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hinataoc · 1 year ago

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I’m so excited to have the chance to share my full story for the @destinytriofanzine!

It was a lovely project to be part of with incredible and talented creators for every page. The leftover sales are open right now and if you love the Destiny Trio make sure to check it out!

For my piece, I wanted to focus on how their friendship has evolved over the years, but also all the ways it has stayed the same. We didn’t get much of them together in Kingdom Hearts 3, so I had a mighty need to see them all having quality time again.

So without further ado, here is my fic!

The Good Ole Days

Words: 2193

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Flower petals danced on the warm evening breeze. Sora inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet subtle aroma. His fingers laced behind his head, a lazy smile curving his mouth, as he descended the stone stairs leading into the garden courtyard. Radiant Garden’s castle towered behind him. Its copper adornments shimmered in the light of the setting sun, reflecting rainbows across the courtyard below where a very familiar gummiship sat awaiting its crew.

“Tomorrow’s finally the day,” Riku said, catching Sora’s attention.

Sora peeked over his shoulder at his best friend just a few steps behind, his smile growing. Looking back out over the garden he nodded. “After all this time, it’s really—” his words cut off with a large yawn.

Riku scoffed. “You better not be falling asleep on the job.” He caught up to Sora and nudged him with his shoulder.

“Woah!” Sora stumbled, nearly losing his footing on the edge of a stair. “Hey, watch it!” he scolded with a laugh. “Do you want me to fall?”

“Will it keep you awake?” Riku asked, jumping back when Sora swatted at him. “Hey! Take your own advice.”

“Are you two done?” Kairi called out to them, poking her head out from the gummiship. Despite her arched brow, she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes.

“Kairi!” Sora waved with a grin before running down the rest of the stairs. “We were wondering where you went off to.”

“Unlike the two of you, I’ve been busy,” she teased.

Sora’s nose scrunched up in just a way that Kairi couldn’t help but snicker. He crossed his arms and asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Instead of replying, Kairi giggled and went back into the gummi ship. Sora followed. He ducked under the low entryway, the metal floor clunking under his feet. Entering the cockpit, he took a deep whiff of the familiar smell: grease along with a tinge of sea salt from the palm tree air freshener hung over the back of Kairi’s seat in the cockpit. The scents married together oddly well, like a mixture of two places that reminded Sora of home.

Sora’s shoulders relaxed and he lowered into his seat with a wistful sigh, closing his eyes. A heavier set of feet rattled the metal floor and Sora instantly smirked.

“Sora,” Riku groaned, but Sora could hear the smile in his voice without even having to see it. “Didn’t I just say to not fall asleep?”

Sora stretched in an exaggerated way, making Kairi laugh and Riku roll his eyes. “I’m not! I’m just… resting until Kairi tells us what to do.”

“You know me too well,” Kairi said, holding out a piece of paper that tickled Sora’s cheek.

He opened one eye and grabbed the paper, seeing a list of supplies scribbled over it.

“I made a list of everything we should need for the trip,” Kairi explained, handing another list to Riku. “I gathered everything for my part, so now it’s up to both of you to get everything else and bring it back here.”

Riku mumbled, reading off the list, then asked, “Do we really need”—he double checked the list, —“lilium bulbs?”

“Mhm.” Kairi nodded. “Princess Rapunzel requested them. And she needs them fresh, so no slacking off.”

Sora laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that Kairi. Riku and I will have”—he squinted as he read off the list—“Niblet hairballs…?” He paused and sat up. “Huh, actually Kairi, I’m with Riku.” He scratched the side of his head. “I don’t even know where to find that.”

With a giggle, Kairi told them, “You’re just going to have to trust me. According to Little Chef, those hairballs help make a special spice. But if you guys don’t want to do it, I can handle it myself.”

She reached over to grab the list from Riku, but he lifted it out of her reach. “Don’t worry, we’ve got it. I almost forgot how everyone wants Sora to run their errands when he goes on a mission.”

