Dusk had started trickling into the air, making it dark, cold, and cooling Roxas's thoroughly burnt skin. The crystal fissure shone out between the rocks, lining everything in a soft light like a blue, luminous dust that had settled over the canyon.

It was a truly beautiful sight but the only one there to see it was a boy who was so lost in his own desolation that he couldn't even find the will to open his eyes. The only thought he had left was 'lead me away'. He could no longer recall what made him decide to give up. He didn't know what he used to be like, or his name or how he even came to be lying here. The resonating sound of his will to live was slowly fading, waning into the wind. Soon it was going to play so quietly that, even in this silence, he wouldn't be able to hear it.

"Why am I always the one to find you, Roxas? Not that I mind."

Roxas jolted. As if he had been falling for hours and had suddenly hit the ground. His eyes opened and the world came back to him in a rush of soft blue light. He gasped, tasting the air instead of just breathing it in.

"Are you okay, Roxas?"

He turned his neck, flinching as pain came back to him with a twist of his raw skin. He looked with hollow eyes at a familiar face. But who was it? Roxas knew this guy. He did. He was sure he did. Whoever it was the blue light was stunning against their hair.

"You… you're...?"

"Roxas?" The person seemed concerned. He put a hand on Roxas's arm. Both people pulled away immediately. "You're really warm. Do you have a fever?"

"I don't know…" Roxas said, looking at his skin. A reddish burn was all along his back, right arm half his front and feet. A black mass at his feet diverted his attention for a second. His shirt. "I think… I'm sun burnt."

"Sun bur… how long have you been out here Roxas?" They asked, silver curtain of hair falling in front of their face as they leaned in to look at Roxas's arm.

"…Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"Ri…Riku? What are you doing here?"

Riku smiled. "We said we'd come back didn't we? We're not here for long mind you. We wanted to see how you were all doing."

"Sora's here?"

"Of course." Riku looked over him with his bright aqua eyes. "You're a mess Roxas, what are you doing out here? "

"I…" He looked over the scene. Blood and rocks white with scraps from swords. And Riku, crouched over him with a hand perched above him, too scared to touch his burned skin. "I don't know." He mumbled weakly. "I can't just wait. I want to do something, I have to try and get him back but… I can't do anything else. I feel so useless."

"…Cloud?"

"Yeah…"

"Leon told me."

"Great." Roxas muttered.

Riku bit his lip, eyes flitting over the ground in thought. "Why don't you come with me and Sora? We can look together."

"And intrude on you two love birds? I don't think you'd two would be so keen on that."

Riku's eyes went wide and he drew back. "W-what? How do you know about… that? Is it obvious? Did Sora tell you? He didn't say he told you. Or is it just really obvious?" Riku had suddenly taking a great liking to his own hair, furiously touching it and tucking it behind his ear. The blue light from the Crystal Fissure turned the blush on Riku's cheeks a purplish colour.

Roxas watched him fidget awkwardly and avoid his eyes. He'd never seen Riku so flustered. It was rather funny. "Jeez Riku, and you called me a mess." Roxas laughed, tipping his head back and grinning. "You must really like him huh?"

"How do you know?" He asked again.

"I saw you two in the ballroom. I didn't mean to, it just happened. It never really happens anymore, I think that was the last thing I saw through Sora.."

Riku stared at him, trying to read his eyes somehow. "What did you see?"

Roxas snorted. "What did you to DO!"

"Nothing! Nothing."

"You sure don't make it sound that way." Roxas chuckled, sitting up. His skin flared in pain but he ignored it. "You guys just talked. You said you loved him. I saw you guys kiss for about a second and that was it."

Riku let out an agitated sigh. "Don't tell anyone."

"Why not? You love him don't you? What's wrong with that?" Roxas asked, trying not to laugh at Riku anymore.

"That'sexactly what Sora said… but I'm not ready."

"Why not?"

"Just-" Riku looked about ready to shout but he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I hurt him. I hurt Sora so much. I've hardly squared it with myself yet. And yet Sora… he…"

"Half of what you did… that was Maleficent and Xehanort wasn't it?"

"How do you love someone that you've put through hell?" He asked bitterly.

"You're… thinking you don't deserve him?" Roxas asked. He was suddenly very tempted to dip into Sora's mind and find out how he was feeling about all this. Somehow assure Riku that Sora had forgiven him. But Roxas did not want to make the connection between himself and Sora any stronger. "Because of Sora's feelings, I nearly fell in love with you myself last time you were here. You're such a big part of him that everything he likes about you overflowed into me."

Riku smiled awkwardly to himself. They sat in silence while Roxas turned his back into the cool wind, trying to get as much cold breeze on his inflamed flesh as he could.

"Surely you want to come with us?" Riku started into the silent night. "You must care more about Cloud than you care about intruding on us?"

Roxas leaned back on his palms and let the wind tousle his hair around his burned neck and half red face. He looked into the outlines of the black blood puddles morbidly.

"You've given up." Riku stated. "Just like that? Sora's found several people that were lo-"

"Do NOT mistake me for Sora." Roxas said firmly. "I'm not as stupidly optimistic as to think he's still alive. Cloud didn't just disappear; he was battling the one person who was powerful enough to scare him. He was wounded, and-and battered and he disappeared. He KNEW how much he meant to me. If he was alive he would've come back!" He shouted.

"If you cared so much you wouldn't give up." Riku said. "Look at you, you're depressed. And you're a Nobody. I have no idea what kind of effect that must have on you. And I can't begin to imagine how it must be messing with how you feel. But you can't just turn around and say you don't care."

"You think I'm depressed?"

Riku nodded. "You've been here for… what I've heard the good part of ten hours."

"Maybe you're right." Another refreshing whip of wind kicked up. Roxas sighed gratefully.

"The first thing you can do is don't kill yourself by staying out here. " Riku smiled. "So can we go back Roxas? I'm worried you're dying right now as we speak." He laughed nervously and Roxas laughed along with him.

"…Alright." Roxas nodded.

"Do you need a hand up? How badly are you burned? If I need to carry you I'll be car-" Roxas opened up a portal right next to them as Riku talked. "-Oh… useful." Riku smiled. "I forgot about those."

"I'm sorry; I could tell you were so eager to carry me." Roxas smirked. He rose to his feet. His legs were a bit shaky but otherwise he seemed okay. He ambled through the portal.

Roxas tenderly eased himself onto the sofa, bodying aching and skin sizzling. Lying on the ground for hours on end sure was tiring.
"I'll go tell everyone to stop looking." Riku said, leaving the room with Roxas nodding wearily and Leon frowning and tearing himself away from his glass of wine as he realized what had just happened.