By: K-c
A/N: HERE I AM WITH CHAPPIE 13! Yay! I had to have my friends/editors help me come up with ideas for this once, cuz I cut what I was originally going to have. That's a very hard process to go through . . . ANYwho, so, thank you so much to those who reviewed! TOLD YA IT WAS GETTING GOOD, EH! Lol. Well, here ya go!
Disclaimer: I don't own KH characters of FF characters . . .but I DO own the Island of St. Anne and Emerald Sands Island (I hope that's not a real place . . .whoops . . .)!
Ch.13: Pieces of a Painted Puzzle
Kairi's POV:
"Aw, man! My battery's dead already?" I whined out loud, pressing the little button on my digital camera over and over again, hoping to suck some more life out of it. After a few moments of hope, I realized it was truly dead. I sighed in annoyance and put the string of the camera around my wrist.
"Hey, can I get out now?" Rikku called over to me from where she was lying completely buried in the sand so that only her blonde head was sticking out. I had been trying to take a picture of her in this situation, but my dumb camera wasn't being nice, so I couldn't. I smiled at her and turned around.
"Eh . . . nope! I'm gonna leave you there!" I giggled back at her, still not turning around. I heard a cry of protest and I started to laugh. I brushed a strand of red hair out of my eyes and gazed up at the beautiful blue sky overhead. It looks like it's going to be another lovely day . . . why can't we stay longer?
So here we are, still spending our much-deserved spring break on the island of Emerald Sands. Yuna was nice enough to allow us to all come along with her and stay in her beautiful summer home as well! Even though we've had our bad moments together, we still managed to pull through! My ankle still hurts, but it's definitely better now, which is a good thing! This is currently our last day on this island, and we'll be leaving here tomorrow morning to go back to school. So now I'm going to live my last day on the beach to the fullest!
"HEY, KAIRI! COME ON IN!" I turned around to face the water and saw Sora in up to his waist. I grinned out at him and dropped my camera on the soft, white sand. I slipped off my sandals and untied my beach skirt that was over top of my pink polka-dot swimsuit.
"Coming!" I called back to him and started to run towards the ocean. My feet hit the moist sand first and then the cool water. As I trudged through the deepening water, waves started to crash on me and knock me over. Everytime I looked up from falling down, Sora was laughing harder and harder. I gave him a playful pout and splashed some seawater in his face when I got close enough. The water went up to about the middle of my midriff and I quickly ducked down underneath to get my hair wet. I wiped the salt water away from my eyes when I came back up and looked for Sora. He wasn't standing where he was when I went under. Where is he?
"AHA!" I tried to turn around quickly, but I was suddenly shoved underwater. I could feel his hands on top of my hand, holding me down and I made an attempt to wriggle away, but to no avail. I reached out my hands and tried to grab onto something and I ended up grabbing his leg and I pulled it towards me. The pressure on my head ceased immediately, and I popped back up to the surface, gasping for breath. A moment later, Sora appeared too, now soaking wet. He glared at me, and for a second I thought that I had made him mad, but then he just laughed and splashed some water in my face.
"Hey!" I protested, slapping water at him in return. This went on for a while and then after about ten minutes, he laid back and started to float on the surface, rising and falling with the waves. I squeezed the excess water from my dripping hair and swam over to him. 'He's such a great friend,' I thought as I silently stared at him. He was looking up at the sky, a peaceful smile on his face.
After a pause of silence, he broke the calm. "That one looks like a boat . . ." he muttered under his breath to me, still staring up above him. I was slightly confused by what he said, but then I, too, looked up at the sky to see the clouds floating by. I craned my neck around to try and find the one that he said looked like a boat. I didn't see it.
"Where? I can't find it!" I told him, still looking around aimlessly in the bright blue sky. After a while, my neck started to hurt and I focused back on Sora who was now smiling wide.
"Here, float so you can see it from my angle," he suggested, indicating his head beside him. He was starting to drift away and I hurried over beside him again. I hesitantly turned around and flopped backwards onto the water. I tried to hold my breath to suspend me on the surface . . . but . . . that didn't quite work. I ended up sinking like a rock. (A/N: Don't worry, Kairi. I suck at floating, too . . .) When I came back up to the surface, Sora was laughing as well, but then he slowly started to sink down into the water and disappeared from sight. It was my turn to laugh, now. I giggled like crazy when he broke through the surface, a very discouraged look on his face. He started to laugh along with me and we just ended up laughing together in the water, now pretty far from shore with our drifting with the current and all.
