Ikurx - Ch 01

Ikurx
By Kitteh and NeoFox
Rating: PG - 13
Warnings: Language, violence, romance
Pairings: Riku x Sora, Axel x Roxas
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
Summary: After the defeat of Organization XIII, Sora and Riku find happiness in the simplicity of a normal life. A year later King Mickey sends a summons that the fight with the Organization isn't truly done yet. Light. Dark. As long as either exists the battle is never over.
Beta: NeoFox

A year. It felt like one of the smaller stepping stones of a larger stair case that ascended with their times in a spectrum of worlds and lives that now freckled their night skies.
Living on one planet, living one life, had been like slipping on a comfortable old pair of shoes.

In a strange way it felt like only yesterday they had been sitting there at the pale beach at The Ends of the Worlds, content to fade into the dark but remain unforgotten there; unalone.
Like waking the door of light opened for them, sent on a letter of forgotten memories but nostalgia of their long lost female friend.

And just as quickly as they had decided to live out their lives together in the dark they had decided to live out their lives in the light. Together, Sora and Riku figured, it wouldn't matter what shade they lived in.

But like clock work Mickey soon sent his letter, their adventure far from over. But they put this new mission off in favor of living what they had been denied by the polar pulls of light and dark.
It had been awkward at first, school, family, picking up after several years as if they had never gone missing. But it had been alright. An endearing touch or smile, the softest of kisses, sometimes snuck in Sora's room, their old makeshift hut on Destiny Island or even more boldly in the boy's bathroom; the little things made the world of difference, and living a normal life meant all the more now. Together.

But King Mickey just wouldn't have it. A more impatient letter arrived on the wind to Sora's hand one day as he sat on the crooked paopu tree, staring at the horizon. It was too dire a happenstance for the master of the keyblade to leave off any longer. And King Mickey demanded he finish what he started, from the very first moment the keyblade had chosen him; Ansem's 'legacy'.
Organization XIII had been abolished with their Nobodies, but their Heartless counterparts remained, furious that their origins had been abolished and whole they could be no more.
Sora was ordered to put this legacy to rest.

This meant finally saying goodbye to the new old life that they had just reclaimed.

This meant saying goodbye to being happy, normal teens.

It had been days after the letter touched his hand, but still Sora wasn't quite ready to give any of his normalcy up yet. For hours he had been standing in front of the door that started everything, doing nothing but staring. Truthfully he didn't know whether to curse it or not. There had been so many good memories, but suddenly it all felt like a burden.

A tightly gloved hand made its way out to touch stone then dropped back down just as quickly. He hadn't told Riku where he was going. He hadn't told anyone where he was going. He just wanted to be alone for a little bit, but he knew someone would look for him at some point and he hated worrying anyone. With one last look around, Sora started to make his way back outside and towards the water. The sun was just setting and it calmed him somewhat, but he also realized how much more he would end up missing it all.

The waves gently lapped at the shore, smoothing across the sand. Had it truly been so long since they'd fallen from the sky like wishing stars into the ocean, splashing up from the water to see Kairi's smiling face, waving. It had been years since they'd seen her face, and she waited. She had brought them back into the light.

Protect her.. Sora

He hadn't done that either; leaving her at Destiny Island to remember them, and wait. Wait for him to rescue Riku in the darkness that he’d sealed himself in.

It all felt like yesterday; had it truly been so long since they'd stepped back into this tiny world of theirs.

A hard affectionate knock on Sora’s head shattered those quixotical thoughts.

"You've got that look." Riku's voice droned in playful chastise.

Sora had flinched at the knock, but it was the voice that had him whipping around to face Riku which caused the long scarf around his neck to move around and flow behind him. "Look?" Sora easily knew how to put up a facade, although half the time it never worked on Riku, he did it anyway just to try. "You mean this one?" He put his hands up to pull at his eyes and lip making a ridiculous face. It caused his next words to be a little slurred. "Or this one?" Sora dropped his hands to pull his bottom lip down completely. "Hmm?"

Riku blinked several times at the silly expressions his friend made, but in the end he was easily won over by Sora's light heartedness. He laughed a genuinely amused sound. "No. Not  those looks." He reached up to take Sora's hands from his face. "It's more liiike-", Riku took Sora's jaw in his hand to tilt his head up, moving his other hand to push down the other's brows into a hilariously unnatural scowl. "This." He had to laugh again. "It's the look you get when you're thinking unnaturally deep thoughts."

Sora stared up at Riku for a few seconds before he finally shook his head. He lifted his hands back up to grab both of the other teen's and kept hold of them as they dropped between them. "It would have been easier if it was one of the other looks." Sora kept his eyes on their hands as he spoke and even as silence came between them. He couldn't think of what to say. He had yet to tell Riku about the letter, but he would have to very soon since it had been awhile since it was delivered.

"Maybe." Riku lightly shrugged, his smile still kept on his lips. There was a time when he rarely smiled here in their world, in their town. But ever since they'd returned, there was rarely a moment when even the smallest of smiles wasn't on his face when he was around Sora. It was as if a large weight had been removed; perhaps it was being able to call someplace 'home', feeling needed without obligation.

"But something’s on your mind. You rarely look that spacey." Riku couldn't help the grin as he teased his friend.

Sora's head shot up at those words and he knew he had been caught. Of course he had been caught the moment Riku came up behind him when he was so lost in his own head. "I guess I have been out of it lately, haven't I?" He pulled his hands away so he could turn away from Riku and walk closer to the water. His hands clasped behind his back and once more all he could do was stare.

So far life had been fine. He wished so badly that it could stay that way. "Every time we think it's going to be over something happens." Sora started speaking before he could really think over his words. "King Mickey is supposed to be able to handle things on his own from time to time, right? Shouldn't we be allowed a break once in a while." He raised a hand to block the sun from his vision. "Some actual peace here and there." He balled his hand into a fist.

Riku watched Sora a moment. The younger boy had a bad habit of wearing his heart so plainly on his sleeve. Every subtle action was as easily read as words on a page. It was a curse and a blessing; yet it was always something that Riku admired about the other.

"He tries as hard as he can." Riku stepped up to stand beside Sora. "But King Mickey is just one mouse." His gaze fell upon the vast expanse of ocean, the colours running together on its surface like sparkling ink. "There's more than one keyblade master for a reason." He gave the softest of laughs. "But you make it sound like we just got home."

