Finally, one chapter is finished! I'm already working on the second chapter, might update the story twice today. But I'm so happy, I got Dirge of Cerberus yesterday! Yay! The games rock!
Chapter 1
Destiny Islands
"So, can you gather the rest of the supplies?" Sora asked Kairi, putting his hands behind his back and giving her his sweetest smile.
She blinked, confused. What? Kairi put one hand behind her head, looking up into the tree benches as she tried to remember what it was that Sora was talking about.
His face twisted ever so slightly in anger. He leaned forward, getting up into Kairi's face, his meanest, angriest face having replaced his smile. "Kairi, are you listening to me?"
Kairi looked back into his face; blinked once or twice, and then smiled, letting out a light, care free laugh. "Sorry, what was that again?"
Sora's face twisted as to himself look meaner (though it didn't work very well), then let out an exasperated sigh. He shook his head sadly at Kairi. "Geez. We can't build a raft without materials right?"
He then took a few steps forward and began to pace back and forth as though he was a general in the army, giving orders to the soldiers. Kairi sighed helplessly. She crossed her arms behind her head and smiled at Sora.
"Here's what we need." He then faced Kairi and began to list, using his fingers to number them. "Two logs. One cloth. One rope." Sora smiled again, putting his hands behind him once again. "Bring everything back here. If you need help, just ask." He then winked at Kairi and gave her a thumbs up. "I'm counting on you!"
Kairi nodded in reply and began to hurry away. Sora smiled as he called after her.
"No more slacking, okay?"
She could've laughed at how military he had seemed, not to mention the motherly call that had come after. But now was no time for that. She had to hurry up and find all those supplies for the raft. What had been the first?
Her footsteps slowed as her eye caught on something jutting out of the sand by the edge of the water. One log. Kairi grinned and walked toward it, bending over to scoop it up into her hands. Her grin widened as she tucked the log under one arm.
"One log down, one more to go!" Kairi said aloud with a laugh as she raced away to find the rest of the materials.
The entire layout of Destiny Islands was embedded in Kairi's memory so well, that she knew exactly where to find all of Sora's demanded supplies. Right smack in the middle of the island was a large tree that was, in most places, hollow. They had built a series of wooden platforms all around it, jutting out of the side of the tree. There were two levels of platforms, connected by a wooden ladder. The top level had a railing around it so as to prevent anyone falling from it.
The cloth was in the hollow of the tree that had been made as a hideout for when it rained and they didn't want to stay in the shack that they had built on the beach. Kairi climbed up the various ladders to reach the hollow. Nobody was inside, so obviously no one was going to need the cloth. She pulled the white cloth down from the wall and wrapped it around the log.
"Hmm," Kairi murmured as she turned the cloth into a simple bag. "Why did we ever put a piece of cloth up here in the first place?"
Kairi shrugged, turning on her heel and heading back outside of the hollow. She slid down the ladder and jumped down from the first level platform to the ground. But as she did so, she misjudged the distance from the edge of the rock and ended up slipping on some moss and falling face first into the sand. Kairi pulled her face out of the sand, spitting out the grains that ended up in her mouth and wiping them off her face.
"Wow, that was a real spill, ya?"
She turned around to face the speaker, rising slowly to her feet. There stood one of the boys from her dream. he stood with his volleyball tucked one arm, putting his weight all on one leg, giving him an almost cocky stance as he smiled at Kairi. Kairi found it surreal to be seeing him now after the strange dream she'd had. She shook her head slightly to the side and then grinned at him.
"Hey Wakka," she replied, reaching for the log and cloth that had landed a ways from her. She put the log back into the makeshift bag and threw it over one shoulder.
Wakka grinned and pointed at the log. "What's that for?"
"It's for our raft," Kairi replied with a smile. "Sora's orders," she added with a wink.
