Chapter Three: Destiny Islands: Day Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Etc, etc.

Notes: WOW. It's been a WHILE! Seriously. I'm bad, I know. I was pretty sure I'd given up on this story and all of my others but I just had a sudden burst of inspiration. Anyway, I'm going to try my best to continue on after such a long break from this, I can't promise it'll be anything spectacular but I'm going to try, and I'll be using similar methods to last time. See Ch. 1 Notes +

Not everything may be EXACTLY like the game. There may be some things I'll exaggerate/add in for extra detail! I know this may seem like a big change in writing style from previous chapters but it has been a long time, and I want to try something new to make it a more enjoyable read.

It was a blissful day for the inhabitants of Destiny Islands, particularly the trio of Sora, Riku and Kairi. They had just finished their raft which had taken quite an effort to make. Only one problem remained: their raft was nameless. Though that was a matter Riku addressed right away.

"Hey, Sora. Our raft still needs a name. Let's see… How about Highwind?" After announcing his name of choice however, he seemed to realize he hadn't given Sora any chance to give his input. "What would you call it?" He added.

Sora twisted up his face in thought. He really wanted to think of a great name for the raft. "Me? Well… Hm… Excalibur! " He was proud of the name, even though it was one he had thought of in only mere seconds, it felt like a good choice.

His answer brought a familiar glint to Riku's eye, yes Sora knew it well. A challenge was coming.

"Hey, how 'bout…" Riku didn't even need to finish his sentence for Sora to know what he was going to say.

"The usual?" He replied.

"Let's do it!" Riku exclaimed. Obviously unsurprised by his friend's answer.

It almost seemed like all three friends were on the same wave length, because only mere seconds after their challenge, the two boys heard Kairi calling out to them from the bridge above. "You guys a it again? All right, I'll be the judge." Competitions like this were common occurrences.

"The usual rules apply: Take any route you want… First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins." Kairi recited the rules with ease, you could safely say she had them memorized.

"If I win, I'm captain! And if you win…" Sora began, making the final negotiations before the race started.

"I get to share the paopu with Kairi." Riku finished, laying out his terms.

"Huh?" Sora questioned, he certainly wasn't expecting Riku to say anything like this.

"Deal?" Riku asked turning to him, not commenting on his friend's reaction. The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."

"Wha… Wait a minute…" But there was no time for further discussion, Kairi had already began the countdown.

"Okay, on my count. Three, Two, One, Go!"

On the final word, all of Sora's previous thoughts were washed from his mind. He always took his competitions with Riku seriously, and this was probably the highest the stakes had ever been set. He had to win.

Before he knew it, Sora was running. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, as fast as he had ever gone, he was sure. Something about Riku sharing the Paopu with Kairi just made him feel odd. Maybe it was because he would feel left out of a bond?

Soon the two boys were neck and neck, the wind was whipping at Sora's face, and the surrounding landscape seemed to pass in a blur. He was only focusing on the goal.

He crossed bridges, ran through water, and who knows what else. And that's when he saw it, his goal, the tree was only feet away. He jumped to it with surprising accuracy. Reaching it only seconds before Riku.

The race was only half over though, he still needed to make it back to the starting point. Forcing himself to stay at the same speed, he headed back to the location where he could just see Kairi standing.

Next thing he knew, he was right there in front of her. It all happened so fast he could barely remember it. All he knew now was that his lungs seemed to be on the verge of exploding, and his legs were ready to fall off.

"Now the scores two to one!" Sora exclaimed victoriously, panting in between words.

"Man, lighten up. It's just a name, after all." Riku said, seeming unaffected by his recent loss.

Sora couldn't help but shoot his friend a look.

Deciding he and Riku probably needed a little space, Sora went off to see what Kairi was doing. It didn't take him long to find her either. She was standing on their newly finished raft, and seemed to be happy to see Sora when he came her way.

"Today we collect provisions for our trip! She informed him, before he even got the chance to ask what she was up to.

Kairi seemed to be in what could best be called a 'take charge mode'. She already had Sora's task thought up.

"Let's see, Sora, you're looking for... One Seagull Egg. Three Mushrooms. Two Coconuts. Three Fish. And fill this up with Drinking Water. But not from the ocean!"

She then handed Sora an empty bottle, which he assumed was for the drinking water Kairi had requested. "Bring everything back here. If you need help, just ask."

And with that, he was on his way.

After a long adventure of item hunting, he looked at his findings. One Seagull Egg, Two Mushrooms, Two Coconuts, Three Fish, Drinking Water. It all seemed to be there, but he couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.

And that was when it hit him, he only had two mushrooms, and Kairi wanted three!

He immediately knew where to go.

The Secret Place. Mushrooms grew there from time to time, he was sure he'd be able to find them.

Sora knew the way to the secret place well, so it didn't take him long to reach it. He entered and made his way to the center of the cave, and spotted what he was looking for.

He stuffed the mushroom in his pocket and began to make is way out of the cave when something caught his eye.

Old drawings he and Kairi had made on the cave walls when they were younger. He traced his fingers along the pictures fondly, reminiscing.

His trip down memory lane was cut short though, when he had the strangest, intense feeling he was being watched. He rose to his feet and looked around.

"Wh-Who's there?" He called out, his voice shaky.

"I've come to see the door to this world." Said a strange, unfamiliar hooded man whom Sora noticed behind him.

"Huh?"

"This world has been connected." The man said, as if that were supposed to make things clear.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Sora was trying to hide the fear and confusion in his voice.

"Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this. Huh? Wh-
Where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."

"So, you're from another world!" Sora could slowly feel his curiosity eclipsing his fear.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out
There!"

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand
Nothing."

Sora turned to take a glance at the door inside the cave, the one he never could open. When he looked back, the hooded man was gone.

Ending Notes: Heh, yeah it kind of ended in a weird place, and I know this chapter wasn't too eventful but that's not exactly my fault right? I'm just tired and I felt like everything was just dragging on and I didn't feel like writing more.

But yeah, read, review, tell me what you think about the new writing style/added detail. Constructive criticism is accepted if it's given maturely.