...is it safe for me to come back?

Ummm... I'm back from my break? Eh heh heh?

...remember that I love you ALL! T.T

Mint Condition

Tails

His legs, so stiff from barely moving for three days in a row, barely withheld his weight. Regardless of this, his steps were purposeful and jaunty, carrying him from a sterilized room, echoed words of when to be back and recited rules wallowing in his wake. Baggy jeans covered his white slipper-clad feet, trailing under his heels, and a baggy t-shirt that was missing its sleeves, black stripes encircling the holes for neck and arms, hanging down past his hips and almost reaching his knees. Unruly hair that was still a bit damp from just recently being washed, smelling faintly of fresh lilies, bounced slightly as he walked, shoulders taught and shifting under that shirt that showed just how skinny he was. Yet he walked with what little pride he'd managed to scrape together from being stuck in the infirmary for three days straight, and blatantly ignored and suspicious whispers that floated to his ears or the cautious glances, even glares, thrown his way as he took a long walk down the hall.

Because Riku had been stuck inside the bed for three days straight, unmoving and unresponsive after the frightening attack that'd occurred three days previous, and Sora was finally sure that his friend was safe enough for the brunet to leave his side for a simple walk around the castle.

That, and he had been about to go crazy if he spent one more hour with frequent visits from unwanted visitors, and the voice of Aerith, who'd been desperately trying to teach him one thing or another after growing tired of seeing him sulking by the bed.

So the brunette had suggested a long walk to clear his mind, something Sora's readily agreed to. Disney Castle intrigued him just as much as it frightened him, and he was ready for a good look at the place.

Beams of noon light washed over his face and glared hard into his eyes, making Sora lift a bandaged hand to shadow over his eyes. His injured hands didn't hurt as much as they did a few nights ago, when Sora'd made the mistake of launching forward when a bolt of lightning descended upon his friend, grasping metal bars that were white hot from the surge of electricity, scorching his palms.

How was Sora supposed to know that it was magic simply restarting Riku's heart? Not his fault at all. Aerith seemed to think it was, though, as she had put salve on it instead of using her magic to heal him, saying it would teach him a lesson.

Teach him a lesson indeed. Teach what? Not to grab at poles brimming with electric shocks during an experience he was only likely to go through once in his life? No thank you.

Sora breathed in the distinct smell of bacon and eggs that seemed to be wafting form the corridor to his left, and figured it must have been late in the morning, for the sun was fully...

"'CAAAUUUUUSE I'M AAAAALL ALOOOONE!"

...was fully risen, and...

"THEEEERE'S NOOOOO ONE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE BEEEEESIDE MEEEEE!"

...who'd let a banshee into the castle?

Sora blinked, and then winced as the horribly off-key singing grew louder and louder, floating down from the hallway to his left. Wait, was that singing? Sounded like someone with a frog in their throat was dying.

And yet people passed by conventionally, paying no heed to the horrible screeching, as if this were a modern day occurrence.

"MY TROUUUUUBLES HAAAVE ALL... GOOOOONE!"

That was the last straw.

Gritting his teeth and fiercely plugging his hands over his ears to some what muffle the screams, Sora set off at a brisk pace, walking in a slightly awkward manner, seeing as his arms were raised with his palms cupping his ears. Dappled sunlight traced along his path as he hurriedly rushed up the hall, determined to put an end to the ruthless screeching besieging his poor ears.

It didn't take him long, but in those few moments the screaming had gotten even louder and the crowds of people had inconspicuously fled the area, determined to keep what was left of their sense of hearing. He was faced with a wooden door that was ridden with deep scratches, one with a shiny Japanese throwing star lodged within the thick crevice of splintered oak. The door was slightly ajar, and what flowed from it had to be the most awful, out-of-key singing Sora had ever heard in his entire life.

He should know. He heard himself sing.

"THERE IIIIIS NO OOOOONE TOOOOO DERIIIIIIIIIIIIDE ME-EEEEEE!"