Those words had Sora dropping his hand as well as his head. "It sure feels like it." His hands started to clench and unclench at his sides while he tried to find the words to speak up with next. He turned his eyes on Riku and opened his mouth, but found at the last second that he, himself, couldn't ruin the sudden view or that small smile on the other's face. Not with his own words, at least.

Sora took a deep breath and moved to stand in front of Riku which caused him to stand in the water. "I need to show you something important." If he couldn't tell Riku then he would just have to let him see the evidence instead.

Riku looked down at Sora, still so short after all these years. He lifted a hand to brush back Sora's plush bangs at a whim, but the unruly spikes always bounced back. He wished he could just as easily brush away Sora's worry; such a serious expression didn't belong on his face.  "Sure. Lead the way."

Sora reached a hand out to grab onto Riku's own and was soon leading them both back further up the island. Never once did he let go of his friend, having gotten in habit of needing to touch Riku in some way, whether holding his hand or just standing shoulder to shoulder to make sure he really was there. Only when they were near one of the huts did he let go to push aside a rock. A slip of paper was buried deeply under it in the sand and Sora was soon digging it out to hand over to Riku. "Read. It's from Mickey." He didn't care for formalities at the moment.

Riku took the letter, holding it as if it were something more fragile than paper. He dusted it off, blowing the excessive dust on the perfect cursive writing.
Through the fringe of silver bangs he read Mickey's strong words. This letter was far more desperate than the one they'd received when they first returned home. And as Riku read on his expression only grew more and more grim.

After he'd read, digested each word, Riku's hand lowered the letter to his side. His gaze remained staring where the letter had been. ".. We shouldn't have brushed off his first letter." Such a somber tone slipped into Riku's voice, the guilt quite plain. "It was stupid.. to be so selfish." King Mickey had been his close traveling companion, like Donald and Goofy were to Sora. Riku could only hold the blame for ignoring his friend's important request, when he should have helped as soon as he was asked. After all it had been Mickey who had been there with him, supporting him in his hour of weakness when he was trying to figure out who and where he truly belonged.

Immediately Sora was quick to defend their actions. "It wasn't selfish. We wanted a life. A normal life with no Heartless and no Nobodies around to fight." It wasn't like Sora to think of himself and even if such situations came up they were so rare no one could even remember them. "Mickey is a keyblade master too. We're just teenagers, Riku. Every time some huge battle comes along is it always going to be up to one of us or even both of us to just drop everything we have planned in life?" He seemed to realize what he was saying as his eyes went wide, but he stubbornly looked away, shifting gloved hands to his pockets. "We only had a year together..."

Riku was stunned, and for a moment all he could do was stare at Sora for such bold words. Never in all his life had he heard such self serving words leave his friend's mouth. Never. But he had to come to realize that Sora was exactly what he claimed; a 'teenager'. And it was true, Sora was always so willing to give, never once did he ever take for his own.
Those twelve months, they gave Sora and himself a taste of something they had been denied. A something they had always taken for granted before the heartless attacked Destiny Islands and he'd given himself to darkness without thinking.

"..We've had more than a year, Sora." Riku's hand found itself on Sora's shoulder. "Before all this, we had nearly ten years together." Riku rested his head against the plush spikes on Sora's head. "You just tend to over look those times."

Then something occurred to Riku as he glanced down at the dusty letter still in his hand. "Sora.. why did you hide King Mickey's letter under a rock?"

Sora had tried to relax while Riku was so close, but the question caught him off guard and he started to tense up again. Under Riku, Sora turned his head to hide his face as best he could, but his words would plainly give away his shame and embarrassment. "I was trying to hide it from you and I couldn't just keep it in my pocket because you would have easily found it there at some point." He moved away from Riku to turn and face the other, but didn't look up. All he did was raise a hand to rub at his face. "It came a few days ago, but I just wanted to ignore it. We're back home. We're living peacefully, Riku. I'm not ready to give that up and chance anything happening to you ever again." He finally dropped his hand, but still didn't raise his head.

The softest of sounds left Riku, something between a worried scoff and amusement. "Sora." Either of his hands settled on the boy's shoulders, drawing him just a little closer. "It's not like you to escape responsibility like that. Not unless it meant something to you." He wasn't mad, he doubted he could ever truly be angry at Sora.

Riku held Sora's shoulders a moment before he relented a hand to tip up the other teen's chin to finally have him look at him. "But you know as well as I do that protecting the worlds is our destiny." His thumb ran along under Sora's lips, trying to coax out the enthusiastic hero he'd always known. "You were chosen for a reason. Just look at all that you've done. Everyone is counting on you. King Mickey, he's counting on you."

It was strange to see tables so turned for once, but Sora really did need his own shoulder to lean on instead of vise versa for everyone around him. He tried his best to take in Riku's words and find comfort in the little touches the other gave, but that small sense of dread that peace would be gone still stayed over his head. "It's hard to want to continue following destiny when all I want to do is stay away from it." He turned his head away from Riku's hand to lift an arm up, knowing he was more then likely going to start crying at any moment, so he wanted to wipe away the tears before they even showed.

"I know that no matter what we have to go." Sora dropped his arm and lifted his eyes back up to look at Riku. "But, is it wrong of me to hope that at some point there will be nothing anymore? No more fighting over anything and just hope that we can be okay, here on this island?"

Riku shook his head, smiling just a little for his friend. "I think that's a great thing to hope for." He turned his attention back to the water they walked from. The colours were turning a darker hue, the sun dipping into waters, pillowed by clouds; light, dark, they couldn't exist without each other. Maybe it was foolish to think that the battle against one another wouldn't stretch on into their eternities, but if Sora was a fool to hope, then he wanted to be a fool too. ".. Because I share the same hope too. Because when all is said and done, I want to retire back here. Even if that means going to school as an old man just to finish graduating." Riku turned his head back to smile softly down at Sora. "I want to go back to sharing all of this," he raised a hand to gently tap Sora's chest over his heart, "with you."

Sora had looked down to watch Riku's hand. The words finally caused a tiny smile to come over his features and he lifted his own hand to hold onto the other teen's. "Even as old men we'll probably still be out battling who knows what." Sora shook his head at such a thing. "As long as you're there. As long as you're okay, then I guess I'm fine with whatever, for now." He slowly remembered something and a sigh left him while the smile disappeared. "I was the only one that knew about the letter. Which means you aren't the only one it was hidden from..."

"Kairi." Riku spoke the name Sora seemed resigned to say. His brows furrowed and he lowered his head as he gave something some thought, his silver hair covering most of his face as he did.

