Mysterious Bond

by daily-chan

Roxas meets the ghost of a boy he's been dreaming about. He and his friends want to help find out what's happening with the boy, but the truth is shocking. Roxas/Sora paring

Mysterious bond

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. If I did, a lot of characters would be smothered in hugs and love to make up for all the hurt and drama Square Enix puts them through.

Paring: Roxas/Sora.

Rating: T+ for safety

Warnings: OOC' ness of characters, light slash in the form of shared kisses.

Normal writing.

Dream writing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Standing on a beach, in the middle of the night made him look around as nothing seemed familiar. He was surrounded by darkness, unable to see much beyond vague shapes but he could clearly hear the sound of the sea behind him.

In the water, he was just able to make out two dark shapes as they were moving towards him; or more, one clearly half carrying the other shape and automatically he moved closer to them to see what was going on.

"Help! Someone!" A teenager carefully rested his burden, a second but clearly younger teen, on the sand, hovering over him. "Hang on, it will be okay. Breathe Sora, please!

The desperation in the taller's voice made Roxas run to their side and although the older teen didn't respond to his presence, reaching out to try and help the unresponsive boy; but the moment his fingers made contact with wet skin, the two suddenly vanished.

Screaming, Roxas shot up in bed; looking around wildly for the two boys before recognising his surroundings and realising he had been dreaming.

Frowning, he thought back to his dream; wondering what it had meant and why he had such an odd dream.

Falling back onto his bed, he glanced at the clock to see it was a quarter past two in the morning and grumbling, he turned to face the window.

Eyes widening as they fell upon a very familiar figure standing on a nearby roof, he blinked.

Pinching his arm to convince himself, with tears in his eyes, that he was not still dreaming, he was indeed seeing the boy he had just been dreaming about standing there and warily he studied him; half afraid the boy would disappear if he moved.

He appeared to be a little older than he had originally thought, around the age of sixteen like himself, and his revealed tanned skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, making him appear paler due to his dark clothing and equally spiky hair.

When the boy didn't move for the duration of his study, Roxas carefully got up; slipping on a shirt before running outside to go to him.

But upon arriving at the roof, he found the boy was gone and cursing his slowness loudly, he looked around to see if he could find him, but ultimately failed and made his way back home to shower and ready himself to meet up with his friends; all the while thinking of the mysterious boy.

Meeting up with his friends, they decided to go to the beach and as they played in the water, Roxas finally forgot about his odd dream until he suddenly felt the urge to turn around and did.

Immediately his gaze fell upon the boy again, standing on the beach not far from where Olette was sunbathing and he gasped as the boy's features were much clearer in the sunlight and he was absolutely beautiful.

There was no other word to describe the boy's soft symmetrical features and it didn't even really matter he couldn't see his eyes from this distance as brown bangs moved gently in his face as his hair moved in the wind.

The boy didn't seem aware of him as he turned and the sudden, unexplainable need to talk to the boy made Roxas move forward; not quite realising he was still in the water and slipped over a small rock under his feet, slamming flat onto his face in the water.

It took him a moment to push through the pain, but when he looked up the boy was already gone and he couldn't help but curse his luck as he made his way to the beach.

"Dude, what happened?" Hayner obviously followed him and Olette had clearly seen his nosedive as well as she was moving towards them, too.

"That boy...did you see him?"

"What boy?" Pence bend forward to lean his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath as he had obviously hurried after them.

"The brunet in the jumpsuit!"

"Right...did you hit your head under water or so? Jumpsuits are really out of fashion."

"No, I saw him, I really did!" Annoying, Roxas glared at Hayner.

"And he just disappeared?"

"Yes! One moment he was there, the next he was gone!"

All three of them looked at him like he'd sprouted another head before sharing a confused glance together and Olette hesitantly smiled at him. "Well, maybe you will see him again and will be able to talk to him then."

Ignoring Hayner's sceptical look, Roxas nodded.

"Yeah, maybe I will," ignoring Hayner and Pence's amusement, he collected his stuff to go sit next to Olette; silently vowing to himself he would do just that if he got the chance.

A chance that he wouldn't get until a week later when he shot up out of bed again after another dream; habit making him turn around to the window in the hopes of seeing the boy again despite him not having made another appearance.

But unlike the other days; a by now familiar presence was on the roof this time and instantly Roxas shot up; wide awake and hurriedly opened his window.

Ignoring the rain, he moved onto the roof with little trouble; keeping his eyes on the boy as to not lose him again as he jumped to the other roof.

But the roof was unexpectedly slippery and Roxas only barely managed to grab onto the edge with a startled yelp; hand slipping before a soft but firm hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the roof.

Heart beating wildly at the scare, Roxas took a moment to catch his breath before looking up to thank his rescuer; only to find an empty roof.

Slamming his first onto the roof in anger; for not only was there no rescuer around, the boy was gone again, too, he cursed. "Darn it!"

Biting back another curse at the resulting pain shooting through his now throbbing hand, he remained where he was for several moments, sulking at the missed opportunity before slowly making his way back to his house again.

Three weeks later Roxas was once more in bed, though this time he was unable to sleep at all as he stared at his still bandaged hand; when he suddenly felt another presence and just knowing it meant the boy was back, he shot up to indeed see the boy standing in the exact same spot again.

Quickly opening his window, he took notice of the rain and carefully made his way across the roof this time; landing on his feet just a few meters away from the boy.

A thousand questions ran through his mind as he approached, but only one seemed to matter.

"Who are you?"

The bluest eyes he had ever seen met his own as the boy turned; which combined with a gentle smile as the boy clearly recognised him made his heart skip a beat.

The boy opened his mouth, but to Roxas' surprise, no sound came out and the boy blinked; clearly as surprised as he himself was if the way his eyes widened were any indication.

He reached for his throat with a frown; trying to say something else before sighing, something that was also without a sound before he crossed his arms in thought for a moment before he smiled again and pointed to the sky.

"Space?" Suspicion rose. "You're not an alien, are you?"

Soundless laughter was his answer and Roxas found himself wanting to hear the other's voice; find out if his laughter sounded as sweet as it looked.

"No, you're more like an angel anyway," immediately blushing as he realised what he'd said, he barely dared to look at the boy again, but it seemed the other hadn't heard him as he smiled and pointed to the sky again before pointing at himself; doing it again when Roxas looked at him confused.

"Your name is Sky?"

A sort of motion was his answer.

"Sort of, your name means sky?" Getting an affirmative nod, he smiled. "I'm Roxas."

Laughing as a hand was promptly offered, he shook it; surprised to find the boy's hold to be strong yet soft and extremely cold.

"It's nice to meet you," he couldn't help but smile as the boy mouthed Roxas' name. "Where do you come from?"

Blinking, the boy looked around before pointing to the ocean.

"You live in the sea?" Feeling utterly stupid the moment the words left his mouth, he flushed again but the boy didn't seem to mind as he laughed again; pointing to the ocean once more but this time following up with drawing a circle around himself and making wave gestures.

"You live at an island," smiling as the boy cheered, Roxas tried to ignore the strange feeling in his stomach at the smile directed at him as the boy raised a question at him.

"I live over there," pointing to his window, he bit his lip as the boy leaned to the side to be able to look past him at the indicated location before frowning and gesturing to his surroundings at large.

"You're wondering where you are?" Getting a nod in return, Roxas answered. "This is Twilight Town, I was born here."

The boy was clearly not bothered by the rain as he shifted to sit down on the roof and Roxas quickly joined him; not wanting to move out of the rain if it meant leaving the boy.

"How did you get here? I've never seen you before."

Shrugging, the boy glanced at the ocean before turning his gaze back to him; getting ready to gesture something again before pain flashed through his beautiful eyes and suddenly disappearing into thin air.

Startled, Roxas jumped up; nearly slipping on the wet roof again as he stared at the empty spot beside him.

"What the..." panicked, he glanced down, half expecting to see the boy laying there half death; but there was no one. "What's going on here?"

Staring out at the ocean, he wondered if the boy was a spirit or ghost to be able to disappear like that; which would certainly explain the previous occasions he had lost him so suddenly.

He stayed on the roof for a long time, staring out at the ocean in the hopes the boy would return, but he never did and eventually he gave up; returning to his house to grab a warm shower and returning to bed.

"A quarter passed two, stupid thing must be broken," sighing, he pulled the plug before looking at the ceiling. "The sky, I wonder what he meant by that."

Turning on his side, he fell back to sleep with the boy's smile on his mind.

The next morning he met up with his friends in their usual spot and Hayner immediately teased him.

"Hey sleepyhead, seen your lover boy last night?"

Ever since he had told them about the brunet, the others made it a point to tease him at least twice a day about it but this time his mood was too good to let it be ruined.

"As a matter of fact, I did and we had hot kinky set all night long; which is why I'm so late."

Three pair of shocked eyes stared at him in utter silence and he fought to keep his expression neutral until Olette hesitantly broke the silence.

"You are kidding, aren't you?"

Bursting out in laughter, Roxas avoided the swat Hayner directed at him. "Of course I am, but I did manage to talk to him for a bit before he disappeared again."

