Hourglass
Chapter 2: The Return Anniversary
There was a huff as Sora kicked a stray can down the street they were walking down. It had been an hour since he and his two best friends had encountered a future version of himself. And despite Sky's insistence that they enjoy their Return Anniversary exactly the way they had planned, pretending they hadn't met, Sora couldn't take his mind off the warning of events to come. It was all he could think about – a desolate future overrun with Heartless. He was afraid to know just how many of his friends were dead in this future.
"Hello?" The voice of Kairi shook him out of his thoughts. "Earth to Sora! Wakey wakey!" Sora blinked a few times. It was only now that he realized both Kairi and Riku were staring at him with concern. "You okay?" He pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead in hopes it would help clear his head.
"Yeah, I guess my mind was a million miles away," he said, hoping that would bring his friends comfort.
"Thinking about the future?" Riku asked, reading Sora like a book.
"Uh… no, I was…" Sora couldn't think of an adequate excuse. It was pretty obvious he was preoccupied all morning.
Originally, the first thing on their agenda for the day was to go fishing on Play Island and cook up some breakfast, but since they had to bring an unconscious Sky to Riku's house, their plans had to change a little. Instead of fish for breakfast, they settled for cereal. Sora was distracted while eating and only 70 of his food actually ended up in his mouth while the rest he accidentally dribbled down his chin and shirt. So now they were heading back to Play Island for a swim, but Sora was walking very slowly to the docks.
"Look, it's okay to be distracted," said Riku. "It's impossible to pretend we didn't receive news of impending doom and just walk away like it's nothing." He playfully ruffled Sora's head and the brunette couldn't help but feel like his heart was doing a back flip. "All we need to remember is that we're the warriors of light and we're damn good at what we do. So no matter what, we're gonna beat Maleficent. We may as well enjoy today to its fullest. Okay?" Somehow Riku's words brought great comfort to Sora's troubled mind and he broke into a wide grin.
"Right!" He broke out into a sprint. "Betcha I can beat you to the docks!" Riku was quick on the uptake and darted after Sora.
"Betcha you're gonna lose!" Kairi rolled her eyes at their antics and jogged after them at a leisurely pace, lightly giggling all the way.
0o0o0
There was a tremendous splash as Sora did a cannon-ball dive off Paopu Island into the water. Kairi gasped as the cold water drenched her. She was still attempting to get used to its cold temperatures but now there was no need for that, thanks to Sora.
"Jeez, you coulda given me some warning!" Kairi laughed as she splashed water at Sora when he surfaced.
"Your warning was my looming shadow overtaking the beach," Sora joked, splashing Kairi back. He froze when he felt something like seaweed wrap around his foot. Before he could shake it off, it dragged him beneath the waves in one quick movement.
"Sora!" Kairi cried out. Sora thrashed against the force pulling at him and looking down to see none other than Riku with a huge grin plastered on his face. Sora suppressed the urge to groan. With his other foot, he pushed off using Riku's face as leverage. Once he broke the surface, he began laughing heartily as Riku came above the water, a sour expression replacing his earlier grin.
"You didn't have to kick me in the face!" he yelled, diving at Sora to get him in a headlock. Sora swam hastily to avoid being caught, making his way to the beach where he could move faster. Riku caught up quickly and pounced on Sora, pinning him to the sand. The older teen loomed overhead with threatening fingers, millimetres away from Sora's ticklish stomach. Sora was already of bundle of giggles before the tickle attacks began. He thrashed about to free himself and managed to toss Riku off. The silver-headed boy was too belligerently hysterical to continue the assault.
Feeling like he had accomplished his revenge, Riku gave up the pursuit and settled on the beach, scooping up some of the sand and starting to form a mound of it. Sora pouted slightly at the lack of chase and took a seat next to Riku.
