four

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Coincidence

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"Whatever will be, will be."

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Recap

"Pre-party trip?"

"Mhm," Namine nodded. "In appreciation for being in her grand cotillion, Selphie's taking us all on a one week cruise trip!"

One week. On a cruise. With her beloved cousin Namine, her beloved cousin's sort-of-kind-of boyfriend, her beloved cousin's sort-of-kind-of-boyfriend's fiancée, terrorist kidnappers, her childhood crush, unidentifiable fragments, and Sora.

Kairi gulped.

This was going to be quite the adventure.

Presently

"Fiancée?" was the first word that left Kairi's mouth when the girls returned home. "Cruise?" the redhead asked with more ferocity and accusation. "When exactly were you planning on telling me all this?"

"I didn't know how to tell you until the subject came up," Namine replied sheepishly. While Kairi angrily sat on the beige coloured velvet couch in Namine's equally large closet, the blond began rummaging through racks upon racks of clothing to bring on their one week trip.

"Namine, I really don't think I should go on that trip," Kairi admitted with a heavy sigh. She rested her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands.

"Kairi, you came here for a vacation," Namine pointed out while stuffing a pile of white tops in her Fleuret branded luggage."What says vacation more than a cruise? Besides, all your expenses have already been paid for."

"That's what I don't like," whined Kairi. "At least let me pay you back when I start working on Destiny Islands again."

Namine chuckled lightly. "That's cute. You think I'm actually going to let you pay."

"Namine!"

"Kairi!" she mimicked teasingly. "You could at least say thank you."

Kairi began twiddling her thumbs. "Right. Th-thank you. I promise I'll pay you back."

"Sure," Namine replied suspiciously with a devious smirk.

"Now onto the topic of this fiancée," Kairi reminded. She crossed her arms, raised a brow, and demanded an explanation with her body language alone.

Namine's shoulders slumped as she threw a pair of white shorts into the luggage. "They've been engaged for about five months."

"And you're still going out with him?" Kairi wagged a disapproving finger in Namine's direction. "You didn't strike me as that kind of person, Namine. I thought you knew better than to go for a guy who asked another girl to marry him! And at such a young age, no less-"

Namine chortled sadly. "Oh, you've got it all wrong, Kairi. Roxas didn't ask Olette to marry him. Their engagement was arranged."

"Oh," was all Kairi said. A few minutes were spent in a depressing silence until Namine sighed heavily and took the seat next to her cousin on the cushiony couch. She believed she owed her closest relative a story.

"When I first met Roxas, we were quite distant. In fact, it was Sora I was close to when our supposed 'trio' met. Whenever our parents had business meetings, Roxas was off doing his own thing with Axel and I did mine for the first few months with Sora. It wasn't until Axel's parents made him the manager of their family restaurant that Roxas began to interact with us more. Axel was almost always absent because of work, and since business was booming for both Caelum and Hikari Industries for their joint product, the X-blade, the three of us got to see each other more during meetings, and I suppose that's where our affection began to 'blossom'. I managed to fall for him quite hard and I soon began to see signs that our feelings were mutual, but before he could make a move…"

"The Leonharts announced their engagement," Kairi finished with a heavy heart. She placed a reassuring hand on her cousin's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Namine."

"Don't be sorry, Kairi," Namien whispered with the usual elegance in her voice, but Kairi of all people could feel the weight beneath her words.

"I understand where you're coming from now. Thanks for sharing," thanked Kairi appreciatively. She then narrowed her eyes and began to protest. "But it just can't end this way. I've never seen you act this way around a guy before. You're both so comfortable around each other! You guys are perfect! Screw this engagement! You had Roxas first! How does he feel about this engagement? How does this… this Olette feel?"

"Well Roxas isn't entirely thrilled," Namine muttered, "and neither is Olette, but she respects what Roxas and I have. Don't get me wrong, they're good friends, but they've made it clear that what they feel for each other is strictly platonic."

"Can't their parents do anything about it?" Kairi asked hopefully.

"Hikari and Leonhart Industries are both under what could be seen as a recession," Namine answered. "Their parents have decided that combining their industries would make for better business. Olette is the eldest child of the Leonhart family. Roxas has two older brothers, but they already work for Caelum Industries. Roxas is the oldest of the twins, so he was chosen to be betrothed to Olette. They'll take up the business and get married when they are of age."