"That was so not cool, but you have actually seen him again?" Despite the constant teasing, Hayner did look happy for him so Roxas nodded.

"Well, he didn't really talk, I think he's unable to do so but he spoke in gestures."

"What did you talk about?"

"He comes from an island and has no idea how he'd gotten on my roof."

"So, what's your lover's name?"

Fighting down a blush, Roxas glared. "He's not my lover and I don't know his name."

"You didn't ask him for his name?" Disbelieving, Olette stared at him.

"I did, but it's kind of hard to communicate a name if you can't speak. He pointed to the sky and we've figured out his name means sky."

The three shared a look before Olette spoke again. "Maybe he's Japanese. What did he look like?"

"Brown spiky hair and lightly tanned skin," thinking for a moment, Roxas pursed his lips. "Incredibly blue eyes, about my height but more slender and he wore a black with yellow, red and blue jumpsuit."

"Sounds like you think he's pretty," Hayner' tease turned into incredibility as Roxas was unable to keep from blushing. "You do think he's pretty!"

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do! You're blushing, Roxy has a crush!"

"Don't call me that, idiot," biting back another blush, he resigned himself to the teasing bound to happen as he couldn't deny it. "And he's not pretty; he's beautiful."

"Kuki," Olette announced; speaking over anything Hayner might've said.

"What?"

"It's Japanese for air, maybe his name means air?"

"Cookie, don't you eat those?" Hayner laughed, but Roxas didn't deem it worthy a response as he simply shook his head.

"He didn't look like a Kuki," he decided. "I'll find out his name the next time I see him," he decided before announcing they were going into town; hopefully avoiding more teasing.

But of course his luck didn't hold up and he endured a lot of teasing from his friends as he quietly pinned after a boy he hardly knew, becoming more and more depressed as weeks passed in which he didn't meet him.

But although he didn't see him, he did dream about the boy as he played with his friends on a beach covered in palm trees and they spend time in a tree house and on a weird tree.

And though the boy was always silent in his dreams, he knew he had to have a voice as he never gestured at his two friends; it was just Roxas who was unable to understand him while he could hear the other two speak.

And although he hoped for it, he never quite caught a name despite his two constant companions; a silver haired boy and a red haired girl, clearly using it repeatedly to catch his attention as they seemed to be building a raft.

The combination of the dreams and the lack of actual meetings made Roxas grumpy, but he brightened considerably when his friends announced they'd be going to the beach again; feeling closer to the boy when he was there.

Dropping his things in their usual place, he immediately walked to the water and let it wet his bare feet; ignoring the jokes of him turning into a fish as he dove into the cold water as it was not his fault he loved the sea.

The three boys played games in the water while Olette sunbathed instead; Roxas eventually deciding to join her for some rest and he turned to make his way to the beach again when his gaze fell upon the clock tower to see it was a quarter past two.

Eyes widening, his gaze swirled down and he froze as a familiar boy entered his vision.

Unknown to him, Olette had been looking at him; following his gaze when he froze and she jumped up. "Hayner, Pence!"

The two boys looked up from their playing at her exclamation and their gazes found the out of place boy standing on the beach as well; wearing black swimming trousers and a red tank top.

He wasn't looking at them as his blue eyes gazed out over the sea and Roxas broke out of his shock to move to him; this time luckily keeping his balance as he was a lot closer to the beach. "You're back!"

Immediately those blue eyes met his own and the boy smiled as he mouthed Roxas' name.

"Yeah," smiling stupidly at him, he became aware of the presences of his friends as they approached. "Would you mind meeting my friends? They don't believe you exist."

Holding out his hand in answer, Roxas beamed and took it to lead him the few paces it took the meet his approaching friends. "This are Hayner, Pence and Olette."

"So this is your sky friend?" Hayner looked at the brunet amazed.

Grinning, the boy waved at them and the three blinked before they remembered what Roxas had said about his voice.

"You weren't kidding about his looks," Hayner breathed out, ignorant of Roxas' blush and the boy's confused blink. "Have I met you before? You look kind of familiar."

Gazing up at him for a long moment, the boy shook his head as it was clear he didn't recognise him.

Olette smiled and held out her hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

Smiling, the boy reached out to shake it, but his hand slid right through her own and they both jumped back in shock as Olette gasped.

"What just happened?" staring down at her hand, she blinked. "That was so cold!"

The boy stared at his own hand wide-eyes and with clear fear before taking a step back; but before he could even think of running, Roxas reached out to grab his hand.

"Don't go!" He pleaded but the boy froze as he looked down at Roxas' hand around his own confused before looking up to meet his eyes questionably.

Olette's eyes narrowed and she moved closer, but Hayner held her back by a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Why can Roxas touch him but I can't?" The scientist in her spoke as she held her hand out again and hesitantly, the boy slowly reached out his free hand to her again.

Realising he wouldn't try to run again, Roxas let go of him and their fingertips seemed to be touching but then her hand slid through his and suddenly the brunet looked like a ghost as he became completely transparent.

Gasping Pence stepped forward to touch the boy's arm; sliding through it immediately. "You're a ghost!"

The excitement in his voice made the boy blink but Roxas rolled his eyes.

"He has this thing for ghosts and the supernatural," he explained as the boy pulled away from his friends; immediately becoming solid again.

"If he is a ghost, then why can Roxas touch him?" Olette asked while examining her hand.

"Maybe because Roxas was the first to talk to him," Pence hummed. "Did you talk to anyone before Roxas?"

Thinking for a moment, the boy shook his head; pointing to the ground and shaking his head again before gesturing to the ocean and nodding.

"They didn't speak to you here, but they do speak to you on your island," Roxas immediately translated, getting a nod in return before the boy covered his eyes with his hands.

"They didn't even see you?" Olette guessed.

"But we're seeing you," Hayner's eyes narrowed. "Touch Roxas again."

Turning towards each other, they held up their hands in silent agreement; locking them together as they met half way.

Ignoring his friend's exclamations, Roxas looked into the cerulean eyes; feeling a small blush creep upon him as neither of them had let go yet.

"I figured out a way to learn your name."

Letting go of him, the boy looked at him intrigued.

"Okay, focus on the first letter of your name...is the first letter of your name before or after the letter p?"

The boy raised two fingers.

"Q...R...S..." obviously realising his plan, the boy stopped him by the letter S.

"So your name starts with an S. Right, second letter," Roxas smiled as the boy did. "Before or after the P?"

A somewhat gesture was his answer before one finger raised.

"It's close to the letter P," Hayner deduced. "Like...after the N, the letter O."

Another nod and Hayner grinned; taking over completely as Roxas stared at the boy in thought. So...the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Third letter, before or after the N?"

Two fingers were raised and Hayner nodded. "O...P...Q...R...r it is, so Sor..."

"Sora," suddenly the name came to Roxas as the boy nodded happily; taking his hand to shake it.

"How did you figure it out so suddenly?" Pence asked.

"I just realised I have always known his name. And Sora means sky in Japanese," he smiled as he was still holding Sora's hand; unwilling to let go but luckily it didn't seem like the brunet was bothered by it as he made no move to let go either.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Sora," Olette waved at him; getting one in return as Sora smiled.

"Do you happen to have two friends back on your island? A silver haired boy and a redhead girl?"

Confused, Sora nodded and Pence asked the question that was clearly on his lips.

"How do you know that?"

"I've told you, I've been dreaming about him for months now. I already suspected it, but now I know the dream was real."

Giving him a fleeting smile, Sora's eyes drifted towards the sea; worry clearly visible in them.

"You're worried about your friends, aren't you?" Roxas whispered. "You don't know how you got here or why you are here and you're worried about them."

"Don't you know how to return home?" Pence shook his head at his own question. "You don't even know how you got here so how would you know how to return home. Do you know how you became a ghost?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Olette asked as Sora shook his head and he thought for a moment before finally letting go of Roxas' hand to fold his own together against the side of his face to imitate sleeping.

"You were sleeping?" Olette smiled as Sora nodded while linking his hand with Roxas', either ignoring or not even noticing the quiet snickering of the two other boys.

"Maybe you are sleepwalking?" Pence waved Sora off. "No, then we'd be able to touch you."

"Do you remember if you were asleep any time you came here?" Olette asked, getting a shrug in return and Pence laughed.

"Yeah, I don't usually keep note of when I sleep or not either."

Laughing, Sora gave a little helpless shrugged before turning serious again and looking towards the houses.

Correctly interpreting his intended question, he pointed towards his own house. "The one with the red roof is mine. If you want, you can always come there whenever you come here."

Smiling gratefully, Sora shifted and reading the tiredness of the other in his body language, Roxas let himself sink down into the sand; using his hold on the other's hand to pull him down with him.

The other didn't fight him, immediately laying back in the sand with one hand behind his head; looking entirely like a boy who spent most of his days at the beach and as Roxas remembered he came from an island he realised he dressed like an islander, too.

The other three chuckled at their antics but didn't get a chance to tease them as Sora suddenly clenched his eyes shut and silently screamed while curling up; his free hand grabbing his stomach while the hand Roxas held tightened enough to make the grip painful.