After a few minutes of watching him build a large mound of sand, Sora began digging a trench around it with his hands. Riku smoothed out the sides and formed crenels and battlements along the top of his sand mound. Together, the two slowly but surely created a rather impressive sand castle. Once they were finished, they sat back and beheld their masterpiece.
"Sweet," Sora said in a relaxed tone. The castle had three towers, a courtyard in the middle, a semi hollowed-out grand hall, a moat, and a drawbridge made of driftwood. "Let's call it Agrabah Castle."
"Nah, I'm thinking Castle Twilight," countered Riku. "Has a nicer ring to it." Sora narrowed his eyes.
"Agrabah." Riku felt the competitive side of him stir.
"Twilight."
"Agrabah!"
"Twilight!"
"What are you two fighting about now?" asked Kairi as she emerged from the water. "Do we have to settle this the old-fashioned way?" Riku and Sora perked up.
"I think so," Riku nodded.
"Agreed," Sora said.
"You know the rules," Kairi announced, walking along with the two boys to the starting line of their obstacle course. "First one to touch the star and get back wins. I'll be judging. No dirty tricks!" Sora and Riku lined up at the starting point and crouched low.
"Loser has to eat a handful of sand," Riku murmured to Sora.
"You're on," Sora replied.
"On your marks!" Kairi shouted. "Get set!" Sora gritted his teeth and prepared himself. "Go!" There was a blinding flash of light as Sora used his drive technique to transform into his Valor form. "Hey! I said no dirty tricks!"
"All's fair in love and war!" Sora called as he glided off in high speeds. Riku sprinted after him, cursing the whole way. By the time he reached the other side of the pulley, Sora had already reached the golden star and was making his way back. As they passed each other, Riku stuck his foot out and surprisingly managed to trip the airborne Sora, giving Riku enough time to catch up. It was a close finish as the two raced over the last portion of the track – the decaying bridge. Riku was ahead by just a fraction when suddenly, the ground gave out beneath him and he fell into the water below. He had forgotten about the portion of the bridge that gave out anytime someone stepped on it.
"Yes!" Sora cheered as he crossed the finish line.
"This race shouldn't even count!" Riku yelled angrily from his watery seat. "You cheated!"
"I didn't cheat," Sora replied smugly, leaning over the edge of the bridge to gloat at Riku. "I simply used my new skills as an advantage. If anyone cheated, it was you. You tripped me!"
"Because you cheated!" Riku leapt up to the ledge Sora was leaning off. "Kairi, tell him it didn't count! He cheated!" Kairi gave a sympathetic face.
"Honestly, I dunno if Drive Forms are considered cheating," she said slowly, hoping Riku wouldn't direct his death glare in her direction. "We never had a rule for that before." Riku growled in intense frustration.
"Rematch!"
"No way, dude!" Sora said triumphantly. "I won! We're calling it Agrabah Castle."
"We're not calling it that! You cheated! I want a rematch!"
"You're just upset because this is the first time I've beaten you at this race. You'll get over it."
"Why you arrogant little-"
"Uh… guys…" Kairi hesitantly said, pointed towards the beach. Sora and Riku looked over just in time to see their beautiful masterpiece sand castle get washed away by a rather large tide. Their jaws dropped open, disbelieving that the object of their temporary rivalry was really gone.
"Agrabah…" Sora whimpered. "My sweet desert paradise…" He shook his head clear. "You still have to eat a handful of sand, Riku."
"No freaking way! YOU CHEATED!!" Riku screamed, his voice cracking at the effort. Kairi couldn't help but laugh at their behaviour. They were acting exactly the same way they did four years ago. Hearing Kairi start laughing caused Sora to begin laughing as well. Riku shifted his glare between Kairi and Sora before finally succumbing to the urge to laugh as well.
"So, lunch?" Kairi offered once her laughter cleared up.
