(A large banner reading "Happy Halloween 2011" hangs up high, with the main cast setting up decorations, all in costume. Sora in his vampiric Halloween Town outfit, Riku as Soma from Castlevania, Roxas dressed as Cloud, and Kairi, Namine, and Kalyn as Sailors Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter, respectively. Angelo appears, smiling)

Angelo: Hey everyone! I know the chapter is later, but-

Kairi: Why are you in such a happy mood? I was expecting you to come out and whine about your life some more.

Angelo (scratches his cheek nervously): Hey, can't I just be happy for once? Anyways, I know-

Namine: And why aren't you in costume.

Angelo: Eh, didn't have anything ready. No big deal. Now, if I can go on without being-

Kalyn: Wait! So he gets to be all comfortable and I have to sacrifice my dignity to wear this thing! Not to mention these boots are killing my feet.

Roxas: Hold on, shouldn't Kairi be Jupiter? I mean, she - ahem - does have the "most talent", if you catch my drift.

Angelo: Guys! Could I please go through my spiel without being interrupted? Okay, I know this chapter is pretty late, I just had difficulty at points. But, I will tell you that in my inactivity I have been planning stuff for the future. And I mean I have been working. Yeah, I still need a few worlds for the next fic, but I'm really like how this is all coming together. I can't openly tell you everything, but... I'm just really excited for the future, man! My current plan is to either do one chapter in November, and then two and the trailer in December, or two in November, and the finale and trailer in December. This way I can start the new fic in the new year.

One thing I can tell you is I have gotten permission from my tabletop group to include a world based on our campaign. It probably won't show up in the next fic, but I can safely tell you that we will be showcasing the misadventures of Juste St. Sange, the Dragonborn Paladin of the Raven Queen, Annabelle Charr, the Human Cleric of Pelor, Lilleanne, the Elf Runepriest of Erathis, Obsidion, the Sharmind Warlock of the Star Pact, Pherion the Eternal, the Deva Invoker of Sehanine, and Vydrick Hellbrand, the Elf Ranger. Or, as we like to dub them, Team Holier Than Thou!

Also, in my offtime, I've been going on a bit of a tokusatsu kick. I've been really getting into Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, and all it's awesomeness, and I've recently been inducted into the Kamen Rider franchise. I started watching the current series, Kamen Rider Fourze, simply because the head writer is the guy who wrote Gurren Lagann. The show sold me when I saw Fourze's finisher: rocket powered drill kick, baby! I've also been starting to watch Kamen Rider OOO, and I'm thinking of giving W and Decade a try as well.

Finally, in addition to the current contest, there is going to be another ongoing one, with the details of it at the bottom. Check it out, and have fun reading!

The Silver Sun

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Mr and Mrs. Alleris. Please, sit down."

The two parents did as they were bid, entering the crammed office, breathing in the stale air that lingered through the room entirely. The man who ushered them in was a stocky, heavyset man, years past fifty, with a head as smooth as an egg, a massive walrus moustache, and even more massive jowls that quivered and shook every time the man spoke. All of this made him look even more like a walrus, beyond even his moustache. The walrus like man was sitting behind a rather large and lavish hardwood desk, three chairs set up in front of the desk.

"What did you call us in for, Principal Ohara?" Allison addressed the man, not wasting anytime to inquire the meaning of this visit. Before he could respond, Allison began to take a seat, noticing the middle chair was occupied. "Sora! What happened to you?"

The seven-year-old boy sat on the chair, legs dangling over the edge, kicking the air, looking at the floor, sullenly. Even without seeing his face, all three adults present could see the boy's clothing was dirty and ragged, with a few holes torn into the material. His knuckles and knees were badly scraped, and when he raised his head to answer his mother's cry, she could also see a bruised and bandaged cheek, another bandage over his eye, and the skin around his left eye was red, puffy, and swollen.

"What happened?" She cried again, mother instinct's kicking in, as she put her arms around her only child, as if she could protect him from the already inflicted injuries. "Did he get into another fight? Or did someone attack him?"

The walrus man, one Mr. Ohara, current principal of Salm Elementary School, cleared his throat, causing his jowls to jiggle. "I'm afraid it is much worse than that." He informed. Allison Alleris was no stranger to his office, seeing as her son was developing a streak of delinquency. "Today, during the lunch hour, you son assailed a group of around six fellow students with this." From behind his desk, the principal pulled out an old toy sword, chipping paint and several notches into the wood. "All six were sent to the nurse's office with injuries, and it took a teacher to remove your son from the melee he caused." Allison's eyes quivered at the news, as he hold on Sora loosened up a bit. Sora looked way from her, eyes trained on the floor again.

"H-he attacked them?" She repeated, with a wavering voice.

"Seemingly unprovoked, I might add."

"It wasn't!" Sora yelled, eyes constantly focused on the floor, not even bothering to look up. "They had been picking on Kairi for weeks. I had to do something. I had to!"

"Young man, when you speak to an adult, you must look them in the eye to show them proper respect." Ohara reprimanded his young student. Slowly, the brunet boy did such, but was giving his principal the fiercest glare a seven-year-old child could muster. "Even if you were acting out of concern for you friend, you acted in an inappropriate manner. You should have gotten a teacher and-"

"I did! I did!" He yelled again. "I did, and they did nothing. Nothing changed!" Ohara looked back at Sora, his jowls shaking nervously.

"Young man, I will not have you tell lies in my office." He said, in a tone so cold that it suggested his dislike of the young student sitting before him. "If you had told a teacher about any bullying incident, I am certain the incident would stop. That is the school that I have made, one of safety and security, and you jeopardized that by attacking those student with this." He gave the toy sword an errant flick across his desk, then muttering, "I still wonder how he acquired something like that..."

"It's mine," Dias stated instantly, eyeing the sword he had given Sora.

"What?" Allison asked, looking across to her husband. Ohara gave him a look as well, but not as soft as the one his wife gave.

"It's mine." Dias repeated. "I gave it to Sora and taught him how to use if after he explained the situation with Kairi."

"You what?" Allison asked again, sounding rather distressed. Dias just shrugged.

"He was concerned for the safety of his friend. What was he suppose to do?"

"Inform a teacher." Ohara suggested sternly.

"He said he did, and that it didn't solve the problem." Dias countered.

"And you believed him?"

The man with sand blond hair looked at the older man, absolutely shocked that the previous sentence was spoken in seriousness. "He's my son." Dias returned, his tone flat, and quite frankly, insulted by the comment.

Allison shook her head, ending the conversation before something unpleasant was said. "Sir, please, Sora didn't mean to do this." She pleaded to the older man. "He just got a crazy idea from his father, and-" Ohara raised a hand, causing her to stop.

"Mrs. Alleris, I'm afraid my hands are tied on this matter." He explained, though his voice suggested he didn't truly care for the situation. "This one time too many that Sora has broken the rules, proven himself a delinquent, and endangered his fellow students. The only thing I can do at this point is to suspend him for the rest of today, and have it continue until the Monday after next." Allison's face turned milk white at the proclamation, while Sora looked up to his mother in wonderment. He'd never seen her so worried and afraid. "And if another incident like this were to occur, them I'm afraid expulsion would be the only measure I could take."

Allison looked on at the scene with a dazed look. "I-I see..." She gathered herself up, standing straight. "Well...Thank you for your time, Mr. Ohara... Let's go home, boys..."

"I want my sword back." Dias declared, arms crossed over his chest.

"Dias, just drop it!" Allison snapped, sounding impatient and fretful.

Her husband just held strong and fast. "It's my property, and I've had it since I was five." He held out his hand expectantly. "I would like it back." He then looked back at his wife and said, "Allie, go, please. I can see you're troubled, so just go back to the restaurant and do what you have to do. I'll take Sora home and keep him out of trouble until you get back." Not wanting to argue, Allison began to take her leave, but not before giving Sora a look that said "We'll be having a talk when I get home, young man." And that left only Dias, Sora, and Ohara.

The walrus man looked hesitantly at Dias, his eyes flinching after finding Dias's own bright green ones. Before long, he picked up the toy sword and handed it off to Dias, holding it by it's hilt. "If I find this in my school again, I will end up breaking out corporal punishment on your son, and this toy will end up in my kindling pile..." He tried to seem threatening, but his quaking jowls ruined the effect.

Dias just snatched the sword, ripping it out of Ohara's hand. "Never offer a sword blade first..." He muttered under his breath, flipping the sword around and catching it by the hilt. Both father and son stood to leave, but were stopped when Ohara threw more of his two cents into the situation.

"I pray that your wife can do a better job of making your child a functional member of society. All you managed to make was a delinquent."

Instantly, Dias spun around, levelling the toy sword with the face of the principal. Ohara jumped so violently, one would think that Dias was pointing live steel at him.

"Don't threaten my son," Dias warned him, in a grave tone, eyes fierce and bright. "Don't insult my parenting skills, and don't presume you know what's best for my son!" He added a physical exclamation point to the tirade by slamming the sword on the top of the desk, a loud, hard "SMACK" echoing through the office, as Ohara jumped again. "Come on, Sora..." With one hand, Dias ushered his son out of the office and to the open air hallways of the school.

Father and son walked in quiet tandem for a few minutes, eventually leaving school grounds and heading onto the neighbourhood streets, Dias holding onto one of his Sora's small hands, while his old toy sword rested at his side, in his other hand. Eventually, Sora managed to muster up some courage, and asked his dad in a small voice, "...Is mommy mad at me?"

"Mad?" Dias repeated. Allison could be fierce, a little fiery, too, it came with the territory of managing a restaurant, a lazy husband, and a young child with a penchant for trouble, but she wasn't one for real anger. "I wouldn't say so, no. A little disappointed, maybe, but not mad at you."