Wincing at the pain in his hand, Roxas ignored it as Sora was fading away and reached out to try and keep him in place; screaming as white hot pain flashed through him and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Opening them seemingly seconds later, he found himself to be on a completely different beach; one he recognised immediately from his dreams as he spotted the palm trees and the large tree house.

Under the trees stood a few small houses hidden; making it easy to see not a lot of people lived here and he turned at the sound of voices.

"Help!" Someone screamed and running towards it, he spotted the silver haired boy from his dreams sitting in the sand by the water; hovering over a still form.

Shocked, Roxas dropped in the sand as he recognised Sora and reached out to him; startled to find his hand going straight through his body.

"What?" Surprised he stared at his hand for a moment before pushing the freakishness of the situation to the back of his mind as the shaking made Sora convulse for a moment before he retched; the silver haired boy immediately pushing him onto his side so he wouldn't choke on whatever was in his stomach; his body shaking uncontrollably as he coughed roughly.

"Help is coming, Sora. Everything will be all right," the silver haired boy sounded close to tears; desperation and fear in his entirely being but he fought to keep his expression steady and reassuring for the shaking boy beside him.

"No..help! Anyone!" His eyes widened as he softly rubbed the brunet's back and Roxas choked as crimson slid down Sora's lips as he coughed and dry heaved; nothing in his stomach to lose.

"Sora..." he wanted nothing more than to reach out to his friend as tears slipped down Sora's reddish eyes. The other boy pulled him into his arms, rocking his body softly in an attempt to comfort him. Sora whimpered at the contact but pushed himself against the other, clearly needing the contact to ground himself.

"Sora...Wakka, grab the emergency boat and contact the hospital!" A middle-aged man called out as he and another teen reached their side.

"Riku, what happened?" He knelt down beside them and checked Sora's vitals before placing a hand on his forehead, withdrawing it with a cry. "He's burning up."

The silver haired boy, Riku, shakily answered. "He was feeling better so I figured I'd take him outside for a while so he could get some fresh air. We were just walking down the beach when he just collapsed and began to cough up blood."

Looking down at Sora, it was clear to see he had been sick for a while as he looked both pale and unnatural skinny and his heart clenched in sudden fear for the other boy; reaching out automatically again when everything suddenly disappeared.

Coughing he sat up; a pained feeling in his chest as he gasped for breath

"Easy!" A familiar voice said as someone helped him into a sitting position and patted his back.

"Sora," he managed to bring out.

"He vanished, what the hell happened?" Hayner asked right beside him; sounding as shaken as Roxas himself felt and he looked up to see all three of his friends stare at them white as a sheet.

"What happened?" He asked in return.

"No idea, one moment we were all just talking and the next Sora looked like he was in one hell of a pain and vanished while you started screaming before fainting."

"I fainted?" Looking up to them in shock, Roxas blinked.

"What happened that made you scream?" Olette softly asked.

"Pain...it felt like someone was trying to push three thousand volt through my body. When the pain stopped, I was on an island with Sora."

"You saw Sora on his island?" Pence piped up as Roxas rose to his feet, brushing his clothes off.

"Yeah, but he was in a bad shape."

"Bad shape how?"

Sighing, Roxas told them what he had seen and they all looked at each other.

"Do you think he will be all right?" Hayner asked.

"I don't know," miserably Roxas crossed his arms, wanting nothing more than to see Sora right that instance to ensure for himself he was all right.

"You said that that Riku guy said he was feeling better, didn't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We know Sora only appears occasionally, what if it only happens when he's very ill?"

"I saw him five times now, but in periods between weeks and months. If what you're implying is correct, then he would be sick a lot."

Pence shook his head. "Not sick like a cold, but the throwing up blood kind."

"Maybe his mind is calling out for help?" Olette suggested.

"Or he is dead," Hayner winced at his own words and Roxas shook his head.

"He's not, he is out there somewhere, I just know he is."

The others knew better than to go against his words; knowing his gut feeling was usually right.

"Well, if he does return, he knows where you live. We can't stay here until he returns as we've got no idea when that might be," picking up his bag, Hayner tossed it over his shoulder. "And even if he returns soon, it's just as likely he'll appear at your roof as here."

"You're right," grabbing their bags, they all made their way off the beach; though Roxas couldn't help but look back at the quiet beach, wondering how long it would be before he saw him again and if he was all right.

And answer he got only two days later during the night he couldn't sleep again due to the heat. Tossing and turning in bed, he sighed and glanced at the clock; a quarter past two.

His heart jumped at the time, automatically looking up to peer out of the window and he gasped as he saw Sora's familiar form sitting on the rooftop.

"Sora!" Quickly making his way to the other's side, his intended question if the other was all right died down as he could clearly see he wasn't.

The other's eyes were half closed and he was rocking himself back and forth in quick motions; wearing a green tank top and red shorts this time but no shoes or socks.

Kneeling down beside him, Roxas carefully placed a hand on the boy's back; biting back a yelp as slight pain washed over him and Sora silently screamed, tears gathering in his half opened eyes.

Unthinkingly, Roxas pulled the other into his arms; ignoring the lingering pain as Sora gripped him tightly.

"You can't stay here," shifting position, he lifted the brunet into his arms; trying not to be alarmed by the other's slight weight as although the other had a slender build, he really shouldn't weight this little but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as silent tears ran down Sora's cheeks at the moments.

Carrying him down the fire stairs at the back of the house as he didn't dare to jump roofs with Sora's shaking form in his arms, Roxas took the long route home; all the while ignoring the tingling pain still running through him, though he had a feeling Sora was a very strong person and the pain he was in must be unbearable to reduce him to this.

Kicking his bedroom door open, he carefully placed Sora on his bed; heart clenching as the other whimpered at the loss of contact so he moved onto the bed to carefully pull the shaking teen into his arms again; whispering reassuring nonsense into his ear.

His hand softly rubbed over Sora's back, the movement making the brunet calm down as little as he curled into Roxas' chest.

Toeing the blanket closer, he tried to cover Sora with it; blinking surprised when it went straight through him, making him transparent again. Quickly moving it away as he didn't like to see Sora like that, Roxas decided to just pull him closer.

He had no idea how long it took before the pain he was feeling through Sora disappeared as the other went slack in his hold and his breathing slowed.

Sora shifted in his hold, looking up to him confused and Roxas smiled faintly as he brushed Sora's sweaty bangs out of his face. "Are you feeling better?"

The other blinked up to him; clearly not remembering what had happened as he glanced down; an adorable blush finding its way to his cheeks.

In his attempt to hold him as close as he could, Sora had somehow ended half on top of Roxas; arms resting on his chest and upper body completely on top of him. It was a rather compromising position but although he blushed, Sora made a move to separate so Roxas slowly wrapped his arms around the brunet's waist again to hold him in place.

Blue eyes shifted back to him; confusion, fear and insecurity shimmering in his eyes for a long moment before they calmed and the negative emotions disappeared to make place for something Roxas couldn't really identify as the other smiled and reached forward to carefully slid Roxas' eyes closed.

Understanding what he meant, Roxas shook his head and pulling Sora closer; making the other tense. "I'm afraid you'll disappear again if I sleep."

All the tensing disappeared out of Sora's body as he went slack against him before shifting downwards and to his side; facing the window while resting his head on Roxas' chest; never completely moving out of his arms.

Relief floated through Roxas at the gesture, Sora's attempt to comfort him clear. "I suppose you don't sleep?"

A shrug was his answer. "Oh, I forgot you don't know, sorry."

Sora smiled up to him, making Roxas' cheeks heat up as he stared into those beautiful eyes before nodding.

"Thank you for staying," he couldn't help but place a soft kiss on Sora's forehead as he curled around him as much as he could without dislodging the brunet because although it was technically much too hot to be sharing a bed, Sora was cold enough that it didn't bother in and he wanted the other as close as he could.

He closed his eyes; missing Sora's surprised look as he fatigue washed over him and sleep pulled him under almost immediately.

The surprise made place for a warm smile as Sora curled against Roxas again; listening to the even heartbeat as he looked out of the window while trying to get a grip on what was happening.

But no answer came and although he was scared in this unknown place; he couldn't help but feel at home and safe being this close to the blond.

He stayed where he was until the sun began to rise; after which he carefully shifted out of Roxas' arms and leaned against the window sill to look at the sunset.

Restless shifting on the bed made him reach out a hand to meet the searching one, the contact immediately calming the blond and Sora couldn't help but smile.

He wasn't sure how long he simply looked at the sleeping form beside him when he registered footsteps and looked up to see Roxas' friends enter.

They blinked at his presence and he gestured for them to be silent; nodding towards Roxas' sleeping form.

"How are you?" Olette whispered as they all nodded in understanding and silently sat down on the ground.

Raising a thumb, Sora frowned, unsure how to ask why everyone kept asking him how he was feeling.

"Roxas said you were very sick when he last saw you. He said you on your island the last time you disappeared," Hayner explained, obviously having seen something in his expression.

His words made him remember he indeed had been sick and he listened as the three quietly explained what Roxas had told them.