Our laughter died out and there was another moment of silence as we listened to the calling of the seagulls and the incessant waves pounding the shore. I looked in the distance at the shore and saw a silver-haired figure standing by the waters' edge.
"HEY! RIKU!" I hollered over to him, hoping he would hear me. I started to wave my arms in the air to catch his attention. I think he looked my way because I saw him signal me in. I glanced over at Sora, who was examining a hermit crab that he had snatched up from the sand underwater, and trudged back towards the shore to Riku. As I got closer, I noticed that he wasn't wearing a swimsuit and was holding a bag in his left hand. When I got through the "wave-zone" and onto damp sand, I then saw that he didn't look too happy. I stood right in front of him, waiting for him to give me an explanation for him wanting me to be there with him. I waited in silence while he didn't look me in the eyes, but had then averted to the sand.
"I just got a call from my father . . ." he started quietly, not looking at me still. I didn't know quite what to make of what he was telling me, but I didn't ask any questions. I waited for more to what he was saying and the deep intake of breath told me that it was going to be something hard to say.
"He says that I have to get home," he stated, his voice breaking in and out with anger. He spoke to me through clenched teeth and I didn't know if I should feel pity or concern. I peered up at his face and he closed his eyes, a small and faint blush appearing on his cheeks. Get home? What? Why now? Why couldn't he just leave tomorrow with the rest of us?
"Did . . .did something happen? Something bad? I mean—I don't meant to pry or anything, but if anything's wrong, you can tell me, you know . . ." I stammered uncertainly to him, trying to receive some sort of response from him. I sound like such an idiot . . .I shouldn't ask him about his private life . . . it might have something to do with his family, and that's personal. He doesn't need to tell me everything . . .
"It's . . .it's just . . . kinda personal . . ." he stumbled over his words quickly, obviously not wanting to tell me. I knew he was hiding something from me . . .
"So . . . you can't tell me?" I asked him softly, still looking up at him and hoping to meet his eyes. He looked at me, but it was with a glare. I was taken back by this sudden mood swing and backed up cautiously.
"I just don't wanna tell you, okay! Just . . .give me space . . ." he blurted out, but then quieted down again. I heard Sora trudging through the water behind me and approaching me slowly. He stopped and didn't say a word, not wanting to get involved in this. I didn't know what to say . . . I want so much to help him . . . I want him to confide in me and get things off his chest . . .
"Okay . . . I understand . . . when are you leaving?" I asked him in a quiet and shy tone. He looked away from me and spat on the sand, the irritation still visible on his face. I wish he wouldn't scowl so much . . . I don't think I've seen him truly smile before . . .It's like he's afraid to show his reapply feelings to me . . . but when we were on the beach that night a while ago . . . I saw a side of him I never knew before. He talked to me like I was his best friend . . . he didn't ignore me and he told me everything on his mind. For the past few days, though, he has been acting rather distant towards me, while, on the other hand, Sora and I have become closer and he became one of my best friends! I sometimes sat and thought about what could be on his mind, but I never came up with a solid answer. All of the possible reasons just seemed too insignificant for me to retain and they just slipped out of my mind.
"Sora, do you mind leaving for a minute?" he asked coldly towards the person standing behind me. I didn't turn around and look at him, but by hearing the retreating footsteps, I knew he had left. After there was silence except for the waves, he dropped his bag on the sand and quickly grabbed me by the shoulders. This sudden movement caught me by surprise and I almost resisted his touch and grew rigid. He now looked me straight in the eyes, the anger no longer noticeable in his gaze. I stared back at him, not knowing what to do or say.
"I don't want to leave . . . I really don't . . . but I have no choice. It's something I can't control . . . so . . . I'm sorry about this . . ." he trailed off, staring me deep in the eyes. A faint blush rose up on his pale face once more and my face felt like it was burning as well. His grip on my shoulders wasn't strong, but it wasn't like I could pull away either. I felt frozen in the spot I was in . . . completely unable to move from him.
"You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. It's not like I'll never see you again or anything!" I giggled nervously, hoping that he took that the way I had hoped he would. He suddenly let go of my shoulders and picked up his bag again without a word. I watched him in silence as he turned around and took about three steps away from me then stopped. He didn't face me as he said:
"Yea . . . I know . . ." and then he walked back up to the house and through the door. I remained where I was standing, unsure of what exactly I should do. I should've said something else . . . I should've made him feel better, but no—I just let that slip by me. There's something wrong, but he obviously doesn't want me prying into his life, so I can't ask him directly. I'm such an idiot! Why do I always think that I can solve everyone's problems? What makes me think that! Some things are just personal and aren't meant to be found out by others, and yet I always seem to find out! Why can't I just keep my concern to myself!
