CHAPTER 3

A Curious Conclusion

The bright summer sun peeked through Tidus' closed eyelids, arousing him from his dreamless sleep. His open hands moved reflexively in reaction to his awakening, shifting the warm sand beneath his fingers. …Why am I taking a nap on the beach? the islander questioned as he opened his eyes, squinting in the bright sun. Blocking the light with his forearm momentarily, he preceded to run his fingers through his hair, trying to recall the circumstances by which he came to be where he was. Tidus' fingers located a large tender lump on his head which he touched lightly, struggling to recollect how it came to be there. Bump…BATTLE! he grasped abruptly, sitting up hastily, the recent events coming back to him in a flash. His quick movement was accompanied by an involuntary groan of discomfort as his head throbbed in response to the shift. Attempting to shut out the pain, he stiffed his body and shut his eyes firmly, trying to discount the throbbing.

His method seemed to work suddenly and unexpectedly, for a strange sensation of unfamiliar energy prompted the teen to reopen his eyes to find his pain had fully dissolved. Again fingering his golf-ball sized bulge in surprise, Tidus was astonished to find it was not sore in the least even when he applied pressure. How did all my pain go away so quickly? he questioned. I didn't just imagine it. This thing is huge; I should surely have a headache, if not some other more serious type of head injury…so why do I feel fine? He pondered these thoughts, knowing the limitations of a cure spell compared to the seriousness of head injuries did not explain this situation.

A moan similar to his previous one caught his attention, compelling him to turn on his side to see who else was stirring. Wakka lay on his stomach, his head cradled in his arms. "Wakka," Tidus stated, his voice sounding monotone and nonchalant despite him being worried for his companion. This verbalization not only further roused Wakka but also stirred Selphie, who rested near Wakka, laying on her side, her hands guarding her face. While the young man slowly crawled on his knees till he could stand on one, Selphie sat up and turned around to face her two compatriots, both fully alert, confused and concerned.

Wakka scanned his friends over, caring for them as a protective older brother. "Everyone okay?" he asked, his face showing true interest in their well-being. Both Tidus and Selphie nodded, appearing no worse for wear; in fact, all three islanders felt as if they had just awoken from a voluntary, soothing nap not succeeding a knockout battle.

Scanning her surroundings, Selphie was not surprised to find she had been moved from her last remembered location; however, she was stunned to find that they had one member missing from their party. "Where's Kairi?" she enquired, her tone sounding more unaware than concerned, not knowing the princess had been with them until the boys had blacked out.

These two simple words set off a panic button for both Wakka and Tidus. Both sets of eyes quickly dashed from place to place, anxiously looking for the girl. "She was right with us," Wakka insisted desperately, unable to spot the islander anywhere.

Excessively uneasy and fueled by obliviousness to the outcome of their fight, Tidus scrambled to his feet, kicking sand as he struggled to gain a quick foothold. "Kairi!" he yelled, his loud voice vibrating off the ocean waves. Standing had not given him a glimpse of the keyblade wielder; however, what he did see sent him staggering backwards, bewildered by his surroundings. "Whoa…" he breathed unbelievingly, surveying the change in landscape.

"What?" Wakka asked, standing as well before gasping at what he saw. Selphie followed suit, all three islanders staring at their island's damage. While the treehouse, seaside shack and piers appeared completely untouched, the beach itself was marred in the most unusual way. Surrounding the islanders was a black ring appearing similar to scorched cinders, yet it seemed the sand itself had been caught afire, the smooth minute pebbles fused together like fragile grainy black glass. Many similar scars were evident all throughout the surrounding area, and the usually level beach face now was filled with multiple craters and ditches. Even though the three teens themselves had messed up the landscape in their own battle, the damage they had done was nothing compared to this mess.

Still, Kairi was nowhere to be seen. "Did Kairi do that?" Selphie asked, almost frightened by the makeover of their small play island. What if everything looks like this? she feared, also considering that the damage may have been the work of the Heartless. Still, as Wakka and Tidus had been conscious longer than she, they may have known what caused this new change in scenery.