"Did that happen two days ago?" Pence whispered, looking sad when Sora nodded. He didn't technically remember a lot of it, but Riku had told him he had gotten sick again.

"But you are all better again, aren't you?" Hayner took in Sora's pale form as well as the skinniness that hadn't been present the last time.

About to nod, pain made itself known again; unknowingly becoming transparent again as he grabbed his stomach and doubled over.

Roxas moaned in pain when he did and everything went black for Sora.

Reappearing on the island again, Roxas looked around to see what was going on as he had been fighting in a nice struggle competition. Recognising the beach, he immediately looked around to find he was standing on the tiny attached island with the weird low hanging tree; spotting Sora and his friend Riku sitting on the even branch like they usually did in his dreams.

Making his way over, he stopped right in front of them; already aware they couldn't see him as neither boy reacted to his presence.

Sora was leaning against Riku; eyes only partly open.

"You've got to be careful, Sora, you're sick. You heard the doctor, if you don't take it really easy, you'll end up a lot worse than this."

The brunet gave a tiny nod to show he was listening but didn't speak; unlikely to have the strength for it as he looked deathly pale.

"Let's get you back inside," Riku lifted the brunet into his arms with the same ease Roxas had and carried him over the bridge towards the houses in the distance.

Sora made no protest as his head rested against Riku's muscled shoulder, not looking up as the red haired girl came running towards them.

"Is he all right?" she asked breathlessly once she reached them. "Where did you find him?"

"Our usual spot. He's getting worse, he was actually hallucinating when I found him. He's getting worse Kairi and there's nothing we can do to help him because we've got no idea what's wrong in the first place!"

Riku looked upset as he tightened his grip on Sora, drawing a pained gasp from his burden that made him look down apologetic.

The silver head's words left Roxas with hundreds of questions he knew he'd not get answered and just followed them as they walked to the house at the far left.

"You guys found him," a brown-haired woman looked up as they entered, relief on her face but there was something her expression that made Roxas uneasy but he shook it off as Riku nodded.

"I'll return him to his room."

Following them into a room that looked surprisingly like his own; though this one looked more lived in than his own, he watched as Riku lowered Sora on the bed and covered him while Kairi retrieved a cold cloth and laid it on his forehead.

"What's wrong with you, Sora? This isn't a normal illness any more," Riku caressed the bangs out of the brunet's face as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

The redhead sat down in a chair nearby while Roxas took a spot on the bed as well, the covers not even moving as he did and he was painfully aware he was nothing more than a shimmer as he hovered his hand over Sora's free one; unable to actually hold it.

Coughing harshly, blood trickled through the cracks of Sora's dry lips but Riku simply dabbed at them with a clean tissue, wiping the sweat of his forehead when he was done.

"He's got a fever again," he noted as he ran the cloth over his face and neck to help cool him down.

Leaning forward to place a kiss on Sora's forehead despite being unable to touch him; Roxas bit back a sob. "Please get better, angel."

Sora's eyes opened and he stared directly at Roxas; making him realise he could see him and fought to bring a smile to his lips.

Cracked lips moved as he mouthed Roxas' name; voice too weak to actually make a sound but his two friends both looked up even as Roxas saw his hand fade away.

"Hang on Sora, please hang on," he whispered, seeing Sora dip his head slightly before his eyes closed again.

Startling into a sitting position, he tensed at movement at his side; surprised to see Hayner, Pence and Olette seated on the ground next to his bed.

"What did you see?" Hayner bit his lip, but Roxas was too worried to wonder how the other knew.

"Sora's sick."

"How bad?"

"Very, it appears the doctors can't find out what's wrong with him," tears pooled into his eyes as he thought about Sora's pale face. Even though he only barely knew the other, he had become extremely important to him. "I just want him to be well."

"We'll find an answer," Hayner reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "I promise you that, no matter how long it might take."

"We'll hit the library," Olette decided; pulling him up. "Come on, get dressed."

Doing as told, Roxas allowed them to pull him along; touched by their determination.

But despite searching the library top to bottom; they found nothing in the days that passed and Sora didn't reappear either, worrying Roxas sick as he didn't know how the other was doing.

They had looked up all kind of deceases in the library but nothing seemed to match the symptoms Roxas knew about and after another fruitless search Roxas had gone home; not even noticing the storm raging outside as he curled on his bed and cried silent tears on the verge of despair. He wasn't even aware of his friends who had followed him and gathered around the bed or Olette rubbing his back softly as he drifted off.

Appearing on the utterly familiar beach, Roxas mentally cheered despite the rain pouring down and thunder clasping; the storm obviously going strong here as well.

Turning, he ran to the house he knew Sora lived in, realising the other wouldn't be outside in the weather and aware he was unable to touch anything here, ran straight through it; only stopping when he spotted the brown haired woman from last time.

His eyes widened as he registered the scene before him; seeing the woman lift a large white can and pour the lit of it full with fluidly white stuff before turning it around in a plate of soup.

Disbelief soured through him as she mixed the white fluid with the food and he realised what was causing Sora to be sick.

"No..." dashing forward to try and turn to plate upside down, he cursed as his hands went straight through it and desperately trying to hit the woman brought no results either.

"Leave him alone!" screaming he shook his head, tears running down his cheeks as she picked up the plate and walked to Sora's room.

Looking past her, Roxas saw Riku sitting in the chair by the bed; holding a book open while Sora looked to be asleep.

"I'm going to ask you to leave, Riku. Sora needs to eat and rest then," the woman said kindly but Roxas wanted to slam her head into a wall.

"Don't leave her alone with him!" he yelled at Riku, but the silver head didn't hear him as he rose to his feet and placed the book on the nightstand.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he leaned down to place a kiss on Sora's forehead before passing the woman to make his way outside.

"Don't! She's poisoning him!" His exclaim went unheard as Riku closed the door and desperately Roxas turned to the bed.

"Sora...please, don't eat. If you can hear me, please don't eat what she's giving you," he pleaded as she woke Sora and helped him into a sitting position, but he couldn't prevent her from feeding him several spoonfuls before he started coughing again; the woman lovingly rubbing his back.

"Please stop eating, the food is poisoned!" He pleaded; disgusted by the woman's caring behaviour since he knew now that the woman was the cause for the illness. Hands clenched as he closed his eyes while tears poured down as she fed Sora more of the poisoned soup before he coughed again.

"Rox..." the voice was a bare whisper but enough to make Roxas look up and he met Sora's blue eyes; the boy looking tormented before shifting his gaze to the woman.

When his coughing stopped, she raised the spoon again with a smile but Sora turned his head and kept his mouth close; making Roxas' heart skip a beat as he realised he had been heard and the brunet was trusting him over his own mother.

"No.." Sora tried to stop her, but she simply pushed the spoon into his mouth, making him swallow as he didn't have the strength to stop her feeding him until the plate was half empty and she appeared to be satisfied.

Rising to her feet she smiled as she caressed his cheek. "Don't ever leave me, baby."

There was something obsessed in her gaze as she stared down at him for a long moment before leaving the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Moving to his side, Roxas couldn't bring himself to smile as tired blue eyes met his own.

"You need to get rid of that food, Sora," he knelt down beside the bed as Sora shakily pushed the blankets away; half falling out of the bed as he tried to rise and simply retched where he was.

Realising the poison was already doing its work, he didn't even attempt to help Sora to the bathroom, just letting him throw up on the floor beside the bed; horrified to see it was mostly blood in the liquid.

"Sora, you have to get out of here," biting his lip, his hands hovered over the other's back; his skin flushed with fever but that didn't stop him from slowly rising once he was done, not sparing a second glance at the mess he'd made as he unsteadily moved to the door.

Roxas glanced worriedly at the thin tank top and boxers he wore; but his worry for his safety won over the cold he might catch in the storm and he kept his mouth shut as they somehow managed to make it outside without alerting his mother.

Following as the feverish brunet made his unsteady way into the storm; he wondered where he was going as he didn't move into the direction of the other houses but towards the caves instead.

He didn't even seem to notice the heavy rainfall as he moved closer to the rocks to steady himself.

"Sora, why aren't you going to Riku's house?" Roxas tried to call out over the wind howling around them as branches hit the rocks harshly, causing some of them to break off and fall down.

It really was horrible weather and Roxas worried for Sora's safety as he didn't seem able to hear or see him any more.

"Sora, please...turn around!" He was acutely second guessing his attempt to make Sora leave the house as the other found a path by now, using the wall to be able to walk up the path that went almost straight up the rocks.

"Sora! Come down here!" A terrified voice called out and Roxas turned to see a soaked Riku coming out of one of the houses; meters below them by now as Sora was slowly, but steadily making his way up.

Sora shook his head, coughing more blood up as he shakily swayed on his feet. "Riku...Roxas...I need...Roxas," he whispered and Roxas would have marvelled at the sound of his voice if the situation wasn't so desperate.

I'm right here, Sora, please stop moving," Roxas tried to touch Sora again, but was unable to.

"Roxas isn't here, Sora! Please come down!" It surprised Roxas that Riku was able to understand Sora from so far away as he could barely hear the other boy despite being right beside him.