"This sounds like a soap opera," muttered Kairi. "So if Roxas' older brothers are unfit to marry Olette due to their positions in Caelum Industries, why can't Roxas just decide to work there too?"

"He's tried, but his parents highly disapprove. He suggested it too late."

"Oh, Namine." Kairi pulled her favourite cousin into a comforting hug. "What are you two going to do now?"

"Let the pieces fall where they may," came Namine's muffled answer. "Whatever will be, will be."

Back at the Hikari household, Sora sought guidance from his older brothers about his 'predicament'.

"So let me get this straight," started Ventus. Ventus, who was currently wrecking Sora mercilessly in their favourite video game, was the spitting image of Roxas. He may have been a few inches taller, but save the height difference, they looked even more like twins than Sora and Roxas ever did. His childish and optimistic demeanor surely rubbed off on Sora, though. "Last night, you all got hammered-"

"I didn't even get drunk," Sora interrupted proudly.

"-resulting in complicated chaos which you have not been allowed to reveal to me due to Riku."

"That is correct."

"And now Kairi, your childhood friend/ crush who Riku is also somewhat interested in, thinks you're some chauvinistic, lecherous asshole?" Sora nodded like a sad puppy. "But yet somehow you've managed to convince her otherwise?"

"A little," the brunet admitted. "We've agreed to start things over, but I have a feeling that she doesn't believe me entirely."

"Why do you care about this girl's opinion so much?" suddenly came the deep, alluring voice of Sora's other brother, Vanitas. Vanitas, although Ventus' twin, was the spitting image of Sora, but many of his features contrasted with Sora greatly. Though they had the same hairstyle, Vanitas' hair was dyed jet black, and his eyes were an intimidating shade of gold. Vanitas was also a little taller (and a little more muscular), but the biggest difference between Vanitas and Sora was undoubtedly their personality. Vanitas was cynical, quiet, harsh (to some extent), and above all else, mysterious. He loved to play games. He loved to make people wonder. This mysterious charm of his is what had the ladies going mad back at CI headquarters –that and the fact that he was the brilliant mastermind behind the X-blade project for Caelum Industries.

"Because he looooves her," Ven teased.

"I never said that!" fought Sora, "We were best friends once and I think she's, you know… attractive."

"Picture," Vanitas demanded from a separate couch with a snap, "now."

Sora managed to log into his facebook within seconds and handed his brother the laptop-like hologram device. Onscreen was a group picture from last night that Selphie managed to post two hours ago.

"Hm." Vanitas put on his reading glasses, placed his index finger on his chin and began nodding up and down. "Sora, does this picture happen to be photo-shopped by any chance?"

"No, why?" Sora asked innocently.

"Bang her," his brother immediately advised. "Bang her right now."

"Van!" Sora smacked him in the head disapprovingly.

"What? You wanted an honest opinion, right? I say bang her. She's smokin'. If you won't ask her out then I will."

"What? Let me see." Ventus pushed Sora aside to view the picture. He wolf-whistled shortly after. "Whoa, I agree. She's hot. No wonder Riku's interested."

"Okay let's not fall in love with her now," Sora warned defensively. Vanitas snickered.

"All right Sora, if you want us to help, you'll have to tell us what your intentions are," Ventus ordered as he resumed his game.

"Intentions?" the youngest Hikari asked.

"What do you want with this girl?" Vanitas asked simply. "Do you want to go out with her or…?"

"I just want to assure her that I'm not a jerk," Sora answered.

"Well you're already halfway there aren't you? You did tell us that you two started over," Ven pointed out.

"But there's still a part of her that doesn't believe what I told her about mom and Olette's siblings," griped Sora.

"I think you're over-thinking this," Vanitas stated bluntly. "I think you should just go on that cruise and be your usual optimistic self. Don't play up some sort of angle, don't plan anything. Whatever happens happens. I'm sure she'll eventually let it go once she sees how naturally nice you actually are. Just go and have some fun, little brother. Don't let this ruin your summer."

So he and Vanitas pretty much had the same view on things for once. It was kind of scary.

"You're probably right," Sora admitted.

"I'm always right," Vanitas replied haughtily. "But I'm serious. If you're not going to ask her out I will."

"Van!"

The day for departure came sooner than Kairi had anticipated. Before she knew it, she was staring up at the large five-star boat from the docks in awe. It had about ten floors at the least and had the name Masamune neatly written in large, cursive font across the side.

