-Chapter I
Unfolding Friends-

A warm breeze blew over the palm trees, rocking the coconuts back and forth and the sand flew around the great yellow beach. The sun has passed noon but still heated the ocean which in turn tried to cool off the pair of feet which bathed in it.

The tall boy looked out into the open perched on his rock. His green eyes watched the faraway waves crash against each other. His long silver hair dripped salty water around him and his white shirt has turned transparent at the contact of water. What a boring day.

"Ugh!" The boy jumped back in the warm water and swam towards the beach shore. The swim wasn't long but his thoughts seemed to slow down time. Nothing to do but think and think lately. Nothing to really think about but more remembering the good days, back when he was where he belonged, but not here.

Upon arriving to the beach, he looked all around him. Nobody was here, you'd think the local islanders and tourists would enjoy coming to the beach on days like these. He felt alone and cold from the clothes which stuck against his skin.

"Riku, Honey!" A female voice shouted from afar. "Pic-nic's ready!"

"Coming." Hollered back Riku, running towards her.

Miyo was standing on the cliche red and white squared pic-nic cloth. In the middle lay a large basket left open with sandwiches and drinks already out and ready to eat. His mother picked a spot where the tall palm trees covered the area with their shadows leaving it cool and shady.

"Here you go, sweetie." She smiled and handed him a tuna sandwich. Her long brown curls hung down to her ears and her yellow top had a small patch of mayonnaise on it. "Hope you're hungry. I made a lot." She smiled for a while longer while she adjusted her blue skirt and settle herself on the cloth and stared at Riku until he took his first bite.

"Thanks." Muttered Riku without cheer and sat with his legs crossed. He ate it slowly, not feeling a bit hungry and somehow became sad since he won't be able to make him mom happy by eating all of the sandwiches like he used to. He didn't like disappointing her even for something as small as this but today he really didn't care enough to make an effort.

"I guess you didn't find any other kids to play with, didn't you?" She sighed and looked at him sadly. "Well school starts in a week, I'm sure you'll make many new friends." She waited for him to say he didn't want any new friends but the answer didn't come.

They moved out here two weeks earlier since she felt it was time for a change. The house was falling apart anyways. Well, it wasn't in that much of a bad shape but since Riku's dad had disappeared, she just didn't feel like fixing up the house alone. It just wasn't the same without him. Deep down she knew she just wanted to get away from her memories even at the cost of Riku's unhappiness. It was for the best for her and him. She diverted her eyes from his and nibbled on a sandwich herself.

He would of had an easy time making friends if he wanted new ones. But he was so fond of his friends he had, he never really gave the chance to others to befriend him and he'll find it hard to make new friends because of it. He just misses them to much for his own good.

"Mom?" Miyo was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice she was staring at him again. "You okay?" She turned her head away again and tried to focus on a grain of sand she spotted beside her.

"Huh? Yes, yes I am." She grabbed a towel from the big yellow bag she brought with them and got up towards Riku and dried out his hair. "I was just thinking of the times I went up to the lake and got as wet as you." She lied.

"Hmm." Came his response, chewing a bite of tuna. He fidgeted as she dried off his back and face and once again his long silver hair. "Mom! I'm fine..." He mumbled.

"But you're dripping wet." She protested.

"Don't you remember the part where you just loved the feeling of the sun drying you off?" he chuckled. She did remember and laughed a little too but her thoughts came back on her lie. She didn't like to lie but she didn't want Riku to worry about her, she was eventually gonna move on from that dark episode, like he did. Although sometimes she worried that maybe he was just at the beginning of it.

"I'm full." Said Riku grabbing the towel from Miyo and dried of his hair once more. He turned sharply to where he heard voices laughing.

"Pass it here Wakka!"

Riku instantly rose and tried to see over the small dunes from where the voices came. He turned back to his mom who nodded in approval. He smiled and ran towards them.

He paused on top of the small hill and looked towards them. A tall muscular redhead was throwing a blue ball at a smaller thin blond. He figured that the taller boy was Wakka.

"Nice catch, Tidus." And noted the other one was Tidus.

A few feet of them were two girls watching them play and talked in light voices. A small brunette who fidgeted as if she was about to explode and the other seemed to be quickly stealing glances at another boy who was skipping rocks a bit further then the other boys.

