Re-sketch
Chapter 5: Star-Shaped Fruit
One day was all it took. Hikaru grimaced to herself as she rubbed her tender arms. After more than a year of living on Akhfa, a world of cloudy skies and endless rain, she'd lost some of the color in her tawny complexion. But it took only one day of island exploration for her to crisp up in the tropics, turning her red-flushed and a few shades darker. She didn't mind the tan at any rate, but sunburns were a different story.
Should've put on sunscreen, she thought with a sigh as she looked at herself in her bedroom mirror—glum expression and flushed cheeks and all. What she wouldn't give for a Cure spell and a nice cooled panacea.
A knock came at the door behind her, making her jolt. "Hikaru, breakfast is ready!" Kairi's cheerful voice rang out from the other side.
"Give me a moment," Hikaru called back as she zipped her overshirt up over her tank top.
When Hikaru headed downstairs, she found that Barret was already sitting at the dining table, sipping on a mug of coffee as he looked over the newspaper. A platter of fluffy pancakes sat in the middle of the table amidst various syrups and toppings, including fresh fruit and a can of whipped cream.
"Good morning, Hikaru!" Kairi greeted her with a smile as she pulled a pitcher of juice from the fridge.
"Right on time," Barret remarked, looking up from his paper. "How're you doing, kid?"
"It feels as if my skin is shriveling up," Hikaru said, gingerly taking a seat at the unclaimed plate across from Barret. "And on fire."
"Oh, no," Kairi said with a mixture of concern and pity. "That must be a pretty bad sunburn. Hold on, I think we have something for that out in the yard." She placed the juice pitcher on the table before hurrying out the backdoor to the misty morning outside.
"Make sure you wear sunscreen the next time you go out, all right?" Barret said to Hikaru in the meantime. "The sun's a real force of nature, especially when you spend all day on the beach."
"I know, I know, I've already figured that out fer myself," Hikaru replied as she plucked a blueberry from the fruit dish and popped it into her mouth.
The two of them got started on grabbing breakfast while they waited for Kairi's return. "So, how've you been settling in, Hikaru?" Barret asked as he piled a sizable stack of pancakes onto his plate. "I hope my daughter and her friends have been treating you good the past couple days."
"It's been grand, mostly," Hikaru said. "Everyone has been really kind."
"Glad to hear it. If anyone gives you a hard time, you just let me know, understood?"
"Understood, Barret," she said, though she had no plans on tattling even if that were the case.
Still, it was an answer that Barret accepted with a satisfied nod. "Good. You're our guest, and I won't have anyone giving us Destiny Islanders a bad name," he said. "I'm just sorry I haven't been around much. It's the middle of the summer so SAR has my ass working overtime."
"SAR?" Hikaru repeated as she sprayed a copious amount of whipped cream onto her pancakes.
"Search and Rescue," Barret explained. "Around this time of year, we get a lot of calls. Usually just hikers lost up in the mountains, or rookie boaters who get in over their heads. But it ain't always their fault." He lifted his gaze, looking out the window. "Even when the weather seems good, summer storms can roll in fast. One minute the sky's clear, no clouds for miles around, then suddenly you're being pounded by rain and wind with no view of the coast."
"That sounds horrifying if you're out in the middle of the sea," Hikaru said.
Barret nodded. "First thing you learn when you're out sailing is that you gotta respect the ocean. Listen to the wind, the waves, even the gulls. The world is always tryna tell us something—and it's on us to hear it."
"Are you talking about that again, Dad?" Kairi's teasing voice came as she returned from outside with something small and green in hand. "Don't mind him, Hikaru—once he gets started on listening to the world it's hard for him to stop."
"No, it makes sense," Hikaru said as she shoved an oversized bite of pancakes into her mouth. "My dad used to say something similar, that the worlds are always speaking even if most people can't hear them."
"Your father is a smart man," Barret said.
Hikaru just gave a melancholic smile as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. Yeah… That he was, she thought as Kairi approached her.
"Here," Kairi said, holding out the green item.
"What's this?" Hikaru leaned in to get a better look. It seemed to be part of some plant, with tiny spikes protruding from the edges of the thick leaf. A translucent liquid oozed slowly from where the leaf had been cut.
"It's aloe vera. Helps with burns. I use it whenever I get a little too crispy under the sun."
"Aww, Kairi," Barret crooned. "Look at you, being a sweetheart. I know I can always trust you to look out for the other kids."
"Daaaaad," Kairi whined, her cheeks turning red.
Hikaru could only giggle as she took the aloe vera leaf.
The two girls headed out of the house once they'd finished breakfast and grabbed all that they needed for the day ahead—particularly the projector that Selphie had called the house to remind them to bring, and a collapsible fishing rod that Barret had so kindly lent them.
"This is neat," Hikaru said, giving the rod a test swing as she stepped down the front porch. The last time she'd gone fishing was river fishing with her father, but that had been years ago.
"I'm glad someone's putting that old thing to use," Kairi said, coming up to her side as she adjusted her hold on the bulky projector.
