"Kairi!" Sora called to the young girl. "Catch!" He pulled off a coconut from the tree he was climbing and threw it down to the little girl, who added it to her pile. "Do you think we need anymore?"

            "I don't know, let me go ask Riku!" the girl yelled back. "You get some bananas while I'm gone!

            "Alright!" Sora yelled.

            Kairi ran down the beach towards the older boy, who was catching fish with a net and spear. Before she could ask her question, he answered it.

            "We should have plenty," he said, tossing a fish in the net. The young girl looked at him quizzically. "I heard."

            "Oh, I see. So-ra!" she called across the island. The brown haired boy looked up from the tree, and saw the red-haired girl giving him the thumbs-up sign.

            Dusk grew near as they worked with the coconuts. Riku would pick up one, crack it open on a rock, then hand it to Sora. He would drain out the milk into a large pot, then hand it to Kairi, who would scoop out the meat into a bowl. They did this to every coconut, occasionally snacking on bananas.

            Riku started a fire and began to roast the fish, while Sora boiled the coconut milk. Kairi was off in the bushes picking berries when Sora said:

            "She's really nice, isn't she?"

            "Yeah," Riku replied. "I'm glad I thought of bringing her with us."

            "But… It was my…" Sora fell silent. He knew not to argue with the older boy when he "claimed" an idea. That's okay, he thought, smiling to himself. I'll get him later…

            The fire illuminated the faces of the three children. Tidus and Wakka had left for their house hours ago, and now it was just the boys and their new friend. Riku pulled a fish out of the fire and placed it on folded up banana leaves. Sora poured coconut milk on it while Kairi sprinkled mixed coconut meat and berries on top. The three ate and laughed and chatted long into the night.

            "So Kairi," Sora asked, in between bites. "What island are you from?"

            The young girl hesitated a moment before answering. "I… don't know where I'm from…"

            "What do you mean?" Riku asked.

            "My earliest memory is waking up outside the mayor's house." She began to shiver softly. "It was raining, and I was so cold." She edged closer to the fire. "I must have been crying so loud that the mayor heard me and brought me in. He asked me the same question, and I honestly couldn't tell him." Sora looked at Riku with concern on his face. "It's like everything before that moment is blocked off to my mind. I just don't know…"

            She was still shivering, and Sora put a blanket over her shoulders. Riku glared secretly at him. After a moment, her tears stopped and she forced her mood to change.

            "So what else do you guys do for fun?"

            "Well, we've explored almost every bit of this island," Sora said, unsure of how to deal with her change in emotion.

            "We also fight," Riku added.

            "You… fight?" Kairi asked.

            "Yeah," Sora continued. "With wooden swords. Tidus uses a stick, though, and Wakka uses his Blitzball."

            "Sora's never beaten me, though," Riku stated, while the brown haired boy showed mocking faces to the young girl.

            "Let's go to the secret place tomorrow!" Sora chirped.

            "Why can't we go now?" Kairi asked.

            "Once the moon rises we have to go home," Riku said. He pointed at the ball in the sky, which Kairi noticed was the same color as the boy's hair.

Riku put out the fire while Sora and Kairi wrapped up the leftovers. They divided it between themselves and placed it in their boats. There were only two; Wakka had picked Kairi up before coming to the island for the day.

Kairi got in one boat as both boys did as well.

            "What are you doing?" Sora demanded. "I'm going to take her home!"

            "No you're not," Riku countered. "I'm older, and you'd probably get lost in the dark."

            "Yeah right! I'm a better rower than you are!"

            Kairi was the only one who noticed that the boat was steadily sinking under the weight of all three kids. Each boat was designed for one person, though Wakka's could hold two, but any of them would sink after three.

            Sora felt the water around the edges of his sandals, and looked down at the boat. He glanced at Kairi, who looked down as well, wearing a frightened expression. He turned to Riku, who hadn't noticed anything due to his closed shoes. Noticing Sora's worried face, he looked down too. Both boys instantly leapt to the dock, leaving Kairi in a still-sinking boat. The force of their jumps tipped the boat on its side, spilling Kairi into the water.       

            Riku landed gracefully on the wooden pier, but Sora had missed and landed in the water. Scrambling up to meet Riku, they both spied the floundering girl. It was clear from her gesticulations that she couldn't swim and needed saving.

            Both boys looked at each other for an instant and knew what must be done. Whoever rescued Kairi got to take her home. Both boys darted off the pier as fast as they were able as the moon shone down upon them.