By: Kimmy-Sama
Chapter One
It was beyond dark. Sea blue eyes watched the waves in the night wash upon the sand. Stars glittered and faintly illuminated the water below. Kairi could barely make out the small sliver of an almost new moon in the sky, as the clouds carelessly covered her view. Her mind was gone, away from this beach… on something, actually someone far away. Four longsome years had passed sense she had last seen him. Last touched his hand. Four years of not hearing his voice… but in her dreams. She remembered it was four years to this very date in which she had last seen him… floating off in the distance, the Islands appearing around her. She remembered how he spoke to her…
"Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"
Smiling to herself… she knew he would. She knew that deep down their friendship would never end. She would see him again in time. Even when others told her to give it up to stop coming here every week and watch the sky. How she was crazy to believe he would return. She knew he wouldn't break a promise like that. He never had, and never will.
About an hour later… she forced herself to leave this area, and get back home. She had a long week in front of her. She had made new friends sense Sora and Riku both vanished… and she knew she had to do everything she could to keep her mind off these things. Taking her boat, she went back to the main Island to get some deserved sleep.
"You went back again? Kairi…"
"Don't tell me that it wasn't good for me Selphie. What if you were in my shoes?"
Selphie stopped from making another comment. Of course, she was right. Kairi just missed her friends… She would have done the same if Wakka or Tidus went missing. She turned and went back to her sandwich.
Kairi smiled lightly as she took a drink of her water and gazed out of her window. Being an eighteen-year old woman now, she had her own small house, and made ends meat by working in a small store down the street. She rarely ever went back to the small Island she used to go every day. Most of her life was spent here, on this island. Her window had a great view of the ocean, the beach just feet away. Slephie stopped by all the time, for many reasons. As a support, a friend, and ally.
After lunch they went for a walk, down the main street of the Island to meet up with Tidus. Kairi was silent for the first half of the walk until Selphie broke the silence.
"Kairi… I'm sure where ever Sora and Riku are… they miss you just as much."
Kairi smiled brightly, and giggled lightly. Her hands gripped behind her back. "Yeah… I know."
It was the strangest sound… familiar… but strange. A whirlpool of liquid was pulling at his body. Pushing him around and tossing his body like a rag doll. He didn't open his eyes. He couldn't… it was like they were glued shut. His body ached. He felt disordered and flimsy. He couldn't remember… anything. He only could see one thing in his mind. A picture. A figure… someone who he had been searching for.
Unexpectedly, he was tossed out of the water. His lungs filled with air and he felt the grainy substance of the hard ground. Eyes opened to reveal a lighter blue… yet everything he saw was white. Then darkness… then small specks of twinkling lights. Stars… He remembered stars. And… worlds… the stars were worlds. He heard the sound of water hitting the ground around him and the salty taste of the sea on his lips. He knew all these things. He knew the smell of the ocean and the feeling of sand in his hands. Yet he didn't know…
He struggled to move. His body was weak and he felt like he could sleep for days. Sitting up, he looked at the area around him. Scattered Islands were around in the sea, he just happened to land on this one. He ran his fingers through the mop of hair on his head and felt a serious bump. Wincing, he decided to not touch that anymore… Pulling his hand back he saw the crimson of blood on his fingertips and sighed.
His hair naturally stood up, the brown color darkened with the water. He could remember this. He knew about himself… at least to some point. His clothing was heavy and hot for the weather… all black. A coat covered his pants and shirt… and he could feel something heavy on his side.
Before he could do anything else, he heard a barking. He jumped, but couldn't stand due to his frail state. The dark dog ran from the nearby town and jumped towards him, looking very happy and excided. Trying to push the dog away, he couldn't help but laugh at its spirit. For some reason, he remembered…. Something else.
A dog… Golden yellow with a letter in its mouth… two friends on his sides… chasing the dog down a long path in green fields. Coming to a huge castle… his friends. Why can't he see them? Where are they? What is wrong with his mind?
"Pepper!" A voice called. The abandoned young man watched as the dog turned, barked and barked. Almost as if trying to call the person over. His eyes caught sight of someone not far, running closer. His instincts kicked in as he saw the stranger get closer, and almost felt like he should stand and get ready for a fight…
"Pepper! Don't run off like that! Mrs. Anou will be furious… with… you." The red headed girl stopped in her tracks as she saw the dog and the one who sat behind her. Her eyes squinted lightly as she tried to make out his face. Her arms went instantly behind her and she bent down a little. "Hello?"
The confused boy looked puzzled as she stared at him. "Uh… your dog?"
"No… what are you doing out this late… in an outfit like that… in the water?" Kairi smiled lightly as Pepper started to kiss her hand.
"I…" He started… then looked out to the sea. "Don't know…"
Kairi frowned lightly and went closer. His face more in view now… she stopped and kneeled down… her eyes observed him, his face, eyes hair. She almost gasped, if her body let her. Instantly she was on her knees and at his side. "Wait… are… this can't… you're back…."
The man looked at her, her long red hair blowing around her face lightly and her eyes filling with tears. He shook his head, and with much discomfort looked away. "What do you mean 'you're back'… I've never been here. At least..." He paused. "I don't think so."
As his head shook, Kairi noticed a small trickle of blood fall from his head. "Oh no… you're hurt!"
Touching his forehead, the confused man sighed. "I don't remember…. Anything. Just a man... Someone I was searching for. I don't… understand… anything."
Kairi wiped her tears away and touched his gloved hand. "You… don't remember me?"
His eyes locked on hers. "Should I?"
Closing her eyes, she could almost hear her heart shattering. She had waited so long for this. She knew it was him, it had to be. He looked just like him…
"Yes… It's me. Kairi… and you're Sora."
To Be Continued…