Tidus' answer did not help Selphie. "I don't know," came the preoccupied teen's reply, his mind focused on the small details in the sand. Every inch of the battlefield was obscured beyond hope of finding any sort of evidence, yet footprints and impressions were still vaguely visible inside the ring of dark ash. Of these Tidus recognized the light tread of Kairi's wave-lined shoes shuffled around inside the perimeter, but an unfamiliar distinct shape in the sand sent his mind down a completely different path, making hypotheses about how the battle progressed after he had been defeated.

Wakka, however, was one-set mindset, concentrating only on the important task at hand. If anything's happened to her…I could never forgive myself. "It doesn't matter;" he insisted to his two friends, "let's go find her." This directive set in his head, he planted the same one in his two friends, who turned and nodded back to him. Quickly detouring to retrieve his weapon (which he had placed in Selphie's lap while carrying her), Wakka picked up his blitzball a short distance from where he had been laying, prompting Selphie to search for hers. Tidus, recognizing the rope was still tied around his waist, untied and returned it while surveying the sand for his rod. Remembering he had dropped it along the beach face which now lay in ruin, the teen recognized it would take much time to find and resolved to search for it later.

After tying her weapon around her waist, Selphie was once again absorbed in their task. "Is her boat still here?" she enquired, hoping for confirmation that she still remained on the island. This being something the boys had not considered, the three ran to the docks, stumbling here and there due to the uneven terrain. As he ran, Tidus felt an object clinking in his pocket, weighing down his left side slightly. Wait, I don't carry anything in my pocket…other than my – as Selphie and Wakka hurried to the dock's edge to identify Kairi's boat, Tidus paused on the bridge ramp and reached into his pocket to pull out his compacted rod. This isn't right…I know I dropped it when that Heartless grabbed my shoulders…it should be buried in the sand. Who put it back?

"Yep," Wakka stated, confirming that Kairi's boat still remained tethered to the dock. This new observation verifying the princess had not left the islands, Tidus pushed his curious thoughts aside as he stood at the platform's edge, facing the beach's damaged surface. Scanning everything he could, not a trace of the princess was to be found. Studying the land for any signs of her location, Tidus closely scrutinized the sand's patterns. Spotting a shallow narrow channel in the sand, his eyes followed it around the bend to the cove entrance. Looking back to where they had come from, Tidus identified three similar channels, recognizing the mystery trail as one left behind when someone ran through the sand. That someone, he assumed, was Kairi.

"Come 'on," he encouraged, jumping down from the dock and jogging across the island's sandy beach. Waiting for Wakka and Selphie to leap off the pier and follow, Tidus led the way, intently tracking the path he had found to its origin. Stumbling here and there, he took a moment to further observe his surroundings while following the trail. Being a short distance away from the heart of the battle, the sand had smoothed out considerably, allowing further marks to be established on its smooth surface. Despite this, Tidus did not recognize any other details, and he certainly didn't want to slow to double check.

Rounding the corner, Tidus' hunch was found to be correct as the trail ended at an unconscious Kairi, just a few feet from the boarded cove door. "There!" he declared, pointing her out to the others before running full speed ahead to her side. Hopping over the small step before scrambling to his knees, Tidus was quickly by Kairi's side, alarmed by her lifeless appearance. No smile graced her lovely face, but the oily trails of a few dried tears creased her cheeks. Laying similar to Selphie's position, she supported her head with her arms, her face as pale as a ghost – worst of all, she didn't appear to be breathing.

"Kairi!" Wakka's familiar voice carrying an apprehensive tone reached the princess' ears with an echo as if he called to her from far away. Sensing the near presence of her friends, Kairi felt a pull away from the empty dreamless void she seemed trapped in.

