Kingdom Hearts III: Manifest Destiny
Rated T for some violence/language
By rokusasu74
Sora closed his eyes and tightly gripped the Keyblade. "I can't do this. You and I both know that I can't do this."
The other boy looked down at the ground slowly. "You know you have to--to follow their legacy. This is…how it must be."
"There has to be another way."
The boy blinked back tears and shook his head hesitantly. "There isn't. I have to go."
The sun rose slowly over the horizon, the early morning rays glittering across the sapphire ocean. A few seagulls cawed to greet the dawn, creating an early morning chorus typical for an island setting.
The boy with spiky brown hair stretched out on the sand and yawned. The palm tree above him created a shady area right near the water's edge, but even now the sun was sneaking through the leaves and shining on his face. Blinking his radiant blue eyes, he sat up wearily and stared out to sea.
"Another morning." he whispered happily, smiling. The waves lapped soothingly up against the shore, soaking the boy's shoes. He stood up and turned around, hoisting himself up onto the tree. He sat on the horizontal trunk and sighed, watching the beautiful, tranquil sunrise with quiet joy.
"Sora!" a shout broke the morning silence. He turned around towards the pier to see a girl in a pink dress running towards him, her auburn hair swaying gently in the breeze. Sora grinned and waved.
Kairi.
"Did you sleep out here again? When's the last time you went home, like a normal person?" Kairi asked, giggling. Sora shrugged.
"It's something about here. I like it."
Kairi gazed at the boy and shook her head good-naturedly. He sat there, content, but she knew that he was here for a reason. He'd been away from home so long, and all his memories were on this island. Right now, all he wanted was to sit and remember.
Sora noticed her standing there quietly and scooted over. "Here, sit." Kairi nodded her thanks and sat alongside him, watching the sun as it rose the rest of the way into the vivid blue sky.
"So, Sora." she said, turning away from the horizon and looking at him. "If we went and rebuilt that raft, right now, would you come with me if I left?"
He stared at her, confused, and thought about it. "Maybe, but…I don't know if I want to leave. Now that I know what's out there, I can stay here and not worry about it."
"But even if I left, you wouldn't come?" Kairi asked. She held back laughter when Sora's face turned bright red and he began to shake his head insistently.
"No, no, I'd come with you, it's just…"
The laughter broke free, and Kairi rocked back and forth, amused. "It's okay, silly! I was only kidding. I'm not going anywhere."
Sora grinned faintly. "You promise?"
There was a moment of deep silence while the two sat, motionless, recalling their promise of long ago.
Kairi nodded and glanced back at him with sparkling blue eyes that matched the hue of the ocean before them. "I promise." Sora began to blush again, sending Kairi into another fit of spirited laughter. He joined in, whacking her on the shoulder jokingly.
"You better not go anywhere, though." he said with mock importance. "After all that I did to get back, if you ran off…"
"You'd die of a broken heart. We know." a voice from behind them said sardonically. The two turned around to see who it was and instantly began laughing again.
"Riku!" Kairi shrieked, jumping off the tree. "You're so mean!"
Riku only smiled, his bluish-white hair hanging in his face, turquoise eyes almost hidden by his bangs. "But you know it's true. Right, Sora?" Sora was still lost in the hilarity of the moment, but his face had once more turned red. "If you keep looking at me like that, your face is gonna freeze that way. Wouldn't that be funny, you'd be blushing everywhere you went…"
"Aw, be quiet, Riku." he said, choking on the irrepressible laughter. "We all know you would too."
Riku stared back at him, almost looking appalled. "That was a pretty bad comeback. Thanks for playing, sport." Abruptly, he turned around and started walking back across the pier. Intuitively, Sora leapt up and followed, Kairi behind him.
"Riku!" he called, trotting to catch up. "Where are ya going?"
The older boy shrugged apathetically. "Dunno. Just to go sit and think somewhere. Or something."
"Think?" Kairi questioned. "Think about what?"
Riku stopped unexpectedly and whirled around gradually. "You two should know. You were there."
Sora blinked in astonishment. "Not the letter."
"Obviously it's about the letter. It doesn't bother you at all?"
Kairi and Sora shook their heads in disagreement. "Nothing's happened." Kairi said positively, smiling. "I'm sure that we don't have to lose sleep over it or anything. If it's important, we'll know when the time is right."
"She has a point, Riku." Sora agreed. "There's no reason to freak out over this. We don't even know what the message means, so why worry about it? If anything comes up, we'll be okay."
At that moment, he summoned his Keyblade. In a fraction of a second, the weapon appeared in his left hand, shining in the sunlight. The gold handle and silver blade shimmered intensely, seeming to glow. Slashing just once through the air, he looked from Riku to Kairi with an intent look of extreme seriousness.
"I've still got this. We have no reason to be concerned at all. I swear that we'll be okay."
Riku watched his friend solemnly. This boy was only 15, and yet he had gone through such torment in the past year or so that it had changed him forever. He knew what it was to fight for his life and the lives of others, to see another die before him, and to be on the brink of death himself. He had been away from home, completely on his own, blindly searching for a way back. In the end he had found it, but not without sacrifice. This Sora, standing on the pier of their island, Keyblade in hand, was entirely unlike the Sora he had known when he was younger. And deep down he was positive he would never see that Sora again.
Sora dismissed the Keyblade and continued down onto the beach. Kairi looked at Riku sadly, sharing his thoughts. The both of them knew their Sora was never going to be the same. He had seen too much, and no matter how hardened he was, no 15-year-old could handle the terror he had been through. Neither of them ever wanted to see that happen to him again.
Sora sat and studied the waves. They rolled in, uninterrupted, in perfect sync. Nothing ever changed about them. Back before the night of the storm, the night that changed his life forever, this kind of repetitiveness would have inspired him to go somewhere new, to explore the universe around him and find something incredible, something he wouldn't be able to see anywhere else. Now he knew better. He knew what was out there. And sure, he had seen some pretty unbelievable things, and met a lot of new people whom he'd never forget. But there was more to it than memorable friends made on a journey and sights to be seen. There had been grief, fear, confusion, lies, death, and so much more. It had torn him apart, and he never wanted to leave his tedious, diminutive island ever again. He wanted to stay here and watch the waves crash into the shoreline rhythmically. All Sora wanted anymore was to live in peace and forget what had happened to him.
A moment later, he became aware of movement beside him. Glancing over, he noticed that Kairi had sat down in the sand next to him.
"Sora, please, don't worry about it." she pleaded gently, taking his hand. "We know it upsets you, and we'll try not to bring it up. Don't worry. Please."
Sora looked at her and noticed for the first time since he had returned that there was a profound sadness in her gaze. Nodding slowly, he clasped her hand in his. "All right, I won't worry. But you don't either, okay?" The girl agreed, a smile returning to her face. Riku came over and sat on Sora's other side, punching his arm humorously.
"Forget about it, Sora, I was just thinking out loud." There was an awkward silence. "But you remember what it said, right?" he continued. "It was all broken up. Leave it to Mickey to make it confusing."
"The King sent that letter not too long after we came home." Sora remembered. "I wonder what could have come up so soon…."
Master of Keyblade
Memory of Xehanort
Chasers…
The Lost Two
Keyblade War
Everything is born…because of the Slumber.