Of course, out of the hundreds of cruise lines that existed in the galaxy, Selphie just had to choose his cruise line.

"Where are Axel and Roxas?" Selphie asked when she realized that everyone else that agreed to meet here there was already present on the dock.

"Roxas just called and said that they're running a little late," informed Sora.

Call ended.

"There better not be a lot of cops out this evening," Axel muttered as he floored the gas pedal. Roxas, who made the unfortunate mistake of taking shotgun, had his entire body pressed against the seat and held onto the window and gearshift for dear life.

"Axel, you might want to slow down," Roxas suggested, eyes wide in panic. "I mean, we're already late. You wouldn't want to get into more trouble, would you?"

"Calm your balls, Rox. Hug a palm tree. We're almost there. Besides, I don't see any cops arou-"before the pyromaniac could even finish his sentence, he could hear wailing sirens coming from the side of an intersection they had just passed. While Roxas began cussing under his breath, the redhead forcefully slammed his head onto the steering wheel and thought fast. "Roxas, behind your seat is a red duffel bag. Get it." The blond obediently did so. "Inside is a long black wig. Get that, too."

"A wig?" asked Roxas, bringing out said item with an unreadable expression. "I'm starting to question your sexuality here. Care to explain why you have a-"

"Now is not the time for these comments! Just put it on!" the pyromaniac ordered. Roxas shrugged and followed his best friend's orders. When Axel began to pull over on the side, Roxas asked how a girly wig could save them from their current predicament. Axel answered with a punch in the crotch. Roxas held his hands over that general area and cried out in pain. Axel moved swiftly and stuffed a volleyball up Roxas' stomach before turning to face the fast approaching officer. He knocked on Axel's window and ordered him to lower it while lowering his sunglasses.

"What seems to be the problem officer, uh," Axel squinted to see the policeman's nametag. "Villiers?"

"Care to tell me why you were doing 120 in a 45 zone, son?" asked the policeman.

"Well, as you can see officer, my wife is about to give birth, so naturally I'm just being an overly concerned husband that's trying to get her to the hospital as soon as possible," Axel answered while patting Roxas' belly. He was currently squirming in pain. "I know it hurts honey, but we have to wait until this dashing officer lets us go." Axel turned his attention back to the cop and put on the sweetest smile he could muster. "So how about it, officer? Will you let us go?"

The officer stood in place suspiciously for awhile, but he let them go with a stern warning, nonetheless. When the officer drove away and was out of earshot, Axel busted out laughing.

"What is so funny?" Roxas asked in between wheezes.

"You make a cute girl," was all Axel said.

Roxas narrowed his eyes as he removed the wig. "You tell no one about this, understand? No one."

"So Roxas, I hear you're knocked up!" was the first thing Sora said the instant the two arrived at the lobby. The blond immediately stared daggers at his best friend who shrugged innocently.

"Wow, I knew you two were best friends but I didn't know there were benefits!" Kairi teased. This joke earned her much appreciation and laughter. She inwardly sighed in relief. She was off to a good start.

"Okay guys I have our room keys right here," informed Selphie, passing around the various coloured cards from the front desk. Kairi didn't fail to notice that they were all situated on the eighth floor. The eighth floor held the Pearl suites and housed the rich and famous. It was almost like Sunset Hill itself, only condensed and on a boat.

"Good evening passengers, and welcome to the S.S. Masamune. Departure will be in five minutes, I repeat, five minutes," informed a female voice through the speakers. Her announcement was followed by a short beep.

"Come on guys, let's go see it from the deck," suggested Roxas. He laced his hands with Namine and led the way towards the elevators. It was when he and her cousin were side by side that Kairi noticed that they were always matching. While Namine donned a stylish nautical navy blue and white dress with red heels designed by her mother, Roxas wore a red golf shirt, a navy blue cardigan overtop, and white jeans to top it off. She thoroughly wondered if they planned it or if it was fate. She selected the latter for comfort.

When their fairly large group bunched themselves into one elevator, Sora found himself pressed next to Kairi against the glass portion of the elevator. Their cheeks weren't exactly touching glass, but they weren't exactly far, either. They were close enough to fog the glass with their breath.

As the elevator rose from the lobby, Sora watched Kairi from his peripheral vision. She had her hands and nose pressed against the glass in awe. In that moment she looked like a child –the same child that was appreciative of her surroundings and craved adventure. Sora found himself inwardly jumping up and down childishly –she was still, in a sense, his best friend.

