||Episode 1 - Part V: This World has been Connected||

*Destiny Islands*...[Destiny Islands]

I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. It was bright and early in the morning. The others would be heading off to the smaller islands to continue preparations for our big journey coming up. Sneaking around the mess of my bedroom, I took care of my morning routine as fast as I could. A hot shower to wake me up and a fresh set of clothes to wear out during the day's wild adventures. I found my favorite pair of capri pants and black tank top. Because the temperature was a little cooler this morning, I chose to wear a short-sleeved jacket over my top. Slipping into my black and white sneakers, I made my way downstairs for breakfast before going to the dock.

After eating, I walked down the winding dirt road running through the town. Lots of people were out doing their usual daily business. Sora's mother was at the flower shop. I didn't talk to her very often, but she worked there everyday to give the town the best business with her floral knowledge. His dad was just outside the shop working on something. I could see that it was woodwork of some kind, but I wasn't going to disturb him from his job.

"Morning!" I called out instead, waving to Sora's father on my way to the mainland's beach. He waved back and reciprocated the kind greeting.

Riku's parents were on the other side of town. Thankfully, I got to see them on my way out before they left for work. That was only the case because we were neighbors. I lived right across the street from Riku's family, which was pretty nice. Mornings like this were when we went out together to the small islands. It was different this time around, though. My guess was that Riku left earlier than usual to get to work.

Nonetheless, I got to my boat and paddled all the way to the other islands to join in on the fun. Selphie was sitting on the dock when I got there. Naturally, she had romance on the brain. She asked me if I knew about the legend of the paopu fruit. Regardless of me knowing all about it, she went on a tangent explaining its supposed powers. If you share it with someone you really care for... it binds you together forever and ever through eternity. I sighed and continued on with my morning. Riku said something like that yesterday, didn't he? Legends were just legends. I didn't really believe one little star-shaped fruit could do so much to bind people together.

I passed by Wakka next. He was standing near the small waterfall beside the shack. Whatever he was doing, I had little interest. But when I asked about what he was doing today, he went on about him and Tidus exploring some unknown part of the island. It sounded odd, because we already covered every inch of this island. You know, there's a secret place at the base of that big tree. I blinked and stood there quietly. "There's nothing interesting in there," was what I told Wakka to talk him out of it. I gave him the excuse that I had been in there a handful of times. Every time, nothing interesting was found. It worked, and he shrugged his own idea off. Thank goodness, too. There were so many embarrassing drawings inside there. It'd be awful if he and Tidus saw them.

As for Tidus, the 13-year-old was busy swinging his staff around on the paopu island. He was too busy training to talk, but he did mention something about challenging Riku to another match. I recall him, Selphie, and Wakka losing to a three-vs-one match. He discouraged anyone from fighting Riku. The result always ended up being the same. He won, everyone else lost. Kairi can still count on him, I guess. Those words annoyed me a little bit. I couldn't quite explain why, but I opted to walking away to find the others.

I found myself at the cove, sitting with Kairi on the finished raft. She was working on something, judging by the strings and seashells she had all over the place.

"Geez, where are those two?" Kairi blurted, setting down her project. "We're supposed to be working on finding provisions for our journey."

"Maybe we should look around for them..." I suggested. She agreed to it and joined me in heading down to the other side of the island. On the way there, I nearly lost my balance on an unstable piece of wood on the old bridge. "Whoa! Watch your step. Looks like we have a loose board here."

"Uh, oh, better warn the others." She sighed. "Huh? Oh, there they are! Look at that, they're looking ready for another match."

"Looks like it," I nodded in amusement. "I don't know what about..."

"You guys at it again?" Kairi called out to them. The boys were standing close with an air of competition forming around them. "All right, it's the usual today. A race around the cove will do for now. Take any route you want. First one to tag the star tree and make it back here first wins!"

"If I win, uh... I'm captain!" Sora announced as Kairi and I approached. "And if you win..."

"I get to share the paopu fruit with Kairi." Riku's words were firm as he smiled to himself. It certainly caught Sora off guard, what he said. I was within earshot when he said it, and immediately I felt a twinge in my chest. He was grinning and looking over at Sora. "Deal? Winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi?"

"Wha... wait a minute!" Sora became flustered.

"Ready? Set? Go!" Kairi shouted, sending the boys off.

