A/N:
My entry for warm.summer.nights' contest. She's a great author, check out her fics :D
XD I got this idea in my head, and it wouldn't go away until I wrote it x-X
Even though this is like insta-failure, I thought it was a cute idea. Not to mention it's MAD-SHORT. -dies-
Disclaimer: I OWN THE FACT THAT KAIRI LIVES ON A HILL XD
"Do you ever miss Castle Oblivion?"
Kairi ran a brush down my long blonde hair. I felt odd and out of sorts with it not draped along my right side. We sat on the porch, a table with two glasses of lemonade beside us.
"No," I answered truthfully. "No, not at all."
"Was it really that awful there?" Kairi asked, the brush momentarily ceasing in its path.
"Yes." I replied, grimacing at the very thought of it. "I was locked up in a room, and used..."
"No need to go into detail," Kairi said, putting down the brush and giving me a hug. "I know you don't like talking about it."
Kairi had become my dearest, closest friend, and also, in a way, my sister. She took straight to that, of course; she said I was her younger sister and needed to be cared and treated as such. We never argued. She usually took my hand and told me that everything was going to be fine.
"Your hair's really pretty," Kairi admitted, continuing in her brushing. "It's really soft, too."
"Thank you," I said quietly. My voice level hadn't increased since my arrival at Destiny Islands, nor had I grown any less timid. I had been shy around Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie when I was originally introduced to them; I was even slightly shy around Riku.
Once again, Kairi had taken my hand and told me everything was going to be fine.
"Geez, it's hot out," Kairi complained, breaking me away from my thoughts. She wiped some sweat off her forehead with the backside of her hand. "The summer is beautiful and all, but it's crazy humid."
I nodded. "But the sunset is marvelous," I admitted. From Kairi's porch, there was a magnificent view of the sun setting on the calm waters of the beach. Her house sat atop a hill, so you could see the tops of trees as well, all leading up to the beach.
"Yeah," Kairi sighed, now just brushing my hair for the sake of brushing it. It hadn't even been that knotted in the first place, but she had insisted. "It's what sisters do," she had told me.
I stared at the sunset, the pink, orange, purple and blue hues of the sky having a calming effect on me. The ocean was nearly still, except for the constant push and pull of the shoreline. Seeing it there, I felt like the world was at utter peace.
"Kairi?" I asked, turning around to face her. Her head tilted slightly.
"What is it?"
"Do...do you really think that we can be sisters?" I asked reluctantly.
"Yeah!" Kairi replied cheerfully. "Why not?"
"It's just..." I began, trying not to bite my lip. "I've never really had actual friends, much less a sister. Not even a sister figure. Sure, I had Sora, but...for the awful things I did..." I shook my head. "I could never call myself his friend. And I barely know Riku. And Roxas..." my voice faded slightly, to an even quieter pitch. "I feel like it was my fault he had to endure half of the things he did. Had I not been so reluctant to tell him the truth, had I told him right from the start--"
Kairi put her hand up to stop me. "Namine," she said, "no matter what happened back then, it's not happening anymore. It's not happening now. It's over, Namine, all the awful things you had to endure. Besides," she put her hand on top of mine, her expression becoming happier. "You're big sister's here now!"
I smiled. She was right: It wasn't happening now. I had to stop dwelling on the past and focus on the future--a future full of friends, full of Kairi, full of Sora, full of Riku, and Roxas, full of everyone on the island. Everyone waiting to be her friend.
Everything was going to be fine.