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Description
The cold rain poured down on my ghostly white skin. Everything around me was blurry and painful. All the events that I had experienced had happened too fast. Honestly, I knew what was about to happen to me, but I was still afraid.

I didn't jump when lighting struck at my side. I didn't cower when thunder boomed. The ground shook beneath my feet and I knew that it was coming. My chest began to ache and my heart was ripped out by the shadow that stood before me. It loomed over me, standing over ten feet tall. "Nari!" My best friend, Akiko, yelled as she stood behind me with tears streaming down her face. "You can't let this happen!" Akiko came rushing to my side and began pulling on my arm. The shadow snatched Akiko's heart as well and began to taunt us with them. I walked towards him; towards the water. I would fine without all of the pressure and emotion consuming my mind, at least this was what I thought.

My whole body trembled as I stumbled towards the water. A gigantic wave was forming over me. "No," I whispered. "No!" I began to cry. There was emptiness inside me, although I couldn't name the feeling I had; or rather, the non-feeling. Before I could stop anything, the two of us were swallowed by the wave.

DAY ONE
6:09pm

We were drifting at sea for what I wished was a few hours when we hit dry land. I woke up and saw a silver haired boy, a brunette haired boy and a red haired girl. The boy with the silver hair was poking me with a stick. It was very uncomfortable. He didn't seem very nice. I rolled over and groaned because I really wanted food and sleep. "So she is alive!" I heard Akiko yell.

I jumped to my feet at the sound of her voice. The boy with the silver hair was looking at me like I had just come back from the dead. "Well, Akiko, it is good to see you but not the random boy with a stick. Who the hell is he?" I asked, flipping my silver bangs out of my eyes.

"My name is Riku," he said as he put a hand on his hip.

"Well, it is not very nice to meet you. And who are you two?"

"I am Sora and this is Kairi," the brunette introduced.

Akiko ran up to me and started tugging on my arm again. "C'mon you have to see this island!"

"Fine," I reluctantly replied.

Akiko lead me all over the island. Form the beach on one side to the palm trees on the other. "I was talking to Riku earlier," she brought up out of nowhere.

"So what?" I replied, annoyed with even his name. I do not appreciate being poked.

"He… kept asking me questions about you," Akiko stopped walking and stared out at the sunset.

"Did you answer all of them?" I asked, now also looking out.

"After a while, I told him that if he really wanted to know, he could ask you when you woke up."

"Great…" I sighed. Akiko always got me wound up in these kinds of social things. Then I looked over at her. She looked so worried. Her eyebrows furrowed upward, but a fake smile still on her lips. "Is something wrong?" I asked as I walked closer to her.

"You mean it doesn't bother you?"

"What doesn't bother me?"

"I want you to think, Nari. Do you remember anything?"

"Re…member…" I looked at the sand. I didn't remember anything. My memory was completely blank except for my name, Akiko's name, our personalities, and how close of friends we are.

"It bothers me, how we don't have any memory of anything."

"Akiko, I know we will get our memories back, don't worry. We just have some amnesia."

That's when it hit me. The real problem Akiko was having. I stood next to her in silence, waiting for her to say something.

"I can't feel anything, Nari." That was it. We had no feelings.

"Me too, kid… me too."

"Hey," I turned around at the sound of a new voice.

Kairi.

"We want to help you two."

"How?" Akiko asked.

"Right now, the three of us are working on building a raft so we can sail out to new worlds," she replied. "I suggested that since you two are probably from a different world, that we bring you with us. If you help us with the raft of course."

"Would you guys really do that for us?" Akiko asked excitedly.

I grabbed her arm and looked at her with that, "who told you that you could make the decisions around here," look. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "If we see other places, then maybe we'll get our memory back faster. We may even find out where we are from."

Kairi smiled and three new faces approached us behind her.

"Hey, you the two fish that washed up on our shore?" a kid with an impossible hairdo and a ball in one hand.

"Well, neither of us are fish…" I mumbled.

"Who are you?" Akiko asked.

"My name's Waka, ya."

"I'm Tidus."

"I'm Selphie. It's nice to meet you!"

I looked over at Akiko after my internal gag fest. She had that, 'I think I'm in love' face on. I looked back over at Selphie. She had the same face. "Sisters!" they squealed simultaneously.

"Gag me with a spoon…" I mumbled. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.

"I can arrange that."

I jumped around and found that Riku was behind me. "Don't do that," I sneered.

He just laughed. I really disliked him now. "How about we go over there and get know one another?" he asked. I can't believe he just asked me that. Didn't he feel my vibe of hatred?

"That sounds-" I began to scowl.

"LIKE A GREAT IDEA!" Akiko shouted, jumping between us and wrapping an arm around each of our shoulders. Oh how her random euphoria brings me down.

"I actually have to head home," Selphie mentioned. Akiko sighed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Akiko asked.

"Definitely!"

"Catch ya' later!" Tidus called as the three ran off.

Ohmigod.

The three of us that were left walked over to the other side of the island where we stood on a plateau that looked like one of those cheap island cakes with the lopsided tree and awkward shaped fruit.

"Sora, they said they would help us!" Kairi cheered as we ran up to Sora who was sitting on the awkward tree.

