Something I've been kicking around since playing Birth By Sleep. Seemed like an interesting divergence story, though I haven't worked out full ramifications yet. And it could just as easily become a long-term fluff piece, I guess. Got some ideas for Ven's backstory I'd like to incorporate either way. ...Assuming anyone's interested in reading a full version of this. Anyway, enjoy!

"Jiou, over here!"

A man with short, dusty grey hair looked up from securing the last of the boats to the dock, green eyes catching sight of Relm waving near the bridge. He finished the knot quickly and ran over, hearing the urgency in the young girl's voice. There, sprawled on the sand, was a boy with dark blonde hair, half-wrapped in a white sheet. He couldn't have been older than ten or eleven.

"Is he dead?" Relm asked, self-consciously tugging on the pale hair that poked out from under her floral-print headscarf. She stayed a few steps back, blue eyes wide as she leaned to peer around Jiou at the boy.

Jiou rolled the boy onto his back, relieved to find he was breathing and had a pulse, though weakly on both counts. "No, he's not," the man answered. He pulled off the wet sheet – no way that was doing him any good – and gently shook the boy's shoulder. There weren't any obvious wounds, but his clothes were soaked as well. Had a ship wrecked somewhere? There hadn't been any storms nearby for a while...

The boy stirred, brows furrowing before his eyes opened halfway, and he turned his head to look at Jiou. He started to push himself up, but the older man's hand on his shoulder kept him down.

"Take it easy," Jiou said, holding back a frown at how weak the boy's movements were. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Dazed blue eyes blinked slowly at him, then drifted to the side, staring straight up at the sky.

"Hey, stay with me here," Jiou said, and the boy turned to face him again. "What's your name?"

The boy's eyes squeezed shut with a wince, lifting a hand to press it against the side of his head. He opened his mouth and shut it, as though trying to speak but unable to form the words.

"Okay, okay," Jiou said, squeezing the boy's shoulder to get his attention. "Easy. Don't worry about it. We'll get you somewhere you can rest, okay?"

The boy apparently didn't hear him, eyes squeezing tighter as his hand balled into a fist in his hair. Jiou kept talking, telling him to relax, and eventually the boy did, eyes opening again to stare blankly at him.

"Relm," Jiou said, looking at the girl. "I'm going to take him to the main island so the doctor can have a look at him. I need you to let the other kids know, and help keep an eye on the younger ones. Can you do that for me?"

Under normal circumstances, Relm would have refused, said something a ten-year-old girl had no business saying, and run off. Now, however, she looked at the boy again and nodded. "I'll make Arc help."

"Good girl." He spared a moment to pat her on the head, then helped the boy to his feet. The boy wavered but stayed upright, surprising Jiou, but the man kept a steadying hand on the boy's shoulder as they walked to the docks, leaving the wet sheet forgotten on the sand. The boy practically collapsed into the boat, though Jiou couldn't tell if he was worn out from even that small trek or too disoriented. Either way, the man was quick to wrap a towel around him and dry him off a little before untying the boat to start back to the main island. He caught sight of Relm still on the beach and waved to let her know it was alright. She waved back before dashing across the sand to find Arc.

"Still with me?" Jiou asked the boy as they set out. The boy blinked again before looking over the side of the boat, staring at the water. "Okay, then. Try and stay awake if you can, at least until we get to the doctor." The boy didn't respond, but didn't drift off, either. He decided that was a good sign.

It was quiet when they reached the main island, and Jiou was relieved it wasn't far to the clinic. The boy's complete lack of response outside of dully following the man's leading hand was worrisome, and the way he was just staring without really looking at anything...

"Doctor Sweet?" Jiou called when he entered the small building.

"Right here," a large, dark-skinned man with a shaved head answered, coming through the door at the back. "Just finished checking on Kana." He caught sight of the boy following Jiou. "Who's this?"

"Not sure," Jiou said. "Won't say a word. Relm found him washed up on the kids' island."

