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The Final Present

"Ijustwannasaythankyouforbeingmyfriend!" Sora spit out quickly, squishing his words together. His cheeks instantly turned red.

Riku put his strong arms around his best friend and returned the hug.

"You're welcome," he said.

Sora slowly pulled a way and they held each other at arm's length. Foolish grins spread across their faces and they laughed openheartedly like brothers.

"Ha! You haven't changed one bit Sora. You're still the same old lazy bum I once knew. Didn't even have enough energy to make me a present, eh?"

"Wha—hey!"

Riku threw an arm around Sora's shoulder and pinched his cheek. "Just kidding man. Don't get all fussed up over it."

Sora pushed his hand away. "Don't do that! It hurts."

They laughed at each other again and the girls were glad to see the boys were enjoying themselves.

Once that was over, Riku remembered that there was still one more present left.

"So, Rina," he said mockingly, poking his face into hers and pointing down at what she was holding. "What have you got there?"

Annoyed, she practically threw it at him.

He stumbled back surprised, and caught it. "Whoa!"

He carefully unwrapped the cloth, revealing a small wooden ship that Rina had carved herself. It wasn't any glorious piece of art, but she'd put her best effort into it.

"It's kinda simple," she explained. "I haven't really seen any ships before." Riku didn't hear her.

Something clicked inside of Riku the second the he saw the ship. It was as if his future was laid out before him. The ship meant something to him, something important. He stared at it, the world him around a clouded in daze.

No one said anything as he faced the sea and held the ship at eye level, so that it appeared to be on the water. He moved it up and down in a wavy sort of motion, pretending it was riding the waves.

They all watched him intensely, especially Rina.

How could've I have done such a thing? she thought despairingly. Why did I have to give him a gift like that? I should've known the ship would remind him of the sea again. But I didn't think. I was too stupid to realize it.

Sora saw that something was wrong. He took a cautious step towards Riku.

"Riku...?" he said softly.

Riku spun around, his tranquility broken.

"Huh?"

Sora didn't know what to say; he didn't know how to ask the question. And he was afraid of the answer.

"Nothing."

Kairi attempted to make the situation happy, not really realizing what was going on.

"Well, we've all given our presents to Riku. Shall we go eat now?"

"Yeah, sure why not," Riku mumbled.

They left the island and crossed the bridge, entering the Seaside Shack. They headed up to the houses built high into a wall of rock. The entire way, as they climbed, Riku absentmindedly stroked the carved ship.

Rina and Riku sat at the edge of the docks, their feet almost touching the water.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked him.

Riku didn't have to think for very long.

"Well, I wanna be an adventurer. You know, see rare sights and stuff. I could even make my own map of the world."

Rina really regretted asking that question. Everything she did seemed to be wrong these days. Even now, she still hadn't learned her lesson about being cautious. No one else knew about this other side of Riku. She supposed that was her fault; she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. Why should they know anyway? What if she was just hallucinating or something?

Rina figured she'd better change the subject. She smiled faintly at him and said, "Um, yeah. That's very cool Riku."

Neither of them said anything, and there were a few moments of silence between them.

"Um, Riku?" she said hesitantly.

He didn't look at her. "Yeah, what?"

"My grandmother once told me something." She stopped to see if he was listening, but his face was expressionless and his eyes had this far away look. "At the end of every tunnel is source of light. You just have to find it. She told me to never give up hope, that there's always a right solution to things. If you look for it hard enough, you'll find the path of light."

Riku's eyes widened in awareness. She knows something... he thought. Could she...? No, that's not possible. He dismissed the thought as insignificant.

Rina continued talking. "Riku, for every problem there is more than one option. Even if you think otherwise. I don't want you to be making any wrong decisions in your life. Understand? You must always follow the light, Riku. " She looked hopefully at him, hoping that she had made some kind of impact on him. She noticed that he was holding the ship he'd given her.

What happened next was the unexpected.

"You know what Rina? You're a strong and wise person, I like that." He reached out and grasped her hand.

Rina was startled. She just sat there, staring at him in a bewildered state.

"Riku—what're you—are you okay?" He finally looked at her.

"Uh...you're not blushing?" he asked.

"What???"

He quickly took his hand away. His face was changing color instead. Stupid Sora! he thought, feeling very much like an idiot himself. I can't believe I actually listened to everything he said! He said that—grr! Forget what he said! Never should ask him for advice.

Rina really thought it was time for her to leave. As she got up, she heard something behind her.

"You think they're having a moment?" someone whispered.

"I don't know, Sora."

Apparently, Kairi and Sora had been spying on them the whole time.

"I'll show you who's having a moment!" Rina said, enraged.

She ran after Sora, threatening to pull his hair out. He had so much it wouldn't have mattered, really. Kairi laughed at them while Riku flopped onto the sand in a broken state, his ship laying his stomach.

Life's going swell, isn't it?