Chapter 6
He wondered how she would like it.
He watched as a silver spoon hovered above a landscape paved with vanilla cream, littered with fruit slices, sprinkled with nuts, and dripping with syrup. The serene scene was then shattered when the spoon shoved itself in and scooped up a healthy heap of ice cream.
"So…what do you think?" Sora asked, watching as Xion put the spoon in her mouth, testing the creamy confection on her tongue.
Her eyes widened. "Delicious!"
Sora nodded, not at all surprised by her reaction.
They were at Cait Sith's, an ice cream parlor that served only the best ice cream on the island—or the world for that matter. Tourists never did get the name right, and Xion was no exception.
"Kate Siths?" she said out loud, reading off the sign.
"No, more like Ket-Shee," he corrected.
"Ket-shee?"
"It's Scottish, I think." The name referred to its proprietor, a caped cat that rode a giant moogle that loved to scream into his giant megaphone. He wasn't a real cat of course—he was a robot—but that didn't diminish his awesomeness any. If nobody ever told you he was a machine, you would be none the wiser.
The look on Xion's face when she first saw the mascot was priceless. At first she thought it was just a statue, but the moment he started moving, her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas day.
"Is he real?" the girl excitedly asked, rubbing the cat between its ears.
Sora didn't want to break the illusion, but he didn't want to come off as a liar either. "He's a machine, if that's what you're asking…"
"But that doesn't mean I'm not real!" the cat yelled, having heard them.
She jumped slightly in surprise. "I-I don't mean that at all…" she apologized, suddenly embarrassed.
"Nah, that's okay!" the cat excused. Cait Sith hit the moogle on the head, prompting it to move him closer to the girl until they were face to face. "Whoa, you're a real cutie! What's your name?"
"W-who, me?" she stuttered in total bewilderment.
"Yeah of course! Who else?"
"Her name's Xion," Sora finally revealed, butting into the conversation. The cat's eyes darted to Sora and widened. The thing about machines was that they had perfect memory.
"Sora Sora! Is that really you? My eyes aren't foolin' me?" Cait Sith yelled out as he recognized the brunet. "Long time no see!" The cat leapt from his moogle perch and landed on Sora's head. "Aw, what happened to your hair?"
Xion laughed as the scene unfolded.
"Nice to see you too," the brunet deadpanned. His hair was a lot shorter than it used to be, no longer the mess that made it so fun to jump in when he was younger.
"Man Sora, what are you doing here, especially with a girl like her? Hey, how bout you ditch this guy and go out with me?" the cat proposed.
She was at a complete loss. "Er…"
Sora had a tough time trying to get the cat off his head, a cat who was completely ignoring his duties as a purveyor of ice cream and apparently trying his hardest to woo Xion. The scene might've been odd in any other place not called "Cait Sith's Victory Ice Cream Shop!" but this was on par for course in Cait Sith's domain.
After Sora convinced the cat that Xion wanted ice cream more than anything else, they settled themselves comfortably in a corner booth, sitting on top of plushy red cushions and next to giant glass pane windows. Sora suggested that they both take a Slot Sundae which, from the look on Xion's satisfied face, was the right call.
"This might be the best ice cream I've ever tasted," she said, smiling.
"Even better than Twilight Town's Sea-Salt Ice Cream?"
"Oh! Sea-Salt, I haven't had that in such a long time. I was wondering what this sundae reminded me of." She gave herself another taste. "Does this place have Sea-Salt?"
"Nope!" the cat blared from behind the counter. The two turned their attention towards the feline proprietor. "And there's a good reason for that!"
"And what's that?" Xion asked.
"Cats don't like water!"
Xion went in a fit of giggles. "I see!"
Xion was smiling a lot more now. Guess all it took was a giant moogle and a talking cat to get it out of her. "Glad to see you're having so much fun," Sora commented.
She nodded her head. "There aren't many places like this back in Twilight Town."
"Yeah, I know. Me, Kairi, and Riku used to come here all the time." The statement lingered in the air but drew a rather intense look of curiosity from Xion. "What?"
"You said 'me, Kairi, and Riku," she repeated softly.
Did he not establish that they were friends earlier? "Yeah, I did."
"If you don't mind me asking," she said uncertainly, "how did you meet Riku?"
He stared at her for a few seconds. "My, aren't we nosy today?"
Her face got hot. "It's just—I mean—you cut the story off so abruptly," she stammered out flustered.
"Hey hey, I'm just joking!"
