-1

"Kairi!"

Kairi looked to see Sora running to her and smiled. "Hey, Sora." The two had been on Destiny Islands for about a week now and there seemed to be nothing going on. Kairi appreciated that; it gave her time to tell Sora something she had been aching to tell him since they were reunited. She was worried and scared; would they be separated before she could tell him? She had to tell him soon, she just knew it. "Is something wrong, Kai?" Sora asked, watching the emotions flash in her eyes. Kairi shook her head, smiling. "No, silly!" she laughed a little, but it was a fake, hollow laugh. Sora smiled too and she wondered if he didn't catch it or just chose to ignore it. "Good. Me and Riku wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with us tonight."

"What are we doing?" Sora shrugged.

"I dunno," he said, grinning. "We didn't plan it out yet."

"You know what? I think I'll pass…" she didn't fail to see the confused expression on Sora's face, nor did she miss the worried look evident in his blue eyes. "You sure?"

"Positive." He nodded, scanned her one more time, before turning and walking away. Kairi sighed, sitting on the beach and getting lost in her own thoughts.

Her sapphire eyes were glazed over as the tears fell from her eyes freely. Why did it have to be this way? She had wanted to get away before, wanted to leave the island and find worlds beyond.

But that was with them. She missed her friends Sora and Riku. Her friends and her, Kairi, were three people that made one before. A threesome. Now they were separated and there was nothing Kairi could do to stop it.

She ran a hand through her auburn hair, gazing out at the horizon. No doubt she missed Riku. But her heart ached for Sora. It was cruel that she had to be separated from him and not know when they would meet again. Scary, even. Would they ever meet again? Would Sora ever come back to her, or would she stay here on Destiny Islands for ever not knowing what became of him? Would she ever get to tell him what he meant to her…that she, despite denying it for a while, loved him?

Kairi knew in her heart she loved Sora. She put her hand over her heart and closed her eyes, trying to imagine Sora in front of her. Trying to imagine herself being reunited with him. What would it be like? It worried her even more when she found herself unable to imagine it. She opened her eyes.

"I miss you already, Sora," she said quietly. In truth she had only been separated from Sora a few days ago. It seemed like an eternity to Kairi. "Please come back soon…" She gazed at the sky, watching the twinkling stars. "Wherever you are Sora, just don't forget me. Please don't forget me," she whispered to herself, "I…" Even though she was alone on the beach it still was hard to admit it out loud. Tears fell down her face again. "Love you," she finished sadly, closing her eyes again. "And when I see you again, I won't fail to tell you that," she promised herself, wiping her tears quickly. "I promise myself when I see Sora again I will tell him how I feel…if I ever get the chance."

The promise was made. Would she keep it?

Kairi felt guilty. Why was it so hard to tell someone you love them? She had known Sora much of her life and completely trusted him. Riku knew she loved him, too. Actually, Riku had helped her with her feelings and coming to terms with them when he had returned. She had told him the night before. She sighed, shaking her head. This was all confusing her. She wasn't sure what to do…

"Hey, Kairi."

Kairi jumped and turned around quickly, now fully aware. She rolled her eyes when she saw the familiar face of her friend Riku, silver hair and all. "Hi, Riku," she said, but she knew she didn't sound too excited. Riku chuckled. "What are you doing here all alone? Rather sit on the beach and do nothing than hang out with Sora and I?" Kairi shrugged. "Thinking," she answered simply.

"I can tell," Riku smirked. "But about what?"

"Sora," she answered truthfully. Riku's smirk widened.

"Ah," was all he said before plopping down next to her on the sand. "…So, you didn't tell him yet?" Kairi shot a glare at her friend. He knew the answer he just wanted the satisfaction of her admitting it. "No," she answered through gritted teeth. Riku nodded.

"It's probably not any of my business," Riku said, "but you should tell him soon, Kairi."

"But…what if he doesn't return my feelings?" Riku chuckled.

"I don't think you need to worry 'bout that. See ya, Kai." With that he got up and walked away. Kairi sighed and thought about her friend's words. She hoped he was right.

Kairi was searching the island for Sora. She finally spotted him perched on the little island that was connected by a bridge. He was sitting on the tree's trunk. She silently walked over and sat next to him. He smiled when he saw her. "Hey, Kairi!" he said happily.

"Hey, Sora," she said and took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you, Sora."

"Well, go ahead!" he said, grinning. "Wait. It's nothing bad, right?"

"No, no," she assured, shaking her head. "Nothing bad…but, Sora…ever since," she tried to remember when she had started to develop feelings for Sora, "well, a long time ago…I've had feelings for you." Sora laughed.

"Of course! You're one of my best friends, Kai."

"No," she said, her voice lower than it had been when it started, "not like that." Now Sora was confused, Kairi could tell. She sighed. "I…Sora, I…"

"Yeah, Kai?"

"I love you."

Sora didn't say anything. It scared Kairi. Her heart was beating fast. After a couple minutes of silence she got up. "It's okay, Sora," she said, trying to prevent tears, "I understand. I just needed to tell you. I promised myself that I would," by the end of her last sentence her voice had cracked and a single tear had rolled down her cheek. Before anymore came she had the urge to run but someone grabbed her wrist. "Kairi, don't go." Kairi turned around and looked into Sora's eyes, confused. "Why? Don't you hate me, Sora?"

"How can I hate you…" he looked down and Kairi caught a tint of pink spreading across his cheeks, "when I feel the same way?" Kairi's heart skipped a beat. "Sora…"

"Kairi, I love you."

Their eyes met and silence fell upon them. Then, without warning, Sora leaned forward and pressed his lips to Kairi's. Kairi closed her eyes, pulling Sora closer to her. Something had never felt so right before in her life.

She had kept her promise to herself, even if it had been hard. She smiled, her hand entwined with Sora's as she gazed at the night sky. "I love you, Sora."

"Love you too, Kairi."

She smiled to herself.

'Well, that wasn't as hard as I thought…but telling someone you love them is hard.'