Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, though sometimes I wish I did...

Clay of the Earth

Life was never as easy as one expected it would be on the islands. I found this out at an early age, but I also learned that life was possible with the help of my friends. We've been together for as long as I can remember. Riku is the tall one on the right. His long silvery hair was second only to his aquamarine eyes. That's what I loved about him the most: the fact that his eyes reminded me of the ocean. Riku and I have been friends since the day I was born. His mom and my mom were friends and Riku came to visit me in the hospital on the day of my birth. Of course, he was only one year older than me so he doesn't remember it, but our mother's remind us of it all the time. That's probably why he's my best friend because even when I was just born, I didn't cry when he was in the room. Kairi is the one on the left. Her short red hair and cute face always got her whatever she wanted. That's okay though, because whatever she smooth-talked some older boy out of, she always shared with Riku and me. She would still be our friend though, even if she didn't get us free ice cream and candy. That's me in the middle. I wish my hair were a bit longer, but Riku always says, "Sora, your hair is fine just the way it is. If it weren't that way, you just wouldn't be Sora." These are my friends. I'm glad they were with me, and that we shared the sun, sand, and waves together for so many years. This is my story. A story of pain, growth, betrayal, but most importantly, love.

Chapter One:

Pushing Ivory

Sora awoke with a start and looked at the clock.

"6:00 am," he thought. "Who could invent something worse than 6:00am in the morning?"

The chocolate-haired boy slumped out of bed and lazily pulled on some old, torn jeans and a green t-shirt. It was the last day of summer vacation and his welcoming to his high school career was a 6:15 am call time at the beach to watch the sunrise.

Despite the early hour, Sora practically yelled the first thought that entired his spiky head, "Why couldn't we watch the sunset instead?"

"Sora! It's six in the morning! Keep it down!"

"Sorry, Mom!"

Suddenly remembering the entire reason he was up this early, Sorayelped and stepped into his flip-flops before sprinting down the stairs and out the front door. His mother shook her head as she heard the door slam. It had been hard for Sora to finish middle school without Riku.

"He'll be fine now that he's with Riku again," Lily thought. "Hopefully."

Finally catching sight of the beach, Sora decided he could slow down a little and started searching for his best friend. Noticing a tall mar in the still black horizon, Sora's face immediately sported his patented grin.

"Riku!" The spiky-haired teen yelled.

Riku never missed a beat and replied with a simple statement as always,"Sora, there are people trying to sleep."

"Well, if you didn't get mu up this early, that wouldn't be a problem, now would it?"

"High school starts tomorrow, you nervous?

"No, because I know you'll be there for me, like you always are."

"You're not even a little nervous? Sometimes you're a little too carefree."

"And you're a little too annoying, bringing me here before anyone else is up. I mean if you had invited Tidus and Wakka we could have at least played blitzball."

"But then I wouldn't have had this time with you. Tidus and Wakka would have just been nuisances."

Sora's cheeks were immediately fused with red at the thought that the older boy wanted to spend time with just the incoming freshman. Luckily, Riku wouldn't have noticed the blush rush over Sora's face because at that exact moment the rays of old Sol pierced the royal blue ocean and the two boys watched the spectacular sight in awed-silence, both happy that they were seeing this with the other. Nothing could have made this moment better.

x x x

"OMIGOSHSORAITSOURFIRSTDAYOFHIGHSCHOOLCANYOUBELIEVEIT?"

After that gleeful assault of words on the now speechless blue-eyed boy, Selphie immediately went on to explain her schedule and what she expected of all of her classes. She bounced with fervorand anticipation for theupcomingday.Kairi was listening intently, and Sora meandered along not even attempting to follow Selphie's bombardment of thoughts on teachers none of them had even seen. In the middle of her speech, Riku appeared and whispered into Sora's ear, "She hasn't changed since last year has she?"

Giving a small yelp from the scare that Riku brought with his breath on Sora's ear, the younger boy proceeded to give the iciest glare he could muster. Riku burst out into laughter,which brokeSelphie's train of thoughtonlymomentarily before she started babbling again. Riku lived for the morning walks to school with his friends, just to see them laughing and enjoying themselves. He had missed the walks for an entire year, but at least he would have the next three to make it up.

Kairi was the first amongst them to notice it.

"LOOK! It's our new school!" Was all that could be heard for miles, as the red-head screamed as if a fighter jet had just released its afterburners.

"Kairi hasn't lost her touch either, I see," Riku stated quietly to Sora.

