Aightt, onward we go! Man, I really wanna end the Destiny Island (DI) Chapters soon. I've already started the chapters after this so things should come a little faster when I'm over and done with DI. Wow, this chapter took me a while to type (Mostly because I reread it and scrapped six versions). I like how the final product came out. Um, you may wanna read this in pieces, it's a little on the long side. I hope to finish with DI in the next 2-3 chapters.
Disclaimer: DDR MONKEY! Dance my monkey, dance.
Chapter 7: Drip Drop
"You and I, the speed at which we walk, the scenery we see / Even the way in which we express ourselves, everything is different / For example, maybe you find a beautiful flower / In the place where I despaired / You're alive and I'm alive, that's all, that's everything"
I stepped onto the grassy field that we were to play on. I was directed to stand in defensive position with Abysia on the opposite side of the field, Riku and Riyuno took offense, a girl with long, auburn hair in a pony tail was our goalie, and the rest of our team was scattered as midfield or center defense. The coach stood between our team and the opposing team with the blitzball. At the sound of his whistle, he threw the ball high in the air. Our team had possession of the ball first; Riyuno was able to punt it out of the air before the other team even moved. He passed it to Riku who quickly threw it to a big, strong guy playing midfield. This guy spun and threw the ball right into the goal. Score!
I reasoned that the coach had given us such a strong offense in an attempt to keep me from playing. Fair enough, in my opinion, because I had no idea what I was doing anyway. I watched from the defensive side as Riyuno scored a few more points. The girls on the sidelines cheered like crazy every time he or Riku scored a goal. Ah, the normal teenage ogling... Sexy, star sports players are in every school and their fan girls reign supreme. Back at my school, we had a few of those. I never found them to be that attractive, partially because we had the ugliest kids ever. Instead, I'd go guy shopping at the mall with my friends. Now, the mall had so many hotties. I wondered what high school those guys went to, because they sure didn't go to mine.
"Heads up!" the big, strong dude playing midfield yelled. The goalie on the opposing side had caught and thrown the ball to one of their offensive players who was now about to make a shot at our goal from my side. He threw the ball pretty hard in my direction toward the goal. I decided to attempt to chip it like I had learned in soccer. I positioned myself to intersect the ball's current course. In a split second, the ball connected with my foot and I sent it flying to an offensive player on our team... Who just happened to be on the other side of the field. Obviously, I had gotten stronger since last time I played soccer. I mean, it really wasn't that far of a kick. It was nothing compared to what the guys had been doing all through the game, but for some reason everyone froze as the ball came to a halt.
"Was that an illegal pass?" I asked. No response. Did I screw up the game? "Um, I'm sorry!" I quickly apologized. The Coach blew his whistle.
"Continue, the pass was legal." he announced.
"Um, alright. I got it." the kid I had passed to called. He threw the ball in the air and the game went back into play. I still felt mildly embarrassed for some reason. Augh, just shake it off. I told myself and continued to watch the ball. This time, the other team attempted to score from Abysia's side of the field. She just stood there and didn't pay much attention as the ball rolled around in her proximity. Was this what I was supposed to do?
The other team made a shot at out goal and the goalie just barely caught it. She weakly threw the ball to Riku who tossed it in the air. Then, he did a back-flip-kick that nailed the ball into the other goal. Once again, the coach blew his whistle; this time it was extremely loud.
"Game's over. The winners are Team A!" he announced. My team cheered and I clapped a bit. However, I still was very confused about my pass earlier. Ask someone later... I told myself. Soon after, we were dismissed to change. As I walked to the changing room with Kairi, a few of the girls came up to me to chat. Well, more like ask me a dozen questions. I hope I have advil in my TDS...
Riku's POV
I walked with Sora to the locker room. That game was amazing. Not only did we win, but the new girl showed some skill. Riyuno's muttering during the game had begun to wear on my nerves, however. That, along with the shock of her kick caused us to momentarily pause the game. I hope Coach didn't hear anything, though I doubt he did.
"Hey Riku, did you see that kick Passion did? She's a girl, but not like the ones around here!" Sora said to me as we entered the room.
"Yeah, but she looked really surprised after. Think she meant to?" I responded.
"I don't know; it was cool, though!" he exclaimed as we got to our lockers.
"She really is an amazing girl," Riyuno interrupted, "I wouldn't mind getting to know her better..." he said with a wild grin.
"You ain't the only one, Riyuno!" Gabe called. He had played center on Riku's team during the game. "Man, she was lookin' pretty sweet out there." He walked over to us with his shirt draped over his shoulder. He threw a punch at Riyuno's shoulder. "You wanna add this chick to your list?" Every time we got a new girl Riyuno did the same thing; he made his best attempt to get her, then dumped her. He and Gabe continued talking about her as if she were an inanimate object. It began to irritate me.
"Her name's Passion." I reminded them. "Show some respect, okay?"
"Passion... That is a pretty hot name. I think I like her." Riyuno claimed while opening his locker and beginning to change.
"I don't think she's your type." Sora halfway muttered while putting his shirt on. I inwardly laughed at Sora's bluntness. This was one of the reasons we'd stayed such good friends, he was so easy to read and very lighthearted.
