I wanted to try something very different; write a story with a supporting protagonist is non-speaking. Well she is for most of the story. I own nothing but Dawn in this story.

Kingdom Hearts I: Strength of Light

Name: Dawn

Age: 15

Height: 5ft 8in

Homeworld: Land of Departure

Best friends: Sora, Kairi, Riku, Lea, Isa, Ienzo, Ventus and Aqua.

Crush: Riku

Family: Eraqus (adoptive father) and Terra (brother)

Personality: Kind, intelligent, brave, strong willed, clumsy, stubborn, short tempered, emotional and scared.

Appearance: Brown wavy hair up to her mid back, round bright brown eyes, fair skin, high cheekbones, beauty spot on her left cheek, rosy cheeks and lips and slim body.

Attire of clothes: Dark purple skin tank crop top with spaghetti straps, blue cropped jeans, black fingerless gloves and blue trainers. Around her belt hoops is her purple Wayfinder made by Aqua.

Background: She arrived on Destiny Islands along with Kairi however, she retained her memories. After seeing her adoptive father being killed and the fight between Aqua and a possessed Terra, she becomes traumatised and mute. She only speaks to herself whenever no one is around. She always carries around a small blackboard which is attached around her belt. She also used to get picked on by several other kids from the islands for being mute but Riku always stood up for her.

Chapter 1: Whisper

Dawn was sleeping peacefully in her bed in one of her famous odd sleeping positions, and was snoring loudly. Her hair was a complete mess and she had a string of drool dripping from the side of her mouth.

Suddenly the bell alarm clock began ringing and she fell out of bed from hearing the sudden loud ringing. She switched the alarm clock off whilst yawning and rubbing her eyes; it was 8am. At times, she'd regret agreeing to build the raft because it meant waking up early in the morning. But she did make a promise to Riku that she'd go to the outside worlds with him.

The young woman went into the bathroom, had a nice cool refreshing shower, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair and got changed into her usual attire of clothing. She got out of her room whilst yawning and saw Riku coming out of his room which was opposite hers.

"Good morning." He smiled and she just yawned in response. "Still sleepy huh?" The teenager nodded. They went downstairs and found the kitchen empty. "Oh yeah, mom and dad said they had to go work early today."

Dawn started getting out some ingredients to make breakfast and Riku joined her whilst putting on an apron. She placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed him as he looked up at her confused.

"What's wrong?" He asked and she took the apron off him. The brown-haired teen put on the apron and crossed her arms as she glared at him. "I'm the man of the house this morning. I cook breakfast" She rolled her eyes and snorted with a smirk.

Dawn picked up the blackboard and scribbled her response;

Remember what happened last time you cooked?

"That was a little accident." He countered back.

You almost burnt the kitchen down. Besides, you're not a man; you're just a kid.

"You're just saying that cuz you're a year older than me." She smirked at this.

I'm the more responsible one here, Riku.

"Alright, responsible one. Show me what you got. Make us breakfast." She pouted. "Please." The teen smiled and nodded.

Dawn began cooking breakfast whilst Riku sat on the counter and watched her in a dreamily kind of way.

Riku admired her for everything she was. He did not care that she was mute but loved her company. When he was with her, he knew he could be himself and she was the greatest listener in the world. For someone who never spoke, she showed a lot of emotion and he knew that once she found her voice, she'd never stop talking, because of the type of person she was. He thought that her clumsiness and short temper was both funny and adorable. He loved the way she was so sleepy in the morning but got excited whenever she saw him. He loved the way some of her hair fell in her face. He loved the way her brown eyes would sparkle whenever she saw food.

The silver haired teen's trail of thought was cut short when he felt a flick on his forehead. He snapped out of daze and saw Dawn standing there with her hands on her hips.

"Is breakfast ready?" He asked curiously and she pointed at the dining table which was already done. "Ah, I was meant to do the table, wasn't I?" He asked nervously and she picked up her board.

What were you daydreaming about this time? Is everything okay?

"Yeah, I'm fine. And nothing much, I was just imagining how the food would taste." He lied and she bought it. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the table. "Eager for me to taste your food and get food poisoning?" He earned himself a slap on the head.

I hope you get diarrhoea, meanie.

Riku couldn't help but start chuckling at this and they both sat down. He saw a plate filled with breakfast in front of him; 3 sausages, 2 turkey rashers, 2 eggs, toast and a glass of orange juice.

