Chapter II: Paradise

When darkness quickly steals the light that shines within her eyes. She slowly swallows all her fear and soothes her mind with lies -Vanessa Carlton

Nakara

The Island

When my family and I arrived at Luna Islands a day later it surprised me how similar to Destiny Islands it was. It was very lush and you could see the chain of islands that were located off of the coast from the main one that I lived on. A majority of the island was covered in a dense rain forest, though I could see a path entering in. It was a labyrinth of trees and it would take years to get out, unless you knew where you were going. Around there was the same aquamarine ocean, and the same crystal clear sky.

My parents and I were inside the house, unpacking and moving things from the boat into the empty house in the small town on the main island. I took the littler things but that made me tired and restless. My mother sent me off to explore while they moved.

As I walked I thought of Destiny Islands, Sora and Riku. I walked on the edge of the rain forest peering in curiously. But that did not last long when at that moment, a small, blonde boy, very young, two at that time ran out and right into me. He was very cute, and wore blue shorts and a white t-shirt that was a little too big for him. His blonde hair was short and spiky and his eyes were a bright green color that matched the leaves of the rain forest. He looked completely terrified as his big, green eyes welled with tears.

"Oh don't cry," I said leaning down to be at eye level and hopefully appear a bit less frightening. "What's your name?"

"Zephyr." Came the soft reply as he suddenly clung to me. Zephyr was a professional charmer. I picked him up and held him as best I could.

"Well Zephyr. I'm Nakara, What's wrong?" I asked holding him so I could look at his face.

"I lost my brother… In the forest." He said pointing over at the thick rain forest not far from where we were standing. So I put him down and took his hand and ventured into the rain forest. As we walked I found out his brother's name was Scyther and they were both orphans who lived alone. I couldn't find out much more because we found Scyther shortly after.

Scyther was very tall. He was only a year younger than me and he told me that he had to take care of Zephyr ever since his father died in a boating accident. His mother had died giving birth to Zephyr. He had the same blonde hair as his brother, though it was longer and in a loose ponytail. His eyes were hazel and he was very quiet, unlike motor mouth Zephyr. He wore shorts and a t-shirt as well. Scyther informed me that he always carried his huge sword on his back. These two were my best friends on Luna and I was very fond of them. Zephyr and Scyther were always a mystery, they had no family except each other and they told me nothing of their past, I didn't really ask either.

We always seemed to be together and my mother took to Zephyr the moment she saw him and took care of him while Scy and I hung out. Scyther and Zephyr usually stayed at our house, because my mother insisted it wasn't good for two young boys to live alone. There were many other families on the rather large Luna Island, but they all believed the two boys to be too rowdy to live in their clean sparkling houses.

Scyther and I grew closer and closer as the years went on. We both knew we had feelings for each other, but there was something that kept us from saying anything. Scyther was just too shy and quiet and I was too paranoid or something of the like.

I made one more friend on the island, a girl named Hikari who was two years younger than me. She move to the island not too long after me from a place called Traverse Town. She said that she hadn't wanted to move but had been forced to. She was a genius who could build things that could fly and worked on weapon craft. She fixed Scyther's sword on a few occasions.

As the years went by I found Luna islands becoming more and more boring. The rain forest was no longer a mystery and I had built at least a thousand sand castles. The only thing that didn't get boring was looking at the stars at night. This reminded me of Riku and our time together, which might have been the one reason I couldn't tell Scyther I loved him.

At sixteen, I became so feed up with the island I decided to leave. Luna had already found a means of interstellar transportation, thanks to Hikari of course. They had ships called gummi ships that were made on the island copying the design of the ship Hikari and her family had come on. Hikari had duplicated the pieces with something and some procedure that went way over my head. Something about Quantum physics and molecular structure…Hikari's ship had not been tested so I volunteered to try it out, and she agreed that if I would take her with me, she would let me keep the gummi ship.

I prepared myself, not telling my parents of course. My dreams had ceased and I was greatful. I told Scyther and Zephyr that I was going to leave soon and they didn't seem happy. Scyther looked pale but didn't volunteer to go with me either. I was at the age where I hated my parents, and wanted to get away to prove that I could take care of myself.

The night I left was beautiful and full of stars that were reflected on the water. I was of course star gazing that night and making sure I could navigate to somewhere, anywhere. I sat on a rickety, old dock, one of the many on the island that was rather long and took me quite a ways from shore. Scyther as he had started to do a few years earlier, met me there on that night sitting close to me in the dull moon and starlight.

We sat for a while just looking. He was only a year younger but it seemed like the gap had widened. "Nakara." He finally said looking at me, his hands clasped together in his lap. "I- I'll miss you." He did his little rocking motion that he did whenever he was nervous.

I smiled lightly and looked out at the dark water. "I'll miss you too Scy." I answered softly, looking at him and running my fingers through his ponytail.

"Here. I found it the day I lost Zephyr, the first day we met … I want you to have it." He said placing in my open palm, half of a crown necklace. "To remember me by." He added softly. At that time, I didn't remember that it was the same kind of necklace that Sora wore. Scyther looked into my eyes and leaned forward kissing me softly. I wrapped my arms around him. I knew that we would meet again after that night. I just didn't know what would change and what wouldn't.