She blew on her bangs, embarrassed. "Now you're just making fun of me."
He laughed. "My life can't be that interesting," he remarked. "You can't really be curious; you're just being nice aren't you?"
"That's not true at all!" she yelped. She caught herself, looked around to see if she drew any attention, and said in a low whisper, "It's just…you're really good at telling stories."
Good at telling stories huh? He should hope so, considering his occupation. He spooned some of his own sundae and put it in his mouth. The taste was sweet and very…nostalgic. "Me and Kairi were together for all of elementary school but it wasn't until middle school that we met Riku."
Xion could sense it. He was going to go into story mode. It was as if all the lights, natural or not, dimmed around them, and all the background noise faded into silence. She didn't know if he realized it or not, but he easily commanded a presence, not unlike Roxas in the board room. He just demanded attention, and she felt compelled to just shut up and listen. The Hikari blood was pretty potent stuff.
Sora looked out the window, watching as tourists, residents, and children walked the streets with smiles on their faces. Then he noticed his own reflection, a grim and exhausted face, staring back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Why was he here again? Why did he come back to Destiny Islands and what did he hope to accomplish? He opened his eyes and was met with Xion's expectant gaze.
"Kairi…" he began softly, "…became my first and best friend. From that point on, we were inseparable. She took the lead in everything. We went on all sorts of crazy adventures. It was a blast. We had so much fun together.
"She looked after me and kept me out of trouble. She had her own style. Remember that scene at the door step? That's vintage Kairi. She was always a little rough. Her favorite thing to do was kick me in the legs whenever we sat down together. It was like pain was her favorite message to send.
"We were close until middle school. That was when we finally met Riku. He was one of those brooding types. He reminded me a lot of myself. When I first saw him, I thought he was a bad apple, but Kairi wanted to be friends with him. I swear—that girl has an affinity for stray dogs. As it turned out, he lost his parents too. He never knew them though; he was raised in an orphanage. He had a tough life and it took some time before she finally cracked him open.
"At the time, I was pretty annoyed. You couldn't blame me since I was a kid, but I thought to myself, 'why did she have to go out of her way just for his sake?' It was a selfish thought, but it was that kindness that attracted me to her, and at the same time, it was that kindness that pushed us apart.
"But Riku and I had a lot in common. It wasn't long before we had become good friends. In a way, we were both saved by her. I think…he probably fell in love with her for the same reasons I did. Until we came along, he was all alone. We became his new family; a brother and a sister. We were the perfect trio.
"Then high school happened.
"As far as friends went, they were always enough for me, but I guess they didn't feel the same. People change. I thought our close knit group would stay together forever you know? But Kairi needed girlfriends, another girl to talk to about girl stuff. Riku got into sports and naturally became a target of the female population.
"As for me? I was left scrambling to fend for myself. The worst part was these new feelings I started having. Maybe it was because of the hormones, I don't know, but my heart would race every time I saw her. I was left wanting something more than just friendship. I told myself it was just a phase. An infatuation, a simple crush, and that I'd get over it soon enough, except that it never happened. Things weren't the same anymore. Everything had changed. I thought I was feeling just a little lonely because she had her own friends now.
"But this was when I realized—I was in love with her."
Xion had been listening intently, but something about that last statement was strange. To her, the concept of love was bizarre. She never had the luxury of experiencing the feeling and she just wanted to get a better understanding of it. "How can you be so sure? When do you—how do you know its love?" she asked.
He took some time to think about it. It was a good question, when did he exactly realize it? "There's no single moment that you go, 'I'm in love!' It's more of a collection of moments."
Whenever she smiled, all he wanted was to see was that smile forever.
Whenever she dragged him to who-knows-where, he could only focus on the faint electric tingle of her touch.
Whenever she hugged him, he never wanted to let go.
"Then you wake up one day and realize that all you've been thinking about lately is her and her alone."
Xion finished the last of her sundae. "Love must be an interesting feeling."
"Love is also like that," he replied, sinking his spoon into his ice cream. "It's not a single feeling, but a collection of feelings. You would think it would just be 'happiness,' but there are a lot of other things that go along with it."
"Other things?"
He nodded. "Like worry, anger, jealousy, disappointment, fear…"
"Fear…?"
"Fear that you may never feel this way again," he said, smiling. It was a bit unnerving.
"From the way you talk about it, I'm not sure I want to fall in love."
He chuckled. "Love isn't something you do, its something that just happens whether you want it to or not."
"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl don't you?"
"I apologize if I destroyed your conceptions of love."
