There was a heavy sigh, almost a sob, from the silver-haired young boy lying on the old paopu tree. As he looked up at the star-shaped fruits, his mind began racing, memories of his beloved brown-haired miracle playing constantly through his head.
They were playing the sand together, laughing, smiling at each other…Just the memory of that smile melted Riku's heart, let alone actually seeing it in person…This time, the sigh that escaped his lips was a jovial one. However, it seemed that, nowadays, Sora never smiled at him like that anymore.
No, he always saved it for Kairi….Kairi, something about that name, it made him sick to think it. He didn't quite understand, a year ago, he was fine with her…But lately, there seemed something almost poisonous about her presence, something about her that threatened to drive him insane.
Why does Sora smile like that for you, now! He very nearly spoke it, but didn't want to chance them hearing. Still, the question burned inside of him to no end. Why doesn't Sora ever smile at me anymore! He was positively huffing with rage, sitting there on the tree, the tree that he had shared with Sora long before stupid Kairi—
Riku calmed himself. If he couldn't please Sora the way Kairi could, at least he had another way…God that sounded retarded, just like a cliché cartoon! Still, he wanted to believe this, so he picked up his wooden sword, walked to the No-Longer-Secret Place, and pointed the stick at his old friend.
"Hey, Sora, wanna spar?" Sora's lips curved upwards at the corners, and Riku took in every second of it. A smile was all that it seemed he could get of the other boy's lips, and, though he longed for more, Sora's competitive grin was enough, at least for now.
"Sure!"