0o0o0
The lunch consisted mostly of sandwiches and fruit. As Riku ate his sandwich, while he wasn't looking, Sora attempted to sprinkle sand on his remaining slice, but Riku caught it at the last second. He gave Sora a swift smack across his hands, then grabbed Sora's tangerine and threw it towards the little spring with the waterfall. Sora huffed and got up to retrieve his tossed fruit. As he approached where it landed, he noticed the entrance to the secret spot. The trio had decided to name it Memory Cave because of all the fond memories it invoked when they were sitting inside looking at the childhood drawings. Sora slowly made his way back to the other two.
"You guys want to check out Memory Cave after we're done eating?" he asked as he brushed off his tangerine and began peeling it.
"Sure," Riku replied, leaning back. "It's been a couple months. And if this is the last day in a while that we'll be here, we may as well say goodbye to that old place."
"Listen to you, Riku," Kairi said with a wistful smile. "'Old place.' You're talking as if you're an old man." She playfully stuck her tongue at him. Riku reached forward to tug on her tongue, but she squealed and tucked it back safely in her mouth.
"Well for someone my age, a couple years is a long time. So forgive my old spirit."
The trio finished eating at a leisurely pace before making their way over to Memory Cave. The entrance seemed a lot smaller since they had last visited. Sora was almost worried he'd never fit. Once inside, it became a little crowded. They rarely visited the cave together like this, so they were unused to the lack of walking space.
The first cave drawing that caught Sora's eye, of course, was the one of Kairi and him sharing a paopu fruit. He checked over his shoulder shyly to see if the others were looking at that drawing too, but they were looking elsewhere, tracing out the lines of their childish drawings. Sora looked back to the one before him and blushed. Kairi had never spoken to him about what it meant, so he assumed it was just a friendship thing. He figured people's destinies could be intertwined without it having romantic implications. It wasn't that he didn't like Kairi. He just felt… pressured to harbour deep romantic feelings that simply weren't there. He naturally assumed it was because of his age and eventually he'd understand the true meaning of love.
"Sora?" Sora jumped a little when Riku called his name. He blushed a little deeper, afraid that Riku could somehow read his thoughts. "Check this out." He pointed towards the doorway leading to the world's heart. Sora looked over, expecting to see something obvious, but saw nothing. He shrugged.
"What?" he asked. Riku rolled his eyes and gave Sora a gentle nudge to the door.
"Look closely." Sora's eyes roamed across the surface of the door and he finally saw what Riku was referring to. There were tiny micro fractures running along the surface, contrasting against the smooth surface of the door. In other places, there were smaller patches of worn, chipped wood appearing as if it were corroding in those spots. But all those inconsistencies weren't bigger than the size of a thumbnail. Someone like Tidus or Wakka probably would have never noticed them unless they were looking very hard for them. Still, it was alarming enough for the two Keyblade-wielders who knew what could happen if their world's heart were exposed and vulnerable.
"Should we tell Sky?" Riku asked once he was sure Sora knew exactly what he was referring to. Sora ran his fingers delicately along the spots of imperfection. He nodded.
"Something tells me he already knows about this," he whispered. He let his hand drop away from the door. "But if this were an immediate problem, I'm sure he would have said something. So let's just forget about it for now." Riku nodded slowly.
"Yeah… He did say to just forget about the future for today. If something bad were supposed to happen today, I think he would have warned us." Riku began heading to the cave entrance. "You guys coming? I still owe you one, Sora, for cheating." Not one to turn down a challenge, Sora charged after Riku.
"I've kicked your ass before and I can do it again!" Sora yelled as he left the Memory Cave. Kairi turned to follow and paused when she saw the drawing that Sora had been looking at earlier. She frowned slightly, unsure if the picture held the same weight it did two years ago when she had completed it.
Before she had a chance to really think about it, Riku called her from outside the cave. "Come on, Kairi! We need a judge!" Kairi snorted with giggles and left the cave without another thought towards the paopu fruit drawing.
0o0o0
"Let's set some ground rules here," Riku announced as he stretched his arms. "No Drives."