Although Kairi had been a great ally amidst the last battle, and he did have great confidence in their female friend but-

"..M." Riku lowered his head more. "Maybe it's better if she doesn't know about this." He was a little surprised at himself for that answer. But it had been himself and Sora who had taken the last of Xemnas down. Kairi had obligated to take a step back to let them finish what needed to be done.
Someone had to stay back and be safe, and wait for them to return; certainly not their parents, who had continued life forgetting their names and existence. And although Riku didn't want to admit it aloud, it was quite plainly written across his serious expression; Kairi, though she was a dear friend, she would only get in the way.

Sora was a little shocked by Riku's suggestion. It wasn’t that it was a bad idea, but to hear it from either one of them was just surprising when it was actually said. His expression softened after a few seconds and he nodded. "I guess so." He lifted a hand and this time it was his turn to get Riku to bring his head back up as he rested a hand under the other teen's chin. He gave a real smile this time, trying his best to cheer both of them up with the sudden change in subject over the thought of what to do about Kairi. "But, she'll be here waiting for us. We'll come back from what we have to take care of and we'll know everything is back to normal again when we see Kairi, right?"

Riku blinked away his serious expression at Sora's touch and words. Truer words were never spoken. It was exactly how he saw it. "Right." He gently nodded against Sora's hand. "She may give us an earful on our return though." His small smile returned on his lips with a quiet chuckle. "You know how Kairi can be." His own hands raised to touch Sora's forearm, drawing his fingers in fingerless gloves idly on skin. "She won't like it, but, it's for her own good."

"Exactly." Sora's good mood and optimism started to come back. The familiar cheerfulness that never seemed to leave him had hold of him again while he dropped his hand to grab onto Riku's own. "It's just a few heartless anyway. No big deal, right? We've dealt with much worse. We'll be back in no time at all and everything will be just fine again." He turned around to look back out at the water while he let himself lean back against Riku.

Arms slipped around Sora, crossing at his chest in a firm embrace as he let the smaller boy leaned against him. Riku leaned his head atop Sora's, sneaking an affectionate nuzzle against the soft spiky hair there; this would be one of the last moments they'd have to themselves on their little island. He'd miss this terribly, feeling Sora like this in such a carefree manner, feeling like just an average teenager with average problems and cares; instead of some isolated figure thrown into darkness pinning for his light, accepting a purgatory of twilight just to stay sane.

Riku stayed in this comfortable silence and embrace, fingers toying with the crown pendant of Sora's necklace. He didn't want to speak up just yet, wanting to indulge in Sora's selfish desire to preserve what little normalcy they had. But, it needed to be asked, better sooner than later when it would only be harder to talk about it. ".. When should we leave?"

It was the question Sora dreaded most of all because it made everything so final. He wrapped a hand around one of Riku's arms, wanting to keep the other as close as he could while he thought of an answer. "We ignored the first letter for a year and even now the second letter has been ignored for days. We should probably leave as soon as possible. Our help is obviously needed most of all."

"Thought so." Riku sighed, ceasing to play with Sora's necklace he buried his face in Sora's soft hair. His arms tightened around the smaller teen, hugging him fully and near possessively. Sora's greed was catchy.

Sora welcomed the embrace and even closed his eyes, not at all minding the fact it took the scenery away from him. He just wanted to enjoy the moment as much as he could. Mickey was more then likely fighting at that very second, so as soon as possible for Riku and Sora meant just what it implied. The time of day had no relevance. Of course the both of them still felt much too clingy to even attempt leaving, and as much as Sora tried to push every selfish feeling away there was still a tiny piece there. It couldn't be helped. "I love you." The words were whispered against Riku's arm as the constant worry still weighed on his mind as well.

Riku raised his head startled at such an honest confession of words. But just as quickly he rested his head back on Sora's hair. His skin prickled, touched beyond anything he was willing to admit aloud. It made his stomach sink to know it was this new battle that had such heart felt words leaving Sora, yet at the same time it only raised Riku's spirits. His mind reeled and he felt guilty that all he could do was just hold Sora's small frame just that much tighter since his throat had tightened against his will, keeping all returned sentiment swelling deep inside his chest.

Riku placed a lingering kiss at the side of Sora's head. ".. Don't worry, we'll come back." He barely managed to push optimistic words out as a hushed whisper against Sora's hair. "As soon as we can."

Sora had leaned his head more towards Riku's lips and nodded at what was said. "I know. I just wish we could stay here like this for as long as possible." He finally opened his eyes again to stare out at the water once more. His hand tightened a little around Riku's arm. "Just like this." He smiled a little and shook his head. "I'm never going to let us get anything accomplished this way."

"Can't blame you though." Riku's gaze fell on the water as well and soon to the darkening sky. "We've had such a wonderful time. And here I was worried it was going to be awkward coming back to all this. But I'm happy we did. I never realized how much I missed this place, and this little island." A small 'heh' left Riku. "Funny isn't it.. How eager we were to leave the island, home, to see new worlds and people. And now, we practically have to be pried away with a crowbar from our home here to leave and go back to those new exciting worlds." He actually laughed, remembering those earlier years. "I don't know where we thought we'd go on that tiny raft, with just three coconuts, raw fish and a bottle of fresh water."

"We wanted to see amazing things." Sora turned his head to look around the island and smiled. "I think I'll take this place over any of the worlds we've ever been to. It's home and it's where we can feel like we belong as long as we have each other." He turned completely in Riku's arms and looked up at the other teen. After a while he had given up on caring about his height. Sometimes it was actually nice to be shorter then Riku. Especially in moments such as these when the other would hold him.

"Riku," The other's name was said quietly, "about me hiding the letter." He dropped his gaze as he felt that same shame come over him again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's just, we've both been really happy here. I didn't want it to be taken away from either of us." He looked at Riku once more with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry."

Any smidge of bitterness or anger that had been left over the incident in Riku was wiped clean away by Sora's words. But it had been the honest expression on Sora's face that had truly done it.

Sora, if only he knew how much he could truly change with just one look.

Riku's expression softened and it was easy to see that Sora's apology was more than accepted. But instead of saying so aloud, he leaned down, tugging the other's scarf down with a finger, to softly kiss it upon Sora's lips.
To Hell and high tide, he was going to miss these simple times when so little meant so much more.

Sora was a little surprised at the small act, but he easily fell into it and pressed back against Riku's lips. He smiled against the kiss, happy that he was forgiven and happy that they could share such moments. He felt lucky that he had such a close relationship with Riku and as he pulled back from the kiss he couldn't help letting his smile widen for the other before he leaned in to wrap his arms around Riku.

