Past Time

Sora stood before the Twilight Delivery office.

It was a tall building in the Twilight Town business district, made up entirely of windows and intersecting metal beams, a true modern masterpiece of glass architecture. It used to be an old brick house, but success had a way of changing things.

He pushed through the swivel doors and entered the lobby. The interior was no less spectacular, with gleaming marble floors and shining walls. The glass design allowed ample light in, and with all the reflective surfaces inside, it gave the illusion of being in a giant crystal. He found the receptionist's desk.

"How may I help you?" The girl didn't even bother to look up.

"I'm here to see Roxas."

"I'm sorry, he's in a meeting, Mister—oh, I didn't know it was you, Sora!" She flipped a switch and became more animated. She batted her eyelashes demurely. "You can go right on ahead." She winked like it was just a secret between them.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes in front of her, nodded, and made his way towards the elevator where the metal doors parted. He entered and punched the button for the top floor.

Roxas' office was at the very top, which was natural considering he owned the company. He inherited the business from his father when the old man retired. Unfortunately, it came into his hands during a full-blown recession. Thanks to his innovative thinking, by taking full advantage of smartphones and the internet, Roxas saved Twilight Delivery and turned it into the delivery method of choice. It wasn't as big as MoogleMail, but few things were. He had certainly gone a long way from being the teenager who used to deliver packages by skateboard.

Sora was here to pick up Roxas. Today was the day of departure. After much deliberation, he decided to return to Destiny Islands. Even though it was the last thing he wanted to do, he felt like he had no choice. He couldn't just run away forever. If he ignored the invitation, Naminé and Roxas would probably knock him out and drag him back anyways. If he was going to be there, it would be by his own volition.

The elevator gave a soft "ding!" to signal the end of the ride. He left the lift and walked to a giant set of doors made of pristine wood. He opened it.

"Make sure you give extra care to their packages, they're our biggest client and take top priority—oh hey, you're here!" Roxas said in surprise. He was in the middle of a conversation with a woman who had black hair in a pixie cut. She wore a smart business suit, a white collar shirt, and light-colored pants.

Sora raised an eyebrow; she looked like Kairi.

Roxas didn't miss the glance. "Ah, let me introduce you two. Sora, this is my new manager, Xion. Xion, this is my cousin." He drew them close together.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted. She put her hand out for a shake.

Sora was struck by the resemblance. Her black hair reminded him of Kairi in her younger days when she kept her hair short. Her eyes even shared the same shade of purple-blue. He heard about doppelgangers before, but this was ridiculous.

"Ahem," Roxas coughed.

Sora snapped out of it. "Er—likewise." He hastily shook her hand.

"So, what brings you here?" the blond asked.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Sora replied, glancing at Xion.

"No no, it's fine! I'm just telling her to hold down the fort until we come back from the wedding."

Sora was appalled. "Always waiting until the last second to do things? The cab's outside and Naminé's waiting."

"Shit, it's time already? Okay, just gimme a few minutes, I have to sign off on a couple papers." He scrambled around the desk, fishing for important papers, and hastily signed his name.

Sora folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

Xion, feeling brushed aside, tried to make small talk. "So…" she started with uncertainty, "where's the wedding?"

"Hm?" He turned to her and was once again struck by the similarities. Were they related somehow? He drew his attention back to Roxas to avoid looking at her face. "Um…the wedding's in Destiny Islands."

"Destiny Islands? It must be expensive to hold a wedding there."

Destiny Islands was a tropical paradise—at least to the people who didn't live there. As a long-time resident, Sora found the Twilight Town skyline to be just as good as the beach sunsets he'd witnessed his entire life. "Not if you live there. You've never been to Destiny Islands?"

"Can't say I have."

"It's where I was born; I lived most of my life there."

"Wow. It must be a great place."

"Yeah, must be…" he trailed off. Dark images of the past briefly flashed in his mind.

"Alright, finished!" Roxas looked up to see them in a small, if awkward, conversation.

"Can we go now?" the brunet whined.

Roxas stared at them from behind the desk. An idea just hatched and his eyes took on a devilish sparkle. "You've never been to Destiny Islands, right Xion? How would you like to go?"