"Awesome!" Sora replied as Kairi hopped up on the tree next to him. Riku leaned back against the trunk. I hopped up next to Kairi and Akiko plopped down on the ground, sitting cross legged.

"So, Nari," Riku ventured. I didn't look at him even though he was talking to me. I know it was rude, but I didn't like this guy. "Where did you come from?" I looked over at Akiko to signal that I wanted her to answer.

"We don't have any memory of our lives before we arrived here," Akiko answered with her usual joyous tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Riku apologized.

"It's okay; it doesn't seem to bother Nari, even though it bothers me." Akiko looked at me. "Nothing ever seems to bother her. Nari was always just so…carefree." She nervously chuckled. "It makes me jealous. I just wish I could remember why and what jealousy felt like."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Akiko and I can't feel anything," I answered.

Riku looked at me with widened eyes. "Has it always been that way?" he asked after looking back out to the water.

"I don't think so," Akiko replied.

"Well, it isn't a side effect of amnesia," Kairi added in.

I remembered. Right at that second, I remembered what it was; what Akiko and I really were. It was too hard to explain to the three others right now, so I decided I would tell Akiko when we were alone.

"We'll figure it out eventually," Sora assured, smiling. He seemed like the carefree type.

"So, has it always been the six of you?" Akiko asked in direction of Sora.

"No, it used to be just five of us, but then Kairi moved here. She's the mayor's daughter," he replied.

"That must be exciting," Akiko chuckled.

"You have no idea," Kairi laughed.

I'm not quite sure if I was listening or not for the rest of that conversation. All I know was that Riku kept asking me questions and I kept looking at Akiko for her to answer. Eventually she told Riku that I don't talk much, which I don't.

"Where will they stay?" Sora asked Riku.

"They can stay at my house!" Kairi answered as she jumped off the tree. "I have some extra space in my room."

"Sounds good to me," Akiko replied as she stood up.

I hopped of the tree, and with all the luck in the world, I lost my footing and fell right into the arms of Riku. Dislike.

"You should watch your footing," Riku giggled. There was a cloud of sand around us. The other three sprinted off. How dare they.

I shoved him off. "I'm fine by myself," I said coldly.

"Do you remember how old you are?" he called as I started to walk off.

No, I thought, but I should still tell him something. "I'm sixteen," I replied, still walking.

"Ah, no wonder." He started walking too.

I stopped and spun around. "What's that supposed to mean?" He was quickly in my personal space bubble.

"Well, you're taller than me, incredibly slim and…" Now he was WAY too close for my liking. He was also whispering in my ear now as well as holding my black hair close to his lips. "Sexilicious."

I turned as red as the Kool-Aid guy as he brushed past me and walked off, smiling. I was surprised he wasn't evilly cackling as he jumped on his boat and rowed back to his home.

"Nari! C'mon!" Kairi yelled as she and Akiko waved for me to come to them. I zoned back into reality and jumped off of the wooden walkway onto the beach.

=At Kairi's House=
10:27pm

"Hey, Akiko, can I talk to you a moment?" I asked after Kairi went off to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

"Yeah, what's up?" she replied as she sat down on the air mattress next to me.

"I know why we don't feel anything."

"So do I," she replied as she lay down on her stomach. "It's because we're priscus', right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Right after you mentioned it while we were by that tree; it just… came to me."

"It was the same way for me."

Akiko rolled over ad looked at the ceiling. "To even think about the fact that we don't have hearts…"

"We are living without hearts, Akiko. There isn't anything that we can do about it."

"But we can do something! There has to be something in our past that can help us!"

Kairi walked into the room. She was sort of hopping as if she had a song stuck in her head, or maybe she just walked like that. I couldn't tell.

I was staring at the crease in Kairi's skirt. It was folded up for no reason and bothering the hell out of me. I pictured it unfolding and staying that way. It did shortly after. Completely baffled, I got up and walked into the bathroom to pee.

"Nari really doesn't talk too much…" I heard Kairi say.

"Yeah, it's like I'm her voice," Akiko giggled.

"You really can't remember if there is a reason for that?"

"Nope, it's just the way it's always been."

I walked out of the bathroom and looked around. There were clothes strewn about, Akiko now in pajamas and Kairi sitting on her bed writing in what I imagined was a journal or diary.

I yawned and climbed onto my air mattress and before I knew it, I had nodded off through Kairi and Akiko's conversation. All I can remember is Kairi saying, "I always leave my window unlocked if you want to head back over to the island."

11:00pm

"What do you think you're doing?" Akiko yelled as I held a sword that resembled a key in my hand.

There was blood everywhere. It was on me, Akiko, Kairi, Sora, but not on Riku. Akiko and the others were trapped behind vines that were holding them to the wall. Kairi was unconscious.

I looked up to a raised platform where Riku was. He was walking towards this big heart-like shaped opening that had rainbow colors swirling around. "I have to do this…" I cried.

I jumped up to where he was. Everything around us turned pitch black. I was crying. "I'm so sorry…Riku…"

"Just do it," he said. "Don't you want to stop my suffering?"

"Riku… I l-," My vision flashed to the "this channel is not available" screen for a moment—the one that reminds me of snow.

Riku just smiled.

I ran forward, thrusting the sword right through him.

My scream woke me out of sleep.