"That so?" Sweet leaned down to look at the boy, a friendly smile on his face even as his eyes gave the boy a quick once-over, checking for injuries much as Jiou had done. "Well, why don't you follow me on back, and I'll see what's what. You can just nod or shake your head, I'll do plenty of talking for all of us." He took the boy's hand, leading him past the first closed door in the back to the second room.

"How is Kana doing?" Jiou asked as he passed the door, following them.

"She's just fine, her and the baby both," Sweet said, running the towel through the boy's hair. "Let's get those wet clothes off so you can warm up, huh? Should be a robe in the cupboard, grab it for me, will ya?" Jiou complied, and once the boy was changed, Sweet helped him settle on the cot that also served as an examination table, swapping the towel for the blanket Jiou had taken down along with the robe.

"Here, kiddo, follow my finger, alright?" Sweet held a hand in front of the boy's face, moving it from side to side, and the boy's eyes slowly followed it after a few seconds. Sweet, as was often his habit, continued to chatter away, switching back and forth between talking to Jiou and the boy. "Had a bit of a scare, baby coming early like that, but I guess he decided he was ready. Good job, I'm gonna take your pulse now, okay?" And, holding the boy's wrist while he glanced at his watch, Sweet went on with a wry smile. "Easy birth, all things considered. Short labor, no complications, kid started screaming his head off good and proper after a minute. I'd almost say it was harder on Azul."

Jiou grinned, easily able to picture the other man's panic. He himself had been a wreck when Luna had Riku. "That's good to hear."

"Yep," Sweet agreed. "Gonna keep an eye on 'em both for a while, but I get the feeling they're going to be just fine." The doctor continued his examination of the boy, speaking in a calm, friendly voice as he explained what he was doing and why. The boy didn't resist anything and complied with Sweet's requests after a few seconds, but still didn't speak or otherwise offer anything in the way of answers when asked.

"Okay, kiddo. I'm gonna let you take a break for a while, see if I can't whip up something for you to eat." Sweet pat the boy's shoulder, who just stared at him with those still-dazed eyes. "You just rest right here. I'll be back in no time." And with that, the doctor headed out of the room, gesturing for Jiou to follow.

They went to the small kitchen tucked further back, Sweet turning on the stove to heat up the soup he always had on-hand for patients. "Well, looks like the kid's got a pretty bad case of shock and might be a little concussed, but I can't find anything else wrong. Little rest should help him snap outta the daze. Then we might be able to get some answers."

"That's a relief," Jiou said, nodding. "Hopefully we can get him back home soon."

Sweet, rummaging through the cabinets, gave Jiou a look. "Might not be that easy. Kids that young don't usually travel alone. If he washed up from a shipwreck, chances are there's no one to take him."

"But that's odd, isn't it?" Jiou said, thinking. "There haven't been any storms recently, at least around here. And he'd be in worse shape if he'd been drifting for a while."

Sweet frowned. "That's true. He's got a little chill, but nothing like you'd expect from being on the water for days."

Jiou crossed his arms. "Guess we'll have to ask around some of the other islands. Jecht and I should be heading out again soon..."

Before Sweet could respond, they were both distracted by a cry. "Sounds like somebody's awake," Sweet said, grinning. "'Scuse me for a minute." He switched off the stove before heading out, and after a moment, Jiou followed. He still needed to congratulate his friends.

He walked in to find Azul carefully handing a tiny, wailing bundle to Kana, propped up against several pillows in the room's bed. Brown hair pulled into a low ponytail, soft spikes lank around her face, the new mother looked worn but smiled warmly as she took her child in her arms, cooing softly. Grey eyes glanced up at him as he entered, giving him a smile before turning back to the quieting baby.

"Jiou!" Azul greeted him with a wide smile, though he, too, looked exhausted, dark circles standing out sharply under blue eyes. Sandy hair was disheveled from the restless night, but the clap on Jiou's shoulder told him his friend wasn't quite as bad off as he looked. "I didn't think you'd make it here until later. Didn't the boys break a walkway over there?"

