A/N: I am updating early, thanks to The Otaku You Fools! Thanks so much for your review. :D
Anyway, she suggested that I should put pairings in. I don't write many stories with romance, but I figure that it's worth a shot. So, I'm asking you all which pairings you'd like to see. I'm reluctant to do yaoi, just because that's typical in the few faery/fantasy fanfics I've read. However, that doesn't mean that I'll discard that idea. ^^
Oh, and here's a little prologue timeline, in case you were confused…
Kairi's POV
Riku's POV, about 4 years after Kairi's POV
Sora's POV, shortly after Riku's POV.
Now, onto the story! I am starting a normal POV now. There isn't a lot of Sora yet, much to my displeasure. He will come in soon, though!
DISCLAIMER: I own only the plot! I don't own any characters!
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
"Sweetheart, are you sure that you want to do this?" Ariel asked her daughter gently. Kairi nodded in response. "I'm sure. I want to go somewhere where I can fit in."
Ever since that dreadful day at Selphie's house, her classmates had made her life a living hell. She had no idea how they discovered the incident, but she assumed that Mrs. Flotsam had somehow spread the word. Either way, the yound merchildren decided that they sided with Selphie's mother. They began calling her half-breed, human, and other names of the sort. Other pranks such as coaxing her into accidentally breaking items seemed to be widely used as well. One prank went so far as to cut her hair to the nape of her neck. You aren't even one of us, so why do need it? They mocked.
Yeah, it was hell.
She absentmindedly ran her fingers through her short hair, recalling the memory. Ariel sighed, knowing that there was no convincing her 13-year old daughter out of this. "Very well, come along."
"Wait for me!"
The two whirled around to see a familiar ebony-haired, orange-finned mermaid darting after them.
"Melod-ouch!" Kairi was cut off by her sister's large octopus-hug. "I wanted to say goodbye to my little sister." She said, smiling.
"Aw, thank you!" Kairi responded. "I'm going to miss you too."
"You could always stay with me, you know. No one will bully you when I'm around."
Kairi shook her head. "I know what I'm doing. I'm pretty sure that the land above is the place for me." Melody sighed in defeat. "I was just the opposite when I was just a little younger than you. I was unaccepted by those on land, and my heart was in the sea." Melody reminisced to Kairi.
"Really?" Kairi exclaimed. Her sister never talked about her land experiences.
"Yep."
"Come on, girlies. You can't keep da king waiting!" A small, red lobster popped out from nowhere. "Are you in a rush or something, Seb?" Melody said playfully. Sebastian merely groaned. "Da king is very busy today! You can't keep him waiting!" He cried impatiently. The girls and their mother chuckled at him, but finally decided to follow the small creature into the throne room.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
Riku woke up with a killer headache and a churning stomach. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes and pulled himself into a sitting position to view his surroundings.
He was not expecting to find himself in the middle of the ocean on as small boat with Wakka.
"Good to see you up, man." Wakka greeted. He looked different than he had before.
The Calling. His change into a Moon Elf. The angry spirit. The frightened crowd. His mother, covered in golden blood. It all came back to Riku in an instant, hitting him like a pack of goblins. He slumped over the side of the boat, emptying the contents of his stomach into the sea.
"That's gross, man!" Wakka grimaced turning away. Riku didn't respond; his head was spinning way too fast. It had all truly happened. Now he was an outcast, never to return to his own home. He wasn't even sure if his mother survived the incident, or even if Serah and the spirits would allow her to live.
Finally, after a few moments of rest, Riku found the strength to talk. "So, it was all real?"
"Yeah, man. It all happened."
Riku nodded weakly. "Where are we going, then?"
Wakka grinned. "Somewhere I know well."
Riku stared at him for a moment before the realization hit him. "We're going to the Destiny Islands."
"Of course man, we'll be good there. I have connections." He winked.
"No offense, but how do you know where you are headed?" Riku gestured to the miles of endless sea around their tiny wooden row boat.
"Did you forget? I'm an Island elf. It calls out to me like them hot chicks." He grinned wickedly.
Riku raised an eyebrow, but said nothing in response. Instead, he stared at his reflection in the clear waters below them. His eyes were similar to Serah's before the spirits possessed her: clear, pupilless, and a bit scary. His hair had changed from dull silver to bright platinum, and his face was a bit more chiseled than before.
He was going to miss his old eyes. They were a lot less creepy.