"NARI, WHATS WRONG!" Akiko screamed as she jumped out of her bed and over to me. I was now sitting up.

Another piece of memory came back to me. I used to have premonition dreams. Now they're back.

"Akiko, I just saw..." I began. I looked over at Kairi's bed; she was still asleep; hm, heavy sleeper. I didn't really want her to wake up to me telling a story of one of her best friends death. "I'll tell you in the morning, okay?" I rolled over, but there was no way I would be able to fall asleep now. So instead, I informed Akiko that I was going back to the island and slipped out the window.

There were many things that I hadn't noticed before about the island and its surroundings. I guess it was because I was so caught up in everything else that I didn't give myself time to really look at all of it.

The sky was a blue so dark that one could hardly tell it was blue at all. There were so many stars that they weren't countable. The moon was really bright too, as well as the stars. The breeze on my back made my spine shiver. I wiggled my toes in the sand and noticed how soft it was.

Inhaling the air, I relaxed and sat down in the sand. It didn't take long after that to become cold. All of me started shivering. Why didn't I bring a coat? The world will never know. Soon, I started wishing for some way to warm up.

Practically instantaneously a jacket was laid over my shoulders. I turned around and saw who had given me the article.

Apparently fate had a sense of humor. The person who gave me the jacket was none other than Riku. Well thanks up there.

"Why are you here all alone?" Riku asked, taking a seat in the sand next to me.

"I couldn't fall asleep," I casually replied, "so I thought that maybe I could sort some things out here. What about you?"

I couldn't believe I was actually making conversation with this nuisance.

"Same as you; couldn't sleep." I noticed he was slowly creeping closer to me. However, I was too tired to care.

There was a long moment where we were silent. Riku and I were shoulder to shoulder. I was so tired, that I found myself resting my head on his shoulder. It was a shame I disliked him so profoundly. The next moment, I gained a piece of my memory back.

"You still don't remember anything?" he inquired.

Gee, what a coincidence.

"Actually," I began, "I just remembered something. Not too long ago, there was a guy who was completely head over heels for me. I only ever thought of us as friends since he was a few years older than me. Eventually, I realized that I cared for him, but I planned too far ahead in time to tell him. The exact reason I can't remember, but I know that he died for me the day before I was going to confess. So I wrote a song, and the lyrics poke out in my mind so strongly."

"Do you want to sing it right now?" Riku asked.

I nodded and started to sing.

The melody and lyrics drifted off my tongue like it was natural. I was surprised at how good I sounded. My past was so sad. Too bad I couldn't feel the sadness of it now.

Riku didn't say anything to comfort me as if he already knew me. I hated it when people tried to make me feel better by emitting sappy sentences.

When I regained myself, Riku plainly said, "You're beautiful, you know that?"

"No, do I look like the egotistical person who stares in a mirror all day long drooling over themself?"

Riku took a moment to think about it. "I guess you do."

That wasn't the answer I was looking for, but I didn't pester him about it.

Since I knew where this conversation was going to end up going, I stood up and decided I should at least try to sleep. I probably had a better chance now anyway.

"I'm going to go back now," I announced. "I'll see you later,"

As I started to walk off, Riku called, "Nari, do you think you could give me chance?"

"We'll see in the morning," I replied, rowing away in Kairi's boat.

DAY TWO
=At Kairi's House=
11:00am

I normally slept in on weekends, but it was usually only until 9 o'clock. When I woke up, I found a note on my forehead that was from Kairi. It read:

Nari,
Akiko and I headed over to the island already. We left breakfast on the table for you. The boat is still at the dock, so you can head over whenever.
Kairi.

So I trudged into the kitchen, ate the delicious waffles that Akiko made for me, and then headed off to the island. When I got off the boat, I saw the four of them on the beach in a circle. Kairi was lying on her side with her back to the ocean and her hand draped over her hip. Akiko was sitting cross-legged to the left of her. Riku and Sora were sitting opposite of them and were particularly close to each other; close as in knee to knee.

As soon as Riku saw me, he whispered something in Sora's ear. When the whisper finished, Sora giggled and scooted a little closer to Riku. Sora then did one of those head nod things to Kairi, who then whispered in Akiko's ear. Completely confused, I walked over to them.

"Hey," Riku called as he too did one of those head nods. I sat down next to Akiko, stretched out my legs and leaned back on my hands. "Tired?" he asked plainly.

I simply shook my head at him and narrowed my eyebrows.

"So," Kairi began, smiling at Riku, "you and Sora have anything planed for tonight?"

"Might see a movie," Riku replied.

"My parents are heading out for an anniversary thing tonight. How about my house?" Sora asked.

"We'll see,"

Then something weird happened. Riku kissed Sora on the forehead. I blinked, hoping that I was dreaming. I was absolutely positive that yesterday, Sora had a thing for Kairi. I saw it on his face. What was going on?

Sora giggled, blushed, and scooted in closer to the other.

I looked over at Kairi, who was acting like it was natural. So I believed it. I believed it like it was my job. So all the while I was believing it, the five of us had some of those stupid everyday conversations that are eventually going to mean nothing and might create some inside jokes. Once we ran out of things to say, Kairi, Akiko and I walked to the other side of the island, leaving Sora and Riku all alone.