"'Dis'ppointed'?" Sora looked up at his father.

Dias suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, Sora as well. "She gets very, very worried when stuff like this happens Sora." Dias explained to his son, kneeling down next to him. "When you get in fights, or sent home early, or get detentions. She really does worry because she wants what's best for you, and she has it set in her head that you need schooling for that." Dias laughed internally; his formal education ended at fifteen and he had managed just fine. "She's still very much loves you, Sora, and she wouldn't change you for the world, she just can't help but worry about you." Both of us can't help it... He thought. You're our one and only. Our little miracle...

"I won't." Sora muttered. Dias could see that tears were beginning to form in his son's eyes. He worried about his mother as much as she did about him. "I won't make her worry anymore...I-I'll be good for mommy, I promise..."

"She'll be glad to hear it." Dias said, mussing up his hair with one hand. "But, I want to tell you something first. You knew you would get in trouble today when you protected Kairi, didn't you?" When Sora nodded, he continued. "And yet you still went through with it. Never be afraid to do something good just because you might get hurt or punished. Always act like you did today, because it take real courage." Dias smiled proudly at his son. "I'm real happy you did a thing like that, Sora."

Despite the tears still welling in his eyes, Sora smiled back, jumping into his father's arms and delivering a hug. "Thanks daddy..."

"S-Sora..." Kairi moaned, under her breath, a faint smile on her lips and a deeper blush crossing her face. Her hands clutched onto a thick field of soft brown hair, as her body squirmed in a nervous fit. The "beast" within her was hungry today it seemed, and it was certainly getting a lion's share of sustenance.

"You're really getting into this, Kai..." Muttered the object of her desires. Sora currently had Kairi cradled on his lap, resting against the backboard of his bed, planting little nips and strong kisses onto her neck. He smirked before kissing her on the hollow of her throat, enjoying the coos and content sighs passing her lips.

"I can't help it..." She confessed in between the fairly immodest sounds coming from her. The redhead was rather surprised by the skills of her boyfriend, who – to the best of her knowledge – had been single for the entirety of his life. "You sure you haven't done this with anyone else?" Ever since returning home, and Kairi's spat with her father, she tried to spend more quality, private time with Sora, which usually meant going over to his house, unless he was caught by her father on an off-chance, and more fireworks started up. Of course, quality time in a private location led to some quality, private make-out sessions between the two young lovers.

Sora chuckled, almost nervously, before planting another two kisses, on her neck and right cheek. "Maybe I have." Sora said with a playful smirk, one which Kairi mirrored, catching onto the joke. "I mean, you've seen some of the girls I've met on my travels, how beautiful they are. Belle, Jasmine, Aerith, Yuffie, Yuna, Rikku, Tifa."

"Who?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right, you haven't met Tifa yet."

Kairi then pulled away from him, rising as high as she could while sitting on two knees. "And I knew it, you little bugger!" She told him, haughtily, hands on her hips. "I knew you found the Gullwings attractive." Sora chuckled a bit, his face reddening, remembering the true forms of the three treasure hunters and the physically impossible nosebleed he had gotten.

"Hey, it's like I told your sister the other night," he returned, trying not to think too much of the Gullwings (he was afraid he would get a nosebleed just from thinking about the trio), "We've met plenty of attractive people along the way. I've noticed, but I doubt I'm the only one." He then looked at her in mock accusation and said, "Right...?"

"I might have." She said teasingly, smiling at the spike-haired boy. The beast in her was starting to snarl in revolt, being deprived of it's stimulus. "I mean, Allister was a bit of a doof, but he was charming, and I think it's well established that I like charming doofs." They both shared a laugh at that. "You're really fine with hearing this?"

Sora just shrugged. "Well, I dunno. It doesn't bother me, if that's what you're asking."

"Why not?"

"You've noticed a few other guys are attractive. No big deal." He replied, in a nonchalant manner. "And if it turns out you have crushes on them, so what? You're with me for the time being, and you're just human, Kai." The redhead smiled at that, laughing a bit, too.

"You're too weird sometimes, Sora." He looked at her, causing her to explain. "I mean, you're just so relaxed, you rarely ever get worried about anything." She said to the boy who, just a day prior, was madly panicking over deciding on a birthday present for her. "I envy that." Sora smiled again, that big, warm smile of his that showed off all his pearly whites in one go. Kairi regarded the brunet for a moment, a finger pressed up against her lips, studying her longtime friend and now boyfriend for a time. "Say, do you think you could take your shirt off?"

"W-what?" Sora stammered, taken off-guard by the sudden question.

She tilted her head, still looking at him. "I just...Well, you just had your chance to 'pet' me, so now I want my turn today." The beast in her purred contently, something she did her best to ignore.

The Keyblade Wielder nodded a long with a thin smile, pulling his t-shirt over his head, taking care to keep his necklace on at the same time, and discarding it to the floor, baring his chest as requested. Kairi continued to watch him silently, causing Sora to chuckle nervously at the strong gaze analyzing him, the studious purple-blue eyes that were taking in every bit of his nude upper body.

Not a few days ago, the large group of teenagers had congregated to the beaches of Salm, Sora and Kairi included, and Kairi had noticed something that had begun to stir something in her (looking back, it was no wonder that the dream she had involving herself and Sora occurred the night of this venture). Kairi had noticed something with Sora, and she wanted confirmation for her findings. Sora had always been small and skinny, ever since he was a child. And although he couldn't be called "small" anymore (at least by the standard of Salm) he was still thin, notably in his arms and legs. But a person doesn't fight off all manners of villain and monsters for a year and a half without having something to show for it. All the fat on Sora's arms, legs, and chest had slowly burned away throughout his adventures, leaving them relatively skinny, but they were now almost nothing but compact, hard muscle, perfectly trimmed and toned.

To say that the beast stirred and Kairi blushed at the sight of the half-nude Keyblader was a small understatement.

After the silent study, Kairi chose to dive into the brunet's arms and chest, almost causing him to dash his head against the backboard of the bed, and planted a heated kiss on his lips, shutting her eyes, and pressing her body up against his, trying to ignore the fire building in her. This is so nice... She thought blissfully, despite her protests. Sora seemed to be enjoying himself, too, wrapping his arms around her back, a content sound resonating from him. I don't think I can fight these feelings that much longer... Maybe I should ask him now? It was a fairly opportune time for such a request, as both of Sora's parents would be at work for another few hours, and Roxas and Namine had left for one reason her another. But what would he say? Would he be freaked out that I asked this so suddenly and never want to see me again, or is he as wanting as me? As the two broke from the kiss, the scenarios ran in her mind. He would either say: "Wow Kairi, you're such a naughty girl, and I want to do naughty things with you" or "Kairi, settle down. You're moving too fast. I like you, but I don't feel that way about you". Despite the concern of her thoughts, she looked back at him with an almost dazed look, blushing heavily.

"You never learn, do you hot stuff?" Her daze broke at the voice, recognizing instantly as she looked for it. Wincing, she saw her Devil self popping out of the top of her tank top, nestled in her cleavage (which she oddly couldn't feel). "He's a teenage boy. Of course he will say yes, dummy!"

"Kairi, what are you looking at?" Sora asked, causing her to look at him. Apparently, he could not see the miniature version of herself dressed as a slut resting in between her breasts. So, either those two are invisible, she surmised to herself, Or this helps my whole "I'm going insane" argument.

"Nothing, Sora, just lost in thought." She said back, just when the yin to the Devil's yang popped into existence, hovering in front of her face.

"I do hope you're not listening to that harlot's advice." Angel Kairi chided to the real article. "You've know Sora all your life, are you really willing to throw away a life long friendship for a chance at physical gratification?"

Okay, I am not that preachy! Kairi mentally noted at the verbal assault of the Angel. At least I hope I'm not...

"Of course she is!" Devil Kairi rose from her resting place, to join her Angel counterpart, hands on her hips, much like the real Kairi. "We're suppose to help and guide her. Do you know how much of help doing this will be?"

"I find it hard to believe that getting her and Sora to engage in...intercourse will help much at all."

"And what will happen if she goes into battle against one of those new Nobodies and can't fight 'cause all she's thinking about is how it feels to have your first time? Huh? Huh?" Much to her anger, the Angel was silenced, while the Devil gloated with a wicked smile. "That's my issue with you angel guys. You act all high and mighty, but you're still a part of Kairi. So a part of you wants to jump Sora's bones as much as the both of us do. I may be naughty and a bit evil, but at least I'm honest, and not some grandstanding, lying hypocrite!"

Both of you, shut it! Kairi snapped mentally, swatting the two spiritual manifestations or whatever they hell they were, with a stiff slap of her hand. Unfortunately, the two happened to vanish the moment before Kairi's hand connected, resulting in her smacking herself in the face.

Sora snickered a bit at this. After being deathly still and quiet for close to a minute, Kairi all of a sudden smacks herself in the face. How could he not laugh? "Um...you okay, Kai?"

"Yeah, I am." She lied, laughing as well as to brush off what just happened. "Just trying to swat a mosquito. A very, very annoying mosquito. Two of them, actually..." With an easy smile, the redhead decided to change the subject. "Say, I know I can't get you guys into my birthday party, but I was thinking, maybe we could do something tomorrow? Like, a bit of a birthday thing, so you guys don't feel left out. You and me, and Namine, Roxas, Riku, and Dayne?"

Sora looked at her for a moment, before saying, "Kairi...Riku isn't gonna..." He trailed off, not sure how to finish his thought. "Tomorrow's the fourteenth, remember?" He finally replied with. Kairi's eyes went wide, as she realized what it meant.

