The Secret Charms of the Paopu Fruit
by Seishuku Skuld (skuldhotohori@yahoo.com)
Series: Kingdom Hearts
Pairings: Implied Riku+Sora
Warnings: Mild shounen-ai, no spoilers. ^_^
Dedicated to: All the Riku+Sora fans out there. This one is just for you guys. ^_^
+++++++++++++++++++++++
He sighed, shaking his head.
"You still don't got it."
Short, silver strands of hair blew past in the warm sea wind as the boy dodged a swing, the whoosh of a wooden sword narrowly missing his shoulder.
His opponent stared back at him, fiery blue eyes meeting those of a calm ocean green. Sora leaped into the air again, toy sword raised, poised to strike a blow at his friend and rival.
Riku only smiled, carefully watching Sora's jump: the graceful arc of the brown-haired boy as he reached his zenith. Then he came plummeting down, the surety of a strike shining on his face.
At the last possible minute Riku rolled aside, his gaze still centered on the look of Sora's surprised expression as his target disappeared from view.
"Ha!"
Riku dashed forward, crashing his sword into Sora's shoulder none to gently. He knocked the younger boy back, and while Sora was still trying to recover from the blow,
Riku crouched down, his muscles bunching for the leap that would knock his rival into the water.
Sora managed to scramble out of the way in time, but Riku was also prepared, and just as Sora was about to allow himself a breather, two swift slashes of Riku's sword brought him tumbling into the sea with a splash.
"Awww...man!" Sora clambered out of the water, glistening drops of dew clinging to his youthful eyelashes. "Now the score's 0 to 10!" He wiped a hand through his hair and took off his jacket, wringing the sodden thing free of water.
Riku grinned, and climbed back onto the Paopu tree where he had been lounging in the sun for past hour.
"Maybe next time," Riku said with a smirk and a shrug. "Hang your shirt here, and it'll dry faster." He patted a spot of tree trunk next to him.
"Nah," Sora shook his head, "it'll be fine." But nevertheless, he handed his shirt to his friend. "Did you finish all your work today?"
"Work?" Riku laughed, "you mean finding a couple of logs for Kairi?"
Sora nodded.
"I gave her my stuff already." Riku stretched, his arms reaching for the sky, his back arching gracefully. He watched Sora look at him out of the corner of his eye,
the boy's blue eyes round and wide as he stared dreamily out at the water. "No more work for me. I'm going to relax."
Riku laid down, folding his arms underneath his head and crossing his legs. "Better go finish gathering stuff for Kairi, or she'll be mad when you don't come back."
"Yeah, I guess," Sora shrugged, he gave his companion a grin and ran off with the wooden sword still in his hand.
Riku watched the retreating figure of the boy with a small smirk on his face. Sora was younger by a year, but yet it seemed as if they were worlds apart. Unhindered by the questions of their island or the driving desire to experience other worlds, the boy
seemed incredibly young and naive. All he knew was the tiny island and the ocean, the laughs of familiar faces and childish fighting games.
When Sora was out of sight, probably scrambling around on the beach, play-fighting more friends or searching for provisions for their voyage, Riku placed a
black-gloved hand on the shirt the younger boy had left in his care. It was still damp and flecked with grains of sand from his fall. Riku raised the cloth to his face, and inhaled deeply its scent.
It smelled of the island, of Sora's naïveté, of their rivalry, and friendship. Riku placed the shirt back on the trunk of the Paopu tree, laying it out carefully in the sun, so that it would dry by evening-fall.
Riku stood, climbing his way to the leaves of the tree, where the branches hung out precariously over the water. With one hand steadying himself on the branches, Riku reached an arm out, snatching the furthest of the little yellow fruits.
Riku grinned, turning the star-shaped fruit over in his hands. He knew what it tasted like, it was sour and bitter, in a way that burned the tongue and made the eyes water in protest. He had tried one once, as had everyone, and they had found it much to their distaste, and immediately tossed what was left their fruit into the ocean. The sourness had lasted
several hours, and the bitterness had last at least a few days. And since then, no one had dared try it second time; unless of course, they wished to test the limits of the legend of the fruit.
Riku snorted, he had initially dismissed the thing as an old wives tale, spun for the innocent minds of children and romantic fools. But in the case that it
was true...Riku tapped finger against his chin in thought. Perhaps, he was willing to give it another shot.
*~*~*~*~*~
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi inquired, a childish grin on her face. It was here that she was happiest, surrounded by her friends, by the familiarity of the island.
Riku leaned against the tree, staring off into the horizon. He needed to go, he needed to discover what was out there. He knew with an absolute sense of certainty that the world couldn't just be endless blue sea and their island. There was something else out there, maybe many of them, and he wanted to see them…but not alone. Sora and Kairi would be coming along, if all the plans went along well.