"Oh," Kairi sighed, "Nari, I left my sweater in Riku's boat. Can you run over and get it for me?"

I nodded and ran back through the door. I walked under the wooden walkway that led to the plateau and something else weird happened. The sun was just about to set and Sora and Riku were holding hands and facing each other; both hands. Sora was looking away and smiling. I guessed that Riku was saying something completely flirtatious. Sora looked up and noticed me, so I backed up into the shadows where I wasn't noticed. Sora stood up on his tip toes and whispered in Riku's ear, his chest pressed against the others. He slid back down to standing on flat feet, still pressed against Riku.

Then it happened. They kissed. The two guys who I was positive were just best friends the day before. The two guys who I had earlier believed were gay.

I could tell by the way they were standing; Sora and Riku were most certainly not gay. Kairi didn't bring a sweater and accidentally leave it in Riku's boat. This was all set up; a total act. I pivoted on my heel and headed back over to Akiko and Kairi.

"What were you hoping to accomplish by making me think that Riku and Sora were gay?" I asked as I stood over the other two who were sitting in the waves.

There was silence for a few moments and only the water crashing on the sand was heard.

"It was Riku's idea," Kairi admitted. "He'll tell you."

I walked off without another word. Form behind me I heard Akiko say, "She's always been too smart for me."

On the other side, Sora was gone and Riku was on the beach by himself. I stood next to him, the both of us silent for a few moments. "Kairi said you would tell me why," I stated.

Riku nervously chuckled. "I thought it would make you jealous," he explained.

"I've known you for a day and a half," I shot back without a second in between his sentence and mine.

"I know," he sighed, "but since you don't want to get to know each other, then I'm gonna get to know you in my own way." He smirked. "So now I know that you don't get jealous easily. From last night I learned a lot. I learned that you are amazing at singing, that you don', and that you are that most vulnerable when you're tired."

I shoved him a couple inches away, but he just came back – closer this time – and laughed.

I thought about his reasoning. It was pretty logical. I didn't see why I wouldn't do the same thing if I were him.

"I still think you're annoying," I began, looking over at him, "but I've only known you for a day and a half."

Riku looked over at me excitedly. "Yeah, and?" he asked like he was a little boy.

"I'll give you a chance," I sighed, giving in.

Riku smiled, leaned closer to me, and placed a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

I blushed again, being quick to take a step back and look at my feet. He brushed his hand through my dark hair and walked passed me saying, "Gotta get home for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," I sighed.

I never looked forward to the events of the next day, especially when I knew what was going to happen. I worried that my letting Riku in was only leading him to the death that I saw. Then I thought, if I had chosen to reject him, what would have happened?

DAY THREE
estiny Island=
8:02am

It was time for me to find out what was going to happen. Yes, I was still nervous out of my brains, but I was also excited. Why was I excited? Well, don't ask me, because I sure as hell don't know. Wait, I want to take back all of those words. I can't feel anything. Right, focus Nari.

"Oh, Nari!" I heard Sora call to me as Akiko, Kairi and I stepped off the boat. "Riku said he wanted to talk to you on the plateau."

"Okay, thank you," I responded, hopping off the walkway and jogging towards the shack. I jumped up to grab onto the ledge, then pulled myself up with a flip onto the roof and proceeded to walk over to the plateau.

Sure enough, Riku was there, sitting alone on the tree. I noticed that he was holding a yellow star shaped fruit. "You look comfortable in your loneliness," I commented, sitting down on the tree next to him.

"Oh I do?" he replied, obviously joking.

"Yeah, ow," I said aloud, noting the stabbing pain in my temple.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, leaning towards me.

"Nothing, I just have a headache," I assured him.

"Oh, well it just so happens that this fruit I'm holding helps with those, care to take a bite?" he offered, gesturing towards the odd food. I took the fruit from him, noticing that there was a notch missing from it. Soon afterwards, I discovered that said notch was sticking out of his left pocket.

There was no way that I could have known what this food was, but I wasn't and idiot either. The situation was clearly suspicious, and a voice in my head told me not to eat the strange fruit.

"I don't think you're truthing," I said, smiling at him.

"Truthing?"

"The opposite of lying, and don't ignore my implied question," I scolded.

"Okay, okay, I'm lying, it's called a paopu fruit," he explained, pulling the notch he had from his pocket. "When two people share it, their destinies become intertwined; they'll never be separated."

"You sneaky bitch," I gasped. "That isn't what I meant by, 'I'll give you a chance.'"

"Nari, please hear me out," he called after me as I began to hasten away.

"What could you possibly say in this situation that wouldn't make me any more furious with you then I already am?" I fumed, not even facing him. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on inside of me, because if I didn't have any feelings, then what was wrong with me? "Who do you think you are, anyway? I've known you for not even three days, and you think that you can read me like an open book? Squirm your way into my premonition dreams? Rip apart the heart that I don't even have? Don't you understand?" I spun around to face him. I realized that I was still holding the fruit. "I can't love you, I can't ever. I don't have a heart to love with." I looked down at the star. "This probably wouldn't even work." I tossed it into the water, turned around and walked away.

As soon as I planted myself next to Akiko, she noted the blank look on my face and asked what happened.

"You know, I don't know," I answered, sitting down where I was standing.

