The early mourning sun gently played across the décor of Kairi's room. A
small shaft of sunlight had already made it's way across her wooden floor,
climbed the bed frame and was now shining brightly on Kairi's shut eyes.
Kairi's bed gave a groan as she shifted into a sit. She glanced around her
room and gave a relaxed yawn. After rubbing the last bits of sleep from
her eyes she slipped onto her floor.
A quick shower later, her towel-clad form returned and sat before her mirror. She absently picked up a brush and started running it through her hair, while her mind began to wander.
An image of Sora walked calmly into her mind. It was sunset in Destiny Island and she and Sora were alone. She was dressed a simple brown skirt and white blouse, he in his normal attire. Sora said a few romantic things, and then pulled her to him in a kiss. He reached up the back of her blouse and ...
A small tap something hit Kairi's window. She leaned a bit to the side and saw Sora below her window, waving up.
She opened the window just enough to show her head and yelled down to him, "Come in Sora, the door's not locked. She closed the window and heard the front door open and close. Quickly, she dressed in her under ware, a white thank top, and brown shorts. She was just slipping her sandals on when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She opened it and immediately her lips were taken prisoner by Sora's
"Hey Kairi." Sora said when he broke the kiss. "Did ya sleep alright?"
"Yeah, I guess.' She paused "What are you doing here, I though we were going to meet at the Secret Place."
Sora suddenly looked embarrassed. "Well yeah, I kind of had this big romantic lunch plan set for later today. But, I forgot that: for one, I don't own a picnic basket, two the sandwiches I made last night were eaten by my mom and dad. So, sorry" He said in a bashful voice
Kairi giggled at Sora's story "It's alright Sora, you'll just owe my something doublely romantic next time. So what are we going to do instead?" Kairi said as they made their way into Kairi's kitchen
"I dunno' Sora said, flopping on a chair 'Want to go hang out on Destiny island again?"
"Sure, I guess." She ducked down into her 'fridge and brought out a pitcher of Paopu Juice. "Want some?"
"Yeah, thanks Kairi."
The two sipped their drinks, occasionally starting a trail of conversation. After a while Sora sat up and up and walked over Kairi's chair and help out his hand. Putting on his best accent he said "Milady? Would you accompany me to the Islands of Destiny?"
Kairi struggled to not laugh and took a deep breath, then said also in a British accent" Why kind Sir, I would be most delighted." She let herself be pulled up and gave Sora a quick peck on the cheek. She bent in close and whispered, "Race ya."
Before Sora could react, Kairi was out the door. With a quick breath he ran after her.
Kairi was already at the docks when Sora came up, breathing hard. "What kept you?" she asked playfully. Sora just groaned and hopped into his rowboat, gesturing Kairi to follow.
The boat trip was a quiet one, save for Sora gaping in surprise at a passing mermaid, which turned out to be a piece of driftwood. When they stepped on to the dock at Destiny Island, Kairi was still laughing, and Sora's face was glowing. Kairi was about to ridicule Sora again when they heard Riku's voice.
"Hey guy's" he said was a casual wave as he walked up to them.
"Hey Riku." They said, almost in unison.
"What's new?' asked Sora
"Not much, cept for Tidus pushing Selphie into the ocean, when I left them, Tidus looked like he won't be walking for a while."
Kairi looked a little surprised, "Poor Selphie, I should go talk to her." She was about to walk off when a Sora shaped thought hit her. "You don't mind, do you Sora?"
"Don't worry about it. Better you than one of us." He gave her a quick kiss. "See you Riku." She ran off with a quick wave to Riku.
Riku and Sora watched her run off for a moment before turning and walking toward the beach. "Sora, you should really have a talk with Tidus."
"What, why?"
'The only reason he pushed Selphie in the water was to see her in a wet dress. You should tell him that all you have to do is act like a pansy, and girls will willingly. ."
Riku didn't get to finish before Sora pushed him to the side. "What is that supposed to mean, huh? I know that you weren't calling me a pansy, cause I'm not!"