Eventually the elevator reached the twelfth floor and was gladly emptied of its passengers. The deck, like majority of the ship, was outstanding. In the center lay an oddly shaped pool with decorative rocks, beach chairs, and numerous hot tubs. At the other end was a stage for special performances and parties. A DJ named Neku was currently doing his, quote gangster wannabes, 'thang' there. On the sides, teenagers and preteens were playing with the ping pong and foosball tables. At their end was a bar that served various drinks from smoothies to alcoholic beverages for people of age. Also along the sides were disco lights and spiral staircases led up to the second floor where the basketball and shuffleboard courts were situated alongside cheesy couples that watched the sunset on the sidelines.

Save the ship crew, people all around (children inclusive) were dressed in Twilight Town's latest summer trends. Kairi looked at her own attire and sighed in relief. Vanille had dressed her in a stylish yet comfortable outfit: a white spaghetti strapped tank topped with a thin, light pink button up, a slim light brown belt to define her curves, white cotton shorts, and her favourite pink winged sneakers. Luckily for her, Vanille had packed the rest of her outfits for the remainder of the week. Bless Vanille and her sensible fashion sense.

"We're moving!" yelled one of the military kids. It was the blond with the model potential surfer hair. Kairi, over time, came to know him as Tidus. He, like Selphie, also looked somewhat familiar.

Suddenly the ground shook from beneath Kairi's feet. She lost her balance for a second and shifted sideways –straight into Sora's muscular arms.

"Might want to grab onto the rails," he recommended with a chuckle. She nodded slowly and grabbed onto the rails for dear life per Sora's suggestion. There was something about him in that moment in time when she was in his arms –something that felt… oddly familiar. She tried not to think much of it as she tried to keep her feet steady.

The ship began to accelerate, and by the time it reached full speed, they were meters away from the dock and the sun was more than halfway down the horizon. Kairi enjoyed the feel of the wind in her air and admired the view of the vast ocean and its waves. The sight reminded her of home and gave her a sense of freedom. Childhood days filled with laughter, shell collecting and raft building returned to her in fragments.

"Jack, I'm flying!" Namine suddenly exclaimed. She outstretched her arms over the rails as Roxas dramatically held her waist from behind. Kairi couldn't help but laugh. She was so glad that her cousin was starting to express herself in ways that didn't always involve pencil and paper.

Kairi continued to enjoy the view for a few more minutes until she felt like the ground was shaking so uncontrollably that it could split into two. Her head suddenly felt heavier, and before she knew it, she felt herself rocking side to side uncomfortably.

"Whoa, Kairi, are you okay?" asked a cute, ebony-haired girl. She was also a military kid. Kairi recalled her name being something along the lines of Xion.

"Oh? I'm, I'm," Kairi's hand flew to her aching head. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Axel suddenly concluded. He grabbed her wrist and studied her closely. "You're getting seasick." He would know –he'd had it many times before seeing as he was accustomed to the opposite element.

"What? No I'm not!" Kairi denied. Being seasick in comparison to everyone who was completely calm made her feel like a weight that didn't need to carried.

"Yes, you are. We should get you to your room before it gets worse," Axel advised.

Kairi slapped his hand away from her wrist. "No, it's quite all right. Don't worry about me, Axel. It'll go away. I'll be fine."

She wasn't.

By ten minutes time Kairi was bedridden and felt as if her insides were threatening to come out. She lay in bed dizzy beyond belief and showed no signs of improvement over the last hour.

"Namine," the redhead croaked. Her cousin, currently sitting on the edge of her bed, immediately gave Kairi her undivided attention. "What time is it?"

"Eight twenty-three."

"You should get some dinner," Kairi suggested groggily. "Everyone else went to eat dinner. You should join them."

"I can always order room service, Kairi," Namine pointed out.

"No, I don't want you spending the start of your pre-party trip with your seasick cousin. I know you want to have a romantic candle light dinner with Roxas… plus everyone else."

Namine chuckled half-heartedly. "I'm quite all right taking care of you, thanks." A soft knocking on the door caught the girls' attention.

"I'll get it," Namine offered. She left the room and headed for the small foyer in the middle of their cozy temporary abode. She could faintly hear the sound of the door opening followed by Namine's suddenly excited voice. A familiar deep voice answered her in return. They exchanged a few words before Kairi could hear footsteps clacking against the hardwood floor again. Namine would not be alone when she returned.

