I am once again sorry for taking so long to update! It's just that this chapter is long, so it took me a while to finish. Thanks for those who have reviewed for my previous chapters! They are awesome! It makes me feel like my story has a purpose and has importance. I updated my profile, so check it out when you can. I added random scripts from the cast of this story. It's like my own talk show. I still don't understand why I bother with my intro. authoress notes; it's not like anyone reads them anyway. Right? Anyone…? My point exactly! So, here! I present: Ch. 3!

Disclaimer: Any characters I mention from Kingdom Hearts in my authoress notes are obviously not mine! I rest my case! Kia: Is this court? KTA: NO! Kia: Well, you said I rest my case. KTA: It's an expression.

Kia: Oh! (Maxus walks in and trips on a rock)

We left off:

She wondered about Kichi, but she wondered about something greater.

Chapter 3: The Hidden Truth

What she wondered about the most was the relation of the Fruitica's and her biological parents.

When were the Fruitica's going to tell her?

Why did they hide this from her?

Was there something she wasn't supposed to know?

Doubts filled her mind for a while. She really wanted to find out more about her parents from the Fruitica's, but why would they hide this from her? Maybe, they were waiting for Lotus to ask them. I mean, isn't that how it usually is. She was confused. The book. The secret. The spell. What in the name of purple grapes was a Sanctuary of Heart? Where are these Bliss Islands her mother was talking about? Who is Kichi? How was a teenage girl suppose to manage such a burden? She had so many questions after reading that book. You would think it would have all the answers, but it was just the beginning of the tunnel. Was her fairy godmother going to appear out of thin air and fix everything? No, not quite. She had to ask the Fruitica's, whom she grew more and more suspicious about.

She felt very lonely at this point. After reading the letter her mom wrote, she became somewhat depressed. She was hungry for answers, but these weren't questions that could be answered by anyone. She didn't want to, but she had to ask the Fruitica's these questions, and she was going to show them the book for she had a feeling she wasn't the only one who knew about it. She waited until tomorrow to ask them, but for now she needed some rest. Tomorrow was going to be a long, long, long day.

"LOTUS! Lotus! Lotus!" screeched an anonymous voice.

Lotus was subconsciously awaken, "What? Who are you?"

"The book! The book!" it replied.

"You can talk? What do you want?" Lotus said with the slightest amount of uncertainty.

"You are the…" the voice started.

"The what?" Lotus said trying to listen closely.

The voice continued but left Lotus hanging "You are the…"

BBBBBRRRRIIIIINNNNNG! Lotus was startled from her dream. It was all a dream. No, a nightmare. It was morning and the clock read 6:30 a.m. She felt the need to throw the darn thing out the window for waking her up, but she might hit the neighbor's cat, which comes out at that time. Oh well. Lotus was a little upset at the fact she couldn't finish her dream. Hard-to-understand dreams were one thing, but having an open-ended one was really annoying, especially to Lotus.

"Stupid alarm clock!" Lotus mumbled to herself.

She unplugged it and sat up on her bed. She rubbed her eyes of the tiredness, and yawned. She split her cherry blossom-decorated window curtains to let in some light. The sky was a nice robin's egg blue. She cracked open her window a little. A soft breeze came in blowing Lotus's frosted pink hair out of her face. She saw Momo, the neighbor's cat. The cat was a marshmallow white with beautiful green eyes. Then, she went back into a reverie. She wondered what the book was going to say to her; yet again more questions rolled into her mind like marbles on top of a steep hill.

The door opened. It was Maxus.

"Hey, Lo, you're up," Maxus said a little surprised.

"I see you, too, haven't adjusted to summer vacation," Lotus retorted.

"Real funny! I just have to get used to sleepin' in," Maxus tried to explained, "what's your story?"

"The dumb alarm clock woke me up!" she said with annoyance.

"Ha! Forgot to unplug it, I see. Well, I'm making breakfast…wanna help?" Maxus said changing the subject. He wasn't the kind of person who does small talk on dumb subjects.

"Uh…yeah, I guess so," Lotus answered with astonishment, "You can cook! Since when?" Lotus gave the switchy eyes with a smirk.

"Since today," Maxus cracked while laughing, "Why?"

Lotus looked away for she was smiling, "Oh nothing."