Wakka laughed heartily, throwing his head back. "I won't ask any more, then. I know how that boy is. He thinks he owns the island or somethin', ya?" He tossed his volleyball up into the air then caught it on one finger. He then gave Kairi a mischievous look, his smile deepening.
"So… You up for a round?" He held out a wooden sword for Kairi and winked.
Kairi laughed lightly, taking the wooden sword from Wakka and dropping the log and cloth on the ground near a rock. She was kind of in a hurry, but…how could she turn down a challenge from Wakka?
"Sure, let's play."
"Play is for kids," Wakka told her. "This is serious."
Kairi smiled, crossing the sand so that she and Wakka stood opposite of each other, dragging the sword as to make a line in the sand. Wakka moved toward his position on the beach as well. He laughed from the other side, and yelled, "Show me your stuff!"
With that, Wakka threw his volleyball toward Kairi, who merely stepped out of the way, propping her wooden sword up on one shoulder. She laughed at Wakka, who had to run over and pick up his ball before he could resume. Kairi stood ready to receive, having figured out a way to "help" Wakka with getting that ball of his back.
As Wakka spun around on his heel, ready to serve the ball again, Kairi grinned, "Gimme your best shot!"
"Oh, you're gonna eat those words, Kairi!" Wakka yelled, rearing back and throwing the ball with all his might.
Kairi struck the ball right back at Wakka with her sword, who yelled in alarm as the ball headed straight for him. The ball flew right back into his hands, but the impact had sent Wakka in a state of confusion. Dizzy and disoriented, he began to throw the ball randomly in the air. Kairi shouted out as one just missed her head. She then grinned, picking up the ball. She tossed it straight up in the air, and, using her sword as if it was like a baseball bat, smacked the ball toward Wakka. The ball hit Wakka right in the chest this time and knocked him off his feet.
Kairi gasped, dropping the sword into the sand and hurried toward Wakka. "Aw, man, are you okay!"
Wakka grinned up at Kairi dizzy. "Man, that really hurt," he murmured with a smile, admitting defeat. He recovered quickly, shaking off the dizziness and getting up onto feet. He laughed lightly and held his hand out toward Kairi. "That was a good match, ya?"
Kairi sighed with relief and shook Wakka by the hand. "Yeah, great match."
"Still no match for Riku though, ya?" Wakka said, taking his hand back.
Kairi's smile faded slightly at the words. "Yeah, I guess not." She pushed the thought away as she picked up the wooden sword and tucked into her belt. She turned and grinned at Wakka as she continued on her little mission to gather stuff for the raft. "See ya later, Wakka!"
Still not good enough for Riku, huh?
The next item Sora had asked for was a rope. She knew where she could find one of those.
At the edge of the island there was another large tree. It was half on the island and half in the water. It wasn't as big as the one in the center of the island, nor was it hallow. Because of that, they'd built a platform in the big depression between the branches. It too, had a small railing on the sides. Nobody wanted to end up falling into shallow water. But to reach the platform, one had to climb up the ladder. It wasn't extremely long ladder, but it was most certainly one of the longest on the island.
Kairi jumped back up onto the gravel platform and headed toward that area. She knew for sure that she'd find a rope there. With the log wrapped in the cloth over one shoulder, Kairi grabbed hold of the rungs and began to climb the ladder as quickly as she could. She scrambled over onto the wooden platform and headed toward the flat that they had built there.
It was when she was standing in the center of that wide platform that Kairi realized. This was where she had been in her dream. This was where she had been interviewed. Her eyes grew wide as she remembered seeing the three of them, and their strange, hard, cold eyes…
She shook the memory off and headed for the rope that she could see lying on the ground just in front of her. Kairi grabbed the rope and tucked it into the bag, then spun on one heel. She was shocked to find Tidus up on the platform as well. He was practicing swinging around that red stick of his.
It was weird seeing him right after the dream as well, just as it had been with Wakka. There he was, with his shorts that were longer on one leg then the other and his yellow and white jacket. Kairi grinned.
