Worthless, Chapter 3: by Phoenix Pinion

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I own the story idea, and that's all. Don't sue, you meanie-heads

            The sun shines brightly, warming the sand and seawater, welcoming another day in Destiny Islands. Palm trees that dot the tiny place sway gently in the breeze, small critters darting about underneath their shade. The day has hardly yet begun, but already Tidus and Wakka are playing on the beach, defeating imaginary foes, laughing just because they can; Selphie sits dangling her toes in the water on the dock and occasionally giggles at her friend's antics. As usual, Riku and Kairi are on the other side of the island. And, as usual, Sora has slept in again, and is late to meet his friends.

            "Oh, where is he?" Riku says impatiently, pacing around the beach bare-footed, letting the fish playfully nip at his heels. "He's borrowing a book from me, and I want it back!" Kairi chuckles at him.

            "You know Sora. He's late wherever he goes. Just be patient…" Sure enough, Sora lopes up a few moments after she speaks. He carries a large, hard-backed book.

            "Hey, guys!" he enthusiastically greets. "Sorry I'm late. I slept in again…" giving his trademark 'Sora' grin, he apologetically tussles his hair. "Riku, here's that book I borrowed." His face falls as he says this, and he looks very distressed as he hands his friend the book. Extending a hand and straightening his purple-silver hair, Riku feels a twisted smile grace his lips.

            "It's a good book, huh?" he grins, knowing what the answer will be. Sora's bottom lip begins to quiver.

            "It's so…sad!" he wails. "Mystery books aren't supposed to be sad!" He frowns and starts digging a hole in the sand with a toe of his oversized shoe as he continues in a small voice, "It shouldn't have ended like it did."

            "That's what Kairi thought too," Riku grins. "I liked the book, personally. It's my favorite." He doesn't say his theory on why he likes the book so much: he feels that it's part of a masochistic streak that runs through him, a streak that likes depression, sadness, and evil. Shrugging to himself, he carefully sets the book on a small wooden pole beside him, then smiles at Sora. Without thinking, he is still digging the hole in the sand; it could now house a small gopher.

            "The detective shouldn't have been the one who ended up being the murderer," Kairi pipes up, "it was too surprising. It should have been the judge, in my opinion."

Sora earnestly nods assent. "I agree with Kairi. It should have been the judge! The detective being the murderer was just too unexpected. And him committing suicide in the end…" he trails off and shudders. The hole he has been digging at is now big enough for a cat to fit inside of.

            Riku shrugs, smiling a little as he says quietly, "It's always the one you don't expect. That gives it the element of surprise." Silence greets his comment. For some reason, it has hit Sora especially hard. Staring into the sunrise, he narrows his eyes and frowns, trying to sort out why he has taken the casual observation so seriously.

            Kairi's sudden, loud laugh takes them both by surprise. "Well, who cares? It's only a book anyway! Let's go look for crabs!"

            Chuckling to herself and running away, she lets Riku try to catch up to her. Forgetting his consternation, Sora laughs too, and sends a surprised look to the oversized hole he is leaving before running after his friends. The book simply remains innocently on the wooden pole where Riku left it, hardly knowing how much trouble it is going to be for Sora's tortured mind in the future…

~To Be Continued

Author's Notes: Hey, I updated! Cool, huh? And, if you haven't noticed by the present tense and the italics, this whole chapter, however short, is a flashback. You may think, okay, whatever, and what in fiery hell does this have to do with the rest of the story? Well, it refers back to the first chapter with Sora briefly recalling the mystery novels he had read on Destiny Islands. For some reason, I wanted to expand on that tiny little paragraph and make it into an entire chapter. And this is the best time to use that idea, 'cuz I can keep you guys hanging on who found out Sora's secret for another whole chapter! BWAHAHAHA! But I'll get back to the real storyline for the next chapter, I promise! Just wanted some light-heartedness in this fic before I continued. (personally, I really liked the hole thing with Sora. But that's just me. I like really dumb humor.)

            Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon as I can. Thank you all for reading and reviewing this, I love every single one of you! Bye ~PP