The siblings made breakfast for themselves and for their parents. Lotus made buttered toast and eggs. Maxus made freshly brewed coffee and pancakes. It was delicious. After breakfast, Maxus went outside to practice skateboarding with his friends. Lotus decided to approach the Fruitica's on her parents. She ran upstairs to get the book and back downstairs.

"Mrs. Fruitica? Mr. Fruitica?" Lotus said timidly.

"Yes, sweetheart," they both replied in unison.

"Can I talk to you?" Lotus asked.

"Um…sure, honey. About what?" Mrs. Fruitica asked.

"My parents," she replied.

The room fell silent. Lotus felt like leaving at this point. Both of the Fruitica's looked up giving their full attention to Lotus. Mr. Fruitica cleared his throat. Mrs. Fruitica pulled out a large brown box.

"Oh yes! What would you like to know, my dear?" Mrs. Fruitica asked.

Lotus knew just what to say since she had so many questions, "What were they like?"

Mrs. Fruitica stuck her hand in the box and pulled out what seemed to look like a photo. Lotus felt the rush of tears coming out but held it in. It was too early to cry.

Mrs. Fruitica handed the photo to Lotus. "Here, Lotus. This is a picture of them."

"Thanks," Lotus replied looking for any resemblance.

"Your father, Rintaru, he was a card! He had a great sense of humor and always like to make people laugh!" Mr. Fruitica proclaimed in his fondest memories.

Mrs. Fruitica jumped in, "Your mother, AnaLi, was the sweetest thing ever. She was good with her hands, as we like to say. She had a talent for arts and crafts. Oh! In this box you can find one of her paintings of Lake Biwa. It is too beautiful for words."

Lotus just stared at her parent's portrait, practically ignoring everything they were telling her. All she wanted was to see them, see how they looked. (I mean I would too if I had pink hair. Okay back to the story) One tear after another rolled down her cheeks. They were not tears of sorrow or tears of joy; they were just tears. She looked up at the two adults, who felt very awkward right now. They saw her face drenched and red.

"Oh, Lotus, don't cr-," Mrs. Fruitica said noticing it was too late. Then she said with open arms, "come here." "It's gonna be okay."

Mr. Fruitica tried to help the cause, "Lotus, they will always be in your heart."

That was the last thing Lotus wanted to hear, it meant nothing to her. Nothing at all! Her eyes blazed as she faced Mr. Frutica. She was furious by his comment.

Lotus yelled, " IF THEY ARE IN MY HEART, WHY DOES MY HEART FEEL LIKE AN EMPTY HOLE?! IF THEY ARE IN MY HEART, WHY DOES MY HEART FEEL LIKE IT IS A GIANT BLOCK OF IRON?!" Lotus calmed down, looked down at herself, and whispered, "If they are in my heart, why am I crying? Can you answer that?"

Mr. Fruitica had no need to yell at Lotus for using that tone with him. It is very hard for a child to go through something this big; he had the greatest amount of sympathy for her. Seriously, what 14-year-old teen is going to believe that? We are the type that need solid gold answers, not some absurd poppycock that younger children always believe.

Mrs. Fruitica tried to break the tension, "Lotus, my dear, take this box to your room and look through it. We are just not the right people to answer these-"

Mr. Fruitica cut her off and tried to explain himself, since the tension was his doing, " What she's trying to say is that-"

"I can handle this on my own, thank you honey," Mrs. Fruitica said with impatience to Mr. Fruitica. "What I was trying to say is that maybe you need to see more visual objects like the ones in this box and if there are any questions that haven't been answered by them, then you can ask us."

A tranquil Lotus replied accepting the box, "Okay."

"There is one thing that is missing though, "Mrs. Fruitica added.

Lotus gave the I-have-a-feeling-I-know-what-you-are-going-to-say look, "Oh. Please do tell."

Mrs. Fruitica explained rummaging through the box, " It's this book. A big brown book. It has maps-," Mrs. Fruitica looked up just to see the book in Lotus's hands.

"Is this it?" Lotus asked knowing what the answer was already.

"Yeah! How'd you-?" Mrs. Fruitica said in a state of shock.

"I found it last night under one of the floorboards in my room," Lotus stated with a smirk on her face.

"Hmmm…I think your mother put it there. You know, trying to "communicate" with you. Hehe!" Mrs. Fruitica said having one of those self-humor moments. (Totally weird and let's not forget embarrassing.)

Mr. Fruitica and Lotus exchanged looks of I-don't-get-it-ness.

