Sand scraped against wood; Sora pulled off his shoes and jumped barefoot into the water to pull the boat ashore. He moored his little rowboat to the dock, his hands performing the familiar actions without him thinking about it even after being gone nearly two years. He grabbed his shoes, thought for a moment, and then tossed them back into the bottom of the boat. Shielding his eyes against the rising sun, Sora grinned at the sensation of wet sand between his toes. God, how he'd missed that feeling!
For several minutes, Sora entertained himself by chasing the ebbing tide up and down the beach. Soon the water had receded so much that Sora's rowboat was completely beached. He didn't mind; it gave him an excuse for why he wouldn't be home for breakfast. "I just wanted to be alone for a while" didn't cut it with his parents anymore - not after they'd nearly lost him once already.
The sun emerged completely from the horizon and began its climb through the bloody sky. Struck with a sudden idea, Sora clambered nimbly up the low bluffs lining the beach and crossed the little wooden bridge leading to Riku's island. The small thrust of land was in just the right place to see both the sunrise and sunset during some parts of the year, and the view was always spectacular. Sora made a beeline for the twisted paopu tree he always perched on and suddenly skidded to a halt, startled.
Riku glanced over from where he was leaning against the paopu trunk and smiled briefly. "You're up early," he said by way of greeting.
"I could say the same thing about you," Sora replied, clasping his hands behind his head.
Snorting, Riku crossed his arms over his chest. "I always get up this early. You'd sleep in until noon if anyone let you."
It could have been a scene from two years ago, except now they were older and taller - and except for the stout wooden cane leaning discreetly next to Riku. It was just below waist height and made of polished wood so dark it was nearly black. Riku was almost never seen without it these days.
Sora tried to avoid looking at the cane, but his gaze was drawn to it as though it were a magnet. Memories sprang once again, unbidden, to Sora's mind at the sight. The battle with Xemnas in the swirling gray void... A small shiver ran up Sora's spine as he remembered being trapped, paralyzed and defenseless, as Xemnas slowly drained his life away until Riku finally broke through the Nobody's guard and saved him.
And then later... exhausted from battle, Sora had been unable to dodge Xemnas's attack. To save his friend, Riku had desperately pushed Sora out of the way, using his own body as a shield. The sight of Riku's face twisted in pain as Xemnas's energy sword slammed into his back, the horrifying sound of bones fracturing... they replayed in Sora's mind a thousand times over.
He doubted he'd ever forget.
"I didn't see your boat as I came in," Sora said, trying to get his mind off the battle. "Didja swim or something?"
Riku, his back turned to Sora, gestured over his shoulder with one hand. "It's on the other side of the island. I felt like walking." Translation: I wanted to try walking without anyone watching me.
"Yeah? How's that going for you?" Sora had meant it as a harmless joke, but regretted saying it as soon as it left his mouth. Mentally, he hit himself. When would he learn to think before he spoke?
For a long time Riku was very still and didn't answer. Sora felt a pit of dread and guilt growing in his stomach and he fidgeted uncomfortably. Finally, Riku answered softly, "It's been better." His hand unconsciously strayed to his left leg and the cane that rested beside it.
Sora winced as if he'd been slapped. "I'm sorry," he blurted, his eyes on the ground.
"You're sorry?" Riku half-turned to face Sora and fixed him with a severe glare. "What the hell are you sorry about?"
"I - "
Riku stood and limped towards Sora, his eyes narrowed angrily. "Do you feel bad about me? About this?" He gestured at the cane he leaned on.
"N-no! I mean - "
The shove caught Sora off-guard, and the next thing he knew he was flat on the ground. Stunned, all he could do was sputter as Riku stood over him, glowering. Suddenly, Riku's expression softened, and he sighed. "Hey, get up. I wanna show you something."
"What?" Sora asked, scrambling to his feet as Riku hobbled over to a fallen branch. Riku hefted the branch in one hand, set aside his cane, and stripped the limb of the twigs and leaves still clinging to it. He then tossed it to Sora, who caught it deftly with one hand, and picked his cane back up.
"All right, Sora. Same rules as always?"
Confused, Sora blinked. "Wait - you want to fight?"
"Yes."
"Now?"
"Yes." Riku drew himself up to his full height, blue eyes flashing. "Well? Come at me. And don't hold back."
"You've got to be kidding me," Sora muttered as he fell into a battle stance. He shifted the makeshift sword in his hands, learning its weight and balance points. Fighting against - and with - Riku for years had taught Sora everything about Riku's fighting style. But his technique was all about jumping, agility and speed. How in the world was he going to do that now?
Sora waited to see if Riku would make the first move, but the silver-haired boy just stood and waited calmly. Sora quickly grew impatient. "All right, here I come!" he cried and charged, weapon held low. In a second he closed the space between them and swung upward.
Instead of Riku jumping out of the way like Sora expected, however, he merely shifted his weight and pivoted on his right leg, evading the blow by little more than a hair's breadth. Following through on his turn, Riku spun nearly 360 degrees until he was behind the flabbergasted Sora and whacked the younger boy smartly on the head.
"Owww!" Sora yelped, holding his throbbing head. He could already feel a bump growing.
"I told you not hold back."
Pouting a little bit from getting thrown off-guard so easily, Sora shot Riku an annoyed glance and stuck out his tongue. He didn't care if it was immature - that really hurt!
Riku raised his eyebrows in response and smirked, a sort of nonverbal "told you so."
"Hmph." Sora rubbed his head, grinning lopsidedly, and widened in his stance for his next attack. "Okay then. But no running off crying to mommy, got it?"
"You really should stop talking to yourself, Sora."
In reply, Sora lunged forward on the attack. Once again, Riku pivoted and brought his cane around to attack from behind, but this time Sora expected it and blocked it. They sparred for several minutes, Sora jumping all over the place while Riku never moving more than a few steps in any direction. Riku's defense was like water; whenever Sora attacked, he would pivot and flow out of the way, preferring to dodge and deflect. However, Sora quickly caught on and kept his attacks close - after all, Riku could only move so far at a time.
Suddenly, Sora crouched low and lashed out with a sweeping kick to trip Riku. Instinctively, Riku leaped high into the air to avoid the attack, flipping lightly over Sora. But old habits kicked in, and Riku landed with his left foot first. "Shit!" he yelled as his knee buckled and he dropped to all fours, clutching his left leg and grimacing in pain. Sora hesitated for a moment; what if Riku was really hurt? Don't hold back! he reminded himself, and he charged for the finishing blow.
The second of hesitation, unfortunately, was enough. Riku quickly rolled aside and surged to his feet, and suddenly Sora was on his back for the second time that day. He stared up at the clear sky, a little dazed, until Riku's head popped into his field of vision. "Uh..." was all Sora managed to say.
"You were right, you know," Riku remarked.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing's changed - I can still kick your ass."
Sora grinned, his throat tightening despite himself. He felt something wet on his face and quickly wiped his eyes, hoping Riku didn't notice the stray tear. Riku held out his hand and helped Sora to his feet. Once Sora was up, Riku pulled him into a tight, comforting embrace. At first Sora was startled, but he quickly relaxed. Again, tears welled in Sora's eyes, but this time he didn't fight them.
For several minutes they stood together, unmoving, until Sora cried himself out. They released each other, but Riku still kept a sympathetic arm around Sora's shoulders. "Riku?" Sora sniffled, wiping his nose.
"Yeah?"
"If... if you knew what would happen to you..."
"Would I still have done it?"
"Yeah."
Riku looked down at Sora and smiled. "For you, Sora, I'd do it a thousand times over."