"She's right in here," said Namine, opening the door for the unknown guest. When the guest walked through the door it was as if the room had gotten brighter. For a moment she forgot about her seasickness until reality came back and demanded her to wake up.

"Hey, Kairi," greeted the guest. She could hear the slightest bit of concern in his voice. When he approached her, it was as if it was happening in slow motion. It took years for him to reach the side of her bed, but she didn't mind waiting. She didn't mind it at all.

"Riku," she said weakly. Due to her distorted vision, she couldn't exactly see his face all too well or make out what he was wearing, but he was wearing a whole heck of a lot of white and his aquamarine eyes were just as mysterious and wonderful as she remembered. She couldn't recall ever seeing him at Sora's party or at the docks earlier, so this was the first time they had physically interacted in years. The thought made her happy and disappointed all at the same time.

It was great that they finally got to see each other again, but on the other hand, she had changed into her slummy Destiny Island T-shirt and shorts for comfort, her hair was a mess, and her face was probably a pale green colour. These were not the circumstances on which she wished to reunite with the celebrated Riku Masamune.

"You know what?" Namine suddenly asked. Her voice sounded playful and teasing. "I think I might take you up on that offer for dinner now, Kai. See you later!" The door closed within 5 seconds, giving Kairi no time to tell her otherwise.

"So I hear you're seasick," said Riku with a sad smile.

"I guess so," Kairi answered. "It sucks, Riku."

"Well don't worry about it too much," he advised. "Seasickness is completely normal for newbies, so don't beat yourself up because you think you're burdening everyone else with your sickness. It's happened to all of us at some point."

"It's like you read my mind," Kairi admitted with a chuckle.

"Well I know you very well, Kairi," he reminded with a smirk. Kairi shuddered in pleasure and thought about how many girls would kill to be where she was right at that moment. On the same bed with Riku Masamune, witnessing his perfection firsthand? Oh, mama.

"Listen," he suddenly said, taking one of her hands in his. Her heart stopped at how amazingly warm his hand was in comparison to her own. "I know we're both probably dying to catch up with each other, but I'm sorry to say that that conversation can't happen now. You're sick, you need your rest, and my brother needs me to make a guest appearance tonight. I just wanted to check up on you and tell you that if you need anything, you just give me a call, okay? I'll leave my number on your nightstand. Please don't hesitate to ask for anything, Kairi." She thanked him graciously.

"It was nice seeing you again, Riku," she said with a weak smile.

"It was nice seeing you, too, Kairi." He discreetly eyed her up and down with a chuckle. "You look good, by the way." Kairi rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him with a red face. He laughed heartily while shutting the door behind him.

A smile graced its way onto Kairi's lips as she thought about her long haired friend for many minutes after his departure. The mere thought of his hand over hers was enough to let her fall into a blissful (albeit incredibly short) sleep.

When Kairi awoke again, all she could hear were crashing waves. All she could feel was the rhythmic movement of her bed bopping up and down due to said waves. It was soothing at first, but the more she thought of the bobbing, the more her insides wanted to come out.

"Oh," she moaned. Her hand immediately flew to her growling stomach. Here came her insides.

Knock knock knock.

"Kairi?" asked a male voice on the other side.

"Who is it?" she asked groggily.

"It's Sora." Her heart stopped. "Can I come in?"

"U-uh…" She briefly remembered something Namine told her a few days ago.

"Just give him a chance, Kairi. You promised me that you'd do just that. Just let this all go and start fresh. I know it may seem hard with all these mixed stories, but you can trust him. You can trust me. He really is much nicer than you think."

She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Sure."

The instant he was granted permission to enter the premises Sora pushed aside the door and came waltzing in with a plate of what seemed like green apples and crackers.

"How are ya feeling?" he asked while setting a bottle of water down on the nightstand.

"Still seasick," she answered bluntly.

"Well believe it or not, I learned that green apples and crackers actually help with seasickness," informed Sora. He helped her sit upward so that her backside was to the headboard and placed the plate on her lap. "When I first got seasick, I was hanging onto the walls for dear life and pretty much thought I was a hopeless case until a waiter came and told me that green apples and crackers would help me. I was a little skeptical at first, but it turns out that it actually helps a lot. Try it."

