- parallel -

One-sided SoRiku; standard ‘not mine’ disclaimer; these oneshots may be set during any of the three games and may include spoilers. This collection is Riku-centric, and is pretty much one-sided. Each ‘chapter’ is a oneshot, a standalone, but there is a thread connecting them. I may use different tenses or points of view for each one-shot depending on what I think feels right. Reviews and concrit are love; flamers are pointed and laughed at (but I know the difference between harsh concrit and flaming); if you ever just want to chat, feel free to PM me or check my profile for contact info.

- paopu -

“So, Kairi’s home is out there somewhere, right?” Sora mused as he sat beside Kairi on the bent trunk of the paopu tree, watching the sun begin to set. Riku had known Sora for so long that it didn’t surprise him that Sora’s thoughts had been following the same track as his own. The raft was nearly finished, and soon they would set sail for other worlds.

“Could be,” Riku answered as he gazed off across the water. “We’ll never know by staying here.”

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sora leaned past Kairi to ask him, “But how far will a raft take us?”

“Who knows? If we have to, we’ll think of something else,” Riku replied.

“So, suppose you get to another world,” Kairi murmured, watching Riku. You, she said, as if Riku was going alone. Between the dream he’d had earlier that day and the conversation he’d overheard her having with Sora, he half-thought she planned to leave him behind and sail off with Sora. She giggled and continued, “What would you do there?”

That was a good question. “Well, I haven’t really thought about it,” he admitted. He remembered the weird dream… “It’s just… I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?”

Sora wore that confused expression of his as he turned and laid back against the trunk of the paopu tree. “I don’t know,” he said.

“Exactly. That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff,” Riku pointed out. “So let’s go.”

He didn’t like the expression Kairi wore when she said, “You’ve been thinking a lot lately, haven’t you?”

So have you, he thought. Thinking of sailing off with Sora and leaving me here. Haven’t you? He glanced past her to Sora and wondered if he would really ever leave Riku behind… He wasn’t sure. Sora might well do anything for Kairi. “Thanks to you,” he told Kairi, paying attention to Sora where he sat behind Kairi. “If you hadn’t come here, I probably would’ve never thought of any of this.” He noticed Sora look up, give a little roll of his eyes, and then stare out over the water to the sunset. “Kairi, thanks,” Riku added.

She giggled and replied, “You’re welcome.”

The three of them got up to leave; they would be expected home soon. Kairi ran laughing across the bridge connecting the paopu island to the rest of their island playground, and Sora followed slightly behind her. Riku started to follow, but a sudden impulse took him, and he hung back for a moment to leap up the trunk of the paopu tree and pluck one of the star-shaped fruits growing on it.

Paopu in hand, he sprinted after Sora. On the bridge he stopped and called out, “Sora,” throwing the fruit to his younger friend. Sora caught it with a startled expression and looked askance at Riku. “You wanted one, didn’t you?” Riku said in response to that look. Of course Sora didn’t; he’d said nothing of the sort. But instinct had grabbed hold of Riku, and he was following it.

“A paopu fruit,” Sora murmured quizzically as he held the thing in his hands.

Riku felt his chest tighten as he explained, “If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each other’s lives no matter what.” He took a few steps forward, drawing even with Sora on the bridge. He was caught between two half-mad impulses: run and put this off as some silly game, or stay and follow the impulse through to its end. “C’mon, I know you want to try it.” With me. But the words wouldn’t come out. What was he even thinking? Paopu fruit was for lovers, not for best friends…

“What are you talking”—

Riku’s laughter cut Sora off. He jogged past Sora over the bridge, running to catch up with Kairi.

That sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach… he should have said it. Two simple words. He couldn’t help but feel that he’d just missed the only opportunity he’d have… but opportunity for what, he wasn’t sure.

- your friendly neighborhood khergasm -

I cheated. I confess. The majority of this is from a roleplay intro of mine… it fit, so I used it once I’d edited it sufficiently and changed the ending. I hope it doesn’t suck, but eh, what’re ya gonna do? Sorry for the wait, I was away for the weekend. Friend’s birthday… tattoo, piercing… fun times.