"Thanks to you," Riku replied. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." He smiled at his comrades, Sora lying on the tree, and Kairi, who he'd come to see as a younger sister, a figure of frailty that he wanted to protect. "Kairi, thanks."
The girl laughed, lighthearted and content, the sound of her voice like the clear tolling of a bell across the twilight ocean. "You're welcome."
*~*~*~*~*~
It was starting to get late, and their parents were calling them home for dinner. It would be one of the last dinners they would share with their families, before their voyage of discovery. In a strange sort of way, they all dreaded it, imagining the worst, and so the small group broke up silently.
Kairi had rushed off first, leaving the two boys alone in her wake.
Sora had gotten up to leave too, after picking up his shirt and dusting off the small particulates of sand.
"Sora."
Sora turned around, halfway across the bridge. Something yellow came hurtling at him, and he instinctively caught it in both hands. He turned the strange thing over, feeling its weight in his arms, its soft skin brushing against his fingers.
"A Paopu fruit…" Sora frowned, wondering why on earth Riku would have tossed one of those to him.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku explained, making sure to keep his voice offhanded. "They'll remain a part of each others lives no matter what."
"So?" Sora asked, "I already know that."
"C'mon," Riku goaded, a superior smirk on his face. "I know you want to try it."
Sora rolled his eyes. "We already tried one when we were kids, remember? It was gross." Sora made a face.
"Scared?"
"No!" Sora glared at him, taking the older boy up on his challenge. "If you want me to eat one then I will!"
"It's not that simple. You have to share one with me."
"What are you talking—"
"Still scared?"
"I'm not scared." Sora looked Riku in the eye, determined to win the little game. They'd always had some sort of tension in their friendship, striving for dominancy over the other, striving to be better than the other. They never missed a race, or passed up a fight. It was a constant battle of wills, and Riku found their intense rivalry exhilarating. There was a certain fury in the way they play-fought, never holding back, striking at each other with all their strength; and when they were friends, they were intimate and close, for all the world forgetting that just a few minutes ago they were fighting with all the passion their adolescent bodies could muster. They'd grown up together, practically attached at the hip; Riku always looking after Sora, showing him and teaching him…until Kairi arrived and the group of two become three.
If Riku lost Kairi on the journey, he would be sad. He'd come to see her as a sister, almost as if Sora was his brother. He wanted to protect Kairi, but he wanted to teach her too, take her into the unknown worlds he knew for sure lay outside the boundaries of their great blue sea. But if he lost Sora on the journey…that would be unthinkable. They had always been together, and Riku wanted them to always be together.
"Not going to do it, Sora?" Riku grinned, throwing an arm about Sora's shoulders.
"I'll do it."
"Half and half."
"Done."
Riku pulled out a small bone knife and sliced deep into the fruit. He made a few more cuts, before peeling the star-shaped delicacy open like a bowl, revealing the meat inside. It was delicate and succulent, white piece of pulp sitting in its own transparent juice. Sora made a face, but nevertheless reached his fingers in first and dug out a tiny morsel.
He tentatively licked his fingers, preparing for the full assault of the sour and bitterness of the fruit. Sora's eyes widened. Unlike when he was a child, this fruit now tasted oddly pleasant, leaving a sweet tang on his tongue.
Riku too, found this a surprise as he took a small bite, a small trickle of juice dripping down his chin.
"It's sweet!" Sora exclaimed in surprise, having never even thought of such a bizarre change.
"That's odd," Riku remarked but with a small sort of smile. Somehow he'd always known it would be different when shared like that. He offered Sora another bite of fruit on his fingers. "More?"
Sora nodded, snatching the thing from Riku's hand and popping it in his mouth, a childish grin on his face.
They finished the Paopu off quickly, tossing the remains of the fruit into the ocean. There they parted, Sora with a happy laugh and wave, and Riku with a quiet, contended smile. They each walked home that night, worried and pensive about their impending journey, but feeling a strange sort of comforting glow in their heart, a small warmth of each other's presence.
Riku lay on his bed that night, staring out his window as the lapping waves rushed to the sandy shore in bubbles of white foam, and then retreating back to the dark, mysterious waters.
He smiled in the moonlight, a hand placed over his heart, feeling Sora's faint presence inside.
Whatever there was to come on their journey, he was content to know that now, his destiny was forever intertwined with Sora's. They would always be a part of each other's lives, and wherever Sora would be, whenever the younger boy was in danger, he would be there to help him.
"Goodnight, Sora," Riku whispered, pulling his blankets to his chin and curling up to sleep.
Riku dreamt that night of an endless corridor of darkness, but he knew in his heart, that Sora would be there to save him.