Riku laughed a little a causing Sora such frustration. "Relax Sora, you know I'm just joking. But you know,' he quickly dropped and kicked Sora's legs from under him, 'you now I'm going to have to get you back for pushing me." He pulled out his wooden sword.
'Today's the day I beat you Riku!" Sora said, unsheathing his own wooden sword.
He rushed at Riku and slashed, which he easily dodged. Riku quickly countered with a swipe to Sora's stomach, which missed him by an inch. "If you can't do better than that, there's no way you'll beat me" Riku called out mockingly. Sora feinted a swipe, and then managed a jab at Riku's ribs. "You're doing better." Riku admitted. He raised his sword for a downward slash. Sora raised his sword to block. Riku dropped and tripped Sora again. In a flash his sword was pointed at Sora's heart. "Still not as good as me." He finished arrogantly.
Sora got to his feet slowly. "Good match", he said through a forced smile. Riku was already walking away with his sword over his shoulder. He called back, "If you feel like fighting later, I'll be on the Paopu Isle."
"Alright, I'm gonna win next time Riku" he called back." Sora sheathed his sword in his belt and started to wander around the isle.
An hour later, Sora still had nothing to do. Kairi and Selphie had gone off somewhere, Riku was doing his "I'm tortured and alone" act, and Wakka and Tidus were trying to open the wooden door in the secret place. Sora flopped down on the dock and watched the sun glinting water for a moment. He was about to go off and force another match out of Riku, when something caught his eye.
About thirty feet out was a bow of a ship. Sora blinked his eyes once, and it was still there. Sora got up and pulled his outer shirt and necklace off. After kicking off his banana shoes, he dove into the ocean and started for the fragment of a ship.
Sora climbed on deck exhausted from his swim, it had seemed the ship was a lot closer than it really was. After a minute or two of hard breathing, Sora looked around the ship's bow.
There wasn't much left. The mast had been broken off, and only a few pieces of rigging were left of the sail. It would have been nothing more then a fluting hunk of wood if not for one thing. At the very tip of the bow, embedded halfway to the hilt, was a sword. Sora walked up to the blade and pulled hard on the handle. Distantly, he thought he remembered something about a sword, but quickly forgot. With little resistance, the blade slid from the ship, and glinted in the sunlight.
Sora slashed at the air for a few times and was surprised that the sword weighed little more than his wooden sword. He practiced a few simple moves with his new weapon. One swipe went wild and headed for the remainder of the mast. With a soft swish and a loud crash, the stump of the mast was carved in two. Sora gasped at the sharpness of the blade, and immediately wrapped as much of it as he could in the bit of rigging and sail he found. Making sure that the blade was secure in his belt, Sora headed back to Destiny Island.
Back inside the little hut on the island, Kairi was busy comforting Selphie. "Goddess, why do boys always have to be such pervs!"? Selphie whined. "I mean sure, I have a killer body but that doesn't give Tidus the right to push me into the ocean." If Kairi weren't busy trying to save her eardrums, she would have laughed. At fourteen, Selphie wasn't much to drool over.
Selphie continued to rant for a while before finally calming down. She thanked Kairi for listening and walked off toward the tree house. Kairi sighed a little at the younger girls attitude.
She had just closed the door on the little hut when she heard a splashing form the docks. Sora climbed out of the water, bare-chested and exhausted. Kairi ran up to him "Where did you go, you look like you just swam a mile." Kairi said with concern in her voice.
Sora grinned as mush as he could. "It was great Kairi. I found a real sword." Sora said, still breathing hard. Without another word he fell back on to the sand. "Sora!" Kairi exclaimed. She rushed over to his prone figure and listened carefully for a faint beat. She breathed a sigh of relief as his hear gave a weak but steady beat.
Riku came running up behind Kairi "Hey, what's up Kairi, I heard you scream and. What happened to Sora!"?