"You've known her for less than a week, how do you know what her type is, Sora?" he asked. "All girls go for the same type, it's easy to see."
"It's obviously not scum like you, Riyuno." I shot back, slamming my locker closed. Shallow bastard.
"Whoa, calm down Riku." Gabe responded, "You've got Abysia, let Riyuno have Passion." I opened my mouth to say that Abysia and I were not together and I didn't want Passion, but Riyuno started in first.
"Unless this is a challenge, big tough Riku?" Riyuno snuffed. He shut his locker and put his hand on his hips. I didn't feel like a fight for a girl, especially not with Riyuno. He wasn't worth it today. I decided to back down.
"Are you kidding me? I don't have challenges over girls." I said and walked out of the room with Sora running to catch up, still buttoning his uniform shirt. We exited the gym and walked down the hall in silence. I felt my rage bubble down and just let it go. No need to worry, only idiots fall for Riyuno.
"What was that all about?" he asked once we were out of Riyuno and Gabe's range. "You can take him! Why'd you back down?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it, Sora." I said and stretched my arms. "You played great earlier." Good attempt at changing the subject...
"Did you see me block all those throws? I hope Coach noticed!" Sora began to go on and on while we walked to our lockers. The bell announced that school was over for today, but we hadn't seen Kairi or Passion since the game. I figured they'd meet us here in a few minutes, so I began to fiddle with the lock on my locker. What is it that I need again?
"Hey guys!" I heard Kairi call from behind. Sora and I turned to greet her, expecting to see Passion. It seemed odd that she wasn't there.
"Kairi, where's Passion?" Sora asked.
"Hmm? Oh, she went to the nurse. She said she needed to ask about something called 'Adda Vill'. She's okay, though." Kairi said, "She's supposed to meet us out front in a few."
"Sora just has to get a some things from his locker and I wanted to grab a book before we left. Just give us a sec," I said.
"No problem." Kairi leaned against the locker next to mine. "Hey, what's this I heard about the locker rooms?" She demanded. I froze up.
"Eh, what'd you hear?" I asked, keeping my head in my locker.
"Wakka said you got upset. Why?" Phew, she didn't know any details.
"The usual, Riyuno being an ass. He was criticizing my playing ability." I easily responded.
"Oh, alright. I was just curious." She laughed, "Ready to go?" I pulled my book out and shut my locker.
"Yep. Sora, you done?" I turned in the direction of his locker. He was staring into it with a weird expression. "What's up?" I asked. "Did you find a leftover sandwich or something?"
"No..." he responded, picking up something very carefully.
"What is it?" Kairi asked.
"A...note.'' he said, unfolding the paper, "I've never seen this before."
"What's it say?" I questioned. This note had sparked my curiosity. Did Sora have some sort of secret admirer? I must be kidding myself...
"It says, 'You have been challenged! Meet me on the coast at 7:45! Your honor depends on it!'" He paused and let out a sigh. "Who would wanna challenge me?" Well that makes more sense, I thought, It must be from Tidus...
"Yeah, you're not exactly difficult to beat..." I teased.
"Hey!" he fussed. Kairi smiled.
"He's right though, Sora. Who would wanna challenge you?" Kairi said, poking his cheek. "You're just a big softie."
"Cut it outtt, Kairi!" Sora batted her hand away and sighed again. "Shouldn't we go find Passion?" he grumbled, closing his locker.
"Sure, sure. Maybe she'll wanna see you later at this challenge." I coolly said, beginning to walk off in the other direction with Kairi following me. Muttering stuff under his breath, Sora followed us.
At the front door, there was no sign of Passion. We stopped and sat under a palm tree. The sun was still pretty high in the sky and breezes from the ocean would begin every once in a while. Sora and Kairi began a conversation and I just let my thoughts wander. Getting off the island would be very important, but would a raft be suitable enough? I'm sure if I run into any complications, I can fix them... Now, how will I get past my mom with this one? She's already a little suspicious... I felt someone tap my shoulder, so I averted my attention to the source of the tap; it was Sora.
"Do you think she's still in the nurse's room?" Sora asked, gazing around the field.
"Could be, but then what's taking her so long?" Kairi bluntly responded while combing back a piece of her hair.
"Maybe she got lost?" I offered.
"Well, it's right down the hall..." Sora shrugged, "Maybe the nurse is chatting. You know how she likes to do that."
"Yeah, you're right." Kairi said. Another ocean breeze swept past us and we watched as a cloud blocked the sun providing temporary shade. It looks like a cow...
"Hey guys! Sorry I had you wait so long." Passion called from our left. She had exited from the side hallway with... Riyuno? I averted my eyes away from his challenging gaze; there was no need to start a fight here or now. Instead, I flipped open my book and leaned against the wall.
"Hey Passion, did you find out what you needed to know?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah," she responded, "They don't have any Advil here, but there are some herbal remedies I can use. I'm just glad the nurse mildly knew what I was talking about. She took a while explaining things though. That's why I took so long."
"What's wrong, anyway?" Sora questioned, "You don't look injured or sick..."