Description
The cold rain poured down on my ghostly white skin. Everything around me was blurry and painful. All the events that I had experienced had happened too fast. Honestly, I knew what was about to happen to me, but I was still afraid.

I didn't jump when lighting struck at my side. I didn't cower when thunder boomed. The ground shook beneath my feet and I knew that it was coming. My chest began to ache and my heart was ripped out by the shadow that stood before me. It loomed over me, standing over ten feet tall. "Nari!" My best friend, Akiko, yelled as she stood behind me with tears streaming down her face. "You can't let this happen!" Akiko came rushing to my side and began pulling on my arm. The shadow snatched Akiko's heart as well and began to taunt us with them. I walked towards him; towards the water. I would fine without all of the pressure and emotion consuming my mind, at least this was what I thought.

My whole body trembled as I stumbled towards the water. A gigantic wave was forming over me. "No," I whispered. "No!" I began to cry. There was emptiness inside me, although I couldn't name the feeling I had; or rather, the non-feeling. Before I could stop anything, the two of us were swallowed by the wave.

DAY ONE
6:09pm

We were drifting at sea for what I wished was a few hours when we hit dry land. I woke up and saw a silver haired boy, a brunette haired boy and a red haired girl. The boy with the silver hair was poking me with a stick. It was very uncomfortable. He didn't seem very nice. I rolled over and groaned because I really wanted food and sleep. "So she is alive!" I heard Akiko yell.

I jumped to my feet at the sound of her voice. The boy with the silver hair was looking at me like I had just come back from the dead. "Well, Akiko, it is good to see you but not the random boy with a stick. Who the hell is he?" I asked, flipping my silver bangs out of my eyes.

"My name is Riku," he said as he put a hand on his hip.

"Well, it is not very nice to meet you. And who are you two?"

"I am Sora and this is Kairi," the brunette introduced.

Akiko ran up to me and started tugging on my arm again. "C'mon you have to see this island!"

"Fine," I reluctantly replied.

Akiko lead me all over the island. Form the beach on one side to the palm trees on the other. "I was talking to Riku earlier," she brought up out of nowhere.

"So what?" I replied, annoyed with even his name. I do not appreciate being poked.

"He… kept asking me questions about you," Akiko stopped walking and stared out at the sunset.

"Did you answer all of them?" I asked, now also looking out.

"After a while, I told him that if he really wanted to know, he could ask you when you woke up."

"Great…" I sighed. Akiko always got me wound up in these kinds of social things. Then I looked over at her. She looked so worried. Her eyebrows furrowed upward, but a fake smile still on her lips. "Is something wrong?" I asked as I walked closer to her.

"You mean it doesn't bother you?"

"What doesn't bother me?"

"I want you to think, Nari. Do you remember anything?"

"Re…member…" I looked at the sand. I didn't remember anything. My memory was completely blank except for my name, Akiko's name, our personalities, and how close of friends we are.

"It bothers me, how we don't have any memory of anything."

"Akiko, I know we will get our memories back, don't worry. We just have some amnesia."

That's when it hit me. The real problem Akiko was having. I stood next to her in silence, waiting for her to say something.

"I can't feel anything, Nari." That was it. We had no feelings.

"Me too, kid… me too."

"Hey," I turned around at the sound of a new voice.

Kairi.

"We want to help you two."

"How?" Akiko asked.

"Right now, the three of us are working on building a raft so we can sail out to new worlds," she replied. "I suggested that since you two are probably from a different world, that we bring you with us. If you help us with the raft of course."

"Would you guys really do that for us?" Akiko asked excitedly.

I grabbed her arm and looked at her with that, "who told you that you could make the decisions around here," look. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "If we see other places, then maybe we'll get our memory back faster. We may even find out where we are from."

Kairi smiled and three new faces approached us behind her.

"Hey, you the two fish that washed up on our shore?" a kid with an impossible hairdo and a ball in one hand.

"Well, neither of us are fish…" I mumbled.

"Who are you?" Akiko asked.

"My name's Waka, ya."

"I'm Tidus."

"I'm Selphie. It's nice to meet you!"

I looked over at Akiko after my internal gag fest. She had that, 'I think I'm in love' face on. I looked back over at Selphie. She had the same face. "Sisters!" they squealed simultaneously.

"Gag me with a spoon…" I mumbled. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.

"I can arrange that."

I jumped around and found that Riku was behind me. "Don't do that," I sneered.

He just laughed. I really disliked him now. "How about we go over there and get know one another?" he asked. I can't believe he just asked me that. Didn't he feel my vibe of hatred?

"That sounds-" I began to scowl.

"LIKE A GREAT IDEA!" Akiko shouted, jumping between us and wrapping an arm around each of our shoulders. Oh how her random euphoria brings me down.

"I actually have to head home," Selphie mentioned. Akiko sighed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Akiko asked.

"Definitely!"

"Catch ya' later!" Tidus called as the three ran off.

Ohmigod.

The three of us that were left walked over to the other side of the island where we stood on a plateau that looked like one of those cheap island cakes with the lopsided tree and awkward shaped fruit.

"Sora, they said they would help us!" Kairi cheered as we ran up to Sora who was sitting on the awkward tree.