"It was really nice of you to bring me this, Sora," Kairi admitted with a thankful smile, "but anything I eat will probably come right back out within seconds."

"It won't. Trust me," he said, nudging the plate of sliced apples and circular crackers. "You can trust me."

"You can trust him."

Kairi sighed and picked up an apple slice. While she examined the piece of fruit in between her thumb and index finger, Sora pulled up a stool and set it right at the edge of Kairi's bed. He eagerly rocked back and forth as he waited for Kairi to eat. Slowly but surely, she placed the food in her mouth. She immediately closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

Sora chuckled lightly. "Sour?"

"Mm," Kairi shook her head with her eyes still closed. When she re-opened them, her pursed lips had curved into a smile. "No, it's okay now. It's a good kind of sour."

"Now the crackers," reminded Sora. After Kairi stuffed the last half of the apple slice in her mouth, she bit into one of the circular crackers to mix their tastes. The combination tasted surprisingly good.

"Good?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded happily. She was starting to feel better already.

"Good," Sora replied as equally happy. "Oh!" Suddenly the brunet reached into the back pocket of his jeans. "Before I forget, here." He tossed Kairi something in a small transparent packet. She caught it with ease.

"A bracelet?" she asked while examining said item. It looked like a simple rubber bracelet –a simple purple rubber bracelet. People had always associated Kairi with the colour pink –how did Sora know her favourite colour was actually purple? Lucky guess, she figured with a slight shrug.

"It's supposed to be a balance bracelet," he claimed. "Personally I think it's all in your head, but hey, if it works, it works, right? You should put it on –you know, just in case. Might help you walk straight for a bit."

"Oh, thanks," she said, slipping on the bracelet. An unsure look began to plaster itself across her face as she played with the item on her wrist. "Sora, all of this was really nice of you, but…" She bit her lip anxiously. He wasn't going to lie –he found it highly attractive. "I hope you don't feel obliged to do all these nice things for me just because of… you know. I know I said I needed some convincing, but I don't want you to worry about it 24/7. It makes me seem like such a princess."

Sora shook his head with an amused smile. "Don't worry about that, Kairi. I'm not doing this because I feel forced or anything. This is just how I am on a daily basis, I promise."

She continued the anxious lip biting. "Okay, if you're sure…" A few moments were spent in silence until the redhead decided to ask, "So how was dinner?" She contently munched on her food while waiting for his answer.

"Oh, it was pretty good," Sora answered bluntly. "We all ate at some nice seafood restaurant. You should go there some time. It's on the tenth floor."

"Oh, that sounds… good," Kairi replied awkwardly.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "It was pretty entertaining, too. Some waitress tried hitting on Axel while taking our orders so he demanded Roxas to put his arm around him the whole time to convince the waitress that he was gay."

"Couldn't he have just said that he wasn't interested?" Kairi asked in between giggles.

"Nah, there's no fun in that," said Sora with a giggle. "Other than that, the food itself was pretty good, but I guess the best part of it all was that it was free," he admitted with a light chuckle.

"Free?" Kairi asked. "Can Riku really have that arranged?"

"Oh no, it's part of the package. All restaurant meals and buffets are completely free," he answered. Silence filled the room as Kairi swallowed her food.

"So uh, Riku," she suddenly brought up after swallowing. Sora stiffened –luckily Kairi was completely oblivious to that specific action.

"What about him?" he squeaked.

"What… what exactly is Riku to you?" Kairi asked with her head cocked curiously to the side. A redheaded nine-year-old girl with the same expression flashed into his head for a split second. He shook it off moments later.

"Riku? He's my best friend," Sora answered, though it didn't come with as much ease as he liked. In fact in felt like there was something stuck at the back of throat. "We've been friends since we were kids," he said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Wh-what about you?" he decided to ask. "How do you know Riku?"

"Oh, we were childhood friends too," Kairi answered shyly. She continued to eat her food to occupy herself during the awkward silence. Sora, on the other hand, clenched his fists.

If only she knew.

If only he could forget.

He tried to find something –anything, really, to distract him from the events of three days ago. He searched her room desperately. It was almost exactly like his (he was going to be her neighbor for a week, after all), only mirrored with a vanity table in the corner. Other than that, the canopy bed, the cream coloured walls, the fancy velvet curtains, the elaborately designed carpets, the mahogany furniture, and the antique paintings –it was all the same. Besides, room talk would only keep him distracted for so long. He needed something better.