I breathed in the sweet salty air and let it rush out of my lungs. I smiled back at the ocean and marveled on how the sun reflected on the shiny and continuously moving surface, making it glow in the daylight. In the distance along the horizon, I saw a pod of dolphin leap out of the water and go splashing back under again in an arched movement. I turned back around and walked back up the sand to the summer home, stepping in Riku's footsteps.
Sora's POV:
I squinted in the darkness, looking for the bright blue towel Yuna had been telling me about. She was busy cooking something and asked me to go out on the beach to go look for her towel that she had left there by accident earlier today. I, of course, agreed to do so and here I was—looking in the pitch black for a towel I couldn't find. I sighed quietly to myself and shook my brown hair out of my eyes. My eyes grazed over the never-ending stretch of sand, still searching for the towel.
A faint blue glint caught my eye from the darkness and I hurried over to it. I picked up the blue towel and squinted at it, making sure it was her's. It had a pink cat on it . . .I think so . . .I draped the sandy towel on my shoulder and turned around to head back to the house. The chilly night air was returning like it did every night and it only made me walk faster and faster. My breath was short and I kept shivering and the house seemed like it was getting further and further away from me with each step. Eventually, the gleaming lights in the distance were right in front of me and I stepped up on the porch. When I noticed that it was completely dark inside, I started to worry. Weren't they all just in here a moment ago? Where'd they go? I pushed open the door and as soon as I did, the lights were flicked on and I was blinded by the change.
"SURPRISE!" A loud roar of noise issued from the room. After my eyes had adjusted to the bright lights, I saw everyone standing either behind couches or tables with party-hats on and throwing confetti. I smiled around at all of my friends, happy that they had remembered that it was my birthday today. Yuna ran up to me from behind the white leather couch and gave me a tight hug and threw some confetti into my hair. After she had released me, another person squeezed me to death. Kairi ruffled up my hair with her fingers and giggled at me after letting go. I laughed at this greeting and walked over to the table in the corner.
"Can we break out the drinks, yet?" Wakka called out from inside of the kitchen, standing beside the refrigerator eagerly. Yuna sighed a heavy sigh and told him not yet and not after the presents. Wakka frowned, but joined the rest of the group surrounding me, shoving various presents into my face. I slowly took one that was lying on the table with no owner holding it out to me and pulled the wrapping paper off. It was a CD of my favourite band "Crossfade" and I smiled. I looked around the room to see who had gotten it for me, but it was pretty obvious who did. Only one person knew which bands I liked, and that was Riku . . .but he was MIA. Before I could bathe in the glory of my CD, another present was thrust into my face.
"OPEN MINE NEXT!" An overly excited Rikku screamed shrilly in my ear. I took the oblong parcel from her hands and unwrapped it. When it was uncovered, I saw that it was a skateboard . . .a really nice one. It was a beautiful shade of dark green with the word: "REVENGE" painted in red letters on the bottom of it. I stared down at it with adoration and thanked her a million times. (A/N: IT LOOKS LIKE MY SKATEBOARD! I love skateboarding . . .ok . . .I'm done . . .)
"You can open mine next, if you want . . ." a quiet voice said above all of the shouting in the room. I looked up to see a small rectangular package wrapped in light blue wrapping paper being held in the hands of Kairi. I smiled at her and took the present from her. My hands hesitated over the parcel for a moment or two, and then I slowly unwrapped it, excitement seizing my body. What lay in front of me when I was done was a picture frame with seashells around the edges of it and a picture of her and I on the beach. It was a picture that captured me sitting on the dock and her leaning over me with her arm around my shoulder, giving the peace sign with her fingers. We were smiling in the sunshine and I held the frame close to me.
"I made it myself . . .do you like it?" she asked me meekly, obviously nervous about what my reaction would be. I turned to face her, still holding the picture frame in my hands and looked her in the eyes. I leaned forward, staring her deep in the eyes that were shining with admiration.
"Yea . . .I do . . ." I told her quietly, still inching closer and closer to her face. I was about seven inches from her face when I was suddenly embraced tightly. I snapped out of my daydream and realized that she was hugging me tightly. My heart dropped so quickly, I felt like it was going to drop to the floor. I hugged her loosely; still downtrodden by what had just happened. Why . . .does everything go wrong?
