Chapter 2- Calm Before The Storm
"I've had a wonderful time, but this wasn't it."
-Groucho Marx (1895-1977)
It was a new day, the mid-afternoon.
And it's another day of working on the raft. The raft we would soon set sail with in order to explore the outside worlds beyond these island walls.
You could consider it work for my friends and me, but it's not going exactly the way I planned. I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my gloved hand and I squinted at the humid sun.
Where were Sora and Kairi?
Being the only one doing the work, I expected the other two to pitch in as well. I pondered at the almost finished raft until I speculated that we needed another log. Sighing, I trudged across the island in search for the item before I spotted Wakka throwing the beach ball expertly within his hands.
"What is happening, man?" he greeted with an islander accent.
"Nothing, just under some manual labor," I answered, humoring him. I lit up when I noticed a stray, yet solid log laying off to the side under some leafy brush.
"You the only one? Where's Sora and Kairi?" My eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Did he have to mention those lazy morons?
"No idea." It only took seconds for me to haul the log easily onto my shoulder. I sighed, feeling a little weary. "Anyway, I'm almost finished for the day." He shrugged and headed off to probably hang out with Tidus.
I planned on heading back to the raft, but stopped when I noticed a few kids into the distance.
My feet pounded on the golden sand as I approached them, the heavy log held firm and steady under my right arm. Shoulder-length, silver hair wisped across my shoulders as my aqua green eyes settled upon a boy and girl conversing. Without me in the middle of my two friends, Sora and Kairi looked like clueless lovebirds.
"I want to see it, too!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully. He sat on the sand while Kairi was faced away from him, indulging in the captivating view of the glittering ocean while she listened to Sora boast of his desires. "There are so many amazing worlds out there. And I want to see them all!"
Satisfied with his answer, Kairi whirled around and gave him a genuine grin, her sapphire eyes sparkling. "So, what are we waiting for?" Hmph, she never gave me that look before. Thinking this was a good opportunity, I stepped in.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, "Aren't you forgetting about me?" Startled, they both turned their eyes in my direction. A playful smirk adorned my lips as my eyes flickered with tease. "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft."
Honestly, I thought those guys were way too ahead of themselves if they planned on excluding me.
Walking passed Sora, I tossed him the log and he yelped in surprise, unable to catch the heavy piece of wood in time before it pinned him painfully to the sand. I stopped in front of Kairi, looking at her accusingly while I placed a hand on my hip.
"And you're just as lazy as he is!" Kairi chuckled nervously, retreating her hand behind her head to rub it for the hope of comfort. I guessed I found her out.
"So you noticed." Then, she perked up when an idea popped in her head. "Okay, we'll finish the raft together! I'll race you!" I, who just sat on the sand beside Sora, was wiped out. Sora had somehow miraculously removed the log from his person.
"Huh?"
"What, are you kidding?" Kairi merely ignored our questions with a grin.
"Ready? Go!"
Sora and I glanced at each other.
In a split second, we shot to our feet and sprinted across the sandy shore.
Kairi soon raced behind us and we all wore joyful smiles, relishing the feel of the refreshing breeze rushing passed us.
I noticed Sora gradually catching up to me and I gave him a cocky smirk, who returned it with a stare of determination.
Adrenaline pumped in our bodies for we didn't plan on giving up to the other, and Kairi giggled, enjoying the fun moment. The sun glistened brightly down upon the island, as all three of us were completely unaware of what was in store for our adventure.
Slouching sloppily against the trunk of my personal crooked tree, I gazed at the ocean lethargically.
Sora was off receiving instructions from Kairi on what supplies he needed to get for the raft. Me? I had already delivered my share of physical labor ages ago and found nothing else better to do. Just gazing off at the view, pondering was all I ever did anyway.
But this time, experiencing yet another nightmare via last night stressed me out and made me lose substantial amount of sleep.
Maybe... I could take a nap. Get some shut eye. That would surely help...
...
Somebody giggled. "…should we wake him up?"
"Why? Riku never lets his guard down. Though, this is the first time I've seen him asleep..."
"Don't you think he looks peaceful?"
I took a deep breath. The darkness behind my closed eyelids was comforting and I would hate to leave it.
"Hey, I got an idea. Let's poke him!" They chuckled mischievously and I twitched, clearly disturbed of the index fingers jabbing my face.
"Cut it out." I grumbled, swatting their hands away.
I turned on my side to get more comfortable... only to fall off the tree and collapse on the ground.
"Pfft... AHA HA HA HA HA!" I sat up, rubbing my head drowsily while trying to drown out the sound of their bellowing laughter pounding harshly within my ear drums. Dammit all... couldn't get any decent sleep.
I opened my eyes, though they felt heavy so it was a slow process, but now I regretted doing so. Sora and Kairi were doubled over in laughter, their goofy grins stretched painfully across their faces while tears tinted the corner of their eyes. In other words, a very very annoying sight.
