We will follow the sun together. Will this love of ours last us forever, hold on…
Nakara
The Guardian
Sora's face was definitely his strong point in his younger years. He could charm any parent and get exactly what he wanted. However, Sora's face was cute but there was obviously nothing behind it. He had the uncanny ability of getting into trouble, but always managed to charm his way out. He had this spiky brown hair that stuck straight up and you could see a mile away. His skin was not tan but not pale, no one tanned on Destiny Islands despite the constant sun. But his eyes were what made him adorable. They were a perfect clear blue, so blue like the sky. His sky-blue eyes were his name-sake. He was always so happy and bouncy. Sora was always ready to learn and, ever since I can remember, he'd wanted to travel to other places. I think Kairi was the real reason for this.
Kairi came from a different world. She washed up on Destiny Island's shores one day claiming that she didn't remember anything and was taken in by the major of Destiny Islands and his wife. Kairi was adorable and also happy like my cousin. Being small and very innocent were her best qualities. She was sweet and little. Kairi had cute, short, dark red hair, chopped unevenly. Her eyes were a blue green and were the most important key to knowing what she was thinking. Of course being this cute little girl the Sora and Riku fought over her. I know I would be very happy if two guys competed for me… Or… At least that was what I thought then.
Last was Riku, quiet, mysterious and very competitive. His spirit and personality were very endearing. It was obvious that he believed in himself, and willing to take on anyone that stood in his way. His gaze always looked serene and thoughtful. His eyes reflected the shallow aquamarine water that he endlessly seemed to be staring at. For as long as I can remember he wanted to leave Destiny Islands and explore the universe out there, however far a raft would take him. His hair was an unusual silver color, a real silver that shone in the sunlight. He was strong for his age and very confident in his ability to lead, maybe that's what drew me to him.
My parents were interesting people. Though they aren't really part of the story, they did effect how I turned out. They were not the greatest examples to look up to, but I got by. I'm a decent person. My mother was that perfect housewife that always fussed over everything. She liked the house spotless; I couldn't breathe in my own home let alone live. So I found myself staying at Sora's house a lot. But my mother was all right at times. She was so flaky and crumbled at the slightest insult.
My father was practically non-existent. He left early in the morning and came back late at night most days. I was told he was a fisherman, which I believed, but it was interesting that he never brought back any fish. He spent the days getting drunk and occasionally beach combing. He was just lazy.
Destiny Islands was my home. I loved it. But when I was young I had weird prophetic dreams. Whenever I had one it scared me so much that I woke up screaming. Usually I kept the dreams to myself, other than telling them to Riku.
When I was six or seven, now roaming the islands with Riku and Sora, Kairi washed up on shore. It was really hard on my relationship with the two boys because suddenly they didn't really pay any attention to me anymore.
I have to admit, I was jealous. She stole those boys from me! Even though it wasn't her fault I still blamed it on her. She didn't seem to notice that I was mad at her. In fact, she looked up to me because I was older. She confessed to me that Riku and Sora were trying to make her choose between them. After that I didn't feel as bad and at the same time I felt worse. This meant that Riku didn't like me. But what gave me hope is that fact that I knew she liked my cousin best, but I kept it to myself. Sora always talked about her like he was in love with her, and I figured he'd confess some day.
I have to admit, I liked Riku even then. Maybe even loved him. It came a tradition for us to sit outside together before bed and talking about our problems, this was when we talked about my dreams. I really liked him and I thought he liked me, until Kairi came. I just was glad for the fact that she would probably give him up for Sora. But at the same time I felt awful… She was going to break his heart.
When I was about ten years old, Sora was nine, my parents decided that we would leave, and go far away from Destiny Islands. It wasn't a spring of the moment thing. I had made the mistake of telling them one of my dreams. That Destiny Islands would fall into darkness. Though none of them turned out to come true my parents were paranoid. I noticed that my mother did not mention this to my Aunt or any of the other parents on the Island. I didn't really care because I was caught up in my own sadness and how much I would miss Sora and my other friends. The happy days on Destiny Islands were over as my parents put me into the boat and left Destiny Islands for a very long time.
Riku
The Darkness
Destiny Islands was my home, but definitely not where my heart was. I always felt alienated in a sense from the rest of the islanders. I didn't look nor did I act like them. Kara says I was mysterious and I guess I was. But I was also very confident. Which is probably why I competed for Kairi
Before Kairi came, Kara was the one I cared about. I liked her, despite her tendency to boss people around. I just went with the flow most of the time, but there were times when we would fight. We still do now. Kara gets so worked up over little things. I really don't care either way. I just fight for the fun. And she's so cute when she's mad.
When Kairi came it changed everything. Sora confessed to me that he liked her and it just clicked. I instantly liked her and was willing to take down anyone in my way. I don't know what it was. I just went crazy. Sora and I made everything a competition for Kairi and Nakara just shifted into the background. Despite the numerous times I beat Sora at everything, she still seemed to like Sora more. It seemed like the same thing happened with Kara. She seemed to compete with Kairi sometimes. Even though Kairi didn't really seem to be fighting back.