“They don’t do that to you guys?” Sora asked.

Kairi chuckled. “Only because we don’t tell everyone when we’re going somewhere.”

“Yeah, you tell everyone who’ll listen, so of course you get roped into things,” Riku explained, sighing and rubbing the back of his neck. “Which ropes us into it too, now that we’re going on missions together.”

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that,” Sora sheepishly apologized.

“It’s fine.” Riku ruffled Sora’s hair as he went past, snickering at Sora sputtering and swatting him away. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He held up the list and slightly shook it. “So will Sora, at least, if he can stay awake long enough to finish before tomorrow.”

Sora smirked and jumped up, his hands firmly on his hips. “Say that again!”

Kairi’s laugh cut between them as she snuck past and went to the entryway of the gummi ship. “I know a way to make sure he stays awake.” She paused for dramatic effect, then put up her hand above her head. “A race!”

“Yeah!” Sora bunched his hands into fists.

“What?” Riku rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think we’re a little—”

“Ready?” Kairi continued on regardless. “Set…” She looked between the boys. Riku feigned indifference, but he put the list in his pocket and inched closer to the exit of the ship. Sora bounced on the balls of his feet, grinning in anticipation. Kairi matched his grin and jumped out of the way of the entryway. “Go!”

The boys burst out of the gummi ship, shoving and clambering to get in front of the other. Kairi’s laughter faded behind them as they disappeared into the town. Sora skidded around a corner and took a moment to look over the list. Glowing particles rained around him, dissipating with sparkles when they landed on the paper. Sora’s expression scrunched until he looked up and saw Riku jumping from building to building, magic swirling around him.

“Hey!” Sora called after him, his hand cupped around his mouth. “That’s cheating!”

“Can’t hear you, too busy winning!” Riku’s voice echoed back.

Sora snorted, a grin cracking across his face. “Alright then, you asked for it!”

Getting a running start, Sora jumped and hung off a brick wall. The cool rough texture tickled his hands just for a moment before the rush of magic burst around him. His adrenaline ignited with a thrill of shivers. Sora released an even breath and pushed his feet off the brick, vaulting into a flip and landing in a standing position against a tall building just across the way. He ran straight up the wall, taking a moment to wave at a little girl watching him through the window with big eyes and a slack jaw.

He gripped the edge of the rooftop and flipped himself onto it. Looking out into the town, he spotted Riku not too far off, nearly in the marketplace. Without wasting time, Sora got a running start and leapt off the roof. His magic surged, brightening around him and making him seemingly weightless. He flew into the market and landed in the center square with a roll. A few townsfolk gasped, but many were used to the antics of Keybladers coming in and out of Radiant Garden by now. Sora smiled and apologized for the surprise, but quickly disappeared into a shop before he was questioned. A bell chimed along with the door swinging open. Sora scoured the shelves, mumbling about what he needed. He went through aisle after aisle, all the while mentally reminding himself at how far ahead Riku likely already was. Minutes passed; Sora wasn't sure how many, but it seemed like ages.

With a groan, Sora leaned his head against a shelf. “Ahg, it’s hopeless.”

“Looking for this?” Riku asked from behind.

Sora spun around, his face scrunching in feigned dismay before Riku casually tossed over the bag of various snacks. He scrambled to catch it, but managed. “How—”

“You were mumbling again.” Kairi peeked around the aisle.

“Kairi?” Sora asked. “What are you doing here?”

Linking her hands behind her back, Kairi walked further into the aisle. “Weeeell, I got bored waiting, and you two were taking too long. So I decided to come look for you guys!”

“Then I spotted her in the courtyard and we found you here,” Riku finished explaining. “How many things you got left?” His calm demeanor cracked into a snort of laughter when Sora blankly stared back at him. “I’ll take that as everything.”

“No, I, well—” Sora scrambled for a comeback, before chuckling along with Riku and ruffling the back of his hair. “Donald usually handled the shopping.”

Riku huffed an amused breath while Kairi stifled a laugh.