"Alright...Be cool." He assured himself and walked towards the Wakka and Tidus. He couldn't help but throw a small smile when he came up close and made sure they were his age. "Hey there." He greeted feeling dumb for picking such a dumb line.

"Hey there to you too." Said the blond throwing the ball back to the other and coming closer to Riku. Wakka followed him with the ball under his arm and greeted back.

"Hi, I'm Riku." It was so long since he introduced himself, he felt quite stupid. "And you are Tidus and Wakka." He said pointing at them individually as he called out their respective name.

"What the...?" Tidus flinched and took a step back. Wakka looked perplexed.

"Heard your names from when you were playing." Riku laughed at them. He thought all of this was weird and they weren't going to like him but soon they joined in laughter. "Didn't mean to spook ya, Tidus."

"Hey..." Tidus frowned but Wakka tapped him on the back and he began laughing again. "Thought you were a psychic or something for a second." He let out.

"Haha, ya, it was kinda weird." Wakka stopped laughing and looked behind him.

The two girls must of noticed him and came to join in the fun. The brunettes eyes were glued on him and the the red haired one was whispering something to the others ear which Riku made out as "stay put".

"Hi, I'm Kairi and this is Selphie." She smiled at his and shook his hand. "We never saw you around here before." She looked at the others who shook their heads also not knowing him.

"Yeah." Riku's smile died and he took a stoic expression. "I'm new here, moved in a few weeks ago."

"Hey you must be that new kid who moved right next Sora's house!" Blurted rapidly Selphie. She then yelled Sora's name out towards the other boy who stood alone at the short.

The so called Sora turned around at the mention of his name and looked towards them. He smiled and waved back but his eyes were fixed on the silver haired boy. He wondered who he was while running towards his friends. All their eyes were fixed upon him and he felt awkward as if he was supposed to do something.

"Hey there..." He said awkwardly and turning over to the new arrival. "I'm Sora Everheart." He sticked out his hand.

"So I thought," He looked briefly at Selphie. "I'm Riku, Riku Darkhem." He let out a small smile and shook hands with Sora.

"You wouldn't happen to have just moved into a white and blue one story house, would ya?" Sora questioned already knowing the answer.

"And you wouldn't happen to be the neighbor who lives in the white gold two story house?" He smiled back and looked around him. "You guys come here often?"

"All the time!" Squealed Selphie now only a foot away from him. "Where do you come from?" She asked all giddy.

"Not to far, Hallow Bastion, a small city not to far off." He said dryly and turned back to Sora. "Which schools do you guys go to?" He asked hoping to sound interesting. It was an odd feeling getting to know people when he knew everything about his friends from Hallow Bastion and never bothered to meet new people.

"Paopu High, we all do." Answered Kairi, who decided to sit down with Selphie. Everyone imitated them and sat around in a circle. Wakka was spinning the ball but looked intrigued by Riku.

"Hey, so do I." His eyes lit up and smiled at them. Maybe this wasn't going to be hard. They sure seemed to like him and they all went to the same school.

They talked for several more minutes amiably and shared their interests and how all of their summer went. Riku was pretty quiet when it came to the subject of his home town but no one bothered to pry in deeper when they noticed he was changing moods at the subject.

"Riku, time to go home." Called out Miyo from behind Riku. "We got to finish unpacking, we put it off far to long." She added as she reached her sons side.

"Sure thing, mom." Riku said happily and smiled back. "I guess I'll see you all later." He waved and marched away with his mother at his side.

"I'm so glad you met some new friends." Miyo smiled happily and hummed a small tune. She honestly expected it to be hard for Riku but it seemed that this day made everything easier. "Even if he doesn't get any more friends then them, at least he have a good amount." She thought happily.

"Yeah, I'm glad too." Riku said in a low tone. "Friends?" He thought. Sure it was what he tried to do but he didn't really want to be friends with them, he missed the ones back at Hallow Bastion, where he and his mother belonged, not out here on some endless sunny day island. Despite his thoughts, he turned around to notice them starring at him leaving and he made a small wave with the back of his hand and smiled, leaving them to the scorching sun and salty breeze.

O-0-O-0-O-0-O

Sora walked along the side walk quietly after splitting up with the rest of his friends who decided to all go to their homes and relax and hope they didn't catch sunburn. He walked past the last few palm trees and looked ahead. There, his home towered over the smaller houses. Its gold white columns supported a balcony which was accessible by his parents room. He didn't have a big lawn but compared to all the neighbors his was bigger. A black gate with matching fence caged the house.

