A Paopu Fruit (パオプの実 Paopu No Mi?) is a star-shaped fruit native to Destiny Islands. It resembles the star fruit. According to legend, "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." This gives the fruit great symbolic meaning. Although this fruit has great meaning, it remains unknown whether anyone has shared one in the Kingdom Hearts series that is until Kingdom Hearts III between Sora and Kairi.
Appearances[]
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[]
Aqua mentions the fruit when handing Wayfinders, similar to Kairi's, to Terra and Ventus. She explains the symbolic bond the fruit has, and how it applies to their good luck charms. Experiment 626 also shows Ventus a paopu fruit-like object that he made from space parts in Deep Space, which was inspired by seeing Terra's Wayfinder when he visited the world.
After saving the Lost Boys from a swarm of Unversed in Skull Rock, Terra comes to Destiny Islands following a bright light. Upon seeing the beach, he looks down to see a paopu fruit has washed up on shore and notices the tree it fell from. He walks up to the tree and investigates it, remembering Aqua's words about the power the fruit has before meeting Riku, whom he gives the power to one day wield a Keyblade of his own.
When Aqua arrives on Destiny Islands, also following a light, she finds the paopu tree and excitedly goes to see it. She then meets Sora and Riku while walking back along the bridge, almost deciding to bequeath the power of the Keyblade to Sora, but decides against it as she senses that Riku had already been given the power by Terra.
Kingdom Hearts[]
In an early scene in Kingdom Hearts, Riku explains the fruit to Sora while on the bridge on Destiny Islands. Riku tosses him one and tells him a legend that says that if two people share the same paopu fruit, they will remain a part of each other's lives forever. Sora gets flustered and throws the paopu fruit in the water before proceeding to run after Riku. Later on, while racing for the right to name the raft they have built, Riku raises the stakes. He says that the winner should get to share a paopu fruit with Kairi (though if asked about it after the race, he will state he was merely joking). This intensifies the rivalry between the two, both to prove who is stronger and to gain Kairi's attention. Selphie thinks the legend is very romantic and wishes to try it sometime.
Later, in the Secret Cave, Sora draws a picture of himself giving Kairi the fruit. This same drawing touches Kairi in the end credits of Kingdom Hearts, causing her to cry while she draws another picture of herself giving the fruit to Sora.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories[]
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the fake good luck charm Naminé gave to Sora in Castle Oblivion also resembles a paopu fruit. This good luck charm returns to its true form when Sora begins to remember Kairi.
Kingdom Hearts II[]
In Kingdom Hearts II, the paopu fruit is the Keychain on Destiny's Embrace. During the end credits, Sora discovers that Kairi had added onto the picture that he drew in the first game; the picture now depicts Sora and Kairi exchanging a paopu fruit, in a sequence which closely resembles Kairi's discovery of their picture in the ending of Kingdom Hearts.
Gallery[]
_KH.png "Riku 2 (Art) KH.png (31 KB)")
_KH.png "Paopu Fruit (Art) KH.png (19 KB)")