"Aw, c'mon!" Sora complained.
"No magic!" Riku pressed on, pretending he didn't hear Sora. "Those aren't true measurements of our physical strength. I won't use Dark Aura, so you don't use Drives. Got it?" Sora pouted and huffed.
"Fine."
"No Cure or potions. If we just kept healing ourselves, the fight will never end."
"Agreed."
"No hitting below the belt. And for god's sake, no hair-pulling!" The last time they had sparred, Sora grabbed a chunk of Riku's hair and ripped it out by accident.
"Y'know, I wouldn't be tempted to pull your hair if you would just get a haircut."
"My hair is my pride and joy. Touch it, and you're dead." Riku summoned forth his Keyblade, Way to Dawn. Sora followed suit and summoned his Oblivion Keyblade. "Call it, Kairi."
"First to land five hits is the winner," Kairi explained as she stepped up. "Ready?" She lightly held the blades of both Keyblades together. Sora and Riku nodded determinedly. "I get to face the winner!"
"You're on," Sora said with confidence.
"She wasn't talk about you, she was talking about me," Riku laughed. "I'll be the winner."
"Not a chance!"
"Begin!" Kairi called before they could continue their verbal fight. She released the blades and backed away to a safe distance.
Sora, being eager and unable to sit still, made the first strike. He slashed from the side, which Riku blocked with Way to Dawn. Sora backed up and struck again, this time from above. Riku jumped to the side and attacked. Sora deflected the blade and clashed again. This continued on for a few more seconds until Riku managed to push Sora off balance. As Sora stumbled backwards, Riku ran passed him, tapping Sora's arm with his Keyblade.
"That's one for Riku," Kairi called from the sidelines. Sora growled and doubled his efforts. He aimed for Riku's feet but the older teen jumped over Oblivion. Sora saw an opening and took it. He struck upwards and hit Riku's side. "One for Sora."
Riku backed off and launched forward, clashing with Sora's Keyblade. They stood stalemate for many moments, Keyblades pushing forward against one another in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Sora grinned and freed one hand from the hilt of his weapon, using it to reach forward and tickle Riku's side. Riku squealed rather unmanly and jerked backwards away, giving Sora the opportunity to knock Riku's Keyblade away. Before Riku had a chance to summon it back, Sora took two strikes to Riku's leg and hip.
"Two more for Sora," Kairi announced. "The score is one to three Sora." Riku couldn't almost believe his ears. He never lost when it came to sparring.
"That's it, no more Mr. Niceguy." He launched at Sora with blinding speeds. The brunette lost sight of him for a moment and when his eyes finally caught up to Riku, he was right beside him, his Way to Dawn striking forward. Sora nearly yelped and blocked it just in time. He attacked with a three-combo hit but none of the strikes landed, each one deflected away. Riku did a somersault over Sora's head and hit Sora's back on the way down.
"One for Riku. Score is two to three." The two young men fought for ten more minutes until the score was four to four. Riku got into a battle-ready stance and beckoned Sora to attack. Sora crouched low, ready to pounce. The two stared with fierce determination, neither one prepared to lose this friendly match. Finally, Riku was the one to break the standoff by running forward. At the last second, he slid along the ground, taking Sora by surprise and tripping him. Riku jumped on top and aimed his Keyblade for the final strike, but Sora rolled to the side just in time. He jumped back to his feet and threw his Keyblade at Riku. Riku smacked it aside and dove forward, grabbing Sora's arm with one hand. Sora quickly grabbed Riku's Keyblade with his free hand to keep him from winding up for the attack. Riku struggled to get his Way to Dawn free; meanwhile Sora was summoning his own weapon back and he lost his grip on Riku's Keyblade. There was a flurry of movement and a loud crashing noise as dust and sand rose up from the force of it all, causing Kairi to cough and cover her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again and the dust settled, she saw Riku and Sora standing with their Keyblades pressed firmly against each other's chests. They were both breathing heavily.