"She has a headache," Riyuno bluntly stated, "I offered to help her get the herbs today."
"Umhmm, " Passion said, "I bumped into him after I left the nurse's room. You guys don't mind, do you?" I could feel Sora shift his gaze toward me, but I remained nonchalant.
"Of course not." I said and continued to read the pages of the book I had pulled from my locker. It was about traditions on this island, one was coming up and I had a project due on it. It was a pretty interesting festival, done at night with bonfires and fire dancers. The festivities began in four days and lasted for three. It started with a large family and friends dinner on the first day, followed by an all day tournament, and then on the last day there was a huge bonfire for the whole island. It was always such a great event; the previous year I had won my division tournament and I looked forward to beating my competition this year.
"Just make sure you meet me at my house at seven," Sora was saying, "I have a challenge and you gotta watch."
"Alright, no problem. It shouldn't take that long." Passion responded. "I guess I'll see you guys later, then?"
"Yep!" Kairi and Sora both said. I could feel them waiting for me to say something.
"See ya." I blankly responded and didn't look up from the book. I could sense that my detached actions were vexing Riyuno, which was just swell for me.
"Let's go, " Riyuno said. With that, they left us. After a few minutes of silence, Sora yanked the book from my hands.
"What was that all about?" he demanded.
"What was what all about?" I questioned.
"You know what I'm talking about. Didn't you just finish saying-"
"Eh, who cares. It's just some herbs, Sora. It's fine." I didn't let him finish the sentence and swiftly took my book back.
"I feel like I'm missing something..." Kairi said, "What are you two talking about?"
"It's nothing; I think I'm going home to finish this project." I said while waving the book a little in the air. "See you guys at seven." I grinned and walked off while Sora shouted a few words in my direction. I held up my hand without turning around to signal I was done talking. No need to let them see me angered, keep it cool...
I just hate Riyuno.
Sora's POV
I watched as Riku walked off in a semi-huff.
"Soraaa," Kairi said, "You guys aren't telling me something. Spill now." Kairi gave me a very stern look. Oh man, she's gonna hit me if I don't tell her...
"Well," I sighed, "In the locker room Riyuno started talking about how girls from other worlds are hot. I dunno, he was being a pig head. Riku got upset, so now I think Riyuno's trying to get Passion or something to piss Riku off more."
"Riyuno's just obsessed with himself; is it something to worry about?"
"Well, Riku usually doesn't get upset with Riyuno over stupid things. I just don't trust him with her." I said, mildly worried about Riyuno being alone with Passion in the market. He had a pretty bad reputation for using girls and, as Gabe had put it, Passion was on his list. "Do you want to keep an eye on them for a while?"
"You mean spy?" Kairi asked and grinned wide, "Of course."
The walk to the Market was an easy one, just down the dirt road and over a few hills. Kairi and I walked in a comfortable silence, enjoying the warm ocean air and mountains in the background. Our island was truly a beautiful paradise, yet they still were eager to get off of it. Maybe it was the seclusion this island had. Contact with other towns was limited and usually only on special days, not to mention Kairi's mysterious world, which was probably located somewhere off this trap. I gazed toward her smiling face that was focused on the clouds. Rain weather was predicted for tomorrow and it was becoming obviously true with the gathering clouds and increasing ocean winds. The storm was supposed to be semi-serious, so there was a flood warning going out. I just hoped it'd be dry in time for the Fire Festival.
We neared the bustling square and could immediately smell the food stands. The aromas coming from these foods caused my stomach to grumble and I realized I hadn't eaten since lunch. I could see freshly roasted bird and fish, tons of pastries, hot breads, and various other delicious foods. Sooo hungry...
"Kairi, can we top and eattt?" I moaned, feeling the urge to consume everything in sight.
"You get so hungry, Sora! Lunch was only two hours ago!" she laughed, giving me a sharp open-handed slap on the back.
"I can't help it. I'll just get something quick, okay?" Without waiting for a response, I ran to the nearest food stand. They were selling my favorite cinnamon muffins, so I quickly bought three. The first I shoved in my mouth and finished in a matter of seconds. That's better... I said to my stomach. The second one I could finish slower. I caught back up with Kairi who was examining the directory. "Here!" I said, handing her a muffin.
"Oh, thank you!" She took a small nibble out of it. "We need to go down this path," she said, pointing to the upper right path, "And then go left at the first fork. That should take us to the herbal stands."
"Right." With Kairi around, I never got lost. She had a very good sense of direction, which I lacked. She led the way to the herbal stands, a surprisingly quick walk. However, it was very chaotic in this area. There were tons of older women bargaining, selling, complaining, and laughing. Usually my mom was the one who did the shopping, so it was very surprising to see so many people here.
"Hmm, I wonder what stands they're at. Let's just scan around for now, okay?" Kairi said, beginning to walk into the crowd.
"Wait!' I said, "What if we bump into them? We have to be careful not to get seen." I nodded toward a large box of crates nearly lining the area. "If we walk behind those, we can still see. Then, once we find them, we just be careful."