Selphie was the next to call out her name, this time sounding much closer and clearer. "Kairi! Can you hear me?" she pleaded, a desperate lilt in her voice. Slowly regaining her missing senses, Kairi felt the warmth of the sun accompanied by someone's shaky hand resting on her own while another broad hand grasped her shoulder, shaking it in hopes of awakening her. But the feeling most prominent was that of her throbbing heart, the organ beating much faster and harder than normal.

"Say something!" Tidus pleaded, rousing Kairi from her slumber. As if disturbed from a peaceful sleep, Kairi's deep breath was followed by a passive drowsy sigh. This superfluous inhale calmed her anxious heart quickly, resuming its normal steady pace in only three beats. Opening her eyelids gradually, she let her eyes become accustomed to the bright light before fully opening them. Tidus was the first to notice this response. "She's okay!" he cried happily, falling back in relief for her safety with a little laugh.

The princess of heart leisurely sat upright, smiling at her three friends. "Thank goodness," Selphie sighed, letting her head droop and release her tension. Kairi chuckled at their concern; with Tidus on her left and Wakka and Selphie on her right, the princess was reassured of the strong bond they shared despite rarely seeing each other. Wakka sighed in relief before raising to his feet, offering a helping hand to the princess.

Taking it, Kairi stood on shaking legs, taking a moment to stabilize herself. Tidus and Selphie joined the two on their feet, coming by Kairi to steady her if need be. But the princess didn't need help balancing despite her original thoughts. Having expected to be dizzy from exhaustion and severely stiff from her many bruises and aches, she was surprised to feel nothing at all after standing. It seemed her full strength – if not more – had returned to her in such a short time. And any pain she did feel while laying down vanished suddenly upon standing up. Huh…and I didn't even use a cure spell.

Kairi did not know if her companions felt the same. She was fully aware of their previous battle and was relieved to see them all still kicking, yet she worried of the aftermath of their fight. Besides, keyblade wielders can hold up better in battle than others. "Are you all right?" she asked, recalling their earlier tumble and seeing Tidus' whopper bump on the right side of his head.

The three teens nodded in reassurance at their condition, but Wakka added oral assurance. "We're fine," he insisted before turning his mind to the unsolved mysteries. "But what happened to you? Did you try going to the tunnel again?" he asked, unsure of what to call the dark hole that had suddenly appeared.

As if surprised, Kairi surveyed her surroundings to find herself in a different place than she remembered falling. Standing on the raised area of the sand with the door to the cove right behind her, she was only a few feet from the portal, a few feet closer than they had been in the furthest advancement of their fight. "I – How did I get here?" she asked, her mind in a whirl. Yet despite being so confused, she felt a strange peace set over her, keeping her distracted mind from exploding with questions. Why do I feel so…relaxed? Dreamy? Happy?

Selphie shrugged her shoulders, previously expecting to get an answer from Kairi herself. How does she not know? she thought incredulously, unsure if Kairi was truly unwell before the battle had even occurred. "Don't know," she responded naïvely. "We woke up a bit ago and you weren't around, so we went looking for you and found you here."

"But, I…" Kairi said slowly, trying to think through her situation. Selphie's explanation of the recent events prompted Kairi to explain on her own, hoping someone could make sense of it when she couldn't – as they clearly expected her to do for them. "… the last thing I remember is when you three all fell, and I tried to protect you, and then there was…this bright light," Kairi explained, putting a hand to her heart which seemed to ache in response. But other than this trivial pain, she felt completely dazed as if she were trapped in a state of reverie, the tale having a happy conclusion. Is this a dream? Something does feel a bit off…

"From your heart?" Wakka asked, confused by the princess' revelation. He had expected for her to expound on how she had made sure they were safe before naively running back to the portal, closing it and destroying all the Heartless before collapsing of exhaustion on her way back to the others. This was nothing like he expected, especially the detail on her heart's light.