Sora muttered something that not even he could catch, but Riku shook his head.

"You aren't seeing him Sora, Roxas is a figment of your imagination; brought up by your hallucinations. He doesn't need help...stay where you are, I'm coming up to you," he was already climbing up, not using the barely visible path Sora was using to save time and Roxas realised Riku was reading Sora's lips.

The silver head climbed up with incredibly speed that seemed alarmingly dangerous, but Sora kept moving further as well so Roxas only urged Riku to hurry up despite the possible danger to himself.

"Please stop, Sora, I'm fine," he kept pleading as the wind picked up and rain washed down on them.

Vaguely noticing he wasn't getting wet, he stared at Sora's thin frame; soaked to the bone as the brunet was shivering and Roxas could literally count all of his ribs through the soaked shirt clinging to him.

Glancing down at Riku, who wasn't anywhere near them yet despite slowly closing the distance, he attempted to slow Sora down as the other kept moving; most likely on pure determination and sheer force of will.

"Please Sora, stop moving," lightening stroke close to them and Sora paused; looking around.

"Roxas?"

"I'm here, Sora...please stay where you are, wait for Riku."

"No...Need to help you."

"Why?" Roxas eyed his trembling form worriedly.

"You are screaming...can't you hear...screaming?"

Shaking his head, Roxas ducked at the sound of thunder and a flash of lightning crashed through the sky; hitting the mountain above them and pieces of rocks fell down at either side of them. "I'm not screaming, it's the wind you hear!"

"Please Sora, this weather is dangerous!" Riku had ducked to the side as the rocks fell down but was now increasing his speed to try and reach the brunet.

"What are you talking about? It's nice out here, the sun is almost too hot," Sora whispered and Roxas gasped.

He was hallucinating, he was actively thinking Roxas needed help because he was hallucinating. He was forcing himself to move because he honestly thought Roxas was in danger and needed help.

"Please Sora!" Riku sounded like he was in tears now but Sora ignored him as he fell to his knees to dry heaven once more; only blood trickling down his lips.

Glancing back at Riku, Roxas was relieved to see Riku was rapidly gaining ground now that Sora had stopped walking but as Sora regained his footing; lightening hit the mountain again and rocks broke loose; falling down the mountain in an avalanche and shaking more rocks loose.

"Sora move!" Riku sounded terrified as he pressed himself against the rocks to stay where he was and Sora half turned at the sound of his voice.

"Riku? What..."

"Hide!"

The desperation in Riku's voice seemed to awaken some awareness in Sora and he obeyed to move against the wall; half shielding himself against the rocks raining down on his back and arms and instinctively Roxas tried to shield him despite the rocks going right through him.

Riku was still pressed against the wall, but one rock managed to hit in on his hand and he reflectively pulled back; losing his balance on the slippery rocks and sliding down several meters. From the wince of pain Roxas was fairly sure he ripped open the skin on his legs, but Riku simply managed to grab hold of another rock and pressed himself close to the wall again.

"Riku!" Alarmed, Sora pushed away from the wall as he saw his friend slide down and moved to the edge.

"Stay where you are, I'm fine!" Riku called out desperately but Sora either didn't hear him or ignored him as he turned to begin climb down.

In doing so, a small rock hitting his knee was enough to make him lose his balance and he lost his grip before he truly had one; sliding down with a startled gasp.

"Sora!" they both screamed in terror and Roxas tried to reach out to him, but his hands went straight through him and he could only watch in shock as Sora tried to slow himself down; hands, arms and legs breaking open skin as he tried to find a grip to hold himself on.

When he finally succeeded, he had slid down several meters and was lower than even Riku was at that moment.

Letting himself slide down as he had nothing to fear, Roxas tried to reach Sora despite having no idea what to do once he did and Riku began to climb down as well.

"Sora, hang on, I'm coming," ignoring the few small rocks still falling, Riku tried to move quickly and ignored his bleeding leg completely as he was nearly within touching reach.

But before he could reach out to him, Sora pushed himself up to get a better grip as he had begun to slip a little, causing the rock he was leaning his slight weight on to break off and he slid down moments before Riku could grab him.

"No!" Riku screamed as Sora slid down again, to both of their horror turning in his fall as his feet hit the rocks; making him fall face first with no ability to defend himself even a little and the inevitable happened as the brunet hit his head on a rock on the way down.

They could almost hear his skull break as the boy fell like a ragged doll now, hitting the wall several more times before landing on the water with a both speed and a crash.

It was too far a jump for Riku to manage it without killing them both, but Roxas didn't have the same problem so jumped; turning in his fall and diving into the water.

It was obvious the brunet would be unconscious and needed immediately help so Roxas searched in the dark water; thankful for the lack of breath needed so he could swim down as fast as he could.

He was unaware of Riku's desperate screams; aware he would never make it to his best friend in time to save his life. Instead Roxas finally spotted the small form sinking slowly and thanking the gods when he was able to touch him; quickly pulling him up with him.

Shaking his head to get rid of the water; unsure but uncaring to how he'd gotten wet, he held Sora's head above the water, worried to see blood seeping out of a head wound.

"Sora!" Riku called out in pure relief, finally being low enough to not lose consciousness upon impact and let himself drop; the cold still enough to nearly knock him out anyway but he managed to blink away the dark spots in his vision and swam towards Sora.

In between his fear and terror he was barely aware of some invisible force pulling Sora to the shore as he swam after him; simply thanking every force in the world that was attempting to save his friend.

Roxas managed to reach the beach the same moment Riku made it to their side and together they pulled Sora out of the water before Riku let himself drop at Sora's side.

The brunet's face was bluish pale and Riku listened to Sora's heartbeat before turning him slightly on his side as Sora coughed up water and blood; eyes opening partly.

"Sora, stay awake, you have to stay awake," Riku pushed Sora back onto his back. "Someone help!"

Seeing the torn skin on Riku's leg, Roxas knew the other wouldn't be able to carry Sora this time; especially since the brunet's head was bleeding and his skin was torn in multiple places.

Pain filled eyes shifted to him as Roxas placed a hand on his; letting him know he was there and suddenly his vision tilted as he seemed to somehow connect to Sora completely and he closed his eyes as pain lashed at him.

A faint voice was talking to him and he slowly realised it was Riku, but found he couldn't respond at all as his voice seemed incapable of making a sound.

His body, Sora's body, hurt all over but felt strangely numb at the same time beyond a painful beating in his chest. That one spot felt like it was on fire as the beating hit his chest every second and he felt like he couldn't breathe; realising Sora actually couldn't.

His hands moved automatically to turn Sora onto his side again without opening his eyes, but he didn't hear Riku's gasp at the seemingly invisible movement as he felt it became a tiny bit easier to breathe.

His vision rapidly faded away and he tried to blink the dark spots away but couldn't so he just stared at the strangely reddish sand.

A comfortable darkness kept pushing against his eyelids, even though he tried to keep them open as that seemed really important to the voice talking to him from a distance.

The sound of Riku's terrified voice made him want to say anything to comfort him, but no sound came out and his gaze shifted slightly down as something warm brushed his outstretched hand; finding it was lying motionless in a pool of red fluids, covered in it as well as the skin didn't look like he thought it was supposed to.

Slowly his mind provided him the red substance was blood and the thought should be enough to alarm him but it concerned him more that he couldn't stay awake despite really not wanting to sleep.

He gaze shifted again when he spotted a hand resting on his own and his gaze found a blond boy at his side, sitting with his eyes closed.

".." he wanted to call Roxas' name, but couldn't and Roxas realised Sora could see him again.

Riku's faint voice called out to him again, trying to grab his attention as he pleaded with him to stay awake, but he really couldn't find the strength anymore; glad the painful beating was slowing down.

As his eyes slowly closed, the silent darkness became reachable and he let them fall shut completely; the last conscious thought in his mind being that the painful beating finally stopped.

Roxas gasped, eyes shooting open and barely realised he was still sitting at Sora's side while his hands already pushed Sora back onto his back and Riku cried out; shifting so he was sitting on top of Sora to start reanimations with practised ease.

"Don't you dare, breathe Sora!"

Suddenly men were running towards them; some vaguely familiar as they dropped to their knees and pushed the shaking teen aside to take over.

One man wrapped a blanket around Riku's shaking form while another barked orders about readying a boat to the main land, but Roxas' focus was on the two men reanimating Sora.

Long moments passed before Sora gasped and weakly coughed up some more water before falling completely still again; the man clearly not wanting to waste time to wait for a stretcher as he lifted the brunet up.

The scene in front of him slowly vanished and Roxas cried Sora's name out as everything turned black.

Screaming out Sora´s name, he shot up in bed; tears falling and he choked on his rapid breathing until he registered a familiar voice talking to him calmly and focusing on it, he found that he could breathe again.

"Easy…easy," Pence was sitting at his side, rubbing his back and trying to help him control his breathing.

"What happened?" Hayner asked the moment Roxas calmed down enough in his eyes and in between choked sobs he told his friends of what he had seen.