And then, gritting his teeth, Sora quickly snatched at the doorknob with his left hand and leaving his ear wide open to assault...

...only to have the object of the racket barrel right into him.

"BUT YAAAAA GOOOOOTTA HAAAAVE FRIIIIIEEE---WHOA!"

And in one mass of flailing limbs and several cries on surprise, ninja and thief fell squirming to the floor in a splay of color.

The servants breathed a collective sigh of relief as the singing stopped.

Sora, however, just groaned and heard a matching noise tremble into his ear. Peaking one eye open, he was met with an unkempt mass of raven locks that was pushed against his cheek, mutters of revenge following a few feeble attempts to untangle two bodies, and Sora soon started to mimic her actions.

Neither one of them got very far.

"Grrr..." Huffing, the black-haired ninja pulled back just enough to look Sora in the eyes as she said, "What were you doing running into me like that, huh?" Shaking her head before she could hear a reply, Yuffie simply said, "Probably trying to sneak a fast one on me, eh? Well, no one can steal from the Great Ninja Yuffie! I don't get why you even tried!"

"I'm not trying to steal from you!" Sora retorted angrily, wriggling a bit from under her weight as he tried to free himself. It was then that he realized one of her knees was digging into his hip and pinning him to the floor, and he watched as she easily slid out from underneath him to switch their positions until she had him firmly trapped on the floor. "Hey, what's the big idea? Let me go!" He twisted in her grip, but she kept her gloved hands firmly on his bony shoulders.

"Geez, you're a pretty tricky one, but not very strong," Yuffie mused. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a stick?"

"Yeah, Riku, now let me up!"

"Oh, Riku! How's the guy doing?"

"Fine, Aerith said he'll be awake soon. So let me up!"

"No way, ya little thief. This is payback for what happened in the market!"

And with that, she released her hold on him for a brief moment and let her hands slide down until they were at his sides, and she started to tickle him mercilessly as he writhed below her, voicing out his protests between giggles.

"H-hey-haha! C-c-c-haha-cut it ou-out! Haha!"

"No way! Teeheehee."

"Ugh... no one needs to see you two practicing PDAs in the middle of the damn hallway." A pause. "And let him up, Yuffie. Those are my clothes he's getting dirty."

"PDA?" Yuffie was off of him in the blink of an eye. "Ew, no way, Cloud! The kid's too young for me!" With a casual wink to the brunet boy, who was now struggling to get to his feet, using his burnt hands to push himself up and wincing as he did so, she said, "Now Riku..."

"Riku's not much older then I am!" Sora exclaimed indignantly. "And what the heck is 'PDA'?"

"...Welp, what do ya know? It's time for the Great Ninja's breakfast! I'll leave you to explain this one, Cloudy-boy!"

"What? Hey, wait---"

But before the blond could get another word in, Yuffie had swept away, kicking her door shut with one foot and running her hands through her hair to get it in some sort of order as she rushed down the hall and towards the wafting smell of baking breakfast, laughing merrily as she did so until her voice died away amidst the chatter of passerby.

And clouded by a thick, heavy tension that hung between both boys, one sitting on the ground and the other staring indifferently down at him.

"So... what's PDA?"

And that was when Cloud decided to turn around and leave.

"Hey, don't leave me here alone!"

Too bad things didn't go as planned for the man.

With a heavy sigh, Cloud kept up his brisk pace, but allowed the young brunet to catch up with him. Harsh breathing from below alerted him that Sora was right behind him now, and he didn't bother to turn and acknowledge his presence as they both walked the opposite direction Yuffie had gone.

"You're not gonna tell me, are you?"

"No."

"Grr... fine, I'll ask Riku later."

"You have fun doing that." Step, step, step. "How long do you plan on following me?"

"Um... how long until you finally hit me?"

"Not too far off."

"...I'll be going now."

"You go do that."

And he did.

Heads

The pressure of heavy stares weighed him down wherever he walked, the background noise buzzing with accusing whispers and nervous mutterings, hands flying up to cover mouths as whispers were told into another's ear, eyes all following every move he made down the plush red carpeting of the grand hall.

