Disclaimer: Short little thing I found on my hard drive. I know, I've been gone forever; school is murder. I haven't had any time to write. I should be able to post new chapters of Dark Embrace at least, since I had some pre-written.
Home
Sora kicked at a rock and scowled. He wondered if he dared climb the paopu tree in the dark. Riku could do it and not slip, but Sora always slipped before.
He tried anyway. He made it up just fine and leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes as the wind whipped through his hair. His hair that could use a trim; the last time it had been cut was in Hollow Bastion, by Aeris.
This was not how things were supposed to go. The hero was supposed to return all triumphant, and then settle in contentedly back home and get on with his life. And…and….
Sora sighed and slumped forward. And he was supposed to be happy about it, content with having already gone and seen other worlds. So why did he feel so damn restless?
To make matters worse, he'd been held back in school. Sure, Riku had been too, but though that helped a little he still seethed over it. How was he supposed to have learned things like quadratic equations and ancient literature when he'd been busy learning things like how to dig your heels in and brace for an attack, how to fly a gummi ship, how to sleep so that one noise where one noise shouldn't be would see you awake and armed?
He rolled off the tree, twisted midair and landed lightly on the island. Then he did a backflip, just for the hell of it, just because that was another of those things he'd learned in another world. Yuffie had taught him how to do a perfect backflip. Donald had taught him how to actually aim when he used magic. Leon taught him several different sword techniques. Peter taught him how to fly. Cid taught him how to build a gummi ship (and how to curse creatively). Tifa taught him how to absorb someone else's strike and channel the energy. Nala taught him how to really run.
Sora straightened up a little bit, hands still on his knees, and called softly, "Kai? Riku?"
Riku detached himself from the darkness beside the seaside shack and headed for the island. Kairi sat up from where she'd been laying on her back on the beach, gazing at the stars, and came to him as well. The three looked at each other for a long moment, and finally Sora said, "I'm going to Hollow Bastion- er, Radiant Garden. Wanna come?"
He doesn't really mean quite what he says but they know that, just like he knew they were there because he always knows they're there. He's spent the last two years searching for home but the islands don't feel like home anymore. "Guys?"
"Yeah?" Riku replies, settling against the tree where Sora vacated minutes ago. Kairi hoists herself up beside him, legs dangling.
"What's home?"
There was silence for a long moment. Sora stared at the water, watching the waves lap at the island, deliberately avoiding the middle of the island where Riku had stood so long ago. Finally Kairi said quietly, "What do you think it is, Sora?"
"I think…I think it's you two."
"What makes you say that?" Riku slid from his perch and stood behind Sora, who'd clenched his hands in the fabric of his pants. Sora shrugged without turning around.
"Because the whole time I was gone, I was always searching for at least one of you, so that we could go back to the islands together. Because I wanted us all to be home, together. And….the islands themselves don't feel like home now."
GuardianSaiyoko: Short, but I like it because it emphasizes something important to me- home is the people, not the place. Plus, well, it's on my hard drive even though I don't really remember writing it, so I guess it was one of those sleep-daze things I wrote.