Kairi looked intently out the train window, concentrating on the hand-woven charm in her hand through it's reflection. Five tear-shaped shells tied into a star, perfectly binding a crown emblem in the center. She had made three, one for Sora, and another for Riku. The identical symbols were a sign of their friendship.
She couldn't remember a time in her life when she was without them, she knew there was... but she couldn't recall a time when they weren't there, constantly competing for her affection. She loved Sora without a doubt, his irresistable smile, the way she could always confide in him, things that she believed she could never tell Riku. But there was doubt. Riku's mysterious air, the smile that only she got to see. Riku intrigued her. The thought of her being the only person that could know him the way she did made her want to know more and more about him. Made her feel like she knew nothing about him. Made her doubt her love for Sora.
Doubt... Why, Riku? Why you?
"Kairi, are you alright?" Sora wore a concerned look in his eyes. She was sitting in front of him, in the seat facing hers, and Riku was next to him.
"Oh.. yeah." She smiled. "I was just thinking, that's all." Her eyes drifted back to the charm. "Do you guys still have the charms I made you?
"Haha of course." Sora dug into his pocket. and pulled out a star-shaped charm. But instead of Kairi's pale purple, his was a bright teal. "I don't go anywhere without it." He grinned.
Kairi smiled, and brushed her hair out of her bright indigo eyes. Then she turned her head to Riku and pouted. "How about you? Do you still have yours, Riku?"
"Yeah..." He smiled the same mysterious smile that he only gave Kairi. He tugged on a thread around his neck, pulling up a yellow-stained star from under his shirt.
She smiled again. "Never lose them, alright?"
"I never would." Riku said, tucking the "necklace" back into his shirt.
"Yeah," cheered Sora, hiding it back into his jacket pocket.
"APPROACHING TWILIGHT TOWN." droned the Train's P.A.
"It's about time," sighed Riku. He stood up, and pulled the 3 suitcases off of the shelf above their seats, handing Sora's to him, and then lifting the other two.
"Riku..." She pulled down the arm holding her bag. "I'll carry it myself." She attempted to lift it out of his hand, and stumbled, Riku wrapping his arm around her to keep her steady, as he did before.
He chuckled again, "Kairi, you fall over too much." He slowly released his grip. "Don't worry, I'll carry it."
"Hurry up!!" Sora shouted, waiting outside the train. They both headed for the door, and got out right before the automatic doors shut.
The trio looked around them, a town whose buildings were a golden brown shade.
"Alright, guys. The hotel is..." Sora was spying at a map of the town. Then he looked up and pointed in the direction of a large clock tower. "That way. The hotel is nice, I took one of those video tours... The food's great, and they even have an indoor pool."
"Crap..." Riku sighed. "I forgot to bring a swimsuit."
"That's alright," Sora chuckled. "by the looks of it, Kairi packed like 10, so you can borrow one of hers."
"WHAT...!!" Riku turned a bright red, and began pummeling Sora with the suitcases.
"God, Riku. Don't kill him." Kairi giggled. "I brought some spending money with me, so we can go out tomorrow and buy one here." He smiled, and stopped murdering Sora.
"Thanks, Kairi." The group headed toward the tower.
"We're..." Sora dropped his suitcase and sighed, looking curiously at the map. "lost." he sat down on his suitcase.
Kairi sat down behind him, and slung her arms over him, peeking at the map over his shoulder. "Do you know which way is north, Sora?"
"Uhm... the opposite of south?" he furrowed his eyebrows. Kairi knocked on the top of his head.
"You were holding the map upside-down..." Riku stated. "You've been leading us northeast since we reached the tower," he said, pointing back to the tower, which had drifted into the distance. "The hotel is west of it." Sora just stared at him the way a deer does at an oncoming truck.
"You knew that th whole time, and didn't tell me?"
"Pretty much." He laughed. "The weather's nice today. Why not go exploring?"
"Sure," Kairi stood up. "But can we please get our stuff to the hotel first?
Riku kicked the door open and walked up to the counter and rested the suitcases on the floor. "We have a reservation for Miyano, Irino, and Uchida." (A/N: I used the last names of the Japanese voice actors for their last names)
The man at the counter looked up at him, and then at the computer in front of him. "Alright." He handed Riku an envelope containing three key cards to the hotel room where the trio would be staying.
They found their room on the second floor, it had a king-sized bed in the bedroom and a pull-out couch in the living room which they had decided to alternate sleeping on, along with a large television in both rooms, a mini fridge filled with soda and snacks, a microwave, and a sink in the kitchen that sunk deep into a long line of counters., and a bathroom with a hot tub. They simply threw their suitcases on the floor for the time being, and left the room to go explore the new town which they would be staying in for the next two months.