Sokai Prompt

Because I have feeeeellllls

Prompt:

Kairi sat with her feet dangling off the typical luxury spot of their wind-bent palm-tree, staring out at the ocean.

She heard some hurried footfalls and an exhausted breath escape as she looked over her shoulder behind her, smiling at the goofy boy she had hoped would have made it on time.

"You're late." She giggled, but there was a bit of shade to that statement.

Sora clutched his knees, trying to regain his breath as he looked up and gave her a big, apologetic grin.

"Heee…" He arched his eyebrows, trying to make her laugh through his embarrassment.

When she just shook her head and said, "That won't work this time." With a musical chime in her voice, he dropped the act and stumbled over to her.

"Awh… Come on, Kairi. Give me a break…" he jumped up to sit next to her on the palm-tree's trunk, maneuvering himself into position.

"At least you're here." she watched him struggle a moment before expertly finding his balance and placing his hands down on the trunk, positioned between his dangling legs.

"It's been a long time." He commented, watching the sunset by her side.

"Yeah… it has." She nodded, watching with a different intention. "But I'm sure your… many adventures have had sunsets too."

He paused a moment, reflecting. "Not like this one." He lightly spoke out, something sincere and sweet in his delivery.

"…Not like…" She smiled before turning to him, "Ours?"

He flinched back a moment, "Huh?" he curiously turned to her but she had already blushed and looked away, stifling a laugh.

"I'm glad you could come. I wanted to show you something." She hopped down, confusing Sora as she headed to the ocean.

His body immediately jumbled itself to having him squat on the tree, still having his hands gripping the bark. "Kairi? Where are you going?"

She was already hip-deep into the ocean, and turned to look at him. She tilted her head as though coaxing him to follow, and with an irresistible smile, she dived deep into its depths.

Like a cat, Sora readied himself and jumped, falling smack into the sea. "Wooahhh!"

FLOOOOWSH!

The sea settled over him as he looked around and saw her image begin to disappear as she swam deeper and deeper beneath the blue.

Immediately, he began making his way to her.

When she proved to be a faster diver than him, he grinned under the water and summoned his keyblade, using it to propel himself faster to her.

She was surprised by the sudden sound, dusting off sand and then looking around her before seeing him sped up by her side, giving her a thumbs up.

She nodded, glad he wasn't falling behind.

She struggled a moment to lift what appeared to be a small box, but it was wedged pretty well in the ocean floor.

Sora's hands grabbed a side of a small box but looked to Kairi for permission to help.

She smiled and a muffled 'hm-hmm!' of giddy approval sang out from her lips under the gentle current of ocean sounds.

Sora counted down, showing his fingers– 1, 2,… 3!

The two pulled and the heart-shaped box was finally pulled from it's hiding place.

Sora carefully looked around it, lifting it over his head and ducking to try and see it clearly but Kairi began to pull it up to the surface, needing air herself.

Sora, a bit more experienced with holding his breath, realized this and spun his keyblade again.

He caught Kairi on the way up, looping the box they were both holding in one hand around her waist, causing her arm to move back behind her but they quickly surfaced.

It was a 'charming' moment, Sora emerging from the sea with Kairi tightly beside him.

They both gasped for air, and Kairi quickly began to swim to shore as Sora momentarily followed after studying her demeanor.

They crashed onto the shore and turned to their backs, huffing and puffing at their small endeavor.

"What's… so special… about the box, Kairi?" catching his breath, Sora was finally able to ask.

Kairi looked at the box resting with both their hands tightly securing it still. "It's my special secret. Something I wanted to show you when I truly felt the time was right."

"Something… you wanted to show me?" he studied the curious heart-shaped box, hearing objects rustle inside it, but not sure what it meant. "What is it then..?"

Kairi slowly got up, staring at the sunset as Sora turned his attention away from the decorative, young girl's jewelry box and examined her more closely.

the wind was idle so nothing could disturb her hair as it gently stayed by her rosy cheeks, but her lashes still got caught in her bangs ever now and then.

She continued to stare, before finally speaking to break the silence, "It's… my heart… Sora."

His eyes widened, "Your… heart?" he continued to wonder what that meant, holding her… 'Kairi's heart?'

His face suddenly turned red, and he bolted upwards to a sitting position, "You're giving me your-!"

But she was gone.

He panicked a moment and looked around, "Kairi?"

"Don't lose it or anything, okay?"

He turned around to see her sassily bending over, reminding him of days long gone when they were just kids planning to go on an adventure in a makeshift raft.

Her hands were on her hips, she was playfully glaring at him.

