Kingdom Hearts AU

Childhood

[Terra]

It was a beautiful evening at Destiny Islands. Sora, Riku, and Niji were on a boat being taken to the island from the mainland. Sora and Niji's father was taking them there and keep watch.

The trio soon ran off, playing a bit with one another. They soon raced.

"Hey, slow down!" The three went passed the tall man. "Would you both just wait for me?" "Giving up already? Come on, Sora." "No. That's enough, I can't run anymore!" The trio sat on the Paopu Tree, watching the calm yellowish orange water. Sora looked to their right then stood. "Oh! Ahoy! We're over here!" He waved his hand rapidly. He tapped Riku. "Riku, Niji, race ya. First one to the boat gets to be captain!" He jumped off and started running. Riku and Niji followed, but didn't run. "C'mon! You call that running?"

Niji and Riku stopped once they noticed the man turn towards their direction.

"Hmm?" They faced him fully, "hey. Did you come from the outside world?" "Huh? Why would you say that?" "Because nobody lives out here, and I know you're not from the main island." "Smart kid. So how about you two? What are you two doing here?" "Oh, my friend's dad took us out on the boat. This is where we like to play, but they won't let us row out here by ourselves, not til we get older." Riku kicked the sand a bit. "Yeah. My dad is a pretty cool guy." Niji smiled. "Must be hard, huh, stuck in one place." "Guess so." He went near the water. "I heard once there was a kid who left for good." He looked at the guy. "So how did you get here, anway?" "Is there some reason you're interested in the outside world?" He looked forward, "yeah. I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world-- I bet he's really strong now. I know it's out there somewhere-- the strength that I need." "Strength for what?" "To protect the things that matter." He smiled at the guy. "You know, like my friends."

The guy nodded a bit. "Outside this tiny world is a much bigger one." The guy went to Riku and Niji went over quickly. "I also want to protect you, Riku. Sora as well." Riku smiled at her. The guy then summoned his Keyblade. He knelt down, holding out the handle to them. "In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking... its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friends-- no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." The duo grabbed hold of the Keyblade.

"Riku!" The three looked over, he had let go of the weapon. "C'mon, hurry it up!" He turned and held his hand up, smiling. The guy made his weapon vanish. "You've gotta keep this a secret, ok?" He glanced at him. "Otherwise, all the magic will wear off." They turned to him, nodding. The guy rubbed their heads then they ran off towards the dock, but stopped and Sora met them half way. "Hey, what was all that about?" "Aw, you know." He put his hands behind his head. "Know what? Why won't you tell me? Who was that guy--somebody you know?" "Maybe." They started walking up towards the boat. Sora followed, "aw there you go again! Just tell me." "I really can't. I've gotta keep it a secret." "Not with me you don't! I'm like the best secret-keeper in the world!" "Nice try." He chuckled. "Aww. Riku!"

Niji smiled and giggled. She turned towards the guy and waved at him. She got on the boat and they all were taken home.

[Aqua]

They were there again, at dusk. The trio ran towards the bridge.

"Hey, wait up!" "Too slow, Sora! See ya at the finish line!" Sora panted as he ran. They stopped, as Riku won the race, Niji second, and Sora close behind them. Riku looked at Sora, who looked at him. "One more time! You just got lucky." He looked up then the siblings did too. They stared at a woman who stared at them. The woman chuckled a bit then jumped down. "Whoa!" Sora jumped back a bit, rubbing the back of his head, chuckling. She giggled then looked at Riku. Riku looked at her, then she looked at Sora and Niji, who did the same. She giggled more, making the trio look at each other. They then looked at her. "One of you might be special enough."

She smiled at them. "Hey, you three mind telling me your names?" "I'm Sora!" Sora raised his hand, making her look to him first. She looked at Riku, "and you?" "Riku." "You?" She looked at Niji. "Niji." She looked down as the three looked at each other again. "Sora, Niji, do you like Riku?" They looked at her and Sora smiled happily. "Of course we like him, he's our best friend!" "Good. So then, ic something happens, and Riku is about to get lost-- or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone-- you both make sure to stay with him and keep him safe." They looked at each other. "That's your job, and I'm counting on you both to do it, ok?" They looked at her then she rubbed their heads. They smiled and chuckled. She smiled at them.

The trio soon walked back towards the dock.

[Ventus]

Niji went to the island with her dad to collect seashells. She saw a boy with spiky blonde hair. She ran over to him.

The boy looked at her and smiled a bit. "Hello." "Are you ok?" He sat down and shook his head. "No." Niji sat in front of him. "I'm Niji. What's your name?" "Ventus. My friends call me Ven." "Ven... you remind me of my brother, Sora." "Sora?" "Yeah! He gets sad like you too. When he's sad, I talk to him through his problems. He's mostly bummed out about not beating Riku at racing. Or me for that matter. I tell him that eats too much, which makes us laugh." She giggled and he chuckled a bit. "I see. Sora and Riku... Riku your best friend?" "Yeah! He's so cool! We met this boy who was a bit sad too. He made me think of Riku as well. Are you friends with Terra?" His eyes widened. "You met Terra?" "Yeah." "He's my best friend along with Aqua." "Aqua? You know her too?" "I guess you met her as well. And now you met me... you must be pretty special, Niji." "I don't know. I'm pretty average. I'm only 4 though!" "4? You seem a bit older, like 7." "Lies." They laughed and he got up. "I need to get going. Oh." He got out his Wayfinder and handed it to her. "Could you keep this safe for me? Aqua made it and we're going to be going on a dangerous path. I don't want this to be lost." She gently took it and nodded. "I promise! I'll even return it to you!" "Ok."

Ventus soon left through a portal.

[That Night]

The trio were on the main island, watching the sky.

Riku sat up, "hey. I'm gonna head back." Sora and Niji sat up. "Yeah." "Me too." They got up and started to head back.

"Sora, what's wrong?" "Huh?" They stopped. Riku pointed at his face, "you're..." Sora touched his eye, feeling wetness. "That's weird. It's like something's squeezing me inside." "Somebody up there must be sad." "Up where?" "They say every world is connected by one great big sky." They looked at the sky. "So maybe there's somebody up there in all those worlds who's really hurting and they're waiting for you to help them." "Well gee, do you think there's something I could do?" They looked at each other. Riku started to think, "hmm... maybe they just need you to open your heart and listen." "Hmmm... I dunno Riku, you say some weird stuff sometimes, but I'll try it." "Ok."

Sora closed his eyes. Riku and Niji looked up at the sky. Sora soon opened his eyes and looked at them.
"Well?" "Ya know... I think it worked." Riku nodded. They looked up at the sky, Sora chuckling.

-The Next day-

The trio were back, but this time, it was not dusk. It was during the day. They were on their way to the Secret Place.

"There is a monster in the cave!" "No way, Sora." "It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!" "You sure you didn't just hear it this time?" "What difference does it make? There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!" "Alright. Suppose there really is a monster... think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?"
They stood outside the entrance. "No problem. Let's do it!" A noise came from inside. "Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?" "Shh, quiet. We gotta be careful." They soon went inside, finding no monster.
"See that? It was just the wind making that noise." "Aw, man. I wish it was a monster! Hold on! What's that over there?" Riku went over to the only wooden thing in there.

"A window, or maybe a door? It won't open." He got back to Sora. "Geez, is that really all that's in here? What do you expect in a boring place like this? Hey Sora." Sora looked at him, "hm?" "When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"

They started leaving the cave. "Sure. But isn't there anything fun to do now?" "Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? Did you hear?" Niji looked over at Riku, intrigued.