Later, he was greeted by a stream of bright sunlight shining down into his eyes. Turning his head, Riku rolled onto his side, pressing his face into the sand. The grains shaded his eyes from the light, and it took some time before he was able to lift himself up to standing. He felt even more drained than before, despite the rest he was sure he'd just had.
He groaned as he moved, his body stiff from lying in the chill for so long. A shiver ran down his spine, and he pulled the jacket closer around him. The lower hem was soaked from the waves, as were his pajama pants and shoes. He took the shoes off, to let them dry in the sun. It was then he remembered school.
Glancing up at the sun, he figured from its relatively low position that it wasn't even lunch time yet. He could still get there, with plenty of time. However, swimming back was something he didn't quite feel up to. Then, a second thought hit him.
He had slept out here. And hadn't had any bad dreams. A smile grew on his face, but faded soon after. He had slept out on the island, and clearly hadn't been in his bed when his mother would have come to wake him. They had to be looking for him by now, his parents.
"Of course they are," he said aloud, eyes turning to stare at the distant shoreline. He waited the whole day, with no sign of any search party. No sign of anyone else, for that matter. Not a soul came down to the island, something he'd been counting on in the event none of the adults thought of searching out here.
As true night fell, Riku started wondering if his best bet would be to swim back, but kept holding on to the hope his parents, someone, anyone, would row up to that dock.
But, he thought, I swam out here. Riku didn't think it likely they would zero in on the island, with his boat moored back at the dock on the mainland. He had to get back himself, somehow.
Pulling himself up and out of the water, crawling out of reach of the surf, Riku sat back down again. He panted a little, tired from the miniscule exertion. He shivered in the cool air, drawing his knees up at tilting his head to look up at the sun. Hopefully it would dry him soon, otherwise he could catch a cold, if he hadn't already.
The wind picked up as the day wore on, with clouds slowly gathering in the formerly clear sky. Riku watched as the storm gathered itself, the rain falling heavily. He made his way to the small cabin, soaked to the bone when he got to the little wooden structure. Shivering, he lay there, by the door, water dripping into a muddy pool around him. No one would come today, the storm would make it too dangerous to sail. Eventually, the soothing nature of rainfall lulled the teen into sleep.
Another nightmare pulled him back into the waking world, staring at a wood ceiling with terrified eyes. In this one, it had just been himself and Sora, out on the beach when a dark cloud appeared. Suddenly, they were carried off into a dark vortex, holding onto each others' hands as they tried to ride it out. The wind of the vortex had been far too strong though, and their grips slowly loosened, until the pair were forcibly pulled apart. Riku went flying off, with Sora being torn towards an opposite direction. Sora called out to him, and Riku could hear the brunet's voice fading into the distance, before quelling all together. "Sora!" Riku shouted, nothing but black all around. "Sora!"
"Sora," he spoke, snapping out of sleep. The roof of the cabin was quiet, as though the rain had stopped, but Riku felt as though he had even less energy than before. His body felt like lead, and his limbs weren't cooperating very well with him as he attempted to stand. He got as far as his knees before he had to stop, leaning against the wall. He couldn't do it, he didn't have the energy to. Swimming back to the mainland now was entirely out of the question, unless he really did want to drown.
Peeking outside through the door, Riku saw a crystalline sky, devoid of clouds. Stars twinkled happily in the ink above, Riku gazing at them with a sense of wonder. "I wonder which one of those is Traverse or Twilight Town," he thought aloud. He almost missed his old Gummi ship, but greatly mourned the loss of his ability to travel with those portals.
No, what am I thinking?
Those portals did not bode good tidings for the world they appeared on, mostly on account of the Organization. Without them, Riku wondered if the pathways through the dark would still be as stable as they once were.
Those portals did not bode good tidings for the world they appeared on, mostly on account of the Organization. Without them, Riku wondered if the pathways through the dark would still be as stable as they once were. If they were safe without someone controlling the Heartless and Nobodies. A cough halted his train of thought.
It was quickly followed by a rapid succession of more coughing, the silver haired male doubling over where he knelt in the sand. Energy all but gone, he lay back down, curling his legs up into himself. He was hoping someone would come tomorrow. He wasn't sure if he could take another day like this, falling ill as he knew he was. Sora would come for him, to rescue him, like always.
Like always?
His slowly closing eyes snapped open. That's right, Sora did always save everyone. Always came at the right time, keyblade swinging, ready to knock some Darkness out. Well, Riku wouldn't let that happen. Sora wasn't the only one with a keyblade. Calling Way To the Dawn to his side, he gripped the hilt tightly in his hand. He was still strong, if his keyblade was still willing to come to him. He could not let himself just lay here and do nothing.
With a grunt of effort, he pulled himself to his feet with the aid of Way To the Dawn, leaning against the wall of the shack once was successfully standing. He stumbled forward, nearly falling back to the ground, but managing to catch himself and remain upright. Outside, the rain had indeed ceased, the slowly growing dawn lighting the sky. In the distance, he spotted a number of boats drawing slowly closer to the docks. Way To the Dawn vanished, its presence likely to draw too many questions from too many people. Without its help, though, walking, let alone standing, grew that much harder.
"Riku!" The silveret smiled at the brunet racing towards him, wrapping him in a hug. "You're alright!"
"Of course I am," he replied, trying, and failing to not knock both him and Sora over. "Ok, maybe I'm not," he mumbled, voice muffled by Sora's shirt.
"Oh, he's alive!" his mother shouted, hurrying over to where the boys lay in the sand. "My baby, my baby," she said, wrapping her arms around Riku and pulling him into a tight hug. She drew away a few moments later, during which a crowd, mostly made up of adults, had gathered around them. Glancing around, Riku could see Kairi among them, a big smile on her face. Gaze returning to his mother, who was eying him, Riku stared back, confused. "You look a bit pale, Riku. Are you sure you're..." she trailed off, having reached up to feel his forehead. Her eyes widened into panic within an instant. "My god," her whispered invocation drawing concern from everyone else. "You're burning up, Riku. We need to get you home, and in bed."
Riku might have laughed if he wasn't trying to hold back another coughing fit. She was always so overprotective whenever he got sick, as if she wasn't when he wasn't sick. As quickly as her panic set in, it vanished, becoming doting worry. Riku was helped into a boat, and the search party set off, back to the mainland. Riku rode with his mother, Sora, and Sora's father. Sora and his father paddled, with Sora trying to draw Riku into conversation. Riku, however, just wanted to sleep. Leaning against his mother, his head resting on her shoulder, his eyes drifted closed once more.