Her eyes widened. "What? But I don't have any—"

"It's fine, I'll pay for your ticket," he assured.

"What's the big idea?" Sora cut in.

"What about the office?" she brought up meekly.

"The office can take care of itself, I'm on call anyways."

"But I'm not invited."

Sora nodded along with her.

"Don't worry, you're plus one."

"I'm plus one?" "She's plus one?" they said in unison.

"Is there an echo in here? Yeah, I RSVP'd plus one on your card," he told Sora.

The brunet frowned. "When did you do that?"

"Don't worry about it, you said Naminé's waiting in the cab right? Let's go!"

He tugged both of them out.

Naminé was waiting outside near the car. She spotted Roxas coming out of the building with Sora in tow, along with another person she didn't recognize. The trio came up to her.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

Roxas picked up on her confusion and turned to Sora and Xion, "Uh, can you guys give us a minute?" He pulled Naminé aside for a quick word, leaving Sora and Xion alone together.

Sora stuffed his hands into his pockets and tried to avoid looking at the girl beside him.

"Um…do you know what's going on?" She was confused.

Sora shrugged his shoulders. "Don't mind him. He gets these crazy ideas from time to time. Decline any offer he makes," he advised.

"Okay...?"

He didn't reply because there was nothing more to be said. He observed her from the corner of his eye and saw that she was noticeably put off from his curt demeanor. He couldn't help it, she reminded him too much of the past. He snuck another glance; she seemed to be gazing intently at his cousin. Off in the distance, Roxas was wildly gesturing his arms in his conversation with Naminé. Xion giggled at the sight.

"He's taken."

Caught off-guard by the comment, she turned to face Sora but he was already looking the other way. Before she could retort, Naminé came up to them.

"Hi, we haven't been introduced have we? I'm Naminé, Roxas' girlfriend." She put her hand out.

"I—I'm Xion," she replied, slightly surprised.

They shook hands.

"I'll be waiting in the car," Sora declared. He left the two girls and approached Roxas, who was on his cell phone. "Hey Roxas!"

The blond held up a finger and continued to talk on his phone. "Really? Okay, great, I owe you big time!" He snapped the phone shut and turned to Sora. "What's up?"

"You're not serious about bringing her along with us to Destiny Islands, are you?"

"Of course I am."

"Don't you think this is going a little too far?"

"Oh come on, I saw the way you were looking at her."

Sora bristled. "That was—it's a very strong resemblance, okay? It doesn't mean that they're the same person. Besides, did it ever occur to you that she might not be interested in me?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because she likes you."

"What?" he shouted, almost falling over.

Sora laughed. "She has a crush on her boss, how adorable."

Roxas recovered. "I see what you're doing; you're trying to turn this around on me. I'm not falling for it. She's coming, whether you like it or not."

Sora scoffed. His cousin had too much free time on his hands. "Do whatever you want, I don't care."

Roxas was a meddler. It was the reason why he was so good at his job. No matter how small the problem, he just had to get involved and give it his personal attention. While it was an admirable trait to have in the business world, it was absolutely maddening for Sora. Once Roxas got going, it was hard to get out of his pace.

Sora found himself sitting next to Xion on a first-class flight to Destiny Islands. It amazed him how Roxas could do so much on such short notice. How Roxas was able to book an extra seat in first-class in mere minutes was beyond his comprehension. Sora had the aisle seat while Xion sat next to the window. Roxas and Naminé were sitting in front of them.

"Sorry about this. Roxas does what he wants without any consideration for the feelings of other people," he told Xion, loudly emphasizing the last part so Roxas could hear.

Xion smiled awkwardly. "It's okay. I'm actually kind of excited. I just wish I had more time to pack my things."

"Don't worry about it!" Roxas piped, popping his head out, "I've arranged to have your luggage sent in on the next flight to Destiny Islands."

Xion's mouth opened in surprise. "Oh! You didn't have to."

Roxas shrugged it off. "It's nothing. Don't you know? I'm a pro at delivering packages; picking up luggage is child's play."

"Thanks," she said, giggling.