"Hey!"
Tidus stopped swinging for a moment and turned around slowly to look at Kairi. He swiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, running a hand through his spiky dirty blonde hair.
"Hey Kairi!" Tidus's grin widened even more as he clutched the red staff in his hands, a challenging look coming over his face. "You feel lucky today?"
Kairi laughed, throwing the materials she'd gathered over her shoulder. "Not now, Tidus, maybe some other time."
Tidus made a face. "Come on, Kairi, be a man!"
"Hey, I'm kinda busy right now," Kairi replied with a sigh. "I'm on a mission. Sora's orders."
Tidus laughed at that, folding his arms over his chest, a mocking gleam in his eye. "Oh, so it's like that, huh?"
Kairi cast a death glance over at Tidus, which soon turned into lopsided smile. "Tomorrow, okay? I promise!" She then spun on her heel as she resumed her little mission. Tidus cupped his hands over his mouth and called after her, "Why would you want to cross the ocean? Sword fights beat that any day!"
She laughed at the comment, casting one final glance in Tidus's direction, and then slid down the ladder as quickly as she could. She was just about to head back to Sora when she caught sight of Selphie sitting at the edge of the dock. Kairi grinned mischievously to herself as she quietly snuck up behind her, doing her best to not make the wooden planks of the deck creak. She wasn't very far in front of her now. Just a few more steps. Kairi's grin deepened as she got ready to grab her by the shoulders…
"Don't… even."
Her face fell as she turned around, her short auburn hair swishing into her face, with happy little grin on her face. "Hey Kairi!" she chirped happily. "What're you up to these days? We never see you."
Kairi shrugged helplessly, adjusting her hold on the cloth bag. "We've been busy."
Selphie frowned slightly, putting on her puppy dog face.
"Come on, tell me what you're planning," she said, somewhat sadly. And then suddenly her face changed, her eyes growing slightly wide and her gaze switching from Kairi's face to a blank stare. "Actually, never mind." She looked back up at Kairi and smiled. "I'll find out on my own."
She could hardly help but laugh. "Alright then, Selph. Catch ya later!" Kairi jumped down from the dock into the sandy beach. She turned around slightly and winked. "Off to do some 'top secret' business!"
Selphie's face twisted angrily. "Hey, no fair!"
Kairi's laughter echoed down the beach as she headed back toward where Sora was waiting for her, the bag of materials bouncing on her shoulder as she ran. She hopped up toward Sora, holding the bag out for him. He turned to look at her from where he was leaning against the doorway and smiled. "Hey, that was quick! Thanks, Kairi."
He took the bag from her with both hands and peered inside, making sure of the contents. "Let's see what's still missing?" His face brightened as he remembered, his head snapping upward and her gaze turning back to Kairi. "One more log!"
Kari sighed. "One more log?"
Sora smiled. "That's right! Come on, Kairi, I'm counting on you!"
How could she refuse when he put it that way? "Alright, I'll find it."
She spun around and walked back onto the beach, toward the shack. One more log? Where could she find another log…? She smiled as the memory returned to her. Kairi pushed open the door of the shack and hurried up the stairs. After all, there was nothing inside that shack except for those stairs. She opened the door at the top and stumbled back outside. Here, there was a bridge that led over to a part of the island that stuck out like a plateau. It wasn't too far from the main part of the island. It was still perfectly connected to the rest of the island. But they liked to consider it as this unusual little dot on the side of it, since it was separated by some water.
She was almost sure that she'd seen a log here before. Kairi hurried across the wooden bridge and grinned as she caught sight of the log sitting on the edge. She hurried over toward it, but just as she was about to grab hold of it, she heard a voice coming from behind her.
"Hey, Kairi!"
She turned slowly around and saw Riku sitting on the truck of one of the trees. The tree was bent over, so it was perfect to relax on. They were never able to figure out what happened to it that it swerve the way it did, but no one ever complained. It was the perfect seat. And there Riku sat, one knee pulled up close to him and his arms propping him up in his sitting position. "Did you get everything we need for the raft? I already gave my stuff to Sora."