The older teen obliged Sora, hugging the other back. No other could ever make Riku such a slave to physical displays of affection. No other could hug or say such horribly cliché terms of endearment and get away with their true meanings like Sora could. There was something about the cheerful teen, the way he bravely bared his soul, you couldn't help but fall in love with him. And with each smile, you fell in love all over again.
It couldn't have been anyone else- but Sora.

Suddenly Riku grinned, and he had to go and ruin the warm feelings by commenting off handedly in Sora's ear teasingly. "Can you even still summon the keyblade?"

Sora took the bait like always and couldn't help grinning right back. "Just watch me." He turned his head to give a quick peck to Riku's cheek before he was hurrying backwards while he failed at keeping his laughter in. He finally stopped just a few feet of the other teen and kept still. The only thing moving was the scarf that refused to ever lie still.

Sora let his hand drop and kept his eyes on Riku. There was a moment's concentration before light begin to shine near his palm and started to meld. At just the right moment Sora gripped down, but it wasn't light that he was grabbing. It was the handle of what was now the Oblivion Keyblade. He pointed it out a little and smiled. "See."

Riku crossed his arms, tilting his head for a second as if he were skeptical that the weapon Sora held was truly the real thing. But just as quickly he was grinning his approval. "Looks like you still got it." He waved a hand, mock skepticism returning to his face. "But I bet you're super rusty using it. A year of sitting on your butt all day, with no training, you've probably forgotten how to even use it." He smirked with his teasing words.

Sora let the weapon drop to his side as he started to pout a little. "Oh yeah? Well how come I'm standing here with a keyblade in my hand and you're not? At least I can summon mine." He raised a brow. "I bet I'm not rusty at all. I bet I'm just as good as I was a year ago." He had an urge to stick out his tongue, but he was trying his best to act more mature over the past year. That would only ruin such a thing.

Riku gracefully stretched out his arm. Calling the blade to his hand, he found, was as effortless as slipping a glove on his hand. And just as familiar.
Blue light coiled round in quick mist to his hand, jolting together to gather with black.  As his fingers curled around the colour light flashed to reveal the Way to Dawn Keyblade in his hand, black and twilight blue fading from it.

With quick reflex Riku twirled the blade in his hand before grasping it with a quick slash, blue trailing the blade only to dissipate with a spark. Riku poised the blade, admiring the old weapon with slight awe. He then grinned Sora's way, resting Way to Dawn casually on his shoulder. "You were saying?"

"That you're being a showoff." Sora mumbled the words, but knew that Riku would more then likely hear them anyway since they weren't too far from each other. He gripped the handle of the keyblade he held a little tighter before a small smirk came to his lips. "You were sitting on your butt just as much as I was. If I've lost my touch then you probably won't fair any better."

"Hmf. You're forgetting one thing though, Sora." Riku tapped his shoulder with his keyblade. He then lifted it off in one swift motion, twirling it once before he held it firmly to point in Sora's direction. His grin widening. "I always used to kick your butt in sword fighting."

"Times can change. I may just surprise you." Sora lifted his own keyblade up and bounced a little on his feet as he started to feel a rush come over him. To be honest he missed using the keyblade. It felt good to have it back in his hand again and even though he would miss normalcy, it would probably feel even better to do what he did best.

Riku narrowed his eyes, giving a challenging smirk. A friendly competition, playfully seeing who was the better. He missed those days when it was about pushing your own limits, challenging your best. When it was more about enjoying the match than who won; Riku missed that. The days when he wasn't under Sora's shadow and Sora wasn't under his.

"You ready?" Riku slid his feet apart, falling into a familiar battle stance. "I won't hold back."

"Neither will I." Sora steadied himself and placed both hands on the keyblade as he got ready. Despite the situation he still couldn't stop grinning the entire time. Mostly for the fact he felt like this was going to be fun. "Ready." The word was barely spoken, but it would be all either of them needed to get things started and they both knew it.

In the breath of a chuckle and the curve of a grin Riku darted off where he stood. He barely kicked up sand as he charged Sora, light on his feet he swung Way to the Dawn. The blade felt weightless in his hand, like an extension of his hand; the movement came back to him like natural dance steps. It brought back both good and hurtful nostalgia; playing with wooden swords on the island, betraying Sora as Ansem for Kairi's heart, finishing Xemnas in The World That Never Was.

Indeed Sora was ready and with a loud noise blades clashed when Sora lifted Oblivion to fend off Riku's attack. He pushed back against the older teen without even breaking much of a sweat, but was soon jumping back away from the confrontation only to start ahead again. He twirled the keyblade once in his hand before he swung it at Riku as soon as he was close enough, aiming low.

The Way to the Dawn blocked the attack with ease, fending off the next few attacks Sora made, each one ending with a metallic twing each time. Riku grinned from behind his dark weapon when their keyblades locked together, either pushing against the other's weapon.
"Just what I thought, still a little rusty there, Sora." He purposely teased to push his friend’s buttons during their spar.

Sora kept calm and this time only shook his head as he continued to push back. "You're a little out of your element yourself, Riku." He pushed harder which only caused his boots to drag across the sand under him. He took no real notice though and tried his best to keep his balance. Harder and harder he tried to push without giving into Riku's teasing. He wasn't going to be the one who would break away first.

Riku gave a short laugh since his sly tactic didn't work on Sora. He was amused that little Sora was holding his own so well against him. But Sora had proved himself more than enough times against far greater foes than himself.

"I guess it can't be helped. Lounging around all day on the beach will do that." Riku gave a grunt as he suddenly side stepped, removing the driving force against Sora's push. While the boy fell forward off balance he gave Sora's rear a playful swat with the broad side of his keyblade.

Sora got a mouthful of sand as soon as he fell down and nearly got more in when he almost let out a startled noise at the sudden swat. He lifted his head and spit out what he could before he turned around to lounge back on his hands, his keyblade forgotten just a few inches from his leg. "That wasn't fair." He spit out some more sand when he realized it wasn't really safe to talk yet.

Riku tried to keep his laughter in at his friend's misfortune of getting a mouthful of beach. He was doing a poor job of it too, and hiding it behind his keyblade didn't help. He coughed a few times but the laughter just wouldn't be hid.

"S-sorry, Sora." Riku leaned over to brush some of that sand out of the other boy's hair, a good few chuckles escaping him despite how he tried not too. "But that was fair game."

