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To Sora and Kairi, it was like being on an emotional high.
Through time, their bond had hardened like concrete—impenetrable. It was beyond latent feelings at this point, it was a harmonious compound of encouragement, support, admiration, and most of all, trust.
With their hands intertwined and legs dangling as they were bundled together close on the paopu fruit tree, these emotions ran rapid with just a single touch. The salty air and the seagulls squawking overhead was nothing short of the pleasantries the two had become familiar with. Though, it would’ve meant little if they didn’t have each other.
“I don’t think I could ever get tired of this place,” Kairi said, closing her eyes and allowing the wind to gently caress her face. “I know in my heart that this isn’t where I come from, but to me, this is home.”
“It always has been,” Sora validated.
“You think so?”
“Of course! This place wouldn’t be the same without you, you know?” Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “And hey, I’d be a total wreck without you. Do you know how many times I probably would’ve fell to darkness if it weren’t for you being by my side?”
“True. You’re pretty much hopeless without me,” she teased.
“Hey!” Fabricating a look of hurt, he pulled her in closer with one swift motion and sent Kairi into a fit of giggles all the while. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I think even you can figure that out, dork.”
Another five minutes passed as they wrestled, mostly consisting of Sora trying to pull Kairi in close while she pretended to reject his advances, no matter how much she loved every second of it. As their laughter died down, they settled into a comfortable embrace; the warmth of Sora’s arms encompassed around her petite frame. They sat in a comfortable stillness, no words traded between them as neither broke eye contact until Kairi tucked some hair behind her ear with a soft giggle.
“What’s that goofy look for?” she asked.
“Sorry,” Sora apologized insincerely, putting on a grin. “Guess I just don’t want to forget that I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
Kairi’s blush intensified along with the ends of her lips. “You’re such a cornball.”
Sora chuckled nervously as he scratched his cheek as he imagined how much Donald would tease him if he heard that one. “Yeah, well…”
“It’s okay,” Kairi said. “I like how cheesy you are.”
“Well, there’s plenty more where that came from!” Sora pulled her in with an even tighter embrace, once again making Kairi burst into laughter.
When it died down, she rested her palm against his face and used her thumb to travel across the texture of his soft skin. “Looks like you really never did change,” she said.
Sora smiled, tenderly taking hold of her hand. “Of course I didn’t.”
Their smiles were radiant, weaved with affection as a sheen of desire shimmered over Kairi’s eyes when she noticed Sora looking at her lips. Their anticipation surged as their proximity decreased, their faces inching closer, closer, and closer...
“Sora!”
A yelp escaped them both as whatever tension there may have been dissipated and they held each other even tighter. Their nerves settled as Donald and Goofy entered their light of vision, the voice clearly belonging to the former of the two.
“Donald? Goofy?” Sora asked. “What’s up?”
“Riku and the King wanted us to tell you about the bonfire tonight,” Donald explained. “Since we’ll be celebrating the return of a half-pint like you, Sora.”
Goofy took note of the fact that neither of the two had let go of the other since Donald spooked them. “Gawrsh, I shore hope we aren’t interruptin’ you all.”
“Uh, no, of course not!” Sora gave a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Gee, then how come your face is red, Sora?” Goofy asked.
“Awwww, isn’t that sweet?” Donald teased, clasping his hands together and bringing them up to the side of his face.
“Could you cut that out?” Sora clenched a fist as Donald burst into laughter. “No offense, but can you two buzz off? Kind of in the middle of something here.”
“Guess we oughta stop meddlin’ then, a-hyuk,” Goofy said with a chuckle as he made his leave with his usual gangly walk. Donald didn’t stray too far behind.
“And remember to behave, Sora. Mind your manners,” Donald joked.
“Knock it off!” Sora shouted as his friends entered the seaside shack. “That’s it. He’s gonna regret this the next time I see him alone with Daisy.”
Kairi found Sora’s frustration amusing as she placed her hand on his cheek, directing his focus back to her. “Well, don’t worry. We still have plenty of time to ourselves, right?”
