Connection

Soriku

Chapter 1

The Change

Destiny Islands was beautiful, warm, and sunny... Just as it always was before the great ordeal that included an overrun of heartless, a snuffed out star, and a quest for humanity to save life as they knew it.

During their last trial, Sora and Riku were searching for a door, the door to light, and going through said door to find their home. They found their home just the way they left it. The ocean was the same, the trees were the same too. Only the people living their had changed. Their change aroused a reminiscence of as to what they were like as well when they had last laid eyes on their homeland.

The different between then and now was astounding.

A lot of things had changed from just two years before. Noticeable things changes such as Riku's apparent attractiveness, and the fact that Sora was also his own person and didn't live in Riku's shadow anymore. It was apparent now, that Sora had found myself through his travels and while Sora and Riku were still rivals, now they were on more equal grounds.

One other things had also seemed to be resolved during their apart from their beloved world. While growing up, it was often asked that “Who would end up earning Kairi's love?” Perhaps the rivalry derived from that too though they tried to play it off as off as rooting for Sora. Though Sora's response to Kairi had remained the same, Riku's response had dramatic changed. Any tension that was left unhidden by his former emotions were completely gone.

His state if mind changed from possibilities of longing to genuine happiness for Kairi in a sibling sort of way. Because that's what they all were right? In base terms, that's how its always been. Just until someone takes a step over the border and breaks everything they had lived for. Reaching out for one person will inevitable lead to the other being pushed away. And somehow, Riku knew it would be him.

He was already braced for the moment, though he knew it was to be a long slow painful process to watch them fall in love with each other. He suspected that they already had feelings for each other, but were each too slow, especially Sora, to realize what they were feeling. So when they all returned to Destiny Islands, he waited for it to happen. Watched and waited... he knew it would take time, but the weirdest part was that it never seemed to happen.

Riku figured that the journey would have worked as a catalyst for the two to find their heart's desire of what they really wanted. Surely, yet, nothing seemed to change between the three. At all. The three spent their days just as they always did. Luckily, they seemed to missed the school year and by the time they returned, Destiny Islands was well into summer. They all went to the island every day and talked of the old days. They looked the raft they had all struggle so hard to create, that Riku wanted so badly. Truly it was only Riku that was curious about there being other worlds, though Kairi did wonder about her true home at times. Mostly, the other two just wanted to an adventure to have together. And that's definitely what happened.

Sometimes, Riku would see Sora sitting on the end of the deck with his feet swaying below him as the sun would set for the day. It was would be the time that they would go for the boats and return home for the day. Instead of going home, Sora would just sit there staring out into the sea. Kairi would stay with him for a little while, but darkness forced her to move on to the mainland. During these times, Riku would always make sure to stay behind and make sure his friend was all right. Usually this meant for Riku to sit down beside him and watch the sun set. Sometimes Riku would lean forward to look into Sora's eyes, just to see the emotion in them. He could see happiness, melancholy and something like that looked like longing.

“Do you miss them?” Riku asked one time, taking a guess into what was possibly bothering him. Sora didn't flinch at all upon hearing Riku's voice breaking through the silence. Instead his eyes softened at the sound. It was a sound that he hadn't listened for a long time, he missed it. He missed how reassuring Riku sounded, how sure. All the characteristics that made Riku his best friend.

“Yeah, sometimes.” Sora sighed, but not as heavily as Riku expected. Riku understood how Sora must feel after spending so much time for his other two partners. A small pang of guilt hit him as he thought once again how it really should have been him there with him. Instead he went his own path that he would have to redeem himself from someday. Riku looked at Sora once more, his eyes seemed even more distant. His lips parted, Riku heard a breath intake as if Sora had more to say. Yet, nothing came out.

It seemed once again that all that Riku expected anymore was no longer the truth. The motif was beginning to bother him; all he really wanted was the truth. But all things were in good time, he supposed. Riku was so into his own thoughts that he was caught off guard when Sora suddenly rose up to his feet. Riku became unbalanced and began leaning towards the sea and off the wooden deck. Sora quickly took his hand to balance him out again.

“Thanks.” Riku muttered and let go of pressure in his hand. He expected Sora to do the same, but when he didn't, Riku gave Sora a puzzled look. Sora motioned for Riku to get up and pulled him up using his hand.

“I miss them sometimes, but that's not really it...” Sora told Riku, looking away from him. He waited till then to let go of Riku's hand. It felt for a second as if their hearts had connected, that Riku had understood. As their hands want away from each other, their fingertips brushing slowly, the connected ending. Both saw it, both felt it. But it already felt so far away from them and Riku was left feeling like he understood less and less. Sora left first to return home, but that night Riku stayed there till late. He watched the moon, waiting for the connection to come back to him.