thank u for waiting!!! omg, i feel so bad that i didnt post it wen i said i wuld. and thank you very very much Kingdom Clasm. ^^; i appreciate that! well, here ya'll go!!!::
~*A Promise Held Forever: Together, Entwined*~
“Sand is overrated. It‘s just tiny, little rocks.”
Kairi sat across the cave from Riku, who was taking a quick nap. He had grown much older, his figure seemed more dark than what it was when he was a child. He had, after all, been on a pretty rough adventure. He’d probably seen dark and horrible things on his travels. His eyes…they weren’t as soft as before. When they looked like the depths of the turquoise ocean; as innocent as a child’s. They were a little bit hardened and darker than the last time she had lay eyes on him. ‘That sure was a long time ago…’
She examined him closer. His outfit consisted of a black raincoat and black boots, not to mention the black blindfold that covered this eyes.
‘Since when does he wear all black?’ she thought to herself.
His silver hair reflected the rays of the moon, and draped around his pale face and down to his shoulders. Kairi slowly stood up and walked toward the exit of the cave. Riku winced, groaned, and stirred restlessly when Kairi made the sudden movement. She waited till he was sound asleep again and walked out.
The sky was a deep ruby-orange, the lavender clouds barely visible against the horizon. The ocean as still as a rock, not a single ripple in the water, and not the slightest breeze blew. It seemed as if time itself had stopped, to catch up with everything around it. Kairi looked around. There it was again. That feeling in the air around her. The feeling that kept creeping back. So, she shook it away again. She didn’t want a burden on her shoulders, she just wanted to relax.
“Riku won’t be up till nightfall. May as well take a quick walk around…”
Kairi sighed, took her shoes off, and started walking. Footprints imprinted in the sand, leaving tracks far along the sea-shore. She strolled towards the seaside shack, went up the stairs, and crossed the bridge to the small island. Swinging up onto the trunk of the paopu tree, her feet dangling in the air, time seemed to catch up and everything started to move again. The waves washed up on the shore, sweeping away the imprinted footprints with one swift wave, and the seagulls and birds cried overhead. A light summer breeze shifted through the trees, swaying the leaves and branches in the wind.
Kairi stared off into the distance, watching the sun dip lower and lower. “I’m so glad Riku’s here, but it’s not the same without Sora…” The sun was almost completely gone from sight. Half the stars were out, twinkling in their serenity light.
Kairi slowly crawled out to the end of the tree where the star-shaped fruits sat nestled in the emerald, green palms. Carefully, she reached into the leaves and plucked a fruit, then crawled back over to the trunk and sat cross-legged.
“Please come back soon…we need you.” Turning the fruit over and over in her hands, as if searching for something she knew was there, but couldn’t see. The sound of a roaring wave crashed up on the beach and awoke her from her daze.
“Whoah, it’s nightfall!” she leapt off the tree and ran back across the bridge and headed out of the shack. She was halfway to the Secret Place when she spotted Riku sitting near the docks, his blindfold, and her shoes, at his feet. Kairi stopped in her tracks and made her way over to him.
“I see you’re in deep thought again.” she said, surprising him.
“Oh, hey! You startled me.” he said with a smile. “But yeah, I was thinking.”
“You do that a lot.”
Riku just shrugged. Kairi took a seat next to him.
“Don’t you ever wish we could just go back to the way it used to be. Before I came up with that stupid idea to leave this island?”
“You mean to when I came here…?”
Riku looked over at her. “Huh?”
“If you never wanted the idea of searching for other worlds, then you should be thinking of going back to the times of just you and Sora. No me.”
“What are you talking about?” Riku asked, a little bewildered that she would say such a thing. “You never would’ve met Sora, or me, then.”
“So? If I hadn’t come, on that night, then you never would’ve thought there were other worlds out there.” she replied coolly.
Riku pondered long on her words. “No, that’s not true.” he said after a while. “I had a feeling there were, before you came. That door, in the Secret Place…I knew.”
Kairi closed her eyes and slightly shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. Nothing does! Why us? Why did Sora have to be the keyblade wielder? Couldn’t it just have been someone else? On a different world!” she cried.
Riku looked over at her, when his gaze fell on the object in her hands.
“You were thinking of him…weren’t you?” he said, nodding at the fruit.
“Of course I was. I think of him and you all the time. Wondering if you’re dead or not…”
“But this time it was more than that…”
Kairi clutched the paopu tighter. “Maybe…” she responded, her voce trailing off.
“You don’t have to hide it ya know.”
“Hide what?” she said, trying to sound surprised.
“Come on! You know what I’m talking about.” he said, playfully punching her shoulder.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kairi said, trying not to laugh.
“You’re not very good at lying.” Riku said smiling.
They both fell silent and watched the milky moon rise into the night sky. Kairi slipped the paopu fruit into her pocket when Riku wasn’t looking, then stood up and started to walk away.
“Wait.” Riku said.
Kairi stopped and turned around.
“You’re shoes.” he said, picking them up and handing them to her. She leaned down to take them.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
She waded into the water and hopped into her boat. “Aren’t you coming? Don’t you want to say hi to everyone?” she asked Riku before paddling away.
Riku took in a deep breath, then let it out. “I will. You go on ahead. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Good-night then.”
“’Night, Kairi.”
* * * *
Through the whole night Kairi tossed and turned in her bed. She just wasn’t able to get to sleep. Riku was safe. He had been there with her. It wasn’t just an illusion this time. But the thought of Sora being dead…she didn’t want those kinds of nightmares to fill her head, so she restlessly tossed in her bed all night. Part of her wanted to go to sleep, but the other was forcing her to stay awake.
As dawn just began to reflect on the ocean, Kairi sat up frustrated.
“Why can’t I get to sleep? This is pointless!” she sighed. “I’ll just go for a walk…” Then the thought of Riku popped into her head. “Oh my gosh! Riku!“ She had completely forgotten he had come back.
Hastily, she sprang out of bed and threw on a sweater. She silently slipped down the stairs and out the front door to Riku’s house. She walked straight to the side of his house, to the tree that grew right up next to his bedroom window, and climbed up. Over the years, it had become progressively easier to climb up without the help of Sora or Riku.
When Kairi reached the top, she held onto the top of the window frame with one hand and onto a branch with the other as she lowered herself through the window. Riku was awake as well, laying down at the edge of his bed with is gaze towards the ceiling.
“Hey, Riku.”
“I didn’t think we’d ever use that way in here again.” He laughed as he sat up. Kairi walked over and sat down on the bed.
“I couldn’t get to sleep…” Kairi explained.
“Same here.”
“Did you see everyone? Anyone?” she asked.
“Of course I saw someone. My parents.”
“You’re somethin’ else.” She joked. “But ya know, your mom sure was worried about you.”
“Yeah…that’s my mom. Always worrying.”
“Do you mind if I hang out here for a while, before going back home? I’d rather be wide awake with someone else, then be alone in my room.”
“Of course.”
Kairi laid down and sunk her head into a pillow. She closed her eyes and almost drifted off to sleep, but something forced her to open her eyes again.
‘Maybe something did happen…no, don’t think that! It could be true…’ Kairi turned over onto her side and sighed. A tear peeked from her eye and slid down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. She didn’t need Riku to see her cry. She didn’t want sympathy…just the truth that Sora wasn’t out there, somewhere, dead.
**and now i'm off to finish my hw!!!! lol~ TTYL**