Lotus broke the awkwardness, "Uh…"

Clearing her throat and coming back down to earth, Mrs. Fruitica realized her wisecrack was the dumbest thing Lotus heard that day. "So…uh…do you have any questions on it?" she asked changing the subject.

"Um…not really, but I did want to ask you if I can pursue my destiny using this book." Lotus said quickly so she can get it over with.

"Sure! I know this means a whole lot to you so I approve! How 'bout you honey?" Mrs. Fruitica asked.

"Fine with me!" Mr. Fruitica said with a smile to Lotus.

A smile grew on Lotus's face. She ran up to them as quick as she could without trampling on the box.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU GUYS," Lotus joyfully yelled.

"Did you want to go alone or did you…" Mr. Fruitica asked making sure there wasn't anyone else she wanted to bring with her.

"Well, yeah, actually I did want to ask if Maxus could come, and if Ilani and Kia wanted to join me on my quest."

Mrs. Fruitica was quick to answer, "Maxus can go, of course. In fact, I recommend he go with you. I'm sure he'll want to go. He's been upset about the no vacation thing this year."

Good timing! Maxus came in just in time to hear their conversation.

"Yeah…what about Maxus?" Maxus said pouring orange juice into a cup.

"Oh, honey, you will be going with Lotus and possibly her friends on an expedition. Look through this book, you will be traveling to each of these islands off the coast of Japan. This is very important to Lotus," Mrs. Fruitica explained.

"Sweet!" Maxus excitedly said flipping through the pages.

"I'll go over to Kia's and Ilani's house after lunch." Lotus said making a general statement.

Lotus was filled with jollity. She could never have been happier! She took the box to her room to look at later. Now, Lotus wanted to take one last flip through the book. She was excited to visit a foreign archipelago. As she flipped through the pages, she noticed something about each island. They each were based on a certain element, which were water (mizu), earth (tsuchi), fire (hi), air, metal (kinzoku) and magic. The names of the islands were somewhat related to the element in their Japanese translation.

Mizuri- The Land of Water

Tsuchino- The Land of Earth and Nature

HiTani- The Land of Fire

AiroShiro- The Land of Air

Kinzokuna- The Land of Metal

Bliss- The Land of Magic and the Mainland

The chain of islands was 1000 miles off the coast of Japan. Lotus was relieved to know there was a portal hole at the back of the book to take them directly to a port that was only 30 miles away from the islands. A special plane would fly them there. Lotus was just imagining how exotic, how breathtaking, how…oh, let's not waste time; these islands are too magnificent to describe. On the islands, inhabited the most rare and most beautiful kinds of nature and creatures. Bliss Islands were an "imaginary reality". Hard to explain, but you get the idea.

Lotus looked at her clock. It was 1:05. Lunch was over, and she didn't eat anything. She was too excited to be hungry. She excused herself from the house, and out the door she went on her pink skateboard. There was always a hill she had to get through to go to Ilani's house; that's how she started liking skateboarding, since she needed an easier way to get down the hill. She whizzed down the hill in all her glory. The wind streamed through her hair. At the bottom of the hill a guy, named Jack, stood there dumbfounded, but he has no importance whatsoever, so, yeah. Lotus cut a corner. There on that street, she passed Kashi Bakery, The Corner Barber, Madam Kaika's Flower Shoppe, and then a row of houses. Two houses down was Ilani's house. She slowed down to a halt in front of her concrete with white detailing house. She walked up to the stairs, and knocked on the door. Ilani and Kia both answered the door.

"Oh! Lotus, we were just getting ready to go to your house," Kia so foolishly retorted.

"Yeah, well, since you made it here first, come on in!" Ilani said in her most emotionless voice.

Lotus was surprised on how convenient her life was, "Well, um…okay."

Lotus stepped in Ilani's air-conditioned house. It was like walking in a refrigerator after being out in a hot, summery day.

"So, Lotus, why did you come to my house? We usually go to your house on Saturdays," Ilani asked as she poured some ice-cold lemonade for Lotus.

"I really, really needed to tell you two or well…ask you two for a huge favor!" Lotus said adding some excitement to the sound of silence in the room.

"OoooooOoooooo! I love huge favors," retorted Kia.

"Oh, really? Would you like to do me a huge favor Kia?" said Ilani with a cheesy smile.

Kia stood there blankly, as she stared at the cup in Ilani's hand, "…"

"Throw this away for me. Thank you! You're a doll!" Ilani said sarcastically.