Windows stared blankly at him as he walked by, teasing him by giving glimpses of the outdoors where he could no longer go, due to strict orders that he'd be forced to follow until he and Riku found a way out. Which would be soon, hopefully, the brunet mused dispassionately.

Small halls branched off from the main one, and Sora waited until he spotted one that had no people pouring from its hall to turn, leading himself from the main hall in choice of a sanctuary of quiet. The small teenager normally preferred chaos to silence any day, but today, he just wanted to shelter himself away from the accusing glares befalling his conscious.

This wasn't until the very end of the main hall, where it twisted at a diagonal to more noise and crowds. But to the right was a small path, darker then the rest of the castle Sora'd explored. He looked past the dark oak threshold and through the crack in the door to see a large expanse of only God knows what. But he knew one thing he didn't see: People.

Without another thought, Sora pressed his palms against the door and pushed. It was stiff on its hinges, but slowly creaked open with a bit of effort, emitting the boy into its quiet depths. Slowly, Sora stepped inside, pausing for a moment and awaiting angry shouts, forbidding words to hold him back. But when none came, Sora opened eyes he didn't even know he'd shut and fully stepped into the room, slowly spinning on the spot to close the door behind him. It jammed slightly, making him turn around and use his back to push it shut.

Click!

That did not sound good.

With a deep breath of air, Sora grappled behind him, searching for the door knob. When he finally felt the steel bulb in his hand, he grasped at it and gave a desperate twist.

It didn't budge.

"Shit," Sora muttered, eyebrows furrowing. Sighing, he just shook it off. If he couldn't get out that way, all he could do was head forwards, right? And he'd wanted to be alone... he just didn't want to face the consequences if this was a forbidden area.

Seeing no way out of it now, Sora began to wonder down the narrow hall that had gone almost completely black, for no windows lined the walls. The floor was hard, but he could no longer see the color. The air was fresh and clean smelling, cooler then in the rest of the castle. Maybe it led to a terrace.

Sora took a few more steps forward. The color of the ground... seemed almost red. It faintly glowed with the crimson aura, making Sora stop for a moment. Actually... his white shirt seemed to have been tinged as well, and it looked almost pink.

He took a few more steps. Now blue.

He kept on walking. Now colors were slowly gliding by, and he watched, fascinated, as it changed from blue to green, green to yellow, yellow to purple...

The colors were richer now, shining more boldly on his skin and clothing, staining the floor with unfiltered light and besieging Sora in a rampant swirl of rainbow. They sped up as Sora's pace increased, steps falling quicker as Sora fought his way through the colors to find out their source. It all seemed to be rebounding from something up ahead, as he could see spots of multiple lights freckling the floor up ahead.

There was another threshold now, the wood spanning half the width of the first, but twice as tall. Instead of wood, it was framed by white marble, intricate designs of web-like ropes intertwining to form a thick border that spread itself in a high arch, staring calmly down at Sora. He placed one bandaged hand on the side of the door, helping himself through the narrow entryway.

And into a dream.

Multi-colored lights dripped from every nook and cranny of the large, wide hallway, the whole place encased completely in stained glass. Sheets of tangible color spread up from the floors before curling up and high over his head, shining down and looking as if it would collapse if Sora simple blew on it. Sunlight shown through the panes of glass, causing droplets of color to ooze through the air and stain everything in its path in a glorious light, making the atmosphere feel light and airy, and if the walls themselves were breathing in fresh gusts of air. Not a flicker of dust lined the edges of the white marble floors that were currently as versatile as the glass shelter covering it. A large expanse of hallway met Sora's eyes, stretching out as far as he could see and ending in a dot of pure white light, tiny string of what looks liked blues, red, and purples sprouting up from the bulb of light.

Thick cords of white stone twisted up into pillars that held together the large panes of speckled glass, white rose vines clutching to them and fusing into a thorny twister of sorts. The archways split up from the floor at ten yard intervals, and Sora made a rough estimate of around thirty-five or forty of them that he could see before they died down, ending in the light.

