After Riku stormed out, no one was sure what to do. Eventually, they were told by a nurse that they would have to leave because visiting hours had ended and they went their separate ways. Sora and Kairi decided to return to the Destiny Islands. The drive back was quiet. It was similar to the drive in, but instead of there being an aura of worry and anxiety, it was just sadness.

They drove along the bridge that connected the islands to the main landmass and Kairi tried to distract herself by watching the waves. She was fascinated that even with all the raging power of the ocean, people had managed to build a lasting bridge to span the distance. In the past, if someone wanted to get to the Destiny Islands they would have to go by boat or plane. This proved to be inefficient, however, because it was too expensive to take a plane anytime someone wanted to leave or enter the islands and it was too time consuming to take a boat. So, instead they constructed the bridge.

They had reached the end of the bridge when Sora finally spoke, "I'm sorry, Kairi."

She looked over at him confused, "Why are you sorry?"

He didn't answer immediately, "This must be strange for you. I mean, I guess after a certain amount of time, every officer gets used to the fact that people are gonna get hurt. It was hard for Riku for obvious reasons, but for Roxas and I, we've learned to just kind of accept it."

Kairi looked at him curiously, "Sora. I want to be a doctor. I'm gonna get used to dealing with death just like you. It'll be different for me because it won't be people I'm close to, but I'll understand that it happens and that sometimes there's not much I can do."

Sora suddenly looked at her. He had a look in his eyes that Kairi couldn't quite place. If she had to guess it might have been hope. He fixed his eyes back on the road, "And what if it was someone you were close to?"

Kairi looked out the window at the passing scenery, "I don't know. Maybe I'll be so used to death at that point that it won't really phase me. Or maybe I'd blame myself for not being able to help, but I think..." She pressed her lips together in thought, "I think that if it were someone I was really close to that it would motivate me further. I wouldn't want anyone else to suffer like they did. It would hurt and I'd be upset for a while, yes, but it wouldn't stop me. Not a chance."


Sora dropped Kairi off at home and after they said their good nights, Sora started on his way home. His shared apartment would be pretty empty tonight. Unless, of course, Riku had just gone home after letting off steam, but Sora seriously doubted that. Riku had seemed very determined. Sora only wished that he was with Riku. He tended to be a bit reckless without Sora around.

He tried not to think about it too much as he arrived at his apartment. He opened the door and looked around. He was right. Completely empty. Riku hadn't even come home to get some of his things. He must have had his stuff with him to Twilight Town. He had always his pistol on his person. Sora knew that. His only other possession that he kept in his car at all times was his shotgun.

He called it "Way to the Dawn". It was kind of a joke he had with himself that if he ever had to use it, it would send whatever bad guy he came in contact with all the way to the horizon. Sora would have judged him for it if not for the fact that he had two extra guns of his own.

He'd bought one because of Riku. Sora figured that if Riku had a shotgun, then so could he. He'd named his "Oblivion" because that's where he would send his bad guys. The other, however, he'd bought much more recently. It was a .46 Magnum Revolver. He named it "Oathkeeper" because it's only purpose was so that Sora could keep a promise he made to himself. That promise was to keep his friends and family safe.

The strange thing about Oathkeeper is that the night he had bought it was the same night that he'd met Kairi. As a result, Sora felt that Oathkeeper was connected to Kairi in some way. Even though he hadn't used it against the thugs that attacked her, he'd had it with him at the time. It made him feel stronger. It made him more confident. And that's exactly how Kairi made him feel most of the time, too.

So, while he kept Oblivion in the trunk of his car, and he only carried his regular pistol with him when on the job, he always kept Oathkeeper tucked away in a custom holster on his back. He never told anyone about Oathkeeper either. No one knew because he never had to use it. He'd even made a deal with the gunsmith he'd bought it from not to tell anyone. The gunsmith was an old friend named Cid. Cid was friends with Sora's parents when they were younger.

As Sora began to undress, he removed the harness from his back. It was essentially a belt of leather that wrapped diagonally around his bare torso. It went from his left hip to his right shoulder. The holster was placed around his shoulder blades so that the handle would be accessible if Sora reached back and grabbed it. He removed Oathkeeper and placed it under his pillow before changing into his pajamas and climbing into bed himself.

He thought about everything that had happened. It had been a long, extremely eventful day. Sora couldn't believe that this morning, Riku had been trying to scold him on whether or not he should ask Kairi out. And now, Riku was gone without a trace probably getting himself killed and there wasn't anything Sora could do about it. He could go after him, but that wouldn't solve anything. Even if Sora found Riku, Riku would be too stubborn to let Sora help and he would be too determined to give up. Sora just had to hope that Riku didn't get himself killed.

Frustrated with what to do about Riku, Sora shifted his thoughts to another matter that conquered his mind much of the time: Kairi. Sora was fairly certain that he had feelings for Kairi at this point. That he could admit to. And what Kairi had said in the car about not letting the death of someone close to her bring her down was definitely a good thing.

