Last chapter! Gasp! Let's make it aaaall goodies! XD
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Last time on KVH ...
She held out two peices of firewood to him. When he looked up, she gave a comforting smile. "I want to help," she said.
Sora smiled shyly and took the two peices of wood. "Thank you."
Christie nodded, still smiling. As she returned her attention to the wood, she couldn't shake the feeling that Riku was glaring at her.
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"You know I'm so angry I could topple this boat over and leave you to drown right now." He muttered.
Christie looked at him. "I can swim just as well as you." She said. She returned her gaze out to the horizon. As she looked at the black clouds looming in the distance, she could've sworn she saw Riku stick his tongue out at her.
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Christie spun around to yell at him, but instead of seeing his face, she saw his chest instead. She looked up at him and met with his cold blue eyes. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, pushing her face into his chest. As she listened to his heartbeat, she could feel her anger softening and tears springing to her eyes. No, no, no! I'm not weak! She shouted to herself, Stupid Riku! Stupid, rotten Riku! You're making me weak! Her anger was boiling again. She tried to push away, but he held on tighter. Then she noticed how they were standing. An invisible, mischevious smile spread it's way across her mind. Quickly and sharply, she lifted her knee ...
... and promptly kneed him in the crotch.
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Christie's mouth shut and the edges began twitching into a small frown. Tears formed once again as she remembered the quarrel between her and Riku. And now, seeing Sora so worried about her, she couldn't hold them back. Tears began rolling down her face. She walked up to him, putting her head under his chin and keeping her arms against her chest. He wrapped his arms and her, comforting her as she sobbed quietly.
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Christie's mind went blank. She had no clue what was going on. The lightning flashed, and she knew at that moment that she was safe. Sora would keep her safe. She wouldn't be lonely with him. Christie rested her head on Sora's shoulder, smiling.
And the thunder rolled.
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Riku, Sora and Christie all sat in a boat. The waves were high and the wind strong. Sora looked blankly out at the sea, and Christie couldn't see Riku's eyes as he rowed along.
"Riku, turn around," Christie whispered.
Riku shook his head slowly. He stopped rowing and walked over to Sora. Riku picked up his friend as if he was a feather and threw him overboard. Sora flew through the air, his expression still blank. As soon as the brunet hit the water, he smashed into a thousand peices ...
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Christie sat up suddenly. Her heart was pounding feircly in her chest. She jumped when she heard the thunder. The blonde stood up and walked over to Sora's bed and watched him sleep. They had decided to start sleeping in the same room again earlier that night. Christie looked out the window at the rain as lightning flashed again.
No, don't Christie. You can sleep, she kept telling herself. The thunder rumbled the old house, and a scared voice creeped into her head. No you can't. You'll just have that nightmare again. He said you'd never be alone, so he probably won't mind.
Christie trusted that voice more.
She crawled under the covers and rested her head on Sora's extra pillow and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before Sora moved closer and put his arm over her.
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"Mm ... " Grey light shone into the room and Christie's eyes shut tighter as she buried her face into her pillow. Strange ... she thought ... I don't remember my pillow being this ... hard. She shifted a bit, trying to figure out what was wrong ... it seemed familiar ... then she remembered where she was and her eyes shot open. A blush and a smirk found it's way across her face as she realised that she was no longer laying on her pillow. Her head had found it's way onto Sora's chest during the night.
She closed her eyes again, but the smirk wouldn't go away. Especially since Sora was now rubbing her back gently, making her blush worse.
"'Morning," Sora muttered sleepily. She knew he was grinning.
"G'morning," she greeted back. She looked out the window and frowned. "It's still raining ... "
Sora wrapped his other arm around Christie and put his forhead against her temple. "Yeah, these storms can last for days."
Christie closed her eyes again. "Oh, dang ... "
There was silence for a few minutes before Christie spoke. "Hey, what's that?" She asked.
"What's what?"
"That noise," Christie answered, looking around. Her gaze settled itself on the door. "It sounds like someone is running around downstairs."
Sora fell quiet. The two of them listened. Then the footsteps began stomping upstairs. "Oh, no," Sora said. Christie knew exactly what he was thinking, and who he knew it was.
They both sat up as the door slammed open. Riku stood there, raging mad. His eyes flashed between Sora and Christie. "I'm going to kill you!" He screamed at Sora.
"No, Riku, wait - " Christie tried to explain, but was hushed by Sora's hand on her waist. She turned to see Sora glaring venomously at Riku. "Sora?" She whispered.