Sora lifted a hand to help Riku out with his hair after he was sure there was no more sand invading his mouth. "I'll keep that in mind then for next time." Even though the sudden fall had upset him, his mood switched back just as quickly as he watched Riku try to hold in each laugh and failing so miserably. He smiled a little and took the other's hand, shaking his head to let the rest of the sand fall free from his hair. "It's not that I'm rusty. I'm just not very graceful it seems."

Riku plopped himself down on the sand beside Sora with a laugh, resting his keyblade down beside himself. "So, are you saying that it was dumb luck that saved the collective worlds twice over?" He playfully bumped into Sora with the side of his body, leaning shoulder to shoulder with the other. He turned his hand so he knit their fingers together, resting their hands casually on his lap.

"Not at all." Sora dropped his eyes to their hands and there was amusement in his voice as he answered. "I knew what I was doing the entire time. It's just hard to not fall on my face after doing nothing for a little over a year." He turned his attention to Riku. "It won't be hard to get back into the swing of things. To know what we have to do and just follow through." A small little grin tugged at his lips and he leaned over a bit so he could rest his chin on Riku's shoulder. "Those heartless don't stand a chance. They never do, right?"

"Right." Riku nodded with slight enthusiasm. "We make a good team." He looked down at their hands through the fringe of his hair. "Not much can stand up to us when we put our heads together.. No one." He gave Sora's hand a slight squeeze punctuating his point. "Nothing can be as bad as what we went through a year ago. Xemnas, Xenohort- whatever, he's gone. They're spread out without a leader. Divided, we should be able to take care of it." Sora's unhindering optimism was completely catchy, and it was becoming Riku's bad habit now too. Of course, if King Mickey was so desperate for their help, it couldn't be as in and out a job as they were shrugging it off to be. But Riku wasn't about to admit that aloud.

Riku's words made sense to Sora. The Organization would be merely Heartless now and divided just as Riku said. In Sora's mind he thought it to be a much easier task then what they faced before. He just hoped it would be the truth when they came face to face with everything.

Sora turned his head away from Riku and used his free hand to pick his keyblade back up. He lifted it up and held it out sideways in front of himself against what was now just a moon in the sky. It was only then that he realized how long they had been outside. "We'll be leaving all of this soon. The moon, the water, the trees." His arm that held Oblivion, but he still clutched the blade tightly. "Destiny is such a strange thing."

Riku raised his gaze. Stars. Those stars were suns to other planets, and those planets were homes to other people who were possibly staring up at the same sky, seeing them as a star instead. We all share the same sky... The same heart.

Kairi.

"... Then.. let's not say goodbye." Riku whispered. "Goodbye only means we'll never be together again."

Sora kept silent after those words for a long while until he finally gave a short nod. "No goodbyes." He rested his head back down on Riku's shoulder and was content enough to stay like that and maybe even fall asleep, but he knew better. They were only taking in the last bits of view that they could for the time being. He had no real time to get comfortable any longer. "We'll probably be in trouble with King Mickey as soon as he sees us. We wouldn't come to his aid, but it's mostly my fault. I don't want you to get in trouble either, Riku."

"He'll understand." Riku rested his head atop Sora's, sighing as he shut his eyes; though he was the furthest thing from tired. "And I'm sure he'll be too busy being thankful that we're there to help to really have a chance to chastise us. We'll apologize.. he'll understand." At least he hoped his close friend would. Traveling with King Mickey nearly a year they'd grown close and he hoped that he would understand the need for this 'vacation'. "Besides.. I'll just politely explain you misplaced his letter under a rock." He ruffled Sora's hair at the side of his head.

Sora laughed a little and once he quieted down he moved closer to Riku so he could bury his face near the other's neck. The blade was set aside once again so Sora could get more comfortable and only then did he speak in a much more relaxed tone. "I do miss Donald and Goofy. It will be nice to see them again. I hope. If Mickey is around they'll be right behind I'm sure."

"You have a lot of friends to visit, I'm sure." Riku quietly spoke up. "I'm sure you have at least two or more on each planet out there." He quietly chuckled as he pointed up to the stars. It left a small cold lump in his stomach that Sora had so many when he had so little. There were so little that Riku could call genuine friends. But Sora, he would whip out that wide cheerful grin and he'd have a friend for life. It was a jealousy that Riku tried to submerge and keep to himself. ".. It'll be nice to see Mickey." He had missed that mouse.

Sora nodded his head as best he could in agreement. "We'll all have so much catching up to do. I hope we can talk at least a little bit before we have to fight, but considering the letter I doubt there will be much time for anything other then the top priority." He lifted his head a little to look back out at the water. "I guess it's alright, though. There's always later."

"... Sora." Riku started to say something, but he just didn't seem sure how to say it.

Just hearing his name in such a way had Sora lifting his head completely so he could give Riku his full attention. His eyes narrowed a little as he looked at his friend's face and his own words came out curious. "What, Riku?"

Riku glanced at Sora's face, the intent look he saw only made him look away nervously. ".. You think everyone went home?"

"Went home?" Sora blinked his eyes before he turned them back to the sky before he looked around the beach. "Well, it seems that way. Besides, it was pretty quiet here when I came over by myself." He looked back at Riku and gave the other's hand a small squeeze. "Why?"

Riku suddenly pushed himself up to stand never letting go of Sora's hand. He pulled the other up to stand with him just as suddenly. "I want to share something with you before we decide to go." He quietly explained as he dusted some sand off his pants and jacket before he pulled Sora along by his hand.

Sora hadn't been ready to suddenly be pulled along. So, when he was he stumbled a little before he actually gained some kind of balance. He felt a little clueless at the moment since Riku decided to suddenly drag him off, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited considering the older teen's words. "What is it?"

"You'll see." Riku tightened his hold on Sora's hand as they walked. He lead them up along the island until they were treading along the small wooden bridge that would bring them to the smaller island where all three of them would sit for hours just staring at the horizon, dreaming of possible futures of tomorrow. It was one of his favorite places to just sit and be with Sora. Just sitting in the warmth of sun doing nothing but watching the water whisper to the horizon.

It was beside the bent paopu tree that Riku stopped and turned to Sora, just to smile. He always wanted to return that lovely sentiment Sora so easily said. He always wanted to be as honest. Here, he wanted to prove what he was too reserved to say.

Riku let go of Sora's hand to place either of his on the other's shoulders. "Wait here a second." He smiled just a little more before he let go and stepped away. Turning to the bent tree Riku crawled up its crooked trunk, stepping along it in easy balance towards the star shaped fruit that always lazily grew among leaves and warm wind.

