A/N: My brother just said something about getting hit in the something or other. I think he said "Okay, just hit me in the NFL." I don't know, you don't care, let's throw parties everywhere!! Oh, God, I did not just say that!! Typed. What the frickin' hey ever!!! So, anyway, I won't tell ya anything about this chapter. Because I'm being lazy right now. Lazy, lazy LAZY!!!! Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!! Don't ask, as I don't know. So anyway, is this Chapter 7 or 8? I forgot... Umm.... Oh yeah, it's 8!!! Sorry, my bad... Heheh... Anyway, read on. Hyper-mode shut down in 3... 2... 1... ((screen goes black))
Teek: Hmm... Got dark in here all of a sudden...
Chapter 8 (A/N: Getting a little more serious, huh?)
"Heads up, Kage!!"
THWAK!!!!!
"YAAAAAAARGH!!!"
"Back atcha, Wakka!!"
"Awesome. That was a nice hit, Shadow."
"Thanks, Tidus. Yeep!!"
THWAK!!!
"YAAAAAAARGH!!!"
It was a month later, and the girl had been accepted into life on the Destiny Islands, and took to it like a fish to water. She had been seen following Riku everywhere, and thus had earned the nickname "Riku no Kage,"(A/N: Sound familiar? Heheheh...) or "Kage" for short. The nickname meant "Riku's Shadow," so she was also called "Shadow." At first, Riku didn't like the way the other kids teased her about how she "followed him everywhere like an obedient puppy," as some of the kids put it. He would often lecture them, telling them to leave her alone, that she didn't need all those insults, and so on and so forth until one day, when she wasn't following him around, he saw her laughing her head off at the fact that Selphie had called her an obedient puppy again. Kage was laughing so hard she had begun turning blue, and Selphie was laughing at the fact that Kage was laughing so hard, and was turning blue herself. Riku had heard Kage managing to get out "Puppy, oh man, that's funny," every now and then, and go back to laughing. He had stood there with his mouth agape at the stupidity of it for ten minutes, then Kage and Selphie stopped laughing, looked up and saw him with his mouth dropped halfway down his chest, and started laughing all over again. That night, Riku asked her if Kage actually liked the teasing and she said "Well, yeah. Other wise, I wouldn't feel like I fit in here. That's how I can tell I'm accepted, too. If every one was being too polite to insult me, then I would know that I wasn't welcome to stay here, and call this place my home. Actually, I think it's the insults that show they like my company better than any compliment could." This thoroughly confused Riku, but it was her logic, and he decided to leave it alone.
But that was in the past. Right now, Kage and Wakka were goofing off the same way Wakka and Sora were when Riku and Kage went on their walk-that-would-have-ended-in-a-kiss-if-Sora-and-Wakka-hadn't-made-kissy-noises. Meaning, Wakka was throwing his ball at Kage (A/N: Which still sounds wrong... :P) and Kage was hitting it back with a wooden sword. (A/N: Which still sounds painful. I'm a gutter-brain, obviously...)
Actually, Kage was using twin wooden scimitars, which were a welcoming gift-type thing from Sora and Selphie. Sora found the wood for the scimitars, and Selphie carved it. From Wakka, Tidus, and Kairi, and the adults on the islands, Kage got an entire history of the islands, legends included, acted out by Wakka, Tidus, and most of the adults, with Kairi and Sora's mother narrating, around a campfire while Riku, Sora, Selphie, and Kage made s'mores for the actors and narrators and ate some themselves. Then, some of the adults brought out instruments and they had a party. At the end of the night, Kage had danced with everyone at least once, and with Riku at least three times. Yes, she even danced with the girls. Some of the adults tried to teach her how to play the different instruments, and she took to the drum, flute, and ocarina fairly well. (A/N: Yes, ocarina. I'm also a bit of a Zelda fan, so the ocarina was included in the instruments) The stringed instruments, like the violin and guitar and the lute, did not agree with her. She rather enjoyed playing the ocarina, and one of the adults had an extra and let her keep it as a welcoming gift. She tried to refuse, but was out-stubborned by the adult and finally accepted the gift, laughing her head off.
When Riku wasn't dancing or playing an instrument, he was sitting off by himself, carving something with a sharp stone he'd found a few days before by accidentally stepping on it in his bare feet. (A/N: Owchens. That hurts... Trust me, I've done it before...) Whenever Kage would go over to him, however, he would hastily slip it into a pocket somewhere, stand up, and grin mock-innocently at her. Then, they danced.
That night, after the "party" had been cleaned up and people were telling ghost stories around the fire, Riku had asked Kage to come with him to the little island with the Paoupu trees. He took her gently by the hand, and led her up there, not saying anything, even when she asked rather vehemently where they were going, as he didn't tell her where they were going, but instead had said "Come with me," and started leading her up to the little island thing and... yah.
"Riku, what are we doing up here?" she'd asked.
"I come up here to be alone sometimes, and this is kind of one of those times."
"Huh?"
"I want to be alone with you tonight. Just for a little bit, then we can go back with every one else, but I want to talk to you in private." (A/N: I have the strangest urge to type in Riku proposing right here...)
"Why?"
"Well, it's been hard trying to find a way to get you alone. Every one really likes you..."
"You could have asked, y'know..."
"What, and have Selphie cook up something romantic from it? No, thanks!"
Kage moved closer to him. It was kind of chilly that night. "Yeah, I see what you mean... So, we're alone up here. What do you want to talk about?"
"Well... A lot of things, actually."
"You gotta start somewhere."
