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The kids loved beach parties. It was reasonable, actually, because beach parties could be defined as pleasant, relaxing, and fun.
They had organized quite a few lately... and they had always invited him too. Surely because they wanted to invite Lea, and it would have been rude not to extend the invitation to him.
It wasn't bad, except for the sand. It got into every fold of his clothes. And it stayed in his hair for days, even after a thousand washes.
Overlooking these minor drawbacks, Isa could still consider himself satisfied with attending those parties.
On previous occasions, he had had the opportunity to socialize with the adults. Aqua and Terra, for example, had turned out to be pleasant. Even Goofy.
Today, his company consisted of Riku and Donald.
He had observed Riku in the past, when he pretended to be a member of his organization, and even afterwards. He had seemed like a mature guy, in many ways similar to himself. To see him now, however, it was difficult to recognize that maturity.
"Open your beak again, and I swear I'll close it with duct tape," he threatened, pointing a finger at the beak in question.
Donald's beak, of course. He was an... interesting individual. His anger was easy to provoke, and the fury in his eyes reminded him somewhat of what he himself felt in combat. In a way, he saw a bit of himself in both individuals who were bickering in front of him.
"You'd never dare, you little troublemaker," Donald replied, challengingly.
They were sitting on the sand. Or rather, he was sitting on the sand, cross-legged. Riku was kneeling and leaning towards his adversary. Donald was standing.
Between them, a sandcastle was still under construction. The reason for their argument: to put a drawbridge or not.
"Trust me. I know Sora's skills; he's a whiz at sand constructions," the boy explained, trying to keep calm. "The only way we can beat him is to dare. We have to install a drawbridge."
Sora and his group were also building a sandcastle. Of course, a challenge had arisen about which of the two groups could create the better fortress.
"We can't do it! We risk bringing everything down for nothing!" Donald yelled, making their enemies aware of the panic and uncertainty they were in. Not a wise move, according to Isa.
"Don't shout!" Riku taunted him. "I've tried it a couple of times in the past. I know how to do it. Let me try." He almost seemed to be begging.
It was a funny form of entertainment for Isa. He watched them in silence, moving his head right and then left, right left... who would come out on top?
"You have tried it, uh? How did it go? I bet it all collapsed, huh?" Donald growled, becoming increasingly aggressive. Quite a hothead, no doubt.
Riku didn't respond, but from his expression, it was clear that all those sandcastles had met a sorry end due to their architect's revolutionary ideas.
"Isa! Tell him too that it's nonsense!"
Hm. They wanted his opinion? Okay.
"Drawbridges require movement. They need to open and close to be considered drawbridges," he said, noting with pleasure that the other two were listening with interest, "Sandcastles aren't suitable for movement because the grains easily come apart..."
"Ah-ha! See? Your idea is stupid and unworkable!" This time, it was Donald who pointed it out. With an air of triumph, moreover.
"One moment, duck," Isa interrupted, "You said you tried it in the past... how?"
"I used a seashell to make the bridge, covered it with sand, and punctured the corners. I tied it to the two side towers at the gate with some seaweed, and with a third piece of seaweed and a hole at the top of the seashell, I could have operated the bridge."
"What went wrong?" the elder one asked.
"I was too overconfident and paid too little attention to my movements... when securing the seaweed to the towers, I destroyed everything," he admitted, softly, "But only because I was distracted by the belief that I would win against Sora, just because of that!" he added when he saw Donald's smug expression.
If it were up to him, he would have supported Riku's idea. Their castle was lackluster, mundane. It had no chance of winning against the monstrosity their opponents were building. It was worth the risk to incorporate something highly innovative and difficult to achieve.
But it was fun to watch them bicker. So, he decided not to express support for either of them and let them continue on their own path.
"Sure, sure, and I'm supposed to believe it?" Donald said, shaking his head, "I have no intention of letting you destroy my work. I took a lot of time to make this tower," and he pointed to one of the four towers.
"You can tell! It's the ugliest of them all, I hope you realized that!" Riku retorted. He wasn't entirely wrong. It was the only crooked one, and it had no decorations.