Sora had been only a little surprised to find them back at their spot. What surprised him most was watching Riku climb the paopu tree while he stayed down below. It was like torture to stay where he was. He suddenly felt even more restless then he usually was and he couldn't keep the wide smile off of his face as he took to playing with his scarf for the time being.

"Gotchya!" Riku snatched up a paopu fruit, plucking it from the tree. He turned around, walking a few steps before he leapt the rest of the way down; a sudden urge to impress his friend.

Straightening to stand Riku presented the star shaped fruit to Sora in both his hands, he suddenly felt breathless, so nervous. "It's said that when two people share a paopu," he took up Sora's hand placing the fruit gently on his palm, keeping his own on top, "they’ll be apart of each other’s destinies forever."

Riku stared at their hands a moment, the star between them, before he finally felt brave enough to look at Sora's face.

Sora's heart felt like it was beating faster then should have been normal. He kept his eyes on their hands and the fruit between before he looked up at Riku and realized in that moment because of his blurry vision that he was starting to cry. He shook his head to rid himself of the tears as he smiled once again. "Riku..."

Sora moved forward after the name left him and lifted his free hand to pull his scarf down a little. As soon as he was able to he pressed a tiny kiss to Riku's lips, but didn't give the older teen a chance to do anything before he pulled back and brought the fruit up in front of them both. Without any hesitation he took a bite out of the side nearest to him as his smile grew.

"Sora!" A hard smack collided with the back of Sora's head, followed by another. "Spit that out! It's poisonous!" The familiar girlish voice shouted in slight panic from beside him.

"... Kairi." Riku murmured and flinched from the girl's actions.

"You can't eat paopu!" Kairi went on, concern furrowing her brows. "I thought you knew that."

As soon as the hard smack hit his head Sora had been forced to spit the piece of fruit out. "Well, I do now." Sora rubbed the back of his head with a slight scowl. The one thing that he thought he would actually get to share with Riku was taken away in just one split second and inside Sora was crushed. He hid it easily much like he usually tried to when things upset him far too much. He turned to look at Kairi. "What are you doing out here on the beach so late at night, Kairi?"

The girl crossed her arms in a defensive manner, looking from Riku to Sora. The look was enough to have Riku's hands retreating from his and Sora's hold on the paopu, leaving the fruit in the other boy's hands.

"I could ask you the same thing." Kairi scowled just a little before the angry facade fell away and she smiled for Sora.

Riku's fingers twitched and he busied himself by looking out onto the ocean, watching the stars reflection on the water shimmer and break with each movement. He knew his utter disappointment would just be shrugged off as just another one of his moods by Kairi. Though better she think that than the real reasoning.
Of course, now Sora probably thought he was trying to poison him now. It did little good to his dejected mood.

Sora took notice of Riku's change in expression compared to how happy the two of them had been minutes ago. His eyes dropped to the lonely fruit in his hand, but still he refused to let it go. "We were just hanging out Kairi. You know, the usual." He looked back at the girl and smiled as best he could for her. "Don't be so upset."

"It's hard not to when you two decide to go eating poison fruit." Kairi shook her head at that. She reached over to take the bitten paopu fruit from Sora's hands so he wouldn't think to stupidly take another bite.

Just as suddenly Riku swatted Kairi's hand away without thinking. When the girl gave a startled cry and stared at him with wide shocked eyes, he realized what he'd done. "S-sorry.." Riku turned away, having no real excuse for his impulsive action.

The action hadn't only startled Kairi, it had the same effect on Sora as well. He looked between his two friends, but his eyes seemed to linger on Riku more then Kairi despite the fact she had been on the receiving end of the sudden swat. It felt like an uncomfortable silence and Sora didn't want them to leave with only this to remember. He looked back down at the star shaped fruit that lacked one of its pointed sides and inside he was a little relieved that he still had a hold on it.

"You worry too much, Kairi." Sora started to speak up as he turned to face the girl. He lifted the piece of fruit up and smiled a little. "I bet it's not poisonous at all. I bet it tastes great."

Kairi gave her friend a rather worried look. ".. I heard it was poisonous. And was told to never eat it." She watched Sora intently. Knowing Sora he'd just as quickly take another bite even when he was just told something was poisonous. Her hands raised to her chest, anxious. She just as sooner try to swat the fruit from Sora's hand again.

"Well, maybe the person that told you that was wrong." Sora was quick to defend. He would think up any excuse at all to share the piece of fruit with Riku; anything to get Kairi to give in because he wanted so badly for what she said to be absolutely false. His smile fell a little because he knew that it more then likely wouldn't be that easy.

Kairi stared at Sora rather surprised he would say something like that. "The person who told me is my parents, Sora." She looked away rather hurt.

"Have they actually seen someone die from eating a paopu fruit?" Riku's spoke up finally, his voice tinged with cold apathy.

"N-no!" Kairi stared at Riku with widening eyes. "Of course not. That's horrible." Her hands clutched tighter near her chest.

"... Then how do they even know." Riku crossed his arms, walking away to go lean aloof against the paopu tree's trunk to stare out across the ocean.

Kairi stared in disbelief; what had gotten into Riku? "Th-they're just trying to prevent anyone from getting hurt." She weakly protested.

Sora turned back around to watch Riku. He knew what was wrong with the other teen and he wanted to make things better, but with Kairi there things were difficult. It didn't mean he couldn't be near his friend and so he walked away from Kairi to be beside Riku, but up on the trunk instead, his feet dangling below him.

After everything that they had to go through, Sora trusted Riku over anyone else he had the chance to meet. He even trusted the older boy more then he did Kairi. That's why it was so hard for him to believe the girl's words over that of the person beside him. "You never know something until you try, right?" He lifted the fruit up and twirled it around a bit in his hands.

Kairi gave Sora a rather horrified blank look. "S-Sora!" She was really at a loss for words how persistent he was about the paopu. She walked over to the tree where the boy lounged. "C'mon, just throw that thing away. Stop playing around." The girl tugged on Sora's pant leg.

Sora knew he was probably worrying Kairi and it wasn't something he liked to do, but he didn't want to give up. He made up his mind easily and ignored Kairi's tugs. They would be leaving and he wanted to have something special to remember, something to share. Sora knew there was no way he would pass such a thing up.