"It's okay," she said good-naturedly. "I suppose when the time comes, I won't set my expectations too high."
Sora gave a soft chuckle. "For all the bad things that come with it, those few moments that you do share with the person you love makes it all worth it. Kairi understood me in a way that nobody else ever could."
"Not even your mom?"
"Especially my mom."
They busted out laughing together. It was nice to let go once in a while. Maybe it was the ice cream, maybe it was Cait Sith behind the counter giving him the evil eye, or maybe it was just Xion's company, but something about the whole situation made him a feel a lot better. Still, as much as he enjoyed the moment, the reality always came crashing back. After their laughter settled down, Sora put on an uncharacteristically serious look. "Kairi knows me better than any other person. I think—no—I'm sure she knows by now…how I really feel about her."
"What makes you say that?" she asked, disheartened by the change of mood.
"Because I know her just as well. Funnily enough, I think she just as afraid as I am to actually hear those words out loud. Maybe she thinks I might screw up the wedding or something."
Xion had a suspicion that he might, but she thought it would be wise to keep that to herself. "What will you do?" she asked instead.
"I don't know. It all depends on what happens tomorrow, when she takes me out for a fitting. She'll probably force me into a situation where I have no choice but to tell her the truth. After that, your guess is as good as mine." He looked at his sundae, which was half liquid by now, after having spent so much time telling his story. Most people would discard it, but Sora felt an obligation to finish it—he paid for it after all. "Since you pretty much know my whole life story, what about you Xion? Why don't you tell me about yourself?"
She gave a surprised face as if he asked her a deeply personal question. "A-about me? There's nothing really special about me. Compared to your life, mine is really boring. This whole trip has probably been the most exciting thing that I've done since forever."
He was disappointed with the answer but a flimsy response like that wasn't going to stop him. "Fair is only fair right? I bet you're just covering it up. You've probably left a whole line of broken hearts in your wake," he joked.
She shook her head emphatically. "No no, you got it wrong. Really, there's nothing special about me."
It looked like he wasn't going to get anywhere. Oh well, that was fine. All in due time he supposed. "That's not true," he stated, getting her attention. "I don't think there's such a thing as a boring life. Our struggles, no matter how small, will always be our own. That alone makes our lives important and worth living. Life's not a competition. The problems we have are unique to us. You can't compare life stories and say one is better than the other."
She was a little meek at the moment. She felt like a student who gave the wrong answer in class, and Sora was the teacher who admonished her for it. She never had anything to really complain about in life, and yet here was Sora, telling her that it didn't matter. Having gone through as much as he did, how could he even say such things? What kind of will was required to hold on to that kind of optimism? "You're a strong person," she whispered.
"Thanks…even if it's not true."
For some reason, the answer was really funny. She belted out in laughter. They must be the strangest pair, constantly praising each other, but never missing a chance to self-deprecate. They were two self-defeated peas in a pod. "Do you ever listen to what you say? You are strong Sora. Don't let anybody, least of all, yourself, tell you otherwise."
He was honestly floored by her statement. She said it with such conviction; he didn't know how to reply. "Thanks…for real this time."
She gave him a smile.
"You know," he started, "coming here has made me realize one thing, if I am to ever move on, I have to confront Kairi, for better or worse."
She nodded. "Even though we know each other for just two days, I'll be cheering you on!" she exclaimed with her fists clenched.
"I'll be cheering for you too!" Cait Sith yelled on his megaphone.
Sora looked out of the booth and realized the whole shop was looking at him. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.
After finishing their sundaes, they left the shop.
"So where are we going?" Xion asked. Sora never really told her where they were going before heading off in seemingly random directions. He usually left on short notice too, forcing her to catch up or be left behind.
Sora tilted his head upwards, seeing the sky catch a tinge of orange. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was coming down. "How about a little hike?"
Although the words "hike" scared her, Sora wasn't lying when he said "little." It wasn't hard walking up a dirt path that led into the hills. The incline was gradual, so it was with great surprise when she finally looked over her shoulder and saw that they were easily hundreds of feet above sea level, overlooking the entire island.
"Wow, what an amazing scene!" she gasped.
Sora settled himself on the grass and patted the ground next to him. She came over and sat down. A day before, he was hesitant to sit next to her on the couch, but a lot had happened since then, and it didn't feel as weird to be sitting next to her. She sat down and crossed her legs, enjoying the scenery.
"Back in Twilight Town, I live in a small dingy apartment."
