Chapter 1

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Clear, topaz blue water lapped her ankles. The sand was too hot and lying there didn't feel very good. A little girl grudgingly picked herself up and stretched her sore limbs. Feeling feverish, she walked deeper into the water, stopping now and then to trace the sand with her toes. Somehow, she had ended up on this beach, but she didn't know how. All she remembered was the burning sun on her skin, scratchy eyes and water running down her cheeks. Shaking her head gently, she shrugged it off and splashed some water onto her shoulders. Her back was beginning to hurt and itch a little. Hesitantly, she slowly dunked her head so that her hair weaved around her face and tickled her sunburned cheeks. The water reached her chin now. She dived, making a few clumsy strokes in the water. Unwilling to open her eyes, the little girl couldn't see, but she could feel the rush of water as fish swam by.

More confident, the she blindly swarm further out to sea,. A little prick still tugged at her in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. Wherever she came from… she could wait till later. Smiling, she continued her bold strokes until she bumped her head on something hard. The little girl faltered, bubbles escaped her lips as she temporarily fell limp from shock. Quickly recovering, she shot out of the water, gasping for breath, her arms protectively wrapped around her forehead. "Owi-owi-owi-owi-owi…!"

Before she could gather her wits, someone whacked her with an oar. That did it. Yanking the oar from the whatever, she made vicious, random swings. Her blows missed the target, ever time. "What was that for you meanie? That hurt…" Blinking back the salty drops from her eyes, she made out two people on a boat. "Hey you! The person who hit me! Why didja do that for?"

When her vision finally focused, she saw boy with dandelion white hair staring back at her. "Hey Sora! Quite trying to find your sword! It's just a red-head girl."

The little girl looked up, still blinking uncertainly. No way was she gonna let him ignore her. "I said, 'What was that for you… you Meanie!'"

She watched as spiky chocolate hair rose from the boat's rim to reveal another face. This one was presumably 'Sora.' He looked over the ledge and gave her a blank look too. "It is a girl!"

She scowled a little and continued to rub her head. "I'm not 'It!' My name is…umm… My name is not 'It' ok?" They still didn't answer her question. "What was that whack in the head for anyway!" They stayed still watching each other for a while. No one even noticed the oar had floated away.

Suddenly, the two boys cracked a smile, but Mr. Dandelion tried to hide it. His mouth was quivering with the effort. Brownie grinned as if he'd just received the best birthday gift ever.

Fuming, the little girl closed the gap between them and began to climb on. The boat rocked with her effort. Maybe she could teach them some manners! But somewhere between getting in and leaving the water, her sundress got caught on an oar ring. The boys were in hysterics now. Both were nearly rolling off the boat. Gritting her teeth, her fingers furiously worked to untangled her dress from the boat. She'll show them…

As the final knot was released, she plopped onto the boat and the kicked the remaining oar into the water. Sora's eyes went wide and made a lunge to grab the oar but it was too late. "Hey Riku!" Riku took the cue and made a mad grab for her and missed. Grinning wickedly, the red-head abandoned ship. A giant splash followed her fall, spraying the two boys with a thin wave of water. Giggling, the girl pushed the oar gently out of their reach, letting the waves carry it towards shore. The other oar had just washed up on the beach. Smiling at their satisfying reactions, she lazily swam in a neat arc arms distance from them. "So, let's talk turkey."

Sora and Riku both stared at her dumbstruck. They had just been outwitted by a girl. Riku was the first to regain his composure. Casually getting up, he gave her an aloof smile and agreed. "All right fine, you win." For now… So what do you want to talk about? Dollies?"

The girl flushed, they were still belittling her! "No, but you guys should have answered me earlier."

Sora finally recovered and looked at her curiously. The beach they were headed to was a small part of a larger archipelago, Destiny Islands. Being part of a relatively close knit community, Sora and Riku knew practically everyone. This girl however, was a stranger. "Who are you anyway? I haven't seen you here before?"

The red-head was caught off guard. "I… I don't know." She stuttered.

"What makes you so sure we won't jump off right now and take back what's ours?" said Riku. He rested a foot on the boat's rim and gave her the "Oh-I'm-so-high-and-mighty" look.

She bit her lip. This wasn't going where she hoped it would. "Look, I just want you guys to say sorry and tell me why you whacked me. So just say your sorry and I'll..." The prick suddenly turned into a large nail. A very large nail, and the large bruise she received from their oar didn't help either. Rubbing her glassy eyes, she shrugged. "You know what? Never mind." Unwilling to let them see her, she swam further. "If your so smart, just get them yourselves." Not even waiting for their reply, she dived and made her way to shore. She was getting pruney anyway.

Sora looked at Riku accusingly. "I think you made her cry." Though he couldn't help feeling a little guilty too. "What did we do?" he asked a little more gently.

Riku grimaced. He never meant to make her cry. "I'm not sure, but sitting here isn't going to help. I just wanted to get her to give us back the oars. You know what our moms said about coming home all wet…"

Both shuddered. If they got home all wet one more time… their mothers would murder them with fried wild greens in oyster sauce. Last time they tried to feed their share to the neighbor's cat, the cat went into a hissy fit and shredded it to bits.

"Guess we don't have much of a choice do we?" Sora glanced at the shore. The red-head was staggering a little from staying in the water too long. She clutched the two oars for support and then firmly planted them into to the sand as if to say, "Here they are, get em yourselves." Regaining her balance, she ran off into the foliage.

He was brought back into reality as a drops of water hit his face. Riku was already making his way to the island. "Hey! No fair!" Jumping in, Sora raced to catch up.

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A/N : Eep, I'm not too sure I did the characterization right. I'm not too good at being OC. Sorrry!

Comments, complaints, and flames are appreciate. Thank you. (But if your gonna complain or flame, please tell me WHY what you didn't like was bad.)

P.S. This might just be a one-shot since I tend to always stop in the beginning. Bad I know. I'll try to continue though.

Ixis