A/N: I know I'm supposed to be focusing on Symphonia, but this kept bugging me. Eventually I wrote it.

Have a three-shot! (probably going to be more eventually, though)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney (I think)

Sora sat in the room Yen Sid had given him, staring out of the window at the sky. The strange pulling within him had started again, and he wished he knew what it was.

"What do you want me to do?" he whispered to himself, brow furrowed.

'Return...heart...'

"I don't know what you mean! Return what heart? Where to?" he hissed.

'Please..'

The pressure faded and he groaned, laying his head in his palm. Maybe the voice had faded, but the pulling remained, and it constantly got at him day and night. He wasn't able to rest properly anymore, and doubted he would until he found out what the tugging was.

Going silent and listening, he nodded as he realised everyone else was asleep. Getting up, he headed out of his room and down to the bottom of the tower, stepping outside.

Gazing up at the sky, he took a deep breath before summoning his Keyblade. Oathkeeper glittered brightly in his hand, a constant reminder that he had to return to Kairi, that Roxas was still within him, and that he was not a true Keyblade Wielder.

Shaking his head, he raised Oathkeeper to the sky. He focused on the pulling, willing it to lead him to where he needed to go, and slowly a Keyhole began to open up in the sky.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The voice startled him and broke his concentration. He turned back, allowing his hand to drop to his side.

"Riku. What are you doing out so late?" Sora asked.

"I noticed you moving about and whispering to yourself. You've been pretty distant lately, Sora. Not at all yourself," Riku explained.

"I don't even know who I am anymore..." Sora murmured, gazing at his Keyblade.

Riku stepped forward, looking concerned. "Sora...You've been like this since that Mark of Mastery exam. Are you mad about not being the Keyblade Master or something? I won't mind if you are," Riku added hurriedly, his expression concerned.

Sora glanced at him, then smiled. "I'm not mad about that Riku. I just.. learnt a lot about myself, and I don't think I've quite adjusted to the information yet, is all."

"Well, do you want to talk about it? That generally seems to help."

Sora shook his head. "Not...not yet. Besides, I have to do something else first."

"Where were you going?" asked Riku, realising he was referring to when he was about to leave.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just following my heart."

"Well...how about I go with you? It'll be safer that way, anyway."

Sora looked at him. "You sure?" he asked uncertainly.

Riku nodded, smiling. "Sure I'm sure. Kairi would be mad at me if I let you go off on another adventure around the worlds alone again, anyway."

Sora gave him a vague smile. "Yeah, I guess that's true," he shrugged, then turned back. "But if you wanna back out at any point, I won't stop you," he added before lifting Oathkeeper again.

"I won't. Trust me," Riku replied, standing beside him.

The Keyhole opened, spreading widely and shining in the dark. Sora gazed at it, uncertainty flickering through him briefly, then gritted his teeth and stepped towards it.

'Whoever you are...I will help you,' he vowed, before the two of them leapt into the portal.

They stepped out, and Riku looked around in surprise. "Why are we at Castle Oblivion?" he asked.

Sora gazed at it a moment, then shook his head. "I never made it all the way to the top," he said. Riku looked at him in confusion.

"Is that why we're back?" he asked.

"No," Sora replied shortly, then entered through the door. Riku raised his eyebrow then followed as Sora started towards the stairs.

They encountered no one as they climbed, the quietness almost disturbing. Riku glanced around hesitantly, keeping his Keyblade, Way to the Dawn, at the ready.

"Sora, what are we doing here?" Riku asked finally.

Sora shrugged. "Not sure yet," he replied.

"So why didn't we just bring along the others? If we get attacked by something here, we'll be in a lot of trouble."

Sora considered this. "I don't think we'll be attacked," he replied, continuing to climb.

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's what my heart is telling me."

Riku hesitated, then fell silent. They continued to climb in silence, their feet echoing slightly.

Finally they reached a door at the top. Sora hesitated outside of it, his hand outstretched, and Riku glanced at him.

"We don't have to go in if you don't want to," he reminded him.

Sora gave his friend a vague smile. "Actually...I think I kinda do have to," he replied, then pushed the door open before Riku could reply.

They stepped into a white room. It was nothing but white, and in its centre stood a large white chair. Sora walked towards the chair, his heart hammering in his chest.

Walking round to the front of it, he gasped lightly. Riku soon joined him, and stared.

"He looks like Roxas," Riku said, shocked.

Sora gazed at him, a distant memory rising. "...Ventus," he murmured.

"Huh?"

"His name is Ventus. Yeah...we met that man and woman that time, remember? The guy you met on the beach, and the lady with blue hair?"

Riku nodded, remembering. "Yeah, that guy gave me his Keyblade."

"Well, I think this is their friend. Ventus."

"But...what has he got to do with you?" Riku asked.

Sora frowned, then suddenly his expression cleared. "Oh..." he murmured.

"Oh...what?"

"I remember him. He...his heart broke. So I took him into mine."