It wasn’t long before whatever Donald had said before became irrelevant as Sora fell into a goofy smile. “Yeah, you’re right.”
At least, so he thought until a frisbee smacked the back of his head. “Ouch!” Sora cried as he massaged the tender spot and turned around to spot Lea catching the frisbee just in time. Sora should’ve expected as much since it wasn’t uncommon for Lea, Isa, and Ven to have their fairly regular frisbee games around this time. Still, wasn’t it odd that it somehow hit his head?
“Yo! Sorry ‘bout that,” Lea called, waving.
“Aww, no biggie,” Sora called back. He returned his focus to Kairi once again but it didn’t take more than a few minutes before the frisbee hit him in the back of the head again. This time, Lea received a frown.
“Sorry, butterfingers!” Lea said, though this time Sora noticed Ven covering his mouth with both hands while Isa rolled his eyes.
Sora slowly turned back around to face Kairi, giving him an understanding smile. “Think maybe we should find a different spot?”
Sora shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m sure it’s just an honest mistake.” Despite his words, his eyes narrowed as if he were waiting. Ten minutes passed and nothing occurred. The three seemed to continue about their own business. Sora let out a sigh of relief.
“Now, where were we?” Sora said, his usual smile returning before it was derailed less than a second later when the frisbee came hurtling right into the back of his head.
“Sorry again!” Lea apologized through the laughter he was failing horribly to stifle. “M-My fingers slipped!”
Sora growled, having had more than enough as he pushed himself off the tree, helping Kairi down all the while, as he took her hand and marched towards the seaside shack. Kairi had no objections but was left wondering where their next destination lied. “Where are we going?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Away from those jerks,” Sora said vaguely.
When Sora and Kairi exited the seaside shack, Lea and Ven were quick to catch up to them.
“Aww, where you goin’, buddy?” Lea asked, draping an arm around his shoulder as he pinched Sora’s cheek. “We didn’t mean to interrupt you guys. Was I disrupting the mood? It’s just that you two are just so darn cute.”
Sora grumbled under his breath but ignored Lea as he led (pulled, more accurately) Kairi inside the Secret Place, ignoring the howls of laughter from Lea and Ventus echoing in the short distance.
When Sora and Kairi made it inside, the former scoped the place out in search of any unwanted souls in the area. Thankfully, it looked empty as Sora let out a relieved sigh and smiled. He loved all of his friends dearly, but even he wanted some space every now and then to be with the girl of his dreams. He looked back at Kairi, their hands still attached.
“Think the coast is clear?” Kairi asked with a cheeky grin.
“Yeah, I think so.” Sora rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry about that. Hope I can at least make it up to you.”
Kairi shook her head softly as she wrapped her arms around the base of his neck, momentarily catching Sora by surprise before he carefully held her waist, bringing their foreheads together. “You already did.”
“I did?”
“Yes,” Kairi answered without hesitation. Her eyes traveled over to the drawings they made as kids handing each other a paopu fruit. “By just being you. I told you before all of this that I wanted you to never change and you haven’t. That’s more than enough for me.”
“Kairi...”
Before their lips could seal the deal, they heard a sharp squeal in the short distance. They immediately detached themselves from each other and scoped out the area.
“Who’s there?” Sora asked, returning to his previous look of defense.
Kairi narrowed her eyes, taking mindful steps as her eyes wandered over the cave until she heard hushed voices.
“I told you not to freak out over this, you dip,” said a hushed male voice.
“Shut up! They’re super cute! What do you want me to do?” asked an equally hushed female voice in return.
Kairi was able to pinpoint the voices from behind the large rock with a less than flattering face drawn on it. Making sure not to alert whoever happened to be back there, she tiptoed over until she looked behind the rock to find nothing. She raised her eyebrow.
Meanwhile, Sora turned around and saw two individuals making a poor attempt at being stealthy as they tried to crawl out of the Secret Place unseen. “Hey!” he shouted.
