"Morning!"
"Good Morning."
"Today's the day Riku!"
"Oh please…"
"Are we working on the raft today?" Saiyoku jumped into the water from off the deck; it was only ankle deep. She picked up a large shell and examined it before chucking it back into the ocean.
"Guess so. Nothing better to do." Riku crossed his arms and leaned across the side of the deck.
"Alright then! I'll go look for some supplies!" Sora ran off a little ways and watched for fish in the ocean.
"You do that Sora…" Saiyoku yawned, "I guess I'll go and search for supplies too, whatever it is. If it can be used, I'll grab it. I'll be on the North side." She walked leisurely to the waterfall where the entrance to the North beach was.
"I guess I'll handle building the raft then." Riku got up and followed Saiyoku through the entrance.
"That leaves me with the supplies as well." Kairi ran to one of the ladders leading up into the tree houses. Sora watched until they were all off doing their own thing until he fell back in a sprawl on the sandy beach and dozed off.
While Riku handled building the raft out of whatever the team came up with, Saiyoku quickly found a place where wood was plenty, and gathered up as much as she could carry in one go. Kairi found a white sheet and some rope that could be used as a sail.
"Hey, Riku!"
"Riku!"
Kairi and Saiyoku both met up at the exact same time with their items; Saiyoku set hers down because they were so heavy.
"Hold on. I'm almost done here." Riku said through his teeth as he pulled tight on the rope holding together three large logs, "There, that should do it. So, what did you guys find?" He sat down on the three logs.
"I found this sheet and some more rope. We could use the sheet as a sail once we get a mast up." Kairi tossed her items on the sandy shore to start a pile of supplies.
"Underneath the huge grove of coconut trees over there are a bunch of logs. They're everywhere. I think there's a big enough one to be our mast as well. I brought a few over for ya Riku, so you can work on the rest of the raft base."
"Alright, hand me that rope you found Kairi. I need some more for the base to hold the logs together." Riku pointed to her pile while Saiyoku picked up a log and set it in place.
"Hey, has anyone seen Sora?" Saiyoku asked while grabbing the rope Riku was holding. She wrapped it around the log before Riku placed two more beside it. She tied the rope quickly around the other two and pulled the rope taut so they stayed in place.
"I think I know where he is, and I'm pretty sure I know what he's doing as well." Kairi headed over to the entrance into the South side. Riku shrugged his shoulders and followed her. Saiyoku grinned, understanding what Kairi was talking about, and caught up to Riku.
"You wanna help me with the logs real quick? I think we just need one more, and then we can come back for the mast. It's pretty big."
"Sure, I'll go grab one right now so we can grab the mast on the way back. It'll save us a trip." He ran over to the grove while she looked down and saw a small pebble. She picked it up and held it tight in her hand.
They left the North side and could see Kairi standing over Sora. She startled him, and he quickly sat up.
"Whoah!" He yelled, and Kairi laughed, "Gimme a break, Kairi."
"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here."
Saiyoku stopped and grabbed Riku's arm.
"Hold on, watch this." She said as she tossed the pebble up once, caught it, and chucked it over to them.
"No! This huge, black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head as the pebble hit its mark. He could hear Saiyoku and Riku's laughter in the background as Kairi asked, "Are you still dreaming?"
Saiyoku and Riku high fived and stood at a distance. They both knew that those two would both prefer some time alone.
"It wasn't a dream! Or was it? I don't know. What was that place? So bizarre…" He looked out over the ocean.
"Yeah, sure." Kairi said sarcastically before walking closer to the water's edge.
"Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up."
"I told you before, I don't remember."
"Nothing at all?" He asked doubtfully.
"Nothing."
"You ever wanna go back?"
"Hm… well, I'm happy here."
"Really…"
Riku motioned to head over there, and Saiyoku nodded.
"But you know… I wouldn't mind going to see it."
"I'd like to see it too. Along with any other worlds out there. I wanna see 'em all!" He looked up at the sky.
