KINGDOM HEARTS: Core of Darkness

~CHAPTER ONE~ Memory Lane

~SELENA~

A cool sea-breeze swept across the beach, the calming scent of sea-salt swam in my nose. I sighed contently, basking in the moonlight. The wind had caused the leaves of the paopu tree to stir. The leaves whispered sweet nothings as they rustled, their star-shaped fruit swayed sweetly in the breeze.

I leaned towards a low hanging fruit. It was darker than the rest, a tell-tale sign of how ripe it was. It hung to its tree with a stem that was dangerously close to snapping. with minimal effort, I tugged the fruit from the branch and brought it close to my mouth.

"You were going to share that, weren't you?" My cousin, who sat next to me remarked slyly, swiping the fruit from my hand.

"I would have given it to you once I was finished!" I returned the playful banter, throwing my arm out to grab the fruit back. He set it to the other side of him, causing me to miss and lose my balance. He caught me by the arm before I fell off the side-laying tree and into the saltwater below.

"Soleil!" I chastised him for almost letting me fall. "I could have drowned! Now, give me the fruit and nobody gets hurt."

"Promise to spare some?" He quirked a brow, pretending as if I'd say no.

"Of course! Now, just give me the paopu-"

"The seeds don't count." He said, acting as if he were about to drop the paopu fruit into the water below.

"Whatever you want! Just give it to me!" I whined as he tossed me the paopu. With the fruit now in my possession, I ripped a corner off and tossed it back to him.

"Thanks, Selena." He praised.

Soleil's green eyes brightened as he bit down on the soft, yellow flesh of the paopu fruit. His unkempt, shaggy hair swayed in the sea-breeze. the lack of any pigment in his skin or hair made him clearly visible in the shroud of night. He was a frail thing, really. He was shorter than me, but the hieght difference could not be seen as we sat on the paopu tree that night.

We munched happily that night, sharing one of the many paopu fruits we had ate. The island we had called our new home for at least eight years had minimal to no artificial lighting whatsoever, so the night sky lit up with fantastic colors. The colors ranged from the darkest blues to the most vibrant reds.

Each night, for the past eight years, we had sat on that tree and ate the fruit that it bore. The stars that twinkled in the night sky were a sight little had seen from our home world. With people came cities, with cities came light pollution. Only a few twinkling lights made it through the shadows the city lights had cast, so the light show that twinkled in the night sky on that island was a wonder that couldn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, Selena," Soleil had nudged me, grabbing another corner of the fruit I had resting in my hand. "Which star up there is your favorite?"

"What?" I questioned, almost spitting a mouthful of paopu. "You really want me to choose? There's so many."

"You've gotta have a favorite one!" Soleil popped a sweet morsel in his mouth. "There's no shame in it."

"Fine." I sighed, looking up to the night sky. Picking out a star based on appearance was an ordeal in itself. they all had a beauty that was unique to each one. After long contemplation, I decided on a star that sat on the far left on a line with its neighbors. "Ummm... that one." I pointed.

"Where?" Soleil looked puzzled, squinting his eyes as he looked at the sky.

"That one, right there," I pointed again, pulling him closer towards me. "It's right at the end of that line of stars."

"Still can't see it, I'm going to need more to work with here." He giggled.

I scoffed, continuing to point out the exact location of the bright ball of light. The star was white in color, and the largest out of its neighbors. It boggled me how he couldn't figure it out, it was quite obvious.

"It's literally right there-" As my eyes caught the star for a second time, it vanished, simply disappeared. How a brilliant light could blink away in a matter of seconds shocked me.

"Never mind..." my heart sank, the cool breeze could do nothing now to calm me. "It's gone."

Soleil huffed, "Another one?"

"Another one of what?" A gruff voice said in a singsong tone behind us. "It would be a shame if our Master were to see you out this late."

"Aw, shaddup," I retorted. "It would be a shame if he found you out here too, Koa."

"Yeah, whatever," he shook off my comment and managed his way up the tree, sitting himself next to Soleil. "You think you could hand me some of that paopu?" He asked, a corner of his mouth tugging into a smirk.

Koa was lanky, but he had the muscle mass to compensate for his height. His hair was an odd case, only revealing brown highlights when hit with direct sunlight. But with the moon high in the sky, his short locks looked as black as ink. His blue eyes clashed with his appearance, bright with a silver tint.

I stared him straight in the eyes, not looking away as I slowly shoveled the paopu into my mouth. I chewed slowly before swallowing, my smile smug with satisfaction. "Oh no..." I shrugged, "I just ate the last of it. You are sitting on a paopu tree, there's plenty to eat by yourself." I looked to Soleil, who tried his best to quell his laughter. He almost fell into the water below as he snickered silently.

"So, about that star," Koa's smug look fell as he took on a more neutral expression. "Makes you wonder how many of those suckers are gonna survive."

"Not everyone is as lucky as we were." Soleil's giggles had stopped as the seriousness of the situation sank in.

Koa saw how Soleil reacted to those words and focused on him. "Should we tell Master Riku about it?"

I thought for a moment. "Ummm, no. He'd wring us like a dish rag. If he found out we were out past curfew, we'd never hear the end of it."

"Yeah... don't tell Master Riku." Soleil added, managing his way around Koa and onto the sand below.

"Where're you going?" Koa and I both had questioned.

"You mentioned curfew, and quite frankly, I'm tired." He smiled at us, bringing his hand to his face to push aside his bangs.

Koa stood "Yup, bedtime." He clapped his hands together loudly, hopping from the tree.

I agreed with the two, teetering myself off the tree before my feet sank into the cold, velvety sand. Smooth grit slid between my toes. Again, the breeze wafted more sea-salt into the air, the aroma settling my nerves once more.

Yeah, that was home.