Crossing my arms, I glared at them until they were finally able to stop. Kairi was the first to respond to my look.
"We couldn't help it, Riku." Kairi replied, a childish pout now marring her cheeks, "You looked so harmless— It's cute!" Kairi's getting annoying with her giggling like a fangirl.
"We don't know how long you slept, but we were starting to wonder if you were even alive." Well, it's nice to know Sora cared about my well-being. Sora smiled at me, not doing a very good job of hiding his chuckles.
I could never trust letting my guard down around these two. Planning on giving them the silent treatment, I closed my eyes lazily to block out their annoying faces.
"Riku? Riku! Are you listening to us?" No, Kairi. I didn't feel like humoring you for the day. You two ruined my beauty sleep.
"Earth to Riku!" I felt one of their hands wave in front of my face, but I remained ever stubborn against forgiving them. "Well, look who's the cranky one today."
I opened an eyelid to peer at Sora grinning at me. No respect for his best friend, huh. I still felt tired, but it wouldn't hurt to have a workout.
"To have you two as a wake-up call does that to me. You wouldn't mind if I vented my crankiness out of you, right Sora?" I innocently asked, though I was internally agitated.
Kairi faked a surprised gasp. "Lord Riku has spoken!" She giggled, pinching my cheek, yet I shoved her hand away in irritation. "It's a miracle!"
Sora crossed his arms and thought for a few moments.
"You still won't beat me though," Sora grinned, confident.
"Then, prove it. Grab your sword."
"Alright, let's do it."
"This one decides the champion." I stood up and readied my wooden sword while Sora took his position across from me, gripping the identical weapon in his hands. Kairi, taking note of the competitive aura emanating from us, took a seat on my tree at the sidelines.
Sora made the first move, charging at me blindly to swing his sword. I brought my sword up to block his, and then side-jumped in time to dodge his next strike. He couldn't compose himself fast enough when I stepped forward and brought the sword down to hit him.
He winced at the throbbing pain on his arm and Sora plunged forward to attack me again. I decided to take his hit and shrewdly fell on the ground, feigning defeat. Now to surprise him... I leaned all my weight back and propelled my body off the ground, giving full force into my kick. That sudden overwhelming blow caused Sora to stumble back painfully onto the ground.
Sora felt a shadow looming over him and he lifted his gaze to notice me towering over him, a smug smile of victory planted on my face. He's too much of an amateur. Compared to me, anyway.
"Don't tell me you've given up already." From my teasing remark, Sora glared at me.
"Let's have another go."
"Come on." I held up my wooden sword to block him once again the moment Sora swung his sword down hard against mine. He chucked his sword at mine a couple more times before I successfully tore through his dead-on attacks, but luckily for him he dodged my swing.
Without losing a beat, I turned to swipe my blade at him, yet he rolled away and jogged out of my reach, eyeing me carefully. I smirked, jumping back onto my tree and taunting Sora to attack me.
Nonetheless, he rushed forward and I leapt off the tree, catching him off guard and side-stepping his strikes, waiting for the opportune moment to unleash my finishing blow.
I ducked in between most of Sora's attacks, before I finally elbowed him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, clenching his hurt stomach.
"I won. Again." I said, smiling smugly.
"Hey, Riku. That was unfair!" Ignoring Kairi's outburst, I lazily rocked my sword back and forth while I stretched out my sleepy and cramp muscles. Sora gazed at the ground rather quietly, trying to cope with the blow I gave him. "Ow..." Then, he slowly forced his body to stand, turning toward Kairi with a reassuring smile.
"C'mon, Kairi. Riku's only trying to bring me up into top shape."
I smiled, grateful of his defense. "Heh, you still don't got it." He huffed from my remark, crossing his arms.
"Now it's zero-to-two..."
"Yeah, you go and keep on counting." My best friend would never beat me as long as I had anything to say about it. Now Sora started protesting when I pulled him in, giving him the worst mind-boggling noogie of his life.
"Hey, stop! That hurts!"
The two of us laughed cheerily and Kairi smiled, fondly watching us.
I leaned against the trunk of the tree while Kairi sat between Sora and I, whereas Sora was to her right. We quietly gazed at the setting sun inking into many soft glowing colors of pink, orange, and yellow as the sunlight gently illuminated the calm ocean.
And soon, I tore my eyes away from the beautiful sight to glance at Sora's uncommon expression of deep thinking.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora inquired, motioning to me for a response.
"Could be," I simply replied, my arms folded comfortably across my chest. I was apparently in deep thought, too, but it wasn't about Kairi. "We'll never know by staying here." Sora and Kairi could tell I wanted nothing more than to get off this island. It's practically the only thing I talked about lately.
"But how far could a raft take us?"
"Who knows?" I remarked, merely waving my hand in the air before re-crossing my arms. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?" Kairi waited for my answer shortly before I hummed in thought. Hmm... what would I do there?