Most houses surrounding it were barely two stories high and he didn't know why his dad decided to build over this patch of land, he should of built it in Tuxedo, a rich community. He didn't mind being here but the house really did stick out and he was afraid of being robbed not because their richer then everyone here but because some people might not appreciate that they show off their wealth.

"Hey, dad." He waved over at him as he opened the gate. "Where are you off to?" He asked noticing he was about to enter his car.

"Business meeting." He got into the car and started driving away not bothering to even welcome him back home. Nothing unusual.

"I'm fine, thanks." He muttered watching the car leave. "Bye, dad."

His father is a very successful lawyer and works for a high paying company but the demand of his services there are very high as well so he isn't home most of the time. It is only him and his mom most of the time, even when his dad is home but naturally he locks himself and his office and works even but yet he dearly loved his dad and missed him. He wasn't a bad dad, just busy.

"There you are!" He turned back to the house and saw his mother on the front porch. "Dinner is ready. Come quick." She urged him. She never bothered inviting Sora for dinner as he always on his own time but she did it occasionally when she made something special for Sora or had a gift.

Sora skipped on the five marble stairs and entered his mansion. He said hello to Nana, the house keeper, on his way to the dining room. He turned quickly on the door and flinched back. There, his mother was taking a seat next to a woman with curled brown hair who was swallowing a bite of her roast. On the other side Riku was starring at Sora giving him a don't-look-at-me look. Sora, turning his face neutral, walked around the table and sat beside Riku and gave out a smile.

"Hey Riku, Good Evening Ms Darkhem." He greeted politely and scooped a forkful of potatoes inside his mouth.

"Hello, Sora. Riku told me so much about you." She lied. in fact, Riku hasn't said a word since getting home except for the occasional grunt of effort as he moved loaded boxes around the house.

"I'm sorry that we haven't come to greet you the first few days you came here." Miss Everheart apologized sincerely. "But Sora and I have been out on a small vacation while my husband was out on a business meeting, so we didn't realize somebody has moved in."

"It's quite alright." Smiled Miyo taking another bite from her roast. "Thank you for the lovely dinner and inviting us to your majestic home, Yumi." She added, hoping that Miyo wouldn't feel bad about not greeting them before.

"Well, I saw you two working on setting the house up, so I doubted any of you were in the mood to cook a good meal." She smiled and winked at Sora. "So where is your husband?"

Both members of the Darkhem family stopped eating. Miyo kept her eyes fixed on her plate and Riku rose his jaded eyes towards her. Yumi's smile vanished and she felt a squeeze in her stomach.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, understanding that it must of been quite a recent event for them to react in such a way.

"It's alright. You didn't know." Miyo turned slightly and smiled briefly. "Give your chef my compliments." She forced a smile.

Both women ate quietly not saying a word to anyone. Yumi felt terrible about prying like that into their lives and Miyo wish she didn't ruin their dinner. Sora eyed Riku who seemed to have stopped eating and wasn't going to resume that.

"Hey, Riku." Sora broke the silence. "Want a tour of the house?" He asked, wanting any excuse to leave the table politely and get away from this sad and awkward silence.

"Umm..." He looked at his mom who smiled and tilted her head slightly towards the door. "Sure, that'd be great." And at that, both boys got up at the same time and Riku followed Sora out.

They left the dining room and marched along a short corridor that led to the entrance, where two sets of stairs connected to the second floor. All the tiles were rock solid and white. The windows were covered in deep blue curtains and in the middle of both stairs their was a red carpet with gold contouring.

"Sorry for the whole royal palace look." Apologized comically Sora, seeing Riku eye the statues and plants that were set around the room.

"I think it's amazing." He looked around him. "Thanks for getting me out from the table." He flashed his white smile at Sora who flashed his back.

"Yeah, it was getting pretty awkward back there." He turned around towards where they came from and smiled as he heard both women talk again. "At least they seem to have gotten back on track."

"Yeah." Riku looked back too looking sad. "So how about my grand tour?' He changed moods and smiled once more.

"Heh, where you want me start?" Sora asked, regretting using the tour as an excuse.

"Ha ha." Riku laughed and stood beside Sora. "Just kidding, it'd take you years to show me all the rooms. Lets go play outside or something." He added, hoping the "Lets play" part doesn't sound childish.