The two culprits, a.k.a Tidus and Selphie, looked up like deer caught in the headlights. The former of the two bumped into the rear of the latter, sending them both to the ground.
“Tidus? Selph?” Kairi voiced as she emerged from the other side of the rock.
Selphie scrambled back up to her feet, knocking Tidus back down in the process as she approached her best girl friend. “I-It’s not what it looks like!”
Tidus rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. “Except it’s totally what it looks like.” The comment earned him a scowl from Selphie.
“Were you two spying on us?” Kairi asked.
Selphie bit her lip and averted her eyes. “W-Well, that’s uh...”
“It was her idea,” Tidus accused with a sharp finger pointed at Selphie, though the brunette didn’t deny it as she fiddled with her fingers.
“Selphie...” Kairi admonished.
“I’m sorry! I just heard you two like to come here a lot Lea and, uh... I dunno, I was a teeny bit curious to see how far you guys were gonna go. And you’re just soooo cute!”
Sora sighed as he shrugged defeatedly.
“That’s... sweet, Selphie, but boundaries would be nice sometimes, you know?” Kairi chastised kindly.
Selphie bowed her head in shame. “Yeah, I know...”
Sora crossed his arms. He was beginning to think this island was too crowded for his liking. “Well, uh, we’ll leave you two to it then,” he said somewhat hastily.
Kairi was caught off-guard when Sora moved past Selphie and took her hand in one swift motion as he hurried out of the Secret Place.
“W-Wait!” Selphie said, reaching out for them. “I just need to know if you guys have gotten to third-ba—”
Tidus covered Selphie’s mouth and pulled her back before she made the situation any more awkward than she already had.
“Just don’t, Selph.”
After having to feel the brunt of Lea’s teasing once again, Sora led Kairi to the wooden door leading to the cove. Sora and Kairi briefly examined the area before hopping across the broken bridge that led to the other side.
“Watch your step,” Sora warned.
Kairi puffed out her chest. “Hey, don’t you worry about me, I think by now I’ve learned a thing or twoowhoa!” she sputtered as she nearly tripped over herself when she landed on the other side before Sora caught her in the nick of time. He carefully brought her back up to her feet.
“You okay?” Sora asked with genuine concern.
Kairi found the will to stop ogling and cast him a smile. “Yes.”
They stood in a comfortable silence before they heard feet pattering against the sandy surface in the short distance.
“Woof, woof! Woof, woof!”
Before he even had a chance to react, Sora was tackled to the floor by Pluto and it only took a second longer for his face to be submerged in the dog’s drool.
“Aww, Pluto,” Sora whined, though Kairi couldn’t bite back the laughter that escaped her even if she wanted to. Once Sora’s face was appropriately drenched, he moved over to Kairi and would’ve nearly pounced on her as well if Kairi didn’t catch him in time. She still gave him plenty of chin scratches and pets to assure him his appearance wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
“It’s very nice to see you, too,” Kairi greeted. “How’ve you been, boy?”
“Gosh,” said a familiar high-pitched voice. “Sorry about that, you two. You know how Pluto can get sometimes.”
King Mickey approached them along with Riku. The latter chuckled as Kairi took a handkerchief out of one of the pockets of her pink shorts, dabbing Sora’s face once she was free from Pluto.
“Sorry, were we interrupting something?” Riku asked, a sly grin on his face.
Sora cleared his throat. “Uh, well...”
“Yes, you are,” Kairi answered boldly, though her words betrayed the smile on her face.
Riku raised his hands in defense. “Don’t mind us, we were just trying to get a little training in. But if you needed a little bit of privacy, then by all means...”
Riku stepped out of the way, presenting the rest of the cove to them, empty and barren for their disposal. Kairi sent an appreciative smile while Sora bashfully scratched his cheek.
“Thanks, Riku,” Sora said as he and Kairi moved past them. Riku playfully saluted while he and Mickey shared a chuckle. They were about to leave along with Pluto before they saw Lea charging in hot.
“Hey, Sora! I got somethin’ for ya,” he cried.
