Warnings: This story is yaoi and a Sora/Riku pairing. I don't mind constructive criticism, but do not Flame about the sexuality of this story because I am plainly warning you now.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by......... well, it ain't owned by me, so don't try to think I'm taking the credit, 'cause I'm not.
Chapter Three: Destiny Islands
Sora awoke to the aroma of bacon sizzling on the stove and pancakes. His stomach came awake much faster than the rest of him, until his mom called out, "Sora! Breakfast is almost ready."
He leapt from his bed (Kairi had given it to him in exchange for the couch downstairs) and raced down the stairs, taking two at a time. He skidded around the corner and plopped into his seat almost before his mother finished summoning him down.
Kairi giggled from across the table. "Do you always sleep this late, Sora?"
His mother snorted, causing a glare from her son. "Of course not, usually I've been up for a few hours and I'm already into my mid-morning nap."
The girl giggled again; a sight straight from his dream. She was once again clad in white with the purple dress belted around her slim waist.
"Eat up your breakfast," his mom instructed the two kids, "and then Sora can introduce Kairi to the others and show you around Destiny Islands."
"Right!" Sora and Kairi began eating hungrily, reserving speech for later. When he finished Sora hopped from his seat, beckoned Kairi to join him, and left his mother with the dishes.
"You're welcome," she said tartly as his back disappeared around the corner.
"The meal was delicious," Kairi told her before darting after Sora.
Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, and the others were gathered in a group outside of Sora's house, attempting to look like it was a coincidence.
"Oh hey, Sora, 'bout time you got your bum out of bed," Selphie greeted him.
Sora ignored the gibe and gave his familiar smile. "You guys do know that today isn't my birthday, right?" he teased.
Wakka laughed. "It's not?" he asked flippantly.
"Nope, but I don't mind the company."
"Oh cut it out, Sora," said Tidus, "you know why we're here."
"Everybody," Sora said, widening his arms to encompass the small group, "this is Kairi. Kairi, meet... everybody!"
"The name's Tidus."
"Selphie here."
"Sup? I'm Wakka."
Kairi laughed brightly. "You were the one who saved me? Thank you!"
Wakka's face lit up, becoming the color of his hair. "It was nothing."
The girl in the yellow dress came to Kairi's side. "I'll show you around, Kairi."
"H-hey! That's my job," Sora said to their retreating backs. He quickly followed, Tidus and Wakka falling into step.
They walked along the seashore, pointing out things like pretty stones, colorful mushrooms, fish, sea stars, and shells. They took her to the seaside shack and across the wooden bridge to the small island. They showed her the coconut trees and the paopu fruit.
"It is said," Selphie told Kairi, "that when two people share the paopu fruit, their destinies become entwined. That no matter where they go, they will always have and find each other." She sighed. "It's so romantic! I want to try it some day."
Tidus rolled his eyes toward the sky. "Yuck!" he spat.
They continued their tour of Destiny Islands. Sora and Tidus raced across the treetops to the cardboard star they had hung all those years ago, cheered on by Kairi and Selphie. Later, Tidus and Sora play-fought each other with wooden swords to rescue the "Princesses" Kairi and Selphie.
Sora won.
"Ha!" Tidus yelled, "Now you have to marry the Princesses!"
The girls burst into fits of giggles and Sora started to flush, stuttering, "E-eww!"
Lunch consisted of the large fish Wakka caught, while Sora and Tidus competed to catch larger ones.
Finally the day came to a close and Sora and Kairi returned home to a dinner served by Sora's mom, who was proving to be a very good cook.
They ate with the idle chatting of dinner and afterwards, Sora told Kairi, "There's one more place I'd like to show you. It's my secret place."
"You kids should hurry," Sora's dad said firmly, "there is a storm coming tonight. I can tell by the air."
Sora bobbed his head in agreement. "Alright!"
They set out across the seashore towards his secret place. A bolt of white lightning struck way out to sea, the thunder lost over the distance. "Sora," Kairi called nervously.