"Huh?" She turned her head towards the brunet and saw that he was looking over the island.
"Roxas always got on my case about it. He kept telling me to move out. I suppose when you own your own company, your view on living spaces gets a little distorted."
It was weird to think that Roxas owned his own company. When Xion met him for the first time, she had mistaken him for one of the delivery boys. To say she was a little embarrassed would be an understatement.
Suddenly, she realized that she had no idea what Sora did for a living. "What do you do for a living?" she asked.
"You mean Roxas never told you?" The one thing that Roxas did, without exception, when introducing him to women, was hype up the fact that he was the author of The Keyblade Chronicles. Either Roxas was slipping or Xion really was a spur-of-the-moment travel companion.
She shook her head. "He never said anything about you, remember?"
"I don't really do anything. I just help Roxas out from time to time," he lied—kind of, he really did help Roxas, but that usually had more to do with Naminé than the actual company.
"Oh I see." It made sense. Not like she knew she was sitting next to the best-selling author of a book she happened to be an incredibly big fan of.
"Anyways," he said, going back to his initial subject, "the reason I stay in that dingy apartment is because of the view. My place is across the river from downtown. If you go on the roof, you have a perfect view, just like this."
"It is a breath-taking view," she observed.
"Yeah it is. If you hadn't noticed, I have a thing for high places."
They sat there for a while, feeling the cool breeze against their faces, watching as the sun made its slow descent towards the horizon. She didn't know what to expect when he invited her out the other day, but watching this amazing sunset before her very eyes, she was glad she came. But there was still one giant piece of the puzzle that was still missing. "How did…Riku and Kairi get together?"
She was afraid to ask the question for fear of appearing too intrusive, but he didn't look surprised. "I was wondering when you would ask. That is indeed the million dollar question."
A few moments went by. Um, are you going to answer that Sora?
"The reason they got together…remains to this day, the greatest regret of my life."
Fifteen-year old Sora stood prepared. He gathered up his nerve, took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and asked the greatest question of his life.
"Kairi, will you go to prom with me?"
There was no response.
"No, that's not right," he muttered to himself. He shook his head and repeated the question to the mirror.
Sora was in his bathroom, in front of the medicine cabinet, practicing his proposal to Kairi. After two years of confusion, mixed feelings, and soul-searching, he finally admitted to himself that he was, by all accounts, in love with his best friend. Upon this realization, he knew that he needed to tell her before he would regret it for the rest of his life. But if it took two years for him to realize that he loved Kairi, how long would it take for him to actually tell her that?
The answer presented itself through a school event known as prom. It was his chance to finally tell her his true feelings. It wouldn't be right to confess to her out of the blue on a normal day. It had to be on a special occasion, and what better occasion was there than prom? Unfortunately, the biggest problem was getting her there in the first place.
If he asked her straight up, it would be the same as confessing. He couldn't make it sound too serious; it had to come off as a friendly suggestion. This was why practice was so crucial; he had to make it sound casual. Only after they reached the dance hall, only after they got drunk off of fruit punch, only after she's had a good time could he finally drop the bomb. It was the perfect plan—if only he could get past the first stage.
"Hey Kairi, you think you might wanna…go to prom together?"
No, way too weak and tentative.
"Hey, prom's coming up right? Why don't we go together?"
That might be too casual.
His forehead collided with the mirror. This wasn't getting anywhere. He had already practiced for hours but time was short. He was just lucky that Kairi had declined every invitation from any other guy thus far. He hoped it would stay that way, at least until he worked up the courage to ask her out himself.
It was a day like any other at Destiny High, the sun was shining, the weather was great, and the kids were sitting in class, bored out of their minds, eagerly awaiting the tell-tale chime of the school bell. When it finally rang, a collective sigh of relief was let out, and everybody sprinted for the exits—including the teachers.
Not Sora though. He remained fixed in his seat, quietly chanting a refrain to himself, the classic Nike catch phrase, "Just do it…just do it…just do it…"
"SORA!" a voice yelled. He jumped out of his seat and opened his eyes, seeing Kairi's smirking face. She laughed at his reaction. "Dummy, what the heck are you doing? School's over!"
He sat there, seeing this bubbly girl, this girl that he loved, stand there in front of him. This was his chance! JUST DO IT.
"I was just—meditating," he excused lamely. Way to go Sora.
She giggled; she didn't believe it for a second. "C'mon, let's get of here."
"Yeah yeah, I know." He scanned the room and noticed that they were the only ones in there. He picked up his bag and followed her out of the room. As soon as they left the door, they were stopped.
