Your Voice
Sora had never been big on hospitals. They were cold and sterile and brought back memories of when his grandfather was sick. All those days spent in waiting rooms and sitting by hospital beds and hoping for the best while bracing himself for the worst. And it wasn't like old people were the only ones who dealt with this kind of thing. Even kids could get really sick.
Even so, he didn't expect a serious illness to hit Kairi of all people. She was healthy and active, spending hours at the Play Island with him and Riku. All until she'd come down with a fever so bad she had to be hospitalized.
"You can go in now," the nurse said, a kind woman who smiled and cheered him up a little. He nodded and pushed the door open. Kairi was lying there on the hospital bed, and her cheeks were flushed from the fever. Machines next to her beeped ominously, and an IV connected her to one of them.
"Hey," he said as he found one of those squeaky hospital chairs and dragged it over. "Long time no see."
Kairi didn't say anything; the only response was the steady beeping of the machines.
"We've missed you, at school and stuff. Mr. Kobayashi doesn't know what to do without his star student in homeroom. He keeps looking over at your desk before he remembers you're not there. We… we all do."
He reached into his book bag and pulled out one of her favorites: a book of fairytales. Flipping through the pages, he began to read one to her, about a knight who went on a long quest to rescue a princess. In order to save her, he had to give up his heart and become a shade. But the princess found him and saved him with true love's kiss. He became human again, and they got married and lived happily ever after.
It was a simple tale, but one they'd both loved since they were kids. He carefully tucked it back into his book bag and then pulled out something the art club had made for her, a Get Well Soon card with thalassa shells drawn on it. He read out the names of all the people who had signed it, then put it on the windowsill looking out over the parking lot below.
And now, the real reason he had come. Taking a deep breath, he found her hand. It was warm and kinda limp. This wasn't the first time he'd held it, but… all the other times were before. Before his heart started racing whenever she walked in the room. Before just meeting her eyes made his face hot and his palms sweaty. Before his mouth went dry any time he tried to talk to her. Before things had changed between them.
"Kairi, you know that saying? About how you never know what you have until it's gone? When you got sick, that was me. I'd always just… sort of taken it for granted that you'd always be there. But all this has made me realize, that's not really true. I have no idea how long you'll be a part of my life. And thinking about that, thinking about losing you someday… it hurt. A lot."
He took another deep breath before continuing.
"Then I thought about why. You're my friend, of course, but that's not all. I think I might…"
His face got hot, and he couldn't spit the words out. Even though she wasn't really conscious, the thought of telling her what was on his heart made him want to bolt out of the room.
Maybe, if he said it in a roundabout way…
He thought of the story he'd read to her, and the words came easily. "You're my light in the darkness, Kairi." He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I know you'll get better, but I didn't want to wait to tell you any longer."
He glanced back towards the door, and the nurse nodded at him. Visiting hours were over.
"Bye for now, Kairi. I hope you feel better soon." He let her hand linger in his for a little while longer. When her fingers slipped out of his grasp, he had to fight the sinking feeling in his gut.
This wouldn't be the last time he would see her. It just wouldn't be. Kairi was strong, and she'd pull through.
Kairi's fever came on suddenly, and the days her body spent fighting the infection went by in a delirious haze. Old memories mixed with new sensations to provide strange, vivid images that were half nightmare and half daydream.
But then came a moment of clarity, gentle pressure on her fingers and a warm, familiar voice. She was floating one moment, sinking the next, awash in a sea of confusion and fear, when that voice broke through her dreams and found her.
"Sora?" she murmured. Her eyes fluttered open, and his smile greeted her. Warm and gentle and bright as the sun. She followed his voice, followed the warmth in her hand as he led her away from the darkness and confusion and towards the light.
When she woke up for real, the fever had finally broken, and she was lying on a hospital bed. A few moments later, a nurse bounced into the room to check up on her, a huge smile on her face. Kairi had to stay at the hospital for a few more days as she recovered her strength, but that moment she'd heard Sora's voice was the turning point, she was sure of it.
Her first day back at school, it felt like the whole school was celebrating her return. The third year students had made a huge banner saying, "Welcome Back, Kairi" in big bold letters, and it was hanging over the balcony on their floor. She caught Riku grinning down at her, and she smiled back and waved at him.