"I guess so," Kairi stated absently, her mind on other issues. Suddenly their core problem came back to her as she realized it had not been resolved before she had blacked out. Although they weren't being attacked and she didn't see anything, how could her friends have closed the portal without her keyblade? "But…where are the heartless?"

No one had expected this. All three teens had expected her to continue on with her story to the point when she closed the portal and destroyed all the dark creatures, but her admitting that she hadn't done so immediately made them all uneasy. "The portal!" Tidus exclaimed, assuming Heartless, still pouring from the ever-growing portal, had taken their attention away from the fallen islanders and had gone on to siege the other islanders on the main island. "Let's go!" he insisted, turning towards the cove door. As the three other teens dashed to the door, Tidus stayed behind, stunned to see another mark in the sand right near where Kairi had been lying unconscious.

Wakka was the first to reach the door and pull on the handle only to remember it was boarded shut. Kairi thought this simple action was strange, but also oddly familiar despite it being Wakka's first time to make this mistake. Déjà vu…why? she remarked before turning her distracted attention back to the issue at hand, concerned greatly about her home.

Removing the door's blockade and aimlessly tossing it aside, Wakka yanked the door open wide before leading the dash through it, taking up his weapon, ready to fight again if need be. However, the sand was settled, the trees swayed only to the breeze, and the brilliant blue sky shone down on the small island – nothing was amiss. "It's gone," Wakka stated incredulously, amazed and perplexed simultaneously. Indeed, the portal composed of darkness had disappeared, leaving the world of light exactly how it had been before.

Though the other three teens felt the same emotions, Kairi's feelings of disbelief were the strongest. "How? No one closed it," she insisted, knowing she had not used her keyblade on the portal. This doesn't make any sense, the princess thought petulantly, unaware how their situation was resolved. But in her mix of emotions, fear of the unknown was mingled with her dreamy state and an unidentifiable ache somewhere deep in her heart – this made her all the more confused.

"Maybe someone did," came a surprising comment from Selphie. The other islanders all stared at her quizzically, encouraging her to explain. The girl thought with a hand supporting her face and her right arm supporting her left, her eyes closed and lines of intent gracing her simple but lovely face. Uncrossing her arms and straightening herself, she turned to address the princess at her side. "Kairi, you said that the light came from your heart, right?" Kairi nodded in reassurance, not in understanding. Selphie paused before continuing as if rethinking or reevaluating her theory. "Remember how Sora and Riku told us that Kairi was a princess of heart?" she inquired, now turning to Wakka and Tidus standing across from her.

This Kairi understood as she remembered this conversation. Although Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie had never been extremely close to Sora, Riku, or Kairi, the two boys had widely expounded on most of their adventures, including about Kairi's origin and purpose. "We don't have any darkness in our hearts; our lights are pure," the princess confirmed, verifying the boys understood the reference.

"Right," Wakka insisted, nodding solemnly. Wakka knew this fact full well; it was one of the reasons he was extra protective of Kairi now. About a week before, Sora approached both Tidus and Wakka, asking that if he ever had to leave again they would keep Kairi safe. Both islanders had promised to do their best, not aware their trial would come so soon.

Tidus did not see the point in this information; the points did not add up with all of the private data he had been collecting. And the self-confident teen was assured he was onto something; he stared at "proof" even as he pondered his theory. Still…it's worth getting everyone's perspective. "Well, what does that have to do with anything?" he asked analytically, the scholar side of his mind emerging two weeks early from its summer vacation.

Selphie became more assured with her theory the longer she dwelled on it. "What if her heart released her light?" she questioned the group, glancing at all of them at once, attempting to persuade them. "And the light not only destroyed the Heartless but closed the portal?" she continued excitedly, adrenaline rushing through her veins.

"Ok…that's stretching it a bit," Tidus insisted, deep in concentration. Already believing his theory was more accurate, Tidus was a skeptic to this idea despite knowing it was highly possible and his theory was near the bottom edge of logic. Yet still he evaluated every other outcome, and all the more Selphie's seemed acceptable while his continued to be problematic.