"Awesome!" Sora replied as Kairi hopped up on the tree next to him. Riku leaned back against the trunk. I hopped up next to Kairi and Akiko plopped down on the ground, sitting cross legged.

"So, Nari," Riku ventured. I didn't look at him even though he was talking to me. I know it was rude, but I didn't like this guy. "Where did you come from?" I looked over at Akiko to signal that I wanted her to answer.

"We don't have any memory of our lives before we arrived here," Akiko answered with her usual joyous tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Riku apologized.

"It's okay; it doesn't seem to bother Nari, even though it bothers me." Akiko looked at me. "Nothing ever seems to bother her. Nari was always just so…carefree." She nervously chuckled. "It makes me jealous. I just wish I could remember why and what jealousy felt like."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Akiko and I can't feel anything," I answered.

Riku looked at me with widened eyes. "Has it always been that way?" he asked after looking back out to the water.

"I don't think so," Akiko replied.

"Well, it isn't a side effect of amnesia," Kairi added in.

I remembered. Right at that second, I remembered what it was; what Akiko and I really were. It was too hard to explain to the three others right now, so I decided I would tell Akiko when we were alone.

"We'll figure it out eventually," Sora assured, smiling. He seemed like the carefree type.

"So, has it always been the six of you?" Akiko asked in direction of Sora.

"No, it used to be just five of us, but then Kairi moved here. She's the mayor's daughter," he replied.

"That must be exciting," Akiko chuckled.

"You have no idea," Kairi laughed.

I'm not quite sure if I was listening or not for the rest of that conversation. All I know was that Riku kept asking me questions and I kept looking at Akiko for her to answer. Eventually she told Riku that I don't talk much, which I don't.

"Where will they stay?" Sora asked Riku.

"They can stay at my house!" Kairi answered as she jumped off the tree. "I have some extra space in my room."

"Sounds good to me," Akiko replied as she stood up.

I hopped of the tree, and with all the luck in the world, I lost my footing and fell right into the arms of Riku. Dislike.

"You should watch your footing," Riku giggled. There was a cloud of sand around us. The other three sprinted off. How dare they.

I shoved him off. "I'm fine by myself," I said coldly.

"Do you remember how old you are?" he called as I started to walk off.

No, I thought, but I should still tell him something. "I'm sixteen," I replied, still walking.

"Ah, no wonder." He started walking too.

I stopped and spun around. "What's that supposed to mean?" He was quickly in my personal space bubble.

"Well, you're taller than me, incredibly slim and…" Now he was WAY too close for my liking. He was also whispering in my ear now as well as holding my black hair close to his lips. "Sexilicious."

I turned as red as the Kool-Aid guy as he brushed past me and walked off, smiling. I was surprised he wasn't evilly cackling as he jumped on his boat and rowed back to his home.

"Nari! C'mon!" Kairi yelled as she and Akiko waved for me to come to them. I zoned back into reality and jumped off of the wooden walkway onto the beach.

=At Kairi's House=
10:27pm

"Hey, Akiko, can I talk to you a moment?" I asked after Kairi went off to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

"Yeah, what's up?" she replied as she sat down on the air mattress next to me.

"I know why we don't feel anything."

"So do I," she replied as she lay down on her stomach. "It's because we're priscus', right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Right after you mentioned it while we were by that tree; it just… came to me."

"It was the same way for me."

Akiko rolled over ad looked at the ceiling. "To even think about the fact that we don't have hearts…"

"We are living without hearts, Akiko. There isn't anything that we can do about it."

"But we can do something! There has to be something in our past that can help us!"

Kairi walked into the room. She was sort of hopping as if she had a song stuck in her head, or maybe she just walked like that. I couldn't tell.

I was staring at the crease in Kairi's skirt. It was folded up for no reason and bothering the hell out of me. I pictured it unfolding and staying that way. It did shortly after. Completely baffled, I got up and walked into the bathroom to pee.

"Nari really doesn't talk too much…" I heard Kairi say.

"Yeah, it's like I'm her voice," Akiko giggled.

"You really can't remember if there is a reason for that?"

"Nope, it's just the way it's always been."

I walked out of the bathroom and looked around. There were clothes strewn about, Akiko now in pajamas and Kairi sitting on her bed writing in what I imagined was a journal or diary.

I yawned and climbed onto my air mattress and before I knew it, I had nodded off through Kairi and Akiko's conversation. All I can remember is Kairi saying, "I always leave my window unlocked if you want to head back over to the island."

11:00pm

"What do you think you're doing?" Akiko yelled as I held a sword that resembled a key in my hand.

There was blood everywhere. It was on me, Akiko, Kairi, Sora, but not on Riku. Akiko and the others were trapped behind vines that were holding them to the wall. Kairi was unconscious.

I looked up to a raised platform where Riku was. He was walking towards this big heart-like shaped opening that had rainbow colors swirling around. "I have to do this…" I cried.

I jumped up to where he was. Everything around us turned pitch black. I was crying. "I'm so sorry…Riku…"

"Just do it," he said. "Don't you want to stop my suffering?"

"Riku… I l-," My vision flashed to the "this channel is not available" screen for a moment—the one that reminds me of snow.

Riku just smiled.

I ran forward, thrusting the sword right through him.

My scream woke me out of sleep.