"Oh, hey Axel, how's it going!" she greeted. Axel, a garish rogue with a devil may care attitude, was apparently waiting outside the door for them. Something about the way his emerald eyes gleamed at Kairi was highly suspect to the brunet.
"Hey babe, you mind if I could talk to you about something?"
He wasn't going to…no, he couldn't be, there was no way—he was going out with Larxene wasn't he?
"Uh, sure, what's up?" she replied obliviously.
"It's kind of personal," he answered, staring at Sora. "You mind?"
Yes he minded. He minded very much. "Not at all." He walked away a short distance and mentally cussed himself out. Way to go Sora, way to freakin' go. He leaned against the lockers and watched as the two chatted together. She seemed to enjoy the conversation and giggled a few times. If Axel asked her out and she actually said yes, Sora was going to punch himself in the face. Seriously.
The spiked redhead rubbed the back of his neck as Kairi walked away towards Sora. She motioned for him to follow her.
"So, what was that about?" he asked, trying to sound as disinterested as possible.
"He asked me out." He almost tripped over his feet. "But I said no."
YES. He was quietly doing cartwheels in his head. "Really? Why not?"
"We're friends but…I don't know him too well. It feels out of the blue to be honest. Actually, a lot of people have been asking me to prom, but some of them are guys I've never even seen before!"
"If you're popular and you don't know it, clap your hands," he sang.
"Oh shut up. What about you? Aren't you going to ask anyone out?"
Chance! She was practically handing him the opportunity on a silver platter. "Um, here's an idea. How about you go to prom with me?"
She stopped. "Huh?"
Not good! Say something, quick! "I mean—this way—you won't be asked out anymore right? And I kind of want to go to prom, but not by myself, so we won't be going like, together together, but just as friends and—"
"Yes."
"—there shouldn't be any—what?"
She grinned. "Yes," she repeated. "We should go together; it'll be a lot of fun! That's a great idea!"
She said yes, she said yes, SHE SAID YES. Now he was doing back flips and somersaults in his head. He did it perfectly, just the way he envisioned it—sort of.
"That's…great," he said, still in disbelief. "That's really great!"
Word had spread around school quickly. The one gutless fool that was always hanging around Kairi, the one that every boy had deemed as no threat, had unexpectedly captured the Kairi. What manner of deception and trickery did he foist upon the fair maiden, for there was no other explanation! The first guy who tried asking Kairi out after hearing the news, for the news was so preposterous to begin with, was met with confirmation of the rumor and a declination. This guy, who couldn't believe that he was just rejected in favor of Sora, had some choice words for the brunet, which didn't sit too well with Kairi. He was trying to convince her to "ditch that loser," but for all his lip service, he got only a black eye in return, courtesy of Kairi's fist. With the record set straight, she never had to worry about being asked to prom again.
Used to being ignored all his life, all this newfound attention unsettled Sora greatly. He would walk through the halls with accusing stares fixed upon him. He was beginning to think that he shouldn't have asked her out. Like all school rumors though, it sank into the background in favor of more up-to-date and juicier gossip. His surge in popularity was short-lived, something he was grateful for. Just another day before prom and just another hot girl taken out of the playing field. All the desperate boys now looked for the next most popular girl on the list—whoever that was.
It had been a couple days since he asked her out and Sora was at his mother's shop, helping to deliver flowers to customers. Around prom, demand for flowers was stupidly high.
"What are you so happy about?" his mom asked, still ignorant of Sora's exploits.
"Who says I'm happy?" he replied, carrying a large pot of flowers around.
She gave a soft smile. "Give me a little more credit than that Sora; I think I know when my son has an extra bounce in his step."
"It's nothing really. I'm just kind of excited to go to prom with Kairi."
"Really now?" she gasped. "Did you ask her out?"
"It's nothing like that," he downplayed, "we're just going as friends."
"Hmmm," she hummed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Sora." She gave him a mischievous grin that let him know that she wasn't buying that for a second. "Anyways, do you want to deliver this?"
Sora looked up to see a bouquet of flowers held in front of him. "Who's it for?"
"Your friend Riku."
"Another fangirl?"
"So it seems. That boy sure is popular. He's also very good for my business, unlike some boys I know."
"What are you looking at me for?"
"No reason." His mom was always relentless. Trapped between his mother and Kairi, it was no small wonder that his self-esteem hadn't eroded away into oblivion from all their teasing already.