"Oh..." The Garden native brushed her hair to the side, looking kind of sheepish. "I mean...he's been gone for so long, all of that just skipped my mind." The Wielder of Light then turned back to her boyfriend. "How...how do you think he'll take it? He hasn't done it in two years..."

Sora simply replied with, "It's Riku. He'll be okay." She nodded, and silence fell again, neither of them wanting to continue with the awkward subject.

"Hmm..." Kairi looked up for a moment. "You know, now that I've talked about my birthday, I have a question I've been dying to ask."

"What is it?"

Kairi shut her eyes and gave Sora a sugary sweet smile. "What did you get me?" She requested, in the kindest, most innocent and cute tone she could manage without sounding ridiculous.

"Not telling." The brunet returned, with a cheeky grin, causing Kairi to pout.

"Oh, come on, Sora...Please, tell me! Pretty please with ice cream and a paopu on top!" Sora laughed by himself at how much of a little girl Kairi sounded like. Most of the time, Kairi could manage to pry anything out of Sora with this kind of act, but he was adamant to keep this one thing a secret until Saturday. When the childish pleading didn't get her anywhere, Kairi hunkered down atop Sora's chest, bringing her face right up against his, looking up. All of a sudden, her eyes went wide, almost watery looking, as her pouted lips began to tremble. For good measure, she batted her eyelashes once or twice, and made a soft whining sound.

For once in his short life, Sora stood firm, withstanding Kairi's puppy dog eyes. Instead, he simply kissed her on the tip of her nose. "Nice try, but I'm not telling." He said, in a sing-song voice. "You really can't wait five days?"

"Oh, I can." Kairi suddenly returned to normal, resting on her knees again, and sitting high above Sora, her face no longer in the form of a pitiful plea. "But the fact that you managed to stave off the puppy doge eyes and my whining tells me it's got to be something fantastic!"

The two laughed again, Sora smiling broadly at such a declaration, and hoping she hadn't set her expectations too high. About a minute after, when he was sure Kairi wasn't looking, Sora spared a glance towards where had stashed the jewelry box he had bought yesterday afternoon. I think it's fantastic, Kairi. And I do think you're gonna love it.

At six A.M. on August the fourteenth, Riku's alarm clock came blaring to life.

"A happy Tuesday morning to all our listeners. The current time is six in the morning, Pacific Island Rim Time, and it is currently twenty-two degrees Celsius, with an expected high of thirty-three today. The marine layer is also expected to burn off earlier today than is normal, at around nine-seventeen in the morning. Your three day forecast is..."

The sounds of the morning weather report from the local radio station came out of the device, very loud and kind of distorted. As with every morning, the sounds of the radio proved enough to rouse the silver-haired team out of his slumber, jolting upright in bed, and peering through bleary eyes. With not even a minute passed since the forecast started, Riku, clambered over to the other end of his bed, and stretched his arm out to the desk in front of him, shutting off the alarm with the mechanical ease that came from an every morning ritual.

But other than the alarm, this wouldn't be an everyday, regular morning for him (even now it was breaking the mould, as he normally didn't get up on a Summer weekday at six in the morning. No, this was going to be a very special morning that came once every year.

It was not a day Riku looked forward to.

After sitting in his dark room for a few minutes, just watching the numbers change on his clock, the Warrior of Dawn lurched out of bed, staggering half asleep across the hallway and into the bathroom for a quick shower, just wanting to wash yesterday's dirt from his body and give his hair a quick shampoo. He didn't have a lot of time to waste this morning, he decided when he pulled back the sliding door of the shower.

"Good morning, Master Riku!" Riku's eyes shot open at the who was awaiting him outside the shower.

Dawn.

Floating above the bathroom floor.

Her holding a towel that was covering her mid-section, and every other part of her baring skin.

"ACK!"

Riku's foot wavered on the slippery floor after seeing his attractive and presumably nude Keyblade Spirit before him, causing him to lose all balance and bash his head against the wall of the shower with a loud and brutal crack.

Dawn just smiled lightly though, mercury silver eyes lighting up at the sight. "You're so easy to surprise, Master." She chortled in a very bright manner, causing the gold nimbus surrounding her skin to light up a bit more.

"Damn it, Dawn..." Riku was rubbing the back of his head. He could feel a lump growing on the skin hidden by his silver locks. He then realized that he was sitting down, legs spread open, no clothes on, and doing all this before Dawn.

The energetic Spirit began to laugh and giggle even more at the sight of Riku blushing furiously, stammering incoherently, and instantly crossing his legs and lowering his hand over his privates.

"Dawn!" Riku finally managed to half-shout, trying to keep the commotion down so his mother wouldn't check in on him. "I'm naked! You're naked! How are you even here?"

"Settle down, Riku-kun." Dawn said, tossing her head side to side. Her shimmering gold hair was now curled, done in two loose pig tails that hung over her shoulders, as opposed to the braid it was normally in. "One, this isn't the first time I've seen you nude. Two-"

"WHAT!"

"Well, I live in your heart. I am in communion with your senses. So, I can see what you see, including those mornings when you decided to check out your nude bod in the mirror."

"I am not 'checking myself out'!" Riku snapped back, getting back to his feet, but doing everything to keep his privates covered, regardless of what Dawn had already seen. "And I would prefer if you respected my privacy."

"Oh, come now." The Spirit smiled coyly. "I've seen you in more private and embarrassing matters, Master." Riku's face turned bright red again, as Dawn laughed some more. "Anyways, two," with one swift motion, Dawn threw away the towel, which fluttered over Riku's face. He ripped it away the towel to see the barefoot Spirit was now standing on the bathroom floor, wearing a short, black and white sundress. "I'm not naked. I'm cooky and kinky, but I don't go that far." She admonished with a wag of her finger. "As for your third question, Master, well, Spirits have the ability to manifest themselves in the real world. We just don't tend to do it though, since Keyblade Warriors are suppose to discover their Spirits on their own, and it deprives you of your actual Keyblade when we manifest. Satisfied?"

Riku wrapped the towel around his waist and finally stepped out of the shower. "Why do you keep calling me Master?"

For a moment, Riku saw Dawn's eyes flicker in hesitation before she replied. "It's a habit my old teacher instilled in me... She said Spirits should show respect to their bearers, and address them in such a manner."

"So it's done in respect and formality then? I'm fine with that..." The teenage Keyblader moved over to the sink opposite the shower, and taking out a comb from underneath the counter.

Dawn was not finished, though. "Well, yes. Although..." She skipped over to him, standing behind him and smiling mischievously, as Riku began to towel off his hair, before combing it straight. "I could use it in a less formal manner if you'd want."

"No." He said instantaneously. Today was not a day he would tolerate her antics.

Still, however, she continued. "Oh, Master, I've been such a bad girl!" She moaned from behind him, causing him to shut his eyes. "Yes, My Master, I do deserve a spanking! Oh-"

"Dawn. Can you read my memories?" Riku did not raise his voice with the sentence, or even say it in a menacing manner. He just brought it forth in a casual manner, as if they were having an everyday conversation. Yes, Riku was a little frustrated with her, but he did value the weird friendship he had with the Spirit, and he knew he needed to get along with her if he was to be at his strongest.

The blonde was a little stunned at the casual manner of Riku's words. "Um...yeah. Of course I can." She replied after a moment. "I spend most of my day going through your early life."

"Then you should know this day is important to me." He said coolly. "I want to have some privacy for most of the day, at least for the first couple hours. Is that understood?"

From the reflection in the mirror, Riku could see Dawn looking at him with her big, expressive eyes. Yeah. She knows, now.

"Yeah...I'll entertain myself for a bit, Riku. See you around." Dawn nodded at him, before her body seemingly evaporated into winding trails of black and gold mist. All of sudden, Riku felt a warm and comforting little feeling spread in his heart, as she returned to her resting place.

In the past few days, Riku had gotten a haircut, at the urging of his mother, cutting the bangs and sides of his hair shorter than the back, but still giving them a bit of length He also used this opportunity to give the hair a new style, parting the flowing, lengthy back, and brushing it forward, letting half of the mane rest in front of either shoulder.

Adequately dried off and with his hair properly combed, dried, and styled, Riku retreated back to his room to dress.

I'm going to boil in this...Not the kind of clothes for a tropical island. He thought dismally, eyeing the clothes that were hanging from the outside of his closet door. Whatever his objections, the Keyblader dressed without a fuss, after slipping on a pair of boxer shorts. Black slacks, black sock, and a white collared not unlike the one he wore as part of his school uniform. He tied a red tie around his collar, and slipped on a black suit jacket and hard, black dress loafers, the kind that cut up his ankles and formed blisters on his feet. The kind he loathed to wear.

But, today, it was a necessary evil, and he would willingly put aside his personal complaints.

Jeez, I look plain dressed like this... He thought, still groggy from sleep and from lack of food, straightening his pants and jacket. He did look rather plain, except for his hair. His hair always made him stand out, whether it was because of the cut or the colour.

Figuring he looked presentable enough, Riku left his room, walking to the front door of his house, where his mother met him. Eira Shiozaki was dressed in formal attire as well, with a modest black dress extending past her knees, and a white cardigan draped over top. A wide-brimmed hat was resting atop her silver-white hair, and a large bouquet of lilies was resting beneath her arms.