"Scy…. I-I love you." I whispered my arms still around him. At least I do know, I thought at that moment. Was I being fair? Did I really love him and only him? No. I still had feelings for Riku and there would come a time where I would have to choose between them.

"I love you too." He said and he clasped the necklace around my neck. He kissed me again on the forehead and left me to think. I didn't want him to leave but I said nothing. I watched him walk back down the beach toward my house.

I stared out at the ocean and the reflected stars. The wind picked up and the necklace was lifted by a strong gust. I stood up and turned around, coming face to face with a short, cloaked figure standing… Not on the dock, but we suddenly appeared to be a stain glass, circular I tried to look under but there seemed to be nothing except darkness. What was this? I stood up and it held a rod out to me. The rod was white with a complete crown as the figurehead; the crown was the same style as the half around my neck. The crown floated inside a heart. The heart was not attached but hung in the center of a black, ball shaped cage that was speckled with stars that moved and changed like the night sky. On the other end there where parts sticking out that made it look like a key for a giant lock. It was beautiful and at that time I didn't know how powerful it was.

"This is your destiny, you are the Guardian." Came a voice, not just from the figure but also from the sky itself. It was loud and quiet at the same time and I knew I was the only one who could hear it.

"The Guardian of what?" I asked it, I could hear the tremble in my own voice.

"Kingdom Hearts and the Keyblade master." The figure said simply and disappeared.

Then the figure sunk into the ground and everything was still. The world seemed to be on mute for a few seconds and then a normal light breeze rose up from the ocean. The rod was left suspended in front of me and I picked it up and it disappeared. This is my destiny I knew somehow I would have to find this Kingdom Hearts and little did I know, that Sora was going on his own adventure at this very moment searching for Kingdom Hearts and Kairi.

When I woke up, I realized I had fallen sleep on the dock. It was late, about midnight, and "Altair, Spica, Vera…. Protect me." I whispered to the silver triangle and then I rushed off taking Hikari and flew to the only planet we knew how to get to, Traverse Town. That night just after we left, the darkness took Luna Islands into the ocean and took my parents with it. I watched the heartless invade it from the ship, and as far as I knew, Scyther and Zephyr were dead.

Sora

The Keyblade

Now you all probably know where I was at this point: In Traverse Town fighting Armor and meeting Donald and Goofy. But here's the thing. Everyone's heard my story but probably not the whole story. I mean, not the beginning at least right? When the darkness took over Destiny Islands and Kairi disappeared and Riku turned against me I had no one and nowhere to go.

Personally, if you don't understand this next part don't get all frustrated or anything. It took me about a bazillion times of Nakara explaining it, about five hours of coaching from Riku, a massage from Kairi (Hey, it was stressful, ok?), and about forty minutes of washing dye out of my hair from Nakara dying it out of frustration.

Nakara got her staff a few days after Destiny Islands was destroyed. No, she didn't get it the same way I did partly because she wasn't supposed to have a choice, and the staff was given to her directly from the King. It was to balance everything out. One to protect, one to fight and one to destroy. I guess I was the fighter. Riku of course was the destroyer, but that didn't mean anything. I think it meant more that he had the power to destroy than that his destiny was set. You know what I mean?

You know you need a balance. Dark balances Light. I balance Riku. I guess Nakara was just the scale, measuring us both up to our abilities. We all represented something profound. That is what I hated about being in this mess; I didn't know what I was doing or whom I stood for. All I knew is that some guy gave me this key and the little bugs they named heartless destroyed my planet and took away my love and my best friend. How fair is that? Here, I take away everything and now you have to go fight to get it back.

But before all that, before the mayhem, I never really thought much of the islands. Though I was comfortable there, I always wanted to explore more. Explore off the island and into the beyond. Especially after Nakara left on a boat with her family. They all say you never know what you had until it's gone right? How ironic is that? I wanted so bad to explore the worlds beyond and see everything and look how it ended up. I never really saw what I had right there on the islands. It may not have seemed exciting or anything, but it was better than trying to save my friends from almost certain death.

I never really saw Riku for who he was. And you know what? Kairi never did either. As much as he loved her, she never saw the true him, the tortured and grieving him, sitting inside waiting to spring out at the chance. If only I had seen what he was fighting all this life I might have been able to save our relationship. If only I had realized that Riku was hurting and weak of spirit, then what happened might not have happened. He might have been the Keyblade Master. Kairi might have not ever have been heartless. Nakara might never have left. I might never have grown up. We might have finished the raft and sailed off into the sunset. It might have worked out all right and perfect and smooth and wonderful. But that didn't happen, and life goes on. Riku was being ripped apart from the inside and I was too blind to see his own pain

Nakara was right for him. She saw what Kairi didn't see and she cared, not that Kairi didn't care. It was a different care. A caring that people could see by the way she looked at him, by the sweet tone of voice she took on only when she spoke to him, by their nightly talks. She helped him and… She loved him, still loves him. If only she had stayed with us. Everyday I drown in the if only's and might have's. I wonder if things could be different, if we could have not suffered for so long or at all. If only, If only, If only, should be, might have, what if. But you can't change the past, no matter how much you want to.