"Great idea, Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, giving me a big smile. She made my stomach do flips when she smiled at me like that. Riku always made fun of me because he said I blushed like a girl. Well, I'm not the one with the long hair, am I? I mentally stored that as a comeback for him next time. Kairi began tugging at my arm. "Come on, let's go." she said, leading me behind the crates. We walked, peering through the gaps in the crates. No one seemed to notice us, which was great.
"Hey, I see Riyuno!" I said, recognizing the male school uniform. I pointed over toward a stand that was selling some roots.
"Umhmm, Passion's with him." Kairi noticed. We watched them pick through the root selections before they finally settled on one. It was amusing, Riyuno was hitting on her and she appeared to be completely oblivious. After a while, they moved on to another stand. After a small conversation, Riyuno left Passion and walked toward another stand selling things in bottles. He was relatively close to Kairi and I, so we remained absolutely silent in an attempt to hear.
"Paupo ---- ----ttled. -reat po---n, re---y ch----" I heard the sales clerk say over the loud bustle of the area. Wait, paupo? Is he getting some kind of love potion?
"Kairi, " I whispered, "He's buying bottled paupo juice..."
"Yeah, but doesn't the legend say the fruit must be shared?" she responded.
"I'm sure the juice would work too... Hey, after he leaves lets go check out that stand, okay?" I looked in her direction. Kairi looked at me and nodded. A few minutes after Riyuno walked away, we casually walked up to the stand.
"Do you have any bottled paupo juice?" I asked the old lady. She grinned wide to reveal a missing tooth.
"Why yes, we do. It's great for adding a kick to special recipes." She lowered her voice, "Legend has it, the paupo juice makes it easier to get the person you like to like you back." The old lady tilted her head toward Kairi's direction and whispered in my ear, "If you're having trouble getting her, just use this." I could feel my cheeks get warm as I began to blush.
"Uh, n-no, that's alright. I was just wondering." I said and then stiffly walked off. Why did everyone seem to know I liked her?
Passion's POV
I gazed warily at the new roots that sat in front of me. Now, what type did I need? All of them looked the same and Riyuno had just wandered off. Shall I cheat and use some magic to decide? The stand owner had been ignoring me and didn't seem to care that I had no clue what I was doing. I held my hand over one of the roots that were set in front of me. I hoped one of the first two I chose were correct because I could feel that my magic stores were extremely low. It was probably because I had yet to fully recover from the large-scale shield spell I had cast. I felt the warmth quickly leave my hand, replaced by a cool tingly feeling as I absorbed the healing powers this plant held.
It seemed that it could cure tooth pains, menstrual cramps, and headaches. I guess this is the one I'm looking for. I could feel the old woman in charge of the stand growing suspicious of my actions, even though she could see no magic. I smiled at her.
"I'll take it," I said, presenting her with my munny. She suspiciously looked over my coins before accepting them and handing me the root. I thanked her and walked to the stand next to me. Riyuno still hadn't come back and, to be honest, I was happy. It was becoming increasingly difficult to play 'oblivious' to his constant hitting on me, especially with Sora and Kairi spying on me. I inwardly sighed while playing with one of the crystals on display, turning the edges so each glowed blue and then green. Riyuno was obviously the school man-whore, he had girls constantly swooning at his feet. And I was one he had yet to hypnotize. Guys like him just want to rule the world; they think they're kings. I don't even want a boyfriend at this point; my schedule is too full. I told myself, Who needs one anyway? It's a waste of time.
"Would you like to purchase that stone?" the sales clerk kindly asked. I blinked out of my daze.
"Uh, yeah. I guess." I looked at the price. 400 munny. No big deal. I pulled the munny out of my bag and handed it to the lady. She shook her head and wouldn't take it. I felt extremely confused.
"You're the girl from the other world, right?" she asked. I responded with a nod. "Then it's free. Think of it as a gift! Thank you so much for stopping that wave." She smiled and shook my hand.
"No problem." I grinned back at her. I guess that not everyone on this island hated me after all. As if to agree, a small breeze rustled through my hair. I gazed toward the sky, seeing clouds gather around the bright sun. It'd probably be raining tonight. I really hoped it would, the rain always made me feel closer to home. I walked over to a nearby table and sat, waiting for Riyuno to return as people came in and out of this section. In about a minute, Riyuno rejoined me. We talked for a while about this world. He had some information I found useful, but most was pointless teenage things. Soon, we headed back home. I knew he hadn't noticed Kairi or Sora, which was for the best. Let them think they know something special, I decided.
As I entered my empty apartment, I glanced at the clock. It said six, so I had time to change before meeting Sora. I went to my drawer and pulled out a pair of jeans. The wind had begun to pick up and the warmth would soon cool as the clouds got thicker. I decided to wear a fitted tee figuring I'd be fine without a jacket. After I finished cleaning up my room and changing, the clock said it was 6:30, which meant I should head down to Sora's house in fifteen minutes. That gave me just enough time to crush the roots and make some headache medicine. I took my time to thoroughly crush the roots and add them to some tea I had prepared earlier. In one quick drink, I downed the entire glass of headache medicine.