They started down the sidewalk, chatting about the plans that they had for the day ahead, including a chance to see this so-called raft that Hikaru had been hearing so much about. By the time they reached the docks, Hikaru's skin was beginning to get irritated from the heat despite the aloe vera and extra sunscreen she'd applied prior to leaving; and as they made their way across the water in Kairi's rowboat, the irritation became nearly unbearable.
"Don't touch it," Kairi said sternly once they'd arrived at the islet. She picked up her projector from the floor of the boat, cradling it in her arms. "That won't help it heal any faster."
"But it's itchy," Hikaru whined, futilely scratching at her arm. "Ow."
"See? Told you."
"Yeah, okay, I'll stop." Hikaru grabbed the fishing rod as she climbed out of the boat and safely secured their ride back to the main island to one of the open posts.
"Sora's not here yet, no surprise," Kairi said with one look at the other boats. There were four of them so far, each identical to Hikaru's eye, though Kairi knew her friends and their transportation much better than she did. "Looks like Riku should be somewhere though. I'll go find him… after I put this away." She glanced down at the projector in her arms.
"Don't drop it," Hikaru said with a lilt in the words of her warning.
"Oh, I'll do my best." Kairi started forward. "I'll be back once I find Riku—and maybe a few more Thalassa shells. In the meantime, you can get started on fishing. Catch something good, all right?"
"I make no promises," Hikaru called after her, watching Kairi hurry off toward the seaside shack. Well… Let's give this a go.
She walked over to the edge of the dock, peering into the clear water that lapped at the wooden posts. Colorful fish darted through the shallows below her feet, but none of them were big enough for lunch. Further out, then, Hikaru thought, giving a test swing and pointing out with the fishing rod towards the clear blue horizon.
"'One minute the sky's clear, no clouds for miles around,'" she murmured, recalling the words that Barret had spoken to her earlier that morning. And then suddenly…
Was it really possible for a storm to roll in that quickly? With this wide view, she couldn't imagine any unexpected storms creeping up on the islands. But if the world really did have things to say, maybe there was a way to tell. A cry of the birds, or the crash of the waves. Some kind of warning.
Did we have a warning? she wondered as she lowered the fishing rod, her mind wandering back to the night she had been ripped away from her home. Breaking glass, terrified screams, her blood roaring in her ears… Was there anything they missed that would have warned them of what would happen?
Was there anything she could have done?
"Hey, Hikaru!"
"Ah… Hello, Selphie." Hikaru pushed away those troublesome thoughts as she glanced over her shoulder towards the footsteps coming down the dock. The brown-haired girl came to a stop behind her and gave a very feline smile.
"What'cha up to? Doing some fishing?"
Hikaru nodded. "Kairi's dad lent me a rod," she said. "I wanted to see what a saltwater fish tastes like."
"Mm… You know you can always just buy a fish from the market, right?" Selphie asked.
"Yeah, but that's no fun," Hikaru said. "I need the satisfaction and pride of doing something fer myself, and also the bragging rights of being the first one in my family to fish something out of the sea." She paused. "Also I have no munny."
Selphie giggled. "Well… I like your spirit, at least," she said. "Where is Kairi anyway? I thought I saw her with you just now."
"She went looking for Riku," Hikaru said. "And some seashells too, I think. She told me to just get a start with the fishing."
"Oooh, Kairi's trying to make a lucky charm with those shells, right?" Selphie's eyes lit up. "She's so creative. I can't wait to see the finished project!" She rocked back and forth on her feet, barely able to contain her excitement. "Speaking of lucky charms… Hikaru, you're new here. Do you know what a paopu fruit is?"
"Can't say that I do," Hikaru said as she stuck a piece of bait onto the hook and cast out the line as far as she could.
"Paopu fruit are those star-shaped fruit that grow on the island over there." Selphie pointed to the sea stack where Riku and Sora liked to have their duels. From that distance, Hikaru could just barely make out the large yellow fruit hanging between the tree leaves. "It's said that if you share it with a person you really care for, it binds you together forever! That's why star-shaped charms are lucky."
"Really?" Hikaru tilted her head. "I thought it was because it's supposed to be a guiding star."
"Exactly! A guiding star to the person you care about most," Selphie said, letting out a dreamy sigh as she pressed her hands against her cheeks. "It's so romantic. I gotta try it sometime…"
A neat legend, Hikaru thought, though not one that struck a particular chord with her. She wasn't as big of a romantic as Selphie, as she had come to discover after yesterday's long conversation during Tidus's utter devastation at the hands of Riku. The topic of guiding stars on the other hand piqued her interest just as it had the night before. She felt for her watch tucked away in her pocket, tracing the star-shaped engraving in the silver lid.
Something jerked at the fishing line, nearly ripping the rod from Hikaru's grasp. "Whoa!" Her eyes widened as the rod began to bend. She tightened her grip on the handle and pulled back. "I got a bite!" she said, looking at Selphie. "I can't believe that I got a—w-whoa!"
SPLASH!
"Wow, Hikaru, what happened to you?" was the greeting Hikaru received when Sora finally arrived at the dock.
"I went fishing," Hikaru said flatly. Her carroty hair hung limp to her shoulders, and her clothes dripped with cold salt water. Kairi and Riku stood behind her, with the latter putting in little effort to hide his snickering. Hikaru had ascended beyond embarrassment. "Sure, laugh all you like, but who was it that caught lunch?" She held up the large fish at the end of the line for them to see.