Kairi smiled. "Well, I need this last log."
Riku grinned. "That can wait a little while longer. How about a quick round?"
Suddenly Kairi remembered what Wakka had said earlier about Riku. And something inside her began to boil over. Kairi's smile turned slightly vicious as she grabbed onto the hilt of her wooden sword.
"Okay, you're on!"
"This one decides the champion!" Riku said with a grin.
Riku hopped down from his seat on the bent tree trunk. He and Kairi glared at each other as they headed toward the center of the plateau, swords in hand. They stood facing each other, Kairi already in her battle stance, her sword gripped in two hands. Riku stood as cocky as ever, still fiddling with his sword slightly, tapping the edge of it into the palm of his left hand. His smile deepened as he watched Kairi with his green eyes.
"Ready or not!" he taunted.
Kairi could feel herself shake slightly. She wasn't sure if it was rage or fear, but she could feel the blood pumping in her ears. All she could hear was Wakka's words, repeating over and over again. It felt like both a challenge and a curse. And all Kairi knew at that moment was that she did not like the idea of always having to be second best to Riku.
She clenched her sword tightly between her hands and watched Riku's every move very carefully. Riku made the first move. He leapt high into the air and landed right behind Kairi. Kairi's eyes widened and she hurried out of the way as Riku got ready to swing his sword. Kairi ran forward as Riku took his swing, missing her only slightly. Kairi took advantage and hurried right back, charging at Riku with her sword, swinging the wood with all her might. But Riku was just too quick. He swung his sword backhand, as though it was tennis racket, countering Kairi's blow. Kairi gritted her teeth at the backslash of the countermove. She refused to give in.
She swung her sword again, this time lower. Once again, Riku continued his move. But this time, Kairi had been ready for it. She kept the sword's movement going and brought the sword back into an overhead swing. It stuck Riku in his shoulder. Riku grunted in pain, stepping back slightly. Unfortunately for Kairi, Riku was quick to recover. Riku swung his sword toward Kairi, managing to scratch the material of Kairi's shirt as she jumped away.
Kairi backed up slightly, then turned on her heel and ran to get some distance between them. The two then faced each other, the tips of their swords pointed at each other as they circled. Kairi gritted her teeth and launched herself forward, swinging at Riku furiously. Riku blocked every one of her moves. He smiled.
"You still don't got it," he said with a short chuckle as he pushed Kairi back.
She could hardly stand those words. Kairi narrowed her eyes at Riku as he got ready to charge again. Kairi ran straight for Riku, her sword ready. Riku only smiled at the charge, already set to deliver another blow. But as Riku took his swing, Kairi jumped up and over Riku's head, turning slightly in the air and stuck Riku in the back.
Riku stumbled forward, shocked. He looked over at Kairi, his eyes wide in surprise. Kairi could hardly help but smile. Her smile seemed malicious. "Come on," she taunted, pleased with herself.
Riku smiled back, turning around. "Now it's my turn."
Kairi gritted her teeth and clutched her wooden sword tightly in her hands. She didn't like the way Riku had said that. It sounded mocking. And then her ears began to roar with the sound of Wakka's voice, telling her that she would always be second best to Riku. Kairi charged forward and jumped over Riku's head. Kairi spun in mid-air and stuck him again, but this time Riku turned around so that he fell onto his back. And as Kairi planted both feet on the ground and spun to face Riku, she ended up with an unpleasant Chinese get-up kick to the gut, which ended up knocking Kairi off the plateau and into the water below.
Kairi surfaced with a loud gasp for air.
"Still not enough, Kairi!" Riku called from above. "You still need a little more training!"