When she reached the shoeboxes, hers was full of cards and presents, and there were so many that she couldn't reach her indoor shoes until she pulled the gifts out and tucked them into her bag. Her cubby at the back of the classroom was a similar story; it was so full of gifts from her classmates that she knew it would take hours to look through them all.
Mr. Kobayashi's face brightened as she took her seat. "Kairi! Glad to have you back." She thanked him for his kind words and reached into her desk for a pencil and a scrap of paper. Scribbling a quick note on it, she casually stood and made her way over towards Sora's desk. When Mr. Kobayashi was distracted by Selphie asking him about what area she was supposed to clean today, she deposited the note inside Sora's desk.
Selphie turned to her and winked once her mission was accomplished, and Kairi gave her a grateful smile. The rest of their classmates filtered in after that, all stopping by her desk to congratulate her on her recovery. Sora was the last one to come in, as was his habit. He had figured out how to arrive with exactly one minute to spare before the bell rang, and today was no different. He strolled in like he didn't have a care in the world, in that easy, confident swagger she'd come to love.
All until he saw her, that is. He stopped, and gone was the swagger. His cheeks flushed, and his whole face lit up like it was Christmas morning.
"Kairi! You're back!"
She returned his smile. "Yes, I am."
His grin got bigger, and he stood there and gazed at her. "Wow, that's… that's great."
She felt her own cheeks get hot. "Y-Yeah."
The moment was interrupted by Tidus scolding him and telling him to sit down before the bell rang so they wouldn't break their twenty-days-of-no-tardies streak.
He stumbled on the way to his desk and sat down with five seconds to spare. Mr. Kobayashi gave him a look, and he started. "Oh, right. I'm supposed to do the morning greeting today." He deposited his stuff and went to the front of the room. "Stand up."
Kairi kept casting looks his way all throughout the morning, hoping he would find her note. It wasn't till third period that he finally did, when he realized he'd left his math homework in his desk. He stole a glance at her, then nodded slightly to confirm before crumpling the note and stuffing it in his pocket. Tidus noticed what had happened and snickered, but thankfully didn't rat them out.
During the lunch recess, Sora met her on the roof of the school, like she'd requested. He'd loosened his tie in a way that would get Mr. Kobayashi's scolding for sure for violating the school dress code. But it was warm outside and no teachers were around right now, and Kairi sort of liked the more relaxed look on him.
"So, you wanted to meet me up here?" he asked. The view was great; you could see all of the Main Island from here, and even some of the nearby smaller islands. The breeze ruffled his spiky hair and cooled them both down, and it felt nice to be back outside after spending so much time indoors.
"Yes, I did," she said. Now that he was actually here, though, her palms were sweaty and her mouth was dry. But… she had to do it. She had to tell him.
"Sora, when I was sick, I had a lot of strange dreams. Because of the fever, I mean."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yup. Come to think of it, they were more like nightmares."
His face fell. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."
"But then… I heard a voice. Your voice. It brought me home." She smiled and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "You came to visit me when I was in the hospital, didn't you?"
He coughed and stammered. "You weren't supposed to find out about that," he muttered, unable to meet her eyes as he scratched his neck. "Do you… do you remember anything I said?"
She shook her head. "No, not really. I just remember hearing your voice, and I think that's what helped break my fever."
She found his hand, remembering the time when his fingers weren't this much bigger than hers. He looked at her, surprise written on his features, and she smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Sora. Thank you for bringing me home."
He stared at her for a few moments, then a huge smile spread across his face. He wove their fingers together, his grip strong and steady and firm. "No, thank you, Kairi."
She tilted her head, her hair splashing against her cheeks. "For what?"
"For being you."
The way he spoke was so heartfelt that she couldn't help but look away as she blushed and giggled. When she summoned the courage to look in his eyes again, she almost had to look away again, her heart was fluttering so much.
How glad she was that it had been him to pull her out of the darkness, his voice that had called out to her. Her illness hadn't been fun or pleasant, but at least one good thing had come from it.
And for now, it was simply enough that they were here, together. They could figure out the rest of the details later, one day at a time.
A/N: So, back when I was finishing my fic for the twosidesfanzine back in February, I told the other writers that if they could hit 1500 words exactly, I would write a fic for them. Well, several people took me up on my offer, including Raye of the Sunshine, so this fic is written for her! She gave me a prompt about Sora visiting Kairi in the hospital, including her being able to hear his voice. Hope you enjoyed!