When I was young, I was abused horribly, mentally and physically. I was kicked and pushed and constantly told that I was weak and stupid. My mother died giving birth to me and my father was drinking away the pain, and using me as his human punching bag. After awhile, I came to believe that I was actually an awful person. I fought against Sora to prove my strength to get acceptance from Kairi, but I didn't even get that. I hid behind makeup for years, hiding the bruises and the abuse, shielding my feelings away. Locking them inside. I'll never forget that time Kara found out about my abuse...
"We should build a raft!" Sora exclaimed, sitting up from where the four of them were laying in the shade, bored out of our minds.
I sat up and nodded. "Hey yeah! We should! You know, I think I have some tools we could use at my house." I nodded. "I'll go get them…"
Sora
nodded. "Yah ok, Nakara can help you out and me and Kairi can
gather some wood and stuff!" Sora jumped up happily. I almost
protested but I kept my mouth shut, knowing that Sora wanted to be
alone with Kairi and get her away from me. Nakara was looking at me,
expecting me to protest but I smiled instead. I wasn't going to be
that mean to her, she was still my friend and I didn't want to hurt
her.
"Yah ok. Come on Kara." I said standing up and helping
her up as well. She gave me a greatful smile and followed.
I headed up the stairs beckoning for Nakara to follow. I thought nothing of it when I dragged Kara into the house and left to go find the tools. "Go ahead and sit while I go get what we need ok?" Nakara nodded in agreement as she took a seat on the couch and walked around the corner towards where we kept the tools.
"I thought I told you to vacuum today." My father surprised me by appearing behind me. There was a slight but audible slur in his voice and his nose was slightly red. "Well I-" I never finished because his fist came in contact with my face, knocking me to the ground.
"Get it done you worthless piece of shit or I'll lock you up for a week understand?" He didn't really wait for an answer and just swaggered away. I lay on the floor, frozen by the sudden pain in my cheek, but I was really worried how badly I was bruised on my face, where I couldn't cover it as easily. I suddenly felt a hand on my back and I instinctively curled up into a ball and covered my head.
"Riku?" Nakara's voice echoed in the sudden silence as she shook me lightly. "Are you alright? I saw.." She stopped and sniffed as if she was crying. "I saw what happened."
"No just… don't touch me. Please."
"Shh." She whispered as she pulled me into her arms.
"No…" I whispered softly. Despite what I was saying, I wrapped my arms around her and lay my head on her shoulder, tears prickling the back of my eyes. "
"Let it out Riku, just… Get rid of it." She said softly, rubbing my back in comfort.
Once she said that, my tears started flowing silently and she held me through it all until I stopped crying.
Nakara was my hope and my confidant. I remember spending countless nights crying and her comforting me. I showed her my bruises and told of my abuse and the names my father called me and she seemed to be able to wipe it all away. She told me that I should let it all out and not bottle it up inside. She told me that her mother held everything in and she turned out to be uptight and fragile.
These nightly sessions were important to my mental health. In exchange she told me all about her dreams. On good nights, we spent long hours on the beach talking, usually at night. Sometimes we'd look at the stars and other times we talked about our many problems. It was nice, we learned quite a bit about each other. I remember this one time now that I think about it, when we were sitting on Paopu Island.
"Hey Riku, I didn't expect you to be out so early," Came a voice from behind me. I didn't turn; knowing already that it was Nakara.
"Well, it was starting to get dark already so I came out to look." I said from my perch on the bent over tree. Kara climbed up to join me and I smiled holding out a hand for her.
"We're leaving you know, to go to…. Somewhere…" She said softly after taking the place next to me.
"I know."
"Riku I…" She started and stopped abruptly.
"Yeah?"
"Never mind…" She mumbled looking up at the stars. I remember wishing that she would look at me.
We sat in silence for the rest of the night looking up at the silver embroidered into the dark linen of the sky. She seemed to always be about to say something but could never say it. Now I'm almost positive she had about to have told me that… She had feelings for me. Which is obvious now. Maybe we just weren't ready then, we were very young.
I was depressed when Kara left, never to come back. Then, about five years later, me…getting... I guess everything just went crazy. I went crazy. Someone told me that before I was overcome I was the true Keyblade master. I don't believe that. Sora was stronger in the place that it truly mattered. His heart.
The constant abuse from when I was little took its toll, after Nakara left; I kept all of my emotion inside. Bottled up. I buried deep inside so I wouldn't have to deal with it. I just didn't realize that I would have to deal with it all at once later. So it was easy to take all those feelings and use them against me. Kairi and Sora were the only ones left who cared about me. So when I lost them… I had no one to turn to. I was so caught up in my thoughts and feelings at that time Nakara was the last thing on my mind. It wasn't that I forgot it was just that I wasn't thinking about it. There were all these people trying to confuse me and get me to side with them. I sat in the darkness for what seemed like years, wishing I could just end it … then I found Nakara again. Nakara, my light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.