"NARI, WHATS WRONG!" Akiko screamed as she jumped out of her bed and over to me. I was now sitting up.

Another piece of memory came back to me. I used to have premonition dreams. Now they're back.

"Akiko, I just saw..." I began. I looked over at Kairi's bed; she was still asleep; hm, heavy sleeper. I didn't really want her to wake up to me telling a story of one of her best friends death. "I'll tell you in the morning, okay?" I rolled over, but there was no way I would be able to fall asleep now. So instead, I informed Akiko that I was going back to the island and slipped out the window.

There were many things that I hadn't noticed before about the island and its surroundings. I guess it was because I was so caught up in everything else that I didn't give myself time to really look at all of it.

The sky was a blue so dark that one could hardly tell it was blue at all. There were so many stars that they weren't countable. The moon was really bright too, as well as the stars. The breeze on my back made my spine shiver. I wiggled my toes in the sand and noticed how soft it was.

Inhaling the air, I relaxed and sat down in the sand. It didn't take long after that to become cold. All of me started shivering. Why didn't I bring a coat? The world will never know. Soon, I started wishing for some way to warm up.

Practically instantaneously a jacket was laid over my shoulders. I turned around and saw who had given me the article.

Apparently fate had a sense of humor. The person who gave me the jacket was none other than Riku. Well thanks up there.

"Why are you here all alone?" Riku asked, taking a seat in the sand next to me.

"I couldn't fall asleep," I casually replied, "so I thought that maybe I could sort some things out here. What about you?"

I couldn't believe I was actually making conversation with this nuisance.

"Same as you; couldn't sleep." I noticed he was slowly creeping closer to me. However, I was too tired to care.

There was a long moment where we were silent. Riku and I were shoulder to shoulder. I was so tired, that I found myself resting my head on his shoulder. It was a shame I disliked him so profoundly. The next moment, I gained a piece of my memory back.

"You still don't remember anything?" he inquired.

Gee, what a coincidence.

"Actually," I began, "I just remembered something. Not too long ago, there was a guy who was completely head over heels for me. I only ever thought of us as friends since he was a few years older than me. Eventually, I realized that I cared for him, but I planned too far ahead in time to tell him. The exact reason I can't remember, but I know that he died for me the day before I was going to confess. So I wrote a song, and the lyrics poke out in my mind so strongly."

"Do you want to sing it right now?" Riku asked.

I nodded and started to sing.

The melody and lyrics drifted off my tongue like it was natural. I was surprised at how good I sounded. My past was so sad. Too bad I couldn't feel the sadness of it now.

Riku didn't say anything to comfort me as if he already knew me. I hated it when people tried to make me feel better by emitting sappy sentences.

When I regained myself, Riku plainly said, "You're beautiful, you know that?"

"No, do I look like the egotistical person who stares in a mirror all day long drooling over themself?"

Riku took a moment to think about it. "I guess you do."

That wasn't the answer I was looking for, but I didn't pester him about it.

Since I knew where this conversation was going to end up going, I stood up and decided I should at least try to sleep. I probably had a better chance now anyway.

"I'm going to go back now," I announced. "I'll see you later,"

As I started to walk off, Riku called, "Nari, do you think you could give me chance?"

"We'll see in the morning," I replied, rowing away in Kairi's boat.

DAY TWO
=At Kairi's House=
11:00am

I normally slept in on weekends, but it was usually only until 9 o'clock. When I woke up, I found a note on my forehead that was from Kairi. It read:

Nari,
Akiko and I headed over to the island already. We left breakfast on the table for you. The boat is still at the dock, so you can head over whenever.
Kairi.

So I trudged into the kitchen, ate the delicious waffles that Akiko made for me, and then headed off to the island. When I got off the boat, I saw the four of them on the beach in a circle. Kairi was lying on her side with her back to the ocean and her hand draped over her hip. Akiko was sitting cross-legged to the left of her. Riku and Sora were sitting opposite of them and were particularly close to each other; close as in knee to knee.

As soon as Riku saw me, he whispered something in Sora's ear. When the whisper finished, Sora giggled and scooted a little closer to Riku. Sora then did one of those head nod things to Kairi, who then whispered in Akiko's ear. Completely confused, I walked over to them.

"Hey," Riku called as he too did one of those head nods. I sat down next to Akiko, stretched out my legs and leaned back on my hands. "Tired?" he asked plainly.

I simply shook my head at him and narrowed my eyebrows.

"So," Kairi began, smiling at Riku, "you and Sora have anything planed for tonight?"

"Might see a movie," Riku replied.

"My parents are heading out for an anniversary thing tonight. How about my house?" Sora asked.

"We'll see,"

Then something weird happened. Riku kissed Sora on the forehead. I blinked, hoping that I was dreaming. I was absolutely positive that yesterday, Sora had a thing for Kairi. I saw it on his face. What was going on?

Sora giggled, blushed, and scooted in closer to the other.

I looked over at Kairi, who was acting like it was natural. So I believed it. I believed it like it was my job. So all the while I was believing it, the five of us had some of those stupid everyday conversations that are eventually going to mean nothing and might create some inside jokes. Once we ran out of things to say, Kairi, Akiko and I walked to the other side of the island, leaving Sora and Riku all alone.