"Whoa, a mackerel. Nice catch!" Sora said.
Riku crossed his arms. "Eh. Not bad."
"Wakka brought a cooler to keep it in until we're ready," Kairi said.
"Are we roasting it over the grill?" Sora's eyes lit up at the thought. "Old-school style? Yes!"
"Do you have a change of clothes?" Riku asked as Hikaru squeezed the water from her shirt.
"No. Didn't think I would be going for a swim today." Hikaru grimaced. Selphie had offered to let her borrow one of her extra sundresses before she'd hurried off to find Tidus and Wakka, but Hikaru had declined. "I'll manage."
"Let's get you a towel at least," Kairi said, patting her on the shoulder and guiding her back down the dock. "Meet us at the raft later. You two can take the fish," she added, turning to the boys. "Don't lose it."
"Come on, Kairi, how are we going to lose a fish?" Riku asked.
"Mmm… I dunno." Kairi made a big show of thinking, tapping her fingers against her chin. "But you always find new ways to surprise me."
Hikaru heard the bickering before she even entered the cove.
"I say we should name it Highwind."
"No way! We should call it Excalibur."
"Are you two arguing again?" Kairi asked, leading the way as she pushed open the creaky old door. Hikaru followed behind her with a damp towel slung over her shoulders and a curious gleam in her eyes.
Sora and Riku were sitting on the ground just beyond the door, facing the ocean. The cove was calm and cool compared to the sunny shoreline around the front of the island. The steep mountain that towered above the beach offered a shady refuge from the sun, and the sea breeze whistled softly between the palm trees. A quiet stretch of beach just past a small inlet and a rickety wooden bridge showed promise of new sights; Hikaru had never been to the back of the island yet, but she guessed that the fabled raft Kairi and Riku had mentioned was hidden away somewhere nearby.
"We're just trying to figure out what to name the raft," Sora said cheerfully. He had a stick in his hand, busy drawing up a list of names in the dirt.
"Still?" Kairi propped her hands on her hips. "You've been thinking about it since last week!"
"Well, we narrowed it down to two at least," Riku said, indicating the only two names that had not been crossed out. He stood up, brushing the sand off of his pants. "And I know just how to decide. You up for it, Sora?"
"The usual?" Sora jumped to his feet. "Bring it on, Riku!"
"Ooh, I'll be the judge!" Kairi stepped forward. "Usual rules apply: Take any route you want. First one to tag the tree and make it back here wins!"
"A race?" Hikaru asked.
Kairi nodded. "That's how these two make decisions when they can't agree," she whispered.
First sword fighting, now beachside races. Never a dull moment here, Hikaru mused, watching as Kairi hurried over to the bridge to survey the rest of the beach. Sora and Riku in the meantime took position next to each other.
"So, whoever wins gets to name the raft, right?" Sora asked, stretching his arms and legs.
"Just the name?" Riku said. "Why don't we make this a real bet? What do you think, Sora?"
"Hm… All right." Sora thought for a few moments, face scrunching up in concentration. "Oh, I know! If I win, I get to be captain. And if you win…"
"I get to share the paopu with Kairi," Riku said automatically.
There was a pause before Sora's eyes widened, and even Hikaru quirked an eyebrow. "Huh?!" Sora stepped back, dropping his arms and staring at Riku like he'd just grown a second head.
Riku flashed him a cocky grin. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."
Oh, yes, Hikaru thought with a scarcely suppressed snicker as Sora's face went beet red. Never a dull moment.
"W-wait a minute!" Sora shook his head frantically. "I didn't say—"
He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. "Okay, looks like everything's clear!" Kairi called from the bridge, raising her hands into the air.
"Better keep up, Sora," Riku said, crouching low and tightening his legs.
"Wait, no, Riku…"
"On my count," Kairi called. "Three, two, one—go!"
Riku took off, and a moment later Sora scrambled after him. Their shoes kicked up clouds of dust and sand as they sped off, their footsteps falling hard against the creaky bridge. They leapt over the broken wooden platforms and ran past the vibrant seaside undergrowth until they rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.
"Does that happen often too?" Hikaru asked, nodding in the direction the boys had left as Kairi walked back over.
"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.
"Nothin', never mind," Hikaru said with a smile.
Scarcely more than a couple minutes later, Riku came sprinting over the bridge, just slightly winded as he jumped down to meet them. Only a moment later did Sora come charging across the inlet, soaked with sea water and sweat and gasping for air. "Did… Did I win?" he asked, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
"Nope, I win again," Riku said. "That settles it—we're naming the raft Highwind."
Sora groaned, pulling at his spiky hair. "Aw, man…"
Riku laughed. "Chill out. It's just a name after all," he said, hooking an arm around Sora's neck and giving him a knock on the head. "And I was just kidding about the paopu thing. You should've seen your face."
Sora pouted.
"All right, that's enough fooling around." Riku abruptly released his hold on the younger boy, letting him flop to the ground. "Time to work on the raft. Come on."
