Chapter 14: Bustin' It Up On The Beach

AN: So apparently 3/4 of this chapter is filler as well. Ah well. The last of it is important. Kind of. Enjoy anyway. Keep an eye on my profile for updates.

-April 4, 2009-

Sora's POV

My ocean eyes scanned the ocean from my spot on the beach. Yawning, I laid back down, determined to sleep a little longer...

"Whoa!" I spun up and around onto my knees to face the short red head that had startled me, "Gimme a break, Kairi."

She giggled, "Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here."

"No! This huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't- Ow!" I rubbed the back of my head with my lip jutted out.

Kairi threw a stone up and down in her hand a few times, "Are you still dreaming?"

"It wasn't a dream!" I frowned, looking down at the sand, "Or was it? I don't know. What was that place?" And who was the girl? "So bizarre..."

Kairi snorted, walking closer to the water's edge, hands behind her back, "Yeah, sure."

"Say, Kairi..." The perfect moment to ask the question that'd been on mind the last couple days! "What was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?"

"I've told you before," She said with a laugh, "I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?" I pressed.

"Nothing." She echoed.

"You ever want to go back?" I tilted my head, even though she wasn't looking at me.

"Well, I'm happy here." She did a little shrug.

"Really..." I trailed off in thought.

"But you know..." She started, "I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too." I grinned, "Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!"

Kairi turned around with a wide smile, "So what're we waiting for?"

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" Both of us turned to the source of the husky boy's voice. Our silverette friend held a large log in his hands, "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." Without warning, he threw the log in my direction, causing me to fall backwards, "And you're just as lazy as he is!"

"Riiiikuuuuu!" I whined, but I was ignored.

Kairi giggled, "So you noticed. Okay, we'll finish it together." Riku sat down next to me just as I had finally shoved the log away, "I'll race you!"

I raised an eyebrow at her words, "Huh?"

Riku snorted, "What, are you kidding?"

"Ready? Go!" Riku and I exchanged a look before we were bolting down the beach.

When we had separated to gather the rest of our supplies, I met Kairi to see what else we needed, "So, can you gather the rest of the supplies? Sora, are you listening to me?"

I blushed a light red. I had started spacing out, "Sorry... Um... What was that again?"

"Geez." She rolled her eyes and held out a piece of paper, "We can't build a raft without materials, right? Here's what we need. Bring everything back here. No more slacking okay?"

I nodded with a hand over my heart and a grin on my lips, "You can count on me!" She giggled and waved me off.

00000

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" I looked over at Kairi next to me and Riku on the other side of her leaning against the paupu tree.

"Could be. We'll never know by staying here." He answered. The colors of the sunset illuminated his hair to all but be a match.

"But how far could a raft take us?" I frowned at him.

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else." He shrugged.

"So, suppose you get to another world." Kairi giggled, breaking the silence we had fallen into, "What would you do there?"

"Well, I... haven't really thought about it. It's just..." He looked longingly out to the water, "I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have just have easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

I shrugged before lying down against the trunk, "I don't know."

"Exactly." He stressed, "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff-"

It was at that moment that a flash of black broke through the bright colors and went spiraling into the water a bit of ways away from where we were.

Kairi screamed, pointing in the mysterious flash's direction, "Guys! There was someone in that!"

Riku immediately ran at the edge and dove into the water and swam further out. My stomach rose to my throat. Kairi gripped my jacket sleeve, "Sora, let's get them to the beach! It'll be easier!"

I managed to get Riku's attention when he surfaced and he swam them to where we stood at the beach. Kairi and I helped him and the person out of the water. I gasped finally getting a good look at the person. It was her!

They both looked at me strangely. I coughed, avoiding their gazes. Riku leant his ear to her mouth before pressing his palms to her chest a few times which seemed to be just enough to get her to start scrambling to flip over onto her stomach and cough.

Kairi took the bottle of water I'd filled up earlier. Riku assisted the girl to a sitting position against him and took the bottle from Kairi, "Hey... Easy... It's alright... Come on... You need to drink some..."

She coughed a few more times before accepting the drink. After the bottle was drained, everyone sat there silently, listening to her breathing that had eventually began to calm. Finally she looked up and I was right across from her, I was the first to make eye contact. She blinked once and slumped further into Riku with shut eyes passed out.

Riku blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow, "Know something we don't, Sora?"

I shook my head, "No... I've never met this girl in my life. Um... Should we take her to a hospital?"

Kairi shook her head, "I-I think she'll be fine... It looks like she was only under the water for the time it took Riku to swim to her."

"But she passed out!" I frowned.

"Maybe she's a bit stressed? We can just keep an eye on her. It'd take a bit to row back home anyway." Kairi ran to her boat to grab a few things, "Here. Blanket, pillows, more water bottles, and bandages just in case. If she doesn't wake up normally soon then we'll take her back."

Riku nodded and moved her up the sand further away from the water. Kairi put one of the small pillows beneath her head, "She looks our age. Who do you think she is? Where did she come from?"

"Another world." Riku stroked a piece of wet hair from her closed eyes, "She has to tell us something... She has to..."

"Oh, Riku..." Kairi sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. She gave me a sad expression. I shrugged weakly staring down at the mysterious girl. Who are you?