"Oh," Kairi sighed, "Nari, I left my sweater in Riku's boat. Can you run over and get it for me?"

I nodded and ran back through the door. I walked under the wooden walkway that led to the plateau and something else weird happened. The sun was just about to set and Sora and Riku were holding hands and facing each other; both hands. Sora was looking away and smiling. I guessed that Riku was saying something completely flirtatious. Sora looked up and noticed me, so I backed up into the shadows where I wasn't noticed. Sora stood up on his tip toes and whispered in Riku's ear, his chest pressed against the others. He slid back down to standing on flat feet, still pressed against Riku.

Then it happened. They kissed. The two guys who I was positive were just best friends the day before. The two guys who I had earlier believed were gay.

I could tell by the way they were standing; Sora and Riku were most certainly not gay. Kairi didn't bring a sweater and accidentally leave it in Riku's boat. This was all set up; a total act. I pivoted on my heel and headed back over to Akiko and Kairi.

"What were you hoping to accomplish by making me think that Riku and Sora were gay?" I asked as I stood over the other two who were sitting in the waves.

There was silence for a few moments and only the water crashing on the sand was heard.

"It was Riku's idea," Kairi admitted. "He'll tell you."

I walked off without another word. Form behind me I heard Akiko say, "She's always been too smart for me."

On the other side, Sora was gone and Riku was on the beach by himself. I stood next to him, the both of us silent for a few moments. "Kairi said you would tell me why," I stated.

Riku nervously chuckled. "I thought it would make you jealous," he explained.

"I've known you for a day and a half," I shot back without a second in between his sentence and mine.

"I know," he sighed, "but since you don't want to get to know each other, then I'm gonna get to know you in my own way." He smirked. "So now I know that you don't get jealous easily. From last night I learned a lot. I learned that you are amazing at singing, that you don', and that you are that most vulnerable when you're tired."

I shoved him a couple inches away, but he just came back – closer this time – and laughed.

I thought about his reasoning. It was pretty logical. I didn't see why I wouldn't do the same thing if I were him.

"I still think you're annoying," I began, looking over at him, "but I've only known you for a day and a half."

Riku looked over at me excitedly. "Yeah, and?" he asked like he was a little boy.

"I'll give you a chance," I sighed, giving in.

Riku smiled, leaned closer to me, and placed a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

I blushed again, being quick to take a step back and look at my feet. He brushed his hand through my dark hair and walked passed me saying, "Gotta get home for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," I sighed.

I never looked forward to the events of the next day, especially when I knew what was going to happen. I worried that my letting Riku in was only leading him to the death that I saw. Then I thought, if I had chosen to reject him, what would have happened?

DAY THREE
estiny Island=
8:02am

It was time for me to find out what was going to happen. Yes, I was still nervous out of my brains, but I was also excited. Why was I excited? Well, don't ask me, because I sure as hell don't know. Wait, I want to take back all of those words. I can't feel anything. Right, focus Nari.

"Oh, Nari!" I heard Sora call to me as Akiko, Kairi and I stepped off the boat. "Riku said he wanted to talk to you on the plateau."

"Okay, thank you," I responded, hopping off the walkway and jogging towards the shack. I jumped up to grab onto the ledge, then pulled myself up with a flip onto the roof and proceeded to walk over to the plateau.

Sure enough, Riku was there, sitting alone on the tree. I noticed that he was holding a yellow star shaped fruit. "You look comfortable in your loneliness," I commented, sitting down on the tree next to him.

"Oh I do?" he replied, obviously joking.

"Yeah, ow," I said aloud, noting the stabbing pain in my temple.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, leaning towards me.

"Nothing, I just have a headache," I assured him.

"Oh, well it just so happens that this fruit I'm holding helps with those, care to take a bite?" he offered, gesturing towards the odd food. I took the fruit from him, noticing that there was a notch missing from it. Soon afterwards, I discovered that said notch was sticking out of his left pocket.

There was no way that I could have known what this food was, but I wasn't and idiot either. The situation was clearly suspicious, and a voice in my head told me not to eat the strange fruit.

"I don't think you're truthing," I said, smiling at him.

"Truthing?"

"The opposite of lying, and don't ignore my implied question," I scolded.

"Okay, okay, I'm lying, it's called a paopu fruit," he explained, pulling the notch he had from his pocket. "When two people share it, their destinies become intertwined; they'll never be separated."

"You sneaky bitch," I gasped. "That isn't what I meant by, 'I'll give you a chance.'"

"Nari, please hear me out," he called after me as I began to hasten away.

"What could you possibly say in this situation that wouldn't make me any more furious with you then I already am?" I fumed, not even facing him. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on inside of me, because if I didn't have any feelings, then what was wrong with me? "Who do you think you are, anyway? I've known you for not even three days, and you think that you can read me like an open book? Squirm your way into my premonition dreams? Rip apart the heart that I don't even have? Don't you understand?" I spun around to face him. I realized that I was still holding the fruit. "I can't love you, I can't ever. I don't have a heart to love with." I looked down at the star. "This probably wouldn't even work." I tossed it into the water, turned around and walked away.

As soon as I planted myself next to Akiko, she noted the blank look on my face and asked what happened.

"You know, I don't know," I answered, sitting down where I was standing.