He suddenly took note of the shirt she was wearing; a loose, white tee with a faded logo of Destiny Academy's volleyball team. A light bulb lit up in his head. Destiny Academy. Destiny Islands. Home.

"You live on Destiny Islands, don't you?" he asked. She looked at him oddly for the sudden realization. "Your shirt…"

She looked at it briefly and smiled. "Yeah, why do you ask? Have you ever been there?"

He began rubbing the back of his again. "I, uh, I was actually born there." And I was also your best friend, just saying.

"Oh?" She looked genuinely interested. "When did you move to Twilight Town?"

"Around when I was seven or eight," he answered. "Until then I lived on Wayfinder on the Main Island my entire life."

Kairi's eyes widened. "You lived on Wayfinder? I just lived down on Thalassa! We were only two streets away from each other!" She began giggling childishly. "Huh, what a coincidence!"

Sora let out a sad chuckle. "Yeah, coincidence."

"So have you ever been to the ice cream parlor down on the boardwalk of east beach?" Kairi asked innocently and excitedly. "The-"

" –Inside Scoop?" Sora finished. A smile returned to his face when he saw how animated Kairi looked about their conversation.

"Yes, oh my gosh, I go there all the time! My favourite flavor is-"

"Paopu strawberry?"

Kairi blinked twice. "How did you know?"

Sora shrugged with a playful smile. "It was one of my favourites, too," he lied.

"One of?" Kairi asked with playful suspiciousness.

"Tell me, Kairi, have you ever tried sea-salt ice cream before? It's one of Twilight Town's most famous delicacies."

Kairi looked as if she had just sucked on a sour lemon. "Sea-salt ice cream? That sounds really gross."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," he said with a wink. "It is literally sex in the mouth." Kairi gasp-laughed and playfully hit him with a pillow at his inappropriateness.

They continued that way for awhile –comfortable conversations of home and random things mixed with subtle jokes. Unfortunately for Sora, though, the subject of their play island never surfaced, but on the bright side, Kairi found it surprisingly easy to make conversation with Sora. He had an optimistic and somewhat refreshing personality that kept her animated and interested in whatever they talked about. The bobbing of the boat no longer threatened the expulsion of her insides.

"Yes, anatidaephobia? It totally exists. The fear of being watched by a duck."

"No way," Kairi gasped, eyes skittish. "Why would you even-"

"You're still here?" came a shocked male voice from the doorway. It was Roxas with an amused Namine in tow. "Dude, its quarter to midnight."

"What?" Sora jumped out of the stool in genuine shock. He checked his watch and widened his eyes; they had been talking for nearly three hours. "So it is true." He looked at Kairi apologetically. "Sorry, Kairi, I didn't mean to stay so long-"!

"Its fine, its fine," she assured with a thankful smile. "Thanks for the bracelet and the food. I really do feel better now."

"Awe, that was nothing," he insisted while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "So, uh, I guess we'll be going now. We'll see you girls tomorrow?"

"Yup. Breakfast buffet on the deck," Namine answered while ushering the twins to the front door. "Goodnight."

Roxas quickly pecked her on the cheek. "Goodnight." Sora rolled his eyes and shoved his brother out the door. Namine giggled behind her hand. The instant she shut the door she sprinted towards her cousin's room with a smirk.

"So," the blonde began with an amused tone.

"So," Kairi answered while faking a yawn. "I think it's time for me to go to bed-"

"Oh no you don't!" Namine eagerly jumped on her cousin's bed and crawled over to her on all fours. "What happened between you and Sora, hm? He offered to help you at 9:03PM. It is now-" Namine stole a glance at her watch. "-11:46PM. Spill."

Instead of being intimidated by Namine's crossed arms and suspiciously raised eyebrows, Kairi crossed her own arms and smirked. Two could play at this game.

"Well first he brought me a plate of green apples and crackers," started Kairi, gesturing toward the now empty plate on her nightstand. "He insisted I eat them, but I refused, so he fed them to me."

"He fed them to you?" Namine squealed.

Kairi nodded and pretended to squeal herself. "It was really cute, Namine. You were right. He really is a lot nicer than I thought."

"Then what?" Namine grabbed her cousin by the collar and pulled her closer. "What happened?"