The source of all that wonderful, rejuvenating air.

Before he could tell what he was doing, Sora was walking forward, loud echoes of his footsteps befalling his ears in the thick silence. The light seemed to stretch towards him, beckoning with imaginary fingers, taking his hand and guiding him into its blissful embrace. All his eyes were filled with was that light that sparkled in a thousand different patterns with the same shine, colors and shades combining into a thick smear of pure white.

And I thought all colors combined would be black, Sora thought dully, thoughts ebbing away into a numb mind where nothing existed but that one tunnel. Who knew... it would make white?

Create light?

Soft chirps blended into the quickening beat of two feet against white stone, drumming along faster and faster until the chorus reached a new pitch.

(Drumming, drumming)

I'm almost there, Sora thought desperately.

(Beating, beating)

I just want to touch it... just this once...

(Racing, racing)

He stretched out a fingertip. All pastels faded away into those of white and silver, left behind until the last hues of purple and green dwindled away from his sight, replaced by a glowing warmth as thick as water.

(Drowning, drowning)

Drowning in the light.

(But don't be afraid...)

He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. All he could feel was himself, and he seemed to drift along the last few steps, as light as a feather.

(...for you hold the greatest weapon of all)

The world exploded in a rush of silver and white, clouding his vision, streaming along his face like a million different feathers. Wings beat against his skin, small gusts of air cascading everywhere around him. Shrill cries rang out through the air, tiny screams combining to drown out Sora's own as he felt it all tumble into him at once.

(But don't be afraid...)

Gold was the first color he saw, raining from the ground and pouring into the sky. Green rolled at his feet, spreading, dotted with tiny speckles of pinks, blues, greens, all colors materializing from behind him, flowing through the door he'd burst through. Next followed more color, quaking beneath him and cracking into broad, flat panes of glass that made up the ground. Thick white boas came spitting up from the ground, hissing forlornly at the bright sky up ahead before stilling in its light, freezing up and joining at the stop for a sturdy banister.

(...don't ever be afraid...)

A veil of doves lifted from his head, and Sora could only watch as the birds flew in a twister of wings and feathers before spreading out into the horizon, leaving behind only feathers in their wake, some catching in gleaming cream talons and others floating down to tickle Sora's nose. Silently, all remains of white feathers, streaked with a shining silver, pooled at his feet, unmoving, quietly watching with Sora as the birds flew out of sight.

(...you are the one will close the doors)

"Sora?"

The golden light above flickered once before sparking, patches of the gold falling to rain down upon the canopy of green, killing the grass until a spindle of brown twisted through the middle, a path forming and pitching off into two different directions. The rest of the golden sky fell, replaced by a blazing blue and punctured by the sun, and killed the plants until they withered and died, green grass sharply replacing them.

Sora blinked, and all color was gone, falling from under his face and giving way to brown and gray flagstone. The feathers melted and dripped into the white banister, which had turned a stark black, and was now grew in thin ribbons to form a spindly railway that surrounded the balcony.

"Sora? You okay there, fella?"

Sora blinked again, and something else came into the picture. A three-foot something wide large ears, staring worriedly up at him from behind a round nose.

King Mickey.

"Umm... what was that?"

"I asked if you were okay..."

"Oh, um, yeah. I'm fine." Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, even managing a small smile, a mere shadow of what he could usually get out of himself. I must have really been out of it... Sora thought, letting his small grin fade away into a contemplative frown. "What... what happened..." he murmured absent-mindedly, unaware of the cautious look King Mickey was giving him. "What was that place... So bizarre..."

"Ummm... what place are you talkin' about?"

His face rapidly took on a dark red as he realized he'd said those things aloud. "N-nothing," Sora stammered as his mind raced for a way to change the subject. "So, um, wh-what are you doing here?"

Picking up the hint that Sora wasn't going to answer, Mickey replied, "Oh, I come here a lot. It's nice and quiet." King Mickey smiled up at Sora, one hand curled and resting on his hip and the other gesturing around the balcony that must have been twice as large as the old storage room Sora and Riku used to occupy. "This is my own private balcony; no one's ever come here before besides me."

