Sora was having a completely normal morning, really. He was out on the island with Riku, challenging him to play-fights and swimming competitions (and sneaky kisses) on the beach as they waited for Kairi to arrive. While getting his ass handed to him by Riku, again, Sora suddenly stopped short and the other boy looked at his friend's (lover's) face questioningly, immediately noticing the change.
"Sora what's wrong?" he asked, but the younger boy didn't appear to be hearing him.
"Sora! Sora, he is back! We have to find him!"
"Who the heck are you?" asked Sora with a very confused expression.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Riku, getting more and more worried by the second.
"Sora, it's Axel, we have to find him!"
"Axel? You mean Organization XIII? And who are you? Why can't Riku hear you?"
"Hear who? Sora, are you all right?" demanded Riku a bit panicky. The fight for the Kingdom Hearts had ended less than a month ago and the last thing the silver haired boy wanted was for Sora to start hearing voices which would undoubtedly lead to another big adventure. And while Riku didn't have anything against adventures as long as he could go on them with his friends, he thought they all deserved some peace and quiet after the whole ordeal.
"I'm Roxas. And yes, I think Axel is back. Not so sure about the rest of the Organization, I weren't on exactly friendly terms with them."
"Roxas?" breathed Sora softly, the name of the boy who had given everything for him, but whom he had never had the chance to properly meet, rolling easily over his tongue.
"Roxas? You are hearing Roxas in your head?" was Riku very confused, though he was kinda glad that it was actually a real person, not Sora going crazy.
"Yes," answered Sora quietly. He could feel a familiar sense of anticipation rushing through his veins, as if in wait of a battle. He could also feel a not so familiar feeling of longing that he was pretty sure belonged to Roxas. Then he ripped himself out of his thoughts and asked, "Whay talk to me now? You have been quiet for all this time."
"It's Axel," whispered Roxas back, "he was my best friend and then he died. For you. For us." After a little pause he added, "For me."
"What is he saying?" asked Riku with weary recognition that it probably was going to be adventure time for them again. At least this time he and Kairi got to go with Sora instead of trying to help him from the sidelines.
"He is saying that Axel from Organization XIII is back and he wants us to go find him because he was Roxas' best friend," explained Sora.
"Friend?" scoffed Riku. "They are nobodies and they don't have feelings. They can't have friends."
"Your lover is just sore because I kicked his ass," smirked Roxas.
Sora, as sunny as he was, chose to ignore that little comment and asked, "He is right though, isn't he? Why do you wanna go find him so much?"
"Because he made me feel like I had a heart too," answered Roxas quietly and with a soft sigh curled back into the corner of Sora's mind, where he had stayed this long without the other boy even noticing him.
"Riku, we have to get Kairi and then we have to get a gummy ship. We need to talk to King Mickey about this," said Sora seriously and Riku sighed too, though the corners of his lips turned up into a small smile at his friend's predictability. There goes the peace. Oh well.
"Race you to the mainland! I bet you I could find us a gummy ship much quicker than you could!" yelled Riku over his shoulders he took off.
"Hey!"