"There, that should make it better, " I told myself as I slipped on my shoes. It was around 6:45, so I left my apartment and began walking to Sora's house. The wind had really picked up and rustled angrily through my hair. If this island wasn't so naturally hot, I would have been freezing. As I neared Sora's house, I saw Riku walking a bit ahead of me.
"Hey Riku!" I called to him. He turned around just as another gust of wind began. His silver hair was tussled in the strong breeze, but he remained unaffected. I, however, was struggling to walk against the ripping winds. It took me a few seconds to catch up to him. "Are storms usually like this?" I asked. He just nodded. "How bad is this one supposed to be?"
"We'll be in a flood warning tomorrow, but I doubt it' anything to get too worried about. Storm season will be over in a few days; the worst has already passed." he responded.
"That's good, I like the rain." We walked in silence for the rest of the way to Sora's the house. As we approached the steps, Sora and Kairi burst out of the house.
"I'm ready for this!" Sora yelled into the neighborhood, holding up his wooden sword. Kairi gently pat him on the back.
"That's right, you can do it Sora!" she said.
"Don't encourage him, " Riku mumbled, "He'll only get sloppy."
"Heyy! I can do this! I've been training really hard!" he defensively said.
"Well, I hope you're okay with fighting in the rain," I said while looking at the clouds, "It's gonna start pouring in a few seconds."
"How do you-" Sora began as small raindrops fell and landed on him. "Oh crap!"
"Don't worry, " I said, "If you hurry with the battle, we can get back before it down pours. That won't happen for twenty to thirty minutes." This was partly a guess; I wasn't accustomed to the weather on this world, but based off of Earth, twenty to thirty minutes was reasonable. What about that huge wave? It happened within a few minutes, no warning. That could mean the weather here is erratic so you could be off...
"In that case, we'd better hurry!" Sora said, his perky attitude unchanged. Nothing can get this kid down.
"Alright, let's go." Riku said as he shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk off. The three of us were right behind him, marching through the droplets of diamond that fell from the sky. This island was so beautiful in the rain; the rampaging winds helped created a dramatic sense in an over-all calm environment. As if listening to me, a huge gust of wind mixed with raindrops pelted my face, followed by a large leaf.
"Ahh," I complained while pulling it off, "So gross."
"Unlucky, unlucky." Riku stated.
"The weather's sure starting to pick up," Kairi said while raising her voice a little, "You sure you still want to fight?" She was right; people were quickly heading inside as we passed them on the street. There were only ten people, as far as could see, who were still walking outside. Even they seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere.
"Of course I'm still going to fight," Sora responded, "I know I can do it."
"That's the spirit, Sora!" I said, "You have enough time, just take 'em down as fast as you can." I could faintly see Sora through the corner of my eye nod as we continued our fast walking pace.
We soon arrived at the island's shore. Waiting for us was a young boy, probably ten, with four male friends. I had never seen them before, but I guessed Sora knew them.
"Who are you?" Sora called to the children. Or not. The young boy began slowly walking toward us.
"You beat my brother last year unfairly! It's time you lose!" the boy angrily shouted while he pulled out his weapon, a scythe fashioned out of wood. I looked at Sora, who seemed utterly confused.
"Wait, your brother? When was this!" he shouted back, over the wind.
"At the last Fire Festival Tournament! You cheated, how else could someone as bad as you win?" the boy called while the wind whipped through the sand. From what I could see, this kid was tiny and didn't have any fighting ability for he held the sword loosely at his side with incorrect grip. It would be an easy win for anyone.
"What are you talking about?" Sora responded, "I didn't cheat last year! I barely made it through the preliminaries."
"It's true," Riku agreed, "Plus, Sora wouldn't cheat to win; he's not that type of a person."
"He still beat my brother unfairly!" The young boy took a mimicked fighters stance. "I will defeat you." Suddenly, the rain doubled in amount; the sky had begun to pour.
"Jin! We should go home! Do this later!" One of his friends yelled. They obviously were afraid of the oncoming storm.
"That's probably a good idea, the rain's going to get worse!" I shouted through the wind. My hair was completely soaked and my clothes would have been too, if I hadn't waterproofed them the day before. That didn't stop the water from covering my skin, though. I noticed that Kairi and Riku's hair were experiencing the same 'rain tussled' hair look as mine. Sora was the only one of us whose hair remained unchanged. The young boy was beginning to appear flustered.
"I'll make a deal with you!" Sora called to him, "I'll fight you fair and square at the Fire Festival if we stop this one!"
"I'll only stop if you promise to re-fight my brother and not cheat this time!"
"I didn't cheat last time!"
"Yes you did!"
"Fine, I promise!" Sora said, trudging back to us through the rain. Huge waves crashed on shore causing me to be pelted with raindrops and ocean water.
"Can we go now?" I called toward Riku, even though he stood only a few feet away from me.
"Yeah. Sora! Kairi! Let's go!" he yelled as we began to walk back home. It was a really long walk; the water in the street was up to my ankles already and rapidly increasing. Looks like we were going to have a little flood. Riku's house was closest to where we currently were; as soon as we neared it, everyone ran to the steps.
