Title: Island Beat

Written By: Astaldothôlwen

Point Of View: Riku

Dedicated To: My bestest friend Katie Stickz even though we don't get to talk on MSN as much as we like; I still consider her a great friend. She inspired me to write this fic one day when we were RP'ing as two girls who accidentally found Riku so we decided to get Riku to the beach raises eyebrows suggestively. And we found ourselves in a dessert. Sound like random fun? You bet it was! Sound a little Mary Sue-ish; I wouldn't doubt it! winks

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Every time I say it; it's still depressing; yet it will never change.

Something as hard as gravel, it's funny how it can feel like it belongs to the softest feathers of the most exotic bird on these Islands.

The sands of the Destiny Islands are always warm; the friendly rays of the sun are always there to keep them at a pleasurable temperature. The sand has always been a beautiful powder white, the same colour that a person would find himself seeing if he were to look into the vast clouds of the universe.

The universe is so limitless. Ever since Kairi has appeared on the Destiny Islands, nothing has been the same, I've never viewed life the same. Every one views me as someone who cannot be beat during our sword fighting duels. That's because I can't be beat; I'm the best on the Islands.

Smiling to myself, the prospect of being the best is a wonderful thing. On these Islands, the best means everything; and this is something I pride myself on.

If there is one thing I love more than beating the guy's and Selphie at sword fighting; it's swimming in the warm waters of the Ocean. Every single day, the bright blue waters call to me as though they beg for me to go into their refreshing grasp; so I answer their pleas and swim.

There is one thing I refuse to do though; spend time in the Ocean during midday. I find myself being able to think so much easier if I swim before the sun rises. Every single morning I am greeted with a spectacle of colours and light. Pinks blend themselves into the reds of the skies, where as deep purples emerge where the future blue sky will be.

As I swim underneath the cool water in the morning; the icy twang hits my body; however it never lasts any longer than a moment. I love this feeling, the feeling of being hopeless to the wave's fury. I love the feeling of being pushed back to shore by something other than my own intensions. I love the water; there is something so mystical about it.

Sitting on my Island it is moments like these that I enjoy watching the water bead off my skin as it creates tiny trails down my tanned arms. The morning sun heats the air and the gentle mists of the morning kisses my skin lightly; as though it were afraid to hurt me. The water from my silver hair always glistens in such a light that never fails to astound me; I love the way water can make absolutely anyone look beautiful.

The glistening water droplets off of someone's face can give them dimensions that you've never seen before. The rays from the sun reflect off of these droplets; giving anyone an angelic and celestial appearance. Every time she leaves the water; I feel this same twinge of love; I always feel like I am seeing her for the very first time.

The water itself is beautiful. The sound lulls me to sleep every night. The gentle waves sliding onto the shore, directed by the moon; this is something I can never tire of. My soul calls to the water; it is though the water and I are united as one.

I have one wish in life; that my existence would never change.

I love this life as it is more than anything; the subtle joys give me such happiness. Every day on the Island is a new adventure, an adventure I never want to pass up.

Every day I am on the Islands I stare at the Paopu Tree. The Paopu Fruit are legendary and everyone knows their story. If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined forever, no matter what. I'm not exactly the most romantic person on the Islands; however, this story brings butterflies to my stomach each and every time I think about it.

Ever since I saw Kairi, I've known in my heart that I've wanted to share one with her. Just her and I, sitting on my Islands before dawn, listening to the Islands waters creating a sweet symphony of music in the background. This one thought is my greatest wish; however in my heart, I know she has chosen another.

This is why I swim to my hearts content; the water sooths my aching heart; the symmetrical water lines that grace themselves down my arms; everything is so relaxing on this Island. I can't imagine ever being anything but happy.

I never want my life to change; I want myself to remain on these Islands forever, until the end of time; until the end of my days. Even though I long to see other Worlds, I still would never want to leave this place forever, my sense of adventure has never outweighed my inward appreciation for my home.

If I were to ever leave for ever, and never to return, I'm not sure how I could take it. I think I would miss the sense of community. I would miss the feeling of the salty air that caresses my face gently in the morning air.

I know there is one thing I would miss even more than the feeling of the salty air in the morning, or even the warmth of the snowy white sand during the afternoon. I would miss the water. It has always given me a sense of self and has allowed me to stay who I am; and who I will always be.

Maybe these feelings are naïve; I can't deny that they are, but I love this place more than anything, it has been my home for as long as I can remember.

Looking up from my spot on the ground, I hear Kairi and Sora position themselves on a nearby tree. The sun is setting into a mix of colours as brilliant as a painter's pallet. It was Sora who broke the silence.

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" He was always the curious one; but even as much as he questioned, as much as he learned, he was never too bright; but that's what we all loved him for.

Looking out to the sea, the water reflected the brilliance of the sky. Looking up to Sora and Kairi, I replied simply, as though saying thoughts which have been crossing my mind for a long time, "Could be. We'll never know by staying here."

Again, Sora never stopped questioning and stayed true to his nature, "but how far could a raft take us?"

Sighing to myself, not out of annoyance but out of content for my taste of adventure would finally be met. I told him that if it was needed, we would think up a new plan, a better one if it had to come down to it.

Sora seemed satisfied with this answer and stayed quiet. It was Kairi's turn to question now.

"So, suppose you get to a new world. What would you do there?"

What would I do there? Gee, I really don't know. As much as I've wanted to leave; this Island is my home and my rock, I never actually though I would get much further than the horizon. However, I would reply to her, even though I didn't know what to tell her, because frankly, I hadn't a clue.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just . . . I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds. Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" My answer had so much truth to it; it is something that was straight out of my heart.

Sora was lying down on the branch to the tree rather lazily; how he found that comfortable while sharing the tree with Kairi, I wouldn't know, but then I've seen him sleeping with half of his body on the floor while the other half was still under his blankets in his bed and he never seemed to mind.

Sora turned to look at Kairi and I, he didn't seem convinced by my answer, "I don't know."

However, I had an answer for his skeptical nature waiting for him, "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go."

Kairi turned to me, as hair auburn framed her gentle face; she looked like an angel to me.

"You've been thinking a lot lately haven't you?"

My face broke into a genuine smile and I could feel my heart light up as she was my motivation for all of these thoughts and my entire attempt at making a raft. Although I made it sound like I wanted to leave these Islands more than anything, that I was ready for anything that fate could even think of sending me; inside, I was scared. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to come back and feel the wind in my face, but when I looked into Kairi's excited eyes, I knew in my heart the chance was worth it.

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi thanks." I had every right to thank her; she was the reason for such thoughts.

Her face broke into a large, broad smile, "You're welcome."

After this conversation, my head was filled with so many ideas. I knew this could possibly be the last time I would ever be on the Islands, so I took one more swim in the Ocean.

I don't know how my intuition knew it, but that night my entire world changed forever; nothing would ever be the same. I'm happy I got to spend my time in the ocean one last time.

Author Notes: See!!! I can write happy fics! Anyways, this fic, although a little boring, you may remember that little scene with our favourite trio contemplating their journey.

Although this fic was pretty much a Plot-What-Plot, I really sort of enjoyed it because it happened before Kingdom Hearts. It was nice to write a story for Riku which wasn't dripping with depression or sadness, only the nativity all children have, no matter how old they think they are.

But regardless, I enjoyed this story very much .

This was another rather short Riku-centric one, but unlike my last Riku fic, this one I enjoyed. Oh and I apologize if this fic is littered with errors; I did my best to proof read it, but I'm feeling really under the weather today. I'm not sure when I'm gonna be spunky, happy and healthy again; so I decided to post it just in case I deleted/forgot about this fic in the future.