Kairi's face fell as she pulled herself out of the water and began to climb the ladder back up to the plateau. Riku grabbed Kairi's shirt and helped her pull back topside. They looked at each other full in the face for a long, silent time before they both burst out laughing, their faces deep red. Riku pulled Kairi into a headlock and gave her a friendly noogie before releasing her and they both continued to laugh out loud. As soon as they had calmed down, Kairi tossed the wooden sword to one side and plopped down into a cross-legged position. She then looked up into the sky.
"Man… now the score's zero to one," Kairi sighed.
Riku grinned. "Better luck next time," he told her, giving Kairi a pat on the back. He then reached over and picked up the log, holding it out for Kairi. "Here. Better get this back to Sora, huh?"
Kairi gazed at the log and grabbed it hesitantly. She looked up at Riku and smiled to cover up her disappointment. "Yeah, I'd better."
As Kairi rose to her feet and headed back to Sora, Riku seated himself back on the trunk of the bent over tree. He watched Kairi intently as she jumped from the bridge to the beach below and ran to where Sora was still waiting. He then turned away and chuckled slightly to himself, a slight blush on his face.
Kairi handed the log over to Sora and then continued to squeeze the water out of her shirt and skirt. Sora took the log from her and titled his head to one side. "What happened to you?"
She looked over at him and smiled. "Nothing, don't worry about it."
Sora smiled knowingly, one eyebrow raised. "You and Riku went at it again, didn't you?"
She froze and said nothing. She merely grunted in response. That boy was awfully perceptive sometimes. Sora shrugged it off and put one hand on Kairi's shoulder.
"Thanks, Kairi!" He then began to reach into his pocket. "I found something today, too. Here, it's yours." He grabbed Kairi's hand and put a bottle labeled "Hi-Potion" into her palm. "Considering your little spat with Riku, I guess you're gonna need it."
Kairi smiled slightly and put it away. "Thanks, Sora."
Sora smiled, putting his hands behind his back. "Tired? Want to call it a day?"
"Yeah, let's go home," Kairi said with a stretch.
"Okay," Sora replied with a slight giggle. "It is getting late. We'll finish up tomorrow."
The three sat together watching the sun set from the plateau, as they usually did before returning home. Kairi and Sora were seated on the trunk of the bent over tree, while Riku leaned against the base. They merely sat and gazed at the horizon as the cloud and ocean turned orange and red as the sun began to vanish beneath the waves. Each of them lost their own thoughts.
Sora was the first to speak.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" he asked, turning to look at his friends.
Kairi smiled to herself, continuing to look into the sunset, swinging her legs back and forth as they waited for Riku to answer. His eyes were firmly on the vision of the setting sun, his arms folded over his chest. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face. He didn't even look at his friends as he answered.
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here."
"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora prompted, leaning forward a bit more.
"Who knows?" Riku said with a slight gesture of his hand. He folded his arms once again. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So, suppose you get to another world," Kairi began with a giggle. "What would you do there?"
"Hmm. Well, I haven't really thought about it," he answered haltingly, still refusing to look at either Kairi or Sora. "It's just…"
Sora turned his attention back to the sunset, rocking back and forth as he sat on the tree trunk. The whole raft thing was Riku's idea in the first place. Though Sora was curious to hear what Riku had to say, he decided that if Riku didn't want to look them in the face as he spoke, then he didn't really want to either.
"I've always wondered why we've here, on this island," Riku continued. "If there are other worlds out there, why did we end on this one? And, suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of much greater. So, we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
Riku turned to look at them for the first time. Sora turned slightly, looking over at Riku out of the corner of his eye, then shrugged and leaned back onto the bent tree trunk. He put his arms behind his head and dangled his legs over both sides of the trunk, starring up at the sky where dark blue met orange.
"I don't know," he said nonchalantly.
Kairi looked over at Sora, an almost exasperated look on her face. Riku smiled slightly at Sora's action and returned to the horizon.