Sora brought the paopu once more to his lips and bit into it, but this time he didn't spit it out, and because Kairi was below him she couldn't smack it out of him. He would take his chances. He knew it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do, but he wanted to because this meant something to the both of them.

Once the flavor was gone, Sora opened his mouth just to show Kairi how empty it was. "Ahhh."

Kairi paled considerably, gawking at Sora with wide eyes. She clung to his pant leg tightly with both hands like a vice. "S-.. -Sora!" She couldn't believe the completely idiotic thing Sora had just done.

Riku sighed, burying his face in his hand a moment; the drama. Though he couldn't help but chance a glance up at Sora just to see if his friend truly was okay. They never actually ate a paopu; the star fruit always seemed so forbidden in a sacred sort of way.

"Kairi.." The aggravation in Riku's voice was eminent. "Sora isn't going to die." He truly doubted that even taking a swig of deadly poison could keep the up beat determination that was their dear friend Sora down. He looked back out to the water. ".. He's too stubborn." He muttered under his breath, hiding a smirk.

Sora laughed a little when all the worry seemed to be over. "See Kairi, I told you it wasn't poisonous and it does taste really great." He wished at that moment that he could hand the fruit over to Riku to share it with the other teen just as they had planned, but Kairi put a hold on that and he kept the fruit in his hands instead. "I'm okay, really."

".. You'll be sick later." Kairi quietly spoke, fiddling nervously with the hem of Sora's pants. She swallowed though her throat felt tight. She chewed her lip, time feeling as slow for her as it did each of the anxious boys. "S-Sora.. do you remember that silly little myth about the paopu?" Kairi looked down quite shyly. "About.. sharing it."

Instead of looking at Kairi, Sora felt it safe to keep his eyes out ahead just as Riku had decided to do through most of the conversation. "Of course I do." He shook his head a little and tried his best not to fidget. He was horrible at keeping his emotions in check and most people could read him like a book. He had to be so careful with his words. "It wasn't really all that silly." The words were said quietly.

Kairi relented one of her hands from Sora's shorts so she could nervously bite one of her nails. Shyly she looked up at Sora, her eyes glancing at the fruit, and it was obvious what was on her mind despite her previous arguments about the paopu.

Riku's hands slowly started to grip his own crossed arms, digging fingers into skin as he tensed considerably. His jaw seemed to lock itself shut, keeping all protest he wanted to shout at the girl to himself. His moment was about to be stolen by Kairi. But he masked his fierce jealousy by acting just that much more aloof. Though he was sure he twitched at least once.

Sora didn't want to give into what Kairi wanted because it wasn't what he wanted. He jumped down from the branch and easily landed on his feet. When he was steady he turned to face Kairi and shook his head. "It might be poisonous, remember Kairi?" He waved the fruit around and laughed a little. "I'm just really lucky and stubborn as Riku says." He finally turned his attention back on his other friend and tossed the fruit to the older teen. "Right, Riku?"

Riku caught the fruit without looking, considering he was so wound up he was surprised he didn't accidentally squish it. "Right." He murmured, taking the paopu in both hands to idly twirl it around, looking at the missing pieces Sora had bitten. "Hmm. And you know who else is stubborn?" Riku pushed himself away from the tree to turn to either of his friends nonchalantly. Taking the paopu in one hand he held it out for all to see before he promptly took a big bite of his own.

Kairi went deathly pale. "Riku!"

Sora couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across his face. In that instant he felt truly happy. He wanted to grab onto Riku and cling onto him like he usually would when he was in such a mood, but he kept himself in check and bounced on his feet instead, laughing a little. If the myth was true and Riku was right then that meant nothing could tear them apart. He could never lose Riku and Riku could never lose him. Their destinies were entwined now. He sincerely hoped it would come true.

As he quieted down, Sora glanced back at Kairi, but continued to smile. It was so hard not to. "Riku is way more stubborn then I am." He gently teased and laughed a little more afterwards.

Riku spoke up after he swallowed. "Oh I don't know, we wouldn't be here today, I wouldn't be here if you were less stubborn than me." He tossed the fruit into the air and caught continuously.

"You two won't be here anymore if you keep eating that fruit." Kairi let out a shaky exhale. Well, if her two friends were going to eat of the forbidden fruit, she might as well go down with the ship as well. She reached out her hands. "Here, give it to me. If you two are going to die, I don't want to be left here all alone." She managed to smile weakly, even though the joke was quite plausible.

Riku caught the fruit in one hand and looked down at it. He tossed it over but it wasn't Kairi who caught it. He figured that choice was up to Sora if Kairi was apart of their destiny. It was Sora who Kairi truly wanted to be tied to, not him; he was just the third wheel in this.

Sora looked at the fruit as soon as it was in his hands again. He didn't even have to give it much thought before he was shaking his head. "When you put it that way Kairi it's a horrible thing to think about. You should want to live on, shouldn't you? Besides, Riku and I aren't going anywhere." Sora nearly flinched at that. Soon they would be going somewhere, but they had planned not to tell Kairi. "We'll be just fine." He took another bite out of the fruit right after he spoke and almost let out a noise at how good it tasted.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed her whine. She reached out to grab Sora's arm and gave it a weak shake.

Riku ran his tongue across his lips. He really wished Kairi wasn't there. He wanted to touch Sora, draw the boy near in his arms for this special moment now in disguise. He wanted to be so bold as to taste the sweet fruit on the other's lips, sharing the paopu just a little more intimately. But instead he seemed damned to tease Kairi with paopu keep away.

"Hey Sora, toss the paopu back over here." Riku gestured at himself. He smirked just a little.

Sora had only laughed when Kairi shook him. As soon as Riku asked for it, he tossed the fruit back over and raised both hands up to show Kairi how empty they were as if it was some kind of magic trick. When his hands dropped he laughed a little and tried to get Kairi to calm down and get the girl to at least crack some kind of smile along with him. "Come on Kairi, lighten up."

Riku bit onto the paopu when he caught, biting where Sora had, chewing on it while he talked. "Maybe she's jealous." He swallowed the fruit before he went on. "That she won't be apart of your destiny, Sora." It was a half joking remark unbeknown to Kairi. He took another bite, grinning when he saw how flustered the girl became after the comment.

"You're so mean Riku." Kairi made a childish face at the older teen, though her cheeks warmed over. Although what Riku said wasn't afar cry from the truth. She hugged Sora's arm to her chest and leaned her cheek against his shoulder, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. "C'mon Sora, share with me. Share a paopu with me."