Lotus managed a small smirk. Kia stomped away with the cup. Kia has a way of cornering herself in these situations. She's just gullible. Ilani was impressed with herself. Kia returned from her jaunt to the trash can. Lotus gave a back-to-business look. Both girls gave their undivided attention to Lotus.

Lotus cleared her throat and said, "Remember when I said that I felt that this summer was going to be interesting?"

Ilani gave a look of misunderstanding, "Yeah, I remember, but I don't she where this is going."

Lotus took out the big brown book from a canvas bag. The two girls just watched in awe.

"Wow! That book is humungo!" Kia said, once again killing the moment.

Ilani was in a bit of shock, "Yeah! Kia's right. Where did you find it?"

Lotus explained quickly; she just wanted to get to the main purpose of her visit. "After I hung up with you guys that night on the phone, I found it under one of my floorboards. It just happened. I didn't press any buttons. I didn't say any magical words. Nothing! It just happened."

Both of the girls stared at Lotus as if she had just spoken a different language.

"Anyway, I want you to read the first and second page. They are letters. One is from my mother and the other one is from some mysterious fairy."" Lotus said flipping open to the pages.

Ilani read it, and so did Kia. Kia knew better than to ask a witty question at this point.

Ilani was blown away to tears, "Wow, that's just-."

Kia was, for once, speechless!

"I know, it's sad, but we can't just drench in our tears. We need to do something!" Lotus demanded.

"Yeah, I know but what?" Ilani said hopelessly.

"The maps! Look at them!" Lotus said pointing the maps out.

"What use are they? I don't understand," Kia said solemnly.

Lotus was waiting for someone to pop that question.

(Now it's time for an intermission: Dude: You mean someone is going to engage Lotus? KTA: No! Not that way, you doidle! I meant, "ask" that question. Dude: Oooooh! Now back to your scheduled programming)

"We are going to pursue my destiny! We are going to Bliss Islands!" shouted Lotus from the top of her lungs.

Ilani was stunned, "No way! Seriously? That's just, well-."

"Wohoo!" interrupted Kia.

"When are we going?" Ilani asked eagerly.

"Well, we will prepare all next week. By the following Monday, we should be out and about. I also forgot to mention Maxus is coming with us. Maxus quit his job at the ice cream parlor after the second day. He said it was boring and pointless. He also said he was too outgoing for a scheduled job. He's waiting until he is 18." Lotus plainly said as if it was all planned already, which it was.

"But Lotus, these islands seem like they are 900 to 1000 miles off of Japan's coast. We'd be in a boat alone for days!" worried Ilani.

Lotus explained to Ilani and Kia that there was a portal to a port that was 30 miles away from the islands. The planes at the port would fly them there.

"Sounds decent," Ilani nodded in satisfaction to Kia.

Lotus gave a long pause and glanced at the book and than at the two other girls. She asked with doubt, unsure they would approve. "So, what do you say? Are you in?"

Kia (always ready to answer) said, "Totally!"

Lotus and Kia both looked at Ilani for an answer. Ilani was the kind that liked to build up tension and drama- in a good way. "Well, I'm not very sure- OF COURSE, I WILL! You think I'm gonna let you two have all the fun!" she said hugging Lotus.

All three girls cheered and gave a group hug. They all agreed to meet at Lotus's house all next week for preparation. Their summer was going to be interesting just like they said it would be.

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KTA: Long chappy! I should know! I typed it!

Riku: I'm not in this chapter! Why?

Maxus: What part of "later chapters" don't you understand?

Kia: (comes down the stairs with her lunch box)

Ilani: (sticks her foot out)

Kia: (trips on foot, lunchbox goes flying in the air and lands on the ground- an orange and chocolate bar fall out. Kia retrieves her fallen treasures.)

(chibihachi gets it, it was a random moment we had)

Maxus: Pphhrrrt! Pphhrrrt! Pphhrrrt!

Kia: Who's making those horrible noises?

Maxus: Me!

Kia: MMMAAAAAXUUUUSSSSS!

KTA: IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!

(chibihachi gets it, it was another random moment we had)

Jack: I really want to thank you, Kawaii, for putting me in this chap-

CameraMan: (falls from the ceiling randomly and squashes Jack)

In loving memory of Jack, whom the CameraMan squashed. Don't worry Jack is fictional.