Selphie shrugged, her confidence not shaken but open to the views of her peers. "Do you have a better idea?" she questioned, seeing his eyes shut in profound thought. Looking at the faces of her peers, it appeared she had already won over Wakka but Kairi and Tidus remained skeptics.

Her hunch on Wakka was correct. "Nope," he insisted simply, giving into this solution easily. I don't care what happened as long as it did, he thought to himself, not diving into the details but accepting the easiest solution so he could move on with more important things. Still…now I'm curious about what really caused this and prevented it. He resolved to ask the core character of the dilemma. "What do you think, Kairi?" he enquired, turning to her across the way.

In her mind, Kairi was concentrating; to the others, she appeared majorly distracted. She wasn't like this before, Tidus remarked, discounting their game of chase before the portal's dawn. "I don't know…I can't think of any other explanation," Kairi answered slowly, pondering any other outcome of the combat. Yet when no one has seen the truth, guesses can be numerous and none could be correct – Kairi recognized this, yet she was slowly being won over to this 'simple' solution. "But…I feel like Selphie's onto something," the princess insisted, though her facial expression did not reflect her optimistic tone.

Wakka, however, was not able to contain his enthusiasm. "Who cares what happened?" he queried joyfully. "The heartless are gone! We did it!" he exclaimed, a smile of victory across his face. Despite sparring with the other children, Wakka and the others had never been in an all-out battle like this before – they had not even known what hit them the night of the storm. For their first time truly fighting, they had exceeded the expected despite their abnormal weapon choices. Selphie joined him in his celebration, but Tidus continued to remain thoughtful.

"Ya…" Kairi stated vaguely, still not satisfied and in search of more answers. The princess of heart, although accepting Selphie's explanation as truth and Wakka's excitement as well deserved, could not bring herself to be happy about the issue. Something else seemed to pull at her mind, and she couldn't keep all of her doubts from flourishing. This is too much…why now? Why not when Sora and Riku were here? They would know.

Tidus, also unsatisfied with this simple solution, still considered it a possibility. He took Kairi's response as one of pain, not contemplation. And if the princess had truly unconsciously used her heart's power, who knows what the after effects may bring. After all – if it is true – she just destroyed more than a hundred heartless and closed a portal of darkness with just her light...just imagine what that could do to her. "Hey, Kairi, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned more for her well-being than their issue, compared trivial to that of the princess' safety. Sora would kill me if anything happened to Kairi, and maybe even himself. He fully intended to keep her safe, hoping this was the last time he would have to be a royal bodyguard.

The princess was not concerned for her safety, but plagued with the questions of a scholar's mind. How did I get where I was? Did I really close the portal? Why did this happen now – is it linked to Sora and Riku's new adventure? Are they all right? Are we even okay? Questions swirled around inside her head, each begging to be answered."I have so many questions," she finally answered, thinking for a long stitch before responding and admitting her fears. "And I'm getting worried about Sora and Riku."

This statement reminded Wakka of life just before the portal; she had been hallucinating about Sora and Riku. No doubt she would worry…yet what's the point? We can't help them, and they surely don't need it. "Oh, you know those two," he remarked, as tranquil as he appeared. "If they're together, they'll be fine," he insisted, his confidence seeming to seep into Kairi's thirsty answer-seeking heart.

Kairi perked up at this statement, knowing that if nothing else was true, that statement was. "I guess you're right," she agreed, giving into oblivion and calming her thoughts. Despite this, her feelings still swirled around inside, refusing to calm. Feeling of uneasiness, longing for something familiar, and a numbing pain of unknown origin weighed her down, placing a heavy burden on her shoulders that she did not know how to relieve. Looking about for assuredness of their island's safety, she sought to find a remedy for her emptiness…her peaceful nothing. "Now what?" she asked, having no idea with what to distract herself.