"Different, isn't it?" Wakka commented.
"Very."
There was silence for a moment. Then, Riku finally asked Wakka a question. "So, why did you come with me? You can't go back home now."
Wakka grinned. "I had to keep my friend from gettin' killed. Besides, that place stank. I belong at the islands, man."
Riku couldn't help but smile at his friend. He may be a bit too human for his own good, but that was what made Wakka, well, Wakka.
"Thank you."
"No problem." Wakka replied, looking out into the ocean. "We should be there in an hour or so."
"Great. I was not meant for travelling by sea." Riku grimaced, rubbing his still churning stomach.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
"Are you positive that you wish to go there?" A booming voice asked the small girl. The voice belonged to a large, muscular merman sitting upon a throne, stroking his white beard wisely.
"I am positive, your majesty." Kairi answered. The ruler of the seas shook his head. He wanted to keep her here in the sea, safe from the influence of those above. He gazed helplessly at Ariel, who merely shook her head. If this was what her daughter wanted, so it would be.
"Like mother, like daughter." He groaned. "Very well then. I have arranged for a group of faeries to take you in upon your arrival. From there, you will be transported to your destination."
Kairi couldn't believe it. She was truly leaving the ocean! "Thank you, grandfather!" She said happily. The king said nothing; he only handed her a golden shell-shaped necklace with her name written on the top in cursive. "Open it." He ordered. Kairi obeyed, and gasped at the sight.
It was a miniature version of their undersea kingdom. Tiny sea creatures frolicked through the calm waters; mermaids laughed and played together, and decorative kelp waved gracefully from side to side. "I-it's beautiful!" Kairi said in awe. The king smiled, obviously pleased with her reaction.
"It's just a reminder of us. We do hope that you will return." Ariel said to her daughter.
"I have one just like it, see?" Melody held her own up. "It was for my time up there. I do miss the place a little." She admitted. "Maybe I'll visit you up there."
Kairi smiled at her family. Wiping a tear from her eye, she said, "Thank you! I'll be sure to come back. Maybe I'll even visit dad up there."
She turned to the king, who now held his golden triton in his hand. "I'm ready." The king nodded. He raised the triton over his head, shouting something in an unfamiliar language. A golden ray shot from the top, enveloping Kairi. After a moment, she was gone.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
Kairi's eyes fluttered open to see…blue. It was a shade of blue similar to the ocean, something was off that she just couldn't put her finger on. Groaning, she pulled herself up to a sitting position.
Something was different. She wasn't floating in the water. Instead, it was nipping at her feet.
Feet?
Sure enough, her rosy fins had been replaced by strange appendages that only the land folk had. Two long legs stretched to about the length of where her fins had been. Two feet were at the base of those legs, each with five little feet on the top. "How strange," she mused, wiggling them. She awkwardly tried to stand on them, only to fall back into the white sands.
"This is going to take some getting used to!" She said to herself, giggling. She pushed a strand of her auburn hair behind her ears, which were still pointed. It didn't bother her though. She was on land, in a whole new world! She looked around the foreign place, attempting to find a landmark to walk to. The closest object to her was a strange-looking plant with golden stars in its green leaves. "That will do." She decided. She pulled herself up into a standing position, and began to place one foot in front of the other.
"Put one foot in front of the other!" She sang to herself happily. Unfortunately, that joy did not last long, for she fell face-first into the sand after two steps.
It went on like this for a while. Finally, after about half an hour, she managed to take several awkward steps in a row to the base of the tree.
"I did it!" She cried, panting. She sat down at the base of the tree in an attempt to catch her breath. She had really walked! I bet Mother and Melody would be proud of me. She thought. She wished that they could have seen her.
Her bubble filled, indigo eyes found themselves staring at the ocean. It looked so different from this perspective. It was hard to believe that the flat, beautiful blue mass in front of her was once her home. Tiny waves washed onto the surface, then receded back into the beautiful depths.
Suddenly, she spotted something on the surface in the distance. It appeared to be some sort of small boat heading for the shore. Two vague outlines were in it, but she couldn't make out any of their features. She pulled herself up to try and get a closer look when she heard what sounded like small voices coming from above.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! TIDUS, DO SOMETHING!"
"CRAPCRAPCRAPCRAPCRAP! WHAT DO I DO!"
"I DON'T KNOW! I CAN'T-"
Splat.