"Who won, Kairi?" Riku asked, refusing to break eye contact with Sora. Kairi was at a loss for words. She had missed the final blow and had no idea whom's Keyblade had landed a hit first.
"I think…" She squinted her eyes, pretending to think. "It was a draw."
"What?" Sora and Riku shouted simultaneously.
"It was close, but you guys hit each other at the same time. Looks like you're equal in strength!" She smiled sweetly hoping her ruse would work but was internally wincing, afraid they might get upset. Instead, the two grinned and slowly put down their weapons, letting the Keyblades vanish altogether.
"Good one," Riku said, shaking Sora's hand.
"Nice fight!" said Sora. Kairi let out a sigh of relief.
"So who do I get to face then?" she asked with a hint of a whine. Sora's eyes narrowed and Riku's expression turned serious once more. Their hands drew up into fists and Kairi became concerned that they were going to start fighting again. Instead, they shook their fists before each other, chanting, "Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Paper covers rock," Sora announced, pleased with himself. Riku scowled and found himself a nice seat on the sidelines.
"Kick his ass, Kairi," he cheered. Kairi grinned at the encouragement and summoned her Keyblade, The True Heart. Without another word, she launched at Sora full tilt.
0o0o0
Sora sighed as the cool feel of the sand on his back calmed his racing heart. The battle between him and Kairi was actually a rather tough one. Of course, he was the victor, the final score being 3 to 5, but Kairi certainly gave him a run for his money. She had greatly improved over the last year.
Now the trio were relaxing, watching the sun dip below the horizon, the rays giving off one last bit of golden red sunshine before they were left in the twilight of the day.
"Gorgeous," Riku murmured, sighing contently. Sora and Kairi mumbled agreements. In the backs of their minds, they were thinking this might be the last day they'd see a peaceful sunset like this. A quiet ten minutes went by as they observed the dimming sky above before Kairi was the first to speak.
"So, dinner?" The boys nodded enthusiastically, their solemn thoughts forgotten. They slowly got to their feet and each started doing various tasks. Riku began collecting firewood while Sora dove into the water to catch some fish and Kairi ran off to the nearest coconut tree to collect coconuts and other fruits. Once Riku collected enough firewood, Sora cast a fire spell on the pile and carefully placed the fish he caught on some sticks next to the bonfire. In no time at all, they had a moderate feast for three.
When dinner was finished, Sora dug through his bag until he found a cylindrical object with a cone on one end and a fuse on the other. He kept it hidden from the others as he ran a good distance away from the bonfire.
"Hey!" he called to the others once he was set up. "Check this out!" With a quick fire spell, he lit the fuse and ran back to the other two with lightening speeds. Just before they could question his motives, there was a snap noise and the sky lit up with the brilliant colours of fireworks. Reds, greens, blues and yellows danced across the sky, forming a stylised heart shape before fading away. Riku and Kairi made noises of interest and surprise.
"That was beautiful!" Kairi cried, giving Sora a hug.
"Ditto, except substitute beautiful with a more manly adjective," Riku chimed in, clapping Sora on the back. "How long have you been holding on to that thing?"
"Since yesterday," Sora replied, beaming with pride. "I got a guy in town to customize the image that shows up in the sky. Pretty cool, huh?" He paused a moment to suppress a yawn, but the yawn was contagious and pretty soon Kairi and Riku were yawning as well.
"Should we call it a night?" Kairi asked as she cleared their area of garbage. Sora attempted to nod and murmur a yes as he yawned again.
It only took a short while to clean the campfire area and set up their sleeping stuff in the tree house. They each climbed into their sleeping bags and attempted to get some sleep. Amidst the drowsy hazy, Kairi's small voice said, "Today was a wonderful day…"
0o0o0
A/N: Ack, filler! I hate writing filler chapters! This one took months to churn out. I hope it wasn't as boring to read as it was to write. I promise it gets better!