She smiled when she caught a glance of her dressed up son. "You look very handsome, Riku." He nodded in thanks, looking a little uncomfortable in the opinion of Eira. "Well, should we get going?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

With Salm being such a small island, automobiles were a rare commodity and wholly a luxury. Only the richest of the rich (including one Aiden Minami) could afford a car, but it didn't really bother anyone all too much. The island was small after all, so walking everywhere wasn't a big deal for anyone, and even if it was, there was a public trolley system set in place that stopped at major locations and was easily affordable for all citizens. Still, Riku and Eira eschewed even the public trolley on their yearly pilgrimage, choosing to walk the full distance. The Shiozaki homestead was located to the east of the island, in a large residential block, and their destination was a little over ten kilometres to the north.

It took them a solid two hours of silent walking, but they finally arrived. A gated-off grassy knoll resting atop high white cliffs overlooking the ocean was their destination.

All throughout the knoll were various stones lined up in a meticulous and orderly manner, as if to deliberately mark something. And each one of these stones did. Riku and Eira wandered through the rows of stones, not looking at the markers as they went. They had done this before. They had done this together every year since Riku was ten, save for the past two Augusts. Mother and son knew where their final destination lay and paused their movements instantly when they finally did come to it. They turned to face the markers for the first time, and silently read the inscription on the one they were facing.

Here lies Neir Taiyou Shiozaki.

Loving father, devoted husband

July 2nd, 1969 – August 14th, 1999

"If you truly desire something, you will chase it, no matter how far you have to go"

A few minutes of silence followed and, knowing Riku wasn't going to speak just yet, Eira spoke up "Hello, Neir." She knelt down before the headstone, and placed the bouquet in front of it, like she always did. "It seems every year goes by faster than the last, but...I suppose it's a good thing. I always enjoyed talking to you..." This was her seventh time, and still it took Eira time to get her thoughts in order and spit the words out properly. Taking a quick glance over to Riku, she decided it must be harder for him. She couldn't remember him saying a word in all their yearly trips. "I...I brought Riku this time. H-he's back. He's okay... I didn't lose him. He's okay. I've been doing better, too. Having Riku back in the house... I-I don't feel alone anymore..." She shook her head, smiling to herself, before continuing. "Everyone else misses you, too. Aiden misses having a friend with a level of sanity, and Dias misses having another troublemaker around his age." This caused Eira to laugh to herself. A light breeze was starting to blow through the cemetery on the knoll. "I wish...I had something more to say. Something profound, or comforting, but... I'm just happy to see you again, to be here with Riku..." She smiled again, nervously smoothing and adjusting her bangs, as she and Riku stood in silence again, with only the sound being wind blowing through the grass and past the gravestones.

"Um...mom?" The school teacher turned to her son. "Um...do you think I could say something. I-in private?"

Eira nodded. "I'll meet you by the front gate when you're done." Her son was rarely a bashful person, so she knew well enough to give him his space. With a kiss on his cheek, Eira returned to the entrance, leaving Riku alone with his thoughts and father.

After letting enough time pass to know his mom was a safe distance away, Riku started. "Hey...dad. I...I'm sorry I haven't been here the past two years. Or that I didn't really say anything the other times I came." He scratched his cheek a few times during a pause, his eyes awkwardly looking anywhere other than the stone. "And...I'm sorry if I worried mom those two years...I don't know how anxious she was or anything, bit I'm sorry...I really am." I'm starting to get a bit redundant now... "I...I kind of got wrapped up in a bunch of stuff. I don't know if you saw from...from up there, but I kind of gave in to some bad things. I lost control of myself... I almost hurt my friends, almost killed them..."

In the time preceding his tenure as Maleficent's apprentice, Riku had plenty of time for introspection on just what he did. After his dad had past away, he had decided on himself to try and be the best person he could be, to make his dad proud and prevent his mom from worrying. He was always at the top of his class in school, and he was considered one of the best young athletes Salm had produced in some years. This compulsive need to be the best is what also started his rivalry with Sora. Or, at least it intensified it even more. Yet, no matter how hard Sora tried, Riku was always – always – better than Sora at everything. He got better marks in school, and had a far better record in attendance and in misdemeanours at school. He was better had soccer and blitzball and tennis and swimming and diving and swordplay and just about everything under the sun.

Except Kairi.

Sora always had the better relationship with the young girl and this formed the crux of their childhood rivalry, and it drove Riku mad. Now Riku realized Sora and Kairi were meant to be together, he had figured that out sometime ago, and he came to terms with that. Sometimes he wondered if he was even romantically interested in Kairi, and that he just wanted her because Sora had her, because Sora was better at him than something. Whatever the reason, he was happy to have a purely platonic relationship with the girl now, but he would always remembers the atrocities he committed because of his jealousy. Because he was envious of Sora, that he could make friends easier, that he was closer to Kairi.

All because I couldn't control my own insecurity and envy... "It...it was tough. All the things I've done, and all I had to go through to come back home. But I did it. I'm home." He smiled a bit. He would never admit it like Sora or Kairi, but he missed Salm, and it felt could to return home. And I thought this place was a prison once... Still smiling, Riku continued, saying what he came here to tell his dad. "A-and I did it, dad. I did it! I made your dream come true. I sailed farther than anyone on Salm ever did. Maybe farther than anyone on any of the islands! Me and Sora and Kairi all did it! You were right..." His vision was beginning to blur, even though he was finally looking at the gravestone. Stupid tears... "You were right. There are other worlds out there. Countless worlds. Sora's seen more, but I want to see all of them too, one day. I've seen so many amazing places and met so many amazing people...done so many things that I could only dream of at one time...You were right..." Tears were flowing from his aquamarine eyes without resistance now, but he was still smiling.

With one hand, he took his tie and began to dab at the tears, he reached over and placed his other hand on the top of the headstone. After all these years of staying silent during the pilgrimage to his father's resting sight, after missing the journey the past two years, just touching the stone inflated Riku and his spirit, filling him with confidence. The confidence to do anything, to withstand whatever was coming at him in the next couple months.

Wiping away more tears, he took a few breaths to calm himself down. He hated crying and he hated it when other people saw him cry. After all, who the hell was he? Sora? With his own personal image settled, he walked back through the cemetery and back to the front gate, where his mother was awaiting him.

"You all finished?" She asked when she saw him approaching.

"Yeah." He said back. "Yeah. I feel a lot better now." Eira nodded back.

"I know what you mean. I remember the first time you did this. I broke down so much, but... I felt a lot better after spilling my soul." Riku remembered that day. She had wept hard and long, while Riku just stood behind her, quiet and awkward, not know what to do. "Come on, let's get back into town and get some breakfast. You must be starving."

The two took the trolley back into town, going to a small breakfast place that was only a fifteen minute walk away from their home. Riku thanked Kingdom Hearts when the waitress brought him his cup of coffee, relishing the caffeine entering his system, his eyes and body perking up and open.

"So, what else have you planned for today?" Eira asked after their orders were taken.

Riku took another sip of his coffee. "Uh...well, Kalyn has been bugging me to show her some of the islands, so I'm taking her to that small one to the southeast."

"Oh?" The middle-aged woman raised a thin eyebrow. "You've...you've been going out with her quite often these past two weeks, haven't you?" She said, trying to sound innocuous.

"Yeah. I hang out with Namine and Kairi, too. What's your point?" The Warrior of Dawn was not liking what his mother was getting at.

"Well, Riku, I'm just wondering if you and this girl are, well..." She trailed off, letting Riku fill in the blanks.

"Mom, no!" He told her, rolling his eyes. He got enough crow about his relationship with the girl from Dalmasca, and about his relationship status in general. "We're friends, nothing all. Please don't tell me you're going to start harping on me about this, too..."

"I'm not 'harping', Riku." His mother retorted. "I just worry about you sometimes in this matter-"

"I'm not gay!" He shot back in a reactionary manner.

"I didn't say you were." She gave him a calming look, with eyes identical to her son. "And, by the way, you're blushing a bit." Riku indeed had a bit of a pink glow on his cheeks, which only intensified when it was brought to his attention. "It's just, well, I wonder sometimes. You'll be eighteen in February, and you haven't even had a girlfriend yet. After all, your father and I were married and had you when we were both twenty. Allison and Dias had Sora when they were nineteen and twenty-three, Aiden and Julia had Erica when they were twenty-four and twenty-one."

"Yeah, well, this is a different generation, mom." Riku pointed out, draining the dregs of his cup. "Not everyone is so willing to get married nowadays..."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I mean, look at Sora and Kairi. I couldn't imagine them getting married later than twenty or twenty-one."

Well, she has me there. Riku thought, flagging down the waitress to get a refill. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Kairi was pregnant by twenty.

Eira continued on after Riku didn't reply verbally. "I just wonder sometimes how someone as handsome as you doesn't have a girl yet."

Riku sighed, shaking his head. "I just don't, mom. I just don't." He leaned back in his seat, looking at her. "Could we just not talk about that kind of thing? I don't feel all too comfortable about it..."

"Of course, dear." She returned, smiling a him. "I have confidence that you'll come through. Just like you always do."

Yeah. I always succeed. He thought, laughing mentally at himself while the food came. Riku Shiozaki, the absolute ace of Salm. The best of the best at damn near everything...except when it comes to anything to do with girls. Yeah, he thought it was pretty funny.

"You're late, Silver."

"'Silver'?" Riku repeated, striding down the length of beach in front of the Alleris home. The morning weather forecast had predicted it would be an extremely hot day, and it was. For that, Riku was thankful he swapped out his suit for a sky blue muscle shirt and a long pair of cargo shorts. "You've been hanging around with Dayne or something?"