The raft, as it turned out, was sitting just beyond the inlet, past the browning palm fronds and bits of driftwood floating in the knee-high water beneath the bridge. At first all Hikaru saw was a massive weather-worn tarp pulled over something big and bulky at the edge of the water. But when Riku and Sora let the tarp drop to the sand, revealing what exactly was underneath it… she was surprised.
"What do you think?" Kairi asked.
"Wow," Hikaru said, her eyebrows disappearing under her bangs. "Ye did this by yerselves?" She wasn't sure what she had expected when Riku had first told her about the raft, but this was an actual raft. The logs were nailed together and tightly bound, and they even had a sail rolled up at the base of the mast.
"Not bad, right?" Sora said.
"But it's not finished yet." Riku pulled out a folded blueprint from his back pocket. "We won't be getting far like this. Hikaru, you mind helping us?"
"Sure," she said. She wanted to get a better look at this thing anyway.
They spent the next couple of hours working on the raft, tightening up the log floor and nailing together the mast and rudder. As the sun crawled higher into the sky, its powerful rays peered over the top of the mountain. The sand began to bake hot, dry, and painful against bare feet. Hikaru splashed in the shallows to cool off before she sat down on the logs and helped Sora adjust the rudder.
"Sorry Riku's making you do this," he said, using a wooden mallet to pound the next piece into place.
"No, it's fine," Hikaru said. "Better than sitting around doing naught else, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Sora straightened up, wiping the sweat from his forehead before giving the rudder a little test nudge. "So… Did you find anything about your home, or your family?" he asked, setting the mallet down on the raft floor.
Hikaru hesitated. She shuffled her feet, letting her heels dig deeper into the wet sand. "Not yet," she said. Nothing new from yesterday's search of the beach, and nothing new from Barret and his inquiries with the other islands. "Honestly… I don't think I'll find anything here. This isn't the place I'm supposed to be."
Was her family out there somewhere on one of those other distant stars, wondering where she was? Were they together, safe and sound? Were they worried about her? Those questions had passed through Hikaru's mind more than a few times these last few days, but she could never bring herself to dwell on them long. Not when she feared what the answers could be.
While she struggled to brush off those nagging thoughts, Sora cocked his head to the side. "Where are you supposed to be?" he asked.
"I'm… I'm not entirely sure," Hikaru admitted. "My mam had a plan, I think. Before we were separated, she told us to find…" She trailed off, suddenly very conscious of Sora's attentive gaze as he waited for her to continue. The last time she had mentioned her mother's instructions, she had been met with skepticism from Dr. Kiyuna and Barret—and part of her couldn't blame the adults for finding it hard to believe.
Still, there was something about Sora—a genuine and simple curiosity as he plopped down at the edge of the raft beside her that made her walls lower ever so slightly. He didn't have that air of haughty judgment that Riku did, and Hikaru didn't have to live with him like she did with Kairi if she ended up making a fool of herself.
"Promise you won't laugh," she said, lowering her voice and glancing over her shoulder to the others. Riku and Kairi were oblivious to their conversation as they busied themselves with chatting and focusing on their tasks for the raft.
Sora seemed a little confused at her request. "Why would I laugh?" he asked earnestly.
"I don't know, because it sounds stupid?" Hikaru fidgeted with her hands, her throat tightening as she struggled to choose the right words. "It's just… That night before I wound up here, something happened. Something bad. There were these… these monsters…"
Images flashed in her mind, the memory of bulbous eyes glowing in the dark, of a spiraling swarm chasing her and her sister through a narrow alley. Hikaru's pulse was suddenly so loud in her ears, louder than the ocean waves washing against the shore. She gripped her legs, digging her fingers in as she fought to calm her pounding heart.
"Hikaru?" Sora asked, his blue eyes wide, as curious as he was concerned.
She promptly shoved those memories aside. "S-sorry," she said, focusing instead on the rocking of the raft in the water until her panic ebbed. This time when she recalled that night, her voice remained distant and flat. "A lot of things happened, and we couldn't stay in town any longer. At first we didn't know what to do. But then my mam told us she was getting us off the world… and that we had to find a king."
"A king?" Sora repeated, thankfully looking not at all like he was going to laugh at her. "Are you, like, royalty or something?"
"Hah, I wish!" Hikaru managed a laugh, and her response was enough to make Sora give a small smile too. But as she thought of the realities of her situation, she dragged her legs out of the water and close to her chest, letting her chin rest on her knees. "I don't know who I was supposed to find, or why. It's just… what I was told to do. I wish I knew more, or that someone could tell me what to do next. But I don't even know if the rest of my family is even…"
Sora pondered over her words for a few seconds. "Well… It sounds like your mom knew something at least, right?" he asked slowly. "And she knew a way to get you off your world. Maybe she'll be able to find you too."
"You think?" Hikaru turned to him with a frown. Sora nodded firmly in response.
"I bet your family is all out looking for you right now," he said. "And when they do, they'll be happy to see you're safe and sound—just like your mom was hoping. Then you can all find that king together."
"… R-right," Hikaru said. They were looking for her. They had to be. At least she was somewhere nice and safe, and soon her mam and Akihiko and the rest of them would find her lounging around on the beach with the Destiny Islands kids. And then… she would go home.
That would be enough, right?