"Oh!" Startled, Sora stumbled backwards, raising his hands in an apologetic manner. "I'm sorry! I didn't know this place was off limits! I just was the door was open and everywhere else was so crowded and I just wanted to---"

"Get away from it all?" Mickey finished for him with a reassuring nod at Sora's own nervous one. "Well, I don't blame ya. Things can get pretty hectic in the castle, huh?"

Sora, not wanting to point out that the reason he'd been searching for a quiet place was because everyone kept on watching him like they expected him to set something on fire at any second, just nodded again.

"Well, I don't mind if you come up here!" He laughed. "It gets kind of lonely here without any company, actually. I'm glad you're here!"

Not knowing what to say, Sora just murmured a, "Me too," only to find that King Mickey had only turned around. "Well, I have to get back. I only came here to get something I left here yesterday. See ya around, pal!"

Sora was about to return with a good-bye of his own when a thought suddenly struck him. "Erm, Your Majesty..."

Turning back, the king fixed Sora with his beady eyes once more. "Hm?"

"I... I've been wandering about this for a while..." Sora admitted slowly, causing a puzzled look to fall over Mickey's face. "That night... that night a few days ago when I first came into the castle... something really weird happened..."

"O-oh?"

Sora hadn't even realized he'd shut his eyes in remembrance of that peculiar feeling he'd experienced almost a week ago until he heard the king fumble over his words slightly, and he re-opened them. "Erm, yeah. I got this really strange feeling..."

"Strange, eh?" Was he stalling?

"Er, yeah, strange..." Sora said carefully, keeping a careful eye on the king;s nervous features. "Like... some part of me got all funny and just... came out."

"Oh, um, interesting..."

"Yeah." Now with a key frown on his face, sense of suspicion growing, Sora said, "And the next thing you know, I had this... giant key in my hand."

"Wow, I'd sure like to see that!" Mickey's laugh was a bit too loud, his words spoken a bit too quickly, to pose as plausible. "So do you have it on you?"

"Um, no," Sora murmured. "It disappeared... I can't remember when, but the whole time it was out I felt like something inside of me was missing, and when I realized it wasn't there again..."

"You felt whole?"

"Yeah!" Sora exclaimed excitedly. "So you do know what I'm talking about!"

"Ooooh!" King Mickey groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I shouldn't have said that, Sora! Just forget it..."

"No way!" He took a few steps forward when the king turned back around so as to face him, and he leant down a bit with his hands on his knees to maintain balance when he said, "You must know something about that magic key!"

"Gosh, Sora, I---"

"It is magical, isn't it?" Too pumped up to stop anytime soon, his expression growing more excited looking as Mickey's filled with regret. "And what about this place? Is it full of magic too?"

"This place?" Now King Mickey truly didn't look confused. "I know about the key, but... Sora, this is just a regular balcony. It can give you the shivers once in a while, but that's about as magical as it gets."

Feeling the excitement slowly drain out of him, Sora tried a last ditch attempt at weaseling the truth of the matter that was already staring him straight in the face. "But the stained glass... and the light... and the birds..."

"What stained glass?" King Mickey asked curiously, looking around for any trace of color in the stone. Finding none, he turned back to the boy. "Nothing here, Sora."

An idea suddenly striking him, the brunet turned around to face the large white threshold, which had somehow turned back to a regular polished oak. Inside, his eyes desperately strained for any sign of tinted glass. But all he found was high, stony gray walls, a few windows dotting it's rough surface.

"But... but... it was all here a minute ago..." Sora murmured in awe, gently touching the wall as it to make sure the dark wood wasn't really paint that covered white marble. "I swear it was..."

"I believe you, Sora," King Mickey said softly from behind him, frowning and ears drooping a bit. "Lots of crazy things happen here... but don't let go of realty." He reached up and gently touched Sora's elbow, for it was the only thing he could reach. "You can't ever stay with things that aren't really there..."