Kairi turned around and smiled, "So what are we waiting for?"
"Hey," Riku called out, interrupting them, "aren't you guys forgetting about us? So, I guess Saiyoku and I are the only ones working on the raft." He walked over to Kairi and tossed the log he had picked up onto Sora, who didn't have time to catch it. Saiyoku went over and patted him on the head jokingly, "You deserved that hit on the head."
"So it was you!"
"Who else has better aim?" She smiled.
"You're just as lazy as he is!" Riku said to Kairi.
She giggled, "Hehe, so you noticed. Alright, we'll finish it together! This time I'll make sure I look hard! I'll race you!"
Riku collapsed on the sand next to Sora and sighed.
"Huh?"
"What are you kidding?" Riku complained, "I get enough heck out of Saiyoku to race, and now you're wanting to too?"
"I thought you didn't want to race, Kairi. What made you change your mind?"
"I kinda felt left out. Anyway, ready? Go!" She shouted, and the three others stared at each other before leaping up and running. The other three lead the race while Kairi trailed behind, laughing the whole way.
"I'm so gonna beat you!"
"Give it your best shot!"
"No way am I gonna give up my winning streak now!"
The sun set slowly while the foursome were all positioned in their normal places. Riku stood at the foot of the Paopu tree, while Saiyoku lay along the shape right behind him, filling the gap between him and Kairi. Kairi and Sora sat next to one another further up the tree. They all sat/stood/laid in silence for awhile before Sora broke it.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" He leaned forward to look at Riku for some reassurance.
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here."
"But how far could a raft take us?"
"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So, suppose you get to another world. Hehe, what would you do there?" Kairi broke in.
"Hmm… well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just… I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are really other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just have easily ended up somewhere else, right?" Riku explained.
"I don't know." Sora replied, lying back onto the tree like Saiyoku.
"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out."
"You've really put a lot of thought into this, haven't you Riku?" Saiyoku suddenly asked him.
"I guess so," He stood up away from the tree, "but just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go." Kairi just shook her head.
"Like Saiyoku said, you've been thinking a lot lately Riku."
"Thanks to you," He turned to look at her, "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never have thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."
"Heh, you're welcome."
"I think I'll call it a day. I'll see you guys later." Saiyoku sat up and jumped down.
"Really? I've never seen you so eager to get back home before."
"It's not "home". It's just the place I live. This place? This place is home. This is where my family is." She turned to look the island and smiled, "Well, See you guys tomorrow." She headed for the main island but Riku grabbed her arm to stop her.
"We'll all leave together. We might as well anyway. It's getting late. C'mon guys."
"You're right. Let's all go home." Sora agreed, and he jumped down, holding out his hand to help Kairi. They both started across the bridge while Riku quickly jumped up onto the Paopu tree to grab one of the fruits. He then ran to catch up with Sora, Saiyoku following him.
"Sora," He called out and tossed the star shaped fruit while Sora turned around, "You wanted one, didn't you?"
"A Paopu fruit…"
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I know you wanna try it." He walked calmly passed him, Saiyoku now ahead.
"What are you talking—?"
Riku just laughed while Sora tossed it into the ocean. They both ran off the bridge and jumped down to follow the two girls. Kairi hopped into her boat while the other three caught up. Sora climbed into his and the two started rowing off while shouting goodbye.
Saiyoku stepped into her boat before Riku caught her shoulder.
"He's not the only one who I think wants to try it."
Saiyoku paused and looked at him, one foot in the boat, the other on the deck.
"Wha—?" She pushed off the boat and stepped back onto the deck only to receive a Paopu fruit placed in her arms.
"Here. Think about it," He turned and hopped in his boat, "I'll see you tomorrow!" He rowed off while she just stood there, looking at the golden fruit. She gave a small smile before tossing it into the boat and jumping in after it.
"Bye Riku!" She called out after him and waved; he saw her and waved back.
"Bye!"