Selphie, seeming the cheeriest of them all, was quick to present an idea. "How about…hide and seek?" she inquired, the game being her favorite from childhood since she easily slipped into the smallest of spaces.

"All right – you're it first!" Tidus insisted happily, joining in on the fun. He used this pastime to his advantage, not only enjoying the game but having other intentions. Wakka was purely joyful, glad things had quickly been restored unlike their island's appearance, which he planned to smooth over with the others starting the next day. Kairi was just glad for a diversion, hoping to get her mind off her strange mixed feelings.

Pouting in mock annoyance and immature petulance, Selphie expression easily brought a smile to her companion's faces. "Fine!" she cried out in phony irritation before beginning her counting to one hundred much faster than a normal tempo – the way children always count when they're 'it'. The boys dashed off at the first second in different directions, Tidus heading back the way they came while Kairi followed Wakka through the cove obstacle course. Stopping Kairi and motioning for her help, Wakka squeezed in the compressed pocket near the cove harbor while Kairi pushed the boulder in its path, concealing her friend in his favorite hiding spot which Selphie had never found.

Dashing off to find her own hiding spot, Kairi took the tunnel to the seashore as quickly as she could, knowing there were more opportunities to hide on that side. Recognizing she had almost run out of time, Kairi selected the first place that came to mind; her secret cave. Caught up in the game, she did not notice Tidus unprotected and crouching out in the open as still as a rock, intently staring at the ground. Dashing to get to it in time, she barely cleared the entrance before she heard Selphie loudly exclaim, "Ready or not, here I come!" Swiftly navigating the winding rock corridor, she hid in the darkest corner of the room behind a twisted root, having a perfect view of the world's door and their drawings. Seeing the one Sora drew with her and the Paupu fruit, her mind was immediately sucked back to worry and a numbness of spirit she had felt slowly growing since being revived. What's wrong with me? I don't really know…what this feeling is.

Distracted by her thoughts, the princess did not hear the quiet approach of the light islander's footsteps. "Found you," Selphie declared, leaning around the edge and startling Kairi badly. Losing her footing and falling to the ground, Kairi stared dumbfounded at the girl, still attempting to process things.

Selphie freed a minute trapped giggle, causing the princess to come to her senses. "Come on…" Kairi moaned unhappily, mad at her terrible hiding place. With this acceptance of defeat Selphie offered the fallen girl a hand, and her help was accepted willingly.

"I thought you might be here," Selphie stated, knowing the special cave had great significance to Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "You know…you aren't really trying," she remarked, studying Kairi's seemingly glum expression.

The princess was surprised she was so easy to read; Kairi had always thought she could hide her feelings well. "You think?" she asked, stunned by how bland and monotone her reply had sounded.

"Ya," Selphie said, motioning for Kairi to lead the way from the cave. The two ducked as they walked, watching their heads while Selphie continued to talk. "You're really distracted still. Is something bothering you?" she asked, still concerned that the teen didn't feel the same unexplainable energy that she did.

Energy was not the problem; Kairi couldn't pinpoint her source of irritation. "No, I don't think so. I'm fine," she insisted, in an unenthusiastic way. Well, so much for self-assuredness, she managed to think, smiling at the lack of confidence in her tone.

Selphie immediately sensed this fake assurance and diagnosed her friend's strange mood. They emerged from the cavern into the bright sunlight before Selphie spoke again. "You know, you don't act this way when you're worried – you act this way when you're sad."

"Huh…oh," She's right…this numbing pain, this heartache – its sadness. Kairi was stunned how easily Selphie pinpointed the issue she couldn't even truly identify, but upon the islander's revelation the symptoms were as clear as day. "I guess I may be," she admitted, knowing full well it was true and that sadness was her primary emotion. "But I don't know why," the princess concluded, this answer being completely honest. Despite now knowing the feeling, she didn't know its source – the motive behind the feeling. Sora and Riku? The portal? The unsolved mysteries? Is that what's bothering me? Or…something else?