"I don't know! He came out of the water, said he found a real sword, and collapsed." Kairi said, panic in her voice.
"Well then he should get him out of the sun. Give me a hand." Riku said in his usual clam manner. Kairi lifted one of Sora's arms on her shoulders, and Riku got the other. Together they managed to half carry, half drag Sora to the little hut on the beach.
It was after dark before Sora feebly opened one of his eyes. A flesh colored blob managed to form itself into Kairi's worried looking face. "Hey Riku, I think he's waking up." Kairi said. Sora found his arms and managed to push himself against a wall in to a sit. Riku walked over to him, and handed him a glass of water. Sora took it and greedily gulped it down.
"Thanks,' he said setting the glass down, "What happened?"
Riku knelt in front of him. "Kairi said that you came out of the ocean, said you found a real sword, and then collapsed. Guess I wore you out with our little fight." He finished smirking.
"Riku" Kairi said warningly
"Fine fine." Riku said standing out. He turned around and brought up something. Even in the dull light of the hut, the sword still gleamed. "This is what you found, hu?" He swung it once experimentally. "Where'd ya find it?"
"I was looking for you, ya know for a rematch, when a saw a ship out in the ocean. I wanted to go explore and when I got there, I found that sword."
Riku looked the blade up and down with a look of concern. "You found this on a ship?"
"Well, just a part of a ship. Most of the sail and mast were broken off."
All that Sora got in reply was a hmmm. Riku set the sword on the ground and stared off. Kairi gently lifted the handle of the blade. Her eyes traveled up the simple blue grip, up the shimmering blade. When she saw the very tip, she gasped and dropped the sword in the sand.
Sora quickly got up and went over to her. "Kairi, what's wrong?" All she could do was point at the sword. Sora picked it up with a look on confusion on his face.
Kairi drew a deep breath. "Sora, look at the end of the blade." He looked closely right at the tip. Itched right into the medal was a crescent moon. The memory of the night before welled up in Sora's mind.
The fortuneteller's crystal ball. There had been a sword, a crescent moon, and blood.
Riku looked from Kairi's horrified face to Sora's deep confusion. "What's going on?" He asked to both of them in general.
Kairi still looked horrified but managed "Last night at the carnival, Sora and I went to see a fortune teller. Her crystal ball showed us a sword, a crescent moon, and blood. Sora got really mad and walked out, like he was scared or something."
Sora snapped out of his trance and looked at Kairi. "Still, it's not like this sword means anything. It's just something I found."
"But Sora,' Kairi said, 'tonight is a crescent moon!" She went over to the door and pushed it open. "Look"
Riku and Sora both looked out of the door and up at the clear night sky. A bare sliver of the moon glowed brightly.
Sora was the first to speak. "So what if it happens to be a crescent moon tonight. It's not like anything is going to happen."
"But Sora, you don't know that for sure." Kairi said, worry heavy in her voice. "Kairi, Sora's right." Riku said. "What does it matter what some fortune teller told you."
"Okay, but don't you think that it is just bit of a coincidence."
"Okay, yeah it is a little weird that all of this is happening at once. But it doesn't mean anything."
The three sat in silence for a while, thinking things over. IT was a few minutes before Kairi spoke. "Maybe, maybe your right Riku." He was about to thank her, but she continued. "I'm gonna head back to town, come on Sora."
"Uh, Kairi?" Sora said carefully.
"Yeah Sora?"
"What are we going to do about the sword?"
Kairi glanced back at the still gleaming sword. The moonlight from the open door was hitting the crescent indent perfectly. "I don't know, leave it here. I'm sure Wakka and the others won't mess with it.
"Alright. Are you going back with us Riku?"
"Sure."
The three walked across the glowing moonlit sand. Just as the stepped onto the wood dock, Riku caught a bad step and triped. He recovered with his usual grace, save for a thin trickle of dark red blood from a small cut on his arm. He carelessly wiped out the blood and thoughtlessly flicked it onto the water. He joined Sora and Kairi, and they set out back to Saria.