Kalyn cocked her head to the side. "Eh, Roxas has been using it too. You should be lucky you got straddled with that nickname, to be fair. Could be worse." The olive skinned girl was standing about halfway onto the small dock that jutted out into the water. Wearing a dark grey tank top and khaki capri pants with hiking boots, a large backpack slung over her shoulders and a smaller basket gripped in her right hand, she looked more than prepared for the day's adventure.

"I uh...I had something important to do beforehand." He felt embarrassed in admitting his yearly journey to the cemetery to strangers. Even worse, Riku felt just silly for being embarrassed because Kalyn knew firsthand about the loss of loved ones. "Sorry." He apologized meekly, and Kalyn cocked her head again, signalling that it was alright.

She then bolted across the remaining length of the dock, hopping into a small row boat that was tied up at the end. "If you're really sorry then you can row to this place." She sat down in the bow, crossing her legs and grinning. "Both ways."

"Alright." Riku relented, following after the Ivalician and getting into the boat as well.

While he was working on untying the knot that secured their vessel, Dawn decided this would be the most appropriate time to break her vow of silence. "Why're you such a pushover around her?"

Riku rolled his eyes, finishing his job and throwing the rope back onto the dock. I'm not a pushover. He said, throwing his leg over the edge of the boat and kicking off the dock and out towards the ocean. I'm just being nice is all.

"Yeah, and I know all about boys being 'nice' around young girls." The Spirit replied haughtily. Riku took up both oars, sat down, and lowered them into the water, cutting the surf with the paddles.

It's not like that. Why does everyone think we're like that? Like Sora and Kairi. Riku groaned mentally, frustrated by the constant nattering since he had returned home. Particularly from Dawn. And Roxas. And his mother. And Selphie. Damn, I'm rusty... His thoughts changed track, as he found himself having difficulties moving both oars in proper synch. It's been too long since I've gone rowing. He looked over his shoulder to see Kalyn, hanging over the edge, staring down into the crystal blue ocean waters.

"Can you swim?" Riku asked, finding the question odd. Everyone he grew up around was a strong swimmer, so it almost always felt natural that everyone everywhere would be too. He knew better know, especially since he was sharing a boat with a girl who grew up in the middle of a desert.

"Um...yeah. I can." Kalyn replied, not turning around. Her eyes were dead set on trying to get a good look at the undersea world. Those coffee brown eyes were wide with awe, having never seen a body of water this big before in her life. "We had a small freshwater pool in our manse...I mean, my family. When I grew up..." She awkwardly trailed off, concentrating even harder on the ocean beneath her.

"So...what do you have in the basket?" Riku quickly asked, not wanting the girl to focus on those sorts of memories.

"Oh. Um...well, Allison asked me what I was doing today and when she found out she insisted she make a lunch for us."

'Insisted'? Riku thought, feeling a sweat drop forming. Not her too...She better not go on thinking this is a date...

"Well, it kinda does feel like a date." Dawn piped in. "I mean, you have a picnic lunch, you're taking her to a private, kinda romantic place, you're asking her questions about herself..."

Riku groaned again, rolling his eyes. It was miraculous that, in between the conversations with the two girls, physical and spiritual, he was able to find his rhythm with the oars again. I'm just trying to be nice, Dawn. Nothing more. Man... I had to get stuck with the possessive and clingy Spirit... I bet the others won't have to deal with this.

"I am not possessive and clingy! I just think you deserve someone better than a dangerously bipolar thief."

Isn't that the crux of a relationship? He asked, trying to sound impartial. Looking past a person's flaws if they make you happy or something?

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you did like her..." Dawn whispered dangerously. Riku could almost feel the Spirit creeping up behind him, breathing down his neck with every word she uttered.

That proved to be his limit. "No! No! I don't! I don't!" The silver-haired Keyblader cried out in frustration, before clamping his mouth shut. Well, he had done it now. He probably looked crazy in the eyes of his passenger now...

"Hey, hey! Slow down, Riku." Kalyn hollered from the bow, her head still jutting out over the edge. Riku looked over his shoulder to see the girl was still surprisingly enraptured by the wonder's of the ocean floor. The water was so perfectly clear today that one could see for yards and yards down below the surface, although the viewing was obscured by the boat's speed and the surf. "You're not in that much of a hurry to see this place are you? I'm missing all the cool stuff." She told him in a very excited manner, still not looking back. Her right foot was currently bouncing up and down in the air, lightly tapping the bottom of their craft.

Riku smiled, laughing to himself, as he reigned in the speed of his rowing. The Warrior of the Dawn allowed himself a glance, too, peering over the port side to see what Kalyn was so excited about. Even though the bottom was too deep to be visible, it would be obscured even if it was visible. A massive forest of seaweed and kelp and algae was blooming from the ocean floor. Long thin tendrils of plant matter reaching up, only a dozen or so feet away from the surface, growing as if they were trying to escape their watery realm and find something new. Riku could sympathize. Eventually, the underwater forest subsided, growing thinner and thinner, until it vanished entirely, revealing nothing but sand and rock and coral beneath them now. Riku knew they were drawing closer to the island he was going to show Kalyn.

The waters they were in were now much more shallow, with the ocean's floor visible to the naked eye, revealing the occasional growth of algae and other aquatic plants, as well as clusters of stones, and small coral reefs that were just starting to develop. Riku knew that this area was a popular congregation for fisherman, and it was clear to see why on this day. Crabs and prawns and shells and sea cucumbers lined the floor, scuttling slowly or standing stationary. Schools of yellowfin tuna, clown fish, blue tangs, and scorpion fish cut through the water with perfect precision and startling speed. Even a few more exotic species showed up, with a few sightings of anemones and urchins, a moray eel popping it's ugly head from a crater with a rock spire, and even a marlin darted by for a moment, so fast that Kalyn thought she had imagined it's sword-like nose.

The uninhabited island that was their destination was in sight now, Riku paddling harder again to pick up the pace. He veered the small craft to the right, circling around the small isle, about fifty yards or so away from the shoreline. The reason was that, save for a small bay with a sandy beach that was their entry point, the island was surrounded by rocks jutting out of the waters, it's entire shore a rocky waste. Even from such a far distance out though, the two were still able to spot several blue-scaled iguanas lounging on the rocks, basking in the bright sunlight. Every now and then, one of the reptiles would vanish, diving into the water, only to surface a moment later, a half chewed fish trapped in it's jaws.

After circling the island halfway around and rowing into the bay, the two jumped out of the craft, Riku pulling it up behind them onto the sandy shores. A small dirt trail laid before them, scaling up a small mountain path. Riku remembered the island well enough, even though he had been here who knows how many years. Years ago, Sora and Riku had been obsessed with adventures (well, they were still obsessed with adventures, but these were much more innocent) and were dead set on finding something exciting in the area around Salm. Sora had it in his head that there was long lost pirate treasure somewhere on the small islands around Salm, while Riku just wanted to find proof of a world beyond their small island home.

"So, there's no people on this island?" Kalyn asked, looking around. Surrounding the dirt trail at the moment was a lush tropical jungle, the canopy so thick around them the sunlight couldn't pierce it. The chatter of a hundred birds and monkeys and other jungle creatures rang out through the steaming forest. Riku's mother had issues with her young son adventuring out here by his lonesome. She was worried he would get bit by a spider or a snake, or attacked by something like an ocelot, or even some sort of wild fiend.

"No." Riku said, shaking his head. He pushed on ahead of her, motioning for her to follow him along the trail. "The islands too small to support people. That, and most people would be upset if they had to demolish this jungle for modern habitation. Most of the small islands are used for other things though."

"Like what?" The older girl jogged up right next to him, keeping pace.

"Well, sometimes during storms, fisherman will take shelter on these islands. That bay back there is extremely helpful for protecting ships from the winds and waves." The jungle was beginning to gradual thin, instead showing more of a rocky, mountain-like terrain. "Others are useful for raising livestock, or we harvest plants for medicine, or for gathering freshwater, like this one. We're coming up on a natural waterfall and lagoon."

To Riku, it looked like Kalyn was only vaguely listening, her eyes and ears taking in the foreign sights and sounds. The Keyblader from Dalmasca was only familiar with the deserts and dry plains that surrounded Dalmasca (no matter how hard she begged and tried, she was never able to visit the Giza Plains during the wet season). "Hey, I actually haven't seen you in the past few days." He started up, trying to keep her interested. "I mean, besides the shopping trip." She turned to face him, cocking her head to the side. "I was just wondered, what have you been doing?"

"Well, you know, most days I'm stuck by myself." She shrugged, taking a few long strides to advance ahead of Riku, despite the fact that he was the one familiar with the terrain. "Dayne's at his job or training the other kids, Sora and Red and Rox and Namine are all off doing their couples thing. I assume you're off doing something similar..."

"What? No." She really doesn't know me that well, does she? "I...I'm not doing anything like that, trust me." He smiled at her, trying to come off friendly.

She just nodded slowly, her face neutral. The sound of rushing water was now starting to become audible, muffled partly by the distance and the surrounding greenery. "Huh. Just 'cause, I thought you'd be into that whole relationship thing, too. Everyone your age on this place seems to be."

"Well, if that's true, I guess I'm the exception to the rule." Riku replied with a laugh.

"Good to know." She half-muttered.

"Why don't you call up someone else?" Riku offered. "Like, Selphie, Tidus, anyone?"

"I don't think I'm good at meeting new people." Kalyn admitted, although she didn't sound particularly worried about the supposed flaw. "Besides, I apparently gotta spend all Saturday with those girls? Not really looking forward to all that..."

Riku laughed in agreement. An afternoon and night with Selphie hopped up on sugar was a torture he wouldn't wish on Xemnas. "But what have you been doing with yourself? I hope not parking yourself on the couch and playing video games."