Sora smiled at her as if he could hear her thoughts. But as quickly as it came, it slipped away into the faintest frown as his own thoughts wandered elsewhere. "Hey, Hikaru… You know those monsters you mentioned—" he started to say.
Footsteps creaked on the raft, and a shadow moved over them, blocking the heat of the midday sun. "Well, this looks like enough for now," Riku said, interrupting their conversation as he checked the mast. "I think the others might be starting on lunch. Feeling hungry yet?"
"Oh, man, I'm starving!" Sora replied with a gleam in his eyes as he rubbed his stomach, his previous train of thought already all but forgotten.
Riku was right. When they headed back to the front of the island, they found that Wakka had lugged the old steel hibachi out from the seaside shack and was busy trying to set up a charcoal burn with some newspapers. Meanwhile there were hot dogs, soft-shell crabs, and the whole cleaned mackerel Hikaru had caught earlier laid out on a wooden board.
"Finally coming to lend a hand, eh?" Wakka asked as they approached. "Gonna take some time still. Any of you guys got a match?"
"To light the grill?" Hikaru asked. "I can help."
She walked over as Wakka scooted to give her some room. Crouching down next to the hibachi, she held out her left hand, dredging up her magic. Hesitation made her pause as her skin prickled with the memory of pain, but as the others leaned in closer to watch, she forced herself to bite back her fear.
"Fire," she said, casting a spark that ignited the newspapers.
"Awesome!" Sora said as he examined the flames so closely that Hikaru was worried he might singe his hair. "You gotta teach me that sometime."
"You can cast magic?" Wakka asked, surprised. "Man, that's something you don't see everyday."
"You should've seen her at the hospital, hands blazing," Sora remarked, gesturing excitedly. "It was cool! And kind of scary."
Ordinarily Hikaru would have been a little embarrassed at people talking about her magical skill, but hearing someone praise her for once perked her spirits instead. "Oh, that was nothing," she said, a proud smile tugging at her lips as she massaged her hand. No blisters or burns this time, but her palm tingled with the remnants of magic.
"Aw, why do we always gotta miss the good stuff?" Wakka propped his hands on his hips before shaking his head. "Well, thanks, eh? It's gonna take some time still, so just kick back and relax. I think I got enough food for everyone, but if you like you can look for more…"
"Hey, Riku!"
"… Or you can embarrass Tidus again," Wakka added as said boy came running across the beach with his short pole in hand. "Up to you, man."
Riku laughed. "I guess I can teach him another lesson. Let me guess, Tidus—round two?"
"You know it!" Tidus said, spinning his short pole around and ducking down into a battle stance. "I'll definitely whoop your butt this time."
"We'll see about that."
"Hey, hey, just keep away from the food, all right?" Wakka said, shooing them away from his barbeque. "No one wants sand in their grill."
"Then you should've set it up over there," Tidus said, pointing over to the solid ground next to the waterfall. "You know, not on the beach?"
"You don't got any right to talk, Tidus. You haven't helped at all!"
"I'm gonna get some water," Sora said, mainly to Kairi and Hikaru as he held up his empty bottle. "Be right back. And then it's my turn to beat you, Tidus!" he added a little louder.
"Pffft, I'd like to see you try!"
Hikaru waited on the beach until Wakka finished grilling the first batch of soft-shell crab. Once she nabbed a bamboo skewer, she retreated to the waterfall where the shade and the cool spray of water offered a momentary respite from the sun. Even as she refilled her bottle, she could hear the sounds of battle, of energetic banter, and of the trash talk coming from Riku and Tidus's sparring match.
"Ow! Cheap shot, Riku!"
"It's not cheap if it gets the job done!"
She splashed her face, soothing the burn on her cheeks and the lingering sting of salt in her eyes. A deep breath allowed the air to cool her from the inside out, and she looked over at Kairi and Wakka watching over the grill, the two boys fighting on the sand, and Selphie making her way over to them from the docks.
The crunch of the undergrowth and stumbling footsteps behind her caught her attention. Hikaru turned to see Sora emerging from a curtain of leaves on the other side of the waterfall. He didn't notice her, but she noted the way he clutched his water bottle and cast a flighty glance over his shoulder back the way he came.
"Sora?" Hikaru asked. "Are you all right?"
He blinked, looking at her, eyes wide. "I, uh… I'm fine. Just got surprised back there." He gestured to the curtain of vines. "Thought I saw…" He shook his head and turned to the half-eaten skewered crab in her hands. "Wakka finish cooking?"
"Not yet. I just grabbed something early."
"Right…" Sora nodded. "I'm… gonna go see if Tidus wants to spar." He hurried over to the bright heat of the beach, leaving Hikaru alone at the waterfall's edge.
She turned to the moss-covered wall. The leafy vines hanging there blended in almost perfectly with the rest of the foliage, to the point that she would never have guessed anything would be hiding behind it. She stepped forward, reaching out a hand through the curtain of leaves and finding empty space behind.
"A cave," she murmured to herself, her curiosity piqued. She pulled back the vines and peered into the dark passage that seemed to wind deeper into the mountainside. The wind brushed against her face as a faint whistling greeted her from within, enticing her forward.