"I'm impressed. This looks good." He looked up to see Dawn stuffing her mouth with food and smiled whilst shaking his head. He put some food in his mouth and his cheeks went pink; this was delicious. "Wow, this is so good." She looked up and smiled. "Good job, Dawn. You're good at cooking." She scribbled on her blackboard.

Thanks, Riku. I know, I'm the best at everything.

"Woah, don't get too ahead of yourself." He smirked.

I can still kick your ass though.

"How do you know I'm not going easy on you and letting you win?" Riku asked.

Because the score is like 50-1 and the last time I kicked your ass you started crying.

He rolled his eyes and she smiled with some food on her cheek. He picked up a tissue and wiped her cheek. She blushed at this and gulped. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest and prayed he couldn't hear her heart. The brown eyed teen realised how close he was to her and could feel his hot breath on her face.

"You've always been a messy eater, Dawn." Riku stated and then pulled away from her. She smiled shyly at him and he rustled her hair, but then she pouted with her eyebrows furrowed together. "Alright, I'll stop messing your hair up. You need to look good to impress the guys."

Dawn rolled her eyes whilst huffing; she didn't like those guys who were always after her. Believe it or not they were the same boys who used to bully her for being mute when they were little.

"Woah, you really don't like them, do you?" Riku asked and she showed him the blackboard whilst tapping on it.

I despise them! They may be good looking but they have ugly hearts and personalities.

"I agree." He nodded and she stood up. The young woman cleared up and placed the dishes in the sink. She noticed Riku walking to the door and ran up to him. Dawn grabbed his ear and pulled him back into the kitchen. "Ow, ow, ow!" He turned to her and she pointed at the sink with a glare. "Alright, alright." He raised his hands in surrender and washed the plates.

When they were done, they got out of the house and started walking the path to the beach.

"Hey baby." They heard a voice and Dawn sighed whilst rolling her eyes.

She turned to see a group of 3 17-year-old boys. One was Eli, he had sandy blonde hair styled in a combover, slightly tanned skin, light green eyes, chiselled jawline and was 6ft tall with a muscular build. Jacob had black wavy chin length hair, pale skin, icy blue eyes and was 5ft 10in with a slender build. Ryan had brown messy light brown hair, fair skin, brown eyes and was also 5ft 10in with a slim build.

"These guys." Riku huffed.

"You should stop playing with these little kids, sweet cheeks." Jacob stated.

"Admit it you wanna hang out with awesome grown-ups. Admit it Dawn, they do kiddy stuff." Ryan laughed and Riku sighed as he looked down.

"Come on, Dawn. Let's go chill somewhere else. We're way cooler than those other kids." Eli said whilst snaking his hand around her.

The young woman scribbled something down and showed them all with a murderous glare.

Eli, you better take your hand off me before I break it off. Besides, these 'kids' are my best friends and I'd rather hang out with them than you 3 fuckers.

The blonde-haired teen immediately took his hand off her and she showed them the middle finger. Dawn held onto Riku's hand and grinned at him. The silver haired teen's cheeks turned a faint red and he gulped; she was holding his hand. Dawn started running with Riku running behind her.

Within 5 minutes, they got to the beach and she let go of his hand. Riku was untying the rope off the boat and Dawn stared at him then the water. She smiled and remembered when they were younger, they along with Sora and Kairi would play in the water. Oh those beautiful times when things were so simple and they were all so innocent; not a care in the world.

Dawn took some water and splashed it on Riku. He turned to her and she started giggling. He smirked at this whilst placing his hands on his hips and leaned closer to her.

"Oh, you're gonna get it." Riku stated and splashed water back at her.

She kept giggling goofily and began running with her best friend chasing her. She turned around whilst running backwards and stuck her tongue at him. But she tripped over her own feet and fell back onto the sand, with the cyan-eyed teen tripping onto her.

Dawn opened her brown orbs and noticed Riku was just inches away from her. He was straddling her and her cheeks turned pink. His eyes widened and he instantly pulled away. The young man stood up and scratched the back of his head whilst blushing immensely. He then noticed his crush was still on the floor and held out his hand for her. She took his hand and he pulled her up. She smiled at him and he smiled back clearly flustered. The brunette then leaned in closer to his ear and he gulped as he felt goosebumps on his body.

"Thank you." She whispered softly and his eyes widened. She pulled away from him and he placed his hand on her shoulders. He had a grin from ear to ear, it was so wide that his cheeks started hurting. His bright cyan eyes sparkled and glimmered like stars in the night sky.

"You whispered, that's a start." He stated and she nodded.