After Roxas disappeared behind his seat, she frowned. She was grateful to have her stuff delivered on this impromptu trip, but what was up with the guy beside her? Every time she glanced at him, he would be facing the other direction. Was she that ugly? It wasn't just that though, his little comment when they were waiting for Roxas and Naminé also irritated her. First of all, how the heck did he know? And second of all, he crushed her little crush minutes after meeting her. She felt dumb. This stranger, who she barely knew for half a day, already discovered her secret and squashed it. Feeling slightly irritated, she blew on her bangs.

"You wouldn't…" Sora blurted out suddenly.

She turned to face him and he paused. "Yes?"

"You wouldn't happen to know a Kairi, do you?"

It didn't take her long to answer since she never heard the name before. "No."

He almost laughed. "Ah, sorry if I'm acting a little weird."

Just a little? More like completely. "Well an explanation would be nice."

"It's just that—you look a lot like someone I know."

"Don't be so vague about it," Roxas added, poking his head around the seat again.

Sora gave his cousin a blank stare. "Is your girlfriend's company so dull that you have to eavesdrop on our conversation?"

Roxas gave a wry smile. "You're not being entirely honest here," he accused. He turned to Xion, "The truth is, you look a lot like the bride of the wedding that we're going to."

"The bride?" she repeated.

"Roxas, get back here." His head was pulled behind the seat.

"Thank you, Naminé," said Sora. Her slender hand stretched out with a thumbs up. He turned to Xion. "So that's the reason. I just thought that you might know her, or be related somehow."

"Now I'm really curious to see how she looks like."

"She's beautiful," he said reflexively.

Was that an indirect compliment? Xion blushed and found the window very interesting.

Sora waited for a reply that never came. It was silent for a few minutes until it dawned on him that he called Xion beautiful indirectly. He smiled at his mistake. Feeling a bit tired, he fell into his seat and closed his eyes.

It was strange to think that, up until a few days ago, his world was utterly still. The writer's block had frozen time. Days of nothing turned into weeks, weeks that blurred into months, and months that turned into nothing, but one little card kicked off an avalanche that threatened to bury him. So much had happened in so little time that a long flight was exactly what he needed.

Although Kairi now occupied a very large part of his mindshare, Naminé had certainly thrown him for a loop. She wasn't always like that. To be that bold and daring… It was a testament to her ability to change. She used to be so timid and shy. He began to will forth forgotten memories, memories of a little art room, and the shy girl who occupied it.

The door closed with a "click!"

A fifteen year-old boy, dressed in the classic Destiny High School uniform of white shirt and dark slacks, turned around to inspect the art room. It was a studio with concrete flooring, the ground covered with poster paper and paint spatter. There were a bunch of empty chairs, carts full of art supplies, and a little girl peeking her head out from behind a canvas—wait, what? He wasn't expecting that.

She was blonde, with blue eyes wide in confusion. Her sleeves were rolled up and a paintbrush was in her hand. An errant drop of paint hit the ground.

"Sorry for bothering you, but if anybody comes in, I was never here." He took a quick look around and found a giant green locker. He opened it and stuffed himself in. The blonde girl was bewildered by the intrusion, his words, and by what he just did. As he predicted though, somebody came.

"Oh!" the intruder gasped. It was a girl with dark auburn hair and purple-blue eyes; she seemed to be breathing hard. "I'm sorry, but did you see anybody run by? He has brown spiky hair, a goofy looking face, and a stupid grin." She described the previous visitor down to a T, but the blonde girl shook her head no. "Oh, well, thanks anyway!" She left.

The locker door creaked open and the boy fell out, his once white shirt now stained with various colors. "You're a life saver." He breathed in deeply. "Wow, it's nice to finally breathe some fresh air. It smells like paint in there. I swear I was getting high," he said, laughing.

The girl stared quietly at the boy.

"My name's Sora, what's yours?"

She put her head down.

He walked a few steps closer.

She jerked up and tried to cover the canvas with her body.

He was confused and a bit disheartened.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," he said quickly. He shuffled out of the room, and out of the awkwardness.

Alone by herself in the art studio, she mentally berated herself. That was her chance to actually talk to someone, a chance to not be alone, but she screwed up the opportunity like always. Why did it always have to be like this? He was probably never going to come back.

