Sora's eyes flew wide open, and he sat up sharply in his bed with a soft cry. His face was streaked with half dried tears. 'Why did she run from me like that?' he thought wildly, his mind a hazy blur. 'That couldn't have been her! It just couldn't!"

Sora suddenly noticed Riku was kneeling next to him, his features resonant with concern. He was fully clothed, as he always was when he slept. "You okay, Sora?" he asked.

"Uh…yeah," said Sora awkwardly, only half listening to him. His head was still swimming in drowsiness and confusion, and he was inwardly struggling to think clearly.

"Had that dream again, right?" said Riku kindly.

Sora's mental turmoil was abruptly shattered. 'It was another dream,' he thought with both relief and sorrow. He swallowed forcefully and nodded his head.

Riku sighed heavily. "Sora, I know you miss her," he said. His voice was sympathetic, but it contained a hint of irritation. "I miss her, too. But she's been gone for three months now, and you've had this dream about her four times. You've got to pull yourself together."

"I know," said Sora in a shaky voice. He understood the truth in his friend's words, and wanted to punch himself for letting himself dwell on thoughts about Kairi. "I've been trying to get over it, I really have! I just keep having these dreams about her. I wish I could stop having them, but I can't."

Riku sighed again. "I hope you can get rid of them soon. You've got to get back to your full fighting self again." A wide grin suddenly spread across his face. "I need someone to beat up on!"

Sora smiled wryly, and climbed out of bed. "What time is it?" he asked, still slightly groggy.

Riku opened the wooden door at the other end of the room. Bright sunlight streamed into the room, hurting Sora's tired eyes. "It's daylight already?" he said, surprised. "I feel like I just went to sleep! Well, time to get moving, Sora."

Sora climbed out of bed, also fully dressed, and walked the familiar route across to the door. But his mind wasn't on where he was going; he was again thinking about the absurd dream. He was so oblivious to his surroundings that he nearly walked straight into Riku, who had to jumped out of the way to avoid being knocked over. "Careful there, Sora! Where are you going?"

"I don't know," mumbled Sora. "I'll just wander around a bit, I guess."

"Well, okay," said Riku, warily observing his almost drunken gait. "Just try not to kill anything."

"I'll be careful," said Sora with a small chuckle. He ducked his head under the low arch of the door and walked into the beautiful courtyard of Disney Castle.

This had been his home for nearly three months, ever since the Heartless had returned to Destiny Islands. And in that period of time, what he had once thought of as merely a beautiful castle became a real home. The elegant, arching walls and pristine balconies encircling the courtyard became as familiar to him as the logs that comprised the clubhouse back on his island. The impeccably trimmed hedge structures in the garden were as wonderful as the lush tropical trees he had known throughout his life. And his friends, Donald and Goofy, were now as close to him as Riku.

Sora strolled aimlessly through the garden, admiring the hedges. The muddled questions surrounding his odd dreams were forgotten for the moment. It had been several weeks since he had last taken the time to enjoy this natural beauty.

Suddenly, he realized that his random walking had taken him to a very familiar corner of the courtyard. This small square of land was empty, except for a bench that Sora himself had set up months ago. When he had first arrived at Disney Castle, he had spent nearly all his time sitting on that bench with his head in his hands, but he rarely came more than once a day anymore.

In the midst of a dense patch of flowers, a stone rose out of the earth – a gravestone. It was not very large, or ornately carved or decorated; rather, it was nothing more than a large rock. Sora hadn't thought that she would want a large, fancy funeral ceremony or tombstone. He slowly walked across the lush grass and read the same message he had read hundreds of times:

KAIRI

Her heart has left her body, but it has not been destroyed.