I stepped back as Riku dashed down the bridge to the zip-line. Sora got off to a delayed start, but he was at Riku's heels all the way. 'Did he really mean that?' I wondered as they ran their course. That was the first time he said anything about sharing a paopu with Kairi. I couldn't tell if he was being serious about it or not. It sounded like a serious thing. Or, was it just something to really get under Sora's skin? We both knew that he had a crush on Kairi.

Riku...

He and I were the same age and attended all of the same classes in school. Over summer break, we've been doing just about everything together. Of course we had Sora and Kairi as company, but I was always heading out first with Riku. Maybe it meant nothing to him... I thought there was something about it, though. The fluttering feelings he always gave my heart. Some kind of feeling was there. But, now, whenever I thought about his intentions in winning this race, it made me feel upset. Even looking at Kairi got me all flustered. I chose to keep the redness in my cheeks suppressed. They didn't need to know that I was feeling jealous or anything, certainly with it being toward a friend.

In under a few minutes, Sora came running back to us with a triumphant grin. "I made it back first!"

Sora was pumped up that he had beat Riku in a race. I was pretty glad that he came out on top, too.

"Man, lighten up." Riku came up from behind Sora with a cool expression. "It's just a name, after all."

"What?" Sora dropped his smile. "But you said-"

"You said you'd get to be captain of the raft if you won," Riku rolled his eyes.

"A race to name the raft?" I blurted, nearly losing my composure. "That was all this was about?"

"What'd you think it was about?" Riku put his hands on his hips.

"N-Nothing..." I sighed. "Anyway, what're we working on today, Kairi?"

I managed to shift the conversation to something else when Riku started questioning me about what I was thinking concerning his race. Thankfully, Kairi went with the flow and handed out jobs. To my relief, I was sent out to collect wild mushrooms from around the island and get fresh water for our bottles. It was easy to do that job, because everything around these parts was edible and safe to eat, too. Riku had the task of fishing and gathering seagull eggs. How we were supposed to cook them was beyond me, but Kairi had a plan. And, Sora was out collecting a basket of coconuts for the trip.

間

My bag was full of lots of mushrooms I found all over the place. Behind bushes, inside small caves. There were tons growing on the island. But, there was still more that I could find to make sure we had enough of a supply. Peering into my bag, I could see that a few more could be squeezed inside. Perhaps the best place to investigate for mushrooms would be the secret place Wakka was talking to me about. I remember seeing a group of them growing in the soil a while back. 'Hm... the dirt in there must be pretty fertile for the mushrooms. Better check it out.'

I wandered down the sandy path near the waterfall. Turning around, I could see Riku standing in the water with a fishing pole in his hands. He was still trying to catch fish out there. Kairi and Sora were still walking around. Nodding to myself, I ducked under the vines and shrubs to get into the tunnel. The secret place was quiet, filled only with the sound of wind blowing in from an opening in the cave's roof. Sunlight was pouring inside, which led me to a nice spot where large mushrooms were growing. I smirked and plucked them from the ground, filling the bag up to the brim. At this rate, another bag would be needed.

"That should do it." I determined after closing up the backpack. "The others should be close to being done right about now. Maybe I'll..."

Turning around, I saw all the drawings the four of us ever did during our childhood. They were amusing to see now that I was older. "Draw something."

On one of the rocks, I drew a picture of Sora and Riku fighting a weird blob-like monster. They had shining swords in their hands, like real warriors. Kairi was behind them- the princess of this make-believe story. Why I drew the scene like that was beyond me, but I did it that way. Finding no drawing of myself, I drew me with a sword below Sora's picture. The three of us could fight well, so I wanted to make sure I was helping them out. Even though I had no interest in sharing some fruit with Kairi, I could still keep her safe from "dangers". She was like a sister to me in that.

"Huh? Is it getting dark already?" I stood up from my idle activity and looked around. There was less sunlight coming into the secret place now. "Guess I spent a little too much time in here. The others might get worried if I take too long."

When I turned to leave the secret place, I dropped the rock I was drawing with and moved to exit through the tunnel. But a chill running down my spine stopped me in my tracks. I gasped and turned around. Someone was back there, watching me from the shadows. Their presence was faint, but I knew there was a person.

"W-Who is that?" I stuttered, searching the shadows with squinted eyes. Looking into the darkness of the cave made me shiver. I didn't want to be in there anymore.

A hissing breath.

I gritted my teeth. There, in behind a tree root, I could see a figure standing. Whoever it was wore a brown cloak with belts draped over their chest.

