They left a huge puddle in the entryway of the house, unable to stop the streams of water dripping from their soaked clothing. Riku turned and looked over his shoulder at Leira for a moment. She looked back at him, and he could have swore he saw a strange hue of yellow in her usually blue eyes. However, the house was dark and it was probably just his imagination.

He took a few steps into the room and switched on the lights to the living room. When he faced Leira this time, her eyes were back to normal, or perhaps they had never changed in the first place. He shrugged it off.

"I will find you something dry to wear, and wash your clothes. Stay right there." he told her. That would be a good thing, the bottom of her skirt was patterned with spots of mud, not to mention how uncomfortably drenched she was. Riku disappeared for a moment into his bedroom and could be heard opening and closing drawers. Soon he came out, holding a folded t-shirt, some shorts, and a towel.

"This should work. You can go take a shower." he said, handing it to her.

"Thanks." she responded and disappeared into the bathroom door.

Meanwhile, Riku changed from his own wet clothes into more comfortable clothes that he would be able to fall asleep in. He sat down on the couch in the living room, not turning on the television but instead relaxing and thinking.

That kiss...it had to have been just a spur of the moment thing. There was no way that it meant more, he had known her for a day. A day.

But it had felt so right. A voice popped inside his head. No. He hardly knew her.

She is beautiful. So are so many girls on this island. She is no different.

Then why did you kiss her? That one got him. Riku had no excuse. He kissed her and he liked it.

Love...love for a girl you have known a day. There is no other expanation. But how?

Love is a funny thing. Love knows no time.

He listened to the shower running, and the rain pattering on his window, it was a soft, continuous sound...calming almost..he began to rest his eyes. He was drifting off with his thoughts.

RINGGGG. He lept up from his state of almost sleep and looked around for the culprit to the loud noise.

RINGGGG. Oh, there it was. The telephone was ringing. He smiled at his own shock and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Riku. It's Sora. I was just wondering if you and Leira got home okay in the storm." he sounded almost a bit worried.

"Yeah, we're fine. How about you and Kairi?"

"Same. Kairi's sleeping over here though, seeing as though my house was the closest. She's on the other phone now."

"Hi Riku." Kairi's voice could be heard over the phone.

"It's strange, the storm, isn't it?" Riku said. He looked out his window, it was still downpouring.

"Two abnormal things in one day..Leira's appearance and now this." Sora said quietly.

"Do you think they are connected?" Riku questioned.

"I don't see how they could not be. Things like this just don't happen. Did the storm make Leira behave strangely?" Kairi spoke up.

Riku was silent for a minute, internally debating whether or not to tell his two best friends about the kiss. He had no idea how they would react, and therefore decided against it. "Well...it almost seemed like she remembered something about the rain, but nothing more."

"Is she okay?" Kairi asked.

"Oh yeah, she is fine now."

"Now? Was something wrong before?" Sora questioned, picking up the emphasis.

Riku could have kicked himself for letting that slip. He bit into his bottom lip. Oh well, perhaps he should just tell them. "She was really sad, crying even. I sort of..cheered her up, I guess."

"And how did you do that?" Kairi said quietly.

"I hugged her and then.."

"Then?" both Kairi and Sora interrogated at the same time.

"Well..we sort of kissed..." he said very, very quietly, and then closed his eyes, waiting for the response.

An extremely loud giggle came from Kairi, not all that surprising. She made no attempt to stifle it. Sora, on the other hand, was quiet at first.

"Wow." Sora said, eventually. "That was unexpected."

"It definately was, but I say good for you, Riku. If you like her, go for it." Kairi piped in.

"She certainly is pretty enough."

"Sora!" Kairi said, sounding jealous almost.

"What? All I said was that she was pretty, not that I am attracted to her."

"That had better be true."

Riku laughed. He was very relieved that neither of them gave him a hard time about it. "Yeah, anyway, I do really like her. It's strange, because for awhile I didn't think myself capable of loving another but..I feel different, somehow."

"Aw. I am so happy for you, Rikuuu." Kairi said in a very girly sort of voice.

"Awww." Sora mocked her.

"Shut up, Sora." Kairi snapped. "Well, we should probably be going now. If we hear anything about this storm we will call you, and you should do the same."

"Of course I will. Bye Kairi, bye Sora." he said, and then hung up the phone. He noticed now that the shower had stopped, though the rain outside continued. He wondered how much of his phone conversation Liera may have overheard.

Sure enough, the bathroom door opened to reveal Leira, finished with her shower. Her hair was very wet, but brushed straight down. The clothes that she wore were several sizes too big, but at least comfortable. She held her dirty clothes in her hands.

"Oh, I will take those." Riku said, and quickly took them from her. He disappeared for a quick minute through the kitchen, to which a small laundry room was connected. He could be heard setting up the washing machine, and soon reappeared in the living room, where Leira still stood.

He sat down on the couch. She walked, and seemed to be heading back towards her room.

"Wait, sit down. It it too early for bed." Riku stopped her and motioned to the room on the couch next to him.

Leira smiled, nodded, and sat down. She reclined her legs on the couch, so that she was facing Riku.

"I am kind of curious.." she said quite randomly, and then pausing.

"About what?"

"Well, earlier Sora was telling me all about his adventures..But when you spoke about your own, I could not help but notice you were very vague..."

"And you were wondering why." he interjected, face looking quite solemn. He knew he could not lie to her, but still did not want to tell her the truth.

"What happened after you left these islands? You were not with Sora, correct?" She titled her head slightly to the side, watching him closely.

"No, I was not with Sora. And look..the thing that you need to understand is; I was young and I regret the decisions I made."

"I would never judge you."

o-----------------------------o

A/N: Okay, I had tons more planned for this chapter, but then I realized it was getting was too long, so I am breaking it into two chapters because I can. Sorry that this chapter turned out to be quite boring, but it just seemed to work. Sometimes I just cannot figure out what this mind of mine is going to do next.

Oh, and I would like to thank you readers for the reviews that I have received. They are all beyond appreciated. I love you all!