It's not as if the chocolate-haired boy wasn't slightly excited aboutthethought of high school,but he just didn't reach the level ofexcitement thatKairi and Selphie did.

The four of them walked in the front doors of the school. The hustle and bustle of students attempting to find their classes and teachers just hoping to make it through the hallway alive was overwhelming for the three freshmen. Riku was accustomed to it, though, and he laughed inwardly while watching Sora's mouth gape open. Although there were several different colors of shirts, all of the students wore the same khaki pants, which created an optical illusion that was sometimes mesmerizing. This was the curse ofattending a private Catholic school.

Selphie snapped out of the trancethe school had left on them. She grabbed Kairi's hand and rushed off in the direction of their first class. Thankfully, Selphie had spent hours the previous night mapping out the two girls' classes and knew exactly where she was going.

Sora wasn't as prepared as the other's though. Sure he had his schedule in his backpack, but he hadn't taken the time to look at it yet.

Riku simply grabbed his best friend's hand and led him down the intricate hallways to Sora's first class.

"Sora, it's usually a good idea to at least know what classes you're taking."

"I was just planning on going to random classes throughout the day and seeing if I like them."

Riku smiled and gave a chuckle before commenting on his friend's lighthearted attitude, "Have fun walking into the middle of a blitzball match then!"

The silver-haired teen ruffled his best friend's hair as he imagined Sora walking into the middle of a blitzball match. The ball flying everywhere and Sora standing alone and confused in the middle of the court. That would be a site to see.

"Here's your first class of the day. Don't forget that your schedule is in your bag. I'll be waiting outside your classroom before lunch to walk with you. Have a great time, Sora!" Riku advised his companion as he began walking away.

But then, almost as an afterthought, Sora called back to Riku, "Hey Riku, what would I do without you?"

"Probably get hit with a lot more blitzballs."

x x x

First period flew by without a problem and Sora found Riku waiting outside the cocoa-haired boy's class.

"I thought you would meet me before lunch, what are you doing here?" Sora questioned with large azure eyes.

"I just wanted to see how everything went in your first class in high school," the teen asked, running his fingers through his long silvery tendrils. "How was it?"

"Meh, Sister Mary Louise is cute but boring like nothing I've ever done."

"First off, her name is Sister History, and secondly, you learn that you can sleep through her class and still ace it," Riku said with a chuckle.

"Good because I'll need an extra hour of sleep," but once the brown-haired boy said that all he heard from his best friend was laughter.

Breaking his laughing spree with some struggle, Riku commented, "You get nine hours of sleep on a regular basis, how could you possibly need more sleep?"

"I don't do mornings, Riku. You know that."

Sora was dismayed when his older friend stopped outside a classroom with computers lining the walls.

"This is your Modern Technology class," Riku informed.

"Did you memorize your schedule AND my schedule?"Sora inquired.

"Yeah, pretty much," the older teen threw out carelessly.

"Hey, Riku."

"Yeah, Sora?"

"Thanks."

"It's what I do," but after saying that the silver-haired teen didn't expect the spontaneous embrace that came from Sora.

"You're the best."

"Have a great class, Sora," Riku said; glad that the younger of the two couldn't see his red cheeks.

x x x

Riku escorted his best friend to his next three classes and finally to lunch.

"I didn't know if I was going to make it or not," Sora declared in an exhausted voice.

"I'm sure you're just wasting away right now," Riku teased.

This was nothing new to Sora, so he just brushed off the joke and began his destruction of his poor lunch. Selphie, Kairi, Tidus and Wakka joined the two and Sora didn't know what could be better.

"Hey, Sora, wanna go hang out at the beach after school today?" Riku quietly asked, while Selphie conquered the conversation and described every minute detail of her first four classes to everything that had an ear.

"I can't. You know I've got piano lessons on Wednesdays."

"Why do you even take lessons? You're a prodigy; you don't need to go to lessons. You're just naturally good."

Sora's pallor at the comment was unmistakable; Riku had slipped up, and he knew it.

"I mean, from what you're teacher has told me, of course. I've never actually heard you play. No one has."