"Huh? What is it, Kairi?"
"I-I'm scared, Sora. This is the storm from my memories. I can feel it."
Sora smiled reassuringly. "We get storms here from time to time, Kairi. This one isn't any different than the rest."
Kairi bit her lip but said nothing. "We're almost there," Sora told her.
Beneath the large roots of a tree, hidden behind a curtain of ivy, was the secret cave he'd found while exploring so many years ago. It was is secret place, but he felt compelled to show her it. He guessed it was because his friends had shown her everywhere else.
The cave wound around and back to where it widened into a dome, with cave drawings apparent everywhere.
"Who carved these?" she breathed in awe.
"I did, all through growing up."
"Who's this?" she asked, pointing to a face carved into the stone.
Sora examined where she was pointing and barely suppressed a gasp. He'd never seen the carving before, but even the crude scratching couldn't hide who the boy was. Strong, confident features were framed by waves of silver hair and aqua-green eyes. The boy from his dream, he wouldn't mistake that face anywhere.
"...does this door lead?" Kairi was asking.
Sora blinked out of his daze and answered, "I'm not sure. It was here when I found this place, but I can't open it."
"The keyhole is huge," Kairi said, tracing the opening with her finger. "I..."
The rest of what she was going to say was drowned in a sudden crack of thunder. Her eyes widened into panic and she cowered down against the cave.
"Come on," Sora called to her, "we've got to get back!"
"I-I can't move. Oh, Sora, it's horrible!"
Gritting his teeth, he decided he'd better get Wakka. The older boy would know how to handle her. "I'll be right back." He darted out of the lightning-lit cave. Kairi's protests were lost in the next wave of thunder.
He raced over the sand through a world gone black with the storm. How did it move in so fast?
He followed the curve of the seashore instinctively, unable to see in the inky blackness. He muttered and "Oof!" of surprise as he collided solidly with the trunk of a paopu tree. The paopu fruit fell and landed onto his stomach. He pocketed it without thinking and jumped to his feet.
The world had changed.
In the sky was a void from which winds and lightning came, the wind buffeting him like so many bullies' hands. Fighting to stand, he looked up and what breath remained in his lungs escaped.
Extending a hand within his black glove, not three strides from Sora, stood the silver-haired older boy, his aqua eyes strangely bright in the absence of normal light. Even as thunder boomed above their heads, his voice came to Sora without hindrance. "Don't fear the dark. I'm not afraid of the dark, either."
Long, black tendrils of darkness seeped up the stranger's legs and enveloped everything but his outstretched hand. Sora pushed against the wind-formed barrier to reach that hand.
Suddenly, accompanying a flash of light, Sora felt a weight in the hand extended to meet the older boy's. Looking down, he was holding a giant, golden key with a silver shaft and a dangling chain that matched Sora's necklace.
To say Sora wasn't thinking was an overstatement. To say he acted on impulse wouldn't do him justice. He simply acted. Without any conscious effort, he found himself by Kairi's side in the secret place, poised to place the giant key he now held into the keyhole of the mysterious door.
"Sora..."
He gripped Kairi gently with his other hand, then proceeded to unlock the door.
At last, a thought fueled his actions. Or rather, an image. That of a certain silver-haired boy, whose eyes and voice had captured Sora's core.
With his mind wrapped around the strange boy, Sora stepped through the doorway, Kairi in his wake.
(A/N: That's it for now! Next chapter will include the real Riku and start to explain how the events will tie into the romance, and vice versa. Thanks for reading and please review, I don't know how I'm doing without commentary! When I get reviews, it makes me want to write more!)
Preview of Chapter 4:
......... Any words he might have said locked in his throat, along with the reminder to breathe. Approaching him and Kairi was a boy a little older than Sora, with strong sea-green eyes and platinum hair. They boy who had haunted Sora's dreams since the day Kairi arrived.........