"I've come to see the door to this world," the mysterious figure spoke. Judging by their voice, I determined it to be a man. I was confused by his words. The door to this world? By door, did he mean the one at the end of this cave? My eyes wandered to it. The brown frame with gold trim. It had no doorknob or anything. Basically, it was just a slab of wood in the wall. I doubted that there was any purpose for it. "You see, child, this world has been connected."

"Connected?" I narrowed my eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Tied to the darkness..." the man answered, stepping out of the shadows. I could see no face, yet he was able to speak clearly. "Soon to be completely eclipsed. That is what I speak of. Do you yet understand?"

"How could I?" I shook my head at him. "You're doing nothing but creeping me out!"

"My... apologies..." the man hissed.

"W... Where did you come from, anyway?" I softened my tone a little. Curiosity bloomed inside me concerning this mysterious man. He was unlike anyone I had ever seen. There was no way he was someone's parent. They wouldn't go this far to scare me. But, then the idea popped into my head. Someone who didn't look familiar. He couldn't be from these islands. "Could you have come from another world?"

"Perhaps, but I am not the only one." The man said, but then his obscured gaze became fixated on the door. I followed in suite and examined the plain wood, but I quickly turned my head back to keep an eye on him. "You do not hold knowledge of what lies beyond this door. Memories sealed away. And for what? Nothing but false hope."

"My memories." I touched my head lightly with my fingers. "I don't know what you mean. My memories were sealed?"

"You have much to learn," he went on to say. "It is unfair for you to have no memory of who you once were. But I can help you."

I gripped the strap of the backpack tightly and gulped. This man was unnerving to be around. How did he get here? He couldn't have come from the door. It couldn't be opened, unless it was from the other side. I couldn't say that I was entirely afraid. He said something that intrigued me. Somehow, this guy knew that I had no memories of... of a time that I cannot recall. He said he could help me, but it'd be wrong to turn to some stranger.

"I... I'll pass on the help, mister!" I half-yelled. Turning on my heels, I ran as fast as I could out of the secret place. Whether he was following me or not, I couldn't care less. Riku was the nearest one at the seashore. His task of catching fish and picking up some bird's eggs was complete. At least I got all the mushrooms and water before running back to him.

間

"Tomorrow is the big day."

Riku was walking with me back through town. He claimed that it was because we lived so close by and that we'd have time to talk about all our plans on the way. It was so like him. Even when we were done working, he had the tendency to keep rambling on about the adventure we were about to go on. I simply nodded in response to his talking. My mind was so caught up on that weird moment back in the secret place.

"Hey, Lu, are you listening?" Riku nudged me in the arm, and I nearly toppled over a bush when he did. I snapped out of whatever trance I was stuck in and avoided tripping. "Geez, you're almost as bad as Sora when it comes to daydreaming. What gives?"

"S-Sorry..." I dropped my eyes to the ground. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Yeah?" Riku raised a brow. "Well, keep your eyes peeled next time. Let's go home."

"Say, Riku..." I stopped him again, grabbing his arm. He paused and faced me with a curious look in his eye. "Have you ever seen a man in a dark coat?"

"Here on the island?" He asked me. I nodded, but he responded with a shake of his head. "Can't say I did. Something happen?"

"Mm, it's nothing serious." I lied blatantly in his face, though he said nothing about it. Riku merely nodded and continued down the road to his house. I quietly walked next to him until I got to the front door of my house. Surprisingly, Riku walked me all the way there. "Goodnight, Riku."

"Night," he smiled softly. Before I could close the door, however, his hand pressed against it to hold it open. I blinked and stared at him for a moment. Riku looked a little flustered. It was unlike him to be that way. "H-Hold on a second, Lu. I forgot. There's something I got for you. Here, hold out your hands."

I did as he asked of me, and Riku dropped something in my hands. It wasn't a wrapped gift or grand present. Today wasn't even my birthday, so I wondered why he bothered to get me something like this. Sitting in the palms of my hands was a beautiful star charm. 'Where did he get this from?'

"Tonight... Tonight makes it five years." Riku's voice dipped a little. He took a step back and frowned. "The day I found you sitting alone on the other island."

"I almost forgot..." I breathed. Although I was sure these islands had been my home ever since I was born, there was that day when I somehow ended up on the other islands where we often played. No memories of how I got there or why.

"I haven't forgotten," he told me. "Lu, I promise you. I promise to help you get your memories back, whatever was lost."

"Thank you," I smiled at him. "Maybe there will be something out there connected to my past."

"Yeah, let's hope," Riku agreed. "Night."