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Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy is copyrighted by Square Enix! Disney characters and worlds are copyrighted by Disney
Akari burst out the door of her house, excited for the first time in a while. Riku and Sora were already waiting and Akari smiled as she reached them.
"Hey, Akari!" Sora greeted her cheerfully. Akari smiled.
"Hey, Sora!" Riku just gave a smile and a nod which Akari replied to with her own nod.
"Come on! We're gonna be late!"
"Wanna race?" Sora asked, nudging Riku. The boy's eyes sparkled with excitement at the challenge.
"You could never beat me." He said smugly. Sora nudged him again.
"Yes, I can!" Sora turned to Akari for moral support but the girl just shrugged.
"Race!" She told them. Sora jumped up and Riku readied himself.
"Go!" Akari shouted and the boys took off as fast as their small legs could take them. Akari chased after them, not overtaking them, but running close to Sora, who was on Riku's heels. As they neared the dock, Riku jumped up the stairs and touched the post.
"I win!" Sora got their less than a second later and groaned.
"No fair! You have longer legs than me!" He complained. Akari giggled.
"No, I think Riku's just faster Sora." She told him, patting his shoulder. Sora sighed and looked sad, but suddenly jumped up.
"Just wait! I'll beat you next time!" That left Akari surprised. She couldn't comprehend why he was so happy so suddenly. She turned to Riku with a surprised look but Riku just laughed.
"That's Sora for you!" He said, understanding her expression.
"Wait...what are you talking about?" Sora asked, understanding nothing. Riku hooked his arm around his friend's shoulder and said slyly,
"Just about how you're too short to win a race, even against Akari." He gave a look to Akari who stared at him in surprise.
"Hey!" Sora pushed off Riku's arm and stood tall.
"I can beat you and Akari any day." He rubbed the back of his head. "Just...not today." Riku and Akari burst out laughing. A voice called the two of them and Riku and Sora turned to find their dads impatiently waiting for them. Riku ran over and Sora turned to Akari.
"Come on!" He chased Riku down to where their dads are and Akari smiled and followed.
Both Sora and Riku's parents were welcoming and they allowed Akari to come with them to the islands.
As soon as they docked onto the wooden plank, Riku and Sora jumped out. Akari stepped one foot out carefully and winced as the board creaked loudly. She sprinted off the dock and landed on the soft sand. Riku watched as Sora grabbed Akari's hand and dragged her across the sand to the wooden building.
He stopped in front of a wooden building and pushed open the door.
"Come on!" He waved Riku over and gestured Akari to come in before walking in himself. Akari, frightened of creepy buildings, wooden shacks included, stood outside but a hand on her shoulder had her looking up.
"It's not as scary as it looks. Trust me. When Sora first came here, he wouldn't step inside this place at all for at least two days.
Akari giggled slightly and Riku walked inside the building, tugging Akari inside. As soon as they entered, Riku let go of Akari's hand and pointed up the stairs, where light streamed in from.
"Let's go!" He ran up the stairs and without a moment's hesitation, Akari followed. They ran up the stairs, which actually wound up and around and Akari shielded her eyes as she burst through the open door, finding herself on the higher stone platform with a wooden bridge outstretched from it, connecting to a small separate island. Riku stopped and smiled as he turned to her. Sora was waving from the distance.
"Over here!" Akari followed Riku as they crossed the bridge and walked to where Sora was. He was pouting with an annoyed look.
"You guys are so slow." Riku put a hand on his hip.
"Hey! I had to take care of Akari after you ditched her!" Sora rubbed the back of his neck guiltily.
"Sorry.." He mumbled to Akari. She crossed her arms before giggling and letting go of a mad pretense.
"Why are we here, Sora?" Riku sighed as he walked around the small island.
"Because the tree has paopu fruits and its the best place to watch the sunset."
"Well do you see the sunset anywhere?" Sora again looked down.
"Well...uh...no?" Riku flicked Sora playfully.
"So then let's show Akari the other side of the island; the better side."
"Hey! This side is cooler than that side!" Sora protested.
"Why don't we let Akari decide then!" Riku retorted, smirking slightly.
"Fine!" Sora replied with equal confidence. They both turned to Akari who backed away with an intimidating look.
"Let me see the other side first, okay?" Sora sighed and Riku pumped his fist up in the air.
"Yeah!" He grabbed Akari's arm and ran back down, through the shack and onto the beach. Sora followed shortly and Riku opened the door of another wooden shack. As soon as Akari stepped through, sunlight streamed in, revealing that the wooden shack was actually just a passageway to the other side. She shielded her face and stepped onto the white rock. A grin broke onto her face as she saw the other side.
"Woah! This is so cool!" The young girl exclaimed in delight. Riku gave Sora a smirk and he sighed in defeat.
"Come on! We have to show you the awesome parts!"
"Yeah!" Sora immediately got out of his slump, leaving Akari even more stupefied by this always cheerful boy. Yet she shrugged it off with a smile and let Riku lead the way. They walked across a wooden plank bridge and Riku climbed up a tall ladder to the top a watchtower.
Akari followed while Sora stayed at the bottom.
"This is the zip line." Riku pointed out. An almost invisible string connected the tower to a stone ramp on the other side. "We're not allowed to use it yet, but hopefully when we're old enough our parents will let us try…" Akari shrugged and instead took in the beautiful view.