It was true. Sora was a genius when it came to the piano, though the boy had never played for anyone but his instructor. Well, that's what the coffee-haired boy thought at least. What he didn't know was that last year Riku had walked in on Sora playing the Firebird Suite. It was an intricate piece assigned to the spiky-haired boy because of the detail it required when playing. The aquamarine-eyed teen stopped dead in the foyer because he knew his best friend hated to be heard, and even though he knew this piece of information that would ruin their friendshipe, Riku stood there frozen, listening. As Riku listened to the music, he dared not to even blink, thinking that he might be noticed. Sora could be heard breathing harder and harder as the suite picked up speed and volume, which started making the oldest of the pair nervous. Riku slowly moved into the doorway and watched the boy as his intensity increased until Sora hit the climax of the piece. The silver-haired boy could feel the heat of the bird falling on his neck. He didn't want to turn around for fear of a gigantic phoenix standing behind him, ready to devour him with its flaming plumes. Riku's anxiety was brought to a halt almost immediately when Sora quickly regressed back into his calm self finally reaching the ending theme of the piece. The aqua-eyed teen noticed that his hands had been clenched and he was sweating slightly, but more importantly, that when Sora had begun to finish the piece, Riku immediately felt a cool rush of water over him. The silver-haired teen immediately noticed why the boy was considered a prodigy. Sora was considered a prodigy because he breathed life into the piece he played and made a living creation just by pushing the ivory keys, not because the cocoa-haired boy had picked up the Firebird Suite for the first time right before his friend had walked into the room.

Sora never knew that he had been heard by Riku that day. The flames of the Firebird had melted thefear-frozen teen in just enough timeto silently step out of the house. Riku strained his ears and heard the barely audible finishing chords and pushed the doorbell as the prodigy closed the music.

"I go to piano lessons because I want to get better and I like it!" Sora practically yelled, quickly bringing Riku back from his memory. The memory sat in the silver-haired teen's head with something of a residue. When he had first thought of it, it was clear and precise, as if Riku's senses had been hyperactive that moment. The aquamarine eyes brought back every aspect of the room to view; the way one picture was slightly crooked over Sora's head; how the scent of the fresh cut lilacs in the kitchen pierced through the air without being overpowering; howRiku's mouth went completely dry from the intense heat brought on from the fierce pheonix brought to life by his best friend. It was a wonder that the lilacs didn't die from the heat.

"Whatever," the sophomore spat out dejectedly, noticing that his palms were wet from the flash back of Sora's playing.

"How 'bout I meet ya there afterwards?" The pianist compromised.

"Well, you still owe me."

"I owe you for everything today, can't we just forget this one?"

"We'll see how I'm feeling when you get there tonight."

And with that, Riku ruffled his best friend's hair and stood up.

"Well, it's off to you next class, Sora, let's go!" The aquamarine-eyed teen declared.

"WHAT! Why can't lunch be just a little bit longer?"

"Because then you wouldn't stop eating and you'd lose that great girlish figure of yours."

With that last joke, Sora stood up, blushing, and quietly followed his best friend away from the laughing table.

x x x

Sora played softly as the music called for but with each passing note he applied more pressure to the black and white keys. His heart-rate increased and droplets of sweat were forming on his temples. Nothing would stop him from finishing the piece, even though he looked so uncomfortable. If the Apocalypse came and the Four Horsemen were at the door, they would just have to wait and find solace in the music as he played. He barely even looked at the sheet of music in front of him as his fingers whisked across the keys and landed in various positions. This went on until the chocolate-haired boy was finally playing in a full forte; the boy looked like he was having a panic attack until he finished the piece. His teacher looked at him with awe, despite the fact that she rarely showed any emotion. She sometimes even came off cold.

"Well done, Sora. You've certainly mastered this piece. How many times did you say you practiced it?" Asked Fran.

"Only twice. Though the first time, I thought someone walked into the room so I stopped playing."

"You're going to have to get used to playing in front of people other than me eventually. I have big plans for you."

"I just can't. I can't even play when my mom is home."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I feel like they people listening will judge me and will think I'm bad," the boy explained.

Fran had expected as much. Despite her young appearance she had taught many students, including the prodigy's father. The woman knew just how to deal with Sora for that very reason. His father couldn't play in front of anyone either for the longest time, though he had kicked the habit by high school when he figured out how amazing he actually was, and with a little of Fran's help. The white-haired teacher looked at her pupil and reassured, "Sora, people will always judge you, but you're too amazing for them to think you're a poor pianist."

"Well, I still don't want to do it."

"How about we work on this problem a little by little? Don't you want anyone to hearhow you bring the music to life?"

"Well, there is one person, he's my best friend."

"Then we'll invite him to a lesson and you can play in front of him." Fran suggested calmly.

"NO! I COULD NEVER PLAY IN FRONT OF RIKU!" Sora screamed, foiling Fran's composed nature perfectly.