Riku frowned. "But...when did you do that?"

"Ages ago. You remember that night I cried for no reason?"

"Uh...vaguely."

"Somewhere around then."

Riku gazed at Ventus. "Okay, so? What do we do now?"

Sora lowered his gaze. "Now...I return his heart to him," he replied quietly.

Riku looked up at his resigned tone. "Sora, if this is going to hurt you, don't do it," he said.

"I won't hurt me."

Riku frowned. "Then why..?"

"You'll see," Sora replied with a sad smile. Taking a breath, he reached out and clasped Ventus' hand. "I-I'm returning your heart. Like you asked," he said quietly.

A glow appeared around him, and he closed his eyes as the light spread out. It reached towards Ventus, entering him and lighting him up. The glow faded from Sora, and he opened his eyes to watch the light sink into Ventus before it also faded.

Slowly, the boy blinked his eyes open, looking around blearily. "W-Where..."

"It's okay, don't worry. You're in Castle Oblivion," Sora explained.

Ventus looked at him, frowning, then his expression cleared. "You're the boy who let me stay in your heart..." he murmured.

Sora gave a sad smile, nodding. "That's right. I hope it's been alright in there."

"More than alright. Thank you for letting me stay so long, I didn't realise that...that it would take so long for me to recover. But, um, do you know where Aqua and Terra are?"

Sora shook his head. "I'm sorry, we don't know. Master Yen Sid might, though. Or King Mickey."

"King Mickey? So Mickey's alright!? That's great news!"

"Do you know Mickey?" Riku asked, confused. Ventus glanced at him, nodding.

"We met, ages ago, when Mickey was still an apprentice. We fought Xehanort and Vanitas together."

"Vanitas?"

"My dark side."

At Riku's confused look, Sora elaborated. "Kinda like Roxas."

"Oh...a Nobody, then?"

"What's a Nobody?" asked Ventus.

"It's okay; we'll fill you in later. Let's head back to Master Yen Sid's place then. We wouldn't want to worry everyone."

Ventus gave a nod, allowing Sora to help him up. He was a bit unsteady on his feet, not having moved for several years, but with the two boys' help, they made it back down the long tower.

"Riku, do you think you could make a pathway back to Master Yen Sid's?" Sora asked as they got outside.

"Huh? Um, yeah, sure," Riku replied, summoning his Keyblade and raising it. The Keyhole appeared, and the trio stepped through it.

It had taken them longer than they realised, and the sun was already rising as they climbed up the stairs to Yen Sid's study. Riku pushed the door open, entering to a cacophony of sound.

"They were just gone! I don't know where-"

"Hey guys," Sora interrupted, and everyone turned. Mickey's eyes widened as he saw the boy between them.

"Ventus?"

"Mickey, long time no see," Ventus greeted with a grin.

Yen Sid stood, his face shocked. "Ventus...but your heart..how..?"

"My heart's been living with Sora for the past few years. He just saw fit to return it."

Yen Sid stroked his beard, nodding thoughtfully. "I thought it was odd that we should have eight Guardians of Light. It would certainly be explained if you were not truly one."

"Guardians of Light? What are they?" asked Riku, confused. Mickey stepped forward.

"The Guardians of Light are seven Keyblade Wielders who use their power to fight for the light and protect Kingdom Hearts, like the seven shards of light that split from Kingdom Hearts when it faded. Of these Guardians of Light, there is, at this time; Aqua, Ventus, me, you, Kairi, Lea and Master Yen Sid. When a Keyblade Weilder dies, a new one is born and trained by the current master or masters."

"But...Sora uses a Keyblade," Goofy said, confused.

Yen Sid looked at the boy. "Sora?" he invited.

Sora gave a vague smile. "You just really want to rub this in, don't you?" he said, before raising his hand. He concentrated, flexing his hand, but nothing happened. There was no flash of light, no sudden appearance of the Keyblade. Sora let his hand drop to his side, shaking his head. "Figured as much..."

"What? Why can't Sora use the Keyblade now?" asked Donald, confused.

Riku's eyes widened as he realised. "You never could," he murmured, attracting everyone's attention.

"But we saw Sora use the Keyblade lotsa times!" Goofy protested.

"No, Riku's right. I...I could never truly use the Keyblade. Because I was linked to those who could, such as Ventus, Riku, Kairi, and I think Vanitas at one point, I was able to use their power to use it but...I was never truly chosen by the Keyblade."

"But what about your Nobody?" Riku asked.

"Roxas was...kind of Ventus. That's why they look so alike. And, because he is a part of Ventus, he's returned to where he belongs." Sora raised a hand to his chest, eyes distant. "I've sheltered many hearts, over many years, but now my heart is the only one that resides here."

'And it feels empty. Wrong. I don't have any bonds, nothing tying me to them. I'm...alone.'

A/N: Yay for random ideas! I made up a lot of this on the fly, so sorry if it doesn't make much sense... :3

Review?