A/N: Sorry for the repost. I realized that 3,600ish words was kinda a lot to take in on a first chapter. From now on chapters should be under the 2,500ish range. Once again, Apologies for the repost.

Updated: 11-18-11: I realized that I caused a bit of rambling toward the end of this chapter and thought I should come back in and clean it up a bit. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: A Heart to Heart

"Long time to see." A voice called from up ahead.

Sora looked up a bit startled, but smiled as he realized who the voice belonged to. Riku walked toward him; his silver hair was pulled back into a ponytail but this did not prevent his bangs from continuing to block his eyes from clear vision. Riku wore loose knee-length shorts a plain t-shirt and light vest. The two friends picked up their walking pace until they were close enough to embrace in a fierce bear hug.

"I'm sure you've heard this a lot in the past few days Riku," Sora said into his friend's shoulder. "But damn, it's good to have you back." The brunette held his friend so tight he could feel the silver-haired boy's heartbeat against his chest.

Riku smiled and ruffled his friend's spiky hair. "It's good to be back, Sora."

The two friends eventually let go of one another and continued walking on the beach together, chatting about their each of their parent's reaction to their return. Riku's mom had fainted when she had come to the door expecting the pizza delivery man, only to discover her long lost son standing on the welcome mat, smiling sheepishly. Which was a far better reaction than Sora's mom, who had not been expecting anyone to just walk in, almost hit her son square in the face with a frying pan. The two laughed together like they had not in years.

Sora and Riku eventually made it to the island that their adventure had started two years ago. They walked along the bridge to the slightly bent palm tree on its lonely island. Sora hopped up on to the nearly horizontal palm tree and looked out at the horizon, while Riku leaned against the trunk beside him.

"I missed you, Riku." Sora said almost impulsively, his cheeks a little flushed. He avoided looking to his friend at this very moment. It did not seem like a very manly thing to confess to his feelings to his best friend, especially when it made him sound like a girl, but it was too late now, the words had already left his lips.

"I was worried I had lost you to the darkness forever. I wish I could have been there for you, to help you stay in the light, and that we could have gone on this adventure together, on the same side you know?"

Riku winced a little, but nodded. "Yeah Sora, I know."

The silver-haired teen sighed and rubbed his face. "I regret the way that I left Destiny Island. I regret giving into the Darkness inside of me. I was a foolish child, who could not even begin to understand that vastness that is outside of our tiny island."

Sora nodded in agreement, kicking his legs back and forth. While Sora had gotten taller, he could still swing his feet without touching the sand below. "I still don't fully understand what is out there. We've seen so many different worlds and people. Some of them were full of light and others were lost in darkness. They all found a way of co-existing, managing their lives and struggles. It makes you feel really small doesn't it?" The breeze rolled in off the ocean, causing the two boys to pause, deeply breathing in the salty air.

"Sure does." Riku responded, giving a slide-ways glance at his brunette friend. The silver-haired boy watched Sora with a little bit of caution. While it was great to be back on his home island, Riku had yet to really let his guard down.

Even though the two of them had not had a major discussion since the day they left Destiny Island; Riku could tell something was on Sora's mind. "How about you? I met and spoke with Roxas briefly. Are you two getting along in there?"

Sora stretched on the tree, the rough bark scratching his back, "I think we are. Our hearts are the same and I guess I never realized that how... out of sync I felt. I was so consumed with finding you after we defeated Ansem that I didn't realize I had lost that part of me."

Sora rested his hand over his heart. He occasionally could feel Roxas on the edge of his mind. The Nobody's memories and feelings like light on a reflecting pool; blurry and out of focus. "What was he like?"

Riku laughed slightly, recalling the blond boy he encountered in the Land-That-Never-Was, "He was just like you. Stubborn, determined, and fierce. He lacked your kindness." Riku paused. "I think you needed him too though." Sora gave Riku a quizzical look.

"What do you mean by that?"

Riku shrugged," He gave you experience, and a better perspective on Nobodies and Organization XIII."

"Axel..."

Sora felt it now, on the edge of his mind Roxas remembering his friend. The brunette closed his azure eyes as the familiar wave of sadness rolled from his chest. "Yeah, I guess your right." Sora bit his lip briefly, contemplating what he was about to say next. Many nights Sora had sat up staring at the sky trying to come to terms with what he was about to share with Riku.

"Riku, I have this feeling in my chest that I haven't been able to shake." He turned to his silver-haired friend, who peered at him through the corner of his eye. "It is like a sense of dread. While I'm glad to see my parents and have some time off, I feel like should be out there fighting off the darkness in all the worlds we have yet to even discover." The brunette paused holding a hand over his chest for a moment, as if trying to obtain a clue to the secrets it held inside.

"At first, I thought it was guilt for taking a breather, but now I realize it is more than that. I feel the the first step to truly understanding what is happening in my heart is to figure out where you and I stand. We've crossed blades and hurt one another. I feel like I had let you down Riku..."

Sora hung his head shamefully, running a hand through his auburn hair. He paused taking a deep breath before speaking the words he had rolled around in his head for months. "I want you to know that I don't hold anything against you for going into the darkness, in fact I blame myself for not-"

"Sora." Riku cut him off almost sharply. "I never want you to think that way ever again. The choices I made were mine and mine alone." Riku's sea-green eyes penetrated Sora with so much intensity.

Riku had come to terms with what he had done by stepping away from the light, he knew that he now existed between the darkness and the light. If the world was black and white, he would be gray, and he was okay with being able to see all perspectives and shouldering that burden.

"Sora, I doubt you could have done anything for me at the time." Riku spoke with confidence. "I was a young teenager who was obsessed with becoming the best, and being better than where I was from, so much so that I forgot who I really was inside. I wanted to be strong to protect those I cared about but ultimately I ended up hurting the very people I tried to protect."

Sora watched his friend's expression in the late morning sun. Riku appear to be ashamed of what he had done, but Riku had been able to not only let go of the past, but was capable of learning from it and moving on.

The brunette felt so much pride for his dear childhood friend. He reached out to pat Riku on the shoulder when a pain ripped through his chest, the wave of sadness seemed to be real and stealing the very breath from his lungs, consuming Sora in sudden darkness. The breath that was nearly trapped in his lungs, came out as a raspy wheeze as another tremor struck. Sora's eyes lost focus as he slipped from consciousness. "Ri...ku.."

Sora fell backward off the tree back into the shallow shore below. Riku spun round but not in time enough to stop Sora from falling into the water, the ocean engulfed the keyblade wielder with a loud crash.

"Sora!"