He took the bouquet and walked outside, setting the flowers in a metal tray appended to the back of a scooter. He put on his helmet with some difficulty (it was the hair), and strapped himself in. He turned the ignition and set off for Riku's place.
Riku lived in a small apartment by himself. After he left the orphanage, he decided to live on his own. He even got himself emancipated to become independent, but that didn't mean he would turn down generous offers for food. Flowers were another story though.
"Oh no, no no no, no more flowers!" the white-haired boy protested.
"Sorry, just doing my job." Sora set down the bouquet by the front door, since the inside was just as packed as his mom's shop. "Aren't you Mr. Popular?"
"You can never understand my curse, the curse of being popular. Why don't you come on in?" he invited.
Sora rolled his eyes but walked in anyways. "Funny you should mention that, I recently experienced a bout of popularity myself, although, it's probably for all the wrong reasons."
Riku closed the door and walked into the kitchen. "Ah yes, you asked Kairi out didn't you? Congratulations."
"It's nothing like that," he corrected…at least not yet anyways. "I wanted to talk to you about it, but you didn't show for school for the whole week, what's up? Going into hiding until prom?"
"Hahaha, believe what you want, but independent living is hard stuff. You got your scooter out there with you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Mind if I do a little bit of shopping?"
"It only seats one."
"I wasn't asking you for a ride."
Sora sighed and tossed his helmet and keys over. "I knew you didn't invite me in because you were being nice."
Riku laughed. "Throw away those flowers for me while I'm gone yeah?" He got a dirty look in response. "I'm just joking! Well, half-way joking. My place is a mess, as you can see. Anyways, I'll be back soon, I promise!" He waved off and closed the door.
Sora took a moment to observe the apartment. He wondered how Riku did it. He was sixteen, which meant he could work odd jobs, but it had to be extremely difficult to balance school with work. He got up from the couch and approached a pile of flowers thrown haphazardly into the corner. If his mother saw this mess, she would probably have a heart attack. "Flowers are nature's expressions of love and everything in between," she would always say. He opened some of the cards that were attached.
"Riku, will you go to prom with me?"
It was a sweet handwritten message. It was sad to see her effort go to waste however. He rifled through the other cards, coming across variations of the same question.
"Riku, let's go to prom together!"
"Will you take me to prom Riku?"
"Riku, you so sexy. I just want to eat you up you sexy beast."
Sora balked at the last card—it wasn't from a girl.
"Curse of popularity indeed," he laughed to himself.
Ten minutes had passed until he finally heard the motor of his scooter outside. He waited patiently until Riku opened the door and entered, with a helmet in one hand and groceries in the other.
"Done with your shopping at my expense?"
"Hey, let me make it up to you, have a nice pretzel." He pulled out a giant pretzel, the kind made of softly kneaded bread and sprinkled with magic cinnamon dust, and offered it to the brunet.
"You got my favorite! I always knew you were a pal!" Sora took it and consumed it voraciously. "You got any drinks? Salty pretzels always make me thirsty."
Riku nodded and went to the fridge. "Yeah, let me pour you some soda."
"Thanks!"
After he finished up his food, Sora left the apartment in good spirits. He got back on the scooter and drove towards his mother's shop.
And then he crashed.
…
"Wait," Xion interrupted, "what do you mean you crashed?"
"What does it matter? I just crashed."
"People don't crash for no reason."
Sora sighed. "It's a little embarrassing and kind of stupid…"
"That just makes me more curious..."
"I don't remember it too well but…as I was riding the scooter, something about it felt off, like a flat tire or something. I kept looking down to see what was wrong instead of doing the sensible thing like stopping and checking it out, but I was also in a rush since I spent way too much time at Riku's, and my mom was basically wondering where I disappeared off to..."
"So let me get this straight, you were just being careless?"
"Pretty much."
"You're right, that is a stupid reason."
"I told you so. Happy you got it out of me?"
"It's a pretty strange reason though."
"Perhaps the Hikari blood has a bit of an accidental streak."
She gave him a bland face, like she was disappointed in the joke. "Sora…" she said softly. Why was she getting offended on his behalf? Okay, so it was probably in bad taste, but she didn't have to look so serious about it.
The sun had finally set.
"You want to go get dinner?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"It's getting late and I'm pretty hungry." He stood up, dusted off his pants, and started walking away.
"W-wait up!" She unfolded her legs and winced as needles crawled underneath her skin. "Oww!" She looked up and saw that he wasn't waiting for her. She quickly scrambled after him. "I hate it when he does this!"