"And why not?" Fran queried.

"Because I'm not good enough to play for him," the prodigy stated under his breath.

"Sora, even if you aren't good, your best friend will always support you. Luckily, you aren't good."

"I'm not?"

"No, you're fantastic," and after assuring the teen it would be okay, the tall, white-haired piano teacher handed a piece of music to the boy.

"Have this ready for next week. It should be no problem for you, so bring Riku along also."

"I…I…"

"If you don't I'll call your mom and tell her to bring him along and they can both listen to you play."

Sora was not the fool most people took him to be. Playing in front of two people was much worse than playing in front of one.

"Okay, I'll bring Riku, I promise," and after saying goodbye, Sora stood up, hit is favorite note on the piano, and walked out of the house.

"What a silly little boy," Fran thought to herself, smiling as she waved goodbye.

x x x

Riku was becoming impatient. He didn't mind waiting for his best friend, it's just that he knew Sora's lesson was over fifteen minutes ago and his lessons were held just a couple of blocks away from his house. Sora should have been there by now.

Riku would have left to go find his blue-eyed friend but decided to wait just a little longer. Sora could get behind schedule sometimes, whereas Riku was a very punctual person. Sora was just carefree like that and that was something Riku had learned to live with. The ocean reminded Riku of all of the fun times he had had there with his friends. Playing blitzball, making sandcastles, hiding in the secret spot from various people that they pulled pranks on; a smile crept onto Riku's face as he gazed at the ocean. Of course, the smile grew wider when he heard Sora running towards him and screaming his name.

"RIKU!" The younger teen yelled at the top of his lungs. "DON'T LEAVE YET!"

"Do you see me walking away, Sora?" Riku questioned in a teasing voice.

"No, but I was worried you wouldn't see me and you would walk away. That's why I was yelling your name," Sora answered innocently.

"Well, now you owe me even more, for making me wait." Riku's smile turned into a mischievous grin when he said this.

"I already owe you for the two hundred other things you've done for me and things I've done against you. Is there one thing that I can do that would make it all up to you?"

"I've been thinking about that and I came up with something…" the silver-haired boy said slyly.

"What? Tell me! Tell me, Riku!" Sora pleaded.

"You're not gonna like it," Riku replied, knowing that this would push his cocoa haired friend over the edge.

"It doesn't matter; I just want to know how I could repay you. I'll do anything!"

Riku thought about that last comment for a while.

"Anything?" The aquamarine-eyed teen thought to himself. "I could ask for a kiss on the lips, but he wouldn't want that." Riku studied his best friend with hungry eyes. "No, Sora is too innocent. I can't ask for anything that he doesn't want to do yet. I have to let him come to me, unfortunately." And after that last thought Riku decided to go with something less daring.

"Okay, well, I want you to play the piano for me."

"Have you been talking with my piano teacher lately?"

"No, why?"

"Because she's forcing me to bring someone to my next lesson to play for them and I chose you."

Riku blushed at the fact that he was chosen out of everyone in Sora's life to hear the pure hearted teen play for the first time. Luckily, the sun was on Riku's side this time and began to set at the very moment that the sophomore's face turned bright red, melding with the various hues of orange, yellow, and red.

"Seriously? I actually get to hear you play?" The older boy burst back into life after processing the information he had previously received.

"I never agreed, ya know," the blue-eyed boy teased, his eyes contrasting perfectly with the sunset.

"But you owe me," Riku replied. He didn't like forcing Sora to do things unless it would benefit his best friend and he felt a tinge of guilt after hearing a sigh come from Sora. "It's okay, Sora, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I'll be fine. But you have to promise that you won't make fun of me if I suck, okay?"

"Sora, I would never make fun of you for doing something that you love so much."

"Just promise."

"I promise. But I highly doubt you'll 'suck' as much as you say you will."

"Thanks, Riku."

"Anything for you, Sora"

The two boys smiled and watched the quintessential sunset before walking home, smiling ear to ear the entire time.

x x x

Ha, i'm still getting used to this, and i'm not sure if i like all of the mushy stuff in this chapter (and chapters to come...lol), but hopefully someone will. this is my first time writing and publishing something, so please be kind. that is to say, tell me what i'm doing wrong in a nice way. other than that, i should have a couple more chapters up later. i'm not sure how long chapters are normally supposed to be. but we'll say that this one will probably be normal size for this story, ok? well, i hope you like it! OH AND PLEASE SEND ME REVIEWS! i need all the help i can get! thanks! aloha oe!