She slipped past the vines and into the tunnel where the air was damp and the light hardly illuminated the ground before her. Her fingers slid along the wall to guide her as she walked deeper into the cave, until maybe some few dozen steps later the passageway began to brighten. Hikaru eventually came into a wide cavern where white sunlight spilled from a hole in the ceiling, and what she saw made her stop.
"Wow…" She looked around at the pictures on the walls—countless doodles and carvings etched in chalky white against the dark stone. There were silly smiles, royal crowns, a castle, and dozens of other fantastical images decorating every corner of the cave.
How old were these pictures, she wondered. The lines were worn, but also well-protected from the elements. She walked along the perimeter of the room, tracing her fingers along the pictures, until she came across one particular drawing nearly opposite of the tunnel's mouth. It took her a few moments to realize what—or rather who—it depicted.
"Sora… and Kairi?" she asked. The two faces stared at each other in profile, seemingly etched by different hands. One had distinctive spiky hair—the big giveaway—while the other had big eyes and blushing cheeks. If her guess was correct, then it appeared that Sora was giving Kairi a star.
A paopu fruit, Hikaru thought, a smile tugging at her lips. Well, it seemed to fit based on how he'd reacted to Riku's teasing earlier. But the question was, who had drawn it?
She straightened up, looking around again and this time tilting her head as she focused on what appeared to be a wooden door hidden in the shadows. She didn't see a doorknob or a keyhole—it just looked like a nice hunk of carved wood engraved with gold, rather out of place compared to the rest of the cave… and the rest of the islet for that matter. Stepping over to the door, she pressed her hand against it, giving it a tentative push.
It didn't budge.
Hikaru frowned to herself and crossed her arms. "What is this thing?" Was it even a door? She rested her hand against it again, lightly this time, letting her fingers brush its dusty surface. A moment later, she leaned in and pressed her ear to the wood, straining to hear something through the silence.
"So you found this place, huh?"
Hikaru yelped and nearly leaped out of her skin. She spun around, her wide eyes landing on Riku who stood at the edge of the cavern. "Fecking hell—"
"Whoa, whoa," he said, raising his hands defensively when she opened her mouth to curse him out. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
Hikaru slowly shut her mouth. "I wasn't scared," she said.
"Right…" Riku said, the skepticism clear on his face. "So was that a warcry I heard just now?"
It will be if you keep running yer gob, Hikaru thought with a glare. "What're you doing in here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Riku replied. "This is my secret hideout after all."
"Yer secret?" Hikaru repeated. "You drew all of these, then?" she asked, gesturing to the pictures on the wall.
"Yeah, with Sora and Kairi," he said. "Back when we were kids. We hardly come here anymore."
"Really…? " Hikaru let her arms drop idle at her side. "What's it all supposed to be?"
"Just drawings." Riku shrugged. "You know, kids' stuff."
"You joking? It's amazing for a kid, though" Hikaru said as she turned to look back at the door, hand once again touching the smooth wooden surface. "What's this?"
"That's been there since before we found the cave," Riku said, walking over and giving the door a good knock. "No one's been able to open it. No one knows what's on the other side."
"A mystery?" Hikaru said, a glint entering her eyes. "There has to be a way to break it open and see what it's hiding. Maybe there's a secret room. Or some treasure."
Riku laughed. "Maybe," he said. "Anyway, Wakka's finished cooking. He said to grab it before it gets cold."
"You mean more crab? Sounds good, I'm starved." Hikaru started for the exit, pausing when she heard only her own footsteps echoing through the tunnel. "Riku? You coming?" She glanced over her shoulder to see him standing with his hand against the door.
"… Yeah," he said, his voice distant. "Sorry, yeah, I'm coming."
The day passed quickly once the food was gone, though ultimately it didn't feel like they'd done much of anything. Kairi spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around on the dock, carefully threading together her Thalassa seashells while she talked with Hikaru. Sora decided to challenge Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka to a fight, three on one. Only Riku felt like working on the raft after lunch, when everyone else had their fill of food and sleepy looks on their faces. He just rolled his eyes at their laziness and headed to the cove alone.
They were a little behind schedule given all that had happened the past couple days, but the summer was still young. He supposed it would be fine to let them have their fun this time. As the sun inched across the sky, casting longer shadows across the beach, Riku made his double-checks and reinforcements until he was satisfied. He took a seat on the raft and mulled over a sheet of paper.
Food? Food should be easy as long as we have some nets and fishing rods. Should probably stock up on water. He tapped his pencil against his knee, frowning. Maybe another tarp just for shelter? But if we take too much gear with us, it'll weigh us down.
He sighed, dragging his finger through his hair and crumpling his checklist. Leaning against the mast, he looked out to the ocean and the first traces of the orange evening catching along the edge of the clouds.
But something prickled in the back of his mind, tugging his attention towards the shadows that stretched down the mountainside. He glanced over to the old watchtower that stood creaking in the breeze above the beach.
His eyes narrowed when he saw the cloaked figure standing at the bottom of the tower, watching him from the shadows under its hood.
Who…?
At first he thought it could have been a trick of the light. The seconds passed in silence. The figure in the brown cloak remained motionless as the underbrush surrounding it rustled in the wind. Then it moved, slowly, carefully, turning around and slinking off into the brushes.