"But it was..." Sora cut himself off with a sigh, knowing that the case was already lost and there was no point in arguing it any further. "What about the key?" he asked numbly, his heart no longer in the question. "I know I didn't make up that."

Heart sinking at the fact that, once again, he'd be the bearer of bad news, King Mickey muttered a quick, "Sorry, Sora, but I can't tell you about that."

"Why?"

The monotonous voice was what made Mickey feel the guiltiest of all. "I... I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't tell you..."

Sora didn't bother to stay and hear the rest of his king's sentence. Gently brushing the gloved hand away from his shoulder, Sora made the surprisingly short walk back to the door, that had been opened by the king on his way in, down a stony gray hallway that was devoid of white walls, shimmering feathers, or colorful air.

Tails

Somebody was poking his head.

He didn't like it much when someone was poking his head.

Especially when he was trying to sleep.

Maybe he should tell him to stop?

"Sora, stop poking my head."

Silence. No movements made. For a single, glorious moment, Riku thought Sora had finally gone back to bed.

Poke.

Or not.

"I swear to God, Sora, if you don't stop..."

"You'll what?"

"I'll unleash the wrath of Hell upon your face."

That got Sora to stop poking him. Unfortunately it didn't make the lively brunet shut up, too. "It's payback for you not telling me that you were awake."

"What was I supposed to do?" Riku grumbled, burying his face further into his pillow. It must have been close to midnight, and his best friend had kept up the non-stop chatter since he'd come back to the infirmary around four in the evening. Since then RIku had suffered through at least three recountings of the wild tale Sora claimed to be true, involving wild stained glass, silver birds, pure white granite, and a blinding light. Along with a mysterious voice that Sora swore he'd heard before.

"You should have told me you were awake!" Sora snapped for the twelfth time that day. "Damnit, I was worried sick about you, Riku! You've been out of it for three days!"

"Exactly," Riku yawned, scratching idly at an ace bandage entwining his left wrist. "And you've been here. By my side. For three days. You needed to get up and walk around instead of staying in here with me."

"Well... well, you still should have told me," Sora pouted as he slowly trudged back to his own bed. Riku heard the sigh of the springs in the mattress as the brunet finally settled beneath the covers before turning on his side to face the older teen. "So... why do you think King Mickey wouldn't tell me about the key? He said something about making a promise to someone..."

"Who cares? No one knows what's going through that damn rat's mind," Riku muttered, irritated that Sora wouldn't let him sleep. "And I don't even know what you're talking about; I don't remember you having any huge key, or any other key for that matter..."

"Well, I had it!" Sora huffed stubbornly. "You must have gotten some head injury if you don't remember, Riku. It was huge! With..."

But Riku cut him off before he could rant on about the 'mysterious' weapon he'd obtained. "You're right, Sora. Maybe I do have a head injury. And to cure it, I say I get some sleep."

"Oh come on, Riku! I wanna talk some more, and I'm wide awake!"

"Liar," Riku chuckled. "Just close your eyes, roll over, and get some sleep."

"No!" Pout returning in full force, Sora quipped, "I'm not tired!"

"I bet you are," Riku retorted, a scheme already forming in his mind. Smirking, Riku suggested slyly, "How about we have a little contest, hm? To pass the time."

The competitive side getting the better of the younger boy, just as Riku knew it would, Sora eagerly sat up in bed to fix his friend with wide cerulean eyes. "Really? Okay!"

Riku smirked; it was just too easy. He could hear the fatigue weighing down Sora's words, and since his young friend was already fairly simple-minded, it should be a piece of cake. "Okay; to prove you're not tired, we'll do this. Whoever takes the longest time to fall asleep wins." Riku's smirk widened, and he fought to keep the smugness out of his voice lest Sora catch on. "Since you're so 'wide awake', you can go first."

"Fine!" Sora said competitively, slamming his head on the pillow.

Riku snorted. "Think you're so good at this, eh, Sora?"

"Yeah! I bet I can even do it with my eyes closed!"

