Kids of Destiny Islands

"Eh? Really?" That didn't seem all that much fun. Well, maybe if you were big on sports, but Kairi wasn't. "So what do you guys want to do?"

"Hmmm..."
Riku tried hard to think of something that all of them, including Kairi, would enjoy doing.
"How 'bout a game of catch?"
A simple game, but fun nonetheless.

Kairi nodded. Catch was an easy game. It wasn't anything strange like blitz ball that she didn't know how to play. She could do catch. "So, um... Where can we play?" This close to the beach, she was worried they might lose the ball in the waves and never get it back.

"Hey!"

That made Kairi giggle. "All right. Let's go up here, then!" She ran up one of the planks that served as a ramp between the beach and the harder, more rock-like plateau. She wasn't watching where she stepped though, and fell into the small lake that the waterfall fed. She sat, stunned and soaked, for a few minutes in the cold, clear water, then let out a peal of laughter. "This is great!" she squealed, splashing Sora and Riku when they came to help her out.

"Heh. I'll get you for that!"
He joined in as well.

The three played for a while, splashing about in the water, before they eventually tired themselves out. By then the sun was starting to set, so they all sat on a strange tree Kairi had never seen before, one with star-shaped fruit that grew sideways like a bench. They were all soaked through, but it was warm, so it felt nice.

Despite the excitement of the day, thoughts of home were already creeping back into Kairi's mind. What had happened to her home? She sniffled a bit and rubbed the tears from her eyes. Where was her grandma? What had happened to everyone else?

"But what about my grandma? Or my friends back home?" she asked, wiping at her tears. "I wish my grandma was here."

Riku turned to Kairi.
"Well, you ended up here, right? So maybe your grandma did too. She could be on one of the other islands. If you want we could start looking for her tomorrow?"

"I guess." But somehow, Kairi knew her grandmother wouldn't be here. She stared out at the sunset a little longer, admiring the way the fiery orange glow glistened on the waves. It was so beautiful, but... "I wanna go home," she sniffled.

"But how can I go home?" Kairi asked. "I have no idea how I even got here. It's not like I can just hope in a boat and sail home." But when she thought about it a moment, she had washed up on shore. Maybe it was possible to just sail back home. "Can I?"

"Hmmm... It's not impossible..."
Riku began to think about how Kairi might've ended up on the island. Suddenly, he came to a conclusion.
"I got it! We just have to take Kairi back home on a boat!"

Kairi stared at Riku for a moment. "Really?" she asked quietly. They'd only just met, but... "You'd... take me back home?" She threw her arms around Riku. "Oh, thank you!" And then she kissed him, and then Sora, on the cheek. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Kairi looked back at the setting sun. Eventually... "We'll have to wait until we're all grown up, huh," she said. That seemed like an eternity away, but there wasn't much they could do now, as kids.

The last rays sparkled against the water. Kairi hopped off the Paupu tree. "We should go back." Even she knew it wasn't safe to sail at night. As they walked down the beach, her feet in the surf, Kairi said, "Sora? Riku? Thanks," and took their hands in hers.