Blind Game
By Sadako Kurosawa
"Hey, Sora, wanna duel?"
Those were the words that Tidus, the thirteen-year-old blonde resident of the island, almost always said to Sora when they came across each other. It had always been that way, ever since they had met several years before.
Sora accepted with a broad smile, no matter what he was doing at the time. The playful hits with the wooden sword he used never gave the other even so much as a tiny bruise.
Tidus's red stick, on the other hand, was rather merciless. He loved to win, and always had a cocky little smirk on his face after he won a battle. When he lost, on the other hand, he always grew quiet and refused to speak for several minutes… Or hours, depending on whom he had lost to.
The only 'battle' Sora had ever won had been their second together. The distraught expression on Tidus's babyish face had made Sora feel incredibly guilty, and though he tried to cheer him up by saying it was just plain luck, he couldn't help but feel saddened himself.
Sora liked to be with Tidus, although he knew it was rather silly and pointless. Their times together were always full of smiles and laughs.
He had even been the one to first show him the 'secret' part of the island, after a particularly long and exhausting duel. The sweet shade turned out to be rather refreshing for both. Covered in sweat, they had sat side by side, breathing heavily.
"I like this place," Tidus had said, once he had recovered some of his strength. "It's calming. Kinda cramped, though." He then looked at some of the drawings Sora and Kairi had done together years before. "Well, isn't that so cute," He stated simply, and then slowly looked up at Sora, who wasn't looking at the drawings, but at him, with an almost melancholy stare in his eyes. "Hey… I always wondered… Do you really like Kairi?"
Sora had blinked a few times, surprised by the question. Then, he shook his head a few times, slowly.
"I like her as a friend…" He replied, looking guilty, but somewhat relieved by his own answer. Tidus suddenly grinned widely, and then picked up a particularly large stray rock by his side.
"You know, I'm a pretty good drawer." He said, looking at Sora, but rubbing the rock with a finger. "You'd look a lot better on these walls if I drew a picture of you, you know? Would you like that?"
Sora had raised his hand to the back of his head and scratched it, closing his eyes and grinning.
"That would be awesome!" He had said, "And… I know I'm not that great of an artist, but I could draw you… Like I did Kairi. I have improved from that, at least."
Tidus immediately stood up, and walked over to an empty spot on a cold wall. Sora followed, and stood right beside him, almost perfectly mimicking the position he had been in with Kairi years before.
They silently began to draw each other's faces; occasionally glancing over to see the features they could show on their drawings.
After a while, they were both done, miraculously at almost the same time. Stepping back, they admired the opposite's drawing skills.
The faces on the wall were staring at each other, a certain light in the lifeless eyes Sora couldn't help but feel somewhat good about.
"You have improved," Tidus said, with a gigantic nod. "Especially when it comes to hair, I think."
Sora crossed his arms and pretended to look at the drawing he had made; but instead looked at the person he had modeled it after, not saying a word.
"I'm kinda hungry," Tidus had suddenly said, rubbing his stomach, which surprisingly growled ravenously in response. "Wanna share a Paopu Fruit? I mean, they're gigantic, I couldn't finish one off on my own anyway."
He had then walked over to his trusty red battle stick, and started to leave.
Sora remained where he was for a moment, thinking about the story about Paopu Fruits he had heard from Riku a few days before.
'Yeah,' He thought, 'I'll share one.'
And then, grabbing his own trusty weapon, he followed after Tidus, his heart, for some reason, beating quickly and uncontrollably.
End