"Kairi, it's getting really late." Sora was quick to change the subject to something much safer and to something that would get his alone time with Riku back. At least he could hope. "Does anyone even know you came out here? Maybe you should head on back. You'll get in big trouble with your parents." He pulled his arm back so it could drop back down to his side.

Kairi watched Sora a moment before she bit her lip and looked away. "You'll get in just as much trouble as me. Besides, we've stayed up late here many times before. Our parents never minded much." She glanced back at Sora but got the distinct impression she wasn't wanted. Not that it seemed to be detouring her. She wanted to prove she was just as stubborn as the boys.

Riku licked his teeth, his patience wearing rather thin. He didn't have the time to waste beating around the bush. He walked up to Sora, taking his hand to place the rest of the paopu in it. "Kairi, Sora and I-" He looked at the girl's hurt expression. Kairi had been his inspiration at one point. When she arrived at their little hometown, it had his mind reeling about places and people outside what they knew. In a way Kairi was still special to him, and even more important to Sora. The girl had been Sora's guiding 'light' when it really came down to it.

Just as quickly as Riku's bravery came, it went. And he resigned from going on in his honest confessions. So he just stood there, at a loss.

"What?" Kairi coaxed, blinking curiously.

Riku shook his head. "Sora and I left something on the beach." The excuse was lame, but it was fairly true. The keyblades probably dissipated back to wherever they went to when he dragged Sora off. "We'll catch up in a minute."

Sora had turned his eyes on Riku to watch the older teen beside him throughout the entire conversation. He had a feeling he knew what Riku was going to say and wasn't sure whether he was disappointed or not when the truth wasn't told. He looked back at Kairi when there was silence again and smiled a little for the girl's sake while he gave a small nod. "Go on, Kairi. It shouldn't take too long."

Kairi looked apprehensive but she gave in with a smile. "Alright. I'll see you two later then." She took a hesitant step back, and then another. She looked from one to the other before her eyes rested completely on Sora. She watched the boy for a long moment, as if she expected her dear friend to suddenly disappear right before her eyes. ".. Please don't take too long." Kairi gave a weak wave before she finally turned around to walk down the bridge to the major part of their little island.

Riku narrowed his eyes on the girl. He couldn't help but feel that Kairi already knew; about everything. But he remained silent, watching the girl leave.

When Sora was sure Kairi was completely out of sight, that's when he relaxed. It was a close call in his eyes, but nothing could stop their quiet moment now. He turned to face Riku and smiled, though a little sadly as guilt tugged at him for feeling as if he had run his friend off. "It feels wrong to lie to her, but I don't want to hurt her feelings either. It's so hard sometimes." He looked down at the paopu that they had shared so far while he leaned in to rest his head against Riku.

"She wrote that letter for you.." Riku didn't know why he suddenly brought it up. But their moment alone, their chance to be forever alone in the Dark, crossed his mind just then. "The one in the bottle.. The one that brought us home."

Sora remembered all too well. Only because he thought about it countless times, not because of the letter, but because he thought about what it would have been like if they had actually decided to stay in the Dark instead. "I know." He stepped back a bit and looked up at Riku. "She's a dear friend and I just wonder if she could handle the truth. Sometimes, I'm not so sure."

Riku looked down at the other teen; sometimes Sora just didn't get it. "She tries." His words had double meaning, but he left it at that. "You should finish that", he gestured to the fruit in Sora's hand," before you get all sticky." He stepped from Sora, walking to the cliff's edge of the smaller island, facing the water now black like liquid shadows under the night sky.

Sora thought over Riku's words, but didn't have long to do so since his attention was caught by the other teen walking away. "Riku, wait." He followed after and stood beside his friend as soon as he was near. "Aren't you going to finish it with me?" He held the fruit out and gave a small hopeful smile. Since Kairi was gone the game of keep away was over and what was left didn't need to be tossed around which was exactly what either of them had wanted from the very start.

Riku looked at Sora's eager face, and despite the mood that Kairi left him in, he couldn't help the smallest of smiles for the other. He nodded. With a quick glance down the bridge, no Kairi to be seen, Riku reached placing his hands on the other's arms. He stepped back until his back leaned against one of the few trees that grew there, pulling Sora closer.

Sora was easily pulled in and snuggled up to Riku, enjoying every single time the taller teen would embrace him. His hands were already a little sticky from the open and chewed up ends of the fruit, but that didn't stop him from breaking off a small piece to lift up and feed to Riku, smiling a little more as he did so.

The older teen had to laugh at the silliness of being fed fruit. He took it carefully in his teeth, pulling it in his mouth with his tongue. He placed the quickest of kisses against Sora's fingers before he began to eat the fruit. He chuckled as he raised a hand to toy with a few unruly spikes of hair on Sora's head, running fingers through them in amusement at how it remained so bouncy despite all elements.

Sora let out a laugh of his own before he brought his fingers back to his own mouth to lick away any juice that had been left behind. When he was finished he tore off another little piece, but fed it to himself and swallowed the small, sweet, bite once it was chewed, before he leaned raised up on toes to give the older boy a kiss.

Finally, Riku got exactly what he wanted, the last of all his dark mood and thoughts of jealousy leaving him then and there. His arms wrapped fully around Sora now that he was able to, happy to now have his friend all to himself.

Sora's lips were soft but sticky from the paopu. Riku boldly let his tongue slip out to lick the other's lips, enjoying the taste of the fruit far more there. Playfully he took up Sora's bottom lip, sucking on it just a little, but he only ended up laughing at such a forward gesture.

A blush had crossed over Sora's face, but still he enjoyed each little action. He never thought that the fruit he held would be shared in such a way. Nor did he think he would be able to share it at all, much less with Riku. He was enjoying every minute of it and pressed another kiss to the other's lips, not able to stay away for too long.

From far away sad eyes watched the scene, just barely hidden behind one of the few trees furthest from the spot that the friends called their own. Kairi let them believe she was leaving, but she felt she needed to keep an eye on the two. As soon as she left she watched as Sora seemed to seek comfort from Riku. She watched them retreat to the tree. She even watched what was happening at that very moment.

Riku and Sora had been close friends, but over the past year she had watched them grow even closer. Kairi wasn't completely blind. She had a good feeling what was up and there it was, staring plainly in front of her face as the two shared what she had wanted to share with Sora. Sadly, Sora had decided to share the fruit with Riku in a way that was making her skin crawl.

Kairi turned away and hurried away from the scene. This time she really was going home. She didn't care if she made any sort of noise from her hiding spot. She just needed some time to herself.