It was much later that night, back on the deserted Destiny Island. The sword's blade lifted ever so slightly from its handle. A small drop of black liquid touched the sand, staining it black.
A quick shower later, her towel-clad form returned and sat before her mirror. She absently picked up a brush and started running it through her hair, while her mind began to wander.
An image of Sora walked calmly into her mind. It was sunset in Destiny Island and she and Sora were alone. She was dressed a simple brown skirt and white blouse, he in his normal attire. Sora said a few romantic things, and then pulled her to him in a kiss. He reached up the back of her blouse and ...
A small tap something hit Kairi's window. She leaned a bit to the side and saw Sora below her window, waving up.
She opened the window just enough to show her head and yelled down to him, "Come in Sora, the door's not locked. She closed the window and heard the front door open and close. Quickly, she dressed in her under ware, a white thank top, and brown shorts. She was just slipping her sandals on when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She opened it and immediately her lips were taken prisoner by Sora's
"Hey Kairi." Sora said when he broke the kiss. "Did ya sleep alright?"
"Yeah, I guess.' She paused "What are you doing here, I though we were going to meet at the Secret Place."
Sora suddenly looked embarrassed. "Well yeah, I kind of had this big romantic lunch plan set for later today. But, I forgot that: for one, I don't own a picnic basket, two the sandwiches I made last night were eaten by my mom and dad. So, sorry" He said in a bashful voice
Kairi giggled at Sora's story "It's alright Sora, you'll just owe my something doublely romantic next time. So what are we going to do instead?" Kairi said as they made their way into Kairi's kitchen
"I dunno' Sora said, flopping on a chair 'Want to go hang out on Destiny island again?"
"Sure, I guess." She ducked down into her 'fridge and brought out a pitcher of Paopu Juice. "Want some?"
"Yeah, thanks Kairi."
The two sipped their drinks, occasionally starting a trail of conversation. After a while Sora sat up and up and walked over Kairi's chair and help out his hand. Putting on his best accent he said "Milady? Would you accompany me to the Islands of Destiny?"
Kairi struggled to not laugh and took a deep breath, then said also in a British accent" Why kind Sir, I would be most delighted." She let herself be pulled up and gave Sora a quick peck on the cheek. She bent in close and whispered, "Race ya."
Before Sora could react, Kairi was out the door. With a quick breath he ran after her.
Kairi was already at the docks when Sora came up, breathing hard. "What kept you?" she asked playfully. Sora just groaned and hopped into his rowboat, gesturing Kairi to follow.
The boat trip was a quiet one, save for Sora gaping in surprise at a passing mermaid, which turned out to be a piece of driftwood. When they stepped on to the dock at Destiny Island, Kairi was still laughing, and Sora's face was glowing. Kairi was about to ridicule Sora again when they heard Riku's voice.
"Hey guy's" he said was a casual wave as he walked up to them.
"Hey Riku." They said, almost in unison.
"What's new?' asked Sora
"Not much, cept for Tidus pushing Selphie into the ocean, when I left them, Tidus looked like he won't be walking for a while."
Kairi looked a little surprised, "Poor Selphie, I should go talk to her." She was about to walk off when a Sora shaped thought hit her. "You don't mind, do you Sora?"
"Don't worry about it. Better you than one of us." He gave her a quick kiss. "See you Riku." She ran off with a quick wave to Riku.
Riku and Sora watched her run off for a moment before turning and walking toward the beach. "Sora, you should really have a talk with Tidus."
"What, why?"
'The only reason he pushed Selphie in the water was to see her in a wet dress. You should tell him that all you have to do is act like a pansy, and girls will willingly. ."
Riku didn't get to finish before Sora pushed him to the side. "What is that supposed to mean, huh? I know that you weren't calling me a pansy, cause I'm not!"
Riku laughed a little a causing Sora such frustration. "Relax Sora, you know I'm just joking. But you know,' he quickly dropped and kicked Sora's legs from under him, 'you now I'm going to have to get you back for pushing me." He pulled out his wooden sword.