And so the present-giving ceremony continued until the table was cleared for cake. The cake was the appropriate size for eight people and was chocolate (by request from Selphie) and was quickly consumed. Then, Wakka and Selphie broke out the drinks. Tidus popped a CD into the stereo against the wall and blasted it at full volume. Soon, everyone was out in the living room floor dancing in the space that was once taken up by the couches that we moved against the far wall. Selphie, Rikku and Wakka were drunk in a matter of minutes and were grinding in the middle of the floor. Yuna even got a dirty side to her and started to dance with Tidus. Riku didn't show up the entire party, but it seemed that nobody even rested on the thought of his absence for more than a minute. Even Kairi was having a good time while not thinking about him. I didn't really go out and dance, but watched everyone else as they went, laughing at my drunken friends and counting how many times Rikku fell down.
The party was going great as the night went on and seemed like it was never going to wind down. The "Three Idiots" (I called them) had about ten drinks in them and were as crazy as ever. Rikku started to get an adventurous side to her and kept floating over to where Tidus and Yuna were talking, trying to hook up with him. Yuna, however, told her off everytime she came over and it was quite amusing. Sometime after about three hours, Wakka fell to the floor unconscious. We moved him out of the way . . .(A/N: HAHA!)
Kairi's POV:
I sighed and threw myself down on the couch against the wall, tired out already from this ongoing party for Sora. It was so great throwing him a party like this . . .he really did seem to appreciate it . . .and the gift I gave him. I spent so much work on that frame, hoping he would like it and he did! I smiled to myself and watched everyone else around me dance and have a great time. I ran a hand through my red hair and fanned myself with my hand to cool down. Sweat was running down my face from all of the dancing I had been doing and my legs hurt like hell. I spotted Sora leaning up against the wall, laughing at Selphie as she tripped over the leg of a couch and landed smack on the floor. He was so happy . . .but he wasn't dancing or anything. Many times, I was tempted to talk to him or even ask him to dance when the slow songs played, but I restrained myself.
The fast-paced song quickly changed to a slow-dancing song and the coupled immediately paired up. Since Wakka was passed out, Rikku and Selphie danced around in a swaying matter and Tidus and Yuna dancing by the window. I felt someone's eyes on me and I looked over at Sora who was staring at me. When he saw my gaze, he looked away quickly, a large blush forming on his face. I walked over to him and stood in front of him, waiting for him to talk to me. After a while, he finally looked at me and stammered out a "Will you dance with me?" I nodded my head and took his hand and lead him out to the floor.
I placed my arms around his neck and he put his on my waist. He wouldn't look at me for the first couple of minutes and tried to keep his attention on some things around him. I looked up at him, smiling. His eyes slowly moved back on me and our eyes met and locked. There was an awkward moment between us as we just stared at each other, but then I suddenly started to get a pain in my chest. I ignored it, but then it came back, stronger than ever. I released my arms from him and placed a hand on my chest. My head started to spin and I felt dizzy. I coughed slightly and bent over. Sora grabbed me, making sure I wasn't going to fall. What's happening to me?
"Are you okay?" he asked me, concern rising in his voice as he held me there. I nodded my head, not taking my eyes off of the floor.
"Yea . . .I'm fine . . .I just need to go lie down for a bit . . .sorry . . ." I mumbled under my breath, not really paying attention if he could hear me or not. I walked away from him and made my way past Rikku and Selphie to the stairs. I climbed the steps slowly and carefully, clinging onto the railing tightly. I reached the second floor and turned the corner to where my room was. My head collided with something hard and I was pushed backwards. The impact made my head throb and I grumbled as I looked up to see what it was I had bumped into. I saw Riku standing before me, a hand placed over his stomach where I guess I had hit him . . .(A/N: RIKU HAS ABS! HOHO!) He was holding a small bag in his right hand and looked at me sadly.
"I'm sorry . . .I just didn't look where I was going and I guess I just bumped into you because I have a headache and I just want to go—"
"I have to go now," he stated, interrupting my nervous rambling. I held my tongue and tried to read his expression. He was leaving . . .he was really leaving now . . .I hadn't thought about him all evening . . .and here he was . . .leaving me . . .Panic seized my chest and I took a step towards him. I wanted so much to hug him or something . . .But I also wanted to talk to him . . .
"Why now? Why can't you just leave tomorrow morning? Can't you just—"
"No. I'm sorry . . .I can't . . ."
"B-but . . ."
"Just let me go. I don't wanna have to explain everything to you. Let's just leave it at this."
The tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of him. He was right . . .he should just leave . . .if we sit here and talk about it . . .it'll only make me miss him even more. I bit my lower lip in an attempt to hold back my emotions, but I just wanted to hold him. He looked away from me and to the floor, the hold on his bag handle tightening, making his knuckles turn white.