"Well..." Riku stared up at the stars for a minute. "I'd like to know why it is you trust me so much. I mean... I'm assuming you trust me. It seems like you tell me everything."
"I do trust you, and I do tell you everything. Well, almost. I have my secrets, you know... But, as to why I trust you? I don't know... Maybe it's because you're the one who saved me from drowning. Every one else freaked out."
"No, Sora didn't. Actually, he was the one who told me to go after you. I would have anyway, but I expected Sora to rush to be the hero, not use his head."
"Well, I said maybe. It could also be that you were the first one I saw after I woke up that day. I could tell you'd been by my side the whole time I was out..."
"Not the whole time. The doctor kicked me out while he tended to you."
"Yeah, but as soon as you could, you came right back in and didn't leave my side. I think that's enough reason to trust you."
"Hunh... Any other reasons?"
Kage stared out at the horizon for a while. Just when Riku was about to tell her to forget it, she answered.
"Your eyes..."
"Huh?"
"I don't know. Something about them makes me want to trust you, so I do. It's hard to explain, but I see something in your eyes. Kindness, I think." She then chuckled. "Listen to me, I'm starting to sound like Selphie..."
Riku chuckled a little, which caused Kage to start giggling, then they both broke out into gales of laughter and neither could figure out why. (A/N: Neither can the authoress, but hey, logic has no hold up here taps her head) The laughter died out soon enough.
"So, that's not it, is it? There's something else you want to ask me?"
"Uh... yeah. And it's a little personal... You don't have to answer if you don't want to..."
"Well? What is it?"
"Well... when you get your memory back..."
"Go on...?"
"What are you gonna do?"
Kage stared at him a second, then stared at the sky. It was a long time before she answered.
"I don't know..." she said, and continued staring at the sky. Riku was silent for a while. He stuck his hand in his pocket, and felt the thing he'd been carving at the party. He took it out, and stared at it a while. It was a seashell, identical to one he'd found the day before Kage came into his life. The coloring, size, and shape was exactly the same. He'd been carving a hole in it, then tied a leather thong (A/N: Not what most girls wear today, a thong as in a strap or rope) through the hole. He made a decision, then.
Riku walked up behind Kage, and tied the shell around her neck, making a knot in the string that wouldn't come loose at all, unless someone untied it(A/N: Major and total duh-ness).
"R-Riku! What's this?"
"My welcoming present. I'm the only one who hasn't given you anything yet, so I'm giving you this now."
Kage gently touched the seashell. She then smiled, the first full smile Riku had seen on her face. She looked up at him, and he thought he saw a tear running down her cheek.
"It's beautiful, Riku."
"It's even prettier in the sun. I know it's not much, but--"
Kage gently placed a finger over his lips, and leaned close to him, close enough that he could feel her warm breath on his lips, and smell it. Her breath smelled like s'mores. (A/N: Duh, seeing as she was eating some not too long ago!)
"It's not the quality of the gift, Riku, that touches people," she whispered. "It is the thought behind the gift. I'm happy just knowing you though about me long enough to so much as consider giving me this, much less actually give me it. That's really all that matters. I will treasure this gift, Riku. But the memory of who gave it to me, that I shall treasure more." She then gave him a swift kiss on the lips.
Riku was too stunned to move. He just stared at her, and she smiled back. Even without the kiss, the joy on her face that he saw then was thanks enough. The kiss just made the thanks that much sweeter.
Eventually, they went back to the party, Kage stopping once to dry the tears from her eyes. She hadn't lied, she would treasure that memory more than any other.
So, yeah, anyway, back to the here and now.
"My turn, Kage!" Sora called, jumping up from where he was sitting between Riku and Kairi. Kage took one final whack at Wakka's ball(A/N: No matter how many times I type that it's gonna sound just plain wrong!!), then going to sit in Sora's vacated seat, wiping sweat off her face with the back of her arm. Kairi turned to look at Kage.
"Didja have fun?" Kairi asked.
Kage leaned back on her hands and laughed. "Well, yeah! How can you not have fun after hitting Wakka in the face with his own ball three times in a row?"(A/N: And it still sounds soooooo wrong!!! And a bad mental image, too. Yick!) Riku and Kairi laughed with her.
"No, Kage, how do you really feel about him?" Selphie asked.
Kage began fanning herself with one hand, adding to the breeze. "Oh, he's nice enough."
"Compared to what, a dead rat?" Tidus asked while everyone else snickered.
"I dunno."
"You guys talkin' bout me?" Wakka called, and promptly got smacked upside the head from an excellent volley by Sora.
"Oh, maaaaaaaaybe..." Selphie said.
"Well, try not to make too much sense outta it, aight?"
"Now, Wakka," Kage said, looking at him out of one eye as the other was closed, making it look like she was slightly bored with the conversation. Riku could tell by the look in the open eye that she was having fun, though. "How could we possibly make sense out of you?"
Wakka decided not to answer, as Sora had sent his ball flying back into Wakka's skull with a loud WHAP for the second time in a row, to raucous laughter from the rest of the kids.
A/N: Wasn't that fun? But the bits where Wakka was throwing his ball at people and having it smacked back into his face sounded so wrong to me, because I'm being perverted at the moment. Ookami would be so proud of me... As would the Hentai King Baku Baku. Honestly, the people I hang out with IRL... And my parents wonder how I got to be so perverted in the first place! No, Ookami and the Hantai King aren't my parents. That would be interesting, as they are different sides to the same person, Ookami and Baku Baku...
Teek: I think you have just a little too much fun in the author's note, kid.
Me: Aw, shaddap.