Riku braced his arm against the raft, pushing himself to his feet, ready to call out. But as he opened his mouth, another voice cut through the silence of the beach.
"Riku!" Selphie called. She came running down the path, her arms held out at her sides as she stumbled on the slippery sand. "Hey! We're gonna start the movie soon!"
"Selphie…" Riku's gaze flickered back to the deserted watchtower. "Hold on, there's something…"
She came to a stop in front of him. "Now, I know you have your big project and all, but you've gotta spend time with your friends too, Mister!" she said, wagging a finger at him. "Wakka's making some popcorn. Also, we need to borrow your sail."
"What?" Riku's attention snapped back to the petite girl standing in front of him. "What for?"
"For the movie, duh!" Selphie placed her hands on her hips. "You guys took all the stuff from the island. Your sail will make a perfect screen. I promise we'll give it back."
Take the sail? No way, Riku thought. Not after they'd spent so much time trying to find a workable scrap of cloth in the first place. But he knew that look Selphie was giving him—that "never take no for an answer" glint in her stare. He clenched his jaw, glancing at the watchtower one last time.
He crouched down, lifting the rolled up cloth and handing it over.
"Fine. Just bring it back in one piece."
"Thank you!" Selphie chimed. "Can you go find Kairi and the others and let them know we're gonna start soon?"
"Yeah. Sure." Riku was only half paying attention as he ran off.
There was no one at the watchtower when he checked—and no sign that anyone had been there at all.
Was I imagining things? he wondered, looking over his shoulder as he walked through the doorway to the front of the island. No, he was pretty sure he'd seen someone watching him. It wouldn't have been the first time a stranger showed up out there, at least.
But something interrupted his thoughts as he made his way down the beach, passing under the paopu islet bridge. A strained voice carried over the lapping of the waves. It sounded a lot like swearing.
He looked up towards the sea stack and blinked when he spotted someone dangling over the edge of the paopu tree. "Hikaru?"
She peered over the top of the horizontal trunk, gritting her teeth as she kicked her legs out over the empty air. In her hands, she clutched… a wooden stick? "Riku… A little help," she squeaked.
"Hold on!" He ducked into the shack, emerging on the second floor and jogging across the bridge to the tiny island. He hurried to the tree, taking a few steps out along the curved trunk until he was balancing just above her. She looked up at him with huge brown eyes, unable to do much more than make a strangled noise when he grabbed her by the forearms and hauled her to her feet.
Her legs were shaking as she stumbled back onto land. "Th-thank you," she croaked as she caught her breath. She leaned against the curved wooden branch in her hands, which looked like it could have made a decent hiking stick or a shepherd's crook when propped upright.
"Are you all right?" Riku asked. "How did that even happen?"
"I was trying to get one of those fruits," she said, her voice a little thick as she gestured out with her makeshift cane. "Then I slipped."
"The paopu fruit?" He turned to the star-shaped fruits hanging from the tree. So that would explain the branch; she'd probably tried to use it to knock a fruit down. "Huh… Well, hold on." He leaped back onto the tree, arms out for balance as he stepped along the narrow trunk.
"Be careful!" Hikaru snapped to attention, tightening her hold on her cane.
Riku just smirked at her anxious expression. As the tree trunk began to narrow and curve upwards, he leaned forward, bracing one hand against the tree and reaching for the yellow fruits that grew up in the leaves with the other. His fingers hooked around one and he snapped the stem with a quick tug, but not before an idea occurred to him that was too good to pass up.
"Whoa!" he said, pretending to stumble as he tilted out over open air, one foot still hooked firmly against the trunk as his other hand held fast to the tree. He heard a gasp and glanced over to see Hikaru, her eyes wide and a hand half-outstretched. "What, you bought it?"
She groaned, her cheeks puffing up in a look that resembled Sora's brand of angry. "Arse!" she said, crouching to the ground and throwing a rock in his general direction.
Riku laughed. "Relax, I'm just joking around," he said, heaving himself upright. But then he felt his hold on the tree slip for real, and it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Suddenly he was falling through the air, and he only managed a gasp as he braced himself for impact with the water.
"Riku!"
Hikaru heard the splash before she reached the edge. She stumbled, flailing her arms to halt her momentum before she nearly tumbled after him headfirst into the sea. Oh, gods! She staggered back, holding a hand over her hammering heart as she watched Riku paddle to shore.
He trudged onto the sand, taking a moment to shake the water from his hair before looking up at her. He seemed utterly unconcerned, and he gave a half-grin as he held up the star-shaped fruit. Hikaru released a sigh of relief and started towards the bridge with her branch as a walking staff for her still-unsteady legs.
He reached the bridge just as she began to cross it, and they ended up meeting in the middle. "Here," he said, tossing her the fruit.
Hikaru fumbled to catch it, though the fruit was the least of her concerns. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking at him up and down for any sign of scrapes or blood.
"I'm fine," he said. "Takes more than a dip in the water to hurt me."
Hikaru pursed her lips. Sure, he seemed fine, but he was still soaking wet. "That's what you get fer being an arse."
"Oh, come on, I was just joking around." Riku laughed. "Though I appreciate the concern. It's nice to know you care."
