AN: Kassy: FINALLY I ARRIVE!

Me: Yeah... About time 'eh? XD

Kassy: ...

Me: Sorry... Accent gets through occasionally. lolz

Kassy: ...Don't ever do that again.

Me: Screw you.

Kassy: No thanks.

Me: _

Chapter 12: Intertwining Fate

Sora's POV

Walking down the beach, I smiled, sighing dreamily. Last night, I hadn't stopped dreaming of Riku. Going through the doorway that led to the other side of the island, I walked down the beach. I came upon Kairi working on the almost finished raft.

"Hey, Sora. Have you seen Riku? I saw his boat, but..." She trailed doff, distracted with fiddling with the raft.

I shook my head, "No, but I'll go find him." I took off in a sprint down the beach. On the opposite edge of the cove, I found the silver haired beauty facing the ocean in thought, a small smile on his pale lips.

Taking a running start, I jumped onto his back, arms around his neck, and legs around his waist. He stumbled clumsily, but managed to keep us from falling. Laughing, he held me up, turning to face me. A light blush crept across my cheeks. A smirk appeared on Riku's face as he set me down on my feet. His smirk faded into a gentle smile.

"We still need to name the raft..." He inquired. I looked dup at him expectantly.

"Hm... How about Highwind? What about you?"

I blinked and thought for a moment, "Me? Well... Hmm... Darkness!"

Riku slowly smirked, "How about-"

I grinned, "The usual?"

Riku nodded, "Let's do it!"

"You guys at it again?" We looked over to see Kairi appear out of nowhere, "Alright. I'll be the judge. Usual rules apply: Take any route you want. First one to tag the star tree and make it back here wins."

I turned to look at Riku, "If I win... Um... I'm captain. And if you win..."

"I get to share a paupu with whoever I want." No... Not with Kairi...

"Huh?" I managed to choke out in shock.

"Deal? Winner gets to share a paupu." He smiled.

"W-Wha... Wait a minute..." I protested weakly.

"Okay, on my count!" At the end of the race, Riku had won.

I glanced nervously up at my best friend, "Um... Riku?"

He turned to face me, "Oh, the paupu thing? That was just a joke. You should have seen the look on your face!" He laughed.

I smiled sadly, weakly. That wasn't just a knife... That was a fucking bullet...

He stepped closer to me, placing a long feather light kiss to my forehead, "I'll see you later..." I smiled, dazed, and stumbled down the beach towards Kairi.

I tapped her shoulder. Without turning to face me, she began speaking, "Oh, good. You're here now. Today we collect provisions for our trip. Okay... So we're looking for one seagull egg, three mushrooms, two coconuts, and three fish." She handed me a large plastic bottle, "And fill this up with drinking water. Obviously not from the ocean."

I pouted, "Thanks!"

She grinned, "You're welcome!"

I chuckled and walked around the island, gathering the supplies. I did a quick mental check and looked again for the last items. Three mushrooms. After gathering two of three, I sat on the paupu tree in thought.

These dreams... What did they mean? And who was the chestnut haired girl?

At that moment something fell from the sky. The flash I caught was enough to know it was a person. I jumped off the tree, diving into the water. I stared at a shoulder length chestnut haired girl sinking deeper into the water. I took a hold of her wrist, pulling her closer to me. Wrapping an arm around her waist, I kicked up until both of our heads were above the water. Her head flopped onto my shoulder.

Wait a minute... This is the girl from my dreams!

Picking her up bridal style, I ran to the other side of the island, "Riku! Kairi! Help me!" They came running immediately.

I laid her gently onto the sand on her back. Riku knelt down beside her, putting an ear to her chest. I felt a twinge of jealousy. At Riku? But I was... And I had never met this girl before!

"She's not breathing. I'm gonna give her CPR." Riku leaned down.

"No!" Kairi and Riku gave me weird looks, "I-I mean- Hey! She's awake!"

Letting out a pained groan, the girl slowly opened her eyes. She screamed and stood up quickly, backing away. Well... stumbling away, losing her balance.

I quickly ran over, steadying her, "Careful..."

She screamed again and pushed away, falling onto the ground, muttering, "No no no... You can't... You can't be real... A dream... Just a dream... Everything's a dream..."

Riku, Kairi, and I exchanged looks of confusion. Riku spoke first, gently, "Who are you?" She began sobbing, scrambling backwards again until her back hit a tree.

"Hey, shh... It's alright..." Riku crawled over to her slowly wrapping her arms around her small frail body, stroking her head softly, "Shh... Calm down..." She slowly calmed until her cries stopped, "There... What's your name?"

"K-Kasandra..." She whispered.

Riku smiled, "Well, Kasandra... I'm Riku..."

Kairi smiled and waved, "I'm Kairi!"

My heart almost shattered. His smile... That was supposed to be reserved for me... And me alone... "Sora..." I mumbled.

Her dark brown eyes glanced up at Riku as she let out a gasp, hugging him tightly.

"Um... What's wrong?" Arms shaking nervously, he hugged back.

She squirmed out of his arms and dove towards Kairi. They crashed to the ground. Kasandra was squealing. Happily. She stood up and ran over to me, wrapping her arms around me, sending us both crashing to the ground. I glared, blushing darkly. She nuzzled my chest, either ignoring or didn't notice my anger.

"Sora..." She smiled, sitting up with both hands on my chest. Heat rose to the surface of my skin from her touch. Did she realize she was straddling me?

She nuzzled my chest again, and squirmed off, giggling nervously, "Hehe... Sorry... Got carried away..."

Riku and Kairi both laughed. Riku spoke after a few moments, "So, where'd you come from?"

"Um... Uh... I-I..." She stuttered.

Kairi smiled, "You can't remember? Same here! Maybe we knew each other!"

"Um... But, I..." She winced, "W-wait... W-where are my friends...?"

"No one else is on the islands today besides Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus. Do you know them?" Riku asked.

Kasandra gasped and burst into tears again. Riku wrapped his arms around her again.

Why was I jealous?

I heard the mysterious female's voice from my dreams whisper, "Destiny intertwines you..." What? What was that supposed to mean?

Kairi rubbed her back with a frown. After awhile she ceased crying, "I have to find them..."

"We'll help you." I knelt down in front of her, rubbing her leg gently. And I meant it.