"It's in a classic style! You don't understand anything about art, I realized that from the first moment I saw you."
Heavy insults and hard to digest... how would the boy respond?
"And how would you have realized that, exactly?"
"From the way you were dressed, obviously! Thank goodness you dress in what the fairies create now, because when you used to decide, you were a sideshow spectacle! Clashing colors, and those pants with over-pants! And pants inside the shoes!!"
He had a vague recollection of the clothes the boy had worn in previous years... but he hadn't paid attention to those details. He had other things on his mind at the time.
"They were fishing pants, you ignoramus! And at least I have pants! I'm not walking around naked from the waist down!"
That was a good comeback. The duck was undeniably without pants and underwear. Who knows how far the sand could get into... he dared not imagine.
"Oh, you've got some nerve! Apologize right away!"
"And why should I? Shameless!"
Riku seemed to have a slight advantage for the moment. To make the argument even livelier, Isa decided to lend a hand to the duck.
"You should apologize, Riku," he said, "He's older than you, you should show him respect. Besides, he took care of your best friend when you couldn't... you should be grateful to him."
Riku remained silent for a few seconds. For a moment, Isa saw guilt in his eyes.
"You're right," he said, "I'm sorry, Donald."
The duck laughed, humiliating him quite a bit in Isa's view. Then, with no bounds, he looked him straight in the eyes and ordered him to apologize by bowing to him.
"Now you're going too far. I'll never bow to you, are you crazy?" he replied in response. He was shocked by that absurd request.
"I saved your dear, no, very dear Sora's life. Are you sure I'm exaggerating?"
Isa noticed that when he said "very dear Sora," the boy blushed on his cheeks. A blush caused by anger or something else...? He would keep that little detail in mind.
"And are you sure you actually saved his life? Because from his stories, it seems like you never take care of him! You always prioritize yourself and Goofy, and when you do take care of him, it's always too late."
"Mhmm... if he could tell you about it, maybe it's because he doesn't take care of him that late. No?"
Donald chuckled. Isa's support made him feel more powerful.
"Yes, he does, because he takes care of him after Sora has already taken care of himself," Riku emphasized, confident he was right. "Can we now focus on the castle? We'll never beat him like this."
Beat him?
"Maybe you meant to say 'beat them.' There's not only Sora..."
"Exactly. Focus a bit, kid!"
"Do you care so much about impressing him with your castle, or am I wrong?"
"Of course, he does! He also said that he's been trying to beat him for years. Why do you care so much?"
"I think he believes that by beating him in an art and skill challenge, Sora will be fascinated by his talents."
"Sure! He hopes to win him over with a drawbridge, poor guy..."
Riku listened to these taunts with growing embarrassment and frustration. Isa could barely hold back a smile while Donald laughed heartily.
"You have no chance with him," Isa said. He actually had no idea. He didn't even care. He just wanted to see his reaction.
"Stop it. You don't know what you're talking about. Let's finish the castle without the bridge. Are you happy now?"
He was calmer than they expected. Not very satisfying...
"Ohhh, the smartest thing you've said all afternoon," Donald said, plopping down on the sand.
The two got back to work in silence. It was clear that Riku was disheartened, probably because he was now certain they would never win.
Isa turned to take a look at the enemy castle. Yes, it was impossible for them to win. But they could still try to lose with honor, after all!
He also returned to work. So, while Donald worked on making his tower even more ordinary and Riku added sand to strengthen its foundations, he built a drawbridge. The beach was full of seashells and long, sturdy seaweed. Maybe it wouldn't work, in fact, it almost certainly wouldn't work, but it was better than losing without even trying.
"What are you doing, Isa?" Donald asked, leaning towards him.
The duck had noticed that he was dealing with something suspicious.
"You focus on making the towers classic; I'll take care of the entrance gate," he replied, continuing his work.
"Ugh, what a temperament," sighed the bird, annoyed by that response.
"Listen to who's talking," commented Riku with a whisper.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing..."
