Two boys sitting next to each other on the sand. Both of them staring off into the beautiful blue ocean that surrounded their island. There was a peace around them, as they watched the waves swish in and out of the shore.
Both of them were teenagers, though just barely within the years to be labeled as such.
One of them a rusty haired colored boy in green, baggy shorts and a loose white shirt. The other, a silver-haired lad sporting yet baggier black pants, and a light blue sleeveless vest. This one was obviously the older, and more serious of the pair, sitting cross legged, leaning forward to the ocean, eyes of both green and blue staring with deep concentration into the water, as if he expected something most fascinating to suddenly pop out. The other boy didn't seem quite as interested, leaning back with his hands resting on the back of his head.
Haru frowned, starting to find irritation at the quiet that had settled over them. What's with Kenji? He's getting more and more quiet, everyday. Is he sick? Wouldn't he tell me if he was? What if he doesn't realize that he's sick? Maybe I should tell him. No, he would just insist that he's fine. Maybe that's it. He's just trying to keep me from worrying. I hate it when he does that! I'm only a year younger! He thought, starting to frown as the worries swarmed in his mind.
Kenji glanced over at his friend, looking rather surprised. Haru rarely ever frowned. It seemed to be a taboo with him. No matter what happened, no matter what chaos the two found themselves in, Haru would still be grinning that stupid grin. It was only natural for those around Haru to start worrying when he frowned. "Hey, Haru-chan, you alright?" He asked, a careless grin on his face, knowing that Haru would be provoked by the diminutive suffix.
Kenji was not disappointed. Haru scowled at him, and gave a small snort. "Chan? That's Haru-Senpai to you, bub."
"Ha! You think you're superior to me?" Kenji shot back. It was a simple game, one that they had played since they could speak.
"Yeah, I do! I'll prove it right now!" Haru informed Kenji matter-of-factly, leaping onto his feet, wooden sword in hand.
Kenji was on his feet as quickly as Haru, his wooden sword firmly grasped in his hand as well. The peace was gone, replaced with easy competitiveness, which was Haru's intention. Neither one of them was being serious about it, it was just a game. All their competitions were that, just games.
But before they could start, Kenji suddenly shook his head, as though coming out of a dream. "Hey, Haru. We don't have time for this. We've got to finish collecting the food for the raft, remember?"
Haru blinked, and then smiled in an easy-going fashion. "Oh, right. I forgot. I'll accept your excuse to keep away from my battle prowess this time, Kenji."
The older boy now took his opportunity to snort. "What? I'm not afraid of you! I'm just afraid of starving on the journey, that's all!"
"Yeah right!"
"We'll settle this once you finish getting the mushrooms, and I get the fish."
"Deal!"
However, by the time they finished, it was getting dark.
The two boys looked at the raft. It was certainly something. Constructed of logs and a cloth that Haru had found, it just might have the ability to take them to new worlds. New adventures. The two boys shared the same look of excitement, and neither of them could wait.
"Hey, Kenji. Let's go into the raft. Right now." Haru offered suddenly, grinning.
"Right now?" Kenji looked dubious, at best.
"Yeah, why wait?"
Kenji sighed, running a hand through his silver hair, though it just flopped right back into the position that it had retained before. Why did he get the stupid best friend? Then he stopped, and looked at the craft again. A sudden wind tugged at him, pushing him and Haru towards the water. And Kenji was no longer sure.
"I don't know..." He muttered, then shook his head again. "No. We're both tired. We'll need to have a good night's sleep, and we can't very well spend the first hours on our raft sleeping." He explained, more sure of himself now that the wind died down.
Haru sighed in turn, but this was a sigh of acceptance. "Yeah, you're right. Come on."
That night
Haru stared at his food. He was so excited of what was going to happen tomorrow, that he didn't feel hungry, which was quite a new sensation for him.
"Haru dear, are you okay?" His mother asked, brushing a piece of crimson hair out of her face. "You haven't touched your food."
"Yes, son. Your mother's food isn't remarkably inedible. Today." His father chimed in, ocean blue eyes glinting mischievously. He was rewarded by a smack on the head by his wife, who rolled her eyes afterwards, before turning back to Haru, her expression no longer as worried.
Usually his parent's antics made him feel better, but now all Haru could think about was how he was leaving them behind. He had already written a good-bye note explaining what he was doing, but he doubted it would be good enough. His parents were very overprotective. He wondered why. Certainly, nothing he had been told about their life would explain why they worried so much for him. Perhaps it was merely the fact that he was their only son.
"Mom, dad. I don't feel so good. I think I'll go to bed early." Haru did his best to look ill.
Both of his parents immediately nodded, and sent Haru on his way upstairs.
Haru's bed was situated right below his window. It faced Destiny Island, so he could always stare at it as he drifted into sleep. And he did so now, lying on top of his bed, as it was too hot for him to bother with the covers.
The sky was dark, and an ominous purple color that Haru had learnt to mean that a storm would be coming up very shortly. He watched the clouds swirl together for a few moments, until a thought suddenly hit him. The raft!