Running across the beach face as quickly as he could, Tidus did not intend to stay hidden. While Wakka always had his special spot, Tidus would disappear best by moving from place to place, keeping from being found. He intended to use the same tactics, but not to hide from Selphie. Instead, he set out to collect more evidence for his own theory about the ring of cinders and the strange footprints he had seen.

Hurrying to the place they had laid unconscious earlier, he stopped to peer at the black welded sand. Sand can't even catch on fire, he noted before scooping up a handful, testing its grain. The chunky substance seemed to smooth out in his closed fist, and the islander was stunned to see the sand had regained its original light tan color and texture and as he slowly released it from a crack in his fist. Further disturbing the ring with his hands, he saw the same results as friction on the surface of the particles broke apart their bonds and undid the discoloring effects upon them. Interesting…now on to the footprints.

Turning his attention to where he had seen the first mark, he closely studied the sole design left behind. The footprint was clearly outlined by strong square treads lining the whole shoe; inside this ring was a thin line around the entire boot. A wavy design of flexible treads was vaguely visible in the toe; a small undisturbed area of the sand separated the insole from the heel, which was without the wave design – instead, it had a unique mark unlike Tidus had ever seen. Getting on his hands and knees to study it, he leaned down close to the sand, holding his breath so as not to disturb the design. The mark was a unique capital "A" hovering above what looked like a set of wings. Analyzing every strange aspect of the event, he wondered what this could stand for, if anything of significance. Occupied by these thoughts, he barely caught Kairi in his peripheral vision running to the cave. But Tidus didn't care; his world was evolved momentarily around the most miniscule scrap of info that proved or disproved nothing at all.

Hearing Selphie's announce her arrival, Tidus realized his shoe study was over until he evaded her. Looking about quickly for a hiding place, he found the nearest one to be the seaside shack. Dashing inside just in time, he closed the door quickly before stopping suddenly, keeping it open a sliver so he could see outside. Selphie walked about on the disfigured beach, looking this way and that, her eyes settling for a moment on the seaside shack. This is a terrible hiding spot… Tidus thought, fearing he would be the first caught, sent to the docks – the gathering place for those caught – and unable to continue his investigation.

It seemed Selphie didn't care to check the small hut, for she strode off confidently to the secret place beneath the tree. Remembering Kairi had run inside, he realized just as she had that in the princess' distracted state the cave was the first and only place she'd think to hide in. Seizing the opportunity to find a better place, he abandoned the shed and rounded the bend to the cove again, studying the print near where Kairi had laid unconscious. Along the way he took the time to study the land more thoroughly, locating no other distinguishable footprints in the sand. Carefully observing his surroundings, Tidus checked to find multiple footprints, many obscured and unrecognizable but at least three that matched the mysterious original and more that matched the treads of him and his friends.

Nodding in confirmation, he turned behind him to see Kairi mounting the pier, a victim of bad hiding. Knowing Selphie was once again on the prowl, Tidus set out to find more proof with better hiding opportunities. Quickly and quietly scurrying through the cove door, he held the entrance door shut in order to be undisturbed and dissuade Selphie from following – if she chose to turn back to the cove. But after waiting for several seconds with no change, the teen assumed the girl wasn't coming and went back to work.

Turning his attention to his feet – more accurately the 'proof' he had been staring at while his friends had been taking, he compared his foot size to that of the odd footprint. I'm about a size eight…so this guy has got to be around a size twelve – man, those are big feet. Must be tall… assumptions and opinions flooded through his head, confusing his hypotheses with the facts.

Realizing this, he cleared his mind, reviewing his evidence in his head. We wake up and all feel instant relief from our injuries, yet none of us but Kairi can use a cure spell. I dropped my rod while fighting, but it was back in my pocket when I awoke. Kairi was not where she had last remembered and was stunned by her surroundings – she's been acting weird, too. The landscape is a total mess, but no Heartless even touched our hearts. The portal was closed without the keyblade, and odd footprints are everywhere of interest…near where we had fallen, near Kairi, and near the portal.