Riku calmly grabbed the back of Lea’s shirt before he could get any closer and yanked him back. “I don’t think so.”
“No, but it’s really important! I swear,” Lea said.
“What is it?” Mickey asked.
“I’m locked out of my house and I need his Keyblade to unlock it.”
Riku and Mickey shared a look. “You do realize more than half of us have Keyblades, right? Matter of fact, don’t you have a Keyblade?”
“And don’tcha live in Twilight Town?” Mickey added.
“I… I just moved here?” Lea gave a sheepish grin. “Today, actually. Crazy coincidence, am I right?”
Riku and Mickey shared a look of disbelief before nodding to affirm they were on the same page. Despite his protests, they grabbed Lea by his shoulders as they dragged him away from the scene.
Sora and Kairi were left to themselves as their eyes wandered the cove, a wave of nostalgia flooding over them both as memories lurked in every nook and cranny of this area of the island.
“Hey, remember when the raft used to be here?” Kairi asked as she wrapped her arms behind her back. “It’s almost like... this is where everything started.”
“How could I forget?” Sora asked with a chuckle. “We worked so hard on that thing. It’s a shame we never got to give it a try.”
“It’s a nice thought, wondering what would’ve happened had we been together the whole time setting sail on the sea. But honestly...” Kairi walked towards the shore, her arms tied behind her back as she looked to the sky wistfully. “If I could go back and change how everything went down, I don’t think I would.”
“Really?” Sora tilted his head.
Mm hm.” Kairi nodded, pursing her lips into a tight smile. “It may not have been ideal, but being able to go inside your heart, being able to see things through your eyes and feel the things that you felt... how much you cared about me and wanted nothing more than to make sure I was safe... maybe we’re this close because of that. And ever since then, no matter what, we always find our way back to each other again.” She turned around and faced him. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything. Not for one second.”
Sora was left speechless for a moment until a certain warmth washed him over. “Kairi...” he said quietly, his eyes trained on the sand. “I guess sometimes I just wish I could’ve done better for you. You spent all that time having to watch from the sidelines, waiting for me to come home because I kept leaving you all alone. I guess sometimes I wish I could’ve done better for you.”
Kairi sighed, but she settled into a gentle smile as she carefully approached him in good spirits. “Sora, go into your back pocket for me please.”
Sora raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sure.”
He did as told and dug into his back pocket and retrieved the good luck charm she had given him all those years ago. Since then, she wanted him to keep it permanently as a reminder of the bond they shared. Sora had come to treasure it deeply.
“Even if we’re apart, we’re not alone anymore,” Kairi said. “Remember that?”
Sora looked over the charm and the face, his own face, she drew grinning back at him. His eyes shimmered as the memories came back. “Yeah,” he said. “We made a promise.”
Kairi nodded. “We did. No matter what happens, no matter how far apart we are...”
She took Sora’s hand and gently closed them around the good luck charm.
“We’ll always find each other,” she said with a soft smile. “No matter what.”
After a moment of silence, Sora nodded. “You’re right.” He gripped his lucky charm harder. “I don’t think I would trade anything in the world for that either.”
“So, don’t worry about that stuff. In the end, I think it made me stronger. Not just me, but you too. And besides, I love you just the way you are, no matter how much of a hopeless goofball you are.”
“Thanks, Kai—hey, wait a minute! You take that back.”
Kairi giggled as she ran away. “But it’s the truth! You said it yourself.”
Sora grinned. “Okay, you asked for it!”
Sora chased Kairi all over the cove, leaving no stone unturned as they playfully teased each other all the while. Sora could have easily caught up to her before, but after all the training Kairi had received, she was a lot trickier to catch these days. Their misadventures ranged from running behind the coconut trees to splashing each other in the sea.
At one point, Kairi was running away after she casted Waterga magic on Sora (which Sora thought was cheating but at least he had an Aeroga spell to dry himself fast).
“Now, you’re really gonna get it!” Sora declared as he chased after her.
“I’d like to see you try!”
Sora looked ahead and put on a look of surprise. “Oh, hey Riku!”