"Get your hands off her, Sora!" Riku yelled.
"I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore, Riku!" Sora yelled back.
Christie edged away. "Guys, stop it," she muttered.
Sora looked at her, worried, but Riku yelled, "No! Sora, you and I are going to finish this! Once and for all!"
Sora stared at Riku. "What ... ?"
"No more childish races! We're going to fight!" He said angrily, pointing out the window to the sea.
"Riku, please don't tell me you don't mean ... " Christie said, then hushed to a whisper, " ... a fight ... to the death ... ?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean - and the only way I'm calling it off is if you come with me." There was a crazed look in Riku's eyes that struck fear into Christie's heart.
"Riku, I'll go with you, just please don't hurt Sora - "
"- Christie, I'll fight him." Christie's head whipped around to look at Sora. He leaned in and gave her a reassuring, caring smile, whispering. "I'm not letting him hurt you anymore."
Tears welled up in Christie's eyes as she watched him stand up and walk over to Riku - his best friend that was forcing him to fight to the death. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever think this would happen to her - nor would she ever wish it.
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Christie stared nervously at her knees as the small rowboat teetered threateningly in the high waters and rain. Her nightmare was coming true. She looked up at Sora to see that blank expression as he looked out to the sea. She now knows why he had that expression in her dream - he and Riku were going to fight. She looked over at Riku. She could see his eyes, but wished she couldn't. He was staring at her, and a wide smirk broke across his face.
Christie swallowed. "Please turn around, Riku." She tried to sound demanding, but her voice came out in a whisper.
Riku laughed and shook his head. "No," he said, bringing the oars in and setting them down. "This is where we'll fight." He told Sora.
Sora swallowed as Riku walked over to him. "Stand up, Sora," the older boy demanded. Sora's face paled and Christie saw his knees shake. "Stand up!" Riku screamed, taking Sora's collar and lifting him up.
"Riku!" Christie yelled. Riku looked at her, alarmed. Then he looked back at Sora and laughed.
"Okay, okay, I know," he muttered, grinning. He let Sora fall to the floor of the boat.
Sora took a deep breath and stood up. Riku swung around and hit Sora in the shoulder. Sora stumbled back and landed at Christie's feet. "I'm so sorry," she whispered sympathetically into his ear. He nodded and stood back up. Riku cracked his knuckles and swung again. Sora managed to dodge the attack, and thrusted his palm into Riku's chest. Riku swaggered back with the wind knocked out of him. He regained his composure quickly and lunged at Sora with a warcry. Sora stepped back quickly, but he now was at the edge of the boat. Christie's hands flew up to her mouth as she watched Riku grab Sora's shoulders. The silver-haired boy began pushing Sora back, and Sora grabbed Riku's shoulders and tried pushing him back.
Riku grinned at Sora's worried face. "Geez, you're pathetic!" Riku mocked. He quickly let go of one of Sora's shoulders and, in a flash, punched him in the face.
Christie screamed as Riku let Sora, who was now knocked out, fall into the water. She scrambled to the edge of the boat and reached out. "Sora!" She cried.
Riku grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. "He's not going to intrude anymore." He said, soothingly.
Christie was so scared. She pulled back her fist and punch Riku in the cheek. He fell backwards. "Snap out of it!" She screamed, watching him touch his face gingerly. "He's your best friend!" She called out before jumping into the icey-cold water.
She swam as fast as she could to Sora. He was out of sight, but a trail of blood led her to him. When she found him, she thanked God, and any other god that might be here, that there was a small sand dune exactly underneath the boat. She picked Sora up and began swimming back. She didn't want to go back to Riku, but it was Sora's only chance at survival.
And then a muscle pulled in her leg. It took everything she had not to cry out. She beared with it and kept kicking, but she was quickly getting tired. Red spots were forming in front of her eyes and her mind was clouding over. She broke the surface with a cry of pain. She finding it so difficult to keep conciousness.
"Hey!"
She turned around to see Riku reaching out. "I'm so sorry for how I've been acting these past few days, and I can understand if you don't want to forgive me, but please trust me and hand Sora over!" Christie was blinking and breathing hard. Unfortunatly, she was getting more water than air. "Please!" Riku begged.
I have to trust him, she thought, handing Sora over. It was getting difficult to stay above surface. Riku dragged Sora into the boat then held his hand out to Christie. She only had time to glance at him before her arms and legs stopped moving. She heard him cry out her name as she fell back into the water.