~*owari*~
by Seishuku Skuld (skuldhotohori@yahoo.com)
Series: Kingdom Hearts
Pairings: Implied Riku+Sora
Warnings: Mild shounen-ai, no spoilers. ^_^
Dedicated to: All the Riku+Sora fans out there. This one is just for you guys. ^_^
+++++++++++++++++++++++
He sighed, shaking his head.
"You still don't got it."
Short, silver strands of hair blew past in the warm sea wind as the boy dodged a swing, the whoosh of a wooden sword narrowly missing his shoulder.
His opponent stared back at him, fiery blue eyes meeting those of a calm ocean green. Sora leaped into the air again, toy sword raised, poised to strike a blow at his friend and rival.
Riku only smiled, carefully watching Sora's jump: the graceful arc of the brown-haired boy as he reached his zenith. Then he came plummeting down, the surety of a strike shining on his face.
At the last possible minute Riku rolled aside, his gaze still centered on the look of Sora's surprised expression as his target disappeared from view.
"Ha!"
Riku dashed forward, crashing his sword into Sora's shoulder none to gently. He knocked the younger boy back, and while Sora was still trying to recover from the blow,
Riku crouched down, his muscles bunching for the leap that would knock his rival into the water.
Sora managed to scramble out of the way in time, but Riku was also prepared, and just as Sora was about to allow himself a breather, two swift slashes of Riku's sword brought him tumbling into the sea with a splash.
"Awww...man!" Sora clambered out of the water, glistening drops of dew clinging to his youthful eyelashes. "Now the score's 0 to 10!" He wiped a hand through his hair and took off his jacket, wringing the sodden thing free of water.
Riku grinned, and climbed back onto the Paopu tree where he had been lounging in the sun for past hour.
"Maybe next time," Riku said with a smirk and a shrug. "Hang your shirt here, and it'll dry faster." He patted a spot of tree trunk next to him.
"Nah," Sora shook his head, "it'll be fine." But nevertheless, he handed his shirt to his friend. "Did you finish all your work today?"
"Work?" Riku laughed, "you mean finding a couple of logs for Kairi?"
Sora nodded.
"I gave her my stuff already." Riku stretched, his arms reaching for the sky, his back arching gracefully. He watched Sora look at him out of the corner of his eye,
the boy's blue eyes round and wide as he stared dreamily out at the water. "No more work for me. I'm going to relax."
Riku laid down, folding his arms underneath his head and crossing his legs. "Better go finish gathering stuff for Kairi, or she'll be mad when you don't come back."
"Yeah, I guess," Sora shrugged, he gave his companion a grin and ran off with the wooden sword still in his hand.
Riku watched the retreating figure of the boy with a small smirk on his face. Sora was younger by a year, but yet it seemed as if they were worlds apart. Unhindered by the questions of their island or the driving desire to experience other worlds, the boy
seemed incredibly young and naive. All he knew was the tiny island and the ocean, the laughs of familiar faces and childish fighting games.
When Sora was out of sight, probably scrambling around on the beach, play-fighting more friends or searching for provisions for their voyage, Riku placed a
black-gloved hand on the shirt the younger boy had left in his care. It was still damp and flecked with grains of sand from his fall. Riku raised the cloth to his face, and inhaled deeply its scent.
It smelled of the island, of Sora's naïveté, of their rivalry, and friendship. Riku placed the shirt back on the trunk of the Paopu tree, laying it out carefully in the sun, so that it would dry by evening-fall.
Riku stood, climbing his way to the leaves of the tree, where the branches hung out precariously over the water. With one hand steadying himself on the branches, Riku reached an arm out, snatching the furthest of the little yellow fruits.
Riku grinned, turning the star-shaped fruit over in his hands. He knew what it tasted like, it was sour and bitter, in a way that burned the tongue and made the eyes water in protest. He had tried one once, as had everyone, and they had found it much to their distaste, and immediately tossed what was left their fruit into the ocean. The sourness had lasted
several hours, and the bitterness had last at least a few days. And since then, no one had dared try it second time; unless of course, they wished to test the limits of the legend of the fruit.
Riku snorted, he had initially dismissed the thing as an old wives tale, spun for the innocent minds of children and romantic fools. But in the case that it
was true...Riku tapped finger against his chin in thought. Perhaps, he was willing to give it another shot.
*~*~*~*~*~
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi inquired, a childish grin on her face. It was here that she was happiest, surrounded by her friends, by the familiarity of the island.
Riku leaned against the tree, staring off into the horizon. He needed to go, he needed to discover what was out there. He knew with an absolute sense of certainty that the world couldn't just be endless blue sea and their island. There was something else out there, maybe many of them, and he wanted to see them…but not alone. Sora and Kairi would be coming along, if all the plans went along well.