The next day, the same door opened and closed with a quiet click. She looked up, surprised to the see the same boy from yesterday. He put a finger to his mouth, "Shhhh." He ducked behind the teacher's desk.

The door opened again, "I'm sorry for bothering you again, but did you see anybody come in here?" The blonde shook her head no. "Really? I could've sworn—thanks anyway." The door shut.

Sora's head peeked out from under the desk. "Thanks." He got up and sat on a desktop. He started scratching his head. "About yesterday, sorry if I offended you."

She was warring with herself, say something, anything!

"I can leave if you want."

She shook her head furiously.

"Or I could keep you company?"

She nodded vigorously.

He grinned. "You can talk, you know. I won't bite."

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She couldn't speak. Great, now he was going to think she was weird!

"I don't think it's weird," he assured.

Her mouth opened in shock. How did he know?

"I was like you once, believe it or not."

Her head tilted curiously.

"Of course, this was like years ago, back when I was in elementary school."

Her cheeks colored.

"Oh, I'm not trying to say that you're a kid or anything like that, I'm just, well, I know what its like to be alone…and afraid."

She didn't say anything.

"We could all use a little company, even if we think we don't need it." Although her cheeks were still warm from embarrassment, she visibly relaxed. He wasn't running away or making fun of her, that was a good sign…right?

He took a few careful steps closer and pointed to the canvas. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

She was torn. Should she, or should she not?

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."

She bit her lip. This was your chance, take it! She took a few steps back and motioned with her head, telling him to step in.

"Really?"

She nodded yes.

He moved behind the canvas to see the picture. It was a painting of the beach, and it was wonderful. She had captured the sunset perfectly. She chose the moment when the sun was just about to dip below the horizon. The colors swirled and exploded and the sky became a collage of yellow, orange, red, and blue. The detail was impeccable. On the sand was a figure, a little girl sitting by herself, all alone.

"Wow, this is amazing!" he gushed. At the corner of the painting was her signature. "Naminé…" he said softly, testing the name on his tongue. "It's a very nice name." He turned around and saw her looking away in embarrassment. "I'm being serious here," he said, laughing. "Are you always here by yourself?"

She nodded affirmatively.

"If you don't mind, do you think I could stay here from now on? I'm getting tired of running away."

Naminé, whatever you do, don't let this opportunity slip by! She nodded enthusiastically.

So the days went on. He dropped by frequently—more often than she anticipated. She figured he would get tired of her and stop coming one day, but he kept showing up—not that she minded, of course. It was nice. She never said anything but he didn't seem to mind. He would talk about random things and she would listen intently. Sometimes, he told funny stories and got a giggle or two out of her. He became a constant and comfortable presence. One day, she worked up enough courage to finally say something.

"…why?"

Sora latched on to it with the excitement of a mother hearing her newborn's first words. He was about to blather on about her great progress but paused to seriously consider the question. Why? Why what?

"…why are you here?" She clutched her mouth immediately, as if she said something offensive. It probably didn't come out the way she wanted it to, but he understood instinctively.

"Why indeed?" he said, smiling. "To be honest, I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart." He paused. "I'm actually a selfish guy."

She was puzzled.

"I'm just using you to…run away from my own problems."

She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"You know that girl who keeps looking for me?"

She nodded.

"Her name's Kairi. And…"

And…what?

"And I'm in love with her."

She almost fell out of her chair. The confession was entirely unexpected and just a bit…irritating?

"I'm glad I got that off my chest. It's been weighing on me for a really long time now." He let out a relieved chuckle. "The problem is that we're best friends. If I told her how I really felt, it would probably ruin our friendship. I know it's corny, but it's the truth."

Her expectant gaze urged him to continue.

"You see… She was the one who broke my shell and turned me into who I am today. Maybe it's not love, maybe it's just a crush, infatuation, some kind of misplaced gratitude, but this feeling, whatever it is, I just can't let it go. But there's also something else, if you can believe it." He laughed sardonically. "She already has a boyfriend, and he happens to be my other best friend, Riku. I want to hate him, but I can't, he's like a brother to me. I should be happy for them, I'm supposed to be happy for them, but I'm not. And every time I'm around them, I just feel like…like I'm dying. I can't stand it. So I avoid them. If I don't see them, well, outta sight outta mind, right?"