Kalyn's face scrunched up in annoyance. "I suck at those things..." She grumbled. "Stupid controller...my Keyblade is way more intuitive." Riku chuckled again. "What I've been doing is training."

"Training?"

"Mhmm." She began to twist her head about, as if looking for something. "That Aqua chick said she's be back in September for our next mission. That's two weeks, and I don't think I'm anywhere near as strong as you, pineapple head, and Red. At least not in terms of expertise with the Keyblade. So..." She raised her her hand, index finger and thumb held at a right angle. With a quick gesture, a short stream of water rocketed out of her fingertips, sailing through the air and hitting what she had been looking for: a target. The water bullet severed an inch-thick tree branch in two. "Bang!" She pronounced proudly, swaggering ahead with a cocky smirk on her face.

"Not bad." Came Riku, even though his Ray of Dawn looked very similar to the stream, and, from his judgement, was stronger. "What else can you do?"

"Dunno." She said. "Mostly I've been testing the limits of my water powers. What I can and can't do." A small orb of water formed in the palm of her hand, swirling around in the way only a liquid could do. "I can manipulate bodies of water freely with my mind. It takes a bit of concentration to give it a definite shape though. I can also take water from a body and store it within my Keyblade for later use, or to use it in a way like summoning geysers. I can also heat and cool the water, though I can't freeze it, or control ice."

Maybe I should ask Kairi or Namine to teach her some magic. Riku noted. Give her some more versatility. Personally, he had no interest in the magical arts, his Dawn powers giving him a broad enough scope, but Kalyn might feel differently. "So, what happens if you don't have a body of water near you?"

"I can draw in water vapour from the air, directly into my body. My soul, more like it." The ball of water in her hand began to shift forms, becoming a small funnel, spinning at a blinding pace. "I then mix it with my spiritual energy and it multiplies the water, and then I can release it as normal water, but making usable quantities of water requires more concentration and energy than manipulating preexisting water. It also evaporate almost instantly, unless I maintain it, which, again, takes concentration."

Riku had a private laugh at Kalyn casually mentioning she could essentially break the laws of physics. "Hey, wait. How do you know all this? Like, the mixing of vapour of spirit energy?"

"Dunno." The Dalmascan replied with a shrug. She then flicked her hand, the funnel flying forward like a drill, piercing a hole clean through a near by tree trunk with a squishy, wet sound, before breaking apart into droplets of water. "I just know." Riku nodded along, curious as to the true reasoning of her knowledge, before he stopped himself, noticing a change in the path they were still walking on.

"Ah, looks like we're here." He motioned to a fork in the path, and the two changed direction, cutting through some wild growth, and followed the sound of rushing water.

In an almost jarring transition, a black rock plateau jutted out of the dirt path and lush greenery. About forty-feet back, the rock began to slope up to form a stout mountain, multiple trails of water running down the slope and off the edge of the plateau, forming a large, rushing waterfall. The cascade dropped another forty feet, ending into a wide pool of shining pristine water, crystal clear and sparkling in the midday sun.

"Whoa..." Kalyn breathed, hopping up onto the black rock, and looking around with wide-eyed amazement. Her footsteps splashed through the small rivulets of running water, as she looked out over the precipice of the rocky cliff, the view stretching out in all directions. The ocean went as far as the horizon, growing out even farther than Kalyn's eyes would allow her to view. Salm was visible to the west, the town and homesteads practically invisible. Various small islands dotted the ocean, only visible as splotches of green and brown in the deep blue waters.

Riku tapped her by the shoulders. "That's Maydel over their." He pointed out to the alien girl. "It's the closest inhabitable island, six-times as large as Salm." Maydel and Salm were almost directly adjacent to one another, separated by miles and miles of water.

"It's a beautiful world you have here, Riku." Kalyn replied with a thin smile, that made Riku smile in kind, his heart skipping a beat. The brunette took a few more steps, finding an "island" in the myriad of streams, the water not running through the stone here, but instead being diverted around it. She took a seat on her tiny stone platform, taking off her backpack, placing it and the basket down.

"Yeah...it is." Riku replied, walking over and taking a seat next to her. "It's funny, I used to find myself completely bored by everything around me, I wanted more... Now, someone like you comes along and you're utterly engrossed by the stuff I got used to years ago."

"Well, I feel the same about Rabanastre. I bet the city seemed exotic and thrilling to you, but to me, it was nothing more than a sandstone prison." Kalyn told him, pushing back a few strands of her hair. The thick brown hair was done up in a high ponytail today. "Everyone wants something new at one point in time." She moved back a few more strands, Riku peering over to her.

"Hmm, I never noticed those before..." He noted. There was a bit of silvery metal set in her earlobe, with another three hoops fixed in along the edge of her ear, set apart an equal distance. The Ivalician Keyblade Warrior looked over to him with a curious look on her face. "I meant your earrings. I never noticed them before."

"Oh, yeah..." a pink flush crept along her cheeks, as she turned away again. "T-they were a birthday gift from my parents. For my sixteenth..."

Smooth, Riku... Keep bringing up the dead parents... Awkwardly, the teen reached over to the young woman, gently touching her shoulder. "Um...I'm sorry. I don't keep meaning to bring up your parents and sister..."

She stopped him by placing her hand atop his own.

"It's okay Riku..." She told him, smiling a bit. His heart skipped again, causing him to wonder if all the stress of being a hero was getting to him. "I made peace with that stuff a while ago. Yeah, it still hurts, but I make do. I know Mirello and mom and dad would want me to keep going forward, so I won't let what happened bring me down."

The silver-haired teen smiled back, feeling a bit hot on his face. "I know what you're going through..." He blurted out, caught up in the moment. "I...my dad passed away when I was young. I know it's not similar to your situation, but, well..." He started to scratch his cheek nervously. Kalyn in response shook her head, untying the laces on her boots. "...What are you doing?"

"I think I got a good beat on you, Silver." She told him, kicking off her boots and then pulling off her socks. She stood up. "You seem like the type to brood and analyze stuff like that. I bet you could contemplate your navel if need be." Riku looked affronted by that comment, but the look slowly slid off his face when Kalyn started to shimmy out of her pants, tossing off her shirt while she was at it.

"K-Kalyn!" He blushed fiercely. The brunette had stripped down to nothing more than a white undershirt and grey boy shorts. "What in the name of god are you doing?"

She tilted her head again, looking at him. "I'm trying to get you off your little mopey train of thought." Kalyn explained, seemingly unaware of the discomfort she was causing Riku. With that done, she bolted towards the edge of the rocky shelf, bounding off at the last possible centimetres of solid ground. Her body sailed ten-feet forward, before she began to sink like a stone. The young woman tucked her knees up to her chest, linking her arms over her legs, giving out an excited scream, and she splashed down into the lagoon below.

Well, can't let her have all the fun. He thought, grinning at the behaviour of Kalyn, which seemed a little odd coming from her. Riku quickly stripped down to his boxers, bundling all their clothes together, before striding to the precipice, leaping into the air like his friend. Quickly tucking his legs into his chest, Riku rolled forward five-hundred and forty degrees, before straightening out his body like a spear, clapping his arms together, hands in a point. The athletic Keyblader easily pierced the surface of the water, with only a small splash signalling his entry, diving ten feet beneath the surface, before kicking his way back up through the pure, clean waters of the spring.

Treading water, Riku spun around as gracefully as the fluid would allowing, catching Kalyn. It was both a pleasant and unfortunate sight for the Warrior of Dawn, as his eyes grew wide. She just had to wear a white shirt... The thin undershirt the girl wore was sticking to her slim, nubile body, showing off the subtle curves of her body, as well as the toned muscles on her stomach. His sharp eyes hypnotically fixated on her, Riku's mind began to spin it's gears on the topic. She's the oldest out of all of us, but he breasts aren't all that big... Kalyn's light blue bra was partly visible through the translucent shirt. Riku did his best to avoid staring directly at it, but instead his eyes kept darting all across her body. Okay, only Garnet and Selphie can compete with Kairi, but I think she's only bigger than Namine, and even then, not by much...

"I didn't know my Master was such a pervert." Dawn teased in a singsong manner.

S-shut up! I just have a mind that works like this... I just notice things. All sorts of things... Small things...

"Maybe later you can tell me what you've noticed about me?"

"Hey." Kalyn called out. Riku snapped out of his gaze, staring directly into Kalyn's eyes now. For a moment, he thought she was blushing a bit, looking at his bare, well-muscled chest in a manner similar to how he was looking at her. Regardless, Riku was sure he was about to get chewed out. Instead, Kalyn told him, "I think there's something at the bottom of the pool. Something shiny."

Riku raised an eyebrow, before looking down, peering down into the waters. The lagoon was so clear that the black rock bottom was visible, and there was indeed a small object shimmering on the floor of the pool.

"Do you think it's something valuable?" Kalyn asked as he looked back up. "Like jewels, or gold? Stuff like that."

"I doubt it." He admitted. "Sora and I used to go exploring for buried treasure. We checked every single landmass within fifteen miles of Salm. We came up with nothing." Kalyn didn't seem to care.

"Yeah, well, I'm curious." She said, bobbing up and down in the water. "First one to get whatever it is get's to keep it. Three, two, one, go!" With one final bob, Kalyn circled about, diving under, kicking her legs furiously to reach the mysterious item, around twenty feet below her.

Riku grinned a bit, before diving after her. Although he was pleasantly surprised by Kalyn's swimming skills, Riku had been swimming for almost as long as he had been walking and talking. So, despite her head start, Riku made it to the bottom a good five seconds before Kalyn did. He quickly scooped up the item, vision partly obscured by free-flowing hair, and then kicked off the ground, rocketing back to the surface.