Isa had heard, and he could easily have triggered the bird's anger again, but Riku was already demoralized enough. Maybe they had gone too far with their teasing? Well, he would get over it; he wasn't a child.
"Can you pass me that stone?" Donald asked, pointing to a rock next to Riku's knees.
"No. It's mine."
Perhaps he was mistaken: he was a child.
"But it's the only one with a thin point! I need it to draw the windows!"
"Find another one. I found this one," the boy continued, undeterred, "And besides, you don't draw windows. You have to make them with a hole, otherwise, what kind of windows are they?"
On that point, the child was correct.
"Without that rock, I won't be able to do anything, let alone holes."
"All right, fine, keep it, but remember it's mine, got it? And make those windows nice, not classic," he told him, tossing the stone (which Donald failed to catch).
"Listen, I'll make them as I want. Otherwise, you can make them yourself."
Donald had a point, actually.
"Maybe it's better, you know? You take care of the moat."
"I don't like the moat; you do it."
And the duck was also a child, apparently.
"Why don't you go to Goofy instead of staying here doing something you're not interested in? Do you like attacking me so much?"
Yeah, why was Donald with them? Riku had started building the castle to challenge Sora, and he had joined because the other groups were talking about things that didn't interest him. The castle had seemed like a pleasant pastime, and Riku had been decent company. Plus, challenges were always somewhat fascinating.
Donald had joined shortly after. He had started criticizing Riku's construction methods (saying there was too little water in the sand, according to him).
"The world doesn't revolve around you, kid! I joined you because I'm the king of sandcastles, obviously."
Isa had doubts about that. If he was a king, he was a king without subjects and with a castle so classic that it was boring. And sad.
"You started insulting him from the first minute of work, though," Isa pointed out. He had taken Donald's side before, and now it was Riku's turn. Fairness was essential to him.
"It's not true!"
It was true. He had told him he was slow, that his ideas were stupid, that he got distracted, that he didn't know what a castle was like, that he would never even be worthy of setting foot in a castle with his attitude. Of course, Riku had always responded, but Donald was equally guilty. He, on the other hand, was as innocent as a lamb.
"Actually, you might want to apologize to him too," Isa said, "You treated him pretty badly, shouted at him, and demanded that he bow to your feet even after he apologized... it's not nice, Donald."
Maybe he was some kind of guru. Or a mediator. Or maybe he was just someone who felt a little out of place among all those people and was trying to entertain himself as best he could. Inciting conflicts and then trying to resolve them. A strange way to have fun, but Isa found it straightforward and satisfying.
"Tsk, fine," the duck huffed, waving a foot through the sand, "Sorry, Riku, I was wrong to shout at you. And I accept your apology," he seemed to be saying something that went against his nature; it was quite a struggle, "Is it okay now? Can we continue our work?"
Riku nodded. He seemed a little less demoralized and a little more enthusiastic about building the castle.
Who knows how Donald would react as soon as he realized that he was trying to build the infamous and hated drawbridge. He would undoubtedly respond with shouts of anger and furious screams, but Isa had nothing to fear. When he got angry, not even Donald would be able to stand up to him.
The outcome of the challenge was practically a foregone conclusion. They would lose, perhaps also because of the disagreements that had arisen within the group. But he didn't care much; the important thing was not to lose in an utterly embarrassing way.
"Am I doing the moat right?" Donald asked, with an oddly calm tone. Riku replied that it was just fine and that if he wanted, he could take care of the windows. With the pointed stone, no less.
That truce didn't last long. About ten minutes later, when the castle was almost complete, the conflicts resumed.
Isa was glad he had decided to spend the afternoon with the two of them. They were entertaining. Beach parties were also fun, which surprised him. He didn't think he was the party type, yet... he saw a certain charm in them. Many different people forced to talk and interact with each other. Conflicts and misunderstandings were almost certain, and his intervention wasn't even necessary most of the time.
"Still going on about the gummiship?"
"You prevented me from getting on it! I was only fifteen, and I was alone, and you denied me your help."
Oh, these two were quite interesting.