Finally being inside was a huge relief. All of us took off our shoes and left them by the door. Then, Riku got some towels and handed them to us.
"Phew, glad that's over." Sora mumbled while taking a seat on Riku's couch. "Wow, it's already 8:30; I guess we'll stay here until the storm dies down?"
"Yeah, whenever that is…" Riku said while looking out of a window. The storm was really violent outside; drops of rain and bits of leaves spattered onto the window as the winds ripped around the island. Kairi and I joined Sora on the couch once we had finished drying our hair.
"I doubt we'll be out by tonight," Kairi began, "The storm's supposed to last most of tomorrow."
Just then, the phone rang. Riku walked to the kitchen to pick it up. While he talked on the phone, Kairi and Sora debated whom the kid's older brother was. They didn't even recognize the child and Sora could barely remember the matches.
"Alright, goodbye." Riku said as he hung up the phone.
"Who was it?" Sora asked.
"My mom. She said that the storm had kept her at her friends house and that she'd be back when it calmed down."
"Does it usually storm like that?" I asked, pointing to the window.
"Once or twice a year." Kairi responded, "This is probably the second worse one we've had this year.
"Oh." I said. It made sense, anyway. This was an island after all.
"So…" Riku said, "Do you guys wanna watch a movie?" I nodded my head vigorously.
"Which one?" Kairi asked. Riku reached into a shelf under a box that resembled a TV.
"How about, Twenty Places?" He held up the case, "It's a comedy about a boy with terrible luck."
"I like that movie!" Kairi exclaimed, "Yeah, let's watch that one."
"Sounds interesting," I remarked and Sora agreed with me.
"It's a really good movie." he said, "I think you'll like it."
"Alrighty then, we're watching this one." Riku said while putting the video sphere in a holder in the TV. So, this world uses spheres like other worlds too... Not only was Destiny Island Earth-like, but it also shared qualities that other worlds did. I wonder if that has to do with the barriers between worlds... Maybe they were all connected at one time. Riku sat next to me on the couch as the movie started. It was animated, done in what would be considered 'anime' style on Earth. Overall, I was very impressed with the artwork despite this world's limitations in electricity. It started out in a small town in a forest. The main character was a teenage brunette boy who possessed incredibly bad luck, so bad he ran away from home. Along the way, he met a girl who didn't seem to notice his bad luck, an enchanted cat, and various other quirky characters. It was a really good move and the musical arrangements practically knocked my socks off.
The movie lasted about an hour and a half. When it ended, the storm was still brutally rampaging outside in the dark streets. It was 10:15 and the water appeared to still be several inches above the ground.
"I guess we're stuck here for the night," Sora slowly said, "So... What to do now?"
"We could-" Kairi abruptly stopped her sentence as the lights went out. "Play...A...Game?"
"The rain must have shut off a power station." Riku said, "I'll go find some light stones," In the dark, I heard him get up and leave the room.
"So, uh, what game?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"Well, it'd have to be a board game now." Kairi said with a sigh, "I doubt Riku has any though. He's so old." Riku does seem too mature for board games, I thought to myself as I felt my eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness. After a while, I could faintly see Kairi's form, however, Sora was missing.
"Hey Sora, you still in here?" I asked, incase I just couldn't see him. No one responded.
"Sora?" Kairi called, moving over on the couch to where he had been sitting. "He was just here..."
"Maybe he went with Riku?" I suggested. "That'd make sense, right?"
"Yeah, I wonder when they'll be back with those lights." Kairi said. We sat in silence for a few moments.
"So, what was this I heard about a Fire Festival?" I asked.
"It's an old island tradition. It's a three-day long celebration coming up in a few days. There's a big family dinner the first day, then a tournament the next, and on the last day, we have a huge bonfire. That's the best part, I think. It has lots of dancing and food. Plus the fires look beautiful."
"Sounds schweet. We didn't have anything like that in Maryland. At least, my area didn't." I said. We began talking about celebrations on Earth and found we had a few in common. They actually had Christmas that was nearly identical to Earth's. We had been talking in the dark for several minutes and the boys weren't back yet.
"Passion, we should go look for Riku and Sora." Kairi said and I could hear her get up.
"Good idea." I said as I got up. "I can kind of see now, so that should make it easier to find them. Where do you think they'd be?"
"Probably Riku's room or in his basement."
"Do you wanna split up?"
"Sure, it'd make this whole thing go a lot faster."
"I guess I'll take the basement, " I said, not wanting to go intruding into his room.
"Okay! I'll meet you back here in a few."
"Yep," I said and we parted. Once I was at the top of the stairs, I sat down on my bum. The stairs looked very dark and very steep, so I wasn't going to risk falling down them. Very slowly and quietly, I made my way down the stairs. As soon as I was sure was at the bottom, I stood and walked forward. From what I could make out, his basement was huge. I stumbled around in the dark until I found a wall. Following it, I periodically called out Riku and Sora's names. My call was nearly a whisper for my panic state of mind kept me from getting loud.