"I'll . . .I'll miss you . . ." I whispered quietly to him, now knowing that he wasn't going to say anymore. I looked down at my feet and shuffled them on the carpet. A long and dragged-out moment of silence passed between us and the only sound that accompanied this awkwardness was the slow, sad song playing below us.
"Yea . . ." he muttered under his breath and started to walk past me. I quickly reached out and grabbed his shirtsleeve as he passed by me involuntarily. He yanked his arm away from me and spun around to face me.
"Will you just leave me alone! I have to get outta here, and you're only making it worse by holding me back!" he shouted at me rather loudly. I'm glad that the music below us had now changed back to a loud and booming song so no one could hear his shouting. A few of the tears in my eyes spilled out and ran down my cheeks as I looked at his irritated face. His words were true . . .but I just didn't want to let him go . . .
"Ok . . .I understand . . .you just want to be alone . . ." I whispered quietly, but I bet he couldn't hear it over the music. If he wants to be alone . . .i'll let him be that way. I can't force him to stay . . .it's obviously a personal matter that he doesn't want to discuss . . .
Riku turned back around and headed down the stairs without another backward glance. I stood where I was, clutching my hand to my chest that started to hurt again. I was left alone in the darkness of the hallway, crying silent tears. Part of me wanted to go and follow him and see him get on the plane . . .but I also couldn't bear to see him fly away from me. I took one step that was followed by another and I walked over to my bedroom. I opened the door and closed it behind me and entered the darkness of my room. I slowly walked over to my bed and laid down on it without changing or going under the covers. I lay on my back for a while, staring at the blank ceiling above me and soon, my eyelids became heavy and I fell asleep.
I blinked once and then again, trying to see anything in the void of darkness I was surrounded in. There was no difference between my closed eyelids and the world around me. I opened my mouth to scream or even call out to anyone, but there was no sound. Somebody please find me . . .I can't get back home . . .I can't find my way . . .Someone . . .anyone . . .please . . .
I fell to my knees and started to sob into my arms in the darkness. The tears were streaming down my face like waterfalls, but my sobs were muted. I felt like a little child, lost and cold in a world she can't remember. Fear gripped my insides and made them squirm inside of my uncomfortably. Then, just then, I felt something warm touch my shoulder and I looked up. I saw Sora standing above me, looking down at me with an unreadable expression on his face. In his other hand down by his side, he held the picture frame tightly. The photograph of us together seemed blurred and hazy, like an unfocused pair of binoculars. He reached his hand out to me and helped me to my feet. Once I was standing in front of him, we looked at each other in the eyes.
I opened my mouth to speak again, but I knew it was useless. His deep blue eyes burned into mine and I wanted to look away . . .but I couldn't. It felt like every muscle in my body was frozen and dead—cold and lifeless. He reached that same hand out to me again and this time, he rested it lightly on my cheek. I looked from his hand to his eyes nervously, unsure of what to do and what was happening. He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb and I held my breath. What's going on? What should I do?
The other hand that was holding the picture frame quickly dropped it and he grabbed my shoulder. The frame hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces, the picture inside of it now completely dark. I stared at the frame on the floor beneath us for a moment, confusion running through my mind. The grip on my shoulder tightened and I winced slightly in pain. His eyes were still fixed on mine and I couldn't breathe. He was leaning closer and closer to me until his warm breath was on my face and we were not more than seven inches away. My eyelids started to close automatically without my permission as he neared my lips. They slowly and gently touched mine in a slow-motion process.
Then . . .as quickly as it had happened . . .it was gone. Everything was gone. The shattered frame on the ground disappeared and then so did Sora right in front of me. I was now left with only the darkened photograph lying on the floor—deserted and lonely. I bent down to pick it up, but as soon as I touched it, it burst into flames and I dropped it back on the floor. When I looked back down, it was gone and I felt myself slowly falling down. I reached for something to grab, but I only received air—just air.
I sat back up in my bed with jolt from my dream. A cold sweat covered my body and my breath came in short and quick pants. I blinked in the moonlight on my face and slowly felt my heart return to its' normal pace. I looked out the window to the shore and only saw the dawn starting to rise on the horizon. The darkness was slowly fading and the colourful clouds were rising higher and higher in the sky.
A dream . . .a hallucination . . .just a dream . . .
A/N: Wow . . .That was a pretty weird chappie, eh? I hope you guys liked it and sorry it was a little shorter compared to my other ones. Sorry it also took me such a long time to update cuz i'm currently working on my first Full Metal Alchemist fic! Yay! So . . .look for that one eventually. Thank you for reading this and please review!
Review please!
K-c