‘Kairi…’

The young boy ran his hands across the cave wall gently. The kids called the cave the Secret Place. He smiled at the drawing on the cave wall. It was a drawing he carved with his friend when he was little. The boy had drawn his friend, Kairi, and Kairi drawn him. Over the past two years, the drawing has been altered. The drawing now shows the boy and Kairi feeding each other a Paopu Fruit. There was a legend about this yellow star-shaped fruit that says if two people share a Paopu Fruit, their destinies are intertwined and both will remain a part of each other’s lives no matter what.

The boy left the Secret Place and headed towards the beach. He missed the fine, white sand and cool breeze. It made him wonder what was it that made them want to leave Destiny Islands two years ago. As he approached the coconut tree, he caught a glimpse of his silvered haired friend sitting on the low, bendy tree. It seems like he was not the only one who wanted to hang out at their favourite spot. The boy took a deep breathe and dashed across the bridge towards the little island. He placed both his hands on the tree, pushed himself off the ground and leapt over the tree. He leaned against the tree, placing both his hand behind his brown, spiky hair. They gazed into the beautiful blue sky, dyed in orange by the sunset as the clouds crawled slowly across the sky.

‘Nothing’s changed, huh?’ said the taller silver haired boy, breaking the silence.

‘Nope. Nothing will,’ the younger of the two replied.

‘What a small world.’

‘But part of one that’s much bigger.’

‘Yeah.’

The boys then fell into silence again. ‘Hey Riku… what do you think it was - the door to the light?’ asked the brown haired boy suddenly as he turned to his friend. The two friends were lost in the realm of darkness after defeating Organization XIII’s Xemnas. But were saved and returned to Destiny Islands when the door to light appeared.

Riku laughed softly as he jumped off the tree. He turned to the boy, and pointed to his chest with his finger.

‘This,’ Riku said simply.

The boy blinked as he moved his hand towards his heart. ‘This?’

‘Yeah,’ Riku nodded. ‘It’s always closer than you think.’

After listening to his friend, the brown haired boy gave it a little thought before smiling.

‘Sora! Riku!’

The boy turned towards the voice as he heard his name. He saw Kairi waving towards them, wearing her usual pink outfit. She stopped running, panting as she stood before them.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ Sora asked.

Kairi heaved a sigh. She raised her head and stretched out her hand which was holding a bottle.

‘Look.’

Sora looked closely at the bottle. There was a message in it, rolled and fitted nicely in the bottle. And on the message was an odd looking seal. His heart skipped a beat. He could recognize that seal anywhere.

‘From the King?’ Sora exclaimed excitedly. He snatched the bottle and uncorked it immediately. He shook the message out of the bottle and unrolled the piece of parchment. Both Riku and Kairi drew closer as they read the contents silently together.

Sora,

I hope you’re enjoying yourself back at Destiny Islands. Sorry to bother you, but there’s big trouble brewin’. Not sure why, but the Nobodies started actin’ again. And that means somebody other than Organization XIII is behind this. I hate to ask for your help after all that mess you went through to get back home, but there’s no one else who does it better than you. I’ve gotta go to the other worlds to check into it. I need you and Riku to go to Radiant Garden to meet up with Leon and the others. Donald and Goofy will be there too. They’ll point you in the right direction.

P.S.

There’s a gummi block in the bottle. Attach it to your vessel and you’ll be headin’ to Radiant Garden.

Sora raised his head with disbelieve. They have only gotten back to Destiny Islands for barely three months and new trouble had arisen. Of course, he was ready to fight for everyone. He looked into the bottle which was still in his left hand. And just as the King wrote, he found a small, bright orange gummi block sitting in bottle. He turned to his friends as he waited for their response.

‘So… Does that mean we get to go on that journey we never went?’ said Kairi enthusiastically.

‘You mean with the raft?’ Riku enquired. Kairi replied with a nod and he laughed in returned. His laughter slowly faded as he lowered his head, his silver fringe covering his eyes. Sora knew why - Riku was thinking about the day he opened the door, releasing the darkness which destroyed Destiny Islands.

‘Hey, why don’t we build a new raft?’ Sora piped. ‘Just like the old days.’

‘As long as the two of you don’t get lazy this time,’ Riku smiled.

Kairi nodded. ‘This time, we’ll definitely go together!’

‘Together!’ Sora chorused.

‘Together?’ Riku turned to Kairi, his face uncertain. ‘Kairi, does that mean you’ll be following us too?’

‘Of course,’ Kairi beamed confidently as she swept her red locks off her shoulder. ‘What did you think I meant? Besides, I want to see my hometown.’

‘But Kairi, it’s going to be dangerous,’ said Sora. ‘We can’t afford to put your lives in danger.’

‘Oh, so why does that make it okay for both of you to put your lives in danger?’ Kairi objected.

Sora was lost for words. ‘Uh… Because… Because we have the Key-’

‘Maybe you’re forgetting that I have a Keyblade too,’ Kairi interrupted with a victorious smile. She swept her right arm backwards, and a key shaped weapon appeared. It was yellow with a slight tinge of red and blue. The Keyblade was adorned with flower decorations too. And hanging at the end was its Keychain, shaped like a Paopu Fruit.

‘Kairi, you’re still having that?’ said a surprised Riku. He had given Kairi the power to wield the Keyblade for a short while during their stay at The World That Never Was. He did not expect that Kairi was able to retain the Keyblade’s power for so long after the event.

‘Maybe I’m a Keybearer that was just discovered,’ Kairi replied as she admired her Keyblade. With another swing, her Keyblade disappeared. ‘So the decision is final. We’re finishing the raft and we’re going to Radiant Garden together!’

Kairi turned away and ran off towards the main island.

‘But Kairi-!’

Kairi paused and turned towards the boys. ‘Come on, I’ll race you!’

‘Huh?’

‘What, are you kidding again?’ Riku said as he shook his head, his lips widening.

‘Hey, it’s time to take me serious!’ Kairi glared with her arms akimbo. ‘Haven’t I proven my abilities already? Ready? Go!’

Kairi took a head start and ran off the beach. Behind her, Sora and Riku were catching up.

Current Word Count: 1,215

Labels: NaNoMadness