"Jerk," Hikaru said, crossing her arms and looking away with her cheeks puffed up even further. It was an action that only made Riku laugh more.
"Why'd you want that thing anyway?" he asked, gesturing to the paopu fruit. "Getting hungry?"
"No. Well, a bit, but that's not the point." Hikaru fumbled with her pockets, holding the paopu in one hand and her walking staff in the crook of her arm. She pulled out her pocket watch, letting it dangle by its silver chain. "I wanted to see something."
Between her conversation with Kairi the night before and Selphie's story from earlier that day, all the talk about stars had sparked her curiosity. Her mother had given the watches to her and her siblings years ago, and for the most part it had been nothing more than a little trinket of sentimental value only.
"Where I'm from, people usually draw four-pointed stars for everything," Hikaru explained. "But the star on this watch has five points. I'd never really realized how odd that is until now. When I heard there were star-shaped fruits growing here, I had to see for myself what they looked like."
Riku simply observed her budding excitement for a moment, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Can I see it?" he asked.
"Since you asked this time," Hikaru said, a twitch at the corner of her lips as she held the watch out. Riku rolled his eyes in response, but he took the device and gently turned it over in his hand.
"It looks kind of like something Kairi's making," he remarked, running his thumb over the intricate engraving and the strange red stone at its center. It wasn't only the star itself, but also the little pronged edges along the points that resembled the leaves that sprouted from a paopu fruit, or the tips of a Thalassa shell.
"Mm. She told me about that. I thought it was an… interesting coincidence." Hikaru looked down at the paopu fruit. "My mam gave that watch to me. She gave ones to Aki and Yui too. And before we were separated, she told us to stay together. That our watches were supposed to take us somewhere safe."
"I'd say it worked, then. The Destiny Islands are safer than anywhere." As much as he sometimes wished it wasn't. Riku handed the watch back and sat down on the bridge, letting his legs dangle over the edge. "How are you feeling? It's been a long couple of days."
"Aside from the sunburn? I'm fine." She plopped down next to him, setting her walking staff and the paopu fruit on the bridge beside her. "I think doing some hard physical labor is helping."
Riku chuckled. "Just don't work yourself too hard."
"Better than moping around, I think," she replied, trying to keep her voice light. By the look Riku shot her, it didn't seem like he completely believed it. "Moping won't get me back home."
"Well, once you do get back home, maybe we'll visit," he said. "After we find a way off of the island."
"Maybe," she said, cracking a smile. "I wouldn't mind playing tour guide for ye."
They lapsed into a silence that surprisingly wasn't all that unpleasant. "… You know," Riku said after a moment. "You've traveled around to all these different places, right? You've seen what's out there. And meanwhile, I've been stuck here all my life, here in these islands. I'm… sort of jealous."
Hikaru blinked. "You live in such an amazing place, though. And you have great friends," she said, brows knitting together in confusion. For all the traveling her family had done, she'd never had the chance to make friends as close as the trio she'd met here. She'd never bothered… Not when she knew that her time spent would never last.
Truthfully… I'm a little jealous too.
"It's nice, but…" Riku knocked his fist against the bridge, looking out towards the sun as it slowly sunk towards the horizon. "I've wanted to leave for as long as I can remember. But I didn't seriously think I'd be able to leave until Kairi washed up here. I was just saying that the day before you arrived, actually. And then you showed up. It must be a sign—that now is the time to go, that there has to be something out there for us to see."
A sign, huh? Maybe he was right. Maybe there was a reason why she had come here, to a tiny island where the kids spent their days seeking something more.
Hikaru leaned back, lifting her gaze to the sky above. "I was wondering," she started to say, turning her head away when he looked at her. "Could I… come with ye? On the raft, I mean. I think if I go out there… I might be able to find my family."
She braced herself for a "no" as surprise flickered across Riku's face. But he rubbed his chin, making a big show of it as he thought. "Hm… Well, it might take some work," he said. "But… I'd say there's room for another passenger. Of course, we'd better make sure it's all right with Sora and Kairi, but I doubt they'd say no."
Hikaru's head snapped back to look at him. "Really?" she asked, eyes wide. She breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Riku said, shaking his head and rising to his feet. "Better than just waiting around here, right?"
"Better than nothing," Hikaru agreed. Because what would they do—what would her family do, if they were here with her?
"Ready for an adventure?" an echo of Akihiko's voice rang in her ears.
And then her sister's words from a time long ago, back when they were young and stupid and seeking an escape from everything. "If we keep going, we'll find it. A way out of this place."
I hope.
... ... ...
He had been waiting for this moment.
How many years had it been? When the sunrises and moonsets bled together, and the passing of the countless days left no effect on what remained of the person he once was, time seemed of little importance. Children would come to the island as they always had, oblivious to the secrets that lay hidden deep within the confines of its darkest spaces. They longed for the warmth and radiance of the sun in a world of blinding light.
But as he watched the children make their way across the beach, with all their chatter and laughter washing away on the receding waves, he knew that even in the bridgest light there could sprout a seed of darkness. He'd seen it in that boy's eyes.
Because for all its light, these islands were naught but a prison surrounded by the endless sea.
A/N: Thank you for reading!