DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or any of their characters. I hope you enjoy!
Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to start off by telling you that this isn't a cliché Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy high school story. I can assure you that it DOES have a plot-line! I hope that you'll give it a chance! Enjoy!
Serenity had spent the entire week after she had been informed she would be moving away from Twilight Town just thinking how something like this could have happened to her. Maybe she was just being over-dramatic, but she didn't want to leave any of her friends behind. Serenity's mother and father had gotten a job offer on a dangerous world and refused to allow their daughter to accompany them. In an effort to keep her safe, they were sending her to to stay with her cousin, Rikku, on a large cluster of islands called "Destiny Islands".
Serenity was worried about leaving everything she had ever known behind and starting anew. She was never forced into foreign territory, so she had no idea how she was going to react. It frightened her to no end. Although Serenity had no desire to leave her previous life behind, she had heard some pretty interesting stories from her cousin. Especially about who she hung out with. From all the stories about school or parties, Serenity gathered that they were certainly an intriguing group of people.
"Serenity, do you have your stuff packed? The cab is going to be here soon! I don't want you to miss your plane!" Serenity mournfully sighed, before slowly smiling at the small photograph of her and her friends that she held. "Coming, Mom! Give me a second!"
Serenity wiped the wetness from her blue eyes, unwilling to let her parents see that she had been crying, and placed the small photograph back in her handbag. Running her pale fingers through her long black hair and grabbing her suitcases in both hands, Serenity cast one more longing look at the place she had lived since she had been born, and started down the stairs. Serenity's mother and father were both waiting for her when she reached the bottom.
Serenity quickly glanced through the open door to see a yellow taxi cab waiting for her. She sighed and turned back to see the pitying looks her parents were sending her. "Bye Mom. Bye Dad. I love you," Serenity said as she pulled them both in for a group hug. "Bye, Sweetie. We'll miss you," her father said, giving her forehead a quick kiss and shooting her a sad smile.
"I'll miss you both, so much." Her father and mother smiled before offering to help her with her ridiculously heavy suitcases. Serenity had made sure that she had packed everything that would remind her of her past memories and her home. She would never want to forget something that made her the person she was today.
Serenity climbed into the back seat of the cab after all of her stuff had been loaded. She gave one last farewell and a wave before the cab crept forward and her parents were eventually out of sight.
"First time leaving home? Looked like you were saying goodbye for a while," the cab driver said, glancing at Serenity through the mirror. "Yeah. I probably won't get to see them for a while," the raven-haired girl softly answered, her attention focused on the passing cars and buildings. The man in the front uttered a soft apology, and the rest of the ride was taken in silence.
...
As soon as Serenity had reached the airport, she was in the process of digging her wallet out of her handbag to pay the cabbie, but he stopped her. "You've had a long day. It's on the house." Serenity gratefully thanked the man, gathered her belongings from the trunk and sneakily slipped the cab fare plus a generous tip into the trunk before shutting it.
It was the least she could do in payment for his generosity.
She said a farewell to the cabbie and walked through the glass doors of the airport, a suitcase in each hand. Flustered and scared that she would be late, Serenity hurried to customs where they checked her bags and pockets, and sent her on her way. Wandering around looking for her flight, she was startled when the intercom announced that it would be leaving in five minutes.
There was a click as the intercom shut off, and Serenity's eyes widened considerably. She was going to miss her flight! "Ugh! CRAP!" Serenity blushed when she realized that her outburst had earned her quite a few glances. She mouthed an apology before she took off towards her terminal.
...
When she had finally found her flight with just two minutes to spare, she allowed her luggage to be taken away, and quickly handed the porter her ticket. The older woman tore her ticket and allowed Serenity to board.
Serenity was deeply annoyed when she found that she was seated next to an old, fat man that snored entirely too loud. She sighed, taking her seat. "Just my luck. This really isn't my day," she muttered. Serenity decided that she would make the best of this long trip, however, and shut her eyes, drowning out the snoring of the man beside her.
...
Serenity awoke with a start to a male voice over the intercom, "We have arrived in Destiny Islands. We hope that you have a wonderful time!" Click. "Well, that was fast," she muttered, rubbing her eyes and standing up from her cramped seat. She certainly wasn't complaining about the fast trip, however.