Destiny Island
Haru pulled his boat next to the dock, and hauled himself out, making sure to securely tie his boat to the dock. While doing this, he noted that Kenji's boat was also docked here. He must have come even earlier then Haru at the sight of the storm.
Haru started along the beach, which had turned a dark chestnut color, unpleasantly unlike the usual shade of bisque. He almost gave a small scowl of annoyance. Kenji had taught him that shade, and it annoyed the younger boy that it had gotten planted into his head.
Speaking of Kenji, Haru could see him, off to the smaller island that was connected to Destiny Island by a wooden bridge. Haru grinned, and started trotting to the old shack that led to the bridge. It comforted him that Kenji was there; no matter how much he hated to admit it. The older boy would know what to do about the raft.
As he came to the middle of the beach, Haru jolted to an abrupt stop. He was staring at this creature. It came up to his waist, and was completely black, with wide yellow eyes. If you could call them that. Those eyes terrified him. They were just yellow. Pure yellow. No irises, no white. Yellow. And for some reason, that scared him beyond reason. There was several, all stand around him in a loose half-circle. They couldn't seem to keep still, their heads constantly bobbing, those eyes still burning into his skin.
Finally, one jumped at him. Haru just managed a duck, before pulling out his wooden sword. Now he'd show them. "Take this!" He shouted, whacking the weird creature with the sword.
It didn't even flinch.
Haru tried for a little longer, ducking and weaving, and hitting them. It was like battling against one of the coconut trees. Only this tree hit back.
Finally he gave up, and sprinted away, heading to the shack. He hauled open the door and dove in, slamming it shut behind him. There. The creatures can't come in now! He thought, extremely satisfied. Sure enough, they didn't show up. Smiling, Haru hopped up the stairs, and to the upper level. It was possible to climb up here from the roof, but Haru was just barely tall enough to, and he seriously doubted that the creatures could.
He opened the door and looked around quickly. There, Kenji was still leaning against the papau fruit tree. Maybe he's trying to get a papau fruit before getting the raft. Or maybe he already took care of it and just wanted to relax until I got here so he could shove it in my face. This thought made Haru frown in an irritated manner. Wonder why he would want a papau fruit, though. Maybe he's crushing on one of the girls. Bet that it's Ami. Haru grinned. Ami was rather pretty, but he bet that he could still tease Kenji about it for a long time.
He took another step, just coming into the small groove of palm trees. Then he came to yet another abrupt stop, staring in horrid fascination at the ground. There was a dark circle, flat on the ground, moving toward him. He took a step back, watching as the dark circle rose to become the black creature that he couldn't seem to hurt. Several more appeared out of the ground, coming closer to him.
Haru quickly decided against fighting these creatures, and instead ran past them, now sprinting with all his speed to Kenji. He'd know what to do.
Glancing back, he saw the dark circles racing towards him, and sped faster then he knew that he could. He raced across the bridge with no heed to the holes in it. Finally, he came to the island, and his best friend.
"Kenji!" He gasped out, panting slightly from the speed at which he had just ran. "Kenji, there're these creatures, you can't hit them with swords..."
"Of course not. They are the Heartless. Mere wooden sticks won't help you."
Kenji turned around, and Haru's blood chilled in his veins. Kenji was smiling. But, it wasn't that. Perhaps it was the type of smile, the coldest, most evil one that Haru had ever encountered. Or, it could be the dark globs of... stuff that was climbing up Kenji's leg. And still Kenji smiled.
The older boy held out his hand, ignoring the blackish purple goo that was now to his torso. "Come with me, Haru! Embrace the darkness!"
"Kenji!" Haru cried, desperately trying to grab his best friend's hand. But no matter how far Haru stretched, he couldn't reach him. Why didn't he move his legs? Haru glanced down, and let out a cry of dismay. Whatever was on Kenji, it was also on the ground, under Haru's feet, on Haru's feet. It was a giant puddle, and no matter how much Haru tried, it wouldn't let go of his legs."
"Haru! Accept it! Embrace the darkness!" Kenji called out helpfully, before his head was covered, and he sank into the puddle.
"No! Kenji!" And then, before the young boy, there was... a key. It was like a sword, but definitely a key. Silver with a golden hilt, and for some odd reason, a little keychain dangling off of it, two circles on either side of the top of a larger circle.
Haru didn't pause very long to wonder at the strange device. He noted that the dark globs stayed far away from the key, and even had spread it enough to see the grassy ground, and that was it. He leaped at the key, and grabbed it with both hands, thrusting it forward like a shield. He made a swipe at the darkness, and the goo scattered wherever the blade went. He smiled. He might just have a chance.
Then, the darkness rose in a wave against him, and before Haru could react, it crashed over him, and all went dark.
Cliffy cliffy! As you can see, it's like the beginning of Kingdom Hearts, but different in details. I'd like to atribute this to my uber-awesome imagination, as well as my inability to remember what happened.
I get the feeling that this is going slightly too fast, and I'll try to calm it down. It's hard though. I have all these things I want to write, and I have a tendency to stomp over anything that's taking too long.
So, C&C, please. And thanks toInfinite Freedom, who encouraged me to keep this up, instead of letting it die. And thanks to all my friends who suffered through my ranting about various plot ideas. You guys rock!