"Sure, just let me put something on." He walked up quickly the right staircase and Riku ran behind him. They took a turn to the right and on the second door to the left was Sora's room.

Riku entered and looked all about. His room was a light shade of orange with a queen sized bed pressed against the wall. In the corner was a 33" TV with a silver Sony DVD player and video games scattered about. A basket was filled with dirty clothes and two sliding doors were half way closed revealing some clothes on hangers. The walls were covered in posters of singers, movie stars and a picture of Sora and all his friends.

He approached the picture and looked at the people in it. He guessed it most of been taken over half a dozen years ago since they all seemed so young. he easily identified Sora, in the middle, Kairi and Selphie in one corner and Wakka and Tidus in the other. Their was a blond girl, who sat besides Sora's legs holding a note pad against her chest smiling. He noticed she looked a lot like Kairi.

"Kay, I'm ready." Riku snapped out of it and gazed over to Sora. Sora changed to a white T-shirt and red shorts from his blue T-shirt and black jeans. "Who's that?" Asked Riku pointing at the blond girl.

"Oh, that's Naminé." He answered quickly barely looking at her. "Lets go." He hurried out of the room.

"okay..." Riku walked out closing the door behind him confused about Sora's reaction but ignored it for now and walked back down the stairs. "So what do you do for fun?"

"We naturally go down to the beach and play frisbee or swim around really." He answered happily. "Unless Selphie gets into one of those moods again." He chuckled.

"What kind of mood?" Riku asked, stepping down the stairs curious.

"Well... We aren't sure but we think she has an addiction to shopping but it could always be her sugar addiction making her so hyper." Sora smiled and laughed, remembering all the good times with her making Riku remember the good times with his friends.

"Yeah..." He jumped down the 5 marble steps. "Would you mind showing me around?"

"I thought we were going to 'play'." Sora imitated a childlike voice and grew large eyes. Riku looked at him in amazement.

Could he be any cuter? Riku gazed at him.

"Well, lets go!" Sora started marching off. "I'm still hungry so you don't mind if we stop for a bite?" He added when Riku catched up to him.

"I'm starving!" He agreed and laughed along with him.

O-0-O-0-O-0-O

"Checkers?" Riku observed the large black and white checkered building. It wasn't very big or anything but it seemed to tower slightly over all the surroundings stores. "Odd name."

"Wait till you see the inside." Sora smiled and giggled.

He was right, the inside was tacky. A checkered floor with small round tables all over. Hula dancing dolls were put here and there and a few figurines of Locke Hunter all around. Even the waitress's wore clothes from the 70's and had roller skates on.

They picked out a table next to the window and a waitress with orange frizzy hair and a pink polka dotted skirt came immediately and asked if they would like menus. Sora ordered a double chocolate latte and a burger. Riku asked for the same.

"Guess you come here a lot." Commented Riku and looked at the waitress roll away from them to the back.

"Yeah, me and the guys are always here." Riku wondered if he would become 'one of the guys' or would they decide they don't like him.

Sora stared outside the window leaving Riku to his thoughts. Damn! Think of something. Gotta spark a conversation. He thought quickly through a list of things but found nothing that would work. This was so easier back home. But Sora came to the rescue.

"So how is Hallow Bastion?" He fixed his gaze on Riku's jade eyes and stared.

"It's misty and dark most of the time. We only get sun a few weeks per year but it's a very nice place. Everyone there is happy and since it's so small, everyone knows everyone and you feel like you belong." Riku sounded as if he was faraway in a deep pink bubble where he was happiest.

"Sounds like a amazing place. Miss your friends?" Sora hit his soft spot.

"Yes." His bubble turned all black and murky. "They were the best." He fell silent and looking quite glum.

"Well don't worry, you got me at least!" Sora smiled at Riku.

He sure knows how to make you feel wanted. Riku smiled and laughed. "Thanks."

"I'm sure the other guys will like you too." He added and laughed some more. "Oh, foods here!"

Sora thanked the waitress and drank half of his latte in a flash. Riku smiled at him and took a bite of his burger. "Mmm." Riku approved of the taste and took another bite.

"Since I told you about me, can you tell me something about Naminé?" He asked hoping to know what happened to her.

Sora stared at him and Riku noticed that his eyes saddened and wasn't going to say anything. He regretted asking it know that he knew it must of been pretty bad.

"Hey Sora! Hey Riku!" Boomed a voice from the entrance. Wakka and Tidus walked in and sat next to them. "What are you up to?"

