A Very Small Wish
By Tsukisamu Sayako
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. I do not own Sora, Roxas, Kairi, or Riku. They belong to Square Enix.
Author's Notes: Four short stories on wishes inspired by Fragrant meadow's "Hundred Paper Stars". No special rating needed since there's nothing that merited a T or M rating. Seriously…
Summary: I would make a thousand cranes to make my wish come true…
Sora didn't know when he started making them, but once he started, he found it difficult to stop. Yet when he stopped, he found it difficult to start. He sat at his desk staring at the paper birds that littered the entire surface save for one small clearing where he could make more. More birds surrounded the room, on the floor, on his dresser. It was as if the birds were alive and the room had become a sanctuary for the paper cranes.
A stack of colorful paper sat next to the small space and Sora just sat and stared.
"How many cranes have I made?" he asked aloud, trying to think back to the last time he made the cranes. A number popped into his head: "476". He frowned and breathed a sigh of melancholy before reaching out to pick up a piece of colored paper.
'Why are you making paper cranes?' Roxas's voice interrupted his mindset. Sora sighed, mentally counting the number of times Roxas had asked him the same question in the past week since he started.
"I have nothing else to do," he always replied. Internally, he always thought of the wish, hidden from Roxas's prying mind.
'I don't believe you,' Roxas said in his mind. Sora smiled knowingly.
"You never do." Roxas gave a small 'humph' and retreated from Sora's mind back to the Keyblade master's heart. Sora's smile grew and he began making cranes once again. The question that Roxas had posed to him refueled his determination to make his wish come true.
He continued to make paper cranes well into the evening, stopping only when his mother had called him down to dinner. At first he asked for five more minutes, but when his mother had come up to his room to get him down, only then did he cease his origami folding. She scolded him for making his room a mess littered with little cranes but said nothing about cleaning up.
After dinner, Sora returned to his room and looked at the colorful cranes that decorated the room. He sat in the chair in front of his desk and stared at the diminishing stack of colored paper, the vigor to continue with the project fading from him. A knock on his door drew him away from the desk and Sora was surprised to see his mom standing in the doorway with a spool of thread, a large dull needle, and a pair of small scissors.
"String the cranes up," she told him with a kind smile. Sora grinned at his mother before tenderly organizing the cranes into piles of 50. While her son organized the cranes, the mother began cutting the spool of thread. Together, the pair managed to make nearly 12 strings of cranes.
"I hope your wish comes true," Sora's mom commented while they worked.
"I hope it does too," replied Sora.
That night, Roxas could only wonder what the two meant.
A week passed since Sora last folded cranes and Roxas was content with the change of plans. Between school, Riku, and Kairi, Sora had no time to fold cranes. The strings of cranes remained on the desk next to the stack of colored papers, but Sora was rarely in his room unless he was about to sleep and that suited Roxas just fine.
Of course, what Roxas never planned on was a sudden torrential downpour over the Destiny Islands that would last for an entire week.
Sora stared out the wet window with sadness.
"Aw, man," he complained. "I wanted to go to Paopu Island today." He hit his forehead against the window pane lightly, sighing with annoyance. He drew back and lied down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling in boredom. A sudden realization dawned on him and he turned to look at his desk where the strings of cranes sat, collecting a light layer of dust. A sudden dread fell on part of his heart but he shook it off, knowing that Roxas didn't want him to continue his project again. He sat up on the bed and grinned as he walked over to his desk. His spirit lightened as he picked up a piece of the colored paper and folded it in half.
"I guess I'll finish my project this week," Sora said cheerfully to himself. In the back of his mind, his eyes softened as Roxas complained about being cooped up in Sora's room once again.
As Sora folded the pieces of paper, Roxas couldn't help but watch Sora's nimble hands manipulate each piece of paper into the shape that he desired.
"798," said Sora as he completed yet another crane, this time sky blue. He lifted the crane up to inspect it under the fluorescent lighting and smiled at its shadow. "Looks good doesn't it, Roxas?" he asked, knowing that his Nobody wouldn't answer even if he did like the crane. "Looks like the color of your eyes," he added softly before placing the crane down in the pile of cranes that was growing with each new crane.
He continued his project, stopped once again for dinner, and resumed his folding after dinner before stringing up another 50 cranes before he slept for the night.
The next day, Sora went to school, hung out with his friends, and trudged through the rain home.
He finished his homework in a breeze and began folding once again.
The rest of his week was the same until that fateful day.
It was a Saturday when the rain had stopped. Sora woke up bright and early and his eyes lit up when he saw no clouds in the sky and the sun shining down lovingly on Destiny Islands. With a loud "yes", Sora quickly got out of bed and left the house, all thoughts of the paper cranes fading from his mind
When he returned home that afternoon with Kairi in tow, the red-haired girl was surprised to see strings of paper cranes sitting on top of Sora's wooden desk, leaving no room for work. Sora blushed with embarrassment as he apologized for the lack of space and made a move to move the strings of cranes off the table.
"No, wait," said Kairi as she picked up a string of paper cranes, marveling at the intricate handwork that Sora put into making each crane. "How long have you been folding them?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.
"About three weeks, I think," Sora replied sheepishly. Kairi turned her eyes back onto the pile of stringed up paper cranes and picked up another string.
"How many have you folded?" Sora made a mental count and after a short while, finally came up with the number.
"973," he replied, picking up an unfinished string of cranes before placing it back onto the table.
"Are you going to finish it tonight?" she asked, putting the strings of cranes in her hand down as well.
"Well…"
"Let's finish it right now," Kairi suggested. Sora flustered and was speechless.
"Right now?" he asked with surprise. Kairi nodded.
"Of course now. You're almost done!" She then sat down in the chair and picked up a piece of colored paper.
"Stop!" he shouted, interrupting Kairi before she made the first fold in the paper. Kairi looked up at the brown-haired boy with shock before realizing what she had almost done.
"Sorry," she apologized, putting the piece of paper back on top of the stack. She got out of the chair and waited for Sora to sit down. The Keyblade master made no move to sit down and Kairi shook her head with amusement.
"Finish the cranes and we'll work on our project," she said. "You fold and I'll string them up."
Sora chewed on his lower lip and nodded quietly, sitting down on the chair while Kairi sat down on his bed, picking up the dull needle and the unfinished thread that held 23 cranes. Kairi wondered as she watched Sora folded each crane with delicate handwork. The carefulness that Sora put into each crane was surprising to the girl especially since she's known the boy to be rather active and indelicate. To see the other side of him warmed her heart and she smiled as Sora carefully but efficiently completed each crane. Soon, he had completed 26 cranes and was on the last one. With one last fold that formed the bird's head, Sora pulled the wings slightly apart to form the body of the crane.
Without another word, Kairi handed Sora the dull needle with the last string of the paper cranes and the brown-haired boy threaded the last paper crane onto the string, making a knot on the string to keep the cranes in place. He then picked up all 20 strings of paper cranes and tied them together to create a giant chandelier of paper cranes. He marveled at the end product and smiled happily at Kairi, who pointed at a hook placed on his ceiling over his bed. Sora climbed up his bed and hung the chandelier over his bed and stepped back down to admire the multitude of paper cranes that spun as the sea breeze blew over them from the open window.
The Keyblade master closed his eyes and made his wish. He then opened his eyes and smiled at his girlfriend.
"What did you wish for?" she asked with a smile.
"I wish that I can have Roxas as a friend."
Uh… no note is necessary here I think.