'Today's the day I beat you Riku!" Sora said, unsheathing his own wooden sword.
He rushed at Riku and slashed, which he easily dodged. Riku quickly countered with a swipe to Sora's stomach, which missed him by an inch. "If you can't do better than that, there's no way you'll beat me" Riku called out mockingly. Sora feinted a swipe, and then managed a jab at Riku's ribs. "You're doing better." Riku admitted. He raised his sword for a downward slash. Sora raised his sword to block. Riku dropped and tripped Sora again. In a flash his sword was pointed at Sora's heart. "Still not as good as me." He finished arrogantly.
Sora got to his feet slowly. "Good match", he said through a forced smile. Riku was already walking away with his sword over his shoulder. He called back, "If you feel like fighting later, I'll be on the Paopu Isle."
"Alright, I'm gonna win next time Riku" he called back." Sora sheathed his sword in his belt and started to wander around the isle.
An hour later, Sora still had nothing to do. Kairi and Selphie had gone off somewhere, Riku was doing his "I'm tortured and alone" act, and Wakka and Tidus were trying to open the wooden door in the secret place. Sora flopped down on the dock and watched the sun glinting water for a moment. He was about to go off and force another match out of Riku, when something caught his eye.
About thirty feet out was a bow of a ship. Sora blinked his eyes once, and it was still there. Sora got up and pulled his outer shirt and necklace off. After kicking off his banana shoes, he dove into the ocean and started for the fragment of a ship.
Sora climbed on deck exhausted from his swim, it had seemed the ship was a lot closer than it really was. After a minute or two of hard breathing, Sora looked around the ship's bow.
There wasn't much left. The mast had been broken off, and only a few pieces of rigging were left of the sail. It would have been nothing more then a fluting hunk of wood if not for one thing. At the very tip of the bow, embedded halfway to the hilt, was a sword. Sora walked up to the blade and pulled hard on the handle. Distantly, he thought he remembered something about a sword, but quickly forgot. With little resistance, the blade slid from the ship, and glinted in the sunlight.
Sora slashed at the air for a few times and was surprised that the sword weighed little more than his wooden sword. He practiced a few simple moves with his new weapon. One swipe went wild and headed for the remainder of the mast. With a soft swish and a loud crash, the stump of the mast was carved in two. Sora gasped at the sharpness of the blade, and immediately wrapped as much of it as he could in the bit of rigging and sail he found. Making sure that the blade was secure in his belt, Sora headed back to Destiny Island.
Back inside the little hut on the island, Kairi was busy comforting Selphie. "Goddess, why do boys always have to be such pervs!"? Selphie whined. "I mean sure, I have a killer body but that doesn't give Tidus the right to push me into the ocean." If Kairi weren't busy trying to save her eardrums, she would have laughed. At fourteen, Selphie wasn't much to drool over.
Selphie continued to rant for a while before finally calming down. She thanked Kairi for listening and walked off toward the tree house. Kairi sighed a little at the younger girls attitude.
She had just closed the door on the little hut when she heard a splashing form the docks. Sora climbed out of the water, bare-chested and exhausted. Kairi ran up to him "Where did you go, you look like you just swam a mile." Kairi said with concern in her voice.
Sora grinned as mush as he could. "It was great Kairi. I found a real sword." Sora said, still breathing hard. Without another word he fell back on to the sand. "Sora!" Kairi exclaimed. She rushed over to his prone figure and listened carefully for a faint beat. She breathed a sigh of relief as his hear gave a weak but steady beat.
Riku came running up behind Kairi "Hey, what's up Kairi, I heard you scream and. What happened to Sora!"?
"I don't know! He came out of the water, said he found a real sword, and collapsed." Kairi said, panic in her voice.
"Well then he should get him out of the sun. Give me a hand." Riku said in his usual clam manner. Kairi lifted one of Sora's arms on her shoulders, and Riku got the other. Together they managed to half carry, half drag Sora to the little hut on the beach.