Serenity got off of the plane and gathered her luggage. She had to go through security once again before she was allowed outside. When she was finally able to step out into the bright oasis of Destiny Islands, she was shocked. The light of the sun was much brighter and warmer than it was in Twilight Town. The tropical vegetation and the ocean that surrounded the island was insanely foreign. This would take some getting used to.
"Serenity!" The surprised girl fell backwards onto the concrete as she was tackled. This voice, however, was someone that she greatly recognized. "Rikku! I didn't know that you would be here!" Serenity yelled, as she laughed and hugged her excited cousin. "If I didn't come, how would you know how to get to the house, silly?" Rikku asked, before allowing her amused cousin to stand to her feet.
"Uhh… Good question." Serenity laughed awkwardly and brought her hand up to sheepishly scratch the back of her head. Rikku just giggled. "You're going to fit in perfectly!" She grabbed Serenity's arm in her tight grip and led her to the nearby cab.
The driver grabbed all of the luggage and tossed it in the trunk before he returned to the driver's seat. Rikku hopped in the back seat, Serenity following closely after, and the driver pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards Serenity's new home.
The whole route to the house, Rikku talked Serenity's ear off about the school she would be attending, the people she would meet, and how much fun she was going to have doing it all. She loved the happy personality of her cousin. It would never get old.
When the cab finally pulled into the road of Rikku's home, she gave her younger cousin a sly look. "I have a surprise for you," Rikku said, peeking at Serenity out of the corner of her green, swirl-patterned eyes. "Oh, no... Rikku, what did you do?" Rikku giggled before returning her gaze to the road.
"It's nothing bad, Reni. I promise! I just have a person at my house, waiting to meet you," she assured the nervous girl sitting beside her. Serenity breathed a sigh of relief. Considering what her cousin is capable of, it could have been much worse. Surprises of Rikku's had a tendency to end quite badly.
"You'll like her. She's pretty much exactly like me! She's been my best friend since elementary school!" Rikku sang happily. Another Rikku? "I can't wait to meet her, Cuz."
The cab pulled up and came to a stop in front of a moderately sized brick house, and the cabbie got out of the car to pull Serenity's luggage out of the trunk. Before she could grab it and head to the house, the oak front door swung open, revealing a girl who was about the same size as Rikku with short black hair and a cheerful grin plastered on her face.
"Rikku!" She cheered happily, before running up to her and performing a complicated handshake that Serenity was positive she would have never been able to memorize. When she turned to Serenity, she could clearly feel the excitement that was radiating off of the slightly older girl. "I'm Yuffie! You have no idea how great it is to meet you!" Yuffie sang as she pulled Serenity into a tight hug.
"Can't….. breathe!" Serenity struggled to contract her chest, but it was far to difficult to do so with the way Yuffie was squeezing her. After hearing the groans from the pained girl, she released the hug. "Sorry about that! I was just so excited to meet you!"
Serenity caught her breath and smiled at the spirited girl. "It's fine. I was excited to meet you too! Rikku told me a lot about you on the way here!" Rikku was definitely right about one thing.
The two of them WERE alike.
...
"I'm finally done!" Serenity breathed a sigh of relief, as she plopped herself down on the couch between Rikku and Yuffie. After a few hours of making sure everything was in place, she was finally done with unplacking. Rikku had all the furniture essentials already set up in the room when she got there, so pretty much the only thing that Serenity had to unpack were her clothes, her electronics, and her pictures.
"Yay! Now, we can take you on a tour of the town!" Yuffie exclaimed loudly. "Yeah! And you can meet all of our friends!" Rikku hurriedly added.
"Uhh.. What?" The two girls hopped up off of the couch, and Serenity could see that they were literally bouncing with excitement. "But….." They frowned, drooping onto the couch again. Rikku sighed. "There's always a 'but'….." Yuffie pouted with disappointment. Serenity could clearly see how excited they were to show her the surrounding area. She didn't want to disappoint them, so she decided that she would go, despite being exhausted from the move.
"I'm gonna go hop in the shower really quick. I don't think I'll make a good first impression if I smell like death." Serenity was surprised by how quickly they seemed to brighten. "Deal!" They answered in unison. "We'll wait for you here!" Rikku smiled and gave Serenity a quick thumbs up.
Author's Note: Okay, so what did you think? I'm just working to get Serenity settled right now, but new characters and the plot will come! The next chapter should be out soon!