"His own mother poisoned him?" Olette raised a hand before her mouth in horror. "Why would anyone do that?"

"I don't know," swallowing, Roxas rubbed a hand over his face to remove any trace of his tears and Hayner shuddered.

"What did she use to poison him with?"

"A white can, It didn't have a label but I'm sure it was poison."

"She probably took it off so no one could walk in on her and realise what she was doing," Pence grumbled. "Poor Sora, do you think he will be all right?"

"He will be, Sora isn't a weak little kid, he's tough," Hayner's voice was full of conviction and Roxas wanted nothing more than to believe him; but his mind couldn't stop replaying the fall and how badly Sora had hit his head.

The worry didn't lessen as days without either dreams or visits turned into weeks; though they had managed to discover the poison Sora's mother had probably used had been bleach as it checked off all the symptoms Sora had displayed.

Roxas had stopped attending school as the weeks passed; spending all his time pouring over the newspapers from all around the country in an attempt to discover anything about Sora.

But in the end it wasn't him who found information as Olette and Pence came running into the usual spot; waving a piece of paper up and down.

"We found him! We found him!" She called out excitedly while Pence dropped a bag while letting himself fall onto the ground to try and regain his breathing; both of them clearly having run all the way from the library.

Immediately alert, Roxas shot up from his seat, nearly ripping the paper out of her hands in his desire to learn what had happened; reading it out loud so Hayner could hear it as well.

"A fifteen year old boy from Destiny Island has been admitted to the hospital after being poisoned by his legal guardian for months. Doctors were at a loss as to what was wrong with the boy; but the truth did not come to the light until a tragic accident occurred. According to police statement; the guardian poisoned him to prevent him from travelling the world with his friends and they are praying for his survival..."

Blinking, Roxas looked down at the paper. "Where's the rest of it?"

"That's it, there was no other information. We searched all the Destiny Island papers from that date until now, but there's nothing else."

"Then we'll just have to find out ourselves," Hayner decided. "Destiny Island is a small island community about four hours away from here."

"How do you know that?" Pence raised an eyebrow.

"MY friend Wakka moved there a few years ago and I've visited him a few times. Must be why Sora looked so familiar to me."

"You probably saw him around on the island when visiting your friend," Olette realised.

"Exactly."

Tuning his friends out as he stared down at the paper, Roxas came to a decision. "I'm going."

"I knew you'd say that," smiling, Olette held out a ticket and Roxas' heart skipped a beat as he realises it was a single ticket to Destiny Island.

"I'll pay you back," pulling her into a hug, he hoped he showed how much this meant to him; a message that might come across as she patted his back.

"Just go make sure he is all right. The boat leaves in an hour."

"Make sure you find him," Hayner agreed, pulling out their saving jar and emptying it out. "Take this, in case you'll need to find a hotel or so."

"Hayner...I can't..."

"It's for Sora," determined, Hayner pressed the munny into his hands. "Find him and keep us posted on how he's doing."

"We packed a few of your things so you can stay there for a few days and spend time with him," Pence got to his feet, dragging the bag with him to hand it over.

"You're the best friends I could ever hope for."

"You can thank us later, let's go catch that boat!" Together they made their way to the train station so they could accompany him to Sunset Station where the boat would leave and attending it, Roxas waved at them from the deck; excitedly calling out his thanks once more while they shook their heads fondly.

Four hours later, he finally arrived at Destiny Island; immediately recognising the little island from his dreams nearby and with butterflies in his stomach he realised he was finally at the place Sora lived.

Being dropped off at the main land, Roxas was half convinced to immediately travel to the main island; but then realised he had no idea if his friend still lived there after everything.

So common sense made him decide to travel to the local hospital as it would be easier to learn information there than at the police station.

Making it to the hospital in no time, he approached the front desk. "Hello, I'm looking for the address of Sora; he lives on the smaller island."

"The hospital is not allowed to give out personal information," the woman informed him.

"Right, you can't send me in a general direction either? I didn't find out about what happened until today and immediately made my way here. The only residence I know is on the island but I'm fairly positive he won't be living there any more," he gave her his best pair of puppy eyes in the hopes of getting her to reveal anything. "He's my dearest friend."

"I can't give you his place of residence," the woman repeated, her eyes softening as she gazed at him before looking at her computer. "But I can tell you he is on the ninth floor, room 16b."

Heart tightening at that information, he stammered out his thanks and made his way to the elevators in a haze. What kind of shape was the brunet in if he was still in the hospital after several weeks had passed?

Thinking back on the head wound, he shivered and rubbed his arms before pushing the button repeatedly; the door opening to reveal a red-haired girl he recognised immediately.

"Kairi."

"Who are you?" She looked up to him confused; making him realise she wouldn't know him.

"My name is Roxas...I'm..." he trailed off as she gasped, turning pale as a sheet as she stared at him in shock.

"You're Sora's Roxas?" She stammered.

"I...yes?"

"Where do you live?" She demanded to know.

"Twilight Town, why?"

"We thought you were one of Sora's hallucinations," she choked out. "He kept talking about a boy he met in his dreams, but we didn't believe him."

"I'm real," Roxas swallowed, entering the elevator as Kairi beckoned him in.

"Why didn't you come earlier?"

"I didn't know where he lived until a few hours ago," Roxas pulled out the piece of newspaper he had put into his pocket. "My friends and I searched the library for weeks until they found this."

Kairi's eyes tightened as she took in the article; clearly recognising it.

"How is he?" It was the question burning in his mind as she returned the paper and pushed the button to the ninth floor.

"In a coma. I don't know if you know, but he had an accident a few weeks ago."

"I know, I saw it happen," he admitted; making her glance at him sharply. "His head..."

"He had a brain haemorrhage upon being admitted and both his lungs, kidneys and stomach were badly damaged due to the poisoning. They pumped his stomach empty and believe the damage will heal completely given time," she ran a hand through her hair. "He broke both his legs in the accident and his skin is scarring where he tore it open in the fall."

"And his head? He hit it really hard," taking a deep breath, Roxas took in all the information she was giving him.

" We don't know, his skull wasn't broken by some miracle but he hasn't woken yet. The doctors say his brains were literally smashed and they don't even know to what level he will be able to function when he wakes up...if he wakes up," she informed him as they left the elevator and she led him to a hospital room; opening the door and walking through.

Seeing Riku sitting at Sora's bedside reading a book brought back unpleasant memories for Roxas, but he pushed it down to follow her in.

I thought you went home?" Riku looked up, raising an eyebrow at the sight of him.

"I ran into someone on the way down," she answered but Roxas ignored them both as his eyes fell on the unconscious form in the bed and he approached.

"Sora..." the boy in the bed was pale as a sheet; his normally spiky brown hair resting nearly flat against his skin; either from a sponge bath given not long ago or fever and he was hooked up to several machines though luckily he wasn't being ventilated as Roxas could only detect a oxygen tube in his nose.

His forehead was still bandaged and automatically Roxas moved to sit on the bed edge; mindful of the bandages as he took his hand carefully.

"Sora...I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," he smiled down at the brunet, reaching out to brush damp bangs out of his face with his free hand. "But I'm here now."

"You're Roxas?" Kairi had clearly filled Riku in on his identity and he looked up to find wary blue-green eyes staring him down.

"I am," he confirmed.

"Where are you from?" Riku's demanding voice would probably intimidate him a little more if he hadn't seen the other beside himself with worry in his dreams and knew the other was only trying to protect his friend.

"Twilight Town."

"What's Sora's favourite food?"

"How should I know?" Roxas bit out as Riku kept staring at him.

"What did you normally talk about when you spoke?"

"We didn't," frowning, Roxas answered. "He couldn't speak for some reason so he mostly used gestures. More than his name and that he lived on an island we didn't know."

Riku's breathing stocked for a moment before he nodded and rubbed a tired hand over his face. "Sorry, I just had to know you truly were who you claimed to be. I can't believe you are really real, though."

"I am," he confirmed once more, turning back to Sora. The brunet hadn't reacted to his voice or presence at all, but Roxas hadn't really expected him to either so he just stayed at his side while answering questions Riku and Kairi asked him until the evening nurse came by to tell them it was time to leave.

Following the two downstairs, he blinked surprised as Kairi separated from them with a quick goodbye.

"Where is she going?"

"Home, she and her grandmother live near here. If you need a place to stay then you can come with me," Riku said shortly so Roxas followed him.

"I thought you both lived on the island?"

"Sora and I do...or did. I've been renting a house here since Sora was hospitalised," Riku explained, leading him to a small apartment close to the hospital. "After Sora wakes up, I'll see what he wants before I decide where to go."

"You'll follow him?"

"I'm his legal guardian now," Riku opened the front door, letting Roxas pass him by. "I turned eighteen a month ago and immediately filed for custody since Sora doesn't have any living family left."

The apartment was dusty; which revealed where Riku spend most of his time and Roxas found himself directed to a chair.

"They let you take custody of him without a problem?"

"The judge involved lives on the island as well and has known us all our lives," Riku gave a pained smile. "I'll admit I've not always been good with the law, but she knows Sora's my brother in all but blood and I'd sooner kidnap him than let them put him in foster care again."