Suck it up chicken, I told myself. You've fought tons of enemies, why are you still afraid of the dark? It was true; I really shouldn't be worried about being in the dark. "Riku! Sora!" I harshly whispered. I didn't hear anything and I began to doubt that either of them was down here. I released the wall and began wandering toward what I thought was the door. I held both my hands a few inches in front of me.
Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my hands. As a reaction, I stiffened up. The hands that were grabbing mine released.
"Hey, don't worry. It's me." Riku said. I sighed with relief.
"You scared me there. I came down here looking for you and Sora."
"Sora? He wasn't with me when I left. I was down here looking for one of my old board games," he said.
"Oh, so you heard Kairi…"
"Yeah, I'm not that old. I still have games… somewhere."
"Did you find any?"
"No, not yet. I did find a few light stones, though."
"Why haven't you put any on?" I pondered out loud.
"I don't really need them. Here." Riku handed me one. I pressed the soft spot on the bottom and it lit up, casting eerie shadows in this huge basement. I noticed I was standing in front of a medium sized walk-in closet. Riku walked inside of it and gestured for me to follow. I stepped in and looked around. On the shelves, there were several boxes. "This is where my mom keeps the stuff from when I was a kid," he said, pulling down a box. "I'm pretty sure it's in here." Riku opened the box and began carefully pulling out various objects. I sat down next to him and looked at them. Some were pictures of him, Sora, and Kairi when they were children; somewhere old toys; and two were stuffed animals. They were both dogs, one was tan with a pink bow and the other was a slightly lighter tan with a blue collar.
"These are so cute!" I said while picking them up and hugging them. Riku glanced up from the box.
"Those bring back memories. They were my very first two stuffed animals; I think I got them when I was one."
"Wow," I said, "That's like my Dudley. I got him when I was born, but as soon as I got older, he was packed away." Riku smiled and then went back to looking through the box. It seemed like he had found something and he gracefully pulled it out of the box.
"Found it!" he exclaimed examining the box. I scooted next to Riku and peered over his shoulder. The image on the box looked oddly like Twister, except there were more colors in random places. It was probably a lot harder than normal Twister.
"That's looks really fun!"
"Yep, when I was younger I used to play it with Sora and Kairi, we'd have mini competitions." He sat the box aside and began putting the pictures and toys back in the box. I released the stuffed animals from my hug and went to put them in the box. "You can hold onto them," Riku said while handing them back to me, "It probably gets lonely here for you." I was going to disagree, but I knew he was right. Being alone on a planet, cut off from everything that was familiar to me was very lonely. I gently set the two dogs next to me.
"Thank you so much!" I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him the best sitting-down-hug I could. I felt him laugh and then hug me back.
"It's nothing."
After we put away the box and carried everything upstairs, we began to look for Kairi and Sora. We figured that they were still upstairs, which was confirmed when we heard Kairi's scolding voice.
"-scaring me like that! You big dummy!" we heard he say from Riku's room. We exchanged hesitant glances before opening the door. Our light stones illuminated the room to reveal Kairi and Sora standing in the middle of the room. Kairi explained that Sora had snuck up on her, thinking she was Riku. We just laughed at Sora while we set light stones around Riku's room.
It was a decently large room; the floor was finished hardwood and there was a sliding door leading out to a deck on the far left side of the room. His bed was slightly off center, toward the right side of the room. It had a very mature set up, not a single thing was out of place. It was almost as if he never came in here.
"We can just sleep in here," Riku said, "I have some extra blankets in the closet."
"Hey, what's this?" Sora asked while picking up the box. "It can't be… Tangler! This is so old!"
"Yeah I know, it was the only one I could find." Riku muttered, "I know I have more… I just can't find them."
"How do you play it?" I asked. "Is it like, a spinner that has colors and you put your foot or hand where the color lands?"
"Yeah, and you play against one other person. Whoever falls first loses. Do you have a game like this or something on Earth?"
"Sort of, except it's a tad bit easier. We have fewer colors and they're all set up in rows."
"I think you'll love this, then. Let's set it up," Kairi said as she opened the box and pulled out the spinner. The spinner was almost identical to Twister, except it had four more colors; light purple, brown, black, and gray. Sora and Riku unfolded the large mat with the random assortment of colors.
"Who goes first?" Sora asked, "We could have the winner of each round versus each other, so that means three rounds. I guess it could be Riku and me; Kairi and Passion."
"Ladies first," Kairi and I both said at the same time. We stepped onto the mat, each of us on opposite sides. After only ten minutes, we were hopelessly tangled. My left leg was several circles in front of my right leg, but further right than my right leg was. The only stable things were my hands; they were positioned behind me and parallel to each other, providing me with balance. From what I could see of Kairi, her left foot was nearly touching my face and her right arm was stretched over my torso to reach the brown dot on that side. She was shaking like crazy and I figured I was doing the same.
"Left hand blue." Riku read from the spinner. This would be easy; it required me to move my left arm just two spaces down. I did this in a swift motion. Kairi had it not so easy. Her left arm looked like it had kept her balanced until this moment. If she switched her weight so it rested on her left leg and right arm, she could still move her left arm up five spots easily. Obviously this strategy didn't occur to her. She tried putting all the weight on her right arm and sloppily moved her left arm toward the blue dot. Her right arm immediately started shaking uncontrollably and then collapsed, sending her body hard into the ground.