"Riku! Come down! We have to show Akari the rest of the island." Riku sighed and climbed back down with Akari.
"Follow me!" Sora cheered as he walked down a few steps and ran to the stone ramp where the zip line was connected. He ran over to the wall and jumped to a platform. Akari watched nervously as Sora jumped twice more to the platforms outstretched from the wall before stopping on the long stone platform with a tunnel. Riku followed Sora excitedly while Akari hung back.
The silver-haired kid stopped as he noticed his friend wasn't following him.
"What's wrong?" Akari looked at the platforms, separated so that to get to each of them you'd have to jump. She shook her head.
"What if I fall…" She asked, scared. Riku let loose a short laugh and Akari gave him a glare.
"I'm sorry." He held out his hand. "We'll go together!" Akari still hesitated. Riku kept his hand out. "You said you wanted an adventure." He reminded the girl and she seemed to want to balk, yet that had been her wish. Akari closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and grabbed Riku's hand.
"Don't let go!" She said. He nodded and ran to the platforms. With each jump, Akari felt more like she belonged, never letting go of Riku's hand. And Sora was smiling cheerfully as he encouraged them, cheering them on.
"One more!" Sora shouted and with that jump, Riku and Akari reached Sora. She stumbled slightly but otherwise landed okay.
"Thanks." She said to Riku and Sora. They nodded cheerfully.
"That's what friends are for!" Sora said. "Now look at this!" He pointed at a small tree with a plastic star. "Ta-dah!" Akari tilted her head.
"It looks like a fake paopu tree.." She said, confused by the excitement. Riku shook his head and flicked Sora.
"You're not showing her correctly." He turned to Akari.
"We like to race here. The star is normally the thing we have to tag and then make it back to the finish line." He explained. Sora nodded and tapped the star. It turned on, glowing. Akari took a step back, marveled by the light up star.
"Woah!" Riku nodded smugly and Sora grinned and leaned back.
"Isn't it awesome!" He exclaimed. Akari agreed entirely. Riku glanced at the sun.
"Look. The sun's setting." He pointed to the glowing sun dipping slightly below the ocean. Akari and Sora looked at each other at the same time.
"Oh no!"
"This way!' Sora shouted as he ran through the tunnel. He found himself stuck on the edge of the wall. Riku burst past him and jumped onto a wooden plank.
"Grab my hand Sora!" Sora nodded and without hesitation, leaped, his hand outstretched. Riku pulled him up onto the platform and then the brown haired boy climbed down the rope ladder, bursting down the beach and into the wooden shack. Akari was left standing on the wall.
"Come on!" Riku ushered her. Akari shook her head, visibly shaking. The jump was wider than the platform jumping and she was scared. "You're gonna miss it if you don't jump." He told her. She saw Sora had already made it to the second island and was waiting for them. "I'll catch you!" He said. She narrowed her eyes.
"Promise?" Riku nodded, his sea-green eyes soft.
"Promise." She sighed and stepped back a bit. Riku gave her a reassuring nod and she sprinted forward. As soon as she got to the edge she leaped. Her feet grazed the wooden plank but before she could get her balance she slipped.
"AHHH!" She screamed but a hand grabbed her and with great strength, Riku pulled her up. She crawled onto the platform and breathed heavily. Riku collapsed next to her, panting but also grinning.
"See...I...always keep...my promises." She turned to him and grinned.
"Come on!" Her fear had dissipated and she climbed down the rope ladder. Riku and she sprinted to the wooden shack and up the stairs. They raced to the island and Sora gave them an annoyed look.
"You almost missed it." He grumbled, but his face turned into a smile as he turned to Akari.
"That was some jump!" She nodded, smiling and then looked at Riku, who was looking at the sun. Sora climbed up the bent tree that had paopu fruits on it and sat down. Riku leaned against the stump and they stared at the sunset. Akari smiled and also climbed up the tree. She stared at the sunset for a few minutes, her small legs dangling, before her gaze shifted to the star-shaped fruit at the end of the tree. Transfixed, she climbed past Sora, who watched her with surprise as she grabbed the edge of the fruit and pulled.
It came loose and she climbed back down, sliding past Sora to sit. Riku also was glancing at her in surprise as she handed him a piece of the paopu fruit, and then another piece to Sora, keeping one small part for herself.
"They say, these fruits connect people together. So you split them with the people you care about so that you'll always find your way back to each other. Both of them were stunned, holding the fruit, yet Akari smiled.
"You guys are my friends." Sora grinned and bit into the paopu fruit before speaking.
"Friends for life!" Riku nodded and also bit in. Akari smiled and turned to the sunset, biting into the cold fruit.
Friends
They left the island a little while. Riku and Sora ran ahead to the docks while Akari wandered the beach. Something caught her gaze and she turned to where the waterfall was. There, past it, something dark was beneath the leaves...like, an opening. Akari squinted and she could've sworn, yellow eyes were staring back at her.
Suddenly, Riku and Sora called and she ran over to them, forgetting about the mysterious person in the dark.
Little did she know, that the person in the shadows, had become very interested in her.
"There's potential in that girl. I sense a heavy darkness." He murmured, a sensual smirk on his lips.
"She'll be perfect.