"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out." Riku took a few steps forward, his hands dropping down to his sides. His green eyes seemed to glow as they remained fixated on the fiery sunset that bathed the entire island in an orange glow. "Just sitting won't change a thing."
As Kairi listened to Riku, she looked up into the sky, smiling and shaking her head from side to side as though she'd heard the story a thousand times. Sora let out a sigh and rolled his head so that he was looking out into the horizon. He still didn't understand Riku, after all these years. He was always searching for something bigger, while Sora had always been fairly content with what they had. What difference did any of it make?
"It's the same old stuff," Sora heard him say. "So let's go."
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi said, looking over at Riku. The tone in her voice was so solemn that Sora wasn't sure whether or not it was really her.
Riku turned around and looked Kairi full in the face. A slight smile crossed his face as he looked at her. "Thanks to you."
Sora's eyes widened slightly and his jaw dropped open. His head rolled slightly so that he was looking over at Kairi and Riku. For a moment, he thought he ought to say something, but he couldn't think of a single sensible thing to say. He watched them warily for a moment, and then reluctantly returned his attention to the blazing sun.
"If you hadn't come here," he could hear Riku continue, "I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."
Kairi smiled slightly at Riku and nodded. "You're welcome."
Sora walked in front of them all as they began to walk toward the boats near at dock, ready to head back to the mainland and join their families for dinner. Kairi dragged her feet, kicking into the holes between the planks of the bridge. She didn't really like going home, but then again she was pretty hunger. She looked at Sora. What about herself? She didn't remember much about her home life. She didn't think that she lived with her family anymore. If that was the case, then…
"Kairi!"
She turned at the sound of her name, looking back where Riku was. Riku smiled as he tossed a star shaped object at her. Kairi managed to catch it clumsily and cradled it in her hands, examining it carefully. It was a yellow star shaped fruit, clearly freshly picked, since parts of the vine was still sticking out from some of its points.
"You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku asked, pointing at it.
"A paopu fruit…?"
She looked up at Riku, confused. She'd wanted one? She couldn't remember ever asking for one. What was Riku thinking?
Riku smiled as he resumed walking. "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what."
Kairi gazed at the paopu fruit intently, hooked on the story Riku had just told her. Maybe… she did want one… Riku laughed slightly to himself as he reached the end of the bridge, glancing over at Kairi.
"C'mon, I know you want to try it!"
Now maybe it was the light from the sunset, but Kairi's turned slightly red. "What're you talkin'-"
Riku laughed at Kairi, interrupting her sentence as he continued toward the docks. Kairi looked first at Riku, then at the paopu fruit. Riku's story began to repeat itself in her head.
'If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined…"
She stole a glance in Sora's direction, and then immediately returned her gaze to the fruit.
'They'll remain a part of each other's lives… No matter what…"
Kairi let go a long breath. It was just a legend. There was no need to get so worked up over a legend about a fruit. Just because it was shaped like a star. It wasn't like that meant anything. She slowly shifted the fruit into her right hand, and then, taking one last long look at it, hesitantly tossed over the edge of the bridge.
'H-How stupid,' she thought to herself angrily.
And with that, Kairi took off in a run.
After she ran off, a sphere appeared, surrounding it was a pink light, inside the sphere was some sort of creature, it tilted its head as it watched Kairi run to the docks, but instead of seeing the fourteen year old girl, it saw a frightened eight year old girl, surrounded by three boys, one had spiky brown hair, another had short sliver hair, and the third boy had short black hair. A slight smile appeared on the girl's face; together the four ran off somewhere. The sphere disappeared to a new world.
A/N: Mew was the creature in the sphere, and it'll play an important part of the story. Something frightened Kairi in her past, so Sora, Riku, and a unknown boy comforted her, and they run to someplace together. I'll maybe reveal that unknown boy later in the story. Next chapter the last two Heroines and their lives before they met. View my profile for the videos and dream avi verisons of their different appearances. Mew is the only pokemon I really like.