Kairi stopped in her tracks. “Riku?” Before she had a second longer to react, Sora grabbed her by the waist from behind.
“Gotcha!” he said, a toothy smile as Kairi kicked her legs out.
“No!” she said in-between her giggles. “Lemme go, you lazy bum!”
“Nuh uh, I need my revenge.” Sora put on a malicious smile as he began tickling her sides. Kairi howled with uncontrollable laughter.
“Sora…! I-I can’t!” Kairi sputtered.
“Ha! Not so tough are ya now, huuuuhaaaaah!” Sora couldn’t finish his comment before he tripped over himself while backing up. He fell to his back, taking the brunt of the fall while he caught Kairi in the nick of time as she fell on top of his chest. They landed in the middle of shrubbery and gorgeous flowers that bloomed brilliantly near the ladder that led to the zipline.
After a brief stint of silence, they ultimately laughed at the situation at hand. This felt right. This was how it should’ve been. The stars had aligned and the universe was finally working in their favor. So it seemed, at least. Kairi wanted to last forever.
But she knew deep down all good things must come to an end.
“Hey,” she said suddenly. “I have a surprise for you.”
Before Sora could question her, she went into her back pocket and pulled out a paopu fruit. How she was able to carry that back there, she wasn’t sure but neither of them questioned it.
“I know we’ve already shared one before, but... I kind of want to relive that moment again,” Kairi admitted.
Sora didn’t say anything. He only offered a smile. A smile that communicated everything it needed to. He told her that she was safe, secure, and free of judgment. He told her that she was the apple of his eyes, the girl of his dreams, and his destiny. He told her how happy he was the first time she asked him to share one with him and he wanted nothing more than to do it again. All with one smile.
“You know I’ll come back to you, right?” he asked. “I won’t give up. I’ll never give up.”
Kairi’s smile turned solemn. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
Sora took the paopu fruit from her possession and gently grazed his teeth on top of one of the spikes. Kairi took the initiative to nibble the other end, but before either could bite down, she cupped his cheek with her hand. Sora responded by using his index finger and thumb to carefully hold her chin.
The way he looked into her eyes with such a focus and confidence, it was enough to make a tear stream down her face. No matter what the situation, he always assured her that he would come back.
They both simultaneously bit down on the paopu fruit, solidifying their destiny to find each other once again, and in a turn of events, the fruit dissipated into sparkles that twinkled against the setting sun. They were still and locked firmly in the moment as they looked into each other’s eyes, her hand and his fingers still attached to each other’s faces, quietly admiring each other until Sora ended up being the first to break it.
“Don’t ever forget,” he said. “Wherever you go...”
Then Kairi woke up.
Reality settled as the memories slowly drifted back as she studied her room, the morning sun peeking through the slits of her blinds and its warmth faded from the translucent curtains. Eventually, she remembered it had been a year and a few months since Sora disappeared. She and the others were still hard at work looking for a way to bring him back home. But for a moment, she was relieved of the pain of her own uncertainty of his whereabouts and her lack of ability to see his kind smile beyond distant memories. It reminded her of the time when she first returned to the islands without Sora or Riku, except it was even more painful because her memory was fully intact.
He was there. He was so close. She could feel his touch. Everything felt so natural and real. Perhaps, in its own roundabout way, it was?
Maybe, just maybe... Sora was trying to communicate with her. Perhaps he wanted to assure her that he was okay and that he would return to her, but they could only meet in a dream. As the dream was nearing its end, she did recall her memories slowly rematerializing in the back corners of her mind and she had to assume the same could’ve been said for Sora as well as their fun-filled day on Destiny Islands without a care in the world came to an end. They both remembered that Sora still had to come back and he made sure to promise that he would.
Yes, it had to be him. Even the impossible couldn’t keep him away from her for long. No matter what the circumstances, Sora found a way.
Tears welled up in her eyes and they gradually slid down her cheeks as she looked out the window at the bright, morning sky.
“I’m always with you,” Kairi finished.