Kairi inwardly high-fived herself. Namine was falling for it hook, line, and sinker. "Then he gave me this bracelet-" she flashed her cousin the bracelet, "-and told me that it was a balance bracelet. He said it would help keep me steady for awhile, but he offered to, quote, 'catch me whenever I fell'."

Namine squealed even more. "Subliminal messages already!"

"Then he went up and kissed me and we had make up sex for hours and oh, Namine, it was amazi-"

"Kairi!" Namine whined, hitting her head with a pillow. "That wasn't cool!"

"It was pretty cool to me," Kairi laughed.

"Oh?" Namine smirked. "Then how cool do you think it would be if I told Sora that you think make up sex with him would be amazing?"

Kairi turned red. "Okay, okay, you got me there. It was just a joke, but you win, you win."

"So what really happened?"

"He just brought me a harmless plate of green apples and crackers and we just… talked for awhile," Kairi answered simply.

"Three hours isn't awhile, Kairi. What did you two talk about?"

"To be honest with you, I don't even know," Kairi admitted with a chuckle. "I don't remember half the things we talked about since it was all so random, but it was nice –really nice. Now don't misinterpret this or anything, but I just have this… familiar feeling around him, you know? Like I know him. I guess that it's because we have the same upbringing. We're both from Destiny Islands –isn't that a weird coincidence?"

Namine rolled off the bed with an amused smile. "Yeah. Coincidence." She stretched and started heading for the door. "I'm really glad to see that you two are on better terms now." Kairi agreed with a nod and a small smile. "Well I'm beat," Namine confessed with a genuine yawn. "We'll talk more tomorrow, sound good?"

"Sounds great," Kairi answered. "Sweet dreams, Namine."

"You too," she replied before shutting the door, the lights, and heading over to her room on the other side.

Kairi lay in bed awake for awhile, re-thinking the events of that night as she stole a glance at the digital clock on her nightstand. It read 11:53PM in bright red. Riku's phone number could briefly be seen just in front of the clock. Did she and Sora really speak for nearly three hours? Three effortless hours? She had never had a conversation for so long without getting bored. She found herself smiling as she pulled the covers up to her shoulders.

Maybe, just maybe, Namine was right. Maybe Sora wasn't so bad after all.

The rhythmic bobbing of the boat became soothing once again as Kairi fell into a deep, relaxing sleep.

Chapter Inspirations: Always- Panic! At the Disco, Tongue Tied- Grouplove, Good Time- Owl City ft. Carly Rae Jepsen

Hooray for early updates! I meant for this chapter to come out a little later, but I found myself working on it a lot more than I should, so hey, here it is! Hope you all enjoyed it! The next chapter is well on its way idea-wise, so I'm guessing I'll update this first before Teenage Wasteland… again lol.

So how is everyone's summer? I hear so many of you have Dream Drop Distance! You are so lucky. I don't own a 3DS so unfortunately, I can't play it. I heard it was so good though! I'll be sure to watch the footage on kh13 when it comes out in English lol. I saw a few scenes already, though. Who freaked when they heard Axel say "My name is Lea, got it memorized?" Asdfghjkl.

So instead of playing Dream Drop Distance, I've been playing real life Modern Warfare. Just like last year, a mutual friend of my cousin and I had a party, so we all loaded our nerf guns (you wouldn't believe how many attachments some of the younger boys have here –red dot sight, scopes, pistols? What do kids play with these days?), got up in our armour (I even painted those black war lines on my face lol) and had an all out war in the dark with epic music blasting on the speakers. I was such a kid, but it was hella awesome.

Special thanks to the following users for reviewing the last chapter: Sypherianlp, spellbound aka Soragirl4ever, XxThe-Crest-of-AnubisxX, mrkhrules, hiddensecret546, worksof, TheDarkNinjaPanda17, the ultimate kh fan, Bond of Frost, Asb227, Kimmosaur, EternallySky, monkmonkeys, Mokimoki-chan, Moon Princess016, Keyblades of Oblivion, Kuroiikawa, Q-A the Authoress, DragoNik, Jared Someone (I really appreciate the shrine btw :3), and 8989 Treasured Moments

It's getting a lot easier to make those now since I'm starting to memorize all your usernames lol. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to reply to any of your reviews yet, but since this chapter came super soon, I'll be sure to reply to them now since I know most of you didn't get a chance to review the last chapter yet :P

So anyways, I hope you guys take care and continue to enjoy your summer!

xoKyorii