She was falling ... falling ... she didn't remember the water being this deep when she dove down to get Sora. If she wasn't already underwater, she'd probably be crying. Not because she was going to die, but because she hadn't talked to her family and friends before dying ... because the last thing she'd ever see was two best friends fighting for her.
She saw two angels coming for her. She tried to smile at them, but she found herself too weak. So she let them come. They reached out and grabbed her arms. Their hands are so warm ... and so ... so ... familiar ... she thought. She looked at one and knew she knew him, and saw him very recently, but she couldn't place it. Oh, she said to herself, a very faint smile appearing on her lips, it's Sora. I'm sorry, Sora - I let you die. She looked over to the other one, and was instantly confused. What's Riku doing here? He shouldn't be dead.
They began swimming back up to the surface. Riku and Sora both gasped for breath. Riku quickly jumped into the boat a pulled Christie in, then Sora. Riku flipped her onto her stomach and thumped her back. "C'mon, Christie, breathe, breathe," he said.
Christie coughed up water and began gasping for breath - which she found difficult when the two boys had bearhugged her.
"Thank you so much!" Sora said, smiling.
"You saved us both!" Riku said, grinning and crying.
They let go of her and she coughed some more and smiled shyly at them. "No, not really," she muttered, trying to sound humble. "But your welcome, anyway."
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"Christie, Kairi, are you two ready yet?" Riku called into the door of the washroom.
"Nuh-uh, not yet!" Kairi called back.
"Be patient!" Christie said, giggling.
Riku and Sora looked at each other, each of them raising one eyebrow. "Hurry up!" Sora whined.
"Okay, okay, we're coming out now," Kairi said.
Both boys stood side-by-side, each in their own tuxedos. Looking at them now, the only guess that they had been fighting was they each had a black eye. The door opened a crack and Christie's head appeared around it. "Go downstairs," she said, grinning.
"What? Why?" Riku asked.
Kairi's head appeared. "Just do it!"
Sora looked at Riku and shrugged. "Women," Riku muttered as they both trodded down the stairs.
Sora smirked. "I can't wait to see what Kairi is wearing - and what Christie is wearing too." He swallowed as he noticed Riku staring at him through the corner of his eye. "But mostly Kairi," he corrected quickly.
Riku laughed. "Don't worry, I don't think Christie and I'll be dating anymore."
There was a small cough behind the two boys and they each turned around. "I take that back," Riku said, "I take that so far back."
Both girls wore the same style of poofy ball-gowns that resembled Belle's, from Beauty and the Beast. Christie's was dark blue with a lavender trim, while Kairi's was white with a pink trim. In Christie's hair was some small, violet flowers, and Kairi's hair was decorated with a pink and white carnation.
Christie blushed and looked at her hands, playing with her small, gold bracelet as Kairi spoke. "Do you like it?" The red-head asked.
"Yes," both boys said simutaneously.
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"I heard what you told Sora, Riku," Christie said quietly. "And I don't think we should date anymore, either."
The two of them walked along the bridge. Sora and Kairi were far ahead, chatting loudly. Riku looked at Christie sadly. "Why?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Because I'm not from here. I came here suddenly, I can leave suddenly, too."
Riku nodded. "You're right." He held out his elbow to her. "But we can still be friends, right?"
Christie smiled and wrapped her hand around his arm. "Of course."
When the couple reached the beach, everyone turned to stare at them.
"Nice eye, Riku!" Someone called from the back. "Christie slugged you up badly, ya?"
The crowd errupted in laughter and Riku let out a few nervous laughs. "I'm going to go get some punch - err ... something to drink." He said, sidestepping away.
Christie giggled slightly, when Selphie skipped up to her. "So!" She started. "What're you gonna sing for us tonight?"
The blonde stared at the other girl blankly. "What? Sing?"
A duh! expression crossed Selphie's face. "Of course! Sora said you were going to do.
Christie's mouth opened and closed as if she had something to say but the words wouldn't come out. She began to inch away. "I ... have to ... uhm ... go ... uhh ... stuff." She muttered, walking away very quickly.
She pushed her way through the crowd - ignoring anyone who happened to shout out anything with the words "sing" or "song" in it - until she reached the punch and snack table, where she found Sora, Kairi and Riku chatting. Riku looked somewhat upset.
"Sora!" She shouted.
He turned around, smiling at her. "Yeah?"
Christie's eye twitched. "What did you tell them?" She asked, her teeth clenched her mouth barely opening in between words.