"Again?"

"His parents died when he was an infant and he was bounced from orphanage to foster family and back again until they located a distant aunt to take him in," something dark crossed Riku's expression. "Do you have a place to go for the night?"

"I haven't actually thought that far ahead," Roxas admitted. "I just knew I had to come here as soon as I discovered where he was."

"You can crash in the second bedroom for as long as you'd like to stay. Want anything to drink?" The offer of a room surprised Roxas, simply because he didn't think anyone would allow a complete stranger into their homes that easily and he voiced as much.

"You are Sora's friend, that makes you my friend," Was the simply answer as Riku moved to the small kitchen.

"So the guardian who poisoned him...it was his aunt?"

"Yeah, she's always been rather overprotective and smothering him, but I never would have suspected..." trailing off, Riku took a sharp breath as he placed a cup before Roxas before sitting down on a chair. "He was hallucinating when it happened, thought you were in trouble."

"I know, I was there but I seemed to fade in and out of his vision as the fever spiked."

Blue-green eyes widened. "You're the one who pulled him out of the water."

It wasn't a question but Roxas still found himself nodding. "He was out there because I told him to leave the house. I couldn't protect him against the rocks at all and I just instinctively dove after him when he fell; knowing the fall wouldn't hurt me like it would hurt you. It was a miracle I was able to touch him in the water, but one I am still immensely grateful for."

"Why did you tell him to get out of the house?"

"I had seen that woman pour a chemical into his soup and force him to eat it even when he tried to refuse. I told him to get out of the house, to find help. It's my fault," Roxas choked back a sob.

"It wasn't and you might actually have saved his life," Riku softly told him. "The doctors said that the amount of bleach in his system was lethal. By making him move his body rejected enough of it so that his body could keep fighting."

"Why was she poisoning him?"

"Sora and I have always wanted to see the world but we didn't make any actual plans to leave until Kairi moved here. Sora especially wanted to meet people and was eager to leave, but his aunt was overbearingly protective after her husband died. She was afraid he would leave her as well," Riku stared into his empty cup. "It was only after we decided to build a raft that he began getting sick. At first we thought nothing of it but when it didn't pass, we started to worry. Sometimes he got a little better, but he's mostly been bedridden for the better part of a year. So many doctors did tests on him, but no one could find anything."

He snarled. "One doctor actually found traces of bleach in his system once, but it was waved off as his aunt explained she washed all of his white clothing with it because Sora's so clumsy and she couldn't get the stains out otherwise."

"He's clumsy?"

"More so than anyone else I know," Riku huffed out a laugh. "There isn't a single thing he didn't fall off from at once point or the other as he's always climbing stuff, but he was never seriously hurt."

The unspoken until now hung in the air and Roxas swallowed thickly. "I've been seeing him in my dreams for months, the first time being when you dragged him out of the sea. That was also the first time he appeared on the roof across of my home; though I didn't manage to actually speak with him until much later."

"You met Sora in Twilight Town?"

Nodding, Roxas smiled. "Well, sort of. He was kind of a ghost every time we met."

"Sora told us he couldn't speak and that you were the only one able to touch him."

"Yeah, Olette and Pence, they are two of my friends, tried to touch him but their hands slid right through him."

Choking out a laugh, Riku rubbed his face. "I'm sorry, it's hard to imagine something like a ghost even though I now know he was telling the truth. Was...was he in pain?"

"Twice. The first time was when my friends met him; he pulled me with him to another dream about this place and a few days later the same happened. He looked like he was in so much pain, but there wasn't anything I could do but hold him close and try to calm him down."

"He let you hold you? He never lets anyone but me and Kairi that close," the silver haired paused as he considered his words. "Well, he's always been friendly to anyone, but to have been able to touch him, you must have won his complete trust."

"It was hard to communicate, but I know I trust him."

"He mentioned it was difficult to communicate," a faint smile crossed over Riku's lips. "Didn't stop him from making new friends, though."

"He is a very friendly person and my friends instantly liked him."

Humming in agreement, they drank their drinks in silence before Riku rose to his feet. "I should be going to bed. There are clean towels in the bathroom and there should be new toothbrushes in the cupboard if you don't have one of your own with you."

"Thanks," hesitating, Roxas watched as Riku cleaned their cups away. "Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"What does Sora's voice sound like?" He flushed as the other gave him a weird look but couldn't bring himself to regret his question as it was something he'd always wondered about.

"Warm and friendly. His voice becomes higher pitched when he's excited or happy and there's nearly always laughter in his voice," the smile disappeared as Riku stared at Roxas calculating. "Roxas?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come here?"

"Sora's my friend," hesitating, Roxas rose to his feet as well. "He's...important to me."

"I'm glad," a different kind of smile crossed Riku's lips this time, more genuine. "You are very important to him s well...I hope you'll be good for him."

With those soft words the other walked away, closing a door behind him and Roxas took a deep breath; feeling oddly like he'd just passed some kind of test.

"I will," he whispered despite the other already having left and fought back a blush as he moved to the bathroom Riku had pointed out earlier; quickly brushing his teeth and changing into the pyjamas he found in his bag before making his way into the bedroom.

Sitting down on the bed, he picked up the mobile he'd also found in the bag and dialled Olette's number.

"Hey, did you find him?"

"I did, he's still in the hospital," fighting back tears at the image of the still body in the bed, he told her everything that had happened and they all voiced their horror and disgust as it was clear the other two were present with her as they'd been waiting for news from him.

It made him feel guilty he hadn't called sooner, but his apology was quickly waved off as they spoke for another few minutes before they said their goodbyes and Roxas promised to keep them updated.

The following days were spend either sleeping or with Sora in the hospital; taking shifts so the brunet was never alone and Roxas often remained at the hospital once he learned the nurses forgot about his presence if he was quiet enough.

His friends came to visit shortly into his second week of staying there, meeting Riku and Kairi while visiting Sora and dropping off more clothes so he could stay after Riku had offered to house him long term so he could stay with Sora.

It was half way into his third week there that Roxas made his way into the hospital room, shaking himself as it was pouring outside and smiled at the sleeping brunet. "I'm back again."

Leaning over to place a kiss on the bandaged forehead, Roxas caressed the bangs out of Sora's face before sitting down; the gesture by now second nature.

It hadn't taken Riku long to figure out he was hopelessly smitten with his best friend; resulting in him having to endure the ruthless teasing of being star crossed lovers as Sora apparently wouldn't shut up about him either.

The mere thought of the brunet speaking about him to his friends brought a warm and fuzzy feeling to Roxas' stomach, but he'd learned to simply glare at Riku to get him to shut up; something that never failed but seemed to amuse the silver haired boy immensely.

"You know, it's really about time for you to wake up, angel. Riku and Kairi miss you and everyone on your island keeps calling Riku to ask how you are as well. Hayner, Pence and Olette keep calling me for updates as well so they all miss you," softly caressing the cold hand below his own, he smiled. "I miss you so can't you just open your beautiful eyes and tell me you'll be okay?"

The room was warm and eventually Roxas found himself nodding off to sleep, shifting closer to Sora as he did.

Opening his eyes again at the sound of dripping, he looked around to see he was in a completely white room and frowned.

"Where..." no door or window was visible but his heart skipped a beat as his gaze fell onto a small boy sitting in the corner of the room; one he immediately recognised no matter how much younger he seemed to be.

"Sora!" running over, he all but fell to his knees before the boy; wrapping his arms around him without hesitation.

"Who are you?" The little boy tensed at the contact, looking up to him with weary eyes.

"I'm a friend," fighting to keep a smile on his face, Roxas felt his heart break as it was clear the other didn't recognise him. "Of both you and Riku."

"Oh, do you know the way out?" The mere fact that he knew Riku seemed to be enough for the little boy to trust him.

"I'm afraid I only just arrived."

"I've been looking for a way out, but I can't find it," the soft little voice informed him. "Why can't I find a way out?"

"I don't know, but I think you are dreaming."

"I am?" Tearful cerulean eyes burned into his own and he found his heart skipping a beat at the sight.

"Yes, and I think you have to wake up to leave."

"But I'm awake," waving his arms around wildly to show he was, Sora pouted. "How can I be asleep when I'm awake?"

"Your body is asleep and has been for a long time now," fighting not to smile at the little guy's antics, Roxas knelt back onto his heels.

"Then why won't it wake up then?" The innocent question made Roxas' smile fade.

"Because you were badly hurt and needed to heal."

"Am I healed now?" This little version of Sora seemed to easily accept Roxas' words as truth.

"We won't know until you wake up. Riku and Kairi are really worried about you, so am I."

"You're worried?" The little brunet looked surprised. "Why?"

"Because you are my friend and I care for you very much," he told him honestly, looking down at his hands as flush crept up his face.

"I want to go home, Roxas."

The voice speaking now was much older and Roxas' head shot up to see the Sora he knew sitting across of him; dressed in the hospital gown and barefoot.

"Sora!" Relief filled him and he reached out to pull the other into an embrace; one Sora readily answered before pulling back and smiling at him.