"Thanks to you," Riku replied. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." He smiled at his comrades, Sora lying on the tree, and Kairi, who he'd come to see as a younger sister, a figure of frailty that he wanted to protect. "Kairi, thanks."
The girl laughed, lighthearted and content, the sound of her voice like the clear tolling of a bell across the twilight ocean. "You're welcome."
*~*~*~*~*~
It was starting to get late, and their parents were calling them home for dinner. It would be one of the last dinners they would share with their families, before their voyage of discovery. In a strange sort of way, they all dreaded it, imagining the worst, and so the small group broke up silently.
Kairi had rushed off first, leaving the two boys alone in her wake.
Sora had gotten up to leave too, after picking up his shirt and dusting off the small particulates of sand.
"Sora."
Sora turned around, halfway across the bridge. Something yellow came hurtling at him, and he instinctively caught it in both hands. He turned the strange thing over, feeling its weight in his arms, its soft skin brushing against his fingers.
"A Paopu fruit…" Sora frowned, wondering why on earth Riku would have tossed one of those to him.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku explained, making sure to keep his voice offhanded. "They'll remain a part of each others lives no matter what."
"So?" Sora asked, "I already know that."
"C'mon," Riku goaded, a superior smirk on his face. "I know you want to try it."
Sora rolled his eyes. "We already tried one when we were kids, remember? It was gross." Sora made a face.
"Scared?"
"No!" Sora glared at him, taking the older boy up on his challenge. "If you want me to eat one then I will!"
"It's not that simple. You have to share one with me."
"What are you talking—"
"Still scared?"
"I'm not scared." Sora looked Riku in the eye, determined to win the little game. They'd always had some sort of tension in their friendship, striving for dominancy over the other, striving to be better than the other. They never missed a race, or passed up a fight. It was a constant battle of wills, and Riku found their intense rivalry exhilarating. There was a certain fury in the way they play-fought, never holding back, striking at each other with all their strength; and when they were friends, they were intimate and close, for all the world forgetting that just a few minutes ago they were fighting with all the passion their adolescent bodies could muster. They'd grown up together, practically attached at the hip; Riku always looking after Sora, showing him and teaching him…until Kairi arrived and the group of two become three.
If Riku lost Kairi on the journey, he would be sad. He'd come to see her as a sister, almost as if Sora was his brother. He wanted to protect Kairi, but he wanted to teach her too, take her into the unknown worlds he knew for sure lay outside the boundaries of their great blue sea. But if he lost Sora on the journey…that would be unthinkable. They had always been together, and Riku wanted them to always be together.
"Not going to do it, Sora?" Riku grinned, throwing an arm about Sora's shoulders.
"I'll do it."
"Half and half."
"Done."
Riku pulled out a small bone knife and sliced deep into the fruit. He made a few more cuts, before peeling the star-shaped delicacy open like a bowl, revealing the meat inside. It was delicate and succulent, white piece of pulp sitting in its own transparent juice. Sora made a face, but nevertheless reached his fingers in first and dug out a tiny morsel.
He tentatively licked his fingers, preparing for the full assault of the sour and bitterness of the fruit. Sora's eyes widened. Unlike when he was a child, this fruit now tasted oddly pleasant, leaving a sweet tang on his tongue.
Riku too, found this a surprise as he took a small bite, a small trickle of juice dripping down his chin.
"It's sweet!" Sora exclaimed in surprise, having never even thought of such a bizarre change.
"That's odd," Riku remarked but with a small sort of smile. Somehow he'd always known it would be different when shared like that. He offered Sora another bite of fruit on his fingers. "More?"
Sora nodded, snatching the thing from Riku's hand and popping it in his mouth, a childish grin on his face.
They finished the Paopu off quickly, tossing the remains of the fruit into the ocean. There they parted, Sora with a happy laugh and wave, and Riku with a quiet, contended smile. They each walked home that night, worried and pensive about their impending journey, but feeling a strange sort of comforting glow in their heart, a small warmth of each other's presence.
Riku lay on his bed that night, staring out his window as the lapping waves rushed to the sandy shore in bubbles of white foam, and then retreating back to the dark, mysterious waters.
He smiled in the moonlight, a hand placed over his heart, feeling Sora's faint presence inside.
Whatever there was to come on their journey, he was content to know that now, his destiny was forever intertwined with Sora's. They would always be a part of each other's lives, and wherever Sora would be, whenever the younger boy was in danger, he would be there to help him.
"Goodnight, Sora," Riku whispered, pulling his blankets to his chin and curling up to sleep.
Riku dreamt that night of an endless corridor of darkness, but he knew in his heart, that Sora would be there to save him.
~*owari*~