But then again, there's Riku. Riku was one of the strongest guys he knew. He'd survived the deaths of both his parents and he could still bring himself to smile. But now with Xion, he was ready to plunge himself into a situation where he would probably get killed and he did it without a second thought. Then again, he had said that he wasn't sure how he would feel if something had happened to Xion. "Ugh..." Sora groaned as he decided to just clear his head of all thoughts and try to sleep.


Kairi woke up early the next morning. After Sora had dropped her off, she had gone straight to bed. It had been a long day and she just wanted to put off thinking about everything. Unfortunately, now that morning had come, she didn't have much of a choice. She was wide awake and she had the day off. Normally, Sora would have contacted her about meeting up and doing something, but he hadn't called.

Sora... He never really got the chance to explain himself last night. With everything that happened, Kairi had almost forgotten about their little impromptu "date". If it could even be called that. Sure, it was at a very nice restaurant and she did have feelings for Sora, but did Sora feel the same way? Sometimes she felt like he did because of all the things that he did for her all the time, but maybe Sora was just a nice person.

She shook her head in frustration. What was she doing? One of her friends was going through turmoil because her little sister could be dying and Kairi was worried about whether some boy liked her. But he wasn't just "some boy"... He was Sora. She shook her head again, "Stop it! That's it... You're gonna call Yuffie and check in. Then, you're gonna offer to come out and see her," Kairi nodded to herself. She paused, "But you don't have a car..."

She sighed as she plopped herself down at the kitchen table.

She was still in her pajamas. They were pink with little paopu fruits on them. They were kind of childish, but they were comfortable and no one saw her in them besides her parents anyway.

Riiing!

It was Kairi's cellphone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kairi." It was Sora.

"Oh, hey, Sora." Great. Just when I'd decided to stop thinking about him. "What's up?" Just then the doorbell rang, "Oh. Hold on, Sora. One second."

"No problem," Sora responded casually.

Kairi went to the front door. It was probably the mailman. Or maybe Selphie coming to ask for relationship advice again. She opened the door to find Sora with a goofy smile on his face and a cell phone pressed to his ear. Or Sora... She hung up her phone.

Sora looked at his phone with mock hurt, "Hey. That was rude!"

Kairi rolled her eyes, "What are you doing here?" Sora was just looking at her curiously. Kairi felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks, "And what are you staring at?"

"Paopu fruits?" Sora said with a raised eyebrow. A small smirk was playing on his face.

Kairi clenched her fists, her blush deepening with frustration, "Shut up."

Sora just laughed, "What? I think it's cute!"

Her face was now the same color as her crimson hair, "Shut up!"

"I'm not allowed to call you cute?" She slammed the door in his laughing face. "Hey! Come on, Kairi! I'll let you see my pajamas!"

She opened the door again, her face still the color of a tomato, "Why are you here?"

Sora's laughter eventually died down and he responded, "Roxas called me and said that Xion's awake. I thought we should go see her."

Kairi's eyes widened, "She's awake?"

Sora nodded with a smile, "Yeah. Roxas didn't give me details, but apparently she's doing well."

Kairi smiled, "That's great! Let's go!"

Sora nodded again, "Yeah! You should probably change first though..." The door slammed as he laughed to himself.


After Kairi had changed, they were off. Kairi was now wearing a white blouse and black jeans. Sora himself was dressed down for the day. He wore a black polo and tan khakis. Both of them were in much higher spirits than yesterday for obvious reasons. Xion waking up made them forget about Riku for a bit and they were both excited to see her.

Kairi didn't know Xion very well. She'd only met her a couple of times when she would come visit Yuffie at the pub, but she seemed nice. She wasn't as bubbly as Yuffie. In fact, she had a knack for sarcasm and her sass could reduce grown men to tears. It was no surprise that she was a good match for the brash Riku. Then again, she didn't really know Riku either.

From what she's seen of Riku, he was a good guy. He clearly cared about Xion and that was why he had acted the way he did. And from what Sora has told her about him, he's a loyal friend and he functions well under pressure. At the thought of Riku storming out, Kairi began to get worried again. What if something happened to Riku? What would Xion do?

"Hey. What's wrong?" Sora asked from the driver's seat.

"Oh. Uh. Nothing. I'm fine." Kairi didn't want to upset Sora by bringing up Riku, but he was persistent.

"No, you're not. You were fine five minutes ago, but now you look like your worried about something."

Kairi was about to argue, but then she just sighed. Sora was right. She couldn't very well hide it from him, "I'm just worried about Riku..." Sora's frown deepened and Kairi immediately felt terrible for saying anything, "Sora, I-"

"It's okay. I'm worried about Riku, too. I just didn't say anything." He gave her a small smile to reassure her and she smiled back, "While I'm worried about the trouble that he's gonna get himself in, Riku's a big boy. He knows what he's doing and as long as he doesn't let his anger get the best of him, he should be okay."

Kairi nodded, "I guess... You obviously know him better than I do. What do you think he's gonna do?"

Sora thought about this for a little while, "I think that he started to regret his decision as soon as he left. He'd gotten caught up in the moment and he wanted to make a point. He still wants to take out Organization XIII, but he's smart enough to know that he can't do it alone. So, instead he's going to lay low for a little while. He's too stubborn to come and ask for help, but he's not an idiot either. Eventually, he'll swallow his pride and come back. Then, we can handle things together like we always do."