"Well, I haven't thought about it. It's just…" I paused. I was piecing together my thoughts, considering how I should say them. "I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And so suppose there are other worlds…"
I paused once again to watch the hypnotic flow of the water tide washing back and forth across the sandy beach.
"Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" I inclined my head toward Kairi and Sora for their opinion. Sora merely lied back on the tree trunk, propping his hands behind his head as a pillow, a thoughtful frown marring his cheeks.
"I don't know," he replied finally with a shrug.
"Exactly." I then took the chance to unfold my arms and push my back off the tree. "That's why we need to go out there and find out." Uncrossing my legs, I stood up and kept my gaze at the sunset. "Just sitting here won't change a thing."
Kairi shook her head slightly and raised her sapphire eyes at the sky, having heard my little speech many times before. From the corner of my eyes, I could tell Sora was staring at me inquiringly.
"It's the same old stuff. So let's go."
"You've been thinking a lot, haven't you?" Kairi finally asked.
She had no idea.
"Thanks to you." I turned around to regard her with gratitude. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."
Kairi lightly hummed in content.
"You're welcome."
Deciding it was time to head on home, Kairi and Sora began walking across the bridge. However, I lagged behind, climbing up to the top of our crooked tree and snatching one of its star-shaped fruit. When I glanced at the direction of their retreating backs, I thought of an idea.
"Sora."
He turned around only to catch the odd fruit clumsily in his hands. "You wanted one, didn't you?" I pointed to it, merely teasing him for the fun of it. Who knew if he actually believed in the legend.
"The paopu fruit..." He inquired, temporarily lost in his own world.
"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined." I explained, casually pacing in his direction. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." Then, I walked pass him, only pausing to gauge his reaction.
Sora slowly turned in my direction, the fruit still present in his hands as if he was actually considering it. I bet he was thinking of a certain red-head...
"I know you want to try it."
He looked hella funny with that dopey expression on his face and I expressed my laughter freely, running down the steps with Sora following me in tow after he had shook his head to brush aside my joke, thus discarding the paopu fruit.
We engaged in another race, which obviously I won because of my head start.
"Riku, you cheater!"
I smirked. "Sore loser."
Sora only stuck his tongue out in retort and I chuckled. Childish, I tell you.
"I'm home." I called out into my dim room, closing the door behind me. "Koi, are you in here?" Glancing around my room, I finally spotted her sitting on my bed and idly reading a book. "Hey, I hope you weren't too bored by yourself."
"I wasn't." Next, I flopped onto the bed beside her and entwined my hands behind my head, closing my eyes. As always, the darkness felt comforting... "You look like you haven't gained much rest."
"Obviously. Due to the inner workings of a nightmare..." I sighed, wanting to confide in her of my anxiety. The way she always listened quietly to my qualms and secrets without ever judging me for it earned her my trust. Koi convinced me to believe I could tell her anything that I wouldn't dare share to anyone else. "Want me to tell you about it?"
I heard the faint sound of her closing the book and the slight noise of the book sliding across the bedside table. "There is no need," she said, "I had already visited you in your sleep and learnt of what was happening."
"So that was you." I thought as much. Koi could practically do anything with darkness on her side. "For a moment, I seriously thought I wouldn't wake up. Everything felt so real... disturbingly real."
"I know." Koi brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, easing my stress. The simple action felt nice and affectionate. "It could be a premonition. You'll be setting out soon on the raft, correct?"
"Yeah." Then, I sat up on my elbows, opening my eyes to regard her. "You'll be coming with me, right?"
Wordlessly, she cast her ebony eyes out into the open balcony, gazing at the starry night. What's she thinking about, I wondered.
Then, I sighed, a little disappointed of her lack of reply. "Look, I'm not forcing you. If you don't want to go, then don't."
"It's not that."
"Huh?" She got up from the bed and I curiously followed her out to the balcony. The cool evening breeze caressed my face as I traced Koi's eyes looking at the island, which was only a five-minute boat ride away.
Light protruded from the central area of the island, where the cave resided.
"The door is opening..." I could feel it, and I bet she could feel it, too.
My hand reached up to grip my heart, which was prickling in discomfort. Did I really want to face what would be released from the other side of that door?
(A/N):
Hah, part 1 of 2 of Destiny Islands. It was fun rewriting this. So much light-heartedness and fun...
Koi makes a general appearance in this one, and I'll explain why she was in his room. Technically, Koi's from another world and has darkness as her power, which can make her come and go into any world she pleases through the 'Corridors of Darkness'. And no, his family doesn't know she exists... yet. XP
Anyway, you have much to anticipate in the next chapter. We have 'The Obnoxious Trio' (Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie) with their own shining scene and some more of Riku's passive humor. And- (GASP) -does Riku open the door and destroy the islands or not...?
Read on to find out.