"Passion wins! Nice try, Kairi!" Sora said while helping her up, "You were close." Kairi laughed and mumbled about how this was never her kind of game as Riku helped me up. After a bit of small talk, Riku and Sora took their positions on the mat. In the first five minutes, Sora was desperately in need of assistance. His body was strung out all over the mat and he was in an awkward position that wouldn't hold him for long. Riku was the opposite; he was quite comfortably positioned in push-up form. Sure enough, the next hand-foot location completely shattered Sora. He attempted to move his right foot two dots ahead, but couldn't move it far enough and fell.
"Aw man!" he exclaimed from his spot on the floor, "I almost had it too!" We all began laughing at Sora. He sighed. "Oh well, looks like it's Passion against Riku."
"Yep!" I said, "And I'll win this one." Riku raised one eyebrow.
"Good luck with that. I don't plan on losing."
"That makes two of us." I said as I took my place on one side of the mat. Twenty minutes into the game and neither of us were weakening. However, it didn't stop the whole thing from being awkward. Riku was stretched over top of me and I was in a bridge-like position. A few more spins caused our arms to be hopelessly tangled.
"Right hand green." Kairi called. The only green dot near me was a few dots to the left. I quickly moved my hand to that dot as Riku moved his hand to it. I felt as his big hand overlapped my small one. This came as such a surprise to both of us that we fell. Because of how I was positioned, I fell on my back and Riku landed on top of me. I felt my heart race at this moment. His hand still overlapped mine for a second before he quickly got up, obviously as embarrassed as I was.
"Tie!" Sora and Kairi deemed having not seen why we fell.
"Fair enough," Riku muttered begnning to walk off, "I'm going to go get some blankets now. It's almost midnight." We watched as he disappeared out of the room.
"I think I'll fold this up," I said while grabbing the mat. Kairi and Sora helped me fold it into a small square and pack it back into the box. The moment we finished this, Riku returned carrying a lot of large blankets. He dropped these onto the floor next to the bed.
"You two can have the bed," he said while pointing to Kairi and me. "Sora and I will sleep on the floor." I could see Sora's jaw drop.
"No fair! Your floor is hard!"
"That's why we have blankets, Sora." Riku pointed to them. Sora pouted while setting up his bed and then paused.
"What are we supposed to sleep in?" he asked. I hadn't thought of this. I couldn't get something out of my TDS, everything in there were either jeans or skirts. Kairi was in a skort that did not look sleep-able and Sora was in khaki's.
"I guess you guys could borrow some of my clothes?" Riku said while bringing a light stone to his closet. He opened the door to reveal many neatly hung T-Shirts and folded pants. "I have plenty of clothes." What a metro, I thought to myself, I don't even have that many clothes!
"I only need pants," Sora said while grabbing a pair. I agreed and stepped up to the closet to examine them. I looked for a pair that seemed like they could fit me. Thank goodness his pants aren't too big for me… I easily found a blue pair that looked comfortably.
"I guess I'll go change in the bathroom," I said, taking a light stone, "I'll only be a second." I opened the door that led to the dark bathroom. As soon as I closed the door, I turned on the light stone and set it in the counter. The tiles in the bathroom were a gray-stone color and the walls were done in a coffee color with shell designed wall paper. I quickly pulled off my jeans and slipped on Riku's pants. They were a little baggier than I expected, but, for the most part, they hung like sweats. I folded my jeans and then left the bathroom. As soon as I was out, Kairi was in and changed in a split second. Sora and Riku had already changed in another room, so we were all ready for bed.
Kairi and I sat on Riku's bed while he and Sora turned off all the light stones (except one for little Sora-chan). As the room grew dark, it seemed the sound of rain grew louder. I could hear it pound against the roof as if it would never let up. I patted the two stuffed animals that sat next to me. I was still a kid in so many ways, yet my mature side often overtook my innocence. Why can't I just be normal? I really shouldn't even think about these things... Soon the room was completely void of light, except for one small spot of light where Sora chose to keep the light stone. Darkness usually either mildly scared or comforted me. In this case, I was calm.
I could hear Sora and Riku fiddle with their makeshift beds as they lay down.
"G'night, guys." Sora said with a yawn.
"Night." I responded as I sunk into the warm blankets.
"Sleep tight," I heard Riku say.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Kairi finished. This was all followed by a comfortable silence. I let my mind drift before I fell asleep. These blankets smell nice... They make me feel safe. I didn't think I would be having another nightmare, another forced dream. No, not in this kind of peace.
OH MY GOD THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO TYPE. Having a hurt arm sucks major balls. Sigh, I wanna get off of DI soon! I keep saying that. Oh well. My birthday's soon, hurray. I hope to be at least to Wonderland by the time KH2 comes out here in the states (March 28!). That way, I can really get a 3-D plot out of this! I'm going to add a few more characters; friends of mine mostly. I can't wait until I get to Traverse Town for that one...