Jiou winced, remembering why he'd been on the other island in the first place. "Something came up. It'll have to wait." He smiled as he looked over to Kana, nodding to whatever Sweet was saying as the doctor stood beside the bed. "I decided to take the chance to say congratulations. Have you two decided on a name yet?"

Azul's eyes lit up. "As a matter of fact –" He paused, looking past Jiou with a confused expression. "Well, hello."

Jiou turned to look and found the boy standing in the open doorway, looking around the room with unfocused eyes. The blanket hung off one shoulder to trail behind him, clearly forgotten. Jiou met him at the door, fixing the blanket and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, easy. You're supposed to be resting, remember?" He glanced back at Sweet. "I'll take him back to the other room."

"It's fine," Kana said, cutting off Sweet. She waved Jiou and the boy forward with a smile. "He's probably just curious. Right?"

Sweet shrugged, and Jiou led the boy over, Azul standing on the other side of the bed. "Hello there," Kana said, smiling warmly at the boy. "What's your name?"

The boy's eyes were low, still blank. He just stared, and Jiou was about to tell Kana and Azul about how he'd been found when a soft voice stopped him. "Ven..." The boy blinked, and Jiou could swear more color came into his face. "My name... is Ventus."

Jiou and Sweet looked at each other over the boy's head, surprised, but Kana didn't seem to notice, smiling wider. "Nice to meet you, Ventus. I'm Kana." She lifted her baby a little higher. "This is Sora."

"Sora," Ventus repeated, looking towards the baby – looking at the baby, Jiou realized with a start, the boy's eyes actually focusing. Sora stirred, opening bright blue eyes as he turned towards Ventus. With a little noise somewhere between a gurgle and a sigh, a tiny hand found its way out of the blanket, stretching towards the older boy. Ventus automatically held out his own hand, and Sora's fingers wrapped tightly around one of his. "You're Sora," he said, voice still soft but starting to lose that flat, dazed quality.

Kana laughed. "Looks like someone's made a friend."

"Is this... okay?" Ventus asked, eyes not leaving Sora.

"Of course it is," Kana said, once more before anyone else had a chance. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Sweet shrugged again, glancing towards Azul. The man smiled ruefully, squeezing his wife's shoulder. "I'm sure it's fine, dear."

The boy nodded. "Thank you," he said, the amount of gratitude in his voice catching Jiou off-guard. Sora let go of the boy's finger, turning to snuggle against his mother with another little sigh. Ventus looked up at Jiou, eyes fully open for the first time. "You, too. I... Thank you." He winced and rubbed the side of his head. "I'm... tired..."

"Not surprising," Jiou said, giving the boy a reassuring smile. He glanced at Sweet, who nodded. "Let's get you back to the other room so you can sleep, okay?" Ventus nodded and started following the man out.

"See you later, Ventus!" Kana called after them.

Ventus paused to look back. He nodded, a smile forming on his face.

Worlds away, another boy woke. Face concealed by a mask, it was impossible to read his expression as he held a hand to his chest. "A dream?" he wondered quietly.

"Come, Vanitas," his master said. "It is time we began your training."

At those words, the boy stood and dismissed his thoughts. Whether his other half had somehow survived didn't matter. Only his master's wishes did, and they didn't need that broken thing anymore. "Yes, Master."

So, fun with names: Kana is written 愛, or with the character for love. Jiou is written 地王, or with the characters for earth and king. Because symbolism? And no, Sora's father has nothing to do with the Azul from Dirge of Cerberus, though that would be an awesome crack-fic.

Speaking of people from other games, we've got several cameos here! Relm is from Final Fantasy VI, Arc from III, and Jecht is from X. Doctor Sweet is from Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire. My familiarity with most of these characters is next to nothing, hence them being pretty much just name-drops. I'd do more research for a full-length story, if people want to read one. I feel this is okay as a stand-alone piece, but there are a few scenes with Vanitas I'd really like to write. Which means the full one would likely be serious and tie back in with the rest of BBS. It's going take me a while to get written regardless, as I've got ideas but no real plan.

Hope you've enjoyed!