Sora's smile stayed, but a worried look spread it's way across his eyes. "I told you so," Riku muttered, glaring at the back of Sora's head.
"U-uh ... ah ... that ... that you were going to sing for us tonight ... ?" He stuttered.
Christie's eye twitched again and her jaw dropped. "I'm going to keeeel yew." She hissed.
Sora's smile disappeared and he took a small step backwards. He was saved when Christie's attention was distracted by a shout of "Grandfather Roujin!" from the front of the crowd. The rest of the party began to mutter as they all headed for the docks.
"Grandfather Roujin?" She asked Riku, who was smiling.
"Yes, he's the only person on the Destiny Islands ever to venture out into the world!" Riku replied. He took her by the wrist and dragged her to the docks, closely followed by Sora and Kairi.
"Grandfather Roujin!" Sora called out as he pushed his way to the front. He ran out to the dock to greet the very small rowboat. Christie squinted, but could only see a large pile of dirty rags.
She stared as the rags began to move and shift. There was a small cough as the boat stopped, and the rags got taller. Sora held his arms out and gently lifted the pile onto the dock. The rags turned around to show the face of an old man peeking through them. He lifted his hand up to his mouth and cough again. There was still some muttering as Sora followed Grandfather Roujin as he walked up to Riku and Kairi. Smiling, he hugged them both, then turned his attention to Christie. He pulled down his hood and smiled at her. "You must be Christie." He said.
Christie nodded as the muttering started again. "Yes, that's right. How do you know?"
Grandfather Roujin smiled. "I learned it, kodomo. I also happen to learn you're quite good at singing." A sly grin spread across his face.
Christie could hear some of the people behind her agree and she blushed and shook her head wildly. "No ... !" She whined. "No, no, no!"
"I think you should, kodomo." Grandfather Roujin said. He leaned in and whispered, "it just might help you get home." The blood drained from Christie's face as Roujin held out a cloth bag to her. "Just in case you go anywhere tonight." He said, winking.
Roujin walked away and Christie looked into the bag. It was all her clothes. Her mind was filling up with a thousand questions. "Grandfather Roujin?" She heard Sora say. She walked through the crowd, who politly moved out of the way for her, and stood in between Sora and Riku.
"Yes, Sora?" Roujin replied, taking a sip of punch.
"Why are you back so soon? I mean, we're happy to see you back, but we weren't expecting you for another year." Sora asked.
The old man smiled. "Well, you see, I was on my way to the island of Mordenz - " he paused, watching everybody sit down (except Christie, who blushed and sat down quickly after everyone else did), " - when I saw this shimmering light. At first, I thought nothing of it. So I continued, and as soon as I reached Mordenz, their elder, Drendes - whom I'm fairly good friends with - met me at the port. I asked him if he saw the shimmering light fly across the sky. 'Yes', he said, 'it was a girl, trapped in this world from a world like no other.'
'How do you know this?' I asked. 'I saw it many, many nights ago.' The elder replied. 'A voice like no other, she has - deep like an eagle, strange like a raven, beautiful like a dove. Old Roujin, you must get back to your Destiny Islands and ask her to sing one thousand words at the place most beautiful, where the moon hits itself. That is the only way she will get back to her world.'
'How will I know her?' I asked. 'A young child, she is. When you get back to your island, she will be standing beside the one you call Riku. She goes by Christie. Now hurry - things will only come to pass if you leave now.' So I jumped back into my rowboat and headed back. When I got here, Drendes was right." Roujin looked at Christie. "I am most interested in hearing your voice of three birds."
Christie blushed. "I'm more interested in knowing where the 'place most beautiful' is. I don't know where the moon would hit its -" she cut herself off. In the distance, she noticed the island with the mountain. " ... self." She finished. She looked at Riku. "I have to sing in the crystal cave." She said to him.
He stood up. "Well, then, come on - let's go!" He said, smiling.
Christie, Sora and Kairi stood up as well. "But Riku," Christie muttered. "Drendes said I have to sing a song with a thousand words - I don't know a song like that!"
"Maybe you have to sing more than one song?" Kairi asked.
Roujin walked up to them. "Drendes has a funny way of riddling. He could have meant precisly that."
"C'mon you guys," Sora said, smiling. "We can figure it out once we get there."
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Aw, don't you guys just hate me? XD
Sorry, but this chapter was getting way too long! We'll figure out what Drendes means in part 2! (Feel free to guess, but I won't tell you if you're right! NYAH-HA-HA!)
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