"Just eating." Replied Sora and and changed into a smile. "How about you?" He asked.

"We getting some fireworks, ya? Yuna Sumner is coming to town next week and we thought we might celebrate after the concert on the beach, ya? Wakka answered all hyped that the pop singer was coming to town. "It's gonna be awesome."

"Yeah, we're all excited Wakka." Responded Sora, genuinely happy once more. "Riku can come right?"

Riku's eyes widened, embarrassed.

"Ya, it'll be loads of fun!" Wakka cheered him to come.

"And Selphie will even be more annoying once she finds out." Everyone laughed but Riku who didn't really understand.

"I don't even know who this Yuna is and I'm not much of a pop fan." He commented hoping they won't mind his taste in music.

"Don't worry, her music is amazing, you'll love her no matter what." Tidus assured him smiling. "Now come help us pick out fireworks."

O-0-O-0-O-0-O

After shopping downtown through out a few of the stores that sold fireworks, he finally picked one. Wakka insisted on him picking one making Riku feel as if he was starting to become part of the group. He didn't know anything about fireworks but the one he picked seemed to please Wakka and he bought it without question saying it'll be a great big boomer. After, Wakka bought a few smaller ones and Riku walked home with Sora.

Riku walked past the door to his house and looked around. Mom must of been unpacking. He thought as he noticed that all the kitchen and living room were set up but the rest of the house was just the same way they left it. He walked passed the living room into the corridor and peered into his mother's room. Hmm, wonder where she is, he noticed as she was nowhere to be in the house. He walked to his room, hopped over a few boxes and flopped into bed. Well this day wasn't so bad, He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep but he just couldn't. He was worried where his mom was, it wasn't like her to be gone from home to long especially in a new place where she didn't know anyone or anything. He jumped out of bed and started for Sora's home, maybe Yumi knew where his mother was off to.

Riku marched up the five marble steps and rang the doorbell. It wasn't the usual ding-dong but a more musical sound. Few minutes later, the door opened to reveal an older Italian women.

"Can I help you?" She said with an heavy accent.

"Is Yumi here?" He asked quickly guessing the woman was a servant.

"I won't say till you ask nicely." She grunted and glared at him, offended.

"Err.. Can you please tell Mrs Everheart that Riku and wishes to speak to her?" He asked, unsure if he chose the appropriate words.

"Certainly, young man." She still sounded unpleased by him but he ignored it. Moments later Yumi walked out to greet Riku.

"Hello there, Riku." She smiled and closed the door behind her. "Are you looking for Sora?" She asked cautiously and unsure of what to say.

"Err..No but did my mother tell you where she was going?" Now he was curious where Sora was.

"She said something about finishing packing but I saw her leave the house less then an hour ago. I'm sure she just went out to pick something from the store." She sounded more reassured that it wasn't about Sora.

"Oh, thank you. Did Sora go out?" He asked hoping to find out why Yumi sounded nervous whenever she thought this was about Sora.

"Umm..Well.."Once again her voice turned nervous and unsteady making Riku more curious. "He is...Shopping! Yes, Sora went shopping."

"Oh, okay thanks." He waved her good bye and walked away wondering what Sora was really up to. No one would sound so nervous and uncertain of what to say about their own son going shopping.

He started for his house but turned back when he heard Yumi close the door behind her. He looked up to Sora's room and saw Sora's shadow walking across the large window. So he is home. He continued observing when he noticed that Sora had opened the window and climbed down the ivy growth next to his window. Sora then quickly ran towards the gate but stopped in front of Riku, surprised to see him.

"H-Hey Riku." He greeted looking back towards his house. "Umm... I gotta run." He started walking off quickly but Riku grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"What's going on?" Riku asked curious.

"Err..Nothing?" Replied the brunette.

"I thought you say you were my friend, therefor you can't leave me like this." Riku smiled but took a concerned look when Sora looked even more worried. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you later." The frightened boy pulled his arm free and ran away when he noticed the light in his room open and Riku followed him.

"Who are you running from?" Riku asked breathless when he caught up to the boy.

"He's back. He found me." Sora sounded terrified and looked worn out but he kept running as if his life depended on it.

"Who?" Riku felt panic rising in him.

"Him!" Sora yelled over his shoulder noticing a Silver car driving up behind them. "Run!" Sora sped up with tears streaming down his face.