"Oh yeah, you're on!"

"Fine! Heehee..."

Two seconds later, Sora's eyes were shut tightly.

Two minutes later, and the sounds of his snoring filled the air.

Chuckling, Riku finally allowed himself to settle back on the bed. He lazily searched for the edges of his comforter and pulled them up under his chin, listening to the cool linen brush against his skin. The air was quiet and had the distinct smell of night; clean and cool, not smoke or cooking food to taint it, and felt good as it gusted through the open window and gently stroked his exposed face. It blew over his bangs, causing them to hover over his face, tickling him slightly.

He felt utterly content.

Or at least he should have. But something still was nagging him.

A visit... a visit he'd gotten earlier.

"Well, hope ya feel better soon, Riku! I gotta go talk to Sora about somethin'!"

Sighing, Riku tossed the blankets a bit so he could roll over. Medicine had drowned out most of the pain, but his body ached when he tried to shift it. Ignoring the throb, Riku rested his cheek on the cooled pillow and closed his eyes.

"About what? The Keyblade?"

"Yea---Hey! How do you know about the Keyblade?"

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Riku curled his fingers into a fist and lightly pounded on the bed once before using it to hit his pillow, lifting his head briefly to fluff it up before lying back down. Taking in a deep gulp of air, he let it out in one long, shaky breath, trying to calm himself.

"That doesn't matter right now..."

"But---!"

"Please, just listen to me!"

Riku unclenched his eyes, relaxing his tightened muscles, just letting the memories fall back into place before this eyes. He couldn't fight them off anymore.

A small whimper behind him alerted his senses, snapping him out of his dream. Frowning slightly, Riku rolled over towards his friends. in the pale sliver of moonlight that shown through the window, he could just make out the features of his friends face and a thin sliver of russet hair.

"What... is that?" Riku murmured, narrowing his eyes. Sora had gone back to sleep after twisting a bit in the covers, and now Riku could see something silver poking out of his head.

"Okay, Riku... I'm listening."

Quietly, slowly, Riku untangled himself from the twist of covers trapping his legs. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and winced as the pads of his bare feet met icy cold ground. Shivering in the cool night air slightly, Riku gently padded over to his best friend.

Reaching out a hand slowly, he dragged it through tresses of cinnamon locks until they met the offending object. It was soft to the touch, and Riku gently plucked it out so it lay in his palm. Stepping back, Riku moved his hand until it lay in what little light he had to go by.

"Remember how I made that promise to you?"

"The Hell... What kind of bird did this come from?"

In his hand lay a single feather. Riku could have sworn it belonged to a white done, the kind that used to build nests in the rafters of their make-shift home during the spring time, but the color was uniquely different. It looked...

"Silver," Riku whispered. Small segments of Sora's long-winded tail of magical hallways rushed back to him, and he tried to shake it off as best as he could. No, it was ridiculous! But then... where did Sora get a silver feather stuck in his hair?

"Yeah, 'course I do!"

"I'll ask Sora in the morning," Riku decided. But if he let go of his pride for a brief moment, he'd realize that leaving the feather on a table during a windy night was not a good idea, and that there was no way he would remember it in the morning.

Yawning widely, Riku set it next to his empty glass on the bedside table and crawled back underneath the sheets, finally ready for a long nap.

He didn't notice as the wind picked up, stretching his fingers in and twirling the feather around, grasping it, gently blowing it through the air. It drifted through the river of moonlight, rippling through until it joined the ocean of air outside and was blown away towards dusk.

"Well now, I need you to promise me something, Mickey..."

(You are the one who will open the doors)

End

Okay, who the Hell let in the plot?

Riku: Sora! He forgot to keep watch!

Sora: LIES!

Damn, and I had the thing all locked up and everything!

Sora: (pats)

That's it, I'm getting the giant fly swatter...

Fly Swatter: im going 2 smash tihs plot that your putting into here!11

...Okay, maybe I'm not THAT desperate.

But the readers can help! By REVIEWING! Please?