Heart of a SOLDIER

Prologue: Dreams

"Riku! C'mon let's go!" A young six year old boy with gravity defying chocolate brown hair yelled as he ran along a sandy shoreline. Another boy, one year older than the first, followed at a slower pace, and he picked up a wooden sword lying on the beach.

"Sora!" The brown haired boy stopped and turned to face his silver haired friend. The older boy raised his sword and motioned for Sora to pick up his own. Sora walked over and picked up a sword that was identical to the sword his friend was holding.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Riku nodded in affirmation. The two boys ran at each other and locked swords, each holding their ground. Riku was a little stronger, being older than Sora, so he knocked Sora back with a quick horizontal slash. Sora recovered and thrust forward at Riku, who sidestepped before it made contact. Riku swung downward, connecting with Sora's arm. He winced in pain, but quickly rolled to the side to avoid any further punishment. He got behind Riku, and slashed horizontally, hoping to catch the boy of guard. But Riku spun gracefully and blocked Sora by holding his sword vertically. He then spun again and brought the sword down on Sora's back, causing the brunette to collapse face first into the sand. When he rolled over, he spit out the sand that was in his mouth and groaned.

"Augh! I can't believe you won. Again." Sora flailed his arms in frustration and pouted at Riku. The silver haired boy outstretched his hand and grinned, which Sora grasped returning Riku's smile with his signature grin. When Sora was on his feet, both boys dropped their swords and started to walk towards the little shack that was on the island.

"I see you two were enjoying yourselves." Both boys turned to see a young auburn haired girl smiling and walking towards them. "I guess Sora lost again?"

"Kaiiiriiiii!"

"Oh relax Sora, you did lose."

"Yea, I know…" Sora pouted. Kairi joined the two boys, and together the three friends went to the Paopu tree to watch the sunset. Sora took his place laying across the trunk and resting his back where it curved upwards. Kairi sat next to Sora's feet, and Riku stood with his back against the tree next to Kairi. The sky was a swirl of pink and orange as the sun started to set.

"Do you think we could be heroes?" Sora and Kairi looked over at their friend. He was staring into the sunset with an unfaltering gaze.

"What do you mean Riku?" Sora asked.

"I want to be a hero. I want my name to be remembered for something I did that helped other people. I want to have a legacy."

"Of course we can be heroes!" Sora exclaimed.

"How would you do that?" Kairi asked.

"Hmm, I didn't think about that." Sora said as he scratched his head.

"SOLDIER." Riku stated.

"Hmm?"

"We could join SOLDIER."

"Like, SOLDIER of ShinRa?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. I've heard stories that they slay powerful monsters, protect cities, and are heroes of the people."

"Well, how do you join?" Kairi asked.

"You have to be 16, and you have to be a good fighter."

"Then we'll train." Sora said as he looked at Riku. "And in ten years, we'll join SOLDIER!"

So, that's the prologue for you. I know it may seem a little weird to start a story when my other one isn't finished, but I've been writing these at the same time, and this one is actually more of my focus. This is a very, very short chapter compared to the others, which are longer than the chapters of my other story. I'll get the first chapter up eventually, but this will likely come second to chapter 3 of Aspirations and Dreams. R&R