Birds chirped and whistled in the warm breezes, flying to and fro from the palm trees adorning the island chain appropriately named Destiny Islands. A group of friends, all smiling and giggling over some sort of inside joke, walked under the canopy of trees leading towards the market of the string of islands. Mitsu, Ivanna, Kaitlin, Ecko, and Kita. Some had come from completely opposite worlds to visit Mitsu and Ivanna for a good ol’ fashion girl’s shopping day that Mitsu had planned only days ago.
“Hey,” Mitsu drawled, flicking a piece of her straight brunette hair out of her eyes, “you know how New Year’s is tonight?”
”Of course we know, you bimbo!” Kaitlin exclaimed to her friend, playfully whacking the brunette on the back of her head. Her black and white outfit was blinding most in the bright afternoon sun, and Mitsu had to squint her eyes when she turned to retort.
“I am a bibmo, and PROUD OF IT,” she yelled, and continued, this time walking backwards as she spoke.
“Well, I know Christmas was a week ago…and we didn’t get the chance to exchange presents….soo…”
“So?” Kita asked impatiently, tapping her ballet flat-covered foot.
“So, why don’t we go and buy presents for each other now, for New Years instead of Christmas?”
“I like the idea,” Ecko said quietly, and Mitsu smiled warmly at the silver haired girl, hugging her.
“Anyone else agree?”
“I do like the idea of presents,” Ivanna grinned, and Mitsu waited for one more yes, which came from Kaitlin, who caved under the pressure.
“All right, all right, we’ll go with. Just stop with the dow eyes please? You know how I can’t resist dow eyes.”
Mitsu grinned and punched a delicate fist in the air. “Yes! Last one to get all their shopping done pays for the ice cream later!”
Just as she was going to turn around and walk straight, though, she backed harshly into a tall, muscular man, and the brunette could tell by the gasps of Ivanna and Kita who it was before she had stood up and turned around.
“Oh! Well...hi there Riku,” she blushed, stumbling back towards her friends as he grinned at the bunch.
“Hey girls, I was just finishing Mum’s shopping for the week. Fancy meeting you all here.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, darling,” Ivanna cooed, grabbing his hand and kissing the pale skin gently. He blushed and smiled widely at her.
“Ah, damn, here it goes,” Kaitlin sighed, watching as Kita and Mitsu’s faces turned red with anger.
“Here, let me help you carry the groceries,” Kita offered, brushing her hands along his as she grabbed the bags. Mitsu growled under her breath, and in an effort to show the other two who was really his girl, she walked up to him and laced her hands through his long silver hand and grabbed his large hand. “And I’ll walk you home,” she cooed, kissing his muscular arms.

“Mitsu-1, Ivanna and Kita-0,” Ecko muttered under her breath, and Kaitlin burst out in a fit of laughter next to her.

Kita growled loudly under her breath, and it attracted everyone’s attention from around. She looked menacingly at the brunette, and pushed her….hard, causing Mitsu to let go of Riku’s arm and fall to the ground.
“Oww,” Mitsu groaned in anger, rubbing the back of her head, “what the hell was that for?”
“For touching him! He is MY man!”
Ivanna heard this and pushed Kita herself, throwing her hands hard at the silver-haired girl’s shoulders.
“No…he’s MINE!” She shoved her so hard that Kita lost her footing in a hurry, and tumbled down on top of Mitsu, causing the brunette to hit her head on the dirt path they were standing on, her vision blanking out for a few seconds.
In the matter of a few minutes, the atmosphere around the group had changed from one of joy and lifted spirits to one of loathing, pulling those lifted spirits straight back down. Kaitlin and Ecko watched in awe and shock as the three girls snapped, all at once, and got into the largest catfight to two had ever seen.
“Do you think we should…” Ecko whispered, and Kaitlin just blinked at the scene in front of her.
“Not until someone gets seriously-“ she was interrupted as a high pitched shriek reverberated her ears, coming from the large dust cloud where the three were pulling each other’s hair out.
“That’s your cue,” Ecko retorted, and Kaitlin jumped into the dust, coming out dragging Mitsu and Ivanna by the hair. As the dust settled, it was clear that it was Kita who had screamed, for her arm hung limp at her right side, tears running down her cheeks.
“My arm…my arm!!” she shrieked, touching it to try to relive the pain, but only intensifying the blinding sensation. Mitsu and Ivanna got to their feet and stared teary-eyed at their fallen comrade, Mitsu more than the blond-banged Ivanna because she knew it was her fault that Kita lay injured like this; she had accidentally hooked her arm around Kita’s during the fight and pulled it out.
“I didn’t mean to,” Mitsu cried, tears falling into her mouth as she looked at her doing. Riku, who was the whole reason for the quarrel and had stayed rooted in place the whole fight out of pure shock, managed to move his legs and kneel next to the fallen girl.
“There there, it’s just a dislocated shoulder, here, just relax your arm and-“
SNAP!
Kita’s shrill scream rang throughout town as the silver-haired bishie popped the poor girl’s shoulder back into place. Everyone cringed as they heard the bone pop back into place, and Mitsu, who urgently wanted to help, bounded next to her friend and helped her up. Kita winced and whimpered as Mitsu tried to talk to her and reconcile with her.
“Now,” Kaitlin breathed, rubbing her temples and trying to calm down from all the stress, “what have we learned today?”
“Not to fight?”
“NO! We have learned that in order for you all to get along, you must SHARE the poor boy. Can you agree to do that?”
The three girls looked from each other to Riku, then back, contemplating their options. Sharing…why hadn’t the thought occurred to them before?
“Okay, so long as I get to spend time with him,” Mitsu grinned.
“Ditto,” both Ivanna and Kita agreed, and suddenly the stress was gone, replaced by a calm, spirited aura, and everyone seemed to feel it, because they all, as if synchronized, smiled together, and looked up into the afternoon sun, staring up at the moon, covered by the light of the sun.
“Okay, enough mushiness. Let’s go and buy those presents before ’08 comes and slaps us in the behind!” Mitsu giggled, and each face grinned, following her lead as they split up and bought their gifts and treasures for the night ahead.

.:.:.

“Oh wow, it’s awesome!” Kaitlin glowed as she opened the last present out of everyone’s, looking at the small trinket of her and Leon entwined together in silver gloriness from the light of the fireworks above.
“I told you I make good jewelry,” Mitsu commented smugly as she watched Kaitlin’s smiling face, glad that she made her friend happy. Everyone else had already passed out and gotten their presents, and she, Ivanna, Kaitlin, Kita, Ecko, Sora, Riku, and Kairi lay on a long pale blue blanket, watching the exploding fireworks from atop a small hill on the main island. Other islanders sat near them, but they were, in fact, the largest group out of all.
“Hey, they’re starting the countdown,” Kairi commented from the far end of the cloth, and Mitsu sat up in a rush, grabbing the picnic basket next to her and trying her best to pour the sparkling grape juice into cute little wine glasses and pass them down the line before the countdown finished, and she barely succeeded as the final number was broadcasted, at which everyone cheered and clinked their glasses together, sloshing the liquid inside.
“Happy New Year everyone!” Mitsu shouted, and everyone else shouted the same.

“Yes, Happy New Year, my friends…Happy New Year.”