Now…how much of this is all conjecture? …Kairi didn't say she hadn't used a cure spell on us…or put my rod back…or even made all those craters in the sand – I never asked about that. If her heart did release that light, could that have healed us all, including her? She may have some weird sickness to make her forget she closed the portal – after all, she was acting strange before the portal even appeared. Really…all I have to go on my theory are the footprints.

Still, this setback did not dissuade the teen. Although he wanted to ask Kairi, telling her his hypothesis may worry her more than she already appeared to be. Realizing he would need more to convince his friends, he set out to collect more evidence – mainly, proof of more footprints. Carefully evading the searching Selphie, the insistent teen scavenged the entire island, on the careful search for more details. Finding nothing anywhere in the treehouse, he determined not to check the beach face further, attempting to stay clear of Kairi as well so as she wouldn't question his strange behavior – instead, his thorough search took place in the cove.

In many places he found nothing, but in others it was obvious skirmishes they had not fought had taken place. Marks on the cove walls similar to the strange singe on the sand were extant, but rubbing the smudges and streaks as before caused them to disappear. Sand was disturbed everywhere, though no more large craters or dunes were found. Finally, a few distinct footprints were found on the seashore sand, the seashore tunnel path (along with some of Kairi's), and in the cove.

Thinking this information had to be shared, Tidus couldn't bear to wait for Selphie to give up the game – this was the only way Wakka ever came out of his spot. Knowing exactly where to go, the teen stealthily hurried to the boulder and, checking to see Selphie was absent, inched the boulder away just enough for him to lean in. The concealed blitzball player was stunned to see his friend, his expression evident in his face. "Tidus? That you, brudda?" he asked in a whisper, unable to distinguish the character well with the streaming sun behind them. Receiving a small nod of assurance, the boy immediately eased and smiled, happy to see his partner still uncaught. "Are you hiding with me?"

Tidus had no intention of the sort; the game didn't matter as much as his quest. "Wakka, something's wrong," he stated with solemn assuredness, having no doubt in his mind there was more to the recent events then what met the eye.

"What do you mean?" Wakka asked, curiosity growing inside of him. Unsure if Tidus was referring to the game or the portal, he hoped firmly it was the former as this would not be of crucial danger to anyone.

The matter involved the latter, yet not in the way Wakka would have expected. The detective teen grabbed his friend's wrist and led him without resistance from his hidey hole into the bright sun. Now closer in proximity, Tidus talked in a whisper, carrying a low, grave tone in his voice. "Someone else has been here on our island," he insisted, now assured in his theory even with his little evidence.

Despite assuming Tidus was only still antsy, Wakka took his friend seriously for his own curiosity – although he acted uninterested with the details, the boy's personal isolation period had caused him to question what had truly happened earlier that morning. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly, his voice reflecting Tidus' own.

Tidus expounded on his findings with professional bearings, showing no pride in his work but only sensibleness in the situation. "When we found Kairi, there were a lot of larger footprints around. And where we saw the portal last? The footprints were there, too." Spotting another right near the cove harbor, he did not hesitate to point it out. "Look, you see? There's another one!" Spotting the shallow but clear feature impressed in the sand, Wakka walked to it, bending down to study it closely. Tidus joined his side, staring at the symbol now engraved in his mind. "Same size, same design," he confirmed, preceding his confirmation. "I've just searched, and they're all over the island."

"What are you saying?" Wakka asked. They were not the only ones who came to the island, yet these footprints had not been there before – at least, they hadn't noticed them. And the beach face had been so messed up during the fighting that any footprints left beforehand should have been destroyed. So what? What is Tidus getting at?

Am I getting at something? Tidus wondered. Hmm…well, considering the footprints were all the places where the battles were, I believe I can make this assumption. "I'm not so sure Kairi was the one who closed the portal."