Kairi smiled a bit, "You guys really are close, huh?"

"Yeah..." Sora smiled, too. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna forgive him for acting like an idiot though."

Kairi giggled, "Of course not." They both felt a little better. Sora had been so worried about all the things that could happen to Riku that he'd almost forgotten that Riku is smarter than that. Riku knows how to handle situations like this and he would gonna be fine. They would just have to wait.


They arrived at the hospital and after Sora found a parking spot, they walked in together. They checked in with the nurse at the front desk and made their way to the elevator. It's funny how the purpose of the visit could completely change the way you see everything. Last night, all they could see were people dying. Old men in wheel chairs and sick people that looked like they would never recover. Now, they saw people being helped. They saw the kids in pediatrics playing and the patients being surrounded by loved ones. It was definitely a welcomed change that made the two of them smile.

They made their way to Xion's room. The only two that were inside were Yuffie and Xion herself. Only Xion wasn't awake like they were told. She was lying limp on the bed. They both rushed into the room and saw Yuffie hiding her face as she sobbed. Kairi ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her, "What happened? I thought the doctors said she was okay?"

"Th-they did," Yuffie choked out.

"Then, why is she like this?" Sora asked as he walked towards Xion. He sat next to her bed and looked at her with confusion plastered all over his face.

"Sh-She thought it w-would be f-funny," Yuffie cried.

"She thought what would be funny?" Kairi asked with concern.

Yuffie muttered in little more than a whisper, "If she pretended to be asleep so she could scare Sora when he got here."

Sora couldn't hear what Yuffie had said, "What?"

"AH!" Xion yelled as she shot up. Sora screamed as he fell out of his seat. The three girls laughed at him as he lay sprawled on the floor.

"What the hell, Xion?" Sora said from the floor, "Why would you do that?"

Xion shrugged, "For funsies."

Sora growled as he got back up. Meanwhile Kairi and Yuffie were still giggling in the background. He couldn't stay mad for long though. Eventually, his smile came back as he stared at Xion, "I'm just glad to see you're okay."

Xion smiled back, "Thanks, Spike."

Sora rolled her eyes at the nickname, "So, what have the doctors told you so far?"

Xion shrugged, "Not much. I shouldn't exert myself too much, make sure to keep myself well fed and hydrated, I may never walk again, and, oh! I might be getting this super cool lanyard with-"

"What?!" Sora and Kairi yelled together.

Xion smiled, "Yeah! This lanyard has like each bone in the body on it and-"

Sora shook his head, "Not that! You may never walk again?"

Xion shrugged, "Yeah. It's kind of a bummer, but they told me that I could get a wheelchair just like the one that Professor X has." She smiled excitedly.

Sora was at a loss for words so Kairi stepped in, "How are you okay with losing the ability to walk?"

Xion shrugged again, "I don't know. I guess I'm not really looking at it like that. It's more that I'm gaining another chance at life. The doctor's told me that I was almost gone for good, you know? But they managed to bring me back. I guess I'm just too grateful to care."

Kairi smiled, "Well, that's very admirable of you."

Xion smiled back, "Thanks. I just hope Riku takes the news well. The things that I won't be able to do anymore... He's gonna be-" She looked around at the faces of everyone in the room, "What's wrong?"

Sora talked this time, "Riku kind of left last night."

Xion raised an eyebrow, "Well, I figured. He couldn't stay all night like Yuf did."

Sora shook his head, "Well, no, but I mean he left. He disappeared. No one knows where he is."

Xion looked confused, "What? What happened?"

The three of them filled Xion in and at the end of it, Xion was just looking down refusing to make eye contact with any of them. Finally, Kairi stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Xion didn't respond immediately, but eventually she said, "That idiot... Of course he would run off and try and avenge me. We need to stop watching so many superhero flicks. One of these days he's gonna get hurt and there's not gonna be any super serum to bring him to top physical perfection."

None of the others were sure what to say. Xion just had an air of casualness to her that none of them could quite grasp. They had just told her that her boyfriend had run off to single-handedly try and take down a huge criminal organization that was responsible for her near death and she was making movie references. They weren't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but they decided that whatever she did, she did to help herself and they couldn't really stop her from feeling what she was feeling.

They spent the rest of the time just talking about random things. Xion asked how Sora and Kairi knew each other, and they were forced to try and explain the situation even though they themselves didn't completely understand it. A doctor came in and said that he had to do some tests and that the three visitors should go to the waiting room. Yuffie went, but Sora and Kairi decided that they should head home for the day. They said goodbye to Yuffie and Xion and made their way back to the car.

The drive home was just as calm as the drive in with the two of them making idle chit chat or sometimes just sitting in comfortable silence. Neither of them felt like discussing the status of their relationship and they were comfortable just letting whatever happens happen for the time being. They were taking a page out of Xion's book and just being grateful. And they were grateful that they had the chance to be with someone that they truly care about without having to worry about what the future held for them.