When she asked her question, she certainly didn't expect that kind of answer. He never once mentioned Kairi or Riku in any of his rambles. It was also a lot to take in at once.

"I'm sorry for laying it on you like that, but I figured you'd be the last person to reveal my secret."

She gave a wan smile.

"I've tried to endure it, smile and pretend that everything was alright, but I can't. And I don't want her to know about my true feelings either. If she knew, then things wouldn't be the same. I mean, things are already bad now, but if she knew, then she would probably break up with Riku out of some misguided sense of loyalty.

"I want her to be happy, and I know that Riku makes her happy, but I can't be around her if it's not me that's doing it, the one making her happy. I even tried to get her to hate me. Instead, she got even more worried. So I just run, hoping that she'll forget about me sooner or later. And I just happened to run into you."

He looked at her square in the eye.

"I'm really selfish, aren't I?"

She shook her head. "I don't think…that's selfish at all," she said quietly, almost like a whisper. "You're thinking about her happiness. It means…you care about her." Sora looked frustrated, like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Naminé didn't like his expression. She wanted to change it somehow. "You didn't have to talk to me…and you didn't have to become my friend, but you did. That's called…kindness. You're a good person, Sora."

"You have a nice voice," he mused out loud. She broke eye contact, her cheeks warming instantly. "You're just trying to make me feel better… But you know, it actually does make me feel better. Thanks."

She nodded her head as if to say, "You're welcome."

"You should talk more often," he advised. "A lot of people mistake shyness for arrogance. I'm sure you can make friends on your own if you tried, friends better than me anyways."

"I…"

He flashed his famous lady-killer grin. "Don't worry; I'll help you through it. After all, I think we made a lot of progress today!"

Her face burned. Why did he have to be so embarrassing!

He came by every day to talk with her, to listen to her, and to be a good friend to her. He supported her in everything, providing encouragement in her artistic endeavors, and giving her the courage to speak with other students. He was with her every step of the way. She took his advice to heart, and slowly but surely, she began making new friends, and did all kinds of things that she never expected. Shopping trips, eating out, sleepovers, it was an eye-opening experience. But he was wrong about one thing:

They weren't better than him.

"Sora!"

He turned around to see an energetic blonde run up to him. He smiled. She had changed so much in the past two years since he met her. They were seniors now. "Oh, Naminé, how's it going?"

She gathered her breath. School had just let out. "It's good, great actually, I just wanted to know if you got accepted anywhere?"

"You're talking about college? I already made my decision."

"Y-you did?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why the curiosity?"

"I just thought it would be nice if we went to the same school," she said quietly.

Sora laughed. Naminé always had a tendency to say important things in a whisper, as if saying it any louder would lead to disaster. "It would be nice. I'm going to Twilight University."

"Twilight University? Isn't that really far away?"

"My cousin lives in Twilight Town and he's going to the same place. I figure I could just live with him. Also, the chances of seeing Kairi and Riku are…slim to nil."

"Oh…I see."

"You wanna get something to eat right now? I'm starving!"

She gave a hesitant smile, her mind mulling over what he said. "Y-Yeah…"

After that encounter, Naminé looked at all the schools in Twilight Town until she found the perfect one, an art academy that was conveniently located near Twilight U. Even if they didn't go to the same school, they were close.

Despite time and distance, Sora was never able to forget Kairi. Eventually he introduced Naminé to Roxas when she came to visit his home. The rest, as they say, is history.

"Now arriving at Destiny Islands," a feminine voice announced over the PA.

Sora opened his eyes. He was back on the plane again. He looked to his left and saw Xion snoozing against the seat cushion. Outside the window, he could see the morning sun coming up. He fell back against the seat.

Now that he thought about it, he was a complete moron for not realizing it sooner. If he had given her a chance—no—if he had given himself a chance, he might've been able to move on. But the past was the past. Naminé was happy with Roxas now. It was like she said; you could never really forget your first love. The problem was…

Kairi was his first and only love.

The plane started shaking as it lowered onto the runway. Xion and the others were beginning to stir awake.

They had arrived.