"Damn..." Kalyn panted heavily, trying to catch her breath, while pushing back thick wet brown hair sticking to her forehead. "Are you part fish or something?"

He smirked in response. "Just been surrounded by water my entire life."

"Yeah, well, let's see what you scored." Riku brought his right hand out of the water, revealing the object was a small glass ornament with an image in it, suspended on a short chain. "What is it?"

"A summon charm." Riku told her, recognizing it since he owned one already, the Paladin Charm. "These summon all manners of creatures. Usually beings who have continued to exist through sheer force of will, even though their world was destroyed." He explained to her, after seeing her confused face.

"Who does it summon?"

"Won't know until I summon it, but they tend to be useful." Riku chose to examine the charm's image. It was depicting a thin rocket, all in black. The thrusters of the rocket seemed to be very stylized, looking like a hand gripping a push-button trigger of some sort. Odd... Well, I guess you'll be getting a test in a few weeks. "So, that makes two for me, one for Kairi, and two for Sora." He remembered the other two showing off their charms, the Sun, Snake, and Devil Charms that summoned Amaterasu, Solid Snake, and Dante, respectively.

"What? You guys all have one?" Kalyn pouted. "Man, where can I get one of those things?" Riku shrugged in reply.

"You just come across them." He then began to backstroke towards the edge of the pool. "Come on, I'm getting hungry. Besides, we shouldn't be away from our clothes and food for too long. Animals might get into them."

"Probably a good idea." She swam after him, the two clambering out of the water and onto a patch of grass. Another dirt trail was nearby, and it would lead back up the hill again. "Oh, Riku." He turned around at the sound of her name. "April seventeenth."

The silver-haired teen just looked on confused. "Huh?" He blinked once or twice.

"You asked me when my birthday was." She explained, ringing the water out of her long hair. "So I crunched the numbers, and came up with April seventeenth, by this calendar."

"You sure the numbers are right?"

"Nope." Admitted Kalyn in a wholly casual way. "But, I'm pretty sure. And who cares, right? Just get me some chocolate, and I'll be happy." She said with a smile, before dashing along the trail again.

Riku followed after her, Dawn's voice ringing in his mind again. "Well, at least she's an easy girl to shop for. Makes your life a bit easier." Her comment seems innocent, but Riku sniffed out an implication that he was getting sick and tired of.

Damn it, Dawn! We're not a couple! He protested, sorely exhausted of hearing these accusations while doing his best to keep his outward cool. We're. Not. A. Couple!

The following day, Riku found himself hunting for food at around midday. He always found it a little depressing that the only thing his tiny island was well known for in the world was, well, food. Lots and lots of quality food of all kinds. For whatever reason, Salm seemed to be a breeding ground of chefs, cooks, and culinary creations unheard of by man before. As miniscule a contribution as it was, Riku couldn't complain. He was always well fed and content in what he ate at that.

Dotting the beaches of Salm were various small snack bars, sitting anywhere between five to twelve people, that served a variety of fast food, depending on the season and which particular bar you visited. All of them offered affordable, tasty, sometimes one of a kind food items, from seafood to soups and stews, to soda and speciality drinks and all manner of deserts (but only a couple sold sea-salt ice cream bars, to Roxas's continued annoyance). Some even stayed open past dark and sold alcohol to anyone legal.

And so Riku began his quest for such a snack bar, which was fairly difficult to do in the middle of the afternoon during the summer, as most of the small eateries were occupied, with more people loosely milling around them, waiting for a spot to open.

I should have just stayed home and made something. Riku thought, after coming across the fifth occupied stand. This one add the longest waiting line yet. His stomach grumbled irritably in protest. It's those damn snowballs, he told himself and his stomach. They're far too addicting.

Snowballs were one such culinary creation that was born on Salm. In practice, it was nothing more than a snow cone, but a special machine was used to shave the ice, resulting in the texture being akin to powdered snow instead of chips of ice. They also happened to be Riku's favourite desert, and he knew every snack shop that sold them as well as the back of his hand.

The next such shop was a good ten minutes away, so Riku began to hoof it, trying to think of something to pass the time. Hey, Dawn? Are you there?

"I'm always there for you, Riku-kun!" The Spirit declared in her normal joyous manner. "What can I do for you?"

I've just been wondering some things. About you. I've been thinking about you a lot...

"Oh my." Dawn swooned, her musical voice lilting through Riku's head in such a manner he could practically feel her blush. "You certainly know how to make a girl feel special."

No, no, no. He reddened. The worlds were laughing at him. Of course he was the one straddled with a crippling gun shy nature when it came to women, and of course he had to be partnered with a Spirit head-over-heels in love with him.

"I know, silly. I'm just teasing you." Dawn interrupted, giggling a bit. "Remember? I have access to your thoughts and memories. I know you've been wondering about us Spirits, and about the Resonances. So, shoot. I'm all ears."

Riku nodded. Ever since Twilight Town, where Way to Dawn transformed into Dark Before Dawn, where he performed his first Drive, seemingly merging with Dawn herself, he had been wondering about it. The Keyblade, and just what it was, what the limits of it's powers were. An unbreakable sword, an implement for magic and similar abilities, an object possessing a living soul, and now, some sort of artifact with it's own powers to be unlocked.

"The Key is a lock, heh. Haven't heard that one in a while..." When Riku raised an eyebrow to her statement, she followed up. "Never mind that. You have questions for me?"

Yeah. Riku paused for a moment, before he saw the snack bar he had been searching for. Three seats were open, causing him to rush to the counter and grab a stool. Like, what is a Resonance?

"Well, the Grand Powers of the Keyblade are divided into three tiers." Dawn explained, Riku picking up a menu from the bar and giving it a once over. "Resonance is the first tier, and is usually first performed when a Wielder makes contact with their Spirit. Sometimes it happens before, like with you. Sometimes it happens a little afterwards. But mostly it occurs around first contact."

"Could I get the green pork and rice with a coke?" Riku asked the chef behind the bar. He gave a nod and began to work on the order, letting the Warrior of Dawn go back to his mental conversation. You also mentioned the "wavelengths of the heart". What was the deal with that?

"An excellent question." Dawn replied in a very professional manner. An image flashed through Riku's head, that of Dawn dressed in a white button-up blouse, skirt and heels, complete with glasses and a pointer, giving a lecture up by a blackboard. "You see, part of the strength of the Keyblade comes from feeding off the emotions of the Wielder. Each kind of emotion forms a specific wavelength, similar to sound or light. But what kind of emotions strengthen the blade depends on the Spirit of the Keyblade." Riku's food showed up, and he gratefully began to devour the meal, as Dawn continued on. "I feed off your altruism, and your desire to help your friend and sacrifice yourself for them. The emotional power-up creates a positive feedback loop, where you strengthen me and the Keyblade, and the Keyblade in turn empowers you. And, of course, as you know firsthand, your power is sapped when you are in disharmony with me."

Riku nodded along, stirring together his rice and green chili sauce. It was a good thing to know he would get stronger by just being himself. Anything else to know about Resonances?

"There is. There exists three specific types of Resonances: Advanced, Arms, and Aura." Dawn explained, as Riku began to eat the remains of his meal, matching Sora in terms of speed. "Advanced types usually consist of a minor transformation in the bearer, similar to your buddy's Drive Forms. Both our Spirit Drive and the Master of Destiny's Resonance Drive are Advanced Resonances. Arms types involve transforming the Keyblade into a different kind of object. It could be a different kind of weapon like a spear or bow and arrow, or a shield, or even some kind of special, magical tool, like a glove or a telescope. Princess Light's shield is an Arms type."

Hey, wait a minute. Riku broke in. The chef came by again and Riku ordered his desert, a lime snowball, before he spoke his mind into his mind again. You said Arms types change the Keyblade, but Kairi's shield exists independently of the Keyblade. Why is that?

"Well, these aren't hard and fast rules, you have to remember. With the Keyblade, there is always leeway for exceptions. Plenty of exceptions. If I had to make a guess, it's that her Light is so powerful and unique, it's allowed her to modify the Resonance in such a manner."

Hmm, okay. So, what's the last type of Resonance?

"Aura types. These Resonances boost a certain aspect of the Wielder, usually something physical. Maybe it makes them faster or stronger, or gives them better reflexes, or even allow them to manipulate another element as well as their Master Element. Anything else you want to know?

Riku dug into his snowball, relishing in his sweet addiction. Yeah. I understand that Resonances are activated the first time upon contact. But...how would I go about using Spirit Drive again? Someone sat down to the left of Riku, but he was too engrossed in his conversation and desert to really notice.

After a while, you will be able to perform it as easy as summoning and dismissing your Keyblade. Dawn assured him. But for the next few Drives, it can only be performed in a moment of intense mental and physical duress and when your wavelength is at or near it's climax.

Riku nodded again, going over everything Dawn had just said while digging his spoon deeper into the snowball to get at more of the syrup, when the man over to his left spoke up, making his order.

"Yeah, could I get the two piece combo, with takoyaki and calamari? Uh...dragonfruit Salo and pineapple sorbet, too." Riku perked up in his stool, pivoting left.

"Dayne?"

Indeed, the tall, lanky Keyblader was sitting in the stool, adjacent to the silver-haired teen. Sunglasses with metallic red lens were pushed up onto his forehead, and an easygoing grin was set over his face. "Hey there, Silver." He greeted in a unusually cheery way, as he turned over for the greeting. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Small island, huh?" He said sarcastically. Dayne gave a snort of laughter as the cook placed his food down in front of him. I think Dayne might be drunk or something... He was not used to the former bodyguard acting in such a casual, calm, nonthreatening manner. "That's a...that's a lot of cephalopod there." He replied, eyeing the meal.

