haven't looked at my profile, there's this massive collab project I'm working on called When Worlds Collide; read my thoughts on it in my profile!
Your name is Wakka.
A lot of people at the Island's school think you're just another dumb jock, a little bit of a lady-killer, but for the most part only caring about sports (particularly that weird Blitzball thing he made up, except it's not weird, brudda, you're weird) and having nothing else going on in your head.
They're wrong, of course.
You notice things. Like how distracted and out of it Sora seems that one day. Definitely weird. You plan to ask Sora if something's up, but then Sora had just wanted to spar. Okay, cool. But then porcupine-head takes off after winning. Not cool, brudda. Whatever, you'll ask later.
Too bad "later" is when everything goes totally crazy.
"WAKKAAAAA~!" Selphie screeches, which really hurts, because she's right next to your ear. "WHERE'S TIDUS? WE CAN'T GO TO THE MAINLAND WITHOUT HIM! WHAT IF THE SHADOW THINGS GOT HIM? WHAT IF THE SHADOW THINGS GET US? WHAT IF—"
"Chill, sister!" you interrupt, because seriously. "I know we can't leave without Tidus; that's why we're looking for him, ya?"
You have to admit to yourself, she's got a point about the creepy black bug things. They appeared out of nowhere, and they've tried to attack both of you multiple times. And the few times you've tried throwing it, your Blitzball has always missed and started bouncing away. In fact, you just threw it behind you a couple of minutes ago. You're likely going to need that throwing hand for something else later, especially if Selphie's arms cut off the circulation to the other one completely.
Arm or no arm, though, Blitzball or no Blitzball, you're all getting off of this island alive.
That's another couple of things about you—you're intensely loyal to your bruddas and sisters, and you don't give up.
Selphie sniffles, subdued. Thank Yevon. "A-are we going to find Kairi, too? And Sora and Riku?"
"Definitely," you assure her, but you don't really know. You haven't seen any sign of those three since this afternoon when you saw Sora and Kairi head off to the Secret Place, and you've already gone halfway around the play island. All you can do is hope.
"TIDUS!" Selphie screams, pointing straight ahead of you. You look up, and sure enough, there he is—standing alone across the bridge, back against the paopu tree, barely fending off a small swarm of the shadow things. Relief blossoms through your chest.
Tidus turns, surprised. "Selphie?!" he shouts back. "Selphie! Wakka!"
Unfortunately, this is just the distraction the shadows need. One of them melts into the ground and quickly reappears behind Tidus's turned back, lashing out with a clawed hand. He yelps, stumbling forward, and the rest pounce on him. No!
"TIDUS!" Selphie screams again, and she starts running toward the bridge in hysteria. But if the shadows got your brudda, which you're not entirely certain of, there's no way you're losing your sister, too. You wrap your arms around her waist and drag her backwards, wincing as she starts hitting and kicking you.
Suddenly, Tidus resurfaces from the mass of black, throwing creatures off of his back and sweeping the rest away with his staff. Gasping for breath, he scrambles up the bent trunk of the paopu tree, providing a small reprieve; the creatures can't seem to climb it. You let out a whoop of joy. "C'mon, Tidus!" you shout.
"This is great and all," he shouts back. "But how do I get over to you now?"
An idea strikes you. "Jump! Jump and swim out to us!"
"Are you crazy?!"
"Ya, maybe," you admit. "But you're a good swimmer! You can do it!"
Any other argument Tidus may have leaves his mind when the shadows gather together in a group and start pushing at the tree trunk. This old paopu tree is not particularly stable. Tidus hesitates, and the tree groans beneath him. Finally, he takes the chance and dives off of the trunk.
The cheer you're about to give stops halfway up your throat and you choke on it. You feel yourself fall face first into the sand, but almost as if from a distance. Selphie is screaming again. She always does that. You somehow manage to roll yourself over in the sand.
All you see are two glowing yellow spots, and then nothing.
…
When you come to, it's sunny out, and the ocean is gently lapping at your feet. Selphie is lying to one side of you, and Tidus is laying down a little way off. You sit up, and see Kairi standing on the shore, holding her hand out as if reaching for someone. As if breaking from a trance, she slowly lowers her arm and looks out at the ocean. You look, too, but you're not really sure why.
Something moves in the corner of your eye, and you realize that Kairi is running away. To where? She looks distressed, though, so you stand up to follow her. (You're surprised by how not tired you are, as the last thing you remember was running around the island being chased by creepy shadow things.) But first, you gently pull Tidus and Selphie away from the water and lay them under a tree.
You follow Kairi's footsteps until you find yourself in the Secret Place. Kairi is looking at one of the old drawings on the wall and crying. Oh...uh...
"...Yo, Kairi?" you say awkwardly.
She turns around, taken completely by surprise. Then, out of nowhere, she starts crying harder and nearly squeezes the life out of you.
"You...you okay?" you finally manage to gasp out.
Kairi's vice grip loosens. "...Yeah" she says. "Everything's okay."
Hm. She does sound fine. But...
"What about Sora and Riku?" you ask, puzzled.
Kairi grows quiet, and you're momentarily afraid you said the wrong thing. But then she sits down on the rock floor. "Well... Let me start at the beginning."
That's one more thing about you. You're a great listener.
You sit down across from Kairi, ready to hear her out.
"Long ago," she begins. "People lived in peace, and bathed in the warmth of light..."