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Taking a test for magical potential was an occasion that most children spend their whole childhoods looking forward to. All across the world, this was one of the few things most of the isolated islands could agree on throughout the myriad of cultures, with of course a few exceptions such as a small island known as The Destiny Island (a bit on the nose some would say, but that’s neither here nor there) the people there did not have a witch to perform the test, and no wizard had paid them a visit in such a long time. So, the children grew up without much hope of ever learning more about the gift they might possess. Yet most were content with this. Most that is, except for a trio of children with dreams of adventure.
The young Riku had stars in his eyes whenever he spoke of the possibilities of magic and the outside world it promised, Kairi spoke highly of the witches she could remember from her home island and the magic that seeped into their everyday lives, and Sora loved the very thought of using his magic for making friends and spreading good. So one day they made a plan. A plan so very ingenious in the young one’s minds. They would convince their parents to test them using the equipment that Kairi’s father had brought with him from his lab in their hometown. And if they couldn’t convince them they would simply steal the equipment and do it themselves somehow. None seemed to consider the possibility of failure on the latter half of their plan.
Kairi’s parents had folded first, her mother was never one to deny her daughters such an innocent request, and she had roped her younger sister Naminé into convincing them. Her father had taken a bit longer but ultimately couldn’t deny the opportunities for the girls and the family as a whole should they pass the test. Riku’s parents had been significantly more difficult to convince and only gave in when Kairi had her parents soothe his so they could take the test together. Sora however, could not convince his parents no matter what he tried. He dragged his younger brother Roxas into it, he tried grabbing all his friends, he asked their parents to try, but nothing. His father was, for the first time in Sora’s life, almost angry with him for pestering them so much on the matter. His mother was quiet, another rare occurrence, and hugged him and apologized for not letting him. To see both his mother and his father behave so strangely, well, suffice to say Sora and the others decided to drop it after that.
***
Sora paced around his and his brother’s shared room in an anxious storm until it was time to leave for the beach with Roxas, worried for his friends. Would they pass? Of course they would. But what if they didn’t? And what if they did? Who would train them? The island didn’t have a witch here to train them and there was no way they could guarantee a wizard passing by would agree to train them. So did they have to leave? But there was no way his parents would let Sora go with them. Oh why did Roxas insist on taking so long to style his hair? They both knew controlling their spikes was impossible! He was interrupted by a knock on his open door.
“It’s time to go. Also we can all hear you pacing from downstairs, I swear you’re more anxious than Nami.” Roxas stood in the doorway casually, a stark contrast to his brother’s demeanor, though Sora was willing to bet he was nervous for his friends too.
“I can’t help it! I just want them all to pass.”
Roxas smiled at him and turned to leave,”Well we’ll never know if we stay here, come on!” Sora laughed a bit to relieve the tension and joined his brother down the hall walking towards the beach.
Who was he kidding? Of course his friends would pass. They would all pass and his dad would invite their families over for dinner where they would go over the plans for training. Maybe once they all started their training his parents would even let him join them.
The first thing Sora noticed was his friends running towards him excitedly. “Sora! Sora we passed!”
Kairi tackled him to the ground as soon as he was within range while Riku ruffled his hair once he got up. “Yep. Turns out we both have a lot of potential too.”
Sora was grinning ear to ear and hugging both of his friends when he heard Roxas chime in from behind them. “What about Naminé? I don’t see her.”
Kairi’s smile faltered and she looked away, speaking softly,”She didn’t pass. She’s back home with our parents right now.” Oh. Poor Nami. She had been looking forward to this.
Riku pulled Sora towards the secret place before he could dwell on that, whispering to him while Kairi filled Roxas in on the details “We need to talk. All three of us.” The serious look on his face made Sora a bit nervous but he tried his best to calm himself down. This was Riku after all, it’s probably nothing to worry about.
Kairi joined them in the cave after a minute or two, a nervous but excited expression on her face. “Ok so. We both passed, right?” Riku began explaining “But here’s the thing. Neither of our parents want us to go train. They just expect us to sit around and wait until we’re older.”
Sora was confused,”Then why test you?”
Riku smiled smugly at him, as though he had just proven a point. “Exactly! So that’s why me and Kairi had this idea. We build a raft and go find someone to train us.”
Sora blinked in shock for a moment. But wasn’t that illegal? How far would that even take them? How far would they need to go? Would they leave him behind?
Kairi spoke up, a gentle smile on her face “It wouldn’t be the same without you, what do you say?” As if she had read his mind. Wait, could they do that now that they had magic?
He thought about it for a moment. They would be leaving behind everything and everyone they’d ever known to pursue magic. Would they come back? (What if they go missing too?) The depths of his mind practically screamed at him.
But then again… if Sora went with them, he could make sure they were safe and didn’t push themselves too hard while training, he could see the world along with his best friends, he could even probably convince Roxas and Naminé to come with them!
“All right, I’m in!” Sora flashed them his signature bright smile and the three of them spent most of the day planning and daydreaming. Once it was time to go home it was decided. They would leave on their raft by the end of the week.
***
Hikari poked her head into her son’s room in the early hours of the morning to make sure they were still there, a habit she had held for so many years. Sora was dreaming peacefully, nearly falling off his bed and tangled in his blanket. She chuckled softly as she moved to fix him. The bed on the other side of the room creaked a bit and Roxas looked up at her with sleepy eyes.
He had always been the lightest sleeper of the four of them. “Mom? What time is it?”
She smiled at him and moved to his bed, giving him a hug. “Late honey, just checking on you.”
He nodded, still out of it but understanding. “Oh.” He leaned into the hug, clinging to her like he used to when he had nightmares “We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere.”
She blinked back tears and laid Roxas back down, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “I know sweetie. I know.”