"I found you," tears appeared in Roxas' eyes as he stared at the boy sitting across of him.

Smiling, Sora entwined their fingers together. "You did?"

"It took me a while, but I did," flushing at the contact, Roxas couldn't help but tighten their hold.

"Where am I?" Sora's soft voice sounded heavily and tears slipped down Roxas' cheeks at finally hearing it properly; taking a shaky breath when cold fingers brushed them away.

"In the hospital, you've been in a coma since the accident."

"A coma?" Confused, Sora looked at him. "How?"

"That is a long story and not one to tell now. But it's time for you to wake up," being the one to reach out this time, Roxas caressed Sora's cheek; smiling as the other leaned into his touch.

"I don't know how to wake up."

"Just follow my voice, I'll lead you out," he promised quietly, leaning forward to brush a kiss against the brunet's forehead. "I won't stop until you've come back to me."

"Roxas," opening his eyes to find Riku standing beside the hospital bed, Roxas blinked.

"What..."

You still weren't home this morning so I figured you hadn't been chased out yet," the amusement in the other's voice was clear to hear but Roxas' eyes widened.

"Sora, I need to talk...I need to keep talking, give me a book," he demanded, accepting the fairy tale book Riku automatically retrieved for him and began reading out loud.

Confused, Riku looked at him, clearly not understanding his action but not stopping him either as he took a seat in the other chair and just let him read out loud; taking over the few times Roxas really had to use the bathroom or needed a moment to wet his throat.

Hours passed in that way until Roxas finished the book and instead began to tell the unresponsive brunet stories about his friends; Riku occasionally interjecting with questions or laughing at what he said; not once asking the reason behind his sudden behaviour.

Eventually though, Riku rose to his feet and stretched a little. "I'll go say goodbye to the nurses, I'll come back to say goodbye in a minute."

Nodding his acceptance, Roxas took the opportunity to lean forward to brush a kiss on Sora's forehead. "Come back to me angel."

Opening his mouth to start yet another story, he paused as Riku returned to say his good night ritual.

The silver haired boy leaned over Sora to place a kiss of his own on his forehead and brushed the hair out of his face gently. "I'll be off now, I'll see you tomorrow."

Smiling at the routine action, Roxas blinked as he suddenly felt slight pressure on his hand; looking down at their entangled hands to indeed see Sora's hands slightly curled against his own.

Taking a shaky breath, Roxas leaned forward. "Sora?"

Riku choked on a sob as Sora's eyes opened a little, blinking a few times as he looked up to the ceiling.

"No way," blindly pressing the red emergency button, Riku dashed around the bed to the other side to take Sora's free hand. "Sora? Hey...hey, there you are."

Blue-green eyes shimmered with tears as Sora's eyes shifted to him; a tiny smile forming on pale lips as Sora clearly recognised Riku.

Riku didn't bother to stop his tears as he reached out to caress Sora's cheek and the blurry vision Roxas experience informed him he was crying as well.

"Welcome back, angel," he whispered, heart skipping a beat as tired blue eyes shifted to him and the same smile formed before the brunet frowned. "Do you know where you are?"

There was no response as the brunet blinked at him, cerulean eyes slightly clouded but never breaking his gaze.

"You're in the hospital," Riku informed him softly. "Can you speak?"

Sora's gaze shifted back to Riku and Roxas quickly grabbed the glass of water they kept on the side table; wetting the little sponge inside to press it to his lips as he realised the other's mouth would be very dry.

Clumsily, Sora licked at the small sponge; seemingly unable to suck on it as he was supposed to, but Roxas didn't care and patiently held it to his lips until he pulled slightly away.

"Do you recognise us?" Riku softly asked, unable to stop caressing Sora's cheek with his thumb and Sora's gaze shifted back to him again.

"...ku...xas," the movement seemed to pain him but before either of them could

The movement seemed to pain him and Riku tensed; but before either of them could say anything else, two doctors arrived and upon seeing Sora awake, they burst into action.

They were both ushered out of the room as they began to perform tests and asking Sora questions and overwhelmed, they stared at each other in the hallway for a long moment before embracing in sheer joy before Riku stammered about having to call Kairi; Roxas fumbled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over so he could call her before sending a quick text to Olette to update her as well.

It took almost twenty minutes before the doctors reappeared; holding a clipboard but looking satisfied and they both rose to their feet at the sight of them.

"We won't be able to determine anything for certain until we've ran proper tests, but his brain functions seem fairly normal as far as we can see; it seems like he got really lucky, which really is a miracle if you consider the injury he sustained," the doctor smiled.

"And his legs?"

"Considering the damage done, it's likely he will need extensive therapy and will be wheelchair bound for at least some time but we won't know much more until we can take the plaster off and get a good look at them through scans," the other doctor glanced down at his papers. "His hearing is fine and I'm positive that with practice he'll be able to speak again as he can form several syllables."

"So the poisoning hasn't affected his vocal cords like you first feared?" Riku took a shaky breath.

"As far as we can see right now, it seems he truly was extremely lucky," the first doctor looked at them over the top of his glasses. "Make no mistake, his body took a lot of damage even before the fall and only time will tell us how much it managed to recover and if it managed to recover at all."

They both took a moment to process the information, understanding there was still a long way to ho and Riku nodded.

"What about his memory?"

"It seems like he's got most of his memory intact although we obviously don't know much in detail. He knew the date of the day he was hospitalized and knew who you both were. His memory of the last few months is foggy, but that's to be expected since he was sick for so much of it," the man sighed. "Our biggest concern right now is his back. It took a heavy blow and until the casts are off his legs we won't be able to tell if he has feeling in them or not since it are complete foot casts. So take into account that there is a risk of paralysis."

Looking at their pales faces, he seemed to take pity on them. "What happened will no doubt leave his mark and it might change him in ways. But he is awake and alert and that is already more than we could have hoped for."

"Whatever happens, we're here," Riku said determinedly. "Can we go back in?"

"Only for a little while and only if you are quiet. He will need his rest so if he falls back asleep, do not wake him as rest is what he needs most now."

Thanking them both, they hurried back inside; mutely taking a seat on either side of Sora so they could both hold his hand and immediately his eyes opened upon their touch and he smiled as he spotted Roxas.

"Fo home," the whispered words brought a smile to Roxas' lips.

"You did."

Tears ran down Riku's cheeks as he choked on a sob and Sora's gaze shifted to him, eyes narrowing as he very slowly reached up to try and wipe the tears away.

"Ku...don cry," his voice broke between the words but they were still enough to make Riku let out a breathy laugh.

"They are happy tears, Sor," he pressed a kiss to Sora's hand before guiding it down again; squeezing it lightly. "I'm just happy to see you awake."

Smiling slightly at the explanation, Sora's eyes began to drop and they both silently watched as their precious friend was reclaimed by sleep; knowing it would help him heal.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two years had passed and they were all on Destiny Island; greeting Kairi as she sailed towards them with Hayner, Pence and Olette.

Sora waved; calling out to them in laughter while Riku and Roxas moved into the water to bind the sailing raft to the dock so it wouldn't drift off and Riku turned to toss water at him.

Laughing, Sora ducked away before returning fire and Roxas smiled as he looked at the two.

Sora had come a long way since waking up; having had to relearn how to walk in the end as the damage to his nerves was severe and even now his right leg didn't completely come along while he walked. But it didn't seem to trouble the brunet and the others matched him in his speed without complaint.

His speech wasn't perfect either as he would sometimes trip over words or be unable to find the one he was looking for, but the doctors were still convinced it would improve with more training; though none of his friends cared in the slightest as they knew they had been very lucky Sora was with them at all.

As if feeling he was being watched, Sora turned to him with a bright smile and Roxas barely had time to return it before he was tackled into the water.

Yelping, Roxas fought to break free as crippled or not, Sora was immensely strong and had the advantage of being on top so the brunet too the liberty to tickle him breathless.

"Mercy!" He eventually begged once he had trouble breathing and Sora finally eased up, smiling down at him.

"We go home?" he asked and Roxas nodded.

"Yeah, we've got to show our house off to those city crew," hugging Sora as the other helped him up, he took the opportunity to softly kiss him; smiling as it was returned happily before wolf whistling broke them apart again.

"Get a room!" Hayner howled, receiving a glare from Roxas while Sora stuck out his tongue.

"You are j-just jealous Olette wo-won't let you kiss her in pu-public," Sora called out to Hayner's immense horror.

"Sora!"

"Run Sora!" Kairi called out helpfully as Hayner let out an outraged battle cry and Sora ducked out of the way; hurrying away as Hayner chased him.

Laughing, Roxas watched the two rough house.

"We should go rescue Hayner as there's no way he'll ever catch Sora here," Riku mused from his side, and nodding his agreement: Roxas smiled as they made to follow their friends.

He still wasn't sure what had caused Sora to appear on the roof by his house that one fateful night or why he had been the only one able to touch him.

He had no idea why he had seen Sora's life in his dreams or why he had been drawn to the other, maybe it was luck or maybe it was destiny; Roxas didn't really care as he had never been happier than since Sora had come into his life and wouldn't trade it for the world.