Her expression then softened and she stood up straighter, turning slightly more demure and grabbing her arm from behind her. "Just… read every one, okay?"

"Read?" He tilted his head, but she was already rushing off, waving him goodbye.

"Just keep it safe, alright?" she called.

He didn't look away till she was fully out of his sight, then shifted the box around in his hand, trying to guess what was inside it.

"It sounds like…" He began to try and pop the lid open, which took some time since the tin seemed to have rusted over with time.

When it finally did come loose, he looked innocently inside.

"Shells?" He raised an eyebrow. "Is Kairi pranking me?" He rubbed the back of his head, confused. "Since when can you read shells?"

He pulled one out, gently rubbing his thumb against the texture of its hide before turning it around, seeing that the white, soft part of the shell had been itched into.

Words.

"Oh!" He grew a bit excited, seeing what she had meant, and thankful it wasn't a joke.

"His spiky hair..?" He read. He pulled out another one, turning it around, "His smile…"

He set those two aside, pulling out more.

"His laugh. His energy. His kindness. He's thoughtful. His eyes?"

As the shells kept coming, Sora's smile kept growing bigger and bigger.

"His hand. His bravery. He's goofy? Hahaha!"

He felt his own heart leap a bit at all these itched words on these plain shells that now held so much joy in them.

Sora deduced that they must be memories. They were about him, right? Had to be… or else… Why would Kairi allow him to open her heart and see them?

He looked out over the ocean, "These have been here… this whole time?"

He closed his eyes, smiling brighter and letting a laugh or two slip loose a moment.

He rubbed his nose, feeling his emotions get the better of him.

He saw the last shell, and after a moment of staring, finally pulled it out.

"His heart."

The next day, Kairi worriedly held her hand against her chest, wondering what might happen after Sora read her childhood itchings of things she's liked about him.

She did it at first to hide her developing feelings, but so much had happened, she wanted to tell him. She honestly didn't have the words to express it other than those shells…

How do normal people say it?

Well, either way, she was nervously trying to be brave as she went down by the ocean, looking around for him.

"Sora?"

She stepped timidly, but with a small flame of courage, out into the open of the shore.

The wind was blowing gently this time, and she moved some hair out of her face to see the box sitting and being lightly lapped by the waves.

"…Sora..?" She was a bit hurt, thinking he just left it there.

She moved towards it, kneeling by it and picking it up.

But… it felt… heavier?

She fiddled with its new weight a moment before her eyes opened wider, and she quickly scrambled to open the box.

It took a second to open, but when the lid came off, she noticed new shells of varying sizes inside.

She pulled one out, and covered her mouth when she saw the scribbled itchings of words on the fresh new shell.

"Her voice."

She pulled around out, so excited and full of emotions she didn't quite understand were coming out all at once.

"Her words." "Her strength." "Her cheerfulness." "Her soul."

As she continued to cry and read, Sora stepped up beside her, and she looked up to see his arms piled with shells.

He tried to look over the pile, blushing with a dorky, open smile on his face. "I ran out of shells." he admitted. "And I couldn't find a treasure chest to put them all in so I thought about making one. We can't just throw them all back in the sea like that, either! Then it might rust over forever and we'll never find them."

She leaped up, causing him to drop all his shells as she fell into his arms, hugging him.

"You did understand." She lightly whispered out.

He looked at her a bit startled for a moment, before smiling and returning the hug.

"It took me a moment… but I do." He stated, nodding his head.

"I think… your heart sees the beauty in everything, Kairi. I want you to also see the things…" He pulled her back, putting a hand to her cheek. "That mine also finds too. Every day. That are beautiful too."

"Heh." She wiped her eyes, "A treasure chest, huh?"

"It's the perfect place to put a heart."

They laughed, as they both spent the morning itching new things they liked about each other on shells.

Sora stopped a moment and lowered his shell down to stare at Kairi focused on her new installment to her box, before feeling his eyes on her.

"What?" she tilted her head.

"…I'm trying to think of a word… but I can't." He gently frowned, still staring at her. "Is there a word that describes… so many wonderful things?"

She smiled, taking more courage than ever before, and took in a deep breath.

She set the shell aside, "How about… love?"

"Love?"

"Em-hmm." she nodded, "Like… I love you."

He froze a moment, processing what she had just said.

Then, his eyes gently lowered and he nodded. He started writing on the shell before showing his scribbled mess of his handwriting and smiled boldly.

"There! I did it!"

It simply read, "I love that she loves."

Kairi put a finger to her mouth, and then held his shell to itch something else."

"H-hey!"

"Just hold still… There."

He turned the shell back to him.

"I love that she loves me."