"Yeah. But a lot of good cephalopod." Dayne grinned, spearing one of the fried octopus balls and popping it in his mouth. After swallowing, the tall man looked over and asked, "So, what's on your mind?"

"Why would you say that?"

"You're looking pensive, serious, kinda down." Dayne replied, in between mouthfuls of fried food. "And not how you normally look pensive, serious, and down. This time it looks like you actually have issues."

Riku rolled his eyes at that. "It's nothing, just thinking." He replied, before blurting out, under his breath, "Girl troubles..."

"Girl troubles?" Dayne cocked an eyebrow, resulting in Riku facepalming.

"Damn it..."

Dayne seemed oblivious to Riku's little slip and his embarrassment. "You know, I've been wondering actually, what is with you and girls? Why are you so gun shy? I mean, and this coming from almost eight decades of staunch heterosexual behaviour, but you're an attractive young man." Riku groaned loudly.

"What is with you?" He asked abruptly. "I mean, why the hell are you acting like this? You're Dayne damn it."

Dayne shrugged. "This is just how I act when I'm not in the middle of a war."

"You mean 'weird'?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." Dayne seemed perfectly happy with the label, as if it didn't bother him at all. "So, come on man, just open up. I'm not gonna bite back or anything."

The Dawn wielder just sighed, as if to say he couldn't believe he was doing this. "Well...okay. You ever heard the stereotype 'So beautiful, it's a curse'?"

Dayne burst into a short fit of raucous laughter. "Are you really so vain man?"

"No! That's just the only way I can relate this story." Riku shook his head, deeply regretting this already. Why was he even telling Dayne this? "See, what happened was, when I was growing up, I went through the changes all boys do at about twelve, thirteen, fourteen or so. And, like you said, I'm sort of attractive...But, anyways. The girls took notice of this as I began to...develop. The hair, the eyes, the muscles, all that. And they sort of became obsessed with me. And not just girls my age. But ones two, three, even four years older than me. I was afraid to go outside for a few weeks because I kept getting swarmed by girls." He cleared his throat and began muttering, trailing off. "So, yeah, that's kind of why I'm not so good around women... Why am I telling you this?"

Dayne shrugged casually. "You and I are both mature people and we can relate to one another?" He offered, before both men shared a short bit of derisive laughter. "But...I don't think that's all that's getting you down, Silver..."

Riku noted the dangerous sounding tone. "Dayne, what are you getting at?" He replied under his breath, trying to sound just as dangerous.

The older man was seemingly more focused on his desert, taking several bites before speaking. "Well, I've just been hearing things about you and our friend from Ivalice..." Instantly, Riku tried to stand from his seat, bristling visibly. Dayne put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back down. "Now, now, just settle. Remember here, I'm as neutral a third party as you'll find. I'm not one of the guys who will tease you mercilessly. I'm not of the girls who will giggle and gossip and try to set you two up. I'm gonna ask you a question, and I won't repeat it. Whatever you say will be between you, me, and my desert." He gestured to the half-finished sorbet, and Riku noticeably calmed, even smiling a tiny bit. "So...do you like Kalyn?"

"...Yes..."

The answer came after a long pause, in a voice so small as to make sure that only Dayne (and his desert) would ever hear. Riku's face instantly turned tomato red, regretting his lapse.

"Hey-hey!" Dayne cheered, as loud as Riku was quiet. He gave the younger man a hearty smack on the back, grinning broadly. Riku just shrank even more. "Now, why?" He asked, curiously

Riku almost fell out of his seat at the implausible shift in Dayne's tone and actions. Eventually, he regained his composure and returned, "Well, I mean, she doesn't act clingy or anything around me. That's pretty endearing." He was blushing again as he spoke, but it was a bit more graceful blush. He was even smiling a bit. "And she's not angry or bossy around me like everyone else. She's calm and nice...But, even then. There's nothing beyond that." He shook his head, silver locks splaying about. "It's just a shallow, physical thing. Nothing more."

"So?" Dayne snorted, causing Riku to look over, a bit insulted. "Listen, yeah, in a perfect world we'd only be attracted to a person based on their personality and stuff, but this isn't a perfect world. So you like the way she looks? Yeah, it's shallow, but it serves a purpose. You get closer to them, get to know them, and you slowly get deeper and deeper." Riku waved him off, but Dayne continued, unabated. "Hey, it happens. With me and Rain." This gave the younger man pause. "Yeah, hell, I only started hanging around with her because she was the only other Immortal I could stomach. Then we started to...ahem, have the maritals and all that, to work out our stress. And, then, slowly, it changed. We fell in love." Looking off into the distant wistfully for a moment, Dayne seemed to have left reality all together, before starting up, as suddenly as he had stopped. "It can happen, man. You just have to be willing to take a chance, see what happens." He then shrugged again. "But, whatever. Like I said, this is between you and me, and I won't bring it up again unless you want me to."

"Um...thanks, Dayne..." Riku offered, awkwardly. He scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to make of the situation he was in now. "Looks like I'm done here then," he pushed off the stool and onto the sand.

Dayne turned around. "Oh? And what do you have planned for the day?"

"Just gonna walk around." He said, cool as he could managed. "I'll catch you around, okay?" Dayne nodded, before turning back to the cook and placing an order for another desert. Take a chance, huh? Well, if I played life safe, then none of this crazy stuff would have happened to any of us. Let's roll the dice one more time....

Walking around, Riku eventually came across Sora, Roxas, Kairi, and Namine, heading in the opposite direction. "Hey, Riku!" Sora ran up to him. "We've been looking all over for you man. Tidus wants to have a game of blitz in about an hour, you in?"

He nodded sharply. "Of course I am, I uh...just got to do something first. Hey, do any of you know where Kalyn is?"

Brother looked over at brother and sister looked to sister, confused and curious of the question. "Um...she's usually just outside our house on the beach, for whatever reason or another."

"Okay, thanks you guys." Riku patted Sora on the shoulder, and moved on. "I'll meet you guys at the park in about an hour. See ya!" The silver-haired teen then ran off, leaving his four friends fairly mystified.

"He's looking for Kalyn...?" Kairi asked, though not asking anyone in particular. "Do you really think he's...you know?"

"Interested in her?" Roxas finished. "Yeah, even though I don't really know why anyone would..." He then began to walk in the direction Riku went.

"What are you doing?" Namine asked him. "You can't go following him, he'll go berserk if you're there."

Roxas disarmed her with a warm grin. "He won't see me. I'll be all stealthy and such. Now, come on everyone. I have a feeling either Riku's going to fall on his face, or Kalyn's fist will fall on him." He gave a short laugh, waved everyone along, and ran off, the others trailing out of morbid curiosity.

"Hey, Kalyn!" Riku called out when he finally saw the brunette. True to his prediction, Kalyn was on the beach in front of the Alleris home, sitting down, her Keyblade Freedom driven into the sand. From the sheen of sweat in the sunlight, Riku could tell that she had just finished in another engagement of her private training.

"Oh, hey Riku." She turned her head. "What's up? Come to join me or something?" Unbeknownst to the two older teens, a bush on the lawn raised over the beach began to rustle. Popping through the bush, were the heads of Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine, all eyes and ears on the happenings on their friends.

"No, not today at least." He tried to give an easy smile, but he felt like he was overplaying it. His nerves were already so shot, he felt like facing off against Maleficent would be easier than doing this. "I-I just...I have something to tell you..."

"Tell me?" Kalyn scrutinized the silver-haired boy across from her. "Well, what is it? Spit out."

"Oh my god! He's actually gonna do it!" Kairi squeed quietly from her bush, feeling a surge of pride for her friend. The other three shushed her, and continued to watch with bated breath.

Well, I was just going to say, that I like you, Kalyn. Really like you. I think you're a very pretty girl, very curious and strong. I want to get to know you better, and I was wondering if you'd like to go out one night...

...Is what Riku said to himself. What he wanted to say. Instead, he only spat out a single, nonsense word that only served to make him feel like a gigantic idiot.

"...Coconuts!"

"Eh?" Kalyn titled her head to the side, unsure of what to make of it. Both she and Riku seemingly deflated. "W-what the hell are you on, Silver?" Nerves shot, courage drained, and dignity gone, Riku just gave up, slinking away after a while, totally embarrassed, but thankful only he and Kalyn would know about this.

Or so he thought.

"Man, I thought I was rough around the edges with girls." Sora chuckled from his hiding spot, embarrassed for his friend after the situation. He still found it funny though. "Good thing I'll never do that, huh Kai?"

Kairi just buried her face into the palm of her hands. "Oh, Riku..."

Namine began to hum a familiar, jaunty tune. "Damn. Now I'm gonna have the 'coconuts' song stuck in my head all day."

Roxas, meanwhile, took a much more disparaging position. "What an idiot." He said darkly, glaring at the deflated Riku. "He fails on so many levels!"

Alright, so time for the contest. Just like the original game had it's "Name in the Game" contest, I shall be having a "Name in the Fic" contest (negative ten points for unoriginality)!

Here's how it will work. For an undetermined amount of time, anytime a Summon Charm appears, the first person to correctly name the character the Charm summons will have a character in the story named after them. And since Riku nabbed the Rocket Charm this chapter, let's start it right now!

But, first, a little hint for the charm:

This character represents the fortieth anniversary of a long-running Japanese television series. He is also known as Gentarou Kisaragi, and he vows to become friends with every student at Amanogawa High School. UCHUU KITAAA~

Please Review

SirAngelo