“Come on”—Kairi walked backwards, then spun on her heel to lead the way—”we’ll finish it together.”

Sora looked down at the bag of snacks in one hand, then to the supply list in the other. “Sure, but… what about the race?”

“I have most of my stuff already back at the gummi ship.” Riku shrugged, then smirked. “But if still doing the race means that much to you, I guess I could automatically win.”

“Yeah, I guess we are a bit old to be racing, huh?” Sora pointed out, getting laughs in response. “Did you really get everything on your list already?”

“Most of it,” Riku replied. “Just the weird items left.”

“Then it’s a good thing I came along.” Kairi grinned over her shoulder as they settled in the checkout line.

“I’m glad you did,” Riku admitted. “I felt a bit bad leaving you on the ship anyway.” He chuckled as Kairi bumped him with her hip. “Don’t push it.”

“Me too,” Sora sighed, but quickly perked up as he held up the list. “But working together, getting all this stuff will be a breeze! Kairi with the know-how, Riku with the navigation, and me with the… uh…”

“Sweet optimism?” Kairi asked.

“Yeah,” Sora agreed with a laugh. “I have no idea where to find most of this stuff on my own.”

“Obviously.” Riku grabbed the bag of snacks from Sora’s hand and handed it to the clerk.

“Let’s drop this off at the ship and then maybe we can pick up some dinner.” Kairi tapped her finger to her chin.

Riku waved politely to the clerk as they turned to leave. “Weren’t you the one that told us we needed to focus on getting the shopping done before anything else?”

“Hmm, I don’t recall,” she replied with a cheeky smile.

“Aw come on Riku, we can take a break!” Sora pushed open the shop’s door, his fingers laced behind his head. “Buuut I guess if we wanna be quick we could race back to the ship?”

“Yeah!” Kairi jumped in agreement.

Riku scoffed, walking past, seemingly uninterested. As he stepped out onto the sidewalk, a surge of magic shimmered around him and he jumped away before the others had even left the door. “Last one there has to pay for everyone’s dinner!”

“Riku!” Kairi scolded, running after him.

“Wha- hey, wait!” Sora yelled, his voice riddled with laughter before he too jumped into action behind Kairi.

They were all neck and neck, bouncing between buildings and ziplining across clotheslines hung in alleyways. It wasn’t long before they saw the gummiship still stationed in the garden courtyard, golden light glowing from the entryway.

Sora vaulted off a rooftop and glided over, Riku just behind. He nearly reached the courtyard, his hand reaching out for the ship, when a sudden weight hefted on top of him. With a yelp, Sora fell to the ground. He sputtered amidst the erupting laughter and groans from Kairi and Riku. Looking over his shoulder, he realized Kairi had him and Riku both pinned down.

“Kairi, what the heck?” Riku asked.

With a giggle, Kairi lifted her hand and tapped the gummi ship. “I win.”

Sora and Riku stared at her, then at each other, before all three of them bubbled into a fit of laughter. They untangled themselves to lie on their backs and gaze up at the emerging stars. Their amusement simmered, their breaths filling the air along with the occasional cricket chirping amongst the flowers.

“Some things never change,” Riku said after a while. “Do they?”

“Yeah,” Sora agreed.

“I like it.” Kairi clasped her hands over her heart. “After everything, sometimes I worried what it would be like… being together again, a trio of friends. Especially with our first mission together. Would we still be comfortable with each other? Would our inside jokes and memories still matter? And… after tonight, I think I know they do.”

“I think you’re right.” Riku looked towards their gummiship with a fond smile.

“Even after all this time, we’re still the three kids wanting to find another world,” Sora said, gazing towards the stars with a rare melancholy voice.

“Well then”—Kairi sat up—“we’d better get dinner and finish gathering supplies before it gets too late. We have a big day tomorrow.”

Sharing smiles between them, the three friends ventured back into town, preparing for their new adventure. Together.

#Hina-writes #Destiny Trio #KIngdom Hearts #Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction

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