"There you are!"

Sora's first greeting back to Yen Sid's tower was a smack in his face. He rubbed the sore spot, laughing weakly, "I missed you, too, Kairi."

Kairi folded her arms and looked away with a pout, "You said it would be three stinkin' days and a week later I learn you were reckless enough to almost die!" She stuck her tongue out at him, but it was clear her eyes were teary, "You're such an idiot. You scared me to death."

Sora's uneased laughter faltered into an awkward pause. He looked at Riku, who mimed that Kairi did the same to him. That made Sora smile again. He then rubbed the back of his head, apologizing, "Sorry, Kairi, I really am."

Kairi hugged him, "You don't know how to stay out of trouble, do you?"

Sora gave her a pat or two in return, "Well, comes with the job." He looked up at Riku, "Which I think you'll be joining soon."

Riku nodded while Kairi bounced back with a smile and a Keyblade, "Yep! Riku's been teaching me all sorts of things!" She swung the flowery rod with smug confidence written in her grin, "Soon I can keep your stupid butt outta trouble!"

Sora watched her swinging around at unseen monsters with amusement. She looked so much like him only a matter of years ago... "She's been doing really good," Riku told Sora, "I think if we wound the clock back she'd be able to help you deal with me."

Sora elbowed him, "Hey now, we just got you out of all that moping!"

Riku shrugged, "It's true, I was a punk then." He began walking inside, "Hey Kai, let's see what Donald or Yen Sid can teach you."

Kairi leaned on her Keyblade like a rich man with a cane. Except maybe a little more sassily, "What can they teach me?"

Riku smiled, then held out his hand and let a Firaga spell dance along his fingers, Thunder crackled along his knuckles, and Blizzards froze his fingertips, "Magic."

Kairi's face lit up to rival the radiance in her heart, and she ran after Riku, "Really?! Really I can finally learn magic now?!" Sora grinned as Kairi excitedly jumped up and down on RIku's arm, babbling away as they walked inside. He followed after; it'd be nice to see this, since Donald was so impatient with him when he learned magic. Two hotheads butting against each other would be quite humorous-

Sora stopped. He felt himself become just as confused and lost as he had been merely days ago when he was steeped in dreams. Confidence that he had to painstakingly recover in a second visit to the Realm of Sleep fractured with uncertainty and fear.

That couldn't be Roxas, could it?

His eyes squinted and his ears tuned out Kairi and Riku. No, the clothes were different. Hair was softer and more saturated. What the heck was on his shoulder anyways? And his stance was weird, too; straight to a degree as if he'd stood tall for years but was now tiredly slumping.

Sora jumped a little when the not-Roxas boy turned to him; his eyes had a dull slump, too, but the gaze looked somewhere between dead and asleep. Sora almost summoned his Keyblade out of sheer alarm. But then the boy smiled, and Sora felt himself recover from the heart attack. Friendly, okay. Creepy, but friendly.

Now that Sora was really paying attention, something seemed wispy and smoke like about the boy. As if he was a ghost and not quite there. Sora recalled Roxas having delusions, but then quickly reminded himself that 1) that was in a computer program and this was the real world, and, 2) he wasn't the same as Roxas. He wanted to take a step but he wondered if the illusion would break if he did.

The boy said something; or at least Sora figured he did with his mouth moving listlessly with nothing. Not even a whisper. Sora tried to say something back, but his words stuck to his throat like taffy.

"Sora?"

Sora turned to Kairi and Riku, who hung in the doorway with worried etches. Kairi tilted her head, "You okay?"

Sora waved his hand, "Nice sunset, that's all. Indulging Roxas." He turned back to the boy, "I-I'll catch up later."

The boy was still staring at him. Those eyes seemed to look at every inch of Sora, but still moved on beyond it to Riku and Kairi's vanishing figures. Sora didn't know one look could hold so much emotion. Regret, acceptance, nostalgia, wistful longing; maybe even a small hint of jealousy was lost in the somber tones.

The boy repeated whatever he had noted as he turned back to gazing back at the sunset with a nameless and sentimental yearning. Sora watched him vanish into curls of smoke on the wind as the neutral smile faded into a tearful frown and then nothing.

Sora followed after his friends. He tried not to be perturbed by the vision. When he caught the words of the boy, he kept marching up the stairs.

He was merely a vanishing point.

"Release me."

Hello Ventus and Sora centric story number nine million and one