It was after dark before Sora feebly opened one of his eyes. A flesh colored blob managed to form itself into Kairi's worried looking face. "Hey Riku, I think he's waking up." Kairi said. Sora found his arms and managed to push himself against a wall in to a sit. Riku walked over to him, and handed him a glass of water. Sora took it and greedily gulped it down.
"Thanks,' he said setting the glass down, "What happened?"
Riku knelt in front of him. "Kairi said that you came out of the ocean, said you found a real sword, and then collapsed. Guess I wore you out with our little fight." He finished smirking.
"Riku" Kairi said warningly
"Fine fine." Riku said standing out. He turned around and brought up something. Even in the dull light of the hut, the sword still gleamed. "This is what you found, hu?" He swung it once experimentally. "Where'd ya find it?"
"I was looking for you, ya know for a rematch, when a saw a ship out in the ocean. I wanted to go explore and when I got there, I found that sword."
Riku looked the blade up and down with a look of concern. "You found this on a ship?"
"Well, just a part of a ship. Most of the sail and mast were broken off."
All that Sora got in reply was a hmmm. Riku set the sword on the ground and stared off. Kairi gently lifted the handle of the blade. Her eyes traveled up the simple blue grip, up the shimmering blade. When she saw the very tip, she gasped and dropped the sword in the sand.
Sora quickly got up and went over to her. "Kairi, what's wrong?" All she could do was point at the sword. Sora picked it up with a look on confusion on his face.
Kairi drew a deep breath. "Sora, look at the end of the blade." He looked closely right at the tip. Itched right into the medal was a crescent moon. The memory of the night before welled up in Sora's mind.
The fortuneteller's crystal ball. There had been a sword, a crescent moon, and blood.
Riku looked from Kairi's horrified face to Sora's deep confusion. "What's going on?" He asked to both of them in general.
Kairi still looked horrified but managed "Last night at the carnival, Sora and I went to see a fortune teller. Her crystal ball showed us a sword, a crescent moon, and blood. Sora got really mad and walked out, like he was scared or something."
Sora snapped out of his trance and looked at Kairi. "Still, it's not like this sword means anything. It's just something I found."
"But Sora,' Kairi said, 'tonight is a crescent moon!" She went over to the door and pushed it open. "Look"
Riku and Sora both looked out of the door and up at the clear night sky. A bare sliver of the moon glowed brightly.
Sora was the first to speak. "So what if it happens to be a crescent moon tonight. It's not like anything is going to happen."
"But Sora, you don't know that for sure." Kairi said, worry heavy in her voice. "Kairi, Sora's right." Riku said. "What does it matter what some fortune teller told you."
"Okay, but don't you think that it is just bit of a coincidence."
"Okay, yeah it is a little weird that all of this is happening at once. But it doesn't mean anything."
The three sat in silence for a while, thinking things over. IT was a few minutes before Kairi spoke. "Maybe, maybe your right Riku." He was about to thank her, but she continued. "I'm gonna head back to town, come on Sora."
"Uh, Kairi?" Sora said carefully.
"Yeah Sora?"
"What are we going to do about the sword?"
Kairi glanced back at the still gleaming sword. The moonlight from the open door was hitting the crescent indent perfectly. "I don't know, leave it here. I'm sure Wakka and the others won't mess with it.
"Alright. Are you going back with us Riku?"
"Sure."
The three walked across the glowing moonlit sand. Just as the stepped onto the wood dock, Riku caught a bad step and triped. He recovered with his usual grace, save for a thin trickle of dark red blood from a small cut on his arm. He carelessly wiped out the blood and thoughtlessly flicked it onto the water. He joined Sora and Kairi, and they set out back to Saria.
It was much later that night, back on the deserted Destiny Island. The sword's blade lifted ever so slightly from its handle. A small drop of black liquid touched the sand, staining it black.